Change (Finding Anna Book 5)

by Sherri Hayes

  Lifting her chin, I waited for her to meet my gaze. I didn’t need to say anything. She knew I was waiting for her to finish whatever it was she’d been about to say.

  “Will there . . . be other girls?”

  It took me a few moments to understand what she was asking, but I wanted to clarify to be sure. “Are you asking me if there’ll be strippers?”

  She closed her eyes and nodded.

  I nudged her legs apart and settled between them, the tip of my cock at her entrance. “Look at me.”

  Brianna met my gaze. I could see the uncertainty in them, and I didn’t like it. “There won’t be any strippers. I have everything I need right here. Why would I want anything else?”

  With that, I pushed my hips forward, sinking into her. She was all I would ever need, and I set out to prove it to her one thrust at a time.

  Chapter 21

  Brianna

  “We’re going on the road today,” Stephan said as we cleaned up after breakfast.

  I swallowed. He wasn’t talking about going on a trip.

  The panic must have been clear on my face because he cradled the side of my face in his hand and gave me a soft kiss. “You’ll do fine.”

  “What if I hit something? Or someone?”

  He smirked. “Considering only a handful of cars go down our road every day, the chances of you hitting anyone are slim.” His thumb rubbed against my cheek making me want to close my eyes and lean into him. “And things can be replaced.”

  I knew he was right. And it did settle my nerves a little. Plus, I knew he’d be right there beside me. If anything went wrong, he’d take care of it like he always did.

  A half hour later, I was seated behind the wheel of my car. Being in the driver’s seat had gotten more comfortable over the last month. I couldn’t say how many hours I’d spent driving around our yard, but it was a lot. If it wasn’t raining and the ground was firm enough, I spent at least an hour a day weaving in and out of trees and cones, backing up, practicing turning and parallel parking. And all that practice had led up to this moment. Me driving on the road for the first time in six years.

  Stephan clipped his seatbelt into place and nodded to me. I blew out a breath, started the car, and put it in gear.

  Backing out of our driveway, I triple checked to make sure there were no cars coming before maneuvering onto the road. As silly as it may have sounded, the road felt different beneath me than driving in the yard. It was a lot smoother.

  “We’re going to go around the block. Go down to the stop sign and take a right.”

  I did what he said. It was about a half mile to the stop sign, so not far, and there wasn’t another car in sight.

  I put on my turn signal as I approached the stop sign. Stephan had been quiet beside me until I came to a complete stop. “You’re doing well. Just breathe, love.”

  Breathe. I could do that. After a few slow and steady breaths, I double checked to make sure no cars were coming, and then turned right.

  True to his word, we made a circle around our house—about three miles in total. As I pulled into our driveway once again and put the car in park, I realized my hands were shaking. It didn’t matter, though. I’d done it. I’d driven on the road and it hadn’t been horrible. We’d even passed another car. Sort of. It had come up to the intersection as I was turning onto our road. Still, I hadn’t panicked. I’d kept driving and got us home safely.

  As soon as I turned off the engine and got out of the car, I ran to Stephan and launched myself into his arms. “I did it!”

  He laughed. “Yes, you did.”

  After lowering me down to the ground, Stephan cupped my face in his hands and gave me a lingering kiss. I closed my eyes and savored the feel of his lips, his tongue. Stephan could transport me to another world with his kisses alone and I willingly went wherever he wanted to take me.

  Our lips parted and I opened my eyes. He was grinning, that pleased look on his face saying he knew exactly what he’d done to me. “Go inside and relax for a while. I have some work to do, and then I thought we could head to the college and look around. Since it’s a weekend, it shouldn’t be too crowded.”

  I spent about an hour reading, and then warmed up some soup I’d made earlier in the week and made a salad to go with it. We sat at the kitchen island and talked about the upcoming fundraiser Stephan was helping Josh with. He was so happy to be working on something he felt was worthwhile again, and I loved that. But Josh wanted Stephan and I to attend the masquerade and I wasn’t looking forward to it. I hadn’t attended a big event like that in years.

  “Logan and Lily will be there as well, so they can stick close to you if I get called away,” Stephan said.

  “Do you think there’ll be a lot of people?” I knew there would be, but it didn’t hurt to ask.

  He shrugged. “Josh is hoping for at least a hundred. I think we can get more than that, but we’ll see. It’s the first year, but if we market it correctly there should be a fair amount of interest. It’s a great cause.”

  One hundred people. Or more.

  Stephan tilted my chin up and turned my face toward him. “Number?"

  “Three.”

  He nodded and released my chin. “This will be good practice for the wedding. And you’ll even get to hide behind a mask.”

  His smirk caused a warm feeling in my chest. It helped, but it didn’t make all the uncertainty go away. With Logan and Lily’s wedding, they would know everyone there. Fundraisers were different. It was pretty much a free for all for anyone who had money.

  This little voice in the back of my head wouldn’t be quiet. “What if I see someone I know?”

  It took him a moment to realize what I was saying. When he did, he sat back on his stool and reached for my hand. “Agent Marco tracked down several individuals who’d had connections to Pierce’s enterprises. As much as I wish he’d got them all, I know that’s unlikely.” He paused. “We’ll make sure to do some extra self-defense training beforehand and we’ll make sure your dress isn’t too confining, just in case. But as I said, someone will be with you the entire time, so it shouldn’t be an issue.”

  Before I could think about it anymore, he tugged on my arm, urging me to my feet. I ended up standing between his knees, my chest brushing against his. The mood quickly changed as I rested my palms against him. I could feel his heart under my fingers, its steady rhythm calming my fears. Stephan was my constant. He was my peace.

  Our lips met and I melted into him as he spread his hands along my back. I have no idea how long the kiss lasted. It was unrushed and full of soft sounds and touches. I wanted it to go on forever.

  When Stephan stared into my eyes and tucked my hair behind my ear, I could see the love in his eyes. It was more than I could have ever hoped for.

  “If we don’t get going, I’m going to forget about going to check out the school and take you into the bedroom instead,” Stephan said.

  My voice was quiet, barely even a whisper, but it didn’t matter. We were inches away from one another. He heard every word. “I would be okay with that.”

  He smiled and kissed me once more. “Go get your purse and change into some comfortable shoes for walking. I’ll meet you by the door.”

  The best part about the campus was the trees. They were huge. I couldn’t even get my arms around most of them.

  We strolled around the buildings, taking our time. Stephan had been right. There weren’t a lot of people. At least, not where we were.

  It was Saturday, and there was a football game. I would have thought that would mean the place would be swamped with people, but the main campus was almost empty. Everyone was near the stadium.

  Stephan asked if I’d like to go to the game, but I shook my head. I didn’t think I was ready to be around that many people screaming at the top of their lungs. While I knew they wouldn’t be screaming at me, I was afraid something would happen, and my brain wouldn’t know the difference.

  As we were rounding the
corner of one of the buildings, there was a food truck. Almost as if on cue, my stomach growled. It had been almost four hours since we’d eaten lunch.

  “I’m getting hungry myself. Let’s see what they have,” Stephan said.

  The man greeted us as we walked up. “Hiya, folks. You leave the game early?”

  Stephan shook his head. “No. We’re here checking out the campus.”

  “Well, you picked a beautiful day to do it. Probably not going to get many more like this until spring.” The man looked at the trees that were losing their colorful leaves, and then back to us as he got down to business. “What can I get you?”

  “What do you recommend?” Stephan asked.

  The man’s chest puffed out a little as he answered. “We’re famous for our mac n’ cheese grilled cheese. If you like cheese, then you’ll love it.”

  Since Stephan and I both liked cheese, he ordered one, along with a grilled cheese that had pulled pork on it. Food trucks tended to have a theme and this one’s was grilled cheese sandwiches. They had about any version of a grilled cheese sandwich that one could imagine. They even had one with pimento cheese, which didn’t sound all that appealing to me.

  Once we had our sandwiches, Stephan carried them over to a nearby bench under a tree. He set them down on the bench between us and unwrapped them both. “Which one do you want to try first?”

  I had to admit, I was a bit curious about the mac n’ cheese one. Picking that one up, I took a bite. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but the mixture of cheese and carbs was almost sinful. Everything melted together perfectly. I closed my eyes to savor the taste.

  “If you keep looking like that, I’m going to have to drag you into one of these buildings and find an open room.”

  My eyes snapped open. From the look in his eyes, there was no doubt as to his meaning. I tipped my head down and grinned. “Sorry, Sir. It’s really good.”

  Stephan

  Normally, Brianna didn’t call me Sir in public, but we were essentially alone. The nearest person was at least fifty feet away. There was no way for them to hear what we were saying. I was just hoping they couldn’t see the bulge in my pants, either.

  To keep myself from acting on my desire, I picked up the other half of the mac n’ cheese sandwich and took a bite. She was right. It was amazing. Not what I’d expected at all.

  We focused on eating for a few minutes, which was good since I needed to allow my cock to settle down. I didn’t want to be walking around a college campus with an erection. I wasn't eighteen anymore.

  I let her finish the mac n’ cheese sandwich while I polished off the one with pulled pork. “It’s a nice campus,” I said, leading to what we really needed to talk about. “Bigger than what I’d imagined.”

  She swallowed her last bite and took a drink of water. “I’m glad I’ll only have one class, otherwise I might get lost.”

  “I’m sure you’d be fine either way. Colleges are a lot like small towns. They can seem overwhelming at first, but it doesn’t take long to get used to where things are.”

  More people were beginning to mill about, so I knew that meant the football game was over. To be honest, I hadn’t even thought about there being a game, given this was a community college, but apparently even community colleges had sports teams. “Are you ready to continue our tour?”

  Brianna nodded.

  We ended up walking the entire campus, including by the stadium, which by the time we made it over that way was nearly empty. As we made our way passed all the buildings, I tried to imagine what the place would look like in the dead of winter with snow covering the bushes and trees. I wasn’t fooling myself. Letting her attend classes here was going to be a challenge for me. I was so used to being there to protect her. Here, she would be on her own.

  It was dark by the time we arrived back at home. I sent her to the bedroom to get ready for bed while I checked to make sure everything was secure for the night. As I came into our bedroom, the first thing I noticed was Brianna. She was naked, kneeling on the floor at the foot of the bed.

  Crossing to stand in front of her, I petted the top of her head and felt her relax into my touch. We’d been playing a lot lately. Each week she brought a new toy down from the playroom and we’d been having fun as she learned the pleasure that toys she’d previously feared could bring.

  This week she’d chosen nipple clamps. We’d used them once so far, and as I suspected, she’d loved them. I hadn’t left them on for long, though, so tonight I was hoping to push things a little farther.

  Brianna loved breast play. It didn’t matter if I was sucking on them, biting them, binding them with rope, or even using a crop on them. She loved to have her breasts and nipples played with.

  I brought her head to my crotch, encouraging her to nuzzle my growing erection. “Are you wanting to play, pet?”

  She ran her nose up and down my length. “Yes, Sir.”

  “Undress me.”

  Her delicate hands went to work on my pants, and I breathed a sigh of relief when she pushed my jeans and underwear down my hips to let my cock spring free. Bending down, her nose almost to the floor, she removed my shoes and socks before helping me step out of them. The position gave me an excellent view of her ass.

  She was finished all too soon and began to stand so she could remove my shirt. As she pushed the shirt up my torso, she placed little kisses on my abs and chest. It took a lot of willpower not to finish removing the shirt myself, but I suffered through the torture of her mouth and let her finish the job she’d started.

  Once all my clothing was removed, I took hold of her upper arms and crushed her mouth to mine. Brianna sucked in a breath as our lips met, but she met my tongue stroke for stroke. Her hard nipples raked against my chest sending little electric pulses straight to my groin. I needed to slow this down or I’d end up buried inside her in a matter of seconds.

  Ripping my mouth away, I set her away from me. We were both breathing hard and I needed a moment to get my bearings. “On the bed.”

  Brianna crawled onto the bed; her ass again tempting me. This time, however, I went with my instincts and gave her cheek a swat with my hand.

  She stopped moving, and then lowered her front half to the bed, sticking her ass up in the air. It was almost too much.

  Knowing I needed to take control of this now, I took her by the ankles and pulled her down to the end of the bed. She let out a little squeak, but it died in her throat as I flipped her around to face me.

  Since we’d begun doing more play in our bedroom, I’d made a few adaptations to our bed. One of those being that I’d added fasteners where I could attach ankle cuffs.

  I left her on the bed while I went to retrieve the leather cuffs from the bottom dresser drawer. We’d had to move the toys to a larger space since we’d been bringing stuff down from the playroom. The problem was that even the larger drawer was beginning to fill up, as well.

  Returning to the end of the bed, I took her left ankle and wrapped the leather around it, and then secured it to the bed. I did the same with the other ankle, making sure that her legs were spread wide. Her pink pussy was exposed and already glistening with moisture. Leaning down, I gave it one long lick.

  Brianna reached for my head, but I pulled back before she could get her hands on me. That wasn’t what I wanted.

  I kept my favorite rope in my nightstand in case I got the urge to tie her up on a whim. It had come in handy quite a few times and I was glad I had easy access to it now. Securing her wrists, I lifted them above her head and tied the end of the rope to the headboard. I loved her in this position. I had access to her breasts, her pussy, her thighs.

  Brushing the hair away from her face, I checked in with her. “How are you doing, sweetheart?”

  Her gaze met mine and I could see the excitement in them. My heart was thrilled that we had come so far. “Good, Sir.”

  I smiled down at her and ran my thumb along her lower lip. She opened for me and I slipped my t
humb inside, allowing her to suck on it for a few moments. The feel of her tongue and her lips wrapped around my digit had me longing to feel her mouth around my cock, but I knew if I gave in to that desire this would be over far too quickly.

  Removing my thumb, I trailed the wetness down her chin and neck before flattening my palm and running my hand down the length of her body until I came to the junction between her legs. When I stopped, inches before touching her right where she wanted me to most, she lifted her hips, seeking.

  Instead of giving her what she wanted, I skirted her pussy and skimmed my hands down her legs. Once I reached her ankles, I began kissing my way back up, alternating sides until I was staring at her center once again. I took another long lick but didn’t linger.

  When I’d retrieved the cuffs, I’d also grabbed the nipple clamps. Tonight, we were going to see if she could come with them on.

  I towered over her and took one of her breasts in my hand, kneading it and tugging on the tip. Her nipple was already hard, but I wanted to increase the stimulation even more before I secured the clamp.

  Leaning down, I sucked her nipple into my mouth, circling it with my tongue, and then placed the clamp. She sucked in a breath as it squeezed her nipple.

  I repeated the process with the other breast, making sure not to tighten the clamps too much. That was one of the advantages to tweezer clamps and I was glad she’d picked these first, instead of the ones that couldn’t be adjusted.

  With the clamps in place, I gave the tip of each nipple another lick and then blew on them. One of the main advantages to nipple clamps was that they made the nipples more sensitive. Given how sensitive Brianna’s nipples normally were, I was looking forward to seeing how the added sensation was going to affect her.

  I checked in with her one more time before taking up a position between her legs. She was even wetter than she had been before, and I couldn’t wait to get a taste. I spread her pussy lips open with my fingers, ready to feast on my girl.

  Glancing up, I took in the beautiful sight before me. Her rosy pink nipples peeked up through the clamps as her chest rose and fell under her labored breathing. I knew those signs. My girl was on the edge already.