Page 119 of Mourner for Hire
“Over there,” she breathes, gesturing to the couch, but unable to completely stop kissing me.
Desire pulses in my veins as she pushes me down into a seated position, raking her fingers down my chest and planting kisses down my stomach while dipping into the waistband of my boxers. Just the sight of her, kneeling between my legs, soaking wet and covered in tan lines and secret tattoos, makes me feel like I’m about to combust.
When she takes me in her hand, she looks up at me with the slightest smile before putting me in her mouth.
“Fuck—” I buck my hips, and my head falls back. Her hand. Her mouth. The noises she makes while she takes me past her lips.I grip her hair and pull her head back. “Get up here now,” I say, my voice low and rugged.
She’s on me in an instant, pulling a condom out of her purse that’s sitting on the end table.
“Good thing you threw these in my cart last month,” she breathes, and I laugh against her lips.
“You wouldn’t have anything to worry about—I haven’t been with anyone since the last time I was tested.”
The sexiest laugh falls out of her mouth, making her toss her head back and her long dark hair tangle in my fingers as I hold onto her waist.
“That wouldn’t matter. I’d be asking for your Patient Portal password before believing you,” she says while she rolls on the condom.
“You’re insane.” I can’t help but laugh, even as I curse under my breath.
“You love it.”
“I do,” I admit as she sinks down on me.
We moan simultaneously, and I watch her pretty mouth as she closes her eyes.
“Vada,” I whisper, running my thumb under her chin. “Look at me.”
Her eyes flutter open, and she looks at me. All previous emotions of humor and teasing are replaced with completely unadulterated desire. She leans forward, brushing a ghost of a kiss over my lips. Once. Twice. Nipping gently along my jaw while she grinds slowly against me. Her lips trail to my ear and she whispers, “I’m going to make you stop hating me.”
I glide my hand up her chest and along her neck, taking hold of her jaw and tilting her face so her lips are barely a breath away from my lips. “You’re doing a good job so far, sweetheart.”
Her lips crash into mine. The kiss deepens as reckless heat binds our bodies together. Everything about her is overwhelming, every sensation, catching every nerve ending on fire until I’m blind with ecstasy. But it’s more than that. Not just thesex. Not just the white flag at the end of a long, petty war. It’s that once upon a time, she meant something to me, and maybe time hasn’t changed that.
I cup my hands around her face. “I don’t want a truce, Vada.” She pauses her movement, and her eyes gleam in the low-lit room. “I want you.”
I watch her swallow and trace a finger down her chest bone, making her abdomen tighten.
“Don’t make promises you aren’t willing to keep, Dominic.”
“It’s not a promise. It’s a desire. It’s you. All the time. Every second of every day. You consume my thoughts.”
She leans forward, her hair falling over her shoulder and touching my chest. Her lips brush against mine once and then twice, slow and tantalizing. My fingers sink into her hip bone.
“Tell me you want me, too,” I tell her, her movements making me wind up until I’m about ready to snap.
There’s only a split-second of hesitation before she hushes me and says, “I just want this.”
FORTY-TWO
VADA
The soundof seagulls wakes me up at dawn, and I jolt out of bed in a panic. My mind drifts to Annabelle sleeping on the beach and fighting a swarm of seagulls. The idea of her anywhere near us makes me feel like a teenager who is about to get caught for sneaking a boy into her room.
I grab his shirt off the floor and throw it on while saying, “Dominic, you have to leave!”
The quiet of the room echoes, and I mentally make a note to add drapes and an area rug. I pull back the down comforter and realize Dominic isn’t in the bed.
“Oh,” I say, realizing he must have slipped out. “This is fine,” I say aloud—when you work alone, you frequently have conversations with yourself. This is fine. We probably shouldn’t have done that anyway. Sex does not equal sleepovers and morning cuddles.
