Sweet Affection (Truth Book 3) (4 page)

“Hey babe.”

“Hi, I’ve just got home, but I’ve lost my key. I don’t suppose you’re in, are you?” I hold my breath, because it would be just my luck for him to be out when I feel like shit and just want to curl up on the sofa.

“Uh, yeah, I’m here.” His tone sounds strange. And there’s muffled sounds in the background. “You wanna come over?” He asks uneasily after a long pause.

“Yes please. Can I come now? I’ll be about ten minutes?” Now I want to go to find out what’s up with him. It gets all sorts running through my mind.

“Uh, yeah okay, that’s fine. See you soon then.” He hangs up and I stare at my phone for a few seconds, shaking my head. There was no “Love you” or easy chatter like there usually is. He was fine this morning when he text me to say hi, but now I’ve got an anxious feeling inside.

I get in the car quickly, needing to drive straight over there and see what’s happening. That may be jumping to conclusions but he was definitely hiding something. My heart’s beating quicker with each minute that passes. I replay the conversation over in my head, looking for different explanations and struggle to come up with one that means everything is okay. Shit, what if he wants to break up with me? Oh God, I’m going to cry. My heart couldn’t handle it.

I pull in the driveway and James’ car isn’t here.

Maybe it’s in the garage.

I walk up to the front door, slowly, to steady myself, and knock.

Nothing.

I ring the bell.

Nothing.

I knock again.

Nothing.

I walk across the front garden and look through the bay-front window. It’s darkening outside and there are blinds across the window, but I can still make out the flicker of candles. There’s lots of them, scattered everywhere. Why would he have candles burning if he’s not there? I don’t even know what to think now. I walk back to the door and get my phone out to ring him again.

“Hey, where are you?” I try to make my voice sound normal even though there’s a slight shake to it.

“Oh, are you here…there already? I’m out, I’ll be back soon though.” Here? He said
here
. As in, he’s here too. What the hell?

“You’re out? So, where are you?” I can tell there’s a bite to my voice now. I’m getting really frustrated and the second-guessing is tiring me out. He starts speaking and a muffled, crackling sound comes straight through the speaker. If I wasn’t so upset, I’d probably laugh at how unrealistic it sounds. But the truth is, I can feel the sting in my eyes.

“Babe...I can’t...You’re breaking…soon.” Then the phone cuts out.

I have to take a few deep breaths in to try and calm myself then I bite the inside of my cheek hard to try and stop the tears. I can feel my bottom lip quivering. As soon as I slump back against the door, a text comes through.

It’s from James.

Part of me doesn’t even want to read it.

Let yourself in. Love you xx

What? I try pushing on his front door. Really? And how am I supposed to do that?
Idiot.

I type a quick reply telling him it’s locked. My phone beeps almost immediately.

That’s the funny thing about locked doors, keys usually work.

I don’t have a fucking key. I scream out in frustration and contemplate chucking my phone at the wall. How can I open the door without a key? It’s his house, I don’t have a key. As though he’s right in front of me and I have something to prove to him, I get out my keys and look.
I don’t have a key.
One by one I pick them out muttering under my breath like a madwoman. Then I get to a large silver key that looks like the one I use for the store.

But I’ve already passed that one.

Fucking hell, I have a key.

I breathe rapidly and turn to open the door, stopping short in the doorway when I see him standing there, leaning against the wall, wearing his signature smirk.

“Took you long enough.”

I once compared being with James Dawson to being on a see-saw.

I was so wrong.

It’s like being on the fastest, tallest rollercoaster you could ever imagine. One of those rides that leaves you right at the very top, just slightly hanging over the edge in anticipation of the huge dip that you’re about to be catapulted down, and the funniest thing is, I want the heart stopping, stomach clenching, scary-ass dip and then that climb to the top where you’re thinking, ‘How steep is the next drop going to be?’ but you still look forward to it anyway because it thrills you, makes you feel alive. I don’t want to coast leisurely round on the Teacups. I don’t want boring or predictable. I want the wind in my hair as I go a hundred miles an hour.

I look straight in the eyes of the man in front of me.

I don’t want to get off this ride. Ever.

But all of that won’t stop me from giving him shit. It’s a girlfriend’s job, after all.

“Jackass,” I fling at him as I back out the door, and before I turn completely I see the falter in his smile and the widening of his eyes that tells me I’ve shocked him. The wise-guy obviously thought I’d be so happy to see him I’d throw myself into his arms.

Well, I do want that.

But it’s not happening straight after that little stunt.

I walk down slowly, knowing I need to give him time to catch up.

“Babe, where are you going?”

I ignore him.

“Babe, stop. What’s wrong?”

He grabs my arm and pulls me round in front of him.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just wanted to have some fun.”

“At my expense.” I grind out. I’m putting on a pretty good show. I’ve even got the watery eyes. I’m not sad or angry. Just tired.

He looks at me apologetically, realising he may have taken it too far and swallows hard, “I’m sorry.”

I move to pull my hand away from his but he grips it tighter.

“I just wanted to be a little creative. Do something different. I didn’t want to just
ask
you again. Where’s the fun in that? I had the best intentions and I’m so sorry if I upset you-”

He carries on rambling but I’m stuck on the ‘ask you’ part. What’s he asking me?

“Ask me what?” I eventually voice out loud.

He stops abruptly and frowns, running his hand through his hair. “To move in with me. I took the key to your house and replaced it with mine. I want you here all the time.”

My heart stops. Oh. My. God.

I guess I’m slow on the uptake.

I thought he was just having fun, messing around. I didn’t realise he meant for me to actually move in. Permanently. My heart starts fluttering erratically and I could kiss him I’m so happy. I can feel tears again, and the smile pushing at my cheeks, so this time I take my hand away with more force. I need to pull myself together. My mum got another all-clear from her appointment the other day. So now, she’s officially in remission and won’t have to have another appointment for six months. They’ll keep doing yearly mammograms to make sure nothing comes back. So maybe, I could move out.

Could I?

Yeah, I’m going to move out.

“Wait, what are you doing?” He asks again, this time with much more desperation.

I flip open the boot and reach inside, dragging out the silence. When I look back I smile and shrug a shoulder.

“I’m getting my bag. I can’t move in here without any stuff, can I?”

I walk back over reaching up to kiss his cheek and grab his hand in mine, feeling him relax as he blows out a long forceful puff of air. I bite my lip thinking about the evening I’m now playing out in my head.

“Come on, I want us to christen my new home.”

Chapter Three

James

Now that’s how I pictured this evening going. Minus the part earlier where Laurel was pissed, and nearly left. But it’s all good now.

“That was amazing,” she pants in my ear as she curls her naked body into my side and runs her fingers gently over my chest. We’re lying on the floor in my living room surrounded by the glow of candles. Moving-in sex is definitely the best sex I’ve ever had. I just hope living together sex is even better. It’s a strange feeling knowing she’ll be here with me. It feels…peaceful.

“It certainly was, roomie.”

“Are you sure you know what you’re letting yourself in for?” She asks me, raising her eyebrow but smiling like she knows a secret that I don’t.

“I thought I did, but now you’ve got me wondering.”

“It’s not gonna be easy. I’m just warning you.”

Now, I’m a little bit worried.

“What’s gonna be hard? I’ll wake up to your pretty face every morning. I get to hear you laugh and kiss these lips whenever I feel like it, and I get to have this gorgeous body wrapped round me all night. The way I see it, I’m gettin’ a sweet deal.”

She smiles as I kiss her once then sits up, pulling the blanket up her body to cover herself, and crosses her legs, Buddha style.

“Right, I’m gonna tell it to you straight, and when I’m done you can decide if you still want to live with me. Okay?”

I watch her silently. She’s still smiling but it doesn’t reach her big beautiful eyes that are darting over my face, shadowed with unease.

“Okay.” I nod, gesturing for her to continue, and let me in on these big secrets she obviously wants to get off her chest.

She takes a breath in, preparing herself and then straightens, pulling her shoulders back and looking directly at me.

“I’m messy.”

I wait for her to laugh and when she doesn’t, I try my best to bit back my own.

“I’m shamefully and disgustingly ‘really can’t be bothered to clean up after myself’ messy. I leave my shit everywhere. I have so many clothes, sometimes after pulling them all out to try and find something to wear, I just leave them because it’s so much effort to put them back. For days on end they’re on the chair, on the floor, on the bed. I hate cooking. I don’t like cleaning. I clean my store from back to front, never have a spec of dirt in any corner, but when it gets to being at home, I hate it. I leave the cap off the toothpaste-”

“And when you open a bottle of beer for me you leave the bottle cap on the side instead of putting it in the bin.” Her eyes widen as I take over saying the things she was going to admit to me.

“When you make a cup of tea, sometimes you leave the dirty teaspoon on the counter and the teabag in the sink. You don’t make the bed, and you leave the curtains closed all day. Your hair clogs up the drain in the shower which you never clear out. You also never lock the front door, even when you’re home
alone
. That one really gets me.”

She swallows hard, and fiddles with the edges of the blanket in her hand without taking her eyes away from me. I’ve stunned her speechless. I love doing that. I can’t hold back the laugh that falls out my mouth but she narrows her eyes and lets out a little huff.

“Babe, don’t look at me like that. Just ‘cause I’m a man, doesn’t make me completely oblivious. Everything you said, I already know. And none of it matters. I don’t give a shit. I just want you here.”

She shakes her head in disbelief. Did she really think that I was going to say I didn’t want to live with her after that?

“I promise I’ll try harder. But how can you be okay with all that?”

“Because I love you.” I take her hand and pull her closer so she’s lying draped on top of me. “If I wanted a cook, or cleaner, or maid, I’d go hire one. I want a girlfriend. And someday a wife.” I feel her relax, and she smiles into the palm that’s cupping her cheek and kisses me gently.

She pulls back biting her damn lip again, with that naughty glimmer in her eye that gets my dick hard.

“So this girlfriend and someday wife, what would she need to do to be a good roommate?”

Oh, shit.

She strips the blanket away and I can’t think straight. I just see bare, tanned naked flesh I’m dying to sink my teeth into, and every coherent thought just flies right out my head.

“Uh...” She lowers her lips to my neck and words get stuck in my throat. She sucks on my skin, moving gently to the spot behind my ear.

“I think she should always walk around her new home in just her underwear. What do you think?” She whispers, turning up the seduction a few thousand notches.

I gulp in some air as she continues to kiss along my collarbone and her tongue drags a wet path to my shoulders and back again. She pulls away to look at me and I shake my head.

“No?” She clarifies, and her mouth goes back to my skin. She places open mouthed kisses down my chest.

“No.” I croak out, straining my voice so it’s still audible. “No underwear.”

She smiles against my stomach. 

“No underwear. Got it. What else?”

Fuck, how am I supposed to hold a conversation when she’s tracing my abs with her hot tongue?

“What if she wants to touch herself?” She murmurs against me, as her body moves into a better position between my thighs.

Oh, God.

I groan.

Loudly.

“I have to be there.”

“Agreed. Showering, alone or together?”

“Together. Non-negotiable.”

She takes my cock in her hand and I shudder as she ducks her head and runs her tongue all the way from the base to the tip. Her big blue eyes look up at me whilst her tongue caresses the head, “What if she comes home and decides she wants to drop to her knees and do this? Would this make her a good roommate?”

She slowly takes me all the way to the back of her throat and I fist my hands in the blanket to stop myself from rolling her over and shoving my cock inside her.

“The fucking best.” I pant out as she sucks gently, and my hands tangle in her hair when she dives her mouth over it, fucking it with urgency and using her hand to stroke it too. She doesn’t slow down, but I don’t want her to. I watch her with her eyes closed and soft moans coming from her throat and my hands tighten in her hair.

“Your mouth looks so good filled with my cock.” I can feel her tongue making its way up and down and my head falls back against the floor. My eyes close, the heat building upside me nearly to boiling point until her mouth leaves me. But before I have the chance to express my disappointment it’s somewhere just as warm and inviting, but tighter. I open my eyes and see her tits bouncing in my face and she’s riding me faster than her mouth was moving.