Unforgettable You (18 page)

Moving to trap my ass against the edge of the countertop, her pelvis presses against mine to pin me, and I reach up to grasp her chin. “Right now, huh?”

“Yes,” she hisses. “Right now.”

“I think I can make that happen. In the bedroom. Now. Everything off. I’ll be right there.” I watch her ass sway as she heads down the hall, a little extra “oomph” in it for my benefit. Umm-mmm-mmmm. My cock is tenting my slacks as I go back to make sure the door is locked and I turn off lights on my way out of the room, grabbing the bottle and the glasses as I go by.

And yeah, she’s naked and on my bed. Which is now our bed, and maybe someday soon will be permanently. I never thought marrying would be appealing to me, but damn, this girl makes me want to bind myself to her and never turn loose. “Elbows and knees.” She scrambles up and I take the restraints from the hook in the closet. The larger end I fasten around her ankle; the shorter, around her wrist. It leaves her face down on the bed and helpless, head turned slightly, and that headful of lustrous hair fanned out everywhere. One look at that glistening pussy and I’m so hard I feel kind of dizzy. She’s so damn beautiful, and I can’t understand what a woman like this wants with me, but I’m sure glad she’s here. Then she says something that makes my heart leap. It’s breathy and low, but I hear her loud and clear.

“Oh, god, Master, please. Take me. Please?”

I can’t wait. I roll the condom on as fast as I can and bury myself in her so far that I may not be able to get back out. Her cry and the way she presses herself back onto me makes my heart race out of control, and my hands are shaking as I grip the soft, ivory globes of her ass. My god, she’s amazing, and she’s all mine, all five feet and six inches of her. “Angel, I want to hear your pleasure. Make all the noise you’d like; you’ll only make me fuck you harder and longer, and I know that’s what you want.”

“Yes, Master. Please. Oh, please . . .” When her voice trails off, I slam into her twice with considerable force and she cries out, “Oh, god! Oh, oh, fuck me, please! Harder!”

All my temperance falls away. Everything in my body and my mind and my soul is dead-set on watching her come apart. I lean in and reach under her to stroke her clit and she cries out, “Oh, Master, oh fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

I nibble her ribcage and growl, “I want you, Sheila. I need you so much. Come for me, baby.”

Before I can take three more strokes, she cries out, “Oh, god, Steffen, I love you too! Fuck me so hard, baby!” That makes me ramp up my stroking of her bud, and in seconds I feel her tighten just before she screams out, “Oh, god! I’m coming! Oh, Steffen, I’m, I’m . . .”

Her pussy chokes down hard on my cock and I almost see stars as she contracts around me, but I keep stroking, wanting to give her everything she needs. When she’s finally reduced to moaning, “Oh, god, oh, please, oh, god, oh, please,” I stop.

“Get ready. You’re gonna fly, angel. Spread those wings.”

I tear into her like a maniac, and she’s right there with me. Within minutes, she cries out, “Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh god, oh god, oh, I’m coming, oh, OH GOD!” and her whole body shakes. I wring it out of her, every bit, and keep going. My cock’s so hard that I really think the tip will probably blow off like a bullet out of a gun, but I don’t even slow and she’s winding up again. Five minutes later she shrieks out, “Oh, god, Steffen, oh, god, oh god, oh god, FUCK!!! OH GOD, FUCK YEAH!” and she totally loses control. And that’s it for me. My balls draw up hard until I think they’re going to choke me and I shoot off like fireworks on the Fourth of July. Grinding into her, I listen to her moaning and crying out until I’m done, then practically fall onto the bed.

She’s still trembling. I tip her over and pull her back into my chest, reaching around her to take off the restraints. When they’re off, she rolls to me, still shaking, and buries her face in my chest. I hold her; I hold her so tight that I’m not sure she can breathe, but I just want to hold her forever. I whisper to her, “Baby, you’re such a damn good fuck. You’re the most important thing in my whole world. I want to be with you forever.”

She turns her tear-stained face up to mine. “I love you too, Steffen. I never want you to let me go.” I lean down and kiss her nose first, then her lips, and I feel her yield to me, uninhibited and unreserved. “I’m all yours for as long as you’ll have me.”

“Forever?”

She nods against my chest. “Forever.”

“Then my life is complete.” She sighs against me and, for the first time ever, I know I have a real good shot at happiness. This girl is now the center of my universe, and I’ll make sure I’m the same for her. We’re an us. And that’s everything to me.

We sleep until morning, tangled around each other like honeysuckle vines. “Hey, sleepyhead!” I kiss her forehead when I find her looking up at me with one eye. “Do you know how beautiful you are when you’re asleep?”

“No. Why don’t you tell me?” She grins and rims one of my nipples with her fingertip.

“You are. You’re gorgeous when you’re sleeping.” I snicker. “You’re also not bratty. And I like that very much.”

“Oh, when I’m awake I’m bratty, huh?” she laughs and tweaks one of my nipples.

Now I’m laughing outright. “Yeah, if your eyes are open and you’re breathing, you’re pretty much being a brat.” I kiss her lips lightly and add, “But my little brat is adorable. Now turn me loose. I’m going to the bathroom.” When I take my arms from around her, there’s a definite sense of loss in my chest. I want to stay here with her forever.

I barely get a good stream going when I hear her call out, “Hey, somebody’s at the door. Are you expecting anyone?”

“No. Get it, wouldja? I’m in no position to!” I hear her shuffle out of the bedroom. But when I come out of the bathroom, I hear her voice call back, “Steffen?” And it’s got a weird edge to it. Commando’s faster, so I slip on my jeans and stride up the hall.

Nothing could’ve prepared me for what I see there. Sheila’s holding the door, an odd, lost look on her face, like her whole world’s disintegrated. And standing there in my doorway was the one person I never thought I’d see.

Adele. The one name that can blow my world apart and send it to hell in a split second.

“What the fuck? What are you doing here?”

The bitch shoots me that wicked grin. “Why wouldn’t I be here? I’m your
WIFE.
” She spits the last word at me, and I know I go pale. Now I match Sheila’s coloring. There’s not a drop of blood left in my face, I’m sure.

“Wife?” Sheila’s voice interrupts my thoughts. “Wife. Steffen, is this woman your wife?”

And just like that, my whole world comes crashing down around me. “Sheila, it’s complicated. I need to explain to you . . .”

She shakes her head, her face still blank, and she refuses to meet my gaze. “Oh, no. No explanation needed. I’ll just get out of your way and let the two of you talk.”

I reach out to take her arm, but she jerks away from me, and there’s a ripping sensation in my chest. “Sheila, don’t. Just don’t. We need to . . .”

“Nope. Nothing to talk about.” She disappears down the hallway.

When I turn back to Adele, I know she can see the fury on my face. “You’ve got some explaining to do. How
dare
you show up here like this! You get your sorry ass off my property and . . .”

“Steffen Cothran! Is that any way to talk in front of your son?”

Her words stop me dead in my tracks. For the first time, I notice that there’s a little boy with her. He can’t be more than six or seven, and there’s something in his face that looks familiar to me, but I can’t put a finger on it. He smiles up at me, his angelic little cheeks glowing.

“Adele, what kind of trick is . . .”

“No trick. I was pregnant with him when I left. Now do your fatherly duty and say hello to your son.” She’s grinning malevolently and then thrusts the boy toward me.

“You’re my daddy?” he asks in innocence.

“I’m not sure about that.”

“Mommy says you are. Right, Mommy?” He looks up at Adele.

She gives him a sickening smile. “Yes, Morris, he is. Right, Daddy?”

Now I’m getting really pissed but, before I can say anything else, Sheila breezes past us. “Sheila! Baby, wait! Stop!” She throws a hand up and keeps walking. “I’ll take you home!”

“Not necessary,” she calls back.

“But baby! Wait! Please!” She just ignores me, and I watch my whole future stalk off down the street, all the while punching numbers into her smartphone. Unable to hold it anymore, I turn my rage on Adele.

“What do you want? I’ve been looking for you for seven years. All I wanted was for you to sign the papers and get this over with, and you’ve been hiding out. Then you pick now, of all times, to show up?”

“Of course! I’ve been watching you. I knew you were almost happy. Almost. Nice try, Cothran. Are you going to let me and your son in, or are we going to have to stand out here all day?”

I open the door wider and let them pass into the house. Before I can stop her, she plants Morris on the sofa and heads down the hallway herself. She disappears into the bedroom, then sticks her head out and smirks. “Well, I see your kink hasn’t changed at all. Good submissive?”

“Fuck off, Adele.”

“Kid, Cothran.”

I look at Morris. “Sorry. Bad words. Do you need a drink?” I hear Adele flushing the toilet in my bathroom and my stomach turns. I’ll have to go and buy a new toilet seat, because I’ll never be able to sit on that one again.

“Do you have soda?”

“Yes, I have lemon-lime and regular. What would you like?”

“Lemon-lime, please.” To be Adele’s kid, he’s surprisingly polite. Wonder who taught him that? You can bet your bottom dollar it wasn’t her.

“That little bit of business has been dismissed. Now we need to have a little chat.” She marches back into the room and sits down, then looks at Morris and pulls something out of her bag. “Little man, why don’t you take this and go right out there? That’s the den. There’s a TV out there and you can sit back there and play video games.” Aha. It’s one of those portable video game things. I have no idea what they’re called. So she babysits him with video games. Wow.

“Okay! Thanks, Mommy!” He snatches the unit out of her hands and heads for the den.

She smiles as he walks away. “He’s a lovely child, don’t you think?”

The anger boiling inside me refuses to stay to a low, gentle roll and comes bubbling out all over. “I’m tired of this bullshit. What the hell do you want? Why are you here?”

“I think we should start over.”

I stare at her as I feel my eyebrows disappearing into my hairline. “Start over? I’m not starting a damn thing with you!” I cross the living room to my little desk there and pull out an envelope. Thrusting it toward her, I rasp out, “Sign these papers and it’ll be over.”

“I don’t want it to be over.” She pretends to be sad, but I see right through her act.

Teeth gritted tight, I snarl out, “Sign the damn papers, bitch. That kid’s not mine and you know it.”

“Are you sure about that? I know you recognized him as soon as you saw him.” There’s a wicked glint in her eyes, and I’m not sure what that’s about. “I’m not signing anything until I get what I want.”

“And what exactly is that?”

“You. On a silver platter. Back child support. A place to live. A car to drive. Childcare. Whatever it takes to raise your kid.”

“My attorney’s name is Michael Riley. Call him. He’ll tell you exactly which corner of hell to visit for all of that. Now sign the damn papers.” I throw them at her. For a fleeting second, I see something that actually looks like remorse on her face, but it’s quickly replaced by sheer meanness. “We’ve been looking for you for years, so you’re getting nothing.”

“We’ll see about that.” She stands and looks around. “You know, I’d forgotten how much I love this house. I’ll enjoy living in it again. Morris, come along! We’re going to get a kid’s meal and go to the park.” He stomps back into the living room and hands her the video game.

Squatting down to his level, I try to get a good look into the little boy’s eyes. “So, Morris, where do you go to school?” For a split second, I could swear I see panic in Adele’s eyes.

Fear and abandonment register on his face. “I don’t go to school. Mommy says I don’t have to. I’m too smart.”

Oh my god. She’s not even sending him to school. All of a sudden, I’m not scared anymore. If she’s not even sending him to school, what else is she
not
doing as a parent? “Well, that’s a shame. School can be fun. Okay, run along and I’ll see you again soon, okay? Have fun at the park.”

Adele composes herself quickly and says, “I’ll be in touch.”

“Oh, so will I, bitch, so will I.” As soon as she clears the door, I start to slam it shut, but Morris turns around and watches me in sadness as she drags him down the steps and out the walk. In that brief glimpse, I recognize the eyes, and I know who his father is.

It’s Clint Winstead.

My hand is shaking as I take my cell out and dial Sheila’s number. No answer, so I leave a message. “Baby, please call me. There’s so much you don’t understand, that I don’t even understand, but please let me explain. Please? Please call me.” I hit END and sit down on the sofa.

My whole world has just dissolved, but all I’m really concerned about right at this moment is how confused and hurt Sheila must be. I’ve got to talk to her, and I’m not sure how I’m going to get her to let me, but I’ve got to try. Then I decide I’d better make another call.

“Steffen, what the fuck is going on?”

Uh-oh. “So you heard?”

He sounds really, really pissed. “Hell, yeah, I heard. I’m still hearing. I’ll be hearing for the next couple of years if this doesn’t get straightened out. Trish is furious with you, and I can’t even begin to gauge how Sheila is feeling. You still hadn’t told her about Adele?”

Something slaps me in the face with those words. “Yeah, I told her about Adele like you told Trish about Christi.”

“Oh, that’s really, really low, Steffen. Really low. I can’t believe you’d go there . . .”

“Look, you can be mad at me later, but right now, you and I have a bigger problem.”