“Harris…” Tears spilled from my eyes. Knowing that he wasn’t going to leave me made everything so much more bearable. I needed him more than any other person on the planet. With him beside me, I knew I could do anything.
“Get used to saying my name like that, Lucy. It makes my dick hard as steel.” He lowered his head and skimmed his lips teasingly over my own. “Maybe that makes me a bastard, but I want you so damn bad right now.”
He still wanted me. Relief washed through me, flooding the coldness away and replacing it with a heat only he could allay. I leaned into him, silently pleading for a deeper kiss. The fingers on my thigh moved, cupping my ass and squeezing. Hard. A moan escaped me and he growled something incoherent. Gripping me with both hands, he pulled me across him until I was straddling his waist.
I’d only pulled on one of his shirts and a pair of panties after my shower, so there wasn’t much of a barrier between his thick erection and my dripping pussy. His cock flexed under his jeans, hitting the perfect spot to make me see stars. The events of the day faded from my mind and all I could think about was how quickly could I get him inside me.
My hands went between us while he continued to kiss me and I found the snap of his jeans. He wasn’t wearing a belt, thank gods, and I took my time pulling down the zipper for fear of hurting him. He was straining against the metal and as I freed him inch by inch he released a hiss of satisfaction.
“I want you so bad,” I moaned against his lips.
“Me too, sweetness.” He kissed me hard and quick, his fingers already reaching for my panties. “I’m sorry, Lu, but I can’t take it slow with you tonight.”
“Good. I’m glad.” I grasped him at the base and stroked upward, delighting in the drops of pre-cum I released from the tip. “I’ve missed you so much, Harris.”
“Ah, God, Lucy, I’ve missed you too.” He leaned his head back against the headboard, closing his eyes as I continued to stroke him. “I love you so damn much.”
I would never get tired of hearing those words. “Please, don’t ever stop,” I whispered.
“Never, Lu. I’ll never stop.” He reached for my hands and lifted each one to kiss the backs of them. “You’re mine. Always.”
“Always,” I echoed, and stole another kiss.
Dropping my hands, he started pulling my shirt over my head. “You’re so beautiful.” He cupped one breast in his hand, his thumb rubbing over the already hardened tip, making me whimper. “I’m a lucky man, Lucy. So fucking lucky.”
I was the lucky one. To have him love me. To get to spend the rest of my life with him. If he could still want me after knowing everything about me, then I was the luckiest person alive. “Make love to me now, Harris. Show me how much you love me.”
Wrapping one arm around my waist, he lifted me. Grasping his cock with the other hand he pulled me back down onto the tip. His jeans and shirt were still on, but I didn’t care. All I wanted was for him to be inside me, making me fall apart in the best way possible.
Chapter 22
Harris
“I thought you were coming home.”
I grimaced at Jenna’s defeated tone. I hadn’t seen much of her in weeks—months. I’d left without saying goodbye when I’d followed Lucy to Florida and then work had taken up so much of my time that I’d only stopped by to see her twice. It had been over two weeks now since I’d last seen her. I texted Angie regularly to check on her, though, so I knew she was eating and even getting out for a walk from time to time.
With everything going on with Lucy, Jenna hadn’t been high on my list of priorities. As long as Angie was taking good care of her, she wouldn’t be either. I loved Jenna, but it was time I stopped babying her. I couldn’t keep letting her sulk in her apartment. She had to start taking responsibility for her life. Maybe if she showed Natalie and the others she was serious about making a fresh start, they would come around. No one was, though, if she was going to act all pouty and moody by staying locked away.
“My plans changed,” I told her. There was no reason to tell her what was going on with Lucy. She only wanted the closest family members to know and I would respect that. She was serious about getting help and I wasn’t about to give her any reason not to want me to be a part of her recovery process. “I’ll be home tomorrow.”
“Will you come over for dinner then?” Her tone was hopeful and I hated letting her down, but there was too much to do for a visit.
“I can’t, Jen. I have to get caught up on work.” There wasn’t all that much I needed to do at work, but it was a good enough excuse as any.
Lucy’s last day of the summer term was the next day and as soon as she was done we were leaving. Emmie and Lana had gone back to California the week before, but Layla and Jesse hadn’t left. They, like myself, weren’t about to let Lucy out of their sights for the two weeks she’d still had of school. The twins, who had been staying with Shane and Harper, had arrived the weekend before and, with all the Thorntons around, Lucy had become more like herself.
Emmie had already been looking into treatment options for Lucy. We were meeting with a few therapists who specialized in self-mutilation to see if any fit for Lucy. I wanted her to find someone who she felt comfortable talking to and could turn to if she ever felt like she couldn’t come to me or her parents with her need to hurt herself. There were also support groups she could attend that I was going to go with her to see if she felt comfortable.
It was slowly settling in for her that I wasn’t going to leave her. I’d made damn sure she understood that she was the most important thing in my life and I wasn’t going to let something like that destroy us. The only way I knew how to prove that to her was to be with her through every step of getting better.
“Is this because of Lucy?”
I blinked at the coolness in Jenna’s tone. What the hell was her problem? “What do you mean?”
“Everyone took her side in January. Now it feels like she’s taking you away from me, too.” There was a catch in her voice but her tears didn’t calm the growing anger I felt starting to boil in my veins.
Glancing around the suite I’d been living in the last two weeks with Lucy and Marcus, I made sure no one was near enough to overhear. Lucy was studying for her last final and Marcus was in the shower, but I still lowered my voice. “I’m only going to say this once, Jenna. I love you. You’re one of my closest friends and I’ll always be here for you. But Lucy will always come first with me. Always. I don’t know what kind of shit is going through your head right now, but this has nothing to do with what happe