Page 26

26

Maya

T he next day, Elle and Preston leave, heading back to North Carolina as the sun dips low in the sky. It casts a warm glow over the living room where Christian helps Finley with a puzzle. Their laughter fills the air, light and carefree, and it tugs at something deep inside me. Seeing them together like this, everything out in the open, makes my heart swell with a strange mix of hope and fear.

Finley fits a piece into the puzzle and cheers. “I did it, Dad!”

Every time he calls Christian “Dad,” it feels like a jolt straight to my heart. Christian, for his part, looks like he’s about to burst with pride and bawl like a baby every time Finley says it. I can see it in his shimmering eyes—the way he’s trying so hard to be everything for our son.

But when Finley calls him Dad, I’m reminded that we’re still not the family I dreamed of as a teenager. Not yet. Not fully. I want Christian to be here every day and every night. Which is why I caved on letting him stay until the morning.

The gorgeous man glances over at me, a soft smile tugging at his lips, either from Finley’s use of the fatherly term or because he’s still thinking about last night.

God knows I am.

We made out and fooled around for hours after everyone went to bed, unable to get enough, but not crossing that final line before he held me, and we fell asleep together.

I feel a pang of guilt for keeping him at arm’s length in the bedroom, even though I’ve let him back into Finley’s life. I know he wants more. He wants to be with me again, to make up for the failed first try. But that’s easier said than done.

As I pour myself a glass of water, my phone buzzes on the counter. I glance at the screen, and my stomach twists when I see Spencer’s name. I hesitate, knowing that right now isn’t the best time to answer the call, but I can’t just ignore him. After all, he’s been nothing but kind to me and Finley, and he may have helped me find a job.

I swipe to answer and press the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Hey, Maya,” Spencer’s voice comes through, smooth and a little uneasy. “I heard your interview went well.”

“It did! Thank you. Your aunt told me her boss would make a decision soon.”

“After hearing her rave about you, I have no doubt you’ll get the job.”

“Thank you,” I tell him with a smile.

“So,” he starts. “I was wondering if you’re free this weekend. You, me, and Finley could grab dinner or something on Saturday? As friends, just casual...”

I glance at Christian and Finley. Christian’s attention is still focused on the new puzzle they’re starting, but I feel his presence in the room like an anchor. I swallow hard, torn between the two men in my life. Spencer deserves to know the truth, that I’m still hung up on my ex.

“That sounds nice, Spencer,” I say quietly, unsure of the words as they leave my mouth. “But, um, I can’t Saturday.”

“What about Sunday, then?” he asks, his voice filled with hope. I hate to hurt him, even if we’ve barely got to know each other.

“I’m sorry, and I know you said we could just keep it casual, but I’m actually seeing someone at the moment. I don’t want to upset him by having dinner with another man,” Christian’s gaze meets mine, relief in his eyes. “Especially since it could be turning into something more serious.”

“Oh,” Spencer says. “Well, I’m disappointed, but I’m happy for you. You have my number if you change your mind. And you know that I still hope the job works out, too.”

“Me too. Take care,” I tell him before ending the call, knowing Spencer isn’t the type to be petty enough to urge his aunt not to hire me just because we’re not going to be dating.

Grinning over at me, Christian mouths “Thank you” and I nod back at him. If I’m going to expect him to be faithful, to not see any other women, then I can’t be going out on any dates, even friendly ones. Not that I ever really wanted to…

When I return to the living room, Christian is watching me. His eyes flicker with curiosity, and I can tell he wants to ask about the call, but he doesn’t. Instead, he stands up and stretches, giving Finley a pat on the back before he comes up to me.

Speaking low enough that only I can hear, he says, voice light, “Do you want me to head out tonight or do you want me to stay?”

I smile and tell him equally quietly, “Stay. If you want.”

“Of course I want,” he whispers, his heavy-lidded eyes lowering to my lips, warming my belly.

“Until the morning like last night?”

“Heck yes,” he quickly agrees. “Last night was…better than perfect.”

“Finley, sweetie, it’s time for you to get your bath and get ready for bed,” I tell him.

“Already?” he complains.

“Maybe Christian can read you two stories after the bath if you don’t take too long.”

“Okay!” he says as he runs off down the hall.

“You don’t mind, do you?” I ask Christian.

“Absolutely not.”

“Good, because otherwise, he will spend an hour playing in the tub until the water is ice cold,” I explain.

Slipping his hand around my waist to pull me closer, he says against my lips, “You’re not in a hurry to get him tucked into bed tonight, are you?”

“Nope. Not at all. Are you?”

“Hell yes. He runs me harder than my coach. I’m fucking exhausted.”

“Oh really? I’m sorry to hear that you’re so tired,” I remark with a grin.

“Don’t worry, I’m not that tired, baby.”

“Join me for a bath first?”

Christian’s lips press a kiss to my bare shoulder where my tee has slipped. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else than in a warm bath, naked with you. Will there be bubbles?”

“What kind of bath would it be without bubbles?” I ask before I head down the hall to check on Finley.

A long, forty-five minutes later, Christian and I finally get to soak in the tub together.

Christian

I’m not sure I’ve ever undressed quicker than I do when I see Maya sitting in the bathtub filling up with steamy water. Suds cover everything from her shoulders down, and I can’t wait to get under them with her.

“About time,” she says.

“It’s hard to tell our son no,” I reply with a smile as I pull off my socks and stride over to the tub to climb into it, taking the spot Maya left behind her back.

“Jesus, woman!” I exclaim when I submerge myself in the scalding hot water.

Maya laughs. “I want the water to stay warm for more than five minutes.”

“You want to peel a layer of my skin off too?” I grumble as I settle in, sweat already beading on my forehead from the fiery temperature.

My discomfort is quickly forgotten though when I wrap my arm around Maya’s waist to pull her to me so she’s sitting between my legs, her soft, round bottom rubbing against my swollen dick, making me groan.

Since Maya’s dark hair is piled up on top of her head, I have full access to her bare neck, so I can lean forward and kiss, making her shiver. One of my palms gripping her waist slides up, cupping her breast, while the other lowers to that magical spot between her thighs.

“Yes,” Maya whispers in a moan as she presses back against me, grinding against my dick that’s trapped between our bodies. I want nothing more than to have her sit all the way down on it, but I know she’s not ready for that yet.

I’m more than content to have just my hands and mouth on her beautiful body, stroking her between her legs while squeezing her breast. When her head falls back limply onto my chest, I know she’s close. So am I, thanks to all her sexy gasps and squirming against my aching cock.

Needing to feel her tight heat clenching around my fingers, I slide my hand lower, continuing to apply pressure to her clit while thrusting two fingers inside of her. That’s all it takes to set her off.

“Oh! Oh god!” she exclaims before I release her breast to cover her mouth. The sounds of her moans are so loud in the echoing bathroom, I know she wouldn’t want our son to hear.

“Fuck, yes, baby,” I whisper into her ear as I place a kiss near it. “You’re gonna make me come just from all your wiggling.”

“Mmm,” Maya moans when her trembling body begins to relax, though her core still grips my fingers. She eventually grabs my hand to pull it free from her even though I was planning on getting her off on my hand at least one more time.

Surging forward, Maya puts enough space between us to turn around. Kneeling in the tub between my legs, her hands grip either side of the tub before she leans forward and kisses me deeply.

My right hand is lowering to my dick to give myself some relief when she grabs it and places it where hers was on the tub. She does the same with my left hand, then holds hers over them to keep them there.

“Come on, baby. I’m so close already,” I tell her, my balls agonizingly heavy. “Only you can make me come so damn fast.”

“Do you remember how much I used to love to swim?” she asks quietly while still kneeling between my legs, her cheeks flushed, so gorgeous it hurts.

“Huh?” I ask, since there’s not enough blood flowing to my brain to keep up with the sudden change in topic.

“I loved swimming, and I can still hold my breath for a really long time.”

“That’s…great, baby,” I tell her. “We’ll take Finley to the pool someday. But right now, I’m hurting so—” That’s the last word out of my mouth before Maya’s face disappears under the water and… “Holy shit!” I shout. Her head is almost entirely submerged in the deep tub as she wraps her fingers around my cock. She takes me into her mouth, applying that heavenly suction.

Her head begins to bob, nearly breaking the surface before diving back down, taking me to the back of her throat.

My grip on the sides of the tub tightens a little more with each pleasurable second until I’m holding on with a white-knuckle grip. I don’t dare reach for her head to hold it down and chance drowning her. Besides, she’s doing just fine without my…

“Fuck, I’m coming! I’m coming!” I warn her when my entire body jerks with the first pulse of my release. My hips thrust upward on their own over and over again, chasing the cresting waves of pleasure, drawing them out, trying to make them last as long as possible as Maya strokes me and swallows every drop of my cum.

I throw my head back onto the rim of the tub when the shudders come to an end. A moment later, I realize Maya’s face is still underwater. Grabbing her now soaked, messy bun, I pull her head up by the strands.

Lips parting in a gasp of much-needed oxygen, water droplets pour down her face from her soaked hair until she reaches up and wipes it away from her eyes. My mouth claims hers as soon as she’s sucked in a few breaths of air.

Returning the kiss with as much enthusiasm, Maya straddles my lap without breaking it. Oh, and her soft folds stroke over my half-hard dick, making me wish I was ready to go again.

Pulling her back by her hair to see her face, I tell her, “That…was fucking amazing.”

Smiling, she says, “You’ve never had an underwater blowjob before?”

“God, no. I can’t believe you held your breath for that long…”

“It wasn’t that long,” she mocks me with a grin.

Gripping her hips, I press her body down on that exhausted part of my body. “It was definitely long. I just couldn’t last more than two minutes in your mouth.”

“Right,” she agrees with a laugh.

“You know, I can hold my breath for a while too…” I tell her.

“Oh, really?” she asks, her eyes widening when I begin to slide down into the water. Wrapping each of my arms around her thighs, I hold my breath and disappear under the water, underneath Maya’s spread thighs, keeping her body lowered to my face so she can’t move when I swipe my tongue through her folds.

Her moan above me is muffled as I flick the tip of my tongue over her clit. Opening my eyes under water, I look up and see a blurred Maya shove her fist into her mouth to keep from screaming louder. That only makes me work harder to get her off.

And I overestimated how long I could hold my breath. I have to break the surface to suck in some air twice. Unlike me, Maya has no problem pushing my head back under the water, making me chuckle before I get back to work. As soon as I suck her swollen bud into my mouth, her thighs tremble then rock rapidly toward my face.

My lungs are ready to explode before the tension finally leaves her body and I break through the surface again.

“ Jesus , Christian,” Maya gasps as I wipe the water from my face.

“That was one hell of a baptism, baby. I thought you were going to let me drown,” I tease her.

This is what has always been missing with every other woman—fooling around is fun with Maya. It’s not about rushing to the finish line. I just love being with her in every way possible.