Had To Make You Mine

by Kat Long

  He held my legs further apart and chased his pleasure, moving one hand down to circle my clit. The first orgasm was just the prequel, the beginning, and Max was playing my body like he had years to master it. He thrust harder, and I whimpered, my core tightening and tingling with his every movement.

  My eyes fluttered closed, and I let the sensations wash over me, his hands on my body, his skin pressed on mine. By the time the second orgasm ripped through me, I was trembling, panting. Opening my eyes, I watched the groove between Max’s brows deepen as his hips jerked harder before he pulled out and palmed himself.

  “Knees,” he ordered.

  I sat up on shaky legs and flipped over, bracing myself on the bed and sticking my ass in the air. I looked over my shoulder and bit my lip. He traced his hands over my ass before pulling me towards him and thrusting in again. I arched my back and dropped my head to the pillow as he drove in fast and hard, his hips smacking my ass as he went faster. I was moaning incoherently, and he was growling with every thrust, both of us bared down to our most basic instinct, feeding off each other’s lust.

  Picking my head up, I looked back at him, “Harder, Max. Fuck me harder.”

  I didn’t think it was possible, but he did, reaching forward and grabbing a handful of hair, so I arched further. We slammed together, and he let go of my hair to reach between my legs to rub my clit in tight, fast circles. I could feel another orgasm barreling towards me as he pounded me from behind.

  Max Smerdon, Sex God.

  The pressure intensified, and my legs started trembling before my entire body shuddered, and I started coming. It began in my toes and raced up my legs, and I felt the moment Max came too. His cock swelled inside of me, and he dug his hand into my hip hard, groaning my name.

  “That’s it, Blue. I love you!”

  I tried to reply, but it came out as a muffled scream, and we fell over the cliff together. I was panting, shaking, and couldn’t do anything but sink to the bed. Max gently pulled out, bent down, kissing my back and caressing my ass before walking to the bathroom. He came back with a washcloth, and after cleaning us up, he crawled in beside me, pulling me to him so I could lay my head on his chest.

  “I’m completely fuck-drunk, Max. What did you just do to me?”

  “No, baby. It’s what you did to me. You changed me, Blue. I’m better because of you.”

  I moaned into his chest and ran my fingers through his dark chest hair before leaning up for a kiss. I kissed him until our breathing slowed, tracing my tongue along his neck and nipping his shoulder. He bucked with the sting and hauled me closer, threading our hands together.

  He looked at me like I was his world, like I was the only thing that mattered. With his forehead pressed to mine, he cupped my face, thumbs stroking the red marks his beard left. I could still feel him in me. In a place deep down in my soul, a place he belonged.

  “Think we can convince them to stay away longer?” I said, snuggling in deeper.

  “Not a chance. You have dinner and dessert. Besides, the faster we eat, the faster we can get back to more of this.”

  He traced his hand over my breast and down my stomach, giving me the smile that made me fall harder each time I saw it.

  “I’m glad I made enough to feed an Army. Alright, Broody. Let’s go.”

  We both got up slowly and got dressed, opening the door to find Baxter lying outside. He looked up and cocked his head as if he knew exactly what Max had done to his Mama.

  “Come on, bud,” Max said, bending down to rub his head. “I brought a nice ribeye for you.”

  We were walking down the stairs, and I was admiring the view when Max stopped suddenly, making me bump into him.

  “Did you call me Broody?”

  “I did. What do you think? It was your original nickname, after all.”

  “I think,” he said, giving me another smile. “That as long as I can call you mine, I’ll love whatever nickname you give me, Blue.”

  With one last kiss, we went into the kitchen with Baxter hot on our heels. Just as we put the last condiment on the table, the door swung open, and the girls plus Taylor and Bird came barreling in.

  “You two better be decent because we are hungry!” Bird called, walking into the kitchen and giving Max a sharp smack on the ass.

  Edward came over a short while later, giving Olivia a sweet kiss and a smile. I could see the love reflecting in their eyes, remembering Olivia’s words. Max was worth it, we were worth it, and every day I’d show him how much I love him. As if he knew what I was thinking, he met my eyes and touching a finger to his lips. Smiling, I did the same.

  Later that night, we were relaxing on the terrace with strawberry ice cream. Max and I were laying in my hammock, arms and legs entwined, with Baxter at our feet. He was twirling a strand of my hair with his eyes closed, and I was humming. His normally hard edges were smooth and relaxed. I ran my hand up his side, and he shivered and laughed, pulling away.

  “Easy, Blue. That’s my ticklish spot.”

  He winked and leaned down for a kiss, “I love you.”

  “Hmm. I love you too, Max.”

  And I did; I was so in love with this man. I’d finally found what I’d been missing and what I’d been looking for, and I found both in him.

  “What are you humming, Blue?” he asked, throwing one leg off the hammock to gently rock us back and forth.

  “Us, Max. I finished a song, a song about us.”

  “You wrote us, baby? Will you sing it to me? Please?”

  I started humming the melody that had been on my mind, squeezing Max’s hand and turning to face him. It was our song, our happiness, our love. A song about how we’d found each other. I’d poured myself into the words, the music.

  And as I sang, Max traced shapes on my palm and rocked us. When I got to the chorus, I realized he was tracing hearts. Over and over. He was tracing our love, our happiness, and our life.

  “Here I lie beneath the whisper of night,

  shadows flicker in the glimmer of fading light,

  Fingers silent at the cold touch of keys,

  No song resonating within me.

  But you soon lingered above my emptiness.

  A magical soul whose miracles manifest.

  At the sight of your aesthetics my heart knew peace,

  Doubts dissipated as my knees felt weak.

  In moments of time, will I ever be ready?

  Heartbeats out of sync, will we ever be steady?

  Eyes deep as the ocean, willingly I’ll drown,

  Would you save my breath or sink me down?

  Once just a blank page, words drift estranged,

  But with you by my side, my whole world changed.

  I never dreamed my words would lead me here to you,

  A sudden spark lit like stars in the sky,

  Within me, stories find a life renewed,

  Enchanted by the soul buried within your eyes.

  Let me perish in the depth of your love,

  Whisk me away on the ridges of your chest,

  May our voices echo from the heavens above,

  To the melody of your enticing caress.

  Devour me to your most sensual desires,

  For you are the one that ignites my fire.

  Yet doubt questions to turn our page,

  leaving bliss buried in insecurity’s chains.

  We’ve had our run, hearts sang their song,

  My words shun bright, you were my sun,

  But leaving all we built behind,

  Has frozen my heart in despair’s time,

  Oh would you return and stay forever,

  Come back and stay, piece me together,

  Complete me whole, now and forever.

  In moments of time, will I ever be ready?

  Heartb
eats out of sync, will we ever be steady?

  Eyes deep as the ocean, willingly I’ll drown,

  Would you save my breath or sink me down?

  Once just a blank page, words drift estranged,

  But with you by my side, my whole world changed.”

  When I sang the last note, Max cleared his throat with glassy eyes, bringing my palm to his lips.

  “You’re right, Blue. That’s us. You pieced me together.”

  I sighed with his sweet words, content and knowing we had a lifetime of happiness ahead of us because with him by my side, my whole world changed. I found my music. I found my happiness. I found my love. I found them all with him.

  The End

  EPILOGUE: NOW AND FOREVER

  Warren / Bird

  A Reasonable and Respectable Amount of Time Later…

  What? You thought you’d be reading some sweet, sappy, romantic happily ever always from Max or Annaleigh’s point of view? Think again, you lucky ducks. You get me: the infamous, the amazing, Warren “Bird” Smerdon.

  You’re welcome.

  So here we are, a reasonable amount of time later, back on the same beach, where their love story began. My BFF, the gorgeous Annaleigh Mackey, is sitting on her blue lounge chair, under her blue umbrella, with her three friends and me—the sexist guy on the whole damn beach.

  Sorry ladies and gentlemen, I’m taken. And expecting! That’s right, Taylor and I are pregnant! Our surrogate is due next month, and I am going to be the bestest father this world has ever known! So get ready!

  But anyway, back to our story. Max is a mess. An absolute mess. And it’s hilarious. He’s been planning the perfect proposal for months. Months! I suggested shaving: “will you marry me” into his chest hair, but he kindly told me to fuck off. Whatever. It’s not like Annaleigh is going to say no. Not with how obsessed they are with each other. It’s disgusting.

  No, it’s not.

  It’s adorable, and they both deserve all the happiness this world can give them, especially since he’s been working so hard to pull off this proposal. I’ve found a dozen crumpled pieces of paper around his house with things to say when he asks her.

  “What are you thinking about over there, Bird?” My beautiful best friend asks, peering over her blue sunglasses and putting down her latest romance book. “You narrating our life in your head again?”

  “Maybe. But mostly thinking about how much you’ve grown, and how happy we all are.”

  I leaned over and fist-bumped Jenna, trying not to cut myself on her freaking huge engagement ring. Like seriously, we all know you’re marrying the growly, tattooed cop your magical vay-jay-jay has tamed—no need to draw blood.

  I mean, I’m sure my balls have some magical properties, but Taylor isn’t sporting a rock the size of his face. Though actually, that’s not a bad idea. We both have simple gold wedding bands, but Taylor deserves the world. He’d look even hotter with a huge rock on his finger. Maybe something in black onyx to celebrate the baby. Is that a thing? I’ll start a new trend if it’s not.

  “I’ll drink to that,” Addison says, bringing me back to the girls and the beach, and lifting her bottle to clink it against Jenna’s.

  Olivia raises her bottle of water and steadies herself, keeping one hand on her pregnant belly. I reach over, so she doesn’t have to move as far to clink her water to my soda. I always thought it was bad luck to toast with water, but it’s not like this is their wedding day. I’d be seriously underdressed if it were. I glance down at my green bathing suit and shrug my shoulders.

  All of us are peering to the shoreline, waiting for the show to start, with Annaleigh none the wiser. She is sipping her IPA, humming under her breath to the radio, and tapping her foot in the sand. I rub my hands on my thigh and take another swig of soda, looking toward the shoreline just in time to see a dog running our way. It’s too far away for me to tell if it’s Baxter, but I let out a low whistle, so the girls look up. I tilt my head toward the dog, and we all hold in a collective breath as they move closer.

  I spot Max’s neon pink sunglasses before I recognize Baxter, and clear my throat, smiling. Baxter must spot us because he starts barking, and Max picks up the pace. Annaleigh looks up, tosses her book to the side, and runs toward them with a huge grin on her face. Max wraps one hand around Baxter’s leash and the other around her, lifting her up for a wet kiss. He sets her down and lifts a hand in greeting.

  “What are you doing here, Broody? I thought you were stuck at home all day working on the new project specs for Jake?”

  “I was Blue. But something more important came up.”

  “It did? Is everything okay?” she asks, running her hands up his arms. Baxter pushes himself between them, and they both reach down to stroke his fur. Content with the attention, he plops down on the sand, tongue lolling, to watch the sandpipers hop along the seafoam.

  “Oh. Um. Yes. Everything is fine, Blue. But there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”

  I hate spying, but I’m desperate to see Max’s plan come to fruition, so I slowly step closer so I can hear them better. The girls follow, but Annaleigh barely notices, only having eyes for my bro-tastic, big brother.

  Max shifts nervously from foot to foot and looks at his watch, then at me. I give him a small nod and covert thumbs up. He looks at his watch again and blows out a loud breath. Addison snickers from somewhere beside me, and I kick sand in her general direction. She rolls her eyes and shrugs her shoulders before looking back at the happy couple.

  “Are you sure you’re okay, Max?” she asks, reaching up to press her palm to his forehead. He dodges her hand and nods.

  “Yeah. I’m good. Better than good. Great, actually.”

  This time Olivia lets out a little giggle, and Max glances at us and shakes his head. Annaleigh looks back at us too, and I square my stance and cross my arms, trying to get the girls to shut the hell up so Max can handle this. They get the message, and Jenna mimics locking her lips with a key while Addison flicks me off.

  “Blue. Baby. Listen. For days, weeks, months, I’ve been searching for the perfect words for you. I’ve read poetry, listened to song lyrics, and watched every Hallmark movie in existence. But none of those were right. None of those were us.”

  She tilts her head to the side, waiting for him to continue as he glances at his watch again.

  That girl can always pick up on his emotions because she lays one hand on his chest and brings the other to his cheek.

  “Broody. I don’t know what’s going on, but listen, the only thing I want, and the only thing that matters, is you and me. It’s us, baby. Not words, actions, remember?”

  She moves her hand, putting it on her heart, then his, and bringing her pointer finger to her lips. He does the same and grips the back of her neck so their foreheads are touching.

  “You’re right, Blue. Words are useless and empty if actions don’t back them. And today, right now, I’m going to show you. One year ago, on this very beach, you changed my life. You opened my eyes and showed me a world filled with gorgeous blues and beautiful music. A world I never want to leave because it a world where I am yours, and you are mine. And it’s time to make it official. I’ve loved you since that day on the beach a year ago, and I want to spend every day for the rest of my life loving you.”

  Max stops to take a breath and glances at his watch, letting go of Annaleigh’s hand. She covers her mouth with glassy eyes, and all of us have smiles a mile wide. He reaches in his pocket, and my eyes get a little glassy as he pulls out a black velvet box and drops to one knee in the sand.

  “Annaleigh Mackey. My Blue. My love. Mine. Will you make me as happy as I am today for the rest of my life? Will you marry me?”

  I fist pump the air, and Olivia straight up squeals. But no one, no one, is smiling harder than Annaleigh, who drops to her knees beside Max
and kisses him for all he’s worth. He drops Baxter’s leash and wraps both arms around her, kissing her back just as hard. His hands are in her hair, and her hands are around his neck, and I’m man enough to admit my eyes are a little watery watching them.

  Baxter trots over to us, hoping for attention, and Annaleigh breaks away long enough to say, “Yes! Yes! Oh Max, Yes!”

  They dive back into each other, kissing, laughing, and saying sweet things. We can’t stay away from them a second longer and are all running to them as soon as they stand back up. I swear the Universe dims down to just the two of them, and even as Anna hugs us, one hand stays firmly grasped in Max’s, like he’s her center.

  Addison reaches out and grips Max’s shirt, tugging him hard into the hug and then playfully punching him on the shoulder.

  “You did good, Max,” she says, bringing Anna’s hand close to look at the ring. I’ve already seen it, and Addison is right. Max knocked it out of the park. It’s a platinum band with simple teardrop diamond, surrounded by blue sapphires. The sunlight catches the sapphires, making them sparkle even brighter, but it’s nothing compared to the happiness in their eyes.

  He rubs the back of his neck and smiles before I pull him into a bear hug, pulling him away from Anna and lifting him up.

  “I’m so fucking proud of you big-bro!” I say, putting him down and slapping him on the back. I grab her and do the same, not squeezing as hard, of course.

  “Proud of you, lady. And so happy for you both.”

  “Thank you, Bird,” she says, letting go and reaching out to take Max’s hand again.

  The girls are clinking drinks and already talking about the wedding, so I turn back to my brother and best friend, seeing them grasp hands again.

  “Max. This was perfect. I couldn’t imagine a better proposal. I love you.”

  “I love you too, Blue,” he answers, letting go to pull his T-shirt off. He flexes his bicep so she can see his tattoo. It takes her a minute to see what he’s done, but when she does, she puts her hand over her mouth and starts the waterworks all over again.