Chapter 8

JoeJoe

The knock on the door has me practically jumping off the couch. After three horror movies, I'm now spooked even though it's the middle of the day. I'm sure there isn't a boogeyman at the door, yet I'm still looking at the thing like some murdering psychopath will be on the other side, waiting for us to answer so he can attack. My sister laughs at me and shakes her head. "Relax, Joe. It's just the UPS guy delivering my packages, and his name isn't Jason, I promise." I stick my tongue out and throw the pillow I was using to cover my eyes during all the scary scenes at her.

"You want to get my special boxes while I go make us some brownies?" She wiggles her brow at me as she refers to her packages, and I'm positive she's excited about the new toys she'll get to try out later. The perks of owning the company. I might have to snag a couple from her because I'm swearing off men.

"Sure." I rise from the couch and go to open the door. As soon as I do, I'm spooked again by what I find. There aren't any packages waiting, and it's not Jason, but a man is standing there. One seriously tall, seriously good looking, and seriously dangerous man. Why is he here? And how did he even know where to find me?

That little enemy called hope starts buzzing around in my chest, and I want to swat it away.

"Baby." He swoops in as he says the word and draws me into his arms, embracing me so tightly I feel it all the way to my bones. And maybe because I'm lost and confused, or because I missed him so much it hurts, I let him hold me, and I soak in the warmth he always manages to provide. "God, I'm so sorry, babe. It's not what you think. I need to explain what happened. I'd never betray you."

Just the word betray has the image of Mandy on his lap flashing into my mind, and I'm pulling away from him and backing out of his reach. He can call it whatever he wants. He can come up with whatever excuse he wants in order to explain it away, but I saw it with my own two eyes. I know the truth. And I know that even if he didn't mean for it to happen this time, there will be a next time, and another. And if I forgive him like his mom did his dad, I'll probably end up just like her. A hollow soulless woman.

"I want you to leave, Riff. If you need me to forgive you for what you did last night, I will, but I still want you to go."

He shakes his head and once again reaches for my hand. "No, babe. I'm not going anywhere until you hear me out." He pushes his way into my sister's apartment and closes the door. I look toward the kitchen to get some help from Nicky on the matter, but she's just standing by the fridge, staring at us like she's watching the most riveting movie of her life and is waiting to see how it plays out. I want to roll my eyes at her. She was never a good wingwoman. Mainly because she never would play her part since she hates the male species.

"Fine," I say, crossing my arms. "Say what you need to say and then please leave."

He reaches for my hair and tucks a loose strand behind my ear. The gentle touch has my eyes closing. Why do I have to want him so much?

"Baby." His voice is soft now, and I feel him closer. When I open my eyes, he's right before me, having removed every inch of space between us. "My mom called before the party last night. She got inside my head."

He starts to tell me what happened, and I already feel myself weakening toward him. That woman is a horrible person. And deep down inside this huge, dangerous-looking man is still just a boy hoping his mother will love him one day. That's why he still answers when she calls. And every time he does, he suffers. I hate that woman for what she not only did to him when he was a kid, but what she continues to do to him till this day.

"I went to the bar to try to get her out of my head," he continues. "I tried to numb the pain, but it wasn't working. The only thing I knew would work was my girl." He strokes the side of my cheek and brushes away the tear that I hadn't realized escaped.

"I went outside to find you and saw you dancing with Shiv. I saw him whisper in your ear and saw you light up at whatever he was saying. Knowing you've been in his bed and seeing the way you were with him..." He stops and swallows hard, and I can see what the jealousy does to him without him even having to say it. "It destroyed me, babe. I thought you'd moved on. I thought you were done being tied to me day in and day out and were back to wanting your freedom. And so, I went inside and tried to drink myself to the point where it wouldn't hurt."

Now, I'm the one swallowing hard and choking on the emotion that's got a tight grip on the muscle inside my chest.

"Baby…" He cups my cheeks in his hands, giving me no choice but to look at him. "When Mandy climbed on top of me, I was a mess. I barely knew what was happening. I was consumed by the pain, so it took me a moment to snap the fuck out of the haze and get her off me. But I did. I shoved her away and went to my room. Nothing happened other than what you saw. And if I'd been sober and in the right frame of mind, which I know isn't a damn fucking excuse but it's my truth, I wouldn't have let her even touch me. I'm so sorry, baby." His voice cracks, and my heart cracks for him.

"I'm so damn sorry for everything. For not coming to you first after the bitch got to me. I'm sorry for assuming you'd hurt me that way with Shiv. And I'm so damn sorry for letting another woman even think for one second she could get to me. She can't. No one can because I'm yours, Joe. Heart and soul. Mind and body. All of me belongs to you."

He takes a breath as if he's trying to steady himself. To calm his nerves.

"I love you so damn much, baby. And I'm going to fight like hell to get more than your forgiveness. I'm going to fight like hell to earn your trust back and to make you see that I'm not like him. And I'm not like your dad either. I would never walk away from the most amazing woman I've ever met. I would never walk away from the one who has made me realize that marriage and being tied to one woman for the rest of my life is the most amazing gift I could ever be given. And I would never walk away from my family or hurt the ones I love. I'm not going to repeat history, baby. I want to change it. And I'm hoping like hell you'll let me."

Now, the tears aren't just pouring from my eyes, but I hear them coming from my sister as well. I turn in her direction and see it on her face, and when she nods, I know she believes him, too. She believes that he's one of the good ones. That he's not going to hurt me like the other man in our lives did. Riff loves me, and his love feels unbreakable. I turn my eyes back up to the man who owns my heart, and decide it's time to let the fear go.

"I love you, Riff. You don't need to convince me or prove anything. I know you're not like him. You're not like either of them. I also know that you are a man who has never known what it feels like to be loved. This." I brace my hand over his heart. "What we have between us is so special it terrifies me. But there's no doubt in my mind I have nothing to be afraid of with you. I'm yours, Riff. You will never have to question that because I believe in us. I want a future with you. And I, too, will fight for your heart."

I know I have to fight for his trust as much as he has to fight for mine. We both come loaded down with baggage from our pasts, and we both have to let it go because there's no room for it in our future.

He lifts me into his arms and his lips crash to mine. The kiss he gives me is even better than all the ones that came before it. This kiss comes with love and promises I can feel deep in my soul. When I'm nearly out of breath, he sets me back down and then drops to one knee. The echoing gasps come from both me and my twin, and when he opens the little box he's holding out before me and I see the giant solitaire diamond sparkling on the little blue cushion, I nearly drop to the floor with him.

"Will you, Johanna Joan Price, be mine? Not just my wife and my best friend, but my old lady and my partner for all that lies ahead? Will you make me the happiest man alive and promise me your heart? Because you own mine, and nothing is ever going to change that. Will you marry me, baby?"

The sobs once again wrack my body. I've never felt so happy in all my life. This is the moment that the girl who still held out hope in finding love has been dreaming of.

"Yes, Riff Bronson Davis." I push the watery words out. "I would be honored to be your wife and have you as my man. I love you so much." He slips the ring on my finger and then is up and kissing the air out of me again, spinning me around in circles, making my heart soar.

This morning, I woke up and didn't think the world would ever turn again, and now, it's spinning faster than a Tilt-a-Whirl, and I never want to get off the ride.

"Okay, you two. Now can I meet my soon-to-be brother-in-law?" Nick's comment has me turning my head. I was so caught up in the moment I'd forgotten she was here.

"Yes!" I squeal, grinning from ear to ear. Riff places me back down on the ground and gives me one more soft kiss on my lips and one of his panty-melting, very promising smiles before he turns and holds out his hand toward my sister. She looks at his offered hand, then back up at him, and I'm worried about what's going through her head.

"Did she know?" she asks, and I have no idea where she's going with this. "The girl who tried to take advantage of you while you were drunk. Did she know you were with my sister?"

She's asking about Mandy. But I don't know why. Is she trying to test his honesty one last time? Sniff out a lie before she gives her approval. Knowing her, I'd bet money on it. If I have trust issues, that girl beats me out by a hundred. Hence, her celibacy.

"Yes, she knew. Everyone knows how I feel about your sister. I wasn't trying to hide the fact. I'd just never told Joe in so many words." He doesn't seem fazed by her questioning in the slightest, nor upset that he needs to defend himself to her. He already told me the truth, so whatever she's trying to find, she won't.

"Well, then, she's going to pay for what she did to my sister." Nicky sticks out her hand to take his, and Riff pulls her to him for a hug.

"Great minds think alike, sis." His teasing comment has me smiling and the waterworks are back.

Nick hugs him tight then looks up with a grin. "Welcome to the family."

I fall on both of them like one blubbering heap of a mess, and they both wrap me in a hug. After a long road of loss and sadness, it feels like my family is complete again. And the future I was starting to believe was forever going to live in my mind as a wishful fantasy, has now come true.

"Okay, you two," Nick says, pulling back. "I know you need some alone time to do the whole makeup sex thing." She rolls her eyes as if the thought is preposterous, though she has no idea what she's missing out on. "So I'm going to run to the store to get the rest of the ingredients for the brownies. I'll also get stuff for dinner because I assume you both are staying, right?" She looks at Riff, and he nods. "Good. I'll be back in an hour, so make it count because when I get back, I want to spend some quality time together."

God, I love her. And I've missed her so much. This week, it's going to be my mission to convince her to move closer to me. If she's going to be an aunt one day, she needs to be accessible for all that free babysitting she'll be doing.

She grabs her bag and keys and leaves the apartment, and the moment the door is shut, Riff's on me like a hawk swooping down and snatching its prey before it even knows it's been caught. He has me up in his arms and wrapped around his waist as he asks which room is mine. I point to the one on the right, and he takes me straight there and drops me onto the bed. Then he pounces.

His mouth, tongue, lips are everywhere. His hands work to strip me of my clothes, and mine frantically work to unfasten his pants. Once we're both naked, he's over me, leaning on his forearms and staring straight down into my eyes. His breathing as erratic as the beating in my chest.

"Damn, I love you, baby girl."

"I love you, too," I moan as his dick slowly sinks inside. "Oh, God. And I love your cock, too."

He starts pumping back and forth, slow and steady, hitting deep and sending a surge through my body. "You better love my dick. Because he's all you get to play with from here on out."

I quirk an eyebrow up at him, wanting to mess with him a little. "Really? I don't get to play with toys anymore?"

He growls as he leans down and nips my bottom lip. Just hard enough to send a zing shooting to my pussy, which is already tightening and ready to come. "Only when I'm in the fucking room and watching. Otherwise, you won't need them." His pelvis grinds down on my clit and I throw my head back on a scream.

"That's it, my pretty girl. Give me what I want."

He pounds in harder, giving me exactly what I need, and the orgasm tears right through. His grunts grow louder and then I feel his seed coating my insides. God, I love being marked by him. I love that I'm the only one who's ever had him bare. And I love the fact that one day, that seed will make us a baby. Hopefully, it will make us lots of babies.

He leans down and his mouth presses to mine, his tongue licking over me softly as we both settle back down.

"I think we have fifty minutes left, baby." He pulls back, looking into my eyes. "You ready to give me a couple more because I missed you last night, and my dick's been lonely without you."

I bite down on my smile as I push on his chest. "You better flip over then because this time I'm going for a ride." He rolls to his back, and I lean over and grab something from my drawer. Like I said, my sister owns a sex toy company, so there is an abundance of fun little things at my fingertips. I pull out a magical little wand and some lube and then sit back up. Riff sees what I have in my hand and gives me a look that already has me dripping wet. "You gonna let me play with that one, babe?"

"Yes." I nod, getting the special little vibrating dildo all lubed up and ready to go. "This toy is definitely for you. Because once you have me all stretched out with it, and I've ridden another orgasm out of you, I want you to fuck me in my ass."

His groan rumbles through me as he lifts my hips and pulls me down on his cock. I savor a few thrusts then hand over the special toy for him to have his fun. When I drop forward, taking a kiss, tangling with his hungry tongue, I feel the buzzing begin at my tight little rear hole—which I've learned loves to be played with as much as my other one does.

My head drops to his shoulder on a moan when the buzzing little nub begins to push its way in. And when he finally gets the thing fully seated, I shudder in heat. It's like I'm being penetrated by two cocks. The feeling intense. Riff starts fucking me with the dildo in time with my hips, and I'm a writhing mess. Screaming his name. Begging for more.

"Fuck, baby. You're such a good girl opening up for me. And it feels good, doesn't it?"

I let out a whimper as my orgasm creeps closer. Both sets of my walls are contracting. Both are quivering and ready to go over the edge.

"I can tell it feels good. You're squirting all over my balls and giving me one slick ride. Fuck, babe. You feel so tight like this. Even tighter than usual. Damn, I'm about to come."

His hand begins pumping the dildo faster in my ass, and I start bouncing on him at the same speed.

"Goddam, baby. You're a wet fucking dream. I promise after you come hard all over my cock, I'll give this little ass all the attention it needs. I'm going to fuck you deep with my tongue, and then I'm going to fill it with my seed. That's it." He lets out a low groan. "Come for me, my dirty girl."

Both orgasms hit me at once. The anal one hitting me just as strong as the one throbbing through my clit. My body is engulfed in pleasure. The hot sensation that rockets through me sends me orbiting to a place I've never known, and I decide in this moment that I never want to be grounded on earth again. It's out of this world incredible. Riff is incredible. And now… he's mine.