“I’m not going to let Pierce drink from your bottle, Karli,” she said, giving attitude to her little sister.
He wanted to broach several subjects with them, away from their mother’s ears, and now was a good time. At least he hoped that it was. Raphael wanted to give it a try.
“Girls, next week, I have a meeting in North Carolina and have to leave on Tuesday morning,” he said, being met with a few frowns. “I’m planning to take you all with me for a little mini vacation.”
“A family vacation – for real?” Dusty asked surprised.
“Yes, but I only have one big room at the place where we are staying,” he said. “It has two bedrooms.”
“Ah, you want to share a bed with Mommy,” Dusty said, looking at Karli and waggling her eyebrows.
“Are you talking about the sex?” Karli asked. “Daddy, having the sex with Mommy is not a bad thing.”
Raphael’s eyes were wide. His mouth dropped open and his hands flew up in defense. He took a few steps backwards as well, hoping to halt the conversation where they stood.
“Wait, this is not going as I had hoped, so just slow down there, girls,” he said.
“It’s fine. We know about sex,” Dusty said, “and if Mommy is ready to share your bed, I’m okay with it.”
He stood there blinking, unable to comprehend how a child who couldn’t ride a bike spoke so frankly about such adult matters. It unnerved him. Raphael started to sweat.
“Daddy, at the compound where we lived, all those people ever did was have sex,” Karli said. “In the morning, the middle if the day, and in the evening, but the evenings were worse. At night, the noise carried and it sounded like a bunch of wild animals getting loose. I just hope you and Mommy don’t getting going and sound like the beasts of the field. I wouldn’t like to hear that. I don’t want to hear that at all. I would rather listen to the trap music.”
“I should have known better. I should have known,” he mumbled, running his hand across his forehead.
“There was no way you can know, Daddy, how much we’ve been exposed to,” Dusty said, pushing the bike as they walked towards the water showers. “It’s weird. We’ve never seen television, barely know how to operate a microwave, or know the different types of music, but we know how life is created.”
“The creation of life,” he repeated.
“Yes, and Karli and I talked about it some yesterday, after you gave us all the cool gifts,” Dusty said, looking at him. “We love calling you Daddy and for once feeling like we actually have a male figure to protect us and make sure we grow up right, but we aren’t yours. You can love us as if we are, but you need to have a kid of your own. It’s time for Mommy to move into your room.”
“Yeah, you need to put a baby in her belly,” Karli said, nodding as if she’d just spoken a universal truth.
“What?” he said, feeling totally uncomfortable and ready to bolt.
“She’s just like you, Daddy. Mommy loves us, but we aren’t her own babies. She needs to have her own. That way, even if you get tired of us, you won’t get rid of your own kid,” Dusty told him, “and it would make us a real family. You need a son.”
“I need to get the hell away from you two, that’s what I need,” he replied. He looked around to see if anyone had overheard what the girls were saying.
“Daddy, stop playing shy,” Dusty said. “Had we stayed at the compound, on my 15th birthday, Hymn would have paired me with a husband. More than likely, he would have broken me himself. Kindred tricked Theodore into taking Karli out for date night for some beer-bellied man to ruin her. Our lives are different. We see life different. We are happy and hope you are as well, but men need sex.”
“Dear Jesus, make this conversation stop,” Raphael said, walking ahead of the girls. “Okay, we can put this topic to rest.”
“No, we have to make sure we are in one accord,” Dusty said.
“In one accord? What are you talking about, Dusty?”
“Our home is here with you,” she said. “We want to stay, but in order for it to work out, there has to be something in this for everybody. You’re a man. Mommy is a woman. Karli can move into my room or her own room, and Mommy can move into yours to take care of your needs.”
“My needs center around you ceasing this topic right now,” he said, shaking his head. “This conversation is over.”
“Are we in one accord?” Dusty asked.
“Hell no, we haven’t even opened the doors on the Hyundai,” he exclaimed.
“I don’t know what that is,” Dusty said, shrugging. “When we get back, we’ll tell Mommy that Karli is ready to move into her own room, which frees her up to move into yours. You get to make animal noises and create the life of your son, and we get to be one big happy family. Agreed?”
“No, it is not agreed,” he said adamantly. “You can’t make these decisions for your mother. I can’t make these decisions for your mother.”
“You made the decision last night when she was in your room,” Karli said, “making little animal noises.”
Raphael’s mouth dropped open. He feared they had been too loud towards the end and the girls had overheard them, but he’d stuffed her mouth with the necktie. His cheeks warmed in embarrassment.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware that you heard that,” Raphael said.
“You have nothing to apologize for,” Dusty told him. “She was waiting and prepared to please you, not because she had to, but because it is what she wanted. In six years, she never allowed a man to touch her. That says a lot about you. Mommy loves you.”
“We hope you love her back, Daddy,” Karli, “because she needs to be loved by someone other than me and Dusty. She also needs her own baby. Will you give her one?”
Raphael’s eyes shifted to look around him, spotting a sign. Local food vendors hung posters and menus for regional offerings on takeout and delivery options. He spotted one of his favorites.
“Ohh, Chinese food,” Raphael said, pointing at the sign plastered against the wall. “I’m going to order us some for lunch. Have you ever had any? Of course, you haven’t; it is simply the best. Have you guys had shrimp? I know you eat fish.”
“Daddy, you’re changing the subject,” Dusty said.
“No, I’m done with the conversation and calling to order lunch,” he said, pulling out his phone. “We are done with the conversation. Agreed?”
“It is agreed that Mommy will move into your bedroom. It is agreed that you will create a life with Mommy and that we will all be happy,” Dusty said. “Oh, Daddy, just so you know, I love the sound of Dusty Rose Hoyt. Skylar said when I turn 15, I can get my driver’s permit. I want it to say Dusty Rose Hoyt. Is that cool with you?”
He grumbled under his breath, “Shit, do I have a choice?”
Karli slipped her small hand into his. “We all have a choice, Daddy. Like you can choose not to be a potty mouth. Even when I was in those bushes for a long time hiding from Theodore before you came, I didn’t use potty mouth words. I thought of a few, but I didn’t say them.”
He looked down at her, not understanding where she was going with the conversation. Fear gripped his heart, scared of what she would say next. He held the phone, asking the person on the other end to hold one minute.
“I started praying, asking for help,” she said. “I’ve never been so scared in all my life. Then you pulled in and heard the dog barking. You moved your vehicle so I could get in and you listened to what I had to say and saved my Mommy and sister.”
“Yes, I listened,” Raphael said, looking at her little face.
“You must make a child with Mommy,” she told him. “It’s important that you do.”
He gulped hard, not sure of what in the hell was happening. The person on the other line asked again for his order. He placed it, noting that the business was only two blocks away. He’d take the girls home first then take a moment to clear his head as he walked up to get the food and brought it home.
“Be
right back,” he said to Willow once the girls were safely inside of his home as he closed the rear door and headed out. Those kids pulled back the scab and stuck their fingers in his sore. She wanted a driver’s permit. She wanted it say Dusty Rose Hoyt. Karli Hoyt. Willow Palm Rayne Hoyt. Willow Palm Hoyt. He kept repeating it as he walked to get the food.
Meanwhile, at the homestead, Willow had risen and was doing her best to avoid Marla the housekeeper. Pleased she’d managed to get fresh sheets plus the mattress protector back on the bed before the woman showed up, her focus was now on her daughters.
“How did the bike riding go?” she asked Dusty, “And where is he heading?”
“To pick up Chinese food. He said we would like it plus he’s ordering shrimp,” Dusty said.
“Anything else I need to know?” Willow asked, watching their faces.
“Not really,” Karli said. “I think, with my dolls and Daniel Craig, that maybe I need to move into my own room. I don’t really want to share with Dusty since she’s made all these friends. Plus, I want to have a lot of books in my room.”
“You don’t want to sleep with me anymore?” Willow asked, feeling a bit of separation anxiety.
“Mommy, I’m 10,” Karli said. “I need my own space.”
“Okay, sure,” Willow said. “Anything else?”
“Yes, what’s a shrimp?” Karli asked “Is that like a crawdaddy that we got in the creek?”
Neither girl mentioned the extent of the conversation held with Raphael Hoyt about their desires for a family or what they’d told him about their mother. They never let on to her that necktie in her mouth or not, they’d overheard their lovemaking and how she made their Daddy squeal like a piglet. Telling her such information would have been too awkward for everyone.
“Guess what, Mommy? I can ride a bike,” Dusty Rose said, grinning with pride. “He taught me and barely broke a sweat. I love him.”
“I love him too, Mommy,” Karli said.
“You can add my name to that list,” Willow said, thinking of the breakfast in bed and the birthday to do nothing all day but celebrate herself.
THE EVENING WAS EVEN more of a surprise as Raphael took them out on his boat for a sunset cruise. Maneuvering the boat from the dock, he fired up the engine, sailing out of the inlet into Calibogue Sound steering around Tybee Island. He sailed down to a dock, pulling in and setting anchor.
“Daddy, are we going ashore?” Karli asked.
“Sure are because we are taking your Mom to dinner for her birthday,” he said, extending his arm for the ladies to climb out of the boat. They walked up the dock, heading toward the restaurants on the pier and stopping in front of The Deck Beach Bar and Kitchen where he had a reservation.
“Mr. Hoyt, so good to see you again. Your table is ready,” the waiter said as he escorted the family inside.
The dinner conversation was lively with Karli discussing the latest book she was reading, Dusty covering the plots of being a teenager out of sync with the rest of society, and Willow taking it all in. She said very little over the course of the evening and even less on the ride back.
“Willow, is everything okay?” Raphael asked.
“This has been the best birthday of my life,” she said, touching his arm and leaning into him as he steered the boat. “Thank you.”
“We never finished our conversation about what I did for a living,” he said, looking down at her.
“The conversation for me is finished. You basically want to know if I was still in or if your life was too scary for me,” she said. “I’m all in, plus Karli is moving out of my room, which frees me to move into yours.”
“Are you ready for that, on a regular basis, to share my sleeping quarters?” he inquired.
“No, Mr. Hoyt, I’m ready to share a life with you,” she said, squeezing him hard and keeping an eye on the girls.
The blackness of the night enclosed around the boat. The sound of the waves lapped against the sides, rocking them gently as he guided them home. Tonight, Willow would share his bed in an official capacity, not sneaking in and slinking out, but with the full awareness of her daughters. It was all real.
He was okay with it as well.
Chapter Sixteen – Sham
A NERVOUS ENERGY COURSED through Willow as she showered in the bathroom connected to the bedroom where she’d been staying and changed into a regular nightgown. She’d made it earlier in the day when she had nothing more to do but spend time with herself. The gown was a simple cotton slip of material, but she had added a bit of lace around the neckline as decoration. She wore it as she entered the bedroom, tapping slightly on the door.
“Raphael?” she asked, opening the door a bit further and stepping inside to find him nude in front of his dresser. Blushing, she exclaimed, “Oh, excuse me.”
Willow turned her back to his bare form. The short stare she managed to garner was plastered in her memory. His haunches were firm and toned, as well as his long legs, which showed definition as if he hadn’t missed leg day in the gym. There was no fat on him, but he was hairy. The lower half of his legs, just below the knee, were covered in a thick mass of hair which lay nearly flat against his skin. The same type of hair covered his chest and lower arms.
“Willow, it’s not as if you haven’t seen all of this already,” he said, pulling a fresh pair of boxers from the drawer. He slipped them on, one leg at a time, appreciating her desire to allow him privacy, but it was unnecessary. Last night, he’d practically eaten the woman whole and had every orifice on her body in his mouth.
“Technically, I only had a chance to feel it, not actually see any of it,” she said, blushing furiously.
“Close the door and turn around,” Raphael said. He took his time removing the underwear, standing in front of her once more, bare. “Look at me, Willow.”
She turned slowly, observing his nude body. The instrument which had brought her pleasure last night was in a dormant state and reminded her of a little turtle hiding in its shell. A bit of gratitude flowed through her, thinking that he had a grow, versus one that was for show. She blushed as she thought of her sister who taught her such a silly fact about the anatomy of men. If it hung in a dormant state, then a man was a show, she said it meant when he received an erection, it would be the same size. A man who had a grow, you never really knew how big it was going to grow once he became aroused. She knew from experience that Raphael had a grower. Her fingers went to her warming cheeks.
“Willow, have you never seen a man nude before?”
“I have, once or twice, but the idea of last night, me and you, in that bed,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “You’re one helluva lover.”
“Thanks. You made me squeal, so on that front, maybe I should be thanking you,” he said, doing a full rotation, slowing to flex his left butt cheek. For good measure, he raised his arms Vitruvian Man style, stretching his legs wide.
Her nose crinkled as she asked, “What are you doing?”
“Showing you the goods. You need to know what you’re getting,” he said, looking over his shoulder and grinning.
“I got a hearty dose of getting last night. However, thank you for the show,” she said, coming completely into the room and turning down the bed. “Night gown on or off?”
“I’m sorry, huh?”
“Do you want me to sleep nude or in the night gown?”
“What kind of question is that? Sleep how you’re most comfortable,” he said, putting the boxers on once more.
“Raphael, you don’t desire to be with me again tonight?”
He looked over the slim body, the figure very visible through the soft pink cotton. He hardened immediately, looking at the dark nipples becoming tight buds under his gaze. She noticed the change in his body, which he touched, pressing the desire down mentally and physically.
“Last night will hold me for a while. You aren’t obligated to give me your body every evening. Plus, you should be pretty sore,” he said softly, moving towards the
bed. “I think it would be nice to simply hold you tonight.”
“Or I could return the hot mouth action you gave me last night,” she said, sliding into the bed and rolling to her side to face him. “There are more ways than one to please each other.”
“Tonight, it would please me to get a good night’s rest. I have a dance tomorrow, a boy to threaten on Saturday, a boat to clean, weapons to clear, and a financial plan to write before Tuesday. My list of to do’s keeps growing,” he said, pulling the covers up to his waist.
“Goodnight then,” she said, sounding disappointed.
“Willow, I’m trying to show you that not all men are dogs and out to use your body as a receptacle for their sperm. Allow me show you how a good man treats a good woman,” Raphael said, moving closer and staring her in the eyes.
“Man, I have been dick deprived for six years. Four times, Raphael. I’ve never in my life orgasmed four times in a row even when I was doing it myself. I’m starving. Feed me. Make me your love slave. Train my body. Love me with unbridled passion,” she said, reaching under the covers to rub the front of his boxers.
“You and those girls are going to be the death of me,” he said, reaching for her while pushing his desire for sleep to the back burner.
“Maybe, but Lord knows you will leave this world as a man with a smile on his face,” she said, pushing the covers down and taking him in her hand.
It took less than five minutes to make him nearly squeal again, but he eased it back down and instead sounded like a cooing pigeon finding a bag of popcorn in the park. His toes splayed wide, his eyes shut tightly and he held onto the pillow behind his head hoping the pleasure would never stop. Tuesday couldn’t arrive fast enough to put a permanent ring on Willow’s finger and give the woman his last name. He returned the pleasure, bringing her to a lusty and satisfying finish and leaned back, feeling proud of his work. Yet, one thing bothered him. The girls mentioned it earlier in the day and he needed to know as well.
“Willow, do you want children of your own?”
“I want your sons,” she said to him. “Two fine strapping boys would be the perfect addition to the family. Our family.”
Blind Copy (The Technicians Series Book 5) Page 18
