Hearts Will Beat

by E. L. Todd

  Slade could never deny me. He had a special bond with me now. We both loved Cayson, and that made us united in almost every way possible. “I’ll be right there.”

  ***

  “This better be good.” He stormed into the house with his sleeves rolled up.

  “I made brownies…” I held up the plate to him.

  He eyed them with a clenched jaw. But he gave into his instinct and snatched one off the plate and shoved it into his mouth. He spoke while he chewed. “Like I said, this better be important.”

  I didn’t understand a word he said so I just talked. “Cayson is never going to forgive my father. I can tell.”

  Slade chewed before he swallowed. Then he grabbed another brownie. “I’ve come to the same conclusion.”

  “Then we need to figure out a way to fix it.”

  “We?” He wiped the brownie crumbs from his lips. “There’s no we, Skye. You’re back together so now he’s your problem. Remember, I have a wife and a baby on the way. I’ve got my own problems.”

  “Slade, come on. I’m out of ideas.”

  “I’m not a therapist,” Slade said. “I know I’m super smart and perfect but that doesn’t mean you can take advantage of me.”

  “Slade, you’re the godfather of our son. Don’t you think it’s your responsibility to make sure he sees a good relationship between his father and grandfather?”

  “Whoa…hold on.” He held up a hand. “I’m the godfather?”

  “Of course.”

  “But…you never said that.”

  “Well, I’m telling you now. You and Trinity are the godparents to our son.”

  Slade smiled, brownie stained across his teeth. “Seriously?”

  I nodded.

  “Wow…I feel so honored. I’ll totally take care of your son when you and Cayson get hit by an ice cream truck.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “An ice cream truck?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why would we be hit by an ice cream truck?”

  “Because you’d try to chase it down because you’re a fatass like that.”

  I put my hands on my hips. “Uh, thanks.”

  “I’m just saying…”

  “Anyway.” I didn’t have time to get into an argument. “You need to help me.”

  Slade rubbed his chin like he was thinking. “Sean has apologized to him but that didn’t work. Scarlet and I both talked to Cayson but that didn’t make a difference either. And then you finally said something…and you were our last hope.”

  “And I failed.”

  “Maybe you should talk to him again.”

  “I could but it wouldn’t change anything.”

  “You really think so?” he asked.

  I nodded. “We’re going to need something else, something better.”

  “Hmm…” He sat down on the couch. “I’m going to need a few minutes to think of something.”

  I sat beside him and munched on a brownie.

  Slade shook his leg as he remained in thought. He shifted his position every few minutes, leaning against the couch before he sat forward and rested his arms on his thighs.

  I stayed quiet so I wouldn’t interrupt him.

  “Okay…I think I have something.”

  “Spill it.”

  “There’s only one way we’re going to get those two to work out their problems.”

  “And how?” I asked.

  “They have to be stuck together….” Slade started talking with his hands. “Like, trapped together or something. They have to think out a problem together, some kind of activity.”

  “Why…?”

  “If we can get them stuck together for a long time, then they might work it out. Since Cayson can walk away whenever he wants he can’t see Sean’s sincerity. And whenever people are on a journey together, they tend to bond. You know what I mean?”

  “I guess…”

  “So, we need to get them together.”

  “How?”

  “That’s the tricky part…I’m not sure.”

  I couldn’t think of anything.

  Slade rubbed his chin again. “I have an idea…but I don’t think you’re going to like it.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “We can have someone kidnap both Cayson and Sean and throw them into a locked room. We’ll say they’re being used for ransom. Unless you pay off the captors, they’ll kill them.”

  “Slade, that’s ridiculous—”

  “Listen,” he snapped. “They won’t know if they are going to make it out alive. That will change the dynamic of the situation. Their petty fight will seem irrelevant. And they’ll work it out.”

  “What about when they realize it was all a ploy?” I asked. “They’ll both be pissed off. And I’m not willing to mess up my relationship with Cayson again. I just got him back.”

  Slade put his thinking cap on again. “I guess we can have Sean talk to him and lure him into a room. When they’re in there, we can have someone pull an alarm so the building goes into lockdown mode. Then they’ll be stuck in there for a whole day or something.”

  “That’s better.”

  “But Sean will have to be in on it. And he might say no.”

  “He’s pretty desperate, Slade.”

  “Then let’s talk to him and see what he thinks.”

  It was crazy and ridiculous, but we needed crazy and ridiculous right now. “Okay.”

  ***

  “Skye, what are you doing here?” Dad looked up from his desk and didn’t seem happy to see me.

  “Operation Cayson.” Slade grabbed my hand and helped me into the chair.

  I gave him a surprised look.

  Slade didn’t notice then took a seat. “Skye tried talking to him but it didn’t go anywhere.”

  “Actually, I think it made it worse,” I said.

  Dad’s face fell in sadness.

  “I know he’s not going to budge on this,” I said. “I can tell just by looking at him.”

  “Why has Cayson been such a pain in the ass since he came home?” Slade asked.

  “Because Skye and I were pains in the ass,” Dad said darkly. “So, you came here to tell me it’s officially over? I shouldn’t bother anymore?”

  “No,” Slade said. “We came up with a plan.”

  “A plan?” Dad asked. “Like the plan you made to get Skye and Cayson back together?”

  “No, not exactly,” he said.

  Dad looked hesitant. “I don’t want to play games. If Cayson realizes what I’m doing he’ll be more pissed off.”

  “Isn’t the risk worth it?” I asked. “Otherwise things are going to stay the same.”

  Dad shifted his gaze to me. “You’re on board with this?”

  “I can’t have my husband hate my father.” I didn’t want my son to be around that. I wanted to be close the way we used to be, a tight knit group.

  Dad considered it before he turned to Slade. “What’s your idea?”

  “Okay.” Slade started talking with his hands. “Cayson will come here to the office and there will be a lockdown emergency. You and Cayson will go into a safe room where it’ll lock from the outside. And you’ll be stuck there for a day. Being confined together like that is bound to do something.”

  “Or he’s bound to murder me.” Dad released a sarcastic laugh.

  “Come on,” Slade said. “That will be plenty of time for you to change his mind.”

  “Because he can’t run away?” Dad asked incredulously.

  “Just being around each other should help,” Slade said.

  “And lockdown mode?” Dad asked.

  “We know you have procedures for that…after the shooting.” I didn’t like to think about that horrific day. Dad and Mike learned their lesson and had new vaults installed in the building.

  Dad didn’t deny it. “How am I going to get him in there?”

  Slade continued on. “You have him come to the office—”

  “How?” Dad demanded. “You thi
nk if I call him he’ll come running?”

  “We can have Conrad do it,” Slade asked. “They’ll go to lunch or something.”

  “And then what?” Dad asked.

  “Have Cayson come into your office, and then BAM.”

  “BAM what?” I asked.

  “I’ll trigger the alarm and you’ll pull him into the safety room,” Slade said. “And the rest is on you. Skye won’t be here so he won’t be worried about her. And tell Cayson Cortland has his own safety room too.”

  Dad rubbed his temple. “This is the most elaborate plan I’ve ever heard of.”

  “You got a better idea?” Slade snapped.

  Dad sighed then looked at me. “What do you think, pumpkin?”

  I shrugged. “It’s worth a shot.”

  Dad ran his fingers through his hair then nodded. “Then I’ll do it.”

  “Great.” Slade clapped his hands. “We’ll have to get Conrad in on it.”

  “Will he keep his mouth shut?” Sean asked.

  “He will.” There wasn’t a doubt in my mind Conrad would do anything for me.

  Dad leaned back in the chair. “It might be crazy enough to work…”

  Chapter Three

  Trinity

  Instead of working I scrolled through baby decorating ideas on Pinterest. It’s all I’d been doing lately, and my work took a serious hit. The idea of a beautiful baby crawling around the house made my heart swell three times its size. If it was a boy, I hoped it looked just like Slade, with beautiful blue eyes and a strong jaw. And if it was a girl, I hoped she had pretty blonde hair like I did. I sighed as I kept thinking about it.

  The door opened and someone walked inside. “Yo, baby.”

  I didn’t need to look to know it was Slade. “Hey.” I quickly closed out of the screen.

  “Looking at porn?” He gave me that mischievous grin. “Because I can do some poses for you.” He winked then came around my desk.

  “No, I was looking at baby stuff.”

  He leaned down and gave me a kiss. “So? Why would you hide that?”

  “I thought you were one of my workers. I didn’t want them to know how much of a slacker I am.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Baby, you’re the boss. Do whatever the hell you want.”

  “How am I supposed to motivate people to work when I’m not working myself?” Dad taught me that a long time ago. The leader of any given group should work a million times harder. How else will he gain the loyalty of all his followers?

  Slade looked like he wanted to fall asleep. “Your dad acts like a monk sometimes. Don’t listen to him.” He kneeled down and pressed his face into my stomach. He pressed his ear against my shirt and acted like he was listening.

  “You aren’t going to hear anything.”

  “I’m not listening,” he said. “I’m just…I don’t know.”

  I smiled then rubbed his shoulder.

  “Please be a boy…please be a boy.”

  I smacked his shoulder playfully. “Knock it off.”

  He sat up and pressed a kiss to my neck. “You know I’ll love our baby no matter what the sex is. I just hope it’s not a girl. If it is, I’m not going to make it past fifty.”

  “You’re exaggerating.”

  “I’m really not.” He pulled away then felt the braid over my shoulder. “I really like this…”

  “Yeah? I was lazy this morning.”

  “It’s cute. Reminds me of Pocahontas.”

  “You’re into that?” I teased.

  “I guess so.” He stood up and turned to the computer. “So, what were you looking up?”

  “Ideas for the baby’s room.”

  “You want to decorate it when we know the sex?” he asked.

  “Yeah.” I clapped my hands. “I can’t wait.”

  “What if we have twins?”

  “That’ll be even better.”

  Slade had a flustered look on his face. “Two…one for each of us.”

  “It won’t be that bad.”

  “For you, maybe,” he said. “You’re superwoman.”

  “And you’re superman.”

  “Just in bed.”

  I dropped the argument and grabbed my purse. “Ready to go?”

  “Whenever you are.” He snatched the purse from me then looked down. “Why are you wearing heels?” Threat was in his voice.

  Shit, I forgot to change them before he came by. “I…”

  “What the fuck did I tell you? No heels.”

  “Don’t yell at me.” My flames leapt as high as his fire. “I’m only a month along. When I start to show I’ll wear flats.”

  His nostrils flared.

  “And they’re wedges so they aren’t that bad.”

  He still looked pissed.

  I growled then kicked them off before I pulled on my flats.

  “I mean it, Trinity. No heels.”

  “Fine. Whatever.”

  “I’m going to come by and check,” he threatened. “I’m not kidding.”

  “You’re annoying.”

  “Yeah?” he asked. “You’re a pain in the ass. Looks like we’re even.” I walked out and didn’t bother waiting for him.

  Slade caught up and snatched my hand. He squeezed it harder than usual like he was angry.

  We left the building in silence, both of us fuming behind our masks. We walked to our penthouse a few blocks over, neither one of us saying anything. I was surprised Slade bothered holding my hand.

  When we walked inside, Slade immediately grabbed me by the back of the neck and threw me down onto the couch. My stomach was against the cushion and I felt the air leave my lungs.

  He immediately yanked my jeans off then pulled my panties down my legs.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I tried to get up.

  He kept one hand against my shoulder blade so I couldn’t move. He pulled his jeans off with the other. “Whatever the hell I feel like.” He moved on top of me and kept me down with his weight then shoved himself violently inside me.

  He stretched me immediately, making me feel full like always.

  He slammed hard into me, keeping me pinned down. He breathed hard into my ear, his cock sliding in and out of me.

  I was wet, and I was embarrassed my body reacted to him so easily. It felt amazing like always. All I did was lay there while he gave it to me hard and fast.

  “No. Fucking. Heels.”

  “Okay…”

  “You understand me?” He breathed into my ear.

  If he was going to do this to me every time I disobeyed him then I was going to wear heels every day of the week. “Yes.”

  “Good.” He fucked me hard into the couch like I was a sex toy.

  He made me come like always, a loud moan escaping my lips. “Yes…”

  He grabbed me by the neck and gave me all of him, making it last forever. Then he stilled and groaned in my ear as he filled me. The weight and warmth of his seed could be felt deep inside. He paused on top of me when he was finished. Then he pulled out of me. “I’m going to shower.” He walked away without looking back.

  I lay there and didn’t bother getting up. I was too tired and satisfied.

  ***

  Slade made vegetarian wraps for dinner. He couldn’t cook a lot but there were a few things he could make. He found a few recipes in a baby book, and he treated that thing like it was the bible. “Here you are.” He set the plate in front of me. The dressing was on the side the way I liked.

  He sat across from me and immediately shoved his into his mouth.

  “Thank you.”

  He didn’t acknowledge my words and kept eating. He hadn’t said anything since we had sex on the couch. The place was sparkling clean and the laundry was done because he took care of all of that. I didn’t have to lift a finger because he did all the work.

  I took a bite. “It’s really good.”

  “Thanks…”

  “You’re still mad at me?”

  “What do you think?
” He finally looked at me, and the look was ice-cold.

  “I apologized.”

  “We both know you’re just going to do it again.”

  “I won’t.”

  “I’ve been busting my ass for you and our little one,” he snapped. “The least you can do is not wear heels.”

  “I won’t. I promise.”

  He shook his head and kept eating.

  “Slade, I said I wouldn’t.”

  He relaxed slightly. “You give me your word?”

  I nodded.

  “I’m going to check.”

  “Go ahead.”

  His shoulders relaxed further.

  “I really appreciate everything you’re doing for me.” Now I felt like a bitch for not showing my appreciation better. “You’re the sweetest husband in the world.”

  His eyes softened. “I love you.” That was the only explanation he gave.

  “I love you too.”

  He finished his wrap. “Do you need anything? More dressing?”

  “No, I’m okay.”

  “I’ll go to the store later tonight. You should probably take a lunch with you to work. It’s important to eat healthy during pregnancy.”

  I didn’t want to eat carrots and eggplant all the time but I didn’t argue with him. “Slade?”

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “I like it when you fuck me like that.”

  He flinched in surprise, not expecting my explicit words. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.” Lately, all we ever did was make love. It was sensual and slow. I loved it because it was beautiful and passionate, but I also loved being treated like a hot piece of ass that he needed to fuck.

  “I’ll do it more often then. Sometimes I forget my wife is kinky.”

  “Very.” I gave him a smile.

  “I guess I love the way we connect, you know?” he asked. “When we’re together it’s not really about the sex. It’s just you and I, our souls. I don’t know…I guess I’m a pussy.”

  “No, that’s beautiful, Slade.”

  “When you’re in love fucking isn’t as desirable anymore.”

  “I like both,” I said. “But I miss that aggressive side of you, from when we first got together. The sex was so good.”

  He had a distant look in his eyes. “Yeah, it was really good. But I like what we have now. You don’t?”

  “I do,” I said quickly. “But it’s nice to mix it up once in a while.”

  “Well, I can take you to a place you’ve never been.” He winked.