by E. L. Todd
“And you’re forgetting this door locks.” He winked at me then pulled me out of the office.
We went to Mega Shake, the exact place I predicted we would go. Instead of heading to the counter first, Cayson guided me to a table and had me sit down. “I’ll be right back. The usual, right?”
“Yeah.”
He got in line and put his hands in his pockets.
I blatantly stared at his ass and appreciated the sight. It was toned and defined in his slacks. I wanted to take a bite out of it.
Cayson returned with the food and sat across from me. He set my tray in front of me then piled the napkins next to my water.
“So…are you ready for this?”
He picked up his burger and grinned. “I’ve dreamt about this moment for a long time…”
“I’m sure it’ll be even greater than you imagined.”
He gripped the burger with both hands then took an enormous bite. He chewed for a few moments then had a mesmerized look on his face. “Oh my fucking god…”
I laughed. “That good, huh?”
He took another bite and devoured half of the burger. “This makes everything I ate for the past three months taste even worse.” He shoved the rest into his mouth and had a dreamy look on his face as he savored it. After he swallowed it, he released a happy sigh.
“You still got the fries to look forward to…”
He gave me an amused look before he grabbed a handful and stuffed it into his mouth. “Perfection.”
I chuckled then worked on my food. “I don’t know if I could go three months without this place.”
“You couldn’t,” he said bluntly.
“Hey,” I said in fake offense. “I might be able to.”
He laughed. “Yeah right. Who are you kidding?”
I threw a fry at him.
Quick like a snake, he opened his mouth and caught it. He chewed it with a wicked grin.
“Fatass.”
“What?” His hand moved to his stomach. “I have less than four percent body fat.”
“That won’t last long if you keep this up,” I teased.
He grabbed a fry and threw it at me.
I opened my mouth and tried to catch it but totally missed.
Cayson pressed his lips tightly together and tried not to laugh. “Not even close, baby.”
“Try again.” I opened my mouth and got ready.
“This is a lost cause…” He grabbed a fry and aimed.
I pointed at my mouth and silently told him to throw it.
He tossed it in my direction but it bounced off my chin. He rolled his eyes. “Don’t ever go for the pros.”
“I’ll get it this time.” I opened my mouth and leaned forward.
He shook his head slightly. “You’re lucky you’re so cute.” He grabbed a fry and tossed it inside.
It finally made it. I chewed it then fist-pounded the air. “Yes!”
“Awesome,” Cayson said. “The president will be calling any moment now…”
“Shut up,” I said. “It’s a real victory.”
He leaned across the table then grabbed the back of my neck. He forced my lips to his and gave me a strong kiss. His lips massaged mine and made them burn like they were on fire. Then he abruptly pulled away.
I saw stars. “What was that for…?”
He shrugged. “Just because I can.”
***
After dinner, Cayson put a long box on the table. It was gray with a pink bow on top.
I eyed it. “What’s this?”
“Open it.” He rested his elbows on the table and stared at me.
I pulled it closer to me before I pulled the lid off. After I parted the tissue paper, I spotted the black lingerie inside. It was a see-through dress with a matching thong. The bra of the dress didn’t have any support so nothing would be covered. “It’s…slutty.”
“Yeah.” Cayson eyed the material in my hands. “I like slutty.”
I felt it then placed it back in the box. “I like it.”
“I want you to wear it tonight.”
“I still have a ton of lingerie I haven’t shown you from my lingerie party.”
His eyebrows raised in interest. “I better see a different one each day of the week.”
“I can arrange that.”
He sat at the opposite end of the table. “You want to sleep on the beach?”
I stilled at his question. “Sorry?”
“You want to sleep on the beach tonight?” he repeated. “One sleeping bag and one pillow.”
That sounded like fun. “Can we do that?”
“It’s a private beach. We can do whatever we want.”
“Then I would love to.” Sex on the beach with my sexy husband sounded like the best idea ever.
“Great.” He grabbed the dishes from the table then started to do them in the sink.
“You don’t have to do that, Cayson. I can—”
“Sit.” He gave me an intimidating look.
I remained in my spot.
He turned back to the dishes and placed them in the dishwasher. “Let’s grab our sleeping bag and head out there.”
“Do you think it’s safe?”
“Baby, you got me. It could be the worst part of town and we’d be fine.” He headed to the stairs, his ass looking nice in his jeans.
I leaned far over my chair to get a good look.
He returned a moment later with all of our supplies. “Let’s go, you two.”
Together, we walked down to the beach. The sun was almost gone from the horizon and soon it would be dark. Cayson laid the sleeping bag far enough from the water so we wouldn’t get wet when the tide rose in the middle of the night. He unzipped it and placed the pillow on top.
Cayson got into the sleeping bag then patted his chest. “Come here.”
I snuggled inside the blanket with him and rested my face on his chest. My arm hooked around his tight waist. It was a little chilly by the water, but Cayson was a personal heater.
“It’s nice out.”
“Yeah.” We stared at the waves together. Powerful, they beat the shore and made white caps. A distant seagull was heard in the distance. Other than that, it was absolutely quiet. It seemed like we were the only people left on earth.
Cayson lay beside me for nearly an hour. He watched the ocean as the sun further disappeared from our sight. When it was gone and the darkness closed in around us, he stripped off his jeans and t-shirt underneath the sleeping bag. Then he removed my clothes before he crawled on top of me.
Sex on the beach was something we’d never done before, and it excited me that we were doing it now. We never got to cherish our newlywed days because Cayson left so suddenly. But now we were picking up where we left off, unable to stop touching each other for even a moment.
Cayson inserted himself inside me and stretched me as soon as he entered. His thick size always did amazing things to my body. Sometimes it hurt, but it was a good kind of pain.
My nails dragged down his back as he began to thrust inside me. My head lay back on the pillow as I looked up at him. The stars shined brightly in the distance since the city lights couldn’t dim their color. The powerful waves blanketed the sound of my cries as Cayson made love to me in a sensual way.
Cayson gave me a hot, open-mouth kiss and sucked my bottom lip as he thrust into me. He felt so good every time and I never wanted it to end. I wanted this to go on forever. His hand migrated to my belly, and he rested his large hand there like it turned him on even more. “I love you, Skye.”
“I love you too.” My words barely came out because I was moaning so much.
His pelvic bone rubbed against my clitoris, and that just heightened the pleasure. I tensed underneath him and constricted around his length. The burn was hot and fiery, and it stretched to every other place in my body. It felt so good that I bit my bottom lip. “Cayson…Cayson.”
He kissed my neck then my ear, whispering sweet nothings to me. He made me feel loved and wanted al
l at the same time. Then he fisted my hair aggressively as he released inside me, making loud moans as he depleted everything he had.
After he caught his breath, he held himself up on his elbows and looked down into my face. His eyes met mine, and the desire left his eyes. All that was left was the unconditional love he had for me. His thumb moved across my cheek and rested on my bottom lip. “I’ll never leave you again. I’ll never leave either of you. This is right where I belong. The rest of the world can be damned for all I care.” There was such sincerity in his words that it made my heart ached. “I promise you, for now and forever, I will be by your side day and night.”
“I know, Cayson.” I cupped his face and felt his hair in my fingertips. “I know.”
Chapter Three
Cayson
Slade stared at me the second I walked into Mega Shake. He shielded his eyes with his hand like the sun was shining too bright, and he squinted his eyes to take me in. “Is that…no, it couldn’t be.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Is that Cayson Thompson? My best friend?”
“Shut up, Slade.” I approached the booth then sat across from him. The trays of food were already there.
“Oh my lord, it is him,” Slade said in a high-pitched voice. “He finally came out of his cave.”
I gave him the bird then grabbed my burger.
“Your dick is still in tact? Or is it coming loose from your crotch?”
“Why don’t you ask Skye?”
He grinned and nodded his head in approval. “Good one.”
I sipped my soda. “Sorry I haven’t been around much. I—”
Slade held up his hand to silence me. “Kidding. I was just giving you a hard time.”
I returned to eating my burger.
“So, happy to be home?”
That was an understatement. “I already loved it here, but being gone for three months has really shown me to appreciate what I had. I was head-over-heels for Skye when I left but…I somehow fell more in love with her when I came home.”
Slade shoved at least twenty fries in his mouth. “I can only imagine.”
“It’s just…I’m finally happy.” Just sitting across from Slade at Mega Shake was a gift. I wasn’t out in the blazing sun with fifty pounds on my back. I wasn’t being bit by mosquitos left and right.
“I’m glad you’re back, man. It just wasn’t the same without you.”
“I know.”
“We had a pretty good time living with Skye but we’re grateful to have our privacy back.”
I chuckled. “I’m sure Skye is too.”
“So, you guys have just been doing it nonstop?”
“In a nutshell,” I said. “We talk in between. But we don’t say much…” I grinned like an idiot.
“Really?” Slade asked. “Her stomach doesn’t get in the way?”
“She’s only three months along.”
“But…isn’t it…not very attractive?”
“Not at all,” I said as I continued to eat. “It’s hot as hell.”
“That she’s fat?” he asked incredulously.
“She’s not fat,” I argued. “She’s carrying my baby.”
“But isn’t it like having sex with humpty dumpty?”
I knew Slade wasn’t purposely trying to be offensive so I didn’t snap at him. “It’s hard to explain. You’ll understand better when Trinity gets pregnant.”
Slade didn’t seem convinced. “I’ve seen pregnant chicks before. They aren’t hot.”
“Because they aren’t Trinity and they aren’t carrying your child.”
“I’m not following…”
“Just trust me on this,” I said as I ate my fries. “When Trinity starts to show you’ll be on her like a magnet.”
Slade shook his head slightly like he was disagreeing with me. “I’ll have sex with her anyway because…I need to get laid. But I’m not expecting to be super aroused by her stomach.”
“You’ll just have to experience it to understand.”
“Well, I hope you’re right.” Slade had already eaten his burger so he moved onto his fries. “So…” He paused for a long time like he didn’t want to say whatever he was going to say.
I eyed him and kept eating.
“Did you tell Skye about that girl?” He cringed at the end like he didn’t even want to ask the question.
I released an irritated sigh and lost my appetite. “I haven’t even thought about it. It slipped my mind the moment I saw her in the airport.”
Slade nodded. “I can imagine.”
My stomach pooled with anxiety.
“Are you going to tell her?” Slade stopped eating altogether and just watched me.
This was a tense subject. I really didn’t want to think about the terrible night in the tent when Laura violated me. My body had been filled with dread the moment it happened. All I could think about was Skye and how I let her down. How would she react? Would she forgive me? I didn’t do anything wrong but would she understand that? “I don’t know…”
Slade cocked an eyebrow.
I took a deep breath before I spoke. “She’s pregnant…”
Slade nodded. “I know.”
“Everything is so perfect right now. I don’t want to mess it up. These past two weeks have been amazing. I’m finally with my family again and…we’re stupidly happy. I just want to enjoy that as long as possible. I couldn’t tell her the second I got off the plane…not when I saw her bump.”
“That’s understandable. That wouldn’t have been a good time to tell her.”
“I just…don’t want to mess this up.”
“I know.” Slade gave me a sad look. “It’s hard.”
“I didn’t even do anything wrong so I’m not sure if I should mention it. It’ll just make things tense between us. Now we have a baby on the way, something so much more important. Doesn’t that make it irrelevant?” I was looking for any excuse to keep this to myself.
“I completely agree with you. If you could not tell her, that would be the best option.”
I liked the sound of that.
“But if she ever found out some other way…it’d be over.” He gave me a sad look. “Skye would never forgive you for hiding it from her. It implies something worse happened than what actually happened. And she wouldn’t trust you for keeping it from her.”
I bowed my head in acknowledgment.
“It’s so unlikely that she would ever find out. The only people who know are this girl and me. And would you ever see her again?”
“No.” There was no way in hell I would associate with Laura again. I dealt with her because I had to but now I wasn’t obligated to do anything.
“So…if you never said anything to Skye you would probably never get caught. But there’s still that one percent remaining.”
I nodded.
“You want my thoughts on the matter?”
“I suppose.”
“If it were me, and I told Trinity what happened she would be pissed off at me. She’d probably kick me out of the apartment for the night. She’s jealous and possessive, and just the fact it happened would set her off. But…she would eventually cool off and let it go because, for one, I told her the truth and came clean about it. And two, nothing really happened. But if I didn’t tell her and she found out, I know for a fact we would be done. And even though there’s only a one percent chance of that happening…I can’t take the chance. Trinity is too important to risk in any capacity. I’d rather just deal with her wrath for a little while instead of risking losing my wife altogether.”
I couldn’t deny the wisdom of his analysis.
Slade shrugged. “That’s my two cents.”
“You’re right, Slade. I need to tell her.” I rubbed my temple. “I’m just not looking forward to it…”
“I know, man.” He gave me a look full of pity. “If it’s any conciliation, Skye is a lot more pragmatic and logical than Trinity is. Trinity thinks with her heart more than her bra
in, so she tends to be more emotional about situations. Skye is much different. If you tell her, and you make it abundantly clear you were the victim of the situation I think she would be understanding.”
That did make me feel better. “You’re right.”
“So…just rip the bandage off and be done with it. And think about it, she’s carrying your baby. Even if she was really pissed off about it, she wouldn’t leave you, not when there’s a kiddo involved.”
“Now I have another reason to be grateful for knocking her up.”
“See? There’s more pros than cons in this situation. You guys will be fine.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” That still didn’t make me want to fess up.
“So, when are you going to do it?”
I rubbed my temple again. “I don’t know…maybe next week.”
Slade released a weak chuckle. “You can’t prolong it forever.”
“I know…I just want another week with her. We had an incredible night last night. I just want to hold onto this fairytale a little longer just in case it does end in catastrophe.”
“I get that.”
My food lay in front of me, but I wasn’t hungry at all.
“You’ll be alright, Cayson. You guys are a family now. Families don’t just break up without good reason.”
“I know.”
“Did anything else happen with that girl?”
“No.” Venom flew from my mouth. “Never.”
“You just avoided her?”
“Well…not exactly.”
Slade gave me a confused look.
“I kicked her out of my tent initially. She made her own camp and we didn’t speak for a few weeks. But the other men in the group kept sending stares her way. They’re from the eastern countries so they don’t have the same laws and culture that we do. Women are second-class citizens. They’re treated like livestock more often than human beings. Anyway…they left her alone because they thought we were romantically involved. But once they realized she and I weren’t talking anymore, they moved in. I found her in a confrontation with a guy one night. It was clear he intended to…you know.” I didn’t like saying the truth out loud. It made me too uncomfortable. I had a wife, and if something like that ever happened to her I would die. “I intervened and invited her back to my tent. I told her not to cross me again. If she did, I’d throw her to the wolves. We didn’t speak for a long time after that. Then she apologized to me one day and asked if we could be friends. We got along after that.”
