by J. H. Croix
“Hurry,” she ordered.
I abruptly realized I did not have a condom. I came here with one plan, to tell Cammi how I felt. Shortsighted as I was, I hadn’t realized I was going to get to show her with more than words.
I dropped my forehead to hers, pressing a fierce kiss to her lips. “Sweetheart, I don’t have a condom. I wasn’t really thinking ahead.”
Her fingertips were pressing into the base of my spine, and she shifted her hips slightly. “I have an IUD. I promise I’m clean. After what happened before you, well, I got checked for everything.”
I searched her eyes and pressed another kiss to her lips. “I’m only sure, if you are. I promise I’m clean.”
“Hurry,” she whispered fiercely, her eyes dark as they held mine.
I could work with any orders from her. I positioned my cock at her entrance and slid home in one deep thrust. My knees buckled. “Oh, Cammi,” I slurred. Her satiny, clenching sheath felt beyond good, the pleasure indescribable.
With both of us half dressed, and her legs curled around my hips, we were chasing after our release together. I felt her channel rippling around me and reached between us to tease my fingers over her swollen clit. She cried out, and I followed her over the edge as my release whipsawed through me. I held her close while my thundering heartbeat gradually slowed.
After we hastily put our clothes back in place, Cammi took me on a quick tour and told me her plans. She then told me I had to go because she needed to finish painting her one wall for the night.
I didn’t want to leave her side, not even a little, so I asked, “Why don’t we paint the whole place tonight?”
Her eyes flew wide. “What? There’s no way we can get that done.”
I gestured around the space. “Sweetheart, there’s four walls and the ceiling. You’re not painting that, right?” Whoever had renovated this Quonset hut had put in an actual ceiling instead of the curved surface up top.
She nodded. “But—”
“You do the trim, and I’ll follow behind on the walls. You already finished the trim on this wall right here. Between the two of us, I think we can have it done in a few hours.”
I could see her chewing on the inside of her cheek as she looked around. “I’m game, because I get up early anyway. I can have one late night and then just be done with it. I feel like that’s a lot to ask of you.”
I shook my head, smiling as I pulled her into my arms again. “Nope. Either I sit here and watch you paint so I can go home with you, or we do it together. Might as well bust it out.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Cammi
I stood with my hands on my hips as I spun in a small circle, looking around the coffee shop. It was done, completely painted, and it looked beautiful. I couldn’t wait to hang the new artwork.
Elias was cleaning up in the storage area behind the kitchen. With one last look around, I hurried back there. He had all the paint brushes soaking in water and was closing up the last can of paint. I could tell he’d done some painting in his life. He had been remarkably efficient. We’d eventually switched so he could take care of the trim at the top of the ceilings while I did the bottom. It was quicker because he had better reach than I did.
“Thank you so much,” I said, stopping in front of him. He tapped the can of paint closed with a rubber mallet and straightened. “Anytime, sweetheart. I’m good for projects.”
I giggled as I reached for his free hand. “You are, huh?”
“Absolutely.” His eyes flicked up to the clock on the wall. “It’s not midnight yet. Let’s go to bed.”
Not much later, I fell asleep, tangled up in the sheets and held close against his muscled chest. I already knew his shoulder was the perfect place to tuck my head, but tonight, it felt different. For once, my mind wasn’t spinning with questions and worry. I knew what my heart felt, and I trusted myself. Trusting him was the easy part.
Epilogue
Cammi
“Are you sure?”
Tess’s curls bounced with her nod. “I am sure. You look incredible.”
I turned sideways again, eyeing my growing belly in the mirror. I was having a shotgun wedding. Except no one had a shotgun. It’s just that I was pregnant. Elias didn’t want to wait anymore. I didn’t either. It wasn’t as if I’d been putting him off, but our lives had been incredibly busy.
With my expanded business situation, this year I’d felt like I was running a race every day. Thank goodness every night I got to fall asleep wrapped in Elias’s arms. Once we found our way to each other, we hadn’t wasted any time.
It became a running joke that he was spending the night at my place all the time, so I told him he should just move in. He did, only a month after we christened my new coffee shop.
Meanwhile, he was always flying while I worked like crazy, bouncing between my coffee truck and my new café. I loved our lives, because I knew he did too. The only part I didn’t love was when he had to do overnight trips. But that was life, and I would take it with all the blessings I had in abundance.
After I had my IUD removed, we thought it might take a little while to get pregnant. Apparently, in my case, my body was ready, or as Elias said, he had super sperm. Six weeks later, I was pregnant, and it turned out to be twins.
My wedding dress had had to be let out twice, and now I was worried it didn’t look all that good.
“You look totally sexy,” Susie said as she entered the room. “A pregnant bride is hot.”
“Really?” I asked as I once again inspected my round belly in the mirror.
“Yes. You’re in the perfect phase for this. You’re pregnant enough to still be cute. You just wait. By nine months, you won’t be feeling so hot, especially since you’re having twins,” Susie replied.
Hannah came into the room at that point and swatted Susie on the shoulder. “Really? No need to make her worry about it. Let her enjoy having an easy pregnancy.”
Susie rolled her eyes dramatically and brushed a curl off her forehead. “She’s already had an easy pregnancy. She’s not even having morning sickness.”
Emma came in. “Out,” she ordered. “It’s time for the ceremony.”
Emma was the best kind of friend. She was always a soothing presence just when I started to work myself into anxiety. In this case, I wasn’t anxious about marrying Elias, it was more of the enormity of the moment because for a while, I hadn’t thought I would find my person. I thought I might have to let go of my dream of having a family.
Only moments later, I was standing in front of Elias. We weren’t in a church. We were in the cathedral of nature. Although my parents weren’t here to see the ceremony, we were having it in a field on their old property, which I’d been able to purchase with Elias only weeks after he moved in. Along with friends and family, we even invited the doctor who’d mistakenly thought I was Elias’s girlfriend back when he was in the hospital. It seemed fitting.
The weather had cooperated beautifully. The sun was bright on this cool summer day, and there was only a little bit of an ocean breeze gusting through our small wedding party.
It honestly completely slipped my notice that anyone else was there. The moment Elias held my eyes and said “I do”, I was lost in the moment and in his ebullient gaze.
Elias
Nora caught the bouquet of peonies, Cammi’s favorite flower. The petals had fallen all over the place, because peonies were fragrant and a little messy, a lot like Cammi.
“What am I gonna do with these?” Nora said as she eyed them in her hand.
My sister, Faith, laughed. “I guess you’re gonna fall in love.”
Nora narrowed her eyes. “Fat chance of that. I don’t believe in love.” She and Gabriel’s sort of secret on-again, off-again thing had been decidedly off lately.
Diego happened to be approaching at that moment and pressed his fist over his heart. “How can you say that? Love is a real thing. Do you believe in Elias and Cammi?”
Nora stared, ki
nd of hard, at Diego. “Of course, I believe in Elias and Cammi. It’s just love isn’t for me. I don’t think I have the right personality.”
Diego rested his palm on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. “You’ll know when it’s right.”
Nora glared at him, but I didn’t dwell. It was my wedding day, and I had a girl to celebrate.
I sought Cammi out in the small crowd. We had our reception up at Last Frontier Lodge. There was enough space, and they refused to charge us, if only because we gave them so much business.
Cammi was chatting with my mother and Marley. I slipped my arm around her waist, unable to resist sliding my palm over the side of her round belly. She was fucking sexy as hell pregnant. Who knew I had a thing for pregnant women? To clarify, I didn’t have a thing for anyone but Cammi. Cammi pregnant? Holy smokes. My body thought she was made of fire.
My mother smiled between us. Her health was doing better, and she had actually quit her job, which was a huge relief to me and my sisters. “I’m so happy for you two.” She leaned up, cupping my cheek with her hand. “My boy was a little too cynical for a few years there.” Her eyes shifted to Cammi when she dropped her hand. “You took him out of that place. I’m so grateful for you.”
I felt Cammi’s arm curl around my waist, and she squeezed lightly. “I consider myself the lucky one.”
Two years later
A loud scream pierced the air. I was just coming through the front door, and my arms were laden with grocery bags. I braced myself. Sure enough, another scream followed and then the sound of two pairs of feet scurrying across the floor reached me. I smiled in spite of the chaos.
“Slow down!” Cammi called.
“No worries,” I called in reply.
Only last month I had built an extra counter right by the kitchen door. Pretty much for the sole reason of dumping grocery bags by the door, although I told Cammi it was because she wanted a lower counter for baking. True story, but it was also handy.
I immediately unloaded the grocery bags just in time for the first twin to collide with my knees. Leaning down, I swung Eli up in the air, laughing as he giggled. I had this down to a science and set him on the floor just in time to catch Darla.
We knew Cammi was going to have twins, but we’d decided to wait on finding out the gender, only to be surprised with fraternal twins, a boy and a girl. Darla, who we named after Cammi’s mother, came out two minutes earlier, so she was technically older and was already bossing her brother around at two.
“Daddy, daddy!” she called, immediately reaching for the one grocery bag that was hanging half off the counter.
I quickly nudged it out of her reach with my elbow. “Yes?”
“Did you get ice cream?” Eli chimed in.
“Maybe. You’ll have to find out after dinner.”
Cammi came walking in the kitchen then. She crossed the room, leaning up to press a kiss on the side of my neck. As she stepped back, I moved to slide my arm around her waist and reel her back in.
She came easily, laughing as she tucked her head against my shoulder, asking, “How was your day?”
“I spent most of the day in the air, so it was good. Yours?” I nuzzled her neck, breathing in her scent. “You smell like sugar,” I murmured as I lifted my head.
“We made sugar cookies this morning,” she said with a sheepish smile as she looked up at me. “It was kind of a disaster, but they taste good.”
She gestured toward the stove, and I looked over to see a unique collection of shapes, all of them melted together into one giant cookie.
“Ah, sliced cookies,” I said with a grin.
Our two-year old twins had already scampered back into the living room, which was conveniently through an archway so we could see what was going on. Twins were a handful and required almost constant supervision. There was the one bonus that they often kept each other occupied. Our house was entirely toddler proof, so for the most part we could steal a few minutes here and there.
I brushed Cammi’s hair back from her face. “So, you had someone cover this afternoon?”
“Yes! With your mom taking the twins this afternoon, I took care of all my orders, and I could breathe.”
Cammi was busy, all the time, with her coffee truck still in full swing from roughly March to November and the café year-round. With me flying, both of us were living at a breakneck pace, but it was a good chaos, and I wouldn’t change it for a second. The twins made our life feel overflowing. We had to steal moments alone. That was okay too, because then it felt special. With my mother moving up here, we had some breathing room for daycare, plus plenty of friends who helped out.
“Too bad she didn’t keep them for the night,” I murmured as I leaned down to trail kisses along Cammi’s neck. She giggled and arched into me before stepping back breathlessly. “Actually, she’s picking them up again in twenty minutes.”
“She is?”
Cammi stepped back just when I tried to kiss her again. “Yes. Remember? We have date night with Daphne and Flynn.”
“I think we should cancel,” I said flatly.
She cuffed me lightly on the shoulder. “No. We promised.”
“Can we come home early?” I pressed.
I caught her hand and reeled her right back up against me. She was laughing as she looked up. “They’re spending the night at your mom’s house.”
I stole a kiss while I could. Her eyes sparkled when she looked up at me as I drew away. “You’re impatient.”
“When it comes to you, always.”
Thank you for reading Evers & Afters - I hope you loved Elias & Cammi’s story!
Up next in the Dare With Me Series is Diego & Gemma’s story.
Diego is that kind of hero - smokin’ hot, deeply protective and with enough brawn to set the world on fire. Cue the melting.
He oozes the rugged hero vibe, rides a motorcycle and flies planes in the wilds of Alaska. He’s all man and then some. When he meets Gemma, he falls fast, and she might be in need of a man to catch her when she falls.
Pre-order now! Come To Me
For more swoony & sassy romance…
This Crazy Love kicks off the Swoon Series - small town southern romance with enough heat to melt you! Jackson & Shay’s story is epic - swoon-worthy & intensely emotional. Jackson just happens to be Shay’s brother’s best friend. He’s also seriously easy on the eyes. Shay has a past, the kind of past she would most definitely like to forget. Past or not, Jackson is about to rock her world. Don’t miss their story! Free on all retailers!
Burn For Me is a second chance romance for the ages. Sexy firefighters? Check. Rugged men? Check. Wrapped up together? Check. Brave the fire in this hot, small-town romance. Amelia & Cade were high school sweethearts & then it all fell apart. When they cross paths again, it’s epic - don’t miss Cade’s story!
Free on all retailers!
For more small town romance, take a visit to Last Frontier Lodge in Diamond Creek. A sexy, alpha SEAL meets his match with a brainy heroine in Take Me Home. Marley is all brains & Gage is all brawn. Sparks fly when their worlds collide. Don’t miss Gage & Marley’s story!
Free on all retailers!
If sports romance lights your spark, check out The Play. Liam is a British footballer who falls for Olivia, his doctor. A twist of forbidden heats up this swoon-worthy & laugh-out-loud romance. Don’t miss Liam & Olivia’s story.
Free on all retailers!
Sign up for my newsletter, so you can receive information about upcoming new releases & receive a FREE copy of one of my books: http://jhcroixauthor.com/subscribe/
Find My Books
Thank you for reading Evers & Afters! I hope you enjoyed the story. If so, you can help other readers find my books in a variety of ways.
1) Write a review!
2) Sign up for my newsletter, so you can receive information about upcoming new releases & receive a FREE copy of one of my books: http://jhcroixauthor.com/subscribe/
3) Lik
e and follow my Amazon Author page at https://amazon.com/author/jhcroix
4) Follow me on Bookbub at https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-h-croix
5) Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jhcroix/
6) Like my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/jhcroix
Dare With Me Series
Crash Into You
Evers & Afters
Come To Me - coming April 2021!
Back To Us - coming June 2021!
Swoon Series
This Crazy Love
Wait For Me
Break My Fall
Truly Madly Mine
Still Go Crazy
If We Dare
Steal My Heart
Into The Fire Series
Burn For Me
Slow Burn
Burn So Bad
Hot Mess
Burn So Good
Sweet Fire
Play With Fire
Melt With You
Burn For You
Crash & Burn
That Snowy Night
Brit Boys Sports Romance
The Play
Big Win
Out Of Bounds
Play Me
Naughty Wish
Diamond Creek Alaska Novels
When Love Comes
Follow Love
Love Unbroken
Love Untamed
Tumble Into Love
Christmas Nights
Last Frontier Lodge Novels
Take Me Home
Love at Last
Just This Once
Falling Fast
