I take her off my lap and place her on the bed beside me as I stand up. We’re both still completely naked, and although I came, I’m still just as hard as when I first walked in here.“Justin?” Her voice is soft as I walk to the bedroom door, determination straightening my back.“Stay,” I say to her over my shoulder as I go into the living room and get what I need. When I come back, she’s still sitting in the same spot, but she’s worrying her bottom lip, and she looks like she’s on the verge of tears.“I know this is shocking, but it’s not like we planned it,” she says, her voice close to breaking.I walk over to the side of the bed and kneel down next to it as I place the small velvet box between us. “I know that you may not be ready for this, but I came here today to put this on your finger.”“Oh my god,” she whispers as she brings her hands up to her mouth.“You’re going to marry me, Eris.” Her eyes sharpen, and she doesn’t like me ordering her, but I don’t care. “You are mine.” I p
“You look so beautiful!” Rosy squeals.She’s had the time of her life planning this wedding. It’s not a big wedding, but that didn't stop her from managing everything down to the smallest detail. I actually had fun doing it with her, which was more than I expected. I guess being in love has changed my perspective.“The dress is beautiful.”“It is, but you’re the one making it breathtaking. Where did you get your ass?” she gushes as I look over my shoulder.“One of the good things my birth parents gave me, I guess.” I shrug.“And your hips! You really fill out that dress, and Justin is going to be all over you.”I let out a laugh. “He’s always all over me.”“True.”She’s right though. I do look damn good in this dress, and I have no doubt Justin is going to end up ripping it off of me. My soon-to-be husband is more than a little possessive, yet somehow he manages to keep it under control at work. It’s one of the many things I love about him because he has no problem with me technically
Two years later…“Which pajamas do you want?” I hold up the polka dots and the Star Wars and my daughter Violet giggles as she grabs for Darth Vader. “That’s my girl.” I smile as I brush through her wet curls and get her ready for bed.“Sam wasn’t coming out until he was a whole prune,” our nanny Theresa jokes, and Sam giggles in her arms.When Eris and I had the twins, we were more than overwhelmed. And while the family was always here to help at a moment's notice, we’ve all got little ones at the same time so it’s not exactly easy for any of us. Living together in our own little compound has been a blessing, but having Theresa live with us has made all the difference.Eris and I don’t have parents or grandparents to show us what to do or to step in, so after we brought the twins home from the hospital we were lost. One day we were in the grocery store together staring at the formula while the twins were screaming, and Theresa walked by. She didn’t say anything to us, but as soon as
William Jones is known as the Lord of the Manor.He's in his forties, but he looks twenty-five. Has been our landlord for years now, and my family haven't been able to foster a stable relationship with him. Would you blame him? His position is at the top, and we're below.When he serves us an eviction notice after days of Papa playing him, we're helpless. We have nothing to offer in exchange for ridiculous amount of rent we owe.Nothing but me.Passion is a very funny business, and neither of us expected the surge of adrenaline that engulfs us from the very first touch. But William harbors demons far stronger than my angelic light. Will I truly teach the Lord how to love again? Or will I be defeated in this cold battle?------------1: Grace.The Lord comes to collect today.That's what my parents call our landlord, anyway. They've called him that for so long that it stuck. Now everyone in the neighborhood calls him that, crossing themselves behind his back. Or running and hiding in t
I'm not sure what causes me to look up from my paperwork, through the rain-blurred window of the limousine. Ever since yesterday, there has been an itch between my shoulder blades. Something prickly under the starched collar of my dress shirt. If I believed in bullshit hocus pocus, I might even think it was a premonition.Ever since I had the sensation of being watched yesterday, I've been unable to focus on work—and I don't take kindly to this kind of distraction. Work is the only thing worth focusing on, after all. So when I look up from the rental reports on my lap and see the girl walking in the rain, I tell myself it's not my fucking problem.I've been left in the rain before. Literally and metaphorically.It's only the end of the world if one allows it to be.And I certainly didn't allow myself the self-pity.Whoever this stranger is, she shouldn't have been stupid enough to forget her umbrella. Maybe she'll learn a lesson from getting stranded on this long stretch of road witho
"You think I'm a softie?" My voice is deceptively gentle when the rest of me is so hard. "Do you know why I pulled over?""Why?" she says, seeming to hold her breath.Don't you dare. She's innocent. I say the words, anyway, however. I want to drive her away. Now. She caught me with my walls down and that is the ultimate invasion, made worse because I crave it happening again. "I pulled over because I know tight pussy when I see it." I frame her jaw with my right hand, tilting her blushing face up toward mine. "I'd like to fuck you on all fours, right here in the middle of the road, little girl. Rough as you can stand. Still think I'm a softie?""No," she gasps, the green of her eyes deepening to a forest shade. "I don't."I ignore the regret stabbing me in the neck. "Good."She tugs her chin out of my hold, skirts around me and continues walking up the road, arms stiff at her sides. I'm monetarily dumbfounded by the sense of loss I experience without her in front of me—and then I'm tu
It's incredible how quickly my plan went out the window once I came face to face with the man I'm supposed to be bartering with. My body for our home. Or rather, it's my mother's plan I'm failing to execute. She's the one who dropped me off less than a mile from our landlord's gated mansion, advising me to walk the road indefinitely in the hopes that William would stop to offer assistance.We thought about simply arriving at his home and asking to make the trade, my virginity in exchange for cancelling the eviction, but my mother didn't think that would work with a man as shrewd as William.You'll have to get under his skin first, honey.Make it impossible for him to say no.If anyone can do it, it's you.Dripping wet on the expensive leather seat of the limousine, I have no idea if I'm succeeding. William watches me from the dark end of the vehicle, his long legs stretched out in front of him, a frown on his harshly attractive face as he considers me, his fingers in a steeple in fron
Why does this girl insist on trying to endear herself to me?She gasps at the sight of my living room and the downstairs kitchen on our way to the pool, stopping to gawk and turn in slow circles. Stumbling into furniture because she's so distracted by the chandeliers mounted to the high ceilings. I don't like the way my chest tightens over these things. It's odd and alarming.Who is this girl?I want to know everything about her, down to her blood type, but at the same time, I'm terrified of knowing too much. Making her too real to me. I'm already way outside of my comfort zone having her in my home for the night. I told myself I just wanted to fuck her, but here I am, giving her a tour of my house. Needing to see her swimming. Wanting to give her this thing she's been deprived of.Those urges are a warning sign that this girl is creeping into uncharted territory. I learned a long time ago that personal attachments are a weakness. A desire for affection, connection with another person