I’m not surprised by her behavior.I pull both Bryson and Holt to the side.She’s smashed. I believe Blake. Didn’t you see what he did tonight? He cares about me just like I care about him.
And we care about you.Holt burns through me with hellfire in his eyes.Annie, this guy sleeps with girls by the dozens. Girls are throwing themselves at him. You saw that yourself tonight. He’s probably slept with that girl before. Doesn’t his track record worry you?
No, he’s changed. He’s a one-woman man, and I happen to be that woman.I widen my stance as if I’m about to take them on in a brawl. When we were little my brothers used to let me wrestle with them and pretend that I had them beat just to make me feel good. Right now I’m thinking I won’t need the ego boost. I’ve got enough rage to propel me through a good beat down with the two of them.I don’t know what I have to do to prove that I’m not a little girl anymore! I’m leaving. And don’t you even think of following me. I’ll see you both tomorrow at Mom’s. I’ll find my own way there.
Blake heads over, and I wrap my arms around his waist as we head out the door. One of these days my brothers are going to have to let me live my own life. They’re going to have to realize I’m not a kid anymore. Big surprise for them because that day is today.
When Blake asked where to, I said his place. It takes twenty minutes before we get to the carriage house. I watch with a slight nostalgic sadness as we drive under the tall, bronze banner that reads Golden Oakes Ranch.
Blake taps me on the knee and gazes into my eyes with a curve of his lips that sets my nerves jumping in a celebratory romp. I might be heartbroken over how I left things with my brothers, but I’m still giddy with excitement at the prospect of what the night might hold.
“I have a surprise for you.” He mouths it slow and steady, and I may have sighed while memorizing his lips. He holds a finger up while jotting something down on his phone.I had planned on asking you to come back to the carriage house tonight—but only if you wanted. And if you said no I would have given you this tomorrow.“Come on.” He nods out the door, and we race up the stairs.
Blake scoops me up in his arms, and I feel a giggle escape me. My fingers reflexively cover my mouth.
“I like you happy.”
You make me happy, I sign and give a shy smile at what I’m about to do next. I call him over with my finger, and I touch my lips to his ear whispering the sentiment as best I can.
He pulls back and closes his eyes through a pained smile. “Annie.”
Blake unlocks the door and swings us inside. He turns the light over the kitchen table and dims it until the inside of the tiny cottage glows a soft shade of pumpkin.
He whisks me over to the sink where two giant bouquets of red roses sit in water like dozens of beautiful frilly girls ready and willing to paint the town. My mother always said roses were sexy. That they were the sex-goddess of the botanical kingdom, ready to unleash their passionate glory on star-crossed lovers that held their petals between them. I pluck one out and inhale its intoxicating scent, sugar and honey, and sex gods named Blake, all rolled into one.
“Blake,” I whisper as he gently sets me down.
He plucks one out and hands it to me sweetly. “They’re all for you.”
I pull out my phone.Thank you. They’re beautiful. This entire night has been magical. Dancing with you at the bar—the words you said in front of everyone there. It meant a lot to me.
“I want the whole world to know how much you mean to me. I love you, Annie. I want you right here next to me.” His hand firms over my back and draws me to him in one quick swoop. “I want you in my life forever. It hurt like hell when Benji died, but somehow you’ve made everything better.”
You make everything better for me, too.I pull my phone back a moment.Except one thing…
“What’s that?” Blake looks distraught at the thought that he might be doing something wrong.
You haven’t shared your body with me yet. Rumor has it you haven’t always been this stingy.I bite my lip, withholding my budding elation.I’m ready Blake. And I’m hoping you are, too.
A devilish grin blooms over his face, slow and deliberate as if this were the exact mischief—the exact kind of physical altercation he wanted to get into tonight. He leans in, and the spice of his cologne surprises me. His dark hair gleams with shades of blue in this dull light. His lids grow heavy and serious, and I can’t believe this beautiful man is mine. Blake takes off his T-shirt and sends it sailing to the other side of the kitchen. He scoops me into his arms again, and I cradle a single rose between us as he carries me off to his bedroom. It’s dark inside, cooler with the moonlight spraying its white shadow across the floor. Blake swipes the comforter off the bed and gently lands me over the cool, crisp sheets. The bed holds his subtle scent, a heady mixture of wood and citrus, lime, and spice.
Blake looms over me like a shadow, his broad chest striped with dark lines as I trace out his abs. He straddles me and unbuttons his jeans, opening them in the front. This is it. It’s finally happening, and I have to resist the urge to send a text to Kaya and give her a play by play. All those daydreams, those nighttime fantasies are about to come true with Blake Daniels, the love of my life, inside of me where I’ve secretly wanted him all along.
Blake lies over me and crashes his mouth to mine. He dives into me with hot, hungry kisses that taste like sunshine and mint. Blake rides his hands up my shirt and cups my breasts in his hands, kneading them softly, making my entire body buck into his to pronounce the pleasure. A moan tries to roll from my throat, but I won’t let it. I lean up and evict the sweater from me, right along with my bra. Blake catches my gaze in the dark with his chest panting, his eyes alive and smiling. He’s on his hands and knees, and something about seeing him on all fours arouses me far more than I could ever imagine. I reach down and yank the jeans off his body, his boxers roll right off with them. Blake peels my skintight leggings off in one quick move, and I lie back completely bared to him for the very first time.
Blake rides his heated gaze over my body, and a tingle strums through me right down to my toes.
He touches his finger to his mouth, and I struggle to see his lips. “You are so beautiful.” I like the way his chest vibrates with the words, the way it forces his breath to dance off my skin.
I toss my head back and give a soft giggle. My hand glides over his shoulders as I gently roll him over until he’s lying on his back.
Blake is all man. His chest spans wide, and I take my time smoothing my hand from one end to the other. I trace down to his abs, then my eyes dip because I can’t contain myself a second more, and there he is. He’s long and hard, pointing toward the ceiling with a spear of flesh I’ve ached to see. I touch the tip then collapse my hand over him and stroke all the long way down. He’s big. He’s huge. Not that I have anything to juxtapose with, but seeing is believing. My vagina is asking not so subtly for me to run the other way.
“You are perfect,” I whisper. “Your body is gorgeous.” I try to steady the words, even and breathless.
Blake pulls me up to him, his entire face beaming as he presses his lips to mine. He rolls me over until I’m lying on the mattress and tucks his leg between my thighs. His hand slips down my hip then between my legs, and a heavy breath escapes me. He pulls back one more time and touches his lips.
“Hit me if I hurt you,” he mouths. Blake mock slaps his face and nods. It dawns on me that he’s probably asked girls that question a hundred times by whispering it in their ear. This is different for him. In a way, he’s navigating uncharted waters just like me.
