Micah
Now come here and tie me up.
Every morning since Christmas, would open Fletcher’s notebook and read a page of what he’d written. She never went in order, picked a random section and read. The first few times she stumbled across little notes he’d written addressed to her— We drove past a field of dandelions this morning and I thought of you. Thought of that tattoo I loved to trace on your hip. Then she read a few lyrics, all of which were far more innuendo filled that she expected. There was even a sloppy sketch he’d done of her in the margins of one page.
It blew her mind that all those years ago, while they fooled around in his hotel room, Fletcher had fallen in love with her. Not an infatuation or a crush. No, that’s not how he’d do it. He fell, without a parachute or any hope of being caught when he landed. For sixteen years, he held onto those thoughts and feelings, loving her from a distance. Like it was the most natural thing in the world.
If he knew about her new routine, he didn’t say anything. Falling asleep and waking up in his arms, the scent of him wrapped around her was exactly what she wanted every day. They’d drink coffee and make breakfast, then while Fletcher was at the store, would spend the day with Emery and they’d do all kinds of random things that ranged from watching a movie or shopping to attempting a new recipe. The holidays were always a time for mother and daughter to be together, because with school and her clinic closed for the break, they had loads of hours in the day to do nothing.
Today, however, was going to be different. After their last session together, Mrs. Hershey had insisted that stop by their book club that evening. While she wouldn’t do this with her clients, her entire relationship with Mrs. Hershey was different. Besides, she knew the book like the back of her hand and she figured it might be fun. When she’d told Fletcher about it, he’d been so excited. Ever since they uncovered her Santa kink, he’d been doing research on books to read. His nightstand had a few paperbacks with shirtless men in Santa garb and she knew that he had some ebooks on his phone as well. The man was committed to finding ways to drive wild. She showed her appreciation just as enthusiastically.
The book club pick, however, she’d forbidden him from reading, because she wanted it to be a surprise.
“Think they’ll read out all the filthy bits?”
She chuckled at Fletcher’s question, swiping mascara on. “I’m sure if you ask Mrs. Hershey, she’d be happy to provide. But knowing her, she’ll improv most of it.”
“I’m really looking forward to meeting this woman, especially with all the stories you’ve told me.” Fletcher stood beside her in front of the bathroom mirror as he rolled up the sleeves of his black shirt.
“She’s going to flirt up a storm, so please let me down gently if she works her magic.”
Chuckling, Fletcher nodded. “That’s why we’re doing dinner after, so I can break up with you and find my joy with the infamous Mrs. Hershey.”
Smiling, she straightened up and put her mascara away, blinking at her reflection. “It’s such a shame that our second proper date out of the house would be the end of it all.”
“The heart and body wants what it wants, love bug.”
Their eyes met in the mirror and she shook her head, playfully smacking his butt as she walked out of the bathroom. There had been a time in her life when she would have been insecure in this relationship—or any relationship, for that matter—but now she knew that anybody would be lucky to be with her. She knew her worth, her power and her beauty, she knew what she brought to the table and how good of a partner she was.
Which was why joking about Fletcher running off with Mrs. Hershey had become a thing over the last few days. It was always fun to see how he responded to her ribbing. He never disappointed either.
Shrugging out of her bathrobe, she tugged on her shape wear. It was a constant battle, pulling the damn thing up her hips and worse taking it off after wearing it all day. But it was worth it, because she needed a little assistance now and then when she wore certain dresses. Because it was also a date night, had whipped out one of her newer thrift store purchases and slid it on. The full length floral wrap dress was soft against her skin and fluttered around her legs as she held everything together, thanks to the buttons in all the strategic places.
“Fletch, need your help.”
He stepped out of the bathroom and froze, his eyes doing a full sweep of her. “Fuck me, love bug, you look incredible.”
“I know, now come here and tie me up.”
“You know the way to my heart, Mick.”
She rolled her eyes, laughing at the way he stared at her. “The dress, Fletch. And maybe if you play your cards right, I’ll let you tie me up when we get home.”
“Guess I’m ignoring Mrs. Hershey tonight then.”
Laughing, she turned around and gave Fletcher her back. He tugged on the thick bands at her sides, slowly wrapped them around her front and then fiddled with it in the back for a minute. “There you go,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to her neck as his hands slid down over her hips. “Wet dream come to life.”
She smiled and leaned back against him, his arms sliding around her waist as they swayed slowly. “Some days I’m still shocked that this is my life.”
“Having your very own stallion?”
“Having you as my stallion.” turned in his arms and set her hands on his shoulder. “When I first saw you perform, I decided that drummers were my type. Shockingly enough, there aren’t all that many great or handsome drummers in the world.”
“We’re a rare breed,” he agreed, brushing a kiss over her cheek, down to her jaw and neck.
hummed and tilted her head. “And then you called me backstage, took me to your hotel room and I had the best sex of my life.”
“Best sex of my life too, Mick.”
“Took us sixteen years, but we found our way back to that.”
He leaned back and searched her eyes. “For the record, I am only with you for the sex.”
“Same,” she said, blowing a raspberry. “I mean, calloused hands, scratchy beard and magical dick are exactly the reasons I keep you around.”
He nodded, but could see the smile in his eyes. “Good, wouldn’t want you to think this was about anything else.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it. Best sex is enough at our age.”
“I’d definitely rather blow out my back than anything else.”
“Great,” she said with a firm nod, pressing her lips together to hide her smile.
“I might also love you a little.”
“Don’t blame you, sweetheart. I’m fucking irresistible,” she teased as a soft growl built in his chest. She held his face in her hands and grinned. “Now, let’s go see Mrs. Hershey, read some smut, eat great food and then you can put that magical dick to good use.”
She stepped out of his arms and stepped in front of the full length mirror to fluff her hair and straighten out her dress. watched him through the reflection and smiled as his eyes did a slow trail of her body. When he finally looked up and met her eyes, he unleashed his beautiful smile and her heart stuttered.
“Hey Fletch.”
“Mick,” he replied.
“I love you a little too.”
“Don’t blame you, honey.”
There was something to be said for sitting in a book club with a bunch of septuagenarians as they read and discussed erotica. Even though she’d read the book and every sex scene, listening to Mrs. Hershey and her friends discuss penis size, shape and girth while gesturing to the few male members of the book club was weird as fuck. Especially when Fletcher became a target. It didn’t surprise her that he pretended to be innocent about what they were doing as they made him twirl in place slowly, stretch out his arms, spread his hands and legs—like he was some kind of doll for them to play with. She was incredibly glad that he hadn’t brought his Santa coat to rile them up further.
When he sat back down, Fletcher flashed her a wide grin and dusted off his shoulders.
Then there was the reading itself. She should have known that despite working tirelessly with the old woman, Mrs. Hershey would pretend like she couldn’t make sense of the words. She kept batting her eyes at Fletcher and , hoping one of them would save her. The more they ignored her, the more she tried until finally the woman who organized the book club cast her as the heroine and Fletcher as Santa. Which made her boyfriend lose his mind.
It also made lose hers, because the more they read together, the more her clit throbbed with need. Halfway through one particularly naughty scene—Santa was licking a candy cane that he intended to use on the heroine later— crossed one leg over the other to stave off the aching between her thighs. The action made her dress part at the slit, giving Fletcher an eyeful of her bare thigh. Before she could straighten out her dress, he dropped a large hand on her leg and squeezed. With every cock and pussy and thrust they read out, her body responded to Fletcher’s touch. And she knew that if they weren’t surrounded by those people, he would have taken her right there without a second thought.
“With his cock buried deep inside me, I knew that there would never be anything more I needed in life. Santa and his candy cane were all I would ever want,” forced out, feeling hot all over. She slammed the book shut and the book club cheered, everyone praising them for their reading skills. Fletcher’s hand flexed on her bare thigh and swallowed back a moan before gently nudging his hand away.
“Oh, sweetheart, you were so wonderful.” Mrs. Hershey shuffled over, hands stretched out. “You two should consider getting into reading those audiobooks. With voices like that, I bet you’d have all the listeners reaching for their battery operated devices.”
A choked laugh escaped Fletcher and shook her head, feeling the heat rush through her whole body as she gave Mrs. Hershey a hug. “I’m really proud of you too. You read that whole chapter without any hesitation.”
“You taught me well. But, I was hoping that I could keep coming back in the new year?”
smiled and nodded, squeezing Mrs. Hershey’s hands. “Of course. Make sure you bring your next book club read too.”
After another round of quick hugs, Mrs. Hershey hurried back to her friends and sank into Fletcher’s embrace. While she was still very turned on, she was finally able to stand steadily, even if she was leaning into Fletcher like she couldn’t.
“In case you were wondering, I’m open to dirty voicemails of that nature in the future.”
“You’ll be lucky if you get anything at all from me in the future,” she shot back with a laugh.
He smirked and wiggled his eyebrows. “At least I know you had a good time while it lasted.”
Shaking her head, smoothed down her dress and pushed back her shoulders. No, she loved how easily he turned her on. The potent combination of Fletcher and the erotica had gotten her so hot and bothered, it was a miracle she’d gotten through reading all of the scenes they kept assigning to her. He reached for her again and didn’t even protest, she let him sweep her into his arms while surrounded by books.
“Does this mean you want to go home and—” he dropped his voice to a whisper, lips brushing along her jaw “—have my candy cane buried inside you, right where I’m meant to be?”
“Fletch,” she moaned, smacking his chest as she turned her head to catch his mouth in a kiss. His hand drifted down to her ass and pulled her against him. Arching into him, she gripped his hair in one hand and let him hitch one of her legs up around his waist. But then reality set in and gasped as she pulled away, steadying herself against him as she dropped her foot to the floor.
“You’re the worst.” She laughed and brushed her hair back, shaking her head. “Stop seducing me.”
“You started it, with this erotic book club and that dress and that reading and by existing.” She growled and Fletcher’s lips kicked up into a smirk. “That sound too, love bug. Gets me going.”
Huffing out a breath, she held a hand up to stop him from getting closer. “We’re going to dinner like people who can control themselves. And after …we’ll see how I’m feeling.”
“I’ll show you how I’m feeling,” he said, taking a step towards her, but they were interrupted by one of the book club biddies.
“Are both of you attempting to create your own little erotica in the stacks?”
“We were trying to find our way out, actually,” said, shooting Fletcher a glare.
“Of course you were, darling. Come on, I’ll show you out through these very complicated stacks.” The old lady flashed them both a smile and winked at Fletcher before leading the way to the front and out of the bookstore. “We hope to see you both next time too!”
They rushed out to Fletcher’s truck and the whole way to the restaurant, they were cracking up because this kind of thing would only happen to them.
The Italian restaurant Fletcher had picked was a lot fancier than the places usually went, so she was glad she’d put effort into her clothes for the evening. Even if her stallion was dressed like a rockstar, looking completely out of place in his dark jeans, black shirt and scuffed boots. He’d handed over his jacket and her coat as they walked in, but he still looked so good.
The table they were seated at was tucked away from the rest of the crowd and despite looking small, seemed to hold all of the food they kept ordering. But it was also the perfect size for them to lean in and steal kisses every now and then, for her legs to be tucked between his under the table. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been on a date that she was excited about. He was really changing things in all the best ways.
Much like the night they shared in his hotel room years ago, they had made their way through every dish that was brought over. They talked about making plans with her friends, maybe flying out to see his bandmates in the new year and the conversation moved to music that they were listening to. It fascinated her that for two people who loved music and spent so much time together, they hadn’t once discussed their current musical tastes. So to hear Fletcher admit that he was an Adele fan was a treat for .
Then he brought up Emery and what the future looked like with her, which made ’s heart soar. This man loved her kid completely and was willing to do whatever it took to make her happy. For that, would forever be grateful.
“Speaking of, there’s something I want to ask you,” Fletcher said as she bit into an arancini ball. She nodded, hand over her mouth as she watched him cautiously. “You’re sure, right?”
“About what?”
“You, me and Emery.”
stared at him a moment and nodded, because hadn’t she already been clear on that? Had she not told him she wanted that future with him? He watched her, smiling as she processed his statement. He’d been doing that a lot that evening, smiling and watching her, not saying a damn thing. She liked being looked at by him, which was another thing that was exclusive to Fletcher Kelley.
“I am more than sure, Fletch,” she finally said. “Even if you and Em hadn’t had that conversation, we would have. I want you. I want us . I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life than knowing I want you with me permanently.”
Fletcher released a shaky breath, head dropping forward slightly and reached out to brush her fingers through his hair.
“Okay, good. Because I am fucking serious about you and me, Mick. Serious about Emery being a part of my life for as long as she wants me. You two make all the calls here. If at any time I’m not needed, I’m gone. In case it wasn’t clear yet, , I love you and your kid. I love being a part of your life and want you two to be a part of mine.”
He lifted his head and she saw the certainty there. Of course she’d known that. Fletcher had said so in many different ways over the last few days, but it never hurt to hear it again. Or with so much surety.
“So forever. You, me and Emery.”
He nodded, stretching a hand across the table with a smile. “The George women and me. I was never going to be the kind of musician that had a million kids running around the country, or have multiple ex-wives. I resigned myself to being alone and I was honestly okay with it. Even after I had and lost you, I was okay with living life in simple terms. But I get to have you again, Mick, and if I’m being honest, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
Her shoulders sagged with relief and she offered him a smile. “Forever, Fletch. I wasn’t expecting you and certainly didn’t plan for you, but here you are. And honestly? I don’t want to go back to life without you.”
Forever was a long time, but when you met the right person, you just knew. Emery already told her that she smiled more and looked happier now that Fletcher was in her life. Plus, he’d proven to be a good guy in so many ways—helping her and friends when they were drunk, looking out for Emery, introducing her to his best friend and most of all loving the heck out of her.
“There is no life without you, Mick. But glad we’re on the same page.”
She laughed and blew him a kiss that Fletcher caught and pressed to his chest. This man was definitely the most unexpected part of her year, and that’s why he was also the best part.
They finished their dinner and despite her protests, he paid the bill. Hand-in-hand, they drove back to her house and found all the lights on. Even though Emery was supposed to be at Mrs. Cannon’s house, she’d clearly come home early. Which was a bit of a dampener on her plans to ravage Fletcher and scream her heart out while he fucked her. Letting them into the house, she got a strong whiff of chocolate as she walked down the stairs.
“You’re back!” Emery greeted them with chocolate all over her face and hair. “We made cake.”
Looking past her daughter, found the kitchen in absolute chaos and Nico also covered in chocolate. Fletcher came up behind her and let out a loud snort at the sight. “Did Willy Wonka come through here or something?”
Emery stuck her tongue out at him. “We were in the middle of cleaning up, okay?”
“Ms. George. Mr. Kelley.” Nico offered them sheepish smiles and went back to loading up the dishwasher. glanced at Fletcher, who pulled a stool out for her at the counter and then sat down beside her.
“Okay, this is the best cake ever and you both should have some,” Emery said, slicing the cake up and putting a big piece on a plate, sliding it in front of her and Fletcher. “You can share.”
Fletcher swiped his finger through the layer of icing and held it out for . She didn’t hesitate to wrap her lips around his finger and suck the icing off, drawing disgusted sounds from the teenagers in her kitchen. She knew that was exactly why he’d done it, because moments later, he cut himself a piece with the fork Emery handed over and took a bite. followed suit, her eyes on the kids as they cleaned up.
“This is good,” Fletcher mumbled, cutting off another piece. “So fucking good.”
“Really?” Nico asked, eyes wide as they looked between and Fletcher.
nodded and licked her spoon clean before going in for another bite. “I must agree, best chocolate cake ever.”
Nico and Emery squealed and bounced around the kitchen, sharing a quick hug before they returned to cleaning up the space.