I kiss her forehead and move slowly, pressing my hips against hers, whispering how amazing she is and how much I love her. I feel like I’m outside my body. Elevated to another dimension where I share a space with her soul. We’re becoming one in the process. I hear her screaming my name, begging for more. My entire body blazes, the rich heat makes every molecule in my body shake violently. I thrust harder, unable to stop myself, letting everything go, surrendering to the pleasure as I reach the peak with her.
“Abby!” I collapse on top of her, panting.
“I love you,” she whispers one more time as I move away from her.
“I love you with all my heart,” I repeat. “Give me a second I have to clean myself up and let the dogs inside.”
After I finish, I come back upstairs to a very tired Abby who snuggles against me when I get into the bed. “Sleep.” I brush some strands of hair away from her face. “I’m here to protect you.”
I stay awake for a long time, watching the most important person in my world sleeping. We finally found our way back.
Twenty-Nine
Wes
I wake up with the sunlight in my eyes and classical music playing somewhere in the house. For a second, I’m confused about my whereabouts. Am I still dreaming? The empty bed smells of strawberries and sweet Abby. I sit up, lift the covers, and get out of the bed. After putting on my boxers I make my way downstairs.
She’s in the living room, rolling a yoga mat, looking beautiful. She brightens the entire room with her glowing personality. My fucking God I can’t believe it. She’s here. With me. We’re together and we finally took the last step. We smashed the last wall that remained between us. I’m completely hers. She’s mine.
Last night was un-fucking-believably amazing.
“Morning,” I greet her, giving her a peck on the lips.
A slow grin spreads across her face. I wait for her to disappear and for this to be just another hopeless dream. This entire fucking week has been just that—a waiting game where I’m expecting to wake up from the biggest fantasy of my life. But it’s not; this is real.
“Hey, handsome,” she says softly.
Abby places the mat inside a cylindrical bag, and after putting it away in the coat closet, she faces me. “You look rested.”
“You should’ve woken me up.” The dogs aren’t around, and she seems to be wide awake. “What did I miss?”
“Nah, you looked so peaceful and tired. Do you want breakfast?”
“Aren’t we going out for a walk?” I wait for Oakley to appear with her leash but she’s nowhere to be found. “Where are the dogs?”
“Outside, in the backyard. I’m going to start breakfast. Any requests?”
“Surprise me,” I say, smiling and walking to check on Oakley.
My blood boils when I see Chester mounting her. I slide the door open. “Leave her alone, you perverted dog!”
I march toward the kitchen searching for a bucket. I can’t let this happen.
“Your dog is rubbing on mine,” I complain to Abby who’s too busy preparing breakfast.
“So, what if he has a little fun?” She doesn’t look up at me.
I’m raging and seriously, doesn’t she own a bucket? Giving up the search, I grab a container and fill it with cold water.
“What’s your problem, Ahern?”
“I don’t think you understand.” I turn off the faucet.
“Yeah, he’s not the super obedient girl you introduced us to.” Abby waves the spatula at me while plating the pancakes.
“No,” I groan, heading to the backyard. “Your mutt is fucking my puppy.”
“What?” She squeaks and begins to laugh.
Abby takes the container away from me and doesn’t stop laughing. “Give me that.”
“It’s not funny, Lyons.” I go out to yell at her mutt, but they’re already apart. “First I find her on the couch when I come downstairs for a glass of water. She’s not allowed on top of the furniture. Now … this.”
“Ahern, they’ll be together a lot. You might as well ignore their little affair.”
“She’s just a puppy,” I complain. “He defiled her.”
“In dog years, she’s four years older than Chester,” Abby argues, but can’t keep her face straight. The woman is enjoying this.
“You’re calling Oak a cougar?” I cross my arms feigning anger.
“No, I’m telling you to chill. It’s perfectly normal.”
“Talking about normal, what are your plans for today?” I freed up my entire week when I read her letter.
I delegated my duties, and I’ll oversee the operation from here. There’s no way I’m heading back to San Jose. I can’t handle being away from her.
“I’m meeting the architect in Franktown.” She grins.
If anyone could see her now, they’d think she gets excited about pouring coffee. It’s the center that has her giddy. Her dream. A dream that’s about to come true.
“Can I join you?”
“Yeah.” She busies herself serving the food and stops to look at me. “Don’t you have to be in San Jose?”
“I have to be here, with you.” I hold her by the waist, lift her and set her right on the counter.
She’s wearing just my t-shirt. I caress her inner thighs. Abby squirms, and I realize that she’s not wearing any underwear. “What if I have you for breakfast?”
I trace her pussy with my fingers.
“Ahern, you need to go to work and I—” She moans.
“There’s no fucking way I’m leaving you anytime soon.” I pull the shirt off and stare at her naked body. “
“Is this okay?” I run my lips down her ear all the way to her mouth.
“Mhmm,” she whimpers.
I nibble her lower lip before trailing kisses down her neck, working my mouth down her beautiful body. Sucking and kissing my way down to the hollow of her throat, her breasts. I cup them and tease one nipple with my hand while lapping at the other with my tongue.
I groan as I watch her shiver. Those pearls tighten, and I can’t help but tug them hard. Abby’s hands grab onto my hair, she presses herself closer to me. I nip the puckered ends, sucking them long and hard while moving my fingers between her thighs. She’s so wet. I dip two fingers inside her.
“Oh God,” Abby whimpers.
“What do you need?”
“Your mouth,” she begs, pushing my head until my face is right between her legs.
I push her legs open wider and lap her up with my tongue, sliding over her pussy slowly, loving the way she tastes, feels. I nibble her between my teeth, thrusting my fingers in and out of her. It doesn’t take long for her body to tremble. Her voice fills the kitchen as she says my name.
“Please,” she begs.
My cock is hard as a rock, ready for her but I can’t. “We ran out of condoms.”
“I’m on the pill,” she says cautiously. “Clean too. What if we don’t use condoms?”
“Abby,” I say her name, shocked by her response.
My heart hammers against my chest, I’m borderline desperate to pound inside her.
“We don’t have to.” Her voice constricts. “I mean. It’s different from how it happened with … them. I know I’m clean, but … forget it.”
“Please, don’t misunderstand my silence.” I lift her chin. “These past twenty-four hours have been incredible. Shocking, but in a great way. You are giving me yourself, and now you’re taking it to another level. It’d be an honor. I’ve never been in a relationship long enough to even consider going bare. But with you? Of course. Are you serious?”
“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t, Wes. Having sex again. Reclaiming my body. Learning that sex is natural, beautiful, and amazing is something I’ve been talking about with my therapists for years. That’s why I’m open to it, because I’m following my body, my heart, and also my mind.”
“We’re following our hearts, then,” I say covering her mouth with mine.
&nb
sp; I grab the base of my cock with one hand and pull her body to the edge of the counter thrusting into her, barely controlling myself. Fuck, it feels so good I’m about to come. She’s fucking tight, soft—like velvet or silk. So fucking smooth I’m losing my shit. This isn’t going to last long. I try my best, pushing into her, slowly pulling back out. Trying to make it last, make it count.
I slip my hand down to her entrance finding her swollen clit, and I start rubbing it with my finger. Taunting it and teasing it as I change the pace pushing harder and faster. My hips slam into her quicker. Fuck, I'm rough, but I can’t stop myself. She doesn’t let me go but instead, bucks into me, her legs hugging my back and her hips grinding just as fast as I thrust.
Our breaths come short and quick. We gasp for air, but I don’t let her mouth go for long. I need it. My hand works her clit harder and faster. Our pulses quicken. I can hear our hearts beating fast in rhythm. Climax happens so quickly, her milking my cock, crying my name aloud. I’m clutching her body, coming fast as I’m blasting inside her. My legs barely hold me while I shake uncontrollably.
“I love you,” I say, trying to recover my breath.
“Thank you,” she says. A lazy smile spreads across her lips. “I love you too. So much.”
— — —
After taking a shower, we’re both in her room dressing. “I need to bring in a change of clothes.”
“That’s a good idea,” she says, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing me.
“You’re good with your mouth, Ahern.” She releases me and slips her feet into a pair of sandals.
“Baby, I’m good at everything.”
“I noticed. Maybe I’ll be needing more of your services,” she says with a flirty smile.
“Ask, and you shall receive.”
Her face turns serious and she sighs. “Thank you for giving me what I need. For holding back a little, for letting me get used to you.”
“Hey, we have a lifetime together ahead of us. We can practice whatever you want at any pace.”
“A lifetime?” Her arched eyebrow rises along with a corner of her luscious lip.
“That’s the plan.” I shrug.
“And you’re offering me whatever I want?” she asks. I can practically hear the wheels inside her head turning.
I nod, frowning, waiting for her response.
“You know, that thing you did with your finger.” She lowers her gaze and mumbles. “In my back hole.”
Fuck, I did do it. “Is that okay?” I hold my breath.
“Could you maybe use your dick sometime?”
My heart stops because that’s the last request I would expect from her.
“You really want that?” I stutter trying not to sound too eager.
“Soon. I want you to do it, and my mouth too. Help me reclaim my sexuality. I want new memories. Sweet, loving, raw. Our memories.
“Like just now in the shower and in the kitchen, I’m glad you did it hard and let yourself enjoy it.”
“It felt selfish on my part.”
“Seeing you pleased makes me happy too. What kind of lover are you?” she asks.
“You mean, what do I like in bed?” She nods in response. “I like it a little raw. I’m demanding, but I also like to please. Sometimes I get off from tying up the woman I’m with and pleasuring her all night—using my cock to fuck her everywhere.”
Our gazes connect, and I say firmly. “In your case though, I want to own you any way you’d let me.”
“Always a good answer, Mr. Ahern.”
I push her against the wall, lift her arms above her head, and kiss her deeply.
She whimpers as I pull her skirt up and trace her pussy with my fingers. “You have to guide me, baby. I want to give you everything, but I need to know your limits.”
“Someday you might be able to spend the night fucking every inch of my body,” she says with a breathy voice. “But I’m not promising that I’ll allow you to tie me up.”
Thirty
Abby
Wes and I are inseparable. One week becomes two, and time passes so fast that without even realizing it, today we’re already celebrating a month since we reconnected. He’s left a couple of times for day-trips to check on the resort. But now the inevitable is happening. Wes has to go back to San Jose.
I’ve been dragging these last few days because he’s flying to Tahoe on Thursday and from there he’s going back to San Jose. He’s staying away for three long, painful weeks. We’ve promised to FaceTime, and I’ll probably fly in for the weekend, but still, it won’t be the same. It sounds like we won’t be able to see each other as much as we have been until the end of the year. Four long months.
I stare at the computer, wishing I were home. He asked me to stay, to skip work for him—at least for today. Sterling won’t be thrilled because it will mean he’ll have less time to work on his art. We could compromise. I can leave on Thursday and come back on Monday morning. At least, I’d get to see where he lives.
“Just the person I need to talk to,” Sterling enters my office. “You made it to the top of my shit list today.”
“Good morning, Sluggy,” I greet him, confused by his shitty mood.
He arches an eyebrow and glares at me. “I heard that my brother is moving in with you,” he says.
“How are you on this lovely day?”
“Don’t change the subject,” he snarls. “We have more pressing matters to discuss. You’re stealing my roommate.”
“Wes isn’t moving in with me,” I clarify.
He’s leaving for San Jose, I sob internally.
“He’s packing all his shit as we speak.”
“Well, there’s no point in having clothes at your place and mine,” I explain with the same logic Wes used last night.
“That’s called moving in with your girlfriend.” Slugger’s voice resonates throughout my tiny office.
“Check your facts,” I match his tone. “Wes is leaving for San Jose soon.”
“Don’t pout,” he says mockingly. “I’m sure he’ll be back for you.”
“No, Tahoe needs his attention too.” My chin quivers because this isn’t what I want. We’re just getting back together.
“Are you okay with that?”
I shake my head. “I’m going to miss him. Chester is going to miss Oakley,” I explain.
Every night we cuddle after making love, and the dogs join us. We’ll spend the night alone. It’s not impossible—I’ve done it for years, but I don’t want to miss him.
Sterling paces around the room a couple of times, stops right in front of me and crosses his arms. “You’re not moving out, are you?”
There’s a knock on the door. Anita steps into my office. “Abby, you have a visitor.”
“Wes.” I smile widely.
“God, you’re just like him,” Sterling says, exasperated. “Whipped.”
“Shut up, Slugger,” I chide.
“No. It’s Mrs. Ahern,” Anita says.
I gasp, looking at Sterling. “Did you know?”
He shakes his head. “I knew we should’ve installed a door to my studio in this office.”
“Is this a good time to remind you that you were the one against that door?” I cross my arms because I suggested it when we were doing a few modifications. It was a brilliant idea, but he was the one who shut it down.
“Ugh, I hate when you’re right.”
“I know why I want to run away, but why don’t you want to see her?”
“I do.” He shrugs. “I just don’t want to witness the fight between the two of you.”
“Wait, fight? Do you know something I don’t know?”
She hates me. I knew it. Wes has been lying to me.
“Well, you two aren’t on speaking terms. I assumed you had a fight, and I’d rather stay out of a shouting match.”
What fight?
“There was never a fight.” I roll my eyes, rise from my seat, and leave the office.
“Hi,
Linda,” I walk toward her stopping a few feet away.
She looks different. Instead of wearing an elegant suit, she sports a tunic and a pair of white shorts. Her hair is cut into a short bob, and her signature pink lipstick is on point.
“This place is lovely, dear.” She studies the walls. “You did a great job.”
“It’s Sterling’s.”
“It has your style written all over it, dear,” she corrects me. “His art, sure. But the classiness is yours. God knows my son would’ve splashed the walls with a rainbow of colors before hanging the oil paintings. These hardwood floors would be made out of polished concrete, and the music would be screeching guitars with whiny men screaming about nonsense.”
“I love you so much, Mother.” Sterling comes up right beside me. “Nothing says, this is my kid more than, ‘look at how terrible his taste in art and music is.’”
“That’s not what I meant,” she sighs.
“Your intentions are noted. You tried to compliment her by putting me down. Some things never change.” He kisses his mom on the forehead. “Holler if you need me, Abster. I’ll be in the back.”
“He didn’t have to leave,” Linda says regretfully.
“He has work to do,” I say, hoping to erase the bad taste from their encounter. “Thank you for the compliment though.”
“I’m a terrible mother.”
“There’s a difference between not expressing yourself thoughtfully and being a terrible parent. You’re a good mom,” I reassure her.
“Oh, Abby.”
“Not many mothers know their son’s favorite music or taste for unique décor.”
She chuckles, covering her mouth. “Still, he’s upset.”
“What can I do for you, Linda?” I stop the nonsense. We could spend hours circling the real issue, but it’d be torture for me.
“I’m here to apologize,” she says, sighing. “I failed you.”
Before I interrupt her, I remind myself that everyone has a right to let out their feelings. Even if she never failed me, I don’t have any reason to invalidate her emotions.
“When you first came to us, I knew something terrible had happened to you,” she confesses. “There’s no way that one kid was abused and not the other. I’d fostered other children. We’d seen the signs. I just hoped that maybe if I ignored it, you’d somehow forget it.”
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