Princess Next Door Read online

  She stood up and lifted her shirt. The ink looked amazing, and he saw how beautiful it was even with it covered.

  “It drove me crazy watching him put his hands on you.”

  She rolled her eyes. “He didn’t have much of a choice. It would be impossible for him to ink my skin without putting some hands on me.” She turned, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Now you get to put your hands on me, and no one is here to stop you.”

  He liked the way she thought.

  Chapter Nine

  Late Friday afternoon, Wynter was still at the school going through the grades that she and Tammy were dealing with. The kids were going to be off for a few weeks, and Tammy always liked to get everything in order. Her trip with Zane had lasted until Tuesday night when Tammy called her and asked for her to please come to work.

  She felt so bad about leaving her friend to deal with everything that she’d cut her and Zane’s trip short. They’d been planning to stay away until Friday when he needed to be home to perform.

  “Are you angry at me?” Wynter asked, stamping the book and closing it.

  Tammy glanced up at her and frowned. “What?”

  “You know, for abandoning you?”

  This time her friend chuckled. “Nah, I’m not angry at you, honey. I think it’s been good that you’re doing stuff for yourself. Since you’ve moved out, I’ve seen how happy you are. It always drove me crazy watching you not really enjoying your life. I know Marshall and I settled down and had kids young, but we also had a really good life together. You deserve to have a little fun with Zane. He makes you smile.”

  Wynter nodded, sucking on her lips and staring down at the book in her hands. It wasn’t just fun, at least, not to her. It had stopped being just fun last week when she realized that she loved him.

  “It’s not just a little fun,” she said, not looking at her friend.

  “What do you mean?”

  This time she took a deep breath and stared up at her friend. “I’ve fallen in love with him.”

  She expected Tammy to laugh or to ridicule. Instead, her friend just stared at her.

  “You’re in love with Zane?”

  “Yes. I’m in love with him, and I don’t need you to tell me how much my parents would—”

  “Screw your parents. They don’t even count. They’ve not even come to see that you’re okay. They don’t get to decide everything in your life.”

  “But—”

  “No buts, Wynter. This is your life, and you can’t keep living it like your parents are going to judge you every second of every fucking day. They wanted you to live a certain way, but you chose differently. Don’t feel guilt over that. Feel fucking inspired by it.” Tammy held her hands up. “I’m sorry. I tried to be nice about it, but you shouldn’t feel guilty for not wanting the same things. You and Carey didn’t match. You and settling down young didn’t match. I’ve never seen you so happy since you started seeing Zane. He’s good for you.”

  “His friends think I’m going to dump him and run back to my parents.”

  “Prove them wrong. Friends are there to look out for their friend, Wynter. I’m there to look out for you. I had my doubts. I’m not going to lie. You were always bitching about him that first week, and his music. Then it’s like something changed. I’m beginning to think that little thing about your houses is so real.”

  She rolled her eyes. “It’s not magical. Not at all.”

  Tammy laughed. “You keep telling yourself that.” She slammed closed the final notebook she was working on. “Done. I am done, and now I get to spend the week with my husband and my kids. Sounds … dreamy.”

  Wynter laughed as she looked like it would be anything but dreamy. Tammy often teased that being a teacher of other people’s kids spoiled her.

  Hugging her friend, she stepped away. “You’re the best friend I could ever have.”

  “Yeah, and I’m older than you, think about that.” Tammy winked at her.

  Leaving the school, she stopped off at the grocery store to collect some stuff. Zane had given her a list of everything he’d need to show her how to make that lasagna she loved so much. They’d been so busy with other things that it was only now they were getting to it.

  She rounded a corner and came to a stop when she saw the deputy Slade and his very pregnant wife, Cassie.

  “Hey, Wynter,” Slade said.

  “Hey, guys. Not long to go, is there?” she asked, looking at Slade’s hand on Cassie’s stomach.

  “Not much longer.” Cassie patted her stomach. “I’m becoming really impatient.” Cassie looked at Slade, and they shared a look before turning toward her.

  “How’s the house?” they both said in unison.

  “Erm, my house is great.”

  “What about mine?” Cassie asked. “I mean Zane’s?”

  “It’s going good.”

  “And you and Zane?” Slade asked. “How are you two getting on?”

  She stared from one to the other. “We’re doing good.”

  “And?” Cassie asked. “Has anything happened between the two of you?” She spoke really slowly, and Wynter frowned.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Are you and Zane a couple?” Slade asked.

  She stared at the happy pair and wondered what the hell was going on. They were staring at her intently. “We’re seeing each other.”

  Slade groaned, and Cassie fist-pumped.

  “You didn’t win,” Slade said. “It hasn’t even been six months.”

  “But I was totally the closest, which means I win.”

  Wynter continued to stare at the couple, and she was struck by how much in love they were. She thought about Zane, and how she felt when she was around him.

  “Does this have to do with that crazy notion that the houses in some magical way bring couples together?” Wynter asked. She was getting tired of hearing about this.

  “You know about it?” Slade asked.

  “My friend told me about it.” She looked between the two of them. “You don’t think it’s real, do you?”

  “How can you think it’s not real?” Cassie asked.

  “Houses are not magical. They don’t bring people together.”

  “I think you’re denying a little too much. We came together,” Slade said.

  “And I hated him to start off. Believe me, I’m married to him, and we’ve got a kid on the way. There’s something about those houses, and we’ve seen the other couples as well.” Cassie rested her head against Slade’s shoulder.

  Glancing down into her cart, Wynter really didn’t know what to say, so she made her excuses, grabbing the last few items from her list and making her way out of the store.

  By the time she got home, Zane was waiting for her. He opened the door and helped her with the groceries. She followed him into his home, where she stood at the counter watching as he put stuff away.

  Pushing some hair off her face, she was struck by how much she loved being with him. The moment she saw him, she couldn’t help but smile, and watching him put food away, there was a warmth with him.

  “You got everything,” he said.

  “Of course. I also bumped into the people that lived in our houses before us.”

  “Cassie and Slade?”

  “Yep. They kept asking questions of how we were getting on, and if we were together.”

  Zane burst out laughing. “Is this going back to the houses bringing people together?”

  “I don’t believe it, do you?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t really think about it. There’s an easy explanation. We’re two houses set back from the rest, we’re close, and that close proximity brings about feelings.”

  She had feelings, a whole lot of feelings. In fact, in the past few days she’d begun to unravel, and little things were starting to really catch up with her. She recognized tiny things like him opening the door for her, helping with the shopping. He also put the seat down on the toilet. He always asked about her day,
and actually seemed interested in knowing what was going on with her life. She loved listening to him play, strumming his fingers across the guitar, filling the room with his music.

  Every single thing he did, from wearing slippers as he didn’t like to get footprints on the floor, or his weird fetish with hats. He’d even posed in several for her, making her laugh as he did so.

  In such a short time she’d shared so much of herself with him, and she didn’t, not once, want to ever let that go, or let him go.

  “Do you believe in a mystical house?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Nah, I don’t. Anyway, moving on, I better go and get dressed.”

  “Yes, you’d better. I left something sexy out for you to wear.” He gave her ass a little slap.

  Shaking her head, she made her way upstairs, and found a pair of jeans, some boots, and a shirt. All of them she’d worn before, and it wasn’t the first time that she was aware that he found her particularly sexy in and out of them.

  ****

  The crowd at the bar roared to life as he began to sing the song he’d dedicated to Princess. It was titled that, and he saw her laughing as she danced along. He’d made up with his friends, apologizing to Silas, who’d shaken his hand. They’d been friends a long time, and tensions like that never ruined their friendship.

  She winked at him as she threw her hands in the air and shook her ass from side to side, teasing him from the stage. Zane loved her, without a doubt in his heart. While singing to her, and only to her, he had to wonder if the miracle houses were real. Cassie and Slade had fallen for each other, and several other couples before he moved in.

  Now he’d fallen for Princess, and there wasn’t a thing he could do about his feelings, not that he wanted to.

  After finishing one of the songs, he took a bow and climbed down from the stage, going straight to her. She threw her arms around his neck, and kissed his lips.

  “That was, like, totally incredible. Did you see the audience? They were totally drooling over you.”

  “I only saw your drool.” He wiped her mouth, and she laughed.

  “I can guarantee that they totally, totally loved you.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” He gripped her ass, pulling her close and claiming her lips as he led her outside.

  “Now, now, now, you’ve got people with eyes here,” Jones said, slapping him on the back.

  His three buddies followed them outside, and they sat on the hood of his truck. He and Princess had a soda while his friends drank a beer.

  She’d sworn off beer ever since she’d discovered she had a rather loose tongue with the stuff.

  “You guys are on fire tonight,” she said. “Your own songs really put you on the map.”

  “I couldn’t agree more.”

  Zane turned to see a man that he didn’t recognize, wearing a suit.

  “I’ve been coming to your shows for the past couple of weeks, and I found you guys compelling but not great. Tonight, you really showed me that there was something to see.”

  “And you are?” Silas asked.

  He pulled a card out of his jacket handing it to Zane. “Rufus James. I manage bands. I help to get them on the map, and I know for a fact that you guys have what it takes to make it big. No more bars, or clubs. Just concerts that are sell-out tours. I’m not in the market for prissy little boys who want to cause a scene. I’m looking for hard-working men, willing to make a name for themselves within music. You want to take a chance, give me a call.”

  Zane couldn’t believe what had just happened, and watched as the man in question left in a really nice car, not one he’d ever like. He rather loved his truck.

  “That just fucking happened, right?” Jones asked. “Did we just like … get offered a deal?”

  Princess gave a little squeal. “Oh, my God! You’re going to be a rock star.” She hugged him tightly, and Zane held her close. “I’m going to grab us all a beer to celebrate because this is totally worth it.” She clapped her hands, and he watched her leave.

  “What’s with the shitty face, man?” Silas asked. “This is a big deal.”

  “We’ve been down this road before,” Zane said. He’d never told Princess the story. They’d been found a few years ago, and asked to go on tour with another rock band. They got pushed out, and ended up having to make their way home with no money. They hadn’t been at their peak then either, so it had rocked and changed their entire world.

  “This is different, man, we’re different,” Riot said. “You heard him. He wants actual artists, not fuckups. We were fuck-ups.”

  Running fingers through his hair, he glanced toward the bar, and knew the one thing he couldn’t give up. “She’s got to come with me.”

  All three men groaned.

  “Look, I know you’re not her biggest fans, but I love her. I’m not willing to give her up. I don’t want to give her up. I’m never going to get a chance to feel like this again.”

  “And if she doesn’t want to come?” Riot asked. “This isn’t just your dream, Zane. It’s our dream.”

  “I know.” He saw her coming back. “Let me talk to her. I can at least tell her how I feel, and see how she feels.”

  All the guys agreed, and they all put on a smile as Princess approached.

  “I want to make a toast. To you guys’ many talents, and success is yours.” She clinked her bottle with his, and he pulled her against him. He didn’t want to let her go, not ever.

  After they celebrated with a drink, it was time for them to go back inside and finish their set.

  By the end of the evening, he couldn’t wait to sit down and just relax. When he and Princess got home, he took her up to his bedroom, stripped her completely naked, bent her over the bed, and began to caress the cheeks of her ass.

  “This was a little … unexpected.” He slid his finger down across her anus, circling her ass before using his other hand to stroke her soaking wet pussy.

  “There’s something I want to tell you, Princess.”

  “Okay.”

  He plunged two fingers inside her cunt and moaned as her pussy tightened around him. Running his thumb across her ass, he began to stroke her, which made her even more slick.

  “This isn’t the first time that a guy has approached us about a possible deal.”

  She glanced over her shoulder looking at him. “There’s been other times?”

  “Once before, when we were younger. We fucked it up, and we weren’t that good either. Of course, we thought were the best, and we weren’t. We were soon put in our place.”

  “What happened?”

  “We had no money left, and we’d drunk most of it away. We had no choice but to start again. I think what sucked for me was that I couldn’t remember any of it. Most of it was in a drunken haze of feeling on top of the world, and it wasn’t long before that top of the world came crashing down all around us.”

  Using some of her cream from her pussy, he coated her anus and began to push his thumb against that tight ring of muscles. She tensed up but didn’t stop him. She didn’t say a word, slowly relaxing as she grew accustomed to his touch.

  His dick was rock-hard, wanting inside her, to fill her pussy and claim her ass. He felt a need to make every single part of her his.

  “After that we decided to keep our feet firmly on the ground, and our heads in the right game. If we ever got another opportunity like this, we wanted to be prepared.”

  Pulling his fingers from her pussy, he held onto his cock, and began to sink into her pussy. Her wet heat surrounded him, sucking his cock in deep.

  They both groaned, and he stroked the cheeks of her ass, at the same time thrusting his thumb inside her anus.

  “Oh … that feels so good.” She moaned each word out, pressing back against him.

  “Princess?”

  “Yes?”

  “I want your ass. I want to fuck your ass.”

  “Yes, Zane. I trust you.” She stared at him over her shoulder and offered him
a smile. “I know you won’t hurt me.”

  He pulled out of her tight pussy and grabbed some lubrication that he’d purchased. Opening the cap, he spread lots on his cock and moved back up behind her. Making sure her ass was prepared for him, he threw the tube onto the bed and placed the tip of his cock at her anus.

  So very slowly, he began to work the tip past the tight ring of muscles. He got her to push out, and as she did, his cock filled her ass.

  Zane didn’t rush, giving her the chance to get accustomed to the feel of him inside her. Once she had all of his dick in her ass, he held onto her hips and began to rock.

  Her ass was so tight, just like her pussy.

  Reaching between her thighs, he stroked her clit, feeling her ass tighten around his cock as he teased her. She felt so fucking good.

  Every single part of her was his.

  Princess, Wynter Griffin, was his woman in every single way that counted.

  His thrusts increased, and he fucked her a little harder, going deeper inside her. She cried out his name as he brought her to orgasm. Seconds after, Zane joined her, filling her ass with his cum as he held her tightly against him. He didn’t want to ever let her go.

  Collapsing behind her, he wrapped his arms around her as they lay on the bed, their breathing getting back to normal.

  “Does this mean you’re going to be gone for a long time?” she asked.

  “Yes, and it’s why I want you to come with me.”

  “What?”

  “I don’t want to live without you, Princess. You’re my heart. I want you to think about coming away with me. To consider it.”

  Chapter Ten

  A couple weeks later

  “This is what has you looking so sad and down in the dumps?” Tammy asked.

  Wynter stared across the table at her best friend. They were in the coffee shop in town, and she was struggling with what Zane had asked her.

  No, she wasn’t struggling at all.

  She wanted to go with him, more than anything.

  “I’ve not been down in the dumps.”

  “You’ve not been your usual chirpy self.”

  She’d not seen Zane in a couple of days as he and the guys were finalizing the deal of signing with a company for their music. They’d been in some studio in the city organizing a demo, and a rush had been put on it. The title of the track was called “Princess.” Zane had played it to her, and she knew it would be a hit for the guys.