“I think we better get inside,” I told Claudia and stepped back to let her in.
“But I didn’t get to introduce myself. Maybe next time.” She shrugged, giving my ass a quick squeeze before heading into the house. “Thanks,friend.” My gaze snagged on the sway of her hips as she walked, and I was mesmerized enough to forget the door was open.
“Do you grab all your friends by the ass?”
“Only the special ones. I was wondering how long you were going to eye-fuck me until you shut the door,” she said as she set the box on the table. “Not that I mind, but your neighbors seem even nosier than Peyton’s.”
My cock stirred in my shorts from the way “fuck me” fell from Claudia’s lips. We hadn’t gotten there yet, but it was a technicality at this point. I’d already memorized every inch of her body. I knew that tiny patch behind her ear that set her off like a firecracker when I traced it with my tongue, how sweet she waseverywhere, and how beautiful she was when she came. Her gorgeous body flushed from head to toe, her brown eyes lighting up with a pure wonder that turned me on as much as it got me right in the chest.
Everything was different whenever she was around. Life wasn’t an endless merry-go-round of frustration and defeat with Claudia. It was exciting and good. Better than good. It was fucking amazing in a way I’d never thought possible, even before it all had gone to shit in the past few years.
“I was going to bake but went to the bakery instead.” She motioned to the box. “And now that dinner smells so amazing, I feel like I went cheap.”
“It’s just London broil on the grill and some salad. You didn’t go cheap. All I wanted was you, so you didn’t need to bring anything else.”
“You’re very sweet,” she said, scraping her nails over the stubble on my chin. “Thank you for cooking for me.”
“You cooked for me first.” I kissed the tip of her nose. “Even though you really asked my father and I was just his ride.”
She shook her head and peered up at me.
“I wanted you there too. Ialwayswanted you there.” Her smile shrank as she searched my gaze.
“Same,” I whispered, brushing my lips against her cheek. “It’s all ready and sliced up. I’ll give you a tour of the house after we eat. I don’t think you’ve seen the yard yet.”
“Nope, just the porch, which is pretty amazing.” She craned her neck back and forth. “The inside is really nice too. Houses in the city are always tiny, I guess because they’re all on top of one another. Out here, everything is out in the open. It’s great,” she mused, sweeping her gaze around the kitchen as I led her onto the back deck.
“Another glorious yard with no pool.”
I laughed when she clicked her tongue against her teeth.
“We had one. One summer during college, I bought a collapsible pool. It was a good size and not a big deal to maintain, but we couldn’t keep up with all the spontaneous visitors looking to take a swim. It went down that September and then right into the garbage.”
“People would just invite themselves?” She cracked up as she slid into a seat at the glass patio table. “I bet if the visitors were girls, the beautiful boy with all the construction muscle is what attracted them here. I mean, I would have been here every day too just to see you shirtless and wet.” She dragged her gaze up and down my body. “Although, when you were in college, I was in high school.” She pursed her lips at me and shrugged.
“And you were born gorgeous, I’m sure,” I said as I set the plate of sliced steak on the table. “Good thing you weren’t around to tempt me back then.”
“What about now?” She rested her elbows on the table, leaning forward just enough for her perfect breasts to strain against the strapless neckline of her dress. She now knew her collarbone drove me crazy, and she wore nothing but strapless dresses and off-the-shoulder shirts every time we were together.
She was taunting me, and I fucking loved it.
“Now,” I said, bending down to nuzzle her neck from behind. “Now, I can’t get enough.” She sucked in a quick gasp when I sucked her lobe into my mouth. “I live to see you shirtless and wet too.”
I kissed down her neck, smiling against her skin as she lolled her head to the side to give me more access.
“How is a person supposed to concentrate on dinner after that?” She dropped her head back to glare at me, her eyes hooded and a blush already staining her cheeks and running down her neck.
“I bet you could try,” I said, pressing my lips against hers and slowly dragging them away. I smiled at the adorable mewl falling from her lips. I waved her off when she tried to get up.
“Sit and eat. That’s all I need you to do.”
“This is really sweet of you. Are you sure I can’t do anything?”
“Nope,” I said, filling up the wineglasses I’d found in the back of the kitchen cabinets. My mother had loved these glasses, and it had taken me a while to scrub the dust off them from years of nonuse. I felt like she’d be happy I’d broken them out tonight, for a lot of different reasons.
“Are you sure it’s okay to drink without any parents home?” she asked, a sly grin curving her lips as she swirled the Pinot Noir in her glass.
“I was given permission to do whatever I wanted—towhomeverI wanted—tonight.” I nodded to Claudia’s plate. “Take some steak and eat. You’ll need your strength later.”
