Once Upon a Time
The shop’s open sign blinked a few times before it finally went dark, and I watched Kelly from my station table as she locked the door. The grand opening had worn me out, this whole remodel had, and I wasn’t sure how much damage it had done to Kelly… to us. But as she turned, her long-as-sin legs on display in shorts, her smile couldn’t’ve have looked more proud.
“Day one of Avenues Ink in the bag.” She held up the store keys and jingled them as she walked toward me, swaying those fucking hips side to side.
I chuckled at her sexy little tease, and she tilted her head back, her hair falling in waves around her shoulders as she laughed. She’d stayed for me, for us… for this. I’d built something, this place was mine… ours. The smell of fresh paint didn’t overpower her scent as she moved between my legs. I gripped her hips and pulled her close. “I don’t give a shit that my brothers are in the back, I’ll bend you over this table and we’ll christen the leather.”
Kelly’s cheeks turned almost as red as the new leather table as she placed her hands on my shoulders. “Just because you’re the boss doesn’t mean you’re in charge.” She leaned down, raked my bottom lip through her teeth, and I groaned.
“I’m heading out.” Kieran’s voice broke the mood, and if I didn’t love the kid…
Kelly attempted to pull away, but I turned her at the waist and brought her ass to my lap, her back to my chest. I privately grinned as she wriggled against me.
“Declan already head upstairs?” I asked.
“Yeah. I think today was a lot for him… so many people.” Kieran slipped his hands inside his pockets. “But, this place… Liam, it’s going to be amazing.”
I’d never felt the joy of owning something, shaping it with my own hands. We’d all broken our backs to get this place ready. I’d drained my savings, Kieran put his life on hold, and Declan learned. He learned an entire new canvas, and, fuck, was he good. Kelly leaned back and pushed most of her weight onto my right thigh, meeting me with a huge smile.
“You did it,” she whispered and pressed her lips to my mouth for a quick kiss.
When her eyes found mine again, I didn’t miss the slight shimmer. She’d given up more than any of us, more than she should have. She’d traded her dream for mine.
“We did it,” I corrected.
“I’ll see you tomorrow at eleven.” Kieran’s voice was in a vacuum as I stared at my girl.
I’d made her wait so long. I’d pushed her and stopped her from living her own dream, but still, she sat here, her face filled with love, with fucking loyalty. The sound of the back door closing cracked the surface of our bubble.
I thumbed a piece of Kelly’s dark brown hair, playing with it between my fingers for a few seconds, before I pushed it behind her ear and said, “Thank you.”
Her lips moved in slow motion, her smile brighter than I’d ever fucking seen it. “For what?”
“For today, for every goddamn day.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Liam. You busted your ass for this place, not me,” she said as she ran her fingers through my hair like she always did.
I fought the shudder, the blood pumping through my veins, her sweet breath. I had something to say, and the heat of her body, her touch, it was a distraction. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Okay?” She held the last syllable, her confusion pulling her brows into a knot.
“You stayed,” I said, and her smile dimmed. My chest tightened, that insecurity, that guilt squeezing my fucking heart. I didn’t think, and it wasn’t smooth, but she had to know. “I want to marry you.”
Her face paled, and the hope I’d been feeding all damn day burst into flames.
“Liam, I…” I lowered my eyes to her lap, my jaw working against my molars. She lifted my chin with her thumb and I didn’t fight it. “I-I’m not sure I’m ready for such a big step. I mean, you just opened this place, and I’m still stuck at Handy, maybe give this… us a little time to find new footing. You built this new world, let’s enjoy it for a little while longer.”
I wound my fingers around her wrist and lowered her hand. Her refusal simmering in my gut. She’d stayed, and maybe I was fucking stupid for thinking more of it than I should, but she was it for me, and I didn’t understand how I wasn’t it for her. Why did it fucking matter if we lived here, or California? I’m sure she could find a modeling job here, and if she didn’t… “You don’t have to stay at the gas station, Kelly. You could work here, work for me.”
“And do what?” She hopped down from my lap, her feet hitting the floor with a loud clap.
“I don’t fucking know. Run the desk, manage the books, model some ink.”
She clenched her jaw. “We’re not ready.”
I was ready.
The good day was slipping through my fingers, she was slipping through my fingers. How long would it be before she wised up and moved the fuck on?
“Forget I said anything.” I held out my arms and folded them around her waist. My temper still loud and clear in my tone.
“I’m not saying no,” she whispered, but the doubt was in each syllable. I stood as she ran her palms and fingernails up my chest until they met behind my neck. She laced her hands together and pressed her body into mine. “I’m only saying not yet.”
I avoided her eyes for as long as I could. I didn’t want to submit to her. She wasn’t saying no, but she sure as shit hadn’t said yes, and that was the only answer I’d expected. She wasn’t ready, and I was.
“You know I love you. It’s not a no, it’s—”
“Not yet,” I interrupted and allowed my eyes to rise, the deep brown of hers consumed my anger.
She’d waited on me, and now it was my turn to wait on her. “So you’re in charge now?” I asked. My smirk lifted the weight of my proposal from her shoulders.
She relaxed as she exhaled a laugh and nodded her head.
“Then tell me what you want, Boss.”
She flipped my buckle and bit her bottom lip as she popped the button of my jeans. “I want you to fuck me on this table.”
She took a step backward and patted the red leather, a sexy grin peeking at the corners of her mouth. I flicked my gaze to the open store front windows and grasped her hips. She let out a playful scream as I lifted her, her thighs gripping my waist as I walked her to the other side of my station, and away from any possible prying eyes. As I set her down onto her feet, our mouths came together with a powerful punch. I let her nails dig into my neck, her teeth rip at my lips as I unbuttoned her shorts, and I let all the feeling dilute the rejection, the hurt.
She pushed down my jeans, my hard cock in her hand, and I leaned into her. She stumbled backward and her ass hit the table. I groaned as she pumped her fist, up and down, forgetting myself in the moment. Her thumb played at the tip, and I grabbed her wrist, stilling the motion, and swore between clenched teeth, “Fuck.” I released her wrist and tried to spin her at the waist, but she fought me.
“No way.” She smiled, and the heat in her cheeks amplified the amber flecks in her eyes. “I’m making the rules, remember?”
I lifted my hands as I admired her full lips. “Forgive me.” The statement laden with sarcasm. “But, I thought you said you wanted me to fuck you on this table.”
“I do…” She lowered her body, looking up at me from under her lashes, her smile wicked and beautiful. Kelly’s strong legs held her steady as she took my entire length into her mouth.
I swore again as she held my hip with one of her hands, pulling me in deeper. My fingers twisted in her hair as she relinquished the control back over to me.
“I’m not saying no.”
My breath hitched.
“I’m only saying not yet.”
Deeper.
Not Yet.
The words echoed in my head.
Not Yet.
My eyes slammed shut and every last bit of anger faded into the two words, into hope, into the feeling as I let her devour me.