Now and Forever (18 page)

She handed him a bottled beer and curled up next to him on the couch.

“Movie or Sportscenter?” he asked.

“You pick.”

With a sigh, he clicked the button on the remote to start the movie. Layla settled herself against his chest. She was soft and warm, the feel of her curves against his body reminding his cock how long it’d been since he’d seen and felt all of her.

He couldn’t get into the movie. Not just because it was lame, but because Layla was tracing her fingertips along his thigh. This was enough, he told himself several times in a row. He liked being together this way as much as she did. After growing up in a home where no one ever showed affection, he liked little reminders that Layla loved him. Her head tucked into the crook of his neck was one. And her fingers, making their way up and down his inner thigh.

It’d been too long. What was meant as a show of affection was making him rock hard.

“Ah . . . maybe just . . . lower,” he said, moving her hand to his knee.

“Sorry,” she said. He leaned back, forcing her to look up at him.

“No you’re not,” he said wryly.

“No, I’m not.”

Her light brown eyes sparkled and he couldn’t take it anymore. He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her slowly. Her hand made its way back up his thigh, climbing higher this time. When she brushed her fingers across his erection, he couldn’t help the deep groan that slid from his mouth into hers.

This couldn’t go on much longer. His self-control was already slipping. But,
damn
, did it feel good. Ben ran his hand from the back of her neck into her hair, letting the silky strands glide between his fingers.

Layla slipped a thigh across his and before he knew what was happening, she was straddling his lap, pressing her body against his. Just . . . three more seconds. Five at the most. He moved his hands across her thighs, around to her ass. She’d be expecting him to grind her hips into his roughly, so he caressed her ass gently instead.

He slid one hand up under her shirt, tracing a finger along the line of her spine. His other hand made its way down over her pants to the crack of her ass, his finger pushing against her in the spot that made her gasp with satisfaction. This was too good. It was fucking brutal for anyone to expect him to stop now.

“You feel good, baby,” he said against her lips in a low tone.

“Please don’t stop,” she said breathlessly. “We don’t need to have sex, I just want you to touch me. Just . . . make out maybe. I miss this.”

“Me too.” He pulled her knees toward him, bringing her closer. Her coconut scent was teasing him; daring him to go a little further but not all the way. The v-neck of Layla’s t-shirt exposed her chest and collarbone, and he kissed her there, gently at first.

She was breathing heavily by the time his lips travelled up to her neck. He nipped it gently and buried his hands in her ass cheeks, grinding her hips against his. It was impossible for him to deny her pleasure. She was perfect, beautiful, and his alone to please.

Ben pushed up her t-shirt and she grabbed it, pulling it over her head and letting it drop to the floor. His cock was throbbing with frustration, and the sight of her round tits in a bright red satin bra didn’t help.

He kissed his way down her chest and used his teeth to toy with one of her breasts. Every time he caught her nipple between his teeth and nipped it, she rotated her hips into him, and the friction was so fucking good. He closed his eyes, willing himself not to get so worked up that he couldn’t stop.

Layla was moaning and grinding into him faster and faster. If he looked at her right now, he was sure he’d blow his load. Instead he buried his face in her chest, wrapping his arms around her lower back to lock her body against his. He did the work, thrusting against her hard and fast.

“Oh, shit,” she cried. “Stop. Ben, stop. I’m gonna come.”

He said nothing and continued, grinding his teeth to keep himself from climaxing, even through his jeans. Within a few seconds, Layla was coming apart in his lap, tossing her head back and crying out.

She relaxed and met his gaze, panting. “Did you come?”

“No, and I deserve a fucking medal for it. That was like one of the torture endurance tests I had to go through in boot camp.”

“Ben. I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to make you—”

“Don’t be sorry. You didn’t make me do anything. I figure as long as I wait until we’re married that’s good enough. Depriving you doesn’t prove anything.”

“But . . . I feel bad that I came and you didn’t.”

“Don’t, sweetheart. I still liked it.”

Layla ran her fingers through his hair gently. “You’re sure you still want to wait? Maybe we should slow down on the whole getting married thing and just enjoy dating each other.”

A knot of anxiety formed in Ben’s chest. “Is that what you want?”

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m completely in love with you. But how will we resolve this issue of you wanting me to leave my job when we have kids?”

Ben ran his fingers over the end of a lock of her hair. “What if the new evidence hadn’t come out in Cole’s case? How would you have defended him?

Layla gave him a skeptical glance. “What’s that have to do with anything?”

“Just humor me.”

“Well, strictly between you and me, I would have filed a motion to dismiss based on the PC used to get the warrant.”

A warm wave of admiration swept through Ben. “You caught that, then.”

“Of course I did. I’m good at what I do.”

“I’m seeing that. I always knew, but I’m seeing that you’re one of those rare attorneys who doesn’t just fight because you’re getting paid for it. You’re tenacious. Fighting for people is part of who you are.”

“It is,” she said. “And not just any people – the ones who really need it. It’s why I left my bullshit corporate firm. I have to do some corporate work now to pay the bills, but it frees me up to do the work I love.”

Ben took her hand and stroked his thumb over her engagement ring. “I can be a stubborn asshole, baby. But I’m working on it.”

Layla smiled and leaned in to kiss him. Her warm, soft lips made his cock stir to attention once again. Ben reminded himself that he was proving something to her, and he couldn’t fumble now. She had to see that he loved her heart and her mind more than her body.

Chapter Ten

Cole caressed the small swell of Emma’s belly. They were still in bed at noon on Saturday morning – phones turned off and world tuned out. He was wrapped around her – her back nestled against his chest and his leg wound over hers. They were a perfect fit, in every way.

“What time did we go to sleep?” she asked, sounding groggy.

He tried to remember. “Late. Or early, I guess. It was close to five, I think.”

“Wow. So that’s how engaged people screw, then? I hope it’ll be like that every time now.”

“I’m up for that. And I’ll never look at our kitchen table the same, by the way.”

Emma gave a small hum of satisfaction. “That was amazing. But the time where you kept stopping when I was about to come, and then starting again, for like an hour . . . holy shit. Best orgasm of my life when you finally let me go all the way.”

Burrowing his face into the crook of her neck, Cole laughed and took in her sweet, sexy smell. “It wasn’t an hour, baby. Maybe half an hour.”

“It felt like forever. But it was so good.”

“Figured I’d better step up my game now that we’re engaged. When should we get married?”

“I don’t know. Let’s catch up financially first before we plan anything. Or just do something quick and easy at the courthouse.”

“I love your practicality. But when I marry you, it won’t be quick and easy. Our finances are good, by the way. McNeil told me when I talked to him that they’re giving me back pay for the work I missed and paying me the bonus I got screwed out of.”

“That’s a lot?”

“Yeah, it’s a lot. And . . .” He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “My parents want to pay for our honeymoon.”

Emma turned to face him. “Cole, no—”

“I know. I refused, too. But then my mom almost started crying. She said they’ll never get to plan or pay for a wedding for Shay and that this is important to her.”

Emma’s face fell and she sighed. “That breaks my heart. Because of Shay, and because my dad screwed up our hopes for a normal wedding.”

“We’ll have whatever kind of wedding you want,” he said. “It’ll be plenty normal. And if your parents choose not to come, that’s their loss.”

Cole’s emotions were swirling now. That happened every time he talked about his sister, who was hospitalized for schizophrenia at an inpatient facility in Indiana. And Emma’s sadness about what should have been a happy occasion made him pissed at her father.

“I could walk down the aisle alone,” she said.

“My dad said he’d be honored to walk you down the aisle.”

Emma’s eyes filled with tears. “He did? That’s so sweet.”

“My parents love you, Em. They want to be part of our wedding. We don’t need their money, really, with my bonus and the way things have taken off at the bakery. But I don’t want to hurt their feelings. They’ve got a lot of money, my dad’s a sharp investor. They’re just unpretentious, you know? Their house is their home, and they have no desire to buy a more expensive one.”

“We could elope,” Emma said, her eyes sparkling. “I’d like that. Maybe your parents would want to come, too. The only church I’d want to get married at is the one my family goes to, and it would be too weird with things like they are with my parents. And I’d be sad when it was time to walk down the aisle and my dad wasn’t standing there.”

She was on the verge of crying again, and another wave of disgust for her father rose within Cole. Of course it was easier for him to write her parents off than it was for her.

“We can wait,” he said. “Let things settle down with your parents. Maybe after the baby’s born, they’ll come around. If that’s important to you, let’s wait.”

“No.” Emma sat up and turned to him. “I want to marry you soon, Cole. I’m tired of holding back and worrying about everything. I just want us to do something that’s all our own, you know? Not have that traditional church wedding where I feel the absence of my parents so profoundly.”

She gathered her long, dark hair and laid it over one of her shoulders. Cole studied her other shoulder, her bare, creamy skin stirring his desire for her. Her breasts were fuller than usual, and he couldn’t resist reaching out to trace a fingertip around one of her perfect pink nipples. It grew taut with his attention, and he moved to the other one.

When she licked her lips and looked at him, he cupped her breast with his hand and listened as to her small sigh. His cock was stiff and ready to be buried inside her again. Nothing got him going like making her react to his touch.

Her dark eye makeup made a shadow beneath her eyes from not being washed off the night before. The tear that had escaped when she got upset about her parents had made a trail through the darkness. Cole reached up to brush it away and then threw back the blanket covering him from the waist down. He leaned up on an elbow so he could coax Emma back onto her back and lavish attention on her with his hands
and
his mouth.

But she pushed his shoulder back to the mattress firmly. He was puzzled for a second, but then she swung a knee over him and a smile spread across his face. Fuck, yeah. He loved it more than anything when she rode him.

She paused and smiled shyly as she positioned herself above his waiting cock. Cole knew she was a little self-conscious about her slightly curvier, pregnant body. He splayed a palm on her belly and put his other hand on her hip to help her balance.

“You’re beautiful, Em,” he said, groaning at the hot wave of pleasure caused as she sank down onto him. He wrapped his hands around her hips and she slowly moved up and down. He savored the feel of her tight, wet heat clenching his cock. If this was his forever, he wanted forever to begin immediately.

Her tits bounced as she started moving faster and Cole closed his eyes for a second, basking in the agonizingly good tightness in his balls, now covered with the wetness of Emma’s desire. He ran a hand back up to her tits and cupped one. She cried out his name and he grabbed her hips again, thrusting his hips up to match her rhythm.

Emma’s body tilted back as she came with a series of loud moans, and Cole steadied her hips, sitting up halfway to drive his cock all the way into her. With a deep, ragged groan of satisfaction, he emptied himself into her and panted against her chest.

She slid off of him like liquid, curling up against his body with a soft purr. There could be no better way to celebrate their engagement than this.

“I don’t want to leave this bed,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

“Me either. I need to get some water, but I’ll come right back.”

“I’ll get it.” Cole got up to walk to the kitchen, turning back at the doorway. Emma’s gaze was fixed on his ass and she was grinning happily. She was stretched out on her side, and he couldn’t help taking a moment to admire the lines of her naked body. Perfect. He wished he had a painting of her like this, but she was the only artist he knew, and she couldn’t well paint her own portrait.

He made himself turn away and go to the kitchen. He couldn’t get enough of the way Emma let him have all of her. She was already his, and he was hers, but he still couldn’t wait to make it official.

***

Dani’s embrace was crushing, and Emma laughed against her friend’s shoulder.

“I’m so damn proud of you, Em!” Dani said fiercely. “You finally went for it and got what you deserve.”

“Thanks.” Emma hugged her back. “I love you, Dani. You helped give me the confidence to propose to Cole. I’m so glad we’ve gotten close again.”

“Me too,” Dani said, pulling away. “Now get in here and show me that ring!”

Emma stepped into the modern loft apartment Dani shared with her fiancé, Kyle. Dani squealed when she held out her hand and displayed the ring.

“Beautiful. Classic. Just like you.”

“We’re hoping to get married soon,” Emma said. “I may beat you to the altar.”

“We set a date!” Dani said, raising her arms in the air. “May 29
th
. Prepare to be a bridesmaid.”