COUSINS
By Lisa Lang Blakeney
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CHAPTER ONE
ELIZABETH
I NOTICE THAT ETHAN HAS an unusually glazed look in his eyes when he pops his head up from under my tangerine strapless sundress, which he has leisurely pushed up right above my hips. He has been licking and lapping between my legs for several minutes in a grand effort to get me primed for what is to come next, and he looks like he is definitely ready to give it to me as soon as I give him the go ahead.
"You like that Bitsy?" His mouth turns into a goofy grin. One that I've always been unable to resist. Although I thought I had made it perfectly clear that I hadn't waited all this time to have sex with Ethan just to give it up casually, unplanned, or on a whim. Yet somehow I find myself spread eagle, on top of my brand new tufted pink comforter, panties God knows where, and nervous as all hell. I know full well that having sex will change everything between us, which is why I've been especially careful about the when and the where ... up until now. We weren't even suppose to be here tonight, but Ethan's car was acting funny; so it was either chill at my place or end the night early.
"Don't pull your top off yet," he whispers in my ear as an attempt to sound seductive. Unfortunately Ethan's attempt at being sexy comes off somewhat awkward, and his request for me to keep my top on seems just wrong.
"Why?" I ask while lowering my arms from above my head. "You haven't even touched my boobs yet."
"Don't need to touch 'em right now. Relax and just trust me."
Don't need to touch them? What the heck was he talking about? Ethan had been rubbing, kneading and sucking on my breasts since we started going out, getting me ready for what I guess was this very moment. Usually when we played around in his dad's old Audi after one of our dates, he couldn't keep his hands off of the girls, and I loved it. I thought he did too. I know he chugged down a beer or two when we were watching television earlier but something seems off with him. I'm just not sure what it is. Yet when he says those last three words, "just trust me" and flashes me a smile with his lips still moist from earnestly eating me out, my decision is already made.
As far as boyfriends go, I know that I've hit the jackpot, at least among my small inner circle of friends. I've known Ethan since my freshman year of UPenn, and girls have always fallen all over themselves when they're around him. Not much has changed since graduation; they still do.
When our friendship started to evolve into more during our senior year, I made the decision to take things super slow, because I am quite aware of Ethan's sexual history. Not wanting to be just another one of his conquests, I've been making him wait for over a year to have sex with me, and he's been quite patient, but I'm not sure how much longer he's going to wait for me. Truth be told, I'm not sure how much longer I can even wait. I mean I'm not a virgin. I'm just very selective about who I give it to, especially since I seemed to have picked so badly in the past. My high school boyfriend was a Grade A jerk.
"Okay," I murmur softly. Wait over.
I lower my lids in an effort to do as he asks and simply relax and enjoy the moment, but Ethan's cell phone starts ringing for what is the third time in the last 15 minutes. He stops touching me and reaches over the side of the bed to check the screen. Immediately I imagine the worst, and I think he notices the distrust written all over my face. While Ethan has been a pretty good boyfriend to me, being with him has made me the target of dirty looks from girls we went to school with and beyond. He's definitely good looking, but he's also a very promising swimmer who is training for the next Summer Olympics. Many girls see fame and endorsement dollars when they look at him, and I know that many have the capability of being downright ruthless in order to get who and what they want. So I keep my eyes and ears open. Constantly. It's exhausting sometimes, but my mother once told me that every man has their Achilles heel, and my fear is that the vagina is Ethan's.
"It's just Thomas. I'm going to turn it off," he tries to assure me in an effort to keep me present in the moment.
"That was Thomas who called you all three times?" I ask knowing good and well it was probably that slutty girl Penny from my old Econ class calling him. A total sorority slut, she was notorious for throwing what was between her legs at every halfway decent looking boy on campus, and I'd heard that she was just as busy with the graduates. Especially jocks like Ethan.
"Yeah but he doesn't want anything. I'll call him later. We're busy, right babe?"
I assume that question is Ethan's not so subtle way of checking to make sure I'm still on board, so I nod my head in agreement. He smiles and continues his seduction by slowly gliding the palms of his smooth hands up my thighs while pushing my dress up even further under my breasts to deliver a few feathery kisses around my navel.
Just when I think he is going to actually take my dress completely off and continue with his leisurely stroll around my body, he skips ahead and makes his way to my lips, shoving his tongue inside, rapidly moving it back in forth in my mouth. Kissing Ethan is typically a nice experience, but like I said, something is off. His kisses seem sloppy and amateurish, and as he is getting more excited, I am starting to feel smothered under the weight of his large body and the faint smell and taste of beer on his breath.
"You ready for me Bitsy?" He asks using my nickname in his deepest baritone voice.
Reluctantly I shake my head yes, although all the flashing signs in my head are telling me to STOP! I don't want this to be my first time with him. Not here, not like this, but then I consider what would happen if I attempted to stop him. Would he be angry with me? Would he want to end things? Would he tell his friends that I'm frigid? Would he start taking Penny's calls? Wouldn't it just be better to get it over with? Rip the band-aid off so to speak.
Trust me, I am seriously considering slapping my own self for having these sorts of insecure thoughts, but I have little control over what pathetic things pop into my head at any given time. I know that these are totally the wrong reasons to have sex with someone, but is there ever truly a perfect moment? There hasn't been one yet. Maybe I'm over thinking this whole thing.
Ethan stops and looks wildly in my eyes for a moment. I've never seen this look before. It's as if he needs me in a way that he never has. I've been pretty quiet this whole time, and God knows he's waited a long time for this to happen. So I decide to go ahead and give him the assurance he needs.
I touch the right side of his face gently with my palm. "Go ahead Ethan."
His face relaxes since that seems to be just what he needs to hear. He reaches in his back pocket and pulls out a condom, opens the foil packet, and rolls it onto his long but rather slender penis. I do my best not to ruin the mood by asking him why he even has a condom so conveniently on his person. I can't imagine that he thought that this was going to definitely happen, but I don't want to sound like the insecure girlfriend.
I worry for a split second about pregnancy because the condom seems really thin, like it could easily snap like an old rubber band pulled too tautly. But maybe that's how all condoms look. I never really watched the only other guy I've had sex with put his condoms on. I was in high school and too embarrassed to really look. Obviously I had no business having sex with him either.
Ethan lowers himself back down and gently starts kissing the side of my neck. It feels relaxing, but as he starts to slowly poke and prod his way into my opening, the muscles in my neck and shoulders begin to tense up. I'm not sure why this hurts so much, like I said I've done this before, but I am seriously thinking about pushing him off and running the hell out of my own bedroom. I feel like a virgin all over again. Yet as soon as I go to open my mouth to say the word wait, he kisses me deeply and mutters in my mouth, "Hold on tight Bitsy."
So I do.
As he pushes further inside me with several hard thrusts, I flinch from the unfamiliar fullness, but he doesn't notice my discomfort because his head is burrowed so far into the side of my neck now. He groans while methodically pumping and pushing inside me for a few more minutes, then he speeds up for a few seconds, right before he completely collapses on top of me. He's so frackin' heavy.
"Oh shit!" He cries out. "Bitsy you're amaz–"
Before I can even process whatever that anticlimactic moment was that just passed between us, we both jump at an unexpected loud crash. It sounds like someone has just rammed their head completely through one of my front windows. Ethan jerks his head up, leans his torso over the side of the bed, and reaches underneath for his phone.
"Fuck!" He starts furiously texting someone.
I'm frozen in place as quick, thunderous footsteps are moving towards our direction while Ethan quickly pulls up his sweatpants and fixes my dress. They're moving so quickly down the hall, I know it's just a matter of seconds before they reach us.
"Hide in the closet!" Ethan frantically orders.
My heart pounds with brute force from fear.
They're inside the room, before I have a chance to move.
A man in an all black sweatsuit and wearing a Shrek Halloween face mask (of all cliché things) bellows the words, "Don't fucking move."
I freeze in place and so does Ethan. There are two other men, also dressed in all black with black knit ski masks standing next to the one doing all the talking. They are silent, but the two of them are holding sleek metal gray handguns aimed at Ethan's head.
"Sit," Shrek orders.
I'm not sure who he's talking to, but I immediately sit straight down on the edge of my bed with my mouth closed and my legs shut. I smell like latex and sex, and my body trembles with fear when I take a brief glance up at the intruder's face. Even behind his mask, I can tell that Shrek is dead in the eyes. His cold glare makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and shiver.
"Where is my shit?" Shrek asks Ethan.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he replies without enough fear in his voice in my opinion. Does he know who they are?
"I don't know what you're talking about," Shrek parrots back in a sing-song voice. "Oh yes the fuck you do know what I'm talking about. You're high on my shit right fucking now, and if you don't give me ALL my product and I do mean all of it in the next five minutes, I'm going to have to hurt your very pretty girlfriend over here. And I promise you that she won't be pretty no more after I'm done. Then you're next."
I'm silently crying at this point and paralyzed with fright. I strangely consider all of the crime and cop shows that I have mindlessly watched all my life and wonder what the victims would do in this situation. I've always thought that if I were to ever find myself in a compromised situation, that I would be smart enough to save myself. Yet now that the time is upon me, I'm not sure what the hell to do. Should I make a run for it? Should I beg for our lives? Where's my cell phone? Hell, I'm really frightened, and I have no idea how to get us out of this. I'm just seriously praying that Ethan will give these guys whatever the hell it is they want so they'll leave. I'm very much invested in living another day with my face intact.
Ethan puffs his chest out. "Like I said man, I don't know what you're talking about."
Shrek grins sinisterly.
"That was the wrong answer Aqua Man."
And that's when a black leather covered fist cracks me square in the jaw.
Then everything fades to black.
——*************************——
COMING SOON @ AMAZON!
FOREVER MINE
Mary B. Moore
VISIT MARY’S PAGE HERE:
http://on.fb.me/24cEvgm
Chapter 1
Ren
Jaysus but it was hot out. I'd been guilted into spending the day helping out on the family farm instead of working in my garage in town. If I had been in there today like normal, I wouldn't be sweating my ass off in 90 degrees of heat and sun. Why had I said yes? Oh yeah because of my mom; none of us could ever say no to her. With four boys and a girl under her belt she pretty much had the entire family wrapped around her little finger.
At least it was Friday so I could head into town tonight to get rid of this tension that felt like it was suffocating me. A couple days ago, I'd caught sight of a dark blonde in Coopers while I was picking up some groceries. It had been her hair that got my attention because it was so unfamiliar, and between me and my brothers we pretty much knew all of the females in the county, so I'd stared waiting for her to turn around — because if the back was that amazing, then God would be cruel to make the front less than the back. When she turned and started walking in my direction I'd been floored. Who the fuck was this beauty? Was she passing through or staying in the area? Please God, let her be staying!
She'd turned just then and our eyes had met and I remember struggling to breathe for the second that we looked at each other, until Grandad suddenly stuck his face in mine, scaring the shit outta me! "Ren boy! I was beginning to think you'd skipped the county. Where the hell you been and what are we staring at?" By that point I was twisting and trying to look around his back at the angel who'd been in front of him, but the old bastard was deliberately blocking my view. When he finally moved she was gone.
For the last 3 days all I could think about was her and her beautiful eyes. Seriously, seeing was believing when it came to how beautiful she’d been. The problem was - I'd been back into town every day since and had gone into Coopers and hung around the area and there was no sign of her. I thought at one point I'd seen her driving a new black Escalade around town, but it turned out to be George Montgomery's because he'd driven it into my garage yesterday saying that there was an electrical fault in the driver door that needed looked at. Who was she? Was she gone now? I rubbed a hand down my face and decided I needed to get laid tonight to get my man card back because I was obsessing over this girl like chicks did over guys.
"Hey sweetie,” Mom said as I walked in. She handed me a cold damp cloth to wipe my face and neck down and then handed me a huge glass of ice cold tea. I’m totally her favorite!
"Hey Ma,” my younger brother Cole yelled as he walked in before I could thank her. I watched as she gave him the exact same, but that was just so he didn't get jealous and realize that she really did have a favorite. Like she could tell what I was thinking she caught my eye and winked at me. I’m so her favorite!
"Now don't y'all forget that the interior designer is coming to look at y'all's houses ok?" She said hands on hips. Mom had organized this weeks ago when she'd found out that someone from towns niece was moving here and that she was an interior designer. Our parents had built us our own homes on the property on our 18th birthdays. Obviously it takes a while for houses to be built and all, so we moved in when we were 19 or 20 when they were completed, but on our 18th's we sat down with an architect, a plan was decided and we were allowed to choose where we wanted them to be on the land the family owned and then work was started. We each helped to build the properties in amongst work, education and all that, but they were ours.
I'd been living in mine for seven years and in all that time I hadn't really lifted a finger to change the place or decorate it aside from hanging some pictures or shelves or shit like that. My excuse was I didn't ever have the time, but the truth was I didn't know what the fuck to do to it. Then mom came in with this curve ball and now I was feeling a bit protective of my home and trusting a stranger to decorate it. I mean, they didn't know me and what I liked and they didn't live there so how the fuck would they decorate it for me?
"Shit ma, we know. You've been going on about it for weeks now. Whats wrong with how they look?" Cole whined. He was such a little bitch; even my baby sister, Layla, didn't whine as much as he did.
"Y'all haven't done one thing to those houses since they were built. The walls are still covered in white primer and the floors are bare wood for the love of God" She said throwing her hands up in the air in the way she only does when she's truly exasperated.
"Now Ma, you taught us better than to leave our wood bare,” Cole replied with a smirk on his face, just as I took a gulp of my iced tea which I sprayed all over the kitchen floor.
"COLE JESSOP TOWNSEND! That is...you are...I don't even know what to say back to that comment apart from the fact that you will eat your words the day you meet the girl who is yours, and you'll regret her face when she finds out about the tom catting that you and your brothers have done through town, or even through the entire state. Now get your mind outta the gutter and start thinking about what you're gonna ask her to do to your home and you Renwick Samuel Townsend - go get a cloth and clean your mess off the floor. I swear I raised y'all better than this. You get this from your father's family,” she walked away to the pantry muttering under her breath.
"Speaking of which, last night at Jilly's, I saw the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen in my life. I've never seen her around here before, but she walked in with the Montgomery’s and hand to God she has unrivaled beauty in these parts!” Cole told me as I mopped my spit and tea off the floor whilst laughing at Cole using the term ‘unrivaled beauty’. He’d obviously been lifting Mom’s Mills and Boon books again. Any other pubescent teen would hit Playboy or go online, but not Cole - he’d loved a ‘happy’ ending to his fantasies. Then again, didn’t all teenage boys want a happy ending to their fantasies, but Cole hadn’t thought outside the box and had stolen Mom’s books one by one until she found them in his closet. Of course, we’d never let him live it down since we’d found out.
"Really? Did you talk to her? What was she like?" Mom asked, suddenly full of interest because one of her boys was talking seriously about a female
"She was quite tall, say to here" he said pointing at the bottom of his neck “with long curly blondish hair and these eyes that..."
My head snapped up at the description of my angel from Coopers. ”She was with the Montgomery’s?" I asked, wondering why she’d be with them.
"Yeah! All I know is she’s just moved here to work or some shit, and has just rented the Twyman house outside of town. Jaysus she's beautiful man! I'm gonna head back into town tonight and ask her out," he continued wiggling his eyebrows and not realizing that he was now closer to death than he'd ever been in his life.
"The fuck you......" I started, just as there was a knock at the front door.
My mom clapped her hands loudly, “That’ll be Maya. Y'all stop your arguing and get ready to meet the designer.”
Still in the kitchen with my brother, I put my face in his and growled, "You won't be asking her out Cole - she's mine and you don't forget that."
Before I could threaten him further, Mom walked into the kitchen and said, "Ren, Cole, this is Maya Price the designer. Maya these are two of my troublemaking boys - Cole on the left and Ren on the right."
Cole and I turned round and I damn near choked all over again; there standing in the doorway was my beauty from Coopers - who was now my interior designer. All of a sudden I felt a healthy interest in decorating my home come on, and from the gulp from beside me I'd say my shithead of a little brother was thinking the same thing. The only difference between his thoughts and mine, was that the fact that she was mine was a reality for me whereas it was a pipe dream for him.
Chapter 2
Maya
As my parents were in Australia and my sister was still in college doing her nursing degree, I decided to move to be closer to my Uncle, Aunt and cousins here in Piersville. My dad was a diplomat working for the US Government and was now Ambassador in Canberra. Being without any close members of family from the age of 16 had made me desperate to be closer to my family, plus I loved them so moving here while my sister studied four hours away was beyond ideal for me.
My boyfriend of 9 months had turned out to be a bigger mistake than I'd thought, so feeling protected and having a career was a no brainer for me. It's not that I was scared of Andy per se, its just that he had been the campus slut when we’d been at college and I'd stupidly believed him when he said he had no interest in any other girls when he’d asked me out a couple months after we graduated from the University of Florida. When I'd decided that I actually couldn't stand the jerk and dumped him, it came out that the whole time he'd been fucking anything with a hole. He hadn’t taken the break up well though and had taken to turning up unannounced, everywhere. Now, I just got regular texts, phone calls and FaceBook messages — those I could handle.
I was away from it all now though and I loved my new home. The Twyman's had an old plantation style home that had belonged to a grandmother and it had been the first property I had visited, but I fell in love with it. They had no use for it as their family all had their own homes, so they'd decided to rent it out with a view to the renter buying it if they were interested. I had my nest egg from working and I could easily afford to buy the three bedroomed property, but I wanted to get a feel for the area first and make sure that this was it for me. I hadn't expected to fall in love with the quaint town and the lovely people who lived there, nor had I expected to fall in love with the house itself, and I definitely hadn’t expected to fall in lust with some random guy that I'd seen in town, but that wasn't important. I felt happy here, and there had been such a huge interest in my business and doing work on not only homes, but offices and stores; Piersville was the best thing to happen to me.
We’d moved from country to country all of my life until I was sent to a boarding school in Washington with my sister Lucy. I will always look at my childhood as a gift as I’d experienced so many cultures and had seen so much of the world, but because of it I didn’t even have a proper American accent, it was a mixture of accents, and because of that and all of the moves, I’d never felt that I belonged and was used to people assuming I was bragging about my childhood when I tried to explain about it, so setting down the roots, that had been impossible growing up, was very important to me and I just knew I’d be able to do that here.
I turned up at Colette Townsend's house and gasped at the size and beauty of it. It was old and had been looked after well. In the distance I could see other large houses dotted around and I realized that those were probably the ones that I was being hired to decorate. Damn, I'd give my left arm to decorate this beautiful place in front of me. With a sigh, I opened the car door and jumped out into the heat. How could this family work outside on the ranch in this heat and humidity?
I could hear mens voices coming from inside the house as I knocked on the door and did a final check of my outfit to make sure that my white roll up sleeve shirt was still tucked neatly into my high waisted grey pencil skirt. I heard a woman say something and then the door opened and I was face to face with a petite beautiful woman with brown hair pulled into a ponytail and a face that didn't look any older than 30. What was this woman's secret because I could have sworn my cousins told me that she had four kids, with the eldest being 27 or 28?
"Hey beautiful girl,” she said putting her hands either side of my face and looking into my eyes. I must have been 7 inches taller than her so I automatically stooped when I saw her raising her hands. Coming from the city, I wasn't really used to being that much taller than people, but here all the women seemed so delicate and petite and I felt like a giant in comparison.
"Hello Mrs Townsend, thank you for inviting me out here to look at your properties. Your home is just beautiful!" I caught a glimpse of the inside over her shoulder and immediately started to take notes for future reference — i.e. for my own home. Regardless of my profession, I could still find ideas from other homes.
"Call me Colette sweetie, and it’s me who should be thanking you. You'll see what I mean once you see the properties,” she said rolling her eyes and pulling me through the door. "Maybe while you're looking at the other houses, you could have a look here and tell me what I could do to make it look better?" She gestured to follow her as she walked through the living room towards what I assumed was the kitchen.
I looked around and almost tripped a couple of times at how beautiful and classy yet homely Colette had made the place look. The walls were a bright white and had the odd picture here and there, the furniture was brown leather and glass and totally minimalistic, but it was the oak floor boards that really made me drool. "Oh my God, are these reclaimed floor boards or the original?” I breathed as I stopped and stared.
"Ah, they're the originals. No one realized they were there because my great grandfather in law had, for some reason, put pine boards over them which he had then stained. When we moved in here, one of the boards was loose so I lifted it and found these babies underneath. At the time I was nesting because I was six months pregnant with my eldest Renwick, but I started tearing up those pine boards like a mad woman and went and bought some varnish from the store and would have done it if my Jack hadn't come in from the ranch when he did. I'll never forget when he walked in and saw all these floor boards thrown outside and me sanding the floor with this massive bump in the way." She said laughing hard; I couldn't help but also laugh at the mental picture she'd painted for me.
"Well, you've done a beautiful job; honestly, this is like my ideal home. You've mixed the old with the new and blended them together perfectly and it’s classy but homely at the same time. I love it!"
"Thank you, I love this place too. Now if only we can get my wayward kids to make their houses into homes too,” she rolled her eyes again. "Let me introduce you to them. Two of my boys are in the kitchen this way. My other babies are in different states at the moment, but they’ve agreed to meet with you later to work on their homes; thank the Lord!” She started back towards the direction we'd been headed before I started drooling over this home perfection.
I heard the deep voices coming from the kitchen and walked in to find the hottie from the store and the cute guy I’d seen at the bar last night. Seriously, why was my luck so damned bad? I thought tipping my head back to look at the ceiling for a second before I looked back at the visual heaven that were the Townsend brothers. My usual taste would have been the shorter of the two, but I couldn't stop looking back at the taller one that I'd seen in the grocery store.
"Ren, Cole, this is Maya Price the designer. Maya these are two of my troublemaking boys, Cole on the left and Ren on the right." Ok, so my store sex God was called Ren. If you didn't think of Ren and Stimpy, Ren was a hot guys name so it figured that he'd be given it. Cole stepped
towards me drawing my attention back to him and pulled me in for a hug scaring the shit out of me.
"So, we meet again," he said as his eyes skimmed my face, making me feel just a wee bitty uncomfortable, especially since we technically hadn’t ‘met’ last night as I’d been leaving when he arrived.
"Uh yeah, nice to meet you formally Cole.” I heard a deep growl from over his shoulder and all of a sudden Ren's face filled my vision as he pulled Cole off of me, and then softly stroked a finger down my face following its path with his gorgeous gray eyes.
"Hey baby, nice to finally meet you,” he rumbled in the deepest sexiest voice I’d ever heard. I tried my best not to flinch at his use of the word baby, but 9 months with my ex had taught me a couple things — like the fact men used the word baby for girls to basically land them by making them feel special, when in actuality it was so they didn't mess up their name or have to remember it. He caught my flinch and frowned and I could see the question in his eyes, but I powered through it.
"Uh hey Ren, nice to meet you both too and thanks for letting me look at your homes,” I said trying to pull myself back to being professional and remembering exactly why I was here.
"That's ok gorgeous! We were just talking about how Ren's left his wood bare for too long and how its at risk of rotting now,” Cole’s voice sounded from behind Ren. I couldn't help but take a step away from Ren and shoot a quick glance down at his crotch. Well, that's a damn shame I thought to myself.
"Jesus christ Cole, shut the fuck up!" Ren snarled, scowling at his brother. "FYI there is absolutely nothing wrong with my wood nor have I ever left it bare. This guy is just being a little bitch.”
Well, I definitely feel better knowing that his wood isn't rotting off, not that it would make a difference to me because I was going nowhere near Ren's ‘wood’. God why is this all so dirty all of a sudden? Houses Maya, walls, decorating, wood.......no steer clear of the wood thoughts.
I felt my cheeks heating and was relieved when Colette interrupted, "Both of you shut up. I swear I brought them up better than this Maya. It’s their father's genes that I sadly thought were sexy beyond belief, and still do, but that he's passed down to our son's," she scolded with her hands on her hips.
"Sorry ma!” Cole said casting his mom an innocent look that I bet worked on every female on the receiving end of it.
"Sorry ma" Ren grumbled from beside me, still shooting Cole dirty looks.
——*************************——
RELEASE DAY 02/27/16
EXCLUSIVE LOOK AT MARKED #3
(Marked Series)
By: Elena M. Reyes
PREORDER!
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2
“They were just leaving.”
Miranda eyed them with annoyance clear on her face. “I believe I told you that she wouldn’t be ready to speak with you until after she was given the all clear. What part of ‘head trauma’ and ‘is under strict order to not be upset in any way,’ did you not understand?”
Gulver stepped forward, palms up, while he spoke to her. “It’s important that we speak to the victim of the crime as soon as they are conscious. So much information is still fresh—”
“Knock it off, Officer. You and I both know the procedure…not my first merry-go-round. If the doctor or I say that you need to wait, you wait until the patient is physically and mentally prepared to do so. Their well-being should be top priority.”
“We understand, but she has—”
“She,” Maya sneered at them, hand clutching mine in a tight grip, “is right here, and would appreciate it if you would stop speaking about her as if she has no say in the matter.” The machine beside her beeped, and all eyes inside the room shifted. Her blood pressure was rising and rapidly.
Fuck this. “We will speak to you after I get her cleaned up and she has eaten, and not a second sooner. Janice and Brian won’t disappear while she takes care of her needs.”
“So you know who attacked her? How?” Again, Gulver with his shit. He’s more than lucky to have that badge protecting him.
“For fuck’s sake,” Maya growled out in warning, pushing against the hand I had on her shoulder keeping her in place. “I told him the second I woke up…now get out!”
“Ms. Owens—” This time Marquez stepped forward. Done. They’d pushed my girl too far and I was ready to deck the motherfucker, consequences be damned. His eyes met mine and widened, my ire growing with each second that passed.
Before I could move or say another word, Maya’s nurse stepped in. “Leave, or I will report you for harassing my patient and her fiancé.”
“We’re just trying to do our jobs.”
“I’m sorry,” Marquez interjected, voice contrite. “We never meant for this to escalate or upset Ms. Owens. Talan,” he called out, and I nodded, “please call me when she’s ready. Let’s go.” With that, he turned and pulled a now quiet Gulver toward the door. Without another word the two exited the room, leaving us alone with her nurse.
“Assholes couldn’t wait a few hours,” Miranda mumbled and I laughed, breaking a bit of the tension inside the hospital room. Craziness followed me everywhere.
“Agreed.” Turning toward my girl, I leaned down until we were at eye level. This was the perfect example of a moment where my anger had to be tamed and her needs put first. “Can you try and calm down for me? Breathe in and out. I’m here, and I’m not leaving.” Bitty gifted me one of her pretty smiles. “Good girl.” And then I got an eye roll and a weak slap on the arm.
“Honey, you are screwed,” came from Miranda over by the two monitors next to the bed, watching as the numbers of Maya’s blood pressure began to drop. My own anxiousness seemed to evaporate as Maya calmed down.
“Who’s ‘honey’?” I had to ask. Curiosity was a bitch.
“Applies to both,” she snickered and continued to write her reading on Maya’s chart. Women.
“Hey, Miranda?” Maya called out after a few minutes of silence, gaining her attention. “Can you unplug me from the machines? I want to get cleaned up.”
“Maya, I told you—”
“I won’t let anything happen to her.” At my interjection she huffed, but after a few speculative minutes, she nodded.
“Get me fired, and you’ll be maintaining me for the rest of my life.”
I waved her on. “Duly noted.”
“You two are adorable yet sickeningly sweet. How’s that even possible?”
“Thank you, Miranda…now unplug me, woman.” Bitty ignored her, choosing instead to focus her attention toward the matter at hand.
“You heard the patient.” Had to add my two cents.
“Impatient little… You both better behave.”
After her nurse left with a few admonishments about proper hospital etiquette, I pecked my girl’s lips and stood up. Looking down at her, I was once again hit with just how tiny my Bitty was. Sure, she was curvy. Had an amazing ass and the perfect-sized tits, but in stature, she was small. Petite. Delicate.
The bruising over her temple stood out against her tan skin. Dark and angry. Everything my girl wasn’t. To think that someone would hurt her… Fuck! I needed to stop that train of thought before the anger I fought with daily consumed me.
She needed me.
More than ever, Bitty needed me.
“Give me five minutes to set things up,” I informed her, the tips of my fingers running down her cheek until I cupped her jaw. “Don't move.”
At my admonishment, Maya rolled her eyes while holding her pinky up to me. “Promise.” And then, she pushed herself off the bed to reach me. There was that look in her eye, the one that told me just how much pain she was in. Fucking gutted me. Because to her, I was worth it.
My kisses.
My touch.
Our love.
I met her halfway and pressed my lips to hers. Urgent. Desperation so intense hit me from all angles. She moaned as my fingers wove themselves into her hair and massaged her scalp, soft touches to help soothe her.
Maya arched into me, the movement sudden and hurtful. “Fuck,” she whimpered out, and I froze.
“Don’t move.” Her hands, which had been in my hair, tugged hard, keeping me from pulling away as I should have. Insane, defenseless when it came to her, I nodded against her lips and kissed her slowly. This girl drove me insane, but I understood. We fed off each other. Yearned for the closeness.
I would never—and could never—deny her.
“Look at me, baby.” Gorgeous grey eyes opened and met my own. In them I saw her love for me, and my heart raced. “I love you.” Lips parted, and her breath became my own. Fed my lungs what was vital for me to live. “Have since the day you walked into my shop all sass and bark. Fucking bowled me over with your beauty, but it was your heart that stole mine. Please don’t ever return it; it’s yours. Just like you will always fucking be mine.”
Because that was what I did; I lived for—and because of—her.
“You own me, Talan. No one will ever take me away.”
One more peck on the lips, and then I pushed off the bed, walked over to Maya’s bag on the floor, and picked it up.
Bitty was very particular about which products she used. She’d hate anything the hospital would provide, so like a good boyfriend, and because I refused to leave her side, I had Esther buy her everything she would need.
Not that she complained. This had meant free access to my credit card and shopping for her best friend. My only request was that she did it quickly, and that she treated herself to something for all the help. Esther had readily agreed, and my Bitty had been thrilled to have things that reminded her of home.
Our home. The one we would share until we were old and grey. Cranky fuckers fighting over the remote control and which show we’d watch. The same home where she would slap my hand each time I copped a feel of her ass.
“Growing old will be fun with this chick,” I muttered once inside the bathroom because I was no fool. Maya remembered everything and made me pay for it later.
Turning the shower on, I adjusted the temperature knob and let the hot water warm the room.
Shampoo and conditioners—yes, more than one bottle—were placed inside the small shower niche, a tiny alcove that barely contained the three bottles. Next, I placed her Victoria's Secret lotion and body mist on the shelf above the toilet, hair brush and comb next to them, and then her toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant. Face wash and other crap that I didn’t understand stayed inside the small carry-on Esther bought.
Christ, do women need a lot of shit.
Shaking my head, I walked out and gingerly picked her up and off the bed. “Come on, pretty girl, let's get you cleaned up.”
“Thank God.” Maya sighed and leaned her head on my chest, nuzzling and taking in a deep inhale of my scent. I kissed the top of her head before placing her on her feet. Too cute.
“Let’s get you naked.” Giggles rang out of the small room as I lecherously waggled my eyebrows while removing her hospital gown. Warmed my fucking heart to hear her so carefree. Then, that laughter died—gone, just as fast as it had arrived.
“Bitty, what…” The small mirror above the sink. Motherfuck. “Baby, it’s just bruising. It’ll all go away in time.” No reaction. Instead, her eyes stood transfixed on the small piece-of-shit object that hung on the wall. Linda and Mathew had been dead set on not letting her see the bruising that had developed on over half her face. It was the wrong call. Told them as much.
Fuck.
Watery eyes stared back at her reflection. “Oh my God.” Three words. The pitch in her tone was even and resolute, as if she had no more fight left in her.
Cupping her jaw, I turned her sad face toward my own. “Stop it.”
“Talan, look at what she—”
“You are beautiful.” Her beauty was more than just superficial; my Bitty had a heart of gold.
A long sigh escaped her, and she looked down. “It’s not the bruising that hurts me, Talan. It’s seeing what she did—reliving it all over again.”
“Fuck her.”
“How can I forget? Dammit, look at me!”
“When did I ever tell you to forget?”
“It was implied.” An annoyed huff which ended with her hand on her hip followed. Stubborn fucking woman. How could she even think that?
“I’d never be so insensitive as to say that. Maya, I said fuck her…everything she stands for, not what she did and will pay for with blood.”
Her face softened at that, and the hand on her hip fell beside her. “You promised me.”
“Let’s get you cleaned up before the water turns cold.” Maya pursed her lips but didn’t argue. With a soft touch, I pulled her lace panties down and threw them inside the small waste container in the room. Those wouldn’t be needed.
Nothing she wore inside this place would be coming home with us.
3
“God, I needed this.” Her moan…fuck. Low and sultry, the sound of her pleasure made me hard as fuck. Like granite, smooth and slick against her heated flesh, rubbing itself into her lower back and leaving a trail of pre-come while my hands focused on lathering her front.
I’d tossed the washcloth Esther had bought for her in the trash the moment we’d stepped inside the small shower. Wasn’t needed. My hands were more than enough to take care of her needs.
“I needed you.” Truth. My truth. Maya was the only thing that mattered to me, and the fear that had gripped me that night—seeing her unconscious—nearly killed me. Drove me past what was considered sane by society. Blood and revenge was all I had wanted, and still do, but now I have to be thankful and enjoy our connection.
A shift, a small swivel of her hips, and her ass ground against me. “Need you now.”
“Son of a bitch, Maya.” A resounding thwack reverberated inside the bathroom as my palm connected with the all-white tiled wall. “Behave.” It was meant as a warning, one she didn’t adhere to. No, instead she pushed back again. Harder this time. Too much and not enough. She was a goddamned vision standing there beneath the water. Wet. Rivulets of water cascading down her body, tempting me.
Without preamble, no warning, I cupped her hot little pussy in my hand and added the tiniest bit of pressure.
“Please, baby. Just help me forget.” Yes, the words were whimpered while my one hand massaged her, but it was the last part spoken that made me pause. Bitty wasn’t ready for the physical more aspect of our relationship. It was the emotional that needed to be nurtured.
I would not hurt her by being a selfish asshole.
“Not like this.” She tensed, her body going rigid in my arms. There was a small hiss of discomfort that escaped her lips while she attempted to push me away. I was having none of that, and with both hands wrapped around her midsection, I nestled her body against my own. “Bitty, stop. Listen to me before going off—”
“Is it because I look like shit?” Now that right there pissed me off. My cock had been hard—leaking against her back, fucking ready to find his home between her thighs.
“Don’t.” Thundering, my harsh tone made her stop her persistent attempt to pull herself out of my arms. “Turn around.” My demand was met with defiance and a tiny sniff. And fuck me if my annoyance didn’t evaporate in that instance. “Please, Maya. I need you to look at me.”
Wiping her hand over her face, Bitty took a moment to compose herself and then turned to look at me. “What?”
“Enough.” I gave a harsh nip to her bottom lip that caused her to whimper. “If I could fuck you right now, I would.” Pressing up against her, I let her feel all of me. Natural reaction whenever she was near. I burned for her. “You feel that.”
“Yes.” A hiss. A goddamned plea for more was what I heard in that one word.
“Don’t ever question my desire for you. You are all I see. All I need to be happy in this crazy, fucked-up world. You…you stubborn, hard-headed, beautiful woman, are my happiness.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just that I—”
“Understand.”
At my interjection, she gave me a timid smile and then turned back around. “Can you help me with my hair?”
Nothing else was said while I attended to her needs. Our bodies naked and wet, they brushed against the other. Reconnected with soft, innocent touches—enjoyed the feel of the other.
We needed that.
To just be.
For me, it was knowing that at that moment, she was safe. Healing. That her body and mind would get past this and I’d be there along the way, every step, because I loved her that damned much.
More than my own life.
“Hey, Miranda,” I called out when I reached the nurses’ station. “She’s back in bed and starving. Is it okay for her to eat outside food? Maya’s asking for homemade chicken noodle and a turkey club sandwich.”
Laughing, she nodded. “Yeah, she’s not on a special diet. And to be honest, that sounds amazing right about now.” Subtle she was not.
“Are you hungry, Miranda?” I’d be more than happy to get her something too.
Blushing, she nodded and came to stand next to me. “I could eat.”
Bumping my shoulder with hers, I smiled down at her. “You got it. Let me call it in and have one of our friends pick it up.”
“Let me know what I owe—”
“My treat.” She opened her mouth to argue, but I didn’t let her. “Not up for discussion.”
With that, I turned around and made my way back to Maya’s room. We were still waiting for her doctor to come speak with her; I was ready to get her the fuck out of this place and back home. Feelings she shared with me.
I’d just turned the corner toward her room when I was stopped short. What I saw made every molecular cell in my body burn white hot. Anger consumed me. It was overwhelming. Hands shaking and body coiled tight, I rushed forward and grabbed their hand, pulling them back harshly without a care for their safety. I wanted blood.
A loud thud reverberated throughout the empty hallway, followed closely by a cry of pain. “Son of a bitch.”
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
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