Chapter Nine
Will
Funny how I avoided seeing her for months, but keeping my distance for a few hours had been torture. I’d been up since three in the morning, pacing throughout my apartment, trying to figure out what to say. How to make her see that I was in this for life and that no one would ever come between us.
“Um…Lanie. I don’t know where to begin.”
She tugs her hand from mine and huffs with that cute little sass that drives me wild. She stops in the middle of the sidewalk and crosses her arms under her ample breasts, pushing them upward. That thin top does nothing to hide how fucking hard her nipples are. “You can start with why you abandoned me for the past three weeks. I sent you a ‘congratulations’ and received a general thanks. Nothing else. All my messages were left unread.” Fuck…
“Babe, I don’t have the same phone anymore. Graduation morning, I accidentally ran it over. Due to security concerns, I didn’t save in a cloud, and my card in the phone was crushed. Because I was busy, I didn’t bother getting a new phone for three days. By then, you didn’t message me again.”
“Why would I have bothered?”
“I wanted to message you, but then I would have kidnapped you, tied you to my bed, and made love to you all night long.”
“You make it sound so terrible.”
He cups my elbow and pulls me into his arms, cupping my cheek. “Your father would have hunted me down. Besides, I promised my mother that I wouldn’t take advantage of you.”
“Is that what you were fighting about in the jewelry store?”
“Yes. She already had me make that promise and I’d broken it, so she was angry with me.”
“Oh.”
“It’s been difficult to keep my distance. I promise you that I’ve never touched another woman or given in to anyone’s flirtation or outright offers. I don’t know what you think you saw between Chrissy and me, but there was nothing going on.”
“I know. My father showed me the footage inside the salon.”
“Yeah, I forgot about that until your father called mine to tell us.”
“Yes, and I still want to punch her in the face for putting her hands on you and for even cutting your hair.”
“Normally Max does it, but I didn’t want you to see me looking like a bum, so I gave in. Maybe it’s time you learned to cut hair.”
“Maybe, I will,” she says, tilting her lips.
“Where do we go from here?” she asked.
“Well, I hope we start all over and begin with happily ever after.”
“I have a feeling we’re going to have lots of bumps in the road.”
“As long as you’re with me, I’ll do all I can to smooth out those bumps. So why have you been so busy? What have you been doing? I know nothing about you.”
I sigh because I have no secrets, but there’s a lot to tell. “I decided to get multiple degrees, and then I started taking over my father’s company little by little. I’m becoming vice president, and eventually I will be the president of the Riders. But for the past few weeks—or rather, months—my true occupation and focus has been this.” I stopped her in front of our house that I built.
“This is why you’ve been busy?” Her wonder and awe are captured in her voice and expression. Fuck, I’m so damn happy she loves it. I slide open the control panel and enter the code, opening the gate.
“Yes, doing this. Some things haven’t gone according to plan.” Her eyes widen and her lips twist. I take her hand and lead her through the gate, closing it behind us. As safe as I feel in Steeleville, we need our privacy.
“Am I going to fall through the floor?” she asks with a serious face before cracking a grin. The light in her eyes goes straight to my dick, but I have to hold it together so I decide to punish her for being a smart ass.
I pull her in close and my fingers clutch her waist, tickling her sides. “Oh my God, stop. Okay, okay. I quit. I’m sorry,” she giggles. Her laughing plea stops me as I hold on to her tightly, breathing in that perfection.
“Hardly a danger of falling through anything, I was talking about delays with delivery dates,” I growl against her ear, biting down on her lobe. Fuck, I’m tempted to fill her up on our front lawn.
“Lanie, please tell me you’re on birth control.”
“I am. My mom recommended it. You don’t want babies with me? I thought you’d be like the rest of the men here…like your father.”
“My father was much older when he had me. As much as I can’t wait to start our family, we have plenty of time for it. Besides—as I recall, you have ambitions that don’t include having little ones just yet.”
“Rett, I love you.”
“Melanie, my love for you will never fade. You’re everything to me, and to know you love me has made my existence.” I cradle her face with my calloused hands and slide them into her hair, bringing her lips to mine and kissing the lips that I’ve missed so much. “My world.”
She moans as my mouth connects with hers. Our hearts race, and my hunger for her only grows. I bracket my arm around her waist and carry her up the four wooden porch steps. As much as I want to take her inside and fill her womb, it’s not time. Walking over to the swing, I sit my future wife in my lap.
She pulls back and tilts her head with a bit of surprise. “Um…we’re not going inside?”
“Not yet. I can’t be trusted.”
“Why? Are you going to deflower this poor, innocent damsel?” She gasps in horror.
“You have no idea. I told you, sweetheart, that the thought of being with you drives me insane. Every day, every hour, every minute away from you is insanely painful. I spent hours upon hours working to distract myself. I’d either be in class, in the gym, or building something to keep myself from thinking about you and wanting to hold you again. Those stolen moments before Christmas were a mistake and a fucking blessing all at once. I got to taste you and know instead of just guessing. They haunted my dreams, filled my fantasies.” She squirms in my lap.
“You’re not helping,” she whines.
“I know. Trust me, I know.” My hands hold her still on my thick rod that’s painfully hard. If her father pulled up right now, he’d know damn well what was going on. Maybe it would be better to take her into our home.
“How about we tour our home?”
“Our home?”
“Yes, my lovely Melanie—our home. I wouldn’t have built this for anyone else.”
“I know you said it, but I still find it unfathomable.”
“I’m not sure why. Have you met our fathers? It’s only natural that we both give the most and accept the best.” Her arms wrap around my neck, squeezing tightly as she kisses my chin. “I’m so in love with you, Rett. This can’t be real.”
“Why are you waiting for the other shoe to drop?” I ask her. We’ve lived with parents who had spectacular marriages.
“I guess because we’ve lived a charmed life, and everything can’t be this great all the time.”
“How was the past year?”
“It was brutal. Sad.”
“How was yesterday?”
“One of the worst days of my life.”
“Well, then, I’d say not everything is always peaches and cream, sweetheart. We’re going to have bad times. Don’t worry them into fruition. Let’s just live for today. Remember—you’re starting college soon, and that means a lot of time away from me.”
“I’m still coming home every day.”
“And I’ll be working long hours, so we’ll both be tired and grumpy, which means bad attitudes at times. See…don’t worry, because we’ll have plenty of strife to keep the pure, unadulterated happiness at bay.” She swats my hand.
“You are an ass.”
“See? There it is.” The giggle is back, and I want to hold her forever. Can a man be this obsessed? Is it even right? It shouldn’t be and probably isn’t, but ask me if I care because I sure don’t. Melanie is my world and my reason for breathing every day.
“Now, come along, Ms. Brandon. It’s time I took the birthday girl for a tour of her home so I can remove her clothes and explore her in her birthday suit.”
“We don’t need a tour for that. Just a little privacy and hopefully a nice soft surface.”
“I believe you’re trying to kill me.”
“Considering how long I’ve dreamed of this, how many long nights my giant teddy and I snuggled as I imagined he was you, I doubt you’re the only one in need.”
“Fuck, baby. Tell me about you and your teddy bear.”
“Oh, you don’t want to know. You’ll make me get rid of him.”
“No, I won’t. Why do you think I bought him, Lanie? I wanted you to rub your sweet little pussy all over it, grinding on it while you thought of me at night. Were you worked up? Needy?”
“Yes. So many nights I went to bed reading books and thinking about what you’d do to me if we were alone. I remembered the way you kissed me. Your hands on my breasts at the store. Your breath on my throat. My pussy was dripping with so much need that I ached for you to make it stop, but you weren’t there. Only your gift. The one you demanded I keep to take your place while you were gone.”
“Tell me. Did you come on the bear?” She blushes, her rounded cheeks turning a reddish pink. “Answer me, beautiful.”
“Yes. Many times.” She gasps as my fingers tease her panties. They’re soaked, drenched with desire as she recounts the orgasms that I helped her get. Damn. I’m so hard right now, I could come, knowing that she pleasured herself like I hoped she would. I’m almost pissed at myself for not putting a camera in the bear, but that would have been going too damn far. I love her too much to stoop to such an invasion of her privacy.
“I would have loved the show,” I grunt. My body aches to fill her with every inch of my cock, but we have to take this slow for both our sakes. I might have rubbed out a thousand times, but that doesn’t mean I’ve got any idea how to last inside her perfect, untouched warmth.
“Where is the bedroom?”
“This way,” I take her hand in mine and lead her upstairs to the master bedroom. Her mouth falls open when she sees the double doors. “Yes, I wanted our room to be massive.”
“Why? What do you have planned, Mr. Steele?”
“Nothing major, but you need a large closet, and I wanted to include a desk in here as well.” I open the room, and she gasps.
“It’s stunning.”
“That it is,” I answer, but my eyes haven’t left her perfect face.
“Oh, William Garrett Steele. Take me to bed before I demand you take me standing up.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I slide my hands under her ass and lift her over to the bed, growling as my fingers feel the soft curves. Fuck, my body has never felt so alive. Having waited for her makes this moment so much better. As I sit her on the edge of the bed, my hands send her tee upward. “You feel so good, Lanie. I’m going to worship you, fuck you, and love you.”
“Please. I’ve missed you, Will. I’ve longed for you in ways I don’t fully understand. Please show me.” I push her down, pressing my lips to hers, kissing a path along Melanie’s jaw and her throat. I lick a path up and down the column of her neck. Light moans fall from her mouth as the bed depresses from my weight on hers. Sweat forms on my brow as my body heats. I need to get both of us undressed before I lose it.
I stand up and tear my shirt off over my head, tossing it on the floor. Melanie’s eyes widen and her mouth parts. “Wow,” she gasps, reaching out for me, hooking her hand into my waistband.
“Whoa, gentle. You’re going to hurt yourself.”
“Big boy, I’m totally fine. I just need you naked.”
“Shimmy out of your tiny shorts,” I growl, gripping my belt buckle and sliding it through the metal hook and clasp until it comes undone. It clinks, and her attention is once again drawn to my waist. “Eager for me to lose my pants, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” Her pearly whites grip the edge of her bottom lip. “Rett.”
“You’re taking too damn long for me,” I growl, reaching down and snagging the bottom of her shorts and tugging them off her body. My dick jumps against my boxers as I stare at the wet patch between her thighs.
“You’re the one taking too long, Mr. Steele. I can’t keep waiting for you.” I bend down and slap her pussy.
“You will wait, baby girl. I’ve waited so damn long for this, years of jerking my cock to thoughts of getting between these slick, slender thighs, hoping to taste this juicy pussy before I stuff you. You’re going to be a good girl whether you like it or not because if you misbehave, I’ll tie your ass up and take my time licking this tight little hole with my tongue until you pass out.”
She whimpers, rolling her hips on the bed, grinding her ass on the mattress. “Damn you, William. No wonder you never texted me.”
“Damn right. Every message would start off sweet and would have ended up with how much I wanted to be deep inside you,” I promise as I slide both my pants and underwear off, standing in front of the woman I love completely naked. “Now—time to tear these panties off because I’m greedy and I want to eat before I fill you up.”
I’m on my knees, parting her thighs. My face brushes against her bare mound, and I breathe her in, feeling a rush of excitement and desire after years of longing. “Damn, baby.” I swipe my tongue and growl as the first taste is enough to make me nut. Sweat beads down my back as I drive my tongue into her sweetness.