“That sounds awesome.”
After we all pitched in to clean up the kitchen, we played a few games of cards, and then everyone started to slowly clear out. I was staying the night so I could spend a little more time with my family before they left. Grams couldn’t have been happier.
I poured myself a glass of wine after the house was nearly empty, collapsing on the couch from exhaustion. Dad sat down next to me, throwing an arm over my shoulder. “So, have you talked to your mom lately? What’s she doing for Thanksgiving?”
“No idea.” I shrugged my shoulder, snuggling into his side as if I were a five-year-old again. “I haven’t talked to her in a few weeks. It’s kind of weird actually. Normally we talk every few days, though she’s not the easiest to get along with, even over the phone, but she hasn’t returned any of my calls lately.”
My dad snorted loudly. “Your mother has never been easy.”
“Yeah, why is that exactly? And how in the hell did you two end up getting married in the first place?” I took a sip of my wine and he let out an exaggerated sigh. My dad never really talked about his marriage to my mom. I don’t remember much from when I was smaller, when it came to their relationship, but they always seemed to get along. I don’t remember them fighting really ever. But I do remember my mom always being cold. She wasn’t a touchy-feely person. I can’t remember her ever actually hugging me.
“I don’t know, Della. She didn’t exactly have the best childhood growing up, I guess that could factor in.”
“Really? I don’t think I’ve ever heard her talk about her parents.”
“I don’t know much, either, and I was married to the woman. I do know that her mom died when she was young and her dad was a little tough on her. She never went into details but I think that has a lot to do with how she is with you. I thought once we had children, Lillian would warm up, but she never really did. As far as us getting married, well, we were young and thought we were in love. I was able to break through a little bit of that ice, but, apparently, not enough. Money was always a big thing for her.”
I snorted, knowing that was beyond the truth. I think she secretly took baths surrounded by one hundred dollar bills.
“She grew up with barely any, so I guess that has a lot to do with it. You might not see it, Della, but she does love you in her own way. It’s just hard for her to show you.”
“If you say so, Dad.” I stood up, placing a kiss on his cheek. “I’m going to head up to bed. Night.”
I couldn’t just forgive my mom for the way she’d acted over the years, just because she had a bad childhood. I guess it gave me a little more insight into some of her behaviors, but it didn’t make me forget how she treated me. I knew my mom loved me, in her own twisted way, but I just wished I could have some kind of normal relationship with her. I didn’t know if that would ever be possible, though.
“YOU LOOK GORGEOUS.” I picked Della up, swinging her around while burying my nose in her hair and breathing in that apple smell of hers. She squealed when I squeezed her tightly, and finally set her down.
She straightened out her hair and smoothed her fingers over the material of her dress, looking down at her knee-high boots. “Were you smelling me?” Her nose wrinkled and I grabbed onto her hand, dragging her toward the front door.
“Of course. You always smell like apples.”
“And let me guess? That makes you want to eat me,” she said dryly.
“All the time,” I called over my shoulder, stopping my feet once we were at my car to hold the door open for her. “My mom’s dying to see you, so I told her I would get you there as early as possible. Plus, I missed you.”
She kissed my cheek before sliding past me into the car. “I missed you, too.”
“So, did you have a good time at your grandparents’ house last night?” I asked as I pulled out of the driveway and headed toward my mom’s house. I knew this would be a hard day for her, so I figured I would show up with Della as early as I could. Apparently, my love life seemed to do a decent job at distracting her, so I guess that was a good thing.
“Yes, everyone missed you, but I think Grams did the most. She’s wanting a visit from you.”
“Well, maybe we can plan something when they get back into town.”
“Nash was there,” she added, peeking over at me as if she were waiting to gauge my reaction.
I gripped the steering wheel a little more tightly. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah, I just figured I should let you know. I’m not trying to hide anything.”
“I didn’t say you were, Della.” I reached over to grab her hand, lacing my fingers with hers. “It’s that douchebag I don’t trust. I’ve heard enough of that just friends bullshit out of his mouth. That’s not all he wants, Della.”
“You’re wrong,” she answered tightly. “Things are different between us now. Plus, he’s not worried about a relationship. He has too much to deal with. I need to be there for him. We’re supposed to do something this weekend.”
“Whatever.” I squeezed my eyes shut briefly before reopening them to focus on the road. I wasn’t the jealous type, never have been, but with Della, it was different. And I knew exactly what that douchebag wanted. It definitely wasn’t to be BFFs with Della.
“Don’t be mad.” She squeezed my hand tightly as I pulled into the driveway. “I’m only yours. No one else matters.” That relieved a little bit of tension between the two of us but I couldn’t completely let it go.
My mom was overjoyed when Della walked through the front door, instantly wrapping her in a hug and then dragging her into the kitchen. I’m sure I wouldn’t see her much today, but I guess I could share with my mom for a little while, because Della was coming home with me tonight, whether she liked it or not.
Soon the house was full with my brothers and their wives, Della fitting in perfectly with the loud, obnoxious bunch that was our family. Still, Dad was greatly missed. He always had a smile on his face, especially when everyone was together, because he said family was what life was all about. I couldn’t have agreed more.
“So, Della finally gave in and took your sorry ass back?” Jared dropped down onto the seat next to me, stealing the remote control out of my hand and muting the football game I’d been watching. “What in the hell is wrong with her?”
“Stop being a dick.” Molly smiled at me from the doorway, and then faced her husband and glared. “Della and Justin are perfect together, so mind your own business.” She turned back to me, smile once again in place. I loved Molly. She didn’t take any shit from my brother and was always putting him in his place. Plus, according to Della, she and Sarah had a slight crush on me, so I guess that’s why she was always nicer to me than her own husband. “Now, maybe you’ll be the next in line to get married off. Your mom would be in Heaven, she loves Della, and it would give her something else to focus on.” She frowned slightly, probably thinking of my dad. He was constantly on my mind, too, especially today.
“He’s not gonna get married just because Mom needs something to do, Moll. Justin’s gonna be a bachelor for the rest of his life. Right, dude?”
I rolled my eyes, putting my focus back on the football game that was playing and drowning everything else out. Honestly, before I met Della, I would’ve never thought about getting married. Most single college guys didn’t. But this time around with Della, something had changed in our relationship, for the better, and I could see myself with her for the rest of my life. I wasn’t so sure how she would feel about that, though.
MY DICK TWITCHED in my pants as I sat at the dining room table, sipping on a beer, watching Della bake some kind of cookies. I don’t know what had me so hard—her loud, carefree laugh as she listened to some story my mom was telling her about my childhood, or the fact that she kept bending over directly in front of me to check the oven. It was probably a combination of the two. And she was totally doing that last one on purpose.
My brothers and their wives had left long ago, stuffed
from all of the food and tired from the turkey, but we had hung around to keep my mom company. It was time for us to go, though. I definitely needed some alone time with Della.
“Well, Mom, I think we’re going to head out.” I kissed her forehead and gave her a tight hug. She reached up to pat my cheek. “Are you sure you’re all right by yourself?”
“Justin Parker, I think your mother is old enough to take care of herself. Get Della out of here. You two go have fun,” she added in what I think was supposed to be a whisper, but judging by the reddish tint to Della’s cheeks, wasn’t very quiet.
“All right. I guess since you demanded it, then some fun needs to happen.” I smirked at Della, reaching out a hand to smack her ass as she reached for her jacket. “Mom’s orders.” I shrugged my shoulders as I followed Della, who was huffing away, pissed that my mom clearly knew what we were leaving to do—or at least, what I had in mind.
“You’re coming back to my place, right?” I asked as I pulled out of the driveway and she raised one brow at me.
“Well, yeah, unless you’re gonna go home and have some fun by yourself,” she deadpanned.
“Yeah, I think it would be a whole lot better if you were there.” I placed my hand on her thigh and began inching my fingers up to the hem of her dress that I had been fantasizing about getting underneath all day. Fuck football. When Della was around, I couldn’t concentrate on anything but her.
“Stop it.” She slapped my hand from pushing up her dress and revealing a pair of bare legs that I wanted to be in between. Immediately. “You’re so impatient sometimes. We’ll be back home in like ten minutes.”
“Fine,” I grumbled, biting back a cheesy grin at her saying we would be home soon. She probably didn’t even realize what she had done, but it felt good hearing it come out of her mouth.
“Besides.” She yawned loudly, stretching her arms above her head. “I’m really tired. Today totally wore me out. I think I’ll just go to bed when we get back.” She was teasing the hell out of me, and all it did was get me even more excited.
“Oh, you’ll be going to bed all right.” My hand resumed its place, pushing her dress up even further this time, and I flashed an exaggerated grin. This time she couldn’t fight back the wide smile that broke out across her face when she turned toward me. “But you most definitely won’t be sleeping.”
JUSTIN COULD BARELY wait until we got into the house. In fact, he probably would have been perfectly fine to do me on the front lawn. I had more class than that. Just a little.
“Do you feel that?” he asked, pushing me up against the wall as soon as he slammed the door behind us. “This is what you do to me. All. The. Time.”
I nodded my head, briefly squeezing my eyes shut as he ground his hardness against me. I was probably just as ready as he was after the way he had been watching my every move at his mom’s house. It was hard to concentrate on anything when he looked at me like that. I even thought about sneaking into the bathroom for a quickie, but knowing his family, they would all catch on and tease us about it forever. So, I controlled myself.
“Well, what are you gonna do about it then?” he whispered huskily before brushing his lips lightly over mine.
I moved my hands in between us, barely able to function from him feathering kisses down my neck and fisting my hair tightly, but somehow, I made it to the button on his jeans and started to work them down.
“What are you doing?” He watched me as I dropped to my knees, yanking his boxers down along the way. He groaned loudly and I smirked, wrapping my hand around him.
“Taking care of the problem.”
I took him in between my lips, holding the base with my hand and stroking it lightly, keeping in time with my mouth. He moaned, and I looked up, smiling around him. He leaned his head back against the wall, a blissful expression on his face as he arched his hips into me. I took as much of him as I could into my mouth, sucking and swirling, repeating the pattern that seemed to be driving him wild. His hands fisted my hair as he started to pump uncontrollably and I could tell he was so close. He tugged lightly on my hair as if to pull me up, but I shook my head, staying in place.
“I’m gonna come, princess,” he said hoarsely. I felt his whole body shudder against me as he finished in my mouth, and then he collapsed onto the floor next to me. He tucked me into his side, wrapping his arms tightly around me as he buried his nose in my hair, breathing me in. “Well, you didn’t have to do that, but I’m not complaining.”
I smiled and pressed a kiss onto his chest. “Don’t worry, we haven’t even made it to the bedroom yet. There’s still plenty of fun to be had.”
I woke up the next morning and before I even opened my eyes, I could tell Justin was awake and staring at me. Last night had been…I don’t really even know what one word could describe it—amazing, epic, miraculous, unbelievable—the list went on and on…and on. That bit in the entryway was really only the beginning. I guess once we started, Justin figured we needed to have sex in every other part of the house: the kitchen table, the shower, up against the bedroom wall. Each time forever ingrained in my brain, a permanent reminder. My whole body was sore because of our sex-capades, but the good kind of sore, the kind that didn’t really matter because it felt so good getting that way.
“I know you’re awake.” His warm breath blew against my ear, and I shivered at the slight contact. I peeked my eyes open only to find him staring at me, just like I suspected, his gray eyes glistening in the morning sunlight.
“Morning.” I held a hand over my mouth, and he rolled his eyes.
“I think I can handle your morning breath.”
I shook my head, untangling my limbs from his, and ran to the bathroom, squeezing toothpaste onto my finger and sticking it into my mouth before hurrying back to the bed. “Here.” I stuck out my finger and he opened his mouth, letting me rub toothpaste on his teeth and gums. He slowly released my finger, letting it go with a pop, his eyes slightly glazed over. “There, now you can do whatever you want to me.” I climbed back on the bed, straddling his lap, and he gripped my hips, smiling up at me.
“Really?” He raised his eyebrows. “Cause there’s a ton of different possibilities running through my head right now, and I’m pretty sure some of ‘em are illegal.”
“Hmm….” I tapped a finger to my chin. “Well, since you’re a cop and all, I don’t think that would be a very good idea.” I rolled off of his lap, collapsing back onto my pillow, and he tucked me into his side, twirling a piece of my hair between his fingers.
“I think I should be able to wake up to this every morning.” He dipped his head down to my neck, his tongue darting out to lick a trail all the way to my collarbone. “Close your eyes.”
“Um…why?”
“Just do it,” he demanded and I willingly complied, whimpering as I felt him leave my body and then the bed.
“Can I open them yet?” I asked as the bed shifted and his warm body wrapped around mine again.
“Yup,” he whispered into my ear, and I popped them open immediately, looking expectantly at Justin for what was to come next. Maybe the handcuffs again? Ah, the possibilities there were when it came to those.
Justin grinned at me, tilting his head toward my pillow, and I turned in the direction that he was leaning. “What’s this?” I sat up, picking up a single silver key attached to a keychain that said, “I love Las Vegas.”
“A key,” he answered simply and I rolled my eyes, twirling the key around on my finger.
“Okay, smart ass. What’s it for? An extra key or—”
“To my heart,” he deadpanned, clutching the front of his chest.
“Really? I thought I already had that.” I took my pillow, chucking it at his head, but he quickly dodged it.
“Of course you do.” His tone turned serious and he pushed me back onto the bed, moving his body to cover mine. “It’s a key to my house, and not just to come over whenever you want. I want you to move in with me. What do you think?”<
br />
I bit down on my lip, really thinking about the question he had just asked. I figured that’s what was coming, but that didn’t mean I was prepared to actually give him an answer. This was big, a huge step in our relationship. But it felt right, so this time I wasn’t going to overthink things, I was just going to go with it. “I think that sounds like a good idea.”
“What?” he asked, his eyebrows twisting together, and he grabbed onto both of my wrists. “Are you seriously telling me it was that easy? I figured I would have to get the handcuffs out again.”
“Well….” I dragged out. “If you really want to, I wouldn’t mind. But I do want to move in with you. I’m not really sure what the girls will think about it. They’ll actually probably think I’m the worst roommate ever, but it feels right. We don’t have a lot of time to spend with each other with everything going on in our lives, so it sounds like a perfect idea.”
“Good.” He leaned down, pushing my hands above my head and pulling my bottom lip between his teeth. “Let’s go get all of your shit right now.” He started running his nose against my cheek, and I laughed, pushing on his chest.
“Um…I think I’ll probably give everyone a heads-up first, plus I need to pack things up, and I’m definitely going to need some closet space. We have to figure some stuff out before I just move right in.”
“You are killing me,” he groaned, flopping back onto his pillow and I took the opportunity to climb back on top of him.
“I promise I’ll make it up to you.” I wiggled my hips, earning another groan and I smiled in satisfaction since the effect I had on him was currently poking into me.
He laughed loudly. “I can’t wait until I can wake up to this every morning.”
“SO, I HEAR you’re ditching us?” I looked up from my book to see Zoey standing in front of me with both hands on her hips, her lips set into a tight line. I closed my book, sitting up straighter so I could deal with the wrath of Zoey. If I were to get any shit about moving out, it was going to be from her. Callie had actually shed a tear or two, but was completely understanding and happy for me. Mia really could not have cared less; she was practically living at Nate’s house lately anyway.
Twisted Bliss Page 19