Shades of Pink

by 33 authors

  “It’ll happen, Ems. Someday when you least expect it, it will happen. I have faith,” I squeezed her a little harder and then kissed her cheek. “Love ya, babe.”

  “Love ya, too, Lor.”

  * * *

  First thing this morning, as soon as we got the chores done down at the barn, Jaxon and Sammy piled into the truck and headed into town. I decided this was the perfect time for me to crawl back into bed and rest. Mags was spending the day with my mom and there was nothing keeping me from my big, warm, fluffy soft, beautiful, king size bed. I slowly crawled up into bed and pulled the covers all up around me. I grabbed my kindle from the nightstand and started reading one of the many naughty novels I had downloaded. This one was extremely naughty. It involved ties and bondage. Damn, why did I read this when my man wasn’t gonna be home for hours? The next thing I knew, I was dreaming about being tied to my big four poster bed and my fiancé doing amazingly naughty things to me when I felt something. There was something wet and warm on my chest. Oh my, oh my goodness. I opened my eyes in time to see Jaxon suck my nipple into his mouth. I couldn’t control the loud moan that escaped my throat. I quickly put my hand over my mouth. I was so embarrassed. How would I explain that sound to my little Sammy? I was just waiting for him to come running through the door. I sat up just enough to see the door and noticed it was wide open. What the hell was Jaxon thinking? We had kids in the house. You did not leave the door open when you were planning on doing things like he was obviously planning on doing to me.

  In a frantic whisper, I said, “Jaxon. What the hell are you doing?”

  “Baby, if you don’t know I guess we need more practice,” he winked at me and then slowly licked a circle around my nipple, before he roughly sucked it back into his mouth. He tugged it with his teeth and when he let go the pop echoed through the room.

  “The kids, Jaxon. They’ll hear us,” I cried. I didn’t want him to stop, but I couldn’t let the kids walk in on this.

  He laughed before he moved over to my other breast and began to suck and lick. “Your mom decided we needed some time to ourselves. So, when I got done shopping, I dropped Sammy off at her house. She’s gonna go ahead and keep them until tomorrow. That way we have all night and all day tomorrow alone. She’ll bring them home in time to get ready for the party.”

  “So, we’re all alone?” I asked. Instead of answering me, he licked his lips and wiggled his eyebrows. Then he was moving down lower and lower. He was kissing and licking and nibbling all the way down. My stomach was getting pretty big, and the bigger it got, the more attention he liked to give it. He kissed all the way across it and then when he got to my bellybutton, I could feel his warm tongue circling it. I ran my hands through his hair and then pushed him down until he was exactly where I needed him. I moaned as I felt his warm mouth kissing my clit. He nibbled on it and that, mixed with the naughty novel and the licking and touching he’d just done, caused me to explode all around him. As I came, he slid his finger deep inside me and said, “Baby, I need to be inside you. I want you to ride me.”

  Then he was sitting up and pulling me backwards onto his lap. He slowly entered my eagerly awaiting pussy. I would never get tired of that piercing. It rubbed in all the right places. His thrusts were slow and shallow at first, then I moaned and he pushed harder. I moved to all fours and he positioned himself behind me. He entered me in one hard thrust. My head rammed forward and almost hit the headboard.

  “Shit! Can’t stop. Need to be deeper,” he moaned. Then he grabbed my hips and held me firmly in place. “Hold onto the headboard, baby. Brace yourself. Tell me if it hurts.”

  If it hurts? Was he kidding me? This was the hottest sex we’d had in a long time. There was no way he could stop now. I’d have to kill him. Yep, kill him dead.

  His thrusts were so deep and they felt so good. Releasing my hips he reached around me and took my overly sensitive breasts in his hands. When he squeezed my nipples, my walls started to spasm and tried to clench around him and his amazing piercing was hitting my clit as he thrust relentlessly into my welcoming body. “FUCK!” he roared as he came hard inside me. I took all that he had and my body was still pulling him in when he finally pulled out. He laid down and pulled me down beside him. “Holy shit, baby. That was…damn…that was…”

  Trying to catch my breath, I muttered, “I know, babe. I know.”

  * * *

  We spent the rest of the night and most of the next day in bed. After the hottest sex of my life, the pregnant woman needed to rest. Jaxon held me all night. It was perfect. When we got up in the morning, I repaid his sweetness with some sweetness of my own. Well, I don’t know how sweet it was, but I didn’t hear him complaining when he woke up to my mouth on my favorite one of his body parts. Yep, I didn’t hear any complaints, but my head was still sore from when he got excited and pulled my hair a little harder than I’m used to. I think I did something right, to elicit that reaction.

  “Jaxon. Wake up, baby,” I said as I tickled his chest.

  He turned me to where he was laying over me and pressing my back into the bed. “Were you trying to tickle me?”

  “Um, maybe,” I laughed.

  “You know how I feel about you laughing at me,” he whispered in my ear as he kissed his way down my neck to my shoulder before he moved his hand down to my ribs and started tickling me. I laughed so hard, I almost peed my pants.

  “Let me up,” I cried between laughter.

  “Tell me you’re sorry for laughing at me,” he said. “Tell me and I’ll let you up.”

  “Okay, okay. I’m sorry I laughed at you. Now please let me up before I pee all over my pretty bed.”

  “You’re so gross,” he laughed and rolled over away from me.

  We hopped in the shower and after two more orgasms, I was finally away from that wild man and ready to get dressed. The doorbell rang and I threw my robe on and waddled downstairs to answer it.

  My mom was standing there with the kids. “You didn’t have to ring the doorbell,” I said to my mom as I gestured for her to come in.

  “Yes, I did. I had no idea what I’d be walking in to. That man of yours was way too excited that I was watching the kids last night. I can only assume you are just now crawling out of bed.”

  I could feel the blush creeping up my cheeks.

  “Your face says it all, sweetheart,” Mom said as she pulled me into a hug. “I am so happy you are having hot sex with that gorgeous man. It makes me so happy that he makes you so happy.”

  “Mom, please do not talk about my sex life. It’s just weird. And awkward. And embarrassing. I could go on and on.”

  “Oh, seriously. Do you think you were a virgin birth? You do know your father and I’ve had sex before, right?”

  “OH MY GOD! Stop talking, mom. Seriously. Stop,” I begged. I was utterly disgusted. I did not need to think about my mom and dad having sex. Nobody needed to think about their parents having sex. YUCK!

  My mom laughed at me and then said, “Sammy said he had to come home to get ready. Apparently, he and Jaxon have a surprise for you.”

  “Aw, I love those guys. I can’t wait to see what it is.”

  “Okay, well, I’m gonna get on home and get ready for the party. I’ll see ya there,” mom said as she started out to her truck. She stopped and waved at Jaxon, who had walked up behind me as she was leaving.

  “Have I told you lately how much I love your mother?” he asked as he wrapped his arms around me from behind.

  “You just love her because she thinks you're gorgeous,” I said.

  “Baby, it would be exhausting for me to love everyone who thinks I’m gorgeous,” he smirked.

  I turned and smacked him on the arm. “Ego much?”

  “I was just teasing. I love your mom, because she loves that we have hot sex,” he laughed.

  “Oh my god! You heard her?” I asked.

  “Yep, sure did.”

  I couldn’t handle anymore of this sex talk. I needed to get upst
airs and get my clothes on. Mags had already put on her pretty new baby pink dress. She was standing in front of the sink in the bathroom, trying to pull her blonde curls up into a ponytail.

  “Jaxon, I’m going to help Mags get ready. Could you help Sammy?”

  “No problem, babe,” he responded.

  I helped Mags get her hair pulled up and we tied a pretty pink and white ribbon around her ponytail. It matched her dress perfectly. I told her to go dig her white mary-janes out of the closet. While she was searching, I put on my new bubblegum pink maxi dress. It was fitted at the top and then free flowing at the bottom so you couldn’t really tell I was pregnant. Um, sure. There was no hiding this big belly of mine. The bottom of the dress was cut out with a pretty floral pattern. I threw on my white sandals and pulled my long blonde curls up into a ponytail, just like Mags. That poor girl was just a mini-me. Blonde curls and brown eyes. And white as a ghost. Luckily, Sammy looked just like his dad, Declan. Black hair, bright beautiful blue eyes, and a little bit of a tan. He was so handsome and even though Mags looked like me, she was so much prettier. Those kids made my days worth living. I loved them more than anything, and I could only hope that this little baby in my belly looked like its handsome father. Those beautiful golden brown eyes and that dark hair. The strong jaw and perfect nose. Boy or girl…this baby would be perfect.

  I walked out into the hallway and saw Mags standing there waiting for me. “Mommy, Sammy and Jaxon have a surprise for us. They’re waiting for us in the living room.”

  “Well, we better not keep them waiting. Let’s go, pretty girl,” I said as I took her little hand in mine and started downstairs.

  We walked into the living room and the men of the house weren’t there. As we started into the kitchen, Sammy appeared in the doorway. My little man had on his cowboy boots, dark blue jeans, and a bright—I mean bright—pink button up western shirt. It had white pearlized buttons and some western pattern across the pockets on the chest. His little face was beaming. He was so excited.

  “Jaxon! You can come out now,” Sammy turned and yelled back behind him.

  That was the moment that my gorgeous fiancé walked out of the kitchen. He took my breath away. I took it all in. His black motorcycle boots, dark blue jeans, and a matching bright pink shirt. His eyebrow ring was shining and it now sported a hot pink ball on the hoop. His golden brown eyes were sparkling and I have to say that man made pink look very manly. And so did my little man. Sammy was grinning from ear to ear and Jaxon winked at me as he raised his eyebrow. “Like our outfits?” he asked.

  I was dumbfounded. I did. They looked perfect. Pink was obviously not just for girls. “I think you both look amazing.”

  “See, Mags. I told you boys could wear pink!” Sammy scolded Mags.

  “Sammy, tell your sister what the sales clerk told us when we were shopping yesterday,” Jaxon nudged Sammy toward us.

  “Okay. He said that real men wear pink,” Sammy’s grin grew even bigger. “Jaxon said we’d be the bravest guys at the party.”

  Jaxon came over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “I agree, sweetheart. Ya’ll are very brave.”

  I placed my arms around Jaxon’s neck and whispered in his ear, “Do you really think it’s a good idea to wear a hot pink shirt to a party where there will be tons of cowboys?”

  “Well, if they aren’t man enough to wear pink, how the hell can they call themselves cowboys?” he asked with a serious look on his face.

  “I love you, Jaxon Daniels. I love you so damn much,” I said as I placed a kiss on his neck.

  He leaned down and nibbled on my earlobe. Then he whispered in my ear, “Wait until you see what’s under my jeans. My eyebrow isn’t the only piercing I added some pink to.”

  I shuddered and thanked the heavens for sending this man to me.

  ~~~

  Meet Lisa M. Harley…

  I grew up in a really small town in Missouri. Very similar to the fictional towns I write about. I moved to the big city right after I graduated. I work full-time and I am mom to a beautiful little girl.

  I started writing in October 2012 when a group I am a member of had a prologue contest. I didn't win the contest, but everyone who read my prologue asked for more of my story. I decided I had to finish it and get these characters that were in my head out on paper. During the writing process it became clear that these characters had a lot to say. So I realized my story was really a series: The Destined Series.

  Also, I am slightly addicted to Facebook and Voxer. Please message me on either one...I would love to hear from ya'll. http://www.facebook.com/destinedtochange

  HARLEQUINADE

  Gill Taber

  Karen is about to discover a cure for her fear of clowns, but not in a way she could ever have imagined. Journey with her to the Circus of Wonderment.

  ~~~

  Karen forced a grin in answer to her nephew’s evident glee. The sounds and smells were overwhelming, contributing to her pounding headache by the second. The swooping, repeating, calliope music was actually the least grating when compared to the pounding drum ‘n’ base pouring from the neon-lit rides, the constant cries of hawkers with their carefully cultivated dropped aitches and rough demeanour; eager to strip passers-by of every penny, and the shrieking calls of success and failure from said punters.

  Carey turned a full circle, decided on the Waltzers and Karen dutifully gave him the fee, leaning against an iron railing, waving on each pass. Between, she let her gaze wander around the fair, studiously ignoring the red and white striped tent at its heart. Try as she might to believe otherwise, she knew it wouldn’t be much longer before the flaps parted and the terrors within drew more willing souls to them. Circus; even the name gave her the heebie-jeebies. At least it didn’t have any animals. As a child she’d been appalled at glorious tigers and sadly majestic elephants performing tricks for people they could stomp or crunch without a thought.

  Movement caught her eye; a flicker of white, thin and ethereal, followed by several smears of colour, a veritable rainbow. The colours weaved through the edge of the crowd by the Ghost Train, slipped into an alley between it and the Flying Carpet, then disappeared from view. Performers perhaps? They’d been too distant to tell for sure. Something about their fluid, semi-visible movement made her stomach churn. Not clowns, not now. ‘Give me a minute to be ready for that’ she thought, but it was too late.

  A loudspeaker on a pole behind her blared into violent voice.

  ‘The Circus of Wonderment is about to begin. Hurry, children young and old; don’t miss your chance to witness the most dazzling, enchanting, magical puzzlements in the universe. Come one, come all, but come now!’

  A bit much for a tin-pot sideshow with a patched tent over a sawdust ring, Karen considered, but Carey was already leaping from the ride, grabbing her hand and sweeping them into the swelling flow of people heading for the circus tent.

  A billowing red curtain hung between the raised tent flaps, spangled with stars, comets and, Karen was fairly certain, invented mystical signs. A purple-cloaked figure, with a deep hood frustrating any attempt to discern features, proffered a gloved hand to receive tickets. Karen supressed a shudder at the exchange. Those fingers were too realistic, too much like bone; amazing what technology could do now. Prosthetics at a cheap circus; who’d have thought it possible?

  Moving through the low, dark tunnel beyond the curtain was a shock. A spectral candle seemed to hover in the darkness, unaided, floating forward, beckoning the audience on with occasional pauses and bobs. Karen could appreciate the childlike wonder which elicited breathless gasps from Carey. Emerging into the circus interior was a little like walking through a magic mirror, from reality to wonderland.

  The ring was no more than twenty feet across, surrounded by banks of seating which sloped up from ringside to three levels high. The entire space was lit by more of the ghostly candles, the light barely enough to allow people to find their seats. The ushers were the next wonder t
o bring awed coos to Carey, and Karen had to admit, they were spectacular illusions. At first she thought they were dogs but, as one came to escort them to ringside, she realised they were something else entirely. They had the bodies of miniature ponies, dyed a myriad hues—their personal guide being a delicate shade of lilac—but the heads… Each usher had the head of a child. A laughing, smiling, giggling child, male and female, all seeming gleefully happy to be a part of what Karen couldn’t help thinking of as a freak show. How could such a small concern afford such amazing, and slightly distasteful, special effects?

  Carey was enraptured, gazing around with a permanent smile on his face, which rapidly turned to a grin when rains of candy floss and sugar sweets began to fall over the seated onlookers. He was too engrossed with stuffing his pockets to notice the next minor miracle, but Karen immediately registered the changing light. Above their heads each candle was being shrouded in what looked like Chinese lanterns. The papery cream and pink lanterns appeared to materialise around each naked flame, enfolding and diffusing the light. As that light dimmed the ring began to grow and radiate by comparison.

  This was a shimmer of gold run through with sparkles of silver. It faded up from the floor, slowly revealing a ballerina twirling, centre stage, hands reaching up into the far, unseen reaches of the tent roof. From those unknown regions came the haunting strains of a violin, the melody stately with capricious undertones rippling through it. Then movement, the faintest fluttering, and a black swan drifted into the light.

  That he was a man, Karen had no doubt. He wouldn’t have looked out of place in a male stripper troupe; muscles rippling down his arms, up his thighs and across his shoulders as he twirled, swooped and danced around the enchanted ballerina, suspended by an impossibly fragile piece of gossamer, no thicker than a spider’s thread. His wings occasionally swept out over the audience as he circled, sifting down a dust of rose-perfumed glitter.