by Lisa N. Paul
“Come closer, Princess. Geez, you are cold. Come here, let me warm you up.”
“So smooth with the ladies, Romeo,” she teased and his body tensed.
“Listen to me, Ashley.” He lifted up on his forearm, and used his other hand to take her chin between his thumb and index finger. “I fucked up, I know I did, but there are some things I think you need to know—”
“Ryan,” she cut him off. “It’s okay. What you did when we weren’t a couple is your own business. I was wrong to bring it up, and I won’t do it again.” Regret filled her eyes.
“No, you need to hear me out.” When he was certain that he had her attention, he moved his hand from her chin down to her arm, sliding his fingers up and down her soft flesh, and then stopping periodically to trace the “Leo” tattoo on her bicep.
“Did I sleep around this past year? Yes, I did, but I didn’t hook up with as many women as you think. I couldn’t, Ash, because I only wanted you. It was childish and asinine, but true. The nights I didn’t come home I crashed at Kyle’s on his filthy, germ-infested couch. So,” he shrugged, “in essence, maybe I did sleep with people those nights too.”
They both laughed before Ryan continued. “I stayed out because I was drunk, and I knew if I came home I’d make a fool of myself. Not once did I stay the night at some random chick’s place.”
He saw the questions in her eyes, “I never wanted to give any woman the impression that what we had was anything other than sex. Does that make me an asshole? Yeah, I guess, but the only woman’s bed I wanted to wake up in was yours.” Ashley’s mouth opened in what Ryan assumed would be a classic Ashley rebuttal.
“I know, I know,” He jumped in like he was reading her mind, “I was a dick, parading women around to make you jealous.” He squirmed under her narrow gaze. “I can’t change what I did. And I know it sounds like I’m trying to make it seem less disgusting, but, really, I’m not. I’ve been a whore but you’ll never know how sorry I am. What I did with those girls was never based on love—not once, not ever—and I need you to believe that. It was just me trying to move on from the only woman who has ever owned my heart. Please, tell me you can get past that?” The tension slowly left his body as Ashley gave an understanding nod.
Leaning forward, she gently kissed his lips and smiled. “Yeah, Ry, I can get past that. I’m already over it. So let’s let it go. Okay?”
Lying on his side behind her, they both watched the dancing flames of the fire. The grandfather clock that stood in the corner struck five, as his eyelids grew heavy. So much had happened in the past twelve hours, so much damage, so much destruction, and so much pain, but things had also begun to heal and for that small favor he would be forever grateful.
“Ry?”
“Hmm?” He wasn’t yet asleep but he was emotionally and physically spent from the events of the day.
“Is Danny’s really gone?” He felt the pain that laced her question.
“No, Princess, just the building is.” He placed a soft kiss on the round of her shoulder. “Buildings can be replaced, and as soon as the weather clears up we’ll help Danny rebuild.” The rain and winds whipped around outside and aside from the incandescence in front of them, the house remained in darkness. “But right now, baby, let’s try to get some sleep, okay?”
“Okay, honey.” She wiggled her bare skin closer to him and he felt her body relax when sleep finally claimed her.
Destruction And A Bet
“OH GOD.” JANIE’S voice was filled the emotions that everyone else was feeling but were too stunned to verbalize. It had been twenty-four hours since Hurricane Leo had hit Charistown with its one/two punch before making its way up the coast to take on its next opponent. Ryan, Ashley, Max, Janie, and Lyla had agreed to meet Danny and Julie at the wreckage so they could all deal with the tragedy together.
“Come here, sweetheart,” Danny grumbled. His red-rimmed eyes, accented with purple smudges, suggested how little sleep he’d had the night before. He extended his hand to a quietly sobbing Ashley. Wrapped tightly in Ryan’s arms, she gave him a loving squeeze before walking over to Danny and Julie. They enveloped her in an embrace that to any outsider would look like parents consoling their child and together they mourned their loss.
A few minutes elapsed and the embrace between three expanded to include, Max, Janie, and Ryan, all forming a circle around the couple who had become so much more than employers over the years.
“Lyla, girl, get your ass over here. You know this family isn’t complete without you.” Clearly Danny’s cracked voice held no less authority than normal because with no more than a loud sniff, Lyla slowly walked through the sodden rubble to her family and melded into their warmth.
Pulling away, Ryan looked around the dilapidated wreckage. “Hey, where the hell is Kyle?” No one had seen or heard from Kyle in days, which was strange in its own right, but after such a big storm where it was public knowledge that Danny’s on Main had been destroyed, even Kyle should have checked in. “Look, I know he’s been off—getting worse for months, even—but this isn’t like him.” As if on cue, Danny’s cell phone rang.
“Hello, this is Danny.” The group was quiet as Danny spoke to the caller. It quickly became clear by the look on Danny’s face that the news he was hearing wasn’t good. “Motherfucker. Yeah, Nixon, uh huh, I understand. But he’s breathin’ on his own, yes?”
“Who’s Nixon?” Lyla whispered to Max.
“Kyle’s younger brother, now shh.”
“Okay, boy, I hear ya. No, I’ll tell everyone. When can he have visitors? Yep.” Danny continued to listen and answer briefly. “You got it, Nix. Anything you need, son, okay? Nixon Marx, listen up boy, he’s my family, which means you are too, so hear me when I say, anything you need, got it? Okay. I’ll call you later. Bye, Nix.”
When Danny ended the call, he closed his eyes and absently shook his head. The room stayed quiet, as if everyone decided to give Danny a moment to clear his head, without ever having to discuss it.
“Honey,” Julie lovingly stroked his forearm, “what did Nixon want? Where’s Kyle?” Ashley felt her insides tighten—a cub scout couldn’t have tied a better knot. Danny and Julie were standing in the middle of what used to be their livelihood, they’d lost everything in the last forty-eight hours and now, Danny had the weight of something else on his broad, but not unbreakable, shoulders. He needed her. No, he needed all of them. They were a team, a family.
“Danny, talk to us. We may be like your children, but we’re adults. Let us help you for a change.” As the words left her mouth, Ashley felt strength firing in her blood. This was her time—her time to put away the past, and start moving on in the present in all aspect of her life. Reach for the Light. She felt warmth in Leo’s words and the strength in those around her.
“Fuck, I don’t know how to tell you all this—especially the two of you,” Danny shot a quick look to Ryan who now had Ashley wrapped tight in his arms.
“Kyle got into a car accident last night. They found his car wrapped around an electrical pole. According to the paramedics who first responded, he was semi-conscious when they first arrived but, he was also pretty goddamn drunk. Once they were able to get him on the stretcher, he went unconscious and hasn’t woken up since. Nix said that in Kyle’s case, being drunk probably saved his life because his body was so limber it just kind of went with the flow of the car. He never tightened up, never fought it.”
Danny shook his head in what appeared to be sorrowful disgust. “That boy is tempting death every single day and this time death nearly won. Jesus Christ. You should have heard the list of things damaged or broken in that boy. Nix has been at the hospital all night. Kyle has had two emergency surgeries. Nix sounds beat.” He turned to Julie, “We should head up there, sweetheart. There’s nothing we can do to this place today.”
“Of course, Danny, but you didn’t tell us, where did the accident happen?” Julie questioned.
“He was on his way back from Be
thlehem.”
“Fuck!” Max groaned pinching the bridge of his nose with his finger and thumb, and sent a look of understanding in Danny and Julie’s direction.
“What the hell is in Bethlehem?” Lyla asked a question that not only Janie, but Ryan and Ashley also, had no answer for.
“I’m sorry, Ly, I just can’t tell you that.” Max pulled Janie close to his chest and kissed the top of her head. “I hate to fall back on the standard answer, but it’s not my story to tell.”
“Christ.” Lyla shoved her hands in her leather jacket. “We could write not just one book but a whole damn series when you put all of our shit together. Fine, don’t share, but is he okay?” There was no misreading the depth of the sincerity in her question.
“He will be, Lyla girl,” Danny mumbled.
“Ahem.” Julie cleared her throat in a loud and purposeful fashion.
“Jules,” Danny grumbled, a smirk creeping across his handsome face. “You can’t possibly be thinking about our bet now, while all hell is breaking loose in our lives?”
“Danny Marcus,” Julie grinned, wiping the last stray tear from her cheek. “You, my sweet husband, have always preached about finding the silver lining when the skies are at their darkest and here it is buddy. Now pay up. The rest of you too. Don’t think you can get away with stiffing the boss lady.”
The confusion that marred Ryan’s sexy face was comforting to Ashley because she had no freaking idea what the hell was going on around her. “Ry?” She asked, but he shrugged his shoulders and they both watched silently as Danny, Max, Janie, and Lyla each slapped a twenty-dollar bill into Julie’s waiting palm.
“What the fuck, guys?” Ryan pulled Ashley closer to his body. She went willingly, loving how his innate protective instinct reappeared overnight.
“Son, no need to get upset.” Danny wrapped both arms around his wife. “Julie, here won the bet, that’s all.”
“The bet?” Ashley sputtered through barely contained giggles.
“Yeah, she said you guys would find your way back to each other during the storm. Something about a ‘Power Party’? We all thought she was crazy.”
Julie laughed. “Not looking so crazy anymore am I?” Her gaze leveled on Ashley. “Pedicures on me, Spicy girl.”
The solemn mood was lifted slightly as the seven of them carefully maneuvered their way out of the mess that was once Danny’s, and headed to the hospital to see their friend.
REALLY Thankful
“I CAN’T BELIEVE we’re having a real Thanksgiving dinner, here at our house, as a couple, with our family.” Ashley’s face ached from all the smiling she had done since waking up before the sun to start preparing for their feast. It was late morning and the two of them were moving in what looked like a well-practiced dance around their kitchen, even though this was the first home cooked dinner party they had ever prepared together.
“I know, Princess.” Ryan slid behind her and as his hard frame pressed up against her back he twirled satiny strands of her gold and pink-streaked hair around his fist and pressed his lips firmly against the nape of her neck. “This is everything I’ve ever wanted.”
His murmured words sent goose bumps down her arms as his fingers slid over her shoulders to her firm full breasts. He could feel the warmth of her skin radiating through the fabric of the thin sleep cami as he rolled her puckered nipples between his index finger and his thumb.
After a mere teasing touch, he let one hand continue down the firm contours of her tummy and straight beneath her boxers. His thick middle finger slid between the sensitive folds of her most intimate place and moisture coated the digit while he slowly pumped in and out of her greedy body.
“Mmm, Princess, you’re so wet and ready for me.”
“Ah, that feels so…so nice.” Her head fell back lazily against his chest as he sunk two fingers in and out of her warm, wet pussy.
“Ashley, baby, I’m not looking for nice,” he growled as his thumb rubbed circles over her pulsing clit. “I’m looking for great, wow, or so fucking good, but nice? No, Princess, nice isn’t gonna work.” He quickly spun her around and yanked the boxers down her legs.
“Ryan,” she giggled as arousal spiked through her body sending fresh wetness between her thighs. Before she could say another word her feet were lifted from the ground and her naked ass was planted firmly on the cool, smooth granite countertop. Ryan sat before her on a barstool, pure unadulterated hunger and determination glimmering in his chocolate eyes. His big hands parted her knees as he leaned forward and pulled her closer to his mouth. When he licked his bottom lip, her body melted.
She could smell her own arousal and by the look in his eyes, she knew the fragrance was affecting Ryan too. Hunger seeped into his gaze as he inhaled deeply and licked his bottom lip once again before taking her into his mouth. He ran his tongue from slit to clit, collecting her moisture and swallowing it down.
He’d told her often how he loved having her in his mouth, on his tongue, weaving through all of his senses. She was like the blood that pumped through his veins, vital to his survival. Back when they were teenagers she laughed off his romantic musings, but since being back together, she realized that everything he said was true. Every time they were together she felt his energy flowing through her and she knew that he was her soul mate in every way.
“Oh, fuck, Ry…” Her whimpers were his inspiration. Nuzzling her engorged nub, he slid his fingers, knuckle deep, into her core, stroking her sweet spot and making her writhe against his hand while she called out his name. She pulsed around his fingers, coating them in fresh sweet cream as she continued to fuck his face, searching for the release that was only a breath way.
“Give it to me, Princess, let go,” he demanded gently as he pressed his tongue firmly to her clit using his fingers to coax another climax from her. She felt her legs shaking and her breaths were shallow as moans left her body quickly without her permission. She palmed her breasts and squeezed her nipples as her climax built in her body like a fireball.
“Fuck, Ryan, I’m gonna come…” She screamed her release as she pressed herself against his face one last time.
Her sated body felt boneless as Ryan lifted her off the counter and carried her to the sofa. He placed a kiss on her lips as he lowered her to the cushions and smiled. “Well, Princess, how was that? Nice enough for ya?”
“Not bad, Ry,” she giggled, “not bad at all.”
As a dark scowl crossed his face and she couldn’t help but laugh at his expression. Glaring at her was the most beautiful man she had ever seen, standing there looking down at her like a panther stalking his prey. Dressed in sweatpants and a vintage Aerosmith concert t-shirt, he looked downright edible and she was hungry. She slinked her arms around his hips and brought him closer to her. She lifted her gaze from the arousal in his sweats to his sexy face standing far above her.
“Ryan, I have so many things to be thankful for this year and all of them lead me back to you. I promise to give the emotional Thanksgiving speech later, but right now, I just want to show you how grateful I am.”
Mesmerized by her hazel eyes he lowered himself to the couch and pulled the chenille blanket over their partially naked bodies.
“Princess”—Ashley snuggled closely to his body, her legs tangled in his as her hand ran up his torso—“I can’t begin to tell you how thankful I am for you.” His normally smooth voice was rough with emotion as he spoke around the lump forming in his throat.
“I would have enjoyed anything we did for Thanksgiving as long as I was in the same room with you, but spending it together, with you, as your…” he paused, waited a breath and then continued, “boyfriend, is fucking amazing. I love you, Ashley, There is nothing in the world I am more grateful for than you.”
“Romeo,” Her eyes filled with tears and her voice thick with feeling, “you always say the most wonderful things.” Then, true to form, she added, “Do you write this shit down ahead of time?” Deciding that they’d done enoug
h talking, Ryan launched himself at her, pinning her beneath him and using his talented fingers to tickle her ribs while she squirmed and gasped for breath.
“Ryan,” she laughed gasping for air, “I’m gonna pee myself, you have to stop…please!”
“Okay, Princess, I’ll stop.” Obeying her command he slipped his tongue in her mouth and started a torture of a whole different kind, one that neither of them had any desire to stop.
Unconditional Love
“SERIOUSLY, ASH, DOES he always walk around that way? Or is he doing it just for our benefit?” Lyla stared at a shirtless Ryan as he made his fourth round-trip from the basement with the final box of Christmas decorations.
Ashley giggled at her friend’s dry humor. “Hey, Jane, you’re sitting closer to her, do you wanna wipe that small spot of drool off her chin?”
“Oh, screw you, Ash,” Lyla whispered without any anger. “You know his body is like a work of art.”
“Of course she knows my body’s hot,” Ryan said as he walked over to the sofa and placed a soft kiss on the top of Ashley’s head. “In fact, I think she decided to name each of my abs.” Ryan winked at a wide-eyed Lyla before he chuckled and headed upstairs for a shower, leaving the women to continue their coffee therapy.
“You guys seem so happy together.” Janie beamed. “I’m so glad you finally, you know…worked everything out.” Ashley wrapped her hands around her mug. The past month and a half had been the happiest she had ever been.
“I am happy, girls. I’m really happy.”
“EVERYTHING WAS DELICIOUS as usual, Julie. Thank you so much for having us all for Christmas dinner.” Ashley tucked a green streak of hair behind her ear as she carried the bread basket from the dining room into the kitchen.
“Yeah, Jules, the food was fab and your tree is gorgeous.” Lyla swiped her index finger through the icing on the chocolate fudge cake. “Ouch, Janie! That hurt. You didn’t need to flick me in the head, you could’ve just asked me not to stick my finger in your cake.”
