Make Me Yours (3 page)

“I am too. I feel better. I think I’m happier.”

“I’m even more pleased to hear that.”

She took a chance and reached over to touch his hand. “I’m glad you contacted me.”

He squeezed her hand. “I am too.” He gazed down into her eyes for a long moment and didn’t move.

She felt silly for assuming he was about to kiss her and turned her head away, but he caught her chin and turned her back to look at him. He leaned in and kissed her firmly. She felt the kiss with her entire body. He didn’t touch her anywhere else. He held her hand gently, and he kept his fingers under her chin and held her still. She opened herself up to his warm, persistent lips, and his tongue exploring her mouth made her shiver. He wasn’t aggressive, but he was very thorough, as if he were tasting her, trying to memorize her mouth. When he pulled away, their faces inches apart and their breath mingling, she shuddered at the realization her panties were wet.

He stroked her cheek. “I better behave myself and go.”

“Okay.” She couldn’t think of anything else to say. She didn’t quite have the nerve to tell him what his kiss had done to her. She walked him to the door, where he kissed her cheek sweetly.

“I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“I’d like that.”

He smiled, and she closed the door. He waited until she’d locked it and then he walked to his car. He glanced back twice, waving the last time before getting into his car. She watched him drive away and groaned with frustration. She’d had an amazing time, but she’d wanted more, especially after that kiss.

Her brain told her this way was better. He was older and knew what he was doing. His interest was genuine. He’d even been open enough over dinner to tell her that he wanted to make sure she knew he was looking for a real relationship, not just a fling. She’d been flattered and overwhelmed, but she’d confessed that was what she wanted too.

“But right now I want your cock deep inside me,” she said as she ran her fingers through her hair in frustration.

She heard a noise and jumped. David had paused halfway down the stairs.

“He is gone, right? I came down for a beer because I heard the car pulling away.”

“Oh my stars!”

David laughed. “Don’t be embarrassed. Geez, we’re too old for that.” He headed for the kitchen, but then he sauntered over to her playfully. “Unless you want to save face by pretending you were talking to me.” He took her hand and twirled her around in a little dance. “I pride myself in being a very good and
accommodating
friend.”

She pulled away and went to the kitchen. “Then have a beer with me.”

“Are you sure? You sounded like you were really in need.”

She slapped his arm.

“Ow! That was a real slap!” Shaking his head in mock reproach, he pulled two beers from the fridge, popped the caps off, and then handed her one. “Come on. Tell me all about it. The date must have gone well if your girly parts are all tingly and needy.”

She took a long drink of her beer. “You tell Jeremiah, and I will kill you.”

“He’s asleep. I checked. I swear I won’t.”

She hesitated and gathered her thoughts. “Yes, the date was great. I’m glad it went the way it did. But he kissed me right before he left—and that’s fine—but wow…”

“Wow to what? The kiss?”

“Yes.” She looked over at the stairs and then moved closer so she could whisper. “He just kissed me once. He was holding my hand, and he had his other hand on my chin. No groping or fondling. Just a kiss.” She paused again.

“Come on, out with it!”

“And I got…wet.”

David moved an inch closer. “Seriously?”

She nodded and moved back. She sat on one of the barstools and drank her beer.

He sat beside her, looking thoughtful. “I obviously need to work on my kissing. I don’t think I’ve ever been quite that inspiring.”

She sighed. “I was stunned by how much I wanted him to stay.”

“He wouldn’t?” he asked quickly.

“I didn’t ask. He told me over dinner that he needed to be sure I knew he was looking for a serious relationship. He’s changed.”

“I doubt he’s changed that much. You know how guys talk. Most of it isn’t true. He’s just matured and put aside flirting as a way of showing interest.” He set his beer down. “So, this has to make you admit there was always something between you two.”

“I already admitted that.”

“You did not. You admitted that you liked him. That was it.”

“Okay then, I admit it now. But in the end, it’s probably better this way. I was too young. We might have messed it up back then.”

“Maybe.”

“He’s going to call me tomorrow.”

“Of course he is. He’s probably going to dream about you.”

She laughed and took her empty bottle to the recycling bin. “I doubt that.”

“I’m sure he found you quite inspiring.” His expression was far too serious for her liking.

She shook her head and laughed again. “Let’s not make too much of this. It was one date and one kiss. One step at a time, please.”

“If that’s what you want. I’m always here to listen, especially if your filthy mind needs an outlet.”

“I’m going to bed.”

“Sweet dreams.”

“Whatever.”

Taking a deep breath, she made her way upstairs. She had a feeling she’d have a hard time sleeping tonight, and she had little doubt Erik might make a cameo appearance in her dreams when she did.

* * * *

Erik could feel his cock straining against his pants as he threw his keys and wallet on the dresser. Though he’d tried to clear his head as he drove home, the memory of Susan’s hungry and eager mouth had lingered with him. He shouldn’t have kissed her like that. He should have kept it light and sweet. Now, he was only thankful he’d managed to pull himself away.

He took his clothes off and lay down on the bed, breathing deeply. He had to be up at five, so he needed to calm himself down. Was she feeling like this? Would she have trouble sleeping tonight? The thought made him harder. He pulled his boxers off and went into the bathroom, deciding there was only one way he’d be able to sleep. Letting his mind drift back to their kiss, he could still taste her. He imagined himself pulling her close and deepening the kiss, pressing his body to hers. He slid his hands over her ass, and then one hand went beneath her skirt. He worked his fingers into her panties and found her wet. She sighed and arched against him, wrapping her arms around him and moaning.

He stroked his cock as he envisioned her response to his touch. He unbuttoned her dress and exposed her trembling flesh, his mouth moving down to her breasts while he lightly pinched her clit, making her gasp. He ran his hands over her body, cupping and squeezing her breasts, teasing the nipples with his teeth and tongue. Then he cradled her ass in one hand as his fingers found her pussy again. He teased her, inserting one finger and finding the perfect spot to caress her, and then pulling out just as she began to moan. He worked her into a frenzy doing this. She slid her panties down as he finished pulling her dress off. She cried out as he suckled her nipple and slid two fingers into her pussy. He turned her around and entered her from behind. She moaned and said his name. She asked him to go faster and fuck her harder. She gasped with each stroke of his cock. She said his name, and then she turned her head to kiss him. Soon she came, her pussy trembling and squeezing his cock. She shuddered in his arms as she whispered his name against his lips.

He grabbed a towel as he came, surprised at how quickly he’d finished. He hadn’t fantasized about her for a long time because he’d once believed they’d never see each other again. The fact she was even sexier and more beautiful than ever had made this little fantasy even better.

“I’ll have to do this more often,” he managed to say to himself. He threw the towel into the hamper.
But hopefully I won’t have to.
He was proud of himself. It seemed she’d had a good time, and he thought she’d appreciated his candor about what he wanted. He knew they’d be amazing once they got in bed together. In fact, he thought they’d be amazing as a couple as well. Did she share his confidence? His hopes? He longed to know what she was thinking now. He had no doubt he’d please her in the bedroom, but he hoped he would live up to all her other expectations as well.

Chapter Three

Susan sighed. Strong arms encircled her waist, and warm breath caressed her neck and hair. She turned to snuggle closer, but she only met the cold sheets beside her. She blinked several times and realized she’d been asleep. He had felt very real, and the amount of time she’d spent thinking about Erik’s kiss the night before had definitely helped the dream fool her into believing she was waking up in his arms.

She stretched out on the bed. Had he spent as much time thinking about her? Had he found it hard to fall asleep? She glanced at her clock and saw it was a little before nine. He would be at work now, but he was supposed to be done at three. She wished she could call him just to hear his voice. As much as she’d wanted to sleep with him, she would have been equally content to stay up talking to him all night. She’d realized during the drive home how much she’d missed him. He was charismatic and warm and funny. She’d even enjoyed hearing him talk about work because he was so passionate about it. She didn’t fully understand everything he’d told her about his research, but she’d still been fascinated by it.

She reached for her cell phone and pulled herself out of bed. She took it off silent mode so she’d be sure to get his call later. Ever since the alarm function had stopped working, she’d been silencing her phone at night. She needed to go out and get a new one. Erik would be off the next day, so maybe they could go together. She laughed at herself. He’d only been back in her life for twenty-four hours, and she already wanted to do everything with him. She rubbed her eyes and looked through her texts. She had one from David, which she immediately deleted. She was glad he had thus far limited his teasing to a text, but she knew he’d probably be waiting for her in the kitchen. A light rain fell outside, so he had probably skipped his morning run. The other one, as she had hoped, was from Erik. He’d sent it at six that morning. He’d just arrived at work and wanted her to know he’d woken up thinking about her. He’d call her as soon as his shift ended, and he wanted to meet for coffee. She sent a text back and said yes. Before hitting the Send button, she added that she’d woken up thinking of him as well because she’d had such a nice time. She thought about being more suggestive, but she decided to keep it simple.

She showered quickly and put on old jeans and a blue t-shirt. The guys wanted to hit hardware stores and get ideas for fixtures and paint for the store. She wasn’t worried they’d keep her out too long because she was sure their enthusiasm for her newly rebooted love life would not die anytime soon.

David met her at the bottom of the stairs with a cup of coffee. “Here you go. Hope you aren’t too exhausted.”

She took the cup. “And why would I be exhausted?”

“I’m sure you didn’t sleep a wink.”

“I slept fine.”

“And how many batteries did you go through?”

She threatened him with the steaming cup of coffee, and he backed away a few feet. “I went to sleep with the help of a pill, not…anything else.”

“Just checking. We could buy an economy pack at the hardware store if you think you’ll be needing them.”

“I think I’ll survive.”

Jeremiah came around the corner with a notepad and pencil. “David, stop making her so paranoid. She needs to feel comfortable having her boyfriend over. Our little girl is growing up now, and she needs more privacy so Erik can do all manner of unspeakable things to her.”

She tried to glare at them, but she could only laugh. “Yes, well, I’m pretty sure we’ll be staying at his place when we get to that stage.”

“He’ll always be welcome here though,” Jeremiah said.

“We’ll keep that in mind.” She sat down at the kitchen table and began looking through the paper. “Are you guys almost ready?”

“Yeah. Whenever you are,” Jeremiah said. “Just making a list. The ceiling fans are all fine, so we need to coordinate with them. The bathroom fixtures need to be updated. We need to pick out new colors for the bathroom.”

“You don’t like the burnt orange?” David asked.

“Call me crazy, but it’s not very welcoming.”

“We need to go through all our towels and see what will match.” She turned to David. “Didn’t you get ten million towels as wedding presents like I did?”

“Yes! I probably got more. Some are still in the plastic. I really don’t see the point of wedding registries if people buy from them but don’t let the salespeople scan them. I have fifteen green towels.”

“I’ve got a lot of cream hand towels and face cloths. We can coordinate something around that.”

“You think Erik will help us fix the place up?” Jeremiah asked.

“I’m sure he will. He offered to help last night.”

“So back to that much more interesting subject, David said you had a good time last night.”

“Is that all he said?”

“Mostly. He said Erik was a good boy and left you with all your clothes intact at a respectable hour.”

“Yes, that is true. He came in for coffee, and we chatted for a little while. Then he left.”

“And he kissed you? He had to have at least kissed you.”

“Yes, he did. And David knew that.”

David held his arms up in a gesture of innocence. “I kept it simple out of fear of being annihilated. I thought it best you tell him details.”

“Hmmmm. If you say so.” She finished her coffee and set the mug in the sink. “Okay, let’s head out then. Erik gets off at three, and we’re going to meet for coffee.”

“Did you set this up last night or has he already called you today?” David checked his watch. “The man works fast.”

“He sent me a text when he got to work. And he’s not the only one ‘working’ fast. I made it very clear I had a good time.” As she walked toward the stairs to go get her purse, her phone beeped.

“I don’t see how he’s going to get any work done with you distracting him,” Jeremiah called as she hurried up the steps.

“Don’t you worry about that,” she called back. “I’ll be down in two minutes.” She pulled the phone out of her pocket and looked at the text.

Did you? I hope I inspired some pleasant dreams.

She giggled. He’d kept the flirting and banter to a minimum the night before, but she sensed he would soon be acting at least a bit more like the flirtatious man she’d never been able to forget. She sent him a quick text back.

Yes, you did. I dreamt that I woke up in your arms.

She waited. She checked her hair and put her keys in her purse. As she zipped it up, her phone beeped again.

I wish you had. One morning…soon.

She didn’t reply because she didn’t want to risk David and Jeremiah getting too curious. She didn’t really mind them being so nosy, but she wanted to keep some more intimate things to herself. She hurried down the stairs, wishing the next six hours would pass very quickly.

* * * *

“Dreaming about me already? That is a good sign,” Erik said to himself before going back to finish his report. He could have been finished with it an hour ago, but he was distracted. He hadn’t been this happy in a long time though, so he figured he deserved one slightly distracted morning. The intimacy and sweetness of her dream touched him. His dream had been far more erotic. His fantasy about her before going to bed had inspired him in a very unexpected way. He’d dreamt that he’d woken up next to her, and she’d stirred in the darkness. Her naked body had brushed against him and gotten him hard. He’d kissed his way down her body before settling himself between her legs to go down on her. It had seemed very real, her moans and sighs and gasps exciting him. He’d cursed his alarm clock for going off just as he was entering her.

He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind. He’d woken up very hard and then gotten himself off in the shower twice because reliving the dream in his mind had proved very intoxicating. When they finally did make love, he hoped she’d be able to go all night because he knew he wouldn’t be able to get enough of her.

While he thanked fate for bringing them back together, he wished it could have happened differently. Losing her husband so young had to have been traumatizing. No matter how encouraging she was he had to stick to his resolution of not rushing anything. If he could have his own way, he’d be moving her into his home tonight, but he had to keep such thoughts to himself. Also, she was very excited about the bookstore, and he had to let her pursue that dream without worrying about what he might want. It made him happy to see her so passionate and enthusiastic about a project. She’d seemed interested in the research he was doing, and it had given him great pleasure to share his ideas with her. He wasn’t going to cure cancer or revolutionize his field anytime soon, but he felt his research was important. He smiled because he could tell she understood that. He wasn’t falling in love with her now. In truth, he’d been in love with her for over ten years. One day, he would confess that to her. For now, he was going to do everything in his power to make her fall in love with him. He would not lose her again because of his own fears and anxieties.

* * * *

Susan parked her car in the parking deck and took the elevator down to street level. She called Erik to tell him where she was. He came around the corner about twenty seconds later.

He kissed her on the cheek. “Hello, beautiful.”

“Hi,” she said. “Did you have a good day at work?”

“Yes, I did. Lots of paperwork though, so it was very boring. How’s your day been?”

“Good. We spent most of it in a hardware store.”

“Any luck?”

“Yeah, we picked out some fixtures and paint for the bathroom. We’re going to see how that comes together and then paint upstairs.”

They sat at a little table outside the coffee shop. The waitress nodded at them before rushing back inside.

“Do any of you have experience painting?”

“I painted my own room several times. David’s done lots of painting. Not sure how much help Jeremiah will be.”

“Well, I’ve had lots of experience painting. As I said I’d be more than happy to help.”

The waitress came back and took their orders. Erik ordered coffee and a triple chocolate meltdown for each of them.

“Triple chocolate meltdown?” Susan said as the waitress walked away. “That sounds lethal. Sure we shouldn’t share one?”

“If we tried to share, you’d take my arm off. Trust me.”

“Don’t worry. I trust you.” The warm look in his eyes made her blush a little. “So, what do you have going on tomorrow?”

“I’m completely free and all yours.”

“I need to get a new cell phone. Mine is way past its prime. It’s four years old and starting to malfunction on me.”

He smiled. “I’d love to come along.”

“Good. It’ll feel so much like a chore if I go alone. It’ll be fun to have someone else with me.”

“Glad I’m your first choice then.”

“Of course.”

Tracing a pattern on the table with his fingers, he lowered his eyes and said, “I wouldn’t want to start assuming.” Then he glanced up.

She looked into his eyes. “I wouldn’t mind if you did.”

He folded his arms on the table and leaned closer. “Are you sure you want to say that?”

“Yes. That’s why I said it.”

Their coffee arrived. Erik put four packs of sugar in his.

“You still like sugar, I see.”

“Oh yes. I’m very fond of sweet things.”

She giggled, but then she tried to stifle it as she reached for the cream and stirred it into her coffee.

“Yes, I was referring to you there, so giggle all you want. It’s the effect I was going for.”

“Well, good, because I think you’re going to constantly have that kind of effect on me.”

“It was all I could do to you all those years ago, and I remember enjoying it immensely.”

She laughed again. “You were good at it.” She paused. “And why didn’t you try to do anything else to me?”

“Ah, a serious question. And a very good one.”

“Yes, I think it’s a good one. You couldn’t have expected me to make the first move. I was in awe of you. I thought I just had a crush. I didn’t want to scare you off. I wanted to at least keep you as a friend. Whenever you asked me out, I always thought you were teasing me, trying to flatter me or make me laugh. Like I said, I really valued our friendship. I didn’t know what to do.”

“And idiot that I was I let that friendship fall by the wayside once I moved away.”

“That happens to everyone.”

“I was the one who stopped contacting you though. Once you told me you were getting married I gave up on my vague hopes of seeing you again.”

She stared at him. “So, you wanted to come back because of me?”

He nodded. “Yes. I already had this planned because of you. I had to go where jobs in my field were, but I was always looking for a way to come back here, even though I knew your marriage had taken you to another state. I decided to stick to the plan even after you told me about your engagement and plans to move because I always loved living here.” He paused. “To be honest, I had to struggle to keep myself from contacting you the very moment I found out you were single. I sent you a note and waited for you to respond. I was very glad you took the time to write back. I made my plans to move back when I got the go ahead for my sabbatical, and then I just told myself to be patient. Then I was in the library and Heather mentioned you were living here again. I do feel guilty for being happy about it.”