Page 33 of Love Like Ours

Chapter Ten

Palmer was covered head to toe in dried, caked, and cracked cement dust. His clothes clung to him and yet were stiff and solid enough that he had a hard time bending his knees to sit in his truck. Thankfully, he’d learned long ago to keep towels in the back seat for such occasions. He still had to replace his seat covers often in the truck.

Some cement had even dripped down into his boots. Of course, his brother had been lucky enough to get a video of him falling off the ladder and landing face-first into the newly poured cement.

He’d washed most of the mess off but there was no getting rid of all of it until he could head home and stand under a shower fully clothed.

When he got back to his place, Sophia’s car was parked in his driveway. When she stepped out of her car and saw him, she burst into laughter.

“What’d you do? Try to make a statue out of yourself?” she said between chuckles. “You look like a Weeping Angel from Doctor Who.”

“You and everyone else has gotten a good laugh today at my expense,” he said, then he surprised her by pulling her into his arms and kissing her. “There, now we’re both in need of a shower.” He grinned and then kissed her again. This time she didn’t try to pull away and melted into his embrace.

Seconds later, he shoved open the front door without breaking contact with Sophia’s lips. He only pulled away when Loki whined to be let out.

“Sorry.” He held up his finger. “Give me one moment to let him out.” He grabbed Loki’s leash and quickly rushed the dog to the grassy yard area. “Hurry up, buddy,” he said as Loki turned circles, trying to find the perfect spot to go. “I’m about to get lucky.”

When he was done doing his business, the dog whined to be let off the leash to run. “Sorry, buddy. We can’t go play on the beach right now. After,” he promised him and then, to get the dog moving, he promised him a treat inside.

When he stepped back inside the house, Sophia was standing in the same place he’d left her. He removed Loki’s leash and tossed the dog a treat from the jar he kept by the door, then he took Sophia’s hand and led her back to his bedroom and, most importantly, the bathroom.

“You don’t have to be anywhere early in the morning, I take it?” she asked.

“Nope.” He smiled at her. “You?”

She shook her head. “I’m off tomorrow.”

“I have a meeting with Max around one,” he told her and saw her eyebrows rise slightly. Shit, he felt like a douche for not telling her in the many text messages they’d sent to one another since then. “I should have told you earlier. He has officially hired me, and we’re going to go over a few designs.”

“That’s wonderful news.” She reached up and kissed him after they stepped into the bathroom. “I knew you’d wow him.”

“I owe you.” He ran his hands over her hips. “Not only a shower, but dinner.” He kissed her. “After,” he mumbled against her lips.

“Deal.” She tried to unbutton his shirt but laughed when she had a difficult time with the first button. “You really are cemented together.”

“Short of standing under a hose of cold water, there was no way of cleaning it off completely. It was too chilly today to get that wet,” he said as he worked the buttons. When his flannel was off, he tossed it into the laundry bucket and started working on his boots and jeans while she watched.

“Don’t mind me,” she said after a low groan caused him to still and glance at her. “Just… enjoying the show.”

He tossed his jeans into the bin and walked back to her in only his undershirt and boxers. “Here, let me help you.” He reached for her blouse buttons. “We’ll have to wash these.” Instead of tossing them in the bin with his soiled clothes, he set her items on the sink area so they could be washed later.

“I have a change of clothes in my car.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Just in case of situations like this.”

“Oh?” He enjoyed the softness of her skin under his fingertips. She was only wearing a pair of soft pink panties and a matching bra, and he was having a very difficult time not just pulling her up into his arms and taking her right then. “Do you often need a change of clothing because someone who has fallen into cement hugs you?”

She laughed and shook her head, and then kissed him. “Only for you,” she whispered, sliding her fingers into his hair. “Palmer,” she sighed when his lips trailed down her neck.

In one quick move, his hands moved over her body, taking, giving, causing both of them to heat. Seconds after her bra and panties hit the floor, his shirt and boxers followed. Her fingertips ran over his skin while his did the same for her.

“Water,” she whispered. “You have cement in your hair.” She chuckled.

He backed them up, unwilling to release her, until he could turn on the water in his shower. He stepped inside, pulling her with him.

He let the water hit him full force at first until it finished warming. Taking a bunch of soap, he lathered her body slowly, enjoying the soft smoothness of her skin under his fingertips.

Seeing her, being here with her like this... none of his daydreams had prepared him for this moment. She was everything and more.

He wanted to tell her just what she was doing to him when she touched him. He mumbled the words, how he felt, what it meant to him to be with her. She let out soft groans as his fingers dipped in and out of her. He wanted to take her right there but didn’t want their first time to be standing up in a shower. So he waited and used his fingers and his mouth to send her over the first edge.