He chewed on his lip, scratched his head, and burrowed closer to me. "So you really want to be with me? Just me?"
"Yes." I narrowed my eyes. "And Eli?"
"Uh-huh."
"I don"t share either. Not ever."
He shivered and I felt his d.i.c.k rising against my hip. "Okay," he whispered.
"Okay?" I confirmed.
He nodded.
"Good. Now can we get some sleep?"
"Yeah." He wiggled against me, his shaft seeming to harden with every pa.s.s it made against my leg.
I chuckled, suddenly feeling fine about delayed sleep. "You need some help with that, baby?"
"Help with what?"
I reached down and palmed his shaft. "Help with this."
"Ungh." He moaned, bucked, and gripped my waist. "Seth!"
"Maybe I should collect my winnings now after all," I whispered into his ear. He whimpered. "That way I can wear out that active brain of yours and help you get to sleep."
He was panting and humping into my fist.
"But that"s not the only reason." I pushed him onto his back and tweaked his nipple. He groaned. I loved how sensitive they were, so I leaned down and tugged one between my teeth. "Want to know the other reason?" I stroked his shaft and suckled on his nipple, eventually letting it go as I settled between his legs. "Eli? Do you want to know?"
"Yeah," he said breathlessly.
I sat back on my heels, held his d.i.c.k so it was sticking straight up, and kept my gaze locked with his as I bent forward and licked him like a popsicle.
"Seth." He fisted the sheets. "Oh G.o.d."
"The other reason is because I like how you taste," I said while gripping his thighs and pushing them out and to the sides. That left his gorgeous b.u.t.t on display, and I took full advantage, dropped my face forward, buried it between his muscular cheeks, and puffed my hot breath over his pucker.
He screamed. Honest to goodness screamed. I"d never considered myself an egotistical man, but I must have had some of that in me because seeing the pleasure I gave Eli made me feel like I was something special.
"Hold your legs, baby," I told him.
He looked down at me, wide-eyed and red-cheeked, but didn"t move. I chuckled, reached for his hand, uncurled his fingers from the sheet, and placed it on his leg. Then I did the same thing with his other hand.
"Anyone ever done this for you?" I asked even though I suspected the answer.
Over the years, I"d learned that Eli"s bed partners hadn"t met all his needs. He was shockingly open and honest about all things s.e.xual, so I knew he m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.ed a lot and that he liked to finger himself while he did it. But when he had tried to take that act to the next level by being the receptive partner during s.e.x, he"d felt no pleasure, only discomfort.
I"d given that issue a lot of thought-a lot lot of thought-and after some online research, I was pretty sure I knew how to relax him enough for him to enjoy the feeling of taking me inside. But that would come later. I wasn"t in a rush, and, frankly, I was looking forward to all the other things I"d get to do with him along the way. of thought-and after some online research, I was pretty sure I knew how to relax him enough for him to enjoy the feeling of taking me inside. But that would come later. I wasn"t in a rush, and, frankly, I was looking forward to all the other things I"d get to do with him along the way.
"No," he answered. "And you don"t have to."
"Have to?" I cupped his cheeks and spread them apart. "Oh, Eli," I said, my voice gone husky. "I want want to." to."
I bent forward and licked my way from the end of his crease up to his b.a.l.l.s and back down again. I knew he was moaning, I could hear him, but my own sounds of pleasure were just as loud. Touching him like that, licking and tasting, could become an addiction. When I had him slick and trembling, I pressed my mouth against his pucker and pushed my tongue inside.
"Seth!" he shouted as he arched his back.
I didn"t let go of my prize. I just held on to his b.u.t.t and kept laving, sucking, and tongue-f.u.c.king his opening.
"Please," he whimpered. "Please, I... please."
He was trembling and breathing so hard I was worried he"d pa.s.s out, so I gave his insides one last wiggle of my tongue and then I pulled out. "d.a.m.n," I said and bit his b.u.t.tcheek. "I could do that forever." I squeezed and ma.s.saged the firm globes. "But right now, I think I"d better give you what you asked for." I licked his b.a.l.l.s and then sucked them into my mouth for a moment before saying, "Because you asked so nicely."
I released his hands from his legs, thinking his muscles were probably sore, and then I lowered them to the bed and ma.s.saged him from calf to thigh and back. He trembled and kept those pretty green eyes focused right on me. I liked that.
"Is that better?" I asked, referring to his muscles. "Still tight?"
"It"s good."
I kissed his calf and smiled. "Good." I crawled up, grasped his d.i.c.k, and swallowed as much of it as I could without choking.
"Seth!" He thrust his hips and I let him, enjoying the feeling of him taking control of my mouth. As worked up as he was, he couldn"t last long, so after only a few sucks up and down his shaft, he emptied himself into my mouth. "You"re amazing," he said, sounding awed. He shivered. "Amazing."
I knee-walked a couple of steps until I was straddling his hips, then I took myself in hand and started tugging. "You make me so hard, Eli." I looked at his gorgeous body and handsome face. "Make me want so much."
"In my mouth," he said desperately as he shot up and grabbed my hips. "Please." He pulled me forward. "c.u.m in my mouth."
I nodded. He lay back down and I moved over his body, planted my knees on either side of his chest, and rubbed my p.r.i.c.k over his lips. He whimpered and opened for me, letting me move my glans on his waiting tongue.
"You ready?" I asked as I fisted myself quickly, my o.r.g.a.s.m just within reach.
With his mouth hanging open he couldn"t answer verbally, so he nodded instead.
"Good." I braced my free hand on the headboard. "Here it comes, baby." I swallowed hard and arched my neck. "Here. It. Comes." I erupted, white heat pulsing out of me and into Eli"s waiting mouth. "Yessss," I hissed, reveling in the pleasure and the eroticism of spending myself into him that way. "G.o.d," I said shakily once I was done. I wiped my glans across his lips-top then bottom-and moaned when he licked them, then me, and swallowed. "What you do to me, Eli." I lowered myself on top of him, slanted my mouth over his, and kissed him ferociously. "What you do to me."
MIRACLE OF OF miracles, we got some sleep. Both of us. A lot of it. The next time I woke up, Eli was exactly where I wanted him-nude and plastered to me. He was lying on his side, one leg thrown over my hip, one arm curled over my chest, and his head buried in the spot where my neck and shoulder meet. I took a few minutes to relish that, to enjoy finally having the man I"d longed for and l.u.s.ted after in my arms. miracles, we got some sleep. Both of us. A lot of it. The next time I woke up, Eli was exactly where I wanted him-nude and plastered to me. He was lying on his side, one leg thrown over my hip, one arm curled over my chest, and his head buried in the spot where my neck and shoulder meet. I took a few minutes to relish that, to enjoy finally having the man I"d longed for and l.u.s.ted after in my arms.
I hoped the rest would ease his fraying nerves. It wasn"t that his frenetic ups and downs bothered me; truth be told, I found them pretty charming. But I didn"t want him to be upset and I saw how drained he"d been the previous night and that morning. That thought gave me the idea to make him breakfast. With his sleep and his fuel replenished, he was bound to feel much better.
Creating as little motion as possible, I slid out from under Eli and climbed out of bed. He made a small sound, like a whimper and a sigh, and then curled into a ball and buried his face in my pillow. My breath caught at the sight of him safe and comfortable in my bed. It was hard to look away.
What had started out as a complete lack of awareness when he was a kid and then morphed into nervous and amused interest when he was a young man had grown and flourished over the years, and now Eli Block was my confidant, my friend, the person who made me laugh with joy and relax in safety. It had been a slow, gradual process taking him from a boy I didn"t notice to a man who, to me, took over the room until I could see nothing else. Eli was my everything and my heart hurt looking at him.
When I reluctantly tore my gaze away from the beauty in my bed, I noticed the boxes I"d left stacked along the perimeter of the room were gone. I poked my head in the closet and found my clothes neatly organized. After grabbing a pair of sweats and stepping into them, I left the room.
The living room and dining room were in the same condition as the bedroom-no boxes. The knickknacks and pictures I"d collected were artfully displayed on furniture, which had been haphazardly placed when I left but was now perfectly arranged. A gorgeous painting hung above the fireplace. I loved abstracts and red was my favorite color, so the art truly called to me. After admiring it and enjoying the layered distinctions in what at first glance seemed like a simple piece, I walked into the kitchen where I found the same situation-boxes gone and cabinets neatly organized.
"Aww, Eli," I said to myself, smiling at his kindness. I should have known he"d unpack and put the house together for me. He was that kind of person: thoughtful and generous. And I was lucky, so lucky, to call him mine.
I hadn"t had a chance to stock the house with food before I left for LA, but I"d gotten the staples so I had what I needed to make pancakes. I found fruit in the refrigerator and bananas in a bowl on the counter, which I a.s.sumed Eli had bought. I sliced the bananas and arranged them on top of the sizzling pancakes, sprinkled them with brown sugar, and then flipped them over. In between cooking batches of pancakes, I chopped the rest of the fruit and tossed it together to make a salad.
It wasn"t long before I had breakfast plated and was on my way into the bedroom. My dilemma about whether to wake Eli up or let the food wait until he was done sleeping on his own was resolved when I found him sitting in bed, rubbing his hands over his eyes, the blanket pooled at his waist, exposing his lean chest. He looked adorably sleep rumpled and s.e.xy at the same time.
"Good morning, beautiful," I said, because he was.
He dropped his hands and blinked those mesmerizing green eyes at me. "I thought maybe it was a dream."
I grinned and winked. "I feel the same way." I set the plates on the nightstand and then crawled into bed, straddled Eli"s lap, and threaded my fingers through his hair. "Hey, you." I kissed him gently. "Do you feel any better after getting some decent sleep?"
He nodded, threw his arms around my chest, and hugged me tightly.
"I bet you"re hungry. I made banana pancakes."
"I love banana pancakes," he said against my skin, the words m.u.f.fled but still understandable.
"I know. I put brown sugar on top like you like." I tilted my chin toward the nightstand, causing Eli to raise his head and follow my gaze.
"You made me breakfast in bed?" He sounded odd.
"Sure I did." I kissed his cheek, then his chin, then his neck. "I want to take care of you. Feeding you is a part of that." I licked his neck and nibbled on his earlobe. "Speaking of which, thank you for taking care of everything here while I was gone. The house looks great, and that painting you got is perfect."
"You like it?" He smiled excitedly. "It"s a housewarming present."
"It"s amazing. I think I"ll see some new aspect to it every time I look." I traced his spine with my fingers and kissed his cheek. Not touching and kissing him was impossible. "So what should I get you as a housewarming present?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you"re moving in here, right?" I lapped at his lower lip, tugged it between my teeth, and then let go. "I should get you a present. Do you want a painting from that same artist or something else?"
"I"m sorry." He gulped. "I"m still stuck on the part of that where you said I"m moving in." He searched my eyes. "You"re sure?"
"We"ve been over this. I want you, Eli, in my life, in my house, and in my bed." I brushed his hair off his forehead. "What do you say?"
"Yes. I say yes." He shivered. "Yes."
"Good." I smiled. "Let me feed you and then we can get dressed and head over to your parents" house."
"My parents?" he asked in confusion.
I reached over to the nightstand, got a plate, forked some fruit, and held it up to Eli. He opened to me right away, closed his mouth over the fork, and pulled the fruit off. It was the most erotic act of eating I"d ever seen. My throat suddenly felt thick, and I had to clear it before I could answer his question.
"Sure. We need to tell them you"re going to be moving in and you won"t be here for Thanksgiving." I winced. "Hopefully they won"t be too mad. With as many people as they have over, maybe they"ll be grateful for the extra seating s.p.a.ce."
He swallowed down the food in his mouth and gaped at me. "Why won"t I be there for Thanksgiving?"
"Oh." I realized we hadn"t talked about the logistics of what we were about to do. "My uncle is getting married on Sunday, so it"ll be a good chance for you to meet my whole extended family, but I figured we"d go to LA tomorrow or Wednesday so we can spend Thanksgiving with just my immediate family. I think it"ll be easier for you to get to know them in a smaller setting."
"You want me to meet your family?"
I cut off a piece of pancake and fed it to him. "Of course I do. We"re going to be living together. My mother will show up unannounced and camp out on our front porch if I don"t bring you to meet her."
He gulped. "Okay, so we"re going to my parents" house and we"re going to tell them that we"re together now and I"m moving in here."
"Yes."
"And then you want to take me to LA to meet your family and introduce me as the man you"re living with in a nonroommate kind of way?"
There was a time, years earlier, when I"d been worried that if I acted on my feelings for Eli I"d find out I wasn"t actually comfortable being with a man, that it wouldn"t feel right. Sitting there in that moment, with Eli in my bed, my body still singing from what we"d shared earlier that morning and my heart warm from the knowledge of how much he cared about me and how deeply my own feelings for him ran, I knew unequivocally that I"d been wrong. There was nothing more natural than being with Eli and walking through life with him by my side.
"Yes," I said firmly.
He looked into my eyes, seemingly searching them again, and then he took a deep breath and grinned. "Well, alrighty, then. Let"s tell the parents." He stuffed a piece of pancake into his mouth and said, "This should be interesting."
Chapter 15.
Eli Block.
"YOUR DAD DAD said he"ll be done with the wedding in time for us to go there for dinner tonight," Seth said as he walked into his-according to him, soon to be our-living room. "We can get a flight to LA tomorrow morning so we don"t have to fly Thanksgiving Day." said he"ll be done with the wedding in time for us to go there for dinner tonight," Seth said as he walked into his-according to him, soon to be our-living room. "We can get a flight to LA tomorrow morning so we don"t have to fly Thanksgiving Day."
The original plan had been to go talk to my parents on Monday, but between the s.e.x and the sleep, the day had gotten away from us. Monday night wasn"t an option because my dad had been officiating a wedding, so we"d had to push things to Tuesday. There was yet another wedding that day, but it was in the afternoon, so Seth had called to confirm what time my dad would be home and let him know we"d be coming over.
"I"m amazed he didn"t tell you to do the wedding instead of him the second he found out you were in town."
Seth sat down next to me, and I mean right right next to me. My breath caught and my heart raced. We"d sat together countless times on countless sofas, but it hadn"t been like that. Never before had he pressed his body to mine, caressed my knee and thigh, and nuzzled my neck. It wasn"t that he was trying to start another round of "Oh, G.o.d, yes, please" but more like he wanted to be close. next to me. My breath caught and my heart raced. We"d sat together countless times on countless sofas, but it hadn"t been like that. Never before had he pressed his body to mine, caressed my knee and thigh, and nuzzled my neck. It wasn"t that he was trying to start another round of "Oh, G.o.d, yes, please" but more like he wanted to be close.
"He did," Seth said. "But I told him we had a bad connection and I couldn"t hear him."
"Oh," I said breathlessly, his proximity alone enough to make me a little light-headed. I shivered, moaned, and spread my legs to give him better access to anything he wanted. "You called his cell?"
"Nope." Seth smirked and kissed my chin. "He was on his landline."
I furrowed my brow. "But you were calling from your houseline. Why would you have a bad connection?"
"We didn"t." He rolled his hand over my knee and inner thigh.
Over the past couple of days, Seth had been all over me, touching me all the time, gazing at me with this heart-melting expression on his face, kissing me over and over again. I loved every moment of it, soaked up his attention and felt like I was glowing, like I"d never stop smiling, like I truly knew what it meant to be happy. But I was still hesitant to let myself believe it was real.