Valentine (A Standalone Novel) (Bad Boy Romance Book) (25 page)

Chapter 31

Tate

I almost couldn't catch my breath during
the wedding, watching Val walk down the aisle. I'd never thought about marriage
or anything near it. I wasn't sure I was ready to think about it now, but she
was magnificent, no doubt. I couldn't help but think that she was the most
beautiful woman in the room, and getting her away from everyone else was my top
priority. Making love to her wouldn't be about finding pleasure as much as me
wanting to shower her with it. She needed to know that I saw her – really saw
her and loved what I saw.

I moved back from her in the middle of the
dance floor and took her hand. "Let's go see your sister and then we'll
get out of here."

"Okay." She moved in behind me
and stayed close as we weaved our way through the hordes of people. I'd never
seen so many people at a wedding, and yet her parents were wealthy and
influential. I'd almost bet that all the people around us felt that it was a
great honor to be invited to the wedding, though hardly any of them knew
Allison.

Val moved in front of me as we pushed
through the edge of the crowd and made our way to her sister. I stepped back
and gave her space to say her goodbyes and congratulations.

Sam stepped up beside me with a smile on
his face and his glasses a little off center.

"Hey, man. You guys getting out of
here?" He pressed his shoulder against mine.

"Yeah. You know I hate crowds of
people and rich people in general." I glanced back to look over the crowd.
"This is like my own personal hell."

He laughed and rolled his eyes. "You
fit in just like the rest of us do."

"Like a sore thumb?" I smirked
and turned my attention back to Val.

"You want me to swing by your place
and check on your mom before I head home tonight or are you guys going back
that way?" Sam reached out and gave Val a quick hug as she rejoined us.

"You don't need to check on her.
Everything is going to be fine now that Daniel is locked up for good." I
let out a content sigh as I wrapped my arm around Val's shoulders. "We'll
see you tomorrow."

"Be safe." Sam moved back into
the crowd as we walked to the back door of the house. I figured it would be
easier than trying to get to the front. Besides, Valentine's parents were at
the front door talking to some of the older people as they left.

"
Wow, that
was crazy. I honestly didn't think that Allison was going to go through with
it." Val squeezed my hand as we picked up our jackets by the back door and
walked out into the snowy afternoon.

"Would you have?" I hopped off
the porch and turned back to wrap my hands around her waist and help her down,
too.

"Hell, no." She took my hand and
we jogged over to the bike together. "Would you have?"

"Are you seriously asking me
that?" I worked to get the bike ready to go before getting on and offering
her my hand. "I don't live to please anyone."

"No one at all?" She chuckled as
she got on behind me and put on her helmet.

"Well, almost no one." I started
the bike and waited until she wrapped her arms around me to pull through the
cars toward the back forty of her father's land. The snow had dissipated a
little bit, and there seemed to be a paved path that led into the woods where
we were headed.

She leaned past me and pointed in the
direction to go before wrapping her arms around me again and cupping my dick
tightly.

I growled, but it was a wasted response.
She wouldn't be able to hear me over the roar of the wind and the helmet.

By the time I pulled up to the cabin, she
was shivering and her skin was ice cold. I carefully tugged her helmet off for
her and wrapped my arms around her as we jogged to the cabin.

"Wow. That was far worse than I
thought it would be." Her hands shook as she tried to get the door open.

I moved in and took the key from her to
unlock the door. I opened it wide and nodded. "Get inside, baby."

Much to my surprise, it was already warm.
The place was cozy and looked to only be a two-bedroom cabin. I had imagined it
to be something much bigger, but what I found was exactly the type of place
that I would want to spend the night with her.

"You like it?" She pulled off
her jacket and rubbed her hands over her arms.

"I love it." I pulled off my
leather jacket and then my suit jacket. "Let me start a fire and we can
snuggle up and get you warm again."

"Okay." She moved in behind me
and handed me kindling as I worked on it. "Thanks again for coming today.
I know it must have been sickening to think about having to deal with my
folks."

"I wasn't thrilled about the idea,
but I wasn't going to not be there when you wanted me to." I looked over
my shoulder at her as my heart melted in my chest. "You were beautiful
back there."

"I'm not now?" I chuckled at the
look she threw me.

"Yes. You're always beautiful. Damn,
woman. I can't even give you a compliment." I turned and picked up the
stoker as she moved beside me and worked on getting out of her dress. My mouth
went dry as I glanced up to see her in nothing but a pair of tiny white
panties. "Wow."

"You like?" She walked to the
couch and picked up a blanket. The back of her panties was nothing more than a
string that beckoned me to come play with it.

"I love." I turned and got up as
I started to work on my shirt. "You do realize that we didn't eat at your
mom's house."

"Yeah, I figured we wouldn't, so I
stole a couple of trays from the kitchen earlier today for us." She
wrapped the blanket around her and walked into the kitchen as I followed.

"Trays of what?" I wrapped my
arms around her from behind as she stopped in front of the fridge. I couldn't
help but lean down and kiss her neck and the top of her back. "You smell
good."

"You feel even better." She
pulled out two big trays and moved back as I released her. "A fruit tray
and this meat and cheese tray. Let's eat, and then we can go try out the big
comfy bed in the back room."

"I like the sound of that." I
took the food from her and sat it down on the coffee table before dropping down
on the couch and pulling my shirt from my shoulders. She moved in beside me and
snuggled up, kissing and licking at the tribal art that ran down the side of my
throat. "You keep it up, and we'll have to save this food for later."

She laughed and moved back. "We might
want to go easy on it."

"Why is that?" I pulled the tops
off of both of them and got up in search of a bottle of wine or something for
us to drink. I found a couple of beers in the fridge and brought them back to
see her nibbling on a strawberry.

"I'm pretty sure I've been officially
cut out of the will." She shrugged and picked up a cracker. "I told
my father to go to hell in so many words."

"
Wow, that
sounds intense. Even I didn't tell your father to go to hell, and believe me
when I say I wanted to." I sat back down and popped the top on her beer.

She took it and took a long drink before
exhaling and leaning back. "Yeah, well, it was a long time coming."

"Are you going to be okay? You know I
can pick up extra shifts at the shop and stuff." I turned to face her as I
popped the top on my beer. Concern for the beautiful girl beside me filled my
insides. Half the reason she was shunning her parents was because of me, no
doubt.

"I'll be fine. You don't need to do
anything." She smiled as her eyes filled with tears. "That you want
to means a lot to me, though."

"Of course. I'd do anything you
needed me to, Val." I moved toward her and leaned over to kiss her several
times before moving back to my side of the couch.

"I feel the same." She sat up
and started to work on a pile of grapes as I joined her. "Tell me what you
decided about Dr. Barnes’ offer to be his research assistant."

"I'm gonna do it." I nodded.
"I'm going to the tryouts for the Olympic swim team, too. I agreed with
your thoughts a few days ago about diving into any opportunities that came my
way."

"Good. I'm proud of you." She
glanced down at her hands. "I should call to see if I can try out for the
girl's USA basketball team. I was hand selected last year, but, well, I think I
told you that my father put his foot down."

I nodded and slid my hand over her thigh,
wishing like hell that the blanket would suddenly disappear. "I bet they
would take you in a heartbeat, baby."

"Maybe. I need to work out what I'm
going to do about next semester. This semester is taken care of and my rent at
the Gamma house is all paid up until August." She smiled and shook her
head. "I can't tell you how free I feel. For the first time in forever, I
feel like I might actually get control over my life, that maybe I can do what I
want to do."

"You can, Val. I'm here to help
support that, too." I picked up a grape and pressed it to her lips as she
opened her mouth and sucked it in slowly.

My heart started to race in my chest with
the way she was looking at me. The woman had a power over me that I couldn't
explain, nor did I want to.

"I'm going to talk to my adviser on
Monday." She tugged at the blanket around the top of her chest and stood
as it fell to the ground.

I reached for her and helped her into my
lap. "And, what are you going to discuss with this adviser?"

I moved down and licked at her pert
nipple, sucking it into my mouth and flicking my tongue over it as I ran my
hands down the silky skin of her back.

She gasped softly before sliding her hands
over my shoulders. "I'm going to switch my major to Kinesiology. I want to
play basketball or be a coach. It's an extra year in school, but I'm not in a
hurry."

I moved back, letting her nipple pop from
my mouth. She groaned, and I moved to bathe the other one with my tongue as she
pressed herself against me and rocked back and forth. She felt perfect in my
arms, like no other woman had. It was her heart, her spirit, her drive.

Glancing up, I took a deep breath and
pulled her down for a long kiss before rolling us over and pinning her to the
couch.

"I love it. I think you'd be a great
coach." I moved down and ran my nose by her jawline. "What can I do
to help?"

"Nothing. Just continue to live your
dreams and I'll be there to support you, too." She slid her hands into my
hair and pushed at my head a little.

I chuckled and moved down the couch to
hover above the silky white material that held me back from my treat for the
evening. I licked at the side of her panties as she squirmed beneath me.

"You're coming with me to the try
outs, right?" I ran my hand over her panties and dipped my fingers just
below the cloth to pull it to the side. My breath left me as I realized she had
shaved herself bare. "Val. Shit."

"You like it?” She reached down and
ran her hand over her smooth lips, parting them for me.

"I love it." I licked at her
before glancing back up. "You're coming with me, right?"

"Yes. Of course. Anything you want.
Just stop making me wait." She smirked before letting her head drop back.

I chuckled and swatted her hand away
before tugging her panties off and letting my eyes take in the feast.
"Beautiful."

"All yours." She was panting,
and I'd yet to touch her more than a little teasing here or there. The night
was sure to be long and fulfilling, if nothing else.

I slid my hands under her ass and squeezed
it as I leaned down and gave her exactly what she wanted.

Me, hungry as fuck for her.

Chapter 32

Val

Warmth filled my entire body as Tate
worked me into a frenzy with is mouth and fingers. I came up off the couch as
my orgasm hit, and the room danced around me in various shadows. He whispered
naughty promises against my swollen flesh and took me again, though I begged
him not to. It almost didn't seem fair, seeing that he was so damn good at
bringing me over the edge.

He glanced up and licked at his wet lips as
he petted me. "God, I love your body."

"It loves you, too." I reached
down and touched his cheek. "Make love to me on the floor by the
fire?"

"Yeah. That sounds great." He
got up and offered me his hand.

If he had been anyone else, I'd have
pulled the blanket around me and tried to hide behind it, but something about
him made me want to bare everything I was or would be to him and him alone.

"Tate." I stopped in the middle
of the room.

He turned to face me and worked on his
slacks. "What, baby? You need something?"

"Do you think we've taken things too
fast?" I couldn't help but ask. Where my sister was back at the house soon
to go to bed with a man she could care less about, I was soon to lay down on a
pile of blankets beneath the one I felt like I could spend forever with. I was
concerned that my infatuation wasn't the beginnings of love, but rather
something more passing like lust.

"No. Do you?" He kicked off his
slacks and pulled his underwear off before moving up to stand in front of me.
The feeling of his body pressed to mine was like nothing I could remember
enjoying quite as much.

"No, but I worry. We keep talking
about falling for each other, but I think I've already fallen. It's only been a
couple of weeks."

"When you know
it's
right, it's right." He slid his hands into my hair and pulled me up for a
long probing kiss.

I ran my hands around his waist and over
his ass, rubbing soft circles into the muscle as I flattened myself to the
front of him.

"And you think you know
it's
right?" I broke the kiss and moved around him as I
got down on the floor and patted the space beside me. "Come here."

He grabbed a few condoms from his slacks
on the floor and dropped them behind me as he got down on the floor beside me.

"I think love is finicky, Val. It comes
and it goes, but when it shows up, it's rare. You gotta grab a hold of it. Too
many people settle, much like it sound your sister did today, but we don't have
to. At least, I don't have to." He smiled. "You might already be
settling."

"I'm not settling, but where do we go
from here?" I scooted closer to him, wanting to feel his skin against
mine.

"We take it day by day, baby. I'm in
no hurry, and if you're willing to get on this crazy ride with me, then I'm
thrilled to take it slow. The more time I have to convince you that forever
with me is a good idea, the better." He rolled onto his back and smiled.
"Stop talking about all of this and get up here and make love to me. We'll
figure this out as we go through it. That I'm yours and you’re mine is enough
for me."

"You're right." I moved on top
of him and straddled his thighs as he picked up a condom. I snatched it from
him and opened it before working to slide it over the thickness of his
erection. "I love how big you are."

"I love how well you take me."
He ran his fingertips down my arm as I shifted up and positioned myself to take
him.

He closed his eyes and laid his head back
as I rolled my hips and started to make love to him. His fingers dug into my
thighs as he closed his eyes with a groan. My hair danced along his chest and
abs as I worked him steadily.

"I've never wanted a woman the way I
want you." He brushed my hair back as I laid flush on him and pressed my
lips to his, indulging myself in his scent, his touch, and his taste.

I closed my eyes and let the feeling of
our bodies pressed together usher in a sense of serenity that I wanted to cling
to forever. It wasn't about fucking or even physical touch, but about finding
my other half, the guy that could help to complete me and make me stronger for
it all.

"Love me," I whispered against
his lips, not realizing that I'd spoken my deepest desire aloud.

"I already do." He turned us
over and rocked against me, deepening the intensity of our sex. I cried out and
wrapped my legs around him as he hovered above me, watching me lovingly.

The night was incredible, and one I
wouldn't soon forget. We moved to the bed sometime during the night and made
love again before crashing into the comfort of the silk sheets and king-sized
bed.

He fell asleep almost immediately, but I
couldn't force myself to close my eyes and miss a moment of studying his
perfect features. His dark brown hair was disheveled and wet from working
ourselves into a lusty mess.

The pink stain on his cheeks was adorable,
but it was his lips that captivated me, from his thin upper lip to the thick
bottom one. He was perfect. My fingers traced the lines of his tattoos until
sleep weighed heavy on me.

"Just a few more minutes," I
whispered as my eyelids began to droop more and more.

"Anything you want, baby," he
grumbled and rolled onto his back before jerking back toward me and pulling me
into his arms. "Sleep against me. Please. I want to feel you."

I smiled and snuggled up to his side,
falling asleep to the rhythm of his heart beating.

*

I woke the next morning to find the bed
empty beside me. Worry rolled through me.

I sat up and started to call for him, but
the smell of bacon filled my senses, and I dropped back down into the bed,
physically exhausted, but emotionally alive. We had so many good things ahead
of us.

Tate's offer to be a research assistant at
the college had the power to blossom into something else, something long-term.
If he could get on with UMN, he would be set. I wasn't truly sure of what his
dreams were for himself, but that was going to be part of my plan for the next
year – I wanted to pick him apart and learn as much about him as I could.

I had a long road ahead of me seeing that
I'd have to see my parents again and discuss what the next few years might look
like while I wrapped up school. I was completely prepared for them to reject
the idea of helping me, and it might be better if they did. I hated the idea of
owing them anything.

Tate's voice brought me from my thoughts
as he stood in the doorway to the bedroom. His slacks hung low on his hips, and
the dark trail of hair that moved from his bellybutton to inside his pants
beckoned a longing deep inside of me.

"Hey. You awake, beautiful?" He
moved to the bed and crawled up it to press himself against the top of me over
the sheet.

"No, I'm not." I smiled and
pulled him down for a long kiss. "Do I smell breakfast?"

"You do. I hope you're hungry. There
was bacon and sausage in the fridge, and not the shitty kind." He smirked
and kissed me once more before getting up. "Come on. Get up and join me,
lazy butt."

"Lazy butt?" I sat up and
stretched. "It's ten-thirty? Holy hell."

I hadn't slept past eight since high
school. I got up and found a soft white robe in the closet, but nothing else.
Why I hadn't thought to bring some clothes up with me the day before was a
mystery.

After trying to do something with my wild
head of hair, I walked into the kitchen and stopped by the coffee pot,
breathing in deeply.

"Did you do all of this?" I
grabbed a mug from the cabinet and poured myself a cup.

"I did." He glanced over his
shoulder at me. "Mmm...
you
look good enough to
eat."

"You'd be the one to know." I
chuckled and picked up a piece of bacon before sitting down at the breakfast
bar and letting my eyes run over the long muscles of his back and perfect swell
of his ass.

"I'd better be the only one that
knows." He turned and ate a piece of sausage as he watched me. "You
want scrambled eggs or fried?"

"Fried. Where did you learn to
cook?" I hopped down and walked back to the plate of bacon. After grabbing
a couple more pieces, I moved up behind him and kissed his back as I fondled
his rear with my free hand. "Did your mom teach you?"

"She did a little, but I actually
learned more from Sam's dad than anyone else. You know, I didn't have a
dad." He turned and kissed me before stealing a piece of bacon from my
fingers and nodding toward the table. "Go sit down before you eat all the
meat."

"Bossy ass." I turned and went
to sit back down. "When did you move in with Sarah?"

"When I was really little. I don't
remember much about the orphanage, to be honest." He finished my eggs and
put a plate in front of me. "I always thought when I finally got my shit
together, I would go looking for my real parents, but I don't have the desire
to do that anymore."

"Because of Sarah doing such a good
job raising you?" I cut into my eggs and dove in without waiting a moment
longer. I loved fried eggs and my father was the only one that could do them
just right. It would appear that Tate had that magic power, too.

"That and just growing up. I hated
them for a long time, but I realize that they were probably just doing the best
they could at the time." He shrugged, but kept his back to me. "I
think when I finally get married that I'd like to have a few kids of my own,
but I'd like to adopt some, too."

"I think that's great." I
continued to eat, not realizing that he was looking my way until I got an
uncanny feeling that I was being watched. I glanced up and smiled.
"What?"

"What do you think about adopting
kids?" He grabbed the plate of breakfast meats and sat down next to me,
pushing it between us and starting to cut his eggs.

"I like the idea. I would totally be
open to adopting some kids." I picked up a piece of sausage as the warmth
of him even asking my opinion melted me a little. "I think my biggest
concern about the future is making sure that I'm nothing like my mom and
dad."

"You're not, Val." He touched my
back and kissed my shoulder.

"I know I'm not now, but there are
times when I see both of them coming out in my actions and the way I want to
treat people." I shivered at the thought. "I want to be the kind of
woman that gives encouragement and offers hope. You know?"

"Of course, I do. You've offered
me
hope." He moved back to work on
his breakfast. "I honestly thought I would be a bachelor forever. I wanted
a woman just like you, but what hottie-tottie woman would ever date a guy like
me? That chick would have to be coo-coo-crazy."

I swatted at him and smiled. "Just
let them see your cock. They'll come running in large hordes."

He rolled his eyes and chuckled.
"You're too much."

"Oh, yeah?" I turned to face him
and brushed my knee by his thigh. "But you like it?"

"I love it." He pinned me with a
hard stare. "I heard what your told you mother last night at the
party."

"Which part? I said a lot of stuff to
her, most that I'm not proud about." I picked up the last piece of bacon
and wagged it between us. "You want this or are you willing to sacrifice
it in the name of love?"

He rolled his eyes. "Eat it. I like
chunky women, remember?"

I let out a yelp and tossed it back on the
plate as
he
belly laughed loudly. The sound of it was
something to behold, and I knew that I could hear it a million times and never
grow tired of it.

"What part are you talking about in
my conversation with my mom?" I reached over and ran my hand down his back
slowly as I pressed my chest to his arm and my lips to the side of his neck.

"The part where you told her that you
weren't interested in Kade. You said that you were already in love with someone
else." He looked over at me, his face so close that it wouldn't have taken
much to capture his lips with mine.

"And?" I brushed my mouth over
his shoulder as I watched his expression grow lusty.

"And, was it true? Are you in love?"
He touched the side of my face and turned to pull me to a standing position
between his legs. "I wanna know."

"What do I get if I tell you?" I
pressed my body against his and ran my nose along his before kissing him a few
times.

"Me. All of me. Forever." He
captured my face with his strong hands as he watched me intently. "Were
you just saying that to shut her up or did you mean it?"

"I meant every word of it." I
pushed against his hold and wrapped my arms around his thick neck as I tilted
my head and kissed him with every bit of passion I had inside of me.

He gave into the kiss and sucked and
licked at my mouth until we were both out of breath.

He pulled back and licked at his lips.
"You know my life isn't easy."