Chapter 32

Manny

Getting home after a long, frustrating day of driving, I didn’t expect to see the woman who’s occupied every waking thought curled up asleep on my couch. Immediately, I wonder if Marisol is okay, but a quick check shows she’s also sleeping, although her face is puffy as if she had been crying.

As I head back downstairs, I notice Ricci’s face looks the same and wonder what happened tonight to have my two girls crying. Shaking my head, I make my rounds, checking all the doors and locks, before I approach Ricci once again. She hasn’t moved at all and seeing the dark circles under her eyes, it dawns on me that she probably hasn’t slept well this past month.

Well, neither have I if I’m completely honest with myself. Between helping Marisol plan her mother’s funeral, wading through her house so my girl can take what she wants, then overseeing the estate sale so there’s money for Marisol’s college, I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck multiple times.

Because in addition to all of that, I hired a new artist to help take some of the load off me at the shop, but have also had people reaching out for some custom pieces they want made. I feel like I run from sunup to sundown these days, plus a few hours afterward.

But seeing Ricci in my house settles the noise in my head. It feels right that she’s here, regardless of the reason, so I gently pick her up then head up the stairs to put her in bed. My plan is to lay her down then grab a shower, but fatigue hits me hard and fast so I figure I’ll just rest for a little bit then do it.

* * *

I wake up when I feel her slip out of the bed but when she leaves the room, I decide to follow her to see what she’s doing. As she goes into Marisol’s room, I watch her care for my daughter and my feelings for her grow even stronger than they already were. After our brief discussion about the reason she was at my house tonight, I push her toward the bed and head in to take the shower I meant to take earlier.

I never expect her to say what she does; immediately, my dick, which has been at half-mast since she fell asleep, fills with every drop of blood in my body and I’m convinced I can nail steel spikes into railroad ties.

Reaching out, I smooth her sleep-tousled hair back and ask, “Are you sure, sweetheart? There’s no rush.”

Her little growl of frustration makes me grin, even though my heart is beating so fast right now, I’m sure she can hear it. “Manny, I’m serious right now. I’ve been miserable since we’ve been apart. I’ve done a lot of soul-searching this past month. I know I’m probably still a bit of a hot mess, but when I’m with you, I feel like I can do anything.”

“You can, Ricci,” I reply. “You’re one of the strongest women I’ve ever met, sweetheart. Most of the things you’ve endured would have broken a lesser person. Yet you’ve persevered and come through the fire stronger. But just so you know, if we do this, there’s no going back for us. You’ll wear my ring and my name, and eventually, we’ll fill this house with babies. Do you understand?”

“Kind of like this bossy side of you,” she teases. Her smile is radiant, and I know, even though we haven’t said the words yet, that we’re on the same page with regard to our feelings. “Although I hope that the actual proposal is better.”

Leaning in, I nip her lip then say, “It’ll happen when you least expect it, baby.”

“Then I’m sure about what I want. You.”

* * *

Since I’m almost positive that Erik never really worried about whether or not Ricci enjoyed herself during sex, I know I need to make sure she’s ready for me. Pulling her closer so we’re touching from chest to toes, I focus on kissing her and soon, I’m lost in her taste once again. Her soft moans as my hands lightly stroke along her sides has my dick throbbing, wanting to be inside her inviting heat, which I can feel through her pajamas and my sleep pants.

As my hand slips underneath her top, I pull back slightly and ask, “Is this okay?”

“Mmhm,” she murmurs, before she sits up and pulls her top over her head.

I’ve never had a particular part of a woman’s body I was obsessed over like some guys, but right now, seeing her full breasts, the nipples already distended? I may be a boob man after all. Reaching up, I cup them in my hands, feeling how plump they are as I bring my mouth to one. Licking, nipping, and sucking, I shower attention on one side before switching to the other until Ricci is writhing beneath me, her soft sounds making my dick even harder.

“God, you’re luscious,” I say as I pull back to see the expression on her face. Her lids are at half-mast, her skin is lightly flushed, and the nipples I’ve been laving with attention are turgid peaks.

“Never felt like this before,” she admits, her hands running down my arms.

“We’re not discussing before,” I growl out, causing her to giggle. “Suffice it to say, I figured as much, sweetheart.” When she starts to look distressed, I lean in and lightly nip her chin. “I’m not upset by that fact, Ricci. You deserve the world, so if I can show you what it should be like, I’ll feel like a million bucks.”

“Less talking, more showing,” she teases, her thumbs stroking my nipples, which have never been particularly sensitive. Only now, each touch has my dick jumping and I realize I need to move away from her, or I’ll come in my sleep pants before I ever get inside her.

“If you insist,” I reply, before dropping back onto my calves so I can look at her body. “Seems I need to get rid of these,” I muse, staring down at her pajama bottoms, which have little coffee cups on them. “These are cute.”

She snorts. “Ivy got them for me. I’ll drink coffee if it’s the only thing really available, but I prefer hot chocolate.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I say, my fingers dipping below her waistband to feel the soft silky skin beneath her pajamas. When she giggles, I ask, “Are you ticklish?”

“Just a little bit,” she advises, her breathing now choppy and labored. As I tug at them to pull them off her so I can feast on her body, it stalls completely, and I glance up to see her eyes almost impossibly wide.

“Sweetheart? We can stop,” I tell her. It would kill me, but I mean what I say. If she’s having doubts, we’ll wait.

“Don’t you dare,” she hisses, making me smirk. She then lifts her hips which allows me to easily remove the bottoms as well as her panties, leaving her bare to my gaze.

“You undo me,” I murmur, my eyes roaming from the top of her head to the apex of her thighs where I can see her desire glistening on her slightly spread thighs. Reaching one finger between her legs, I swirl it in her essence and ask, “Is all this for me?”

“Yeah,” she shyly says, her face flushing once again.

Not wasting another second, I lower myself so my shoulders are between her legs, forcing her to open them further. As I breathe in her scent, I groan before running my tongue through her folds, causing her to gasp out loud. “You good?” I ask, focusing on the feast before me.

“I-I think so,” she whispers.

Suddenly, I realize it’s likely that fucktard never went down on her, and I am determined to show her how good it can be. “Relax and just feel,” I instruct, before I focus on bringing my woman to ecstasy.

As her flavor bursts across my tongue, I moan then begin licking from her pussy to her clit, giving that sensitive bundle of nerves a slight suck each time, until she’s clutching my hair in her hands and writhing back and forth. When I introduce a finger into her tight, hot sheath, I hear her shakily calling my name and feel her pussy fluttering. Thrusting in time with the motion of my tongue, I add a second digit and know she’s about to come if the pressure from her thighs is any indication.

“Manny!” she keens out, her back arching off the bed, as I continue my ministrations while she rides out her release. When she flops back, a soft, contented sigh coming from her parted lips, I slowly make my way back up her body, kissing her exposed skin until I take her lips in a demanding kiss.

I’m just about to notch my weeping dick at her entrance when I hear, “Condom?” Reaching blindly toward my nightstand, I quickly grab a foil packet and within seconds, have my straining member sheathed and poised at the gates of heaven.

“You ready, sweetheart?” I ask, looking down at her.

She raises her hand and smooths back my sweaty hair while smiling up at me. “I feel like we’re poised at the top of a cliff about to jump or something,” she teases.

“We are, it’s called making you mine,” I reply, slowly entering her pussy, which is still slightly pulsing from her orgasm. My eyes cross when I’m fully seated; she’s so fucking tight, I’m afraid I might end up being a two-pump chump.

As I pull back then quickly thrust back inside, she circles my hips with her legs, her feet pressing into my ass. Setting a steady rhythm, I watch her face so I know what she enjoys, which is obvious by her moans and soft sighs.

“I feel so full,” she murmurs, her hands now clutching my biceps, her nails lightly scoring my skin.

“You feel like heaven,” I grunt out, adding a swivel when I bottom out which causes her to gasp.

Soon, the only sound in the room is our labored breathing and the slapping of our sweaty skin as we both climb higher and higher. I feel my balls draw up and tingles at the base of my spin so slide my hand between us to circle her clit.

As her pussy clamps down on my dick, my release shoots into the condom, making me briefly wish it was filling her instead. Finally sated, I roll with her still attached and smooth my hands down her back before kissing her.

“That was… that was phenomenal,” she whispers, her eyes somewhat glassy. I suspect her emotions are out of control right now, so I simply nod.

“Better than that, but I’m not sure what word to use,” I admit, grinning at her.

“I… it’s never… it’s never been like that,” she replies.

“And it’s only going to get better, sweetheart.”

“How so?”

“The longer we know each other, the more we’ll figure out what we like,” I state. “Now, as much as I would love to go a second round, I think we need to clean up and get some sleep because Marisol is going to be up before we know it.”

She might be a teenager, but her previous life with her mother didn’t allow for her to ‘linger’ in bed all day, so she tends to get up very early. Since she had a bad night earlier, I want to be there for her when she does wake up.