Ring in the New Year Read online

  “I have to go to the bathroom,” I finally say as I let out a small sigh. I don’t want to let him go, even if it’s only to pee. The fear of losing him has me clinging to him.

  He rises easily from the bed with me in his arms and carries me across the room. A light comes on as we enter a bathroom and he sets me down on a counter. I reluctantly let go of him and smile. He steps back a little and looks just as handsome as ever. The shadow of facial hair on his chin and the dark circles under his eyes make it clear he hasn't slept or showered. I reach up and cup his cheek, and he leans into my touch.

  “I told you one day it would grow in evenly.” He gives me a half smile and I remember teasing him about it. Still there’s a sadness lingering in his eyes.

  “You should have gotten to see it happen.” His voice cracks and it’s filled with pain. I nod in agreement as my eyes fill with tears.

  “Oh, Dimples.” He cups my face again and rests his forehead to mine. “I’m sorry. Don’t cry,” he pleads. “Your tears cut me up inside.” I sniff, trying to get it together. “Go to the bathroom and do what you need to. I’ll wait outside.”

  I glance down to see I’m in an old shirt I recognize. It’s from our high school and I know Reed’s last name is printed across the back. I don't remember falling asleep or being carried inside of wherever we are right now.

  “I changed you because I couldn’t look at you in the fucking dress any longer,” he says, reading my mind. “I’m sorry—”

  “Reed, don’t, it’s okay. You can change me and do anything you want to me.” I bite my lip, realizing what I said, and my cheeks burn. It’s true though. He can do anything he wants to me and I wouldn’t say no.

  He sucks in a deep breath as he takes a step back. “I’ll leave you to it.”

  I slide off the counter, but Reed doesn’t move. I’m not going to make him leave, so I walk over and do my business. He glances down at the floor as if that gives me privacy while I pee. When I’m finished I stand up and wash my hands.

  He shakes his head. “I couldn’t bring myself to leave.” I smile at him in the mirror before drying my hands.

  “I once vomited on you, Reed. I don’t care if you see me pee.” He laughs, remembering the time I’d gotten the flu and he wouldn’t leave my side. His mom had to call in sick for him even though he wasn’t. He swore he had sympathy pains.

  “You were still the prettiest girl I’d ever seen. Vomit and all.” This time I throw back my head and laugh, and he actually gives me a full smile.

  “Where are we?” I ask as he pulls on my hand and we walk out of the bathroom.

  I look around at the giant bed we slept in. The sheets are a tangled mess, but that’s about all that’s in the room. There’s nothing anywhere that indicates this is his home.

  “Is where you live?”

  “This is where I’m staying until we figure out where you want to go.” He runs his free hand down his face. “When I got the news you were here in Phoenix, I got a place to stay and flew out as fast as I could. I knew I’d want to take you someplace safe. This place isn’t all that different from my real home though. When we get there you can decide what you want to do with the place.”

  My heart breaks for him. “You haven’t been living, have you? I was so scared you might have moved on.” I admit my selfishness. We always did tell each other everything and I still want that.

  “Never,” he barks out. It would probably scare someone else but not me. He’s a gentle bear, at least when it comes to me.

  “I know. Deep down inside of me I knew you’d never move on from me, but sometimes my mind played tricks on me.”

  “There was no moving on.” I look up at him. “Once someone asked me what I’d do if you were dead.” He grits out the word. “I told them it wasn’t possible because I would have felt it. I knew you were out there and I just had to find you.” I can tell from the look on his face he means every word.

  “You seemed to find me pretty quick once I got free.” Before they could even call him he was on his way to me.

  “Yeah. If only it could have been sooner.” He shakes his head.

  “It doesn’t matter now.” I can tell there’s no talking him out of this right now.

  “We better go see Mom and Dad. I’m surprised they haven’t already barged in. The only thing that kept them out was that I told them you were sleeping and you needed the rest.”

  “They’re here?” I squeal with excitement.

  “Of course they’re here.” He grabs me by the hips and pulls me to him. “But first I gotta kiss. Really kiss you, Cami,” he tells me, then his mouth falls to mine. I wrap my arms around his neck and my feet leave the floor.

  His tongue slips into my mouth and I moan. Being connected to him like this again is everything. It doesn’t feel as if any time has passed between us and it’s just the two of us again.

  Who am I kidding? It was always just the two of us.

  CHAPTER 9

  REED

  M y parents are staying at a hotel nearby, and when I text them that Cami is ready to see them my dad responds right away that they’re downstairs.

  One of my contacts with the police force here set us up with this place as a safe house. I don’t know anything about the people she was staying with, but from what research I have been doing while she slept, I know she’s lucky to have gotten away.

  “They’re coming up,” I say as I grab a pair of sweatpants from my bag and pass them to her.

  She pulls them on and then I take her hand and we walk into the living room. I can’t stand the thought of being more than a few feet from her now that I’ve got her back. I didn’t even sleep last night because I thought if I did she’d disappear again. We’ve both got some things to work on, but we’ll do it together every step of the way.

  The front door of the apartment opens and my parents rush in and wrap Cami in a double hug. I have to take a step back so they can get to her, and I watch as my mom cries and kisses Cami’s cheeks. Then Cami is crying and I can’t understand what either of them say.

  My dad ushers her over to the couch and they sit on either side of her as they hit her with all kinds of questions.

  “Guys, go easy on her. Cami, you don’t have to do this right now if you want to wait.” I sit down in the chair next to them and wait to see what she says.

  Listening to it once already was enough to make me crazy, but I can’t imagine what she went through.

  “You’re right, it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it, Cami,” my mom says, wiping away her tears. “We’re just so glad to have you back.” She looks at me and nods. “And now we’ve got Reed back, too.”

  “Thank you,” my dad says as he wraps Cami in a hug and I can’t help but think about how right they are.

  I was living like a zombie these past five years, but one night with her and my soul is restored. She was our family’s missing piece all along.

  “I’m just glad to be back,” Cami says. “You guys couldn’t have done anything to stop my dad. You know how he was.”

  She shrugs, but my mom nods. “We never thought he’d take you with him. We always assumed he was waiting until you were eighteen before he left you with us and went to live his life.” My mom shakes her head. “I was hoping he’d leave you with us and I regretted every day not telling him that.”

  “I think in his own way he thought he was protecting me,” Cami says. “When he took me there they were all really welcoming. But I realized pretty quickly that we were completely isolated without any connection back to the real world.” She takes a deep breath and lets it out. “I’m lucky I got out, because a lot of people don’t make it.”

  “You’ve told everything to the police?” my dad asks, and we both nod.

  “Eugene was the one who owned the land and made it so that it was impossible to run away. We were surrounded by desert, mountains all around us so even if you got away you could dehydrate in the middle of nowhere before you found help.”
She licks her lips as if thinking about how thirsty she was, and I get up and get her a drink of water.

  “How did you manage it?” my mom asks as she absently strokes her hair.

  “Thank you,” she says to me and takes a drink. “My dad died a few weeks ago and I was no longer ‘under his protection’ as they called it. When I asked if I could leave they said no and then told me I had to marry the leader. The day it was supposed to happen I got up and got dressed and pretended to play along until the beginning of the ceremony. I told them I needed to use the bathroom and then I made a break for it. I got lucky because everyone from the commune was there for the ceremony, so no one saw me sneak out. I stole one of the farm trucks with the keys still in it, but they never kept the gas tanks more than half full because someone might try to get away in them. When it ran out of gas I was forced to walk. I think the police said I made it about ten miles before I finally found that store.”

  Everything she’s saying hurts my insides. I can’t think about the years we spent apart or the near-death experiences she had. If I dwell on all the times I could have lost her I won’t make it through the day. I have to focus on the fact that she’s here with me now and I’m going to protect her from anything like that ever happening again.

  “Thank god you’re okay,” my mom says once again and holds Cami close.

  My mom ends up cooking all of Cami’s favorites and feeding her until she’s about to burst. She pets Cami and fusses over her in a way that is so sweet and tender. It really was like her own daughter was missing and now she’s back. So much time has passed, but in a way it’s like she never left.

  “I think we should let her get some sleep,” my dad says when he sees Cami yawn.

  “No, I’m okay,” she says, but I pull her to me and shake my head.

  “They’ll be back tomorrow. We’re waiting to hear if you need to give any more statements before we all go back home.”

  Cami nods and then we say goodbyes to Mom and Dad. I can tell none of us want to part, but I think that’s just our own fears taking over. I’m sure with time it will get easier for them. Because I have no intention of letting her out of my sight ever again.

  “Come with me, Dimples,” I say as I take her hand.

  We walk to back to the bedroom and I close the door.

  “Are we going to sleep already?” she asks, looking at the bed.

  “No,” I say, grabbing the edge of my T-shirt and pulling it off.

  “Oh,” is all she says as her cheeks turn pink.

  “We’re going to take a bath.” I grab her hand again and we go into the bathroom, where I turn on the water in the tub.

  Her eyes trail over my chest and down my stomach. She was right when she said I was bigger than I used to be, but that’s because I had nothing else to do but work and spend time in the gym. Now that she’s back I plan on spending every moment discovering her body and loving every inch of it.

  All these years I’ve only been able to picture her naked, but now I get to see the real thing for the first time and I’m nervous. Doubt begins to creep in as I step closer to her and I need to know that this is still okay.

  “You don’t have to tell me about anything you did while we were apart. I just want to make sure that when I touch you, you’re with me.” I twine our fingers together and lean down close and touch my forehead to hers. “Everything is in the past, but from now on you’re mine, Cami—always have been and always will be.”

  “I was wondering the same thing about you,” she says, placing her hands on my bare chest and rubbing the dark hair there. “I waited for you, Reed. Did you do the same for me?”

  She looks up at me with her big blue eyes so full of hope, and I graze my knuckles along her jawline.

  “I told you in second grade I would always take care of you, and that meant holding on to your heart all these years. You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved and ever wanted. I stayed true to my promise because I knew if I couldn’t have you then I wouldn’t have anyone else.”

  When I touch my lips to hers it’s like I’m transported back to high school and it’s our first kiss. It’s not fumbling and nervous like you might think a first kiss would be. Instead it’s confident and there’s not one ounce of hesitation.

  I reach up and hold her face with both my hands as I take my time and enjoy the feel of her soft lips as she opens for me. I taste her, and though I’m desperate for her, I go slow and I’m gentle. She tastes like she did when we were seventeen and had everything in front of us. Time stood still for the both of us for so long, but now that she’s in my arms it’s clear we’ve picked up right where we left off.

  Her fingers tug at the shorts I’m wearing and then I feel her push them down my legs. I break our kiss so that I can help her take my shirt off and then watch her step out of the sweatpants I gave her earlier.

  She’s completely naked in front of me and all of my fantasies of her are nothing compared to the real thing. I saw her in a bathing suit several times before and she had more weight on her back then. That place nearly starved her and I’m going to change that every chance I get. But even back when I saw her in not much more than underwear we never crossed that line. There was some dry humping and lots of over-the-clothes action, but it never went beyond that.

  Cami is utterly breathtaking and I’ve never wanted to touch her more. Her skin is so pale it glows and she looks as soft as silk. Her dark rose-colored nipples are tight little points on her small breasts. She’s thinner than I’ve ever seen her before and I can see where her ribs dip in before her hips flare out slightly. I stare at the dark patch of hair between her legs and I want to touch her there to see what she feels like.

  I push my boxers off so she can look at me because I’m sure she’s just as curious as I am. We talked a lot about what this moment would be like before she left and I want to make it everything she wanted it to be.

  My cock is hard and pointing straight up. I take the length in my hand and stroke it a few times. I watch as her eyes widen and she zeros in on what I’m doing, and then I see her thighs squeeze together.

  “Are you thinking about what it’s going to be like to have me inside you?” I say as I slowly rub up and down.

  She nods and licks her lips. She always liked when I told her what I was thinking.

  “Me too.” I squeeze the base of my cock to stop myself from cumming, but all it does is squeeze pearls of cum out and they roll down my shaft. “I want to know what you taste like.”

  “Me too,” she says and smiles at me.

  I look over at the tub and see it’s full. I turn off the water and then step in and hold my hand out to help Cami in. The tub is big enough for both of us to fit and spread out, but right now I want her close.

  She sits down and leans back against the side with her legs on either side of me. I run my hands all over her body and push the bubbles out of the way so I can see all of her. I grab the wash cloth and the body wash. I want her completely relaxed and I also want to take my time loving her.

  “Tell me what you’re looking forward to doing now that you’re home,” I say as I start with her feet and work my way up.

  “Beside you?” she says, and I give her a cocky smile.

  “Besides me.”

  “I missed you playing with my hair and reading to me,” she says, and I kiss her toes. “I want to travel and see the snow. I’m tired of the heat.”

  My lips trail to her ankle and I kiss her there as I wash her thighs and then dip between them.

  “I’d like to eat at all our favorite places in one day.”

  When I move the cloth to the side and use my fingers to spread her lips she moans. She leans back and raises her hips a little, and I lick my lips.

  “I’d like to spend every night in bed with you.” She looks at me as I slide my hands under her ass and raise her pussy out of the water.

  “I think I can arrange all of that,” I say, lowering my mouth onto her.

  Her clit is
soft and sweet as I run my tongue across it. I close my eyes as the taste of her hits me and all these years of need are finally satisfied. It’s better than I imagined and already I’m addicted.

  “Reed,” she breathes, digging her wet fingers into my hair.

  “Easy, Dimples,” I say, then I dip my tongue lower and into her pussy. I want to taste her everywhere and this is just a tease. When I get her out of this tub I’m going to make her get on all fours so I can lick every inch of her.

  Her breath catches as I slide two fingers inside her and curl them towards me. I concentrate on rubbing her there while I lick her clit and hum in appreciation. All of this has her nearly climbing out of the tub, but she doesn’t tell me to stop. Instead she’s calling my name over and over as she builds to her climax.

  “I’m close,” she rushes to say, her hands gripping the edge of the tub. “That’s it, that’s it.”

  Her plea fades as her body tenses and then she shouts her climax. I watch her as I continue to kiss her because I don’t want to miss a moment of her pleasure. Her body is wet, bubbles cling to her and her flushed skin shines in the light.

  She tastes like heaven and she looks like an angel as the woman I’ve loved since I was seven becomes mine in every way.

  When she catches her breath, I give her one last kiss before I lower her into the water and pull her to me. She wraps her legs around me as I kiss my way down her neck and to her breasts. She plays with my hair while I suck on one nipple and then move to the other. I can feel her pussy rubbing against my length in the water and I ache to enter her.

  “Your mom told us to be safe,” she says, and I can hear a smile in her voice.

  “We were seventeen. I’m not using a condom with you, Dimples,” I say, kissing my way back up her neck. “I hope I get you pregnant.”

  “I hope so, too,” she whispers, and then I lean back to look into her beautiful blue eyes. “That’s what I want to do most. I want to start our family.”

  I nod as I slide my hand around her back and pull her body flush against mine. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”