Page 55 of All Bets are Off

Scooting closer to him, I lean my head against his. “I know you are.”

“Your hair’s damp,” West says, running his fingers through it. “You should dry it.”

“It’s okay. I—”

Suddenly, West stops my words with his mouth, kissing me softly at first and then more urgently. All the need I’ve been feeling these past few weeks comes to a head, and, wrapping my arms around him, I pull him as close as I can get him, reveling in the feel of his hard muscles bulging underneath my hands. When he pushes his hips against me, I realize something else is very hard, and I sigh into his mouth as I begin to grind my awakening cock against the soft cotton covering his erection.

Reaching between us, West takes out both our cocks and strokes them together, sending shivers racing down my spine. No longer able to concentrate enough to kiss properly, I give up and just breath through the pleasure.

“West,” I murmur.

“Love you,” he says, stubble rough against my cheek, speeding up the movement of his hands until we’re both panting and squirming and my fingers curl into his shoulder as I come in an intense rush.

“Fuck!” West cries out before burying his face in my neck as his body trembles through his climax.

Afterward, we lie lax in each other’s arms and I gently stroke my fingers down the soft skin of his back, over and over again until his breathing turns deep and regular. But it’s a long time before I can sleep.

****

I’ve just come back from a run on the beach to an unusually empty house, everyone either on assignment or out on an errand. My cell phone, which I left on the kitchen table, shows a missed call from Garden Oasis’s front desk. Fear that something has happened to my mother has me dialing with shaking fingers, then waiting tensely as I listen to it ring.

“Garden Oasis,” a cheery female voice answers.

“I have a missed call from this number. My name’s Logan Fields. My mother’s a resident there in room 408.”

“Oh, hi, Logan. This is Anna.”

West’s ex.

“Has something happened to my mom?” I ask, although I’m pretty sure my mother’s nurse would have called me if that was the case.

“No. Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I was calling to ask if you were coming to see your mother today. I’d like to talk to you. Without West.”

Ah.“Any particular reason?”

“I’ll explain it all when I see you. If you’ll come around twelve, that’s when I get my break, and we can talk over lunch.”

Glancing at my watch, I say, “I guess I can do that.”

“Great. See you then.”

I hurry upstairs to shower and change. When I come back down, I peer into the living room to see if anyone’s around. Andi’s on the couch, reading a book.

“Hey. I’m going to meet someone for lunch, in case anyone’s looking for me. I’ll be back soon,” I tell her.

“Sure,” she says, turning a page.

I pause. “You okay? I thought you were off today.”

Looking up from her book, her face clears. “Yeah, I am. Only Tara’s pissed at me. Evidently, when she asked if I thought she’s put on a few pounds, I was supposed to lie and say no.”

“Yeah, in that situation, a lie is definitely best. Flowers might help.” I wave and head out.

When I pull up to Garden Oasis twenty-five minutes later, Anna’s waiting for me on the paved walkway outside the building.

“Hi.” She slips into the passenger seat of the SUV. “I thought we could go to this Chinese place down the road, if that’s okay with you. I took the liberty of checking on your mom. The nurse said she’s taking a nap.”

“Thanks. I’ll visit her after we have lunch.”

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