by Ruby Rowe
“You didn’t have to move them.”
I shrug. “We’ll hear the music better on the deck.”
“Oh, right.” She flips through the albums. “You have oldies here.”
“There’s no other way to do vinyl.”
She hands me an album. “I know this band. Camilla said my parents would play it before their drinking turned to drug use and their drug use ruined our lives.”
“Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band’s Stranger in Town. Uh, are you sure you’re OK with listening to it?”
“Yep.” She heads back outside, and although her parents suck, I’m pleased she shared with me about her past. She then bailed, not wanting me to pry, but that’s OK. She’ll tell me when she’s ready, and if that means a little at a time, I can live with that.
Sitting next to each other in my lounge chairs, we stare at the view and talk. The sun is setting, and the sky has morphed from blue to saffron.
“I wonder what it’s like to see a band perform live,” she says.
“What? You’ve been to a concert, right?”
“No, Camilla and I didn’t have money to spend on things like that.”
“Unbelievable… You have to attend a concert. I lost count of the artists I’ve seen.”
Her eyes light up. “I really want to see Justin Bieber or Bruno Mars since they can dance.”
“I’m taking you to a concert, girl. I’m going to pop your concert cherry, but Bieber can’t be the third in this threesome.” She giggles, and I love seeing her smile. She’s gorgeous.
Her hair is healthier, and her skin and the gold in her honey-brown eyes glow. Her body has filled out from consuming more calories, and her curves are in all the right places. Needing to be closer to her, I stand and hold out my hand. “Dance with me.”
“No, I can’t.”
“Bullshit, I catch you dancing all the time.”
“But I was doing it solo.”
“Please, dance with me.” “We’ve Got Tonight” begins to play, and there couldn’t be a better song for us. She stands, and her hand is trembling as I take it into mine.
I pull her close, but she stiffens, so I gradually move one of her arms up around my neck while I gaze at her. “You can trust me. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do.”
She places her other arm around my neck, and I feel victorious yet again for gaining her trust. We sway to the song, and as I listen to the lyrics, I panic over the future.
The song reminds me that we may only have tonight together. This might be the closest I ever get to her, right here in this moment.
“I like dancing with you,” she says as she looks up at me. Something’s different now. Her eyes are alluring, her long lashes batting as she looks at me seductively. “I think I want you to kiss me.”
Hell. Yes.
I have this feeling I’m getting one shot at this, so I can’t fuck it up. Stopping our movement, I stare down at her.
“Close your eyes, and stand still. I’m turning your I think into a yes.” Her breath hitches as she prepares for me to kiss her. She fails to stay still as I press my lips to the corner of her mouth.
“I won’t hurt you, Sasha.” I press them to the tip of her nose next and the other corner of her mouth. “Do you want me to kiss you, Ladybug?”
“Yes,” she whispers. Cautiously and gently, I kiss her. I repeat it, alternating between the corners of her mouth and her quivering lips.
They’re soft and plump, and I’m dying for more. I inch her closer, and I’m surprised when she opens her mouth to let my tongue inside.
Cradling the back of her head, I deepen our kiss and groan as our tongues tangle for the first time. She whimpers in response, the heat from her hum filling my mouth, and it takes all my strength to go slow.
I imagine carrying her to my bed and burying myself deep inside her. Fuck, I don’t want to give her up. Tonight’s not enough.
She pulls back and sucks in air before she gifts me a wide–fucking–grin that’s more breathtaking than the mountains ever could be.
“Thank you,” she says.
“You’re welcome. I’ve never been thanked for a kiss.” Leaving one arm around my neck, she clutches my shirt and stares at it.
“Since I was fourteen, I haven’t kissed a guy without being high or drunk. You’re the first.”
“See, I’d make a great sponsor.” Her head falls over, and her body bounces against mine as laughter thaws my frigid heart.
I’m curious what the age of fourteen has to do with her confession, but at the same time, I believe the truth could be ugly, and nothing ugly is going to mess up this moment.
Ending her laughter, she rests her head on my chest.
“I can’t sleep with you, Greyson.”
“I know. I’ve been selfish long enough.” I stroke her hair, which is cool to the touch from the evening breeze.
“I want to, and you have no idea what that says about you, but my sobriety wouldn’t survive it afterward if you ended up with someone else.”
As the heavy darkness of reality returns, I kiss her head.
“Let’s go home.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Ellis
Answering the front door, I let Greyson and Sasha inside. He looks irritated, whereas she’s grinning like she won the lottery.
“Hi,” I say. Camilla and Liam join us in the hall to greet them.
“Sasha!” Liam runs to her, and she swoops him up into her arms to hug him.
“I’ve missed you, Mikey, and I swear you keep growin’ and growin’.”
“I know. I’m getting so, so big. I’m going to be tall like Boss-Daddy.”
Greyson and Sasha both quirk an eyebrow.
“Boss-Daddy?” he asks. “I have no words.”
“Sasha, would you take Liam to the backyard? He wants to show you his jungle gym. I’ll be out in a minute,” Camilla says.
“Sure. You have a jungle gym?” Sasha asks excitedly while grinning at Liam.
“Yes, and you can play on it, too.”
“OK, you lead the way.”
They wander off, and I know what’s about to happen. I’ve had to hear it from Camilla for the last two hours, and seeing her pissed doesn’t sit well with me. Greyson better listen good today.
She fists her hips. “Greyson, I like and respect you. I really do, and I couldn’t be more grateful for all you’ve done for Sasha, but you’re crossing a line with her. She’s fragile, and Ellis told you when she was moving in not to touch her.”
“We’re only friends.”
“So, friends make out?”
“How do you know about that?”
“She called me this morning. She said you two were spending the weekend together and that you kissed her. She likes you and is sick over you marrying Whitney.”
Greyson grabs the back of his neck. “I only planned to be a friend to her, but since she’s living and working with me, I’ve gotten to know her, and I can’t help but like her.”
“OK, but she can’t be your mistress. If you’re going to marry Whitney, then don’t spend unnecessary time with my sister.” Camilla tears up. “She can’t end up with someone like Rusty again, doing drugs in some crack house. She could end up dead next time.”
Greyson points at his chest. “I only want what’s best for her, Camilla. She’s not some secret side piece.”
“If that’s true, then back the hell off before she falls in love with you and gets her heart shattered.” Camilla storms away, and Greyson drags his hands down his face.
“Is this why you wouldn’t wait for us to have dinner tomorrow?”
“I’ve had to listen to that for the last two hours, so it was only fair that you heard it, too. Let’s go to the family room, and I’ll fix you a drink.”
Greyson takes a seat on my sofa, and I pour him a scotch.
“You didn’t listen to me,” I say as I hand it to him.
“I swear I didn’t mean for it to happen.�
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“First, I want to know why you didn’t give her the entire ten grand.”
“I thought I’d ration it so she wouldn’t freak out and give it back to you, but that’s only the partial truth. If I’m honest, it’s because I worried she’d use it to rent her own place.
“I like her, Ellis. She’s fun and doesn’t have some agenda of how to get ahead. She’s–she’s herself. She doesn’t pretend like everyone else.”
“Fun? How long will fun last? You’re nothing alike.”
“You and Camilla came from different worlds, and you’re making it work.”
“She’s not Sasha. Camilla’s more mature, responsible and older.”
“I’m younger than you, so I can date a younger woman than Camilla, and I’m not as serious and uptight as you. Sasha and I fit together.”
I hold my hands up. “Fine, you like her, but that doesn’t change the fact you’re marrying Whitney Peterson.”
“You’re like everyone else in this family, thinking I belong with someone like her.”
“That’s bullshit. I’ve been telling you for years to stand up to your father, but you haven’t listened, so what am I supposed to think? Unless you’re ending things with her, you need to leave Sasha alone. She’s been through hell already.”
“You know about her past.” Downing his drink, Greyson slams his glass on the coffee table. “Tell me what happened to her.”
“I can’t.”
“I tell you everything, Ellis. I won’t say anything to her about it. I need to know.”
I walk over to the window of the family room and watch Sasha push Liam on the swing.
“Fine, I’ll tell you, but only so you understand why you can’t mess with her head. Her parents were junkies. They traded Sasha for drugs whenever they needed them. Their dealer would take her for days at a time. I guess he and his friends would drug her up and have their way with her.”
I turn around to face him. “She was a pincushion, Greyson. She was only twelve when it started. Camilla rescued her when Sasha was fourteen, and they’ve been on the run ever since.”
As he looks to the floor, his hands ball into fists.
“I’m trying to wipe away any record of Camilla’s kidnapping charges as we speak, but it hasn’t happened yet. That’s why I needed you to be quiet about Sasha’s driver’s license.”
Getting up, Greyson begins to pace. He holds his head as his skin turns crimson. His breathing is labored, too.
“Calm down. She’s obviously doing better.”
The veins bulge in his neck while he pulls at his hair, and before I can stop him, his fist connects to a wall in my family room. I’m not sure which is louder, the punch or his ferocious yell. For fuck’s sake.
“Greyson, get it together.”
“She deserves better than how I’ve treated her. I won’t touch her again.”
“You have the power to end this nonsense with Whitney, but I’m beginning to think you like the safety net.”
“Fuck you. I have to get out of here, so tell Sasha something came up with work and give her a ride home.”
Camilla
“What a day,” I say as I take off my earrings and lay them in a tray on Ellis’s dresser. “Greyson must’ve been angry with me if he’d leave Sasha here like that.” I turn around to face Ellis while he reads in bed.
“It wasn’t you. I told him what happened to Sasha when she was younger to be certain he wouldn’t string her along. He promised he wouldn’t say anything to her, but the news upset him.”
“I understand why you told.”
He removes his reading glasses. “I was surprised over how angry he became. We now have a hole in the wall of the family room, so that’s why I kept you and Liam out of there today. I’m sure our inquisitive child would’ve asked about it.”
“He punched the wall?”
“I think he honestly cares for Sasha. I’ve never seen him that enraged.”
“It doesn’t matter how he feels about her if he’s still going to marry Whitney. Oh, shoot, I forgot to take my pill.” I walk into the bathroom and open the drawer to where I keep my birth control.
I moved them to Ellis’s bathroom since I’m sleeping in his room now. I rummage through the drawer, but they’re nowhere to be found, so I hurry back into the bedroom.
“My pills aren’t in the drawer. Do you think Liam found them?”
“He’s never in here alone. You probably moved them. Did you check the other bathroom?” He puts his glasses back on and stares at his book.
“I’m sure they were in that drawer.” Starting to doubt myself, I go back to the bathroom and search the entire vanity.
“Maybe I should wake Liam to be certain he didn’t take them. I mean, what if he thought they were candy?” I rub my forehead.
“Camilla, calm down. I’m sure they’ll turn up.”
“It’s not like an aspirin for a headache, Ellis. I have to take them every day or they’re pointless. I’m going to search his room. I’ll be right back.”
Only turning on the bathroom light, I quietly check the drawers of Liam’s vanity and then various spots throughout his bedroom. Thankfully, I don’t find them, but not knowing their whereabouts is driving me crazy. It doesn’t make sense. No one else would touch them.
Or would they? No, surely not. We swore there’d be no more secrets between us. No deceit of any kind. After turning off Liam’s light and tucking him in better, I head back to our bedroom. I close the door behind me and lean back against it.
“Ellis, please look at me.” His eyes tilt up from his book. “Did you move my birth control pills?” Blowing out a breath, he removes his readers and tosses them on the bed.
“Why would I do that?”
“Answer me. Did you take my pills?” Slamming his book shut, he gets out of bed and stalks over to me. Shit, he’s mad I accused him. His hands press to the door at each side of my head, and I peer up at him as he towers above me.
“Yes. I took them.”
“Why?”
“You know why. I want you to have my babies.” Hearing him say babies is heart-melting, but the fact he hid my birth control or disposed of it is whacked.
“I want to have your children, but not until we’re married, which we haven’t even discussed. We promised there would be no more secrets between us.”
“I know, but I was hoping you would say heck with it after all the trouble you’ve had getting birth control, and then I wouldn’t have to tell you what I did.”
“All the trouble I’ve had… Oh, my god, you’re the reason my appointments were cancelled.” I attempt to push him away, but he grips my waist with his strong hand while his other continues to cage me in.
His bare torso is right in front of me, all powerful and sexy, and I’m mad that I’m noticing.
“Yes, that was my doing, but you were keeping secrets then, too.”
“I think you’re learning from Liam instead of the other way around. Look at you, trying to talk yourself out of trouble.”
He flashes a devilish smile. “Is it working?”
“This is a serious matter.” I cross my arms. “I think you’re trying to get me pregnant so I won’t have a career.”
He scowls. “Please … having kids didn’t stop my mother from working.”
“I don’t know how many times I need to tell you that I’m not going to abandon you or our children. I would never put a job or dream before my family since having a family was my most desired dream of them all.”
Kissing my forehead, he clasps my chin.
“I told you I didn’t want any barriers between us.”
“That’s not a barrier.”
“If it’s preventing what would naturally occur, then it’s a barrier.”
“OK, but we’re not even married.”
“We’re not married yet. Once you and Liam filled this house with laughter and a joy I’d never experienced before, I knew I wanted a big family, and I want it with you.�
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“You’re sweet and irresistible, and it’s frustrating at times.”
“I’m sorry I was dishonest, but after Tony died young, I realized how short life could be. I’m getting closer to forty every day. If we’re having a bunch of babies, we need to get on it.”
“A bunch? You’re incorrigible, like a spoiled child who always wants his way.”
He slides his hand in my hair and grips it.
“Are you looking for a punishment, my Rose?”
“I think you need the punishment.” Ducking his head, he licks my ear. “OK, my punishment is that I have to eat your pussy.”
“You enjoy it, so it’s hardly a punishment.” I’m instantly aroused by his dirty talk, so I trail my fingers down his chest. “Besides, we can’t make babies if you’re not inside me, too.” Leaning back, Ellis peers down at me with a pleased gleam in his eyes.
“I knew you wanted to make more little geniuses with me.”
“I do, but only as a married woman.”
He kisses my lips. “That makes two of us.” Strolling over to his dresser, he digs around in the top drawer. He returns with a ring box, and I gasp, inwardly wanting to squeal.
“I was going to do something special and share this moment with Liam, too, but you need to know right now how serious I am about spending my life with you.”
He opens the box and lowers to one knee. “My Rose, will you marry me, grow old with me, and make more phenomenal babies with me?”
“Yes, yes, yes!” I jump on top of him, knocking his feet out from under him. Once he falls to his back, I straddle him and pepper his face with kisses. “I love you, and I can’t wait to marry you.”
He radiates happiness as he grabs my hand.
“Then let me put the damn ring on your finger.”
“Oh, yes, please do.” He gets the gorgeous band out of the box and slides it on my wiggling finger. A magnificent round diamond is encircled by smaller ones.
Rose gold prongs are set between them, giving it a floral design. The band is rose gold, as well, and the details of the ring show the sincere thought Ellis put into selecting it.
Once I’ve admired its beauty, he pulls me snug against him and hugs me. I’m sure my hair’s covering his face, but he doesn’t care. He holds me tight, kissing me everywhere he can reach.
