by Green, Vicki
Zoey is discharged fairly early the next morning. Of course, they told her to get plenty of rest in which she looked at me and sighed. But they said her shoulder wound was healing nicely, and they removed the sling but told her to still be careful, not to lift anything heavy and to put it back on when needed. She was giddy about that. Before we could go home, we headed to the police station to give our statements. Matt has made such a big scene since he’s been there that the judge has already said he will await his hearing with no bail. He basically confessed to everything but is yelling about pressing charges against me for assault. Give it your best shot, fucker!
I take my girl home, well, to the boarding house. I ran her a bath with plenty of her sweet smelling bubbles and help her undress. We’re in our old room, where we started. Ok. She didn’t really need my help with undressing, but shit, I am a man! We lay in the tub together, after her insistence. Her beautiful body is pressed against mine, and we have a nice relaxing bath. Well, until things got heated, and she ended up straddling me. We made love until the water turned cool. Afterwards, she laid down to take a nap. I kissed her and told her I would be back soon that I was running an errand. She nods, and I watched her take my pillow and snuggle into it.
When I get downstairs to the kitchen, Simon and Chris were waiting on me. Betty was sitting at the table, and I walked over and hugged her. “Thank you for coming and keeping an eye on Zoey for me.” She hugs me back, and she tells me she was so glad I called her and was happy to do it. Simon, Chris and I left and walked across the street. As we get closer, I see about ten men in the lawn. Chuck and Aaron, a general contractor in town, are tearing off the police tape that’s wrapped around the front porch.
I turn around at the top of the stairs and look around at everyone. “Thank you so much for coming today. We have a ton of work to do but I know we will get it done. I also know it will take a few days so those that can’t be here every day, I understand.”
Aaron slaps me on the back. “We’ll be here. Every day. We’ll get your house back in shape as fast as we can.” Turning, I give him a man hug, and we get to work.
As I go through everything in the house, I notice that most of the damage to the walls and on the items in the house is smoke damage. The biggest damage was structural, and that’s what the other men came to fix. While they worked on the structure, Chuck, Simon, Chris and I worked on the inside. We cleaned everything we could and Simon ran and got the different colored paints needed to paint the walls. We are kicking ass and taking names!
I’m exhausted when I slowly walk home with Simon and Chris after putting in ten hours restoring our house. It was worth it though. It may actually be done in another couple of days. Round two is tomorrow. I just need to think of something to keep Zoey busy, so she doesn’t suspect anything. Then after it’s done, I can put plan two into action.
Chapter Seventeen
Simon took the day off today, so he could keep Zoey occupied. She’s still pretty worn out so she laid on the couch and dozed off and on while she and Simon watched movies. I told her I was needed at the gym today. Damn, this is hard work trying to get this surprise ready for her. And I hate lying to her with a passion! Hope my luck holds out.
Finally getting home around ten o’clock, I crawl into bed and snuggle up to my girl. “Mmmm, you’re home late again,” she says sleepily while putting her arm behind her and rubbing my back. She brings her arm back and crooks her hand under her chin. Wrapping my arm around her, I place my hand over hers. “I missed you.” She falls back to sleep so easily.
I lean over and kiss her shoulder. “I missed you, too,” I whisper. Laying my head back on the pillow, I snuggle closer to my girl, breathe her in and I am out.
“But I thought we could spend today together. It’s not that I’m ungrateful and it sounds heavenly, but I miss you,” she says, her arms around my waist, her head on my back.
I look up in the mirror, razor in the air and half my face still unshaven. “I know, baby. And I want to spend time with you too and I miss you terribly.” I quickly finish shaving, grab the hand towel from the counter and wipe off my face. Turning, I take her in my arms and kiss her. “Baby, you have a great day at the spa with Betty and I’ll pick you up just as soon as you call me. I promise. Then we’ll spend tons of time together. Ok?” I plead. She nods slowly and I turn her around, give her a little smack on her cute butt, and she walks into the bedroom. “Finish getting ready. It’s almost time to meet Betty.”
Ok, think! How in the hell am I gonna get her outta here without seeing our house? Shit! I quickly get out my phone and send a text. Pacing the floor in the bathroom, the light finally flashes on my phone. I stop, read it and smile wide. Perfect! Heading into the bedroom, I stop when I see my girl sitting on the bed and putting her shoes on. I walk over, squat down in front of her and help her slide her boots on. Looking up into her eyes, I see the love shining from them.
When she’s done I take her hand and lead her down the stairs into the garage and open the passenger door on the Jeep for her. She settles in and I buckle her seatbelt, stealing a couple of kisses before I close her door. I run around the front of my Jeep and hop in. Before starting it up, I turn and smile at her. “What? What’s with my favorite dimpled smile?” She asks laughing. Reaching into my back pocket, I pull out a red handkerchief and twist it until it’s in a nice and neatly folded. She looks at me, her mouth opens and closes. Shaking her head, she laughs a little. “Oh, no. You’re not gonna put that on me.” Her head cocks to the side. “Are you?”
I slide towards her and turn my finger around in the air. “Come on, baby. I have a surprise for you. You don’t want to ruin it, do you?” She huffs and slowly turns now facing her window. “That’s it.” Placing the handkerchief over her eyes and tying it behind her head, I move her hair from off her shoulder and kiss her neck. “You won’t be sorry, baby. You’re gonna love this!” I help her turn around in her seat, slide back over to mine and start the engine. As I drive I look over and see her hands fidgeting in her lap, her bottom lip in between her teeth. I shift in my seat as I watch. Fuck! That makes me so fucking hard and now is not the time! I pull up in front of the spa, get out quickly and race around to open her door. Once I unbuckle her seatbelt, I lift her up and set her down on the sidewalk, turn her around to face the store and slowly untie the handkerchief from around her face.
I now stand beside her and watch as she opens her eyes, blinking, and her hands fly to cover her mouth. She turns to me, eyes wide in surprise. “Hutch!” She jumps up on me, and I am quick to catch her. “Wow, they’re beautiful! And chocolates too!” I swing her around as she squeals and finally set her down, her lips attached to mine.
“Ahem! I’m not standing here all day, honey! We got to get our spa on!” Yells Betty. Zoey finally releases my mouth and walks over to her. She takes her dozen red roses and huge box of chocolates, waves to me, blows me a kiss and mouths ‘I love you’ to me, and I watch them walk into the spa. Whew! Job well done! Now, back to finish the house and the next surprise for my girl!
The guys and I step back into the front lawn, admiring our work. It’s not only done but looks just like a brand new house. Simon hands me a beer, and I turn around to face all the men. “Guys? I owe you all. You all took on this project with little notice and rocked it! Anything and I mean anything I can do for you, and you just name it!” I raise my beer up and watch them all raise theirs. We all cheered and guzzled.
“You can give me a free month at the gym!” The large man from the back yells. Everyone laughs.
I grow serious. “You all have a free month pass to the gym.” They all cheer and grab another beer from the cooler.
Looking at my watch, I tell everyone we need to pack up as I need to leave in about twenty minutes to bring my girl home. Home. Fuck! We get to come home. As they clean up, I run over to the boarding house and gather up all our things, take them home and put them in their proper places. As I am leaving watching all the trucks goi
ng in their different directions, I nod at Simon, which is our signal for him to complete my surprise.
Sitting by the curb in my Jeep, the door opens to the spa and out walks Betty and Zoey. They’re laughing and nudging each other as they walk towards me. Finally, Zoey hugs Betty, kisses her on the cheek, opens the door and slides in. Before I can reach for her seatbelt, she leans over and plants a big kiss on my mouth. “What an awesome day! Thank you so much, babe. Even though I missed you terribly, I had the best and most relaxing time.” Her kiss begins again, her tongue sliding into my mouth, and I’m lost in the moment.
My arms glide around her shoulder. My fingers entwine into her soft long hair. Her hand moves down to the front of my jeans and underwear and finds me hard and ready. “Mmmmm, damn, woman.” Not wanting to stop, I pull my head back and look into her lust filled eyes. “Let’s go home.” I wink at her as she smiles and gets buckled in, eagerly.
She tells me all about her fun day as I drive, my heart racing in excitement. When we turn the corner of our street, I notice she’s looking out her window, and she’s not going to see our house. So, I cough, really loud. Her head whips around to me, her concerned eyes moving from my face and slowly moves out my window.
“Oh, my God! Hutch!” She yells. I pull into our driveway and park the car. She’s looking at the house, tears in her eyes and turns to me with the most surprised look on her face. I did it! “Hutch, who? How? Wha?” I laugh a little, reach over and unhook her seatbelt, take her hand and pull her over to me until she is on my lap.
I take some of her long hair and slide it behind her ear. “Welcome home, baby.” She kisses me immediately and before we can get hot and heavy again, I open my car door. “Let’s really go home.” She kisses me again and smiles her heavenly smile at me.
Her smile stays with her as I help her out of the car. She puts her arm through mine and looks at me. “Let’s.”
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
He leads me up the front steps, takes out his key but instead of putting it in the door lock he turns abruptly and hugs me tight. “It’s been really hard keeping this a surprise for you. You were getting really suspicious,” he laughs.
I stand up on my toes and kiss his dimpled smile. “I was tired of you being gone all the time. I got really lonely for you.” I give him my biggest pout and he bites my lower lip. “Ow,” I giggle.
His forehead presses against mine. “Baby, you know what that lip does to me. Better be careful or I’ll have it for dinner and I know just the thing for dessert.”
“Mmmmm,” I moan and wiggle against him. Quickly, he takes the key, pushes it hard into the lock, opens the door and pulls me in. “OH!” I yell as I almost fly into the entryway. In one fell swoop, he lifts me, turns slightly to kick the door shut and proceeds to carry me upstairs. Damn, it’s been too long. Apparently, for him too. He walks us into our bedroom that I’ve missed so much, and I gasp when I see the sight before me.
Rose petals of red and white strewn all over the floor, the bedding, the tables, chair, everywhere! The candles that are all over are battery operated and are emanating a shining a glow all over the walls. Light classical music is playing, and a bucket of iced champagne is setting beside the bed.
He sets me down and kneels before me. My hands immediately fly to cover my mouth. The tears form in an instant, and my eyes are wide in disbelief. He takes something out of his pocket and with his free hand, takes one of mine away from my mouth.
“I’ve been lost for so long, trying to find the love of my life and I finally found her. I can’t ever let her go. Please say you’ll be mine forever. Zoey Carmichael, will do you me the greatest honor ever bestowed upon me and become my wife?” Now tears are streaming down his face, and I can’t move. I’m beside myself with joy, love, and my heart is beating so fast, I don’t think I can catch my breath.
He kneels in front of me with the greatest of love in his eyes, waiting for me to answer. “Hutchinson Parker. I’ve been lost trying to find my true love and my way home. And I’ve found both.”
He jumps up and grabs me, our arms wrapping around each other tightly and our mouths connecting. We kiss for what seems like a short time when he removes himself from my tight grasp and kneels back down. After opening the tiny box that is in his hand, he removes a gorgeous princess cut diamond ring, takes my hand and slides the ring onto my finger. A perfect fit. I hold up my hand and start crying again. Looking up, I see him standing before me smiling, he lifts me up and carries me to the bed, carefully setting me down, and he sits next to me. Reaching for the champagne, he pops the cork and fills our glasses.
“A toast. To Mrs. Zoey Parker, to be. May we always find our way home to each other, every day, for the rest of our lives.” We clink our glasses. He brings his arm around mine, and we drink like we are at our wedding reception as husband and wife. After we drink a full glass, he takes mine and sets both our empty glasses on the nightstand and leans against me, kissing me intently, his body following mine as I lay down. His hand finds my breast eagerly and my finger’s wrap into his hair. We stop long enough to rid each other quickly of our clothing and jump into bed, giggling like teenagers but become serious once we are under the covers. His muscular body is on top of mine, and his hands are caressing my breasts, my stomach and then finding their way home to my heated desire.
It doesn’t take him long to push his hard cock into me. We’ve waited far too long. Our rhythm begins quickly, our body’s sweating, and we are both panting as we climax together and scream out each other’s names in total bliss. Lying there, wrapped in each other’s arms, in our bed, in our house, we are content.
The next morning I stretch and slowly open my eyes. “Mmmmm.” Hutch’s side of the bed is empty, and I look around the room to see the candles still glowing and the rose petals everywhere. Smiling, I raise my left hand and really get a good look at my ring. It’s absolutely breathtaking. My hand falls to the bed when I hear the door open and see Hutch walking in carrying a tray of food. Cue, my stomach growling.
“Ha, I thought maybe you’d be hungry after all the exercise you got all night, last night,” he laughs, setting the tray down on the nightstand. He sits next to me, leans over and kisses my lips. Looking deep into my eyes, he gives me his dimpled grin. “Morning, baby.”
My arms slide around his neck, and I pull him back into another kiss. “Morning, my love.” We kiss a few more times until he pulls me into a sitting position and places the tray over my lap, never leaving my side.
“Now. I need to feed my soon to be wife and my son. We have lots to do today and I won’t have either of you getting hungry.” I give him a confused look. He shoves a piece of bacon into his mouth, takes another one and holds it up to mine. I take it with my teeth and start chewing. He tilts his head and cocks one eyebrow up. “Oh, didn’t I tell you? We’re getting married tonight.” The bacon falls clean out of my mouth and drops onto the plate. He laughs and wipes my open mouth with a napkin. “That’s ok, isn’t it, baby?”
“Um, um. Tonight? As in today’s tonight?”
He keeps laughing as he watches my confusion. “Yes, today’s tonight. I don’t want to wait.” He moves the tray away and takes my hands in his. “We’ve already been through so much apart and together. I don’t want to wait any longer. I’ve found my home and I want to make it official.”
I look around the room. “But I don’t have a dress, and who will walk me down the aisle and we don’t have time to set anything up.” I stop quickly to look back into his eyes and smile. “You’re right! What do we need to wait for? Who cares about anything traditional? Let’s do it!” My mouth finds his and we quickly start to overheat in our desire.
He laughs and pushes me back. “Uh, uh, uh.” He picks up the tray and places it back over me, picks up my fork and places it in my hand. “No more hanky panky until after we’re official.” I burst out laughing and begin to eat.
We sit there in silence, both of us ravaging this fabulous breakfast he made unt
il his phone rings. Taking it out of his pocket, he answers. “Hi! Yes.” He laughs. “It’s on for tonight. Great! Ok. See you then.” Shutting off his phone, he places it back into his pocket and starts eating again.
“Um, who was that?” His eyes look up and then back to his food and goes back to eating, and I sit there and chew on my lip. His eyes move up, and he chews. His brows gather. He swallows, leans over and bites my lower lip until I release it.
“You know what that does to me, baby,” he growls. “And I said no hanky panky until after we’re official.” He takes another bite of his toast, and I watch as he chews, and then I watch his throat as he swallows. Damn, he even makes eating look sexy as hell. He points with his toast at my plate. “Now, eat up, baby. People will be arriving in about…” He checks his watch. “Seven hours, give or take.” I drop my fork onto my plate with a loud crash. Looking up quickly, he frowns. “You ok, baby?”
“Well, yes and no?” I can tell he’s trying not to laugh. “So, can you give me even a tiny hint about what’s going on? Please?”
He sets the rest of his piece of toast down on his plate and gives me his gorgeous dimpled smile. “Oh, sorry. I was just having a little fun. We have everything planned. Well, mostly Simon and Chris have it planned.” He flicks my nose with his finger. “All you need to do is to take a long hot bath, soak for a while and then get yourself all prettied up and be downstairs at five o’clock sharp. Everything else, you don’t need to worry about. It’s all being taken care of.” I sigh. Well, I guess he’s not going to tell me, so I might as well go with the flow. I’m so excited!
I did what he said and soaked in a long bath, wondering what in the hell I was going to wear. After shaving and cleaning, my skin was about pruned by the time I get out. I dried my hair, brushed my teeth extra clean and applied my makeup. I was putting on the last of the mascara and almost smudged it all over my face when a knock on the door causes me to jump. I turn and open the door to find a smiling Betty standing there.