by Devney Perry
A sexy grin replaced the shock on his face. “Does that mean you’re smitten with me, Shortcake?”
I shrugged. “You’re just okay.”
“Yeah,” he whispered. “You’re just okay too.”
I smiled. “You need to come over here.”
“You come here.”
“Meet in the middle?”
He nodded and I took a running leap as he bolted across the room to catch me. My legs wrapped around his waist and my arms banded around his neck as our lips crashed together.
Our mouths and tongues moved frantically but neither of us could get enough. We were desperate to get as close as possible and erase the distance of this past month.
I squeezed my thighs, pulling my center closer to Beau’s waist, hoping for some friction to dull the throbbing ache under my jeans. He groaned as his big hands jerked my hips even closer, positioning me lower so his erection was pressed right against my core.
I tore my mouth away from his lips and trailed them up his jaw. “Bedroom,” I panted against his ear before running my tongue along his earlobe and then down the muscled cords of his neck.
Beau didn’t waste any time hauling me to the bedroom. All of my bedding had been folded up in the corner and the mattress was bare, but thankfully, the bed itself was still intact.
He planted a knee on the edge of the bed and threw me down in the middle of the mattress. His fingers fumbled with the buttons on his shirt while I started stripping. My clothes, bra and panties came off with reckless speed and were scattered across the floor by the time Beau managed to shed his shirt.
I sat up and reached for the button on his jeans while he tugged off the T-shirt he’d been wearing under his button-down. My hand dove inside his boxers and wrapped around his thick cock, my thumb circling the tip to spread the drop at its end around the head. I ached to have him inside.
Beau stopped undressing for a moment to suck in a sharp breath and mutter, “Fuck.” I only stroked him twice before he pulled my hand away. “I’m going to have trouble making this last as it is, angel. If you keep drooling over my cock while you’re sitting there naked, this will be over before it starts.”
I smiled. “We don’t have much time anyway. The movers are coming.”
“They can wait outside.” He stepped out of his jeans and laid them carefully beside me on the bed before kicking off his boxers. His long fingers trailed up the inside of my thighs as he came down on top of me, his light touch leaving a trail of goose bumps on my skin.
My hips bucked and I gasped when his thumb strummed my clit twice. When two of his fingers slid inside my wetness, I closed my eyes as he rocked them in and out. It was amazing but it wasn’t enough. “I need you inside.”
He dipped his fingers one last time before positioning the broad head of his cock. “Your wish.” With his elbows bracketing my face, his hands dove into the masses of my hair splayed behind me on the mattress.
With a slow and deliberate push, he buried his huge cock, connecting us so completely I knew we’d never drift apart again.
“I love you,” I whispered.
His smiling eyes locked with mine as his hips kept thrusting. “I love you too.”
Beau’s strokes sped up and my empty bedroom filled with the sound of our bodies colliding. One of his hands left my hair and came down to my breast, rolling a nipple and sending a whole new wave of heat to my core.
“Yes,” I moaned.
“Say that again,” he whispered in my ear as his cock kept stroking and his hand kept working my nipple.
“Yes.”
He kissed my neck, thrusting deep once more but then stopped.
“What?” I panted. “Did you hear something? Is it the movers?”
He didn’t answer me; instead he lifted up and leaned over to rifle through his jeans pocket.
I listened for noise but the apartment was silent. “Beau?”
He still didn’t answer. Seriously? What was so important that he stopped fucking me? If he came back with his phone, I was going to kill him.
“Beau!” I smacked him on the arm, causing him to chuckle. “This isn’t funny.” I tipped my hips up as a silent reminder that he had much more important things to be doing right now than messing around with his pants.
“I’m glad you said yes.” His torso came back to mine and he grinned. His right hand reached for my left and slid a cold metal band past my knuckle until it rested perfectly at the base of my ring finger.
“Wha—”
He interrupted me by slamming his mouth down on mine and kissing me deeply. I didn’t kiss him back, I just lay there, stunned.
Did he just propose? I ripped my lips away from his and turned my head to the side. He had my wrist pinned, a diamond ring sparkling brightly against my skin.
“Oh my god,” I gasped as I stared at the ring. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry so I did both, hiccupping sobs as a wide smile split my face. Blinking away tears, I turned my head, needing Beau’s eyes. They were waiting for me, bright and full of love.
“I love you, Sabrina,” he whispered. “Be my wife?”
I nodded, unable to speak because I was crying again.
Beau swiped my tears away with his thumbs as he peppered kisses on my nose, chin and cheeks. When I finally got ahold of my emotions, I lifted up to kiss his lips. My legs wrapped around the back of his thighs and pulled him closer, burying his cock as deep as it could go.
He smiled against my mouth before sliding his tongue inside. Our kiss started out sweet but quickly turned hot as Beau’s long strokes resumed. My body ignited again and my legs started to tremble. Beau started going faster, pounding hard and deep, until he gave me an intense orgasm. I was so consumed with the explosion, I vaguely registered Beau telling me he was coming too.
My entire body went limp as he slid out, letting me go to collapse by my side. When my racing heartbeat and labored breathing started to subside, I lifted my left hand in front of my face.
“Wow.” I was mesmerized by the jewel on my finger. Set in a thin, white-gold band was a square-cut diamond. The ring was simple but exquisite. Exactly what I would have picked out for myself.
“Do you like it?” Beau asked, propping himself up on his side.
“It’s beautiful.” I turned my head to give him a kiss but the second my lips touched his, a knock pounded on the door.
“Ahh! The movers are here and I’m naked!” I scrambled off the bed, scooping up clothes and nearly tripping as I rushed to the bathroom to clean up. By the time I emerged, Beau had gotten dressed, sans the button-down, and was showing the crew around my living room.
“Hi.” I waved and shook hands with the foreman, who immediately started walking me through the moving process and introducing me to his team.
“We should be done before lunch, ma’am,” the foreman said as his crew dispersed to bring in flattened boxes and tissue-paper rolls from the hallway.
“Sounds great. Thank you.”
Beau tucked me into his side as we stood in the living room and watched the movers get started.
“Shit!” I planted my face in his chest. “The bedroom smells like sex.”
He started laughing and hugged me tighter.
“It’s not funny,” I hissed, which only made him laugh louder.
Still laughing, he called to the foreman. “Do you need us to stay or can we step out for a while?”
“We’re all good here. You just need to sign off on everything once it’s packed.”
“Come on, Shortcake.” Beau steered me down the hall. “Let’s take a walk.”
Hand in hand, we rode down the elevator, waved at Tim as we passed the front desk, then walked outside. The mid-morning air was fresh and cool as we strolled down the sidewalk. The diamond on my finger glittered in the sun and I kept twirling it with my thumb to see it sparkle.
“We’re getting married.” I’d probably keep saying that all day until it really sank in.
Beau smiled. �
��Damn straight.”
Everything had happened so fast this morning I realized there was still a lot to talk about. There were things I needed to say.
I took a deep breath and started with an apology. “I’m sorry I pushed you away when you came here last month.” I never should have told him to leave.
“I’m sorry it took me so long to come back.” There was regret in his voice too. “I tried to get back sooner but it took longer than I thought to wrap up stuff in Prescott. I had to train a guy to take over the search-and-rescue team and find someone else to take my job, and I wanted to spend some time with Coby before I left.”
“You quit your job?”
He nodded. “Yeah. But I think they’ll let me have it back.”
I smiled and rested my head on his arm, glad he was here now even if it had taken him a while to get back. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
“Whenever I thought about you, I sent you these good thoughts.”
“Yeah?” he asked. “Like what?”
“Just little things. I’d wish you a good day at work or a nice dinner. I’d ask you to give Boone a hug for me.”
He grumbled. “Don’t get me started on that damn dog. You’ve ruined him. He’s been moping for eight months.”
“Really?” I smiled. “He missed me?”
“Almost as much as I did.” He bent and kissed the top of my hair. “I meant what I said earlier, Sabrina. I’ve thought about it a lot. I don’t care where we live. As long as we’re together, I’ll be happy.”
“Me too.” It meant the world to me that he’d make that kind of sacrifice but it didn’t change my decision. “I choose Montana. I want to take Boone for walks down the street by our house. I want your family to invade our privacy and I want to become Coby’s favorite aunt. I want to take our kids camping at the outpost. Just promise me I’ll never have to shovel snow.”
“You’re sure?”
I looked up to him and nodded. “I’m sure.” I’d have no regrets about trading my busy, whirlwind lifestyle for a simple country life.
After walking for a bit, we started making our way back and I started making a mental list of everyone I wanted to call on the drive to Prescott. We had a lot of exciting news to share. My family and Felicity would be over the moon when they learned about our engagement.
I was sure Mom would want me to tell her how Beau had proposed in detail, at least twice.
My feet stopped dead as realization dawned.
“What?” Beau asked when my hand slipped out of his. “Are you okay?”
I shook my head. “What are we going to tell my parents when they ask how you proposed? Or our kids? We can’t tell them the real story. It will scar them for life!”
He stepped into my space and smiled. “You’re the storyteller, I’m sure you’ll think of something.”
Maybe I could tell them that he surprised me. Just keep it vague. That would work, right?
Right.
Beau
Eight years later . . .
“Daddy?”
“Ella?” I tucked my six-year-old daughter under her dark purple quilt. Everything in this room was purple. The walls. Her bed. The chair in the corner. Sabrina had even found a round rug that was entirely swirls of purple. Because Ella loved it so much, it had become one of my favorite rooms in the house.
“I’m not very happy with you,” she declared for the fifth time tonight.
I grinned. “I know.”
“Mommy’s going to be really mad at you too.”
I leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Probably.”
“I still can’t believe you did that.”
I tried not to laugh but her stern expression was too cute and one slipped out. Ella had my dark hair, but other than that, she was Sabrina’s tiny clone. Personality and all.
“It will be fine,” I told her. “Now did you get the rest of your clothes picked out?”
She nodded and smiled, revealing two missing front teeth. “Mommy said I could have my own suitcase this time.”
“Okay. We’ll load it up tomorrow.”
“And you’ll remember to bring my book?”
I nodded. “Yes, I’ll get your book.”
“And the picture I drew for Grammy and Grandpa?”
“And the picture.”
“And my movie for the plane?”
“Yes, and your movie. We’ll get it all tomorrow. Now, time for bed.”
“Okay, Daddy.” She tucked her hands under her cheek as she sighed. Her beautiful green eyes looked at me like I had hung the moon. Even when she was grown, I hoped she’d always look at me like that.
“Night-night, princess.” I gave her another kiss. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Daddy.”
I shut off the purple lamp next to her bed and pushed up off the floor, closing her door before walking down the hall to the boys’ room. I loved that the kids were all downstairs these days. They had been upstairs when they were babies but now the upstairs extra room was for guests. It gave the kids more space and Sabrina and I more privacy.
“Peyton, Tanner,” I called as I walked into their room. “Time for bed.”
The twins were nowhere in sight.
“Boys. Stop hiding.” This was their new thing. They couldn’t sit still or stay quiet at the dinner table to save their lives, but when it came to hiding, they were as silent as the dead.
I gave them a minute, but when they didn’t emerge, I started counting. “One. Two. Th—”
Two little four-year-old boys started laughing. Tanner popped out of the suitcase on the floor. Peyton sat up from the gap between the bottom bunk’s mattress and the wall. I shook my head and looked to the floor to hide my smile.
My boys were not small for their age, but to hide, they could contort themselves into the tightest places imaginable. Sabrina didn’t like that they hid from her so I didn’t want to encourage them, but at the same time, I was always impressed with their new hiding spots.
“Who’s on the top bunk tonight?” I asked.
“My turn!” Tanner yelled, scrambling up the stairs to the top bed. I had built them an elaborate bunk bed last year, complete with stairs and an iron railing, but because they both loved the top so much, we made them switch off every night.
“Daddy?” Peyton asked, climbing under his blue comforter. “When’s Mommy getting home?”
“Later tonight, bud. She’s out with your aunts.”
Once a month, Sabrina met Felicity, Maisy and a whole group of women at the Prescott Spa for a girls’ night. She’d come home with fancy toenails and a wine buzz, which meant I was getting lucky later. I got lucky most nights, but when she was tipsy, she’d let me get creative.
“Ella says Mommy’s going to be mad at you,” Peyton said.
“I know,” I muttered.
“Tomorrow is our baycation!” Tanner cried as he bounced in his bed.
“Vacation. With a V. Vay-cation.”
“Vvvacation.”
“Good job.” I tucked him in first and then bent down to tuck in Peyton. “You guys be quiet and get some sleep so you’ve got lots of energy for the trip tomorrow. Okay?”
“Okay, Daddy!” both chimed. There was no chance of them staying quiet tonight. They’d talk to each other for hours, only stopping when their little bodies physically shut down to sleep.
“Love you, Peyton. Love you, Tanner.”
“Night-night, Daddy!”
I closed the door and the giggles started. “We’re going on a roller coaster!” one of them yelled at the same time the other said, “Grandpa said he’d take me on a saffrari!”
Shaking my head, I let them be and went to the kitchen for a glass of water. Boone was lying on his bed, his eyes locked on the door to the garage. He’d stay just like that until Sabrina got home.
“More moping?” I asked him.
He didn’t move, not even to blink.
I huffed, scowling at my form
er dog. He’d abandoned me completely in favor of my wife and kids. Man’s best friend my ass. Boone didn’t give two shits about me anymore. If Sabrina wasn’t home, he was all about Ella and the boys.
After turning off a few lights, I went back to the boys’ room, reminding them to be quiet before starting up the stairs. Making my way to our bedroom, I took in the framed pictures along the hallway. Sabrina kept growing the collage Maisy had started, replacing older pictures with new and adding a couple more rows of frames. But even with the additions, the black-and-whites still centered around one color photo.
Our wedding picture.
Besides the pictures of her in the hospital on the day the kids were born, there wasn’t a picture on this wall where she looked more beautiful than at our wedding. We’d gotten married in an open meadow not far into the mountains with close friends and family looking on. Sabrina’s long hair had been curled and left free to flow down her back. Her delicate lace dress had hugged her top and flowed to her feet. And her smile. The photographer had captured her breathtaking smile after I’d slid my ring onto her finger.
I touched the frame then kept walking to the bedroom to do some packing of my own.
Tomorrow, I was finally taking Sabrina to Disney World.
The day after she’d moved here from Seattle, I’d offered to take her on vacation, but she’d jumped right into wedding planning instead, insisting we save money and focus on the wedding. Then I’d pitched the idea of Disney World for our honeymoon but she’d nixed that too.
She’d wanted our honeymoon to be at the outpost.
I had argued at first, but when she’d pointed out that there would be no distractions from a week of sex, I’d immediately shut up.
After the wedding, we wasted no time in getting pregnant with Ella, then again with the boys. Disney World with a two-year-old and twin babies sounded more like torture than fun so we’d kept pushing back the trip.
But now the kids were old enough to have a blast and we were leaving in the morning. We were flying to Florida tomorrow and spending a day at her parents’ house, and then we were all going to Orlando. Her parents, brothers and their families were coming along too. We’d all be wearing matching Holt-MacKenzie Clan T-shirts that her brother Kameron had designed.
