One Percent of You

by Michelle Gross

  “Shh,” she hissed. “What if Lucy hears you?”

  “Nothing’s changed. This has been happening for a while now, you and I.”

  “You need to go.”

  “Okay,” I mumbled, removing my hands. Before I left, I said, “I’m scared, too, Hadley, but not the way you think. My fear comes from your not giving me a chance before we even begin.”

  Hadley would never understand how she twisted me into knots. Could she honestly say that she didn’t want to try with me? Normally, I never doubted myself, but she had me all kinds of fucked-up.

  At least Lucy was disappointed that I was leaving.

  For the rest of the evening, I sat around and thought about what I should do and decided maybe the best course of action was to take a step back and let Hadley have her way. Of course I wanted my hands on her. I wasn’t even going to pretend that I didn’t want to flirt with Hadley. The one mind-blowing time with her the other night was making my chest hurt thinking I’d never get to be that way with her again.

  Man, I was depressed.

  She kicked me out. Well, not technically but she still didn’t want me there, and that messed with my head. Would she even come around to the idea of us or was that my new reality? Did sleeping with her really terrify her that much? Or did she regret it and that was why she was so uncomfortable?

  Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

  Honest to God I couldn’t breathe. The air didn’t return to my lungs until the mom who tore my life to hell sent me a text around eleven that same night.

  Hadley: You asleep?

  Two words but my stomach churned in fear. Would that be the end for me?

  Elijah: No. Is everything okay?

  Hadley: Lucy and Eli are asleep…

  Holy shit! Was she suggesting…? Heat crawled up my neck, and my cock twitched.

  What was I thinking? Hadley made me leave earlier. Why the late night fuck text? I should be fucking pissed and demand she let me take her out on a date. I wasn’t a booty call. She needed to know this shit between us was the real deal. She wasn’t getting away from me.

  Hadley: Come up, if you want.

  Who was I fucking kidding? I barreled through my hallway, stumbled over some random shit on the floor, slipped on my boots, and headed out the door. She didn’t regret what we did. She wanted to do it again.

  I couldn’t wait to smack that ass for scaring the fuck out of me.

  Before I could knock, she opened the door like she was waiting on me. Her small hand fisted my shirt and yanked me through the doorway. Hadley closed the door behind me as she stood on her tiptoes and urged my lips to meet hers. Hadley’s small petite frame pressed me up against the door, her tongue in search of mine as she gripped a chunk of my hair like a crazy woman.

  She had liquid fire pumping through my veins. No, she was in my veins. The woman was all through me, embedded so deeply I knew there wasn’t a thing I wouldn’t do for her. Just to have her in my life… For me to be hers… To wake up with her in my arms every day.

  I didn’t doubt that the pink grandma gown she wore was so that I had easier access to her. The giant thing was hot as fuck on her. I pulled away from her mouth for a second just to see her in it. I took in her ocean-blue eyes, fueled by lust, in the darkened kitchen. Then I let her resume pawing at my chest as I slipped my hand up her gown and gripped an ass cheek. She gasped and my tongue dove into her open mouth.

  “Hold up a second,” I groaned as I patted her ass a few times in hopes she’d stop stealing my soul with her kisses. She didn’t listen. She didn’t even respond. I had to grab her shoulders and pull her away from me. “We need to talk.”

  Her eyes were glassy and cheeks were flushed as she gazed up at me. “Why?”

  “Are you done being a sour puss?” I asked her.

  She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Elijah…”

  “You’ve been a little shit all day.”

  “I have not,” she tried to say, but I shut her up quickly.

  “You have. You’ve been itching for a fight all day. You made me leave earlier. Why? Is it so you can go right back to pretending you didn’t fuck me in the morning?”

  She tried to pull away from me, but I held her tighter and brought her closer. “I don’t want to be a dirty secret, Hadley.”

  “Why did you even come over if we’re not going to…” She let her words die out. I had yet to hear a cuss word from her mouth.

  “Who said we aren’t?” I murmured softly. Once I was sure she wouldn’t try to get away from me, I trailed my fingers down her side. “Spread your legs,” I said and realized she’d already done it. Smiling down at her, I lifted her gown and rubbed my fingers over her wet panties. “Will you come sit down and listen to me for a second?”

  Hadley nodded, and I scooped her into my arms and carried her to the couch. I sat down with her, curling her up like a child in my hold as I stared at her. “You’re so beautiful, Hadley.” And she was. Everything about her—from the roundness of her eyes and the cute curve in her lips as she blushed and smiled to the angry expressions crossing her face—was perfect. I could never grow tired of seeing her.

  Hadley averted her eyes and whispered, “You’ll make me do something awkward. Just stop…”

  “You’re always awkward.”

  That made her glance up with a slight laugh. “Hey.”

  “You’re the definition of jumpy.” I laughed. “You’re my little bundle of nerves.”

  She sighed. “I can’t help it.”

  “It’s amazing, you know, watching you handle single parenting despite being a nervous person. At times you’re a superhuman, then I see how flustered you get over the shit I say and wonder how you even function. But you do it so easily.” I held her closer, rubbing my thumb across her arm. “I don’t want you to have to do anything alone, anymore.”

  She sucked in a breath and met my eyes. “Elijah…”

  “I would never say a word to Lucy, Hadley. Not until you’re ready to tell her, but I want to head in that direction. With you. One day I want my life to be with you guys. I’ve felt that way ever since meeting you and your family.”

  I never felt more terrified of anything than I did at that moment. I was giving Hadley everything I had to offer—all of me. My time, my love, my thoughts. Anything I had was hers to take if she’d let me have her to love and hold like I so desperately wanted.

  She was quiet for a long time as she searched my eyes. It only made my fear worse. What if I was too hateful or bossy for her liking? What if I didn’t have enough skin because most of me was covered in tattoos? What if she still loved Lucy and Eli’s dad?

  “Please,” she whispered as she closed her eyes. A tear slid down her cheek, and I caught it with my thumb. “Don’t hurt me. Most of all, don’t hurt Lucy because my little girl likes you, and I don’t want her to wonder why you’re not there one day like her dad.”

  “One day, baby, when we’re old and gray, I’m going to look over at you while we’re sitting on the porch and tell you how these tears were wasted.”

  She cried harder as she opened her eyes. “God bless… You’re serious!”

  “One hundred percent.” I cupped her cheeks in my hands. “That one percent of you… I want it.”

  With a ragged breath, Hadley’s lips were on mine. Wet nose and all, she pressed her weight into that single kiss, and I took it all. Opening her mouth, I flicked and traced my tongue over hers. She grabbed the bottom of my shirt. I had to lean forward so that she could yank it over my head. And then, together, we took off her grandma nightie. Hadley’s nipples hardened the moment the cool air touched her skin. I gripped one roughly, tugging on the nipple until she rubbed herself against my lap. I kept pinching and pulling, completely mesmerized by her perfect breasts. When no milk came out like I wanted, I bent down and sucked one between my lips. She cried out as it trickled into my mouth.

  Maybe I should feel bad for getting so fucking turned on by her body, which supplied food for a tiny life, but
that just made me want her more. The fact that she let me fondle her like a depraved man only made me worse.

  She deserved the attention, and I wanted to be the one that gave it to her. The only one that knew the wild way she bucked and moaned when I reminded her that she was still a woman, my woman, and not only a mother. She was a fucking perfect blend of both roles.

  Unlike the other night, I planned on fucking her for more than thirty seconds before I lost my shit. It didn’t matter though. That moment with her had topped any and everything I’d ever felt before.

  “I want to…” Her voice trailed off as she pulled away from me. Climbing out of my lap, she got on her knees in front of me.

  “Hadley,” I groaned.

  She would be the death of me.

  I watched as her bashful eyes moved over my jeans before she unzipped them. I helped her wrestle with my jeans until they were pulled down enough freeing my cock. Just like my desperate heart, it bobbed straight up seeking Hadley. She wrapped her hand around it softly, and I groaned. “Don’t be afraid of hurting me. You won’t hurt him, baby. Go on and choke him out and see.”

  Her giggles were music to my ears as she shook her head at me, admiring my cock. Hadley’s eyes were so big and round and glassy as her mouth parted… Killing me slowly.

  Then she gasped, and I saw exactly what she did at that moment. Her hand moved up to my pubic bone piercing before her eyes found mine. “Is that a piercing?” she whispered in both awe and shock.

  “Yeah. I guess you didn’t get the chance to see it the other night,” I murmured hoarsely as I slipped my fingers through the bun atop her head.

  “Does it have a purpose?” Her cheeks were getting extremely red, so I knew she had an idea.

  “Want to find out?” I asked. She bit her bottom lip, slowly nodding. “Let’s go to your room.” Another nod.

  I stood, pulling up my jeans as I pinched at Hadley’s nipples and ass as I followed her into the room. “Shh,” she mumbled as we stepped in and closed the door.

  “You guys will have to stay at my house. This apartment is too small, and your mouth is too big—” She covered mine, slightly laughing as I pushed her down on the bed. “I feel bad that I’m over here fondling Eli’s milk supply with him right there in the crib.”

  More laughter. “Stop talking before you kill the mood.”

  I climbed on top of her, pinching her nipple until she hissed, and pushed her legs apart with my knees. “Let me see if the moods gone,” I whispered, slipping my hand between her legs and feeling the dampness of her panties. “It’s an ocean down there.”

  “Can you lose the playful attitude before I smack you upside the head? What happened to the guy in the living room?”

  I studied her stubborn pout with a smile. “Oh, so you do like that I’m an asshole?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Drying up like the desert.”

  “I see that being horny also makes you cranky.” I grabbed her panties and yanked them off, forcing her legs in the air. She made a sound in her throat as I gripped her thighs and jerked her into position until her pussy lined up with my cock. I ran my fingers over her clit before slipping into her. “Desert, my ass. I could bottle you up and go live in one with how wet you are.”

  “Shh,” she murmured. She wanted me quiet now? I smirked and grabbed her tit. Something I couldn’t help but keep doing. She hissed.

  “Shh,” I told her, bending down and grazing my teeth over the side of her neck.

  She slid her hand over my chest and squirmed beneath me. “Condom,” she whimpered. It was then that I realized how demanding Hadley could get. She was normally so docile and sweet. It didn’t matter. I loved her either way.

  Raising up, I kicked my jeans off and grabbed the condom from my back pocket before tossing them into the floor. Hadley eagerly watched as I tore open the packet and wrapped myself. Hiking her legs up, I gripped her thighs and scooted her ass toward the edge of the bed. She shivered as I teased her pussy lips with my cock. I didn’t waste another second talking or making her wait. Lifting her hips slightly, I thrust into her tight pussy.

  Hadley’s back arched, and she whimpered. I reached down and grabbed one of her large tits and squeezed—being inside her made me feel like a man possessed. She felt so damn good. I had to have my hands on every part of her. She grabbed her other one as I withdrew and slammed into her hard enough her breasts bounced. She held one firm as I kneaded the one I gripped before caressing the nipple gently. I stroked her a few times before thrusting all the way inside her slowly until my piercing rubbed against her clit. I rolled my hips around completely rooted inside her.

  “Elijah,” she gasped. She spread her legs further apart, and I knew she wanted more friction from the piercing. She began grinding against it. When I pulled out, she whimpered and wrapped her legs around me. “Stay close,” she whispered. “Oh, fudge.” Her tits jiggled slightly as she arched again, then she was reaching up and urging me down over her. “Need you closer.”

  Fuck. Like I could deny her anything when she trembled below me, her voice laced with desire heightening my need for her.

  I hovered over Hadley and rotated my hips, brushing against her clit again. She squeezed me tighter. “Closer.”

  Unless we could swap souls, I couldn’t get any closer, not when I was already hugging her heavy breasts. I understood what she wanted though. I was inside her, but I wanted her to know how deep and intense this was for me. Maybe she felt what I felt.

  Pushing one of her legs back so I could nestle deeper inside her, I rested my forehead on hers gently and whispered, “You like that?”

  Her forehead bounced against mine. I pumped into her slowly, giving her clit constant stimulation from the piercing. “Elijah,” she whimpered. I felt her stomach tense right before she came. Her entire body fluttered beneath mine as her pussy pulsed around my cock.

  I guided her along with slow, steady thrusts. I covered my mouth with hers. The frantic way her tongue fell over mine had both of us shaking. My body strained, fighting the urge building within me.

  Since Hadley’s so satisfied with slow tonight, I fought to keep my release right at the edge. As long as I didn’t move much, I could draw it out until she was sated. The greatest pleasure was seeing her shatter over and over for me. Heat crawled down my back and into my stomach just watching her.

  If only her body didn’t fit with mine so perfectly, not busting my load would be easier. She fit like a glove, and her pussy was still pulsating a good minute after she came. Her legs tightened around my back. “Elijahhh,” she cried out again, and now I knew she was about to guide my own climax from me.

  Fucking—

  Hadley was already slipping into another one.

  “Fuck, Hadley,” I hissed. Fire ran through me. The head of my cock throbbed. There was no stopping me. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t moving, as soon as Hadley’s walls clenched, it was all over for me. Before Hadley could start or finish, I whispered, “Here, baby.” I pulled out and thrust deeply. “Jesus Christ, Hadley.” Then we came together.

  We sealed it with a kiss before I murmured, “Can I stay?”

  “No.”

  “You’re killing me.” I lifted off of her, and she pinched my nipple. I swatted her hand away. “Don’t pinch me, woman.”

  She giggled. “Who’s the sour puss now?”

  I pulled off the condom and placed it at the edge of the bed so I could discard it when I got up. I toppled back over her. “Can’t move,” I lied.

  “Baby steps,” she whispered.

  “Have you seen my feet?” I asked her even though I knew what she was talking about. “I can’t do baby steps.”

  “Not even for me?”

  Exhaling, I sat up and kissed her forehead. “For you, anything.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Hadley

  I was so sick to my stomach. It was like battery acid churned through it. This was worse than the first day of a new job. This was worse than g
iving birth.

  Lucy was too young to leave me!

  Lucy’s first day of Alabama Head Start, the government run preschool program for low-income families, made me so nervous I nearly vomited. She, on the other hand, was excited as we walked toward the entrance. She had a bounce to her step as she held my hand.

  “Can Elijah come inside too?” Lucy poked her head over her tiny shoulder and looked back to where Elijah stood by his truck.

  God bless America! Please don’t encourage the big guy, Lucy. She didn’t know how much I had to discourage Elijah from doing just that. We dropped Eli off at my parents, so I could go in with Lucy for her first day. I was a complete and utter wreck. It didn’t help that Elijah, who had been sneaking up to my apartment the last few days for inappropriate things, was doing for Lucy what Scott had never done.

  My desire for Elijah confused me while I was anxious about what Scott’s family would say about our relationship. To be fair, I asked Scott if he wanted to come with me on Lucy’s first day. He declined and asked me to take pictures for his mom instead.

  It hurt and made me sad that Lucy’s dad didn’t want to be there for her. Even if she barely spoke about her father, which was another thing that made me sad, I couldn’t do anything. Scott had to the make the effort, but he didn’t want to.

  I thought maybe he had a lady friend over the last week since he didn’t bug me as much, but that also meant Scott spoke to Lucy less. Yesterday, she called him about her first day, but Scott didn’t answer. So I sent a text message, and that was how we got a response. I was tired of worrying about Scott spending time with his kids.

  As much as I wanted Eli to know his dad, I couldn’t control that. Scott had only been around him a few times. I had both of my parents growing up, so I didn’t know how to handle single parenting. The thought of Lucy and Eli not seeing their father broke my heart. I knew there were a lot of kids who had a lot less than mine. It was why I tried so hard to make opportunities for Scott. Maybe it was time to step back and see what he did on his own. Whether he tried or did nothing, I had to believe I was enough.