by Goode, Ella
“I promise it won’t happen again.” His hold on me tightens, letting me know that he is blaming himself. That only makes it worse.
“Are you more than some super rich guy?” There was no missing the men standing behind Miles when he entered the house. They looked like some badass SWAT team. Miles wasn't scared at all. He even poked at the guy that hit me.
“I know a lot of people.” He shrugs, not saying much more. I don’t know if I want to know more. After all he’s done for me, I know whatever it might be, Miles is on the side of good. I have faith in that. I trust him. He might be the only person I’ve ever thought that about. He’s never let me down from the moment he walked into my life.
“I really am sorry,” I try again. I don’t want this guilt on him. “They said they had Ryan and I couldn't find him.” I ball my hands into fists, trying to get the shaking to stop.
“He was with me.” Miles’ thumb brushes along my cheek. “Can I take you home now?” Tears start to run down my cheeks. The adrenaline is starting to wear off. The events of the day are finally settling in.
“I don’t have a home.” That’s my reality now. At least Ryan is safe.
“Bullshit.” He kisses me softly before he gets out of the car. He puts me into the passenger seat of his vehicle before shutting the door. “Bach, can you take Ryan home for me?” I hear Miles shout as he jogs around to the driver's side.
“Sure can,” the man shouts back.
Miles takes off, heading back toward his place. I stare out the window. There is this sense of freedom that washes over me. I’m not chained to The Daily Drip anymore. I have no option but to make myself move forward to something else.
The silence stretches between us as we drive home. Miles is oddly quiet. Is he pulling away? I’m too shook up for him to tell me this is all too much. He’ll handle me with kid gloves until I get on my feet and then he’ll probably drop that bomb on me. I can’t blame him. The Daily Drip being torn apart sucked, but losing Miles would be devastating.
We pull up the long driveway to his house. My hands finally stop shaking when the gate of his home closes behind us, locking us in and keeping us safe. I’m beginning to understand Violet more and more. This place does give you a sense of security.
“Miles.” I say his name as the car rolls to a stop at the front door. I can tell he’s still worked up about everything. “I’ll understand if you want to break things off with me. I mean—” He opens his car door, slamming it behind him before I can even finish. He yanks my door open a second later. He unclicks my seatbelt quickly, pulling me from the car. “My legs are okay. I can walk.”
“I’m carrying you for my own sanity.”
“Oh.” I see Violet as we enter the house. She gives us a bright smile but says nothing. Miles heads straight for our bedroom. He kicks the door closed, carrying me into the bathroom. He strips me down before leading me into the shower, where he washes every inch of me.
He doesn't say a word as he dries me off and brushes my hair out for me. Then he slips one of his shirts over my head, and it falls almost to my knees. He’s taking care of me.
It takes everything inside of me not to burst into tears. It’s been a long time since someone actually bothered to take care of me. Since my mom died, I’ve been the one to take care of everyone else. Finally he sits me down on the side of the bed, dropping to his knees so he’s eye level with me.
“You can keep trying to push me away, Eden, but I’m not going anywhere,” he says when he finally speaks again. “The same way you have that need to take care of Ryan, I have the same for you. Let me take care of you for once. Let me show you things you’ve never seen. Let me love you.”
“You love me?” I sniff. Everything he says sounds so good. I want everything that he’s offering and decide I owe it to myself to let him take care of me. I want it so badly.
“More than anything in this world.” I can see the sincerity in his eyes.
“I love you too,” I tell him, letting the last of the walls I built up around myself crumble and deciding to let him in completely.
Chapter Twenty-One
Miles
After giving an anxious Violet a summary of events after I got back home, I left Eden sleeping while I went back to get a taste of my own revenge. I gave her father till the end of the night to have his sorry ass out of this state. Eden doesn’t need to know about that or what happened to the rest of them, but she can sleep without having to worry about them ever again.
I step into our bedroom at the same time that Eden is waking up.
“Hey,” she says, giving me a sleepy smile. “What are you doing?”
“Bringing you some food. You’ve had a rough day.”
“Haven’t we all?”
“Nope. You and Ryan have had it the worst, and so you get ten minutes to feel sorry for yourself, and I want you to do a good job at it. No making excuses and saying others have it worse. I want you to wallow for ten minutes.” I want to show her that I will always take care of her.
She laughs a little. “Why ten minutes?”
“Because after ten minutes, I’m going to make love to you so your primary emotion then should be lust.”
Her cheeks turn pink. “And this?” She points at the plate of brownies.
“To make sure your other appetite is fed. Obviously these aren’t as good as you make, but they’re not terrible.” I place the cup of milk on the side. “My mom always made me hot milk whenever I felt sick and I hated it but never told her because I didn’t want her to feel bad. Don’t do that to me. Tell me if you hate milk or chocolate brownies or pizza.”
“Um, those are all my favorites but I’m going to spill the brownies on the sheets.” She slides into a seated position and accepts the plate from me. “What then?”
“Then we throw it on the floor, and it gets washed and dried with the rest of the stuff by the laundry fairy aka the person that Violet hired to do all the cleaning because we both hate it.”
“Okay then,” she laughs again. “I’m used to doing all the laundry and I guess it seemed like an extra task that I didn’t want to burden myself with.”
“Good news. There are no extra burdens in this house. You’re entering a period of rest. You’ve worked hard all your life to provide for you and Ryan, and now you’re going to take it easy. I’m going to find another job for Clare, so don’t worry about that either.”
She takes a bite of the dessert before saying, “I haven’t even given Clare a second thought.”
“When were you supposed to? In between worrying the Antonovs were going to slit your dad’s throat, assault you and end your brother, you were also supposed to plan out Clare’s retirement party?”
“I’m supposed to be feeling sorry for myself. This is part of it,” she says defensively.
Well, shit. “All right. I’m shutting the fuck up.” I brush away the crumbs that have escaped the plate.
“Ugh, I’m getting it everywhere.” She scrunches her nose. “I think I’m going to have to shower again.”
“Sounds terrible. Let me help you.” I scoop her into my arms and carry her into the bathroom immediately because a wet and naked Eden is my idea of paradise. Since all she’s wearing is my shirt, it’s easy enough to get her down to skin. I close my eyes for a second and pray for patience. She makes a small shy laugh that arrows straight to my cock.
Manfully, I gather my self-control and throw a towel over her. She bursts out laughing. “Really?”
“Yeah. I can’t look at your hot ass self and not want to violate you six ways to Sunday so wear the towel for my peace of mind.” I jerk my head toward the shower on the other side of the room. “We just had sex in there so that’s all I can think about.”
She sinks into the rising water. “I’ll try to be modest.”
“Appreciate the efforts.” I leave the tub and rummage around for a bottle of lotion. Violet keeps the house well stocked and I find something that doesn’t smell like it belongs o
n a lumberjack. "Sorry I don’t have anything prettier. This”—I sniff the liquid—“citrus and wood shit will have to do.”
“I’ll survive.”
I turn off the spouts now that the water is lapping close to the edge and pull the soaked towel out of the tub and toss it aside. I start with her feet, massaging them and running the soap-slicked towel over her ankles and up her calves.
“I like that you don’t have pretty stuff. It means that you didn’t regularly entertain women in here.”
“Sweetheart, there haven’t been any women in this tub. You’re it. You’re soaking in its maiden voyage.” She is the only woman that will ever be here. My wife. I finish washing her legs, saving her sex for later.
She sits up. “You’re serious?”
“Mmm-hmmm.” This bath thing might not have been the best idea. She’s naked and wet with little sudsy bubbles freckling her skin. Her tits bob like happy peaches in the water with her darker areolas enticing me to dive in for a suck. I run the rough washcloth around her shoulder and down over the tip of her breast. She stops breathing for a second. I drop the cloth in the water. “Time’s up,” I growl.
I sweep her out of the water, uncaring that it splashes everywhere. She releases a choked laugh and clings to me as I practically run out of the bathroom to the bed. I toss her down, naked and wet. My clothes go flying—pants on the end of the bed, shirt over a table, boxer briefs kicked who knows where.
I grab her thighs and spread her open. Her hand flies down to cover her sex. “No, sweetheart. Don’t hide from me.”
“The lights are on. You can see everything.” She flings her wrist over her own eyes.
“I want to see everything. You’re fucking gorgeous.” I run a finger through her slick sex. The water wasn’t the only thing making her wet. I lick her juice off my finger and then bury my head between her legs to suck directly from the source. I eat her out from clit to asshole and back again until her thighs are quivering, and her heels are drumming against my back. While I’m tonsil deep in her pussy, she comes with a fierceness that I was barely prepared for. Her cries still ringing in my ears, I rise up on my knees and position my cockhead against her entrance.
“You ready, sweetheart? I’m coming home. Hold on.”
She gasps as my broad head breeches her small sex. Fascinated, I watch as my cock spreads her swollen pussy lips apart. Her cunt slowly, excruciatingly slowly, sucks me inside of her. We work her together, her wiggling her hips, me sliding in cautiously even though I really want to ram into her so hard she dents the plaster with her head. After what seems like forever and a day, I’m fully seated. My own orgasm sweeps down my spine like a cloak of electricity. I want to pummel her. I want to jack into her and let my seed explode inside her tiny canal, but not until she’s with me.
“It feels good, right?” I rub her clit with my thumb and pull on her hip with my other hand.
“Yeah. Oh, yeah, so good.” Her pussy clutches and releases me.
I start slow, pumping only small distances because she’s so tight and tiny, but her heat engulfs me. “I’m dying here, darling. Fucking dying.” Sweat drips down the side of my face. “Hold on.”
I plunge forward.
“God,” she screams.
No. Just me, I say, but I’m not sure I give voice to it because I’m gone. Her cunt convulses with her orgasm. The first spasm lights my rocket, and I go orbiting out of space. Her cunt is squeezing every drop of cum from me. I fuck her like I’m a speeding bullet, a semi going a thousand miles an hour. She shrieks and hollers. I pull out at the last second and spend my seed all over her stomach and chest. I rub my cum into her skin and growl, “You’re mine now. You’re fucking mine. Don’t ever think about leaving me. I’ll chase you to the ends of this fucking earth and lock you away.”
“Baby”—she draws me down—“you couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.”
Finally she gives, and I take it all.
Epilogue
Eden
Many Years Later
“What are you doing?” I ask even though I already know.
“Getting a taste of my wife while our kids are occupied.” Miles pulls me into a random room. People are already starting to arrive for the party. But I get it. We were woken up this morning by a three-year-old crawling into bed with us. That is not how I’m used to waking up most mornings.
“We don't have time,” I say as I go for his belt. Miles already has his hand up my dress and is pulling my panties to the side.
“There is always time to make my wife come.” I moan in agreement as he strokes my clit. “Already so damn wet.” He groans against my neck, kissing me there. How can I not be wet? I saw the heat in Miles' eyes as he was coming toward me. I knew what was about to happen. Furthermore, my body knows what only he can do to it. Nothing has changed after all these years. If anything, my hunger and need for him have only grown more.
“Yes,” I agree, getting his cock free. “I need you in me.”
“Always so damn greedy for my cock.”
“You love it.” It’s the truth. Miles loves when I take things from him. Long ago I’d fight him on getting me things, but I soon realized it was something he needed to do. He enjoys taking care of me. So I stopped fighting it and allowed him to do exactly that.
“I do.” He lifts me, my feet leaving the ground. I wrap my legs around him as he guides himself inside of me. We both let out moans.
I dig my fingers into his shoulders as he starts to thrust harder. I throw my head back, trying to be quiet. I can hear people out in the hallway. Miles doesn't seem to care. He keeps on grunting, the sound only turning me on more.
I bite the inside of my cheek, my orgasm already building. When Miles knows we don’t have a lot of time, he goes right for the perfect spot.
“You going to come for me?” He nips my neck.
“Are you going to make me come?” I toss back. He growls, picking up the pace. His cock slides deeper inside of me. He moves with purpose, each thrust seeming to hit exactly where I need it.
I explode, the orgasm hitting me. I whimper out his name as I ride it out. I feel his release spill inside of me. He buries his face in my neck as he tries to catch his breath.
“I love you,” I tell him as I run my fingers through his hair.
“I love you too.” He slowly lets me down onto my feet before righting my panties and dress. “I love when you smell like me too.”
I let out a laugh. “You’re such a caveman.”
“Only for you.” He takes my hand, leading me out of the room and toward the back of the house. I spot Violet outside holding Bailey. Connor is across the room trying to steal a cupcake from the display. Ryan catches him, but instead of putting it back, he snags one from the back so no one will notice. I smile, loving how close those two are.
“I haven't told anyone,” I let Miles know. We hadn't planned for another baby. At least not this quickly after Bailey, but we’re not the best at the whole contraceptive thing. I thought it was hard to get knocked up while breastfeeding. I was clearly wrong. Miles looks everywhere but at me. I smack his chest, knowing he cracked.
“What? I can’t help myself.” I laugh at his ways.
“I know, and I don’t care. I’m just giving you a hard time.” It wasn’t that I was holding out for any reason. We’d been busy with the launch of our tenth bakery. What started off as Violet and me creating an online store and Ryan helping us bloomed over time. Mostly because Ryan took the ball and let it keep rolling.
After high school, he went on to culinary school. When he graduated, he pushed us to open a physical bakery, so we let him. That was only the beginning; now they are popping up quickly. I’m so damn proud of him. Miles and Violet will never know what they mean to me. Ryan is the reason we’re having this party today. To celebrate everything he’s accomplished.
“You did good.” Miles drops a kiss on top of my head, looking over at Ryan. He’s holding Connor, not caring that he’s getti
ng icing all over him.
“You helped.”
“Nah. He was already shaped into the man he was going to be, sweetheart. That’s all your doing.”
My eyes fill with tears. I had second guessed everything I did when raising him. Hell, I was still growing up myself. But I think I did some things right along the way. Miles is one of those things. Giving him a chance was one of the best decisions I ever made.
It helps that my father dropped off the map. I have no doubt that’s because of my husband. I don’t know what he did, and honestly, I don’t care. When it comes to this family's safety, Miles will stop at nothing to make sure we are always safe.
We head outside together, sitting down at the table with Violet. “Where did you two disappear to?”
“I took my wife…” I put my hand over his mouth. He kisses my palm. Violet laughs. I glare at Miles. He shrugs. Ryan comes over to sit down with us, Connor in his lap. He’s got icing all over his chubby cheeks.
I watch everyone laughing around the table. There is so much love here. More and more people start to show up for the celebration. Ryan has made a real name for himself. It’s crazy how life can turn out. You never know where a road might take you. Thankfully, ours led us to Miles.
On the day I thought I’d lost everything I’d actually found my future.
* * *
My Loves!
Is that summer I see just around the corner? It was hot in my office while I put this book together. I opened my windows to let in a breeze and the birds were chirping so loudly I felt like I was Snow White in the forest. I hope you are all doing well!
Ella
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