Stumbling Into Love

by Reynolds, Aurora Rose

  “Where’s Mom?” Libby asks, shoving me out of the way like she’s been doing since the day she was born. She hugs Dad.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” he laughs while kissing the top of her head. “Your mom’s with Levi’s mom. They just left to run over to Fawn’s place and get her some clothes. Your sister’s refused to leave Levi’s side.”

  “Libby and I could have gone to get her some stuff,” I say.

  He smiles at me, reaching out to touch my cheek.

  “It’s good they went. They needed to feel like they were doing something useful. Besides, they’ve been driving Levi and Fawn crazy with their puttering around, trying to fluff his pillows and bickering with the nurses about giving him more pain meds when he’s told them he doesn’t need them.”

  I laugh. My mom would do that. She doesn’t understand the meaning of boundaries. Levi’s mom seems to be cut from the same cloth.

  “Are you and Mom going to stay in the city?” Libby asks before shoving a handful of M&M’s into her mouth.

  “We’re staying at Fawn’s place. Levi’s parents are going to stay at his place.” He looks between the two of us, and his face softens. “You girls should head home. They’ll be kicking everyone out before long, anyway. You two can come back in the morning.”

  “We’ll just say bye to Fawn and Levi first,” Libby says.

  I grab my purse and follow her and my dad down the hall. As soon as we enter Levi’s room, I smile at him.

  He presses a finger to his lips, gesturing for us to be quiet since Fawn is asleep on the bed, tucked into his side.

  “We just wanted to say we’re heading out. Tell Fawn to call us in the morning.”

  I lean down and kiss his cheek, but he grabs my hand before I can lean back.

  “Please go check on Wesley,” he says.

  I pull back to look at him and swallow when I see the worry in his eyes.

  “I will,” I agree.

  He lets me go. I watch Libby give him a hug, and then I walk over to my dad and wrap my arms around his waist. I rest my head on his shoulder.

  “You okay, kid?”

  “Yeah,” I lie, giving him a squeeze before letting him go so he can hug Libby. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “See you tomorrow.” He kisses Libby’s forehead and opens the door for us.

  Once we’re in the hall, I pull out my cell phone and try to call Wesley. He doesn’t answer. Swallowing over the realization that I may have completely ruined things between us, I pull in a breath and look at Libby.

  “I’m going to stop by Wesley’s. Will you be okay getting a cab on your own?”

  “Of course.” She reaches over to take my hand, then softens her voice. “Things will be okay.”

  “I hope so,” I agree.

  She squeezes my fingers, then lets them go as we head through the automatic doors and step outside. We spy a few cabs parked on the curb and both head in that direction.

  “Call if you’re not going to be home, so I don’t worry.”

  “Sure, Mom.” I roll my eyes.

  She laughs while getting into the cab parked behind mine.

  When I arrive at Wesley’s place about twenty minutes later, I feel my stomach in my throat. I head down to his apartment door, knock and ring the bell, and wait for him to answer.

  Time ticks by. No answer. This lets me know that either he’s really not home or he knows it’s me and doesn’t want to see me. After ten minutes, I give up and wave down a cab. As soon as I’m in the backseat, the driver asks me where I’m going. Without thinking, I give him the name of the bar where Wesley and I met. I know it’s a long shot, but it’s the only place I can think he might be.

  “Please be here,” I whisper to myself as I open the door to Charlie’s and step inside.

  I scan the crowded room and let out a relieved breath when I spot Wesley sitting at the bar—alone. His shoulders are slumped like he’s carrying the weight of the world on them.

  “Do you need some company?” I ask, sliding onto the empty stool next to his.

  His head slowly turns my direction.

  “What are you doing here?” he asks.

  I hate the hurt I see staring back at me. I hate knowing that I’m part of the reason that he’s hurting even more.

  “It’s kind of a sad story.” I wave off the bartender when she comes over to ask if I want a drink. I place my purse on the top of the bar. “You see, I messed up with this guy I like. I’ve stupidly been trying to push him away. I thought that if I could end it before he did that I would be saving myself from embarrassment. I thought it was only a matter of time until he figured out that I wasn’t who he wanted.”

  “Did he let you push him away?” he asks, holding my gaze.

  I duck my head.

  “I don’t know yet. But if he does, I deserve it,” I whisper the truth, feeling tears burn my throat.

  “He’d be an idiot to let you go,” he says softly. He touches his fingers to my chin to lift my eyes up to his.

  Hope fills my chest.

  “I’m not sure about that. I’m kind of a pain in the ass, and I have a tendency to run when things scare me,” I say.

  He grunts and turns toward me on the stool so that his knees lock around mine.

  “Are you done running?” he asks while sliding his hands up my thighs, making my breath catch.

  “I’m scared,” I admit.

  He closes his eyes and touches his forehead to mine.

  “Me too.” His admission catches me off guard, and my body jolts. “But I’m not running, and I need to know that you’re going to give us a chance—a real chance,” he murmurs, sliding his hands around my waist as I wind my arms around his neck to get closer.

  “I can do that,” I agree.

  He stands, forcing me to stand with him. His hands move to my ass, and he lifts me off the ground.

  “What are you doing?” I ask.

  “Taking you out of here.” He dips his mouth close to my ear and says, “I need to be alone with you. I need to be inside of you.”

  “Oh . . . ,” I whisper.

  “Now wrap your legs around my waist and grab your purse,” he commands.

  I do as he says, having no doubt that everyone in the bar is watching us.

  “So bossy.” I roll my eyes, and he smiles, touching his lips to mine. “Are you still mad at me?” I ask as he carries me out of the bar and onto the sidewalk.

  He sticks out one hand for a cab while keeping me propped up against his body with the other one still under my bottom.

  “I wasn’t mad. I was disappointed.”

  “I think that’s worse,” I admit.

  His mouth touches mine once more, but then he makes it even better by sliding his tongue between my lips.

  Nipping at my lip, he pulls back. “No more hiding, no more running.”

  “No more running,” I say as he helps me into the backseat of a cab that stops. “Are you sure you are ready for my mom to know about us? As you may have figured out when you met her at Thanksgiving, she is insane. Nosy and insane.”

  “You said insane twice.”

  “Trust me, it should be repeated more than once. I don’t think you understand. She tried to set me up with her fifty-year-old neighbor because she is desperate for grandbabies,” I say, watching his eyes narrow. Rolling my eyes at his reaction, I smack his chest. “I didn’t even talk to him. I couldn’t get you off my mind no matter how hard I tried.”

  “Good.”

  “You would think it’s good that you’ve taken over my brain,” I say quietly as he lifts my hand and kisses my wrist.

  “It’s only fair—you seem to have taken over mine,” he says.

  My stomach flutters.

  My mind screams, Please don’t be too good to be true!

  Chapter 6

  RECKLESS

  WESLEY

  “Do you have something I can wear to bed?”

  At Mackenzie’s question, I set my gun on the top of th
e table and lift my head. I see her standing across from me, looking more beautiful than ever. It’s not that she’s wearing makeup or that the button-up silk top she has on outlines her breasts and accentuates her waist or that the heels she has on make her legs look miles long. It’s that for the first time since meeting her, I can see that she’s really here with me. She’s not trying to plan an escape or trying to come up with an excuse for why this won’t work between us.

  “No,” I answer as I remove my holster.

  “No?” She frowns. “You don’t have a T-shirt I can borrow?”

  “Nope.” I hide my smile when she plants her hands on her hips.

  “Why not?”

  “Why would I give you a shirt when I’m just going to take it off as soon as we get into bed?” I ask, raising a brow.

  Her gaze turns heated. “You seem pretty sure of yourself.”

  “You gonna deny me?” I ask, watching the pulse in her neck start to thump away. “You won’t deny me.” I answer the question for her. “I know you want my mouth and my cock. I can see your nipples through that shirt, so I know they’re hard. Just like I know that in a few minutes, when I run my fingers between your folds, you’ll already be wet for me. And I know because you keep squeezing your thighs together, trying to get rid of that ache you know only I can fix.” I take a step toward her, watching as she squeezes her legs together once more. “One of the things we’ve got figured out is chemistry, gorgeous. We have that in the bag. I can’t be in the same room with you without getting hard,” I say as I take her hand and place it over the front of my pants. My cock is testing the limits of my zipper. “I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you, and I know by the way that your body reacts to me and my touch that you feel the same.”

  “You’ve never felt like this about anyone else?” she asks, softly searching my gaze for a lie.

  “Never,” I admit as I start to unbutton her top. It’s true. I haven’t felt like this about another woman. I have never wanted another woman the way I want her. I take a seat on one of the chairs in the kitchen and pull her to me so she’s standing between my spread legs. “You make me crazy.” I kiss between her breasts.

  “Just crazy?” she asks.

  I pause from working at her buttons and look up at her gorgeous face.

  “You make me want more.” I continue undoing the buttons and kissing down her chest and stomach until her shirt falls completely open. I roam my hands up her waist, over her breasts, and onto her shoulders.

  “More?” Her breath hitches as I slide the shirt off. I reach around to unhook her bra, letting it fall to the floor.

  “More.” I skim my thumbs over her nipples before cupping her breasts. “A future.”

  “Oh . . .” Her breath hitches again as I lean forward and take one nipple into my mouth. I lick its tip before blowing across it and watching it tighten.

  “Do you still want a shirt?” I pull my mouth away to look up at her.

  Her head shakes side to side, and I smile. I take her other nipple into my mouth while pulling her down to straddle my lap.

  “Wesley.” She holds on to my shoulders as I suck and lick her nipple while tugging the neglected one between my fingers.

  “Lock your hands behind your back, gorgeous.” I reach over and grab my cuffs off the table. She pants and leans back. I don’t know what she sees in my gaze, but her eyes close, and she takes her hands off my shoulders and does as I say. “Good girl.” I cuff her wrists together, then pull them down until her body arches back. “I like you like this. At my mercy, unable to run. I think I may have to keep you like this all the time.” I lick over one nipple again, then the other. I listen to her moan, feel her hips shift until her core is directly over my cock. I’m so hard, it’s painful.

  “Wesley, please . . .”

  “Please what?” I slide my hands up her waist and then back down. I run my fingers along the top of her pants. “What do you want?”

  “You. I need you.”

  “Are you wet?”

  “Yes.”

  The word hisses out as I flick open the button of her slacks and slide down her zipper.

  Seeing the barely-there panties covering her pussy, I growl. “Up.” Once she’s standing in front of me, I help her out of them. Before guiding her back onto my lap, I adjust her so her back is arched and her pussy is exposed. “Are you okay like this?”

  “Yes.” She nods, swallowing. My cock throbs. I kiss along her jaw, down her neck, and then over her breasts. Her breath hitches as I slide two fingers down between her folds and on either side of her clit. I slide them deep inside of her. “Ride my fingers.”

  “Wesley . . . ?” I hear the apprehension in her voice.

  “Ride them. I want to watch you make yourself come.” I roll her clit with my thumb, and pink spreads from her cheeks and down her neck. “Don’t be shy, gorgeous. I plan on getting to know your body better than you know it yourself. I plan on knowing every single inch of you, inside and out,” I say against her mouth before taking a kiss. I lean back to watch her ride my fingers to orgasm. Freeing myself from my jeans, I wrap my hand around the base of my cock and watch her lick her lips. “Do you want this?”

  “Yes.” Rubbing the head over her clit, I groan when she arches back. I slide the tip inside. “You’re soaked.” I lock my hands around her hips to hold her in place. “What are you doing, gorgeous?”

  “I don’t know,” she whispers, rocking against me—and proving that she knows exactly what she’s doing.

  “Mackenzie,” I warn as she swivels her hips. Already strung tight, I know I’m two seconds from losing it when her hair slides across my skin. “Do not fucking tease me.”

  “I’m not . . . ,” she lies on a moan.

  My muscles tighten even farther in response. Sliding one hand up her thigh, I roll her clit with my thumb and cup a breast with my free hand, tugging at her nipple.

  “Wesley.”

  “I told you not to tease . . . dammit!” I hiss. My neck arches as she glides slowly down my length. I know I should tell her that we should be using a condom, but hearing the sounds she’s making and feeling her walls tighten around me makes it impossible to stop. “If you’re going to start this, you better be a good girl and ride me hard and fast,” I growl.

  She moans again, lifting and falling on top of me exactly like I instructed. Sliding my hand up to the back of her neck, I drag her mouth down to me. I keep her locked in place so that I can kiss her and thrust my tongue into her mouth, mimicking the way she’s fucking me.

  “Wesley, I’m so close,” she pants.

  I know she is—her walls are squeezing me so tight that it’s almost painful.

  “Fuck me, Mackenzie. Don’t stop until I say,” I tell her.

  She sits back on my lap, taking me hard—so hard that my spine starts to tingle and my balls draw up.

  Knowing I’m about to lose it, I warn her, “I’m not wearing a condom. You keep fucking me, and I’m going to come inside your hot, tight, pussy bare.”

  “Come inside me,” she whimpers.

  I let out a curse, wrap my hands around her hips, and pull her down onto my hard length over and over until we both shout out our uninhibited release.

  Breathing heavily, I tuck my face into her neck and wrap my arms around her to keep her right where she is. Right where she belongs.

  “Twice,” I murmur.

  Her body jolts before relaxing.

  “I know.”

  “You need to get on birth control,” I tell her, unlocking the cuffs from her wrist and letting them fall to the floor. I gather her in my arms.

  “I know,” she agrees again.

  My hold tightens as an image of her holding a little girl with red hair fills my mind.

  “I’ll make an appointment.”

  “All right.” I roam my hand down her back, then back up and into her hair. “Do you feel like showering with me, or do you want to sleep?”

  “I’ll shower,” s
he says, sounding half-asleep. I smile as she whispers, “But you’re going to have to carry me. I don’t know if my legs are up to holding my weight yet.”

  “I can do that.” I stand on shaking legs while staying inside her. She tightens her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck.

  “Is that supposed to be possible?” she whimpers, digging her nails into my shoulders.

  I start to get hard again.

  “With you, yeah,” I say, walking into the bathroom and flipping on the light before reaching in to start up the shower. Once the steam begins to fill the room, I step over the ledge and into the tub. I listen to her gasp as my cock slides even farther inside. “One more time. Tomorrow we’ll stop being reckless.”

  “Tomorrow,” she agrees as I press her back into the tile and take her again under the warm water.

  Feeling the bed shift, I jerk awake. I grab hold of Mackenzie and pull her back down into the bed with me. “Where are you going?”

  “I just need to use the restroom.”

  Her quiet words fill me with relief. I loosen my hold, then feel her lips touch my shoulder before she exits the bed. Looking for my cell phone on my nightstand, I find it and pick it up to check the time. It’s already seven, which means I need to get up for work soon. Hearing the toilet flush and the water turn on, I wait for her to come back to bed. I smile as I watch her run naked across the room and dive under the covers.

  “It’s like the Arctic in here. Do you have the heat on?” She shivers, and I grin as she tucks herself tightly against me, trying to absorb my heat.

  “I like sleeping in the cold. I like it more that you have no choice but to use me for body heat,” I say.

  She hits my chest playfully, making me laugh.

  Kissing the top of her head, I ask, “What are your plans for today?”

  “I’ll probably go with Libby to check on Fawn and Levi, then see if my parents need anything. They’re going to be here for a few days,” she says as her fingers draw a random pattern over my heart. “What about you?”