by Alla Kar
Taking a large breath, I gently guide my jeans down my legs until both items are puddles of fabric beside my feet. Lachlan’s eyes stroll down my body, and slowly back up to the top. He growls and storms toward me.
His breath at my ear, he slides his tongue against the curve, stopping when he takes the fleshly lobe between his teeth. Before I know it, he’s carrying me toward the bed. I land in the soft covers, and relax.
Lying down slowly on top of me, his lips play over mine. “Are you comfortable, luv?”
“Yes,” I say weakly. “Lachlan…it’s been a while.” He stiffens. “I mean…I haven’t since senior year.”
His eyes widen and he snaps his head back to get a better look at me. “What? You mean…you haven’t been with anyone since me? Since senior year?”
Swallowing, I shake my head slowly.
“Christ, Laney,” he presses his forehead against mine. “Do you want me to stop now?”
“No,” I whisper.
“Thank God.” He leans back down, plunging his tongue into my mouth as I dig my hands into his hard biceps.
Stroking his tongue with mine, I suck it harder into my mouth. A low grown rumbles from his chest, causing me to wrap my foot around his ankle and pull. Agitation flutters over his face and he reaches behind me to unhook my bra. My breasts fall free, and Lachlan has a nipple in his mouth before I blink.
“Fuck,” I mumble, as his other hand trails along the cup of my bra. Both hands palm my breasts and my breath stops for a few seconds.
“You feel so good, baby,” he coos into my ear, biting down where the flesh meets my shoulder. “So bloody good.”
His thigh has pushed my legs open, his jeans rubbing against the fabric of my panties. Black swarms my vision. Something erupts inside of me. I let out a cry. “I need you, Lachlan. Please, fucking touch me. I’ve waited so long—” He silences me with a kiss. Rolling us to our sides, he slips his fingers inside of my lacey underwear. His fingers settling on the spot, he rubs slight circles against my wet flesh. “Ah,” I cry out, arching my back.
“That’s right, luv. You’re so bloody wet for me.”
He leans his head down and kisses me again. It feels like a marking. Like he is branding my heart. Whether he knows it or not, it never left.
Slipping his fingers up the ridge of my underwear, he slips them down my thighs and I help him take them off of my ankles. My flesh is warm, heated from him. Lachlan sits between my legs, gazing down at me. A flutter of nerves wrack through me. I haven’t had sex in so long. Will I be good? Will it hurt like the first time?
“We don’t have to do this, luv. I can wait as long as you need me to.” His green eyes flicker toward me, his thick neck constricting when he swallows.
Biting my lip, I take him in. He will wait…he was always patient, but the evidence in his jeans shows he’s ready to take me to bliss.
Sitting up on my knees, I reach for his jeans. My fingers shake as I unzip him and start to pull. He helps me until he is sitting on his knees in front of me. My mouth dries when my eyes flicker toward his boxer briefs. They’ve filled out more since high school.
“Like what you see, luv?” he whispers, sliding fingers against my bare stomach.
“Yes,” I mumble, grabbing his waistband. “Lachlan, I need you to fuck me. I feel like my body is going to explode. Please.”
Lachlan lays me back, his light eyes searching my own. “No need to beg, luv. I’ll give you what you want.”
A laugh slips from my throat but stops when he pulls a condom from the pocket of his jeans. I watch as he pulls down his underwear. His cock springs to life. Rolling the condom over his length, he keeps his eyes fixated on mine. “Relax, baby. I’m going to make you feel good.”
He is so fucking sexy, hovering over me. I feel like I may die if he doesn’t touch me soon. He pulls me up to crush his full lips against my own. I try to wrap my fist around him, but my fingers barely touch. Definitely bigger. Much bigger. He growls, dropping his head and closing his eyes. I stroke him up and down. The sound of a male being pleased passes his lips. Gripping my wrist, he brings it over my head, trapping me between him and the bed.
“If you keep touching me like that, this isn’t going to take very long. Let me take care of you, luv. You bloody well deserve it.”
Bending down, he kisses the hollow of my ear. “Laney.” Just his one word sets me on fire.
“Please, no more stalling. I want it.”
Lachlan smiles, the corner of his mouth crawling dangerously slow up his jaw. “My pleasure, luv. We aim to please, do we not?”
My world tingles when I feel him at my entrance, his thickness making my sex ache with a need unimaginable. I toss my head against the mattress as he slides into me. God. He fills me so deep. So long.
“Christ,” he grunts. “So. Fucking. Tight. Goddamn.” He still has my wrist in one hand, as he slowly slides in and out of me.
Keeping my wrist in one hand, he slides the other hand down to where we meet. His calloused finger glides against my wet folds. My eyes flutter to the back of my head. This. Is. Heaven. Pulling out, he glances down at me. “Are you mine, luv? Say it.”
Deliriously, I nod. I feel undone. Gone. “I’m yours.”
His face is stern, jaw tight, eyes fixated on mine. “You want me inside of you? Now? All of me?”
“Fuck, yes,” I whimper. In one second I’m filled with him again. Hard. I cry out, clenching my muscles in the most dangerously magical way. He starts slowly, then his pace quickens. He is pulsing furiously in and out of me. My muscles wrapping tightly around his length, begging for more.
His hot mouth takes my nipple in and he bites. An orgasm is building. Pumping my hips toward him, I long for it. Long for that release. I tilt my pelvis his way, giving him better access. “Laney, Jesus Christ. You’re so fucking tight.” He releases my hands, and my own go straight to his neck, interlocking my fingers in his hair. He plunges into me harder, making me cry out. Trembles race through my body. I let go, my body shuddering with want. Need.
“Laney,” Lachlan sighs, clutching my hips harder. “You want me?”
I’m still riding a wave from my orgasm, but I nod. “Yes,” I scream, my voice foreign.
“Okay, baby.” He plunges harder into me, back and forth. He growls before he comes down in front of me, his cock jerking powerfully inside me.
Our breath is hard, fast, and the only noise in the room. I feel him shift off of me and hear him tearing the condom from him. A second later I’m wrapped in hard arms.
“Laney.”
My eyelids flutter closed, unable to stay open. “Hmm.”
“I think I’m right where I’m supposed to be. Where you are.”
Smiling into his pillow, I nod. “I think so, too.”
Epilogue
Laney
“And in the end, the love you take
Is equal to the love you make…” — The Beatles
My clenched fist hovers over the door.
This is a bad idea.
But, it’s the only way to make any of this better. I have to right my wrongs, even if I have to grow a pair to do it. A few guys walk behind me, mumbling something under their breath. Bet and bitch are definitely two words I hear. It’s been like this since the party. Everyone at school knows about the bet now. The girls applaud me while the guys treat me like a leper. I guess I deserve it; I should have never done it, but I did. So, it’s live with the guilt or grow up and apologize. I’m going with the latter. It’s been two weeks since the party. Aiden has turned the other way every time I get near him. He goes straight to his room, at least that’s what I’ve been hearing.
Before I lose my nerve, I bang my fist against the door three times. There is stirring behind the door and I hope another girl doesn’t answer. A few seconds later the door creaks open. Aiden is standing with one hand on the doorknob and the other tucked in his sweats’ pocket.
His jaw clenches when he sees me and his brown eyes widen w
ith hurt. “Do you need something?” His voice is deep, snarky and rude. Can’t say I blame him.
“Can I come in?”
Anger washes over his face. Closing his eyes, he opens the door wider, allowing me access. His roommate is sitting on his bed, earphones plugged in his ears.
“Hey, can you give us a minute?”
The guy looks up. “Oh,” he mouths, letting out a low whistle. “I will definitely be leaving now.” He grabs a bag and scurries out of the room.
The guilt has wrapped around my chest, squeezing the life out of me. I stand with my back to him for a few seconds, trying to regain my breath. “Aiden, I’m sorry.”
He scoffs, and I hear him start to dig around in his mini-fridge. “Right,” he mumbles.
“What I did was wrong, I shouldn’t have agreed to it, and the more I got to know you the more I didn’t want you to ever find out about this. But you found out anyway.”
Aiden sits down on his bed, drink in one hand and the other twisted into his blond locks. “I just—I liked you, Laney. I did.”
I slide his desk chair out and roll over until I’m sitting in front of him. “You didn’t, Aiden. You liked that I was hard to get. You liked that I was a challenge. That I didn’t give in. It’s imbedded into your DNA, you can’t help it.”
Glancing up, he rolls his eyes from the top of my head to my feet. “You said it was a bet. Who bet you to do it? You don’t seem like the kind of person to just do this to be mean. Who talked you into it again?”
“Bethany. You slept with her a few weekends back. She was my friend at the club.”
“Brittany?”
I roll my eyes. “Can’t you see that you hurt girls when you do this? I mean, I think they should keep their legs closed, but a lot of women are engrained with it. They want to please their potential mate, and so they give it up. It’s inevitable.”
Aiden scratches his head, before making eye contact with me. “You’re not into me at all? Not even a bit.”
Tucking my lip inside my mouth, I give him a slow, one-shouldered shrug. “No. I—I love someone else. I have for a long time.”
Aiden nods. “British guy.”
“Australian, but close enough.”
“Well, congratulations to you and him. He throws a mean right hook.” He points toward a yellowing bruise on his cheek.
Smiling, I reach over and brush my fingers against his. “I’m sorry. I should have never done this. I hope you can forgive me.”
He grunts and stands up. “There is no way I couldn’t forgive you. You broke my heart and, even if it was fake, I cherish the time we had. It was…nice. I’m sorry for the way I treated your friend.”
“Thank you, Aiden. Maybe you should tell her yourself?”
Grabbing my arm, he pulls me toward his chest. I fit my head into the crook of his neck and exhale. “Thank you, Laney. I will.”
Aiden grips my hair when I reach up and kiss his cheek. “See you around?”
Aiden nods. “Yeah, maybe we could hang out sometime. Just for old time’s sake.”
“That would be nice.”
My hands is on the doorknob when Aiden stops me. “Tell Lachlan that he has a good girl. That I’d be proud to call you mine.”
Tears are forming in my eyes but I push them back down. “I will.”
***
Lachlan is hanging a photo on his wall when I get there. The place is actually starting to look like home. His low-rise jeans are the only thing hanging on his hips. His back muscles are hard, moving as he hammers the picture frame into the wall.
The faint sound of music hums from his living room speakers. Shutting the door, Lachlan turns around to see me. His green eyes are bright, a smile curling up his strong jaw.
“Did you see him?”
I nod and toss my brown paper bag on his kitchen cabinet. “Yes.”
He lifts an eyebrow and turns completely toward me. The lines in his abs are deeper than I remember from high school, his shoulders wider. Age has done him well. “And?”
“He says he forgives me.”
Lachlan clears his throat and nods toward the brown paper sack. “What do you have in the sack, luv?”
I shake my head. “Girl stuff. You want to take a break?”
A wicked grin crawls up his face. “Do you have something in mind, baby?” his voice drips with sex. If that’s even freaking possible.
I take a few leisurely steps toward him. “I think I may, luv,” I mock.
Lachlan wraps an arm around my waist, bringing me close to him. “Well, why don’t I jump in the shower and then we can put said plans into motion.”
I nip his ear with my teeth, making him growl. “Or we could forget the shower.” Laughing, I push him toward the bathroom.
“Hurry,” I say.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Waiting until he is around the corner, I grip the paper bag and lock myself in the guest bathroom. All the nerves I’d been hiding jut out and start dancing at the sight of the test. Pregnancy test. I’m a week and a half late for my period.
I open the box, memories resurfacing. I screw my eyes shut and lock them away. I won’t be tormented by my past mistakes anymore. The therapist Lachlan suggested has helped me. She doesn’t judge, only listens. It’s nice to talk. To admit my fears.
I shake it off after I pee on it, and set it on the counter. I bite my lip and slide against the bathroom door. I hear Lachlan in the kitchen. He must have taken a damn whore bath. Checking my phone, I ease my way up.
The small stick is staring up at me. Begging to be read. “Laney, are you okay, luv? Are you sick?”
“Not yet,” I mumble. “That’ll take a few weeks.”
“What? Let me in,” he says, wiggling the doorknob. I instantly grab the knob and open the door. I won’t leave him out again.
“What the—” he trails off as he sees the stick in my hands. Eyes wide, he nods toward it. “Are you?”
I shrug.
Lachlan puts his drink down and wraps his arms around my waist. “Want to look together?”
Nodding, I grip the sides of his sweat pants. “Yes.”
Lachlan pulls me back, and sits me on the bathroom counter. My eyes are closed; I’m too afraid to look. Lachlan takes the pregnancy test from me and the silence digs into me.
“Look, luv.”
Pressing my lips into a hard line, I open my eyes fast. Two pale blue lines are staring back up at me. Heart pounding, I glance up at Lachlan. He’s grinning wildly. Snatching his hands up, he runs them through his hair. “We’re—we’re pregnant, luv.”
The large lump in my throat falls down my throat. I’m not scared. The look on Lachlan’s face erases every fear, memory, and doubt in my mind. “We’re pregnant.”
Lachlan wraps me in his arms, those big, safe arms, and squeezes. “Christ, we’re getting a second chance. Another chance.” He is shaking against me, tears soaking the shoulder of my shirt.
I’m doing my best runny-nose sob into his shoulder. He pulls back, his eyes as wide as his smile. “I love you so much, luv.”
Biting back the happy tears, I nod. “I never stopped.”
“It's been written in the scars on our hearts
we’re not broken just bent
And we can learn to love again” — Pink
Song Credits
“Just Give Me a Reason.” Written and performed by Pink.
“The Scientist” Written by Guy Berryman, Chris Martin, Johnny Buckland, Coldplay. Performed by Coldplay.
“Wrecking Ball.” Written by Stephan Moccio, Lukasz Gottwald, Sacha Skarbek, Cirkut, Mozella. Performed by Miley Cyrus.”
“Flaws.” Written by Daniel Smith. Performed by Bastille.
“The Kill.” Written by Jared Leto. Performed by 30 Seconds to Mars.
“Broken.” Written by Federico Scoot, Jason Wade. Performed by Lifehouse.
“Hallelujah.” Written by Leonard Cohen. Performed by Rufus Wainwright.
“Far Away.” Written by Nickleback and Chad Kroger. Performed by Nickleback.
“Dreaming With a Broken Heart.” Written and performed by John Mayer.
“Haunted.” Written by Jimmy Messer. Performed by Kelly Clarkson
“When We Were One.” Written by Rune Westberg and Brooke White. Performed by Brooke White.
“Pompeii.” Written by Daniel Smith. Performed by Bastille.
“Scars.” Written by Tobin Esperance. Performed by Papa Roach.
“Paradise.” Written by Guy Berryman, Chris Martin, Johnny Buckland. Performed by Coldplay.
“Troublemaker.” Written by Olly Murs, Claude Kelly, Flo Rida, and Steve Robson. Performed by Olly Murs.
“Every Girl.” Written by DeWayne Carter, Aubrey Graham, Jarvis Mills, Jermaine Preyan, Carl Lilly. Performed by Young Money and Lil Wayne.
“The End.” Written by Lennon-McCartney. Performed by The Beatles.
ALLA KAR
Alla Kar is from the Deep South. She lives there with her husband, Chihuahua, and pit-bull. She loves YouTube and bringing alpha males to life. When she isn’t reading or writing, she is watching the Hodge Twins and swooning over book boyfriends to whoever will listen!
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Table of Contents
HERE WITH ME
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One