I wrap my arms around her waist, drawing her in close, not wanting even an ounce of air between us. The husky moan spilling from her lips hardens my cock even more. I slide my tongue around her mouth, tasting and savoring every inch of her. I kiss her like a man starved of her taste, because I am. It’s been years since I’ve tasted anything as sweet as Ava’smouth.
She kisses me back with a sense of urgency, like she is afraid she may open her eyes and discover she is dreaming. I rub my hardened cock against the seam of her sweatpants, making sure she is aware she isn’t dreaming. Her hands glide under my shirt to run over the ridges of my stomach before they lower to tackle the belt of myjeans.
Just as Ava slips her hand inside my jeans to grasp my erect cock, a little voice pops up to the sideofus.
“What are youdoing?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Ava
My hand shootsout of Hugo’s jeans like I’ve been scorched by an open flame instead of the heat of his thick cock. My bug-eyed gaze dances between Hugo’s smiling eyes for several terrifying seconds before I slowly filter them to the side. Joel is standing at the end of the couch. He has his sock monkey in one hand and an empty glass in another. I'm at a loss for how to respond to what he has just stumbled upon. Although I was in a “relationship” with Marvin the past nine months, Joel has never walked into a situation like this. Unless you include kissing Chase and Mr. Marshall on the cheek goodbye, Joel has never witnessed me kiss another man, let alone participate in anything as graphic as the sexual activity I was about to undertake.God, imagine if he was five minuteslater?
Joel rubs sleep out of his eyes while yawning. “I’m thirsty. Daddy forgot to fill my glass ofwater.”
Hugo shifts his eyes to Joel. “I’m sorry, buddy. I didn’t realize you still woke up during thenight.”
From the leering grin on Hugo’s face, I can’t tell if he is apologizing for forgetting to fill Joel’s glass of water, or reprimanding him for interrupting us. There is one thing I do know, though, I need to get off Hugo’s lap. Just the vibration of his deep voice rocketing through my aching-with-need core is surging my libido to a never-before-reachedlevel.
“Let’s get you a drink, then it’s back to bed, mister,” I say, climbing offHugo’slap.
A grin tugs on my lips when Hugo inconspicuously conceals his impressive erection with a pillow after I slide off his lap. Joel shadows me into the kitchen, his steps sluggish and slow. I fill his glass of water to the very brim, eager to ensure he won’t require any more refills tonight. Nothing against my son—I love him more than anything in the world—but it has been years since I’ve had this level of rampant horniness surging through my blood. Just the stimulation I got from Hugo’s enthralling kiss was enough to have my orgasm sitting precariously on the edge of a very steep cliff. Keen is an understatement for how eager I am to get back to my make-out session on thecouch.
After giving Hugo a hug goodnight, Joel climbs back into his bed and snuggles into the pillow, his glass of water remaining untouched. I switch on his nightlight, carefully close his door and amble into the living room. My fervent steps falter when I reach the end of the corridor and notice Hugo standing in the entranceway, putting on his shoes. His eyes lift to mine when he hears my shuffling, dejectedfootsteps.
“I better get going,” he says, putting on his last shoe. “It’s late, and you’ve got work tomorrow, and Joel has pre-school.”
Putting the feeling of rejection to the side, I nod and move into the kitchen to gather the Tupperware container full of pancakes I set aside for Hugo earlier. A grin curls on Hugo’s kiss-swollen lips when he spots me walking back into the foyer with the container inmyhand.
“There is only one thing sweeter than your blueberry pancakes,” he mumbles before his baby blues lift to myface. “You.”
I have no chance in hell of concealing the broad grin stretching across my face. Hugo accepts the container from my hand before running the back of his fingers down my inflamed cheeks. I try not to nuzzle into his embrace, but the urge is too great for me to inhibit. I'm drawn to Hugo like a moth to aflame.
“I really enjoyed tonight,” he says, peering at me with smoldering eyes. “Can we do itagain?”
He chuckles when I eagerly nod my head. I swear, nothing has changed. I'm once again rolling over begging for my stomach to be scratched. But I can’t help it. It wouldn’t matter how much time passes, when Hugo is in my presence, I become the braces-wearing teen flabbergasted by her high school crush. Everything Mrs. Marshall said this afternoon was true. Hugo has owned my heart longer than I have. And even having my heart torn from my chest and stomped on when he left, nothing will ever change the fact he is my onetruelove.
“How long are you back for?” I query, my words juddering as nerves dangle on my vocalcords.
When I open my front door, goosebumps prickle the length of my spine when a blast of freezing cold air whips through the crack ofthedoor.
A new type of coldness freezes my heart when Hugo mutters, “A week. I have some stuff I have to go back andsortout.”
Noticing my despondent appearance, he cradles my cheek with his warm hand, covering my entire face. “I promise you, I’m doing everything I can to ensure I’m not away from Joel too long.” He lifts his gaze from my lips that are still tingling from our kiss to my tear-welling eyes. “I never want to be away fromeither of youever again.” His chest thrusts up and down as he stares at me with beseeching eyes. “If I could take it back, Ava, I would. If I could take away your pain, make itdisappear--”
“The past cannot be changed, forgotten, edited, or erased. It can only be accepted,” I interrupt, quoting what he said to me over five years ago. The same mantra I repeated every time he dropped Joel off last week, fearing he may not arrive the next morning as promised. Just from peering into Hugo’s contrite eyes, I’m certain my fears will nevertranspire.
Hugo places the Tupperware container onto the entranceway table before running his thumbs over my cheeks, removing my tearstains.
“Accept the past, embrace the present, and believe in the future,” he recites, staring into my moisture-filledeyes.
The coldness of the crisp winter night is a forgotten memory as we undertake a mesmerizing stare-down. As always, the dynamic between us is electrifying, sparking the air with enough heat to make it feel like we are in the middle of summer. Hugo’s eyes, which had darkened during his confession about Gemma, get a familiar sparkle as fragments of the old Hugo, the teenage boy who stole my heart at the tender of sixteen, emerges from the dark shadows crippling his usual carefreecomposure.
“I’m going to make this work,” he vows, glancing into my eyes. “Uswork.”
The saltiness of my tears flavors his kiss when he presses his plump lips on the corner of my mouth. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asks, his tone making it sound more like a question than astatement.
I smile and nod. “I wouldn’t miss it for theworld.”
