Page 109 of Quiet Beautiful Things

He squeezes my waist. “Did you see the bedroom at the top of the stairs?” he asks.

“Mike had a sister,” I sign. “And she loves pink as much as Maisy.”

The bedroom is just one more sign on a long list of signs that makes this the perfect place for them.

“If you don’t buy this house, you are crazy,” I sign.

“I don’t know. I think I need more time to decide. Wait here.”

He goes into the kitchen where Dennis is typing away on his phone, giving us space. They have a conversation and then Dennis waves at me and walks out the front door.

My brows sling low, curiosity getting the better of me.

“I suggested he go to Donovan’s for a cup of coffee while we stay here and think about it.” He pulls me close, wraps me in his arms and kisses me.

“What are you doing?” I sign.

“You remember what I said you’d get if you looked at houses with me? If I’m going to buy it, we might as well - - - it.”

I shake my head, not having understood.

“Christen,” he fingerspells. Then he does the sign for sex.

Butterflies dance in my stomach and my heart begins thrumming wildly. I glance around the empty house. “Here? Now?”

Before he can answer, his shirt is off. Then his shoes. Then his pants and boxer briefs. And as promised, he’s standing gloriously naked in front of me. All six-feet-two of him.

I’m a guarded person. I rarely take the bull by the horns. Except when it comes to him apparently, because my entire body is humming in anticipation. Because he’s got good…horn.

His penis hardens as he stares at me, and my mouth waters as if it’s a juicy steak. Without breaking eye contact, I unbutton my blouse and unclasp my bra, letting both flutter to the floor. I expect him to look at my breasts, but he doesn’t. His eyes don’t stray from mine. Not even when I toe off my shoes and then slip off my jeans and underwear.

We’re both naked, two feet of nothing between us. His gaze is intense as he continues to stare at me. It’s as if the two of us have adopted a third language, one that has us speaking only with our eyes. And what his eyes are saying both scares and excites me. I melt under his perusal. Heat flushes my center. Tingles work up and down my spine.

He steps forward, closing the gap between us, and presses his body to mine until we’re nothing but skin on skin. His penis throbs against my stomach, as hungry and demanding as his lips when they capture mine.

I spring myself up and into his arms and he holds me tightly, his hands under my butt. He groans something into my mouth. I think it was words. I lean back and focus on his lips, but all he does is shake his head, almost like he said something I wasn’t meant to hear. I try not to let it bother me, and I get over it quickly when he lowers us onto the living room carpet and takes one of my breasts in his mouth.

Oh my God. I can’t believe we’re doing this here. What if Dennis comes back? What if another person comes to see the house?

When two fingers sink inside me, I decide I don’t care. And when his tongue finds my clit, I come instantly, amused at just how quickly it happened.

Blake laughs as he climbs my body. “Someone likes… danger.” He doesn’t know the sign for danger, so I show him.

Then I crane my neck toward the front door. “Better not push our luck.”

He reaches for his pants and gets a condom from his wallet. “I’ll be quick then. Not as quick as you.” He chuckles again.

I tug on his penis a few times, then guide him inside me, savoring the feeling I’ve been missing every night when I go to bed and dream of him. I’ve never dreamed of a man like I do Blake. When I wake up, though, reality always hits me.

Beth keeps telling me men can change. But she doesn’t get it. None of them do. I know exactly what this is, and I’ve resigned myself to enjoying it as long as it lasts. The fact that I love him is an inconsequential detail. An unfortunate realization I’ll have to deal with.

I couldn’t help it. I’m not even sure exactly when it happened. Maybe the first time I saw him, even though I denied it for so long. But you can’t help your feelings. You can’t choose who you fall in love with. And I’m in love with him—a man I know I can never be with in the long run.

But I have this. Today. Now. And maybe tomorrow too. And I’ll enjoy him. His smile. His body. His daughter, for at least another day.

His thrusts become more forceful, keeping up a punishing rhythm that tickles the very spot that has me moaning with pleasure once more. Maybe he’s right. Maybe the thought of being caught has heightened my senses. Because my insides coil and burn with another impending climax, this time without him even pinching a nipple or touching my clit. My hips buck as I explode with a violent orgasm as he grunts into my shoulder, shuddering with his own release.

He rolls off me and stares at the ceiling, his chest rising and falling quickly with each breath. He removes the condom and sets it aside, but he didn’t tie it, so it leaks. I point to the glob on the newly cleaned carpet.

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