Page 15 of Fore Better or Worse (Return to Starlight Bay #16)

Chapter fifteen

Hays

S tanding on Leah’s front porch ten hours later, with enough takeout to feed a small army, I realize I might have gone slightly overboard. I wasn’t sure what she likes, so at the Thai place, a few doors down from High Tide Tales , I ordered one of everything.

The porchlight casts a warm glow over a dozen potted herbs lining the railing. A wreath made of what looks like book pages folded into roses hangs on a sage green front door.

Before I knock, the door swings open, and there she is in a long sundress. My mouth goes bone dry. Her dark hair is loose around her shoulders, and she’s barefoot, which is suddenly the sexiest thing I’ve seen in my life.

“You do realize there are only two of us, right?” she asks, eyeing the ridiculous number of bags dangling from my arms.

“I may have overdone it,” I admit, stepping inside when she moves back. “But I wasn’t sure if you liked spice.”

“If I like spice?” A mischievous flicker in her eyes makes the innuendo clear as she helps me carry everything to the kitchen.

“I figured it was better to have options and let you choose your comfort level,” I say with a straight face, playing along.

Her flirty smile makes my pulse trip. “And what if I told you I like everything?”

“Everything?”

“All of it. From one to five chili peppers. At least…in books.”

“In books?”

She opens a container of pad thai, inhaling the aroma. “Romance novels can get quite… spicy, you know. And I’ve read everything from sweet to so hot the pages practically combust.”

Jesus Christ. The way she looks at me while talking about spice levels makes it impossible to think about actual food. “But what about in real life?”

She pauses then sets down the container. Her voice is softer when she answers. “In real life, my limited experiences have been rather…tame, so I can’t say.”

If she wants me to deliver the spice, I’m happy to. But I’m here tonight to get to know Leah and let her get to know me. Not pin her against a wall and go to town within sixty seconds of walking in the door.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I clear my throat and ignore the way my cock is now a steel rod in my shorts. “For future reference.”

“Future reference.” The promise in those two words makes my balls heavy with need.

I blow out a long breath and glance around. Her house is exactly what I imagined. Small but cozy, with overflowing built-in bookshelves. There’s a candle flickering on the kitchen counter that smells like vanilla.

This is where she’s been all this time. Where she’s written her book, drunk her morning coffee, dreamed her dreams. Three years of wondering what her everyday life looked like, and now, I’m finally here. “Your place is very…you.”

“Small and cluttered?”

“I was thinking more along the lines of perfect. And exactly where I want to be.”

That’s when I see it. An apple pie on the stove under a mesh cover. My gaze shoots to her. “You made pie.”

Her cheeks flush, and she waves a hand in the air. “I had some apples that needed to be used up.”

“Today?” I grin at the thought of her rushing home from work to bake for me.

“Homemade pie takes longer to make than the hour I’ve had since getting off work,” she informs me, arching an eyebrow.

My grin widens. “So you made it yesterday? Before you knew I was coming?”

“Don’t read anything into it.” The warning is clear, but the bottom lip tucked between her teeth tells a different story.

“Too late, darling. I’m reading all kinds of things into homemade pie.” I step closer, backing her against the counter. “You knew I was coming to town for the tournament. Were you thinking about me? About that night when I said I’d down at least two slices if you invited me over?”

“Maybe.”

The whispered admission lands deep in my chest. I can’t resist anymore. I cup her face in my hands and kiss her. She melts into me without hesitation, her hands gripping my waist as she kisses back with the same desperate hunger surging through my veins.

Her lips are soft and warm, and when she opens for me with a soft gasp, I deepen the kiss until we’re both breathing hard, our hands roaming over each other’s bodies, learning the landscape. When I finally force myself to pull back, we’re both panting.

Her dark pupils are dilated. I want to drown in them, but I need to slow down. This isn’t how tonight should go. We’ve barely been reunited half an hour. Haven’t even had dinner. I blow out a long breath and step back, my cock throbbing in protest.

“I need to stop. I don’t want you to think that this, what’s between us, is just physical.”

“I—”

“No matter how much I wanted you then, and how much I’m dying for you now, I didn’t ask you to marry me because you turned me down. I asked because I couldn’t imagine my life without you in it. Still can’t.”

“What if I don’t want to stop?”

The question hangs between us, loaded with three years of longing and the kind of need that makes me forget every lesson I’ve learned about patience.

“Leah,” I breathe, her name a prayer and a warning all at once.

But then she’s rising on her toes, her hands sliding up my chest to curve around the nape of my neck, and when she kisses me, there’s nothing hesitant about it. It’s hungry and demanding and full of every fantasy I’ve had during the endless nights apart.

“I’ve waited three years,” she whispers against my lips. “I don’t want to wait three more days, let alone three more minutes.”

That’s all it takes. My restraint, already hanging by a thread, snaps completely.

I pin her against the counter, my hands sliding down to her thighs to lift her onto the surface.

She wraps her legs around my waist, pulling me closer.

Being tucked against her core, the warmth pressed against my length, makes me groan.

“Are you sure?” I manage, even as my hands are already sliding under her sundress, mapping the soft skin I’ve dreamed of caressing.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything.” She wiggles against me with an urgency that matches my own.

Her hands are in my hair, her nails raking my scalp, and my heart races like a goddamn freight train. This woman… This goddess tastes like heaven and sin all at once, and I’m already addicted.

“Bedroom?” I murmur against her lips, my hands sliding down to discover a thong and her bare ass. She smiles against my mouth, a wicked little grin that sends a shock of heat straight to my cock.

“Down the hall,” she breathes. “Second door on the left.”

I carry her there, her lips on my neck, her teeth nipping at my ear. I can’t focus on anything but the feel of her. I’ve been with other women, but this? This is different. This is Leah, and she’s all-consuming in the best possible way.

We tumble onto the bed, a tangle of limbs and laughter. I pin her beneath me, struck by how her curves fit perfectly against me. It’s as if she were made for me, and the thought sends a shiver down my spine.

“You’re gorgeous, darling,” I murmur, my mouth moving down her neck, my hands cupping her breasts through the thin fabric of her sundress. She arches into my touch, a soft moan escaping her lips.

I lower my head, finding the valley between her breasts. I kiss every inch of skin, my fingers tracing the neckline of her dress. I tug at the fabric and her bra, freeing her breasts. They’re full and round and fit perfectly in my palms, the hardening nipples begging for my touch.

I take one into my mouth, swirling my tongue around it, sucking gently, then harder.

Leah gasps. Her fingers grip my shoulders as her legs are a vise-like grip around my ass.

I lavish attention on one breast, then the other, kneading and caressing, my mouth tasting and teasing.

Each touch of my lips, each flick of my tongue elicits a gasp or a moan from her, and it’s driving me fucking wild.

I move down her body, kissing every inch of skin, then grasp the hem of her sundress, pulling it up and over her head as she shimmies out of it, revealing a nude thong that makes my mouth water.

I look up at her, our eyes meeting, and the raw desire in her gaze is a look I’ll never forget.

And suddenly, I’m desperate to taste her.

I hook a thumb on either side of her thong and barely get it past her knees before I’m trying to dive in.

She kicks it off and spreads her legs, sucking in a sharp hiss when my tongue finds her clit.

I waste no time getting down to business.

She tastes incredible. I can’t get enough. Her hips rock against my mouth, her core soft and warm and drenched. I could go for hours, but barely a minute later, I can tell she’s getting close, her muscles tensing.

My cock is so hard it’s painful, but I don’t want to rush this. I want to savor her, to make her come like never before. I’m so focused on her holding her squirming hips tight, on lapping up every drop of pleasure, that when she shatters beneath me, my release threatens just from watching her.

Her orgasm rips through her as she arches off the bed.

A cry of pleasure that’s never sounded so sweet echoes through the room as her thighs squeeze my head with a force that nearly crushes my skull, and I love every second of it.

The vision of her head thrown back and her lips parted as her fingers twist in the quilt is now officially the sexiest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.

Once the shudders subside, I shift back up onto my knees and pull off my shirt, tossing it aside.

“I knew you’d have six-pack abs,” Leah says, breathless as she runs her hands down them, “but these are…wow.”

“I’m glad you approve.” I suck in a breath as she continues south, fumbling with my belt.

I help her, standing only long enough to kick off my shoes and peel off my shorts and boxers.

I’m desperate to be inside her, but I pause, wanting to remember this moment.

The way she looks, the way she feels, the way she makes me feel.

Her gaze drops to my cock and fuck, if she doesn’t lick her lips. I’m already riding a razor-sharp edge struggling to keep control, and she bites her lip and hums appreciatively.

That’s it. Exactly two seconds later, I’m sinking into her. She’s so tight, so wet, so fucking perfect. And like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I grit my teeth, freezing for a moment, and focus on taking a deep breath to keep from losing it, right then and there.

Then I start to move, my hips thrusting, our bodies moving in sync. Her nails dig into my back, and I’m lost. Completely consumed by her.

“I can’t…” I growl, pumping faster, desperate to hold off as long as possible.

“Hays, please,” she moans, meeting me thrust for thrust. The plea is my undoing. She’s clenching around me, her body trembling, and I know she’s close. But I’m determined to summon every last ounce of willpower I have not to fill her with my seed. At least not yet.

I want to see her come again. I want to feel her orgasm while I’m buried deep inside her. Shaking with the effort, I barely manage to hold on until she cries out, her body convulsing around me, milking my length.

Then I couldn’t hold back if my life depended on it. My orgasm rips through me, intense and explosive. And it’s confirmation I’m never going to get enough of this woman.

I could stay buried inside her forever. Leah’s everything I remembered and a thousand things I never dared to hope for. I fell for her the night we met, but now? I’m completely and utterly ruined for any other woman. Ever. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.