Twenty-two

TWENTY-TWO

Paxton

I liked to think I was a simple guy.

It didn't take much to make me happy, and it was only ever on rare occasions that I even got upset or agitated.

But I wasn't quite sure I'd ever felt the level of contentment I felt now in any other instance in my life. Sure, I'd dated women and enjoyed myself from time to time. It was always nice enough.

Never was it like it had been with Aria. Never had anyone consumed my attention like she did.

Maybe my instincts were just that good, because I'd felt this way from the start when it came to her. And the more I was around her, the more I was learning my instincts hadn't been wrong.

She was everything I could have hoped for and more.

The way she asked for what she wanted last night—the way she didn't care about extending our time out together and simply wanted to get back here to her place to be with me—felt like a fantasy come to life.

Now, I wondered if perhaps I'd made it all up and was still dreaming. Because I was in Aria's bed with her, morning sunlight was filtering into the room, and her warm, naked body was squirming beside mine as her lips and hands explored.

It seemed impossible that a man like me, one who could be happy with the little pleasures in life, could get this lucky.

Because if I had to take a guess as to what was going through Aria's mind, it seemed she was keen on initiating something between us. Part of me had believed her request to come back here last night had been a fluke, the result of needing a connection, finding it, and acting upon it.

Evidently, I was wrong.

As her lips blazed a path across my chest, one of her hands drifted lightly across my abdomen. I kept my arm wrapped around her, unwilling to lose our closeness.

Whether she had the ability to read minds, or we were simply on the same wavelength, I didn't know. But a moment later, she found a way to move closer by shifting her body over mine, her knees dropping to either side of one of my thighs.

Suddenly, I had both of her hands moving across my skin at the same time as her mouth sought out new places to kiss and lick and nip.

I'd been doing my best to restrain myself, but with her in this position, doing all that she was, keeping my hands off her became an impossible feat. The second I drove one of my hands into her hair, she released a soft moan and lifted her gaze only slightly to make eye contact with me.

"Good morning," I whispered.

She pressed a soft kiss to my chest. "Good morning."

"This is quite the wake-up call," I noted.

Aria slid her hands up my sides, over my pecs, and stroked her fingertips over my nipples. There was a mischievous look in her eyes, a promise that we were both in for a morning of fun.

"Do you not like it?" she asked, her tone playful.

"You're naked with that heat between your legs pressed against my thigh while you kiss and touch me," I pointed out. "What is there to not like about that?"

Aria rolled her hips, her lips parting slightly as she did. As one of her hands floated down toward my hip, she replied, "I wanted to be sure."

"That look in your eyes tells me you've got a plan for us this morning."

Her hand moved in from my hip, curled around my cock, and squeezed. "I think it's good to a have a plan. Don't you?"

The corners of my mouth tipped up into a grin. "I guess that depends on what's on the agenda. Why don't you tell me about it?"

She squirmed against my thigh, her grip tightening around my length, and her nails on the opposite hand biting into my flesh. After she ran her pretty, pink tongue along her upper lip, she countered, "Wouldn't it be better to show you?"

"So, a demonstration?"

"I like the word exhibition better, but you can call it what you like. "

Last night, Aria had revealed that being so forward and honest about whatever was on her mind never came easily. She seemed to believe I was partly responsible for that change in her, but I wondered if it had been there all along.

Watching her now, listening to what she was saying while she moved her body on top of mine, it seemed impossible she'd kept this all bottled up for so long. Why hadn't she been able to be herself?

I might have taken the time to consider an actual answer to that question, but the reality was that I couldn't quite focus on anything other than what she was doing to me and how fortunate I felt to be the one who got to see this side of her.

My dick was so hard it hurt, aching for her to stroke me or put me inside her. Whether she used her mouth or her pussy, I didn't care. But as my hands balled into fists, I knew I wasn't going to be able to hold myself back much longer.

I had a feeling Aria knew what she was doing to me, because she stayed exactly how she was and watched me without a word and a hint of a smile tugging at her lips.

Two could play that game.

Unclenching my fist, I reached for her breast. Cupping it in my hand, my thumb stroked lightly over her nipple as I lifted my thigh slightly to apply more pressure against her clit.

Aria bit her lip, a useless attempt to stifle her moan.

And when I knew I'd gotten her in the same state she'd brought me to, I didn't even attempt to hide my smile.

Recognizing I was going to take her where she had seemed intent on taking me to first, Aria pulled her torso back just far enough where I couldn't reach. Then, even though she kept her legs parted over my thigh, she scooted down my leg, stopping just above my knee.

The next thing I knew, I was watching as she lowered her mouth to the tip of my cock. She pressed a soft kiss there before swirling her tongue around the head. The muscles in my abdomen were twitching with anticipation. There was the overwhelming desire to curl my hand around the back of her head to hold her in place as I thrust my hips up and fucked her mouth. In time, we'd have that.

For now, I wanted her to be able to give whatever she felt keen on giving. And it seemed she realized at that moment that I intended to hold back. Because she smiled at me appreciatively before she delivered.

It was a new exercise in restraint once Aria got started. No more than a few minutes into it, I was worried I might not last long enough to enjoy all that Aria's talented mouth was capable of.

Fuck, she was incredible.

Everything was perfect. It was wet with lots of suction. Aria was moaning, her hips moving against my thigh, and she was focused on what she was doing. Eager to deliver something exceptional.

Aria alternated her pace—fast, slow, fast again. She used her tongue, her lips, and her hands. Her enthusiasm mixed with the wetness between her legs on my thigh took things to the next level. She built me up expertly.

When I knew I wasn't going to last much longer if she continued, I did an ab curl and reached for her. I dragged her up my body.

"Paxton!" she gasped. "I wasn't done. What are you?— "

"Sit on my face," I demanded, urging her there.

With her understanding of what I wanted, Aria took a seat on my face, and I went to town. My fingertips dug into the flesh of her ass while my mouth devoured her, tasting and loving every drop.

Her body shuddered over mine, her fingers sliding into my hair. "Oh," she moaned, her hips bucking as I offered a slow swirl and flick of my tongue over her clit. I did it again before I returned to sucking and licking.

God, she tasted incredible.

I couldn't get enough of her.

Her moans filled the air, and her hips began moving over me, seeking her release.

My dick was so hard, it felt like it had become stone. I needed the release she was desperate to have.

In one swift move, I surged up, brought her to her back, and drove inside. My hand went to her clit and worked her there as I thrust forward. It took mere minutes for her to get there, her back arching off the bed as the pleasure splintered through her body.

Three or four thrusts after she'd made it to the other side, I pulled out, jerked my cock, and spilled my release over her stomach.

When I finished and lifted my gaze to hers, I said, "You're too fucking sexy, Aria. I couldn't wait to get a condom on."

"I think you have the best mouth in the world."

That was the response I got. And I was so caught off guard, I threw my head back with laughter.

Not only was it funny, but it was a relief that was what I'd gotten from her. Not a woman who was angry because I'd just had sex with her without protection. I knew she had nothing to worry about when it came to safety with me, so I took my chances, and it worked out better than I could have hoped for.

Despite the mess, I lowered my torso to hers and kissed her.

"I hope you understand what you've done here," I teased. "If this is how you like to wake up, I might have to hire a pet sitter."

"Why would you need to do that?"

I touched my mouth to hers. It didn't matter that I'd just had her; I wasn't sure it would ever feel like enough.

"Because I don't think I have it in me not to make this a regular thing between us, and I think my animals might start to resent being home alone all the time," I explained.

Without missing a beat, Aria suggested, "Maybe I could come over to your place sometime. Then you won't have to worry about leaving your pets alone all the time, and you could be responsible for giving me a wake-up call."

Feeling amused, I smiled and lifted a brow. "I think you might be onto something. Plus, it'd be much easier for you to bring Sasha over to my place for the night, instead of us having to do it the other way around."

Something warm stole over Aria's expression, and she bit the corner of her lip.

"What's that about?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I'm just wondering if we're really already talking about introducing our pets to one another."

I guess I could see her point. We had just taken these steps with each other, and we were already discussing blending our families together. Sure, we were discussing animals, and it wasn't quite the same as introducing children, but I thought it said something about the both of us that we were not only seemingly okay with being in this position but actively concerned about how to make it work. If nothing else, I was grateful that Aria was just as eager as I was to figure it out, because the bottom line in doing so would mean we'd have more time to spend with one another.

"There's nothing wrong with us wanting to figure it out. I like you. I want to spend time with you. And I'm pretty sure you feel the same about me. We're just being responsible pet owners by wanting to consider them in the equation."

"Speaking of being a responsible pet owner, do you need to leave to go take care of them this morning?"

There was something that sounded a lot like disappointment lingering in her tone. "Why do I get the feeling that you don't want me to go?"

She shook her head, her hands gliding up my neck and into my hair. "It's not that. I was just hoping I'd be able to make breakfast for us this morning."

My hands were resting on either side of her head. While gently stroking my thumbs along her cheeks, I said, "We can have breakfast together. We'll get up now, get ourselves cleaned up, and I'll run over to let the dogs out and get them fed. I can come back for breakfast."

"Really? You'd do that?"

"You're working today, aren't you?"

"I am."

I smiled at her. "Then if I go over and take care of them now, they can handle another hour while I come back to have some breakfast with you. It'll be fine."

Aria didn't respond with words. But something in those green irises told me she appreciated that I was making the time for her. Following a long stretch of silence, she rasped, "You're making it very difficult for me to even consider leaving Steel Ridge."

Laughter spilled out of me. After pressing a kiss to her lips, I said, "That's the plan."

At that, Aria and I got ourselves out of bed and cleaned up. After we showed Sasha a bit of love, I left to run to my house and take care of my animals while Aria got to work on breakfast.

I hadn't wanted to take too long at my place—I didn't like the idea of Aria having to make breakfast all on her own—but I didn't manage it nearly as quickly as I would have liked. I'd been gone for hours, and my crew wasn't particularly happy with me.

It was all just more confirmation that Aria and I were wise to have a discussion about how this would go between us moving forward, because I didn't think it was fair to my animals to leave them alone all the time, and I didn't want to have to sleep every night without Aria in my arms.

When I returned to Aria's place, she was nearly finished with breakfast. I chipped in to help with the last bit of it, and she asked, "How's the gang?"

"Not exactly pleased with me, but I think they'll get over it," I answered.

"Oh, boy. Maybe we do need to do this meeting of the pets sooner rather than later. I don't want your animals hating me."

I laughed, moved toward her, and wrapped my arms around her before pressing a kiss to her lips. "They won't hate you. Brutus might get a little lippy, but he's harmless. "

She smiled against my mouth and gave me a deeper kiss.

It was a relief to know she couldn't get enough of me, the same as I felt for her. But since breakfast was hot and ready, and Aria had to work, we had to separate ourselves from one another.

After we sat down and enjoyed the first few bites of our breakfast, I asked, "When's your next full day off from work?"

"Uh… I think it's not for a while. Maybe a week and a half from now. Why do you ask?"

"Find out for sure, and let me know as soon as you're sure of the day. I'll take the day off if it's a day I'm normally scheduled to work, and the two of us can spend it together," I told her.

Her face lit up. "Really?"

"Yes. Why does that surprise you?"

Still smiling, she hesitated a moment. Then she said, "I guess it doesn't. I think I'm more excited about it than anything else."

"Good. I am, too."

"What are we going to do on this day of fun?" she pressed.

"Once I know the day, I'll figure that out. And I might keep it a secret, but I promise I won't disappoint you."

Her smile turned shy as she leaned toward me. "I don't think that would ever be possible. You're so good at everything, Paxton. I don't think there's anything you could ever do to disappoint me."

It was nice to hear she felt that way. She made it seem like I had no faults. I did. And I was sure she'd see them one day. But that didn't mean I wasn't going to go out of my way to do whatever I could to keep her happy.

"Finish your breakfast, Aria. I'm going to take you to work today, and I'll pick you up when you're done."

"What?"

"Eat up. You've got work soon, and I think I might need another taste of you before we leave."

"You're taking me to work?" she asked.

"Yep."

"And you're picking me up?"

"That's what I said."

"Why?"

My brows pulled together as I studied her, trying to discern if she was being serious. When I noted the confusion on her face, I offered an explanation. "On Friday night, I told you how much space you had been taking up in my head. That has not lessened since then, especially not after what we had last night and this morning. Someone came into the pub and followed you home. I was prepared to do this for you before we even had what we did last night. Now that we are what we are to each other, I'm compelled to take things up a notch to keep you safe." She parted her lips to argue, but I quickly cut her off. "I know I don't need to do this for you, Aria. At least, I know that's how you see it. I see it differently. And being the man that I am, you aren't going to change my mind. So, eat up. We've got things to do before you leave."

Something warm and sweet stole over her expression, and she gave me a nod. Then she turned her attention to her breakfast and ate up. And before I took her to work, we indulged in one another just one more time.