Page 22 of The Season of Secrets

“Ummm…not usually. She lives in Europe.”

“Oh. Really? Like full-time?”

“Since I was about sixteen, yeah. I don’t think I’ve seen my mother on a holiday since my parents were married.” I chuckle. “It’s a complicated situation.”

“You’re not close?”

“Understatement of the century.” His hand reaches for mine and immediately I feel safe and like opening up this part of myself to Wes may not hurt as much as it usually does. “When you’re sixteen and your parents get divorced, you inevitably take sides. You may not mean to, but you typically gravitate towards one. Also, my mom was cheating on my dad, but that’s not really my business. I learned that through eavesdropping. The important thing to note here is my dad was always the parent I could count on. He was there, he was present, he always showed up even when they were married.” I sigh. “My mom ended up leaving my dad for the guy she was cheating on him with on Christmas Eve, and subsequently me and my brother because said guy didn’t have a whole lot of interest in being a stepfather.” I grimace. “This is the very short version, but yeah, Lucas and I were always so attached to our dad and this just didn’t make it easier for us to have a great relationship with our mom.”

Arms wrap around me and then I’m sitting in his lap. “I’m sorry, baby. That’s really tough. I’m so sorry you went through something like that and at such an important age.”

I shrug. “We got through it. The girl that lives next door, Avery? That’s Lucas’ best friend. But sometimes I got to borrow her and it was like I had a sister. Her and her mom would invite me sometimes when they did cute mother-daughter stuff and for a little while I could pretend I had one that cared.” I don’t say anything for a second and I remember I’m not talking to my therapist, or my best friend Natalie, or Lucas.

Fuck.

“Well, that got dark.” I swallow. “Sorry.” I had long stopped crying over my mommy issues so there weren’t tears but I feel awkward and want off of his lap likenow.I try to move when he grips me tighter and holds me against him. His hand reaches up behind my neck guiding my face to his, and then his lips are on mine, kissing me through my discomfort. I’m not into it at first but after a few swipes of his tongue against mine, I’ve changed my position so that I’m straddling him with my arms around his neck.

“I’m not sure why you’re apologizing,” he whispers against my lips before sliding his tongue against mine.

This man can kiss.Better than any guy I’ve ever kissed. He’s done everything better than any guy. The way he touches me and kisses me and fucks me.He made me squirt for God’s sake.A fact I’m not sure if I’m embarrassed about or not.

We are not embarrassed. Let him do it again!I practically hear my vagina scream at me.

I moan into his mouth as I continue to rock against him feeling my sex get slicker with every thrust against him. He pulls away, holding my face in his hands. “I’m sorry, I’m stopping. I’m seconds from fucking you on top of this bar and not only do I want you to finish eating, but I do have a little bit of work to do. Once we start, I know I’m not going to want to stop.”

“Oh! Of course.” I go to move off of him, and he holds me in place again.

“Give me an hour and then I’m all yours.”

“Wes, I know you’re busy. Don’t worry about me. I can entertain myself.” I wave him off because I meant it. I’m very familiar with a television and my cellphone. I’ll be fine.

He grabs my face. “One hour. Trust me, I want to be all yours.”

It isn’t until the next morning that I take Raegan home. I would have suggested she stay another day or even until we left for Miami a few days from now, but she said she needed to go home before her dad sent a search party. I’d heard the very watered-down version of her telling him she was staying at a friend’s house and even though I knew whyshe told him that, I hate the thought of being labeled as only her friend.

I’m pulling into her neighborhood, her hand encased in mine and my eyes flit to her legs that are still in my sweatpants. I’d given her the smallest pair I still had from a pile of clothes I’m planning to donate so she wouldn’t have to put on that tight skirt from the party. If it hadn’t been a blizzard and I wasn’t bringing her home today, I would have ordered some other clothes for her, but I’d be better prepared next time. I already contacted the woman who does my shopping that I needed some basic women’s clothing. It may not be exactly what she wants, but at least it would be something she’d feel comfortable in while she was at my house.Not that I minded seeing her in my clothes for two days.

“I had fun.” She looks at me and gives me a shy smile and I bring her hand to my mouth, to drag my lips over her knuckles.

“So did I.” I want to tell her I want to do it againand again.But maybe she only wanted to do this once?No, she made several comments alluding to this becoming a repeat occurrence.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she says as I pull into her driveway. Her house looks warm and inviting and is decorated for Christmas with lights and a reindeer display in her front yard. Her eyes flit to the front door. “God, I hope my dad isn’t at the window because I want to kiss you.” She unbuckles her seatbelt and leans across the console presenting her lips. I take them eagerly, kissing her like I’ll never see her again even though I know I’ll see her tomorrow.

That feels like a lifetime though.

I cup her face as I kiss her, sliding my hands into her hair and tugging gently and she moans. I learned quickly that she loves when I play with her hair and I’m always rewarded with the sexiest sounds in response. “Are you sure I can’t convince you to stay another night? You could go grab your clothes and come back with me.” I drag my lips away from her mouth to place a kiss on her forehead and then her nose.

She sighs and when her eyes flutter open, I think she’s considering it before her face changes and reality must set in. “And how would we explain showing up together tomorrow?” She raises an eyebrow at me and although we’d fucked three times this morning, I’m getting hard and I want heragain.

“I’ll bring you back in the morning for your car.”

“That’s silly.” She presses another kiss to my lips and reaches for my door handle. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Say something. Anything that lets her know this isn’t just sex. Tell her you want more than sex. NOW?

“I’ll call you later,” I blurt out.

Her head turns towards me and she gives me another one of those shy smiles. “Okay.” She nods and gives me a final wave before she moves slowly towards her garage door and then she’s gone.

---