“CAN YOU TURN HERE?” OPAL points at the upcoming stop sign.
“Sure. Where do you want to go?”
“It’s up the street. Once you get about a mile down, there’s a sharp curve. Stop there.”
I put my blinker on and turn the corner, then drive in silence. It’s not long before I see the sign for the curve, and as soon as I do, I suck in a breath. “Baby…”
“I need to do this.”
I pull the truck to the side of the road, and since her side is by a ditch, I haul her over to me. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“No, I just need a minute.”
Opening my door, I help her down and then lean on the hood. When she stops by the cross tied to a tree, I feel the burn in my throat. Same damn feeling when I saw that car tearing out of the parking lot over a year ago and thought she was gonna get hit. Same damn burn when I saw her tears for the first time, and the same feeling when she told me she was scared, and then again when I heard those motherfuckers in her house… just the thought of someone harming her guts me.
Never felt the burn more than when she told me about Olivia’s father, though, because I couldn’t do shit to make it better. All those other times, there was a solution. I pulled her into my arms, I dried her tears, and I made her safe—I did something about it. But being witness to her falling apart, reliving the pain of what she went through and now this; watching her collapse to the dirty, wet gravel and listening to her cry so hard she’s struggling to breathe. It doesn’t just burn, it’s acid, and it’s eating away at me.
There is one thing I can’t do for sure, though. And that’s stand by and do nothing. I push off my truck and go to her, sitting behind her and offering any strength I can. My arms around her shoulders, forearms resting on her collarbone, she turns her head and buries her face against my bicep.
“Get it out, Opal.” I put my lips by her ear, chin resting on her shoulder. “Let it all out.”
She’s never done this before, visited the sight of Josh’s crash. And as much as I hate her crying, much less over another man, I know she needs to do this. I kiss the top of her head and squeeze my eyelids together as her breath becomes even more unsteady.
I’ve never lost somebody like this, so I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know if there is a right thing to do. My mom always told me that sometimes the best thing a man can do for a woman is nothing. Just sit and listen and be the arms that hold her.
So that’s what I do. She eventually stops crying, but after my arm is numb and my shirt wet with her tears, she doesn’t move. “You okay?” I ask.
“Yes. I just… I don’t want to let you go. I know how fast it can happen, and I’m just sitting here thinking of all the things I have to look forward to with you. I need to stop looking at the past. It shaped me, it marked me deep, but you fixed it… you fixed me.”
“You didn’t need me to fix anything, Opal.”
“Without you, I don’t think I would have ever moved on from it.”
She’s stronger than she gives herself credit for, but there’s no point in trying to argue with her. “What kind of stuff were you thinking about looking forward to with me?”
“Little things. Falling asleep on the couch together, going on double dates, taking Olivia to places where, when she walks between us, we can swing her.” She finally turns and though her face is puffy and her eyes red, there’s a light to her that’s never shone before. “Watching you hold our baby for the first time.”
My arms spasm, and I clear my throat. “What?”
“I wasn’t feeling well, and as soon as I was late, I knew.” She turns around and kneels in front of me. “I’m pregnant, Ryan. Only eight weeks, but I’m pregnant. And I’m terrified. And excited. And so, so happy that I can share this with you.”
“You’re pregnant?” It’s the only thing I can say. “For real?”
She nods. “Yeah.”
I feel my lips tilting up and pull her to me, hugging her tight and burying my face in her neck. “Holy shit, Opal. That’s freakin’ awesome.”
“You’re happy?”
“Hell yes, I’m happy. Everything about you makes me happy.” Nothing has felt more right than being with her and Olivia. The past four months we’ve been living together have been amazing and adding a baby will only make it perfect.
“I love you.”
“Love you, too, dollface.” I wipe the tears that fall from her eyes and say the one word that I tell her every day, “Forever.”
Want to read Jay and Livvie’s story, and continue reading for an excerpt.
Bulletproof Butterfly
“Jay.” Livvie slaps my stomach. “Stop it.”
Ignoring her, I continue, “And she was unable to answer her phone last night because—”
“Enough,” she snaps. “I’ll be right back, Paxton.” She puts both of her hands on my chest, shoves me back into the apartment, and then slams the door behind her. “Stop it. Right now.”
“Not gonna let another man stand there, right in front of my face, and spit lines at my woman.”
“He’s not.”
“You got a dick, baby? ’Cause I do, and I know the game he’s playing. I’m not going to be a participant in this shit. It ends, Livvie. Now.”
She shakes her head and points at me. “He’s my boss, Jay. He gave me a job when I needed it. You don’t need to be a dick to him just because yours is threatened.”
“Oh, my dick ain’t threatened, darlin’.” I grab my junk and saunter up to her. “What it is, though, is hard. So fuckin’ ready for you.”
I grab her waist, pulling her to me. My hands palm her ass, and I rub her against the object of our conversation. Her lips part on a quiet moan.
“Get rid of him, Livvie.” I slide my palm up her back and rest it just above her panty line and bring the other one up to the back of her head to fist her hair. She gasps and sways into me, right where she belongs. “If you don’t, I will.”
When she starts to protest, I take advantage and cover her mouth with mine. My tongue dominates, seeking the control I feel I lack right now. The fact that this guy thinks he has a claim to her amps me up in a way I know isn’t fair to her.
But if she cared, she’s certainly not acting like it right now because her fingers inch up my sides until they’re at my shoulder blades, and her nails sink into my flesh. I grab her by her ass again and back her into the door, lifting her up and pinning her there with my hips against hers.
She moans against my mouth, and I slide her core up and down, her pussy hot even through her yoga pants and my shorts. The heels of her bare feet dig into my lower back as she grinds herself against me. Her chest heaves, and she drops her arms, slamming them against the door and arching toward me as pleasure rips through her.
I’m evil enough that I pull my mouth from hers so when she calls out my name, I know he’ll hear it on the other side of the door. After a moment, her breathing evens out, her legs uncross and fall, and she glares at me.
I smirk back at her, not at all regretting what I just did.
Her hand comes at me, and I don’t stop it as her palm whips across my face. She pushes me, but I don’t budge. “You’re such an asshole.”
“An asshole who just proved his point.” I put my hand on the knob. “Get rid of him.”
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Meet Mellie and see Jay again in Fixing Fate, Smith and Mellie’s story.
A preview of Fixing Fate
“Mellie, Jesus, wake up.” He shakes me, and when I open my eyes, he’s above me, but not like before. Instead of being soft and sweet, he looks angry and scared. His eyes are frantic, and his hair is slightly wet, like he’s just taken a shower. Wait. He just came in here. Norman wasn’t here. Smith wasn’t here. Crap, I was dreaming.
“Shit.” I sit up, pushing my hair off my face. “Shit. Sorry.”
“Dammit.” He runs his hands through his hair. “Scared the shit outta me. You sure you’re all right? You need anything? Water?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m fine. Just embarrassed.” I haven’t had a nightmare in a few years. I thought they had gone away.
“Okay. Okay.” He stands, and I can’t help the gasp that flies out of my mouth, but this time, it’s because he’s in nothing but a towel, and I’ve never seen anything so hot in my life. Like back at the hotel, he’s underwear model beautiful, and I can’t stop looking.
The towel is so low on his hips, I can see the start of the trail of dark hairs down there. I sweep my eyes all the way up… past the muscles in his stomach, the piercings in his nipples, all the way to the sexy shadow adorning his face, and finally stop on his dark eyes.
Any thought of the nightmare is long gone. It used to take me all day to get rid of the terrifying dreams, but one look at Smith, and he makes them disappear. He’s a miracle worker.
His Adam’s apple moves down and then back up when he swallows. He clears his throat, and I shake my head. “I didn’t know you had piercings.” I point at his chest.
“I have another one.”
I suck in a breath, and he curses under his. “Stop lookin’ at me like that, Mellie.”
“Like what?”
“The same fuckin’ way I’m lookin’ at you. Like I wanna climb in that bed with you. Like I’m dying to feel and taste every single part of you. Like I want you to help me remember who the fuck I’m supposed to be.”
My breathing slows, but my heart still drums a rhythm so fast and loud I can hear it. “Who are you supposed to be?”
He takes a purposeful step toward me; he’s so close I can smell the bodywash he just used. Soap and man. All man. I lean closer to him as he reaches out and cups my face with his hand. “Yours.”
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