Rebound Therapy (Rebound #1) (4 page)

I move my fingers enough so that I can look at him as he answers. He shrugs. “You seemed comfortable. I liked how you sighed and snuggled closer to me while you slept. I didn’t want to wake you.”

For a second I can only look at him. I wasn’t expecting that. His tone is warm and affectionate, and his face is sincere. There’s heat between us, and attraction, but this is something more than that. Something I’m not sure I’m ready for.

“God, you’re a sap,” I say, pushing on his arm. I keep my voice light, trying to break the sudden tension.

Brian flashes me a quick grin and stands up. “Breakfast?” he asks.

“I have cereal, but that’s about it,” I say.

“Let’s go out, then. I know a great breakfast place.”

I decide to take a shower and change before we go out, and we stop by Brian’s place so he can do the same thing. This is my first time at his house. He lives in a subdivision across town from my apartment building. All of the houses are some variation of light gray or light brown—stone, taupe, off-white, cream—you get the picture. Brian’s house is no different. I’ll call it tan. I find subdivisions boring and stifling, but I live in an apartment so who am I to judge?

Brian pulls into the garage and ushers me inside through the laundry room. The walls in his house are painted a tasteful off-white. The furniture is minimal and masculine, all clean lines and dark brown leather with a large flat screen TV dominating the living room.

“Make yourself at home,” Brian says. “There’re drinks in the fridge if you’re thirsty.” He gives me a quick kiss before going down the hall to his bedroom.

Twenty minutes later, Brian walks back out. I look him over as he enters the room, his hair still wet from the shower. His jeans hang off his hips just right, and his faded blue t-shirt fits close enough to hint at what’s underneath without giving too much away.

He catches me checking him out and flashes me that knowing grin of his.

“Ready for breakfast?” he asks, mischief dancing in his eyes.

“Starved,” I say. I don’t just mean food, either.

*

I spend the day with Brian. We end up back at his place, stopping by a video store after breakfast to get
The Princess Bride
. Brian has surround sound and a large wall-mounted flat screen, so it’ll be the closest thing to a movie theater experience outside of a movie theater.

“Well, what did you think?” I ask after we finish the movie. Brian’s sitting in the corner of the couch and I’m snuggled next to him, his arm around me and my head on his chest.

He smiles down at me. “I see why you like it.”

“Do you like it as much as
Rocky Horror
?” I ask.

He tilts his head and pauses for a moment to think. “Nothing beats
Rocky Horror
.”

I heave a dramatic sigh. “I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree, then.”

He grins at me. “Oh, really? It’s not a deal breaker then?”

It’s my turn to pause and think. “I don’t know … maybe it is.” I grin back at him.

“I guess I’ll just have to convince you it shouldn’t be,” he says. That mischievous twinkle is back in his eyes.

“How do you propose to do that?”

In answer to my question he shifts me into his lap and kisses me. So far his kisses have always started out soft and tender before moving into something more insistent, more demanding. Not this time. This kiss is all heat and scorching desire from the beginning. He pulls me around further so that I’m straddling his lap. He grinds me down onto him so I can feel the proof of his arousal. His hands seem to be everywhere—my hips, running up my back, tangling in my hair—pulling me as close to him as possible. His hands are back at my waist and I feel his fingers teasing under the hem of my shirt, warm and immediate against my bare skin. His mouth moves away from mine and starts to work his way down my neck to my collarbone while his hands start moving upward, lifting my shirt. He pushes my shirt up above my breasts and stops kissing my neck to admire me.

I at least had the presence of mind when I got dressed this morning to put on one of my nice bras. It’s cream colored with embroidery on the band and lace edging the cups.

Brian looks at my face now. He’s checking in with me, making sure I’m okay with this since it was at about this point that I stopped him before.

“Is this okay, Jenna?”

I nod.

“If you’re going to stop me again, I need you to do it now,” he says. His voice is soft and husky with desire.

“I’m not going to stop you,” I say, matching his tone.

He returns his hands to my shirt and lifts it over my head, then glides his hands down my back to unhook my bra and slide it down my arms. His hands return to cup my breasts, his touch firm but gentle. I watch his hands, feeling their warmth, and seeing how my breasts just slightly spill over from his grip.

“You’re so beautiful,” Brian says. He kisses me deeply, while kneading my breasts and teasing my nipples. He starts kissing his way down my neck again, this time continuing past my collarbone. His mouth replaces his hand on my right breast. I arch back, giving him full access, and tangle my fingers in his hair.

He lays me back on the couch, continuing to lavish attention on my breasts, pausing to yank his shirt off over his head. His mouth is back on mine, insistent and demanding. He’s propping himself up on his right arm and his left hand feels like it’s everywhere. He’s stroking my body, fondling my breast, then skimming down over my belly to the button on my jeans. He unfastens my jeans one handed, then slides his hand inside.

He lets his fingers play over me, teasing and exploring. I gasp when he finally makes firm contact. He slides a finger inside, groaning into my mouth as he continues his explorations. One finger becomes two, and his thumb makes small circles around my clit. I arch into his hand, craving more contact, more friction.

“I need to see all of you,” he says. I almost whimper as he pulls away, but then he’s pulling off my jeans and my underwear. I help him by lifting my hips as he pulls them down and off. He’s kneeling between my thighs, then pulls my legs up and spreads me wide. I’ve never been so exposed before. Tom saw me naked plenty, but he never spread me open and devoured me with his eyes. I would feel embarrassed, except for the obvious desire and appreciation in Brian’s eyes.

Brian leans over me and kisses me again, then starts kissing and nipping a path down my neck, between my breasts, and over my belly. He plants an open mouth kiss at the top of my mound, sucking slightly, then using his tongue. He looks up and locks eyes with me before dragging his tongue up my core from bottom to top.

“Breathe, Jenna,” he tells me. I let out a shuddery breath. He’s playing with me, exploring my folds with his tongue, relishing my reactions to him. His attentions are deeply arousing, but nowhere close to taking me to the edge.

He licks me long and slow again, this time lingering at the top to do something really nice with his tongue. I moan and he pulls away to grin up at me. He doesn’t stop for long, though, returning with another long lick ending with whatever it was he did before. Then he latches on, and the suction feels marvelous. I’m not sure what else he’s doing with his tongue, but I like it. A lot. No one’s ever made me feel quite like this before. My hands are clutching at the couch cushions, but I don’t feel like it’s a strong enough anchor.

Brian’s stopped teasing me now and is ramping me closer and closer to the edge. I’ve thrown my head back and my eyes are closed. I know I’m making noises and saying things, but I’ve no idea what nonsense is coming out of my mouth. The only thing I can focus on is how good Brian’s tongue is making me feel.

Brian slides his fingers inside me again, first one and then two. He presses up, and I shatter, white lights dancing behind my eyelids. Brian continues his attentions, drawing out my orgasm, leaving me a twitching, shuddering mass. He pulls back and withdraws his fingers from me as the last of the aftershocks subsides. He stands up and undoes his pants, pushing them down with his underwear in one swift motion. I’d forgotten he was still wearing them until now.

Brian reaches into his front pocket and I see him pull out a little square packet before dropping his pants on the floor. I’m still lying on the couch, stretched out with my arms above my head, just watching him. I feel boneless from that orgasm. Brian puts on the condom and resumes his place between my thighs. He kisses his way up my body, stopping to play with my nipples with his tongue. He finally arrives at my mouth and devours me with his searing heat.

I arch my hips toward him, inviting him in without words. He slowly enters me, a little at a time, allowing my body time to adjust and accept him. Once he’s all the way in he stills, staying there and continuing to kiss me. After a moment he breaks the kiss and looks into my eyes.

“My God, Jenna,” he says. “You feel so good, so tight.” Then he kisses me some more. His hand slides down my thigh, pulling one of my legs around his waist. I lift the other to do the same, following his silent instructions. He begins to move. Slowly at first, and then more quickly as my hips rise to meet his with each thrust, my legs locked around him urging him on. Brian meets my demands and then I feel him tense under my legs, one hard thrust, then another, and his upper body is shuddering over me as he reaches his own orgasm. He drops his head to my shoulder, then pulls out and lays down next to me, scooting me around so my head is pillowed on his shoulder, our legs still intertwined.

“You only came once,” he says.

“Yeah.” I shrug. “I don’t have orgasms from intercourse. Oral usually does the trick, though. That was really nice.” I smile as I say the last part.

Brian smiles back. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Next time we’ll see if we can’t get more than once out of you. And hopefully do better than nice.”

I arch an eyebrow at him at that statement, but don’t say anything else. He sounds like he’s taken that as a personal challenge. I guess we’ll see what happens next time.

CHAPTER FIVE

Brian takes me home a couple hours later. It’s Sunday night and I have to work tomorrow. Amy tried to get ahold of me earlier to see how Saturday night went. I texted her that I was still with Brian and she made me promise to call as soon as I could.

I grab a drink from the fridge. Brian and I had dinner together before he brought me home, so I’m not hungry, but I want something in my hands while I talk to Amy. I’m not good at dishing, and I know that’s what she wants. Especially since I spent last night and today with Brian.

Amy picks up on the first ring. “Spill,” she commands.

“Hi, Amy. I’m great, thanks for asking!” I say with fake enthusiasm.

“Yeah, yeah, hi, hi, whatever.” I know she’s rolling her eyes. “So, what happened last night? It must’ve been good. Please tell me you slept with him.”

“Well, he came over last night and we had pizza and went and saw
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
.”

I can practically hear her eyes rolling again. “Yes, I know. You told me that’s what you were doing. You said you were dressing up?”

“Yeah. It wasn’t anything too crazy. We went as Brad and Janet, so the clothes were pretty normal. The Dr. Frankenfurter costumes were fun to see, though.”

“Okay, so what happened after the movie?”

“We came back to my place and hung out for a while.”

“And …?”

“We talked and made out some. Then we fell asleep on the couch.”

“You just made out? Jenna! He’s your rebound guy. You were supposed to have a one-night stand with him weeks ago. What are you waiting for?”

“Amy!” I say, mimicking her tone of voice. “I’m not a one-night stand kind of girl! He wanted to go further but I stopped it. At least that time.”

“You stopped it? Why? And what do you mean that time?”

I sigh. “Amy, I haven’t been with anyone since Tom. It’s … hard. I feel like I’m cheating on him or something.”

“Jenna,” she says, her voice filled with compassion, but still firm. “I know it’s hard. But Tom’s gone. He’s not coming back. This is why I said you need a rebound guy. You need to move forward. I know you’ll always love Tom, but you need to live your life. He wouldn’t want you to mourn him forever.”

“I know. I get it. I just … didn’t feel ready yet. Not last night anyway.”

“Not last night? So you’ve felt ready since then?”

I can’t keep the smile off my face now. “Yes,” is all I say.

“Jenna! You’re killing me!”

I laugh at her. “What?” I say, all fake innocence.

“What?” she mimics. “So? Tell me! How was it?”

“It was good.”

“Just good? How good? Details, please.”

“Amy, I’m not going to give you a blow by blow.”

She snickers. “So there was blowing?”

“Ha ha. That’s not what I meant. And no, there wasn’t.”

“Okay, okay. But what happened? How was it? I haven’t been on a date in ages, so I have to live vicariously through you right now. Fill me in.”

“I told you it was good. I don’t really have a large basis for comparison, you know.”

“Okay, so how was it compared to what you do know?”

I can’t keep the smile off my face or out of my voice again. “Really good.”

“So, better than what you’re used to?”

I hesitate, still feeling disloyal. “Yes. Amy, I don’t know if I’ve ever come that hard.”

She whistles. “That’s pretty good.” I can tell she’s grinning too. “So, how’d he do it?”

“Oral,” is all I say.

“He went down on you? Nice.”

“Yeah. It was really nice. Tom never seemed to like doing that. I think Brian enjoyed himself down there, though.”

I hear her sigh wistfully. “Well, I’m glad you finally did it. It’s not the quick and dirty one-night stand I had in mind, but there’s always next time.”

“Next time?”

“Well, I’m assuming you’re not marrying Brian. He’s the rebound, remember? You’re supposed to date around now. That’s the idea. Not go from almost marrying someone, to grieving for a year, to another serious relationship.”

“We’ve only been out a few times. I’d hardly classify it as a ‘serious relationship.’ But I like Brian. I’m not going to dump him just to find some other random guy to have sex with.”