Текст книги "Seeing You "

Автор книги: Michelle Lynn

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Текущая страница: 13 (всего у книги 16 страниц)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Todd

Noodle and I step off the elevator, her hand warm in mine. My eyes ping to her door, and I silently pray that Tatiana stays behind it. If anyone interrupts us, I’ll lose my fucking mind.

I might have lied slightly when I asked Noodle not to sleep with me tonight. Secretly, I hope she can’t keep her hands off me, like I already know I can’t from her.

I insert the key into my lock and glance over to Noodle. Her classic sweet smile absorbs her angelic features, and she inhales a deep breath. Unable to withstand a moment without her in my arms, I press her body to the wall with mine. She gasps, and her fingers hook in my belt loop.

“You’re so damn beautiful.” My lips graze along her jaw, and then I devour her mouth.

Her minty breath tingles my mouth, and I turn my doorknob in my free hand.

“Take me, Todd.”

I don’t need to be told twice. I pull her through the door and push her against it as it clicks shut.

My hands mold to her ass, and I lift her in my arms. Our lips crash together, our heads twisting and turning right to left. I flick the bolt lock and turn us around. The pictures shake out of place as our bodies slam against the wall, pinging back and forth like a pinball down the hall.

Her fingernails dig into my shoulders, and she grinds against my stomach every time I squeeze her ass.

I throw her onto the bed, and she scoots up to make room for me. My breath catches in my throat when I see her on my bed, in my room, ready for me. The last few weeks, I’ve pictured this exact image, and I could slap myself to make sure it’s actually coming true.

Her shirt inches up, revealing a line of skin, and my mouth waters. Her tits are calling my name, but I want to cherish her. I will make sure every inch of her body is touched by me before she leaves this room.

I toe out of my shoes, and her flats drop to the floor.

“Are you sure?” I ask, double-checking, especially since we’ve been going at each other since we opened the door.

“I’m positive. Come.” She sits up on her elbows, and her eyes roam my body.

My fingers fiddle with the buttons of my shirt.

“No. Let me.” She moves up to her knees, and her fingers manipulate the buttons.

Shivers rush along my skin as her hands slide my shirt off my shoulders.

“You’re gorgeous,” she says. Her eyes eat me up, only spurring my arousal.

She inches on her knees to the edge of the bed, and my hands grab the hem of her shirt and strip it from her body. She sinks back and her shoulders jut out, like she’s trying to hide herself from my eyes.

“Hey.” I take my finger and rest it under her chin. Persuading her to look at me, I bend down and gently kiss her.

Her chest rises and falls at a quick pace, and my hand cups her cheek as my thumb brushes along it. I allow my lips to travel down her chin and neck before peppering soft kisses on her shoulder. My hands slowly move down her shoulders and around the back, finding the clasp of her purple satin and lace bra. She sucks in a breath and holds it until my fingers slide her straps down each arm.

“You’re so hot that I can barely hang on,” I whisper.

She tilts her head, allowing me to continue manipulating her neck with my lips. Her fingers graze down my abs and I suck in a breath, waiting for her to disrobe me of my jeans. She undoes the button, and her shaking fingers pull down my zipper. Her hands push my jeans down to pool at my ankles, and a growl escapes my lips.

I step out of my jeans. “My turn.” I hook my fingers on either side of her black leggings and pull them down, stopping at her knees. “Lie down, baby.”

She follows directions, and her body quivers under my touch. Her bravery shocks me. She’s nervous to be with me, because I know this isn’t her first time.

She helps me take off her leggings, and I stare down at her in only her matching purple lace and satin panties. I bend down and move up her leg, kissing each inch of her delectable skin. My hands move ahead and capture her breasts. She arches her back, pushing them into my hands further. My thumbs roll her nipples, and she whimpers. The effect my touch has on her only spurs my own craving higher.

I slide my tongue up the curve of her breast and nestle myself into her center. My dick grinds into her, and her breath catches in her throat. My fingers thread through her hair, and I claim her mouth with mine. We move in sync, both of us moaning. Her fingers dig into my ass, pushing me harder against her, and my skin tingles as sweat beads between our smashed bodies.

“I can’t hold off much longer.” She gasps for breath.

“Hold on.” I slide off her, immediately missing her warmth. I dig through my drawer and pull out a condom. The tear of the foil wrapper echoes from wall to wall, and I strip my underwear off.

Noodle wiggles out of her own, and as much as I would love to dive into her to taste her, I need to be inside her more.

“Hurry.” She sighs.

I climb on top of her then roll us over. “I want to see you.”

She straddles me, and I see stars when I enter her. So damn wet and warm.

“Oh, shit.” I tighten every muscle just to stop me from losing my load.

She moans, and my hand pushes against her tit while the other one plays with her clit. Her hips circle, and she clenches my dick.

Fuck, I’m going to embarrass myself here.

“Todd!” she screams, her hands flying to my headboard to gain a better grip.

She bounces up and down on my dick, and her tits jiggle in my face.

Holding on by an inch, my hands dig into her hips, and I guide her up and down. My ass pushes off the bed, and she whimpers when I get deeper inside her.

Sweat drips down the globe of her breast and drops to my chest. Our bodies slide and grind as gasps and moans flutter out of our mouths.

Unable to hold back any longer, a long, animalistic growl escapes my throat, and my fingernails clench her hips. She stills on top of me, and her body releases the tension.

My hands slide up her sweaty back and into her dark locks. I guide her down to me and passionately kiss her, cherishing every swipe of our tongues.

“You’re perfect, everything I thought you would be,” I say.

A small smile creases her lips, and her head falls into the crook of my neck.

* * *

Noodle lies in my arms. A stream of light peeking through the blinds highlights her body.

For the first time in my life, I made love last night—twice.

My hand rubs along the length of her arm, the warmth of her body pressed against mine.

I tried to convey how beautiful she was last night, so she never doubts what I see when I look at her. Not a day will go by that I won’t tell her.

My phone buzzes on the nightstand, but I let it go to voicemail. I’m not ready to leave the serenity with Noodle.

She stirs in my arms and flips onto her stomach. I scoot closer, and my fingertips brush along her smooth skin. One leg peeks out from my sheet and shows her pink-painted toes. The one glimpse of her skin stirs my arousal for her.

I cast butterfly kisses across her shoulders, and she sucks in a deep breath.

“Good morning, gorgeous,” I whisper.

She turns to look at me. I could wake up to that smiling face every morning.

“Good morning.” She slides closer, and her arm lays lazily over my rib cage.

Her pebbled nipples tease me as she swings her leg over mine.

“I want to take you somewhere.”

My lips meet hers, and our tongues dance the one we mastered overnight.

“Okay.”

She rolls me over onto my back, and her legs swing on either side of my hips. The sheet falls down, exposing her to me. I rock my hips, and she moans. She reaches across to my nightstand to dig into the box of condoms. I capture her breast in my mouth and twirl her nipple with my tongue. She wiggles in my hold, but I glide a finger into her wetness and she stops moving, closing her eyes. I continue to manipulate her body as her groans increase with each push of my finger.

“Oh, my God,” she says.

My phone buzzes again, and suddenly, my body is cold because Noodle is sitting up, holding my phone in front of my face. She shoves it at me, but I don’t take it.

“It’s Karla,” she exclaims.

“I see that.” I hijack the phone from her hand and press the Ignore button.

“What are you doing?”

I inch up and give her a soft kiss.

“I’m with my girlfriend.” I pull her down, back on top of me.

She squeals, and the condom drops down next to me on the sheet.

“I know I told you the whole thing about a grand gesture and me coming first, but this is your dream. Call her back.” She picks up my phone and jams it into my hand.

“No, I’d much rather be with you.” My lips curl, kissing her collarbone and traveling down.

“I’ll call her.” She steals the phone, and her thumb slides across the screen.

I swipe it away and hold it tight in my hand. “I told you I had somewhere to take you.” I groan, sliding out from under her.

“Where?” The sheets rustle as she nestles back under them.

I lean down. “That means you have to get dressed.” I kiss her forehead.

“Isn’t the whole benefit of having a boyfriend as a chef the fact that he makes you breakfast in bed?”

I lean over her again. The scent of strawberry teases me, and if we didn’t have to get there in the next hour, I’d crawl back into bed with her. “Trust me, I’ll make you breakfast every morning from here on out.”

“Cinnamon rolls?” she yells.

I walk into my bathroom and twist the knob on the shower, thinking maybe I should show her another day. But today is Monday, and it’s our only day off.

“Every day.” I fumble through my drawers to dig out some clothes.

“Potato pancakes?”

I shake my head, chuckling to myself. “Yes. Whenever you want.”

Her hands crawl up my back, and there are those hard nipples pressed to my skin. My dick hardens. I wrap her in my arms and turn around to passionately kiss her.

“I need to go home and shower,” she mumbles. Her lips continue to cast short kisses on my lips.

She doesn’t want to leave, and I don’t want her to.

“You need to bring stuff over here.”

My hands cup her ass, and she yelps when I push her center into me.

“I’m just next door. I’ll be half an hour, tops.” She inches up on her tiptoes and kisses me one last time before leaving my arms.

“I’ll be at your door in half an hour.”

She bends up and down to pick up her clothes sprinkled along the floor. She notices me watching her when she steps into her leggings.

“Go take your shower.”

She throws a pillow at my head, and I catch it midair. My eyes continue to assault her body. I’ll never get enough of her curves.

“After you leave, I might take a little longer than usual.” Especially after all the material she gave me last night.

“Hey now, wait for me. Remember, it was your idea to leave the bed this morning.” She swings her purse over her shoulder and closes the distance between us again.

“We have all day, and we’ll be coming right back here afterward.”

She smiles. “I like the sound of that.”

Another tease of her lips, and she’s at my bedroom door. “See you soon.”

My apartment door clicks shut, and I stand in the middle of my bedroom, missing her already.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Amelia

I concentrate on the navigation of the streets, attempting to block out the citrus smell embedded into the cloth seats of Todd’s car. His classic rock plays through the speakers.

“Our old stomping grounds,” I say, smiling over to him, and he matches mine ten times wider.

We started coming to this part for the hidden gems.

“Days I’ll never forget,” he says, pulling along the street before parallel parking the Wrangler.

I go to grab the door handle, but he places his hand on my leg to stop me, and an electric current ignites up my leg.

“Wait.” He ushers out of the Jeep and rounds the front of the car.

“You didn’t have to,” I say after he’s opened my door.

When I climb out, his hand touches the small of my back, and the contentment of us can’t be denied. Our best friend connection has turned to a lovers one. It would crush me if we became one of those couples who turned to burned-out ashes after we ignited the flame and blaze.

“Come on.” He ignores my comment, enveloping my hand in his, and he leads me down the street.

Even though I’m positive on where he’s taking me, I remain quiet, not wanting to ruin the surprise he might have in store for me.

Five minutes later, my assumption stands corrected. We are standing outside of Heaven’s Corner Diner, the first gem he ever took me to. The difference is, the white sign above the restaurant is gone, leaving nothing but old brick. I glance into the restaurant and find waitresses shuffling from table to table. I guess Gus, the owner, must have finally decided to retire after forty years. On one of our visits here, Todd and I learned that Heaven’s Corner had been passed down for decades throughout his family. Gus’s face showed his disappointment that he didn’t have a son who would take over the reins one day.

“You want your usual?” Todd leans in, diverting me from my thoughts.

I smile at how happy Todd appears right now. “Spinach omelet? Too bad you’re not the one making it.”

My hand rests on the cold metal handle, and his lies on top of mine. He takes over opening the door, and the smell of grease transports me right back to late nights when Todd would drag Tati and me here.

The waitress comes over, disregarding me as she talks directly to Todd. I’m used to this behavior. It’s a typical occurrence when I’m in his company.

Leading me over, he pats a stool at the bar and walks back over to the waitress. She glances my way and nods. She disappears through the swinging doors, and Gus emerges.

“Hey, you two.” He wipes his hands on his stained apron.

“Gus,” I say.

He saunters past the counter. “How are you, Lia?”

“I’m good.”

The smell of bacon lingers on his stained apron.

“Go ahead,” he says to Todd.

Todd quickly slides behind the counter. Right before he pushes the doors open, he glances my way and winks.

“You’re letting Todd back there?” I ask.

Todd has asked to cook many times, and Gus has constantly denied him, saying Todd wouldn’t be allowed back there unless he was retiring.

“You’re retiring.” My lips slump down.

He shakes his head. “It’s a good thing. Me and the Mrs. are going down to Florida until we die.”

I slap his arm. “Don’t say that.”

He laughs. “I’m kidding—about the dying thing.”

“So, are you closing the doors?”

“Heaven’s Corner will be closed, but someone bought it. They are turning it into some hoity-toity bistro.” He pretends to be drinking tea with his pinkie up in the air.

“I’ll miss it, but I’m happy for you.”

The waitresses circle around us, and I realize I’m standing in the way now.

“I’d love for you and Tatiana to come to the closing party. It’ll be here on November fifth.”

“We’d love to, and I know Tati won’t miss it.”

“Great. I have to go. Sit. I hear Todd’s making you one heck of a spinach omelet back there.” He winks and disappears through the swinging doors.

I sit on the stool and catch glimpses of Todd through the small opening to the kitchen.

After a few minutes, I decide to check Facebook and kill some time. A few friends have messaged me, saying good luck on my show, and someone attached the ABC morning show link, showing an ad that their segment will air this Friday. Not wanting to see myself on camera, I ignore it.

I spot Todd’s small profile pic of his selfie at the gym. Clicking on his page, I notice he’s taken off his employment info at CHOPs. His page isn’t filled with how much he bench-pressed or pictures of him half-naked in front of a mirror anymore. Instead, they’re my art photos. Under each one, he tells people to come to the show tomorrow night.

My heart flicks to life when I find he posted heartfelt reasons he loves each picture.

I scroll down and then my thumb stops when the waitress pours me a cup of coffee. I peer up at her and thank her before she coyly smiles and rushes over to another patron. I continue admiring Todd’s handiwork on getting people to agree to come to the gallery.

The last post I find is my centerpiece photo of him. I enlarge it because I don’t think I could ever get enough of it. I search for his comments on the side. Not seeing his first one, I read the women’s.

They range from ‘Aww’ to ‘No’ to ‘Me?’

Not really understanding what these women are referring to, I read his caption to the photo.

The words scroll past my eyes for my brain to process, and my whole body numbs. I doubt I could move a finger if I tried. There, on his Facebook page, Todd has declared his feelings.

When I found the woman I’m meant to love.

Swallowing to hydrate my dry throat, I faintly hear the metal doors rub together, and a shadow outlines the counter in front of me.

“Noodle,” Todd says softly, placing the dishes in front of me.

Slowly, I raise my head and find his blue eyes. It’s one of those ding, ding, ding moments in my life, the one where everything feels right, as though all the balls are in my hands after finishing a juggling tournament. The problem is, usually, someone smashes into me, they fly back out of my hands within five minutes, and then I’m left scrambling once again to keep everything from falling.

My eyes dart to the plate in front of me, and I quickly tuck my phone away into my back pocket. “It . . . it looks delicious,” I stutter out, trying to calm my body heat down.

If he hasn’t noticed my pink cheeks, he would have to be blind because the intense heat currently traveling down toward my neck tells me that I most likely match the tomato in my omelet.

“You okay?”

I nod, grabbing my ice water to not only cool me down, but to also keep my mouth occupied before I climb over this countertop and grant my lips their wish to devour his.

“They let me make the omelet for you.”

He points down, and I nod again, confirming I see it. The straw rests in my mouth while the condensation of the cup wets my palm. He takes the cup from my hand and places it on the counter. My teeth instantly bite down on my bottom lip.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

I shake my head this time, trying to compose myself.

Sliding through the opening, he takes the stool next to me and swivels himself around to face me before turning my own round seat his way. His legs rest on either side of my own, and his hands find my hips, slightly pulling me toward him. His touch is like an electric shock, no matter where or even if clothing is a barrier. A sharp twinge excites me.

“I have something to tell you,” he says.

My stomach twists.

“I bought the diner,” he reveals.

My eyes bulge. “You did?”

The smile that’s glowing in his eyes and flooding his whole face quickly becomes contagious.

“That’s wonderful.” I’m happy that Todd bought it, but at the same time, I fear he should be somewhere more . . . elite.

“I know it’s not CHOPs, or any other restaurant that lines downtown. There won’t be reservations booked for two months in advance, and celebrities won’t be rumored to eat here—yet. But it will be mine. I’ll run it how I want.”

He swivels me around, and I giggle.

“I think it’s great, Todd.”

I lean over and kiss him. My lips linger a little too long on his clean-shaven face. His hands come up and rest on my hips, moving up and down in a soothing motion.

“I’m going to switch some things up, though. I start renovations November sixth. Locally grown, fresh items made daily.” He glances down at the omelet and back to me. “Sorry, I’m not there yet.”

“Hey, this is my favorite omelet made by my favorite person.” I turn my attention back to my plate and fork a bite. “Mmm . . . just as I remember.”

We sit for another hour, and Todd fills me in on his plans and how he’s been talking to Gus for the past few weeks. He was able to get a loan from the bank, but he’ll be doing a lot of the renovations himself.

“I have a question.”

“What?” I feed him a bite of hash browns.

He finishes chewing. “Your grandma gave me the sauce recipe. I talked to her about buying Gus’s in the kitchen that day when Davis came, and she taught me how to make the sauce.”

“Seriously? I don’t even know how to make it yet.”

I’m slightly offended, but I know Todd wouldn’t tell anyone.

“I could cook it for the restaurant, but I’d feel weird doing it. She’s not my grandma.”

“Yes, she gave it to you to use, baby. But you do what you feel is right.”

He cuts a forkful of omelet and places the fork at my lips. “We’ll see. I just wanted to let you know. I felt like I was keeping a secret from you.”

“Thank you.” I stand and hug him in my arms. “I’m one lucky girl to have you.”

“I’m luckier.”