by Unknown
Blake tipped his head from side to side. “Well, I mean, you’ll have to tell our grandkids.”
What! Abbey leaned back, her eyes wide. “What are you talkin’ about, boy?”
Laughing, Blake grabbed his chest. “No fair. You can’t make me laugh. It hurts.” He flustered her faster than anyone else on the planet.
She stood up next to the bed. “You can’t throw out a bomb like that and not expect a big reaction. We’re not even official yet,” she added.
His smile vanished and his blue eyes softened. “We are most definitely official, Ab.” He reached for her hand and brought her back down on the bed. “I am officially yours from now until the end of time.”
Heat blazed into Abbey’s cheeks. “Blaaake.” He was the sweetest, most amazing man in the world.
“Abbeeeey,” he said back. He stroked a lock of hair off her cheek. “Tell me,” he whispered.
Goose bumps rose along her arms when he touched her like that. “Fine.” He wanted to hear about that minute in the living room when she’d been in that dickwad’s grasp and Kwami had gone after him. “I told you I had the knife in my purse, which was around my neck the whole time. He didn’t even think about frisking me. He found me in the closet and I shot him, but not enough to do serious damage. His left arm wasn’t working very well since I shot his shoulder. He not only had his gun in his right hand, but he had that same arm around my neck. I thought Kwami was going to kill you and I had to remind myself to be on the offensive, not the defensive, so I went limp. I thought if I could force him down then shoot back up again, I could knock his head back and throw him off balance long enough to reach for the knife in my purse.”
“And where’d you get that brilliant idea?” Blake asked, the smile back on his face.
“I happened to see someone’s boot that had a knife in it and it gave me the idea to carry one myself.”
“Must be one smart person.” He lifted a dark eyebrow twice and made her laugh.
“Anyway,” she went on. “I reached for the knife. I don’t even remember slicing him. I just remember yanking it out and up and spinning at the same time. The next thing I knew he was on the floor holding his neck.” She shuddered and doubted she’d be able to retell this story so many times if the man hadn’t survived. Somehow, she’d missed his jugular and because paramedics arrived at the scene so fast, he’d survived, just as Kwami had. “I’m just glad it’s over.” At least until the trial started. But that was many months away.
“I still can’t believe Paul Facinetti’s cousin was part of the whole ring. Makes me wonder if anyone in that family is on the up and up.”
“It explains how they knew about the Santa Monica house,” Abbey said. “It was the perfect place to hide out since it’s all boarded up. I just wish they’d find that cousin already.”
“That makes two of us.”
“Did Troy ever say whether it was Wyncott or Facinetti who found out about their accountant’s knack for stealing their money?” Abbey asked.
Blake shook his head. “Not yet. Wyncott hasn’t said anything and Michael is still underground.” He squeezed her hand. “I don’t want to talk about them anymore. They give me heartburn.” The look in his eyes as he watched her was pure pride. Pure love. “C’mere,” he whispered and she leaned over and gave him a soft kiss.
“Blake,” his mom said from the hallway before entering his room. Abbey pulled away quickly and stood next to the bed as Terry came in. Dressed in straight leg jeans with awesome black high-heeled boots and a black, flowing shirt that accentuated her beautiful figure, Blake’s mom looked almost half her age. “Listen to Abbey while we’re gone. We’ll be home around eleven.”
“Mom, I’m not ten.” Blake rolled his eyes like a ten year old and Terry lifted her brows at Abbey as if to prove her point. A look only a mother could pull off. To which Blake rolled his eyes again. Abbey bit back the urge to smile. She not only loved Blake but she was growing to love his parents too.
“Abbey, can I talk to you for one minute?” Terry motioned her out to the hallway and Abbey’s heart suddenly chugged faster.
Uh oh. What did she do? Was she in trouble with Terry?
In the hallway, Terry linked her arm with Abbey’s. Even in those heels, Abbey had her by a couple of inches. “My son is completely in love with you, you know that right?”
Had Blake told her that? Or was it that obvious? Abbey swallowed. “Um…” No reason to lie. “Yes.”
“And you feel the same way about him?”
She watched Terry’s serious blue eyes for any sign of what might be in store, but had no clue where this was going. “Yes.” He’d helped her become the kind of woman she’d always wanted to be. Someone able to reach out and grab all life had to offer. “I love him very much.”
Terry nodded and a smile broke over her face. She winked. “I kind of thought so, but I wanted to be sure. I love my kids more than anything Abbey and I’ll do anything for them. And for the people they choose to love. So from now on, our home is your home. Your problems are our problems. We’re a unit and even if the boys don’t live here anymore, we stick together. Blake told me your parents moved to North Carolina a couple of years ago, so if you’re ever feeling like you need a mother’s shoulder to cry on or just some girl time, you can always call me.”
A fresh sense of belonging hit Abbey straight in the heart. “Thank you,” she replied. To be included so unconditionally in such a close family made her chest tight. She missed her parents and Bernie like crazy so this offer meant the world to her.
“Terry, let’s go or we’re going to miss the previews,” Blake’s father, Jay, yelled from downstairs.
Terry hugged her and whispered something in her ear before saying good night and rushing down the hallway.
Abbey watched her, her jaw nearly on the floor as her brain registered the message. The kitchen door slammed shut a minute later and she walked back to Blake’s room, still in shock.
After a quick glance at her, his eyes narrowed. “Uh oh. What happened? You’ve got that look on your face.”
She closed the door behind her and sat next to Blake. “They left.”
“They left?” His eyebrows lifted and he reached for her so fast, Abbey shrieked as she landed on his chest. He grunted, but didn’t stop from his objective, which—turned out—involved kissing her lips. Very thoroughly. Very, very thoroughly.
She didn’t fight him since—number one—she didn’t want to hurt him worse, and—number two—she’d missed kissing him like this. She felt his immediate response as his erection grew against her stomach. He groaned into her mouth as she rubbed herself along the hard ridge. His fingers tunneled through her hair as his tongue circled around hers in a happy yet frustrated dance.
“I want you so much, Ab. I’ve missed you like crazy.” He brought her head down again and proved his point with another nuclear meltdown of a kiss as his tongue explored her mouth. He pulled back as if he remembered something. “Wait. What happened? Are you okay? What’d my mom say?”
The fact that he stopped because he thought something was wrong made her love him that much more. “Your mom loves you a lot, you know that?”
He nodded, his eyes narrow and suspicious. “Yeaahhh.” He drew the word out. “Aaannd?”
Abbey felt her cheeks heat again. “She said you’re probably not ready to have sex, but that won’t stop you and no matter what you said that I need to be on top because your ribs aren’t ready for you to be there.”
Blake’s face turned bright red and he closed his eyes. “She didn’t.”
Laughing for the first time, Abbey touched her forehead to his. “She did. I didn’t think I was hearing her right and she just walked down the stairs like it was an everyday conversation.” Abbey stroked her thumb across Blake’s cheek, loving the way his hands moved along her shoulders and arms, loving the emotion she saw in his eyes. “She’s pretty awesome.”
“She’s embarrassing,” Blake grumbled.
>
Looked as if she needed to get his mind off his momma. Abbey buried her head in his neck and kissed the spot below his ear. “I like her. Don’t worry about it.” She traced the shell with her tongue and felt the renewed interest of his erection prodding her stomach. “I think you’re just going to have to be patient with me since I have no clue what I’m doing.”
“Ab, baby, you’re doing just fine. Just fine.”
She eased her hand across his hip and under his boxer briefs and took satisfaction in his sharp inhale when she wrapped her fingers around his hot flesh. “Do you have any condoms around?” she asked as she bit gently on his ear lobe.
He moaned. “God, yes. In the side pocket of my toilet kit in the bathroom.”
Abbey was up and back in a flash, minus most of her clothes. She took the sheets down, took his underwear down and kneeled between his legs. His thick, hard penis could’ve pounded nails. “That really is very impressive,” she said, glancing at his raging erection as she ripped open the foil packet. She studied the condom before slowly rolling it over him. Hand over hand she brought it down and sheathed him, and he leaned his head against the pillow in sheer ecstasy. She laughed when a short and simple “Gah” escaped his lips. She pulled away to strip off her underwear, but he caught her hand in his. “Straddle me. Legs apart.” He beckoned her with an index finger. Must be hereditary. “Over here.” He brought her over him until their mouths were a fraction of an inch apart. Abbey kept most of her weight on her arms.
That he would touch her everywhere was a given. The fact that she wanted him to was a new, happy, almost giddy expectation.
“I may be moving slow, but I’m still moving.” He eased her bra off as his hands caressed her skin in a sensual exploration. He cupped her head and brought her lips against his in a slow wet kiss of need, a kiss of love. He palmed her ass and guided her so she rubbed against him in a blistering preamble of the real thing. Hooking her underwear in his thumbs he eased them down over her hips and ass. “Out of these,” he murmured between kisses and Abbey felt a surge of moisture between her legs. A tiny shudder ran through her and Blake pulled back. “You okay?”
She saw the concern in his eyes. The worry that he was going too fast or touching her too much. That maybe her shudder had been about fear and not excitement. But she’d changed in the last few weeks. Not only had Blake and his love changed her, but her ability to fight and stand up for herself had changed her too. She was a stronger person because of the past few weeks and if any good thing had come from the horror of it all, that would be it.
“I’m doing great,” she whispered at his mouth. She teased her lips across his. “I’ll be doing better when I get the hang of this.” A newly familiar ache throbbed between her legs and she rubbed against Blake to ease the pressure.
“Trust me, you will.” His fingers tunneled between them and she gasped as he found her G-spot so effortlessly. The more he circled and rubbed the wetter she got. “I love those little sounds you make when I touch you here,” he said, sliding a finger over her clit. She gasped and felt his smile against her lips.
“Blake, show me,” she whispered. She wanted on him, wanted him in her.
“Are you sure?” He looked so serious, his brows slanted down and his gaze searching her face. “I want you to be sure.”
God, she loved him. “I’m sure.” She shifted a fraction and took the tip of his finger inside her. She moaned at the rising hunger cresting inside her, the need to feel more of him deeper.
Watching her, he pushed his finger inside her slow and deep and Abbey moved her hips to meet his gentle thrust. “Feel how wet you are?” he asked quietly before a soft kiss. Blake added another finger and Abbey moaned into his mouth as he pushed her higher. His hand pushed her farther to the finish, made her crazy with desire. “Blake.” She moaned his name. “I need… I want…”
“What? Tell me what you need, what you want.”
“You. Please. Just all of you inside me. Please. Now.”
Blake held her hips and Abbey positioned herself over the tip of his erection. She eased down on him slowly, letting the invasion stoke her senses, stretching the moment into forever. He gritted his teeth and she didn’t know if he hurt or if he felt the same incredible sensations she did.
“You okay?” she barely got the words out as he pushed inside with a fresh thrust.
“Über-epic,” he huffed. “You?”
An unexpected laugh gusted out and she froze with him halfway inside her. “I’m going down,” she warned him. “All the way.”
Sweat trickled down his hairline and told her exactly how much effort he was putting into the process. He nodded and grinned. “Three of my favorite words. ‘I’m going down.’ You can make a note of that if you—” He gasped because she pushed down and took him deep. “Easy, easy,” he coaxed, but she laughed because he was too late.
She circled her hips and arched her back, loving the fullness between her legs, the way his hands stroked over her back and ass and her sides. He kept touching her, all of her and Abbey had never known anything as wonderful. Lifting up slowly, she relished the size of him, then she pushed down again and sighed. “Oh God, this is so good,” she murmured. “I can’t believe I’ve been missing out on this.”
“Makes two of us,” he panted and she laughed again. His smile melted her. “Sit up,” he told her. “Hold my hands if you need the balance.”
Abbey kissed him softly before adjusting on top of him. She sat up and felt him sink impossibly deeper. He linked their fingers as he pushed up a fraction and gritted his teeth.
“Don’t move,” she told him, worried about the pain she saw etched in his face. Before he could argue with her, she lifted up and sank down, sending them on a pleasure ride so sweet, she did it again. And again, and again, and again. She moved faster and harder as the sweet friction built to a breaking point. Her heart thumped hard and sweat slicked her skin.
“Ab, you gotta come. I can’t wait. It’s too good. You’re too…” He didn’t finish as he clenched his jaw, but he let go of her hand and pushed his thumb on her clit and the pressure that had been building, the urge to reach for that absolute perfect place, exploded into a giant bomb of euphoria. Wave after wave of bliss drenched her from within and as those waves crested, Blake groaned and his own climax had him squeezing her hips tighter as he pumped hard inside her.
The intimacy, the absolute power of her love for this man filled her with a feeling of peace she hadn’t known in over a decade. With his patience, Blake brought her happiness. With his love, he made her whole.
Tears stung her eyes as Abbey looked down at him and seeing his eyes wet with moisture she eased over him and kissed him softly. Though she wanted to stay connected to him, stay on top of him, she knew he hurt, so she lifted off and curled into his side.
“I love you,” he whispered softly before kissing her forehead. “I love you.”
Abbey looked up and stroked her thumb over his jaw. The love in his eyes gave her a new starting place. With Blake next to her, she had a new life, a new reason to be, a chance to live and not be afraid. She leaned up on her elbow and gave him another gentle kiss. “Thank you.”
His lips curled into a half grin. “For what?” his voice sounded husky and sexy and that spot between her thighs tingled with a little aftershock.
“For being patient with me. For waiting. For loving me even though…”
“Don’t finish that sentence.” He eased some hair behind her ear. “There’s no ‘even though.’ It’s you and me from now on. Nothing we can’t tackle as long as we’re together. I mean it. This is it.” He paused as he thought about something. “In fact, this is so it, that if I had a ring right now, I’d ask you to marry me.”
Abbey’s smile dropped off her face. “What?” She shifted away from him because that was more news than she was willing to process. First he mentioned grandkids and now he spouted marriage. The guy was—
“Don’t freak out on me.” Blake
pulled her back. “Jeez. You say the M-word and everything goes for shit.” Humor lurked behind his serious expression. “I’m not proposing. At least not this second. But I would if I had a ring. You deserve it the right way. Something big. Something special.” He grinned with a definite devil sitting on his shoulder. “When you least expect it, I’m gonna go big.”
Abbey’s insides nearly burst out of her, but she played it calm. “So I’d better have the right answer then, I guess, huh?”
His humor disappeared in an instant. “Damn straight. There’s only one answer. You know that, right? Only one I’m willing to accept.”
She nodded, her heart full. “Yes.”
He nodded, too, one short shake. “That’s the one. C’mere.”
Abbey held back. “You know I love you, too, right. For real.”
“Yeah.” He smiled, the love in his eyes mirroring that in her own. “I know.” Blake set his mouth on hers and Abbey sunk into his kiss, knowing she’d found the one man who’d give her everything she’d need for the rest of her life.
Epilogue
Two weeks later
Blake sat in a room with a dozen actors, waiting for Abbey. Most of them seemed to be here for another audition in an adjoining studio. He’d been getting out more and more and this little excursion gave him an excuse to be with Abbey. She’d been juggling dance jobs and auditions, and Julie and he only saw her at night when she came home exhausted.
But she always had time for him. No matter how tired either one of them were, they collided in bed like supercharged magnets. He couldn’t wait to set eyes on her or be inside her, couldn’t wait to talk about her day or hear her call his name as she came.
Troy had called him whipped.
To which Blake replied, “It takes one to know one.”
Abbey came out of the room twelve minutes later, the queen of poker faces. She snagged his hand as she bee-lined for the door, tugging him behind her.
“How’d it go?” he asked as he lengthened his stride to catch up to her.
