by Grace James
Blake’s eyes had narrowed slightly and I could see the muscles of his jaw clenching and unclenching.
I licked my lips before I added, “And I know I already said this, but I want to say it again – I’m really sorry for lying. I know you hate it.”
“You know why I hate it?”
“Well, no one likes being lied to, I guess…?”
“Yeah, but that’s not it. I hate it ‘cause it means you don’t trust me –”
“That’s not why I did it!” I cut in.
Really? my inner voice whispered. So, you DON’T panic when he’s not in bed with you in the morning? You DON’T immediately think he left again?
“Yeah, it is,” he said bluntly. “And, I get it. I fucking hate it – but I get it. I can’t expect you to just trust me overnight. I know I gotta earn it. But do you know what else I realized?”
I shook my head.
“I realized that the reason it tears me up so much is ‘cause I never lie to you. Since that night years ago, out back of Filthy Joe’s, when you climbed up on my truck and listened to me talk about my mom and dad – since that fuckin’ moment, I trusted you enough to always give you the truth. I told you things I’ve never told anyone…but you can’t ever give me the same thing back.”
It was like he was holding a mirror up in front of me.
I had always held a little part of myself back from Blake.
Maybe it was because of my relationship with Connor – he was the first man I ever got serious with, and he taught me not to trust from the beginning.
Maybe it was because I never really felt like Blake and I stood a real chance – there were always so many barriers in our way.
But, whatever the reason, something inside me shifted then. It was like I’d been standing in the shade and then suddenly I stepped out into the light.
Everything became clear: right now, I was the one putting up the walls.
Closing the space between us quickly, I pressed my hands to Blake’s chest, flat against the hard curves of his muscles. I could feel his heart beating rapidly against my palms as I murmured, “You want to know something I’ve never told anyone?”
He nodded once, almost imperceptibly.
“I never told anyone that I dreamed about you almost every night since that weekend we spent together at the cabin. I never told anyone that, even when you were gone, I never stopped wanting you…wanting everything we threw away, everything that was stolen from us.”
He swallowed thickly as he looked down his nose at me. “You did?”
“Yeah…but I don’t want to dream about you anymore.” His brow furrowed, and I bunched my hands in the front of his shirt to keep him flush against me. “I want to wake up in the night and see that you’re really here. I don’t want you to keep fading away again as soon as I open my eyes – because I tried so hard to stop loving you, Blake. All this time, I tried. But I couldn’t do it…I still love you.”
His hands moved up to cup my face as he dropped his forehead to mine. “Don’t,” he breathed. “Don’t ever stop, ‘cause I love you, too, Princess. I never stopped either.”
I felt like my heart was swelling against my ribs. Instantly, my eyes were wet.
Blake’s fingers tightened on the sides of my neck as he tilted my head just how he wanted it and kissed me hard, plunging his tongue into my mouth to tangle with mine. I melted against him, getting lost in a long, hot, passionate kiss that set my whole body on fire.
I pulled him close so the front of my body slid against his solid chest and abs. As my breasts brushed against his stomach, my nipples tightened, aching for his touch.
I love you, too, Princess. I never stopped either.
Oh, God.
I was wet, soaking, dying to have him inside me.
One of his hands left my face – and the sudden slap of it across my ass made me jerk with shock. I let out a little shriek, breaking our kiss, but Blake squeezed my still-tingling flesh, pressing me against him like he couldn’t stand for there to be even a sliver of air between us. “No more lies. Ever,” he commanded, fiercely.
I’d just opened my mouth to agree when he sent another stinging slap across my ass. That time I gasped and pushed myself back a little, indignant with the caveman routine…and, okay, hugely turned on by the caveman routine.
“And no more meeting ex-boyfriends without me knowing. Promise me, and mean it, ‘cause that shit better not happen again.”
A part of me wanted to rebel against the way he was spanking me and issuing orders like I was his to control – but a bigger part of me understood that he needed this, and that his requests weren’t unreasonable. “I promise.”
For a long moment, he searched my eyes. He must have seen what he wanted, because the next moment he was pulling me against him again as he kissed me.
Within seconds, I could feel the bulge in his jeans start to swell against my stomach. The thought of his long, thick cock stirring and hardening with every heartbeat sent a rush of moisture to my already fluttering core.
Completely without warning, he pulled his mouth away from mine and stepped back – but only far enough to grab me and throw me backwards. I landed on the bed with a squeak, bouncing on my ass and falling onto my back.
Blake yanked his shirt off and tossed it aside – then he was on me, jean-clad knees shoving my thighs apart as he crawled up over me.
He grabbed the neckline of my cotton dress in his hands and, with one strong tug, ripped the whole thing down the middle to my navel.
I didn’t protest.
Hooking his fingers into the cups of my bra, he tugged them down so that my breasts were jutting out. One greedy hand groped me, squeezing my left breast and tugging and rolling my nipple, while his mouth found my other aching nub. I arched off the bed, pressing myself against him, feeling the rough stubble around his mouth sink into the softness of my flesh as he grunted and sucked harder.
Moaning, I wrapped my legs around his hips, grinding myself against his cock even though there were still clothes barring the way.
Abruptly, he pulled away from my boobs and pushed himself up and back onto his haunches as he loomed over me.
His left hand went to my throat.
Circling it.
The feel of his strong fingers against my tender flesh probably shouldn’t have excited me – but it did.
I bit down on my lip as I gazed up at him. His eyes were hooded and dark. His right hand went to his belt. Deftly, he unbuckled it and then pulled apart his button fly with a swift jerk before shoving his boxer briefs down far enough to pull out his huge, hard cock.
I watched, totally mesmerized, as he curled his big hand around his shaft and started to pump up and down in a long, slow, leisurely motion. His hand tightened a little on my throat as he did so – but it wasn’t enough to hurt. It was just enough to let me know I was trapped, completely his…
Why do I like this?
“Touch yourself, Princess.” Blake’s rough command brought my attention to his face. He was watching me intently. I could see the muscles in his jaw bunch every time he moved his hand up and down his cock.
I didn’t even hesitate.
I pulled what remained of my dress up and delved my hand into the top of my panties. As soon as my fingers skimmed over my slick, swollen lips, I let out a sigh that was more of a whimper.
Blake’s voice was a low rumble when he asked, “You wet?”
I bit my lip and nodded as I began circling my clit with the pad of my finger…a spring of tension start to coil inside of me…
Blake released his hold on his cock, and my neck, long enough to grasp my panties tightly and pull them apart. He left them hanging in useless pieces around the tops of my thighs.
His heavy gaze followed the movement of my hand as his own resumed their work; his right hand clamping back around his cock, his left hand caressing the column of my throat, before settling around me like a collar.
“Fuck yourself with your fingers,”
he ordered. “I wanna see your tight little pussy swallow them up.”
I did it.
I trailed my first and second fingers down through my folds and pushed them inside, arching my back at the delicious ache they created.
Blake let out a low groan as he watched me.
My eyes fixed on the blunt head of his cock, on how it swelled, the tip getting slicker, when his hand started to move faster.
I matched his pace, moving my fingers in and out in time with the motion of his hand, my palm rubbing over my clit just right every time, pushing me higher.
I didn’t even realize I was moaning and gasping until the rumble of his voice sounded from above me, “Fuck, baby, the noises you make...gonna make me come all over you…”
“So do it,” I breathed. I wanted to see it. The image in my mind of him gripping his massive cock while he lost control made my inner muscles clench hard around my fingers. “Oh God, do it.”
He pumped himself harder, even faster. The grip he had on my throat got tighter, to the point where I felt an unbelievable pressure building inside of me –
Then I was coming hard; my whole body tensing and bowing off the bed.
Blake followed less than a second later, gritting out a string of guttural curses as ropes of warm cum spurted from his cock to coat my stomach and breasts.
As our orgasms subsided, he released my neck and planted his palm on the bed next to my head. His lips landed on mine, soft and tender, lingering and sweet.
After maybe a minute, Blake broke the kiss and pulled me up off of the bed and into his arms. He carried me into the bathroom and set me down next to the vast double shower before leaning inside to turn it on.
Then we stripped each other off.
I couldn’t hold in a giggle at the look of masculine satisfaction on his face when he peeled away my sticky, ripped up dress.
“Pretty soon, I’m going to have no clothes left,” I said.
“Then you’ll just have to be naked all the time,” he replied as he led me into the shower.
The warm spray cascaded over us and I shivered in pleasure.
“You want me naked all the time?” I asked, snaking my arms around his waist and then kissing the baby grand piano tattooed over his heart.
His hands teased through my wet hair, pushing it back from my face. “Damn right.”
“Might be a problem at work…”
He grinned and leant down to land a horse bite on my shoulder. “Then I’ll take you shopping and buy you a bunch of shit I can tear up.”
I rested my head against his chest and just enjoyed holding him. “I hate fighting with you.”
He hugged me against him. “Me too, but it’s done now.”
59
Blake and I were only five minutes late to meet Derren and Hayley in the lobby.
We were all dressed casually, as per Hayley’s instructions. Me and Hayley wore Daisy Dukes and tank tops – hers silky, mine cotton – and the guys wore jeans and button downs with the sleeves rolled up.
As soon as Derren caught sight of us holding hands, he shot Hayley a look of triumph. “Told you an hour was all he needed!” he yelled, making the woman behind the counter shoot a disapproving look his way.
When Blake and I reached them, Derren pushed himself up from the brown leather chair he’d been sitting on and held up a hand to Blake, awaiting a high five.
Blake being Blake, he ignored Derren’s hand and feigned a lunge towards him instead.
Derren flinched back before he could catch himself. “Man, you’re a dick even after you get some,” he complained.
Blake barked a laugh as he let go of my hand and slung an arm around Derren’s neck. “C’mon, fucker, let’s go pose for your pussy ass pictures.”
Derren shoved him away and started towards the exit. “Whatever, man, we all know you love the cameras pointin’ at your pretty boy face.”
“Pretty?!” Blake sent a backhanded slap into Derren’s stomach as he walked with him. “That mean you wanna fuck me?”
“In your dreams,” Derren quipped. “I got standards.”
As Hayley pushed herself up from her chair, she caught my eye and shook her head wryly, but she was smiling.
“I think I get it now,” I said to her as we followed the guys out into the sunlight. “Why Derren picked Blake for his Best Man, I mean,” I explained at the question on her face. “At first, I didn’t really understand because they always seem to argue, but now I see it.”
“It’s a weird form of bro-love, right?”
“Yeah, like, they can’t actually admit they like each other.”
“Hell, no,” she laughed. “I’m dreading Blake’s speech at the wedding, what’s the bet he can’t get through it without calling Derren a ‘pussy’ or a ‘fucker’?”
I laughed too. “Hey, you guys knew what you were doing when you picked him.”
“Yeah, we did.” She shot me a sly look. “And it turns out we didn’t even need to be so sneaky.”
It took a second for that to sink in – then I realized what she meant.
“You made me your Maid of Honor and Blake your Best Man to try get us back together?!”
“Well, that wasn’t the only reason – you’re our best friends. But let’s just say it was an added perk that we were planning on exploiting.”
I stared at her, open mouthed. “But you kept saying sorry for putting me in that position! And you kept saying how I didn’t have to walk down the aisle with him or – or anything if I didn’t want to!”
She shrugged. “What can I say? I should’ve been an actress.”
60
The photo shoot took the rest of the afternoon.
We drove out to an idyllic spot right on the rim of the Grand Canyon, overlooking the place that Hayley and Derren had picked for the wedding ceremony. It was private and secluded – like we were the only people on the planet.
The photographer and his assistant were already there when we arrived, set up and ready to go as soon as we got out of the car.
First, there were a bunch of shots of us all together.
The photographer didn’t really give us too much direction because Hayley wanted the shots to look as natural as possible – but Blake and Derren were used to photo shoots, so they kind of took control, making Hayley and I laugh as the cameras clicked away.
As much as I thought I’d feel self-conscious, I ended up having fun – especially when Blake and Derren told us climb up on their shoulders and then set off racing each other over the rocky ground.
After a while, Blake and I sat out on the rim of the canyon, legs dangling over the drop, while Hayley and Derren posed for the ‘romantic’ shots by themselves.
It was dark when we eventually got back to the hotel, and I could see why it was called The Jewel. The lights inside the golden lanterns reflected off the orange brick walls, making it stand out like a precious stone in the desert.
After we showered and changed – me into a loose fitting, pink satin dress, Blake into a navy button down and a fresh pair of faded jeans – we all went to dinner together at the hotel’s only restaurant.
The tables spilled out onto the terrace where we sat, surrounded by dozens of huge vases filled with colorful flowers of every description – none of which I could name, even if my life depended on it.
Every table was at least twelve feet away from its neighbors, giving a feel of privacy even though each table was occupied.
The diners all oozed money and I noticed right away that, although a few did double takes or nudged their friends and nodded towards us (well, mainly Blake), there were no open-mouthed gapes and no cell phones pointed our way. Apparently, the clientele of The Jewel were above that kind of thing.
Blake’s hand was in mine as the four of us sat and talked after our meal, with Hayley and I sipping cocktails and the guys drinking bourbon on the rocks.
Hayley was giggling uncontrollably at something Derren had said, when she wrapped her arms arou
nd his neck and moved in for a kiss – only to end up headbutting him instead.
He winced as he burst out laughing. “Drunk much, babe?”
“Said the Rock Star!” Hayley crowed, jabbing him in the chest. “Remember London last year? You were the drunkest man that ever lived!” She whipped her head around to seek out Blake. “Wasn’t he?”
“Yeah,” Blake agreed. “What was that he was saying?” He made his voice an octave higher, imitating Derren, “Can the London Eye, like, SEE us and shit? Is it, like, a real electronic eyeball?”
Hayley’s laughter pealed out.
“Well, is it?” I asked, genuinely intrigued.
Blake shot me a look. “Seriously?”
“Well, I don’t know! I’ve never seen this eye thing for real!”
“No, it’s not,” Derren said to me. “But it could be, we have the technology for that.” Blake groaned and shook his head, but Derren carried on undeterred, “Actually, a lot of people believe that we’re being monitored all the time, like a Big Brother type set up. According to some stuff I read online, there’s technology in smart TVs that could be used for that purpose. So, the idea that you could run surveillance via a landmark like that, on that level, isn’t actually ridiculous.”
“See?” I said to Blake. “Not a ridiculous question.”
“No, Princess, you’re not ridiculous at all.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Don’t patronize me.”
He chuckled and lifted my hand to his lips, kissing the back of my knuckles.
“So, what’s London like?” I asked. “You know, apart from the threat of being spied on by The Eye?”
“Very cool,” Blake said. “Bigger than I thought it’d be.”
“Cold,” Derren added.
“Lots of history,” Hayley tagged on. “But Buckingham Palace is a letdown.”
I found that hard to believe. “Really?!”
“Yeah, they could’ve done more with it. There was nowhere near enough gold.”
“Offer to redesign it for them, babe,” Derren joked. Hayley covered his face with her hand in response, making him laugh.