by L. Wilder
Her fingers trailed along her hips as she lowered them, inch by inch, down her long legs, her eyes never leaving mine as she teased me. She gently kicked them to the side and faced me, waiting to see my reaction. I was pleased that she wasn’t intimidated by my intense stare, letting my eyes slowly roam over every inch of her. Instead, she seemed to relish the fact that her body was affecting me to such a degree. Her head cocked to the side, and her eyes drifted to the tent in my jeans. With her hands now on her hips, a wicked smile crept across her face.
“Your turn, Logan. I want to see all of you,” she said playfully, using my own words against me.
It was difficult to restrain myself with her standing there looking so fucking tempting, but I took my time, watching her reaction as I slowly undressed. I needed to know that she wanted this, and watching her squirm in front of me, left me with no doubt. Her eyes widened with anticipation as I gradually lowered my zipper, taking my time to ease my jeans down my hips. Her teeth toyed with her bottom lip as I tossed my clothes to the side. A light whimper echoed through the room when she noticed my hard cock beneath my boxers.
“All of it,” she demanded softly.
Without hesitation, I tugged them off and tossed them across the room. She stood there motionless while she looked at me… her eyes filled with lust as she watched my hand reach for my cock. I took my dick in my hand and squeezed, relieving some of the throbbing pressure. I felt it pulse against my hand as I slowly stroked it, groaning out a curse. Henley bit her lip harder as she watched me, her eyes focused totally on the motion of my hand. I just knew she was wet for me, wanting to feel my cock inside her.
I stepped closer, and put my free hand on her ass, pulling her body against mine and whispered, “Do you like what you see, Henley? Are you wet for me?” I didn’t wait for her to answer as my hand slid between her legs. My fingers brushed against her entrance, and I found my answer. “Yeah, you’re wet for me. You want my cock deep inside you, making you cum, but you’re going to have to wait for my cock, baby.” I pressed my lips against hers as I lowered her down to the bed. The warmth of her naked body enveloped me, and I wondered how much more I could take before I was inside her.
My need for her was building, burning deep inside my gut. Fuck. I wanted to take my time with her, but seeing her body respond to my touch was driving me crazy. I continued to lick and suck along the lines of her neck and shoulder, slowly trailing down to her breasts while her whimpers and groans urged me on. I took one in the palm of my hand, gently squeezing as my tongue twirled around her nipple. Her hips bucked against me as I teased her with my mouth.
“Soon, Henley,” I groaned, kissing my way down her flat stomach. My hands slid under her ass, pulling her closer to my mouth. I thought she was going to jump out of her skin when I pressed the flat of my tongue against her clit. Her fingers dove into my hair, guiding me as her knees opened wider. I teased her with my mouth, bringing her close to the edge, but pulling away before she could orgasm. The taste of her against my tongue was driving me wild. I had to hear her cum. I couldn’t wait to feel her pussy tighten around my cock. Slipping two fingers deep inside, I began to fuck her with my hand. Her hips rocked against me, grinding hard against my fingers while she tried to get the friction she needed to find her orgasm. I wanted to be inside of her when she broke, I pulled back, making her wait for it. She groaned in frustration when I found her g-spot, teasing her even as I curled my fingers against it.
She was writhing beneath me, tortured by her overwhelming need to find release. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to be inside her. I lifted myself up between her legs and reached for a condom. A small smile of relief washed over her face when she watch me roll the latex down my cock.
“Hurry,” she grumbled as she wrapped her legs around my waist, pulling me closer to her entrance. I looked down at her, captivated by her lust filled eyes.
I brushed my cock against her clit, and demanded, “Tell me… tell me you want this.”
“Umm…hmm,” she murmured.
“I need to hear the words, Henley. Tell me.”
Her eyes locked on mine, and I knew her answer before she even said it. “I want you, Logan. I want all of you,” she whispered, her voice low and raspy. She wound her arms around my neck, and I felt her quiver beneath me as I thrusted deep inside her. Her hands pushed against my chest letting me know she needed time to adjust. After a few seconds, her hips slowly began to roll against mine, urging me inside her. Not wanting to hurt her, I slowly began to move, but kept a slow, steady rhythm.
“More,” she pleaded.
Her body grew rigid as I began to thrust deeper, harder. Her snug pussy throbbed against my cock, weakening all of my restraint. I intended to go slow… needed to go slow, but I couldn’t fucking stop. Her pussy was so tight, so ready. I couldn’t restrain myself any longer. She was more than I had ever expected, making me lose all my sense of control. Her nails dug into my lower back as her hips bucked against mine, meeting my every thrust with more force… more intensity. I could feel the pressure building in my cock as her walls constricted against me.
Her head reared back as she shouted, “Oh god, Logan!”
“Fuck,” I groaned as her pussy tightened, clenching down against me. She panted wildly, moaning and clawing at my back when I increased my pace. I knew she was close to the edge, unable to stop the inevitable torment of her building orgasm. The muscles in her body grew taut, and her body stilled as her release took over. I continued to drive into her, the sounds of my body pounding against hers echoing throughout the room. My hands reached under her, lifting her ass off of the bed, and continued to thrust harder and deeper, until I finally came inside her.
Her body fell limp under me. I remained still, seated deep inside her, not ready for this to end. I rested my head on her chest and listened to her rapid heartbeat begin to steady. Her breathing began to slow to the point that I thought she had actually fallen asleep. I looked up at her and was surprised to see a sexy smile on her face. I settled myself beside her, and she slowly began to wiggle her way into the crook of my arm and laid her head down on my chest.
With her fingers tracing the lines of my tattoo, she said, “It was nice to see you have a good time tonight.”
“Yeah, it’s been awhile,” I told her.
When she looked up at me, I saw something in her eyes that I wasn’t prepared to see. God. I hoped I wasn’t right. I was the last man a woman like her needed to fall for. My life was a fucking mess. I should’ve protected her from my darkness, not pulled her into it. Fuck. I was a selfish bastard. I knew I should say something, warn her somehow, but feeling her body pressed against mine felt too fucking good. I couldn’t let her go, not yet. We laid tangled in each other’s arms until we finally fell asleep.
I woke up early, the dread of the day ahead of me already creeping in, making my chest so tight that it was difficult to breathe. When I looked down and found Henley still draped across my chest, I felt an instant sense of calm wash over me. I could’ve spent the entire day wrapped in her arms, but I knew Lily was waiting for me. I gave her a light kiss on her forehead and tried to pull myself from her arms without waking her. It took some effort, but I finally managed to wedge myself free and headed for the bathroom.
After a hot shower, I got dressed and sat on the edge of the bed. Henley hadn’t budged since I had gotten out of the bed. Leaning down close to her ear, I whispered, “Hey, Slick. Wake up.”
She groaned as she threw her arm over her eyes, trying to block out the light. “What time is it?” she fussed.
“It’s early, go back to sleep,” I told her as I stood up and kissed her on the forehead.
“Are you leaving?” she asked as she lifted her arm, peaking up at me.
“Yeah, but I won’t be gone long.”
“I hope it goes okay,” she whispered.
“It will, now go back to sleep,” I told her as I headed out the door.
Just like I thought, Bobby was wo
rking on his computer in his office. I stuck my head inside his doorway and said, “Hey, man. I’ve got to run over to Lily’s for a bit. Mind keeping an eye on Henley for an hour or so? She’s still in bed.”
“Sure. Not a problem. You want me to bring her over there when she gets up?” he offered.
“That’d be great. Just give me a call before you leave. I’m not sure how long it will take.”
“You got it. Courtney is in the kitchen with Taylor making cookies for the kids. I’m sure they can keep her entertained while you’re gone,” he laughed.
I sent a text to Lily that I was on my way, and when I pulled into the driveway, she was waiting for me on the front porch. She had John Warren propped up on her hip next to her full, obviously very pregnant belly. Looking at her, holding her family close to her heart, gave me a sense of peace. John Warren had his family. Seeing him for the first time in months, I was surprised by how much he had changed. He watched me apprehensively as I made my way up to the porch.
“Hey, Lily.” He looked up at her, waiting to see what her reaction would be. I was a stranger to him, and he wasn’t quite sure what to make of me yet.
When she leaned in and gave me a hug, he piped up and said, “Bye-bye.”
“He isn’t going anywhere yet silly. This is Maverick. I’ve told you all about him,” Lily explained.
“Momma,” he said as he grasped Lily’s arm tightly.
“Hey there, little man. You’ve grown a foot since the last time I saw you.” John Warren studied me, almost like he was trying to decide if he knew me, or if he even wanted to know me.
“Our appointment is in fifteen minutes. We better get rolling if we want to be on time,” Lily started. “You wanna just ride with us?”
“Sure,” I told her as I grabbed the diaper bag off of the rocking chair. Once she had John Warren buckled into his car seat, she said, “The place is just down on the square, and they said it wouldn’t take long. The nurse said that they’d just run a cotton swab inside your cheek and then John Warren’s. When the results come back, we can sign off on the papers.”
Her voice cracked when she spoke. I knew she was worried that I might change my mind, decide that I didn’t want them to adopt my son, but there was no chance of that. It was impossible to miss the way he looked at her, like a son looks at his mother, and I would never take that away from him.
“Sounds good.”
“I really appreciate you coming all the way here. I know…” she started.
“It’s fine, Lily. I know you’re eager to get this thing done,” I clipped.
“Maverick, he’s happy. He really is. We’ll give him…”
“Lily, stop…. I know he is happy. Anybody can see that, and I know you’ll give him the life he deserves. That’s why I brought him to you in the first place, and I’m not about to change my mind now.” My chest tightened at the thought. There was no turning back after this. I had to wonder what the hell was wrong with me. I should’ve had some doubts, some second thoughts, but I didn’t. When I looked at John Warren, I still found myself questioning how all of this happened.
On the way to the hospital, Lily talked non-stop about everything that had happened since I’d been gone. Once we got there, the test didn’t take long, and they said that we should have the results later today or in the morning. Usually these kinds of tests take days, even weeks, to come back, but Sheppard’s wife, Ana, worked at the local hospital. She called in a few favors and was able to get a rush put on it.
As soon as we were done, I texted Bobby to let him know that we were heading back to the house. By the time we got back to Lily’s, Bobby’s SUV was already in the driveway. When we walked in, I was relieved to catch the smell of coffee coming from the kitchen. Goliath was pouring himself a cup when I walked in.
“Mind if I grab one of those?” I asked without even saying hello.
“There’s a fresh pot brewing… help yourself,” Goliath told me as he motioned his hand over toward the coffee pot.
I was pouring myself a cup when Henley walked over to Lily and said, “You must be Lily. I’m Henley, a friend of Maverick’s.”
Shaking her hand, Lily replied, “It’s great to finally meet you, Henley. I’m glad Maverick had you to tag along, so he didn’t have to make that long drive alone.”
“I don’t think he really even knew I was there. He’s a man of few words,” Henley laughed. She gently ran her hand over John Warren’s head and said, “He is just too cute for his own good.”
“He’s going to be a lady killer, that’s for sure,” Courtney chimed in.
When I looked over to Henley, she caught my eye for just a moment, then looked away. She twirled a loose strand of her hair around her finger as she listened to the conversation floating around the room. This wasn’t the Henley I knew. She wasn’t her normal confident self. The doubts of last night were rolling around in her head. I knew I should go over to her, try to ease the awkwardness that was building between us, but I couldn’t make myself take that first step. She was right to have her doubts. She should fucking regret it. She was innocent and pure, and the last thing she needed was to get involved with a man like me – a man tarnished by his past.
Chapter 16
Henley
‡
WHAT THE HELL is wrong with me? I can’t even look at him. It’s stupid. I know I have no reason to feel like this. I know last night didn’t mean anything or did it? He’s not acting all weird. At least, I don’t think he is. So why I am feeling so off center?
“I was going to take Henley into town and show her the shops around the square. Do you want to go with us?” Courtney asked Lily.
Lily looked over to Goliath and asked, “Can you keep an eye on JW for me? I don’t think it’s a good idea to take him with us. You know how he likes to get his hands into stuff.”
“No problem. I’ll take him over to the clubhouse with us. You can just meet us over there when you’re done,” he answered, looking at her like she was the most precious thing in the world. This huge brute of a man was wrapped tight around her little finger, and he didn’t seem to mind that everyone knew it. I liked that about him.
“Cool beans. Let’s roll, chickadees,” Courtney said as she motioned for us to follow her out the door.
I looked over to Maverick once more, hoping that he might do or say something to settle my nerves, but he was still busy talking to Bobby. He didn’t even seem to notice when I walked passed him, heading out the door. Damn.
The minute we got in the car, Courtney started her inquisition. “Sooo… what’s the deal with you and Maverick?”
“Courtney,” Lily scolded. “At least give us time to get a cup of coffee before you start laying into her.” They both laughed, but I didn’t miss that sparkle in Courtney’s eye. There was no way she was going to leave it alone.
“Oh come on, Lily. You know you’re just as curious as I am about what’s going on with the two of them,” Courtney laughed.
“I’d tell you if I knew, but to be honest… I don’t know what the hell is going on,” I confessed as I dropped my head into my hands.
“I don’t imagine Maverick would make it easy. Why don’t you just start from the beginning, and we’ll help you sort it all out,” Courtney offered.
“That’s just it. I don’t know where to start. I never intended to fall for him, and …” I started, but stopped myself when I realized what I was saying.
“You know, no one would blame you for falling in love with Maverick, Henley,” Lily assured me. “He’s a really good guy. He’s been through a lot, and it would be good to see him with someone who can make him happy.”
“And he’s easy on the eyes,” Courtney chimed in, and we all laughed.
“He’s just so…”
“Frustrating?” Courtney asked. “Hard headed? A pain in the ass?”
“Yep! All of the above.”
“All men are, but when you get past that… past all the stuff that doesn’t really
matter, then you’ll find the real man hidden beneath. That will be the man you will come to love, and the other stuff doesn’t really matter anymore,” Lily explained.
“In other words, you have to get past all the bullshit to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,” Courtney snickered.
They continued their line of questioning all the way downtown. Paris was a small town, but it had a lot of personality. The town square had several specialty shops and boutiques, and I was looking forward to going into all of them. When we stopped at the first store, Maverick’s car pulled in right next to us. Without giving his presence a second thought, the girls got out of the car and headed inside. I, on the other hand, was shocked to see him there. I sat there staring at him like he had lost his mind. When I didn’t move, Maverick gave me a sexy smirk and motioned with his hand for me to follow the girls inside the store. I don’t know why I was so surprised that he was there. Since the day I walked into the club, he always made sure that I was safe. I quickly realized that Courtney was right… I just had to get past all the bullshit.
Courtney never stopped talking while we walked around all the quaint little shops, telling me every story that popped into her head. I’ve never laughed so much in my entire life. I loved getting to know them both, and I could have spent the entire day looking around at all the different stores. Unfortunately, Lily was getting tired. Although she never complained, her face was growing pale, and I could tell that she was wearing down.
“You ready to head back?” I asked.
“Do you mind? I really need to get back and feed John Warren,” she explained.
“Sure… ready whenever you are,” I told her.
After Courtney finished checking out, she grabbed her bags, and we headed back to the car. With Maverick following close behind, we drove back to the clubhouse. When we got there, the guys were gathered in the kitchen talking about what they were going to fix for dinner. Without saying a word, Maverick sat down at the table beside John Warren and began feeding him a handful of Cheerios. Goliath and one of his brothers pulled out several steaks from the refrigerator and started getting them ready for the grill.
