Rescued Love (Sweetwater Valley #7)

CHAPTER 19

KIMBALL

Sometimes times flies and sometimes you find yourself living really surreal moments. Both are true for me and this, what I’m doing right now, is all the proof I need. It’s the only way to justify how I’m standing in the middle of the third, yes third, house we’re viewing only two weeks after Nathan told his boss that he wasn’t coming back.

The fact that he’s looking for a house to buy really brings home the fact that he’s choosing to stay. He’s choosing the life he wants to build with me.

I can’t say I’m not happy about it because I am.

Nathan took last week and arranged for his entire old life to be dismantled. I wasn’t aware you could hire someone to go into a place, pack everything up, and then move it. I mean, I guess I knew such a service was a possibility, but I never thought I would become so acquainted with it.

Every time I’ve moved before, which hasn’t been often because moving is a bitch, I had to pack up my own stuff, sweet talk some friends into helping, and then make it happen.

Hiring someone would have been much easier. Though, frankly, it’s an expense I never would have considered. When you have people with a truck at their disposal and you know how to work a tape gun like a queen, why would you?

Right now, most of Nathan’s things are in storage while he’s basically moved his necessities into my place. I hadn’t even realized that he’d been doing it slowly since the night we had sex for the first time. I’ve been telling myself I didn’t notice because I was so comfortable with the idea, but I’m not sure if that’s true.

I absolutely should have noticed the sneaky man infiltrating my space.

But, alas, I did not and now it’s basically done.

I’m not sure how I’m going to feel when he moves his stuff into a house, probably this one considering the way his brown eyes are sparkling as he looks around and is no longer living in my apartment with me. I’ll miss him.

“I’m so glad I was able to get you in to see this one before it officially goes on the market,” Taylor, the realtor Maverick recommended, chirps.

While I don’t say it, I agree.

Nathan wraps an arm around my shoulder, leading me out of the huge kitchen, complete with a farmhouse sink that I would probably run someone over to have, and into the living room before we head toward the bedrooms. My eyes are wide as I take everything in.

This place is perfect.

“I’m going to step outside; I have a few calls to make. Let me know if you have any questions,” Taylor calls out and then I hear the front door close behind her.

This place is perfect.

“It really is,” Nathan murmurs and I look up at him in surprise. He chuckles and kisses my forehead. “You said it out loud that time.”

I smirk and challenge him, “How did you know I said it more than once in my head?”

He shrugs one shoulder before leading me into one of the four bedrooms in this fucking perfect farmhouse style home. This one sits across from a small half bath which is central to the common spaces in the house. Two other bedrooms are down the hall with a bathroom connecting them while the primary bedroom has its own en-suite.

Hardwood flows through the entire house and the original woodwork adds charm even though everything has been modernized and updated where it counts. It’s cozy and perfect.

Every room gives glimpses of the acres of land the house sits on. The porch wraps around the house and the view is gorgeous.

“I know you, Kitten,” he whispers.

I lean my head on his shoulder as he opens the closet and we both look inside before we stand in the middle of the room and just bask for a moment. He leads me through the other bedrooms and I’m speechless by the time we make our way into the primary bedroom at the back of the house. The large bay window, complete with a little reading nook, looks out over the land and I can’t help but stare at it.

“Wow,” I whisper.

Nathan kisses my head and gives my shoulder a squeeze. “Is this the one?”

My eyebrows pull together as I tear my eyes away from the land and look up at him. “I don’t know, is this the one?”

“I’m going to need your opinion here, Kimball,” he coos.

“Why?” I shake my head to clear some of the perfect house fog and clear my throat. “I mean, this place is great, and I hope to spend time here with you, but you’re looking for a house for you.”

Nathan’s eyes dance with amusement and he turns me until I’m facing him. He starts to walk me backward, taking each step slowly, until my back hits the wall and I gasp softly. His eyes are intent and focused as they roam my face and take in my confused expression.

“You thought that I was only buy a house for myself?”

“I mean,” I lick my lips and shrug, “yeah? Why else would you be buying a house?”

Nathan kisses my forehead and then the tip of my nose before pressing his lips to mine. Like I always do, I open for him instantly. My body heats when he presses himself up against me. I can feel his cock, hard and ready, pressing against my belly.

I moan into his mouth, and he swallows down the sound as I wrap my arms around him and hold on tight. My fingers tighten on his shoulders, almost getting lost in the pleasure my man always gives me.

“Silly woman,” he rasps against my lips. “Yes, I need a place to live, but I’m not buying this place for me.”

I jerk backwards and look up at him with an arched eyebrow. “What are you talking about? If you’re not going to buy anything, then you’re wasting Taylor’s time. That’s not right.”

“Fuck,” he growls, pressing his lips against my forehead and muttering, “love your big heart, Kimball.”

Damn it, I melt at his words, taking them into my heart and allowing them to fill me with warmth. “You misunderstand who this house is for,” he tells me gently. When our eyes lock, there’s something swimming in the depths that has my heart pounding in my chest. “It’s for us, not just me.”

I gasp and my knees go a little weak. He can’t be serious, can he?

The way he’s looking at me tells me exactly whether he’s serious.

He definitely is.

“This place is perfect,” he grins and winks, “you said so yourself.”

I look around the primary bedroom, taking it in with new eyes. I’m not sure what scares me more—how I can see us in this space together so clearly or how much I want this.

“It has enough land that we can adopt some animals and it’s not far from Grandpa so I can keep helping him when he needs it.”

My eyebrows pull together. “What about the practice?”

He’s going to start working with Mr. Wilder in two weeks and they’ve put a plan together to transition the practice to Nathan over six months to a year, depending on how things are going. I’m so glad he’s not giving up on practicing law. He might have lost his way a little bit, but it’s something he’s passionate about.

“The plan for the practice is still going ahead, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help Grandpa and around here if you choose to add some animals to the mix.” I glance out the window, taking in how much space we would have and the animals I could help out here. “There’s room for a barn. It can be built to match the house if you’d like. There’s room for some fences to be built to keep animals contained while still having enough room to roam.”

“You’ve thought a lot about this,” I don’t pose it as a question because it isn’t.

“Of course. I just needed to find the right house to match the dream I have for our future,” he admits. “This is it.”

I look up at my man, not needing to look around anymore. I nod slowly. “This is it. It’s perfect.”

Nathan’s smile lights up his entire face. “Good,” he whispers against my lips, “because I already put in an offer, and it’s been accepted.”

I jerk backward, but Nathan doesn’t allow me to fall. I know my eyes are probably so big that they look like they’re going to pop out of my head.

“Taylor called me about this place almost a week ago and I checked it out. I had a feeling about it, but the moment I saw it, I knew it was the right place for us.”

I lean into my man and tighten my grip on him. The way this man knows me and shows me he loves me blows me away.

“Thank you,” I whisper after pressing my forehead against his chest.

“For what, Kitten?”

I rest my chin on his chest and meet his gaze. “For knowing me so well and loving me so completely. For doing this for me to surprise me in the best of ways. For changing your entire life to stay with me.”

“You made my life worth living the moment I saw you, Kimball,” he assures me and my heart flutters in my chest.

“Taylor’s not out there waiting for us, is she?”

Nathan wiggles his eyebrows at me in a way he might think is sexy but is just comical. I fall a little more in love with my man when he does it.

“No,” he confirms what I was already suspecting, “she’s gone.”

My hands run over his shoulders and then down his chest. I love feeling the strong, lean lines of his body. It does something wicked to me; something I’ve never experienced before he came into my life.

As my hands move down his abdomen, I sink down his body until I’m kneeling in front of him. His dick is straining against the fly of his jeans and my pussy clenches around nothing. Even though I want to feel him inside of me, I want to show him how much I appreciate what he’s done for me first.

My hands are shaking slightly with need as I undo his jeans, slide the zipper down, and then pull just enough for his hard cock to spring free. His hands smooth over my forehead and face, pushing my hair back and out of my face.

When he gathers my hair into a ponytail, I know what he’s about to do. I love it when he fucks my face and I’m totally okay with it.

I slide the flat of my tongue up his shaft from the base to the tip where I flick against that little triangle on the underside. Nathan jolts as he lets out a moan.

I slowly take the tip of his cock into my mouth and suck. Nathan’s fingers tighten in my hair, holding me in place as he starts to thrust his hips.

When I look up at Nathan, his eyes are hungry and filled with need. He growls, “That’s right, Kitten. Swallow my cock.”

As I give myself over to him, relaxing and opening up my jaw, my man’s eyes flash ferally. When the tip of his cock hits the back of my throat, I swallow, and he pushes in a little deeper. My eyes water and a few tears slip free, but I don’t care.

This man already put an offer in on a house he knew I would fall in love with. We’re going to move in together and, officially, start our lives together.

My hands come up and I wrap my fingers around the base of his shaft with one hand while the other goes to his balls. I tease his balls with my fingernails as I squeeze his dick and hollow my cheeks while sucking harder.

I can see the way Nathan is losing control as he fucks my face. He’s breathing hard, his nostrils flared, and his pupils dilated and so damn dark that they almost look black. It’s sexy a fuck.

The tension around us builds while Nathan starts to mutter incoherently about my mouth, how it feels, and how I’m going to swallow everything he gives me. He’s looking at me with sin in his eyes, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

“Oh fuck,” he grunts, “I’m gonna come and you’re going to swallow it all. Aren’t you Kitten?” My jaw is starting to ache, and I can’t answer him with a mouth full of his shaft, but he must see something in my eyes because he smirks. “Yeah, you are,” he growls.

His fingers twist my hair, tightening their grip, and then he’s pushing his cock down my throat. I feel his length expand slightly and I brace myself because that’s the only warning I get.

Nathan’s head tips back, his faced awash with bliss with his release and I take every jet of his cum.

Air is sawing in and out of his lungs as he comes down and gently pulls out of my mouth. I make sure to suck as he does, cleaning him and savoring the taste of him.

The next thing I know, I’m being lifted and pressed against the wall while Nathan’s hands start to pull at my clothing. I shake my head, my voice hoarse, “No, that was all for you.”

He narrows his eyes at me, clearly about to argue, but he’s interrupted when his phone rings. His eyebrows pull together before he slowly lowers me to my feet and takes a small step back. I love to feel the heat of him and don’t think twice about leaning into his body as he pulls his phone out.

“Why the fuck would Nigel be calling me?” The mention of his former boss has me perking up and worry fills me. He clears his throat and answers the call while putting it on speaker at the same time. “Hi, Nigel,” he greets him.

“Nathan,” Nigel breathes out, clearly relieved.

When Nathan looks at me, he must see the worry in my eyes because he shakes his head firmly and hooks his arm around my neck and pulls me against his chest. He keeps his voice neutral, “Is there something I can help you with?”

“I’m sorry to call you, especially since I accepted your resignation, but some things have come out which have caused the circumstances at the firm to change.” I scrunch up my face as I listen to Nigel because his words feel evasive.

Nathan must agree with me because he tersely prompts, “What are you trying to say? Just spit it out,” there’s no malice in his voice, but his words are firm.

Nigel chuckles, a hint of affection in his voice, “This is why I’ve been missing you, Nathan.” Tension fills his tone, “I’m just going to come right out with it. Please understand that I can’t give you all the details and that this conversation must stay confidential.”

Nathan sounds puzzled as hell, “Okay?”

“In the course of Culbert going to trial, it’s been revealed that Marcus became embroiled in a secondary pyramid scheme.” I freeze and I look up at Nathan with wide eyes who looks shocked as hell. He lets out a humorless chuckle, “I know. It’s shocking. It was uncovered that he sought you out to get your signature on some documents with the intention of framing you for misconduct and implicate you in their criminal activity.”

“I,” Nathan starts, shakes his head and swallows hard, “I don’t know what to say, Nigel.”

“I don’t either,” Nigel’s voice is weary. “Not only did I want to tell you that this is being taken care of, and that the firm won’t be representing Culbert or Marcus, but I also have to make you an offer.”

“What do you mean an offer?” Nathan sounds skeptical, which I can more than understand.

I’m starting to feel like I shouldn’t be listening to this conversation. Maybe I should give him some privacy? When I go to step away, Nathan tightens his hold on me, his eyes intent when he shakes his head.

“I’d like to extend an employment offer to you.” I swear I can feel the concussion from the bomb Nigel has just dropped. “Not only do we want you to come back but want to offer you a partner position and increase your salary by 40% from what you were being paid before.”

Nathan’s mouth drops open, and I have to look away from him. That’s an incredible offer. I know it is.

Tears well up in my eyes as fear grips me.

Is he going to take it? Is he going to leave me?

The thought makes it feel like a chasm opens in my chest. I hate the feeling.

Nathan clears his throat, but I can’t make myself look at him. “Nigel,” his voice is calm, even, and breaks my heart a little bit, “that’s an amazing offer.” He grips my chin gently between his thumb and forefinger and tips my head up so that I’m looking into his eyes. His beautiful brown eyes. “There is no way I can accept,” his voice is firm, serious, and without any hesitation. “I’m happy and I’m building a future with the woman I’m going to make my wife.”

My eyes get so big that they feel like they’re going to pop out of my head.

Nigel sighs, “I understand. I figured that would be your answer, but I would have regretted not reaching out.”

“I wish you the best of luck.” Nathan smiles at me like I’m not impersonating a statue. “Thank you for being an amazing mentor,” there’s warmth in my man’s voice and gratitude.

“Please, don’t be a stranger,” there’s a plea in Nigel’s voice.

I think they say a few more things, but I’m not paying attention. I’m pretty sure Nathan has made my brain short circuit.

After he hangs up and tucks his phone away, he cups my cheeks, his gaze boring into mine. “I’m serious, Kitten. When we move into this house, I’ll be slipping a ring on your finger and making you my wife. I’m not waiting or holding back.”

I swallow hard and find myself nodding slowly. “Are you going to ask me?”

“Nope,” he pops the p. “I don’t need to ask because I’m it for you just like you’re it for me.”

“Cocky,” I accuse him and he only smirks.

He kisses me softly and my heart bursts with the amount of love I have for this man. “I love you,” I whisper against his lips.

When he pulls back it’s to grace with me with a huge smile. “I love you,” his voice is earnest. “Now, we have one more stop to make before I can take you home and strip you and worship your body.”

I arch an eyebrow in question as he starts to lead me out of the house, the house where I can see us living and loving for the rest of our lives. I can’t wait.

“We have a kitten to adopt.”

I let out a squeal and leap into my man’s arms. His laughter echoes around the farmhouse. It’s empty right now, but it’ll be filled with our love, and hopefully at some point our family, soon enough.