Here for You (23 page)

In one quick movement, he lifts me and my legs automatically wrap around his waist. He starts walking out of the kitchen.

“Aren’t you hungry?” I whisper.

“Famished.”

The low rumble of the word causes vibrations to flow through me. My hands urgently begin unbuttoning his shirt while he walks us to his room. By the time he gets to the bed, I reach the last button and push his shirt over his shoulders before he gently tosses me on the bed. I laugh at the gesture and he growls again.

He kicks his shoes off while he unbuckles his belt. His pants and boxers come off in one fluid movement, and I’m caught up in the beauty of the man standing in front of me. My tongue darts out to run over my suddenly dry lips. He groans at the gesture and reaches over to drag my thong down my legs. It lands silently on the pile of clothes next to the bed. His pale blue eyes have darkened so intensely that I shiver in anticipation.

“Are you sure, Ash?”

I lick my lips again as I nod my head.

“That tongue is going to be in trouble.”

I shiver again at the threat. Or, as my body senses, the promise of what he’s going to do.

He opens the drawer of the bedside table and pulls out a condom. He quickly sheaths himself and my pulse shoots even higher. My eyes roam his entire body again before he lowers himself over me. His hips nudge my legs open wider and I bend my knees. I close my eyes when I feel the tip of his arousal at my entrance.

“Open your eyes,” he grits out.

I know we’re both on the brink of going over the edge and he’s trying to maintain some control. I slowly open them and meet his intense gaze.

“I want to see your eyes the first time I enter you.”

My body jumps alive at the use of the word
first
. Knowing there could be many more moments like this is almost enough to make me orgasm instantaneously. Not trusting my voice I nod and hold his stare.

“This is not going to be a slow seduction, Ash. I need you to be right with me. Can you do that?”

My breathing has become so quick and shallow that I’m practically panting. “Now, Cam.”

He slides in with a quick movement, and I gasp as my body stretches to accommodate him. I moan as he pulls back and thrusts into me deeper. My insides are already winding higher, and I know I will go over the edge quickly. He keeps his eyes on me as his lips brush mine. My eyes drift shut as his tongue possessively captures mine and I whimper as he deepens the kiss further.

I lift my legs and tighten them around his waist. He moans at the movement as he slides deliciously deeper into me. Knowing that my body is about to go over the edge, I tighten my legs and arms around him. He lifts his head from the kiss. “Open your eyes. I want to see you as you fall apart.”

My eyes fly open and I immediately slide over the edge. My body ripples from head to toe at the most intense orgasm I have ever experienced. Our eyes are still locked, and when the last wave finally passes, Cam thrusts one more time and follows me to his own release.

Our heavy breathing mingles as he leans forward to give me a quick kiss. “You’re so beautiful when you let go.”

I feel my cheeks warm at the comment. “Thanks. I think,” I say a little shyly.

“Definitely a compliment. Let’s get you some food so you can keep up with me all night.”

I laugh. “Um, don’t you mean
you
need food? You just pitched a game.”

“I don’t need food when I have you. I could exist on you alone.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Trust me. I could never get enough of you, Ash. I will always want more.”

I don’t want to make anything he says more than it is, so I take it at face value. I will take whatever I can get from him even though what happened just realized my biggest fear: no one will ever be able to compare to Cam for as long as I live. I’m sure of it. My body reacts to his touch and every kiss in a way I never imagined. Our chemistry is undeniable, but it’s more than that.

No words need to be spoken, and it’s unreal to me that I’ve only known Cam for a few weeks. He just gets me and I get him.

Ash is responsive to my touch and always welcomes it. But it still did not prepare me for the evening that we enjoyed together. Again, “enjoyed” is not the right word, but I’m a dude and can’t come up with a poetic description for it. I have never had that kind of connection; I don’t think most people are lucky enough to enjoy even one night at that level.

After I brush my teeth, I head down the hallway to find Ash. I hear her moving around in the kitchen and the scent of breakfast hits me before I get to the room. When I come around the corner, she’s bending over in front of one of the cupboards in search of something, and I can’t control the growl that rumbles from my chest. The woman is hot as hell all the time, but bent over in my kitchen wearing only my shirt and a thong is almost too much for any man to take.

She stands up and faces me when she hears me come in. She swipes a few stray hairs off her forehead, her face flushed from being bent over. “I can’t find that stupid pan that I like for making omelets.”

I grin as I walk over to her. “Let me help you.” She looks adorable with pink cheeks and fresh out of bed. I reach in the cabinet and go to the area where I know it will be. I grab it and swing it by the handle in front of her. “Here it is.”

She swipes at her hair again and then takes the pan. “Thank you.” When she hears me laugh, she turns back to me. “You don’t have to be so smug about it.”

I walk up behind her and press my lips to her neck behind her ear. As I’ve grown accustomed to, she leans into it even though she’s pretending to be upset about the pan. “I should know my way around the kitchen. I don’t always have your delicious ass in here cooking for me.”

She turns her head slightly to me, and I see the small smile creep up. Honestly, I don’t know if the girl has a cranky bone in her body, which I love. I’m not used to having someone so easy to get along with, and to say it’s refreshing would be an understatement. “Well, handsome, I guess this is your lucky day.”

Her tone is low and gravelly and instantly makes me hard. I lean further into her. “Careful, sweetheart. Or we won’t be eating breakfast.”

She steps out of my hold and walks over to where she has the ingredients for the omelet. “We
will
be eating because you have a game today. Even if you aren’t playing, you need to be in top form as captain.”

She smiles as she carries everything over next to the stove. I watch as she pours the eggs into the pan. I’m always impressed watching her move around the kitchen. Not that I wouldn’t expect her to be a good cook, but she’s fantastic. As a man with a healthy appetite, I feel like I’ve had another wish granted.

I move behind her again. “What are we having?”

She waves her spatula back at me. “Hands off the chef. If you want your omelet to turn out in one piece, you will let me focus.”

“You’re so serious this morning.”

She turns her head and gives me a quick kiss before I back up to go search out coffee.

“I’m not. I just have to get a few things done this morning for work and you need to get ready to head over to the park.”

“I have time.” I lift my eyebrows suggestively at her when she glances back my way. “Time for things.” I see her cheeks blush before she turns back to the stove.

A few minutes later she’s loading my omelet onto a plate and grabs a couple pieces of bacon out of the pan she has it cooking in. She walks over to a bowl she has out on the counter and scoops a generous portion of fruit onto my plate. “Let’s go, young man.” She sets my plate down at the breakfast bar. “What kind of juice do you want?”

“Orange,
Mom
.”

She raises an eyebrow and tilts her head down at me as I sit. “Just because I take care of you that does not make me your mother. Far from it, Mr. Williams.” She opens the fridge, and I smile at her reference to what happened last night. Catching me off guard, she keeps going with the whole breakfast thing. “Whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter?”

We’ve eaten breakfast together many mornings and she knows exactly what I like to eat, which is why I think she’s perfect right now. “Yes, please.”

“That’s better.” She smiles before turning to slide the lever down on the toaster.

“You’re too good to me, Ms. Hughes.”

“Yes. You’re correct about that. Good thing I like taking care of you, otherwise, you’d be going to the park hungry. I’ve seen you try to cook.”

I shove a bite of the omelet in my mouth and moan in appreciation. “You’ve outdone yourself yet again.”

She laughs as she grabs the muffin when it’s done and spreads peanut butter on. She sets the small plate next to my other one. “Can I get you anything else this morning?”

I smile at her as I drop one lid down. “Just you.” Her cheeks flush again, and I swear I don’t know if I’m going to make it through breakfast without tossing her over my shoulder and carrying her back into my bedroom.

“You have a game today. You need to focus.”

“But I don’t want to.” I’m well aware that I’m a grown man whining but I don’t care. I shove another bite of the omelet in and remember again how lucky I am to have this woman. “Please.”

“I’m sorry, Cam, but not until tonight. I am not going to get in the way of your routine. That’s the way it’s going to be, so please get it out of your head.”

I growl at this comment and shove half the muffin in my mouth. She laughs as she puts fruit on her plate and then grabs a yogurt out of the refrigerator. Finally she sits down next to me, and I feel whole again with her near me. “Thank you.” I lean over and she rewards me with a kiss.

“You’re very welcome.”

“Ash.” I wait until she gives me her full attention. “I don’t want to embarrass you, but last night has got to be the best night of my life. I just wanted you to know.”

She ducks her head and doesn’t say anything for a while. “I agree. You’ve officially ruined me.”

I give her a grunt of satisfaction. “Good.” Her head pops up, and I realize what she’s thinking when I see the look on her face. “One day at a time.”

Thankfully she drops the subject for now.

“I’m meeting Monica and Becky for lunch today. Quinn and Lizzy are coming with me too.”

“I didn’t realize you had made plans with them.”

“Yeah. We talked about it when you went to get your ice off. Becky has a nanny for her kids, so Cameron is going to hang with them while we have lunch.”

“That’s nonsense. Cameron can come with me. The whole team knows him and will watch him if I get busy.”

“Cam.” She places her hand on mine. “Let her do this. She needs to feel like she can live independently. You take care of everything for her, which I think is great. But she needs to feel like she can do this lunch without you taking over.”

I’m not sure how she figured this out in their brief interaction, but it does make sense to me. “Okay. If you think it’s the right thing to do. I trust you.”

“Yes. I do. I know you love him to death, but give her this.”

I will protect Cameron until the day I die, so giving up this control is difficult for me, but I understand the importance. If my brother was still here, I wouldn’t have to worry about him as much, but it’s my job now.

“I want you to sit in my box seats today, Ash. I don’t want to take a chance that that idiot is at the game or someone else just as obnoxious.”

“That’s fine. I understand. Lizzy is coming with us today instead of Stan. It’s his wife’s birthday, so I gave him the day off. If you were pitching, I would have brought both of them but I figured I could survive today without him. Especially since you won last night.”

“Is Lizzy interested in Fonz?”

“I don’t know for certain. But I’m going to be honest with you: with the exception of Anderson, the guys on your team are pretty irresistible. I hope you know that not only do they listen to you on the field but they also try to mirror your actions off the field. They’re good guys, and any woman would be lucky to have one of them. So I’m not going to stop Lizzy if that’s what she wants.”

The comment means more to me than she probably realizes. “Thanks. As long as
you
find only
me
irresistible, then I suppose we’re okay.”

“What’s wrong? Is my little all-star insecure?” She winks at me and when she licks her spoon clean, I can’t take it.

I jump off my stool and stand right in front of her. “You have to stop looking so damn sexy in my kitchen if you want me to follow your request.” When she wrinkles her brow, I laugh. “Baby, you made me breakfast wearing only my shirt and a thong. And now you’re licking that spoon making me wish I had yogurt spread all over me.” The blush that immediately covers her face is so adorable that I can’t help but to kiss her.

“Sorry. I’ll try to behave until after the game.”

She gets up and takes her stuff to the other side of the breakfast bar to throw away the container and put the dishes in the dishwasher. She reaches her hands out motioning for me to hand her my dishes. I stack them and hand them over to her. “Seriously. You’re too good to me.”

“I know.”

She throws me an air kiss and winks. She starts giggling at herself, and I can’t help but laugh. She puts my dishes in the dishwasher and then turns back to me.

“Stay right there.”

I cock my head at her. “Why?”

“I have something for you.”

I have no idea what she’s up to, but she blushes as she moves out of the kitchen toward the dining room. As much as I want to follow her to see what she’s up to, I sit back down on my chair and wait for her. When she comes back into the kitchen, she’s carrying a cupcake with a single candle glowing in the top. Her smile is soft, and I feel this moment through every part of me.