Chaser (Dive Bar #3)(78)

I tried to say something appreciative. But nothing came out.

Over the last thirty years, I’d been to bed with a lot of women. But nothing came close to Jean. The way she rode me hard, digging her knees into the mattress beside me, giving me everything. Fingernails dug into my pecs, her gaze boring into mine. She whispered my name, rising and falling onto me again and again. My hands grabbed her hips, guiding her, not that she needed it. Jean had it all under control, including me.

Happily, sucking me seemed to have gotten her good and hot. Because the chances of me holding out for long were nil to none. My sexual prowess was shot to shit. Just when her body started tensing around me, her back bowed, pushing out her spectacular tits, and I came. My body emptyed, every emotion and sensation going into overload. Electricity filled my body, the current short-circuiting my head. I went into free fall and so did she, collapsing against my chest.

When I came to, the perfect, familiar scent of our sex and sweat filled the room. I dragged up a blanket, covering her before she could start to cool. My arms went around her, holding on tight.

“Nice.” She panted, her breathing slowly evening out. “I missed you last night.”

Huh. And she’d left the towel on the door. I stared at the ceiling, trying to figure it all out and not really getting far. Brief seemed best. “Missed you too.”

“We went to sleep early for a change, but when I woke up later…” Her lips pressed against my chest. Then out of seemingly nowhere, she said, “What if you had a key? Would that be weird?”

“You want to give me a key to your place?”

She shrugged. “It would make things easier.”

“Yeah, it would. If you want me sleeping here.”

“You might as well.”

“Well that sounds inviting,” I said with a smile.

“Eric, you know what I mean.” She shifted. “I like you being here.”

“And you want me here every night or what?”

After a second’s hesitation, she nodded. “I feel better when you’re here. And it’ll make finding the time for the sex stuff easier, right?”

“Right,” I drawled.

“It’s not a big deal,” she said, a touch defensively.

I said nothing.

“I’ll, um, grab you one of the spares before you go.”

From across the hall, Ada let loose one of her “I’m awake” war cries. Effectively cutting off any further discussion about our apparently new living situation. Never in the history of time had I accepted a key from a woman. A few had suggested it, but I’d always declined. It was another step on the commitment ladder and I generally liked keeping my feet on the ground.

“And so it begins,” said Jean, climbing off of me to check her cell on the bedside table. “Good timing, Mom wanted to Skype us and read Ada a book she picked up from the library.”

“Let me guess, To Kill a Mockingbird? Oh, no, Shakespeare.” I smiled. “That’d be the one. I got it, right?”

“Absolutely.” She grinned back at me over her shoulder. “Figure we’ll start her off with something light like Macbeth and work our way up from there.”

“I really hated that class in high school. Give Ada my condolences,” I said. “I better go get ready for work.”

“We’ll see you later?”

I nodded. “You know, I never accepted a key off a woman before.”

Another shrug. I don’t know if I was getting better at reading her or she was getting shit at keeping her guard up. But I could tell this mattered to her. Big-time. Her movements were jerky as she pulled on her clothes and she avoided my eyes the entire time.

“Things change,” she said. About the key or me, I couldn’t say.

“They sure do. You ever given a man your key before?”

Lines appeared on her forehead. “It’s seriously not a big deal.”

“You feel better when I’m here and you want me here every night, but it’s not a big deal.” I rose off the bed, stretching some before reaching for my pants. “Sweetheart, it’s a big fucking deal. We’ll basically be living together.”

Silence.

“And I want that. I do. I just want to be sure that’s what you want,” I said. “Because trust me, it’s a big deal.”

“Yes.” She tugged her hair back into a ponytail with way more force than needed. “It’s what I want.”

“Okay. Just making sure we’re on the same page.” I wandered over to her side of the bed, caging her against the wall.

“What?”

“You’re giving me the key to the place,” I said, taking her hands and peering into her deep blue eyes. “The place you’re thinking of moving out of.”

Her brow furrowed, and she bit her lip. “I know,” she said in a little voice. “I don’t mean to be jerking you around, I swear I don’t.” Wide blue eyes looked up at me, anguish behind them. “It’s just complicated.”

“No.” I shook my head. “It’s simple.” My mouth moved to hers, my voice a whisper. “Where you go, I go.”

At first, I kissed her gently, sweetly, encouraging her to relax and open up for me. Then I took it deeper, sliding my tongue into her mouth. It was the same every time. The crazy amount of heat and feeling. We didn’t stop until her arms were wound around my neck, my hands gripping her hips tightly. I never wanted to let go.