This Love

by Kelly Elliott

  After doing my business, I brushed my teeth. When I glanced at myself in the mirror, I took a good look at myself. “So, this is what being happy looks like?”

  As much as all of this freaked me out, I knew it was what I wanted for the rest of my life.

  I walked into the bedroom and stopped. The sight before me was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Maebh lying in my bed sleeping. She stole the air from my lungs by simply existing in the same room as me. The sun was peeking through the window, casting a light straight from heaven down on her.

  It hit me so damn hard I stumbled a few steps. “Holy shit,” I whispered. “This is what I want to wake up to every…single…day.”

  Maebh moved slightly and let out the sweetest little moan as she rolled over and tucked her hand under her chin.

  I looked for my phone. Maebh must have put it on the end table. Grabbing it, I quietly made my way out of the room and down the stairs to the kitchen, every step unleashing a new level of pain.

  Hitting Tripp’s number, I took in a deep breath.

  “Hey, how’s the fishing?”

  “Christ Almighty, I need your help! Mom set me and Maebh up. Maebh is here with me, and yesterday was the best fucking day of my life. No, wait, I take that back. Today is the best day because I woke up with her in my bed, but we didn’t have sex. She’s driving me crazy with everything she does. I keep thinking how sexy she looks or how sweet her face is when she wrinkles her nose. Shit, don’t get me started on the large mouth she caught and how fucking adorable it was that she named the damn thing Bob. I want to make her breakfast, but what do I make? Should I make love to her now, when I really want to, or should I wait? Did I mention she’s a virgin? I don’t even know the last time I was with a virgin. Wait, yes I do. Fucking high school!”

  I stopped and waited for Tripp to answer as I pulled the refrigerator door open and scanned the food we’d bought at the grocery store yesterday.

  “Tripp?” I asked when he didn’t say anything.

  “Cord?”

  “Yeah, it’s Cord. Can you hear me?”

  “I can hear you, but I can’t believe my damn ears. I’m trying to process all of that shit you just threw at me. Please tell me you have us on a three-way call with at least Steed.”

  Frowning, I replied, “It’s just you, asshole.”

  “Holy. Shit. I need a moment. Honest to God, I never in my life thought this day would happen. Steed had hope for you, but me? I was doubtful.”

  “Thanks for that, bro.”

  “So let me get this straight. You’re at the lake house?”

  “Yes.”

  He cleared his throat. “And Maebh is there, and Mom somehow set all that up?”

  “Yep.”

  “And so yesterday was a good day?”

  “Something weird is happening to me, Tripp. It’s like I’m a user, and she’s my drug. She makes me crazy.”

  “Crazy how?”

  My hand threaded through my hair. “Crazy like not myself. I keep having these thoughts. About punching a guy who flirts with her. Or…like this morning, she laid down next to me last night in bed and I woke up spooning her. With our clothes on! Then…then I got out of bed and the fucking damnedest thing happened.”

  “What? What happened!” Harley shouted.

  “Seriously? You put me on speaker, you prick?”

  “Cord!” they both yelled at once.

  “Fine! I may have thought it would be nice to wake up with her in my bed every day…forever.”

  “Oh my God!” Harley squealed as Tripp laughed. The fucker actually laughed. Some brother he was. I was going to remember this, and he was going to pay for it.

  “Cord Parker, if you hurt her I will rip your balls off your body and feed them to an animal.”

  I swallowed hard and covered my junk. “What the fuck, Harley?”

  Tripp snorted.

  “Can we get back to my problem here? This obsession, or need, or desire, or whatever this is.”

  Harley cleared her throat as if she was fixin’ to make an earth-shattering proclamation…and Jesus, what she said next shattered something, although I’m sure it wasn’t even remotely close to earth. “It’s called being in love, Cord.”

  “Now, now. Let’s not get carried away, Lee. This is new for Cord. I don’t want him running out and jumping into the lake to try and get away.”

  I scoffed. “Harley’s right. I think I am falling in love with Maebh.”

  Silence.

  Waiting for them to let that soak in, I sat down at the bar and sighed.

  “Are y’all done screwing around yet?” I asked.

  “Did you…did I hear…oh my gawd! I have to go call the girls!”

  Groaning, I heard Tripp say something to his wife before coming back on the line. “Cord, listen, I think it’s freaking amazing that you’re feeling this way. I always knew when you found the right woman, it was going to put you on your ass.”

  “That’s for sure. It’s weird. I mean, I’m freaked out, yet at the same time I’m so damn happy it doesn’t bother me that I’m freaked out. I’m more afraid that the bubble will break, and I’ll go back to being a dick.”

  “You won’t. Now, let’s go through some of those issues. First things first. Make her breakfast and bring it up to her. Women like that romantic shit.”

  “Okay, what should I make?”

  “Pancakes. Fruit if y’all have any.”

  “I can do that, Mom always leaves stuff for pancakes up here.”

  “Now, the next thing on the list. Making love to her. Is she ready?”

  I laughed. “Considering we almost got there twice yesterday, I’m going to say yes. She’s also told me she wants me on more than one occasion.”

  “Okay. Don’t get crazy. You have to go slow and remember that this is her first time, let her tell you how fast or slow to go.”

  Nodding, I took everything out for the pancakes and got to work on them. “Right, I got that.”

  “Use protection,” Tripp said sternly.

  “What the hell, bro. I’ve never forgotten a condom.”

  Tripp laughed. “Trust me, you’ll almost forget. Trust me.”

  “No way. I’ve always housed the hose before I curl the toes.”

  “What?”

  “I cover my stump before I hump.”

  “Jesus.”

  Smiling, I kept going. “When they go into heat, I package my meat. I wrap it in foil before I check the oil.”

  “Please stop.”

  “No glove, no love.”

  “Cord, I’m going to drive up there and punch you.”

  I laughed as I poured four small pancakes onto the griddle. “Sorry, I got carried away. Anyway, I always wear a condom.”

  “Good. Do you think it will be today?”

  My stomach dropped. “If I have anything to say about it, it will happen in the next hour.”

  He chuckled. “You know I have to say it.”

  I closed my eyes and groaned. “You really don’t.”

  “Payback is a bitch, bro.”

  Sighing, I flipped the pancakes. “Fine, I’m a little blue fucking person. Are you happy?”

  “Say it. Wait, where is my recorder? I need to document this.”

  Why I even bothered to call my brother was beyond me. The only thing he’d managed to do was calm my ass down, and now he was going to harass me.

  “Okay, let’s hear it.”

  Groaning, I pulled the phone away and motioned like I was slamming it on the counter.

  “Cord?”

  “I’ve been Smurfed.”

  “I get to pick which Smurf.”

  “Hell no! Trevor already tried to pin me with Greedy Smurf. The name-giving is my job!”

  “Ha! You can’t give yourself a Smurf name.”

  “Who says I can’t?”

  “The rules!”

  I pulled my phone back out and stared at it for a good thirty seconds. “There are no rules, y
ou motherfucker!”

  “There are now, and you can’t Smurf yourself. Now, I think you have to be Gutsy Smurf. The whole accent thing and all.”

  I rolled my eyes. “He’s Scottish, dude, not Irish!”

  “Close enough.”

  “Why can’t I be Jokey Smurf? Everyone knows I’m the funniest.”

  “Who is everyone?”

  “Everyone! Like all of Oak Springs. Our family, our friends. It’s perfect for me. I declare I’m Jokey Smurf, and you can’t do anything about it because I started this tradition.”

  “This is the most ridiculous conversation I’ve ever had,” Tripp mumbled.

  I couldn’t help grinning. “Then it’s settled.”

  “You wait until you get back home, dude. Payback is a bitch.”

  “I believe you already said that, bro.”

  “Go make your girl breakfast. Enjoy your day, asswipe.”

  Flipping the pancakes onto a plate, I replied, “I intend to. Thanks, Tripp. Later.”

  My finger hit End, and I dropped my phone onto the counter. I turned to get out the strawberries, then washed and cut them up. My phone buzzed and I looked down to see I had a text from Tripp. When I opened it, I lost it laughing.

  A picture of Gutsy appeared on my screen.

  “Eejit,” I said in my best Irish accent. I placed everything on a tray and headed back upstairs to the woman who was either going to drive me insane or kill me when I finally made love to her. I was honestly fine with either of those outcomes as long as she was involved.

  Walking back into the room, I cleared my throat, hoping to wake her up.

  Maebh stretched and let out a long moan that went straight to my cock. I was still in my jeans from last night, but Maebh had managed to get my shirt off.

  “Good morning,” I said, waiting for her to sit so I could put the tray down.

  “What is this?” she asked, a stunning smile on her beautiful face. Shit. Her hair was going every which way, her make-up smeared under her eye and…was that a drool spot on the right side of her mouth?

  Good God. I’d never seen a creature so perfectly beautiful.

  “Breakfast in bed.”

  “Cord! You shouldn’t have! How are you feeling?”

  I placed the tray in front of her and shrugged. “Slightly sore, nothing too bad.”

  She looked my body over from head to toe. She lingered a little on the trail of hair leading into my jeans. Her cheeks flushed and her gaze dropped to the tray of food.

  She picked up a strawberry and pressed it to her lips but didn’t eat it. Instead she stared at me as I pulled my jeans off and slipped a pair of old sweats on. At least now my poor dick wouldn’t be suffocating.

  “You see something you want?” I asked, giving her a wink when her eyes met mine. She returned my wink with one of her own.

  “As a matter of fact, I do.”

  Pointing to her breakfast, I demanded, “Eat first, you’re going to need your energy for what I have planned for the rest of the day.”

  Maebh swallowed and then looked down at her food. I reached over and took the plate that had a few pancakes on it.

  “Hope you like pancakes. Mom always keeps batter here.”

  With a grin, she replied, “I love pancakes.”

  After settling in next to her, I bumped her with my knee. “Thank you for staying with me last night.”

  Her cheeks turned pink. “It was such a hardship, me body pressed to yours all night.”

  I laughed.

  Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, Maebh cleared her throat. “May I ask you something?”

  “Always,” I said, taking a bite of pancakes.

  Our eyes met, and she pressed her lips tightly together before speaking. “Last night you said you’d never had a woman sleep in your bed. Explain to me what you meant.”

  Lifting the corner of my mouth, I gave her a sexy smirk.

  “I meant, I’ve never spent an evening, hell an hour, snuggling up next to a woman in my bed. Unless you count my mom when I was sick.”

  “Why?” she asked, her nose wrinkled in the cutest way.

  I placed my hand on the side of her cheek and brushed the pad of my thumb over her soft skin.

  “Because I’ve never wanted anyone in my bed. Until you.”

  Those two words sent me heart into a massive explosion of beats.

  Cord Parker felt like a free fall, and it was the best fall of me life.

  “Maebh,” Cord said in a soft voice.

  “Yes?”

  “I’m going to make love to you now, so are you finished with those pancakes?”

  I swallowed hard.

  Oh, holy shite. This is it. Me virginity is about to be taken and by the most amazing man I’d ever met in me life.

  “W-what pancakes?” I asked.

  His chuckle vibrated through me entire body and went straight between me legs.

  He took the tray over to the sitting area and set it on the table.

  When he turned back to face me, his eyes were filled with desire.

  Lifting his hand, he motioned for me to come to him. I did, scampering out of the bed like a child who had been summoned to go out and play with all the other kids. Stopping short of him, I watched as he lifted me blouse and pulled it over me head, dropping it to the floor.

  His tongue ran over his lips and I let out a soft moan. When his hands came up and cupped me breasts, I closed me eyes.

  “Do you have any idea how perfect your body is? Your breasts fit in my hands like they were made for them.”

  When his thumb ran over me nipple, I struggled to breathe. I sounded desperate for air, but when it came to Cord, I was beyond desperate. For everything.

  Me hands shook as I placed them on his massive chest. The feel of his hard muscles under them made me shudder. Shite, he was so built. His abs had abs. His arms were massive, and I loved the idea of them pulling me to him as he slipped inside of me for the first time.

  Then it hit me. I was about to have sex. A man was about to put his penis inside of me. What if it hurt? What if I sucked? What if I just laid there, too afraid to move?

  “Stop thinking so hard,” Cord said, pulling me against his body.

  Cupping me face within his hands, he kissed me. The sweetest, most gentle kiss. Our tongues danced together while me fingertips ran down his body to his sweatpants. Dipping me hand in, I found him hard and ready. When I squeezed slightly, Cord moaned into me mouth, his hand wrapping around me neck, deepening the kiss. Lord, this man can kiss. Then he was on his knees and I was panting, needing him to keep kissing me. He left me so dizzy I hadn’t realized he was stripping me of me panties until the heat from his touch jolted me out of me daze.

  I stepped free of me panties and proceeded to remove his sweatpants. Me mouth watered when I looked at Cord’s dick. It was big, thick, and jumping against his perfectly toned stomach.

  “Don’t even think of it, Maebh. If your mouth touches me I’m going to blow, and I want to come inside of you.”

  Me heart slammed against me chest with Cord’s admission. To know he was as turned on as I was had me core throbbing.

  Cord lifted me up, and I instinctively wrapped me legs around him. I held me breath as I felt his dick close to me entrance. For a moment I panicked, feeling the need to remind him about a condom, but he was soon lying me down on the bed.

  He dropped to his knees and grabbed me ankles, pulling me until me arse was at the edge of the bed. Cord placed me legs over his shoulders, and I felt the heat building not only between me legs, but on me cheeks as well. He was going down on me, and I anticipated it more than I’d ever realized I would. This was so intimate, so sexy. Memories of yesterday hit me hard. I was spread open for him and the way he stared at me pussy had me all sorts of embarrassed, yet it also turned me on something fierce.

  “Cord, you’re staring.”

  His eyes flitted up to mine. “It’s so beautiful. And it’s all mine. No other man will ever
have what’s mine.”

  Me mouth opened in shock at his possessive tone. It both thrilled and scared me. I liked him being possessive…and I wasn’t sure why it scared me.

  Pushing me legs farther apart, Cord moaned before he licked through me folds and up to me clit. I jerked me hips and let out a muffled groan, all thoughts of why I had been scared only moments ago gone.

  “Baby, you can be as loud as you want. It’s just us.”

  His soft tongue on me pussy was my new favorite thing. It felt amazing, mind-blowing. The most intimate thing I’d ever experienced, and he’d done it to me twice now, the second time already better than the first.

  I should have been embarrassed at how I was grinding into his face, pulling his head closer, but I wasn’t. Me hands dropped, and I gripped the sheet. I held on as Cord licked and sucked me into a mind-blowing orgasm.

  “Yes! Oh, God yes!” I cried out as me body shook with the most delicious feeling. Me mind left me, and I floated in the bliss. When I came down, I felt his mouth back on me clit and his fingers inside of me.

  “Cord!” I nearly screamed out. I had barely recovered from me first orgasm when he was pulling another one out.

  “Shite!” I cried, me body trembling euphoria raced through me body again.

  I barely heard him tell me to get on all fours. Was he taking me from behind for our first time? Me head spun as I watched him lie down and flip onto his back. He reached up and pulled me hips down onto his face and licked me again.

  Yes. Cord’s mouth and fingers knew exactly how to take me to heaven.

  “Oh God!”

  My body was on fire, and I ached to release the energy building, so I rocked me hips. This one was going to be bigger than the others. How is this even possible? I’d had two amazing orgasms, and Cord was about to take me to another one. I wasn’t sure I could survive another one.

  But then he pulled away and pushed me up, making the building orgasm pause.

  “Sit on my face, Maebh and ride me.”

  Me eyes widened in horror. Sit on his face? What?

  “You want me to do what?” I asked, knowing that I was practically sitting on his face already. He slid up farther in the bed, taking me with him.

  With a wide smile, he winked and said, “Fuck my face. Now.”

  Kneeling on either side of his head, me hands reached for the headboard, and I slowly moved down until I felt the warmth of his mouth again.