by Hope Ford
I walk back to the bedroom and undress quickly. My cock is hard and I give it a swift tug and adjust myself, willing it to go down before I go back out there.
I pull my clothes on and lace up my tennis shoes before going back to the living room. “I’m ready,” I announce to her.
2
Abby
Sweet mother of all that is holy. When I stand up and turn around to face him, I drop my phone. It falls to the ground and is probably cracked, but I don’t care. My mouth hangs open.
He stops a few feet away from me, looks down at himself and back at me. “Is this okay? I didn’t have any gloves or anything.”
My gaze goes from his tennis shoes, up his muscled legs across his black gym shorts that I swear twitch under my gaze. I lick my lips and keep moving upward. No shirt. He doesn’t have a shirt on and his hard abs and chest are on full display for me to ogle. I can count his abs from across the room. My face pinches at the black silk robe he has on over it, stopping me from seeing his arms. When my gaze finally reaches his face, he has a smile a mile wide. Dammit. I’ve been caught.
He flexes his pecs. “Do you like what you see?”
My face flushes but I answer him honestly. “Yes.”
The air crackles between us and he prowls over toward me. His hand comes up to rest on my cheek and he tilts my head back to look up at him. Eyeing him greedily, I lick my lips. He lowers his head, his lips only inches from mine, when my phone starts ringing. We pull apart with a start. “Sorry,” I stutter. “I have to answer that. It’s probably my family and they will send out the Cavalry if I don’t answer.”
I assure my mom that I am on my way as he locks his door and then I follow him out to his truck. When I finally hang up, he’s opening the truck for me and helping me in. He seatbelts me in, even after I assure him I can do it myself. He just smiles at me with a smug look and walks around to the driver’s side.
“Where to?” he asks me as he pulls his seat belt on and then grips the steering wheel.
I give him directions to the dance hall and when he pulls out of the parking lot, I ask him, “So what brings you to town?”
He hesitates. “Work.”
I laugh. “Okay, what do you do? Or is it a big secret?”
His jaw tenses, but he answers me briefly. “Investments.”
I want to ask him more, but he changes the subject. “So tell me about your family.”
“Well, let’s see. Right before you got to my apartment, my older brother Jackson just left with his date, my best friend, Megan to go to the party. So, that’s new and I sort of planned it and I hope it works out. My other brother, Ford, is taking Jackson’s ex fiancée to the party tonight, so that should be weird. My oldest brother is in the army and we are hoping to see him around Christmas, if all goes as planned. My mom and dad have been married forty years and they are great. You’ll like them,” I ramble on to him. “So, uh, tell me about your family.”
“No siblings. Just me and my dad,” he answers shortly.
“Wow,” I exclaim.
“What?” he asks defensively.
“I bet it was nice not sharing a bathroom growing up,” I tell him and start laughing.
It takes him a minute, but he smiles at me and his deep laugh fills the cab of the truck.
Brent
The more time I spend with her, the more I know I like her. She turns heads everywhere we go. I’ve had to stand next to her as old men all the way down to young boys take their turn hugging her or telling her hello. When I meet her mom and dad, they were obviously surprised to see me with her instead of Derrick, but they don’t comment. They were very nice to me and I stood with her dad and chatted while she took her mom aside to talk, to probably explain things, I’m thinking.
“So, you’re pretty old to be out on a date with my daughter, don’t you think?” her father asks me.
I turn to face him. “I don’t even know how old she is, sir,” I tell him honestly.
“Twenty-three,” he grunts at me.
“I’m ten years older than her, sir.” I take another swig of the water in my hands.
“Do you have a steady job?” he asks me, looking me square in the face.
“Yes, sir,” I answer, not taking my eyes off him.
He’s measuring me up. I get it. If I had a daughter like Abby, I would do the same.
He must see something he likes, because he slaps me on the back. “That’s good, son. Because she seems like a hard ass, but let me tell you, I’m about tired of these boys trying to take advantage of her good heart.”
“Daddy, can I borrow Brent now?” Abby walks up to us, laces her hand with mine and starts tugging me away.
We nod our heads at each other, like we have an understanding. I hold her hand tighter when I can tell she is about to let mine go. “So your father’s nice.”
“Yep, but I’m sure he was about to give you the third degree. Much more than a first date warrants… I mean not that this is a date… or anything.” She stutters and her face blushes prettily.
She looks away and gasps. I try to see what she’s staring at, but I can’t because of the number of people on the dance floor. “What are we looking at?” I ask her, with my mouth against her ear.
Her tremble shakes her body and she answers me huskily, “My brother and my best friend.” She points to the couple kissing on the dance floor. I don’t think she realizes it, but she’s put her hand against her heart. The one with mine in it. So my hand is grazing her nipple as she holds our hands to her chest.
“Well, it looks like your matchmaking worked,” I tell her.
“Oh no, here comes Ford.” She drops my hand instantly.
I watch the man coming toward us and I put my arm around her with my hand on her hip. I don’t know if this is another man going to try and cop a feel or just an innocent hug, but I know I’m over sharing her at this point.
“Ford, this is Brent. Brent, this is my brother, Ford.” She introduces us and I shake the man’s hand right before she swats him on the chest.
“What are you thinking bringing Jacksons ex fiancée to the party? Have you lost your mind?” She puts her hands on her hips and I can’t stop the smile that forms on my face. She’s a sassy thing for sure.
“Abby, you know I don’t like her. Hell, it’s killing me.” He looks around us and then leans down to whisper, “The station is investigating her dad. They wanted some inside intel and since I have family connections I was nominated.”
She nods at him. You can tell he feels guilty for bringing Jackson’s ex with him. Abby takes sympathy on him and points out to the dance floor. “I think Jackson’s okay with it.” Jackson and Megan are still kissing, when abruptly they break apart and he’s pulling her off the dance floor.
“Shit. There’s Emily.” And he points to a woman standing in their path off the dance floor. Ford hollers bye over his shoulder and takes off to intervene.
Abby doesn’t take her eyes off them. “You okay?” I ask her worriedly.
“Uh, yea, I’m fine, it’s just, there’s something else going on with Ford. I’m just worried about him,” she admits easily.
I grab her hand once again. “Well, do you want to go talk to him?”
She shakes her head. “No. He’s got enough going on tonight. But I will definitely check on him tomorrow.”
She smiles up at me. “So now you have met all of my crazy family—well, most of them. I have some pretty interesting cousins too, but they’re not here tonight. Anyway, now that you’ve met them all, what about something to eat?”
I brush a stray hair out of her face and put my hands on each of her hips. I shake my head side to side.
“No. You’re not hungry? Okay, what do you want to do?” she asks me, staring at me.
“Dance with me.” I reach for her hand.
Her eyes widen, alarmed. “I never dance. I’m not very good. Trust me, I’m doing you a favor by telling you no.”
I tug her toward the danc
e floor. “I wasn’t asking.”
3
Abby
When Brent pulls me to the dance floor, he doesn’t stop until were at the far end toward the back of the room. The music is slow and he slides his arms underneath my robe, pulling me toward him until our bodies are pressed against each other. His hands are resting low on my back and I tense up thinking about him sliding them down my backside.
“You okay?” he whispers in my ear.
I give in to the dance and lean my cheek against his bare chest. “Yes.”
We sway quietly for a few minutes and I slide my hands from his waist, up his solid chest and then wrap them around his neck. He leans down and kisses the top of my head and for a second I forget to breathe.
“Honey, I don’t want to embarrass you in front of your family,” he whispers to me.
I lean my head back to look at him. “Embarrass me? What do you mean?”
“Well, I thought this was a good idea to have you in my arms…” he starts and I stiffen at his words. I start to pull back from him, but his hand slides down my back and cups my cheek. His fingers graze my bare skin at the bottom of my shorts and I suck in a breath.
He strokes my crease. “How short are these shorts anyway?”
Instantly, I lift my ass up and press into his hand. “Too short, but I didn’t think it was a big deal, since I have a robe covering me.”
His hands press against each globe of my ass and flatten me against him. His erection is prodding against me and when I try to get closer, he moans into my hair. “Honey, we’re going to have to get off this dance floor. I can’t take much more of this and I really don’t want to take you with an audience.”
Reluctantly, I back away from him. What is wrong with me? I just met this man hours ago and I’m about to dry hump him on the dance floor in front of all my family and friends.
“Hey, Abby. Will you dance with me?” Derrick interrupts us.
Brent steps between Derrick and me. “No, she’s not dancing with you.”
But Derrick doesn’t back down. He looks at me and asks, “Please, I just want to talk to you.”
“No…” Brent starts but I stop him with a touch to his shoulder.
His eyes lock on mine and his face tightens with every word I mutter. “Brent, it’s okay. I really should talk to him. Our families are best friends. I need to get this over with.”
He looks at me for a long second while Derrick stands next to us, swaying side to side on the balls of his feet.
Brent rolls his head between his shoulders like he’s trying to relieve tension. “Off the dance floor. Not in his arms. And he doesn’t touch you.”
The stern set of his jaw has me nodding my head at him. He walks me to the edge of the dance floor with Derrick traipsing behind us. “I’ll be right there.”
He points to a spot next to the bar and I nod. He twists his back to look at Derrick. “Don’t touch her.”
Derrick holds his hands out in front of him and nods at him. Wow. Earlier he was all cocky and running his mouth, now it seems he’s backing down from Brent.
I watch him walk away, but Derrick starts talking to me so I turn to him. “I’m sorry about earlier, Abby. I shouldn’t have acted that way. I would like a second chance with you. It was wrong for me to assume that I could move in with you.”
I swallow around the lump in my throat. “No. I should have ended it with you a while back. It’s just not going to work out between us. I’m sorry.”
His shoulders slump. “C’mon, Abby, we’re good together. Our families are close.”
I shake my head side to side. I can’t help but think I did this to myself. I attract these type of men, ones that need taken care of. “I’m sorry, but no, we just don’t add up.”
He seems like he wants to argue, but in the end he just nods his head and starts to put his arms around me for a hug. Almost instantly, Brent is at my side, shaking his head at me.
I grab on to his hand and try to let him know that it’s okay, but he shakes his head at me. Derrick drops his arms and tells me bye before walking away.
I pull away from Brent and put my hands on my hips. “You know you can’t tell me what to do?”
His lips press into a tight smile. “Are you ready to go?”
I look at him curiously. “Yeah. Let me tell my parents bye.”
Brent
The ride home is quiet and I see her squirming in her seat. She starts to talk a few times, but never gets the words out. I know I’m making her nervous, which is not my intent, but I am trying to rein in my feelings before I make a fool of myself.
I spent the whole night with a line of men touching her, hugging her and talking to her. All of it was innocent for the most part, but I’m not used to the jealous and possessive feelings that are eating at me.
I help her out of the truck and walk her to her apartment door. She’s staring at me, but I’m not giving an inch. I’m afraid if I start, I won’t be able to stop. “G’night, Brent. Thanks for going with me,” she says before shutting the door firmly behind her.
The flash of hurt on her face keeps me frozen in place. I put my hands on the door frame and lean into it, taking a deep breath. “Fuck.” I grimace before standing up straight and knocking on her door.
She opens it and looks at me questioningly. Since she walked in, she had shed her robe. I look her over quickly and ask her if I can come in.
“Uh… sure,” she says and opens the door wider for me to enter. I walk past her and stop when I get to the couch.
“Look, I’m sorry, Abby. I know I was a prick. Telling you what you can and can’t do, trying to control you, it’s just…fuck… that’s how I am. I’m not some little boy that’s going to stand by while you move from man to man, all of them hugging you and putting their arms around you.” I grunt out the last part, because damn it was hard standing there watching it.
“Is that what you think? That I’m fucking half the town?” She kicks her hip out and puts her hands on her hips. She’s breathing heavily and I can tell I’ve pissed her off.
I walk toward her and grip her shoulders with my hands. “What? No! That’s not what I meant at all. I know it was innocent. But I don’t like it. I don’t want you in someone else’s arms.”
Confusion is etched on her face. “But… but we just met tonight.”
“I know that, that’s why I was controlling myself.” I shrug my shoulders heavily.
She laughs. “That was controlling yourself?”
I want to laugh, but it’s true. I was holding myself back. I won’t lie to her about it. “Definitely.”
She looks at me as if she’s weighing her thoughts. A calm comes over her face, like she just made a decision. She saunters toward me until she is standing in front of me and my heart is thumping wildly in my chest. She looks up at me and puts her hand around the back of my neck, pulling me down. “What if I don’t want you to control yourself?”
4
Abby
I’ve played it safe all these years. Dating men that I could control. Men that let me be in command of the whole relationship. And honestly, it’s been exhausting. There’s something about Brent that brings me alive inside. He makes me want to let loose and give my control over to him.
I thought he was mad at me and that was why he didn’t talk to me the whole way home. But that’s not the case. He was trying not to control me, trying not to scare me off. And the fact that he wants to be in charge of me – well, that stirs something inside me, causing my nipples to harden and my pussy to seep.
His hands dig into my hips and his fists clench at the band of my shorts. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”
I pull my shirt over my head, and my barely covered breasts heave against his hard chest. My erect nipples poke through my bra, grazing his hard torso with every breath I take. “I think I do.”
He pulls his robe off, drops it to the floor and lifts me up, my legs instantly going around his hips. “I’m too big to
be carried,” I tell him matter-of-factly. No sense trying to hide that I’m a bigger woman. He obviously is okay with it, but I also don’t want him to throw his back out.
With one arm holding me, he grabs on to the back of my hair with the other and yanks it, pulling my head back and attacking my lips. He hungrily kisses me, and the feel of his tongue sliding against mine makes me want to taste all of him.
“Let me down,” I say into his mouth.
“Why?” he asks back and grips me harder.
“Let me down,” I demand again.
He slowly releases me, letting my body slide against his until my feet touch the floor.
I drop down to my knees and take in the large bulge in the front of his shorts. “Take your shoes off.”
He slides them off easily and once they’re kicked to the side, I put my fingers into each side of his waistband and pull his shorts and underwear down and his hard cock springs up. He’s long and hard. I wrap my hand around him as far as it will go and when I do, I hear him groan my name. I slide my tongue along his length and when I get to the tip, I kiss it and then open my mouth to take him in.
I pleasure him, moaning around his hard manhood as he pushes in and out of me. He cups my jaw with his hand and I hear his command. “Eyes on me.”
My eyes shoot to his and he’s watching me as I go up and down on him. His look is intense and it causes me to shiver and moan around him. Suddenly, he pulls back, bends over and helps me off the floor. He grabs a condom from his wallet and with my hand in his, he walks over to the couch and sits down with me standing between his legs. He slides my shorts and underwear down my legs.
His eyes take me in, and every crevice, crease, mark and roll is on full display. But I don’t even flinch. His desire for me is evident in his lust darkened eyes, the flare of his nostrils and the steady heave of his chest as he breathes in and out.