Authors: Penelope Ward
Tags: # From the author of the #1 bestselling romance, #Jake Undone, #comes a friends-to-lovers story of longing, #passion, #betrayal and redemption…with a twist that will rip your heart out. Skylar was my best friend, #but I secretly pined for her. One thing after another kept us apart, #and I’ve spent the last decade in fear of losing her forever. First, #it was the cancer, #but she survived only to face the unthinkable at my hands. Because of me, #she left town. For years, #I thought I’d never see her again. But now she’s back…and living with him. I don’t deserve her after everything I’ve put her through, #but I can’t live without her. This is my last chance because she’s about to make the biggest mistake of her life. I can see it her eyes: she doesn’t love him. She still loves me...which is why I have to stop her before it’s too late.
“Yes…really good.”
I moved my finger at the exact pace that my cock pumped inside of her, slow and deep. I could
have come at any second. This was the most erotic thing I had ever seen or done, and it was only
the tip of the iceberg of what I wanted.
“Mitch…”
“Yes, baby?”
“I need more.”
“You want it faster?”
“Yes.”
“Harder?”
“Yes. Yes.”
I pulled my finger out. “My turn to stay still. Ride my cock how you want to. Show me how
badly you need it.”
“Put your finger back there first. That felt good,” she whispered.
I bent down and licked around her puckered hole before sticking my finger back inside. I
rested my thumb in between her cheeks as she rode my shaft hard and fast.
My eyes drifted at one point to the ring taunting me on the end table. It set me off and a
sudden need to own her body caused me to begin thrusting hard into her despite my vow not to
move. My balls slapped against her, and she fucked me faster to keep up. I could feel her muscles
contract and knew she was about to come. I let myself go at that exact moment and watched in
amazement as she enveloped me, milking every last bit of my orgasm. My dick convulsed harder
than I’d ever experienced.
Mind. Blowing.
Still pulsating, I continued to move in and out of her even when there was nothing left. Kissing
the skin of her back softly, I said, “I love you so much.”
She turned around and kissed me fiercely on the lips and wrapped her arms around my neck.
“Oh my God.” She looked into my eyes. “You’re crying again.”
Fuck. What was wrong with me? When I’m with her, I cry like a baby every time I blow my
load.
I sniffled and shook my head in embarrassment. “Apparently, there is a live wire connecting
my dick to my tear ducts when I’m with you.” I put my forehead on hers. “I’m going to be a fucking
wreck tomorrow.”
She smiled, wiping my eyes and kissing each one. “No one’s ever made me feel like this. I’ve
always loved you, but now…I’m absolutely addicted to you.”
***
Skylar’s body more prominent. I was still staring at her in disbelief over last night. After we made love a few more times, I spent the entire night just watching her sleep. It reminded me of the all-nighter I pulled years ago in her bed right before she moved to Brooklyn. The circumstances were
different then, but the uncertainty I woke up to today felt eerily similar.
I didn’t want to let her go back to him for even a second.
We were scheduled to be at the house at 11, an hour before the unveiling. We were running
late, so I started to kiss her neck.
“Baby, wake up. We have to get going soon. There’s something I want to do with you before we
have to go.”
She grunted in protest then stretched her arms into the air. I left the room and ran out to the
car to get my swim shorts.
By the time I returned upstairs, she had dozed off again. I reached into her drawer and
grabbed a black bikini bottom, slipping it up her legs.
She spoke through her yawn. “What are you doing?”
“I want to take one last dip with you in the ocean before we leave. We don’t have much time.”
I lifted her out of the bed and carried her in my arms down the stairs.
“What about my top?”
“I couldn’t find it. You don’t need one anyway. There’s no one around.”
I held her all the way to the shore before putting her down and reaching out my hand. We
walked into the water until we were waist deep. The sun suddenly started to fade, and it looked
like a morning rainstorm was looming. It was the perfect symbolism for my own feeling of joy,
suddenly overshadowed by a dreary reality.
This was nothing like our last playful jaunt in the water. This time, we simply held hands,
staring at the fading sun, knowing the next several days were going to put our love to the test.
“I’m just going to need some time when we get back, okay? I decided to be completely honest
with Kevin about the trip. He deserves to know the truth.”
A lump formed in my throat. “I understand.”
A look of guilt washed over her face. It made me angry that she let it cast a shadow over our
last moments together here.
I put my hands on her shoulders. “Don’t ever be ashamed of what we’ve done. You’re not a bad
person. Last night was the purest thing I’ve ever experienced. Whatever happens tomorrow and
beyond, I’ll never forget it for as long as I live.”
***
press release had gone out, so members of the media would be arriving in an hour along with local
government officials, neighbors and relatives of the homeowners.
Skylar walked around opening windows and fluffing pillows. A few of my guys were hanging
out having coffee and donuts in the kitchen downstairs. I pretended to be busy, but the entire
time, I was really brooding over the fact that she had put her diamond ring back on. Maybe I was
reading into things too much, but it pissed me off. After the reveal, she would have just enough
time to drive back to the beach house, lock up and head straight to the airport. There would be no
time to talk or say a proper goodbye.
I had actually been quite proud of how I handled things this morning, but seeing his ring back
on her finger had sparked old jealousy again and a need for reassurance.
She stopped in the doorway of one of the bedrooms just as I had finished hammering a nail in
a floorboard that had come loose.
“Can I do something to help you?” she asked.
The hammer banged against the wood when I dropped it. “Yes, you can. Close the door.”
“What’s going on?”
“Just close it. Lock it, actually.”
The lock clicked. “What do you need?”
I stood up and walked toward her, rubbing my nose against her neck and inhaling the smell of
her skin. “I need to taste you.”
“There are people downstairs.”
“Sit on the bed.”
She looked worried about someone catching us, but it didn’t stop her from doing as I said. I
kneeled at the foot of the bed and pushed her hips toward my face in one swift movement, lifting
her skirt and spreading her legs open wide. She was still wearing her underwear when I began to
teasingly kiss her mound softly. Moisture seeped through the silky fabric. She pressed herself hard against my mouth and gripped my hair. Then, I used my teeth to slowly slide her panties off of her
legs.
“Are you still worried about the people downstairs?” I whispered.
She shook her head and said something that was unintelligible.
“I didn’t think so,” I said before pressing my lips against her naked clit and sucking on it.
She wiggled under me as my tongue lapped hard against her while I twirled my fingers inside
of her warm opening.
I loved the effect I had on Skylar. I could probably get her to do anything sexually. I definitely
held the advantage in that corner. Still, her putting the ring back on had caused me to second
guess everything that happened last night. I began to ruminate while I was eating her out. Was
this a tryst after all, or did she mean it when she said she would leave him? Even though I knew it was cruel, I suddenly stopped.
She leaned up. “What happened?”
I was panting and stood up. “You’re wearing his ring again. If you’re really planning to end
things, why did you put it back on?”
She sat up and looked down at the ring on her hand almost as if she were surprised to see it
there. “I hadn’t even thought about it. It’s just a habit.”
“Well, it’s all I’ve been able to fucking think about.”
“I’m giving the ring back to him, Mitch.” She stood up and took my face in both of her hands.
“I’m sorry my wearing it made you doubt my intentions. I should have made them clearer. I’m not
thinking straight because I’m so nervous about having to tell him.”
My heart beat against her chest as I pulled her into me. “It’s just…I’m a little crazy when it
comes to you if you haven’t already noticed. Last night obliterated any tolerance I used to have. I just can’t bear the thought of you with him anymore. I’m sorry I overreacted.”
“Don’t be sorry. It shows me how much you love me and helps me to know I’m making the
right decision.” She kissed me softly on the lips. “I love you.”
Hearing it never got old. “I waited for five years hoping you’d come back to me but never
imagined you actually would. Forgive me if I’m having a hard time believing it, because it seems
unreal. I could spend the rest of my life trying to prove how thankful I am, how much I love you,
and it still wouldn’t be enough.”
“You don’t need to prove anything. Just love me.”
“I should finish what I started before I freaked out, but I just really need to be deep inside you
right now. Is that okay?”
“There’s nothing I want more, but we have to be quick.”
“Quick I can do.” I unbuckled my belt. “How does five seconds sound?”
She giggled. “You don’t need to be quite that fast.”
I backed her onto the bed. My pants were only halfway way down my legs when I entered her
and gasped at how incredible her hot pussy felt wrapped tight around my cock. It had only been
hours since I’d last been inside of her, but it felt like forever ago. I could never get enough. I
wanted this all day, every day.
While the other times we’d made love were frantic and desperate, this moment was different. I
ended up relaxing into it, believing for the first time in my life that she was truly mine. I let myself experience every sensation and stayed in the present without clouding my mind with doubt and
worry. That allowed me to truly feel with my body what she was telling me with hers. With every
movement, she was giving me another piece of her: the way her muscles tightened around my
cock, the way she grabbed onto me for dear life, the way she breathed as if every breath depended
on our bodies being joined together. She was showing me that she’d made her choice.
Nirvana.
There were no words for the magnitude of my love for this woman. When we climaxed
together, right on cue were those fucking tears again. My heart wanted to scream out, “
Marry me,
Skylar
” as I came inside of her, but my brain intercepted. Proposing to her in the middle of my signature weeping orgasm wasn’t exactly ideal. So, I nixed it.
There were voices coming from the bottom of the stairs. Car doors slammed outside. It was
getting close to the start time for the unveiling, and people were arriving.
“We need to get out of here,” she said, softly nibbling at my nose while wiping my eyes as she
smiled. Still on top of her, I reluctantly pulled out.
Skylar went to the connecting bathroom to clean up while I fastened my pants and got my shit
together. Walking downstairs in front of my guys looking like I’d been crying would not be a good
thing.
We kissed passionately one last time before I left the room. She’d follow me out separately so
that our sneaking around wasn’t obvious.
Camera flashes and jumbled conversations greeted me on the first floor. Skylar emerged some
time after, looking poised without a hair out of place. No one would have guessed that she had
just been thoroughly fucked a few minutes earlier.
A local reporter interviewed Skylar in a corner. I watched from across the room, sipping my
coffee as she eloquently explained the process of decorating the house on a budget in such a short
period of time.
I got a call on my cell phone letting me know that the Johansen family was five minutes away.
When they arrived, everyone got emotional. Seeing their reactions as they went from room to
room with looks of absolute joy and gratitude was priceless. They were especially touched by the
wheelchair ramp we installed out front for their son. We had also made one of the bathrooms
handicap accessible. All in all, the surprise was a huge success.
By the time the media left, we were free to go and let the family enjoy their new home. I
followed Skylar back to Sandbridge Beach, so she could use the bathroom at the house and grab
her things. She’d then drive her rental car to the airport before catching her flight. I’d close up the house and hit the road in the hopes of arriving in New Jersey late tonight.
I didn’t want to let her go. I came up behind her as she fiddled with the handle to her suitcase.
I kissed her neck and spoke into her ear. “Cancel your flight. Drive home with me. We’ll stop for
dinner in D.C.”
She turned around and rubbed her thumb along the stubble on my chin. “I can’t. I need to go
home and get this over with.”
“Are you gonna talk to him tonight?”
She looked down anxiously at the ground and let out a deep breath. “Depending on what time
I get in, I’ll either tell him tonight or tomorrow.”
“Tell him tonight.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want him touching you. What are you gonna do if he tries something?”
“I guess I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”
“Tell him when you get home. Then, I want you to get your stuff and come to my house. My
mother will let you in if I haven’t gotten back yet.”
“Mitch, I have to handle this a little more sensitively than that. He’s going to have a lot of
questions. I can’t just tell him I’m leaving him after five years for the man he thinks traumatized me…then walk out the door. I care about him.”