He laughed again and rolled over, taking me with him. “Are you always this spontaneous?”
“Not really. I haven’t been with anyone in ages and never thought I’d find someone I’d want to be with again. Here we are with these crazy as hell feelings going on and even though it’s scary as hell, I don’t want to wait. You really do?”
“I’m trying to be a gentleman and you’re making it hard as hell.”
I lifted up my head and said, “Rusty, I don’t want you to be a gentleman. I want you to play dirty in bed. But don’t hold it against me that I didn’t shave.” I wrinkled up my nose.
Abruptly, he set me on the bed and stood up.
“Play dirty, huh? You like dirty? I can do dirty. In fact, dirty is my middle name. Ruston Dirty Garrett, at your service.” And then he proceeded to undress, but when he got to the underwear that he didn’t wear, I gasped. He was big. Much bigger than I ever expected.
“Whoa.”
“Don’t fear the beast. He will love you … dirty and diligently.”
I didn’t think I’d said it out loud. My hand covered my mouth as I laughed. “Oh my God. You did not just say that.”
“I did and it’s a promise. Now let’s get that unshaven body of yours undressed.”
In an instant, I was self-conscious again. Not because I hadn’t shaved, but because of my prosthesis and scarred leg. My eyes slammed shut and I cringed.
“Hey, what’s going on here?”
“Nothing, let’s do this.”
“Lee, baby, we’re not gonna just do this if you don’t talk to me.”
I opened my eyes to find his green ones right in front of me. My heart stuttered and then beat like the wings of a hummingbird.
“Oh, my. I’m super nervous. I’ve never let anyone see my legs since the accident.”
He gripped my hand and said, “I’ve seen a lot of shit, and I’m sure your legs aren’t bad—maybe in your eyes they are. But I can assure you they won’t be in mine. I hate you had to go through that experience. But your legs aren’t what define you. It’s what’s inside of you. We can sit here like this all night if you want. We don’t have to go any farther, you know.”
“I know, but I honestly want to. I want us to share each other.”
“Then tell me what to do.”
“Take off my pants.”
He followed my directions. When my pants were off, my legs were exposed. To me, the stump and jagged scars weren’t a big deal anymore. But to others, I’m sure it must’ve been horrid to look at. I kept my eyes squeezed shut for fear of what I’d find reflected in his.
His hands were gentle as they touched me. Fingers traced the scars, one by one, on each leg, until he came to the end of the line. “So, do you want to keep your prosthesis on for this?”
“Uh, no. I’ll remove it. Is that okay with you?”
“Why would you ask me that?”
“Because you’ll have to see my stump.”
He cupped my face. “Lee, that’s your leg and it won’t bother me. Take it off or I can do it for you if you’ll tell me what to do.”
Oh, Jesus. This man was so sweet. Did he really exist? I took the damn thing off, but still refused to look at him. But I shouldn’t have been afraid.
“Was that so bad?”
“Guess not,” I answered.
“Lee, you have to look at me.”
When I did, the only thing I saw in his eyes was admiration.
“Okay, it wasn’t bad at all. Now that I’m naked, can we make the most of it?”
“That is a definite.”
But the first thing he went to do almost had me running out the door. That is if I could’ve run without a leg. He pushed me back until my shoulder blades hit the bed and then he spread my legs. Without a second to be wasted, his mouth fell between my thighs and … oh shit.
“What are you doing?” I nearly screamed.
He lifted his head and said, “What do you think I’m doing?”
“You can’t do that.”
His brow formed some serious creases. “Why not?”
“Well, because.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“No, it’s not.” And his mouth dropped back down as I gasped.
“Because I haven’t shaved down there. That’s why.”
His head popped back up and he said, “What’s the big deal? Relax and stop overthinking things. I promise you’ll love it.”
His mouth went back to work, and I didn’t have a chance to think about anything except for what his lips and tongue, and then, oh fuck, what his fingers were doing. And just what the hell were they doing? He had one, no two, inside of me, and they were doing some little fancy motion that felt so fucking good. His tongue was flicking my clit in a circular motion and I was about to come. To come like a motherlode.
“Whatever you do, don’t you stop. Oh, God, don’t stoppppp.” I moaned.
My fingers grasped his head, or rather his hair, and I ground my pelvis against his mouth. Then my orgasm started in the arch of my foot and shot straight through to the top of my head. I moaned out, “Ohhhhh, Russsssty. Yessssssssss.” I sounded exactly like the shameless hussy I was. Christ, what would his neighbors at the inn think?
But he didn’t take his mouth off me. He kept fingering and flicking me off. I was frenzied with this epic climax he kept giving and giving. My sensitive nub couldn’t take any more, so I begged him to stop.
“Please, no more.”
He didn’t listen. I was practically contorted with my spasms. Then another giant orgasm nailed me and I mewled his name, sounding like the local tomcat. When this one let loose, it left me limp and weak in its wake.
He finally lifted his head, wiped his face with the bed sheet, and announced, “Fuck, that was sexy as hell. You’re so damn wet.”
Then he stood up and rifled through the contents of his bag to return with a handful of condoms. A handful. Jesus, I was a dead woman.
He lifted my knees, spread my legs, and I gawked at him as he rolled on the condom.
“You okay there, babe?” he asked.
“Uh, yeah. Just a bit limp here.”
“This’ll bring you back to life. Pull your knees to your chest.”
I did as he told me and watched as he pushed his long erection into me. Slowly he went, inch by inch, until I was stretched to the max.
“Damn, you’re tight.” He dropped his head and took my mouth in a searing kiss. While he kissed me, he inched his way out and back in until he was fully seated. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m good.”
“Let’s turn that good into a great, shall we?”
And he started to move. Long and slow even strokes, with my knees still pulled tightly to my chest, and him raised above me, he fucked me like a master.
After a bit, he pulled out and put a pillow on the bed and rolled me on top of it so it was under my hips. Then he slid back inside of me, hitching my hips up. This felt dramatically different in this position. With his hand, he dipped low and rubbed my clit. I was ten seconds from ignition when he said, “I’m going to come, babe. I hope you’re close.”
“Yes,” I whispered, only because I had no breath to spare. My fingers clawed the sheets as the orgasm hit and I moaned and moaned, feeling my inner muscles ripple against him. He held me tightly as he got his own and then collapsed, pulling me into the curve of his body.
“That was perfect, exactly like you are,” he murmured in my ear. I hoped he meant it because in one day I had fallen for this man. Weird, but I felt like I’d known him a lifetime.
Chapter Fifteen
Lee
* * *
My phone rang and it woke me up. I glanced around to see Rusty’s arm slung over me. “Hello?”
“Lilou Marston?”
“Yes, this is she.”
“Ms. Marston, my name is Jeffrey Ammons, and my son is a friend of your brother Glenn’s. Glenn spoke with me yest
erday about you and your involvement with the cafe in the old train depot. He also told me about your great-grandfather’s story and I’d like to do a news story on you and the cafe.”
Holy shit!
I sat up, waking Rusty in the process. “Mr. Ammons, this is fantastic. Jackson Blackburn is the owner of the cafe and let me give her a call. It would be great if all three of us could meet. What would be a good time for you?”
He gave me several days and times and I promised I’d call him back. I immediately called Jackson. She was up to her eyeballs at work.
“Hey Lee. What’s up?”
“You won’t believe this. That little Scuttlebutt was right!” And I gave her the details.
We decided on the following day, so I called Mr. Ammons back to set it up. In my excitement, I jumped out of bed and forgot to put on my prosthesis. Not a good idea. In my haste, I crashed on my face in zero point two seconds, letting out a loud yell.
“Shit! Shit!”
Rusty was at my side, helping me. “Lee, are you okay?” His hands ran down my leg, checking for injuries, I suppose.
An embarrassed giggle leaked out of me. God, I never giggled, but this was so humiliating. I needed to remember to hop and not run next time. “I’m fine. Just was a little excited and forgot about my leg. I haven’t done that in a long time.”
He slid his hands under me and set me back on the bed. This was the kind of treatment a girl could get used to.
“You need to be more careful.”
“Right? But this is so exciting. You heard everything, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, it was sort of hard to miss the way you were screaming.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No. It’s great.”
I threw my arms around his neck. “It’s because this is the kind of publicity the cafe needs. And even the town. A great restaurant can do amazing things for a town, you know.”
“Yes, it can.”
“Oh, my God. I need to call Scutt.”
“Scutt?”
“Scuttlebutt, my brother. He’s the one responsible for this.” After I filled Rusty in, I called my little brother.
“Glenn, you won’t believe what just happened.”
I told him about Mr. Ammons and thanked him. I even promised to buy him a new video game.
“See, I told ya I’d handle it!” Glenn said.
“You rock, dude!”
“Why’d you call me Glenn?”
“Because you are growing up and I think I’m going to have to ditch your nickname. You’re a businessman now.”
“But I like it when you call me Scuttlebutt. Maybe you can call me Glenn in public.”
“Deal. Now I’ve gotta go, but I’ll call you later. Have I told you how much I love you?”
“Yeah. But that’s kinda gross, Lilou.” I could only imagine the crests of his cheekbones turning bright rosy. He hated when I said things like this. I adored this kid and he was going to know it. One thing I learned in rehab and how I nearly died was our time on this Earth was precious and we needed to make sure the ones we loved knew how much they meant to us.
“Well, get used to hearing it a lot because I’m going to be telling you a lot.”
“Hey, why didn’t you come home last night?”
Now it was my turn for my cheeks to turn scarlet. “Um, I, er, that’s to say, I had some business to do with Jackson.” I cringed when I lied. But I could never tell him I spent the night with Rusty.
“Oh, cool. I’ll see you around.”
When I looked at Rusty, he already knew.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“For what?”
“For making you feel like that.”
“It was my choice. I could’ve gone home. Besides, I’m a grown woman.”
“Yeah, but you hated telling that to your brother.”
“He’s only fourteen, so …”
“I completely understand. But I have to add, last night was the best night of my life.”
Smiling, I said, “Mine too.”
“So, breakfast?”
“Yes! But let me run home to shower and change. I’ll meet you back here as soon as I can.”
“Shower with me. I’ll so make it worth your while.”
“Um, showers are a little tricky for me. You know.” I pointed to my leg.
“I’ll hold you up the entire time. I’ll even wash you. The bathroom has all sorts of hair products.”
“Are you sure?”
“You have to ask?” he picked me up and carried me to the massive bathroom.
The shower took much longer than any other shower in my life. Of course, there were some extracurricular activities involved, ones that centered around his dick and me being held up against the wall. I’m pretty damn sure I was going to be deliciously sore for days to come.
When he was drying me off as I sat on the edge of the bed, he asked, “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“If you had, I would’ve told you.” I pulled him down for a kiss. “You have the most amazing eyes.”
“I’ve always hated them because they’re so like my father’s.”
“Then good thing I never knew him because I have nothing to compare them with other than they’re yours and they’re gorgeous.”
When I was dressed with my hair dried, I left for home and changed. While I was there, my mom stopped me on my way out of the house.
“Lilou, where were you last night?”
“Mom, what are you doing here?”
“I called out sick.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, just a stomach bug. But where did you spend the night?”
“With Jackson. Um, I’ve gotta go.”
“Lilou, I saw Jackson this morning. I stopped by the cafe to see if you were there. She said she hadn’t seen you.”
I was a teenager again, getting caught for sneaking out of the house past midnight.
“Okay, Mom. I didn’t stay with Jackson. I spent the night with a man I met. His name is Rusty Garrett.”
“Oh? Where does he live?”
“In Virginia Beach. I’ll have him come over so you can meet him.” I quickly tapped his number on my phone and gave him my parents’ address. I told him I’d been busted and he had to meet my mom.
“Lilou, I know you’re not a teenager anymore, but a text would’ve been nice. I worried about you all night.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. You’re right. That was very inconsiderate of me.”
It didn’t take long for Rusty to get here. When he did, he came to the door and knocked. My mom answered and let him in.
“I think I’m grounded.”
“Mrs. Marsten, it was my fault she didn’t come home. I take full responsibility, ma’am.”
“That’s a noble gesture, but my daughter is old enough to take responsibility for her own actions.”
“Yes, ma’am, but you see, here’s the thing. While this may sound crazy to you and hard to believe, I’m quite positive I’m falling for your daughter. And the only way I know to find out is to spend time with her. The fact she didn’t come home was completely my fault because I persuaded her to stay with me. If you’re angry with anyone, it should be me. I apologize for any wrongdoing on my part.”
“Son, are you willing to make an honest woman out of my daughter?”
“Mom, this isn’t the eighteen hundreds,” I said. Mom was exasperating.
“I know, sweetheart, but this young man seemed intent on making things right, so I thought I’d see how far he was willing to go.”
Rusty said, “The way I feel about her right now, my answer would be yes.”
Chapter Sixteen
Rusty
* * *
What the hell did I just say? Did I just tell Lee’s mother that I would marry Lee? Had I lost every ounce of sanity in my brain? Fuck me. I barely knew her.
“Rusty, have you gone mad?” Lee asked.
“I’m not sure.” And I wasn’t.
/> Her mom cackled.
“And Mom, aren’t you sick?”
“Not really. I was just upset because you hadn’t come home all night.”
“Jesus. This is crazy here. Rusty, I think we need food because the blood has left your brain and you’re saying stupid things.”
I held out my hand with one finger extended. “Wait a minute. You know what? I’m not crazy. People fall in love all the time. You told me about your great-grandparents. Why can’t we fall fast like that? I’m not saying we have and that we should get married now. That is off the charts insane. But I am saying is I believe in us, even though we’ve just met. And I’m willing to bet that one day, I’m going to be waiting for you at the end of the aisle and you and I will be saying our I do’s.”
Lee waved her hand, saying, “Whatever.”
Her mom cackled again, and said, “Lilou, I like this young man. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll hang on to this one.”
“Yeah, okay Mom.” Turning to me, Lee said. “Let’s go eat.”
We got in my truck and I said, “Lilou, huh?”
“Yeah, that’s my real name. Lilou Grace Marsten. But most everyone, except my immediate family, calls me Lee.”
“Wow.”
“What?”
“That’s the most beautiful name ever. My foster sister made up her name.”
“You mean Midnight, right?”
“Yeah. Her birth name was Velvet. That was her name when she came to live with us and I remember thinking how that name suited her. Her hair is like black velvet. Velvet Summers was her name.”
“But that is sort of a crazy name.”
“Definitely. Her mom was a drug addict, so you can kind of see where this is going. She was probably high when she named her. But as a kid, I thought it was cool. Not cool now. But your name … totally cool and awesome.”
“I’ve always hated Lilou.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I like Lee better.”
Grabbing her hand, I said, “I love it. And sorry I got you in trouble with your mom.”
I'll Be Waiting (The Vault Book 2) Page 8
