by Misti Murphy
***
Clo's car was in the driveway when I got home. Jumping out of the truck, I scratched the back of my neck. I was supposed to be picking her up for dinner so what was she doing here? Her dad Hugh’s car was parked in the drive too. Grabbing my cooler off the back seat, I hurried inside.
I’d expected Clo to be unimpressed with the floral gift and even more so by the key attached, but I’d had plans to get her to agree to my intentions. Those plans involved getting her alone and naked. She’d made that impossible by bringing Hugh into my house. Opening the door, I managed to step inside before being hit by a visual that left me reeling. Cardboard boxes of all sizes were stacked into towers that covered the floor, and I had to pick my way between them through a narrow walkway to the kitchen.
In the kitchen there were more boxes, and baskets of vases, and other breakable items. Pulling a vase from a washing basket, I turned it over in my hand and chewed my lip. Where was the fuss and the defiance over moving in with me?
On the counter was a row of glass and plastic vases. Each one held a dozen red roses, and I grabbed the card still attached to a bouquet. Flipping it over, I read her answer scrawled in purple ink. No flowers. Apparently she missed our little challenges too, and I was going to take full advantage once I got her father out of my house.
Voices wafted from the bedroom, and I made my way toward them. She sat cross-legged on the floor surrounded by clothing and bed linens. "Oh." She gazed up at me. "I thought we’d be further along."
"What’s that sweetie?" Hugh called out from the closet.
Moving gracefully, she stood up and brushed her hands down her jeans. "Orion’s home, Dad."
"This is a yes, right? That’s what I’m seeing here."
She grinned and her ponytail bounced. "It’s a yes. Dad helped me move my stuff while you were at work. I already have someone lined up to rent my house."
Hugh came out of the closet, a hammer swinging from his meaty arm and held out a hand to me. "Orion."
I shook his hand with the strength of a man. "Hugh, it’s good to see you again."
The glint in his eye as he squeezed my hand tighter than he needed too and flashed me his teeth like a shark suggested he was welcoming me to his family and threatening my life.
"You’re going to look after my daughter aren’t you?" A certain burr to his voice hinted at violence.
"Dad." Clo rolled her eyes.
"It’s okay." Catching her gaze, I tried to suppress the chuckle welling up in my chest before I turned back to Hugh. "For eight years I stood on the sidelines, being the friend she needed me to be. Whatever she wants from me, whatever she needs, I will provide it. She will always and has always come first."
"Good answer." Hugh clapped me on the back. "I knew I always liked you."
Hugh turned to Clo. "I’ll get out of your way then. I need to get ready to take your mother out to dinner."
"Thanks, Dad." Plunking down among the piles of clothes, a devious grin spread over her face. "Take some roses from the kitchen for Mom."
"Yeah, that's a great idea." As soon as I led Hugh out, I was coming back and getting her naked. Accompanying Hugh out, I handed him a vase to take with him.
The chaotic mess she’d wreaked through my house made my head spin, and I couldn’t contain the grin that threatened to split my face as I picked up a vase of roses and made my way back to her. Her mess was in my house, and since I hadn’t been sure I would ever see the day our lives intertwined so perfectly, it made me giddy.
She erupted into giggles as I thrust the vase out in front of me and crouched before her. "Your flowers."
"I don’t think so." Shaking her head didn't hide how her face lit up.
"Oh, but I do." I waited for her to take them, enjoying the game.
"Uh-uh." Despite how hard she tried she couldn't quite keep the laughter out of her voice.
Placing the flowers on the floor beside me, I lunged for her, tickling her sides as I pushed her onto the carpet. The piles she'd been sorting scattered as she pulled me down to her, and I sought out her mouth. "Welcome home."
Her lips curved under my mouth as she arched into me. "I like the sound of that."
"You should. This is where you belong." I stroked her tongue with mine. "I’m still going to have to make you accept the flowers."
"I told you no flowers." Her fingers darted into the waist of my pants to cup my ass so she could grind against me.
"We'll see." I groaned, wanting to take her there on the floor, but not willing to give up the game. "You know, I can get you to say yes to anything."
"Only when I want to."
"You want to." Pulling her up, I kissed the nape of her neck and dragged my teeth over her skin. With one hand wrapped around her ponytail, I tilted her head for better access. "Do you remember the first night? The mark I left on you?"
"Orion," she screeched, "don’t you..."
"Oh, I dare." Wandering my lips over her neck, I clasped her tits and hefted the weight of them in my palms. "You're fucking mine, aren't you?"
"Yes." Her voice was a whispery moan as I sucked the fragile skin on her collarbone between my teeth and bit down until she shivered. Heat rose under her skin where my mouth had been.
I sought out the buttons on the front of her shirt, my fingers hopping over each one. "You don’t need this shirt do you?"
"What do you mean?"
Griping the material in my fingers, I ripped it open. She gasped, and buttons scattered over the floor. "I owe you a shirt."
"Orion, if you start on my shirts, I'm going to run out of clothes."
"I like that idea. You, naked, all the time."
"I'm sure you do," she purred and settled against me.
"I'll take you shopping tomorrow and replace everything. It's just that first night when you wouldn't let me love you the way I wanted I took it out on your underwear."
"I know. I didn't mind."
"I loved your reaction. How much you wanted me even though you didn't realize you loved me back then." Unhooking her bra, I took that too, dropping it onto the already clothes-strewn floor before roving my hands up over her belly to take one nipple between my fingers.
"I should have, but I was too scared."
"You had reason to be." The bud puckered as I rolled it, begging for me to take it in my mouth.
She arched into my hand. "Not really. You were always there in my corner."
"You love me now." Turning her to face me, I leaned down to drag the dusky bud between my lips, sucking it to a hard, tight peak.
"I do." She twined her hands in my hair as I undid the buttons on her jeans and stroked her skin at the line of her panties.
I dipped my fingers beneath the lace. "You wore these for me, didn't you?"
"Yes," she moaned as I sunk my fingers into her.
"Thinking about me ripping these from you turns you on. You're fucking soaked." Getting down on my knees, I slid her pants down her legs. "I like the blue."
Her hips tilted forward, almost begging for me to tear the sheer material away, making me rock hard.
I pressed my mouth to the lace and darted my tongue over her wetness. "This might be my favorite place in the world, here between your thighs."
Fingers flexing on my shoulders, she moaned, her knees dipping while I lifted each foot to remove her panties. "When you talk dirty to me you make me want to cum."
"Is that my Valentine's present? You, finally using that word? Or are you trying to distract me?
"What?" Wide eyes peered down at me, her lips twitching.
She'd been so close to distracting me, but now I was onto her. "You're going to beg for flowers by the time I'm done with you.
Getting up I crossed to the closet and examined my small collection of unused ties. They would be good for what I had in mind.
"What are you doing?" she called out.
"For some reason I can't quite remember, I've had this fantasy of tying you up." I wound the ties around my ha
nd as I moved into her line of vision.
"Oh." She gazed at me with wide eyes. "You were pretty drunk that night."
"Did we do this already?" I scrunched up my forehead wanting to remember. "Surely I'd remember that."
"No, we haven't done this." She held her wrists together in front of me.
Blood rushed to my cock at the sight. "Fuck, babe, you know how to make me want to skip the foreplay and get down to worshiping you."
Kneeling in front of her, I took one of her hands and kissed the pulse point, before wrapping the tie around her wrists. Her breath hitched as she stared at them. I tugged on the end of one and pulled her to me to test the knot before guiding her to the bed. "You know by the time I'm finished with you, you're going to accept the flowers."
Laying her out on the bed, I spread her thighs with my palms, running them down each leg to secure her to the bed.
"I am never going to agree to the flowers."
Taking the final tie, I covered her eyes. "I think you desperately want to say that you love them, but not as much as you want this."
Peeling my shirt over my head and sliding out of my jeans, I picked a thornless beauty from the vase and climbed between her knees. "I'll give you what you want if you say you love them. That shouldn't be too hard."
"Not going to happen." Her lips parted, a tremble running through her while I grazed the petals up her calf with agonizing slowness.
"I hoped you were going to say that." I snickered and dropped kisses along the scented trail I left with the rose up the inside of her thigh. "There's something about the way you argue with me when you know you're going to give in that hits me right in the chest."
"That's because I argued about falling for you, and you knew I'd give in."
"Perhaps. Do you like the flowers yet?"
Whimpering, she tried to reach for me, but the ties held her in place. "I... I like you."
"No, babe, you love me," I crooned and darted my tongue along the crease at the top of her thigh. "And you love what I'm doing to your body."
"Maybe."
Brushing the petals over her nipple, I swiped a finger over her clit and was rewarded by the jerk of her hips.
"Oh."
"Say you want the flowers." Leaning over her, I pushed two fingers into her and clamped my lips around one pert nipple. She writhed beneath me, but the bindings held her still, except for her hips that bucked and rolled to the rhythm of my strokes.
"Please," she whimpered, her pussy squeezing around my fingers. "I want you."
"Do you?" I growled against her belly, my lips curving. When she begged, it was hard to remember I had a plan. The urge to give in to her filled me.
"I want you inside of me."
"Those aren’t the words I want to hear." Settling over her, I pressed my cock to her pussy lips, dipping the tip into her wetness. "What do you say?"
"I’m not going to say it." Shaking her head, she pressed her lips together to stifle the upturn of her mouth.
"Say it, babe. The second you say it, I'm going to sink inside that tight pussy of yours and give you exactly what you want."
"No." Her breath rasped from between her lips.
Another inch inside her and I was almost willing to concede defeat, wanting nothing more than to take my sweet time giving her what she wanted. "God damn it, Clo. If you don't do it now—"
"Oh damn it! I love the fucking flowers, Orion. Now make me cum."
"Thank fuck," I groaned as I removed all the ties. "I don't have the ability to hold out on you the way I used to."
Settling over her, I pushed into her, and she wound her arms around my neck as she bucked beneath me, working her body against mine. "You love me too much to deny me anything, and you've taught me not to hold onto the past, so of course I love the flowers because they came from you."
Rolling over so she straddled me, I locked my gaze on her eyes as she rode me, her mouth elongating each syllable of my name, her hands kneading my chest until her pussy clenched around me. Unable to hold back any longer, my release shuddered through me as she collapsed on my chest. I twined my finger with hers. "I'd do anything and give you everything, Angel girl. You're my world."
"You're mine." She squeezed my hand.
"Welcome home."
Chapter Thirty-Six
Orion stares at the camera. "You know, I never once thought about what I was missing out on. It didn’t matter to me. I had her. That was enough."
March 2012
As much as I enjoyed going to work, coming home was my favorite part of the day. Turning into my own driveway was better than driving out of it. Coming home meant coming home to her. We’d cook dinner together and afterward, we’d settle onto the couch, and she’d rest her head on my shoulder while we watched television, or talked. I knew I was whipped before Mike made the offhand remark while we’d been inspecting the work done on my house. I’d told Mike it took one to know one.
I parked the truck and strode through the yard. Maybe I should get Clo a puppy. A slobbering puppy like her old dog Boulder ran through my mind. Would she accept a puppy with more ease than she had anything else I’d given her?
She was waiting for me on the steps outside the laundry. I wanted to pull her into my arms, but I could tell by the way her nose turned up as she surveyed the fine coating of plaster dust and dirt I was wearing that she wouldn’t be pleased if I did. Swatting her on the bum instead, I entered through the fly wire door.
"What do you think of getting a puppy?" I unlaced my boots and kicked them off into the corner.
"Hmm," she answered, and I wasn’t sure how to interpret it.
I stripped off and tossed my clothes in the washing machine, before hauling her into my arms to kiss the breath out of her. Every day I got to come home and kiss the life out of her was a good day.
"I...have some news." She'd been chewing her lip, the skin a little torn, and even now she was pinching it between her teeth.
"News?" Carrying her into the bedroom, I popped her down on the bed. "What kind of news?"
"Big news." Her voice came out small and breathy.
"What is it? What’s wrong?" I pulled a fresh pair of jeans from the closet.
"Nothing. I mean, nothing is wrong."
I found a T-shirt and pulled it over my head. Was she paler than usual? "What is it? You don’t look well." My heart gave a thud at the idea of her being sick.
"I’m fine.... It’s just... I don’t know how to begin." She took my hand. "Perhaps, it’s better if I show you."
"Show me what?" I asked, as she led me into the bathroom.
She picked up a white plastic stick from the counter and handed it to me. My heart set to explode as I stared at the two lines. Was I losing my mind? "What is this?"
"It’s a pregnancy test."
"No, I mean, does this say you’re pregnant?"
Her face fell. "Yes."
"Oh." I scrunched my brow. "I thought you couldn’t get pregnant."
She was on the verge of tears, and I couldn’t understand why when this was such good news.
"You’re not happy." Head bowed, she stared at the honeycomb tiles on the floor, her bottom lip trembling. "You don’t want..."
"Hold up." Pulling her into my arms, I gazed into her eyes. "I didn’t say that. I’m in shock. This wasn’t supposed to be possible."
"I know. I’m shocked too, but God, Orion, I never thought I’d have a baby. I don’t know how it happened but it’s a miracle." Tears brimmed from her eyes, but her face shone with happiness.
There weren’t words for how I felt. My heart burst as I rested my hand over her belly. I’d been happy to have her love and prepared to let the idea of family go to have her. I had to be the luckiest man alive, didn’t I?
"We’re going to have a baby." The words soaked into my brain and rolled over my tongue. In this moment of complete euphoria, my life was what I had always wanted it to be.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
"I didn’t see it c
oming. I didn’t... see you coming. None of us did. I had never been so terrified and excited at the same time. I was going to be a father. I wanted to make an honest woman of your mother. I didn’t know how she was going to take that idea, but I was damn well going to try."
May 2012
I twisted my keys round and round my fingers as I stared through the window of the jewelers. Mellie was supposed to be meeting me, but she hadn’t arrived yet, and I wanted to get on with picking out the perfect ring. The display cases in front of me cradled gold and diamond rings that caught the thin light and sparkled from it. There were other stones too, and the variety confused me.
Clo had such simple elegant style. Should I get her a simple diamond? Or would a sapphire be better? I’d never bought jewelry for anyone other than Mom and Birdie. This was so important. I had to get it right. She’d be wearing it every day for the rest of her life.
Mellie hurried along the pavement toward me. Her face was drawn and her hair shoved into a messy bun. "Sorry I’m late."
"Are you all right?" I opened the door for her, letting her move ahead of me. Her eyes were puffy and rimmed with red. "What’s going on?"
"Nothing," she answered over her shoulder as she approached the glass cases and leaned over them to inspect the jewelry. "What are we looking at?"
Knowing she wouldn't talk until she was ready, I let it go. "I don’t know. That’s why I asked you to come. You have much better taste than I do."
"Did you at least get her ring size?"
I pulled a small gold band from my pocket. "I found this in her jewelry box. Do you think she remembers she has it?"
Mellie took it between two fingers and peered at it. "Hard to tell, it’s possible she doesn’t remember."
She waved to the thin woman in a black suit who crossed the room to us, her skirt as tight as the bun on top of her head. "Can I help you?"
Mellie handed her the ring. "We need to have this sized, thanks."
The woman disappeared into a room behind the counter, leaving us to browse.
"Do you want a diamond, or something different?" Mellie bent over the display case.
