Stone (Savage Hearts Book 1)

by C. S. Gunn

  ***

  Stone

  I awoke to Aspen’s beautiful lips stretched around my cock this morning, and let me tell you, it’s the best fucking way to wake up. After coming down that gorgeous throat of hers, and making her come a few times, I let her jump in the shower while I got the coffee started. I need a shower too, but I know if I take one with her, it will just result in her being even more sore than she already is, the poor girl is already having a hard time walking. “That smells fantastic.” I hear her voice as she enters the kitchen, and my treacherous dick begins to harden.

  “Want me to make you a cup?”

  “No, I got it. Thank you though.” She flashes the sweetest smile. “So, I was thinking, if you’ll let me, I can take you somewhere today.”

  “Sure angel. Where do you want to go?”

  “I bought something for you.”

  “We have to leave to see it?” What the hell did she buy, and how big can it possibly be?

  “Mhmm.” Her cheeks turn red, almost like she’s embarrassed.

  “I’ll jump in the shower and then you can take to see this monster gift.”

  “Okay….Do you need help?”

  “With what?” I know what, I just want to hear her say it.

  “Your shower.”

  “Didn’t you just take one?”

  “I could be cleaner.” Fuck, this girl. She’s as bad as I am, and I fucking love it.

  “Yeah, I need all the help you can give me.” We may not be leaving for a while, evidently, she’s not as sore as I thought.

  ***

  Aspen pulls up to an old building, one that I know has been vacant for a long time, probably since before I moved here. I’m not sure what to make of this, but I trust her. We get out of the car a walk up to the front door, she pulls a set of keys out and unlocks the door…she bought a whole building? How the hell did she do that? We walk in and she flips on the lights, it’s musky in here, but the place is huge, it has an open floor plan and…is that a boxing ring? “Do you like it?”

  “Sure sweet girl, but what is it?”

  “Well, um….” It’s almost as if she doesn’t want to tell me, like she’s afraid of what my reaction will be…I can’t have that.

  “Tell me angel, don’t be nervous.” I run my knuckles light over the soft skin of her cheek.

  “I…I bought you a gym. I thought maybe we could clean it up and you could get back into MMA….coaching, or even fighting if you want. I think it was used for boxing or something, there’s punching bags in the back too.”

  My heart swells. She did this for me? What the fuck did I do to deserve this amazing woman? I pull her to me and slam my lips to hers, kissing her with all the words I can’t say. She has no idea what this means to me, that she thought to do something like this. “How?” It’s the only word I can get out, anymore and I might fucking cry.

  “My parent left me a lot of money.”

  “How much is a lot?”

  “Around three and a half million.” Three and a half….I almost pass the fuck out. “I wanted you to have your own gym, for when you’re ready.”

  “You didn’t have to sweet girl, this had to have cost a lot.”

  “No, not really. It was sitting for quite some time, and the owners just wanted to be out from under it, I got a great deal.”

  “What’s a great deal?”

  “Eighty grand.” She smiles, pride shinning in her eyes. She should be proud, that’s a killer fucking deal.

  I wrap her in he arms and rest my chin on the top of her head. “Thank you.”

  “So you like it?”

  “I fucking love it baby.” I can’t believe that she did this, I love her a little more every day. “Do you want to christen it?” I couldn’t help it, I had to ask.

  “I’d love nothing more.”

  “I love you, Aspen. You have no idea how much.”

  “I think I have some idea.” She giggles softly and I back her against the wall behind her. “I love you too, forever.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Aspen

  Shit! I’m going to be late to work again! I’m speeding down the road, trying to get there on time, darn Stone and his irresistible body! Ugh! Whatever, it was totally worth it….again. I pull up to the building with four minutes to get to my desk, I run to the elevator and press the up button, why does it feel like this thing is taking extra long today? Finally, the damn thing opens. I sprint toward my desk once the doors open, and sit down, right on time. Whew! I feel like I just ran a marathon. As I catch my breath, I hear the clicking of heels getting louder and louder, this can only mean one thing. “Good morning Aspen, Perry is waiting for you in his office.” Kelsey’s smug voice fills my ears.

  “Yeah, thanks.” She could have just emailed me, but no, anything to ruin my day. I get up without turning my computer on and stalk over to Perry’s office. This is so not how I wanted my morning to go. “Perry, you wanted to see me?” I ask as I knock on his door.

  “Yes, come in and have a seat. Oh, and shut the door.” Definitely not how I wanted to spend my morning. I close the door and sit down, the desk between us doesn’t seem like enough, not when it looks like he’s undressing me with his eyes. “Aspen, you’ve been taking a lot of time off work, and you’ve been coming to work late when you do come in.”

  “The days I took were my vacation days, and I’ve only been late twice since I started here over a year ago.”

  “Yes, well, your work seems to be suffering due to this.” Is he serious right now?

  “My work isn’t suffering. Not only do I get all my work done, I get it done before the deadline. How is that suffering?”

  “My point is, you don’t seem to value your position here. I feel that your talent might be more suitable somewhere else.” Asshole!

  “Are you firing me?”

  “We could come up with another arrangement.” He gets up from his chair and comes around the desk, he sits on the edge directly in front of me licking his lips. Slime ball.

  “You want me to…..?” I can’t even finish that sentence.

  “If you want to keep your job, you’ll hike that skirt up and spread your legs for me. I’ve been wanting to see what you’re hiding under there.” It takes every ounce of my willpower not to vomit all over him.

  “Did you forget about what I saw? You can’t just fire me.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that actually. It doesn’t matter what you saw, you have no proof. You don’t have a leg to stand on, Aspen.” He begins to rub himself over his ill fitting kakis. “Now, show me how pink your pussy is, or pack your shit and get the fuck out.”

  “Fuck you Perry! Nothing will ever be worth having to touch you, nothing!” I get up and walk over to the door. Yanking it open, I storm out, letting it slam on my way out.

  “Aspen! What the hell happened in there?” Aly runs after me as I grab a box and go to my desk to pack my shit.

  “Perry just fired me,”

  “He what?”

  “He fired me.” I start throwing things into the box. I don’t have much I want to take, a picture of Aly and me, one of Stone and me, and a few little decorations, mostly everything else can just be tossed out.

  “I’m going in there to give him a piece of my mind.” She turns to go, but I stop her with a hand on her arm.

  “It’s okay, Aly, really. I don’t want to work for a guy like that anyway. Besides, I’ll be fine. I promise.”

  “I know you will, that guy just really pisses me off.”

  “You and me both. Promise you won’t go in there and get yourself fired too, okay?”

  “Fine, I promise.” She better keep that promise, the last thing I want is for her to lose her job because she was sticking up for me.

  “Thank you. Dinner tomorrow night?”

  “You got it.” She smiles. I put my purse in the box and carry it to the elevator.

  By the time I reach The Asylum, I’m finally calm. It’s Perry’s loss, not mine
. At least I no longer have to see him, or Kelsey, any more. That’s a huge plus. “Hey baby, what are you doing here?” Stone asks when I walk into the bar.

  “I got fired.”

  “What the hell for?”

  “Honestly, I think it was just an excuse for Perry’s nasty ass to get into my pants.”

  “What? What did that motherfucker do?” I look down and see that he’s clenching his fists.

  “He told me I could keep my job if I showed him what was under my skirt.”

  “I’ll kill him.” Yup, he’s angry.

  “Promise me you won’t go over there, Stone.”

  “Fine, I promise. But if I happen to see him on the streets, I can’t be held responsible for my actions.” Sure….

  “Just don’t go looking for him, okay?”

  “Okay, I won’t.” He doesn’t sound happy about it, but too bad, I don’t want to see him go to jail. Not for Perry, not for any reason.

  “Besides, I handled it.”

  “Really?” He raises a skeptical eyebrow. “And how did you do that?”

  “I said ‘fuck you’ and slammed his door on my way out.”

  “Way to show him who’s boss baby.” He chuckles.

  “Hey! I was proud of myself.”

  “I’m proud of you too sweet girl.” He comes around the bar and kisses my forehead. “You know, I could use you here.”

  “Really?”

  “Sure, with the bar and the gym, I don’t really have time, the books are a mess.”

  “What about Ashe?”

  “I don’t want his dumb ass to touching them, they’d be even more fucked up.”

  “Dude, I can do it!”

  “You can barely count to ten, and your dick is always buried in some random girl.” He turns back to me. “I could use your help.”

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

  “It’s the best fucking idea angel.”

  “Okay, but only until I find another job, deal?” I guess this can work, if we can actually get work done.

  “Deal.”

  ***

  Stone

  I sent Aly a text last night to see what floor Perry is on, there’s no way I’m letting that dickhead get away with doing that shit to my girl. Aspen was still sleeping when I left, so I didn’t have to try and explain to her where I was going at seven in the morning. Hopefully I get back before she wakes up, I don’t want to have a pissed off Aspen on my hands. I ride the elevator up to the third floor and step off when it opens. I don’t need to look for Perry’s office, I can hear it. They’re both here, just like Aly said they’d be. You’d think after Aspen caught them, they’d find another place to do this shit, guess they aren’t that smart. The door is cracked, not much, but just enough for what I have planned. I pull out my cell phone and hit record, making sure I get a clear shot of their faces as he bends that Kelsey bitch over his desk. Okay, I think I got enough, if I watch this shit any longer, my dick might never get hard again. I leave the building and text Aly as soon as I get into my truck, I need her to get me the CEO’s email when she gets to work. Perry is going to regret fucking with Aspen.

  I get home and Aspen is still sleeping, thank god. I start the coffee and set the muffins I picked up from her favorite spot on the counter and go into the room to wake her up. “Hey sweet girl.” I brush her hair away from her face.

  “Mmmm.” She stretches, fuck she’s sexy. “It’s morning already?”

  “Yeah, a little after eight.” I lean in to kiss her.

  “Oh, god! Bathroom! I need the bathroom.” She jumps out of bed, almost headbutting me on the way.

  “Baby? You okay.” I follow her. She’s on her knees in front of the toilet vomiting. Shit, my poor girl is sick as fuck.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Just got nauseous. It’s nothing.” She wipes her mouth and stands, only to have to turn back and puke again.

  “It doesn’t sound like nothing. Come on angel, let me get you back to bed.” I carry her back to bed and kiss her forehead as I lie her down. “Get some rest sweet girl.”

  “I’m fine, I promise.”

  “Rest. Now.” If she thinks I’m letting her out of bed right now, she’s delusional.

  “Okay.” She lies down and I tuck her in. I hope she’s okay, that was some violent vomiting.

  I was going to go to the gym today and start working on getting it ready to train, but with Aspen feeling the way she does, I can’t bring myself to go. I’m worried about her, she’s been throwing up all morning. So instead, I work on getting that Perry asshole fired. Aly sent me the CEO’s email, so I sent the video of him fucking his employee in his office…soon to be former office. Now, it’s just a waiting game. I make Aspen a cup of tea and go back into the room to check on her, she’s sitting up in bed, looking a lot better. “How you feeling?”

  “Much better actually. I have no idea what the hell was wrong.”

  “I don’t know angel, but you had me pretty worried.”

  “I feel fine now.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yes.” She smiles sweetly. “I’m supposed to go to Aly’s for dinner tonight.”

  “Is that a good idea? What if you get sick again?”

  “Stone, I’ll be fine. Stop worrying, okay?”

  “Okay, if you’re sure you’re feeling up to it. But it you feel like you’re starting to get sick again, you come the fuck home. Got it.”

  “Got it.”

  “I made you some tea.” I hand her the cup.

  “Thank you.”

  “I’ll be in the living room.” I kiss her cheek. “Yell for me if you need me.” I stand up and leave the room, if I stay any longer, I’ll end up inside her, and I’m not sure she can take that right now.

  ***

  Aspen

  On my way to Aly’s, I start to feel a little nauseous again. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’m not telling Stone, he’ll just make me come home and put me to bed. I love him, but sometimes he can be too protective. Not that I mind most of the time. I still have my key, so I just unlock the door and walk in “Aspen! God I miss having you here!” Aly rushes toward me and throws her arms around me. “I feel like I never see you, I’m not even going to get to see you at work anymore.”

  “I know, I miss you too.” The nausea comes full force and I rush to the bathroom and drop to my knees.

  “Aspen! Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, it’s been happening all day. Maybe I ate something bad.”

  “Or maybe….you’re pregnant.”

  “What? No. That’s impossible, I’m on birth control.” I can’t be….right?

  “It’s not 100% effective Aspen. Have you missed any days?”

  “I don’t think so.” Did I? “I guess I could have. I don’t know.”

  “I have a test under the sink, I’ll get it.”

  “Why do you have a test? Are you guys trying?”

  “No, Jay doesn’t want kids. I had a scare and bought a couple of tests.”

  “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

  “Take the test Aspen.”

  “Fine, I’ll take it, but it’s a waste of time.”

  “I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?”

  Aly hands me the test and leaves the bathroom. I sit and stare at the test for a bit. What if Stone doesn’t want kids, we’ve never talked about it. What if I am pregnant? Will he want me to keep it, or have an abortion? An abortion is out of the question, so I hope that’s not where his mind would go. I’m not even sure that I’m actually pregnant, why am I thinking this way, the test is going to prove that I’m not…that’s all there is to it. I do what needs to be done and set the test on the counter before setting a two minute timer on my phone and sitting on the couch next to Aly.

  She grabs my hand. “No matter what, I’m here. Okay?”

  “I know, you always are.” I give her a nervous smile and squeeze her hand. We sit for the rest of the two minutes in complete silence, neither one of us knowing wh
at to say. The timer goes off, sending my heart to my stomach. “It’s now or never I guess.” I go to the bathroom with Aly on my heels, I pick up the test and I almost faint. It’s positive…I’m pregnant. I can’t believe it, I’m really pregnant.

  “Well?” I hand her the test, and she gasps. “Aspen? Are you okay?”

  I think for a moment, am I okay? “I don’t know. I think I am.”

  “How do you think Stone will react?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Are you happy?”

  I smile, thinking about what the baby will look like, and how Stone will be as a dad. “Yes, I didn’t think I would be, but I am. Nervous, but happy.”

  “I’m going to be the best aunt ever!” Aly is super excited, it makes me smile more. She will be, and I can’t wait.

  I go home early, I was completely unable to eat, I felt bad since Aly went through all that trouble to get dinner ready, but she understood, she really is the best. I walk into the apartment and see Stone sitting on the couch with a beer. “You okay? Did the nausea come back?” He stands up and comes toward me.

  “It did, but…..” I don’t know how to tell him.

  “What’s wrong, what happened sweet girl?”

  “I know why I’ve been feeling sick.” I absentmindedly place my hands over my stomach.

  “Are you?” His eyes go wide, all I can do is nod. “Are you sure?”

  “I took a test at Aly’s”

  He smiles, tears dot his eyes. “I’m going to be a dad?”

  “Yes.” All I can do is smile back, my own tears falling.

  “I can’t believe it, I’m going to be a father!”

  “Is that….is that good news?”

  He gathers me in his arms and kisses me until I’m breathless. “It’s the best news. There’s nothing I want more than to have a family with you. To see you grow with our child.” I couldn’t have asked for a better reaction. God I love him.

  “We’re going to need a bigger place.”

  “Yes we are. Because I plan on knocking you up again.” He picks me up and carries me to our bed and lays me down. “I love you.” He kisses my stomach. “And I love you.”