The Wandering Caravan (Forever and Always #8)

by E. L. Todd

  I knew what she was planning so I didn’t stop her. “Yeah…”

  She pulled my jeans and boxers off, letting my cock spring out. It was always hard for her, ready to be inside her at a moment’s notice. She also pulled my shirt off because she loved seeing my naked body.

  When Monnique grabbed my base then licked from bottom to top, I moaned and grabbed her neck. She gave the best head I’ve ever had. Her tongue moved along my shaft then the tip, tasting the fluids that came out. Her teeth never niched me. The ride was always smooth. Then she took me to the back of her throat, making me moan again. I really didn’t work that hard today, but if she wanted to suck my cock I wasn’t going to stop her.

  Monnique kept bringing me to the edge of an orgasm but she would stop before I could come. She did this when she wanted to make it last. She also liked having the control, letting me crumble only when she wanted me to. I always took the lead in the bedroom, but she still exerted her dominance in her own ways, like this.

  She finally let me come into her mouth, making me dig my fingers into her hair as I squirted in the back of her throat. It was powerful and explosive, making me breathless and dizzy. My orgasms were always exceptional with her.

  She pulled away then smiled at me. “You liked it?”

  I grabbed her arm and pulled her to my chest. “I always like having my cock in your mouth.”

  She smiled then snuggled next to me. “Thank you so much for taking care of everything while I’ve been at work. When I come home, I’m already exhausted. The last thing I want to do is pack.”

  I kissed her forehead. “You’re welcome. But you don’t have to work at all…”

  “We already had this conversation a hundred times. I won’t change my mind. I don’t want to sit at home all day and wait for you to get off work. I’m not housewife material. And I love my job. That’s why I do it.”

  When she complained about the long hours or the arguments she had with her coworkers, I hoped she would just quit and stay home all day. I was learning that was never going to happen. If she wanted to work, I wouldn’t take that away from her. Sometimes I wished she loved being a telephone marketer instead.

  “I’m proud of what I do. I just wish you were proud of me too.” I heard the sadness in her voice.

  “Baby, that’s not how it is. I am proud of what you do. Really, I am.”

  “It doesn’t seem like it…”

  I grabbed her face and looked at her. “I just care about your safety. That’s all. I know you risk your life every day so others can live. You could get a disease or your patient could attack you. I’ve worked at the hospital long enough to see this first hand. It just cares me sometimes. But I am proud of what you do, and I know your patients appreciate you.” I rubbed my nose against hers. “I would love to have you as my nurse, especially for my sponge bath.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Pervert.”

  “Only for you.”

  “I just don’t want you to pressure me to quit anymore.”

  I sighed. “Okay. I won’t.”

  “You promise?”

  I hated promising things. There was no turning back. “Unless you’re pregnant. I don’t want you working then.”

  “The whole time?” she asked incredulously.

  “Yes.”

  “I guess I can compromise with you on that.”

  “Or if you get hurt.”

  “I’m not going to get hurt,” she said firmly.

  “Then that exemption shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “Fine.”

  “Then you have my word,” I said.

  “Okay.” She stood up and headed to the bedroom. “I’m going to shower.”

  I jumped to my feet and followed her. “We aren’t done yet.”

  “What?” she asked when we were in our bedroom.

  I moved her to the bed then climbed on top of her. “My girl deserves a treat for working her ass off all day.” I opened her legs then rubbed her clitoris with my tongue.

  Her back automatically arched and she writhed on the bed, loving the feel of my tongue against her. “Cortland…”

  I loved hearing that. I grabbed her hips and continued to kiss and suck the area she loved so much. Eventually, her legs were shaking for me. I ran my tongue up and down and brought her to the ledge, making her yell my name as she came.

  When she was done, I crawled on top of her and kissed her. “I love hearing you come.”

  “You just like hearing your name,” she said with a smile.

  “Same thing,” I said with a cocky smile. I ran my fingers through her hair while I looked down at her, my whole world. “I love you.”

  Her eyes softened. “I love you too.”

  3

  Ryan

  I wasn’t scared to get married. Janice and I already were. We lived together, saw each other every day, and we never got tired of each other. A marriage license wouldn’t make any difference. I just hoped Janice wasn’t making a mistake.

  She went to Brown and got a respectable degree. She had an impressive resume and came from a good family. They accepted me, but would they if she married me? Maybe they thought this was a fling and would burn out.

  I was afraid I wasn’t good enough for her. I was a tattoo artist. Any time I told anyone what I did for a living, I was automatically judged. Personally, I didn’t give a shit what people thought of me. But I cared what Janice thought. She said it didn’t matter how I made my living. She loved me for me.

  But what kind of role model would I be for my kids? Scarlet and Sean were the recipients of a huge corporation. Scarlet was a writer and an editor. My wife would be one too. And I would draw tattoos on people’s bodies. What would they think?

  Maybe I was thinking about this too hard. I was scared Janice would realize she settled in her choice of a husband. And if she did, that would make all my fears real.

  And my world would end.

  Janice went to MegaShake because I was too distracting for her. I sat in the living room and stared at the blank TV. Whenever I was depressed like this, I usually talked to Scarlet. She could talk me down. But she was on her honeymoon. The last thing I wanted to do was bother her.

  But. like she could sense my pain even thousands of miles away, she called me. I smiled then answered it. “What do you want?”

  “Hello to you too.”

  “Have you guys gone out yet?”

  “Yes, finally,” she said with sigh. “We went hiking to the waterfalls then had lunch. It was a long day.”

  “I thought you were going to the aquarium?”

  “We’re going tomorrow instead. Sean said they had weird hours or something.”

  That sounded suspicious to me. I had a feeling Sean was planning a surprise for her. I was a good sport about it and kept the knowledge to myself.

  “So, how are you?”

  “Fine.” I don’t know why I bothered to lie to her.

  “What’s wrong, Ryan?”

  Damn, how did she do that? “I’m just…stressed out.”

  “I know moving is scary but it’ll work out in the end. Your new shop will be up and running in no time.”

  “No, that’s not what I’m worried about.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I’m going to propose to Janice soon.”

  She screamed over the phone. “Oh my god! I’m so excited. When? Where? How?”

  “Shut up and calm down.”

  “How can I? My brother is getting married.”

  “Hopefully,” I said miserably.

  “What are you worried about?”

  I took a deep breath before I spoke. “I’m not good enough for her.”

  “Ryan…that’s not true. No one thinks that.”

  “I do.”

  “Well, you need to knock it off. You’re the only who has a problem with the way you make a living. If Janice had a problem with it, she wouldn’t have dated you to begin with. And she certainly wouldn’t have moved all the way to Seattle to b
e with you.”

  “Maybe it doesn’t bother her now. But what about when we have kids? Will that change?”

  “Ryan, it will never change,” she said firmly.

  “What will my kids say when people ask them what I do for a living?”

  “The truth,” she said quickly. “And what’s wrong with inking for a living? You love it, right?”

  “You weren’t always so supportive,” I jabbed.

  Scarlet held her silence for a moment. “Only because I thought you didn’t reach your full potential. After I saw how passionate you were, I knew it was the perfect match for you. I’m very proud of you, Ryan.”

  “You’re always proud of me,” I said quietly.

  “Because you make me, Ryan.”

  I didn’t have anything to say so I fell silent.

  “You’re the only one who has a problem with this. You need to come to terms with it and move on. If Janice wanted you to change professions, she would have said something.”

  “I’ve bought every book if she’s ever edited and have it on my bookshelf at the shop.” I never told Janice that. I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable. “Because I’m proud of what she does. There are dozens of books in the world that she helped make into perfection. It’s an accomplishment to be proud of.”

  “And you mark people’s bodies, and they carry those markings for the rest of their lives. They mean something to them. And that’s a big accomplishment too.”

  “In a twisted way,” I said.

  “Ryan, I can have this argument with you over and over, but it’s not going to help. You need to talk to Janice and ask how she feels. I’m sure that will make you feel better.”

  “Maybe,” I said non-committedly. The front door opened and Janice came inside. She put her bag on the counter then hung her keys on the rack. “Scar, I gotta go. My lady is home.”

  “Talk to her.”

  “Okay.”

  “Bye.”

  I hung up and dropped my phone on the couch. “How was work?”

  “My coworker is lazy as hell so I’m picking up her slack,” she said with a smile.

  “That bitch.”

  She sat on my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I know. I hate her.”

  “Me too.”

  She laughed. “It was fine. It’s hard not to eat when I’m there. If I did, I’d be obese.”

  “We don’t want you to look like my sister.”

  She hit my shoulder lightly. “Be nice to her.”

  “It’s my sole purpose in life to pick on her.”

  “Poor Scarlet.”

  I rubbed her back while she sat on me. When she came home, we usually got right down to business but I wasn’t in the mood. Janice picked up on my melancholy.

  “Babe, what’s wrong?”

  “I’ve just been thinking…”

  “That’s a first,” she teased.

  I smiled even though I didn’t want to.

  “Tell me,” she said with a serious voice.

  “Now that we’re moving, it’s made me think of the future…”

  “Yeah.”

  “Are you sure you want to be with me?”

  Her eyes widened while she looked at me. “Where did this come from? Of course I do, Ryan. What did I do to make you question that?”

  “I didn’t mean now. I meant in the long term, with marriage and kids.”

  “You know how I feel about that. I want you for the rest of my life, Ryan.”

  “Even though I ink for a living?”

  She gave me a serious look. “You could be a garbage man and I’d love you just the same.”

  “Even if we had kids?”

  She stared at me for a long time. “The reason I’m so attracted to you is because you’re so confident in yourself. You never care what other people think of you, and you stand up for what you believe in. You’ve never been ashamed of who you were or where you came from. And I loved that. I don’t understand where this hesitation is coming from. I’ve always been supportive of your career. Please stop putting yourself down.”

  “I just want to make sure I’m the man you deserve.”

  “You’re more than what I deserve.” She kissed me on the cheek and pressed her forehead against mine. “Stop thinking like that, okay?”

  “You’re really okay with it?”

  “I’m okay with anything you do.”

  “Okay.”

  “Are we done with that?”

  I nodded.

  “Because I’m horny and need you to fuck me.”

  “Whoa…that was romantic,” I said with a laugh.

  “I don’t always feel like being romantic.”

  “Apparently not.”

  She unbuttoned my jeans then pulled off my shirt. “Now get to work.”

  “You’re such a slut.”

  “You’re one to talk.” She pulled off her scarf and her shirt. When I saw her tits, I forgot about the conversation we were having. I pulled her jeans off then dragged her hips to me. Too anxious to wait for me, she pulled her thong off then grabbed my hips. She dragged me to her, wanting to feel me inside her.

  When it came to sex, she could be bossy. But I liked that. She told me what she wanted and how she wanted it. And I always delivered. As soon as I was inside her, her body molded to mine. It stretched for me, letting me move inside her.

  Janice gripped my back and moved underneath me, timing herself with my pace. She wasn’t kidding. She really wanted to fuck. I moved faster and felt the threshold of my orgasm. I kept it back until she was ready to explode.

  “Ryan…” Her head rolled back and her mouth opened. “Ryan.”

  I knew she was coming and I pounded into her harder, giving her as much pleasure as possible. When she was finished, she breathed heavily, still gripping me like she never wanted to let go. Unable to hold on a second longer, I crumbled and released myself inside her like I already had a hundred times. Every time I did, it felt right.

  When we caught our breath, I looked down at her, seeing the glow of her face. “I think you don’t care what I do for a living because I give you good sex.”

  “You caught me,” she said with a smile. “Just keep it up and I’ll never go anywhere.”

  “I can live with that.”

  4

  Sean

  “Ryan seems to think inking for a living isn’t respectable,” Scarlet said from her side of the jeep. She thought we were going to dinner but we were going somewhere else. It was a surprise.

  “Why does he think that?”

  “I have no idea. And I’m certain Janice has never made him feel bad about it. It’s all in his head.”

  “I’m sure Janice will tell him it doesn’t matter to her.”

  “I hope so.” Her hair was flying in the wind but she didn’t mind. Her hair always looked nice no matter what she did. She was a moving portrait, always looking perfect. “Where are we eating?”

  “I can’t remember the name.”

  “What do they have there?”

  “I didn’t memorize the menu.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Smartass…”

  I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “I’m a smartass because I love you.”

  “That makes no sense but I’m not going to fight it.”

  “Good. You’re learning.”

  She glared at me. “You’re lucky I love you.”

  “I couldn’t agree more with that.”

  We arrived at the building and pulled into the empty parking lot. There was one other car, a door-less Jeep.

  “Sean, what are you doing?”

  I got out then came to her door. I opened it and helped her down. “There’s something I want to show you.”

  She looked at the building then her eyes flashed open. “The aquarium?”

  “I arranged a private tour after hours. Now there will be no crowds.”

  Her eyes softened when she looked at me. “You’re so sweet…”

  “Now we can ha
ve sex at the same time. Works out for both of us.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I take that back.”

  I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed her forehead. “You know I’m kidding. Come on.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her to the entrance. It was locked so we knocked and waited for a moment. The girl I spoke to on the phone seemed nice. If she said she would be here, I knew she would.

  The door opened, and a small brunette came outside. “Hi, you must be Sean.” She extended her hand and shook mine. “I’m Sydney.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” I said politely. “And thank you for letting us come after hours.”

  “Well, when you said you were on your honeymoon I couldn’t say no.” She smiled then looked at Scarlet. “You must be Mrs. Prescott.”

  Scarlet shook her hand. “This is such a sweet surprise.”

  “Your husband was very insistent,” Sydney said.

  Scarlet looked at me. “I know how that is.”

  “Come in,” Sydney said. She opened the doors wider and let us enter.

  When we came further inside, I saw a man standing a few feet behind Sydney. His forearms were covered in tattoos. His body was thick with muscles like mine, and he looked like someone you didn’t want to mess with.

  “This is my husband,” Sydney explained. “Coen.”

  Coen shook my hand. “Hey.”

  “Hey,” I said. “This is my wife, Scarlet.” I loved saying that word. Wife.

  Scarlet shook his hand. “Are you two newlyweds too?”

  Sydney beamed. “We’ve been married for almost a year.”

  “Congratulations,” Scarlet said. “That’s wonderful.”

  “When I told him I was going to be alone with two strangers, he was insistent on coming.” She rolled her eyes. “So don’t mind him.”

  I looked back at Coen. “He’s a good man.”

  “Most of the time,” Sydney said.

  Coen hooked his arm around her waist. “I’m just looking out for my wife. You can’t hate me for that.”

  “I could never hate you for anything.”

  “I like him,” I said. “He’s more than welcome.” I grabbed Scarlet’s hand and pulled her inside.

  “I’ll trail behind you if you need anything,” Sydney said. “But I can’t leave you alone. I’m sorry.”

  “That’s fine,” Scarlet said.