“Oh god, don’t stop,” she begs, her pussy fluttering around me. “Ryan, please—”
“I had a whole plan,” I pant. “Tess—god—I had a whole fucking speech. One look at you, and it all went outta my head. I can’t think—can’t fucking breathe ‘til I come inside you—”
“Give me the CliffsNotes version,” she says, her lips against mine.
“You’re my home,” I say, hands shaking as I feel my orgasm building. “You’re all I want. You make me so fucking happy.”
“Ahh—” Her pussy clenches me tighter as she drops one hand from my shoulder, slipping it between us to tease her clit. “Fuck,” she screams, head tipping back as she comes.
The walls of her pussy squeeze me like a vise, and we both cry out, our bodies falling together as I lose all sense of rhythm. I’m wrapped around her and in her, my face buried at her neck, as I release. I spill into her, filling her with my cum.
We stay like that, clinging to each other, her ass perched on the edge of the kitchen counter. After a few moments, we loosen our hold on each other. I lean away, keeping my dick inside her as I cup her cheek and sprinkle her face with kisses. “I love you. Love the way you make me feel.”
She lets out a deep, shaky breath, and I feel her relax around me. Then she’s blinking up at me, the haze of her orgasm lifting as she comes to her senses. She gives me a little push, and I pull out, the warmth of our releases pooling between her legs and on the counter.
With a whimper, she reaches between her thighs, swiping her fingers through our release. Her green eyes are molten as she lifts her fingers to my lips. “Taste.”
I suck her fingers into my mouth, groaning at our taste on my tongue. It reminds me of another moment, only a few short months ago, that I had her finger in my mouth.
“Better than frosting?” she teases, reading my damn mind.
I nod, letting her fingers go. And because I can’t help myself, I do the same, swiping two fingers from pussy to clit, bringing it to her parted lips. She doesn’t hesitate, pulling my fingers into her mouth and teasing them with her tongue as she licks them clean. She lets them go with a pop, and then she’s slipping off the counter, ducking down to pull up her panties.
The haze of our joining dissipates, and I find myself standing in the middle of this empty kitchen with my dick wet, my pants around my ankles. The back doors are wide open. With a laugh, I duck down and pull up my pants, tucking myself away.
Fuck, this woman is trouble.
She steps around the island and walks back into the empty living room. “Why did you want me to meet you here?”
“What do you think?” I reply, gesturing around.
She glances from the kitchen to the whitewashed stone fireplace to the large, outdoor deck leading out to the beach. “It’s cute. What is it, two bedrooms?”
“Three,” I say. “Though the third bedroom is pretty small. The whole place is small, really. It’s just a bungalow. But it’s a new build, and it’s right on the water.”
She spins around, her face framed with curly red tendrils. “It’s supercute. Are you thinking of renting it?”
“I bought it.”
She gasps. “What?”
“Tess, I bought this house. My contracts are all approved. The Nike deal, the new deal with Bauer, my contract extension with the Rays. You’re looking at a guy with a twenty-million-dollar four-year contract and a four-mil signing bonus,” I say, unable to avoid puffing out my chest a bit.
“Four?” she says, eyes wide. “I thought it was three.”
“MK negotiated,” I say with a grin.
“Oh—Ryan, that’s amazing,” she cries, coming around the island to wrap her arms around me.
I let her hug me, taking another shameless hit off her scent. She’s all floral and coconutty. I want that scent bottled. I’ll wash all my sheets and clothes with it. I want to drown in her. But I know a Tess-scented detergent isn’t enough. I want her. I want everything.
She lets me go, spinning around again. “When do you move in?”
“Whenever I want,” I reply. “It’s ready now. Seller was motivated, and so was I.”
She smiles. “I’m really happy for you,” she says again. “How does it feel?”
I glance around and shrug, slipping my hands in the pockets of my jeans. “Like it’s a house.”
“And they told me all you hockey boys lack common sense,” she teases.
I just smile, watching her fill up this empty space with her light. “It’s not a home, Tess.”
“Well, not yet. But you gotta give it a fighting chance. At least put down a rug. Maybe a couch here,” she says, pointing to a spot on the floor. “Plug in your Nintendo, toss a few boxes of Kraft mac and cheese in the pantry, and you’ve got yourself a Casa de Ryan.”
“That won’t make it my home,” I reply solemnly.
She turns around, slower this time. “Curtains, then? Maybe something blue. And a dish of seashells. Apparently, no Florida home is complete without a decorative dish with some shells. Oooh, can that be my housewarming gift to you?”
“It’s not my home, Tess,” I say again.
I can almost see the relief on her face as she lets out a little breath. “Oh, is it like a rental, then? Diversifying your assets?”
“No, I’m gonna live here. This is my house. I’m gonna decorate it top to bottom. I’ll work out on my patio in the mornings, do beach walks at night. And yes, I’ll make my mac and cheese on the stove and play Mario Kart when I’m bored. But none of that will make this my home. Only one thing can do that.”
She goes still, her chest rising and falling as she eyes me warily. “What are you doing?” she finally asks, unable to play dumb a second longer.
“Not proposing,” I reply.
The breath she’s holding leaves her in a puff through parted lips. “Ohmygod, you were scaring the shit outta me,” she says, her hand covering her chest as she takes a deep breath. “Ryan, you said no marriage. You said you don’t believe in it—”
“And you said no man will cage you,” I counter. “You said you’ll never be someone’s wife again. So, I didn’t know how to fucking do this without making it seem like I’m proposing to you when I’m not. ‘Cause neither of us want that…right?”
She blinks at me, tears in her eyes, saying nothing.
And now my heart has fucking stopped. “Oh…fuck.”
She steps forward, one hand reaching out to me, whether to pull me closer or push me away, I have no fucking idea. “Ryan—”
“Tess, what the fuck are you doing to me,” I cry, dragging both hands through my hair.
“Nothing!”
“You can’t stand in the house I bought for you, wearing my cum between your legs, looking at me like that when I ask if you want to get married. I’m gonna freak the fuck out!”
She gasps. “You—what? Ryan, tell me you did not buy me this house!”
“Of course, I bought you a house,” I shout, gesturing around. “I gave up my death trap apartment weeks ago. And you said you couldn’t keep staying in Ilmari’s house after all the peeping Tom bullshit. I wanted a place where we could both start fresh. New chapter, right?”
Tears sting her eyes as she shakes her head.
“Don’t do that,” I say, my head mirroring her shake. “Don’t close off. Talk to me. Get it out.”
“I’m scared,” she admits. “This is all moving so fast. Ryan, I’m scared of what I feel for you. I have never loved another person the way I love you. Not as a friend, not as a lover. Not ever—”
“I feel the same way,” I say, stepping closer, my hands brushing down her arms. “Tess, I know I teased you and said I don’t believe in soulmates and love at first sight and all that stuff. And I’m still not sure I do,” I admit, taking her hands in mine. “I’m a rational guy, Tess. I like evidence. I like knowing a thing is real because I see it and feel it. But now, I’m beginning to think I didn’t believe in soulmates because I hadn’t met mine yet. How can you see and feel what it is for your soul to mate with another’s until you find that person meant to be yours?”