by Haley Travis
Both of his large palms against my breasts made my heart race, as I realized what was finally about to happen.
“Tara, you need to understand that you’re my dream girl,” he said gently. “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted. Every single thing I learn about you makes me need you even more. In fact, you’re much too good for me, but I’m hoping you won’t figure that out anytime soon.”
His dark eyes sparkled as his fingertips lingered at the edge of my panties before slipping inside. “I love that you’re always so wet. How did I get so lucky?” he murmured.
It felt as though my entire body was opening for him, like a flower that leaned toward the sun. His fingers slid inside me, as his thumb swirled around my swollen button.
“Oh,” I gasped, as he stroked deeper.
His teeth scraped lightly along the side of my throat, making me shudder.
“Baby, the decision is completely yours. If you want to wait, that’s fine. If you want to go further, I’m going to need you to reach back into the drawer behind you for a condom.”
“Actually,” I whispered, “I’m on the pill.”
“Good,” he practically growled, kissing along my collarbone. “It’s been a really long time for me, gorgeous.”
I wasn’t sure whether or not I should share. “Um, I’ve only…twice before.”
“I’ll be gentle,” he said, stroking my outer thigh with his big, warm hand. “Panties off.”
I wasn’t sure why, but the subtle command made me burn inside.
Once I was completely naked, I helped Jared slide off his shorts, being careful not to move his leg too much. “Really, you don’t have to worry,” he said. “I won’t be going jogging any time soon, but my leg is fine.”
For a moment I was distracted by the sight in front of me. His shaft was huge. A long, thick protrusion that looked hard as steel.
I knew that it was wrong to compare men, but Jared was easily twice the size of my only other lover.
“You’re not supposed to move much until the skin knits back together,” I reminded him quickly. “Jared, I’d feel awful if I hurt you.”
“I’m happy to wait as long as you want,” he said gently, peppering my cheeks with kisses. “But if you want me as much as I want you, tell me.”
“I want you.”
His eyes positively burned with a mixture of tenderness and possession. Then those beautiful lips turned up in a luscious grin.
“Someday very soon I’m going to feel you squirming under me, my gorgeous girl,” Jared muttered, placing a trail of soft, open mouthed kisses around my breasts. “But if you want me to be a good boy and not move my leg, I’m going to need you to take over.”
“What do you mean?”
Jared’s strong hands took hold of me, moving me so that my knees straddled his hips. “Ride me,” he commanded. He reached down to spread my folds, pressing my center against the bottom of his thickness. “Slide up and down until I’m nice and slick for you.”
His darker tone of voice had me shivering from head to toe. Placing my hands on his chest, I nodded, every muscle in my body needing to obey him as I began to move. Slowly I slid back and forth, feeling my juices flowing as his heat seemed to surround me.
I still wasn’t sure whether he would fit, but I was more determined than ever to try. Just the thought of having so much of him inside me caused faint moans to escape my throat.
Jared reached up to squeeze my breasts, flicking his thumbs around the nipples as we rocked together. Then his right hand slid down until his thumb found my clit.
“That’s it, gorgeous,” he growled softly. “Get ready for me. I need to feel you come on me.”
The sensation of being so open for him, allowing my body to do everything we wanted without thought, sent me spinning into bliss. “Jared…” I wailed as the pleasure shook my hips, grinding my wet flesh against his length.
Falling forward, I kissed him hard, frantically, as we moved together. I was so wet and open that it only took a wriggle for the thick, round head to begin to slip inside me.
Staring down at Jared’s beautifully sculpted body, part of me still couldn’t believe this was happening. Placing my hands on his warm, muscular chest, I took a slow breath and began to sink down onto his shaft.
Jared’s palms gripped my hips, guiding me. “Slowly,” he said, watching my eyes carefully.
Something in his gaze almost made me burst into tears. It was more than love. Jared cared for me completely. Even now, when he probably had the worst case of blue balls since we met, he was only thinking of my comfort.
“I love you,” I said, leaning down to give him the most sensual kiss of my life.
“And I love you, Tara,” he moaned, as his length slipped further inside.
I gasped as the pressure became intense, but the light rocking of his hips and mine seemed to nudge everything into place.
“So tight and wet for me,” his deep voice rumbled. “You look like a goddess riding me.”
My long blonde hair was probably a complete tangled mess around my shoulders, and I felt flushed from the heat flowing through me. Yet I did feel like a goddess, as my thighs clenched, pressing my body down until almost his entire length was seated deep in my channel.
“How does that feel?” he asked.
“Perfect,” I moaned. “And I bet I can fit a little more.”
His eyes blazed as he chuckled. “Slowly, baby.”
Rocking gently, I gasped as he hit bottom inside me. I could feel more than hear his low groan. Sliding my hands around his neck, I began to move steadily, loving the feeling of his entire length pulling out, then sinking deep inside again.
“I think you were made for me,” Jared said, kissing me tenderly.
He gripped me tightly, then began moving against me in a seductive rolling rhythm that practically knocked the breath out of me. He was so hot, and that sexy heat was making me lose my inhibitions.
Every thrust was more perfect than the last, as we gasped and moaned against each other. For the first time in my life, I was completely delighted to be the center of attention. Jared’s eyes were fixed on mine, leaving only to stare occasionally at my bouncing breasts, or the place where we were joined.
As I leaned forward to kiss him, I shifted, allowing my clit to graze against him with every stroke.
“Tell me you can come like this,” he groaned.
“Yes,” I gasped, as the spiraling pressure inside me was already taking over. Thrusting faster, his cock swelled even more inside me as I felt my climax rushing through my nerves. It spilled over me like a waterfall, leaving me breathless and quivering. “Harder,” I managed to gasp.
Jared’s hands tightened around my hips. “I can feel you,” he groaned. “Tara...” His lips crushed to mine as I felt his length jerk, spurting deep in my pussy.
I’d never felt a more perfect moment in my entire life. Somehow, I felt claimed, while at the same time, I was claiming Jared.
We belonged to each other now.
“I love you,” he murmured, still moving against me. “Tara, tell me you’re mine. I know it’s too crazy, too soon, but tell me anyway.”
Bringing my forehead against his, I stared into his dark eyes, completely free of worry for the first time in my life. “Yes. I’m yours.”
18
_____
Jared
The faint beeping was going on too long to be an alarm. My eyes opened slowly, and as I reached for Tara, I felt her holding my left hand.
Oddly, that was the only part of my body that felt warm, the rest of me was slightly chilled. Looking down, I saw that I was shirtless, in a hospital bed with a sheet only up to my waist.
“Jared?” Tara whispered.
She looked fragile. There were slight dark shadows under her eyes, and her normally lustrous hair was a bit flat.
“What’s wrong, baby?” I asked. “What do you need?”
Her mouth fell open as she stared at me in silence for
a few seconds. “Jared, you’re in a hospital, with an IV hooked up to your arm, and you’re asking me if I’m all right?”
Glancing over, I saw there was indeed a tube in my right arm, but that seemed unimportant. “Are you okay?” I asked again. “You look tired.”
Her laugh sounded brittle. “Yes, I’m tired, but I’m fine. How do you feel?”
I had to think about that. Everything was slightly achy and strange. A nurse in purple scrubs walked into the room just as I was saying, “I feel like the morning after I had a round of food poisoning. Technically adequate, but everything’s sort of off kilter.”
The nurse took my temperature immediately, smiling when she saw the number. “Much better. You had quite the fever spike when this young lady brought you in last night.”
“Why did I have a fever?”
“Once in a blue moon, someone has a slight reaction to a tetanus shot,” she explained. “Or infection could have set in with that nasty cut on your leg. Don’t worry, your fever is down, and we’re running some antibiotics through you. You’ll be right as rain by tomorrow.”
She tilted my bed up so that I was sitting, then pointed to the table beside me. “Water, juice, whatever you think feels like a good idea. We’ll get some proper food into you once you’ve been up a little bit.”
She rushed away, and I looked over to see Tara wiping away a tear. Moving over to the far edge of the bed, I patted the space beside me. “Get up here.”
She sat carefully on the bed, looking relieved when I slipped my left arm around her.
“What happened?”
“I woke up in the middle of the night to go pee, and you were burning up,” she explained. “I didn’t know whether I should call an ambulance, so I called Laura. She lives with her brother, who drives a taxi van. The three of us got you to the hospital, and they gave you something to bring the fever down fast.”
“Baby,” I murmured, pulling her against me for a soft, gentle kiss. “Thank you so much for taking care of me.”
“Of course,” she said, holding my hand tightly.
“I’m so sorry, gorgeous. You must have been so scared.”
She nodded, biting her lip thoughtfully. Then she smiled, those beautiful blue eyes beaming. “You know, it’s funny. In the past week, I’ve had to step up and be brave a lot more than usual. It’s weird, but I think you’ve been a good influence already.”
Holding her against my shoulder, I stroked her hair. “You know, I think you’ve been a good influence on me as well.”
“How do you mean?”
“I used to work with rather shady people, where any sort of weakness would be exploited. And now here I am, someone who fancies himself a tough guy, who just had his sorry ass saved by his sweet little girlfriend.”
Kissing her forehead, I added, “And I’m absolutely fine with it. I’m more proud of you that I am ashamed of myself.”
“We’re going to be so good for each other,” she smiled. “It’s crazy, but I’m really excited for us to have a few normal dates, and be boring together once in a while.”
The deep, peaceful feeling vibrating through me was intense, but calm. The sense of belonging that I’d always hoped to find was right here.
“You’re the one, Tara,” I said softly. “The only thing that’s stopping me from proposing right now is that I’m half naked and it’s a bit undignified.”
Her sweet, high giggle filled me with so much joy, I couldn’t resist.
“Baby, hand me that?” I pointed to the roll of medical tape they had used to secure the IV in my arm that was sitting on the table .
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “If your needle is coming out, I’ll go get the nurse.”
“Relax,” I chuckled. “Hold on.”
Unwinding a length of the tape, I spun it into a little white rope. Taking her left hand, I twisted it around her ring finger twice, then stuck the ends together.
“Tara Johnson, love of my life, light of my heart…will you accept this ring as a token of our pre-engagement?”
“I will,” she smiled, her eyes shining with tears. “Yes.”
“I love you, gorgeous. I promise to try to be as boring as possible for at least a month.”
“I love you too,” she smiled, trailing her fingertips along the tattoo on my ribs. “We’ll have plenty of adventures, but they can wait until after I’m moved in.”
My heart jumped as my mouth fell open. “You’ve already decided?”
She nodded, holding her hand out to admire her new ring. “Yes. I did a little online research, and there are no negative statistics for couples who move in together really quickly.”
Tara cuddled against my shoulder, as I held her in the tiny hospital bed.
It was clear we were going to be a good team, and bounce back and forth taking care of each other forever.
Epilogue
_____
Tara
* Eight Years Later *
After all this time, I couldn’t believe that I was in this position again. My mouth was dry, my heart was hammering in my chest, and my knees weren’t as stable as they should have been.
I had been expecting my husband to be here to help me.
We’d gotten married just eight months after we met, in a simple ceremony in his backyard. Well, our backyard now. I moved in with Jared just one month after we realized we were in love, and we’d been practically glued to each other ever since.
Of course, it was terribly convenient that we already had our perfect wedding clothing. We simply wore the outfits we had on the day we met. Jessie was absolutely thrilled that we were using her designs. We even used one of the photos of our very first kiss as our save the date card.
Now here I was again, about to model for Jessie’s new clothing line while prickles of terror ran up my spine. Oddly, the prickles were much less intense. I’d almost learned how to control my fear. At least now I knew I’d always make it through.
“Tara, you’re next,” Jessie smiled encouragingly. “Trust me – it’s a lot more casual than last time.”
My fingers were like ice, but I held tightly to the little hands that reached up to me. “Are you guys ready?” I asked with a giant smile.
Corbin gave me a dramatic nod, with all of the seriousness a six-year-old could muster. Ryan, who was not quite five, looked terrified.
“What if we do it wrong?” he whispered.
“There is no right and wrong,” Jessie said, adjusting his adorable blazer and patting down his blonde hair one more time. “People just want to see the clothes, and how cute you boys are.”
Meeting her eyes, I didn’t need to ask the question out loud. “I called again, but no answer,” she said worriedly. “He’s probably–”
Ryan’s hand was pulled out of mine as Jared lifted him up. “Sorry I was late, gorgeous,” he said, quickly kissing the top of my hair. “Let’s go.”
A huge sigh of relief poured out of me. I knew he’d make it, but that had been cutting it very close. As the second last family left the stage, the four of us took our position at the big X on the floor.
“Smile,” I said, giving Corbin’s hand a shake.
For a split second, I didn’t know if my feet would propel me down the runway. Then Jared’s fingers gripped mine. “My darling, shall we go for a walk?”
Slowly strolling down the catwalk to the music of the latest kid’s TV show, I was able to look around the room at the smiling faces. Perhaps it was a blessing that Jessie burnt out on high fashion, and switched to her family clothing line.
It was an instant hit. Simple, comfortable clothing with the clean lines and luxurious fabrics a billionaire would wear. But the price point wasn’t too outrageous for the average working family.
I’d been wearing the new line for the past year, and it was a huge hit at work. We couldn’t keep enough in stock.
With my promotion to manager, then regional manager, it had been easy to pitch Jessie’s new line to head office. The se
asonal trial had instantly turned into every store begging for more of her products.
As we reached the end of the runway, we paused for the rather quiet group of a dozen photographers. The lights and music volume were much more reasonable at this show, since there were small children present. It was also nice to see so many fellow moms already wearing Jessie’s incredibly durable clothing.