Regret at Roosevelt Ranch

by Elise Faber

  Henry shook his head as he picked up the phone and called in an order for a pizza. Based on the amount of cackling, he anticipated their conversation was going to take a while.

  His mom was sharing baby stories.

  “And then he whipped off his undies and streaked off down the aisle, his little butt jiggling as he ran. He was so fast and more slippery than a greased hog. I just couldn’t catch him—”

  Bella burst out laughing, and his mom joined in.

  For fuck’s sake.

  But Henry couldn’t hold back his smile when he joined them on the couch.

  He would endure any amount of embarrassment if it made the two most important women in his life laugh like that.

  Fourteen

  Bella

  “So lovely to meet you again, my dear,” Catherine murmured, pulling Bella down for a tight hug.

  Henry’s mom really was tiny . . . or maybe it was just that Bella was too tall?

  Either way, she had to stoop down to receive the hug.

  So worth it, though, she thought as Catherine gave her the perfect Mom Hug. Tight, but not too much so, long enough to show she cared, but not so prolonged that it drifted into the creepy sector.

  Just . . . perfect.

  God, she missed her own mom.

  Shoving that thought away, she hugged Catherine back. “You don’t have to go,” she said for what must have been the fifth time in as many minutes. “I know you just got back from your trip and must want to see—”

  “Pish.” A wide smile as she stepped back. “I’ll pester him tomorrow. For now, you two lovebirds enjoy your evening together.”

  The three of them had chatted for the better part of an hour before the doorbell had rung and the pizza Henry had ordered appeared. There was enough for the three of them to share, but Catherine had refused to stay.

  “But you haven’t eaten,” Bella said, not wanting Henry’s mom to feel like she was being run off.

  Catherine patted her hips. “I’ve eaten more than enough over the last few weeks. Plus, I had your delicious cobbler.” Her lips tipped up into a smile that was very much like Henry’s. “Pretend I’m living vicariously and having dessert for dinner,” she mock-whispered.

  Bella giggled.

  “Talk to you both soon,” Catherine called, showing herself out the front door before Bella could force her to stay for pizza. She watched through the window as Henry’s mom walked to her car, got in, and drove away.

  Apparently, she wasn’t the only one watching.

  The moment his mom’s car was out of sight, Henry’s arms were around Bella’s waist, and he was tugging her back against his chest.

  “I missed you.”

  She scoffed, turned in his embrace to snuggle closer. “We were apart for all of two hours.”

  “Two hours too long.” A roll of her eyes, but because his eyes were sparkling with humor, she didn’t tease him. Especially when he pressed a kiss to her temple and asked, “Where’d you get the apricots?”

  “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you,” she said and launched into the crazy story about the farmer and his runaway dog she’d corralled outside the apartment. “Thank God I got the new cell phone because he was just sitting there on my stoop, paws crossed and the saddest expression on his face. And when I opened the door, he just ran inside. Luckily for him, he had tags. I called and . . .”

  Had ended up with four full bags of ripe and juicy apricots.

  “I don’t know how much pizza I can eat,” she confessed. “I think I ate a half dozen apricots just on the walk over here.”

  Henry grinned, nuzzling the side of her throat and leaving goose bumps in his wake. “There’s a dirty joke somewhere in there.”

  “Leave it hidden,” she quipped, but the words weren’t exactly steady.

  He spun her to face him. “So you’re not hungry?”

  She shook her head.

  “Does that mean I can kiss you now?”

  Bella didn’t justify that question with a response. Instead, she rose on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

  His reaction was instantaneous.

  One second, she was in control, the next she found herself lifted onto the kitchen counter, his hard cock pressing against her and his tongue darting into her mouth in a rhythm that had her seeing stars.

  God, they’d done so much kissing over the last two weeks, taking it slow, but also driving her insane by increments.

  Her body remembered what it had been like between them.

  Her heart wanted to be close to him like that again.

  Even her brain said go for it.

  But when she snaked her hand down, grappling with the button on his jeans, he caught it, pulled back from the kiss, and smiled down at her.

  “Dangerous.” One more smack of his lips against hers, before he started to reach for the pizza box. “We really should eat this before it gets cold.”

  Bella saw red. She pulled away from him and stomped her foot. “Are you kidding me?”

  His lips twitched, and her anger swiveled into irritation.

  Though, truthfully, it was nice to see the glimpse of the old Henry. The one who teased her and drove her crazy and didn’t treat her like a piece of fragile glass. Because while, yes, they had spent the majority of the past weeks together, while they’d kissed and touched and held each other, there had been a careful distance between them.

  As though Henry were waiting for something.

  For her to leave again.

  Or maybe . . . for her to prove she wouldn’t.

  He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “But, yes, I am kidding.”

  Bella shot him a mock-frown. “Not. Funny.”

  “From where I’m standing it is.” He grinned when her mock-frown turned real. “Sure you don’t want to just eat pizza and watch a movie?”

  The same thing they’d done more often than not. Oh, they’d gone out and watched a movie in the local theater, in addition to sitting through a few more sunsets at his spot. They’d even played a game of miniature golf that she was absolutely terrible at. But most of the nights had involved food and just spending time together.

  Now that the heavy topics had been dealt with, they’d been able to chat about all the fun stuff.

  Fancy ingredients, jerky head chefs, favorite reality shows.

  Places they wanted to visit.

  Not Italy, for her part. Oh, she loved the country she’d grown up in, but it had felt like a prison so much over the years that the thought of going back did not appeal. Then there was the fact that it would bring her closer to her father.

  Not preferred.

  He’d remotely shut down her laptop and cell, canceled her credit cards, closed her checking account. Bella now had no funds, aside from what she earned at the diner, and one suitcase of clothes to her name. Thankfully, she wasn’t on a visa—she was a dual citizen, since she’d been born in the States and her mother had been an American—because if Bella had been, her father certainly would have found a way to make her life miserable.

  For the first time in her life, she was truly on her own.

  Which was perfectly okay with her, if not for the fact that she kept waiting for the other shoe to fall.

  For her father to find some string to pull.

  But she wouldn’t dance to his tune. Not this time. He had nothing to hold over her head and—

  “I was kidding about eating the pizza.”

  The husky words startled her out of her thoughts.

  She blinked. “Pardon?”

  “Did I ruin the moment?”

  “N-no,” she stammered, trying to get her mind to clear. “Thinking about my father did that.”

  Henry made a face.

  “Sorry. Sorry. I just—” Bella pursed her lips. “Ruined the moment.”

  He grabbed the box of pizza, picked up her hand again, and tugged her down the hall to his bedroom.

  Figuring it was best to keep her mouth shu
t after she’d spent the last few minutes off in dreamland, before mentioning the libido-killing subject of her father, she just followed along.

  He didn’t stop until they’d reached the bed.

  Once there, he tossed the pizza on it, turned back, and bent, pulling off his shoes. Hers went by the wayside next. Then Henry whipped off his shirt.

  “Uh.” Not that she was complaining.

  “Shh,” he said, unbuttoning his jeans and pushing them down.

  That wasn’t hard, considering the way her mouth had gone dry at the sight of all that naked skin. His chest was lickable, and her fingers actually tingled with the urge to touch his abs or maybe stroke down the muscles of his arms or maybe . . . okay, she wanted to touch him everywhere.

  He slipped his fingers under the hem of her T-shirt and tugged it up and over her head then helped her shimmy out of her jeans.

  And then he stopped and grabbed the TV remote.

  Her brows yanked together, throat unsticking. Yes, the view of him bending over was yummy, but she’d rather him be bending for a reason that was not turning on a television.

  Like bending so that his mouth was between her legs.

  Yup, that she could get behind.

  Before she could suggest that, he started streaming an old romantic comedy and set the remote down. Okaay. Five years had passed. Maybe he was into some weird, kinky stuff now?

  Like old romcoms featuring fake orgasm scenes and heroines with beautifully curly hair.

  Unbidden, Bella reached up to straighten her ponytail. Her hair didn’t hold a curl. It would never look like that—

  She squealed as Henry swept her up into his arms.

  Her mind flickered, losing focus when all that hot naked skin pressed against hers.

  “What are you—?”

  “I’m getting you out of your head,” he said, setting her down on the mattress, following her down so that full length of him was over the top of her. Fuck, that was nice. He nuzzled her neck. “We’ve got pizza. We’re sort of watching a movie. So you can just relax and focus on you.” His mouth tipped up. “Or rather, on us.”

  She raised a brow. “Naked?”

  “If that’s what you want,” he said, amusement curling through the words.

  “You seem to have gotten us there with very little effort.”

  He stroked one hand along the outside of her thigh, up her hip, her rib cage, and stopped, fingertips teasing the sensitive skin just below her breast.

  She shivered.

  “You cold?”

  A roll of her eyes. “You know that’s not why I have goose bumps.”

  “Yeah?” He brushed his mouth along her jaw, down her throat.

  “Y—” He nipped the spot just above her collarbone, and her hands wove into his hair, arching closer, needing— “Yes.”

  His tongue darted out, sliding down until it traced along the top edge of her bra . . . so damn close and yes, so freaking far from where she wanted him. “Then why?” He nudged the cotton out of the way, grazed the hardened bud of her nipple, and she jumped, heat pooling in her stomach, her thighs clenching together.

  And that was enough.

  She could hardly remember what they were talking about, could barely remember her name.

  She wanted him.

  She wanted Henry.

  Now.

  Enough teasing. Enough taking it slow. Just . . . enough. She wrapped her legs around his waist and yanked him down, so his lower half was firmly pressed against hers. Bella got one glimpse of his expression—proud and self-satisfied that he’d gotten her out of her own brain, no doubt—before she gripped his head and brought his mouth to hers.

  She couldn’t fault the man for his smugness.

  His plan had worked after all.

  But now it was her job to drive him slowly insane.

  Fifteen

  Henry

  He was losing his fucking mind.

  Bella was beneath him, legs around his hips, his cock pressed against her pussy, and only two layers of thin material separating him from the motherland.

  And she was wet.

  So much so that he could feel it soaking through his boxer briefs.

  This was supposed to be about driving her crazy, getting her so turned on that she didn’t have the mental space to think about anything except the two of them and how good it felt for them to be together. He’d wanted to get her out of her brain and far away from the worries that had left shadows in her eyes.

  Yes, Sergio was gone.

  No, her father hadn’t contacted her, aside from decisively cutting her off from him in every way he could, but luckily Henry’s woman was smart and a hard-worker. She’d more than earned the wages at the diner, had insisted on paying him rent, refused to let him buy her a new cell phone. She—

  Kissed him.

  And then his mental space emptied.

  No more thoughts of fathers or exes. Nothing except sensation and need and raging, all-encompassing desire. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, let his hips drop more firmly against hers, making them both groan.

  She nipped his bottom lip, and he nipped back.

  Then reached beneath her back to unhook her bra. Two seconds later, she’d slipped her arms free and tossed the garment aside before tugging his head down to her breasts.

  Fuck, yes.

  He probably should have eased into it, teased her slowly, but the sight of her hardened nipples was too much. He sucked one into his mouth, drawing deeply and loving the way her hands wove into his hair to hold him there.

  His other hand slid up her ribs, wanting to tease her other nipple, to caress her breast, but he couldn’t get the angle he wanted without crushing her.

  One quick movement had their positions reversed, Bella’s delicious breasts swaying in front of his mouth. Henry didn’t hesitate, just ratcheted up, seized her breasts in his hands, and got to work, alternating between his lips and teeth and tongue, pinching and circling the stiff peaks, reveling in the way she cried and arched against him.

  “Oh God,” she groaned, undulating against him.

  The two layers between them that had been so thin and tempting before now created an uncomfortable sort of friction. It was a nuisance that he wanted gone.

  Skin to skin.

  Sliding home.

  Delving deep.

  His cock went painfully hard.

  Bella moved against him, pelvis rocking faster, the rhythm making stars flash behind his eyes, his mouth faltered on her breasts. He moved his hands to her ass, shifting her slightly, holding her tight, and her breath caught.

  “H-Henry.”

  Desire had him hardened to a fever pitch, but he knew that tone, knew that she was close.

  She started to slow her movements, probably wanting to wait for him.

  Well, fuck that.

  She was beautiful when she came.

  And it had been five years too many since he’d seen it.

  He pulled her more firmly against him, sped her movements so that her breath caught . . . then transformed into a moan.

  “I—”

  He leaned up, took her nipple into his mouth, and sucked deeply.

  “Oh.” Her lips parted, and she threw her head back. Fuck, it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Pink staining her cheeks, eyes slammed closed, lips parted on a moan as she moved faster and harder . . . until—

  “Mmm. Oh my God. Henry.”

  She shattered, her orgasm having her stiffen for one long moment before she collapsed against him, hips still moving, her groan of pleasure the sexiest thing he’d ever heard.

  “Fuck,” she murmured, lips to his shoulder, body limp. “Just fuck.”

  He grinned, gave her exactly ten seconds to catch her breath, then flipped her over onto her back and dove between her thighs.

  She shrieked, but by the time she’d recovered herself enough to protest, Henry had her underwear off, her legs spread, and his mouth on her clit. Gently, because she’d j
ust come, but he circled the nub with his tongue, sucking lightly, stroking his fingers through her folds.

  Soaking wet.

  Hot, liquid heat.

  So. Fucking. Gorgeous.

  He stroked slowly at first, building her back up, enjoying the sweetness of her against his taste buds. He knew she liked firm pressure against her clit, so the moment she could take it, he flattened his tongue and circled the bundle of nerves, teasing her until she cursed at him and then, biting back a smirk, he gave her what she really wanted.

  Hard and fast and demanding.

  He slipped a finger inside, curling it up against her G-spot while sucking deeply on her clit.

  Within seconds, she was writhing, hips jerking, moans coming in rapid succession, but he rode the wave with her, bringing her higher and higher until she screamed his name and tightened around his finger.

  She flopped back on the mattress, chest heaving. It did all sorts of wonderful things to her breasts that he was having trouble ignoring, since his cock was still rock-hard, but he wasn’t an asshole. He didn’t expect anything from Bella in return. He sure as fuck hoped for it, but he didn’t expect—

  Her hand snaked down, gripping him through the damp fabric of his boxer briefs.

  His groan was garbled, and his hips shot up, cock seeking more of her.

  Hand. Mouth. Pussy.

  He almost didn’t care.

  Except, who was he kidding.

  Henry was desperate to be inside her again, but he also knew it was important for her to have control after spending so long without it.

  Her fingers ran down the length of him. Back up.

  Down. Up.

  Driving him slowly insane.

  “Henry?” she murmured.

  He gritted his teeth. The heroine faking an orgasm on the TV behind him wasn’t helping his control in the least. He just kept thinking about how much he liked the sound of Bella as she came. “Hmm?” he replied.

  “Are you going to get inside me?” she asked. “Or are you just the ultimate tease?”

  His eyes flew open. He hadn’t even known he’d slammed them shut.

  But Bella’s question had them flashing wide then promptly stifling a curse as he tried not to embarrass himself. She was naked and spread out beneath him, her breasts on full display, and while she’d dropped her hand from his cock, she’d wrapped her legs around his hips in its place.