by Ana Jolene
“Why?”
When Maison dropped onto the couch, Hutch settled down beside her. “I didn’t particularly like my childhood,” she admitted. “So seeing pictures of that time doesn’t bring on good memories for me.”
He recalled what she’d said about her parents the other night. Were they really that bad? Had they really pushed her to be so perfect that anything less than their opinion of excellence wasn’t acceptable?
Wow. And he thought his father was a hard-ass.
Suddenly, he was glad she didn’t have pictures of them up. Despite the fact that they were her parents, her family hadn’t provided her with the support and reassurance every daughter deserved. Instead they had drilled that perfectionist mentality into her mind until she’d been brainwashed into thinking that nothing she did was ever good enough. A thought occurred to him. Was that why she was always so worried about her weight? Or why Maison always worked herself to the bone? Was she still trying to prove herself to her parents?
Hutch reached out and took her face into her hands, kissing her desperately. Once again, he’d caught her by surprise, and when she gasped, he took that as an opportunity to stroke his tongue against hers.
He heard her moan before her body melted into him. He loved the way her body molded to his. He drew her closer until his back hit the couch.
For a long while, they just kissed. There was no urgency. No rush. Hutch loved foreplay and quickly realized that they could enjoy each other’s company all night if they wanted to.
When he finally pulled away, he was breathing hard. “What do you want to do?”
“More of that if we could.”
He barked a laugh at her eagerness. But instead of kissing her again, he reared back. “Want to watch some TV?”
“Sure.” She didn’t sound too disappointed in the change of plans so he reached for the remote and turned on the big flat screen TV. To his horror, a set of oiled-up six-pack abs flashed onto the screen. “What the fuck?”
“Oh! Magic Mike!” Maison squealed. “I forgot I was watching it before!”
Hutch glanced back at the screen, horrified to see more hips and more skin. “Is this the movie about . . .”
“Strippers, yes.” She giggled. “Oh, look! This is the good part!”
“The good part” involved a lot of gyrating and hip thrusting. As Maison cheered, Hutch dropped his head in his hand. He could not have his woman cheering on another guy as he took his clothes off. His ego wouldn’t have it.
Suddenly, he stood and Maison glanced at him. “Hutch, are you okay?”
“Sit back,” he ordered. “You’re going to get a show.”
She frowned in confusion. “A . . . show?”
He started with his hips, knowing that would heat things up quick. Maison’s laughter bubbled up immediately. “Oh my God! I can’t believe you’re doing this!”
He had to bite down on his lip to keep from laughing himself as he spun around and swayed his ass back and forth. He knew he looked ridiculous, but nothing mattered more to him than seeing Maison smile.
Thrusting his hips forward, he started his slow striptease, smile widening as Maison let out a whoop of encouragement. “Oh my God!” she cried as he whipped off his shirt and flexed his muscles for her. She was brighter than a tomato but she was also having the time of her life. “Lose the pants!” she called out.
His grin widened. Damn, where was this side of Maison coming from? He’d never seen her so excited.
“You mean these?” He hooked his thumbs into the top of his pants, drawing them down but not completely off. Again, Maison hollered more encouragements.
He was at her side in the next moment, grinding up on her as she tried to tug down his pants. He was sure the wine was to blame because they were both laughing, both fumbling around as he tried to keep up his act.
But when Maison popped off the buttons of his jeans and started to pull them down, he knew he wouldn’t last.
“Nuh uh.” He wagged a finger at her as she reached for his boxers. “Not yet.” He was already hard from their making out and seeing Maison’s greedy eyes only served in making him hotter.
“Oh, come on!” Maison pouted playfully, pretending to be upset with him. “You’re actually pretty good at this,” she admitted.
“Of course I am.” Hutch swooped in and claimed her mouth, letting his tongue lick a seam across her lips before pulling back.
“So what color are they this time?” he drawled as he lowered himself between her legs. Pushing her legs apart slowly, he froze when he caught sight of her silky panties.
Red. They were red. The color of passion. The color of love.
Looking at Maison in lingerie had him moaning in pleasure. He pushed her dress up, lowering his face so that his scruff grazed the sensitive inside of her thighs.
Maison gripped his hair and pulled his head up so his eyes met hers. “Stop teasing me.” Desire swirled in her irises and Hutch grinned wolfishly.
“Isn’t that what this is about?”
In answer, Maison snapped her legs shut. God, he loved when she was like this, all smiling and playful. His cock grew painfully hard as he pried her legs open.
With a smile, Maison widened them even more as he drew her red panties down her legs.
She was beautiful, all pink and perfect. His mouth was watering just thinking about tasting her. As he sucked on her clit, Maison let out a cry.
Okay, fuck the striptease! He wasn’t going to last!
Rising up, he removed his boxers and slipped on a condom. Maison grinned at his hurried actions as she removed the rest of her clothes.
When her body was revealed to him, Hutch took a moment to take it all in.
He had no idea why she kept trying to change her body. As far as he was concerned, every bit of it was perfect. Maison always worried, pushing for something more when she was already beautiful the way she was. Hutch hoped one day she would realize that. Until then however, he was going to show her just how beautiful she was.
Gripping the back of her legs, he laid her out and positioned himself. He let out a long groan as he slowly penetrated her. “Fuck, you’re tight.”
Maison hummed her approval as he angled himself deeper. “Oh God, Hutch.” Each thrust sent him spiraling towards climax and her breathy moans helped him in reaching it quicker.
He reached out and grabbed a fistful of her breasts. Oh yeah. They were beautiful. How could she ever think they were ugly?
He plucked the hardened nipples between his fingers and soothed the sting with his tongue. He could feel his seed shoot up the length of his cock. Any moment now and he was going to lose control.
Maison let out a cry as she came first, tightening around him until he couldn’t breathe. Sweat poured down his body as Hutch clenched his eyes tight and came deep inside her.
“Oh my God . . . Hutch.”
Breath ragged and body spent, Hutch rolled onto his back and removed the condom. After disposing it, he lay out on the couch, trying to catch his breath. Maison was spread out beside him, her head resting against his chest. “That was a pretty good show you performed there. Don’t suppose you’ve got a cop uniform lying around,” she drawled.
“What? What are you talking about?”
Her smile grew. “It’s in the movie.”
Oh my God, was she still going on about that?
“Sorry, I don’t have a cop uniform, but I’ve got my ACUs.” His Army Combat Uniform would be just as recognizable and respected as any cop uniform.
Maison grinned as mischief glinted in her eyes. “That’s even better.”
TWENTY-TWO
“Hey, lady, watch where you’re going!”
“Sorry!” Rissa giggled beside her. “I don’t know what his problem is,” Maison muttered as they walked away from the grumpy man. He was the one who had bumped into her. Whatever. She was more preoccupied with making this day a good one for Rissa.
When the teen had called her earlier asking for a
ride to the mall, Maison wondered if this was going to be their new thing. Today just wasn’t any old trip to the mall though.
Rissa was even more excited than usual because there was something that she needed to pick up. Apparently, Rissa’s mother had pulled through and bought her a new dress for her upcoming dance. Maison knew that Rissa had been worried that she’d have to wear one of her old ones, but she was thrilled to learn that her mother had been putting aside some money for her just for the occasion.
This was the first time she’d done something truly nice for her daughter and Maison wondered if this would be the start of something new. Either way, she was thrilled for Rissa.
“It’s so beautiful,” the teen mused when asked about her new dress. “I can’t wait for you to see it.”
“I can’t wait either.”
They made the quick drive to the mall and Rissa wasted no time as she made a beeline for the store. Maison had never seen her so excited before and it almost made up for the fact that she wasn’t going to the dance with anyone.
With beauty and intelligence like hers, Rissa would easily be the belle of the ball. But she knew her family’s constant moving affected her friendships.
When Rissa came out of the dressing room with her dress on, Maison lost her breath. “Wow.” The dress was absolutely stunning on her! It was pink, of course, because that was Rissa’s favorite color. “You look incredible!”
“I know!” Rissa wailed, just as excited. “I don’t normally look this pretty.”
“You’re always beautiful.” The girl just had to remember that. “So what happened with Boone?” Had the kid finally come to his senses and asked her to the dance?
Rissa’s expression fell and she shook her head. “No, he asked that other girl.”
“Oh, Rissa, I’m so so—”
“No, it’s okay. I’m not upset about it anymore. I’m not going to change who I am just because of a boy.”
A smile spread over Maison’s lips as pride filled her. That had been the message she’d been trying to instill into Rissa from the moment they’d met. Like her, Rissa suffered from self-esteem issues, but hers centered more on how she measured up with other people in society while Maison struggled with trying to live up to her parents’ expectations.
“C’mere.” She pulled Rissa into a hug, trying to mask the onslaught of tears. She felt like a mother hen, clucking her excitement about her baby. “Okay, let’s go pay for it.”
As Rissa went back in to change, Maison dabbed at her eyes. After they paid for the dress, Maison offered to hold it for her. The tailors had slipped it into one of those sleeves that would protect it from getting wrinkled or dirty and Maison took extra care as she laid it out in the back seat of the car. Rissa shot her a smile to show her appreciation. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yup!”
As they slid into the front seats, Maison checked to see that Rissa had her seatbelt on. Only when she was sure that they were safely secured did she pull onto the road. Her protective instincts were rising up again, but that was only because she felt like Rissa was growing up so fast.
This time, she allowed Rissa to pick the music and they both sang along as a popular song started to play.
Maison was starting to like this new version of herself. She hadn’t changed. Not really. And not in the ways that still made her her. But she was just allowing herself to let go a little more. To become a little less rigid and more adventurous. So far, it was paying off greatly. She was no longer concerned about what others thought about her and she’d also stopped comparing herself physically to others. If Hutch found her attractive, then what else was she worried for?
Maison frowned as something before her caught her attention. She squinted as she learned forward. “What is that?” At first, she thought it might be something happening on the road before her, but when she realized that the smoke was coming out from the hood of her car, she quickly pulled onto the side of the road.
“What’s going on?” Rissa asked, understandably confused.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take a look at it. Stay in the car.”
Dammit. It was just her luck to have some car trouble while she was with Rissa. When she popped the hood, smoke billowed out.
Oh no! Now what was she going to do? She had no idea how to fix this! She immediately pulled out her cell phone. But instead of calling for help, she called Hutch.
He picked up on the first ring. “Hey, Snowflake. What’s up?”
“Hutch, I need your help.”
Hutch immediately dropped into solider mode. “What’s wrong?”
As she told him where she was and what had happened, Hutch said, “Okay, I’ll call someone about the car. But I’m coming to pick you guys up personally. I’ll be there in a few, okay?”
“Okay.” After hanging up, Maison checked on Rissa. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. What happened to the car?”
“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “But I’m guessing the engine overheated.”
“Oh.” The teen’s expression fell.
“Don’t worry. I have a friend who is going to come pick us up. I’ll still get you home safely.”
“Okay.” She smiled.
It didn’t take long for Hutch to arrive. While he spoke to the guy who was going to take her car away, she and Rissa sat inside his car. They had nothing to worry about now. Hutch was here. But Rissa was still clutching her dress towards her chest and Maison felt a little pang of guilt as she realized that she’d ruined this special day for her.
Hutch returned to the car with a grin on his face. “Okay, we’re all set. They’re going to take it to the garage and fix it. Where were you guys headed? I can drop you there.”
“We were on our way to my house,” Rissa answered.
Hutch turned his gaze towards the teenager and grinned. “You must be Rissa. Maison has told me a lot about you.” Maison would’ve thought that the girl had instantly fallen in love with him with the way she smiled at him. “I’m Hutch. I’m . . .” Hutch glanced at her, unsure what to call himself in front of the younger girl.
Maison chuckled. “He’s my boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend,” Hutch agreed. “Do you guys want me to take you home or do you guys feel like having some fun?”
Oh no. Maison knew that look. Hutch was no doubt looking to turn things up after seeing Rissa sulking. Normally, she would put a stop to all this before it even began, but then she remembered the look in Rissa’s eyes earlier. “What do you have in mind?” she heard herself ask.
Rissa looked suddenly intrigued too.
“Well, I was thinking we could have a bonfire on the beach. What do you think?” he asked Rissa.
“That sounds awesome!”
“Cool, but we should probably ask permission first.” The last thing they should be doing was carousing around Moonrise Beach with a teenager and have people worry about her. “Let’s call your grandma and see if she’ll let you go.”
“Okay.” Rissa took her phone from her and dialed her home number. As she spoke, there was clear respect in her voice and it sounded like the answer would be a yes at least until Rissa handed the phone to her.
“What is it?”
“She wants to speak to you.”
“Oh, okay.” She took the phone back. “Aba?”
But it wasn’t Rissa’s grandmother like she expected. It was Rissa’s mother. “Who is this?” the unfamiliar voice asked. She wasn’t rude about it, just concerned.
Maison muttered an apology. “I didn’t realize it was you. I thought you were Aba.”
“No, I’m her mother. This is Maison, I take it?”
“Yes.”
“Rissa is asking if she can go to a bonfire with you.”
“Yes, but if you’re not okay with it, I can bring her home right away.” She wasn’t going to get in the way of their family.
But when the woman said, “No, it’s okay. I trust you.” No one was more surprised than M
aison at hearing the words. “You’ve looked out for Rissa when I haven’t and I’m forever thankful for your kindness. I bought her a dress, hoping it would make up for my mistakes, but I know it’ll take time for her to trust me like she does with you. I appreciate you going with her today to pick up the dress.”
For a long moment, Maison remained silent. Wow. She hadn’t been expecting that! “N-no problem. I love hanging out with Rissa. She’s a really good kid.”
“She’s very fond of you as well. She can stay with you but I’d like her home before ten if that’s okay.”
“Of course.”
“Thank you again, Maison. For everything.”
Maison wanted to say more, to tell the woman that she was doing the right thing for making an effort for her daughter, but she didn’t. She couldn’t do that with Rissa around, so instead she said her goodbyes.
“So what did she say?” Rissa asked, on the edge of anticipation. “Can I go with you?”
Maison grinned. “Yes, you can. Should we pick up some stuff for s’mores along the way?”
Rissa’s excited squeals told her yes and Maison was convinced that they might actually end up having a good day after all.
They ended up stopping for more than just s’mores. Hutch had called ahead and asked his sister if he could stop by with a couple of friends. Of course Dacey was game and she even suggested that they pick up a few other items for snacks. So their quick run to the grocery store ended up far more costly than they first anticipated. It didn’t matter though; all the junk food they’d consumed would be worth the company they’d have together.
Hutch glanced over at Maison beside him who was bobbing her head and singly softly to the song playing over the radio. He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Rissa’s bright, round eyes. She’d obviously never been in this area before and was taking in the sights. Hutch was thrilled to see that she was enjoying herself.
When they arrived at Dacey’s beachfront home, Greyson already had the bonfire going. They even had some soft music playing from a boombox set on the beach.
“Wow!” Rissa cried as she took in the ocean. “It’s so beautiful!” Hutch had to agree. He’d always thought the view to be stunning as a kid. But it’d been a long time since he’d really spent some quality time with the sand and the ocean.