Page 49

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Kelton

“I do care for Alizabeth,” Jerry offers as I sit in my driveway with his voice filtering in through the Bluetooth speaker.

“Too much, more than I thought I would. But that isn’t enough Kelton, not when I can’t make promises she needs me to make.

I said from the start that I’m your agent, yes, but I also consider you a friend, and I can’t risk either of those things. ”

“Liz can be stubborn,” I tell Jerry and he chuckles.

“That is the understatement of the year.”

“Where are you now?” he asks.

“In my driveway, trying to figure out how to walk in there and make it up to Em for being an ass.”

“I’m sure it’ll work out. Emerson is a sweetheart, she doesn’t seem like the kind to hold grudges.”

We say our goodbyes and I grab my bag, nervous energy coursing through me as I walk inside. Met with silence I drop my bag and keys, ready to go look around when I feel the breeze coming in from the back patio.

Smiling I figure I will find them both outside near the pool.

No music, no laughter, everything is so quiet I assume they must have fallen asleep. As I make my way to the back side of the house, the cool evening breeze rolls over me.

I find Emerson there, alone, on a lounger, wearing a cropped T-shirt and short shorts. A book open in front of her, she seems fully engrossed in it. One leg propped up, her fingers twirl a single strand of hair that has fallen near the left side of her face.

Instead of announcing my arrival, I stay where I am leaning against the doorframe, watching her. She looks so at peace that I wonder if I should even bother her after the last week of shit she’s put up with.

Liz and I don’t fight, I think that’s why my mood was complete shit. But I was stuck in the middle of her and Jerry and that was also a place I didn’t want to be.

I’m first to admit, I didn’t handle it well.

Most of all, it came between Em and I when it didn’t need to.

“Good book?” I ask and she turns in her chair, looking over her left shoulder.

“Hi,” she says, holding her hand to her chest. “Sorry, yes, it is. It’s murder mystery so being out here alone probably wasn’t the best choice on my part, but hey.” She shrugs with a little laugh.

“Not alone now,” I tell her, taking the last step and joining her on the patio. “So what’s happening in this book?”

“Missing girls.” She turns it over so I can see the cover. It’s the same author I’ve seen her reading for weeks, only a new title. “It’s a series, with like twenty plus books. Each one is my new favorite, but every one of them keeps me on edge.”

“Is that a good thing?” I ask, sitting down on the side of her lounger and mindlessly dragging my thumb over the side of her calf.

“It’s a very good thing.” I notice the shift in the tone of her voice. “No reason to read a book that doesn’t keep you wanting more with every page.”

Moving my hand further up her leg, chills cover her skin and her eyes drop to where my hand is.

“Is this what you do when I’m not here?”

“This and clean and study. I’m almost finished with my online course and I don’t want to fall behind before I start my final year this fall.”

She’s studying to be a middle school history teacher. Not sure I could ever deal with teenagers on a daily basis, but it’s what she wants. I plan on ensuring she gets exactly what she wants.

“I’m sorry this last week has been a rough one.” I pause with my hand on her thigh. Sliding in a little closer I take the book out of her hands and lay it flat on the table, ensuring I don’t lose her current spot. “I’m sorry I made it uncomfortable around here.”

She holds my stare, not saying anything in return. That alone makes my heart race.

“I promise you, I won’t bring shit home like that again."

“It’s not that you brought it home, it’s how you dealt with it after you did.

I’m here for it all Kelton, not just the good.

I’m not a delicate flower that can’t take the bad too.

You can’t ignore me and at the end of it, I’m gonna be all smiling and say oh it’s no big deal, let’s forget all about it.

You may not have been an ass to me, but ignoring me felt like a dismissal and,” I don’t let her finish.

Reaching out I grab her and pull her into my lap.

The surprise on her face, the gasp from her lips, does nothing to stop me.

“I was wrong,” I confess. “I’m sorry.” I hope she can see just how much I mean it. When she nods I feel a sense of relief wash over me.

“I love you,” I whisper, her forehead pressed to mine as I cup the back of her neck holding her close. Straddling my lap, my other hand resting on her hip, I feel grounded for the first time all week. “And I’ve missed you.”

“Missed you too, and not just these last few days.” I know what she means and again that ache in my chest returns. I was here but I wasn’t present, I get that.

Pulling back, our eyes meet and I swear the ground beneath me rocks.

In such a short time this woman has rocked my world, left me breathless, and made me so dependent on her that it literally hurts when she isn’t close enough for me to touch.

And knowing that she is carrying our child, damn that makes it a hundred times stronger.

Like I can’t breathe without her near. I’ve never been that dependent on anyone.

Fisting her hair, I pull her mouth to mine and swallow her gasp. The familiar taste, one I’ve missed and feel desperate for.

When she slides forward, and I feel her pressing down on me, it’s like a flip of a switch. My pulse quickens and I turn laying her back down on the oversized lounger. It’s like a twin sized bed with oversized pillows and extra thick cushions.

Climbing up and over her, I lower my body to hers and she parts her legs accepting me.

“Where is Liz?”

“Gone,” she says between kisses, hooking her leg over my hip. Digging her heel into my ass, she pulls me in and shifts beneath me. The friction instantly makes me hard, and I push my hips forward matching her movements.

When I feel her beneath me trying to work her shorts lower I lift my body and watch. Thankful I’d chosen comfort for the trip home I too remove my sweats and pull my shirt up and over my head.

Covering her body with mine once more I position myself against her heat and when I shift forward she gasps.

Very little words are spoken but instead we remind each other of our connection, not just physical but emotional too. A connection so deep it’s like she is fucking holding my heart in her hands.

“Kelton,” she whispers my name and I move inside of her, kissing along the side of her neck.

“Yes, baby.” I shift, pumping slowly and watching her eyes roll back as she arches her back. “You feel so good.” As if she can’t tell. Her nails dig into my back and I pick up speed, hitting that spot I know sets her off every single time.

“Oh God!” Emerson’s voice echoes the quiet night and I fuck her harder and faster.

“Let go,” I coach her. “Give in to it.”

“Yes,” she sings out one last time before I feel her tighten around me and shifting her hips chasing her release. “Yes!”

Kissing her, I hold off as long as I can feeling her body tremble. She is my peace, my world, Emerson is my home.

Lifting my head, her eyes lock on mine and it’s my undoing. The way she is watching me, loving me, like I am her everything and it’s crippling. I let go, my body shivering through my own release, and not for a minute do I take my eyes off hers.