Page 54 of About Time

I wince. “Bad example. Most people don’t even marry their high school sweetheart, let alone have them turn into a rancid skank who runs off to be a lot lizard.”

“She isn’t a truck stop hooker. I think she is a sugar baby, though. At least I know that she ran off with some old dude who wanted a young piece of ass on his arm when he jetted off around the world. I guess my experience isn’t normal, but Liam is turning out to be more Melinda’s son than mine, even though he hasn’t seen her since he was two.”

I pop open my own bag and start tossing trash in. “Well, if that’s true, then they really won’t last. Eventually, he’ll get restless and need to explore just like his mother.”

Griffin grunts, which means he’s done with this conversation. “Let’s kick out the people who haven’t gotten the memo that they’ve overstayed their welcome.”

I’ve almost given up hope that Hattie is actually going to show up when there’s a light tap against my door.

When I open the door, I find her starting to turn around. “Leaving already? You haven’t even made it inside yet.”

“I’m not sure I should come inside. I’ve been trying to talk myself out of coming here for the last couple of hours,” Hattie admits.

“What finally convinced you to come?”

“Wren left with Liam and that bossy friend of hers, I think her name is Audrey. Everywhere I turned in the house, it was like I was being followed by the ghost of my sister. I walked into the kitchen, and I could see the memories layered on top of each other. Elisa and I in a food fight when she helped me make brownies for a middle school bake sale, she and I sitting at the table gossiping about boys, the house was filled with her. And then there’s the fact that I can still smell her in there. It’s just too much. I was jealous that Wren got to escape, and I was trapped inside with the ghosts. Then I remembered you gave me a way to shut it all off.”

I open the door wider and step back. There’s no way she’s forgotten the rules. This time, I won’t either. I care about Hattie. Hell, I fucking love her, but I won’t let that shit slip through the cracks this time.

She comes in, and I close the door behind her. I circle around her, taking in the long lines of her body. There have been some changes since I last saw her six years ago. It would be strange for there not to be. She has more of a tan, and her muscles are lean and defined. I trace the one that runs down the side of her arm, and she looks over her shoulder at me.

“I go surfing on my days off,” she answers the question I didn’t speak out loud.

I already knew she’d gone back to Florida when she left here. It took a few months before someone let it slip, but then they didn’t know she probably didn’t want me to have that information.

“Are you sure you want this? I won’t hold it against you if you back out?” She won’t be able to say I didn’t give her every chance to walk away.

I want her desperate for my cock, not with me because she’s just desperate for an escape, but we’ll get there.

Hattie sinks to her knees and looks down at the floor. “I’m sure, Sir.”

Hearing her call me sir once again sends all the blood in my body racing to fill my dick. I’m forced to grip myself through my jeans and squeeze so I don’t come like a horny teenager who’s never seen a naked girl before. Only this would be worse because she’s fully clothed.

As much as I like to play with her like this, I need to taste all of her, starting with the smart mouth I’ve been without for six long years. I know all of this is my fault, but that doesn’t diminish the longing.

I reach my hand out to her, and she takes it without question. I pull her to her feet, fist my hand in her hair, and take her mouth in an aggressive kiss. She always matched me in intensity, and that hasn’t changed.

This kiss will be burned in my head for the rest of my days. I may even suffocate and die, but pulling away from the sweetness of her mouth even to pull in much-needed oxygen is unthinkable. Her lips fit against mine and move as if we’ve worked to choreograph this. My tongue plunges into her mouth, and it’s almost more like a battle than a kiss. There’s a lot of frustration and hurt between the two of us.

Under different circumstances, nothing could have pulled me away from her. The ache I have for her pounds in my chest like a second heartbeat. It’s a familiar pain now, and I think having her here right now almost makes it worse. There’s no doubt the pain is going to be crippling when we inevitably part ways again.

We’re both breathing heavily when we finally break the kiss. I let my lips trail along her jaw until I get to her ear. I have nothing preplanned, but there is an idea that refuses to go away. “I want to bind you to my bed, stretch you out, and use you however I want all night long,” I whisper.

I can feel her tremble in my arms. “Yes, Sir,” she agrees.

It isn’t just that I want her to give me complete power over her body, I really don’t want her to slip out in the middle of the night. If we don’t meet up like this again while she’s here, I want to make sure I get to kiss her goodbye this time.

I bring her into my room and take out the leather cuffs from my nightstand. Normally I’d demand her to undress and watch as each layer unveiled her beautiful body. This time, I want a more hands-on approach, and I undress her myself. She’s still wearing her black dress from earlier, I unzip the back and let it pool around her feet.

“Step out,” I tell her.

When she kicks the dress aside, I let my eyes slide up her body and nearly begin to drool. She stands before me in black lace lingerie and patent leather black heels. It makes her tan stand out and gives a tease at the parts of her that are covered.

Her shoulders roll back, and her chin tips up. There's a confidence in her that she didn't have when we were together. I love every version of her, but this confident one is sexy as fuck. I move behind her and lightly brush my fingers across the tops of her shoulders, sliding her bra straps down her arms along with my fingers.

Brushing her hair over her shoulder, I kiss the center of her neck, then the base, and below her shoulders. I unbuckle her bra and let it fall the rest of the way down her arms to the floor; then I kiss the spot the fastener covered.

Slowly, I work my way down her spine until I get to the top of her panties. They go with the rest of her clothes until she’s gloriously nude.

---