by Max Monroe
The kid couldn’t even hold his fucking head up, and already he was helping Thatch mock my players—and by extension, me.
I was already pulling out my phone to dial Winnie, but Thatch had reached over to stop me when Littleton jumped back to his feet with no injury other than his pink-tinged cheeks, courtesy of embarrassment.
And then the music had picked right back up where it left off like nothing even happened. Thanks to taping delays, when it aired on TV, they’d probably plan to edit it together, and no one would ever be the wiser.
And if not, I’d have Georgia see that they did, whether it was part of the plan or not. Littleton would be forever grateful.
Another smash from the main room made me push up to my elbows and pay attention. I knew Lexi could sleep through almost anything, so I wasn’t too worried about her.
And I do mean that literally. The fire alarm went off during some late-night cookie baking just before coming here—apparently, Winnie had promised them to Quinn for the trip, and yes, I’m rolling my eyes too.
I took off at a sprint headed for Lexi’s room, but she never even fucking shifted. And trust me, that thing is fucking loud.
But it wasn’t like Winnie to come in so noisily—she had a kid, after all—and I’d completely lost track of the time.
I caught a glimpse of the clock just as she came stumbling through the door of our bedroom, heels dangling precariously from one finger.
Three a.m.
“God, sweetheart,” I said as I sat halfway up and rubbed at my eyes. “You’re just getting back?”
She dropped her shoes to the floor and pulled her dress directly over her head, and I decided it was time to stop talking. There’d be plenty of time for questions later, when she wasn’t stripping her clothes off and crawling toward me and—goddamn—she was drunk.
Sweet merciful heaven, drunk sex with Winnie Winslow was going to be amazing.
She bit her lip and climbed up the bed until her hips straddled mine, her hair cascading wildly down and around her shoulders.
She reached behind herself to unhook her bra and pulled it down before tossing it to the side. Nipples peaked and pink, her skin seemed to glow in the low light of the moon reflecting off of the ocean that poured through the window.
Her hands came to my cheeks as she spoke in a cheeky whisper. “You don’t look like an Irritated Owl right now.” I pushed my fingertips deeper into the exposed skin at her hips and swallowed.
“No,” I agreed roughly. “I am not even a little bit irritated.”
“Me either,” she replied, her eyes lighting up. My heart tripped inside my chest at the brightness inside of them. It was much more potent than it used to be and rooted far deeper.
She looked like a different woman than she had just months ago, and I felt like maybe I was at least a little responsible for that. Loving her, loving Lexi, being the best support system I could be for both of them. I put the emphasis of all my efforts on one simple question. “Good massage, baby?”
She nodded and bit minutely into her lip, her forehead falling easily against mine. Her cheek pulled up and a mini dimple formed like an extension of the corner of her mouth. Like her lips weren’t quite big enough to contain her whole smile.
“The best. There was a minor snafu with Cassie almost breastfeeding the masseuse, but all ended well and we decided to go dancing.” She sat up and undulated back and forth to imaginary music, her breasts swaying magically with every move.
I didn’t even bother questioning the Cassie scenario. Nothing surprised me when it came to her level of insanity.
But good God. My gorgeous girl and her delicious fucking tits.
My hands slid up the sides of her ribcage almost without permission. Not that I didn’t want them to, but I really no longer had any control. “Oh, yeah?”
“Mmhmm,” she hummed with a nod, closing her eyes and letting her head drop back.
“Do you love me?” she asked softly.
“Oh, Win. You have no idea.”
Her head came forward, and her playful eyes found mine. “Are you tired?”
Back and forth, I forced my head to shake slowly. “No, baby,” I whispered softly, finally filling my palm with the flesh of her breast and rubbing a soft thumb across her responsive nipple.
“Do you want to make me feel good?”
She gasped as I sat up quickly and pulled her hips tight to mine and our chests skin-to-skin. “Always.”
Each point on the trail of her jaw felt like silk under my lips, and the smell of her arousal taunted me from below. I followed its suggested path, hitting all of Winnie’s most sensitive spots as I went, down the line of her jaw, right to the spot behind her ear, around the side of her throat, along the bone at her collar and right to the center of her chest, pushing her to lean back and give me access as I went.
She didn’t contest anything, moaning and closing her eyes at the first hit of my lips to her throat.
“You are the most amazing woman,” I murmured to the space in between her breasts, a place I would happily live if she let me.
“Wes,” she whined, and I smiled, nibbling at the inside of both mounds of supple flesh.
“You want me to be sweet or rough, sweetheart?” I asked, and her already arched back flared more.
“Both.”
Perfect answer.
I picked her body up from my lap and swung my legs out of the way, before setting her back down on the bed. She gasped, far too impressed with the maneuver thanks to the help of the alcohol, and I nearly wept in excitement.
She pushed up on her elbows to look at me, but I stopped her progress with a soft hand on her chest and a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “Lie back and spread your legs.”
A shiver wracked her body as I went on. “I’m absolutely dying to eat your pussy.”
She whimpered and I smiled, climbing from the bed, much to her confusion.
Worry creased her forehead, but I put a finger to my lips in command as she opened her mouth. “Lie back,” I repeated. “And spread those beautiful legs. I’m just closing the door.”
She rotated around to face me as I moved and did as I asked, dropping to her back with a soft bounce and settling her heels into the comforter about three feet apart.
Hands to her knees and my own knee to the bed, I commanded, “Wider.”
She moaned with the effort to do what I asked and jumped as I grabbed the sides of her sheer panties and ripped them apart.
“Oh, God,” she cried.
“Are you wet, Win?”
Her head bounced up and down, and her eyes closed with heaviness. “Touch me.”
Powerless to deny her, I sank to my elbows, face in front of heaven, and ran two fingers from right above her clit all the way to the sensitive skin right above her asshole.
She loved when I played with her ass just a little, an obviously untapped area from her previous lovers, and I felt nearly high from her reaction every time.
Down the insides of her thighs, from her knees to the crease where leg turned into something else, I rubbed my hands, trailing a wet shine from top to bottom on the right one.
“See that?” I asked, and she nodded even though her eyes were closed.
“No, baby,” I said with a chuckle. “Open your eyes.”
She did, so I ran two fingers down the trail to call her attention to it once again. “All that is because you love me.”
She nodded even though I hadn’t asked a question.
“And you know I’m going to make you feel good.”
“Wes.”
“What, baby?” I asked. “Don’t want to wait?”
She shook her head almost violently, and with an answer as sound as that, I couldn’t even fathom the idea of denying her.
I leaned down and sucked the skin just below her belly button straight into my mouth, circling my tongue around it and humming on her taste. “Appetizer tastes good.”
She moaned and writhed a little, grabbin
g at the comforter on both sides and pushing her flesh farther into my mouth.
“I bet the entrée is going to be even better.”
“Please,” she whispered.
Down the bed, I settled onto my chest and threw her legs over my shoulders, licking a path along the now drying trail I’d created moments ago.
She couldn’t do anything more than whimper, the longing and alcohol finally mixing into something she no longer had any control over.
I rubbed two fingers around the edges of her clit before giving it a bump and watching as more excitement flooded the space below. With practiced ease, I pulled it up and around, coating the little nub with just the right flavor for my mouth.
“Mm,” I breathed, inhaling and closing my lips around the carefully placed moisture. I was never prepared for how good she was going to taste, and as a result, I pretty much immediately lost my mind and myself to the moment, eating at her with an intensity that didn’t build or dawdle, two fingers curling inside to rub at the spot that always pleased her while my other hand teased her asshole, now soaked with arousal.
She gasped and grabbed at my hair, pushing my face into her harder and forcing me to eat more. I thought my erection would punch through the bed if I didn’t fuck her soon.
And I needed to for more reasons for that.
I could see in her eyes that she’d be done as soon as her orgasm washed out, completely spent and comatose in a way that only a totally satisfied woman could be.
I broke the suction seal of my mouth, and she cried out.
“Don’t worry, baby. I promise I’ve got more for you.”
She nodded as I stood back and shoved my shorts off of my hips before climbing onto the bed and rubbing myself through the mess I’d left.
“Wes,” she whispered, and I smiled, leaning forward, pushing myself inside and rubbing my nose against hers.
“I love you too, Fred.”
She nodded, tiny tears reflecting in her eyes as I pushed my way home over and over again, perfecting the angle so that I rubbed against her clit with every move.
She looked poised to explode—tight, clenched eyes and open mouth, and I knew I had to hurry. But it wasn’t really any effort at all, she had me so worked up, and when she fell over the hill and squeezed me inside, I toppled right along with her.
Breathing heavily on top of her, I noticed the exact moment she faded away and fell sound asleep in my arms, my cock still inside of her.
I pulled out gently and brushed the hair from her flushed face before burying my face in the space between her shoulder and head.
I didn’t want to leave—ever.
So I did the exact opposite, climbing from the bed, tiptoeing into the bathroom to clean up, and then padding to the side table by the bed and opening the drawer.
It sat there, right on top, and I didn’t even hesitate before reaching in, opening the box, and pulling it out.
The bed squeaked only a little as I put a knee into it and reached for the delicate hand resting above her head and took care of business.
Carefully lifting her body up and pulling the covers down, I settled her inside and climbed in behind her to fall asleep happier than I’d ever been—linking our hands and hearts forever.
Warmth cocooned me, and I had the urge to purr like a kitten from my cozy spot inside Wes’s arms. I had no idea what time it was, but when I fluttered my eyes open, no rogue ray of light pierced their sensitive receptors. The sun hadn’t risen yet, and upon closer inspection, I realized the first hello of sun was still a little way off. Utter darkness still concealed the picturesque view behind the flowy white curtains of our hotel bedroom.
With unfocused eyes, I scanned from one piece of furniture to the next to find our clothes not only dangling from each one but also scattered across the floor in haphazard displays in between. Wes’s pants mingled with my dress, and the scraps of my underwear lay tattered to the side. I blushed at the reminder of just how badly I had needed Wes last night. What started as a mission to cheer the glum version of our friend Georgia up had turned into wild, uninhibited, highly vulgar dancing and one too many glasses of sangria. Hell, maybe two too many. Pain pierced my brain as I tried to sit up.
Shit. Yeah. Two too many.
Well past two a.m., I’d stumbled my way back to my hotel room, horny and needy and ready to do just about anything to seduce Wes into getting dirty and naked with me. I’d come up with an entire list on the elevator ride to the top, including something with my boobs and a complicated twist that my now sober, though hungover brain could no longer process.
Thankfully, seeing as I’d forgotten more than ninety percent of the things on the list by the time I finally figured out how to make the keycard open the door to the room, the seduction hadn’t required much effort.
God, I love this man.
He’d given me everything I had needed and craved and was so desperate for, plus so much more. Moments. Memories. Pleasure, both as expected physically and all the way in my soul. And that was quite a feat with a woman who couldn’t do much more than remember her own name, five sheets to the wind, and even more glasses of fruity wine deep.
We hadn’t just fucked until we both got off. No. There wasn’t an inch of skin left untouched, an ounce of me unloved—and I was certain that was my definition of heaven. Wes loving me and me loving Wes until we couldn’t feel any single thing but each other.
I’d do just about anything to have that for forever.
Wes stirred a little in his sleep, a groan and a deep inhalation in the hair at my neck just two of the things I loved most about our position, and I smiled. He was wrapped around me like a second skin, his arms holding me tightly and his warm, muscular body spooning me from behind.
Curious about the time, I carefully reached out with my left hand to tilt the alarm clock on the nightstand in my direction. The glowing numbers on the little black screen were an afterthought when my eyes caught sight of my ring finger.
Oh. My. God.
I blinked several times just to make sure what I was seeing was real and then forced them apart when the morning-after dry eye got the better of me.
This was the absolutely wrong time to lose the ability of sight.
Eyes thankfully open, I held my left hand out in front of me and just stared.
My reaction was supremely delayed, but when cognitive function finally caught up to what I was seeing, a gasp left my lungs in a hard whoosh and my heart fought to pound its way out of my chest.
Oh.
My.
God.
There was a ring on my finger.
The most beautiful, classic, sparkly, and gorgeous diamond solitaire ring sat on my left ring finger, and I hadn’t fucking put it there. More than that, I didn’t recollect anyone else doing it either.
I racked my brain for details of last night and couldn’t recall anything besides the massage and the dancing and the drinks and the gloriously naked Wes rocking my world into mind-blowing orgasms and then black peace—the last orgasm apparently had been so powerful it lulled me straight to sleep.
Aside from the details, and the hows and whys of what it was doing there, it was literally the ring of my dreams. If I could’ve created a Pinterest board with the exact particulars of my dream engagement ring, this pretty baby would have been it.
How in the hell did this perfect fucking ring get here?
I felt Wes stir awake behind me, and his arms tightened around my waist. His chin dug into the soft divot of my shoulder. “Morning, sweetheart,” he greeted with a raspy, sleep-filled voice.
But I didn’t respond. Couldn’t respond. I could only stare in surprise and awe and downright amazement at my left hand spread painfully wide in front of me.
“You’re my life, Winnie Winslow,” Wes whispered into my ear, sliding his hand along the top of my arm and then curling around the bottom so that his palm met mine. “You and Lex are my whole life, and I don’t want to go another day without knowing that you a
re my wife and Lexi is my daughter. I want to love you both every single day for the rest of forever. I want to be both of your shoulders to lean on. I want to be your biggest supporter. I want to be your everything because you, my beautiful girl, are my everything.”
He pulled me around to face him, sides to the bed and faces only inches apart. Nose-to-nose and eyes locked so tight it felt physical, nothing could’ve broken our focus on one another.
“Last night, lying there asleep with a blush still tinting your satisfied cheeks, you were so close to my version of perfect, it hurt. I put that ring on your finger, and all the pain and any hint of almost went completely away. You were perfect. You are perfect. Will you marry me, Winnie Winslow?”
I searched his hazel gaze, and the only thing that was staring back at me was a man, a beautiful man, with his heart on his sleeve and the promise of forever in his eyes. Slowly, softly, and without restraint, I felt myself, my heart, my soul, be consumed by an infinite amount of love. And I knew there was only one answer to his question.
No doubts.
No fears.
Just… “Yes.” I nodded as tears started to stream down my cheeks.
He took my left hand in his and brought it up to his lips, kissing my ring gently all the while his eyes smiled into mine. I felt my heart grow two sizes bigger inside of my chest.
“I love you so much,” I whispered through the tears clogging my throat. This man, this amazing, perfectly imperfect man, had just asked me to marry him. He had been so desperate to be my husband and couldn’t wait another day, another hour, another minute, that he had put the engagement ring on my finger while I was asleep.
It was a little presumptive, but fuck, he wanted to be mine for the rest of his life.
I couldn’t really complain about that.
And it was a certainty that I wanted to be his for the rest of mine.