Chapter 35
Mackenzie
“Shh…”
I was in my old room, but nothing like this had happened in here before.
Night had fallen and we were in bed. My body was pressed into the mattress, my pillow barely stifling my cries, because Troy had indeed showed me exactly how much bigger Aussies could be.
My thighs spread wide, he surged between them, fucking me at this deliriously slow pace.
Caught on the precipice of orgasm for hours, it felt, I was so damn ready.
But when I went to tell him that, his hand slapped over my mouth, keeping me quiet.
“Your mother will hear.” That was enough to cool my desire a little, but then he pressed deeper. “Then she’ll know the exact sounds you make when you’re fighting to take my dick.”
God help me, she would, because my body was forced to stretch at every thrust, his cock dragging over something so terribly sensitive inside me, I couldn’t help but cry out.
For more, to go deeper, to press hard against something I was never ever aware of before him.
My hips tilted back and he let out a low groan as it allowed him to thrust a fraction more.
Stretched to capacity, I couldn’t take any more.
But I wanted to.
Moving back home, I’d been forced to buy the world’s quietest vibrator and right now, I sent up a prayer of thanks to the manufacturer. It was supported by a pillow, pushed up against my clit with every pass. Legs quivering, this didn’t feel like sex. Troy was breaking me apart, only to remake me.
As his.
Every night could be like this, I couldn’t help but exult.
And every morning. The alarms would go off early, or we’d roll over once we woke up and reach for each other.
The pain of being apart even an inch would be eased the moment he slid home.
Fucking me harder, faster, each stroke would mark me as his.
“Troy…”
I’d pulled my mouth free of his palm, just in time to whimper his name.
“Shh.”
“No, Troy, I’m—”
“I know.” His voice was low and ragged with emotion. “I know, love. I can feel you clamping down around me, every fucking flex of that sweet little cunt of yours. I know your body, your responses, and I know you need this.”
All attempts at being quiet were abandoned as he began to thrust in earnest. Pass after pass of that swollen head had my head swimming with bliss. My hips bucked upwards, meeting him stroke for stroke, because what was building went beyond my pleasure or his. This was us and I was right about to…
“Troy…!”
Just gasping that out gave me permission to let go.
Wave after wave of ecstasy pummelled me into the bed along with him.
The moment when his strokes got erratic, frantic, as he reached out for something and grabbed it.
Me, I realised. Holding me in his arms, he finally slammed as deep as he could, scalding me with hot jets of cum.
“That was…” I sighed when we both flopped down on the bed.
“I know.”
That cocky grin had me shoving at his chest, then staring into his eyes.
“I’m sorry it took me so long to get there.”
“I’m not.” The twinkle in his eyes remained, but the smile faded. “All good things come to those that wait.” His leg was slung over my hips, because he always hated pulling free of me. “And I’ll wait forever for you, Mackenzie.”
“That might be on the table.”
Talking about this now was just ruining the vibe, but I was worried about more than just my mom.
Our future, it was all hearts and rainbows inside my head, but the practical realities remained.
Getting a green card was an arduous process and Troy’s skill set wasn’t on the list of immigration’s priorities.
Some of my countrymen talked about moving to Australia blithely, but that was difficult too.
“I was doing some thinking…” I said.
“That’s always a worry,” he said, the exhaustion clear in his voice.
“We might have to do the long distance thing. With my mom and your farm, we need to be in two separate places for a while.”
“Mm hmm…”
He was drifting off to sleep, which somehow made this easier.
“Which will be OK, I think.” If he wasn’t paying attention, then the real vulnerability could come to the surface.
I wasn’t scared of talking to him about my fears, but right now, I could just sit with them.
He wasn’t trying to fix everything and that was fine.
“I mean we’ve been through a lot already.
Distance makes the heart grow fonder, right? ”
When I looked up, I saw his eyes had closed and his breath had evened out. Breath whistled in through his nose, then came out in a long exhale.
“Mine will,” I told him. “I’ll miss you, all of you. Charlie and the animals.” I smiled as I remembered the rescue. “Billy and Bronson. Even Nugget. Every day you’re back in Australia I’ll be thinking of all of you and working out how to find my way back there.”
After Mom’s hospital bills were paid, which meant I needed to get a job.
A well paying one, with good health insurance.
That would involve heading back to LA, and so I’d need an apartment or something and a car.
Responsibility was like a backpack full of rocks, weighing me down, and putting it off for nearly eight months was all the break I was going to get.
I was an adult and I’d need to start acting like one.
Working, saving, paying off bills, and then slowly I’d get a nest egg together.
During that time, I could start the Australian permanent residence process and see how far I got with that.
Thoughts, so many thoughts filled my brain until Troy let out a snort, then blinked.
“Hey…” His head lifted off the pillow. “I must’ve dropped off.”
“You’re tired.” I pressed a kiss to his forehead. “And I need to get cleaned up.”
“I’ll do it.”
The way he floundered around in bed had me smiling, right as I pulled free of him.
“You can get the cloth next time.”
As he fell back into bed, I got up. Heading to the bathroom, I cleaned up, but when I emerged out, I had a feeling we weren’t as quiet as we hoped. Mom was sitting at the dining table, pieces of paper scattered in front of her.
“What’re you doing up?” I asked. “Mom, are you—?”
“Fine?” she finished for me. “Honey, I keep telling you, I’m not made of glass. Being made of money however? That would be a good thing right now.”
As I drew closer, I saw all the bills. Not just the utilities and mortgage, but medical bills, so many medical bills.
“Mom.” When I went to put them in a pile away from her, a hand stopped me. “It’s OK. I’m going to start applying for jobs now you’re feeling better and—”
“Don’t.” I was treated to the same steely gaze she treated me to when I was being a pain in the ass as a kid. “I mean, if you want to get a job in the city for yourself, that’s fine, but this.” She was the one to collate the bills into a pile. “This is my cross to bear.”
“Mom—”
“It’s a tempting thing, to live your life entirely for your kids,” she said, staring at the tabletop.
“When I held you in my arms just after you were just born, I swore that I would do whatever it took to keep you safe.” Her eyes met mine.
“When you left for Australia, it took everything in me not to run after you, drag you right back to where I knew you’d be safe.
” Her smile was slow to form, but sincere.
“But then you flew off to have adventures, too many dangerous adventures.” She shook her head.
“That was the moment when I realised you were really an adult.”
“Mom, I was eighteen over ten years ago.”
“An adult takes responsibility for their own shit.” The bills were pressed against her chest. “And that’s what I’m going to do with the medical debt.”
“But how…?” Her brow rose imperiously. “Mom—”
“Don’t you mom me, young lady.”
Her tone was a perfect parody of the snippy retort she used all the time when I was a teenager, and for some reason that had me giggling.
Mom joined in and for just a moment, those bills were just pieces of paper, because she’d gotten through surgery, her heart rate was normal, so for now, everything was alright.
Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I got up and went to head back to bed.
“And don’t let that boy slip through your fingers either,” she said.
Looking back over my shoulder, I caught the stubborn set of her shoulders.
“He loves you, Mackenzie. You look at him in a way that I’ve never seen you do with Alex or any other man.
He’s your future. Focus on that, not my health issues. ”
Which left me standing in the dark in my old room, staring down at Troy.
It wasn’t hard to replace the dim interior of my room with his.
The hot northerly winds would be blowing through the curtain.
Sounds of bird calls and animals bleating or mooing would fill the air.
I’d slip into bed beside him, feeling him roll towards me, hearing his grunt as he held me close.
I’d feel like the whole world was reduced down to just us.
Turns out I didn’t need to be in Australia to have that experience.
When I slipped under the covers, Troy did just that.
Lying there I didn’t think about the rescue or wildlife.
Right now I had to fix my own life before I could think about helping an animal’s.
“So what’s on the agenda today?” Troy asked the next morning, walking into the kitchen dressed in just a pair of grey sweat pants.
Women said they were lingerie for men and right now I saw their point.
Every muscle, every inch of him was on clear display, resulting in me ignoring the bacon I was cooking, right up until it splattered me.
“Ahh, I need to go into LA,” I said.
“So are we going to see the sights?” His arms went around me as his head came to rest on my shoulder. “I don’t remember seeing another medical appointment on the family calendar.”
“I’ve got an appointment.” Why was this so hard to say?
“With my old boss. He said to let him know when I was looking for work again and I sent an email a couple of days ago. He’s asked me to come by for a meeting.
” Troy was so very quiet. “So maybe you stay here for a few hours, keep Mom company, and I’ll be back just after lunch. ”
“Love.” He turned off the gas and then spun me around to face him. “If that’s what you need, you know I’ll make sure that’s what happens.”
Part of me was bracing myself for a fight, so when it didn’t come, I didn’t know what to do.
Get dressed and drive towards the city, I guessed.
Walking into the foyer of my old office building was surreal.
The receptionist smiled as she greeted me, then offered to grab me a coffee as I waited in the lobby, but it wasn’t just that I’d walked out of here months before with a box full of my stuff.
When Steve, my old boss, appeared with a smile, it looked genuine.
I shook his hand and filled him in on my Australian trip, but when I walked into his office, I knew what it was.
Steve was funny, smart, and unfailingly patient. Having suffered from mental health stuff as well, he understood my own decline. Just the kind of boss I wanted to work for.
Except I didn’t.
This felt wrong, like I was taking a step backwards, but that was just my emotions talking.
“So, what do you think?” Steve pushed a piece of paper towards me and I was forced to focus. A job proposal was outlined in black and white and I quickly skimmed through the details. Great health insurance, all of it was there.
“You’re going to kill me, but…” I winced as I looked up. “Do you mind if I take this home and read through the contract in more detail?” I asked.
He masked his surprise well, but in the end, he nodded.
“Of course. Let me know by close of business tomorrow?”
Walking out of the building and towards my car, I knew I was making a mistake. Steve was sticking out his neck for me and I was leaving him there hanging. Sign the contract, I told myself all the way home. Sign it! But when I walked in the door, my signature was not on the bottom of the contract.
“How’d it go?”
Troy was sitting at the table with Mom and by the look of it, they were playing cards for…
“Are those M&Ms?” I asked.
“Focus, honey,” Mom said with an airy wave. “So, did you get the job?”
“I did.” Sinking down into a chair, I pushed the contact towards them. “I’ve got until tomorrow afternoon to decide if I want it.”