by Haley Travis
The next day, after a few quick texts, we agreed that I’d bring Italian food and drop by his house at seven. When I pulled up, James was standing in his doorway, rushing out to help me with the two bags of food.
I bit my tongue, allowing him to help, and hoping that he’d been resting his leg all day yesterday. After we went into his kitchen and set down the bags, he pulled me into the living room.
He was so excited he was almost giddy. It was downright weird seeing him so animated. “Okay, these are very private, and I’m going to lock them away. But I needed to show you that I’m trying, and I’m really working at this.”
I started to comment, then noticed that he was gesturing to the two notebooks I’d given him, and several more. He held up each book, quickly flipping through the pages so that I could see how much he’d written.
“When the drugstore was sending the antibiotics, I had them send those spiral notebooks as well. And this.” He pulled out a huge binder, flipping through so that I could see that he must have filled at least fifty double-sided pages.
Sitting him down on the couch, I took hold of his right wrist and instantly began lightly massaging the area. “I’m not sure what to say,” I said softly. “I’m so impressed. Really.”
James raised an eyebrow. “How did you know that I was right-handed?”
“Only ten percent of the population are lefties. I took a shot,” I smiled. Glancing back at all of the notebooks strewn across his coffee table, I shook my head in admiration. “James, I don’t want to change you. I just want you to be happy and comfortable. This was a ton of work. How do you feel?”
He leaned back, wrapping an arm around me. His lips met mine gently, almost teasingly. My hands wrapped around to the back of his neck, leaning closer. Finally I pulled away, hoping for an answer.
“I’m completely exhausted, but also sort of manic. Wired. I know I’m going to have to read through everything and process some things, but that can wait a week. But I feel like I’m ready to let that darkness go.”
“I’m so proud of you,” I whispered. He looked at me a bit strangely, and I wondered if he’d had enough of the serious talk for now. “Do you want me to set out the food so that we can eat?”
His hands ran up my back. “In a minute. Just let me stare at you a bit longer. I need to snuggle you.” He kissed the tip of my nose. “Just let me focus on loving you for a minute.”
“Wha–” I blinked at him in surprise .
“Please don’t be scared. I’m not crazy.” He ran a hand through his short hair. “It’s like...I’m clear-minded for the first time in months. I’m myself again. I know what I’m doing, and I can see everything with fresh eyes.”
He took my hands in his. “I want you. I need you. I was in love with you from the first second I saw you, Molly, and I–”
“I love you too,” I whispered.
His sharp exhale and the pure relief in his eyes spoke volumes. “Okay then, we’re both crazy,” he said gently. “It’s not normal to fall in love this fast.”
“Fine. We’re not normal,” I said, nuzzling his cheek. “Just let me love you, and snuggle you.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
* James *
Holding Molly calmed me right down. She was obviously delighted that I told her I loved her, and I was thrilled if surprised that she said it back immediately. Our brand new relationship seemed like it was on solid ground now.
I loved the way Molly’s hand slipped under the sleeve of my t-shirt to touch my shoulder. This time she wasn’t searching out the injury, she just wanted more of our skin together.
“Baby, I love the way you touch me,” I said softly. “It’s been a really rough weekend for both of us, I think.”
“Yes, but I think everything is better now,” she said. “Do you want me to go dish up dinner?”
She was making absolutely no motion to move, and I didn’t want to let her go. “Molly, I know I stressed you out terribly, and I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do to make it better? Maybe give you a back rub?”
She sat back a bit, looking into my eyes for several moments. Normally this much eye contact would make me cringe, but it was as if she was searching for something. No matter what it was, I wanted to give it to her.
“There’s something I’ve always been curious about,” she said slowly. “And since I love every way you touch me, maybe you could help me.”
For a second, I didn’t know what she was talking about. Then it suddenly hit me that I might know what she meant, but wasn’t sure.
“I’d like a full tour of your house later,” she said. “But right now, why don’t you take me to your bedroom?”
“Anything you like, gorgeous.” I led her up the stairs to the king-sized bed in my simple blue and gray bedroom.
There were so many things that seemed incredibly important about this moment, as she pulled my t-shirt off with a sassy smile. Molly was the first woman I’ve ever had in this bedroom. It was obvious that I was the first man she’d ever been with.
Our hands worked together to slide off her dress and bra, then she twirled, looking up at me in her cute pink underwear. She was staring at me as if I were the center of her universe, and I hoped that she saw the same message in my eyes.
I slipped off my jeans and socks, taking her hand as we sat on the edge of the bed. I loved the way she slid into my lap, wrapping her arms around my shoulders.
Tipping her back, I pulled one of her rosy pink nipples into my mouth. “So sweet and fresh,” I mumbled with my mouth full. Her soft moan thickened my erection, digging it into her hip.
She brought one hand back to slide across my chest. “You’re so big,” she whispered. “Masculine. Huge. I always thought I’d be afraid of a guy like you but you’re so sexy.”
I had to admit, hearing that raised my battered ego a thousand percent.
“You’re absolutely beautiful,” I whispered, switching to the other breast, massaging her sensitive skin. “Am I allowed to snuggle every single inch of you?”
“Actually,” she said, biting her lip for a second as she paused. “Remember last week when I… when we…did one of your fantasies?”
“Yes, baby,” I said, sitting her up straight to cup her face in my palm. “Anything you want, it’s your turn.”
She nodded, then stood up, slipping off her panties and laying back in the center of the bed. Molly looked at me with a little smile, crooking her finger for me to come closer.
I slipped off my shorts and laid beside her, running my hands all over her pale skin. “Are you saying that you want me to touch you somewhere you’ve never been touched before?” I asked.
She nodded.
“Are you absolutely sure?”
Her blue eyes were so expressive. “I love you,” she said simply, flashing me a smile that made some of the chunks of my broken heart snap back together.
My hand was already stroking her softest skin, teasing her tiny inner lips with a fingertip. Jesus – she was drenched. She must have been thinking about this for some time.
“I’m on the pill,” she said quickly.
“Thank goodness,” I chuckled. “I don’t have any condoms.”
“I thought all guys kept them around?”
I shrugged. “It hasn’t occurred to me for a long time that I might need them.” She seemed touched that I hadn’t been with anyone in ages.
Molly was so soft and delicate in my arms, every luscious curve beginning to wriggle as my finger slipped inside her, my thumb finding her clit as I began to gently swirl around it. She gasped, her head falling back.
“I’ve never seen a woman as sexy as you,” I whispered, watching her begin to tremble. “Do you know what it does to me, knowing that you’re mine?”
Her blinking was slowing down, her hands clutching at me desperately as I realized she was close already. Somehow, my confidence grew, knowing that I was arousing her this much from a few simple touches. The pa
d of my thumb began to circle faster, my finger delving inside her as she moaned.
I kissed her, even though she was breathing heavily, her lips open as her body began to twist. “That’s it, gorgeous, let me see you come.”
Her entire lower body began to rock steadily against my hand. Her sharp gasps against my mouth were so sweet, as her entire body tightened, twitching up against me as she climaxed.
“You’re so sexy, Molly,” I said, caressing her gently through the last little pulses.
She stared up at me in wonder. “I’ve never come that fast,” she gasped. “Look what you do to me.”
“Well, that was fun, we should probably go have dinner,” I started, but she yanked my lips to hers.
“Don’t you dare tease me,” she practically whined. Those big blue eyes had me completely enchanted as she reached down to stroke my almost painfully hard erection.
“Is that what you want?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
Last week when Molly kissed me on the dance floor of the wedding, I felt hope coursing through me for the first time in ages. When she gave me the notebooks, and a note begging me to try, I felt a wave of happiness that she believed in me enough to push me to try harder.
Now that she was trusting me with this precious moment, a rush of gratitude flooded me. I felt drenched in my love for her. Cleansed . Reborn.
I hesitated for a few seconds, wondering if she had truly thought it through. I was sure that she had. Molly seemed to analyze everything.
“I’ve waited this long, don’t make me wait any more,” she said softly, pulling me on top of her.
She hadn’t said a word about my leg, not seeming to care as she squirmed her hips, pulling me against her. Her eyes burned with desire, as she clearly saw me in this moment as a lusty man, not a broken one.
Taking my length from her hand, I gave it a few strokes, angling down to glide gently through her silky folds. “I love you so much, baby,’” I said gently, carefully moving against her slowly, barely beginning to open her skin for me.
“I love you, James,” she said, her eyes slightly glassy. “I’ve waited years to find you. Don’t make me wait any more.”
Capturing her lips, I made sure that as much of our skin was connecting as possible as I realized I was about to make her truly mine.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
* Molly *
I’d thought about this moment so many times over the years, and now that it was here, it didn’t feel clear. Everything was soft, as if in a dream.
Although I would never have expected him to be rough with me, James was so heartachingly gentle that I felt like I was melting under him.
As the thick, smooth head of his shaft parted my lips, just beginning to slip inside, I ran my hands up his back, holding him tightly against me. We moved together, our hips rocking slowly as he sunk inside me gradually. Thank goodness I was incredibly wet, as his size could definitely have been an issue.
This time it was my turn to mask any shred of pain. There was no way I would allow him to see if it hurt in the slightest.
Wrapping my legs around his hips, I sighed into his mouth as he plunged deeper. There was just a moment of pain as he stretched me open, but the pressure quickly changed into absolute bliss. I gasped as he thrust all the way inside me, touching me more deeply than I could ever have imagined, on every level.
“Heaven,” James choked, as his hand slid down to grip my hip, slowly rocking us together. “You feel like heaven around me, baby.”
I loved it when he called me that. It made me feel like his girl. As I realized our bodies were completely joined, his thick cock filling me gently over and over, I felt like his girl even more.
“You’re so big, it feels like you’re everywhere,” I smiled up to him.
He kissed along my cheekbone, then murmured into my ear, “A tiny part of me dreamed of this from the second we met.”
Wild excitement gripped me at the thought of being his fantasy of any kind. His hips begin moving a little faster, propelling his skin inside mine, hitting every nerve as my moans could no longer be controlled.
Everything was alive. Interconnected. Every muscle and tendon energized as my body clung to him, my tunnel clenching around him as I writhed.
“I didn’t know,” I heaved a breath, “how much I needed this.”
“Yes, baby,” he groaned, gripping both of my hips now as he ground into me deeper. “I’m yours now. Anytime you need me.”
Staring into my eyes, he lifted his hand, then slipped his thumb between my lips. Stifling a giggle, I sucked hard for a few seconds, then he pulled it away. Bringing it to my clit, he began to flutter across the surface in tiny circles just the way I needed.
“Oh!” I gasped, my back arching as everything seemed to prepare itself for the inevitable wave of pleasure .
It felt like his shaft was straining inside me, throbbing as he seemed to grow even bigger. His lips crushed to mine again, muffling my squeals as I barely stopped myself from digging my fingernails into his broad back muscles.
“Your body is so expressive,” he nearly growled, staring down at my bouncing breasts as he began to move faster. “I can feel you tensing up, getting ready to come.”
The rush of sensation was less than ten heartbeats away, and the anticipation was killing me. “Tell me what you’re going to do to me,” I blurted out.
He flashed me a cocky grin. I had seen a slight shadow of it while we were on the dance floor at the wedding, when he was whispering dirty things.
“I’m going to take you every night, baby,” he murmured against my ear. “I’m going to pin you to this bed until you squeal. I’m going to make you ride me until you drive us both crazy. I love that you come so fast for me, and I’m going to do it every chance I get.”
A scream tore through me as a blinding rush of heat clenched every muscle from my eyebrows to my toes.
“You’re so hot, baby,” he growled, staring into my eyes as he thrust faster, almost desperately.
“Yes, yes, please,” I rasped, then I shrieked in relief at the explosion deep inside me as his hot release filled me completely. It was a strange sensation, but completely satisfying.
It looked like he lost his vision for a second, that his eyes tracked to mine. “I love you so much, my sweet, beautiful Molly,” he said softly.
He kissed across my forehead as I breathed, “I love you.” Then his tongue dragged along my lower lip before he kissed me gently.
He reached up to trail his thumb along my jaw as he seemed to stare at me in wonder. Then he found my hand, clasping it between our hearts. “I’m yours. You’re mine. That part is done, right?” he asked hopefully.
I nodded, blinking back tears. “Yes.”
James rolled slowly, pulling me into his arms as he sat up against the headboard. “Snuggles, then dinner, then I’m going to hold you all night. Does that sound like a good plan?”
“Yes,” I nodded against his shoulder.
“Does it sound like a good plan for almost every night, forever?” he asked.
My hand reached out to rest across his heart. “Absolutely.”
EPILOGUE ONE
* James *
* Five Months Later *
Lying on the couch, I looked around at what had been a perfectly tidy living room this morning. Now there was a pile of planks stacked in the corner from the extra shelf I was building tomorrow, along with a dozen boxes labeled “books” and “knick-knacks”.
Even though my house was a temporary disaster, I was so unbelievably happy that Molly had moved in with me today.
Luckily, she loved my house and most of the furniture. We picked a few new pieces together, to replace some things that were getting worn down, but those were all delivered last week. Today we only moved the pieces of her giant bookshelf, and all of her boxes and clothes.
She insisted on helping since I refused to hire movers. There was nothing heavy, just many easy trips. But my sweet Molly
was still very protective of me.
It was just in her nature to care for others, and no matter how many times I told her I was fine, she babied me. I would never admit that I secretly loved it.
After the close call a few months ago, she took it upon herself to be in charge of the rest of my healing process. I am apparently now getting a scan done every three months whether I like it or not.
But since her version of a gold star for good behavior is now doled out in the bedroom, I’m absolutely fine with it.