Chapter 12—Darian

The following morning, when I was certain Heather was still sound asleep, I eased out of bed. Throwing on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, I placed a tender kiss on her forehead then left the room. I kept the door open a crack so I could hear her when she woke up. I couldn’t believe she was finally mine.

Stepping into the garage, I looked around. Nothing was out of place, and there weren’t any broken windows, no doors off the hinges. That was a good sign. I headed outside, surprised to see the sun shining. The rain had stopped, but the air smelled damp. There were tree branches and debris everywhere. I walked around the outside of the garage to assess the damage, and the only thing I could see was the tree sticking out of the loft window. It wasn’t as bad as I’d expected.

As soon as I went back inside, there was a loud click then the hum of the electricity coming back on. Well, that was a pleasant surprise. I peeked in on Heather and then retrieved my cell phone. The first person I called was Nathan. “How are you?”

“Good. Storm wasn’t nearly as bad as they made it sound. I left the hotel about an hour ago. I should be home in two days. How is it out there?”

“We lost power, and a tree busted the loft window, but everything else is fine. Drive safely, and if you need to stop again for any reason, don’t hesitate to do so.”

“I will, Dad. Don’t worry.”

After calling to check in on all my mechanics, I called my insurance agent and explained the damage from the storm.

“I can have an adjustor out there early next week,” she said.

“Next week? I have tree in my living room. I can’t wait until next week. I need someone out here today.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but we’ve had a lot of claims filed as a result of these storms. The earliest I can get someone out there is Tuesday.”

I sighed with frustration. “Never mind. I’ll just fix the damn thing myself.” I ended the call and dragged my hand through my hair. I was sure I could get the tree out of the window, but I didn’t know the first damn thing about installing a new one, especially one so big. But I knew someone who did… Heather wouldn’t be happy I had to call him, but I didn’t have a choice. Besides, we’d agreed to tell him, and now was as good a time as any. I dialed Noah, and he answered on the second ring.

“Is something wrong with Heather?” he asked in way of a greeting.

“What? No. Heather’s fine.” She was better than fine, but not in the way he was asking.

I heard his sigh of relief. “Good.”

I took a moment to explain the storm and the damage to the loft, reassuring him multiple times that Heather was fine. “I need this fixed today, but I don’t have a clue how to install a window.”

Noah laughed. “I’ll load up the truck and head that way now.” He hesitated. “Does Heather know I’m coming?”

“No, but I’ll tell her. Make sure you bring Corrine.” I wasn’t positive, but I assumed Heather would feel better having another female around, and she’d said last night she could accept their relationship. Plus, I had a feeling Corrine would be an ally in this whole thing.

“If you say so.”

“Thanks.” Ending the call, I went back to the storm room and sat on the edge of the bed. I rubbed Heather’s back, and she grumbled then stretched, a gorgeous smile lighting up her face. My breath caught. She was mine. My heart jackhammered in my chest, and I swallowed hard. How the hell did I get so damn lucky? I leaned over and teased her lips with an almost kiss, which earned me an adorable little whimper. I smiled and pushed a few strands of hair away from her face. “How’re you feeling?”

“Like I’m on top of the friggin’ world.” She laughed.

My stomach clenched. She wouldn’t feel that way once I told her what was going on. “I want nothing more than to get naked and climb back into this bed with you.” My dick was hard just thinking about the possibility.

She sat up, the blankets falling away from her, exposing her bare breasts. Her nipples were hard. Fuck me. I groaned. “You should do that then,” she said, trailing her finger across her collarbone then down the valley between her breasts.

Licking my lips, I bent to take her nipple into my mouth, teasing the hard peak with my tongue, tugging and nipping at it. She moaned and arched into me. Her constant eagerness was going to be my undoing, because there was no way in hell I could always be the one to put a stop to things. “Mmm,” I hummed then moved to her other breast as I tore the blankets off the bed and kneeled over her legs.

Her fingers wound into my hair, holding me to her. Like I would ever leave her now that I had her. What the hell had I come in here to tell her? I moved my mouth up to hers and kissed her, moaning at the feel of her kissing me back. I couldn’t imagine anything better than spending time with her, touching her, learning her body, showing her all the wonderful pleasure we held for each other. There was still so much she didn’t know, but damn if I wasn’t going to teach her.

I left her lips and kissed down her neck. “Storm’s passed,” I said in between kisses. “Power’s back on, too.”

“That’s good.” She spread her legs, forcing me to kneel between them. Not that I was complaining.

I swirled my tongue around her nipple, letting my hand wander to her silky slit. “So wet, Heather. So ready. What were you dreaming about to make you this wet?”

She sucked in a sharp breath. “You,” she gasped when I eased a finger inside of her.

God, she was fucking tight. It would take a while for me to get used to that. I pressed my thumb to her clit and teased her. She moaned loudly, and my eyes rolled to the back of my head. That sound was music to my ears, a vocal green light letting me know I was touching her exactly how she wanted to be touched. “And what was I doing to you in this dream?” I pushed my finger deeper, and she cried out, clutching my biceps and closing her eyes.

“Fucking me,” she gasped again.

“Is that what you want right now, Heather? You want my cock inside of this hot little pussy?” My dick twitched, demanding relief. It still amazed me how hard she could make me without ever laying a hand on me. Just the sound of her voice was enough to arouse me.

“Yes,” she moaned.

“I love how much you want me.” I wanted her just as badly. Taking her hand, I placed it over the bulge in my jeans. “If you want me, take me.” She massaged my cock, and I groaned. “I’m yours now, baby. You can have me whenever you want me.”

Her eyes popped open, and she held my gaze. “I’m always going to want you, Darian.” There wasn’t so much as a flicker in her gaze or a moment’s hesitation in her words. She knew what she wanted—Me.

“Fuck.” I drew out the word then I captured her lips and worked a second finger into her when I heard one of the overhead garage doors opening. “What the fuck?” I jerked back, pulling my fingers from her. Standing, I grabbed the blankets from the floor and tossed them back on the bed. “Stay here.” Adjusting my erection, I headed out to the garage. Who the hell was here? There was no way it was Noah; it was too soon. And even if it was, he didn’t have the code for the doors.

“Hey, boss.” Rick grinned and held up a chainsaw. “You said you had a tree in your living room, so me and the guys thought we’d come over and help you get rid of it.” As if on cue, my other mechanics filed into the garage.

Shittiest fucking timing ever, but I couldn’t be mad at them. I smiled and shook my head. I was really going to miss these guys when I moved back to Haven’s Creek.

“Yeah, figured since we didn’t have any of the parts we needed for any of the cars, we might as well make ourselves useful some other way,” Gary said.

“Thanks, guys. I actually have a friend coming down to replace the window. He should be here within the next couple of hours. But we can get the tree out of the way before he gets here.” That would leave more time for me and Heather to break the news to Noah about our relationship. “You know the way. I’ll be up in a minute.”

When they’d all disappeared upstairs, I returned to the storm room. Heather had gotten out of bed and dressed. “You called my father?” she said, her words as angry as her expression.

“I didn’t have a choice,” I said then quickly explained the entire situation. “This is a good thing.” I put my hands on her shoulders. “You can talk to Corrine while Noah and I fix the window, then we can tell him about us.”

Her shoulders slumped. “I’m not ready to tell him.”

“Heather…we agreed. No lying and sneaking around, remember?”

“I know.” She wrapped her arms around my waist and rested her head on my chest. “I also know once we tell him, things will change. I kind of like it being just you and me.”

I took her face into my hands and lowered my mouth to hers, parting her lips with my tongue for a long, passionate taste, pouring every ounce of emotion into this single kiss. “It will always be you and me, but I want to be able to take you out in public, on a date, and I can’t do that until your father knows about us.”

“You want to take me out on a date?” She grinned.

I laughed. “Why does that surprise you?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I assumed our relationship was only physical.”

“Oh, it’s physical all right. Very physical.” I yanked her closer, unashamed that my cock was rock hard and throbbing to be buried in her tight, hot pussy. “And it will stay that way.” I stroked her cheeks with my thumbs. “But when I said I wanted to be your only, I wasn’t talking about just sex. I meant I wanted to be the only man in your life. Every aspect of your life.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh.”

Obviously, I should’ve made that clearer. I searched her big, hazel eyes for any indication she was having second thoughts now that she knew what I really wanted from her. If she had changed her mind, I’d have no choice but to let her go. It would fucking kill me if I had to, but I would. For her. If that’s what she wanted.

“And I’d be the only woman in your life?” she asked, her voice wavering with uncertainty.

“Baby, you already are.”