“Why is your father’s will being read so late after his funeral?” Jay asked as he helped me down from his Escalade.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed his hand as we walked towards the office complex where the lawyer’s office was located. “Because Annabelle decided she was so distraught that she was going on vacation to Cabo with Rich for two weeks. We had to reschedule to accommodate her travel plans. I swear I don’t know if I’m going to be able to face that gold digging tramp today without scratching her eyes out.”

He stopped us in front of the doorway. His hands went to my shoulders and turned me into him. From there one traveled down my back to my ass, while the other stayed around my shoulders. He pressed me closer so that we touched everywhere—chest, hips and thighs. What a delicious way to take my mind off that bitch.

“You need to keep that shit on lock, T. I promise you that you won’t have to deal with her much longer.”

“I need you to explain that. You and Jeff have been dancing around the subject for weeks. Tell me what you know,” I pried. My curiosity was at an all-time high and I thought I deserved to know what the story was.

“Can’t. You need to trust me on this. Can you do that?” He pressed a kiss to the tip of my nose, probably to take the sting out of his refusal to answer me.

I ran my hands under his collar and down the lapels of his black suit. It wasn’t as dashing as the three-piece one he had worn to the funeral, but he looked just as sexy. Especially since he had no tie and the top button of his light blue shirt was open, exposing his thick and corded throat. I had visions of running my tongue along the skin there and tasting him. “What will you give me if I do?” My voice was low and needy. It had been too long since I had him inside me. Not that that always mattered when it came to how much I needed him. Sometimes it was minutes later rather than hours, days or weeks.

“You wanna smash?” He licked those beautiful, plump lips and I had to fight the urge to run my own tongue along them too.

“So bad.” My arms traveled up his shoulders and around his neck.

“Your panties wet? If I slipped my hand up your skirt would you be ready?”

His words made a fresh surge of arousal settle between my legs and a shiver roll down my spine. “I love when you get nasty. It’s amazing how bad you turn me on right before I have to go deal with something so serious.”

“I’m glad, but that isn’t an answer. Are your panties wet?”

Deciding to turn the tables I shifted so that my stomach brushed against his swelling cock, making him hiss through clenched teeth.

“Drenched,” I whispered. His eyes darkened with lust and his head started to descend for a kiss, but I put my index finger to his lips to stop him. “And you’re going to be giving the people in the office quite a show with that bulge in your pants. You’re starting to tent, Jay.”

He growled and stepped away from me. “You fight dirty. Go inside, but wait for me. I need to try to think of something to get my dick to deflate.”

I tapped his cheek a couple of times with the palm of my hand and laughed before sashaying inside the building with an extra sway in my hips. I waited outside the lawyer’s door for him. It took longer than I thought it would, and I started getting nervous that he was going to make me late.

“Took you long enough,” I teased when he finally joined me.

“Had to call my mom to get my dick to settle, and you know she had to talk my ear off.” He opened the door and waited for me to precede him. “She says hi by the way.”

“I bet she was glad to hear I forgave your sorry ass.” I giggled when he swatted me on my butt.

“She was thrilled.”

“Can I help you?” The middle aged woman behind the desk interrupted us.

“Hi. Victoria Watson here to see Mr. Cohen.”

“Yes, Ms. Watson. Everyone else has arrived and they’re waiting in the conference room. Let me show you where to go.” She stood up and smoothed her dress down before walking on her sensible low-heeled shoes towards the room the reading was being held in. I felt bad for her feet. Even when I was old and gray, I planned on wearing killer heels. There was no other way.

Following behind her, I gripped Jay’s hand tightly as my nerves began to get the better of me. Things were either going to go very badly in that room or go very well. It was a toss-up with what and who we were dealing with.

“Look who finally decided to join us,” Rich grumbled when we entered the room.

It was a small room with a table big enough to only seat six. Aunt Beverly, Jeff, Rich, Annabelle, and two lawyers surrounded the table.

“Shut it,” Jeff warned him. He stood up from his chair and offered it to me. Such a gentleman.

I gave him an appreciative smile as I sat. Jay stood behind my chair and rested his hands on my shoulders. Jeff mirrored his pose standing behind his mother.

The elder lawyer cleared his throat and spoke. “Thank you all for coming here. You’ve been invited today because you are mentioned in Lawrence Watson’s last will and testament. My son here will read Mr. Watson’s final wishes. Scott, please proceed.”

“Yes, father.” The younger man picked up some papers and began reading. “I, Lawrence Henry Watson, being of sound mind and body hereby bequeath…” his voice droned on as he went through my father’s wishes. With each person he addressed, my anxiety level increased.

Aunt Beverly was given personal items that held sentimental value for her and my deceased uncle.

Jeff was given fifty percent of my father’s holdings in Watson Oil, while I was given the other fifty percent along with his mineral interests.

Rich received a sum of one hundred thousand dollars, which was far more than I felt he deserved.

Annabelle received two hundred thousand dollars for every year they were married, which was three years.

And I received the rest. The house, the cars, the investments, everything.

I sat back in my chair and let out a relieved exhale. Tears filled my eyes knowing he left me all that. Until that moment, I had a hard time believing Annabelle hadn’t weaseled her way into receiving more. I hadn’t realized how stressed out it had made me until I felt the relief of a huge weight falling off my shoulders.

“This is bullshit,” Annabelle exclaimed. She pushed her chair back and abruptly stood. Her eyes flashed with anger. “I’m contesting this will. He told me he wanted me to have more. That’s my house! Those are my cars! And that’s my money! I had to sleep with his wrinkly, old ass for years! I deserve more than a measly six hundred thousand dollars for what I put up with!”

“It’s my mother’s house. Contest all you want. He knew you were a no good tramp. Just one of many women who came into his life after she died. You were wife number five for God’s sake.” Jay’s grip on my shoulders tightened when I tried to get up, effectively keeping me in my chair.

“Fuck you, Tori! You can wipe that smug look off your face right now. When I’m done with you it will all be mine and you’ll be left with nothing. Just like you deserve!”

Jay leaned down and whispered in my ear. “Ignore her, baby. Don’t make a scene today. Your father wouldn’t want it.”

I huffed and sunk back in my chair. He was right, damn it. I lifted my chin and addressed Annabelle. “Do what you will. In the end you’ll get what’s coming to you. Karma is a bitch. Consider this your eviction notice. You have twenty-four hours to vacate or I’ll have you removed. You can handle that? Right Jay?”

Over my shoulder, his lips twitched, and he nodded.

Rich gave each of us an evil glare before taking her hand and leading her from the room while she continued to spout off threats.

I stood and hugged Jeff and Beverly while Jay stayed close by.

“Ms. Watson?” The younger lawyer, Scott, walked up to our group and pulled me away.

“Yes.”

“There’s one last thing your father wanted us to give you. He asked that it be delivered after the reading. You might want to open it in private.” He handed me a blue box with burlap ribbon tied around it. I looked up at him with questioning eyes. “Private,” he reiterated. Then he touched my forearm lightly and moved away.

“What’s that?” Jay asked and everyone closed ranks to look at the box.

“I’m not sure. My father wanted me to have it.”

“Open it,” Beverly urged, but I shook my head.

“He said I should open it when I was alone.”

“Well that’s no fun,” she whined good-naturedly.

I smiled at her. “I have a feeling I’ll be better off not doing it where I’ll be embarrassed by my reaction. To say I’ve been a bit emotional lately would be an understatement.”

“I know, sweetheart. We need to get going anyway. I have a tennis appointment in an hour. The new instructor at the country club is quite the looker. You should come by and see for yourself.” Beverly wagged her eyebrows, and Jeff looked appalled by the thought of his mother having sexual feelings, which made Jay and me both laugh.

“I’ll take your word for it. The country club is the last place I want to be these days.” I wrapped my arm around Jay’s and addressed him. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah, baby.” He shook Jeff’s hand and offered my aunt a peck on the cheek. It was nice to see Jeff and Jay had seemingly buried the hatchet. I made a mental note to ask Jay about it.

I said my goodbyes as well and we exited the building together. Once we were outside, Jay lifted me up into the SUV. He rounded the hood and climbed in behind the wheel.

“Do you want me there when you open that?” He gestured towards the package with his head.

I shook my head. “No. I think this is something I need to do myself. It had to have been important for him to have the lawyers give it to me when I was alone.”

My finger idly traced the ribbon and my mind raced with possibilities for what was inside.

“Okay, but if you change your mind, I’m here for you.” He started the car and pulled out of our spot.

“Thank you.” I went back to studying the package.

We were almost to Jeff’s house when Jay spoke. “I want you moving back home.”

My head swung around to face him. “Home? As in your home?”

“As in our home. It isn’t the same without you there.” He squeezed my thigh, but left his hand there. The heat from his hand branding me.

“You lived there long before I came along,” I reminded him. I wasn’t ready to move back in with him. It was just yesterday that I forgave him and told him I wanted to take our reconciliation slow.

He gave me a sidelong glance and squeezed my thigh again. “That was before you changed everything. Now the bed feels empty, and your breathing helps me fall asleep.”

Sometimes, he said the sweetest things…

“That still doesn’t change anything. Me moving back in negates us taking things slow.”

“I’m not a young cat anymore. When you find someone that you actually want to spend the rest of your life with, you have to go for it. I want you for life, T, and that means having you in my home and being able to wake up to your beautiful face every day. Can’t do that when you’re across town.”

I leaned my head against the headrest and closed my eyes against the emotions building in my chest. God, he made it so hard to say no to him. Especially when he was being so open with how he felt.

“I need to think about.”

“T—” he started, but I held up my hand to stop him.

“Please. You can’t push me into this. I need to think about it.” I was proud of myself for putting my foot down and not letting him sway me. I swore he always got his way because he was relentless about making you do whatever he wanted.

“Okay, baby. I can respect that.”

The car pulled to a stop in front of Jeff’s house. I leaned over in my seat and ran my hands through his hair that was starting to grow long and look like a mini afro.

“I need a cut.”

“I like it,” I said while watching my fingers.

“Well, I am pretty fly.” He leaned over and kissed me. “I gotta get back to the office. I’ll pick you up tonight for dinner. Pack a bag ‘cause we’re overdue for some fun.”

My lower lip stuck out in a pout. I wasn’t ready for him to leave. With a flick of a wrist my seatbelt retracted and I climbed over the console, straddling him in his seat. I reached my hand down and found the controls to his seat. It slowly moved back, giving me more room to move. Next it reclined. The whole time he watched me with hunger in his expression. His hands ran up my sides and then cupped my breasts. I arched my back wanting more.

“Why put off for later what we can do now?” I whispered as my hips moved subtly against him.

I knew he didn’t care if we had sex right here, right now. And at that moment neither did I. A person’s imagination is a powerful thing and for weeks mine was in overdrive thinking about having sex with him.

“Good girl gone bad. I approve.”

Jay pulled my skirt all the way up to my waist and slipped his finger under my lacy panties. “My girl’s always ready,” he praised.

I nodded and bit my lip when he slipped the finger inside me and pumped a few times.

“Take me out,” he instructed as he continued to fuck me with his skilled digit.

It was really hard to concentrate as he worked magic between my legs, but I was determined to free him so that he could give me something even more amazing. My hand pumped his hot, hard length as soon as he was freed.

Rising up on my knees, he held my panties to the side as I guided him to my opening and slowly lowered down over him. Our gazes locked when I did—blue eyes meeting green—and in that instant I knew I was going to give him what he wanted by moving in with him. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for him.

Being with him was all I needed. I was going to dedicate my life to him no matter what life threw our way. Walking away from him before nearly killed me. I believed that Jay would be true to his word and work tirelessly not to put me through that hell again. I couldn’t look back. I could only move us forward. He was right, life was short and we needed to go for it.

“Harder,” I whispered as my hips slammed down with as much force as I could manage. My one hand gripped the door while my other hand used the console for leverage.

“Fuck, I’m not going to last much longer,” he cursed.

“Me either.” I reached down my blouse and tweaked my pebbled nipples, making myself gasp. “Right there! Yes!”

My orgasm slammed into me, blinding me with its exquisiteness.

As I bucked through each spasm, Jay planted my hips down on him and I felt his cock twitching with his release.

Spent, I leaned back against the steering wheel and the horn sounded. I jumped and started laughing at my blunder. God only knew what Jeff’s house staff must be thinking right then.

“Jay?”

“Yeah, baby.” His hands tenderly stroked my thighs. He was still inside me, and I was reluctant to move. Ever.

“Whatcha doin’ tomorrow?” I cocked my head to the side innocently.

He shook his head at my flirtatiousness and gifted me with a gorgeous smile. “Whatever you want. Although I have a feeling I might be walking into a trap.”

“Would I do that?” I couldn’t keep my lips from twitching.

“Yeah… why don’t you tell me what you got in that pretty head of yours?”

“Well, I was hoping you’d come by with the boys and move my stuff back to your house.”

“This for real?”

I nodded eagerly and ran my hands through his hair again. “I missed you,” I whispered.

“Always keeping me guessing. That’s how I know we’ll work. ‘Cause I’ll never tire of trying to figure your sassy ass out.” He grabbed said ass and squeezed.

“Hey! None of that. You’ve got to get to work,” I lectured.

He chuckled at that. “You didn’t care about the meeting I was late for when you screwed my brains out.”

“Nope. I didn’t, but I do now.” I slowly moved off him and back to my seat. “Kiss me.”

He placed a hot, wet kiss on my mouth. I pulled back and smiled. “Love you.”

“Love you too.” His hand cupped my cheek before pulling back. “I’ll see you later.”

“Later.”

My mystery and I gift walked to the door. I turned back and gave him a flirty little wave as he drove off.

“Well gift. Let’s find out what you are,” I muttered to the box.

No better time than the present. Pun intended.

* * *

The blue box sat in the center of my bed. I stared at it for several long minutes trying to work up the strength I needed to open it. My fingers itched to tear open the package. I was dying to know what was inside. I was also afraid to open it. I was just starting to feel like it was okay to move on. My grief was no longer choking the life from me. What if whatever was inside this box made me lose it again? Maybe I should have taken Jay up on his offer to be with me when I did it.

I sat on the bed and picked up the box, weighing it in my hand. With shaky hands, I carefully pulled the ribbon off and lifted the lid. Inside the box was a light blue ceramic bird with darker blue specks and veining, resting in a bird’s nest. The body of the bird had a hole with a piece of rolled up paper going through it.

It was a delicate work of art. Clearly handcrafted, I imagined that each bird was made with love. That was how beautiful it was.

I lifted the bird from its home and studied it. What made him give me a bird?

The tag inside noted it was a messenger bird. Hmmm… I pulled the paper from the bird’s belly and unrolled it. I held my breath, and my lips trembled as I read the elegantly written words.

No matter how far I may be, I will always be with you. Love never dies.

Overcome with emotion, I clutched the bird to my chest and wept from both grief and love. My father had showered me with plenty of gifts over the years, but this messenger bird was the most meaningful gift I had ever received. It was as if he knew what I would need from him when the day did come that he left this world and became an angel watching over me.

Sooner than I expected, my tears subsided, leaving me with a few sniffles. I carefully rolled the paper back up and slipped it into its home. Then I set it on the nightstand where I could continue to look at it. After I moved back to Jay’s I was going to have to find the perfect spot for it so that I could keep my father close forever.

Now it was time to start packing. It was a good thing I didn’t get through a good portion of my stuff to begin with. I guess my sub-conscious always knew I’d end up back where I belonged.