All I Need (10 page)

“Not cruel,” she whispered, tilting her mouth up to mine. “I never meant to hurt—”

I dropped my lips gently to her soft ones, but it was enough to stop the rest of her sentence. God, she tasted so damn sweet.

My tongue brushing against hers caused her to let out a breathy little moan. Which my dick decided was his formal invitation to the party.

My heart thundered loudly in my ears as I explored every single centimeter of her mouth. Her hands twisted around my neck, and I knew by how hard she was holding on that she was on board with this new plan. Gripping her tightly under her ass, I lifted her petite body up onto my waist.

“Jubb—”

“Next time you call me that, I’m spanking the ever-loving shit out of you, Ev.
Capiche?
”

Her head jerked back, thudding against the wall hard enough to make a noise. She nodded.

“I don’t just mean tonight. I mean forever. If we’re in public, I’ll keep count. And it will cost you double.”

Her lips curved into an excited grin and she lifted a shoulder. Her smile turned to the mischievous smirk I loved so much. “Hmm. I might like it. Maybe I’ll call you that on purpose.”

A low, menacing sound escaped my throat and I whirled us over to my bed. Thank God my studio apartment was small. I wasn’t sure how much longer I would make it.

She giggled as I dropped her roughly onto the bed. But once she was still, flat on her back and looking up at me with those doe eyes of hers, I was a goner.

Point of no return was officially passed. I was going to fuck her. We both knew it and I was pretty damn sure we both wanted it. What I didn’t know was if either of us could actually handle it—or what would happen after.

“Why are you here, Ev?” I asked, my voice sounding like I’d gargled with gravel.

“You,” she said softly. For a minute her expression went distant, and I was afraid I’d lost her full attention. But then it snapped back to me and she spoke with rekindled heat. “You’re my home. I needed you.”

“You have me,” was all I said before I lowered myself down onto her. Clutching her to me, I dragged us both up to the head of the bed. We kissed and panted until our clothes were distant memories and the promise of what was to come burned bright between us.

“This will change everything,” she said, letting out a small whimper as I laced my fingers in hers and used our hands to brace myself above her. “It will change us.”

I ran the tip of my tongue up her throat. “I’m counting on that.” I gently nipped at her earlobe and then slid several more kisses across her jawline.

“You’re killing me.” Her confession broke something inside of me and I damn near lost control. But I reined it back in—barely.

This was too important to fuck up. My body screamed at me to plunge inside and pound into her as hard as possible. My head sneered at me. You only got once chance to make a first impression. I didn’t want to just use her like that. This wasn’t like any of the sex I’d had before. It wasn’t about getting in and getting off. I loved this girl. I was about to stake a fucking claim.

I’d wanted this for so long. The number of hours I’d spent imagining Everly’s silky body laid out naked in my bed was probably astronomical. I was going to make this last nearly as long.

My head dipped below hers as my tongue traveled south. Sucking her sweet flesh into my mouth made my entire body hot. Almost too damn hot.

“Please,” she whimpered, slamming her knees together and clenching her thighs. I watched her squirm for a long minute before returning my gaze to hers.

“Please what, Ev?”

“Um…” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and squirmed some more.

I chuckled, resuming the slow, arduous path of circles with my tongue. When I reached one of her tightened nipples, she cried out.

Writhing beneath me, she reached up and grabbed my arms around each bicep. Her beautiful eyes burned into mine. “Justin. Cohen. I am going to implode if we keep this up. I’m ready now.”

After I’d sucked each of her soft pink peaks into my mouth, I glanced up at her with the most innocent expression I could manage under the circumstances. “Ready for what, Ev?”

Her hand grazed my face and traced a burning path down my chest and abs. I braced myself for her to grab my dick when she took my hand instead.

“Ready for us,” she breathed, lowering my hand with hers. The moment my fingertips touched the scorching-hot wetness between her legs, I lost my grip on logic. On reality. On myself.

Stroking her undid me. It was everything I could do not to come apart right then.

The tight pulsing of her walls clenching rhythmically around my finger was the push I needed to back it down for a second. I could focus on her, give her this.

Sitting up on my haunches, I watched as her entire body detonated around my hand. Plunging in and out, I held back as long as I could while she rocked her hips and moaned in time. Even sex with Everly was going to be like making music with her was. Frantic and then slow.

She liked alternating time signatures. Apparently that would be the case in the bedroom as well. Good thing I knew how to keep up from years of practice.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked into the darkness after I’d made her come and she’d caught her breath. She stilled completely, clamping down around the two fingers that remained inside of her.

“Because you’re beautiful. Because I’ve wanted you, wanted this, for so long. I want to enjoy it. Memorize it. Memorize you.”

“Well,” she said on a breath, “how about you come here and do that then.”

Slowly retracting my fingers from inside of her, I gave her a wicked grin before sucking them into my mouth. Her expression alone could have lit the entire apartment complex on fire.

She pulled me to her, and I let her. Our mouths met in a battle of wills that we were both determined to win. Her little tongue lashed against mine, and I tugged at her bottom lip with my teeth.

Wrapping her legs around my waist, she angled her hips upward and pressed against me. I groaned loudly and forced myself to pull back.

Her whimper of protest made my dick throb in response.

“I was actually about to get up and get something to eat when you got here,” I said, working hard to keep my voice even.

“O-kay,” she said, eyeing me warily like I’d lost my mind. “Can it wait?”

“Hmm.” I let my eyes map every exposed inch of her body. “No, I’m afraid it can’t. I’m starving, babe.”

Before she could say another word, I lowered my head and licked and nipped a path up her inner right thigh. And then repeated the process on the left.

“Oh my God,” she moaned, trembling beneath me. The noises she made when I swirled the tip of my tongue around her delicate folds made me want to beat on my chest and shout from the rooftops. She was mine, dammit. Mine and only mine. No one else would ever touch her, taste her, the way I was allowed to.

The louder her moaning got, the weaker my self-restraint became. I leaned over to reach for a condom, and she stopped me.

“It’s okay. Um, I’m on the pill,” she informed me.

I knew this. We practically lived together on the road. Seeing her take her birth control pills had bothered the shit out of me—until now.

“I know this.” I tore open the foil packet and sheathed myself, growing even harder because she was watching so closely. The streetlights peeking in from the half-open blinds lit her up like she was made of something other than skin. Something shiny and beautiful. And mine. “I also know it’s not a failsafe and you won’t be able to shake your ass all over the stage if you get pregnant.”

A slow smile spread across her lips. “You always put me first,” she whispered as I lowered myself into her, bracing myself above her by lacing our fingers together as I’d done before.

“And I always will.”

“N
ow can we fucking cuddle?” I asked, pouting up at him.

His low chuckle warmed me all over again. “I guess so. Come here, sexy ass.”

I snuggled down into the familiar cave of his embrace. Wiggling against him with my naked backside, I giggled when he groaned.

“Easy, now,” he cautioned. “Unless you’re ready for round two.”

Basking in afterglow of mind-blowing sex, I forced my mind to shut down. The truth was I didn’t really know what the hell I was or wasn’t ready for. I just knew I’d had the most amazing sex with my best friend and my bones were nonexistent. I was warm and happy and safe. Home. Where I belonged.

“Night, Jubb,” I whispered.

“That’s one,” he growled low in my ear.

I grinned into the darkness. “One of many to come.”

W
aking up in Justin Cohen’s arms wasn’t exactly a new thing for me. Though waking up sore from the multiple late-night lovemaking sessions was.

I stretched out and twisted in each direction until my back popped. Yawning, I watched him sleep for a few minutes and a slow-motion montage of our friendship played behind my eyes.

When we were kids, he’d practically lived at my house. I used to wonder if he ever got sick of me. I was kind of obnoxious.

But he always stayed as long as possible, only leaving at bedtime on school nights. By ninth grade I knew why.

Pretty much everyone in Abbott Springs knew about his dad—all the adults, anyway. The man kept the local bar, Juke’s Box, in business.

After Jubb’s mom had bailed because she couldn’t deal, Frank Cohen treated Jubb like a person might treat a stray dog. Fed him occasionally. Made sure he didn’t die. But that was about as far as his particular brand of kindness went.

I stared at the man-boy sleeping next to me, remembering the countless times he’d been so good to me. Turned out he was patiently waiting for me to love him, for someone to freaking
finally
love him. The knowledge made my eyes wet with tears.

I placed my hand over my mouth to keep from making any noise. He didn’t talk about his dad much, and he’d just roll his eyes if he saw me getting all emotional about it now.

But tracing his tattoos with my finger, I saw them for what they were.

Protection.

Jubb had several scars from things that had happened when we were kids. One on his forearm, where he’d fallen off his bike into a drainage ditch with an exposed pipe. He’d needed stitches and probably a tetanus shot, but his dad had told him to shake it off.

There was another across his left shoulder, where he’d wrecked the hunk-of-junk motorcycle he’d rebuilt himself in eleventh grade.

Both of them were covered with thick black swirls of ink. Hidden away so he could move on, let go of his hurt, and be the kind of guy who loved me the way he did.

I sniffled, and he stirred. A warmth began to fill me and I smiled because I knew now.

This was what being in love felt like. I was almost jealous that he’d gotten here before me.

His eyelids began to flutter, probably because he could feel his creeper of a brand-new girlfriend watching him like a psycho.

Running my hands over his hard chest and down the lines of his tattoos, I slung my leg over his waist and straddled him.

“Good morning to you too,” he said sleepily, opening his eyes to meet mine.

“Morning,” I said, keeping my voice soft and low. Leaning down, I placed featherlight kisses down his neck and across his chest.

“Whatcha doin’?” His voice was calm, casual. Like this was how we’d started every morning together. It wasn’t. But I promised myself it would be from now on.

Justin Cohen would wake up every morning knowing that he was loved. Cared about. Cherished.

“Loving you,” I answered, rocking my hips forward just enough to let him know what I wanted.

“Well, don’t let me interrupt.” He grinned, and I placed my mouth on his. His full lips moved gently against mine and then firmer. As our kissing intensified, he began to sit up.

Placing both palms flat on his bare chest, I pressed him back into the mattress. “Just let me, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

After sliding a condom over his length because I knew he would insist on it, I adjusted my weight so I could get leverage above him. Sinking down onto him caused my head to loll back, and he let out a deep, satisfied sound. I leaned forward and clasped his hands. His eyes never once left mine as we moved together.