by A. K. Evans
“Which was?”
“Nikki basically told me that if I break your heart she is going to kick my ass.”
“I wouldn’t shrug that off. She’s completely serious,” I warned him.
“I have no plans to break your heart, Monroe, so that’s why I’m shrugging it off.”
“Oh, well, there’s that option, too.”
“She asked me to treat you with the respect you deserve and I gave her my word that I would.”
I couldn’t help but smile. I loved Nikki. She was a fierce little fighter and she was so protective over those she loved.
“She’s good to have around,” I admitted. “Though, you should consider yourself lucky. You only had the girls to deal with. Nikki might have been a tough one, but if my brothers were here I’m not sure this date would have happened.”
“They are protective of you,” he acknowledged.
I nodded.
Shortly thereafter, our waiter arrived with our food. Stone and I had an effortless conversation. We took some time getting to know one another. He asked me questions about my life growing up and seemed genuinely interested in learning about me.
“So, dancing?” he asked as though it were a question.
“Yep, the love of my life. I’ve been doing it since I was three years old. Fell in love, never stopped.”
He shook his head.
“What?” I asked.
“Dancing is like a foreign language to me. I have no problem watching, but I’m certain I’ll look ridiculous if I do it. Besides, I’m not sure I understand what you get out of it.”
“Dance is storytelling in the physical form. You find the right song to convey the message you want to deliver and you combine that with movement…it can be nothing short of amazing.”
His face grew pensive, but he said nothing.
“If you want to learn, I’d be happy to show you some moves,” I joked.
“I’ve seen your moves; I’m not sure I’d do them justice. And, I’m definitely sure that nobody would want to see my moves.”
“I would,” I answered, referring to something completely different, but certain Stone didn’t pick up on it.
“Were you storytelling last Sunday?” he asked.
I gave him a confused look as I thought back to Sunday. I realized he was referring to that morning when he stood outside the room while I danced.
“Yeah. I was in a good mood that morning and needed to get out what I was feeling,” I said. “It was about you, you know?”
He nodded and asked, “What about after you asked me to leave? Was that song and dance about how you were feeling about me?”
My eyes drifted away from his and down to the table. I thought about it. I remembered dancing for hours that day to the same song and having multiple breakdowns. When I brought my eyes back to his I answered honestly and whispered, “Yeah.”
Then, it dawned on me that I didn’t dance until after he left. How did he know? I was about to ask him when he spoke, “I came back. I hated leaving you that day knowing I’d upset you. I walked in, but your music was so loud you never heard me which, by the way, is something we’ve got to discuss. I stood outside the room and watched you dance to that song three times before you fell to the floor in tears. I hated it, Monroe. I understand what you mean when you say you tell a story when you dance because I felt everything you said with your body and that song that day. I’m sorry for hurting you like that, but you’ve got to know, it was beautiful to watch you.”
I sat there, unmoving. I couldn’t believe he had come back in that day and watched me dance. My eyes searched his face looking for something, though, I wasn’t sure what.
“Just thought you should know. Which brings me to my next thing. You’ve got to do something about the fact that you can’t hear anyone coming into your place. You are there alone right now and it’s not safe for you to leave the door open and the music blaring. Anyone could come in and you’d never know it.”
“Do you think I have something to be worried about there?” I asked.
“Your studio isn’t in a bad area, but you still need to be careful. I’d feel better, and I’m sure your brothers would too, knowing that you weren’t alone in your place with people being able to just walk in without you knowing it. If you’re cool with it, I’d like to talk to Zane’s brother, Levi, to see if he can recommend something for your situation. He can probably have one of the guys come over and put in a system that will allow you to play your music as loud as you do and not miss any potential clients by having the doors locked, but also make sure that you’re safe at the same time.”
I knew Levi. I’d met him once at Charley and Wes’ house the day I learned about Emme’s rape. Of course, the reason he was there was because Emme was having round-the-clock coverage from Levi or one of the guys from his private investigations firm when Zane needed to be away from her to train for the US Open. Levi and his guys were also the reason Emme was found so quickly after her ex kidnapped her a few weeks back. I also saw Levi the day of Emme’s birthday celebration at Lou’s when I did karaoke.
“Sure, if you think it’s a good idea I’m cool with it.”
He smiled at me and nodded. “I’ll call him tomorrow morning.”
From there, Stone and I moved the conversation to him. He told me about his snowboarding career and how it all started when he, Luke, Zane, and Wes were younger. They were all very close and it reminded me of the relationship I had with Nikki, Emme, and Charley. I loved that he had that. As it turned out, Stone had a contest he was going to be competing in in four weeks. He asked me, if I didn’t already have plans, to go watch him. I agreed.
We finished dinner and dessert. Stone paid the bill and held my hand as we walked out to his truck. It was the perfect fairy-tale definition of a first date. He helped me into the truck and then rounded it and got in. He looked over to me and my belly started feeling funny. It was better than all the other belly feelings I had experienced lately. My eyes dropped to his lips. They looked deliciously juicy and I wanted them on me.
“Monroe?” he called, snapping me out of it.
My eyes shot to his and even though it was dark out I could see his were smiling at me.
“See something you like?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I replied, my voice raspy.
He reached a hand out, grabbed a lock of my hair, and said softly, “I think we’ve made it to the making out in my truck part of the date.”
“I’ve never done this before so I’m not sure how it works,” I admitted.
“A first-timer then? Just like me. I guess we’ll have to figure it out as we go.”
“Okay.”
“Come over here, angel,” Stone whispered as he moved his hand from my hair to my waist and pulled me over the center console into his lap.
No sooner was I in his lap when he was crushing his mouth to mine. One of my hands immediately went to his hair while the other went behind his neck. Stone brought one of his hands behind my back while the other went to my thigh. My special spot quivered at the touch of his incredible hands on the bare skin of my leg. The kiss grew more intense as our tongues explored and tasted each other. Stone’s hand at my thigh moved up and was now resting at a spot where my dress had previously covered. As we continued to kiss, Stone’s hand didn’t stop. It continued to move up and toward the back of my leg, now resting at the spot just beneath my ass. His fingertips were so close to my special spot that I whimpered.
He pulled his mouth from lips, but his face was within inches of mine. He didn’t say anything and I didn’t want him to stop kissing me so I moved forward just a bit to brush my lips against his before bringing my tongue out to tease him. He groaned.
“What do you want, Monroe?” he asked.
“I don’t want this date to end,” I whispered back, my statement sounding more like a plea.
“You want to go back to my place?”
I nodded.
He kissed me quick on the lips a
nd ordered, “Get back in your seat and buckle up.”
“Okay.”
Stone helped me over the center console again before he started the truck up. I buckled my seat belt and we took off. Stone’s hand rested high up on my inner thigh, his fingers only inches away from a place where I’d never been touched by a man. He kept his hand there the whole way to his place while I struggled to remain calm about what was ahead.
Chapter 9
Monroe
I loved Stone’s hands. They were perfection. One of them was also still on my thigh and his thumb was stroking back and forth. I wanted to squeeze my legs tighter together to relieve the ache I felt between them, but I didn’t. I was struggling to breathe.
Stone and I remained silent on the drive to his place. The anticipation of what was to come had the both of us lost in our own thoughts. Of course, I didn’t know what Stone’s thoughts were in that moment, but I knew I had millions running through my mind.
How would he react when I told him the truth? Would he still want me with my inexperience? Would it hurt? Would I be any good? What if he didn’t like it? How would it feel to have his hands and mouth on my body? Would he ever love me?
Stone turned the truck into a driveway and my nerves went into overdrive. It was dark out now so I couldn’t see much. As we approached the home, Stone pushed a button to open the garage door. He pulled into the middle bay of the three-car garage with his hand still on my thigh. After the truck came to a stop, Stone turned it off, squeezed my thigh, and said, “I’ll come around to help you out.”
His hand left my thigh and he was out of the truck. I couldn’t have moved on my own even if I wanted. My leg was on fire. The spot where his beautiful hand had been resting was scorching. And my belly felt funny. It was crazy to me that I had been performing dance routines on stages for twenty-two years and I never felt anything close to the anxiety I was currently feeling.
My door opened and Stone held his hand out to me. I put my hand in his, shifted in my seat, and stepped out of the truck. After guiding me into the house, Stone asked, “Would you like something to drink?”
I looked up at him and shook my head.
He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me into his body. Stone took my purse from my hand, tossed it on the counter, and brought his hands to the front of my jacket. My jacket was pushed down my arms and ended up on top of my purse. Before I could take in any of my surroundings, Stone’s hands went under my arms and lifted me clean off the floor like I weighed no more than a feather. He set me down on the kitchen counter and went to work on removing my boots next. Once both boots were gone, his magical hands came back to rest on the skin just above my knees. He applied gentle pressure there and said, “Open for me, Monroe.”
I opened my legs. My breathing grew shallow as Stone put himself in the space between them and pulled me close to him.
“Wrap your legs around me and hold on,” he instructed.
I did as he requested.
One of his arms wrapped around the middle of my back while the other went to support my weight at my bottom as he lifted me off the counter. His baby blues never left my eyes as he began walking. I couldn’t take in any of his home because I was so hypnotized by the look in his eyes. I only noticed the movement of him climbing the stairs.
The next thing I knew I was being put down on my back in a bed and Stone came to hover over me. He kept his gaze on my face a minute before he brought his mouth to mine. And that’s when it happened. Everything suddenly became frantic. His lips on mine, his tongue against my tongue and his hands roaming my body from my outer thigh up along my hip and abdomen and over the curve of my breast. It felt incredible. Nobody had ever touched me there. I began using my hands to explore him, but hated not being able to touch his skin. I wasn’t sure if I should, but I brought my hands to the hem of his shirt and ran my hands up along the skin of his muscled back. He felt unbelievable.
Stone pulled away from me and for a moment I thought I had done something wrong, but his hand went behind his neck where he pulled his shirt over his head in one swift movement. My eyes made their journey over his body. Rippling abs, a solid, muscled chest, and beautiful shoulders and arms. The sight of his half naked body had me holding my breath.
I couldn’t think or react before Stone’s hands came to the hem of my dress and began sliding it up my body. Before I realized what had happened, I was there in my bra and panties with Stone’s heated eyes roaming my body.
“Christ, you’re beautiful,” he said, his voice hoarse.
“Stone,” I whispered, realizing I was now way beyond the point where I should have told him the truth.
He must have thought my saying his name meant that I needed him to come back to me because he was back over my body again and his head was buried in my neck. His tongue came out to lick the skin on my neck before he kissed that spot. I was trying to regain some sense of control, but his naked torso against my mostly naked body was making it difficult.
“I can’t wait to be inside you, Monroe,” he rasped.
“Stone,” I called again.
“Hm.”
I forgot what I wanted.
His mouth was trailing kisses down my chest and one of his hands was cupping my breast. The next instant I felt his mouth cover the other breast, only the lace from my bra separating us.
“Wait, Stone. Please, stop,” I barely managed to get out.
He froze.
His head came up and he looked at me.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I need to tell you something,” I confessed.
His eyes held mine.
“I want this to be good for you,” I continued.
“Was I giving you any indication that it wasn’t already feeling very good?”
Shit. This was difficult.
“No, it’s just…I’ve never done this before.”
His brows drew together and he gave me a confused look.
“You haven’t done what before?”
He was seriously going to make me say it?
I brought one of my hands up between us and pointed back and forth between us before I admitted, “This. Us. What we’re doing now…and, um, what I’m pretty sure we’re about to do.”
Realization dawned in his features and he asked, “Monroe Archer…are you telling me you’re a virgin?”
I nodded.
Stone’s eyes searched my face before they got a pained look in them and he pulled away from me. Suddenly, I felt very exposed and uncomfortable. I guess I got my answer. He was not okay with my inexperience. I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing.
“Fuck,” he all but roared as he sat on the edge of the bed with his legs now dangling over the side.
I immediately shot up in the bed and was sitting upright. I thought I was nervous a little bit ago. Now, I knew I had no idea what nerves were because I was borderline frightened at his reaction.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.
His head snapped to me and he asked, “What are you apologizing for?”
I shrugged my shoulders and explained, “You seem angry.”
A look of remorse washed over his face. “Angel, I’m not angry with you. I said some horrible things about you a couple nights ago. I was already pissed at myself, but now, I feel like a pile of shit.”
My voice was gentle when I spoke. “Stone, you made a mistake and you apologized. I forgave you. Please don’t hold on to that.”
He shook his head as he looked at me with soft eyes. “You really are an angel and I don’t deserve someone the likes of you.”
I felt myself grow sad. Why did he think so little of himself?
“They knew,” he said, softly.
Confused, I asked, “What?”
“On Friday, Wes and Zane both told me I’d fucked up, but just didn’t know it yet. Later that night when I came to your house and met Vaughn, I thought they knew that Vaughn and Remi were your brothers, but that wasn’t it. They kne
w about you, didn’t they?”
I nodded.
He shook his head and looked away.
I felt my eyes get wet.
“What’s going through your head?” he asked when his eyes finally came back to mine.
“I ruined it,” I answered, my head dropping to my lap.
“What?”
“This. Here. Tonight. I shouldn’t have said anything and just hoped for the best.”
“Monroe, look at me.”
My head came up and I looked at him.
“What you just shared with me is not something you don’t share. Fuck, if you hadn’t told me, I could have hurt you. Now that I know, this is going to go a whole lot differently.”
Well there you go. This wasn’t going to happen. Damn. Shit. Fuck. Why’d I have to open my mouth?
“You sure this is what you want?”
“What?” I gasped, surprised at his question.
“A girl doesn’t hold on to something like that for nearly twenty-five years to give it up to someone she doesn’t know much about. I don’t want you to do this because you think that it needs to happen. We can go slow and take our time getting to know each other. Then, if and when the time comes that you’re ready for it, we can take this next step. I don’t want you to rush this.”
“I know this is what I want, Stone. I’ve never felt anything like I do when I’m around you and I want to experience this with you.”
“Fuck,” he rasped out. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“Just how much have you not done before?”
“I have had two people kiss me. Once each. You and I did more in your truck than I’ve ever done with anyone else. What just happened now in this bed is a whole lot more than I’ve experienced before.”
“Nobody has ever touched you?” he asked, shock in his voice.