It Was Always You (Harpers Ridge Book 1)

by Ann Carver

  Harper pulled his sweater off and then pulled her own off. His hands went to her bare skin and touched all that he could. She undid his jeans and pushed them down and then he did the same to her. In no time at all, he had her bra unfastened and thrown behind him.

  He filled his hands with her breasts while she filled her hands with his throbbing erection. She pushed him down on the bed and straddled over top of him. Wasting no time at all, she sank down on him, filling her completely. She moaned which reverberated through him and made him do the same.

  Having handfuls of her breasts wasn’t enough. He lifted up and took her breast into his mouth as Harper moved up and down on him. He sucked and flicked her nipple with his tongue, producing little pants from her. He loved what he could do to her.

  Joe couldn’t believe how close he was to coming already. It’d been only a little while, but it felt like an eternity. He tried thinking of hardware so she would come undone first, but when he started thinking about it, he remembered how dirty it sounded. So, to hurry her along, he slid his hand between her and rubbed her sweet spot while he worked his mouth on her other breast.

  It worked. She moaned more loudly as she rode him harder and deeper until she came so hard she screamed. The instant her insides clamped around his swollen erection, he came with her. He pumped in and out of her, riding out every little pleasurable tremor that was left in her as she collapsed on top of him.

  He engulfed her in his arms and whispered how much he loved her while his hands explored all her heated skin. He could feel her heartbeat pounding against his own chest. He’d never be the same without her. And, since she accepted his proposal, he wouldn’t have to.

  They lay there until their breathing returned to normal. She slid off to the side of him and he rose on his elbow so he could look at her beautiful face. Her hair was damp from their heated love making and her eyes were still closed.

  He leaned down and kissed her nose, prompting her eyes to open. “I love you,” he whispered to her.

  She smiled, making her eyes slit almost closed. “I love you, too,” she whispered back.

  He kissed her lips and when he had his fill of her mouth, he made his way down to her breasts. As soon as his mouth clamped around her nipple, he moved between her legs and slid inside of her.

  He enjoyed it when she gasped and slid her hands in his hair, clenching it in her fists, and holding him to her breast. He slowly slid in and out of her, driving her crazy. Knowing he was driving her nuts, he moved faster, and sucked harder until she came, screaming his name. Then he came, hard, crashing down on her.

  Harper didn’t want to move. She was exactly where she wanted to be, with exactly who she wanted to be with. Joey. He’d just made love to her and gave her two of the best orgasms she’d ever had.

  She gazed up through the window on the ceiling. It was still light out, but it was getting darker, which meant they’d been laying there for hours. It also meant that trick-or-treaters would be coming soon.

  “As much as I want to stay here forever, the trick-or-treaters will be coming soon,” she said to Joey.

  He opened one eye. “It’ll still be a couple of hours before they come,” he said and then closed his eye.

  She rolled up on his chest. “If I ride you again, will you promise to get up afterwards?” she asked mischievously and softly.

  He didn’t have to speak his answer because his growing erection answered for him. She climbed on top of him and happily rode him again.

  After dressing, they made their way downstairs and into the kitchen. She was starving and there was pizza down there calling her name. She warmed it up in the microwave and put the plates on the table where Joey was waiting.

  He looked nervous and she knew why. He was going to explain to her what happened. She was obviously going to forgive him…after all, she accepted his proposal, but it was still important to find out what happened, even it felt trivial now.

  Without any urging on her part, he explained everything to her. How he thought she’d slept with Tristan because of what he saw. He told her about the rumors in high school and then apologized profusely.

  Though she was in shock of all that he had going on in his head, she explained that she would have never done that. He told her that he knew that, but because he was an asshole, he let the shit get in his head and mess with him. She accepted his apology and they’d move on.

  “How did I get so lucky having you in my life?” Joey asked her.

  “Ha, I’m the lucky one,” she retorted as he pulled her in for a hug.

  He pulled back and delightfully gazed into her eyes. “So, are we going to live in my apartment or the block house?” he teased.

  “You’re terrible,” she said before he pulled her in for a kiss.

  “I never want to spend another night away from you,” he whispered to her.

  “Then don’t,” she said. “Starting tonight, we spend every night in our bedroom that you made for us. Which, I love, by the way.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me,” he said before he swept her off her feet in another mind-blowing kiss.

  They went out to the porch and waited over an hour for the first trick-or-treater. Joey teased her about sitting out here so early, but she didn’t care. It was Halloween. She was with Joey. And, she was engaged to him. Nothing could spoil this day.

  Epilogue

  A year later, Harper stood at her back door, looking out over the colorful fall leaves. It was another crisp, sun-shiny day. Not just any day. It was the day before Halloween, and her reception day.

  As soon as Joey proposed to her, a year ago, she knew she wanted to get married on Halloween. But she also wanted to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters. Because Joey is as wonderful as he is, he suggested that they have their reception first and then get married after midnight. That way, their anniversary would still be Halloween and she could hand out candy too.

  She made her way to Joey who was talking to his brother. Even though it was a masquerade type reception, she would recognize Tristan anywhere. He’d flown in that morning and barely had time to get dressed, let alone shave off his lumberjack beard.

  Tristan had gotten the reality show contract. He was flown to Alaska where he competed against other old-school lumberjacks for a ten-thousand-dollar prize. He’d be flown back in a month for the final challenge and finale. He was under strict orders not to say a word about the show.

  “There you are,” she said to her soon-to-be-husband who was dressed in a tux with an elegant, sequined mask. She slid her arm around his and hugged him tightly.

  “Did you think I’d take off?” he asked with a chuckle.

  “Maybe,” she teased him.

  He wrapped his arms around her and tipped her back. “Never,” he whispered right before he kissed her. When he brought her back up, he told her, “You look absolutely beautiful.”

  She felt beautiful. She was wearing her wedding dress that looked like a princess ball gown. Something right from Cinderella. Her mask was covered with white and opaque sequins, pearl beads, and tiny little crystals. Her hair was pinned up with pearls and crystals as well. She felt like she’d never felt in her life.

  “I can’t wait to undress you,” he said quietly in her ear. “If I know you, you have something special under there for me.”

  She shuddered at his suggestion. His correct suggestion. She, indeed, did have a surprise under there for him. She’d ordered the most beautiful, sexy wedding lingerie she could find. It was elegant, yet screamed sexy. She couldn’t wait for him to see it and slowly peel it off her.

  He chuckled. “Yeah, that tells me I’m right.” He kissed her again.

  They mingled through the guests and when dusk hit, they sat and had their dinner. Joey, yet again, surprised her by having waffles with buttery syrup as part of the catered dinner. She really didn’t know how she got so lucky. They were presented with three toasts at the dinner table. One from Tristan, Andy, and their Grandpa. All three different, yet
, equally beautiful.

  When dinner was done, they danced and mingled more until midnight, much like Cinderella without the turning-into-a-pumpkin thing, they meet at the gazebo Vinny had made. Harper and Joey recited their vows and promised their love to each other. They were pronounced husband and wife and then Joey kissed the living daylights out of her.

  The party continued into the early hours of the morning. When it settled down to only family, they took a sigh of relief. They’d done it. They came a long way from best friends to lovers and Harper wouldn’t change any of it for the world.

  Joey’s grandpa spoke up. “Well, let’s get out of here, we all know what these two want to do,” he said as he waggled his brows up and down toward Joey.

  “Grandpa,” Joey said as he shook his head.

  “Grandpa’s right,” Tristan said. “They want to get busy and I want sleep. Let’s get out of here.”

  Harper and Joey hugged his brothers and his grandpa. “Drive safely,” Harper said as she watched them file into their vehicles.

  They waved until they were out of sight. Harper turned toward Joey. He slid his hands up her arms and cupped her face. “Happy Halloween,” he said just before he kissed her.

  When he pulled off her lips, he picked her up and cradled her in his arms. He carried her into the house, up the stairs, and into their bedroom where he proceeded to inspect his surprise she had for him under her dress. Then he made passionate love to her.

  That morning Harper woke before Joey. She decided to let him sleep. He’d made love to her so many times he had to be exhausted. But not her. It rejuvenated her. She padded into the kitchen and ate leftover waffles with buttery syrup. When she was done, she pulled out a large Halloween bowl and dumped the candy she bought into it. Only it didn’t all fit. It was no big deal, she’d take the bags outside with her and refill it as needed. This year she anticipated more trick-or-treaters to show up.

  Joey had surprised her, yet again, with the massive amounts of Halloween decorations he bought and placed in the yard. It was like a Halloween carnival without the rides. It was the talk of the town and everyone expressed their desire to show up.

  She didn’t know how long she was sitting on the porch outside before Joey came out. “You staying out here all day?” he asked.

  “The trick-or-treaters will be coming soon,” she said, teasing him because it was still morning.

  He scooped her up and took her back upstairs where he cuddled her and loved her more. When she got to anxious, at three o’clock, they showered together and then dressed warmly for a cool evening.

  Sitting on the porch, as husband and wife, arm in arm, they waited for the trick-or-treaters.

  Readers,

  Thank you so much for reading Harper and Joey’s story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. We all have issues we’re dealing with...some more severe than others, but I always like to keep my HEA books relevant to real world issues.

  If you enjoyed Harper and Joey’s story, please look for Tristan’s and Jax’s story in the future. It’s going to be fun writing these two guys!

  Don’t forget to follow Ann Carver on Facebook too!

  Happy reading,

  Ann Carver