I love you because you’ve saved me from myself.
I flicked open her bra and filled my hands with her breasts, my thumbs passing over her nipples until they tightened and she leaned into my touch. “Let’s be honest, sweetheart, I’ve loved you since you said an olive tasted like a briny ball sack. You stole my heart, and maybe my balls, that night.”
“I win,” she said. “I’ve loved you since you were knocked out in the elevator.”
Pushing her down to the bed, I pulled off her jeans and grabbed her panties, twisting the simple green fabric in my hands and tearing. She gasped—it was an innocent sound that begged for something dirty—and I held them up for her to see with a pointed nod. Her lips parted, and she knew exactly what I had in mind.
I snatched a condom from the shelf alongside the bed, rolling it down as I edged toward Tiel. She was spread out before me, exactly as I envisioned yesterday, and her body told all the stories. There were no straight lines, no right angles. Just soft, rolling curves. Paths that were as much fun to explore as the destination was to reach.
“Ilove youlove you,” she whispered as my eyes caressed her.
I had her panties balled in my hand, waiting, holding back on the off-chance she’d say those words again. I just needed to hear it one more time. I wrapped her legs around my waist and thrust into her and that bliss rolled up my spine and straight into each lobe of my brain. It was peace and pleasure, and different than it was only a couple of days ago.
My hips snapped, moving in her urgently, and she threw her head back with a wail that echoed through the firehouse. “Oh, fuck, Sam,” she groaned. “Ineedyou.”
“I know, Sunshine, and now you’re going to do as you’re told.”
Smiling, I slipped her panties between her teeth, brought my hand to the small of her back, and drove into her. She was everythingIneeded, and as I angled her hips to hit that deep, soft spot that made her eyes roll back in her head, she trembled around me. It was light and gentle, but quickly robbed me of all senses.
And there was more: words forming in my chest like little waves, rising up then splashing down only to build bigger, stronger, until they were catching me, dragging me under. They deserved voice, and they seeped into me, claiming territory on my bones and vital organs.
“Tiel,” I whispered, my fingers tangled with hers, squeezing. “Ilove youlove you, too.”
She hummed, nodding, and wrapped her hands around my neck.We came together, hard and fast, yet it lingered, zapping us with aftershocks and spasms as we rocked into each other. When I gathered the strength to lift my head, I wiped the sweat from her brow and tossed the panties to the ground. I tucked Tiel under the covers and left to deal with the condom, returning with fruit, juice, and nuts.
She snuggled into my side, her head cushioned on my chest, and said, “I meant what I said.”
I had a quip about fucking her in a girly bedroom decorated with unicorns and flowers on my tongue, but I swallowed it when she glanced up at me with big, vulnerable eyes. This wasn’t like my slick comments about her tits or my unending requests for blowjobs. This was just a bit of what it meant tolast.
“So did I, Tiel.”
I’D ALWAYS KNOWN that Sam’s world was a touch different from mine, but this—the swanky Scottsdale resort, unending spa treatments, elaborate cocktail parties and dinners—this proved it.
And the hotel sex was pretty incredible too.
We had one more night in Arizona. I intended to laze by the pool while he attended sessions and participated in panel discussions this afternoon, and January pool lazing was something I could get used to. Tonight was the conference’s closing celebration at Taliesin West, famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and architecture school, and Sam was delivering the address.
“What are you getting?” he asked while he scanned the menu.
I could also get used to fancy restaurant breakfasts each morning. “Probably something with wheat. Did you want to share?”
“No,” he murmured. “Enjoy your wheat.”
Laughing, I reached for my coffee. He was so freaking cute with his quirks and food allergies and sexy growls. Those growls. They were like the opening chords of ‘Back in Black,’ and they drove me wild, possessing me, every time.
I ordered Belgian waffles and, as usual, Sam engaged in a detailed discussion of his order with the waiter. “Could I get an egg white omelet with steamed spinach and tomatoes? Not sautéed, just steamed. And no butter. Not for the vegetables or the eggs.”
“Yeah, seriously with the butter,” I said. “It makes him sneeze, and you can see how that can get really annoying, right? Just imagine him sitting here, sneezing for ten minutes straight.”
“I’ll tell the chef,” the waiter said. He wasn’t especially effective in concealing the these-people-are-really-fucking-strange look he gave his notepad before leaving our table.
“Thanks for that, sweetheart,” Sam said, smirking.
“Anytime,” I said.
And there it was: our perfect little love bubble. Perfect was easy when it came with delicious food, maid service, poolside margaritas, and hotel sex, and I was enjoying every last second of it. It wouldn’t be this easy when we were back in Boston. Our lives were more complicated when work and family and life were involved—wewere more complicated—but this was a gorgeous reprieve from it all.
And I did like being spoiled, just a little.
