She moaned with enthusiasm as her tongue vibrated around me and her grip tightened. Time warped as the seconds stretched and the pressure in my spine built, pushing me right toward the edge with open arms.
My body buzzed, infused with sensational waves of euphoria engulfing every cell in my body as I welcomed the lightning strike that catapulted me over the cliff. Thunderous pleasure electrified my being and suspended me in a bubble of unadulterated bliss until I dropped down into the water, feeling weightless with abandon.
“Come here.” I claimed her mouth, funneling every ounce of affection I had for her as she matched my eagerness stroke for stroke.
“Will it always feel this way?” she asked, leaning her forehead against my shoulder.
“Yes, because our chemistry is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.” She was all I needed in this life and every life to follow.
“You’ve definitely ruined me for anyone else.” I tickled her side just above her hip for that playful jab because there was no way I was ever letting her go. “Ah, Jameson,” she scolded me.
“Good, because you ruined me a long time ago.” My words lingered as thick, billowy steam from the hot tub disappeared into the night’s air. “Can I ask what made you get a hood piercing?”
“What made you get your Jacob’s ladder and when?” she countered.
“Oh, I see how it is. Okay, Red, I’ll go first.” I didn’t particularly like thinking back to that time, but there wasn’t apart of me I wouldn’t share with her. “It was years ago, and I wasn’t in a good head space then. I wanted to feel pain versus the constant state of sadness and frustration I was living in.”
Her eyes grew wide, revealing a blend of surprise while also hinting at a deep sympathy that I had to set aside to avoid getting lost in those feelings.
“It’s okay, no one knew. I kept that side of me locked away and was the fun-loving jokester who everyone loved.” I wrapped a fly-away piece of her hair around my finger before tucking it behind her ear. “They advise you only do two piercings at a time; needless to say, the process took a bit. I had already sworn off any woman who wasn’t you, so that wasn’t an issue. Once things healed, honestly, I liked the added sensations. I also told myself if we ever got our chance, I’d have zero issues removing them if it wasn’t something you were into.”
“They’ve definitely heightened things in a good way, that’s for sure; we just have to be super careful.”
“Without a doubt. Your pleasure will always come first with me. If you ever don’t like something, say the word. Now confess, babe, I want to know why you decided to get yourself pierced in a place that has over eight thousand nerve endings.”
Her lips pressed together in a thin line.
“Yeah, well, with all those nerve endings, you’d think a person would feel all the sensations, yet all I’d ever felt was numb and broken.” Hearing her say that about herself made me sick with my role in her feeling that way. “I guess, much like you, I wanted to feel something, but for me, I wanted to feel alive when I felt dead on the inside. Any past partner would get frustrated with me during oral, so I learned to fake it. Leaving me never satisfied. I’d read a romance novel where the female main character had one; I guess you could say it intrigued me. I drove three hours away to a place that did it because therewas no way in hell I was going to risk anyone recognizing me nearby.”
“It’s sexier-than-fuck, and I, for one, like that we have these little secrets no one knows about.”
“And I like you, Jameson.”
“Right back at you.”
Except I didn’t just like her, I loved her, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold back from telling her.
Chapter Nineteen
Arizona
After the unforgettable evening I had spent with Jameson, where I drifted off to sleep on his chest, feeling as if I were floating on a cloud, reality quickly jolted me back to earth with a sudden impact.
Everything about my day had started on the wrong foot.
Our phone alarms failed to go off for work since we were distracted by one another and forgot to set them. The power at Jameson’s house went out while I was in the shower, leaving me with wet hair and no way to dry it. To make matters worse, I hadn’t had any coffee, so by the time I arrived home to change into my uniform, a pounding headache had already set in. It only worsened when I discovered that my flower garden had been completely destroyed overnight. It looked like some wild animal had torn through the soil, searching for its next meal beneath the flowers.
As if that wasn't enough, Alex was in a bad mood when I arrived at work, and it didn’t take long before he got on my last nerve. I had always trusted him and believed that we worked well together, but during every call, it felt like his head wasn’t in the game, which wasn’t an attribute I tolerated on the job where time was often of the essence.
Alex tapped his knuckles on the front door before pressing the doorbell.
“Try the handle; he’s notorious for leaving it unlocked.”
“Hello? Malcolm?” I called out as I stepped inside his house. “It’s Arizona.”
The living room was empty.The Price is Rightepisode on television was muted, and a half-eaten sandwich was on the coffee table.
“Maybe he’s in the bedroom?” Alex suggested.
