DELICATE
With a frustrated growl, I slam the door of the town car and survey my house. Today sucked. Millie was supposed to meet me for lunch, but she never showed. No text, no call. My daughter fucking ghosted me. I get it, of course. She’s pissed about the pictures of Lake and me. But it still hurts.
According to Daniel, she refuses to talk about it even to him.
On my way up the steps, I loosen my tie, set on changing my mindset. I only get three more nights with Lake before she leaves for Los Angeles.
When I open the door, my mood instantly lifts. The sight before me makes it impossible not to smile.
Lake in nothing but my blue dress shirt. All bare legs and wild hair, with her hips shaking as she sings along with the music in my kitchen. My black cat lying by her feet.
I undo the top button of my shirt and slip off my jacket. Without taking my eyes off her, I toss it aside. She’s mesmerizing. Joy radiates off her as she holds the oversized spoon up to her lips like it’s a mic.
As she spins and catches me watching, her lips tug up into a brilliant smile. “You’re home!” She practically leaps into my arms and crushes me in a hug.
Pulling her as close as I can, I inhale her sweet vanilla scent. Everything about her is warm, welcoming. The way her body molds against mine, her excitement over seeing me. When was the last time anyone was genuinely happy to see me without getting anything in return? No handouts, no record deals. How long has it been since someone just wanted me?
I fist her hair and pull her face to mine, raking my fingers through her chocolate strands. “Hey, Red. Missed you today.”
She kisses me lazily, tongue tangling with mine. Kissing just for the sake of kissing. My hands don’t wander, and I don’t want to let her go to take this any further. All I want is this connection.
Breathless, she pulls away and scans my face, then presses one last soft kiss against my lips. “Missed you too.” She shimmies, silently signaling me to put her down. “But I had a great day.” With her hand in mine, she pulls me toward the kitchen. “Sit. Let me open a bottle of wine.”
In awe of her, I shake my head. She’s completely comfortable in my house. She looks fucking good in my kitchen as well as in my shirt. “Let me get it.”
I pad over to the bar and select a bottle I’ve been saving for a special occasion. Lake in my shirt, with no makeup on and her lips puffy from our kisses, was not what I originally had in mind for this thousand-dollar bottle of red, but I can’t think of a more fitting reason if I tried. “What made your day so great?”
“Did you know that Nate and Amelia Pearson live in Bristol?”
Holding the corkscrew over the bottle, I pause and turn to her. Nate and Amelia aren’t only famous for their music. Locally, they’re known for being soulmates. “I didn’t realize you knew them.”
Her blue eyes are sparkling and her cheeks are flushed pink. “I saw Amelia perform at the Bluebird Café a few months before I had the chance to do it myself. She and Nate—they were the most adorable couple. So down to earth and so dedicated to one another despite the obstacles they had to overcome to make it.” She shrugs. “They always gave me hope that one day I’d find that.”
“Find what?”
Her eyes go soft and her shoulders lower just a fraction as she fixes her attention on the setting sun out the kitchen window. “True love. Finding that person who would choose me for me. Not for Lake Paige. But ya know just…me.” She shuffles her bare feet on the tile and dips her chin. But after a silent moment, those blue eyes that are slowly making me believe I could maybe be that person for her find me. “You ever have that?”
I pull the cork out of the wine and turn to the cabinet to grab glasses. “True love?” I ask my reflection in the glass, too chicken to face her.
Her voice gets distant then. “You do have three children, so I don’t know why I asked—”
“No,” I say quickly as I turn around, holding two glasses.
Lake takes one step closer, then another, as I pour the wine. “No?”
I shake my head as I go to her, one glass held out. “Not like Nate and Amelia. Sure, I loved my ex at one time. But never in that can’t live without you way. So no, I never had that before.”
Lake takes the glass and nods, though she’s focused on a spot on my throat rather than my face. “Me neither.”
My damn heart picks up its pace and pounds against my sternum.
If she phrased the question differently, would I have the balls to give her an honest answer? Am I crazy for thinking that we could have that kind of love?
Is she wondering the same thing?
She’s leaving in two days, and we still haven’t discussed what will happen once she’s gone. I’m not sure how to. Is this her way of broaching the subject?
“Ames wants to meet up at Thames on Friday. What do you think? I leave the next morning. Could be a fun last night together?”
She looks at me then, her eyes wide with excitement. I guess that’s my answer. She’s leaving on Saturday, and she isn’t asking me to come with her or suggesting we figure out a way to continue what we’ve started. It ends after this.
“Why did you have a bad day?” she says, moving from one topic to the next with ease while I’m still in my head over what my life will look like when she’s gone. When I’m back to coming home to an empty house. She’s only been here for a few days. How is it possible that I can’t imagine—or maybe don’t want to imagine—this space without her?
“Just a bad day at work.”
“Maybe I can make it better.” She sets her glass of wine on the counter and takes mine as well. Then she pushes me toward the couch. I practically fall back onto the cushions when my calves make contact. Then she’s straddling me. Our lips fuse together, and this time, I let my hands wander her body, kneading and massaging every inch of skin I can find.
When I get to her low back, I tease with one finger, then trace the line of her thong. I grip the full part of her ass and pull so her cheeks are spread. When she bucks in surprise, I bring my lips to her ear and tap the forbidden space. “Anyone ever had you here?”
She moans into my neck and breathes out a no.
“Good,” I grunt. “I want to be the first. Will you do that for me, Lake? Let me have this virgin asshole? Let me make you feel good here too?”
I press gingerly, and she moans again, but then squirms as I push in further.
“Relax, Red. Not tonight. Tonight I just want this. You and me. A glass of wine. Dinner. Maybe the hot tub.”
She licks her lips. “Will you dance with me too?”
“If you sing.”
She smiles. “Always.”
“But tomorrow,” I rasp, “I want you to come to my office.” The plan is already forming in my mind. If she’s only mine until Saturday, then I don’t want to spend a minute without her. And I want everything she’ll give me.
She licks my lips. “Whatever you want, Mr. Hall.”
My cock hardens at her teasing voice, and within seconds, she’s helping me out of my pants and sinking down on top of me. Riding me. Kissing me. Fucking me like we have all the time in the world.
And fuck if I didn’t wish we did.
