Page 23 of The Bookbinder's Guide to Love

This was Sera. A woman who should hate him. A woman who achieved something that was lost to him—with this town, with his grandfather. A woman he should have been jealous of, who should have made him frustrated with her ability to do what he hadn’t been able to. But instead he shut down his mind and just let himself feel—her pussy around his cock as he continued driving into her, until she tightened on him and tore her mouth from his, crying out.

“Now.”

He drove into her harder and faster, feeling every nerve ending in his body reaching for orgasm. Her moans echoing through the silence of the hall, driving him closer to the edge. And then she bit his lower lip and he came. He thrust into her until he was empty.

Bracing himself against the wall, he held her and then turned and slid slowly down to the floor, still cradling her. She rested her forehead on his shoulder and didn’t say anything.

He tried to keep his mind still. For once it was easier than expected. Just sitting on the floor in her lavender-scented hallway near her felt like enough.Hefelt like enough.

Wes knew the feeling wouldn’t last. It rarely did. But for this moment there was no past where he was the reason why his father was broke, no present where he’d let spite keep him from saying goodbye to his grandpa. No future...

Well, two out of three wasn’t bad.

He felt her tense as if she was going to get up. “Stay. Just for another minute.”

She nodded against him. He looked down at her and realized he hadn’t touched her hair when he’d kissed her. He stroked his hand over it. It was softer than he’d imagined it would be.

Six

That was exactly what she’d needed and also something she hadn’t expected. Sera wasn’t going to do a debrief in her head while he was in her hallway and half-naked under her. She had to get up, but they were on the floor and she wasn’t graceful.

This was precisely why she always had a plan before she acted. Now she had to try to climb off him and walk away with a semblance of control. Except she felt her thighs rubbing together as she shifted around. She loved her healthy body, but she had no clue how he felt about cellulite.

Not that it mattered.

He’d been a lay to get her mind off her loss, so she wasn’t alone. That was it. He might still work for her. Or tomorrow she might just say no and send him on his way.

“Thank you.”

She turned her head and saw that his eyes looked wet, like he’d been crying.

He might have needed a release too.

God, this man. He stirred emotions she wasn’t—couldn’t be—interested in. Emotions she was safer without. So she fell back on being sassy, which was her default when people like Wes threatened her heart. People who were only in her life temporarily. She wasn’t even sure he wasn’t just staying because of what she could do for him. “Sure.”

He gave her a weak smile and then shook his head.

“I don’t know how to act around you.”

“I don’t know how to act around you either,” she said. “I’m also not sure how to get up off your lap and not have it turn into a comedy routine.”

He shifted out from under her and stood up, tucking his penis back into his pants and offering her his hand. Something fluttered in her stomach and she realized how endearing she found the realness of Wes in this moment.

Once she was standing next to him, she didn’t know what to do. Getting dressed seemed the first order of business. But also, what to do with him? The hallway was only faintly lit from the table lamp she’d left on in the living room.

“You can wash up in the powder room. I’m going to use the master bath,” she said, walking away from him.

It had been a long time since she’d brought a man home. This was an old behavior she’d hoped she’d moved past. Hooking up when she felt lonely. And it was ridiculous that she felt lonely now. The shop was doing well. Her friendship with Liberty and Poppy was stronger than ever. Her own self-worth felt like it was taking shape. But clearly something was still not there.

Accepting that she was never going to be perfect no matter how much therapy and growth she had. There were always times when her past came back to challenge her, and she just had to keep pushing forward.

She washed between her legs before pulling on a pair of leggings and a sweater that said I Read and Drink Wine and went back out to the hallway. She heard the toilet flush and then waited for Wes.

He came out and leaned against the doorjamb, watching her with those eyes of his that always seemed guarded.

“So I should go, right?”

She shrugged. Clearly, she didn’t want him to leave or she would have just said yes. What the hell was going on with her? Why was this man messing with her in ways she really didn’t understand?

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