Listen to Me

  Oh, baby, just wait.

  I don’t answer her. I just smile and watch as she bites her lip, already anticipating my next move.

  I spread her legs wide and lean in to kiss her breasts. “Grab your ankles.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  I lift my head, looking in her eyes. “I want you to grab your ankles.”

  “Do you ever say please?”

  I blink at her. “Not right now.”

  She narrows her eyes, trying to decide if she’s going to trust me with this much control, and finally she complies, gripping on to her ankles as her legs are spread.

  “Good girl.”

  She giggles. “Good girl?”

  “Mmm.” I suck a nipple into my mouth, then lick up her neck and kiss her lips, biting that bottom lip myself. “I understand why you always bite this lip. It’s delicious.”

  “You’re in a really interesting mood this morning.”

  “It’s afternoon.”

  “Whatever.”

  I kiss her again, and then with my lips still pressed to hers, I say, “Now I want you to count to twenty. If you let go of your ankles, I’m going to spank you. Hard.”

  The muscles in her neck work as she swallows, eyes pinned to mine.

  “Do you understand?”

  She nods.

  “Words, Addie.”

  “I won’t let go.”

  I trace her body with my tongue, working my way down, but instead of eating her pussy, I push two fingers inside her. “Count.”

  “One, two—”

  And I begin to finger-fuck her, roughly, my thumb pressing on her clit. Her back arches and she releases her ankles.

  “You let go.”

  “Wait!” She laughs, shaking her head. “Let me try again.”

  I tilt my head to the side. “Okay, we’ll call that practice. Grab your ankles.”

  She complies.

  “Count.”

  “One, two, three, shit, shit, shit . . .”

  “Shit isn’t counting. Start over.” I don’t slow my hand, and she groans.

  “One, oh my God.”

  “He’s not here, baby. Count.” She glares at me, but doesn’t let go.

  “One, two, three, four . . .”

  “Slower.”

  She whimpers, but slows her counting and I resume driving her mad with my hand, watching as her body flushes, tightens, makes me abso-fucking-lutely hard.

  She reaches twenty without letting go, and I stop the torture as she sighs in relief.

  “Very good.”

  She smiles triumphantly.

  “Okay, let’s try this.”

  “Can I let go of my ankles now?”

  I smirk. “Yes, you may. You’re catching on.”

  “I had no idea this could be so much fun. I thought it was just dirty, maybe a little toxic to a relationship.”

  “What, dominance?”

  She nods.

  “Nothing toxic ever comes from genuine love and trust. Ever. Remember that, baby.”

  “I do trust you,” she whispers shyly, making me soften.

  I’ll never abuse that trust.

  I reward her with a long, sweet, wet kiss and wrap her legs around my waist, sliding into her warm wetness.

  “Fuck, you feel good.”

  “Mmm,” she moans.

  “Now you’re going to talk to me,” I say. Her eyes open in surprise, a little V forming as she frowns at me.

  “About what?”

  “About this.” I slide out, then let my cock skim up her folds, the head tickling her clit. “I want you to tell me how this feels.”

  “It feels good.”

  “Be more specific.” I bite her lower lip and feel sweat break out on my forehead when her little tongue peeks out to glide over the spot I just bit. “Tell me what you’re feeling.”

  “I’m warm.”

  “And?” I rear back and slide my cock back inside her. Her ass feels full and perfect as I grip it, pulling her even closer against me.

  “And turned on.”

  “I need more, Addie.”

  “I feel excited. Your cock hits this spot that sends zings up my spine.”

  “Good girl.” I nuzzle her nipple with my nose. “What else?”

  “Your fingertips on my ass.”

  “Yes?”

  “I want them to leave bruises so I can see them later when I take a shower.”

  I feel a smile spread over my face at the thought of marking her.

  Because she’s fucking mine.

  “I love that. Good one.”

  “I like the way the hair on your leg feels under my foot.”

  “Mmm. I love it when you drag your foot up my leg.”

  She does it again, making me smile.

  “Your weight feels good on me,” she whispers, then catches her breath when I pound into her, just a little harder. “And when you do that—”

  “What, baby?”

  “When you do that, it feels like you’re buried so deep, I don’t know where you end and I begin.”

  “I love you so fucking much.”

  Her smile lights up the room. “I love you too. And I love how much you say ‘fuck’ when you’re turned on.”

  I pull out and kiss down her body to her pussy, pulling her lips into my mouth, sucking hard, then kiss back up and plunge inside her.

  “You’re the sweetest damn thing,” I growl.

  “Jake?”

  “Yes, baby.”

  “Am I still talking?”

  “Absolutely.” I push one of her legs up over my shoulder, spreading her wider, going deeper, making her gasp.

  “I feel open.”

  “Yeah, this position opens you up nicely.”

  “No,” she breathes as she shakes her head. “I feel vulnerable. I trust you. I love you. I feel open.”

  I stop fucking her hard and stare down into her eyes, lower her leg, and cover her with my body. “I’m right here with you.”

  “And I feel like I’m going to come.”

  Her lips are tickling mine as she speaks. My eyes cross as she squeezes down on me, hard.

  “Still with you,” I groan as my spine tingles, and I feel the orgasm shoot through me, almost violently.

  “So good,” she sighs, lazily dragging her hands down my back to my ass. “And such a hot ass.”

  I smirk and roll us to the side so my weight is off of her, but I can still see her and touch her.

  “So, did you wait until I told you I love you to break out the dominant side?” she asks playfully, but I can see that the question is honest.

  “No, I just haven’t shown you all my tricks yet. Sometimes I’m in this mood. Especially when . . . well, never mind.”

  “When what?”

  I swallow, kiss her forehead. “You won’t be offended?”

  “I didn’t say that,” she says with a laugh.

  “I get this way when I feel like I’m marking my territory.”

  Her eyes narrow, and I think she’s going to yell at me, but then she hugs me tight. “I kind of like that. But don’t tell anyone I said that.”

  “I’m not in a habit of telling people about my sex life,” I reply dryly. “I think your secret is safe with me.”

  “Are you hungry?” she asks sweetly.

  “A little.” But I don’t want to leave this bed. “You?”

  “Not really.”

  “You were hungry thirty minutes ago,” I remind her as she scoots closer.

  “Yeah, but now you’re awake, and I’m in your arms, and this is comfortable.”

  “Let’s be lazy then.” I cuddle her close and breathe her in. She smells like her citrusy shampoo and sex.

  Sexiest fucking smell in this world.

  “We should check our phones.” She sighs and reaches over to the bedside table for her phone, and I do the same. “Has yours been blowing up?”

  “Yep.” We roll back together as we thumb through our phones. “I had six calls and
, holy shit, eight texts.”

  “I’ve had four calls and twenty-two texts,” she says, giggling. “The girls are persistent.”

  “Yeah, Christina and Max both want to know what’s going on. I’ll call Max real quick and he can call Christina.”

  “I’ll call Cami,” she says with a nod.

  “You’re alive,” Max says when he answers. “I thought maybe she took you out somewhere and offed you.”

  “Not yet,” I reply. “We’re good, man.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. Things are good here. Will you call Christina and let her know? She’s been blowing up my phone.”

  “Sure, she’s been blowing up mine too. I don’t know why, it’s not like we’re having an orgy or anything, and I’m not psychic.”

  “She’s like a mother hen,” I reply, watching Addie as she laughs and tells Cami that we’re just being lazy in bed. “I appreciate it.”

  “No problem. And I’m happy for you, Jake.”

  “Thanks.” I hang up, toss my phone aside, and listen unabashedly to Addie’s conversation.

  She presses her finger to her lips, telling me to stay quiet, and puts her phone on speaker, laying it on the bed between us.

  “I mean, you were so darn stubborn, Addie, and he was so sweet. It’s a good thing he had me and Mia helping him, so he knew where to send flowers and stuff. Isn’t he sweet?”

  “The sweetest,” Addie says, rolling her eyes.

  “He really is. And boy does he love you. I mean, what’s not to love, right? But that man is head over heels gone over you. And you so deserve that, Add.” She sniffles and Addie shakes her head in resignation. “You deserve someone who pretty much worships the ground you walk on. And he does.” More sniffles. “I know you have a lot of baggage, but I really think that Jake is completely different from any of the assholes from your past. I’m glad you pulled your head out of your ass and realized that he was just a stupid man who made a mistake.”

  I scowl at the stupid man comment, glaring at the phone. “Hey! I’m not stupid.”

  Addie sighs and Cami goes quiet.

  “I’m on speaker?” she demands.

  “Hi, Cami,” I say with a grin. “I think you’re sweet too.”

  “Well, I guess it’s good that I was saying nice things about you,” she says. “Hey, Jake, do you have any single women friends that I can hook up with Brian?”

  “Cami! Stop it,” Addie says in exasperation. “Seriously, let the man find his own date.”

  “He’s bad at it,” she says with a sigh. “Okay, you guys go have sex, because really, someone should be getting laid. I’m gonna go see if I can help at the restaurant.”

  “Do they need me today?” Addie asks, but I’m already shaking my head.

  “Nope. We’re just fine. You enjoy each other today and make up for lost time. Love you both!”

  She clicks off and Addie worries her lip.

  “You heard her. They’re fine.”

  “Yeah. I’m sure you’re right.”

  “I know I’m right. You girls are damn good at your jobs, and they’ll survive without you today. Besides, I want to take you somewhere.”

  “Where?”

  I kiss her lightly, then slap her ass and roll out of bed. “You’ll see. Stop being so lazy and needy and let my dick rest for a while. Seriously, Addie, I can barely keep up with you.”

  “You are not as funny as you think you are.” She sniffs and rolls out of bed, but can’t disguise the humor in her eyes.

  “Sweetheart, I’m fucking hilarious.”

  “ARE WE GOING to go get burgers after this?” she asks.

  “Of course.”

  “I love it here,” Addie sighs as she leans back on me and watches the water fall down Multnomah Falls. “It’s so peaceful.”

  “Mmm.” I kiss her head, breathing in her sweet scent. We’re sitting on a rock at the base of the falls. She’s sitting between my legs, leaning back on my chest. This is the calmest I’ve felt in . . . well, since the last time we were here.

  “Are you okay?” I ask, whispering in her ear.

  “Of course.” She looks up at me with a confused frown. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “I’m just checking in. I want to tread carefully.”

  “Jake, you don’t have to treat me like I’m made of glass. I’m fantastic. I’m with you.”

  I drag my fingertips down her cheek and kiss her nose. “I’m fantastic when I’m with you too.”

  “You know, the last time you brought me here is when I had kind of a lightbulb moment.”

  “Really?” She settles back against me, watching the water. “What was it?”

  “We were standing on that bridge, and your arms were around me. I’d been having a rough few days, remember?”

  “I remember.” I remember feeling helpless because I didn’t know how to make her feel better.

  “You told me to close my eyes and to listen to the falls. And I did. It was beautiful, but it wasn’t what calmed me.”

  “What did?”

  “The man whose arms were around me,” she says and smiles up at me. “You’re the one who calms me.”

  Jesus. She’d felt safe with me, and I ripped that out from under her. I’m so fucking lucky that she took me back.

  “I’m sorry, Addie.”

  “Hey, I didn’t say that to make you feel guilty.” She turns in my arms and cups my face in her hands. “It’s a happy memory, Jake. I think I loved you then; I was just too stubborn to admit it.”

  “I’ll never forget the moment I realized that I love you.” I smile down into her eyes as she lifts her chin, offering her lips for a kiss.

  I happily oblige her.

  “That night, after the cookout at Mia’s parents’ house.”

  “That was some good sex,” she says with a nod.

  “That night changed my world,” I reply automatically. “I’d been falling in love with you for weeks, but in that moment, I knew that I was lost to you, Addison.”

  “You make me happy,” she says simply. “And I love my song. Thank you for it.”

  “You’re welcome. It sort of wrote itself.” She tilts her head in question. “I started hearing the melody the night I first saw you. That click is a powerful thing.”

  “Must be,” she says with a nod.

  “I worked on it almost every day, whenever I wasn’t with you or working.”

  “So you didn’t write it just because we’d broken up?”

  “No way.” I laugh and hug her tight. “That song gripped me by the throat and wouldn’t let go.”

  “It’s our song,” she says softly.

  “No, baby, it’s your song. We don’t need a song. We are a song.”

  She takes a long, shaky breath before kissing me sweetly. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” We sit for a long while, quietly watching the water, listening to the wind in the trees and enjoying the sunshine as it breaks through the leaves above, when something occurs to me. “Hey, does this mean I can have my job back?”

  “Do you want it back?”

  “Yes. I enjoy watching the audience as they sing along with the songs. Max and I get a kick out of playing harmonies and just giving each other shit onstage. And I love being close to you, and that’s just another way that I can do that.”

  “Well, then the job is yours. It was always yours.”

  “I’ll always be yours,” I reply softly. “For as long as you’ll have me.”

  “Good.” She kisses the underside of my chin. “Because I plan to keep you pretty much forever.”

  “Excellent idea.”

  Epilogue

  Addison

  Three Months Later . . .

  “I can’t believe it,” Kat says with a scowl as she eats a croissant with strawberry jam. The five of us are having brunch on a Sunday morning. It’s a beautiful early fall day, and the patio out here in northwest Portland is perfect this morning.

  “I nee
d to see it again,” Riley says, motioning for me to shove my hand across the table so she can get another look at the ring. “I mean, this is impressive, Addie.”

  “Thanks.” I grin happily and take a bite of bacon. Jake outdid himself with this ring.

  But the best part was the proposal.

  “I can’t believe that he shared just about every aspect of your relationship with us, meeting you in the restaurant, enlisting our help to get you back, and then he did the proposal all by himself!” Kat scowls. “That’s not fair.”

  “How did he do it?” Cami asks, resting her chin in her hand and smiling dreamily. God, that girl is such a romantic.

  “He just asked me to marry him,” I reply simply. Jake and I agreed that the details would be left between us. It was a surprise. He took me to our place, the falls, late in the day when it would be pretty much deserted. I thought we were just going up there for a little peace and quiet. We were standing on the bridge, exactly like that first day that he took me there.

  But suddenly, he lowered himself to one knee and held up a little blue box.

  “I fall for you every day, Addison. Not just because you’re beautiful and smart and so damn funny you make me laugh until I cry, although you definitely are all of those things. I want you because there is simply no one else in this world like you. I know there’s no one better than you, or more right for me than you, and I don’t ever want to start a day without you in it. You are my happy place. You are my safe place. Please marry me. Go on this adventure with me.”

  “Earth to Addie,” Mia says, waving her hand in front of my face. “Are you going to join us?”

  “Sorry.”

  “So you’re not going to tell us how he did it,” Riley says, disappointed. “That sucks.”

  “I’m allowed to have something just for me,” I say with a smile. “But, I will say that it was incredibly romantic and that he made me cry. But in a good way this time.”

  “Okay, I can live with that,” Kat says with a sigh.

  “And, get this, he called my parents and is flying them in for our engagement party. Mom’s going to help me plan the wedding.”

  “That’s awesome!” Mia says with a smile. “I know you miss them.”

  “Brian went out on a date!” Cami exclaims and claps her hands. “I set him up with my neighbor’s daughter, and it sounds like they had a good time.”