That was a promise.
Zoe came bouncing down the stairs a few minutes later very happy to see me. “Daddy!” she cried as she ran into my arms.
I scooped her up and gave her a mighty hug.
“How’s my girl?” I asked.
“I’m good. I had a lot of fun with Aunt Katy. We made peanut butter fudge candy.”
I gasped. “Did you? Was it good?”
“It really was,” she said with a big smile.
“Did you save me any? That’s my favorite.”
“No.”
“What? Why not?”
Zoe just shrugged.
“That’s not nice,” I teased. “You should always save some for your dear old dad.”
“I will next time,” Zoe said.
“That’s my girl.”
We left Katy’s and drove home. As we drove I listened to Zoe rambling on about all of the fun games and cool toys they had at Katy’s while my thoughts kept returning to Julie. I was now feeling so much better about things. I really was turning over a new leaf and starting a sweet journey that I hoped would last a lifetime. I had a new woman in my life and I would always have my baby girl.
Maybe someone, somewhere decided this old road dog deserved another chance at happiness. Anything was possible.
Chapter Sixteen
Julie
“It’s adorable how Zoe fights bedtime,” I said as Ricky closed the door to her bedroom quietly. He smiled at me and followed me down the stairs. “Those tired little eyes aren’t fooling anybody.”
“Yeah, she kind of reversed back to that after Amanda passed. But she doesn’t put up nearly as much of a fight as she used to. I’m sure you have a little something to do with that.”
His words made me beam with a bit of pride. I loved Zoe. She was the sweetest little girl in the world. We’d bonded strongly and I could feel that bond getting stronger every single day. It also helped to solidify the bond that Ricky and I had, as if we were turning into a real family. That idea should have terrified me, I suppose, but it actually warmed my heart.
We made our way to the living room. “Why don’t you put on a movie? I’ll pour us some wine,” Ricky said heading into the kitchen.
I pulled up his streaming service and searched for something we could both enjoy. I didn’t want horror and of course he didn’t want anything too cheesy or romantic, I was sure. He handed me my glass of wine and I took a small sip of the merlot. It was following the pizza we had for dinner nicely. Ricky decided I should have the evening off from cooking, so delivery it was. He ordered from Spanoli’s, a place I’d never had before. And it was magnificent. The man knew his food. The portions were huge and we would have wonderful leftovers the next day.
We snuggled up on the couch as I found a good eighties action flick, Red Dawn, to watch.
“Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson---wow, that’s a great cast. How come I’ve never heard of this one?” Ricky asked.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “You just have to expand your mind a bit.”
“Oh, is that it?” Ricky asked. “I guess I will have to do that.”
We watched a few minutes of the movie and I felt myself squirming a bit. There was something on my mind. I wasn’t sure how to even bring it up to Ricky. It was probably being blown up so out of proportion in my head that it was silly, but I didn’t really know how else to feel about it. This seemed important, or at least it was important to me. I knew that it would feel important to Ricky, too. I just had to broach the subject with him already.
“Ricky?” I asked.
He paused the movie and looked at me. I could read it in his face that he knew that something was wrong. “What is it? You ok?”
“Yeah, there is something I think we should talk about.”
He turned a bit more to me to give his undivided attention. “Shoot.”
“Well, things have been going so well between us, and even though we haven’t even told Zoe that we are together, I think she has that feeling.”
“Right. We do need to sit her down and talk to her, but I’ve been a bit hesitant about it. I don’t know how she might take the news. I know she loves you, and I like to think she loves me, but us officially being together, you are worried that she will think you are trying to replace her mother.”
That thought had crossed my mind. “Well, yeah.”
“I think she is a much more resilient kid than either of us even realizes. She surprises me all the time. She has the strength from me and from Amanda. I think she will be just fine.”
“I think you’re right,” I said. “Should I be there when you talk to her about this? Or do you want to do that with just the two of you?”
“I think it would be best if we were together. You will probably be surprised by how much she has already figured out. That kid is on another level sometimes.”
I sipped my wine and decided to branch into the second part of the conversation I wanted to have with Ricky. “Ok, and I wanted to talk to you about my family. I really want you to meet them soon.”
“Oh, ok. Sure. No problem.”
“Well, there might be a problem. My folks are kind of old fashioned and they are going to have a big problem with our age difference.”
“Ah,” Ricky said. “I see. Are you worried?”
“Kind of, but I know that once they get to know you they will love you.”
“Well, we will just have to put them at ease. You are twenty-five. You aren’t a child and for them to worry about. And it’s only natural to worry being parents—I’ll probably never like anyone that Zoe dates—they need to learn to let go and just let you make your own decisions. So, I’ll put my best foot forward and do what I can to ease their fears, but it will ultimately be up to them to decide to accept us together or not. That is something I’m not sure we can do anything about if they are going to be unreasonable.”
“Right, that’s what I’m afraid of. I’ve always been very close with my folks, especially my father, or at least I used to be.”
“What happened?”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to talk about it, but I needed to. I’d kept it buried inside for far too long. “Well, my father cheated on my mother when I was a kid. She promptly threw him out when she found out, but then she moved him back in and they reconciled a while later. They had marriage counseling and as far as I’ve seen they’ve been happy ever since then. But my relationship with my father has never been the same. No matter what, I can never really forgive him for what he did.”
Ricky sighed. “Hmmm, I see what you mean. That is a rough one. Do you know why your mother took him back?”
“I always thought she did it for me, but after I left home I thought she would end things, yet they’ve continued to be happy.”
“Ok, then that’s great. They had an issue and they worked past it. Of course, I’m not sure that is the sort of issue that I would ever personally be able to get past. Seeing the way you feel about your father, I’d assume you feel the same way. Once trust is broken, you can never really get it back, can you? That ship has pretty much sailed. You can put a good face on it and make it look like everything is fine, but deep down those feelings are still there. Those resentments will color everything and seep down into it until one day it has a good chance of going to hell.”
“Right. I just don’t know how she could forgive him and I can’t.”
“Well, forgiving is not the same thing as forgetting.”
“I agree. I just think that if my father judges me for this, that those old feelings of resentment I have for him will come back and things might implode between us. I don’t want that. We have an ok relationship, even if it does feel strained. Plus, my mother would have a hard time dealing with that if my father and I blew up at each other. You know?”
“I do. But I think that worrying about it and avoiding it are not healthy. They will not accomplish anything. I know that eventually they will have to learn about me and we will have to mee
t them. You just have to remember that if your father does judge you, then that is something you might have to let go. Getting emotional about someone else’s emotions, even when they actually concern you, is pretty useless. Why let someone else affect you mentally? That is something I’ve tried hard to remember in my life and if more people would set their own egos aside and realize that someone else’s thoughts can’t hurt you, then the world would be a much better place. I urge you to just be the bigger person.”
I smiled and finished the glass of wine, perhaps a bit quickly. I could feel the warmth of the alcohol radiating through my senses. This combined with Ricky’s words of wisdom were really echoing through me. I had to just relax and not let anyone’s opinion interfere with me and my life. Even if that person was my own father.
“How did you get so wise?” I asked. “You always know exactly what to say.”
Ricky shrugged. “I was very close to my grandfather when I was a kid. He passed away when I was fifteen. I used to spend a few weeks with my grandparents when I was a kid every summer. My grandfather and I did everything together. He taught me a lot. He’d lived through more pain and suffering than anyone ever could imagine, but each time it only made him stronger. And he learned so many lessons that he passed onto me. I’ve held onto every single one of them.”
“So, you had a wonderful mentor,” I said.
“That I did. You will be fine. Set up a time when we can meet with your parents and we can just take things from there.”
“I will,” I replied.
Ricky put his arm around me and held me close to him. I felt close emotionally to him right then as well. He was so beautiful, such a strong, warm human being. I felt like I was the luckiest woman in the world to be that close to him and to have him in my life. He was so perfect. It was almost intimidating to know that he was that special to me. Could I possibly be that special to him? I couldn’t imagine someone else thinking that much about me, but Ricky proved time and time again that he did.
I reached up and brushed his cheek with my hand, the rough stubble providing comfort against my skin. Then I kissed Ricky on the lips. He kissed me back harder and I could sense that he was feeling a bit extra toasty tonight, as I was. The wine was definitely doing its job.
Ricky quickly pulled me closer to him and laid me down on the couch under the warmth of his weight. He kissed me on the mouth, the cheeks, the neck, and then he worked his way down the front of my blouse, opening button after button to reveal the bra I was wearing beneath. As he did so, my mind kept searching for something… what was it? We shouldn’t have been doing this. But why?
Zoe.
That’s right. She was in her room. What happened if she came out here and saw us?
“Ricky, we need to move this elsewhere,” I reminded him.
He stopped and looked at me, a grin forming across his handsome face. Ricky stood up and grabbed my hand to lead me up the stairs to the bedroom where I imagined many beautiful thing occurring. He locked the door behind us. “Just to make sure there are no unwanted intrusions.”
“Take off your clothes,” I commanded Ricky.
He smiled at me as I took charge of things and he slowly started to strip. I watched with a whetting appetite as he removed the shirt from his tight, muscular body. In the dimly lit room, I could still make out every single crevice, every tightly formed muscle as his body shifted slightly, each hook illuminating it all just perfectly.
“Now, the pants,” I said.
Ricky unbuckled his belt and dropped it to the floor. Then he slowly unfastened his jeans, and unzipped them, the zipper sounding much louder in the darkened room than it should have, but casting something very erotic over the feel of it all. I found myself shivering under the ceiling fan even though it was a very warm night. My breath was becoming quick and shallow.
He was now in his boxer shorts and just standing there watching me with a look of mischief on his face. It was like he was taunting me, daring me to make the next move. I smiled and pointed at his underwear. “Everything.”
Ricky laughed and quickly removed the underwear, dropping them to the floor at his feet where he kicked them softly to the side. He was now standing there in all his glory, his massive cock hanging from the center of his pelvis, already hard as a rock and waiting for me to come get some.
“Get on the bed and keep it hard,” I said. I was very much enjoying being in control and bossing him around. Ricky smiled and I could tell he was having fun playing along. He was not the type of guy who was used to being ordered around or following what others told him. He was a strong, confident, natural born leader. But tonight in the bedroom, we were going to play by my rules.
I watched him lie on the bed and start stroking his member, holding it high and stroking it very hard. It looked delicious as I stood there waiting for him. The thoughts of tasting him swirled around my brain. I walked over towards the bed and I stopped right in front of him so I could see every bit of the show he was putting on. His body was illuminated by the soft glow of the small lamp on the nightstand that gave a glimmer of light to this otherwise darkened room. I loved it like this. It was setting up the proper mood for us. And I was ready to take things to the next level.
I removed my blouse and threw it aside. Ricky’s eyes were widening as he scanned over the contours of my voluptuous body. I swayed side to side as if dancing to a slow song that only I could hear. My hands found the snaps of my bra and ripped them open to allow the garment to fall from my body. I was now standing there topless, my large breasts exposed for him to see. Ricky moaned as he began to beat himself harder and harder.
“Not too hard,” I said. “We don’t want you to finish early now, do we?”
I watched him squirming with pleasure as I danced back and forth and he tried to keep himself from blowing his load all over the place. I was having a blast witnessing this display of internal struggle for him. He was so beautiful to look at. I was getting wetter by the second and I wanted to ride him like he would never forget, but I wanted to be patient and to let things naturally progress. You couldn’t rush such a good time as this.
I began to remove my own jeans just then, bending over in front of Ricky so that he could see me pealing my body out of them. I was wearing sexy, lacy underwear and he was getting a great eyeful as I removed the pants and kicked them to the side as well. Without any further delay I took off my panties and threw them at Ricky who laughed when they landed beside his head on the bed.
“How much do you want me?” I asked.
“Oh, fuck… so bad… come on, honey…” Ricky begged.
I loved to hear his pleas for me to come to him. I loved to take control this way. I had a bit of a surprise for Ricky that I wasn’t sure if he would even be up for. But I decided to try it anyway.
I’d strategically placed a bag in the bedroom hoping something like this would inevitably happen within the next few days. I’d done this only three hours prior, so my insights were pretty keen it was turning out. “I’m not sure I heard you.”
“Baby, I need you so bad it hurts,” Ricky pleaded. “Just look at how hard I am for you. Oh, wow…please… let me have it.”
I smiled at him, waiting until I was sure he was at the breaking point before walking over to the bag in the corner of the room. There I pulled out two pairs of handcuffs. I sauntered over to him and grabbed his left hand, placing the cuff tightly around his wrist. Ricky started laughing and tossed his head back as if he thought this was the funniest thing ever.
“Wow, kinky,” he said. “I like it though. You’ve been thinking about a few things, haven’t you baby?”
I grunted in his face. “You have no idea.” Then I kissed him hard on the mouth.
I attached the other handcuff to the bedpost and then grabbed the other pair to do his right side. He was now completely at my mercy. This idea made me hotter than I ever could have imagined. He was now mine and totally mine. I was going to do whatever I wanted to him. He was under my con
trol. At my mercy. Yes… watching him there writhing, struggling to get free, his rigid stiffy standing straight up in the air just begging for some contact—I felt so much power that it was intoxicating. I’d always had this fantasy, of being in total control over my lover. And now it was happening.
I knelt over him and placed my face very closely to his package. My long hair fell down around it, the strands touching him very gently and eliciting a hardened response from his primary asset. I smiled and giggled slightly at the way it danced under my hair. Then I touched him with my hand, wrapping my fingers around his massive tool. I soon added the other hand and began to choke and stroke his manhood up and down in slow, languid strokes. His mind was racing now. I could tell he wanted to do something to slow down the onslaught of pleasure, but he was completely at my mercy. That was exactly how I wanted him to be.
I took a good sniff of his member, inhaling his masculine scent right from the very source and then without any more delays I took him into my mouth, just slightly, just enough to let my tongue slide across the tip of his head, encircling the hole and pulling it barely open with my hand.
“Ahhh…” Ricky groaned as his body squirmed. He was feeling this.
“You like that?” I asked innocently.
“Fuck yeah,” Ricky said.
“Would you like me to do more?” I asked.
“Yes,” Ricky replied. “Please, baby. Do more…”
I took my finger and pressed it to the side to open up the hole at the tip of his organ, and then I opened my mouth to allow a sliver of my spittle to drop down into the hole before letting it close back up.
Burning with Desire (Forbidden Heat Book 2) Page 14