This can’t be good. Auggie is finished with service and he’s on his way here. I’ll never say no to him needing to see me. It was true even before we started dating. This is bigger. I pull the wine from the rack and set two glasses on the island.
The doorbell rings less than ten minutes later. I open the door and Auggie steps inside. Before he utters a word, he presses his lips to mine, drawing me as close as he can. His kiss is hungry, possessive, and even a bit angry, and I know it isn’t at me. After a few hard kisses, the tenor and pressure decrease significantly. I take in his warm lips on mine and his hands holding me securely. It feels better than I ever imagined.
He adds some space between us. “Hi. I have to admit, I really like being able to greet you with kisses.”
“Hi. I completely agree.” I take his hand and lead him into the kitchen. I pull the cork and pour the wine he requested. “What happened?”
“You don’t think I want to simply spend time with you?”
I smile. “I’m sure you do, and I want the same thing, but you’re supposed to be at work. While it’s possible dinner was slow, you wouldn’t come over after shift out of respect for me unless something is wrong.”
“It’s incredible how well you know me.” He takes my free hand in his, leading me into the living room. “There isn’t an easy way to say this, so I’m going to lay it out there. Gordon is sending me to Ocean Cliff to fix the kitchen starting next week.”
Well, that’s awful. “I don’t know what to say other than I’m sorry and that really sucks.”
His face cracks into a grin. “Did you say ‘that really sucks’?”
I laugh. I curse sparingly because of my job. “Yeah, I did. I could use more flowery language, but the meaning is the same. I don’t like it one bit.” I set my glass down and curl into Auggie on my couch.
He leans down, kissing my head. “I don’t like it either. We recently took huge steps forward, and now I’m being banished.”
“We did, we are. I’m sure that isn’t true. What is Gordon’s reasoning?”
“Colleen is due in a few weeks. Apparently, Ocean Cliff is failing miserably and he relieved Chef Mattos of his position. He wants the Ocean Cliff kitchen to run like mine here with a new head chef, one I’m supposed to hire out of the three candidates he has chosen to interview.” He pauses, processing my words. “You never cease to surprise me. How do you always see the good in people?”
“I’m sure Gordon doesn’t know about us.”
“Say that again, cuore mio.”
Auggie using any endearment to address me makes my heart beat faster. Avoiding a lust-filled, breathy sigh is difficult. I replay my words in my head. “Us.”
“Again.” He sets his glass aside, wraps his arm around me, and twists until he’s covering me with his gorgeous body.
“Us.”
He claims my mouth with a bruising kiss as if the news he shared will change anything. Is it inopportune? Absolutely, but we’ll figure it out. Together. The touch of his mouth on mine is an explosion of feelings and desires I’ve kept bottled up for the last few years. Kissing Auggie makes me feel as if no man has ever kissed me properly before or they weren’t meant for me. The swirling sensation coursing through me makes me yearn for more—a more I’m sure will shatter my expectations.
I dip my fingers beneath the hem of his shirt and savor the feel of his hot skin. I caress the planes and curves of his back, raising goose bumps with every pass. The notion he’s mine to explore is still foreign to me and even feels a bit naughty.
“You shouldn’t keep touching me like that.”
I purse my lips before replying, “Why not?”
“We should talk about the next few weeks and the summer. We won’t make any progress if you keep it up.”
I raise an eyebrow, urging him to continue.
“Your hands on me with you pinned against me where I can feel every curve is incredible. If we just met, I wouldn’t be here right now. Our lengthy friendship makes moving forward as a couple a bit… faster, I guess. Please don’t mistake this as me saying I don’t want you—I do, probably more than I should—or I don’t feel your arousal against me, I do, which only makes slowing this down more difficult.” He presses onto his heels and pulls me up to sitting.
I can’t resist stealing a quick kiss, which earns me a huff from Auggie. “I assume you have no idea how long this Ocean Cliff endeavor will take?”
“Not really. If I had to estimate, I would say at least four weeks. How many more weeks of school do you have?”
“There is one week of classes and one week of exams.” I resettle against him in the corner of my couch. I refrain from looking up at him. Seeing his reactions will make this harder to discuss. The last thing I want is for him to see my sheer disappointment with this development, even though I’m confident it isn’t his choice.
“What are your summer plans?”
“The same as always, day trips to the shore and spending your free evenings with you. This summer I get the added benefit of being able to kiss you whenever I like.”
“I do like the sound of that; plus summer equals bikinis and sundresses. I can’t say I’m opposed at all, especially on you.”
“Such a guy thing to say.”
“I never once said I didn’t find you insanely attractive.”
“You also never shared your attraction either.” I tilt my neck to look up at him.
“It wasn’t easy keeping my distance from you. Now that I’ve kissed you, I never want to stop, although following you to school with our lips fused together won’t work in the slightest.”
I laugh. “No, it won’t.”
I watch his eyes fall closed and his chest rise and fall with a deep breath. Nervousness creeps through me. There is very little he could say or ask which should make him nervous.
“Cuore mio, will you spend the summer with me?”
“If you’re asking if I want to spend every available minute of my summer vacation with you, then yes. If it’s something else, please tell me more.”
“Gordon doesn’t know this yet, but I plan to take off at least three weeks this summer to tour properties for my restaurant. I want you beside me when I do it.”
He laid himself bare for me. He wants me to help him decide where to start his dream. Am I ready to give up my job for him if the location isn’t here in New York? At the risk of giving up some of my independence and self-sufficiency, absolutely yes. I don’t need to work if we’re together, but I want to.
“Keep talking.”
His lips curl up into a small smile. “I’ve found a property in Connecticut, two in Rhode Island, and one in New Hampshire. My plan is to visit them during my vacation and make a decision where I want to be, where I want us to be. Depending on the situation, I could be ready to open as early as this fall. Each of those states is reciprocal with New York for your license, but you may need to take a test first.”
He researched for me too. Everything I ever wanted is at my fingertips, and yet I’m still terrified something will go wrong. Despite my feelings, I won’t walk away. “Yes, I’ll spend the summer with you. When do you plan on telling Gordon?”
“I don’t know. Spending time at Ocean Cliff wasn’t the plan. Assuming Lexi handles the kitchen well while I’m gone, it won’t be a problem for her to do it a bit longer. He can’t fire me for using my vacation time, and if he does, so be it.”
“Fair enough. Are you comfortable enough with our conversation to continue lavishing attention on my body?”
“Why, Caroline, do you have an inner vixen you’ve expertly hidden for the last decade?”
A decade probably not, but I’ve hidden my desire to be with Auggie for the last few years at least. “Maybe.” I return my gaze to his and see pure, unfiltered heat staring back at me. His hands slide around my neck as his lips crush against mine. Our mouths meld together and our tongues dance as I slide my hands beneath his shirt. Breaking our kiss, I lift it over his head and cast it aside. My T-shirt and tank soon follow.
Auggie’s eyes widen after casting my shirts aside. “What am I going to do with you?”
This isn’t the first time we’ve been together when I wasn’t wearing a bra. I didn’t even think to put one on. It’s the first time he realized it. I can think of a few things, but I let his question go unanswered.
He lowers his mouth to the crook of my neck, kissing a path over the swell of my breast, circling my nipple with his tongue while rolling the other between his fingers. I draw my hands down his sides, settling against his thighs before popping the button of his pants. Auggie stills with his mouth against on my skin.
“August, look at me.” I don’t make a habit of calling him by his full name. In this moment, it feels necessary. Once his eyes lift to mine, I dip my hand beneath the waistband of his boxer briefs. As I surround his hard shaft with my hand, his eyes snap shut. While I don’t have tons of experience to compare to, he’s huge. A sliver of fear slices through me. “Please tell me.”
“I’m chastising myself for not seeing us sooner.”
“Stop, you had your reasons. Just feel.” I stroke him, feeling him lengthen more in my grasp.
He lets out a harsh breath before lowering me onto my back on the couch. I push his pants and boxer briefs down below his hips. With his help I wiggle out of my panties and shorts. I reach for him again, but he grasps my wrist.
“You’re… I’m at a loss to explain how stunning you are or the feelings swirling through me right now.”
“You’re telling me without them.” I lift my head to meet his lips with mine. After a few breathless kisses, he moves back on his path, continuing southward. The warmth of his mouth on my skin sends pleasure over my entire body. His fingertips skim along my thighs and down to my toes followed by an open-mouth kiss. Once he reaches my toes, he climbs my other leg. He widens my thighs, setting my left leg on the back of the couch, and my right toes skim the floor. The lightest caress of his fingers near my core makes me ache more than I already am.
“I need you to touch me, or I’ll do it myself.” My words are part plea, part warning.
After a measured exhale, he draws his fingers from the bottom to the top of my folds. A spike of need slices through me as wetness pools at my heated center. To hurry him up, I lower my hand from his shoulder to my lower abdomen. His response is to slide two fingers deep inside me. His thumb presses against my sensitive bundle of nerves at the apex of my thighs. He surges forward and backward at the perfect measured pace before adding a third finger. My muscles contract around him as my release builds at the base of my spine. My back arches off the couch when my orgasm cascades through my body. Once my senses calm, I reach for Auggie, bringing him down on top of me. After a breathless kiss, I slide my hand between us. Auggie grabs it before I reach my intended destination.
“Nope, if you want more, I’ll do it.” First time a guy has ever said that to me.
“Yes, please, and I won’t say no, but I was reaching”—I wrap my hand around his length again—“for you. It’s my turn to pleasure you.” Tightening my grip, I slide my hand down to the root and back up.
The low growl from the back of his throat tells me he’s on board. I increase my pace, stroking his entire length until his abs tighten right before he erupts in hot bursts on my belly. Auggie sets his hands on either side of my chest. He lowers his head to kiss me before moving off the couch.
Soon thereafter he returns with a washcloth for me to clean up before gathering me against his chest. “I have no words to express how much I wish I didn’t wait so long.”
“You don’t need to. Your reasons weren’t unfounded. Let’s not dwell on it. We’re together now. We should make up for lost time though.”
“I’m in.” Auggie nips the top of my shoulder before tucking me even closer to his chest.
Hours later I wake up warm against Auggie on my couch. I twist my neck to check the time. It’s near midnight. While I’m comfortable, Auggie likely isn’t. I nudge him. He stirs slightly.
“Come on, let’s move to my bed.”
We get to our feet and climb the stairs to my bedroom hand in hand. I set my alarm, and we slide into the same position beneath my sheets.