Not Fake for Long by Weston Parker

25

HARRISON

Ashton insisted on being at my place while I was getting dressed for the wedding. He sat on the porch and sipped from a canteen of water when I walked out, then got up to cast a critical eye over me.

When he grinned and a satisfied gleam came into his eyes, I knew he wasn’t about to give me shit for being in a monkey suit. I’d been wondering if he would, even if he’d been the one to pick it out.

“You look great, son,” he said gruffly. “Keira is a lucky girl for having you on her arm today.”

“You remembered her name,” I said. “I’m suitably impressed.”

He chuckled. “She’s a good girl. I’m still halfway convinced she’s going to become Mrs. Hynes one of these days, so I figured it was best to learn her name.”

“We’ll see about that,” I said. “I still have to tell her that I fucked up, remember?”

“I remember,” he replied, then sighed before focusing on me again. “You already know how tough it’s been for me since I lost my wife, but I thought you should know that I fucked up time and time again as well. Just remember what I told you the other day about apologizing and everything will turn up roses.”

“I hope you’re right.” I really did, but I wasn’t so sure. “It’s almost time for me to go. Do you want me to give you a ride to your place?”

“No.” He pressed his lips together but didn’t scowl. Maybe we really were making progress. My thoughts were halted in their tracks when he stuck his hand into his pocket and came back with a watch. “This has been passed down for generations to the men in my family. I was never lucky enough to have a son, but if I’d had one, I would’ve wanted him to be like you.”

He held the watch out to me in an open, callused palm. “Take it, Harrison. I want you to have it.”

“There’s no way I can accept that,” I said, staring at the brown leather band with the simple, gold-rimmed face. “It’s a real honor that you want to give it to me, but I can’t take it, Ashton.”

“Of course, you can.” He took my hand in a firm grip and placed the watch in it. “It has to go to someone, and it’s not like I’m going to father a child to pass it down to now that my wife’s gone. You’re the closest thing I’ve got.”

“Thank you,” I said, an unfamiliar wave of emotion washing over me as I fastened it around my wrist. “This means more than I can ever say.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Don’t get all weepy on me,” he said, but then pulled me into a hug and hung onto me for a minute before thumping me on the back. “Well, you’d better get going. I just wanted to give that to you before you went off.”

Without another word, he let go of me and then stomped off the porch. A part of me wanted to go after him, to thank him again and possibly find out what I could do to reciprocate, but the larger part of me recognized his need to be alone right then.

It was obvious that he was having a nostalgic week, and I didn’t think he liked being vulnerable—even in front of me.

All the way into the city, I kept glancing down at the watch on my wrist. I’d meant it when I said it was a huge honor that he’d chosen to give it to me. If I was being honest with myself, I could admit that Ashton had been more of a father to me these last few years than my own had ever been.

Being as stoic as he was, my dad had never tried getting close to me. Since I could be very much the same way, I’d accepted it and, after a few unsuccessful attempts as a child, had never tried again either.

I arrived at Keira’s apartment early, but I’d planned it that way. Waiting for her to get ready was better than risking her being late to her own sister’s wedding. Since traffic was always a nightmare, I’d had to factor not only time for unforeseen delays on the road, but also for getting to the venue and finding parking there.

“Who is it?” she called when I knocked.

“It’s me, Harrison,” I replied. “I know I’m early. I don’t mind waiting in the truck.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, and the door swung open.

I nearly swallowed my fucking tongue when I saw her. She was still in a silk robe that only hung to her mid-thigh. It was tied at her waist, but the material showed off every curve and was slightly parted at her chest.

Her hair had been swept up into an elaborate knot at the side of her head, with some tendrils loose and framing her face. She’d obviously started with her makeup, her eyes lined with dark coal and her lids shimmering with gold.

Since her lips were still bare, I figured it was safe to kiss her. I reached for her, one arm winding around her waist while the other went behind her shoulders to hold her to me.

“You look fucking amazing,” I said, my voice coming out rougher than usual.

She tipped her head back to look into my eyes, swiping her tongue across her lips before she offered me a smile. “So do you. Want to come in? We’ve got some time to kill before we have to leave.”

“Yeah. Sure, but you’d better go finish getting ready before I undo the work you’ve already done.”

The smile morphed into a teasing smirk as she curled her fingers into my jacket and pushed herself up on her toes to plant a trail of kisses along my jaw. “If we’re careful, none of it needs to be undone.”

I stared into the dark brown pools of her eyes for a second, but that was all it took for my brain to lose the internal debate raging between it and my body. She was so fucking soft against me. She smelled like a field of flowers in springtime and looked like a dirty dream in that robe.

There was no way I was going to resist her, even if I knew the smarter choice would be to take a step back, wait for her to get ready, and get the hell out of here. Instead of doing any of that, I walked forward with her still in my arms and kicked the door shut behind me, all without breaking eye contact, and then my mouth descended on hers.

Her lips parted for me at the first press of mine to them, and her arms came up to loop around my neck. She flattened herself against me, tugging softly at the ends of my hair as she kissed me back just as hungrily as I was kissing her.

Mentally pulling up the layout of her apartment, I started moving again and managed to get to her sofa without any major incidents. She giggled when I pulled her down on top of me after sitting down, but the sound turned into a moan when my hands landed on her bare thighs and started moving up.

She rocked her hips into me, and I groaned when I felt the heat of her even through my pants. I was already painfully hard. Feeling that heat was like an invitation to sink right into her and stay there for the rest of the day.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t how this was going to go. We only had a bit of time. I planned on using every minute wisely.

Keira’s hips jerked when my fingers reached the crease of her thigh, a soft moan escaping into our kiss. As my hand moved closer to its mark, I realized she wasn’t wearing any underwear.

“Fuck, Keira,” I murmured between kisses. “You’re not making this easy for me, do you know that?”

“So I’m making it hard?” she teased in a breathy voice as she wriggled in my lap.

Her movements made my fingers slide between her hot, slick folds, and she dropped her head back before I could respond. Taking her lower lip between her teeth, she screwed her eyes shut and her back arched until her nipple was only inches away from my mouth.

Using the hand not stroking from her entrance to her clit, I reached up and tugged on the knot holding the belt around her waist. It came loose easily, and it took no time at all to push it off both her shoulders and for the material to fall to the floor.

She was completely naked on top of me now, but I didn’t even know if she’d noticed. I was circling her hard clit with my thumb while my fingers teased at her entrance, my mouth closing around the nipple closest to me.

Watching her responses while trying to keep my own hips still, I increased the speed and pressure of my fingers until I saw that telltale crease appearing between her eyebrows. She still had her head thrown back, her fingers gripping my hair and my shoulder so hard she might just leave bruises. But I didn’t care.

She was close and getting her there was the only thing that mattered. Her lip stayed between her teeth until she started riding my hand. Then her mouth fell open as loud moans spilled out of her. A flush spread across her chest and up her neck to her cheeks, her body practically vibrating until she gave a shout and begun to spasm around my fingers.

I dropped my forehead to her shoulder, trying to keep from coming in my pants as her juices coated my hand and her moans finally subsided. Fuck… this girl.

It didn’t matter how many times I’d seen her come apart for me by now. Every time it happened, I got even more addicted to seeing that ecstasy playing out on her features and to hearing my name on her lips when she came.

Tonight was the night I’d promised myself I’d tell her the truth and I would, but fuck. I really, really wasn’t ready for this to end yet.