With Me in Seattle Bundle One (101 page)

“Will.”

“You are mine, damn it. I will protect you from anyone and anything, do you understand?” His eyes are narrowed, on mine. “I don’t need your permission to make you safe.”

Before I can answer, he’s kissing me again, and pushing me over into another orgasm.

He’s claiming me, branding me in a way he never has before.

It’s fucking hot as hell, and I want him. I want to be his. I love him more than I ever thought possible, and that scares the living hell out of me.

He pushes the hem of my jersey up under my armpits, dragging my bra along with it, unveiling my breasts, and feasts on them, pulling and biting the nipples ruthlessly. I let my head fall back and cry out in pain and pleasure, loving his mouth and hands as they assault me.

He’s never been this savage.

Suddenly, he unzips his pants and unleashes his massive erection, and I instinctively scoot closer to the edge of the car, needing him inside me.

“I can’t wait,” he mutters against my mouth and slams himself inside me, hard.

He grips my hips and jerks me down on him, over and over, fucking me with all he has, his eyes still pinned to mine.

“You are so beautiful. You are everything, Megan. When are you going to believe that?” He moves faster and harder until I feel him explode inside me, his muscles tensing, and he growls deep into my neck.

He stays here, on me, in me, panting, for what feels like forever, before he slides out of me and steps back. “Stay here.”

He zips himself up, straightens my shirt, and scoops my pants up off the ground, walking briskly to the back of the car. He rummages around in the trunk and walks back to me, a blanket in his hands. “Scoot off the car.”

I obey immediately, and he wraps me in the blanket, plants a soft, sweet kiss on my forehead, and suddenly, the tears start again.

I love him so much.

“Don’t cry.” He lifts me in his arms and carries me to the passenger side and gently lowers me into the low seat.

Instead of taking me back to my place, he drives us to his house, pulls into the garage, and lifts me out of the car, carries me inside, and up the stairs through his bedroom and into the bathroom. He sets me carefully on the toilet and turns on the hot water, then kneels in front of me, takes my face gently in his hands and wipes the tears off my cheeks with his thumbs.

“Did I hurt you?” he whispers.

I shake my head no and bite my lip, looking into his soft blue eyes. He’s tender now, the anger gone out of him.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“For what, honey?”

I shrug and look down, but he tips my chin up to look at him. “For what?”

“For hurting you. I don’t want to do that. You mean the world to me, Will.”

He sighs deeply, relief written all over his face, and kisses me softly, then sits back on his heels and smiles softly. “I know.”

I nod, still feeling shitty.

I want to give him the words. So much.

He strips me out of the blanket and the remaining wet clothes, and does the same with his own, takes me by the hand, and leads me into the hot shower. The showerheads are still adjusted for me.

He takes his time washing me, lathering up my body and my hair, and then rinsing me thoroughly, before doing the same for himself.

“I love your body,” he murmurs with a smile as he leads me out of the shower and begins to dry me with a large, warm towel.

“Back at you, Football Star,” I remark and offer him a half smile.

He blows my hair dry then leads me to bed.

“It’s a bit early for bed, isn’t it?” I ask drily.

“I have to be at the training center at six.” He frowns and pulls the covers back on the bed, grabs the remote for the small TV mounted to the wall, and we climb into the soft bed, snuggle up together, and watch a bad action movie from the nineties.

“Thank you,” I whisper without looking at him.

“For what?”

“You know.” I tighten my arms around his waist and drop a kiss on his chest. “Just thank you.”

He sighs and kisses the top of my head.

Chapter Twenty

It’s been two days since we fought in the rain. Since the best damn car sex of my life. Since Will practically begged me to give him the words he needs to hear and I couldn’t.

I wonder how long he’ll wait before he decides I’m not worth his time and he cuts out. I hope I can give him the words he wants before that happens.

I sit across from him in a little diner in North Seattle known for its twelve-egg omelets. Even Will can’t eat that much at once, but he’s decimating the six-egg version, which makes me slightly queasy just to watch.

The man can eat.

“You look beautiful today.” He smiles softly at me, and I grin back. I’m just in my usual: a loose T-shirt and jeans, hair down around my face.

“Thank you.” I let my eyes travel over his dark blond hair, startling blue eyes, blue T-shirt and strong arms. “So do you.”

I take a bite of a waffle and sigh. “I love the food here.”

“I know, it’s awesome. You have to draw a picture for the wall.” He points at the artwork with his fork, and I giggle as I look around.

Hundreds of drawings done in crayon cover the walls, some really good, some just plain funny.

“Why don’t you do a drawing?” I ask.

“I did. It’s up there somewhere.”

“Excuse me, aren’t you Will Montgomery?”

Two young girls are standing at the end of our booth, grinning, twirling their hair. They’re young and cute and flirty, and I can’t help but roll my eyes.

“I am,” he replies with a sigh and looks over to me, begging me with his eyes to not get mad.

I just shrug and smile. He can’t help that he’s a superhot football star.

“Wow, can we get your autograph?”

“Yeah, and maybe your photo? We’re big fans,” the other one adds, and they giggle.

“I’m sorry. I’m having lunch with my girlfriend. I’d really appreciate it if you’d just respect our privacy.”

They stop and frown down at him, but he holds their gazes firmly.

Holy shit! This is new.

They both look at me for the first time, then back at Will.

“We saw in the paper that you had a new girlfriend, but we thought it was a lie because you never have girlfriends.”

Will smiles coldly, and I can hear his inner dialogue.
You don’t know anything about me.

“I do have a girlfriend, and I’m enjoying her company. Have a good day.” He turns back to me, effectively cutting off anything they were about to say when the waitress comes over with a carafe of coffee.

“You heard the man. Either sit at a table and place an order or leave.” She scowls at the girls as they leave the diner. “Sorry about that. They slipped by me.”

“No worries.” Will smiles up at her as she refills our coffee.

“That surprised me,” I say.

“Why?” he asks and takes a sip of coffee.

“You usually like being the center of attention.” I shrug and push my mostly empty plate away.

“Not always.” He shakes his head. “As long as I’m your center of attention, I’m good.”

“Needy much?” I ask sarcastically and laugh when he pins me with a glare.

“I am not needy.”

“Okay.” I sit back and grin at him.

“I’m not.”

“I just agreed with you.”

“Uh huh.” He takes another sip of coffee and takes my hand in his, running his thumb across my knuckles. “What do you have going on today?”

“I have to work the swing shift tonight,” I reply and check my watch. “You?”

“I have to go to the training center to watch some film this afternoon.”

“Did you train this morning?” I ask.

“Yeah, early this morning.”

“I slept through it.” I smile over at him, and he shakes his head, his eyes happy.

“So lazy.”

“How do you get up so early?”

“I’m used to it. Been doing it for years.” He shrugs and examines my hands. “You have tiny hands.”

“I’m a girl. They’re supposed to be small.”

He kisses my knuckles softly and then pulls something out of his back pocket. “I need to talk to you about this.”

“What?”

“I’ve been invited to a charity ball thing. It’s formal, and I usually don’t go, but I thought that you might like to go to this one.” He shifts uncomfortably, and looks almost nervous, piquing my interest.

“What’s the charity?”

“Seattle Children’s,” he replies, his eyes on mine.

A slow smile spreads across my face. He wants to take me to a formal ball in honor of what I’m passionate about. Because he knows what it means to me.

Because he loves me.

“Will, this would be amazing.”

He smiles and looks down at the silver-embossed invitation and then passes it over to me.

“It’s next weekend?” I ask in a panic. Shit! I don’t have anything to wear!

And no money to buy anything.

“Yeah, is that a problem?” He’s watching me closely, so I gather myself and smile reassuringly.

“No.”

“Bad liar. What is it?” he asks and takes my hand again.

“Nothing, really.”

“What are you worried about?”

Damn it, he knows me too well already.

“I’ll just have to figure out what to wear.” I shrug like it’s no big deal. “It’ll be okay.”

Will narrows his eyes in thought but then just smiles at me. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah, I have to work in a little while.”

“Let’s get you home then.”

***

~Will~

I drop into the Shelby and pull my phone out of my pocket before even leaving Meg’s house. I just walked her to her door so she can get ready for work tonight. I hate that she works nights.

She works too fucking hard.

But, then, I suppose most nurses do. It never occurred to me before I met her that patients need around-the-clock care. Of course, it makes sense, but not really something most people think about.

She still works too fucking hard. And I hate that she drives home alone in the middle of the night in that piece-of-shit car of hers.

I told her to keep the Rover, but she refused.

Damn stubborn woman.

I dial Jules’ number and wait impatiently for her to answer.

“This is Jules.”

“Hey, it’s Will. Do you have time to meet up with me tonight?”

“Um…” I can hear her shuffling papers and typing on her keyboard. “Yeah. I should be done here around seven. Why?”

“I just want to take you and Natalie out to eat,” I answer innocently.

“Where’s Meg?” she asks.

“She works tonight.”

“Have you talked to Nat?”

“Not yet. I called you first.” I run my hand down my face and sigh. “I just need to talk to you guys, and I haven’t seen much of you over the past few months.”

“Hey, I’m not complaining. Sure, I’ll pick Nat up and meet you. Where are we going?”

“Just come to my place. I’ll order in.”

***

“So,” Natalie begins, taking a bite of an egg roll. She’s adorable, and looks happy, which is all any of us have ever wanted for her. She’s as much my sister as Jules is. “What’s up with you and Meg?”

They’re both fucking nosy as hell. But this is why they’re here.

“I’m completely in love with her,” I reply calmly and load my plate full of lo mein and chicken and egg rolls and dig in. I pause and look up at the girls. They’re frozen. Jules’ chopsticks are paused halfway to her gaping mouth, and both sets of eyes are wide.

“What?” I ask.

“Did you just say you’re in love with her?” Jules asks and sets her chopsticks down.

“Yes.”

“Okay,” Natalie says. They look at each other and then back at me. “Have you told her that?”

“Yep.”

“What did she say?” Jules asks.

I squirm. I really don’t want to admit to these two that Meg hasn’t said it back. They’ll never let me live it down.

“Has she said it back?” Natalie asks softly, her eyes full of sympathy, and all I can do is shake my head.

“No.”

“Fuck,” Jules whispers. “Will, Meg has trust issues—”

“I’m aware,” I interrupt her. Do they think I don’t know this shit? Of course I know.
“I didn’t ask you here for this.”

“Well, I think we should talk about it,” Jules answers stubbornly. “Meg is fantastic, and I’m so glad that you guys are doing well.”

Natalie nods in agreement. “Definitely. Meg is awesome, and I’m glad that she’s back in our lives. I’ve missed her.”

“Look, guys, I know you like her. That just makes a relationship with her that much easier. She’s great.” I shrug and smile at my sisters.

“Don’t hurt her,” Jules whispers, her pretty face completely serious. “Honestly, Will. Meg is strong, but she has already had enough shit thrown at her in this life.”

“I know, Jules. Seriously. I’ve met Sylvia up close and personal and have removed her from Megan’s life.”

Their eyes bug out again.

“How did you manage that?” Natalie asks.

“I paid her.” I shake my head as I remember the look on that bitch’s face as she signed the contract severing all ties with her only child. “She got a shitload of money to disappear. She signed a contract. She won’t bother Meg again. If she does, I’ll sue the shit out of her.”

“Wow.” Natalie swallows and laughs ruefully. “I wish I had thought of that.”

“You wouldn’t have been able to afford it back then,” I answer softly.

“How much did you pay her?” Jules asks.

I just shake my head again. “More than she expected. Look, this isn’t why I asked you here. I need a favor.”

“Okay, shoot.” Jules stuffs half an egg roll in her mouth and chews with her mouth open.

“You’re so fucking classy,” I mutter.

“Thanks.” She smiles and stuffs the other half in her mouth.

“I’m taking Meg to the Children’s Hospital Charity Ball next Saturday, and she needs a dress. I need you to buy one for her. I’ll give you my card, and then I need you to tell her you’re lending it to her.”

“Why?” Nat asks with a frown. “Just take her shopping.”

“She wouldn’t let me.” I shake my head in frustration and sigh. “I know her. There’s no way she’ll let me take her out and spend a bunch of money on her.”

“You’re right. At least you didn’t land a gold digger.” Jules shrugs and then keeps eating, ignoring my scowl. “Okay, we can buy her something. What should we get?”