The Lover

by E. L. Todd

  He moaned against my ear then gave his final thrusts. When he shuddered, his cock thickened, and he released inside me, giving another groan as he filled me with a hot load that would seep out between my legs in the shower the following morning. He came when I came, probably aroused by how much I desired him.

  When he finished, he brought his face close to mine, his softening dick still deep inside me. “It doesn’t matter how many times I have you…I need to keep making love to you.” He started to rock again, his soft cock still sliding through my channel. In no time, it would be hard again. Ready for me once more.

  As much as I enjoyed staying with him, it was time for me to return to my apartment. It’d been almost a full month of practically living together, waking up to the sound of each other’s alarms, having dinner together, and making love so much that we had to wash the sheets on a daily basis.

  It was heaven.

  But I didn’t want to overstay my welcome and have him push me away because I’d crossed the line. Our relationship was so perfect, and the last thing I wanted to do was screw it up. This man filled my heart so completely that I would probably stay with him even if he never married me, even if he never wanted kids.

  That’s how bad I had it.

  I stuffed the bag with clothes and my toiletry kit and zipped it shut.

  Finn appeared in the doorway, wearing nothing but his sweatpants. His ink acted as its own form of clothing. His hands were in his pockets, and he leaned against the doorway, seeing me standing at the foot of the bed with my bag on top. “What are you doing?”

  “I thought I would go home for a few days.” If he asked me to stay for another month, I would—without hesitation. But I was in this for the long haul, not just a fling. I had to make the best decisions for a long-lasting relationship. “You know, make sure it’s still there…” I chuckled then pulled the strap of the bag over my shoulder. “You mind giving me a ride?”

  He watched me with those beautiful eyes, his expression intense but also impossible to read. Heartbeats passed, and he was absolutely still, his chest barely rising and falling. The man was never unnerved, even faced with imminent danger. The only time he lost his cool was when we had one of our fights—which didn’t happen often. “Put the bag down.”

  I didn’t want to leave anyway, so any reason to stay was good enough for me. I pulled the strap off my shoulder and set the bag on the bed. I turned to him, waiting to see if he would say anything else.

  He turned his neck in the direction of his dresser. With three drawers and his iPad on top, it was the place he kept his t-shirts, boxers, and sweatpants. “There’s something I want you to have. Open the second drawer.”

  For a man who didn’t want commitment, he behaved like he never wanted me to leave. And now he wanted me to have a drawer at his place, a section where I could stow my stuff as I came and went. It was a big deal coming from him. I smiled and moved to the dresser. “You’re giving me a drawer.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “Open it.”

  I grabbed one of the knobs and stared him, unsure why he was being so quiet. He was playful just an hour ago, but now he was dangerously serious. I turned back to the dresser and opened the drawer, expecting to find some of his clothes that he wanted me to have. He knew I loved to sleep in his long t-shirts, the cotton that was so soft against my skin. Everything smelled like him—and that was my favorite quality.

  I noticed a small black box in the center of the drawer.

  I stared at it, unsure what it could be.

  Any woman would assume it was an engagement ring, but I knew better than that. Finn had made it clear he wouldn’t be ready for that for a long time. So it was probably a piece of jewelry. Or better yet, it was one of his medals that he wanted me to have. I already had his necklace, and now he wanted me to have something else.

  I grabbed the box and opened the lid.

  A sparkling diamond faced me, so brilliant and beautiful, it seemed too pretty to touch. With a white gold band and rainbows in the prisms, it was a ring I’d never imagined myself wearing. The one Colton gave me was different. Full of diamonds on the band, it had been beautiful, but cluttered. This was so simple.

  It took me a second to grasp what I was holding.

  A diamond ring. “Finn…” I turned back to him, my eyes moving to the door where he’d been a moment ago. But now, he wasn’t there.

  He was down on one knee.

  I almost dropped the box.

  “Marry me.” He didn’t give a speech about how much he loved me. It was unnecessary because he showed me every single day. He didn’t even ask me to be his wife. He just told me to be. That made it so much better.

  A proposal was the last thing I’d expected, so my emotions were uncontrollable. Tears burned in my eyes and quickly streaked down my cheeks. It didn’t matter if this seemed too fast. It didn’t matter if he was my ex-husband’s brother. It didn’t matter if this ended badly someday. I’d never wanted anyone more in my life, and I was ready to give my entire heart to him. “Yes…”

  Without taking his eyes off mine, he took the box from my hand, pulled out the ring, and slipped it onto my left hand.

  It was a perfect fit.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him as he rose to his feet, lifting me with him. With my tears dripping on his face, I kissed him, kissed the last man I would ever kiss in my entire life. The happiness in my chest was so explosive, it couldn’t be contained. My whole life, I’d always felt lost, like I didn’t belong anywhere. But this man made me feel like I was home.

  He was home.

  22

  Colton

  Someone kept knocking on the door.

  Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.

  It was an infinite knock, constant and irritating. It was a Sunday night, almost eight o’clock, so why the obnoxious intrusion? Tom would never do something like that. He had way too much class to be a pest.

  I yanked the door open. “What?”

  Pepper kept her hand up, her fingers balled into a fist because she’d been pounding on the door so obnoxiously. She smiled innocently, like she hadn’t just been a pain in the ass. She raised her left hand, and on her ring finger was the gorgeous diamond Finn had bought for her.

  My eyes shifted back to hers, and when I saw just how happy she was, all my insecurities disappeared. She wasn’t hurting over me anymore. She wasn’t insecure after our divorce. She’d moved on to another guy—a better guy. I put on my smile. “Congratulations.”

  She jumped into my arms and hugged me. “I can’t believe he asked. Finn asked me.”

  I carried her into the apartment and shut the door, able to hold her with one arm because she was so light. “How did he do it?”

  “Oh, it was so romantic. I was packing my stuff to come back to the apartment, and he told me he gave me one of his drawers. When I opened it, the ring was sitting there. And when I turned around, he was on one knee…”

  “Wow, that is pretty romantic.”

  “I know!” She jumped down and clapped her hands together excitedly. “I had no idea it was coming. I had no idea he would ever ask. I just stood there in shock…then I started to cry. I just…never thought this would happen. Now I’m so happy.” She cupped her face then wiped away the moisture that had developed in her eyes, making sure her makeup didn’t get ruined by oncoming tears.

  “I’m happy for you—both of you.”

  “My head is still spinning a million miles an hour.”

  “When did he ask you?”

  “A couple hours ago. I had to come over here and tell you.” She grabbed both of my hands and squeezed them. “Did he tell you he was going to ask?”

  “Yeah. He told me and my parents at the barbecue last month.”

  “Really?” she asked. “And I was in the kitchen?”

  “He’s risky,” I said with a shrug. “Likes to hide in plain sight.”

  “What did your parents say?”

 
I gave her an annoyed look. “Come on, you know what they said. They were thrilled, babe. All of us were.”

  “You included, right?” she asked, slightly hesitant.

  I wanted to roll my eyes to prove to her that her concern was ridiculous—but it wasn’t. All these changes were hard, but it didn’t mean I wasn’t happy. “He asked if I was okay with it. Said he wouldn’t propose without my blessing. Of course, I gave it to him. We were family before, and now we’ll be family again—just in a new way.”

  “Yeah. Our kids will be cousins.”

  “Yeah, they will.”

  She clapped her hands together again. “I’m just so happy. I’ve never been this happy before.”

  I didn’t take offense at that statement. “You guys make so much sense. My brother needed the perfect woman to set him straight—and you’re that perfect woman.”

  “It wasn’t even hard. He’s just so wonderful and perfect…I’m so lucky.”

  “You both are lucky.” I pulled her into my side and kissed her on the forehead. “I know it’s Sunday night, but should we go out and celebrate?”

  “No, it’s late and it is Sunday. We’ll get together tomorrow. I just wanted to come over here and tell you because I was so excited. You’re my best friend. I tell you everything.”

  “Then let’s have some wine.” I walked into the kitchen and pulled out a bottle I’d been saving for a special occasion. I set it on the counter and grabbed two glasses.

  “Hey, I recognize that.” She grabbed the bottle and looked at the label. “Someone gave this to us for our wedding. Told us to open it for our five-year anniversary.”

  “Yeah, I remember.” I popped the cork and poured two glasses. “We were saving it for a special occasion—and I think tonight is that occasion.” I held up my glass to hers. “To you and Finn.”

  Her eyes filled with emotion as she looked at me, so happy that I was being supportive about this. She wanted both of us in her life, the two men she needed most. Having me celebrate with her made her so happy. “You’ll be my maid of honor, right?”

  My answer was immediate. “Of course.”

  Finn and I met for lunch the next day. He was off, Pepper was at work, and I was able to take a long lunch. I joined him at the table near the window, wearing my suit and tie.

  He rose to his feet and greeted me with a grin. “Looking good.”

  “Thanks.” I hugged him and clapped him on the back.

  “Pepper said she had a good time last night.” He sat down, approval in his voice.

  “Yeah, we drank too much wine, laughed too much, and talked about the wedding. I’ll be her maid of honor… Stella will be pissed.”

  “You aren’t going to be my best man?” he asked, still smiling.

  “I don’t know…are you asking me?”

  “I didn’t think I needed to ask. I just assumed.”

  “Oh…I thought you’d get one of your military buddies to do it.”

  “I could, but I’d rather it be you. You’re my brother…and my friend.”

  I hadn’t expected him to ask me, so the question was even more meaningful. “I’ve never been asked to be a best man and a maid of honor before.”

  “That’s what you get for being popular.”

  “I guess I’ll talk to Pepper about it. If I’m her maid of honor, Stella would lose her shit anyway.”

  “I’m not sure how much of a wedding we’ll have.” He already had a beer in front of him, so he took a drink. “We’ll do whatever she wants, but I thought we would have something small, just a few friends and family. She’s already done this once, so I doubt she wants to do the whole thing again.”

  “I think she just wants to marry you.”

  “Yeah.” He grinned. “Definitely.”

  “So, are you going to wear a ring?” My old ring was sitting in my nightstand where I hadn’t touched it.

  “No. I figured I would just get a tattoo. I wouldn’t want to wear my ring to the hospital because it’d be impossible to keep it clean all the time. I don’t like anything on my hands anyway.” He flexed his fingers then balled them into a fist. “I doubt she’ll care.”

  “Permanently inking your love for her on your skin? Yeah, she’ll love it.”

  “Pretty romantic, huh?” He looked at his hands then grabbed his beer again.

  “She was so happy last night, man. And so surprised.”

  “Yeah…she seemed it. When she looked at me, there was so much written on her face. She was overwhelmed. She didn’t know if she should cry or laugh…there was a lot going on. When she grabbed the box, she didn’t even think it was a ring. She thought I was giving her a random piece of jewelry. So it made it that much more beautiful.”

  “Wow…Finn Burke is a romantic.”

  “I’m a romantic for one woman—my fiancée.” He grinned as he said the word, the term rolling off his tongue.

  “What did Mom say?”

  “You know, the usual. Lots of tears. Asked about babies…”

  “That’s all she cares about, huh?”

  He shrugged. “I told her I’ll practice making them…that’s the best I can do.”

  I tried not to cringe.

  “Come on, this woman is gonna be my wife. I’m gonna say dirty things about her.”

  “I know…just gotta get used to it.”

  Finn grabbed his menu and looked over the entrees. “What are you getting?”

  I turned to wave down the waitress. “A beer, for starters.”

  “Even though you’re going back to the office?”

  “It’s pretty laid-back there.” I finally got her attention and ordered an IPA. Since she was there, Finn and I both ordered lunch too—salads and sandwiches. After she made eyes at Finn, she walked away.

  “Hopefully, that tattooed wedding ring will keep the ladies off you.”

  He shrugged. “I won’t get my hopes up.”

  “So, you’re off today?”

  He nodded. “I hate that Pepper owns her own business. She can’t just ditch work like I can.”

  “Yeah, but she likes it.”

  “I hope she doesn’t like it too much. I was hoping she would quit after we got married.”

  “Why would she do that?” I asked.

  “I make pretty good money, and I know she lives paycheck to paycheck. Just doesn’t make any sense. She could relax at home and do whatever she wants.”

  “If she asked you to stay at home and relax, would you like that?”

  He studied my expression. “I get your point. You don’t think she wants to stay home?”

  I shook my head violently. “No. She would hate that. It’d drive her crazy.”

  “Maybe she’ll hire someone else to work at the store so she can have more time off.”

  “Now, that is a possibility.”

  He looked out the window. “I guess I shouldn’t have assumed she would be a housewife. I just like the idea of taking care of her. Buying her a nice car and an endless supply of lingerie.”

  Just when it seemed sweet, it turned sour. “She’d only stay home if she were a mom.”

  “Well…I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” The food arrived a moment later, and we both picked up our forks and dug into our food. Finn pulled his phone out of his pocket when it vibrated and checked the screen.

  “Don’t tell me it’s Layla.”

  “No,” he said with a laugh. “Pepper said something to her at the airport and got her to back off. She leaves me alone now. Still don’t know what Pepper said …”

  “I do.” I stabbed my fork into a cucumber and took a bite.

  “You gonna share?”

  “She said that when Layla falls in love someday, she’ll be terrified to lose him because she loves him so much. Someone younger and hotter will come along, and she’ll be powerless to keep him by her side. She told Layla she didn’t want to be that kind of woman…the kind that steals someone’s man. Because one day someone might steal her man a
way.”

  Finn stopped eating and kept his fork in his grasp. “That’s deep.”

  “Pepper is a classy woman.”

  “Yeah, she is. When that guy assaulted her, she said she felt bad for him.”

  “Yeah…she’s like that. Has the kind of heart that just keeps giving.”

  His eyes were glued to his salad as he dragged the fork through the greens, his thoughts somewhere else at the moment. “Then it’s a good thing she has me. I’ll keep her heart safe so no one else breaks it.”

  I just hoped he was never the culprit behind her heartbreak—because there would be no one to protect her. “So, it wasn’t Layla? Good thing she’s giving you peace.”

  “It was the chief. We’re having a meeting tomorrow. Kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing.”

  “What’s it about?”

  He shrugged. “No idea. We don’t have these meetings often, so it’s probably important. Last time we got together, it was because the Red Cross was asking for volunteers.”

  “I hope they aren’t going to ask you to do anything else.”

  “I doubt it. I just did that mission, so they wouldn’t ask me again so soon.”

  “So, if they asked you to go back to Florida, you would say no?” Pepper lost her mind when he left the first time. If he left again, especially as her fiancé, she wouldn’t last another month.

  “Definitely. I already did my time. Now, it’s someone else’s turn.”

  23

  Pepper

  I finished the dishes and turned on the dishwasher.

  Then I admired the ring on my left hand. “Wow, it’s so beautiful…”

  Soldier sat at my feet, looking up at me with his coffee-colored eyes.

  “Isn’t it pretty?” I turned my hand and showed off the diamond.

  Soldier stared with the same boredom.

  “Well, I think it’s pretty.” I never took it off, not even when I showered or did the dishes. It stayed on my hand even while I slept. Just like the military tags around my neck which I never took off. They meant too much to me to leave them on a table somewhere.