Priceless

by Linda Kage

  And since I was so busy ogling him, I rolled myself right into the side of the ramp. It jerked my chair to a halt, but I kept going and spilled forward, falling onto the ramp and landing on my hands and knees.

  “Oh my God! Sarah!” Reese hurried back to me, but Brandt beat her there.

  “Babe?” His warm hands grasped my shoulders.

  “I’m okay, I’m okay,” I was quick to call, even though my palms and shins felt like they were on fire. “Just clumsy.”

  “Is that blood? Is she bleeding?” I heard Mason’s panicked voice.

  Brandt’s fingers swept over my leg from the knee down. “I think it’s just a scrape. Let’s get it cleaned off so we can see it better, though.” He pressed his lips to my brow before announcing, “Up we go.”

  He stood, bringing me with him. Then he carried me inside, and everyone trailed after us, even the kiddos.

  When I heard my niece and nephew’s worried questions to Reese, asking if I was okay, I felt the need to call again. “I’m fine! Just fine.” Then I buried my face into Brandt’s sunbaked chest and mumbled, “Lord, this is so embarrassing.”

  Brandt chuckled against my brow. “Suck it up, buttercup. All these worried people just mean you’re loved that much more.”

  “It’s still humiliating,” I mumbled, though I was vaguely tempted to swipe my tongue out to taste all the enticing man-flesh I was pressing my face into as we entered his room.

  With another kiss to my cheek, he carried me to his bed and sat, bringing me down to settle on his lap. Then he held me as everyone else mother-henned, Aspen and Caroline arguing from the bathroom which items would best clean the wound, Zoey claiming her husband was the doctor and should take the first look, while Mason, Noel, Ten, and Colton crowded around my bloodied shins, and Reese tried to keep all the kids from coming inside to gawk.

  “It’s madness,” I said.

  Brandt tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and grinned at me. Once Aspen and Caroline hustled into the room, their arms loaded with all sorts of medical goodies, he waved them forward and called, “Okay, now everyone out. I got this.”

  Mason straightened to send him a dark look. “Excuse me?”

  Meeting my big brother’s gaze, Brandt repeated, “I got this.”

  Mason opened his mouth, only to shut it again and shift his gaze to me. Then his shoulders fell and he nodded. “Doesn’t look like it’s too bad,” he murmured.

  He grabbed Noel and Ten and began to drag them toward the exit. The others followed, Aspen trailing at the end so she could close the door behind us and give us some privacy.

  “There.” Brandt breathed out and tugged me off his lap so he could settle me on his bed. “Let’s see what we have now.”

  I watched his face as he studied my legs, then carefully cleaned each shin before covering the abrasions with bandages. Next, he calmly took my hands into his and checked the palms before sucking in a sympathetic cringe and cleaning those as well.

  All I did was sit there and study his face with awe as he took care of me.

  It’d been four weeks since my stroke. My left side was still mostly numb. I was pretty sure full sensation would never return, but my swallowing had improved. The one thing I knew for certain: I was as recovered from it as I was ever going to be. This was me at my full capacity. The doctors had straightened out my medication and I was no longer considered a high risk.

  Reese and Mason still hovered, worrying about my health, but Brandt had mellowed. He knew as well as I did that this was the new and permanent me. He’d accepted it, and that was why he’d kicked the others out just now. They’d overdramatize over my minor, stupid little fall and try to make it something bigger than it was. He wouldn’t, and he knew that was what I needed right now.

  Once he finished with my hands, he looked up. “Where else?”

  I shook my head. “Nowhere. That’s it.”

  He narrowed his eyes as if he didn’t believe me. “Are you sure? It doesn’t hurt anywhere else?”

  “Nope.” I grinned at him, loving him with every molecule I had. “And may I say thank you very much for taking care of me.” I stroked the backs of my fingers down the side of his face. “And thank you again for not freaking out like everyone else did.”

  With a chuckle, he shook his head. “I’m pretty damn proud of myself for that too, though I swear my life flashed before my eyes when you first started to fall.” He leaned in and pressed his forehead to mine. “You don’t usually take a tumble like that.”

  Humming, I rubbed my nose along his. “I blame you, entirely.”

  “Me?” Surprise and amusement highlighted his tone as he lifted his eyebrows. “How did I cause it?”

  I sniffed. “You can’t go around looking as sexy as you were looking, all shirtless and irresistible, then grin and send me a flirty little wave like you did, and not expect a girl as sexually frustrated as I am to not trip over herself in lust.”

  His blue eyes went hot and his eyelids slit to half-mast. “Sexually frustrated, huh? What about everything we did last night?”

  He’d gone down on me and then he’d allowed me to watch him jerk off. It’d been hot, but...

  “That only primed me up to want more.” Leaning in, I whispered into his ear. “And now I want everything.”

  Shuddering, he turned his face just enough that our mouths were only an inch apart. His nostrils flared and eyelashes flickered before he murmured, “It has been a month since the stroke.”

  “It has,” I agreed, licking my lips as I lazily trailed my finger down the center of his warm, bare chest. “And my panties are soaking wet right now.”

  Groaning, he grasped my hand and looked me in the eye. “Swear to me you feel okay.”

  Oh my God, he was wavering.

  For a second, I could only gape at him. Then I broke into the widest grin imaginable. “I’m as good as I’m ever going to get.”

  “Fuck,” he muttered as if that were a bad thing, but then he dove at me, kissing me and spiking his tongue into my mouth, clutching my face before grappling with my tank top. “Thank fuck. Because I can’t hold out any longer.”

  I gasped when he sucked in a mouthful of my breast while simultaneously peeling off my shorts. Then I arched up my back to feed him more of me as he clutched my hair. “I love you so much.”

  “Love you too.” His voice was muffled before he pulled back to blow out a shaky laugh and shake his head. “I can’t believe we’re doing this. I wish I could resist you better.”

  “I don’t.” I liked how he’d given in. “Now take your pants off.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” His laugh turned husky as he complied, climbing off his bed to kick off his shoes and shuck his jeans.

  Before removing his briefs, he tiptoed to the door and as silently as possible locked it.

  I covered my mouth, muffling my glee. “Good thinking.”

  He met my gaze from across the room, and then slowly took off his last stitch of clothing.

  “My God,” I uttered. “You are so beautiful.”

  Brandt beamed. “That’s what I was going to say to you.” He neared the bed and helped me lie back.

  “I would’ve made it,” he said, kissing his way down my body. “I would’ve been able to keep my hands off you for good if I’d had to.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked, thrusting my hips forward as soon as he reached the apex of my thighs.

  He sucked in a breath as he inhaled my scent and shook his head. “No...now that you mention it, I’m not so sure at all. Thank God we don’t have to test it, though, huh?”

  Then he licked me, swirling his tongue around my clit. My hips arched of their own accord and my breathing went shallow.

  “Oh, God. Oh, God,” I whimpered.

  He tortured me more by thrusting a finger inside me, swiftly followed by another. My body began to contract. I looked down just as he looked up. When our gazes met, his face went blurry and my body could only focus on itself as I came in a floo
d.

  When I finished, he sat up, grinning before he wiped his mouth. “God, I love how you taste when you come.”

  I grinned, feeling kind of powerful from that statement.

  Brandt pulled his wallet from his pocket and removed a foiled package. I began to laugh I was so excited, because this was happening. It was finally happening!

  Once he was ready, he took one of my wrists and held it above my head as he took himself in his free hand to guide his cock to me. But before he could press inside, he paused and blew out a breath. A trickle of sweat trailed down the side of his face.

  His gaze met mine, and I knew. He was remembering the stroke.

  “Baby, it’ll be okay.”

  He exhaled and shook his head before climbing off me.

  “No, not this way. You be on top. Set the pace. I’m too afraid to...I need you to control the movement and take it easy for us this time.”

  I paused and blinked at him. “But you can’t let a woman—”

  He shushed me by pressing his fingers to my lips. “To get to be inside you, I’ll deal with it.” He kissed me softly. “My stupid mommy issue pales in comparison to how worried I am about you stroking out on me again. Besides.” He shrugged. “I have a feeling it won’t be all that terrible, not if it ends with me coming inside you.”

  Secretly pleased he was willing to try it this way and trust me to help him through his own issues, I nodded. “Okay. I’ll be on top.”

  He rolled, taking me with him.

  When I sat up, straddling his lap, he caught my hip to steady me. “You okay?”

  “Oh, yeah.” I managed to rub my clit against his erection. It felt amazing. It was more awkward this way, but I kind of liked being able to look down at him and see my man spread beneath me, panting for more.

  I bit my lip, nervous about setting a trigger off in him and nervous about being good at it in this position. My body didn’t move exactly how I wanted it to, but Brandt helped me, holding on to me and guiding me up, then back down on to him.

  He felt extra big as he pushed into me. I held my breath and bit my lip, my body stretching until...oh, holy hosanna. He was inside me.

  “Oh my God, I missed this.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed, bending up his knees to provide a backrest for me. “Oh, shit. Yeah. I missed it too.”

  Grinning at him, I lifted and slid down. He bowed his back and groaned.

  It was fascinating to watch his face and see every moment of arousal he experienced.

  “I love you,” I said.

  His gaze focused on me. “I love you too. I can’t believe we’re really doing this.”

  I nodded and ground my teeth as he hit something inside me that felt like a pure electrical charge. “Oh, God. Right there. Right there.”

  Brandt flexed his hips, hitting it again. “Right there?”

  I bit my lip and nodded. “Mmm hmm.”

  He ground against it without mercy, rubbing over and over again against that one sweet spot until my womb contracted. “Brandt,” I cried, peaking with the next thrust.

  “Shit, I...” He couldn’t finish his sentence. He was too busy igniting with me.

  We rode the lightning, fucking until both our orgasms quelled. Then I let out a breath.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, sounding worried.

  I laughed. “I’m amazing.” I felt like a sated limp noodle. Grinning down at him, I wondered, “What about you? Are you okay?”

  He smiled up at me, his lips parted in awe. “Yeah. Jesus,” he finally breathed, reaching out to cup my breasts. “Why haven’t I ever tried it this way before?”

  I beamed with love. “Because you were waiting for me.”

  Slipping his hands up over my chest, he kept on until he was cupping my face in both palms. Then he gazed into my eyes and murmured, “Damn straight I was.”

  BRANDT

  Surrounded by a sea of black-robed graduates, I straightened my cap when I felt it began to tilt on my head, and the tassel dangling from it smacked me in the face.

  “Would the College of Accounting and Computer Information Systems please stand,” the announcer called, jerking my attention to the stage at the front of the gymnasium. I could barely make out Sarah in her wheelchair as she lined up with the rest of her fellow majors.

  If we had studied in the same department for our bachelor’s degrees, we would’ve been able to sit together throughout this fiasco. Unfortunately, I was stuck here, waiting with the rest of the nursing students. I wasn’t sure why I was bothering with graduation anyway. It wasn’t as if I was finished with college. Now that my bachelor’s degree was finished, I had to keep working on my doctorate of physical therapy.

  But Aspen had gotten all teary-eyed when I’d walked from my room in my cap and gown, and Sarah was excited about graduating with me, plus they’d planned a huge party for us and Colton, so...I put up with it to make everyone happy.

  They called out name after name, and I kept my eye on Sarah as she slowly rolled closer to the stage. There was no way she’d manage the steps to the platform, so I held my breath as soon as she handed over her card to let the announcer know how to properly pronounce her name.

  The greeter passing out the empty certificate holders smoothly moved forward so he could jump off stage and shake with her, congratulating her on her accomplishment. And as soon as her name boomed through the speaker system, I was yelling and catcalling my support.

  Nearly half an hour later, I finally had my turn to cross the stage and get my picture taken shaking hands with some important dude.

  I knew it wasn’t a big deal, but something in me swelled with pride anyway when I heard my family cheering from the audience. It made me realize I’d come a long way from the potty-mouthed boy who’d gotten fucked up by his mother when he was thirteen. I had grown and matured into something worthy, something worthy enough to get the woman of my dreams. And it was all because this one girl had taken a chance on me and sent me a single friend request.

  Seeking her wheelchair out where she sat back with her department, I blew a kiss in her direction and I swear I saw her catch it and press it to her heart.

  Things felt good and complete when we were finally released from the gym. The campus was too crowded to meet up with everyone who’d come to see us graduate, so we had decided to celebrate in the back reception room at Forbidden, and Pick had Italian food catered in. Colton wouldn’t graduate for another week—the little nerd was still complaining about making salutatorian—but it’d been easier to have one big party for the three of us at once, so we’d had it after the college graduation.

  Sarah and her family were already there when I arrived. I hadn’t gotten to actually talk to her face-to-face all day, so I swept to her immediately and pulled her from her chair first thing to give her a big hug and kiss before letting her back down.

  “Congratulations,” I said, pressing my forehead to hers. “We did it.”

  Grinning back, she stroked my cheek. “Yes, we did. I’m so proud of you. I was so sure you’d get out of walking through somehow.”

  I mocked fake insult and gasped. “I told you I’d do it.”

  “Yes,” she murmured. “Yes, you did.”

  “Hey, hey. Enough from you two,” Reese called, interrupting us before we could kiss again. “I need to make a speech before you start making babies with your eyes.” Lifting her glass, she moved to the front of the room until she was standing by the buffet table. “Here’s to Sarah and Brandt for making it through their bachelor’s degrees, and Colton for high school. Good luck, Sarah in finding a job that actually matches your major, and Brandt, good luck with graduate school. And Colton, we already know you’ll rock your salutatorian speech. We love you guys!”

  She took a drink and everyone followed, cheering us on. Sarah sipped from her own glass, and I looked around at our family and friends who’d come to celebrate with us. My brothers and sister and their spouses and children sat at one table. Mason and Reese along w
ith their two and Pick and Eva’s four took up another. Then Knox and Felicity, Quinn and Zoey, and Asher and Remy’s families filled in the third table. All of them looked pleased and proud of us.

  Taking Sarah’s hand, I said, “Look at all this support. We’re pretty lucky, aren’t we?”

  She gazed around her, smiling softly. “Yeah. We are.”

  Figuring this was as good a time as any to give her my graduation gift, I slid my hand into my pocket and pulled out a key that dangled from a piece of ribbon with a bow on it.

  “Sarah Arnosta,” I murmured, kneeling next to her. “I have loved you for nine years and have adored every minute we’ve been together. But it’s not enough anymore. I want more. I want everything.” Pressing the key into her hand, I said, “Will you do me the great honor of moving in with me?”

  Her lips parted as she looked down at the key. “Wha...” Her gaze flashed up, surprise wide in her eyes. “What is this?”

  “It’s a key to a new apartment Pick helped me find.” Taking a deep breath, I went for the gold. “I could live there alone and still be perfectly content, sneaking into your room when Mason isn’t looking, or...we could have it all, and just...live together. That’s what I’m voting for, by the way.”

  Sarah laughed, but then her eyes filled with tears. “Oh my God, Brandt. I can’t...this is...yes, ohmigod, yes! I’ll move in with you. Are you sure?”

  Chuckling, I pulled her in for another hug. “I’ve never been more certain of anything than I am of this. I’m ready to start the rest of my life with you, right now.”

  Sarah’s tears rolled down her cheeks as her smile grew. Then she waved her key frantically. “This is the best graduation gift ever.”

  I shrugged ruefully. “It’s not a very typical one, that’s for sure.”

  “No, it’s better. Better than anything money could buy. It’s priceless.”

  Well, I guess that made sense, since she was my priceless.

  I shouldn’t be here.

  I had been telling myself variations of that very sentiment all day, starting with, I shouldn’t go as I’d dressed for the wedding all the way to What the hell am I doing? as I’d entered the church. And here I was now, still filled with a torturous regret as I sat alone at a round table during the reception and watched a bunch of white people trying to dance to the “Cha Cha Slide.”