I was stunned. “What?”
“I’m not going to have sex in my car like we’re teenagers.”
“Then take me up to your bed.”
“You said two weeks. It’s been less than a week.”
“So?”
“I’m trying to prove myself to you, remember.”
“Fine!” I huffed. “You’ve proven yourself. You’re fine and dandy. Now take me upstairs.”
He shook his head, laughing.
“What’s so damn funny?” I demanded.
“Baby, listen to me for a minute. I hate this as much as you do. Too much time has come and gone since we’ve been together. And while I really want to take you upstairs—and God knows I want to more than anything—I agreed to your request to wait.”
“Now I really wish you hadn’t.”
He barked a laugh.
“I wish you hadn’t thought of it.”
My head snapped up. “Well then, screw it. Forget I said it. Forget that you agreed to it.”
He shook his head. “Mnh-mnh.”
“Why not?” I pouted.
“Because, as much as it pains me—and blue balls are excruciatingly painful—I want to enjoy these two weeks with you without jumping into bed.”
“But it would be so good.”
He took my hands. “I know it would. And I can’t wait.” Even his thumb moving in circles over my hand was turning me on. “But we have to wait, Azalea. At the end of our two weeks, I want you to know without a shadow of a doubt that I respect you enough to listen to you and that you mean enough to me for me to wait.”
I took my hands away and tucked my hair behind my ears. I couldn’t stand his touch doing all kinds of crazy things to me. He was right. I was out of my mind horny. But this—the new Koa and Azalea—wasn’t about the physical. It was emotional. I hissed between my teeth.
He chuckled right before he kissed me again. “Come on,” he said, opening his door.
I climbed out of my side, my legs like jelly and the apex between my thighs wet and throbbing.
He wrapped me in his strong arms after I opened my own car door.
“Just think about how great it will be when we finally do have sex.” His words made me think wild thoughts.
I pulled back and arched a brow, a sneaky smirk planted on my mouth. “You can just think about all the masturbating I’ll be doing without you.”
His bark of laughter hurt my ears it was so loud. He kissed me again. “Text me when you get home,” he said right before I closed my door.
I thought about what he said the entire drive home. By the time I arrived, I realized how much his willpower meant. Koa wasn’t just after sex and a good time. He was in this with me for the long haul. As much as I wanted to feel Koa’s body against mine while he was buried deep inside me, I was enjoying this romantic stage of our new romance. I texted Koa as promised. But you can bet your ass, I also included a sexy selfie afterward—a coy, sensual picture of me in a white lacy bra. The meme he sent of a licking tongue made me laugh. And then groan. I wasn’t lying when I told Koa about masturbating. I climbed into bed with my hot pink vibrator and pretended it was his tongue on me.
Since things between us were at the breaking point, and neither one of us wanted to break our pact, we agreed we needed a buffer. The next few nights, we purposefully included Emma in our nightly excursions.
I loved having Emma around. The three of us together was always a good time. We went to Emma’s favorite sushi place one night and a fun, entertaining hibachi restaurant the next. When we were making plans on day nine, Emma announced that she couldn’t go out because she had some work to do at home. Koa and I looked at one another and knew we were fucked. Not literally, because sex was still off the table. “We can do this,” he said.
I must have looked like a deer in headlights because Koa laughed so hard. “Baby, it’s only four more days. We got this.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe you do. But me? Uh-uh.” I yelped in excitement as an idea popped into my head. “We’ll stay in tonight and help Emma.”
“Boring.”
“No, it won’t be.” He smirked and cocked his head. “Okay, maybe a little. But I’ll try to make it as fun as possible. You can help Emma with whatever she needs. I’ll whip us up some dinner. And we’ll just hang out.”
Our night went just as I had planned. Koa helped Emma with work stuff while I prepped the spaghetti sauce. Then I rejoined them while the sauce simmered. When we decided we were all too hungry to focus anymore, I retreated to the kitchen to cook the noodles and bake my garlic bread.
We talked all throughout dinner, the three of us discussing work, life, and how excited we were to finally be opening Paradise in a few short weeks.
A little after eleven, Emma went to bed. Koa and I were alone. And for the first time, things were a bit awkward. Koa and I stood by the front door, preparing to say good night. Neither of us knew what to do with ourselves. Do we? Don’t we? Should we? Shouldn’t we? I knew these questions were swimming in both of our heads.
Koa finally said, “This is ridiculous. Come here.” He yanked me forward and smashed his mouth against mine. Before long, we were right back where we were a few nights prior. His hands were under my top, groping and teasing. I ripped his shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor. I licked his chest, nipped at his bare flesh, and was touching him everywhere. And I do mean everywhere.
Suddenly his hands were in my pants, slipping beneath my underwear.
“Fuck, me,” he groaned when he found me soaking wet.
“Yes, please,” I breathed into his neck. I fused my mouth to his, starving for more of him.
His laugh flowed into my mouth. “Just this for tonight.” He wiggled his fingers against me, eliciting a heady, heart-aching guttural groan from me. He kissed me again, and I couldn’t think because his fingers were driving me insane. The amount of desire and need that had built up was excruciatingly painful but wonderful. I tangled my hands into his hair and pulled. His mouth was on my neck, trailing kisses along my chin, throat, and collarbone.
“Azalea,” he whispered my name once before sliding inside. And oh my God, it felt incredible. “You feel so damn good. So wet,” he said.
I rocked in tandem with his hand as he pushed and pulled. “Don’t stop, Koa. Don’t stop.”
“Not until you come, baby. Come for me.” He pulled my hair, forcing my neck back. His mouth teased my sensitive skin as his fingers pleasured me. Due to my sexual frustration and the crazy frenzy I’ve been in since we first started back up again, my orgasm didn’t take long.
I was moaning and groaning, thrusting myself against his hand as his mouth covered mine to keep me from screaming out too loudly.
Breathless from the intensity of coming all over Koa’s hands, I stood on shaky legs as he slipped out of my pants. “You came quick, baby.” He didn’t say this in congratulations to himself. His words held an erotic tone. “I can’t wait to do that to you when I’m buried deep inside you. Fuck, Azalea, I need you.”
“Then take me.” My invitation wasn’t a game or ploy to tease him. I meant them.
He locked eyes on me. Then he did something I’d never had any guy do before. He slipped his fingers into his mouth. The same fingers that had just been inside of me. He moaned in ecstasy as he sucked my taste off. “Now that I’ve tasted you”—his eyes pinned me to the floor—“I can endure a few more days.”
I groaned in frustration.
“You better go before Emma comes out.”
I snorted. “You mean before you change your mind.”
“That too,” he said, placing a sweet, chaste kiss upon my lips. “Text me when you get home, baby.” He opened the door, and I stepped out into the night.
I turned around, stood on my tiptoes, and gave him another hot and heady kiss. I desperately wanted to deepen the kiss, but he pulled his lips away.
“Good night, beautiful.”
“Enjoy your blue balls,” I said, grinning from ear to ear.
His laughter followed me as I rushed down the stairs.