The Anti-Social Season (First Responders #2)

Chapter Twelve

Twelve

I t was fully dark and the restaurant had become packed and noisy as they ate. They shared samples of their entrées, and Simon expressed joking gratitude that his ravioli met with Thea’s approval.

To her relief, dinner passed without any more big emotions. As they were eating their last few bites, Simon told her his nephew had reached the “why” stage. “You pegged the conversation precisely,” he said, shaking his head. “It was like the seagulls in Finding Nemo , but instead of ‘mine,’ it was ‘why?’”

“Oh man, yeah. And you only have the one nibling so far, right?” she asked. He nodded. “Matt and Nic are just eighteen months apart, so it felt like just when Matt had finished with it, Nico started.”

His eyes bugged out a bit at that. “Wow. Not sure I could handle that much why in my life.”

She shrugged. “Toddlers. The original existentialist monsters.”

He’d been taking a sip of his drink when she said that, and his shoulders convulsed as he barely succeeded in swallowing, his eyes blinking and watering. “Jesus. Warn me when you’re going to be funny next time.”

“I thought you said it was hard to make you laugh,” she teased.

He took a deep breath and let it out in a whoosh. “Normally, yes. But that struck me just right. And true. And funny.”

“Comedy frequently comes from truth,” she noted as she set her silverware down on her plate.

“How were your crab cakes?” he asked, his hazel eyes warm with laughter.

“Delicious. I’m stuffed.”

“No dessert, then?”

“Well. Not of the food variety,” she blurted. He froze, and she wondered if she’d gone too far. Damn her lack of filter. Then his lips twitched, a tiny movement that she would have missed if she wasn’t watching him so closely. He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and he picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth with care.

Clearing his throat, he said, “I want to be very clear. Are you expressing...interest? In me? Physically?”

There was something about his serious demeanor, his careful question, that made her giddy. How was it that precision could be so hot ? “Yes. Is that a problem?”

“Not at all.” Their waitress approached the table, and he politely declined dessert for both of them. “Just the check, please.”

The trip back to Thea’s house was interminable. Simon had to suppress his desire to fidget on the subway, to zoom down the nighttime roads in the car. He’d intended a low-key date where they could discuss books over dinner and maybe browse the bookshop afterward as a no-pressure end to the evening.

Well, that had gone completely out the window.

Thea seemed to sense his agitation, humming quietly along to the song playing in the car, a secretive little smile curving her generous lips. Finally, he pulled up in front of her house, his headlights illuminating her front door and the wintery window boxes to either side.

“You wanna come in?” Her tone was teasing, but when he turned to look at her, her eyes seemed a little anxious.

He gusted out a sigh and turned the car off. “Yes. Very much so.”

“Good.” There was mischief in that single syllable, and god, the crush he had on her back when they were teens was absolutely nothing to the rush of desire that flooded through him now. They got out of the car, and Thea fumbled with her keys at the door. Her hands were shaking. For him. His knees felt weak. Finally, she had the door open and he followed her inside as she flicked on a light and turned to face him. He just stared at her for a long moment, his hungry gaze taking in her huge eyes, the way she bit a corner of her bottom lip, her rapid breathing. Then he stepped forward, cupped her jaw in both hands and bent to kiss her.

Her lips were so unbelievably pliant and responsive. She stepped forward and his hands slid around to the back of her head, spearing into the soft hair there as she wrapped her arms around him, aligning their bodies. He moaned into her mouth at the feel of her pressed against him, strong and warm and Thea .

“Tell me what you want,” he murmured against her mouth. “I don’t want to get this wrong.”

“More kissing, for now,” she said, her voice throaty. They stumbled toward the big blue sofa and Thea collapsed onto it, pulling him down with her. His skin felt tight and hot as they kissed again. This time, her fingers were wound in his hair and the little tugs she gave him made electric shocks shiver down his spine. Their tongues tangled as Simon pushed one thigh between her legs, an echo of their last kiss. She groaned and rocked her hips against it as he flicked open the top button of her blouse. A memory made him stop and glance at the front door.

“Your landlady isn’t going to burst in again, is she?”

Thea shook her head, laughing. “She won’t do that again. She knows your car now, anyway.”

He laughed, then grunted as her hips ground against his leg again. “Man, this feels a little too much like high school.” He kissed the skin exposed by the open button, then curled his tongue into the hollow of her throat, gratified by the noise she made. “Making out on the couch, worried if someone’s going to burst in on us...”

He lifted his head and saw humor glinting in her eyes. “It’s kinda hot,” she said. “Were you this hot in high school?”

A surprised laugh barked out of him. “Whatever I am now is, well, not what I was when I was eighteen.”

“Well, I like now-Simon. Kiss me again.”

“So bossy,” he said, but his tone was approving. The warm haven of her mouth, the friction of her body, the slightly illicit feeling—all of it was conspiring to make him come in his pants if he wasn’t careful. He opened another button, his eyes checking her expression, gratified when she smiled and pulled him down for another kiss, encouraging him.

Thea was going to explode . Simon’s thigh was clamped so hard between her legs, she felt like he must be losing blood flow. But he felt so good, so right, so wonderfully there on top of her. And yeah, it did kind of feel like an echo of teenage make-out sessions, but the sweetness of it combined with that illicit thrill—well, it really did it for her.

He tugged another button open and now the lacy edges of her bra were visible. She’d picked a nice, matching set in a deep navy blue in the hopes that something like this might happen. He sucked in a breath, his eyes flicking up to meet hers. “Very pretty,” he said, tracing a fingertip over the scalloped cup.

“Glad you like it.” Glad you’re seeing it , she thought. His light touch was giving her goose bumps, shivers racing down her spine. She squirmed, her clit throbbing where it was pressed against his leg. “Stop teasing me.”

“Is it teasing or is it foreplay?” he asked, making another light pass over her pebbled skin.

Her only reply was a frustrated groan and another grind of her hips.

“Shh.” He opened the rest of her buttons and kissed her neck then, and oh man , but it lit her up. His hand spread across her belly as if he needed to hold her down, to keep her from floating right up to the ceiling like an enthusiastic helium balloon.

“Should we move this to the bedroom?” she asked, needing more room, more Simon, just more .

His serious gaze roamed her face. “You sure?”

“Very sure.” She was nearly panting in her eagerness. Surely he could see that? Was he fucking with her when he could be fucking her?

“Okay, then.” He levered himself up, then held out a hand to pull her to her feet. Her knees wobbled for the first few steps toward her bed and she almost felt lightheaded. But Simon continued to hold her hand, leading her steadily toward that lovely expanse of mattress. When they got there, she let her shirt slide to the floor, his gaze wandering over the bare skin of her torso and arms. That erection that she’d felt before pushed ambitiously against the fly of his pants, and she reached with eager fingers for his belt. He didn’t stop her or try to slow her in any overt way, but when he reached forward and cupped her head again for another kiss, the languid, drugging slide of his tongue made her fingers stall and still on the buckle.

“You’re way too good at that,” she said, her voice hoarse and her fingers tugging at the leather again.

“What?” His gaze scanned her eyes as his thumbs stroked her cheeks.

“Kissing. Getting me wound up.”

“Good,” he said, then groaned as she got his fly open and pulled out his cock, solid and hot and just right in her hand. She squeezed gently, then stroked, watching his face to see what he liked. His eyes closed and he let out a tiny sigh. But when she sank to her knees, he stiffened. “Thea...”

She nuzzled her cheek along his length, inhaling the scent of clean man and desire. “Do you not like oral?”

A fractured chuckle fell from his lips. “Oh, it’s not that I don’t like it. It’s just that I’m so keyed up I’d last about twenty seconds. And I don’t want that to be our first time.”

“Okay.” She licked him then from root to tip, enjoying the quiver that went through him. “But you’ve teased me already. Only seems fair I get to return the favor.” Then she circled his crown with her tongue, cradling his balls and grinning up at him when he groaned again.

He tugged her to her feet, shuddering as the moisture from her mouth cooled his cock. Well, that was one way to slow his raging libido. Threading his fingers with hers, he pulled her close and kissed her, tasting himself on her lips, then resting his forehead against hers. “We haven’t even had the ‘are we safe here?’ conversation.”

“You mean testing? It’s been ages since I was with anyone, but I’ve been tested since.”

“Good. Same.”

She looked at him speculatively, tracing her lower lip with the tip of her tongue. “So, what are you up for, if not a blow job?”

Her blunt question made a surprised laugh gust out of him. “Oh, I’d be up for that, it’s just I feel like I want more...parity for our first time.”

“Hmm. Okay. I like that you’re already considering a second time.”

He blinked. It was true. But where had this confidence come from? He hadn’t felt like this since he’d been in his master’s program. Maybe it was just that she was clearly very into, well, everything. Him. Their make-out session on the sofa. Her own partial nudity and his. Everything.

“I think I want to learn what gets you off. And have you learn the same about me.”

She gave him a quizzical look. “I’m a pretty simple gal.”

“Hmm. Let’s see.” Disentangling their fingers, he ran his hands up her back until he got to the clasp of her bra. Unhooking it, he threaded the straps off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor. He cupped her breasts, two overflowing handfuls of smooth skin tipped with brownish-pink nipples. “Are your breasts sensitive?”

She tilted her head, looking at him. “Not particularly.”

“Okay, so this doesn’t really do it for you.” He pinched her nipples lightly. She shook her head. “Okay, how about this?” He tried it again, but harder this time, tugging a little. Her eyes widened. “A simple gal, huh?” Dipping his head, he brought his mouth to her, using suction to get the same tug he’d given her before.

“Oh!”

He chuckled and bit her hardened nipple lightly, giving the other one another teasing tug with his fingers. This time, the noise she made was a kind of gulping “Unf.”

“Let’s see if we can figure out some more things about each other,” he mumbled against her skin.