Текст книги "Tell Me You Need Me"

Автор книги: Joya Ryan

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Текущая страница: 5 (всего у книги 10 страниц)

Chapter Five

Gage’s phone pinged with a text message from Chloe.

What’s your favorite dessert?

He stopped rolling the cuffs on his blue button-up and responded easily with the truth.

You.

Funnily enough, he was a bit nervous. While part of him had been confident he could eventually get Chloe to cave and go on a date with him, another part of him thought it’d never happen. But it was happening. Tonight.

After their little escapade in the woods, he’d replayed in his mind over and over the one word she’d said when he’d asked her again for just one date.

Okay.

She’d said okay. Now it was his shot to show her how much more they could be. And why he wanted to keep coming back to this town and to her.

His phone pinged again.

By the way, don’t worry about picking me up. I’ll meet you at the restaurant.

He almost protested, because walking to her door and getting her was part of the date. Granted, he’d never been strictly traditional, but with Chloe, he wanted to do things right—take her hand as she got out of the car, open the restaurant door for her, pull her seat out. But he was walking on thin ice with a date in the first place, and he didn’t want to push his luck. If she wanted to meet him at the restaurant, he wouldn’t push the issue.

Assuming this wasn’t some elaborate ruse.

If you stand me up, sweetheart, we’re going to have words.

A few seconds passed, and then she wrote back.

Please, God, no more talking.

He chuckled while responding.

Yep. Don’t think I don’t know how to punish you.

Her response came within seconds: You wouldn’t dare.

Gage grinned from ear to ear as he typed out his reply.

I’ll talk to you all night. Then again in the morning. I’ll talk to you so hard and so much you won’t be able to handle another conversation for weeks.

And send.

He called to double-check the reservation he’d made at Le Coeur’s—a fancy French restaurant in town. At first, Chloe had asked why she’d eat somewhere other than her own restaurant, but she’d seemed to melt with relief when he’d suggested that maybe she needed a night off from everything.

He thanked the hostess for confirming his reservation, then hung up and saw he had another text from Chloe.

Your threat is noted, and I believe you. I’m showing up tonight so we can finally get down to the good stuff. But I swear to God, if I buy you surf and turf and you don’t put out at the end of the evening, then I’ll be the one having words with you.

He laughed again. God, he liked her. So much. She was funny, strong-willed, and so damn sexy it made his head spin. Their little game was reversed in a lot of ways, but when it came down to it, they both played their part well. And his part was to keep a hold of Chloe and pleasure her until she couldn’t entertain the idea of anything—or anyone—else.

I see we understand each other then. See you soon, sweetheart.

His phone pinged once more.

Yes, you will.

Chloe had no idea what she was doing. It’d taken her all day and more research than she’d care to admit to prepare for tonight’s date. The cute little restaurant was on the waterfront, and Gage sat at a table nestled in the corner with a single candle in the middle. She hadn’t meant to be late, but she was.

Now he probably thought she was standing him up. Well, maybe that’d make him all the more eager when she finally went over. Assuming he didn’t walk out.

She shook her head and banished the thought. He wouldn’t walk out. And she shouldn’t care if he did.

She stood near the bar and watched the strong, capable search and rescuer sitting alone. Waiting for her.

She’d give him what he wanted just this once. This one night, one date, one act of romance, she could handle that much. At least, that was the pep talk she’d been dishing to herself since the almost sex they’d had in the woods.

He’d asked her questions as though he really did want to know her more. Know about her mother. Her past. And that scared her. Because deep down, she wanted to open up to him. She trusted him. Which was why she’d shown up at all tonight. But if she thought too long about it, she might back out.

Instead, she took a step forward.

She adjusted her purse—which felt heavier than normal—and then smoothed one hand down her dress and walked to her…date.

When he caught her walking toward him, those incredible eyes of his lit up. A man looking at her like that did weird things to her chest. Then again, it wasn’t any man who could do this to her with a look; only the man she wanted.

Heat rushed to her cheeks, and she suppressed a nervous giggle.

Gage stood, walked around the table, and pulled her chair out for her. “You look beautiful.”

Oh, he was good. His simple gesture and smooth words coated her skin like rich honey.

“So do you.” She took in his pressed shirt and black pants. He smelled like leather, spice, and all man—she could get lost in his scent.

“Before I sit, I have some stuff for you,” she said.

Gage raised a brow as she fished through her purse.

“Here.” She handed him a mini bouquet of roses. Actually, now that she looked at the semi-smooshed flowers, maybe it hadn’t been the wisest idea to carry them in her purse.

He laughed and took them anyway. “Nice touch.”

She handed him a note. “And this is for you, too.”

He unfolded it. His soothing laugh came back, and her face warmed.

“You’re hot?” he asked, reading the two words she’d scribbled on the paper.

“It’s true.” She shrugged. “And here’s one more thing.” She grabbed the last present and handed it to him.

“Edible panties?” He grinned at the packaged strawberry thong. “I like where your mind is at, sweetheart, but I don’t think these will fit me.”

“These are romantic,” she declared proudly. “I Googled it.”

He took a step closer, and his smile turned into something more serious. “What do you mean?”

She shrugged, trying really hard not to feel like an idiot. But tonight was important to him, and she was actually trying. Even if, judging by his reaction, she was doing pretty terribly. Nothing to do but admit how much she was lacking in this department.

“I read up on romance.” She stared at her feet. “The top romantic suggestions included surprise your date with flowers…” She glanced at the ceiling, concentrating on recalling every pointer from the website. “Write your date a sweet note.”

Granted, all she’d come up with was You’re hot, but she was still a novice at the romance stuff.

He took a step closer and cupped her hip, silently asking her to go on.

She finally met his gaze. “And prepare your date’s favorite dessert.”

“That’s why you asked earlier?” he said.

She nodded. “And since you said your favorite dessert was me…” She leaned in a little, and the wrapper of the edible panties crinkled a bit in his tight grip.

“You’re very clever. And I love all of it.” He gently kissed her lips, soft but thorough, stealing her breath and thoughts.

This was so out of her element. “You don’t think it’s stupid?” She wasn’t good with romance, but she wanted to make Gage feel all the things he made her feel. Wanted. Special. Seen.

“You’re incredible, sweetheart,” he whispered against her lips. “Thank you.”

Chloe smiled—she’d won a small victory here. Maybe he was right. Maybe this romance thing wasn’t so bad. Granted, she’d given her date a fruit-flavored thong in the middle of a five star restaurant, but whatever.

She gave him a final kiss, then took her seat. Gage set his gifts on the edge of the table and sat, too.

Across the white linen and flickering candle, his eyes sparkled. Looking at this man made her melt. Just being across from him was its own delicious kind of foreplay hinting at what the night would bring when they finally made it to the bedroom. Why hadn’t she agreed to this sooner?

Oh, right. Because she was feeling something for him. A lot of something.

But she wouldn’t get caught up in those thoughts and fears. Not with so much riding on tonight.

Tonight, she wouldn’t overthink it. She’d just enjoy dinner.

And later, she’d enjoy him.

“Five star restaurant and we cut out for ice cream?” Chloe said, walking along Main Street, licking her vanilla ice cream cone. Vanilla. Not chocolate. As far as Gage could figure, her choice indicated she was neither sad nor stressed. Excellent.

He also knew the creamery was her favorite. Every time they’d talked in the past, she’d brought up the flavor she’d tried that week.

“Thought you’d like my dessert choice.” He took a lick of his own strawberry cone.

Her eyes met his. “I do. Very much.”

Gage had never expected tonight to go as well as it did. Dinner was wonderful, but Chloe was even better. She was trying, which meant she clearly cared about him—that alone was enough to make him hold on to the hope they could actually make this work.

They walked down the street, the lights of the nearby shops twinkling. She slipped her free hand into his, and it felt good. Better than good. It felt right. As though strolling down the street after a nice night of talking and laughing was so normal, he could feel it in his bones.

And he wanted more. Wanted to know her more. Wanted her to finish all the things she’d ever stopped herself from telling him. Wanted to hear her mind when she spoke and watch her eyes when she laughed. He just wanted…more.

“Ever think about adding ice cream to the menu at your restaurant?” he asked.

She smiled and took another lick of her cone. “Are you kidding? I could never beat the creamery.” She moaned around another long lick of the ice cream, and the sight of her tongue made Gage’s cock take notice. But he stuck to his mission. Getting to spend time with her outside of bed. If this worked, it would be all the more satisfying when they fully gave in to their desire.

“Besides,” she finished, “Natalie would kill me if I had a direct dessert competition.”

He nodded. Time to push just a little bit. “So it’s safe to say that the dish you’re trying to make for the anniversary isn’t a sweet one?”

Her stride slowed and she glanced at the ground. Gage knew that look. Like if she could turn her vanilla cone into chocolate right now, she just might. But when she looked at him, there was a different light sparkling behind her eyes. Like she…trusted him. At least wanted to see if she could.

“I’m trying to make crab cakes. My mother’s epic, amazing, can’t-be-replicated-ever crab cakes.”

“I see,” he said. And he wanted to help. Because of all the times he’d seen Chloe, he’d never seen something be so important to her. “There are only so many ingredients in crab cakes. Did your mom get creative and use a difficult recipe?”

“No,” she said calmly. “That’s just it. It’s not putting them together that’s hard, it’s how she cooked them. The ingredients I can handle, well…for the most part. But no matter what I do, I can’t cook them right. It’s really annoying.”

She huffed and took another lick of her cone. But she kept holding his hand. Kept talking to him. And damn, Gage wanted to keep that rhythm going. She was opening up. Trusting him with more.

“I always end up burning them. Even when I turn the stove down.” She shook her head. “I swear the stove just hates me. It’s secretly a robot out to destroy anything I bring near it.”

“That’s a valid hypothesis,” he said.

She laughed and nudged him. “Yeah, evil robot stove is way more plausible than me not being able to boil water.”

“Surely you can boil water…” he said with a wink. “Just don’t go too crazy and put an egg in it or anything.”

“Oh God no!” she teased. “My luck, the damn egg would turn into a chicken, flip me off, and fly out of the pot.”

“Now you sound magical.”

“Not in the kitchen, I’m afraid. Which is hard, because my mom was so good in there. Like second nature. I can still remember how it smelled with her in it. Like she could create anything. There was always this smell of…love.” She didn’t make a sound, but her grip on his hand tightened, and Gage waited a breath and silently begged for her to continue. Finally, she said, “Sounds stupid, doesn’t it? The smell of love.”

“Not at all,” Gage said. “It’s how you know her. How you remember her. It’s comforting.”

She stared at him. “It really is. The clicking sound right before the burner lights or the soft sway of a kettle before it whistles are like triggers. For a second, I can almost see her. Forget that she’s gone. And it’s in that tiny moment, I have her back.”

Gage squeezed her hand. “It’s like she’s still with you.”

The corner of her mouth trembled. Just barely, but he couldn’t miss it.

“But those moments are getting shorter and shorter and fewer and further between.”

“You miss her,” he said.

“Yes. So much. Even when she was alive I missed her.”

That made him frown. “What do you mean?”

She shook off that last question, and with one last lick of her cone, she dropped the rest into the trash can as they approached her restaurant. Gage did the same thing and walked her toward the entrance of her place.

Their talking time was over. He could sense it. He wanted to know more. Wanted her to dive deeper, but he would take what he could get. Besides, she’d already given him quite a bit tonight. He was grateful for that small step.

“Well, this is me,” she said as they rounded the restaurant to her door around the back of the building.

“Nice place,” he said, falling into the role of her new date. A role he was liking. “I hear this is a pretty special restaurant.”

“It is…” She glanced away, as if mulling something over. Then she turned back to him and said, “The twentieth anniversary of this restaurant is happening next weekend. You should come. If you want.”

Holy hell, Chloe was inviting him to the anniversary event? That was an invitation not just to a date. That was an invitation into her world.

Hope spread from his chest to every other part of him. He’d brought her into the great outdoors and she’d passed with flying colors—not that he’d been grading her. But she was an A+ no matter what. Now maybe their worlds could merge—or at least, maybe they could step in and out of each other’s worlds with minimal issues.

“I’ll be there,” he promised.

She smiled and swayed, playing coy, and his body went on alert.

“I sure had a lovely time, Mr. McGraw.” She batted those long lashes, playing the cute and not-so-subtle role.

Now he would play, too.

“I had a mighty fine time myself, ma’am.” It went against his New York accent to drop his vowels and coat his words with the North Carolina twang, but it made Chloe smile.

“Would you like to come up for a cup of coffee?” she asked sweetly and leaned in. “And by coffee, I mean sex.”

He grinned. “Absolutely.”

She rushed up the stairs. Gage didn’t get two feet into her apartment before she slammed the front door and plastered him against it.

Nothing ever felt as good as Chloe wanting him.

“Anxious?” he said between bites at her lips and deep tongue thrusts into her mouth.

She drove her hands into his hair and tugged him closer. “You have no idea.”

“Oh, I think I do.” He scooped her up, and her legs locked around his waist as he carried her to the couch. With her wrapped around him, he sat and let her straddle him. She wasted no time tugging on his shirt, freeing the buttons, and trailing her hot mouth down his chest.

“Jesus, you feel amazing.” He reached up beneath her dress, grabbed her ass, and groaned. “No panties?”

“They get in the way.”

“All damn night you were walking around without panties on?” he growled.

“Yep.” She rocked against his jean-clad cock. “Now what are you going to do about it?”

And wasn’t that the question of their entire relationship? He ground her against him, and her breath hitched against his chest. She bit down on his pec and reached between them to unfasten his belt.

“Now,” she said. “I can’t wait anymore.”

“Whatever you want.” She’d fulfilled his request for romance and the date, now he’d more than meet every desire she had. Time to remind her exactly what he was good at—pleasuring her.

He unzipped the back of her dress as she unzipped his jeans. The material covering her plump breasts fell down her flat stomach and pooled at her waist. With one arm wrapped around her lower back, he palmed the perfect handful of her breast and sucked hard.

“Yes, please, more,” she cried to the ceiling. He gently bit the tip of her nipple and pulled her closer until her wet heat pressed against the throbbing crown of his shaft. He scooted enough to peel his jeans down his thighs, finally baring his entire length.

So close. They’d been skin on skin a few times now this visit, the chance for him to again be inside her, and he’d resisted every time after he’d first seen her at the bar.

Except tonight would be different. Tonight, he was taking everything. No more playing. No more games. He’d bury himself inside her until neither of them could move.

“Do you have any idea what you do to me?” He sucked her other breast.

“I’m concentrating on what you’re doing to me.” She arched her back, offering up more sweet skin.

“I’m going to be doing a lot more to you here in a minute.”

She palmed his jeans. His cock was hard and pulsing, and the brief touches of her damp flesh against it were driving him fucking insane.

No more waiting.

Not tonight.

She finally found the condom in his pocket she’d been looking for. She pulled it out, ripped it open, and worked it over his cock. Her arms pushed her breasts together like the best damn offering he’d ever been presented with. He buried his face in her soft cleavage, sucking, kissing, and licking. Back and forth, he took one nipple into his mouth, then the other. Devouring her in long draws and coming back for more.

When she’d covered his cock with the condom, she wiggled and tried to get closer, but he cupped her ribs and lifted her until her hot flesh was right above his waiting cock.

She gripped his shoulders, looked him in the eye, and whispered, “Please.”

It was all he needed to hear. He set her down on him, impaling her as he went.

They gasped together. She was tight, hot, drenched, and it was all for him. All the pent-up need of the past few days, hell, the past few months, were finally culminating in this single moment.

“More,” she begged, clawing at him. One word with so much meaning: deeper, harder.

Gage wanted more, too. He sat forward on the couch and tugged her knees until she was wrapped around him.

He thrust deep. “Like that, sweetheart?” She nodded vigorously while grinding her hips against him. No up and down, that’d be too much space. He was sheathed to the hilt and wasn’t fucking going anywhere. He stayed deep, rocking enough to hit her every inner inch while she worked him right back.

Grinding and moving. So damn close he could feel her everywhere.

“Missed you. Missed this,” she said.

“Me too,” he rasped. He reached between their bodies and spread her sex with two fingers so that her clit rubbed against his lower stomach.

“Oh, God, so good,” she moaned. As she whipped her hips in his lap and he delivered deep thrust after thrust, her slick little bundle of nerves glided along his abs, and with every sweep, her channel gripped him tighter.

“Lean back.” He cupped her waist and held her steady as she obeyed. Her back arched, breasts high and round, those pink nipples pointing to the sky, and her long hair danced around his shins.

She was at his mercy. His. And he had a front row view of her sexy body spread out and at his disposal. She trusted him to hold her, and that was a gift he wanted to take. He’d hold on to her now and every time he returned. He’d keep her safe.

“Hold on,” he growled. With a tight grip on her, he leaned forward, never breaking their connection, and laid her on the floor, following her down. “I’m just getting started with you.”

Her legs locked tighter around him as he thrust into her, over and over, each time harder and deeper than the last.

“Yes! Oh please, please baby.” She’d never used an endearment with him before—it was like a shot of sugar to his veins. He reached beneath her, grabbed her shoulders, and pulled down as he plunged up. He was being rough, but he couldn’t stop. He needed to feel her everywhere.

Good thing she didn’t want him to stop.

Her fingernails scoured down his back. “Right there!”

He growled, loving the sting. The raw, wild passion. It was all Chloe. All he thought of when he was away from her. All he wanted when he was near her.

He fucked her impossibly hard, and she was there to take it all. When her tight sheath clamped down on him, her body tensed and gifted him with her release.

“That’s it, sweetheart,” he whispered in her ear as she let herself go. “Show me how much you missed this. How much you want it.”

She moaned and pulled at him. Writhing, shivering, begging. She was gone—spiraling into a powerful orgasm he was proud to have given her. And he was there to cover her. Catch her. And go with her.

His balls were heavy, and he couldn’t resist anymore. With her name in his throat, he pumped in and out while he shook with his release.

Slickened with sweat and breathing against him, she cupped his face and kissed him wildly. His cheeks, his chin, his nose. Rained down praise and satisfaction without saying a word. It was these moments he felt immortal. Nothing could touch him so long as he had her praise. As long as she wanted him.

Yet one word kept beating in the back of his brain…

More.