I Want It That Way Read online

  “Of course not. But you can...do what you want.” To my vast pleasure, he gritted that last part out, as if he hated saying the words.

  I laughed softly. “I wouldn’t have the time or energy. This is enough. You are.”

  “If that’s true, you’re wearing too many clothes.” He grasped the bottom of my T-shirt and pulled it over my head in a smooth movement.

  I didn’t think he expected me to be topless so fast because he stilled, eyes on my breasts. I’d had guys touch me and not turn me on as much as that look. I watched his face as I worked my yoga pants down and stepped out of them. Now I had on my panties, and he was still sporting the towel. My hand trembled as I flicked it away from his hips. I had never been prone to comparing male packages, but his made my mouth water. In a glance, it was deliciously obvious how much he wanted me.

  “You are so beautiful,” he whispered.

  It didn’t matter if I was; only that he thought so. “Come to bed.”

  Teasingly, I scrambled across the mattress, making him come to me. He was gentle when he did, and I squirmed down onto my side, eyes locked on his face. Ty wore an expression of incredulity and longing, like he just couldn’t believe I was actually here. He kissed me at last, lips delicate as a flower petal when I wanted so much more. That lightness didn’t last long. With a hungry growl, he deepened the kiss, and I tasted mint on his tongue.

  Against my mouth, he whispered, “I’ve imagined you here so often.”

  “Yeah?” I loved knowing he’d fantasized about me.

  “In my favorite scene, you slip in through the patio door. I’m sound asleep in bed and you wake me.”

  “How do I do that?”

  A shudder worked through him as he touched a fingertip to my lower lip. “With your mouth.”

  Teasing him, I whispered, “That’s dirty. I’m not sure how I feel about taking advantage of a helpless, sleeping man.”

  He shivered. “Just so we’re clear, consent is granted ahead of time.”

  More kissing. I initiated it, using Ty’s favorite move. I loved the rasp of his scruff against my palms. As I nibbled his lower lip, he brought me closer, until my breasts fit against his chest. He made a sound in his throat and I wrapped a thigh around his hip, trying to get closer. The shift rubbed us together deliciously, only my panties between us.

  Considering how wild, how desperate, he had been the first time we touched, his patience seemed unusual. Suddenly, I suspected I knew why. “You cheated, didn’t you?”

  “Hmm?” He was kissing a tender path down my throat, nibbling, licking and evoking all the tingles.

  “I know what you did in the shower.” Turning his head to the side, I bit his shoulder. That drove him nuts last time. He rewarded me with a hiss of pleasure. “And I can’t believe you didn’t let me watch.”

  Ty throbbed against me; the push and surge made me moan. “You deserve more than seven minutes in heaven, so to speak.”

  “But I missed out on you. In the shower. All soapy and wet. I promise it would’ve been good for me. I’d be even more turned on than I am right now.”

  Ty fell onto his back when I gave a little push and by the jump in his breathing, he was into the idea of me watching him. “Next time,” he promised. “Although why I’d be doing that again when you’re here—”

  “It was your idea,” I whispered. “And it’s rude to invite someone over and then keep all the fun for yourself.”

  “I’ll make it up to you.” When I nuzzled down his chest toward his belly, he fisted his hands in the sheets. “If it’s any...consolation, it’s not helping as much as I h-hoped.”

  Good. I didn’t say it out loud, but I wanted him in bed like he had been that night on the couch. Incoherent, shaking, completely on fire. I kissed and licked a path around his navel, then reversed directions, bit his nipple on the way up to his ears. I set a palm on his inner thigh, a whisper away, but I didn’t move it upward. Instead, I leaned in and nibbled his ear, remembering how he’d begged me to touch them.

  “Shit,” he breathed, closing his eyes.

  He turned his head, giving me better access. I nibbled and licked, bit gently, until he was shivering. Such an odd, specific hot zone, but clearly it drove him nuts. Then I went for his other ear and he moaned. Now he was closer to where I wanted him, wild and demanding, not tender and civilized. There might come a point when I’d enjoy the latter but not tonight.

  He shoved me onto my back, no finesse, and lowered his head. His mouth on my breasts was pretty close to the best thing I’d ever felt. Ty played the game my way, never touching me below the waist, no matter how much I wanted it. I squirmed and writhed while he worked his mouth over me, sipping at my nipples until I clutched his head, demanding more. Then he gave me teases of teeth, still not enough. I rolled my hips, desperate for pressure. He ripped off my panties with a guttural protest that I should still be wearing them.

  “If I don’t get inside you,” he whispered, “I’m going to hump the mattress and come.”

  “Condom,” I managed to answer.

  “God, yes.”

  My hands were shaking too much to help him, and he was clumsy. It took two tries to get him covered, and then he pulled me upright and sat back at an angle against the pillows. I came down on top of him slowly, wrapping my legs around his hips. Perfect fit, he throbbed inside me, so hot, so hard. I tightened, and he trembled, lips parted. With the moonlight streaming in, his face was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen.

  “Like this?” I moved.

  “Yes. I have to see you, hold you, taste you.” His eyes were on mine as he cupped my ass, working us together, slow first and then faster. “Show me it feels good.”

  I caught the rhythm quickly, loving the friction, the hot rub of his sweaty skin on mine, his chest against my breasts. If I tilted forward a little, it was even better. Sharp sparks of pleasure rocked through me with each push and glide. He bit the side of my neck, a tender pain, and I whispered his name.

  “Jesus.” He swelled inside me, reacting, so I said it again, until there was only his name, and our bodies, grinding together, faster, harder, harder. His fingers might be bruising my hips, and I didn’t mind.

  “Nadia.”

  Heated breath misted my lips, so I leaned in those two inches and took his mouth. Almost there. I thought it, didn’t say it, but his mouth said it back, as we pushed home. He jerked and shuddered, and the spiked pleasure rolled through me in waves, tightening my thighs, again, again, until we were panting into each other’s shoulders. My whole body felt loose and warm, the perfect culmination of so many weeks of wanting what I thought I’d never have.

  It didn’t happen as I’d expected, but it was amazing sex. Ty kissed my sweaty temple and lifted me off him. He was gone two minutes according to his bedside clock. When he returned, I was a melted puddle of girl on one side of the bed, too spent to crawl under the covers. He shifted them over me and then slipped in beside me. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had rolled over, but instead he drew me against him, finding the perfect spot for my head on his shoulder. We fit together like jigsaw pieces, and happiness sparkled through me like a kaleidoscope, all the scintillating colors wheeling through the spectrum in my head.

  “Two days isn’t enough,” Ty said. “So I have to ask you to come back in November.”

  It thrilled me that he seemed so sure. But then I realized, “That’s Thanksgiving. Won’t you be with your parents? And even if you aren’t, I’m going to Nebraska with Lauren.”

  “Fucking holidays.”

  I smirked. “Not for me. I’ll be too far away.”

  His arms tightened around me. “Don’t say that.”

  “I’m coming back, Ty.”

  “I know. But I’ll miss you.”

  “Me, too. But if you have video chat, we can watch each other do dirty things.”

  He turned his head toward me and I caught the faint smile. “You have my attention.”

  “It’s not like being
here, but—” He already knew that it got me hot to watch, so no need to elaborate.

  “I wouldn’t even consider doing it for anyone but you,” he admitted.

  “Clearly, I’m special.”

  “You have no idea.” Ty kissed the top of my head, my cheeks, my chin and finally my mouth. This kissing was slow and lazy, exploratory and tender, because we were both tapped out, no chance it could lead to sex without us sleeping a few hours first.

  But I recalled what he’d said about the little things. I didn’t have long nails, so maybe it wouldn’t be as good, but I drew my fingers lightly down his back. Goose bumps immediately sprang up in the wake of my touch. He practically purred.

  “Don’t stop,” he demanded.

  “Definitely not. This is one of the benefits of sleeping together.”

  “Mmm. God, Nadia. This is too good. You are.”

  That alone kept me stroking for ten minutes. But eventually a yawn burst out of me. “I know it’s only ten-thirty, but would you hate me if I went to sleep?”

  “Now I know you were made for me. I was just thinking the same thing.”

  Never in my life had I slept with a guy, but with Ty, it was perfect. Easy. I just rolled over on my left side, he tucked himself behind me, and we both winked out. Four hours later, according to the clock, I woke up needing to pee. He was still holding me, so it took some doing to get out from under his arm without waking him.

  Tiptoeing back from the bathroom, I remembered his confession, and a devilish impulse took over. Instead of settling quietly on my side of the bed, I burrowed under the covers and found him half-hard already. A few gentle strokes and he grew out of my palm.

  He shifted, spreading his thighs to make room, and for a few tense seconds, I thought he was awake. But his breathing remained steady, and I hoped like hell that he was dreaming what I suspected he might be. Imagining the moment when he came in the dream and woke up coming, well, it was all I could do not to put my hand between my legs right then.

  I didn’t tease. Gently I licked up and down until he was well lubricated, then I sucked him into my mouth. He tasted clean and I savored the contrast of hardness and silky skin rubbing over my tongue. Keeping my teeth well away, I gradually increased the pressure of the suction, until he started to move, taking my mouth in slow, dreamy thrusts.

  “Harder. Suck harder.” By the mumbling quality of his tone, he had to be mostly still asleep, but lost in the pleasure, lost in me.

  I had to shift, get the covers between my legs, so I had something to rub against. For long, delicious moments, I made love to him with my mouth while circling my hips and squeezing my thighs against the comforter. Not ideal, but I needed two hands to caress and make it good for him. Mmm. Getting close. I was slick and moving faster, sucking harder. A minute later, dream and reality merged when he arched and groaned out my name. Ty spurted into my mouth as I came, and then he was up on an elbow, such a delicious mix of rosy sex and confusion. His eyes were half-open, and he pulled back the covers to rest his hands on my head while I gently eased him through the aftershocks. For a few seconds, his throat worked, but no sound emerged.

  Then he dragged me up on top of him, kissing me so fiercely that I went light-headed. He had to taste himself on my tongue, but it didn’t seem to bother him. His cock was slick and sticky between us, softening against me, but he didn’t ease up on the fervor of his hold or the ferocious gratitude of his mouth.

  When he finally pulled back, he couldn’t seem to stop tasting me. Lips, eyelids, cheeks, chin, temples. Everywhere, everything, he wanted all of me.

  “Nobody’s ever made my dreams come true before,” he finally whispered.

  “Then you were due.”

  “I’m afraid if I blink, you’ll be gone. I didn’t think anyone would put up with the rules and limitations that go along with me.”

  “You’re worth it.” My tone must’ve convinced him I meant it because his expression softened, and he shifted so he could hold me properly; a relief because it wasn’t comfortable to rest directly on top of him. I was too tall, too worried that I might be crushing him.

  “I swear, you moving into this building is the best thing that ever happened to me.”

  With a grin, I answered, “If I’d known the complex came with such perks, I’d have signed the lease sooner. You’re way better than the weight room.”

  “Am I?” Teasingly, he dipped his fingers between my thighs, and then breathed out a soft curse. “Fuck. Sucking me made you come.”

  “Yep.” Well, the blanket helped. But it was better for his ego not to hear that, and he could use the self-confidence. Fixed on old mistakes, Ty didn’t seem to have a clue how incredible he was.

  I intended to spend the weekend showing him.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Around eleven the next morning, Ty stirred beside me. I had been awake for fifteen minutes, but it was such a luxury to cuddle with him that I didn’t move. His hand stirred on my back in lazy sweeps, long before he opened his eyes. The smile started there, when his gaze met mine. It wasn’t awkward or strange, and I could tell he was happy to see me, not just in the euphemistic sense.

  He stretched lazily. “I feel fantastic.”

  “Me, too. Should we get up?”

  “Probably.”

  I rolled out of bed and used the bathroom first, then he took a turn, and afterward, we shared a splashy, playful shower. He dried me off with slow, teasing sweeps of the towel, and if I wasn’t so damn hungry, I would’ve hauled him back to bed. While I dug through my backpack, looking for my cosmetic case, he kissed my shoulder.

  “Lose something?”

  “I found it.”

  “Cucumber lotion?” He didn’t even look at the label.

  Curious, I opened the bottle and warmed some in my palms. “It’s cucumber and green tea. But how did you know?”

  “I notice everything about you,” he said simply. “You don’t wear perfume often, but when you do, it smells like cucumbers and melon. You don’t wear much makeup. You prefer boots to any other footwear. Converse are a close second. Should I go on?”

  My heart rate trebled, and to hide the shocked pleasure of my reaction, I challenged him with a raised brow. “What’s my favorite color? Food? Song? Movie?”

  “Those aren’t things I can learn from observation. You have to tell me.”

  His smile was so gentle; I’d never had anyone look at me that way. He smoothed his palms against mine, taking the lotion onto his skin, then he applied it smoothly, rubbing up and down my arms. Turning, I offered my back and he covered every inch, instead of my usual after-shower slapdash efforts.

  As I did my legs, I managed to flirt. “Are you asking?”

  “Yeah. But before you drop that knowledge, do you want to make food or go out?”

  “Hmm. It’s supposed to be our weekend off, but I can’t decide which is lazier.”

  “Would it impact your decision to know I didn’t do any shopping this week?”

  I laughed. “Yeah, and my skills don’t extend too far past hot dog casserole.”

  “Hey, that was amazing. Just ask Sam.”

  Still thinking, I padded to the bedroom and put on clean underwear, yoga pants, T-shirt. “I didn’t bring much with me but—”

  “You want to order pizza?”

  “I’d rather have breakfast,” I confessed. “Let’s see what’s in the kitchen.”

  I found enough eggs to fry some and make French toast. “I can work with what’s here.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked. “I can do it.”

  “You’ll get a turn tomorrow. I’m warning you, I have high expectations.”

  Ty sat on a kitchen stool and watched me crack the eggs, whisk in the milk and vanilla, like it was totally astounding. “You said you can’t cook.”

  First I tested my pan, making sure it was hot enough. Then I dipped the bread in the mixture and set it in the skillet. “When I was in high school, I worked at a diner helping out i
n the kitchen. Dishes mostly, but the fry cook showed me enough to cover his breaks.”

  “So...burgers, fries, sandwiches, French toast, eggs, what else?”

  Okay, so maybe I was showing off a little when I flipped the toast without a spatula. “Pancakes from a mix. I can also boil pasta and fry things.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Pretty soon I had six pieces of toast done, and I put them in his oven, set on low, to keep warm while I fried the eggs. It didn’t occur to me to ask permission before rummaging in his fridge and cupboards; maybe that was rude, but Ty didn’t complain. After setting out butter and syrup, I located the coffee and got some brewing. He had a simple machine, which was a relief because I hated the kind with tons of buttons and attachments. I’d never make it as a barista.

  “How do you want your eggs?”

  “Over easy.”

  I made those briskly, then plated our breakfast. Ty caught the dish I slid toward him: two fried eggs, three pieces of French toast. Smiling, I poured two coffees and rounded the counter to sit beside him. I’d eaten breakfast with a few boyfriends now and then, but never one I cooked. This was a weekend for all kinds of firsts.

  “Okay, now I get to test you,” I teased.

  “Abraham Lincoln.”

  “Good guess, but no. Based on your impressive observations, what do you think my favorite color is?”

  “Green?”

  I tilted my head, surprised. “How did you know?”

  “You wear it a lot.”

  Mentally, I sorted through my closet and realized I had three green hoodies, different shades, and four green sweaters, though to be fair, one of those could pass as turquoise in the right light. And it was amazing that he paid attention. That deserved a victory kiss, so I leaned over, planning to press my lips to his cheek, but Ty turned his head and took it on the mouth. He tasted like syrup, butter and coffee, absolute morning perfection. I licked my lips.

  “I like this game,” he murmured. “I think I’m winning.”

  “I won’t ask you to guess my favorite food. Since we haven’t eaten together much, it wouldn’t be fair.”