The Anti-Social Season (First Responders #2)

Chapter Twenty

Twenty

G od, he knew all about the nosy, bossy big sisters. But it wasn’t just about that. “You told me to leave.”

“I didn’t.” Her eyes, impossibly huge, lifted to meet his, suddenly unsure. “Did I?”

He nodded, the stinging, sinking feeling he’d had in that moment echoing through him. “You did.”

“I am so sorry.” She closed her eyes, sighing and scrubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands. “I was just so mad at Gia, and embarrassed, and—”

“Stop,” he said, tugging at her wrists. “Your eyes are already red. You’ll just make it worse.”

She snorted at that. “What an attractive picture.”

His heart gave a savage twist at that. “You are. Attractive. To me. If that matters.” He felt like his entire soul was laid out for her perusal but he didn’t care. Between his sister and his job, he felt like he spent all his time staking out boundaries, policing them, and all too often capitulating to the demands of others that he bend.

He didn’t need to guard his perimeter with Thea. He knew that now. She wasn’t a conquering army. She wasn’t even demanding. The personality traits that had scared him before were shaved into perspective now. She wasn’t brash, she was expansive. She wasn’t scary, she was brave. She hadn’t rejected him, she’d just been embarrassed by her sister.

And she was the person he wanted to explore new things with. To expand his boundaries instead of defending them.

“Do you have anything else you need to do today?” he asked.

“Well, work. I have to edit this video, upload it, plan and schedule some other posts for later in the week...”

“You’re going to go back home to do that?”

“Yeah.”

“Would it be okay if I came back with you?”

“Don’t you have to go back to the library?”

“No. I’m at your disposal for the rest of the day.” He hoped she got the not-so-subliminal message that he was trying to send her way.

“Ah.” Her chin lifted. “Are you suggesting that we play hooky?”

“Certainly not.” He infused his tone with all the shock he could. “I’m thinking you need some assistance with the tasks you’ve got on your plate for the rest of the day, and since I’m still your mentor, I’m going to make sure you complete them to the highest level of quality.”

Her dark eyes sparkled with mischief, and joy surged through his veins. “And then we play hooky?” God, the fact that she wanted to spend time with him soaked in like a healing balm.

Cradling her chin in one hand, he kissed her lips softly, a promise and an admonition. “Yes. If you’re a good girl and do all your chores first, then we play hooky.”

Driving back to her little house, Thea felt like her blood had been carbonated. She knew that her ping-ponging emotions were going to leave her wrung out and exhausted by the end of the day, but at least she was going home on a high, not a low. She kept glancing in her rearview mirror to make sure Simon was behind her, even though he knew the way to her home well enough. When they pulled up in front of her house, Simon got out of his car and looked over Mrs. M’s place. His eyes lit with appreciation of the greenery and the twinkling tree that could be seen from the French doors in the back.

“Very nice,” he murmured.

“Says the connoisseur of holiday preparation,” she teased.

“That’s a beautiful tree,” he said.

“Oh, that’s just the ‘family’ tree. The big one in the formal living room is really grand. It’s entirely covered in handblown glass ornaments.”

He turned wide eyes to her. “Seriously? That must have cost a fortune.”

She snorted. “Is it lost on you that my landlady is a seriously wealthy woman?”

He exhaled, the breath puffing out his cheeks. “No, but she’s so down-to-earth it’s easy to forget.”

“Come on, let’s get our work done. The faster we conquer Mount To-Do List, the faster we get to the playing hooky part of the plan.”

His eyes narrowed with amusement at that, and he followed her into the house. When they were inside, he looked around. “Mrs. M doesn’t decorate your place as well?”

Thea’s eyes roamed her space as if she was seeing it for the first time. “No. Her house is hers and, well, this house is hers too, but it’s my home. I never really saw the point of decorating just for me.”

“You don’t have your family over here during the holiday?” he asked.

She set her bag on the little desk and started to pull equipment out. “Nah. We all go to my parents’ house on Christmas day for a big feast. And presents, of course.”

“Of course.” His lips twitched.

“Are you, the guy who’s literally going all the way across the country to see his family for Christmas, going to judge me for going to my parents’ place one town over for the same holiday?”

“Nope, not even if they don’t know how to give you gifts.” But his eyes still twinkled with mischief.

“Oh, don’t tell me. You have a tree and fake candles in every window of your apartment and I don’t even know what else. I’ll bet your place looks like Santa’s freakin’ workshop.” Thea blew a raspberry at him, feeling suddenly more like herself than she had in a long time. She used to joke with her squad the way she was doing now. Something inside her was unlocked by her time at the firehouse with Larry today. She still missed Sean and Felix and the rest of the guys, but it wasn’t a closed ache anymore. It was an open one, one that held the promise of seeing them again instead of the constant denial she’d somehow decided was necessary.

“You’re partly right. I have a little tabletop tree. And I will cop to devoting my kitchen table—which is also my dining table—to create a gift-wrapping station. I eat at my coffee table for the entire run-up to Christmas.”

Thea’s heart felt like it flipped a full one hundred and eighty degrees at that. She hadn’t even seen his apartment yet, but she could imagine how he’d made it cozy with his own brand of holiday preparation. It was so special, so Simon , she almost couldn’t take it.

After eating a quick take-out meal, Simon set up his laptop at her dining table while Thea sat at her desk. They worked quietly in tandem for a couple of hours until Thea finally stretched, yawned and shut her computer with a gentle click.

“And that, she said, is all she wrote. And posted. And scheduled. Are you done?” she asked.

“Just one finishing touch on this program notification,” he said. Graphics weren’t his strong suit, but he worked hard to make them clear and readable and, hopefully, attractive. Uploading it with the text and alt text for the image, he checked it carefully, then set it to post and repeat several times a day until the event itself. He still felt weird about repeating posts, but he also knew that was the key to actually getting the information in front of their patrons. Attendance at most library events was good, and had apparently been on the uptick since he’d taken over social media duties. He knew that part of that was due to this kind of diligence. “Okay.” Closing his laptop, he swiveled on his chair and beckoned Thea over. When she got closer, he scanned her face, looking for traces of the emotional storm she’d endured earlier. She looked a little peaked, but far from upset. He cupped her face in his hand and ran a thumb over her rounded cheekbone. “How are you doing?”

She leaned a little into his touch, smiling wanly. “Good. A little tired, maybe, but good.”

“Excellent.” Heart thumping, he leaned in. When she smiled a little, he closed the distance between their mouths and kissed her gently. She hummed softly and his heart beat harder, the kiss heating up as their heads angled and tongues twined.

She tugged him off the stool and pulled him toward the bedroom. “Are you sure?” he asked. She nodded, tugging harder at his hands. “Wait,” he said, halting their progress. When she turned toward him, eyes wide and questioning, he smoothed his hands over her cheeks. “What is it you’re looking for from me?”

“What do you mean?” Her brows drew together.

He took a deep breath. “I know we have great sexual chemistry. But I want to make sure we’re on the same page.”

“Do you think you’ll hurt me?” she asked, her voice tiny.

“I hope I won’t. But I also hope you won’t hurt me. I was very casual about sex when I was younger. I’m not anymore. And it seemed like we were well on our way to being something more to each other before...”

“Before Gia came along and blew everything up?”

“Well, yeah. But also before we didn’t really communicate as well as I think we should. So talk to me, Thea. What is it that you want from me? Is it just sex?” He searched her face before he admitted, “Because I’m not sure I can do that with you.”

She stepped closer to him, and this time her hand came up to cup his cheek, her gesture an echo of his own only minutes before. “I want you, Simon. Your body, your generous spirit, your weird prickliness, your adorable way with little kids, all of you.”

His heart felt like it was swelling hard enough to crack his sternum. “Seriously?”

She nodded and went up on her toes to kiss him again. “So if you want to make love or cuddle or just watch a movie, I’m up for it. Because I just want to be with you.”

Thea watched his eyes closely, trying to see if her message was sinking in. “I don’t feel casual about you at all,” she continued. “But I’d like to spend as much time with you as I can before you have to go home. And after you get back.”

“I don’t have to go into work until ten tomorrow...” he said, one corner of his mouth quirking up.

“Would you like to spend the night? With no expectations?” If he felt the need to pump the brakes on their physicality, she was just going to have to be okay with that.

“Okay.” His voice was so quiet it was almost a whisper. “No expectations.” He kissed her neck sweetly, making her eyes roll back. Unf . Why did that always undo her? Continuing up, he pressed his lips to the shell of her ear, his breath tickling until she shivered.

“You’re potentially throwing around some mixed messages here if you don’t want me to hump your leg again,” she grumped.

He pulled back. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to send mixed messages. I wanted to make sure that expectations weren’t in the stratosphere.”

“Well, you’re just going to have to be a lot worse at sex if you want to keep my expectations low.” She poked him in the sternum and enjoyed the flush on the crests of his cheeks. It was so easy to make this redhead blush. She loved it.

“I just like pleasuring you,” he admitted. “But maybe we should take a nap or something. You did say you were tired.”

“Hmm,” she said as his lips softly skimmed one of her cheekbones. She loved that he alternated sweetness with a more direct physicality that drove her wild. It reflected both sides of his personality—the thoughtful care, like his gift of the signed graphic novel, that contrasted so deliciously and surprisingly with his confident carnality. “How are you even real?”

He pulled back, his pupil-blown eyes scanning her face. “What do you mean?”

She blinked, trying to assemble her thoughts into something that was even slightly coherent. “How are you a sweet, kind of grumpy guy who actually fucks ?”

Okay, that wasn’t the coherent statement she was looking for. But Simon’s eyes slid closed as his lips curved up, and his head bent until his forehead rested against her as he laughed softly. “Thea,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “How are you so perfect?”

Bafflement and a warmth she couldn’t name blended in her middle. “Perfect? You’re confusing me with some other girl.”

His hand skimmed up her side to cup her jaw, angling her mouth up to meet his in a deep, bone-melting kiss. “I’m not confusing anything,” he murmured against her mouth. “How are you a confident, almost reckless woman who is so tender?”

“I guess we both contain multitudes,” she murmured before lightly biting his earlobe.

“That’s it,” he said, getting up from the stool and walking her backward into her bedroom until her legs hit the mattress.

Simon watched Thea’s eyes closely, ready for a no or a not now , but her face was shining with laughter and her arms were wound around his neck, pulling his mouth to hers for another long, lush kiss.

He loved sex with this woman, but even just kissing her could possibly end him. There was something decadent about kissing Thea’s lush mouth, the way she was a willing coconspirator in their passion.

And he was sure now that they were on the same page and that was everything. They set a slow pace this time, kissing softly and taking their time getting out of their clothes, hands mapping each new uncovered inch of skin. The gradual buildup left them both shaking by the time he slid into her, simultaneously feeling like the world was going to end in the next minute and like he could do this, be this person connected to her forever. They rocked together, her legs wound around his and holding him tight to her, until her eyes slammed shut and her inner muscles contracted around him and he knew she was close.

“What do you need?” he gasped, feeling her grip him again.

“This. Just this. A little more...” She heaved a huge breath, and he pressed tighter to her, never breaking contact, giving her the friction that was making her eyes squeeze shut and her breath come in tiny, frantic pants. She was squeezing him so hard now he had to control his own breathing to keep him from losing control.

Then, without warning, she shuddered and bucked, giving him permission to lose himself in her as her legs loosened their grip. He stroked once, twice, then felt his own release flood through him.

He pressed his lips to her temple. “Thank you, sweetheart,” he murmured as she tightened her arms and legs around him one last time in a full-body embrace, his heart so full it felt like it might burst into a confetti of spangles and light.

When he came back to the bedroom after dealing with the condom and slid into bed beside her, she was already asleep.