He thrust into her, hard and fast, her little puffs of breath echoing through the narrow area they were in. He found her spine so alluring, each bump and dip of her vertebrae covered in that pale, satiny soft skin. Leaning down, he kissed the line of her back, tasting sweetness and exertion, the salt of her skin.

Her moan vibrated through her bones and flesh, into him, exciting him further. Her belly trembled beneath the fingers he stroked across it as he moved down to her clit. Her cunt gripped him tight when he stroked over it softly.

“I don’t know if I can,” she said.

He licked over her shoulder blade. “You can, gorgeous, and you will. Just let go and come again for me.”

A broken sob escaped her as she came around him. He clenched his jaw, gritting his teeth, trying to hold out, but she felt so damned good he couldn’t stop, and her orgasm brought his own as he pressed in deep and held himself there.

When he came back from the small bathroom adjacent to her office, she’d put herself to rights, having exchanged the toe shoes for a pair of sneakers.

He sat next to her on the top stair. “Those shoes are wicked pretty, but what a pain.”

She laughed. “Toe shoes? All of us have fallen or lost balance when a shoe came undone. Makes you careful.”

He nodded. “Makes sense. It just impedes me in getting you naked enough to f**k when you’re wearing them with tights.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. How have you been?”

He wavered a moment, wondering if he should just fess up that he’d needed some space, but decided he’d only hurt her. Besides, he’d come through it feeling even stronger about her and their connection, so it wasn’t necessary to say anything.

“Crazy busy. We’ve been down one of our full-time artists and then Raven decided it was too cold to stick around until the end of the year and went to Florida. So the shop has been insane. I’ll be able to buy nicer presents though.”

Her lips wore a very brief smirk. “She just left you in the lurch like that?”

“I’ve known Raven for about fifteen years now. She is who she is. You can’t make her anything else.” He shrugged.

She didn’t look convinced.

“What?”

She shook her head. “Oh, no way. She’s important to you, clearly an ex of some sort on some level. This is a no-win for me.”

“I want you to be honest with me.” He drew his knuckles down her throat and through the hollow at the base. He liked the way her breath hitched and her pulse jumped. “It’s easy to misunderstand her. Many people do and she does have poor interpersonal skills. She’s abrasive. I’m not going to be offended by anything you say.”

“I’m not you and I don’t have anyone like Raven in my life now. But I did at one point and I found it exhausting to love him. My brother is a lot, was a lot like Raven. And people used to let him get away with it because he was”—she paused, licking her lips— “special. There was no one like Matthias. He was, when he was in a good way, so much fun to be with. He’d be gone for like four months without a word. He’d miss important events and never apologize. But out of the blue he’d show up with some seashell he found in Bali and carried back just to show me the pink and to tell me a story about the sunset. The color of the sky was the same pink. He gave it to me so I could have a piece of the joy he felt when he saw that sunset.”

She paused, looking off into the space ahead of her. Something deep stirred in her face, and he put an arm around her shoulders, craving more from her. Wanting her to share.

“He was five years older than me, so I idolized him when I was growing up. He was vibrant and so much fun. If he was in a good way and focused on others, he would do anything for the people he loved. But over time, good Matthias was around less and less. I suppose, deep down inside, Raven pushes my buttons for more than one reason. I don’t like seeing her be careless with you in a way that it impacts your business.”

“And the other reason?”

She licked her lips. “Even the most well-adjusted woman on the planet would be weirded out by the constant inclusion of the exgirlfriend of the man she’s seeing. It’s petty, I admit it.”

“I’m sorry about your brother. I can’t deny the similarities. She’s got a lot of talent and she just floats around, never trying too hard. But I’m not her brother. Behavior like hers from Erin or Adrian would be really hard to endure and not be hurt by.” He kissed her forehead. “As for her being my ex. It’s complicated. Do you have time for the story?”

“I want to hear it, but I need to get home for dinner. I promised Rennie, and she’s been shopping with my mother, which is frightening, but at least it’s not my credit card. Hey, would you like to come? It’s chili day at my house. I started it in the slow cooker so I can come home and it’ll make me feel all domestic and accomplished.”

He laughed.

“If not, maybe you can come over later for a glass of wine?”

“Can I tell you something?”

“Of course.”

She let him pull her to standing as he took her bag, and they headed downstairs as she turned things off and locked up.

“Yes, I’d like to come to dinner. I haven’t hung out with Rennie in a while, so I imagine there are many new developments I need to be apprised of.”

She grinned. “I like that you see how fabulous my kid is. I’m totally biased, but it makes me happy.”