by J. S. Scott
“As if I could have stopped him? I was nine, Dad. Nine! And you know damn well that he never listened to me. He was too much of a handful for even Mom to deal with, so how the hell was I supposed to keep him under control?” It was nothing but the truth. I loved Jessie, but it didn’t mean he didn’t get himself in more than his fair share of trouble.
“Don’t you dare speak to me that way. You were the one who was supposed to be watching him.”
“That’s where you’re mistaken. He wasn’t my responsibility—he was yours. Maybe if you’d taken more of an interest in him instead of watching TV and drinking beer, then you’d have been there to keep an eye on him, and he’d still be alive.” My tears streamed down my cheeks, but I didn’t care. I’d held all of this in for years, and needed to get it out. “You made your choice. And you didn’t just lose him that day—you lost me too. I’m done feeling guilty about something that was nothing more than a tragedy—and I’m done with letting you use me as a punching bag for your own guilt. I’m done, Daddy. I love you, but… I’m done.”
CHAPTER 26
Gavin
Fucking bastard. It’d been days since Charlie spoke to her father, and yet her mood had yet to improve. She’d said she was glad she’d finally confronted her father and said her piece so that she could stop carrying around a burden that hadn’t been hers to bear, but it didn’t mean it had been easy for her. Especially when the jerks she worked for had let her go when she’d dropped off the face of the earth several weeks ago with no clear indication as to when she’d be back.
I had wanted to hold off on my plans, wanting to make sure everything was perfect. Except that none of that mattered now. Not when I needed her to know that no matter what happened with her dad, I’d be right there by her side. “Come on, love. We’re going on a bit of a road trip. There’s a place I want you to see, and we’ve been cooped up for too long.”
She groaned, though she didn’t protest, when I grabbed her hand and led her towards the front door. “What about the dogs?”
“Sweetness… do you really think I’d leave them here? They’re coming with us, of course.” I whistled to them, and before long, we were all cruising down the highway. I reached over and grabbed her hand, bringing it to my lips, even as I focused on the road ahead. “I was thinking… maybe instead of getting another job, you could do something you’ve always wanted to do.”
She pouted, shaking her head no. “I need to have a job, Gavin. I know we’re living together—and I get that you have plenty of money. But I’m not going to just mooch off you and not pay my way.”
I loved her independence and sense of fairness. She really was perfect—and she was all mine. “What if I told you that I wanted to start a program to help underprivileged kids get a head start in tech and science, and I want you to run it?”
“What?” She shifted in her seat to face me, and I couldn’t help but toss her a smile before focusing back on the road. “That would be amazing, Gavin. But…”
“But nothing, sweetheart. Unless you wouldn’t be interested in putting that sort of program together.” Yet I already knew she’d love nothing more than to help kids achieve things they might not otherwise get the opportunity or access to. “We could even name it after your brother, if you wanted.”
With tears shimmering in her eyes, she threw her arms around my neck and kissed my cheek, making me wish I wasn’t driving at the moment. “I can’t believe you’d do that for me.”
“Sweetness, I’d give you the moon and the stars if I could.” It was nothing but the truth. “Anything to make you happy.”
“I don’t need anything but you to make me happy, Gavin. But this… the lives you could change with this sort of program… It’d be incredible.” Whatever darkness had been haunting her these last few days was suddenly wiped clean by her excitement—and I was loving every minute of it.
We spent the rest of the car ride tossing around ideas for the program, as she enthusiastically jotted down notes in a little notebook she always kept in her purse. She even came up with a name, taking my suggestion to name it after her brother.
Jessie’s Second Chance STEM Initiative.
I fucking loved her so much—and it healed my very soul to see her so happy.
As caught up as she was with her plans, it caught Charlie by surprise when we pulled down the driveway that led to my mountain home. I loved the peace and quiet up here in the woods, even if it had been woefully underused.
And now, I was now hoping to change all that.
“Where are we?” Charlie looked out the window, craning her neck to see past the massive oaks and conifers to catch a glimpse of the surrounding mountains, and the log cabin that peeked from behind the trees.
“I’m hoping that you’ll consider making this our new home.” I slid the car in park just in time to catch her as she threw her arms around my neck and kissed me, our tongues clashing for a heated moment before I forced myself to pull away. “Come on, love. I can’t wait for you to see the inside. I think you’ll really like it.”
“How could I not? The views are breathtaking. And the cabin is adorable.” When she smiled at me, I couldn’t help but steal a quick kiss before jogging around the car to get her door and help her down from my SUV.
With the dogs out of the back and exploring their newfound territory, I led Charlie up the stairs of the massive front porch, and into what I’d hoped would be our new home. I heard her breath catch as we stepped inside. “Come on… you have to see the view off the great room.”
“Gavin… the fireplace! It’s gorgeous—and huge.” Tumbled river stone was stacked up to the ceiling, and the fireplace was probably a good twelve feet wide, with a thick, rough-hewn, wood mantle adding the crowning touch. And then she gasped, as her gaze turned to the wall of glass and the deck just beyond. “I swear… I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more amazing view.”
“It was built with the view in mind. Nothing’s better than sitting out on the deck with a cup of coffee and watching the sun rise.” I pulled open the French doors so she could step outside and get an unobstructed view of the mountains and the forest as they sprawled out before us.
But I had something else to show her.
And when she turned around, it was to find me down on one knee, holding out the engagement ring I’d bought her.
“Charlie… I can’t find the words to tell you just what you mean to me. But from the moment you walked into my life, you’ve changed my world around for the better, and I couldn’t imagine spending a single day without waking up to you in my arms. I love you, Charlie Wenham… Would you do me the honor of marrying me?”
CHAPTER 27
Charlie
I gasped when I first saw Gavin down on one knee. It was the last thing I’d expected—and yet it couldn’t have been any more perfect, my heart overjoyed with happiness. “I’d love nothing more, Gavin. I love you so much.”
He slipped the most beautiful diamond ring onto my finger, and then held onto me as I jumped into his strong arms and kissed him, while he spun me around until I was laughing. “You’ve made me one hell of a happy man, sweetness.”
I covered his face in kisses, as tears of joy slipped down my cheeks. “I swear, Gavin… until I met you, I don’t think I realized that I was still drowning. But… you saved me.”
“Then we saved each other, Charlie. Because it wasn’t until you walked into my life that I finally felt like I could breathe again.” With my feet back on the ground, he cupped my face in his hands and kissed me, sweetly at first, but as one kiss led to the next, there was no holding back for either of us.
With his hands trailing down my back to my ass, Gavin lifted me up off my feet, my legs wrapping around his waist as he carried me inside and straight to a bedroom I’d yet to see. Not that I could be bothered to look at the space when our kisses deepened, his tongue clashing with mine, as our
clothes were quickly shed, landing haphazardly in a heap on the floor.
“Please, Gavin… I need you so bad.” My words were spoken in a groan of desperation, my lips still pressed to his, as I reached down between us, stroking his long, hard cock. He laid me back against the pillows, lowering his muscular body to mine, his cock teasing me as it slipped through my slick folds.
When my legs tightened around his thighs to pull me to him, he groaned and stiffened. “Condom, baby girl…”
“Or…” I was desperate to have him take me skin to skin… desperate to have him stretch me tight with nothing between us… and I was desperate to have him fill me with his seed, especially now that we were engaged. “Unless you don’t want to.”
His answer came in the form of a needy grunt as he took me bare, burying his massive cock deep inside me with a single thrust. “Fucking hell, Charlie… it’s all I’ve been able to think about. You feel so good… and I love you so much.”
Before I could tell him just how much he meant to me, his mouth was catching mine in a hungry kiss, his tongue clashing with mine, as he started to take me hard and fast. It was as if he couldn’t hold himself back, and I may not have been with anyone before Gavin, but I reveled in the intensity with which he took me. It was as if our coming together joined us both body and soul, marking me as his, just as I marked him as mine, knowing there could be no one else for either one of us.
It was almost as if fate had brought us together.
Overwhelmed by it all, and yet wanting more, I raked my nails down his back to spur him on, his pace quickening until he was pounding each thrust into me, so that I felt him down to the marrow of my bones. Gavin already had me teetering on the edge of coming, when he flipped our positions, so that I was now straddling him, his cock still buried deep inside me.
“Gavin…” I could barely hold back my orgasm as I rocked my hips up and down his length. But when he sat up and wrapped his arm around my waist and sucked my nipple into his mouth, my orgasm hit me like a bolt of lightning.
“That’s it, sweetheart… come for me.” His voice was gruff and hoarse with his own need, as I cried out, riding out the waves of pleasure that washed over me, his mouth catching mine in a hungry kiss. Yet he didn’t miss a beat, continuing to thrust up into me and drawing out my orgasm until he too was coming, his cock pulsing deep inside me, filling me with his hot seed as he covered my face in kisses. “I can’t wait to make you my wife, Charlie… I want a family… kids and dogs everywhere… and nothing but joy and happiness.”
“I can’t imagine anything more perfect.” And I truly meant it. “I love you, Gavin.”
“I love you too, Charlie.”
EPILOGUE
Charlie
Six Months Later…
I couldn’t believe I was actually getting married.
I stood back in the hallway as everyone took their places, feeling like a princess in my long white dress and a gorgeous bouquet of flowers that Anna had helped me pick out.
Kane and Anna had been like the family I’d never even hoped to find. Kane’s wife was so much like me. She’d become a hermit herself, disconnected from the world while she was struggling with her own loss issues before Kane had come into her life in the most unexpected of situations.
Anna winked at me as she started down the aisle, having agreed to be my maid of honor. I smiled back at her, a happy, radiant smile that I couldn’t suppress because I knew that in a matter of minutes, Gavin would be my husband.
Finally, in her own beautiful teal gown, Anna headed down the aisle before me.
“Are you ready, Charlie?” my father’s voice grumbled beside me.
I turned my head to look at him, then smiled as I noticed the twinkle of something almost like pride in his eyes.
The road to a truce had been rocky with my dad. Maybe we’d never have a truly close father/daughter relationship, but we were learning to be friends. He’d manned up to the fact that I never should have been held responsible for Jessie’s death, and he’d treated me with courtesy. Gavin wouldn’t allow him to communicate with me in any other way. Maybe we’d grow closer in time, but I was content to have him here today. He was my only family, and it seemed only right that he was here to give me away.
I finally nodded at him. “More than ready.”
“He seems like a decent man,” my father said grudgingly.
Really, what more could he say? Gavin was wealthy, brilliant, and he’d been responsible for starting a worthwhile charity that honored my father’s deceased son.
“He’s perfect,” I whispered as I took the arm my dad offered. “You’re looking very smart today.”
My escort was dressed in a stunningly handsome suit, and was more formal than I’d ever seen him in my entire life.
“I only have one daughter to give away. It seemed appropriate,” he replied, bemused.
I leaned up on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. It was the closest I’d gotten to him since I was a child.
“He better take good care of you,” he said, looking flustered by a show of affection from his daughter.
There were no worries there. Gavin cherished me and watched out for me better than any other person ever had.
Even Gavin’s brother and sister had taken me under their wing, so happy that Gavin was finally settling down, and I knew neither one of them wanted anything to ruin their eldest sibling’s new attitude and joy.
“He will,” I murmured to my father as I stepped forward with him to take our place at the end of the aisle.
I looked out over the sea of people in the venue, still a little startled by how many had showed up for what had started out as a very small, intimate wedding.
Everyone stood, and in the front rows, I could see Gavin’s brother and sister right next to Kane’s brothers. Other than that, many of the people were strangers except for a few of my friends sprinkled throughout the gathering.
Gavin swore most of the people coming to our nuptials were just work associates, but I knew that in some way or another, Gavin had touched many of their lives. I noticed that even a few FBI officers were present.
My husband-to-be was oblivious to just how much his work on disassembling the dark net had endeared him to so many.
My father urged me forward and I went willingly, my heart surging as I heard the start of the wedding march.
When my gaze finally landed on the end of the aisle, I first smiled at Kane, who was looking incredibly handsome in his tuxedo. He was standing next to Gavin, grinning mischievously as I made my way to them.
Anna was waiting for me so she could take my bouquet.
And Gavin? Well, he looked good enough to devour. Our eyes locked, and he wasn’t smiling. His look was hungry and predatory, a fact that didn’t faze me in the slightest. It was an expression I was accustomed to, and it made a shiver of excitement slither down my spine.
My father made the exchange from his possession to Gavin’s, and only then did my groom grin at me. Anna took my bouquet, and I faced my soon-to-be husband with a silly smile that I couldn’t wipe off my face.
“I love you,” I blurted, unable to hold the words inside me for another second.
His grin grew wider. “I love you, too, baby. You look beautiful.”
The Justice of the Peace protested that Gavin was jumping the gun as he leaned down and kissed me with a tender promise of everlasting devotion, taking his time even though the JP was clearing his throat with irritation.
I snickered as he finally pulled back, then nodded to the JP. “We’re ready. We were just practicing.”
“Looks like you already know that part just fine,” the official replied, then started the ceremony.
Gavin winked at me, then squeezed my fingers, showing not the least bit of hesitation or fear. My heart was lodged in my throat as I repeated my vows, still incredulous as to ho
w I’d ended up with a guy like the one in front of me, promising me his trust and love for the rest of our lives.
Then, I reminded myself that I’d waited a long time for him, and those lonely years had paid off big time.
The science geek had gotten her perfect computer geek, and it was only right that the two of them should live happily ever after with each other.
And that’s exactly what we did.
~ The End ~
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
J.S. SCOTT is a NY Times & USA Today bestselling author of erotic romance. She’s an avid reader of all types of books and literature. Writing what she loves to read, J.S. Scott writes both contemporary erotic romance stories and paranormal romance erotics. They almost always feature an Alpha Male and have a happily ever after because she just can’t seem to write them any other way! She lives with her husband in the picturesque Colorado Rockies.
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CALI MACKAY is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She lives in New England with her husband, two girls, their crazy mutt and two mischievous cats. When not tapping away on her laptop and getting her characters into trouble, she can be found designing book covers, wrangling her girls, and splicing DNA.
She’s also a decent potter, adventurous cook, and horrible gardener. For more information, please go to http://calimackay.com.
BOOKS BY J.S. SCOTT
Billionaire Obsession Series
The Billionaire’s Obsession (Simon & Kara)
