Ending with Forever Read online

  “Lil, make love to your pole. Straddle it, ride it,” Belle snickers. “Be one with it.” I roll my eyes at her with a heavy sigh.

  “Show me your moves and I’ll show you mine,” I challenge her and toss my coat off the stage.

  “Bring it, sister,” she spurs.

  “I will,” I answer sassily.

  “I’ll let you two get wild with your poles while I go missionary with mine.” Emi adds and we all chuckle.

  Over the speakers the music is loud and energetic. My body slowly sways to the rhythm of “Strip” by Chris Brown bouncing off the walls and ceiling. This is Belle’s jam. I watch her drop to the floor and circle her hips sensually as she climbs her pole. She looks like a stripper. Crap, I have no chance of beating her now. Staring at my reflection in the mirrors, I see a pair of long legs covered in black netting and a tightly laced corset with gaudy ruffles wrapped around the midsection pushing my boobs almost up to my chin. If only Carson could witness this for himself, he’d have an untamable erection. My eyes close to imagine his hands caressing me, running the length of my body and whispering dirty thoughts into my ear. I’m so turned on right now. When I open them, his eyes gaze deeply into mine, penetrating my core. “What were you thinking?” he murmurs with one arm around my waist.

  “Um…what are you doing here?” I ask, startled, with my back against the pole.

  “I’m here for the striptease,” he replies with a sly smirk as his hungry eyes roam up and down my shivering body. “We had our beers, played pool and now we’re ready for the entertainment,” he enlightens with a thick wad of dollar bills in his left hand. He could tuck all night and still not go through that bundle.

  “No way. I’m not dancing for you,” I refuse, shaking my head.

  “Why not? Would you rather I tuck these bills into someone else?” His dark brows arch for confirmation.

  “No,” I pout. “I don’t want your hands on anyone but me.”

  “Then dance for me,” he persuades in his sexy bedroom voice.

  “But everyone else will see me.”

  “They’ll be busy watching their own show.”

  “Okay,” I agree with my palm faced out. “Step back. You might get hurt. I wasn’t born graceful,” I warn him with a crooked, pursed smile. He shakes his head in response as his dimple digs deep into his cheek from grinning at my silly antics.

  Gripping the shiny pole with my dominant arm, my hips gyrate a few times and then I take one step around the base and lift my legs off the ground to spin gracefully in the air. Brenda called it the fireman spin. The motion lasted about a second, but that second felt like an incredible moment frozen in time. Impressed that I didn’t hurt myself; I decide to stop while I’m ahead.

  “Gorgeous. Smart. Kind. And sexy,” Carson compliments with his arms around my waist. “One perfect package. Just for me.” He frames my face and kisses me sweetly on my lips. “I love you,” he mouths inaudibly.

  “I love you,” I tell him proudly, free of fear or insecurities for the second time.

  Our moment of intimacy is interrupted when we hear Belle and Hayden break out into laughter along with the others. Emi offers the group an encore show of her version of pole dancing with her pregnant belly. With one hand bracing the pole, she does the body roll 360 degrees all around, accentuating her tummy on every outward roll. Her feet never leave the ground when she’s done. I take the wad of dollar bills out of Carson’s pocket, bend down to Emi’s level, and tuck them between her boobs.

  “Sexiest dance I’ve ever seen,” I praise her. “You rocked that pole, Lips.”

  “You sure did,” Belle agrees and shoves another wad of bills next to mine. Arm in arm we hug each other like old times. My sisters, I love them both.

  ~~~~

  Emma’s bachelorette party concluded as quickly as it started. The pole dancing exhausted her while the freezing rain and snow made it too dangerous to be out on the roads. The group dispersed and Carson insisted on driving me to my mom’s place.

  “I’ll sleep somewhat better if I know you’re safe,” he tells me as his eyes lock on the dark icy road.

  “Thank you for everything.” I reach over to his free hand and lace my fingers through his. My heart is swollen with utter happiness because of this wonderful man. I never knew one person could love another in such a selfless and devoted way and ask for nothing in return. “I know what you did. Emi filled me in.”

  “That beautiful smile on your face is priceless to me. You should know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do or give up to hold on to it.”

  “I do,” I assure him.

  “Good. I thrive on the joy you give me. Before you, tomorrow was just another day that filled a gap in time. I could care less about what day of the week or month it was. With you, I see every tomorrow as a new beginning of us.”

  “There you go being Mr. Wonderful again, saying all the right things to dissolve my heart.”

  “It’s easy with you. I never have to try.”

  “Will you always feel this way about us?” I ask again because I still need his validation. Confidence doesn’t happen overnight.

  “Always. You have my promise,” he assures me and then parks the SUV in Mom’s driveway. Carson gets out of the vehicle first and then opens the door on my side. “Be careful. The sidewalk is slippery, especially in those heels,” he cautions me as he walks me to the front door. Mom must be waiting up for me. The door is opened before I can get my keys out of my coat pocket.

  “Come in. Quickly. It’s freezing out there,” she tells us as she waves us in.

  We both rush through the door and into the inviting heat. Ah…it feels good. Carson clasps my frozen fingers between his hands to warm them up. Blowing into his makeshift hand warmers, he asks, “Better, babe?” I smile and nod. The extent of his consideration is immeasurable and I think my mom is starting to see it.

  “Carson, it’s too dangerous for you to drive anywhere tonight. The roads are slick and covered with black ice. Stay here. We have a guest bedroom.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he accepts in haste. “Thank you.”

  “No problem. Lily, there’s an extra toothbrush in the drawer and some fresh towels in the linen closet for Carson.”

  “I’ll hook him up, Mom.”

  She stops to examine my face more closely and gives me a disapproving look. If she could see what little material is covering my body underneath my coat, she’d have a heart attack. “You have too much makeup on. Your face is prettier without all that stuff.”

  “I agree,” Carson chimes in, hoping to earn brownie points. He’s such an opportunist.

  “I’m going to retire. It’s way past my bed time. Good night,” Mom tells us. “I’ll see you both, tomorrow morning.”

  “Night,” we say in unison and look at each other with a smile. What’s that saying? When you complete each other’s sentences, you know you’re truly in love. I completely agree.

  I lead Carson to the guest bedroom, about five feet across from my room. I flip the light switch so he can see his accommodations for the night. It’s nothing fancy—just a twin bed, dresser, and an old nightstand. With his over six-foot-plus frame, I think his long legs will slightly hang off the edge.

  “This is it. Your five-star room for the night,” I kid. “The mattress might be lumpy and there’s a broken spring that sometimes squeaks when you toss and turn. Belle, Emi and I broke it years ago when we pretended we were jumping on a trampoline.”

  “It’s all good,” he assures me. “I can rough it for one evening, but don’t ask me to sleep another night without you.” Drawing me into his chest, he unzips my long coat. The breath he takes is slow and deep. “Let me see that sexy body of yours before you leave me hard and deprived,” he persuades. My coat drops to floor, leaving me in thigh highs, heels and my breasts popping out the top of my corset. “Fuck. How am I supposed to keep my hands off you?” He cups one breast in his palm and kneads it like a skillful pottery artist would a ball of mold
able clay.

  “Don’t fight it,” I encourage him and urge his free hand to grope the opposite breast. “Touch me. I want you.”

  “Baby, you know I want to,” he whispers, gripping my hand and tracing it along his hard erection. His lids seal loosely as he appreciates the feel of me on him. Carson presses his lips against my neck, drawing in the tender flesh above my clavicle, my most vulnerable place. Now I’m as wet as he is hard. Going for his pants, I unzip his jeans and snake my hand under his cotton briefs. My fingers wrap around his hardness. His head falls back with a soft groan. I can feel the moisture of his excitement. He’s ready. I’m ready. “Stop,” he pleads, his voice is desperate. “This is your mother’s house.”

  “I don’t care. I need you now,” I exhale as my hand glides up and down his shaft. “Don’t make me beg.”

  Switching off the lights, he locks my arms behind my back and coerces me to step backward until I fall on the bed. My weight shifts the mattress and the broken spring betrays us with an audible squeak. The sharp sound slices through the night and snaps Carson out of his lustful trance. He refuses to remove my panties and enter me. “I shouldn’t,” he tells himself out loud. “Your mother will hear us.”

  “That’s the thrill of it. Live on the edge, Carson,” I urge mischievously, like he did me when I was afraid of getting caught while we were making out on some stranger’s property that turned out to be his.

  “You’re on, babe,” he accepts my dare and pulls me and the comforter off the bed. On the carpet, the comforter lands and then he lays me down gently. “The rule to this game is complete silence, no screaming or moaning. No matter how hard I fuck you or how intense you come. You can’t make a sound. Are we clear?” I nod eagerly. All I want at this moment is him inside me, filling me and giving me pleasure.

  After an hour of hot, sweaty, and soundless sex, I fall blissfully asleep in Carson’s arms on the floor until the alarm on his phone goes off. He’s not taking any chances of getting on my mother’s bad side. I’m shooed back to my bedroom. “Shh…Don’t make any sounds,” he whispers to me. Half asleep and drained of the all life in me, I nod and tiptoe across the hallway, doing my walk of shame. I climb into bed and resume my sleep without effort.

  Carson Bradley

  I’ve been to a few bachelor parties in the past, but none were this tame and enjoyable. Beers, pool and a private striptease from the woman who keeps my cock hard and ready every time she’s in the same room with me is what I call a party. I paid the shop to close down for the evening after I saw the black lace and fish netting Lil pulled out of Isabella’s surprise bag. No pervert was going to lay his greedy eyes on her if I can help it. Her body is the temple I worship. It’s off limits to everyone. The premise was also surrounded by three bodyguards, including Luke. I challenge any asshole to bypass them without having something broken.

  Severe weather is never welcomed, but it was an asset for me last night. It ended Lil and her friends’ party prematurely, which saved me a confrontation with anyone who dared to look or touch her in that damn slutty outfit. I was also able to relieve some of my raw, sexual tension and then somewhat sleep with her through most of the night which helped mellow my anxiety out quite nicely. To avoid a setback with her mother, I set the alarm to wake us up before Lia could find us in the same room. She offered me the guestroom, not the guestroom with her daughter.

  A chime from my phone alerts me. It’s a text message from Luke.

  Bianca attended a dinner party at the Montgomery mansion.

  Seeing the word Montgomery perturbs me instantly as I stare at the text on my phone. Is Lil the late Charles Montgomery’s granddaughter as well as Marcus Ly’s? She doesn’t have the answer for me, but I know who does—Lia.

  I roll off the floor, toss the comforter back on the bed and straighten it out neatly. The light shining through the window brightens up the room, illuminating things I didn’t notice last night, like more pictures of Lil. One in particular catches my eye. She’s standing with her mother, holding her and another woman’s hand. She looks about four or five years old. Never once has Lil mentioned any family other than her mother. How is it possible to not have any relatives—unless you left them behind somewhere or you are guilty of concealing something? Wait a minute. She did mention a grandmother who lives in Hong Kong. They visited her when she was four—about the same age she was in this picture that I’m studying in my hand. I think I just answered my own question.

  ~~~~

  The aroma of fresh brewed coffee is a delightful smell for me—one of my favorites—especially early in the morning. Lia set three white mugs and plates on the kitchen table with a basket of croissants and orange marmalade in a small bowl.

  “Morning,” she greets as she pours steaming coffee into a mug for me.

  “Good morning,” I reply, anxious to ask her a hundred questions. But first, I have to figure out how to ease them into a light breakfast conversation.

  “Come. Have some coffee with me. Lily won’t be up for a few more hours. That girl really loves her sleep,” she enlightens me. I want to endorse her statement but it would reveal to her that Lil and I are already sleeping together.

  “Thanks. Are you a coffee person?” I ask.

  “I am, but only in the mornings,” she replies. “Sugar or cream with yours?”

  “Black is fine,” I answer and take a seat across from her. I need straight caffeine this morning—forget masking the bitter jolt with condiments.

  “How was the party last night? Did you have a good time?”

  “Yes. It was amusing.”

  “Lily’s very fortunate to have Emma and Isabella in her life. She doesn’t allow herself to have much fun. I blame myself for that,” she discloses sadly, sipping her coffee.

  “Don’t blame yourself. She’s a beautiful person, inside and out. I’m envious that she’s surrounded by so many wonderful people who sincerely love and care for her.” She smiles at my response.

  “I didn’t know what loving someone meant until I had her. She became my reason to be happy again,” she slips. “This is why I can’t bear to see her heart get broken. Please don’t hurt her.”

  “I swear I would never hurt her. She’s also my reason to be happy again.” I divulge. “If I’m not being too forward, may I ask if you’ve been betrayed by someone in the past?”

  Her bewildered eyes contemplate, looking down into her swirling coffee as she decides whether she should tell me or not. “Yes. I was betrayed,” she retorts, surprising me with her openness. Her tone is full of resentment.

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “I’m fine now. It was a long time ago, and I’ve moved on.”

  “Do you know where Lil’s father is?” This is my opportunity to get my answers.

  “No. Why do you want to know?” she asks defensively.

  “I believe in honesty. Now that we have your blessing to get married, I don’t want to keep anything from you and I don’t want you to keep anything from us either. With that being said, I want to ask you if you know a Marcus Ly?”

  “But…how did you find out?” she stutters.

  “I’m not sure what you mean. Lil and I met with him a few weeks ago for a business meeting. At that time, he seemed more interested in Lil’s necklace and your whereabouts than anything I had to present to him. It didn’t click for me until you insisted I call you Lia. Lia is also Marcus’ youngest daughter’s name. I came across that information when I was preparing for my meeting. Is Collin Montgomery the man who betrayed you?”

  Her face falls into her palms as my words sink in. She doesn’t respond. I want to reach out to her, but I’m not sure how she’ll react. After all, I just revived a miserable part of her life that probably took her years to suppress.

  “I didn’t want to get married. I wanted to go to medical school,” she discloses. “I blame my father for every miserable thing that’s happened to me. He didn’t care to know the family he married me into. The Montgomerys
are horrible people who only love money. Charles forced his son to marry me to keep his struggling company afloat with my father’s help. After they got what they needed, it was their plan to get rid of me so Collin wouldn’t have to stay married to a woman he didn’t love. Thank God he developed real feelings for me. He found a way for us to escape to Indiana. I was never sure what getting rid of me meant, but I was glad I didn’t have to stick around to find out. His men found me a few months later, very pregnant. I begged them to not hurt me. I swore I’d do whatever they wanted me to do to save my baby,” she pauses to maintain her composure and to catch her breath. “To fool my father, Charles rigged a plane crash and informed the press that Collin and I died in it. He threatened that if I ever contacted my father, he’d take my baby away and I’d never see her again. Collin was forbidden to have anything to do with me or his baby. We both knew what kind of man Charles was, so we did exactly what we were told.”

  “Oh God, Lia. I’m…so sorry. I had no idea.” I’m completely stunned. That wasn’t anything I expected to hear. I can’t imagine the weight she’s been carrying around, protecting her daughter and herself from that despicable son of a bitch. “He’s dead now. Did you know that?” She nods as she wipes away a tiny tear escaping the corner of her eye. “He can’t hurt you or Lil anymore.”

  “But his son, Chandler, is still alive. He’s just as malicious as his father.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “After Charles passed away, he sent two men to remind me that his father’s threat still stands. It might’ve been coincidental, but the apartment building I lived in at that time caught on fire. Lily and I were lucky to escape before it burned to the ground. That is why Lil’s scared of heights and tight spaces. I was so frightened and desperate that I called my mother for help. She flew us to Hong Kong without my father’s knowledge and gave us money to start over. To this day, my father still thinks I died in that plane crash. I made my mother swear on our ancestors’ altars that she would never tell my father or I’d lose Lily.”