by Winters, KB
Chapter Thirty
Vanessa
It was good to be here again. That was the thought that settled around me as I took a seat in one of the family rooms at Ashby Manor, surrounded by the smiling faces of Kat and Maisie, and the bemused smirking face that belonged to Sadie.
“Should the bride be involved in planning her own bachelorette party?”
Maisie tossed her head back and laughed. “We’re not sticklers for tradition around here if you haven’t noticed. And when planning the party becomes a party, I’d say the bride has an obligation to show up.”
Her red lips parted into a bright smile that made her skin glow and she lifted her tumbler in the air. “To creating our own traditions.”
I thought of my own family and the old traditions they expected the newer generations to follow without question, and I raised my still empty glass, preferring this way instead.
“I’ll drink to that,” I said. After the past week without Emmett’s smile or his big strong arms, I’d drink to just about any damn thing.
“What the hell?” Madison stood in the doorway wearing a scowl. “I graciously get food for this planning party and you bitches start drinking without me? Rude.”
Kat waved off her words and poured another glass. “We were just drinking to the fact that Vanessa is here.” I let the lie slide, figuring Kat had her reasons.
Madison’s gaze found mine and her brows rose in surprise. “Are you back or are you just here for planning?”
Kat choked on her drink and Maisie tried—and failed—to stifle a laugh, while I just stared back, shocked at her blunt question.
“You don’t hold back, do you?”
Madison shrugged and set four bags on the side table. “I have issues so I don’t have to, and I don’t want to get used to having you around if I shouldn’t. So?”
Well damn, so much for keeping a low profile. Madison had put me on the spot, but I didn’t want to answer. When it became clear I’d find no allies in Kat or Maisie, I decided to try another tactic.
“Is Bonnie coming?”
The room fell quiet at the question, but the tension in the air told me their attention had been effectively diverted to someone else.
“No, she’s not coming,” Sadie answered, her words quiet and steely. I nodded before burying my face in another drink.
“So,” Madison began again. “You and Emmett. That’s why you ran off.”
“I thought this was a party to plan Maisie’s bachelorette party,” I insisted with a small, but totally dignified, whine.
“We have a ton of food,” Madison said and held up a finger, “and a well-stocked booze cabinet. We have all day.”
She was right. It wasn’t even dark yet. “Fine,” I sighed and fell back against the plush sofa. I swallowed a shot of whiskey straight from the bottle, wiped my lips and shot back another one.
“Emmett told me he loved me. I freaked out and ran away, and I haven’t heard from his since.” That was the abbreviated version of events but they had all the important details. “Pretty sure I screwed it all up.”
That was hard to admit, but Emmett hadn’t come to me, hadn’t reached out to talk. He’d only shown up to act as my bodyguard once in a while, never saying a word. Never offering a smile. Just his silent, unwavering protection.
“Why did you freak out?” Madison’s question was genuine, a reminder of just how young she actually was in experience.
“I don’t know. I mean it’s too soon to love somebody else, isn’t it? I don’t even know how I feel, never mind how to express it.”
The only thing I knew was that I missed Emmett. A lot.
Sadie lit up a joint, took two long pulls before she handed it across the table to me.
“It’ll never feel right to move on, not when you thought your life was all mapped out with another man in the leading role. You just have to push through it.”
I mulled over Sadie’s words. Was that my problem? “That seems so silly, though. I can’t move on because Emmett isn’t Lance?”
Sadie shrugged. “Grief doesn’t make sense. “I grieved for a long time over a man who didn’t deserve it. But his face was the one I imagined getting older beside mine, bouncing my grandchildren on his knee. It’s hard to see yourself having that same happy ending with a different man.”
It was hard to see Emmett’s face in dreams where Lance’s once had been. “Is that why you never remarried, Sadie?”
She let out a bitter laugh. “No. I was worried that I’d have the same future I would’ve had with Colm and that thought scared the fuck out of me. So I closed myself off to the possibility of anything more than physical satisfaction. Now, I’m not even sure a man could handle me.”
She shrugged and accepted the joint once again after Maisie passed and Kat took one puff and handed it back.
“That’s bullshit, Ma. You just need a strong man.” Kat put a hand on her mother’s knee. “You’ve spent so long being an independent badass, using and discarding men, that I think you’ve forgotten how to just be a woman in love.”
Madison snorted. “Love is totally overrated. Men are nothing but dogs, and I, for one, am just grateful that between Glitz and Vegas, there are enough sex shops and clubs to keep me satisfied until I’m too old to care about it.”
Maisie and Kat looked at each other and smiled before they turned their gazes to Madison.
“Wait until you fall,” they said at the same time before dissolving into laughter.
Madison frowned and that had me joining in on the laughter because the girl really had no idea. Falling in love was wonderful, it was an amazing, intoxicating experience, and I was lucky enough to do it twice.
Oh. Shit.
They say there was truth in wine, but the big truths apparently come from Irish whiskey because I was sure I just realized, in that moment, that I was in love with Emmett Manning.
Chapter Thirty-One
Emmett
“Are you sure you don’t want to come over for dinner? Kat and I are cooking steak and potatoes. Well, I’m doing most of the cooking since she’s nursing a hangover, but there’s enough to go around.”
Terry’s invite came from a good place, that thankfully wasn’t pity. I appreciated it, but the last thing I wanted was to see them so happy while I was so miserable.
“As much as I love your overcooked steak, I’m gonna have to pass tonight. You and Kat have a good night to yourselves.” In another week or two, when things weren’t so raw where Vanessa was concerned, I’d have them come to my place for dinner. “Kiss Kat for me.”
“Get your own damn woman,” he growled.
“Thanks for caring, Em!” Kat’s voice was loud and only vaguely distant, which meant she was close enough to hear me. “See you soon and that’s a promise.”
Her threat was clear, and I could only grin and shake my head.
“Lookin’ forward to it, sis.”
I ended the call and set my phone on the kitchen counter beside a stack of takeout menus that held no appeal. I made my way back to the living room and my big screen television. It was amateur fight night and my plan was to keep an eye on any up and coming fighters that could be right for House of Ashby.
Working on a Friday night. Just how pathetic could one man be?
Before I could find an answer that question, the door buzzer sounded. A visitor? Late on a Friday night, when Terry was with Kat, meant only one other person could be dropping in.
My mother.
With slow reluctance, I forced my feet to carry me to the surveillance screen near front door that Jasper had insisted I buy. At the time I didn’t think I would need it, but staring at the woman standing on my doorstep now, I made a note to send him a good bottle of something strong and amber.
I held my breath and pulled the door open, looking as casual as I could. “Vanessa. What brings you by?”
She opened her lush pink mouth to speak, sucked in a breath and then flashed a nervous smile, all without saying
a word. “This is harder than I thought.”
“What is?” I wouldn’t presume to guess what had brought her to my door this time of night, but if I did, it would be sex. Plain and simple.
“Apologizing.” There was that nervous smile again.
My own smile didn’t come quite so easily, or at all, really. “There’s nothing you need to apologize for, Vanessa.”
At my words, her nervous faded and she squared her shoulders, big sapphire blue eyes almost glaring at me. “That’s where you’re wrong, Emmett. You deserved more than waking up to an empty bed.”
“We rarely get what we deserve in this life, Nessa. You of all people should know that.”
Her smile faded, just a shade, as she took a step toward me. “Exactly. Too much shit happens that we can’t control, whether we deserve it or not, and this was something you didn’t deserve.”
She shook her head and stepped in really close, forcing me to step back or choke on her sexy, feminine scent.
“I’m sorry. I got scared and ran, Emmett. It wasn’t about you, it was…”
“Let me guess, it was about you?”
Vanessa nodded; a wry grin twisted her plump lips.
“I didn’t know what I was feeling for you, Emmett. Whatever it was, I couldn’t put it into words.”
She smiled when I stepped back and motioned her to come inside, continuing her explanation.
“I had guilt and sorrow all mixed up in my head,” she said and squeezed her eyes shut as if she were reliving that moment in her mind. “I didn’t want to say it just because you did. If love was what I felt, I needed to be sure before I said it.”
It wasn’t what my heart wanted, but at least I knew why now.
“You’re right, Vanessa. You shouldn’t say you love me if you don’t.”
“Glad you agree,” she snapped, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I needed time, Emmett. You are the first man—only man—since Lance, and I had to get it all straight in my head without any interference.”
“Okay.” Arms folded, I stared at her, willing her to say something other than what she was working herself up to say, which was that I wasn’t the man for her. “Thanks for letting me know.”
She huffed out a groan and fisted her hands at her hips, looking angry and gorgeous and so full of fucking life it made my chest ache.
“That’s it?”
“What do you want me to say, Nessa? I told you I loved you, that I was in love with you, and you ran away. I listened to you tell me why you ran, and I get it. This is me trying to make it easy on you without ripping out my own damn heart.”
“Emmett.” Her voice got all low and soft, full of pleading. “I don’t want to rip your heart out, that’s why I needed time.”
I didn’t want it to, but that damned hope swelled up in my chest at the way her lips curled up at the corners. “Okay Nessa, time for what?”
“To figure out how I feel about you and then figure out a way to put it into words.” She took a step closer, licked her lips before she removed her jacket and tossed it on the sofa behind her. “It took a long time.”
“Felt like forever,” I growled and Vanessa laughed.
“It did. It really did, Emmett.” She tilted her head to the side and bit her bottom lip in that way she did when she was nervous. “But I’m here now because I figured it out.”
“And, what? You just want to be friends? Fuck buddies?”
I took a step forward and then two steps back, a pretty fucking perfect description for whatever was going on between me and Vanessa. I put another foot of distance between us, shaking my head.
“Why are you here, Vanessa?”
She let out a low, frustrated growl and stalked toward me, giving my chest a two-handed shove.
“I’m here because I love you too, Emmett!” She gave me another shove. “Is that clear enough for you?”
I froze, unable to believe my own ears. It was too good to be true.
I stood still and looked into her eyes. “Say it again.”
“I. Love. You.” She smiled and put her hands to my chest again but this time she didn’t shove me; she fisted her hands in my shirt. “I love you too, ya big dummy.”
“Oh, thank fucking Jesus!” I pulled her close with one hand wrapped around her waist and dipped her over my arm, kissing her with all the love I felt in my heart. Maybe I worked out too hard, and I was passed out at the gym right now, but it all felt real. Her curves under my hand, her lips against mine, the sweet sensual scent of her burning my nostrils. If it was a dream, I figured there was no harm taking a few more moments for this.
“I’ve missed you, Nessa,” I crooned in her ear.
“That’s good,” she panted. “Because I’ve missed you too. All of you.” I knew what that little growl meant and so did my cock, because he stood up taller and took notice of the situation.
“Yeah? How much have you missed all of me?” My lips tugged into a smile when Vanessa stepped closer, intent in her big blue gaze.
“How about I show you instead?” She smiled and peeled the figure-hugging dress off her body, leaving her in a scrap of black lace that had my mouth—and my cock—watering.
“Yeah. How about that?”
Just like my wildest fucking dreams, she sank to her knees and opened my jeans like an early Christmas present, shoving her hand in my boxers until she found my cock, hard and leaking at the tip. Just for her.
“Looks like you’ve missed me too. At least he has.”
“Nessa,” I growled and pushed my hips forward.
“Yes?” She shoved my jeans and my underwear down my legs and took my cock in both hands, stroking slow and deep until I could barely see straight.
“More,” I commanded and looked down to find her looking back up at me, heat in her eyes as she stroked my cock harder. Faster. One hand left my cock and began to roam, gliding under my t-shirt to touch my abs and my chest. I tore it off so she could have access to anything she wanted.
“Fuck,” I bit out when her nails brushed against the strip of skin between my thigh and my balls, and then she gave my balls a good strong cupping. “Nessa.”
She smiled and opened her mouth wide around my cock, sliding my cock back and forth against her tongue before she swirled it around the tip and took me deep. I felt myself grow and swell in her mouth, grunting hard as she moaned around me.
I ran my fingers through her hair while she pleased me, fucking my cock with her mouth, sliding her tongue inside the well of my cock slit until my hips bucked again. She moaned again and gripped my ass, pulling me closer until I felt my cock hit the back of her throat. Vanessa gagged, but she covered it with a moan and took me deeper and deeper until she took it easily.
“Vanessa, oh fuck!” My balls tightened as she tugged on them and swallowed around my cock head. “Okay that’s enough,” I growled when she stuck her tongue out and swiped at the underside of my sac.
“Uh-uh,” she moaned around my cock and took me deeper and deeper, squeezing my ass cheeks in a firm massage that forced my cock deep in her throat. She sucked and licked and swallowed until my legs started to shake, but I wanted something else.
I wrapped her hair around my fist and tugged back, feeling my cock leak at that breathy little gasp she let out. “I love that you’re mouth fucking me, and I’ll let you finish. Later. Right now I need that pretty little pussy of yours.”
“Emmett,” she gasped.
That one word was my undoing, and I lifted her to her feet and flipped her over the arm of my leather sofa, giving her sweet ass a hard smack. “You make me crazy, Vanessa. So fucking crazy sometimes I can’t trust myself.”
“I trust you.” Her words hit me straight in the heart and I smacked her ass again. “And I love you.”
Fuck yeah, she did. “Good, because I love you too.”
“Oh!” She squealed when I slid a finger in her tight cunt and crooked it just the way she liked. “Emmett, don’t tease me.”
“The teas
ing hadn’t even started, babe.” I fucked her with that one finger until I felt her tighten and pulse. “Not yet,” I growled and gently pulled out of her, taking all the moisture in her pussy and sliding it around her tight little asshole. I went slow, giving her a chance to stop me if she wanted to.
“Em,” she moaned when the tip of my finger breached the pink rosette. Another knuckle and she gripped the sofa. “Emmett.”
“Talk to me, Nessa.” I spread her wide and slid my cock slowly into her dripping pussy just as the rest of my finger invaded her ass. “Babe?”
“Can’t. Talk. Fuck.” Even as she bit out the words, she clenched around me and pushed back against me, silently begging for what she couldn’t ask for. Yet. “Oh. My. Fuck.”
She pushed back, and I pounded into her pussy, sliding my finger in and out of her ass in a steady motion.
“You’re so fucking tight, Vanessa. So wet and tight, and fucking perfect.”
“Emmett!” Her body shook, convulsed and she screamed as her orgasm built, shocking her off her feet, leaving them floundering in the air, giving her no purchase while I fucked her exactly how I wanted.
“Emmett,” she cried out again when her convulsions started all over and finally, I found my own release deep inside her pulsating pussy.
“Fuck,” I growled and bit her back, making her shiver and giggle. “Good for you?”
She laughed. “Fantastic for me, which you already know.”
Yeah, I knew it. She’d never come so hard with me. “Doesn’t hurt to ask.”
“That was…unexpected. But I liked it. A lot.” She shivered again when I licked and kissed my way up her spine. “Enough to try it again. For real.”
I knew what she was saying, and I loved her even more for trying. I kissed the back of her neck, and she clenched around me one final time before I slipped out of her pussy.
“Good because Nessa, I love every fucking inch of you. Your smile, your sweet pussy, your scars, even your grief. I want to love every part of you. Inside and out.”
“Yes, please,” she moaned and flipped over in my arms so we were face to face. “But feed me first. You wore me out.’