Page 108 of Empty Net

Seconds later, she’s coming, her body shaking over mine, her breath in my ear. I grip her hips, driving into her, wringing out the last of her orgasm and chasing my own high, and she shudders all over again when I finally spill into her. Spent, I pull my hand from between our bodies and suck my thumb into my mouth, savoring the taste of her. She grins against my neck.

“What?” I ask.

“I like that you like how I taste.”

“I don’tlikehow you taste, Lilah. I fucking love it. Could spend a lifetime tasting you.”

She snuggles against me closer, her face buried in my neck. And even though we really should be cleaning ourselves up right now, I allow it because, truthfully, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be, including the rink.

“I lied earlier,” she says after several minutes of me simply holding her, running my fingertips over her back in featherlight touches.

“About what?”

“My legs.Nowthey’re like noodles.” She kisses my neck softly. “Thank you for another great date, Fox.”

I swallow the sudden lump clogging my throat. I don’t know where it came from or why. Maybe it’s because I just realized these dates of ours will be coming to an end after Thursday, when there’s no longer any reason for us to have them. It’s the last thing I want, but it’s what I promised, and I’m nothing if not a man of my word.

So, I hug her closer, savoring every moment I can get for now.

“Any time, Lilah.” I kiss the side of her head. “Any time.”

“My baby!” My mother throws her arms around my neck and pulls me into a hug like she hasn’t seen me for two years instead of a few months. Her graying hair is pulled back in a half updo and she’s wearing a sweater that saysMama Bearon it. “I missed you.”

“Missed you too, Mama.” I kiss her cheek. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come to pick you up at the airport.”

“Oh, nonsense. I know you have a busy schedule. Besides, we got to do some sightseeing, and your father convinced me to go up in that giant needle thing.”

“The Space Needle is kind of neat, huh?”

“No, it was a waste of eighty bucks.”

I grin, having expected nothing less from her. “How was the flight?”

“Amazing! But you have to stop spoiling us with first-class tickets. A gal like me could get used to that real fast.”

“And that’s the last thing my wallet needs,” my dad says with a hearty laugh. He steps up to us, putting his hand on my mother’s shoulder. “Let the kid go, sweetheart.”

My mother huffs, but she does as my father requests. He takes her place and hugs me just as tightly as she did, the smell of fresh cut wood from his workshop reminding me of home.

“Good to see you, son. Did you see how much parking is at the airport? Thought I was going to have to cut off an armanda leg for it.”

“You guys didn’t even drive to the airport.”

“Still highway robbery, if you ask me.”

“Oh, who cares about the parking, Roy. Is yourfiancéehere?”

It’s funny because, like Selene, my mother emphasizesfiancée. However, unlike Selene, the word is filled with pure love and adoration, and she hasn’t even met Lilah yet.

“She is. Did you want to come in or meet her at the door?”

“In, in!” She stomps her feet like a giddy child, and I can’t help but laugh. I love that even though she knows the truth, she’s not treating Lilah any differently than she would one of my siblings’ partners.

I move aside, helping my father pull their bags inside. When I look up, my mother is gone. My dad notices, too.

He grins over at me. “That’s your mother.”

“Don’t remind me,” I mumble, taking off toward the kitchen where I have no doubt she currently is.

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