Davenport Harbor (Six Degrees Book 3) (22 page)

“
But the light—
”

“
I want to see you.
”
Her eyes heated and they freely roamed down my body. I was more than comfortable in my skin, always had been. Yet with her eyes on me, I hoped that she still reacted to me the way she had the first night we’d spent together when I’d gone to apologize to her for being an asshole.

“
You
’
re in a towel,
”
she remarked and my lips twitched.

“
I am.
”
Her eyebrows rising as her eyes caught sight of the obvious tenting underneath, she licked her lower lip, then went in for the kill, and I watched as her teeth sunk into the puffy flesh of that damn lower lip that drove me crazy. Her legs hit the end of the bed and she stood there, holding her hands together, nervous energy radiating off of her.

“
Come here, Kitten,
”
I smiled as I watched her. I wanted to make her feel at ease with me.

“
John.”
Her voice was soft. I reached my arms out to her, the way her face went soft and sweet doing something to my heart. I liked that look on her face. I was afraid of what I
’
d do to have her look at me like that all the time.

Slowly, she crawled onto the bed with me, and I helped her settle her head onto my bare chest. That soothing feeling I got when she was close filled me up, and I swallowed hard, trying to blot it away. Just when her body was about to reach around my thighs, she stopped and sat. Her eyes on me, she tilted her head, something working behind her eyes. That was when she surprised me.

“
How was your trip?
”

“
What?
”
I fought the frown that was forming on my face and she smiled at me.

“
Your trip to New York? How was it?
”

“
You want to know?
”
I asked, unable to hide the surprise in my voice.

“
Of course.
”
She smiled even brighter, and something about that look on her face broke me open like a cracked dam.

“
It was New York. Noisy, tons of traffic, great food, and massive numbers of people rushing everywhere.
”
Her soft laugh lightened something in my shoulders.
“
The people I work with over there are very competent, but they could learn a lot from Bernadette.
”

“
She likes to be called Birdie.
”
My kitten
’
s voice was soft. Her lips twitched, and I playfully scowled at her.

“
Yeah, baby, she
’
s mentioned that.
”
My lips started twitching, too, and she surprised me once again by scooting up the bed. Instead of settling in at my side like I expected she
’
d do, she straddled me, her sweet ass resting on my thighs, and I knew she did it on purpose. She was getting brave, but not fully going to where I was sure we both wanted her to be.

“
Did you go anywhere good to eat?
”
Her hands on either side of my towel-covered thighs made my body feel tighter than before.

“
What are you doing, Kitten?
” I asked,
wondering what the hell she was doing and not knowing if this was something I could do.

“
Talking,
”
she simply explained, her hands now at my waist where the top of the towel hit my waist, all the while avoiding my erection. I closed my eyes at the smoothness of her fingertips.
“
Are you falling asleep?
”
The evil little wench asked, a clear smile in her voice.

“
No,
”
I muttered, missing her hands as they went back to my thighs.

“
So?
”
She pushed again, and a light panic seeped into me.

“
What?
”
I clipped, my voice slightly cold.

“
Did you go anywhere good to eat?
” She was
like a dog with a bone, and I opened my eyes. Her smiling face was clearly amused by my reaction, and if it would have been any other woman, I would have kicked her ass out of my bed and sent her right on home.

I don
’
t do this. Ever.

I didn
’
t share about my day-to-day, what I did any time I was out of town. That was a part of me I kept to myself. Not a part of me that I shared with anyone. Not ever.

“
John?
”
Her face tilted slightly, curiosity and worry mixing in her eyes. I couldn’t help myself.

“
I hit up Papayas,
”
I blurted out.
“
Every time I go to New York, I go there at least once, or maybe twice.
”

“
Really?
”
Her eyes widened brightly and I liked it.

I liked sharing this, even if huge red flags were waving at me in the back of my head. Before I could retreat, push her away, and think about what it meant that I liked sharing this shit with her, she smiled that smile of hers I liked so much at me. The one that bared straight white teeth and was so damn honest and open and big that it made her doe eyes half their normal size. It pushed the quickly rising doubt down, almost making it vanish from my mind.

“
Yeah. Then I come back to LA and the first thing I eat here is Tommy
’
s.
”

“
Wow. I would never have guessed you for a hot dog guy.
”
Surprise was clear in her voice. I shrugged and smirked, enjoying the easiness of talking to her.

“
What about you?
”
I asked her, and she smiled her shy smile, the one that seemed to make her get deeper under my skin somehow.

“
Well, Nick came by, gave me a bunch of work, which I finished and sent back to him. He seemed pretty impressed. I guess he thought it would take longer. Zoey had two more bad nights of teething, and yesterday I swear she almost took a step,
”
she shared, and I cupped her face.

“
Her birthday
’
s around the corner, isn
’
t it?
”

“
Yeah,
”
her voice softened,
“
Three weeks, she
’
ll be one.
”

“
She
’
s a good baby, Anne. You
’
ve done a great job.
”
Her eyes met mine, assessing, as if they were trying to see if I was being genuine. Judging by the smile on her face, she believed me.

“
Thanks.
”

“
Let
’
s have a party,
”
I blurted out.
First a BBQ and now a party?
Even she seemed shocked.

“
No. We don
’
t have to do that. She
’
s only turning one. I was thinking of asking Birdie for dinner at the guest house if that was okay with you, and if you
’
re free of course. Maybe cut a cake?
”
She suggested, a blush on her cheeks.

“
Kitten, she needs a party,
”
I told her, my hands on her thighs now.

“
I just think it would be better to keep the money I
’
ve made aside, just in case,
”
My hands stopped stroking her smooth thighs.

“
In case of what?
”
My voice was stern, and I took a deep breath, waiting her out.

“
I just think something small
…”
Her voice softened, her gaze going down to the sage-colored comforter on the bed, and I put my fingers under her chin so she had to look at me.

“
What did I tell you?
”

“
John
…”
sighing loudly, she fought looking me in the eyes, but I didn’t let her.

“
I asked you to trust me. I
’
ll take care of Downey. I already have the ball rolling.
”
Her eyes widened at my words, the worry in them transparent as she opened and then closed her mouth.

“
Let me hire Sabrina to plan a party,
”
I pushed a bit, not really understanding myself.

“
What if we just do something small?
”

“
That
’
s fine, just let me hire Sabrina to plan it.
”
I didn’t give up and she stayed quiet for a bit.
Why am I pushing a birthday party for Zoey?
I knew why. I just didn
’
t want to let myself think about it.

“
Okay,
”
she gave in, and I wanted to give her something for doing so.

“
I went to a bakery this time, too.
”
I shared with her and she smiled at me.

Not thinking about it, I settled her on the side of my body, taking her off my lap and tucking her close in next to me. If someone had told me that I would take a beautiful woman off my lap willingly so that we could talk about our days away from one another, and would enjoy it completely, I would have laughed in their face. But that was exactly what I did. She fascinated me. I asked her about the work she had done for Nick, and the way her eyes brightened told me that she really enjoyed it. Then, between talking and just touching one another, we fell asleep, her head snuggled on my chest, her hand wrapped around my middle, and a stupid grin on my face.

Anne

Opening my eyes, I liked seeing John in front of me. My head was still on his chest and I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. Glancing towards the alarm clock on the nightstand, I relaxed knowing it was still early.

My hands roamed lightly over his chest, moving the haphazardly placed towel that had come undone in his sleep. Licking my lower lip, I let myself explore. His skin was warm and soft, yet had hard muscle underneath. I followed the treasure trail of dark hair a little lower to the tenting that was going on under the towel. My hands stopped at the edge of the towel.
Should I?

“
Touch me, Kitten.
”
His voice was hoarse with sleep. I looked up at him. His dark eyes were slightly hooded as he looked at me with an intense stare.
“
Keep looking at me just like that when you touch me,
”
he demanded again and I swallowed. I shifted slightly so that I could have a better look at him.

“
Hi,
”
I whispered and his lips twitched.

“
Touch me,
”
his deep voice repeated and I smiled, my fingers touching the coarse hair under the edge of the towel.

“
Good morning,
”
I kissed his bare shoulder, not taking my eyes off of him, my hand moving lower until I touched the base of him.

“
Touch me, Anne.
”
His nose flared this time just as his jaw twitched, and I nodded, slowly wrapping my hand around his thickness.
“
Anne,
”
he warned, and I slowly stroked him up and down, making sure my grip wasn’t too tight. Judging by the way his head fell deeper into the pillow, I thought he liked it.

Something came over me when he groaned. Something unlike anything I had ever felt. A need surged through me to make him feel as good as possible. I kissed and licked and nipped his chest as I stroked him, trying my hardest to keep my eyes on him. I flicked my tongue against one of his nipples then did the same to the other, enjoying the deep sounds that escaped him. Moving completely off of him, I urged him to open his legs wide so I could settle between them. He tugged on my nightgown.

“
Take this off,
”
he growled, and I quickly did as he said, not skipping a beat, my mouth leaning back down to the hardness of his abs where I licked and kissed him.

“
No panties,
”
he groaned, his hand skimming the back of my thigh, and I smiled at him.

Taking my time, I enjoyed the way his body seemed to be fighting to keep still, to stay in control as it trembled softly beneath my mouth and hands. I looked up at him and the look on his face made me wetter than I already was.

“
Taste me, Kitten,
”
he growled softly.

On his forearms, pulling his body up at an angle, looking at me, he grabbed himself at the base, pointing it towards me, and I couldn’t look away. He was beautiful. Thick and long, I couldn’t help kissing the tip.

“
Take me in that pretty little mouth, Anne,
”
his husky voice demanded,
“
I need those pretty lips around my dick, baby.
”
The unsteadiness in his voice made me smile. I opened and took the tip into my mouth, swirling my tongue around the crown.

“
Fuck,
”
he cursed as my mouth wrapped around him and he shut his eyes tightly,
“
Just like that...God, Anne,
”
I watched as he opened his eyes and stayed on task.

My own body was reacting to his taste and sounds of pleasure. Beyond turned on, the wetness at my core spread. His hand moved into my hair, bringing me up and down on his shaft with the speed he wanted, slightly tugging my hair.

“
Kitten,
”
he hissed,
“
that mouth. Shit, baby, that pretty mouth.
”
His breathing was unsteady, his voice deep and low,
“
Take me deep, Kitten,
”
his dirty words only fueled my hunger.