Falling Hard (6 page)

I felt so raw inside. I started to tremble, and I couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks. I turned away and stared out the bedroom window, hoping she’d discover at the last moment that she couldn’t leave me.

“Where will you be staying?” I asked, trying to lengthen our time together.

“Not that it’s any of your business, Tom, but we’ll be staying with Mrs. Ashton for a while.”

I wiped my cheeks and turned to face her. She was standing in the doorway with her suitcase by her feet, and Tommy clutched against her chest. She looked as miserable as I felt.

“Mrs. Ashton? I thought the three of you were. . .” I frowned. “Where’s Jim?”

“How the hell should I know where he is?”

I could tell she was fighting back tears. I didn’t understand why she was so upset. I was obviously missing something. “Isn’t he waiting for you?” I asked.

“No.”

I took a long, deep breath. “Why not? That’s why he came home, to take you and Tommy back with him.”

“I know. That’s what the two of you decided on, but neither one of you bothered to ask me what I wanted. Well, I don’t need either of you Martin men telling me what to do with my life!” She glared at me. Then she sank down on the floor and started crying as if her heart was broken.

I crossed the room to kneel beside her. I gently removed Tommy from her grip, and put him back in his crib. Then I knelt on the floor next to her.

“Isn’t that what you wanted, Tanya? To be with him?”

“No.” She moaned and buried her face in her hands.

My heart started pounding so fast that I could hardly breathe. I reached out a hand to comfort her.

She sucked in a breath, flung herself into my arms, and sobbed uncontrollably.

I held her for a long time, gently stroking her hair. “I don’t understand,” I said, helplessly. “Where’s Jim?”

She pulled away from me, but didn’t stand up. “He left in a huff when I told him that Tommy and I weren’t going back to California with him.”

“Why didn’t you go with him?”

“Why do you think?” She banged her fists on my chest.

“I don’t know what to think.”

“Because I don’t love him! I never did.”

“What?”

“Oh, I thought I loved him. But then I got to know you, Tom.” She lifted a trembling hand to touch my face. “You stood by me when I needed you most. You didn’t have to, but you did. You sent me roses and gave him the credit. You held my hand. You made me believe that everything was going to be all right.”

She dropped her hand away from her face. “And then when little Tom was born and you and I well...you were such a different type of lover than Jim. You were gentle and considerate, but still exciting. Each time you touched me I could feel how much you loved me. At least I thought you did. But now—”

“But now what?” I demanded.

She lifted her head and looked at me, her beautiful eyes filled with tears. “You weren’t even willing to fight for me. You were just going to let us walk right out of your life. I don’t mean any more to you than I did to Jim.”

I grabbed her hands and placed them flat against my chest, so she could feel the pounding of my heart. “That’s not true, Tanya. When I tried to keep you away from him, you told me I had no right to make your decisions for you. So what was I supposed to think except that you were angry with me because I’d tried to keep you from the man you loved?”

“But I don’t love him!” She snatched her hands away and buried her face in them.

I gathered her hands in mine and placed them against my chest again. “I didn’t know that,” I said softly. “I only know that I love you more than I’ve ever loved any woman—more than anything. Your happiness matters to me. I was letting you go, because I was doing what I thought you wanted.”

She gaped at me in astonishment, and I thought I’d made a mistake by telling her how I felt. Then she took my face in her hands and looked deep into my eyes. “Oh, Tom! Do you really mean it? Do you really love me, too?”

“Too? You mean…oh, Tanya! Wait— wait right here.” I scrambled to my feet and ran to the rocking chair. My coat was draped over the back of it. I searched frantically through each pocket, and then finally found what I was looking for.

I returned to the doorway and knelt beside the woman I loved. I opened the small box and offered her the ring. “Tanya, I love you and Tommy with all my heart. There’s nothing more in the world that I want than for us to be a family. Will you make my dream come true? Will you marry me?”

“I thought you’d never ask, Tom!”

“Will you?”

She nodded, her eyes sparkling as I slid the ring on her finger and kissed her.

“Look at that—a perfect fit.” I winked.

She drew me into her arms and whispered, “I love you so much, Tom.”

And so Tanya chose me. Sometimes I lay beside her in bed, afraid that I’ll wake to find it’s all been a dream. At those times, my life seems too perfect to be real. Then Tanya wakes up and snuggles close to me. Or she might reach up to kiss me. That's when I know it’s no dream. It’s real. I’m married to the woman I adore, and together we’re raising our son.

My only regret is that Jim’s not happy. He’s a rising star now, and he always has beautiful women hanging around eager to catch his eye. But there’s no one he really cares about. As it turns out, he really did love Tanya. He claims that’s the reason he stayed in California. He wanted to get a job making a lot of money so he could give her everything he thought she and the baby deserved. Unfortunately for him, by the time he did that, Tanya and I had already fallen in love.

With any other woman, I would have stepped aside, but not with Tanya. For the first time in my life, I put my happiness ahead of Jim’s. Mom had loved me, too, and she would have wanted me to look out for myself once in awhile, and let my little brother grow up to become a man.

Copyright 2010 by Marilyn Lee

Published by Marilyn Lee

All rights reserved

While I was still impaled on his cock, wondering if it would look too shameless if I instigated another fuck, his office door opened.

I gasped and tried to rise.

Josh tightened his arm around my waist and kept me seated on his lap. “It’s all right,” he said softly before raising his voice. “Richard, this is Nila Black.” He spoke in a normal voice, but his cock twitched inside me and I stared at him. Was he getting off on having me sitting on his lap, full of cock in front of someone else?

I heard footsteps crossing the room and buried my face against his shoulder in an agony of embarrassment. So much for being shameless, huh? How had I gotten myself into this embarrassing mess?

Josh stroked his hand over my shoulder and down my back, sending a tingle of lust through me. “It’s all right,” he whispered again, his lips against my ear. After a moment, he lifted his head. “Nila, this is Richard Reardon, my best friend.” He gently nudged me away from his shoulder.

My face felt like it was on fire. “Tell him to wait outside while I…while we…”

“Sssh. There’s no need for shame. Richard and I have no secrets from each other.”

So he, Richard, and I should have no secrets from each other either? What was the use of hiding my face when it was clear I was impaled on Josh’s luscious cock and loving it? I sucked in a deep breath and lifted my head.

When I opened my eyes and looked at the man standing behind Josh, I found myself gazing into a pair of beautiful, blue eyes. The charm around my neck pulsed, sending a gentle, but unmistakable jolt through me. I caught my breath. That had never happened before.

I stared at Josh’s friend, Richard. He was a tall, muscular blond with wide shoulders, a narrow waist, long legs, and an intimate smile. He looked several years younger than Josh.

As his gaze locked with mine, the smile playing around his sensuous lips vanished, he sucked in a quick breath, and touched his hand to his upper chest. I watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down before he spoke. “Hello, Nila.”

If they weren’t embarrassed, why should I be? I lifted my chin and gave myself a mental shake in an effort to recover from the shock of meeting Richard. I frowned. Why should meeting him shock me? “Hello.”

“Nila is going to move in tonight, but she has a few things she might need help with. Are you free?”

“I’m dateless and eager to help.” Richard’s blue gaze moved from my face to linger on my exposed breasts.

I only just resisted the instinctive urge to cross my arms over my chest. The time for false modesty had long since passed. Besides, there was something about this Richard that totally disarmed me.

Josh smiled. “Great. You’ll make sure she gets back here sometime tonight with as little trouble to her as possible?”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Good.”

Richard looked at me, tiny lights dancing deep in that beguiling blue gaze of his. “Here, let me help you.”

I blinked up at him, slowly starting to enjoy myself. I hadn’t actually fucked Josh in front of him, but I was sitting on Josh’s cock in front of him. This seemed to be the day for living my fantasy. “Help me do what?”

To my surprise, Richard put his hands around my waist and lifted me. Josh’s dick came out of me with a plopping sound. My newfound sexual abandonment fled and I was consumed with embarrassment. My body felt as if it were on fire from the top of my head down to my toes.

Richard set me on my feet by the desk.

I glanced down and saw Josh’s cock, semi-erect, was covered with our combined fluids. I sucked in a breath and then let it out on a squeak when Richard pushed his hand up my skirt and palmed me.

Josh frowned and tilted his head. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” I muttered, staring at Richard in shock.

He grinned at me and slipped two of his fingers inside me.

I could feel the fluids inside seeping from me into his palm.

Keeping his gaze locked on mine so that I felt unable to look away from him, he stroked his thumb against my clit.
I trembled and swallowed a gasp of delight.

“Richard? Nila? What’s wrong?”

Richard kept his gaze trained on mine. “Nothing. Nila and I are saying hello.”

“Yeah?”

Richard nodded. Keeping his thumb against my clit, he thrust his fingers in and out of me with a slow heat. “Oh, yeah.”

I closed my legs and shamelessly humped his fingers.

Josh smiled. “Good.”

Richard rubbed his thumb against my clit again and I had to bite my lip to keep from moaning.

“Then I’ll see you later tonight, Nila.” Josh slapped my ass with enough force to send my hips forward. Richard’s grin widened as his fingers slid further into me.

Trembling and hot, I pushed his hand away and reached down to snatch my panties up from the floor. As I bent over, I felt a big, warm palm caressing my ass. I straightened and swung around in time to see Richard withdrawing his hand.

Ignoring his amused gaze, I stepped into my panties and pulled them up over my wet pussy.

Without another word, I turned and hurried from the room, my heart racing. I heard the office door opening and closing. I didn’t look back.

A big hand closed over my arm.

I jerked away and turned to face Richard. “What do you want?”

He smiled. “I’ll drive you back to your place and help in any way I can. Josh is eager to have everything go smoothly so you can return as soon as possible.”

I pulled away from him. “Thanks, but I can manage without your help.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive.”

“Then you might want to put those dark beauties away before you go outside,” he said, his gaze on my breasts, which were still exposed.

I attempted to stuff them back into my bra with trembling hands.

He spoke after a short pause. “Allow me.”

There was something about this Richard that shook me to my core. I was afraid of my reaction if he touched me again. “No!”

Ignoring my protest, he brushed my hands away and gently cupped my breasts in his palms.