by J. Daniels
I shift on the bed. My other hand forms to her hip. I feel electric being this close to her.
“What do you mean, it’s only ever been me?” she asks quietly, her tongue wetting her lips.
I duck my head and kiss her temple. “Only ever loved you, brave girl. No one else,” I whisper against her skin, sliding my mouth to her ear. Her breath rushes hot against my neck as I close my eyes. “God, my heart’s pounding.”
She flattens her hand against the center of my chest, breathlessly murmuring, “Mine too.”
“Come home with me.”
Her chin lifts with guidance of my hand. I run my thumb over the flush in her cheek.
“Home. O-Okay.” Her mouth lifts slightly. “To my aunt’s? Or . . .”
I breathe a laugh. Only Beth can shove me in a direction I didn’t know I was ready for.
“I like ‘or’ better.” I kiss her mouth quickly, then lean away, sighing, my hands refusing to leave her skin. “There’s still so much I want to say to you, but I don’t want to say it here, in this house. I don’t want my words to be mixed with his.”
After a slight hesitation, she nods, not questioning what I mean by that. She must understand that I know more than she’s told me. If not, it’ll be obvious the second she sees the state I’ve left Rocco in.
Fucker. He deserves worse, and he’ll get it if he ever tries anything.
We pack up her things, which takes no longer than two minutes. Beth never really unpacked much of anything yesterday, except a few items. She pulls her Kindle against her chest, hugging it, then sets it on the dresser.
“You’re not taking it?” I ask her, grabbing the duffle off the bed.
“It was from Rocco.” She purses her lips. “It was the only thing I had before that I loved. But I have you now, I don’t need it.”
Shit. She loves that thing. She just fucking hugged it goodbye.
Grabbing the back of her neck, I drop a kiss to the top of her head. “I’ll buy you a new one.”
She smiles up at me, then lightly kisses my jaw.
I keep her against my side as we walk down the stairs. Rocco is sitting on the couch now, dressed, holding a bloody rag to his face. Ben and Luke standing in front of him like a pair of guard dogs on steroids. I take Beth immediately outside, expecting the questions to start, but she just snakes her arms around my waist and presses kisses to my chest.
She tries to lead me to her car.
“That’s staying here. We’ll get you another one.”
I’ve never seen her look more confused. Her nose crinkles as she gazes up at me. “But, it’s my car. I need a car.”
“You don’t need that car. I can’t stand looking at it and knowing you lived in that thing. It bothers me. I don’t want you driving it anymore.”
She puts a hand on her hip, fighting a smile. “Reed.”
“Forget it, woman. It stays here.”
She narrows her eyes, laughing. Her arms snake around my neck, pressing her body into mine as she whispers kisses against my throat. “You love me,” she murmurs.
“Mm.” I trace my finger down the side of her face, gazing down at her. “I am scared though, Beth. If you leave me again I don’t think . . .” I swallow hard. “No, I know, I know I won’t survive that. You can’t leave me, even when I fuck up, and I will fuck up. I’ve never done this. I might be bad at it.”
My words hang in the air between us, different from the first time I said them to her. Before it was “I haven’t done this in nine years.” Now she knows she’s my first.
“I’ve never done this either,” she says. Her hands lightly squeeze my hips. “I’m scared too.”
The front door opens. Ben and Luke walk down the stone steps.
“Let’s go home.” I wrap my arm around her waist, leading her to the truck.
I need to get my girl alone.
BETH CALLS HER AUNT ON the drive back. When Danny gets on the line and asks to speak to me, I hesitate bringing the phone up to my ear. It’s my fault Beth left. She never would’ve gone back to some guy who made her feel anything less than perfect if it wasn’t for me. I still don’t know what all words Rocco used to break her down. I’m not sure I want to know. What would stop me from driving back to Kentucky and making good on my promise?
Nothing, that’s fucking what.
Danny, to my surprise, doesn’t tear into me for being the catalyst in all this. He simply thanks me for getting Beth back, in his own I’m still going to give you shit for dating my niece way. His tone can’t be more critical. As always, I keep my reaction to his attitude silent.
I pull Beth into my arms after she disconnects the call, burying my face in her neck, letting my hands roam over her limbs, my fingers threading into her hair. I feel like I haven’t touched her in years, or maybe never. There’s a desperation to it I know she can feel.
Her warm hands cup my face. She brushes away the wetness brimming in my eyes. I don’t want to be an emotional wreck but fuck!
“I’m so in love with you I feel like I can’t breathe,” I whisper against her neck, trying to somehow explain the reason behind my sudden discomposure.
Sudden. Right. She’s been watching me unravel for weeks.
She leans back to gaze at me, staring at my mouth as if she wants to see my lips form those words.
“Love you, brave girl.” I bring her hand to my mouth, kissing her fingers.
She strokes my face, kissing my mouth, my jaw, up to my ear where she whispers, “Thank you.”
I tilt my head to see her. “For loving you?”
“For saying it.”
I pull her into my lap, mumbling how crazy she is, how crazy I am for her.
AFTER THANKING THE GUYS, WAITING impatiently for Beth to thank the guys, scowling at Ben when he won’t stop fucking talking to Beth, I get her inside so she can see her aunt and uncle. Their exchange of hugs and quiet conversation is brief while I hang by the door. They need this time alone together.
I drive home with Beth tucked against my side, her hands clutching my shirt. Her duffle hits the hardwood as we stumble inside my house together. Grabbing her body and pinning her to me, I lower us to the floor just inside the doorway.
“Reed,” she giggles against my throat. Her hands in my hair. “Here?”
I kiss her mouth. I bite her jaw. “Here, first. I can’t . . . I need . . .”
“I know,” she says. She understands my urgency.
Will it always be like this after any time apart?
I pull her boots and socks off, kissing her feet as she squirms. I cup her ass and tear her jeans down her legs. Her panties follow. Bunching her shirt above her full, perfect tits, I pull the shell of her bra down and tongue her nipple.
“Oh.” She grabs my hand and forms it to her other breast, moaning when I squeeze.
“You taste so fucking good.” I kiss her cleavage. I lick up to her neck, inhaling a lung full of her sweet scent. “God, Beth. Touch me. Please, I need to feel you.”
She grabs a fistful of my shirt and pulls it over my head. My back hits the floor with the force of her hand. I yield easily to her assault. Straddling me, she fumbles with the button on my jeans, grinning.
“Hi,” she murmurs in the softest voice, pulling her shirt the rest of the way off, discarding her bra.
“Hey.” I press my thumb against her clit, moving in slow circles. Her fingers tremble against my zipper. “Come on. Pull it out, Beth. Get on my dick.”
Her eyes flash with lust. She loves that. She loves when I talk filthy, when I order her to fuck me, suck me. My thumb coats with her desire.
She tugs my jeans down around my thighs and fists my cock, pumping my shaft, running her tongue over the head.
I thrust my hips subtly. “Fuck, no, don’t,” I strain.
“No?”
“It’s . . . it’s a lot, right now. I won’t last.”
She bites her lip behind a smile, no doubt proud of her effect on me. “Help me,” she whispers, sp
laying her hands over my lower abs.
Grabbing her hips, I sit up and shift us on the floor so my back is against the wall. She gasps as her nipples scratch against my chest. I take her weight, digging my fingers into her hips, slowly lowering her on my cock.
She squeezes my neck. “I love you,” she murmurs.
“Beth.” An inch more, she pulls me in, clamping down on me so goddamn tight my balls start to throb. “I love you. God, I love you so fucking much.”
Her hips fully seat on mine. I lift and lower her, again and again, her smooth thighs tensing. When she starts to rock her hips, I drop my hand between her legs, sliding my fingers around my cock to feel where I enter her.
“Fuck, Beth . . . fuck, feel this. Here. Come here.”
Grabbing her hand, I guide her fingers between us, my other hand rocking her so she slides up and down my shaft.
“Oh, God,” she gasps. “How does it . . . tell me how it feels.”
“Perfect.” I slide her fingers to her clit, thrusting my hips off the floor. God, it’s so deep this way. “It’s never felt like this before . . . not with anyone else. I lose my mind every time you touch me.”
“G-Go on,” she stammers, her head rolling back, her swollen pussy soaking me.
I bounce her again and we moan together. “I’m . . . so hard, all the time, thinking about you. I love watching you take my dick like this. You like it deep?”
“Mm.”
“You do, I know you do. Always telling me harder. Harder, Reed. Do it. You’re so perfect, Beth. God, you’re perfect.” I push my jeans down further so I can feel her ass against my thighs. I slap one round cheek, again when she clamps down on me, again when she begs me for more. I lift her tits, circling her nipples with my tongue.
Beth rocks her hips faster. Her hands in my hair, she pulls my face away from her tits and takes my mouth. “I need to come. I n-need . . .”
“What do you need, sweetheart?” I manage, chasing my orgasm, my pace growing wild. I can’t stop fucking her. She’s here, Beth is here—my Beth. God, how long have I loved her? From the beginning? From that first kiss? Fuck, if it isn’t the most cliché thing I’ve ever thought, but that’s how long I’ve been hers.
She sucks on my lips, panting. “Oh, God, I need to feel you . . . come. Please come, Reed.”
My hand grips her neck, the other holding her hip while I thrust frantically off the floor. With a cry, Beth shakes against me, bites my lip, claws her nails down my back. I bury my face in her neck and swear as I release inside her. Wetness sticks to my thighs.
“Beth . . . Beth . . . fuck.”
We collapse against the wall, sliding to the floor. I push her damp hair off her face and look into her eyes. She tucks her body next to me, still panting.
“I can’t be apart from you,” I say against her swollen lips, softly kissing her. “Not even for one night, Beth. Move in with me. Be here, with me. God, I want this so bad. I don’t care how scary this is. I want all of you. Please, please say yes to me. To us. Just you and me, right?”
She stares at me for a second. Her warm hands touch my face, push through my hair.
“You and me,” she murmurs, beaming up at me.
“Beth,” I breathe, ducking my face under her head, kissing her neck, holding onto my girl so goddamn tight. Nothing else matters but this.
You and me.
Three Weeks Later
Beth
REED LIKES TO SAY I’VE been his since that first kiss. McGill’s will always be special to us for that reason, but here, at Swan Harbor, is where it feels like it all started. It’s where we stopped pretending and lost ourselves to each other in a dimly lit room overlooking an engagement party. It might be where I fell in love with Reed, or when I knew I loved him. It’s hard to pin-point that exact moment. Maybe it was that kiss at McGill’s. Maybe neither one of us were ever really pretending.
This room . . . it wasn’t just about those first touches, or the kiss Reed took that was all for him. I saw his pain in this room. I saw a man stuck in the past, held captive by his memories of this place and the woman who never deserved him. I wanted to be his distraction from all of it, but more than that, I wanted to be his only memory.
“I want to use my advantage now,” I say, sounding hurried. Frantic. Desperate.
“I was picking up on that.” He stares at my mouth, tilting his head down. “What do you want, sweetheart? You want to kiss me?”
My eyes flash open at the sound of the door creaking behind me. Reed sticks his head inside, smiling when he sees me by the window. The lamp in the corner casts streaks of soft amber light along the floor.
“Hey, there you are.” He moves across the room after closing the door. “Hiding out? Luke and Tessa are about to cut the cake.”
“I was just . . . having a moment.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Déjà vu, you remember?”
“Of course. I practically molested you in here.”
“Molested?” He snorts, gently squeezing my hips. He kisses my mouth. “I was a very willing participant, Beth. Best hand-job of my life.” He leans back, smiling. “Best kiss too.”
“Really? That kiss was the best one?” I bite my cheek to keep a straight face.
God, it’s all I do anymore—smile around this man.
His lip twitches. “Second best.”
“Mm” My hands tug at his belt. “I might be able to top that best hand-job, if you want.” He groans when I slide his zipper down. Warm flesh fills my palm, quickly hardening.
“God, Beth.”
“Reed?” I whisper against his neck, stroking him, moaning as his fingers dig into my flesh.
I knew he’d come find me. I knew exactly what I was going to do the second I stepped into this room, even before that. I’ve planned this out.
He tries to lift the hem of my dress. I bat his hand away, smiling at the frown he gives me.
“I can’t touch you?”
I shake my head slowly, rubbing my thumb along the tip of his cock. Squeezing him from base to tip, I stroke him in the same spot we stood all those weeks ago. He makes hungry noises against my mouth, biting me, sucking my lips. He tugs on my hair to expose my neck, telling me how amazing my skin tastes, how wet he knows I am for him. His hands squeeze my breasts, pinching my nipples through the thin material of my dress.
I can’t stop looking at him. At the light stubble dusting his jaw, the perfect line of his mouth.
“How long do you want this?” I ask as my back hits the wall.
He drops his forehead against mine, moaning. “This . . . hand-job? Until I come would be fantastic.”
I wet my lips, my breathing all over the place, erratic along with his. “No. This. You and me, how long do you want it?”
He leans back slightly, staring down at me through hooded eyes.
“I want it forever,” I whisper, fondling him roughly, squeezing his cock just how he likes it. “I’ll never want anyone else.”
“Beth,” he groans, pinching his eyes shut. His hips rock into my hand. He’s throbbing, swelling against my palm.
God, he gets so hard when I do this.
“How long do you want it, Reed?”
“Forever,” he pants. He sounds tortured.
“Watch me. Watch me touch you.”
His eyes spark open with desire, and something darker. It sends a violent shudder through my body. Tilting his head down, he watches my hand work his cock. His lips part, his hands on my waist tremble.
You and me.
“Fuck, Beth. I’m close.”
I reach my other hand into his pants and cup his balls. He gasps through a moan. Sweat beads on his brow.
“Marry me. Marry me, Reed.”
His eyes go round for a second, then flutter close as his orgasm takes him. “Yes,” he moans. “Fuck . . . yes.” He grabs my face, crashing our mouths together, moaning as his release coats my hand.
My body clings to him. I kiss him with everything I have, w
ith every piece of my soul. Long, and deep, and full of all of my love for him. I swallow the soft murmurs of my name as he presses them against my lips.
He said yes! He said yes!
I want to scream. I want everyone to know that this beautiful man is mine. I want to run away tonight and make it official.
He reaches around my back and pulls me away from the wall, flattening my body against his.
“You said yes.” I kiss his jaw as he cleans off my hand with a handkerchief. “I really didn’t know if you would.”
He tosses the cloth into the trash bin, zipping up his pants. His thumb moves over my cheek. “You get me a ring?”
Oh . . . well, shit.
Cringing, I shake my head. “No, I didn’t even think . . .”
His hands fall away from my body, one disappears behind his back. “Thank God one of us came prepared,” he says, his voice curling deliciously.
My mouth falls open when he produces a tiny black box out of his pocket. I don’t know why I’m so stunned. I just proposed to him. He said yes. But the sight of him dropping to his knee in front of me has my heart racing so fast I fear it might break out of my chest.
I drop down onto the floor, grabbing his face.
“Beth,” he laughs. “What are you doing? There’s supposed to be a substantial height difference during this.”
I shake my head. “No, like this, please.”
I help him open the box. Tears well up in my eyes as he slips the ring on my finger, as he kisses the back of my hand.
It’s perfect.
“You’re perfect,” he says matter-of-factly.
Oh, I said that out loud?
He cradles my face gently in his hands. “Beth Davis, from McGill’s . . .”
We both laugh. He kisses me quickly.
“Brave girl, will you marry me?”
I throw myself at him, tackling him to the floor, planting sweet kisses all over his face.
“That a yes?”
“Yes!” I yell, giggling against his mouth.
He pins me beneath him, his eyes glowing like embers in the dark. “I can’t believe you proposed to me with my dick in your hand. Jesus, Beth.”
“It should’ve been in my mouth, right?” Sighing, I shake my head. “Such poor planning on my part.”