by Stella Gray
That he’d flown to New York to tell me he wanted a divorce, sooner than the year we’d agreed upon. So that he could marry Claudia, or at least be free to sleep with whomever he wanted. It was the only answer that made sense, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I waited for him to confirm what I already knew.
He didn’t say anything for a while, looking down at the carpet and shaking his head.
I’ve heard that your life flashes before your eyes at the instant of your death, and I was definitely experiencing some of that now. Not my whole life, just my life with Ford. Probably because this was the instant of our relationship’s death.
I recalled in vivid detail the first time he’d come to my rescue, during sophomore year at Wayland-Blaine. It was in study hall, this jackass named Blake calling me a whore. Ford had swooped in and I’d felt so relieved, so protected.
Or the time he’d brought me to some jock’s pool party when we were juniors, and how during spin the bottle, I’d run from the room when the bottle I had spun landed on Ford and I was too overwhelmed to go through with the kiss in front of everyone. I’d cried myself to sleep that night, regretting my cowardice. Convinced it was the only chance I would ever get to kiss Ford Malone. And that I’d totally blown it.
The care packages I’d sent to him every month while we were away at college across the country from each other—me in art school and him studying business. I’d pack those boxes with junk food, homemade cookies, Christmas decorations, coloring books, party favors, puzzles, the cheesy paperback detective novels that he loved. Anything to perk him up and give him a break from all the studying and the very un-fun classes I knew he was hating, which he’d complain about during our hours-long phone calls.
The sex we’d had on our honeymoon, or at the beach on Martha’s Vineyard. The night I’d given my virginity to him.
The times I’d caught him napping on the couch with Munchkin tucked against him, both of them snoring away. Melting my heart like butter on a griddle.
Our breakfasts together. Our lazy Sundays.
And his beautiful proposal in the botanic gardens—the one that turned out to be an ambush, all for show…yet that had seemed so sincere in the moments before all our friends and family jumped out of the bushes yelling, “Surprise!”
All of it—our past, our present, our future—meant nothing now.
Ford stood up, walking closer to me. I looked him in the eye, mouth in a firm line, steeling myself for the worst.
“I came here because…because it’s you,” he said.
“What?” I sputtered, completely lost.
Ford sighed. “It’s you, Em. You’re what I want. You’re why I came.”
Emzee
Chapter 24
“I—I don’t understand,” I said. It was the only thing I could think to say.
Because yes, I’d always longed to hear him say those words—but why now? What did he really want? What did he really mean?
“I think you do,” Ford said.
“Say it again,” I whispered.
He moved closer, locking eyes with me. “I want you. No one else.”
Okay, but…what exactly did he want me for? To recommit to the ruse, renegotiate the terms of our contract? Maybe he wanted more PDA, more publicity—to grant media interviews like Luka and Stefan had with their wives. Pose for pictures with Munchkin, give Ford a chance to up his PR status to boost Malone Real Estate Holdings in the public eye.
Shaking my head, I said, “No more games. Whatever else you’re trying to get out of me, out of this agreement, just say it.”
“Em.” Ford stepped in front of me, so close I could feel the heat from his body. Feel myself responding to his nearness, the way I always had. My heart pounding, my knees gone weak, my cheeks flushing with warmth. “I want to be with you. That’s all.”
“You…want to be with me…” I murmured, trying to comprehend.
He grinned. “And now who’s the one who wants to keep their options open? But we’ve got time. Kiss me better, now.”
Wait. What? My brow furrowed. Was Ford implying…that he was recommitting to us? As a real couple? Did he seriously mean it? God, I hoped so.
“Where does it hurt?” I asked, eyeing the stitches over his eyebrow. I gently took his head in my hands and tilted his face down to kiss his cheekbone, his temple, his forehead above the wound.
“Much further south, I think,” he said, attempting a wink and then wincing at the effort.
I couldn’t help laughing at him, and he chuckled along with me.
“You are an idiot,” I said affectionately.
“I’m your idiot,” he said with a shrug.
The tension and frustration and heaviness between us seemed to lift, and we both relaxed a little. Maybe this was exactly the kind of turning-point conflict we had needed. Something to test our bond, our partnership. If so, maybe all the bullshit had been worth it.
“Much further south, huh?” I asked, glancing down. “I think I can help.” I gave him a sultry look before sinking down onto my knees.
“Emzee,” he groaned.
I unbuttoned his pants, feeling the press of his cock against my fingers as I lowered the zipper. Tugging his briefs down, I released him. As I’d suspected, he was already fully hard. With a smirk, I grazed the tip with my tongue.
“Fuck yes,” Ford murmured, digging his hands into my hair to cup the back of my head.
Pulling back, I stroked him, my fist tight around his hard cock.
There was a drop of precum at the head, and I leaned forward to lick it clean. Ford’s fingers tightened and he let out a groan.
“Fuck me,” he sighed. “Fuck me with your mouth.”
I wanted to, but I also didn’t want to rush. I took it slow, dragging my tongue over the head of his cock with long, slow licks. I wet my hand, dragging it over the ridges of his shaft, my spit creating a lubricant that made the slide of my palm easier. Smoother. As I pumped the base of his cock with my hand, I opened my mouth wide and took him deep into my mouth.
“Fuck,” he gasped. “Just like that. That’s what I want.”
I took him even deeper, relaxing my throat as much as possible, my mouth and hand working in tandem as I sucked him off with everything I could muster. Soon, Ford’s hips began to thrust and I braced myself, my knees on the floor, my hands on his hips as he began to fuck my mouth, gripping the back of my head to steady himself.
He was groaning above me, mouth open, eyes closed. “Your mouth feels so good. Your hot, wet mouth. I love fucking it, just like I love fucking your hot, wet pussy.”
I was aching at his words, getting wetter and hotter by the second. I loved the feel of him fucking my mouth, the power I felt, but I wanted more of him.
Without warning, he pulled me to my feet, his tongue in my mouth. He grunted at first contact—the cut on his lip had to be painful still—but it didn’t seem to deter him in the slightest.
His hands were everywhere. In my hair, up my shirt, down my pants. And then he was walking me backward to the bed, guiding me until I felt the mattress hit the back of my legs. With a push, Ford tossed me down. As I gazed hungrily up at him, he narrowed his eyes at me, his cock, still wet from my mouth, standing at attention.
“You’re looking very overdressed, Mrs. Malone.”
Smirking, I said, “Am I?”
“Take off your clothes,” he ordered. “All of them. Slowly.”
I sat up and obeyed, watching him strip down almost as slowly as I was.
When I was down to nothing but my black thong, he shook his head.
“I changed my mind,” he said.
Placing his knee on the bed, he leaned over and ran his hand up the outside of my leg, his fingers coming to rest on the waistband on my thong. Then he looped his thumb into it and gave it a rough tug. I heard a rip and the whole thing came apart in his hand.
I smiled as he tossed the ruined lace thong away. “You’re a brute,” I teased.
&nb
sp; “Spread your legs,” he said. “I’m going to make you come so hard, you’ll forget every other man on earth.”
My pulse doubled. “I don’t doubt that.”
Ford put his hands on my knees and spread my legs even wider before settling between them. “That’s a pretty pussy,” he groaned, his fingers tracing the wetness there.
I closed my eyes as he teased me, his touch soft and gentle, making me pant.
“Ford, please,” I begged. “You’re torturing me.”
“You want me to fuck you?”
“Yes. Please.”
“I need to taste you first,” he said, lowering his head.
His tongue traced the length of my slit, slow and deep, circled my clit, and then dipped back down and then up again. It was almost enough to make me come already. I gripped the back of his head, fingers tight in his hair as his tongue pushed deeper inside me. I moaned louder.
“Mmm,” he groaned, the vibrations pushing me even closer to the edge.
He began tongue-fucking me, spearing me with heat and wetness, teasing my clit with his thumb. The sensations were almost too much to handle.
Suddenly he switched it up, his tongue moving to play with my clit as his fingers took over stroking inside me, stretching me wider as I lifted my hips to meet each thrust.
“Ford,” I panted. “I’m going to come.”
“Mm-hmm,” Ford hummed again, and the vibrations made my toes curl.
Without warning, my orgasm crashed into me. My entire body shuddered, my pussy clenching around Ford’s fingers, the pleasure washing over me in hot waves.
I was still moaning as Ford rose up on his knees, spreading my legs even wider as he pressed his cock against my slick opening. He moved more stiffly than usual, and I could see a dark bruise along his ribcage, but he clearly wasn’t going to let his injuries keep him from doing exactly what he wanted. Me.
“You want this cock?” he demanded.
He slipped the head of his cock inside me, but didn’t go any further. Then he was moving just a little, teasing me with it, making me cry out.
“More,” I pled.
I expected him to give me what I wanted, but instead he leaned over me, still barely inside me, and laced our fingers together. His eyes were on mine, his gaze unwavering.
“I want you, Em,” he said. “All of you.”
Then, without looking away, he pushed slowly into me, hard and deep, deeper than he’d ever gone before. With a gasp I squeezed his hands tighter, searching his eyes, feeling more bonded to him than I ever had before. Our bodies fit together perfectly, a key in a lock. Our connection felt so intense and so intimate that I was blinking back tears.
“Em,” Ford moaned, starting to thrust faster, and I could see that he was equally overwhelmed by what was happening.
His mouth dropped onto mine, his kiss searing, searching, and I closed my eyes at the pleasure of it all, my head going back. I savored the feel of his cock, the slide of our tongues, the warmth of his skin against mine.
“Fuck,” he groaned, and I opened my eyes again.
He was watching my face, our hands still linked. Then he pulled out slowly, withdrawing almost completely before pumping back into me, so deep it sent a shock of pleasure through me that had both of us crying out.
“You like that?” he asked.
I nodded, and he kept on fucking me like that—slowly, sensually—our fingers laced together, our eyes never leaving each other. The rest of the world slipped away. Everything was Ford. I didn’t think about the deal we’d made, the lies we’d told. I didn’t think about Claudia or Andrew or the Malones or my brothers. I didn’t think about DRM or the Bratva.
I didn’t think about everything we still had to overcome.
Because in this moment, what we had…it felt real.
Pleasure built inside me with each of Ford’s thrusts. My legs were spread wide, my body open completely to him as the sounds of our moans echoed in the room. With one hand still linked in mine, Ford slid his other palm under my ass, lifting me up, tilting my hips so he could go even deeper. It was as if he was touching my heart with his body.
I wanted to do the same, and I squeezed my pussy around his thick cock, wanting to be closer to him, wanting us to come together. I was close, and I could tell he was too.
Ford let out a gasp as I squeezed him, my body meeting each of his thrusts with a tight vise. He started fucking me faster and faster, his eyes never leaving mine as his movements became wild, his grunts louder, clutching my hand even tighter as he pushed us toward the edge.
As I started to come, I pulled his body down onto me, clinging to his broad shoulders as the pleasure radiated from my core, my pussy contracting around his cock.
“Come with me,” I begged. He nodded.
Ford’s eyes stayed on mine as he reached his climax, cursing under his breath as he spilled his hot seed inside me, shuddering as he filled me up. And then we were kissing again, our bodies tangling as we held each other tight, our hands still linked.
Emzee
Chapter 25
I’d set my alarm early so I’d have enough time to shower and pack and join my brothers on their chartered flight back home to Chicago. But when it went off, and it was still dark out, I couldn’t make myself get up. Especially with Ford curled up in bed beside me.
Luckily, I didn’t have much time to consider my options. Ford had already reached over and turned off the alarm, pulling me into his arms.
Well.
With that decision made, I snuggled into his embrace and fell back asleep.
Hours later, I woke up again—this time with Ford’s head between my thighs, his thumb pressed against my clit, his tongue lapping me up.
“Mmm,” I murmured, spreading my legs wider. “Good morning.”
I fisted the sheets as his mouth worked me hard, trying to relax as the pleasure coursed through me. There were plenty of worse ways to be woken up.
Soon enough, he was fucking me with his fingers, sucking my clit as his hand stretched my already sore body. After the workout he gave me last night, it should have felt like too much, but it didn’t. I came faster than I would have liked but not too hard, moaning dreamily.
It was the best kind of morning.
Or was it afternoon already? Once I recovered from my unexpected wake-up orgasm, I rolled over and turned my phone back on, finding a few texts from my brothers waiting for me.
Assuming you’re catching a flight back with Mr. Jealous, Luka had texted. But lmk if you get stuck and we’ll book something for you asap. This is a judgment-free zone.
And from Stefan: Talk soon and good luck with Ford. Call if you need anything.
I sent a group text so my brothers would know I was safe with Ford and apologized for missing the flight, letting them know I had simply slept in. I reassured them I’d be home soon and then sat up on the edge of the bed, stretching luxuriously.
The bedside clock said it was just past 10:30, which was a hell of a lot later than I usually got up but technically still counted as “morning”—which was good enough for me. Plus, it felt nice to sleep in. I couldn’t even be mad that Ford had shut off my phone to let me rest.
“I know you were planning to go back to Chicago with your brothers today,” Ford said, not looking even a little guilty about changing my plans by shutting my alarm off. “But I have another plan.”
I raised my eyebrow. I tried to be annoyed that he had made plans without consulting me, but it was nearly impossible to mad at that handsome, beat-up face.
“What’s the plan? Other than breakfast?” I asked as he came up behind me and started massaging my shoulders. “God, that feels good.”
“The plan is…” he said, dropping kisses along my neck, “we order room service—”
“I already like this plan,” I interrupted.
“And then…” He stopped with the massage, turning me around to face him. “Look, I know you came here to get some space. Probably from me. But
the thing is, we need space together, too. Away from all the bullshit back home.”
Nodding, I said, “I know. It’s a lot to deal with.”
“So let’s get away. From my parents and Claudia and even your family. You have your passport, right?”
“Yeah, but…exactly how far are we going?” I asked. “Will we be crossing time zones?”
Ford cupped my face in his hands and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “It’s a surprise. Do you trust me?”
“I—yes,” I said.
He grinned. “Good. Why don’t you hop in the shower while I order up some breakfast from room service, and then we’ll eat and head out? I’ll see if they have an avocado eggs benedict for you.”
The man had memorized my go-to breakfast order. How could he not be a keeper?
“Sounds perfect,” I told him.
By the time we got down to the lobby, I was bursting with excitement. And as it turned out, I had every reason to be.
After a short flight of less than one hour, Ford rented a car and drove us across the U.S. border to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. I’d never been before, and the place was more majestic than I could have imagined.
“What do you think?” Ford asked as we pulled into the parking area. “Worth it?”
“God, yes. This is incredible,” I said, already hanging halfway out the window to get a better view of the rainbows shimmering in the mist at the base of the falls.
After we parked, Ford took my hand and walked me right up to the rail beside the falls so we could hear the rush of the water pounding like thunder, feel the fine, cool spray hitting our faces. With all the natural beauty of the flora and fauna around us, I almost felt like I’d been transported to a magical land.
Ford got us ice cream cones, and we strolled around for a bit, window shopping and just enjoying each other’s company. I was grateful he had suggested I bring my camera, because Niagara Falls was a photographer’s dream. Not only was the landscape stunning to behold, but with all the tourists coming to see the falls, there were plenty of opportunities to take candid shots of excited pets and laughing kids. I couldn’t wait to go over them later in our hotel room.