15. Lizzy
Chapter 15
Lizzy
“ A re you sure you don’t need me to stay late and help you close up?” I ask Walt as he straightens a display of mystery novels at the front of the store. He’s been fussing over it for the past half an hour.
It’s been six weeks since that night at the library. Every day, I grow a little more confident in Noah’s love for me. I still have doubts and fears. But when I get scared, I bring them to him. We talk about the things that make me want to run, and he reminds me that I don’t have to.
I spend all of my nights at Noah’s house, but I haven’t officially moved in with him yet. Most of my stuff is still at Walt’s place. Despite all the time I spend with Noah, Walt doesn’t seem as lonely as I’d expected him to be.
He waves me off. “I have everything under control. You go have fun with your friends.”
I watch him for a moment to see if he squirms or gives any indication that he’s hiding something from me. As usual, Walt has an excellent poker face. But I’ve still sensed he’s not telling me something.
I worried it was his health, so I snooped through his things. The steamy text messages on his phone were completely unexpected. But also, it’s kind of sweet to know he has a girlfriend. “Is that what you’ll be doing? Will you be having fun with your friends?”
He grunts. “I’m an old man. I don’t like to go out.”
I’ve given him a million chances to tell me about his girlfriend over the past two weeks. She’s only listed in his phone as butterfly. I’ve tried to figure out who it could be, but whoever she is, they’re both being very careful. “That doesn’t mean you have to be alone. You could always text butterfly and see if she wants to stay over.”
Walt finally looks up from the display to scowl at me. “Mind your business, child.”
I laugh and shake my head. “I don’t know who it is, but I’m happy for you.”
After giving Walt a kiss on the cheek, I grab my bag and walk to Sadie’s bakery. We’re having a book club meeting again tonight.
By the time I arrive, the other girls are already here, munching on donuts and talking about their favorite sexy scenes from the books. No one has treated me any differently since the library, and this is what I love about my town. The people of Courage County accept you as you are and love you no matter how deep your scars run.
“All I’m saying is if a hot purple alien showed up and demanded I help him repopulate his planet, I’d have a few more questions,” Dotty says.
Evie gives a soft smile. Ever since she started dating Greer, she practically glows. It’s little wonder. The Maple cowboys treat their women like queens. Noah is protective and dotes on me so much that I’d never have to lift a finger again if I didn’t want to. Greer is the same way with Evie.
“The thing about love is that it changes you,” Evie says around a mouthful of donut with lemon filling. “When you find the one person you want to spend the rest of your life with, you can’t imagine anything different. He’s your forever.”
The truth of her words washes over me. Noah is my forever, and I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone else. I can’t imagine not waking up to his lazy smiles and soft kisses. I can’t imagine not holding his hand on Sunday drives or spending our nights together reading in his big library.
He’s my perfect cowboy. So far, he’s been content with me wearing his mom’s ring. He hasn’t pushed me to set a date or asked for anything. He’s only ever wanted to love me.
As soon as book club is over, I walk out to the parking lot to find Noah is already there. He always picks me up after book club. As usual, the sight of him sends a rush of butterflies through my stomach. This man drives me wild.
He greets me with a kiss to my forehead. “Did you have fun with your girls?”
I nod, sighing happily when he takes my hand and threads our fingers together. This man knows exactly what to say and do to make me feel secure.
I fill the drive back to Noah’s house with talk about my book. He’s never read any of the ones I read, but he’s more than happy to support me reading my alien smut. Probably because it makes me horny then we end up trying new things together in bed.
He parks in the driveway, and he’s reaching for his door when I put my hand on his forearm. All of this talk about my favorite scene in the book has made my panties damp. “I’ve always wondered what the big deal was about backseats.”
He glances over his shoulder, toward the rear of his truck cab. “Do you want me to help you satisfy your curiosity?”
I pull off my seatbelt then crawl into the backseat. At least, I try to. I end up stuck halfway and start laughing.
He helps me into the backseat and somehow, we manage the tight fit. His large frame seems even bigger in here, and I love how tiny I am compared to him. He crams his fingers into my panties. While he’s stroking my soft folds, he’s saying the filthiest things. It amazes me how he can say such crass words and still make me feel like the most precious woman in the world.
After he’s coaxed two orgasms from my body, he finally thrusts into my channel. His movements are slow and careful. He’s fighting to hold onto his control, trying to take care of me the way he always does. But the only thing I want is for this strong cowboy above me to lose control.
I love it when he goes feral, rutting into me and taking what he wants from my body. So, I say the one thing I know will break him. “I want your babies.”
That’s all it takes to destroy his iron control. He bucks wildly into me, his tone deep and raspy as he grits out, “Be a good girl and take every inch. Take all of it.”
His words push me over the edge. My pussy walls flutter as I clamp around him, coming with a sharp cry of pleasure. The world condenses down to just this moment with the rocking truck, the fogged-up windows, and his breath against my ear.
He comes as soon as I do, filling me with hot spurts of his seed. “I’m so proud of my good girl. Look at you taking every drop of my come.”
He reaches between us and smears it into my skin while I whimper. This man has a magical connection to my clit. All he has to do is look at me, and I’m on the verge of coming. He circles my swollen nub again with his rough fingertips.
I shake my head, my wig already long forgotten on the floor. I never feel self-conscious around this man or doubt his attraction to me. He’s made it clear from the first moment we met that I’m the only woman who captivates him.
“I can’t,” I gasp out.
“One more for me, sweet girl. You make me so happy when you take it for me,” he croons, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
I shatter one last time under his talented fingers. I shatter into a million pieces because I know it’s safe to do. Because I know that no matter how many times I shatter, he’ll always be there to pick up all the pieces.
I’m not sure how much time passes after my final orgasm. All I know is that I spend long minutes held in Noah’s arms. The whole cab smells of sweat and sex and a special musk that’s only our combined scents.
I’m stroking my fingertips down his arm lazily. I hum quietly as the soft haze of contentment and post-orgasm bliss wraps around me.
Noah presses a kiss to my sweaty temple. “What are you thinking?”
“I want to marry you,” I say the words quietly. I’m wearing his mom’s ring on my finger. I’m not nervous even though we’re talking about forever. He doesn’t just say he loves me. He’s always showing me he loves me. He takes care of me in a million ways, little and big.
“Good thing I already asked then.” He reaches for my hand and presses a soft kiss to my fingertips.
“No, soon. I want to marry you soon.” I lift my head so I can stare into his eyes. I want him to know how important he is to me. He’s always gone first. Always been the one reassuring me, and now I want to give him the same. “I’m in love with you, Noah Maple. The idea of forever used to scare me. I thought I wasn’t worthy. I thought I didn’t deserve love. But you made me see that I don’t have to be worthy to be loved. I can just be loved, and I want to spend the rest of my days loving you and loving each other.”
His full lips turn up at the corners. “Say when and where. I’ll be the one in the suit, holding out a gold band.”
“Just like that?” I ask, excitement filling my voice. Now that I’ve gotten the idea in my head, I can’t wait to be a Maple. I can’t wait to tell the world that I belong to this gruff cowboy and that he belongs to me.
“Just like that,” he reassures me with a gentle kiss.