Better Love

by Daisy Prescott

  Our conversation from a few months ago popped into my head again.

  I could see her as a mother. Sitting in a big, comfy chair with a fat toddler in her arms, watching whales in the water below the bluff.

  Whoa.

  Where did that fully-formed fantasy come from?

  A slice of pepperoni hit my sleeve and flopped to the ground. I glanced in the direction of its trajectory to spot one of the flour covered boys from earlier. He grinned at me and I could see the challenge in his eyes.

  Staring down at him, I announced, “First kid to start a food fight will have to clean the bathrooms here for a month.”

  The little bastard scowled at me, but dropped the handful of pepperoni on his pizza.

  I settled my hands on my hips, feet spread wide, and challenged anyone else in the room to try something.

  “Now you do look like Peter ruling over his lost boys,” Roslyn whispered from beside me. A piece of dough stuck to her cheek and she had a puff of flour in her hair.

  “And you look more beautiful than ever.” I leaned down to kiss her, not thinking we had an audience of sixty-four eyes staring at us.

  “Ooh, Mr. Ashland is kissing that lady,” a single voice shouted from across the room.

  “Ooh, kissing,” echoed the larger chorus with a few “gross” and “ew” thrown in from the boys.

  “Oops,” I whispered to Roslyn.

  “You have flour on your face.” She brushed at the spot with her flour-covered thumb. “Now it’s in your beard.”

  “When is this event over?” I asked, rubbing at my beard.

  “Another hour after they bake and eat their pizzas. Why?”

  I swept her hair over her shoulder and whispered against her ear. “I’m having adult thoughts about you and don’t want to turn this into a sex ed class.”

  “Want to lock ourselves in your office and make out?” she offered with a mischievous smile.

  With a groan, I shook my head no. “That would only make the situation worse. Promise me you’ll come over after this is finished?”

  “I can’t stay.” She appeared genuinely sad. “I have a dinner meeting in town.”

  I glanced at the clock. It was only eleven thirty. “Then I’m taking the afternoon off.”

  “Can you do that?”

  I slung my arm over her shoulder. “I’m the boss.”

  TOM AND HAILEY’S wedding took place at the Laughing Dog winery where a winter theme transformed the large tasting room. The calendar said official winter began a week later, but a bright sun warmed the mild Saturday and it was dry enough to have the wedding outside under an arbor. More than one of the old-timers said it was the warmest and driest December they could remember. I saw it as good fortune for the couple.

  The ceremony had been short, sweet, and hysterical when their puppy, Nameless, ate his ring bearer pillow, but managed to not swallow the wedding bands. Ovaries exploded throughout the crowd when Tom picked up the shaggy doodle dog in one arm and kissed Hailey with every ounce of passion and love he had. Tears flowed during his short speech when he mentioned his grandfather, Pops Donnely, who had been an institution on the island. The Kelso brothers gave a joint toast and impressed everyone with their charms.

  Erik raised his glass. “We might be the pesky little brothers Tom never had, and probably wished he still didn’t, but we’re forever grateful to have him in our lives. Please join us in a toast to friendship.”

  Carter lifted his bottle of beer. “Some ships are made of metal, others are made of wood, but the best kind of ships are friendships.”

  A perfect quote for a groom who built ships for a living. Everyone clinked glasses or clapped.

  One thing could be said for this motley group of friends I’d made on the island—we were a loyal bunch and loved each other deeply, although none of us would ever admit that publicly outside of weddings and funerals. We were men after all.

  After the toasts finished, Tom and Hailey took their first dance to a Backstreet Boys song. From Hailey’s burst of laughter, the choice was a surprise to her, too. Her joy was contagious. Other couples joined them on the dance floor and finished the song singing at the top of their lungs while the happy couple grinned at each other between kisses.

  Roslyn and I remained seated, laughing at others’ antics, including Carter’s slick dance moves from the ’90s.

  Catching us watching, he walked over to our table when the song finished. I lifted an eyebrow and glanced at Roslyn as Carter approached.

  The DJ played another clichéd wedding song. Two of Hailey’s bridesmaids squealed and jumped around the dance floor.

  “Care to dance?” Carter held out his hand to my date.

  “She’s busy.” I didn’t bother trying to be polite.

  “Doing what?” Confusion clouded Carter’s face. Clearly, he thought nothing of asking my date to dance.

  I pointed at her half eaten cake. “Eating cake. Obviously.”

  Even though I added a laugh after I shot him down, making light of his rudeness, Roslyn stood and placed her napkin on the table.

  “I can dance if Dan watches my cake.” She leaned close to my ear. “Guard it with your life.”

  What the hell just happened? Carter Kelso swooped in and stole Roslyn right in front of me. Now the two of them were laughing and dancing some silly line dance together.

  Nonsense.

  “Please make sure no one touches this plate,” I asked the older woman sitting next to me. I was pretty sure she’d been introduced at some point as Hailey’s grandmother.

  Cutting around the edge of the dance floor, I made my way to the DJ booth.

  He acknowledged me and shifted one of his headphones off his ear to listen to my request. “Give me a few minutes to get it queued up.”

  I nodded and said thanks before returning to the table. Seeing Roslyn’s cake still safe, I resumed my seat.

  Who asked a woman to dance at a wedding to a fast song involving complicated steps? Amateur move.

  Another throbbing bass beat came out of the speakers. The DJ found me in the crowd of tables and gave me a thumb’s up. I took a bite of Roslyn’s slice of cake and then stood.

  Carter made a spectacle of himself with each spin and ridiculous move. If Ashley Kingston were here, he wouldn’t be bothering my date. Unfortunately, the love of Carter’s life—who slept with the groom and assaulted him in public with a package of ground beef—wasn’t invited to the wedding. I doubt her name even came up to be vetoed.

  The first notes of “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran came through the speakers as I stepped on the dance floor.

  “A friend of the bride and groom’s wanted to dedicate this song to the new couple. If you’re part of a couple, married or not, please join them on the dance floor.”

  Hold on. I didn’t tell him to say any of that. Carter held up one of his hands in a silent offer to Roslyn.

  Oh, hell no.

  I dodged a few couples to tap him on the shoulder. “I think I’ll be cutting in. If you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all,” Roslyn said, shifting her body from Carter to me.

  He mumbled something and strode off toward the cluster of Hailey’s single friends.

  “Thank you for rescuing me. I had a feeling that dance would’ve felt like one of my more awkward memories of junior high.”

  “I didn’t ask you to dance in order to cockblock Carter. I requested this song to specifically dance with you.”

  “Since when do you dance? Have you turned into a fool?”

  “It’s a wedding. We eat cake and dance. Those were the ground rules.”

  Pressing my hand against her lower back, I placed her palm against my shoulder. I guided her to an area with more open space, then swung her in a wide turn before pulling her close again.

  “How do you know how to dance?” She sounded a little breathless.

  “I went through a rockabilly swing phase right out of college when I tended bar in Brooklyn for a su
mmer.”

  “You’ve lived a thousand lives.” She smiled with a small shake of her head. “The things I don’t know about you.”

  “Ask me anything.” I leaned my head close to hers and whispered, “Anything.”

  When she didn’t answer, I dipped her slightly so I could gaze into her eyes. What I hadn’t anticipated was the emotion I saw in them.

  I expected to see curiosity, maybe fire. Instead she blinked at me and her eyes lost focus as tears sparkled along her lower lids.

  With a slight tug, I pulled her closer. “Did I say something wrong?”

  “No, it’s not that. Weddings make me cry.”

  “Then I should probably confess something.”

  Her bright gaze met mine. This time I saw nervous anticipation. I pressed her closer to me and whispered against her ear, “I ate some of your cake.”

  After our dance finished, I stole Roslyn away from the party.

  “What about my cake?” she asked as she followed me down the outside stairs to the lower level of the building. Built on a hill, the main tasting room had a view of Hat Island and Everett, but the lower level had the cellar, and a promise of privacy.

  “A lovely woman is guarding it with her life.” I opened the door to the cellar and reached for the switch.

  The large, industrial pendant lights flickered to life in a row along the ceiling, casting the long table in the middle of the room in a warm glow. Racks of tasting barrels lined two of the walls, and an arched, heavy wood door anchored the far wall leading to the rest of the wine storage. Built underground this cellar maintained a cool temperature year round.

  “Brr.” Roslyn shivered, the thin material of her blue lace dress not providing any insulation. Her cheeks were flushed from the dancing and champagne.

  “Come here.” Leaning against the table, I opened my arms.

  She wrapped her arms around me and I enveloped her with my suit jacket.

  “Damn. I forgot how good you look in a suit.” She snuggled against my warm chest.

  “I feel like a penguin.”

  “Aren’t those tuxedos? Don’t even tease me with the idea of you in a tux. I’m not sure my ovaries could handle it.”

  I didn’t tell her I kept my custom tuxedo somewhere in the back of my closet. A man never knew when he’d need a tux, and as long as it still fit, I’d keep it even if I hadn’t worn it in years.

  “Why did you bring me down here?” She peered over my shoulder. “Are we stealing wine?”

  “It’s been too long since we’ve been alone together.” I kissed the corner of her jaw. “Weeks.”

  “We spent the afternoon together at your house. Mostly naked if I remember correctly.”

  “Still not enough. I’ve missed you.” I licked the spot behind her ear and then sucked gently on the same skin.

  “Are you giving me a hickey?”

  “Would you like me to? I’m a little out of practice given the last one I intentionally gave was in the ’90s.”

  She giggled and squirmed as I gave her open-mouthed kisses along her neck, down to her shoulder.

  “I like this dress.” I skimmed my hands from her ribs down over her curvy hips.

  “Thank you. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on it.”

  “I noticed. Every pair of eyes watched you walk across the room in it.”

  She scoffed. “I think you exaggerate.”

  “Hardly. If they weren’t looking at you, they were idiots. Poor Hailey.”

  “Why? She’s a beautiful bride.”

  “Still the second most beautiful woman in the room.” I emphasized the truth of my words with a searing kiss. Spinning us, I pressed her against the long wooden table. As I lifted her up to sit on the table, encouraging her to wrap her legs around me, I briefly wondered if the doors locked from the inside. Unless someone had the same idea as me, or somehow they ran out of wine upstairs, there was no reason anyone would wander down here.

  She pulled me closer by my bowtie, which unraveled in her fingers.

  “No clip on?” she whispered as she untangled the silk and unbuttoned the top button of my shirt.

  “Never. I believe a man should be able to tie his own bowtie, dance to a slow song, know the difference between chivalry and chauvinism, and master three different ways to make a woman orgasm.”

  “Sweet lord.”

  I didn’t hide my smirk when I kissed her. “Now, if I recall, I’ve only demonstrated two out of three recently.”

  “You’ll be the death of me.”

  In the low light, her eyes looked like deep, bottomless pools that could drown a man. As we stared at each other, I slowly lifted her dress, skimming my hands along the outside of her thighs as I pushed the delicate lace higher.

  Music and laughter seeped through the floor above us, reminding me a few hundred people were nearby.

  “You’ll have to be quiet. Do you think you can manage that?”

  She nodded with her eyes closed. “As a mouse.”

  I pinched the inside of her thigh and she squeaked.

  “Shh.”

  Slowly, I dipped my fingers below the lace between her thighs to find her warm and wet beneath her underwear. “I love how excited you get for me.”

  “You’ve been killing me slowly for hours.” Her fingers brushed my beard before sinking into the hair on the side of my hair.

  I swallowed her soft moans and gasps with my kisses as I stroked her. Her hips bucked in encouragement as I found the right pace and pressure to bring her to the edge. Within minutes, her thighs tightened and her fingers yanked my hair as her lips pressed to mine. Seconds later she froze before an intense orgasm flashed through her body like a lightning strike followed by a slow, long rumble of thunder.

  Softening my kiss, I stilled my fingers and slipped them out of her. I sucked on the pad of my thumb, tasting her before brushing it along her parted lips.

  Her lids slowly lifted and she gazed at me, punch-drunk with lust.

  Slowly, I kissed one corner of her mouth and then the other. “Now you know all three.”

  Her breath caught in her throat. I pressed my lips to the spot where her pulse fluttered below the thin skin at the bass of her neck. “Breathe.”

  “Daniel Ashland, if you don’t make love to me right now, I’ll never forgive you. If I die from pent up desire, my ghost will haunt you forever.” As she spoke, her nimble fingers were undoing the button and fly of my suit pants. She gripped me firmly, meaning business.

  I chuckled at her words until she tightened her hold on my cock. “Yes, my love.”

  Taking control, I rubbed the head along the exposed lace. “We’re going to have to get rid of these.”

  After she shimmied out of her underwear, I tucked it in my pocket, earning me a raised eyebrow. “So we don’t lose them.”

  “What about a condom?” I knew she had birth control pills, but didn’t want to assume she was actively taking them.

  “We don’t need it.” Her reply was breathless and needy.

  With another deep kiss, I thrust inside of her a few inches and stilled. Knowing she was already more than ready for me, I teased her by slowing down and retreating two inches for every inch of progress. Digging her heels into my ass, she attempted to wrestle back control.

  “Patience,” I whispered, watching myself slide slowly in and out of her.

  “Fuck, patience.” She cupped my cheeks with both hands, forcing me to meet her eyes. “We don’t have all the time in the world.”

  If only I’d listened to her words of warning.

  I gave into her request and began thrusting, finding a fast rhythm that made her nails dig into my back.

  We forgot to be quiet. The sounds of our moans, gasps, and bodies coming together filled the cavernous space as we came, hard and panting to catch our breath.

  Still inside of her, I kissed along her shoulder, willing my heart to calm down.

  That’s when the door opened and a feminine gasp broke the silence.<
br />
  I stood with my pants bunched below my knees, my jacket covering my ass, and Roslyn’s legs coiled around my hips.

  Reluctantly, I glanced behind my shoulder to meet the shocked eyes of Tom’s grandmother, Ellie Donnely.

  After a long pause, she spoke as if we were meeting at the post office or bank. “Oh, Dan. I didn’t recognize you in the suit.”

  Roslyn snickered and whispered, “Probably because your ass is covered.”

  “Sorry to interrupt. You missed the garter toss. Carter Kelso caught it after a scuffle with his brother. I was coming to look for an ice pack in the kitchen. Well, I’m sure Carter’s eye will be fine. Sorry to interrupt anything. Oh, I already said that. Okay then.” Ellie backed out of the room with a wave.

  The entire time I was still inside of Roslyn.

  “Speaking of dying, can we never mention this moment again?” She tucked her head against my shoulder.

  “Never. Ever.”

  TWELVE HOURS AND counting of not mentioning being caught mid-sex by someone’s grandmother at a wedding, we snuggled together on a reclining loveseat in my media room watching the Seahawks game. Roslyn said it was for work, but the way she talked back at the screen and yelled at questionable calls told me she was a huge fan. I bet she had a number twelve jersey somewhere in her closet at home. During halftime, I made snacks and we ate pizza I’d picked up at Sal’s.

  “I still think it’s weird you don’t have dough in the house.” Yawning, she patted her belly.

  “Does a cobbler bring home extra shoes? Does a doctor see patients on her day off?”

  “I work all the time.”

  I gave her a strong stare.

  “Okay, okay. I work too much.”

  On cue her phone chirped with a text.

  “Ignore it.” I gently nudged the buzzing annoyance to the floor where it landed safely on the carpet.

  “What if—” She sat up and reached for her phone.

  “What if I let you choose how I make you come?” I leaned into her space, forcing her against the back. “Doesn’t that sound better than working on a Sunday afternoon?”