by Anna B. Doe
My freaking wife.
It would seem surreal if the moonlight didn’t fall on the rock on her hand and make it shine even in the darkness of my bedroom. Making her officially mine.
Her body stirs next to mine. I kiss the top of her head, hoping to lull her back to sleep, but her eyelashes slowly flutter open. Sleepy blue eyes look at me. A soft smile curls her lips when she realizes it’s not a dream. She really is in my arms.
I know, because that’s how I feel every time I wake up by her side.
“Can’t sleep?”
I shake my head and lean down to kiss her lips.
Just because I can.
“This has been one overwhelming day, one would think you’d sleep like a baby.”
“I can sleep …” When you are gone. That’s what I wanted to say, but I stop myself on time. “Later.”
It’s one of our unspoken rules. Not to mention out loud how much time we have left. Just be. Just enjoy. Just love.
For the last twelve months, that’s been our motto.
“You could have woken me up.”
“I like to watch you sleep.”
“Creepy much?” She raises her brows in question, but I can hear the teasing tone in her voice.
“Don’t be a smartass.” I rub her nose. “You look peaceful and sweet when you’re asleep.”
“I’m always peaceful and sweet.”
“In your dreams, Tink.”
“I do.” When she sees my confused look, she elaborates, “Dream of you.”
“I dream of you too.”
Silence settles upon us. We don’t break it. There is nothing to be said. We just exist. Together. In our own world where the only thing that matters is to hold her close. To feel her body heat and the steady beat of her heart. To feel her hot breath on my skin and the rise and fall of her chest as she breathes.
I don’t know for how long it stretches, but like she can read my mind, Anabel whispers, “I miss this the most, you know? These moments when it’s just you and me. No people, no sounds. Just darkness and us. I miss being in your arms, when our hearts beat as one and we just are.”
“I know, Tink.” I move one, lone, runaway strand of her hair out of her face. “I miss this too.”
Those blue eyes look at me, and I lose myself in her penetrating stare. Without breaking our eye contact, I lower my head and my lips touch hers. Again, and again.
It’s slow and sweet.
Just a caress of her lips.
Tease of my tongue.
Soft suck of her bottom lip.
Bel softly sighs. Opening her mouth, she invites me in. My fingers tangle in her messy hair, and I deepen our kiss. I taste her mouth and our tongues dance to their own beat.
One of her hands goes to my nape and pulls me closer. With the other, she traces my chest.
My body reacts to her touch. Like a siren, she has me under her spell, and all I can think about is more.
I need more of her touches.
More of her kisses.
More of her.
All of her.
I break our kiss. My forehead touches hers, and we stare at each other as our breathing returns to normal. With hands securely wrapped around her, I pull her to my chest, my hand slowly caressing her back. Because for tonight, this is enough.
For tonight, I only want to hold her.
CHAPTER 4
ANABEL
The day after the Super Bowl there is a big parade and rally—if that’s what you call it—on the streets of New York. The city is hectic, still high on the win and title of champion, and wants to celebrate their favorite sons.
People are all over the streets. The colors of the New York Knights adorn every surface. Reds, grays, whites, and black.
Everybody from the Knights family came to celebrate with their fans. Players, coaches, trainers, therapists, management, owner … Their family and friends. Everybody is invited, and there is no place to breathe.
People hold speeches, and victory songs are blasting all the time while the Knights parade with their trophy.
After what seems like hours, the parade is over, and we can go home.
Shelton has invited us all to come to their house for a party afterward.
Even before Sienna, J.D. had a big house in the suburbs where Sienna moved after they got together.
“You seriously don’t need any help?” I look around the busy kitchen. People are running around, and granite surfaces are full of different kinds of food.
“Nope.” Sienna waves me off. “I just came here to check on things, but the caterers have everything under control.”
“And here I wondered how you managed to organize everything in such a short time.”
“Like I would cook.” She rolls her eyes. “I didn’t even get to say my name until the end and they were already jumping at me with ideas for the party.”
I chuckle lightly. “It’s hard to be you, Mrs. Shelton.”
“It sure is, future Mrs. Price.”
My smile widens at the sound of that. Mrs. Price. Soon I’ll be that. Anabel Majer Price. I have to admit, it has a nice ring to it.
“I like that.” I take a sip of my drink to hide the huge grin on my face. She rolls her eyes at my silliness—there is no fooling Sienna—and takes a sip of her tea.
What the hell is with that?
“Why are you drinking tea?”
We go out the back door and to the big white tent used for parties outside when the weather isn’t warm enough yet to be out for too long. Which is good, because the party that was supposed to be just a small party for family and close friends turned out into a party for half the team and staff.
“I’m just feeling like drinking tea.”
I look at her sideways with a deep frown between my brows. “I mean, I know you love that stuff …” Disgust is evident in my voice. Sienna is a tea drinker. And not any kind of tea, but that awful black tea. Yuck. “But I don’t remember ever seeing you drink it at a party.”
Sienna tries to fake cough. “Maybe I’m coming down with something.”
“Are you for real?” The woman just fake coughed. And it’s one really bad fake cough. If she was an actress, she would starve to death.
“Why are you two frowning at each other?”
Will wraps his hands around me, and I look at J.D. then do the same with Sienna. His hands curl around her hips, giving her a reassuring squeeze, then they slide onto her stomach pulling her closer to his chest.
“She’s drinking tea.”
Will’s light chuckle makes me turn my head to the side to see him better. I missed him.
I let my fingers trace his scruffy cheeks because the pull is too hard to resist. “Is drinking tea now a crime or something?”
“No, but she never drinks tea at a party.” I look at her accusingly. We’ve been buddy drinking all the last year when I was in the States. “Si’s been keeping secrets.”
“I told you. It’s nothing, I’m coming—”
“We should tell them, babe.” J.D. interrupts her mid-sentence.
My gaze shifts between the two of them. “Tell us what?”
She sighs heavily but turns to me. “Just for your information, I was going to tell you, but then everything between you two happened.” She waves her hand in the general direction of Will and me and my hand. The proposal, I realize. “And we decided to wait. To let you have your moment.”
“What the hell is happening?”
“Is everything okay?” we ask at the same time.
Will and I look at each other quickly before returning attention to our friends.
Sienna puts her hands over J.D.’s. I can see her relax into his body. A small, almost serene smile plays on her lips.
“We’re pregnant.”
My mouth hangs open, and I look at her, completely stunned. This is totally out of the blue. Not like we’re telling each other everything—scratch that, we’re telling each other everything—and this surely didn’t co
me up as one of the subjects. She didn’t even say they were trying.
“What?” Will’s hold on me tightens.
“We’re having a baby,” J.D. announces proudly, looking down at his wife with so much love it hurts to watch. If I didn’t see it every time I look at Will I would be so jealous right now.
His green eyes are softly looking at her, and he is completely relaxed. Looking at them feels like we are intruding on their private moment.
“I hope you’re—” Sienna starts but I get out of Will’s arms and run to my best friend.
“This is amazing!” I hug her tight. “Congratulations, you guys!”
The whole thing came as a surprise, but I can’t be happier for them.
From the corner of my eyes I see Will gather his best friend into a bear hug. Then we switch places, only this time he’s gentler. More careful.
“Sy-Sy, you’ll be a mom!”
“How fucked up is that?” She laughs with him.
“Well, you better start putting away dollars in your swear jar if you want to make progress before baby comes. The way you are now, he or she’ll come out swearing like a sailor.”
The whole group laughs at that.
Soon after, we join the others for the party. We’ve been absent long enough. After lunch, Sienna and J.D. announce they are having a baby, and everybody drinks to celebrate a new life and our engagement.
“It feels surreal,” I whisper to my friend later.
“What?”
“All of this.” I lift my hands in the air. “You married with a baby on the way. Me engaged to the best man on this planet. It’s just … unreal.”
“Who thought we’d get this far?” She laughs lightly.
“Not me, that’s for sure.”
Her amber eyes scan the room. The night is young, but the guests have been here all day so most of them have already left. It’s been a long day, after all. The only ones that are still left are our families.
Sienna’s hand lands on mine. She gives it a strong squeeze.
“We’re growing up, Bel.”
“I guess we are.”
*
WILLIAM
After a whole day, I finally manage to get Bel to myself.
Finally.
Spending time with our family and friends is always fun, but at this moment, I need my dose of Tink more than I need to breathe.
Even before we get to our apartment my hands are on her. Holding her hand. Pulling her closer to my side. My hand that’s on the small of her back gets under the hem of her jersey—my jersey—stroking her soft, silky skin.
When we get inside, I shut the door, ignoring the loud bang still hanging in the air from the strong impact. I press her against the closed door. My hands get lost in her long hair as I claim her lips.
Bel surrenders to me. Like she always does.
My mouth attacks hers without mercy, and she’s kissing me right back.
Our kisses are long and hard. My teeth nibble at her lip. Bel moans deeply at the soft swipe of my tongue over her swollen lip before she opens her mouth to let me in.
At the first impact of our tongues, we both moan in delight. The sound suppressed and low.
Anabel’s hands find my shoulders, one moving further to the nape of my neck. Her delicate fingers get lost in the strands of my hair and she pulls me closer. The silky tongue moving deeper in my mouth.
I groan. Hard and loud. I can feel the bulge in my pants grow even more, painfully pressing against the fly of my pants.
When Bel is around I’m always in some state of arousal. I can’t help myself. She’s this mix of sexy and innocent. With all this hair and those blue eyes darker than night she’s so beautiful, and she doesn’t even know it. She doesn’t have any idea how she affects me. That girl could bring me to my knees with one look, one expression on her face, and she doesn’t even know it.
She lifts on the tips of her toes to compensate for the difference in our heights, but I know it must be difficult for her, so my hands slide to her butt, curling around those sweet, round cheeks, and pull her up.
Her center meets mine, rubbing against each other.
I hiss as my dick jerks with need.
Bel wraps her legs around my middle, bringing us together. Involuntarily, my hips twitch in her direction.
Loud moans and hard breathing are the only sound filling the room.
We break the kiss.
Our foreheads touch.
Black hair tickles my cheeks, but I don’t push it away. I savor the feel of it. Savor every soft breath that touches my skin.
“Take me to bed,” she demands. Her voice low and husky.
I give her butt a squeeze to get a better hold of it—and because she has one really freaking nice ass—and start going to my bedroom.
Our bedroom.
The first time she came back to the States after our away time—I don’t call it a breakup because I didn’t agree on it—I gave her the key and moved her into my place.
I stocked the fridge with all the things she likes to eat and went to the bookstore to get her some books written by the authors I saw when I was at her place. I even went as far as taking her shopping once she finally got here because I didn’t like her always having to carry her stuff back and forth.
Anabel is my home, and my home is her home too. I wanted her to feel that way.
Now, the cupboards have all of our favorite food. Her books, notebooks, pencils, and Post-It notes are all over the apartment mixed with my sports magazines and workout gear. Her makeup and shampoos and other shit are spread in the bathroom. Her clothes are taking half my closet, and I can’t remember a time when I was happier.
The walk to our bedroom is short. I turn the switch on, and dim light illuminates the space.
I throw her small body onto the bed and look down at her. She’s spread on the ice-blue silk sheets, dark hair like a fan behind her. Her eyes are hooded and filled with passion, love, need.
My fingers curl around the fabric of the shirt and pull it off my body. Shoes, socks, pants, and briefs soon follow.
Bel’s eyes don’t leave my body. She’s swallowing me in hungrily. Her small, pink tongue darts out of her mouth to wet her lower lip before she bites into it.
I hum with approval and crawl over her body. With my thumb, I disentangle her lip from her teeth and slowly suck on it.
“You shouldn’t do that,” I scold her softly. “You’re hurting yourself.”
“But you’re so hot when you do that … that thing.”
“What thing?” I chuckle, feigning innocence.
“You know what thing.”
Bel pouts her lips, and I can’t stop myself. I have to kiss her.
“Enlighten me.”
I lift her shirt, baring her creamy stomach. With hands on her sides, my thumbs slowly caress the soft skin of her lower stomach.
“When you take off your shirt like that. Your hands are behind your head and your arms are all tense. The shirt lifts and reveals just a peek of skin and hard abs.” Her tongue darts out of her mouth again to wet her dry lips. “It’s just …”
Her words and sexy behavior are too much for me, so I shut her up with a kiss. My fingers work on taking her clothes off. Our kiss breaks only to move her shirt past her head and then we are back at it.
Creamy white tights are open for me, so I settle between them. Her heat embraces me. My head falls back, and my hips thrust forward, our sexes brushing against one another. Rubbing together.
She’s so hot and wet. So perfect.
“I need you so bad.”
Her words are my undoing. I kiss her softly on the lips. “I need you too, Tink.”
I leave small kisses down her body. My hands tracing every part of the skin they can reach. The further I go, the more access she gives me to her center.
She wiggles her trembling body impatiently. Her soft moans and pleasure fill our bedroom and make me chuckle harder. Make me move slower.
When I finally come to the end of the bed and settle between her open thighs, she’s a hot mess. The heat radiates off our bodies, from her center, and when my fingers touch her pussy—when I finally touch her—I find her hot and ready. My fingers slip easily between her folds and inside of her.
“Will,” she whispers almost painfully, raising her hips to meet my touch.
Bel whimpers beneath me, her hips restlessly moving off the mattress in tune with my probing fingers.
“Please,” she pants. “I need you.”
“Not yet,” I say and lower my head.
Her pussy is bare, and my lips find her clit without problem. The small bud is visible, buzzing with need just like the rest of her. My tongue darts out and licks slowly over the prominent point of nerves. When I suck it between my lips I can feel it pulse inside my mouth.
“Oh, god.”
Her movements become hectic, urged. One of my hands is on her ass cheeks, the other holding her leg open, leaving her bare to me. Her trembling body fills me with such joy and pride. I did this. I’m making this amazing woman fall apart in my arms, and she’s letting me. She’s enjoying every moment of it.
“I-I …” she stutters.
“What, baby?”
“Need to taste you. Now.”
Without protest, I get on my back and pull her body over mine until her pussy is just above my mouth and return to eating her.
She tastes delicious. Sweet. Like sex and woman and just plain Bel.
Her small hand wraps around my dick, and in a blink her mouth is on me. She sucks in just the tip, her tongue playing over the head of my dick, and I can feel it twitch in her wet mouth.
I growl hard and loud.
This woman will be the end of me.
Anabel smiles. I know, because I can feel it on my dick—quite literally. Then she returns to sucking me. With every bob of her head she takes more and more of me between her lips.
It’s sweet, slow agony.
I let her play, but a man can only take so much of that adorable, little mouth.
Before I lose it like some inexperienced fifteen-year-old kid, I flip her on her back, grab the condom from the nightstand, and settle between her bent legs.
In one swift motion I’m inside of her. I want to close my eyes because it feels so good. So right. But I force them open so I can look at her face in ecstasy. As if she can hear my thoughts, she opens her eyes. Our foreheads touch, eyes locked together as we start moving as one.
