Love Under Construction (Love By Design Book 1)

by M. C. Cerny

  His chest lifted on a sigh, “Obviously ignoring our feelings hasn’t worked and I’m not strong enough to lose you again.”

  “So don’t.” It was time for a confession of my own. “That’s probably why I didn’t bother hooking up with anyone. I guess I knew I wouldn’t really be into it. Not when there was someone else I wanted too much but couldn’t have.”

  “And you… wait… Taylor Jane, what are you saying?”

  I didn’t want to think about it, I was afraid to stop the momentum, but we’d already laid our cards out on the table.

  “I’ve never been with anyone. I wasn’t exactly waiting for you, but I never felt there was a right person either.”

  His face got serious and a rumble from his chest felt like a primal growl under my fingertips when he spoke. “So that means you’re mine.”

  Laughing was all I could do when Hunter looked at me with such predatory eyes that gleamed when his arms tightened around me.

  “If that’s what you want to think, who am I to stop you?”

  “It is what I think and that’s the truth. You mean everything to me.”

  “No pressure then, but I hope this is good.”

  “Taylor Jane, you can bet your house I’m gonna make this magical.”

  I was hard-pressed to hold back the giggle. Hunter Hart, former Marine turned construction god didn’t say words like magical.

  His lips pressed against mine and the wave of feelings flooded me. I wrapped my arms around his neck greedy with need. Hunter picked me up, wrapping my legs around his waist husking me through the house. “I’d like to christen every room in this house, but…”

  Hesitating, we looked around, taking in the tape and orange cone placed near the hole in the porch. A construction site wasn’t exactly what I envisioned for my first time.

  “It’s a danger zone.”

  “I’m glad we agree on something.”

  “It’s the potential for an owl attack, isn’t it?” I asked, doing my best attempt to not smile.

  “Not going to let that go, are you?” He couldn’t even look me in the eye because we’d both burst out laughing.

  “Is it the Ghost of Port-a-john-past you’re afraid of then?”

  “Aw, woman.” He teased me tickling my ribs.

  I tweaked his chin, and he tried to nip me with his teeth. “So where are we going?”

  “My house. My bed.” Yeah, Hunter wasn’t a control freak or anything. This demand left me shivering and damp in places down below.

  “Glad that was easy to decide.”

  “You weren’t planning to go to your house, were you?” he joked.

  “Uh, no, my dad is home. God, that makes me feel like a teenager in trouble.”

  Hunter walked me out of the house and carried me to his truck. “I told you I’d make it magical. I’m not about to back down on that.”

  I’d be lying to myself if I wasn’t just a little more than nervous…

  22

  Taylor Jane

  Hunter was lucky he didn’t get pulled over driving across town to his house, breaking several speed limits on the way. I would have been mortified if Officer Rooney pulled us over given the history of our little social circle. I had visions of frantic and inappropriate text messages from Kristen. Damien would have been hot on her heels banging on Hunter’s door. I loved my friends, but I waited a decade for this one selfish moment. I wanted Hunter to myself without the world barging in.

  Hunter pulled into his driveway turning the truck key as gravel kicked up, and wheels halted in front of his garage. Afraid to move, we sat in silence with heartbeats humming and the widows fogging. The neatly manicured lawn was visible outside the bubble of the truck, but nothing felt tidy and in control. Flowers poked up from a bed of mulch and a tree branch hung low needing a trim. Controlling how we felt about each other was as lost a cause as expecting nature to cease growing simply because Hunter clipped and groomed it.

  “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. You know that, right?” Hunter cupped my chin, pulling me in close for another scorching kiss.

  “I’ve waited long enough, don’t you think?”

  “And I would keep waiting if you asked me to.” Hunter dropped a peck of a kiss on my lips as our eyes regarded each other.

  “Lucky for you I’m not going to ask.” I unclicked my seatbelt and nudged him to get out of the truck.

  “I figured you would say that.” Hunter hopped out of the truck coming to my side. He opened the door like a gentleman, took my hand, and walked me inside. He didn’t bother to turn any lights on in the house and headed straight to the bedroom.

  It wasn’t nerves that had me trembling with anxiety when Hunter dumped his wallet on the dresser, toed his boots off and pulled his shirt off one handed, dropping it to the floor. I backed up, feeling my legs hit the edge of his bed watching him stalk me bare chested, all alpha male, his jeans hung low. He tugged my shirt up and over my head quickly, but stopped to look me over. Smiling, his hands grazed my skin reaching around to unhook my bra letting the cups slip off my heavy breasts, the cotton and lace falling to the hardwood floor of his bedroom.

  It wasn’t nerves when he slipped his fingers inside the band of my jean shorts undoing the button, sliding them down my legs, in a slow, slow move that would rival the speed of molasses, his eyes never leaving mine as his knees touched the floor. Leaving my plain cotton underwear on, he kissed the soft spot below my bellybutton, his lips lingering as I braced my hands on his thick shoulders.

  I definitely wasn’t shaking in my boots with nerves when he unlaced and tugged them off, tossing them. Pulling each sock off my foot popping the cotton over his shoulder into a heap behind him didn’t change anything either. I felt like a switch had been flipped and I was a single electrical current, waiting to be tapped by Hunter Hart.

  Kneeling on the floor, he looked up tracing the goose bumps on my skin. He dragged his hands against my body from my thighs past my ribs. Hot and a little rough, he palmed my breasts for the second time and pinched the buds of my nipples detonating my need for him.

  “Hunter, please don’t make me wait.” I didn’t think about sex when I was fourteen, maybe not until seventeen or so when I had a better understanding of what that actually meant. Still, ten years was a long time to fantasize, to want him, his attention, and his desire for my own. So much so that the thought of going a minute longer made me whimper, soaking the last article of clothing I had left.

  “Hush, woman. Stop rushing me.” Hunter crowded me in so I had nowhere to go and nowhere else I wanted to be. He picked me up and tossed me gently on the bed so I bounced back into the comforter, which cooled my skin and braced me from flopping anywhere else.

  The last time I was in this bed I was drunk and Hunter spooned me in my sleep. I wanted that part again no matter what else we did tonight.

  “Hunter, will you….” We were eye to eye as he crawled up the bed caging me in, a hand brushing my hair back out of my face.

  “Ask me anything and it’s yours.”

  “Will you hold me, after? Like you did last time, except I’m not drunk and—”

  “Shhhh. I think I can handle that.” Hunter finished his sentence by sucking on my neck and made his way down to my aching breasts. My nipples were cold in the room, air conditioning hummed in the background, and the buzzing sound went straight to my clit. I gasped from the burn of his hot mouth and swirling tongue over the bud so tight it hurt from pleasure.

  “I want, I want, I want….” I wanted him so bad the words didn’t come.

  “I know what you want, sweetheart. Breathe, Taylor Jane, I’m right here with you.”

  Our lips joined in the dark and he grabbed a handful of hair, fucking my mouth with his kiss. It was wet, messy, and he trailed his lips to my earlobe, biting down. His mouth marked me, peppering red abrasions down my chest to my belly. His tongue rimmed my navel and I squirmed from the sensation flooding my senses on overdrive.

&nb
sp; “I can’t wait to drag my tongue through your pussy lips and rim your puckered knot. You’re mine now, Taylor Jane.”

  Forget the air conditioning; my whole body had a hot flash when Hunter talked about oral and anal and anything else he wished to do to me. I never guessed my stoic guy hid a filthy mouth.

  “Maybe next time?” Too new, too much, too unsure of myself my mind yelled from somewhere deep down, making my reply a weak trembling.

  “When you’re ready, I promise.” He seemed undeterred and leaned back to yank my underwear off my body before anchoring himself firmly between my shaking legs. His head ducked down spreading my lips with his fingers and licking the hood of my clit with his thick tongue. His finger played, gently circling around the entrance of my core, a blunt tip pressing gently inside

  “Hunter, please, do it, now.” I was a groaning, grunting, impatient mess and all he’d done was slip a finger barely inside me.

  “Can you feel how wet you are?” All I could do was make throaty sounds while he cupped me. A finger moved sliding roughly at first in my restless pursuit for relief. Several strokes in had begun to ease the way with my own lubrication soaking his capable hands.

  Wet? More like a monsoon down below as Hunter moved his finger in and out, spreading my liquid heat around. A second finger joined the first and the pressure increased.

  “Shhh, not yet sweetheart.” He pressed further inside slowly until I felt sharpness before backing down, scissoring me wider, letting me drench his hand. My body slowly accepted more of him, relaxing around his fingers in a snug fit.

  “Hunter, it feels tight.” I thrashed my head on the pillow, unsure of what I wanted when he stilled.

  “A good tight?” He checked in with me as his fingers pressed deep and shallow, but the urge to push him back out was there, making me wince.

  “I don’t know.”

  “I’ve gotta break the hymen inside you.”

  I knew that, but I didn’t know it would feel this achy and conflicted. “Can you just do it quick?” I wanted to get to the good part. Wasn’t that what I’d waited all this time for?

  “I can, but I promised magical and ramming my dick in you doesn’t seem nearly as fun if you’re going to try bucking me off because you’re in pain.”

  “Arrrgh.” The frustration was real.

  “Magical, remember? Don’t be inpatient.” He chided teasing, fucking me with his thick fingers. My body held tighter with each pass clawing toward some unattainable high.

  “Are you laughing at me? You better not be laughing… oh.” Something changed when he hooked those gifted digits inside me pressing deep. I no longer wanted the rushed version; I wanted this to keep going.

  Hunter was back to kissing me. Sucking kisses and massaging my breasts that wished he had four arms instead of two to do the job. Somewhere in the tangle I managed to unbutton his jeans and push them off with my feet, leaving his hot smooth skin resting even closer to mine.

  His hands returned, going back to dipping, pressing, and working me into a heated frenzy. My orgasm was building and it was different from any I’d given myself. This was the main event, and I liked it.

  “I love how you squeeze my fingers, so eager, taking me. Your whole body contracts. Your breasts are the perfect size for my hands with little pink nipples begging me to suck them.”

  My body was a conductor of heat, desire, and rushes of hormonal reactions, making me feel strung out and a little drunk.

  “Let it happen, let it go.” He urged.

  And I did in a shouting fever, consumed with greediness, wanting more of Hunter, who didn’t disappoint.

  I was still recovering from the aftermath of an orgasm that nearly blinded me when Hunter crawled up my body. Fine hairs on his legs rubbed sparks between my thighs. It almost felt like too much sensation and yet not enough, never enough.

  Hunter cupped my face in his large, gentle bear like hands. “I’m clean.”

  “I’m on the pill,” I whispered in the dark room, nodding for him to continue. He kissed me sweet, and irrational tears pricked my eyes. Holding me, Hunter pushed forward slowly. The burning sensation of being pierced cut my breath short.

  “A little more, Taylor Jane.” Hunter pulled his hips back before pushing forward, breaking the offending tissue in a pinch.

  Not going to lie, it hurt, and I couldn’t come again feeling the pain as I did. Hunter kissed me through the tears and cleaned me up, holding me until I fell asleep with promises of something better.

  Long drenching kisses woke me in the middle of the night bathing me with affection. Strong loving hands played with my breasts and it didn’t take much to get me randy for him. When Hunter moved between my legs that time it was every bit as magical as he’d promised. It was far better than a decade old–almost kiss.

  23

  Hunter

  Twelfth Grade - May

  “Don’t forget to buy your bids! On sale until Friday!” Becky Myers brushed past me as I pushed my way through the crowded hall to my next class. “And, uh, don’t forget to ask your date, Hunter.” Becky winked at me like she assumed I was asking her. I wasn’t. Heck, if I could have avoided the whole damn thing I would have.

  I knew my aunt was taking Damien for a tux fitting and she was going to encourage me to go whether I wanted to or not. My aunt was one of those saintly people, and I didn’t have it in me to tell her no.

  “Yo, Hunter, we going or what?” Damien asked.

  I shrugged, hoping to get myself out of the crossfire of prom committee staff and the saucer-sized eyes of every girl walking past us in slow motion.

  “Going where?” That small, gentle voice forced me to turn around quickly. Taylor Jane was almost knocked over by our football team’s defensive lineman.

  “Watch where you’re going, Asher.” I grabbed her by the shoulders and bear hugged her out of the way. It was way more personal contact than I should have had with my best friend, but I didn’t want her getting hurt.

  “Oomph.” Her breath puffed against my chest, the only warm spot between my rib cage. I didn’t have a heart worth counting until this girl came along.

  “Dude, let her up for air, she’s not a dolphin.” Damien pulled us apart, and I could see Kristen eyeballing us.

  “Yeah, who are you boys taking to prom?” Nosy girl asked.

  I figured Kristen would be a pain in the ass about this. I mean, when was this girl not a pain in the ass?

  “Oh, I’m not going, but you guys have fun.” Wait. Taylor Jane wasn’t going to prom?

  Kristen grabbed her arm pulling her back from walking away. “Oh, puh-lease! Of course you’re going. You’ve been asked by like three guys this week. We already bought dresses. I don’t understand why you turned them all down.”

  This surprised me. Why would she say no? And who the fuck asked her in the first place? Weird feelings that made me grumpier by the second invaded my head.

  Demanding to know what I missed I asked, “Who?”

  Her blue eyes looked up under her pale, silky lashes and locked with mine on her whisper. “What?”

  “Who asked you to prom?” My voice was sharp, but I had to know who the fuck had the balls to go near Taylor Jane thinking they were worth her time. To think that they were actually good enough for this beautiful girl, who continued to shine despite her losses that only made her stronger in my opinion.

  “Um…”

  Kristen pushed between us, piping in, “Okay, so there was Scott Crenshaw.” Kristen was kind of hard to miss, and I had to physically, but gently move her so I could still see Taylor Jane.

  “The dude in our math class?” I thought about this before responding with the obvious answer. “Crenshaw couldn’t solve a simple equation to save his life.” I made a note to pull Scott aside after class. No way was he sniffing around my best friend. Plus, the guy had a cowlick that screamed bad hair days for life. I’d stick to my crew-cut, thank you.

  “Reginald Cole.”

  “Pf
ft, that pussy plays soccer and drives a hybrid.” I dismissed him completely and saw Damien grin wide. I hit him in the chest, and he scowled, rubbing the spot.

  “Yeah, Pebbles, anyone else because I’m sure Hunter needs to get expelled before the year ends for beating on every guy we know.” Damien was such a little shit. I took a step forward to play punch him, but he backed up again.

  “Oh, just the guy who caused a near death experience for her last year.” Kristen waved her hand nonchalantly and I grabbed it gently to get it out of my face.

  “Kristen, Jeremy Dolan didn’t mean it.” Taylor Jane looked embarrassed and that made me feel bad. I made the dynamic duo promise to not tease her about it.

  I planned on leaving to join the military after school ended, but I hadn’t told anyone. I hadn’t found the courage to tell my best friend, Taylor Jane. The only people who knew were the marine recruiters expecting me after graduation.

  “Yeah, well, you can tell any other dipshit who wants to know that you’re going to prom with me.” I thumbed my chest and walked up to the table, dropping the money and watching the staff scramble writing down my information.

  “Oh, okay.” Her cheeks pinked to a rosy hue and Kristen’s mouth dropped open.

  “You’re catching flies, Pebbles.” Damien nudged her, and she hissed back.

  “Yeah, well, you’re going with me, Demon.”

  Shocked, I watched Kristen do exactly what I did moments earlier, slapping her hand down with the bid money. This was going to be a fun night despite having to wear a monkey suit. At least it wasn’t a suit of armor. I was no shining knight, feeling tarnished and battle weary knowing I couldn’t be what she wanted, but I could at least be what she needed. Taylor Jane would look pretty in whatever she wore and the other two would argue the entire night like always. Nothing had to change or threaten our carefully balanced status quo.

  “We’ll pick you girls up. Just tell me when.” I grabbed Damien by the collar and dragged him to our next class before he could he fuck everything up by opening his big mouth. I would save beating the shit out of Scott after prom. I wasn’t going to ruin Taylor Jane’s night seeing as how she needed this as much as I did. One last night before I told her and everyone else I was leaving this place for bigger things.