Page 18 of One Lustful Summer
I lean up on my elbow so I can see him and smile. He curls his lips into a satisfied smirk as he looks down at me. “Stay,” he commands. It’s not a question and I’m fine with that. If he wants me here, then here is where I will be. I nod and he leans down to seal his command with a kiss.
He pushes up, and without a word, he gets out of bed. I watch the muscles of his firm ass flex as he walks into the bathroom. When he comes back, he is holding a wet cloth.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
He steps up beside me and presses on my thigh. I quietly watch him as I open my thighs and he gently swipes the cloth over my core, cleaning up the traces of the mess I made.
When he’s done, he tosses the cloth into a laundry hamper and joins me in bed. He pulls me close, manhandling me until I am laying over him the way he wants. He pulls the covers over us and holds me tight.
“Sleep, Maggie. I got you,” he tells me as he runs his fingers through my hair. My eyes close following his command, his rhythmic breathing lulling me into slumber.
Chapter 13
Rowan
It’s been a month since we started the renovation on Maggie’s home. Time has passed by in a blink of an eye. Her determination to learn about all the processes of the renovation have surprised me. She has torn out drywall, and hung new sheets when the studs were ready. She learned how to tape and mud drywall, and did a better job than some of the men on my crews.
She has painted walls and trim with the best of them. I spent an entire weekend teaching her how to lay hardwood flooring in the living room with Jodi’s help.
Monday through Friday, she works with me and the crew as we work on the renovation. Thursday nights have become our official date night. Sometimes we hit up Gypsy’s for dinner and trivia and some nights we stay in, wrapped around each other.
Saturdays are farmer’s market and brunch at the diner with Jodi. Sunday afternoons are for walks and relaxing at the creek, just the three of us. Both my girls becoming head over heels for each other in our shared times together. Jodi knows Maggie is someone important to me. But I think Maggie is becoming important to Jodi as well. It feels good to have someone to be there with us.
Every day Maggie and I become closer, I find myself wanting her here with me all the time. Sharing the simple things in life with me. In the evenings watching TV with Jodi.The rushed morning as we scramble to get ready for the day.
“Rowan,” my mother calls as she walks in through my front door.
“In the kitchen,” I holler as I continue to season the steaks for dinner. I hear a rustle of bags and look over my shoulder and watch mom set them on the island. She must have a whole buggy’s worth of groceries. “What’s that?”
“Oh, just a few things for tonight,” she answers.
“A few? Looks like a lot. I told you this was a simple meal, Ma.” I remember telling her this quite a few times, but clearly it went in one ear and out the other.
I’m having Maggie over for dinner with some of my family. It was going to be a small gathering, just Maggie, Jodi, my parents, and me. But somewhere along the line, it has grown to include Lauren, Dean, and their parents. Luckily, it isn’t everyone, and it helps that Lauren and Dean aren’t unfamiliar faces.
“I’m excited. Let me have this moment,” she replies as she pulls things out of the bag.
“It’s just dinner, Ma. Not marriage,” I mumble to myself as I wrap the plate with the steaks in tin foil. Placing them in the fridge, I turn back around to find mom staring at me. “What?” Her eyes are wide and she’s quiet. I’m starting to worry about her, but then she starts talking and I know that she’s fine.
“Do you think it could lead to that?” Her question catches me off guard. I give her a look of confusion and she continues. “Marriage. Do you think she could be the one?”
“Ma, it’s just dinner. Have I thought about a future with her? Yes. But it’s been a month. Let us build this relationship up and not rush anything. I haven’t even told her ‘I love you’ yet.”
“But you do?” she asks, hopefulness in her voice.
“You won’t be the first to know,” I tell her as I step around her and help empty the bags. Honestly, the firstperson I want to tell is Maggie. I feel it, but I’ve never said the words to a female who wasn’t family. Is it too soon? Does she feel the same? Or is it just lust?
Mom drops the subject when Jodi comes in from playing outside and we get to work. She has the making for a charcuterie board, so Jodi and I start on that, taking directions from her as she works on making pasta and potato salads to go with dinner.
Within a few hours, we have all the sides prepared and the dessert in the oven. I’ve cooked and prepped more today than I have in the last six months. Dad arrived forty-five minutes ago with a cooler full of sodas, bottled waters, and beers. Everything is ready for my guests to arrive.
Dean arrives first with his parents, Uncle Steve and Aunt Alice, in tow. Lauren and Maggie pulling in right behind them. When I see Maggie step out of Lauren’s SUV, I take a moment to soak her in.
She is so beautiful. Today she is in a yellow sundress, with thick straps that are tied around her neck. Her tan legs are on display again, but it’s her cowboy boots that make my smile widen.
I remember the day she got them. She was so excited to show them off. She wore them to dinner and trivia that night and I couldn’t wait to get her back to my place and have my way with her. I made her leave the boots on until we finished and were ready for bed. I may have also given her a foot rub the next morning that made me late to work.
She saunters up to me and I have to control my urge to pull her close and taste her lips. The kiss I want to give her is not appropriate for those around us, so I settle on a quick peck as I pull her to my side.
