Page 35 of All the Promises We Break

I watch as he pours a fifth of the glass full before handing it to me. I don’t even ask for a cheers; I suck it back like it’s water. I hold the back of my hand over my mouth as the liquid burns its way into my stomach. I kind of like and hate the feeling at the same time.

“That had to hurt,” he says.

“I want to try a date or two,” I blurt out before I lose my nerve. “If it doesn’t work out then at least we know we gave it a chance. I don’t want a what-if in my life. I don’t do them.”

“My work world is based on gut instinct. Everything about this is screaming at me in polar opposites. But the center of it is, I’ll kick my own ass if I don’t try. Hayley, come here.”

He stands there with his hands reaching out. After setting the tumbler on the table behind me, I rush into his arms. He folds me in and holds me close. His hand covers the back of my head, anchoring me to his body. His other arm wraps at my waist. His fingers connect with my hip and hold me there.

My hands tug at his shirt between us. His cologne is the right combination of musk and spice. I love everything about it. “Hayles, if we’re going to do this, I don’t want sex to be an issue between us. I don’t want to confuse you, or me for that matter, by sleeping with you. Then if it doesn’t work out, it’s ten times messier. I won’t hurt you like that.”

“Does that mean we can’t do other stuff?”

“Other stuff? That leaves a hell of a lot of real estate.”

I kiss his neck softly then move to his ear. “I like kissing. I like it when you touch me in all kinds of ways. I didn’t know I could feel like that just from kissing.”

“Then the boys you’ve dated weren’t doing it right. Are you saying you almost…? When?”

“I grabbed your belt loops and pulled them in. You hit me just right. If we’d gone on much longer, you would have seen a whole other side of me.”

Wes sighs and closes his eyes. “That is the sexiest and the scariest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Can we test the theory? I’d like to see if I can.”

“Right now?” He smiles a bit. “Well, we do have about fifty-three minutes left in the hour before dinner. God have mercy on my soul,” he growls, as he lifts my leg around his hip. Bothof my feet leave the ground as our bodies scissor together. He presses my body against the wall. His lips pressure my surprise into complete submission. Wes clamps my hand to his hip as he rolls into me.

He wants to see if he can. He wants to know if I can. I do too.

I hook my fingers inside the belt loops and pull harder than I did the night against the tree. He groans so long it vibrates inside my body. God I want him to make that noise again. I tug even harder. My body slips down, and I ride right over him.

Holy shit.

His lips are savage against mine. His hands hold my face as they shake. If I roll, he rolls back. It’s an all-out war that our bodies are losing. I grind against him in just the way I need. His kiss is working overtime to pull me into submission.

He won’t have far to go.

“Wes… hold me up,” I beg.

He grabs under my thighs and wraps my legs at his waist. I lock my ankles behind his back, vowing to myself I’ll never let go. Wes slides his hands up my rib cage, forcing my arms high over my head. He holds my wrists with one hand while the other returns around my waist.

His tongue worships my mouth. His cock is, from its hiding spot, ready to achieve the endgame. I can feel the tingle start at my toes and begin to radiate up. He doesn’t know my signs. Can he feel them?

That question is answered in how he kisses me. Slow and methodical has now become erratic and passionate. I can’t stop the feeling. Its peak is soft but mighty. My breath shakes against his lips. That nervous sick feeling is gone. It’s replaced by something warmer.

“God… Hayley,” he breathes, as he walks me over to lay me gently on his couch. “Stay here. Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

Wes slowly disappears through his foyer and down the hall toward his bedroom. The breeze from the open balcony door washes over my body as I stretch a little. Another shock wave runs through me as I do. Just as a test for myself, I reach down and touch where his body once was.

I know by doing that, if I wanted to or needed to, I could simply touch out another orgasm with zero trouble. To be honest, that’s the only trouble we don’t have. I close my eyes and breathe. The control I clearly lack needs to be found.

After a couple of minutes, Wes reappears. His jeans have been replaced by an amazingly sexy pair of gray joggers. He crouches down at my side, brushing the hair gently away from my face. “Are we good?”

“I’m good. Are you?”

“Now, yes. A few minutes ago not so much. You wanted words so here’s a few for you. I had to finish what we started because if I didn’t, I would have had to break the promise I made to you.”

“Wait. You mean you had to… wow.”

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