by Amy Brent
“I want to kill the mother fuckers that did this to you, Rowan. I want to rip their throats out.” His voice was low and serious enough to make her shiver. “I admire you for going through with this. I know why you are because it’s who you are. It’s your heart.” She heard him sigh and stroke her shoulder. “I can’t just walk away from you, Rowan. It’s going to be hard at moments but I need to see this through.”
“You’re staying with me?” Rowan asked, opening her eyes to look at him.
“I’m a disciplined man, Rowan. My family was in the military…I was a Seal until my world changed three years ago. I have struggled so much with what I was supposed to do since that time.” Deacon stared into her eyes. “The only constants that I have in my life is my brother and my best friend. I haven’t dated anyone seriously since I went into the Navy and that’s what I’m used to. Seeing you at the restaurant and then at the hospital shook my world.” He reached out to stroke her hair again. “I don’t want to lose that feeling. It gives me hope and the way you’re giving this baby life…inspires me. I want to try to bend here and see what I can take.”
“Oh. Good.” She spoke slowly, nodding at him. “That’s good. My hormones have been driving me crazy and I want to come so bad. I want you to take me every way that you can, Deacon.” Her eyes were hooded as he felt himself respond to her words, hard and ready to go. “I clearly can’t get pregnant but I’ll understand if you want to use a condom. I’m free of everything so far but still testing regularly.”
Deacon kissed her hard as she gasped, pressing her thighs apart with his knee as he moved over her. “I have one.” He kissed her neck and she cried out as she arched against him, needy to the point of begging him.
“This is so embarrassing.” Rowan told him, making him look at her with stormy eyes. “I’m so horny.”
Deacon moved off of her, stripping her free of her pants as he looked at her legs hungrily. “Let’s take care of that.” There was no reason to slow down now that everything was out in the open. He needed to do this to either connect with her or be done, but Deacon needed to be inside of her.
He watched as she shed her camisole, freeing her heavy breasts. Deacon parted her legs and watched her stare greedily at him as he stroked up her skin, seeing how ready she was for him. He found her inner thighs that were soft and damp, watching her drop her head to the pillow as he ran his fingers over her teasingly. “Please.” Rowan begged, closing her eyes as she felt his finger enter her.
The therapy had been to move on and accept this as a regular part of her life, while dealing with her feelings. She wanted Deacon more than anything, though thinking too much beyond this night scared her so much that she pushed it away.
The first orgasm was hard and strong as he sucked on her swollen clit and curled his fingers inside of her tight walls. She cried out through it, opening her eyes enough to see Deacon watching her in awe before they closed again.
The second orgasm was longer but just as intense as she wrapped her legs around him and felt his thick cock take her again and again. Rowan felt tears slide down her cheeks as the waves hit her over and over, feeling him tense and thicken as he stilled inside of her. Deacon came with a low grunt, crying out her name as he kept moving slowly with his orgasm.
They collapsed together, naked and sweating as Deacon realized that he was all in with this girl. He was willing to let go of the past that had hurt him so much and allow something new in his future, even if it was something that he wanted to handle differently. “I’m going to stay.”
EPILOGUE
One year later, Deacon carried the steaks out to the grill as he glanced over the pool to see everyone having fun. James was trying to drag his girlfriend into the pool, who just happened to be Rowan’s sister. They’d met just a few months ago and hit it off immediately. Lily looked a lot like her older sister and was just as sweet, doing something for James that had made him so much happier.
His divorce was final and Susan hadn’t taken him for everything except some money and the house. Their lawyer was good. James paid her what he needed to and went out and bought another house near Deacon, meeting Lily soon after. She was now living with him and attending school in Washington to be closer to James and her family.
Trevor and Lisa were the newest couple and working well, given his busy schedule. There had been an awkward moment between him and Lisa where she had told him that she liked him as more than a friend, concerned when he explained that he was with Rowan. She already knew everything that had happened.
Rowan was sitting under their umbrella, holding their daughter in her lap as she smiled happily. Corinne was named after her grandmother with the middle name Nora for his mother and she’d been born looking just like she was really theirs. He hated the person that had raped her still but had found that the result had made both of them so happy. It didn’t affect their love for Cori or each other.
Deacon still worked out every morning if the baby hadn’t kept them up too late and helped his brother with the growing company. They now had a bigger office and some staff to help them, making it possible for the brothers to spend time with their families and make some new memories.
He brushed the hair out of his face before tossing the meat onto the grill, feeling his fiancée watching him. She loved the new hair even while he grumbled under his breath about it, secretly loving it when she used the soft waves to seduce him.
Within the next year, they planned on another baby that would be theirs as much as Cori was.
Life was working out.
THE END
Turn the page for more yummy goodies
The Happily Ever After Series
A 2 Step Game
CHAPTER 1
I clicked on my email inbox and rolled my neck to ease the pain in my muscles as it came up. I’d been studying so much lately, and I just wanted a full night’s sleep, but no. There were still tests for me, and I was going to enjoy this personal break to check into life outside of college for a moment. I read through them, groaning at all of the spam about meeting Russian women (no thanks) as well as people that wanted to tell me my future. Ah, there was something a little more personal. I clicked on the email from my mom and assumed she wanted to talk about the upcoming Christmas holiday.
I read through the words and frowned as my eyes stayed glued to the first paragraph. She’d be here in Colorado for business next week and wanted
me to meet her fiancée. Fiancée? When was Mom even dating anyone seriously? I rolled my eyes and thought back to her last attempts at a boyfriend since she was a little bit of a gold digger and traveled a lot as a buyer for one of the best boutiques in San Diego. Mom didn’t even need the money of a man, but she liked living the glamorous life, which made the song pop into my head as I bobbed my head. I read through the rest of the email that talked about the month I’d be home with her and my new stepfather and how excited she was to become a little family. The idea made me puke in my mouth a little bit since I still missed my father a lot. He’d been killed in a robbery near the house that Mom still lived in when I was ten, eleven years ago. I was grown up now, but I still missed him and wondered what it would be like with the new man.
Mom didn’t always pick bad guys. A lot of them were decent people, but something was in the mix that caused it not to work out. When I was younger, I suspected that I was a problem for the kind of people that wanted to travel even though Mom had no issues leaving me behind in the car of a friend. Some of the time, it was her or may be her overbearing attitude. It was probably all kinds of things, but I wouldn’t let myself think too much into that. I was trying to release any guilt from my mother not being happy being left with me. My therapist from a few years ago worked hard on that with me, and I did it myself to this day.
Oh, well. At any rate, it was a nice dinner in Denver that I was not going to be paying for. It was a break from the day-to-day stuff. There was a good chance that I may never meet this guy and even if I did, it might not la
st, to begin with.
I jumped as someone stepped into my apartment as I was closing down the email. “Hey, Larisa. I brought coffee and those sandwiches that you like so much. Let’s get back to this.” I turned and smiled at my best friend Cole as he set a bag down on the coffee table and smiled. He was in a lot of my classes, sharing the same major of Literature. That’s where I met him, and we clicked immediately. Of course, everyone thought that we were dating because he was a male and I was a female.
Cole was a handsome guy with dirty blonde hair and gorgeous emerald eyes, tall and broad so I suppose I could see where our friends would think that. I was cute enough as well with my cinnamon colored eyes and bright caramel hair, and my affinity of doing yoga when I was stressed out. I learned that was a coping mechanism early on and I ran with it since it kept my curves in check. I was tall at five foot ten and carried myself well, but I loved to do yoga in the wee hours of the morning as well when I couldn’t sleep. I knew it wasn’t healthy, but it worked for me and allowed me to eat things such as this hot and cheesy pastrami sandwich that he was pulling out of the bag.
Cole didn’t have to worry about that either since he was part of the football team at the college. I didn’t even see him that much between classes, practice, and games. He just liked to study with me for tests because we seemed to help each other so much.
“Let’s do this,” I secured my thick hair into a messy bun and slid my reading glasses back up my nose as we settled on the couch to eat and read through our flashcards again. We worked well together, mixing the seriousness of the situation with humor and jokes over the next several hours.
Once the clock hit one in the morning, Cole looked at his phone and groaned. “Shit, Ris. I have practice at seven tomorrow, and Coach will kick my ass if it’s dragging at all. Are you good here?” He looked at me with concerned eyes and I smiled and took my glasses off. “You’ll go to sleep and not obsess all night?”
“Yes, of course,” I replied as I leaned back on the couch. He grabbed the bag and shoved his empty coffee cup into it since I’d refilled mine a few times throughout the night. “Get some rest, Cole.”
He smiled at me and looked at me for a few seconds before he headed to the front door. “Lock this,” Cole told me as I stood and walked over to the door. I closed it behind him and locked the deadbolt and the chain before turning around to look at the living room.
My apartment was lovely, with a spacious living room and kitchen in addition to a large bedroom off in the short hallway. Dad had set aside money for my college and Mom let it sit and gain interest so I could focus on my grades. I was lucky that I didn’t have to work and I turned off my kitchen light and walked over to the couch. I debated on going through my cards just one more time and decided to clean up for the following morning before class. I grabbed my kitten Mushy and carried her to my room to sleep with me for a few hours before I had to wake up.
I tossed and turned, thinking of Mom with a new guy and Dad. I was closer to him than Mom. It just worked out that way since Mom worked so much even when I was smaller, where Dad ran a tax business from home. Once he was gone, I was left with family and friends so she could keep working. Dad didn’t leave enough behind to let her stay at home, not that I think she wanted to. He just focused on my college.
I closed my eyes and curled up in the fetal position as Mushy purred and stretched her paws towards my head. Getting her at the shelter was one of the best things I’d ever done, and I finally felt myself relaxing into sleep.
CHAPTER 2
The test went smoothly for both Cole and me, who made it by the skin of his teeth to class. He ran a little late with Coach, and the teacher stared him down as he slipped into the seat beside me. We finished around the same time and grabbed some lunch before running to our other classes for the day. I knew that his days were full and was used to that, which meant that I spent a fair amount of time alone. I had other casual friends; acquaintances. We’d grab a bite to eat or hang out at the bar that served us, but most of the time, I was home. I liked it that way and valued the time to myself.
The week crept along, and I knew that dinner was in just a couple of days. I caught up on everything that I needed so I could relax for the night and dressed in some thick black tights with a plum colored sweater dress. I wore high boots and did my hair in wavy curls that dried as I added a little liner to my eyes with some mascara.
I got into the modest five-year-old Camry that Mom bought for me when I left for college and started the engine as I shivered in my thick coat. I was already feeling uncomfortable, and I scowled as I backed up and headed to the main street to go into the city. I’d talked to Mom and Brett would indeed be there. She gushed about him and how he was just a few years younger than her at thirty-seven but gorgeous. Mom was forty-two but pretty with blue eyes and my hair so I didn’t doubt she could land a younger man. He wasn’t even that much younger, and I wondered if he had any kids, which reminded me of some of the kids that I’d met in the last. That was so awkward. I was an only child, and I suspect that Mom wasn’t into a big family because Dad seemed to love having me around. I never wondered what it would be like to have siblings until it was just Mom and me, deciding that it became lonely fast.
I saw Rioja up ahead and looked for a parking spot in the small lot nearby that would not require me to valet park. I hated spending the extra money on something that I could do myself. Once I was settled, I looked in the mirror and forced a smile on my face before I slipped my keys into my purse and headed towards the front door. It was a cute place with a small intimate room and a clear need for reservations, based on the line that was out of the front door by a few feet. I hoped that Mom had done that since I was starving for anything other than the fast stuff that I ate on a daily basis. I excused myself into the door as I felt eyes on my back and shook my head to approach the hostess station. “I’m here to meet Rayna Jones for dinner,” I told her in a soft, slow voice as I heard the raised voices of the angry people behind me.
“Let me see,” the blonde smiled as she went down and list and nodded. “She’s here already, and I think…over there.” The hostess pointed to a corner of the room as I glanced at her name tag and nodded as I saw Mom reading a menu.
“Thank you, Nadine,” I told her as she looked at me with a grin. I made my way to the corner and smiled as Mom glanced up.
“Larisa, there you are.” She stood, and we hugged before she kissed my cheek. “You look lovely.”
“Thanks. So do you,” I told her as she smiled brilliantly. Mom was blessed with great genes that I hoped she was generous with and looked healthy. I knew that her schedule was crazy, and she traveled a lot, but somehow she looked rested now.
“Thank you,” Mom said as she watched a waiter hand me a menu and ask what I wanted to drink. I requested soda to keep myself awake and slipped my jacket off as I looked around. “Cute place.”
“Isn’t it? Brett loves it here,” she said as she ran her left hand through her sleek bob, revealing the sparkling diamond wedding set on her finger.
“Mom, are you-” I started to ask when her eyes settled on someone behind me and she smiled dreamily.
“Brett, I want you to meet my daughter. Larisa, this is Brett, my husband.” Mom stood, and my mouth dropped open as I took in her words.
“Husband?” I asked as she frowned at me. “When?”
“Last week, we eloped,” she snapped as she indicated for me to turn around.
“Jesus, Mom,” I said as I stood and clumsily made my way around to look at my new very official stepfather. I looked into his light green eyes, and there was instant recognition as heat singed my skin. I was taken back to a year ago when I was at a club with some friends, drunk and just feeling like I needed to do something crazy after a recent breakup.
“Larisa, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Brett smiled, and it was so familiar as he reached out his hand to shake mine. That hand had been inside of me, and I looked down as I pressed my lips t
ogether. “I wanted her to tell you the good news, but Rayna was excited about surprising you.”
“Brett. Hi,” I said as I shook his hand and remembered one of the best nights of my life. I saw in his eyes that he remembered me as well with a flash of heat before he replaced the look with a smile. I dropped his hand and turned as he moved to sit next to Mom, longing for some wine or anything that would lift the embarrassment that I was feeling right now. Brett kissed her hair and took his wine glass before he looked across the small table at me. He could hide his gaze from my mother now, and the heat returned as I took a deep breath.
We made small talk as we ordered some appetizers and I settled on the artichoke tortellini for dinner. It wasn’t from the main entree selections, but I’d have trouble eating anything right now.
Brett was gorgeous, and he’d caught my eye at the club right away. I was looking to forget the other relationship, and I could tell he was older than me by a few years at least. He was tall and muscular, and at this moment, he reminded me of Cole as I looked at him. A few drinks had led to dancing, which led to making out on the dance floor as he held my body close to his to show me just what I was in for. Brett was thick and hard, and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me off of the dance floor and into a dark corner, where he kissed me senseless before he slid his hands underneath my short skirt.