Quantum Boxed Set: The Complete Series

by Force, Marie

  “Yes, you are.” I raise myself up to view the bedside clock. I can’t believe how late it’s gotten. Groaning, I tell her, “We need to get ready to go.”

  Addie is sending cars to pick us up in an hour for the rehearsal and dinner at the vineyard.

  Leah yawns. “I need a shower.”

  “So do I. What do you say we conserve water and take one together?”

  “I say that sounds like a very responsible idea.”

  The last thing I want to do is let her go or leave that bed, but we have plans and friends who are counting on us. After the momentous decision we just made, I take comfort in knowing I’ll get to sleep with her every night from now on. Nothing I’ve done in my life has made me as happy as I feel right now as I follow her into the shower and wrap my arms around her lithe, sexy body. Now that I have her, I never want to let her go.

  Chapter 18

  It’s surreal, to say the least. I thought I knew what it meant to be happy, but Emmett asking me to live with him and then making sweet, hot love to me in the shower is my new definition of happiness.

  He’s so intense but tender at the same time as he presses me against the cool tile wall and fills me with his hard cock. I can’t get enough of him. I’ll never get enough. He’s everything I want and need, and knowing he has feelings for me too is the greatest thing to ever happen to me.

  My emotions are all over the place—disbelief that this is really happening along with desire and love, so much love for this strong man who feels things so deeply. I’ve seen his fierce loyalty to his friends, the family of his heart, and after hearing what he went through with Elena and how he cares for her even after all this time, I know everything I need to about what kind of man he really is.

  “Are you really mine?” I ask him as he pounds into me in the shower. “Mine and only mine?”

  “Yours and only yours,” he says in that gravelly tone I’ve come to crave. “There’s no one else but you.”

  His words travel straight to my heart as my body tingles with pending release.

  I hold on tight to him, kissing his face and neck. “I love you, Emmett. I love you so much.”

  He groans and pushes into me as he presses his fingers to my clit, the combination sending me over the edge into bliss. He’s right there with me, surging into me over and over again, until we’re both gasping and panting from the power of it. “Holy shit,” he mutters. “How does it get better every time?”

  “I don’t know, but it does.”

  “Mmm.” He nibbles my neck, and his stubble against my skin has my internal muscles gripping his still-hard cock. “Enough, minx. We need to get ready, or we’re going to be late.”

  “And we’ll never hear the end of that. Put me down.”

  He kisses me. “I will, but I don’t want to.”

  “A couple of hours and we’ll be right back here again.”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise.”

  “In that case, I’ll let you go for now.” He withdraws from me, puts me down and holds on to me until I have my bearings on legs that feel like rubber bands. Then he washes my hair, conditions it and smooths body wash all over me, reigniting the fire within all over again.

  I push his hands away and then return the favor, washing his hair and soaping him until he’s hard and throbbing in my hand.

  “This is madness,” he says.

  “Best madness I’ve ever experienced.”

  “Me, too.”

  I want to pinch myself when he says stuff like that. Is this really happening? Does he mean the things he’s saying to me? How often do crushes the likes of which I had on him ever come to fruition the way this one has? It’s certainly never happened to me, not like this anyway. I’m giddy over him. I want to gorge on him. I want to spend days in bed with him without coming up for air. I want everything with him, and it doesn’t even matter anymore that I’m far too young to be making lifelong decisions. All I know is I’ll do anything to make this work with him, anything at all.

  I step out of the shower into the towel he holds for me, wincing when the cloth rubs against my tender ass.

  “Are you hurting?” he asks, his brows furrowed with concern.

  “A little, but it’s a good kind of hurt.”

  “I’ll give you a massage later that’ll make it all better.”

  “I’ll look forward to that every minute between now and then.” I wish we had nowhere to be so I could have that massage right now.

  As I dry and straighten my hair, I’m glad now that I took Tenley up on her offer to help me pick out clothes for this weekend. I put on the slinky red print wrap dress that she chose for me, feeling sexy and sophisticated. Before I moved to LA, I never gave much time or thought to what I wore, mostly because I couldn’t afford more than the basics. But spending time with Addie, Tenley, Ellie and Marlowe has helped to raise my fashion game, and I know Natalie would say the same thing. We’re a long way from our low-budget life in New York. I step into the four-inch pumps that Tenley sent along with the dress and turn to take a look at the full-length mirror.

  Behind me, Emmett releases a low whistle.

  “Do I look all right?”

  “Baby, you look amazing. Beautiful, sexy, gorgeous.”

  “Those are all good words,” I say, smiling at him in the mirror.

  “They don’t do you justice.”

  “I could say the same for you.” He’s wearing a navy blazer with khaki dress pants and one of those custom dress shirts that showcases his muscular chest. I turn to him and flatten my hands on the crisp white cloth. “You always look so nice.”

  “I’ll take you with me on my next trip to London so you can help me choose what to get.”

  “I’ve always wanted to go to London.”

  He kisses my forehead and my lips. “While we’re over there, we’ll hit Paris, too.”

  I fan my face dramatically. “I’ve never been anywhere, and I want to go everywhere.”

  “I’ll show you the world.”

  “I’m not sure I can handle everything that’s happened in this one day.”

  “It’s just the beginning.” He takes my hand, brings it to his lips to kiss the back of it and then tucks it into the crook of his elbow. “Shall we?”

  “Let’s do it.”

  “Oh, we’re going to do it.”

  His dirty words make me giggle as we head downstairs to join the others. I know a moment of panic when I wonder if we were loud before, but no one says or does anything to make us feel uncomfortable. Maybe they didn’t hear us… I can only hope.

  I end up sitting between Emmett and Natalie in the stretch Escalade that comes to pick us up.

  “You look incredible,” Natalie whispers to me. “You’re glowing.”

  Because I have to tell someone, and because Emmett is talking to Kristian to his right, I lean in and whisper to Nat, “He asked me to move in with him.”

  She lets out a scream that has everyone looking at us.

  “Subtle,” I tell her, scowling.

  “What’s going on?” Flynn asks his wife, who looks at me, raising a brow.

  “It’s okay,” Emmett says, smiling as he puts two and two together to get that I told Natalie our news. “You can tell everyone.”

  “Tell us what?” Ellie asks. She’s sitting across from me, holding hands with Jasper.

  I glance at Emmett, still dazzled and not entirely sure I believe this is actually happening. “Emmett and I are moving in together.”

  My announcement sets off an excited wave of congratulations, and someone—I think it might be Kris—pops the cork on a champagne bottle that we pass around like giddy teenagers, with everyone who isn’t pregnant drinking directly from the bottle.

  Only Flynn seems somewhat circumspect, studying Emmett in a way that makes me wonder what he’s thinking. Part of me doesn’t want to know. I don’t want anything to ruin the most exciting day I’ve ever had.

  “And then there was one,” S
ebastian says when the bottle reaches him. “I was counting on you guys to make me feel less like a ninth—or is it eleventh—wheel this weekend.”

  “Sorry to disappoint, bud,” Emmett says, “but I’m officially off the market.”

  “Me too,” Marlowe says, glowing as she gazes at Rafe.

  I notice that Sebastian’s amiable expression hardens when he looks in their direction, and a tingle of unease travels down my backbone. I have no idea what causes the feeling, but I experience it nonetheless. Before I can ponder that too closely, we arrive at the vineyard, the car rolling through a metal gate that boasts the company’s distinctive Q logo. The grounds are lush and beautifully landscaped. To the right, fields of grapevines extend as far as I can see.

  The car pulls up to a portico outside a huge house with a shingled exterior and bright red trim. A wide front porch has planters made from barrels that are full of red and white flowers.

  “What a beautiful place,” Natalie says.

  “Wait until you see the rest,” Flynn replies, sounding excited.

  “How long have you guys owned this place?” I ask.

  “About five years now,” Jasper says. “It was a wreck when we bought it, and it’s been completely transformed. It’s been an exciting project for all of us.”

  Hayden and Addie are waiting for us on the porch when we get out of the car, a noisy, boisterous group excited for the evening ahead. Addie looks amazing in a hot-pink dress. Her hair is up and her smile is huge. I’m relieved to see her looking so relaxed and happy after knowing she had a rough few weeks leading up to this weekend. They hug us all and lead us inside. I want to stop and look at everything, but we’re whisked past tasting rooms and a restaurant that’s currently dark as the entire facility is closed to the public this weekend.

  We emerge onto a huge back veranda where a long table has been set for dinner.

  “First we have to see to practicalities,” Hayden says. “Then we eat and drink.” They take us into the yard and walk the wedding party through the plan for the ceremony, indicating where everyone needs to be and when. Tenley and her date, Devon Black, have joined the party, as have Flynn’s parents, his sisters, their husbands, Hayden’s mother, Jan, Addie’s father, Simon, and Sebastian’s mom, Graciela, who is like a second mother to Hayden.

  There’s lots of joking and teasing during the actual rehearsal. After Addie walks everyone through it once, she throws up her hands in surrender to the tomfoolery. “If this is a hot mess tomorrow, it won’t be my fault.”

  Hayden puts his arm around her. “As long as you show up and say ‘I do,’ I don’t give a flying fuck if the rest of it is a hot mess.”

  “Lovely.” Jan rolls her eyes at her son. “He gets his mouth from his father.”

  Everyone laughs, including Hayden, who chose not to invite his father to the wedding. I heard him say he only wanted the people they truly care about there, which apparently doesn’t include the father who disappointed him so often throughout his life. I was honored to be included among the people they care about.

  “If the first word out of my grandchild’s mouth is ‘fuck,’” Simon says, “I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

  “Don’t worry, Dad,” Addie says. “I’ll be there to make sure the first word is Grandpa.”

  Simon smiles at her, his pride and love for her obvious. “That’s my girl.”

  “I need a drink,” Hayden says, leading the group to the deck, where two bartenders stand ready to serve us.

  “Is everyone on the staff here under an NDA?” I ask Emmett.

  He offers a smug smile. “What do you think?”

  “I think you’ve seen to everything, as usual.”

  “That’s my job.”

  From the clear sky above to the lights strung over the long table to the company of my closest friends to the squeeze of Emmett’s hand surrounding mine, this will go down as one of the most perfect nights of my life. After a delicious dinner and more bottles of wine than I can count, Simon stands up to offer a toast.

  “I sure do wish your mom could be here to see the extraordinary woman you’ve grown up to be,” he says, reducing us all to tears. “Hayden, you and I got off to a rough start, but my daughter convinced me that I owed you the chance to prove yourself to me. You have more than proven yourself. After having experienced your love for my Addison, I have every confidence that she will be well cared for and very well loved.”

  “She will,” Hayden says, visibly moved by Simon’s words as Addie wipes away a flood of tears.

  “I wish you both all the best of everything, especially a long and happy life together,” Simon says, his voice breaking. “Congratulations.”

  Addie gets up to hug her dad, and they hold each other for a long time, two survivors of disaster who managed to go on after losing her mom so suddenly.

  I find myself wiping away tears as Emmett does the same.

  We share a smile, and he squeezes my hand again.

  Flynn stands and clears his throat, setting off a series of groans.

  “Oh God,” Hayden says. “Sit your ass down, will you?”

  Undeterred, Flynn says, “As best man, tomorrow I get to say a few words about the groom. Tonight, when it’s just us, I’d like to say a few words about the bride, if I may.”

  “If you must,” Hayden huffs.

  “I must,” Flynn says with a sweet look for Addie. “I was blessed, if you can call it that, with three older sisters who drive me batshit crazy most of the time.”

  “Oh please,” Ellie says. “We’re the only reason you’re not completely insufferable.” Her sisters and Natalie nod in agreement.

  Ignoring them, Flynn presses on, never taking his gaze off Addie, who is a tearful mess. “Then along came Addison York, feisty, fearless and frightfully organized. You changed my life, Addie, long before you changed Hayden’s, and when I tell you I couldn’t function without you, I mean it.”

  “He means it,” Natalie says, setting off another wave of laughter.

  “You have become the little sister I never had and the only one of my four sisters who doesn’t drive me batshit crazy on a regular basis—and the only one who keeps my secrets safe from my mother.”

  Stella Flynn laughs out loud.

  “He pays me to keep his secrets,” Addie tells Stella.

  “Personally, I think you can do much better than Hayden,” Flynn continues, “but since you seem to have your heart set on him, I’ll allow you to marry him.”

  “Oh my fucking God,” Hayden mutters.

  I’m laughing so hard, I can’t breathe. These people…

  Flynn holds up his glass. “To Addison, beautiful bride, beautiful person, inside and out. I love you.”

  Addie is a sobbing mess as she gets up to hug Flynn.

  The rest of us wipe away tears as we watch them.

  “That’s long enough,” Hayden says. “Get your filthy hands off my wife.”

  “She’s not your wife yet,” Flynn reminds him.

  “No, but I’m yours,” Natalie says, “and that’s long enough.”

  Flynn flashes her a dirty grin. “I love when she’s possessive.”

  “Sit down, son,” Stella says, “and shut up while you’re ahead.”

  I love it. The biggest movie star in the world scolded by his mom in front of all his friends, and the best part is, he loves it, too. He kisses his mother’s cheek as he returns to his seat.

  Marlowe stands up next. “My turn. Sweet Addie, I’ve known you since you were a little girl, coming to work with your dad and taking it all in with the same wisdom and maturity that continues to draw people to you. I have watched you grow up and grow into the beautiful woman you are today, and as you marry my dear friend Hayden, I couldn’t be happier to see two great people get everything they deserve in this life. I love you both and wish you nothing but the best of everything. To Hayden and Addie.”

  “Hear, hear.”

  Then Hayden’s mom stands, seeming shy and u
ncertain as she clears her throat. “It’s no secret to anyone here that Hayden has had his hands full with me as his mom.” She’s a recovering addict who has been sober for months now, and Addie says they’re cautiously optimistic that her most recent trip to rehab was finally successful. “He was forced to grow up far too quickly and to deal with things that no son should ever have to confront.”

  “Mom…”

  “Let me say this, Hayden,” she says softly. “Let me tell these people you love how you saved my life time and time again, and how there’s no way I’d still be here if it wasn’t for you.”

  Addie puts her arm around him as he swipes at tears.

  “You have been the best son any mom could ever hope to have, and I couldn’t be prouder of the man you grew up to be. The greatest joy in my life has been watching you fall in love with Addie and knowing that she gives you everything you’ve never had, all the love you so richly deserve. And to you, my darling Addie, thank you from the bottom of my heart for making my son so very, very happy. I love you both so much, and I can’t wait to be a grandma to your babies.”

  Hayden is openly weeping when he hugs his mother and Addie at the same time.

  The rest of us are a mess, too.

  Hayden releases his mother but keeps an arm around Addie. “I’d like to make a toast to this extraordinary woman who will be my wife by this time tomorrow. Addison, none of this would be happening without your fierce determination to make it so. I was a fool for so long, thinking I could resist you and the love I felt for you. Once you decided enough was enough, I didn’t stand a chance.”

  “No, you certainly didn’t,” Addie says, smiling with satisfaction. The story of how she brought him up to scratch is one of my favorites. “And P.S., it’s all your fault for kissing me at the Oscars.”

  “Best thing I ever did,” he says, kissing her. “I also want to salute Natalie, Aileen and Ellie and now Leah and Rafe for making my friends so happy. Here’s to love.”

  I gaze at Emmett and touch my glass to his. “Here’s to love.”

  “To love,” he says.

  He hasn’t said the words, but I have no doubt in that moment that he feels everything I do, and that’s enough for me.