by LK Farlow
“I need you.” My voice sounds crazed, even to me. And the sexy jackass looming over me merely grins.
“You have me.”
I shake my head.
“You do.”
“I need you inside of me.”
With those six words, Colton’s control snaps. With a hungry growl, he yanks my thong down my legs, tossing the scrap of material over his shoulder before pushing his sweats down his hips.
He leans down and licks a long line up my center, but I stop him from taking it further. “No foreplay. Just fuck me.”
“That mouth of yours,” he murmurs as he grabs a condom from his nightstand. In the span of a single inhale, he has the thin latex barrier rolled down. He rubs the head of his dick against my slit before driving into me with one hard push.
And as I exhale, I swear, I can feel our souls collide.
“You feel so good. So tight.” His face almost looks pained. “Fuck. I’m not gonna last, Ash.”
He shoves his right hand between our pleasure-slicked bodies and rubs my clit in time with his thrusts.
“Yes.” I hiss the word, wrapping my legs around his waist and burying my fingers in his hair, pulling him down until his lips meet mine. “Harder.”
With every erotic roll of his hips, every thrust, every groan and moan, I feel our souls intertwining.
This is so much more than just sex. It’s more than two people coming together. It’s a fucking claiming, and as he uses his body to make me absolutely fall apart, I’ve never felt more whole.
Once we both recover from our climaxes, he pulls back and shoots me a cocky wink. “Told you you’d beg for it.”
“You’re lucky I’m too orgasmed out to think of a good comeback.”
“Damn right I’m lucky.” Colton pulls out and rolls off of me; my body instantly misses his welcome weight. “Come on,” he says.
I stand on jelly legs and allow him to guide me toward his en suite.
The bathroom is the picture of modern luxury, with heated tile flooring, a shower big enough for five, and a soaker tub fit for royalty. Colton turns away from me to start the shower.
He’s only turned away for a minute, but in those sixty seconds, doubt worms its way in.
Will he still want to be with me now that he’s had me?
“What are we doing?” I ask.
“Taking a shower,” he says, the duh implied. He steps under one of the dual shower heads, leaving the other free for me. Reluctantly, I join him. At least here, beneath the scalding spray, if he cuts me loose, the water will hide my tears.
“No. Us. What are we doing?”
Colton grabs his loofah and lathers up, running the sudsy sponge all over his toned body as he weighs my words.
Like the lawyer he is, he answers with a question of his own. “What do you want us to be doing?”
“I want…” I wrap my arms around myself, trying to gather my words. After a long few seconds, I decide to go for broke and lay it all out for him. “I want to be with you—in a monogamous and committed relationship. I see us having a future together—or at least the potential to. If I’m being honest, I can see myself falling in love with you.”
That last bit is only partially true; I’ve pretty much loved Colton from the start. Even when he was awful to me, a small ember of love burned deep within me. The more time we’ve spent together, the larger the flame has grown. It’s pretty much a freaking inferno at this point, but he doesn’t need to know that.
My confession is met with stony silence.
I guess that’s that.
I turn to exit the shower, but Colton blocks me. “Where are you going?”
“Home.” I’m proud when my voice comes out solid.
“Why on earth would you do that?”
I whip around to face him, damn near slipping and breaking my neck.
“Easy,” he says, pinning my body to his in an effort to keep me upright. “What’s wrong, Ash?”
“Are you kidding me? I just poured my soul out to you, and you can’t even be bothered to say anything.”
“Excuse me if I didn’t want to say I love you for the first time in the goddamn shower!”
I go slack in his arms, making him have to catch me all over again. “You l-love me?”
He nods, brushing his nose against my temple. “I do.”
“Since when?”
“It took me a while to figure it out. Honestly, it’s been on my mind for a while, but hearing you lay out your feelings just now—it kind of smacked me in the face. I love you, Ash.”
“I love you, too,” I murmur, happy tears blurring my vision.
Colton proceeds to wash my hair and body before wrapping me in a fluffy towel. Once dry, he pulls his previously discarded shirt over my head and tucks me into his bed. The last thing I remember before falling asleep is him whispering for me to have sweet dreams and pressing a tender kiss to my forehead before curling himself around me.
37
Colton
“Daddy.” Small hands push into my chest as a weight settles on me. “Daddy! Wake up.”
“Five more minutes, Cruz,” I mumble sleepily. The kid definitely takes after me with his early rising, but something about this morning has me wanting to sleep in. My bed seems comfier than usual—even with my five-year-old sitting on top of me.
“Daddy! When did Agent Purple get here?”
My eyes fly open and I jack-knife up into a seated position so quickly Cruz nearly falls off the bed.
Sure enough, my purple-haired beauty is sleeping soundly beside me. Which means…last night wasn’t a dream.
“What do you mean ‘it wasn’t a dream?’” Cruz asks. Guess I said that out loud then.
“Um. I…”
“Did you dream Ashley came here to be my mommy? Because I dream that sometimes, too.” His blue eyes, so similar to my own, widen. “Is that why she’s here?”
“Shh, bud.” I raise my index finger to my lips. “Let’s not wake up her just yet.”
“But, Daddy!”
“Why don’t we go make breakfast and we can talk?”
“Cheesy egg sandwiches?”
“Deal.”
Cruz scrambles off of me and darts off down the hall. I stretch and give Ashley one last lingering look before following after him.
I find my little guy in the kitchen, dragging a barstool toward the fridge. “What are you doing?” I ask, stopping him in his tracks.
“Making Ashley breakfast. You said we could.”
I can’t help but smile at Cruz’s ever-growing boldness. It’s truly a testament to what stability and love can do for a kid.
“How about we make it together? I’ll get the eggs and you can grab the bread?”
“Okay.”
I start a pot of coffee while he gets the bread from the pantry and then the two of us start on breakfast, working in a comfortable semi-silence, aside from me offering explanations and instructions. I know Cruz has questions for me, but I wait; he’ll ask them when he’s ready.
Which just so happens to be after we finish our second sandwich.
“Ashley spent the night? Like a sleepover?”
“She did. How do you feel about that?”
He taps his little index finger to his chin. “When Mommy used to have her boyfriends spend the night, I didn’t like it. They maked me hide and yelled a lot.”
He pauses, and my drive to hunt Kelsey down reignites with a vengeance.
“But Ashley is nice to me. She smiles and plays with me and has never yelled at me, not once ever!”
“Does that mean you’re okay with her sleeping over?”
“Can she do it all the time? Can she sleep with me sometimes? Or can I sleep with both of you?”
He hits me with his puppy dog eyes, and I almost say yes to all of it. Thankfully, I manage to rein it in. “I can’t really answer you there, bud. Ashley has her own house, you know?”
“But we could share ours! It’s big enough, right?
We could even give her a bedroom!”
I stifle a laugh at his innocence and plate the third sandwich. “The thing is, bud, when two adults love each other, they want to share the same bed.”
Cruz nearly reaches the ceiling he jumps so high. “You love her? I knew it! Daddy loves Ashley! Daddy loves Ashley!” He shakes his little booty as he sings his song.
“Yes, I do. I love her.”
“Does that mean she can be my new mommy? Like in my dreams?”
Jesus, this kid might as well just carve up my heart.
“I don’t know. This thing—our relationship—is still new.”
“So?” he asks impatiently. “New things are the best.”
“Why don’t we take this one day at a time and see what happens?”
He pouts, but I hold firm. The last thing I want to do is get his hopes up. I probably should’ve taken measures to ensure he didn’t catch her in my bed, but…hindsight’s twenty-twenty.
“Fine. But I get to bring her breakfast to her.”
“Sounds like a deal.”
I arrange two trays—one with Ashley’s sandwich, along with a single flower stem in a narrow vase, and another with mine and Cruz’s food, along with a carafe of coffee, a pitcher of cream, and a juice box.
With a little help, Cruz grips his tray with both hands, and together we head down the hall back to my bedroom.
Ashley is still sleeping peacefully, curled on her side with her hands tucked beneath the pillow.
“She looks like an angel, Daddy. Our angel.”
My eyes bounce from my son to the woman we both love so much. Her presence in our lives has done wonders. Maybe the kid is on to something—maybe she is an angel. A purple-haired, sexy-as-sin angel.
I help Cruz deposit his tray on her—I mean the spare—nightstand, and then place my tray down onto mine.
“Ashley?” Cruz says her name softly as he reaches for her. “Agent Purple, it’s time for breakfast.”
She blinks herself awake, looking positively disoriented. She sits up, looks at us, wipes at her eyes, and looks again. “Oh my,” she says, her voice brimming with quiet disbelief.
“I thought the same thing when I woke up,” I tell her, so she knows she’s not alone in how she feels.
Oblivious to the moment, Cruz crawls up onto the bed next to her. “Good morning, Ashley. We made you breakfast, and Daddy made coffee.”
She smiles at him the way a mother would her child. “Is that what smells so good?”
He nods. “Uh huh. I helped Daddy make cheesy egg sandwiches.”
“And you brought it to me? Here, in bed?”
“Mm-hmm.” He lays his head on her shoulder.
“That’s so very sweet. Thank you.”
I join them in the bed and distribute our food and drink. “Oh, this is delicious,” Ashley says around a big bite. “A girl could get used to this kind of thing.”
Cruz preens like a damn peacock under her praise. “If you stay, I’ll make Daddy bring you breakfast in bed every single day!”
Her brows dip. “If I stay?”
Oh, Lord, here we go. Probably should have told him to keep our conversation between us.
“Yeah! Daddy said he loves you, and that when grownups love each other they share a bed. And since you’re in love and all, you can marry Daddy and be my stepmom! It’s perfect!”
A million different emotions play out across her face. I worry for a split-second she’s going to crush my son, but like always—Ashley says the exact right thing.
“Your daddy is right. I do love him, very much. And you, too. But relationships take time and work and patience. Do you think you can be patient while your daddy and I figure things out?”
“Do I have to?” he asks with a small pout.
Ashley moves her dishes back to her nightstand and wraps Cruz up in a hug. “Please?”
“Fine.” He gives her a long-suffering sigh far beyond his five years. “Only because you said the magic word, though.”
Eventually Cruz grows bored of our ‘boring grownup talk’ and retreats to his bedroom to play. The second she hears his delighted squeal at whatever toy he’s playing with, Ashley starts in with the questions.
“Colton, what…what are we doing?”
She worries her bottom lip between her teeth while nervously balling the sheets in her hands.
“What do you mean?” I know exactly what she means, but I want to see where her head’s at with the whole thing.
“Are we dating or are we just fucking?”
Straight up, her words burn. At the same time, I get it. I’ve run so hot and cold with her it’s probably pretty damn hard for her to get her footing. “Do fuck buddies usually say ‘I love you?’”
“All sorts of things can be said in the heat of the moment.” She shrugs, trying—and failing—to look unaffected.
“Fine; you want me to spell it out, I’ll spell it out.” In one smooth motion, I have her pinned to the mattress, on her back, with me looming over her. “I. Love. You.” Each word is punctuated with a kiss. “I love you, Ashley Murphy. And I’ll fucking prove it. Every day, for as long as it takes for you to believe me.”
“We haven’t even been on a date.”
“Then let’s go on one. Friday night. I know you don’t have a wedding this weekend, so your ass is mine.” I rub my nose against hers before going in for another kiss. “Be prepared for the best date of your life, because, Ash, I don’t do anything half-assed.”
She licks her lips. “Promises, promises, Mr. Banks.”
38
Ashley
“Are you excited for your date with Daddy?” Cruz asks softly, curling up next to me on the couch.
“I am.” I run my fingers through his messy hair.
“And you’re sure I can’t come, too?”
“I’m sure.” He frowns. “Don’t be sad, bud. You get to spend the night with Asher tonight!”
He brightens at the mention of his pint-sized pal. “Oh, yeah! Uncle West said we could make hot dogs!”
I snort out a laugh. “Uncle West is gonna buy hot dogs.”
Cruz shrugs. “As long as he has ketchup…”
Ah, to be a kid again…to only worry about ketchup.
I feel horrible as soon as the thought passes. I know full and well Cruz has had to worry about far more than any kid should in his life so far.
But still—the past four days have been nothing short of pure torture, thanks to me obsessively thinking about tonight.
Date night.
I mean, sure, Cruz and I did our thing. I even made an effort to keep us extra busy. We tried three new foods this week—mangoes, starfruit, and pineapple on pizza. He loved the first two, but was absolutely horrified by the last. Smart kid.
We went to a movie and did more arts and crafts projects this week than most kids at summer camp. We even baked a batch of lemon bars this morning.
And yes, Colton and I have spent plenty of time together as well. Dinner every night as well as a few lunches. But he hasn’t so much as kissed me since our roll in his sheets Sunday night.
I’ve even tried working out some of my tension with my shower head, but it’s no use. I’m wound tight, on the verge of exploding.
It’s half-past four when a knock sounds on my front door. “That’s probably West now,” I say to Cruz as I heft myself up from the couch.
Sure enough, the dark-haired man is waiting on the other side when I open the door. “Cruz!” he hollers before tipping his head my way.
“Uncle West! Is it hot dog time?”
“Damn—darn straight it is, little dude. You ready?”
Cruz’s eyes ping between us, almost as if he’s hesitant to leave me. “Remember, you get to hang out with Asher!”
“And,” West adds, “we got a brand-new jungle gym in the backyard you boys can play on!”
“Does it have monkey bars?”
West nods. “Of course it does!”
“Ashley’s be
en helping me. I almost got it!”
“I bet you can do it. Go grab your bag, okay?”
Cruz darts off down the hall, leaving West and me hovering in the doorway.
“Remember, he likes a nightlight and to sleep with Ollie. Also, he gets up at the crack of dawn.”
West whistles. “Look at you, Mama Wolf. Take a breath. We’ve got this.”
“I know. Truly I do. I just…I love that kid.”
“He’s lucky to have you. Him and his daddy.”
“Thanks, but I’m the lucky one.”
“Proving my point, Ashley. You’re just proving my point.”
I’m about to tell him to hush when Cruz bounds back into the room. He heads straight for me and wraps his arms tightly around my midsection. “I love you, Ashley.”
“I love you, too, 005.”
“You and Daddy have fun, okay?”
“Only if you and Asher have fun, too.”
He nods solemnly. “Cross my heart.”
I mimic his movements and trace an X over my heart. “If you need us—or even want us—don’t hesitate to ask West or Stacia to call, okay? No matter what time, we’ll talk to you or come get you. Whatever you need.”
West subtly nods while Cruz crosses his arms over his chest. “I’m a big boy, Agent Purple.”
I roll my lips to keep from laughing. “You are. Have fun!” With one last hug, West and Cruz head out, leaving me to rush to my bedroom to video call Mallory for outfit help.
I narrowed it down to three, but sometimes a girl needs an outside opinion.
She answers on the first ring, poised on her couch, coffee in hand, ready to get down to business. “Let’s see ’em.”
A laugh bursts out of me. “Hello to you, too, Mally.”
She snaps her fingers. “My ankles are swollen, my hips ache, and time’s a-wasting. Let’s go!”
“Slow your roll. Colton isn’t picking me up until seven-thirty.”
“That may be true, but I have a surprise coming at six, and you still need a shower, so…” She snaps at me again. “Let’s get it in gear.”
“A surprise?”
“Yes, Ashley. A dang surprise. Now, show. Me. The. Clothes.”
“Fine, fine.” I turn and grab the three hangers from where I left them on my bed. I show her the outfits, one by one.
