Authors: Natalie Ann
“I’m so excited,” Carly said, bouncing in the front seat of Sean’s car. “I’ve always wanted to take a ceramics class, but this is even better. You know why?” she asked, her eyes wide as saucers. She’d bet if she looked in a mirror right now, she would look just like one of her students being told they were going on a field trip instead of taking a test. “Because we get to make something and then go back and finish it up with paints another day.” It was the excitement of another date that had her so giddy.
In the last eight days, they’d been to dinner together twice and also went to the movies last night. How she talked him into going to the movies on a Friday night was beyond her. Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be as many kids around as she’d thought. And though he said he wasn’t into romantic comedies, he had laughed plenty during it. She even offered to watch an action flick, but he said, “Next time. It’s more fun to take turns picking movies.” She’d thought that was the best suggestion ever.
“I’m glad you’re excited. It’s hard to think of different things to do.”
Even sweeter. She would have never thought he would be this nice and accommodating, and was enjoying it immensely.
Brynn had told her before the guys all busted on Sean about being polished in the office, never really getting his hands dirty and sitting behind a desk all the time. She was fine with that; she didn’t need a man to swing a hammer to impress her. She liked everything about him so far.
Plus, she’d seen him getting dirty when he was helping out at Alec’s house. Just because he didn’t do it daily, didn’t mean he couldn’t. He just chose not to. “Working in the pub growing up was hard enough. I’ve seen the long hours and stress it put on my parents and decided I didn’t want that life. I’m happier sitting at a desk and looking at numbers all day,” he’d told her.
She could understand that to an extent. Not sitting behind a desk, because she couldn’t do that. The best part about being a teacher was moving all the time. Even during a lesson she was standing and walking around the room, helping the kids individually and as a group. It’s what she liked to do, so she understood spending your time making a living and enjoying it at the same time.
“You don’t have to always think of something new. We don’t have to go out to eat either. We can stay in for dinner at times. It’s nice to just relax and talk.” She’d liked the dinners together at her house more than going out. She was a homebody. She liked to cook and stay at home. She spent so much time out of the house volunteering that staying home was a treat to her.
“That’s nice. I like going out and doing things, but there are times it’s better to just relax at home.”
He looked sincere when he said that. That was another thing about him. He always seemed so honest and open. Nothing about him ever gave her the warning signals that had crept up with other men she’d dated. Even if nothing ever came about from those signals in the past, she still experienced them from time to time.
“Either way, I’m thrilled to do this. I can’t wait to tell my mother about it. If you don’t mind, I might ask the instructor a few questions on if they make appearances for this, maybe bringing the pieces back to bake later at the shop.”
He looked at her questioningly. “Why? Your mom wouldn’t like to go to the studio?”
“Oh, it’s not for her specifically. It’s her job. I think it’d be something her clients would love, not to mention she’s pretty crafty but has never really dabbled in ceramics.”
“What does your mom do?”
She was actually so relaxed she didn’t realize at first she was going into more specifics about her mother than normal. Sean did that to her, relaxed her enough to not put up any barriers or have any worries. She’d have to remember that in the future. For now, it didn’t hurt to talk about her mother a little.
She’d felt bad the other day when she cut him off talking about her family. She didn’t want to be secretive, but she couldn’t be too forthcoming either. “She is an events and activities coordinator at an assisted living facility.” No need to say it was the first job her mom had out of the house in more years than Carly could count.
“She schedules bingo nights for old women?” he asked, his eyes crinkling up at the side.
“Pretty much. But she does other things too. It’s not really a nursing home, but more like a country club of sorts. It’s for people who shouldn’t live alone or don’t want to be alone, but they don’t need hands-on care either.”
“That has to be an interesting job.”
“It is. The stories she tells me have me laughing out loud. Those old men are pretty feisty there.”
“Well, if she looks anything like you, then I bet they are always trying to cop a feel.”
It was a funny comment, but she knew her mother wouldn’t find it funny. Yes, the old men did do that from time to time, but it always made her mother uncomfortable and Carly knew why. Trisha had a personal space wall that was very high and very few people were allowed in. She had a good reason of course, but most didn’t know that. “She does look like me, only older, and a little taller. I got my shortness from my grandmother, who is shorter than I am.”
“Really? I wouldn’t have thought that was possible.”
“Ha, ha. Cute. But then again, you are allowed to be, because you know what? You are cute.”
He seemed startled that she said that, but she found she liked being bold with him, even flirty. She wasn’t used to flirting with men. Sean was the exception though. She’d put her foot in her mouth enough times and he always laughed it off. She’d decided days ago to try flirting. If she messed up, he would laugh anyway, so no harm.
To her surprise, she was good at flirting. At least she thought so. He always made her feel like he appreciated her bantering and little comments. If not by his looks, then by his mannerisms. He either flushed, or he grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze like he did just then. “Not nearly as cute as you.”
“Great…cute. Girls don’t want to be cute.”
“What do they want to be?”
Well, he asked, why not say it? Why not be bold? “Hot. Sexy. Girls want to be hot and sexy for their man.”
He started to cough. Okay, that didn’t go over too well. “Sorry. You just surprised me with that comment out of left field.” His eyes looked over at her, sitting next to him in the car, wearing a pair of jeans she’d managed to find in her length with a pair of little flats on her feet and a light pink cotton shirt.
Yep, stupid comment on her part. She looked like a kid right now, she realized. “I’ll surprise you one day.”
“Really?” he asked, his eyes lighting up, his smile bright.
Now she really
was
going to have to surprise him. She found she was looking forward to it. “Yep.”
He chuckled briefly, then said, “Here we are.”
***
“That was fun, admit it,” Carly said two hours later. Sure it was. If being the lone guy there was considered fun.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, he had to watch all the women give Carly the “you are one lucky girl” look the whole time. He knew that look; it was the one his sisters had when they talked about the things they wished their men did with them. Still, he did have fun, but that didn’t mean he had to admit it.
She really was adorable to watch. She was so excited over it all, almost like a kid herself in her enthusiasm. And he had to admit she was talented. He’d already noticed all the handmade things in her house, but it never occurred to him she could have made or created them. Now he was guessing she had.
When they were finished with forming their pieces, he looked at his lopsided bowl. Nothing fancy at all. He’d picked up one of the tools and tried to etch a design in it, but it didn’t look right. His hand just wasn’t steady enough. In the end, he’d grabbed a stamp of some design and pressed it all the way around.
Not Carly’s though. She made a plate, and when she was getting ready to put a design on it, she asked what his mother’s favorite flower was. Without thought, he said, “Daisies.”
“First off, that you know that gets you points. Second, why a daisy?”
He blushed. He couldn’t stop the reaction. He’d never blushed or flushed or turned pink in his adult life. Hell, living with three older sisters embarrassed him enough over the years he’d become immune to that reaction, or so he thought. He guessed not, though. “She always said because it’s a simple flower and she is a simple woman.”
“Anyone who raised four children and helps her husband run a business is far from simple.”
There was truth to that statement. Something he didn’t realize until she said it. “Why did you want to know her favorite flower?”
“Because I want to make this plate with her favorite flower on it. That way when she sends you cookies you can put them on this plate and it will remind you of her.”
And she said
he
was sweet. He didn’t know how to respond to that statement. She just said it so simply, without even looking at him. No, she said it with her head down while she proceeded to hand draw a daisy on the plate and then sketch out a lace pattern around the edge.
He was in trouble and he knew it. She wasn’t doing anything to get to him through his family. It came out of her mouth almost as an afterthought, because that was the type of person Carly was. Someone who went on a date and left making something to give to someone else.
Carly thought her plate came out pretty good. She tried really hard not to look at Sean’s face after she said she was giving it to him to hold the cookies his mother sent him. She didn’t want to see any panic in his eyes. She hadn’t meant to do it for anything other than a thank you for the date itself.
He didn’t seem upset by it though. He looked like he appreciated her gesture…after he got over his initial shock.
On the upside, they had another date to paint and glaze them next weekend. Until then, she was going to do some more research about clay and pottery. Her students would love something like this.
But for now she had other things to think about. Like the man driving her home right now. They had plans to go to dinner later tonight, except she was going to change those plans. “Well, I was right.”
“What were you right about?” he asked as they pulled into her driveway.
“I like a man that is sensitive.”
“Really? That’s good to know.” She caught his knowing smirk but didn’t comment.
When he shut the car off, she unbuckled her seatbelt, leaned over and grasped his face in her hands. “Yes. So much so, that we are going to eat dinner at my house tonight.”
“You don’t want to go out?” he asked, almost struggling to form the question after she was done kissing him.
Good, this coming on strong and flirting was working in her favor. Never before had she slept with a man for the first time in her house. Very rarely in her house at any time, actually. “No, I don’t. I’m going to cook dinner for you tonight. After.”
“After what?” he asked a fraction before she kissed him again, and stayed there longer this time. She wanted to touch him, needed to touch him. For someone who was always happy going slow, she wasn’t looking to go slow right now.
“After we’re done in my bedroom.” That was about all she could bring herself to verbalize. Even then she fought the blush from creeping up her neck. It was a big step for her to be this aggressive, but she wanted to take that step.
“Thank God,” he said, and pulled her closer in the car. If the steering wheel weren’t in the way, she’d bet she’d be in his lap right now.
“So tell me, do you want sensitive in the bedroom too?” She always did. Slow and calm was what she looked for, but Sean made her want to try something different. Something more. Only she couldn’t seem to say it to him. “Never mind. I can read it on your face.”
“What are you reading?” She figured she better ask, just in case things got out of hand.
“You’re afraid to say what you want. That’s okay. I’ll give it to you anyway.”
She could only nod her head. She wasn’t capable of doing anything else. She trusted him, and that shocked her. She trusted very few people in her life, and never a man. But she knew she was in good hands with Sean. Safe hands.
“Let’s take this in the house.”
Quietly she opened her car door and got out, then pulled her keys out of her purse and walked to her front door. Before she could unlock the door, he was pulling the keys from her hands and doing it for her.
Once inside the house, he returned the keys to her and turned, then relocked the door. She’d set her purse down and barely had time to turn back before she found herself in his arms again. Held tight, pressing against the length of him, and oh, it felt so good.
There was nothing wrong about being held this strongly by a man. Nothing at all, and she marveled at why she always shied away from it. Maybe it wasn’t the act itself, but the man himself.
Before she had a chance to form another thought, he lowered his mouth to hers. “You’re so sweet, so tender. I can’t wait to taste all of you…feel all of you.”
If it was possible to turn into a puddle, she was pretty sure she was doing it. Every muscle in her body seemed to liquefy with those words. Words no one had ever said to her before. He must have realized she was unable to walk, let alone stand after that, because the next thing she knew, she was in his arms, and he was carrying her and heading for the stairs. “Which room?”
“Right, at the top of the stairs,” she managed to gasp out, before his mouth was at her neck, his tongue was gliding across her collarbone and she was on fire. Which made no sense because moments ago she felt like she was a puddle of water; now she was fire. It didn’t matter, she was officially shutting her brain off to focus, then feel.
She just wanted to feel for once in her life. No fear. No thoughts. No worrying. He was doing that to her, making her want to be all those things, and do all those things.
Once in her room, he laid her on the bed and stepped back just gazing down at her. His eyes started at the little flats on her feet, moving up over her fitted jeans, then her pink shirt, settling on her chest—which she always felt was too small like the rest of her—then finally landing on her lips.
Taking a step forward, he leaned on his hands, hovering over her. What should have made her feel crowded didn’t. “I’m going to start at your lips, then move over every part of your body tonight.”
She shivered. She couldn’t help it. Raising her eyes to his, the hazel of them almost a dark blue, matching the shirt he was wearing, she saw the seriousness in his expression. Gone was the sensitive guy she said she liked earlier and in his place was a man on a mission. A man that she wanted to give herself to.
Again, all she seemed to be able to do was nod her head. That answer must have been enough for him as he pressed his lips over hers, his tongue coming out to trace, stopping at the corners, then slipping in and letting her taste him—the essence of him and what he was going to give her tonight. What he was going to show her tonight.
A moan escaped from her lips. At least she thought it was from her; maybe it wasn’t. Somehow she managed to get her brain to work and control her body. Soon her hands were at his hips, then under the bottom of his shirt and on his waist. Oh, his body was warm, and hard. Just as hard as she’d thought it would be when she noticed how toned he was weeks ago.
“Don’t rush it. We’ve got all afternoon and all night. I’m going to make use of that time,” he whispered, and she saw the promise in his eyes.
She felt boneless—she was a puddle anyway, right? She dropped her hands and lay back on the bed as his body curved into hers, and then he was on top of her. His hands holding her head, his mouth feeding on hers—no rush, like he’d said. He acted like he had all the time in the world, but she wasn’t sure she could wait that long.
“Sean…”
“Yes,” he said around nibbles on her mouth.
“I like kissing you a lot, but could you please move on to something else?”
He chuckled, then coughed. She didn’t think it was funny. Did she just insult him? She said she liked kissing him, didn’t she? She wasn’t sure now. But she must have because now his hands were at her waist, then under her shirt like she had done to him.
And boy, were his hands warm. All of him was just hot, almost like he was burning up. She thought she was on fire, but he must be too. “You’re so hot.”
He stopped and grinned. “You aren’t too bad yourself.”
Ugh, she did it again, put her foot in her mouth at the worst possible time. She started to stammer, “I meant your body is warm to touch. Your hands are hot on me,” she clarified.
“I like the other meaning better,” he mumbled just before that wonderful mouth of his landed on her stomach. Slowly, as his hands inched her shirt up her body, his mouth, then his tongue followed suit. Tasting her just like he’d said.
Before she knew it, her shirt was up and over her head and his hands were sliding under her back and making quick work of her bra. Then just as fast, his mouth was at her breast. She’d thought he said slowly, but he wasn’t moving slowly, and she didn’t mind.
His mouth was drawing her nipple in, sucking lightly, then harder, then lightly again. Nipping her with his teeth, and that felt the best of all.
She had no control of her body after that. It just arched up higher, pressing into him with the words tumbling out of her mouth. “Please don’t stop.”
“I don’t plan on it.”
Somehow, some way, his hands were at the button of her jeans and undoing them. She’d heard the zipper lowered, she thought. Right now, his mouth was just so wonderful, still playing with her breasts. Everywhere and every part of them he touched and tasted felt better than she could have imagined.
Soon, but not soon enough, he was edging her jeans over her hips. Of course his lips were making their way down her body as he did it. She managed to kick her shoes off right before he pulled her jeans all the way off.
Just like he promised, he was going to kiss every part of her. He started at her ankle and kissed his way up her leg, around her knee, lifting it up high, stretching it up and even licking behind her knee. Did she think she was a puddle before? There had to be something more to describe the weightlessness she felt. It was all she could do to just hang on to what he was doing to her. To what he was making her feel.
She wanted to touch him, but every time she tried, he brushed her hands away. Finally giving up, she let him control the show. He was doing such a wonderful job right now, who was she to change the course?
As he inched closer to her core, she was waiting, almost holding her breath for him to move in and taste every part of her. The very part of her body that was craving him the most. Instead of pushing her string bikinis down her legs, he grasped the sides and ripped it right off of her.
Her eyes went wide with shock. He glanced up to see her reaction and paused. She wasn’t sure what she was feeling, but it wasn’t fear.
He smiled a cocky smile, then lowered his head and did his worst, or she should say his best, because it was by far the best feeling she’d had in her life. When he said he was going to taste every part of her, he wasn’t kidding. On and on he went. In and out, over and around, never letting her get to the end. She wanted to get to the end. She
needed
to get to the end.
“Sean!”
“Is this what you want?” It was. It so very much was. He knew the right spot, the right movement and she was cresting and falling, tumbling down to the ground without any thought about getting up. She lay there while he continued to devour her, relentlessly working her over until her hands were just lying on the bed, her breath panting out in short fast bursts of air.
When he rose above her, she opened one eye and caught his look of satisfaction. He’d worked her over and was just as proud of that fact as she was to be on the receiving end of it.
She lifted herself up on her elbows and watched as he all but ripped his clothes off. Suppressing a giggle, she couldn’t help but think how this could be the same guy who just took his time moving over every inch of her body in detail. Nothing slow about him in this moment. He didn’t even pause when he grabbed a condom and readied himself.
He moved over her again, brought his mouth to hers, kissed her again—oh, he could kiss—pressed her body back down and slid right into her in one fast motion.
The feel of him was like coming home after a long day of screaming kids. It was better than a warm bath at night…it was a sauna right now. Hot and sweltering, melting her already liquid body until she thought she’d evaporate.
Wrapping her arms around his back, she held on tight while his hips moved in and out. Slow again, and she was trying not to get frustrated. But there he was, taking his time, building her up, even though she wanted it fast. She couldn’t say that though as it was trapped in her throat.
So she took it, the long deep strokes, all the way in, then all the way out, feeling so much of him and wanting so much more until she all but screamed at him. Then somehow his name came out in a frustrating growl again. “Sean!”
“It took you long enough to ask,” he mumbled, then started to move fast now, hurried now. Without a pace and without a rhythm, racing to the end of something he seemed to want to finish. Except that wasn’t true, because she was right there with him running down the track, side by side, both panting and moving to see who the winner would be.
Dual groans sounded, first hers and then his. There were no losers here, only winners. Both of them…and maybe her heart.