Once Easton is sound asleep, I slowly make my way into my own bedroom. I know that Ward is already there, waiting for me. My legs feel like Jell-O with each step I take closer to him. This is it. This is the defining moment of our relationship.

I feel like I’ve been waiting for this for a lifetime.

We’ve slept in the same bed, he’s cuddled against me and I against him, but we’ve never done more than kiss a little and touch even less. Tonight, all of that changes. I didn’t think I would be as nervous as I am. I thought that I would be sprinting toward him, but my stomach flutters with each step I take.

“Come here, babe,” Ward calls as soon as I step into the room.

He’s sitting up, his back against my headboard, shirtless, and the sheets pulled up to his waist. I lick my dry lips as I take every inch of his muscled torso in. He’s slept shirtless next to me before, and I’ve seen him in this exact position, but everything is different now.

Shutting the bedroom door, I flip the lock closed, then I slowly make my way toward him. I crawl up the bottom of the bed until I’m straddling his hips. Ward wraps his hands around my waist and squeezes me.

“I’m fucked up, Hayden, but I’ve always wanted you,” he rasps.

My heart beats faster, and my stomach flips at his words. “We’re all fucked up,” I point out.

He nods, letting out a breath as he closes his eyes. “Yeah,” he affirms.

Without another word, he slowly rolls us over so that I’m on my back and he’s on top of me. His arms cage my head and his nose slides along my own. My eyes slowly close as his lips find my own. His kiss is slow, soft, and sensual. His tongue sneaks out to taste my mouth and I immediately open for him.

My blood heats and my belly flips from the simple kiss. I know one hundred percent, that this is the man for me, nobody else could ever make me feel this way—nobody but Ward.

One of his hands leaves the side of my head, traveling down to my breast and he gently curls his fingers around me. At the same time, his hips roll forward and I feel his hard length press against my clit. I wish I was naked, I wish we were both naked. Our clothes feel like the biggest burden on earth between us right now.

“Ward,” I whimper.

He tugs my shirt and bra down simultaneously, then pinches my nipple with his fingers, gently tugging on my hardened bud. My back arches as my eyes slide closed at the sweet feel of his touch on my bare skin. His lips leave my own, brushing down my neck until they wrap around my other nipple.

Ward moans as he sucks my breast deep into his mouth. My back arches, needing more from him, craving it. Slowly, he kisses over to my other breast and shows it the same attention with his mouth, switching hands as well, and I moan when his fingers touch my opposite nipple and tug.

I’ve never been touched, kissed, or caressed quite like this before. Sex was always rough, painful, and dirty before now. This moment with Ward, it’s absolutely breathtaking. Lifting one of my hands, I bury my fingers in his hair, holding him to my chest with a sigh.

He releases my breast, and moves down my body, his fingers finding the buttons of my jeans and he quickly yanks them opened, then tugs my pants completely off, taking my panties with them. His fingers find the hem of my tank and he slowly drags it up my body. Reaching behind me, I unhook my bra and quickly tug it down my arms before throwing it off of the side of the bed.

I expect Ward to crawl back up my body and slide inside of me, but he doesn’t. He continues kissing down my stomach until he reaches the top of my pussy. My eyes widen as his hands grip the inside of my thighs and he spreads me as wide as my legs will open.

“Ward,” I warn.

His head lifts, and he gives me a smirk. “Baby, I’m going to eat my woman’s pussy. You got a problem with that?”

“No, I just. I’ve never,” I admit, my face heating with every word I say. I know it has to be bright red right now.

He frowns, his brows snapping together at my declaration. I wait for him to say something, to respond, but he doesn’t. Instead, he lowers his head and I feel his tongue swirl around my clit.

“Oh my,” I gasp.

One of my hands automatically flies to his hair and fists his long strands. His tongue moves down to my slit and it enters me. My eyes automatically close as my hips shift. I want more of him.

He fucks me with his tongue, my breathing becomes uneven as I attempt to push him away, then pull him closer. I don’t know what I want, and it’s making me crazy—he’s making me crazy.

His mouth moves back to my clit and I feel his tongue flick it a few times before he sucks. He repeats the motion, over and over. I start to thrash around on the bed, it’s all too much. I feel like something big is about to happen, and my thighs start to shake against his fingers’ grip.

My hips begin to move on their own and then it happens. I let out a cry as it completely takes over my body, I feel as though I’m flying. I’ve never felt this amazing before in my entire life. Ward slowly releases my thighs, and lifts his face from my center, his eyes almost black as they take me in.

It takes me a few moments to catch my breath. We both watch one another for a beat, then his lips slowly break out into a smile.

“So that’s what it feels like?” I ask, my lips turning up into my own smile. I can’t try to hide it, even if I wanted to. Although I’m not sure why I would want to.

Ward chuckles, obviously feeling like cock of the walk, as he should. He leans down and brushes his lips across my own. My tongue sneaks out and I taste myself on his mouth. It’s sexy and sinful all at the same time.

“Yeah, baby. That’s what it feels like. How about we repeat that feeling?” he murmurs against my mouth.

I moan, unable to form words. I want that again, I ache for more, and I know when he fills me it’s going to be spectacular. Ward reaches over the side of the bed and sits back up, a square foil package in his hand. I watch as he pulls his underwear down, throwing them off the side of the bed, probably to join my bra somewhere.

His hard length juts out and I blink. He’s thick, smooth and long. I’ve seen dicks, hell I’ve had them in every part of me, but none have held appeal, not until right now. I lick my lips at the sight of him, wishing that I could take him in my mouth if only to taste for a moment.

I watch with rapt anticipation as he opens the condom package with his teeth, then he slowly slides the condom down his length, throwing the package to the side. I’ve thought about this moment off and on for well over a year and a half.

Never once did I think that being with Ward would really come true. Never once did I think that I wouldn’t be scared if it did. In fact, I thought that I would be completely terrified. I’m not, though. I’m excited, and I’m breathlessly waiting with excited anticipation.

Ward aligns himself with my center and I whimper as he slowly sinks inside of me. Shifting my legs, I press my shins against his ribs. He wraps his hand around my wrist and lifts my arm, pressing it to the mattress above my head.

My eyes are glued to his, I’m afraid to blink, afraid to break this moment. A moment that I feel like I’ve been waiting for my entire life.

“Fuck, Hayden. Fuck,” he hisses.

He pulls out of my body almost entirely before he slides back inside. He stretches me, and it burns. It’s been so long since I’ve had sex that it feels like the first time again. Instead of being uncomfortable by that thought, I’m exhilarated. It should have been the first time with Ward. It should have always been with the man that I’m in love with.

He keeps his movements fluid, stoking my body slowly with the roll of his hips. I lift my own to meet his thrusts, moaning when his pelvis grinds against my clit. Lifting my free arm, I wrap my hand around the side of his neck, holding onto him and never breaking eye contact.

“You’re mine, Hayden,” he rasps.

He doesn’t say anything else, his eyes focused on mine while he speeds up his thrusts, slamming into me hard with each down stroke. My fingers tighten around his neck and I feel that same rush I had earlier start to roll through me. It starts to uncurl in my belly, and I know it’s going to be huge.

My mouth drops open slightly as I let out a low cry. I feel my pussy clench around him, trying to keep him inside of me. Ward lets out his own groan at the feeling. He thrusts a few more times before he stills, and I feel his cock grow a little more before it twitches inside of me, a low growl leaving his mouth.

Buried deep inside of her, I look down into her green eyes and growl. My woman. Mine. I wait for that feeling of guilt to flood my body from what I’ve just done. Not only did I fuck her pussy, I used a condom. She’s not my wife, and this was not for procreation. I should feel guilty as fuck for what I’ve just done. However, no matter how deep I search for the feeling, I don’t feel it.

Hayden lifts her head slightly and brushes her lips along my own. “I’m yours,” she whispers against my mouth.

I press my lips against hers, consuming her, filling her with my tongue and taking ownership of her. I want to call the tattoo parlor and mark her immediately with my name. I want my ring on her finger, and irrationally, I want to fill her with my baby.

Slowly, I break our kiss, and our connection, when I slide out of her. I walk over to the bathroom and dispose of the condom before I turn around and make my way back toward bed. She has the sheets pulled up to her chest and her eyes are tracking my every move.

Grabbing ahold of the bedding, I tug it down out of her grasp. Her tits bounce with the movement and I grin. Her body is fucking perfect, it’s better than I imagined. I crawl up the bottom of the bed, my lips grazing her skin as I do. Her thigh, her hip, her tit, her neck, then her lips.

Hayden’s fingers tangle in my long hair and tug my head back. “This is all real. You’re not going to run off and tell me how bad you are for me, are you?” she breathes.

The way she talks, she sounds like she’s the thirty-five-year-old and I’m the nineteen-year-old. How I ever thought she was too young for me, I’ll never know. She is absolutely not.

“No, baby. I’m all in,” I say, keeping my eyes focused on hers.

Her lips turn up into a small smile. “Good, because that was fantastic and I’m going to want more,” she admits, her cheeks pinking.

“Thank fuck, I liked it too. I want more of all of you, every single fucking piece,” I grunt.

Her smile spans her entire face, and it’s so fucking bright, something I’ve never seen from her before. She looks even more beautiful than I thought possible. I tuck a piece of her auburn hair behind her ear and run my nose along her own.

“How about we get some sleep?”

She hums. “Can you open the door, in case Easton wakes up in the middle of the night?”

I frown. “What if I wake up in the middle of the night?” I ask, my eyes moving down to my dick, then back up to her.

Hayden reaches forward, her fingers running along my lips. “If you wake up in the middle of the night, you can just close the door again,” she winks.

I feel like a pouty kid, but that answer fucking sucks. I grumble rolling off of the bed, then walking over to the door and open it. Making my way back, I wonder offhandedly if she would want to live in a house instead of a trailer behind a bar. It’s been convenient, but this place is a little cramped for my taste.

Slipping between the sheets, I gather her in my arms and tug her against my side. Wrapping my arm around her belly, I press my hand against her warm skin before I slide it up to cup her tit. I kiss her shoulder, then her neck.

“Get some sleep, baby,” I murmur against her skin.

I feel her hand rest on the outside of the one I have wrapped around her tit. “Thank you, Ward.”

“Thank you?” I ask.

She clears her throat before she speaks. “Thank you for giving us this chance. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy in my entire life.”

I close my eyes tightly, thinking of her words. My poor girl has been through hell and back. I need to make her happy, to keep making her happy—to make her smile—every fucking day. I hold her a little tighter, feeling her body relax against my own.

She falls asleep almost instantly, but I don’t. I lie next to her, feeling her body cradled naked against my own, and I wonder why I didn’t do this shit a year ago? Why I made both of our lives fucking miserable and for what? Fucking nothing, that’s what.

I’m done holding her at arm’s length—fucking done. From now on, I’m one hundred percent in. I’m Easton’s dad and Hayden’s man, nothing, not a goddamn thing is going to change that status.