“Yes, yes, yes!” she chanted mindlessly, taking everything he offered even as her body begged for even more. “Oh, God….I’m almost….Shaw, yes, right there!” she cried out as her orgasm barreled into her, making her entire being quake with tremors.
Feeling the flood of her release drenching his dick triggered his own climax. Clenching his teeth as fast, furious jets of his milky essence burst from the tip of his penis, he cried out as his own knees weakened. Bracing one hand on the wall above hers, he held her hip tightly as the last blast of his cum filled her, dribbling down her leg when he carefully withdrew from her depths. Turning her in his arms, he held her close as they both struggled to regain their breath.
“That was…unbelievable,” she finally managed to gasp, resting her overheated cheek against his damp, still heaving chest. “So, so good,” she breathed, rubbing her nose tiredly against his sternum.
Burying a hand in the wet strands of her hair, he pulled gently, tilting her head back to steal a lingering kiss from her lips. “It’s always good between us, sweetheart, but yeah…that was definitely in the top ten. Come back to me tonight, and I’ll see if I can top it.”
“One more night?” she queried with a small smile.
“How about I agree that we’ll discuss that when you come back to me in a few hours?” He bargained, dropping a kiss to the bridge of her freckled nose.
Wrapping her arms around his waist, Waverlee beamed at him. “That, sir, sounds like a good plan to me!”
Chapter Seven
Waverlee
Wiggling her fingers at Shaw as he stood leaning against the porch railing watching her leave for her shift at the bar, Waverley tossed her still damp hair over her shoulder and jammed her key in the ignition of her seen-better-days Dodge Neon. Pumping the accelerator as she twisted the key, she grimaced at the grinding sound the engine produced. Shooting her man a rueful look as he frowned at her old, rusted car, she sighed, pumping the accelerator a little harder as she turned the key again, nearly cheering as the engine turned over smoothly that time. Rolling down her window, she smiled at the man currently glaring at her car. “It started!”
“Wonderful,” he returned flatly, shifting his glare to her. “When are you gonna let me buy you another vehicle, Waverlee? Or, at the very least, let me co-sign for one. That thing is not safe to drive to the junkyard, let alone ride around every day in it,” he complained.
“Relax, Shaw. I’ll be fine, honey,” she tried to soothe him. She loved that he cared about her enough to want to provide for her, but the idea of depending on him just scared her spitless. What if she allowed herself to lean on him, and then he decided that he didn’t want to be her rock? What then?
She’d be lost.
And after feeling lost for most of her life, the idea of trusting somebody enough to depend on them was almost more than she could handle. But one look at his determined face was enough to assure her that his patience was about to expire where her car, her job and her apartment were concerned.
“I swear, tonight we’ll talk about me making some serious changes,” she promised, not quite sure yet what she was willing to compromise on, but understanding that she had to at least try to meet him halfway. Especially since he was right about a lot of things. Chief among them was that she was the obstacle standing in the way of her own happiness in a lot of areas.
“You mean it, love?” he returned, his deep blue eyes lighting with hope.
“I do,” she agreed readily. “For now though,” she went on, shifting the gear shift into drive, “I gotta go. Our little shower fun put me further behind. Although, I gotta say, loving like that is worth being a little late for.”
“Damn straight, baby. Drive safe and come back to me soon. I love you,” he shared gruffly, winking at her as she gave him one last wave and rolled up her window.
Watching him out of her rearview window as she drove away, Waverlee couldn’t help wondering how in the world she’d gotten lucky enough to have a man like him in her life. Strong, loving, open, and protective…her handsome guy was everything any sane woman could hope to have. And yet, she was terrified to tell him she loved him back.
Because she did love him.
Of course she did. Who wouldn’t adore a man who constantly put her first? One who treated her like a princess. One who made no secret of the fact that he was head over heels in love with her.
Pulling out onto the road that would take her to the bar, she realized that Shaw was everything to her. She woke up thinking of him every morning, and as she shut her eyes every night, her mind was filled with the knowledge of how lucky she was to be able to crawl in bed beside him. When she closed her eyes, she dreamed of the day she’d walk down the aisle to him in a long white dress, and they’d take their vows before God, pledging their lives to each other forever. What girl didn’t dream of that magical day once they found their own personal Prince Charming?
The problem was having dreams of any kind had never really turned out well for her. Ultimately, no matter how great her dreams had been, she’d always been bitterly disappointed by reality.
Until now. Until him.
Crenshaw was the epitome of her perfect man. No dream had ever come close to being as wonderful as he was in reality. In addition to being the sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes on, he was intelligent, hardworking, and generous. There wasn’t anything he wasn’t willing to do for those he loved….and of everyone, he loved her the most.
He’d offered her everything her heart desired. A beautiful home. A new car. An easier life where instead of working at two jobs she hated, she could work with him and pursue her dream of a college degree full-time.
He’d been offering her the world on a silver platter for months, but fear of being eventually rejected had kept her from reaching out and embracing his gifts.
Pressing her foot down on the brake as she approached the entrance to the bar’s parking lot, she realized that it was time to stop being afraid, damn it! She was already living her dream, spending her life with a man who worshiped her. Telling him how much she loved him in return wasn’t going to change how he felt for her. If anything, it would strengthen their bond if he knew her heart was involved in their affair just as much as his was.
Accepting his invitation to live with him wouldn’t weaken their love. It would make it stronger. Taking the job he offered would only help them know each other better. And would it really be so awful to allow him to buy her a newer car? God knew this one had seen better days.
Flipping on her turn signal, she laughed out loud. God, she’d been a fool. A tired, overworked fool, she thought to herself as she pressed a hand to her upset stomach. Like clockwork, her slightly swollen belly was churning. Maybe if she gave up one of her jobs, she’d finally have time to get herself checked out for this stomach bug she couldn’t seem to shake. Stepping on the accelerator as she saw a gap in traffic, she frowned as she heard the tell-tale sputter of her engine dying. Sadly, she never had time to try and re-start the engine before the sound of screeching tires and breaking glass filled her ears.
Then her world went dark.
Chapter Eight
Shaw
Tossing down the paperback thriller he’d been reading as his cell phone began to jangle, Shaw reached for the iPhone he’d left on the coffee table beside his recliner. Glancing at the screen and grinning as he saw who the call was from, he quickly jabbed his finger against the button to accept the call and pressed the phone to his ear. “Hey, Brad! If you’re calling to tell me you’re keeping my woman there any later than eleven, I’m gonna be forced to drive in and steal her back from you. She and I have plans that definitely do not include Jumpin’ Jacks, man.”
“Shaw?”
Brad’s normally jovial voice sounded muffled and hoarse, and Shaw felt his entire body grow taut. “Yeah,” he said warily. “Brad, what’s wrong? Where’s Waverlee?” he questioned, his face growing hot as every nerve ending within him seemed to go on red alert. He kne
w by just the way Brad sounded that something was wrong. Very, very wrong. And the fact that it was Brad that was calling him rather than Waverlee? That was even worse. “Where’s my woman, Brad?” he asked again, his voice deceptively calm and soft. If anything had happened to his sweet girl on Brad’s watch, he’d tear the world apart with his bare hands.
“Shaw, you need to sit down, man,” Brad’s voice ordered shakily.
“Fuck that. Tell me what’s going on, damn it! Where’s Waverlee?” he bit out angrily, his free hand balling into a fist as he shot to his feet, his eyes already darting around to find his keys. Honest to God, once he found out Waverlee was okay, he was gonna kick Brad’s ass for scaring the shit out of him.
“There’s been an accident.”
Shaw froze, his blood turning to ice. Are there four worse words to hear in the English language than those?
“I don’t know anything yet.”
Evidently, there were. Fuck.
“Start talking. Now! What the fuck happened to my Waverlee?” Shaw roared before he could control his temper, his hand virtually crushing his cell phone.
“Her car stalled as she was turning into the bar. Her Neon got broadsided by a Jeep Cherokee.”
Double fuck.
Falling to his knees, Shaw could only grip the phone as his heart threatened to pound out of his chest. The love of his life had been in an accident. She could be hurt. Christ, she could be…no, he refused to go there! “Is she…is my girl…” He couldn’t make himself say the words.
“Shaw, she’s alive. She’s unconscious, but Waverlee is alive. The ambulance got her to the hospital and the doctors are working on her now.”
Waverlee is alive. Waverlee is alive. Waverlee is alive.
It’s like his mind had set those words to play on automatic repeat, and they were without doubt, the best goddamn words in the entire universe.
“I’m coming,” he finally managed to choke out as he pulled himself back up to a standing position, bracing himself against the wall because his legs were still shaking too badly to remain upright.. “You tell her I’m on my way.”
“Crenshaw, no! You wait right there. I called your buddy, Wyatt Kinkaid. He should be there any moment, and he’ll bring you to the hospital. You don’t need to be driving when you’re shaken up like this, man. What good will you do Waverlee if you get in an accident, too?”
He wanted to argue that they were wasting time. Waverlee needed him, goddammit, and he needed to see her… to hold her… to love her. She was his fucking world and now he might never get the chance to tell her how much she meant to him. They’d wasted so much fucking time pretending to be this casual couple when the truth was that she was his reason for breathing.
Fuck!
“How bad, Brad?” he asked raggedly, his voice so jagged that it could have cut glass.
“Shaw, I’m no doctor….”
“You were there! You saw her! How bad is it?”
Brad grew quiet… so quiet that Shaw could hear the nurses on the loudspeakers at the hospital.
“There was a lot of blood, Shaw, and she was unconscious. I just don’t know, man,” he finally answered huskily, his voice thick with tears. “I should never have called her in today. If I hadn’t…”
“No,” Shaw denied gruffly. “This is my fault. I knew that fucking car of hers was a heap, and I let her get in it and drive away from me today knowing it was a piece of crap. I didn’t wanna rock the boat with her by fighting about it. If something happens to her, it’s on me. Just me.”
“Shaw…”
“I swear though, when she pulls through this, things are gonna change,” he vowed, wiping the tears off his own face as he rushed through the house, running into the master bedroom and pulling out a small black box from his bureau before shoving it into his pocket.. “I don’t care if I have to tie her to me and drug her, I’m putting a ring on her finger and marrying that woman. Then, I’m gonna get her a new car and tell her either I can chauffer her for the rest of her days or she can drive the reliable vehicle I offer her. And you and that fuckwit, Dr. Stein can consider this her two week notice, man. I know you love her like a sister, but her days of working two jobs until all hours of the day and night are done!”
“After this, I can’t say I blame you, man.”
Turning as he heard his front door open at the front of the house and Wyatt call out his name, Shaw grabbed his wallet off the top of his dresser and shoved it in the back pocket of his jeans. “Brad, I think Wyatt’s just got here, man. I’ll see you in fifteen minutes or less.”
“Be safe,” Brad returned before hanging up.
Pocketing his phone as he hurried toward the front door, Shaw met Wyatt’s concerned gaze as the other man stood just inside the foyer. Holding up a hand when his buddy would have spoken, Shaw shook his head. “We can talk later, but I need to go now. I’ve got to get to her, Wyatt,” he demanded curtly. “I’ve got to see my woman with my own eyes.”
Five minutes later, he sat silently beside one of his oldest friends, glaring at the other man’s speedometer. “Jesus, Wyatt! Can’t this thing go any faster?”
“You know I’m already doing twenty over the limit, Shaw. Just hang on, man. We’re almost there.”
Shaking his head, Shaw stared out the window, mentally willing his woman to be okay. “I can’t lose her, Wyatt. Not now. Not when we’re so close…she’s so close to believing she can have it all.”
“You won’t, but you gotta believe,” Wyatt pledged from beside him.
Scrubbing a hand down his face, Shaw inhaled deeply and nodded. Wyatt was right. He had to believe. He had to believe enough for both of them if it came down to it. “Where’s Bailey?” he asked, just realizing that the other half of Wyatt’s soul was missing, too.
“Waiting for us at the hospital. You know she and Waverlee have gotten pretty tight these last couple of months. When she overheard me talking to Brad on the phone, there was no stopping her. She left the babies with her dad and stepmom and headed for the hospital while I went to get you.”
“You got a good one, Wyatt,” Shaw acknowledged softly, every muscle in his body stiffening as Wyatt turned into the ER parking lot. Wyatt’s truck had barely slowed before he was jumping out and sprinting toward the double glass automatic sliding doors. Heading for the U-shaped information desk just inside the waiting room, he darted around no less than three people, barely sparing a moment to apologize when he nearly ran headlong into a younger man holding his arm at an awkward angle. At the moment, he was consumed by one mission: getting to his woman as quickly as possible.
Reaching the desk, he slapped his fingers against the safety glass separating him from the workers behind it. “Waverlee Armstrong,” he barked. “She was brought in after a car accident. How is she?”
“Sir, hospital policy says we can’t give out information on our patients without their consent unless you are a member of their immediate family.” the nasally voice of the woman sitting behind the glass informed him without looking up from her phone, twisting her blue-streaked hair around her finger. “If you’ll have a seat…”
“I’m her husband and I’m not going anywhere until you let me see her,” he growled, unapologetically lying without missing a beat. It would be the truth soon enough, he silently reasoned as he waited for the woman to look up at him. Biting the inside of his cheek as he watched the younger woman huff out an irritated breath and drop her phone back on her desk, she looked up and Shaw and pursed her lips. “Name?” she asked snippily.
“Waverlee Armstrong,” he snapped impatiently, his eyes narrowing as he watched her peck at her keyboard.
“It says here that she’s in bed five back in the ER. The doctors are still working on her. If you’ll take a seat, I’ll see if I can get her nurse to come out and talk to you.”
“Can’t you tell me anything about her condition?” Shaw bit out, more than ready to plow through the doors of the ER and find that freaking bed on his own. “List
en, lady, the girl in bed five means absolutely everything to me. I need to know the extent of her injuries. I need to see her with my own eyes. Please,” he begged, his hands gripping the edge of the desk so hard that his knuckles had turned white.
Something in his voice must have made the woman take note because her entire demeanor changed at the pleading she heard in his voice. “Mr. Armstrong, I truly am not allowed to tell you anything. I could lose my job. I’m sorry. What I can do is go find someone who has the authority to give you the answers to your questions. Just wait right here, okay? I’ll be fast,” she assured him, rising from her chair.
“Thank you,” he said hoarsely, not bothering to correct the name she called him. He watched as she offered him a quick nod and disappeared through a door to her right. He wasn’t sure how long he stood there holding his breath and waiting. He just knew that somewhere in this huge, sprawling hospital, the woman he loved was stuck in a bed, alone and hurting, very probably waiting on him to come tell her that everything was going to be fine. Shoving a hand through his hair, he fought for his sanity, knowing that if he lost his shit now and got thrown out of here, he’d end up in jail for murder.
Because he WOULD kill the fucker who thought to keep him from the woman he loved.
“Mr. Armstrong!” he heard someone yell behind him. Turning, he saw the blue-haired woman from before standing beside a young man in green scrubs. Hurrying toward them, he nodded to the man. “I’m Waverlee’s husband.”
“Hi. I’m Waverlee’s nurse, Andy, Mr. Armstrong.”
“Is she okay?” he asked immediately as he noted Brad, Wyatt and Bailey coming toward him.
“She’s a pretty banged up lady and she has a probable concussion, but thankfully the air bag deploying saved her from any more serious damage. We’re waiting on the results of her CT scan to come back and for her to regain consciousness, but we think she and the baby are mostly in the clear”
Sex, Vows & Babies: One More Night (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 7