by JA Huss
“Yeah, you love to sleep on Christmas Eve. Ronnie always makes breakfast when we’re in Vail. She’s a kitchen control freak here at the mountain house.”
Rook tsks her tongue. “She was up with Cindy. She’s teething. So Ash helped her last night so she could get some sleep and I said I’d make breakfast.”
“Oh, that sucks.” I reach around and grab Rook by her waist and pull her down next to me. “Thank you,” I say, kissing her on the cheek and sliding my hand up to her breast. She’s wearing one of my old t-shirts and some shorts. She knows I love the shorts. “Let’s take advantage of the chowing kids and get our kinky on.”
She grins at me and then reaches over to the side table where the tray of food is. “Strawberries? Antoine had a fruit basket delivered this morning. The doorbell woke up the pack of princesses. That’s why I’m awake. I’m surprised you didn’t hear Ford’s face-eaters.”
“Mmmm. Forget the kids, feed me, Rook.”
I catch a mischievous grin as she leans over to grab a strawberry, my hand never leaving her soft breast. I twist her nipple a little and that makes her close her eyes and draw in a breath.
“Open,” she says, bringing the berry to my mouth.
I take a bite and chew. The sun is just starting to rise and the pink dawn casts a hazy light over her face. We have been together for sixteen Christmases. Sixteen. Sparrow is almost fourteen and Starling is six. They are just like her. So pretty. So sweet. So perfect. And they have spent every Christmas in this house that I bought with Spencer and Ford once things settled down back. I love coming to Vail for the holidays. And we spend weeks at a time out here in the summer when the girls are out of school.
The house is massive, but it has to be to hold our families. Spencer has six kids with the addition of Cindy last spring. Add in our two and Ford’s two and that’s ten kids and six adults who call this place home. It’s big enough though. Eight bedrooms, eleven bathrooms and eight thousand square feet of living space if you add in the basement.
Luckily there are two wings and most of the kids sleep on the other side of the house so we can have some privacy. Spencer and Ronnie have the master and since they always seem to have a new baby, they remodeled the giant walk-in closet into a nursery for easy access. But all the bedrooms are big and have their own en suite bathrooms.
And Rook and I lucked out with a large terrace off our bedroom. It has a hot tub that we enjoy every Christmas Eve. God, I can’t wait for that moment tonight when we climb into the hot tub.
We have a typical Vail mountain home with long wooden beams running across the ceiling, a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace in the living room, and a chef’s kitchen for Ronnie, since she’s the cook around here.
“It’s quiet down there,” I say. “I think we could have a quickie in the shower.”
“I’ll run the water,” Rook says, jumping up to do that.
“Hmmmm.” I hate to be suspicious, but none of this is adding up. Usually Rook sleeps like the dead. She never gets up early and I can’t recall a single time when she’s brought me breakfast in bed. “Hey, Rook?” I call out over the sound of the running water.
“Yeah?” she calls back, and then steps out of the bathroom naked.
“Jesus. You’re in the mood or what?” I grin and chuckle.
“So in the mood, Ronin. Get up, let’s start this day right.”
“But…” I look over at the plate of pancakes. They are all misshapen and broken. That makes me love her even more. She can’t make a round pancake if her life depended on it. “The food will get cold.”
“I’ll make more,” she says, so easy-going.
“Hmmmm.”
“Hmm what?” She cocks her head at me and leans against the bathroom wall, like she’s flirting with me. “Come on. Don’t keep me waiting.” And then she turns back to the shower and disappears.
I throw the covers off and stuff a pancake in my mouth before following her in, my shirt already over my head and my fingers on the waistband of my shorts, tugging them down as I walk.
I’ve got morning wood, so I’m all over this invitation.
She’s already under the water, sopping wet from head to toe. Her long dark hair hangs down her back and she looks just like the girl I met back in Antoine’s studio in Five Points.
“Come on,” Rook says, encouraging me as she fondles her breasts. “Before the minions want our attention.”
“Well, you’ve definitely got my attention.” She’s never been a prude, but the last time she tried to seduce me was… shit, years ago, I think. I step into the shower and she starts washing me with soap. “Mrs. Flynn, what is going on?”
“What?” she asks innocently. She’s got those big doe eyes going on, and her shoulders are shrugging. “I just want some alone time before the hustle and bustle of the holidays overtakes us.”
Her hands drag the soap up and down my body, from my chest to my abs, and I have no choice. I’m under her spell. All I can do is stand there and enjoy it. A few seconds into this and she drops the soap and wraps her hand around my cock, squeezing it until I get even harder.
I moan a little as she pumps me slowly, and then her other hand pushes against my chest until I back up and have to take a seat on the bench. She drops into a squat, my eyes seeking out her pussy as she opens her legs for me.
“Jesus, Rook. What’s got into you?”
“You’re complaining?” she asks, before taking the head of my cock in her mouth.
“Oh, fuck,” I moan, leaning back against the cold tile wall. “Well,” I say, my breathing heavy, “whatever it is, I like it.”
“Hmmm,” she says, moaning as she continues to suck me.
I grab her wet hair and pull her towards me, then scoot down a little on the bench seat so I can fully enjoy this morning treat. She takes me deep and I hiss in a breath, fisting her hair. “Yeah,” I say. “I like that.”
She withdraws and then stand and positions herself over my cock, her ass brushing against my thighs. “Good,” she whispers over the running water. “Good,” she repeats as she lowers herself down onto me.
I open my eyes just in time to see her close hers, and then she sits down all the way, my cock filling her up.
“I love you so much,” she says.
“I love you too,” I say, my heart racing as her breathing picks up and she begins to pant. “I’d do anything for you, anything.”
“I know,” she says, leaning down to kiss my lips. And then she starts rocking the way we both like it. The soft way. The easy way. The way that says we are in love. Her hands clasp together behind my neck as her tongue seeks out mine. I think I love the kiss the most. Her kisses are long and slow. Her tongue isn’t eager and penetrating. It’s smooth and moves to the rhythm of our bodies.
Fuck.
We come together a few seconds later. We are so in tune, so much alike in our wants and needs, so perfect.
“I know you love me, Ronin. And you love our daughters too.”
“I do,” I say, letting her cling to me in a way that reminds me of long ago. When we were scared and desperate. When things were unstable and dramatic.
“And that’s why I know that you will not overreact when I tell you that Sparrow got a job offer to model for an equestrian magazine and I already told her she could do it.”
Chapter Three
“Get on your knees,” I say. Ashleigh is wearing that black bra and panty set that I love so much. It’s a signal we’ve had over the years. Oh, the lingerie is new. I gave it to her last night as a hint of what I’ve been craving. I do every once in a while when the sex gets too normal, just to spice things up. And if she puts it on, I know she’s in the mood.
She put it on when she came back to bed from helping Ronnie with her baby.
God, I love her.
Ashleigh kneels down in front of me, her eyes trained on mine. I’m sitting on the bed wearing black silk pajama pants and I’ve been hard since I realized she was up for some fun. She put
s her hands on my thighs, her palms down. Just the warmth from her touch makes me impatient. We don’t do this a lot. Kids, work, dogs… these things have been interfering with our sex life for the last fifteen years. But Kate is sixteen and Five is fifteen, so their needs have become less time-consuming.
We’ve had lots of spare time lately.
“What do you want to do this time?” I ask her. “Spankings?” I waggle my eyebrows at her.
“Um…” She hesitates. “Maybe.”
“Hmmm. You’re not excited about it?”
“Well, whatever you want is fine.”
“Fine? Since when do we use the word ‘fine’ to describe sex?”
“Well, I was just thinking—”
“Don’t kneel then, Ashleigh. If you’ve got something on your mind I don’t want to be looking at you on your knees.” I pull her up and place her on the bed next to me. “Just tell me. You have something else in mind?”
“Well,” she says, climbing in my lap and placing her hands on my shoulders. “I don’t know if I need all that exciting stuff anymore. You know? I just like being near you, Ford. We can have sex any way you want and I’m happy. Just the thought of climbing into bed with you gets me excited.”
“So you don’t want the kinky shit right now?” I’m kind of confused. She put the lingerie on. That’s the signal. But if she wasn’t thinking about sex, then she must want something else.
I slip my hands behind her neck and pull her close so we can kiss. Her mouth is soft and her lips are plump against mine. I want to bite them so bad.
“I like the spankings. We can do that if you want.”
“Hmmm,” I say. “But it’s not on the top of your list?”
She shrugs.
“Well, that’s no fun, Ash. What kind of sex do you want then?”
“I don’t want sex today. I want love.”
Awww. “I can do love, love.” My fingers slip under the silky bra strap and slide it down her shoulder. Her skin still prickles with anticipation when I touch her. Every single time. “You want slow, huh?”
“Yes,” she whispers.
“You want tender?”
“Yes,” she giggles. “I want slow and tender.” Her hand slips down my shoulder, dipping and rising along the curve of my biceps. Her nails dig into my skin and I grow harder just at the thought of making her feel loved.
“Should we go on a date today?” I ask, sliding the other bra strap down so her full breasts begin to spill out of the cups. I squeeze them gently and kiss her mouth. “Should we take a ride on the gondola for old times’ sake? Or get a room at the Travel Saver Motel and fuck like teenagers?”
She nips my lip as I talk and then her tongue slides in. “Maybe.”
“Should we go eat at the diner and risk bumping into people who will tell you about my atrocious childhood?”
“That’s an idea.”
“Should we say fuck everyone and get on the road and drive to Vegas so we can hold hands in the aquarium?”
“That was the best week of my life,” she sighs, pulling back a little.
“Me too. I mean, we’ve had a lot of great weeks, but that week was so special.”
“Sometimes I wish we could go back, you know? Back to the beginning and redo all those things that brought us together.”
“I don’t need to go back to feel that way, Ashleigh. I like our present. I like you, and the kids, and the house, and the jobs, and everything. It’s all perfect. Why go back and start again?”
“I don’t know,” she says. But she’s sad for some reason, I can tell.
“What’s on your mind?”
She pauses, looking me in the eyes. Her mouth opens like she has something to say, but whatever it was that was going to come out stays put. Something else comes out. “I’m not sure.”
It’s a lie. I can see right through her like she’s glass. But I’m not pushy and Ashleigh knows how to talk about things. She’s a psychologist. She knows what she wants to say, she’s just not sure how to say it yet. So I just give her time. This is how we do things. We give each other time to think before we talk. There are no fights in our house. There’s no drama, or yelling, or name calling. We are very careful with each other.
So I let it go until she’s ready and pull her bra down to release her breasts. I squeeze them a little harder and she sucks in a breath of air. But at the same time, her hand reaches down and she wraps her fingers around the bulge in my pants.
It’s my turn to suck in a breath. Even after all these years one touch is all it takes. I stand up, holding her to my chest as she wraps her legs around me. I place her on the bed and crawl up next to her body, stopping when my knees are on either side of her hips.
“Do I bore you?” I tease.
“Never,” she says through her smile. “You are the farthest thing from boring, Mr. Aston.”
“Mmmm,” I growl as I unhook the front-closing clasp on her bra and slide it down her arms. Her breasts are still perfect. I lean down and bring one nipple to my mouth, sucking on it and kneading it at the same time. Her head tilts back and her hands clasp around my neck, her fingertips threading their way up into my hair.
I place my body over hers, rubbing my dick against her belly, and then reach down and slide her panties aside so I can slip a finger into a pool of wetness. Fuck. She turns me on. I ease back and hook my thumbs underneath the elastic, and then move off her legs so she can lift her knees and slip them down her legs. She bunches them up in her little fist and throws them across the room.
“Now you,” she says, giving me a little wink.
I chuckle as I get off the bed and stand, then let my pants drop to the floor. Her eyes never leave my cock and that shit turns me on so bad. I wrap my hand around my shaft and pump myself a few times, eager to be inside her.
“Slow and tender?” I ask.
She nods. “Yes. I want it like that right now. I just need the love.”
Why? I wonder if I’ve been missing some signals lately and that’s why she feels needy. I hate the very idea. But she doesn’t want to talk right now, I can tell. So instead of asking her, I kneel back down on the bed and place my body over hers. My arms are on either side of her head and I slip my fingers into her hair as I kiss her mouth. She responds by dragging her fingernails down my back in a way that makes every touch receptor fire in my skin.
I close my eyes, that’s how much I like slow and tender Ashleigh this morning.
I lift my hips as she opens her legs, letting my cock find the pool of wetness. And then I ease inside her and she lifts her knees up, allowing me to push deeper.
“God, I love how you feel,” I say.
“I love how you make me feel,” she says back.
We get our rhythm going. And it’s slow, just like she wanted it. It’s better than having her on her knees looking up at me from the floor, that’s for sure. It’s so much better than giving her spankings or binding her wrists.
I like all that. And even though it’s fun and sexy, this is so much more.
This is love.
I open my eyes and kiss her as we move, her lips fitting perfectly against mine. I hike one of her legs up towards her shoulder and turn her on her side a little, letting me hit that spot that makes her come as I rock against her. One of her hands squeezes a breast while the other slides down her belly and begins to rub her clit in small circles.
She drives me crazy when she does that. She knows she drives me crazy. Especially when her eyes are open when I fuck her.
“Ashleigh,” I moan, pumping her harder because I want to come and then flip her over and do it again from behind.
“Ford,” she says, arching her back, on the verge of release. “Ford,” she says again.
Just the sound of my name coming out of her mouth is enough to push me over the edge.
I come inside her, squeezing her calf as I hold her leg up.
She moans out that seductive moan that has been driving me crazy for years and lets go
at the same time.
I release her leg and lie down next to her, pulling her up to my chest, gently kissing her shoulder. “I will never get tired of this. Ever. Each year it gets better and better, Ashleigh. Each year I love you more and more.”
“We’ve built a great life, Ford. I’m so happy I met you out on that freeway fifteen years ago. And I’d love to go to the diner today. And take a ride on the gondola. I’d love to relive it all again. Go back to the beginning and remember.”
“And give up the mansion for the Travel Saver too?” I ask, smiling as I kiss her shoulder again.
“I liked back then when the kids were small and things were new. I liked it. So I’d love to relive that time in our lives, but I told Veronica I’d help her with dinner and baking.”
I am just about to close my eyes and take a post-sex nap when she says this. I hear all her words, but the only ones that matter are new again. We’ve had this conversation before. A few times at least over the years. And it only ever went one place. Children.
She wants another baby.
Chapter Four
“Hey, Ronnie?” I ask, little Cindy fussing in my arms. “Rons? I think she needs some more medicine for her teeth. Should we give her more medicine? It’s been like eight hours.”
“I just gave her some three hours ago, Spencer. You’ll have to—” She sighs, then drags herself into a sitting position in bed. “Never mind, I’ll do it.”
“No,” I say, stepping back as she reaches for Cindy. “I got it. I’m not new at this, I just needed to ask so I didn’t give her too much.” Cindy wriggles in my arms. She’s been the crankiest of all the kids, and it figures, right? The early ones were easy. Ronnie had all kinds of energy with Rory and Belle. Jasmine and Ariel were a little tougher because when you’ve got a few kids it’s hard to keep up. And when you have six, well, yeah, that shit gets downright challenging.
“Maybe…” Ronnie rubs her temples and closes her eyes. She’s so damn tired. “Maybe go get that frozen teething ring from the freezer downstairs.” She opens her eyes again and looks up at me. “I can get it.”
