by Hope Ford
But it’s not enough. I reach up and cup the back of her neck, pulling it forward. I need her eyes on me. I need to see her as I fill her with my cum, claiming her.
Her eyes are wide and filled with desire. She rocks her body back and forth, up and down. The feel of being inside her again is almost too much to bear, but having her eyes on me makes it even more intense. Her thrusts get more frantic and she tries to look away, but I don’t let her. I sit up with her still riding me, her breasts heaving against my chest with every movement. The different angle propels us both to a whole new level and she’s bucking against me uncontrollably. Heat surrounds me and I come just as her body starts spasming out of control. I grip her thighs tightly and don’t let her move until I’ve completely filled her up. She falls against me as the last tremor flows through her body. I capture her mouth then, consuming her, still not getting enough. I don’t think I ever will.
6
Willow
I didn’t have to worry about the morning after being awkward because I wake up late and have to be at the salon in thirty minutes. I walk quietly around the bedroom grabbing all of my clothes from the night before and dress on my way to the door.
I hold my hand to my temple. Fuck, I don’t have my car.
I look at the keys hanging by the door and Rider’s truck keys are there. He won’t mind; I’ve driven his truck plenty of times.
I grab them and write him a note. The note takes me ten minutes because I worry about what I should say or shouldn’t say. In the end, I write, Running late to work. Had to take your truck. Willow
I made it simple. I wrote the note three times finally sticking with the third one. The first one, I wrote it all out. Told him all my feelings. But I wadded it up and threw it away. The next one, I thanked him for last night and I wadded it up too, because I felt like I should be leaving some hundred dollar bills with it. I cringe at the thought of what we had last night being reduced to some fling. Finally, the third one, I just wrote about me taking his truck and left it at that. I set it on the counter and walked outside.
I run by my apartment and shower quickly and get ready for the day. I run into work, and I’m only ten minutes late.
I could spend all day thinking about last night, but my clients keep me busy and I get lost in my work.
Rider
I heard my truck start up and I knew she was escaping. I worried about how today would be after last night, and I tried to find some way of telling her how I felt without actually telling her. I woke up several times in the night and stared at her in the moonlight, holding her tight in my arms. I swear everything was right in my world in that moment.
Lying here, I think of all the things I need to be doing today. I’ve been doing club business, helping out at all the businesses and also helping Keeper with his woodworking. He’s gotten so many orders he can barely keep up now. But even with all I have to do, I know that I won’t be able to concentrate on anything until I get everything with Willow worked out. I just need to tell her.
I get slowly out of bed and take a shower. I notice Willow’s note on my way out the door and I swear reading it makes me feel even worse. It’s so impersonal. Determined, though, I grab my keys, jump on my bike and head to the salon.
I sit outside her shop, getting up the nerve. When I’m about to go in, I notice her supposed to be ex-boyfriend walk in. They talk for a minute. She puts her hand on his arm, and my whole body tightens. All I want to do is go in and rip that arm off. When they embrace, I see red. My body is rigid and I want nothing more than to destroy something. When they pull apart, I know I can’t watch them kiss. It would destroy me. I sit back on my bike and when the motor roars to life, I take off down the street.
When I pull up to the clubhouse, I release the breath I didn’t know I was holding. I feel the worst pain in my chest for a minute, making me wonder if I am in fact having a heart attack. When, honestly, I know that it’s just my heart breaking.
I walk, if not stumble in and head straight to the bar. It’s dead around here, and even though I want a drink, I don’t. I know that’s not the answer and I need a clear head.
“What are you doing here?” Brewer asks me.
I didn’t even notice him sitting there. His eyes are bloodshot and it’s obvious he had a rough night.
“Probably the same thing you’re doing, trying to forget last night,” I tell him.
“That’s the fuckin’ truth,” he says and takes another drink of beer.
At that moment, Keeper walks out of Sniper’s office and looks over at the two of us, both with our heads hung low.
He walks behind the bar and stops in front of me. “You coming in to work today?”
I nod my head. “Yep, I just needed to clear my head a bit.”
He sets a bottle of water in front of me and turns to Brewer. “What about you? Aren’t you supposed to be at the repair shop today?”
Brewer just tips his bottle at him. “You know, Keep, regardless of what everyone thinks I’m not a child.”
Keeper just laughs. “You two having woman problems or what?”
I just shrug my shoulders instead of answering him, because I’m pretty sure that Keeper can guess what my problem is.
He puts his hands on the counter and leans across it, all in my face. “Did you tell her?”
I play dumb. “Tell who what?”
Keeper laughs and I swear if he wasn’t my boss, I would deck him right now. In between laughing, he decides to bust my balls. “Oh, I don’t know, tell your best friend that you’re in love with her…”
“No. It doesn’t matter. I just saw her with her ex.”
He gets solemn then. “Man, that sucks. I couldn’t imagine walking in on Lilly fucking someone else. I’d kill him.” His hands are turning white holding onto the edge of the counter just thinking about it.
“They weren’t fucking. They were hugging,” I tell him, all pissed off that he even thought it.
Keeper slaps his hand on the counter. “So you’re telling me you saw her hugging someone so you’re giving up?”
I roll my eyes at him. “You don’t understand, Keep.”
He smirks. “Well, explain it to me. It’s obvious to everyone around here that you love her. Fuck, Rider, it’s obvious to everyone that she loves you.”
I grunt. That’s it. If only he knew.
“I’m telling you, Rider. Don’t give up on her. Not yet.”
I stew it over in my mind and I know he’s right. I can’t just let this go. I need to make it right and if I’m not what Willow wants, I’ll still be her friend. No matter how hard that will be.
I finally nod my head at him and get up.
Keeper stops me. “Take the rest of the day off. The shipment of supplies didn’t come in so we’ll just start fresh tomorrow.”
I nod and tell him thanks, hollering bye to Brewer.
The last thing I hear is Keeper talking about how he needs to work but he’s having to deal with pansy-ass men that don’t know how to handle love. When I look over my shoulder, he’s talking to Brewer. I probably should have made sure he was all right. I finally asked Willow last night what Brewer said to her, but she said it was weird; he didn’t even hit on her like he normally does. I should have known then something was up with him. Oh well, Keeper, the resident relationship guru, can handle this one. I have my own shit to deal with.
7
Willow
As I was hugging bye to Steve, I saw Rider driving away on his bike. I tried to stop him, but there’s no way he would have heard me. I rushed through my next two appointments and hurried back to his house.
I walked in and set the keys on the counter, walking through to find him. I’ve thought about it all day and I decided that I’m finally just going to tell him.
When I walk into the living room, he’s sitting on the couch with his hands folded in his lap.
Damn, he looks hot, I think to myself and then shake my head. Fuck, Willow, pull yourself together.
“Hey!” I say to him worriedly when he doesn’t look up at me.
“Hey.” He stands up and walks to the kitchen. I watch him as he pulls out stuff to make a sandwich. “You want one?”
Confused, because he’s being so rigid, so formal, I pull myself together and decide to stick with the plan. “No thanks. I’m sorry about taking your truck.”
He stops what he’s doing and looks at me… finally. “You know you can use my truck any time you need to.”
Okay, I blow a piece of hair out of my face. He’s warming up at least. “Right, so anyway, I was hoping we could talk, you know, about last night.”
He spreads the mayonnaise on the bread like he’s concentrating really hard. “It’s fine. I told you last night. We will always be friends. Even if you do get back with that dumbass Steve.”
The whole time he was talking it was devoid of any emotion, that is, until he got to the end and said Steve. It’s then I knew he was mad.
I put my hand on my hip. “Really, Rider? Is that what you think about me? I would get out of your bed and then go to another man?”
“Friends with benefits. That’s what you called it. That’s what you wanted. So what’s stopping you from going to another man?” He slaps his sandwich together and I swear I don’t know how he’s going to eat the smushed mess he has between his hands. He takes one look at it and throws it down on the counter.
“I came here to talk to you, but I can’t talk to you like this. Call me when you calm down,” I yell at him and walk toward the door.
I turn back around and reach for his keys. “And I’m going to need your truck.”
I turn back around and run smack dab into him.
“Willow, wait. I’m fucking this all up. I saw you with Steve this morning and it fucked with me. But it’s not your fault. None of this is your fault.”
I’m fighting tears now, because in this moment I feel like I’ve completely screwed up our friendship. “It is my fault though. Last night was a mistake. We should have known better. I don’t want to fight with you.”
Rider
“I won’t lose you, Willow. I can’t.” My voice breaks just thinking about it.
She pulls away from me. “Give me a minute, will you, Rider? I’ll be right back.”
I reluctantly let her go and watch her as she walks out of the kitchen and down the hall to the bathroom. I’m barely holding on. I look down at the crumbled sandwich and wrap it in a paper towel to throw away. Two half wadded-up pieces of paper are on top and I can see they have writing on them. I pull them out and flatten the first one out and read it. Rider, thanks for last night. We should do it again.
Hope begins to flare in my chest. I open up the next one and flatten it out. Rider, I know I said I wanted to be friends with benefits. But I wasn’t honest with you. I love you, Rider. I have for a long time and I want to be yours and you to be mine.
My hand goes to my chest and the steady pound of my heart picks up its pace. She loves me.
I stride down the hallway and when she comes out of the bathroom, I’m standing right in front of her.
She’s surprised to see me standing right outside the bathroom door. I bend down and pick her up, carrying her to my room. When I lean in to kiss her, she doesn’t stop me and she doesn’t pull away.
We kiss until I feel my knees hit the bed and then I release her and toss her on the bed. “Get undressed,” I tell her.
She scoots back and sits up on her elbows, but she doesn’t do as I ask. I start undressing and she watches my every movement. “Wait, Rider, what are we doing?”
I smile at her, a huge smile that covers my whole face. “You love me, Willow!” I say to her right before I tug her feet to the edge of the bed and start undressing her myself.
She’s stunned. “What? Huh? Wait, Rider…”
“There’s no waiting, not anymore. I love you, Willow and God, when I saw you in Steve’s arms today, it gutted me, honey.”
She struggles against me and tries to pull away. “You love me?”
I keep pulling her clothes until she’s naked underneath me. I slide my hands down the inside of her thighs and pull them apart. Her glistening pussy is ripe and ready for me. Her hands go to my hips right before I’m about to enter her. “Rider, focus!”
My eyes snap up to hers and I feel like a crazed man. Knowing she loves me is making me crazy and I feel that nothing will stop me until I’m buried to the hilt inside of her. My cock is right at her entrance and I slowly push in. “God, yes, I love you. I want to marry you, I want you to have my babies, I want everything with you.”
Sweat is on my temple and the restraint I have right now is an amazing feat, because I’m barely hanging on.
“I love you, too,” she says smiling up at me.
“I know you do.” I smile at her knowingly and push her legs further apart. “Can we talk about this later?”
“Yes,” she says and as soon as I hear it, I move into her inch by inch. Only when I’m buried balls deep inside her and my lips are attached to hers do I feel utterly and happily complete.
Epilogue
A few months later
Rider
First of all, growing up I never thought I would be best friends with a girl. Second of all, I never dreamed I would fall in love with said girl. But I did. The best kind of love. I think it helped us that we were friends first. It definitely helped when we got into arguments. I knew exactly what to do for her to forgive me.
She moved in with me the next week and we’re getting married as soon as I can talk her into it. She keeps saying that we need to wait and make sure I don’t change my mind. She’s crazy, though, and I think she knows it. I know I have a sordid past, with relationship after relationship. Hell, who am I kidding? None of them were relationships. They were one-night stands. I knew I was looking for something, but I had no idea she was right next to me the whole time.
I roll over in bed and her side of the bed is cold. I raise up on my elbows, listening to the noises of the house, to try and find her.
When I hear her getting sick in the bathroom, I jump up and run in there.
She’s bent over the toilet, but she holds her hand up to stop me. She sounds awful when she tells me, “No wait, I’m fine. I’ll be out in a minute.”
I ignore her and wet a washcloth, putting it on the back of her neck.
I hate that she’s sick, but secretly I’m wondering if this is what I think it is.
The way she’s been tired lately, and I’ve thought her breasts were bigger recently, it all adds up.
When she finally finishes, she rests her head on her arms.
I’m rubbing her back softly, waiting for her.
“I’m pretty sure this means you’re finally going to marry me,” I tell her softly.
She looks up at me with wide eyes. “This isn’t how I wanted to tell you.”
I brush the hair away from her face and help her stand up. She stands in front of the mirror and starts brushing her teeth. I stand behind her with my front pressed against her back. When she finishes brushing, she turns in my arms and looks up at me. “I don’t want to marry you just because we’re having a baby.”
“You’re not. You’re marrying me because you love me and you know I love you, too.”
Willow
Rider lifts me up gently and carries me back to bed. We lie down next to each other and right now, there’s no better feeling than being in his arms. He’s proven to me over and over the last few weeks that he does indeed love me. Our friendship was amazing before, but our love for each other has been phenomenal. I’ve never experienced anything like it.
I turn in his arms until my head is resting on his arm and I’m looking at him. “Are you okay with this? I mean the baby.”
He chuckles and shakes his head. “Do you think this was a surprise for me? Honey, we haven’t used protection once. Have you not noticed that I’ve had you every day, sometimes multiple times a day, each time praying
that I would be planting my seed deep in your womb. God, Willow, I love you. I want you tied to me for eternity.”
I start to argue with him, but that’s just how I am. I have to overanalyze everything. “I know, but…”
He stops me though. He pushes me onto my back and hovers over me, kissing my lips lightly. He cups the soft skin of my belly. “No buts, I love you, Willow. And I love this baby. You’re mine now and we’re getting married next week.”
He kisses along my shoulders down my breasts, and stops on my belly. He grazes his hand across it almost in awe. I hate to break the spell, but I say to him, “I can’t plan a wedding in a week.”
He nuzzles against my stomach, the feel of his stubbled beard, grazing my sensitive skin. “Two weeks. Two weeks and you’ll be my wife.”
He looks up at me then and places a kiss on my belly. How can I tell him no?
Shaking my head yes, I pull him up my body and kiss him. “Okay.”
He kisses me then before making sweet love to me, reminding me once again how good love can be with your best friend.
Stay Tuned for Brewer, Book 7 of the Exiled Guardians MC. Get up to date information here!
JOIN ME!
JOIN MY NEWSLETTER & READERS GROUP
For Up To Date Information on New Releases, Specials, and More
JOIN MY NEWSLETTER
JOIN MY PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP!
CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY READERS GROUP ON FACEBOOK
A place to talk about Hope Ford's books! Find out about new releases, giveaways, get exclusive content, see covers before anyone else and more!
