Arizona Skies: The Muse (32 page)

Scott surprised Shelly by pulling a little black box out from under the table and setting it in front of her. Obviously it was a ring; Scott acted nervous as he asked her to open it. She looked shocked and all the chatter at the table stopped. Scott explained that this was a promise ring as Shelly opened the box and actually cried tears of happiness. She pulled this exquisite sapphire ring out of the box. Blue was Shelly’s favorite color, so Scott has succeeded in picking the right stone for her.

Jesse told me that wasn’t his style, reminding me that my necklace was his promise to love me even when we were apart. It meant so much to me that he put so much thought into my gift. He’d confessed he’d never bought any token of love for any other woman, it just meant so much more. It was like him unique. I congratulated my friend. I was happy for her; it was obvious that Scott loved her. Our plan to meet and fall in love with cute guys had come true and since they were best friends only made it better.

Jesse

M
aking love to Bailey last night was epic; she never ceased to amaze me with her trust and love. I never wanted to let her down, even encouraging her to be in control. Giving up control to a woman I loved just felt right. I stood there as she put her sexy mouth on my cock, giving me such pleasure unselfishly. She was my angel, my salvation, and my future. I pulled her up and lay back on the bed to pull her on top of me. She looked down at me with those big, brown eyes, her hair framing her face like a silky, brown curtain. As her slender body hovered above mine, I had to touch her. I stroked her body, bringing her to life, inserting my fingers, and pulling her down to ride my hand. Letting her do whatever she wanted was kind of empowering as I watched her writhe on my hand, her mouth open and eyes sparkling in the moonlight. She was a vision, sexy as hell, and so damn beautiful, she took my breath away.

I let her be on top to take her pleasure until she came with a breathy moan that obliterated my self-control. I had to take control back, needing her to submit to my dominant side. I rolled her over and tucked her under me, thrusting at a much faster rate. Her slender arms were wrapped around me, encouraging me with her breathless voice as she whispered sweet words in my ear. The sounds she made when our bodies connected were like music to my ears. Every sound
she made brought words of love and happiness to my mind; she was amazing. I knew I would never get my fill.

My muse without even knowing it was writing lyrics to so many songs I hadn’t even put on paper yet. I savored every moment I had with her, soaking up her sweetness and love. She gave so freely of herself, trusting me completely. I wanted to hold on to her forever, to tuck her into my suitcase and take her everywhere I went. She had claimed my heart and soul.

I came with a ferocity I had never known, growling out her name as I clutched her so tightly to my body that I was afraid I would leave marks on her skin. Sex is fantastic, but when your heart is involved, it’s a mind-blowing experience, life altering—I would be forever a changed man.

She snuggled into my arms and fell asleep as I stroked the softest skin I’d ever felt. Holding her and listening to the ocean outside our portal, I slept like a baby.

Next morning I woke to brown eyes staring at me, with the sweetest face in the whole world smiling at me. God, I fucking loved this girl, and I needed to taste her one more time before we started our day. But the gods had different ideas in the form of Goldilocks pounding on her door.

“Damn woman,” I said, pulling back the sheet to get some clothes on. I watched Bailey roll out of bed and grab for her bra and panties. Just watching her pull them on had me beyond horny. I had to satisfy my need for her just one more time, not caring if Shelly had her ear to the door and heard us. I peeled that sexy underwear off her and told Shelly to take a hike. She finally got the message and stomped off, leaving us alone so I could ravage my girl.

I knew I had to make it quick before the tiny force of nature came back and interrupted us again. But making love to her was worth all the shit I had to take from her friend.

We had no sooner stepped out of the shower than there was that knock on her door again. I wanted to get her; she was seriously pissing me off. Tucking my towel around my waist, I quietly crept up to the door and pulled it open with force. I reached out and grabbed
Shelly’s arm, pulling her into the room. She was so small she flew across the room, landing on our messy bed.

Of course, she had some smart remarks as I took my clothes into the bathroom to get dressed. I could hear them talking out there, Bailey opening and closing drawers while her friend chirped at her about hearing us through the walls when we were having sex. Bailey was telling her how noisy she and Scott were when I came back into the room. I chuckled and agreed with her, knowing exactly how loud Scott could be.

The next moment I was thrown completely off kilter. I stood there holding Bailey in my arms when Shelly let the bomb drop. She blurted out how Scott and I had shared girls in the past. All the color drained from Bailey’s face as she turned to look at her friend, then back at me, and I knew I was in trouble.
What the fuck just happened?

I never expected Scott to confess our sex scandals to his girlfriend. I glared at Shelly as I kissed Bailey; panic had set in as I tried to act nonchalant while my heart was racing. All I could think about was getting the fuck out of there. I ran like a coward as fast as I could out her door, hoping that by the time we met up for breakfast, she would forgive me. I couldn’t even contemplate what she must be thinking. The look on her face was not one I wanted to ever see again. I was terrified of losing her, six days was not enough! All I could think about was shutting Scott’s big mouth. I wondered what else he’d told Shelly. My head was reeling with all the messed up things we’d done through the years. I had to get a hold of him and shut him up.

I had confessed to her about being a man whore, but I never went into details. She was so innocent and didn’t need to hear the grisly details of my demented sex life. I paced my room, not knowing what I was going to say to her when I saw her, or if I’d ever see her again. My phone rang, and Bailey’s name showed up on my screen.

“Bailey?” I said, afraid of what she would say to me.

“Jesse, it’s Shelly. I’m sorry; I wasn’t thinking.”

“Shelly, you have a big fucking mouth. If you’ve fucked this up for Bailey and me, I’ll never forgive you. Hell, I’ll write a mean song about you!”

“Jesse, she’s crying in the bathroom and won’t come out. You need to come; I’m worried about her,” she said.

“
Fuck!
God damn it, Shelly, this is on you. I’ll be right there.” I threw my phone on the bed and ran out of my room.

“Hey, man, what’s the hurry?” Scott said, sauntering my way with a big smile.

“I’m fucking pissed at you!” I yelled, running past him.

“What did I do?” he asked, looking confused.

“You and your big fucking mouth,” I yelled, taking the corner on a run. I couldn’t deal with him right now.

I knocked on Bailey’s door. Shelly opened it, and I pushed past her.

“This is your entire fault,” I said, pointing my finger in her face.

“Hey, I didn’t know you were keeping secrets from her,” she said.

“I wasn’t, but some things are best left as secrets,” I growled at her as I listened at the bathroom door. I heard her crying and knocked. “Bailey, honey, please open the door,” I pleaded. Her crying broke my heart; I felt so helpless knowing I was the cause of her unhappiness. “Bailey, let me in.” I tried the knob; it opened slightly, but there was resistance. I figured she must be leaning against it.

“Go away; I don’t want to see you,” she said, pushing the door shut. Somehow I had to get in there and make this all right. I couldn’t lose her now. I pushed against the door, but it wouldn’t budge. Her sobs were so close; I knew she was on the other side. I pleaded with her for a long time, but she only cried harder. I wasn’t going anywhere; her crying was fucking killing me. She said she didn’t want to see me, but that wasn’t going to happen.

“Shit,” I said, looking at Shelly. “If I lose her…” I started to say.

“I can’t help it if Scott’s honest with me; you should try that sometime,” she said, pacing the floor.

“I’ve got to make this right,” I said, trying to figure out how to handle this situation. I decided to try a different tactic. I felt bad but I had to get in there, so I decided to startle her. I pounded very hard on the door and yelled in my deepest voice, “Bailey, you open this damn door right now!”

It worked, I felt the door move a little, and the crying stopped. I listened to rustling inside the bathroom and figured she must have gotten up, so I pushed the door open before she had a chance to lock it. Bursting into the room, I pulled her into my chest and held her tight while she sobbed. This was not ending!

Her face was soaked with tears. I lifted her chin to see her lip quivering and the saddest brown eyes I’d ever seen.

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry,” I said, kissing her face. Her lip continued to tremble as tears fell from those incredible eyes.

“Is she all right?” Shelly yelled. I kicked the door closed, wanting this to be just between Bailey and me. I held her face to my chest while she cried, soaking my T-shirt. She didn’t fight me as I stroked her back, trying to find the words to make up for her heartbreak.

“Shhh…sweetheart. Please don’t cry anymore; you’re so damn precious to me,” I said, lifting her chin to look at me. She blinked a few times but didn’t look away. I tenderly kissed her and tried to smile, trying to reassure her I was no longer that man. I had broken her heart, and in turn, it broke my heart to see her that way.

I ran some cold water on a washcloth and wiped her tear stained face. “Bailey, I told you how my life was. I know I never went into details, but I was honest,” I said. I tried to explain that I never meant for her to know the dark side of my life. I never wanted to do anything to break her trust in me, but all I saw at that moment was the sad face of the woman I loved.

“But what if I’m not enough for you?” she said, looking up at me. I stepped back; I couldn’t believe that she doubted herself. Instead of lashing out at me, she internalized it all on herself. My sweet, unselfish angel was worried about me. I didn’t deserve her; that was true, but damn if I didn’t want her more than anything.

“Honey, you’ll always be enough for me, always!” I said, wiping away tears as they fell. I gave her a sweet kiss. I think I needed it more than she did, just to make sure I still could claim those sweet lips. Then she threw me for a loop when she asked me, “What about the kink?”

“Oh my God, how did I get so lucky to find you?” I said, pushing her hair out of her face. “You are the best thing that ever happened to me! If I want kink, I’ll teach you,” I said, meaning every word.

“Really?” she asked.

“Really, sweetheart; I’m so in love with you. I hate being away from you more than ten minutes,” I smiled at her.

My hands were shaking; I was afraid I was going to lose it. I swallowed back my fear. I had to distance myself for a few minutes to regain my composure.

“I’ll wait outside for you to get ready, OK?” I asked. She nodded, and I left the room, blowing out a frustrated breath as I closed the door behind me.

I put my shaky hands in my pockets as I faced the reason for Bailey’s meltdown.

I was so pissed at her. She just sat on the bed looking innocent, swinging her feet back and forth, and looking at me with big, blue eyes.

“Shelly, just go,” I growled, pacing back and forth, needing her gone so I could come to terms with my own meltdown.

“Oh, OK, is she going to be all right?” she asked.

“I don’t know; I’m going to wait here for her. I’m so fucking pissed at you and Scott right now. Maybe you should consider thinking before you open your big fucking mouth,” I said rather harshly to her. The look I gave her had her shrinking back away from me.

“Jesse, I’m sorry. I was joking; it just slipped out” she said.

“Well, your joke backfired, didn’t it? She didn’t find it very funny, and neither do I,” I growled.

She put her head down. I knew she felt bad, but damn it, she needed a filter on her mouth sometimes. So did my best friend!

“Jesse, I know you love her, and she loves you. It’ll all work out; you’ll see,” she said, opening the door.

“I do love her; never doubt that. She’s very important to me, and I’m going to do everything I can to get her to move to Arizona once she’s done with school,” I said, making it perfectly clear what my intentions were.

“I didn’t mean to hurt her; she’s like my sister. I love her too!” she said, looking contrite.

I just glared at her, biting my tongue to keep from going off on her.

“I’m going now,” she said, backing out the door.

I heard the hair dryer running. I collapsed on the chair, praying that she would forgive me. I put my head down and tried to wrap my mind around what just happened. A thousand words were flying through my mind. I had to find some paper and get them down before I forgot just how I felt at this moment.