Trust in Me

My mouth opened, but the words—whatever the hell they were—died on my tongue as she took me into her mouth. Sensation exploded in several points. I kicked my head back, groaning as her hand moved, steady and strong in rhythm with her mouth.

I didn’t want to last. My back bowed as she worked me. Fuck. I couldn’t last. There was no way. Release powered through me as my hips jerked. I tried to pull her away, but she was latched on. She wasn’t going anywhere. I came, shouting her name.

After what felt like forever, she pulled away. As my chest rose and fell raggedly as I dropped a damn near out-of-breath kiss on her forehead. “Avery . . .”

“You liked?”

I coughed out a laugh. “I loved.”

“I’m a quick learner.”

Damn straight she was. Placing my hands on her shoulders, I guided her onto her back. “Avery?”

She let her hands fall beside her head. “Yeah?”

“Get ready.”

A puzzled look crossed her face. “Get ready for what?”

I captured her mouth, letting my lips and my tongue tell her exactly what to get ready for and it was a hell of a long time before I used those two things for anything other than loving her.

“Cookies! I got cookies!”

“Oh! What kind?” Shortcake’s voice floated from the bedroom.

She’d left the door unlocked for me, something that I was going to have to talk to her about later, but right now I had a warm plate of special delivery. I headed back to the bedroom, finding her lying on her bed, hands folded across her stomach.

“Peanut-butter cookies,” I told her. “But special.”

She grinned as she stretched her bare feet. “How are they special?”

“Well, besides the fact that I just baked them in honor of you finishing your last exam, they’re not just any kind of peanut-butter cookies.” I sat the plate on the nightstand. “But Reese’s peanut-butter cookies.”

Her brows rose. “And that makes them different?”

“Hell’s yeah.” I jumped on the bed, grinning as Shortcake bounced. “What are you doing in here?”

“Being lazy.”

I studied her closer. “You okay?”

“Yes.” When she smiled and it reached her eyes, I relaxed. “Cookie?”

“Cookie . . .” I reached over, eyeing the plate for one that appeared moist. Once I settled on one, I handed it over.

Holding one hand under her chin, she bit and immediately moaned. “Oh my God, these are . . .” She took another bite. “So damn good.”

“I know, right?” I picked up one, popping the whole thing in my mouth.

Shortcake reached for another and I grabbed the plate, holding it away from her. She punched me in the stomach. I gave her a cookie.

After eating our weight in peanut-butter goodness, I stretched out beside her and picked up a strand of her hair, twirling it around my fingers. I smacked the ends across her nose as her eyes drifted shut. “So what does it feel like to finally be a sophomore in college?”

She retrieved her hair from me. “I’m not officially a sophomore. Not until school starts again in the fall.”

“I deem you a sophomore now.” Undeterred, I caught another strand and trailed it across her cheek. “What I say goes.”

“Then how does it feel finally being a senior? Next year is your last.”

“Amazing.” I traced her lower lip. “It feels amazing.”

Shortcake rolled onto her side, wrapping her fingers around the collar of my shirt. “It feels pretty damn good to be a sophomore.”

“Would be better if you didn’t sign up for summer classes.”

“True,” she agreed.

But it would work out. I was doing the summer soccer camp with the kiddos, so I’d be here anyway.

She wiggled closer, resting her head on my shoulder as she threw a leg over me.

“Close enough?” I asked.

“No.”

I laughed as I ran my fingers up and down her spine in a slow, idle line as I turned my head, kissing her forehead. These quiet moments were the best. I’d almost dozed off when she rolled suddenly, straddling my hips.

“Hey,” she said.

I liked where this was heading. I skimmed my hands over her waist. “Hey there.”

“So I’ve been doing some thinking.”

“Oh God.”

“Shut up.” She bent down, kissing me softly. “Actually, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. There’s something I want to do.”

“What?” I slid my hands down over her shorts, resting them on her thighs.

She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. “I want to go home.”

Was not expecting that, nor did I like that. “Like back to Texas?”

“Yes.”

“For how long?”

She placed her hands on my stomach and rocked back, pressing down on me. I tensed, eyes narrowing on her. I had a feeling that was totally on purpose.

“You’re not getting rid of me that easy,” she said. “For just a day or two.”

“Damn. There goes my master plan of spending the summer like a sex-crazed bachelor.”

Shortcake rolled her eyes.

“What do you want to do if you go back there?”

“I want to see my parents. I need to talk to them.”