Finding Our Forever: (A Defining Moments Novel)

by Andee Michelle

  “I sure did,” I respond, just as we reach the line for the Ferris wheel, and I place her back down on her feet.

  The moment her feet hit the ground, she swings her hair back out of her face and glares up at me, which makes me laugh. She is so not scary.

  “Oh, you think that’s funny do you, Mr. Harper?” She gives me the wicked grin of a serial killer before ripping my cotton candy out of my hand, pulling all of the cotton off, and rolling it into a ball. While backing away from me, still grinning, she licks the ball, and my pants tighten seeing her little pink tongue enjoying the sweet treat.

  “Why would you be so cruel to me?” I ask her seriously as she tosses the cotton candy ball from hand to hand. “I love cotton candy, and that’s the first time I’ve had it in years. It doesn’t taste the same when it’s all balled up. It must stay light and fluffy. You ruined it.” I feign chest pain, but she just laughs and rolls her eyes.

  “Keep your hands to yourself then,” she replies and tosses the ball to me. I lick my lips and take a huge bite out of it while stalking toward her. She squeals and turns to run, but I’m on her. I drop the ball to the ground and spin her around, smooshing my face against hers, rubbing my cotton candy lips all over her face. She continues screaming and I can tell we’re starting to irritate people, but I don’t care. She needed this fun. She needed to take her mind off everything that happened today.

  “I’m going to kill you!” she yells through her laughter. I stop rubbing my lips on her cheek and press them to hers. She opens her mouth to me immediately and I pull her body up against mine and deepen the sweet kiss.

  Pulling back from me, she looks up into my eyes and whispers, “That was the yummiest kiss ever.” She pecks my lips a couple more times before sucking my bottom lip into her mouth, and I instantly have a full-blown hard-on.

  “Come ride the Ferris wheel with me, please. I promise it’s safe, and as of five seconds ago, I can’t walk around like this.” I gesture to my crotch, and she giggles and nods her head.

  “All right, big boy, let’s go. If we die on that thing, I’ll never forgive you,” she replies, lacing her fingers between mine and heading toward the line, which is already moving to load the next set of passengers.

  When we get to the front of the line, I hand the biker-looking guy our tickets and a twenty-dollar bill, which he tucks into his pocket. Sara is still watching the wheel with fascination and, thankfully, didn’t see our exchange.

  Pulling Sara onto the platform, her free hand grabs my shirt the moment we’re sitting. She’s holding on to it for dear life. “I’ve never been on one of these before, Eli, and I’m freaking out a little,” she shouts over the noise of the engine.

  “I got you, baby,” I speak softly into her ear and rub my free hand over the hand she has clenching the front of my shirt.

  The moment we start to move, Sara lets out a small squeal and wraps her arms around my abdomen, holding on so tight I’m afraid she’ll cut off my ability to breath. She’s strong as hell.

  I tap her arm, and when she looks up at me, I make a pained expression at her and she lightens her grip on me.

  “You’re okay, Sara,” I tell her gently. Reaching down, I place my index finger under her chin and lift her face so she’s looking at mine. “I got you.” Placing my lips against hers, I kiss her until her body relaxes.

  When I feel the Ferris wheel start to slow, I pull back from the kiss, placing one more on her forehead before I tuck her into my side and hold her there.

  We come to a stop and I hear Sara gasp when she takes in the view. We’re at the top.

  “Eli,” she whispers, “it’s so beautiful up here.”

  “Not as beautiful as you.” She lays her head on my shoulder and looks out over the mountains in front of us. I absolutely love Colorado.

  We sit for several minutes just enjoying the view and holding onto each other before we start moving again. He actually gave us more time than I thought he would. I’ll have to thank him later.

  The moment our feet hit the ground, Sara launches herself into my arms, which causes me to lift her off the ground. “Thank you,” she mumbles into my neck.

  “Why are you thanking me?” I laugh in response.

  “Because you made me step outside my comfort zone, and that’s not easy for me.” She presses her lips to my neck and it sends a shiver through me. I feel the shift between us going from fun and flirty to serious and “I want to rip your clothes off right now.”

  I set her back down on her feet and grab her hand, steering her toward the parking lot. She doesn’t speak, but with her hurried steps, I can tell she feels the shift too.

  The moment we get to my truck, she spins around to face me and backs up against the door. I place my hands on her hips and lift her up to meet me, pressing her against the truck.

  “Holy shit, you’re gorgeous,” I whisper against her lips, before crashing my mouth into hers.

  With my hands cupping her ass, she wraps her legs around my waist. I open the passenger side door and set her down on the seat, never breaking from the kiss. She puts her hands on the sides of my jaw and rubs her thumbs over my cheeks, pulling my head deeper into the truck as she lays back on the bench seat. Our mouths disconnect, and I find myself bent over her with my face at her chest. I tug the neck of her shirt down just enough to see her cleavage, running my tongue up the valley in between. Her body shivers and I’m seconds away from lifting that shirt off her when I hear a throat clear behind us, followed by a giggle.

  Shit. Sara quickly rights her shirt and jerks her legs into the truck before I slam the door and turn to see an older couple walking hand in hand toward the entrance to the amusement park. The guy looks back at me, throwing me a nod and a smirk.

  I make my way back to the other side of the truck and take a deep breath before I open the door. I did it again. I almost mauled her in a parking lot.

  The moment my ass hits the seat, Sara is straddling my lap. “Let’s go to my house, Eli,” she pants against my mouth. I can feel the heat of her on my throbbing lower half, and it takes every ounce of my strength not to rip her clothes off right here.

  I place a rough last kiss to her mouth before groaning too loudly, which makes her laugh, and placing her back in her seat.

  “Put your seatbelt on, baby,” I growl at her before tearing out of the parking lot like my ass is on fire.

  THE MOMENT THE door closes, I have her pressed up against it, her feet dangling below her.

  “Bedroom,” she groans into my mouth as I press my still-hard length against her. My heart races as I place my hands on the backs of her thighs so she’ll wrap her legs around me. I stomp toward the hallway, stepping over a sleeping Diesel. That dog is shit for protection. He continues to snore as we make our way down the hallway and into her bedroom.

  I set her on the bed gently and she immediately starts to back up toward the headboard, pulling her shirt off as she goes.

  Reaching behind my head, I grab the neck of my shirt and drag it over my head before throwing it on the floor beside me. I watch Sara’s face as she takes in my chest and abs. I work out, so I’m fully aware of how muscular I am, and I’ve seen how women react to me in the gym. I’m not hard on the eyes. She licks her lips before her hands move to the top of her jeans and unbuttons them. Once she has them over her hips, I grab the bottom of each leg and pull them off.

  And there she is. My beautiful Sara, laid out in front of me in nothing but her bra and panties, looking downright edible.

  I reach to unbutton my pants but freeze as she crawls off the bed and kneels in front of me.

  Holy shit.

  I look down at her with complete and utter shock as she undoes my jeans and pulls them down my legs. She stands back up, grazing her nose against my length on purpose, and my whole body goes rock solid. She’s teasing me. She turns me around and pushes me a step backward toward the bed. She reaches for the waistband of my boxer briefs, rubbing her index finger just under the elasti
c. I watch for her reaction when her finger makes contact with the hardness underneath. She looks down and then back up at me, trying to hide her shock.

  She smiles timidly before slowly reaching forward and wrapping her tiny hand around my length, causing a moan to escape my lips. “I trust you,” she says, right before pushing me to a sitting position on her bed. The second my ass hits the bed, her hot little mouth is wrapped around me.

  “Holy shit,” I grunt out. My hips thrust forward on their own accord, and I swear I almost explode the moment I feel the back of her throat. She swallows and I literally see stars.

  “Baby, you gotta stop. I won’t last another two seconds,” I admit, pulling her mouth off me. I pick her up and flip us over so I’m kneeling between her legs, looking down at her. She’s absolutely perfect. She sits up on her elbows, allowing me to unclasp her bra and slide it off her.

  And now it’s my turn to be amazed.

  She’s perfect.

  She reaches up with one hand, running her fingers through my hair to the back of my head before pulling my head down to her as she lays back down. Her kisses are frantic. Her hands roam my body, lighting a fire in me that I never realized was there.

  I kiss my way down her chest, sucking one of her little pink nipples into my mouth, which causes her to moan and arch her body off the bed. I trail my other hand down to her panties, running my finger under the lace edge. Her body tenses as I start to slide them down her legs and my hand stills.

  “We don’t have to do this, Sara. If you’re not ready, we can wait,” I assure her.

  “No, that’s not it. I’m just nervous. It’s been a long time since I’ve been with anyone and you’re not exactly a small guy.” She laughs nervously.

  “I will be so gentle, baby. If anything feels painful or is even remotely not to your liking, you tell me and we stop. I promise,” I say in between kissing my way down her body. I pull her panties the rest of the way off, and the moment my mouth finds her center, her entire body jolts off the bed.

  “Oh God,” she moans while pressing herself toward me.

  I ravage her with my mouth, knowing I need her to be completely relaxed and ready for me. The moment my finger enters her and she clamps down on me, I know she’s right about the possibility of there being pain. She’s so tight. Her body shivers and she whimpers out my name, but I continue teasing her with my tongue until her body relaxes.

  I crawl back up her body and press my lips to hers eagerly. She wastes no time deepening the kiss and reaching down to slide her hand up and down me.

  “Condom,” she whispers against my mouth.

  I jump off the bed and grab my jeans from the floor. Pulling the condom out of my wallet, I toss it to her and she immediately rips the package open with her teeth. Such a lovely sight.

  I stalk up the bed toward her and she squeals when I jerk her to me, crashing my lips into her. She reaches between us and sheaths me, never once removing her lips from mine.

  I move my body in sync with hers, grinding against her. She’s ready.

  Sitting back up on my knees in between her legs, I rub myself against her center, coating us both. When I press against her, she stills, her eyes meeting mine.

  “Just say the word and I’ll stop, baby,” I whisper to her. Leaning forward, I crush my lips to hers, deepening the kiss as I push into her as gently as I can. She gasps as I press in further but doesn’t tense up as I expected her too.

  “Holy hell, you feel so good,” I grind out, trying not to lose my shit before I’m even completely inside her.

  “More, Eli, I need more,” she pleads, and I press into her a little more. Her hands find their way to my ass and she’s pressing me down and pushing herself forward. When I’m fully seated, we both stop breathing for a second.

  “Are you okay?” I pull back to look in her eyes so I can see the truth.

  “Yes. Thank you for being so gentle with me,” she whimpers, before lifting her hips a bit, making the smallest circle and causing me to growl at her.

  She giggles lightly before pleading in my ear. “Please.”

  My movements start out slow and gentle, but quickly become more. What began as sweet has turned into us both racing for the finish line.

  Sara reaches behind me and pulls my head toward hers, pressing our foreheads together, staring into my eyes just as she sobs out my name, and I release into her.

  I collapse on the bed beside her, hauling her body against mine.

  “That was amazing,” she whispers into the dark room.

  “I agree with that assessment, Ms. Calhoun,” I reply groggily. I need to get up, but I’m so tired. I feel her move away from me, and when I peek up at her, she’s standing beside the bed naked, smiling down at me.

  “Get up, sleepyhead, before you fall asleep,” she laughs.

  “Don’t wanna,” I protest. She reaches for the blankets, but I see it coming so I try to wrap myself in it so she can’t rip them off.

  “If you don’t get up and go to the bathroom, you’re going to make a mess of my bed, and then you will be the one changing the sheets,” she teases.

  Shit. The condom.

  I roll out of bed and stride across the floor to the bathroom. I glance back and catch her eyeing my ass.

  “You like?” I joke.

  “More than I should admit to,” she replies before diving back into the bed and pulling the covers up over her.

  After I’ve finished in the bathroom, I return to find my beautiful girl curled up in a ball fast asleep. I pull my boxer briefs back on and head to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

  Just as I get to the end of the hallway, I hear a deep growl and it makes me stop immediately.

  “Diesel, it’s me, boy,” I whisper-yell, reaching for the hall light. When I click it on and my eyes adjust, I see Diesel by the kitchen island, his hair raised and the growl still coming from him. Holy shit. If I didn’t know this dog loves me, I’d be shitting myself right now.

  “Diesel. Here, boy,” I say in my regular voice. The moment he hears me, he relaxes and walks toward me, tail wagging. I guess I was wrong about him. Anybody who came into this house that he didn’t recognize would definitely get the shit scared out of them. The growl was vicious.

  I take Diesel outside to use the bathroom and draw in a deep breath of the cool night air. I love being outside at night. I’m not sure what it’s called, but I feel at ease in the dark. Makes me want to go camping. I wonder if Sara is into outdoorsy stuff. I’ll have to talk to her about that because I’d love to take her camping.

  After Diesel does his business, we make our way back inside and I scurry back into bed with my girl. My girl.

  When I snuggle under the covers and pull her to me, she comes willingly and lays her head on my chest. I could definitely get used to this. Sleeping with a woman in my arms isn’t something I do. I mean, I’ve fallen asleep after sex before, but I always wake up before morning and leave. I’ve never slept cuddling someone.

  Times are definitely changing.

  She breathes in deep and lets out a little snore, which I find adorable. She’s completely worn out and that makes me feel like I did my job.

  I listen to her breathing and it soothes me to sleep quickly.

  THE NEXT TWO weeks fly by, and Sara and I spend all our free time together. We haven’t discussed her leaving again. She hasn’t mentioned if she’s talked to her parents or Ramzi about it. I have a feeling her mind is made up about going already and I’m okay with it. I think.

  With Monday being the start of the first week of finals, I know I won’t see her much this week, and since it’s Sunday, I ask her to go out to dinner with me tonight. We’ve been together a lot, but we haven’t done much other than hang out at her place or mine, and although I’m not complaining about the insane amount of sex we’ve been having, I really want to spend more time with her outside of the bedroom.

  She agrees to dinner tonight, and since it’s fairly early, I decide a good solid
couple hours at the gym would do me some good.

  Ben strides out of his room just as I finish packing my gym bag.

  “Hey, bro, wanna hit the gym with me?” I ask him without looking up. When he doesn’t answer, I swing my head toward him and stop instantly.

  Holy shit. He just smirks and continues into the kitchen without answering me.

  His left arm has a big tattoo on it. We’re talking elbow to shoulder. He’s sporting a semi-beard and he looks way more muscular than I remember him being.

  “Jesus, dude. When’d you get that tatt? Mom’s gonna shit,” I laugh out. “And to tell you the truth, I don’t think you need to hit the gym.”

  Ben shakes his head and laughs before turning to look at me.

  “I’ll hit the gym with you. We need to chat anyway, and since you’re always stuck up Sara’s ass, I don’t get to see you much anymore,” he jokes. It’s good to hear him joking and see an actual smile on his face for once.

  “Whatever, asshole. What’s with the tatt?” I ask him seriously.

  He just shrugs and heads for the door. His gym bag is already packed and sitting there. “Lots of things changing these days, bro,” he mumbles as he opens the door and steps out.

  We take my truck to the gym since we both have to come back to the apartment afterward anyway.

  “So, what’s going on with this Sara chick? You seem to be pretty involved in this one,” Ben asks when we pull into the parking lot of the gym.

  “You could say that,” I reply. “She’s great, but we’re just having fun.”

  “Just having fun, huh?” he mimics. “You two are basically attached at the hip if you’re not at school, so what gives? Serious relationship time for the manwhore?”

  That title never used to bother me. Ben has basically called me that since I lost my virginity at the age of sixteen. It was somewhat true in high school. I did get a lot of ass. But for some reason, it bothers me now.

  “I’m not a manwhore, Ben. Yeah, I’ve had my fair share of the ladies, but I wasn’t hurting anyone. They knew from the beginning that I wasn’t relationship material,” I scold. “It’s not like I promised any of them anything past a few dates and some earth-shattering sex.”