Hard Wood Read online

  Then she keens. It’s beautiful and primal. The world disappears as Mia comes again, lost in her orgasm, her eyes squeezed shut, her breath ragged, her moans guttural and gorgeous.

  There are no more words for me, either. Just grunts and growls.

  I pump faster, harder, more furiously until my vision goes white and the room turns to a neon-hot blur. Pleasure crackles along my spine, surging inside me, barreling down my cock as I empty myself inside her, filling her up.

  Then I collapse onto Mia, wrap my arms around her, and whisper in her ear. “I’m so crazy for you. I’m not letting you go.”

  I can feel her smile against me. “It’s a good thing I’m not leaving then.”

  19

  I prop myself on my elbow. “I like the sound of you not leaving, but feel free to elaborate.”

  Her eyes twinkle like she just scored a deal on airline tickets to Paris and can’t wait to share the news. “I’m moving to New York.”

  And the City of Lights can’t hold a candle to that one.

  I blink.

  This can’t be happening.

  I’ve fallen into the most vivid, lucid dream of my life.

  “Are you screwing with me?"

  She shakes her head. Her smile is as wide as the sky, her voice full of joy. “I’m not joking. I'm relocating Pure Beauty to New York. I’m so ridiculously excited about this, and everything was finalized today. Now I can tell you. That’s what I was going to tell you before Harper’s cake announcement.”

  “It was?” I figured it was the Eric thing, since that’s what she led with when she arrived.

  “Yes. But then when I came over here, I had other things I needed you to know, too, and honestly, after that, I wanted to focus on getting you naked.”

  “Yeah, I'm totally into the whole naked thing, too,” I say, admiring her bare skin as she lies next to me. In my bed. If questioned under oath, I’d still have to go with this being a dream. “You’re really not messing with me about moving?”

  “Apparently, you think I’m a mean trickster, because that would be a cruel joke.” She pushes my chest then trails her fingers down my torso, dancing them across the planes of my abs, as if she’s only now realized she has permission to touch me whenever she wants.

  Does she ever.

  But . . .

  Removing the distraction, I take her hand and curl my fingers around hers, squeezing. “Are. You. Serious?”

  “Yes. The podcast? My epiphany? All the new things going on with my company? It’s not a beauty product for cats, obviously. It’s that I want to be here in New York.”

  Zeus jumps up on the bed, as if on cue. He lands on silent paws and pads up the covers, slinking between us. I stroke his back, and he arches into my hand.

  Mia scratches his chin. “You’re naturally beautiful. You don’t need a single product,” she says to him.

  There goes my heart again. This girl talks to my cat. “What made you realize you wanted to be in New York? You’ve always lived on the West Coast.”

  “Everything.” She strokes the beast as he perches imperiously on the pillow and launches into a fastidious face washing. “Being here made me realize what I miss every day – my brothers, and they’re both here now, of course. Everyone has moved from the West Coast to New York. Plus, I have great friends in the city, like Dylan and Olivia, and some of my suppliers are here so it makes it easier to do business. My VP of products, Lisa, grew up in Connecticut, so it works for her, too. And when I had dinner with my brothers last weekend, everything crystallized. Josie’s now my sister-in-law and I want to get to know her better. Same for Henley soon too. I don’t want to be the lone wolf out on the other side of the country while everyone goes about their life. I want to be near my family. My brothers are the two people I’m closest to, and I miss them more every day. They might even be having kids soon.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “Does that mean Chase needed to get Josie down the aisle, stat?”

  Mia laughs, shaking her head. “No. At least, I don’t think so. But Max will be married in a few months, and I have no doubt they’ll all be having kids in the near future. I want to see them regularly. I want to see any nieces and nephews I might have regularly, too. I feel so good about this decision.”

  So do I.

  Though, I’d feel a bit better if she happened to include in her list of reasons a certain guy she just banged. The one thing she hasn't mentioned is me. I keep it light and playful when I say, “And Zeus was obviously a big factor, since you can’t keep your hands off him.”

  “He’s irresistible.” Then she covers his ears and stage whispers, “He knew about it all along. I told him earlier in the week that it might happen.”

  I stare at my cat as he licks a white paw, then rubs it against his cheek. “I seriously can’t believe you kept this from me, Zeus.”

  “He’s a shrink. He keeps all my secrets. I think it’s like patient–pussycat privilege.”

  “He is something of a vault.” Time to stop dicking around. Just ask her directly if I even made it to the pros and cons list. “Are you doing this at all because of us?”

  She swallows, and her eyes widen. The look in them reminds me of a teen caught dipping her hand in her mom’s wallet. “Because of us?” she squeaks, her voice high.

  “Is that crazy to even ask?” I run a hand down her bare arm, since I sure as hell enjoy having permission to touch her. “I recall a whole conversation earlier tonight about not being able to stop thinking about each other.”

  She taps my nose with her finger. “Don’t worry, Kangaroo. It’s not as if I expect you to ask me to move in and marry you.”

  My lips open, but no sound comes. Her answer throws me. Because honestly, there’s a part of me that likes that idea—move in and marry. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but a lot sooner than later.

  Except, she might not be in this to the same degree that I am.

  Possibly because of Eric.

  Maybe because of Max.

  More likely because of her.

  And you know what? Even if she isn’t all in yet, I’ll need to be okay with that. I’ve wanted Mia for a long time, and now I’ll have the chance every goddamn day to convince her how good we can be together. Judging from the length and intensity of the orgasms she’s already had, I’m winning her over easily in that department.

  Time to play to my strengths.

  I move her on top of me, her legs straddling my stomach. “Bring those sweet, gorgeous lips to mine. If you’re going to be living here, you need to start practicing your favorite form of arithmetic. I believe on the hike you said it was multiplication.”

  “I do need to catch up on my math.” She leans forward, her tits brushing my chest as she kisses me. I groan at the feel of her lips. I curl a hand through her hair, kissing her deeper, savoring the exquisite taste of her mouth. Her tongue darts between my lips, and we both moan at the same time.

  The kiss unfurls like a slow wave rolling toward the shore, one crest spreading into the next as I spend some time with those lips I love.

  But soon enough, I stop the kiss. “Let me show you what two times two every single night feels like.”

  Grasping her hips, I slide her down my body. My dick is doing an excellent full-on salute, and I make sure she gets a proper greeting when I bring her to me. I draw a sharp breath as she lowers herself onto my erection.

  “You feel so incredibly good,” she murmurs. Then she moves on me, slow and sensual, taking me in, and then nearly letting me go.

  God, it’s so good with her. It’s mind-blowing. It’s astonishing. Sharp, hot pleasure sparks through my body. I watch her every move as her tight figure rises and lowers. She grinds on me, taking me deeper, then picking up speed, sliding her hot wetness up and down. Her tits bounce, her hair swings, her nails dig into my chest.

  When she closes her eyes, she leans her head back, and her neck looks so long and inviting. I thrust my hips up, fucking her as she fucks me. Her sou
nds grow louder, her pants wilder and more erratic. She cries out that she’s coming, and it’s filthy and sensual at the same damn time as her mouth parts in a perfect O. She shudders as she climaxes, and then she crashes onto my chest, murmuring as she threads her hands in my hair, “I need one more to make it four.”

  “Let’s do it,” I say. I pull out, flip her to her hands and knees, and bury myself in her again. What a gorgeous sight to see Mia bent over for me in the middle of my bed, offering her body and letting me take her. I band an arm around her waist, slide my hand between her legs, and work her clit until she comes once more on my cock.

  And as she pants and moans, I don’t have to hold back anymore. It’s my turn, and I unleash several fast, hard pumps, as pleasure rockets through me. I join her on the other side, my own orgasm pulsing hard through me, coming as I groan her name.

  After we clean up, I gather her in my arms. “I like that last position,” Mia murmurs as she nestles against my chest.

  “I like all positions with you.”

  She laughs. “Yes, I do so far, too. But I really like that one.”

  “You mean doggy style, Mia?” I say, since she can’t seem to say it. “And I thought you were an animal lover.”

  “Yes, Patrick. I like it doggy style.” She swats my hip. “And you’re a dog.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.” I stare at the ceiling for a moment, thinking back on how fantastic this night has been, even if she’s not as full speed ahead as I am yet. “Hey, do you think when dogs do it, they call it doggy style?”

  She shakes her head. “No. It’s just style then.”

  “Then, we have a lot of styling to do once you move to New York.”

  She wedges herself even closer to me, and I thank my lucky stars she’s a top-notch snuggler. “Like, maybe every night styling.”

  I kiss her hair, both satisfied that she’s with me now and even more determined to prove to her that moving to this city will be the best thing she’s ever done.

  20

  Conversations with the Cat

  Zeus

  The sun shone brightly through the window as the woman engaged in one of Zeus’s favorite activities—rubbing his belly. He demonstrated his appreciation by lounging on his back and stretching his legs as far as he could.

  Supercat.

  The elegant, seductive pose showed off how long and lean his body was. This way she could admire his belly, too. It was quite a handsome stomach by any mammalian standard, sleek and covered in the softest fur.

  “Did you hear the news? I’ll be seeing you more often,” the woman said.

  The man wasn’t here. He’d left a few minutes ago, pulling on some clothes and grabbing his keys after patting the woman’s rumbling tummy.

  “I still have lots of details to work out, and I need to find a place to live. Or I could just move in with you,” she said then laughed. “Shh. Don’t tell Patrick I said that. I’m sure he’d think it’s too soon. And too crazy. I suspect he thought I was only moving for him, and it freaked him out last night.”

  Zeus twitched his tail, yet another incredibly lovely feature that he possessed. Such a good-looking tail.

  “I’m doing this because it makes sense for me. I’ll find my own place easily. I don’t want to scare him away, especially since I’m already crossing a line I swore I’d never cross after what happened with Eric. But it’s different with Patrick, you know what I mean? So different. I can’t see it playing out the same way this time since I feel so much more for him.” Sighing, she flipped onto her back. “And obviously I want to see him more. Of course, he’s part of why I’m moving. I’d love to see him as much as possible. But who knows if he’s even thinking along those lines. . .” her voice drifted off and turned into a long sigh. “Sometimes your mind goes to these places when you’re madly in love with someone and have been for months.” She turned to stare at him. “You know what I’m talking about? Of course you do, you sly fox. I’ve seen the way you look at that calico.”

  He answered her with a deep, rumbling purr. He liked to think he understood humans as perfectly as any feline ever had.

  21

  The clock keeps ticking closer to Mia’s flight back to the West Coast tonight. She won’t return to New York for a month, she said, since she has business to attend to in San Francisco, prepping for her relocation. I won’t be counting the days till she returns.

  The thirty-four days, that is. Fine, the thirty-four days and six hours.

  Max and Henley stayed at a hotel last night, so after I make sure my hungry Mia eats breakfast, she heads upstairs to his apartment to tackle work for the day. I leave for a run and a bike ride, then I upload some of Zeus’s shots from a recent hike to his Instagram account and respond to a ton of replies the popular fur ball received in the last few days.

  Later, Max texts to invite me to an impromptu dinner. Chase and Josie leave for their honeymoon tomorrow, and he’s having them over before they go. Since it’s no longer technically Chase’s day, that makes tonight the night to tell Max.

  I head upstairs with a bottle of wine and join my buddy, his fiancée, the newlyweds, Henley’s best friend, Olivia, and the woman I screwed senseless last night to the tune of four orgasms, with two more this morning.

  Yes, folks, I’m sending her to San Francisco with a half dozen orgasms in less than twenty-four hours to remember me by. I’d say that’s a good showing. I’ll need to pull off a victory in the all-around, too, but I’m awarding myself a gold medal in Making Mia Meow.

  At dinner, Henley serves her now-famous homemade mac and cheese as we recap the best and goofiest moments from the wedding. As Olivia recounts Harper’s cake shout-out, I catch Mia’s eye, and the second I do, she blushes. I can’t help but smile because I love that all it takes to turn her cheeks rosy is one knowing look. I wiggle an eyebrow as I drink the wine. She nibbles on the corner of her lip then casts her eyes down.

  “Just a heads-up. I do plan to scream when it’s cake time at your wedding, too,” Josie says to Max and Henley, prompting Henley to show off her ring.

  “Speaking of our wedding, check out my ring for the thirtieth time.”

  “It’s like looking at the sun,” Olivia declares.

  Henley glances from her ring to Josie’s. “The Summers men do have most excellent taste.”

  Mia clears her throat. “Ahem. Where do you think they learned how to pick out rings?”

  I laugh and raise a glass. “To the happy couple, and the secret weapon of a sister who helped choose the most beautiful diamonds for both her brothers.”

  When dinner is over, Max and Henley clean up, shooing us to the pool table. After a quick round, Chase and Josie take off, and Olivia leaves, too. The hosts join us at the table as Mia peers at the time on the wall. “I better make sure I have everything for my flight.”

  “I’ll help you check,” Henley says, and the women head to the guest room. A few seconds later, they’re listening to the Go-Go’s as Mia packs.

  I take a deep, fueling breath. As Max grabs a stick and Belinda Carlisle gives us some privacy, I say what I’ve wanted to say for months.

  “This seems as good a time as any to let you know something that’s been on my mind.”

  Max stares as he lines up his shot. “You want me to fix your car for free?” He heaves an over-the-top sigh. “Fine, if I must. But I insist on you hooking me up with your dealer for that kick-ass ride of yours. I need one of Carlos’s custom-made bikes.”

  I smile. “Consider it done.” Then I clear my throat. “What I wanted to say, though, is I’m falling in love with your sister.”

  His spine straightens, and he blinks. “Excuse me?”

  “I think you understood me.” I smile.

  “You’re in love with my sister?”

  There’s no question in my mind. That’s where I am on the map with Mia. I’m falling headfirst and fast. “It was pretty instant when I met her here several months ago. We’ve had a connection
from day one.”

  He draws a deep breath. “You two have always gotten along,” Max concedes. “Are you guys together now?”

  “It only started last night for real. I wanted to let you know as soon as I had a chance, and today seemed the best time, now that the wedding is over.”

  He nods slowly. Rubbing a hand across the back of his neck, he says, “I appreciate you telling me.”

  “And listen, you know I’ll be good to her. I’ll treat her so damn well.”

  “I have no doubt.”

  “And since she’s moving to New York, we’re going to make a real go of it.”

  “And she’s down with this?” He sounds skeptical. Way more skeptical than I thought he’d be.

  “Yeah. She is.”

  “Are you sure?”

  I scoff. “I know the score, and I get it.”

  “Okay, then.” He resumes his pace around the table, looking for the right shot. But something about the turn this conversation has taken bugs me.

  “I’m not going to be like that other guy. I’m not going to hurt her, so you don’t have to worry.”

  Max scratches his jaw. “It’s not her I worry about, buddy.” He claps my shoulder and pins me with his dark gaze. “It’s you.”

  Tension bolts through me. “What does that mean?”

  Max tips his forehead to the kitchen. “When Henley and I were cleaning up, she said she thought you had it bad for Mia, and it seems you do. In my humble opinion, when a man feels that way about a woman, he opens himself up for a world of hurt if it goes south.”

  It won’t go south, I want to say. It’s all looking up. I keep my mouth shut, though, as Max continues.

  “I have no doubt you’ll be good to her. Hell, I’m sure you’ll be great to her. But Eric was good to her, too. Trouble was, she wasn’t in love with him, and he didn’t get over her when they broke up. That’s why we’re not friends.”