“Okay, then. Just tell me.”
She nodded, focusing on the floor again.
“Look at me.”
Her eyes reached mine. “I’m home.”
“I can see that.” I mean, she was right in front of me. Why would I think otherwise? I just hope we had a chance to really talk before she headed back to San Francisco.
“I mean, for good. I moved back a week ago.”
I wasn’t sure if my heart actually stopped after she delivered those words or if it was a figment of my imagination. Did she just say she’s been home for a few days and is only now making contact? What part of coming to me the instant she had something to tell me didn’t she understand?
My argument was on the tip of my tongue, but I refrained. I held it back like I’d agreed I would.
“I’m sure you’re wondering why I didn’t call sooner.” I nodded, still not saying a word. Her pretty lips twisted and she scuffed her sandal against the concrete floor. “I called Spencer the morning after you left. We had a long talk. I didn’t think I made the right choice.” I couldn’t help but crack a smile, but it disappeared just as quickly. “How I wanted to come back home and if there was any way he could get my job back.”
What about getting your boyfriend back? “What did he say?”
“That he had a feeling something like this would happen. How I should’ve listened to him. Gave it some more thought.”
“Why is that?” I stepped closer, anticipating the words I was desperate to hear. For her to admit that she never should have accepted that job offer, more so after agreeing to move in with me.
“Because I told him that I was in love with you.”
“Was?”
“Am.” She smiled hesitantly.
I could hear the faint sound of someone yelling my name, but I ignored it.
“So, what happens now?” She spoke softly, tentatively. Her guard was still up, but I was ready to tear those damn walls down and crumble them to dust. There was no time left to waste.
“You come home with me, tonight.” I took another step, my body pressing hers to the wall. I kissed her cheek. I kissed the side of her mouth. I barely touched my lips to hers and whispered, “We continue where we left off. I missed you so fucking much.” I gently dragged my lips down her neck and sucked on her soft skin. “We figure this shit out once and for all.”
“I’d like that.” Her soft voice was breathless.
“Good.” I crashed my mouth to hers, swallowing her gasp. Her body went lax beneath my hands, and I smiled against her lips. My girl was home. And with me. She was here to stay. I slid my tongue into her mouth, tasting a hint of mint and beer, and groaned. I pressed my hips into her belly and gripped her hips. “I need you,” I muttered between breaths, wondering if there was somewhere we could hide out for a few minutes.
“I need you too,” she breathed, gripping the front of my shirt and arching into me.
Knowing we couldn’t go any further and we’d have to take this back to my place, I pulled back, pressed my forehead to hers, and smiled. “But first, I want you to meet my parents.”
“What?” She shoved me back a bit, her beautiful blue eyes popped wide. “Your parents? They’re here?” She attempted to pull out of my hold, but there was no way I was letting her go. Not this time. Not ever again.
“Yup.” I grinned. We’d wasted too much time as it was. I’m stealing third, hauling ass to home. “Come on.” I linked our hands and led her back to the table.
For whatever reason, Caroline was still there, waiting in the same spot. She had to have known there was no chance for us, especially after seeing Rowan and me go off together.
And come back together.
I approached my parents and tapped my mom’s shoulder. “Mom. Dad. I’d like for you to meet someone.” My mom’s face lit up and my dad came to stand next to his wife. “This is Rowan, my girlfriend,” I introduced proudly and then glanced at Rowan really quick. Her smile and lack of argument told me we were still in this together.
“It’s great to finally meet you, Rowan.” My mother pulled her into a hug. “What a beautiful name.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Montgomery. It’s great to meet you too.”
“Oh, none of that Mrs. stuff. Please, call me Julianne. And this is Eric, Levi’s dad.”
Dad stuck his hand out. “It’s great to meet you, sweetheart.”
“It’s great to meet you too, Mr.—”
“Uh-huh,” Dad teased. “It’s Eric. Please.”
She smiled shyly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Eric.”
I tucked Rowan into my side, thrilled to have her here, and home, this time for good and with me.
“We hope you’ll be able to make it down to Savannah sometime now that Levi’s in the offseason.”
“I’d like that.” She looked up at me, her eyes asking, my smile confirming I’d be taking her home with me for every holiday.
“Of course. Maybe Thanksgiving?” I asked.
“I’d like that.”
Good. Because I would need the time between now and then to make up for the time we had lost.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
Rowan
“Babe!” I called and waited. And after what felt like hours with him not answering, I yelled, “Montgomery!”
“Yeah?” He came rushing into the guest bedroom, eyes wide. “Where’s the fire?” He looked around frantically, only to find me leaning back against the doorjamb of the walk-in closet, a bat in my hands. The pinch in his brows clearly told me he was confused. “What are you doing in here?”
“Making sure the room is ready for when your family comes to visit next weekend. What else would I be doing in here?” I answered evenly as to not come across as confrontational.
His sister, Addie, had called a few days after I met his parents. We talked a bit, and she was eager to meet me. And instead of waiting for Thanksgiving, which was just a few short weeks away, she coordinated a family get-together in Atlanta, more precisely at Levi’s house.
“What is this?” I pried.
“Is that a trick question?” He fought off a grin.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
I twisted my lips to one side, trying to fight off the smile that was pulling at my lips. He was going to play this off as a joke.
“Angel, it’s a bat.” He chuckled. “But I’m sure you already know that.” He pressed his palm to my forehead. “Hmm. No fever—”
“I know what it is.” I pushed his hand away. “What I want to know is why you have a bat, with a shit-ton of notches on it, buried behind a bunch of random crap in the back of your guest bedroom closet?” This was the closet that was in that room. The one he’d bring his exploits to. And in all the times I had stepped foot in his home, this was the first time I had set foot in here.
I raised my left brow again. I knew damn well that a bat with notches on it was the equivalent to a ballplayer tallying his “notches on his bedpost,” and I wanted to know why he had it hiding in the back of this closet.
“It’s not what you’re thinking, angel.”
“Right. That’s what they all say,” I fussed, hating myself for allowing my insecurities to get the better of me.
“Why are you snooping in the closet?”
I scoffed; I wasn’t snooping. I was cleaning, and since I was living there, was it still considered snooping? I popped my hand on my hip. “I am not snooping. I just told you I’m making sure the rooms are ready for your parents and your sister and her family.”
“Rooms I get, but the closet?” he insinuated, cocking a brow and smirking. The bastard had the audacity to think it was funny. This was not funny. A bat with a million tick marks was not funny.
Levi having a past was understandable. I didn’t exactly like it. It came with the territory and if I wanted a relationship with him to work, I’d learned to accept it. I trusted him wholeheartedly, but having it right in front of my face felt tangi
ble, which in turn stung.
It might have made me feel a little jealous. No woman wanted the man she loved to have some kind of proof of all his past conquests, regardless of how long they’ve been together.
“Where am I on this, huh?” I repeatedly tapped the Louisville slugger in the palm of my hand.
“Angel,” he growled, taking strong, predatory steps in my direction, his eyes already darker than molasses. His muscles flexed in anticipation as he tore his shirt from his body.
“Oh, no, you don’t. You are not getting out of this one with sex.” I squealed and ran deeper into the closet. Like an idiot.
Ever since I moved in a couple weeks ago, we made a conscious effort to learn the other’s habits, likes and dislikes, pet peeves. And anytime we came to a roadblock, he would bulldoze me with sex.
Not that I was complaining. Sex with Levi was always more. And while I enjoyed engaging in the rough and demanding, he had also learned that sometimes all a woman needed was a simple touch or to be held. He learned that I needed the connection and in turn, he found he needed it just as much.
“What notch do you think you are?” Implying I was even a tick on that damn bat drummed up some not so nice thoughts. And I knew damn well he was trying to get a rise out of me. Asshole.
“Don’t play me, Montgomery!” I almost let a giggle slip.
“Who says I’m playing?” His voice was low and husky, and if I didn’t get out of there fast, he’d have me cornered, probably naked and pressed up against the wall, his face between my thighs forcing me into submission.
This was an inopportune time to be getting turned on.
Mentally calculating my escape, I took one step back and then one to the side, but I wasn’t quick enough. His strong arm caught me around the waist. My feet lifted off the floor and I squealed. “Don’t!” I giggled, failing at keeping a straight face. “Don’t you dare!”
There was no way I could fight him, not a man of his size and strength. Plus, his touch always lit my body on fire. Traitor.
“Don’t I dare what?” He pinned me against the closet wall. “I’m going to fuck you in this closet and then I’m going to add your notch to my bat.” He chuckled cynically. “At the very top.”
“Asshole.” I smacked his arm playfully and laughed under my breath.
“If you want me to fuck your asshole, I’m game.” He spun me around so quick I almost lost my footing. Then, he pressed me up against the wall, his chest to my back, his heavy breathing turning me on, and I had to fight to not give in. But I really wanted to give in. I loved it when we played like this, rough and demanding. How he took what he wanted.
“Levi,” I purred and dropped the bat. I would need my hands for other things.
In one swoop, he pulled my shorts and panties down my legs, grabbed and bit my ass cheeks, and then pulled them apart, licking from my pussy to my hole. “Oh, fuck.” My knees buckled; it was a good thing I had the wall for support.
“Always so fucking sweet. But I think my girl needs a spanking”—he spanked my ass and I yelped—“for being so assuming and naughty, and not letting her man explain.”
A pattern we’re trying to break.
“I’m not assuming anything,” I breathed. My nipples puckered in reaction to my pussy beating, waiting for him to take me. To fuck me senseless. To own me.
“Um hmm, sure,” he chided, the vibration of his deep voice at my sex, shocking my system. Teasing, he kissed and sucked everywhere but where I needed him, until his mouth latched onto my pussy and he fucked me lazily with his tongue and fingers.
“Don’t fucking tease me, Montgomery. If you’re going to do it, then do it.” I was quickly growing irritated and desperate. Levi knew exactly how to bring out the crazy in me.
“So bossy.” He bit my ass cheek again and tapped it before standing, pulling my shorts and panties back to their rightful position, as if he didn’t just have his mouth on my sex. “Maybe I won’t.” His nonchalance was irking the shit out of me.
“What,” I scoffed. “Are you kidding me right now?”
“Nope,” he popped without a care in the world.
I growled. “You’re an asshole.” I picked up the bat and stomped deeper into the closet, needing to be away from his irritatingly handsome face and expert tongue. How could he just deny me like that? His chuckle floated from the room into the closet, and I swear if he was standing next to me, I would swing that bat . . .
“Let me know when you’re ready to listen and let me explain. Then I might give you what you need.”
“Asshole. Jerk. Fuck you,” I grumbled under my breath and dropped myself to sit cross-legged on the closet floor. I held the bat in my hands and turned it over slowly, seeing red at all the tick marks. Thinking of all the women he’s bedded in this godforsaken room, wondering if he had feelings for any of these women. Or were they all just conquests, another “notch” on his bat?
Why was I thinking about any of this? I got the man. He’s mine. He loves me, not them. I shouldn’t be letting this get to me. But the reality was that feelings like this would always be there, lingering. It came with the territory, no matter how much I trusted him, it was the women I didn’t trust. Although, for my sanity, I’d just have to learn to brush it off.
“This is so stupid,” I mumbled and shook my head.
“I agree.”
My head jerked back, startled by the sound of his sympathetic voice and affectionate eyes. He took careful steps toward me and then lowered himself to his knees, sitting on his heels. Levi took my hands in his, his eyes expressing how much he loved me.
“Are you going to give me a chance to explain?” He curled some hair behind my ear. Seeing him this way had me all messed up.
I nodded. “I’m sorry for being so irrational. It’s just . . .”
“Angel, I know what you’re thinking, but that’s not it. This has nothing to do with any of the women I’ve been with.” I cringed. “This bat—” He took the slugger from my hands and turned it over, reminiscing. “My dad gave me this bat after my first year playing T-ball.” My breath caught. “These tick marks . . .” He brushed his thumb over the indentations and smiled. “These are all the home runs I’ve made through the years. From T-ball all the way to high school.”
“Oh, shit,” I blurted and hung my head, ashamed at my gross assumptions for taking something so meaningful and special and tainting it with vile thoughts.
“I can’t believe you thought I’d slept with that many women.”
He actually sounded surprised. But how could I not?
“I’m sorry. I just assumed—”
“I know. Which brings me to asking . . .”
“Asking what?” Why was he stalling?
“I have an appointment with my realtor. I’m putting the house on the market—”
“Why? You love this place.”
His eyes softened. “I do, but I love you more, and I knew there was a good chance something like this would happen.” He took my hand in his and kissed my palm. “I want a fresh start. You, me, and our future.”
I forced back the tears. I didn’t want my vision to blur while he was being sweet and tender and downright amazing. How had I gotten so lucky?
“You’re amazing, you know that?” I pressed my palm to his cheek. “I would like that very much.”
“Good. Now, where were we?” He set the bat aside and pulled my legs apart. He leaned in, settling himself between my thighs while I lay back on the carpet. His eyes locked on mine. He licked his lips and whispered, “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”
“I do. And I hope you know how much I love you.”
“Any woman who would get that deranged has to have some heavy feelings.” He chuckled, lowering his lips to mine.
“I’m sorry I thought the worst—”
He lifted his head and pressed a finger to my lips. “Enough. We have some making up to do. When we’re done, I’ll go and get a new bat.” He laughed softly. “And y
ou’ll be the very first notch.”
I scoffed and then laughed. “Montgomery,” I scolded with a smile. “I better be the only notch on your bat!”
“You’ll be the top notch.”
EPILOGUE
Rowan
It was the bottom of the sixth. The Bucks were leading fourteen to three. Poor Cubs didn’t stand a chance. Not this year. This was the first home game of the season, and the Bucks were already off to a stellar start.
Distracted, my eyes roamed high. The Bucks stadium was packed; from the dugout seats all the way to the nosebleeds. You’d never find me sitting that high up.
The sound of the bat cracking against a ball pulled my attention back to the field. It was easy to lose focus on the game when the opposing team was up to bat, then mix in all the vendors shouting, and it felt like a bad diagnosis of ADD. One guy was selling hot dogs, the other lemonade, another selling Cracker Jacks and beer. We never had to leave our seats, unless it was to use the restroom, which reminded me, I should start making my way up there and soon, before the seventh-inning stretch.
“Anybody want a beer?” Eric, Levi’s dad, asked the four of us.
RJ and Addie both said, “Please” while his wife declined. Eric pointed at me. “Sweetheart, beer?”
“Sure.” I nodded and smiled. “Thank you.”
It was another loud crack from the Cubs and the ball went soaring to the right outfield, the Bucks outfielder following it until in landed straight in his glove. That made three outs. The teams hustled to their respective dugouts to switch sides.
“Oh, look!” Addie practically yelled and then pulled her husband’s face to hers, locking their lips together. I glanced a little to the left and saw Addie and RJ, and Eric and Julianne up on the Kiss Cam. I didn’t flinch when that jerk Jason popped in my head. The last I had read in the papers, he had been arrested on assault charges and outstanding warrants. How embarrassing for the mayor, but at least he was where he deserved to be.
“I usually miss those things.” Addie giggled, wiping the gloss from RJ’s lips. They were the cutest high-school sweethearts couple ever. She had told me their story. How they went their separate ways and after seven years apart, they discovered their bond was stronger than ever. Their promise to one another held true.
Top Notch (Man on Top Book 1) Page 29
