“You feel so good,” she whimpered against my lips.
I groaned, fingertips digging into the curve of her hips. “You have no idea.” Skin to skin like this, with nothing between us? I was dangerously close to becoming a minute man. As long as I could get her off first, my pride could handle a shorter than usual performance.
Her movements grew more confident, and she found a steady rhythm. I watched her ride me, marveling at how her beautiful face contorted with pleasure.
“I’m close,” she moaned, sinking down to take me even deeper. “Oh god. Chase.”
The desperate way she cried out took me almost over the edge. I tensed, gritting my teeth to hold off my release.
Bailey gasped, throwing her head back. “I’m coming.”
And that put me over the edge entirely. “Fuck, baby. Me too.”
She kissed me as she came apart, her nails digging into the flesh of my shoulders as she found her release. I slid a hand up to her nape, fisting her hair, losing myself in her, coming right behind her. Pleasure spiked and overflowed as I grabbed her hips, pulling her down harder and thrusting into her. The moment intense, profound, consuming.
In sync, we slowed, kissing softly as the wave faded out.
Bailey dropped her forehead to my shoulder for a beat, sighing. Then she lifted her chin and peeked at me through her dark lashes. “Wow.”
I kissed her cheek. “Can say that again.”
Wrapping my arms around her torso, I held her still for another moment, our hearts thundering and our breaths slowly returning to normal.
After cleaning up quickly, we readjusted ourselves in her bed, snuggling beneath the covers. As she nestled against me, her hair tickling my bare chest, my brain worked overtime to process everything that had happened.
In the span of a few hours, I’d gone from fearing we might be over to being more fully invested than ever. Despite the blip on the radar, I knew, deep down, that we were on solid ground. And maybe the sex had helped reassure me, but it was deeper than that. It was in the way she looked at me tonight, in a combination of awe and adoration. In the way she touched me. In the way everything clicked when we lay here like we were right now, not saying a thing, knowing our world was right again.
She yawned, burrowing against my shoulder. “Oh my gosh, I’m tired.”
“Me too.” My heart picked up speed as I pulled her close. I wanted to say more, but I didn’t know how to put my thoughts into words.
OceanofPDF.com
BAILEY
I woke up with a heavy, muscular arm draped around my waist and a big, warm body pressed up against me.
Oh no. I fumbled for my phone and frantically checked the time, squinting to read the display. It was almost six.
I elbowed Chase gently. “Hey.”
“Hmph?” he mumbled sleepily. He squeezed me tighter, nuzzling against my neck before falling quiet again.
If only I could give in to the cozy lure of going back to sleep wrapped up in him in my warm bed. It was incredibly tempting. But he had training.
“It’s morning,” I said, nudging him again. “We must have fallen asleep before I set my alarm. What time is your dryland today?” He’d told me, but my brain wasn’t exactly functional at that point.
He let out a low groan, rolling onto his back. “Uh…not until eight. What time is it?”
“Almost six. Is that enough time to go back to sleep if I set my alarm?”
“Probably not.” His weight shifted beside me, and a broad hand landed on my hip, skimming lower. Soft, warm lips grazed my shoulder. “But it’s definitely enough time to do something else.”
OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 39
OceanofPDF.com
FAMILY AFFAIR
Bailey
After waking up earlier than usual with Chase, I took the opportunity to head to the Callingwood Daily to get some writing done and study.
But I caught up with—and maybe did a little gossiping with—Zara and Noelle instead. I couldn’t help it; I was flying way too high to write a dry technical piece for Professional Communications.
“I haven’t seen you much lately, B.” Zara leaned over the table, eyes glinting mischievously. “Chase keeping you occupied?”
I peered up at her from over my laptop screen. “Oh, you know, I’ve been busy in general.”
“Getting busy, more like,” she said.
I dragged my attention back to the blank word processor screen, warmth spreading across my cheeks. Good thing no one else was in the office with us.
Hopefully, I didn’t have just had amazing morning sex written all over my face. Or more accurately, just had amazing night and morning sex, which I’ve been replaying in my mind for hours while thirsting to see him again and questioning my sanity because I can’t focus on anything else.
What was happening to me? I’d never felt like this before. Ever. I’d have to tame this before finals or I’d flunk out of college.
“Maybe a little.” I cleared my throat, certain my face was as red as a Falcons jersey.
Zara and Noelle exchanged grins across the table.
“What about you? How are things with your guy?”
Zara had crushed more than her fair share of fragile male egos—and hearts. This was the longest she had ever dated someone without losing interest. And she seemed really happy.
Her glossy plum lips pulled into a wide grin. “They’re great. He’s amazing.”
“Aww! I love that for you, Zar.” I nudged her playfully.
Noelle frowned at her laptop screen. “Um…Huh.” She drummed her fingers on the tabletop thoughtfully. “Professor Johnson wants you to cover the Bulldogs game tomorrow so we can move the arts feature to Saturday and fill that empty space. Sorry, I know that’s short notice. Are you okay to do that?”
Did I want to? Not really. Should I do it anyway? Probably. Even though I was supposed to watch Chase’s game that night.
“It’ll be fine,” I lied.
If anything was going to kill my Chase buzz, it was dealing with Derek.
We had hardly spoken in weeks, and when we did, things were strained. I’d tried to blow him off—again—when he texted asking to meet, but I finally relented when he insisted that it was important and promised it wasn’t Chase-or Jill-related.
Coffee with my brother should be easy enough, right? Couldn’t be any worse than the disastrous meeting with Paul.
I was having second thoughts now, though.
We settled into a table near the front of the campus Starbucks while I eyed him warily. It was sad and awkward and comforting all at once to be with him.
Derek was dressed the same as always, in athletic pants and a Bulldogs top—today it was a hoodie. His entire closet was a monochromatic blur of gray and navy blue.
He glanced down at his white cardboard cup before meeting my eyes again. I swore to God if he said one word about Chase, I would leave immediately and ignore him until Christmas.
“So…Mom and Dad are selling the house,” Derek said.
My stomach pitched. “What? How come?”
The cozy brick two-story wasn’t anything impressive. It was well lived-in, to be sure. The beige carpets needed replacing, the worn hardwood could have used refinishing, and the bathrooms were terribly outdated.
But it was the house I grew up in. The house we came back to for holidays. The place my mother loved more than anything, with the garden that she babied year after year, spending hours each day tending to the peonies and rose bushes.