Saved by Him

by Kristie Leigh

  I picked up the pace slightly and increased the pressure on her sensitive bundle of nerves. She squeezed tightly around my cock and shouted out my name as she came hard. I joined her, and it was the best fucking orgasm I’d ever had. I tried to hold myself up so as not to squish her.

  “Holy fucking shit. That was…amazing.” She was breathless, barely able to speak.

  “Patience can be such a virtue.” We both laughed at my post-orgasm logic.

  “I guess so. I’m going to sleep like a baby tonight.” She had the biggest perma-grin on her face, and knowing I had something to do with it made me one happy man.

  “Since I didn’t really get to say it properly before, I love you, Jules.” I looked her in the eyes, so there was no misunderstanding.

  She smiled up at me, reaching out to caress my cheek. “I love you, too, Hunter.”

  My eyes went wide, and a huge grin spread across my face. “You do?”

  “I do. I never stopped. I just tried to ignore my feelings because it made living life without you easier. But I never fooled anyone, let alone myself.” She sighed deeply.

  Leaning down, I kissed her, then rolled us over so I could bring her in close and hug her tight to my body.

  I let out a shaky breath, not realizing how much I had needed to hear her say those three little words. I kept thinking I was all right with just knowing it, but hearing it just righted my world.

  “She loves me,” I whispered against her lips, and she giggled.

  “Yes. Don’t act so surprised.” She smirked.

  “I’m not surprised that you love me. I’ve always known that. I can see it in the way you look at me. I am, however, surprised that you came to that realization so quickly.” I was still smiling from ear to ear. I didn’t think I’d ever stop.

  “I guess we have a lot to talk about, huh?”

  “Let’s take it one step at a time. We’ll just leave it as I’m never letting you run again, and you’re stuck with me. Does that work?”

  She laughed, but I could tell she was upset.

  I cupped her face. “What’s the matter?”

  She looked up, avoiding my eyes. “I’m sorry. I never really got the chance to tell you I was sorry for leaving.”

  “Don’t. That’s the past—” I shook my head. I didn’t need any apologies from her.

  “No, Hunter, please. I need to get this out. I left the way I did because I didn’t know how to leave you, or how to say goodbye. I knew that if I had to, I wouldn’t have left. I also knew that leaving was the only opportunity I had for college. It was a shitty thing to do, and I’m so sorry. I’ve regretted it every day since, and I’ll have to live with that forever. I won’t dwell on it, but I wanted you to know. I didn’t make that decision lightly. Now, not coming back after college—” She took a deep breath and shook her head.

  “I don’t even have an excuse for that. I guess I was playing it safe. We talked so little about anything important when we spoke that I didn’t know much about where you were in life. My mom would update me, but I knew she would leave out anything to do with you being in a relationship. I didn’t know what I would be coming home to. I checked you out on social media—”

  “You stalked me online?” I tried to lighten the mood.

  “I wouldn’t call it stalking. I looked you up a handful of times,” she scoffed.

  “Well, I looked you up hundreds of times.” I pulled her down for a kiss before letting her continue.

  “Now that we’ve determined we were both creepers. But seriously, knowing that I could come back to you in a relationship with someone else was enough to keep me away. I put up walls never letting anyone in. I have friends, but nothing like what Taylor and the girls are to me. And I’ve never had a serious relationship other than you. I tried, but I couldn’t open up my heart. When I found out I was pregnant with Calum, my world came crashing down for two reasons. One because Blake is a piece of shit, and I didn’t want to have anything to do with him. But the second reason was you. That was the moment I realized you were gone forever.”

  A tear fell down her cheek, and I wiped it away. Taking her hands in mine, I began to speak. “Julianne, I love you. I’ve loved you my whole life. Those eight years apart did nothing but prove that, no matter where you were, my heart belonged to you. I tried to move on. I’m not going into details—”

  "Thank you. I don't think I could take that." She held up her hands, hoping I’d stop.

  I chuckled and kissed her knuckles but continued on. “I’ve obviously been with other women, but never did I have feelings beyond the physical attraction to any of them. We didn't have sleepovers, exchange keys, or talk about a future. Jeez, I barely took them out in public. And yes, I know that makes me sound like an asshole, but I was just trying to lose myself for the few minutes I could. But every single time I would go home, I would feel worse and end up missing you that much more. I always went to their place, so that I could leave instead of asking them to leave mine—"

  “Hunter, I can't hear any more of this, please."

  I looked up to see her crying. “I'm sorry, baby. I was just trying to put things into perspective for you. Clearly, we’ve both been with other people. I never moved on, though. Not once. I'm not sure what your relationship was with Calum’s dad, and I never asked because I didn't want to pry. But it kills me to think that you had moved on from me with him."

  “I don't talk about Blake much because he was a mistake. But I can't look at it that way because no matter how much I despise him, he gave me the most amazing gift anyone ever could. I wouldn't change a thing, but that's only because I love Calum more than anything in this world. Blake and I were casual. We hooked up every once in a while. But one day, I caught him snorting coke in my bathroom. That's one thing I don't play with. I kicked him out and didn't talk to him again. That is until I found out I was pregnant. It was an easy decision to make to keep the baby. The moment I found out, I was already in love with him. When I told Blake, he called me a whore and said it wasn't his. I didn't correct him. To be honest, I wanted him to believe there was a possibility that the baby wasn't his. But I knew without a doubt since I hadn't been with anyone but him in over a year. I haven’t seen or spoken to him since. With his using, I’m not even sure if he remembers the conversation. Anyway, that's all there is to know about him. He's basically a deadbeat junkie who doesn't believe he's a father, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

  I ran my fingers through her hair and laid it all out there. “I told you before, but let me be very clear. You and Calum are it for me. You have always been my world, and now, I can’t imagine my life without you two in it. I’m never letting anyone take that away from me, not even you.”

  She smirked.

  “I love everything about you.” I grabbed on to the mess on top of her head. “Topknot and all. You’re an amazing mother and absolutely beautiful inside and out. I don't want you to ever doubt my love for you. I've loved you from the moment I saw you, and I will love you until my last breath. Do you understand, Jules?"

  She nodded but didn’t look at me. I gripped her chin. “Why are you crying, baby?"

  “These are happy tears. I’ve loved you just as long, Hunter. I've been watching you with Calum, although I've been trying desperately not to. I've been falling more and more in love with you. I love my son more than anything, but I know it's hard for someone else to love him the way I do."

  “Stop right there, Jules. I already love him like he’s my own. I know it’s crazy, but I think him being a part of you gives us a connection. I’ve always wanted children, and whether he’s biologically mine or not, he is mine. No one will ever take that away from me. Whether we have more children or not. Calum will be our son. Even though we’ve spent eight years apart, I know things are going to work out the way they’re supposed to. As soon as you guys came into my life, it made me realize this was all meant to be. You had to go to California to have that baby and bring him back to me so we could be a family.
I want us to be a family for real, Jules." My voice cracked. The emotions running through me were like nothing I’d ever felt.

  “I want that, too, more than anything. I'm just scared." Her voice was timid.

  “Don't be. You know me, Jules. I've never done anything to hurt you, and I plan on keeping it that way. You guys are everything to me, and that’s never going to change. I know it's really soon, but I feel like we have been together forever." I said that with conviction because I was so certain.

  “I feel the same way. I guess it’s because our hearts have always belonged with each other."

  I leaned in to kiss her and whispered, “You've made me the happiest man alive. Well, until you agree to be my wife." I chuckled when she sucked in a breath. “Don't worry, baby. You'll know it when I propose. Don't get all freaked out just yet." And with that, I kissed her again, and we made love into the early morning hours.

  17

  Jules

  I woke feeling rested and a little sore in all the right places. I stretched, smiling from ear to ear, thinking about last night. I lay there for a while just smiling like an idiot, but I didn’t care.

  Calum’s laughter from outside broke through my thoughts. I could hear his and Hunter’s muffled voices. Rushing to get outside and see my boys, I threw on some shorts and a tank top, brushed my teeth quickly, threw my hair up in a messy bun, and grabbed a coffee on the way out.

  Outside I found them running around with a football. Calum laughed every time Hunter missed him when he ran by. Hunter snatched him up and threw him in the air. I caught his eye when he tickled him. He shifted Calum to his back and came toward me.

  “Morning, beautiful. How’d you sleep?”

  “Mama!” Calum shouted excitedly.

  “I slept like a baby. Thanks for getting up with him. You didn’t have to.” I rested my hand on his cheek.

  He leaned down and kissed me. “I wanted to. We’ve been having fun. Right, Calum?”

  “Yup.” He nodded his little head.

  “You slept in pretty late. We were going to come jump on you in a few minutes if you weren’t up yet. It’s almost lunch.”

  “Wow. Guess someone wore me out last night.” I smirked and kissed him again.

  “Since you woke up with Calum, how about I make lunch. Sandwiches, of course.” I smirked.

  “Sounds good to me. We can get back to our game.” Hunter swung Calum back onto the ground, grabbed the ball, and took off jogging away.

  I got the sandwiches ready and was just about to head outside to set up the table when the door burst open, scaring the shit out of me. They came barreling inside.

  “Looks like we’ll be eating in here. It just started raining.”

  “All righty. Let me get the bedding off there, and you can set up the table since I have no clue what I’m doing.”

  After we ate lunch, I put Calum down for a nap in the big bed, so we didn’t disturb him since we were stuck in here until this rain let up.

  Hunter was sitting on the small sofa when I came out. “Since we have some downtime, how about we go over the ideas you have for the renovations?”

  “Sure. Let me grab my iPad, and I can pull up my Pinterest account.”

  “Before I forget. I was thinking. Do you mind if we leave the trailer up here?”

  I didn’t miss how he used the term we. I wondered if he realized it.

  “I just don’t get to use it much and thought if it were here, we could sneak up here every so often and save the pain of towing it.”

  “Of course. I think that’s a great idea.” I smiled at him.

  “Awesome. Now let’s see your ideas.”

  I held the iPad to my chest. “Before I show you, I need you to promise to be honest with me on budget and keep me grounded. I have no idea how much this stuff costs.”

  He laughed. “I can do that. You want to stay within the renovation budget that she set, right?”

  “Is that a realistic budget? I have no clue what anything costs.” I was so lost on this side of decorating. I could plan and picture, but when it came to price, I was clueless.

  “I mean, it really depends on how extravagant you want to go. Let’s see what we have and go from there.”

  “Okay.” I was hesitant but jumped in anyway.

  We went through all my photos. Mama loved the beach, so I thought a beach- cottage theme made sense. Shabby chic with white cabinets and grey, weathered-looking flooring. It all looked so pretty.

  “I think all of this is doable. I’ll have to double check the condition of existing cabinets to see if we can reface them. That would save a ton of money. Then we can figure out the materials we’ll use based on that. You should prioritize just in case we end up over budget with any surprises that pop up along the way. But everything seems good, and I think Stephanie would love it.”

  “I thought she would, too. I chose the beach theme for her.”

  “I can get things started as soon as we get back. The only thing is, I would recommend you guys not stay there. The amount of dust isn’t healthy, and we can get things done faster.”

  “I’m sure that won’t be a problem. I can work something out.” I smiled at him, but my face dropped at his serious expression. “What’s the matter?”

  “I was hoping you would stay with me.” He looked at me sheepishly.

  “Oh.” I didn’t know what to say. I mean, my mind automatically went to Taylor. I wouldn’t have thought to impose on Hunter.

  “I would love to have you guys. I’m not ready to go back to work and not see you every day, so this way, I could come home to you both.” He blushed and looked away. “You can think about it. I just thought it would be nice. Purely selfish reasons on my part.”

  Fuck it. “All right.”

  He swung his head to looked at me, eyes wide. “Really?”

  “Sure. Why not. What’s the worst that could happen?” I shrugged.

  He reached up, caressing my cheek. “I’m not sure, but the best thing that could happen is that you fall so madly in love with me that you never want to be apart again.”

  I swallowed against the lump in my throat, not sure what to say. He pulled me in for a kiss that took my breath away.

  Hunter pulled out his phone. “Let’s take a selfie. I’m horrible at this shit, but I don’t have a recent picture of us.”

  I touched my hair. “No way. I can’t even imagine what I look like right now.”

  He turned my head to him. “You look beautiful. My favorite look on you is when you’re makeup free and naturally gorgeous.” He reached up and tugged on my hair. “Topknot and all. I promise.”

  I rolled my eyes. He was sweet but so full of shit.

  We positioned ourselves close together. He snapped a few kissing my cheek, causing me to laugh. He then kissed me full on while snapping a few more before dropping the phone. He leaned in, forcing me backward to lie down on the sofa. We made out like a couple horny teenagers until Calum woke.

  The rest of the weekend was rained out, so we came back first thing in the morning. Being cooped up in the trailer with a toddler just wasn’t fun for anyone involved. It was Monday, but Hunter had the day off, and since it wasn’t raining in McKinney, we’d spent the day lounging by the pool. Hunter’s phone rang from inside, so he ran to grab it. Back to reality.

  A few minutes later, he came back out smiling. “Great news. Casey can come by now and go over some things with you and have plans for the renos done by Wednesday. I hope that’s okay with you?”

  “Yes. Wow, that’s amazing. Thank you.”

  He leaned down to kiss me. “You’re welcome. He lives really close, so he should be here any minute. I’m going to put Calum down now so he will have both of our undivided attention.”

  “God, I love you.” I pulled him down to kiss him again. “How did I get so lucky?”

  “Honestly, I’ve been wondering the same thing myself.”

  And with that, I watched the hottest man I knew walk over and
pick up my son to take him inside for a nap. Probably one of the sexiest things I’d ever seen.

  I put on my cover-up and headed inside to make sure the house was presentable. A few minutes later, Hunter came up behind me, kissing my neck softly. “Hmm.” I felt his hand between my legs, slowly moving up my inner thigh.

  “I would love to bend you over this counter right now.” His voice was husky.

  I arched my back, pushing out my ass to give him better access. His hand breached my bathing suit, and he circled my clit with his finger. A full-body shiver ran through me. Hunter nipped at my earlobe as he inserted one finger inside me, circling.

  I gripped the counter. “Shit. Hunter, I need more. Fuck me, please.”

  He pulled back and pushed my body down onto the counter. Before I could wonder what he was doing, he pulled my swimsuit bottoms to the side, and his mouth started to devour my pussy.

  “Oh, God.” I sucked in a breath at the sudden sensation.

  He didn’t hold back. I was so close already. He started kneading my ass and suddenly slapped it. I whimpered as I bit down on my arm, not wanting to scream and wake up Calum.

  I whipped up my head at the sound of a car door slamming. Hunter continued to lick and nip at my clit, driving me crazy. I was so fucking close, but the sound of someone knocking at the front door had me standing up straight. Hunter stood up, licking his lips with a smile on his face.

  “Sorry, baby.” He wiped his face while smirking. “I’ll make that up to you as soon as Casey leaves.”

  “What the fuck?”

  He couldn’t be serious. How the fuck was I supposed to get through this all worked up? My pussy was throbbing. That’s all I’d be able to think about.

  “I love you,” he said so innocently before adjusting his dick in his pants and opening the door.

  Asshole. I’d definitely get him back for this. I walked up behind him to greet our guest.

  “Hey, man. Thanks for coming on short notice.” Hunter gestured for Casey to come in.

  “Of course. Just glad I was able to help out.” Casey looked over at me, shaking my hand. “This must be the lovely Julianne I’ve heard about for the last—” Looking to Hunter for help. “What’s it been? Five years?” He looked up, thinking about it. “Yeah, we’ve been working together for about five years, and he’s been talking about you the whole time. I feel like I know you.”