“Let’s talk then,” I said as we both sat down.
Bristol drew in a deep breath and let it out.
“The first thing I wanted to tell you was I’m sorry about Josh.”
I shook my head and held up my hands. “No. Bri, don’t. You had every right to move on, and I guess if you were going to move on with someone, I’m glad it was a friend of mine. As much as I want to pound his face in for touching you, I get it. I walked away from Comfort, and for most folks it was like a slap in the face. That includes Josh. I never kept in touch with anyone back home. It was just a whirlwind for me in Nashville after I signed that record deal.”
“Anson, you have to know that Josh and I didn’t have anything like what you and I shared. He knew there wasn’t a future for us. But he did look at rings, and he was going to ask me to marry him. When I found out, I broke things off with him immediately.”
“Why didn’t you think the relationship could be anything more?” I asked.
Her eyes met mine, and she let out a small laugh. “That’s easy to answer. He wasn’t you.”
My heart jumped in my chest, and I pulled her onto my lap so that she was straddling me.
“I’ve missed you so fucking much. I don’t care about the past, and I don’t want to talk about it anymore. We both did and said things that we can’t change. We went about doing things completely backassward. I think we both realize that.”
She nodded.
I pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear. “I want to focus on what’s ahead for us. What we can be together.”
Her teeth dug into her lip, once more. I saw the uncertainty in her eyes. I just wasn’t sure what she felt uncertain about. The look left as quickly as it had showed up.
When she wrapped her arms around my neck, we both smiled.
“Do you want to fool around?” she asked.
I lifted a brow. “Does it involve you getting naked?”
“And you,” she purred.
I quickly moved and pinned her to the couch. “I like this plan.”
My mouth pressed against hers, and we were soon lost in the kiss. Her hands explored my body like mine did hers. I burned for this woman, and from the way she moaned with every kiss and touch, I knew she felt the same way.
“Please tell me you have a condom, Anson.”
I froze, then dropped my forehead to hers. “Fuck. I don’t.”
“Should we go buy some?”
Laughing, I asked. “Do you really want folks to see us walking into Lowes Food Mart and buying condoms? For one, I may be stoned for trying to corrupt the princess of Comfort, and two, I may just simply be stoned.”
She giggled. “I am not the princess of Comfort. What are you talking about?”
I rolled my eyes. “Please. I’ve only been home a couple of weeks, and do you know how many people have told me all you do for the community? Not to mention, a few older women have made it known that it was for the best that I left Comfort since you were finally able to thrive with me gone.”
Her mouth fell open. “Who said that?”
I shrugged and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “No one important, and if Grams ever found out, she’d throw the offender out of her circle of friends.”
Bristol’s smile faded, and she pushed on my chest. “We need to talk about something else.”
I sat up, feeling my cock strain against my jeans. “Will it lead to us not having sex right now?”
“No, but unless you plan on being creative, we can’t have sex with no condom.”
“Ha. It’s called pulling out, Sweetheart.”
Her brow lifted. “Are you sure you’d be able to?”
I gave her a hurtful expression. “So little faith in my abilities, Darlin’.”
She rolled her eyes. “Let me see if Mindy has any.”
Bristol got up in search of her phone. When she came back, she dropped onto the sofa and sighed heavily. She was putting something off. I could tell. Just what it was, though, I wasn’t sure.
“No luck?”
She handed me her phone, and I read the texts. One was to Mindy. Bristol had asked if she had any condoms.
Mindy: I’m pregnant. Do you really think I’d have some lying around? Obviously that horse already left the barn.
The next was a text she sent her brother.
“You asked your brother to buy condoms?”
She shrugged.
I groaned. “Great. Just when I was positive he wasn’t going to beat my ass for breaking your heart, now he’ll beat my ass for trying to have safe sex with you.”
The smile on her face had my insides warming. Not in a sexual way, but more like a happy bubble growing in my chest.
“I guess this gives us time to talk about whatever it was you wanted to discuss,” I said.
“Ugh. Yes. I guess we do need to talk about it.”
She turned and faced me as she crossed her legs. “We were set up by Ida.”
“Set up?” I asked.
Bristol nodded. “Annie did indeed ask to have dinner with you. But Ida quickly changed things around by informing her about our past relationship. She came up with a plan, which Annie went along with. It was why she suggested I come to dinner. Ida had already booked the room before we even got to the hotel, Anson. Then, she got not only your mother, but my mother involved.”
My stomach dropped. “That makes more sense.”
Bristol frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You didn’t think it was weird that the food we had delivered was the exact same food that, I know for a fact, we both liked at that wedding? Then the clothes. Your outfit, right down to your shoes, was the right size.”
Her eyes widened, and she slapped me on the shoulder. “I thought that too! I couldn’t figure out how Annie knew. I’m positive that little bit of information came from my mother.”
“And my mother!” I nearly shouted. “She was involved too?”
“Not at first, but then she got onboard.”
“Did they tell you this?”
She shook her head. “No. Mindy said Ida told her.”
I pushed my fingers through my hair. Why couldn’t they keep out of my business? I would have worked this all out with Bristol if they’d just trusted me.
“I’m sorry they stuck their noses in,” I said, “I swear to you I didn’t know anything about it.”
Bristol looked taken aback. “Anson, I knew you weren’t a part of it. I never once thought you were.”
With a frustrated sigh, I shook my head. “Why couldn’t they have just left it up to us? We would have worked it out.”
She nodded. “I wasn’t planning on saying anything to them. I was angry at first, but I truly believe their hearts were in the right place.”
There was a knock on Bristol’s door, and then it opened. Drake walked in, not looking very pleased.
“Hello, you’re just going to walk in? What if we were otherwise occupied?” Bristol said.
He shot his sister a smirk. “Not without these, Sis. Besides, I knocked first.”
He looked at me, and I felt the intensity in his eyes. He threw me a bag, and I was almost positive I heard him snarl before he pointed to his sister.
“Do not ask me ever again to buy you condoms.” He gagged. Before he turned to leave, he shot me the finger. As he walked out the door he shouted, “I’m glad y’all worked it out! Don’t knock up my sister, asshole.”
I laughed, but it quickly faded when I looked at Bristol. She stared at the door, her face white as a ghost.
“Hey, are you okay?”
She laughed. “I’m just surprised he bought them! And his last comment threw me. If he only knew.”
I tossed the bag of condoms onto the coffee table, then reached for her hands and took them both in mine.
“Bri, are you worried you might be pregnant?”
Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. “No! I mean, how would you feel if I was?”
“Have you taken a test?”
She shook her head. “No, I haven’t.”
“I mean, we’d deal with it if that was what happened.”
“Deal with it,” she whispered.
“That’s not what I mean. If…if it happened, you and I will work it out. Okay?”
She smiled, and when it reached her eyes, I nearly sighed out loud in relief.
“Now, where were we with the fooling around? We have a lot of time to make up for.”
Heat flashed in her eyes. It took everything I had not to pounce on her like an animal. Slowly, I raised my hand and placed it on the side of her face.
“I want you, Bri. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about your touch for the last week. I’ve nearly gone mad. If I’m being honest, a piece of me has been missing since the moment I pulled away from your folks’ house and left for Nashville. I don’t want to live this life without you anymore. You’re the air that I breathe.”
“Now I see why you’ve won songwriter of the year awards, Anson.”
I laughed. “Someone been keeping tabs on me?”
Her gaze met mine. “I want to show you something.”
She stood and took my hand. We walked over to a cabinet, and she opened the drawer and withdrew a large box. When she handed it to me, she smiled sheepishly. Her cheeks turned pink, and I wanted to pull her into my arms and crush my mouth against hers.
“What is this?” I asked.
“Open it,” she said as she sat on the Victorian sofa and looked up at me. I took the seat next to her, placed the box on the table, and opened it.
My eyes nearly popped out of my head. The first things I saw were my three albums.
“I opened them and read the dedications, but I’ve already told you that.”
With a nod, I set them each on the table. My hands shook as I took out the large scrapbook. My throat thickened, and I fought to keep my emotions at bay. I was staring at the last thing I ever expected from the woman I walked away from six years ago.
Bristol
I SAW HIS throat work as he attempted to speak.
“I’ve tried to keep track of everything. You’ve accomplished so much that I’m sure I’m missing some, but not much. Any articles I found I printed out and kept in here.”
Anson slowly looked at me. “Why?”
I lifted my shoulder into a half-shrug. “I wanted to. Anson, I never doubted once that you could make it. I knew you could—it was just a matter of how long it would take. I don’t think anyone anticipated how fast your career would take off.”
“That stupid song,” he mumbled.
A small, humorless laugh slipped free as I said, “Obviously not my favorite of yours, but you knew that too.”
“And it’s the reason you never listened to any of my songs.”
I hadn’t wanted to admit it, but, “Yes, it was the reason.”
“I’m so sorry for all the backlash you had to go through with that stupid song.”
I took his hand in mine. “Don’t say that. It was that song that made you famous. Don’t ever regret it. And trust me when I say that it takes a lot for me to say that. I despise that song.”
He laughed. “I do too.”
“Is that why you changed up how you end your concerts?”
Anson lifted a brow. “It’s sort of turning me on that you keep tabs on me, Bri.”
I laughed.
“Maybe this is the time I should admit I pull up your Instagram page and check it at least once a day.”
My mouth nearly dropped open. “You do not.”
“I do. Usually after I get offstage and get back onto the bus with Zeus.”
We both looked around for said dog. “Where is he?” I asked.
“You don’t have a door or anything opened, do you?”
I stood and started to search the house. I quickly found him passed out on my bed.
“He is for sure your dog,” I mused.
Anson laughed and then pulled me into his arms. “I love that you kept a book about me. Thank you.”
“I love that you check my Instagram.”
He raised his hand and tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear once more. “I never stopped loving you, Bri.”
My breathing deepened. “I never stopped loving you either.”
He smiled, and in that moment, I needed to have him inside of me like I needed my next breath.
“Maybe you should call the dog off the bed so we can make up for lost time.”
A wickedly handsome grin moved across his face. “Zeus, off!”
The dog lifted his head, then dropped it back onto my pillow. I couldn’t help but giggle.
“Zeus! Off!”
The dog ignored Anson.
“He has never once ignored me like this. That little bastard!”
That made Zeus raise his head and bark at Anson.
“I think you have a rather smart dog on your hands, Anson.”
“You have no idea. Spoiled too.”
He pulled my body to his and slowly backed me up until I hit the bottom of the bed. He lifted my shirt over my head and tossed it to the floor, then kissed me. It wasn’t any old kiss. It was a kiss that made me melt from the inside out. Passionate, yet full of love. Sexy, yet gentle. His fingers softly stroked my neck. I was going to combust on the spot with the way my body was heating up.
His kisses moved down to my neck, and I felt my hands lift his T-shirt up. He reached behind, yanking it off and dropping it near mine.
My hands moved lazily up his chest. God, he was built. The man must work out every damn day. His massive chest flexed under my touch, and it took everything I had not to let my legs go weak.
“Lie down on the bed.”
His voice was soft but commanding. I felt my panties dampen instantly.
“What about Zeus?” I asked with a smile.
Anson looked at me like a man who wanted something desperately. Without taking his eyes off of me, he said again, “Zeus. Off. Now!”
The dog got up and jumped off the bed. I pressed my lips together tightly to keep from laughing.
Anson smiled and then winked at me. Good Lord, the man knew how to make me want him.
As I climbed onto my king-size bed, I watched as Anson kicked off his boots, removed his jeans, and then pushed off his boxer briefs. My mouth watered at the sight of him. He was beyond perfect. From his fit body up to his cobalt blue eyes and almost black hair.
He smiled as he crawled onto the bed and pulled my yoga pants and panties down like it was nothing. I sat up and pulled off the sports bra I had on and tossed it.
“Maybe I should take a shower, I did just get back from running.”
He kissed the area above my belly button, and I simply dropped back onto the bed and sighed. “Or maybe not.”
When his mouth went to my nipple, I swear to God, I actually purred. He sucked and gently bit while his other hand massaged my breasts.
“Anson,” I panted as I lifted my hips upward.
“In a hurry?” he asked as he let go of my nipple and smiled at me.
“Yes. I need to feel you inside of me. Please.”
He quickly got off of me. “I need to go get a condom.”
I giggled as he ran out of my room butt-ass naked.
When he walked back into my bedroom, I heard him tearing open the box of condoms. I watched as he rolled it on, then climbed back onto the bed and positioned himself between my legs.
“I really hope I can last more than two minutes.”
I laughed, then gasped when he pushed inside of me. A low groan slipped from between his lips as he sank into the hilt.
“God, you feel so damn good,” Anson said as he slowly moved.
My hands gripped his ass, hoping to urge him to go faster. Take more of me. I needed so much more of him.
“More. Please,” I begged.
He lifted back onto his knees and gave me what I asked for. When he touched my clit, that was all it took. I felt my orgasm hit instantly. I cried out his name as I met h
im thrust for thrust.
“Oh, yeah, that feels so good!” Anson cried out as I squeezed around him. He moved over me and grabbed under my ass. The weight of him on me and the angle in which he was making love to me caused another orgasm to race through me.
I clamped my hand over my mouth as the urge to scream out from my orgasm hit me.
“Let me…hear you!” Anson panted.
My hand dropped away, and I was positive I saw stars. “Yes, oh, God, yes.”
I felt him grow bigger inside me as he lifted up and looked into my dazed eyes.
“Bri, I’m going to come.”
I wrapped my legs tightly around him and felt his body jerk when his own orgasm started.
Anson slowed down until he stilled. He stayed inside of me, his head buried in my neck, just like last weekend. Only this time, he hadn’t come inside me, but in the condom instead.
A strange sensation moved over me at the thought. I brushed it aside and moved my fingers lazily over his back as I settled into my after-orgasm euphoria.
Anson gently pulled out of me, rolled over, and took off his condom. He reached for a tissue and then got up to head to my bathroom. I followed him, wanting to clean up.
“Wait there, I’ll bring a cloth to clean you.”
“I was going to take a shower,” I said.
He smiled. “I’ll join you.”
While sex with Anson in the shower would have been amazing, we hadn’t thought to bring in another condom. So instead, Anson washed every inch of my body then lifted my leg to give me another mind-blowing orgasm with his mouth. At one point, I was positive my legs would buckle. Thank God he was holding me up.
“I…I can’t stand. Anson, stop!”
He laughed and kept up with the relentless licking and sucking. My orgasm felt like it lasted forever and a day. When it was done, I actually went limp in his arms.
“My new favorite thing, giving you oral sex in the shower,” he said as he kissed me deeply.
I smiled and tried to get my breathing—and the ability to hold my own weight—under control.
After we both dried off, we found ourselves back in my bed. I lay with my body half on his, my cheek resting on him as I played with the dark hair on his chest.
“Do you feel like going out?” he asked.
Turning, I rested my chin on the back of my hand. “Go out where?”
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