“Baby, this trip is all about you. I am up for anything.”
“The one time Frank took me, we didn’t see any of the parades.”
“Let’s see one today. You pick which one. Or we can see a show or something. We have two more full days here too, so we can see it all.” I draped my arm around her shoulders as she peered over the map that told us about everything.”
“I want to see Fantasmic!” she squealed.
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
“This is the best birthday ever.” Her smile was a mile wide.
“I aim to please.”
“You’re doing a hell of a job babe. I’m so happy.”
“Just wait until tonight,” I whispered in her ear.
“I think we can make good use of that giant tub in the bathroom.” She licked her lips.
“You better stop if you don't want me to drag you off to the hotel room right now.”
“Normally I would take you up on that, but right now I think I want some ice cream instead.” She giggled and pulled me along to one of the many shops on the main street.
“I never eat this way,” she said as she dug into her brownie sundae.
“We’re on vacation, you can’t stick to a diet or eat anything but junk food when you’re on vacation.” I licked at a drip from my ice cream cone.
“Calories don’t count on vacation right?”
“That should be the rule. Not that I normally care about calories anyway.” I laughed.
“You men, you never have to watch what you eat.”
“Some do, but not me.”
“Jerk.” She glared in my direction.
“You love me.” I blew her a kiss.
“Says you.”
“No, you do.”
“You’re right. More than anything.” She leaned across and kissed me.
As the sun started to set it got a little chilly, so I bought her a Minnie Mouse sweatshirt to wear.
“I feel like a kid today. Not in a bad way though.” She had a dreamy sort of expression as she watched the people mill around in front of us.
“I do too. I didn’t have a lot of fun times like this as a kid. So to experience it now, with you, is the best.”
“I agree. We need to make more memories like this to replace the bad ones we have.” She sighed wistfully
If only it was that easy. To erase all the hurt and pain and replace it with laughter and fun.
“You need to get a Mickey sweatshirt now so we match.”
“Please tell me you’re joking?” I looked at her.
“No, not joking.”
“Do I look like a Mickey Mouse sort of a guy?”
“Nope, but I still think you should get one. This is my trip remember?”
She had a point, I did tell her she could have whatever she wanted on this trip. “Fine, as you wish my princess.” We went back inside the shop, and she picked out a bright red sweatshirt with Mickey on it for me to wear.
“You know I feel like a dork in this right?”
“I think you look cute.” She rubbed her nose against mine. “My opinion is all that matters. We’re on vacation, the odds of us seeing any of these people again are pretty slim. Stop caring what they think and just have fun.”
She was right, it didn’t matter what any of them thought. They were all there for the same reason, to have fun and enjoy being with their loved ones. I was going to make it my mission to be as silly as she wanted me to be for the next two days.
“What has been your favorite ride so far?” Scarlet asked me on our way back to the hotel on the last night we were staying there.
“I think either Space Mountain or Indiana Jones in this park. What about you?”
“Matterhorn for sure.” She smiled broadly.
We had done so much over the last two days. Disneyland was by far the most fun for us, but California Adventure also had some cool rides and shows.
“This has been like a dream.” She looked deliriously happy.
“I never want you to wake up if that’s the case.”
“Me neither.” Her tone took on a sultry lilt that made me glance down at her as we walked.
“Not too tired for dirty fun are you?” I asked innocently.
“Never too tired for that.” Her hand tightened in mine as we walked.
We hurried through the lobby and into an elevator. For some reason I needed her naked immediately. As soon as the doors closed I was on her. I kissed her neck, whispering to her, “I need you so bad right now.”
I felt her shiver against me, and it made me want her more. Her responses to me spurred me on.
“What do you want me to do to you when we get inside?” I whispered against her neck.
“Anything,” she breathed.
“Uh uh, this is your trip. You have to tell me what you want.”
The doors slid open and I walked out into the hall, while she was still inside breathing heavily.
“Coming?” I called over my shoulder.
“I sure hope so,” I heard her say under her breath as she followed behind me.
After we walked inside, I sat on the bed, waiting for her to make her move or at least tell me what she wanted.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked.
“I’m waiting for you to tell me what you want.” I kicked my shoes off, never breaking eye contact.
“I want...I want everything.” She licked her lips.
“I think you need to be more specific. Everything can mean a lot of things. I want to be sure you get what you really want.” I pulled my shirt over my head and undid the button on my jeans.
“Keep going.” Her voice was husky.
“You want more?”
“Yes,” she breathed.
I complied and slipped my jeans and socks off before sitting back on the bed. “I think it might be your turn.” I motioned for her to lose some of her clothes.
She unzipped her hoodie and threw it on a chair, her t-shirt was next, followed quickly by her jeans and socks. She was left in a matching light grey cotton bra and panties.
“Come here.” I wanted to tear the remaining fabric from her body, but tonight I would go slowly, I would make her feel everything. I would give her the world.
She was on the bed next to me before I could blink. Her lips pressed against my chest, trailing wet kisses up to my lips.
“I want so much baby, all you have to give,” she whispered. “Make me feel.”
“Feel what?”
“Everything. I need it all.” She crushed her mouth to mine, her tongue dancing with mine.
I rolled her over so I was on top instead. I ran my lips down the column of her throat, lightly nipping with my teeth as I moved to her collarbone.
She trembled beneath me in anticipation. I slid the straps of her bra down her arms and pulled the cups down to reveal her creamy skin underneath. She was rosy tipped perfection and I needed my mouth on her—to taste her, bite her, lick her.
As I swirled my tongue around her pebbled flesh she moaned and pressed my head against her. I kneaded her soft mounds while I feasted on her. I would never get enough of her.
“Do you need more?”
“You, I need you inside me right now,” she panted, her back arched.
“Lay back against the pillows.” I stood up and took a step back. Her eyes were glued to me as I peeled off my boxers and crawled back up on the bed, licking my way up from her toes until I reached her lips.
“Tell me you want it,” I hissed as I tore her panties off.
“I want it, I fucking want it,” she screamed as I plunged inside of her.
“Shit,” I groaned. “So good baby, always so good. You’re always so ready for me.” I ground my hips against hers, needed to feel the end of her, to fill her up completely.
“Chad.” Her eyes snapped shut, lost in sensation.
I hovered my mouth above hers, almost touching. “You belong to me,” I whispered against her lips.
“I want you on top,” I growled and rolled off of her.
She straddled my hips and sank down onto me with a little moan. I grabbed her hands as she moved her hips, taking us both for a ride.
I watched her as she moved, nothing else existed for me. She was beautiful and all mine. I moved my hands down to grip her hips and moved in tandem with her.
“I’m so close baby.” She bit her lip.
“Go baby, I'm right with you,” I commanded, reaching my mouth up to lick and nip at her breasts.
“Chad!” she screamed and fell against my chest. The world exploded into stars, the sensations were almost too intense.
She lay on top of me panting for a few moments. “Wow.”
“I know. That was so intense, more so than any other time.”
“I keep wondering if I’ll ever stop wanting you so much.” She rolled off of me and onto her side.
“Do you want to?” I studied her.
“It might make things easier. Sometimes the way I feel about you scares me.”
“You don’t have to be afraid with me. I’m in this just as deep.” I pulled her against me and kissed her senseless.
“I don’t want to be afraid,” she whispered.
I didn’t know how to respond, her fears were totally warranted. All I could do was prove to her every day that I was worth it.
“Thank you for making this the best birthday I have ever had. I’ll remember these three days for the rest of my life.” A tear trickled down her cheek.
“I hope that’s a happy tear.” I wiped it away with my thumb.
“It is. You’re amazing.”
“I aim to please.” I smiled against her lips before kissing her.
Life was sort of back to normal, but preparing for the trial was a lot more intense than I thought it would be. After our trip together Scarlet and I were more solid than ever. I felt like every day with her was a blessing.
“The judge denied your father’s plea of insanity.” Greg sat across the table from me in his conference room.
“Thank God. What’s next?”
“They already did the grand jury trial to see if there was enough for a case, and of course there was. In a couple of weeks we will begin jury selection.”
I had been nervous this process would be dragged out. “What am I going to have to do for all of this?”
“Obviously you will have to testify, as well as Miss Doyle.” He made some notes on his legal pad. “I’m going to have both of you meet with my paralegals to go over your testimony. We want you both to feel comfortable with how things will go. Since you’re here, after we are finished I’ll have you start with them today.”
“We can do that. What are the odds that he gets off?”
He put his pen down and looked at me. “Slim to none. I never give odds like this, but with all of the evidence we have against him it would be a miracle for him to not be found guilty.”
“Good. I can’t tell you how much better I feel with him behind bars.”
“You both have been through a tremendous ordeal.” He looked sympathetic.
“I’ll be happier when this is all over.”
“That’s understandable. I think we’re about done here for the day.” He stood. “I’ll send in Ashley to start going over your testimony.”
“Thanks Greg, you’ve made this process a lot easier for both me and Scarlet than other lawyers would have.”
“You’ve been through enough, we want this to be as easy as it can be on you.” He shook my hand before leaving the conference room.
A few minutes later Ashley came in. “Hi, I’m Ashley Stephens, one of Greg’s paralegals. It’s nice to meet you Chad.” She smiled and sat down across from me.
I nodded. “You too.”
“Okay, I have some questions first and then we’ll get into your testimony. Just know that anything I ask is designed to make your testimony stronger, not to make you feel bad in any way.”
“Okay.” I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach that this was not going to be a fun experience at all.
“When you got to your apartment, why did you go inside if you thought you heard people in there?”
“I went in because I thought it could be friends or Scarlet.”
“You thought it would be Miss Doyle? Even though you had been broken up for a couple of weeks at this point?”
“I hoped it would be.” I sighed.
She nodded. “My next question is this, when your father first came to you, why didn't you call the police?”
“Why would I have? He had been released from prison and told me he had permission to be in California. He wasn't trying to harm me, just make amends.”
“At what point did you suspect he was using drugs again?”
“It was a while after he first showed up, I can’t remember the exact date.”
“When you knew he was using, why didn’t you call the police? That was obviously a violation of his parole.”
“I honestly don’t know. It never really occurred to me to call the police about it.” I shrugged.
“Okay, now walk me through everything, from the very start of him showing up to the night in your apartment.”
My auto-pilot kicked on, and I told her everything. I wasn’t emotional about any of it anymore. I just wanted it all to be done and behind me.
“Okay, I’m sure we will be doing this a few more times before the trial. Greg will have questions for you. We’re all done for today.”
I followed her out of the room and continued down the hall to the front door. Scarlet was leaning against the hood of my car when I walked out.
“Hey.” I smiled.
“Hey yourself.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I thought maybe you could use some love after that.” She smiled.
“It wasn't that bad. But I’ll take the love anyway.” I pulled her against me.
“I can't wait for this all to be over.” She sighed.
I tipped her chin up to look in her eyes. “You know it’s going to be okay right? Greg has this totally under control.”
“I know he does. Just the thought of seeing him again freaks me out.” She shuddered.
“He can't ever hurt you again.”
“My brain knows that, but the irrational part of me doesn’t believe that.” She smiled weakly.
“We’re going to be okay.” I kissed her forehead and looked around for her truck. “Where’s your truck?”
“Frank dropped me off.”
“I was going right to the gym to meet Vin.”
“I can come with.”
I pressed my lips together to keep from saying no right away. This would be my first time back since my freak out and the crap with Tom. I was unsure of myself in the ring.
“What are you thinking?” she asked.
“Nothing. You can come.”
“Just like that you’re saying yes?”
“Yeah, just like that. I’m not going to make the same mistakes I made in the past. I want to be an open book to you. So, I’m going to tell you that this is my first time back in a long time. And, the last time I was there, my head wasn’t in a good place and I sort of lost my shit and wailed on Vin. I didn’t want to tell you that, I didn't want to tell anyone about it, but I don't want to hide anything from you. I also wanted you to know why I’m a little nervous today.”
“I appreciate your honesty more than you know. But I already knew about the thing at the gym. Vin told me about it.”
My eyebrows shot up.
“He was worried about you and didn’t know how to help. I didn’t know what to do with the information since we were broken up still.”
“Well, I guess we should go then.” I opened her door for her.
“Are you okay with me being there? I don’t have to go, you can just drop me at home.” She looked at me, searching my eyes for the answer.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you too.” I pulled back and looked at her.
“What?” she asked.
“I’m afraid that I’ll disappoint you. I’m human, and I know that I’ll mess up again. I can’t be without you anymore, you’ve become so enmeshed in my heart that it’s hard to tell where I end and you begin. I need you more than I need to breathe.”
“I know that you’ll make mistakes, and I will too. I promise that I'm not going to run away anymore when things get hard. I’m giving you my trust, I don't want you to always be afraid of letting me down.”
“We can do this. We can be adults in a relationship. Work through the hard parts. I know you’re worth it.”
“Come on, let’s go so I can watch you beat the crap out of your best friend.” She smiled.
“Hey, you never know, he could kick my ass today since I’m out of practice.”
“Somehow I don't see that happening.”
“Yeah, me neither.” I laughed.
Vin was talking with Ian when we walked into the gym.
“Well look who it is, good to see you back in here man.” Ian grinned at me.
“It took me a while to find my way back,” I replied honestly. “I’m going to go back and get changed. Keep an eye on my girl will you Vin? I know how much of a lech your brother is.”
“Hey, I don’t lech after taken girls.” He looked offended
“You don’t? Since when?” Scarlet shot back. “I can remember several occasions where you hit on a girl in a steady relationship.”
“Hey, well, I promise not to lech after your chick bro.”
“Yeah, like I’d let you.” Scarlet punched him in the arm.
“Truer words have never been spoken. You're too much of a challenge for me anyway.”
I headed back to the locker room listening to them argue. Life was finally getting back to normal. This was what it should be like all the time. Not dealing with crazy psychopath fathers who hold a knife to your girl’s throat and stab you repeatedly. I needed more normal, I was done with crazy for a while.
I changed quickly and grabbed my hand wraps from the bottom of my locker before heading back out to one of the benches.
The Deeper We Get (The Harder I Fall #2) Page 15
