Long Road Home

by Stacey Lynn

  “I’ll go make sure the house is closed down while you get Toby settled. Meet you in my room?”

  “You got it.”

  I kissed her cheek and hurried out of there. Downstairs, I double checked the locks on the doors and ensured I’d closed the garage door. I took a few extra minutes and prepared the coffee for the morning and by the time I was back upstairs, the door to Toby’s room was open. A hint of light showed from beneath telling me he was in bed, ready for sleep.

  A strange emotion pulsed through my veins.

  My son was in my house, in his bed, for the first night ever.

  Before I debated further, I went to his door and pushed it open. He was on his side, staring at the image of James Hardin, and turned to me as I walked in. “This is really cool.”

  “I’m glad you think so. You have fun tonight?”

  I went to the side of his bed, sat at the edge like I’d done it every night. He still froze occasionally when I touched him and this close moment would give him reason.

  “Yeah. The kids are really cool.” He yawned, and I ran my hand over the top of his head. “I like it here.”

  “Good.” I could barely choke out the word. He liked it here. In Carlton. At my sister’s ranch. My house. I didn’t know exactly what he was referring to, and it didn’t matter. Hopefully he liked it all and he’d be on my side when it came to convincing Destiny not to return to Friendswood. “Sleep tight, okay?”

  “Yeah.” He yawned again. “Night Jordan.”

  “Night buddy.”

  I squeezed his shoulder and left his room, leaving his door opened a crack like Destiny had done. When I entered my bedroom, the covers on the bed were pulled back, and the bathroom door was open, light on, water running.

  White soapy bubbles dotted her hairline as she splashed water on her face when I entered.

  I didn’t care. I flipped off the water and wrapped my hand around her bicep, twisting her until her ass was to the counter. Water dripped off her nose, her chin. I didn’t see any of it.

  My hands went to her wet cheeks and I slammed my mouth to hers.

  “Oh,” she gasped as I slid my tongue into her mouth. With my foot, I kicked the bathroom door closed, pressed closer to her as my tongue invaded her mouth.

  I couldn’t get enough of her. Toby liked it here. She was staying, and I didn’t care about her crap night any longer.

  The only thing on my mind while Destiny whimpered into my mouth, taking everything I was giving but also giving it back, was the burning, undeniable need I had to be inside of her. To claim her again in every way possible.

  Her hands went to my shoulder and she pressed against me. Pressed me off her. I slowed the kiss and when I managed to pull myself back, we were both breathing harshly.

  “Let me wash the soap off my face first.”

  I laughed. I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t give a shit about soap or water or her not looking perfect. I could give her a few more minutes though. “Fine. But earlier tonight, I planned on bringing you here so I could sleep next to you and hold you all night. You climb into that bed next to me now, and I’m telling you there won’t be a lot of sleeping after all.”

  “Funny.” Her gaze dipped to my chest. Her hand followed, trailing down my chest. My stomach. To the waistband of my shorts. Her finger slid in and she tugged me toward her. “I’m not feeling very sleepy either.”

  Great fucking hell. I’d taught this woman in front of me everything there was to know about sex and making out and kissing. I was her first. She’d trusted me with everything, asked me what I liked, was honest when she didn’t know if she was touching me right. Never, in our young history of fumbling teenage years of teaching and learning and figuring it out as we went, did she ever display this sort of sexy confidence.

  I wrapped my hand around hers, pulled it from my waistband and settled both of our hands over my hard bulge in my shorts. She cupped me, forcing a pleasured groan from my throat. “Fuck.”

  “You started this,” she teased. Her gaze was on her hand. On my hard dick. On our hands combined to cover me. I’d let her jerk me off right there and then if she wanted to, face wash remains completely forgotten. Her voice went soft. “I forgot how big you are.”

  A strange, masculine thrill shot through me. Poor Paul, not measuring up. I shoved the thought of her ex out of my mind and tugged her hand off me, bending down to kiss her again. Firmly. Harshly. Quickly.

  “Hurry up.”

  I tugged off my shirt on the way out of the bathroom, tossed it into my hamper in my closet. I was only in my black boxer briefs, still hard as a rock, when she came out of the bathroom, dressed only in a light green thong, which was so small she might as well have gone without, and a matching lacy bra. Her hair was draped over her shoulder, the overhead light making her highlights shine and sparkle. Eyes wide, cheeks pink, lips parted and her gaze on my dick like the small feel of me she’d had earlier had sparked her libido.

  Game. Fucking. On. I needed to get ready for bed. She’d tasted like mint toothpaste earlier and I wasn’t kissing her with my beer scented breath.

  A few minutes to cool down could keep my burning need to have at bay so I wouldn’t be too rough. She’d always brought out this side of me.

  “Get in bed and get naked. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  Caveman. Claiming. Bossy. Dominant. I’d forgotten what it was like, to feel so damn possessive over someone else that as soon as I touched them, I needed them to belong to me.

  Only Destiny.

  Always Destiny.

  I was still in love with a woman who’d shattered my heart and after time, I’d pieced it back together to be good enough, but if she took off on me again, there’d be no stitching it back together.

  Twenty-Three

  Destiny

  * * *

  This was happening. Me and Jordan…together. In all my years, and since I’d returned to Carlton, I never once thought a reconciliation with Jordan was possible, much less that he’d forgive me enough for this to happen.

  As he walked toward the bathroom and closed the door behind him, a smile broke on my face that stretched to my ears.

  I had no idea what came over me in the bathroom. Ten years and the only lover I’d had was Paul, and even though we had years together, I still chose to follow instead of lead when it came to bedroom intimacy. Seeing Jordan in the bathroom and the way his eyes darkened with desire for me, it jumpstarted something in me.

  A hope I’d thought had fully extinguished.

  We could do this. Not sex. That I had no doubt we’d work through. But we could do us. A family. The three of us. I needed to keep my shit together long enough for him to trust me again.

  Closing my eyes, I inhaled the scent of his room. Woodsy, spicy…it was all man, exactly like his linens and sparse room décor I caught glimpses of when my eyes opened. There was only one choice I had. One decision to make…and that was to do exactly what Jordan had told me to do.

  I reached to my back and unclasped my bra. The lace scraped against my already tightened nipples and a shiver of delicious friction spiked in my veins. My thong went next, falling to the floor.

  I was stepping out of them, naked, when the door to the bathroom opened and Jordan walked through. Light behind him shone, shadowing his face, giving off enough to light to illuminate the size of his body. He was so much larger. Stronger. So much more masculine than he’d been in his late teens. Mostly, he was still the most incredibly sexy man I’d ever laid eyes on, and for tonight, he was all mine.

  “Hey,” I said, nerves taking over. My feet were rooted to their spot on the carpet and he seemed in no giant hurry to move from the doorway. Was he having second thoughts?

  Doubts skittered through my mind as he stood there.

  He crossed his arms, still clothed only in his tight, boxer briefs. The brief touch of his length and hardness hadn’t been enough. I was desperate for more of him. Hell, I was desperate for all of him.

&
nbsp; “Sit on the bed,” Jordan said, and excitement blossomed. I remembered this part about him. Couldn’t have forgotten it even if I’d been hypnotized into forgetting everything about Jordan.

  When it came to sex, he liked to be in control.

  I stepped backward until the backs of my thighs brushed against his soft comforter. I sat down slowly, thankful for that simple command. My knees were shaking so hard it would have been difficult to remain standing. My hands went to the edge of the bed, curled around the bedcovers and he took his first step toward me.

  Then another. And another. He moved slowly, his arms still crossed, his head tilted down until he was so close I had to lift my chin to look him in the eyes.

  “You’re making me nervous,” I admitted. The corner of my lip ended up between my teeth.

  “Good. Then that makes two of us.”

  “You’re nervous?” Jordan was never nervous. Maybe he was having second thoughts.

  “As fuck,” Jordan said. “I don’t know if this is smart. I don’t know if this is right. I don’t know if it’s going to help us or fuck everything up for Toby, but all I can think about is if you still feel and taste as good as I remember.”

  Oh God. My eyes drifted closed. My heart was pounding. My body at risk of overheating. He hadn’t even touched me, and my limbs were on fire. What would it feel like when he finally did all those things he’d said he wanted?

  I’d combust.

  “I don’t want this to mess anything up.”

  “Good. Then that makes two of us.” He touched me then. His thumb at my jaw. The pad of his thumb brushed along my flesh beneath my jawline and shivers skated across my skin. He drew closer. I could feel it by the scent of him growing until his lips were on mine. Slowly. Testing. A rush of breath left my lips as I leaned in closer to him and then we were kissing. His hands were on both of my cheeks, holding me still, angling me how he wanted me. My hands went to his thighs and curled around the backs. My legs parted, and I pulled him closer to me until my back was arched, his tongue was in my mouth and we were falling slowly, gently to the bed beneath me.

  “Jesus,” he groaned, pulling from the kiss. His hands were fire to my cheeks, his body a massive weight on top of me. “I want to take my time and explore every inch of you, but I want to be rough and take you, Des.”

  I’d always hated my name. Hated everything it stood for. Jordan saying my nickname, at that moment, at that time, made me love it more than I ever had, even the hundreds of times he’d spoken it before.

  He might not have forgiven me yet. He might not trust me yet, but he was trying, and I’d spend every hour of the rest of my days trying to prove to him I was worth it.

  I slid my hands up his sides to his shoulders, leaned in and kissed his shoulder. “I want you to take me however you need.”

  His forehead pressed against mine. His chest heaved against mine. “If you need me to stop, if it becomes too much, I will. Just say the words.”

  “Now you’re scaring me,” I said, teasing him as my hands continued to run up and down his sides, his shoulders, his hips…everywhere I could reach. I wasn’t scared. Overwhelmed, yes.

  “Promise me,” he said. “If this becomes too much. If you change your mind, you’ll let me know.”

  “It won’t.” There was no way it could. I’d waited a decade for this. “But I promise you.”

  “Good.” Then he took me. His mouth slammed against mine like I’d finally unleashed something primal in him. His hands were at my breasts, pulling and tugging my nipples until I pulsed with wild need for him. My hips undulated against him, pressed against his hardness until I found the right rhythm where I could rub my center against him. The friction against his boxers wasn’t nearly enough. I wanted his thick length inside of me, but every time I brushed against him, his answering moan and his fingers and the taste of me made me wetter.

  My hands went to the waistband of his boxers and I pushed them down until I wrapped my hand around him.

  “Shit,” he grunted, his mouth now at my neck. I cupped him, relished in the feel of him against me, surrounding me, and then I was being moved.

  He turned me over, pushed me farther up the bed and his hands were at my hips, his lips at my back. “Everywhere,” he whispered. I want to taste you everywhere.”

  Every single touch from him was a high voltage wire, burning through me, driving me wild with need until he had moved farther down, rolled and he yanked me down onto his waiting mouth.

  “Ride,” he grunted and that delicious vibration of him right at my core almost sent me over the edge. But then his mouth was on me, his hands pulling me against him and I had no choice but to do as he commanded until I threw my head back and let that sensation wash over me. It hit at my center, spread to my limbs, and I bucked against him as my orgasm crashed through me like rolling thunder, slowly edging back until I was sated.

  “Oh shit,” I gasped. It hurt to unclench my jaw I’d kept snapped closed through it, aware enough of Toby in the house to remain as quiet as possible.

  And then I was on my back again, arm draped over my eyes, listless and hot and cold and shivering and absolutely perfect. And Jordan was still there, touching me, moving slowly.

  “You have more in you?” he asked, his voice thick with need he hadn’t yet quenched.

  “I’m good.” My arm fell to the bed and I smiled, lazily, barely able to move a muscle. “I’m better than.”

  “Good.” He reached to the nightstand, tore off a condom and I watched with wild fascination as he removed it, rolled it down his hard length and then he moved on his knees, hands at my thighs, spreading me wide open. “I think now I can go a bit slower, now that I know how incredible you still taste.”

  “I want to see,” I said, and he jerked in surprise. I’d never done that before. Not with him, for sure. When we were teens, him going down on me had always felt strange, that I’d liked it so much even weirder, but even then, I’d always wipe his mouth before he kissed me.

  But this was a new beginning, and we were different people, and whatever he was bringing out in me made me want to do dozens of things I’d never done before. I curled my hand around his neck and tugged him down to me. I slid my tongue into his parted lips, kissing him, tasting me on his tongue, sweet and tangy, but God…so good at the same time. And he was at my center, sliding into me as I pressed against him. I stretched around him as he entered me, pushing in slowly, almost reverently like he wanted to remember every stroke.

  I let him take me as he needed, our bodies clinging together, his hands beside my shoulders, my hands below his hips, holding him close to me as we moved, found our rhythm in no time.

  “Yes,” I gasped into his ear. “More. Harder.”

  “Slowly. Patience,” he demanded. I nipped at his ear, moaned into his throat as he adjusted. He was hitting that perfect, beautiful spot deep inside and it didn’t take long until I was feeling it all over again.

  That beautiful hint of a climax spreading and alighting deep inside until it grew, so large, so powerful, less forceful than before, but still one of the best I’d ever had.

  I gasped against his mouth, kissed him while his hips moved faster, his thrusts deeper, more forceful. “Close,” he grunted. “Get there.”

  “I am.” My fingers dug into his shoulders. I spread my legs farther. I took all of him, every last beautiful inch and clung to him until I was shaking and trembling.

  My orgasm hit me slowly and powerfully until all I made were sounds and vowels, whimpering into his mouth.

  And then he was there. Right there with me. His rhythm faltered, his speed accelerated, his thrusts turned savage and he got up on his arms, hands braced to the bed. He stared down at me, muscles popped at his neck while he buried himself inside of me, groaning out his own release until he collapsed against my chest.

  “Wow,” I whispered. I shoved my hands into his hair, felt his silky black locks slide through my fingertips as he caught his breath. “I know you we
re worried about that messing up something, but personally, I think it went pretty well.”

  He laughed against my collarbone, lips pressed teasing kisses along my shoulder. “Smartass.”

  We held each other until we’d relaxed and I pushed him gently. “I have to go get cleaned up.”

  His hips rolled, reminding me he was still inside me. “I don’t want to let you go.”

  His voice was rough and thick and didn’t sound like all he meant was being inside me. I pushed my hand through his hair, slid it to the side of his neck. “You won’t have to.”

  He blinked harshly, and it threw me. It was the first hint of doubt or fear he’d shown me so openly. “Good,” he finally said.

  He smacked my ass playfully. “Go get cleaned up. I’m exhausted, and I want you in my arms before I fall asleep.”

  I kissed his cheek and moved, hurried through my bathroom routine. On the way back to bed, I slid into my underwear on the floor and then curled into Jordan’s body. He wrapped his arms around me and held me to his chest. “Tonight was good,” he said, already half asleep. “I liked it.”

  “Me too.” I kissed his chest and settled against him. In moments he was asleep, breathing softly.

  I followed him shortly after, relaxed and smiling.

  * * *

  I woke with a jolted start. My eyes jumped open and I immediately saw soft, dark sheets against my chest and beneath my hand. Deep navy walls in front of me and a white door leading to a bathroom.

  Jordan’s house. I was in his bed and as I stretched my limbs, the memories of the night before assaulted me. His body on mine, his lips on me. His mouth devouring me.

  Sweet, sweet heavenly bliss.

  I spread out in bed, the sun shining brightly through slightly opened blinds and reached for him even though I somehow knew I was alone.

  Another thought hit me, making me leap out of bed. Toby.

  I scrambled to my feet and hurried to the bathroom. I’d left my clothes in a pile on the floor and after quickly tugging on my shorts and going back to his room to put on my bra, I dug through Jordan’s dresser and found a gray t-shirt.