Touch Me

by Kayla C. Oliver

  And everything explodes.

  I feel my balls gathering before pleasure bursts from me in a heat I’d never expected, or never experienced. It’s as if I’ve never done this before and my body is releasing every bit of pent up tension and pressure right now in one orgasm.

  “Dakin,” she says, her eyes on me as I come deep within her. She’s talking, but I’m beyond hearing as everything combusts and I pulse with pleasure and shock. The flash bang of pleasure is almost too much as she cries out and clings to me.

  When everything comes back into focus, she’s slumped on top of me and I want to hold her. Reaching down, I quickly slide the condom off and shift her so she’s not touching me in a way that might transfer fluids. I need to make sure I don’t accidentally knock her up.

  Even now, post orgasm, all I can think about is keeping her safe. She shifts, then moves beside me on the bed, her whole body relaxing into the sheets like there’s nothing left to be awake for.

  Which is fine with me.

  I’m just going to lay here and hold her, wondering why there’s no need within me to send her on her way. Why am I perfectly content to hold her while she sleeps?

  “You’re so incredible,” I murmur into her ear as I move her hair from her face. Her breathing is deep and even, and I want nothing more than to commit every detail of this moment to memory. Her response is to snuggle back into me, her ass wiggling against my cock.

  And even now, so soon after, I feel my body stir as if ready for her again. The thud of her pulse in her back seems to be in time with mine and I suddenly realize how tired I am, how relaxed, how warm and comfortable. Everything seems just right as it is, here, with Camille in my bed and the world moving about its business outside.

  Epilogue

  Camille

  I glance over my shoulder at Dakin in the kitchen. He’s watching me and my heart skips a beat. He’d promised me something special tonight, but first, I have to be a good girl throughout this family barbeque.

  It’s not only family, his good friends are also here. Over the last couple of months, I’ve gotten to know the guys. Cliff, who’d been there when the cops took in Jackson, is still quiet but I have the sense he’s watching out for me. Zac, the cop, is serious, calm and quiet, but quick to laugh at whatever joke is made.

  Right now, beside me, Shane lifts his glass to me in a show of cheer. “But may we never experience love,” he teases as the guys lift their glasses and my mother-in-law to be rolls her eyes.

  “Really?” she asks them as Dakin’s father, a proud and quiet man, lets out a chuckle. My phone chimes and I look down at it, glad to see my mom and dad are going to be here. They’re just running late.

  Amber looks over at me, her eyes sparkling with mischief. I’m glad I finally let her in. She took me dropping out of college and suddenly becoming Dakin’s right hand in stride. As long as things between Dakin and I stay good, she promises she’ll back me up in any way I need.

  And, judging by the way she’s eyeballing Jake, I have a feeling she’ll be around a lot more.

  “So when are you coming climbing with us?” Brice asks me, and I shrug at him. I’ve yet to go out with them, but mostly because I haven’t been able to get Dakin out of my system. I need him. I crave him. Which makes leaving the house for long periods of time difficult.

  Maybe I’ve gone from good girl to total whore, but I’ve made a promise to myself: to make up for lost time, to try everything, and to give my body what it wants. Dakin seems to love it, and I know we’re falling quickly. It’s almost scary how much of a permanent fixture he seems to be in my life now.

  I hear my mom call out over the back gate and I stand up to go give her and daddy a hug. “Hi, honey!” Mom says, her arms warm as she holds me tight. Dad jut wraps around us both and I realize that life is good. Better than good: perfect.

  Jackson’s in jail, awaiting trial.

  Mom is safe and dad’s right there with her. I’ve got friends, brothers in Dakin’s friends, and Amber as the best friend a girl could ask for.

  And I’ve got Dakin

  I’m fucking lucky.

  My parents let me go and Dakin walks up. Dad shakes his hand and mom throws her arms around his shoulders. They love him. Of course they do. How could they not? I love him, even.

  Mom asks Dakin how he’s been and Dakin is quick to respond. I watch them getting along and think about how scared I’d been to tell them I’d dropped out of college. Dakin had been by my side then, too.

  Once I explained everything, how I felt like I was living my life for everyone else and that I wasn’t happy, they’d whole-heartedly agreed I did the right thing. And they’d promised to stick with me no matter what I decided to do.

  We all head back toward the tables. The moms hug and chat, the dads shake and talk sports. It’s idyllic, impossibly good. I feel like the other shoe has to drop. Something has to go wrong; I’m feeling way too happy.

  As Dakin catches my eyes, I see him give me a small, private smile that hints at his plans for the night. In a teasing manner, I flick my tongue over my top lip and his eyes narrow. The undertone of sexuality is too much and I feel my nipple hardening under the little dress I’m wearing. I’d decided to go with nothing on under it just to tease him, but it’s turning me on just as much, I think.

  Amber walks past me and grabs my hand, breaking me out of the spell of Dakin’s stare. She leads me off toward the pool and I sit in a chair beside her.

  “I have a huge crush on Jake,” she whispers, and I nod.

  “Well duh,” I tease, “Tell me something I don’t know.”

  To my surprise, tears fill her beautiful, hazel eyes. “I don’t think he even notices me,” she whispers and I pull her in for a hug.

  “I think you’re wrong,” I tell her, wanting her to know I’ve seen him looking at her when she’s focused on other things.

  I grab her hand as people begin to settle around the tables, and the buzz of conversations grow over the distance between us.

  “It’ll happen,” I whisper to her as we walk. “But let’s go eat.” Hand in hand, we walk toward the group of people.

  “Thank you,” she says softly and I stop beside Jake.

  “Can she sit here so she’s across from me?” I ask and he looks up at me in shock, then looks at her with a heat I recognize in his eyes.

  “Of course,” he says and she smiles at him and sits down. Once they’re settled, I walk toward the spot I was in before. As I sit, both Cliff and Shane ask me questions.

  Dakin breaks in and tells them to back off before I get overwhelmed. He puts a plate before me and I realize I’m starving. I dig in as he takes the seat next to me and quickly answers questions.

  “Your potato salad is incredible,” I tell Shannon, my mother-in-law to be. She smiles, a little twinkle in her eyes.

  “I’ll give you the recipe,” she says and I feel so very welcome and at ease as Dakin turns to me.

  “I love you,” he mouths.

  I whisper back, “I love you more.”

  Things couldn’t get any better. My life is amazing. I’m not fucking perfect. I’m just me, and I’m happy.

  Dakin

  She has no idea why I set this whole thing up. I’m so in love with her it aches. I stay awake at night long after she’s drifted off to sleep and I stress and worry about the agony I’d feel if she left me. I think about how hard it would be to lose her. To let her go. I would, of course, if she wanted me to, but it would scar me deep in my very soul.

  I’m going to ask her to marry me. I’ve got her father’s blessing. I’ve got Grandma’s ring. I’m going to ask her to love me forever right here in front of the people who mean the most to us in this world.

  And I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.

  Sure, it’s fast, but like the cliché line goes - when you know, you know.

  As the conversation around us surges, I listen to my guys talking rocks, to Amber and Jake talking quietly about someth
ing that they’re in total agreement on. The way they lean in close warms my heart, and I think I know what’s been eating Jake up lately.

  Amber is a beautiful girl, though she could never hold a candle to Camille, and while she’s quick to temper, I feel like she’s a good match for my oldest friend.

  I scan the table, glad to see so many people who I care about talking, eating, and enjoying their conversations and lives. Shane and Brice are talking about love and how that crap will never be part of their lives. I have to smile at that, because it’s going to get them when they least expect it. That’s just how it works. And when it gets them, I’ll be right there to rub their faces in it.

  Mom smiles at me while talking to Cliff, and dad winks at me. It’s nice to know they’re in on it. Hell, I think everyone knows except Camille.

  And it’s nice to know I’m going to surprise her.

  She’s been such a surprise to me. She’s smarter than I knew when we talk business, and she’s logical and controlled until we heat up the sheets. Then she’s unrestrained, unabashedly sexy and incredible beyond words. She’s perfect. While I’m sure she doesn’t think so, I know she’s aware of her flaws, but I’m in love with her and know her flaws have made her into the woman I’ve come to care so much for over these last months.

  She never ceases to surprise me.

  And now, as conversations lull and silence seems to eat into the moment, I decide to get to it. People are waiting. I get out of my chair and turn to Camille. She looks up at me in surprise.

  And I get down on one knee and see the tears begin to sparkle in her eyes, along with joy, fear, and something more exciting: love.

  “Camille,” I say, glad everyone is listening and silent. “Ever since you walked into my life, you’ve challenged me.” I hear Jake let out a quiet snort and know he’s thinking about how I’d carried Camille upstairs over my shoulder like a damned cave man.

  Camille smiles and I know she’s remembering it too.

  “You’ve pushed me to be the man you thought I was, even at my worst.” I think about how she’d told me I wasn’t the monster I wanted her to believe I was. She’d been so sweet, so sure, and even when I’d tried to make her realize I wasn’t that good man she thought I was.

  “You monster,” she whispers, and there’s a ripple of laugher throughout the table.

  I grin, unable to hide my amusement at her humor. It’s one more thing I love about her, how quick she is to laugh at herself, at me, at life.

  “You’re perfect,” I tell her, needing her to understand what I mean. “Your imperfection, your flaws, you,” I emphasize, “are perfect for me.”

  “Our baggage matches,” she jokes, and I let out a little laugh. How many times we’ve shared that sentiment as we dig into who we are, how broken and fragile, how human and real we are and what changed us every step of the way through our lives. She swears we met by chance, but I’m certain she walked into my life because I needed her.

  “You’ve asked me questions no one else thought to, you’ve trusted me, and you’ve challenged me. And I love it. I want you to keep making me think on my toes for the rest of our lives.” I take out the ring and hold it a moment. It’s a beautiful bit of Alexandrite surrounded by tiny diamonds.

  Grandpa had given it to my grandma because he said it reminded him of the shift of liking her to loving her over time. Perhaps because the gem itself changes color. In the sunlight, it’s a brilliant blue with vibrant green overtones, but inside the house, under artificial light, it’s a deeply red gem with a hint of raspberry color.

  And now, as I offer it to the love of my life, I suddenly understand. The feelings had started deep and over time had lit into a raging inferno of joy and passion that I couldn’t have imagined love could be. It’s better than I’d even imagined.

  Camille gives me her hand and whispers yes. I slip the ring on her finger, joy imploding in me as I rise to my feet with her in tow. She throws her arms around me and our lips meet as the people we care about most clap.

  With her, I can do anything.

  Camille is everything I need, everything I want. For her, I’ll be the best man I can be. Together, we’ll live a flawed, perfectly imperfect life. And it won’t always be easy, but it’ll always be worth it.

  Exclusive Book For You

  As a thank you for reading this book, I have a special gift for you.

  She had the opportunity of a lifetime right at her fingertips, but the passion she found in his arms could destroy it all.

  Click here to get your exclusive and free copy of Temptation!

  Happy reading!

  Kayla C. Oliver

  Other Books By Kayla C. Oliver

  The Billionaire Parker Brothers Series: Fake True Love

  Contact

  If you have any comments or simply want to “say hi”, I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to write at:

  kayla@greenhillpublishing.com

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  Have a wonderful life!

  and remember…

  We are all fools in love ☺

  Yours truly,

  Kayla C. Oliver

  www.kaylacoliver.com