by Piper Rayne
“Come here,” I say, holding out my arm. She walks around the bed and sits down next to me. I take her hands in mine. “You’re scared?”
Our eyes lock and she nods. “You’re a react-now-think-later kind of guy, Rome. And it’s great. I’m beyond thrilled you planned this getaway for us. This is the part of you that’s awesome.” She runs her hand down my cheek. “But live together? That is a huge step.”
I bring her hand down and kiss the inside of her wrist. “Ever feel like you can never make any headway? Like someone typecast you into a role and you’ll never prove them wrong?”
Her shoulders fall and her lips dip. “I get it, I’m a foster kid, but it’s not that. I just… I know you want Calista…” She stops and looks away.
I put my finger under her chin and turn her head to look me in the eyes again. “And you. I want you, too.”
She swallows and her eyes grow glossy with unshed tears. “Are you sure?”
I feel like she just slapped me. Is she crazy? Of course, I want her. “What are you talking about?”
“Listen. It’s easy. We’ve been thrown together because we share a daughter, but I don’t want you to wake up one morning and feel handcuffed to me. It’s not like we were a couple before we had a baby.” She rises off the bed and I miss having my hands on her immediately.
“You don’t feel what I feel?” I ask, a little hurt by her reaction.
“The sex is amazing. Of course, I do.”
“I’m not talking about sex. I’m talking about wanting to spend every minute with you. Of course, I love Calista and I want to live with her permanently, but I wouldn’t make this into a home for us if I didn’t want you, too. What bachelor agrees to pink throw pillows except for some guy who’s falling hard for a woman?” I pick up said pillow and show it to her.
A smile plays on her lips for a second before slipping away. “You’re good at convincing yourself of things. We walked into your life as a package and I want you to know it’s not a buy-one-get-one deal. You can have just Calista. We’ll share custody, but us living as Mommy and Daddy sharing a bed doesn’t have to be part of the deal.”
I stand from the bed and come up behind her. Sure as shit, there’s Li on the phone throwing out his garbage. My hand slides down her arm and I link my fingers with hers at her side.
“I want you just as much as I want Calista. I’m not doing this as part of some noble quest to sacrifice myself for what I think is best for my daughter. I know I’m not the settling down type, but you’ve changed the way I feel. Every morning I don’t wake up next to you, I count the minutes before I’ll see you. And it’s not just sex. It’s the funny things you say, the way you razz me, and fit into my family so well. How you’ve let the guard down you had when you walked into this town. I mean hell, you’re letting Calista stay with my family for the night. I know that’s huge for you.”
The back of her head falls to my chest and she looks up at me. Our eyes lock and we just stare at one another. All the questions and uncertainty of this decision weigh between us.
“Okay, but—”
I place my finger on her lips. “There’s no but because whatever is after that is a doubt and we’re jumping hand in hand into the cold deep water—together.”
She turns around and wraps her arms around my neck. A real smile transforming her face. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Okay.” She nods once.
I bend my head down and seal our promise with a kiss.
“Let’s christen this bed then.” I pick her up and toss her on the mattress, her body bouncing until it lays flat. Then I strip off my shirt and unbutton my pants in record time. She does the same and I help her with her shorts. We both seem to need to seal this with more than just a kiss. I need to feel her silky skin along mine. To hear her whimper my name as I bury myself inside her.
I crawl up the bed once we’re naked and damn, just like I imagined. “What kind of lotion do you use?” I glide my fingers across her skin like it’s a delicate rose petal.
She giggles. “Never did I think I’d hear you ask that.” She kisses me. “I guess you’re about to find out.”
“Let’s make a deal, I get to put it on you every morning,” I say, and she laughs again, her head falling back, and I use the opportunity to lick up her neck.
Her legs open and I nestle between her thighs, the tip of my dick teasing her entrance as we kiss like we’re teenagers in the basement of our parents’ house.
Our hands roam and we make use of the big bed switching to her on top, me on top, facing one another while we explore one another. I figure out that she loves when I play with her nipples as we kiss. I’ll never tire of exploring her body and what gets her off.
“Shit.” I strip my mouth from hers. “I have no condom.” They’re in the bag I left in the car for us to go away in.
“Pill, remember?” Her hands run down my cheeks.
“Bareback? You okay with that?” I ask, my dick hardening to epic proportions.
I haven’t been with anyone since my last test and I’ve always used condoms.
She nods. “I’m good. Clean.”
My dick twitches at the possibility. Never in my life have I had sex without a condom, but this is something I want to share with Harley. Her legs open wider and I slide into her wetness.
Fuck. I’m about to embarrass myself.
“Um… Rome?” Her fingers run through my hair.
“Give me a sec.” My head falls to her shoulder. Shit. I shut my eyes and think of the recipe for Baked Alaska, one of the hardest desserts I’ve ever had to master. The perfect meringue on top is what makes it so special.
She moves a little under me and I swear I almost come.
“You feel… I don’t even have words.” My hips start to move, and I rise up on my elbows. Our eyes swim together, desire increasing as we make love. I’ve never made love before, but I never want to stop looking at her or feeling her body connected to mine. Something is shifting between us.
“Me either,” she says. Her arms tighten around my neck and she raises up, capturing my lips in another kiss.
One of the many things I love about Harley is that she takes what she wants without apology. It’s sexy as hell and I hope this really does work out long term for us because I’m not sure how I’d survive without her.
Twenty-Seven
Harley
Sitting on my new couch with a sheet over me and a fork full of orange chicken while I watch The Dirt on Netflix is amazing. Add a naked Rome snuggled in next to me levels it up to awesome. I’m still a little shocked that I agreed to move in with him. I must be crazy.
“You like the food?” he asks, holding up a fork wrapped with noodles.
I open my mouth and eat them, nodding.
After we christened most of the apartment—with the exception of Calista’s room because that’s just all types of wrong—my guilt over my initial reaction set in. I’ve been trying to come up with a way to talk to Rome about it, but he’s not exactly the type of guy who wants to talk about feelings and the warm fuzzies. He’s a let’s-eat-Chinese-food-naked-watching-Netflix-and-then-go screw-some-more kind of guy.
With my daughter’s heart on the line though I feel compelled to discuss my issues. Not that I’m a head case or anything, but I didn’t leave foster care without any lasting effects.
“Hey,” I say, placing my container of orange chicken down and facing him.
“All energized up now?” He has that gleam in his eyes that I think of as his sex twinkle.
“Can we talk?”
His face falls telling me all I need to know about what he thinks about my idea compared to his. He’d rather take a fork and jab his eye out. I should let it go. I mean I’ve been good so far and we’ve already talked a little about it. Living together shouldn’t change anything. I already work side by side with him at the restaurant and he sleeps at Savannah’s almost every night. This is just the same thing but more convenient.<
br />
But it’s not and I know it’s not.
“What’s up?” He places his container down, doing everything a boyfriend should.
How did he go from manwhore bachelor to caring boyfriend in only a few months? Maybe it was always in him.
“Earlier when I gave you such a hard time…”
He shrugs. “No sweat. I’m used to it.”
“Why?” I’ve heard the jokes about him running around all the time when he was young or that he’s not one to take life seriously but here he is, in Lake Starlight building a restaurant.
He stares down at his lap and grabs my container of orange chicken. “I’m kind of a fuckup. I mean not entirely. I got my shit together after high school. Went to culinary school, toured Europe mentoring under some amazing chefs, but people always think of me as a fun loving guy. And I am, but that’s not all of me. I understand the seriousness of our situation. Calista is our priority.” He smiles. “It’s one of the things I like about you. The way you always put her first.”
I twist the sheet in my fingers. “You underestimate yourself. You’re not a fuck up.”
“You didn’t know me in high school. Even now. I mean I think half this town thinks I’ll abandon everything and leave.”
“Do you feel like they root for you to fail?”
He shakes his head. “No. They just expect me to.”
I frown. “Then why did you come back here?” I would’ve left and never come back.
“Because my family is here. And I like to prove people wrong.” A cocky grin finds its usual spot on his lips.
He’s so gorgeous, I can’t believe he’s mine.
“Why do you think you rebel?”
He quirks an eyebrow. “You psychoanalyzing me?”
I laugh, realizing I’m peppering him with question after question. “No, I’m just curious.”
I’ve met a lot of rebellious people in the foster care system. A lot of them were afraid to land in one spot for too long. I get his parents’ death could’ve been the cause, but he returned which is different than I would expect.
His eyes lock with mine. “You’re intuitive.”
“Comes from a lot of watching and listening.” Which is what you do in foster care because sometimes speaking up draws attention to yourself and that’s the worst thing you can do.
“I guess for you to understand me, I gotta rip out my heart and lay it out for you.”
I pick up the remote and pause the movie. Sliding over closer, I nuzzle into him so I can still look at him but comfort him in case he needs it.
“Don’t think of it like that,” I say.
He brushes my hair off my shoulder. “Everyone assumes I wanted to leave because of my parents’ death, which fucking sucked, but that’s not why. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to leave town so badly the minute it happened. Everyone always prying and asking how you’re doing with their sad fucking eyes.”
I’ve noticed that Rome curses the more he has to talk about his feelings, but I say nothing and let him continue.
“Everyone thinks my parents had this perfect marriage. Nine kids who all get named after places you conceived them in. Sounds like a damn fairy tale.”
“Really?” I repeat their names in my head and nod. “I never realized.”
“Yeah. Lame, but whatever.” He rolls his eyes.
“Wait!” I tilt my head, thinking of him and his twin brother.
He must read my mind. “Layover. They stopped in Denver on their way to Rome.”
I smile and nod. Makes sense.
“Anyway, what people don’t realize is that my mom sacrificed her career to have this family and my dad could take over the family company. What travel writer wants to write part-time and take on only a few assignments a year?”
“But…”
“They’d fight about it sometimes.”
He interrupts before I can say any more.
“Parents fight.” I shrug.
“Yeah and most who do end up in divorce.”
“Actually, it’s when the fighting stops that you have to worry.”
He smooths my hair away again, watching his fingers flow through my blonde strands. “I guess so. But I just didn’t want to be like my mom and end up with regrets. I know she loved us, don’t get me wrong, but that’s why I swore I would live my life to the fullest.”
I get up on my knees and tuck the sheet under my arms. “Rome, kids are game changers. Think of Calista,” I say. “Look how much you’re changing right now. Do you resent the changes in your life since she’s come into it?”
His eyes fall to his lap and I hope it’s because he’s seeing that his fourteen-year-old self’s beliefs don’t hold as much weight as him as a twenty-five-year-old father.
“If I’d have come into your life before Calista, you might’ve disregarded me. Well, I guess you kind of did.” I cringe.
He looks up with annoyance.
“We were on the same page, but Calista changed you. Without her, you probably wouldn’t have taken the time to get to know me. Wouldn’t have fallen for me.” Shit. Way to put words into the guy’s mouth. I shake my head, trying to take it back. “I mean…”
His hand lands on my cheek. “I have fallen for you.”
“See!” I cover his heart with my hand. “Calista did that. You having a daughter did that. You were ready to move everything down to Seattle for her. You would’ve forfeited your own dream for your daughter.”
He inhales a deep breath.
“Maybe your mom’s life goals changed. Hell, I was going to move right before I found out I was pregnant. But I stayed in Seattle because I had Miranda and a few other friends. There were times I thought ‘what-if’, but in the end, Calista trumps all.”
He stares at me as understanding dawns on his face. He gets what I’m talking about and I hope he sees that his parents might’ve argued like any couple and spoke words out of anger, but that his mom didn’t regret putting her career on hold to be a mother.
“Maybe you’re right.”
“Do you feel like you’re sacrificing?” I ask.
He leans forward and kisses me. “No. I’m so happy right now.”
I smile. “Then I’m sure your mom didn’t either.”
He shrugs. “I highjacked this conversation with my issues. What did you want to talk about?”
Again, my fingers twist in the sheet now that the spotlight is back on me. “I don’t trust easily, and it was wrong of me to think you only wanted me for Calista, but although I’ve worked hard to rid myself of my wounds, the scars are still there. Sometimes I’ll go months without opening up a wound but then one day I’ll be going about my life and bam, there’s a jagged edge that cuts me right open reminding me that I’m flawed.”
“I get it. This is fast and to everyone but us, I’m sure we seem crazy.” He slides closer to me.
“Just be patient, okay? When people tell you your entire life what a waste you are, you tend to believe them. Believing that someone wants you to live with them and be their partner is harder to believe and feels a lot like a fairy tale to me.” I place my hand on his cheek. “I don’t want to lose you because of my own insecurities. So just be patient, I’ll come around.”
He kisses me briefly. “I’m not going anywhere,” he murmurs against my lips. My back falls to the couch and Rome doesn’t miss a beat before climbing on top of me. “You’re stuck with the fuck-up from Lake Starlight.”
“Well, you’re stuck with a girl with abandonment and trust issues.”
He shelters me with his hands on either side of my face. “We’re the comeback kids.”
I laugh and he kisses my forehead, then the tip of my nose.
“We’re going to prove everyone wrong.”
The conviction in his words is enough for me to believe we can do this. We know each other’s issues and we got this.
Nothing will come between us.
Twenty-Eight
Rome
I haven’t
had a guy’s night since Harley and Calista arrived in town. It’s been a month since Harley and I officially moved in together and I have no complaints other than a schedule that makes me dog tired almost every night. But the restaurant is picking up and business is better than I predicted it would be at this point.
“Shit, you should’ve seen it. This girl had on the shortest skirt,” Denver brags as I down my beer. “She actually put my hand on her ass.” He shakes his head. “I’m not used to that kind of forwardness, but hell if I’m complaining.” He downs his shot of Jack in front of him.
We left Lake Starlight so we wouldn’t run into any of our siblings. Actually, Denver’s reasoning is that all the girls are the same at Lucky’s Tavern and he needed to venture out of town for some fresh faces.
Based on their stories, they’ve been doing a lot of that since he moved in with Liam.
“Tell him.” Denver smacks Liam’s back.
He shrugs. His mind has been somewhere else all night.
“Liam brought this girl back last weekend and she wouldn’t leave. It was the craziest thing. She stuck around and watched baseball with us the next day. She had great cooking skills, but she couldn’t take the hint. And when Liam finally just left the house saying something about an emergency at Smokin’ Guns...” Denver squares his eyes at him. “Which, by the way, I know was complete bullshit.”
Liam shrugs, but the tilt of a smile is there, telling me that Denver’s right.
“She came on to me. I mean, I don’t get it. Like I’d screw a girl my buddy just did the night before.” Denver is in a hyper state that’s annoying the fuck out of me right now.
Why? I have no idea. Maybe because he’s living this life of girls, sex, and drinking and Calista couldn’t sleep last night because of a tooth coming in, so I’m about to fall asleep on the table.
“I didn’t screw her,” Liam says in a blasé tone.
“What?” Denver’s head whips around to face him.
“I didn’t screw her.” He shrugs and I laugh.
Denver’s jaw hangs open. “Why the hell not?”
