Ever since Alex moved in, I’ve found myself looking forward to coming home from work, especially on the days when I know she’ll be there when I walk through the door.
It’s not that I expect my girlfriend to wait at home for me. I never have been and never will be one of those men. It’s just not my style. But it’s like there’s a peace that I feel when I step into my house and can sense her presence
God, my brothers would kick my ass if they heard me being sappy like this.
“Honey, I’m home,” I say with a grin as I drop my keys and wallet on the hall table and make my way toward the living room to find Alex stretched out on the couch with a book in her hand.
“Hey, boyfriend.” She goes to sit and I shake my head, loving the way her eyes are unapologetically eating up the sight of me.
I kick off my shoes, drawing raised brows from Alex, her lips twitching up as I come to a stop in front of her and look down with a smirk. “You look quite comfy there.”
“I am,” she says with a grin, rolling onto her back and holding her arms out. “How about you come and find out just how comfy I am?”
“You read my mind, baby.” I ease myself down onto the couch, covering her body with mine and bracing myself on my elbows by her head.
“Hey.”
“You already said that.” I press more of my weight down onto her, shift my hands to frame her face.
“Not like this I didn’t.” She opens her mouth to say something but I swallow up her undoubtedly smartass response with a kiss that I’ve been dying to give her for the last day and a half since we saw each other.
I nip at her bottom lip, quickly soothing it afterward with my tongue until she releases a breathy moan and her arms wrap around my shoulders, her nails biting in like they do when she really likes what I’m doing. Then I crush my mouth to hers, stroking and licking inside it, my hips thrusting against hers as she loops her feet behind my thighs and brings our bodies even closer together.
But I need to stop this before we end up not leaving the couch for the rest of the night. I push myself up and look down at her glazed, hooded eyes and parted lips. “See what happens when I don’t see you for so long?” I ask.
A small, knowing grin appears on her face. “I may have some idea. But it’s good to know I was missed.”
I dip my head and steal another soft and gentle kiss. “My bed is just far too big without my own stage-five clinger beside me.”
She gasps, her gaze narrowing. “I am not a clinger.”
I scrunch my nose up and pinch my fingers in the air. “A little bit. But it’s adorable, I swear.”
Lifting her nose, she turns away, pulling her arms back and crossing them over her chest. “I’m not sure I like being called adorable.”
“How about beautiful?” I kiss that spot below her ear that makes her quiver. “Sexy.” I drag my lips up to nip the hinge of her jaw. “Irresistible.” I touch my tongue to the corner of her mouth. “Mine . . .” I growl in a tone that is far rougher and caveman-like than I’ve ever used before.
Her answering whimper is all the confirmation I need that she really likes that idea. Her hands grip my face and hold me in place so she can thrust her tongue between my lips and claim my mouth like a woman possessed.
By the time we tear apart to suck in some much-needed air, I’m all aboard my dick’s idea to stand up, throw Alex over my shoulder, and stalk to my bedroom.
“We . . . should . . . stop,” she says, her hungry eyes roaming over my face. “Otherwise we’ll never come up for air.’
“Mm-hmm.”
I grunt disgruntledly. She laughs and gently shoves me away. I shift back and sit at the other end of the couch, pulling her feet into my lap and kneading my thumbs into her arches, earning a muted moan and an appreciative smile.
“How was work?”
“Good. Closed a case of petty thefts that had been frustrating Jeremy and me for a few months now.”
“That’s . . . good. God, you have talented hands,” she says, dropping her head back against the arm of the couch and closing her eyes.
I chuckle. “Not sure if I should be offended that you’ve only just discovered this, or whether it’s you telling me I need to up my game in all areas of being your boyfriend—not just in the foot rub department.”
She knifes up, her gaze wide. “No. Oh, God no.”
I frown because her reactions are usually playful—the way my comment was intended—not so . . . literal.
“Hey, baby. It’s okay.” I let go of her feet and cup her shoulders. “Is everything okay? You just seem a bit tightly wound.”
Her expression morphs from worried to relaxed in the blink of an eye. “Yeah. I’m good. You’re good at that though. You’re always good.”
I snicker and wrap my arms around her, urging her to climb into my lap and straddle me, a hint she takes more than willingly. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah. Just tired. It was a busy shift. You know how it is.”
“I get that. Means we should have a quiet night. I was thinking we could go out to a Thai restaurant I like, but would you rather stay home instead? I can cook us dinner and you can just keep reading and take it easy.”
She frowns. “But I’m the one who’s been home all day. I should be the one cooking for you.” I fail to hide my wry smirk and she narrows her eyes. “Wait . . . you’re offering because you don’t want me to mess up the kitchen, do you?”
“Guilty as charged.”
Burying her face in my neck, she giggles and touches her lips to my throat. “And here I was, thinking that you dumping your shoes over there was a sign that you were relaxing your clean-freak rules a bit.”
“Yeah . . . I’ve been trying not to think about how I’d just left them lying there, messing up the floor.”
She smiles against my skin. “And you say I’m adorable.”
“You are.” I rub my hands up and down her back, discovering that she’s not wearing anything under her T-shirt. “Hmm. I’m thinking someone was planning on seducing me when I came home.”
Alex runs her tongue up my neck before sucking my earlobe between her lips. “Damn. You figured me out. Why else would I not wear a bra when I’m at home, not working, and waiting for my boyfriend to finish work? Whatever is a girl to do when she’s home all alone . . .?”
Well, okay. She has a point there.
I snort and flex my arms around her. “Just say yes so that it makes me feel like yes, my fantasy of you lying on the couch, wet and wanting and waiting for me is real?”
She slowly straightens, her teeth digging into her lip as she drags her eyes from my mouth back to lock with mine. “Well, that part is always going to be true. It has been a day and a half, after all . . .”
Now I know she’s not fucking with me. I plant my feet and stand, gripping her ass and taking her with me.
“I’m guessing our dinner plans are being delayed,” she says.
“You bet your ass they are,” I say, squeezing the round globes that fill my hands as I do. “Afternoon delight, then I’ll cook you dinner. Because if me and my talented hands, mouth, and other parts don’t have you unable to move by the time I’m finished, you’ll be needing sustenance for round two.”
“Promises, promises, roomie.”
“Let’s see if I can follow through on them, baby.” Then there’s no more talking for a good long while.
And I leave Alex sated, limp, and unable to move in my bed while I get up and order dinner.
After the Thai takeout, we head to the couch to watch the Cubs play the Giants. Alex’s head is in my lap, and I’m fanning my fingers through her soft locks. It’s my addiction, mainly because she makes this cute little murmur in her throat when I do it.
When the commercial break comes on, she turns her head from the game and looks up at me.
“So . . . I talked to my dad and Adam today.”
“Oh, yeah? And how are they doing?”
“Good. I was texting Adam, and he asked how my roommate was.”
My lips twitch. “Mm-hmm.”
“Yeah.” She smiles up at me. “And when I said we were kinda, you know, dating, he—”
“Hold on. Kinda dating?”
“Maybe.”
“I don’t think there’s anything kinda or maybe about our relationship, baby. I definitely wasn’t feeling any uncertainty when I was buried deep in your—”
Alex’s hand shoots up and slaps over my mouth as she rolls her eyes at me, making me grin. “Okay. I said we were dating. That warranted a family conference call.”
I chuckle, grabbing her palm and kissing it before lacing my fingers in hers and lowering it back down to rest on her stomach. “And how did that go?”
“They were interrogating me.”
“Sounds like something my sisters would do.”
“Right? So I gave him the briefest, most basic Gio biography.” She hesitates, her muscles tensing, like she’s about to lay some bad news on me. Like maybe she has to go back home and move out. I fucking hope not, considering I more than like having her around—in my house, my bed, and my life.
“You can’t leave,” I blurt, my chest tightening. “And if you do, I’m applying for sole custody of Fred. Just so you know. He needs a stable environment and a responsible plant parent, and this is the only home he’s ever known. I won’t play a part in uprooting his life.” Then I wince and look over at Fred, who of course is just sitting there, living his best plant life in a big pot and perfectly hydrated soil. “Sorry, Freddy. I didn’t mean to say a bad word.”
Alex sits up and stares at me, her expression morphing into one of amused confusion. “Hold up, because there’s a lot to unpack from that statement.”
I quirk a brow. “Like what? I thought I communicated quite clearly.”
“Okay, well firstly”—she holds one finger in the air—“I’m not going anywhere. Not by choice, so if you want a new roommate, too bad. Because I ain’t leaving.”
My shoulders slump with relief. I didn’t even realize I was wound so tight.
“Secondly, if I ever move out, there will be a plant custody agreement because Fred is mine as much as he is yours, and—”
I push her onto her back and launch myself at her, covering her body with mine.
“Continue . . .” I say with a smirk, loving the way her pupils are blown and her breathing quickens. My girl is so responsive, it’s like a damn ego boost every time I touch her.
“How can I get my point across when you’re lying on top of me, making your point obvious?”
“Try hard, baby,” I murmur, dipping my chin and kissing her soft and slow until she’s clawing at my back. Then I push up and return to my seat, holding out my arms and tugging hers up so we’re back in our original positions.
“You play dirty, roomie.”
“Only with you,” I retort, shooting her a wicked grin, earning the same in return.
“Anyway. Where was I?” she says, failing to regain her sexy sass from before I kissed her quiet.
“I think it was thirdly, baby.”
Her eyes warm just as I knew they would. “Thirdly,” she says, leaning into me and resting her chin on my shoulder, “Dad and Adam told me they’re coming to visit in a few weeks for my birthday and to see me.”
Now I feel like a bit of a dick.
“That’s awesome. It’s also good to know I get a few weeks’ notice, ’cause I totally would’ve not known that otherwise.”
“Well, then. I guess you’ve got no excuses now.”
“Nope.”
“Do you . . . I mean, would you want to meet them? No pressure or anything. I know we’re only new and all.”
“Of course I want to meet your dad and brother. How else will I get ammunition to use against you for whenever we have our first argument?”
“Is that how it is?”
“Yep.” I can’t help but laugh at her narrowed glare—her twitching lips spoil the effect. I reach out, cup her jaw, and urge her closer. She kneels up so she’s looking down at me. “You want me to meet your family?
“I do. They won’t be any trouble. They’re getting a rental car and have booked a hotel.”
“They’re family, Alex. They’d never be trouble—no more than you are anyway.”
She feigns offense.
“I’ll call in some favors and switch my shifts. You do the same if need be, and we’ll make a whole thing of it.”
“Are you sure?”
I chuckle. “Yes. And if that’s the same weekend I’m thinking, it’s around about when we should hold the next firehouse BBQ. It was supposed to be at Marco and Renee’s, but I’m thinking we shift it to my parents’, combine it with a birthday party for you, and show your dad and brother that you’re in real good hands.”
Tears glisten in her eyes. “You’d do all that?”
“Of course. You’re my girl, aren’t you?”
“I really wanna kiss you right now.”
“Newsflash, baby. I’m never gonna stop you from kissing me—or, you know, going down on me to show your appreciation.”
She barks out a laugh, throwing her head back with it. “I am suddenly feeling rather tired. I think you need to take me to bed.”
Then there’s no more talking because for the second time tonight, I’m leading my girlfriend to the bedroom.
And three, then four times later, she screams out my name.
All in all, it’s a good—not so quiet after all—night at home.