“William,” Rose said. “I have blamed myself all these years too, you know.”
“What?” I paused. “How?”
“I was there. I was upstairs playing the piano. I smelled smoke. I didn’t care. I was selfish and kept playing.”
“Rose,” I said slowly. “You were a kid…”
“Yes. I know that now. But I hid. I hid in the closet. I blamed myself. And I was so scared that maybe I was being punished for it. I told you. I almost died hiding in that closet.”
My mind was spinning. This poor girl, what she had been through. That she could have died too…because of my careless actions.
“Rose.” I looked at her sternly. “You are not guilty of anything. But I, I am. And it’s due time I finally accepted consequences. I must. Alone.”
“No, William. I love you. I’m not going anywhere. We are working through this. I am staying by your side. This was an accident, William. Why can’t you see that?”
I stared at her. This remarkable, strong, beautiful woman, a woman I didn’t deserve and yet now would never let go. But if she knew everything, would she feel the same?
“Do you have any idea how much you’re changing me? Do you, Rose? Any idea?” It was impossible not to love her.
“We’re changing each other,” she said simply. “We’re changing each other for the better.”
“Rose.” I was exhausted and drained. I feared my feelings. But I knew it felt right. I knew she was everything I needed. I may not have known it almost half a year ago, but I knew it now. For the first time in my life, I knew what love was. For the first time in my life, I felt…happiness and it scared the shit out of me. “It’s time to go to bed. We can talk more in the morning. No more right now.”
“William?”
A smile pervaded my lips, even as she annoyed me.
“Yes, Rose,” I said, my grin I know visible in the dark.
“Your mom.”
My smile disappeared. “What about her?” I felt myself stiffen.
“Let’s go to her. I would hate for you to have any regrets about her.”
“No, Rose.”
“But William. Maybe you can somehow revive your relationship. There are so many wonderful years you could have…”
“Rose. No. That’s final. I will work to help her and her sentence by telling the truth about what happened, I will ensure that, at least, they honor the plea bargain, but I do not…I will not have anything to do with her otherwise. Absolutely. Not.”
I heard my voice rise and it frightened her. I could feel the tremble of her body. Fucking monster. “Sorry, Rose. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t, William. But just think about it, would you?”
I rolled my eyes but I knew she couldn’t see me. “No,” I said again.
“Well, doesn’t Anthony agree with me?”
“Yes. He does. And I’ve told you the same thing as I’ve told him. No. I will help her. But no. I am not going to go speak with her. Not now. Not ever.”
“William…”
“Enough, Rose. It’s enough I’m willing to give us a try. Don’t push your luck.”
“Yeah?” She nuzzled against my chest and I felt her tears, those emotional tears of hers again. “Oh, William. You’ll give us a try? Really?” she said with that hopeful insistency of an innocent child.
“Yes, Rose. Really.”
She exhaled and her wet tears continued to smear themselves against my bare chest. “I want you, William. I need you.”
“Rose, it’s late. Sssssh. I’m right here. You have me.” I wiped her tears with my fingers. “No more of this.”
She pulled me closer against her and curled her body into me, wrapping her leg over mine, interlocking us. I felt her pussy, warm and wet. I kissed her forehead. “Sweet dreams.”
“Make love to me again,” she whispered.
I laughed. God. She really made me feel… good. She made me want to be a better man.
I stroked her back, my cock already erect from the mere thought of being back inside her hot walls. “It would be my pleasure. You can make love to me. Get up and get on. You can be in control for once.”
She took in a breath and disentangled her legs from mine and I laid back and put my hands behind my head.
She straddled her legs on either side of me and began to stroke my sensitive cock up and down. I felt a tightening excitement in my lower abdomen from looking at her breasts and peaked nipples and from her insistent strokes. Precum escaped the head of my cock and her finger smeared the liquid around the top of it, causing me to strain against the sensitivity. Fuck. The way she affected me.
“Sit on it, baby. Fuck me.”
She positioned her pussy over my cock, straddling my body, and slowly lowered herself, up and down, my cock disappearing and reappearing wet with juices. “Oh, William,” she moaned and I grabbed her hips to help guide her pace.
I removed my hands from her hips, drawing my thumbs up and down the front of her slit, putting pressure on her clit. She sped up and I was becoming close to coming, heat causing me to become lightheaded.
“William. William. I’m going to come.”
Watching her face from this angle as I let her ride me, the flush coming over her as she neared her orgasm was too much for me too. “Come,” I ordered and removed my thumbs from her to find her nipples just as she tipped.
I pinched and pulled them hard through her orgasm as she screamed out. I liked surprising her that way, the pain mixing with the pleasure overwhelming her through her climax.
“Fuck,” she hissed through gritted teeth and that sent me over too, coming fierce and hard inside her, pinching her nipples even harder to hear another scream escape her lips. It fueled my last spurt and her last wave of orgasm. One more “William” escaped her mouth and I let go and let her collapse on top of me.
I pulled her into me, kissing her head gently. “Now, baby. To sleep.”
“Yes,” she pushed tighter against me. “To sleep. I love you with everything I have. If I lost you now, I don’t think I would survive.”
“Then don’t lose me. Stay right here.”
“Tell me, William.”
“Tell you what, baby?”
“Please. You know what.”
“Hmmmm….” I prolonged her agony and smiled.
“William!”
“I love you too, baby.”
I found happiness in that moment. For the first time in my life, I felt a blissful calm in my body and mind.
She kissed me and rolled onto the side of me and she was asleep before I could even kiss her back. I smiled and chuckled. I found her so god damn endearing. I wasn’t going to let her go. Ever.
I looked at the clock. Jesus fucking Christ. It was almost 3:00 am. I drew the covers up around us and found comfort. Sleep was moments away.
As I began to drift, I heard a knock and then the door opened.
Jennifer peeked her head through. “Hey, Will, sorry,” she whispered. “Anthony’s on the phone. Says it’s urgent.”
“What? At this hour? Why didn’t he call my cell?”
“He did. It was by the piano.” I saw her smile as she looked from my face to the beauty next to me in bed.
“Tell him I’ll be right there. I don’t want to wake her. I’ve kept her up for hours.”
She nodded and closed the door.
I put on pajama bottoms and found Jennifer in the kitchen, her outstretched arm holding out the phone to me. I squinted against the bright light, and Jennifer dimmed it for me and pointed to the living area and walked out mouthing, “I’ll wait for you in there.”
“Jesus, Anthony. Is this really that important at this hour?”
“It could have waited, I suppose, but I felt better just calling right away.”
A lump formed in my throat. This couldn’t be good in any way.
“Just spit it out, Anthony, It’s late. I’m tired. And I’m in no mood for games.”
“Trust m
e. There are no games here.”
I sighed. “Christ, Anthony!”
“William. I don’t know how to tell you this. Your mother was found dead about twenty minutes ago.”
I felt the air leave my lungs and I slumped down onto the floor.
“William? William. I’m so sorry.”
“How? Why?”
“I would…I would rather not discuss this over the phone. She did leave a note.”
“It was because of me, wasn’t it? Tell me Anthony. Tell me right fucking now. It was, wasn’t it? Because of me?”
“William. Stop. You are not responsible for the actions of your mother or anyone for that matter. Let’s set up a time to meet tomorrow.”
“Fucking tell me, Anthony. Go ahead. You going to sit here and tell me I wasn’t mentioned in that letter? Is it because I wouldn’t go talk to her?”
There was a long pause.
“It is, isn’t it? Jesus. Fucking. Christ.”
I dropped the phone onto the floor and kicked it. Kicked it hard across the floor. It smashed into the cabinet under the sink, causing Jennifer to run back in.
“What is it? What’s going on, William?”
“Get her out of here.”
“What? Who?”
“Rose. Get her out of here.” I squeezed my hair tight in my fists and bit back a scream. I looked directly into Jennifer’s eyes. “My mother will be the last person I will ever hurt.”
Jennifer bent down to me. “William. Calm down. Stop it. You’re scaring me. Come into the living room. Please. Talk to me.”
“Do it, Jennifer. Get her up and get her out of here.”
I grabbed my keys and plucked a sweatshirt off a hook by the door. I put my sneakers on without socks.
“I’m going for a run. I don’t know when I’ll be back. But Rose needs to be gone. And then, I will pick a new PA. And that is that. I’m done.”
“William!”
But I had already closed the door before she could change my mind.
I knew happiness was out of reach for me. I didn’t deserve it. Monsters don’t. But Rose? Rose was the farthest thing from a monster that there was. And she needed to be the farthest away from one as possible. Rose was light, innocence, hope. She deserved the world and beyond. And I would make sure, even if it killed me, that she got exactly what she deserved.
OTHER WORKS by R.B. O’BRIEN
The Natalie’s Edge series, Temptation, Fall, and Redemption, follows the BDSM romance of young entrepreneur Natalie Smith as she discovers her submissive sexuality at the hands of the controlling and dominant Michael Black. Redemption, the third in the series, was a nominee for the Golden Flogger Award for Best BDSM Romance.
EXTASY BOOKS http://bit.ly/1ZgNrNR
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ABSZDHU/ref=series_rw_dp_sw
Barnes&Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/temptation-rb-obrien/1121331599?ean=2940046607970 Kobo:https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/temptation-82
Smashwords:https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/523939
THORNE: Rose’s Dark Contract (Book 1) can be found on AMAZON and is available to borrow for FREE on KINDLE UNLIMITED. Amazon: http://amzn.to/2c2zmmM.
The THORNE series is a dark suspense romance that follows the story of William Thorne through his eyes. Both books in the series have been nominated for the 2016 Indie Book Award. Expect its final installment sometime in fall/winter of 2016/17.
IMOGEN was first published in a series of four shorts installments. The boxed set compiles those chapters, making up the first boxed set in the series. A second boxed set will be available in 2017. Each individual installment of IMOGEN has also been nominated for the Indie Book Award of 2016.
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Author Bio
“To write is to descend, excavate, to go underground.”—Anais Nin.
I am uniquely me: I’m closer to acceptance. I am shy, overly emotional, sentimental, passionate, and insecure. I worry my legs aren’t long enough but love my smile. I am a writer, a dancer, a poet, a thinker, a lover, a philosopher, a friend, a sister, a daughter, an animal lover, and a health nut. I care about the environment. I overanalyze and second-guess everything. Fear often guides my decisions. I forgive too easily and fall prey to romantic notions—All. THE. TIME. I would rather feel and suffer than go through life with broad, safe, or grey-painted strokes. I live for vibrancy. I find beauty in the darkest of things. And my heart beats too fast.
To learn more about R.B. O’Brien, visit: http://rbobrien.weebly.com/about-me-and-wicked-pen-writers.html
THORNE: Rose's Dark Secret: (Book 2) Page 11