Her whole life she'd had to hold back, had to make sure that she didn't make a single misstep in front of the camera, but with Sean she didn't need to worry. All he'd tried to do since that day he'd found her in the library so that he could show her the pictures of the two of them online, was love her. And even though she'd been scared to let him, how could she ever possibly have resisted him? Especially when his mother had done such an exceptional job of raising her son.
"You made me feel so good this morning," she told him. "I want to make you feel good, too."
His eyes were dilated nearly to black when he looked down at her. "You already are."
He kissed her again and she almost forgot everything in the wonder of his mouth against hers. Only, in the past ten hours since he'd dropped her off at her dorm room, Serena had realized that she wanted to experience his pleasure as much as she did her own. It had been a revelation to come with his hands on her. And it would, she was certain, be even more of a revelation to make him come.
"Let me touch you, Sean." When she ran her hands down from his broad shoulders to his jeans, she could feel the hard flexing of every muscle in his back, his hips, as he worked to keep himself under control. Slowly, she slid her fingers around to the front of his jeans. "Please."
"Jesus." He inhaled a long breath, then blew it out. She'd heard from Abi that he was a master of control, both around the bag at first and in the batting box. Though she hadn't had a chance to see any of his games, she knew she was witnessing that control firsthand. "Okay," he finally said, "but only if you're naked first."
It was a bargain she was happy to make, especially when she knew just how good he made every inch of her nakedness feel.
"Take off your clothes, Serena."
He'd always stripped her bare before now, and surprise at his sudden request had her hesitating for a split second. Because oh my God it was sexy when he gave her a sensual command. To buy herself time to try to get her bearings back, at least a little bit, she said, "What do you want me to take off first?"
His slow smile held as much heat as happiness. "How about we go from the bottom up this time?"
Maybe the thought of being naked from the waist down while still covered up on top shouldn't have been so wickedly, crazily sexy...but it was. So insanely sexy.
The first thing she did was toe off her tennis shoes, but she needed to sit up and bend over to reach her socks. And even with all of her clothes on, the way Sean looked at her while she slid the cotton from her feet was so freaking hot that she practically came right then and there.
She'd only just dropped her socks onto the floor beside his bed when he took one of her bare feet into his hands and ran his thumb up her arch with the perfect pressure to make her moan from the pleasure of the impromptu massage. By the time he did the same to her other foot, she was shocked to realize that every single way he touched her only aroused her more.
"What are you going to do with those amazingly talented hands once I take my jeans off?"
His grin grew wider...and wickeder. "Take them off and I'll show you."
Fumbling now to find out exactly what he had planned, she yanked open the button and zipper of her jeans and shoved them off. But he didn't seem to care about her non-striptease because his eyes were trained on her underwear.
When she looked down, she saw why: the pink fabric was clearly damp...and getting wetter by the second.
"My God, Serena," he said in a raw tone, "you blow my mind."
Wanting so badly for him to touch her again, any way he wanted to, any way at all, she slid the thin layer of cotton off. She'd never had any experience with seducing anyone before, but it was suddenly the most natural thing in the world for her to say, "What about now?"
He answered her with a kiss, but not on her mouth. Between her legs.
Obviously guessing that she would be equal parts nervous and excited by what he was doing to her, his hands were soothing as he took hers in his and laid them together over her hip bones. Once more, he pressed a soft kiss to the damp flesh between her thighs, before lifting his head and meeting her gaze. "If you want me to stop--"
"No." God no! "It feels so g--"
Her final word was lost on a gasp of pleasure as his tongue slicked over her. All of her. Again and again he laved her with his tongue, and she spun out further and further as pleasure took over every last inch of her. She knew she was gripping his hands tightly, too tightly, but as he took her higher and higher, she desperately needed something to hold on to, some way to try to keep it together when she was going to split apart into a million little pieces any second. At the same time, somewhere in the back of her head she couldn't help but be frightened by how intimate this was...and that somehow in her stupid inexperience she might be doing something wrong.
She'd just started to tense up when Sean shifted over her, just enough to say, "Let go, Serena." His breath was warm over her sensitive skin, his lips brushing over her with each word he spoke. "Let go for me."
And in the end, it was knowing that he could read her innermost thoughts almost before she could that made it not only possible for her to let go as he swept his tongue, his lips, even the edges of his teeth over her, but also to know that it was okay for her to break apart into a million pieces.
Because he'd be right there to help put her back together, even stronger, and better, on the other side.
*
"Was that okay?"
Sean hadn't been planning to take things so far, so fast tonight. Sure, he'd wanted to, but he'd promised they'd go slow. Only, when she'd said she wanted to touch him...well, his brain had basically shut down and he'd acted without being able to think it through. Apart from that one moment when he'd asked her if she needed him to stop.
Thank God she hadn't.
"Better than okay." She made a happy little sound. "Perfect." But then she amended that to, "Almost perfect. Because there's still that small matter of my doing the exact same thing to you."
Hell, he thought, that was nearly the end of it for him as he twitched hard against his zipper from nothing but the thought of her mouth on him.
"Clothes." The one word was strangled, and he had to struggle to string it into a sentence. "You still have clothes on."
She huffed out a breath. "Fine. I'll take off the rest of my clothes first, but you'd better not distract me this time."
He'd been ridiculously attracted to Serena when she was shy and uncertain and just trying to feel her way around their kisses and his hands on her curves. But now that she was starting to own her sexuality?
Luckiest. Guy. Ever.
"Me? Distract you?"
She laughed softly, but he was the one currently being distracted by the way she was now lifting her T-shirt over her head. After tossing it on the floor on top of her other clothes, she said, "You love distracting me."
Before she could lower her hands to the clasp of her bra, he grabbed her wrists. "You're right," he agreed. "I do. I love it." He bent his head so that his lips were barely a breath from hers. "And you. I love you, Serena." He swallowed her echo of his words with his kiss.
A long while later, when he knew he wasn't being fair, he finally let her up for air. "Okay, no more distractions."
Her eyes were cloudy with arousal, and he liked seeing how long it took for them to clear to the point where she could actually form the word, "Okay," and then a few beats later, "You'd better not."
Of course, when she took off her bra, he was hard-pressed to stick to his promise. Fortunately, the next thing he knew, she was pushing him back down on the bed and levering herself over him so that the only reasonable place for him to put his hands was over her breasts. Not because he was trying to distract her, of course.
The way her breath stuttered in her chest told him just how much she liked the way he was touching her, but he could see the determination in her eyes, too. "I like your hands," she said softly as she moved her attention to pulling up his shirt. "How big they are." Her fingertip
s--deliberately, he decided--lightly tickled over his abs as she lifted the cotton. "How they're a little rough on my skin."
That was right when she pulled the shirt over his head and he had no choice but to take his hands off her, at least until she tossed his shirt onto the floor. And he might have gone right back to teasing her again if he hadn't caught the look in her eyes as she stared down at his bare chest.
Flat-out awe.
"You are..." She shook her head, clearly giving up on the words she was looking for. She used her hands instead, running them down over his chest, his abs, stopping just above the erection that was about to bust through his jeans. But then she quickly upped the ante by leaning over so that the tips of her silky hair were brushing over him at the same time that she was pressing soft, wet kisses to his skin.
He should have known that she would beat him at his own game, and that she would end up being the true master of distraction, because she had the zipper of his jeans more than halfway down before he even realized it. Suddenly, she had him in her hand, still covered by the cotton of his boxers, but as close to the edge of losing it as he'd ever been.
"Serena." He panted out her name, thrusting up against the flat of her palm even as he tried to keep from exploding. "I'm close. Too close." Hell, just looking at her got him too close.
But instead of giving him a few seconds to get any kind of grip at all, she smiled. And said, "Good," a beat before she slid her hand beneath his boxers and they finally came skin to skin.
The last of Sean's self-control snapped. He slid his hands into her hair and dragged her mouth back to his, their kiss spiraling off as fast, as hard, as he was now moving inside the tight clasp of her hand.
Everything but Serena disappeared. Everything but the sweet taste of her mouth. Everything but the tangle of her tongue against his. Everything but the scent of her skin and the silky slide of her hair between his fingertips. Everything but the sound of her gasps of excitement. Everything but the emotion that washed over him at the exact moment that pleasure shot through and out of him, over and over and over again.
"I knew it," she whispered against his mouth. "I knew I would love doing that with you."
Jesus, she wasn't the only one who had loved it. And after the way she'd just blown his entire world apart, it was nearly impossible to muster up the energy to clean both of them up and kick off the rest of his clothes. Fortunately, his reward was getting to wrap her in his arms and draw the covers over them. And as he mentally rewound the sexiest hour of his life, he was amazed to realize that being with Serena wasn't just about feeling good, just about getting off.
Love had changed everything--had taken every kiss, every touch, and magnified the impact a million times over. His mother had told him it would be like this, but he hadn't understood. Not until now. Not until Serena.
"She would have loved you."
It was an opening Serena could have taken if she'd wanted to push some more. But somehow she knew he still wasn't yet ready to tell her everything.
Instead, she simply whispered, "I would have loved her, too," then tucked her head against his chest.
Somehow, he thought as he pulled her even closer, she knew.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
At noon the following day, Sean's eighteen-year-old sister stood in her open front door and stared at Serena with big eyes. "Oh my God, I can't believe you're actually here. It's so amazing to meet you!" She threw her arms around Serena, instantly welcoming.
"Serena, this is my little sister, Madison."
"Maddie," his sister quickly corrected.
"I told them all you were coming and not to freak you out," he continued, "but you know how little sisters are."
Maddie shot Sean a frown when she finally let go of Serena. "We're awesome, that's how we are. It's not like I asked Serena to take a selfie with me, or anything." Maddie looked back at Serena and gave her a slightly crooked smile. "Sorry, it's just that I've seen you in like a million magazines and now here you are in my house."
"Not quite yet, Mads," Sean pointed out, "since you haven't actually let us in."
"Oh, sorry!" She jumped aside, and that was when she finally saw the box Serena was holding. The eggshell-blue box that could only have come from one store. "You didn't need to bring me a present." But from the way her eyes lit up, she was clearly glad that Serena had. Serena liked Sean's youngest sister immediately. She was as tiny as her brother was big, and also bright and fun.
Serena had agonized over what to wear to Maddie's party today. Her usual uniform of jeans and a baggy T-shirt would have been rude--plus she was feeling more and more ready to stop hiding who she really was--but she didn't want to be overdressed, either. Finally, Abi had suggested a pair of slim black jeans and a fitted white crocheted top with a matching white tank. Simple, but pretty.
"I hope you like it, Maddie."
She had handed the box to his sister just as Sean's father stepped into the entryway. She could easily see the family resemblance in all three of them, but it was especially strong between the two men. But even with a welcoming smile, Michael Morrison couldn't hide the grief in every line of his face, the too-deep hollows beneath his cheekbones and the lingering despair in his eyes.
"Mr. Morrison, thank you for including me today."
"Mike, please. And it's a pleasure to meet you, Serena. Come inside and let me get you a drink before you head into the backyard and meet everyone else."
"Sean mentioned that you were a pretty serious gardener, so I brought these for you." She reached into her bag and pulled out a bag of bulbs. "I've always loved the scent of freesias," she said when he simply stared at her gift.
"My wife did, too," he said softly, and Serena silently cursed herself for inadvertently causing him pain with her gift.
"I'm so sorry for your loss," she said, her throat tightening more on every word.
And then, from seemingly out of nowhere, Sean's other sister appeared, as if she had a radar for when her father was faltering and knew exactly when he needed her to save him. "Dad, I'm pretty sure Drew's about to break the gas grill by lighting charcoal on it." As their father headed out toward the backyard to deal with the situation, Olivia said, "You must be Serena."
Sean's arm around her waist tightened as she smiled said, "You're Olivia, aren't you? Sean has told me so many great things about you."
Serena held out her hand and made sure to keep her expression as easy as possible, as if she hadn't already picked up on all of the varied dynamics in their family. Because as far as she could see there was a lot going on, and she'd only met half of them so far...
Like any eighteen-year-old might have, Maddie looked caught between her older sibling's silent tug of war over Serena's presence and wanting to defuse the situation. "If you could point me toward something to drink," Serena said to her, "that would be great."
Maddie gave her a relieved smile. "Sure, come into the kitchen with me and I'll show you what we've got."
Leaving Sean and Olivia behind for a moment, Serena said, "Happy birthday," and then asked, "How's your senior year going?"
"Pretty good," Maddie said with a grin that looked so much like Sean's. "Although I'm pretty sure if I don't get into Stanford everyone is going to freak."
"Is that where you want to go?"
Maddie shrugged. "Six out of seven Morrisons either graduated from Stanford or are going to soon. It doesn't have a culinary program, but I figure I can major in business or something and then at least I'll know how to manage my finances when I open my own restaurant."
"You want to be a chef?"
"For as long as I can remember."
"Aren't there amazing cooking schools in San Francisco and Napa Valley?"
"There are, and I've done some of their summer programs. In fact, I made most of the food we're going to be eating today." She opened up the fridge. "Here's what we've got to drink. What looks good?"
Sensing Maddie wanted to move on from their talk about her futu
re, Serena had just taken out a bottle of San Pellegrino when the side door into the kitchen opened and a man she hadn't yet met walked in.
"Want another one of these?" Maddie held up a beer bottle for him.
"Nope, water's good. I've got to head back to the office later." He held out his hand to Serena. "I'm Sean's brother Grant."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Serena."
Grant Morrison was a very good-looking man. Tall and ridiculously handsome like Sean, and yet, he wasn't having anywhere near the kind of effect on her that Sean had from the very first moment she'd met him. In fact, despite what she suspected was Grant's naturally high level of intensity, she actually felt quite comfortable with him. Immediately sensing what a serious and focused businessman he was, she thought about how she'd met many men like him over the years and had actually liked quite a few of them. At least, the ones who hadn't secretly hit on her when they thought her mother's attention was elsewhere.
Something told Serena that Grant would never hit on her in a million years. It was a very comforting thought.
"Serena," Maddie said, "come on outside and you can try the blue cheese bacon dip I made as a starter."
Smiling at Grant as she passed him, Serena nearly ran headfirst into Sean coming in through the kitchen door. Only...it wasn't Sean standing in front of her, but a really close copy of him.
"I'm Justin," he said, "and you must be the reason why my brother is finally happy again."
He said the words so easily that she might have missed the serious intent behind them if she wasn't already so attuned to Sean's happiness. What's more, Justin gave her a grin that was such a perfect replica of the way Sean looked at her that it should have set every cell in her body to tingling...only it didn't. Not at all.
But hadn't she always known that what was on the surface didn't make up the whole? She was more than her face. And so were Justin and Sean. Just because their outsides were so similar didn't mean they were the same inside. Although at the very least, she could tell from nothing more than Justin's smile that he was nice. Sizzling hot like his other brothers, certainly, and with a kindness that radiated even from the way he held the door open for her.