This Is Love, Baby (War & Peace #2) Read online

  I gave that to her.

  And I’ll keep giving until I take my very last breath on earth.

  “That was…” she trails off.

  I press one last soft kiss to her clit before I sit back up on my knees. Her heavenly body is invading my senses—taste, smell, touch. For a man who obsesses over cleanliness, I find myself wanting her scent on me at all times. A constant reminder of the love of my life—a way to get me through my day.

  It’s addicting.

  Distracting.

  And oh so fucking delicious.

  “Do you need to, um,” she questions softly, almost embarrassed, “brush your teeth?”

  A warm chuckle erupts from me and I crawl between her spread legs, hovering above her. My lips brush against hers and she lets out a soft gasp.

  “I quite like your taste, Bay,” I tell her truthfully. “I’d like to keep you there for a little while longer if that’s okay with you.”

  She laughs, so soft and sweet, but I silence the sweet sound with my mouth. I want her to taste what I taste. To understand just how perfect she is to me. Her fingers dance along my rib cage as I kiss her and she hugs me to her. My cock is straining against my jeans and I want to yank it out so I can make love to her. But I want to tend to her needs first.

  “Baylee, my strong, sweet, beautiful girl,” I praise as I pull away from her and sit up on my knees. “I’ll never get enough of you. Marry me, please.”

  I can feel her smile. I don’t have to see it to feel it. With Baylee, she smiles with her soul. You can feel that shit. It isn’t something you have to see because her smile is a living, breathing entity.

  “I thought you were supposed to get on one knee,” she teases.

  I run my palms over her belly and stroke her reverently. “Technically I’m on two. Does that mean I’m doubly serious about my request?”

  Instead of waiting for an answer, I’m eager to bring her pleasure again. My lips find her belly and I kiss with soft, gentle kisses. Then, I kiss her more firmly—I suck her sweet flesh into my mouth and taste her. After forty-nine seconds of this, she’s turned into a live wire beneath me.

  “War, I need more.”

  With a half-grin, I slip my finger between her legs. Pushing into her now dripping pussy with my finger, I go back to licking and sucking the skin on her abdomen. Her breaths come out short and uneven, the urge to count them gone, and my mouth soon finds her supple tits. Our bodies connect and thrive when they’re together. I don’t have to think about what I’m doing with her, it just happens exactly the way it should be.

  “Yes! God, yes!” she cries out as another orgasm seizes her.

  When her body stops shuddering, I chuckle and slip my finger out of her. “Is that a yes to marrying me?”

  The air in front of me swishes as she swats at me. “The answer to your question, Warren, is yes multiplied by infinity. And don’t you dare start trying to calculate what that number is. Just know it’s infinite and a number that can never be counted because it’s too great. It’s never-ending.”

  Crawling back over her, I find her lips again and kiss her in a gentle manner. “Thank you.”

  “For what? You haven’t even gotten off yet,” she says with a laugh. “I’m the one having all the fun here.”

  With my thumb, I stroke her smooth cheek which I know is slightly red, even in the dark, from her orgasm. “Thank you for loving me. I’m hard to love, Baylee. It takes a special person to love someone like me.”

  Her fingers push through my hair on the sides of my head and her thumb slides along the uneven scar on my face. “It was never hard for me,” she whispers. “It was always too easy. Like breathing or talking. Loving you came second nature. You were meant for me.”

  I bury my face against her neck and press kisses into the flesh below her ear. “The medicine is helping me, beautiful. I can do this—for us. Thanks for never giving up on me.”

  She lets out a gasp when I suck a little too hard on her skin. “War was never over for me. I will always fight for you. Thank you for fighting for me too.”

  Smiling, I trail kisses back up along her cheek until I find her mouth again. “We don’t ever have to fight again,” I assure her. “We’ve won. Love always wins, Bay.”

  When she starts to cry, tears of relief, I kiss away each one. I revel in the salty release of her pent up worries, sorrows, and fears tasting each and every one as they leak out of her eyes. Soon, she won’t have to cry ever again. I’ll make sure of it.

  Until the last of her tears are released, I’ll lick them all away. My Baylee tastes of sunshine, the salty Pacific, and hope.

  But most importantly, she tastes like peace.

  I’M HERE.

  With War.

  At last.

  The steaming hot water washes away the pain and horrors I’ve been harboring. Although the water remains clear, I can’t help but feel as though I’m washing away the blood from the casualties in my war. With a tearful, bitter, dark laugh, I confess what weighs on my heart—the main reason I haven’t been able to connect physically with War. “He fucked me, War,” I murmur, unable to meet his eyes as he stands outside of the shower dutifully taking his medication. “And Brandon would have if he’d been given the chance.”

  Silence stretches out between us as he unbuttons his jeans and pushes them down his muscular thighs. He kicks out of them on his way over to me so that he’s completely naked. The man is built like an immortal god.

  “They didn’t love you though. Not like I do. Fucking means nothing without love. Remember that.” His voice is calm and it blankets me in a warmth the water will never match.

  He steps into the shower and helps me wash. I keep waiting for him to obsess over how Gabe tainted me or poisoned our baby with his bodily fluids. I expect him to recoil from this dirty woman I’ve become. Instead, he washes me while he hums a song by the Pixies.

  Where Is My Mind?

  The song that he’s played on occasion while we play chess soothes my quivering heart. It infects the dark thoughts inside of my head and weaves with it images and memories of War. His touch, his scent, his overwhelming desire to care for me. His love. Soon, the shower is off, my mind and body are renewed, and my War is guiding me to his bed.

  Towels are dropped.

  And that’s okay.

  Afflictions are lost.

  And we don’t notice.

  Love leads the way.

  And we gladly follow.

  “I’m going to hold you, Bay, and never let you go.” His words are a vow meant to protect me, not imprison me. And I believe them.

  I lift my finger and draw a heart over his own. Then, I trace a ‘B’ inside of it. With my invisible mark, I stamp my presence on his soul and permanently etch a part of me onto him. Breaking away from him, I climb on top of the bed and let his searing gaze burn off any last remnants from the blood of the monsters of my past. “Make love to me Warren McPherson.”

  His eyes meet mine as he crawls on top of me without hesitation. Our mouths connect in a needy flurry and his hard cock pushes into me without warning. I moan out in relief at having him inside me, stretching my body to limits in a way only he can. The connection becomes one and I jolt back to life. Dragging my nails over his shoulders, I kiss him deeper than ever before. I need him to taste the love I have for him.

  My War is hungry for it too.

  My love satisfies him and he grunts as he bucks into me.

  Bliss and passion and desire and perfection are all rolled into one as we chase the release we both need. Not a selfish release, but one we only find together. A mutual orgasm of the souls.

  The black king and white queen are the only ones left on the board that’s no longer devoid of color. It drips with the crimson blood of the defeated and we stand in victory. Together.

  “My Baylee, my sweet, sweet Baylee,” he murmurs against my lips as his body tightens with his climax. The throbbing of his cock inside of me sends my body into a flurry of shu
dders as I orgasm with him. When he empties himself into me, he relaxes and his gaze meets mine. A smile plays at his lips.

  “War is worth the peace.” My words are honest and true. War is worth everything.

  “Focus, on your move, Bay,” he says from across the board.

  He doesn’t think I’m focused but I am. I’m hyper focused. But not on our chess game. Instead, I’m obsessing over having him in my mouth. It’s been a couple of days since our lovemaking reunion when he went down on me, and I’ve been squirming with need to return the favor ever since. Each time, I attempt to, I see the shame and horror flicker in his eyes.

  He’s afraid of his own reaction.

  That he won’t be able to handle it.

  But I’m determined to win. I will find a way to suck on his cock and when I finally get to, he’ll wonder what he’s been missing all along. My confidence is unwavering. Some things you just know.

  “There. I’ll move there,” I tell him absently and move a pawn that undoubtedly opens me up for an attack on his part.

  His frown is immediate. “Are you sure?”

  I nod, a sly smile forming at my lips. I’m planning an attack of my own. He draws his attention from me and back onto the board. I see it in his eyes as they dart all over the place. He’s calculating each and every move. His brain is on overdrive, trying to figure out a way to take out the queen.

  Little does he understand, he’s always had her.

  Tearing my nightgown from my body, leaving me naked, I stand and make my way over to him. He’s still staring at the board and hardly notices my movement. When I step in front of his view of the board between his spread legs, his eyes travel up my bare flesh until his heated gaze meets mine.

  “You’re cheating,” he says, a low growl rumbling in his throat.

  I shiver when his hands find my hips. “Close your eyes.”

  His jaw clenches but he does as he’s told. With a satisfied smile, I drop to my knees in front of him. He lets out a grunt when I grab onto the waistband of his pajama pants and tug them down his thighs. War’s cock, thick and proud, bobs out and points up at the ceiling.

  “Baylee, I don’t know if this is—”

  But I don’t give him a chance to argue and run my tongue along the tip of his dick.

  “Jesus Christ, woman,” he hisses out.

  My hand curls around his shaft, and I stroke it while I tease him with my tongue. It isn’t until I fully wrap my lips around him and slide down his cock where it hits the back of my throat that he finally seems to let go of any insecurities about this act.

  His hands dive into my messy hair and he groans out in pleasure. It turns me on to see him enjoying it and I pull out every trick I can think of. I suck him hard, I run my tongue around in uneven patterns, I even let my teeth graze along his sensitive flesh a few times. I’m not a pro at dick sucking but judging by his sharp intakes of air, I think I’m doing okay.

  “Bay,” he growls in warning, “I’m going to—”

  I know what he wants but I don’t let him off easy. Instead, I take him as deep as I can go knowing it’ll send him over the edge. A roar of pleasure rips from his chest and soon after his cock throbs as it spurts out his hot release. His salty taste isn’t offensive and I swallow him down until he’s got nothing more to feed me.

  Slowly, I ease my mouth off of him and search his eyes to make sure he enjoyed it. His head is tilted back against the cushion of the chair and his lips are parted. He’s gorgeous as hell, and I can’t wait to do it again just so I can see this look of pure ecstasy on his face.

  “Checkmate,” I tell him with a laugh.

  His head snaps back down and his searing gaze is on mine. I’ve never seen such an unmasked look of desire on him. His furrowed brows, darkened eyes, and clenching jaw indicate he’s hungry for me.

  “We’re not done playing, beautiful,” he murmurs and melts me with his scorching stare. “Come here and let me show you how the game is played.”

  I grin at him and climb into his lap. Once I’m straddling him, he guides his cock into me and then clutches onto my hips, pushing me all the way down. He stretches and fills me perfectly. Like we were designed to fit each other exactly.

  “Kiss me,” he orders in a low, seductive tone.

  My lips descend on his and I moan into his mouth when he begins bucking into me. The sensation is too much and not enough all at once. Even though I’m on top, he’s the one doing the fucking. All I can do is close my eyes and enjoy the ride. His strong fingers grip into my ass as he pounds his love into me.

  Chess pieces clink and clatter behind me, his legs no doubt hitting the table as he makes love to me. I nearly come from the simple fact that he doesn’t stop to obsess over his precious game. He doesn’t care about anything else but me. Just like he promised.

  “Oh God,” I yelp out when a blissful orgasm slices through me, temporarily blinding me with a mix of love and lust in one perfect concoction.

  His heat pumps into me and I shudder with the last of my climax. I’ll never get enough of this man. When we both come down from our high, I collapse against his chest and stare off into the ocean behind him, a smile gracing my lips.

  I shiver when his fingertips run up and down along my back. My palm slides over his red scar on his chest and I thank God again that he survived that day.

  “You’re such a cheater,” he says, a smile in his voice. “And I should punish you for what you made me do to my white furniture.”

  Leaning back, I gaze into his beautiful, loving eyes and arch an eyebrow at him. “Punish me how?”

  My taunting question has his softening cock twitching back to life. He smacks my ass with both hands and I squeal with laughter.

  “That’s a start,” he says with a smirk. His hooded eyes meet mine and my body thrums to life. “For the second part of your punishment,” he muses as he stands with me in his arms. His pajama pants fall to the floor and he steps out of them on the way back to our room. “I think I’ll carry you into the bedroom,” he says, just as he does that. “Push your back against the wall.” I let out a gasp when the cold wall hits my skin. “Hold your hands to where you can’t move.” My pussy contracts with excitement when he firmly pushes them to the wall. “And…”

  “Fuck me into tomorrow?” I quip with a saucy grin.

  He narrows his eyes but his cock is fully hard again inside me, at my words. “Actually, this is punishment, remember?” he reminds me with a raised brow. “So, I thought I’d explain to you how a firewall on a server works. You see, it’s a system that’s meant to keep viruses and—”

  “No!” I squeal in mock horror. “Put me out of my misery already. Fuck me to death, War, because there’s no way I can sit and listen to your boring computer mumbo jumbo for another second.”

  He chuckles but thrusts forcefully into me. “As you wish, my love.”

  The world around us once again fades away.

  Horrors of our past slowly smolder to ash and swirl from us bit by bit, no longer having a place in our hearts.

  Heat of our present ignites into a raging, uncontrollable beast of a blaze that ravages the two of us, never promising to cool.

  And the beauty of our future is blinding with a fire so powerful, it will decimate anything in its path, aside from our love.

  His mouth over takes mine and we climax hard together. When I flutter down from my high, my eyes meet his and he smiles.

  I drag my gaze over his bottom lip that looks good enough to bite and grin back at him. “My War.”

  “My peace.”

  TWO YEARS, ONE month, fourteen days, sixteen hours, eight minutes, and forty-seven seconds later…

  My hot breath on the glass materializes another heart.

  My Baylee, always leaving secret notes for me.

  I smile and stare out toward the ocean. Her long blonde hair whips to her left as the wind barrels along the coast. It tries its damnedest to knock her over but she remains steadfast and strong. The q
ueen in my world.

  With her back to me, I can’t see her swollen belly but I know it’s there. Just this morning, I rained kisses all over that belly and was met with little nudges against my mouth. Our son will be a playful one like his mother. I can’t wait.

  I watch Dad as he opens the ice chest between them on the blanket and hands her a bottle of water. I’m envious of that bottle—her tongue and mouth doing things my cock is now certainly familiar with. With Baylee, each day drives me further and further away from my afflictions. All it took was one blow-job from my girl and I didn’t care if I died an awful death from the worst diseases known to man. It was all worth a few beautiful minutes of her lips on my dick.

  And the first time I tasted her, sucked and nibbled on her sweet clit, I was a goner. When it came to her body, I was free. She was a healer, not an infection. I’ll never get enough of what she so gladly offers me.

  I’d be a fool though if I said we were perfect. We’re far from it, in fact. Twice a month, Baylee and I attend our counseling sessions. Most times, we go together but on occasion we go alone. There are some memories my girl still has trouble dealing with—the loss of her parents, the fact she was a victim of sexual violence, and the betrayal of three men she cared deeply for. And I tend to flip the fuck out from time to time—the fear of losing the ones I love to disease, accidents, or some freak murderer hangs heavy in my heart continuously and no matter how hard I try to shake it away, I simply can’t. But together, we emerge from the darkness that shadows our minds and we find a way to survive. Happily.

  Together we find the light.

  Baylee stands and she shields her eyes as she looks up at the house. She doesn’t have to see me to know I’m always watching her. My heart flops when she waves and blows a kiss in my direction. I wish I could run down the stairs now and trudge through the gritty sand toward her. To take her in my arms and kiss her pretty mouth.

  Of course I can’t.

  Well, at least not yet.

  When she turns her back to me again, I drop my gaze down to the glass near the floor. It’s smudged all to hell and gives Greta hives when she comes over. I beg her not to clean them away but she pulls the know-it-all motherly card and says it needs to be sterilized. That I can’t capture every memory in the way of snot and slobber. The memories stay in the heart and mind, she says, not on glass. My how the roles have changed.