CHAPTER SIX
Marisa
Oh god. I knew what I wanted to say, and yet this was going to be tricky. Because I’ve fallen head over heels in love with Officer Davies, and yet, we’ve never really talked about our relationship. In fact, I wasn’t even sure if we had a relationship, to be honest. Realistically, you could say we had a friends with benefits set up where he showed up in Huntstown every weekend and we fucked each other silly for forty-eight hours straight.
So what do I do now? All I know is that I have to say something otherwise my soul’s going to curdle and wither on its own. Plus, I couldn’t keep sneaking out every weekend because other people were starting to notice.
“What’s going on?” demanded Bobbie last month, her hands on her hips. “You’re going home again?”
It’d been the tenth weekend in a row that I’d muttered something about missing my parents and my dog, making excuses about heading back to Midville. But Bobbie wasn’t having it this time.
“Marisa, you know I’m from Midville too. My parents still live there. My little sister still lives there. And they say that no one’s seen you around for ages although you’re supposedly home every weekend. So what’s going?” she asked with a roll of her eyes.
I sighed. Just my luck. Midville is a tiny hamlet where everyone pretty much knows everyone else’s business. I could hardly say I’d been holed up in my house for ten weekends in a row. So I blurted the first thing that popped into my head.
“Um, I’m not actually going home,” I said shame-faced. “You’re right. I’ve been going to an in-treatment program for stress and anxiety. From school, you know? I’ve been working so hard that my parents thought I better see a therapist.”
Marisa shot me a skeptical look.
“Are you serious?” she asked, her face twisted in a disbelieving expression. “You don’t seem stressed out,” she said dubiously, looking me over. “In fact, I’d say you’ve never looked better. You’re almost glowing Marisa.”
I blushed then because what Bobbie was saying was true. Being with Liam makes me so happy that I float on Cloud Nine most days. I eat better, I work out more, and my head is filled with thoughts of love non-stop. Being in this heavenly state would make anyone radiate contentment.
But I had to find something to say.
“I know,” I said hurriedly. “But I look good exactly because I’m going to therapy. The regimen works wonders and by Monday mornings, I’m all fixed up and rarin’ to go again.”
The excuse kind of made sense, but it kind of didn’t either. And unfortunately, my friend was no dummy. She shot another skeptical look at my small overnight bag.
“Well, why don’t you just go to the Student Health Center instead? They have free counseling sessions, so you don’t have to pay out-of-pocket for therapy elsewhere. Plus, if you’re doing this well, I don’t think you need therapy anymore. Last I saw, you aced that Biology exam.”
Bobbie had a point and I smiled weakly again.
“Yes, but it’s a fifteen-week program,” I mumbled. “So I have another couple weeks to go.”
“Really?” she asked skeptically. “Fifteen weeks of happiness training? That sounds like a lot.”
Oh god, we were going overboard now, and I was getting entangled in this web of lies.
“Fifteen weeks,” I repeatedly again with a lame smile. “So I’m almost done! How did you Algebra for non-technical majors test go, by the way?”
Bobbie wasn’t fooled in the least, but at least she relented then.
“Okay,” she said, still somewhat skeptical. “But seeing that you look this good, maybe I should sign up too. After all, I’m getting Cs and Ds, and this school is kicking my ass. If I can improve my grades, I’m sure my parents will foot the bill for some happiness rehabilitation program. What was the name of this place again?”
I nodded weakly because oh shit, tell one white lie and suddenly you’re stuck with a thousand of them.
“Um, Crossings Treatment Center,” I mumbled, trying to think fast before turning to leave. Was there actually a Crossings out there? I hoped so. “But let me finish the program first and then let you know. Deal?”
I didn’t wait for Bobbie’s reply, merely spinning on my heel and almost running to the bus stop. Because suddenly, I knew I couldn’t continue this thing with Liam indefinitely. We had to come out into the open sooner or later, seeing that the lies were beginning to stack up.
But now, in his lap, suddenly the words stuck in my throat.
“Um, the talk,” I managed to croak. “I’d like to have a relationship talk.”
Liam wasn’t thrown at all.
“Sure thing,” he murmured, one big finger stroking down my cheek gently. “Go for it, sweetheart. Tell me what’s on your mind. I’m here to listen.”
And the lump in my throat grew even bigger because this is what I love about the man. He’s not just some random hook-up with an amazing body and a cock to die for. He’s someone who really listens when I talk, and who encourages me to express my feelings. Not that I have trouble doing that, but right now, my heart was in my eyes and I swallowed heavily again.
“Well, I just wanted to ….” My voice trailed off.
His brows quirked with amusement, our faces close together. Oh god, Liam was so handsome with that cerulean gaze and strong, firm jaw.
“Wanted to what?” he asked, that deep voice gentle yet rough at once.
I took a deep breath.
“Um, well, I was wondering if you were still escorting?” I asked, cheeks flushing a bright red. Oh god, these words shouldn’t be hard to say, and yet they were. “You know, not with me obviously, but with other women?” I asked. “I just …”
He was completely still now, lights dancing playfully in his eyes.
“You just what?”
I took a deep breath. It was now or never.
“I don’t want you to do it anymore,” the words came out in a rush. “I want you to be mine, and mine only. No other women,” I said, hanging my head, so embarrassed. “I’m sorry, but I just don’t think I can go on if you’re still working for the service. I’m sorry Liam,” was my miserable blurt. “I understand if you don’t want to see me anymore.”
My heart felt so heavy and to my horror, tears were brimming under my eyelids now. One escaped, and a hot trail streaked down my cheek, evidence of the despair.
But the big man wasn’t perturbed. Instead, he held very still, those strong arms still tight around me.
“Why don’t you want me to be an escort?” he asked in a low rumble. “Why, what’s wrong with what I’m doing?”
I didn’t know how to explain it without sounding desperate, so I gave up trying to be dignified. Instead, I raised imploring eyes to him.
“I can’t handle the thought of you with other women,” was my tearful mewl, cascades of tears dropping from my lids now. “It hurts me whenever I think of it, and I’m so sorry because I know this isn’t what you want,” was my sob. “I know that you do it for the money because like you mentioned that first time, being a cop doesn’t pay much and this is how you supplement your income. But I can’t take it anymore,” I said, my heart breaking. “I don’t mean to make this so hard for you, but there has to be more than money in life, right? I don’t care if you make zero or if you make a million dollars, Liam. I just can’t live with the escorting thing anymore,” was my last, plaintive wail.
And to my surprise, Liam didn’t push me off his lap or shove me away, eyes cold. Instead, those arms stayed strong and warm around my form, holding me close.
“So the money doesn’t mean anything to you, hmmm?” he asked in a slow drawl. “You wouldn’t care if I was nothing but a cop, getting by on a small town salary?”
I threw my arms around his strong neck then, burrowing close to that male heat.
“No, not at all,” was my broken whisper. “I’d be perfectly happy married to a small-town cop. I’d want to be with you Liam, come hell or high water, through good times and bad. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. I don’t care about the money, and yes, there will be difficult times, but escorting as a second job isn’t the answer.”
I could feel something moving beneath me and with shock, realized that it was his big chest rumbling with silent laughter. Immediately, I pulled back, eyes wide and a little angry.
“Why are you laughing?” I demanded in a whisper. “I’m being serious here.”
“I know you are,” he apologized immediately, those blue eyes still dancing even as his voice became serious. “But it’s because I love everything about you, Marisa, that I’m laughing. Your values, your sense of honor, and most importantly, the way that you always say what you mean. I love those things about you, and that’s why I’m laughing.”
I pulled away then, heart beating like a drum yet unable to talk. Because did Liam just say that he loved me? Or at least loved something about me, some traits and characteristics at least? I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
Fortunately, my handsome lover didn’t mind. His big hand stroked down my back gently, caressing the curve of my spine.
“I haven’t been on any dates since I met you,” he drawled slowly, eyes serious now. “And I mean ever since we met on that snowy night a year ago, not when we met up later in the hotel. Somehow, you made such an impression on me, that I pretty much stopped.”
“But we met through your agency,” I protested, eyes wide. “So what do you mean, you stopped?”
He nodded, expression thoughtful.
“Well, I guess it’s kind of a funny story. After we first met, I couldn’t get you out of my mind. It was crazy. You were literally a high school girl, and yet the memories of that encounter drove me nuts. So after six months, I gave in and took a client from the service, which luckily turned out to be you. So yeah, I haven’t been with anyone since we first met because you do that to me, sweetheart,” he said simply. “You make every other woman seem like a shadow compared to your curves.”
I gaped at him again, mouth opening and closing like a dying fish. Because was Liam speaking the truth? We’d been exclusive since that winter night a year ago?
And reading my mind, the dark man nodded again, blue eyes gleaming.
“That’s right sweetheart. You made such an impression on me with your heated cunt honey that I couldn’t get you off my mind. So it’s been only you for me for the past year.”
Joy leaped in my chest at the unexpected revelation and my mouth opened, eyes wide.
“Really?” I whispered, heart pounding hard. “Is that true?”
“Absolutely true and hope to die,” he said, grinning while holding his fist up in a Cub Scout pledge. “Stick a needle in my eye.”
I was unable to speak for a moment, but then happiness crashed over my frame.
“Oh you!” I squealed. “You’re mixing two different things up. The saying is a children’s rhyme but the pledge is from the Boy Scouts.”
Liam grinned and shrugged, devilishly handsome as always.
“Well, you get my point,” he growled. “But I mean it when I say there’s no one for me but you, Marisa.” Suddenly, his tone grew serious. “And I appreciate what you said about money not being important because I have some news for you. I’m quitting the force.”
And this time, the shock was overwhelming. If before I’d been surprised, now I was being shot out of a cannon with my hair on fire.
“It’s not because of me, is it?” I asked on bated breath. “It’s not because of something I said? Because I want you to give up escorting, but the police work is completely fine. I’d be proud to be with an officer of the law, Liam, and I mean that a hundred percent,” I said, gazing into his eyes.
He kissed me then, those molded lips seizing mine with heat. But then the man pulled back, capturing my heart with that piercing blue gaze.
“No sweetheart, it has nothing to do with money. You see, my family has a company and they’ve been begging me to join it for, oh, about ten years now. Figured it was time to do so. After all, I can’t let Cousin Ike run it into the ground.”
I nodded enthusiastically.
“Of course,” was my reply. “If you want to join your family’s company or work at McDonald’s, I’m okay with that. I’ll get a job after graduation, and we’ll have two incomes then. It’s all honest work, Liam, and I want to be with you no matter how much you make.”
His expression grew thoughtful as those blue eyes took me in.
“Well, that’s the thing, sweetheart,” he said slowly. “If I join Davies Paper, you won’t have to work if you don’t want to. In fact, I’d prefer it for the first few years after you graduate because I want you to be heavy and curvy, loaded with my babies.”
Now all words escaped me because this was beyond my wildest expectations. I’d thought this conversation was going to go poorly, what with my demands about him giving up escorting. But not only was Liam agreeing to it, but he was telling me he had another job in his pocket, and he wanted me to be the mother of his children?
“Are you serious?” I asked in a breathless whisper, my heart almost beating its way out of my chest. “You want to get married and have kids together?” I asked, the words rushing out in one quick exhale. “Because I’d love to if that’s what you’re asking, Officer Davies.”
And with that, Liam reached into his back pocket, and suddenly a velvet box was in his big palm, small yet filled with meaning.
“Is that …?” I asked, unable to breathe as I stared at the box. Only jewelry came in a box like that, and if I wasn’t mistaken, it was probably going to be expensive.
Liam’s smile was as sure and confident as always.
“Open it,” he rumbled, his breath against my cheek. “See if you like it first sweetheart.”
With trembling hands, I took the velvet box from his palm, running my fingers over the soft fabric. Oh my god, my dream was coming true and I could hardly believe it, almost afraid to breathe. But the smile on Liam’s face and the warmth emanating from his body reassured me, and slowly, I opened the box to reveal a beautiful diamond within, the sparkler dazzling and breathtaking.
“Oh my goodness,” I breathed before turning tear-filled eyes to my man. “Yes, Liam. Yes, I will marry you.”
And that’s the story of how a steamy encounter on a snow-filled street long ago morphed into a marriage. Because neither Liam nor I foresaw this result when the car came careening down the street, almost swiping his black and white. At most, it was pure chance that brought us together, especially since we encountered each other once again through a male escort company.
But in a way, I can’t blame Gold Medallion because it was their service that brought us together. Liam and I had both given up hope of finding one another, when suddenly, we were plunked together in a hotel room through an improbable chain of events. So I’ve learned not to judge because the world works in mysterious ways, and with Officer Davies by my side, there will be only happiness in my future.
I threw my arms around him.
“Yes, yes, yes,” was my ecstatic reply as I covered his face with kisses. “Yes!”
My man kissed me back but then pulled away, blue eyes gleaming.
“Sweetheart, I’m happy to marry you at City Hall tomorrow if you want. But promise me one thing.”
I lifted wide eyes filled with love to him.
“Anything,” was my breathless whisper. “Just tell me, Officer Davies.”
And the handsome man laughed before growing serious once more.
“Promise me that we’ll start trying for a baby immediately,” he said in a rough voice. “I wanted to wait until you graduated, but now I’m thinking I want you round and heavy with my child now. Give me that, sweetheart, one small thing,” he begged, those blue eyes fixed on mine.
And how could I say no? After all, there was plenty of time for a school and a career. Right now, completing our circle of love was paramount, and the truth is that I want his seed in me. I want to blossom with fertility, that male jism making a baby inside. So with a smile, I pressed my lips to his gently.
“Absolutely, Officer Davies,” was my breathless whisper. “Why don’t we start now?”
And with a growl, we were on the hotel bed in a moment, my fiancé ravishing my curves. My fiancé. Doesn’t that sound amazing? Because Liam Davies is everything to me including boyfriend, fiancé, and soon-to-be husband … and with love on our side, only happiness awaits.