Always You(34)

“That’s a lot of garlic,” she grinned.

“What, now you don’t like garlic?” I shot back.

“No,” she giggled, “I love it, I’m just cautious about garlic breath. I was planning on doing a lot of kissing later.”

“Why wait till then?” I leaned across the counter, kissing her lips. “Besides, we’ll both have garlic breath, so it won’t really matter.” I threw in the tomatoes, some basil, salt and pepper, and then turned the heat down to a simmer. Next, I added the spaghetti to the boiling water, with a sprinkling of salt.

“You look like you’re made for the kitchen,” she smiled.

“I helped Mom out a lot with cooking and cleaning and things, so I’m pretty domesticated.”

“Mmm. Very sexy,” she laughed, her eyes twinkling at me.

I narrowed my eyes, not quite sure if she was messing with me or not.

“So, you’re close to your mom?” I saw her eyes drop and instantly felt bad.

“Yeah, I am. Were you close to yours?” I asked softly.

“Yeah. I mean, we fought. I’m a teenage girl—fighting with your mom is normal—but she was also my best friend. I could talk to her about anything, you know?” She smiled in spite of herself. “Well, maybe not everything. I probably wouldn’t be telling her about you.”

“Yeah, that probably wouldn’t go down so well,” I winced. “Is Layna your only extended family?”

“Yeah. My grandparents died when I was little, and Dad had no siblings. I’m lucky to have her though. She’s been so supportive. Besides, there are people worse off than me. I had a wonderful family for a short time. That was better than not having them at all.” She shrugged as if it made perfect sense.

Again, she had amazed me. How can you lose so much and still remain so strong? How the hell can she be so positive? She had this way of making me feel very self-absorbed. Thinking about my life and the things I had no control over consumed me. Here was a girl who had lost everything and was still able to see the good in things.

I stirred the sauce, tasting it to see if it was ready. Almost perfect. All that was missing were the anchovies. The spaghetti was ready, so I strained it and then divided it into the two bowls. Over the top of one I spooned the sauce. Then I broke a few anchovies into the pan and stirred it until they had dissolved.

“Try this,” I said, after I’d poured the sauce over mine. She made a face. “Just do it,” I said with a laugh.

She sighed but obliged, curling a few strands of pasta around her fork before lifting it to her mouth. Her eyes lit up.

“Holy shit, that’s really good,” she muttered, shocked. She went back in for another forkful. I sniggered, pulling her plate back over to me.

“Have that. I’ll have this one.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I grumbled. “Maybe you’ll listen to me next time?”

“Probably not.” She grinned and I laughed. At least she was honest.

***

After dinner, we talked. The conversation just flowed. I felt like we could sit there for hours and never run out of topics. I loved that she had her own opinions on things. She would argue if she didn’t agree, and she was passionate about her beliefs.

“So...I might go try out that hot tub.” She smiled at me mischievously.

“Really?” I murmured, stretching my arms behind my head.

She turned, stretching her leg over mine until she was sitting on my lap. Wow. She lifted her sweater over her head, dropping it on the floor. My hand found its way to her chest, my fingers releasing her breasts from the cups of her pale pink bra.

Leaning forward, I took a nipple in my mouth, flicking it with my tongue until it sat erect. She cried out as my mouth closed over her other one, my hands resting on the arch of her back.

“Maybe I’ll join you in the hot tub,” I murmured, kissing my way up her neck.

She cupped my face, her lips pressing against mine as my cock began to spring to life.

I stood up and hoisted her onto my hips. She kissed my neck, undoing my shirt as I carried her out to the enclosed deck, to the hot tub. Shrugging my shirt off, I set her down and kneeled in front of her. She giggled as I undid her jeans and began shimmying them down her milky white thighs. In awe of the beauty that stood before me, I kissed the edge of her pink thong as she stepped out of her jeans.

“After you,” I said, gesturing to the bubbling, steamy hot water.

She gingerly stepped over the ledge, collapsing down into the water. “Ooh this is fantastic,” she grinned, her eyes oozing happiness.

Unbuckling my jeans, I shuffled them off and stepped into the water. It was hot—hotter than I was expecting—but against the coolness of the night, it felt good. Falling into the water, I pulled Wrenn onto my lap, my erection very obvious.

“Someone’s excited,” she mumbled, kissing me.

“I’m always excited around you, Wrenn. It’s so hard not to show that when we’re not alone, but you always have me worked up.”

“Really?” she said, draping her arms around my neck. “Tell me, what is it about me that winds you up, Mr. Reid?”

Where did I start? Everything about her excited me, from her smoldering eyes to the way she laughed. I reached around and unhooked her bra, sliding it off her shoulders. I kissed her cheek, then her jaw, slowly sucking my way down her neck to her perky, round breasts.