Worth the Wait

by Miley Maine

  I took a big bite, even though the corn dog was cold and soggy. “Mm. That’s delicious,” I said.

  Bree grabbed him and hugged him tight. “Okay, you. Your dad will take the corn dog with him. We’re going out to do some errands.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like grocery shopping.”

  Ian wrinkled his nose up. “Ick.”

  In the corner of the room, my father and Mary were laughing silently. “Is it okay with you both if we go get some stuff done?” Bree asked.

  “Of course,” Mary said. “Take your time.”

  “I don’t like the grocery store,” Ian said.

  “That’s too bad,” I said, tousling his hair. “We’ll miss you.” I hugged him goodbye, too, and Bree tugged me out the door and pushed me into the driver’s seat of her truck. “Drive, please,” she said.

  When I pulled onto the highway, I still had the corn dog in my hand. “Just toss it out the window as soon as we get to a big field,” she said. “He’ll never know.”

  “It feels a little wrong to just throw it away.”

  “Trust me, you’ll get used to it.” She laughed. “He’ll give you broken crayons, smashed flowers, and dirty rocks. They’re all treasures to him. And you’ll keep them all at first, but eventually you’ll have to come up with a plan to discard them when he’s not looking, and then he’ll be onto the next thing.”

  Receiving bits of junk as a gift wasn’t something I ever thought I’d look forward to, but now it sounded pretty good if it was coming from Ian.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Your hotel,” she said. “As quickly as possible.”

  My heart beat a little faster at the implication. We’d never been truly alone when making love over the last few weeks; we’d always been in the house with my parents and Ian, which meant we had to be quiet. I glanced over at her. “You’re not worried about people seeing us?”

  “Not now. We’re engaged.” She smiled. “I really didn’t mind to begin with. I got plenty of practice deflecting nosy and judgy comments when I had Ian. But I also wasn’t going to hotels with FBI agents, and I didn’t want people to judge Ian for what I was doing.” She shrugged. “But now I don’t mind one bit.”

  I smiled back at her. “Hotels with FBI agents? I don’t know how I feel about that.”

  “Oh, I think you’ll feel good pretty soon.”

  My cock throbbed inside my suit pants.

  Getting into the hotel was a blur. Once we were inside my room with the door locked, I unbuttoned her dressy blouse. When it pooled around her ankles, I froze. Her blouse had hidden a silky black bra.

  She twirled, showing off the bra. “It’s satin, not lace, but I had to make do with what I could find.”

  “It’s perfect.” I smoothed my hands over the bra, feeling the soft fabric under my palms. The black fabric against her tan skin was driving me out of my mind.

  I put my hand on her backside and palmed her bottom through her fitted dress pants. “What’s under here?”

  “It’s a matching set,” she said.

  “When the Hell did you have time to get this?”

  “You’ll laugh,” she said.

  “Of all the things I want to do right now, laughing is not one of them.”

  “I don’t really mind if you laugh. It is kind of funny.”

  Laughing was not on my mind, not one bit. I bent down and pressed my face against her bra, feeling the satin against my cheek. I stood back up and dipped one finger into the cup of her bra, brushing it over her nipple.

  “Ah,” she inhaled. “I, uh. I got them at the grocery store.”

  “The grocery store? I had no idea they had such interesting items.”

  “Yeah, the big ones do. I drove a little closer to Dallas to shop for these. If you keep going past the carrots and the milk and the bread, you can find all kinds of stuff.”

  “Huh,” I breathed. “Looks like I’ve been missing out on quite a bit.” I tucked my fingers into the waistband of her pants. “I’m ready to get these off,” I said.

  “Then why don’t you take a peek?” She put her hands on her hips and cocked one hip to the side. “I’ll let you see what’s inside.”

  I had to take a minute to just breathe. Bree had me so close, just from the words she said. Everything about her turned me on, from her words, to her scent, to the lingerie she bought just for me.

  I kissed down her stomach, pressing my face against her abs. Once I was eye-level with her hips, I peeled her pants down and let them pool around her ankles. I helped her lift one foot, and then I tossed the pants out of the way.

  As I stared up at her, my brain was one big cloud of desire. She was beautiful in her ranch clothes or her firefighter uniform, but this black lingerie was really working for me. Even better was the fact that she’d gone out of her way to buy them just because I’d mentioned wanting them.

  I kissed the front of her panties and pulled the satin over to the side, revealing her clit and pussy to me. I flicked my tongue over her clit. She shivered all over her body.

  “I want to fuck you while you’re wearing these panties,” I said.

  “Do it,” she said.

  I pushed a finger into her pussy. It was a snug fit at this angle, but she moaned, rocking forward, pushing her pelvis into my face. I pushed a second finger inside, relishing the way she reacted.

  I couldn’t get enough. I paused to pull back. “I want you to sit on my face,” I said.

  “I’ve never done that before,” she said.

  “First time for everything.” I took her hand and led her to the bed. I laid down on my back and tugged her on top of me, encouraging her to straddle my face.

  “Comfortable?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she said, grabbing onto the headboard as I pulled her panties to the side again. I pulled her hips toward my face.

  Having her like this was heaven.

  29

  Bree

  “Oh, my god,” I moaned as James pushed his finger back into my body. “It’s so nice not to have to be quiet.” Although we were still in a hotel with people that I knew working there, at least it wasn’t my future in-laws.

  He was right about this position. There was something about the angle that really worked. I gripped the headboard harder as James worked his tongue over my clit. He kept the pressure firm, circling and licking and then sucking. Each time I was close, he’d back off, keeping me on the brink.

  “Don’t stop,” I panted. “I’m so close.”

  “I like keeping you on the edge,” he said.

  I tightened my thighs. “You’re evil,” I said.

  “The anticipation makes it better.”

  My entire body tingled as he rubbed his fingers inside me. “Easy for you to say.” I laughed. “I’ll get my revenge on you soon enough.”

  “I look forward to it,” he said.

  And then I couldn't talk, because James made me cry out. Breathless, I inhaled. Long minutes passed, with him alternating between keeping me close and then stopping the pleasure.

  Then he pulled away, stopping all contact. He let my panties slide back into place.

  “What?” I cried.

  “I need to fuck you now,” said. “I need to fuck my fiancé. My future wife.”

  “Yes,” I said. “I need you inside me.”

  He lifted my hips up and laid me flat on the bed, rolling on top of me. His big cock pressed against my leg as he kissed my neck. He pulled my panties down and off my hips. “As much as I want you wearing these panties when I put my cock in you, I don’t think it will be comfortable,” he said.

  “Maybe I can find some made for that,” I said.

  “That would be amazing,” he said.

  “I’ll make sure I have them for our honeymoon,” I said. Not that I had any idea when that would be, or even if we’d get to have one. I’d get some for James, even if we just had one night in Dallas.

  He sat back and pulled a condom from the dr
awer and rolled it on. Then he took my ankles and pushed them apart. He pushed in so slowly. His cock filled me up, and then he rolled his hips forward, hitting my sweet spot. Then he pulled back just as slowly, dragging his cock in and out of me.

  It didn’t take long for the delicious build up of friction to send me over the edge, and he followed seconds later.

  “I’ve been thinking,” I said as we lay snuggled in the hotel bed. “I want to move to Houston.”

  “What?” James asked, and he sounded genuinely surprised.

  “First of all, your job is there,” I explained. “And I know you’re willing to transfer, which I appreciate, but you know your team. You know Agent Ramirez and you trust her. I’m assuming that takes time. If you’re out in the field, I want you with someone who has your back. Not just because he or she has to, but because they want to.”

  “That's a good point. I do trust my team,” he said.

  “Do you think your parents would move?”

  “I can’t imagine my father moving, but we can ask him.”

  “They were ready to be done with the ranch. That’s why they gave it to me,” I said. “I actually asked them one day, way before you came back into town.”

  “You asked them what?”

  “I asked them if they’d want to come if Ian and I moved to Dallas.”

  “What did they say?”

  “They said yes. They figured it would be an adventure. They’ve gotten to know some people there, and Mary wants to do things like take painting classes and square dancing lessons. You can’t do that in Laurel Bay.”

  “Wow. I never thought I’d see the day when my father would leave this town,” I said. “He used to say we had everything we needed here, so there was no need to go into the city.”

  “My mom always wanted to travel, but we didn’t have the money. And I told you Mary’s been good for him.”

  “You were right.” He pulled me closer so I was lying on his chest. “You won’t miss the ranch?”

  “No. I’m burned out on it. I’ve spent too many days completely exhausted. Up at dawn, working all day, and then one little thing happens and I’m screwed. Maybe one day I’d like to go back to that kind of work, but there are ranches near Houston.”

  “We’ll have to sell my condo,” he said. “There’s no yard.”

  “Ian definitely needs a yard. He’s had four years to think having multiple acres to himself is the norm. I wouldn’t mind living in the suburbs. I looked up a few places online. Have you been to the Woodlands?”

  “Yes, it’s really nice. We could find an older house with a big yard.”

  “Maybe I can convince Lacy to move there, too.” Even if she didn’t want to, I could still visit her anytime. I’d miss Laurel Bay, but this was a new chapter in my life, and I was ready to move forward with Ian and James.

  30

  James

  My first proposal to Bree was a disaster. The less said about it, the better. My second one was much better, and we’d all had a few laughs over the fact that it took place right in the middle of an FBI bust. It definitely made a good story.

  But now I needed to give her the ring, and this time I was determined that it would not end up at the bottom of a lake.

  I wanted to make it a good memory and something that Ian could participate in as well. Unfortunately, I had to go back to Houston tomorrow, but before I left I stopped by the sheriff’s office to see Lacy.

  “I need some advice,” I told her. “I want to propose again, and I want to give Bree the ring soon.”

  Lacy quirked an eyebrow at me. “I don’t know if you can top what you’ve done before. Both of them were pretty dramatic.”

  “I’d like this one to just be nice,” I said. “Ian’s going with me this afternoon to pick out a ring, and I want him to help give it to her.”

  “Oh!” Lacy’s face lit up. “I know just the thing. Since you’ve already done the whole romantic proposal and we all know how that turned out, and then you did a spontaneous but also romantic one after she’d been kidnapped, this time you need to make it a celebration.”

  “A celebration?” I had no idea what she meant.

  “Yes. It will be perfect.” She clapped her hands together. “So, we’ll make it a party, and we’ll invite a lot of people. There’s no risk here of putting her on the spot because we both know she’s going to say yes. You and Ian will give her the ring, and then the rest of us will be there to have cake and wish you well.”

  “Okay. That sounds great, but I’m going back to Houston for the week.”

  She held her hand up to my face. “Let me take care of it. I’m going to be the maid of honor at your wedding anyway, so this is sort of my job.”

  We hadn’t even discussed the wedding. Not the time, or the place, or the people.

  “Don’t make that face. I’ve been waiting to be Bree’s maid of honor for five years. Let me have fun with this.”

  “I’m happy to have the help,” I said. “Do whatever you think Bree will like.”

  “Oh, I will,” Lacy said. “Leave it to me.”

  Well, that was one problem solved.

  “Okay, buddy. Are you ready?” I asked.

  “I’m ready,” Ian said, nodding so hard his bangs fell into his eyes.

  “You have the ring?” I asked.

  “I have the ring!” he shouted, holding the box up above his head.

  “Okay. Just hang onto it.”

  Just one week after Lacy promised to help us, I was back in Laurel Bay. True to her word, Lacy had handled every detail for the proposal that was also an engagement party, and she’d recruited Mary to help, too. They’d asked the fire chief if we could hold an engagement party at the fire station on Friday night. There were six other people who were volunteer firefighters in town, and every one of them jumped at the chance to help surprise Bree.

  Lacy and some of the deputies decorated the entryway to the station, and the chef at the diner catered the food. Lacy invited my father and Mary, as well as Bree’s boss and co-workers from the veterinarian's office and a whole bunch of other people showed up as well and crowded into the fire station.

  Inside the foyer, there were banners and streamers and two tables, one piled high with food, and another with gifts. Lacy put big plastic tablecloths over the table, and most of the guests were crouched behind them.

  “Okay, guys,” Lacy said. “She should be here in five minutes. When she walks in, stay quiet. Let James and Ian give her the ring. Then we’ll all jump out from behind the tables.”

  I really hoped I was doing the right thing in involving all of these people. When I looked down at Ian’s face, alight with excitement, I was pretty sure I was.

  The minutes ticked by. Finally, Bree pushed the door open.

  I got one arm around Ian and we stepped forward. Bree stood there with her eyes wide. Her hands came up to her mouth.

  I got down on one knee, and Ian followed me. “Go ahead,” I whispered to him.

  “Momma, you’re already my momma, but I want you to marry my dad. Will you?”

  Tears flooded Bree’s eyes, but a bright smile spread across her face. She dropped to her knees and pulled Ian to her. “I would love nothing more,” she said, hugging him.

  As soon as she lifted her head, I said, “Bree, I’ve already asked you to marry me, but we’d like to give you this ring.”

  Ian held the little box up and pushed it into Bree’s hands.

  She opened it and pulled out the ring. “I love it,” she said.

  “Look inside, Momma.” The inscription inside the plain gold band said, Forever Family.

  Bree sniffed a few times and pulled Ian into her arms, then she hugged me and the three of us formed a little circle with our heads together.

  Over my shoulder, I heard quite a few awww’s and several other people sniffling and wiping their noses.

  As soon as we broke away from our group hug, Bree’s boss, Dr. Casey appeared right next to us. “So, when’
s the big day?” she asked. “Summer wedding? Fall? Christmas?”

  “We haven’t gotten that far yet,” Bree said.

  The fire chief stepped forward and pushed a glass of champagne into both of our hands. “We figure you’ll be leaving us in the dust once you marry this city boy, but we wanted to go in and get you something. We all pitched in, the whole town,” she said, handing Bree a folder.

  Bree looked up at me, but I could only shrug. I had no idea what this could be.

  Bree opened the folder, and inside was a glossy brochure for a trip to the Grand Caymans. It was a trip for two for one week at an oceanfront condo on the beach.

  “Oh my,” she said. “This is too much.”

  “Nah,” the chief said. “You deserve it. You’ve always done whatever you could to make this town better.” The chief slapped me on the back. “And this big lug saved the town from a bunch of nuts.”

  “Yes,” Bree’s boss said. “You two were obviously meant to be. We’re all just happy that you’re getting a second chance.”

  Bree wiped her eyes. “You’re right about that.” She grabbed a chair and slid it over to the center of the room. She hopped up on the chair and smiled really big at the crowd. “Thank you all so much. I don’t have words to express how much this means to me.” She held up her champagne glass. “Here’s to second chances.”

  I held out my hand to help her down and looked out at the sea of faces. “I know this was mostly for Bree, but I also want to say thank you. I promise you I’m going to take good care of her.”

  “You better,” the chief yelled, and everyone laughed.

  She looked up at me. “Have you ever been to the Grand Caymans?”

  “No, I haven’t,” I said. “But I look forward to going with you.

  Bree threw both arms around me and the crowd erupted into cheers. We were definitely getting that second chance.

  Epilogue

  Five Years Later

  “Is it time yet?” Ian asked me as we crouched behind the couch, waiting for Bree to get home. When the letter from Baylor University had arrived, he’d ripped it open and come running to show me.