Citrus Love
“Seriously, I know what I’m talking about Mr. Hawkeye sir.”
This kid. He’s lucky he’s got that charming puppy look about him. And Tony being his scary foster dad certainly helps.
A sigh of defeat rushes from my lips at his continued exuberant explanation of whatever this orange thing is. I roll my head back, staring at the ceiling, questioning how I got to this point in my life. Am I seriously about to indulge a teenager by testing dating advice that’s totally bogus?
“And I hear things you know? There’s rumors that –”
“Alright, I got it.”
Apparently, I am.
“I will try your orange thing,” I add. “But! I demand you go bother Tony in payment. Give his bots the fire extinguisher. They’re bored.”
His pupils must’ve doubled in size. Man, this guy really is a puppy, isn’t he?
“I don’t want them to be bored! They deserve to have fun too. They have feelings!”
“Yep. Exactly. So go fix it.” I gave him a little push toward the elevator. “Catch you later. Maybe next week.”
He took off at a sprint for the opening doors. Bucky stepped around his zooming form with nothing more than a raised brow.
“What was that about?” he asked, making his way into the kitchen.
“Teenager stuff.”
Ah wait. Teenager stuff. Right. Orange love logic or whatever.
“Hey.”
Bucky looked over his shoulder. “Yeah?”
Here goes nothing, I guess.
“Peel me an orange?”
He chuckled. “Kitchen too far away for you?”
I tipped myself over the back of the catch with a little groan. Made a show of squirming, pretending to fail at lifting myself back up. Reached out in his general direction with grabby hands for the fruit he was sorting through. It got the full-bodied laugh I was looking for.
“It’s these old bones. I’m helpless,” I explained.
Even upside down his smile was adorable. This one always showed off the dimple in his cheek.
“May I remind you that I’m the oldest here?” he snarked.
He came around the bar and leaned back comfortably. The peel was slowing getting longer as he moved his thumb along the side of the orange. It was impressive actually.
I tilted my head, trying to get a better angle, as the blood rushed to my head. “How’re you doing that?”
He actually smirked, the smug jerk. “What, this? Just takes skill.”
It took a second to get the momentum, but I managed to swing my legs forward to tip me right side up. And right over the edge of the couch.
“Man, you really are losing your touch today,” Bucky muttered. “Am I gonna have to carry you to bed later after that fall? You must be stuck again. Poor thing.”
I rolled my eyes. Took the orange he offered and bit into it like an apple.
“It’s an orange,” he stressed. “I could have gotten you an apple.”
Sticky juice rolled down my wrist into the crease of my elbow as I took another obnoxious bite. He looked downright offended at the mess.
“Damn it, Clint. What’s gotten into you today?”
I shrugged.
“Now you’re all sticky. I didn’t sign up to be a babysitter,” he grumbled.
An idea suddenly struck me. I snagged the sleeve of his jacket before he could wander back into the kitchen on a hunt for paper towels.
He was less than happy with the interruption.
“Clean me up?” I asked, all innocence and wide eyes.
That cute scrunch between his brows smoothed out in record time as the suggestion clicked into meaning for him. I raised my sticky arm in invitation, a slight grin hiking my lips higher as he took the bait.
He grumbled insults as he lifted my “heavy, irritating self” up off the floor. I tuned them out for the white noise they were. Got myself comfortable as he settled me in his lap on the couch.
“Dopey blond,” he said between one kiss to the next up my arm. “Coulda just said you wanted some love ya know.”
I cuddled him close with my free arm, knocking our heads together in a nuzzle. “And miss this? I love it when you get all flustered.”
He licked a stripe from the bottom of my palm up the tips of my fingers. Scarped his teeth along the soft skin of my wrist in retaliation. The kiss he placed there soothed the itchy feeling.
“Got any other requests?”
He tilted his head to give me more room as my kisses trailed down his jaw. Shivered adorably when I raked my fingers through his hair.
“Carry me to bed?” I asked.
“Mm. Well that’s a given at this point,” he answered, dipping to pepper open mouthed kisses along my collarbones.
Requests… Do I have anything I want right now? I mean, what could top –
Oh.
My eyes fluttered shut on their own. My fingers fisted in the shoulder of his jacket at the next sensation. I sucked my bottom lip under my teeth trying to stifle the moan that, inevitably, I couldn’t hold back. Never could honestly. It was a pointless effort.
“Mmm.”
“Yeah?” He nuzzled my cheek. “That?”
“Mm… Ah!”
“Easy beautiful,” he teased softly. “I got ya. Just relax.”
Damn him…
Wait a minute. I’m the one that told him.
Damn it me. How could you betray me common sense?
“Shoulda… never told you.”
He laughed softly against my ear. Shifted his hand to trace up my stomach lightly, just this side of ticklish.
“Never told me what?” His fingers lightly circled back. “That you like it soft and slow?”
Another kiss, this one more bruising than the last few, met the juncture of my shoulder. He sucked a mark into it, soothing it with his tongue, and gave me a smile. Then his hand was paving a path back up my body, resting lightly against my chest, just the edges of his fingers grazing the marks painting my right collarbone.
“Or maybe… that you like pet names? You love that don’t you, doll? Oh honey, don’t hide.”
Despite my stubborn resolve to ignore him… my body was too relaxed to fight it when he tilted my chin up. The kiss he placed on my forehead was nice. Guess it wasn’t all bad.
“There’s my handsome fella.”
I slumped further against him. Snuggled back into his neck soon as his fingers left my chin.
“Leave me lone,” I mumbled.
“What’s this?” He started to rub my back just the way I liked. “Are you really mad?”
His little flinch when I nipped his neck was worth the shout in my ear.
“Carry me to bed already,” I complained. “You promised.”