45. River
Chapter Forty-Five
RIVER
The ladies had told me I’d know the moment I was ready.
When desire would slam into me like a tidal wave and love would surge through me in epic proportions.
That moment had come a couple of weeks after the sleepover.
Bre was on partial babysitting duty over at her Auntie Lake’s. Bronson had to work and didn’t want his wife home alone being a week from her due date. Lennon offered to watch over all of them, leaving the house to Huntley and me. Heck, even the dog had gone—we were truly alone.
He’d just gotten home from work, planted a kiss on my lips, and smiled like a loon when I told him we had the house to ourselves. Then he proceeded to tell me he was going to shower and that after he got out, he was going to make me dinner before we cuddled on the couch to watch something.
As he walked toward the bedroom, he looked over his shoulder and said, “I’ll even let you pick the movie.”
He gave me a sexy wink, then he was gone .
But I found myself following him, wanting to be near him and I walked in to find that…
The ladies were right.
When I made it to the bedroom doorway, Huntley was making his way toward the master bath. One arm stretched over his shoulder as he grabbed the collar of his T-shirt behind his back and with one hand, pulled it over his head. With the move, the muscles in his back bulged and his smooth, tan skin glistened.
I gasped and Huntley twirled around, his white shirt gripped in the palm of his hand.
Ripped.
Yup, the man had abs for days. I already knew this, but for some reason after the little show he just put on—unintended on his part, but lucky for me—it all hit me differently.
“The ladies said it would be sexy,” I mumbled.
His brows raised in question as he moved toward me. “Huh?”
Shaking my head, I tried to focus, but my attention was clearly on the gorgeous man in front of me and his body that was to die for.
“What’s this about the ladies?” he asked.
I blushed as I replied, “They told me that there was something seriously sexy about a man taking his shirt off the way you just did.”
“They did, did they?” He took another step closer.
I nodded, words eluding me as he cupped my cheek and brushed his thumb across my lower lip.
“And do you agree?”
More nodding.
He chuckled and then leaned in and pressed his lips to mine in a feather-light kiss. Then he moved back and gave me a heart-stopping smirk before heading toward the bathroom once again .
“I’ll be out in a jiffy.”
My feet stood rooted to the spot I was in, some kind of trance taking over my body, until I heard the shower kick on.
That desire they talked about flared to life.
And I found myself following him once again.
He was right behind the curtain.
Every inch of him would be on full display if I just slid it back and took a peek inside.
On autopilot I found myself once again needing to be close to him and I began to remove my own clothes.
Once down to my panties and bra, I took a deep breath.
What would he think when he saw all of me? Every burn mark that tracked up my side, the slightly, raised, white scar from where the monster's knife had sliced across my skin as he stole what wasn’t his. And my body, that wasn’t anything to write home about. I was a little thing and that included my breasts.
I looked down at myself and realized I really hadn’t prepared for the moment. There I stood in the most basic undergarments imaginable. Shaking my head at myself, I sighed. I must have been too loud because the curtain swooshed open and my eyes snapped up to meet Huntley’s wide gaze.
Oh mercy.
Huntley was breathtakingly handsome on any given day but standing before me gloriously naked…
He was a heart-stopping sex god.
And oh my God, he wasn't only packing when it came to his abs. I was having trouble keeping my eyes up top and not letting them stay laser focused on his manhood.
It’s not going to fit .
His voice shook. “Sweetheart?”
Those beautiful green eyes of his darkened with desire as they blazed a trail down my body from head to toe before his stare came back to mine. I watched his Adam's apple move as he swallowed and my body began to tremble.
Did he like what he saw? He immediately answered my question as if he could read my mind.
“You’re so fucking beautiful.” His eyes dilated and darkened even further. “Every damn inch of you is perfect.”
His words were like a magnet and I gravitated toward him. When I stood a hair's breadth away Huntley reached out, gently brushing my hair off my bare shoulder before letting it rest there.
He leaned in, his lips resting against mine. “Tell me what you want, baby.”
A shudder raced through me and I fought to find my voice. Then Gemma’s words came back to me. “Ask for what you want and don’t take no for an answer.”
“I want to shower with you, and then I want you to make love to me,” I whispered.
He sucked in a gulp of air. “Are you sure?”
I brought my palms up between us and placed them on his chest, nodding my head as I did. His muscles jumped under my touch.
“Sweetheart, give me your words.”
Right then, I should have been scared out of my mind, but any fear I might have left in me was nothing compared to the need to be with the man standing naked in front of me.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
He brushed a feather-light kiss across my lips and brought his other hand to the opposite shoulder. Then sweeping his palms down my arms, he took my bra straps with him before his hands slipped around me and unclasped my bra. It fell to the floor leaving even more of me on display .
But he wasn’t done.
Those manly hands skimmed down my sides until they reached the top of my very unsexy panties and his fingers slid into the waistband, dragging them down my legs in one seductive motion.
I lifted each leg, letting him remove the last of my physical armor and froze as his gaze did another slow intake of every part of my body. And then my eyes widened as they caught sight of what all this was doing to him.
His cock was hard as stone and jutting out perfectly. My previous thought came back to me once more.
It’s not going to fit.
Huntley gave me a wicked smile. “It will fit, don’t you worry, sweetheart.”
The way the man read my mind was seriously scary sometimes.
Reaching out he took my hand in his. “Ignore it for now,” he said as he pulled me into the shower with him.
“Not likely,” I mumbled, causing him to laugh.
Hot water rushed over both of us, and I was damn thankful there was still some left. Huntley brushed the wet hair from my face and cupped my cheeks.
“I’m gonna take care of you,” he said before turning me around so my back was to his front.
I heard the snap of a container and then his large hands were massaging my scalp, the smell of my vanilla-coconut shampoo drifting to my nose as suds dripped down my body. A moan slipped from between my lips as my head tilted back into his touch.
Huntley’s lips brushed the shell of my ear. “Damn, I like hearing that sound.”
His shaft poked at my backside and even with the hot water raining down on me, goosebumps pebbled across every inch of my skin .
The same skin he proceeded to wash so tenderly, not missing a single spot. When I was clean as a whistle and so dang relaxed I felt like Jell-o, I fell into his arms and let the tears that had been pushing to free themselves go.
“Don’t cry, honey,” he cooed against my head. “I’m going to cherish you for the rest of my life, and I will always take care of you.”
“I k-know. That’s w-why I’m c-crying.” Taking a deep breath, I stayed locked in his embrace. “I’m so g-glad that I found y-you. I just l-love you so m-much.”
He moved back so he could look into my eyes. “You are my one and only. I love you too,” he said as he slipped the curtain back and turned off the water.
With one hand still on my side, he grabbed a towel off the rack with the other and began drying my hair and my body. Then he wrapped it around me before grabbing another and doing the same to himself.
In one swift motion, he placed his hands behind my knees and swept me up in his arms. Letting my head rest against his chest, I closed my eyes as he made his way to our room.
I thought about that for a second as he walked and how he had been trying not to rush me, so while he hadn’t been staying at his apartment, he still hadn’t let it go. But he needed to.
“You need to get rid of your place and move all your stuff in here,” I said, opening my eyes.
He stilled, standing next to the side of the bed with me in his arms. “Yeah?”
It was said as a question and I knew he was waiting for me to make sure of what I was saying as hope bloomed in his gaze.
“Yeah. This is your home.” I lifted one hand and placed it on his cheek, his face pressing into my touch. “With me and the kids. This is where you belong. ”
A shaky breath ripped from his lips as a single tear slid down his cheek and I knew without a doubt he was always meant to be mine. He needed to know that.
“You were always meant to be mine, Huntley Calvin Taylor.” I caressed his face. “And I was always meant to be yours.”
His head descended and his lips took mine in a kiss that was filled to the brim with love. Then he laid me on the bed, slipping the towel off me, and leaving me spread out on top of the fluffy comforter as naked as the day I was born.
Standing back up, his eyes locked with mine.
“You're magnificent,” I blurted out.
He smiled. “That’s my line.” His gaze turned serious then. “Is this what you really want?”
I started to nod, but when he cocked a brow I knew what he wanted. So, I gave him my words. “More than I can put into words.”
My heart was racing as I watched him walk over to one of the drawers he had clothes in and pull out a condom. He made his way back to me and dropped it on the bed beside the pillow. Biting my lip as he placed one knee on the bed, I kept waiting for terror to take hold.
It never did.
This was my Huntley.
The man I knew loved me and who said he would cherish me. And that is exactly what he did.
His hands began to map every bit of my body, his touch electrifying, and then his eyes locked on my scars. For a moment I froze until he leaned down and placed his lips to each and every one, making his way up my body.
“You’re beautiful,” he told me again. “And you’re mine.”
That was when all the shattered pieces of my heart came together making me feel whole for the first time in my entire life.