“I thought Meredith didn’t want to know the gender of her baby.”
“She doesn’t, but Mama knows anyway.”
“I’m not about to argue with Mama.”
Willa “Mama” Richmond was a retired school nurse who you could count on to dish up love or a verbal slap upside your head when you needed it. She and Meredith moved to town right before our freshman year of high school. Willa accepted the job at Blissville High after her husband passed away. I wasn’t sure if she was trying to outrun heartache or just needed a fresh start. She would only say that Blissville High was ranked in the top one percent of all schools in Ohio, and her Meredith deserved the education the school could offer her. As much as I loved my hometown, we couldn’t brag about our diversity with only one African American family and one Asian family living here. If Meredith was ever unnerved by being the only black student at Blissville High, it never showed. She had a warm smile and a loving personality that people were drawn to, none more than her best friends Chaz and Josh. The three of them were inseparable to this day even though they were married with growing families.
“My wise girl,” Mama Richmond said, patting my cheek affectionately.
It reminded me of how gentle and nurturing she was when I returned to school after cancer treatments—bald, skinny, and lacking any self-confidence. I tried to hide the latter more than the former, but it didn’t help when some people gave me a wide berth and acted like I was contagious. Mama Richmond, then Nurse Richmond, called me into her office on my first day back.
“You can come here anytime you need a break.” She handed me a permanent hall pass that I could use whenever I needed a quiet place. Mama must’ve been able to tell that I had no intention of using it. “Save that brave face for a time when you need it. This is the time to take care of yourself and let your body heal. This office is your haven away from the little assholes walking the halls of this building. There are some great kids here, but there are some that should’ve been spanked more by their mamas and daddies. I won’t pressure you to visit my office, but I will remind you on occasion that I’m here for you.”
I ended up using that hall pass more than I ever would’ve predicted. It did feel great to lie down for a bit and gather my strength. Mama would often sneak me a cookie or a cup of hot cocoa when I visited. I could lean on her in ways I didn’t want to with my own family. I needed to put up a brave front for them, but I didn’t do that with Mama Richmond. It was because of her that I was finally able to stop crying at night. I gave my tears to Mama, who dried them, and encouraged me to be brave and strong. I was more grateful for her kindness and tough love than I could ever express. Well, maybe there was something I could give her.
“I have a surprise for you,” I said. “Follow me. I stashed it safely in my office.”
“What is it?” Mama Richmond asked excitedly.
“I recently acquired some beautiful pieces for your granddaughter.” I pulled out a gift bag from the antique cupboard behind my desk and gently placed it on my desk.
“Maegan Miracle, you shouldn’t have,” Mama Richmond said in awe before she even opened the bag.
“You don’t even know what I’ve done.”
“I can tell it’s special by the reverent way you set it down. I’m almost afraid to look.”
“Please don’t be afraid. I wanted to do something truly special for a remarkable lady.” My voice broke a bit on the last few words. What the hell was wrong with me? I hadn’t cried this much in more than twelve years. I hoped it would be another twelve years after this crying jag moved the hell on.
Mama Richmond finally reached inside the bag, removed the tissue paper, and set it on my desk. She glanced up and gave me a nervous smile before reaching back inside the gift bag and removing eight small white boxes. Inside each one, she discovered a vintage Beswick England Winnie the Pooh porcelain figurine from the 1940s.
“These are numbered,” Mama Richmond said breathlessly after she carefully turned Winnie over. “I can’t accept these.”
“I’ll just throw them away then.”
She gasped. “You’ll do no such thing.”
“There’s more in the bottom. You might have to shuffle the rest of the tissue paper around.” Inside were classic Winnie the Pooh books to complete the collection. I knew Mama Richmond planned to pass her love for books onto her grandchild.
“This is the loveliest gift,” Mama Richmond said once she pulled the books out and set them beside the figurines. “I know Meredith will love them too. Those were her favorite books as a little girl.”
“I’m so happy they’re going to a home where they’ll be cherished. I hope you’re holding your granddaughter in your arms soon.”
“Me too, love. Me too. I stopped by today to find a pretty little lamp for the nursery.”
“I have just the thing.”
Twenty minutes later, I helped Mama carefully load her car and received her warm, grateful hug before she drove off. I suspected she was headed straight to Meredith’s house to show her the new things. I grinned fifteen minutes later when Meredith called and thanked me for the thoughtful gift. I was in a much better mood when I arrived back home than when I left. Of course, it helped that Elijah was waiting for me on the front porch.
“Hello, Freckles,” Elijah said when I walked up the steps. The sultry, rumbly timbre of his voice let me know he was looking forward to teaching me a hard lesson about not teasing him.
“Let the lesson begin.” I reached between us to cup his cock in case he wasn’t sure about what kind of lesson I meant.
I HAD EVERY INTENTION OF honoring the sexy threats I made to my lady that morning, but not as soon as she got home. I wanted to take my time and teach her a lesson, but the matching firm grips she had on my heart and cock overruled my brain. Thoughts like we should wait until the fellas have left and I want to be able to take my time started to fade and make her come! started to take over.
I pulled Maegan inside our home and backed her up against the door then dropped to my knees. Keeping my eyes locked on hers, I lifted the skirt of her dress and revealed the lavender lace panties beneath. Damn, she drove me insane.
“Let me help you with that,” Maegan said, grabbing the hem of her skirt. “So you can have both hands free.”
It was just the gesture I needed to slow down and truly make this a lesson she wouldn’t forget anytime soon. Our eyes met and locked as I gently slid her panties past her thighs so they could fall around her feet still encased in her strappy, high-heeled sandals. I lifted one foot then the other to free the scrap of lace she’d used to cover her lady bits. I shoved them in the front pocket of my jeans. Then I wrapped my hands around both ankles and slowly slid them up, reveling in the way her skin pebbled in response to my touch. Her vibrant green eyes shone with lust and need, and her pirate’s smile said she expected me to please her. I would…just not yet. I had a point to make after all.
Revenge Fuck Lesson Objective: Make Maegan Miracle as needy and desperate as she made me that morning, leaving me with a raging hard-on and no time to do anything with it.
Step One: Make Her Tremble with Need
I pressed my nose to the cleft of her pussy and inhaled her scent deeply. I felt her legs tremble beneath my hands and knew I was ready to move to the next step.
Step Two: Make Her Moan and Cry Out My Name
I pulled my head away from her soft, silky flesh just far enough so I could purse my lips together and blow softly.
Maegan’s breathy gasp was followed by, “Oh, Elijah.” It wasn’t a loud cry but said on a long, shaky sigh. Good enough.
Step Three: Make Her Pull My Hair
I slid my hands up from her thighs to part her lips with my thumbs, revealing her clit and center to my hungry gaze. Taking her to the edge of pleasure without pushing her over would send me to the brink of sanity. I’d be a stark raving lunatic the rest of the night, but I’d sure as fuck enjoy the journey. I leaned back in and delicately flicked my
tongue over her swollen clit before sucking it between my lips.
“God, yes!” she cried out, fisting her free hand in my hair.
Step Four: Make Her Fuck My Face
I lifted her left leg and propped it on my right shoulder, exposing her even more, then speared her opening with my tongue, letting my nose rub and tease against her clit while I reached my left hand up to tease her hard nipples through the fabric of her bra and dress. I circled my thumb around one of them until it was hard and desperate then moved over and pinched the other nipple between my thumb and first finger.
I heard Maegan’s head fall back against the door in a soft thud. Seconds later, she angled her pussy so it pressed tighter against my face. Almost there, but not quite. I slid my finger inside her silky heat, pressing against her G-spot.
“Don’t stop,” she cried softly, riding my finger and face. “Oh God. Please don’t stop!”
Step Five: Pull Back Right Before She Comes
Maegan must’ve anticipated my move because she gripped my hair even tighter and snapped her hips faster. God, I loved how she didn’t shy away from pleasure. She fucking owned it.
“Don’t you even think about it, Elijah. I didn’t learn my lesson, and I’m going to do it again. I like knowing you’ll leave for work thinking about me, wanting me. Just like I thought about you and wanted you all day too. God! I’m so close. Right there! Yessssss!” I felt her clinch tightly around my finger and felt her get even wetter for me. “Fuck me, Elijah. Please.”
I set her foot on the floor then released my cock as I rose to my feet. Maegan turned and faced the door, keeping the skirt of her dress rucked up around her waist and presented her perfect ass for me. It was the only invitation I needed to step up and sink balls deep inside her. Maegan’s pussy was still spasming from the orgasm, and I knew her G-spot would be extra sensitive, so I aimed my cock head straight at it, taking no prisoners and not accepting that her orgasm was finished.
“I can’t—” Her words broke off in favor of moaning. The hand she had pressed against the door balled into a fist as pleasure rolled through her body.
“You know you will.” I kept one hand on Maegan’s hips to steady her for my thrusting and unzipped her dress with the other so I could get my hands on her breasts. Maegan released the skirt of her dress long enough to help me shove the straps of her dress down her arms pooling it around her waist. I pulled the lacy cups of her bra down beneath her firm tits and cupped both swells while pounding into her from behind, rattling the door.
“Elijah,” she cried. “Oh. Oh. Ohhhhhhhhh.”
“That’s my girl. Come for me again,” I managed to grit out before I spilled inside her, rutting and marking my territory like a beast until I had nothing left to give. I collapsed against her, careful not to put too much weight on her since a door wasn’t a comfortable place for a post-coital cuddle.
“I learned a valuable lesson after all,” Maegan said. Her arms were folded on the door acting as a pillow for her forehead.
I nibbled a path down her neck and playfully nipped the delicate flesh where her neck curved into her shoulder. “Not to tease me again?” I asked.
Maegan snorted then laughed. “I need to leave you hard and wanting at least once a week.”
“Freckles,” I said in a menacing tone.
“You’ll have to try harder to resist my…um…charms,” she teased. “Now kindly remove your cock so I can clean up before the guys get here.”
“No cleanup,” I said. “You’ll wear me all night long then I’ll use my spunk as lube for backdoor action later.”
“You mean you’re going to fuck me against the back door after everyone leaves?” I knew if she were looking into my eyes she’d be batting her eyelashes playfully.
“I mean I’m going to start by getting my cock nice and wet from the cum I left inside you then I’m going to pull my dick out, press it up against that tight little rosette between your ass cheeks, and—” The sound of a vehicle pulling into our driveway cut off my words. “Our guests have arrived, dear.” My dick was only semi-soft when I pulled it out of her tight clench since it started to react to the sexy image I described for our evening activities. I quickly pulled her panties out of my pocket then dropped to my knees once more to help her put them on before I stood up, fixed her bra, and zipped her dress.
Maegan was mostly presentable when I tucked my cock away and zipped my pants. That’s when I noticed the cum splatters on the hardwood floor from after I pulled out. Maegan followed my gaze then hooked the sweater she’d dropped on the floor with her foot and dragged it over to wipe up our spill.
“Dry clean only,” she whispered. “This is going to cost you, buddy.”
We hauled ass to the kitchen to wash our hands and get a drink to quench the thirst we’d worked up before the guys came knocking on our door.
“How do I look?” Maegan asked.
“Thoroughly fucked.”
“So do you.” She gave me a quick kiss then headed back toward the door while I stayed in the kitchen.
I’d never had such an intense desire to smoke a cigarette in my entire life, not even after surviving harrowing gunfights with enemy combatants when we were ambushed in Fallujah. Jesus. The lady not only stole my heart, she wrecked my universe. I fucking loved every second of it.
I smiled when Maegan threw open the door and exuberantly greeted Lyric and Memphis. And by greeting, I meant she demanded to know what else Lyric learned.
“Mae, can we at least let the fellas in before you interrogate them, or are you planning on withholding their dinner until they talk?” I asked. It would just be the four of us for dinner because Andy was working late to finish a construction project and Milo had drag queen rehearsals for an upcoming charity event at Queen City Divas in Cincinnati.
“I guess you guys can come in,” she grudgingly said, “but no dessert until you talk.”
Lyric was hesitant to say much since he wanted to avoid upsetting her again, but he agreed to answer her questions since it was her home and her ghost. Okay, he said it was her home, but we both knew Anthony was her ghost too.
“Do I want to know?” she asked, sounding uncertain.
“She wants to know,” I told Lyric. I knew she wouldn’t sleep if she didn’t find out everything he knew, or at least suspected.
I will say this about Lyric Willows; he was a man who didn’t settle for wild guesses. He slowly and methodically explained everything he had learned, making sure to emphasize what was supposition versus facts he could verify with articles or documents he found online. Maegan gasped when she heard the EVP recording they’d made the night before. Anthony hadn’t spoken in complete sentences like, “Hi, my name is Anthony Bliss, and I’m the ghost living in your attic.” He answered Lyric’s questions with single-word responses. He confirmed he was Anthony and when asked what happened to him, he said, “Asylum.” The only complete sentence he spoke was when he asked where Wallace was. Then Lyric set down a photo showing a man who looked identical to Wallace Bennington standing outside a building with a Blissview Hotel sign on the front. I couldn’t see his face because it was turned away from the photographer, but Lyric showed pictures of the two men side by side and everything about them from their height to the unique way they stood told me I was looking at a picture of Wallace Bennington in San Francisco. Furthermore, the horse on the other end of the reins was Anthony Bliss’s horse, Starlight.
“Oh my God,” Maegan said softly. “You think Melanie Bliss had him committed because she found out about his plans to leave her? There’s no way Anthony sent Starlight with Wallace if he wasn’t planning to go too. I’m surprised the horse wasn’t in the formal family photos.”
“That’s what I thought too,” Lyric agreed.
“What about the asylum angle?” Mae asked.
“We’ve searched for anyone in the family trees, or even a friend of the family, who would’ve had the authority or connections to have him committed,” Memphis said. �
�So far we’re coming up with a big miss.”
“What about someone bribing a person in charge at a facility? Let’s be honest here, the doctors and administration at a lot of the asylums were not good people. For enough money, I could see them slipping a man in without a proper judiciary ruling.”
“Damn,” Lyric said, whistling between his teeth. “I didn’t consider that.”
“I’ll look into that angle while you’re in San Francisco,” Memphis said.
“San Francisco,” Maegan and I said at the same time.
Lyric told us he was flying to San Francisco in the morning to meet with the concierge of The Golden Gate Bridge Inn, formerly the Blissview Hotel. He said it was rumored the concierge position had remained in the same family since the hotel was first built, and he hoped to find out the stories passed down through the generations. It was a good strategy, and we were eager to find out what he learned.
I hadn’t agreed with Maegan’s opinion about the hamburgers and hot dogs until I tasted her smoked pulled pork for the first time. “Can we have this every week?”
“Next week, I’ll show you what I can do with beef brisket.”
“Okay,” Lyric and Memphis both said. It was nice to know that Lyric might still be around a while longer. The way Memphis blushed while looking at him was too adorable for even me to miss. There was something special going on between the two men.
After dinner, Lyric and Memphis went upstairs to fire up the video cameras and conduct another interview with Anthony. I loaded the dishwasher while Maegan put the leftovers inside the refrigerator. She gasped suddenly, and I knew she saw the pastry box I stashed inside before she got home.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“A little something to celebrate our anniversary.”
Maegan spun around with wide eyes. “What?”
“We met six months ago today. I couldn’t let the day pass without a little celebration.”
“Do people celebrate six-month anniversaries? Is that a thing? I feel terrible I didn’t get you anything.”
The Lady Stole My Heart (The Lady is Mine, #2) Page 6