“Did you not like corporate law? Or did you just not like the people you were working for?”
“I’ve always enjoyed corporate law. I just hoped to help people settle disputes. Merge acquisitions. Help businesses expand without being blindsided by anything. Help with divestitures and counsel them in-house on legal matters that might arise with disgruntled employees. I always thought businesses got thrown under the bus in the media for that kind of stuff and I wanted to help them get out of those types of situations if it was possible. I didn’t want to help cover up issues. I wanted to help resolve them.”
“Gatlinburg is booming with business,” I said. “It’s growing at an exponential rate and with that type of growth comes a need for services like that. From boutiques to mom-and-pop shops, all the way up to places that might want to hire you as in-house counsel. The pool is here. It’s just a pool that isn’t filled with blood-thirsty sharks.”
“We’d also need a business license in the state of Tennessee,” she said. “Both of us. And you would need malpractice insurance.”
“And we’d also need insurance for our business as well,” I said.
“Liam, this is crazy,” she said breathlessly.
“Look, both of our dreams are to help and serve those in need, right? I want to help people medically and you want to help people with their businesses. We could make this work. We could design and tailor our practices to provide the best service for the locals of this town and we could make it affordable.”
I saw the untamed look in her eyes and then I watched them fill up with tears. A smile crossed her face as she sat back and laughed and, in that moment, I knew I had her. Bringing her hands up to her mouth, she shook her head—like she was in disbelief of all the things that were happening around her. And I didn’t blame her. I was still having a hard time wrapping my head around the entire idea myself.
But the fact that she was smiling was a good thing.
“We could help people,” she said.
“Yes.”
“With our own businesses,” she said.
“Exactly.”
“The two of us. Side by side.”
“Side by side,” I said, grinning.
She scoffed before she picked up her coffee and chugged. Then, she set it down and looked me dead in my eyes.
“Okay,” she said.
“Okay, as in, you’ll think about it?” I asked.
“Nope. Okay, as in let’s do this.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Really,” she said. “Let’s do it. Let’s open our side-by-side businesses and save the world together.”
Leaping out of my chair, I pulled her against my body and swung her around. I couldn’t believe she was actually agreeing to this. I couldn’t believe she actually said yes. She was giggling into the crook of my neck while tears of happiness sprung to my eyes.
Whitney was staying and that was the only thing I wanted.
“I just have one request,” she said.
“Anything.”
“I need a place to stay tonight,” she said. “I don’t have the cabin at the resort anymore.”
“Not a problem. You’re coming to my cabin. With me.”
We finished our coffee before I dragged her outside and I whisked her away to the cabin. I held her hand the entire way and I could feel it shaking with excitement. Her eyes seemed brighter and her skin seemed to glow a little more and it was all so surreal. I couldn’t wait to get her inside and simply hold her close to me.
But Whitney had a much better idea.
The moment I closed the cabin door behind us, her lips were on mine. They slowly pulsed against me, coaxing my tongue from my lips while her hands slid my coat off my shoulders. My hands began to dance around her body, relieving her of the fabrics that lay between my fingertips and her skin.
I slowly backed us into my room before we both collapsed naked onto my bed.
I let my beard tickle along her skin while I showered her with attention. I rolled her pebbled nipples between my lips and sucked them to tight little peaks. I felt the heat of her pussy drenching my skin while I slowly caressed down her body, watching as goosebumps ricocheted across her skin.
Every single inch of her was beautiful and I simply couldn’t get enough.
“Please,” Whitney said. “I need you.”
Those three little words lit a fire in my gut that burned only for her. I crashed my lips back down onto hers before I slid between her legs, lining myself up with her entrance. Inch by inch, I filled her to the brim, feeling her shake and writhe beneath my body. My hands came up and planted next to her head just as our lips pulled apart and I gazed into her eyes so I could take her all in.
I rocked into her, feeling her pussy grip at every part of me while her hands grabbed onto my back. I felt her nails digging into my skin as I held her gaze, losing myself in the sea of her eyes like I did in my dream. In a flash, I could see the whole of my future underneath me. Coming to life while the red tint of lust cascaded across her skin. She was beautiful—a gem among rocks— and I would spend the rest of my life convincing her that she was important to me.
Our hips met in tandem with one another while her juices coated my cock. I could feel her dripping down my balls as her legs ran up the backs of mine and, soon, she was hooked around my waist. I pressed into her deeper than I’d ever been before as the hair of my pelvis grazed her swollen clit. Her body jumped and her breathing came in short pants. Her nails dug in deeper and her eyes began to flutter closed. I reached my lips down to cover hers one last time before I picked up my pace, pounding into her and feeling her body jump against mine.
We came together in a glorious symphony of groans and whimpers while my dick filled the caverns of her body with the love I felt for this woman. She was heaving for air and pulling my body down onto hers and I allowed myself to fall into her. She kept her legs around me, wanting me deep inside of her while she tried to gain her composure.
I panted into the crook of her neck before I pressed kiss after kiss into her soft, supple skin.
There would never be a moment where I would ever make her regret the decision she’d just made and I knew I would spend the rest of my life fighting to have her at my side. Whitney might’ve thought I saved her life that day but the truth of the matter was she had saved mine. She showed me what it meant to find redemption and she showed me what it meant to be seen in a nonjudgmental light. She accepted me for who I was, for the brokenness I still had, and for the memories that would forever plague me. And instead of running away from me, she came running toward me.
I held her close to my body as I slowly tipped us over, then pulled the covers over our bodies before I finally slid from between her legs.
I finally knew what it felt like to be forgiven and I finally knew what it felt like to be home. This was what I had been fighting for behind enemy lines.
Her.
My own little slice of paradise.
EPILOGUE
LIAM ONE YEAR LATER
“Coming!” I called out.
There was a knock at the door but I knew exactly who it was. I whipped it open and drew Paxton into my arms, slapping his back before I ushered him into the cabin.
“Come in, come in,” I said.
“You look good, Canter.”
“Thanks, I feel good,” I said. “What brings you around? When did you get back from your deployment?”
“About a month ago. I’m sorry I didn’t come by sooner, just been tossing around some things.”
“Like what?” I asked.
“Well, I’ve got five more years until I can retire, so I’m trying to stick it out. But they’re wanting to station me somewhere else for the last five years and I’m just not sure if I’m up for something like that.”
“Where do they wanna put you?” I asked. “Any clue?”
“It’s a toss-up between Okinawa and Pearl Harbor-Hickam.”
“If you can deal with the travel, Okinawa’s beautiful,” I said. “But there’s nothing wrong with a little bit of Hawaii.”