Crazy Imperfect Love Read online

  “I don’t care. Abigail?”

  “Yes?”

  “We’re really going to do this?”

  “If by this you mean break some rules and give in to this insane attraction to each other, then yes, we’re really going to do this.”

  Drake takes the empty mug from my hands and sets it on the coffee table with his. And then he cups my face and takes my mouth in a heated kiss.

  This kiss is so much more than the ones we shared at the park.

  This kiss holds promises of what’s to come. Threading my fingers through his hair, I pull him close. His hands fall to my hips. He lifts me up to straddle his lap, and not once do we break the kiss.

  * * * *

  Drake

  “Wait, Abigail.”

  She pulls her lips from mine and looks down at me. “What’s wrong?”

  Her hair falls forward, creating the perfect curtain. I push my fingers through her soft locks so I can see her beautiful face. “Nothing is wrong, but I don’t want to do this here.”

  A shy smile tugs at the corner of her mouth, but her words are much more brazen. “Then I suggest you take me back to your room.”

  She shrieks when I lift her into my arms and stride purposefully down the hall. I kick open my bedroom door and position her on the center of my bed. She reaches for me, but I pull back. Hooking my fingers in the sides of her pants, I give them a little tug. Abigail lifts her hips, and I slide her pants, along with her panties, down her legs and toss them aside. Her shirt and bra are the next things to go, and when she’s lying naked in front of me, I nearly swallow my tongue.

  “You’re so beautiful.”

  I’ve seen her naked before, but it was through the eyes of a man who had to say goodbye the next morning. I felt rushed, desperate to touch every inch of her body before sunrise because I knew I’d never get to touch this angel again.

  Except here she is. Dark hair fanned out over my pillow, cheeks still pink from our time in the snow, and lips puffy from my kiss. My heart squeezes tight at the sight of her.

  “Drake, I need you to touch me.”

  “Getting to that, sweetheart.”

  I peel my shirt over my head, kick my pants and boxers off, and lean down to press my lips to the center of her belly. I kiss my way up her body—across her chest, up her neck, and when I hit the soft spot below her jaw, Abigail arches her head against the pillow and sighs my name.

  God, that’s the best sound in the world.

  My cock is hard as steel against her stomach, pre-cum forming on the tip. She wiggles her hand between our bodies, wraps her delicate fingers around my cock, and I groan against her.

  “Careful, I’m barely hanging on.”

  I take one of her nipples into my mouth until she’s writhing beneath me.

  “I don’t want you hanging on,” she pants. “I want you to let go.”

  She guides me to her entrance and tries to put me inside of her, but I pull back—though not because I need a condom; we had that talk the first time we were together.

  “Wait, Abigail. If I push inside right now, I’m going to lose it before we even get started. That’s how worked up you’ve got me.”

  “I don’t care. I just need you, Drake. Please.”

  “You don’t ever have to beg, Abigail. You know I’ll give you whatever you want. I’d give you the whole damn world if you’d let me,” I add, a husky plea against her silky skin.

  I’m not even sure if she heard me between her soft moans. She lines the head of my cock against her entrance, hooks a leg around my hip, and tosses her head back when I push inside.

  “Oh, God,” she pants. “I forgot how good you feel.”

  “I don’t ever want you to forget me, Abigail. God, baby, this is going to be quick, but I promise next time we’ll take it slow.”

  Her lips part, but all that comes out is a deep groan when I surge inside of her. I capture her lips with mine and start moving, relishing the feel of our connection—her hands gripping my back as though she’s afraid I’ll disappear, her heels digging into my ass, and the way her mouth claims mine while I push her body toward the edge.

  She lifts her hips. My body moves of its own accord, and I pound into her. Her body constricts around mine, and I know she’s getting close. I press my thumb to her clit and rub in tight, small circles until she closes her eyes and digs her head into my pillow.

  “Look at me, Abigail. I want to see those beautiful eyes when you come undone.”

  Her eyelids pop open, and I feel drugged. Hypnotized by her body and soul. Hyperaware of all things Abigail.

  “Drake, I’m…I…”

  “I’ve got you, sweet girl.”

  I rub her clit and pump my hips as the pressure in my body builds. There’s a tingling deep in my gut, radiating to my spine. I know she feels it too because her hips become more erratic, meeting mine thrust for thrust as we chase our orgasms. Our climax hits at the same time, zaps of pleasure pushing toward my arms and legs, down to my toes. It’s all-consuming, and the best damn orgasm I’ve ever had.

  Abigail screams and her body tightens, pulsing around me as I spill inside of her. I thrust several more times, bury my face in her neck, and groan as her body goes lax beneath mine.

  “Abigail,” I breathe.

  There’s no response, just the feel of her fingers in my hair as she holds me to her. We lie like this for several minutes, both of us trying to catch our breath as our bodies float down from the ultimate high.

  When I regain a little strength, I lift my head and look into her eyes. They’re clearer than they’ve ever been. There isn’t much I wouldn’t do to have them shining back at me every day. I’d give up just about anything to erase the expiration date between us.

  Except it’s not that easy.

  Or is it?

  My grandfather always used to tell me life is what you make it. If you want something, go after it. Make it happen.

  “Stay in Cunningham Falls,” I blurt.

  She laughs, and my semi-erect cock slips from her body. “Wait. You’re serious?”

  “Yes. I feel something for you, Abigail. Something strong, something I’ve yet to feel for another woman, and I think you feel it too.”

  She nods. “I do.”

  “I don’t know about you, but I want to keep exploring this, because I think it could grow into something great.”

  Her eyes fill with tears. “I do too.”

  “Stay. Tell me you’ll stay.”

  “What about work?”

  I blow out a breath and sit up, pulling her with me. Reaching toward the bottom of the bed, I grab the blanket that slipped off and pull it around us.

  “We’ll figure something out. Maybe when your contract is over you can find something else in the area.”

  She bites on her bottom lip and nods, but doesn’t look convinced. I cup her face in my hands and bring my lips to hers.

  “I don’t have all the answers, but I promise if you stay, we’ll figure something out. Something that works for both of us.”

  Soft hands wrap around my neck, playing with the hair on the nape of my neck. She rests her forehead to mine and smiles. “Okay.”

  “Really?” I pull back, needing to get a good look at her, needing to make sure she’s here and this is real. “You’ll stay?”

  She nods again and laughs when I tackle her back to the bed.

  “I’ll call the agency tomorrow and see if they can find something for me here after my contract.”

  “And if they can’t?” I ask.

  “We’ll figure something out. Now, I do believe you promised me a next time.”

  Chapter 10

  Abby

  “I think you broke me,” I say, collapsing on the bed. “I won’t be able to walk for days.”

  “The way I see it, you’ll have a reminder of me with every step you take.”

  I poke him in the side. Drake squirms and grabs my hand, pulling it to his lips. He kisses each knuckle before placi
ng my hand against his chest.

  “I should get going. It’s getting late, and we have to be at work in—” I look at the alarm clock and groan. “—six hours.”

  “Stay,” he says.

  “The night?”

  He grins. “Yes.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t know.” I laugh, pushing up to an elbow so I can look at him more easily. “I’ve never stayed the night with a man before.”

  “You stayed with me after Hannah’s wedding.”

  “You’re right.” I grin. “That was my first time.”

  Grabbing my wrist, he pulls me to his chest. “I like being your first. Say yes.”

  My head is screaming at me to go home, that this is a bad idea. I don’t have a change of clothes or my lunch, which means I’ll have to go home before work in the morning. I’ll probably be rushed, and if my day starts that way, it’ll only continue. But my heart doesn’t seem to care. My heart says live a little. My heart says stay.

  “Yes. But you have to promise not to tempt me with your seductive ways. I need all the sleep I can get, or I’ll be a bear in the morning.”

  Drake lifts me from his chest and jumps out of bed. He grabs a shirt from his closet and pulls it over my head.

  “What’re you doing?” I ask, slipping my arms into the soft cotton.

  It smells like Drake—clean and woodsy and oh so yummy.

  “I really hate to cover this gorgeous body, but if I don’t, neither one of us will sleep.”

  I bury my nose in the material and take a giant sniff. “You’re never getting this shirt back.”

  Drake grabs my hand and pulls me up. “It’s yours, but I still get to touch it anytime I’d like, right?”

  “You better.”

  “You’re going to regret saying that,” he says, slapping my ass. “Let’s go brush our teeth. I’ve got a spare toothbrush.”

  We brush our teeth side by side. He props a hip on the doorframe and watches me wash away what’s left of my makeup. It feels so natural to do these mundane tasks with him—and also a little exciting.

  When we get back to his bedroom, I crawl into his California king and reach for the alarm clock.

  “The time is already set. You just have to turn it on,” he says, crawling in beside me.

  I believe him, but I have to check it for myself. I press the alarm button, check the time, and flip the switch to ON. And then I check the time again to make sure I didn’t accidentally set it for PM instead of AM. After the third time checking it, Drake drags me to bed.

  “Get over here and kiss me goodnight,” he says, capturing my lips.

  All thoughts of the alarm clock and getting up on time evaporate as his tongue pushes against mine. By the time we come up for air, I’m practically climbing him like a tree, and I’m seconds away from begging him to rip this shirt off and fuck me again, sleep be damned.

  Instead, Drake situates the pillow, flips off the light, and pulls me into his arms.

  “Goodnight, Abigail.”

  “Goodnight.”

  His arms are warm and soft wrapped around me, and the steady rise and fall of his chest against my body is so very soothing. After only a few minutes, Drake’s breathing becomes slow and steady.

  “Did you lock the front door?” I ask before he has a chance to doze off.

  “Mmm-hmm.”

  “And the back door?”

  “Mmm-hmm,” he mumbles again.

  “Because I opened the patio door to look outside earlier when we first got here.”

  “They’re both locked.”

  Drake must sense my unease because he wraps his hand around mine and says, “Would you like me to go check to be sure?”

  “No, you don’t have to do that.”

  “I don’t mind.”

  I kiss his hand. “I know you don’t. Thank you for offering, though.”

  “Go check if you need the reassurance. But I promise I would never let anything happen to you, and I promise I will never tell you I’m sure about something unless I’m one hundred percent sure.”

  “Okay.” I nod and settle myself in the crook of his arm. I don’t say another word, and about the time Drake’s breathing evens back out, I reach over and check the alarm one last time. And then I check it seven more times just to be certain, and when I curl back up to Drake’s body, he rests a hand on my hip.

  “Is it good?”

  “It’s good.”

  “Great. Now get some sleep, sweetheart.”

  * * * *

  “I called you last night,” Hannah says, sliding onto a seat across from me.

  “You did?” I shove a french fry into my mouth.

  “Yup. Twice.”

  “Hmm… I’m not sure how I missed it.” Lies. All lies. I probably didn’t hear it because I was screaming Drake’s name, begging him to fuck me harder. Except I can’t tell her that. Not yet at least.

  “And when you didn’t answer, I went to your house.”

  Oh shit.

  I take another fry and chew it slowly. “Is that so?”

  She nods. “Want to tell me where you were?”

  “Not really.”

  Hannah waits a few seconds and then rolls her eyes. “Jesus Christ, Abigail, I know you’re banging Drake. Just admit it already.”

  Her voice is a little loud, and I hold a finger to my lips. “Would you keep it down?”

  “Damn it, Abby, we used to tell each other everything. And Drake’s one of my best friends. Why would you keep this from me?”

  She actually looks a little hurt, and I immediately feel bad.

  “I’m sorry, Han. It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you; it just sorta happened fast, and you and I haven’t spent a lot of time together for me to tell you.”

  “So it’s true?”

  I nod. “How did you figure it out?”

  “Besides the fact that I could feel the attraction between you every time you were within ten feet of each other?”

  “Yes, besides that.”

  “When you weren’t home, I drove to his house on a hunch. Your car was in the driveway.”

  “Hannah Hull, were you spying on me?”

  She blinks innocently. “I wouldn’t call it spying. It’s more like looking out for you.”

  “Well, you don’t have to look out for me. I’m a big girl now.”

  “Will you at least tell me how it happened? But, please, leave out the sexual details because he’s one of my best friends, and I really don’t need to hear about how horrible he is in bed or how little his dick is.”

  “Oh, trust me, he’s not horrible. In fact, he’s amazing. And his dick is—”

  “Nope,” she hollers, shaking her head vehemently. “TMI. Let’s stick to the very basic details.”

  “Fine. Remember at your wedding reception when you were telling me I need to take more chances?” Hannah nods. “And then do you remember Grace telling me I should start by having a one-night stand with a stranger? Well, I had a one-night stand, and Drake was the stranger.”

  “You’re telling me you and Drake have been canoodling since my wedding reception and you’ve kept it from me this whole time?”

  “Canoodling, Hannah? What are we, seventy?”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “No, we haven’t been canoodling. It really was just a one-night stand until I moved here.”

  “Now what?” she asks. “Are you two dating? What’s going to happen when you leave?”

  I shrug. “I don’t know if we’re dating. I think we might be. We haven’t exactly put a label on it. And…I might not be leaving so soon after all.”

  “What?” she shrieks. “You’re staying? If I’d known Drake is what would get you to move here for good, I would’ve introduced you two a long time ago.”

  I roll my eyes. “I have plans of calling the agency on my next day off to see what we can work out. I need to see if they can get me placed at a different h
ospital.”

  “Why can’t you stay here? Farrah told me you’re doing wonderfully, and everyone loves you.”

  “That’s really great to hear, but Drake and I are breaking some pretty serious rules by seeing each other. And if we’re going to try to make it work, I want to do it the right way, and that means no sneaking around.”

  “Oh.” She frowns. “I didn’t even think about the non-fraternization policy. But I agree one hundred percent. Sneaking around would suck. There’s no way I would’ve been able to sneak around with Brad. He’s too edible, and I can barely keep my hands off of him.”

  “Trust me, it’s a struggle. Especially when he walks by me in those damn scrubs. His ass is so tight. I just want to push him into the supply closet and—”

  “That’s enough,” Hannah says, standing up. “We’re going to have to set some serious boundaries when we talk about Drake and the things you want to do to him.”

  “Dirty things. I want to do lots of dirty, filthy things.”

  “Not listening,” she sings, walking away.

  “But nothing he hasn’t already done to me,” I holler.

  “I can’t hear you.”

  Chapter 11

  Abby

  And that’s exactly how I spend the next week: doing lots of dirty, filthy things with Drake. Sometimes he does them to me, other times I do them to him, and in between all the dirty, we have lots of fun.

  Like today, for example. Drake decided to take me snowshoeing, since the snow hung around longer than expected. It was a lot easier than I had anticipated, and I think I was pretty good at it. I even asked Drake how I did, but he mauled me the way he does every time we walk through the door, and here we are.

  “Next time, we’ve got to make it to the bedroom. I’m getting too old for living-room-floor sex,” he says, dropping his head back against the hardwood floor.

  We barely made it into the house before his mouth was on mine. He stripped me down, and I’d just gotten his pants around his knees when he was surging inside of me.

  “You know that’s never going to happen. We’re better off replacing your hardwood with some nice, plush carpet.”

  “That’ll work too,” he says, slapping my ass.