Page 88 of The Assist
I hold my hands up. “Don’t put this on me. I didn’t tell you to use it as a bargaining chip for sex.”
“Good luck.” Wes tosses the book at him and Joel walks backward out of the door already flipping through the pages.
I turn to Wes. “You know you guys are sitting on an untapped gold mine. Women would”—I pause and point after Joel—“and apparently already do, go to great lengths to have a hot, smart male tutor.”
“Whatever you’re suggesting, hard pass.”
“Come on, the marketing alone would be fantastic.” I wave my hand in front of my face like I’m seeing it on a billboard. “Smart Jocks: Get an A while enjoying eye candy too.”
“That’s a terrible slogan.”
“It was my first attempt. Oh! I have it! Smart Jocks: Their brains are as big as their—”
“Don’t finish that statement.” He holds a hand up. “I want to imagine the possibilities of that last word.”
I toss a pillow at him.
“How about. Smart Jocks: Figure it out your damn self. I’m busy.”
I tap my chin. “Hmmm. I dunno, I mean it certainly sounds like something you’d say, but it’s a bit grumpy.”
“I thought you agreed to put up with my grumpy ass.” He leans down and places a kiss at the corner of my mouth.
It’s the first time his lips have touched mine in a month, and my insides turn to total mush. Instead of responding, I grab his hand and tug him closer. He lets out a throaty chuckle as he brings our lips back together. The dam has broken, and our kiss becomes frantic and needy. He places two strong hands under my ass and lifts me, bringing me upright with him. I wrap my legs around his waist as he walks us to the door, shuts, and locks it. Crossing back to the bed in two long steps, he drops us to the bed and settles on top of me. He breaks away to stare down at me. “You’re so beautiful. Don’t think I’ll ever get enough of looking at you or kissing you.”
He steals another kiss, as if proving his point. “You always taste like sugar . . . so damn sweet.”
He continues his worship and praise of my body, getting us undressed in record time. We’re hot and sweaty and can’t keep our hands off each other. Looks as if he didn’t listen to Joel this time. Or maybe he just hadn’t planned for this to happen.
“Gotta head out in ten.” Nathan yells and knocks from the other side as Wes tears open a condom and covers himself.
“Sadly, I’m not gonna need that long,” he says around a smile, just loud enough that I can hear.
The giggle that tickles my throat is lost when he enters me, stretching me and filling me completely. He stills, braced above me, his expression fixed in exquisite torment.
“Have to make this up to you when I get back on Saturday night.”
But there’s nothing to make up for. I’m as needy and close as he is. Each thrust threatens to push me over the edge. His breathing is labored and sweat beads on his chest. He’s holding back, delaying his pleasure to get me there. If that isn’t the most deliciously sexy thing a man could do in bed, I don’t know what is.
“I’m close,” I rasp. It isn’t a warning. It’s permission for him to let go.
Still, he waits until the orgasm takes over my body before he growls out, shuddering as he gives into his release.
He rests his forehead on mine. “Last thing I want to do is get out of this bed and get on a flight with a bunch of dudes.”
But he has to, and I watch him as he slides from the bed, disposing of the condom and dressing quickly. He tosses my jeans and shirt onto the bed before he shoves stuff into his duffel bag.
“I gotta run. Stay as long as you want. In fact, if you want to be in that same spot when I get back, I won’t complain.” He winks and drops a hurried kiss on my lips.”
“Good luck,” I call to his back.
When I hear the faint sound of the front door slamming closed, I pull Wes’s comforter around me and inhale. I’m in deep again. No, not again. My feelings never changed. I feel like I never left, but his feelings have bounced around, and I don’t want to be on the bench, waiting for more time in the game. Yep, I’m in deep. Even my thoughts have converted to basketball analogies for his sake.
I’ve done exactly what Vanessa warned me against. I’ve fallen into old habits where Wes and I spend time together without ever really discussing the depth of it. Maybe it’s positive thinking or maybe it’s just plain idiotic to hope things will work out on their own. Pushing away the negative and focusing on being happy is the only real choice because my heart is already his.
36
Wes
