“So you put a hockey haven in your apartment.”
She grinned. “Yep. Between October and April, you can find at least a couple Lewises here almost every night, depending on the match-ups.”
“Sounds like fun. I’m a Maple Leaf fan myself.”
Chloe looked horrified. “Dear God. I didn’t think anyone rooted for Toronto unless they were forced to because they lived there. You must be a glutton for punishment.”
He narrowed his eyes. “They aren’t that bad.”
She shuddered, clearly enjoying the opportunity to push his buttons. “Yeah, well, they aren’t that good, either.”
“You and I are going to make a wager once the season starts back up.”
“What makes you think you’re still going to be around come October?”
Blake reached for her before she could read his intent. He tugged her body flush against his until he could feel her hot breath on his face. “I’m going to be here.”
She opened her mouth to chastise him, but there was only one way he’d accept her tongue-lashing and that was literally. He kissed her, holding tightly—partly out of fear she’d try to stop him and partly because there was no way he could resist the feeling of her body pressed against his. The last decade melted away—all the pain, anger and loneliness fading until there was nothing left, but this moment. And them.
Chloe wrapped her hands around his neck, the action lifting her breasts higher against his chest, capturing his attention. Keeping one arm around her waist, he brought his left hand up to cup her breast.
Chloe’s lips left his as she released a sharp, excited breath. Blake increased the pressure of this touch, squeezing, kneading. Neither of them sought to continue the kiss. Instead, Blake placed his lips to her forehead as Chloe panted softly, her quiet mews encouraging him. He ran his hands under her shirt, savoring the softness of her skin. He stroked his way around her waist, up her sides until he found the breast he’d just left. He smiled when he felt her lacy bra, the texture reminding him of the first time he’d ventured under Chloe’s shirt. Her breasts were slightly smaller then.
However, Chloe’s response was just the same. Her breathing was heavy, her body so hot, he wondered how she wasn’t burning his fingers. Her hips—now, like then—ground against his, taunting his cock, driving him insane with need.
When he was younger, he’d insisted they were made for each other. Chloe would laugh and tease him, claiming it was the girl’s job to be the silly romantic, not the guy’s. However, after years spent trying to find warmth in the arms of too many women, he realized it hadn’t been a foolish dream. It was the truth.
Blake ran his hands along the top of her bra, enjoying the slight shudder his touch provoked. Then he dipped his fingers beneath the lace, delving deeper until he found what he was searching for.
“God!” Chloe jerked when he lightly pinched her nipple, but his arm was still wrapped around her back and it kept her from escaping. Not that she was trying to. She plunged her hands into his hair, gripping it so tightly it stung. He didn’t care. He relished the pain, loved feeling her passion, her need. It made him feel less alone.
He pinched her nipple again, firmer this time. Chloe’s hips thrust against his and he wished there weren’t so many damn clothes between them.
That thought prompted action. He reached for the button on her jeans, delighted when Chloe mimicked the motion on his pants.
“I want you, Chloe,” he whispered, needing to make sure she understood. If they took their pants off, he was lying her down on the couch and taking her.
“Hurry up.”
Her words hit him like the loud bang of a starter pistol. The only sounds in the room were those of the rushed flurry of hands as they unzipped and tugged down their jeans, of shoes hitting the floor, of a foil condom wrapper crinkling and Chloe’s soft cry when Blake lay her down on the couch and came over her. He pushed his cock deep inside her with one hard thrust.
It wasn’t until he was completely buried that they paused, both of them panting, air being sucked in and blown out loudly. Blake rested on his elbows above her, studying her flushed face, her closed eyes.
“Chloe. Look at me.”
Her eyelids flittered open, her vision clearly fuzzy. He waited until her focus returned. He saw the moment it happened because a crease formed in her brow. They’d acted on impulse, neither of them considering the consequences of what they were doing until now.
Blake’s heart raced and his jaw clenched as he resisted the overwhelming need to thrust, to pound, to fuck.
“I won’t be another regret.”
She frowned. “What?”
“I know you regret what happened between us all those years ago and I wish there was some way I could go back in time and change what I did, but I can’t. I can’t undo the hurt, Chloe. Can’t fix the mistakes.”
“Blake—”
“But I’m telling you right now, I can’t be another regret in your life. If that’s what this is going to be, say so and I’ll stop.”
She didn’t speak for several tense moments. Blake held his tongue, gave her time to decide while silently praying he’d have the strength to leave her if that was what she asked.
Finally, she cupped his cheek in her hand. “I don’t want you to stop.”
It was all he needed to hear. He lifted his hips until his cock was just barely inside her, then slid in again. She wrapped her legs around his hips as his thrusts grew harder, went deeper. Chloe worked free the buttons on his shirt, not bothering to remove it. She simply slid her hands beneath the cotton, her nails scratching their way along the muscles of his shoulders and back. She’d left her mark the first time he’d taken her too.
Chloe may have been the virgin when they succumbed to this passion ten years earlier, but she’d been the one to teach him. About burning, heart-pounding lust. About craving. About giving and taking and what it truly meant to be hungry. He may have spent too many nights with an empty belly as a child, but until Chloe, he’d never suffered genuine hunger.
And he’d never experienced sex mixed with love until her. Hell, he hadn’t felt it since.
Not until now.
Chloe’s hips lifted to meet his and her soft groans told him exactly how close she was. He reached down, intent on drawing more than just one orgasm from her. He’d spent years dreaming of having her under him once again. He wasn’t going to waste the opportunity.
He pressed her clit firmly, loving the wild, unrestrained response it provoked. Chloe’s back arched as she released a loud cry. He thought he’d loved the sound of her laughter, but that music was a far second place. Blake waited a few seconds as Chloe trembled, her climax running its course. Then he fired the trigger again. He stroked her clit as he increased the speed of his thrusts.
Chloe gasped, shaking her head. “I can’t. Not again. Too much.”
He kissed her roughly, cutting off her refusal. He knew her too well to be fooled by such a lie. They’d spent a summer in each other’s arms. He remembered exactly how many times she could come in a night and they weren’t even close to that number yet.
His kiss combined with his finger on her clit and his cock pounding inside her hot pussy pushed her over the edge a second time. This time, he didn’t stop moving, working instead to draw the sensations out, prolonging the pleasure for her.
As the orgasm subsided, Chloe’s arms left his shoulders, dropping heavily to the couch cushions beside her. Her eyes were closed—her face the perfect blend of exhaustion and bliss.
“We’re not finished.”
She blinked rapidly, forcing her gaze to his. “I’m out of shape. It’s been a few months since…”
Blake laughed. “It’s been almost two years for me. So get your second wind. There’s no way I’m letting this end so fast.”
“Years?” Her skeptical expression was flattering…and slightly insulting.
He narrowed his eyes. “Yeah. Just so we’re clear on this, I’m not some sex-craved pervert sleeping in a different bed every night. I do have standards.”
Chloe shook her head in mock disappointment, laughing softly. “Damn. Such a shame. What happened to the horny, gets-hard-when-a-strong-wind-blows bad boy I fell in love with all those years ago?”
He knew she meant her words as a joke, but all he could focus on was the reminder that she used to love him. He’d thrown that away because of pride and stubbornness. “A week ago, I would have said he was gone, but now…”
Blake punctuated the pause with a quick, hard thrust. Chloe gasped, her arousal firing hot once more.
She tightened her legs around his waist. “Do that again.”
He tilted his head, considering. He’d never taken the submissive role in the bedroom and he didn’t intend to now. He held still as Chloe worked hard, trying to force him to move. She lifted her hips as much as her position underneath him would allow. When that failed, she dug her heels into his back, trying to push him as low as she could.
When all her attempts proved fruitless, she stopped moving and gave him a dirty look. “You joined the police force and yet, you still suck at following commands.”
He chuckled, kissing her lightly on the cheek. A decade apart hadn’t changed one thing. It still felt as if Chloe knew him better than he knew himself. “I’m a model detective. But doing my job there and doing it here are two entirely different things. Put your hands above your head.”