Pushing the papers away, I stood and snatched my jacket from the back of the chair. The last few days had been hell, and it was time I had a little surprise visit.
The streets were slick with rain. The tires on my car slid when I took corners, going too fast for the weather.
The doorman outside of Jessica’s building nodded to me as I passed. It was embarrassing to think, but I was actually getting excited to see her. An involuntary smile tugged at my mouth when I got on the elevator, but the minute the door opened to her top floor condo, the smile slipped from my face.
Jessica was sitting on the floor next to the elevator, crying. Her eyes were red and swollen as she swiped at her running noise with a tissue.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
She looked up at me and opened her mouth to speak. Instead, a sob exploded from her pouty lips and she covered her face with her hands. Leaning down, I slipped my arms beneath her and picked her up from the floor. She wrapped her arms around me and buried her face into my neck.
I wasn’t one to stick around for tear-filled drama. Again, it was something different with her. Stepping into her room, I placed her on the edge of the bed. I plucked the pieces of wet hair from her face, as I kneeled in front of her.
“Tell me what it is.”
She sniffed. “It’s Kyle. He went to that program at the art institute an hour ago. He’s going to be gone most of the summer.”
“I thought that’s what you wanted?” I asked confused.
“It is, but it doesn’t mean I’m not going to miss him. I’ve taken care of him since he was practically a baby. I’m not sure how it’s going to be with him gone. He’s all I have.”
The urge to tell her she had me was strong, but the forbidden words choked me when they got stuck in my throat.
Instead, I fingered a strand of her hair and tucked it behind her ear.
“Where’s the art institute located? Is it very far?”
“It’s about five hours away, but he’s going to be staying there all summer instead of staying with me.”
My smile returned. Even though she was crying and upset, I laughed. Her head popped up and she looked at me like I was nuts. I felt crazy. She was making me insane.
“Are you seriously laughing at me right now?” she asked angrily.
“Yes. You realize he’s close enough for you to visit him, right?”
She sniffed and used her tissue to wipe. With her red eyes and ratty hair she should have looked a mess, but it was the total opposite. She looked soft, and full of emotions I’d never understand. She looked real—alive. I envied her ability to feel so deeply for someone, but felt sorry for her at the same time. Feeling things for people meant having the ability to feel pain as well.
“I know that. I’m just being dramatic. I’m a woman, I’m allowed.”
She smiled through her tears and as cliché as it sounds, I lost my breath. It was like a punch to the lungs—an exhale of the man I thought I was and a rebirth of some new person who felt things for the woman in front of him.
Using my thumb, I captured a stray tear as it melted down her cheek.
“Thanks for being here, Sebastian,” she whispered with her head down.
Lifting her face to meet mine again, I grinned at her. “I don’t usually stick around for a woman’s tears. I think I’ve earned something. What are you going to give me?”
She visibly swallowed and her eyes widened. “What do you want?”
Already I was thinking of the different positions I wanted to put her in. What position could get me deeper inside her perfect little pussy, but I knew I had to take it slow.
Tilting her head up higher, I took my time, skimming her lips with mine and feeling their warmth. I continued to do that until the moment I knew she wanted me to kiss her. She exhaled and closed her eyes and that was all the invite I needed.
I nibbled at her lips before pressing mine to hers tightly. A sweet noise rushed past her lips and vibrated my mouth. I kissed her deep, tasting her on my tongue and memorizing the moment for later days.
Her fingers worked their way into the hair at the back of my neck as she formed her body to mine. She fit as if she was made for me. It was the second time I’d ever kissed a woman without the intention of fucking her. Both times being with her.
She broke the kiss and smiled back at me. Capturing my cheek with her soft palm, I lost myself in her green orbs. “You’re amazing, Sebastian,” she whispered.
And then, I saw it. The thing which told me my time with one of my ladies was up—the thing that usually sent me running for the hills. It was in her eyes, the way she stared at me with an awestruck expression. She was falling for me. She’d broken one of my sacred rules.