Chapter 19
Taylor
Last night was a rough one. I blame the moon. Weird things always happen during the full moon and Conner’s emotional breakdown was no exception. I can count on one finger how many times I’ve seen him upset to the point of tears and last night was it.
Sure, he’s been mad, sad, annoyed, and petty, but never has he been so raw his eyes leaked. I’m honored he felt safe enough to show that level of vulnerability to me. It’s not something to take lightly.
But I went to bed last night in his arms determined to make today way happier and lighter and more fun for us both. I will not dwell on our past mistakes and misunderstandings. What’s the point? It would only waste the present moment… which is what I live for.
“Okay, one last time. I swear.”
Conner grumbles and heads back to the stream, splashes some water on his chest, and then faces the camera and slides his fingers down his abs. “Good?”
Oh yeah baby. “Um. There was a bug. Try again.”
“Fucking damnit.” He dips his hands back in the stream, cups the water, and splashes it on his torso, making his abs drip again and runs his finger down the ridges of his stomach. Then he cocks a brow. “Better?”
“Mmm hmm.” I bite my lip and push my luck. “But maybe do one where you pinch your nipple a little bit. Or like massage your pecs.”
His shoulders drop. “Are you serious? What’s wrong with what I did?”
“Nothing! I just—hey, whoa!”
Conner snatches his phone from me and sees what I’ve done. “You little brat!”
I squeal while he chases me around the campsite.
Did I just help him record twenty-two new thirst traps for his account? Yes.
Did any of them make it into his drafts on his account? Nope.
I sent them all to my phone instead. I’m such an evil genius.
Hey, a girl needs to invest in her spank bank and I’m a million percent invested in Conner. Aka FlirtInDirt as he’s known online.
“If you wanted a video, all you had to do was ask.” He picks me up and hauls me over his shoulder.
“But this is way more fun than that!”
He cracks his palm on my ass, and I melt immediately.
Today he woke up in a brighter mood too. Maybe we’re both ready to live for the day instead of dwelling on shit that’s inconsequential to our future. And as far as his father still having a hold on Conner’s self-worth, I’m going to work on that my way.
It must be about ten in the morning, going by the sun, and I’ve got to leave soon. Boooo. Adulting sucks.
“You hungry?” I ask after he puts me back down.
“For what?”
“Whatever you want. I was thinking scrambled eggs, but did you bring a pan for—”
He’s on his knees, lifting my dress up. I have no clue where my panties are. They’ve been MIA since yesterday. “Whatever I want, huh?”
“You can’t be serious,” I say, dropping into my chair. He rests my feet on his shoulders and winks. “Oh my god, you’re serious.”
This man goes down on me again. As if twice this morning wasn’t already enough. I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ve never been with a real eater before because no guy I’ve dated has ever been this ravenous for me. Conner acts like he’s addicted to me. And maybe he is.
I want to be his drug of choice.
I want to be all his choices.
Groaning, I scoot my ass closer to the edge of my chair. Conner inhales the scent of my pussy and legit rubs his face all over it. It’s fucking obscene.
And the hottest thing ever.
“I’m a filthy animal for you, Taylor.” Con growls deeply and drags his tongue through my pussy. “Anything less would be unworthy.”
I’m the luckiest woman in the world.
“You have the sexiest hair,” I coo, gripping a handful of his dark hair while he continues going to town on me.
“Your curls are so soft.” Shit, that feels good.
“I love how it smells. How it…it… feels.” Don’t stop, I’m so close.
“I could run my hands through it all day.” I’m closer. Closer. “I want to—”
My orgasm shoots out of me like a fireball. Hot, roaring, consuming. My thighs clamp around his head and my ass lifts off the seat. Gripping the sides of my chair, I scream until I don’t have a voice anymore.
But at least I don’t devolve into tears this time. Progress!
Conner licks my pussy one more time, nice and slow, before leaning up to kiss my mouth. “I think hearing you come because of me is a far better way to fuel my day than coffee ever will be.”
“Mmm.” I run my hands through his hair again and suck on his bottom lip. “You smell like me.”
“Good.”
“You just smeared my pussy juice all over your face.”
“Sure did.”
“You gonna wash it off?”
“Hell no.”
“Good.” I hop up and wobble my way into the tent. “Because I’ve got to get going and I don’t want to leave you with nothing.”
He follows me. “Where are you going?”
“Work, duh. And then I have dinner with Grace tonight.”
Conner looks all pouty about it.
“Take your time here,” I say, because I don’t want him to think that one night in the woods was all there will be for us. “I’ll be home when you get there. Don’t worry.”
“Mine or yours?” he asks.
“Where do you want me?”
“Yours.”
“Then I’ll be there.” I kiss him one more time before stuffing my boots back on.
“Let me walk you to your car,” he says, searching for his shirt.
“Hello!” Someone calls out, making us both freeze. Conner points at me and mouths, Stay here. Then he goes outside of the tent to see who’s there.
But I already know that voice and that greeting. It’s Austin.
“Oh hey, Conner.” Austin trudges over to him from the thick woods. “I just heard screaming in this part of the woods.”
“Really?” Conner’s bottom lip juts out, pensively. “I didn’t hear anything.”
“You sure? It came from this direction. It was pretty loud. We already have two call-ins reporting it.”
“Huh. Could have been a hawk, maybe? Or a… mountain lion?”
“It was me,” I say, blowing our cover. “It was alllll me. Good morning, Austin.” My sheepish wave has me feeling ten kinds of awkward.
Austin pauses as he realizes why I was screaming. “Oh. Yeah. Ummm.”
Conner gives me what the fuck eyes and I shrug in response.
Meanwhile, Austin’s looking at the tent, the cooler tied to the tree, the stream, the grass, the sky.
And my panties that are somehow over by the bonfire.
“Wow. Good. Glad everything’s okay. Didn’t want to report a murder or anything today. ”
“No yeah. All good here,” Conner says. “Sorry about that.”
“Hey. No worries. I’ll just uhhh…” Austin tries to walk backwards and almost falls over my cart. “Woop! Ha, ha, sorry about that.” He turns and leaves faster than I’ve ever seen him go before.
Conner gawks at me like I did something wrong.
I toss my hands up. “What?”
“I said to stay in the tent!”
“But I knew it was Austin.”
“Which is why you should have stayed in the tent!”
I’m not about to hide from my ex. “He’ll be fine.”
“I already beat the shit out of him over a misunderstanding. Then I took his girl. Now I’ve made her scream so loud while coming, he got called to investigate a possible homicide.”
There’s no way I should laugh right now. It’s not funny.
Okay, it’s a little funny.
A lot of funny.
Doubling over, I can’t catch my breath with how hard I laugh, and I think something in my brain must have cracked because yesterday I couldn’t stop crying every time I had an O and this morning all I can do is laugh and not care about anything other than being super happy.
This is all Conner’s fault.
“Stop laughing, he’ll hear you!”
“Let him,” I wheeze. “Let everyone hear.” Snatching his waistband, I tug him to me. “Let the whole ass universe hear how deliriously happy you make me, Conner Montgomery.”
“He’s going to hate me even more for this. And I don’t even know why I care.”
“Austin doesn’t hate you. He never will.”
“I would if I was him. I took you from him.”
“No, you didn’t. He let me go.”
“What?”
“We broke up mutually. And he said he knew you were in love with me and that I was in love with you. I couldn’t deny it, and he said, ‘Go get him, Taylor.’”
He runs his hand down his face. “He let you go. For me.”
“He’s selfless like that. A real stand-up gentleman.”
“Fuuuck.” Con dramatically collapses against me and presses his forehead to mine. “I’m going to have to buy him flowers, and dinner, and take him out for drinks, aren’t I?”
“Might need to buy him a pony, too.”
He kisses the tip of my nose then my forehead then my mouth. “Do you really have to go now?”
“Yes.”
I see the struggle he’s having that I can’t stay in this little bubble any longer. And I know he’s dealing with the fact that he can’t stay in this bubble for much longer either. He’s got bills to pay too.
“I love you,” he says, as we’re halfway through the woods, heading to my car.
“I love you too.”
“No. I mean I love you, Taylor. Like I don’t think my soul could survive a day without you.”
I know what he means because I feel the same way too. I also know that he’s going full throttle again because he thinks if he doesn’t say it, our past will overshadow things and that’s just not the case. Nor will I change my mind about wanting to be with him for the rest of our lives.
“I can’t live without you either,” I say. “So you’re not going anywhere. No matter what. Understand me?”
Yesterday he said if it didn’t work out between us, he’d leave and never come back. It wasn’t a threat; it was a safety switch. I’ve had to grow up in a town filled with the faces of people who hurt my feelings and broke my heart. He’s sparing me the pain of being in that crowd.
“I’m going to marry you,” I tell him. “And we’re going to have tons of babies.”
His eyes light up and a gorgeous smile spreads across his whiskered face. “Oh yeah?”
“Yup.” I pat his cheeks and hold my tears back. “Just not today. I’ve got stuff to do today.”
“But one day.”
“Yes.”
“Pinky promise.”
He holds out his little finger for me. I hook mine to it and then we do what we have always done—I lean in and kiss my thumb, and he leans in and kisses his.
We pause and I suddenly get this awful gut feeling that fate is going to try to fuck with us.
It makes my stomach twist. Conner must not feel it though because he drops our linked hands and kisses me hard.
Before I know it, I’m latched onto his torso like a sloth and we’re making out while he carries me up the hill and drags my cart behind us.
What a multitasker.
“I’ll see you later then, okay?” he asks once he sets me down by my car.
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
We’re awkward again and I can tell he has something more on his mind and won’t say. Maybe I do too and it’s just not the time.
“Bye, Flirt In Dirt.”
That breaks the tension, and he huffs a laugh and rolls his eyes. “Enjoy the material you stole for your spank bank.”
“I didn’t steal it. I literally directed and produced it. I own the rights.”
“It’s my body,” he argues.
I wave him off. “I own that now too. It’s all mine.”
Conner cracks a laugh and heads back to his campsite.
When I leave, I rub my aching chest and pray to the universe that something doesn’t mess this up for us.