Finding Our Forever: (A Defining Moments Novel) (13 page)

“What’s wrong, baby?” I ask her, making her jump.

“That was the DA’s office calling me about Bella’s attacker. It seems as though Bella is only seventeen and had been listed as a runaway, but according to what Bella told them, he took her from a bus stop while she was on her way to school six months ago,” she grinds out. “They more than likely won’t need me to testify because he’s now looking at a slew of charges, including kidnapping, possession of a controlled substance, sexual assault of a minor, and the aggravated battery charges. On top of that, he was out on parole for past drug charges. They have enough evidence against him to put him in prison for life. Bella is fully cooperating with the investigation and will testify to it all.” She takes a deep breath before continuing. “That’s one strong little girl.”

It takes me a second to register everything she’s said, and for the first time since we discussed my future career, I realize how much I
do not
want to be anywhere near the legal field in that capacity. I’d literally never sleep having to see cases like that every day. Criminal law had been the only law that had seemed remotely interesting to me. I think it’s about time that I reevaluate what I want to be when I grow up.

“Is it horrible of me that I’m seriously glad I don’t have to deal with that?”

I pull her to me, wrapping her in my arms while I shake my head. “No, it’s not horrible of you. What she went through was crazy and scary. We just have to remind ourselves that she’s safe now, and he’ll never hurt her again.” I feel her nod in the affirmative against my chest before pulling away and scooting back over into her seat, fastening her seatbelt.

Starting the truck, I figure we definitely need the amusement park to lighten things back up.

“DON’T YOU DARE,
Elijah Harper!” she screeches as I grab her around the waist and throw her over my shoulder. Walking casually through the throngs of people, I continue eating my blue cotton candy, with a tiny woman threatening my manhood hanging off me. “I am
not
getting on that Ferris wheel! No. Way. In. Hell.” She punctuates each word with a slap to my ass.

“Oh, but you are, baby. I’ll keep you safe, I promise.” I smack her ass once to get her to stop wiggling, and the moment my hand connects, she stills.

“Did you just spank me?”

“I sure did,” I respond, just as we reach the line for the Ferris wheel, and I place her back down on her feet.

The moment her feet hit the ground, she swings her hair back out of her face and glares up at me, which makes me laugh. She is so not scary.

“Oh, you think that’s funny do you, Mr. Harper?” She gives me the wicked grin of a serial killer before ripping my cotton candy out of my hand, pulling all of the cotton off, and rolling it into a ball. While backing away from me, still grinning, she licks the ball, and my pants tighten seeing her little pink tongue enjoying the sweet treat.

“Why would you be so cruel to me?” I ask her seriously as she tosses the cotton candy ball from hand to hand. “I love cotton candy, and that’s the first time I’ve had it in years. It doesn’t taste the same when it’s all balled up. It must stay light and fluffy. You ruined it.” I feign chest pain, but she just laughs and rolls her eyes.

“Keep your hands to yourself then,” she replies and tosses the ball to me. I lick my lips and take a huge bite out of it while stalking toward her. She squeals and turns to run, but I’m on her. I drop the ball to the ground and spin her around, smooshing my face against hers, rubbing my cotton candy lips all over her face. She continues screaming and I can tell we’re starting to irritate people, but I don’t care. She needed this fun. She needed to take her mind off everything that happened today.

“I’m going to kill you!” she yells through her laughter. I stop rubbing my lips on her cheek and press them to hers. She opens her mouth to me immediately and I pull her body up against mine and deepen the sweet kiss.

Pulling back from me, she looks up into my eyes and whispers, “That was the yummiest kiss ever.” She pecks my lips a couple more times before sucking my bottom lip into her mouth, and I instantly have a full-blown hard-on.

“Come ride the Ferris wheel with me, please. I promise it’s safe, and as of five seconds ago, I can’t walk around like this.” I gesture to my crotch, and she giggles and nods her head.

“All right, big boy, let’s go. If we die on that thing, I’ll never forgive you,” she replies, lacing her fingers between mine and heading toward the line, which is already moving to load the next set of passengers.

When we get to the front of the line, I hand the biker-looking guy our tickets and a twenty-dollar bill, which he tucks into his pocket. Sara is still watching the wheel with fascination and, thankfully, didn’t see our exchange.

Pulling Sara onto the platform, her free hand grabs my shirt the moment we’re sitting. She’s holding on to it for dear life. “I’ve never been on one of these before, Eli, and I’m freaking out a little,” she shouts over the noise of the engine.

“I got you, baby,” I speak softly into her ear and rub my free hand over the hand she has clenching the front of my shirt.

The moment we start to move, Sara lets out a small squeal and wraps her arms around my abdomen, holding on so tight I’m afraid she’ll cut off my ability to breath. She’s strong as hell.

I tap her arm, and when she looks up at me, I make a pained expression at her and she lightens her grip on me.

“You’re okay, Sara,” I tell her gently. Reaching down, I place my index finger under her chin and lift her face so she’s looking at mine. “I got you.” Placing my lips against hers, I kiss her until her body relaxes.

When I feel the Ferris wheel start to slow, I pull back from the kiss, placing one more on her forehead before I tuck her into my side and hold her there.

We come to a stop and I hear Sara gasp when she takes in the view. We’re at the top.

“Eli,” she whispers, “it’s so beautiful up here.”

“Not as beautiful as you.” She lays her head on my shoulder and looks out over the mountains in front of us. I absolutely love Colorado.

We sit for several minutes just enjoying the view and holding onto each other before we start moving again. He actually gave us more time than I thought he would. I’ll have to thank him later.

The moment our feet hit the ground, Sara launches herself into my arms, which causes me to lift her off the ground. “Thank you,” she mumbles into my neck.

“Why are you thanking me?” I laugh in response.

“Because you made me step outside my comfort zone, and that’s not easy for me.” She presses her lips to my neck and it sends a shiver through me. I feel the shift between us going from fun and flirty to serious and “I want to rip your clothes off right now.”

I set her back down on her feet and grab her hand, steering her toward the parking lot. She doesn’t speak, but with her hurried steps, I can tell she feels the shift too.

The moment we get to my truck, she spins around to face me and backs up against the door. I place my hands on her hips and lift her up to meet me, pressing her against the truck.

“Holy shit, you’re gorgeous,” I whisper against her lips, before crashing my mouth into hers.

With my hands cupping her ass, she wraps her legs around my waist. I open the passenger side door and set her down on the seat, never breaking from the kiss. She puts her hands on the sides of my jaw and rubs her thumbs over my cheeks, pulling my head deeper into the truck as she lays back on the bench seat. Our mouths disconnect, and I find myself bent over her with my face at her chest. I tug the neck of her shirt down just enough to see her cleavage, running my tongue up the valley in between. Her body shivers and I’m seconds away from lifting that shirt off her when I hear a throat clear behind us, followed by a giggle.

Shit. Sara quickly rights her shirt and jerks her legs into the truck before I slam the door and turn to see an older couple walking hand in hand toward the entrance to the amusement park. The guy looks back at me, throwing me a nod and a smirk.

I make my way back to the other side of the truck and take a deep breath before I open the door. I did it again. I almost mauled her in a parking lot.

The moment my ass hits the seat, Sara is straddling my lap. “Let’s go to my house, Eli,” she pants against my mouth. I can feel the heat of her on my throbbing lower half, and it takes every ounce of my strength not to rip her clothes off right here.

I place a rough last kiss to her mouth before groaning too loudly, which makes her laugh, and placing her back in her seat.

“Put your seatbelt on, baby,” I growl at her before tearing out of the parking lot like my ass is on fire.

THE MOMENT THE
door closes, I have her pressed up against it, her feet dangling below her.

“Bedroom,” she groans into my mouth as I press my still-hard length against her. My heart races as I place my hands on the backs of her thighs so she’ll wrap her legs around me. I stomp toward the hallway, stepping over a sleeping Diesel. That dog is shit for protection. He continues to snore as we make our way down the hallway and into her bedroom.

I set her on the bed gently and she immediately starts to back up toward the headboard, pulling her shirt off as she goes.

Reaching behind my head, I grab the neck of my shirt and drag it over my head before throwing it on the floor beside me. I watch Sara’s face as she takes in my chest and abs. I work out, so I’m fully aware of how muscular I am, and I’ve seen how women react to me in the gym. I’m not hard on the eyes. She licks her lips before her hands move to the top of her jeans and unbuttons them. Once she has them over her hips, I grab the bottom of each leg and pull them off.

And there she is. My beautiful Sara, laid out in front of me in nothing but her bra and panties, looking downright edible.

I reach to unbutton my pants but freeze as she crawls off the bed and kneels in front of me.

Holy shit.

I look down at her with complete and utter shock as she undoes my jeans and pulls them down my legs. She stands back up, grazing her nose against my length on purpose, and my whole body goes rock solid. She’s teasing me. She turns me around and pushes me a step backward toward the bed. She reaches for the waistband of my boxer briefs, rubbing her index finger just under the elastic. I watch for her reaction when her finger makes contact with the hardness underneath. She looks down and then back up at me, trying to hide her shock.

She smiles timidly before slowly reaching forward and wrapping her tiny hand around my length, causing a moan to escape my lips. “I trust you,” she says, right before pushing me to a sitting position on her bed. The second my ass hits the bed, her hot little mouth is wrapped around me.

“Holy shit,” I grunt out. My hips thrust forward on their own accord, and I swear I almost explode the moment I feel the back of her throat. She swallows and I literally see stars.

“Baby, you gotta stop. I won’t last another two seconds,” I admit, pulling her mouth off me. I pick her up and flip us over so I’m kneeling between her legs, looking down at her. She’s absolutely perfect. She sits up on her elbows, allowing me to unclasp her bra and slide it off her.

And now it’s my turn to be amazed.

She’s perfect.

She reaches up with one hand, running her fingers through my hair to the back of my head before pulling my head down to her as she lays back down. Her kisses are frantic. Her hands roam my body, lighting a fire in me that I never realized was there.

I kiss my way down her chest, sucking one of her little pink nipples into my mouth, which causes her to moan and arch her body off the bed. I trail my other hand down to her panties, running my finger under the lace edge. Her body tenses as I start to slide them down her legs and my hand stills.

“We don’t have to do this, Sara. If you’re not ready, we can wait,” I assure her.

“No, that’s not it. I’m just nervous. It’s been a long time since I’ve been with anyone and you’re not exactly a small guy.” She laughs nervously.

“I will be so gentle, baby. If anything feels painful or is even remotely not to your liking, you tell me and we stop. I promise,” I say in between kissing my way down her body. I pull her panties the rest of the way off, and the moment my mouth finds her center, her entire body jolts off the bed.