So. Long.: Bad Boy Next Door (42 page)

Jack steeples his hands in front of his mouth for a moment,
while the audience calms again after more cheering. When they quiet, he says,
“Now, not only did I hire this man, but I also made fairly certain that no
matter what techniques these ladies employed, he wouldn’t truly be enticed by
either of them.”

My blood simmers on low, just thinking about all that time I
wasted on dates with Dave.

Jack continues. “I not only hired someone, rather than the
subject being a random person, as the ladies were led to believe, but I hired
this actor specifically, because I happen to know that he’s gay.”

There are a few gasps from the audience, but then they again
burst out in laughter and more applause.

Jack hangs his head for a moment. Then he looks directly
into the camera. “You see, I set up these two ladies for sport. I’m a complete
jerk for doing so. I know it. They know it.”

You bet your ass I know it.

He pinches the bridge of his nose for a moment, and then his
attention comes to the camera. “When I first looked over Ronnie Fitz’s book, I
thought it was a load of crap. I thought there was no solid basis for her
theories. That’s why I didn’t have a problem playing a joke on her and her
friend. But here’s the thing: I was wrong.”

He looks straight through the camera, right into my eyes.
“See, folks, I spent some time with Ms. Fitz, and the more time I was with her,
the more time I wanted with her. She captured my heart. I’m a fool for ever
doubting her and for betting against her.”

I push the blanket from my lap into the floor. Leaning forward,
I wait. My heart beats so loudly that it almost drowns out his next words.

“Ronnie. I was wrong. I love you, Peaches. Please accept my
sincerest apologies for not taking you or your work seriously.”

Jack yanks at his tie, pulling it loose. He picks my book up
again and points to it. “If Ronnie Fitz can catch a guy like me—a confirmed
bachelor, who was
very
happy with his life and had less than
zero
desire to change anything—then it’s obvious that her book is not a bunch of
crap. It’s gold. Ronnie, I’m so in love with you, I can’t even think about a
future without you. I don’t know if you’re watching this, but if you are,
please hear me. I love you. I miss you. I want
us
back.”

Coming out of my seat, I step to the television and touch
the screen where his beautiful eyes plead with me.

I turn to Gee-Gee, my lungs about to burst. I let out the
great breath I’ve been holding. “Did you hear him?”

Gee-Gee nods, her eyes closing, a smile playing at her lips.
“I did indeed.”

“But, why? Why would he do that? On television?”

Gee-Gee cocks her head. “Maybe because he’s been—what do you
call it? Oh—blowing up your phone for the better part of a week and you won’t
answer.”

I make it to the sofa before my weakened knees give out. I
drop my face into my hands. “What should I do, Gee-Gee?”

She pats my back. “Sweet Girl, I can’t tell you that. You
need to listen to your h—”

The doorbell rings. Gee-gee’s little Pomeranian hops down
off the recliner, where it’s been napping, yapping its fuzzy little head off as
it leads me to the entry way.

I open the door.

Jackson Tremaine stands on the other side.

I shut the door.

My heart kicks the shit out of my lungs. It must be winning,
because I can’t breathe.

Gee-gee comes to the door and pushes me aside. “Let the boy
in. After what he just did, the least you can do is tell him to his face if you
don’t want him.”

Want him?

Do I want him?

My hand goes to my belly. I bite my lip and swallow.

Will he want
us
, when I refuse to
take care of it
?

Gee-Gee opens the door. “Come in, Jackson. Ronnie was just
caught by surprise, since you seem to have beamed yourself here from LA. We
were just watching your show.”

Jackson pushes what must be two dozen red roses at me. “We
taped that earlier this afternoon. I hoped you’d see it.”

I hand the roses to Gee-Gee.

She grins as she takes them. “They’re beautiful. I’ll just
put these in some water and leave you two to talk.”

I stand, staring at Jackson, my pulse erratic and my throat
tight. I bite my bottom lip and cross my arms.

He takes up so much of the small entry that I’m tempted to
step backward. But I don’t know if I want to fully let him in yet.

Jackson clears his throat. “Peaches? I’m sorry for just
showing up, but I had to see you.”

I lift my chin a bit as I back up a step. “I’ve warned you
not to just show up. What if I was—”

“Sick? I know. I know. I don’t care if you’re sick. You can
puke on me anytime you want. Hell, I’ll even clean up after you’ve had
uncontrollable rabbit squirts.” He grins.

My breath whooshes out. “Aw. And here I thought you could be
serious for just one minute.”

He rubs at the back of his neck. “Okay. That was in bad taste.
Sorry. I’m just…I’m nervous as fuck. I’m hardly ever nervous, but you’ve got me
turned inside out and hanging upside down.”

The baby I can’t even feel yet looms in my mind. The
what-ifs and how-comes and all the doubt that I’ve ever felt about this man and
his intentions has manifested in front of me—right where he stands.

“Ronnie, I know I messed up. I do. I can only hope you’ll
consider forgiving me. Please. I’ve missed you so fucking bad. You and I, we’re
good together. Surely you know that.”

I tuck my fingernail between my teeth. A throb starts
between my eyes. I push my hand over my face and into my wild curls. “I don’t
know that, Jack. I don’t think you and I have the same long-term goals at this
point.”

He squints, turning his head just slightly. “Wait. What?
Long-term goals? Ronnie, I want to be
with
you. Long-term.”

I shake my head and turn away. “Well, that’s not good
enough, Jack.”

My heart shrivels. He doesn’t get it. He’ll never get it. He
was a confirmed bachelor. He probably never even considered having kids. This
isn’t what he wanted. He really didn’t even want a woman.

Jack follows me into the living room. “I don’t understand, Peaches.
You tell me what
enough
is, and I’ll do it.”

I plop into my spot on the sofa and pull the blanket up around
me like a shield. “It’s all right, Jackson. I don’t expect anything from you
that you aren’t prepared to give.”

He gets to his knees in front of me. “Damn it, Ronnie Fitz,
I love you. And I think you love me too. I talked to Dave. I know you two were never
physical. I
know
, Ronnie. I know.”

“Know what, Jack? That I lied? That I wanted to get back at
you for being an asshole? That it pissed me off that you would play such an
underhanded and dirty trick,
and
kept it going even after you and I were
intimate?”

“No. That’s not what I’m talking about. I mean, I know those
things too, but there’s something else you haven’t told me.”

I tuck my shaking hands under my arms. “Just go, Jack. You
don’t want what I have, and you know it.”

“What do you have that I don’t want, Ronnie?” His green eyes
are intense as he stares into mine.

I’m not ready to hear him say it again. I can’t hear him say
we should be rid of it. It’s my baby, even if he doesn’t want it. I bite my
lips.

“Damn it, Ronnie. I bared my
soul
to twenty million
Americans tonight, and you can’t even be honest with me,
one man
? I
don’t get it. Why?”

Tears prick the backs of my eyes, and my throat tightens as
it tries to strangle me. A shuddering breath escapes my aching chest. I clamp
my jaw shut. I won’t cry. No crying for him. If he doesn’t want our baby, he doesn’t
deserve my tears.

He pulls on my forearms until I let loose. His grip moves to
my hands. “Peaches, I know about the baby. It’s mine. I know it is. You can’t
deny it.”

Hot moisture spills over my lashes onto my cheeks, blurring
my vision. I try to swallow the tears, but now that they’ve escaped, there’s no
calling them back. My nostrils flare as I suck in a much needed breath, even if
it does hitch as I try to draw it into my lungs.

He lets go of my hands and catches my tears with the back of
his finger. “Why are you crying, Babe? I told you, if something happened—”

I close my eyes. “I don’t ne—need you. I can raise it on m—my
own. Just walk away, Jack.”

His jaw drops as he looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “I
can’t just walk away. I’m not
that
guy. I told you—”

I press my finger to his lips and shake my head. “Don’t say
it again. It’s all right. No one will know it’s yours, so no one will judge
you. And don’t worry. No one will come knocking asking for money.”

He pulls my hand away from his mouth. “Money? What the
fuck
are you talking about, Ronnie? You don’t want me to be part of my—
our
baby’s life? Don’t say that.”

Wait. What? I touch freezing fingers to my suddenly hot
forehead. “Say that again—I don’t think—”

Jack moves to sit beside me. He slides his arm around my
waist. “I think you’re working under a false assumption of some kind. I said, I
want
to be part of our baby’s life. I want
you
, Ronnie. I want
both
of you. Why would you think anything different?”

I search his face for some sort of signal that he’s lying to
me. Something to tell me that I heard him wrong. That everything I’ve ever
wanted isn’t really being handed to me like I deserve happiness or something.

“But you—you said if something happened we’d
take care of
it
.”

He nods. “I did say that. I remember saying that. I
meant
it. I’ll always take care of you. I’ll take care of our baby—and any other
babies we have. I won’t be absent the way my father was. I want to be there for
everything.”

I grab my head. “Oh, thank God. I didn’t—I thought you
meant—I misunderstood.”

His eyes go wide, and then he pulls back. “You thought I
meant
take care of it
as in—”

“I’m so sorry. I love you too. I do. I have for the longest
time.” I throw my arms around Jackson, my heart swelling so big that my poor
lungs still can’t take in air. I gasp for breath anyway.

His mouth collides with mine. He pulls me into his lap,
kissing me until we’re both more than breathless.

When we come up for air, his hand covers the place where our
baby nestles safe and warm. “I would never suggest that, Ronnie. As soon as I
found out you were pregnant, I wanted this baby to be mine. But even before
that, I wanted
you
to be mine.”

EPILOGUE

I close the door and flip the safety bar into position.
“Alone at last.”

Ronnie shakes her head, and birdseed flies across the room,
some of it bouncing off the hotel room carpet. “It’s going to take a week to
pick all of this out of my hair.”

I pull her to me, nudging my face into her curls. She smells
delicious—a combination of cocoa butter and peaches. “C’mon. I’ll wash your
hair for you.”

She pulls back. “Nope. I just had my hair done. I’m not
messing it up already.”

I shrug and drag her closer, pressing my hardened dick
against her belly. “That’s fine. That just means we get to the pussy eatin’
quicker.”

She licks her lips. “Or the cock sucking. Let’s not forget
the really good stuff.”

I spin her around, and her wedding gown flies out around
her.

I give her a light push further into the honeymoon suite.
“Well, come on. My cock’s ready and I bet if I tuck my finger between those
lips down there, your pussy’s ready for me to slurp it up.”

Ronnie rolls her eyes. “My, you
must
be the most
romantic man on this planet.”

I shed my tux jacket. “I was never very romantic, Babe. You
know that. But I promise to love and cherish you for eternity.”

She turns her back to me, pointing over her shoulder.
“Please.”

My pleasure. I start at the top and pop tiny little pearl
buttons, one at a time. Each time one opens, I kiss the bit of skin it exposes.
I kneel as I get further along—all the way down her spine to the top of her
ass. “I love that ass.”

When the last button is open, the very top of the seam
between her cheeks teases me. I slide my hands up her back, beneath the
shoulder seams of her dress. I push it off, letting it slip down to her waist.

I span her waist with my hands and slide them to where our
baby sleeps in her womb. The warmest sense of satisfaction I’ve ever had washes
over me. This is the start of my life. The best parts are still waiting to
happen with this woman and this precious life she carries, a life that’s part
of me.

I bring my hands back around to her hips, pushing the gown even
more. It falls into a heap of frothy lace and other mysterious materials that I
know nothing about—except that I like them better on the floor than I do on my
woman, doubly so when they cover her body from my sight, and all I want to do
is look at her and run my hands over her bare skin.

Her dark eyes watch me over her shoulder as I lay my lips at
that beautiful place that her tailbone ends. I slip my thumbs between her
cheeks, letting my tongue dip down to slide along the seam of her ass. She
groans.

I smack her ass. “Go lay over the side of the bed. I’ve been
waiting all day to have you come on my tongue.”

Ronnie steps out of her dress. She sashays to the bed in her
lingerie and heels. She lies on her stomach over the high mattress. Her long
legs go on forever, the seams of those white stockings are held up by her
garter belt…but there are no panties, just as I requested. I reach up and
unhook the bra that restrains those magnificent tits. She pulls it off,
flinging it off of her hand and across the room.

Moving her feet apart, I push my thumbs in between her
cheeks again, spreading them so I can see her asshole, that sweet little button
I can’t wait to sink into. I slather my tongue over it, rewarded with another
mew from Ronnie. Earning those sounds from her is better than any award
Hollywood might give out.

I move down to the real prize, my tongue finding her entrance
already damp with her peachy cream. Running my tongue over her clit, I give it
a little tickle, and she wiggles for me, her ass brushing my face.

I let out a contented sigh. “Fuck yes.”

I grab her ankles and pull her legs even farther apart, and
then I slide my hands up over her calves and the backs of her thighs, all the
way to that beautiful ass. I give it a two-handed squeeze. “Mine.”

She laughs. “Yes. Always.”

I lick up her seam, from clit to asshole. Then I turn her
around, pushing her legs over my shoulders so she leans on the edge of the bed,
her ass hovering over my chest. I reach for her tits, giving them each a tweak.
I massage her nipples as I lick that tasty pussy.

My tongue delves deep between her folds. I circle her bud
and suck it in. I sink my tongue into her slit, pressing up against that hard
nodule that I know brings her such pleasure as I create heavier suction over
her cunt.

Her hips buck. I suck harder, my fingers tickling the
wetness not covered by my mouth. I shove her up and fully onto the mattress. I
stand, unbuckling my belt.

She watches me. Her tongue darts out to moisten her lips. I
unbutton my shirt, just like her dress. I pull the dress shirt off and strip
off the white undershirt, flexing my pecs. I love the way her eyes widen when I
do that.

I unzip my pants. “I want to suck on that pussy some more,
but what do
you
want?”

Ronnie looks me up and down, and then she squints just a bit
as if she’s trying to decide. “I want to suck your dick.”

This time, it’s my cock that flexes—right out of the opening
in my pants. It’s hard and ready for those plump lips to wrap around it.

Jackson sheds his clothes. He stands naked, cock pointing
straight at me, his muscles flexing under his tats. My mouth waters at the
sight of him. Now that I’m past all the morning sickness, I can enjoy sucking
his cock as much as I want.

The light plays across his skin as he moves over me, his
mouth finding mine, his hand landing on the place where our babe is cradled. “God,
I can hardly believe you’re mine. Mine.”

He lets out a triumphant laugh. He slides his body over
mine, dragging that long cock down the inside of my leg and up to my pussy,
setting it to throbbing again. It’s already wet from his tongue a few moments
ago. It tingles at the thought of that dick pumping into it.

“Hey, give me just a dip before I suck it,” I say.

He grins and positions himself over me. I wrap my legs
around him, pulling him in. The head of his cock pushes between my folds, ever
so slowly. Jack draws back.

I smack his shoulder. “Hey, that wasn’t a dip.”

He bites my shoulder. “That
was
a dip. Oh, did you
mean a thrust?”

“Men.”

He tsk-tsks me. “Now, you know, I read in this book that a
woman should tell a man what she wants.”

I nip his neck. “I did tell you.”

He rolls his hips, and his dick shoves deeper into my pussy.
I clench tightly around him as he pulls back again. He kisses my mouth, running
his tongue along my lips as he slowly thrusts again. Then he pulls away.

“The dick has to wait. I always get first lick.” He trails
kisses over my jaw, down my neck, and across my breasts, from one nipple to the
other. He gives them each a long suck, sending signals straight to my pussy.

Then he moves farther south, his hot breath on my clit just
before his tongue gently slips around it. I let out a long exhale as all the
tension from the day slips away. Weddings are exhausting.

I sit bolt upright. “Hey, what about me?”

He looks up from my pussy. “I’m taking care of you, Peaches,
right now.”

I push his forehead back. “Let’s do for each other. I want
to suck your dick.”

He grins. “If you insist. Turn around.”

I position myself so my head hangs off the side of the mattress.
He stands at the foot of the bed, his hand stroking that proud dick that my
mouth waters for. When I get comfortable, he steps to me. I take him in hand,
letting my fingers dance over his balls and up his shaft.

I lick the bead of moisture off the end. He grunts. I pull
him closer, sliding my tongue over the head and sucking him into my mouth. He
lets out a loud sigh. It gives me the biggest rush to know that I make him do
that. To feel the way his cock flexes and hardens under my touch—it’s like he’s
handing me some sort of power. I freaking love it.

I grab his ass and pull him in closer, taking him as deep as
I can. He rolls his hips, sliding in and out. I close my eyes and enjoy the
feel of him in my mouth. Long and hard. Hard for me.

One hand slips to my pussy. I rub my clit, pinching it a
bit. I push a finger between my lips, and sink it deep as his dick slides into
my mouth. I swirl my finger around as I tighten my mouth over his erection.

He halts on the next roll of his hips. “You sneaky thing, that
cream’s mine.”

He moves over me, his knees braced at the edge of the
mattress on either side of my head. His muscular form hulks over my body as he
pushes my legs apart. He pulls my finger out of my pussy and sucks the wetness
from it.

Jack licks my entrance, his tongue sliding from side to side
in my slit. The heat and pressure crank up a notch.

I take his ass in hand and pull him into my mouth, reminding
him that I want my taste too.

He grunts again.

I spread my legs for him so he can have what he wants most.
That’s what marriage is all about, right? Compromise. Both partners get a
little of what they each want.

We suck and lick and slide our hands over one another’s
bodies. He sucks my clit as his finger plunges deep into my pussy, cranking up
on the pressure even more. I pull my legs up, tucking my hips under.

He takes the hint, props himself on his elbows, and palms
both of my ass cheeks. He rolls me up a little more so he can lick my tight
little hole. A shiver runs through me as tingles spread from that spot through
my body.

Jack latches onto my clit, sucking as he dips his thumb into
my pussy, rubbing the inside so my hips buck. Then he moves to that tight
backside place. Sucking hard on my cunt, he plunges his thumb into that other
place, filling it. He tucks his other thumb into my slit.

“Oh. Yeah. Like that.” I encourage him.

I lick his hard-on from his balls up to the head. Back down
and up again to pull him into my mouth. He grunts.

It makes my pussy throb more when his cock goes even harder
in my mouth as his thumbs pump into my ass and entrance, taking turns, pushing
me toward climax as his tongue teases my clit, laving it with loving strokes
and sweet, suckling kisses.