What Happened After Vegas? (Unexpected Love #2) (12 page)

"I'd
rather eat in the living room," he said. "What do you
think?"

"That
sounds good. I didn't want to make a mess in there. Everything looks
so nice."

"I'd
rather we're comfortable. That stuff doesn't matter to me. I'm never
home to make a mess. That's the only reason it looks like that. Come
on."

They
ate their takeout while they watched a movie. When they were
finished, Rachel took the dishes back to the kitchen. Cliff leaned
back against the couch and held his arms out for her to sit in front
of him. She leaned back against his chest and his arms wrapped around
her. He still hadn't said a word. Rachel leaned her head back and
looked up at him. His eyes were aimed at the television with a
serious look on his face. She turned in his arms.

"What's
going on?" she asked nervously. "What are you thinking
about?"

He
shrugged his shoulders without a reply.

"Are
you okay?" she asked.

He
nodded not taking his eyes off the screen. Rachel felt her nerves
tense. Was he changing his mind about being with her? Had she done
something wrong? Was he realizing she wasn't worth everything he had
to go through? Thoughts began running wild through her mind. She
should go, she thought.

Rachel
stood up and turned to walk out of the room when his hand reached out
to stop her. He turned her to face him. She looked down and wondered
what he was thinking. The day had taken its toll on her. All she
needed was to know that he still wanted her. Ever mean thing Jake
said started coming back to her.

"I
think I should go home," she whispered, as she nervously moved
from foot to foot.

"No,"
he whispered. "I need you here."

Cliff
moved forward on the couch and wrapped his arms around her waist with
his forehead against her belly.

"What
are you doing to me?" she heard him whisper from below.

Her
hands went to his hair. She ran her fingers slowly through it as she
massaged his scalp. His arms tightened their hold on her, and they
both remained silent for a moment. Cliff moved to look up at her. His
eyes were filled with so much emotion. Rachel needed to know what was
going on. Her insecurities were tearing her up. She went down on her
knees so she could look into his eyes.

"When
the door opened and he was standing there with lipstick on his mouth,
I felt my heart ripping in two. I couldn't believe you were actually
there with him. A million thoughts ran through my mind. I thought you
were different. In that moment, I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
He was confirming my thoughts with his words. I was devastated. I was
ready to walk away and never look back, but then you spoke. I
couldn't see you at first. When you said something, I heard the fear
in your voice. You were afraid of him. I was about to walk away. If
you hadn't spoke, I would've been gone. He could have hurt you. He
would have hurt you. Then I saw you with your hair out of sorts and
the tears running down your face. Every bit of me needed to protect
you. When he ran his mouth like he did, I couldn't take it. I
couldn't listen to him say those things about you. When I punched
him, it took all I had not to kill him. I've never felt like that
before in my life."

Cliff
took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair.

"Of
course I've gotten mad and argued here or there, but I have never
felt like I did in that moment. Every single thing you told me about
him or I had seen for myself came back to me. I couldn't stand the
way he spoke of you. When I thought about him putting his hands on
you and trying to make you do something you didn't want to, I
couldn't control myself. When I punched him, I put all of my feeling
behind my hand. I wanted to keep hitting him, but I looked over and
saw the fear in your eyes. I needed to hold you more than I needed to
pummel him. I needed to feel you in my arms and know that you were
okay. That fucker could have hurt you, Rachel. He could've taken you
away from me. If I hadn't knocked at that moment, he could've. Fuck!
Just thinking about it makes my chest hurt. I can't fucking breathe."

Rachel
put her hands on each side of his face and looked into his eyes.

"You
did knock at that moment. You have no idea how scared I was. He had
never put his hands on me before. I had dealt with my fair share of
his verbal spew, but I honestly never thought he would hurt me or try
to get me to do something I didn't want to do. I tried to get away
from him and couldn't. I was so damn scared. I've never felt so
helpless in all my life. When I heard your voice, I instantly felt
safe. I knew that he couldn't hurt me. I knew you wouldn't let him. I
am so sorry that I've pulled you into my shitty situation. You don't
deserve that."

Rachel
felt tears slipping from the corners of her eyes.

"You
deserve better, Cliff. You are the perfect man. That scares me so
bad. I'm so afraid of giving you my heart. If you hurt me, I don't
know how I'd get through it. My mind is telling me to run. It's
telling me that you deserve so much better than what I have to offer.
You shouldn't have been put in that position earlier. I feel so bad
that your hand is hurting because of me. I know that I need to leave
you alone. I really do. I've told myself that so many times already.
I just haven't been able to make myself stay away from you. I try not
to call or text you, but I miss you so damn bad when you're not
there. When I think of something I want to do or get an idea about
something for my class, you're the one I want to tell. I'm trying to
distance myself from you, Cliff. I swear I am. When I think about
you, it scares the shit out of me. I know I need to walk away from
you, but the thought of never seeing you again hurts so damn bad."

"When
he was on the ground and you were crying in my arms, my life changed.
I've promised myself a million times I would never love a woman
again. I would never give someone a chance to hurt me or take
advantage of me. When I saw you in that pool in Vegas, I knew I
wanted to have a nice evening with you. Not for a second did I plan
on sleeping with you. When the night was over, I didn't want it to
end. I wanted to see you again. That's not me. I've done nothing but
think about you since that night. You're so special. There is no
other woman like you in the world. Everything is different with you.
All I need is you with me. It doesn't matter if we're playing mini
golf, watching a movie, or out for a fancy dinner. You make me happy.
Even people at work have noticed a difference in me. That difference
is you, Rachel. I can't explain it."

He
took a deep breath. She leaned her forehead against his for a moment.
Then she sat back on her ankles and watched him.

"I
have never felt the way I feel about you. I can't wait to tell you
the stupidest shit. If someone tells me a joke, I think about you
laughing at it. I call and text you like a kid in high school. My
palms sweat and I get all nervous when I know I'm going to see you.
When you tell me I deserve better, I want to scream and tell you how
crazy that is. I've never thought one negative thing about you. I
couldn't imagine why you thought those things about yourself. Then I
heard that fucker say that stuff to you and realized where you got
them from. I've never wanted to physically hurt someone as bad as I
did him. He's going to be sorry for what he did today."

Cliff
reached forward and took her hands in his.

"I'm
going to protect you. Nobody will ever hurt you again. I promise that
nobody will ever speak to you like that. As long as I live, I will
make sure of that. I could have lost you today. That made me realize
so many things. I've already told you that I'm not perfect. I will
make mistakes and piss you off from time to time. I can promise you
that I'll do everything I can to show you how much I care about you.
I will cherish you and treat you the way you deserve to be treated. I
will never bring you down. I will always bring you up. I promise to
keep you safe and do everything in my power to make you happy. I
never want you to be someone you're not. I don't care if we go out
dressed to kill or if we stay home in sweats and t-shirts. Nobody
will ever hurt you again. Do you hear me?"

Rachel
looked down, and he took her chin in his hand and lifted it until she
looking at him again.

"I
need you to know you are worthy of love. You deserve the best of
everything. I will never hear you say that I deserve better than you.
There is no better than you. You need to know that. I will tell you
every single day until you do. I don't give a shit about having
money. It means nothing to me. I would give it all up in a second to
know your safe and happy."

He
wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"I
need you to quit running. Every time something happens you try to run
from me. It needs to stop. It's my job to protect you. If you're
constantly running, you make that so much harder. Please don't let
him or anyone else ruin your chance at happiness. He can only control
your life if you give him that power. He's nobody. You are a teacher
who loves every single child. That's where you belong. Stop talking
down about what you love. I'm not a lawyer because of the money. I do
it because I love doing it. I'm passionate about my company. You're
passionate about your classroom. What you do is much more important
than what I do. I'm not letting you run from us, so you might as well
stop trying. I would much rather hold you in my arms than chase after
you. Not one more negative word about you or what you deserve. I will
bend you over my knee if you say it again. You are the most amazing
woman I have ever met. You are beautiful, caring, sweet, loving, and
absolutely perfect, and you are mine. Do you hear me?"

Rachel
couldn't believe the things he was saying. Did he really feel that
way about her? Could she really give him her heart and trust him?

"Stop
thinking about it," he said. "I realized tonight that I
need to stop fighting myself. I need to be honest. If I don't, life
could pass me while I'm busy telling myself happiness isn't possible.
I'm not fighting it anymore. When I saw what I did tonight, I
realized that you were the only woman for me. I realized that if you
walked out of my life, I wouldn't be happy. The thought of not
talking to you or seeing you breaks my heart. I'm putting it all out
there. I'm giving you my heart. Please don't destroy it. You are the
only one that has the ability to be the end of me. I love you,
Rachel."

She
didn't realize that she had been holding her breath until it all
released at once. Did he really say what she thought he did? Her eyes
were wide when she got up on her knees and looked directly into his
eyes.

"I
do," he said. "I'm in love with you, baby."

She
took his face in her hands and brought their lips together with so
much feeling. He loved her. Was it true? He grabbed her hair in his
hand and his tongue demanded entrance into her mouth. Her lips
parted, and their tongues fought each other for control. She couldn't
get close enough to him. Her hands were buried in his hair as she
tugged it. She felt their lips pressing together and knew they would
be sore. He pulled on her hair to expose her neck. When his lips left
hers, she was panting and gasping for air. His lips kissed along her
neck to her ear. He reached down, grabbed the hem of the t-shirt she
was wearing and pulled it quickly over her head. She felt the need
for him so badly. Every nerve in her body was firing off as his
fingers moved across her body. She had never felt so much heat in her
life. It was like they couldn't control their bodies. He pulled her
earlobe through his teeth.

"I
need you right now more than I need to breathe," he whispered.

Rachel
moaned at his words. She reached up, grabbed his sweats and boxers,
and pulled. He moved his hips so she could get them down his legs and
off his feet. Her tongue licked across her lips at the sight of his
hard length in front of her. He put his hand under her chin and
lifted.

"Inside,"
he said. "I need to be inside of you."

She
got to her feet. Her naked body was in front of him.

"Fuck,"
he whispered. "You are so damn beautiful."

She
put one leg on each side of his as he sat on the couch. He grabbed
her face and crashed their lips together again. She moved forward and
was up on her knees. Without wasting a single second, she grabbed his
hard shaft and placed him at her entrance. He had his hands on the
side of her face with his head tilted up as he kissed her with such
passion. She held his face in her hands. Without warning, Rachel
moved over his cock until he was filling her completely. He growled
into her mouth, which encouraged her to continue. Her hands went to
his shoulders, as she lifted off of him until he was just at her
entrance. When she dropped down over him, he gasped. She moved up
again, and when she let herself down again, his hips met hers with a
thrust of his own. She cried out his name. He took her bottom lip
between his teeth and pulled. Rachel began moving up and down, as he
held her hips and met her thrusts with his until they were moving in
perfect rhythm together. Her head went back and her eyes closed. He
leaned forward and took her nipple into his mouth. When he sucked
hard and grazed it with his teeth, her hands flew to his hair. She
gripped two handfuls tight and pulled him against her.