You Were Mine Read online

  Bethy

  “Do you trust me?” Tripp asked.

  I knew by now that when he asked me that, he was about to do something new. I also knew that it was going to feel amazing. But it still made me nervous. I nodded and braced myself for what came next.

  “Lean up one more time,” he said. I did as I was told.

  He pulled his shirt off, and I was relieved. I didn’t like being the only one naked. But then, I’d never seen him naked. He always just took off his shirt. His hands went to his shorts, and I stopped breathing.

  “I’m just undoing them. When we’re doing things . . . it gets tight and uncomfortable down there. I need to give it some space,” he said, watching me closely.

  I nodded, but I still couldn’t breathe. Not because I was scared of what he was going to do but because I wanted to see him so badly. I’d felt him through his jeans and shorts, but I’d never seen anything.

  He unzipped his shorts and tugged them down. As I lifted my bare bottom, he kicked his shorts off, then reached for me to settle back between his legs. The only thing between my bottom and his erection was the thin cotton of his navy boxer briefs.

  Oh, boy.

  The hardness felt different without the buffer of his shorts. It was bigger than I thought. Which scared and excited me all at once.

  “Bethy, sweetheart, relax. I just needed some space. My boxers are staying on. I swear.” He thought I was worried that he was going to push me for sex. He wouldn’t have to push very hard. I was at his mercy. If Tripp asked me to do something, I would do it. That was the simple, pathetic truth.

  “I know,” I assured him.

  “Good, now lie back and let me touch you,” he said in my ear as I eased back against him.

  Watching him undress had excited me, and with my excitement came the dampness. It had spread to my inner thighs, and opening back up so he could see that was humiliating. Maybe I could say I needed to use the restroom. But then I’d have to run into his apartment naked. Not a good idea, either.

  Tripp’s hand was on my knee, and he started pushing my legs open again. I squeezed my eyes closed as I slowly gave in. When his hand moved back down there, he paused as he felt me. I wanted to crawl into a hole somewhere. “Oh, fuuuuck,” he groaned, and his fingers started moving again. He slipped two inside me this time as his breathing picked up. “God, baby, just when I think it’s not possible for me to get more turned on, you open up to me again, dripping like this. Jesus, Bethy. You’re going to kill me.”

  I liked it when he said things like that. It sounded dirty, but I liked it. Tripp saying things like that, with his voice all husky, made my whole body hum. His other hand slipped down and touched my damp inner thigh, and he muttered another curse. “Even your thighs. Were you dripping down them?”

  I didn’t know how to answer that. I wasn’t sure how it had happened.

  “Was it me taking off my shorts?” he asked against my ear.

  I couldn’t really form words with him touching me down there with both hands now.

  He slipped his fingers back inside me, and I moved against his hands. “I would slip in so damn easy. Do you have any idea how bad I want to be inside you? To know I’m buried inside you. That you’re mine, and no one else can have what I have. You’re so tight and hot. It would be the closest to heaven I’m ever gonna get.”

  Oh, God. Those words. I panted as he breathed hard in my ear. He held me open with one hand and slid his finger gently, back and forth, through the moisture with the other.

  I was fighting to breathe.

  “Straddle me, Bethy. I want to feel you like this,” he said.

  I lifted a leg, and he slid me up until I was directly over the obvious erection jutting forward, tenting his boxers. Then he lowered me slowly over it. My weight pushed it back down against his stomach. He threw his head back and groaned as I sank down on him completely. Seeing him like this only made me tingle even harder down below, which I knew meant I was just getting wetter.

  “Fuck, I want to feel this without the boxers. Do you trust me?” he asked as he opened his eyes and looked up at me.

  I nodded, because the truth was, if he wanted to be inside me, I would let him. I loved Tripp. There was no doubt in my mind that I would always love him. Even when he left, I would love him. Giving him my virginity was something I wanted to do.

  “OK. We have to be careful. You’re slippery, and I don’t want to mess up.”

  I stood up and turned around as he pulled down his boxers, and I watched in fascination as his cock sprang free. It was big and thick, and the end was red and swollen-looking. I wanted to touch it, but I wasn’t sure that would be OK, so I didn’t ask.

  His eyes were focused on where we were about to touch for the first time, and the veins in his neck were standing out. “Sit back down on me,” he said as he held his hardness down so that it wasn’t sticking up.

  When I felt the heat of his skin make contact, I gasped and pressed down hard. Tripp’s hands grabbed my waist and squeezed as he growled, then cursed. Explosions lit my body from within, and I needed more. I knew the peak I was headed for, and the idea of reaching it with our bodies so intimately touching made me dizzy with want.

  I slowly rocked my hips so that I was sliding up and down the length of him. I wasn’t touching the tip, but I was sliding along most of it, and it was amazing.

  “Holy fuck,” Tripp ground out through his teeth.

  I pressed my forehead to his and looked directly in his eyes as I picked up the pace. I’d had his hands and his mouth touch me, but it didn’t compare with this: seeing him lose control and fall into the same bliss he always sent me spiraling toward.

  “God, Bethy,” he breathed, then pulled my bottom lip into his mouth and sucked on it.

  I rocked harder. His loud groan when I ran over the tip, so red it had to be sensitive, made me want to do it more.

  “Slow down, baby. Please,” he panted.

  I couldn’t slow down. I was so close. But I didn’t get to slide over his tip again, because he was picking me up and carrying me inside. I landed on my back on his sofa, but he was over me instantly, his mouth devouring mine as I clawed at him to get closer. The tip touched me, and I let my legs fall open and lifted my hips so I could feel it again.

  Tripp tore his mouth from mine with a frustrated sound, then grabbed his hard length in his hand. I watched as he ran the tip back and forth over my opening, then touched my sensitive spot with it before doing it again.

  “So wet. I’d slide inside so easily,” he said, almost so low I couldn’t hear him. He lifted his head to look at me. “See how good that looks. You’re all wet and swollen.”

  I was about to explode. I grabbed his arms and began chanting his name as I watched him pick up speed. I stopped breathing at some point, and then my world shot off into a million brilliant colors. Warmth coated my stomach, and I shivered as he shouted my name.

  Blinking, I came back to earth and stared up at Tripp, dazed, as he stared down at my stomach. I followed his gaze to see white stuff all over me. Then I noticed one small drop still on the tip of his cock. He’d come. On me.

  Smiling, I looked up at him, and his eyes lifted to meet mine. In that moment, I felt it. He didn’t have to tell me. I just knew. Tripp loved me, too.

  Tripp

  Present day

  It had been a long day, with Bethy’s words replaying over and over in my head. All of the guys had eaten lunch with Woods, and then we’d spent the rest of the afternoon playing golf. Woods—not Rush—tried to talk to me about Bethy, which was a relief, since I didn’t feel like giving someone else the full backstory just yet.

  I needed a plan. One that involved more than me following her every day. Bethy was talking to me now. I had to figure out what the next move should be. Because her words last night weren’t forgotten, nor would they ever be. They were the small ray of hope I’d been looking for.

  I waited outside my hut for Bethy to come out of hers. We
were due at rehearsal in ten minutes. Luckily, we weren’t being forced to dress in tuxes tonight—the dress code was dressy casual. Slacks and a button-up shirt would suffice.

  Bethy stepped out, fidgeting with her purse. Her gaze swung up to meet mine, and she faltered a moment. She hadn’t been expecting me to wait for her. I had been doing the at-a-distance thing for so long now.

  The pale yellow skirt she wore hit her at mid-thigh and was made from the type of flowy material that caught the breeze and teased you. She wore it with a sleeveless white blouse that tied at her waist and a pair of backless heels.

  When I’d finished taking in every gorgeous inch of her, I lifted my eyes back up to meet hers. “You look beautiful.”

  I could see the emotion flash in her eyes before she tucked her purse under her arm and stiffened. “Thank you,” she replied tightly.

  “Did you enjoy your day at the spa?” I asked as she took a tentative step in my direction. She had to pass me to get to the rehearsal. There was no way around it. Unless she wanted to swim there.

  “It was nice,” she said.

  Neither of us moved. It was a standoff.

  Finally, Bethy sighed. “What do you want?”

  I grinned, amused by her exasperated tone. “To walk with you to the rehearsal.”

  She started to say something, then closed her mouth. I watched her internal struggle. Finally, she caved. “Sure. Fine. Whatever.”

  She walked toward the island, and I fell in step beside her. I didn’t push further by forcing her to talk to me. I decided this was enough for now. She wasn’t shoving me in the water and screaming at me. We had made progress.

  Everyone was gathering on the stretch of beach where the wedding would be held. When we reached the group, Bethy finally stopped walking and looked at me. “I’m tired of this. We were friends once. We both loved Jace, and we both lost him. I’m done trying to blame someone other than myself. I don’t want to be angry anymore. It’s time I rebuilt my life and found myself again. So”—she held out her hand toward me—“friends?”

  Friends. We’d never be just friends. But if that was what she wanted to do, then I could work with it. I slipped my hand into hers, and we shook.

  Then she smiled. A real, unforced Bethy smile. “This is a good thing. Jace would want this. Right?”

  I shook her hand and let go as she pulled it away. “Yeah. He’d want this. He’d want to see you happy.”

  Bethy nodded. Then she turned and headed toward the group. I didn’t follow her, though. Not yet. I had to let the moment soak in. Bethy was ready to forgive me. We were going to be friends.

  I looked over to see Woods watching me. I nodded my head and grinned at him before making my way over to receive my instructions, along with the rest of the guys.

  “There’s the last one,” Thad said, pointing at me as I walked up. The lady with her hair up in a bun and an iPad Mini in her hands looked like she was the boss.

  “Height problem,” she announced. “Della has you with Braden, but Braden is too short for you. Even with heels. Most women are too short for you, but Braden will be barefoot on the sand. It’ll look bad. Let’s see,” she said, scanning something on her iPad. “Where’s Bethy?” the lady asked.

  “Yo, Bethy!” Thad called out, and Bethy turned to look over at us. “Come here.”

  She walked toward us, her skirt dancing in the breeze. I hated knowing Thad was admiring the view, too. I was going to have to set him straight.

  “Yes. Much better. She’s at least three inches taller. Not such a massive gap,” the lady said as she looked at Bethy. “Thad, you will be escorting Braden. And Tripp, you will be escorting Bethy. Now, for your positions,” she said, walking off with her back straight, pointing and barking commands at everyone in her wake.

  “Yeah, but Tripp’s the best man, and Braden is the maid of honor. Aren’t they supposed to walk out together?” Thad asked. I shot a warning glare at him. If he had any intentions where Bethy was concerned, I’d remedy that real fast.

  “This is my job. I’ll make it work. I don’t need your help,” the lady snapped at Thad, who shut the hell up.

  I glanced back at Bethy. “You good with this?” I asked her. I was fucking thrilled about it, but I didn’t want to make her do something she didn’t want to do. I’d deal with the drill sergeant if I had to.

  She shrugged. “Sure. Friends, remember?” she replied matter-of-factly.

  I watched the breeze play with her skirt as she walked away.

  “Friends, huh?” Rush said, coming to stand beside me.

  “Yeah. She’s decided we can be friends,” I told him, not taking my eyes off her. She said something to Della, who glanced over at us and then back at Bethy. I saw Bethy nod, and Della looked relieved.

  “I tried the friends thing with Blaire once. It lasted less than a week before I was stripping her naked in the back of my Range Rover. Good luck with that,” Rush said in an amused tone before walking off.

  He didn’t have the history with Blaire that I had with Bethy. It would take a hell of a lot longer before I made that kind of headway with Bethy.

  He had no idea what I had to overcome with her.

  Bethy

  “An Betty, see me!” Nate’s little voice called out. I spun around to see Nate in Rush’s arms as they walked into the rehearsal dinner. Rush bent down to set his son on the floor, and then his little legs were off and heading straight for me. Laughing, I opened my arms for him.

  “My best fella is here,” I said as his little arms wrapped around my neck. Nate had been only a few months old when Jace drowned, and I’d spent a lot of time with Blaire during the months afterward. I couldn’t be alone. Watching Nate when they’d needed a sitter had been good for me, and we’d bonded.

  “I flew in da pwayne,” he announced as I picked him up in my arms.

  “You did! Was it fun?” He flew in his grandfather’s jet quite a bit.

  “Yeah,” he said, nodding. Then his eyes lit up as he spotted Grant. “Dare’s Until Gwant,” he said, pointing. “See me, Until Gwant!” he called out. Grant turned his attention toward Nate’s voice, and a grin spread across his face. Grant made his way over to us.

  “Hey, bud!” he said, holding his fist out, which Nate hit with his own fist. The fact that Rush had taught his two-year-old to fist-bump was too funny. He also wore his baseball caps backward and drew pictures on his arms with a black marker whenever his mother wasn’t watching. He wanted “pictures” on him like his daddy.

  “See, my Betty,” Nate said, patting my chest.

  Grant chuckled. “Yeah, I see your Bethy. Did you fly in with Papa Dean?”

  Nate nodded his head. “We flew da pwayne.”

  “I bet you did,” Grant said.

  “See Wywa Kate,” Nate said, wiggling in my arms as Harlow walked in holding Lila Kate in her arms.

  I took the hint and set Nate down. His little feet took off running toward Harlow and the baby.

  “I think he may love your little girl more than me these days,” I told Grant.

  “Don’t let it get to you. She’s hard to compete with,” Grant said with a grin. “I need to help Harlow with the wild man,” he said before chasing after Nate. I watched as Grant caught up with Nate and scooped him up in his arms so he could see Lila Kate.

  Nate was a charmer, and he’d make the complete rounds of the room before he remembered I was here and came back to see me. He loved to play the crowd.

  I walked over to the tables, looking for my name. Everyone was coming in from the rehearsal and finding a seat. Walking down the aisle on Tripp’s arm had been strange, but it hadn’t been uncomfortable. He’d made a joke about me stumbling and taking him down with me. Other than that, we didn’t really talk.

  I sat down and looked over to see Thad’s name on my right and Blaire’s name on my left. That meant Rush and Nate would also be at our table. And possibly Dean Finlay. Once that had been all the excitement I needed. But during the past t
wo years, I’d managed to get over my starstruck behavior around Dean. Now he was just Rush’s dad.

  I wasn’t sure who the last two seats were for. I pulled my chair out just as the chair beside mine moved. Expecting to see Thad, I saw Tripp instead. He smirked and sat down.

  I cautiously did the same. Thad was supposed to be sitting there, but at the moment, he was nowhere to be found. If Tripp wanted to be friendly, I could do that. At least for one weekend, while we celebrated the marriage of our friends. When we got back to Rosemary Beach, I would need some boundaries. Seeing Tripp still reminded me of things I wanted to forget. I needed to take things slowly.

  “You OK if I sit here?”

  I glanced down at the place card and shrugged. “I don’t mind, but Thad might. It’s his assigned seat.”

  “Not worried about Thad. He’s easy to bribe.”

  I turned to look at our friends gathering in the large ballroom. The stage crew was setting up for the band. I hadn’t asked who was playing, but considering who was attending this wedding, I doubted it was just some cover band. With two of the members of Slacker Demon’s kids in the wedding party and the drummer from Slacker Demon showing his grandson how to properly hold the drumsticks that Nate had snatched from the stage, the band was very likely to be a big name.

  Woods and Della walked in, and everyone cheered as if they’d already gotten married, hooting and whistling. Clapping, I stood up and watched as they made their way to the center table. Della’s smile lit up the room. Woods bent his head to whisper something in her ear, which made her blush. I could only imagine what he’d said to her.

  Woods’s eyes scanned the crowd and landed on Tripp. A frown creased his forehead. Woods and Della would have placed Tripp and Braden at their table, since they were the best man and the maid of honor. Woods nodded his head toward his table as he subtly signaled Tripp to move over there.