Page 14 of When You're Home
“Tori, I’m so sorry about earlier…” he started. She was in his arms before he could continue, her lips frantically seeking his mouth. He felt her nails scrape against the back of his neck as she pulled him in and kissed him hard.
He returned her kiss in stride. This was exactly what he had been craving all afternoon. He needed to feel her to know that they were okay. He ran his tongue against her lips, coaxing her to open her mouth. Then he captured her bottom lip between his teeth and bit down. She whimpered in response, his name coming out in a soft moan. They stood there kissing for what felt like hours, apologizing and seeking mutual comfort from each other. She must have needed the physical reassurance that they were okay, too.
Rhett felt a tug in his core as they continued to savor each other. He shifted his weight to better align his body to hers. He wove one hand into the hair at the nape of her neck, using the other one to grab her ass and pull her close.
She smiled under his lips as his erection pushed into her stomach. She was wearing a thin navy sundress as a cover-up even though there was a dusting of snow on the ground. He bent his knees slightly to reach down, his roaming hand searching for the hem of her dress.
His hand skirted over her bare thighs and ass cheeks, brushing against the fabric of her bathing suit bottoms. He dipped a finger along the crook of her ass and sent a quiver through her body. He loved the way she reacted to him, the way she responded to his touch. He found the end of one of the ties on her bathing suit and pulled. Tori’s breath hitched in response to the sudden exposure as her bikini bottoms pooled on the floor beneath her.
“I thought you said you didn’t need a bathing suit tonight?” he teased, breaking from her lips to kiss her neck. When she didn’t respond, Rhett pulled back to check her reaction. His confidence had been shaken since coming back from the Ledges. There was a tentativeness to her gaze.We’re not out of the woods yet, he thought to himself. Would he be walking on eggshells all night?
“Tori, I am so sorry about earlier,” he apologized again as he rested his forehead on hers. He removed his hand from under her dress so he could wrap both arms around her body, willing his sincerity to flow through her like osmosis.
“It’s okay. We’re okay,” she assured him in a determined voice. “We don’t need to talk about it anymore this weekend. Or ever.”
Rhett recoiled at her declaration. So her acceptance of his apology was conditional. She’d forgive him for earlier, but only with the assurance that he wouldn’t bring it up again. Did he dare push her right now? He wasn’t done pursuing Tori. He would never be done pursuing Tori. He was in love with her, and he had been for the last ten years. Yet it felt like the only way forward tonight was to succumb to her wishes, as usual.
“Okay,” he whispered, nodding his head in agreement.Okay for now, he amended silently to himself. “Are you hungry? I can heat up more leftovers?”
Tori glanced past him to the half-eaten plate on the bar.
“Ohhhh, Anne’s meatloaf!” she exclaimed with a hint of regret. “I already ate with my dad. Just give me a little bite of yours.”
She hopped up onto the seat Rhett had previously occupied. He circled around the deep mahogany wood countertop and stationed himself behind the bar.
“Drink?” he asked. He knew she wouldn’t want anything, but he still offered. Tori rarely drank—maybe half a glass of wine at a restaurant or a few sips of his beer during a game. Limiting alcohol was all part of her master plan to outmaneuver cancer.
She shook her head but still lifted his glass and sniffed.
“So it’s a Jameson kind of weekend?” she asked. He gave her a sheepish smile. She obviously knew he had been drinking last night, too.
She cut into the meatloaf with the side of the fork he had been using, taking a big bite into her mouth.
“Ohhhh my gosh,” she moaned in pleasure. “I love your mom’s cooking.” She went in for another forkful before she was finished chewing the first bite.
“I thought you already ate?” He spread his arms wide on the bar, leaning over to get closer to her. He felt himself start to harden as he watched Tori chew. How could the sight of her eating turn him on? His body and his mind had no chill when it came to this woman. “Gimme a bite.”
Tori held out the utensil and offered it to him. Rhett didn’t take his eyes off her as he leaned forward and claimed it with his mouth.
“So Tori Thompson,” he started as he finished chewing, “we’ve got the whole night ahead of us and the whole house to ourselves.” He raised his eyebrows suggestively. “However shall we pass the time?”
“You already know you’re getting laid tonight, Wheeler.” She grinned and matched his playful tone. Relief washed over Rhett’s body as he let her words sink in. Worry and hesitation were replaced with a jolt of eagerness he hadn’t allowed himself to feel until that moment. He couldn’t wait to get her naked. To be inside her. To make her come.
“Yeah, but I want to hear you say it. Where, exactly, am I getting laid?” He felt his dick grow harder just thinking about the night ahead.
“I was thinking hot tub and bedroom,” she suggested, holding up two fingers for emphasis. She moved her pointer finger to her mouth and inserted it, biting down hard and arching one eyebrow.
“You’re trouble,” Rhett moaned. He had no interest in finishing his dinner now, but he knew he was going to need the energy if they were going for two or more rounds tonight. He grabbed the fork from Tori’s hand and shoveled the rest of the meatloaf into his mouth in three bites.
“Wait, do you have to work tomorrow?” he asked between mouthfuls.
Tori sighed.
Shit. This was going to put a major kink in their plans.
“Technically, yes. I could probably get Lia or Cory to cover for me again, but I haven’t ask them yet.” She looked at him apologetically. “I meant to text them this morning but then got distracted. When I got home this afternoon, I wasn’t sure what to do. I figured maybe we could both use a little space…” Tori ran a finger along the grooves of the front of the bar as she left her words linger between them.
“Hey.” Rhett reached across the bar and took her hand. “Hey,” he said louder this time, willing her to look up. “We don’t need space. I don’t want space. We are okay, Tori. I promise.”
