29. William
29
WILLIAM
“ Y ou’re sure about this?” I asked as we pulled into the mobile home park.
It would’ve been a dirty lie to say I didn’t want to stay the night with Kristin. I had wanted that for so long, but she’d been adamantly against it. I was scared that crossing that boundary would be one step forward and ten steps back.
We rolled to a stop in front of her single-wide, and I killed the lights. “I don’t want to push you…”
“You’re not pushing me,” she blurted out. “But you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. I know we didn’t exactly plan for this, but I have an extra toothbrush, and?—”
“I want to stay.”
“It’ll be you and me on the sofa bed. And no sex because, you know, thin walls.”
I chuckled and reached across the cab of the truck, sliding my palm between her thighs. “But you’re thinking about sex, aren’t you?”
Her muscles clenched.
My hand slid up her thigh to the edge of her jeans. I hooked my finger over the lip of denim, beneath the thin layer of her cotton panties.
As if on cue, the flood light turned on and Hunter popped up in front of the screen door.
I yanked my hand away and pretended to rub the back of my neck. “Should’ve gotten you off in the parking lot at Jokers.”
Kristin cupped her hand over her mouth and snickered. “Are you ready for twelve hours of blue balls? No one will blame you if you head home.”
Unlatching my seatbelt, I leaned over and pecked her lips. “I can be resourceful.”
Per usual, the kids piled up at the door, waiting for us to come inside. Even Logan.
“What’s up, man,” I said as I ducked through the door behind Kristin.
He didn’t even try to hide his ear-to-ear grin. “I got a ‘B’ on my math test.”
“Hell yeah, dude!” I cheered. We high-fived, and I pulled him in for a back-slapping bro hug. “Dude, I’m so fuc— freaking proud of you!”
Kristin just stood there, stunned. “You got a what?”
I couldn’t help but grin. On the nights I couldn’t make it over, I video chatted with Logan to help with his homework. Kristin did her best, but she had a lot on her plate. I could handle a little twelfth grade math.
“We’re celebrating this weekend!” Kristin said, throwing her arms around Logan.
He grunted as she strangled him like a python. “Kris, it’s just one test.”
“Alright, Sunshine,” I said, chuckling as I peeled Kristin off her brother. “He’s turning blue and purple. Might wanna let him breathe.”
He grimaced. “Geez, you smell like the bar. ”
“Probably my fault,” I admitted. “But she had fun.”
Logan shook his head, smiling as he wandered back to his room.
“Did anything new happen?” Kylie asked as soon as she could barrel to the front of the pack.
“I told you, Ky,” Kristin said, shaking her head. “Bridget is marrying Mr. Kingsley, and Chase is dating the nurse that Mel works with. That’s what’s happening.”
Kylie crossed her arms. “But they’re supposed to be together.”
Kristin tucked a stray piece of Kylie’s hair behind her ear. “People who are meant for each other will find their way. And if they don’t, it wasn’t meant to be.”
Kylie rolled her eyes. “Or sometimes adults just need to get their heads out of their asses.”
“Asses!” Zoey squeaked, much to Kristin’s dismay. I couldn’t help but laugh.
Logan brought his homework to the table. I sat and helped him study while Kristin ran through her bedtime routine with the little ones.
The background noise of the running shower cut off. A minute later, Hunter darted out of the bathroom in just his underwear.
“Clothes, Hunt!” Kristin chided from the kitchen.
He scurried back into the bathroom and slammed the door.
Logan shook his head as he tucked his math book back into his backpack. “That kid…”
“He’s something else,” I said, chuckling as I looked over the sheet of graph paper Logan would turn in tomorrow.
I grabbed the pencil and pointed to part of a math equation where he had forgotten to show his work.
He nodded and filled in the problem. Looking over his shoulder, he watched Kristin walk down the hall to the girls’ room. “Can I ask you something? ”
“Of course,” I said. “What’s on your mind?”
“Do you think you and Kris will get married?”
Some guys would probably get scared off by that question. For me it wasn’t frightening. A future with Kristin was inevitable.
“Yeah, if Kris can put up with me,” I said. “But it’s not something that’s gonna happen right away. We haven’t even talked about it.”
Logan grinned. “She’d probably be mad at you for talking about it with me, then.”
“Yeah, so don’t be a narc and rat me out,” I said, laughing as I punched him in the arm.
His face turned serious. “Will you let Zoey and Hunter live with y’all? You know, when you get married.”
“What makes you ask that?” I asked, genuinely confused. Did he think I was going to take Kristin away and leave the four of them to fend for themselves?
Logan looked down at his homework. “Kylie and I have been talking about it. When you and Kris move in together, I’ll probably be eighteen, so I could try to get my own place. Ky could crash with me so you wouldn’t have to deal with us.”
Holy shit.
I hunched forward and pressed my fingers into the corners of my eyes. He really thought I was going to take Kris and run.
“Logan, listen to me,” I said, clearing my throat. “I love your sister very much.”
“I know, and Kylie and I just figured?—”
I held up my hand to stop him. “But I also love you. And I love Kylie, Hunter, and Zoey. The whole herd. No one is left out.”
Logan’s eyes misted over. “You mean it?” he croaked out.
“I’m not just choosing Kristin. I’m choosing all of you.”
Logan looked away, so I put my hand on his back.
There I was, thinking he felt threatened that I’d take his place as man of the house. But really, he was worried I would cast him aside.
I gave his shoulder a squeeze. “It doesn’t matter if you’re eighteen or eighty. You’ll have a place with me.”
“Probably not when I’m eighty,” he said, cracking up. “You’ll be dead.”
“Smartass,” I retorted and elbowed him in the ribs. “Get ready for bed before Kristin kills me. I shouldn’t be keeping you up so late.”
I started down the hall to find Kristin, but she ran smack into me as she closed the girls’ door. Chest to chest, hearts beating in time—something about this singular moment in our existence felt so right.
“What was all that about?” she asked in a hushed tone. “You and Logan were in some deep conversation, but I couldn’t make it out.”
I slid my hand around the back of her neck and kissed her slowly. With a contented sigh, she relaxed into my touch. “I love you so much, Kris.”
Kristin smiled against my lips and wrapped her arms around my neck. Her fingers teased the short hairs at the back of my collar. “I love you too.”
I unfolded the sofa bed while Kristin brushed her teeth. I was wholly unprepared for a sleepover, so I was thankful when she walked into the living room with a pair of gym shorts. “These are Logan’s. I know you’re taller, but they’re clean and I figured it’d be better than sleeping in jeans.”
“You’re awesome,” I said, snagging the shorts from her hand.
She tossed pillows on the bed, and I shuffled off to brush my teeth.
Everything felt so natural with her. The way we moved together, dancing around the small house, getting the kids situated for the night, and making sure everything was locked up. It was like it was meant to be.
It was healing a part of me I didn’t even realize was broken—a part of me I thought was content being alone. I couldn’t change what happened to me in the past, but I could make sure I did better than what was done to me.
I crawled into bed and stretched out my arms. “C’mere.”
“Just a second,” she said as she plugged her phone into the charger.
“There’s an email from work, and I?—”
I reached over and plucked the phone out of her hands. “Your time outside of work is yours and yours alone. If you’re not on the clock, they don’t deserve your attention.”
She stared at me, blinking and dumbfounded.
“Get in the bed, sweetheart,” I demanded in a low rasp.
Kristin turned off the table lamp and slipped under the covers, curling into my side. We fit together like two long-lost puzzle pieces.
“I missed this,” I said, yawning.
She snuggled up and rested her head on my chest, her light breaths tickling the hair on my chest.
I wrapped my arms around her and traced idle circles on her shoulder. The little tank top and shorts she put on instead of pajamas made my dick hard.
“Now,” I said, planting a kiss on top of her head, “tell me why you were in such a good mood ten minutes ago, and why you got pissed the second you looked at your phone.”
“I’m not pissed,” she said, peppering my chest with kisses.
“Talk to me, Kris.” I wouldn’t let her flirt her way out of this conversation, even if I wanted her to keep her lips on my skin. Was this about the email, or did she overhear my conversation with Logan?
Kristin huffed, realizing I wasn’t going to back down. “It’s nothing. Just some work drama. ”
She threaded her fingers through my chest hair, letting her nails graze up and down from my sternum to the waistband of my shorts. Over and over again.
It nearly lulled me into a trance, but I summoned enough willpower to stay lucid. “What kind of work drama?” I prodded.
Kristin sighed. “That woman—Elena—from the company that bought the inn. She’s annoying as hell and Rich is kissing her ass. I swear he has it out for me and is trashing me to her. The only silver lining is that she’s supposed to be gone before the staff Christmas party. Lord knows I’d probably lose my shit on her if they gave me free alcohol within spitting distance of her.”
My blood ran cold. The handful of interactions I’d had with Rich told me he was a rubber gun with no real authority. No one on staff had any respect for him. Sure, he could terminate employees, but he avoided it because he knew the rest of them would walk out on him.
But Elena had power.
I gave it to her.
Not directly, of course, but still. I should have made some calls to pull her off the acquisition the minute I started seeing Kristin. Maybe this was the universe’s way of forcing me to come clean. How mad could she really be?
I was probably just making it a bigger deal than it was, I told myself. I had perfectly good reasons to be tightlipped in the beginning, and things just got away from me.
Kristin would laugh about it when she realized how romantic our meet-cute really was. It was kismet. destiny. Kissing in the rain.
Our love story was made for Hollywood. It would be the tale we tell at holidays; how we met and fell madly in love. A bumbling billionaire gets scared shitless when the maid pops in to clean his hotel room.
“I hate that stupid company so much,” Kris said, seething. “They’re making my life a nightmare, and the bar wasn’t set that high to begin with. Hell, it was on the damn floor. I swear, if I ever get my hands on the person that bought the damn place, you’ll need to post my bail.”
Well, fuck.
No way in hell I was going to tell her tonight. I knew better than to walk into a lion’s den wearing a steak sweater.
I would tell her in the morning. Or maybe next week.
I need to figure this shit out. Maybe I could get Elena out and then Kristin would never have to know. Besides, I was really nothing more than a name on some legal documents.
I pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “Things will be okay.”
Her cheeks pulled against my chest with the flicker of a smile. “You know, I actually believe it when you say it.”
“Then I’ll say it again.” I leaned down and kissed her lips. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “For being so good to me. I hate depending on people, but you—you’ve always been honest and good. I know it won’t always be sunshine and roses, but I trust you to be good to me in the tough times too.” Her face lit up with a bright smile. “I can’t wait to show you off to everyone at the staff party. Maria’s been dying to meet you.”
Kristin was a human lie detector. I was sure of it.
Instead of taking the bait and coming clean like I knew I should, I tipped her chin up and kissed her. “Deep roots don’t worry about snow.”
I silently prayed that that was true. I hoped we were rooted deep enough to withstand the absolute shitstorm brewing on the horizon.
Her hands were on me in a frenzy, pulling and tugging at my shorts. She scraped her nails down my chest, marking my skin. Her inner wildcat came out, claws at the ready—and I loved it.
“Kris, we can’t. The kids…” I grunted, loathing the fact that I couldn’t sink deep into her right now .
“I can be quiet,” she pleaded in a breathless whisper.
“I don’t have a condom.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but came up short. Her rule of two forms of birth control was a line that she set in stone. No mishaps. No slip-ups. No pushing our luck.
A lone tear slipped down her cheek. “I just… God—you’re going to hate me.”
“What?” I cupped her cheeks and kissed the tear away. “Why would you say that? Sweetheart, I didn’t expect to have sex with you tonight.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to scare you off because you think I’m moving too fast or thinking too far ahead, but…”
“But what?”
“Going without a condom—it’s not an option for me.”
“I know, Kris. It’s not a prob?—"
“And it never will be,” she said, pausing to steady her voice. “I don’t want to have kids. Ever . I don’t want to get pregnant. It’s just… If that’s something you want in the future, it’s not going to happen with me.” Another tear slid down her cheek. “And you deserve to be with someone who can give you everything you want.”
It made sense. Kristin had been mom four times over. She had fixed bottles and changed dirty diapers, helped the older ones’ muddle through puberty, and raised four ridiculously awesome kids all on her own. I didn’t blame her for not wanting to have her own kids. She already had them.
“I have everything I want right here.” I held my forehead against hers. “I’m not running and I’m not letting you push me away.”
She sniffed and let a watery smile slip. “I don’t deserve you.”
I didn’t want to think about who deserved what, because I fell short in every category. She was a warrior, and I was a coward.
“Roll over. Lay on your stomach,” I said gently.
She obeyed and tucked the pillow under her cheek .
I straddled her ass and dug my thumbs into her lower back, massaging deep circles in her muscles. Kristin let out a low moan into the pillow as I worked at her knots. I took a little pleasure for myself by rocking my erection between her cotton-covered ass cheeks.
She buried her head in the pillow, whimpering as her arousal built. I didn’t even have to slide my finger along the gusset of her shorts to know she was soaked.
Leaning over to graze the shell of her ear, I growled, “Do you feel what you do to me, Kristin Boyd? You are the sexiest woman I’ve ever laid eyes on, and I can’t wait for the next time I get to fuck your tight little pussy and make you scream in ecstasy.”
Her thighs rubbed together in a desperate attempt to gain some friction.
“Nuh-uh-uh, naughty girl,” I said, sliding back. I pushed my knee between her legs to block her from any pleasure I didn’t give her myself. “Be good and I’ll let you come on my fingers.”
She whimpered into the pillow and nodded.
I splayed my hand between her shoulder blades and pressed just hard enough to make her understand there would be no arguing.
“Do you want to come?” I whispered.
Kristin nodded into the pillow.
I started with two fingers, sliding them slowly into her wet pussy. So warm, so soft. I wanted to sink my dick into her, but I held back. I began to stroke with my fingers, hitting her G-spot in the first motion.
Kristin moaned and writhed beneath me, desperate for more.
I crooked my finger and massaged her inner walls, making her whimper and whine as she wordlessly begged for a release.
“God, you feel amazing, sweetheart,” I whispered in her ear.
I pulled my fingers out and sunk my thumb back into her core. Pinching her clit between two fingers, I rubbed the little pleasure center in slow, methodical circles.
Her eyebrows drew in and the corners of her eyes creased as her orgasm built. She bit the edge of the pillow, stifling her wanton moans as she rocked her hips against my hand.
“Now,” I growled, “be a good girl and come.”