Will grunted again and Price smiled. “Deal.”
“You done?” I nodded at the bench.
Will stood. “All you, man.”
I pulled some of the weights off—no one needed to be as massive as Will —and Price spotted me. We all made our way through the room, and by the time we were finished, I had a text.
Devon
When are you off shift?
I stared at the words, not knowing how to feel. Glad she’d finally responded, but apprehensive nonetheless.
A few hours. Meet me at my house?
The dots appeared, then disappeared, then came back again.
Devon
Sure.
I blew out a breath.
I had just enough time after work to get home and shower before she arrived. My heart surged at the small smile she had for me as I opened the door.
“Come on in,” I said, stepping aside to let her in.
She nodded down at the dingy yellow dog at her feet. “Samson caught a ride from Wanda with me. She really is the only game in town for Uber, isn’t she?”
“Others come and go, but Wanda is forever. Chief says she used to be the only cab driver in town, and once Uber became a thing, she moved to that.”
“I thought I recognized her. Anyway, Samson seemed to think Daisy would be around for him to play with.”
I watched as the dogs sniffed a hello and took off to play. “He’s changed since you got here. For one, he used to never come in this house.”
“That’s what everyone keeps telling me,” she said, not quite meeting my eyes. “I think it’s a town-wide ploy to get him out of everyone’s hair.”
“I think he just wants to be yours.” Like me. “Want some wine?” I asked, leading her to the kitchen. “I’ve got stuff here you can eat, too, if you’re hungry.”
“Wine sounds good, but no.” She sighed. “Doctor’s orders. I’m still not healing properly and there’s some residual pain, so he put me on some medicine that I can’t combine with alcohol.”
“So no end in sight to the wires?” I kept my eyes on her, but she slid her gaze away.
“No.” Her voice was low.
“Devon.” I reached for her hands. “I’m sorry I scared you. The last thing I want is to do that.”
“I know.”
I pulled her to me, tucking her head beneath my chin to hold her close. At this point, the contact was something we both needed.
“I’m sorry, too,” she said, her voice muffled against my shirt. She tilted her head up to look at me. “You literally rescued your brother. You shouldn’t feel bad for that, and I’m sorry I made you feel that way.” She smiled again, and my chest started to loosen. Maybe I’d blown things out of proportion. Maybe the fear I had of her leaving was just that: fear.
I forced myself to focus on the now, and set about pulling a simple dinner together for us: a protein smoothie for her, and a turkey sandwich and apple for me. Afterwards, we went to the back deck. I lay on the couch and pulled her down with me. She shivered, and I grabbed a blanket from the nearby chest. I threw it over us as she curled against me, resting her head against my shoulder.
We lay in silence, listening to the sounds of the autumn night around us. She snuggled deeper beneath the blanket, then I felt her hand skim the waist of my jeans.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in jeans before tonight,” she said, her voice low.
I looked down at her. “No?”
She shook her head and pushed her hand up beneath my shirt, running it over my stomach and chest. “And I have to say, they are very, very flattering.”
I grinned, thoroughly enjoying her hand on my skin and more than happy at the turn of events. “Oh, really?”
She nodded. “Really.”
I tilted her chin up for a kiss, wishing like hell I could take it deeper. I wanted this, wanted her, forever. I slid a hand up her shirt and she arched against me.
“Please, Aaron,” she said, her voice urgent.
I switched our positions, putting her back against the couch so that I lay on my side against her, and she clutched at me, almost frantic. I kissed her neck as I pushed up her shirt, then groaned at the red lace peeking out at me in the dim light. I wanted to slow this down.
“Off,” she said, as if sensing my desire and having none of it.
I snapped the back of the bra to open it, then pulled it and her shirt off, letting her breasts fall free. God, they were tremendous. I leaned to kiss one, then the other, even as she continued to writhe beneath me. Her energy was frenetic. I pushed my free hand into her panties and slid a finger into her. She moaned and I pushed another in. Her walls clenched and I lost myself to her. Listening to her moans, my god, she would be the ruin of me. No one would ever measure up to her.
