by Jayne Frost
Sean was at my back, his chest so close that I could feel the heat through our two layers of clothing.
“Just messing around,” he said a little sheepishly.
“I see that.”
Willow shimmied down my body, and grabbing my hand, she led me to the portable percussion set and proudly announced, “Dums.” She looked up at me, her little chin high. “My dums.”
Sinking next to her on the floor, I said, “Your drums, huh?”
Sean took a seat behind us. We were like nesting dolls, the three of us.
Willow pressed a plastic drumstick into my hand. Indulging her, I hit one of the small pads, and to my amazement, a light flashed on the monitor in front of me.
“Did I do that?” When I repeated the motion with the same result, I twisted to look at Sean who was biting his lip and rubbing the hell out of the back of his neck.
“Yeah,” he said and then cleared his throat. “I wanted to teach Willow how to play, so I, um, rigged up the pads to the computer.” He took the stick from my hand and then tapped out a sequence, and the screen danced with blue, green, and red lights.
Tears welled out of nowhere, stinging the back of my eyes. “You showed her the music,” I said to him quietly. “That’s brilliant.”
Sean laughed it off. “It wasn’t hard.” He handed the stick to Willow who began to pound out another sequence. “She’s a natural, baby.”
Relaxing against his chest, I watched our daughter. “How can you tell?”
“Intuition.” Sean linked our fingers. “It’s hard to explain. Remember how I used to tell you about hearing songs in the rain?”
I nodded.
“Well, it’s like that. She hears it.” He tapped his temple. “Up here.” And then he nuzzled my neck, his voice a whisper only for me. “Everything has a rhythm, Anna-baby.”
“Everything?”
“Yes.” He pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “You have a rhythm.”
I snorted. “I don’t have any rhythm. You’ve seen me dance.”
Lifting my hand, Sean turned my palm one way and then the other, like he was performing an inspection. “Not your rhythm—the rhythm of you. The way you sound when you move. When you breathe.” As he brought our joined hands to my waist, his lips found the spot on my neck that drove me crazy. “The sound you make when you come.”
So caught up in Sean’s words, his breath fanning my skin, I didn’t notice when the room went silent.
“We have an audience,” he said with a chuckle, tipping his chin to Willow, who watched us with interest.
Fighting the blush heating my cheeks, I sat up. “Okay . . . well, you can show me more about that rhythm thing later.”
Sean nipped my earlobe, and I felt him smile. “Oh, don’t worry, Anna-baby. I plan on it.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Sean
I waited in the dark, my back pressed against the bark of the willow tree.
For a week, I’d planned this surprise, and since I was leaving for Los Angeles in the morning, this was my last chance.
The front door creaked open, and then Anna’s bare feet pattered on the flagstone pavement. The moon cast just enough light to glimpse the sheen of her peach nightgown. I licked my lips. I fucking loved that nightgown. The feel of it, whisper soft against my skin when she slept spooned in my arms.
Anna slipped inside the gate. “Sean, are you out here?” She knew I was. I’d left her a note. But when I didn’t answer, she hissed, “Great, I’m probably going to get eaten wandering around out here in the dark.”
That was an invitation I couldn’t pass up, so I moved toward her voice, my feet sinking into the dew-covered grass.
“You’re going to get eaten, all right.” I banded my arms around her waist. “That’s a promise.”
Anna yelped, but I captured her mouth, stifling the little cry as I lifted her off her feet. She responded with her usual fervor, wrapping her legs around my hips.
We were still working through our issues, but this we always had. Her body spoke the words she wouldn’t say out loud.
Sucking her bottom lip between my teeth, a hint of the wine we had for dinner lingered on her soft flesh. “Fuck, you taste good.”
Carrying her to the base of the tree, I dropped to my knees when I felt the wool blanket under my feet.
As I laid Anna down on her back, her eyes widened. “Oh, God. Look at the stars.”
“Uh, huh.”
At the moment, the stars were the last thing on my mind. Anna’s silk nightgown slid under my palms as I explored her body. Growling when I reached the curve of her ass, I said, “You’re not wearing anything underneath this.” Her nipples strained the sheer lace bodice as I cupped her breast. “Damn. You’re killing me.”
I thought about taking her right here. Right now. Quick and dirty the way she liked it sometimes. But I spent half the day keeping her in the house to bring this plan to fruition.
“I have a surprise for you. And I really want to blindfold you so I can reveal it.” Kissing my way to her nipple, I flicked my tongue against the sheer fabric. “But if I do that, chances are the surprise would have to wait.”
Anna arched, offering her perfect tits. “I can wait,” she panted. “I’m good with waiting.”
Scoring my teeth across the taut peak, I bit down, and she jerked.
“Patience.” Rising to my knees, I pulled her upright. She pouted at me, so I kissed her nose. “Close your eyes.”
Anna’s hand found its way under my shirt. “It’s already dark,” she huffed when I caught her wrist.
“It won’t be.” I kissed her palm. “Trust me.”
Trust me. Please trust me.
It was a mantra I practiced daily, hoping Anna would hear me. Tonight, I got my wish. Her fingers locked with mine, and when I stood up, she followed suit.
“Don’t move,” I ordered as I reached behind us to locate the two flutes of champagne and the bucket with the bottle.
Anna snickered, and I had to laugh too. We were more of a Pale Ale couple. Maybe I should have brought a six-pack and called it good instead of the expensive as fuck Cristal.
Too late now.
Pressing the glass into her hand, I whispered, “Are you ready?”
“I guess.” A nervous bubble of laughter tripped from her lips. “But—”
Anna’s thought ended with a sharp inhalation of breath when I flicked the switch on the remote, illumining the two spotlights pointed at the tree.
I kissed her softly. “Open your eyes, baby.”
Smiling against my lips, Anna slid her hand into my hair, seeking my tongue. I allowed her to explore my mouth for a moment before breaking away. The pout was back as I turned her toward her surprise.
Anna blinked several times, staring at the rustic swing. It wasn’t much, I guess, just a few ropes hanging from a willow tree in a meadow. But the carpenter used teak wood for the seat, and even from our short distance, the words carved into the beveled edge were visible: Anna-baby.
The white ribbon twining the rope and the large bows on the sides of the seat wouldn’t survive the first storm, but right now the scene looked like something out of a picture book. A fairy tale. Our fairy tale, the one I’d promised her.
Anna spilled champagne as she shuffled to the swing. The twin spotlights outlined every curve of her body as she ran her fingers down the coarse rope to the bows. She knelt in the worn grass, trampled from the five sets of work boots it took to hang the swing with little notice.
A quiet sob pierced the night air as Anna traced the inscription on the seat.
Sinking on the ground behind her, I wrapped her in a tight hug. “You don’t like it?”
She nodded, sniffing. “I love it.”
This would’ve been the perfect time to give Anna the two-karat solitaire in my safe that I’d purchased with my first royalty check. But I wanted to show her in a thousand ways how much I wanted her here, in this house. And later, when she got used to the ide
a, I’d give her the rock.
“I love you, Anna-baby.”
We stayed like that for a long time, sipping champagne that I wished was beer, but, oh well.
Then she settled in the crook of my arm and looked up at me. I tensed when her finger ran the length of the fading bruise on my neck. “When were you going to tell me about your fight with Logan?”
Something akin to anger, or maybe jealousy rolled through me.
“How do you know about that?” I tilted Anna’s chin to look into her eyes. “Your pen pal send you a little note?”
She shook her head, cupping my cheek. “Of course not. I talked to Lily. Everyone’s wondering what happened, and you didn’t even tell me about it.”
“You talked to Lily?”
Shifting, she created a small distance. “Yes. Is that a problem? She dropped by when you were at practice to see Willow. I guess I forgot to tell you.”
“It’s not a problem.” I blew out a breath, still unwilling to give her any details about Logan. “It was just a disagreement like I said. No big deal.”
Anna’s sigh told me she knew differently. “It seems like a big deal.”
A gentle breeze brought the swing to life. “You can ask him yourself if you want. I’m flying out tomorrow, and you can come with me. I’ll even let you sit next to him on the plane.” Shadows crept across her face, and I sighed. “I’ve got to work, baby. But I want you and Willow with me.”
Anna bit her lip. “What’s going on with the tour? When do you leave?”
“We,” I corrected. “And I don’t have any details yet.”
Given our history, my ultimatum, I should’ve held back. But the thought of spending a year on the road without Anna and Willow caused a pit to form in my stomach. And it grew every day.
Anna’s lips brushed the hollow of my neck. “I thought you wanted to show me your rhythm?”
She was distracting me. And worse, it was working.
Fisting her hair, I looked down into her hooded eyes. “It’s not my rhythm . . . it’s yours.”
Lithe fingers traced the stubble on my jaw. “I told you. I don’t have any rhythm.”
I hauled to my feet, and then took Anna’s hand to pull her up. “Come on. I’ll teach you about your rhythm.”
Easing onto the blanket, I motioned for her to join me. She did, stretching on her side to face me with a smug smile that I planned to kiss right off.
Propping my head on my palm, I looked into her eyes as I fingered the hem of her gown. Sliding my hand underneath the silky fabric, I skimmed her smooth skin as I moved north to cup her ass. She curled into me, her hips rocking slightly as I caressed the firm globe.
When I slipped my leg between hers, she increased the movement, craving the friction. Through the denim, I could feel her warmth beckoning me. Before I forgot all about the lesson, or anything but her sweet pussy, I thrummed my fingers against her thigh, matching her rhythm as she flexed against me.
Anna was all breathy moans and soft whispers. Needy, just the way I liked her.
Pressing a kiss to her mouth, I pulled her flush against me, so our rocking was in sync. “There’s your beat.”
“I don’t hear anything,” she breathed, adding depth to her tune.
Sliding my hand between her legs, I parted her slick folds, and this time I didn’t stop. “Don’t listen, baby. Feel.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Anna
Sean pushed to his feet and then turned off the spotlights, plunging the meadow into darkness. I sat up, a shiver running down my spine.
Except for the house looming a few yards away, we might as well have been in the wilderness. It wasn’t unusual to see deer every morning in the meadow, and who knows what other animals lurked in the trees.
As if he could read my thoughts, Sean let out a small chuckle. “What’s the matter, Anna-baby?”
He was teasing me. And if I wasn’t completely turned on and soaking wet I might be inclined to do a little teasing myself, and saunter straight into the house just to have him chase me.
But then a million twinkle lights flickered to life, spreading a warm glow across the meadow. There had to be a hundred or more strands intricately woven around the tree trunk and hanging from the branches.
“Oh, wow.” Rising to my knees, I looked around in awe. “When did you do all this?”
Sean yanked his T-shirt over his head, grinning. “I didn’t. I called Chase, and he sent one of his crews over this afternoon.”
Which explained all the distractions. The bath Sean drew me after lunch. The movie marathon in the theater room with all my favorite Rom-Coms that he hated, but sat through without a peep. Dinner in the formal dining room.
Sean winked, a smug smile curving his mouth as he unbuttoned his jeans. I guess our dirty minds where on the same filthy track because he hadn’t bothered to put on any boxers, and now he was right in front of me in all his glory, bathed in soft light.
I slid my gown off my shoulders, and when I crawled toward him, his lids fell to half-mast.
Fisting his hard length when I knelt in front of him, his free hand went to my hair. “What’ve you got in mind, Anna-baby?”
It wasn’t so much a question as a taunt. He knew what I had in mind. The one thing I hadn’t done since we’d been back together. Because I feared if I didn’t hold something back, some small part of myself, we’d pass the point of no return.
But who was I kidding?
We’d blown by that mile marker a long time ago. Maybe the first night.
Peering up at him, I sealed my lips over his crown. He groaned, and I felt it all the way to my core.
“Fuck . . . Anna.”
His fingers tightened in my hair, but he didn’t move. Didn’t push. I knew how he liked it. Hard. Fast. Punishing. So I took as much of him as I could, hollowing my cheeks and sucking hard.
Sean groaned again, but kept his resolve, barely rocking into me.
I took it as a challenge, and deeper I went until I felt him at the back of my throat. Gagging, I blinked up at him with watery eyes.
Sean smiled, not his normal smile, but the one that told me I was asking for trouble and he was going to give it to me.
“What do you want, baby?” His thumb skated over a tear that slid down my cheek. “You want me to fuck your mouth? Is that it?”
Relaxing my throat, I breathed through my nose, nodding.
Sean waited for a beat, so I pulled back, swirling my tongue over his tip. I barely had a chance to inhale a shallow breath before he jerked his hips, guiding my head to where my hand was curled at the base of his throbbing cock.
Sean set a punishing rhythm, both of his hands in my hair now, fisting the strands as he rocked into me.
Tasting him, salty on my tongue, I prepared for his release. Welcoming it.
And then he was gone.
I blinked at him through blurry eyes when he dropped to his knees.
“I want inside you.” His hand cupped the back of my head a second before he pushed me onto my back. And then he froze. “Condom?”
My lips parted, yes, no, or maybe dancing on the tip of my tongue. I was on the pill, and I wanted to feel him so badly, the way I used to, with nothing between us.
In the few seconds it took me to grapple with my decision, Sean chose for me, stretching to grab a foil packet from the pocket of his jeans.
Maybe it was all the emotions slamming me at once. Or just the realization that I couldn’t give this to him, this one last thing, but the tears I didn’t know were there slid from the corners of my eyes.
Sean finished rolling on the condom before he noticed, and me, like an idiot, hadn’t bothered to hide the traitorous little drops soaking into my hair.
He eased on top of me, alarmed, his thumbs working furiously to wick away the moisture. “Baby, what’s the matter? What did I do?”
Throat burning and breath ragged, I shook my head. “Nothing. I’m sorry. I just . . . I can’t do that yet.”
>
Sean kissed my cheeks, my jaw, then buried his face in the crook of my neck. “Please don’t fucking cry. It’s my fault. All my fault.”
He jerked when my legs wrapped around his waist, and I knew I was sending all kinds of mixed signals, but I wanted him. I always wanted him.
“Sean . . . please . . . I’m sorry,” I choked out. “I love you.” He stilled as the words tripped from my lips, and I pulled him close to look in his eyes. “I love you . . . Please . . .”
I didn’t know what I was asking for. His body. His soul. His promise. But then he slid inside me, and all the chaotic thoughts ceased. It was just him and me. Us. Perfect and peaceful and primal.
“I love you,” he roughed out as he thrust, deeper and harder. “I love you so fucking much.”
Sean’s words sent me tumbling into the sweetest oblivion. And then he called my name, and I felt him shudder as he chased me to the bottom.
For a brief moment, everything was exactly as it should be.
We were whole.
A warm breeze drifted across the meadow, and I shivered, my skin still a little damp with sweat and maybe some tears.
Sean shifted me in his arms and gazed down at me, concern creasing his brow. “Are you cold?”
Not trusting my voice, I shook my head, but he reached for my gown anyway. Once it was secured around my body, he pulled on his jeans and then took me in his arms again.
Drowsing as he stroked my hair, I mumbled, “I’m sorry about the crying. I don’t know what got into me.”
“I got into you.” I chuckled, but then he blew out a breath, twining a strand of my hair around his finger. “Do you believe me, Anna?”
My eye snapped open. “About what?”
He shifted his focus to the lights, avoiding my gaze. “That I love you.”
“Yes.”
Sean relaxed, unaware I’d only given him half my response. Love was never the problem. He loved me the day he stumbled off to the bar, irrevocably tearing us apart a few hours later. And now, with Willow in the mix, I wasn’t even sure if he knew what he felt.
