Chapter 43
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
NASH
I had daydreamed what it’d be like after I finally told Rory I loved her. We wouldn’t be able to get our clothes off fast enough, and I’d fuck her wherever we stood because I’d need to be inside her as soon as possible. To hear her utter those three little words while I was buried deep.
In reality, we’d been surrounded by dozens of people for hours, everyone congratulating the two of us—first on our business success, and then, upon closer inspection of our clasped hands or our near proximity to each other, on our relationship.
We’d gotten some raised eyebrows, and I had no doubt the gossip mill would be cranking like crazy, but Rory didn’t seem to be bothered by that, so I couldn’t find a flying fuck to give. She was mine, and everyone in Havenbrook knew it.
My dad had made an appearance at the party—this time, thankfully not offering to sleep with Rory. Things were strained between us, and no doubt would be for a while, but we were talking. That was something.
Even Rory’s father had ambled over to offer his praise. Something that’d been a shock to her, if the look on her face was anything to go by. Caroline had stood next to Richard, her arm locked through his as she beamed at Rory…while simultaneously giving Richard talking cues through not so subtle pinches. I didn’t care if Richard delivered the message at gunpoint so long as he did so because I just wanted Rory to be happy.
And…she was. It radiated from her.
Whether I was chatting with a prospective client or being glared at by Drew—no doubt in thanks to Rory’s threats to castrate him for letting me show up unannounced—I’d kept my eyes locked on her the entire time. The difference in her demeanor between this party and Gran’s—or hell, every other party she’d ever thrown or even been at—was remarkable.
Gone was the pretending. Gone were the smiles that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Gone was the buttoned-up girl I’d lusted after from afar, and in her place was the real girl I’d fallen in love with.
Hours after the first guest had arrived, the yard had finally cleared out, the only stragglers being Rory’s sisters and me. Rory stood under the canopy with Will and Mac as they gathered the cloths from the picnic tables, her head tossed back in laughter and her eyes alight in genuine happiness.
A happiness I’d go to the ends of the earth to make sure she felt every day for as long as she’d have me.
“You’re lookin’ at Momma like you wanna kiss her.”
I glanced down to find Ava smiling up at me, Ella standing between the two of us, her face pinched in a grimace as she split a look from me to Rory. “I kinda do. Does that bother you?”
Ava shook her head at the same time Ella yelled, “Gross!”
I laughed loud enough to draw Rory’s attention, her eyes softening as she stared at the three of us. And damn if I didn’t melt a little bit when she looked at me like that.
Ella heaved a sigh and leaned against my leg. “This is gonna be happenin’ a lot, isn’t it?”
“Momma already talked to us about it,” Ava said, elbowing her sister. “I dunno why you’re so surprised.”
My eyebrows shot up my forehead. “She did?”
She’d wanted the whole town to know that she loved me, but somehow knowing she’d discussed the two of us with her daughters—with the two most important people in her life—made it all…real.
“What, um… What’d she say?” I scratched my jaw, hoping my eagerness wasn’t obvious.
Ava shrugged. “That she loves bein’ with you, and she hopes you love bein’ with her.”
“I do. A lot.”
Ava offered me a smile so much like her momma’s it nearly knocked me on my ass. “I’m glad you make her happy.”
I reached out and rested my hand on her head. “Me too.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re gonna be around more so you can take me fishin’.” Ella looked up at me, her lips pursed. “You have a fishin’ pole, dontcha?”
“Yes,” I said with a laugh, lifting my eyes to meet Rory’s across the yard. She studied the three of us, her head cocked to the side and hand resting against her chest, as if she loved every bit of what she was looking at.
The feeling was mutual.
Rory
I stepped out of Ella’s room, quietly closing the door behind me. It’d been a long day—hell, it’d been a long couple days—and the girls had conked out just as soon as their heads had hit their pillows. The last partygoers had finally filtered out. Mac and Will had left a bit ago after helping us clean up. And that meant Nash and I were alone. Finally.
He stood at the end of the hall, leaning his shoulder against the wall. “They asleep?”
I nodded as I twisted around, the doorknob gripped in my hand. “Just us now.”
He pushed off the wall and prowled toward me until he was so close, his breaths swept across my cheek. “Remember how you had plans to tell me how much you loved me in front of everyone?”
“Mhmm,” I said, my body going boneless as he kissed his way up my neck to my ear.
He nipped my earlobe. “You didn’t do that once the whole party.”
On a gasp, my eyes popped open. “ Dammit !” I hissed. “That’s two fails in one day.” I fisted his T-shirt and tugged. “Are you upset?”
“A little bit. I have an idea for how you can make it up to me, though,” he said, one hand palming my ass as he pulled me up against him before walking me backward down the hall.
I raised my eyebrows. “Does your idea happen in my bedroom?”
“As a matter of fact…” He nipped my bottom lip as he reached behind me to open my door. “Before we get started, though… How hard do the girls sleep?”
I tilted my head to the side to make room for his questing lips. “A tornado could come through, and they’d be oblivious.”
“Probably a good thing, considering you’re just as loud as one.”
“That’s a rude thing to say.”
“Truth, though.”
I couldn’t deny it, so I didn’t respond. Somewhere along the way in the dozens of times we’d slept together, I’d gotten comfortable in my skin. And I’d always felt that comfort around him. From the beginning, I’d been myself, completely. He’d welcomed all the broken, bruised, cracked, messed-up pieces of me. And he loved me in spite of them. Loved me because of them.
He slid his hands under my shirt and lifted it off my body, tossing it to the side. With his lips against the swell of my breast, he asked, “Remember the first time I fucked those moans out of you?”
“Nash…” His name came out in a sigh as I tipped my head back, offering myself to him completely.
He undid the fly of my jeans and pushed them down my legs, kneeling in front of me, his face level with my panties. “Now you’re groanin’ with every thrust of my cock inside you.”
I rested my hands on his shoulders and raised an eyebrow. “Maybe this time I should keep my lips sealed, just to prove a point.”
He smiled and brought his finger to the center of my body, brushing it ever so lightly down my crease. I bit my lip to stifle the moan that wanted desperately to break free.
“That sounds like a challenge to me, princess.” He looked up at me, his head tipped to the side. “I think you remember what happened the last time you issued me a challenge.”
Yep, my entire life spun off its axis. I’d wanted to learn more about myself, to figure out who I was and what I wanted. I’d done all that and more. I’d figured out how to be unapologetically me, figured out how to go after what I wanted in spite of what anyone else thought.
And somewhere along the way, I’d fallen in love with an amazing man I never saw coming.
“I don’t care what you do as long as you do it inside me.”
“ Rory ,” he said with feigned shock. “You kiss your momma with that mouth?”
“Stop teasin’,” I nearly whined, my fingers pulling at his T-shirt in an effort to get it off. “It’s been too long.”
Thirty-one days, but who was counting? Oh, right, I was. Sex before Nash had been a chore, something I’d put on my calendar and participated in because I’d felt like I had to. Now, though…being with him was something I craved.
“Too long since what?” he asked, sliding my panties down. “Since I’ve licked your pussy?” He lifted my leg over his shoulder, palming my ass and tugging me closer until he could swipe his tongue through my center.
“ Yes ,” I moaned, tipping my head back as I closed my eyes. I threaded my fingers through his hair, whether in an effort to hold him to me or just to hold myself up, I didn’t know.
He pulled back, blowing a gentle breath against where I ached for him. “Too long since I’ve had my fingers in you?” He brushed his thumb over my clit, then slid two fingers inside me and pumped in a slow, maddening rhythm.
“Nash,” I panted, my orgasm already breathing down my neck. “Nash…” It seemed to be the only word I could produce. The only thought my mind could conjure up. Nash, Nash, Nash .
I needed him. Needed to be with him, skin touching skin, as close as we could get. Needed the safety and comfort of his arms encircling me, his sweet, dirty words in my ear as we came apart.
No sooner had I thought it than he was standing, scooping me up in his arms and spreading me out on the bed before him. With eyes locked on mine, he rid himself of his clothes in quick, efficient movements and saw to our protection. When his cock was sheathed, he swiped it through me, rubbing the head in slow, maddening circles around my clit.
“Your pussy’s dripping for me, princess.”
My body still flushed when he spoke like that, but I didn’t hide. Didn’t cover my face in hope that I could disappear into the blankets. Instead, I locked my eyes with him, the subtle dip of my chin enough of an answer to make him groan.
“I’ve missed you. Missed these tits.” He sucked one of my nipples hard and deep, releasing it with a pop. “And this ass.” Digging his fingers in, he lifted me straight off the bed and closer to his straining erection. “But most of all, I’ve missed sinking inside this pussy. Missed how she milks my cock when I’m so good to her.” With every word, he sank into me, rocking in slow, shallow thrusts until I opened enough to let him plunge deep, his hips finally resting against mine.
Sharp, jagged breaths were ripped from my lungs, and I clung to him, my hands in his hair and his groan reverberating against my neck. He already had me so keyed up, I was looking over the edge into oblivion, just waiting to fall.
“You gonna give me that, Rory? Gonna come all over me and remind my cock exactly where it belongs?”
A startled gasp escaped me, my body thrumming at his words, his thrusts, his…everything. When he ground down hard on my clit, I tightened my thighs around his hips and shattered. “ Nash . I love you, love you, love you.”
He groaned, holding my head between his hands, his thumbs caressing my cheeks. Our eyes were locked, lips parted and pressed against each other, as if he were trying to inhale my words. Pull them right into his body so they’d never leave. With a final thrust, he sank deep, my name on his lips as his release pulsed inside me.
I held him for long moments, his body heavy on mine, as I trailed my fingers up and down his back.
“Just wanna stay inside you all night long,” he mumbled into my neck. “Sleep with your pussy wrapped all tight and hot around me and then fuck you again when you start rockin’ those hips on me like you are.”
I bit my lip and stilled my movements, unaware I’d even been making them. How could I still be hungry for him while he was inside me, our bodies still quivering from our climaxes? “You could do that, you know.”
“Not with condoms, I can’t.”
I lifted a shoulder and tunneled a hand through his hair. “We don’t need ’em. I have an IUD.” We’d discussed our health records a while back—I’d had to get a full check after finding out about Sean’s evening activities—but we hadn’t broached the no-condom subject.
Slowly, he lifted his head until he peered down at me, his eyes narrowed. “You mean to tell me I could’ve been bare inside you this whole time, and you’re just now lettin’ me know?”
I smiled. “Had to make you work for it.”
“Ah, princess. You know how good I work for it.” He pulled out so fast, the void left me gasping. Before I could ask where he was going, he was back, sliding his bare cock through my wetness and sinking inside me again. We both groaned when he hooked my knees over his elbows and bottomed out. “And I plan on showing you several more times tonight. And again tomorrow. And for the foreseeable—and not so foreseeable—future.”
I dug my fingernails into his biceps, desperate for every bit of the future he promised. Wanted it with every ounce of my being. Wanted to go all in, for once not worrying about what others thought, about all the should s or what was “right.”
It was day one of my new, improved, not-so-perfect life, and I was ready.