To Claim His Girl Read online

  Entering the sitting room, she rushed back to close the door, and made her way into the kitchen to make him a medicinal drink.

  She found him out for the count on the sofa. Running her fingers across his brow, she released a sigh, and placed his drink on the coffee table. Putting a blanket around his arms, she made sure he was okay, with a note for when he woke up to tell him to drink what she’d left. She loved taking care of him, and making sure he had everything he needed.

  When she was outside, she paused at the sight of her father standing at the end of the driveway. He looked … old.

  Harvey held his hands up in surrender. It didn’t seem five minutes ago he had been shouting at her, telling her how awful he’d make her life.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I just wanted to talk. I’m not going to hurt you. I promise.”

  Glancing back at the house, she bit her lip, but decided it was fine to go with him. He was her father, and she had to trust that.

  Stepping toward him, she folded her arms. “I work at the library. You okay to walk there with me.”

  “Yeah, I am.”

  Walking beside him was kind of weird seeing as for a long time, she had found him to be the ultimate ass.

  “Your mom left me.”

  “I know. She told me a couple of months ago.”

  “I lost everything,” he said. “I thought I knew what I was doing, and instead of pulling back, and thinking, I just ran head first at every single deal thrown my way. I made a mess of everything.” She didn’t speak. There was no point. “The arranged marriage between you and Wayne, happened years ago. I didn’t think much of it other than securing the family’s money.”

  “Mom said you had to declare bankruptcy?” she asked.

  “I ran the company into the ground.”

  “You were a horrible person,” she said.

  “I know. I’ve been in therapy, dealing with the stress.”

  “There’s a lot going on between you and Mom that I don’t know. I don’t know if I can have a normal relationship with you. You hurt her a lot, and you hurt me. I love Eli, and I’m going to marry him.”

  Harvey nodded. “I just want some time. Maybe go for a cup of coffee every now and again, catch up, and I can get back to being my old self again.”

  “I hope not?”

  “My old self when you were first born. I wasn’t always like this, Aria. The company, the competition, it changed me.”

  Outside of the library, she stared up at him. “I don’t know. Let’s just take it one day at a time. Is that okay?”

  “Yes, that’s fine. It’s what my therapist says I should do.”

  Aria forced a smile. “I’ve got to go.”

  “Take care.”

  She watched him walk away, and she wondered for a second if it was even possible to like the man she once adored. It had been so long ago that she did.

  ****

  Eli lit the final candle, and stared around the dining room. His parents were out of town for the next three nights, and he had the entire weekend planned out for him and Aria. He had been putting off going all the way with her. Each time he’d been close, he’d held back for fear of ruining it for her.

  He’d never been this nervous about anything, nor had he cared so much.

  You can do this.

  Chris was dropping Aria back at home, and he’d asked all of their friends to amuse themselves as he had the weekend to love his woman.

  “Bye, Chris,” Aria said, closing the door. “Eli, it was a beautiful night out.”

  He stood by the dining room table, and waited. Rose petals were on the floor, creating a path for her to come toward him.

  Seconds passed, maybe even minutes before she rounded the doorway, and smiled at him. “Hello,” she said.

  “Afternoon, darling,” he said.

  She started to chuckle. “What is all this?”

  “This is because we’re alone, and we can celebrate getting into the same college. Also, I think it’s the right time, don’t you think?” He helped remove her jacket, and placed it on the back of one of the chairs.

  “You did all of this for me?”

  “Of course. There’s no one else in the world that I would do it for.” He took hold of her hands, and pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “I love you, Aria. I can’t guarantee tonight is going to be perfect, but I’m going to do my best to make it as perfect for you as I can.” He ran his hands down her body, cupping her ass, and drawing her closer.

  “You’re in a good mood.”

  “Why not?” Taking her hand, he made her sit down, and poured her a glass of juice.

  “No beer?” she asked.

  “I didn’t want anything to interfere with tonight. I want your senses to be clear. Now, I can cook a good pancake, or make a good sandwich, but that’s all I can do.” He left the table. Rushing into the kitchen, he grabbed the tray that he’d kept their food heating on. “I went to our favorite fast food joint.”

  “Burgers and fries, how romantic.”

  “I could have taken you to a fancy restaurant, but then we’d be sitting, talking, and waiting, and before we knew what had happened—”

  “Our night would have been over.”

  “Yes, and I wanted tonight to be special for both of us. The start of a new beginning.”

  “You’re reading a lot,” she said.

  “I know. I never used to get so much enjoyment out of books.”

  She giggled. He’d always loved to read, and she knew it.

  “Stop distracting me, eat your burger.”

  “Yes, sir.” She took a bite out of her burger, and winced. “How long have you had them keeping warm?”

  “An hour, maybe.”

  “It’s very chewy.”

  They were both trying to hide their laughter as they chewed through half of their burger, and some dried out fries.

  Eli didn’t concede defeat, and grabbed a carton of chocolate ice-cream, and two spoons. “Dessert.”

  “A man after my own heart.” She took one of the offered spoons, and the tub was placed on the table between them. “Could you believe we’d be here at eighteen, eating ice-cream, preparing for a future together when we were just kids?”

  “Eating ice cream and preparing for the future, we did that as kids as well.”

  “I know, it’s just, becoming a scary clown for birthdays wasn’t exactly a good dream job,” she said.

  He frowned. “You remembered that?”

  “You had a huge fascination with clowns. Don’t know why. They are seriously scary.” She scrunched up her nose, and released a growl. “Grrr.”

  “I have a confession to make. They freaked me out as well. I never understood why so many kids liked them. They had weird ass faces, and were fucking ugly.”

  She chuckled. “What are your dreams now?”

  “I want to get a degree in business economics. Dad took me on a tour of the company a couple of days ago, and I know the area we have weaknesses in. I want to work for my dad, make him proud, so that one day, I can step into his shoes. Maybe have a son or daughter of my own.”

  “No arranged marriage with that?” she asked.

  “No. Our kids will be free to make their own choices.”

  “Good answer.”

  “What about you? Your future?” he asked.

  “I want to help people, teenagers, who are struggling. Give them someone to talk to, and who can help them with their problems.”

  “Like a social worker?”

  “No. I was thinking more of a therapist. What do you think?”

  “I talk to you about everything. You’d make for one hell of a therapist,” he said.

  “You really think so?” she asked.

  “I know so. You’re too good not to be.”

  He was done with the ice cream. Putting his spoon into the tub, he moved in close, cupping her face.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “You’ve g
ot a little something just there. Give me a second.” He swiped his tongue against the corner of her mouth, moving around, and plunging inside. She tasted like chocolate ice cream, only warm, and so much more addictive. “You taste good.”

  She moaned.

  Standing up, he took her hand and tugged her close. Running his hands all over her body, he cupped her ass, and rubbed his cock against her stomach. “Do you see what you do to me? How much you drive me crazy?” he asked.

  Aria released a whimper, and gripped his shoulders tightly.

  “Are you sure?” she asked.

  “Yeah. I know I want to be with you, Aria. No more holding back, no more waiting. I never want to have any regrets.”

  “You really mean that?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I do.”

  Over the past few months, they hadn’t been able to cross that next step to sleeping together. From work, to studying, to helping their friends out, sleeping together hadn’t seemed that easy. He didn’t want to rush into it, and Aria hadn’t always been ready either.

  “I’ve always wanted you, Aria. No more hiding. Are you ready?”

  There was this blissful smile on her lips. “Yeah, I am. I’m yours, Eli, take me.”

  Eli held his hand up, and she groaned. “When do you want to get married?” he asked.

  “We’re about to go all the way, and you want to ask this now?”

  “We didn’t get married with our friends, Aria. I want to marry you.”

  “It’s a piece of paper, Eli. I don’t need that to know that I love you more than anything in this world. You’ve been busy, and we both want to get into college together. This is the first time we’ve been able to actually stop, and have some fun. We’ll get married when we’re ready, the both of us, when we can enjoy it.”

  “You don’t mind waiting?” he asked.

  “Haven’t you realized yet that I’ll wait forever for you, Eli Waters? You are my other half.”

  Slamming his lips down on hers, he heard her gasp, giving him the perfect entry. Sliding his tongue against hers, he deepened the kiss, and together they both moaned. “Perfect, you’re so fucking perfect.”

  He took her hand, and without another word, he led her upstairs, going straight to his own bedroom. The sheets were off the bed, and he’d made sure to clean everything so that it would create the perfect atmosphere.

  “You’ve thought of everything,” she said.

  “I wanted tonight to be special, and I knew I could do that.”

  He pulled his shirt from his pants, over his head until it fell onto the floor. Staring into her brown eyes, he removed his jeans and his boxer briefs until he was completely naked.

  Her mouth opened and closed.

  “You’ve seen me naked a lot of times,” he said.

  “That was different.”

  “How was it different, babe?” he asked, tugging on her shirt.

  “All of those other times, I knew we weren’t going to have sex.”

  “And now?” he asked.

  “Now, I know it’s going to happen.”

  Her shirt was gone, and then he fingered her jeans, kneeling before her to leave them in a heap on the floor. She stood in a sheer red lacy bra and panties, her curves on display, nothing hidden from him.

  Skimming his fingers up her thighs, he stood, staring down at her. She didn’t avert her gaze, or try to cover up, and he was pleased with that. He didn’t want her to cover up, or hide her beauty.

  To him, she was the most beautiful woman in the whole world. The first day he’s seen her in nursery, he’d thought she was pretty. Every single day from then on, he’d thought it.

  “I love you, Aria, so damn much.”

  “I love you, too.”

  He cupped her hips, drawing her against him. His cock pressed against her stomach, and she didn’t fight him, nor did she push him away. Her hands stayed on his shoulders, her nails digging into his flesh in little half-moons.

  Fingering the catch of the bra, he opened it up, and her tits spilled out. They were more than a handful, perfect to him. Lifting one breast up, he slid his tongue against the pointed nipple, and her head tilted back as she cried out.

  “That’s right, baby,” he said. “Offer them up to me.”

  She cupped her breasts, offering them up for him to suck and tease. She tasted so damn sweet, and he knew he was never going to get tired of tasting her, loving her.

  Stroking his fingers down her back, he teased the edge of her panties. He didn’t have the time to wait, and with one tug, the panties were gone, torn from her body.

  “I liked them,” she said, breathlessly.

  “It’s okay. I liked them as well.” Pressing his hand against her pussy, they both groaned. “I like you a hell of a lot more out of them.”

  He slid a finger through her slit, finding her soaking wet. Her clit was swollen, and he stroked her pussy, wanting to her to be as aroused as he was.

  Moving her around so that her back was to the bed, he moved her, allowing her to lie down.

  “Open your legs,” he said.

  His cock was rock hard, and the tip was pulsing with pre-cum.

  She bit her lip, and he saw her nerves. Part of him wanted to call a stop to this, but he knew it was only because it was her first time. Aria opened her thighs wide, and he stared down at her pretty pussy.

  He moved toward the bed, and pulled out a condom. “I want to be prepared,” he said, tearing into the foil packet and sliding the latex over his cock.

  Back between her thighs, he knelt on the bed, and spread the lips of her pussy wide.

  “Eli?” she asked.

  “Yeah, baby.”

  “Please don’t stop.”

  “You’ve got to give me a chance to get started,” he said.

  “Oh, right.” She nodded, and patted his head. “Go ahead.”

  “You’re cute when you’re nervous.” Sliding his tongue between her slit, he teased over her clit, and down to her entrance before moving back up. Taking her clit into his mouth, he sucked the swollen nub, and used his tongue to flick over her.

  “Oh, wow, that feels so good, so good,” she said.

  She arched up against him, thrusting her pussy against his face. He gripped her ass, watching and feeling her body as she came apart in his arms. Drawing the orgasm out for as long as he could, he used his fingers to keep the pleasure going. Within seconds, he stopped, grabbed his cock, and pressed against her entrance. Staring into her eyes, he slammed in every single inch of his cock, tearing past the barrier of her virginity, and sliding deep inside to the hilt.

  Aria screamed.

  Pressing his lips against hers, he stayed still, kissing her, trying to take whatever pain there was away, and distract her.

  Taking hold of her hands, he locked their fingers together, hating that he had caused her pain. He hated that he was the one to take something so precious and it hurt her so much.

  “I’m so sorry,” he said, kissing her lips. “So sorry. So sorry.”

  After a few minutes passed, he took the chance to stare down at her.

  Tears leaked out of the corner of her eyes, and he wiped them away.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t have to keep saying that. I knew it was going to hurt.”

  “I tried to make it the best I could. I really did.”

  “I’m with you. It’s perfect.”

  “It’s not. This is not perfect, but I promise you the next one will be.”

  “You’re already promising me a next time?” she asked, smiling.

  He loved her. Fuck, he loved her so damn much that it made him ache all over. He wanted to give her the world, and everything her heart desired.

  “There will be many next times. That I can promise you.” Kissing her lips, he took his time to move between her thighs, seeing if she was ready for him to move.

  She gasped, and he stopped.

  “Is that too painful?” he asked.

  “No.
It feels amazing. Please don’t stop. Please.”

  Moving his hands to either side of her head, he lifted off her, and started to rock within her walls.

  “Do you like that, baby?” he asked.

  “Yes!”

  After minutes passed, Aria started to thrust up to meet him.

  It had been so long for him, and she felt so amazing. He knew he wasn’t going to last, and with one final thrust, he came apart, filling up the condom, and collapsing over her. The pleasure pounded through his body, filling every part of him, making him see stars.

  When it was over, he lay down beside her, and cupped her cheek. “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “What could you possibly be sorry for? That was perfect.”

  “I hurt you.”

  “So? You held me through it. You loved me, and that’s what I wanted. To me, this was perfect.” She cupped his cheek.

  “I’m so lucky.”

  “I’m really pleased you came back.”

  “I couldn’t stay away, not from you, not from this.” Pulling her into his arms, he pressed his lips against her, knowing this was the best day of his life.

  Chapter Ten

  “How was it?” Mary asked.

  Aria’s cheeks heated, and she couldn’t help the smile that came over her lips. They were in the dining hall at high school, waiting for their guys to arrive. They had already gotten their lunch, which made Mary miserable. She couldn’t eat cheese or nuts, and was on a strict diet of vegetables and chicken. Her stomach was really swollen now, and she had taken to wearing nothing but dungarees and large shirts.

  “It was … perfect. It was painful, and afterward he did promise me better for my second time.”

  “Did he deliver?” Rachel asked.

  “He did.” She covered her face, and laughed.

  Mary laughed, and went tense, scrunching up her face.

  “What is it?” Aria asked, concerned.

  “This little guy is giving me some serious pain. He doesn’t like to sit still. He doesn’t like to do anything but kick me when I’m comfortable.”

  “You’re sure it’s a he?” Rachel asked.

  “I refuse to accept my little girl would kick her mommy so early.”