Chapter 9

NINE

JASPER

For the first time ever, I realized what the big deal was. Sex with someone you shared more of a connection with rather than a sometimes drunken one-night stand made so much sense. This was what it was all about.

Heat, passion, teasing.

Licks, sucks, nipping.

His mouth was everywhere, hands trying to touch every available inch of my skin. It was too much, but so not enough. I needed him in my mouth, and then I needed inside him.

Naked and splayed out on the bed, I gasped as he tugged at my nipple.

His chuckle followed. "You okay?"

I nodded before pressing both of my hands against his chest, pushing him backward and angling to switch places. The wicked smile on his lips impossible to ignore, I chased him onto his back with an open-mouthed kiss.

It would be easy to stay like this, kissing him for hours, but when his hips moved and his erection pressed against my thigh, renewed desire to taste him slammed into me.

But I had to ask.

"Do I need to get you a condom to suck you off?"

One thing four years at college had taught me was screw embarrassment. Sexual health was important.

"I'm 100 percent clear," he said as he trailed his fingers over my jaw. "It was the first thing I checked after. I'm also on PrEP."

I nodded, not needing him to elaborate. "Me too. It's been three months since I was last checked," I admitted. "It'll be my mission next week."

His grin was wide. "Good. I'd prefer to taste you when I'm sucking you off."

The image had me groaning. "In the meantime," I said breathily, "let me go to town, then I'll be slipping on protection if that's okay with you?" My hand had trailed around to his ass, and I squeezed as I spoke, making my intentions clear."

Slamming his eyes shut, he bobbed his head quickly. "Yes, please, let's do that. "

A small laugh escaped me, and his eyes sprung open. I leaned in for a kiss and moved my hand from his backside to his groin. "I like you like this," I murmured before taking another kiss. "Needy and ready for me." He looked relaxed, despite his flushed cheeks and worked-up state. Austin coming away this weekend was absolutely the right thing to do.

His lips twitched, and his palms roamed my back. "I'll be even needier when you have your mouth on me."

That was all the instruction I needed.

Teasing, licking, and sucking once more, I took him deep, determined to push him over the edge and make him spill. Warm hands clasped my shoulders, fingers digging in as he shared his need. His groans grew louder as I sped up and reached to caress him. He bucked, hips out of control. I shifted my hands to steady him. On contact, I peered up, my mouth full and loving the blissed-out expression staring back at me.

"Hot, so hot," he said on a gasp. My fingers dug in, and I shifted my speed up a notch, hollowing out my cheeks.

His release would be mine.

Hand and mouth on a mission, I went for the touchdown, needing him to let go. Not only was I desperate for the taste, but I was also eager for his reaction.

I peered up once more, not wanting to miss the moment. When he became taut under my grasp, I knew he was close. Two more head bobs, and he stilled while I worked overtime.

He gasped and groaned before sagging, his fingers digging in my skin lightly before relaxing.

"I think you've destroyed me." He shook his head and laughed. "I can't feel my toes."

I pulled back, moving to my knees, feeling deliriously happy seeing his pink cheeks and shiny eyes. "Toe-curling leading to loss of limbs… something to be proud of right there." I grinned wide and placed a kiss to his mouth, avoiding pressing against him for fear I would explode at the slightest contact.

He smirked against my mouth until he took the kiss deeper. Austin's flavor remained on my tongue, and with him gently stroking his own against it, I groaned. There was something intrinsically sexy about a man who happily tasted himself.

When his hands caressed my hips before becoming dangerously close to my leaking cock, I pulled away. "There's no way I can handle you touching me."

At my words, a sweet smile curved his mouth up. "You want me to prepare myself?" he asked, his eyes steady on mine.

My gulp and nod happened simultaneously .

This time he smirked, and mischief flickered in his eyes. "You just wait right there."

I actively avoided touching myself, and then took a few deep breaths before I sheathed my aching dick when he'd returned. The whole time I fixed my gaze to his hand. The lube, his fingers, him spreading himself wide for me.

"You're so sexy." My words slipped free, a mix of a groan and whisper. Sexy didn't even cut it, though. With his eyes on me, I didn't want to miss the eye contact, nor did I want to miss him readying himself. Pink, perfect, and shiny with lubricant, he was the picture of lust and wanton need.

"Oh God." My words came out on a moan, and I edged closer, no longer able to keep my hands to myself. I nudged his fingers out of the way and took over. Hot and tight and ready. I licked my lips when I eyed his growing cock. Flaccid had long since left the building. I grinned before lapping at his precum, hardly containing myself at the thought of making him come a second time.

"No." He shook his head wildly, snatching hold of my shoulders and making his intention clear. "I need you inside me."

Steadying myself over him while he clung to his legs, I positioned my cock. With slow, centering breaths, I worked my way in, eyes darting between my disappearing shaft and his face. I wanted to capture every nuance, every sound to memory.

Balls deep, I stilled. This time my full attention was on Austin's expression. He'd clamped hard on his bottom lip. His eyes were half-mast, pupils fixed to mine.

"You okay?"

An exhale slipped past his lips, and he bobbed his head. "Yeah," he said breathily. "I'm good." His words were followed by a heated look as he angled off the bed slightly. The action made me grunt.

It appeared he was impatient and more than ready. I took that as my cue and moved gently against him.

He was tight and almost scorching. The expression painting his features urged me on. Pleasure and desire drifted between us, constant before steadily building until I couldn't hold back. I reached out for him, steadied myself so I could take him in a firm grip. His reaction was immediate as he pushed against me, almost frenzied in his movements. I adjusted my position, needing desperately to push us both over the edge.

Tingles shot up my spine, sped down to my toes, causing them to curl tightly as I jerked him. The first spill of liquid on my palm pushed me over. I slammed my eyes shut, reveling in the rush of feeling, the blast of pleasure sending me so high I could barely feel anything beyond Austin clamping around me. Springing my eyes open, wanting to see him come down, I glanced first at my hand that pumped a gentle rhythm, then his face.

Glazed eyes peered up at me.

This right here was my favorite look on him.

His defenses were down, his leadership hat was securely hidden away, and he was simply Austin, the man who'd managed to catch my attention like no other and had the ability to make me come so hard I saw stars.

Slowly angling over, aware of our position, I placed a gentle kiss on his lips. He smiled against them. I mirrored him as I pulled back.

"All good?" I asked.

"Spectacular."

I laughed, causing us both to wince.

"Shower?" I asked.

He nodded as I held on to the condom, securing it in place, and pulled away. Once the condom was removed, I held my other hand out to him. Austin took it immediately, and we headed to the shower eagerly. I couldn't wait to get back into bed and sleep in this man's arms.

It seemed like just a couple of hours ago that I'd closed my eyes, but looking at the time, it was nine, and we had to be out of the motel by ten.

My head was only a little cloudy, thanks to Austin taking care of me after our shower last night. He'd insisted we hydrate and take a couple of Advil each. It was nice, being cared for, and the more I thought about it, the more I hoped that we had a chance of a future together.

It was really early days, but courtesy of my parents sharing their "story" with me from before I was old enough to understand, I knew love could break the rules and not follow a set plan or routine. They'd met and were married within two weeks of meeting each other. It was still crazy to me that anyone would do that, but their love was fierce and real. It made my heart heavy to know my mom no longer had that. And she was still so young too.

"Hey." Austin's thumb brushed against my forehead, and I realized a frown had bunched it up. "You okay?"

A smile immediately lit up my face, and I turned into him, looking up at his concerned face. Taking in my expression, his eyes darted to my eyes, then my mouth. Seemingly satisfied, he relaxed against me and pressed his lips to mine.

"I am with morning kisses like that," I said once he pulled away.

"In that case, we need to do it as often as possible."

"I like this plan."

He kissed me again. The sweep of his tongue against my own sent a fresh wave of desire through me. Flush against him, he felt it immediately, curling his arms around me and shifting me on top of him. The whole time we kissed. It was languid and perfect. The ease of our mouths coming together was something that had surprised me since the first time. There were no clumsy starts, no teaching the other what we liked. Instead, it was like we'd been practicing with each other for years. The perfection of his mouth on mine meant every single kiss, we'd get sucked into the moment and struggle to remember the reality around us.

I groaned and pulled away. "I could keep this up all morning, but we have to check out soon."

The grimace on his face made me laugh. "We could just pay a late checkout fee or something, right?" Warm hands landed on my ass and squeezed.

I struggled to restrain myself, wanting nothing more than to head back in the shower, prepare him, and wake up the way I knew the both of us wanted. "We're meant to be meeting Ian for coffee."

He sighed. "You're right. It would be good to see him again without beer or shots." He shuddered a little. "Some of those shots he got me to try yesterday, Jesus, I'm surprised my throat's not raw."

I chuckled. "Ian does like to party hard. But you kept up. I was impressed. "

His palms moved to my waist, and he squeezed a little. "Of course I could keep up."

"Says the man who professes to be in bed by ten most nights."

The squeezing turned into a tickle that had laughter erupting and me wriggling.

"Okay, okay," I wheezed. "You're still hard-core."

He stopped his attack. "Damn straight I am. Come on." He smacked my ass. "Quick shower first."

My eyes heated, and I rubbed against him like a damn cat.

Narrowed eyes stared at me. "You first. I'll head in after, unless you want to be late?"

I sighed. "I suppose not. Ian has a shift later too." I leaned down so my mouth hovered over his chest, then peered up at him. Those narrowed eyes were still fixed on me as I shot him an innocent smile before sucking his nipple into my mouth, worrying it a little, then jumping out of bed and racing to the bathroom. "I won't lock the door!" I shouted, only to hear Austin shift and groan.

It was good to catch up with Ian. By the time we left, I'd felt reassured he was okay—exhausted by the amount of overtime he'd been working, but apparently the dragon who'd been giving him (and others) a hard time had handed in her notice.

"Ian's great," Austin said when we weren't far from his place. "I'm not sure what I expected, but to be honest, that wasn't it."

I snorted at that. "It's the whole muscular, handsome thing he has going on, right? Doesn't fit the stereotype of a nurse?"

"I'm embarrassed to say that's part of it, but also he seems so chilled and nice." He shook his head. "I know my job is stressful, but dealing with the level of stress and drama he must face every shift, I suppose I expected someone a little more highly strung, a little more take charge."

"I get it. I think his overall image helps with the take-charge bit, but it's his calm demeanor—and that he doesn't get rattled easily—that makes him so good at being a nurse." He was an incredible guy, and seriously a catch.

"Does he head over to see you very often?"

I shook my head. "He came once for Thanksgiving. His folks live in Manhattan, and he doesn't really get on with them all that well. He ended up working over Christmas, or else I would have invited him over for that. But he hasn't been back since." I considered that and thought maybe I should set something up. Mom liked him a lot, and we had the spare room, and I thought Ian getting away would be refreshing for him. Then I thought about Davis's wedding that would be here before I knew it, and trepidation churned in my gut. Ian was my plus one.

"Actually," I began, side-eyeing him before returning my focus to the road, "my old boss, my friend, he's getting married in two weeks."

Austin angled toward me, and the churning got worse. I had nothing to feel guilty or awkward about. Ian had agreed to be my date before Christmas, but now there was Austin.

"Ian's my plus one, so he'll be in Kirkby then." I risked a glance, sure I spotted a flash of disappointment on his face before he shuttered his reaction.

"It'll be great to see him again," he said, a little too carefully.

I considered his words, his tone, wondering if he thought I couldn't see us beyond two weeks. While we hadn't discussed labels or relationship status, after last night, as far as I was concerned, my energy was exclusively invested in him. Even before yesterday, I'd known I wouldn't be simply having sexy fun with someone from work—especially my boss—if I didn't genuinely like the man.

I reached out and placed my hand on top of his that rested on his leg. On contact, he turned his hand palm up and held my hand. "Maybe we could go out for dinner."

In my peripheral vision, I saw his shoulders loosen a little. "I'm happy to cook."

I cast him a wide grin. "That would be great. I'm eager to see all you can achieve in the kitchen."

" Or maybe I can order in or even beg Billy to work his magic."

My eyebrows drew high. "He cooks too? Is there anything he doesn't do?"

He shrugged. "Knit, maybe. Though, if he turned up one day with a sweater for me, honestly, I wouldn't be surprised."

Laughter trickled through the car. "I definitely need to meet the enigma that is Billy."

"You clearly need to spend more time with me to make that happen." He followed with a gentle squeeze of my hand.

"We can make that happen."

Ease filled the car as we continued our journey. Spending more time with Austin was something I could totally get on board with. A couple of weeks back, I would have felt guilty at the thought of abandoning Mom so often, but since she'd been offered a job yesterday morning—bizarrely, my old position at Davis's café rather than at the veterinary clinic due to full-time hours offered there, there was a new lease of life in her.

When she'd told me that Scott had offered her the part-time position, he'd followed up with a discussion about my position at Davis's café still being open and wondered if she was interested in longer hours. That's when he'd called up his fiancé for him to chat with Mom.

I'd been touched by them doing their best to help her out. And Mom had been ecstatic about being in a position where she'd have the chance to spend some time preparing delicious treats in the kitchen.

Not only that, Mom was explicitly clear that she wanted me to stop fussing and to head out and get a life. Contentment settled in me. I wanted Mom to meet Austin soon so she could get to know the incredible man who'd captured my attention.

We drove past the large conifers and the dotted properties leading toward Austin's house, and I smiled when I spotted Austin's property. It really was a great location. Drawing closer, I frowned, wondering why there was a vehicle in the driveaway, then figured it must be Billy's.

"You have got to be kidding me."

Before I'd put the car into Park, Austin jumped out, shoulders taut, and I was convinced I could see steam shooting out of his ears. I opened the door and stepped out .

Austin's "Rupert, what the hell do you think you're doing?" was enough to make me pause as I took in the scene before me. The man who'd had his back to us when I'd pulled up turned. It was definitely the asshole ex I'd seen charging out of Austin's office last week. And when he turned, the sly smirk on his face made my skin crawl.

I didn't know the man at all, but that was a look I knew well. It meant our weekend escape had been cut off abruptly with drama I really didn't want.