“I know what you mean,” I say smiling down at him. “I feel the same way.”
His head cocks to the side and he studies me. “You do?” he asks, tracing the ball of his thumb across my cheek. “I mean, do you really? Or are you just saying that? Because I’m not shitting you, Mal. These past weeks were torture. I’m not sure what I’m even going to do after . . . ”
His eyes do all the talking after his words stop. I get it. I know exactly what he’s saying. How are we going to be apart after this weekend? If we do all the things I think we are going to do. After spending three days together. If being apart from him after just one kiss was that hard, I can’t even imagine what being apart after making love will feel like.
I put his face between my hands and caress his cheeks with my thumbs. “I’m not just saying it, Chad. It’s true. Being without you these past weeks, it was horrible. And I know you’re only here for a few days. But that’s okay. Because if a few days is all I get, I’m willing to take it. I’ll take whatever you give me.”
He pulls my lips to his. “Everything,” he whispers into them. “I want to give you everything.”
Chapter Seventeen
Chad
I pick Mallory up and carry her back to the bedroom. This is it. This is the moment I finally get to see her—finally get to have her. I place her down on the bed and lie beside her. I trace the outline of her face with my fingers. I want to remember every curve, every placement of each freckle, every nuance of her heated expression.
My heart thunders beneath my shirt. My hand shakes as it works its way down her shoulder. I realize I’m fucking terrified. I’ve been with a lot of girls. So many I don’t even remember all of their names. But this time is different. I shake my head and snort a laugh before capturing her eyes with mine. “Now I’m the one who’s nervous,” I admit.
“You?” She tilts her head with a questioning gaze. “Why?”
I stare into her gorgeous green eyes. “You’re so beautiful, Mallory. I want this to be perfect. I want to live up to your expectations. And, well, I might be a little worried about any preconceived notions you might have given that I’m, uh . . . ”
“A famous movie star that girls drool over who has a reputation of being good with the ladies?” she asks, smirking.
“Ugh,” I groan, burying my head in the crook of her neck. I wish I could take it all away. Turn back the clock and erase all the stupid shit I did.
“Chad.” She runs her fingers through my hair and I look up at her. “Don’t you think I’m nervous, too? Not because of who you are now, but who you were. I’m lying in bed with the boy I had a crush on all those years. We were perfect together then. This will be perfect, too. Because it’s us.”
Man up, Stone.
I climb on top of her, supporting my weight on my elbows as I hover over her lips. “Damn right it’s us. It’ll always be us, Mal.” Then I claim her mouth as if it has always belonged to me. As I kiss her deeply, the nerves I felt disappear and turn into something else. Pure hunger for this woman. Every kiss with her is better than the one before. Every touch has us exploring new, uncharted territory.
I press myself into her, grinding our clothed bodies together in simulation of what is yet to come. A soft, mewling sound comes from the back of her throat. It’s sexy as hell. I sit up and straddle her, fingering the hem of her shirt, visually asking for permission to remove it. She smiles. I don’t hesitate another second before pushing it up her body, past her black lace bra and over her head. I don’t even know where I throw it because all of my attention is focused on her breasts. Holy God, they’re incredible. I put my hands on her, molding each breast into one of my hands. They fit perfectly. Warm and soft and oh, so natural.
My fingers find the front clasp of her bra and when I snap it open and take in her bare chest, I’m sure I’ve died and this is heaven. “Jesus, Mal. You are so beautiful.”
Her hands pull at my shirt, begging to find what’s underneath. I reach behind my head and pull it over me, depositing it next to the bed. Her hands on my chest feel incredible. But that’s not what sends ripples of pleasure through me, it’s the way her eyes take me in. She doesn’t look at me like other women do; like I’m a prize they will get to brag about to their friends; like I’m a conquest to add to their accomplishments. No, Mallory looks at me in awe and with complete reverence, like she’s seeing the Mona Lisa for the first time. Like she’s unearthed some secret that is only known to her. And I swear to God it’s better than any high I’ve ever gotten from drugs.
We take slow and careful pleasure exploring each other, learning one another’s skin inch by silken inch. My fingers come upon a small raised scar several inches from her belly button. I get off her and position myself next to her as I lean down to examine it, running my finger carefully along it.
Mal shivers from my touch. “Appendix,” she says. “I was twenty.”
I frown, thinking of her scared and having an operation. For the millionth time, I scold myself for not being there for her. I bend over and kiss her scar, my tongue taking the same trail across it as my finger had. My hungry mouth works its way up her stomach, tasting every inch of her as I blaze a path to her breasts. Her nipples are stiff and they pucker further under my tongue. She groans as I lick and suck them, arching her back as her chest pushes into me. The sultry noises she’s making have my dick straining painfully against the fly of my jeans.
As if reading my mind, Mallory’s hand works its way between us, caressing me through the denim. I push into her, craving every stroke she gives me. Her dexterous fingers make easy work of unbuttoning my jeans, and when she slips her hand beneath my boxer briefs and touches my bare skin, I shout out, “Mallory, Jesus!”
I’m living my boyhood dream. Mallory Schaffer has my dick in her hands. And just like a boy, I’m not going to last very long unless I get a grip. Her hand slips from my jeans as I resume my spot on top of her. I watch her face as I unzip her pants. One look from her gives me the green light, so I work my way down her body, pulling off her pants and shoes in the process.
As I climb back up her legs, my mouth finds her smooth calves, then her knees, then her thighs, as she squirms beneath me. Her alluring musky scent hits me as I hover over her black lace panties. I push them aside and run a finger down her soft trail of curls to find her soaking wet. My dick dances in my jeans as I slip a finger inside her, then two.
“Chad,” she says, breathlessly, pushing herself into me.
She fucks my fingers with her body and I can hardly stand it. I want to be inside her right now, but I need to go slow. Take my time with her. Make this an experience she will never forget. It’s already the best sexual encounter I’ve had and yet she’s only touched me for maybe thirty seconds.
I remove my fingers from her and she protests with a squeaky sigh that makes me chuckle. But I need to get rid of her panties. I pull them down her legs, kissing the sensitive skin along her inner knees as I go. When I return to the apex of her thighs, I hold her stare as she looks down on me when I press my mouth to her. Damn, that’s hot—her watching me when I do this. My tongue runs slow circles around her clit as my fingers resume their expedition inside of her. Another minute of this has her eyes closing and her head falling back and lashing against the pillow as her thighs tighten around me.
“Oh, God!” she shouts at the ceiling as she pulsates around my fingers. I watch her taut stomach convulse as waves of pleasure shoot through her. It’s got to be the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my whole damn life.
As she recovers, I quickly remove my jeans, pulling a condom from my wallet before I deposit them on the floor. I lie next to her on the bed and show her the small square package. I didn’t want to presume that she’d let me make love to her tonight, but I sure as hell was going to be prepared. I raise my eyebrows in question.
She smiles. “Yes, please,” she says softly. Then she takes it from me. “Here, let me.” She tears it open and carefully rolls the condom onto my rock-hard lengt
h as I try not to think about how many times she might have done this before with some other guy.
“I’ve always wanted to do that,” she says with a shy smile.
Fuck. If she only knew how much better she just made this for me. As I kneel next to her, I take a moment to stare at her naked body and I wonder what the hell a guy like me ever did to deserve a woman like her. “Have I told you how beautiful you are?”
A blush works across her face and she nods. “Once or twice,” she says, smiling.
“Well get used to it,” I say. “Because it’s true and I’m never going to let you forget it.”
I climb on top of her and position myself at her entrance. I shake my head at the unbelievable reality that I’m about to make love to Mallory Schaffer. As I start to push inside her, I lean down and whisper, “This is everything I’ve ever wanted.” And then I kiss her as our bodies join together for the very first time.
We moan into one another’s mouths as I fill her completely. The feeling of being inside her is like no other. She’s soft. Tight. Safe. And as I make love to a woman for what feels like the first time in my life, I find emotion flooding through me. I lock eyes with Mallory and see her experiencing the same thing. A tear escapes her eye and rolls back into her hair. I lean down and kiss the wet trail.
“God, Mal,” I whisper in her ear, as I continue my long, soft strokes inside her.
Her hands glide over every inch of my back and then find their way down to my ass. She pushes me deeper inside of her, bringing her hips off the bed to meet mine with increasing speed. “Chad,” she says, my name flowing off her lips like a prayer, “please.”
I rise up on an elbow, changing my angle in hopes of finding that sweet spot that’ll send her toppling over the edge. With my free hand, I grab her breast, kneading the soft mound, pinching her stiff nipple.
“Uh . . . Oh, God . . . Yes,” she murmurs.
I can feel her begin to stiffen beneath me. Her thighs tightly embrace me and her fingers dig into my ass cheeks. She shouts my name as she bucks under me, her walls clamping down on me as I witness what is no doubt the eighth wonder of the world. Watching her orgasm has me quickly chasing my own. My sac tightens and waves of painful pleasure shoot through me as I empty myself into her before her aftershocks cease. “Unnnnngh,” I cry, biting down on my lower lip as I pulsate inside her.
I collapse onto her, our slick bodies languid as we replenish our lungs with much-needed air. I can feel her racing heartbeat underneath mine. I stay on top of her until it calms; until our breathing slows and I find myself capable of purposeful movement.
I wince as I pull out of her, moving to her side before I wrap her tightly against me. “Jesus, Mal. I’ve never . . .”
“Me either,” she says, craning her neck to look at me. We stare at each other for long drawn-out seconds. We don’t need words to tell each other what just happened. That in these past minutes, our lives have forever changed. That never again will we accept anything less than what we just had. That we’ve become connected by a bond that cannot be broken.
I touch her face with my hand, her shimmering eyes mirroring mine. “I love you, Mallory Kate.”
She closes her eyes, squeezing tears from them before looking at me again. “I love you, too, Chad Christopher.”
I embrace her, needing to remember every detail of this moment until the day I die. I hold her until our bodies cool down, still slick from sweat and now becoming chilled from the movement of warm air circulating from the room’s heating system. I lift her up and pull down the covers so we can climb in under them. Then I lay my head down on her pillow, inches from her radiant face. “I’ve loved you forever,” I tell her.
“When did you first know?” she asks, tracing the outline of my ribs with her finger.
“Did you ever wonder why I didn’t kiss you when we were in that play?”
She shakes her head. “I assumed because you were nervous. We both were.”
“I had psyched myself up for it. Even Mr. Spencer told me it would seem more real if we kissed for the first time on opening night. That’s why he didn’t have us rehearse it. But right before I was supposed to kiss you, I realized I didn’t want it to happen on that stage. I wanted our first kiss to belong only to us, not a few hundred other people. And that’s when I knew. I was only fifteen years old, but I knew right then that I was in love with you.”
Her eyes glisten once again. “Thank you,” she says. “Thank you for not kissing me back then. Now it belongs only to us. Well, and maybe Cole. And my dad, if he was peeking out of the curtains.”
I laugh along with her. “What about you? When did you know?”
“The night of your premiere, when I saw you at the club,” she says. “When you made eye contact with me, I just knew. I knew instantly what I had denied for the past nine years. And that’s why I had to get away. I was in love with a memory. A man I could never have. And I feared the rest of my life would be lived under the shadow of what could have been.”
“Wait,” I say, rising up on my elbow. “You knew then that you loved me but you made me work my ass off to get you to see me again?”
“Can you blame me?” she asks. “You do come with a little baggage, Chad.”
I blow out a long sigh. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’m glad you could get past all that. The only thing that matters from here on out is you and me.”
She frowns. “I’m not sure I am past it yet. There’s still so much we don’t know about each other.”
“We have forever to figure it all out, Mal. All you need to know is that I’m with you and only you. And if you tell me the same, that’s all I need to hear.”
She nods. “Of course, Chad. It’s only you.”
“Good.” I kiss her on the tip of her nose and jump out of bed. “I’m going to clean up. Do you need anything?”
“Nope.” She lays her head lazily on the pillow. “Everything I need is right here.”
There’s that look again—better than drugs.
I get rid of the condom in the bathroom. Then I go grab a few bottles of water from the minibar in the living room. My phone vibrates across the coffee table so I pick it up on along the way. I plant myself back in bed and Mallory rests her head on my chest as I peruse my missed messages. There are a few from Paul, wanting me to look at some new scripts when I get back. Another from him begging for me to lay low and not make a big deal over anything. That’s code for: don’t let the press photograph you with Mallory because it’ll be bad for ticket sales. Ron, my lawyer, wants to sit down and tie up a few loose ends over my Defcon sequel contract before pre-production meetings. But it’s when I read Kendra’s text that my entire body stiffens.
“What is it?” Mal asks, raising her head off my chest to look at me. “Your heart rate just went through the roof, Chad. Is everything okay?”
I shake my head in disgust and put my phone on the bedside table. I put my arms around her. “Just some of that baggage we talked about.”
“Can you tell me about it?”
I nod. “You’re not going to like it.”
“Will you tell me anyway?” she asks.
I close my eyes and steel myself for her reaction. “Some girl is claiming I’m her baby daddy.”
Mallory shoots up in bed, drawing the covers around her. “What? I thought you said you hadn’t been with anyone in a while.”
“I haven’t.” I sit up too, taking her hands into mine. “She’s not pregnant now. Claims the two-year-old kid she has is mine. Listen, it’s not all that unusual for people to come out of the woodwork and make accusations like this, especially considering my reputation. It’s not true, Mal. But you better believe the media will drool over the story.”
She takes in a shaky breath. “But, how do you know it’s not true?”
“For one, I always wear condoms. Always.”
She narrows her accusing eyes at me. “How can you be so sure, Chad? I mean, you didn’t even remember losing a testicl
e at the Santa Monica Pier. How can you be absolutely sure you used a condom every single time you slept with someone?”
Shit. She does have a valid point. “Because I know, Mallory. I’ve taken a lot of risks in my life, but that’s one thing I didn’t mess around with. Plus, the timeline doesn’t hold water. It’s been over three years since I got clean. I’ve only been with a handful of girls since then. She doesn’t have a leg to stand on. Who knows, maybe I did hook up with her once, long ago, and now she’s looking to cash in on that because of Defcon One. Kendra’s doing damage control, but one way or another, it’ll get out there. And people will believe anything once it’s in print.”
I can tell Mallory is very upset by this. I squeeze her hands in assurance. “Baby, it’s not true. You have to trust me. Do you know how many other girls have made the same claim? Five. She’s the sixth one. And every one of the six is a lie.”
She closes her eyes. “The thought that you could have a kid out there somewhere . . .”
“I don’t, Mal. If I did, I assure you I’d take responsibility. But that isn’t going to happen. These girls are liars. Con artists. Sluts who made their damn beds and now they have to lie in them.”
Mallory pulls away from me and leans her back against the headboard, drawing her legs up to her chest. “I’m one of them.”
“One of who?”
A tear rolls down her cheek. “One of the sluts who made their bed and had to lie in it.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Mal?”
She pulls the sheets up to her chin, almost as if using them for protection against what she’s going to tell me. “Do you remember when I told you about Penny Garrison?”
“Yeah, that she got pregnant and had to go live at Hope For Life because her parents kicked her out?”
She nods. “I’m the one who told her about the place,” she says.
My heart rate shoots through the fucking roof. “How did you know about it, Mal?”
She inhales deeply through her nose, closing her eyes as she releases a painful sigh. “Because I thought I might have to live there, too.”
Stone Promises (A Stone Brothers Novel) Page 16
