Wright with Benefits, page 16
So, we made the most of it and then pulled each of them in for a hug before leaving.
“We’ll come back, I promise,” I insisted as I hugged Georgia.
“You’d better,” she said. “Pick Seattle, so we can see you all the time.”
I grinned. “That’s the dream.”
Jordan hugged Georgia one more time, punched Cush on the arm, and nodded at Tye before piling us both into the car and returning to the hotel. I leaned my head on his shoulder as we drove back. I was little bit past tipsy and straight into drunk, but it was a happy, lazy drunk. A great-night drunk.
Jordan kissed the top of my head.
“I’m glad you invited yourself to my interview.”
He chuckled. “I’m glad, too.”
“Would you ever want to move back to Vancouver?”
He ran his fingers in circles around my knee. “It’d depend.”
“On what?”
“Where you were.”
I looked up at him and pressed my lips to his. He drew me in deeper, his tongue opening the seam of my lips and massaging my own. I groaned into his embrace. I wanted nothing more than to climb into his lap and fuck him right then and there. But even drunk, I restrained myself until we climbed out of the car and hurried up to our penthouse suite.
Jordan slammed me back against the door of our room, kissing me breathless as he fiddled with the lock to let us inside. Finally, the lock released, and we all but tumbled backward into the room. I teetered on my heels, and Jordan wrapped his arms around me to keep me upright.
“Easy there, love.” He toed the door closed.
He slipped his hands to my thighs and hoisted me into the air. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried us into the bedroom. His lips still pressed against mine.
My feet hit the floor as my hands went to the buttons on his shirt. When I reached the bottom, I flicked the button open on his pants and slid the zipper down. Meanwhile, his hands were roaming all over my body, slinking under the hem of my dress.
He growled in the back of his throat as I ran a finger down the length of him through his boxers. “Annie,” he groaned.
Then he flipped me around and pushed me face-first into the bed. My heels were still on, my dress riding up to show my ass and the lacy black of my thong. He hooked a finger under the lace and dragged it down my legs and pushed my dress up higher, so it was around my waist.
“Jordan, please,” I moaned into the comforter.
But he just brushed his hand across back reassuringly and then sank to his knees behind me. The first touch of his tongue against my clit sent me jerking against the bed. My hands clenched the comforter for dear life.
A finger slicked through my core. “You’re so wet.”
“You were practically fingering me in public.”
He chuckled. “And why would I stop when you seemed to like it so much?”
Truth was that I didn’t want him to stop. Not in public. Not right now.
Any resistance I’d built up against Jordan Wright had evaporated.
I was his. All his.
One finger pushed forward into me and then a second until I squirmed, wanting more, more, more. Wanting his cock inside of me, filling me. He was making me wait because I’d made him wait, and I couldn’t even regret it. Because it was always better between us when he took control.
He nudged my legs further apart, opening me wider as he flicked his tongue against my clit. I buried my head into the covers. Between his tongue and the slow swirl of his fingers reaching up to my G-spot, I was going to explode already. All that waiting had primed me, and now, I was beyond sensitive.
“Come for me, love,” he commanded.
His thumb ran in tight circles around my clit, and suddenly, I came completely undone, coming on his fingers as he held me bent over. He kept swirling past the point, and I squirmed harder underneath him.
“Se-sensitive,” I stuttered.
“Just how I like you.”
Then he withdrew his fingers and stood. I collapsed forward against the bed, glad for the short reprieve to recover. My legs shook uncontrollably, and I was breathing hard.
Then, I heard the whoosh of his pants hitting the ground, and he settled himself between my legs. His hands spread my ass cheeks as he positioned his cock at my entrance.
“Oh fuck,” was all I got out before he thrust forward inside of me.
My eyes rolled into the back of my head. He was so big, kept me so full. At this angle, I could barely resist feeling as if he’d impaled me, and God, did I fucking love it.
“I wanted to do this all night.”
“Fuck me?”
He collected all of my messy red hair and then moved it to one hand, giving it an experimental tug.
“Oh,” I gasped as my head dipped backward, the leverage he needed to drive into me again and again and again.
My back arched, my neck stretched, my hair pulled and pulled and pulled. And I loved every fucking minute of it. I was on fire. Every thrust a hard hit, bouncing my ass and jerking my head back a little further. I was thankful for all those years of flexibility training.
“Fuck,” he groaned. “Annie”—smack—“you feel”—smack—“so fucking”—smack—“good.”
“Please, Jordan,” I gasped. “Please, I’m so close.”
He released my hair, letting it fall like a waterfall to frame my face. Then he grasped my hips and pounded deeper into me. My orgasm held tight and ready at the surface, as if waiting for the chance to unleash.
Sis thumb slicked through the wetness at my pussy before slipping up to my asshole. I saw black as he pushed down, breaching my hole. Everything inside of me tightened and then exploded.
I came hard and fast, rocking back against him and crying out into the night. He removed his finger as I tightened around him. Then he jerked into me one more time as he unloaded with a primal growl.
We both collapsed at the same time. All the fight leaving our bodies and pure satisfaction taking over. After a few seconds, Jordan withdrew, and I stumbled to the bathroom on shaky legs to clean up. Then I crawled into the huge bed and felt him come in after me, pulling me close.
He kissed my cheek. “You’re amazing.”
“I don’t think I did much, honestly,” I said around a laugh.
“No, I just mean…you, as you are, you’re amazing.”
I snuggled in tighter. “You’re pretty amazing yourself.”
He held me close, and I could feel myself drifting off. The past two days catching up with me.
Then Jordan spoke softly, “I could be happy here.”
I blinked awake again, unsure what he meant. “Yeah?”
He waited another second, as if he didn’t know whether or not to respond. “If you picked Seattle, I could be happy here, too.”
My eyes widened in the bed, and I looked up into his perfectly sincere face. “What are you saying?”
“I think you know.”
“You’d move here with me?” I asked.
He nodded once. “If this was what you wanted.”
And I didn’t have words for that gift, so I kissed him and let my body say everything I couldn’t bring myself to say.
27
Annie
Returning to normal life was a struggle. I wanted the life that we’d had together in Seattle. The wave of fresh and new, Jordan’s friends nearby, the incredible team at the University of Washington residency. I wanted it all.
And Jordan had just offered it to me on a platter.
He’d said that he’d actually move with me.
It felt…too good to be true. I’d avoided dating for so long, thinking that I couldn’t get with anyone that I was going to have to leave behind…like Chase had left me behind. But now, Jordan was saying that I could have it all. That he’d go with me.
I just had to get together my list of residency programs for selection. It was the single most important decision of my career, and I didn’t want to fuck it up. I’d been moving programs up and down the list since I started interviewing.
In a week, I had to make my final choice.
And I’d just moved Seattle to the top.
* * *
Seattle—University of Washington
Baltimore—Johns Hopkins (unlikely but necessary)
Atlanta—Emory
Los Angeles—University of Southern California
Dallas—University of Texas, Southwestern
…
* * *
The entire list was sixteen total schools with Texas Tech at the bottom. I’d probably partner with a school before Tech, but it was good to have a safety school on the list, just in case.
I stared down at the list on my phone as Jennifer pulled up to the soccer complex. I’d missed a few indoor meets because of interviewing and overnights at the hospital. Isaac had said that it was fine and that they’d gotten someone else to sub in. But I’d gotten texts from Cézanne and Julian, asking if I was coming today. Apparently, Blaire had gotten Piper to sub, and she and Hollin had been at each other’s throats the entire time. Everyone was glad to have me back.
I hopped out of Bertha—Jennifer’s wreck of a car—grabbing my bag out of the back, and walked with her into the complex. Jordan and Julian were standing near the entrance, huddled together with the woman I recognized as their mother. I’d seen her around at Wright events, though I wasn’t sure we’d ever been formally introduced.
“Annie,” Jordan said, waving me over.
Go ahead,” Jennifer said.
“See you after,” I told her.
Then, I headed toward Jordan as she walked toward Blaire and Piper since Sutton wasn’t at this game.
“Hey, babe,” Jordan said.
He reached for my hand, lacing our fingers together. I flushed at the easy contact. Things had changed in Seattle when we got to be ourselves without any other eyes on us. But here, I still wasn’t entirely used to it…even if I didn’t mind.
“Hey,” I said with a smile.
“I wanted to introduce you to my mom,” Jordan said.
“You must be the Annie I’ve heard so much about. I’m Helene.” She pulled me into a hug in lieu of shaking hands. “It’s so nice to meet you. Jordan and Julian speak so highly of you, and I’m glad to see Jordan finally happy again.”
“I’ve been happy, Mom,” Jordan said with a laugh.
Julian eyed him skeptically. “Yeah, right.”
“You’ve been pouting since we left Vancouver,” Helene said.
I covered my laugh. “I didn’t really know the difference until we went to Seattle and I saw him with his friends.”
“Cush?” Julian guessed.
Helene sighed in exasperation. “That boy! He can eat you out of house and home. Did you see Tye, too? He’s such a sweetheart.”
“Yes, Mom, We saw Cush and Tye. Georgia was with them, too.”
“You should invite them down,” Helene said. “I’ll make that peach pie they all devoured.”
“I’ll let them know,” he said with a laugh.
“And you’re welcome to come to dinner, dear,” she added to me.
“Thank you so much, but I actually have a hospital shift after I leave here.”
“Next time you’re free then,”
“I’d love to.”
“See now, Jordan, you can’t hide her from us anymore,” his mother said. She winked at me and then headed into the stands to watch the game.
Jordan shook his head. “It’s so fun when you guys gang up on me.”
Julian shrugged. “Only way we know how to show our love.”
Jordan rolled his eyes. Julian punched his arm and then headed out to the field to warm up.
“I should go, too,” I told him. “I feel sloppy, having not been here in a few weeks.”
“I’m sure you’ll be great. When are you going back to the hospital?”
“This is my last week of overnights, and then I’m back to mids. Thank God.”
“Shower, dinner, and then work?”
I nodded. “That’s the plan.”
“I like the plan.”
A figure appeared next to me, and I found Isaac standing with crossed arms.
“Hey, Isaac,” Jordan said, holding his hand out.
Isaac glanced between us with a total big-brother look. Welp. I hadn’t mentioned to him that I was seeing Jordan. And technically, Jordan was Isaac’s boss. So, maybe that should have come up.
“What’s going on here?” Isaac asked.
I laughed. “Stop that.” I smacked his arm, and he released a smile. “Jordan and I are dating.”
Jordan looked a little put out. “I probably should have mentioned…”
Isaac waved him away, taking his hand and shaking once vigorously. “Forget it. Apparently, I’m the last to know. I was trying to be an overbearing big brother. How’d I do?”
“Terrible,” I said, bumping against him.
“Why wouldn’t I be happy that you’re dating my little sister?” Isaac asked with a smile. “We’ve worked together for three years. I know the kind of person you are by now.”
Jordan relaxed at the comment. “Well, still, I’ve heard that older brothers have the tendency to punch the new guy their sister is dating.”
“Should I punch you?” Isaac asked with mock seriousness.
“If it’ll make you feel better,” Jordan said with a barely contained smile.
“I think I’m good. I’m going to steal Annie so that we can play soccer. We can discuss ways in which I need to assert my masculinity later.”
Jordan snorted. “Sounds good. Good luck out there.”
I shook my head and followed Isaac out to the field.
“You’re happy?” he asked me.
“I am.”
“Good. That’s all I care about.”
Then he started to run drills before the game. He was still in tip-top shape from years of playing soccer, and I was envious of how easy he moved. I felt sluggish even stretching. Tonight was going to be rough.
“Tell them, Hollin,” Julian said, smacking Hollin in the chest.
They were stretching with Blaire, Cézanne, and Gerome.
I sidled up to the group, leaving Isaac to his warm-up drills. “Tell them what?”
Julian glanced over at me, and his face split. “We’re throwing a party at the winery.”
“Already? Is it ready?”
“Well, not officially. It’s not, like, the grand opening. But we’ve had enough of the construction finished and all the permits in order that we can have a friends-and-family thing. But that’s not the best part.”
Hollin finally chimed in, “Campbell said that Cosmere was going to be traveling nearby on tour, and he’d stop by to perform.”
“Oh my God!”
My jaw dropped. That was news.
Campbell was Hollin’s younger brother and probably the most famous musician to come out of Lubbock after Buddy Holly and Natalie Maines of The Chicks. He sang lead for the band Cosmere, a group he’d joined out in LA after high school graduation. They were constantly hailed as the next Maroon 5. Understandably, Campbell hadn’t been back in Lubbock much since breaking out a few years ago.
“Holy shit,” Cézanne said. “I don’t even like their music, and holy shit! We never get bands that big in town.”
Blaire had gone pale. “They’re coming here?”
“Yes!” Hollin said. “Well, Campbell will be here for the friends-and-family thing. Not the whole band. He said he could do a few acoustic songs.” He waved his hands, as if there were no difference. “But he said he’d try to convince the entire band to show up for the grand opening!”
“That would be incredible for the winery,” I said. “You’d sell out.”
Hollin laughed. “I know. I figured it’s the best I can do for it, considering the Wrights fronted the money.”
Julian kicked him in the shin. “Shut up. You’re doing all the heavy lifting.”
“So, just to confirm,” Blaire said, clearing her throat as she got to her feet, “Campbell is coming here for your party? And that’s when again?”
“Two weeks!” Julian said.
“Oh, hey,” Hollin said as if it’d just hit him. “Didn’t you two graduate together?”
Blaire clenched her jaw and shrugged. “Yeah. But he was, like, cool.”
“Says the Instagram Influencer,” I said with a laugh.
But I could see her discomfort from a mile off. Of course, the boys were oblivious.
“Yeah, you’re the coolest person I know,” Cézanne said.
Blaire forced a laugh. “I managed to be cool after high school, but back then, I was a huge nerd. My mom was a psychiatrist, and it was just…” She trailed off and made a face. “Campbell Abbey didn’t even know my name.”
I highly doubted that.
“Okay, let’s play!” Isaac said.
We all stood from where we’d been stretching, huddled together for one of Isaac’s pep talks, and then broke and ran into position.
Cézanne glanced at me. “So, Seattle?”
I nodded. “I think it’s going to be number one. You?”
“Tech.”
“Really? Top of the class and all those interviews, and you still want to stay here?” I asked as the whistle blew.
“If I can do some good in my community here in Lubbock, then I don’t need to go anywhere else,” she said as if it were obvious.
And maybe it was. I’d never thought of it that way.
We won the game thirteen to nothing.
Isaac had actually pulled Blaire back from forward after her fifth goal. Girls got two points for every goal. Julian scored the next three, and the ref called a mercy rule. I hadn’t even known there was a mercy rule. But I was glad for it. Not that I’d done much to help win. I wasn’t a soccer player, and I felt like I’d been run over by the end of it. We slapped hands with the other team, and then I ran to the sidelines to guzzle my water bottle.
Blaire invited everyone out for our typical pizza. I bowed out since I had to work and found Jennifer and Jordan waiting for me.
“You did great!” Jen said.
