“It’s why I got this place, or, one of the reasons I picked this house,” Ian answers, making his way to where I’m leaning against the pool wall. “I spent way too much time as a kid looking up at the stars with my parents to not have access to the stars every night. It’s what I hate the most about traveling all the time during the season. I can’t just step out and relax under the stars. Most cities have too much light pollution to enjoy them.”
“I’ve never really spent time looking at the stars, but I can definitely see the appeal; it’s so peaceful.”
“This is nothing. You should see the stars from the middle of one of the fields back at the ranch.”
“I can just imagine.”
“How about when we get back home, we take another ride out to the fields by the creek and sleep under the stars?” he offers, stepping into my space until his front is pressed against mine. “What do you think about that, you couldn’t cross an overnight hike off your list, but I think camping out in a field could be a good compromise?”
“I think you like spoiling me,” I answer, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“That’s just spending time with you, I haven’t had the chance to spoil you yet. I was waiting for a New York game to send you off to fifth avenue with my credit card for that.”
He sees us together after this summer. He sees us together during the hockey season. We haven’t really talked about what would happen once summer was over. The last time we broached the subject I told him I wasn’t looking for anything serious. We said we were exclusive, and he did say he was in for the long haul, but we never actually defined what we are.
I know he said was going to wait for me, that he was going to give me time to be ready for a relationship, but knowing he’s planning ahead like this settles me, but it shouldn’t.It shouldn’t,right?I ask myself. I can’t feel this way. I need to get my two feet on the ground first.
Do you though?The voice inside my head questions.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, pulling away to see my face. “Shit, I guess we didn’t really talk about the future or anything like that. I promised you I wasn’t going to pressure you. I know we said we were exclusive, and I told you that you were mine—that I would wait for you to be ready. So forget what I just suggested . . .”
“Ian,” I interrupt, running a hand up his chest to cup the side of his face, realizing that I made a mistake by not being completely honest with him. By using the excuse of keeping my heart safe, I never thought of the insecurities I was creating and feeding in him. “I like, no, love, that you see this as more than a fling,” I say, looking at him in the eyes, seeing them soften at the realization that he didn’t say anything out of line. Looking away, I know that I’m not being completely honest with him or with myself.
I do love that he doesn’t see this as a fling. That he sees a future in us. I’m just stuck. Part of me wants to put an end to this pseudo friends-with-benefits thing we have going on. He’s shown me over and over where he stands. How he sees me. I just can’t . . . I don’t know what’s stopping me, but I can’t jump in with him right now.
He interrupts my jumbling thoughts by dropping a searing kiss onto my lips, making me forget how to breathe. “Hannah. Hannah. Hannah, I can see you getting lost in your head. Not tonight. Let me take care of you, not thinking, okay?” Running soft kisses along my neck, his touch makes me shiver and my nipples turn to hard points against his naked chest. Slowly, his hand leaves my hip, making its way to my knee to hook my leg around his hip, pressing me tightly against the ridge in the front of his swim trunks, making me moan out a softplease.
I can’t tell you if I’m begging for him to tell me what he thought, or for him to keep working my body the way he knows brings me over the edge in minutes.
“When I first saw you, everything else disappeared. Like I was holding a breath I didn’t know I was finally able to exhale, but I told you this already. The next day, after hitting the ice with the boys,” he starts, running his fingers softly back up from my knee, to the back of my neck where he softly squeezes before pulling at the tie of my bathing suit top, undoing it, and running his hand down my spine, making me moan as his hands drop to my butt. “Damn this ass . . . I was so taken aback that I made a complete fool of myself at the bar when I finally got to talk to you.”
Before I can even formulate a thought, he continues, “Now, enough talking, let’s work on crossing some items off that Bucket List of yours, starting with skinny dipping.” He slowly pulls the bows laying on both of my hips, before pulling my bottom off from the back.
I moan at the friction he just caused against my needy center. “That sounds like a good idea,” I agree breathlessly.
“Good, now be a good girl and spread for me.” Without giving me a second to think about what he just asked, too lost in the lust and heat pooling at my center at being called a good girl—damn those romance novels were right—he has me sitting on the edge of the pool, so his face is directly in line with where I want him most.
“That’s my girl,” he says, illicing a deep moan from me. At his praise I widen my legs a little bit more. He hasn’t even really touched me yet, yet I’m ready to explode.
“Ian, please,” I groan out, as he slowly trails soft kisses up my inner thigh.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, with a smirk.
“Touch me. Please. Just touch me!” I beg with another moan, my hand reaching for his hair, pulling his mouth exactly where I want it.
“That’s it, show me what you want,” he says, firmly swiping his tongue from top to bottom.
Unable to stop myself, lost in the need to come, I do exactly as he says. Not letting go of the back of his head, I drag his mouth up and tilt my hips down so his mouth is directly over my clit. He gets the message right away, pointing his tongue, swiping at my little magic button at a leisurely pace.
“Ian . . . Right there, Ian,” I moan out again, losing my hold on the back of his head, as he slips two fingers inside me, hitting my G-spot on the first try, making me lean back on my elbows. Looking down at him, I see he has his eyes focused on my face. Instead of feeling embarrassed, seeing him so intent on my pleasure has my tipping over the edge as I scream out his name and throw my head back, lost in the feeling of being loved on by Ian.
“You okay there, Hannah?” Ian asks, rubbing small circles onto the outside of my thighs, with a smirk and a twinkle in his eyes as I make my way back onto my elbows to meet his eyes with a blush coating my cheeks.
“Better than okay. I swear I come harder and harder every time,” I say, unable to filter my thoughts, making my blush deepen and him laugh.
“Good to know I rock your world, babe.” Making me giggle in return and slide back into the pool, wrapping myself around his wet body.
“I’m pretty sure having sex outside is on my List.”
