KEPT: A Second Chance Fairy Tale (28 page)

And I’ll take every piece of her she’s willing to give.

Lucy

Michael’s body shudders above mine as he thrusts for the last time, stilling himself inside me while gripping my shoulders nearly to the point of pain. I stay quiet, feeling him succumb to his release.

The physical connection, so exposing and intense, is a welcome surprise.

“Fuck,” he whispers, leaving his head on the side of mine, fingertips still clenching my shoulders.

When he leans his body up to catch me staring ahead, he forces my gaze to capture his. In the dim light of the room, I note his eyes are soft and warm. I exhale a small breath once I see my reflection in them.

“Hi,” I say, as if this is the first we’ve seen each other.

In a sense, it is. The intimacy is new.

“You wanted to try something?” he asks without any hint of humor.

With him still inside me, I can’t help but giggle at the absurdity of our position and his question.

“Move again, Lucy,” he challenges, his voice dark and deep, barely controlled.

I’m achingly sore, so I can’t imagine having more of him again so soon. Thinking better than to test him, I bite my lip and stay still.

Michael lowers his head and brushes a soft kiss on my chest, then brings my nipple into his mouth. I’m oversensitive, and the power he’s using causes me to jolt in place.

I hear him hiss, “Fuck,” again before pulling out and leaving me empty.

“I was comfortable,” I tell him once he starts to stand.

Ignoring me, Michael walks into the bathroom and I hear the faucet running. His large body, now covered in a towel from the waist down, comes back to the bed. His knee dips down before he grabs the sheet, removing it and leaving me exposed. After he’s satisfied with our position, I feel his gentleness between my legs.

I’ve never been taken care of after sex. I got pregnant after Gabe and I had sex the first time, so the intimacy was lost before it had a chance to start.

“Are you going to tell me why it is you charged in here like you did?” he questions, tossing the cloth to the floor and physically scooting me over so he can settle in at my side.

“Charged in here?” I laugh to myself. “I didn’t come
at you
, if that’s what you’re hoping to believe.”

Michael looks down at me and smiles. Then he laughs.

Out loud, without holding back.

And the sound of his amusement is the last I hear before cuddling next to him and falling asleep.

Michael

I
T’S QUIET.

I can barely hear Lucy’s steady breathing over the pounding in my chest as her cheek rests against it. Unlike times when she’s awake, terrorizing me with her challenging ways, listening to her sleep is calming. Relaxing. Comforting.

My mind is at peace for the first time in as long as I can remember. It’s a welcome change from where I’ve been.

Last night, Lucy was so much more than I thought she’d be. She was permissive, aching with need, as she let me have the last piece of her for the first time. It was an undeniable connection built on understanding, chanced by a person who’s kept herself hidden under a cloak of determination and strength.

Her body moved in sync with mine as if we’ve known each other longer than we truly have.

Being with her once won’t be enough. Not after getting to know
all
of who she is.

Nearly five years have passed since I began ‘keeping’ her in a way I now realize I had no business in doing. The woman in my arms is strong, never wanting to depend on others. Half the time, she’s oblivious to the way she affects those around her, and it becomes painful to the point of frustration. Yet, to balance this, Lucy also has a heart that sees things in others which they can’t see in themselves. Jeremy, for instance. What she did for both him and his parents, she did for no other reason than to help people she’d never met before.

Lucy loves life, even after experiencing such a tragic loss.

The realization in regards to how I feel about her can’t be hidden anymore, buried under the hurt I suffered years ago. No, it’s time I start to change. If I haven’t already.

“Lucy,” I whisper, holding her tucked in at my side. When she doesn’t answer, I turn my head to the bedside clock. She’s only been asleep for a little over an hour, yet my body is already stirring with need.

A small glimpse of guilt hits my chest with unease. I can’t remember if I ever felt this way about Victoria. Even as she carried Caleb, her physical beauty was remarkable, but was there ever a time she made me laugh or challenged me at all? I don’t know.

When I lean down to kiss Lucy’s temple, I feel her lips form a smile on my skin, then her body moves closer to mine. She sighs. Her naked leg tangles between both of mine, and she immediately freezes in place when she feels all of me against her.

“You’re awake,” she says with a voice full of sleep. She clears her throat before reaching down to touch me over the sheet. “You’re, um,
really
awake.”

“I am,” I answer, closing my eyes and lifting my hips toward her hand to increase contact.

Without allowing another moment to pass, Lucy sits up. Her long, wavy blonde hair falls onto her shoulders, the ends of it brushing against my chest. In the dull light of the lamp left on before she’d fallen asleep, I watch her bite her bottom lip. When I think she’s about to stand, her leg swings over my hips.

“What are you doing, Lucy?” I question with suspicion, hoping like hell she’s ready for this again.

She doesn’t answer, simply rests her warm hands against my chest. Her nipples are tight, and I wonder if her thoughts are as scheming as mine.

Closing my eyes and willing my hands to stay still, I feel Lucy’s fingers graze the tip of my cock. She positions it just outside her entrance, then slowly, tenderly, she settles over me until her body has accepted my entire length.

Under a barely controlled breath, I grab her hips and feel every silken inch of her as she starts to glide back and forth, up and down, working my cock with a slow, deliberate pace.

“Fuck,” I hiss.

Opening my eyes and focusing on her neck as her head tilts toward the ceiling, my hand moves to touch the soft skin of her throat. Her toned stomach grows taut the longer she continues her assault. Without hesitation or worry of what I’m doing, Lucy’s searching to find her own release. It’s beautiful, if a little painful in restraint, to watch.

Her hands grab my shoulders for balance when I sit up. She sits still above me, looks down, then kisses my cheeks, one after the other.

“You’re a surprise,” she says, as though we’re having a conversation during dinner.

My hands grab her ass, gripping the skin as I feel her silky center cover me again and again.

“What?”

“I said you’re a surprise.”

Right now, while inside her, feeling her clench and grind, I can’t hear anything sweet she may have to say. So, before she says anything more, I lift her without warning as she squeals in response. My body covers hers once I have her on the bed. My arms reach under each of her knees and I spread them wide, giving me further, deeper access.

“Michael,” she says, her voice calm and collected as my body thrusts into hers with intensity.

I don’t look at her and I don’t answer. Rather, I find her neck and suck the skin beneath her ear. She gasps once before her body locks.

And again, just as I had before, I fucking feel it
.

“Don’t tense, Lucy,” I hiss, if only to hold back my own release. I feel it coming, gliding down my spine.

Her fingernails dig into the skin of my back and her teeth vaguely pierce the skin of my shoulder with the same urgency. If she keeps this up, I won’t be able to make it last.

I hear the desperation in my voice as I demand, “Don’t go without me. Together.”

“Yes,” she answers, her shoulders shaking as I pound in and out of her without any resistance.

Her back arches and her head tilts to the ceiling. Her entire body grows tense.

Then it hits us both.

Lucy

A
SMALL VOICE BREAKS THROUGH
the jumbled static of the phone, waking me from a dreamless sleep. “Luuuuucy! Wake up! It’s time to gooooo!”

This is not happening.

Refusing to completely acknowledge this as a wake-up call, I open one eye. What I find makes me happier than I’ve been in as long as I can remember. Michael gives me a sweet, boyish smile as he holds his cell phone to my ear. He points to it as Grace continues her verbal assault.

Grace
, he mouths.

Instead of grabbing the phone, hanging it up, and pulling him back in bed, I push his hand away, then cover my face with the sheet. Obviously, Michael’s already showered and ready to start the day. How’s that possible?

I need coffee.

He finds my reaction amusing because I hear him chuckle as his voice trails off, talking to Grace as he walks away. “She’s up, bear. I’ll get her in the shower and we’ll be over.”

Hearing ‘shower’ and all the possibilities it could include, I take the sheet from my face and glance at him, now standing across the room, watching me. He likes what he sees, apparently, because I’m met with a short nod and a wink.

“Tell your mom we leave in an hour and make sure you’re ready.” He pauses and, from the distance, I can clearly hear her shrieking with excitement. “Okay, see you soon.”

Once he finally gets her off the phone, he turns back to me and boyishly smirks. “She’s excited this morning.”

“Got that,” I reply, pulling the sheet down further. “Why’s she so excited…” I look at the clock, “at eight-thirty in the morning?”

“We’re taking her horseback riding today.”

“We?”

Michael nods. Moving my gaze to the window, I note the clouds are gone and the sky is blue. “I’ve never been on a horse. Maybe I should stay here and you take her.”

Michael doesn’t appreciate my suggestion. I see it on his face as he comes walking toward me. Lifting his hand, he bunches my covers, then shoves them away. Any attempts to evade him fail miserably. Thankfully, before falling asleep for the second time last night, I grabbed Michael’s shirt off the floor, so I’m not entirely exposed.

Without warning, his large body comes down on top of mine. So he doesn’t crush me, he braces his hands on either side of my face. I move my head to the side to give him access to my neck, where he kisses, then whispers, “You wouldn’t leave an excited five-year-old little girl who adores you waiting, would you?”

“I could be coerced into getting ready faster,” I chastise, “if you knew what you were doing.”

“So, was that you needing to be coerced last night?” he quips.

I shake my head. “No.”

Definitely not.

Michael moves his hand to my chest, where his finger caresses the skin between my breasts. My body betrays me. It floods with heat, remembering how good he felt last night. Touching me, kissing me, moving inside me…

We need to go. I need to shower. But, damn it, this feels so much better.

I shrug off my want of him and lift my eyes to his.

He doesn’t say anything about last night, but asks, “You’re not a morning person, are you?”