“We still don’t.” His brow quirked high, and I huffed out a breath.
“Yeah. I don’t need reminding.”
“Plus there’s still, what, ten, eleven years between us. That hasn’t changed.” The fucker’s smile grew. “And then there’s Lottie, who you now have full-time. That’s the only thing that’s changed.”
Refusing to look away at him calling bullshit without saying the words, I nodded. “All true. But you’re now twenty-nine, and are…” I searched for the word. “…seasoned.”
Loud laughter burst out of him, his eyes crinkling with amusement.
“Yeah, yeah.” I nudged at him and rolled my eyes. “Laugh it up.”
After a few false starts of him half-assed controlling his amusement, he said, “Really, you’re saying I was an immature asshole.”
“Well, not an asshole necessarily.”
He snorted. “I think we know that’s bullshit, as almost everyone on my team has called me out for my assholish ways a time or fifty.” Pearce reached out and stroked my arm, leaving goose bumps in its wake. “You know my maturity levels are still questionable, right?” Even though amusement lit his words, a glimmer of uncertainty rippled underneath.
Pearce wasn’t the only one good at reading people, and I could read him pretty damn accurately.
“I’m not going to fight you on that statement,” I said with a small smile. When he raised his brows, I continued, “But you’re so much more than your age. You’re one of the most caring and considerate people I know.” Pink touched his cheeks as I spoke. “Your ability to play the fool, play pranks,” I said with a pointed look, “is part of what makes you ridiculously, brilliantly you.”
When I stopped speaking, we stared at each other in silence. Behind his brown eyes, I could see my words hit their mark. He all but sank deeper into the mattress and edged closer into my space.
“And why now… apart from the obvious?” The whispered question puffed warm air against my cheek.
Moving my hand to his waist, I looked him directly in the eye. I wouldn’t mention Wayne, as we both knew my ex was the “obvious.” “When Lottie fell ill, there was a moment there that I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.” Just the thought of it tugged at something lodged in my heart. “But I didn’t need to. You were doing it for the both of us. You were there. You always are.” I swallowed hard before huffing out a light laugh, one that didn’t scratch the surface of how surreal my realization had been. “You wrenched my eyes wide damn open, Pearce. And now that they’re open and I see what we could be…” I shook my head and brushed my lips against his before saying, “I want it. I want you. I want everything. I have no idea ho—”
He swallowed my words with his mouth, cutting me off, and I’d never been more grateful for him shutting me up.
He skimmed his tongue over my bottom lip, and I opened for him immediately. We kissed until I couldn’t imagine another’s mouth on mine ever again. We kissed until I didn’t need to worry about air, since he was breathing for me. We kissed until I didn’t even pretend to resist as he pushed against me and his heavy, perfect weight settled on me.
Wrapping my legs around him was as smooth as the way our lips worked in synch, and as I bucked my hips, searching for friction, he pressed and moved against me, giving me exactly what I wordlessly asked for.
We bucked and groaned and rubbed, the whole time our mouths never disconnecting. I held on tight, my palms on his ass, dragging him against me, harder and faster. We rocked and moaned, and fuck if the tingling in my spine and the tightening of my balls didn’t make my head spin.
“Nngh….” The nonsensical word tore out of me, breaking our connection as my lips parted. Our gazes connected. So close, the tiny flecks of hazel seemed brighter, but I didn’t have time to memorize the variation in color, not when I was captured by the heat and intensity in his gaze. “Fuck.” I bucked again, squeezing his ass, not sure if I was holding on for dear life or was urging him on.
Pearce’s gaze dipped to my mouth as he ground harder, his dick rubbing against mine. “Fuck, Eddie.” He punctuated my name with a fierce kiss. It was hard and messy and my complete undoing.
Light exploded behind my closed lids, my balls drawing up so high, I had no idea if I’d ever see them again, and I was coming. Coming so hard my mind blanked as pleasure crashed into me. Pearce stiffening above me had my eyes springing open. Mesmerized, I watched as he spiraled. And fuck, Pearce orgasming… best thing ever.
Collapsing in my arms, Pearce was a welcome dead weight. I kissed his neck, his cheek, his temple. With a soft sigh, he turned his face my way so I could reach his lips. Just a gentle, exhausted press of mouths, and it was perfect.
We were sticky and tired, and I expected my dick was raw from friction, but still… “I haven’t come from dry-humping since I was a teenager.”
Burying his face against my neck, Pearce snorted. “I’m not sure my dick survived.”
A content grin settled on my lips. “Totally worth it.”
Warm breath danced across my skin when he chuckled. “Definitely.” He eased up onto his forearms, taking some of his weight. His gaze searched mine, and I kept my smile in place, reaching up and stroking his back.
“You good?”
“Yeah.” He flicked his gaze to the side where I knew his phone sat. “You think we have enough time to shower before Lottie wakes?”
Unable to give a straight-up yes, I hesitated, earning me a frown. Without him saying a word, I knew what he was thinking. The flash of disappointment in his gaze was too obvious to ignore. I hated seeing it there.
“It’s not that I don’t want to tell her,” I said slowly, calmly, for me as much as for him, “but we have to do the adult shit and work out what this is first, right?”
