In that moment, I felt a peace, a stillness in me I’d never experienced with another woman before. It was fucking intoxicating. Addictive. Aubrey is my fix, and I want more and more of her.
I also want to fuck her so badly I can barely stand it.
I make my way out of the wooded area and back on the sidewalk toward my apartment above the bar. Just another mile to go until I hit home. Shower and get my shit together for work tonight. My whole body is drenched in sweat at this point.
Jax’s comment about the police nudges its way back to the forefront of my mind. Fuck. We have to do something about it. If we can get the bar to pull in more money, maybe we can prove why we deserve to remain here and we’ll be in a stronger position to not let them fuck with us.
I need ideas. Fast.
I cross the street and make it to my neighborhood. Kids are playing on small grassy lots in front of their homes, jumping in sprinklers, throwing balls, screaming and acting like little shits. I feel a grin lighting my face despite my troubles when I see a small boy tugging the hair of a small girl, and she hauls off and hits him on the ear.
When I turn the corner and make it to the sidewalk leading to my entrance, I find myself slowing in surprise. Aubrey’s sitting on my stoop, a plastic bag in her lap. I suck in several breaths and try to get my heart to slow down.
The pounding of blood in my veins isn’t just because of me running.
Aubrey’s wearing nursing scrubs. She’s either home from work or on her way to it. She stands when she sees me, a shy smile on her face, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and putting the bag on the stoop. “Hi,” she says as I near her.
I don’t say a word in response. I cup her face and tug her mouth to mine. All I want right now is to fucking taste her mouth. I need it so badly that the ache is a throb in my entire body. I need to sink into her, escape from everything, let her drift me away from the stresses of my life.
Aubrey gasps and opens her mouth to me without hesitation, and I slant my mouth over hers and glide my tongue on hers. She tastes like mint and warmth, that flavor that’s uniquely her. I thread my fingers in her hair, careful not to press my throbbing body and quickly rising cock against her clean uniform. But oh, I want to mess her up, make her leave her disheveled, feeling thoroughly owned.
Why the hell have I been holding back from her?
As I kiss her, I realize I have no idea. Can’t remember a single fucking good reason for it.
Aubrey whimpers, which makes my blood boil. I plunge deeper, possess her mouth, and she buries her fingers in my hair and kisses me in earnest. I can feel her shaking a little with her desire, which ignites my own hunger. My cock is so hard I’m sure everyone could see it. And I have zero fucks to give about it.
My woman, something in my head growls. I run my hand down to her side and squeeze. I am feeling animalistic, primal, and I need her so much right now.
Aubrey pulls back with a wide, open smile, panting. Her lips are swollen, her hair mussed, and I suppress the urge to gloat that I made her look this way. “Wow, that was the best greeting I’ve ever had in my life.”
“I want you so badly right now,” I tell her. My entire body is on fire for her. I want her hands and mouth everywhere.
Aubrey’s eyes darken and her chest rises and falls with her shallow breaths. “God, I…” Her lips part and she swallows. “I told myself I wasn’t going to, uh, that we could just… We’d be nothing more than…” Her cheeks burn a delicate pink and she presses her lips together and looks away.
Fuck. I know what she’s driving at. She’s hurt by how I slipped away from her that day. I want to kick myself again for hurting her feelings. Yet despite her embarrassment, she’s still been going out with me.
This woman is going to be my downfall. I know it right now as surely as I know my name. “I shouldn’t have left like that,” I tell her. “It was a shit move, and it hurt you.” I cup her chin and tilt her face to look at me. The vulnerability in her eyes, tinged with fear, makes a swell of protectiveness rise in my chest. “I won’t do that again, I promise.”
“I’m just…scared. I really like you.”
The soft admission makes my heart skip. I swallow back the response and make myself say with a cocked brow, “Do you like me like me?”
That gets the laugh I was hoping for. Her eyes are light again, and she punches me on the arm. “You’re rotten.” With that, Aubrey spins around and grabs the bag that’s on the stoop. “I, uh, just swung by before going to work to bring you food. I know you said before that Thursdays are crazy for you, and I wanted to make sure you had something to eat. I went to Aunt Sylvia’s diner and she told me what your favorite meal is.” Aubrey thrusts the bag in my hand. “One cheeseburger, extra cheese, mayo, ketchup, no mustard or pickles. And fries.”
I go still, just staring at her.