He lowers his gaze to mine, his dark eyes ashamed. “I’m sorry,” he says softly. “I should have thought about that. It was really shitty of me.”
“Well,” I say, still a little puffed up with anger, “don’t you dare ever do that to me again.”
“I won’t.” He cups my chin in his thumb and forefinger and lifts my face. He touches his lips to mine with exquisite care, and all my anger melts away. I’m about to ramp up the kiss, but the patter of bare feet coming down the hallway stops me. Austin is making a beeline for Sam, letting out a chorus of, “Ma, ma, ma,” as he approaches. I step aside and Sam kneels down. I expect Austin to stop out of Sam’s reach, but instead, he barrels straight into Sam and wraps his arms around Sam’s neck in an unmistakable hug. Tears prick the corners of my eyes, and I smile from ear to ear.
Sam returns the gesture enthusiastically. “Hi, bud. I missed you.” Austin eventually wriggles and Sam releases him. But my son takes his hand and leads him over to the couch and sits next to him. Sam looks over at me quizzically and I shrug, trying to appear nonchalant, although I don’t think I succeed. I’ve never seen Austin do this with anyone else. Tim and I join them.
“So, what’s the plan, Foster?”
“I’ve got to leave,” Sam says simply. Then he turns to me. “Will you come with me? And Austin, of course.”
I rub the spot between my eyebrows, once again torn by what this man expects from me. Demands from me. Yet my heart wants it too. What should I do?
“Can we talk about it?” I ask, looking between Sam and Tim. Then I glance down at Austin. Tim gets my hidden message.
“Hey, bud, wanna take a walk to the park?” he says to my son, who stands up without hesitation and starts walking to the door. What the hell? When did my kid get to be so even-tempered? You’d think upheaval suited him.
Chapter 13
All Yours
Samuel Foster
Once again, I’m asking more of this woman than I should ever dare. I should slide into the shadows and disappear forever. After the fire, I should have died and stayed dead, if I’d wanted what was best for her.
I’m a selfish son of a bitch. But I can’t imagine my life without her.
‘Lose the man you love,’she’d said earlier. She’d been talking about me, not just Steve. There’s hope here. I can’t let go of that.
She’s staring up at me. Neither of us moves as the door clicks shut behind Ledger and Austin.
“Sam,” she says softly, and reaches a hand towards my face. I take it in mine, ignoring the searing pain of the burns on my palm as I press her fingers against my cheek. I shut my eyes tightly for a second. We’re supposed to be using this time to discuss our future, but I’m afraid to let her speak. What if she says no?
I turn my lips into her palm. She makes a small sound and I let my mouth trail to the inside of her wrist. Somehow, I’m pulling her toward me and she’s pressing herself against my body, melting against me in that way I’ve dreamed about since the first time we made love.
Her breasts are bare beneath the faded t-shirt and when I lean back, I see her nipples puckered against the fabric. I look into her eyes, waiting for her to stop me as I run my fingers under the hem up her ribcage to cup a soft globe. She shuts her eyes and groans, arching her back, and then I’m pulling the shirt up and over her head, gazing down at her.
“God, you’re so beautiful,” I murmur, my voice catching in my throat. She reaches for me, fumbling with the buttons of my shirt and then my chest is bare, too. She’s tracing the ink patterns with her fingertips, then she leans forward and takes my nipple in her mouth. Something tightens in my groin as she suckles and then grazes her teeth over my skin, sinking them in slightly. The pain becomes pleasure and I groan, sliding my fingers into her hair and pulling her head to my chest. There’s anger in her, but so much need. I know it because I’m feeling it too.
She drops a hand to the fly of my pants and fumbles the button loose. I’m already tugging at the waistband of her sweatpants, feeling myself hardening further as I stroke the bare flesh there. When I dip my hand between her thighs, her slit is slick and pouting. It’s all I can do not to drop to my knees and bury my face between her legs, but Arielle has other plans.
She’s shimmied out of her sweatpants and has pulled open the front of my Levis. My cock juts out like a warhead, and she rolls her palm over the head and then down my shaft. The sound I make comes from deep in my chest. If I don’t have this woman now, I’m going to explode. When she straightens in front of me, I have one breast in my palm, while my finger is circling her clit and slipping in and out of her pussy. Her breath is heaving as fast as my own, and when she moans, I suck the sound into my mouth as I capture her lips. She hitches a knee over my hip and grinds up against my cock.
With lips still locked, I push her up against the wall, seeing her eyes widen as her back hits up against the cool surface, and the tip of my cock slides along her slit. We break the kiss, staring at each other for a second. Her pussylips are gaping around the head of my cock, practically sucking me in. There’s no sense in delaying the inevitable, there’s no way I could back out now.
“Oh God, yes…” she mewls, tilting her hips up. I’m so close to entering her I can almost feel the sensation. And then I’m bending my knees, angling up and sliding into heaven. I lock my hands under her thighs, lift her up, then lower her down my length.
“Jesus,” I hiss between my teeth.
“God, Sam!” she gasps. When I raise her again, she grinds against me as I lower her, setting up a rhythm that I’m going to be powerless to resist.
“Slowly, slowly.” I try to steady her, but my words seem ridiculous. There’s something primal about what’s happening and she’s taking me over the edge. Arielle arches back, and I’m supporting her against the wall as she writhes against me, her nails raking down my chest. I ram into her and the high-pitched sound she makes connects with something in my balls.
“Fuck!” I grind out. “Fuck…” I’m going to come. It’s barely been two minutes since I got her shirt off, and already I’m about to blow my load like a horny teenager.
“Oh…God, Sam!” she cries out again, bucking up against me violently. I don’t know how I don’t drop her, but I’ll be damned if I ever let this woman go again. As I feel her wet, velvety heat clamping around my shaft, the tightening in my balls becomes too much to hold back. I shoot off like a rocket just as she shouts out and clutches at the flesh of my ass. There’ll be marks on my flesh for a week, but I don’t care. Let her mark me.
I am hers.
