by Marie James
“Then understand that I feel exactly the same way.”
I finally allow him to pull me into his lap. His lips rest against my temple as he cradles me to his chest.
“Even now with all of this sitting heavy in the air around us, my body hums for you,” I confess against his t-shirt.
“Is it only your body that wants me?”
I know exactly what he’s asking, and I know that if he can forgive me for what I did while hurting, then it’s damn time I forgive myself.
Chapter 40
Lawson
“Where are we going?” There’s a smile, a lightness in her voice that hasn’t been there in a long time.
“You’ll see.” I wink at her and take the next road to the left.
“You mentioned lunch back on campus. Are you planning some romantic picnic?”
I frown. “I wish I’d thought of that, Princess, but honestly I’d just planned to eat a meal with you while staring at your mouth.”
“Oh.” She doesn’t sound disappointed, but there’s an edge to the word that I don’t like.
“The conversation got super serious really quick, and that wasn’t planned either.” I make another right and come up to the fast food place. “I don’t have a picnic planned, but we can grab something quick and then go someplace where it’s just you and me.”
“That sounds perfect.” She leans her head on my shoulder as we wait in line at the drive-thru. I’m thankful for the adjustable console in the truck. She’ll never sit apart from me again.
The speaker crackles with a generic menu suggestion when we make it to the ordering sign. “No onions,” she whispers.
No onions mean kissing, and I’m totally down for that. I place our order and wait to move up to the window.
“How was class today?”
“Are you asking about school or the boys in my classes?”
“Both,” I say telling the truth.
“Was Jim one of the guys you umm… met at the parties?”
“His name is John,” she corrects. I know that, but don’t want to give her the satisfaction. “And no. I haven’t seen any of them since their respective parties. There’s a chance they aren’t even college students.”
She leans away long enough for me to pull cash out of my wallet, but then her tight little body is back against mine.
“Why are you asking?”
I shrug and hand the cashier the money.
“You planning on tracking them down and beating them up.”
“Fuck, I wish,” I mumble.
Her lips form a smile against my skin.
“Does it turn you on that I want to beat up the men that hurt you?”
“I hurt me,” she corrects. “They were just the catalyst that allowed it.”
I take my change and pull up to the second window.
“I love how possessive you are.”
My heart clenches at the word love coming from her lips. She may not be saying it in the context I want, but I’ll take what I can get.
“I love how you fight for me, knowing exactly what you want and not taking no for an answer.” She nips at my neck and as sweet as her words are, it doesn’t stop my cock from jerking in my jeans. “How you knew what I wanted, what I needed, even when I didn’t.”
“It’s my job, Princess.”
“I let less than a dozen words spoken in one sentence two years ago ruin me. I let them have power over me.”
She pauses as our food is passed through the window. I hand her the bags so she can place them beside her on the seat and reach to place the drinks in the backseat console. I’ll be damned if I’m separating us while this conversation is still going.
With my mind, I beg her to continue, but she remains silent as we head out of town. It isn’t until the city scene transitions into empty fields that she begins again.
“I wasted two years of my life pretending to hate you. I let my anger fuel my bad decisions while I was self-destructing.”
I pull over at a deserted rest stop, no longer able to concentrate on driving, and when I turn her face up to mine, I no longer see the pain that’s been on her beautiful face all afternoon. I find acceptance and a small smile that tells me everything is going to be okay.
“I’m tired of wasting time.”
“What are you saying, baby?”
Her eyes drag down to my lips before focusing back on mine.
“I’m not fighting you anymore. I’m not running from you. I’m not pulling away when all I want is to be near you.”
I kiss her lips, soft and sweet, full of promises of forever rather than instant sexual gratification.
“That’s the second best thing I’ve heard from your lips.”
I kiss her again.
“And the best thing?”
Smiling I turn her chin and run my tongue down the soft slope of her neck, and nip at her earlobe before whispering, “That tiny whimper you make when I sink inside of you.”
She makes that sound now, and my balls tighten as if programmed to respond. I groan and flex my hips up when her hand strokes down my length.
“You sure are a dirty talker.” She squeezes with just the right amount of pressure. “Are you sure about my new diet?”
Her lips find mine, tongue seeking entry which I allow without hesitation.
“I think you can splurge.” My hand wraps around the back of her head, and I angle her mouth to the perfect position. “A cheat meal so to speak.”
She stiffens in my arms, and that’s when I know that although she may want to forget about her anger and her pain from two years ago, it’s still something she’s going to have to work through.
“Seeing as I know how hungry your pussy is.” She relaxes. “I might be persuaded to feed it my cock.”
“Right here?” she pants, pulling back and reaching for the hem of her short skirt.
“No.” Damn, that was difficult to say. I ease the rejection with a swipe of my finger over the wet lace between her thighs.
“You know I thought it was hot fuc… making love in this truck the first time.” Her hips swivel against my fingers, and my resolve begins to slip. “Don’t you want to smell my pussy in here for the next couple of days?”
“Jesus, Princess.” I conjure the willpower that seems to be non-existent around her. “I won’t be able to smell your pussy, taste your pussy, or thrust every inch of my cock inside of it if I’m sitting in jail pending addition to the sex offender list.”
Her eyes narrow until I point down the road. The Rhode Island State Police car rolls by, the officer taking in the scene. Delilah shoves her skirt down and repositions herself in her seat as the patrol car turns into the rest area and parks behind us. I pull out my license, insurance, and gun permit placing them on the dash.
A couple of years ago, my first instinct when watching a cop walk up to the back of my truck would’ve been to run. Today? I simply roll the window down and place my hands on the steering wheel, smiling when he introduces himself.
“Hello, Officer.” The purr of Delilah’s voice pisses me off because it’s not directed at me, but my cock doesn’t mind and remains thick in my jeans.
Officer Hamill leans in further, looking around and I don’t miss the deep inhale of his breath.
“You folks eating lunch?” His knowing smile tells me he can smell more than just the fast food.
“Yes, sir,” I answer.
He takes the documents from the dash and tells me he’ll be right back after making sure everything checks out.
“We weren’t doing anything wrong,” Delilah mutters as she looks over her shoulder at the officer as he slides back into his car.
“We were only minutes from getting arrested.” My eyes trail up her golden thighs.
“He had no clue what was happening before he pulled up.”
I shake my head. “See the way he leaned in.” I check the rearview mirror and run my finger up her thigh, the fabric of her skirt lifting the higher I go. “He kn
ew exactly what we were up to.”
She slaps my hand away. “You’re giving me a complex. I feel like I need to shower.”
“You have the sweetest pussy in the world, Delilah and you smell positively intoxicating.” I pin her with my eyes. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he has to wait in his car for his erection to dissipate, or worse yet, trump up some fake charges and arrest me, so he can have a chance at you.”
“I’m yours,” she whispers.
“I know, baby, but you can’t blame the man for being desperate.”
She catches movement out of the corner of her eye and straightens again just before the officer reaches the window.
“Everything looks good, Mr. O’Neil.” He hands me the documents back. “Have a nice day. Drive safe.”
I chuckle when I hear him mutter ‘lucky fucking bastard’ as I situate my license back in my wallet.
“You’re incorrigible,” she mutters and puts her seatbelt back on. “Let’s get out of here. I’m hungry.”
The look in her eye tells me that our meal has been forgotten. I can’t get out of that rest area and back to my house fast enough.
Chapter 41
Delilah
“Does he always do that?” I ask around a bite of burger.
“I told you he was useless,” Lawson says with a chuckle, but he tosses Raider a French fry anyway.
“I love that you have a dog,” I tell him after a quick sip of my drink.
Raider catches another fry with a quick snap of his jaw. “I always liked dogs, but I began to love them when I helped you at the animal shelter.”
For the first time, I don’t stiffen when he references our time then.
I pat Raider’s head and give in when all he wants to do is lick my fingers. “I wanted a dog when I moved here, but I knew I didn’t have enough time for one. It wouldn’t be fair.”
“You can visit him anytime,” he tells me with a smile on his face. “If you moved in…”
“Too soon,” I mutter, but there’s no venom in my voice.
“Never,” he whispers, which is just barely audible over the sound of him crushing the take-out trash in his big hands and walking to throw it away.
“What now?” I ask when he returns from the kitchen.
“Stay the night with me?”
I grin.
“Please? I sleep better with you in my arms.”
I melt into a puddle on his damn couch.
“And you think you’ll get any sleep if I stay?”
His teeth scrape over his bottom lip, and I long for that on my nipples, my clit.
“Eventually,” he says as he prowls closer.
“I thought I was on a cock light diet.”
His hand cups my cheek as he leans down and brushes his lips across mine. “I thought I mentioned a cheat day.”
“So I go back on a diet tomorrow?”
He shakes his head. “Three nights is my limit.”
Smiling against his lips, I twine my arms over his shoulders and around his neck. “We had sex here before you went all caveman and showed up at my apartment. So it’s only been two nights.”
“I’m a weak man.”
My fingers flex on the corded muscle at his nape.
“You feel incredibly strong to me.”
“You flatter me, baby.” With this, he lifts me from the sofa. My legs, instinctively, wrap around his waist as he carries me down the hall.
“So strong.” I nip at his chin and slide my hand down until I’m gripping his length. I moan at the brush of my own hand against my panties. “Every long, thick inch of you.”
“I love it when you touch me,” he hisses into my neck when I squeeze him harder. “Love it when I wake in the morning, and your scent is all over my skin.”
“I love you,” I confess.
“Baby.” His voice cracks as he’s unable to hide his emotion over my words.
I move my body with him as we strip each other naked before falling onto his bed. When he nibbles at my breast and presses inside of me, I finally feel complete. I’m whole after having been shattered and broken for such a long time
“Every day,” he vows against my throat when he pushes to the hilt. “Every single day for the rest of my life, I need this with you.”
I clench around him, my body agreeing before I can find the words. His back arches when my short nails scrape down his spine, and it drives him even deeper.
“You’re close,” he predicts with the truth. “You get hotter, tighter.”
I moan my response.
“Fuck, baby. I’m going to come inside of you.”
“Please,” I beg.
The bite of his teeth on my neck beckons me to the edge, and I crash over not even a second later. The trembling of my body is matched by his as we both struggle for breath.
“Tell me again,” he urges after pulling from me and holding me against his chest.
I trace the ridges of his stomach with the tip of my finger. His muscles are rock solid and standing out, the exertion of our love-making acting as an incredible ab workout.
“I love you.”
He holds me even tighter, and as I fall asleep, sated and completely in love, I pray that he never lets me go.
***
“This is lovely,” I say looking around at the small café. “Seems like we’re the wrong clientele though.”
“What do you mean?” Lawson asks as he blows over the top of his steaming hot coffee.
“We’re the oldest ones here, and that’s saying a lot since I’m only nineteen.”
“Just a baby.”
I give him my best, salacious grin and lean in closer. “You didn’t treat me like a baby this morning.”
He clears his throat. “Was I too rough?”
I lick my lips, drawing his attention to them. “I don’t think that’s a possibility, but I still feel you deep inside.”
“Princess,” he warns. “I don’t care if I have to shove a dozen teenage boys out of the bathroom, I’ll fuck you in there if you don’t stop.”
I slip off my flip-flop and run my toe up his leg until my foot is nestled against his hardening cock.
“Make love,” I correct.
“No, baby.” He leans closer, and I mirror his action. “I will stuff your panties in your mouth, hike that too short fucking skirt up, and bend you over the sink. I’ll twist that blonde ponytail around my fist until your back bows to the perfect angle and pound into you until you beg me to stop.”
“There’s your problem,” I coo while stroking his length with my foot under the table. “I’d never beg you to stop.”
“Bathroom, now,” he hisses, but before he can stand fully, a shadow looms over the table.
I look up into the familiar eyes of a boy I never thought I’d see again.
I nearly knock everything over on the table in my rush to get out of the booth and my arms around his neck.
“Drew!”
He squeezes me, holding me against his hard chest. I push back a few inches, my hands placed over muscles he didn’t have a few years ago. His hands slide lower on my back to give me the room I need.
“Nice,” I tell him. I’m beaming, probably looking like an idiot in this café full of adolescents, but I don’t have a care in the world.
“I swear, little brother,” Lawson sneers. “If your hands go any lower you won’t be able to hold your lacrosse stick.”
“He seems as sunshiny as ever,” Drew mutters before giving me another quick hug. As his brother commands, his hands stay where they are.
“He’s very possessive,” I whisper as Drew reaches out and shakes his brother’s hand. Lawson scoots over on his side of the booth, but Drew, being the shit stirrer that he is, sits beside me and wraps his arm around my shoulders. Unconcerned with the mirth and feigned anger on Lawson’s face, I allow Drew to cradle me against his chest.
“Fuck you smell good.”
Lawson chuckles at Drew’s comment, and I kick him under t
he table. He winks at me, and I pull away from Drew immediately.
“What is that,” Drew asks not giving up.
When his nose sweeps up my neck, inhaling like a maniac, even the smack on his chest doesn’t stop Lawson from growling at his brother.
“Quit,” I tell Drew and scoot a few more inches closer to the wall.
He looks down at me. “Fuck, I’ve missed you.”
He shifts in his seat and swipes a lock of blonde hair behind my ear. A second later he’s being hauled out of the booth and repositioned on the opposite side of the table.
“Get your own,” Lawson says sitting down beside me and practically pulling me into his lap.
A wide grin spreads across Drew’s face, one so similar to the first one Lawson gave me in the dark back home on his first night with us, my breath catches in my throat. Oh, this boy is going to be a lady killer.
“Believe me, big brother, I get plenty.” He winks at me, and all I can do is shake my head and laugh at how even years later he’s riling his brother up. “None as pretty as Delilah though.”
“Stop,” I tell him on a laugh. “Lawson is the most protective man I know.”
“Not even blood will keep me from breaking your hand.” Drew smiles even wider, his eyes never pulling from mine. “Or poking your eyes out if you keep staring at my girl like you want to eat her.”
Lawson slaps the table, making the condiment basket jump an inch when Drew over-exaggerates licking his lips at the suggestion.
His eyes sober when they find his brother’s, and his throat works on a hard swallow. He’s not afraid of Lawson so I know that’s not the cause of his change in emotion. They share a look, Lawson nodding at his brother as he holds me tighter.
“I’m so fucking happy for you.”
Tears clog my throat at witnessing the relief in Drew’s face at finally seeing his brother happy.
Chapter 42
Lawson
“Quit fidgeting,” Ivy whisper-hisses to her best friend as we near the front of the clubhouse.
I tried to hold her hand in the back of the SUV after all of the hugs Dad and Rob showered us both with, but she jerks her hand away from mine.
Sitting between Ivy and myself, she doesn’t have anywhere to go.
