19. Keats

19

KEATS

D amn. Family-and-friends BBQ now has a new meaning.

I was able to tear my eyes away after seeing a few seconds of Esme chatting with the women while playing catch with my nephew which entails a gentle toss while he stands next to her. Then there is the fact that my sister keeps winking at me in approval which is now exhausting.

But still, it all just feels comfortable.

"Yeah, a Colorado wedding next summer," Liam informs us while he scoops up the last burger on the grill with the spatula.

"Destination wedding here we come," Oliver says.

"Just let us know the date to see if I can pencil you into my calendar," I add.

The guys chuckle. "Grouchy workaholic, here we come," Liam notes.

Oliver nudges my shoulder. "Nah, he's toned it down a bit since he has a woman living with him."

"What's the deal with that, by the way? Esme just moves on out when her house is repaired? That's like taking a step back in your relationship," Liam makes his thoughts known.

"Well, it is her home. It's not like it's just going to be an empty house once it's fixed," I note, and it kind of stings that it's the logistics, because I'm beginning to feel that she belongs somewhere else.

Oliver looks at me strangely. "I heard her mention that it will take at least three months to be fixed. That's quite a timeframe to live together. Surely, you get attached and stuff."

I shrug. "Haven't really thought that far. We're just, you know, going with it. Day by day."

The guys look between one another then focus their attention on me. "Hmm, okay." Oliver speaks on their behalf with the most unconvinced tone.

"What else am I supposed to say?"

"I mean, I guess nothing," Liam admits.

Oliver just continues to have his cheeky smirk. "When you start to see past day by day, then it's your sign, buddy."

I gawk at him for a hot second. "Oh really?" I deadpan, and that causes his demeanor to recoil.

My sister arrives to our circle with a grin, and she crosses her arms. "I'm liking what I see, big brother." She looks around the guys, and they are all teaming up on me.

"Let's just hope he doesn't screw it up," Liam mentions.

"Geez, you are all ferocious tonight." Perhaps a little too honest for us all. I'm not entirely sure what it is that I could do right now to turn my current life into a disaster, but I'm not immune to the fact that I'm not perfect. Maybe lately has been too good to be true. Fear isn't something that I experience often, but why is it dripping somewhere inside of me?

Liam closes the BBQ lid and then diverts his attention back to me. "I'm not saying you need to lock it in right now. It's still early days. I think we just mean that this whole being with someone, and a normal human compared to past options, is new for you. No need to run away if things get tough."

"We keep talking as though they are a sure thing, but it's still early for them," Oliver reminds us all.

My sister waves them off. "Doesn't matter."

"Oh, look at that, dessert time." I pivot sharply to escape, and I hear them chuckling in the background.

I still have a grin on my face because they all mean well. That doesn't mean they haven't succeeded at stirring things inside my head.

I'm not a fan of the unknown. Laws are set, paperwork has deadlines, it's either a yay or nay when negotiating. Not much room for the undetermined.

Which is why in my non-work life I'm going around in circles.

It's only scaring me in tiny increments.

The rest of the evening was simple. Smooth conversations, a slow dinner, and my usual reminder to my sister that she can crash here and Bo can sleep in the portable crib. Normally, she takes me up on the offer, but she just laughed me off and said she was going home so I could have alone time with Esme. I had to take a moment to remind myself that I'm still on planet earth, as this is a whole new scenario for me.

But here I am sliding into bed after a shower. Esme took hers when I was cleaning the grill.

Her tiny satin shorts and matching tank are frustrating. Perfectly hot on her, but it just means more fabric to get off.

"I had fun," she informs me.

"Yeah, simple but nice."

She chortles a laugh before she rolls to her side. " Anything but simple. I got the third degree from just about everyone."

A droll smile hangs on my mouth. "You too, huh?"

"It was… confronting?" She grimaces.

I laugh out loud. "Something like that." My cheeks hurt from how much smiling I've done today. "Hey, I was thinking that you should make your own desk area, that whole sanctuary thing. I have my spare room that is supposed to be an office, but I don't use it," I suggest since she's been using her laptop in corners of my house.

She swats me. "I'm here temporarily, remember? Setting up a desk feels a little… like a big step." She seems unsure of her words.

I look at her strangely, internally not liking her words either. "Penny for your thoughts?" My voice is uneven.

She grins, as we are both tiptoeing around the bluntness that we normally have. "I'm just thinking about our pace. The speed of our relationship developing," she answers for us. "I like this little world you and I have created and found ourselves in."

Her eyes sparkle differently. Promising. But they're searching for an answer from me.

"We're on the same page." A silence stretches between us. "Hey, Esme."

Her lips pinch together as she waits patiently for me to finish my thought.

"Sometimes you watch me sleep. I wake and you're there. I know I'm great to look at." I sound a little conceited, but it's to lighten the mood. "But I never know if you'll be there or not as the first thing I see in the morning." Damn, do I sound near vulnerable?

She smirks to herself. "That's good, as every day shouldn't be the same. "

A warm smile syncs with a feeling for her that claws inside of me.

Still, I might have a different kind of statement to make. I reach into the bedside table drawer and pull out the handcuffs. This isn't our first time bringing these out.

"Hands up above your head," I demand with swelter in my voice.

Instantly, the demeanor changes between us, with Esme's mouth parting and a sultry look gracing her face.

All smiles are gone because I like taking command of her body with a firm understanding that I'm taking the lead. I clasp the cuffs around her wrists through the slats of the headboard, and I lie on my side with my eyes exploring her body. Bringing my finger up, I gently outline the bottom of her flimsy top that lifts to just above her belly button. The simple act causes her nipples to turn into little pebbles.

"We may be on an unclear path…" I rasp then watch my fingers walk down under her waistband but stopping, her body writhing from the touch. "But you're mine. Is that clear?"

"Yes," Esme husks.

I dive down and use my teeth to tug on the fabric over her breasts, grazing just enough to make her shiver.

Covering her nipple with my warm breath, I circle my tongue, with the satin acting as a wall. Her breath turns heavy, and her body lifts up into my touch. I begin to kiss her body and slither down. My fingers slip into her little boxers to touch her heat.

"This is all for me, isn't it?" I stroke her pussy, my fingers already soaked.

"Only for you," she breathes heavily.

I adjust until I'm lying on my stomach next to her, halfway down her body, and I lift her camisole high until her breasts are on display. I drag my lips below her belly button while I circle her clit with the pad of my finger. "Such a needy girl." My tongue darts out and firmly draws a line down to her boxers that I'm using my free hand to lower. But I stop right where she doesn't want. "Beg, Esme."

"Please. Keats, please. You can take whatever you want. I'm all yours," she keens.

Rewarding her, my tongue finds her swollen click to flick, and her moan is instant. She does her best to press against my mouth, but I hold her hips down. My face is almost upside down as I lick her. The woman I share a bed with and who is willing to push limits when we want to.

"Open your thighs nice and wide."

Her knees butterfly out, and I caress her inner thigh up and down. "Good girl," I murmur against her clit.

"Keats," she grits out. "Please."

My head shoots up to look at her face. "Behave, Esme. Or I'll flip you to your stomach, spank you, and take you from behind while I yank your hair," I warn her.

She licks her lips, enjoying the idea. Silly me, that's exactly she wants, and lucky for her, I want to give what she desires.

I chuckle deeply in warning. "Roll over, my eager little demon."

We work together until she is on her stomach, and I give her one good spank, and she yelps but then lifts her ass because she wants to be on offer. Positioning myself, I lift her hips a little higher, and I lean over to wrap her hair around my hand, tugging with her breath a near pant.

"Don't say that I didn't warn you."

"Keats, I'm begging. Please."

I skim around her opening. "Why would I listen and give in so easily? "

She shoots me a coy smirk over her shoulder. "Because I'm yours."

"Such a good girl."

I reward her and push in, our moans blending until I'm in as deep as I can go. I don't go easy. I slam into her repeatedly, intent on making her whimper and moan. Every thrust always hitting that spot and filling her to the hilt, while her body jiggles from my blunt force.

By the time we're coming, we're both screaming from an orgasm due to her pussy vibrating around my cock and my release feeling like I've jumped off a cliff.

The moment we both seem to calm our breath, I begin to place soft kisses up her spine until her neck, and gently, I let go of her hair. Slipping out of Esme, she drops her hips and twists to her back with a droll smile and her face flushed.

Returning to my side, I ensure our eyes meet before I feather over her lips, placing a kiss. Reaching up, I unlock the cuffs, and she shakes her arms back down. I steal another kiss, my thumb circling her cheek.

Barely parting, her tongue glides along my bottom lip. "Yours," she whispers.

"Only mine."

My hand skirts along her curves, soothing her body that I was perhaps a little rough with.

"You okay?" I check.

She giggles and falls forward, with her forehead touching mine. "More than."

Landing on my back, I take her with me until she is wrapped across my body.

"You always do this to me." Her voice is drowsy. "Not letting me leave the bed, which means you're dripping down my thighs." I can hear the smile in her voice.

Kissing the top of her head, I rub my palm in circles on her back. "Marking you the way I like it." It's an overpowering ownership that must be some caveman mentality.

"Maybe I like it, too. But next time will you blindfold me?" she requests with not an ounce of sarcasm because she's serious.

That's my girl.

A funny thing about blindfolds. They might prevent you from seeing.

But they make you feel more.