For the Love of Gracie (The Southern Devotion Series)

by McClung, Amy

  His arm snaked around my waist, pulling me against him. "Something to look forward to." He leaned down and captured my mouth with his.

  I pulled away and led him to the bedroom. "I'm going to take care of you for a bit right now. Do you trust me to shave your face?"

  He nodded. "Of course." I slipped my jeans off and threw on a long t-shirt that I didn't mind getting wet or dirty. And by wet and dirty, I meant with water and shaving cream of course.

  Leading him to the bathroom, I grabbed some shaving cream and razors. At first, I stood in front of him and began to slather his face with shaving cream. Ashton wrapped his arm around my waist and lifted me up onto the vanity. I squealed because I wasn’t expecting it.

  He chuckled. "I love that little squeak you do when you're startled."

  "This is much easier to reach you," I said. I opened my legs and pulled him closer.

  "I was thinking it was easier to reach you actually," he said, as his hands moved up my thighs.

  "You be good," I said, teasingly, pointing my finger at him as if he was being scolded.

  "Being bad is much more fun." He winked and nipped at my finger. Pulling it back, I squeaked, and received a hearty burst of laughter from him.

  His face was slathered; I grabbed a razor and rinsed it before holding it up to him. "Ready?"

  He nodded and puffed his cheeks out to make his skin taut. My tongue rested between my lips as I trailed the razor across his face.

  "You look so cute all focused," he said. His hand slid further up my thigh causing me to bite my lip.

  He smirked. "You're voracious, Gracie."

  I laughed. "Why do you say that?"

  He leaned forward. "Because you bite your lip when you're turned on. If I'd known that from the day we first met, I'd have picked up your signals better."

  I smiled as I felt the blush heat my face.

  The left side of his face was done. there were just a few spots of cream left on his cheek. I turned to rinse the razor and felt his thumb press against my panties and I gasped. He traced his thumb back and forth across my wet spot. "Your face is only half done."

  He shrugged. "What's your point?"

  As I went back to the other side of his face, his thumb slid inside my panties. I bit my lip harder as my breathing increased. My hand needed to be steady so I wouldn't cut him or shave the beard completely off; I was just trimming it. I breathed out. "Ash, you're making this hard for me."

  He leaned forward, with a wicked sexy grin and said, "It's pretty hard for me, too."

  My eyes drifted down to see the bulge in his pants; at the same time, his thumb found my swollen nub and his motion increased. I dropped the razor in the sink and leaned back against the mirror.

  I pressed my palms on the mirror behind me as my back arched against his touch. He leaned over me, pressing his mouth against my neck. My body now was covered in beads of sweat. Ashton's tongue made circles against my skin.

  "I love the taste of your skin." Ashton's voice, his warm breath against my skin, made my arousal heighten. His thumb continued to massage as he slipped two fingers inside me.

  I moaned. "Ash, I'm getting close."

  His hand cupped my chin as he said, "I want to see your eyes as you climax."

  That was all I needed; my body trembled. He pulled my body against his, staring into my eyes as the tremors took over.

  When my body finally calmed, I reached for his belt. His hands stopped me. "That was for you. I owed you one for the morning you gave me."

  I reached down and palmed him. "But what about this, doesn’t it hurt?"

  He pressed against my hand and sighed. "I'll be alright. I liked pleasing you. It was amazing to watch." His lips pressed lightly against mine as he said, "You're the sexiest woman in the world."

  As he pulled away, I grinned. "Even with shaving cream all over me?"

  His lips turned up in a sinful way. "It's only on the t-shirt, we can remedy that right now."

  He lifted the shirt off of me and his mouth found my nipple, causing a low moan to leave my throat. He growled my name, sending vibrations over my breast. My fingers wound in his hair, pulling him closer. I wrapped my legs around him and pulled his body against me. His arousal pressed up against mine; I pushed myself forward. He moaned against my chest.

  I whispered, "Still just want to please me?"

  Keeping his lips on my breast, he reached between our bodies and unzipped his pants. My back arched again as he entered me. Ashton was so wound up, and it had been so long, that he hit his peak at the same time my body shuddered with my second release.

  The next evening, Mary Jane came over to get ready for her date with Derrick. We closed ourselves into the bedroom to get her ready. "I'm so nervous, Gracie," she said as I was brushing her hair.

  "If he's anything like Ash, you'll be comfortable with him in no time. How did it go the other night?"

  She grinned. "Fantastic. He's a great dad, which is amazing for someone his age. He's funny, smart and un-freaking-believably gorgeous."

  I laughed. "Un-freaking-believably? That's pretty hot."

  We were laughing when Ashton poked his head in the room. "Ladies, Derrick and Katelyn are here."

  My hand was on MJ's shoulder and I felt her tense. I put my finger up to Ash asking for a minute. He nodded as he closed the door to give us privacy.

  "Still nervous?" I asked.

  "A little," she said. "You know me, Gracie. Guys like Derrick don't ask me out often. The ones that do, I usually don’t trust that they actually find me attractive. The only reason I'm not more nervous about this, is that you know him. What if I'm boring?"

  I laughed, "MJ, I've known you for several years and you've never been boring. And don't lump Derrick into a group of other guys. We both know he's special."

  "I've never…you know," she said, nervously.

  "There is nothing wrong with being a virgin, MJ. In fact, if I had waited a couple of months, Ash would have been the only guy I'd been with and I wish that were the case."

  Her mouth fell open in surprise. "Hudson was your first?"

  I nodded. "Unfortunately. I had fooled around with guys, but never did more than that before Hudson."

  She glanced down and asked quietly, "Why him? Did you feel like he was special?"

  I sighed. "No. I wish I could take it back now. I had come to the conclusion that sex was no big deal and I should just do it already. It's now a huge regret for me. Don't let that happen to you."

  Mary Jane fidgeted. "I don’t want to run him off though."

  I put my hand on her shoulder. "Sweetie, Derrick is a good guy. He'd never push you to do something you aren’t ready for, I'm confident of that."

  She grinned. "I wish I was more like you, G."

  I shook my head. "No you don’t. I'm a mess. If I hadn’t thought Ashton was gay, I'd still be dating jerks. I'm so screwed up in the head."

  Mary Jane nudged me playfully and said, "Who isn't?"

  She had no clue how messed up I was since she didn’t know about the rape or my suicide attempt. One day I would need to confide both secrets to Angel and Mary Jane. I was hoping that therapy would allow me to talk about it with my friends a little more.

  "Come on, let's not keep him waiting."

  "Give me one second?"

  It was a simple request; I stepped out of the bedroom. Derrick looked up with excitement and then disappointment when he saw me. "Wow. Way to make a girl feel good," I stated sarcastically.

  He grinned. "Sorry, nothing personal, Gracie. Is something wrong with MJ?"

  I shook my head. "She needed a minute, that's all." His pearly whites glistened as his smile illuminated the room. I followed his gaze to see MJ stepping out of the bedroom.

  Derrick stepped forward with a single flower, a pink carnation. "You look amazing. I picked this one because you said your favorite color is pink and roses seem cliché."

  She smiled. "I love it. I can't believe you remembered my favorite color."


  "Pink isn't exactly a stretch for favorite color when it comes to women," Ash said teasingly.

  I nudged him with my elbow; he chuckled in response. Derrick discreetly scratched his head with his middle finger sticking up towards Ashton.

  Ash snickered. "Mature, man."

  Derrick knelt down. "Katelyn, can I have a hug, baby girl?"

  Katelyn ran to hug his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She went to MJ next for a hug. MJ bent to meet her embrace as Katelyn whispered, "You look pretty."

  MJ whispered back, "Thanks sweetie." Derrick held his hand out for MJ. She took it and turned to me with a wink. I smiled and gave her a thumbs-up for luck.

  Ashton had Katelyn in his lap, on the couch. I sat next to them. "What would you like to do Miss Katie?"

  She shied away from me, pressing her face against Ash's neck. Ashton kissed her cheek.

  "Are you going to be shy for Gracie?"

  She nodded.

  He chuckled and tickled her stomach causing her to have a fit of giggles.

  Ashton nodded his head for me to scoot closer. "Katelyn, you know how your daddy is your favorite person in the world?"

  She nodded excitedly.

  "Well, Gracie is my favorite person in the world."

  There is nothing he could have said that would have warmed my heart more than that.

  Katelyn's eyes became large. "She is?" She leaned down and whispered, "She's very pretty."

  He replied in a whisper, "I think so too."

  I blushed as he turned and winked at me. Ashton's phone rang. He smirked knowingly.

  "You answer that, Boo. You know it's your dad checking in."

  Katelyn answered and it was, in fact, Derrick. Ashton laughed. "He calls to check on her every hour when he's gone. He's so whipped."

  I smiled. "That's sweet."

  He nodded in agreement. "He's a good dad. I'm proud of him."

  "Let's head downstairs and watch a movie," Ash suggested once the phone call ended.

  Katelyn looked up and said, "Can we watch Brave?"

  He scrunched up his nose in thought and said, "Well…I guess so."

  She cheered and he carried her downstairs while I made popcorn and drinks. My phone beeped with a text from Angel.

  I sent a text to Ash letting him know I'd be a few minutes. "Hey Angel, what's up sweets?"

  She sounded slightly relieved. "I called to check on you. Cameron told me about the webcam. Are you alright?"

  Plopping down on the couch, I pulled my legs up underneath myself. "I'm fine, sweetie. I'm at Ash's; we're babysitting his niece right now. Look, I want you and MJ to stay with us at his house for a bit."

  Angel protested, "You know I like my own space."

  "I know. I'm worried about Hudson coming there for me, though, and I don't want you or MJ getting hurt. Please, Angel."

  She sighed. "What about if Cameron and Gavin come stay here, in your room?"

  I thought about it a moment. "I guess there is something to be said for safety in numbers. Fine. Promise me, though, if you hear anything out of Hudson you'll call me."

  Angel agreed to let me know immediately if there was trouble. While I had her on the phone, I sent a text to Cameron to work out him moving in. He decided to use it as practice to see if he could live with Gavin.

  After hanging up with Angel, I skipped down the stairs to join Ash and Katelyn. When I reached the bottom step, Katelyn was laying up against Ash's chest with her head resting on his shoulder. They were both sound asleep. I bent down next to the couch and stared at the adorable sight in front of me.

  Ashton stirred slightly. His eyes opened and he smiled at me. "You look so cute I didn’t want to disturb you."

  He shifted to lay her on the couch and waved me over. "Aww, I liked seeing her in your arms."

  He grinned. "I love when she falls asleep like that. She snores quietly in my ear and it's the cutest thing. The downside is she's warm and it gets sweaty. Besides with this cast it feels more confined than usual."

  His arm wrapped around me as I leaned against him, pulling my knees up to my chest. He kissed my head. "What took you so long up there?"

  I chuckled. "Did you miss me?"

  He rubbed my arm. "Always."

  "Angel called. She refuses to move in, but came up with a plan to have Cameron and Gavin stay there for a bit."

  He responded, "Do you think that's a good idea? Hudson gave Cameron a pretty good beating before."

  "Safety in numbers, I believe. If Hudson is watching the house and sees that I'm not there, he won't go there, most likely."

  Katelyn rolled over, rubbing her eyes and shifting her body on the couch. Her mouth fell open as she began to snore again.

  I smiled, "She is so beautiful."

  Ashton reached for my hand, "So we haven't talk about our future much, do you want kids?"

  Turning to face him, I draped my legs over his and pressed my hand against his heart. "I'd love to have kids with you."

  "You didn’t want them before?" he asked.

  I shook my head. "It's not that. I've always loved children. It never seemed like marriage or a family was in my future though. I've dated a lot of jerks, none that I saw the possibility of a future with."

  He smiled. "I can't wait to see you pregnant. I know you will be even more radiant than you are now. Not that I am rushing us to have kids. I'd like to have a few years to travel, do things we want to do, you know?"

  "Sounds amazing." I said, sincerely.

  He took my hand, running his thumb across my ring finger. "What about getting married? Did you mean it that day at the park? If I proposed, you'd say yes?"

  Katelyn whimpered in her sleep and it turned into a sob. I moved, to allow Ashton to get up and check on her.

  His phone rang and he laughed. "That's Derrick. Somehow he always knows when she is in distress, I swear he has surveillance on this kid."

  "Hey Derrick," I answered.

  "Gracie, is my girl alright?"

  I glanced over to see Katelyn snuggled in Ash's arms as he sang softly to her. His voice was soft and low. She had stopped crying and was falling asleep again. Her tiny arms were gripping his neck as he placed kisses in her hair.

  "She had a bad dream it seems. Ash has her almost to sleep again."

  "We'll be back shortly. Give her a kiss for me," he said.

  "I will. It's going well, right?"

  He sighed. "Yeah, definitely. MJ is in the restroom right now. I gotta tell you Gracie, I've never had so much in common with someone. She's amazing. She's so funny, too. Hopefully she's enjoying her time with me as well. She gets a little quiet at times."

  "Be patient with her. She's been very nervous about this date. I know she's really into you. She's been hurt a lot, so she is pretty cautious."

  He cleared his throat. "She's on her way back. Thanks Gracie, that made me feel better."

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  An hour later, we heard the car pull up into the driveway. We had moved upstairs to the living room, Katelyn still slept peacefully in Ash's arms. After a few minutes, they still hadn’t made it to the door. "Maybe that wasn’t them?"

  Ashton seemed confused. "It sounded too close to be anyone else. I'll look outside." He gently placed Katelyn on the couch, careful not to disturb her sleep.

  When he opened the door, I saw the back of Mary Jane's head, with Derrick's hand pressed against it, as they shared a very passionate kiss. I squealed excitedly. He motioned for me to quiet down, laughing at my giddiness. As he was shutting the door, they came up for air. Derrick peered around MJ's head and blushed when he saw us watching.

  I waved. "Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt."

  Mary Jane turned and was blushing as well.

  "Katelyn is asleep on the couch."

  Derrick stepped by me to go inside, while I slipped outside. I shut the door to speak to Mary Jane. "So? How did it go?"

  The humongous smile on her face was enough answer for me. We
both squealed with delight. I hugged her. "I'm so excited for you! So dish, how was the kiss?"

  Mary Jane beamed even more. "I'm surprised I can still stand, it was so good!"

  Derrick stepped outside once more. He smiled at Mary Jane and turned to me. "Thanks for babysitting tonight. I'll be back in the morning to take you to the range, k?"

  I nodded. "Sure."

  He glanced at MJ again and I took the hint. "I'll go inside so you two can say goodnight."

  Derrick stopped by the next morning to take me to the range. Ashton wanted to go with us, so Derrick asked MJ to go as well and make it sort of a double date. They dropped Katelyn off at his parents for the day, before picking us up.

  Ashton had the bright idea that afterward, we could go with them to get Katelyn, so he could introduce me to his parents.

  Thanks Ash, I was already nervous enough. Let’s add meeting the parents, something else I'd never done. He had wanted to introduce me to them when they came to the hospital, but I was with Cameron at my house both times they stopped in.

  My stomach was in knots as we pulled into the parking lot of the gun range. Ashton reached out for my hand when we stepped out of the car. I squeezed it tightly.

  He stepped off to the side of the walkway, pulling me to a stop with him. “You sure you want to do this bug? I won’t make you.”

  I nodded. “I know you wouldn’t. I’m nervous, but I’m going to face my fear and see how it goes.”

  When we stepped inside, it was like a normal shop. There were several counters with guns and other weapons displayed inside. The man at the counter welcomed us inside. Ashton and Derrick paid for three of us to shoot. Derrick was going to teach Mary Jane as well. She was a bit more enthusiastic about it than me. They instructed us to go down the stairs and follow the instructions listed on the wall.

  Before we went inside, we had to put our eye and ear protection on. Ashton had bought Mary Jane and I pink headsets. He placed mine over my ears and tested how much I could hear. I could still make out his voice. It was as if he were standing outside a closed window speaking to me. Next, he handed me goggles for my eyes. He motioned for me to remove the headphones for a moment.