I was left shocked and quivering from the outburst of pleasure, but Grayson wasn’t done. Not even close. He drove into me again and again until he found his own release, growling as he lowered his body over my back and we tumbled down onto the bed. I lay there limp beneath him as we both slowly tried to calm our breathing to a relaxed pace. After several long, blissful moments, he eased off of me and rolled over on his side. He reached for me and pulled me to him. As I nestled into the crook of his arm, I giggled and said, “We’re going to need to play beer pong more often.”
“After the way you played tonight, I doubt the guys will ever be all that eager to play again, at least not anytime soon.”
“Well, it was fun, and the winning prize was stellar.”
“Stellar, huh?”
“Mm-hmm. You really outdid yourself.”
“Just doing what I can to make my woman happy.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry there.” I eased up on my elbow as I looked at him and said, “I’ve never been happier. I love you very much.”
“You better watch it, or you’ll earn yourself another go.”
“I’d be good with that.”
I leaned towards him and pressed my lips to his, and that’s all it took. Grayson flipped me over on my back, and we were at it again. I loved making love with him, but more than that, I loved being around him. I didn’t have to pretend to be someone I wasn’t, just simply be myself. I could have bad days, lose my temper, or stress out over crazy stuff, and he never judged me. He was always there for me. He knew all of me and still loved me, and that meant everything. Grayson was my best friend and the love of my life. He was my present and my future, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Epilogue
Four Years Later
“I’m sorry, babe, but I’m just not feeling this one.”
“But it’s so cute, and there’s a fireplace in the bedroom.”
“There’s also an open well in the basement.”
“But we could cover it up or something.” Kiersten grimaced. “Or maybe that’s not a good idea.”
“Yeah, probably not.”
“Okay, we’ll just skip this one and see if the next is any better.”
“I don’t think it could be much worse.”
Kiersten and I both liked living out at the Manor. After we got hitched, we decided to make it our home, so I sold my place and moved in with her permanently. It just made sense. She enjoyed being right there with her work and employees, and I liked that I was close enough to the club and Stilettos to make the trip as often as I needed. There was just one problem. Kiersten was pregnant, and even though we both thought of it as home, her small house simply wasn’t big enough to raise a family. We could’ve built a bigger place at the Manor, but neither of us thought bringing up a kid on a pot farm was a good idea. So, we set out to find a house that was midway between the Manor and the clubhouse, but our search wasn’t going as well as I’d hoped.
We’d already been to four houses, and each was worse than the last. I was far from ready to give up, but I was having doubts we’d find a place that fit our needs. As soon as Kiersten told our realtor, Joey, that we weren’t interested in the house, we headed back out to the car. While waiting for him to tell us where we’d be going next, Kiersten turned to me and said, “We could always go back and take a second look at that two-story on Maness Street.”
“Hell, no.” I started the car. “That place was straight out of a horror flick.”
“It had a room with a few dolls, Grayson. It wasn’t that bad.”
“It wasn’t a few dolls, babe. It was a room full of them, and they were all looking right at me.”
“I’m sure the homeowners would take them when they moved out.”
“Yeah, but their creepy mojo would still be there.”
“Oh, good grief. You are being silly.”
I reached over and placed my hand on her pregnant belly as I said, “I’m just looking out for the kid.”
“Mm-hmm. You’re just scared of old, creepy dollies,” Kiersten snickered. “But that’s okay. We’ll find a house without them.”
“It would also be good if we could find a place without a bathroom in the living room.”
“Yeah, that was a house I don’t think I’ll ever forget.”
“So, where are we headed now?”
Kiersten looked down at the MLS listings Joey had given us, then said, “I think we’re going to check out a place on High Street. Joey seems to think it will be perfect for us.”
“He said the same thing about the last two.”