(WARNING: Contains Adult Language Inappropriate for Children Under the age of 18)
Avery jolted awake up when the aroma of coffee and food
became too much for her to keep her eyes closed. Her stomach growled loudly and
she grabbed it remembering it had not been fed since yesterday morning. The
orange juice and granola bar she’d eaten before going to the airport had worn
off long ago.
The strong smells drifting into the room and her stomach
demanding food wouldn’t allow her to stay in bed. She sat up and winced from
the aches attacking her body. Still naked she saw the marks on her thighs and
stomach from Daniel’s hands.
She dropped her head embarrassed at her behavior. She had never
talked dirty or told a man what she wanted him to do in bed, sex had always
been traditional. Jon’s moves were sexy and soulful but he never put variety in
their lovemaking. With Daniel sex was
hot, steamy and erotic. He wasn’t afraid to use his tongue in places Jon wouldn’t
dare go.
Shaking the sinful thoughts from her head she managed to
stand up without collapsing to the floor. Her legs were weak and a dull
throbbing between her legs had her walking tenderly to get her suitcase. A hot shower would fix her up good as new.
After her shower, Avery chose the sheer black negligee to
wear and put on the silk red robe. Checking her refection in the mirror making
sure her makeup was not smeared something was missing.
Twisting her ponytail in a knot, she put on the sweetheart necklace
and matching dangling silver earrings. “That’s what was needed,” she said approving
her appearance. She walked over to the bed to close the suitcase. Chuckling she
picked up the box of condoms and took one out slipping it in her pocket. She
wanted to give Daniel a good laugh.
Walking down the stairs Avery got a look at the living room
and the decorations since it was daylight and they were extensive and impressive.
The cabin was more like a house but had that rustic feel with the exposed rock
and wood. The fresh plants and colors set off the Christmas theme. The only thing missing was the tree.
She heard a noise from a back room and followed the sound.
There in the kitchen was Daniel standing at the stove. She didn’t say anything
but watched him. He was shirtless but wore
plaid pajama bottoms. His muscles flexing as he took a pan from the oven.
“Mmm, something smells good and looks good in here,” she
said as she sashayed over to him.
“Morning, babe. I thought you might be hungry since we didn’t
make dinner last night,” he said as he took off the oven mitts.
She gave him a quick peck on the lips and looked down at the
golden brown gooey cinnamon rolls bubbling hot in the pan, and what looked to
be a breakfast casserole sitting next to it. It took everything in her power to
stop her stomach from gurgling.
“I’m starving and the food looks good. I thought you said
you didn’t cook?”
“I don’t. Jas made the meals and left instructions on
reheating them. She’s a professional
chef and owns a bakery and diner. Her cooking is what got Chase’s attention.”
“It smells fabulous and I can’t wait to eat,” she said
inhaling the fragrance.
He scooped food onto plates and carried them to the table. “Everything
is ready.”
As they ate, Avery had to stop herself from eating the food
in gulps. It was the best food she’d ever tasted. “Oh, my goodness, this is
good,” she exclaimed.
“Jas is the best. She introduced me to soul food too. I’d never
had collard greens or baked mac and cheese before. My mother is Irish and my
dad was Italian so we pretty much ate those types of foods.”
“I see. She opened you up culturally too.”
He looked at her and she melted like butter from the love she
saw in his eyes. “She even made a soulful dinner especially for you. I didn’t
want you to miss your mom’s cooking on Christmas.”
“Daniel, you are so sweet and thoughtful. I cannot imagine
you being the person you said you once were.”
“I’m not proud of it, Avery.” He ate a forkful of the casserole and said, “Staying
in Cleveland has reminders of my past on every corner. That’s why I’m willing
to move to Portland.”
She had thought about him wanting to get away. A person with an addiction would want to be
away from the temptations of their past. “Okay, you’ll come to Portland. It’s important
to me that I help you maintain your goals, Daniel. I’ll find another job in
Portland and I’ll be close to Jackie still.”
“Glad you brought that up. What were you plans if you’d gone
to college?”
The coffee was strong and robust when she took a sip. “My
dream was to become an optometrist. When my dad left I had to work to help my
mom with bills so she could finish school.”
“Would you still want to pursue your dream?”
Avery gave Daniel a side-glance. “What are you plotting in
that head of yours?”
“Well, I don’t want to do homework alone. Won’t it be fun to
do it together?”
She laughed. “It would, but I have to work to eat and live
indoors Going back to school part-time will take forever to finish.”
“Not if I buy a house. You’ll have a roof over your head, no
bills to pay and a support system to keep you motivated. I think that’s a damn
good deal.”
She nodded. “It is but we haven’t discussed living together
yet.”
Daniel chuckled. “We haven’t discussed a lot of things yet
that aren’t debatable.”
She raised her brow. “Excuse me?”
“Number one being we will make our relationship work. In a
year or two, we’ll be married and the following year we’ll welcome our first
kid. Let me warn you that Chase has triplets. Not sure if that runs in our
family or Jasmine’s.”
Whoa! The talk
about marriage and babies caught her off guard. Avery put her folk down and
cleared her throat. “Obviously, you’ve been doing a lot of thinking. Daniel,
while I admire you know exactly what you want and the timeframes you want them
to happen ,but you left out a lot of contributing factors.”
He drank from the coffee mug looking over the rim at her. “Such
as?”
“Umm, me? What if I don’t agree? Do you have a stand in for
me?”
“Nope, because you won’t disagree,” he said confidently and
bit a piece of the cinnamon roll. “Mmm, you gotta taste these. They melt in
your mouth.”
Avery got up from the table and walked over to him. “Are you
listening to me?” She put her hands on her hips, it caused her robe to open
slightly revealing the top portion of her negligee.
Daniel looked up at her and smiled. “Ooo, black sheer. I see
your nipple.”
She closed her robe. “Daniel, stop playing, this is serious.”
“And so is this.” He pushed his plate away and scooted the
chair back as he pulled Avery onto his lap.
“No, no, we aren’t doing this.” She breathed as he buried
his head between her breasts. She got up to leave the kitchen but he was quick
and stopped her.
“Don’t worry, babe,” he said, his voice low. “To you it
seems I’m moving too fast. To me; I’m not moving fast enough.”
She heard his words, but it almost seemed as if they’d come
from someone else. “I care about you and want the same things too. Can you give
me some time to let it sink in, Daniel?”
“Our days are not guaranteed, Avery. We wait and wait and
before you know it, we are no more.”
“We can’t live with
dread hanging over our head,” she said, reaching for his arm and sliding her
hand down to close her fingers around his.
“I can’t live without you.” His hand closed around hers, the
sensation so reassuring as the it was the first day they met.
Emotion swelled in her chest. Tears burned her eyes. “I love you, Daniel.” The words came out
right. They sounded real. “But it’s happening so fast, and I’m confused. My
father uprooted us from our home without asking my mom. It tore my family apart.”
He pulled on her hand, drawing her close. His other arm
wrapped around her waist. “What are you saying, Avery?”
Why did she feel like she was dangling over a ledge? “I
don’t want to lose you because I’m resistant to make a decision on a whim based
on what my mother went through.”
“I’m not your father. I’m in this until the end, baby.” His
hand found her face, felt along her temple, her cheek, until he found her jaw,
then drew her up. His mouth covered hers, and Avery whimpered, kissing him
back, seeking his tongue. He tasted her for one long moment, then broke
abruptly. “Is there anything you need to add?” he asked.
She knew what he meant, and the warm sensations flowed
through her. “I know there’s a lot I don’t know, but I’m willing to learn. And
all that matters to me is that I love who you are now.”
“Avery, that’s all I ask.”
“I don’t.”
“Oh, Avery…”
Her name was more of a groan than a word before his mouth
closed over hers again. And so much emotion filled his kiss, Avery could taste
it. She was too short without heels and stretched against his body to get more
of his mouth, more of everything.
The hard ridge of him rubbing her low belly made her crazy,
and she stroked him through his pajamas.
“Avery… baby…” He pulled her hand away.
She kissed his jaw, his throat, pulled at the drawstring on
his pants.
Daniel might have been holding the hand that had been
stroking him, but now he was rubbing his erection along her hip bone. “Avery,
you make me insane.”
She whimpered against his neck. “Please…”
On a growl, he picked her up by the waist and carried her
toward the exposed rock wall of the kitchen. He pressed her back to the cold
stone, kissed her deeply as his hands ran up the backs of her thighs.
“Christ, Avery.” His
hands roamed over the silk panties and gripped her ass. “That’s so hot.”
“I need you.” Avery
opened found his cock, and took him into her hands with a groan.
“Shhh,” he murmured against her lips.
She reached in the pocket of her robe and found the condom
she stashed, and ripped it, rolled it on his hot length. It was one of the
studded condoms, and the rubber nubs nipped at her fingers.
Daniel lifted her while she was still fitting it. Pressed
two fingers inside her from behind with a growled, “Move your hands.”
Avery had barely lifted them to his chest when Daniel guided
himself halfway into her, pressed his mouth to her neck, and muffled a deep
groan of pleasure. He filled her, stretched her, the extra friction from the
condom raking fire along her walls.
“Daniel, Daniel, Daniel.”
She was so ready she rose to climax before he’d fully penetrated her. “Oh God!”
Daniel’s hand closed over her mouth, and his hips plunged
just as the orgasm peaked. Her muscles squeezed. She arched against the cool
wall. Daniel thrust, thrust, thrust, never stopping. When her cries dimmed to
moans, he exchanged his hand for his mouth and kissed her as if he were
starving.
“I crave you… love
you… so damn much.”
He drove into her, pulling her hips to meet his, fingers
digging into her flesh. He felt so good. Filling her. Completing her. Feeding
her craving. She hooked an arm around his neck, pressed one hand to the wall,
and lifted her legs to wrap around his waist.
His pelvis hammered her clit on every drive, his cock so
deep she felt the orgasm build until her throat tightened with the thrill of
it.
“Oh shit…” was all he
got out before he broke, his thrusts coming fast and so hard and wild he pumped
another orgasm from her. She completely lost herself in the intensity of
sensation for long, long moments. Moments filled with Daniel holding her tight,
moving inside her, cool wall pressed against her skin.
Perfection. Ecstasy. Bliss. Daniel collapsed, crushing Avery
against the wall. She didn’t care. All she could feel was pleasure spiraling
through her body. She wanted to loll in the beauty of it, keep her head against
his shoulder, kiss his jaw, but Daniel was all business.
She pulled his face to hers and stopped his mouth with a
kiss. He groaned, then kissed her back, sighing into her mouth. “God, I love
you.”
The words burned across the surface of Avery’s heart. She
pulled back and pressed her hand to his lips. “I love you.”
Daniel wrapped his arms around Avery,
and pulled her up against his body hard, as if he were afraid she’d disappear.
He said, “Nobody is going to love you like me.
Nobody, Avery.”
Avery hugged him, believing he meant those words.
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