Wounded But Not Scarred (New Adult Rockers 2) (3 page)

“Yes!” she gasps, tightly grasping
my hand and pulling me through the house to the suite she occupies alongside
the back patio.

The second we’re in her room, I
kick her door shut and push her down on the bed. A small moan of excitement
escapes her, and I waste no time pulling her shirt over her head, and sliding
her shorts down.

Paige is just as eager as I am, and
she yanks my shirt over my head and fumbles with the fly on my jeans. Kicking
my socks and shoes off, I tug my jeans down, and then my boxers, folding myself
over Paige’s soft body.

“Blake, I missed you,” she
whispers, as I kiss her stomach and slide my hands under her arched back to
unsnap her bra.

“I missed you too,” I murmur,
sliding the bra off her tanned skin and taking each of her pink nipples into my
mouth. I suck hard and then soft, just the way she likes it, and from her
groans and shudders, I know she’s enjoying it.

Paige’s hands slide down along my
body, and seconds later I feel her firm grasp around me.

“Paige,” I choke, “I’m not going to
last long.”

“It’s okay, Blake,” she soothes, “I
don’t want to wait any longer. I need you inside me.”

God, I love this woman.

I slip my fingers into the lacy
sides of her thong, and slide it down her legs, while Paige kicks her feet out
of the flimsy material.

She spreads wide for me, and
guiding myself at the root, I gently slide into her.

The friction of being inside Paige
without any barrier almost instantly sends me over the edge. Only last week did
we begin having sex without condoms, and the sensation is mind-blowing.

We waited until Paige had been on
birth control for a solid month, and both of us had testing done to make sure we
were clean. Of course, given Paige’s history, or lack of history, we were both
pretty certain that she would be fine. I was the real concern. But we were both
given a clean bill of health, so we took the next step in our intimate
relationship.

And holy shit, was it well worth
the wait.

“Blake,” she moans, squeezing her
thighs around my waist, and biting into my shoulder.

“I know, baby, I know,” I gasp,
pumping in and out of her, not wanting to come too soon. The fact that Paige
was already wet for me, only drives me crazier.

“Oh my god,” she moans, arching her
back and clasping the sheets.

Even though it’s only been a few
days, it feels like an eternity, and I can’t control myself any longer,
thrusting deep and fast within her.

Paige’s fingers flutter down to her
sex, and she presses against herself, biting her lip.

“That’s right,” I pant, turned on
by watching Paige help herself.

“Don’t stop,” she pleads.

And I don’t.

I feel Paige’s thighs begin to
quiver, a telltale sign that she’s about to explode, and seconds later, a loud
moan rips from her throat and I watch her convulse beneath me, and feel her
clench repeatedly against me.

That in turn sends me over the
edge, and I burst, pouring myself into Paige as I shake and shudder with her.

I collapse against her body, and
roll to the side, pulling her up against my chest.

She clings to me, and I kiss her
forehead, running my hands in her hair.

“I’d be lost without you,” I admit,
feeling strangely vulnerable.

Something about Paige has changed
me, has altered me to the core. She made me grow up in a way that I didn’t even
know I needed to, and I suddenly had a clearer outlook on the world.

As corny as it sounds, I wanted to
be a better person because of Paige, and
for
Paige. I look at her with
awe when I think of what she has endured, and how it didn’t break her spirit.
Of course, it changed her in ways that she will never recover from, but she was
still capable of love and goodness and seeing the best in me, even when I had
acted like a complete ass.

“You’re damn straight you would be
lost,” she laughs quietly. “You’re very sentimental today,” she observes.

“It must be what happens when I
don’t see you for two days.”

“Hmm. Maybe I need to stay away
more often,” she teases.

I lightly swat her backside and she
giggles.

We lay like that for a while, quiet
but content.

Paige finally pulls away. “I’m
going to rinse off. Want to join me?”

How could I turn that down?

I nod and follow her into the
bathroom.

We manage to control ourselves
during the shower and after we’re cleaned up, I follow Paige out onto the
patio.

It’s a brilliantly bright sunny
day, but the air is slightly cooler than normal – a sign that Fall is
approaching.

“Want some breakfast?” Paige asks.
“I’m starving.”

“Yes, please.” I didn’t realize how
hungry I was until Paige mentioned food. She disappears back into the house,
heading into the main kitchen, and she returns with some orange juice, fruit
and different cereals.

“Didn’t put a lot of effort into
this,” she admits sheepishly.

“Paige, I don’t care about that.”

We set ourselves up at one of the
tables and begin eating.

“So, how was the weekend?” I
venture, hoping that Paige and Kenny were able to bond. I wonder how Kenny is
making out with his return back to work.

“It went really well. My dad seems to
be in phenomenal shape, and we spent the last two days in an easy routine. He
seems a lot calmer, so I hope that will continue now that he’s returned to
work. Becky promised that he’s going to have a light load this week, so that
should make things smoother.”

 “That’s great.” I say. I’m glad to
hear that Kenny is doing well and I only hope, for both of our sake’s that it
continues.

“Yeah, it is. I feel like I can
breathe again. I just have to hope that he’s on the right path now and keep an
eye out for warning signs. I don’t want to hover over him, but I also don’t
want to let my guard down too much.”

“Hopefully your dad takes this
opportunity to really turn his life around. I was there when you threatened to
walk away forever. That scared the shit out of him. I think he’s going to do
whatever it takes to keep you in his life.”

She nods thoughtfully. “I hope so.
But I also know that he has to do this for himself, too. He can’t just do this
for me.”

We don’t talk any more about Kenny
and I bring up dinner with my parents.

“So, I saw my parents over the
weekend, and they want to have us over for dinner on Thursday night.”

Paige gives me a suspicious look.

“They
want
to have us over,
or you
forced
them to have us over?”

I give her a playfully sharp look.

“I didn’t
force
them to do
anything.”

“So, how receptive were they to the
idea?”

I have a strict honesty policy with
Paige, so I decide not to sugarcoat things.

“They aren’t thrilled that I broke
things off with Savannah the way I did, even though I think they’re secretly
pleased she’s gone. They don’t think I behaved like a ‘true Southern
gentleman,’ “ I say, quoting one of my mom’s silly lines.

Paige rolls her eyes but I see the
nervousness in her face.

“I think they’re more bothered by
my manners than my choice. And I know they feel that we rushed into things, but
that’s only between you and I, and we both know how we felt. They liked you
before, and they will still like you; they just need some time to warm up to
the idea.”

“So, is dinner a bad idea?” Paige asks
nervously, pushing some cereal around in her bowl.

I reach over and take her hand.

“No. It’s an excellent idea. And I
think once my parents see us together, they’re going to see how wrong Savannah
and I really were for each other.”

Paige doesn’t look completely
convinced.

“We have to start somewhere,
right?”

She nods.

“So, we’ll start with dinner. And
then we’ll take it from there.” I finish up my orange juice. “On a more
positive note, my house went on the market today!”

Paige smiles, but it doesn’t quite
reach her eyes.

“Is something wrong? Did you change
your mind about moving in?”

“No, it’s not that at all.” She
shifts uncomfortably in her seat.

“Paige, what is it?”

She rolls her eyes again. “It’s my
father,” she complains.

“Kenny?” I’m not quite sure how he
factors into the equation. Unless he wants Paige to keep living with him.

“He asked how you and I were doing
on the ride back home, and I mentioned that we were doing really well. I also
mentioned that you were putting your house on the market, and that we were
going to start looking for something together once your house sold. And I
assured Daddy that it would take some time, and that I wasn’t going anywhere
any time soon.”

She stops talking and I wait for
her to continue. Obviously, there is more to this story.

“The only thing, is that he was
really upset that we were talking about moving in together without, you know,”
she trails off and I suddenly understand. I should have thought this out
better. Paige is Kenny’s little girl.

“Without being engaged or married,”
I finish simply.

She looks up at me apologetically
and nods.

“I’m such a damn fool,” I say
quietly, “I don’t know why I didn’t see that one coming.”

“I’m sorry! It sounds so old
fashioned!”

“It may be old fashioned, but
that’s how our parents are used to it working. And to be honest, my parents
hated that Savannah moved in with me before we were even engaged.”

I don’t like bringing up Savannah,
but I forgot about the big fuss my mom made when Savannah moved in.

“Yeah,” Paige says, still avoiding
eye contact, “but we just began dating, and I don’t want you to think I’m just
after a ring.” She looks up at me. “Of course, I want to be with you, but I
don’t have engagements and weddings on the brain!”

I make a mock face of horror.

“Stop,” she laughs.

“Paige, I know we just began
dating, but let’s remember that we have a history and one that is unique. I
know we haven’t talked about engagements and weddings and all that stuff, but I
kind of figured that was where we were eventually headed.”

Paige’s crystal blue eyes are
bright. “I know,” she whispers, “I figured, but I didn’t want to presume
anything.”

“Look, let’s just take this day by
day, alright? It could take months for my house to sell. And we don’t have to
rush into anything. And honestly, after the whole Savannah debacle, it’s
probably best for us to go about this the traditional way, especially since it
would please both sets of parents.” I take a deep breath, preparing myself for
what I’m about to say. All of it is true; I just don’t want to scare Paige
away. “And, I would marry you tomorrow if that’s what you wanted.”

Paige’s head snaps up, and she
swallows hard.

“I’m not ready for that,” she
whispers.

“I know. But I just want you to
know how sure I am about you. About us.”

Paige is out of her chair in an
instant and climbs into my lap, throws her arms around my neck and kisses me on
the lips.

“Blake Evans, have I told you how
much I love you?”

“Not in the past hour,” I tease.

She kisses me again, and I can tell
that we are going to have a very unproductive day.

I don’t know why I’m nervous when I
ring the doorbell at Kenny’s house on Thursday evening. I feel like I’m coming
to pick Paige up for the prom. I guess part of my nerves could be from the fact
that I haven’t seen Kenny since the day Paige and I dropped him off at rehab.
I’m also nervous because I’m taking Paige to my parents’ house tonight and they
haven’t seen each other in thirteen years.

Kenny opens the door and I have to
do a double take. Paige wasn’t kidding when she said that Kenny looked great.
He looks a hell of a lot younger, and his face looks different too. He doesn’t
look as ragged or weary as he used to.

“Blake!” he exclaims, shaking my
hand and patting me on the back.

“Hey Kenny! Looking good!”

“Thanks! That place was something
else!” He says, smiling wide.

“Glad to hear it.”

He leads me inside, and I follow
him through the sitting room and to the kitchen. He motions for me to have a
seat up at the counter.

“Can I get you something to drink?”
he asks, pulling open the fridge. “I got a shit load of Frescas in here that
I’m not going to drink now.”

“Sure, I’ll take one,” I say. “So,
no more Frescas?” Kenny drank those things like they were friggin’ water.

“Nah, I cut everything out except
for water.”

“Damn.”

“But I feel fucking fantastic.”

I realize that he’s in the process
of cutting up a bunch of vegetables.