Angel's Fantasy: Steamy Older Man Younger Woman Romance Page 6

  “Your numbers?” I could feel my stomach instantly turn into a ball of nerves, and I struggled to keep my voice level. “The races? Daddy, did you bet money on that stuff?”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and it hurt me to even say the words, given the shit that had gone down in both of our lives because of his gambling habit.

  No, not habit. I was done calling it something it wasn’t. It was an addiction, and as much as I couldn’t believe he’d even think about gambling again, I knew that I couldn’t totally blame him, either. He was an addict. Gambling was his drug of choice.

  “Not much,” he grumbled, finally folding the paper down to scowl at me. “And anyway, it’s not something you need to worry about, young lady. You’ve been a big help to me these past couple of weeks, but let’s not forget who the parent is around here.”

  My mouth fell open and I stared at him for several seconds before I remembered to close it again. And then it opened again, all by itself, but still no words came out. I couldn’t believe that he had the nerve to try and pull the parent card on me.

  What, like I was some mouthy child?

  No. Nope. This was not how things were gonna go down.

  “I don’t want you gambling anymore, Daddy,” I said, cutting right to the chase and choosing to ignore the rest of what he’d said. “Whatever bets you’ve placed, whatever money you’ve won or lost on those races, please, please make it the last time.”

  There. I’d said it all as clearly and as diplomatically as I could. But I could tell by the crease that was forming in his forehead and the way his eyes blazed in anger that he wasn’t going to go along with what I wanted, even if it was the best thing for him to do.

  “The way I spend my money is for me to decide, not you,” he said, slowly pushing himself to his feet. “These little races are nothing. A few dollars here and there. And it makes me happy. I don’t know who you think you are to try and tell me how I’m gonna live my life, but I won’t have it, Kimbella. Not under my own damn roof.”

  “You should probably sit down,” I said through gritted teeth. I didn’t want to yell, and I didn’t want him yelling, since the man had just recovered from a heart attack. But I was seriously at the end of my rope with him, and I didn’t know how long I’d be able to hold my tongue. It would be best if he sat down and shut the hell up before we both lost our cool. “You don’t need to let your blood pressure go up too much.”

  “Stop giving me orders,” he yelled, making my eyes go wide and involuntarily sending me back a couple of steps. “Just stop it. I’ll do whatever the fuck I want to do, and I’m not gonna put up with you trying to stop me.”

  I didn’t say another word. What else could I say?

  Instead, I kept my mouth closed and turned and ran up the stairs to my room before either of us had time to speak again. Surprisingly, though, I wasn’t crying.

  I was mad.

  Mad as hell that he’d put both of us in the same position that led him to barter me to Angel. Mad as hell that he’d forget so quickly how fucked up that was, or how his gambling had brought us nothing but hard times for years.

  Whatever. Fuck it. If he wanted to waste his life and his money gambling, I couldn’t stop him.

  But he damn sure wasn’t going to take me down with him this time.

  I just… didn’t know what I was going to do about it.

  And then, as if my eyes had been drawn to it, I looked out the window across the courtyard. And for the first time in days, there was a light on in Angel’s window.

  I didn’t know if it was a sign or a coincidence or what, but I didn’t waste any time wondering about it, either.

  Before I could really process what I was doing or what I was thinking, I was running back down the stairs, heading for the door.

  “And where do you think you’re going?” My father’s voice stopped me in my tracks once I got to the bottom of the stairs and was just a few steps away from being on my way to see Angel. “I need you to start making dinner soon. I’m getting hungry.”

  And then I snapped.

  “No.” I shook my head. “I’m not making dinner tonight—or ever again—until you’ll listen to reason. You’ve got a problem, Daddy, and until you’re ready to get some help, I can’t stay here with you. I’m sorry, but I just… can’t. I’m done.”

  “What? No. Where the hell are you going?”

  That, at least, was a question I did have an answer to. I knew exactly where I was going, and there was nothing that was going to stop me.

  I didn’t hesitate to answer when he asked me. I didn’t even blink twice. “I’m going to Angel’s. That’s where I need to be right now.”

  And when I walked out the door and closed it behind me, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to go back there again, or if he’d even want me to. For that matter, I wasn’t sure if Angel would even answer the door, or would let me stay even if he did.

  But there was only one way to find out, and no matter what was going to happen, I wasn’t looking back.

  Angel

  It felt strange to be back in Miami. Back home.

  As much of a culture shock as it was to go from Florida to Georgia, it was the same thing in reverse every time I’d return to Miami. But that wasn’t the only reason things felt different. For the first time in… forever, really, I was going home to a condo that didn’t feel like my own anymore.

  Without Bella there, it had felt empty and sad. It had been too quiet when I opened the door to the dark living room, and while I used to appreciate the clean lines and minimalist, modern look, now it felt cold and sterile, with too much open space for one person to rattle around in.

  I needed her back.

  And maybe—just maybe—in the morning, once I’d rested and thought on it some more, I’d make the short trip across the courtyard to see her. Of course, that also meant I’d be seeing Calvin, and out of the two of them, I wasn’t sure which meeting I was more nervous about.

  I sighed and moved around the condo, turning on lights—trying to do whatever I could to make it at least feel like I wasn’t there alone, like the place still had some life in it.

  I’d barely had a chance to get my suitcase unpacked when I heard the knock at my front door.

  I wasn’t expecting anyone—was there anyone left in the world who would even come to visit?

  My gun was in the living room, and I walked toward it as I called out. “Who’s there?”

  For several long seconds, I waited, holding my breath as I stood in the middle of the living room waiting, wondering if things were about to get ugly.

  Just when I was convinced that I might need to shoot first and ask questions later, I heard her voice.

  “It’s me… Kimbella.” Then, after a short pause, “Please open the door, Angel. I just need… I need you.”

  Everything that happened after that was a blur. I didn’t even remember making the decision to open the door, I was just there, with my beautiful Bella in my arms. And for the first time in days—in weeks—I was happy. Really, truly happy.

  For a long time, neither of us spoke. We simply stood there in the doorway, holding each other, finally taking comfort in each other’s arms. I was the one who finally broke our long embrace, taking a step back to look at her as I reached behind her to close the door.

  “Did you mean what you said just a minute ago?” I asked. “When you said you needed me?”

  “I did,” she said, smiling up at me, her eyes bright with emotion. “I do need you. And more than that… I want you. I want to be with you, Angel, if you’ll let me… if you’ll have me.”

  “My sweet, sweet Bella,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. After all the nights I’d dreamed for this very thing, was it really happening? “That’s all I’ve ever wanted to hear. I was wrong to try and make you see it, but I hope you know that I honestly love you—I always have and I always will.”

  It felt good to finally say it out loud to her, and when she looked up at me
again through those long lashes, my heart did a slow roll in my chest and I knew that my mother had been right. This had been worth all of the doubt and the heartache along the way. Finally telling her how much I loved her had been the best thing I’d ever done.

  “I love you, too,” she said. “Always. I—”

  And whatever she’d been about to say was cut off when my lips met hers and she opened her mouth to me. I was used to calling the shots, to getting what I wanted when I wanted it, but this time she was the one who was taking charge, using her tongue to explore my mouth as her hands grabbed at my shirt, untucking it and lifting it up.

  “I want to feel you,” she said, breaking away for just long enough to unfasten my belt and unbutton my pants. Her hand reached down and stroked my length through the thin layer of fabric that still stood between us. “I want you—this—inside me. I need it, Angel.”

  “Fuck, baby,” I moaned. “I’m ready. So, so ready.”

  I scooped my hands under her thighs and lifted her, loving the way it felt to have her legs wrapped around my waist as I carried her back to my bedroom and gently laid her out in front of me on the bed. I could’ve been happy to just look at her all night, to not even touch her—but there would be time for that later.

  She’d just told me that she loved me—loved me—and that meant I could finally stop waiting, stop torturing myself by wanting what I couldn’t have before.

  In an instant, she was wriggling out of her clothes, and I hurried to get rid of the rest of mine. When we were finally both naked, I stood over her, loving the way it felt to watch her eyes as they roamed over my body. And once they centered on my cock and stayed there, just watching and waiting?

  Yeah, that look was exactly what I’d been holding out for.

  She was looking at me like I was everything she’d ever wanted, everything she needed, and for the first time in my life, I felt what it was like to look into the eyes of a woman who loved me—who loved everything about me.

  And it was making me horny as hell.

  I grabbed her legs and pulled her ass to the end of the bed, letting her straddle my waist as I reached down between her silky smooth thighs to that sweet, wet, beautiful pussy that I’d been dreaming of since the first time I’d seen it.

  “Oh my God, yes,” she moaned, pressing her hips up to meet my hand as I ran my finger along her pink folds, spreading her lips until her tender little clit was exposed. I wanted to touch it, to taste it, to massage it with my fingers and my tongue for hours until she was dripping wet and begging for me—but I knew I wouldn’t last that long. Not with the way she was already moaning and bucking against me.

  I needed to be inside her, and I needed it now.

  Moving closer, I ran the head of my cock up and down along her folds, parting those juicy, wet lips and plunging in as far as she could take me, loving the way my cock made her toss her head back and gasp as it filled her.

  I let one hand move back to her clit, back to stroking and rubbing and teasing as I started to thrust in and out of her tight, hot pussy. Christ, it felt like heaven, better than I could’ve even imagined, and I cursed myself for waiting so long to finally tell her how I felt. She knew now, though, and even though we’d lost days or weeks or months by not talking about our feelings sooner, I was determined that we would make up for lost time.

  Starting tonight.

  “Fuck me, Angel,” she moaned, slamming her body against my cock as it dove into her again and again. “Just… like… that… fuck.”

  With my free hand, I reached down to pull her up, leaning in to kiss her even as I began to thrust harder, faster, longer into that sweet pussy that had seemed made just for my cock.

  “You’re gonna make me come, baby,” I growled, using my teeth to gently nip at her bottom lip as she smiled up at me.

  “I want you to come,” she panted. “To come with me… right… now…”

  And that was all I needed to hear.

  With another deep thrust, I felt the orgasm that had been building inside me start to release, and my hips bucked wildly as it rushed through me, filling her until she cried out, her muscles tightening around my shaft as she lost herself in her own climax.

  Finally, I collapsed onto the bed next to her, content to kiss her forehead, her cheeks, her beautiful neck as my cock still pulsed inside of her.

  “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to do that,” I said, watching as her eyelids became heavy.

  She smiled and nodded. “I think I have a pretty good idea. And I’m pretty sure you made a game of keeping me waiting, too.”

  “Not a game, baby.” I laughed and kissed her again. “I promise it wasn’t a game. I only wanted you to love me, to be mine.”

  “And I do,” she whispered, her eyes closing at last as she nuzzled against my chest. “And I am. Yours. Completely.”

  In that moment, everything in my life was perfect.

  Bella was mine, and I was hers.

  After everything we’d been through together, we had finally made it. We were finally happy.

  Together.

  Angel’s Epilogue

  Birthdays had a way of sneaking up on me, and every year I would reflect back on what had happened since the last time I celebrated turning another year older.

  I’d usually have a few small accomplishments that I could feel proud of, and a few more regrets—things that I would make a mental note to try and do better during the year ahead.

  Once I turned forty, and for the two years that had passed since then, it seemed like I had more and more regrets, with fewer and fewer accomplishments.

  Not this year, though.

  This year, it was hard to see past all the wins.

  If there were any regrets, any disappointments left over from the year before, I couldn’t remember what they were. My world—with Bella in it—was perfect, and when I looked at her smiling face, it was hard for me to remember a time when that beauty hadn’t been a part of my every day existence.

  Sure, those memories were still around somewhere, and I probably could’ve dredged them up if I had tried hard enough, but even though all the struggles and all the bullshit that I went through helped shape me into the man I was today, I didn’t feel the need to dwell on any of that.

  And I certainly didn’t feel the need to re-live any of it. Those hard times were in the past, where they belonged.

  I looked down at the ring on my left hand and thought about the love it represents—my undying love for Bella, for my wife.

  I hadn’t thought that I’d find a way to be happier than I already was with her by my side, but the day she agreed to marry me?

  Yeah, that had done it.

  And then the day when it had finally happened, and we’d stood up together in front of her dad and my mom and all of our friends to pledge our love for each other and become husband and wife?

  Yep, that had taken the meaning of happiness to a whole new level.

  Those were the thoughts that were on my mind as I stood waiting for her to put the finishing touches on the homemade birthday cake that we’d be taking across the courtyard to Calvin’s place in just a few minutes.

  “Sorry babe,” she said, looking up at me with just the hint of a frown. “I’m trying to hurry, but I can’t get it the way I want. Piping these letters is a lot harder than it looks on those baking shows.”

  I laughed. “Take all the time you need, my Bella. I’m just admiring the view.”

  She snorted and gave me a funny look. “Enjoy this particular view while it lasts, babe. It might be changing a little pretty soon.”

  I cocked my head to the side. “What does that mean?”

  She would only shake her head and shrug, though. “I’ll tell you soon, I promise. And don’t worry, it’s something that I think—I hope, anyway—that you’ll be pretty happy about.”

  I didn’t know what she was talking about, but her half-answers and unhelpful hints were killing me. “When is soon? I don’t know ho
w long I can wait. You know surprises make me crazy.”

  “I know,” she said, finally stepping back from the cake to admire her handiwork. “And I think we’re done here. Let’s get this thing over to my dad’s before it collapses or something, and maybe I’ll tell you the news when we get there…”

  That was all the incentive I needed, and I happily picked up the cake from the counter and offered Bela my arm. “You’re sure you don’t wanna just tell me now and get it over with?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

  “I’m sure,” she grinned, shaking her head. “But I promise I won’t make you wait too much longer.”

  I didn’t know what it could be that had her so happy and so playful, but I took her word that I’d like the news.

  Now I just had to take her word that I wouldn’t have to wait for very long.

  Kimbella’s Epilogue

  My dad had only been out of rehab for his gambling addiction for a few weeks, and Angel’s birthday was the first time we’d had a chance to get together and celebrate anything as a family.

  As I looked around the dinner table at the two men in my life—two friends who were back to laughing and joking together, the way they used to be—I knew that I’d made the right decision about when and where to share the news that I’d been keeping to myself for two long days.

  “Your daughter has been torturing me, Calvin,” Angel said, as if he’d been reading my mind. “Maybe you can persuade her to spill her secrets.”

  “Oh?” My dad raised his eyebrows as both men turned their attention to me. “Don’t you know it’s not wise to keep secrets from your husband, young lady?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I thought that when I got married, you wouldn’t be able to call me young lady anymore, Daddy.”

  “Nope,” he shook his head and smiled. “You’ll always be my little girl, no matter how old you get or how grown you think you are. I reserve the right to call you young lady for as long as I want.”