Hold On Tight (Sea Breeze)

by Abbi Glines

  “You were supposed to be playing in your room,” I reminded him as I made my way over to sit down beside my little man.

  “I was watching out for you,” he said simply.

  I reached over, pulled him against my side, and hugged him to me. It had been just us for so long. This past year had he started acting like he was the one protecting me instead of the other way around. A month ago he had asked me who kept me safe since I didn’t have a husband to do it. I informed him that I kept me and him safe. I assured him I was very good at it.

  He’d changed that day. I was seeing it more and more every day. It was as if he’d realized I needed someone to take care of me, and he was doing that job. Sweet little boy of mine. I kissed his head and inhaled his outdoor smell.

  “Did you enjoy your day?” I asked him.

  He nodded slowly. “Yeah, but if Dewayne was mean to you, then I don’t want him to come back.”

  He was about to have a whole new world opened up to him. One that would change his life. I squeezed him. “Dewayne wasn’t mean to me. Dewayne wants what I want. He wants you safe and happy.”

  Micah leaned back and looked up at me. I could see the confusion in his little face. He wasn’t sure what I was saying, and the little bit of hope in those eyes of his just about undid me. He didn’t want me to know how much he wanted a man in his life, but I knew it and understood it.

  It wasn’t time to tell him just how much Dewayne wanted him in his life and why. I still needed to know that Tabby Falco hadn’t gotten those letters. I had to be sure she was unaware of Micah. Because as much as Dewayne believed his mother would never do this, I knew I had sent her letters. They had to have gone somewhere.

  “Will Dewayne come back again one day to play?”

  He wanted Dewayne to come back. It was in his hopeful expression. I was glad he had enjoyed his time with Dewayne. “Yes. Every Saturday morning Dewayne wants to hang out with you while I work.”

  A bright smile lit up his face. “He does?”

  I nodded, and Micah punched his fist into the air with a cheer and jumped down from the sofa. I watched as he ran off to his room. Our conversation was over now. Smiling, I stood up and went to fix myself a sandwich.

  “You want lunch?” I asked him.

  “Mac ’n’ cheese,” he called back.

  “You’re gonna turn into mac ’n’ cheese,” I replied.

  “Good! Then I’ll eat myself.”

  Shaking my head, I laughed and fixed my son some mac ’n’ cheese.

  DEWAYNE

  If I went home tonight, I’d only think about shit. So I went out to Live Bay, where I knew I’d have friends. People to distract me. It was where some of us always showed up on weekends. Even my married-with-kids friends.

  I sat back with a beer and watched as Krit Corbin sang while eye-fucking his girlfriend. It was like some strange turn in the universe. When Preston Drake had fallen in love with our best friend’s little sister, I’d thought he had lost his ever-loving mind. Now the Sea Breeze man whore and lead singer of Jackdown was completely fucked over a girl. The world was going to shit.

  “I love watching him watch her,” said Trisha, Krit’s older sister and Rock’s wife. Rock had also been one of my best friends since elementary school. Trisha had been a part of our lives since Rock had locked himself around her when we were seventeen. I had once made the mistake of asking if she had a magic pussy. Rock had leveled my ass in one swing. I hadn’t even seen it coming.

  I didn’t talk about Trisha’s pussy again. Lesson learned.

  “He’s fucking whipped,” I said before taking another swig of beer. I had a good thirty pounds of muscle on Krit, though I’d seen his ass go crazy once when he thought Blythe had left him. So I wasn’t talking about her pussy in front of him. Dude would lose his shit, and I didn’t have that kind of energy.

  “You’re so jaded,” said Trisha, who was sitting on her husband’s lap.

  “Honest, sweetheart; I’m just brutally honest.”

  Trisha rolled her eyes. “One day, Dewayne Falco, you will fall, and when you do I’m gonna enjoy the hell out of watching it.”

  She was wrong about that, but I didn’t want to argue. I was trying not to smoke. If that shit did kill people, then I needed to save a few years. I had a nephew who needed me now. I hadn’t had that before. But motherfuck did I want a cigarette.

  “We’re here! Sorry we’re late. Bliss was not in the mood to stay with a sitter tonight. Cage had to rock her to sleep first,” Eva York said as she sat her beautiful ass down on a stool beside me. She slapped my knee. “Hey, you,” she said with the smile that had been Cage York’s downfall. He’d taken one look at Eva, and the player once known as Cage York had transformed. Eva had that magic pussy too. Only fucking explanation for that shit. Cage was a daddy now, and he was happy about it. You asked him about his baby girl and his face would go all soft and dreamy. Crazy shits. All of them.

  I leaned over toward Eva and winked. “Just waiting on you to show up, sugar,” I told her in a low voice, just to piss Cage off. Dude was funny as shit when he went territorial on Eva’s hot ass.

  “Fuck you, Dewayne,” Cage growled, and he pulled Eva onto his leg and nuzzled her neck as if they were horny and dating instead of married and parents.

  “Amanda called and said she had the kids,” Eva said, giggling from Cage’s attention.

  Trisha nodded. “Yep. Preston wanted the kids tonight, so we took them over there and came to hear Krit. I thought I might get to visit with Blythe, too, but he won’t let her out here. He’s keeping her back there with him. It’s why he keeps singing to someone offstage. He rarely takes his eyes off her.” The pleased sound in Trisha’s voice was hard to miss.

  “I love that. They are adorable,” Eva said, looking up at the stage and at Krit Corbin singing to the woman no one could see offstage.

  Cage slipped his hand over Eva’s stomach, and she laughed and tried to move away from his groping. He was getting a little carried away, which was normal.

  “I’m all about watching, but I don’t know if that’s legal. Might wanna pour some cold water on him,” I said with a smirk.

  Cage shot me an annoyed glare. “Jealous, Falco?”

  I glanced over at the blonde who had been sending me flirty signals all night. She wasn’t dressed in much, and she had that look in her eyes. She was at the beach to party.

  I crooked my finger at her, and that was all it took. She bounced her perky little ass over to me.

  “Hey, sugar, you’re trying to get my attention pretty damn hard,” I said, sliding a hand around her waist. She snuggled up to me, and I could smell the beer on her breath. She was nice and lubed up. I cut my eyes at Cage. “New pussy every damn night,” I whispered to him over the top of her head, then pulled her face to mine and took a taste.

  “One day, Dewayne. One day,” Trisha said, but I ignored her taunting and enjoyed the willing young blonde in my arms. Her curves were nice, and her ass wasn’t as plump as I liked—I grabbed it with one of my hands—but she would do.

  “How old are you?” I asked before taking a bite of her neck.

  “Nineteen,” she breathed. She looked nineteen and she felt nineteen. I’d require an ID before I stuck my dick in her, but I believed her. That was enough for now.

  “You good with that mouth?” I asked her, slipping my hand farther over her ass until my fingers touched her crotch. The whoosh of breath that came out of her told me she was ready.

  “I can be good at anything you want me to be,” she said breathlessly.

  I liked this one. “Then sit that sweet ass on my leg and let me visit with my friends,” I told her. As I reached for my beer she did exactly as I told her. She was like all of them, the beauties who came to the beach looking for a good time. A good time they could leave behind here in Sea Breeze once they went back to their lives. I was more than happy to give them a memory to take back with them.

  I just had two rules. Never at my p
lace. I didn’t fuck them at my place. And never overnight. We fucked, and if it was good, we fucked a couple of times. Then I left. It was over. I didn’t even need their names.

  Relationships took too much thought. They took time. They took a shitload of stuff I didn’t want to give. Sure, I got why each of my friends had fallen under his woman’s spell. They each picked beauties with something more than a nice pair of tits. They had the whole package, and I was happy for them. I just didn’t fucking want to be them.

  “You hear that, Dewayne? I expected a snide comment,” Rock said, breaking into my thoughts. My hand had made its way between the blonde’s legs, and I was busy working her up while I made her sit here.

  “Jess is pregnant,” Trisha said with a look of pride.

  Jess was Rock’s cousin, and once she’d been one sweet little piece of tail. Then she’d run off with a rock star’s brother. He’d fallen in love with her and taken her from her life here and changed everything for her. I wouldn’t admit it, but I was happy for her. She had a good heart, and I used to worry she was going to end up giving it to Krit, who would never be faithful to her. But he wasn’t owned by her, and I didn’t think he could be faithful—until he’d met Blythe.

  “Jess as a momma,” I said, then laughed. That was hard to picture. The girl had the body of a fucking porn star, and before Jason Stone had walked into her life, she’d used that body to bring men to their knees.

  The girl in my lap let out a soft moan, and I remembered I had my hand up her skirt, playing around. I better get her out to the truck. That was as far as we were gonna make it. I wasn’t in the mood to go back to this one’s hotel room.

  “Looks like I got to go put out a fire. I’ll see y’all later,” I said, standing up. I took the girl by the hips and moved her through the crowd.

  “You wet, sugar?” I asked as I pushed her out the door and into the cool night air.

  She nodded and looked up at me with hooded eyes. Problem was, I wasn’t in the mood to fuck. I hadn’t fucked in two weeks. Not since I’d been informed that I had a nephew. It had screwed with my head, and I couldn’t focus on anything else. Not even the very willing woman in my arms. I’d worked her up, though, and I needed to fix that.

  “My truck,” I told her, and led her back there and pushed her up against it, then slipped my hands back up the tiny skirt she was wearing and fingered her very wet and hot cunt while she bucked against my hand.

  This should be turning me on. Having one so willing to take me. But it wasn’t. Not in the least. I felt like I was doing a job. Fuck this. I needed her to come so I could go home and get a shower.

  “Come for me, sugar. Come all over my hand,” I said in her ear, knowing words could push a horny woman over the edge. Sure enough, that’s all it took. She trembled and cried out as she held on to my arms. When I was sure she was done, I pulled my hand out, then wiped it casually on her skirt. I didn’t want her scent on me. I needed the damn hand sanitizer in my truck.

  She looked up at me with dreamy eyes. At least she’d gotten some pleasure out of it. I, however, was done for the night. “Go on back in, sugar. I’ll watch you from here to make sure you make it in safe.”

  Her pleased smile slowly turned into a frown as she stared up at me. “What about you?”

  What about me? I’d given her a fucking orgasm and let her come all over my damn hand. I was going home. That was all I had tonight. “I’m headed home. You head on back inside and find your friends,” I told her, then gave her a gentle push toward the door. She stumbled, then glanced back at me with a frustrated scowl.

  “Didn’t promise you a fuck, babe. You were hot and bothered, and I gave you a release. I’m not interested in more. Go on along now,” I told her.

  That seemed to be enough of a slap to her ego. Her back snapped straight, and she swung her head around and stalked off.

  Good. Now I could go home and shower her off me.

  SIENNA

  I hadn’t told Micah about the Falcos tonight. I still needed to make sure Tabby Falco hadn’t received those letters. We had watched Star Wars: Episode III (which was my favorite) and eaten two bags of popcorn. When I’d tucked him into bed, he hadn’t even stirred. He’d had a long day.

  After my long soak in the tub I crawled into bed. It was nice to be back in my bed. I had good memories of home. Before . . . before I’d lost Dustin. I didn’t let myself think about the bad. I didn’t let myself wonder why Dustin had gotten drunk and driven his car into a tree only hours after we had had sex in that exact same car. Whenever he’d driven me, he had been so careful. He was always taking care of me. Protecting me.

  My phone started ringing. I reached over and grabbed it to see Dewayne’s name on the screen. Why would he be calling me at midnight on a Saturday?

  “Hello?” I said, almost expecting this to be a pocket dial.

  “Hey.” Dewayne’s deep voice came over the line, and my lady parts woke up with that one word. Crap! What was wrong with me? I hadn’t had sex in . . . well . . . since Dustin. And what I remembered from sex was not good. The pleasure I could bring myself in bed at night all alone wasn’t a feeling I’d ever experienced with Dustin.

  “I want to talk to my mom tomorrow about the letters. Did you tell Micah?”

  He was calling me at midnight on a Saturday to ask about Micah. Didn’t Dewayne have a date? He always had a chick on his arm.

  “No. I’m not talking to him until I know what happened to those letters. I need to know your mother wants to be a part of his life. I don’t want him knowing about y’all unless he will be accepted. He’s too little to understand anything else.”

  Dewayne let out a sigh. “My momma didn’t get those letters. But even if she did, I want Micah in my life. He’s my little brother’s kid. I want him.”

  So he wanted Micah to know who he was. Could I explain that without explaining about the rest of the Falcos?

  “I need to know how your mother feels first. Micah is my number one concern. I won’t let him get hurt.”

  “Me neither,” Dewayne replied.

  Good. At least he wasn’t willing to play with Micah’s emotions.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll probably be right behind my momma while she’s knocking on your door—or possibly barging in. Once she knows, you won’t be able to keep her away from him.”

  He had no idea how much I hoped that was true.

  “You talk to her. I’ll wait,” was my only response.

  Dewayne was quiet for a moment, and I wasn’t sure if he had hung up or not.

  “Good night, Sienna,” he finally said, and the way his sexy, warm voice curled around that one word made me shiver. Dammit.

  “Good night,” I replied, then hung up. Laying the phone down beside me, I slipped a hand under the covers and into the front of my lace panties. All I needed was the memory of Dewayne’s deep voice while I eased the ache he inspired.

  This wasn’t the first time I’d fantasized about Dewayne. For so long I’d felt guilty that it was him and not Dustin I used as inspiration. But I’d finally resigned myself to the fact that I’d never felt any pleasure with Dustin. Dewayne was a fantasy, and that was all this was. Something that wasn’t real.

  I slid my fingers inside, closed my eyes, and let Dewayne’s body take shape in my mind. His sexy grin and those arms. Lord, those arms were something else. Wrapping my hands around them as they flexed and he moved inside me . . . My body trembled at the thought. The beautiful thing about using Dewayne to satisfy my need was that the idea of him touching me and being inside me set my body on fire.

  It was so easy to forget that he wasn’t there. That he wasn’t touching me. The gleam in his eyes when he looked at me sometimes made me think he thought about this too.

  But it could never happen. I’d get hurt. I knew that. Still, the thought of having him on top of me, rocking his hips as he moved in and out of my very neglected body, made me ache. Just once I wanted to know how it felt to be loved by Deway
ne Falco.

  * * *

  “Momma? Wake up!” Micah’s voice broke into my dreams, and I opened my eyes, only to immediately close them again. The sunlight was pouring into the room and blinding me. “I know you like to sleep late on Sundays, but there’s someone knocking at the door.”

  Micah’s words sank in, and I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes before slowly opening them and looking down at him.

  “Sounds like Dewayne and Mama T arguing outside, but you said not to open the door without you, so I didn’t. I came and got you.”

  Oh crap! I threw my legs over the bed and reached for the silk wrap Janell had given me for Christmas last year. I needed to get dressed, but the knocking and voices were getting louder. I had to go out there and deal with them. Now. Before Micah heard something he didn’t need to hear.

  I tied the belt around my waist and ran my hand through my hair, then bent down to look Micah in the eyes. “You and I have something to talk about later. It’s about a good thing. But first I need to go outside and talk to them, and I need you to stay in your room and play like you were doing before they knocked, okay?”

  He nodded, but the frown on his face told me he didn’t like that he wasn’t going with me. I kissed his forehead, then hurried to the door before Tabby Falco broke it down.

  Glancing back, I saw Micah go into his room, and I took that moment to open the door and step outside on the porch with a red-eyed Tabby Falco; her husband, Dave; and of course Dewayne.

  I didn’t let myself think about the look in Dewayne’s eyes as he took in my appearance. I was a mess, with bed head and no makeup. But I wasn’t out here to impress Dewayne. I wouldn’t think about that.

  “I never got a letter. Not one letter, Sienna Roy! If I had gotten a letter, I’d have come after you and my grandbaby. What were your parents thinking? You were a kid! A baby having a baby, and they left you! I just don’t understand it. And that precious boy who looks so much like my Dustin.” She choked up, covered her mouth, and sobbed. Dave pulled her against his chest.