A Million Guilty Pleasures: Million Dollar Duet (17 page)

“I’m crazy about you, Noah Crawford. And I’m pretty sure that’s because I’m in love with you, and not because you actually do drive me crazy. So yeah, I think that sounds like something I might want to do for the rest of my life.”

“Is that a yes?”

I laughed at his persistence. “Yes, Noah.”

He looked relieved, and his smile became celestial. “Okay, good.”

I pushed my fingers through his wet hair. “Very good.” My eyes drifted over the features of his face. His hazel eyes held so
much love and adoration. He was happy, and I did that for him.

I traced his prominent jaw, feeling it tense beneath my touch until I moved on to feel the softness of his lips. Noah closed his eyes and kissed my fingertips, his neck arching as I continued down his chin, and further still, to lightly caress his Adam’s apple. His neck was thick and muscular, the artery that resided beneath the skin throbbing with the life essence that flowed through his perfect body. It almost wasn’t fair how beautiful the man was. But I wasn’t complaining, because he was going to be mine forever.

“Make love to me?”

Noah opened his eyes, and with unquestionable certainty, said, “Always, but we need to get you out of the rain.” He stood and pulled me up with him. “Mack’s probably going to have my nuts for this.”

Despite my protests, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders so that I was huddled into his side, and he led me to the front door. And then it dawned on me as he tried the handle: I’d climbed out of the window and the front door was locked.

“Um, it’s locked,” I told him, stating the obvious.

“Well, you’re not climbing back up the damn tree, that’s for sure.” He looked around again to find another avenue. “Back door?”

“Locked.”

Noah looked back toward his car. “You’ll have to call them to let you in then. I’ll go get my phone …” His voice drifted off and he swore, running his hands through his wet hair. “Shit! I’m such an idiot. I left my phone at home.”

“You drove all the way here without your phone?”

“Without my phone, my shoes, my shirt,” he said with a devilish glint in his eye. “If I hadn’t already had my pants on, I would’ve left those, too. See how crazy you make me?”

I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed the tip of his nose. “Okay, so let’s survey the situation. We’re both half naked, it’s dark, it’s raining, we have no way to get inside, and I want you … 
now
. Come with me.”

I took his hand and pulled him down the porch steps and toward the small grove of trees next to my house.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” I said, giving him an impish grin.

Once we stepped through the threshold of the thick trees, I led him to a clearing in the center. I stopped and looked up, drawing his attention to the lush canopy of trees overhead that formed a barrier against the elements.

“What now?” he asked as I stepped close to him.

“Now,” I said, tugging at the button of his jeans, “we get you out of these wet pants before you catch your death of cold.”

Noah sighed and reached for the top button on my shirt. “Well, we can’t have that, now can we?”

I shook my head and then leaned up to suck on the skin over the throbbing vein in his neck as we both worked to rid each other of the remainder of our clothes. Once all barriers had been discarded, Noah picked me up so that I could wrap my legs around his waist while our lips found each other again. He slowly lowered us down to the ground until his back rested against the trunk of a tree and I sat comfortably in his lap.

As my tongue sought out his, my hand traveled down his chest and abdomen to find his cock wedged between our bodies.
He hissed and threw his head back when I finally touched him, giving me ample access to his neck and shoulders. I didn’t waste a second of time, bathing his delicious skin with my tongue, my lips, my teeth. His cock was titanium smoothness in my palm, and I pressed him against myself, coating him in my wetness.

Then his hands cupped my ass, and he lifted me as I guided him to my opening. Noah filled me completely, just like he’d always done, just like he always would. We both moaned at the sensation of our bodies coming together like puzzle pieces perfectly matched to each other. For the first time in a couple of weeks I could ride the real him and not just some synthetic version that could never really compare.

Noah released my hair from the band holding it in place, and then he dipped his head to capture one of my nipples with his mouth. His teeth scraped the hardened peak as his lips sucked and his tongue flicked back and forth at a maddening pace. I arched my back and took him in fully, riding him. Slowly, tenderly, we made love as we each whispered words of forever.

It didn’t take long for either of us to reach our climax. Having spent so much time away from each other had both of us wound pretty tightly. Plus, the turn our relationship had taken—the promise of many years spent in the company of the one we loved, our soul mate—had driven us both to such a point that we only wanted to be consumed by the other.

Consummation had its perks.

Before long, I was cuddled in his arms, the heat of our bodies providing all the warmth we needed. We were completely spent, undeniably satiated.

“I have to go.” Noah’s voice was a reluctant whisper. “I don’t want to, but Stone is up to something, and I can’t risk missing another day of work before the board meeting on Monday.”

I straightened and gave him a soft kiss. “It’s okay. I understand.”

His hands brushed my damp hair from my shoulders, and then he cupped my face to kiss me more deeply. I actually whimpered when he pulled away.

“How are we going to get you back inside?”

I shrugged. “You leave, and I’ll bang the door down.”

“And what, pray tell, are you going to tell Mack when he asks how you got locked out in nothing but my shirt? Which looks so very fucking good on you, by the way.”

“Don’t worry about my dad. I can handle him,” I said, having no clue whatsoever how I was going to explain it to him, but I’d come up with something. “Hey, I’m the future Mrs. Delaine Crawford. Some of your ingenuity has to have rubbed off on me, right?”

Noah bit down on his lip, his eyes fixated on my mouth. “Jesus, that sounds good.” He hugged me close and then stole my breath away with a hungry kiss.

Moments later, after much prodding to make Noah get his Ridonkabutt in gear so that he wouldn’t be late for work, I found myself standing on the front porch of my parents’ house, my fist banging on the door. As I expected, Mack sleepily wrenched the door open. His eyes widened when he saw me standing there.

“Lanie? What the hell are you doing outside in the rain in the middle of the night?”

I pushed past him and he closed the door, turning toward me for an answer.

My mother appeared from the hallway, obviously having been roused from her sleep as well. “What’s going on out here?” she asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes. Standing there against the door jamb, she looked the picture of perfect health.

“I was just about to find out the answer to that myself,” Mack told her, his stare never leaving me. “Lanie?”

So I told them the truth.

“Noah showed up, and asked me to marry him.”

“He what?” Faye’s eyes went wide with excitement, and a huge smile spread across her face.

“He what?” my dad also asked, his voice not sounding near as pleased as my mother’s.

I turned toward him and set my chin in determination. “He asked me to marry him, and I said yes.”

“That’s wonderful!” my mother squealed as she came to hug me.

Mack raked his hands over his face in exasperation. “And how the hell did you end up locked outside in the rain?”

“I climbed down the tree to get to him,” I said matter-of-factly.

“Oh, that is so romantic.” My mother had a dreamy tone in her voice.

“That is so stupid!” Mack countered. “You could’ve broken your neck, young lady. Where is he?”

“Oh, stow it, Mack,” my mom said, coming to my rescue. “This is great news, and I’m not going to let you ruin it for us.”

I knew that my mother had never really had what you’d call a romantic proposal. The way she told the story, Mack had picked her up for a date, turned to look at her, and said, “So you wanna get hitched?” She told him sure, and he said, “Well, all right then,” before turning back to start the car. She hadn’t been complaining; it was just the way they were. Exactly like how Noah’s proposal, and my acceptance, was the way
we
were.

“Let’s grab some coffee,” my mother said, dragging me toward the kitchen. “You have to tell me everything.”

My father sighed in resignation and rolled his eyes. “I’m going back to bed.”

Faye and I were still sitting in the kitchen when the storm finally subsided and the sun peeked over the horizon. I told her the whole story, even the part where we made love under the canopy of trees next door. She hung on my every word like she was a kid and I was telling her the story of Santa Claus.

“Let me see the ring,” she said, lifting my hand up to see none there.

I shrugged. “It was sort of spur-of-the-moment. Besides, I don’t really need a ring.”

“Lanie, he’s Noah Crawford. He’s going to make sure you have one.”

“Either way, it doesn’t matter. Just to know he loves me is enough.” And it was. I’d never been the flashy type, but my mother was right: Noah was going to make certain I had a ring. I only hoped it wasn’t going to be something huge that cost way too much. Heck, he could give me a secret decoder ring out of a Cracker Jack box and it would suit me just fine.
Polly and Lexi would probably go batshit over it, but I wouldn’t care.

“Baby,” my mother said with sincerity as she took my hand in hers, “you have to go to him. You can’t stay here.”

“Mom, he’s cool with it,” I said, cutting her off. “When you’re better, that’s when I’ll go.”

“Now you listen to me, Delaine Talbot,” she said, her voice taking on that motherly tone. “I’m doing just fine. In fact, I’ve never felt better. It’s time you stop living your life around me and your father and go live your own. That man is crazy about you, and you’re just as crazy about him. Go. I insist.”

“You’re kicking me out?” I asked in mock outrage.

“Yes, I am,” she said, playing along. “Get your shit and get the hell out of my house.”

We had a good laugh and hugged. I was all kinds of giddy inside, knowing that Noah and I would finally be together without anything keeping us apart. The Cooch was mighty excited about that prospect as well. She and the Wonder Peen were going to be reunited, and the only thing that stood in the way of their happiness was the Cooch’s obsession with the Ridonkabutt. However, I didn’t doubt they’d somehow work things out so that she could enjoy the best of both worlds.

Noah had called to let me know he’d made it back okay and was on his way into work. I decided not to tell him I was coming home to him, or that I had told my folks about our upcoming nuptials. I wanted to see the look of surprise on his face when I showed up and made the announcement.

I called Dez at her parents’ house and woke her lazy ass up to tell her the good news. After about three straight minutes of listening to her bitching about me waking her up, I finally cut her off and just blurted the words out.

The first thing she said to me was, “And I suppose you want me to be your maid of honor?”

I laughed at her nonchalance. “If you’re not too terribly busy, I’d love that.”

Dez sighed. “I guess I can do that, but you better know now that there will definitely be strippers at the bridal shower.”

“You mean the bachelorette party?”

“Yeah, that too.”

I laughed. “Hey, do you get a discount since you’ve slept with all of them?”

“Fuck you very much, and I damn well better.” She laughed with me, and then she got serious. “I’m really happy for you, Lanie. But I’m still going to set his balls on fire if he fucks up.”

“Aw, you’re so sweet. Now get your butt over here. I need you to drive me to Chicago.”

“You’re lucky I don’t have to work until tonight,” she huffed. “I’ll be there in two shakes of a donkey’s dick, trick.”

I had just finished packing my things and stacking them by the front door when I wandered into the kitchen and saw my father sitting there having his lunch. He glanced up at me, his eyes full of sadness, and then returned his attention to his sandwich.

I knew he was upset but holding his tongue for my mother’s sake.

“Dad?” I said, walking into the kitchen and taking the seat next to him.

He cleared his throat and sat back in his chair, attempting to look nonchalant. “What’s on your mind, baby girl?”

“You know I’m going to be okay, right?”

“Let me tell you what I know,” he said, crossing his arms defensively over his chest. “Nothing, that’s what I know. You
go off to college, money shows up out of nowhere in our account, your mother gets the best heart surgeon in the state—hell, in the country, for that matter—you show up with this bohunk who has more money than he knows what to do with, and all of a sudden my baby girl is running off to marry him. Hell, he didn’t even ask me for your hand in marriage. Now you tell me, Lanie, what’s there for me to be worried about?”

“You have to trust me. I’m not a little girl anymore. I know what I’m doing.”

He turned his head to look out the window and then sighed again. “Do you love him?”

I laid my hand on his shoulder, and he turned to look back at me. “More than I ever thought possible. And he loves me, too,
so
much.”

Silence stretched between us before he finally said, “You know, when I first held your tiny body in my arms, I swore to protect and keep you safe from everything this cruel world has to offer. But I also promised myself that I wouldn’t be so over-protective that I keep you from being happy.”

“Noah makes me happy, Daddy,” I told him, trying to convey my sincerity through my eyes. “I’m miserable without him. I want to spend the rest of my life loving him and letting him love me. But I can’t be truly happy without your blessing. I want you to walk me down the aisle and give me away to Noah, knowing I’ll be safe with him. So do we have your blessing?”