Always Been You by Lily Miller

Sixteen

Parker

“You did allthis while I slept? What time did you get up this morning?” Livy’s eyes are on the cooler I’m packing in the kitchen for our day out. “This all looks so good. I can’t wait to get out on the water.”

“Morning beautiful. How did you sleep?” I take the few steps between us, wrapping my hand around the curve of her hip and squeezing her into my chest. I dip my face into her neck and kiss the smooth skin behind her ear. My hand moves up the curve of her ass underneath my t-shirt that she has made her own. I like it. A lot.

“I had the best sleep. That bed is a dream.”

“Good, I’m glad because I have a big day planned for us. We should get ready and head out. We can have breakfast on the boat. I packed croissants and fruit and I can make us coffee to go.” Her skin feels soft and smooth and the sight of her long tan legs under my t-shirt is making me hard. “If I stay here any longer looking at you in that shirt, I won’t be able to control myself.”

“Is that so?” Livy teases, looking up at me through her long, dark lashes.

“It’s definitely so.”

“Well, maybe you should help me take it off then?”

“Livy, you can’t say things like that to me and expect me to behave.” I give her a playful look, squeezing one globe of her ass in my hand.

“Who said I want you to?”

We spend the next twenty minutes in the shower together, then get dressed and pack our bags with our swimsuits, sunblock and a change of clothes. I watch Livy buzz around the room, singing along to a country song she has playing from her cell phone. She amazes me. Not only is she breathtaking, but she is also kind and compassionate and honest. The best part of all is that I can be myself around her. The fact that I’m a Bennett isn’t a big deal to her. She’s never wanted me for my money, unlike other women who look at me with dollar signs in their eyes.

“I’m ready,” she says, catching me watching her. “You too?”

“I’m always ready.”

“You’re insatiable, Parker.”

“Maybe, but just admit it: you can’t get enough of me.” This gets a laugh out of her as we head to the doorway to grab our things.

We head to the dock. The sun is already shining and there isn’t a cloud in the light blue sky.

My mind wanders momentarily to last night. Livy fell asleep with her head on my chest long before I finally succumbed to sleep, my thoughts consumed with Hunter. It all makes sense now. I finally know the real reason Livy broke up with me. It feels like I’ve been sucker punched, knowing my best friend was the cause of all that heartbreak. It’s no secret Hunter can be an ass when he wants to be, but what he said to Livy is on another level of low. It’s vile. I’m not sure I will ever be able to move past this with him. I shake my head, needing to forget about that bullshit and enjoy the day with my girl.

I focus on the ocean, so calm that the peninsula is like a sheet of glass. There is the faintest breeze in the air. I inhale the ocean air and admire the view from the dock.

We load up the boat. Livy effortlessly unties the lines and pushes us away from the dock. She climbs in as I guide us away from our slip. It’s sexy as hell watching her navigate her way around the boat in her cut off shorts and bare feet. I don’t have to ask her for help. She takes control, removing the buoys and ropes once we’ve cleared the boat house. She knows where to be and what to do. I set up the stereo and turn on a country music station for Livy. She hands me my coffee and I flip my ball cap backwards so I can steal a quick kiss.

“Where are we heading to? Do you know your way around here?”

“I do. You won’t have to worry about getting lost at sea. Scout’s honour!” I say, raising a hand.

Livy laughs. “If you are trying to make me believe you were ever a Boy Scout, I’m not buying it.”

“You wound me. I am a good, Catholic momma’s boy. I was made for that shit.”

“Um, good Boy Scouts don’t have gutter mouths.”

“I didn’t hear you complain about my mouth last night when I...”

“Parker, you are impossible!” Livy swats me on my shoulder and her cheeks brighten three shades pinker.

“I’m going to take us to a bay about twenty-five minutes from here where we can anchor and go for a swim.”

“Sounds perfect.”

We glide into the calm waters of the bay and Livy takes the wheel so I can check the anchor. It’s a sunny day, the air hot and humid. There are other ski boats and sail boats anchored, boaters lounging on floaties and sunbathing on their decks. Once I’m happy with the anchor, we decide to have breakfast before taking a dip. We change into our swimsuits and lay on the sun bed that covers the bow of the boat. Livy is killing me in a pale blue bikini, her face tipped to the sun and her hair splayed out all around her.

“You’re going to be the death of me in that suit, you know.”

“Would you rather I take it off?” She side-eyes me with a smirk. This girl is really going to kill me.

“I plan on taking it off you myself at some point today.”

“I hope you are a man of your word, Mr. Bennett.” A coy smile pulls at her lips and I reach for her hip, pulling her into my side.

“That I can guarantee, Miss Madden.” Hooking my finger under her chin, I tip her face to mine and kiss her, deep and slow, hoping she knows from this one kiss what I really want to say to her.

Livy sits up and wraps her hair in a bun on top of her head with an elastic she has around her wrist. “I have an idea!”

“Should I be scared?”

“No silly. There’s so much more I want to know about you. We have years and years of catching up we need to do. Let’s play a game! 21 Questions. I used to play it in college, it’s a great way to get to know people. It will be fun, I promise. Game?”

She looks so damn cute I can’t say no. I’m not sure how it happened so fast, but I’m absolutely in love with her. She’s the type of girl you take home to your parents, the girl you want to take on expensive vacations just to see her face light up, to bring flowers every week just to see her smile. With a woman like Livy, you spend the rest of your life making sure she knows how much you love her. And maybe have a handful of babies along the way.

“Game! You go first, babe.”

“Okay, question number one. Snow or sun on a vacation and where?”

“Sun, always. I love Hawaii.”

“Me too. I hate being cold. I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii but never been. Now it’s your turn to ask me a question.”

I make a mental note to take her to Hawaii once Cape May is operating smoothly. “Okay, biggest pet peeve? I can’t stand it when people talk through a movie. They should all be banned from movie theaters and sent to live on their own island.”

“Wow, you really mean that. Ha! For me it’s line drifters.” I draw my eyebrows together, having no clue what she’s talking about. “You know,” she continues. “Those people who drift into line while you’re not paying attention and then pretend they were there the whole time. They think they got away with it, but you know the truth. They’re awful.”

I laugh because that just might be the cutest thing she’s ever said. It’s one of the things I love most about her. She’s genuine, always herself.

“Okay, it’s my turn. What’s one goal you hope to accomplish in the future? It’s kind of a tough question.”

“No, it’s not, it’s easy. I want to be a dad someday.” Livy’s eyes go wide. “What about you, Liv, do you want kids one day?”

“I do.”

“That’s good.”

“It is?” Her brow arches.

“Of course it is. We are on the same page. In the same book.” It’s a question I’ve wanted to know the answer to, but I haven’t wanted to scare her. It wouldn’t have been a deal breaker, but I was really hoping she wanted to have a family one day too. The thought of Livy pregnant with our child makes my heart feel like it’s about to explode right out of my chest.

We play 21 questions for the next half an hour and I learn that she’s afraid of sharks, never been on a nude beach (which I thank God for because yes, I’m turning into that jealous guy), her celebrity crush is Chris Hemsworth, and her longest relationship was with me. I admit that last answer makes me feel like I’m winning at life at the moment.

Final question and it’s my turn to ask. I can’t pass up this opportunity to go for it. So, I do.

“Okay Livy, last one before we take a swim. Are you ready?”

“Ready.” She looks like a kid on Christmas morning and adrenaline pumps through my veins.

“Tell me a secret that you’ve never told anyone else.”

“That’s a tough question. My goodness. I have to really think about this. I don’t have many secrets. I’m kind of boring, I guess. You go first so I have time to think.”

“Okay.” I move onto my knees in front of her and take her face in my hands. I pin my eyes on hers and kiss her softly. I pull back to find her eyes again. “I love you, Livy.”

Her eyes go wide. She reaches for me and wraps both hands behind my neck, pulling my body into hers. I need to feel her hands on me, and it feels too good when she drags her soft fingers down the front of my chest. She kisses me, the kiss demanding.

It’s lust. It’s heat. It’s passion. All in one kiss.

“Parker.” She says my name in barely a whisper.

“Sshh. You don’t have to say a thing.” I press a chaste kiss to her lips. I don’t want her to feel like she needs to say it back to me if she’s not ready.

“But Parker. I need to tell you my secret. Don’t you want to know what it is?”

I pull away from her, sitting back on my knees and nod. She searches my eyes, and her lips curve up towards the sky.

“I love you too, Parker. I don’t think I ever stopped.”

Just like that, I’m the happiest guy on the planet.

In the universe.

I feel like I’m freefalling from one thousand feet. A rush courses through my body that I don’t ever want to stop.

I scoop her into my arms and bring her into my lap. I have everything I’ll ever need in my arms and nothing else matters. I kiss her like it’s the first time, forgetting everything else.

“You really mean it, Livy? You love me?”

“I do. I absolutely do without a doubt. I love you.” Her smile radiates through me.

“I love you too. So damn much.”

We spend the next twenty minutes in the ocean. The water is cold, so Livy spends most of that time with her legs wrapped around my waist and her arms around my neck while I tread water. I’m not complaining.

Afterwards, we dry off on the sun bed, both nodding off for a nap and then wake up to eat. After a charcuterie lunch, I can’t take it any longer. I’ve been tormented for too God damn long at the site of Livy in her bikini. I want her now. I can’t wait another second. With my pulse racing, I take Livy’s hand and lead her down the three small steps into the cabin. Finally, I get to remove the swimsuit from Livy’s body. I plan on wasting no time showing her exactly how much I love her.

I turn to face her when I reach the bottom of the stairs and grab her by her waist. She is still standing on the bottom step, I’m that impatient, needing her that bad. Needing to get my hands all over her. Needing her like my last breath.

My mouth finds the smooth skin at the center of her torso, kissing her, watching her skin pebble under my touch. I trail kisses down her flat stomach to her belly button, lost in that vanilla scent that intoxicates me. I savor every kiss as I run my fingers up both sides of her ribcage around to her back, pulling the string of her bikini top. I pull the second string that is fastened around her neck and watch as the pale blue fabric falls to the floor. My eyes run over the length of her body, taking every inch of this gorgeous woman in.

My hands fall to her thighs and I lift her into me, her legs circling my waist. Our eyes lock and I pull her in, kissing her deeply and earning a moan from her lips. Her fingers run through my hair, gripping strands, heat pulsing up my spine with her touch.

“Parker…”

I carry her to the bed and lay her down, her golden eyes peering up at me. Her bottom lip is trapped between her teeth. Her damp hair splays across the blankets. Her breath is ragged, her bare chest rising and falling.

My God.

“You are so fucking sexy,” I say in a low voice as I strip my swim shorts to the ground, not wanting to wait another second to feel her skin on mine. Her eyes go to my arousal, shamelessly fixed on it. I take my length in my hand and give it a stroke for good measure.

I crawl over her body until my mouth reaches hers, claiming her. My kiss full of need, intensity and lust. Her back arches and her hands find my neck, pulling me closer. Needing me as much as I need her in this moment, she erases any space between us. I lower my body down to hers, deepening the kiss. Our hands are everywhere, her body flush with mine. She breaks the kiss and tips her neck back.

“Parker, you make me feel so good.”

Giving her what she wants, I kiss her jaw, her neck and her collarbone and run my hand up the side of her body to her breast. I cover it with my mouth, sucking and teasing. Her body shuddering beneath me. I pay the same attention to the other one, teasing, nipping and circling it with my tongue. I move lower down her body, pressing a kiss to her ribcage, tracing her hip with my fingers. I take my time, exploring every delicious inch of her. I run a finger beneath the fabric of her swimsuit bottoms reaching the corner where it’s tied with a string. I pull the string, then pull the other on the opposite hip, drawing the bottoms from her skin.

Livy sits up and moves into my lap, and her legs straddle my center. Our mouths crash together, her hands on my neck, my dick pressing against her stomach. Her hands move from my shoulders down the muscles of my back, digging her fingernails into my skin. It’s frantic. It’s primal. My pulse quickens, loving the way she touches me.

“Parker,” she whispers.

“Tell me what you want, Livy.”

“You Parker, I want you. Always only you.” She pants and pushes me backwards onto the bed, straddling my hips. “Do you have any idea what your body does to me?”

My lips part and I reach for her breasts, cupping them in my hands.

Her eyes narrow. “No Parker, it’s my turn.” She shimmies down my legs running her hands along my abs, tracing each line, every groove, followed by her mouth. Her tongue sweeping the plains of my body, taking each nipple in her mouth. She kisses my neck, my jaw and then my mouth, sweeping her tongue against mine. She takes what she wants and I fucking love that about her.

“I want to feel all of you. I need you now, Parker.”

She shifts forward, rising up on her knees. I feel like the luckiest son of a bitch on the planet. I grip her waist and position my hips, easing her down onto me. Joining our bodies. Our hearts. Our souls. Her soft eyes never leaving mine. I couldn’t take my eyes off her if I tried.

She rocks up and down, harder and deeper, our bodies finding that perfect rhythm. My abs flexing with every thrust.

“Fuck Livy, nothing has ever felt so good.” We move faster. Breathless. Giving and taking. “Kiss me. I love your mouth, Livy.”

Her eyes fall with lust to my mouth, her body dips forward, and our mouths collide. I turn us over so I’m now in control, never breaking our connection. I know I’m not going to last much longer so I need to set the pace.

I slow us down and kiss her again until I’ve gained some control. I plunge my hands into the mattress on either side of her shoulders and begin to move back and forth inside of her again. I can’t wait another second. She grips my waist and I rock faster, thrusting into her. Back and forth.

Livy moans my name and that’s all it takes as I follow her right over the edge.

Down, down, down.

It’s heaven on earth. Our bodies shudder together as the aftershocks roll through us.

I nestle my face in her neck, kissing her, trying to catch my breath. My body melts into hers, my heart in her hands.

“That was…”

“Fucking amazing.” I finish her sentence for her.

“Yes, fucking amazing.” She manages to get the words out through deep breaths. I can’t help but smile, Livy rarely ever curses.

“We are magic together, Livy. I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

We both catch our breath. We’ve never been able to hold back with each other. It’s always been this way with us. It’s finally feeling like this could really last forever.