“I want to marry you, Krista, as soon as I’m a citizen and can. I love you, more than I thought I could ever love. I want to get to know my daughter, and take care of both of you.”
Krista swallowed around the lump in her throat, the cold, empty hole inside of her heart warming and filling. She’d been content, but suddenly she realized she could be happy again. “Yes,” she replied.
Brax chuckled. “Well, I guess I’d better learn to like hockey.” He put his arm around her, and for the first time in her life, she knew what it was to have real freedom. The invisible chains of pain and sadness fell away. The two ton stone she’d carried metaphorically on her heart disappeared. Tears filled her eyes. Addy looked at her curiously.
“Everything will be wonderful now, baby. Daddy’s home,” she whispered into her daughter’s hair, hugging the child tightly. In that moment, she realized Winnipeg suddenly felt like home because Brax was here. “Thank you for coming for me, Brax.”
“Thank you for agreeing to become Mrs. Bray. Without you, nothing has been right. I love you so damn much.”
“Language…we have an impressionable toddler,” Krista scolded teasingly.
A look of love filled his face. “I can’t believe I’m really looking at you, Kristannie, or our child. I thought I’d lost you both forever.” His voice cracked.
Krista handed him his daughter, and he held her awkwardly at first. Then he pulled her close to him and kissed the top of her head.
“Mine. Ours. I’m actually holding her. Thank you for giving me a child.”
Krista didn’t know why his words pleased her as much as they did. A sob shuddered out of her. She covered her face with her hands as she sucked in a deep breath and fought for control.
Mara opened the back door and came out. She handed Krista a box of tissues, which meant she’d been watching the reunion from the house. “We have plenty of supper, and if Todd doesn’t still want to kill you, I’d be delighted if you’d be our guest until you figure out what the two of you want to do about living arrangements. I assume you’ll want him to stay in your room?” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and grinned at Krista.
“Meet your meddling mother-in-law,” Krista teased, chuckling.
“I’ll stay as long as Kristannie will have me,” he told Mara, but his eyes never left Krista’s.
“I hope you packed everything you need, because I’m never letting you go again,” Krista replied, grinning.
“Everything I need is standing in front of me. You’re all I ever wanted and all I’ll ever need. I love you, Kristannie. Even if there were a million women and I was the last man alive—I’d want you. You were all I could think about, and not just sex—you. When you left, you ripped a hole in my heart. At first, I was terrified you’d been hurt. I had nightmares…terrible images of you in pain, it felt like I was suffocating all the time, but I couldn’t die.”
As cheesy as his words were, she could see the honesty in his eyes, and her heart physically ached as the bitter shell of self-doubt and pain cracked inside her soul. She’d felt so ridiculous for not being able to just live—everyone told her she was better off without him, but she wasn’t. He hadn’t abused her or forced himself on her. She’d loved every minute in his arms, especially when he’d dominated in a way none of the others had. He hadn’t been cruel or rough, just in charge, and it had filled a need in her that the others left empty. As she looked into his eyes, she saw something that made her breath catch in her throat. Love.
He moved to Mara and passed her the little girl. Addy clung to her step-grandmother. Mara cradled the child tightly. He turned back to Krista and cupped her cheek in his hand. Love. That look on his face made her want to start bawling all over again.
“Brax, I love you. I’m glad you didn’t die. I’ve been just existing, and now I know why. I was waiting for you.”
He wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I never knew what it was to live. When you came into our—my life, it was the first time I really felt like I had a reason to take my next breath. You’ve saved me. I want to save you back every day. I’m going to deserve you—someday.”
She clung to him, desperately trying not to cry again. She knew he meant the words, and she knew without a doubt that he would do what he said.
Brax had picked her up without giving her any warning. Krista cried out. He turned to Mara. “You’ll watch the baby, right?”
Mara flushed. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. “Right, I have her. Todd won’t be home for a few more hours. I was thinking about taking a long walk. Come on, Addy. It’s a beautiful day, let’s find the stroller.”
Krista watched her go until Brax began walking toward the house. His domineering way didn’t bother her a bit. Her emotions were on such a crazy rollercoaster ride. She couldn’t stop herself from trembling in his arms. He looked down at her and she bit her lip.
“Do you want me to put you down, Kristannie?”
She loved the way he said her full name. She’d missed hearing it. He was the only one who ever said it in that special way. The way he uttered the word was like a powerful spell, binding her to him. Reminding her she belonged to him. Even if no piece of paper made her his, she was. Something more powerful than law wove them together now.
“No, never again,” she whispered.
He smiled and lust darkened his beautiful eyes. “Where is your room?”
“Up the stairs, first door on the left. Addy sleeps in the room on the right. Todd and Mara sleep downstairs.”
“Todd?”
“Dad, um, it’s still a little weird calling him that.”
Brax nodded his understanding. “I’m sorry you’ve been through so much.”
“I’m not,” she replied.
He flinched, surprise evident on his face.
“No matter what, all this hell has brought me here and has given you to me.”
His lips touched hers and she sensed his frantic need, even as he kissed her slowly. Her arms wrapped tighter around his neck. She could feel the muscles in his back under her hands. She wanted his shirt off—now.
He rushed into the room and set her on the bed. She watched him close and lock the door as he quickly stripped off his clothing. She began pulling her shirt over her head, but he stopped her.
“Let me,” he whispered.
She paused and he gently finished removing her shirt. He reached around her and unhooked her bra. Her now ampler breasts fell free. Brax sucked in a breath.
“Fuck. You’re beautiful, woman. I’ve fantasized about you so much, but even my imagination couldn’t see how perfect you are.”
He dropped to his knees in front of her and took one of her nipples into his mouth. He sucked her softly, then hard, and then softly again. Her back arched. A moan slipped from her lips. His hands caressed her bare back tenderly. Her eyes fluttered closed. If this was another dream, she didn’t want to wake up. She’d missed sex, but most of all, she’d missed Braxton. Her fingers slipped into his soft hair and she held him to her breast.
“I love you so much. I wish you’d been my first, my only,” she murmured. There was a sad hitch in her voice.
He pulled away and looked up into her face. “As you know, you were my first and my only. If you’ll trust me, I’ll give you pleasure in a way no one ever has before.”
His words excited her. She’d thought she’d been pleasured every way possible. She nodded. “I’m yours. I trust you.”
He grinned. She loved seeing him happy. He had lines on his face that hadn’t been there three years ago, but when he smiled they went away.
“I suffered without you. I never want to let you go again.” His mouth found her other breast and she cried out.
Her body was hypersensitive. His every touch scorched her. He pulled away and the cool air made her nipple pucker tighter. He gave it another tweak with his fingers. She groaned. He pushed her back onto the mattress and she looked down to see him undoing her fl
y. He pulled her jeans and panties to her ankles in one motion. Then he pulled off her shoes and socks. A moment later everything was off. The air touched her pussy and she felt it pucker.
He inhaled sharply. “Damn, you smell good.”
He knelt between her legs and she opened them for him. Brax began sucking on her clit, nibbling it. Then he lapped passionately at her. She jerked, bucking against his mouth. Her back arched again. Krista came loud and hard. She was glad no one was home. When her body had settled down to nothing but phantom spasms, her pussy squeezed, desperate for some cock.
Brax stood. “Turn onto your stomach for me.”
She loved his tone. That deep, sensual voice made her shiver. The dominate quality in his sexual intensity only made her hotter. She rolled to her stomach without a word. He pulled her closer to the foot of the bed, and pushed her hips up just a little to raise her ass in the air. His fingers began swirling in her wetness. She sighed. Then he plunged his cock into her hard, pumping her twice. She cried out, squeezing her eyes tightly with the pleasure. She hadn’t had a man inside of her in over three years. The joy that shot through her womb was mind-blowing. He withdrew quickly. Krista whimpered. She wanted him inside of her again.
“Do you trust me?”
She nodded, not trusting her voice. Her body was nothing but sensation and primal need. Words were beyond the de-evolution he caused in her brain. The smell of his cologne wafted to her nose. She inhaled the scent of Brax and sex. Her pussy tightened. She wiggled her ass, wanting more. He gave her a hard, albeit it playful, slap. She wiggled again, wanting his hands on her as she craved his control.
His thumb and forefinger pinched and rolled her clit as the fingers of his other hand entered her pussy. She whimpered. Her body was on the precipice of another release. Then he rubbed her wetness against her virginal anus.
“Relax. Trust me. Let go completely.”
She did. The tone of his voice made it easy. She wanted to give him her body so completely he’d never doubt her love—or that she was his. She’d waited for this man…pined for Brax until she’d made herself sick. He was here and her hormones were on overdrive. She’d known lust and pleasure in his home, but nothing like what she felt now. Here, she could belong only to him and it sweetened her desire. This was love, not duty. There was no guilt that he was her favorite. Everything that had been wrong with her desire for only him was gone, and now the rightness of it hit her with the force of a speeding train. She was helpless. She’d given him her soul, and it was good to be reunited with all her missing pieces.
He slid his damp fingers inside her ass. She forced herself to relax, reminded herself he wouldn’t hurt her. At first it was odd, and then the sensation became good. His fingers never stopped rubbing her clit. She was so wet, the proof of her desire running down her thigh.
“Do it! Do anything,” she cried out in her animalistic fervor.
Another finger stretched her. There was no pain. She leaned into him, wanting him deeper. Krista grunted, half-crazed with her excitement.
When he withdrew she gasped. “No.” Her wail didn’t even sound like it belonged to her, but it did.
Then something larger nudged her there. She stiffened, then relaxed. Giving in to his body filled her with a twisted joy. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead on the mattress. Her body was teetering on release, and she clutched wildly at the sheets, pulling them off the mattress with her writhing, grasping restlessness.
The head of his cock entered her ass. It felt gigantic. His prick wasn’t small, but right now it seemed like the biggest dick in the world. She grunted. He rubbed her back softly.
“Shh, baby. Relax and this will be so good.”
She forced her body to still and took a deep breath in through her nose. She let it out with her mouth. Her ardor grew. He rubbed her clit harder. He pushed inside of her, and her body slowly gave way to him. When his balls slapped against her ass cheeks she knew he was all the way inside of her. Brax was taking her in a way no other man ever had. She closed her eyes, relishing the feeling. Now, he was her first. The beauty of knowing it made her eyes water.
“Are you okay?”
She didn’t respond, too overcome with emotion.
“Damn it, Kristannie, are you okay?”
She heard him speaking through gritted teeth. It made her smile. “I’m fine, Brax. I just love you so much.”
He was still. His cock stretching her, he leaned down and kissed the center of her back. She shivered. “You are the most incredible woman—beyond anything I’d imagined could exist. I’ll never deserve you, but thank God you’re letting me try.”
His words touched her. He rubbed her pussy harder and moved slowly inside of her. She came. The orgasm hit her with unexpected force. She growled out her pleasure. The scream sounded almost painful. She bucked against his cock, frantic for him to come inside of her. He pulled out and she turned her head to look at him. He was still erect.
“Lie on your back and wait for me. Play with your pussy, Kristannie. I want to see you touching yourself.”
She obeyed immediately, without question, desperate to make him as happy as he made her. Even having come, she was still hot. She wanted him again.
There was a private bathroom adjoining her room and he rushed inside. She heard the water running. He was out in just a moment. Her hand was still between her legs because he wanted it there. He leaned against the door and watched her fingers with intense interest. Then he crawled onto the bed and spread her legs as wide as they would go. He rested his hands on the mattress, framing her head, and leaned down to kiss her. She kissed him back, opening her mouth for his tongue.
His cock filled her needy pussy. She wrapped her legs around him. He pulled back to look into her eyes.
“I’m so fucking close, but I don’t want this to be over,” he whispered.
“It doesn’t have to end now. Forever.” The last word came out in a moan as she arched her back once more. It seemed surreal, but she came again, and just as hard. His hips slammed into her with bruising force a few more times before he stiffened.
“Kristannie.” Her name slipped out of him in a reverent whisper as he released inside of her.
Her pussy milked his cock and she enjoyed the sensation of the spasms, even after she’d come off her euphoric endorphin high, and the pleasure ebbed.
He flopped down on the mattress and rolled onto his back, pulling her to rest on his chest. His arms came around her as if they were iron bands.
“This is a small mattress.”
“Yes,” she replied and cocked her head to the side, her eyes narrowing with confusion. “Do you want to sleep somewhere else?”
“Never, I want to hold you close. I like the idea that you’ll be snuggled right up against me all night.”
She chuckled and rested her head on his damp chest. The wiry hair tickled her cheek.
“I’m going to love you until the day I die,” he declared.
She closed her eyes and sighed. She hoped that day was decades away, but she liked his long-term goal.
The sound of the front door opening made her sit up.
“Crap, my dad is home. We’d better get dressed. He doesn’t exactly like you.”
Brax grinned. “I can’t blame him. I want to do wicked things to his daughter.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
She slapped his shoulder playfully. “I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
He kissed her again. All thoughts of impropriety fled. Nothing mattered but the man who held her. When Brax let go she was love-drunk with the taste of him.
She quickly put on her clothing. He also dressed, but at a more casual speed. Krista rushed out of the room and flew into her father’s arms.
“Thank you so much. Todd—ah Dad, you are the best! I can’t believe you reached out to him for me.” Tears dripped onto her warm cheeks.
He pulled back and looked at her. She knew what he saw. Her face was flushed, her hair was a mess;
she looked like she’d been doing just what she’d done. A slow grin spread across his face.
“He’s here, huh?”
“Yes.”
“So, Mara and Addy gave you both some catch up time?”
“Yes.”
“Are you happy? Is he really what you want? If he’s not, I’ll throw his ass out of here now.”
“Don’t you dare, but just…” She threw her arms around her father again. “Thank you, Dad.” For the first time, the words really felt right. He was really her dad. He’d put her first, risked so much for her. Her heart swelled with love.
Her father patted her back awkwardly, but she could feel his love for her. “I just don’t want you to hurt any more, muffin. It’s your turn to be happy.”
Brax came cautiously down the stairs. The men looked at each other, sizing one another up.
When Brax extended his hand, her father shook it firmly. “Thank you, sir,” Brax said.
“Take care of her, of them both, and we’re good. Mess up and I kick your ass back down south.”
“Understood.”
Krista glanced back and forth between the men in her life and couldn’t stop her smile. The sound of the back door made her turn. Mara walked in holding Addy. They paused and Mara surveyed the scene.
“Are we good or should I cover the baby’s eyes?”
Todd scowled. “We’re good.” His expression didn’t match his words, but Mara smiled anyway. Addy reached out toward her grandfather. He took the little girl from his wife.
“I have a roast in the oven. It should be ready. It will be nice to have the whole family together,” Mara said, looking into each of their faces.
Krista couldn’t agree more. The whole family… Her story finally had a happy ending.
About Ashlynn Monroe
Ashlynn Monroe has been dreaming up stories all her life. She started to put them on paper at thirteen, but it wasn’t until she was thirty that she decided to share them with others. She’s a busy mom with a full time job, fantastic friends, and a unique sense of humor. She’s just a regular girl who’s in love with the idea of happily-ever-after. She’s honored to be multi-published by some of the best electronic publishers in the industry. Ashlynn survives each day by dreaming up her next tale of romance. She loves her readers and can’t thank them enough for the wonderful support they give her.
Given Page 21
