“So…the voice thing,” he began. “The doctors can’t figure it out, right? And you just spoke a few minutes ago.”
Jackie shrugged.
“Do you think, maybe, for your voice to return, you need to beextracomfortable and relaxed? Maybe sleeping next to me did that for you.” He masked it as a joke, but he was serious. Some ridiculous part of him hoped it was his touch that had done the trick.
Jackie blinked rapidly and tried to turn her head, but Antonio gently touched her cheek, then glided his hand down her throat. “This many days without hearing you speak—it’s driving me out of my mind.”
Jackie gasped as Antonio replaced his hand with his lips, kissing at the base of her throat. He kissed up the short distance of her neck until he reached the underside of her jaw. “I want to hear you say my name again, Lucky.”
Jackie threw her head back, allowing him greater access to the space between her jaw and shoulder. He could taste the faint hint of her perfume’s sweetness—and remnants of the salt from their tequila shots somehow. Maybe he was imagining the last part, because he knew the end goal was her lips. He wanted—no,needed—to kiss her lips, to work his way to other places on her lush body. But as badly as he wanted to do ungodly things to this woman, he wanted to be sure that she wanted that too. Jackie may have lost her voice, but that damn sure didn’t negate the need for consent.
Antonio pulled back, staring at Jackie. “I want you to want this. You have to let me know somehow that you want this, too, Lucky. I—”
Before Antonio could finish that sentence, Jackie had his face in her hands and was kissing him, devouring him with the movements of her mouth and tongue. He grabbed hold of her waist and pulled her closer to him, his mouth never leaving hers. When she tried to pull away to catch her breath, Antonio shook his head.
“No, Jackie. I’m gonna kiss you until you know how much I’ve missed you. I owe you that much. I’ll breathe for both of us if I have to.”
He found her mouth again and pulled Jackie on top of him as he kissed her. His boxers did very little to conceal how hard he was, and her clinging leggings did very little to mask how wet she was getting. Antonio had to get her out of those damned clothes.
He released her lips reluctantly and looked up at her. In the dim lighting, he tried to compare the memories of Jackie ten years ago to Jackie now. She’d always been thick, but Jackie was grown-woman-thick now, with a slight fupa, curves, and dips in all the places that he loved on a woman. His eyes didn’t know where to feast. He focused on the three moles on her torso that formed a perfect isosceles triangle. God, she was so fucking perfect.
Antonio felt Jackie tap his chest. He looked up. “Sorry, I just… You’re so fucking fine, Jackie. Like, how’d you get finer? That shouldn’t be possible.”
Jackie gave a raspy laugh, shaking her head.
“You think I’m lying.” Antonio sucked his teeth. “I’m telling you the truth because honesty, in this moment, is what you deserve.” He placed a kiss on her exposed shoulder. “Lying would be me telling you that you don’t feel good in my lap.” He nipped at the curve of her neck. “Lying would be me saying you don’t taste so damn good.” He bent down and licked the shell of her ear. “A lie would be that I haven’t thought about having you like this again, every day for a solid decade.”
Jackie stared up at Antonio. Her throat bobbed.
“Do you believe me now?” he asked.
Jackie rolled her eyes, then nodded her head yes.
“Good,” Antonio said. “Now, I’d appreciate if you let me go grab some protection.” He playfully tugged at the waistband of her overpriced leggings. “Because if you grind any harder on my lap, you’ll come before we have a chance to get reacquainted, ma.”
They stared at each other for a few beats, taking inventory of each other. It was strange, to be with each other again, so many years later. But to Antonio, it felt like the most natural thing in the world. Hungrily, he grabbed Jackie by the back of the neck and pulled her down on top of him. The warmth of being chest to chest stirred something primal in him. He kissed her, sucking her tongue and gently biting her lip until he felt her hands grab hold of his dick.
“Shit, Lucky,” he moaned. He was so hard that he pulsed in her hands at the first stroke. When she moved her hands up and down, faster and harder, Antonio knew she was trying to play the “let’s see who comes first” game.I got something for that, though.
In one swift move, Antonio held on to Jackie and flipped her onto her back. She stared up at him, laughter dancing in her eyes. “You laughing now, Jackie. But I know what you trying to do. Make me break first. Nah, not happening, baby.”
Jackie smirked.
“Let me grab the condom, Lucky. I promise I’ll be right back.”
Antonio hopped off the bed and went to the walk-in closet to find the box of condoms he always kept in his carry-on. It had been a minute since he’d had sex, so he prayed they weren’t expired. He also hoped that he could last longer than five minutes. There were six months left of use, thank God. He tore open a packet and slipped it on in record time.
By the time he returned to the bedroom, however, Jackie was nestled under the covers, headscarf re-tied securely and asleep again. Antonio couldn’t do anything but shake his head and laugh. He peeled off the condom and tossed in the trash. So much for getting reacquainted.
Antonio slipped back into bed and pulled Jackie close to him. She didn’t wake up exactly, but she snuggled into him. Her steady breathing warmed his bare chest, tickling the edges of his fraternity brand. In an ideal world, Antonio would have had Jackie in forty positions all over their suite for hours tonight. But this was different. This felt intimate in a way that Antonio hadn’t experienced before. He appreciated this a hell of a lot more.
And that both scared and excited him.
Before turning out the light, he kissed Jackie’s forehead, then whispered softly in her ear.
“Sweet dreams, my Lucky Charm.”
