Making Her Mine (Finding Love Book 1)

by Heather Young-Nichols

  His hand dove inside my pants as he tilted my head to the side and nobbled on my neck. Just the feel of his hand moving in small circles over me was enough to make me cry out. I couldn’t help it. And my legs spread slightly without permission as if inviting him in.

  I was but couldn’t help that either.

  It’d been months since anyone had touched me so intimately. Even longer since I’d had an orgasm. And man I wanted it. Maybe more than anything before. My dry spell had unintentionally carried on because being celibate was easier than dealing with most me. But now… one touch from Wyatt turned me into an overeager kid on Christmas morning.

  Wyatt’s fingers caressed my softness, teasing and stroking but he didn’t push inside. I wished he would. Instead, he went back to work his magic with those gentle circles as pressure built. I tried to keep the sounds coming out of my mouth to a minimum; we weren’t exactly in a private place and the garage door was still slightly open. Even biting my lips together so hard I thought I’d draw blood didn’t help quiet me down.

  Then I came apart. The muscles low in my stomach began with an unfamiliar twisting that spread down my legs and into my most intimate areas. Every muscle clench and released so fast that I didn’t I could take any more. This moment was unlike any I’d ever had before. A full body explosion that sent burning flames everywhere and it was all Wyatt.

  It had to be Wyatt.

  “Shhhh…” he cooed quietly into my ear. “I heard a car door.”

  Those words snapped me back to the present just in time to hear another door.

  “Shit,” I whispered pulling his hand out of my pants then quickly put myself back together as best I could. “Do I look like… well that we were doing what we were just doing?”

  “You look beautiful.”

  “That’s so not helpful.” I pushed past him while running my hands through my hair so that I wouldn’t look like I’d just had the best orgasm of my life, even though the weakness in my legs might’ve been an even bigger giveaway. Right as I got to the garage door, my brother almost ran right into me. That was too close.

  “Woah, where’s the fire, Zoe?” Riley grabbed my arms to steady me.

  “What? Nowhere. Why would there be a fire anywhere?” I probably sounded crazy so I took a deep breath to calm everything back down, try to be normal. Wyatt stood not too far behind me. I didn’t even need to glance over my shoulder to know for sure. His presence I could just feel. “I think I found an apartment today,” I said instead.

  “It’s kind of run down,” Wyatt said before I had the chance to tell Riley anything at all. “It has a front security door but the lock doesn’t work. Anybody can come and go.”

  What? He was lying. Yes, it wasn’t the most secure but it would do just fine for me. Why would he do that?

  “Then we’ll keep looking,” Riley said without hearing from me.

  “If you guys would tell me why you need Fort Knox, I might be better able to help you find something.”

  My jaw clenched and I glared death arrows at my brother to warn him to keep his mouth shut. There were some things Wyatt didn’t need to know. Things nobody needed to know. And lastly, it wasn’t as big of a deal as Riley liked to make it out to be.

  “Just taking care of my baby sister,” Riley said without looking at either of them.

  He was lucky. I would’ve launched an assault if he would have given any other answer. That was my story to tell and I chose not to tell it.

  “I’m not a baby, Neanderthal,” I finally said in hopes of steering Wyatt away from further questions.

  “Yeah, she’s definitely not a baby,” Wyatt said which brought both of our attention to him. Riley’s eyes narrowed at his friend. My own eyes went wide at Wyatt and his comment, warning him to shut his mouth. “What I was thinking was that she could move into my place.”

  “What?” Riley and I both practically screamed at the same time.

  The fingers that had brought me the most amazing orgasm of my life tapped against his lips. I didn’t know if he did that on purpose or whether I should be disgust or turned on. The flush that formed over my skin told me the answer was turned on.

  “You want secure,” he said and I knew him so well that I could plainly see him try not to smile at the look on my face. “ I’d move into the house and she could have the apartment. Mom was thinking about renting it out for extra cash anyway. What’s more secure than my house with me, the bad ass marine right inside?”

  “I like it.” Riley was already nodding.

  “I don’t.” I gave my brother the best evil glare I could muster.

  “Well, Zoey I think it’s the best solution.” Riley wasn’t going to let me fight him on this one. I knew it by the tone of his voice.

  “Are you fucking kidding me? So I get my own place but not my own place?”

  “Zoey,” the muscle in Riley’s jaw tensed, “Think about it. Do you really want to be out there all alone?”

  He had me there. While the threat of danger in their town was pretty low anything was possible. Just the thought of reliving that situation, the one that gave me a crazy, stalker-like ex-boyfriend who hadn’t really hurt me just scared the shit out of me, caused a shiver to scamper up my spine.

  “Fine,” I spat through clenched teeth as I gave in.

  Chapter Six

  Wyatt

  That may have been a dick move but I knew something was going on and intended to find out what the hell Zoey and Riley were keeping secret from him. Watching Zoey walk away knowing where his fingers had just been was rough. I would’ve much rather run her down and claim her as mine. But that’d be awkward with her brother right there. Instead, I had to resign myself to watch that gorgeous ass walk away. For a moment I let my mind wander back to when I’d had my hand in her panties. She’d been soft and trim and everything I’d dreamed of.

  And I had a vivid imagination.

  “What the fuck, Wyatt?” Riley’s rough tone and his punch to my shoulder brought my thoughts back to the here and now. “Keep your eyes off my sister.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Just,” he sighed, “I understand she’s a pretty girl. Trust me when I say you aren’t the first asshole I’ve caught checking her out. Just help me protect her, okay.”

  “What happened, Riley? Why are you two all cloak and dagger?” My blood had started to boil as the very worst humanity had to offer invaded my brain and made me see red. The thought of someone touching Zoey, hurting her in any way, made me rage. “Come on. What the fuck happened?”

  He was already shaking his head. “That’s not my story to tell. I get that you’ve been gone a while so anybody with a vagina is going to look good but do me a favor, go get laid, be my brother, help get her settled.”

  For a split second I considered telling him right then that it was too late to keep my hands off Zoey but decided against it until I figured out what was going on. If there was even something to tell.

  “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” I said instead while walking away so that Riley, the guy that knew me better than anyone, wouldn’t see any truth on my face.

  I returned home that night with the intention of packing all of my shit back up but found that I actually hadn’t unpacked much at all. I’d only been in town a couple of days. Instead, I moved the stuff into my old room in Mom’s house. Not exactly the place I’d intended to be again but Riley was my best friend and for whatever reason, that best friend thought his sister needed to be protected. That meant I‘d absolutely help protect her. No question. I just wished I knew why.

  Sleep didn’t come easy that night. Even when I did final nod off, my dreams were haunted by Zoey. Not something new or unusual except now instead of imagining what she felt like or the sounds she might make, I knew. That made it so much worse.

  Even in my dream world, I swore I could still feel her ass grinding into my as I drove her to the edge. Those kinds of thoughts made my dick too hard and uncom
fortable to sleep. Knowing Zoey would’ve been in that very bed the next night didn’t help either.

  In the morning, still tired but determined, I showered, trimmed up my beard then pulled on a pair of khaki cargo pants and gray V-neck shirt early enough to meet up with Riley and Zoey. I may have taken extra time getting dressed knowing I’d be seeing Zoey but I’d never admit it. Riley sent a text late last night saying that Zoey wanted to move ASAP as long as everything was still ok with my mom. Mom was totally fine with the arrangement. Zoey would pay rent but it’d be less than anywhere else.

  Getting to the Goodrich’s with a coffee in hand, the house was already alive with activity. I couldn’t help but snort at the pile of boxes by the front door. Damn, Zoey had a lot of shit. Taking another long drink of the coffee I’d grabbed on the way, a loud thumping came down the stairs resulting in a box slamming into the ground in front of me. Zoey bounced down the stairs after it.

  “Shit, I almost hit you. Sorry,” she said pulling the long blond ponytail through her fingers. There wasn’t a speck of makeup on her flawless skin. She didn’t need any. That damn ponytail made my fingers itch to give it a yank. “Did you bring me a coffee?”

  “Sorry.” I smiled. “Didn’t know you’d want some.”

  “There’s only a couple of things I never turn down, Wyatt, and caffeine is one of them.”

  “Noted.” I dipped my head in confirmation right as Riley joined us to start loading all three of our cars.

  We put the seats down and surprisingly, we were able to get everything in one trip. At the apartment, I tossed Zoey the keys to the garage apartment after I got the bottom door opened. When this construction project started, I’d insisted that we enclose the stairwell and install a safety door at the bottom. Any tenant, Zoey in this case, would have to buzz visitors in the bottom door before they could get to the actual apartment door. Maybe it was paranoia but it didn’t matter. The extra security paid off now with Zoey was moving in. Riley and I were protective of her. Always had been though Riley was taking it to the next level and I still didn’t know why.

  “Do you have an extra key?” Riley asked. “Because knowing my sister she’ll lock herself out.” He laughed and I joined in. We knew Zoey too well.

  “Yeah, yeah,” she said but slyly flipped both of us a middle finger. The kind where it looks like you’re scratching your nose but really you’re letting everyone know how you feel in the moment. “Yuck it up at my expense. I locked myself out one time.”

  “Yeah right. One time?” Riley asked. “No, one time you tried to break into Mom and Dad’s, got caught on a nail which ripped your skirt so your ass was hanging out. Oh, and the neighbors called the police about a cat burglar. So Pete Hopkins got a nice full view didn’t he?”

  “Old news.”

  “Old news? Are you serious? It was two summers ago.”

  I laughed but jealousy burned its way through my chest at the same time. A guy I went to school with got to see Zoey’s lace covered ass hanging out a window. There was no way to know if her panties had actually been lace that night but in my mind, they were. Or maybe a thong. That last though made me groan involuntarily.

  After we finished unloading all of her boxes, Riley said he’d go get pizza and beer for use because we still had hours of work to unpack. Sure, we could’ve left Zoey to do it all but there was still some heavier lifting to do and honestly, I wasn’t in any rush to leave her. Once he left, Zoey and I got to work in silence. It didn’t last long.

  “Are we going to talk about yesterday?” she asked causing me to still completely. “Or are you going to run off and deploy again?”

  I put the box I’d been carrying down and turned toward her.

  “I’m out, Zoey. Back for good.” I did my best to keep my eyes on her face but her body made that impossible. I had to look. Had to let my eyes roam because once Riley returned, I couldn’t do that. As I looked her, the tiny moans she’d released in the garage echoed in my ears making me desperate to hear them again. Made me ache for those sounds again.

  “You heard Riley’s car. In the garage. Why didn’t you stop?” she asked me quietly.

  “You were so close.” That was an easy answer. “The way you were moving against me? I couldn’t stop until I finished the job. Especially after you said it’d been too long.” My gaze finally rested on her face. That beautiful face with the big eyes looking up at me. “Why is that anyway?”

  “Details, Wyatt.” She brushed me off with the wave of a hand. “What if Riley would’ve walked in?”

  I chuckled. That would’ve sucked by even thinking about her brother catching us didn’t change the fact that I wouldn’t have stopped. “We would’ve had a very awkward conversation. I don’t regret that, Zoey. There’s only two things I do regret about any of this.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “One that we haven’t done it again and two that I haven’t seen you naked.” I moved in toward her, invading every inch of personal space. Her breath caught in her throat. “Because I really fucking want to.”

  Chapter Seven

  Zoey

  Now how was a girl supposed to respond to that? Aside from his words making my panties so damp that I thought I might’ve needed to change them?

  Heat flooded my body burning my skin, what I hoped was a lovely shade of pink instead of the red hot it felt like. If my heart beat any faster it just might’ve popped out of my chest.

  “Your brother is going to be back any minute,” Wyatt said like he knew what I was thinking. He set those dark eyes on me.

  Everything about his stance made me want to jump on him and push my lady bits into him like a dog in heat. I decided against doing that, it would’ve been a bad idea but it didn’t hamper the desire at all.

  “You know he asked me to help take care of you,” Wyatt finally said, his smirked told me what kind of taking care he was thinking about and it was the exact opposite of what my brother had meant.

  As much as I tried not to, my mind fell back to the scene that had played out four years ago. A simple kiss, I’d told herself. The kiss that turned into so much more until I basically begged him to have sex with me. Maybe not begged exactly but I’d made things extremely clear. Instead of taking me up on my offer, giving me exactly what I’d wanted, Wyatt backed away and left. Just left me there without a shirt on and then left town the next day. He would’ve been my first. I’d told him that, too. Maybe that was what turned him off.

  Plus I’d only gotten humiliation in return for putting herself out there like that. Rejected by the one person I’d wanted to share that moment with above all others including the first guy I’d actually slept with. Suddenly, everything clicked into place.

  “Wait. Is that why you stopped?”

  His eyebrows quirked up in a silent question. He couldn’t know what I’d been thinking so obviously had no idea what I was talking about.

  “I told you I was a virgin that night,” I explained. “Is that why you stopped?” Anger bubbled up, threatening to take over depending on his answer which I saw in his eyes before he could utter a word. “You didn’t think I’d be good enough?”

  “Zoey—”

  “No.” I cut him off. “Do yourself a favor and keep your fucking hands off me.”

  Thankfully the downstairs buzzer alerted the both of us to Riley’s return. That way I wouldn’t have to be alone with Wyatt another second because I didn’t know if I’d be able to control myself. My tears or my anger. What a mistake it’d been to think there could ever have been something between us. To reject a girl because she didn’t have the experience that he did made Wyatt an asshole as far as I was concerned.

  Luckily, I wouldn’t have to deal with him much longer. Soon he’d leave for the night and the limited time left would include my brother. Gave me a prize to keep my eyes on. Him no longer being in my new apartment.

  The guys left once they finished off the pizza which left me to unpack the rest of the boxes. Fine by me. I prefer
red it that way. There’d be no pretending that he hadn’t humiliated me a second time or keeping up the act for my brother too much longer than I already had. I’d let him touch her in the garage and he’d wanted it as much as I had. Apparently, now that I’d been with a couple of other guys I rated high enough for Wyatt to give me the time of day? Fuck that. My virginity or lack thereof shouldn’t have been an issue.

  I’d just go to bed and not think about Wyatt McCann.

  The next morning, I woke early to get ready for a day out with my best friend from college. Harper Sorensen lived just under an hour away and had gotten her dream job when we’d graduated last year, so we hadn’t gotten to hang out as much. With her off being an adult and me just getting a start on that, we probably wouldn’t get to see each other for a while. Being an adult sort of sucked. We’d have to squeeze every drop of fun out the day that we could and I’d continue to not think about Wyatt.

  We spent the day shopping and trying on the most ridiculous outfits until we were both so hungry our stomachs were louder than the music in my car. For lunch we settled on Dub’s, a local bar and grill with excellent wings. We’d hung out in places like that in college, more than either would care to admit but we loved it. It was like being with our people.

  “So,” Harper started as soon as our asses hit the seats, “We’ve pretty much talked about nothing all day. What’s going on?”

  “Not much. I signed my employment papers, found an apartment.” The thing about Harper was that no matter what I couldn’t lie to my best friend. And lie meant even those of omission. I glanced around the room pretending to look for something interesting so I wouldn’t have to look Harper in the eye. That would be my downfall.

  “Spill.” She took a large drink from the glass of iced tea the waitress had dropped off.

  Thankfully I got a reprieve when the waitress asked if we were ready to order. I took my time so I wouldn’t have to answer right away.