Page 42 of Secret Sins

One hand moved to caress my ass through my jeans. She knew exactly what to do and when, I was sure of it. Maybe she'd written the Teasing Van Manual. I'd grown hard the minute she touched me on her bed, but I knew I needed to ground myself first. I needed to get out of my head and all the scenarios of what could have happened today. The what-ifs continued to plague me, mostly because the chance always lingered.

"What would you do about your store? About your family and friends?"

Moving back until she could meet my gaze, Bailey bit her bottom lip. The torture in her eyes was evident, tears shimmering just below the surface. She was strong enough to blink them back, to refuse to let them fall. Then again, she was stronger than anyone I knew, other than my sister.

"I don't have those answers. I'm afraid of the future too, Van."

Staring down into her face, I asked, "Will you call me Justin, just once?"

That was what it took for the tears to fall, and I felt horrible for causing it.

Gathering her close, I held her against me and said nothing else for several minutes.

"I'm falling in love with you, Justin Wilson."

My heart thudded painfully in my ears. "I'm already there, Bailey Moon."

Chapter 16

Bailey

Somehow, we'd fallen asleep, and I woke to the gray haze of either dusk or dawn. Knowing Van would be startled to realize how much time had passed, I debated waking him or letting him sleep. Something told me he'd rather know so he could worry and plan for what came next.

It was my bladder that woke me, so while I was in the bathroom, I made sure to swish around some mouthwash. After all, if I couldn't wake my sexy sleeping man by climbing back in bed with him, then there was no reason to disturb his sleep at all.

His eyes popped open the second the bed dipped beneath me. "What time is it?"

His voice rasped over the roughness of deep slumber, and I responded by cuddling against him. "It's nearly five in the morning."

"God, I didn't mean to fall asleep." Yet, his arms wound around me in a tight embrace.

"I told you, Mama and Jay will take good care of Heidi and Charlie."

"I wondered where the little furry guy had gotten off to."

"Like any other child, he enjoys occasional visits with his grandparents."

That made him chuckle, and I enjoyed the movement of it. "Why do you smell wrong?"

"Wrong?" I took a sniff, but couldn't figure out what he meant. "I'm not dirty or anything."

He laughed harder, jostling us both. "No, not like you need to shower. You smell like mint."

"Oh, well, you know." Surely, I didn't need to spell out that I didn't want to have gross morning breath.

"You're supposed to smell like cinnamon." Gently tugging my hair, Van tilted my head until he could snake his tongue along my throat.

There was nothing coherent in my head to answer him with, so I didn't bother trying. He molded his hands over my ass, running them up my back and into my hair again. I'd ended up mostly sprawled over him, and I used that advantage to kiss his face. Slowly, I shifted my hips until he and I were aligned, and then pressed my mouth over his jaw and along his cheek to search out his lips. In the dark, there wasn't much of him I could clearly make out other than the outline of his body, but I didn't need to physically see him. Each of his attributes were etched into my brain, from his beautiful eyes to his sharp bone structure. The tiniest bit of scruff scraped over my skin as he nibbled along my throat. A moan built in my chest until I couldn't hold it back, and he answered with a groan in my ear. The breath he exhaled tickled my eardrum, and I shivered.

Wishing I'd been smart enough to remove my jeans at the very least before coming back to the bed, I found his seeking hand and pressed it to my core. His groans grew louder, and I felt heat build and spread along my limbs. Van's mouth was everywhere he could reach, warm breath gliding along the skin of my throat and cheeks. Our mouths met, and my senses grew sharper. His musky taste, his tongue slipping along mine, and the heavy thud of his heart beneath my breasts. Just along his collarbone, the scent of his soap lingered as I licked and sucked his flesh into my mouth. Needing his mouth again, I ground against his palm as he pressed it into me and kissed him as if my life depended on sharing his allotment of oxygen.

His ragged breathing and questing fingers awakened what was left of my brain cells, and I realized I was seconds from getting what I’d wanted for so long now.

"Van," I moaned. "Don't stop."

He quickly unfastened my jeans and pushed them past my hips. Wiggling, I shoved them off and whimpered loudly as his long fingers found my heated flesh. Pushing my panties out of the way, he teased and flicked and stroked my pussy, my ass, and my inner thighs. I heard the sound of my wetness on his fingers, and it only drove me higher.

"Fuck, Bailey."