Anyone but Alex (The English Brothers Book 3) (20 page)

Her arms were still loosely draped around his neck
, and her fingers moved lazily through the soft tendrils of his hair. He reached down and pulled off the condom, leaning over her to throw it away. His arm remained heavy across her chest as he resettled himself beside her, his ear resting over her heart as she resumed running her fingers through his golden hair.

“That was… epic,”
he finally murmured, his lips moving softly over the skin of her chest, his arm still holding her tight. “The best. Ever.”

She grinned, taking a deep breath and sighing. “Mm-hm.”

And yes, coming from Alex English, she couldn’t help but feel a little chuffed. Her worries from before—about competing with the other women who had shared his bed—were silenced now. Whoever they had been to him, she was here now, and he couldn’t have faked the sort of pleasure she’d just given him.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” she said.

“
Are you okay with everything that just happened between us?”

“
Mm-hm. You surprised me,” she whispered. “A lot. You were so loving, Alex. So careful with me. You made me feel… cherished.”

“Then w
hy were you so sad?”

She didn’t want to come off as some clingy, desperate girl, but lying naked in his arms, she couldn’t bear to lie to him either.
“Because being with you feels so good, so right, it’s going to hurt to say goodbye. I know we said Christmas, but…”

He leaned on his elbow to look at her, his hand trailing to her heart, where it rested, firm and soothing. “Me too.”

“You too?” she asked, uncertain of his meaning.

“I can’t
imagine saying goodbye to you,” he whispered, tightening his arm around her.

She took a deep breath, nodding with relief,
and threw her arm over her eyes to hide her tears. What was the matter with her? She was generally a level-headed, even-keel person, but her emotions were all over the place with Alex. Euphoric, loving, devastated, yearning, unable to be satisfied, even though she knew he was making exceptions for her that he never made for anyone else. What they had shared should be enough for her, and yet she wanted more
from
him, more
of
him, more time, more—

“Hey, Jess,
” he said, interrupting her thoughts.

“What?”

“We don’t have to do anything we don’t want to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… We’re adults. We have resources. We don’t have to say goodbye if we don’t want to. We’ll figure it out.”

She lowered her arm, swiping it over her eyes to catch her tears before looking at him hovering over her
. His hair was damp against his forehead, and his eyes—full of love for her—were so achingly beautiful. She longed to believe him.

“We will?”

“Yeah. Christmas is just a day. What I feel for you isn’t going to shut off like a faucet on December twenty-sixth.”

Her eyes swam. “What you feel for me?”

“I’m crazy about you, Jess.”

“You are?”
Her grin started small, but she couldn’t help the way it took over her face.

“
I am,” he replied softly, sliding his hand to her breast, cupping it, letting his thumb brush over her nipple which puckered for him instantly. He chuckled softly, smiling first at it, then at her.

She gave him a saucy smile.
“You know, Alex English, you promised to make me come half a dozen times tonight.”

“Did I say that?” he asked, rolling the erect flesh between his fingers.

Her heart quickened and her muscles flexed in anticipation. “Mm-hm. And by my count, two down means—”

“F
our to go,” he murmured, rolling back on top of her and claiming her lips with his.

Alex made good on his promise, and they fell—exhausted and happy—into a deep sleep before waking up to reach for each other on Sunday morning too. After a quiet brunch of omelets at his apartment, they visited the ICA, where they walked around hand-in-hand for hours. Jessie tried to teach Alex something about modern art despite the way he kissed her and touched her and whispered salacious things into her ear that made her flush with pleasure and lose her train of thought.

With Jessie’s fears about the other women assuaged and her sadness about leaving him soothed by his promise that they would
figure it out, she was finally able to relax again. And what he did to her body—
ohmygod, ohmygod
—she was barely able to think about it without blushing. After four more times on Saturday night and three more on Sunday, she was surprised she could walk by the time she arrived home to Westerly on Monday morning.

She wasn’t there to stay, though—she
was only there to pack a little bag and return to the city. Alex had asked if she would stay over a few more nights. Without giving it a second thought, Jessie had agreed, desperate not to lose a moment with him, already jealous of the hours he spent at the office without her.

They found their own routine as the days moved forward. Jessie spent the days decorating
their Christmas tree, meeting old friends for lunch, and visiting her mother at Westerly when her brothers were at work. And when Alex came home at night, he’d swoop her into his arms and drag her to his bed, stripping out of his clothes and pulling off hers on the way. And though they didn’t say “I love you” to each other, every touch, every word, every kiss and sigh and breath shared what they already knew: every day they fell more deeply.

On Thursday morning, Alex woke Jessie by kissing the bridge of her nose
, followed by the corners of her eyes, the patch of skin under her ear, and then the flume over her lips. Every morning since Sunday he had woken her up by kissing obscure places on her body—the tip of her elbow, the soft skin of her forearm, the web between her thumb and forefinger, the mole on the back of her neck, the birthmark on her hip, her bellybutton, the tip of her pinkie—areas he said that only a fool would ignore, because every part of her was perfect. Obscure kisses had quickly become her favorite part of waking up in Alex’s bed every morning. She never knew what part of her body would be honored that day, but it meant every day started with a reminder that he treasured her.

“Good morning, girlfriend,” he said, grinning when she opened her eyes.

“More,” she murmured.

“You already got your four,” he said, laughing softly at her
greediness.

She blinked at the alarm clock on the bedside table.

“It’s only six-thirty. You’re already dressed.” She pouted.

“I have
to prepare for an early morning meeting, but I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye.”

She took a deep breath and sat up, accepting the cup of coffee he
offered, prepared just as she liked it with a little milk and a smidge of sugar.

“I won’t be here when you get home.”

His whole face changed from light-hearted to concerned. “Are you going home?”

“It’s Girl’s Night,” she said
, then bit her lip. “But, wait, do you—do you want me to go home?”

“No,” he answered simply.

She relaxed, taking another sip of coffee.

“
So, Girl’s Night, huh? Is that basically just an excuse for you and Emily and Daisy to drink beer and talk about me and my brothers?”

“Pretty much,” she answered, winking at him. “Emily’s roommate is coming to
o. Umm, Veronica?”

“No. Valeria.”

Suddenly Jessie’s heart started pounding and she felt her smile fall. “You know her?”

“Sure, she’s Emily’s roommate.”

“Alex,” she repeated, trying to ignore the rolling of her stomach. “Do you
know
her?”

He stared at her for a long moment, before his eyes widened
in understanding, and he shook his head. “No. Not like that.”

“Phew,” said Jessie, her shoulders relaxing as took another sip of coffee. When she looked at him,
his lips were a thin line and his brows were furrowed.

“
Are you still worried? About the women I knew before you?”

She shook her head,
hating the hurt on his face, determined not to make a big deal about something like this again. It did still bother her when she thought of Alex with someone else. But, he couldn’t change his past and she couldn’t get paranoid every time they went out. Part of her just wished that they never had to leave the safe, loving haven of his apartment.

“No. I promise I’m not
. When you corrected me… about her name, I just—I just thought that maybe…”

He gave her a tight smile. “I understand.”

“And you’re playing squash today,” she said a little too brightly, hoping to change the subject for the better and failing wildly.

“
Aw!” he exclaimed. “I forgot all about that.”

Jessie cringed. Just five minutes ago he’d woken her up looking flirty and happy and now he was like a thundercloud.
Way to go, crappy girlfriend.

“It won’t be that bad.”

“No? Because last I checked you’re practically living here, and they’re not real happy about it. Have they stopped calling?”

T
hey hadn’t. Her brothers texted and called several times a day to share their disappointment and disapproval with her for “shacking up” with Alex English. She was doing a good job ignoring them on the surface, but it bothered—and hurt—her that they couldn’t respect her choices as an adult woman.

She shook her head.

Alex crossed his room, rummaging through the top drawer of his bureau.

“What are you doing?”

“Looking for my jock strap, Jess. My parts are extra valuable to me lately.”

“Me too
. They’re my
favorite
parts. Ever.”

He turned around and faced her with his hands on his hips, so handsome in a navy suit and crisp white shirt, her heart skipped a beat. His tongue darted out to wet his lips as a smile spread across his face.

Just watching him, Jessie’s heart took flight, and her own smile answered his.

“Do all couples have these sort of problems out of the gate?” he asked tenderly, holding her eyes as he walked back to the bed and sat down beside her.

She placed her coffee on the nightstand and scooted next to him, curling up against his chest. The sheet slipped away to bare her breasts, and she looked down at where her nipples grazed the front of his shirt every time she took a breath. When she looked back up at Alex, his eyes were dark and hungry.

“Fast,”
gasped Jessie, whipping the rest of the sheet away.

Alex’s hand
flew to the front of his dress pants, which he unzipped, pulling out his hard, huge erection. Grabbing a condom from the pile beside her coffee, he rolled one on quickly, then reached for Jessie, pulling her to the very edge of the bed and drawing her legs straight up against his crisp, white dress shirt until her ass felt the fabric of his pants against her skin.

“You want?” he panted
, reaching down to line up his sex with hers.

“I
need
.”

Without waiting another moment, he grasped her thighs and
thrust into her.

“Alex!” she cried,
as the tip of his sex touched her womb.

“
Jesus, Jess, you’re always so wet for me.” He sighed, drawing back before plunging into her again.

“That’s because I always… want you
. I’d live with you… inside me, if I could,” she managed between pants.

“Fuck, Jess, you’re going to make me come.”

“That’s the point,” she gasped, gripping the edge of the mattress with her fingers. “But not yet.”

“So hot,” he groaned.

“So good,” she answered.

An instinctual rhythm took over as Jessie closed her eyes, concentrating on the feeling of him sinking in, then pulling back, then sinking into her again. She tightened her internal muscles around him and felt him gasp aloud, swelling
even bigger within her. Every time he thrust, her ass rubbed up against the dress material of his suit pants again and she thought she might lose her mind—it was so sexy knowing that he’d wear those pants all day after her ass had been slamming against them this morning as he drove into her over and over again.

Alex reached forward to cup her breasts, squeezing the already erect nipples until the building pressure just below her belly exploded, and she bucked forward, sucking Alex as deep as she could
while spasms of pleasure pulsed through her. Through the haze of her own orgasm, she heard him tense up and groan her name, finally slowing his rhythm within her and parting her legs to fall forward between them onto her chest. Half on the bed and half off, his chest was heavy on hers and his head rested against her neck as he tried to catch his breath.