by Q. B. Tyler
I look down at this man, my marriage counselor, kneeling in front of me, staring at my pussy like a starving man in line at a buffet, and I do the only thing I can think of. I nod.
He smiles, a wicked gleam in his eye and I can’t help but wonder if I just sold my soul to the devil. The deliciously sexy devil that is sliding my panties down my legs as we speak. “Sit.” He points at the couch and I do as he says, my legs touching so as to not expose myself to him. “Open them,” he tells me and I swallow, as I slowly open my legs showing him my completely bare pussy.
“You’re bare,” he says, his eyes never leaving the space between my legs.
“Yes,” I croak out, the lust having taken over my voice completely.
“Why?” he asks, and I can see the wheels in his head turning. If she’s not having sex, why bother with the landscaping?
“I…just prefer not to have hair. It…itches.”
He chuckles at my response before pulling me toward him so that my butt is on the edge of the couch and pushes me back gently. I feel his hands on my thighs and I almost jump feeling his fingertip draw circles into my skin. “You’re so wet for me.”
I nod. Do I tell him I’ve been fantasizing about this for months? That he’s the star of every single one of my sexy fantasies? That I’ve named my favorite vibrator Dr. Montgomery? No Charley, shut the fuck up! Don’t ruin this. He’s going to give you an orgasm, you remember what those feel like when someone else gives them to you, right?
“You’re in your head,” he tells me and words fail me instantly.
“I…I…” I stammer. “Sorry,” I say weakly, and within a second, he’s hovering over me, his mouth nowhere near my pussy, but dangerously close to my lips.
“Stop. With. The. Sorry,” he growls and for a split second I’m slightly afraid of this much larger man, towering over me while I’m naked, with the exception of my bra—but I see the amusement in his eyes and instantly it calms me. “I’ll break you of this one day.”
“I look forward to it,” I say and for the first time, I feel his lips against mine. It’s not passionate or consuming. It’s simple, and yet I feel the spark the second his lips touched mine. It was a kiss that held so much promise. It’s as if he’s saying, this is the first kiss of many. I don’t feel his tongue, just his lips, pressed against mine gently. When he pulls back, all of the air has left my lungs, and I know the look in his eyes matches the one in mine. I think he’s just as convinced that our lives just changed in that split second. “Wow,” I say, and my eyes widen slightly as I hear what I just said. I press my hands to my cheeks trying to cool them because it feels like all my blood has rushed to them.
I feel his lips trail down my torso and belly until he’s back between my spread legs. “Your body is phenomenal, Charley. I imagined it would be but…you are so beautiful.”
Before I can respond I feel his lips on my pelvis, gently pressing a kiss to my pubic mound. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized that I was holding as his tongue swirls around the same patch of skin. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if my cum was leaking out of me and onto his leather couch as I clench nervously.
He must notice that I’ve tensed slightly and he chuckles. “Don’t worry, Charlotte. I’ll make sure not a drop of you goes to waste.”
I feel like I could faint from his sexy words. He winks at me and then I feel it. His tongue. There.
“Oh my God!” I whimper as I feel his tongue take one long, slow lick through my folds. He looks up at me, his blue eyes staring into my soul, and just like that, I’m lost.
My hands find his hair as he begins to lick me aggressively, and I can safely say in all the times that Matt has done this—not that there had been a ton, it’s never felt like this. It feels as if he’s trying to climb inside of me through his tongue. He moves my legs to lift over his shoulders and opens me up further to him. He pulls away slightly and when I look down I see my arousal glistening all over the bottom of his face. We only make eye contact for a mere second before I feel his tongue on my clit again, his lips closing around it, and I explode.
I’ve been wound up tighter than a wind up doll and this is the first time that there’s been a mouth between my legs in over a year. I’m actually surprised that I lasted this long.
I ride out my orgasm, panting and whimpering at the assault of his mouth and when I’m finished, I feel him place a tiny kiss on my pussy and I jolt, feeling overly sensitive.
“Your pussy is so sweet,” he tells me before I feel his lips on mine, his lips and tongue that taste like my arousal. His tongue probes my closed lips begging for entry. When I let him in, I immediately taste the evidence of my orgasm.
Fuck. Me.
I’m brought back into the here and now by the orgasm wracking my body as the thoughts of my past come flooding back to me. “Will!” I moan. My body shakes violently as it rips through me.
A beat after I feel his orgasm shooting through me. “Fuck, Charley!” he growls as his thrusts slow and his lips press lazy kisses against my neck. “My beautiful girl.” His hands move to my chest, his hands palming my breasts and rolling my nipples between his fingers. “I love you so much,” he says as he pulls out of me gently.
“I love you too.” I smile as I cuddle against him before I fall into a sex-induced sleep.
I’m not sure how long I’ve been asleep, but when I wake up, Will is staring down at me, with a lazy smile on his gorgeous face.
“Hi.”
“Hello, beautiful,” he murmurs before he presses a kiss to my forehead.
I move so that I’m resting on top of him before nuzzling my face into his neck. I breathe deeply, letting his scent calm me, and then kiss his jaw.
“We’ve come a long way, Charley.”
I pull away from him and cock my head to the side. “I’d say so.”
“We both did things that hurt other people for the sake of you and me.” My brows furrow together wondering where he’s going with this. “But I’m not sorry,” he tells me. “I would do it again. All of it. If it meant that I was going to get you in the end. That we’d get here, together… with the new life we created. I wouldn’t change any of what we did to get here. Maybe that makes me a terrible person—”
“It doesn’t,” I interrupt. “I understand what you’re saying.” I rub his face and give him a reassuring smile, letting him know that I feel the same.
“I’ll never…not want this, Charley. I’ll never take you for granted…ignore you…” he trails off before his hands find my face. “I never want to hurt you again.”
My teeth find my bottom lip as I nod. “I never want to hurt you either.”
His right hand finds my left as he drives us to his parents’ house and he places a kiss on my knuckles. “It’s going to be fine. Don’t worry.”
“I’m not,” I lie.
“You know I know when you’re lying to me, Charlotte.”
I roll my eyes at the shrink coming out of my fiancé. “I know that you’ll handle it if things get out of hand.”
“Yes, I will.”
This will be the first time I have been to Will’s parents’ house, and somewhere deep inside of me that makes me nervous. My eyes widen as I take in the size of Montgomery Manor. Jesus Christ, he grew up here? “This is your parents’ house?”
“Yes.”
“You grew up here?”
“Yes, and it was as lonely as you’d imagine,” he says sadly.
I narrow my eyes at him sadly as he pulls up the long driveway and parks behind Drew’s car. I grab his hand and squeeze; for the first time, I realize that Will may be as nervous as I am. “Hey, before we go in there…” I trail off. “Just know that you never have to feel lonely in that house ever again. I’m here.” I kiss his knuckles one by one, and he pulls my face away from his hand before pressing his lips to mine. We kiss for what feels like ages, like teenagers as we make out in a car in front of his parent’s house. After a while, I pull away, his lips now bright re
d from my lipstick, and I know it has to be all over my lips also. After a few minutes, we’re presentable as we begin our trek up the long walkway into Montgomery Manor.
When we walk through the front door, I’m not sure what I expected, but it’s not as cold as I thought it would be. It’s actually quite the opposite.
“SON!” J.R. bellows as he pulls Will into a hug. “Charley.” He squeezes me tight and lifts me slightly off the ground before setting me on my feet. “You look lovely as always,” he tells me as he begins walking towards the kitchen. “Come, your mother is almost finished with dinner.”
Will and I walk hand in hand to the kitchen to find Drew sitting at the bar talking to Diana. Diana has an apron wrapped around her waist, with slippers on her feet, and if I wasn’t seeing it with my own two eyes I wouldn’t have believed it. She’s so domestic. No heels?
“Oh, honey!” Diana says as she makes her way over to us. “I’m so glad you came.” She kisses Will’s cheek and it’s almost as if it’s a completely different Diana. They’re trying, Charley.
“Charley. You look lovely,” she says, pressing a kiss to my cheek and I stiffen slightly. This is so…awkward. Are we just pretending that nothing has happened between us?
“Thank…you, Mrs. Montgomery.”
“Please, Diana.” Diana? Really? I don’t know what it is this woman is selling, but I’m not buying it.
I look at Drew and he hasn’t said anything to Will, and Will doesn’t seem that interested in saying anything either.
“Hi, Drew.” I give a small wave and he stands to make his way over to me.
“Charley,” he says wrapping his arms around me and squeezing me.
The kitchen is silent, the awkwardness amongst five people, four immediate family members, and one transplant almost stifling. “Ummm, where’s your bathroom?” I ask, wanting out of this completely tense situation, and knowing that Will can probably better diffuse the situation without me present.
“Down the hall to the left, baby. Do you want me to take you?”
“No, I can find it…I’m good.” I smile before taking off down the hall. I close myself in the bathroom, locking the door behind me, and lean against the door. I press off the door and drop the lid to the toilet down so that I can sit, crossing my legs and putting my head in my hands.
Make the best of this situation, Charley. They’re trying. I know it’s weird, but they are trying to be nice. You have a baby on the way, and they are the grandparents. Play nice. For now.
I look down at my stomach. “I’m only doing this for you, little one,” I whisper. After a few minutes, I figure it’s time to get back out there. I open the door to see Will standing in front of the entrance, his eyes boring into me.
“Are you okay?” he whispers as his hands find my hair, tucking a group of strands behind one ear.
I nod. “Are you?”
“Yes, come. I want to tell them…are you okay with that?”
“Yes, I’m ready if you are.”
We make it back to the kitchen to see the three of them talking. As soon as we enter the kitchen their attention turns to us.
“Before we sit down to dinner, we want to talk to you about a few things,” Will announces.
“We should move into the living room while we wait for everything to be ready. Everything should be ready soon.” Diana urges us as she removes her apron from her waist. Will pulls me through the kitchen and through a few rooms until we enter the living room. Everything is beige and tan and just so… clean. It makes me wonder what happens when anything is spilled. Room after room, everything is pristine and untouched like the space is for show and not for really for living. He sits down, pulling me as close as possible to him. Drew sits in the adjacent loveseat and his parents sit in the two chairs across from us.
“I hate that you’ve reduced us to this,” he says after a moment. “You have my fiancée shaking like a leaf beside me because you make her so goddamn nervous.” He turns to me and I’m slightly embarrassed to be put on the spot. “Baby, are you okay?” he whispers and I nod.
“I’m okay if you’re okay,” I whisper back and he smiles before kissing my lips.
“I’m not doing this bullshit with any of you,” he says looking at his family. “I’m not bringing my family here ever again if you don’t start putting in some effort. And I don’t mean telling her she looks nice or faking pleasantries. I mean a real and valiant effort,” he says. “Because…we are bringing a baby into the world, and I’m not doing it amidst tension and animosity.”
Drew smiles, having known this all along. J.R.’s eyes widen as he chokes a little on his drink and Diana presses a hand to her chest.
“A… baby?” Diana asks, her eyes wide with an emotion I couldn’t quite define.
“Yes, Charley is pregnant. We are having a baby.”
“Oh my…a baby?” Diana asks again, and I nod as I see her attention has turned to me.
“Wow, son…congratulations!” J.R. says as he stands to his feet and pulls Will to his feet in response. “That is wonderful news. How far along are you?” he asks me. Is he drunk? Who is this man?
“About eight weeks,” I say with a smile, my hand immediately going to my stomach.
“Well, I think this is the best news I’ve heard in a while,” Drew says as he stands and hugs Will and then me. We are all standing, except for Diana whose eyes have now fixated on me. She must feel my gaze because she stands and gives me one of her signature smiles. Fake.
“That is…wonderful news. Congratulations.” She hugs Will and gives me a cold kiss on my cheek. “I think the hens are finished, so let me just go check on them,” she says before she disappears out of the room.
I purse my lips, trying to tell myself not to cry as the rejection from my future husband’s mom cuts deeper than ever before. It’s not just about me anymore. She’s rejecting my baby too.
I. Have. Fucking. Had. It.
“One second,” I tell Will, and I feel his hand on my arm stopping me.
“Baby…” he trails off and I shake my head.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Should I come—”
“No,” I tell him. I press my lips to his, completely ignoring the fact that his father and brother’s gazes are on me.
I make my way through the rooms, and when I make it to the kitchen I am shocked to see that she isn’t there. I see that the Cornish hens have been taken from the oven, but I don’t see her anywhere. I make my way out of the kitchen, through the foyer and stare at the long staircase that leads to the second floor. I look around once before making my way up the stairs, knowing that there would be a long road ahead of me if I didn’t end this tension between us once and for all.
I make it to the top and the sounds are unmistakable as I move closer to what I assume is the master suite. I’m frozen in place as I peek into the room, and spot Will’s mother seated on a cream sofa in the corner of the room. Her face is buried in her hands as sobs wrack her body. I take a step into the room, holding my breath wondering now that I’m here, what on Earth am I going to say?
“D…Diana?” I stammer out and her eyes shoot up as if she’s just been caught. She sweeps two fingers under her eyes and stands, wiping her hands on her apron.
She clears her throat. “I just needed a minute.”
“I didn’t mean to intrude I just wanted to—”
“To tell me about myself, I assume,” she says.
“Well, that was the intention…” I trail off as I reluctantly move to the sofa by the window. She sits back down, and I sit next to her. I reach my hand out to touch her before yanking my hand back instantly like she’s a stove…hot to the touch.
“Does my son hate me, Charley?” she asks, the tears in her eyes streaking down her cheeks. “Did I ruin him?”
The words hurt my heart, and I want nothing more than to tell her that she certainly didn’t help. “Your son isn’t ruined,” I say softly. “He’s brilliant, and kind, and wonderful
. He’s an amazing human. You should be proud of the man you raised,” I tell her honestly.
“I’m a mother to a psychologist. I know what sidestepping a question looks like.” She smiles sadly as she wipes her eyes. “This is all so very embarrassing. I shouldn’t be asking you that.”
“I think Will harbors some pain over things that have happened in the past but…Will doesn’t hate you. Despite any issues, he adores you. He looks up to you.”
“He does?” she asks, and I nod, knowing that deep down it’s the truth, which is why I need everyone on the same team.
“I thought he hated me, and then…” she sniffles, “he’d never let me see my grandchild.” The tears flood her eyes. “And how I’ve treated you…why would you want me around your baby? I wouldn’t. I’d tell me to go straight to hell.”
“I think I kind of already did that once.” I smile and she gives me a small smile in return.
“I had a mother in law from hell too.” She looks at me before she looks down at the ground. “I had the last word though,” she says, and I can’t help but chuckle at her morbid humor. “I don’t expect you to want to get lunch or spend time together or…want me involved in your life but, if you could find it in your heart to forgive me for being my worst fear—my mother in law—I would really love that.”
My thoughts go back to something that Lauren had said a few months back. “Children may not fix anything, but grandchildren fix everything.” I guess she was right. All it took was the promise of new life to quiet the storm.
“I…I have sonograms…if you want one.”
“I would love one.” She smiles before she dabs at her eyes. “I am sorry, Charley. I know you don’t think I was acting in my son’s best interest, but I truly was. And now that you’re a mother, I hope you can understand. I just—”
“I get it,” I tell her, wondering how I’d react if my son were in a similar situation. Would I trust the woman? Would I trust that her intentions were true? “But I would just like you to know, that I would never hurt Will. I love him with everything I am. He’s my soulmate…and I was powerless to stop what happened between us. Maybe you still need more time to trust me, that I’m not going to hurt him or leave him or whatever it is that you thought, but I’m just asking that you give me a chance.”