Page 13 of All It Takes

I was ready, so fucking ready. I teased my fingers around my clit, and my climax came abruptly. I shuddered with one hand buried between my thighs and the other clenching the sheets as tremors rippled through my body.

ChapterEleven

WES

My house was small, and I’d never been so acutely aware of just how small it was as I listened to Tiffany. I was sleeping on the couch in the living room. I’d been restless for hours.

Fuck me. That kiss had made me almost lose my fucking mind. Listening to her whimper and moan followed by the sound of her release nearly pushed me beyond my limits. I knew she had no idea I could hear her.

Meanwhile, my cock was the equivalent of a tire rod in my briefs. I kicked off the blanket and strode into the bathroom. Moments later, I found my own release in the shower, my head hanging in relief that at least the tension was gone. My hand was a poor substitute for what I knew it would be like with Tiffany, but I had to get some sleep.

The following morning, snow blanketed the ground. Ross was thrilled to take Nilla outside to play. I was standing by the living room windows, a mug of coffee in hand, as I watched them cavort. My mom tended to view most events through a spiritual lens. She had already said she thought Nilla came to me because Ross needed her. She was right on that score. Pondering how Ross might be doing without Nilla was almost painful to contemplate.

Ross was kicking snow up in the air while Nilla leaped into the falling snow and watched while he attempted to make a few snowballs. The dry and fluffy snow didn’t make the best snowballs, but Nilla didn’t care. She was a dog and had a little boy fully focused on her. My heart squeezed tight.

At the sound of motion, I turned to see Tiffany coming out of the bathroom. Her cheeks were flushed pink, and her hair was damp from her shower. I ignored the flare of heat rising inside.

“Good morning,” I said. “Coffee’s ready.”

She looked at me from across the room, and the flush on her cheeks deepened. Every cell in my body fired in reaction.

“Good morning,” she replied huskily.

We stood there staring at each other, probably for too long. Whether or not we ever admitted it to each other, I was pretty sure she knew I had found my release in the shower last night while I was aware she’d found hers in my bed.

I cleared my throat. “If you’re hungry, I can make some scrambled eggs.”

She studied me for another moment before her lips kicked up just a tiny bit. “That would be nice.”

We ended up having what ranked as the most domestic morning of my adult life. I made scrambled eggs while Ross sat at the table with Nilla lying by his feet. The three of us ate together, and Tiffany helped clean up.

She left after that. Even though I wanted to kiss her again, I didn’t.

Afterward, I looked over at Ross, wondering what to do. Blessedly, despite the gaping loss he’d just experienced, he seemed mostly okay. I had enough sense to know his well-being was shaky at best, though.

“You don’t have to worry about entertaining me. I can play outside with Nilla or…” His eyes twinkled. “We can play video games.”

I burst out laughing. “We could do both.”

And we did. All the while, I wondered when I would see Tiffany again.

ChapterTwelve

TIFFANY

Iloveda list. I used lists for everything. The following day, I sat down and wrote one.

Don’t kiss Wes again.

Don’t think about kissing Wes again.

Definitely don’t think about what else you could do with Wes.

I folded the piece of paper and put it in my office desk drawer.

“Hey, you got a sec?” Alice called from down the hall.

“I always have time for you,” I said as I stood from the desk, walking briskly down the hallway. When I peered into the exam room where she was, Alice was holding a corgi and cast me a rueful glance.

---