“I knew it was going to be hard on you.”
“I expected to miss her, but I didn’t know that being apart was going to be this hard.”
Leighton gets up from the glider. “Sit. You need to hold her in your arms.”
It’s true. I need to feel her baby-soft touch. But I also need to hold Leighton.
I sit in the chair and cradle my daughter in my arms. I drag the back of my fingers down her soft cheek and chuckle aloud when I realize how much fuller her face has gotten.
“You need time with her. I’ll be in my room, but call out if you need anything.”
I’m disappointed that Leighton is leaving; I want to be with her too. But there’s time for that after I’ve held Scarlett for a while.
I spend the next half hour doing nothing but simply holding my sleeping daughter in my arms: watching her chest rise and fall as she breathes, listening to the air move in and out of her lungs, and feeling her occasionally squirm in my arms.
After I’ve gotten my fix, I kiss the top of Scarlett’s head and place my girl in her crib. The transition from my arms to the mattress stirs a light fret from her, but she quickly settles again and slips back into a deep sleep. “I love you.”
I’m still standing over her when Leighton returns to the nursery to check on us. She places her hands on the crib’s railing and leans over to look at Scarlett. “She has started sleeping through the night since you left. And sleeping late. She won’t wake in the mornings for her bottle until seven-thirty. Sometimes even eight.”
“I can’t believe how much I’ve missed her while I’ve been away.” It’s like she isn’t the same baby she was when I left.
“Babies change by leaps and bounds, and I’m sure that it must seem multiplied because you haven’t been here to watch it happening daily.”
“I don’t like not being here.”
“I don’t like your not being here either.”
I step closer and take her hand from the crib railing. I place our palms and outstretched fingers against one another and then lace our fingers together, forming a tight clasp. “Scarlett isn’t the only one that I’ve missed.”
The sound of an oh-so-soft gasp leaves her perfect pink lips. The sound emits a sweet, wholesome tenderness while simultaneously oozing a seductive allure that sends a rush of blood to my cock. Makes me want to glide my wet tongue over every curve of her smooth skin, deep and shallow, until my mouth has tasted all of her peaks and valleys.
“Did you miss me, Leighton?”
“More than you can possibly imagine.” Her voice is so soft, barely more than a whisper.
Standing here with our fingers weaved together and our eyes connected like this . . . every feeling I’ve had for her these last few months suddenly makes sense.
Her breath was intended to be stolen by me. Her lips were intended to be kissed by mine. My body was intended to fit perfectly inside hers.
“I haven’t touched another woman while I’ve been gone. You’re the only one I’ve even looked at since the first of the year. The only one that I’ve thought about. And trust me, I’ve thought about you a lot.” I squeeze her hand. “Tell me that you believe me.”
“I believe you.”
Leighton Mitchell was made to be mine. And the sweet sigh I hear when I move my hands to her waist and pull her body against me tells me that I’m not wrong.
“I’m going to kiss you . . . unless you tell me not to.”
Her lips part, and her tongue darts out to wet them. “I want you to kiss me.”
She watches my eyes as though she’s waiting to see if I’ll actually do it or not. She has no idea that I’ve been wanting to kiss her for months. Fantasized about it night and day.
Her eyes are locked on mine when I cup her jaw with my hands. I lick my lips and lean forward to press them to hers. Just the surface of lips on lips until we simultaneously open and our tongues taste each another.
Our first real kiss is slow. Seductive. Sultry.
And holy fucking hell. My body is instantly on fire. I cradle the back of her head and pull her closer, deepening our kiss, making me want her more than I dared to dream possible.
I release her face and wrap my arms around her body, pulling her against me. Hard. I grasp the nape of her neck and pull so she’s held in place, offering her delicate throat to my mouth. With her back arched, she bows against me and moans when my mouth nibbles the soft skin of her neck. “Judd . . .”
Hearing my name on her lips, said with so much passion, is my undoing.
With my fingers still fisted in her nape, I again pull her face to mine for my lips to find hers. Her mouth instantly opens, and our tongues meet again. Together, they roll against one another in soft, wet waves.
My hands leave the back of her head and glide down her sides until they find her ass, and I dig the tips of my fingers into her flesh. “I want you so fucking bad, Leighton.”
She nods, never breaking the contact between our mouths. “I want you too.”
I lower my hands until they find the backs of her thighs and lift, wrapping her legs around my body. She holds my shoulders tightly as I carry her to her bedroom next door.
We tumble onto her bed with me on top. She immediately bends her knees and brings them up so that my body is pressed between her legs. In response to this woman who belongs to me, my cock hardens more as her body writhes against mine.
I pull away from our kiss, and the way her eyes connect with mine in this moment enchants me. “I’ve thought about being with you this way I don’t know how many times.”
“I’ve thought about it too, more than I can count.”
I slide my hand beneath her top and with her help, we push it up and over her head. She isn’t wearing a bra, only a tank top beneath her shirt, but it goes too. I stop and take a moment to admire God’s handiwork when he created this woman. “You’re beautiful, Leighton.”
I palm one of her tits from the underside and rub my thumb over her nipple before lowering my face and sucking the opposite one into my mouth. Her fingers lace through my hair, and she arches against me.
She clutches at the back of my shirt, and I reach overhead, pulling it off in one fluid motion. She presses her palms to my chest and circles my pecs, briefly rubbing the muscle, before moving her hands to the button and zipper on my jeans. “Help me get you out of these.”
It’s annoying as fuck, but I must move off of her to remove my boots before I can get out of my jeans.
I’m completely naked when I climb onto the bed and crawl up her body. I waste no time going after her shorts and panties since they’re the only remaining clothing keeping our bodies apart. I drag both pieces down her legs, tossing them onto the floor with the rest of our clothes.
And now nothing separates us.
Chapter Fourteen
Leighton Mitchell
JUDD KISSES ME, AND MY head spins while my entire body buzzes. My whole body aches for him. No man’s touch or kiss has ever had this kind of an effect on me.
He’s forceful yet tender. Aggressive yet adoring. Demanding yet giving.
He’s everything I need him to be.
This man whom I’ve fantasized about every night since I moved into his house could have anyone, but he wants me. And I’m happy to give myself to him.
The sweet, wholesome nurturer that I am went into the nursery to check in on Judd and Scarlett, to be sure that all was well. But the lonely woman inside me went back for something entirely different.
That woman wants passion.
That woman wants sex.
That woman wants orgasms.
Judd grasps my hips and spreads kisses across the top of my pubic bone. His mouth nips at the skin in the bend of my leg, causing me to squirm like crazy. “God, Judd. That’s just torture.”
“Do you want my mouth on you?”
Is he kidding me? “Yesss. So badly.”
I jolt when his tongue darts out and licks the top of my slit. “Ohh . . .”
He stops and swallows. “Must be good. I’ve never heard you say fuck. Ever.”
“Oh, I say fuck. Often. And this is very fucking good. Don’t stop.”
He covers my slit with his mouth and I rock my hips in an up-and-down motion against his tongue. My body shudders, and a moan is released when he works my clit in a circular motion.
He stops and grabs one of my pillows. “Lift up.”
I do as I’m told, and he shoves the pillow beneath my hips, causing them to be lifted off the bed. He pushes my knees apart so that I’m spread wide, giving him full access to everything between my legs. Making me vulnerable.
And making me his.
I moan when his tongue touches me again. He alternates licking my slit and sucking my clit. It feels amazing, and he hasn’t even gotten inside me yet.
He sucks harder, alternating with licking. I reach over my head to grasp the edge of the mattress, arching my back off the bed when I sense what is coming. “Please don’t stop, Judd. I’m coming. So. Hard.”
My body rhythmically tenses and relaxes. It contracts in a throbbing pattern at least a dozen times. There’s no mistaking the magical spasms I feel or what they are.
My body goes limp, and my hearing is diminished for a brief moment after my orgasm ends. Temporary hearing loss . . . that’s never happened to me before. But then again, no man has ever made me feel like this.
Judd crawls up my body until we’re face-to-face, and he presses a soft kiss to my mouth. “Was it good?”
I can’t stop the goofy grin from spreading on my face. “Mmm . . . sooo damn good. I’ve never come so hard in my life.”
His gaze . . . it tells me that he’s ready to fuck me into next week, but I feel inclined to return the oral favor. “Want me to go down on you?”
“Next time. Right now I just want to be inside you.”
Next time. Those two words threaten to make my goofy grin spread even wider; this isn’t going to be a one-time thing. I can’t have him seeing how happy that makes me, so I pull him down for a kiss.
I arch against him, bringing us closer, and pressing our warm, flushed skin together. He crushes his mouth against mine, tangling his hands in my hair, and kisses me like his life depends on it. Because tonight, it almost feels like it does. Like both of our lives depend on this moment. Like there’s no going forward without coming together tonight.
He breaks our kiss, and we’re face-to-face, his eyes connecting with mine. He lifts his hand and cups my cheek, brushing his thumb along my jaw. “You turn me on so fucking much. I don’t think that you have any idea how much I want you.”
His words are neither romantic nor filthy, but I believe they are truthful. Judd really and truly wants me.
“It can’t be more than I want you.”
He positions himself on top of me. His face hovers just inches from mine, and I widen the part between my legs, inviting him to come closer, to push himself inside me. “I’m clean, and I’m on birth control. I’m fine with not using a condom unless you want to.”
He shakes his head. “I’d rather not.”
He adjusts his hips until his cock is pressed against my entrance. I grip his biceps and softly gasp as he enters me in a single slow thrust. Stretching me. Filling me.
I’m no virgin, but it’s been a long time since I’ve had a man inside me. More than a year. It’s a tight fit, but I’m ready for this. More than ready. I’m drenching wet, making him slide in with ease.
I’m curled around Judd, my legs wrapped tightly on both sides of his waist and arms around his shoulders with my fingers laced through the back of his thick hair.
He moves slowly at first and gradually increases his speed. His arm snakes beneath me and grasps the back of my neck, using his grip to hold me in place while he thrusts into me harder.
“You feel so fucking good. I don’t want to pull out.”
“You don’t have to.”
He trades speed for depth and pushes my legs back and apart, using his weight to press his body into mine as deeply as possible. “Fuck . . . Leighton.”
He stops moving, presses his forehead to mine, and groans. A moment later, I feel a warm, wet ooze where we’re still joined as one.
“Let me savor this for as long as possible.”
He doesn’t make a move to pull out. He simply remains still inside of me—something I’m not used to, but I like it.
His breathing gradually returns to normal, and his eyes are full of satisfaction when they connect with mine. “We’re going to have another round of that as soon as I’m ready again.”
He’ll get no complaint from me.
He presses a quick kiss to my mouth and pulls out, rolling to his back to lie beside me. He reaches for my hand and laces our fingers together like he did earlier. “What have you done to me, Leighton Mitchell?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
He brings my hand to his mouth and kisses the top. “I have fame and money and success, but not one of those things captivates me the way that you do.”
“I don’t know why. Nothing special about me.”
“You don’t know how wrong you are about that. You are so very special. I wish that you could see what I see when I look at you.”
I may be the stupidest woman in the world, and I’ll find out in time if I am, but Judd Mathews is making me fall in love with him. “That’s a sweet thing to say.”
“It’s true.” He brings up our intertwined fingers, looking at the clasp. “And my daughter thinks so too. She loves you, Leighton. The way a child loves its mother.”
“I love her too . . . the way a mother loves her child.”
“How did I get so lucky to find you?” Judd pushes me onto my back and crawls over me, kissing my mouth. “How much longer until Scarlett wakes?”
I look over at the clock on my nightstand. “Twenty, maybe thirty minutes if we’re lucky.”
“Not near long enough to do everything I want to do to you, but we’ll work with what we’ve got.”
“How long before you have to go back?”
“About fifteen hours.”
Fifteen hours. I’ll blink and he’ll have to leave again. “Not long enough.”
“You don’t have to tell me.”
I touch my fingertips to his face. “I want to make it count. Tell me what you need, what you want, what you crave, and I’ll give it to you.”
A naughty grin spreads on his face, and he flips us over so that I’m on top. “Ride me. I want to watch your pussy slide on and off my cock.”
“Your wish is my command.”
And I give him exactly what he wants. Twice.
Epilogue
Leighton Mitchell Mathews
JUDD’S HANDS ARE ON MY hips, guiding me while I walk backward through our bedroom door, kissing en route to our bed. “Happy anniversary to you, Mrs. Mathews.”
“Happy anniversary to you, Mr. Mathews.”
Judd came home from that two-month tour, and we married six weeks later. I know. We jumped in, but there was no reason to wait. I wasn’t leaving him or Scarlett. And he was never going to let me go. It was just the right thing to do.
That was two years ago. Our marriage hasn’t been a piece of cake. Being apart for long stretches of time when he was touring has been hard. We’ve somehow made it work. But not anymore. Judd is done touring.
“Have I told you lately how much I love you?”
“You might have told me this morning when you brought me breakfast in bed, and when I was getting ready to go out tonight, and when you took me to dinner, and when we were driving home. But you can tell me again if it pleases you.”
“I love you so much that it hurts. My chest literally ache
s when I look at you.”
I go up on my tiptoes and press a kiss to his mouth. “I love you too.”
“Put on something sexy for me.”
“You assume that I can still fit into something sexy.”
“You’re not big.”
I put my hand on top of my swollen belly. “Your definition of big varies greatly from mine.”
I’m two weeks away from my due date, and I’m huge. I don’t know how my belly can get any bigger.
“The size of your stomach validates that we have a healthy baby growing in there.”
“I know. I’m happy for my abdomen to stretch as much as it needs to for him or her to be fat and happy.”
“Forget the sexy lingerie. I just want you naked.”
He undresses me and I do the same for him. When we’re both bare, I push my fingers through the back of his hair as I kiss him. His hands are at my lower back, and he pulls me closer, making my pregnant belly press against him.
His hands caress my breasts, and he thumbs my nipples. After they harden, his mouth takes turns sucking both. The top of my abdomen tightens into a hard ball, just like every other time he plays with my boobs.
The tightening is a contraction. Not painful, but definitely attention-grabbing.
I sit on the bed and move to the center. He crawls over me, stopping to kiss my stomach. “I can’t wait to meet our baby.”
“Me either.”
He grips my hip and coaxes me to turn onto my side. “Daddy wants it from behind.”
Fine by me; I can’t lie on my back anymore. Feels like I’m smothering.
I get situated, which takes a lot more work than it used to, and he positions himself as though he’s going to spoon me from behind. He bends my top leg at the knee and pulls backward, so it’s resting over his legs. “Are you comfortable like this?”
“I’m good.”
He kisses my shoulder in the bend where it meets my neck and eases into me slowly. “Oh fuck, that feels amazing.”
He pulls back and thrusts several times, groaning with every advance. “Oh, you are so damn tight, Leigh.”
He bends my knee and puts the sole of my foot flat against his thigh so my leg is hiked out. He reaches around and rubs my clit. “I’m going to make you come so hard.”
Wanted: Adored (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 7