“I know, son. I am eternally grateful to him, and to Liam.”
“I was scared, dad. I didn’t know if I was going to come through it.”
“Shhh, you don’t have to worry about that anymore. You are going to be fine, and soon this will all be put behind you.”
“I saw mom.”
And those three words nearly broke me. I never told Jackson about my visions of her, and the nightmares I experienced with my father.
“What did you say?” I asked him, already believing what I heard.
“I saw mom…in Heaven. At least I thought it was Heaven. I thought I was dead and mom was coming for me, but that’s not what happened.”
“What do you remember?”
“The sound of your voice, begging me to hold on. I’m so sorry, dad, that you ever had to go through that. As I closed my eyes, all I could hear was your voice. Then I was surrounded by light and felt a strong familiar presence. It was mom asking me to take her hand and not be afraid. I could see my body below me, but I also could see her standing in front of me. I asked her if I was dead, and she said I was just sleeping. She showed me my future with Riley, and what I would be losing if I stopped fighting. Do you believe me, dad?”
“No question, son. I believe you, because she has also come to me in recent days.”
“She has? And you never told me?”
“No time. Everything happened so fast. This was one of the reasons why I wanted to come to New York and see you. Something had felt off from our last phone conversation and then I experienced a terrible nightmare. I bolted from home and ran for miles until my legs gave out. I found myself at your mother’s grave, where she appeared before me like an angel. I didn’t welcome her at first. She wanted to help me get over my anger with your grandfathers, and when I refused her request, she slapped me. I know it sounds crazy, but I actually felt the sting of it on my cheek. Then she left me with something so disturbing that I had no choice, but to come here for you.”
“What did mother say?”
“She told me that you would need me more than you have ever before. Of course, I screamed at her, but she just kept fading away until her image was gone.”
“Do you think mom knew what was going to happen to me?”
“I don’t know for sure, Jackson, but I’m not going to argue with the angels or God…ever again. You’re alive and here with me. I will always believe. I always knew she was with me, but to see her again after all of these years, it was just something I will truly never be able to make anyone understand.”
“I understand, dad.”
“I imagine you are the only one. I love you, Jackson.”
“I love you too!”
“You need to rest. Please get some sleep, and I’ll be back in the morning.”
“Dad, before you go, can I ask you something?”
“Make it a quick one?”
“What are you going to do to Grandpa Henry?”
“Jackson. Please don’t worry about him.”
“I need to know, dad.”
“He’s still alive, if that’s what you’re asking me. As long as he stays away, he will remain alive. I’m done talking about him. You are too! Now get some rest. I love you, son.”
My heart hurt to leave him, but I needed to get back to Reese. I checked in with Liam before leaving for the night. Jackson was stable. He was up for several hours, which was a great sign. My son would be fine, and we could put this nightmare behind us.
Reese and I took a cab back to the hotel, leaving Stephen to remain with Jackson. My last status report on Henry came up empty. He disappeared without a trace, and knowing that worried me. The minute Jackson would be cleared to be discharged, I would take him back home to California. The thought of Jackson remaining in New York, and on his own, didn’t sit well with me after what we just went through. I would discuss his recovery and rehabilitation with Liam in the morning. Certainly Jackson couldn’t argue with me about the betterment of his health?
I was probably reaching for the impossible. He was a Reed, and would not be challenged.
It was time to return to our lives. We had a wedding in our future and a baby to prepare for. I needed to get out of this city and back home to my life with Reese.
“HOW ABOUT A hot bath? I sure could use one after today.”
“Before or after we play?” Walker said wickedly with a gleam in his eye.
“Before. My muscles are tight and I need to be warmed up first.”
“Oh baby! I can do that with my hands tied behind my back, or even better, yours.”
“As tempting as that sounds, my body needs a soak.”
I gave him a sly smile and wink. My body was calling out for his pleasure, and being tied to a bed with Walker in Dom mode was exactly what my brain was telling me I needed. I removed my blouse and stepped out of my skirt, leaving me with only my bra and panties on. I looked over my shoulder to catch him staring at me. He looked lost, but in a good way. His eyes were roving up and down my body, sending shivers through me. For the first time in days, I saw the man I loved, and not the tortured lost soul who’s been worrying over his son, Samuel, Henry, and his father.
“Coming, my love?” I teasingly asked him.
“Yes, my love. I will make it my mission to hear you scream my name all night long.”
Without another word, Walker freed himself from his clothing and pounced on me before I could even blink. He carried me into the bathroom and gently placed me in the coconut scented bath. Walker climbed in behind me and wrapped his long muscular legs over mine.
“I love you so much, Reese. Thank you for never leaving my side throughout this ordeal. My biggest fear was that I was going to push you away.”
I turned in his arms and tried not look at him with sadness in my eyes. He was deeply hurting, and that needed to stop.
“Don’t you know how much I love you?” I said. “Where am I going to go? No place exists without you. Look at me. Be here…with me. I love you.”
Once again, our universal body language spoke for us with Walker taking control and leading me where he wanted us both to go.
“You on top,” he commanded.
Lifting me effortlessly over his thick crown, my heated core milked his cock into a steady rhythm between us. Walker continued to grind into me, gripping my hips as I arched back into sheer ecstasy and pleasure. With my eyes rolling to the back of my head, I thought I was going to pass out with how hard I came. Walker screamed out inaudible words until one was perfectly clear, my name. He had my body spinning out of control. As easy as it was to straddle him, now I was turned around with Walker entering me from behind. His front was pressed into my back with one hand tangled through my long hair, pulling me back to kiss him. It wasn’t painful as it was completely erotic and intoxicating. Our tongues danced in unison as he continued to take me higher and higher.
“Oh, baby, you feel so fucking good. This is where I want to be, buried balls deep inside of you. Come for me baby. Tell me you love me. Scream it like you mean it,” he said.
He tugged tighter on my hair as my orgasm continued to build. I was on the precipice of heightened arousal.
“Oh, Walker. I’m close, so close.”
With his two fingers pinching my over sensitive nipples, I came again with such a climactic force that I nearly collapsed forward. I didn’t get too far with Walker’s strong arms around me and capturing my mouth once again.
“Rough enough for you?” he asked with a twinge of naughtiness in his voice.
I was beyond sated and completely exhausted. Still enfolded in his arms, he kissed, licked, bit, and left love bites all over me.
“I love you, Reese, so fucking much. You. Are. Mine. Forever. And. I’m. Yours.”
As if I could forget? This is what he needed tonight, and so did I. Walker climbed out of the tub first and lifted me into his arms. He took his time drying me from head to toe, of course kissing me everywhere and sending me into another erotic tailspin.
“You are so wet for me, baby” he whispered against my thighs, plunging his tongue between my folds, lapping up my juices as he continued to bury himself into my heat.
“No more baby!” I cried. “I’m going to pass out!”
“Control, baby. Hold on for me,” he whispered.
My hands found his hair with my nails clawing into his scalp. Wincing from the grip I had on him, he didn’t relent on me and sucked harder until I exploded my essence all over him.
“My perfect girl, now you can sleep.”
And with that, I was once again carried by him and placed in bed, with Walker laying right behind and pulling me tightly to his chest.
“Sleep baby. I love you,” he said, placing light kisses on the back of my neck.
I lost track after the three mind blowing orgasms Walker gave me. His steady breathing lulled me into a contented sound sleep.
I awoke sometime in the night and realized he was not in bed.
“Walker!” I called out to him, my hand reaching out for him and only feeling the now cold side of the bed. Where is he? I turned on the side light, making my eyes adjust and reading the time on the clock. It was just a little past three. I stretched out my sore muscles, giving me some relief. I felt like I just did twelve rounds of sexual twister. Grabbing my robe, I searched for my missing man.
When I found him, he was outside on the balcony with an amber filled drink in hand. Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t hear me come up from behind him. He didn’t flinch when I encircled him with my arms and hands folding over each other. He let out a sigh and turned around to kiss me.
“You should be in bed,” he quietly reprimanded me.
“I could say the same about you. Come back to bed.” When he didn’t easily follow, I looked at him questioningly until he crushed his lips onto mine. Dropping to his knees, he hugged me to him with his cheek to my stomach. This was not about sex; this was about Walker needing assurance that we were okay. My mercurial man! I vowed to love him, all parts of him. My husband-to-be was hurting beyond anything he had ever experienced before. I stood there in silence until I knew he was okay, or at least on his way.
“Come back to bed, baby, and let me hold you.” I asked again, and Walker, this time, followed me. He stripped out of his sleep bottoms and removed me from my robe. Skin on skin, we couldn’t be any closer. Walker gently kissed me and fell asleep with me by his side.
We slept soundly for the next five hours with me waking first. It was very rare this happens with Walker only requiring a few hours of sleep each night. I carefully lifted myself on one elbow and took in the beautiful man sleeping beside me. He looked at peace. His long eyelashes looked like sweeping feathers. He was dreaming, and I knew it was a good one because I saw a hint of a smile. Leaving the bed would waken him, but I needed to capture this stolen moment between us. Very carefully, I reached for my cellphone and snapped his picture. I then leaned in and took a selfie of the two of us. I was silently laughing. I never did this before. What would he think if he caught me? I didn’t have to ponder long, because he was the one now staring at me. I was so lost in my thoughts of him, I didn’t even notice.
“Good morning, baby,” he crooned with his sexy, raspy morning voice.
“Good morning. How did you sleep?” I asked as I placed soft kisses on his chest and made circles along his tight corded stomach muscles.
I was starving for food, but hungered for him more. He was naked already, making my task that much easier to do. Without another thought, I gripped the base of his hardness and took him deep into my mouth, causing Walker to buck his hips forward. I loved taking him by surprise. His hands were already tangled through my hair as he pushed me further to take him deeper.
“That’s it baby, fuck me with your mouth. Feels so fucking good.”
He was close as I felt his balls tighten in my hand. I silently counted to five, and by three, Walker exploded into my mouth and down my throat. I swallowed quickly as he pumped the very last drop.
“Holy hell! Reese, I wasn’t expecting that, but thank you, baby, for the wake-up call.”
He pulled me up on top of him and plunged into me. I held his hands for support as I rode him to my next round of mind blowing orgasms. This is not what I had in mind when I decided to give him a morning blow job, but Walker always reciprocated with an even exchange. Collapsing on top of his slicked chest, his heartbeat was racing and matching my own.
“I love you, Reese.”
He kissed me and made his tongue dance with mine.
“You taste like me. I love that. Are you okay? Was I too rough?”
He anxiously awaited my answer. I slid off of him and snuggled beside him.
“I’m fine, baby. You did not hurt me, but there is one thing you can do for me,” I asked him, now gaining his full attention.
“Anything, baby.” he answered with more kisses and a love bite on my pebbled nipple.
“I’m hungry. Feed me now,” I said, grabbing his face and kissing him back.
Walker ordered everything on the breakfast menu and fed me course after course. His only request was for me to stay in bed and to remain naked. Oh, what a hardship! I think I could easily manage to do this every day and twice on Sunday.
“I’m stuffed. No more please.”
I patted my round belly, as I took in his widening eyes. He loved to kiss my stomach and talk to our daughter. I was beginning to be more pronounced and you could easily tell I was pregnant. I was like this with Riley too. My stomach was flat for months, and then overnight I was sporting a small basketball under my shirt. I loved being pregnant again and with his child, a miracle I never thought I would ever experience again.
“What are you thinking?” I asked and watched him for his reaction.
“I’m thinking how much I love you. How happy you make me. You are my entire world. I need you like my next breath. There is no life without you in it.”
“So you’ve said. Hey, where is this coming from? All the ghosts of our past have now been laid to rest. We are together, and nothing will ever change that.”
He smiled and said, “I know that, baby, and I love you. Last night was the first time in nearly two months that I have been able to get a decent night’s sleep. By truly giving forgiveness to my father, my nightmares are no more. Reese, I love you more than I can ever possibly explain. I feel our life together has been a constant test and every time we are close to finally having it all, we are yet again faced with another obstacle.”
I take her hand and place it over my heart. “Do you feel that?” I asked her.
“Yes,” she replied softly.
“This is how much I love you. You mean everything to me. My desire for you makes me absolutely crazy to prove not only to you, but to the rest of the world how much you mean to me. I intend to keep you for the rest of my life.”
MAKING LOVE TO Reese again solidified my earlier fears of losing her. She was my life, it was that simple. I would fight to keep her with me always and forever. Too many years spent without her had left me vulnerable and gutted wide open. These were feelings I once knew and now had rediscovered again.
Jackson’s health crisis, Henry’s confrontation, and facing my demons with my father had tested the bounds of my control. I insisted on Reese taking a nap before leaving for the hospital. She wanted me to join her, but I had too much work to catch up on. Staying days away from my office was not the norm for me.
Stephen called me first thing and gave me a status on my son. All was well at the hospital with Jackson resting comfortably with no complications through the night. Confirmed by Liam, I was assured that my son was on the road to recovery. He would be undergoing some tests today for his post-op checks. I wanted him home and safely protected in our compound in California.
Henry’s whereabouts were still unknown. Gail and mother visited Jackson this morning together with no new information on her husband. Stephen had the hotel checked again, and had a man on Gail. On all accounts,
she was telling the truth and did not know where Townsend was.
He needed to be located immediately. Surely he wouldn’t be that foolish to come at me again after the warning I delivered to him, right? But he’s not thinking clearly, and when a man like Townsend goes rogue, he could be dangerous.
I called Jenny with a task list that I expected to be completed by end of business hours today. I also checked in with Tom and Donovan. We were on schedule with all of our high end projects, especially the Reinhart Building in Germany. When asked about a dedication for the front name plate, I hadn’t decided what I wanted, but now I have. I will reveal my plans to Donovan upon my return.
One last call needed to be made before waking my sleeping princess. I called Priscilla to check in and make sure all was right back at the house. She answered quickly, and I got right to the point.
“How are our house guests? Are all their needs being met?’
“Yes sir. The Mitchells and their friends arrived a couple of days ago and are settling in just fine. Mr. Mac and his husband are also here, but not staying at night,” she said in her most efficient tone. “How is young Mr. Reed? We’ve been praying for him.”
Cursing myself for not keeping her better informed, I answered her questions quickly. “Thank you for asking. His surgery was successful with no complications. I hope to return home soon with Jackson. Please make sure his room is ready and accommodations are in place for Ms. Riley Briggs as well.”
“Yes sir. Will there be anything else?”
“Just one question.”
“Yes sir, “she responded.
“Do I have anymore wine and champagne left in my cellar?” This made my house manager lose her professional manner and laugh out loud.
“Yes, sir, you do, but I needed to place another order for your favorite 2002 Cristal to be restocked.”
I shook my head because I already knew that Freddy had his own personal party at my expense. I would immediately be changing the alarm code upon my return. In hindsight, I didn’t really care. His friendship meant everything to me because of the happiness it brought to Reese’s life. She had spent the past years alone and isolated from her friendships. I would do anything to change that, but it’s just another part of our past that we now found closure with. We lived in the now and concentrated on the future we would spend as husband and wife.
Our Forever Promise Page 33