400 First Kisses

by E. L. Todd

  I moved onto my stomach, holding myself up on my hands and knees.

  The bed sank when Cypress moved his knees onto the bed. He positioned himself behind me then pressed his cock inside my soaked entrance. His fingers dug into my hips, and he slowly pulled me down onto his length.

  “Oh god…” I closed my eyes and melted at the feeling of his thick cock. He was so hard that it made me feel even more desirable.

  He released a quiet groan once every inch of his length was inside me. “Sweetheart…your pussy is amazing.” He positioned himself right against me before he thrust hard, moving his entire length inside me. He wasn’t gentle or easy. He fucked me just the way I wanted, pounding into me and making the headboard clap against the wall. His hips moved faster than I could fathom, and he plowed me into an orgasm that was so good, it was practically violent.

  My face hit the comforter, and I cried into the mattress, enjoying the best orgasm I’d felt in forever. Cypress’s hand was on the back of my neck, and he kept me down as he finished, moaning and groaning until he filled the tip of the condom. “Fuck.” His fingers gripped my neck even tighter as he finished.

  I closed my eyes and felt my lungs work to fill my blood with oxygen because I was still out of breath. Now that I was utterly satisfied, I just wanted to go to sleep. My body was exhausted, and I was grateful I only had to make it next door.

  Cypress finally pulled out of me and cleaned up in the bathroom. When he returned, he lay on the bed beside me and cuddled into my side.

  I still hadn’t opened my eyes, and I felt for his body without sight. I got comfortable in the crook of his arm with my thigh wrapped around his leg. I could easily fall asleep like that, but I knew it wasn’t a good idea. That would cross a line I wasn’t ready for. “I should go…” I moved from his embrace and went to stand up.

  “Stay.” He pulled me back into his side and pressed a kiss to my forehead.

  The fact that his kiss felt good told me I needed to go. “No. I told you I just wanted sex—nothing more.”

  He squeezed me a bit harder before he finally released me.

  I pulled my clothes on without looking at him, avoiding the disappointment in his eyes.

  After a sigh, he got up and pulled on his clothes so he could walk me to the door. Dino accompanied us, trailing behind on our way to the front of the house.

  He got the door open then looked at me. “You know I’m always available.” He leaned in.

  I knew he was going to kiss me, but I didn’t stop it. I felt his mouth on mine and kissed him back, feeling the same warmth in my belly as I had earlier. “Good night.”

  “Good night.” He smiled before he let me go. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  I walked back to my house, doing the walk of shame for twenty feet until I was back in the privacy of my home. When I went to close the shades in the living room, I spotted Cypress sitting on his couch again. Another beer was on the coffee table, and Dino was resting his chin on Cypress’s thigh. Cypress petted him with one hand as he kept his eyes on the screen. Like he knew I was watching him, he turned my way and looked at me.

  I held his gaze and suddenly felt lonely again. I wanted to be in that living room with him, living the life we should have had. If he hadn’t cheated on me, I’d be happy right now. I’d have a handsome husband who was also sweet and devoted. I would have my dog on my lap with the fire roaring in the hearth.

  But I didn’t have any of that.

  20

  Amelia

  I held Rose’s hand as Bree held Lily’s. I had a backpack over my shoulders stuffed with the sand toys, and when we reached the volleyball courts, they would immediately get to work on building sand castles.

  The guys walked behind us, Cypress with the ball tucked under his arm.

  “Do anything fun last night?” I asked.

  Bree immediately smiled, the kind of grin that reached her eyes. “No.”

  There was no way she actually thought I believed her. “Spill it.”

  She nodded behind us, where Cypress was walking. “Later.”

  “Ooh…I want all the details.”

  We reached the volleyball nets at the top of the sand hill right before the beach. The back corner one was open, so we set up in the sand. The girls took off their dresses and sat in their bathing suits. They immediately got to work with the shovels and buckets and tried to make something.

  “What are the teams?” Blade asked.

  “Bree, Amelia, and me versus you two.” Cypress stripped off his shirt and dropped it on his backpack. He was in his dark green swim trunks, and his body looked magnificent under the California sun. I knew he was my brother-in-law, but I’d have to be blind to say he wasn’t hot as hell.

  Blade took off his shirt next. “Fine by me.” He was muscular too, showing off an eight-pack that rivaled Cypress’s. His skin was a shade darker from running along the beach in the morning.

  Ace came next. I shouldn’t be surprised by what I saw, but of course, I was.

  He was so damn fine.

  Rock-hard pecs, strong abdomen, and a definitive V along his hips. His arms were cut, chiseled with a butcher knife, and his chin was marked with facial hair because he’d skipped the shave for the last few days.

  Damn, I wish he wanted me.

  Being fuck buddies didn’t sound so bad right now. With that body on top of mine every night, I wouldn’t utter a single complaint.

  Ace turned to me, and his mouth moved.

  Shit, did he say something? “Uh…what?”

  “Do you want to play with us?” he repeated. If he knew I was gawking at him, he pretended he didn’t.

  “No, I’m gonna stay with the girls.” If I was sitting on the sidelines, I got to stare at his perfect body the entire time. Sounded like a great way to spend the evening, if you asked me.

  “I’ll swap you after this game.” Ace stood behind the sand line and served the ball.

  They were all pretty good and kept the ball moving. Bree lagged behind a little, but that didn’t surprise me because the guys were simply more athletic than she was. I knew Cypress woke up at the crack of dawn every morning to work out. Ace hit the gym twice day. I didn’t have a clue how he found the time.

  A group of women walked past in their bikinis, and they eyed the guys like candy.

  Blade was the only one to look back.

  Cypress didn’t seem to notice they were there.

  Ace didn’t either.

  The girls kept walking and moved down the hill.

  Looking at the women made me think of Lady. I wondered if she was coming. Ace seemed to invite her to a lot of things. He claimed it wasn’t serious, but he spent a lot of time with her. She was a nice person, but since she was a major conflict of interest, I would never like her.

  After the game ended, Ace walked over to me. “Swap me.”

  “No, it’s okay,” I said. “But thank you.”

  “Come on.” He extended his hand to help me up, a smile on his lips. “You don’t need to be a mom all the time.”

  I didn’t want to be a mom all the time. I wanted to be so much more. I grabbed his wrist, and he pulled me up. He jerked me a little hard, and I bumped into his chest on the way up.

  I had to stop myself from kissing him. My mouth was near his, and it would be so easy. I didn’t even care if my daughters witnessed it. Now that I’d had him once before, I wanted him again. He was the best sex I’d ever had. Evan couldn’t hold a candle to Ace’s performance.

  Ace must have felt the energy between us because he cleared his throat and stepped away, dropping his smile and good mood. “Girls, you wanna head to the beach? It’d be a lot easier to build the sand castles with water.”

  “Yeah!” Rose jumped up and hugged him around the waist. “Thank, Uncle Ace.”

  I rolled my eyes. “They act like I don’t do anything for them.”

  Ace chuckled. “You know they love you.” He walked with them down the hill to the water’s
edge.

  I walked onto the court and stood beside Blade. “Why does he have to be so hot?”

  “Ace?” he asked.

  “Who else do you think I’m talking about?”

  “Uh, me?” Blade asked. “Obviously.”

  “Why would I talk about you in the third person?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe you’re a little embarrassed? I don’t know.”

  “Well, I wasn’t.”

  “I guess I have to admit Ace is pretty hot. If I were a woman, I’d probably ask him out.”

  Cypress put his hands on his hips as he stared down his friend. “Dude, I’m worried about you.”

  “What?” Blade said. “If you were a woman, you wouldn’t want to go out with Ace?”

  “I’m not a woman. I’m a man. And hell no.”

  “Oh, come on,” Blade said. “He’s built like a brickhouse. Chicks dig that.”

  “I don’t care what chicks dig,” Cypress said. “Are we gonna play or what?”

  “Fine, whatever,” Blade said. “Serve the damn ball.”

  I walked down to the beach when the game was over. Ace had helped them build one of the biggest sand castles I’d ever seen. They formed a system like worker ants. The girls retrieved the water and made the foundation for the next part. Ace used shovels and spoons to carve out the intricate details out of the outside.

  “Wow. That’s a pretty awesome sand castle.”

  He hadn’t realized I was there because he was focused on what he was doing. “Thanks. The girls are doing a great job.”

  Rose came back with another pail of water. “Here’s another one, Uncle Ace.”

  “Thanks, kiddo.” Ace took the water and molded the last structure of the castle. He dumped the remaining water out then carved out the windows and doorway.

  “Isn’t it cool, Mommy?” Lily asked. She wrapped herself in her beach towel because the sun was going down and it had started to get chilly.

  “Very cool,” I said. “You guys are so creative.”

  “Uncle Ace did most of it,” Rose said. “But we helped.”

  “You helped a lot.” Ace got to his feet and stood back to admire his handiwork. “Now, that’s a pretty sick castle.”

  “We love it!” Lily clapped her hands.

  Ace dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “Amy, could you take a picture of us?”

  “Sure.” I took the phone from him and stood back, getting Ace and the girls in the picture along with the sand castle. Ace wrapped his arms around the girls and smiled for the camera.

  I took a few photos and felt my heart melt when I looked at them. I quickly texted them to myself, wanting to print them out and put them in a frame for the living room. “That was a lot of fun, but we should get going.”

  “What about our sand castle?” Lily asked. “Can we take it with us?”

  Ace chuckled. “No, kiddo. But we have a picture so we can look at it forever.”

  They packed up their stuff in their backpack then handed it to me.

  “I can take that.” Ace took it from Rose and put it over his shoulders.

  “That’s sweet, but I can handle it.” I’d developed muscular arms ever since I had my girls. I had to carry them, load their car seats, pack strollers, the whole nine yards.

  “Forget it.” Ace started walking toward the hill.

  “Are you going to say goodbye to your friends?” Rose asked as she looked over at the group of women I saw earlier.

  Ace waved.

  The women smiled and waved back.

  I didn’t have any right to be jealous, so I didn’t get jealous. I just let it go. But I wondered if he’d gotten a phone number while I was busy playing volleyball. Since I didn’t want to know, I didn’t ask.

  We walked up the hill and met the rest of the gang at the top.

  “Are we doing anything else?” Blade asked.

  “I should get the girls home. They need to get cleaned up and have some dinner,” I said.

  “Alright,” Blade said. “I’m stopping by 400 Degrees Burgers than heading home.”

  Cypress glanced at Bree, silently asking her what she wanted to do.

  That had to be an indication something serious happened last night. She must have slept with him. It wouldn’t be the first time.

  “We’ll come along,” Bree answered. “What about you, Ace?”

  “I’m gonna help Amelia get the girls home,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Help me get the girls home? I didn’t need any help. “That’s really okay, Ace. Don’t worry about it.”

  “Too bad,” he said with a smile. “I’m walking you home.”

  Bree shot a glance at me, her meaning crystal clear. It was a sister thing.

  I didn’t argue further. “Okay.”

  We went our separate ways, and Ace and I walked to my house on Monte Verde. I lived close to Mission Ranch, a hotel and restaurant that was still owned by the famous Clint Eastwood. He also had been the mayor of the town at one point, long before my time.

  Instead of holding my hand like she usually did, Rose grabbed Ace’s hand. He looked down at her touch but didn’t make a comment about it, taking the affection in stride.

  Lily held my hand and stuck close to my side.

  Seeing us together like this made me think of things I shouldn’t. Ace was so good with my girls, and he was such a great guy too. I’d be lucky to have him, but he simply wanted something else. I couldn’t blame him for that, but moments like this made me sad. I’d need to start dating someone so I could rule out the possibility of Ace and me ever having any kind of future.

  He was so hot and sweet at the same time. Absolutely perfect. But that told me he was too good to be true.

  He walked into the house and set our shoes by the door. “You guys get ready to take a bath. I’ll be there in a second.”

  They both walked down the hallway, still in their swimsuits.

  Ace stood by the door and set down the backpack. “You’re a good mom, Amelia. Just want you to know that.”

  Every mother lived to hear those words, approval that she was doing something right. “Thanks…”

  “I know it hasn’t been all fun and games for you, but you make it look easy.”

  Again, another compliment that went straight to my heart. “Thanks.”

  “You want me to pick up some dinner?” he asked.

  “No, you’ve done enough.” I couldn’t take advantage of his chivalry. I was sure he had something more interesting to do tonight. “I can always throw some pizza bagels in the oven, and they’ll be happy.”

  “Alright. You know where to find me if you change your mind.” He walked to the door, his shirt back on so his muscles were hidden from view.

  I walked him to the entryway and kept a smile on my lips, not wanting him to know how sad I was every time he left.

  He crossed the threshold, turned around, and looked at me.

  “Well, I’ll see you later.”

  He slid his hands into his pockets and tilted his head slightly. “Yeah…I’ll see you later.”

  “Good night.”

  He didn’t say it back, choosing to stare at me instead.

  I held my breath as I waited for him to say something in return, to change his mind about what we’d agreed on. For the most part, the awkwardness disappeared and our friendship returned to normal, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how great we were together. I couldn’t stop thinking about how explosive our kisses were. I wished he would make love to me like that every single night.

  But he didn’t say any of that. “Good night.” He turned around and walked away.

  Maybe he wasn’t thinking of saying anything in the first place. Maybe something else was on his mind. Maybe he wanted to ask if it would be weird if he started bringing Lady around again. Whatever the case, I didn’t want to get my hopes up. More than likely, I was overthinking it.

  And I would just be disappointed.

  “Are you go
ing to tell me what happened or not?” The only place I could talk to Bree without Cypress knowing about it was at the Hippopotamus Café. He usually spent his day focused on the other restaurants since Bree handled this place on her own.

  We sat at a table in one of the alcoves, having lunch together while the employees carried on. Bree sipped her iced tea then glanced around as if Cypress were going to pop out of nowhere. “So…we slept together.”

  “That’s great.” I wanted my sister to get back together with Cypress as much as Cypress did. Knowing what their marriage had been like convinced me she was supposed to be with him and not anyone else. But I could never influence her like that. “So, you guys are working on the marriage?”

  “No…it was just a hookup.”

  “Oh…” I didn’t think Bree would do something like that under the circumstances.

  “I told him I wouldn’t divorce him, and I would keep an open mind for the next seven months. But I can’t not get laid. I need some action. And since he’s the only one I can be with…I asked if he wanted to hook up.”

  Of course, Cypress would never turn down the opportunity. “How was it?”

  “Amazing, like always.”

  “Are you going to do it again?”

  “I don’t know…probably. But only once in a while. I don’t want it to be a regular thing. I’ll get trapped.”

  Maybe sleeping with him would bring them closer together. Sex certainly complicated things. “I think you should keep hooking up with him. I mean, you’re married to him, right? May as well take advantage of it.”

  “True. But I’m not sure how I feel about the whole thing. There are times when I think he’s really sweet and I can see us making it work. But then there are times when I wonder if he’s lying to me.”

  “Lying to you about what?”

  “For instance, he said he didn’t want to use a condom. He said he’s clean and hasn’t been with anyone else for the past year and a half. But can I really trust that?”

  There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that Cypress remained faithful to her—always. But I couldn’t hold it against her for having doubts. She had every right to feel that way. “I see what you mean.”