by Hope Ford
Unsure of myself, the only thing pushing me on is the pleasured noises he is making. I squeeze him tighter and take him into my mouth again, my eyes on his the whole time. He grunts and leans down, pulling me by the arms until I’m lying flat across his chest.
“Now, Kendall. I want you now,” he breathes into my mouth as he kisses me.
I straddle him, and I feel his cock pressing against my ass. Instinctively I push back on him and try to line him up at my core. Before I lower myself on him, I feel like I need to tell him, that maybe he needs to know.
“Brian, uh, I’ve never done this before.”
His hips jerk under me. “Oh, fuck, baby. If I was a better man, I would stop this now, but I’m not a good man. I have to have you.”
Nodding my head, I start to lower myself onto him. His hands grip my hips, controlling me. His soothing words fill me. “That’s it… nice and slow… it might hurt, but I promise I’ll make it better.”
My gaze is on him the whole time and when his cock hits the thin piece of skin between us, we both stop. My walls tighten around him, knowing what’s about to come.
“Sorry. Fuck, I’m so sorry.” He moans as he drives up inside me.
A scream leaves my lips but it isn’t long before I’m moving up and down on him, basking in the complete and utter feeling of ecstasy. His hips move jerkily on the bed and I’m meeting him thrust for thrust. His grip on me tightens almost painfully, but I don’t want to stop him. Even the pain feels good right now. I arch my body over top of him, and his hands come up to cup my breasts. He beckons me down to him, and my hair falls down around us. He pulls it back, looking into my eyes. The feeling is so intense, but I can’t look away. His hand on my jaw holds me there and I rock my hips against his.
“Come for me, angel. Come for me.”
My hips jerk and my face scrunches up in an uncontrollable pleasure like I’ve never known. He’s coming… I’m coming and we’re both so caught up, neither one of us thinks to stop before he’s filling me with his hot cum. I clench onto him, my pussy spasming around him, milking him for all he’s got.
When I start to come down, he’s kissing my face. I try to pull away, but he stops me. “No. Stay with me.”
My face flames. “I’m a mess, and there’s probably blood.”
He nods his head and before I can stop him, he’s got me on the bed beside him. He gets up and it’s obvious he’s in pain by the way he’s hobbling to the bathroom. He comes right back and puts his hands on my knees, pushing them apart. I raise up on my elbows. “Brian?”
He has a washcloth in one hand and he shows it to me. He cleans me and even the gentle touch has me flinching under his hand.
He tosses the cloth into the hamper and lies down beside me. I snuggle against him. My mind is working a mile a minute. Should I get up and leave? Should I go back to my room?
As if sensing my thoughts, his arms tighten around me. “Don’t leave me, Kendall.”
I burrow further into him, resting my head on his chest. I have so many questions, but sleep finds me.
8
Kendall
I wake up before the sun is even up. I feel the bed next to me, but it’s cold and empty. I raise up on my arms and look around the room. Brian is sitting on the edge of the bed. The muscles of his back are bunched up and his head is in his hands.
“Brian?” I ask him.
His body stiffens, but he doesn’t answer me. I get up from the bed, and remembering my nakedness, I pull on his sweatshirt that’s lying on the floor. I stand in front of him, wanting to comfort him, but worried that maybe he wants me gone. Maybe he’s waiting on me to leave. It’s times like this that I wish I had more experience.
“Do you want me to leave?” I ask him quietly.
His head jerks up and I can see the pain in his face.
He shakes his head. “No. If it was up to me, you’d never leave.”
His words hit me and I drop to the soft carpet on my knees in front of him. “Then what’s wrong?”
“I should—we shouldn’t have done what we did, Kendall. I took advantage of you. Your dad trusted you with me and what did I do? I betrayed him.” His voice is rough and filled with emotion.
“No. I think if my dad could have chosen for me to be with someone, it would have been you,” I tell him honestly.
He cups my jaw. “You’re sweet to think that, but your dad wouldn’t have wanted me anywhere near you.”
I start to say something, but then I remember the letter. The letter that my dad left me. I don’t know why I brought it with me, but right now, I’m so glad I did. I tell him I’ll be right back and then run to the guest room, rummaging through my suitcase and throwing all the stuff out to get to it.
As soon as I have it in my hands, I run back to him, flipping on the light. I go back to my spot on the floor and hand it to him.
He takes it and asks me, “What is this?”
“It’s a letter my dad left me. Read it.”
He unfolds the worn page easily and starts scanning it. I scoot to the side so I can see it too.
Dearest Kendall,
If you’re reading this letter, it means I’ve left you. I hope you know that leaving you is one of the last things I would ever want to do. I love you so much and I’m so proud of the woman you’ve become.
I’m writing this on the day you graduate high school. You’re an adult and you’re graduating with honors. I can’t even begin to tell you how proud I am of you. You are an amazing person with a huge heart.
I want you to live your life on your terms. Whatever you want, I want you to go for it. And remember it doesn’t matter what other people think, if it makes you happy, it’s worth it. (Just so you know if it’s something hard and you really have to work for it, then it’s definitely worth it.)
I know you’re probably wondering why I left Brian over your inheritance. I have no doubt that he will always be there for you. I know you are responsible enough to make the best decisions, but you know me. There’s a reason why I do everything. I left Brian over your inheritance because I wanted you to see and be a witness over how a man treats a woman. I know without a doubt he will love you, treat you with respect, push you to be the person you should be. I’m doing this because I truly believe that he loves you almost as much as I do.
I know you’re too young for this now, but one day, you’ll look back at how Brian and hopefully I had loved you and you will expect nothing less from the man you pick to be your husband. My prayer is for you find someone that treats you like Brian will. I need you to trust me on this.
I love you, buttercup. I hope you know that. I also hope you know that nothing you could ever do will stop me from loving you.
I love you and I’ll see you again one day.
Love,
Dad
He finishes the letter and wipes a stray tear off his cheek. I go back to the floor in front of him. “Do you see? Dad would have been okay with this. If you want me.”
He stops me. “If I want you? Honey, you’re all I want. But I want forever.”
I smile and lean up and kiss him, his arms go around me, and he holds me tightly to him. Forever never felt so good.
Epilogue
Two Months Later
Brian
I dreamed about it, but I never imagined how good it could be. I’ve given her an out so many times, but she’s always told me that I’m the one she wants. Which is good, because if she wanted out, I don’t know if I could actually let her go.
Today is our wedding day. She stayed at her apartment last night because I’m not supposed to see her, but it’s killing me.
I knock on the door where she’s getting ready. “Come in,” she calls.
I start to open the door, but I don’t want to upset her by doing away with tradition.
“It’s me,” I tell her.
There’s a silence and then she pulls the door open widely. “Brian? Are you okay?”
I stare at her speechles
s. The white dress she has on is fitted to her body and I have to force myself to close my mouth. “Uh, yeah.” I step into the room and close the door behind me. “Fuck, you’re beautiful, honey.”
Her face turns a shade of red, but I can tell my words please her. She cocks her hip out and puts her hand on it. “What are you doing in here? You ‘bout gave me a heart attack. I thought you changed your mind or something.”
I crowd her then, my arms going around her. “No way, you’re mine. But I forgot to give you your gift.”
She smiles at me. “And you couldn’t wait until after?”
I shake my head. “My gift you get later. This one is not from me.” I open the pocket inside my jacket and pull out the box and hand it to her.
Her hands shake as she takes it from me. “Who’s it from?” she asks me, but I can tell she already knows.
I lead her to a chair and have her sit down. “Your dad.”
She smiles at me and her eyes are watery. I shake my head and rub her cheek. “Uh, uh, no crying. Your dad wouldn’t want you to cry.”
She takes a deep breath and rips open the box carefully. Nestled in tissue paper is a necklace. She pulls out the heart-shaped locket and opens it. And we both gasp. Inside is the picture of the two of us from her graduation.
She holds it out to me. “He knew. He knew before we did.”
I shake my head and laugh. “I knew, honey.” I kiss her then, smudging her lipstick and doing everything I can not to take it further.
She pulls away from me. “Help me put it on.”
She turns her back to me and I clasp the necklace around her neck. I walk her over to the floor-length mirror and stand behind her. She’s admiring the necklace and I’m admiring her. She’s positively glowing.
She turns in my arms. “I have a present for you.”
I lean down and kiss her nose. “I already have everything I want.”
She shrugs her shoulders. “I’m pretty sure this is something you’ll want.”
She reaches for a box on the shelf next to her and places it in my hands. “I hope you like it, because I can’t take it back.”
I laugh. “I already love it.”
She just smirks at me. “Open it.”
I undo the ribbon and start opening the box. I peel back the tissue paper and pull the coffee mug out. “I love it, honey. You know I can always use another coffee mug.”
I lean in to kiss her, but she pulls away. “Read it.”
I turn the cup in my hands and my legs about buckle. “#1 Dad”
“What?” I exclaim. “You’re pregnant?”
She nods her head, the excitement filling her face.
I drop down to the floor in front of her, pressing my head against her belly. “I’m going to be a dad!”
She’s running her hands through my hair and I’m crying. I’m not ashamed to admit it. Everything I wanted and thought I couldn’t have is right here in front of me and she took it one step further. I wrap my arms around her middle. “God, I love you, Kendall.”
Her tears are free flowing now. “I love you too.”
Needing You
1
Luke
“So, uh, is that your dad?” I ask Kendall. From the minute I walked into the house, I had hoped not, because the way the older man was looking at her was definitely not dad-like. In my business, I’m suspicious of everybody.
Her nose scrunches up. “No.”
I tilt my head to the side and smile. “So it’s like that, huh?”
She laughs a little and points at the book. “Maybe we should start here.”
She looks at her watch and I get down to work.
Kendall and I work on the project, which is a one-page paper on the effects of drug usage on the brain. I could tell when I told her what the topic was, she thought it was weird, but in my line of work I’ve had to learn a lot about it. Plus, the students got to pick the topic and I figure it was right up my alley. She seems to be in just as much of a hurry as I am to finish the paper. It takes us only thirty-five minutes to write it, type it and submit it.
I look at my watch when we’re finished. “Great, we’re done early. I promised my little sister I would be home before she went to bed.”
She looks at me curiously. “You and your sister are close?”
I grab up my bag and start stuffing my laptop and books in it. “Yes. Well, actually, I’m also her guardian. Our parents died last year and I was given guardianship.”
I follow her to the front door and we pass Brian, the man she introduced me to. I give him a wave but all I get back is a silent nod. I try to hide my smile because obviously the man didn’t like us working together. I should tell him there’s nothing to worry about, but I figure I’ll just let him sweat it out.
Kendall puts her hand on my shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Luke.”
A snarl from the living room has her pulling her hand back and Kendall and I both look at Brian. He’s staring at Kendall and the possession in his eyes is obvious. Shaking her head, Kendall thanks me for coming across town to work on the project.
I start to walk out the door but turn around quickly. “So you’ll be okay here… with him?” I nod my head toward the living room, pointedly at Brian.
She assures me she’s fine and he would never hurt her before I finally turn around and walk down the steps of the house.
I shake my head as I get into the car. I got partnered with Kendall for the school project and honestly, I wasn’t too upset about it. She’s a beautiful woman… but obviously not the one for me. She’s clearly taken. I mean, I don’t think she knows it yet, but that man obviously thinks that she is his. He definitely didn’t like me being there.
I guess I should be glad it didn’t work out for me and Kendall. I have class with her and she’s pretty and nice, but there’s definitely no spark there. Plus, I don’t have the time to date anyway. Not since I’ve taken full guardianship of my little sister, and I work full time and go to school, well, there’s no time for any kind of social life really.
Pulling out of her driveway, I look down at the clock. Our project took less time than I thought it would, so I decide to head over to the grocery store. I’m pretty sure that Anna ate the very last bit of her favorite cereal this morning. And even though it’s something small and she wouldn’t mind switching cereals for one day, I can’t just let her go without it. My thoughts go to Anna. She’s only ten and seems pretty adjusted to everything, but what do I know really? Nothing about kids and even less about girls, it seems.
Our parents died last year in a white water rafting trip. They were in their late forties and still action junkies. They lived for the adrenaline rush and growing up it was always one adventure after another. We moved around all the time and instead of things like school, sports and sometimes even food, they spent their money on what next trip they could take. It was fine when it was just me. I learned at an early age to take care of myself. But when they brought Anna into the picture, I had to step in. I mean, I’m fourteen years older than her. The big age difference is not the only reason she’s always looked at me as her dad instead of her brother. No, it’s because pretty much from the time she was born, I helped take care of her. The first five years of her life, my parents hired a babysitter. Once she started school, it was like they thought she was grown up and ready to take care of herself. That’s when I had to take over completely. By that time, I had completed the police academy and was just starting out as an officer. Not a lot has changed since then except instead of her sleeping at my parents’ house, she now sleeps at my apartment.
I worry that I’m going to fuck it up somehow. This whole parenting thing is no joke. But regardless, I am going to give her a stable home with food and plenty of love. Pretty much everything I didn’t have growing up.
I refuse to raise her and have her worrying about where her next meal is going to come from or hell, what school she’ll be going to next. I want her to have everything I didn’t.
&n
bsp; Which is one of the reasons I’m going to college. If I can make detective, it’s a pay raise and better hours. I’m already into my last semester and then I’ll be able to apply for the detective job, hopefully giving us some more normalcy in our lives.
I pull into the grocery store and look at my watch before running in. If I’m quick, I’ll make it home before she’s asleep.
2
Carly
The knock on the door has me quietly sitting up from the couch and looking around the room. I moved here last week and already I’m wondering if I picked the right place. I mean, I’m no snob, but they told me this was a safe apartment building, that I even have a police officer for a neighbor, but so far I’ve witnessed one theft and multiple fights in the parking lot. I look at the clock on the wall and see it’s only eight-thirty. But still, I don’t know anyone here and well, heck, let’s face it, none of my friends would be caught dead in this neighborhood.
The frantic knocking starts again. I pick up the baseball bat by the door and peek through the hole. A woman that I’ve seen a few times with the little girl next door is standing there, looking worried.
I open the door. “Yeah?”
“Oh my God, thank goodness you answered the door. Can you call an ambulance?” she asks me quickly and takes off back into her apartment. I grab my phone off the counter where it’s charging and race after her.
The first thing I notice when I walk into the apartment is the smell of smoke and the little girl is gasping for breath. I fall to my knees in front of where she’s sitting on the couch. I brush the hair off the little girl’s face. “Do you have asthma?”
