“A cock sock,” I say, laughing all over again.
“Hmm, I love the sound of your laughter.” He wraps his arms around me and we roll until he’s on his back and I’m on top, his hands go to my breasts, squeezing before he crunches up and takes my nipple into his mouth, sucking back and doing these fantastic flicky things with his tongue. “I love everything about you.”
Everything.
I moan and scrape my nails up his back, through his hair, my hips grinding as my craving for friction gets the better of me. “I love everything about you too. I’ve missed you so much.”
With a low groan, he pushes me back on the bed, placing his hand at the base of my throat before dragging it all the way down to my mound where he pauses then detours until he’s gripping my hip. “Promise me you’ll never leave, Darcy.”
“I promise,” I say, my chest feeling full as I drink him in. My perfect man. He has a few scars on his body from years of sports scrapes, and if I squint, his nose is a little crooked, so I suppose, if I really look for it, I can find tiny flaws to convince myself that this man isn’t too good to be true. Because that’s how he seems. He makes me feel as though it’s OK to just be me, to be a little crazy, to want the things I want, to not be perfect and to sometimes be selfish. He’s been nothing but supportive and present, and I’m honestly thinking I’ve found my soulmate. Like Leo, I hadn’t believed they were real, but when I’m in the presence of a man who simply gets me without any added bullshit, I feel sure they do exist. It’s like he’s been made for me. I know I keep saying it, but I love him. I love him.
“Come here,” he says, pulling me by the hand until I’m sitting up with him, my arms wrapping around his neck as our mouths connect, kissing while he holds my hips and guides himself inside me. Everything fits together wonderfully, and I moan into his mouth as I push through my thighs rising and lowering to meet the mutual movement of our hips.
“I will love you forever,” I whisper, my body tingling, our breath mingled, fingers pressing into skin.
“Forever and then some,” he returns, holding me tight as he lowers me back on the bed, hooking one thigh over his shoulder as he drives in deeper, just the way he knows I like it. “You feel so good, Darcy. Touch yourself for me, I want to come together.”
“I want that too,” I gasp, sliding my hand between us and using my middle fingertip to swirl my arousal around my clit.
“God, that’s hot,” he grunts, curving his body so he can see the movement of my hand and the in and out of his thrusts. “Tell me when you’re close.”
“I’m close,” I gasp, my breasts growing heavy, my insides coiling. “So close.”
“Holy shit,” he hisses, straining through gritted teeth.
“I’m there. I’m there.”
With a rumbling hum, he thrusts in deep, grinding our hips together so our connection is as deep as possible. “I love you,” he whispers as he kisses me, both of us floating down from our combined orgasm.
“I love you too. So much.”
We spend a little more time kissing and touching, revelling in the afterglow of great sexual chemistry and honest emotion. I feel so complete in this man’s arms, knowing he’s in my life for good now. I’m never letting anyone mess with our happiness again.
FIFTY-FIVE
LEO
“What were you like when you were playing rugby?” Darcy asks, lying next to me on the bed in my apartment. We’re doing that thing where you lie in each other’s arm and play with each other’s hands. She’s currently running the pad of her thumb over the nail on mine, slowly learning how to recognise every part of me by touch. I inhale her hair, scenting her shampoo and the sunshine held there. I love the way she smells. Vanilla and sea breeze.
“I don’t think I was too different from how I am now. I was very driven back then, focused on training. I guess I was a little more intense, definitely shallower. My priorities were messed up in those early years but by the end of my career, I was pretty much the same man I am now.”
“I can imagine it would be easy to get caught up in the fame and attention in the beginning.”
“The attention leading up to and during the season was intense. We were treated like we were something more than just a guy who was lucky because he was born good at sport. So yeah, we all got cocky and thought we were kings. Did a lot of stupid, immature stuff that guys who are constantly competing with each other get up to. People recognise you, ask for your autograph, your photo…it’s a different world with different standards. It was very surreal.”
“Even now people think you’re important. You should have heard the way everyone in town was talking when the cameras were here yesterday.”
“Hmm. Lucky they realised I wasn’t here anymore and cleared out, or we would have been fighting them again today.”
“They would have loved taking shirtless photos of you while you were watching the yachts before.”
I chuckle. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”
“It must suck knowing that someone could snap your photo and put it in a newspaper or magazine at any given moment.”
“For a while, I hated it. But it doesn’t happen much anymore. There’s a bit of attention here and there, especially during the season when I commentate and a little more during the awards season, so unless Tash is stirring up trouble, I’m yesterday’s news. And I prefer it that way.”
“You must be glad she’s stopped fighting you.”
“I am. This is what I’ve wanted for so long: the chance to be the best father I can be to Niall. But I don’t like that I had to out Tash’s behaviour publicly to achieve it.”
“Do you think you would have won the court battle if Nana hadn’t released that video?”
“I think so. I had evidence of her manipulative behaviour coming out of my ears. She had absolutely nothing on me. However, I really appreciate what Esme did. It ended something that could have dragged on for weeks, if not months.”
She rolls to her side so she’s facing me, and I rest my hand in the curve of her waist, moving my fingers lightly against her skin. I love the shape of her. The curves. The softness.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t with you when everything was falling apart.”
“I’m sorry I pushed you away when you tried,” I tell her honestly. “But in the end, I think we both needed to clear out the demons from our past so we could come together without any bullshit holding us back. We have a stronger foundation this way.” I hug her to me, feeling ridiculously happy and complete with her lying naked in my bed.
She takes a deep breath, then slides her hand up my arm before transferring it to my chest, just over my heart. “You are so incredibly amazing, Leo Murphy. I hope you realise that.”
“I’m really not,” I say with a chuckle.
“It’s true. I mean, look at you. You’re Mary Poppins.”
“Mary Poppins?” I laugh, not sure if that’s a compliment or a jibe.
“’Practically perfect in every way,’” she quotes.
“I am definitely not perfect.”
“I beg to differ here. Let’s start with your looks.”
“That’s not at all shallow.”
“I’ll go deeper.” She smiles and presses up on her elbow as she moves her fingers up and down my chest. “You’re older than me but you look even better now than you did in your twenties.”
I laugh because this is absurd.
“It’s true. You have a body to die for, the face of an Italian suit model, and the smile of the quintessential Aussie guy. Even your toes are good-looking.”
“My toes?”
“Yes.” She laughs. “And then there’s everything else about you. Your personality is calm and rational. You’re scary as hell when you’re angry, but you’re controlled, which I really admire. You’re amazing in bed. So good in fact, that if I heard one of my girlfriends bragging about her husband or boyfriend doing the same, I’d think she was making it up. And on top of all of that, you’re gre
at with my kids. Archer loves you. He cried with happiness when he saw you again, Leo. Cried. And even Abigail never disliked you. She just didn’t like sharing me.”
“Wow. I think I want to date me now.”
“I’m serious, Leo. You’re wonderful. And I think Nana was right before.”
“About?” Esme is right about so many things I need clarification here.
“About us waiting for each other long enough.”
“Does this mean you want to move in?”
“I’ll talk to the kids about it, and if they agree, then yes. I want to be crazy, in love, living as a family with you.”
Without a second’s hesitation, I grab her by the back of her head and kiss her hard, rolling us both so she’s lying beneath me and I’m showing her how goddamn happy she makes me feel. She might think that I’m all kinds of wonderful, but I feel almost unworthy of someone like her. She loves with everything she has and doesn’t even think of herself before making a sacrifice to benefit someone else. “I am far from perfect, but I will spend the rest of my life trying to be the man you deserve, angel.”
“You’re already so much more than that. You’re a gift.”
I laugh before kissing her again. “There’s plenty wrong with me, I assure you.”
“I can’t see it.”
“Give it time. I’m sure that six months down the track, we’ll piss each other off over something stupid like leaving a pair of shoes in the middle of the floor and we’ll have a huge fight where everything little seems to get on our nerves and we’re not sure if we’re even compatible anymore.”
“Oh God. I do not want to have that fight,” she says, wrinkling her nose. While we’re still so in bliss mode, it’s hard to contemplate being that annoyed with her. But I’m a realist. Both of us have been married before—well, technically, Darcy still is—so we know we’re going to piss each other off at some point. However, I have no doubt that each roadblock that life throws our way will be something we get through together. I’ve never felt this strongly about someone who wasn’t my own flesh and blood before.
“It’ll be OK. Because that’ll mean we get to make up. And since we already know I can be a bit of a closed-off arsehole when I’m pissed, I’ll probably have a lot to make up for.”
“OK, I’m liking the sound of this a lot better now.”
“Will it make you feel any better if I tell you I’m super anal about tidiness? I’m terrible at sharing. I’ll get jealous if you so much as smile at another man, and you already know I can’t cook.”
“That does make me feel a little better. And I’d list my bad traits for you, but I think you’ve already seen most of them. I’m not the best at hiding my bad side.”
“Your so-called bad side is nothing. Believe me. You’ve met Tash, and you, my angel, are a walk in the park by comparison.”
“Oh.” She grins. “Is this the part where you tell me how amazing you think I am?”
I smile as my hand slides around her waist and I grip her arse, pulling her flush against me. “This is the part where I fuck you while I tell you how amazing you are.” I grind my hips against hers, my growing need pressing into her thigh.
“See what I mean? You’re always going that extra mile,” she says, before I silence that beautiful mouth of hers with a kiss, thanking my lucky stars because this gorgeous, perfect, funny and precious woman is mine. I can’t wait to spend every day of the rest of my life with her.
FIFTY-SIX
DARCY
“There are so many more people here than I expected,” I say as Leo finds a parking spot near the fete. We’ve been circling around for almost twenty minutes trying to find something.
“It’s a huge deal around here. Lots of wealthy retirees and families with kids live around here. It’s a good way to give back to the community, appease the guilt of capitalism, and have fun at the same time.”
When he pulls into the car space, we jump out of his ute and he holds out his hand for me to take. I smile because this is the first time I’ve been able to hold his hand in public. We’ve always been such a secret before now, skulking around in the dark and in quiet corners. As I slide my fingers between his, a sense of freedom and belonging envelops me. I have ‘I love him, I love him’ running on a loop inside my head.
“I wonder how Nana and her Bayside Biddies are doing.” As we cross the street, I can hear the thump of bass in the air along with the hum of a chattering crowd. The air smells sweet and feels light while fete goers mill about, children carry fluffy pink fairy floss on a stick that’s almost bigger than their heads, and parents are weighed down with bags, exhaustion in their eyes.
“Holy shit.” Leo laughs and covers his mouth as a group of raucous teen boys burst through the seam of the crowd. That in itself isn’t so unusual, but the energy of the crowd around them, the intakes of breath, the giggles and the pointing are what draw our attention.
“Oh my God.” I’m covering my mouth too, because each and every one of them is wearing a little crocheted animal on the outside of their clothes, zippers open so they fit correctly of course.
Leo’s chest rumbles with laughter as he swipes his free hand across his face. “Looks like the willy warmers are selling well.”
“Maybe you should have worn yours?” I meet his eyes and we both burst out laughing as we spot a few more young guys walking around wearing them.
“They’ve started a new trend,” I say as we weave our way through the crowd, finding roosters, dragons, snakes, and elephants. Definitely of various shapes and sizes. I can barely keep a straight face.
“Hey, mate.” Leo taps one on the arm. “Where’d you get your decoration from?”
The kid laughs and tells him some old ladies are selling them near the food trucks. “I’d hurry if you want one. They didn’t have many left when we were there.”
“Thanks for the info.”
Weaving a little farther through the throng, we spot Nana and her ladies laughing up a storm while they rearrange the table. At a glance, it looks like they only have about six warmers left.
“Successful day?” I ask as we reach the table.
Nana beams. “Can you believe it? We made about a hundred of these things and there’s hardly any left.”
“You’re a roaring success.”
“The hospital fund will love us.”
“I bet they will. Where’s Archer?”
“Oh, Helen took him to the Mr Whippy van for an ice cream cone.”
“Is this your granddaughter?” A lady I’ve never seen before leans in and smiles at me.
Nana places her hand on the woman’s back in a friendly gesture. “Oh yes, Norma, this is Darcy. Darcy. Norma.”
Norma holds her hand out to me. “Your son is the most adorable boy,” she says. “He’s been really helpful all day.”
“I suppose he hasn’t managed to get the sensational video he was after?”
“Oh, he’s been filming on and off. We’ve been having such a lovely time. Is this your husband?” she asks, gesturing towards Leo who’s chatting with Betsy at the end of the table. He gives me a wink.
“Not my husband,” I say with a smile. “But he is mine.”
Nana leans in. “Darcy split with her shit stain of a husband late last year. Leo is her reward for almost twenty years of servitude.”
“Nana,” I chide, still not liking the idea of putting Kevin down to raise myself up. If it wasn’t for my marriage to him, I wouldn’t have my children, and I certainly wouldn’t have been in the right place at the right time to find Leo. In the end, everything has worked out as it should.
“Ah yes,” Norma says, a knowing look in her eyes. “I used to say that about my fourth husband. Not that he was a shit stain, that he was my reward for being with the wrong men for decades before.”
“You’re not married anymore?” I ask, feeling a slight pang in my chest at the idea her fourth marriage didn’t work out either.
“Widowed,” she explains. “
He passed last year. So, I’m here trying new things, trying to live for the both of us until my time comes and we’re together again.”
“That’s really beautiful, Norma.”
“She’s going to join the Bayside Biddies,” Nana says. “I’m taking her trike shopping tomorrow morning, and we’ve already ordered her shirt.”
“I’ve actually got an embroidery machine, so I’m going to make us patches to go on our leather jackets for winter,” Norma adds, and I immediately know that she and Nana will become fantastic friends. I can just see them both sitting on Nana’s deck smoking weed while Betsy sucks down cocktails and reads everyone’s cards.
“Who’s in charge here?” an angry voice demands, cutting into our conversation.
“I am,” Nana proudly proclaims. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“Yes. You can pack up your table of filth and get out of here. Shame on you, selling these, these things to innocent people, claiming they’re money pouches. You’re old enough to know better.”
“But they are money pouches,” Nana says, her eyes wide and reassuring. “You see, the notes go in here.” She pokes a finger into the penis pocket. “And your change goes here.” She wiggles her fingers in the testicle pocket. I cover my mouth as I try not to giggle, Nana’s innocent act is just too good.
“I may be younger than you, madam, but I wasn’t born yesterday. There’s no way you don’t see that for the penis pouch it is. For crying out loud, there are young men all over the fete wearing them through their zippers.” Penis pouch. Hahahahahahahhahaha. Oh God. I’m wheezing.
“What young men choose to put in their money pouches is their business. I can’t force them to use it for money when they’d rather use it to contain their willies.”
I wipe a tear away and bite my lip to keep from cackling, and the woman splutters. “It’s indecent.”
By now a crowd has gathered around the table, and Leo has moved into a protective position, standing beside the table with his arms folded as though he’s security keeping an eye on things. Niall appears on the other side—the Murphy security detail.
Love is a Beach: a romantic comedy Page 35
