Waiting on Faith (She's Beautiful Series Book 2)

by Nicole Richard

  “Now, he’s got all the right words.” I practically purred as I followed his instructions.

  Turning my back to him, I moved slowly and let my hips sway just a little bit extra. I didn’t look back at him as I climbed onto his bed, so when I felt his hands gently land on my ankles, run up my calves, and ghost over the backs of my thighs, tingles shot through my body at the unexpected touch. I bit back a moan when they brushed just shy of where I wanted his fingers, his mouth, him. When the heat of his palms moved over my hips and up my sides, I arched my back and was gifted with a sharp intake of breath from him. I felt the heat of his chest against my back as he covered me, his thick length settling between my cheeks as his hand gently twisted in my hair and tugged so I would give him my ear.

  “You are playing with fire, baby,” he said before he was gone and there was a swift swat to my right ass cheek. It didn’t hurt so much as it stung, and surprisingly, it didn’t make me cringe in fear. It was playful in a way I never would have expected to like. But I did. I liked it a lot.

  With my best seductive smirk, I pressed my tongue between my lips and crawled higher.

  The tear of the condom wrapper sounded and the bed dipped. I waited patiently, anticipating as Cy leaned on one knee and pulled my hips back closer to him.

  “Nat, I’m hard as a rock, and if I don’t sink into this pretty pussy soon, my balls will turn blue and fall the fuck off.”

  I arched my back and silently begged him to take me. And that was exactly what he did.

  From behind, he pulled my hips closer one more time and slid into me without so much as a warning.

  I gasped and we both froze.

  “You okay, I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

  I shook my head, unable to speak. I didn’t want to admit that it did hurt a bit, but the pleasure outweighed the pain, and my only function at the moment was to feel every memorable inch of him.

  He held my hips still as he teased me, pulling out until just the tip of him was inside and giving nothing more than shallow thrusts. He teased my entrance, causing all kinds of tingling sensations before he thrust his hips hard, filling me and causing me to cry out.

  His hands moved to my shoulders, pressing me to the pillows as he thrust in and out of me. I wanted him to move faster, needed him to move faster. Pressing my palms against the headboard, I pushed back into him as he thrust into me. The man really was good at reading body language, because that was all it took for him to increase his tempo, building the twisting heat inside me until I couldn’t stand it anymore and the best orgasm of my life ripped through me.

  I thought the whole seeing white lights and stars during an orgasm was bullshit before. I was wrong. I bore witness and could attest to its truth. It came crashing all at once. I thought my heart was going to beat straight out of my chest.

  What made it even better was that once I gathered my wits, I heard Cy as he growled out, “Ahh, yes! Nat . . .” I felt his cock swell, and his hips pumped in two quick jerks before his grip on my hips turned punishing, and he stilled deep inside me. But when he pulled out, he flipped my body to face him, and he had a touch of frantic in his eyes.

  “Look at me, Nat.” He was searching my face, worry taken over his. “I can’t believe I just did that. I didn’t even get to look into your beautiful green eyes when you came.” He grabbed hold of me and pulled me tight to his chest. “I’m sorry, that was a prick move. I didn’t mean to treat it like it was just another fuck.”

  I pushed back and scrunched my face. “Cy, what the hell are you talking about?” His expression dropped, and I smirked. “That was the best orgasm”—I licked and rolled my lips, making a show of intense satisfaction—“that I ever had. Ever.” I winked and watched his face change yet again. His face glowed, a smirk pulled at his lips as he registered what I had just said.

  “Well, when you put it like that, who am I to argue?” His smile became infectious.

  He leaned in, pressing our foreheads together before his lips captured mine, and he guided me back to the mattress.

  This is what off the chart sex feels like. Trent had nothing on Cy.

  I quickly shoved away any thoughts of Trent. He had no place or business in my life anymore, especially my sex life.

  Cy broke the kiss, propped up on his elbows, and whispered, “I’ll be right back.” I lay there and openly gawked at his tight ass as he walked to the bathroom. How could I not when such male perfection was right in front of me?

  When he strutted back into the bedroom, I made sure to lock my eyes on his semi-hard dick and make a show of licking and biting my lip. But as his steps drew closer, I shifted my attention to the beautiful, dark-indigo and scarlet artwork.

  From collarbone to elbow on his right arm was a tasteful and beautiful fire-breathing dragon. The dragon’s tail wound up all the way to the back of his neck.

  “You better quit looking at me like that, woman.” He chuckled. It was so nice to hear him laugh. He climbed into the bed, pushed the pillow against the headboard, and propped himself up against it. After getting comfortable, he pulled me on top of him so I was resting comfortably between his legs with my chin on his chest, looking up at him.

  Dragging my finger across his bicep, I absentmindedly asked, “How does someone get a body like this? And your tattoo, it’s beautiful.” I moved my finger along his arm in admiration.

  His body hardened under me, and I wished I’d never said a word. Resting my cheek on his chest, I sighed.

  “Cy, what’s wrong? I’m sorry if I asked something that offended you.”

  His arms tightened around my back, and he kissed the top of my head. I took that gesture as a peace offering and turned my head up with my chin on his chest again.

  “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

  Gently pinching his chin between my thumb and index finger, I offered, “Hey, if you want to talk, I like to think I’m a pretty good listener.”

  He shook his head and stared at me. “It’s nothing.”

  Laying my cheek back on his chest again, I gave in to the truth that Cy was a man who didn’t share his feelings well. If he wanted to tell me, he would tell me when he was ready, and I didn’t want to ruin this moment with questions. I pressed my ear against his warm skin and listened to the steady beat of his heart.

  After some time, he broke the silence. “I started lifting weights a lot during my senior year in high school.” He paused but softly ran his fingertips along the length of my shoulder. “I wasn’t always like this. I got picked on a lot growing up.”

  Unfortunate as it was, I knew exactly what he was talking about. Being the ugly duckling for most of my adolescent and teenage years was a hard pill to swallow. The hurt from being left out and feeling not quite good enough lingered. Despite the fact that I tried to come out of my shell and make new friends, I was still a loner most of the time.

  I placed a kiss between his pecs and looked up into his beautiful brown eyes, willing him to go on.

  “Lots of kids made fun of me.”

  I caught a glimpse of torment right before he shut his eyes. If it were even possible, I would have sworn I was able to feel his pain radiating off him and hitting me straight in my heart. I hated that he hurt so much.

  “I was the fat kid everyone made fun of. I grew faster than most kids my age, always bigger and taller than everyone in my class.” He looked at me. If he were looking for pity from me, he wouldn’t find any. I understood what it felt like to be him.

  The bullies had been his fuel, his strength to rise above all the bullshit. Yeah, it still hurt at times to be on the receiving end of hate, and each one of us who had faced it still had bad days, but we would never let them break us ever again.

  After listening to his confession, the old scars that marred his skin under his arms and on the side of his pecs made more sense.

  Cy covered up a flinch as my fingers passed over the marks, which were insignificant in my eyes. I kissed the side of his chest, wanting to e
nd any discomfort.

  “Do you have any more hiding?” I asked, hoping he knew I was asking about his tattoos.

  He nodded his head, and I scooted back so he could turn his body to one side. In beautiful script on the side of his rib cage he had, “To Thine Own Self Be True.” I traced the lines of cursive ink as I whispered the words. After what he just shared with me, I didn’t need him to explain further.

  He went on to show me each forearm. His left held the word “Honesty” and on the right was the word “Loyalty” and both were written in the same elegant script as the first.

  “They’re beautiful, and from what you’ve told me, they fit you perfectly.”

  He smiled tenderly, and fuzzy warmth passed through me. I returned his smile, reached up, and gave him a kiss as his lips curved against mine. I was glad all the awkwardness had disappeared.

  “So, that was the best orgasm of your life, huh?”

  Giggling bashfully, a blush stained my cheeks, and I smacked him lightly on the side of his arm.

  We collapsed sometime later, panting and slick with sweat.

  Our warm, naked bodies fit perfectly together like they were made for each other.

  “Shit!” I jerked out of a dead sleep, and instinct kicked in. Cy squeezed me tighter to him.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, still half asleep.

  “We fell asleep. I never called Spencer. He probably thinks you kidnapped me or something,” I rambled off in a single breath.

  “Shhh, Nat, it’s okay. We’ll get you back early, now sleep.” He kissed the top of my head.

  Releasing a heavy breath, I lay back down and closed my eyes, but thoughts of what we did earlier played heavily on my mind. My warm hand snuck under the sheet, and I began stroking him, stirring his dick to life at two in the morning.

  “GOOD MORNING,” A soft voice whispered close to my ear. Her breath tickled my neck as she tried to get me up. I groaned. I didn’t want to get out of bed. I wanted her to lie back down next to me, and let me hold her for days. “Cy, good morning,” she whispered again, running the pad of her finger down the length of my cheek.

  I peeked one eye open, and the soft laugh that she let out tightened an imaginary hold around my heart. I closed my eye and pulled her warm, naked body close. “Let’s just go back to sleep,” I murmured.

  We were lying chest to chest, and I gently bit her earlobe, trailed kisses along her jaw, and ended at her lips, giving her a good morning kiss.

  “As much as I would love that, I kind of need you to take me back to my uncle’s. I wanted to spend some time with Spencer before he heads back home.” Her voice softened. “Besides, I never called or went back, they might be worried.”

  “Of course, but come have a shower with me first?” I kissed along her neck and pressed my hips against her, showing her just how much I wanted her to shower with me. It didn’t even matter that we never talked about what this was. I just claimed the shit out of her.

  She is MINE.

  She nodded against my chest, and I pulled the blankets off, revealing our naked bodies. A man could easily get used to this. Suddenly, the shower didn’t seem all that important.

  I pulled her under me and nestled myself between her warm thighs. I rocked my hips, already ready to bury myself into her, but she pushed her palm against my chest, halting my movements.

  “Um, Cy. Aren’t you forgetting something?” Her gaze shifted downward to where we were about to be connected.

  “Shit.” I shook my head and let out a shaky breath. Still holding my body above hers, I willed myself to gather control. I placed a chaste kiss on her sweet lips, got out of bed, and offered my hand to help her up.

  “Come have a shower with me.”

  My day started out with waking up beside an angel and ended with the mandatory Sunday Davis family dinner. I wasn’t in the mood to be there, and hadn’t hid it well. I knew my mom and dad knew it too. They both eyed me suspiciously when I didn’t even try to get out of helping with the inventory, which I hated doing more than anything else in the shop.

  Candace, being the mother hen of a sister she was, tried to get me to talk to her, but in the end, I bowed out, claiming I was tired from a long day working on the dock for Dad. She didn’t argue too much, and my parents didn’t say a word, but I could tell by the way they were looking at me that they thought something was wrong. I wasn’t ready to tell them that the something wrong was my newfound addiction to a certain redhead.

  It was already dark outside when I walked in my front door. As soon as I flipped the switch on the table lamp, I searched for Natalie’s contact number in my phone.

  Her sleep-laced voice came through on the third ring. “He-hello.”

  “Hey, I’m sorry to wake you.” I wasn’t really sorry. That soft husk to her voice was musical.

  “No, it’s fine. I must have dozed off.”

  I removed the phone from my ear and checked the time— eight forty-eight. Putting the phone back to my ear, I walked to the kitchen where Boones was waiting next to his bowl with his tail wagging and tongue hanging out. I rubbed his head and pulled the phone away from my mouth. “Who’s a good boy?” I said in that weird voice people use when they’re talking to babies, and I filled his food and water bowls for him. Natalie’s soft laughter came through the receiver.

  Walking toward my room, I asked her, “So, how was your day with Spencer? He leave already?”

  “Good.” She stifled her yawn. “He leaves tomorrow.”

  “Hey, if you’re tired, I can call you tomorrow or something.” I didn’t want to let her go for the night. I would rather her fall asleep with me on the line. There was that soft laughter I was quickly getting used to. “Somebody wore me out last night . . . and this morning.”

  I puffed my chest and felt a little stupid knowing she couldn’t see my display of cockiness. “Would it be too soon to say I miss you?” I said, but my voice had dropped to an almost whisper.

  “Normally, I would say yes, but since I miss you already, too, I’ll have to go with no.”

  Tipping my head back up to the ceiling, I let out a heavy breath. “Good, that’s good. I’ll call you tomorrow. Get some rest. Good night, Nat.”

  “Night, Cy.”

  I was drowning. Sinking fast, I felt like there was a hundred-pound lead tied to my ankles and no hope.

  I was done.

  I was sinking to my death.

  Looking up, I tried to hold onto the light, but it was fading so fast. The water that surrounded me was getting colder and colder the deeper it pulled me under.

  Thrashing, I grasped onto any kind of hope that this was not the end, and a dark silhouette appeared. Trish. Had I known that girl would turn out to haunt me for the rest of my life, I never would have fallen for her. My horny seventeen-year-old self didn’t care about that, though. That version of me only knew that he was bullied every day, and he saw Trish as someone to cherish. Someone to love. Someone who accepted him. On the outside, she was beautiful. Trish only wanted easy access to Levi.

  That girl broke what little I had left.

  Hope was lost.

  I sank deeper and deeper.

  Trish disappeared and was replaced with a fiery, green-eyed beauty, willing me up—calling me. She was bringing me to the light, like an angel saving me. I was almost there; I’d break the surface in seconds, and it was inches until I took my next breath.

  My body jerked up.

  I was seated ramrod straight with my arms stretched out in front of me. My chest heaved as I sucked every morsel of air I possibly could deep into my lungs. With wide eyes, I searched my surroundings. My living room.

  I was in my living room, not drowning in a lake.

  Sitting still and trying to control my breathing, I forced my lungs to expand and contract through the pressure squeezing them and heaved as sharp pain jolted through my chest. I willed myself to calm down, telling my brain that it was nothing but a nightmare, a ten-year-old nightmare.


  Dropping back against my pillows, I lay there with my eyes shut tight and my fingers pinching the bridge of my nose. Why was this happening again? Natalie wasn’t anything like Trish. This was my old insecurities rearing their ugly heads. There was no way the Universe would be so cruel—would it?

  WHO KNEW THAT it cost extra to send a custom flower arrangement with a same day guarantee? I didn’t. Then again, I had never sent flowers before. I wanted to send something to Natalie at work to let her know I was thinking about her. Trying to tread lightly, I didn’t want to scare her off, so I figured flowers were a safe choice.

  Thirty minutes later, Natalie’s name blinked on my phone and Eric Paslay’s “Song about a Girl” filled the cab of my truck.

  “Oh my God, Cy. Thank you so much. You shouldn’t have. The flowers are absolutely beautiful.”

  “Beautiful, just like the woman I sent them to.” She remained silent. “And you’re welcome.”

  “How’d you know blue was my favorite color?”

  Still treading lightly, I gave her an answer she could handle. “I took a chance with that turquoise chair thing in your living room. I wanted something a little different. So, I asked if they could make me something special. I’m glad you like them.”

  She laughed like I was crazy for being so nonchalant about it. I had spent some time thinking about it, but I would never admit that to her.

  “Cy, they’re gorgeous, and I really do appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

  “Have dinner with me?” I blurted into the phone.

  “Tonight?” she asked, as if it was strange to go out on a weeknight, as if we had a curfew or something.

  “Yes, tonight silly. You have to eat, right?”

  “Right.” There was that shyness again.

  “Be ready by seven. I’ll pick you up.”

  “Okay. Thank you again. They’re absolutely beautiful.”

  “You’re welcome, Blue.” I disconnected before she could say another word.