Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Valentina

We sat on the floor in the living room eating Chinese.

When I’d gone to set the table, Ford put the plates back in the cabinet and brought the bag to the living room instead. He then pulled out the coffee table to make room for us to sit and tossed two pillows on the floor.

I was never good at eating with chopsticks, but he gave me a lesson and opened his mouth wide to test my skills. Of course I bumbled the saucy Szechwan shrimp, and it splattered all over his white T-shirt. That turned out to be a good thing, because he’d tugged it off for the rest of our meal.

God, he was more delicious than the food—and Chinese was one of my favorites.

I managed to get three grains of rice into my mouth. “I spoke to Ryan this afternoon.”

Ford’s chopsticks were halfway to his lips, and he stopped. “Your son?”

I shook my head. “I wish. We have to get some work done on our support pilings, and he wants to be here when the contractor comes to give an estimate.”

“When’s he coming?”

“Tomorrow at two. I just wanted to let you know before he showed up.”

He nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

We talked and passed takeout boxes back and forth. I loved how at home Ford seemed in my house.

“There’s a music festival coming up in a few weeks on Randall Island,” he said. “I thought maybe I could get us tickets. One of the guys from Backstreet Boys is playing.”

“I’d love that. I’ve always wanted to go to a music festival. It’s actually on my list.”

Ford fished a piece of cashew chicken from the container in his hands and held it out to me with his chopsticks. I opened my mouth and leaned forward to take it, but he pulled it back before I could grab it and gave me a quick kiss instead.

“Your list?”

“Eve made me a post-divorce list of things I need to do.”

“Nice. What else is on it?” He fed me the piece of chicken and dug one out for himself.

“Going to Rome, getting a dog, keeping my Christmas tree up for a few months after Christmas—just stuff I always wanted to do that my ex was against.”

It dawned on me that our little shopping spree touched on another item on my list. It was totally inappropriate dinner conversation, and something outside my comfort zone to talk about with a man. But today had been so much fun, and I knew Ford would appreciate my sharing, so I decided to be bold.

“And…anal.”

Ford started to cough. I thought he might be choking on the piece of chicken he’d just put in his mouth. His face turned red.

“Oh my God, are you alright?”

He pounded on his chest with his palm and reached for his beer. Sucking a big gulp down, he coughed some more before speaking with a hoarse voice. “Are you kidding me? You can’t say you have anal on your to-do list while I’m chewing.”

“Oh. Sorry. I thought you’d appreciate that, especially with our purchases today.”

His eyes darkened. “I need to see this to-do list. Better yet, I volunteer to help you check off every item this summer.”

“You don’t even know what else is on it.”

“Don’t give a shit. I’m here to serve.”

I giggled, and I really wasn’t a giggler. “Such a Boy Scout. Always prepared to lend a hand.”

He shook his head. “Shit. Is that what they did in Boy Scouts? I thought they helped old ladies cross the street. If I’d have known there were anal beads and porn involved, I would have joined.”

We laughed as Ford’s phone rang. He glanced down to the caller ID, and his face looked torn about taking it.

“It’s Devin. My CFO.”

“Take it if you need to.”

“You sure you don’t mind?”

“Not at all. I’ll clean up and open some wine.”

While Ford took his phone call, I put away the leftover Chinese food and opened a bottle of wine. Pouring two glasses, I stayed in the kitchen to give him some privacy.

When he finished, he found me looking at the calendar on the refrigerator. I was holding up the July page and looking at the month of August when he snaked his arms around my waist and kissed my shoulder.

“Got plans coming up?”

“No. I just realized it’s only six-and-a-half weeks until Labor Day already.”

“You worried about finding a job by the time school starts? You get your results next week, right?”

Of course I was worried about finding a job. But that wasn’t what was weighing on my mind at the moment. Onlysix-and-a-half weeks left. What the hell was I waiting for? I’d already missed out on almost half the summer. Tick tock. Tick tock. It was time—now or never. I’d invited him to stay over tonight, yet oddly, it wasn’t until this very moment that I decided I wanted him now. Never was the story of my life, and I wanted to live a little.

I took a deep breath and emptied my wine glass in one big swallow before turning in Ford’s arms to face him. “I’m worried that I’ve already wasted half the summer pushing you away.”

His eyes were hesitant, and I could tell he wanted confirmation of what I was saying.

He scared the hell out of me, but I was done being afraid. “I want you, Ford.”

He cupped my cheeks and pulled my face to meet his. Our lips collided in a kiss that was passionate, yet different from the others we’d shared. It was slower, less frenzied, more sensual, and deeper.

The way he held me and took his time made me feel like he treasured the moment as much as I did. Kisses between me and Ryan had always been a means to an end: step one that had to be completed before he could move on to step two. I’d never felt like he actually enjoyed kissing me. And to be honest, I didn’t remember feeling that way about him either. At least not for a very long time. But I wanted to kiss Ford for hours.

He pressed me up against the refrigerator and lifted me off my feet, guiding my legs to wrap around him. He grinded down between my parted legs, and I moaned into our joined mouths, feeling how hard he already was. God, I want him.

I wanted him up against the refrigerator, on the kitchen floor, the table, the counters—if it were up to me, we wouldn’t waste another minute of our time moving somewhere else. But Ford must’ve had other ideas. He gripped my ass, shifted my weight into his arms, and started moving.

“I would love nothing more than to fuck you against the wall. But it’s been two years for you, and I want to take care of you right, which means you get my mouth until you’re dripping wet and ready enough that my cock can glide inside of you.”

Oh God.

He started up the stairs. “Even thinking that you haven’t been with a man in two years makes me hard as a rock. Being near you makes me feel like some sort of Neanderthal caveman. I’m surprised I didn’t club your study buddy over the head and drag you home with me when you pulled up with him.”

Inside my bedroom, Ford set me down. He dug his wallet out of his pants and pulled out a strip of condoms, tossing them on my nightstand before taking a seat on the bed. My entire body zinged with the way he took his time looking over my body. His eyes filled with heat, and he licked his lips like he couldn’t wait to devour me.

“Undress for me. Take off your dress.”

His voice was gritty, but had a sexy edge of authority to it that turned me on.

Holding his gaze, I slipped the spaghetti straps of my sundress from one shoulder, then the other, before shimmying it down to my ankles and letting it pool on the floor. The way Ford looked at me made me feel bared in a way I hadn’t expected. It was like he didn’t just want to see my body—he wanted to see me naked.

He licked his lips. “You’re beautiful. I’ve fantasized about being inside of you every day since we first started messaging, and I had no clue you would turn out to be a gorgeous woman inside and out.”

My insides were turning to mush. This man could own me—he could ignite my body with dirty words one minute, telling me the things he wanted to do to me, and then make my heart swell with his sweet side. It was a damn dangerous combination. There wasn’t much I wouldn’t give him right now.

Ford lifted his chin. “Take off your bra.”

Nervous, my fingers fumbled behind my back with the clasp. Though the way his eyes darkened as I slowly slipped the bra from my shoulders and revealed my breasts gave me confidence to stand tall. He took his time drinking me in, and my nipples swelled and hardened under his gaze.

“The panties.”

I watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallowed.

Standing before him completely naked, my heart beat out of my chest in anticipation. Ford stood and held his hand out to me. He kissed me until my knees felt too weak to hold my weight. Then he switched our places and guided me to sit at the edge of the bed.

Dropping to his knees in front of me, he put his hands on my thighs and spread my legs wide.

“I want you to watch.” He lifted one leg and dropped a tender kiss on the top of my foot, looking up at me from under his thick, dark eyelashes. “Watch me lick your sweet pussy until you come in my mouth.”

Oh God.

I lost that battle real quick. The minute his mouth touched between my legs, my head fell back with a moan. So much for watching. He licked slowly, tracing the outline of my lips before fluttering his tongue over my clit. He teased and sucked, the intensity of his movements increasing, along with my hunger.

Yet he didn’t force me across the finish line. Instead, he taunted me with the threat of orgasm, and then slowed, pulling back, keeping it slightly out of reach. I wasn’t sure if it was intentional or not.

Trying to gather my wits, I looked down at his face between my legs. Ford looked up, feeling my gaze on him. He flashed a wicked smile and pulled back to slowly flick my clit with his tongue. I jerked, and the gleam in his eyes flared brighter.

Oh my God. The bastard. He knew exactly what he was doing.

“Watch, and I’ll make you come.”

He’d been holding back until I did what he said. Frustrated and a little pissed off, I dug my fingers into his hair and yanked him harder against me. It had been so many years since I was this turned on, and I had the sudden urge to kick his ass for keeping my orgasm from me.

I heard a muffled chuckle, but then his tongue speared into me.

“Yes. Yes.”

Things turned frantic after that. Ford growled and licked, lapped and sucked. Everything inside of me built, my muscles swelling and tightening, preparing for climax to take hold.

“Ford…”

He pushed two fingers inside of me and sucked hard on my clit as he looked up at me. My body trembled while my orgasm began to pull me under. I fought to keep our gazes locked, but when the big wave hit and my muscles began to contract around his fingers, I fell back onto the bed and let it drown me.

I climaxed longer and harder than I could ever remember. It felt like years of pent-up waves of orgasm had been building and took over like a tsunami. I struggled to catch my breath as I came down.

While I was busy trying to pull myself together, apparently Ford had been busy as well. One minute I was lying on the edge of the bed, trying to collect the pieces after being shattered, and the next his pants were gone, and he hauled me up to the headboard.

“You good?” Ford kissed just above my belly button.

“No,” I breathed out. “I’m mad at you, actually.”

He chuckled and licked the underside of my right breast. “Oh yeah? What for?”

“You spent the last month and a half saying nice things to me and trying to get me to sleep with you…when all you had to do was that. You wasted so much time, damn you.”

Ford sucked my nipple in and tugged it between his teeth, making my back arch off the bed. He laved attention on the other before climbing up to hover over me. “We’ll just have to make up for all that lost time.”

I felt how hard and hot he was, pressed up against my swollen clit. A minute ago I’d been spent and satiated, and yet now I was desperate to have him, to have the rest of him.

He pushed a piece of hair out of my face and leaned in to kiss my lips. My hands traveled down his back and slipped into his boxer briefs. I squeezed his hard ass and our kiss heated up fast. When I scraped my nails along his back, he groaned.

“Fuck. I need to be inside you.”

He lifted and pulled off his boxers before reaching over to grab a condom. Him using his teeth to rip open the package was the sexiest thing I’d seen in a long time. Ford spit the wrapper on the floor and then took my hand and guided me to wrap around him as he sheathed himself.

When I realized how far apart my thumb and pointer were, I wasn’t sure if I should be excited or worried. It had been a really long time.

“Spread for me, beautiful. Spread wide.”

Our eyes locked, and I did as he asked, fanning my legs open to him across the bed. He lined up the thick head of his cock with my opening and pushed inside ever so slowly. I hadn’t gotten a good look at how big he was; I only knew he was wide. But Ford seemed to understand he needed to take his time. He rocked his hips in and out, stretching me a little more with each thrust, going a little deeper until he was finally fully inside of me.

“Fuck.” His arms shook, and he muttered against my lips. “You feel so incredible.”

He captured my tongue and kissed me passionately as he glided in and out. I was so wet, and my body clenched around him like a fist. He broke our kiss and pulled back to look at me.

“Beautiful.” He sped up his thrusts and smiled down at me. “So fucking beautiful.” The room was quiet except for the sound of our bodies slapping against each other. He reached down and grabbed behind one of my legs, pulling it up at the knee. The change in position tightened my body around him even more, and he began to rub at the sensitive spot inside me.

Oh God. Here it comes again.

I dug my nails into his back, and he took the hint at what I needed—moving harder and faster, grinding down with each thrust and fucking me deep. My clit throbbed, and my heart raged out of control.

“Ford…” I called.

The veins in his neck bulged, and his breathing became uneven. I knew he was about to lose control, too.

“Come with me,” he groaned. “Feel me.”

He slammed down so hard, it nearly knocked the wind of out me. But it was exactly what I needed. My body clenched around him and began to pulsate. Ford felt it hit, saw it on my face, and raced to his own release.

“Fuck,” he roared.

I watched as his jaw tensed, and he bucked twice more before sinking into me so deeply that I gasped.

Collapsing, he buried his face in my neck and kissed me as he caught his breath. I could feel his hot cum inside of me, even through the condom. As much as I was overwhelmed and mentally and physically depleted, I couldn’t help but think if it had felt that good with a condom, what the hell would it feel like skin to skin?

Ford lifted his head and looked at me. He squinted. “What are you thinking about already? My brain might not work until tomorrow after that.”

I giggled. “Nothing.”

“Don’t even try it.” He tapped one finger to my temple. “I know what it looks like when the wheels in your head are turning.”

I smiled. The man had just gone down on me while I watched him and then almost fucked me into oblivion, yet I was still modest when it came to talking about sex.

But I was being silly, so I was honest. “I was thinking how good it would probably feel without the condom.”

“Are you on the pill?”

Though I’d had no reason to be the last few years, I still took it to regulate my period. I nodded.

Ford jumped up from the bed so fast it startled me. I thought maybe there was a bug.

“What…what’s wrong?”

“Getting rid of this damn condom.”

He went to the bathroom and was back in ten seconds flat. He crawled over me. “Ready.”

I laughed. “Ready for what?”

Ford gripped my hand and brought it down to feel between his legs. He was as hard as he’d been before we had sex.

Reading the confusion on my face, he smiled. “You spent the first half of the summer telling me all the reasons you didn’t think twenty-five was right for you.” He aligned himself, and with one firm thrust of his hips, he pushed back inside of me. “Now I get to spend the second half showing you all the reasons twenty-five is right for you.”