by Nicky Shanks
He nods. “Okay, yeah…that’s good. Any suggestions on the restaurant?”
I shake my head. “Maybe Dilaggio’s or something fancy like that. Plus, I know Julie loves the chocolate cake there, so it’s safe to assume Staci does, too.”
He accepts all of my suggestions and makes a sour face. “Okay, thanks for the help. I know it’s not the best place or time, but I didn’t know when else to ask, really. I assume that you’ll be seeing Julie sooner than I will, so maybe you should mention this to her.”
My eyes narrow. “I thought you wanted to be the one to tell her?”
“I do. I just never see her anymore, so maybe you should tell her.”
I snicker and place my palms on the cold table, lifting my body up to stand. He doesn’t bother joining me because he already knows I’m saying no. “You’re the one dating her friend—you’re the one who gets to tell her. What are you so afraid of? It’s not like she’s going to care.”
Randy groans. “She may care that I’m considerably older than her friend.”
I walk around the table, put my hand on the doorknob, and twist it. Before I leave him alone in a room full of his own wicked thoughts…I stop and think about what kind of man Julie would want me to be in this situation. After all, she’s the expert on creating a better version of me.
“If you think Julie will be upset about something like that, you don’t know her at all. She’s going to embrace the fact that you and Staci are happy and she’ll be happy. I still think you should be the one to tell her, but don’t wait too long. She’ll kill me for keeping this from her.”
“Hey,” he calls me back before I walk through the now open door, “you’re good for her. I know I haven’t always shown you the respect you deserve, but now I see it. You really love her.”
I nod. “She’s everything to me. No questions asked, no explanations needed.”
He smiles, but I leave him behind before he can say something that will make us both more uncomfortable. The truth is, I don’t mind Randy that much. He’s protective over his sister and that’s admirable, because I’m also protective of her. Maybe a little bit more, if I’m being honest.
I have to protect her.
My Julie.
Chapter Two
Oliver
I’d like to say that I went home and had the best sleep of my life—that I picked Julie up the next day and we shared our hearts and our secrets, breaking all the rules and vowing that we’d never make another rule again in our lives. I’d like to say everything around us was like silk in the wind and the scent of her strawberry shampoo kind of amazing…that we ran off into the moment and never lost sight of anything ever again.
Well, maybe a week ago I would’ve said all of that.
Now…it’s the day before Halloween and I miss her more than I’ve ever missed her before.
She’s not far away—she’s been staying with Randy, trying to mend their relationship. She’s been keeping in touch with me; she calls me at least five times a day and tells me she’s coming home soon. She promises me that nothing’s changed and she just needs time with her family. So, now as far as I know she’s been going to her classes and pretending like nothing ever happened.
Even me.
I’ve barely heard from her these past few days, though. I’ve let her have her space, but this is too fucking much. What about me? I need her just as much as she needs the space, and it’s hard not to be selfish.
But…I want her back now.
It’s raining so hard that I can barely see the road in front of me when I pull the car out of the parking garage of my apartment. All I’ve thought about for the past nine days is when Julie is coming back; I haven’t been worried about finding a replacement Jeep for the one I’ve totaled at all. I want that to be something Julie and I do together; I want to give her everything I can, and she needs a car of her own. Julie is independent and strong now—she deserves to have her own things.
“Fuck,” I mutter and turn on the wiper blades as far up as they’ll go. I make sure my seat belt is on just in case Julie gets into the car. She’ll give me that hard look she gets when I do something she doesn’t approve of.
I’d give anything for that look right now.
My heart races the entire drive to Randy’s house. I make sure to drive as carefully as I can so I make it there this time in one piece; I don’t need anything else putting stress on her. I already lost control in the rain once and nearly died…I’m not acting a fool and ending up like that again.
When I park outside the house, something keeps me in the car. It takes a few minutes to clear my head and focus on a single thought, but the one I come up with is so fucking genius that it even surprises me.
I know what to do.
The rain hurts my skin as I bolt from the car and jog up the pathway to the front door. I’m already soaked when I reach the entrance and hit the bell three times frantically, followed by several loud booming knocks on the door itself. It doesn’t take long for the lights to come on, and then I’m blinded by the overhead front door light.
Clyde’s wild red hair comes into view first. It’s only been a little over six months since I’ve seen him last and he’s grown at least four inches taller. His snide smirk, however, hasn’t changed.
“What do you want?” he snarls.
The smile that spreads across my face annoys him even more. I think hard about how our conversation went the first time we met—when I picked up Julie for the first time and everything changed. I want it to go back to that so desperately, I think that I can recreate the moment and recharge all of it.
“I’m here for Julie?”
He shakes his head, confused. “Uh, okay?”
He’s not getting it, but that’s okay. Julie will understand what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to reenact the first time I picked her up from this house and Clyde answered the door. I thought it was a perfect plan until the frown on his face puts it into a whole new perspective.
“Can you just get Julie?” My voice shakes.
The door slams in my face.
Okay, that didn’t go like I planned it in my head.
The door opens again and Randy stands in the doorway. “She’s in the pool house.” He nods and smiles at me. “Packing her things.”
“Where’s she going?” I hear the panic in my voice over the steady rain still falling around me. “Tell me she’s coming home.”
He shrugs his shoulders. “You’re welcome to come through the house…you’re soaked and need to get dry and warm—”
“—I don’t give a shit, I want to see her.”
He sighs and looks up at the sky; the rain pings on his glasses and he wipes the fat drops away with his fingers. “Oliver, it’s cold and raining. Come inside and dry off.”
I run down the stairs, and even though my pants and sweater are drenched and I’m freezing cold, I make it to the pool house door and try the handle. It’s locked, so I start banging my fists on the cold surface as hard as I can before I start to lose my breath.
Her lights turn on and my heart nearly beats from my chest.
Fuck the rules.
All except for rule number four: I’m not going to destroy my own happiness.
Wait. I changed that rule.
Rule Number Four: There are no more rules.
All is fair in love and…whatever else there is that doesn’t matter.
Now I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep her.
Nothing’s going to get in my way ever again.
“Oliver?” She says my name before she opens the door. I can barely hear her over the rain, but it’s there…and it’s all for me. The rain soaks my body and I gasp for air as she opens the door and I put my hands on the doorframe. “What’s wrong?”
I say nothing and reach for her, pulling her quickly against my wet body. My cold, rain-soaked sweater instantly freezes the both of us as I press her against me as flush as I can.
I fucking miss her.
“Come inside,” she says into my chest as I hold her. “You need to get out of those clothes.”
“I don’t want to come in; I want to go home.”
She gently tugs on my arm and pulls me into the warm pool house, shutting the door behind us. I tower over her—which sends shockwaves straight to my dick already—but I’ve never seen her this intense and sexy. My eyes lock on the bright blue fireballs of her eyes and I don’t notice the dozens of small moving boxes littering the room for a few seconds.
She blushes when she notices the break in my gaze. “I started gathering my things so I can bring them home with you.”
I instantly sweep her into my arms and the wetness of my sweater seeps into hers even more. My lips are cold and dripping wet, but that doesn’t stop me from pressing them against hers. Our lips stick together for what seems like hours before my fingers find the bottom of my sweater and I pull it off, throwing it on the floor next to us. She sucks her bottom lip into her mouth as her eyes trail down my chest and stomach. Her gaze lands on my side, where a light scar lives after I had my stitches removed.
“I’m all better now,” I say in a low, raspy voice. “Don’t worry about me.”
Her finger runs over the scar and I tremble when her touch leaves my skin. The tips of my fingers find her hair and they take down the long braid running down her back, letting the tresses run free for me to glide through. When my lips reach her neck—the most sensitive place on her body—she tenses her muscles and her body vibrates underneath my weight.
“I want our lives back on track,” I whisper as my fingers find the bottom of her soft, pink sweater. “Let’s go back to the cabin before we move into the new house.” She struggles finding her voice underneath my spell. “You have finals coming up, right?”
She licks her lips. “Monday.”
I moan into her neck and look down into her eyes. “That gives us three days to shut ourselves into the apartment. We can eat chocolate chip ice cream all day long in bed.”
“What about Halloween? It’s tomorrow.” She giggles as my fingers play with the small area of exposed skin on her stomach.
“We can hand out candy at the new house if you want.” I feel the wickedness of the grin that pops onto my mouth. “We have some christening to do in that place anyway.”
She blushes. “Just how much are you thinking? A few rooms?”
I run my hands up her sides and lift the sweater from her body, making damn sure my thumbs rub against the sides of her tits as they pass them. A heat wave rushes through my body once I realize that she’s not wearing a bra, and it’s like opening the best gift I could ever fucking ask for.
She’s vulnerable and perfect and she’s all for me.
Her fingers search for the metal clasp of my jeans; she swiftly unbuttons them and tugs both sides of the open jeans closer to her. I watch her lips open and close and it’s making me so hard that it starts to hurt from how fucking badly I want her.
“Doesn’t your leg still hurt?” She frowns and kisses the wet fabric of my jeans at my kneecap. “It hasn’t been the full six weeks yet; are you healed enough to be not going to physical therapy?”
I snort. “I’ve never been to physical therapy, why start now? I’m fine, baby, don’t worry about me.”
Her body travels back up against mine. “I have class tomorrow,” she whispers against my lips. “I think we should just stay here—in the pool house—tonight, don’t you?”
I can’t fucking think about anything except the wet thickness of her lips and how badly I want them around my dick right now.
Jesus. Get a grip, Oliver. Focus on her words, not her perfectly round, C-cup tits staring you in the eye and wondering why your lips aren’t on them.
I can’t fucking focus.
What’s wrong with me? I can’t stop thinking about her…like, at all.
She presses her lips onto mine and starts lightly sucking them together. I kick my jeans off with little effort since she’s already stretched them out as she teased me. My boxer briefs come down with my jeans and my hard-on presses against her leggings; the soft material drives me wild.
With one swoop, I gently pick her up and place her on the sofa in a sitting position; I lean down in front of her, completely unfazed by being totally naked. My hands run up her legs and I find the waistline of her leggings, gently tugging them toward her feet. She giggles and wiggles her toes in the air as I kiss the bare flesh of her thighs and get closer to the soft flesh of her sweet spot. I feel her legs tense and then tremble and I smile into her flesh, amused that I’m making her squirm more than she can handle.
“You do know I was coming back, right?” she asks as I nibble on her inner thigh. “I wasn’t going to stay here forever.”
I nod. “I know, I just don’t like being away from you for that long.”
In my defense, she was recently kidnapped by my mother and her disgusting, drug-fueled boyfriend and held for ransom. I grunt and pull off her black lace panties, throwing them to the side. “It’s my job to keep you safe.”
“Even from you?” She winks and giggles as I sit on the sofa and pull her on top of me, her clear blue eyes trying to find mine. My eyes are glued on her collarbone—my favorite thing to press my lips against on her entire body—and I let out a satisfied sigh.
“Even from me.” I smile, letting it creep fully across my lips. “Who’s going to protect me from you, though?”
She acts offended and I grip the flesh of the sides above her ass and squeeze. “Protect you from me? I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”
I groan. “Oh, but I’m sure you do.”
“What do you need protection from?”
“How much you completely fucking slay me.” The laugh that escapes her mouth fuels the fire in my body. No matter how much I tried to fight it at first, I’m the luckiest man in the entire damn world. The woman sitting naked in my lap is the best thing any man could ever dream of.
Being with her is just so…simple.
She doesn’t care about the materialistic things in life, which attracts me to her more. I don’t care if her nails are done each week or if her hair is perfectly shaped around her face. That’s how I know love truly lives within us; I look at her and see past what isn’t there to get to the part of her I really crave.
Her heart.
My hard-on thickens underneath her weight, so she shifts a little to give me some breathing room. The grip her legs have on my thighs tightens. My eyes narrow and the air is so still it’s hard to catch my breath from the thoughts running around my mind.
“I know a lot of people don’t understand what we have…” Some of my fingers find her face and rub against her jawline. “…and sometimes even we don’t understand it, either. I just know that I’ll never love anyone like I love you. You were made for me, and I belong to you. I don’t care what you do to me—I’ll always be yours.”
I don’t give her time to say anything; I pick her up and lower her onto my pulsating dick. I slide into her warm flesh with ease and for once she doesn’t mention anything about condoms or protection because we both know it’s too easy to see our future together to even care about those things.
I know she’s my future.
The rules aren’t part of our future.
We’ve thrown those out of the window.
All is fair in love and war now.
Chapter Three
Julie
My thighs tighten around Oliver’s legs as he moans and throws his head back in pleasure. His hands slide up my back and then back down, gripping my ass so he can hold me into place while he thrusts harder into me. Somehow, my fingers get twisted in his hair and I tug a little to make him moan louder.
“I fucking love you, Julie,” he whispers as he pulls me closer to him. The space between us disappears and our bodies are flush tightly against each other. “I never want to live without you.”
I pull his face upward so our eyes can meet. The sadness that c
onsumes him makes it hard for me to breathe. He slows his thrusts and we drink each other in without caring that we were just going at it like animals. My lips find his and I lock them together as tightly as I can. His arms slide around my back and lock me into a bear hug and he buries his face into my hair.
“I want you, Oliver. Only you,” I whisper, feeling his lips find my collarbone and his hips start bucking me softly up and down again. “There’s no one in this world that compares to you. No one I’d want more…you’re my best friend.”
A fire lights in his eyes and he pushes harder into me, tipping my head back so he can glide his lips over my breasts. They suction around my left nipple first and I keep my head tilted so I can moan into the air without startling him. He palms both breasts and his breath is ragged and hot against my skin.
I don’t even realize he’s lifted both of us up until I feel the soft mattress of my bed underneath me. He gently lays me down and locks our lips together, never pulling out from inside of me for a second. Our lips are raw and red when we part and he bucks into me with such force that I have to grip the comforter to keep myself on the bed.
Explosions.
The last moan that escapes my throat is primal and so loud that I don’t hear someone knocking on the door of the pool house. Oliver quickly kisses my lips and smiles down at me, looking at the door and alerting me that someone’s out there, wanting in.
“Don’t get dressed.” He laughs as I try to focus on reality. “I’m not done with you yet, baby.”
I blush and cover myself with the comforter the best I can. I’m suddenly very aware of how completely naked I am and how much of me he can see. “Who is it?” I gulp as he peeks out of the window next to the door.
He glares back at me, shaking his head. “It’s Staci. Were you meeting her?”
I shake my head. “No, she must’ve just wanted to stop by. She knows I’ve been staying here.”
