Daisy didn’t hesitate to share affection with me in front of her family—especially her father.
She would hold my hand when we sat on the couches together, sometimes kiss me before she walked away, and introduced me as her boyfriend to Lizzie.
I hadn’t realized how serious this had gotten until that very moment.
When I realized we weren’t dating anymore.
This was a relationship.
After dinner, we sat on the patio together and made s’mores. Daisy was cuddled up in a blanket beside me, and she stayed close so she could stay warm. After I ate my s’more, she laughed at me then cleaned up the chocolate on my mouth with a napkin. “You have shit all over your face.”
“And you think you don’t?” I leaned in and rubbed my lips against hers so she could see the chocolate that smeared all over my mouth.
“Hey, at least I tried to help you. You just threw me under the bus.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin then moved to my mouth.
I rubbed my mouth against hers again, making the mess all over again.
She laughed. “Okay, hold still.” This time, she got me cleaned up as well as herself.
I felt a pair of eyes on me, so I shifted my gaze to look.
It was Dr. Hamilton.
He stared for an instant then looked away, directing his eyes to the fire.
Mrs. Hamilton placed her hand on his.
I noticed the way he squeezed hers in return.
Everyone got ready for bed, going to their bedrooms to get some sleep.
Mrs. Hamilton led me to my bedroom at the front of the house that had a view of the cars in the driveway. “Is this okay?”
It had a full bed and a small bathroom. “It’s perfect. Thank you.” I set the bag on the edge of the bed then turned to face her.
“Goodnight, then.”
“Goodnight.” I watched her go before I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and did my nightly routine. The lights were turned off, and I got into bed, the moonlight coming from the window above my bed.
It’d been a long day, so it wasn’t hard for me to get to sleep. The heat and sun exposure drained me to empty, and before I knew it, I was out like a light. I’d prefer to sleep with Daisy, but if her parents put us in different rooms, then they obviously weren’t comfortable with that.
That was fine with me. It would have been weird anyway, especially since I had to see her father almost every day at work.
The bed shifted, and I woke up.
Oh no.
My eyes opened, and I saw a curtain of dark hair on top of me. The sheets were pulled to my waist, and her nightdress was hiked to her hips, her panties gone.
Any other time, this would be so fucking hot.
But right now, I was afraid her dad would weigh down my body so I would stay at the bottom of the lake forever.
Her lips came to mine and kissed me hungrily, like it’d been a long time since we’d been together, when it was only yesterday when we’d screwed on the couch in her office. Her little body moved on top of mine, and she straddled me.
I grabbed her shoulder and steadied her. “Baby, you’re fucking crazy.”
She started to grind her wet pussy right against my dick. “And that’s exactly how you like me.”
I did my best to resist her spell, but that was pretty fucking hard when her pussy was so wet that I was already soaked. “No.” I grabbed her hips and forced them to still. “If your dad catches us—”
“He’s never caught me before.” She started to grind her hips again. “Shut up and fuck me.”
Jesus.
She pushed me back to the bed then slid down my length, releasing a quiet moan when she sheathed me to the base.
My eyes literally rolled into the back of my head. “Baby…”
Her hands planted against my chest, and she rocked her hips quietly, keeping the bed silent, rising up and down and arching her back dramatically every time. The thin straps of her dress fell so her tits were exposed, the silky material bunched at her waist.
“Fuck.” My hands went to her hips, and I breathed with her, writhing every single time that tight pussy took me to the base. The moonlight shone on her shoulders and her hair, illuminating her beautiful curves.
She ground her clit against my pelvic bone, her breathing growing deeper and deeper, and when she reached her climax, she whimpered quietly, tears pouring down her cheeks and reflecting in the moonlight.
My hand gripped her neck, and my thumb caught one of her tears, my hips moving to slide inside her. My jaw tightened, and my dick hardened, knowing I was about to fill her pussy with a big-ass load.
“No.” Her hand wrapped around my wrist as she kept going. “Not until I’m done.”
That was the moment I knew.
The moment I knew I loved her.
The moment I knew I should have told her the truth a long time ago.
20
Daisy
I drank my coffee on the back patio, my mom beside me.
Dad and Derek had taken the kids fishing, and Atlas tagged along.
Mom kept looking at me.
“What?”
“Don’t what me.” She smirked before she sipped her coffee on the armchair beside me. “You know exactly why I’m staring at you.”
I looked at the lake, searching for their little fishing boat that they’d taken to the deepest waters to find fish. When Atlas had first come into my life, it was like a meteor struck the earth and ruined my world. But now, it was hard to believe he hadn’t always been there. He’d become a part of me so easily, integrated into my life like he’d been the missing piece.
“That’s the man you’re going to marry.”
“Mom, come on.” I blew on my coffee before I took another drink.
“Mark my words…”
“I’m not in a hurry, so there’s no need for marriage talk.”
“But that’s where it’s going.”
I gave her a gentle kick. “Don’t say any of that shit in front of him.”
“Like I would ever.”
I continued to stare at the lake, the temperature rising as the morning passed.
“You guys are so cute together.”
“We are, aren’t we?” I asked with a smile.
Mom chuckled.
“Dad doesn’t seem weird about it.”
“He’s happy. Atlas is a good man for you. Already cares for him like a son.”
“Yes, I’ve noticed. I thought bringing a guy around for the first time would be like nails on a chalkboard, but Dad seems to like him more than I do. Likes him more than me, actually.”
“Well, that second one isn’t possible, but the first one is.”
“It’s weird. With Mason, it was so…challenging. But with Atlas, it’s like a walk in the park.”
“Because he’s the right one, honey.” With her legs crossed in her jean shorts and top, she looked like one of my girlfriends at the bar, not my mom.
“Mason wants me back, but I basically told him to fuck off.”
“Oh, that must have felt good.”
“Giiiiirrrl, you have no idea.” I’d waved him off like a gnat that kept flying near my face. He used to be the hottest guy I’d ever laid eyes on, quiet and mysterious, but now, Atlas was the apple of my eye.
“Does Atlas know that?”
“Yeah, I told him. He’s not really the jealous type. Or, at least, it seems that way.”
“Because he’s secure. Secure men don’t act like that.”
“True.”
Their boat appeared far in the distance, the motor becoming louder as they drew close. Little waves formed on the surface of the lake, ripples stretching out across the water that looked like glass just a moment ago.
When they came close, Derek turned off the engine, and they drifted to the dock.
The kids jumped out first, and then everyone followed.
“Guess that means we should get breakfast started.” Mom got to her feet a
nd smoothed out her shorts.
“Mom.”
She turned back to me.
I framed her body with my hands. “You’re a hot piece of ass, you know that?”
She brushed me off like it was a joke, but the smile in her eyes told me otherwise. “You gonna help me or what?”
We left the cabin and went on a hike together, taking my favorite path through the pines and oak trees. Sunlight filtered through the trees, but there was enough shade to make the temperature comfortable. We crossed a bridge over a small stream and continued on the well-trodden dirt path, passing no one on the way because we were the only ones out there.
“I’m not much of a fisherman.” Atlas walked beside me in his workout shoes and shorts, his sculpted legs manly and slender. He kept my pace but didn’t look fatigued, probably because he did cardio every day, while I sat on my ass every day. “Just watched the kids. But it was fun. Your dad is a different person out here.”
“I can totally see that.”
“We’ve both been stressed lately.”
“Trials not going well?”
“Yes and no. We had one patient make improvements, but it’s still too early to conclude anything. But we also lost a patient a week ago. She was one of our most advanced patients, so it wasn’t a surprise, but…it’s still hard. The hospital paged your dad, so he got there in time, but I wish they’d paged me instead. Just to spare him that.”
“Yeah…he takes it pretty hard.”
“The funeral is on Tuesday. We’ll both attend.”
“That’s sweet.”
“The least we can do…since we failed.”
“You didn’t fail. Her body failed. And at some point, everyone’s body fails.”
Atlas turned quiet, walking beside me and taking in the scenery. “It smells great up here.”
“Not like urine and pigeon shit?”
He chuckled. “Exactly.”
“I could never leave Manhattan, but I understand the appeal.”
“So…looks like no one heard us last night.” He gave me a look, a bit of amusement and accusation.
“What did I tell you? I’m a pro.”
“I’ll say…”
We moved farther into the trees then approached the line, seeing a meadow of green grasses and orange flowers. A summer breeze moved past, the sky absolutely clear of clouds. It was nothing but trees and sky, no looming skyscrapers or airplanes. I stopped to take a look.
He did too.
We stood there together and admired the view, the mountains in the distance.
“It really is beautiful up here.” He moved his hands to his pockets as he admired the sight, his muscular arms so tight that the veins were rivers in his skin. He tanned easily, and the weekend at the cabin gave his skin a golden tint.
“We should come up here sometime—just the two of us.”
He pulled his gaze from the view and looked at me instead, his eyes slightly squinting because of the sunshine that still pierced us under the shade. He looked at me like that often, seriousness entering his expression, several heartbeats passing without a word being said. “That sounds nice.”
I’d never gone on a trip with a guy before. The most Mason and I ever did was meet up at poker tournaments. But we never took off for the weekend, going on a vacation where we could enjoy each other in the silence. There were TV and Wi-Fi here, but no one ever used it while they came up for a visit. I was sure we wouldn’t use it either.
I’d found a guy who was enough for me, a guy I never thought would exist. When it was just the two of us, it was so easy, like this was meant to happen. But he was also a perfect fit for my family, becoming one of us the second he walked in the door. He was like Emerson and Sicily. He was like Lizzie. He was family—instantly.
The last thing I wanted to do was play games.
So, I put my cards on the table and just went for it. “I’m in love with you.” I’d never said it to a guy before, not even Mason. Those feelings had been there, but I’d never expressed them because I’d assumed it would end in rejection, that the confession would scare him off. But this man didn’t scare easily.
There was a subtle reaction in his eyes, a slight tightness to his features. His hands remained in his pockets and he didn’t move, and then he flicked his gaze away, the silence continuing.
Ouch.
“Shit…this isn’t awkward at all.” I never ran from my problems, but now I wanted to sprint back down the path we’d just taken and make it back to the cabin as quickly as possible, into the arms of my mother. “I’ll see you back at the cabin.” I turned to depart, to retain as much dignity as possible until I made my exit.
What the hell was I thinking?
I’d been seeing him for, like, six weeks.
And then I blurted that shit out?
Was I an idiot for thinking he felt the same way?
His hand grabbed me by the arm and steadied me. “Baby.”
“It’s okay.” I pushed his arm off. “Let’s not make this weirder than it already is—”
“You know I feel the same way.” His hand grabbed me again, and this time, he tugged me close.
I stopped and stared, my heart pounding in my chest. “Really? Because all you had to do was say it back instead of…getting all broody.”
His hand remained on the inside of my arm, and he stared at the place where he kept his hold, where his fingers pressed into my skin. Several seconds passed before he dropped his hold and met my look. “I should have told you this a long time ago. But everything happened so fast. One moment, we were just colleagues with animosity toward each other, and then a moment later…you were the woman in my bed, in my mind, in my heart. It hasn’t even been been two months, and it feels like years. I’ve never felt anything like this before.”
I pulled away slightly because his words didn’t distract me from the main point. “I knew you were too good to be true…” I backed up, releasing a bitter laugh. “Ugh, I fucking knew it. I knew there was something I was missing, and I’ve just been waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
He closed his eyes for a brief moment, feeling like shit.
“Just tell me.”
His hands left his pockets, and he rubbed the back of his neck.
“Did you kill someone?”
He released a sigh.
“Are you still married?”
“Can I just tell you?” He dropped his hand.
“Oh my god…you’ve been to prison.”
“Daisy, it’s nothing like that—”
“Then what is it?” I demanded. “Because I’m an idiot over here, just falling in love with you and shit—”
“I don’t want to have kids.”
I shut my mouth, the impact of his words a crater in my heart.
He looked away, like he couldn’t meet my gaze. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. Like I said, everything happened so fast, and I never expected our relationship to turn into…this. I should have been up front about it.”
I nodded slowly, unsure what to do.
“And I guess I’ve been dragging my feet about it because I’ve been happy…and that happiness would end once I told you.”
My arms crossed over my chest, and I struggled to find something to say.
Now he stared at me. “I don’t even need to ask how you feel about this. Your values are very clear to me. Family is everything to you.”
My hand rubbed my arm like I was cold, chilled in the blazing summer heat. “A lot of guys say that and then they feel differently—”
“This is not one of those instances. I will never change my mind, Daisy. Ever.”
The air left my lungs, his words slamming into my stomach like a fist. “Why?”
He stared for a while before he gave a slight shake of his head. “I don’t need to explain myself. There’s still this stigma in society against people who don’t have children, like there’s something wrong with them, like their choices need to be explained.”
&n
bsp; “That’s not what I think—”
“Then don’t ask me that.”
“I just… I assumed you would feel differently since your family is gone.”
As if I’d slapped him in the face, he quickly turned away, a big breath lifting his chest.
I knew there would be no verbal response to that.
Birds chirped overhead, the breeze moved the leaves, the sunshine struck our skin through the openings in the canopy. But it felt like a battlefield full of tension between us now, like we stood at the base of an erupting volcano. Ash was in the air, and it was hard to breathe.
He looked into the forest, his jawline tight. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I had no idea…that I would fall head over heels in love with you.”
With his bag over his shoulder, he said goodbye to my family, doing his best to seem as cheery as he was before we went on our hike together. He shook my father’s hand, hugged my mother, and then fist-bumped my brothers.
It hurt to watch.
He exited out the door, and I walked beside him to his vehicle.
He popped the trunk and tossed his bag in the back before he turned to me. The joy was gone, and now the raw pain remained behind. His hands moved into his pockets, and he stared down at me, unsure what to say.
I didn’t know what to say either.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” There was no hug or kiss. He just got into his car and drove away.
I watched him go, watched until his taillights were out of sight. I remained outside under the trees because it was less suffocating than going back into the cabin where my family would talk about how amazing my man was.
Instead of going back inside, I decided to go for a walk, to head back into the trails through the trees.
Fuck, I didn’t know what to do.
Lots of guys said they didn’t want kids, but that feeling was short-lived.
But the way he talked…it didn’t seem that way.
“Sweetheart?”
I stilled when I heard my dad’s voice behind me. I hadn’t heard him approaching behind me, his footfalls silent on the soft dirt of the trail. My arms crossed over my chest, and I slowly turned around to regard him.
The Girl Who Doesn't Quit (Soulless Book 12) Page 20