Loyal Heir

by Michelle Heard

  When we get home, things I’ve taken for granted scream at me for attention.

  The pristine grounds of Trinity Academy.

  The luxury I’ve always taken as a given.

  The love I’ve always been surrounded by.

  God, I’m so blessed. Thank you for not taking it away from me.

  Forest and I are avoiding elevators and sticking to climbing stairs. It’s a fear we’ll deal with in the future, but right now, I’ll lose my mind if I have to step into that box. Walking into the suite, we come to a sudden halt. All our friends yell, “Welcome home!”

  A huge smile spreads over my face at the celebration they put together. There’s even a banner stretching across the bay windows.

  We hug everyone, and then Jase says, “I’m too young to die of a heart attack. The two of you are banned from ever going to San Francisco again.”

  I let out a chuckle. “Trust me, that won’t be an issue.”

  Hunter comes to wrap his arm around my shoulders, and his eyes scan over me. “You’re okay, right?”

  I nod at my big brother. “Yeah.”

  He hugs me to his chest and presses a kiss to the top of my head, then he murmurs, “Love you.”

  I grin up at him. “Love you, too.”

  Our friends ordered food, and we spend the day just hanging with them while stuffing our faces.

  Carla’s been quiet, though, and as soon as I’m able to pull her aside, I ask, “Are you okay?”

  She shakes her head and wraps her arms around me. “I think I died a thousand deaths while waiting to hear that you and Forest had been rescued.”

  I tighten my hold on her. “We’re here now.”

  “I know. It was just a little traumatizing.”

  “You know,” Noah suddenly says, “you’re both very lucky escaping with so few injuries.”

  I frown at him, which has him explaining, “I’ve looked at the statistics for elevator accidents, and the survival rate is actually poor.”

  “Noah!” Carla snaps. “Seriously? Keep that shit to yourself.”

  “He’s right, though,” Forest says, and his gaze rests warmly on me. “We’re lucky. I, for one, will never take anything for granted again.”

  “Yeah, me too,” I agree as I walk to him. Standing on my toes, I frame his jaw with my hands, and I press a kiss to his mouth. “Especially my time with you.”

  “Are you guys finally a ‘real’ couple now?” Fallon asks.

  Grinning, I turn to our friends. “Yeah.”

  After everyone’s left, I go to my bedroom to grab clean clothes, then head to Forest’s room. When I walk inside, I find him sitting on the edge of his bed. His thoughts seem miles away.

  I go stand in front of him, and set my clothes down on the mattress before I take hold of his hand. “Want me to help you shower and get ready for bed?”

  A slow smile spreads over his face. “Definitely.”

  I pull him up, and once we’re in the bathroom, I shut the door behind us. Forest turns to look at me, and tilting his head, he says, “Don’t freak out when you see my chest. Okay? It’s not as bad as it looks.”

  Lifting my hands, I begin to unbutton his shirt. I pay special attention to carefully pull the fabric over the cast. As I drop the material to the floor, I bring my eyes to the dark bruises on his left side.

  I stare until my eyes blur. Lifting my gaze to Forest, I say, “Thank you for keeping me safe.”

  The corner of his mouth lifts as a loving look warms his features. “Without a doubt, I’d die for you.”

  His words make my chin tremble. “I want you to live for me.”

  I meet Forest halfway for a sweet kiss before I continue undressing him. There’s nothing sexual about this moment.

  After talking with Forest while we were stuck in the elevator about the real horror of my failed relationship with Eli, I feel super self-conscious.

  Forest lifts his right hand to my face, and placing a finger beneath my chin, he nudges me to look at him. “I love all of you. Take off your clothes, Aria.”

  I swallow nervously but undress. When I kick my pants to the side, I reach into the shower and turn on the water. Highly aware that Forest is staring at me, I begin to ramble, “You should stand with your left side away from the spray. We can’t get your cast wet.”

  When I take a step closer to the shower, Forest takes hold of my arm. “Look at me.”

  I hesitate for a moment but swallowing my anxiety back, I glance up at him.

  He shakes his head. “Look at what the sight of your body does to me.”

  My gaze drops to his pelvis, and seeing that he’s hard makes the same intense sensation from when we made love ripple through my abdomen.

  Forest steps closer to me until our bodies touch, and I can feel his cock pressing against my stomach. His eyes drift over my face, and I can see his love for me clearly shining in his eyes.

  Lifting his right hand, he brushes his knuckles over the side of my breast. “You bring out every emotion in me. I want to tuck you inside my heart, where I can always keep you safe. I want to love you until there’s no doubt in your mind about my feelings for you.”

  I jut out my bottom lip as I begin to swoon for this man in front of me.

  He cups my cheek. “Aria…” he pauses for a moment, and it makes my name sound like an answered prayer, “I want to worship your body until you believe me when I say you’re the sexiest and most beautiful being in the universe.”

  Pushing up on my toes, I press my mouth to Forest’s. His lips part for me, and I get to taste him again as my tongue brushes over his.

  It feels like years have passed since I got to kiss him like this.

  Chapter 26

  FOREST

  Aria pulls me into the shower, and I watch as she squirts some body wash on a loofah. She works it into a lather and then starts washing my right shoulder. There’s a look of wonder on her face as her hand moves over my body.

  “I could get used to this,” I say, a grin on my face.

  “Yeah?” She gives me a mischievous look. “At least, for the next six weeks, I’ll take good care of my man.”

  “Yeah? Your man?” I lift an eyebrow and watch as surprise ripples over her face as she realizes what she just said.

  Then she nods. “Yes.” Our eyes meet. “You’re mine.”

  I lift my right hand to her face and brush my knuckles from her temple to her chin. “I’ve always been yours.”

  With my body still in recovery mode, we can’t have sex, which is pretty frustrating right now. It doesn’t stop my cock from standing up and paying attention to the breathtaking sight of Aria’s breasts and pussy on full display. It’s the longest I’ve been able to look at her body.

  “Fuck, my ribs better heal at the speed of light,” I grumble.

  “They’ll be healed in six weeks,” Aria reminds me as she moves down my legs with the loofah.

  “Yeah, but I’m not going to last six weeks without fucking you,” I complain.

  Aria glances up at me and seeing her face so close to my cock, sure as fuck isn’t helping.

  “We’ll figure something out once you’re better. Let’s just give your body a week to heal, at least,” Aria replies as she climbs back to her feet. “I can be on top, and you don’t have to move a muscle.” She scrunches her nose. “Well, maybe one muscle.”

  “I really like the sound of that.” I lean back against the tiles and watch as she washes herself. There are bruises scattered over her skin, serving as a reminder of what we lived through.

  The moment feels intimate, as if we’ve finally made the final part of our journey from friends to lovers.

  When Aria turns off the water, she first pats me dry then wipes the drops from her body. She’s so attentive to my needs – it makes me feel loved in a way I’ve never experienced before. I can’t take my eyes away from her.

  After we’re dressed, Aria pulls me to the bed and waits for me to lie down. “I’m going to get your
pain meds and a cold compress.”

  She darts out of the room and returns seconds later. I take the pain pills and swallow them down with some water, and then she presses the cold compress to my ribs. “Can you hold it for a moment? I want to turn off the lights.”

  I place my hand over the ice pack until Aria crawls into bed on my right side, and she places her hand over mine. “I’ve got it.”

  My chest aches as I carefully turn onto my right side, but it’s nothing compared to the pain I felt while we were stuck in the elevator.

  “Rest your left arm between us,” Aria whispers as she adjusts the cold compress over my ribs. I push my right arm under the pillow and let my left arm lie between our chests.

  We stare at each other even though we can’t see much with the lights off.

  “I love you, Aria,” I whisper.

  She leans forward and presses a kiss to my lips. “I love you, Forest.”

  We bask in the emotions flowing between us, and I wait a couple of minutes before I ask, “Things were intense and disorientating in the elevator. Can we talk about what happened with you and Eli?”

  She leans her head down and presses a kiss to my left hand. “Okay.”

  “Do you want to tell me everything from the start, or would it make it easier for you if I asked questions?” I ask, wanting to help her to open up to me.

  “Thinking back,” she whispers, keeping her mouth near my hand. I know she’s hiding her face from me, but this conversation can’t be easy for her, so I don’t mention it. “I can’t remember what I saw in Eli. He’s an asshole.”

  “Glad we can agree on that,” I mutter.

  “I guess I just wanted to fall in love, and Eli was a charmer. The first couple of days, things went well, but then he started pushing me to have sex. Everyone was doing it, and I didn’t want to be the odd one out.”

  She takes a couple of breaths. “It was my first time, and it hurt a lot. He got angry, saying it was a turn-off.”

  That fucker.

  It’s hard to just lie here and listen. Anger begins to simmer in my chest, and needing to touch her, I push my right arm under her neck so I can hold her to me. I press my mouth to her hair so I’ll keep quiet.

  “He started pulling away after that. I went to his house thinking we could hang out, but then I walked in on him and Taytum having sex. They saw me but kept going until they both orgasmed.” Aria pauses for a moment before she continues, “I should’ve left, but I couldn’t bring myself to move. While he compared her body to mine, she enjoyed every second, moaning like a damn porn star. It was humiliating.”

  When a couple of seconds pass, I say, “Look at me, Aria.”

  She lifts her head, and her eyes shine like polished stones in the dark.

  “When I got to undress you, it felt like I was unwrapping the best gift of my life. To me, you’re so fucking womanly, it was near impossible for me to hold back and to not just dominate you. I want to fucking conquer every inch of you. That’s a side only you bring out of me. I’ve never felt anything as intense as when I got to make love to you.”

  “And you made me orgasm twice,” she says. I can hear the smile peeking through her words.

  “Yeah,” I grin at her. “Eli was an asshole who didn’t deserve you. What he did to you is emotional and mental abuse.”

  ARIA

  It’s weird how you hear and read about emotional and mental abuse, but you never think it could happen to you. You can’t accept it might have already happened.

  “I never thought about it like that,” I admit to Forest.

  “No one has the right to degrade another.” Feeling his arm around me and being surrounded by his scent gives me so much comfort. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you or your body. Okay?”

  I nod even though I know it will take time before I’ll feel comfortable in my own skin.

  “Say it,” Forest murmurs.

  “There’s nothing wrong with me.”

  “Aria,” he whispers as his head lowers to mine, “Even with broken ribs, I’m hard for you.”

  A smile spreads over my face.

  Lifting my hand to his face, I rest my palm against his jaw as I whisper, “I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m so thankful you’re mine.”

  I press my mouth to Forest’s, and I kiss him as if I might lose him.

  I almost did.

  Thank you for not taking him from me.

  The kiss is tender and profound, our tongues and lips taking their time to explore, to taste, to caress.

  I feel Forest wince, and I break the kiss. “You need to rest now.” I move my hand to his hair and lightly pull my fingers through the stands. “G’night, Forest.”

  “Night, babe,” he murmurs as he presses my face into the crook of his neck.

  Feeling claustrophobic and struggling to breathe, I gasp as I shoot up in bed.

  It’s the first nightmare I’ve had since we were rescued. Lifting a hand to my brow, I just inhale until the dream fades.

  I feel Forest’s hand on my back. “Nightmare?”

  Nodding, I lie back down. “Yeah. Sorry, I woke you.”

  “You didn’t,” he murmurs.

  Turning my head to him, I ask, “Why are you awake then?”

  “I can’t find a comfortable position,” he admits.

  Knowing Mila suffered a similar injury, I scoot off the bed.

  “Where are you going?” Forest asks.

  “To check with Mila.” I slip out of the room and softly knock on Mila’s door. She doesn’t answer, and I hate waking her. Pushing the door open, I walk to the side of the bed and grin when I see Jase holding her.

  “Jase,” I whisper, shaking his shoulder.

  His eyes open instantly. “What’s wrong?”

  “Forest’s ribs. How did Mila sleep?”

  “Like she’s sleeping now, with her hurt side resting on top of me. Let Forest use you as a body pillow.”

  “Thank you.” I smile down at him. “Sorry I woke you.”

  “No worries,” he murmurs.

  Leaving the room, I shut the door softly and then dart back to Forest. When I’ve closed our door, I climb on the bed and lie on my back. “Jase says you should use me as a body pillow. Mila’s draped over his side.”

  “I like Jase’s advice,” Forest grins.

  I pull one of the pillows out from under us and wait for Forest to position his left side over me, and then I place the pillow between his cast and my body.

  He snuggles his face into my neck. “Mhh… so much better.”

  A smile forms around my lips as I wrap my arms around his neck, and I place my hand behind his head. Pressing a kiss to his hair, I whisper, “Sleep, baby. I’ve got you.”

  I lie awake as Forest’s breaths grow shallow. I want to hug him tightly to me, but I have to force myself to lie still.

  We totally oversleep and don’t wake up until eleven. I have to hurry to dress myself and Forest. I watch him drink his coffee before I hand him his painkillers.

  When we finally leave the suite, we take the stairs down to the lobby. I keep my pace slow because Forest still gets winded quickly.

  Reaching my car, I open the door for him, and after he’s taken a seat, I carefully pull the seatbelt over his chest and clip it in. “How’s that?”

  He smiles at me. “I’m good.”

  I shut the passenger door and rush over to the driver’s side. Steering the car away from the campus and in the direction of Uncle Lake’s house, I say, “Using me as a body pillow seemed to work. Right?”

  “Oh yeah. I slept like the dead,” Forest answers. “Thanks, babe.”

  Reaching Uncle Lake’s house, I pull up the driveway and park behind Dad’s car.

  Before I get to open the passenger door, Uncle Lake comes flying out of the house. I help Forest out and then turn to Uncle Lake for a big hug. He lifts me off my feet and murmurs, “God, I aged a million years.”

  When he lets go of me, he’s c
areful while hugging Forest, then he stands back and smiles at us. “I’m glad my babies are back home.”

  I take Uncle Lake’s hand, and leaning my cheek against his shoulder, I pull a cute face. “I’m hungry.”

  And just like that, the emotional moment fades, and he drags me into the house with a chuckling Forest right behind us.

  Aunt Lee has seriously prepared a feast. All my favorite Korean cuisine lies spread out over the dining room table.

  Dad’s already stuffing an eggroll into his mouth. I go to hug him and say, “Missed you, Daddy.”

  I’ve always been a daddy’s girl, and I’ll probably still be one in fifty years.

  I load a plate with food for Forest and me, and while we catch up with our loved ones, I make sure he eats.

  As mom and Aunt Layla come into the dining room, they pause, and then Mom croons, “Look at our babies, Layla.”

  “God, we’re going to have gorgeous grandkids.”

  “Whoa…” My eyes widen. “If you’re lucky, you’ll get grandchildren in ten years.”

  “Fifteen,” Dad jumps in.

  Mom scowls at him. “You had me pregnant at nineteen, so shush.”

  A smile sneaks around my lips. Watching my parents, I hope that’s Forest and me in twenty years.

  Chapter 27

  FOREST

  It’s been a week since the earthquake, and Aria and I have settled into a new routine. We orbit each other like the sun and the moon, her light filling every corner of my soul.

  I watch as she cuts my steak into tiny pieces, and lifting my hand, I tuck some of her hair behind her ear. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

  She grins at me. “I love it.”

  “Hey, guys,” Kennedy suddenly says, and she takes a seat next to Aria. Apprehension pours through my body until she says, “Aria, I want to apologize. I wasn’t aware you and Forest were dating for real. I never would’ve come on to him had I known.”

  The same relief washing over Aria’s features fills my chest.