Just One Touch: A Black Alcove Novel (The Black Alcove Series Book 3) (13 page)

“Ninja Turtles!”
Jake cheers, and we all head for the truck.

“I had no idea he was
going to pick out that one,” Conner says sarcastically.

I laugh, not caring at
all which movie we watch. My mind is still on Abby and what she may
or may not do, and on Conner and what I need to tell him but can’t
seem to find the words.

Conner gets Jake ready
for bed and ready for the movie, but the little guy passes out before
the previews are over. When Conner returns to the living room after
putting him to bed and takes his seat next to me on the couch, the
look in his eyes tells me we won’t be watching a movie. The way his
lips kiss me make my body feel as though I’ve been zapped by an
electric current.

Conner’s lips nip and
suck against my neck, and I know there’s no way I’m going to be
able to stop him. Not tonight. I don’t want to stop. That would
just be cruel to the both of us. The familiar woodsy scent that
consumes me every day surrounds me now, and I finally respond to the
bliss he’s beginning to put me in. My desire for him becomes
uncontrollable.

My hand finds his back,
clawing and gripping the best I can. His mouth is working so quickly
over me, I need to hold on to him. Make sure his body doesn’t move
too far away. Make sure my touch can do to him what he’s doing to
me.

“Alex you’re
positive this is what you want?” he asks, attempting to pull back,
but I don’t let him.

I slam my mouth against
his, slipping my tongue into his inviting mouth, and I moan, long and
deep before pulling away. “I’ve never wanted someone so bad in my
life.”

A glimmer in his eyes
flashes in front of me before his lips consume mine once again. His
hand glides up the side of my thigh, inching the hem of my dress
higher and higher until it rests fully around my waist. He grinds his
hips into me once before giving enough distance between us to replace
his strained jeans with his hand. Moving my panties to the side, he
slides two fingers inside my core. My hips buck and my back arches at
the feeling—foreplay is usually one of my favorite things, but with
Conner, it’s too much. I want him. I want him right now, and I
can’t wait for him to finish whatever he planned. I sit up, his
fingers remaining fast at work inside me, and I reach for his jeans.
I have his belt and zipper undone and am sliding them off before he
lets out a second moan.

With our clothes
removed, Conner reaches for his pants and pulls a condom from his
wallet.

“Shit, we should move
this to the bedroom,” he says. “Don’t think for one second I
don’t want you, but I don’t want to make it easy for Jake to walk
out and see this.”

I slap a hand to my
mouth. “I never even thought of that.”

Conner lifts his body
off me and I leap from the couch, making a dash for his room.

Naked. I barely make it
two steps past him before his arm snakes around my body, capturing me
long enough to press me up against the wall, his erection digging
into my stomach.

I
want you, too.

He begins to kiss my
neck, my collarbone, moving farther down at a snail’s pace.

“We’re not to the
room yet,” I manage to say. I’d rather not be talking, but the
hallway is just as bad as the couch.

“I couldn’t let
your bare ass run past me without touching you.” His lips push
against mine and I lock my arms around his neck as he lifts me to
wrap my legs at his sides. His steps are quick as he enters his
bedroom, but our frenzied lips never part.

Holding tightly, he
lowers us to the bed. He breaks the kiss and I look down to see he
still has a hold on the gold wrapper. He glides the condom on and
positions himself at my entrance.

He pauses, his eyes
finding mine, and he smiles. It’s contagious. I kiss him then,
giving him the go ahead.

He presses inside me
slowly, allowing me to savor the moment we’re fully connected. He
pulls back just as calmly before slamming into me.

“Oh!” I call out.
He repeats the action once again, this time covering my mouth to
muffle the noises I’m making. I smile under his hand, my eyes
locked on his. I lift my hips for him to continue and he takes the
hint. He pulls his hand away and covers my mouth with his own
instead.

Our kisses become as
desperate as every thrust he makes. His pace quickens and right when
I feel an explosion ready to ignite, he pulls out and flips me onto
my stomach. He’s inside me once again before I have time to object.

“Fuck, Alex,” he
whispers into my ear as his smooth hard abs rub against my back. “You
feel so fucking good.”

My mind is still
processing a response when everything goes black and I let out a moan
I’ve never made before. Conner’s body collapses onto mine,
releasing a noise similar to my own. He rolls to his side, yanking me
back to snuggle against him. Light kisses pepper across my back and
that’s the last thing I remember before sleep takes over.

* * *

I wake the next morning
alone and on the couch. I’m wearing a pair of Conner’s sweatpants
that are struggling to stay around my waist and a t-shirt that hangs
almost to my knees. There is also a very awake and observant Jake
sitting on the floor in front of the couch, watching me as he eats
his bowl of cereal.

“Good morning,” I
say, keeping myself wrapped in the blanket I’m covered with even
though I have some of Conner’s clothes on.

“Did you spend the
whole night at Dad’s?” he asks, his mouth full of what I’m
assuming from its colorful state is Fruit Loops.

Where is Conner? How do
I answer this?

“I must have passed
out on the couch after watching a movie,” I answer.
What
kind of sleep I was in to not notice I was being moved?

“That’s why Dad
says I can’t ever stay up late to watch movies. Cuz I’ll sleep.”

“He’s right, and I
should have gone to bed instead of staying up.”

“Do you live here
now?”

“I ... I …”

“Eggs are ready!”
Conner cuts in on the conversation from the kitchen. A full smile
lets me know he was listening in the entire time.

“I also made bacon
and some toast. Thought you might like food
food
instead of just a bowl of cereal today.”

“It smells
fantastic.” I say, taking notice of the coffee smell that also
fills the air.

The moment I step into
the kitchen and am out of sight from Jake, Conner wraps his arms
around my hips and pulls me in for a kiss.

“How’d you sleep?”
he asks.

“Great.” I know I’m
blushing. “How about you?”

“Best sleep ever.”

He kisses me again but
pulls away when his phone dings from the kitchen table.

“Will you see who
that is?” he asks, flipping the bacon. “I’ve texted a couple
people to see if they can cover for me this week. I hope that’s one
of them.”

“You’re going to
try to have someone cover all your shifts?” I hand him his phone
but not before checking the text

“Yeah, it’s the
easier solution than finding him a sitter every night.”

“I can watch him when
I’m not at the gym. The only night I work is Thursday. I work
mornings the rest of the week. It’s your sister,” I say and set
the phone on the counter next to him.

“I really appreciate
that you want to—”

“Conner, let me help
you. I knew you had a son when I met you, remember? I want to help.”

He eyes me, taking in
my outfit. His throat bobs as he swallows, giving me a quick kiss
before turning around to face the stove.

“You’re too good to
me, Alex, you know that?”

“Yeah, but I like to
think I’m just returning the gesture.”

This causes him to
chuckle.

“Oh, I need to check
my mail. I’ll be right back. Want me to get yours?” he asks.

“No,” I answer a
lot faster than necessary. If he checks my mail, then he’ll see my
last name. Something he should have asked me for by now. It concerns
me a little, but it’s also a relief that I haven’t had to share
anything I’m not ready for. Although after last night …

“You sure?”

“Positive.”

Tomorrow. I’ll tell
him tomorrow. What harm can one more day do, right?

Conner

I have two goals when I
get home from doing an inventory check: the first is going next door
to see if I can find anything with Alex’s name on it. We’re way
too far in now; I can’t ask her these questions without looking
like it’s a second thought or something, and that can never turn
out well. The second thing I am going to do is tell Alex about
Heather’s idea of a family and how it won’t work and has nothing
to do with her, but that is why Jake’s mom has been hard to deal
with lately. Maybe Alex will have advice for me? All I know is that
if someone tells her before I do, it won’t be good.

I should have told her
about Heather by now, and vice versa. I can’t even think straight
long enough to do the right thing anymore. What’s gotten into me?

“Is Abby coming in? I
swear that girl and inventory are not a good combination. We should
just stop scheduling her.” Logan steps around the bar, crossing
something off the checklist in front of him.

Here he is concerned
about inventory, when little does he know his sister is most likely
my neighbor and the girl I’m dating.

“Hey, so, have you
tried to contact your sister again? I mean, now that Sara is
pregnant, doesn’t it make you wish you had her around?”

He looks over his
clipboard at me and sighs.

“I’ve thought about
it, but honestly, she would have responded by now if she wanted
anything to do with me.”

“But if she were to,
say, walk through that door right now, how would you feel?”

His eyes roam to the
door. He stares at it, probably thrown by my sudden interest in his
sister.

He shrugs.

“I’d be happy, I
guess.”

“You guess?” I’m
not appreciating the uncertainty in his voice. If Alex really is his
sister, no wonder she hasn’t told him or anyone else. But it still
stings a little that she won’t tell me.

“No, yeah, I’d be
thrilled.” He sounds surer this time and shakes his head as if to
dismiss the thought. “Why does it matter? It’s not going to
happen.”

“Yeah, you’re
right.” I, too, erase the idea from my head. No doubt he would keep
that off-limits rule for sisters into play, and I don’t feel like
taking my chances. Maybe subconsciously that’s why I haven’t
asked her. If she says yes, I’d be breaking the pact Logan and I
made as kids.

“So,” I change the
subject. “I invited Alex to your house this weekend. I hope nothing
comes up this time.”

“Me too. Sara and I
both want to meet this girl. I heard— after a few others gossiped,
of course, so correct me if I’m wrong—but I heard the two of you
and Jake were looking quite the family the other day in the park.
Could it be you’ve found someone Heather approves of?”

I cringe. Here I am,
the guy who hates secrets, and I’m keeping two myself. Three, if
you count the fact Alex could be Logan’s sister and I should tell
him about her. When did I become so selfish?

“Heather doesn’t
know,” I say, guiding the subject away from Alex.

Logan nods slowly. A
good minute passes before he says anything.

“Look, I don’t know
this girl, but I know you and I’ve seen a difference in you since
she moved in.”

“How?”

“You’re relaxed.
You’re definitely not as crabby as you were before when you came to
work, and you seem happy.”

He’s right. I just
never realized how much the people around me observed my emotions.

“If she means that
much to you, you have to tell Heather. End of story.”

He disappears into the
back, and I spend the next hour counting bottles and tracking numbers
at the front of the bar.

I need to trust Alex.
She would have told me by now if she were Logan’s sister. She’s
had plenty of chances. We’re honest with each other. That’s
exactly why I will tell her about Heather tonight first thing when I
get off. If I confide in her, it’s possible that could be the push
she needs to open up. She’ll trust me like I trust her.

I know she will.

* * *

I’m stepping out of
my truck outside the apartment at the same time Alex pulls in. She
gets out, slams her door, and then grabs a few grocery bags from the
back seat, slamming that door also.

“Is everything okay?”
I ask, stealing the bags from her to carry them inside.

“No.” She throws
her hands in the air. “Did you know Abby has a history of ruining
relationships?”

She’s pissed.

“Yes, I did know
that.”

“Not only with your
sister, but with your best friend, too. Crazy. I just can’t believe
it. I wanted to see the best in her, but I just can’t now. How
could anyone do that? You make a commitment; you should keep it. As
both a friend and a significant other.”

“I completely agree.”

“How could she even
want to come between a happy couple? I can’t wrap my head around
it.”

“I’m not defending
her, but it’s not just her fault. There is always a second party to
make the wrong choice.” I wait behind her as she unlocks her door.
“Both people have to want to make a relationship work for it to
work.”

“So, say a guy
doesn’t like his girl anymore. It’s okay for him to cheat?”

“No, that’s not
what I’m saying.”

“It’s just wrong to
come between people like that. I mean, say Heather wanted to be with
you. It would be wrong of me to be doing whatever this is that we’re
doing with you.”

Oh, this isn’t good.

“How do you figure
that?”

“Because I’d be
that girl who came between a family. We’ve had this conversation
before.”

“Yeah, but refresh my
memory.” I set the bags on her counter and watch as she puts food
away and talks at the same time.