Love at First Sight : Books One-Three

by Loni Ree

  I scream my love for him at the top of my lungs, and he suddenly stops his thrusts. After closing his eyes for a second, he looks down and mumbles, “Thank God for that,” before devouring my lips while rocking my world. Dinner is long cold before we get to it much later.

  I decide to go workout at Ethan's gym again. He's been pressing me to meet his brother and family, so my first step is going to his gym. I've never had a real relationship, and all this is so new to me. Because I fear my mom and Aunt Maureen will scare him away, I've avoided introducing him to my family.

  When I walk into WesCo Gym, I look around for Ethan but don't see him anywhere. I've never been great at working out, so I decide to use the treadmill until he appears. I'm moving along when I feel eyes on me, and I look to find my worst nightmare glaring at me from across the gym. Sally Murphy-Egan, my high school nemesis and Miss Mercedes-driving skinny ass bitch herself. Fuck me.

  "Well, well, well. If it isn't little Emma Wolcott. You know treadmills can only help so much." She sneers, and I want to hop off the machine and kick her perfect teeth in.

  "Hey, baby. Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Ethan walks up and pushes the stop button on my treadmill. After it stops, I hop off and wrap my arms around him, so happy to have him here to keep me from doing something I'll regret later.

  "Ethan, I didn't know you were friends with little Emma." Her whiney voice cuts in, and I stiffen in Ethan's arms.

  Ethan rubs my back soothingly and replies over my head, "Emma is my girlfriend, Sally, and if you have a problem, you need to get the fuck out." Several members start clapping, almost completely drowning out the sound of her gasp.

  "My husband will hear about this," she promises as she stomps toward the locker room.

  "Don't let that bitch get to you," Ethan growls in my ear. He leans me over his arm and kisses me for the whole gym to see.

  When I can catch my breath, I let him know, "She's tortured me since high school. Her husband is a horrible man, too."

  "I'll worry about the goddamn Egans." After kissing the tip of my nose, Ethan takes my hand and pulls me to his office, where he proceeds to make me forget all about Sally Murphy-Egan.

  The next day, I'm in the Drip Stop having breakfast with my cousin Chelsea when I hear the awful piercing sound of her voice. "Two days in a row. My luck is stupendous."

  I take a deep breath before I turn and face the bitch. "Leave me alone, Sally," I grit out through clenched teeth.

  "Oh no, you and I are going to have a little talk outside." She points at the door, and my cousin tries to interrupt, but I put my hand up.

  "Let me get this over with. The bitch is like a dog with a bone. She won't give up until I let her get it off her chest." I take great pleasure in watching Sally's eyes narrow when she hears me comparing her to a dog. I look back at Chelsea and continue, "Just wait a few minutes. I'll be right back."

  After following Sally out onto the sidewalk, I wait for her to unload her usual trash. "You have one day to break off your little love affair with Ethan Wescott, or my husband is going to pull his funding from the gym and lover-boy will lose everything." She prances around and picks at an imaginary piece of lint on her blouse while my heart shatters in my chest.

  "Why are you doing this?" I ask, and she throws her head back and laughs.

  "You know why. Lover-boy better be crying by tonight or it’s bye-bye gym." Sally's warning echoes in my heart as I watch the evil monster slither away. I know Chelsea will be able to tell right away that Sally just ruined my entire life, so I text her that something came up and I have to run.

  The tears are blinding me the entire way home. Sally Murphy ruined my teenage years, and now she's managed to ruin my adult life, as well. One mistake in high school is going to cost me the most important thing I've ever had in my life.

  Knowing I can't face Ethan and break up with him, I pack my things. I call my brother in New York City and tell him an emergency has come up, and I need a place to stay for a week or so. Kevin is more than willing to let me visit, so I book my flight and leave before I send my text to Ethan. When I arrive in New York, I finally talk myself into sending the text that has been written all day. In the message, I tell Ethan that things have moved way too quickly and I think we need to take a break. I ask him not to contact me again and wish him the best. I hurry and turn my phone off once the text is gone so I can't see his return text.

  Chapter 5

  Ethan

  "Hey asshole, your goofy grin is starting to scare me and worry the gym rats." My twin's teasing makes my grin bigger.

  "I have a whole bunch of reasons to grin lately." I take a big drink of water and sit behind my desk.

  "When are we going to get together so I can really get to know your girl? Grammy is pressing me for info." He drops down in the seat in front of my desk as I hear my phone beep in the drawer.

  "I'll arrange it soon." I open the drawer and see a text from Emma.

  I reread the text several times before I realize the words aren't somehow jumbled. What the fuck? I try to dial her phone, but it goes straight to voicemail.

  "Hey, man, you're fucking snarling. What's up?" I shake my head and look up at Derek.

  "She ended things." The words narrowly pass the lump in my throat.

  "What?" he sputters. His shocked expression matches my own as he grabs my phone out of my lifeless fingers. "What the fuck is going on? Did you have a fight?"

  "I left her in bed well-fucked," I mumble as I scratch my head trying to figure out what the fuck is happening.

  "Something happened. We'll get this shit figured out." He grabs me by the arm and drags me out through the gym floor. As we go, I see Sally Murphy-Egan standing off to the side with an excited smile on her face, and rage pours through my body.

  I shake off Derek's hand and charge over to her, staring into her shocked eyes. "Did you have something do to with this?"

  "Is there a problem?" she sweetly inquires, and my brother's hold on my arm is all that keeps me from forcefully lifting and throwing her out.

  "Get the fuck out of my gym and don't come back. Your membership is revoked!" I yell at the top of my voice.

  "You can't do that. My husband owns most of your gym." She sneers, and I look back at Derek in shock then turn back to the stupid bitch and ruin her day.

  "If that's what you believe, then your husband has been lying to you, sweetheart. He doesn't own any of this fucking gym, and he lies about most of what he actually does own. You should check your finances. All the shit you flaunt around is financed to high heaven. Now, get the fuck out." The look of pure shock and fear on her face soothes some of my fury. Her reaction has proven that she may have caused the drastic turn in my relationship. Now, I need to find Emma and fix this shit.

  Derek tracks Chelsea down, and she confirms that Sally interrupted their breakfast, demanding that Emma follow her outside. After their conversation, Emma disappeared before Chelsea could find out what Sally wanted. Sally's actions are going to cause me to lose my mind. Chelsea tries to get her family to tell her where Emma is, but they won't divulge the information.

  I wait at Emma's house for hours, but she never shows up. Her phone remains off, and my anger and panic increase by the minute. By the next morning, I'm so pissed and terrified that I contact a private detective my brother knows to find my woman. Finally, he reaches me in the late afternoon to tell me that Emma is at her brother's apartment in New York City.

  I'm not able to get a flight until the next morning, so I spend another night missing Emma. After two nights without her, I'm not sure if I want to spank her ass for this mess or hold her tight and never let go. All I know is, whatever happened, I'm going to fix this shit then tie her to me for life. I never want to experience this hell again.

  I take a taxi straight to Kevin Wolcott's address. When I ring the bell, I take a deep breath and wait for the door to open. A tall, lanky man who looks surprisingly similar to my love opens the door. "She has been cryi
ng non-stop for two days. Don't let her send you away." He pats my shoulder and then walks past me into the hall. "I'll leave you two to talk for a while, but I'll come back later to get to know you." He smiles and walks off toward the elevator.

  After closing the door, I look around the small apartment. It's easy to see this is a bachelor pad. The neat, clean area is minimal in its furnishings, with just a gray sofa and matching chair facing the big-screen television on the wall.

  I walk down the hall and come to a closed door. I knock, and my heart rate increases when Emma's tearful voice calls for me to come in.

  Her shocked eyes meet mine when I open the door and march in.

  "What…"

  "What the hell happened to make you run?" I lift her off the bed and kiss her before she can answer my question. Her taste hits my tongue, and I pull her tight against my body. My mind is telling me to grab her and run away, but I realize we need to do this right so there are no repeats of this incident.

  "We can't do this. You'll lose your gym." She cries into my chest as I hold her tight.

  Her words register in my brain, and I pull her head back and look into her eyes. "What?"

  "Norris Egan will pull his funding from your gym if we continue seeing each other." She cries and lays her head back on my chest. That bastard's lies burn through me, and I lean my head back and stare at the ceiling for a second to get myself under control.

  "Baby, look at me. Norris Egan doesn't own any fucking part of my gym. That bastard is almost flat broke. Everything the Egans own is mortgaged to the hilt."

  Her mouth falls open, and I have to hold her up when she sags against me. "He can't take your gym away?" she whispers as tears fall down her cheeks.

  "No, Derek and I own the gym outright. No one can take the gym away. And just let me tell you something. You are way more important than any fucking gym. I would choose you over the gym every fucking time. Don't ever pull this shit on me again." I touch my forehead to hers and hold her close while my heart settles back into my chest. "Now, let's have a seat so you can tell why Sally Murphy-Egan is such a pain in the ass."

  I lead her to the living room because, after two nights without my baby's body, the bed is too tempting to resist with us in the same room.

  Emma tells me the story of her friendship with Sally Murphy that started in sixth grade and lasted until tenth grade when they both made dance squad. Sally was jealous that Emma was voted co-lead and asked Emma to turn down the position. When Emma refused, Sally started to make Emma's life difficult. It all came to a head over uniforms, of all things. Emma was in charge of making sure their uniforms were ready before a big competition. She accidentally switched two uniform pieces, and Sally wore someone else's outfit. The skirt was a little too big for Sally, and when she did a big turn, the skirt came loose and fell down her legs during the competition.

  Sally swore that Emma made the switch on purpose to embarrass her because Sally always thought Emma was jealous of her. No matter how many times Emma apologized afterward, Sally has held a grudge and has taken every opportunity to exact revenge for the one stupid mistake.

  "Having me thrown off of the dance squad and teasing me the entire rest of our time in high school wasn't enough for her. She won't give up." Emma leans her head on my shoulder as I run my fingers through her soft, silky hair.

  "This shit's going to end when we get home," I promise as I stand and lift Emma to throw her over my shoulder before carrying her back to the bedroom. "Now, I'm going to reacquaint myself with your gorgeous body."

  When I drop her on the bed, she bounces a couple of times, then I grab her tiny shorts and underwear and pull them from her body. The sight of her shaved pussy causes my dick to strain against my zipper, and I groan from the pinch. Her pebbled nipples are pressing up against the thin material of her t-shirt, and I lean down and suck the little points through the fabric. The shirt is an obstacle that irritates me, so I shred it down the middle and fling it to the side and continue my assault on her tasty little nipples.

  She reaches between us and lowers the zipper of my jeans, and I almost faint from relief when her soft fingers caress my swollen shaft. Her thumb starts rubbing circles around my sensitive head, and I bite down on her flesh. "Fuck, I have to have you now." I don't even bother to remove my jeans; I just push them down below my nuts and sink into her wet center.

  As her folds embrace my rigid cock in tight heat, I throw my head back and lose control, impaling her repeatedly until her little pussy convulses around my dick while hot fluid runs down my balls. She screams my name and digs her nails into my back. Her orgasm triggers mine, and I shout as the cum erupts from my pulsating cock. We slide off the bed in a tangle of limbs and my wet jeans, and I narrowly manage to turn so she lands on top of me.

  "God, I missed you," Emma says breathily against my chest as she lies on top of me. My dick jumps in her warm, wet pussy, and I groan as her inner muscles ripple around my flesh.

  "Fuck, don't ever try to leave me again. I will spank your ass." I slowly start to lift my hips as she groans and circles her hips on top of me. My erection is fully loaded again, and she pushes her hips down to meet my upward thrusts. Wet slapping sounds fill the room as it only takes a few thrusts while I rub her little clit before she spasms again and I fill her tiny cunt with another round of cum.

  Kevin Wolcott turns out to be a great guy. He doesn't hold his sister's tears against me, and we get the whole Sally Murphy-Egan episode out in the open. He even promises to come to visit us in Poston on his next vacation.

  Chapter 6

  Ethan

  When we get home, I have a critical business meeting to attend. I arrange for Derek to accompany me to Egan Holdings for a little get together with Norris Egan. My good friend, Josh Temple, is a well-known financial consultant, and he is more than happy to help me get an appointment with the unsuspecting Norris. The three of us arrive at Norris' office, and his shocked face tells me his wife hasn't let him in on her little troublemaking scheme.

  "Norris, we're going to have a little discussion. Sit the fuck down and listen carefully," I start off when he rises behind his desk. "Your cunt of a wife has been torturing my fiancée for a long time, and that shit stops now." He resembles a fish as his mouth opens and closes repeatedly, but I continue. "I can buy and sell you several times over, and my friend here, Mr. Temple, owns several of your loans. If your bitch of a wife opens her mouth one more time, you will both find yourselves homeless, jobless, and living on the streets without anyone who will even give you scraps. Is that clear enough for you?"

  "Look, there's been some miscommunication…" He tries to defend the bitch, but I want this shit taken care of today.

  "Get your wife here now," I demand, cutting him off. As he picks up the phone and dials, Josh looks around and shakes his head at me.

  A few minutes later, Sally strolls through the door and comes to a dead stop when she sees the three of us standing in the office.

  "Sally, I'm going to repeat myself so you can hear what I just told your husband. If you mess with my fiancée in any way whatsoever, I will personally bankrupt the both of you. Since your husband has the business sense of a raccoon, it won't take much. I promise you'll be homeless, jobless, and living on the streets. Norry boy can tell you how easily I can keep that promise, so don't fuck with me."

  Her face loses all color as she turns to her husband for confirmation. "Norris, are you going to let him talk to me like that?" Her shrill voice makes me wince.

  "Shut up, before you piss him off more, you dumb bitch," he hisses, and she jumps back with her hand on her chest.

  "Last warning," I call over my shoulder as Derek, Josh, and I walk out of the office. We can hear Sally's shouts at the elevator as Norris is explaining their real situation to the fucking bitch. As long as they stay out of my life, I don't care how he handles his fucked-up situation.

  Emma

  I can't believe Ethan forgave me for the whole Sally incident. I don't kno
w how he managed it, but she's now terrified of me. I saw her at the grocery store the other day, and when she spotted me, she left her whole cart full of groceries and rushed out of the store like her ass was on fire.

  Tonight, my mom and Aunt Maureen are coming to dinner to meet Ethan. I had dinner with his brother and Grammy last Friday, and things went smoothly, so the time has come to expose him to the terrible two. He listened to me complain about the torture I went through with the baby shower from hell last Sunday. My family tends to turn any celebration into an event from hell.

  The doorbell rings, and my heart drops. Here goes nothing. Ethan kisses my cheek as he walks by to get the door, and I close my eyes to try to relax.

  "Oh my God, Edna, he is handsome. Bet he is good. Umm." My Aunt Maureen hits shoulders with my mom, and I want to die of embarrassment.

  "Nice to meet you." Ethan holds out his hand, but both women hug him instead. When he turns and winks then mouths, "I'm superb," I have to contain my laugh and instead stick my tongue out at him. As he walks by, he whispers in my ear, "I'll give you something to do with that tongue after they leave."

  "Promise?" I whisper back then he nods and winks dramatically.

  The rest of the dinner passes in a blur. Ethan manages to charm the socks off of both Aunt Maureen and Mom. They laugh and joke with him like they've known him forever. At the end of the night, while they are walking to the door, Aunt Maureen turns to Ethan and asks, "So, Ethan, are you going to make an honest woman out of my niece or do you plan to keep living in sin? I just need to know if I need to go get more ones for the prayer candles at church on Sunday."

  "Aunt Maureen!" I screech, but Ethan holds his hand up to me and turns to her.

  "Aunt Maureen, don't worry. She'll be an honest woman before you go to church next Sunday." All three of us women turn shocked eyes toward him, and my Mom starts stuttering.