by Amy Brent
“And angry,” he pointed out, laughing.
“True.” I flinched. “Sorry about that.”
“Nothing to be sorry for,” he said. “You had every right to be mad. You thought I was a married man, sleeping with you and then chasing you down in your hometown like a crazy person. I would have reacted the same exact way.”
“You’re so patient with me,” I said, smiling. “I know I can be a handful sometimes.”
“I can, too, believe me.” He laughed. “But I think on you, it’s adorable. I don’t want to be without you, even for a second. But I do understand that you’ll eventually have to go back and take care of everything, plus I kind of will need my artist back.”
“Nah, let Greg have him.” I laughed.
“He would kill me,” Brandt said, shaking his head. “I don’t think small-town is going to suit him well.”
We laughed with each other, no longer paying attention out the window, and instead, paying attention to each other. I could tell without a doubt that I was falling head over heels in love with this man, and it didn’t scare me, even in the slightest. I knew Brandt was the guy for me. I knew he was my future. In my mind, there was nothing in the world that could take that from me.
Chapter 25
Brandt
I sat at my desk flipping through an article about moving. I hadn’t ever moved farther than Yale to New York City, and when I did, it was me and a suitcase. Emma was moving her entire life from Maine, and I wanted to make sure I was as helpful as I possibly could be. She was pregnant, and even more than that, she was the woman I was falling madly in love with, and I wanted to do everything I could to make this move as seamless as possible. She was going to struggle with leaving her life in Camden behind. I knew that, and I wanted to try to keep the stress as low as possible. The fact that she had decided on her own that she wanted to come here and live with me was so exciting. If someone had talked to me two months before and told me this would be happening, I wouldn’t have believed it. Knowing she would be permanently with me in just a couple of months’ time was unbelievable, and I didn’t want to waste any time preparing for that. I was letting her work on her own schedule, but when she was ready, I wanted to be prepared, get the process moving and done with as quickly as possible.
I sat back and stared down at the box I’d used to toss all the failed attempts at locating her into. All the time I had spent waiting, searching, and wanting had finally come around, and it was a really good feeling. I no longer felt crazy for all the searches and late nights I spent trying to find even a whisper of this girl. It only had made the moment my eyes fell on her that much more rewarding and special. She now knew how much she’d moved me that crazy Valentine’s night. She continued to move me, too, every day with her kindness, her want to take care of me, and the way she was with my daughter and my mother. My mother loved her, loved her so much she was constantly checking in on her and making sure she had everything she needed.
Sicily loved her, too, in a way that I had never seen Sicily be with a woman before. She had attached herself to Emma, and Emma did the same thing right back to her. They had become so close, and I couldn’t imagine a better woman to have in Sicily’s life. I didn’t know what I did to deserve all of it, but I wasn’t going to ask any questions. I was just going to enjoy it.
“Hey, man,” Trevor said, walking into the office. “Did you see the preorder numbers for the AI?”
“I did.” I laughed. “It’s absolutely nuts how many people want one of these in their homes.”
“And they aren’t cheap either,” Trevor said. “I was thinking of coming up with a proposal for you for some sort of financing options. We can work with one of our banks or something like we would for a car. I figured it might open up the option for more people to be able to have the thing in their homes.”
“I like that idea,” I said. “Write it up, and I’ll take a look at it. If I like it, I’ll present it to the board and then talk to the bank.”
“Great,” he said. “How’s everything else? You looked like a kid on Christmas when I walked into the office.”
“Man, I tell you what, I feel like a kid on Christmas.” I chuckled. “Emma decided to move to New York City. She’s going to hang out here a bit longer with Sicily, my mom, and me and then go home, sell her house, pack up and come live with us. Sicily couldn’t be happier, and my mom loves her more than she loves me. She’s incredible with my family. It is crazy. She and Sicily bonded the first night she was here, and they’ve been inseparable since then. She’s really good for our family and not just for me but for everyone involved.”
“That’s great, man,” Trevor said. “I’m sorry for being hesitant. You know I care about you, and I want you to be happy. I just get worried, and I don’t want to see you get hurt. I really am happy for you, though. I can’t wait to meet her, especially if she’s as amazing as you say. I’m sure if you love her, I’ll love her too. I didn’t love Josie, but you never talked about her the way you talk about Emma.”
“No one loved Josie.” I laughed.
“Oh, actually, speaking of Josie, I saw her the other night at a pub across town,” he said. “She was drinking alone at the bar. I avoided her at all costs and left to go somewhere else.”
“Ugh,” I said, rolling my eyes. “She’s shown up at my house twice now. I was hoping that after the last time, she had gone back to wherever they lived.”
“What does she want?”
“To be in Sicily’s life,” I said. “The first time, I slammed the door in her face, but the second, I heard her out. Then Sicily came home with my mom. It was rough. Sicily really let her have it and told her she needed to leave. Needless to say, Sicily was not happy with that response at all.”
“What did she expect? Sicily’s like a grown person in a little girl’s body. She wasn’t going to have any of that nonsense. Not to mention the fact that she’s loyal as hell to you,” he said.
“Yeah, but Josie didn’t know that. She never paid any attention to Sicily.”
“Just be careful with her lurking around the city,” Trevor warned. “You know she’s devious, and you know that if she’s still here, she has some sort of motive. I don’t want to see her messing anything up for you.”
“I don’t see how she could,” I said. “Emma knows all about her. She wouldn’t even give her the time of day.”
“I know,” Trevor replied, standing up. “Just be careful.”
“I will,” I said. “And thanks for caring.”
He laughed. “You know me, the caring guy. All right, I’ve got a couple of things to do before heading to happy hour. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Have a good time,” I said. “Tell Missy I said hi.”
“Uh, no.” Trevor laughed again as he walked out of the office.
I smiled and looked over at the time, realizing it was getting close to dinnertime. I didn’t want the girls to have to wait on me, so I packed up my things and headed out for the day. It was nice having something to look forward to when I got off work. My girls were going to be there waiting for me to come home so we could start our evening together. It made the days go by slower, but the reward when I got there was worth every grueling second at the office.
When I got home and walked into the apartment, I took my shoes off and hung up my jacket, noticing that the lights were dim. I stuck my hands in my pockets and slowly walked in, looking at the dining room table in awe. There were candles lit everywhere, and there was a full dinner prepared, sitting on the table waiting for me. I was taken aback by everything, and I didn’t hear Sicily anywhere. I looked around the living room, but Emma wasn’t in there.
“Good evening, Brandt,” the AI said. “Tonight, we have prepared you a succulent rack of lamb, some golden potatoes, and fresh green beans. For dessert, there is a tiramisu cooling in the fridge.”
“Thank you, Lily. That will be all,” Emma said, walking out of the bedroom.
“Thank you, Emma. Power
ing off,” the AI said.
“How did you ...?”
“I was tinkering with your toys.” She smiled.
I watched her as she walked forward in a short, tight black dress and heels. Her hair was down around her shoulders in big curls and her makeup was dark and seductive. She looked nothing like the hometown girl I had brought back with me, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off the way her hips moved as she approached.
“Welcome home,” she said, leaning in and gently kissing my lips.
“I’m sorry. I was expecting my sweet, pregnant girlfriend. Have you seen her?”
“She’s napping,” Emma said with a laugh. “I took over for the evening.”
“I’m not going to complain,” I said, following her over to the table.
“Your mom took Sicily for the night, and I thought it would be nice to have some quiet time,” she said. “Just me and you and a good meal at home.”
“I like how you say home.” I smiled.
“It feels like home,” she said. “Especially now that Lily and I are best friends. I didn’t know you had something like that in here. She scared me when I went to shower in your bathroom.”
“I forgot she was attached to the temperature system for the shower.” The image of Emma naked in my shower started off enticing and went to outright amusement as I pictured her encounter with my AI. “But I’m impressed you got used to her so fast.”
“I’m pretty smart when you give me a chance.”
We sat down at the table, and she passed the different dishes back and forth. The meal looked like something I would find in a fancy New York restaurant. The smell was wafting through the entire apartment.
“I didn’t know you could cook,” I said.
“All of my many talents are being revealed.” She laughed. “I’ve loved to cook since I was a little girl. When I was seventeen, I took an internship in a restaurant to see if it was what I wanted to do with my life, but I really hated what it was like in the kitchens. It wasn’t as romantic as I had imagined, so I went back to the arts and went from there. Now, I cook whenever I have someone to cook for.”
“Well, you can cook for me anytime,” I said. “This is amazing.”
“Thank you. Did you know that Lily can temp your meat in the oven? It’s like magic.”
“Yeah.” I laughed. “It was one of my favorite parts of her. I actually incorporated that into our new project that’s going up for sale to the private sector. It’s a fully formed robot that’s capable of cooking, doing dishes, tending to the children, cleaning, and anything else you would hire a nanny or a maid for.”
“Will it talk to me about girl stuff?”
“I’m pretty sure I could arrange that,” I said. “We can put a blond wig on her and name her Caroline.”
“I’m sold.” Emma laughed.
We sat laughing and joking about the different projects that we had going on. She told me I was an inventor, except not the kind who blew up stuff in the basement but the kind who actually made really incredible things. I told her about my idea to break into the medical field, and she thought that was an amazing idea. About halfway through dinner, things got quiet, and I watched as she put her fork down, wiped her mouth, and stood up from the table. She walked slowly around to my side and pulled me away, climbing on top of me and straddling me in my chair. She pressed her lips against mine and kissed me passionately, and instantly I forgot how hungry I really was. Her body was so perfect, and I could feel the warmth of her crotch rubbing up my hard shaft, trapped in my pants.
I put my fork down and wrapped my arms around her, running my hand up the back of her neck and through her hair. Dinner was no longer my priority, and all I could think about was getting her clothes off. I was hungry, but now it was for something way better and much sweeter.
Chapter 26
Emma
My plan was to get through dinner and dessert before seducing Brandt, but that didn’t happen. As I sat there at the table listening to him talk about his work, I got really turned on. I was always turned on these days but especially so when I realized how brilliant Brandt really was. Straddling him and feeling his cock pushing against his pants turned me on so badly all I could think about was getting his clothes off. I reached up and undid his tie as his tongue swirled around in my mouth. I started to unbutton his shirt, but he reached around and grabbed me under the ass and stood up, walking us both to the bedroom. He sat me down and closed the door, walking toward me with dark eyes. He walked to the back of me and unzipped my dress, pulling the straps down and rolling it over my curves. He unclasped my bra and tossed it to the side before pulling my panties down and off. I bit my lip, watching his intense stare as his palms moved slowly over my perked breasts.
“I want you to get on the bed and play with yourself while I get undressed and watch,” he said, filling me with lust with his dominant approach.
I smiled and nodded my head, walking over to the bed. Still wearing my heels, I climbed up to the head of the bed and leaned back against the headboard. He stood there slowly unbuttoning the cuffs of his shirtsleeves, watching as I spread my legs apart, digging the heels of stilettos into the bed. I pulled my fingers up to my lips and sucked on them, gently lowering them down over my body and pushing them through my folds. I breathed deeply, watching as he pulled his shirt over his strong muscular shoulders, my fingers rubbing through my juices. He smiled as I pulled them back up and pressed against my clit, tilting my head back and moaning.
My fingers swirled around my nub, pushing down and sending waves of pleasure into my stomach. I groaned as my body writhed against the pillows, pulling myself closer to climax. He unbuckled his pants and dropped them to the floor, rubbing up against his hard shaft inside of his boxers.
“Keep going,” he whispered as he pulled his cock out and began to stroke. “I want to see you come.”
“Mmmm,” I moaned, sliding my fingers down and dipping them inside of me, feeling just how sopping wet I really was.
I pulled them back up to my clit again and began to circle around it hard and fast, clamping my other hand against the bedspread. He climbed toward me and watched, his hand stroking his cock with intensity. I screamed out, pushing faster and faster, pulling the heat from my belly up into my chest. He reached forward and pinched my nipples, forcing me over the edge. I thrust my chest forward and tilted my head back, screaming loudly as my orgasm took over, pumping through every muscle in my body. He pushed his hand over mine and rubbed until my body twitched and relaxed.
He grinned, pulling his boxers all the way off and moving toward me. He reached down and turned me over on all fours, grabbing my ass and massaging it in his big strong hands. I moaned, feeling the lust in us both, ready for the next round. He moved forward between my legs and rubbed the head of his cock through my juices before pushing hard inside of me. He pressed his stomach against my ass and held it there for a moment before starting to thrust his hips forward and back. I groaned, feeling his long, hard shaft sliding through my pussy, rubbing against the sides and digging deeper and deeper inside of me. He leaned forward and grabbed my shoulders, pushing deep and hard before sliding back up, his fingers trickling down my spine.
The moans that escaped my throat were deep and strong, and I started to rock my body back and forth, meeting him as he thrust forward. I screamed out, feeling the ecstasy behind it, feeling his muscles rippling behind me. I could barely control myself, and I gripped down on the bed beneath me. He leaned forward once again, but this time, he wrapped his arm around my chest and pulled me upright on my knees. He scooted me forward, closer to the headboard and wrapped my hands around the wooden posts in the center.
He pushed back into me, holding down on my shoulder as his body thrust upward inside. I screamed in ecstasy, feeling every inch of him inside of me. I gripped onto the bed and pushed into my knees, forcing my body still as he pushed in and out of me, faster and faster. I could hear his breath increasing, his hands strong against my waist. He
pulled his arm around and pushed his fingers between my legs, cupping my pussy. I groaned loudly as he began to press down on my clit and rub it back and forth as his cock slid through my juices. He slammed his body into me over and over again, the headboard smacking against the wall. The chorus of our moans echoed through the room as we entangled our bodies in complete desire.
He growled loudly, pushing faster, his fingers picking up speed. My body shook as he controlled every inch of me, my head leaning backward and my hair tickling my back. As the need in his movements intensified, so did the fire in my body, and I found myself screaming out, yearning for release. He groaned, rubbing my clit fast and pushing up inside of me deep and holding himself there. As his cock began to pulse inside of me, I erupted, waves of orgasm crashing over me. He groaned, and I felt his cock explode, his hot seed shooting up into me. His hips continued to thrust short and slow until they came to a stop, both of our bodies, weak from pleasure. I let go of the headboard and sank down onto the bed as he moved to the side and lay down with me.
We lay next to each other, holding hands and collecting ourselves. My breathing began to slow, and my heart rate decreased as he moved onto his side and kissed my cheek. I smiled and turned over, pulling my hand under my face and smiling at him. He propped himself up on his elbow and moved the wild pieces of hair from my face.