Her Perfect Storm

by A. M. Kusi

  He dared a step closer and wrapped his arms around her. She kept her hands folded across her chest, her body still stiff. “I’m sorry. Being with you does strange things to me. I saw this guy come out of your apartment and saw red.”

  She relaxed a little in his arms.

  “You look edible tonight,” he said, taking her earlobe into his mouth and sucking. She shivered and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m sorry I ruined our first date.”

  She sighed. “Well, you’ll just have to make it up to me.”

  “I can do that.”

  ***

  Isa gave him a tour of the expansive apartment. He was aware of just how far apart their lives were. Her whole place was bigger than his parents’ house. Everything was clean and organized, and mostly white. The fact that the outer walls were glass, giving an amazing view of the city, made it look even bigger.

  Isa grabbed a small clutch. “Ready,” she said.

  He turned to her, almost falling to his knees to worship her beauty on the spot. “A fucking masterpiece,” he said, watching her cheeks pink with color and counting down the minutes until he could see her whole body flush.

  “You look pretty hot yourself. I like the hat,” she said gesturing to his dark grey snap-back.

  “Let’s go because, if we stay here one more second, I’m gonna eat you for dinner,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her out the door as she hurried to match his pace. He swooped his arm around her, picking her up as she let out an excited gasp.

  “What are you doing?” She laughed.

  “Carrying my queen to her chariot,” he said, pushing the button to close the elevator doors.

  They made it to the restaurant and ordered their dinner. He’d chosen a little Italian place with freshly made pasta. Isa took a sip of her sweet wine. A single candle in the middle of the table cast shadows across her face. Black-and-white photos of the same old woman in different stages of making pasta hung on the exposed brick walls surrounding them.

  “It’s nice enjoying a conversation without the kids interrupting us every five minutes,” Ethan said.

  “It seems unnaturally quiet without them. I keep thinking we forgot someone.” She laughed.

  “When do you go to Europe?” he asked, hating that she would be gone for a length of time. He had come to count on her beautiful smile whenever he got home from work.

  “In a little over a month. December first. Is your mom going to be able to watch the kids until your break?”

  “Yeah, she should. My dad’s hip is healing nicely, and he has more mobility now. How long will you be gone for?” he asked.

  “Until just after New Year’s. I’m gonna miss you and the kids.”

  “We’re gonna miss you too.”

  “Maybe I should reschedule. I don’t want to be away for the holidays without you guys. It will probably be difficult since everything happened. The first one always is,” she admitted.

  “You deserve a break. Go and have fun. We will probably be with my parents a lot anyways.”

  “Okay. Yeah.”

  “Do you still have the same opinion on commitment as you did before?” he asked the question burning his mind. He needed to know before she flew across the world.

  She took a sip of her wine before she answered him. “I think I might be one of the lucky few after all.”

  Her words sent a billowing swirl of hope in his belly. His heart radiated with disbelief that he had gotten so lucky as to have Isa Grayson fall in love with him. She met his gaze with her dark ocean eyes and he saw his future in them. His forever. “Tell me more about you. I feel like we have focused so much on the kids and me since everything happened. Tell me about your parents.”

  She winced. He stayed silent, giving her space to answer if she chose to, without pushing her.

  Isa looked around the dim restaurant before taking another sip of wine and pushing her plate of Alfredo away. “My parents always had a rocky marriage. They both came from families with deep pockets and did what was expected of them, I think. Their marriage was for show, my mother a prop. The first time I found out my father had cheated on her, I was seven and overheard them fighting. The second time, I was thirteen. Something just broke in me that day,” she said, staring at the table.

  “I had always wanted to earn his approval. I had wanted him to love me as much as I loved him. I thought maybe I wasn’t good enough, that he was going to leave us for another family. After that, I avoided him and started looking for love in all the wrong places. Stereotypical daddy issues, right?” She laughed, but it was hollow.

  “I think everyone deals with things however seems right in the moment, even if they are not the best for them,” he said.

  She looked up and met his gaze, her expression relieved. She blinked a few times, as if she hadn’t expected his understanding. “My father was never physically abusive that I know of. He used his words instead. It’s always worse when he’s drunk, which, like my mother, is pretty much all the time. He’s a functional alcoholic though. He can go to work and run a company normally even though he’s always drinking.”

  Ethan’s body grew stiff as he clenched his fists, angry that anyone would make Isa believe she was less than the perfect creature she was in his eyes.

  “Does he still treat you badly?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she admitted in a whisper.

  “Why do you keep seeing him then?” he asked, knowing she had a monthly dinner appointment at their house.

  “I have to go to dinner if I want money in my bank account to live on. My trust has that stipulation. It’s an hour or two once a month. I can handle that. Besides, he is my father. I can’t just walk away.”

  Ethan bit his tongue.

  After a moment of silence, Isa asked, “What is it that you are trying so hard not to say?”

  “I just don’t get why you would let yourself be abused like that, all for money.”

  She looked as though he had slapped her. “He didn’t . . . he never laid a hand on us.”

  “Abuse comes in many forms. It doesn’t always leave marks on your body. It’s clear he’s left them inside,” he said calmly, tapping his finger on her head once and then her heart.

  Isa took a few silent breaths before she spoke again. “I stay because, if I left, I would be leaving everything. My mother would never choose me over him. She never did. I can’t support myself,” she explained, not looking him in the eyes.

  He couldn’t imagine his mother not standing up for him. Isa wasn’t exaggerating when she’d said she had a messed-up view of relationships because of her parents.

  Ethan reached across the small table and lifted her chin so she would look him in the eyes. “You can do anything. I believe in you. And I’m always here for you.”

  Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she smiled.

  “Let’s go. I have somewhere else I want to take you.”

  Chapter 26

  The music thumped as bodies surrounded them, pushing them closer together. Ethan’s arms wrapped tightly and protectively around her. The taste of liquor was still on her lips, and her body buzzed with a lightness of inhibitions. The club lights swirled above, igniting his profile in different colors. She felt his hardness grind against her thigh as they danced, her arms looped over his neck. His hands pulled the curves of her hips against him as if he needed her just as much as she craved him. They moved as one.

  Ethan’s strong arms held her firmly in place. She was lost in a trance, surrounded by a hundred faceless bodies unified as the colored lights flashed in the darkened room. The crowd faded to shadows in the background, making Isa believe she and Ethan were the only two in the room. His hand moved to the inside of her thigh before teasing slowly up her dress as he leaned down and kissed her. His mouth tasted like beer and tomorrows. The essence of his taste only fueled the blaze of w
ant within her. Two fingers slipped inside her slick folds. Her moan was drowned out by the loud music.

  He growled in her ear, “You’re not wearing any panties.”

  She smiled and shook her head. Something heated flashed in his eyes. Their time at the club was coming to an end.

  He pressed his mouth to the shell of her ear. “You have to be punished for that.”

  Flames of pleasure grew between her thighs as his fingers entered her, moving in and out. She leaned her head against his chest, feeling hidden and exposed all at once. Her breaths increased rapidly until she was panting, teetering at the edge. She opened her eyes. Glittering sequins caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. A woman was grinding herself against another, lost in her own erotic dance. People were shouting, drowning out her gasps. The music reverberated through her body, adding an extra sensation to her already sharpened awareness. She climbed higher on the ride of ecstasy that Ethan was driving her towards. They were amidst a tangle of arms, legs, and bodies moving to the same rhythm, but she didn’t care. Something about the fact that anyone could see what they were doing turned her on even more. He moved his thumb and swirled around her center, flicking and pressing, and . . . yes! She closed her eyes as a sunburst of stars and flashes of lightning engulfed her. She was pushed over the edge to her climax. He kissed her, his tongue sweeping inside her mouth as she orgasmed, swallowing her cries with his lips.

  He held her as she came down, looking at her lovingly, seemingly mesmerized. She searched his eyes as tears pricked hers. She had never felt so desired, so wanted in all her life. This was the riskiest, most public, sexually empowering experience she had ever had. Her body pulsed with adrenaline and satisfaction, as well as a craving for more.

  Ethan didn’t need to use words. She knew what he was thinking as he took her hand and led her through the thrumming sea of faceless bodies. She followed him, the music growing silent as soon as the door to the club closed behind them. When they reached his car, he pushed her against it, fisting her ass in his hands as he ground his hardness against her center. She kissed him back, biting his bottom lip with an overwhelming yearning to be consumed by him.

  Someone laughed in the distance before a woman yelled, “Yeah, baby! Get some!”

  Ethan jerked away from her and opened the door, practically shoving her inside. He at least made sure her limbs were clear before he shut her in.

  The car ride back to her apartment was silent with anticipation and sexual tension. He didn’t try to touch her. Instead, his hands gripped the steering wheel tightly.

  She reached out to him but he turned to face her, his penetrating gaze full of promise. “Don’t or I’ll have to pull the car over right now and fuck you in the car. I’m using my last bit of self-control to get you home, and if you touch me it will all be over. You deserve more than the back seat.”

  It made her feel powerful to know she was eliciting this response from him. His reflection stared back at her through the window. His gaze only intensified as they sped to their destination.

  The elevator moved, seemingly powered by the rise of anticipation as they rose closer to her apartment. His chest heaved, straining against the white fabric of his dress shirt. Her body burned with want. Finally, he reached for her hand causing the looming dark clouds of lust in the distance to grow closer. Her perfect storm. She was so high, on top of the world knowing this man loved her, thought she was desirable and precious. He had chosen her. Thunder rumbled in her belly as her mind filled with salacious fantasies of how their night would play out. What he was going to do to her? How could she show him all the ways she loved him with her body?

  The elevator opened and they both ran to her door. He took the key from her and opened it. As soon as it closed behind them, his mouth was on hers. Their clothing was torn off, leaving a trail to her bed. His lips burned every inch of her body. Her moans and cries were encouraged by his growls and groans. With no need to be quiet, she didn’t hold back, and neither did he. She was under him and on top of him. He was over her and behind her. Everywhere. Ethan knew how to work her body, expertly bringing her to orgasm again and again until everything blurred into one swirling twister of pleasure. Until she had no air left in her lungs to scream as her body clenched, trembled, and shook around his.

  She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, or what parts were him and which were her. She didn’t even know her own name by the time they lay breathless and panting in a warm limbless puddle on the bed.

  ***

  She woke the next morning with the sleeping sex god still in her bed like he belonged there, snoring. She smiled and checked her phone. They had slept in. Her phone began to buzz in her hand and she answered it, quickly slipping out of bed so as not to wake him.

  “Hello?” she whispered.

  “Isa? Darling? What’s wrong? Why are you whispering?” her mother asked.

  Isa reached the kitchen and spoke in a normal voice. “I have company.”

  “Oh? So things went well with you and Griffin?” her mother asked.

  “No, Mother. I told you I have a boyfriend. Ethan.”

  Her mother tsked. “Well, we need to meet this boyfriend. Bring him for lunch when you come next month.”

  “I—I don’t think—”

  “I’ll talk to you soon, darling.” She hung up before Isa could respond.

  Isa sighed and plugged her phone into the charger.

  “What are you doing out of bed?” Ethan asked from behind her.

  She was still as naked as he was. Her eyes caressed every toned part of him. Would she ever get her fill?

  “My mother called and invited you to lunch with the family. It’s not for another few weeks, right before I go on my trip—they are in France right now.”

  “Okay,” he said.

  “You’ll go?” she asked, unsure how he would feel after their conversation the night before.

  “If you want me to come, I would love to support you. But I won’t hold my tongue if your dad says something to you,” he warned.

  Her belly fluttered with nerves. But her chest exploded with love. “He’s usually well-behaved in front of company.”

  ***

  Joy pushed Max on one of the swings in Ethan’s backyard as Isa called Harper.

  “Well, if it isn’t my favorite bitch,” Harper answered.

  Isa laughed. “I gotta keep it censored; I have little ears listening.”

  “It’s a good thing you don’t have me on speaker.”

  “I know better,” Isa teased.

  “Sooooo, tell me how everything is going?” Harper asked.

  Isa sighed. “Amazing.”

  “I knew it!”

  “You did,” Isa admitted.

  “I don’t believe I was ever properly thanked for my involvement in your access to the best orgasms of your life.”

  Isa laughed. “I think we are even after that concussion I got from your meddling.”

  “If you say so.”

  “Thank you for pushing me when I was too blinded by fear to take the leap. Ethan is . . . he’s the most amazing man I have ever met. He isn’t perfect. God knows, that man can make me mad.”

  Harper chuckled with her.

  “But I love him. He’s perfect for me.”

  “You’re making me cry, Isa. I’m so happy for you and Ethan.” Harper sniffled and asked, “And how are the kids?”

  “Really well. We still have hard days but we’ve enrolled Joy in school and she’s met some really nice friends who will be in her class. Oh, and Max took his first steps! We were all there—it was really special.”

  She and Ethan made love most nights after they put the kids to bed. They held each other, sharing their burdens, and healing each other. Somehow their shattered pieces had bonded together to become a blended mixed family.

  “Oh!
That’s amazing. Mila’s been crawling all over the place. We had to get some baby gates because she’s so fast to get to the stairs,” Harper said.

  “She’s like her mommy. She knows what she wants and nothing will stop her,” Isa teased.

  Max held out his hands motioning he wanted to get out of the swing. “I’d better go.”

  “I love you,” Harper said.

  “Love you too.”

  ***

  Lunch with her parents came sooner than she would have liked. She and Ethan dropped the kids off to his mother’s with no hiccups. Esther had been polite to Isa when she’d seen them at Thanksgiving but had kept her distance. Isa was grateful for the new treatment; anything was better than that first dinner at their house.

  Ethan drove his car up the circular drive and parked as he gaped at the mansion.

  “Please don’t worry too much. I know it’s a lot. They’re a lot. We just need to make it through this hour and then we can leave together, go home, and forget all about it in each other’s bodies.”

  He turned to face her and smirked, breathing out the deep breath he must have been holding. His shoulders remained tense. “Let’s do this.”

  He opened her door for her and moved his hand to the small of her back protectively as they took the steps to the front. Isa entered first and handed her coat to the butler, then motioned for him to do the same.

  She could tell he felt out of place in the extravagant home. Her parents were always about putting on the biggest show. She cringed. Would knowing how her family lived make him see her differently?

  Isa reached for his hand and led him to the large dining room where her mother, father, and brother were seated.

  The shock on her parents’ faces was evident. Her mother audibly gasped and covered her mouth before she poured herself more wine.

  Liam’s mouth turned up in a small smile. He was probably happy to see she was about to be torn to shreds and then he would forever hold the favorite child award.