by Tory Baker
I flip over on my back and pull her on top of me. I do this as gently as I can. She’s still asleep and I know when she wakes she will do her best to push at me again—and try to back away from what we have started. I don’t know why she’s freaking out; I don’t understand. In our letters to each other, she seemed satisfied. Whatever it is, I’ll fight it. I don’t have a choice, because I’m not giving her up. I just hope she doesn’t expect me to go slow.
As she settles against my stomach and I wrap my arms around her, she lets out a soft sigh. This is right. I’ll make her see it too. I am not giving her up.
I can’t.
Chapter Eight
Carly
“What’s this?” Stone asks, coming into the kitchen wearing a pair of loose gym pants. They’re cinched around his waist, the string hanging down, and the pants themselves hang low on him, revealing this perfect ‘V’ in his muscles. I thought I might have imagined just how amazing his body looked yesterday. If anything, he looks better. I bite my lip as I take in all that is him. A shiver runs through me and I can feel my panties get wet. I’m lucky they didn’t spontaneously combust. I can say one thing for Tally—she knows how to hit the motherlode. “Carly?”
“What?”
“My eyes are up here, baby.”
It’s then I realize that my eyes are glued to his crotch—specifically the outline of his dick. A dick which seems to be rising with every second that ticks by.
Holy moly!
“I’m sorry, what?” I say, clearing my throat and looking up at him, trying to appear innocent—and not the woman who just checked out his package like it was an ice cream cone and she had been on a diet for way too many years.
“I said what is all of this?” he says with a smirk that lets me know I’m not fooling him. I look at his face, and the half smile he’s wearing, and the way his long hair falls back on his shoulders and shrouds part of his face. This is a different view of him, and it’s just as good, if that’s possible. Yeah. Tally really, really knows how to hit the motherlode.
“You have a really nice smile.”
His eyes dilate and he seems surprised at my words and then his smile broadens and I feel a hundred butterflies take flight in my stomach. Definitely a great smile.
He steps in close to me, his hand coming up to slide against the side of my face and hold me there, tenderly. He tilts my head to look up at him, and I do have to—despite the fact that he’s bending down. His hair seems to fan out, surrounding us and cocooning us from the rest of the world. I find I like that feeling a lot. Maybe Tally was right and Stone is the answer to everything.
“You still haven’t told me what all this is,” he says quietly, his voice deep and making me even wetter.
“All what?” I ask, confused and wondering if you can drown in someone’s eyes. He takes the forgotten spatula out of my hand and pulls back to wave it at me. I watch the movement for a moment, not understanding for a second. Then it hits me. “Oh! I’m fixing breakfast.”
“It smells good,” he says and sadly, he steps away from me. I resist letting a sigh out and turn back to the stove after commandeering my spatula again.
“It’s stuffed French toast with strawberries. Though I’m not sure how good it will be. I usually use fresh strawberries, but you didn’t have those so I improvised with strawberry jam.”
“Not many strawberries to be found around here this time of year,” he agrees. He sits down at the table and I bring him his plate. He’s already grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. I don’t need it, but because he’s a man and men seem to like that kind of thing, I’ve also fried him some bacon, so I put that in front of him too. He studies it all so intently that it makes me nervous. I go back to make my own toast, needing a break.
“You don’t have to eat if you don’t want to,” I assure him, afraid he might be upset I’ve been making myself at home in his kitchen. “I just assumed you’d want to eat before you went to work. I guess I should have asked about using your kitchen.”
“It will be our kitchen, Carly, and it’s not that.”
His words make me turn around. “But it’s something?”
“It’s just that you mentioned numerous times in your letters how you didn’t like cooking,” he says and I try not to let the guilt show on my face, but I can feel heat rise just the same. I quickly turn back around. I search for an answer—one that won’t be a lie, because I really like Stone and I’m starting to really hope this works out. Before, it was my only choice and now… it seems like where I’m supposed to be.
That sounds stupid, considering I don’t really know Stone and it’s only been one day, but it is true just the same.
“I didn’t like cooking at my old home. The kitchen was really small and outdated. The stove only had one working burner and to be honest, cooking for one is kind of depressing.”
“But in your letter you mentioned you had a lot of friends and that you’d been in a lot of relationships,” he counters, and I bite my lip. Why would Tally tell him that?
Probably because she didn’t want him to know what a loser I am.
“Not that many.” I shrug. “How is it?” I ask, trying to change the subject.
“It’s really good,” he answers and at least that makes me smile. “Come eat with me, Carly.”
“I was just going to have mine after you left for work. Do I need to pack your lunch?”
“I’m not working today, Carly.”
“You’re not?” I ask, surprised. I’m also nervous at the thought of spending the whole day with Stone. I’m not sure how that’s going to work.
“Nope. I took the day off to spend with my bride-to-be.”
“Um.”
“Sit down here and eat with me, Carly,” he orders and after a minute of staring into his eyes, I gather my plate and sit down—hoping I don’t stumble on any more things that Tally has said that I don’t have any idea about.
Chapter Nine
Stone
My first full day with Carly and even I’m surprised at how great it’s been. She’s got a keen sense of humor. We have similar tastes in music and movies and I love hearing her laughter. We’ve been watching the latest Melissa McCarthy comedy, and after some convincing, she curled up on the couch and snuggled against me. She’s tiny, but she feels just right next to me. When she laughs, if she finds something hilariously funny, she snorts. And the laughter fills the room. I can even see it in her eyes.
“What? Do I have a popcorn kernel stuck between my teeth?” she asks, and it’s only then I realize I’m staring.
“I was just thinking what a great day it’s been,” I answer, being completely serious.
“It really has,” she says with a smile.
I hook my hand at her neck and pull her lips up to mine.
“I’m going to kiss you,” I whisper, almost touching her lips now.
“I was hoping you would,” she says, her warm breath teasing my lips.
Then I take her mouth.
Our first kiss. It’s a kiss of discovery, but also one of celebration. As good as I knew it would be to have Carly here, it’s so much better. As much as I dreamed about having her in my arms, that too is better than I could have ever imagined. Our kiss is slow and easy, tasting, learning, and exploring. I sneak my hand up under her shirt and I swallow her moan as my hand touches the warm, bare skin of her side. I let my fingers drift across her flesh, teasing her. She squirms, pushing closer to me just as I cup her breast in my hand, kneading it.
“They’re small,” she says when we pull apart. I keep my hand right where it is. Her breast is small, much like the rest of her, but I love the way the soft mound feels against my palm. Her nipple is pushing against my hand and I wish she wasn’t wearing a bra.
“They’re perfect,” I tell her, still massaging.
“They are?”
“Are you going to let me undress you, and show you?” I ask her quietly. I don’t want to scare her, and I know it’s only b
een one day, but I want her. I want to bury myself in her and claim her. It seems like I’ve been waiting forever to do that.
“That’s not a very good idea,” she says, nibbling on the corner of her lip nervously.
“I think it’s the best idea I’ve ever had,” I correct her.
“I just… I need more time, Stone,” she says and her eyes are pleading with me, even as her body is still trying to get closer to me.
“You’re killing me, Carly.”
“I should go get ready for bed,” she says, pulling away from me.
I nod my answer. Inside I’m growling. I’m trying to be patient with her, but that’s almost at an end. I don’t have it in me to wait much longer.
She gets up and stumbles slightly, which makes me feel a little better.
“Carly,” I call as she starts to leave the room. She looks over her shoulder at me.
“Yeah?”
“My bed, baby.”
“Stone, maybe we should—”
“My bed.”
She sighs, but doesn’t argue further. It may be time to show her tonight exactly why she needs to be in my bed.
Chapter Ten
Carly
It’s been two weeks.
I’ve been here for two weeks.
I can hardly believe it. Each day seems to get better. Stone is funny, sweet, and definitely sexy. He’s also caring. Last night, I fell asleep on the sofa watching a movie and he carried me to bed. His bed. He insists I sleep with him each night and, to be honest, I enjoy it so much that I don’t argue.
The downside of that is waking up like this. I’m lying on top of Stone, my breasts pushed against his chest, and my nipples are so tight it’s painful. I’ve moved so I’ve got my legs on each side of him and his hard cock is pressed against me—in just the right spot. Stone might be sleeping but parts of him are very much awake.
He’s getting impatient, I know it. I can feel it—especially right now. I don’t really blame him. In his mind we’ve been talking for a long time. I’ve been putting him off and he’s been incredibly understanding, all things considered. But the truth is, I want Stone. I’m even coming to truly care for him. If we had met the normal way, and seeing each other every night for two weeks, would I hesitate when it came to sleeping with him?
I always have in the past, but men in my life were like my stepfather, not Stone. Stone is different. Can I let myself go with him? Can I trust him? I’m not sure I’ll ever know one hundred percent unless I just take the leap.
I reach down between our bodies, pressing my hand against his heated cock. He’s so big that my fingers have to stretch to make it around him. He jerks in my hand. I tentatively stroke him once. I’m nervous, but drowning that out is excitement… and need.
He doesn’t wake and I’m not sure what to do next. I almost give up. I carefully get off of him and slide from the bed. Indecisiveness runs through me. I look at the door. I could leave—he’d never know—and give myself time to think things over.
“Are you going to decide soon, Carly?” Stone asks and I jerk back around to look at him, my eyes wide.
“You’re awake.” I breathe out the words, shocked.
“Baby, you got your hand wrapped around my cock, I’m sure as fuck not going to sleep.”
His coarse words deliver an all-over body shudder and I’m pretty sure, from his lazy smile, that he can see it run through me.
“I…”
“You’re chickening out,” he says, moving his hands behind his head and staring up at me. He moves his legs to kick the blanket away from him. His cock bobs in the air. He’s so big, I’m almost afraid of him.
“You’re… big…”
“It will fit, baby. Trust me.” He laughs and stretches. His hand comes down and stretches his cock. My breath catches in my chest. I watch as the head becomes slick with his desire. I bite my lip to keep from moaning. It runs down the shaft, seeming to slide in slow motion.
“How big are you?” That’s what I’m thinking. Too late I realize I asked the question out loud.
“A little over ten inches,” he says like it’s nothing.
“You measured your dick?” I ask, surprised. I might have asked the question, but I didn’t mean to. I sure wouldn’t have thought he would know the answer.
“It’s been measured,” he says and now he seems uncomfortable. When I think over his words, I feel jealousy. I decide I definitely don’t want to know about that.
“I think I’ll go into the—”
“No.”
“No?”
“It’s time, Carly.”
“It is?”
“You’ve hiked the Grand Canyon. That’s not the sign of a woman who backs down from a challenge.”
I’ve hiked the Grand Canyon? I’ve never even seen the Grand Canyon!
Tally! What have you done?
“It’s not?”
“Definitely not. Give in, Carly. You want me and, sweetheart, I definitely want you. Let me show you just how good we can be together,” he says, challenging me.
I can’t deny anything he says. My gaze drops back down to his cock and I watch as he strokes himself again. When I look back at Stone, I see disappointment on his face. He thinks I’m going to back out. That might be the smart thing to do.
I sigh out loud.
Then I turn to fully face him and pull my tank shirt up over my head. I can’t stop my hand from hiding my breasts, though. It’s reflex, complete reflex.
“I hope I don’t regret this,” I whisper, more to myself than to him.
“I’ll make sure you don’t, Carly. I promise.”
His pledge is still ringing between us when I push my pajama bottoms down and step out of them, leaving me in nothing but my panties.
Chapter Eleven
Stone
Finally! Fuck, I thought my balls were going to stay permanently blue. The last two weeks have been an exercise in torture. Enjoyable torture, because there’s been nothing in my fucking life that has felt as good as having Carly’s body wrapped around me while she sleeps—but it has still been torture.
I look at her, really look at her and I’m blown away.
Are the men in Georgia complete idiots?
How did someone as beautiful as Carly ever need to resort to an online site to find a man? It’s not that she’s just beautiful, either, although she is. It’s that she’s the entire package. She’s funny, sweet, and almost innocent. She’s caring, she does things for me that I’ve never had. I can barely believe how lucky I am and I sure as hell am not letting her go. The men in Georgia might have been stupid fucks, but I’m not. I’m keeping Carly and I’m tying her to me so deeply she’ll never want to leave.
“Take the rest of it off, Carly,” I urge her, needing to see that sweet body of hers completely naked.
I watch as her body flushes, and she shuffles on her feet for a moment, clearly uncomfortable. She’s got her arms wrapped around her breasts as if her life depended on it. Her head goes down and she pushes away that lacy fabric that has been teasing me. When she straightens back up, her face is almost as red as her panties were.
It makes me believe she’s innocent, but she’s not. We had that discussion. I didn’t want a virgin. I’m a big man, my cock is wide, I didn’t want to hurt a woman. I’ve never taken a virgin and I didn’t want to start with a woman I wanted to keep. It doesn’t matter if I’m her first, even if for some reason when I’m talking about Carly, it bugs me. None of the past matters, however, because I know I’m going to be her last.
That’s all that matters.
“I—”
“Climb back up here, baby,” I tell her, interrupting her. I’ve let her get too nervous and I don’t want her to talk herself out of this.
She walks back to the bed and, before she has a chance to sit down on it, I latch my hands on her hips and pull her up over me, giving her no choice but to straddle me.
The instant her body presses against mine and her pus
sy covers my cock, I want to groan.
“Fuck, yeah,” I mutter, giving in to the urge, and push up against her body as I keep pressure on her hips to grind her into me.
Nothing better. There absolutely could be nothing better than this right here.
“Stone,” she whispers, and I open my eyes to find her staring down at me.
“You feel so good, baby. I can’t wait to get inside of you.”
“Then do it, Stone. I want to feel you,” she says. She might be saying the words, but her body is saying something else. She’s still trying to hide her breasts from me, and blushing.
“Not yet, Carly. I want to make sure your body is ready for me. I know this is not your first time, but I still want to go slow. I wouldn’t hurt you for the world.”
“You wouldn’t?” she asks, but it feels like her body locks solid in position with my words, almost as if she’s prepared to run away from me. It feels wrong. Did someone hurt her in her past? There’s a deep pool of emotion clouding her eyes. I can literally see it, but I have no idea why.
“No, baby. I promise, when I get inside of you, you will be more than ready. You will be begging for more,” I tell her, trying to reassure her. Then I pull her down to me and kiss her, hoping to push all of her doubts away.
Chapter Twelve
Carly
Oh shit.
What has Tally told him? Did they talk about sex? The thought of Tally, who is old enough to be my mother, talking to Stone about my body… about sex, makes me cringe. Why wouldn’t she warn me what she said to him? And I know it is supposed to hurt some when it’s your first time, but he’s acting like it might kill me. Realistically, with what he’s packing, I’m a little scared it might. Should I confess that I’ve never had sex before? Would that change what he’s doing?
