Chapter 10
Ten
“Remember to listen to your doctors.”
Stone released his mother from their hug, knowing that she wasn’t ready to leave, but for his sanity, and Mae’s, she needed to. “I’ve got Mae to keep me in line, so please don’t worry. Thank you for being here, but Rhett is going to kill me himself if you don’t get in the car.”
“He’s telling the truth, Ma.” Stone’s brother opened the passenger door for their mother. “We know he’s okay. He’ll keep being okay. So we need to let him get back to his life here.”
“Are you sure I shouldn’t lease a little place here for a few months? Rhett can drive back and I can just be here. What if you have a setback? Need more help managing things?”
“Then I’ll lean on my family here.”
His mother smiled as she patted his arm. “Okay. I get it. Mom is smothering, friends are better.”
Stone sighed. “Not better, Mom. I’ll always be thankful you were there when I woke up.”
Before he could lean in for another hug, Stone’s mother had him wrapped in her arms. “My sweet boy. All those days and nights spent worried sick over you when you were in the service, and nothing happened. I haven’t had to have an anxious ache in my body since you got out.
But that phone call.” She sighed, pulling away from him just far enough that he could see the sparkle of tears in her eyes. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”
“I have no plans to, Mom. I promise.”
“Good.” His mom turned to Mae, pulling her into an embrace. “And you, sweetheart. You are the best! Thank you for loving my son and helping him get better. I know I’m leaving him in the best hands.”
“Thank you, Cheryl. I hope you both have a safe trip home.”
They stood, watching and waving until the car was around the corner. Then, Stone wrapped his hand around Mae’s and tugged her along behind him all the way to the elevator.
“Thank God. I didn’t think we were ever going to get them to leave.” Mae’s eyes went wide as Stone pressed her against the wall, his mouth slowly lowering to line up with hers.
“Why the rush to get rid of them?”
He pulled back, his eyes laser focused on hers. “I think you know why. I might still be healing, but that doesn’t mean my appetite for you has completely gone away. I’m starving, Michaela. Don’t deny me this.”
“Well we certainly can’t do anything in the lobby.”
“God, I wish I could run up the stairs.”
“Don’t even think about it,” she scolded.
The seconds ticked by slower than molasses as they got into the elevator, took it up to the apartment and tried their hardest not to make any noise in the hallway. Finally, they were back inside, and Stone kicked the door shut, locking the damn thing for good measure.
“Your doctors told us not to push it with physical exertion,” Mae said as she walked towards the living room.
“I don’t think you sitting on my face is going to be all that physically taxing for me. In fact, I’d count that as rest and relaxation time, wouldn’t you?”
“I am not doing that!”
Stone’s fingers curled around Mae’s wrist as he pulled her towards the sofa.
Stubborn woman. She’d barely kissed him since he’d been home.
There was no way he was letting that go on any longer.
Mae wasn’t his home nurse, although the thought of her in a sexy little outfit, checking on his injuries, had blood rushing to his already rock hard… situation.
He turned, sitting on the cushion while gripping her hips, pulling Mae down onto his lap at the same time he landed in the seat. A small pull at the injury in his belly had him wincing, which, as terrible luck would have it, Mae saw. She immediately pulled away, but his hands were faster.
“Quit wiggling on my lap unless you want this to all end faster and a lot more embarrassing than I’m prepared for.”
“You’ll hurt yourself doing that! Let me up so I can check on your wounds.”
“They’re fine,” he growled. “You heard what Jake said this morning. I’m healing better than anyone thought, he’s so impressed by me, I’m a miracle…
and you know what I heard from that? I can finally satisfy my woman again.
Now that? That’s just what the doctor ordered.
So you better just stay right where you are. ”
“It’s my job to make sure you don’t hurt yourself and mess up your recovery.”
“No.”
“Excuse me?” Ah, there was the spitfire he loved.
Watching her get riled up was like watching the sunlight stream down on a wide open field after a summer thunderstorm.
There was something about the way her face lit up— bright, brilliant pink dusting across the apples of her cheeks— that just pulled his chest tight.
Not in a bad or painful way. In a way that screamed he was meant to spend the rest of his life chasing that color.
“You heard me. No. You are not a nurse. You are not my caregiver. You are my girlfriend. The woman I love. The woman who I make love to. I’m not going to lose you to this, Mae. To the chore of taking care of me. I don’t want you to see me like that.”
“Like what?”
“A burden,” he admitted. “We aren’t going to lose the incredible bond we have over this.”
“Of course we’re not. You are not a chore.” She leaned over his shoulder, her fingers running through his hair as she kissed along his jaw. “We’re just going to take things slow.”
His hands settled on her hips as her lips crashed into his. Her tongue ran along the seam and he opened to her.
She moaned as her hips started moving, and all the blood in his body rushed south. His dick was painfully hard, practically begging him to flip Mae over to sink inside her. But she wanted to go slow.
Slow… his hand drifted over her belly, teasing the top of her pants away from her skin.
“Sully…” she warned.
“I need to touch you, Michaela. Let me touch you. Please. Let me make you come.”
“Yes,” she whispered as her head tipped back, exposing her long, slender neck to him. Stone nipped and licked all along her skin as his hand rested patiently at the junction of her hip. She rolled her hips over him again and he nearly lost control.
“Fuck!” Stone groaned. “You’re going to make me come just from rubbing your perfect pussy all over my lap.”
Mae giggled, biting her lip and she guided his hand to her core. His thumb found her clit, but he let Mae take control. She looked so goddamn incredible, riding his hand, taking all the pleasure she could get from his touch.
Before he could think, Mae moved, pushing back on his legs slightly so her hand could access the waistband of his pants. The instant her fingers brushed over his painfully hard erection, he felt the familiar pull starting at the base of his spine.
“I’m going to… I need you to come for me, Mae. Don’t want…” Fuck. He was pathetic. An absolute pathetic puddle for the woman that he loved.
“I’m close. Just keep going… a little more…” She arched her back, his fingers slipping into her further than before. With his thumb still circling her clit, Stone curled up into the spot that he knew would send her over the edge.
Mae bit her lip, her face flushing as her legs clamped down around his hand. Her hand moved up and down his shaft, but the second she swiped across his crown, he was falling over the edge with her.
She rolled to the side of him, snuggling with her head pressed against his shoulder.
“You okay?” she whispered, her beautiful chocolate eyes looking up at him.
“I’ve never been better.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “But that was only a warm-up, beautiful. I’ve got plans for the rest of today.”
She rolled her eyes and laughed. “No way. We’ve got a welcome home party to get ready for.” Her gaze dropped to his lap. “And we need to get you cleaned up before we go anywhere.”
Stone laughed. “Shower first. Nap. Then party planning. Come here…”
Corn… check. Rolls and buns… check. Blueberries, because the secret little blueberry she was carrying in her belly was insistent that she have them…. check!
Mae made her way through the list on her phone, when a message from Lily popped up.
Lily:
Please tell me you told him.
…
Lily:
MAE! He’s been home for days. It’s time.
I don’t know why I haven’t! I just keep hearing Dr. Anderson’s warning over and over again. I don’t want to upset him. He’s physically so strong, but his memories aren’t coming back at all. What if I do something to mess that up?
Lily:
You deserve to have support. And you need to be scheduling your first appointment. You’ll want him there, won’t you? I mean, I’m happy to go, too —
“Everything okay?”
Mae jumped, nearly throwing her phone into the next aisle as Stone placed a box of oatmeal into the cart.
She had to force herself not to make a disgusted face.
He loved oatmeal, and she regularly ate it for breakfast…
before their baby decided she absolutely would not be consuming it for the duration of her pregnancy.
“Of course,” she smiled. “Lily was just asking what else we need for tomorrow’s party.”
“I don’t even know why we are hosting one. It’s not like Cap’s going to let me go back to work, or I remember what happened so we can get whoever the hell decided to shoot me.”
“Let’s not focus on that. No sense in getting upset at something we can’t control right now.” Mae patted his shoulder. “Alright, we’ve got the corn for the salad and the rolls and buns for the stuff on the grill. I just need to grab some bacon for the baked beans and we should be good to go.”
“I think that’s probably plenty, Mae. We aren’t feeding a small army.”
She scoffed. “It’s like you’ve never seen my brother eat. He’ll expect an entire pan of our grandmother’s cornbread just for himself.”
His hand slid around her waist, stopping from pushing the cart towards her next destination.
“What?”
“You don’t have to do all this. You shouldn’t be doing this all on your own.”
“I’m not. Hawk is taking care of all the grill stuff and Lily is in charge of drinks. I’m literally doing a couple of the side dishes and making sure our apartment is clean. I can handle it. Especially to celebrate you coming home. Trust me, handsome. It’s worth it.”
“You just seem…”
Her eyebrows raised.
“Think carefully about how you finish that sentence,” she teased.
His finger reached up to trace her cheekbone. She watched as his eyes moved over her skin, which she knew looked more pale than usual. Although she hadn’t been feeling sick to her stomach since he woke up, thank you little nugget, her body was still working overtime to juggle everything.
“I’m good. Getting better now that you are home and on the mend. It’s all fine, I promise. Let’s get what we need and go home. I’m thinking we can repeat our stress relief from earlier if you’re still feeling… stressed.”
The fire she loved so much flared in his eyes.
“Which aisle has the beans?”
“We don’t need beans.” She scoffed. “We need bacon, for the beans we already have at home.”
“Bacon, right… Bacon, bacon, bacon… Where is the damn bacon?” Stone threaded his fingers through her hand, taking control of the shopping cart. They strolled through the store, her phone buzzing occasionally with more messages.
She shivered as they made their way into the refrigerated section of the small grocery store. Stone stepped up to pick the packages of bacon out, so Mae turned, trying to find some warmth a few steps away from the coolers. That’s when her eyes landed on a familiar face.
“Hey, Colt. Working tonight?” Mae asked.
Behind her, Stone turned, dropping the meat into the cart before nodding at the sheriff’s deputy.
“Nah. Got the night off.”
“Making cookies?” Mae observed his basket full of baking ingredients.
“Yup. It’s my ex-wife’s recipe. Been having a hankering for them for weeks. Finally couldn’t take it any longer.”
“How did I not know you were married?”
“It was over a long time before you guys ever got to town. But at least she left me with the recipe for her seven layer cookies. These things are sinful. Her mom made some for our wedding and I’ve never been able to let them go.”
“That’s really cute.” Mae wrapped her arms around her body.
“I won’t hold you two up, but it’s good to see you back in town, Stone.”
“Thanks, Colt. I appreciate all you and your family did after I was shot.”
“It’s nothing. Ma likes organizing community drives, and we knew everyone from Montgomery Defense wouldn’t want to be thinking about cooking meals and all that nonsense while you were laid up at the hospital.”
“The meals were all really yummy. I’m working on thank you cards for everyone who participated in the meal train,” Mae shared.
“That’s really nice, but I don’t think anyone expects a thanks. It’s just neighbors looking out for neighbors.”
“The best part of living in a small town,” Stone said. “But speaking of that, has anyone come forward with any leads from that night?”
Colt looked down at his basket. “No, I’m sorry. It’s basically dead end after dead end.”
“Let’s not use that word,” Mae cringed as a shudder rolled through her body.
“I wish there was something more I could be doing. My damn head…”
“We’ll find something that will tip the scales in our favor. We aren’t giving up yet,” Colt said.
“And neither am—” Stone’s voice dropped away, Mae’s head whipping over her shoulder to make sure he was okay. She turned, watching the color fade from his face. “Sorry… one second.”
His eyes were glued to the end of the aisle where someone had just turned the corner.
“Everything okay?” Colt called out after him, but Stone just kept walking. He stood at the end of the aisle for a minute before walking back towards Mae.
“What was that about? Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah. That was so strange. I thought I saw someone I knew… but it couldn’t have been him. Probably my mind just playing tricks on me.”
He wrapped his arm around Mae’s shoulder, holding his free hand out to Colt who promptly shook it.
“Good luck with the cookies, man. I’ll let you know if I remember anything.”
Without another word, Stone took the shopping cart with Mae still tucked by his side, confused as hell over what just happened.