by Claire Adams
Fortunately, this call was quickly wrapping up. “Thanks for the information,” I finally said. Then, I hung up the phone.
“Who was that?” Lexi asked, sounding sleepy.
I snuggled down under the blankets, pulling her back into my arms and folding my body around hers. “That was the district attorney,” I told her.
“Uh oh,” Lexi said, turning so that she could face me. “You don't sound happy.”
“Somehow, Renée and her lawyers have managed to secure a pretty decent plea bargain,” I said. “Despite the fact that Renée has multiple felony charges against her.” I rolled my eyes.
Lexi swallowed audibly. “So, she's going to walk?” she asked.
“Oh no,” I said, shaking my head emphatically. “Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that. She'll serve at least five years in prison still, with ten years of probation after that. She's not going to be able to come after either of us anytime soon. And I imagine that by the time she's out of prison, she'll have moved on to something else.”
Lexi didn't look fully convinced about that last bit, but she didn't seem too upset. “I'm just happy that it's finally over,” she admitted.
“I know that the trial was difficult for you,” I said, twisting my fingers together with hers and squeezing lightly. “But you handled it all so well. I'm proud of you.”
“Thanks,” she said shyly, ducking her head with a smile. “I do still think that the security measures you installed were a little excessive.”
“I take care of my family,” I reminded her. “I talked to security experts about what we needed.”
“Those guys just wanted to sell you something,” Lexi maintained.
“Not just something,” I said, grinning at her. “A whole host of somethings. A gate, multiple cameras, and multiple security guards. No one is ever going to be able to get in here again without my permission.” We both laughed, but I sobered quickly, the memory of that fateful phone call still too fresh in my memory. “I am never going to let you or Emma get hurt again.”
“Or Janice,” Lexi teased. I had rapidly realized that joking was her way of getting through the emotional trauma, and I appreciated it.
I smiled at her. “Or Janice,” I agreed. “Or that new puppy that we were thinking of getting Emma for her birthday.” Lexi giggled.
“You know,” I told her. “When Renée had you at gunpoint, that’s the worst I’ve ever felt in my entire life. I don't think I could ever live without you. I know that we still have our fights and that we're maybe not the most perfect family, but I need you in my life. You and Emma are my life. You're what makes it worth getting out of bed in the morning.”
I expected Lexi to make some quip about me and my admittedly still over-the-top work habits, but instead, she looked serious, too. “I was terrified when I was there in that warehouse,” she said. “But I just kept thinking that if I could stall her for long enough, that you would be there, and you would make sure that everything was all right. I knew that you were going to protect me.”
“Of course, I was going to protect you,” I told her, leaning in to kiss her gently.
“You've really changed,” she commented. “Ever since Emma and I came here. At first, you were so distant. I didn't think you were ever going to warm up to me. I watched you interact with Emma, and I could tell that you were growing fonder of her, but I didn't think you were ever going to even be friends with me, let alone something more than friends.”
“I would have still saved you in the warehouse,” I joked.
She laughed, but I could tell she was still trying to get together the words for whatever she was trying to say. “At this point, I can't picture my life without you, either,” she said finally. “You've really become the guy who I always hoped that I would meet. I can tell how much you care about Emma and how much you care about me.”
I took a deep breath, thinking of the box that I had stored in the top drawer of the bedside table. I had wanted to save it for one of our date-nights, to propose to her someplace romantic. Maybe after a good meal and a good bottle of wine. But something about this felt right. Just being there in bed with her, curled up together. Like we belonged together.
I rolled away from her, my mind made up.
“Hey,” I said to her, rolling back over and putting the box in between us. “Lexi, believe it when I say, I can't picture my life without you and Emma in it. And I know that I've made a lot of mistakes and that it's sometimes hard to believe that I really want you here. I also know that you really want to get your life together before we move this any further along. But I want you to know that I'm committed to this, one hundred percent. You may want to hold off on accepting this ring, but Lexi, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Lexi stared at me for a long moment, her hand over her mouth. “You're the one who's always been afraid of commitment,” she finally joked, but her voice sounded garbled, as though she was having a difficult time getting the words out.
“That's true,” I agreed. “But this time, it seems easy. I've never wanted anything like I want this.” I paused. “I'm not asking you to marry me tomorrow. I know that we're still settling in together, and I know that we haven't really known each other all that long. However, I really think that you and I could be something special, and I don't want to spend another day without you.”
“I would be so glad to be your wife,” she finally said, reaching out to hold my hand. “Andrew, I would be so glad. You make me just as happy. I never thought that I could have this in a relationship, especially not once I had Emma. I thought I had too much baggage. But I love every moment that I spend with you, and I can't imagine giving that up. And it's not just about me. I know that you'll make a great daddy for Emma. You already do. We are the luckiest girls in the world.”
I smiled at her, pleased to hear her accept my proposal. “There is just one thing,” I told her. “One condition to the proposal.”
“Oh, really?” Lexi asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
I nodded sternly. “You're going to have to earn it. I think I've had my fill of gold diggers in this lifetime.”
Lexi burst out laughing. “Deal!” she said. “I'll start by announcing that I'll be going to work on Monday at Katherine's office, working as an administrative assistant.”
“What?” I asked, surprised to hear that. “You didn't tell me that you had actually decided to interview there.”
“Katherine coerced me last weekend into just dropping by and checking out the work that they do,” she told me. “I don't know. I felt moved by it. I really wanted to take part. Plus, they need an accountant. You should see their books. They're abysmal. I think I can help them get everything organized and turned around, though.”
I kissed her gently, jostling the ring box as I did so. I tapped on the top of the box. “So, that was a yes, then?” I asked her, just to hear her say it again.
“Yes,” Lexi said firmly. “I would be honored to become your wife.”
“Good,” I said. I reached out and opened the box, revealing the big, vintage-style ring that I'd selected with Katherine's help.
“Oh, Andrew, it's gorgeous,” Lexi said, looking almost as though she might cry.
“If you don't like it, I bought the full buyer's insurance, and we can exchange it,” I told her nervously. “Katherine helped me pick it out. Emma, too, but I think Emma would have been just as happy if I'd gotten you a cheap plastic ring from a dispenser instead of this.”
She laughed, but the sound was strangled by emotion. I took that as a good sign.
Slowly, I removed the ring from the box and caught her hand, sliding the ring easily onto her third finger. It fit perfectly, just like it was meant to be.
Not that I believed in that sort of thing.
Lexi stared breathlessly down at the ring for a moment, watching the way it reflected the light. Then, she gave an almost animalistic growl and pounced at me, rolling me onto my back and straddling my hips. She bent down to kiss me heatedly; no
holds barred. Her tongue snaked into my mouth, and her hands slid down my sides. She rocked down against me, her mons burning with desire where it contacted with my member. I could feel myself rapidly hardening, and when she pulled away, Lexi was smirking.
“I guess I'd better start earning it now, shouldn't I?”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Lexi
No matter how many times Andrew and I had sex, it always seemed novel. Whether it was because of the positions that we got into or because of some new trick of his, he always found the fastest way to work me towards my climax.
My eyelids slipped shut as we continued to kiss. Despite the fact that we had already had sex and my orgasm wasn't that far in the past, I couldn't help melting into the delicious friction as I rocked against him, careful not to let him slip inside just yet.
I wanted this to last.
Andrew used the perfect amount of pressure in our kiss, dragging his mouth across mine and drawing my bottom lip in between his teeth. When he nipped lightly at it, I couldn't help but mewl at the sensation. Prickles of pleasure stoked the fire between my legs. Andrew seemed pleased by that reaction, repeating the action and then following up by trailing searing kisses all down the column of my throat.
I melted against him. My body fell slack against his muscular form as his deft fingers came up to tweak my left nipple. I could feel his hard cock pressing insistently into the hollow of my hip, and I knew it was time to go further.
I brought my hands down and gave his manhood a couple firm strokes, even though I knew that he was well ready to enter me. Then, I lifted my hips, positioned myself over his lance, and sat down onto him, letting out a wanton moan as his head dragged along skin that was still slightly oversensitive.
I sat there for a long moment, unable to move, caught up in the sensation of him there inside of me. I whimpered with want, and he kissed along my jawline and came back to my mouth, plunging his tongue inside and exploring every inch of it. He kissed me until I was breathless and practically shaking with the need for more.
All the while, he plunged deep inside of my folds, showing me pleasures that I had never before experienced. He used his heels to leverage against the bed, thrusting up into me with wild abandon. The only thing that kept me in place were his strong hands on my hips. The only thing that kept me grounded was the feel of his warm body between my knees. I clung to him, digging my fingers into his muscles, already feeling like I might orgasm, even though we'd barely just begun.
His talented mouth moved southward, and he flicked the tip of his tongue against the nub of my breast, sucking at the tender skin there until the nipple stood pert and flushed. Then, he moved over to the other breast, giving it the same treatment.
“Andrew,” I moaned. I just couldn't get enough of him.
Just when I started to learn the rhythm and the sensation started to get a little less novel, he changed it up, moving first with long, slow, measured thrusts and then picking up the pace, forcing himself deeper into my folds. He changed the rhythm on me one more time, and suddenly, it was all too much.
I groaned and shivered, hands grasping desperately against the sheets as my climax overtook me. My vision went white for a moment.
When I came back down, I realized that he had slowed the rhythm some, but he still pressed at my insides. He was waiting for me to calm down a little before he continued to make love to me, I realized. He was trying not to overstimulate me.
I smiled and began to rock my own hips in time. I wasn't sure that I'd be able to come again, but it still felt amazing, just having him there inside of me. He slowed to a snail's pace, dragging his member out until just his head was still inside me and then forcing his way back in.
I whimpered, eyes rolling back a little. “That feels amazing,” I told him, pressing my head to his collarbone. It was the slow movement of his cock sliding out of my wet hole, the drag of the head of his prick against the very edges of me, and then that quick snap back into me. I could feel myself beginning to come undone again.
He leaned in and sucked a mark into the side of my neck, right where my neck and shoulder met. I gasped again, dragging my fingers down his side and tilting my head away to give him better access to the spot. I was his now. I was engaged.
I was practically giddy, just thinking about it.
And then I couldn't think of anything else. Andrew flipped us around so that he was on top. He began to fuck me in earnest. His dick hit all the right places inside of me, and when he twisted his hips to the side, I groaned and fell slack against the pillows, feeling utterly wrung out. I wasn't even sure if I had come again or how many times I might have come. All I knew was that I kept feeling better and better, more and more relaxed, and that everything just felt more and more overwhelming.
I pressed my forehead against his forearm, needing the contact to ground myself.
“Oh, fuck,” I said quietly, even though I normally wasn't one to swear. But the situation seemed to call for it. I couldn't seem to find any other words for how I felt. “This is...” I trailed off. I didn't have any energy left to do anything except lay there and watch his face as he brought himself up to climax as well, using me for his own ends.
Andrew groaned finally, one of the few noises that he'd made, and I could feel him lose the bruising rhythm that he had set. His hips stuttered a few times against mine, and he squeezed his eyes shut, face screwing up as he reached his own climax.
He hung motionlessly over me for a long moment before dragging himself out of me and rolling off to the side. Suddenly, he snaked an arm out and pulled me close against his side, bending his head down so he could kiss the top of my head. I hummed softly and curled into him.
“So, engagement,” I said when I had finally caught my breath again. “I didn't know you had it in you, Mr. Andrew Goldwright.”
Andrew groaned. “That reminds me. We're going to have to put out some sort of press release. The media will be all over this one. I'll no longer be the sexiest young bachelor in the country.”
I blinked over at him. “You're kidding, right?” I couldn't honestly tell from his tone, but based on the words, I hoped he was kidding. If not, he was more conceited than I had realized.
Andrew burst out laughing. “Of course, I'm joking,” he said. “Well, the media will be all over this, once they find out, but no, we don't have to put out a press release. I want this to be just between you and me for now. And Emma.”
“And Emma,” I agreed, smiling. “Emma's going to be thrilled.”
“Because her Mama and Daddy are getting married?” Andrew asked. “Will she even understand what that means? She probably already thinks we're married.”
“No,” I said. “She'll be thrilled because she'll get to be the flower girl in our wedding, and she's going to get to dress up like a princess. I might even let her wear a tiara. How cute would that be?”
“You're planning the wedding already?” Andrew asked in surprise.
“I've been planning my wedding since I was of marriageable age,” I told him seriously. Then, I laughed. “Not really. But Emma will be the flower girl, and I'll have to ask Misty to be my maid of honor and Katherine to be my bridesmaid.”
“Do you think we can keep it small?” Andrew asked, frowning. “I only want the people who I really care about to be there.
“Of course,” I said.
“Politically, if I start inviting people from work, everyone from work is going to want to go. And everyone that I grew up with will want to go, especially if they hear that we're having an open bar. I just want to keep it between us.”
“Let's elope,” I suggested. “The only person who I'd really like to invite, outside of Misty, is my mom. We could do that, just you, Katherine, Emma, my mom, and I.” Then, I paused, feeling my face flushing. “Sorry, I'm getting too ahead of myself, aren't I? You specifically said that you weren't looking to marry me tomorrow or anything.”
Andrew laughed and pulled me closer until my body was
pressed tightly against his. “I don't mind,” he said. “In fact, I like the enthusiasm. It's cute.”
“Good,” I said.
We kissed chastely. I pulled away before it could get heated, squirming a little. “I really don't think that I can come again,” I told him.
Andrew laughed again. “I don't even think I could get half hard again. Not until morning. I'm exhausted.”
“So, I'm doing a good job of earning it, then?” I asked wickedly.
“More than good,” Andrew told me, kissing me again.
We settled against the pillows, and I watched Andrew's eyes slide closed. I couldn't take my eyes off my ring just yet, though. “Hey, Andrew?” I asked, voice barely a whisper.
“Hmm?” he responded.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he murmured. “More than you'll ever know.”
Epilogue
Andrew
I watched as Lexi took a few dozen pictures of Emma dressed in her new outfit. The girl looked adorable in a plaid skirt and crisp white top, with ribbons in her braids.
“Can you believe it's already her first day of school?” Janice asked from my elbow.
I shook my head. These past years had gone by fast. If I'd thought, three years ago, that I could hardly imagine my life without Emma and Lexi in it, it was nothing compared to how I felt now.
But I was going to have to get used to Emma not being in the house for most of the daytime, now that she was headed to school.
We drove up to the elementary school, and Emma craned her neck back to look up at the building. “Whoa,” she said. “Daddy, is this whole building my school?”
I laughed. “Of course not, sweetie,” I told her. “There's a lot of different offices and companies on different floors. That would be a lot of kids to meet, otherwise.”
Emma puffed out her chest. “I'm great at making friends,” she said. “Mr. Sanders said it last year when I was in kindergarten. By the time I come home today, I'm gonna have a hundred new friends.”