Beyond Eighteen (36 page)

I pushed open the door, and instantly I
could feel the familiar warmth of my memories as they swallowed me
up. Posters of my favorite bands were pinned across every coverable
space on the white walls. I swear I could smell the chocolate chip
cookies that Gram would have for me every time I came home from
Wesley. Nemo, my teddy bear, was looking stately, propped across my
pillow. God, my bed was calling me. The plush dark green and brown
comforter lay perfectly centered on my full-size bed.

It wasn’t long before events of the last
couple of days really began to catch up to me. I just needed to
close my eyes for an hour or two. I needed to regroup, rethink, and
maybe even rejuvenate. I hurled myself onto my bed and heard the
box spring recoil with the demand of my weight. It was something
familiar that I needed; the sounds and smells of my life before it
evolved into something laced up with the responsibilities of being
on my own.

I closed my eyes, hoping to dream of
rainbows and magical ponies; instead my head wouldn’t stop running
with memories of growing up. Moments I’d missed with Candi and yet
cherished with my grandparents; events from my life that I will
always have to recall from a childish mind. There’d been so many
times I wanted to reminisce with someone but couldn’t, because the
only two other people who’d experienced the memories with me were
gone. After these waves of
I wish
and
if only
, I felt
my muscles relax and my heartbeat slow down as my visions changed
from what could have been into what I want, with the most amazing
man I’d ever met.

****

Max stood with me at the main gate of this
huge mansion. There was no snow on the ground but instead bushes,
lush with dark green shiny leaves, lining the driveway. It had to
be summer. He was in shorts and a t-shirt and I was in a soft,
flowing purple-and-white sundress with spaghetti straps. He
collected my hand and we went up to the keypad and pressed the
microphone. I looked back, no car, nothing but the asphalt of the
mountainous road that snaked behind us.

“Where are we?” I kept asking.

He would just smile and say, “You’ll
see.”

I kept staring down the long, narrow,
winding road that descended toward the massive, bright white
mansion with pillars of marble supporting arches made of aged brick
and Spanish tile. It looked like an impossible driveway to walk
down. When I glanced down at my feet, blood red stilettos shone
back up at me, hidden below a little bulge protruding from my
belly. My heart pinballed down through my chest as Max’s hand
rubbed circles across my stomach.

“It’s the perfect place to raise him…or
her,” Max said as he leaned down and kissed my belly through my
sheer cotton sundress. He then proceeded to drag his lips up
between my breasts and kiss right where they swelled. I felt my
legs go weak and the space, always reserved for him, dampen. With
his arms wrapped tight around me, I leaned back and his lips
tracked their way to my mouth. My breathing sped as my lungs raced
to catch what little breath I had left.

I pulled at his hair, pushed and wedged my
fingers behind his ears, and dragged my hands across the sharp
build of his jaw line. His hair was cool and smooth, his jaw rugged
with a day or two growth—sensual thorns crawling across my
palms.

Max’s mouth vacated mine I heard him take in
a deep, slow breath.

“Wilson, babe…I am here,” he whispered as I
felt him press his lips to my temple.

I felt the space behind me push against my
back and the landscape in front of me disappear. Black swallowed my
eyesight as I became lost somewhere between my dreams and
awakening. I felt soft pressure against my lips, and something
delicate tickle across my cheek.

“I’ve missed you.”

Forgetting where I was, confused by being
lifted from a dream, and consumed by the moment of
semiconsciousness, my mind adjusted. I rectified where I was and
reality claimed me. I was in Mendocino, in my bedroom and…all
alone. I never opened my eyes, but I fell back to sleep.

~ Max ~

Knocking on a door knowing I had somewhere
else to be, fucking sucked. I felt my blood flush through my body
fast. My heart pushed and pounded, sending every anxious moment
into overdrive. Maybe I should’ve just walked in, but I didn’t want
to intrude. I needed to end the anxiety and finish what I started.
I checked the door knob, cold to the touch, but it turned and I was
in. I noticed a fire blazing in the fireplace and the smell of good
food filling the air. I guess the hectic meetings had taken
precedence over my need to eat. I didn’t realize until then how
hungry I really was. I pushed the door and it closed with a slight
click. I expected it to be just a bit louder so I wouldn’t have to
announce myself.

I heard a voice in the
kitchen having a one-sided conversation.
Maybe if I walk heavy they’ll know I’m here.
Kicking a chair or table leg announcing my
arrival probably would have been good. Instead, I crept around the
corner and scared the shit out of her.

She screamed. I jumped. I didn’t expect such
a high-pitched shriek to come out of that girl.

“
Holy shit, you scared
me!” Joanie said without realizing she was still on the phone.
“Hello, Nick? I need to call you back…No—everything is fine…we’re
okay. Max just showed up…I know!” She pushed the button on her
iPhone and dropped it on the counter.

“
Oh my God, how in the
hell did you get here?” she asked.

“
I flew into the local
airport and caught a cab.”

“
Wilson is going to be so
happy. She’s just been a mess without you,” Joanie said as she
picked up a wooden spoon and stirred whatever was in the
pot.

“
I didn’t get to talk to
her today. Between meetings and getting here…where is she? Is she
okay?” I asked.

“
She’s had a couple of
intense days. But she’ll be much better now you are here. She’s
upstairs sleeping in her room.”

“
Maybe I should let her
sleep.”

“
Shut up! She would be
pissed to find out you were here and you didn’t go up there and
wake her up. Get your ass up there now,” Joanie said as she swung
her hands and pushed me out of the kitchen.

My heart thrashed in my chest as I took two
stairs at a time. I couldn’t wait to get Wilson. I remembered that
her room was to the right of her grandparents’. All the doors were
closed except hers. It was opened just a crack, like it was
inviting me in. When I pushed on the wooden door, it creaked a tone
until the door slowed to a crackle. I sneaked in and pushed the
door closed. It creaked louder than when I pushed it open. But
Wilson didn’t even move, so I twisted the lock on the door.

I walked over to the bed. I could feel the
pressure build in my chest. Wilson lay there, more beautiful than
ever before. The edge of her shirt pulled up just high enough to
expose her navel and her blonde hair swirled around her head,
tangled with her fingers. I stood frozen, watching her heart beat
in her neck, her breath enter her nose as her chest rose and fell.
Everything was peaceful with her, so right. She mumbled something
under her breath I couldn’t understand. Every hair on the back of
my neck stood erect.

Damn, I want to wake her
up. I want to see her expression when she sees that I’m
here.
I felt the urge to kiss her build in
my gut. I could’t take it anymore, watching her there and not
touching her. I leaned down, pushed my lips to her stomach. I
inhaled the delicate scent of her skin through my nose. I dragged
my tongue along her flesh, tasting everything I’d ever wanted with
her. I traced my mouth up her chest before kissing the curve of her
breast.

She twisted her hands into my hair and gave
me a quiet moan, the same moan that affects my body and always
makes me hard. Her fingers curved around my ears before she dragged
them down across my face. I took a slow, deep breath and pushed my
mouth against her temple.

“
Wilson, babe…I’m here,” I
whispered.

Her eyes moved back and forth under her lids
and her lashes danced, trying to get her eyes to open. I pushed my
lips to hers and kissed her delicately as I dragged my fingers
across her cheek.

“
I’ve missed you,” I
growled against her lips.

Her gorgeous, deep blue eyes opened. They
took me in before seeming to explore the room.

“
Max?” she whispered in a
raspy voice as she looked back at me.

She grabbed the outside seam of my jeans and
pulled me closer, then wrapped her arm around the back of my leg
before she sat up and pressed her head to my stomach. Her hands
pushing against my ass, I felt her lean into me.

“
You’re here,” she
said.

“
Yeah, babe, I’m here,” I
answered as I tangled my hands in her hair.

“
I can’t believe you were
able to leave. Is everything okay? Cal, Dan?—Is your mom—” She
rapidly fired the words as she leaned back and found my
eyes.

I caressed her lips with my fingers, keeping
her from saying another word. I pushed my knee up between her legs
and nudged her back against the bed. My eyes soaked up every curve
and angle of her face. Her eyes glistening with her excitement to
see me, her lips quivering for me to taste them again, I hovered
above her. Taking her hand, I pulled her wrist to my lips and
kissed the thin flesh separating me from her heart beat. I pressed
my nose to her skin and inhaled. She smelled like the salty ocean
breeze swirled with a hint of Aspen Pine.

“
You smell so good,” I
mumbled.

“
So do you.”

Wilson grabbed my shirt
and pulled me down on top of her. Her heartbeat pulsed against my
lips as I pressed my mouth to the side of her neck. Her hands got
lost in my hair as she tugged my face to hers. Her eyes, hungry for
my mouth, her lips, damply whispering my name, made me ache to kiss
her. A crave stronger than any addiction crested, and in that
moment I knew,
I can never be separated
from this woman again.
She pushed her lips
hard against mine. Our tongues mingled before she lightened her
kiss. She traced the edge of my bottom lip, catching it between her
teeth and pulling just enough to make me growl. I knew what it
meant. It was her way of telling me what she wanted.

“
Maaaxxx, I need you. God,
I need you so bad,” she breathed as her hands shot down and
unbuttoned my pants. Everything within my body that could tighten,
harden, swell, and pull did when she pushed my pants
down.

“
I—oh, fuck, I need you
too,” I growled as I leaned back and stretched, pulling my shirt
off. I pushed my fingers at the button of her pants and her flesh
rippled with chills across her skin below her navel as I pushed her
zipper down. She wiggled out of her pants and I hauled her shirt
off over her head.
Fuck, her nipples are
rock hard under that white lace bra of hers.
I pushed my mouth against the fabric and let my breath warm
her. She gasped as I pushed my hand in between the flimsy fabric
and her skin and began to caress. She was so soft, so warm. Her
nipple erect, I pushed her bra down and brought my mouth to her
exposed flesh. I traced my tongue around her skin and pulled at the
straps of her bra, making them fall across her shoulders. A small
victory for me: I reached around and deftly released the clasp,
then nipped at her skin and lapped at her nipples. She was so hot,
so beautiful, so mine. I wanted to be inside of her right away. I
wanted to feel her tighten, take and give, and keep every part of
me I had. I wanted to drag my tongue across every square inch of
her flesh.

Wilson wrapped her arms around me. Pushing
me, she rolled me over onto my back. Her body almost weightless
against mine, her hair tickled across my shoulders. I felt her
breasts, firm against my chest. I was rock hard and ready. Her hips
straddled my erection, which was pushing against my boxers, begging
to be released. She sat up against the space in the room. Her
weight rode perfectly against me. The sunlight bounced off her skin
as she started rocking her hips back and forth, her breasts rolling
and moving my hands against the curve of her ass. I pushed my
fingers behind her waistband.

“
Babe, you’re so fucking
hot. I need you, I need to be inside.”

She rose up on her knees enough so I could
pull off my Calvin Klein’s. The air swirled around me and I about
hit the ceiling. I knotted my hands in either side of her hair and
pulled her down to kiss me.

“
Take your panties off,” I
demanded in her ear. “I want to feel you; I want to be inside
you.”

Her breath caught. She wanted me as bad as I
wanted her. She pushed back against me, her thin panties the only
thing keeping me from entering.

“
You have a condom?” she
whispered.

“
In my wallet,” I
huffed.

She rocked her hips forward, stroking my
length and making my attempt not to explode very difficult. I
couldn’t take it. I caught her around her lower back and flipped
her down onto the bed. She screamed. I told her if she was going to
tease me, it was only fair if I teased her back. I needed to make
love to her, but I also needed to make her feel how much I missed
her.

With her eyes bound to mine, I ran my
fingers down her chest, across her stomach, and to the side of her
hip.

“
Roll over onto your
stomach,” I ordered.