“Your house?” she asks softly.
“LA.” As I speak it, the truth hits me. LA isn’t home anymore. It’s not the sanctuary I need now. And it hasn’t been for a long time.
She nods like she understands. “I guess fans can be crazy.”
I frown in thought. “I went out for dinner a few nights before I landed here in Whispers. My driver hit a young man. We were going slow, just pulling out from the curb, but this guy got up, smiled, waved, and walked off like nothing happened. The next day, it was all over the media that he ended up in the hospital with a broken leg and my name was plastered everywhere for all the wrong reasons.”
Her smile falters a little. “Coincidence?” She’s smart; I should’ve known she would come to the same conclusion as I did.
“Maybe. Maybe not.” I shrug. I have no idea if my fans are just too fanatical, or if someone is deliberately trying to drag my name through the mud. But a hit-and-run and spending alone time with an underage girl are crimes, and I don’t want to be pinned for something I didn’t do.
“So we’re both in hiding…” she concludes, though we already knew that.
“Here at this little cottage…” I whisper.
“In Whispers…”
The fact that we’re both in the same circumstance has us feeling more connected than I have with anyone else. I have her back and I know she has mine. A low rumble of thunder rolls through the sky outside, and I know I should probably go.
“I’ll text Sawyer to come get me.” I don’t want to. I want to stay here with her all night. But she has to be up early tomorrow for work, and she already looks tired.
“Here.” She passes me her phone, since mine is broken from the fall. I send him a quick text before passing her cell back.
“I’ll make sure he deletes your number,” I tell her.
“Thank you. But I’m okay with Sawyer having my number. I trust you. I trust him by association.”
My heart swirls at that. “I’ll never break your trust.”
She swallows, biting her lip as my eyes canvass her body, appreciating every inch of her.
“I should pack up.” As she stands, leaning over me to scrape together all the playing cards, my hands move before I think.
“Come here…” My voice cracks a little as I grab her waist, turning her to face me. I hear her sharp intake of breath as I sit forward. Her low height in comparison to my large frame puts her not too much taller as I sit at her side. I glide my hands up her curves and back down again, getting a feel for her as her hands land on my forearms.
“Sutton?” Her eyes search mine, full of heat, as her body leans toward me a little more.
“You’re pretty fucking amazing, Tinker Bell.”
She’s tentative, but as her hands trail up my arms and settle on my neck, it’s like she’s telling me I’m safe in her arms too. This is what I need. Maybe I just need another taste of her, another touch. Maybe this infatuation I seem to have developed is all in my head. Maybe one night with her and it’ll be all out of my system…
“You’re not too bad yourself.” Her voice becomes even quieter, if that’s possible, like she's too scared to say what she really thinks. Not because she’s shy, but if I could hazard a guess, it’s because she’s running from someone who’s told her she can’t be the person she is. I lower my hands to her ass and down one of her thighs, lifting her leg from behind her knee so she straddles me, before she lowers onto my lap.
She relaxes against me, and I grip under her knees to slide her body up my thighs until her hips hit mine. That’s one benefit of our size difference; I can put her anywhere I want to. She swallows, her neck right in my line of sight. My dick pulses right underneath her, and her hips shift in response.
“That’s a little better,” I hum, looking up at her.
“What now?” Her question holds many meanings. What now for right now? What now, as in what the hell are we doing? What now, as in, where’s this going?
“Right now… right now, I want your lips on mine.” The words barely leave my lips before I’m claiming hers. With a sigh, her hands delve into my hair, and I pull her flush against me, our mouths searching each other’s before I delve my tongue inside. It felt good to kiss her in the rain the other day. It feels fucking fantastic to taste her right now. My whole body melts completely when she’s in my arms, my stress and worries leaving me instantly.
The fire crackles, the rain hasn’t let up, and the cottage is quiet, James no doubt reading or already asleep. Her body starts to move in my hold, her hips grinding, and I drop my hands to her lower back, my palms almost cupping the top of her ass as I push her into me over and over. Her back curves, her chest hitting mine, and God, I want her so badly it almost hurts. My cock’s so hard, there’s no way she can’t feel me.
“Jesus, you’re fucking perfect…” I grit out, my lips leaving hers as I trail them down her neck and take in her floral aroma, the fresh, innocent smell hitting my senses and making my hands grip on to her tighter. It’s light, not overpowering, just feminine and flirty. Kind of like her. My lips peck and kiss her skin, and she pulls her hair around her neck to the other slide, leaving me nothing but her bare neck and shoulder.
She pants, “Far from it…”
“Not from where I’m sitting. And let me tell you, I’ve got the best seat in the house.” I lift my face, taking her lips with mine again, because I can’t fucking stop. My hands continue to push and pull her ass across my lap. Fuck, it’s been a long time since I dry-humped a woman, but that’s exactly what we’re doing.
