by BJ Harvey
“Are you going to come in, or just stand there and watch?” she murmurs, continuing with her task and not stopping to look. I can tell she’s affected though. Her rosy pink nipples are drawn tight, her breathing labored.
That spurs me into action. I step inside the shower, closing the door behind me, steam swirling around us. I reach for her hips and slide my hands slowly up her sides. My thumbs graze the underside of her perfect breasts, making her breath catch as she turns in my arms, pressing her back and delectable ass against me.
“Your mom called…” she says
“Mm-hmm…”
“She asked if we wanted to go to church with her this morning.”
My hands still for a second before taking slow, measured glides up and down her back. Dipping my head, I bury my face in her coconut-smelling hair. “I’d rather worship at home.”
“I may have said something similar…” she muses.
“I can still have you screaming the Lord’s name in minutes,” I rasp into her ear, catching the lobe between my teeth and tugging.
Faith tilts her head to the side to give me more room as my lips dance over her skin to her soft neck. “God, that feels good,” she moans.
“See? Saying his name already and I haven’t even made you come yet.”
Without warning, Faith grabs one of my hands from her hip and dives it down between her thighs so we’re both cupping her sex.
“Feel free to get right on that,” she says, and I can hear the smile in her voice. I cup her jaw and turn her face towards me so I can claim her mouth, driving my tongue inside to slide against hers at the same time as I flex the heel of my hand against her clit. I roll my wrist, rocking back and forth before ever-so-slowly easing one finger inside her scorching heat.
She reaches behind and between us and wraps her fingers around my cock. Her teeth dig into her plump bottom lip as she lowers her lids. Her lips press against my throat, her panting breaths caressing my sensitized skin. “I forgot about this,” she breathes.
I chuckle, unable to hold back a satisfied smirk. “It hasn’t gotten any bigger since the last time you saw it. Believe me, I’ve measured.” Her eyes snap open as she jerks her head back and narrows her gaze on mine. “I meant the perfect feel of you in my hand. But wait, you measured it?”
My slow-growing grin is my answer. It was only once. What can I say? I’m a man of my word.
When Faith runs her fingers over the head of my cock and smirks at me, her glazed eyes all-knowing, I decide it’s time to keep my promise to make her come with my hands. At least the first time, anyway. The next time I’m going to be buried deep inside her, and I’ll be doing it right along with her.
I grit my teeth and shift my hips out of reach. She huffs adorably, a sound that turns into a soft moan that makes my cock throb. I press the pad of my thumb to her clit, moving the tip in dizzying circles. She bucks her hips against me, riding my two fingers, clenching tight. Her entire body goes taut, and she gasps for breath. Her fingers grab hold of my hair, crushing her lips to mine and crying out my name—not God’s—into my mouth as she falls hard over the edge.
I ease my fingers slowly out then back in, bringing her back down to Earth as her limp body sags against mine. I brace my knees to take her weight, thankful for the fact we have endless hot water now.
When she opens her eyes and looks at me, the love I see shining there has my chest threatening to burst. The mere thought of this woman is enough to ruin the strongest of men. Having her naked, happy, and sated in my arms is better than any memory or dream I could have ever conjured up.
I kiss her again, not wanting to stop, knowing I don’t have to.
She’s mine in every way possible again.
Pulling apart, she turns in my arms, lifting her hands to frame the back of my head. She touches the tip of her nose to mine.
“You spoiled my fun,” she says with a pout, her bright eyes giving her away.
“Are you complaining?”
“About you not letting me make you come? Yes,” she huffs.
I drop my hands to her ass, pull her in tight, and rock my hard cock against her. “Oh, you’re going to make me come all right, and it’ll be when my cock is buried so deep inside you, you won’t ever imagine another moment without us being together again.”
I don’t mean for it to sound as possessive as it does, but that’s not to say it’s not true. Her eyes flash, but then she’s kissing me again. Her tongue is waging a war that I’m more than happy to let her win, especially because the way she’s attacking me now means we’ll all come out on top in the end… or I’ll come while on top.
Grabbing her hips, I lift up at the same time as she jumps. Her arms tightly clench around my back as I lean over with one arm and shut off the water. Pressing the door open with my elbow, I reach for a towel before carrying Faith out of the bathroom.
“Wait, we’ll ruin the bed.”
“Fuck the bed. Better still, fucking you while ruining anything will make any expense worth it.”
Before she can say another word, I cradle the back of her head in my hand, put a knee to the bed, and together, we bounce onto the mattress.
Then we’re all over each other. There’s kissing, hands, moans, groans, teeth, tongues, and doing everything and anything possible to drive the other one crazy with lust. I straddle her legs and bend my neck to suck her nipple between my lips, pulling hard like I know she used to like. Her back arched so high she’s damn near levitating, her hands on my head holding me to her, her hips grinding against me every chance they get.
Knowing I won’t last long if she stays this hot for me, I place my outstretched hands on the bed on either side of her head and lift myself up above her.
She strains her neck and tries to pull me back in for a kiss, but I stay strong—miraculously—and grin down at her. “Babycakes, you’re hard enough on my self-control. If I keep this up, I’m going to lose it before I’ve done what I need to.”
Her brows bunch together. “But I already—”
This time I do lower myself down so she can feel everything she’s doing to me. I brush my mouth against hers and smile when she tries to keep me there. “You have, and you will come again, but I want to be in you when it happens.”
“Oh…” She breathes, her lips curving up before she tilts her head to the side and lifts a brow. “Then what are you waiting for?”
I lower my head and give her a hard, fast, and full-of-meaning kiss before pushing up off the bed and reaching in my nightstand drawer for a condom.
Standing in front of her beside the bed, I rip the foil packet open and make quick work of rolling the latex down my shaft.
Faith bends at the waist, meeting me halfway as I lower my body back down to hers. She spreads her legs so my hips can fall between them. I brace my elbow on the mattress, kissing her soft and slow as I reach between us and position my cock, dragging the tip through her wetness then pressing just the head inside. With my mouth hovering over hers, our gazes locked, I whisper, “I love you,” as I slowly push inside. She drags a hand down my back to grip my ass, tugging my body flush with hers and forcing me deep.
I fight the urge to roll my eyes back in my head, watching her expression turn to one of bliss as she takes all of me.
I still, wanting to give her time to get used to me, but the bite of her nails into my skin and her tongue diving between my lips make it an impossible feat.
From then on, it’s hell for leather. We go at each other like it’s been forever since we’ve touched—because it has. Our lips fuse together. Her hips lift to meet my thrusts, drawing me deeper inside of her. My hands can’t touch her enough, and my mouth can’t kiss her hard enough, long enough. I wonder if I even need air to breathe because that would mean not having my mouth on her. She hooks her calves around my thighs, pulling me closer, and it’s everything that I’d imagined it would be.
Her muscles tense, her arms tightening around my shoulders as I feel my climax barrel
ing toward me. My thrusts become erratic, and I know I have to get her there again before letting myself succumb to my own release. I slide my hand between us and press two fingers to her clit, stroking over the slick nub. She tears her mouth from mine and buries it in my neck, nipping and kissing my skin, her soft whimpers coming hard and fast as she lifts up, and up, and then, with a tell-tale hitch of her breath, she cries out my name and her orgasm takes hold of her. Two clumsy thrusts later, I plant myself to the hilt and groan out her name as my own release hits me like a freight train going a million miles an hour.
We lay there in each other’s arms as we come down from that incredible high. When I try to roll to the side, she holds me tight, keeping my weight on her, not letting me go.
“This is where you always belong. Right here, in my bed, in my arms. I’m yours for as long as you’ll have me,” I murmur, pressing my lips to her cheek. When her breath catches, and she stills, I know she didn’t miss the significance of my words. In that one confession, I’ve willingly laid myself open, revealing my one remaining vulnerability.
As if she’s realized how open and bared I am, she turns her head, bringing her lips to my ear and saying the exact thing I needed to hear.
“Good. Because now I’m finally home.”
19
Faith
April and Ronnie pick me up the following Saturday, with Jax and Jamie going with Bry and Ezra to play golf. I’ve been looking forward to tonight all week. Not only because I left my sex toys in a dumpster back in Sydney when I moved out of my house there, but also because socializing is something that’s been lacking in my new life since coming back home.
When I went to Australia, Bryant wasn’t the only one I left behind and went radio silent on. There were a few friends from college in California too. I didn’t have many since I was always so wrapped up in Bry and our families. I was tunnel-visioned, and one of the things I made sure of when starting all over on the other side of the world was to set about reevaluating my priorities—and that meant friends.
April and Ronnie wouldn’t have realized that by inviting me along tonight, they were offering me more than just time to get to know them. It’s also a chance to expand my social circle, and I hope that will help me not get so wrapped up in my life with Bryant that I lose myself again.
Ronnie pulls up the car outside a cute two-story bungalow not far from where I grew up.
“Let’s go. I’m more than ready for some girl time,” April says before opening the passenger door.
“What am I? Chopped liver?” Ronnie says with a laugh.
April looks at me and rolls her eyes. “You know what I mean. We’re all caught up on the newlywed life, and that’s all about—”
“Sex?” I say.
Ronnie laughs and points at me, “Bingo! But also, good to know I can get an update on the most talked about couple in the family without having to ask you flat out.”
I stop mid-step, my eyes bugging out at April who just grins at me, hooks her arm with mine, and leads me up the path behind Ronnie who is already knocking on the front door. Before I can ask who’s been talking about us, we’re met by a grinning brunette.
“Hey, ladies. You’re the last to arrive,” she says, stepping aside to let us in. She looks at me as I cross the threshold. “Hi. You must be Faith. My husband has told me all about you and your surprise wedding. I’m Nat, Jase’s wife. He works for the construction company your husbands use.”
“Oh, I’ve met him. He’s um…”
“Interesting? Handsome? Puts his foot in it a lot of the time? The love of my life? All of the above,” she says with a laugh. “But don’t hold him against me.” She leans closer.
I giggle and shake my head, soon joined by Ronnie who grabs my hand. “Time to talk once we all get a drink.”
“A drink would be good,” I reply. “Has the party already started?”
April, Ronnie, and Nat all start laughing again and suddenly, it’s obvious I’ve totally missed something.
“Um, what’s the joke?”
“Honey, there is no sex-toy party. That’s just the code word we tell everyone,” Nat says, walking into a large open-plan living room filled with more women I don’t know. “Between kids, work—”
“Pets, school,” April adds.
“Husbands,” Ronnie says with a laugh.
“Sit down, ladies, you’re making me nervous.” Natalie sweeps her hand out to a couch in the corner. Once we’re comfortable, April leans forward in her chair and gives my arm a gentle squeeze. I look around the room and notice that everyone is looking at us—or, more precisely, at me. And tonight, we have a brand-new headline act—Faith Cook.
“Right, let’s get the introductions out of the way,” April says, breaking my thoughts. “Everyone, this is Faith, Bryant’s new wife. And Faith,” she says, looking at me before turning back to the group. “From left to right, there’s Natalie’s best friend, Mia, who’s married to Matt, and they were at your surprise party.”
“He owns the construction company, right?”
“That’s the one,” Mia says. “And you’re the woman who none of us saw coming. And you’ve definitely got that newlywed-glow thing going on, which means you’re getting some and you’re getting it good.” I shrug and grin, earning a laugh from Mia, who looks to a gorgeous petite redhead sitting on the couch beside her. “I like her already. She knows her power; we don’t have to train her up.”
My eyes bug out of my head.
“You’ll have to excuse my sister-in-law. She’s known for saying whatever comes into her head. I’m Kate, by the way,” the redhead says.
Mia nods. “But I’m not wrong. Faith has big lady balls to marry a guy she hadn’t seen in years.”
Ronnie appears in front of me and hands me a glass of white wine. I take a sip and enjoy the crisp, fruity taste as it works its way down my throat. “I knew Bry was the only man I’ve ever wanted, and I came back prepared to do whatever I had to do to prove that to him.”
Natalie holds her hands up in the air. “Big ol’ lady balls, I’m telling ya,” she announces, earning a round of laughter from everyone.
“But marriage?” Mia asks. “You’re a bigger woman than I am. If Matt had proposed the first time we’d hooked up, I’d have run a mile.”
“Says the woman who got married in Vegas,” a gorgeous brunette next to Kate says, meeting my gaze. “I’m Mac, by the way. Best friend to this one,” she says, tilting her head to Kate, “wife to Superman, and mom to three hellions who I love to death but who drive me crazy on a daily basis.”
“Amen to that,” a tall, svelte blonde on the other side of the room says. “Hi. I’m Sam.”
“Her husband owns a sex club,” Ronnie says, bouncing in her seat. Sam rolls her eyes at her, but her lips twitch as she does it. “My three children who make me earn these nights of freedom.”
“At least yours aren’t twelve going on twenty,” Mac says.
“Back to introductions, Mia, Kate, Mac, Sam and—” April says before there’s a crash-bang coming from the entryway.
“Hi. Hi. Sorry, we’re late. Someone had to empty the udders for the hungry mini Carsen’s before we could leave.” A dazzling brunette who looks like a younger version of Mia announces, walking into the room with two bottles of wine in her hand, and behind her is Abi.
I meet her eyes, and my chest tightens. We haven’t seen each other since the hospital and before that, when she warned me off going through with marrying her brother so quickly.
“And this is Dani, Mia’s perpetually late sister, and Abi, who you know already,” Natalie says, rounding off the group.
From there, everyone falls into their own mini conversations, with Abi crossing the room and taking the spare seat next to me on the couch.
“Hey,” she says. “Long time no see.”
“Yeah… we wanted to give you space so you guys could settle into life with twins—”
“And I didn’t exactly make you feel wel
come. I wanted to apologize for that. I was a hormonal pregnant woman who took out her frustrations on you.”
“It’s understandable,” I say with a small smile.
“No, it was dumb. My brother has never gotten over you, but since you’ve been back, he’s the big brother I never knew I was missing.”
“He’s always been Bryant. I never defined him.”
“No, but he wasn’t truly alive, or at least, something was missing about him that none of us could put our finger on. It’s obvious now that it was you.”
Her admission makes me feel good but also a little sad. I know I needed the time away to be the person I always wanted to be, but I also regret staying away for so long.
She turns her body my way. “Faith, I don’t want you to stay away from us. We’ve got your back and—I hope—that means you’ll be sticking around now…”
I lean towards her, reaching out to grab her hand with mine. “I know I’ve got to earn back everyone’s trust, but I promise you, Abs, I’m not going anywhere. I’m here to stay, and I would not have married Bryant unless I knew that it was forever.”
She tilts her head, her eyes studying me. “Does Bry know that?”
“I damn well hope so, but he doesn’t seem to talk about the future.”
She frowns. “What do you mean?”
“We haven’t talked about what happens next, like once the house is finished. It’s the only place we’ve lived in, and obviously, the house is going to be finished and sold, but then what? I’m a planner. I need to know what’s next.” I feel my heart speed up and I take a long, slow breath to keep it under control.
“Can we join in on this little chat? Because if anyone here can offer advice about a Cook man, it’s Abi and the two of us,” April says, dragging a dining room chair in front of the couch and sitting on it. Ronnie slides in beside me and wraps an arm around my waist.
“So I married the protective one,” April says.
“And I got the somewhat extroverted, impulsive one,” Ronnie continues.
I grin. “Bryant’s the smart one.”