by ANDREA SMITH
“You are so beautiful, Avery,” he murmured, his one hand reaching down to caress my bare leg. I’d worn shorts today, and as Bryce leaned down and captured my lips with his, I felt his fingers deftly unbuttoning them, lifting me up as he pulled them down to my ankles. He removed my sandals and I kicked my shorts away.
My arms snaked back around his neck as he continued to relieve me of the rest of my clothes; my panties, my top, and bra quickly followed.
The sun was warm, the humidity of the area had taken leave with the late summer storms of the night before. A soft breeze caressed my skin and I moaned as Bryce placed soft, gentle kisses on my exposed breasts. His tongue teased the nipple of one, and then moved to the other to do the same.
“Your turn now Bryce,” I murmured against his lips. “I want to see every part of what I’ve been feeling these past few weeks.”
Brazen much?
I closed my eyes and heard his soft chuckle as he pulled away from me. I let my other senses take over.
The sounds of him removing his boots; lowering the zipper on his jeans, and pulling his black tee shirt up and over his head.
The scent of his aftershave as his face was once again mere inches from mine.
The feel of his warm breath caressing my cheek; the touch of his lips moving against my skin with his softly spoken words.
“I’ve waited so long for this, Avery. I want to love every inch of you.”
My eyes fluttered open and collided with his deep blue ones. He was intense. His eyes flickered over every part of me, and my fingers traced the bulging muscles of his triceps and shoulders. I could feel his hardness against me, and every part of me burned in anticipation of what we would no longer deny ourselves. I wanted to touch him there. I needed to feel the strength of his shaft and claim it as mine.
His fingers fluttered along my belly, and he started kissing me again; my mouth, my neck, the swell of my breasts, my nipples, and then his tongue was tracing the same path his fingers just left.
Every move he made yielded undeniable pleasure. He was no novice at the art of satisfying a woman I decided. Skilled beyond his years, no doubt. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. His male scent was all over me; claiming me, marking me as his and I moaned with the anticipation of the ultimate pleasure I knew he would deliver.
I could feel the wetness at my apex, and my hips bucked up against him until his fingers found their place and I wanted to melt into his slow, deliberate touches; his fingers explored me masterfully as if he knew my most sensitive places better than I did.
My hand slid downward to find his shaft and instinctively I wrapped my hand around it. I stroked him with the same cadence as he was now stroking me with his talented fingers. He groaned in pleasure and when he did, I thrust up against his hand over and over again. He was deep inside of me now and my core ached for completion.
I moaned and gripped his erection harder, speeding up my rhythm just a bit. I needed his fulfillment now. His mouth closed over mine as his hand left me and he rolled to the side. I whimpered with his absence, right before I heard the sound of the foil packet rip. I watched as he rolled the condom down the length of his shaft, his eyes never leaving mine. They were so blue they almost looked like midnight. And his breathing was coming faster as was mine.
He now hovered above me, one hand on his shaft. My legs instinctively spread which allowed him to take his place inside them. He lowered himself down and I felt the head of his erection as he guided it towards the promised land.
I was overpowered by the need to feel him inside of me; my hands found his hips and pulled him closer, his mouth crushed mine as he pushed himself inside of me and immediately stilled. “I’m going to start this very slowly,” he whispered, his voice was gentle but urgent. “I want to enjoy being inside of you and not rush anything. You feel so fucking good, Avery. So tight. So sweet. So mine.”
And those words from him drove me to the cusp of orgasm because none like them had ever been whispered to me with such sincerity and passion.
He pulled out of me and then immediately pushed in again. My breath hitched with his fulfillment. My heart pounded as he slowly eased back out, and then pushed inside of me once again. A soft moan escaped my lips, and my mind was fuzzy with the need for more. More of him. His lips caressed mine, his breathing captured mine and our kiss fused us as one. We moved against one another faster, with deliberate need to meld into a single entity. We upped the pace. My legs locked around his hips, meeting him thrust for thrust, my tongue danced with his in perfect rhythm that was ours alone.
We moved together; my body met his in pleasured perfection. I wanted this to go on forever. I knew I would never get tired of the way Bryce felt inside of me. He whispered words against my mouth. And every kiss pulled me deeper into him.
Our bodies were in sync; our cadence was perfection. Soft moans escaped my lips; he groaned in pleasure while he continued to move in and out of me now at a faster pace. Like waves crashing against the jagged cliffs, we were joined by a physical and emotional connection that was both primal and exquisitely intimate.
We were now one.
Chapter 15
Avery
October 9th
My classes started three weeks ago and the amount of studying and projects I had been assigned were seriously cramping my romance with Bryce. I missed him like crazy. It was the second week of October, and we’d only seen each other a handful of times since Labor Day weekend.
That’s not to say we hadn’t made love again, because of course I snuck out to his cottage whenever I got the opportunity. Now that Grandma and Grandpa were back, they kept insisting I move back up to the house. I hated giving my cottage up, but there was no good reason for me to be that close to the stables since Tula and her colt, Baron, were doing just fine.
So, I’d relented and moved back into my old room at the manor. My parents were coming for a long weekend, and I was at the point I wanted Mom and Daddy to meet Bryce. Uncle Tristan sang his praises every time he came by to see his folks. Even Hannah thought I looked “well taken care of,” as she so eloquently put it. I didn’t tell her anything about Bryce and me, but she just knew. I was private about that kind of stuff, and she respected it. I think she also had a new respect for Bryce. Uncle Tristan likely started that with how he’d bragged how Bryce had stepped up to the plate with helping to deliver Baron that night.
“The boy has great instincts. I know he’s a city boy, but damn if he didn’t step up to the plate and literally get elbow deep into bringing that colt into the world.”
“Ewww, Dad, please,” Hannah had replied, making a gagging motion. “Too much information!”
“We could have lost them both,” Uncle Tristan continued, “I couldn’t have handled it by myself. Trying to keep Tula down took all the strength I had, trust me. Bryce is a good hard worker. He’s A-okay in my book.”
That had made me beam internally. I wasn’t one to openly show emotions…well, except when I was angry or scared. Those emotions were hard to hide.
I walked over to the Belle, the chilly October wind whipped around me and the smell of autumn was pungent in the air. Fall was actually my favorite season. I loved the crispness of the weather; I adored the changing color of the foliage. Halloween was my absolute favorite holiday of the year. Yeah, I know Halloween isn’t a real holiday, but to me it is.
Most everybody loves Christmas, but to me, Halloween is full of fun without the stress. You don’t have to plan for months ahead of it, you simply go with the flow. Allow your inner ghosts and goblins rule for the duration. It was all good.
As I stepped inside the horse barn, I was grabbed from behind. A blood curdling scream escaped me that wasn’t pretty. Then I heard his chuckle, and smelled his scent. I whirled around, still half-pissed that he’d taken at least five years off of my life with that stunt. Dawn had only just broken, and the lights inside the barn hadn’t been turned on yet.
&nb
sp; “Damn you, Bryce,” I hissed, half mad, half amused, “That wasn’t funny. I nearly died. Why would you do that?”
“Aww, babe, I’m sorry. Just trying to get you prepped for your favorite holiday.”
“Then please, don a Jason or a Scream mask and hit me up without sneaking up from behind in a dark empty barn.”
“Oh, you’re no fun, Avery,” he teased, his right hand tugging on my ponytail. “I thought you enjoyed spontaneity?”
“I do. But only when I know it’s coming,” I replied with a smile. “What are you doing over here so early?”
“Whoa, girl, wait a minute. You just totally annihilated the whole spontaneity concept, along with the spirit of Halloween with your last statement. Is somebody PMS’ing?”
I totally was…BUT, I wasn’t about to let him think he was right on that. “Sorry. I’m not a morning person I guess.”
“Since when?” he asked, cocking a lovely brow and looking totally delectable. “You are about to rag, aren’t you A-Girl?” he teased, pulling me in for a hug. I totally loved when he referred to me as ‘A-Girl,’ I couldn’t deny it.
“Whatever,” I replied, turning from him. “You didn’t answer my question, B-Dude,” I sparred back. I’d just invented that nickname for him, spur of the moment, but I could tell he appreciated it.
“Touché,” he replied with a smirk, planting a big kiss on my lips. “The answer to your question is that I got up early, shaved, bathed, and came down here to surprise my girl with a morning…session,” he finished with a chuckle.
“You mean a morning fuck,” I corrected.
“Damn, I love it when you talk dirty to me, babe. But I get it. You’re not in the mood. I understand. It’s all good.”
“Who said I wasn’t in the mood?” I asked, crossing my arms in front of me. “It’s PMS…fuck it out of me Bryce. Let’s see just how good you are.”
And there in the horse barn, with only the horses there to witness our coupling on a soft pile of straw, Bryce Slater did just that: he fucked me out of my mood, and at the same time, he made love to me which was so extraordinarily unique that I knew in that moment I loved him.
Yes, I loved him.
More than I ever loved Trent. No comparison. I loved Bryce like nobody’s business. But I sure as hell wasn’t about to let him know that…just yet. Girls aren’t supposed to say it first, right?
Afterwards, as we collected our discarded clothing and shoes to re-dress, I told him that my family would be coming for a visit the following weekend. “I want you to meet my family,” I explained. “They’ll be here for the whole weekend, and I want you to come to dinner. Will you?”
“Hmm,” he said, pulling his boots on, “Should I be worried about your dad gelding me?”
“Oh my God,” I squealed, falling into his lap on the floor of the barn. “I’m so proud of you, Slater! You actually used a horse term. You are my biggest achievement here, I swear!”
He laughed and it was genuine and hearty. “And you, A-Girl, are my biggest achievement here. I look forward to meeting your folks.”
Now all I needed to worry about was my dad not going all CSI on him. I swear he only faked sympathy when I told him I’d broken things off with Trent. It had been painful for me for several reasons.
First, we had a history together. First love, losing my cherry (uh…I didn’t tell Dad that part, but I think he might’ve figured it out) and as someone who always strived for success, at the age of eighteen I’d already chalked up my first relationship failure.
Sorry, but that didn’t sit well with me, and yeah, I got it. I needed to tone down that whole “striving for perfection thing,” but really, I was the middle child, so there was that whole Middle Child Syndrome thing going on with me.
My older sister, Preston, was perfection without even breaking a nail. She was tall, gorgeous, and brilliant.
And then came me. Being Girl #2, well those were definitely some difficult Jimmy Choos to fill–not that I was into all of the wardrobe, hair, and make-up thing like my older sister, I was figuratively speaking. I loved my older sister, and though we didn’t see each other that often now being that we both attended different colleges, we were still close in many ways. We just had different aspirations.
Trey Jr. followed a couple of years after me. Only son and baby of the family so of course he had his own special place. And maybe all of this was truly just feeling like I was caught in the middle because of my birth order, because I have to say, Mom and Dad had always appeared to cherish me as much as my sister and brother, but still I had this inherent need to please them.
But I was digressing here. Bryce was cool with meeting the folks, and I was more than chill with having them meet my guy. This felt real.
I kissed him one last time, stood up, and waited for him to do the same. Once he was on his feet, I playfully smacked his ass, and told him he was on the clock so it was time for him to start breaking a sweat. He was quick to reply with, “Damn girl, I broke a sweat pleasuring you just now in case you hadn’t noticed.”
He tried his best to give me a hurt look. He couldn’t pull it off, trust me.
“Cowboy up, Bryce,” I teased. “I’ll see you later tonight.”
Chapter 16
Bryce
October 14th
I’d just washed, shaved, and was pulling out some casual yet dinner-at-the-manor worthy clothes from my closet. A pair of dress trousers, polo shirt, and leather belt that matched leather loafers would have to do. Avery had said it was casual, but with her blue blood family, I wasn’t quite sure what that meant.
It was Saturday, typically my day off, but one of the full-time staff over at the Belle had called off work, so I’d filled in last minute. The money was good when that happened. Time and a half, so it was a no brainer as far as I was concerned.
I dabbed a bit of shoe polish onto one of my loafers, and then took the shoe brush to it to shine it up nicely. These loafers were about four years old. I wasn’t into business casual or formal attire. Avery had hit the nail on the head: I’d found my inner cowboy. And, to be honest, I was damn proud of it.
I was just finishing up with the other shoe when there was a knock on my door. I glanced quickly over at my nightstand and saw it was only six-thirty, so I wasn’t running late for dinner. It couldn’t possibly be Avery wanting to rip my ass for tardiness I thought, giving a soft chuckle as I headed towards the door.
It was Becky from the office over at the Belle.
“Hey Bryce,” she said, handing over an envelope, “I tried to catch you before you left today but you were too quick for me. This letter came in the other day and you haven’t stopped by the office in a few days so I thought I’d drop it off on my way out. I think it’s from your folks.”
I smiled, taking the envelope from her. I suspected Becky knew that I was still kind of estranged from my folks since she hadn’t seen too much outgoing mail from me to them in the last month or more. “Thanks Becky, I guess I need to be a bit more vigilant with my correspondence, huh?”
“Family is family,” she replied, “We can’t pick and choose so it’s best to appreciate what God blessed you with, right?”
“Right,” I replied, giving her a thumbs up. “Have a great weekend.”
“You two, Bryce. And write home, okay?”
“Will do.”
I tossed the envelope onto the countertop. I’d read it later. Right now, I needed to finish up and make tracks up to the manor. Avery had made it a point to drill into me that cocktails and appetizers were at seven; dinner at seven-thirty sharp. I’d waited for her to school me on which fork to use, but thank fuck she’d not gone on with anything other than making sure I knew the time to be there.
I pulled my leather jacket on, turned on my porch light, and locked the door behind me as I made my way down and over to Sinclair Manor.
I could handle this.
Really. I could.
Okay, so things weren’t really going that bad. I got to the manor on time. Thatcher ushered me in to where it seemed as if a grand stand full of people were already mulling around. Avery found me right away, as if she’d been worried I wouldn’t show, or be on time, or do something that might cause her family to shun me. I swear to God, that girl was all about being perfect, or maybe about being perceived as perfect. In my eyes, she was perfect. She could do no wrong. She couldn’t fuck up…no way, it just wasn’t in her genetics.
She’d come over to me, locking her arm with mine and leading me over to where a group of people were clustered, as if I were one of her prized trained horses. I didn’t mind. She was all about showing me off, the same way I’d be showing her off if the situation were reversed.
“Mom, Dad, I want you to meet Bryce Slater. Bryce, these are my parents, Trey and Tylar Sinclair.”
I immediately sized up her father which I guess was probably a “male” thing to do. “Judge Sinclair,” I greeted, holding out my hand for him to shake, “It’s a pleasure meeting you, Sir.”
I watched as he sized me up, and then a hint of a smile played on his lips, “Don’t try so hard, son. Avery is over eighteen. I couldn’t ground her even if I wanted to,” he continued, giving my hand a hearty squeeze undoubtedly waiting for me to flinch under his power.
“Good to know, Sir,” I acknowledged, “You remind me of my father.”
“Ooh, ouch!” a tall, dark haired chick with eyes that matched his and legs that seemed to go all the way to her throat said. “I don’t think Bryce was complimenting you, Daddy,” she said with a laugh. She held her hand out to me, forcing Judge Sinclair to release mine. “I’m Preston, the older sister. Don’t let Daddy intimidate you, it’s that “judge” thing he has going on. He doesn’t know when to shut it off, I’m afraid.”