“Come see,” Tara said over her shoulder. “So, I’m assuming the two of you worked things out? Everything is all good now?”
Hayden looked at me and grinned. “Yes. All good.”
Kylee ran around Tara’s legs and smiled up at us. “Hayden!”
“Kylee!” Hayden dropped to his knees and pulled Kylee in for a big hug. She squeezed on tight as he stood up, lifting her with him. She giggled as he tickled her in the ribs before setting her back down. “It’s good to see you, sport.”
“Mommy,” Kylee said. “Can we all make a fort in the living room? Tara and I were about to start.”
I looked over at Hayden. “Do you have an early morning tomorrow?”
He shook his head. “Nope. I’m still on vacation. Kylee, go get as many sheets as you can find. Tara, you’re on snack duty. Mel,” he turned to me and put a hand on the small of my back, “a little birdie told me you make the best cup of hot cocoa in Searing.”
“I’m on it,” I said.
Hayden clapped his hands together. “All right people, let’s go. Move! Move! Move!”
Epilogue
Mel
6 Months Later
I didn’t open my eyes right away when I woke up to feather light touches across my stomach and down my thighs. I knew it was a bright sunny day because the inside of my eyelids were that obnoxious glowing red they always were when I lay out in the sun on the beach.
The feather light touches moved to the inside of my thighs, and a light pressure pulled my knees apart. I smiled to myself.
“Good morning,” I whispered with my eyes still closed.
“Good morning,” Hayden mumbled against the inside of my right thigh.
I spread my legs for him, and he settled between them.
“How did you sleep, beautiful?”
I stretched my arms over my head and arched my back. I was naked. I hadn’t slept naked in my own bed for quite some time—not since before Kylee was born. But she was at Tara’s this morning, and Hayden and I had the whole place to ourselves until the evening when the two of them were coming back home for dinner.
Hayden and I had spent the previous night fooling around on the couch, drinking wine, and giggling over each other like high schoolers. I made a smorgasbord of appetizers, ranging from garlic shrimp to baked brie smothered in maple roasted apples with cinnamon. We ate, ate some more, and then continued eating well into the night until our bellies were full. Then we exercised some of the food off—vigorously—until the sun was brightening the sky.
“What time is it?” I asked, my voice still thick with fatigue.
“Ten fifteen.”
I chuckled and rubbed at my eyes as Hayden continued kissing my legs. I finally managed to get my eyes open to look down at him, settled between my legs, his lustful appetite burning in his brown eyes. “Wow. I can’t remember the last time I slept in this late.”
“Me neither. Oh, wait. It was two weekends ago when you spent the night at my place, and we played cards until three in the morning.”
“Ah. Yes. Now I remember.”
Hayden kissed me between my legs, right above my clit. I bit my bottom lip and lifted my ass off the bed. “Don’t be a tease,” I said.
“You think I’m teasing you?” he asked, cocking his head to the side. “Baby, if you want me to tease you, I can. This is nothing. This is just me savoring the moment so it’s not over too quickly.”
“There will always be more for you,” I said.
He chuckled deep in his chest. “There better be. I’m not sticking around for your personality or nice digs. I’m just in it for this.”
“For the pussy?” I laughed.
“Damn straight,” he growled, and then he pressed his mouth to my clit and started sucking.
I took a deep breath and sank deep into the mattress as he swirled his tongue around my clit. He took his time, having mastered his technique with me a long time ago, and waited until I was worked up enough to stray from the clit and trace my opening. He lapped at my juices as my body lit on fire with need, and when he knew I was ready, he pushed my legs farther apart and eased one thick finger inside me.
I moaned and closed my eyes.
He worked his finger in and out of me as his tongue continued dancing over my clit. He maintained the same steady rhythm until I could feel my own body constricting against him. Hayden made a sound deep in his throat, and the vibration on my clit sent me over the edge.
I gripped the sheets and arched my back as I came hard and fast. Hayden licked me up and down when I was done, drinking me up, and I collapsed on the mattress and sucked in great gasps of air as he eased a second finger inside me.
He pressed down and resumed his sucking and swirling of my clit. The pressure mixed with the gentle caresses of my clit had me seeing stars in seconds. I moaned his name, bit down on my bottom lip, and rolled my hips on his fingers. “Don’t stop,” I whispered.
He obeyed. Hayden stayed his course until I came for a second time, and then he started kissing the inside of my thighs again.
I propped myself up on my elbows to watch him as he went to his knees between my legs. I spun myself around and rolled onto my stomach so that I was lying before him with my face inches from his rock-hard cock.
I took him in my hands and worked him over. A little drop of dew glistened at his tip, and I licked it off before sealing my lips around him and drawing him into my mouth. Hayden groaned as I worked myself down to his base. I held him in the back of my throat, feeling thick saliva blooming beneath my tongue. Then I pulled out and resumed the motion, bobbing up and down on his dick, sucking and worshipping him for all that he was worth.
He leaned over me and slapped my ass. I giggled, but the sound was muffled with his cock in my mouth.
He slipped a hand between my thighs and started rubbing me in slow circles. Then, as I started sucking him harder, he pushed two fingers deep inside me and thrust them hard and fast.
I came with his dick in my mouth, and as I moaned around his girth, he pulled his hips away from me.
I reached for him after my orgasm abated. “I want more,” I cooed.
“Next time, gorgeous. I want inside you. Now.”
His need and his commanding tone sent ripples of desire through me. Hayden slid off the bed and opened the drawer of my nightstand. He rummaged through it until he found a condom, pulled it out, and tore the wrapper with his teeth. He tossed it aside and then rolled the condom over his length.
“Roll over,” he said.
I did as I was told and rolled onto my back. I let my knees fall apart as he climbed back up on the bed and settled between them. He gripped his shaft and stared down at me. “You’re so damn beautiful. How did I get so lucky?”
“I’ve been wondering the same thing,” I whispered.
He grinned and dropped down to plant his hands on either side of my head. I wrapped my hands around his wrists and lifted my legs back for him as he leaned down, dropping his hips to mine. I was so wet that he slid right in.
I gasped, and he took it slow.
“You feel so good,” I whispered, my eyes falling closed.
“Fuck,” he grated, hanging his head as he worked himself in and out of me.
I gripped his wrists tighter and held myself in place as he drove deeper and deeper inside me with every thrust. The pressure was building inside me, and it was all I could do to hold in the scream that wanted to burst free of me.
“I’m gonna come,” I said, feeling the pressure reaching its max.
Hayden dropped to his elbows and crushed his mouth to mine. His tongue slipped between my lips and then my teeth, and we explored each other desperately as he continued to bury himself inside me. I whimpered into his mouth. He groaned into mine.
And then I burst apart. I cried out his name as my whole body trembled and quivered. He fucked me until he blew his load, and he kissed my neck and jaw and mouth, silencing my sounds of pleasure and gratitude.
He pulled out of me but stayed hovering over me. We kissed and caught our breath, and then he rolled to his side and rested his hand across my stomach.
I rolled onto my side to face him and cupped my cheek in my pillow. “Can we just spend the rest of the day like this?”
“You won’t hear any complaints from me,” he said.
I smiled and snuggled in close to him. “We still have a lot of time left before we need to put clothes on.”
He chuckled and tucked my hair behind my ears. “We can delay until the last possible minute. I propose cooking dinner in just aprons.”
I giggled. “Sounds fun.”
“Sounds sexy.” He winked. Then he patted my hip. “I’m going to go wash up. Don’t go anywhere, all right?”
“All right,” I said, rolling over onto my back as he got off the bed. I watched him walk to the bathroom and whistled. “Nice ass.”
He paused in the doorway, struck a sexy pose with one hand up on the doorframe, and laughed at himself and closed the door behind him.
I lay on my back, staring up at my ceiling. So much had changed over the last seven months—since I made Hayden that free meal for patching up Kylee’s scraped knees. I hadn’t known it at the time, but I was still a grieving widow back then. I was bound to loneliness, feeling like it was a tribute to Evan in some way, and then Hayden came around and shook my world up like it was a snow globe. And thank God he did.
Everything was better now. Kylee was happier and more vibrant than ever, and so was I. I woke up in the mornings excited about my day. I no longer feared my life falling apart, but treasured the time I did have with the people I loved because that was the only way to live. We couldn’t get lost time back. We simply couldn’t. And I refused to live a life anything less than extraordinary because I was afraid of losing it.
Hayden’s father and I, it turned out, had a lot in common. He took to Kylee right away when he first met her, but things had been a little awkward between him and me at the start. I wasn’t sure how to behave around him. I felt like I needed to assert my loyalty to Hayden. But Hayden, the wise man he was, pulled me aside and told me to just be myself.
When I relaxed a little bit, his father and I hit it off right away. We shared stories of fearing for Hayden when he went into work, and having an ally in that made things a little easier somehow. Kylee suddenly had someone who was like a grandfather to her, and over the last six months, she had slept over at his place two times. Her birthday was three weeks away, and he had offered his home to use the pool and invite her friends and their parents over. It was going to be a big event, and he insisted on taking care of everything.
My life, it seemed, had suddenly been tied up with a nice pretty bow. The fear and the loneliness were gone. All that was left was to enjoy the people I was surrounded by.
Hayden came out of the bathroom and picked up the condom wrapper on the floor. He put it on the nightstand and opened the drawer.
“Don’t put that wrapper back in there,” I said. “I’ve found a couple empty ones since somebody started spending the night.”
Hayden snickered and shook his head. “I’m not, miss bossy pants. I had to grab something. I want to show you this.”
I sat up, but he shook his head and climbed back up on the bed. He laid down beside me. I could see something blue in his hand, and I made a swipe for it.
“Tsk, tsk,” he said. “Patience.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“Well,” he said slowly, “it’s our next step.”
I blinked at him. “Next step?”
He pulled his hand from behind his back and held it out to me. He uncurled his fingers, revealing a royal blue velvet box. I stared down at it as my heart began thundering in my chest. My blood rushed in my ears. My breath hitched in my throat. “Hayden…”
“Mel, I’ve loved you since Derek told me you came to visit me in the hospital. And I loved you even more when you left me because you showed me how strong of a woman you were. How ruthless you were in protecting your daughter. I can’t imagine my life without you. I don’t want to. But I can imagine you as my wife.” Hayden popped open the ring box.
I stared down at it in complete awe as the light from the windows caught the diamonds. Little shards of light shot out of it to dance across my walls and ceiling. It was an elegant ring with a single diamond in the middle and smaller diamonds all along the band. It had a sweeping cut to the band that made it very romantic looking.
“Melissa O’Bannon, will you marry me?”
A sob escaped me, and I started nodding. My hair fell in front of my eyes, and I brushed it away in frustration to watch as Hayden plucked the ring from the box and held it out to me. I offered him my left hand, which was shaking terribly, and he slid the ring onto my ring finger. It fit me perfectly.
I let out an excited cry and threw my hands around his shoulders.
He laughed and wrapped his arms around me. He nuzzled his face into the groove of my shoulder as I slipped my fingers into his hair.
When we pulled apart, I rained kisses on him, and he laughed. “I have to tell you, tonight was sort of planned,” he said.
“Sorry?” I asked, sniffling as I tried to recover from the sudden waterworks.
“Tara and Kylee knew all along that I was asking you to marry me today. The dinner is to celebrate.”
I cupped his face in my hands. “You are the most wonderful man I’ve ever met. And I can’t wait to marry you. In the fall. When it’s not so humid. And I can wear a big dress and a veil.”
He laughed. “Whatever you want.”
“Whatever I want?”
He rolled on top of me and pinned me down. “You heard me, fiancée.”
“I like the sound of that.” I smiled up at him. Then I cocked my head to the side. “Melissa Miller. Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”
“Hell yeah,” he said. “Now brace yourself. I still plan on spending the rest of the day between those legs of yours.”
“Yes, sir.”
My heart fluttered as he pressed his soft lips to mine. I hooked my arms around his neck and held him to me, basking in this sweet, bright moment for just a little bit longer. Because I knew we would never get it back. And that was okay.
Because we were going to make so many wonderful memories together. His job caused the night to be on fire at times, but the love between us would light up my night… forever.
The End
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About the Author
Hey there. I'm Weston.
I'm a former firefighter/EMS guy who's picked up the proverbial pen and started writing bad boy romance stories. I co-write with my sister, Ali Parker as we travel the United States for the next two years.
You're going to find Billionaires, Bad Boys, Mafia and loads of sexiness. Something for everyone, hopefully. I'd love to connect with you. Check out the links below and come find me.
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The Parker’s Wicked Playground
Light Up The Night
Copyright © 2018 by Weston Parker
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
The novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and plot are all either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons – living or dead – is purely coincidental.
First Edition.
Cover Designer: Ryn Katryn Digital Art
Light Up The Night: A Bad Boy Firefighter Novel Page 21