by Scott, S. L.
“Does she know about this inheritance? ‘Cause you know she’s not the kind of girl who cares about all the fancy stuff. She likes to shop, but she’s level-headed.”
“She doesn’t know the extent of my wealth, no, and I know that one of her best qualities is that she’s happy with simple things. But I have the ability to give her more, like taking away the concerns of paying bills. And we can travel, which I know she likes to do.”
“Let me guess where this is going. You already bought the ring.” He narrows his eyes, seeing right through me.
“Yes.”
“I thought as much. So is this conversation,” he asks, swinging his arm between us, “just a formality?”
“No, it’s out of respect for you, your wife, and Mallory.” I sit up straighter. “I would be honored if you would give us your blessing. I love her and want to be with her the rest of my life.”
“You’re both too young, but I don’t come from a position to argue against age considering Elise and I were young as well. But I do know my daughter and she’s going to do what she wants to do anyway, so I’ll give you my blessing. But I’m asking two things of you, Evan, and I’m gonna need you to look me in the eyes when you answer. First, I need you to promise me you’ll always take care of her.”
I don’t rush my answer, but it’s heartfelt. “Yes, I promise.”
“Secondly, I want you to always love her the way she deserves to be loved, making her your priority.”
“Absolutely. I will.”
He sticks his hand forward and says, “Then you’ve got my blessing. Make me proud.”
“Yes, Sir.”
He chuckles. “I should really threaten you like any good father would do, but I’m not going to. I think you’re a decent guy. I just want to make sure that you’ll be a decent man to my daughter. Oh and if you ever hurt Mallory, my face will be the last one you see before you blackout.” He picks up his beer and holds it in the air. “On that note, a toast is in order. Cheers to a happy life that always starts with a happy wife.”
“Cheers!” I drink though it seems odd to be drinking beer at 9:30 in the morning. With the hard part now over, I smile, feeling the relief.
“Wipe that goofy grin off your face and grab your binoculars,” he says, lowering his voice. “I see some ducks in the distance.”
Grabbing my binoculars, I follow the direction he’s already set in. “Is it the Merganser?”
When he doesn’t answer, I turn back to him, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He picks up his camera and takes pictures with the long, zoom lens attached. “It sure is. Evan, I think you may be good luck for this family.”
“That’s not such a bad thing.” I’ve definitely had it a lot easier with her family than she has with mine.
“Nope, not a bad thing at all.”
It rains on the way back to the house. I get wet helping to hook the boat up to the truck, so I’m cold. I’m ready for coffee, a warm house, and snuggles with my girlfri… my fiancée. But I guess I have some business to attend to with Mallory before that title is official.
Because of the unusually bad weather, the drive home takes even longer. I’m getting anxious, but also still curious about an earlier conversation I had with her dad. I want to clear things up before we reach the house, so I ask, “How’d you know I’d been arrested?”
Clay keeps his eyes on the road and says, “I work with a lot of connected people down at the courthouse. All it took was Elise’s homemade pound cake to get the information.”
“You bribed government employees with cake to hand over my records? That’s illegal, you know.”
He laughs. “Come see me when some punk wants to date your daughter and we’ll talk.”
I may not relate to the comment, but I can respect that he cares enough to protect his daughter.
This unseasonal rain storm is pissing me off. That and every stoplight in Denver is conspiring to keep me away from Mallory. I just want to get to my girl and put this ring on her finger once and for all. This time, I’m going to do this right.
The front door opens as soon as we pull into the driveway. My mouth drops open when Mallory walks to the railing on the porch in a fitted T-shirt and cut-offs—perfect for Hawaii, but all wrong for a Colorado winter.
Clay, in his puffy, insulated coat, grabs his gear and dashes for the house. I pull my hood up to protect my face, grab my gear and race to the front porch. Clay is standing there under the cover of the roof and offers his hand to me. I shake it, a silent understanding exchanged between us.
To me, her father says, “Don’t forget the ice chest.” He turns to Mallory, leans down and holds his daughter, tightly, as if his life depends on it. He knows the importance of this moment and a flash of sympathy kind of stabs me in the chest. With a quick turn, he goes inside, leaving us alone on the porch.
Her smile eases my racing heart, but I’m still not ready to do this, so I run down the steps and hop in the truck. I collect myself as I grab the ice chest, but before I brave the rain again, I dig deep into my coat pocket and pull the ring out. When I look up, I see her. Our eyes connect and we tilt our heads, a knowing smile creasing both our mouths. I get out, slam the door shut, and start walking toward the house, not carrying about the rain anymore. I can’t rush this even in inclement weather. But Mallory sees it differently and runs out to meet me half-way.
Standing in the yard, my heart clenches seeing her beauty in such close proximity and knowing I’m the luckiest fucking guy in the world. She throws her arms around me, knocking the hood off my head, and kisses me. It’s too late to keep her dry. She’s soaked already, so I kiss her with all that I am, dropping the ice chest and pushing the wet dark strands of her hair away from her face.
Her tongue is warm and welcoming despite the frigid temperatures. My hands roam freely up her sides, over her shoulders, her neck, into her hair, landing on her face. My body begins to succumb to the depths of this kiss. Then I remember that it’s freezing out here and she’s half naked.
“Baby,” I start to say between kisses, “we need to get you inside. You’ll get sick.”
Kiss.
Kiss.
Tongue.
Deeper.
Fuck.
I want her.
Kiss.
Kiss.
She takes a step back just as I take a step forward, but she slips on an icy mud patch. Suddenly, she’s falling backwards, grappling for anything to keep her upright as she screams. I grab her flailing hands, but the ground is too slippery and I start to go down with her. Desperately trying to fall to the side of her so I don’t crush her, I reach out to break our fall, but she grabs a hold of my coat and pulls me straight down on top of her.
I land in a push-up position over her with one hand under her head. She looks up at me dazed before she bursts out laughing. She lifts up and I laugh, but my muscles are straining from the fall.
Mallory pulls me down on top of her and kisses me again. She’s got mud splattered all over her body and in her hair and even some on her face, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look more beautiful. The rain drenches us and I kiss her just not caring anymore. I need her and she needs me.
Whispering against her lips, I say, “C’mon on. Let’s get inside.”
“But this is so much more fun and soooo romantic, don’t ya think?” Her eyes twinkle with delight like the cold can’t catch her.
“Not if you end up in the hospital with pneumonia.”
I roll off and stand up. Bending back down, I take her hands in mine and lift her to her feet. She’s laughing and enjoying this so much that I have to smile at my beautiful, messy woman.
As soon as she’s up, I take my coat off and throw it around her shoulders. Feeling every bit of the joy in this moment, with her left hand still in mine, I bend down on one knee and look up at her.
“Mallory, my love,” I start and she gasps. “You captured my attention from the moment I saw you and my heart the
very first time you called me out on my bullshit. You showed me kindness and gave me love when I didn’t deserve it. And you never asked for anything but loyalty and a note in return. I wholeheartedly give you that and all that I am without hesitation. You aren’t my match, you’re my inspiration. If you’ll have me, I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you the man you make me want to be.”
“Oh, Evan,” she says, wiping a tear from her face. Somehow her tears treading their own path down her cheek separately than the rain, making them stand apart almost sparkling against her flawless skin.
“Will you marry me?”
“Yes, yes, of course.” She drops to her knees, down to my level. “Partners, not inspiration. Always partners. You inspire me with your courage and love every day.”She sniffles. “Please, equals, alright?”
I shake my head, a poor attempt to hold back my own tears. “Equals.” I take the ring out of my pocket. I know she doesn’t care about size, cut, clarity, or any of that, but I hope she likes it. Hell, I hope she loves it since she’s gonna wear it forever.
I slide it onto her ring finger officially binding us together, and she gasps again. “It’s perfect.” Throwing her arms around my neck, I tuck my nose against her wet hair and skin, inhaling her before releasing a long held breath as relief settles over me. Contentment. Though we’re both soaked and frozen to the bone, shivering and muddy, life is perfect.
75
Evan
Not gonna lie. I want her with me. I understand she made a promise to her friend. I understand she’s contractually obligated to finish out her lease, but damn it, I want her with me. This shuffling back and forth is bullshit. I want her stuff over at my place. Shit, I want to call it our place. I mean, we’re engaged for crying out loud. I toss my textbook onto the coffee table, totally pissed off.
Mallory eyes the textbook and then me. “I’ll be back later, okay,” she says, kissing me on the cheek.
Just as she gets up from the couch, I grab her hand. “No. I want you to stay.”
She sighs. I know she’s sick of this back and forth stuff just as much as I am, and it’s only been two weeks. “Babe,” she whispers and closes her eyes.
“I’ve talked to Josh,” I say.
Her eyes open and she waits for me to say more.
“He said he wants to live with Sarah. That he’s been trying to talk her into it for over a year.”
“I feel pulled here, Evan. I pay for an apartment because I committed to it.”
I stand up and take her by the waist. “Sublet it.”
“They don’t allow that. I already checked.”
“I don’t want to stay over there anymore. I like Sarah and Josh, but sometimes I just want us to have privacy. Is it too much to want to have sex with you whenever and wherever we want without someone potentially walking in on us? It puts a real damper on things.” She nods while looking down, tapping my shoe with hers. “Twelve hundred square feet all to ourselves as opposed to six hundred shared. Sounds tempting, you have to admit.”
“You’re more than tempting, my handsome fiancé.”
“I’ve got one last idea. Hear me out, okay?”
She sucks in her bottom lip and looks up at me under her lashes. Damn, she’s distracting. I feel my cock harden and readjust while trying to stay focused on the topic at hand.
“Okay, I’m listening,” she says softly, resting her palms flat on my chest.
“Let’s pay to end the lease. It’s not much and it would be worth it to have you here all the time. You know once school starts back up in a few days it’s going to be hard to find time with our busy schedules. At least this way, we’ll always go to bed together.”
“Let me guess, you already know how much it costs to buy out the lease?” she asks, knowing the answer already.
“Yep.”
“If,” she says, pointing her finger at me. “If this is an actual option, is there any way I can afford to buy it out? Or is it too expensive?”
“It’s two month’s rent.”
She huffs and I see the disappointment in her eyes. When she looks down, I lift her chin back up. “It’s our money. What does it matter if it comes from your bank account or mine when it’s both of ours anyway?”
“It’s hard for me to be taken care of. You know this about me.”
I squat down until I’m eye-level with her, and say, “I love you. Please, let’s do this.”
“I love you too.” Her smile is soft, but I know it well. She’s gonna say yes.
I pull her into an embrace and she whispers, “Alright.”
“Really?” I search her eyes for the lie, but find none.
“Really. I want to be with you and you’re right. Once school starts it is gonna be hard to squeeze in time together.” Lifting up, she gives me a quick kiss. She turns and walks to the door, but before she leaves, she says, “Let me talk to Sarah and make sure everything is good with her first.”
I nod, not saying another word. I don’t want to push my luck when I’m ahead.
* * *
“Evan, no complaining. You wanted me over here, so you have to help.”
“I didn’t realize how much crap you had crammed into that small room at your apartment.”
“Shush it and move!”
She’s sexy when she’s bossy. Fuck, does that mean I like a dominant woman? I shake my head and watch her ass in front of me sashaying into the elevator. If she keeps that up, I’m gonna have my way with her when we get upstairs.
She sets the box on the floor in the bedroom, turns and says, “I think we’ll be finished after two more trips to the car.”
I grab her by the waist, and flip her onto the bed. “Give me some action now, woman, or I’m gonna tickle you into submission,” I say, holding her wrists above her head. “You can’t just walk around looking like this. These very short-shorts are driving me mad and I’m pretty damn positive that you’re not wearing a bra under that sweatshirt either. You’re torturing me.”
She pretends to be irritated between giggles, but I see through her act. She loves getting me all worked up like this. “Evan, you know I don’t take kindly to threats,” she says, hitting me on the chest while I attack her neck with my mouth.
“Oh,” I say then kiss her on the throat and smirk. “And this isn’t a threat. This is a promise, baby.” I move down to kiss, tugging the collar of her sweatshirt down to suck on the skin of her collarbone.
Her body relaxes under mine. Yeah, she wants me. In a soft voice, she whispers, “Just two more boxes… oh God, that feels good.”
“You can call me babe, baby, or Evan, but God is a bit formal, don’t ya think?” I snicker then return to sucking on her neck, her natural taste so sweet.
“Just keep doing… yes, oh Evan, yes, that. Right there.”
Ever since we left Denver, we haven’t been able to keep our hands off each other, but somehow it’s different.
Her life surrounds us in boxes. She’s here and she’s mine—the thought intoxicating. A desperate desire builds inside of me. My hands slide down under the waistband of her shorts and she sighs. She starts tugging at my shirt and I lift one arm at a time so she can remove it.
She tosses it off into the room somewhere, then runs her nails lightly down my chest sending shivers through my body.
My voice is gruff, my desire taking over, my patience gone. “I want these off. Now.” I lift up, and she scrambles beneath me to remove her shorts. I smile, and ask, “No underwear, Mallory?”
“Nope,” she says, cocking an eyebrow and grinning.
“Fuck, I love you.”
She laughs. I untie the drawstring of my pants, but she pushes them down with her hands before jumping off the bed to pull them the rest of the way off.
After she takes her sweatshirt off, I climb back on top of her, positioning myself. “I was right. No bra, you tease.”
“It’s called motivation. I thought it would be a good reward for helping me move.”
“
You know me too well. By the way, welcome home, baby.”
Her lids close when I push into her. My own lids close in sync with the forward motion. Biting my lower lip, I enjoy the slow pace of our bodies moving together.
When I open my eyes, her hands are rubbing across her chest and I see her ring, my ring, on her finger, two and a half carats for the world to see our commitment to each other. She opens her eyes as her hand reaches up stroking my face gently. “I love you.” I’ll never get enough of hearing those words from her lips.
She moves against me, encouraging me to speed up, so I do and we both moan in pleasure.
I slip my arm under her leg, lifting her up by the knee and getting closer—moving deeper, thrusting harder. Her hands grab my shoulders, holding on until her head falls back and her mouth falls open. “Fuck, keep going, babe. Keep going.”
Pushing up with my hips, I know I’ll hit her sweet spot. She bucks beneath me, not able to contain herself. She swears, calling out my name one more time as she tenses, then tremors.
My orgasm hits me just after hearing her dirty words—both hitting fast and hard. I collapse on top of her trying to catch my breath and slow my racing heart. But when I try to move off her, our bodies slick with sweat, she holds me tighter and whispers, “Stay.”
“Am I hurting you?”
“No,” she says with a sigh. “I love this part.”
I smile. “Mallory?”
“Yes,” she answers, rubbing my shoulder gently.
“Promise me it will always be like this.”
“I promise you it will always be like this.”
I roll off and we move to our sides, then I pull her even closer and kiss the tender spot behind her ear. “Sweet dreams.”
“Sweet dreams.”
76
Evan
“You excited or nervous?” Mallory asks, sitting across from me and eating a bowl of cereal.
