“Yes you can.” My dad looks at her. “You will want to be there.” Then his eyes move to me before they land on Angel.
I sit back in my chair with a smirk on my face. He’s one sneaky bastard, but I get it. He wants me to propose wherever they are taking us, and he doesn’t want Courtney to miss the big moment.
“Where are we going?” Micah asks.
“We are taking you all to New York for New Year’s Eve.” My mother starts clapping her hands again. “We already have the tickets and the rooms. Each couple has their own suite.” All the girls gasp as I feel an even bigger smile creep on my lips. “We wanted to do a trip because after New Year’s we will be busy planning Micah and Holly’s wedding.”
I look up at my dad as my mother continues to talk. He was already staring at me. I pick up my Bud Light and give him a curt nod with a smile on my face.
He smiles a victory smile and chuckles to himself.
“We were going to go to the beach somewhere, but we went to New York for New Year’s Eve back before we got married, and it was beautiful. I know it has changed quite a bit since then. But, nowhere could beat New York City during the holidays. The clubs, the snow, the Christmas lights that are still up. It is just absolutely gorgeous,” my mom explains to the girls.
I look over at Angel as she smiles while listening to my mother. Yep, I am going to propose to my Angel in New York while we watch the ball drop over a city covered with snow and Christmas lights, what a way to bring in the New Year. Say goodbye to all the heartache and bad memories. Bring in a new year of joy and happiness. It will be a New Year’s Eve to remember, that’s for sure.
*****
SAMANTHA
“We are going to New York City for New Year’s Eve.” I skip into our bedroom removing my shirt up over my head.
“We are,” Slade says as he lies on the bed flipping through the channels.
“You don’t sound very happy about it,” I say as I watch him stare at the TV on the wall.
He shuts it off and sets the remote down on the nightstand before he turns his eyes on me. “I’m very excited.” He smiles. “I wish we were leaving tomorrow.”
“Not me.” I undo the button on my jeans. “Do you have any idea how much shopping I need to do to prepare for this trip?” I slide my pants down my legs. “I need to buy everything from luggage to panties to heels. I also need a new warm jacket.” I pull them off and place them in the dirty clothes hamper in the closet. I walk out of the closet and see him standing at the end of the bed in just his boxers. I smile as I walk past him and into the bathroom to remove my makeup.
He wraps his arms around me from behind and pulls me back. I yelp as he picks me up and tosses me onto the bed.
“What do you think you are doing?” he asks, bringing his lips close to mine.
“I was going to take off my makeup.”
“You can do that later. I want you right now.”
I smile as he pushes me further up the bed. I reach up and throw the pillows off so they are not in our way. He then covers my hands with his as his lips crash onto mine. His tongue enters my mouth with force. I lift my hips, pressing them into his stomach wanting, needing more of him.
He pulls away and it leaves me panting. He opens his eyes and looks from the left side of the bed to the right. “What are you looking at?” I ask, tilting my head trying to see what he sees.
He looks down to me with a small smile on his face. “I want to try something.”
I frown. “As in something we have never done before?” I ask making sure I understand him correctly. What have we not already tried when it comes to sex?
He nods his head and then gets up from on top of me. I sit up and look over at him as he stands next to the bed. “Lie down.” I lie down and turn my head to the side to continue to look at him. “Give me your left hand.”
I frown but do as he says. He takes the white fabric that falls down the side of the post and quickly ties it around my wrist. He then makes his way to the other side and he repeats the process with my other one.
He climbs over and straddles me with a huge grin on his face. “Is this why you agreed to this bed so quickly?” I ask, smiling up at him.
“I had my reasons.”
I let out a little laugh before he lowers his head down to mine. He gives me soft kisses on my neck as I spread my legs for him, letting him know exactly what I want.
“Slade.” I sigh.
“Do it, Angel,” he whispers against my neck. “Beg me for it. I want to know how bad you want me.” He runs his tongue slowly up my neck until he nibbles on my ear.
I moan as I feel a hand slide between my thighs. “Please,” I whisper, pulling on the restraints.
His hand continues to move upward until he slowly pushes a finger into me. He releases a long breath and pulls it out. I lift my hips wanting him to do it again.
“Just how I like you,” he mumbles.
I moan as his finger returns. This time he doesn’t remove it, instead he forces in a second finger, and I gasp.
He removes his lips from my neck and covers my mouth with his. His kiss is hard and possessive, while his two fingers are just as rough as the kiss. I feel my insides start to tighten as his thumb rubs circles on my clit. I pull away from his lips, sucking in a breath as if I’ve been drowning. I scream out his name as I come.
He sits up on his knees and I pull my shaky legs up to where my feet are flat on the bed. I look up at his face and he smiles down at me. I continue to try to catch my breath as my body shakes. I close my eyes, trying to calm down.
My eyes open when I feel him ease into me and it has me moaning at the feel of him now inside of me.
He spreads my legs farther apart and places his hands behind my knees. Lifting my legs, he pushes them to where my thighs are pressed against my stomach and chest with the rest of my legs up in the air, restricting my view of his face.
I close my eyes tightly as my legs automatically push against his hands.
“Don’t fight it, Angel.”
I pull on the restraints. “I can’t help it,” I say weakly.
He pulls back and rams into me, making me scream out. He tightens his grip on my legs as he presses down harder on them. I arch my back and neck, trying to get a big breath of air.
“Fuck,” he growls as he pulls out and rams into me again. He does it over and over until I feel like I may pass out due to lack of oxygen.
Just when I feel like I can’t take any more he releases my legs and places his body over mine as he covers my mouth with his again. This time his hands hold my face in place as his mouth swallows my cries of ecstasy.
As soon as he comes, he is up and off me, releasing each wrist one at a time. He then crawls back onto the bed and holds me tightly until my body stops shaking.
He lets go of me and goes to sit between my legs again. “How sore are they?” He bends my right leg and starts to rub my thigh.
“Not too bad.” I close my eyes and enjoy the massage that he gives me.
*****
I awake to the doorbell ringing. “Don’t,” Slade commands, placing an arm over my stomach. “Whoever it is will leave.”
I lift his arm and he groans, knowing I’m going to answer the door.
“You can stay in bed while I go and see who it is and what they want.” I pick up one of his shirts off the floor and then grab a pair of his sweatpants. He rolls over onto his stomach and places a pillow over his head as I open up the bedroom door to walk out.
I make my way down the hallway, past the kitchen, and open the front door.
“Good morning, Sam,” Tate greets, standing there with Missy and a bouquet of flowers in his hand.
“Good morning, guys.” I take a step back to let them in.
“Hope we didn’t wake you,” Missy says as I close the door behind them.
“No. I was awake,” I lie with a smile.
“Missy couldn’t wait to come over and congratulate you guys,” Tate t
ells me, laying the flowers down on the counter.
“For what?” I ask, frowning.
“For the—”
“Trip to New York,” Slade calls out loudly, running into the kitchen, interrupting Missy. “I had spoken to Tate last night and told him about our trip to New York for New Year’s Eve.” He smiles brightly over to Tate and Missy as he slowly nods his head a few times.
“Oh,” Tate says, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah. Congratulations on the trip to New York. That is going to be awesome.” He says slowly with a puzzled look on his face.
I frown, glancing from Missy to Tate. Why did they need to come to our house to congratulate us on a trip to New York City?
“What about—” Missy goes to speak but Tate turns to her, shoving the flowers into her hands. “Missy, why don’t you have Sam help you put these flowers I got you in some water?” he requests with his back facing me and Slade.
“Okay,” she responds, slowly.
“Slade, may I speak to you?” Tate asks, already walking out of the kitchen.
I look from Tate to Slade and he gives me a big smile.
“What was all that about?” I ask Missy.
“Uh, you know how guys can be.” She laughs it off.
I nod. “Tate got you flowers?” I look down to the flowers that she now holds in her hands.
“Yes. He showed up at my house with them this morning.”
I smile over at her as I fill up a vase with water. “That is great, Missy.”
She laughs. “Don’t get too excited. It’s not what you think.”
“Oh,” I say, surprised. I thought that Tate had finally figured out how much she likes him.
I place the vase on the counter and she then places the flowers in them as the guys walk back into the kitchen.
“Well, we are going to leave.”
My eyes dart from Tate to Slade, confused. “You guys just got here. Would you like some breakfast?”
Tate shakes his head. “No thanks, Sam.”
Missy starts to walk over to him and I pick up her flowers. “Don’t forget your flowers, Missy.”
“That’s okay. You can keep them.”
“You don’t want your flowers?” I ask confused.
“Uh, I wouldn’t want to take your vase.” She looks from me to Tate.
“Don’t worry about that.” I pick it up and carry it over to her. She takes them from me with a sigh.
I try to think of something to say to fill the awkward silence. “Well, give us a call later, maybe we can go to lunch,” I suggest.
“It’s supposed to snow today,” Slade counters as we walk them to the door.
“So.” I glare at him. “The truck is four wheel drive.”
Tate and Missy laugh. “Sounds good. I’ll call you later,” Tate offers before they walk out the front door.
I turn around to see Slade standing in the hallway with his arms crossed over his chest and his mouth in a hard line. “Was that not the craziest thing ever?” I close my eyes and open them a few times.
“What are you doing?” he asks with a dead tone.
“I’m checking to see if I’m going to wake up from that weird dream,” I say seriously.
He gets a small smile on his face and then walks to me. “Come on. Let’s go back to bed. I still have a few more hours before I have to meet Josh and Micah over at my parents’ house to put up Christmas lights.”
*****
The next few weeks flew by. I started my job at the bank. I only worked a few days the first week and then went to full time. I love working with Courtney every day and everyone at the bank seems to be nice so far. Slade has been very busy with work. If he’s not at the firm, he has himself locked in his office at home. So I have been spending the evenings at the mall with the girls or at Missy’s house. She is the only one who does not live with a boyfriend, so we can hang out and talk about the guys without having one eavesdrop.
Sitting on the couch in one of Slade’s t-shirts, I take another bite of my ice cream as I flip through the TV channels. I look up when I hear the front door open.
I remain on the couch as he walks down the hallway and enters his office. I let out a sigh as I fall deeper into the couch. He has been slammed at work. I’m guessing it’s because he took time off for Thanksgiving, and he is taking a little over a week off for Christmas and New Year’s.
I hear his phone ring, followed by his voice as he answers it. “Yes. Give me about thirty minutes and then I’ll be ready.” There’s a pause. “No. I’m about to though…okay. Bye.”
I remain silent and take a few more bites of my ice cream before Slade comes to stand in front of me. “You look bored, Angel.”
I shake my head no, as I change the channel, not really seeing what’s on it.
He leans over and snatches the remote from my hand. I look up at him scowling. “Hey, I was watching that.”
“No you weren’t” He then reaches down and grabs my hand, pulling me to stand. My body slams into his and he wraps his arms around my waist, pinning me to him. “Let’s go out tonight,” he suggests with a smile on his face.
I look up to the clock. “It’s past nine, Slade.” He just got home from work. There is no way that he wants to go out tonight.
“I know. The bars don’t close until two.”
“You have to work tomorrow,” I remind him. He has been working weekends as well, spending them locked in his office.
He shakes his head. “No. Today was my last day.” He smiles brightly. “Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. I stayed late tonight to get everything taken care of for my time off.”
I feel a grin spread across my face. “That’s great, baby. But we don’t have to go out. We can just stay home and relax.”
He unwraps his arms from around my waist and places them on my shoulders spinning me around. “Go get dressed.” He swats my butt playfully. “We are meeting everyone out at the bar,” he states.
I turn to face him. “You invited everyone out?” I ask excitedly.
He nods. “I haven’t seen you much lately and I want to start off my vacation right. I thought a night out was just the perfect way.”
I rise up and kiss him on the cheek. “That does sound perfect.” I take off for the bedroom to change my clothes.
*****
“I am so glad to be on Christmas vacation,” Micah says as he throws back Holly’s lemon drop. “I swear, I think I’m going crazy.” His gaze slides to Holly and she rolls her eyes at him.
“I’ve refrained from calling you on many occasions,” she says to him, sitting back in her seat.
“Well, that hasn’t stopped your mother from calling me. She needs to leave me alone. I could not care less what kind of flowers she thinks we need to use, let alone the centerpieces,” he growls before looking over at her.
Holly laughs it off. She has been dodging her mother’s phone calls. I can’t even count how many times a day her mother emails her magazine articles of what is trending with celebrity weddings. Not one of them is what Holly wants. She finally started ignoring them.
“Well it’s going to be gorgeous no matter what you end up choosing,” I tell her with a smile.
“I just have one request,” Courtney chimes in as Josh places his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t make me wear a peach dress,” she whines. “I have nothing against peach, it is just not my color.”
Holly giggles. “No worries, Courtney. There will be no peach at my wedding,” she assures her.
Holly has asked Courtney to be a bridesmaid. She was more than excited since Josh is in the wedding as well.
I push my chair away from the table and stand up. “I’ll be right back,” I say before walking away from the table and heading over to the other side of the bar, towards the back. As I make my way down the hallway, someone hooks their arm through mine. I look over to see Missy smiling at me.
“You have been quiet tonight,” I say, tightening my arm around hers.
She shrugs. “I don’t s
ee the fun in bars.”
“Then why did you come out with us?” I question.
She looks up, giving me a sly smile, and it makes me laugh out loud. The things we will do for love.
I go to speak but get cut off when I run into someone. “Oh, I’m—” I stop as I realize I am face to face with Jessica.
She stands across from me wearing a shocked expression.
“Jessica.” I stiffen, before unwrapping Missy’s arm from mine.
She crosses her arms over her chest, smoothing her expression.
“What a surprise seeing you here considering I’ve been looking for you everywhere else,” I say sweetly even though my chest is pounding. I’ve wanted to see this bitch for the longest time. Of course I find her in a bar.
“Yeah. What a coincidence,” she replies dryly before a smile plays across her face. “Tell me, Sam. Have you been missing my messages?”
I feel my blood run cold at her comment and I fist my hand down by my side. “Actually,” I start as I take a step towards her, “I’ve been meaning to ask you how you got those.”
She lets out a laugh and then looks me in the eyes. “Let’s just say that you are not the only girl in town who has spent the night with Slade, but you know that.” She waves a hand carelessly in the air.
I should have known she wouldn’t tell me but I had to ask. I let out a long breath as a thought enters my mind. “So, what you’re saying is, you’re the only one in town that he hasn’t fucked?”
“You think you’re so lucky?” She narrows her eyes at me. “That you have him right now. Well, I’m here to inform you...enjoy it while you can because when you walk in on him underneath another woman, everyone in this town will once again be laughing at you for your stupidity.”
I take another step closer to her and feel a small hand grab my shoulder. I shake it off. Nothing is going to stop me. I have been waiting for this opportunity. Hell, I even went to her front door hoping she was there. I’m going to take full advantage of this no matter how much it pisses me off.
“I guess you don’t mind everyone laughing at you,” I retort. “With the constant phone calls you made, which just made you look desperate. And the constant pictures and videos made you look pathetic.” She gasps and her mouth falls slightly open. “Let me inform you of something since you can’t take a fucking hint. Give up! He didn’t want you then and he sure as hell doesn’t want your ass now. He’s never going to want you. Even if our relationship does end, it will not be an opportunity for you to get a piece of him,” I say flatly.
The UN Series Complete Box Set Page 78