by Em Taylor
“In what way am I brave?”
“Being able to say you love me. I’ve loved you for ages, but I’ve never had the balls to come out and say it.”
“You do?”
“Of course, I do.”
She let out a long breath. “Good then.”
THE EASTER WEEKEND was amazing. I loved Maureen, Fraser, and Jonas Kendrick, and they seemed to take to me well enough. On Saturday night, we went to the pub and met quite a few of Lacey’s school friends. I spent most of the night pulling her hands away from her face as she hid from one embarrassing story after another.
As expected, Lacey slept in her old bedroom, and I was given the guest room with a double bed. However, on Saturday night, a tipsy, pyjama-clad Lacey crept into my room and lifted the covers.
She slipped into the bed, and I turned to her. “What are you doing?”
“Coming to say goodnight.”
“Lace, your Dad will shoot my balls off.”
“No, he won’t. He’s all bluster. I need a cuddle.”
I sighed. “A short one, missy. You’re drunk.”
“You’re nice and warm.” She pushed her hand down the pyjama bottoms I’d had the foresight to pack.
Welcome though her hand was, I uncurled her fingers from my hardening dick and pulled it away. “No Lacey. Not in your parents’ house.”
“What were you thinking about that’s getting you all hard?” she asked, suspicion in her voice.
“Fucking you.”
“Oh.”
“You’re destroying my good intentions,” I said rolling her onto her back and hovering above her, pinning her arms at the side of her head. “But neither of us are getting our hole tonight.”
“No?”
I ground my growing erection against her pyjama-clad pussy.
“No, but I am going to make you wish you hadn’t come in here.”
“Never,” she whispered as I dropped my head and brushed my lips to the side of her throat before peppering little kisses along her jawline, causing her to wriggle under me. I held her in place and captured her lips, my tongue seeking hers immediately. I deepened the kiss, pouring every ounce of the love I had admitted to her the night before into it.
When I pulled out of the kiss, we were both breathless and panting. I let go of Lacey’s wrists, surreptitiously checking them to ensure, in my enthusiasm, I hadn’t gripped her too tightly.
Rolling over and pulling her on top of me, I smoothed her hair, stroking her back and making shushing noises. It was all either of us were getting because I was kicking her out in five minutes.
At least, I had intended to kick her out.
Maureen Kendrick found us the next morning, clothed, but her daughter spread atop me, the covers askew, and her thigh hiding my morning wood.
Maureen cleared her throat, and Lacey nearly fell out of the bed.
“Why didn’t you say you were sleeping together?” Maureen asked, frowning.
“I ... we ... uh ...” Lacey scrambled to sit up on the bed, and I dragged the covers over my delicate situation.
“Mrs Kendrick, I would never disrespect you or your house by sleeping, I mean having sex with Lacey here. I mean, she slept in here by accident. I ... shit. Oh sorry.” I stumbled over my apology and Lacey shot me a death glare.
Maureen’s eyes twinkled, and she folded her arms.
“Lacey, darling, I thought we had brought you up to be honest and open. Good grief, you’re nearly twenty and have been seeing Rory for six months. We’re not daft. We thought maybe some girls aren’t ready, even in this day and age, so we hadn’t wanted to presume.”
“Dad won’t shoot, Rory?” Lacey said.
“Didn’t say I won’t shoot the little shit if he hurts you,” came his low voice from the hall.
We all laughed.
“I like your dad,” I said to Lacey.
“He likes you too. So do I,” said Maureen. “Come on, you better get dressed. Church starts in an hour.”
Chapter 15
Rory
WE ARRIVED AT THE BOWLING alley to meet the girls, having finished go-karting, eaten and had a couple of pints.
The girls were already there, drinks in hand. Olivia walked up to David and gave him a big smooch.
“It’s been decided that you and I should be team captains. We’ve hired two lanes.”
David looked at me then back at Olivia and shrugged. “Fine by me but Rory’s on my team.”
“Absolutely not.” Olivia placed her hands on her hips and stuck out her bottom lip. “We were here first so I get to choose first.”
“No way, you don’t get to steal my best man,” David put a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to claim me as his teammate. “You have Lacey.”
“I don’t want Lacey. She’s shit at anything sporty.”
“Well that’s nice,” Lacey muttered.
Olivia turned to her best friend “No offense, but you know you are.”
“Pick who you want. It’s only a bit of fun.” Lacey gave a heavy sigh, shrugged and took a slug of her drink.
“Good, I’m picking Rory.” Olivia crooked her finger at me, and I gave her a salute as I left David’s side. When only Lacey and a girl called Gemma were left, I leaned down to make my case to Olivia.
“It may be best to keep your maid of honour on side. Pick Lacey.”
“Yeah, I don’t want my arse hanging out of my dress on the big day because she’s taken a pair of scissors to it.” She winked at me then called Lacey’s name.
“Right guys, let’s get a kitty organised,” I said to the whole group. Going into organisation mode, allowed me to hide my glee at wangling the situation so Lacey and I were on the same team, meaning I would be spending time with her. I’d made a dreadful mistake the night I walked away from her car, and since the night I met her again in the pub, it had become even more obvious how much of a mistake I made. I never truly got her out of my head. It had always been her in my mind when I jerked off or when I fucked other women. And since I made her come, the image of her bare pussy was imprinted in my brain.
I had fucked women with every sort of landscaping down there—from a full 1970s bush to silky smooth—and I’d never paid it much heed. A pussy was a pussy. If it was warm and wet, I stuck my cock in quite happily. However, I had started to obsess about the bare, swollen piece of heaven I’d stupidly walked away from when she offered more the other night. It hadn’t seemed right because she wasn’t ready, but I would know instinctively when she was. I knew her. She was mine and she always would be. My Lacey.
LACEY CHUCKED THE BOWLING ball onto the lane with a thud, and it rolled diagonally down the lane before sinking into the gutter and eventually tottering its way down far enough to register with the machine as no score.
She turned to the team and shrugged. “Sorry. I told you I was crap.”
After Olivia took her shot and felled five pins, I took my turn and got a strike. Lacey smiled and high-fived me, but it felt like a hollow victory. I knew she was trying hard and while she’d said earlier it was only fun, I knew she was competitive too, even though she wasn’t sporty. Lacey wanted to do better and help us win.
When it came her turn again, I moved behind her. “Do you not remember anything I taught you? Loosen your elbow, let go of the ball near your ankle, and remember to turn your wrist. Let me run it through with you a couple of times before you let go.”
I held her around the waist and closed my fingers over her wrist. Her breath hitched and my dick responded. At least my shirt was pulled out of my jeans to hide the evidence.
She rolled the ball straight down the lane and earned herself a spare, and her arse nestled into my crotch for a second. I didn’t let her go as she straightened. The couple of beers were making me daring tonight.
“Your arse still fits perfectly against my cock, just like you still taste delicious when you come on my fingers,” I whispered in her ear.
“Rory, stop it,” she hissed.
&n
bsp; “Why? We both like it.”
She grabbed my arm and dragged me over to a dark corner where no one else could see us. “What makes you think I like it?”
“Your knickers are wet from me pressing my erection to your pert little backside.”
“How would you know?”
“You’re not denying it. If they were bone dry, you’d be shouting your denial from the rooftops.”
“Bollocks,” she spat.
“You can play with my bollocks anytime. You know I love that.” I crowded her against the wall. She gazed up at me, her lips slightly parted in invitation.
I lifted her hand in a light grip—she could easily pull away if she desired—and placed her palm against the bulge in my jeans.
“You don’t play fair, Thompson,” she said, but I had let go of her hand and she was rubbing up and down my denim-clad cock by her volition.
I swallowed a moan. “Neither do you, Kendrick.”
I caught hold of her chin and pressed kisses down her neck, situating my leg between her thighs.
She slipped her hand around my waist and onto my arse while I rubbed my cock against her hip, and she humped my thigh. Angling her head back, I cover her lips with mine. I swept my tongue over her lips and she parted them, allowing me access. The sweet taste of cocktails laced her tongue, and I pressed against her harder, pouring six years of hate, love, frustration, and disappointment into the kiss.
She moaned against me, the sound sending a tingling bolt of pleasure through my body.
“Where the fuck are Lacey and Rory?” Olivia’s voice drifted through my lust-filled haze as I nipped at her bottom lip.
“Fuck!” I rested my forehead on her shoulder, catching my breath.
Lacey giggled and whacked me on the shoulder as I extracted myself from her.
“Better get back.” She sneaked out from between me and the wall.
I caught her wrist, stopping her. “This isn’t over, Lace. I want you.”
She turned. “I’m sure fucking you would be great, but there’s more than me to consider, Rory. It wasn’t just my heart you broke.”
She pulled her wrist free and walked away.
Chapter 16
Lacey
“AT WHAT POINT IS IT polite to say our goodbyes and for me to take you back to your place and get you naked?” Rory whispered in my ear, tightening his arms around my waist and cupping my arse to pull me closer against his chest as we danced in The Garage nightclub.
A fire raced through my body at his words and my stomach flipped. I wanted to tell him it wasn’t happening—to be the sensible girl who knew he was a heartbreaker. However, my body needed him and, if I was honest, the broken pieces of my heart still wanted him. They’d never fully healed, and they recognised him as their master.
“I’m going to regret this, but we need to find Olivia and David and say goodnight.” I toyed with a button on his shirt.
He cupped my face, like he had done so many times. He searched my gaze for something. What? I didn’t know—uncertainty perhaps.
I lowered my hand and danced my fingers up his zip.
“Shit.” His cock twitched at my touch, and he sucked in a breath. “There’s David. I need to get you out of here before my fucking balls explode.”
He moved around me and hurried across the dancefloor. I turned slowly. He approached David and shouted in his ear over the music. David nodded and bumped Rory’s fist, then Rory hurried back to me.
“Okay?” I asked.
“He’ll tell Olivia. Where’s your coat?”
“In the cloakroom.”
Rory rolled his eyes.
“What?”
He pushed his hand through his hair. “It’s a bit of a cock-blocker having to wait in the queue for the cloakroom.”
“So is me dying of pneumonia. Suck it up, sunshine.” I rolled my eyes; he’d always been impatient.
Standing in the short queue to collect my coat, Rory placed his hand on my waistband and dipped his finger under the material of my top to rub my bare flesh. I’d forgotten how nice such small intimate gestures were.
“Lacey, are you off already?” Olivia said from behind us.
I turned to my bestie, ignoring Rory’s moan of frustration as I gave him my coat ticket and stepped away to hug Olivia. “Yeah, baby girl. I need my beauty sleep.”
Olivia raised an eyebrow and snorted. “Pretty sure, you’re not going home to sleep, sweetie.”
I pointed from him to me. “Rory and I aren’t—”
“Hurt her again, sunshine, and I’ll get her dad’s shotgun and blow your balls off. Understood?” Olivia glared at Rory.
Rory raised his hands in a sign of surrender. “Loud and clear. There shall be no hurting, I promise.”
She nodded and patted my cheek gently. “I have your back sister. I’ll fucking make him wish he hadn’t been born if he screws you around again.”
Man, she was in a really sentimental mood. I loved her for sticking up for me, but I was going to have to blame the pregnancy hormones because she wasn’t drunk—something I couldn’t say about myself.
“Love you, Liv. You’re the best friend a girl could have, and I’m so happy for you.”
“Yeah, I know.” She grinned. “Now fuck off and get laid. You always said he was the best shag you ever had.”
“OLIVIA!”
“What? I’m only saying what you said.”
“You don’t have to tell him that.”
Olivia shrugged. “No filter. Remember?”
“I hate you.”
“No, you don’t. I’m off to find my fiancé. Have fun, and stay safe, kids. Remember to wrap it up.”
“She’s got some fucking cheek,” I muttered as she disappeared back into the club. “Little Miss Pregnant telling me to be safe.”
“We’re always safe, so why are you upset?” Rory said, handing me my coat.
I muttered a thanks and struggled to get into it.
Rory eased it out of my hands, then held it out for me to slip my arms into the armholes properly.
“Tell me, baby,” he asked, wrapping the coat and his arms around me, “do you still have a big bag of condoms in your top drawer?”
“No,” I giggled. “Just a twelve pack of Durex.”
When I had been a poor student, Olivia dragged me to the Sandyford sexual health clinic to be put on the pill and get a big bag of free condoms. It took Rory and me months to get through. By the time we finished them, we’d decided we no longer needed to worry about them as we were going steady and I was taking birth control pills.
“Let’s get back to your place, and I’ll help you use them up.”
AS SOON AS I CLOSED my flat door, Rory pulled me into his arms and pinned me against it. He captured my lips with his and devoured them. His movements were rough, and his tongue gave me no quarter. It explored my mouth and duelled with my tongue.
I gripped his shoulders, unable to do anything except hang on for the ride. Rory was a man possessed.
He’d always been passionate, but I’d never seen him so desperate. Maybe that was why he’d been so still and quiet in the taxi—he’d not wanted to let himself go for fear of this side coming out.
He dragged his lips down my cheek and onto my neck. “Six years. Six long fucking years I’ve been needin’ this. Waitin’ on it. Fuckin’ hell, Lace. Ah’m gaggin’ fur ye.”
I chuckled. “Rory, calm down.”
“Whit?”
I took his face between my hands. “You become a real wee ned when you’re over-excited.”
“Are you saying the fact I was dragged up rather than brought up is showing?”
“Kind of. It’s not sexy.”
He laughed. “I s’pose not.”
I led him through to the bedroom, shrugging out of my coat as we went, then throwing it over the chair in my bedroom.
I swivelled around and faced him. “I know what will calm you.”
He arched an eyebrow as I reached for his b
elt buckle and loosened it.
When I undid the fastening of his jeans and pulled down the zip, Rory placed his hands over mine. His voice sounded strangled. “Jesus, Lace, a blow job? I’ll blow my load, then you’ll have to wait.”
“Yeah. You’ll have to do other things with me to pass the time.” I wiggled my eyebrows.
“Tit for tat?” he asked.
“Something like that.”
“Is it not ladies first?”
“This is the twenty-first century. Let’s not adhere to gender norms.”
Rory chuckled, but stopped the second I dropped to my knees and tugged down his jeans. The little damp patch of precum on the cotton made my mouth water.
I pulled the boxer-briefs over his erection and wanted to whistle in appreciation. I’d forgotten what a beautiful cock he had, and it looked like he’d been doing some topiary in the last six years too. He kicked his jeans and boxers off as I curled my fingers around his length. Leaning forward, I sucked his cock into my mouth, swirling my tongue around the head.
He groaned as he speared his fingers into my hair. “Fuck, Lace.”
The sense of power at the fact I could have such an effect on him with one suck on his dick after all these years was hot as fuck.
I sat back and ground my pussy into my heels to relieve some of the tension. Moving my mouth up and down his shaft, I worked his cock with my hand too.
Rory dropped his head back and thrust his hips, fucking my mouth. I took my spare hand and massaged his tightening balls.
“Jesus, babe, I’m so close, so quickly. How do you do that?”
I loosened my throat and gagged as the head of his cock touched the back of my throat, but I wasn’t backing away from this. The shithead was going to see the skills I had learned since he fucked me over.
I forced him further into my mouth, past my gag reflex. Tears stung my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. My nose started running. It was not lady-like at all, but damn, he was going to enjoy it.
“Fuck no. This is too good. Fuck, Lacey. I can’t believe you can deepthroat.”
