Page 77 of Where the Blacktop Ends

Before I make any moves to get out of bed, I already know what my next move will be. Quietly, in the early morning light, I type out a message to Diane. She shoots back a confirmation for three plane tickets almost immediately. Now, I just need to convince Georgia to come home with me.

I need to head to North Carolina to meet with Colt’s lawyer before his appeal gets denied and see where we can put pressure on the courts to reconsider. I also need to prepare him for the worst, face my siblings who’ll be rightfully angry and hurt, and handle Diane’s request to meet with state lawmakers and lobbyists for the upcoming election. The list of responsibilities is endless. Yet today I’m allowing myself the simple pleasure of staying in bed with Georgia, something I haven’t done with any woman in over twenty years. I didn’t think I could sleep like this, let alone next to someone. But everything about Georgia has surprised me.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” I whisper.

“Mm, hey,” she responds, her voice thick with rest.

Under the covers, her hands start to move, and I already know what she’s after.

I chuckle as she finds me, already stiff in my loose boxers. I told her I wouldn’t have sex with her, and I meant it, even if all eight inches of me is aching to let go inside of her hot, tight pussy. And though I know I should stop her from going any further, my body and mind are at war. I want her touch as badly as I want to be inside of her.

She tries to wrap her hand around my shaft and then lets out a soft, defeated sigh.

“You’re so thick. I love your cock.”

I chuckle, the sound rough. “Don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing that.”

“I’d love to be ruined by it, too,” she whispers, turning those big eyes up at me.

I lean down, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. “I can’t do that to you...not yet.”

She groans, flopping back against the pillow, only to shoot up a second later. “Oh my god! Is Liam about to get dropped off?”

She scrambles out of bed, almost tripping as the blood rushes to her head. I stay put, hand behind my head, watching her as she frantically dresses. Her breasts bounce as she fumbles with her clothes, and I can’t help but smile at this scene. I could get used to waking up every morning next to her while she frantically gets ready.

“Eleanor said he’ll be here in fifteen minutes,” I say calmly, “but that’s not why I woke you.”

Her brow furrows. “Why?”

“Because I’m taking a trip.”

“Oh…?” Her facial expression falls slightly, and I don’t miss.

“With Liam. And you. If you’ll join us.”

Her eyes widen. “Oh?”

“Back to North Carolina, my hometown of Whitewood Creek. My dad’s been asking to see his great grandson, and I’ve got some things to take care of with the governor’s race. Politics, mostly, but also... Colt. The chances of his appeal getting approved aren’t looking good.”

“Oh… yeah that’s probably a good idea.”

“Will you come? With Liam and I?”

She’s quiet as she thinks carefully and then nods slowly. “It won’t be weird for your family if I come along?”

“Why would it be weird?”

“Did you ever fly Eleanor with you when you took Liam or Max back to visit?”

No, but Eleanor isn’t the woman I intend on marrying someday. The one that already feels like mine.

My family will accept Georgia because of me and, well, because everyone who gets to meet her, loves her. But more than that, they’ll accept her once they see the place she holds in my life—the place I intend for her to stay.

“No, I didn’t. But it won’t be weird. My siblings can be a pain, but I’ll keep them in line,” I say, trying to reassure her and downplay things.

She finally gives me a genuine smile, and my heart skips a beat. My siblings might give me a hard time, but they’re the most important people in my life, and I hope that Georgia will like them too.

“I don’t have any siblings, so this is exciting.”

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