Everything Worth Fighting For

by Street, K.

  He feathered kisses from my knee to my inner thigh. Up one leg and down the other, my pussy purposely ignored.

  “I need you,” I pleaded with him, positive I was on the brink of spontaneous combustion.

  “You ready for me to taste you?” His gravelly words had my desperation building.

  My eyes fell shut. “Yes. God, yes.”

  There was that chuckle again, soft and low. I didn’t need to look at Nash to know he wore that signature smirk because I heard it.

  “Good.” His warm breath floated across my exposed center. “Because I can’t wait a second longer.”

  He made a long sweep with the tip of his tongue, licking all the way up until he reached my swollen clit and then drew circles around it.

  I moaned at the feel of him. I’d forgotten how good this felt. How good he felt.

  “You taste sweeter than honey, Bee.”

  As if he knew what I needed, Nash dipped his tongue inside me and began to fuck me.

  In and out.

  Slow and deep.

  So fucking good.

  My hands fisted the blanket. Closer and closer to the edge I climbed. I rocked my hips against his mouth, needing just a little more.

  Strong, rough hands stilled my thrusting. I was on the verge of telling him what I thought about that when he slid two fingers inside me. Pumping in and out, working me into a frenzy.

  Pants of, “More,” and, “Please,” left my lips.

  Nash rotated his wrist and curled his fingers inside me.

  “Oh God!” I cried out.

  I teetered on the edge of orgasm. Nash’s mouth found my clit once more. My hands went to the back of his head, holding him against me. When his teeth lightly grazed the sensitive nub, I exploded in ecstasy.

  My legs tightened around him as my orgasm took hold, and I came all over his face. He licked me until my body finally stopped shuddering. My legs went slack, and I collapsed onto the bed.

  “I forgot how good you were at that,” I admitted, breathless.

  “We’re just getting started,” Nash promised.

  His words were like gasoline poured onto a smoldering flame, engulfing me all over again.

  Seconds ago, I had been sated, but that was no longer the case. I leaned up on my elbows, taking him in. His scruff glistened with the evidence of my orgasm, and he picked his shirt up from the floor to wipe his face. When he stood, the slightest moan reverberated in my throat at the magnificent view. Every single glorious inch of his cock stood at attention. I wanted him inside me more than I wanted my next breath.

  Nash leaned in and kissed my lips. “Move up to the headboard.”

  Not needing to be told twice, I shifted my body and slid up the bed, never taking my eyes off Nash.

  The mattress dipped as he settled over me. Weight balanced on his bent forearms, dick hard and hot against my thigh, gaze locked on mine.

  We had a wordless conversation.

  In his eyes, I saw the life we could have had if things had turned out differently.

  He leisurely brushed his lips across mine, as if we had all the time in the world. As if this wasn’t the beginning of the end. But I knew the truth. We were already over.

  I didn’t want to think. I just wanted to feel him inside me.

  “Nash,” I said against his mouth.

  His lips never left mine as his hand fumbled with the drawer of the nightstand. He pressed the foil packet into my palm and then leaned back on his haunches.

  I ripped it open with my teeth and rolled it over Nash’s granite cock.

  “Fuck me,” I demanded and fell onto the pillow.

  Without hesitation, he said, “No.”

  “What do you mean, no?” I snickered. “I’m pretty sure your dick is on board.”

  He positioned himself over me once again, his cock pressed at my opening. “I’m not going to fuck you, Bee.” He interlaced our fingers. “Not tonight.” With painstaking deliberation, he eased inside me.

  The weight of the meaning behind his words pierced my heart.

  Every measured stroke showed me how he felt.

  Nash’s eyes held mine until it became too much, and I turned away.

  His hands squeezed mine. “Give me your eyes, Mace.”

  I felt the sting of tears. I couldn’t look at him.

  “Please, Bee.”

  That was my undoing. No longer able to deny him, my blue irises fixed on his green ones.

  “I love you, Bee.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Neither one of us spoke the words.

  We didn’t have to.

  Tomorrow would change everything, but at least we had tonight.

  16

  Nash

  I took in Macy’s sleeping form next to me. The way her copper hair spilled across the white pillowcase, the steady rise and fall of her chest. I thought about how good it’d felt to hold her in my arms last night while I ghosted my fingertips over her bare back, loving the feel of her silky, smooth skin. I had lain awake long after she fell asleep, just to listen to her breathe because I needed to commit the sound to memory.

  Call it a sixth sense or whatever bullshit you wanted to. She had wanted to tell me something, and somehow, I had known, if those words left her lips, we wouldn’t be here right now, like this.

  I wasn’t any better prepared to hear what she had to say this morning.

  Careful not to wake her, I slid out of bed and snatched a pair of gym shorts from my dresser on the way to the bathroom. I slid them on and quietly went through my morning routine before tiptoeing out of the room.

  In the kitchen, I started a pot of coffee and grabbed my phone to check the radar before plugging it in to charge.

  I opened the fridge and took out the eggs, bacon, strawberries, cream cheese, and the loaf of challah bread from Crystal Creek Bakery Company. I hoped like hell Macy still loved French toast because I had perfected it over the years.

  Forty minutes and two cups of coffee later, I glanced up to find Macy in the entrance to the kitchen, watching me with a smile on her face. One look at her sucked the air from my lungs.

  She looked sexy as hell, standing there, hair woven into a braid and dressed in one of my black T-shirts with the Jaxson’s Garage logo across the chest. The hem hit her mid-thigh, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she had anything on underneath.

  “Good morning.”

  “Good morning.” She gave me a sleepy smile, and damn if I didn’t love it.

  “Why are you all the way over there?”

  “I’m just taking in the view.” She waved her finger up and down in my direction. “I’m not going to complain, but maybe frying bacon without a shirt on isn’t the best idea.”

  I grinned. “Is that so?”

  She entered the room and snatched a piece of bacon from the plate beside me.

  “Not so fast.” I pulled her in for a quick kiss and then used the spatula in my hand to point to the kitchen table. “Have a seat. It will be done in two minutes.”

  “Want some help?”

  “Not a chance. Go sit. I’ve got this.”

  She stared at me for a long second, debating on whether or not to follow orders before she pulled out a chair and sat.

  I put the last piece of strawberries-and-cream stuffed French toast on the plate and poured Macy a cup of coffee. Her eyes grew wide when I set her breakfast in front of her.

  “Nash, this looks incredible,” she said, taking in the plate of strawberry-stuffed French toast. “I can’t believe you made this.”

  I made a fist and then swung it in a stabbing motion into my chest, right over my heart. “You wound me, Mace.” Mock hurt filled my tone.

  She rolled her eyes and laughed.

  I grabbed my plate from the counter, refilled my cup, and sat across from her.

  “Seriously though, I’m impressed.” She grinned and added, “Like take a picture and post it on social media impressed. It’s a long way from burned bagels and cream c
heese.”

  “Are you ever going to let me live that down?”

  “Probably not.” She laughed. “I mean, you did catch the toaster on fire.”

  I had missed our old, familiar banter. “You’re a pain in my ass. You know that?”

  Yeah, but you love me.

  The way that she looked at me, I knew those words were on the tip of her tongue even if she didn’t say them.

  She cut into her breakfast and took a bite. The moan that left her lips made my dick stir.

  “Holy shit.” She lifted another forkful to her mouth. “So good,” she groaned. “Oh my God.”

  “Would you like me to leave you two alone?” I chuckled and took a bite of my breakfast.

  “Ha-ha.” Macy pointed her fork at me. “Shut it.”

  A few minutes passed while we ate in content quiet.

  When I felt Macy’s eyes on me, I looked up, and our gazes met. The playfulness from moments ago dissipated. Her look of concentration made it obvious that she was working something out inside her head. Maybe searching for words that I didn’t want to hear.

  It was back … the feeling from last night. The one that coiled my stomach into a knot.

  Forcing a smile, I told her, “Hurry up. I have plans for us.”

  Maybe I was sticking my head in the sand. Maybe my actions were that of a pussy. Or maybe I was just a man sitting across from the other half of his soul, refusing to let go.

  A smile tugged at the corner of Macy’s pretty mouth. “Is that so?”

  “Yep.” I popped the last bite of French toast into my mouth and grinned.

  I watched as the heaviness left her eyes. It told me everything I needed to know. That I wasn’t the only one who wanted to hang on to this a little longer.

  I rinsed my plate and put it in the dishwasher.

  Macy set her dish in the sink and wrapped her arms around me from behind. “Thanks for breakfast. It was delicious.”

  “You’re welcome.” I turned to face her and wrapped my arms around her.

  She had a smear of cream cheese in the corner of her mouth. I leaned in, and using the tip of my tongue, I licked it off. Then, I tugged her bottom lip between my teeth.

  Macy’s hands dug into my bare back. I cupped her face and dived into her mouth. She tasted like strawberries and cream and perfection.

  Last night, I had taken my time with her, but this morning, I wanted to ravage her. The only thing that kept me from fucking her on the kitchen table was that the condoms were in the bedroom, and I had plans for us. We didn’t have long due to the fact that there was a storm moving in. It was already getting a little late for what I had in mind.

  I slowed the kiss down, much to the disappointment of my dick, and took a step back. As much as I wanted to bury myself inside her for days, there was something a hell of a lot more important. I needed to remind her of how good we had been together back before it all went to shit. No matter how badly I’d fucked up or whatever she had to tell me … it wasn’t going to change that.

  I refuse to let it.

  “Go get dressed. We’re leaving in ten minutes.”

  Macy planted a hand on her cocked hip. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

  “It’s a surprise.”

  She hated surprises; at least, that was what she claimed, but I knew she secretly loved them.

  “You’re such a brat.” She turned on her heel, and I swatted her ass.

  “Now, you have nine minutes.”

  Macy spun to face me and attempted a stern glare, failing miserably. “You know what they say about paybacks …” She let her implied threat hang in the air and walked away.

  We had come a long way in the last few weeks. The awkwardness between us had faded and it felt like we were finding our way back to each other.

  * * *

  Almost an hour later, I pulled into the gravel lot and parked. We had gotten a later start than I had planned, so it wasn’t much of a shocker that we were the only ones here.

  I killed the engine and glanced her way.

  She had on a tank top, a pair of cutoff jean shorts, and one of my baseball caps on her head. She looked too fucking cute, especially with her braid pulled through the opening at the back.

  Macy looked wistful as she stared out the windshield at the tree line across the creek. “I haven’t been here in ages,” she said, not taking her eyes off the water.

  “Really?” I asked, a little saddened by her confession.

  This had been our place.

  She’d loved it here almost as much as I did. We used to come here together all the time … a lifetime ago. I knew without her saying it that I was the reason she had stayed away. My chest tightened at the knowledge.

  I gently squeezed her bare creamy thigh. “Come on, Mace. Let’s go catch us some fish.”

  She finally looked at me. “All right, but I’m baiting my own hook.” Her lips pulled into a smile, and we got out of my truck, which I had opted to take instead of the Mustang.

  Macy carried the pole she was using along with the bait bucket while I carried the other pole and the cooler. Once we reached the end of the dock, Macy took a seat and let her feet dangle off the side.

  Shielding her eyes from the sun, she looked up at me and grinned. “Remember that time I got really mad at you and Tucker because you said I couldn’t come fishing with y’all.”

  “You mean, the time you dumped out the bait bucket and filled it with sour gummy worms and put dirt on top of them?” I laughed at the memory. “We didn’t catch a single damn fish that day.” I crouched beside her and opened the container of worms.

  Macy reached in, pulled one out, and hooked it on the end of her line, and I followed suit. We both stood and carefully cast out our lines before we sat beside each other on the sun-beaten wooden surface.

  “You were such a pain in the ass sometimes,” I joked.

  “Oh, stop.” Macy nudged my shoulder. “You loved me, and you know it.”

  And, just like that, the one thing we had always said to each other was out in the open.

  Her words stifled our easy banter, and neither of us said anything.

  I wanted to—that was for damn sure—but I held my tongue. I knew she wasn’t ready to hear it yet.

  I kept a grip on my fishing pole with one hand and opened the cooler with the other. Reaching inside, I grabbed a can of Dr. Pepper for Macy and passed it to her before taking one for myself.

  “Thanks,” she said, taking it from me. After a beat, she quietly admitted, “I just hated being left behind.”

  “Not as much as I hated leaving you behind.” I leaned over and brushed my lips across hers. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Me, too,” she whispered against my lips.

  We fished for an hour and didn’t catch a damn thing worth keeping, but it didn’t matter. The only thing I cared about was being here with her.

  Thunder roared through the darkening sky as drops of rain began to fall. Scrambling to gather our stuff, we hightailed it off the dock. Seconds before we climbed into the cab of the truck, the sky erupted, and the drops became a torrential downpour.

  Macy slammed her door just as lightning flashed. “Damn, that was close.”

  Sheets of water cascaded over the windshield.

  I reached for the roll of blue shop towels I kept under the seat and tore one off. “Here you go,” I said, handing it to Macy. I ripped one off for myself. “Did you have fun?”

  “It was great.” She wiped water from her forehead. “I didn’t realize how much I missed being here.”

  “Anytime you want to come back, just say the word.” I put the key in the ignition and started the engine.

  Macy put her hand on my knee. “Nash, wait.”

  I turned to her, lifted my hand to brush a thumb over her cheek, and braced myself. “What is it, Bee?”

  Her hand went to my wrist, and she leaned into my touch. Those beautiful blue eyes held my stare.

  Macy
slightly shifted her body and planted a kiss in the center of my palm. “Nothing.” She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

  Instead of pushing her to talk to me like I should have, I pulled her close and gave her a long kiss. Slipping my tongue between her parted lips, I thanked the powers that be that she’d let it go.

  Macy broke the kiss. “The rain slacked off. We should go.”

  She settled back into her seat, buckling the seat belt, and I did the same.

  “Any idea of what you want for dinner?”

  “Seriously? We just ate breakfast.”

  I backed out of the parking lot. “Yeah, over two hours ago. I need to run by the store to get a few things, so if you see something you want, just throw it in the cart.”

  “All right.” Macy leaned forward and turned the radio on. “How about tacos?”

  I nodded. “I could definitely go for some tacos.”

  With dinner decided and Macy’s voice softly singing along with the music, we drove toward town.

  It didn’t take long before I was pulling into the parking lot of the grocery store. We got out of the truck, and though the rain had stopped, the ground was wet. When I slipped an arm around Macy, she snuggled into my side. I kissed her temple as we made our way across the steamy pavement and through the automatic doors. Reluctantly, I released my grip on Macy to grab a shopping cart.

  We were next to the tomatoes when a voice I knew all too well filled the space.

  “Uncle Nash! Aunt Macy!” Shayne hollered. She barreled past the precut fruit and headed straight for us.

  I sidestepped the cart and opened my arms to catch her. “Hey, Monkey! How’s my favorite girl?” I asked, scooping her into my arms.

  “Still sweet and sassy.” She giggled.

  I kissed Shayne’s cheek and set her on her feet as Tucker and Camryn approached. Shayne went to love on Macy, and since Macy’s attention was focused on Shayne, she missed the look that passed between our best friends at the sight of us together.

  Tucker raised a questioning brow. “Hey, man. What are y’all doing here?”