Page 103 of Any Second Now
“So was I.”
“Never.” Atticus slides a hand along my jaw, onto my neck, and into my hair.
I let myself smile.
“You really used the ‘she’s my girlfriend’ line on my ex-husband, didn’t you?” I was pissed at the time but my heart still leaped when he said the words.
“Shit. Yeah. But you didn’t seem to think it was funny at the time.” Atticus’s brow furrows. “I was so fucking jealous.”
“Of what?” I run my hands up Atticus’s chest and link them around the back of his neck.
“He had you for a long time. He married you.”
“And I divorced him.”
Atticus grunts and pulls my body against his.
“Let’s go inside.”
I nod and let him take my hand and lead me into his apartment. Instead of bringing me to his bedroom, he takes us to his couch in the family room.
“I’m going to pour us wine,” he says and heads to the kitchen.
“It looks good in here.” The mess is cleaned up and almost all traces of the construction gone.
It’s only the end of July, but it feels like the summer is wrapping up. Things are being finished off. His offseason is winding down. I’m getting ready to go back to Connecticut.
Things are ending.
“Want to talk about it?” Atticus returns to the couch and sinks down, handing me a wine glass.
I take a sip and consider. Do I want to discuss things with Atticus? I can’t possibly explain or justify my relationship with Jacob. Why we stay in touch, why I send him money, and why I feel some kind of guilty loyalty to him. Atticus wouldn’t understand.
I was so fucking jealous,he said just now.
I’m afraid to ask what he even means by that. It doesn’t matter anyway.
I sip my wine and slide the glass onto the coffee table, then lean my head in the nook of Atticus’s arm and close my eyes.
“I don’t want to.” I breathe in and out of my nose, appreciating the scent of Atticus. I run my hand up his thigh, muscles thick and taut under his long athletic shorts. His breathing quickens as my hand gets higher and I turn my face up to him, wanting to taste his kiss.
He doesn’t deny me.
I don’t know exactly why I came here tonight, but it wasn’t to talk. It was to feel something, and being in Atticus’s arms is a safe space for me to feel all the things.
We kiss softly until I swipe my tongue along his bottom lip, and when he makes a sound in his throat that resembles a growl, the ache between my legs intensifies. I move the hand on his thigh up to the hard length of him, rubbing up and down slowly over his clothing.
“I love when you put your hands on me, Raleigh,” Atticus says between quickening breaths. He lifts his hips to meet my hand, increasing the pressure. I love having this kind of controlover him. I love how much he wants me. I love how much I want him.
That’s a lot of loves.
I slide off the couch onto my knees and slip between his legs. His eyes darken as he understands.
“I want to take you in my mouth,” I say. It’s not the first time I’ve done it with him. It’s a huge turn-on to watch him lose control over my touch. My mouth.
And right now, all I want is him. His body. I don’t want to feel anything in my heart. I want to feel it in the rest of my body.
“Raleigh,” he says as I tug down his shorts and boxer briefs to free his cock. His dick springs up in front of my face and oh my god, it’s gorgeous. Terrifying, but gorgeous. All thick and veiny and fucking throbbing. I wrap my hand around the base and run it up to the tip, where a drop of precum is resting. I lean over and lick it, swirling my tongue around his head.
