by Emerson Rose
“Ridge?”
“Yes.”
“I want to start a charity for underprivileged and homeless kids.”
He frowns looking at me with concern. “Allison, I think you’re more tired than I thought. Let’s take your martini into the bedroom so you can rest.”
“What? No, I’m serious. This isn’t because I’m tired. It’s because when I see how much some people have, knowing how little others have, it makes me want to do something about it.”
He’s quiet for a while observing me. I sit back in my chair swiping my glass off the table and downing my martini in one drink. My eyes water, but I don’t let on that it burned all the way down. I feel stubborn and defiant and yes, maybe a little overly tired.
“All right,” he says after a time.
I roll my head on the chair to face him. “All right, what?”
“All right, I’ll help you start a charity for underprivileged and homeless kids.”
“You will?” I squeal, and with a burst of energy, probably my last for the day, I jump into his lap and snuggle against his chest.
“You guys gonna make out? Cuz I can show myself around and find an X-box or something,” David says standing on the threshold of the glass doors holding a can of Dr. Pepper.
“No, I’m going to put your sister to bed, and I’ll give you a tour and show you your room which, by the way, has an X-box One and a PlayStation 4 with all your favorite games.”
“What? Cool! I was worried this vacation was gonna be lame.”
“David.” I try to say sharply, but it comes out weak and pathetic.
“It’s okay, he doesn’t know we are cool adults yet, he’ll learn. Stay here, I’ll be right back,” he says to David.
David takes a swig of his soda and plops down in a chair to watch the setting sun. “Okay.”
“Come on now, up with you.” Ridge pats my thigh encouraging me to stand, and I drag my self up off of his lap.
Walking by David, I touch him on the shoulder. “David, don’t go in the water unless you tell one of us. Oh, and don’t leave without telling one of us either, okay?”
“Yeah, I’m not going anywhere. Geesh, you sure are overprotective all of a sudden. If I can take care of myself in the streets of New York, I think I can handle being on a beach in Malibu.”
“I know, but the ocean can be dangerous, and you don’t know the area.”
“He will be fine, don’t worry. We can rest up tonight, and I have plans for us tomorrow,” Ridge says rubbing my back.
“What kind of plans?” I ask.
“The surprise kind of plans.” He taps the tip of my nose like a child and leads me inside. “As you can see, this is the kitchen, living room, and dining area,” he says with a sweep of his hand. “The bedrooms are upstairs, this way.” He leads me up the stairs, and my legs feel more and more like lead with every step.
At the top, the landing leads to the front door to our left or down a short hall on our right that branches off into four bedrooms. He leads me to the master suite and opens the door. Like the rest of the house, it’s breathtaking. The view of the ocean through more floor-to-ceiling windows is spectacular. The king-size bed faces the window so that the first thing you will see when you open your eyes in the morning is the ocean. The furniture is modern and angular, not my taste, but beautiful for someone else. The color scheme is similar to the rest of the house—silver, slate blue, powder blue, and dark wood furniture.
“There’s a balcony out there,” he says pointing toward the windows. “And the bathroom is through here.” He walks to the other side of the room and opens a door. “The closet is here,” he says tapping the closed door. “But you don’t care about any of that, do you?” he says narrowing his concerned eyes again. “Come on into bed.” He walks to the bed and pulls back the covers inviting me in.
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” I say kicking off my shoes and crawling into bed. He bends down to press a soft kiss on my lips, and when he straightens up, I catch his wrist before he walks away. “You’ll keep an eye on David for me? I know he’s fifteen but I worry. He’s never been on vacation, and kids get bored and start to look for things to do…”
“Shush, I got this. Get some sleep, and we will have a late dinner when you get up.”
“Okay,” I say through a yawn and watch as his perfect backside walks away from me.
17
Ridge
Sex On The Beach? No
“Hey there, sleepy head, time to get up,” I whisper in her ear. I’m lying behind her on top of the covers with my back pressed against her front.
I watch her in the reflection of the glass as she opens one eye and frowns before mumbling against her pillow. “Why is it dark?”
“It’s eleven o’clock at night. You took a nap. David is out on the deck. He wants to start a fire in the fire pit and roast marshmallows and hot dogs.”
All of that information takes her tired brain a few minutes to process. Then she rolls over and looks up at me. “David hates hot dogs.”
I chuckle. “Well, he asked for them. Maybe you should go talk to him about his sudden penchant for the worst meat product imaginable.”
“Yeah, maybe I should. It’s eleven o’clock?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you wake me earlier, you two have to be starving.”
“We managed to feed ourselves some snacks without you, angel. But now we are both missing your company so up you go.”
“All right, I need to use the bathroom, and I’ll be down.”
“Make it snappy,” I roll away from her and hear her huff out a breath. She’s not going to make it snappy.
It’s almost midnight by the time she joins us on the deck.
“Well, look who decided to join us after all. If that’s how you make it snappy, I’d hate to know how long you take when you’re not hurrying.” She rolls her eyes annoyed. “It’s a vacation. I don’t plan on hurrying anywhere but down to the beach in the morning.”
“Touché.”
I take her in slowly from head to toe and back again appreciating her natural beauty. She’s dressed in a tank top and long linen pants that are transparent from the light shining behind her showing her curves under the material. I can feel myself getting harder by the second. If not for my roomy board shorts, David would be watching me sport a woody for his sister.
I hold up my drink and point to the one waiting for her on the table next to me. “I made you a drink. It was fresh thirty minutes ago, but since you took so long, I can’t guarantee it’s still good.”
David is sitting opposite me roasting a hot dog on a skewer, and he snickers. Allison gives him a curious side glance.
“What’s with the hot dog, David? You’ve hated those since you were little.”
“Dunno. Figured I’d try them again, and they’re not that bad.”
A shiver runs through her when the ocean breeze picks up. Her hair is still damp from her shower, and it’s probably chillier outside than she expected it to be in California at night.
“Cold? Come here. I have a blanket.” I reach behind me and produce a large plaid blanket. Allison curls up in my lap, and I toss it over both of us. “Do you need one?” I ask David.
“Nah, I brought a sweatshirt but thanks.”
Allison rests her head on my shoulder, and I breathe in the familiar lavender scent of her shampoo. “You took a long time.”
“You should be happy I showered, I stunk.”
“You did not. I smelled you before I woke you up.”
“That’s weird man, smelling my sister when she’s asleep?” David says shaking his head and biting half of his hot dog off the skewer.
“I wasn’t sniffing her like a dog. I was just appreciating the Eau de Allison.”
“The what to the what?” David says twisting his face up in confusion.
“He was sniffing me like a dog,” Allison says, and I set my drink down on the table and slide my cold hands under t
he blanket and tickle her sides.
“Stop!” She laughs trying to squirm away from me and fails. I’m too strong, and she’s in a vulnerable position, so it’s easy to keep her right where I want her.
“I was not sniffing you like a dog.” I tickle her until her shrieks are so loud I’m afraid the neighbors might think she’s in trouble and call the police. That’s all I need, cops thinking I’ve been abusing another woman.
“Okay, okay, shush, you’re going to get me in trouble if you keep yelling like that.”
“Then you shouldn’t tickle me,” she pants.
“I’m done, I promise. I didn’t know you were so ticklish. I’ll have to remember that in the future. And I was not sniffing you like a dog.”
“Yeah, whatever, Noble.” She’s never called me by my last name before, and I don’t think I like it. “Ridge,” I correct her.
“What?”
“My name is Ridge.”
“It’s also Noble. Ridge Noble, remember?”
“Yes, notice how the Ridge proceeds the Noble? That’s how it’s supposed to be used, Ridge first, Noble last.”
“You’re no fun.” Her bottom lip pokes out in a pout that makes my cock twitch. She feels it under her and smirks. “Or maybe you are.”
“Guess you’ll have to wait to find out.”
“Are you guys gonna suck face? Cuz if you are, I’m out.”
“No, we aren’t, stay put,” I say holding out my hand to indicate that he should stay where he is.
“Speak for yourself, Noble,” Allison says before she covers my mouth with hers. Her tongue slips through my parted lips, and she strokes my cock outside my shorts under the blanket.
Fuck this woman is a tease. And then her hand is gone, and so is her mouth. She taps me on the tip of my nose playfully and smiles the most innocent smile imaginable.
“That’s for the tickle torture.” I groan and let my head fall back. If it weren’t for her brother, I would throw her over my shoulder, spank her, and carry her up to bed where I would hold her captive for the entire first week of our vacation.
I stare at the stars while she reaches for her drink. It’s amazing how the same sky can look so different out here. You can’t see the stars at all in New York with all the smog and buildings crammed so close together. In Montana, the sky is massive, and it stretches out in all directions like a sparkly magician’s cape spread out to entertain you. Here on the beach with little or no artificial light, the stars are bright making it easy to see the constellations.
“Hey, look, do you see that?” I nudge her and point at the sky.
“What?”
“That’s URSA Major right there, see, follow my finger.” I connect the dots with my finger in the air, and she follows with her eyes.
“I don’t know what I’m looking for,” she says with her mouth hanging open staring at the sky.
“It’s a big bear, see?” I try to trace it clearer for her. “Can you see the big dipper?” She pauses for a moment and then hops in my lap, consequently causing me to become harder which I didn’t think was even possible.
“Yes! Right there, I see it.”
I clear my throat and shift under her. She looks down at me and smiles a smug smile. “Okay, so the big dipper is the back of the bear and its tail. Now can you see the bear?”
She looks for a while, “It looks like a horse to me.”
“Me, too,” David says. “Like, I see it, but it’s not a bear.”
“Now that you say it, you’re right. I think the bear came from a mythological story or something. Now look over there, see the little dipper? That’s part of URSA Minor or the little bear. That’s the one I can never figure out. I can see the dipper but not the bear.”
“Yeah, me either, just the dipper.” She looks back down at me with my head resting on the back of the chair and asks, “How do you know so much about the stars?”
“I don’t know that much, but I did sit outside at night a lot when I was a kid and stare at the sky. You can see so much out there, it’s amazing.”
“You like living in Montana, don’t you?”
“You say that as if you’re surprised.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. It’s just a big part of you, living out in the open with the horses and the fresh air.”
“Yeah, well, fresh air is the best air,” I tease, and she slaps my chest playfully.
“You know what I mean.”
“Yes, I think I do, and I love Montana, but I could be happy somewhere else.”
“Like New York?” She tilts her head to the side raising her eyebrows hopefully.
“No, that’s one place I can assure you I wouldn’t be happy. Everyone is always in a rush to get somewhere. The pollution is terrible, the crime rate is ridiculous, and there are no wide-open spaces. The only thing I like in New York is you, and you, too David, of course.”
David nods in agreement. “I hate New York, too.”
“You do? Since when?” Allison asks jerking up.
“Like, since always. But that’s where we’re from so, whatever, ya know?”
“No, I didn’t know. I thought you loved the city and your friends and your school and sports…”
“I’d trade all that crap for this place in a heartbeat.”
Allison’s eyes are wide with shock. This is news to her, good news if you ask me. She’s always felt David was one of two anchors keeping her in the city, the other being her job. I feel like I’m one giant step closer to having her with me in Montana permanently.
One down, one to go.
“I never knew, David. I wish you would have talked to me about this. We don’t have to live in New York, especially if it makes you unhappy. I just wanted to keep you with your friends until you figured out what college you were going to go to.”
“And then what were you going to do? Do you like living in the city?” I ask.
She turns her attention back to me and answers with no hesitation by wrinkling up her face in disgust. “No, I can’t stand it. It smells, and it’s dirty and crowded. I’d kill for a yard with flowers and a vegetable garden.”
She’d kill for a garden. I could give her acres to plant gardens on the ranch if she came to live with me. Ash told me when we made our deal five years ago that he didn’t expect me to stay single just because I live in his house. Your family is my family he said. I want Allison and David to be my family.
But, what about her job? She worked hard to pay for college on her own so she could get her dream job with Realm, I couldn’t ask her to give that up.
“A garden,” I say under my breath.
“Hmm? Did you say something?” Allison asks.
“No, nothing. How about another martini?”
“Sure, and a hot dog, oh, and marshmallows, too,” she says getting off my lap.
“Me, too, except for the martini. I’ll have a Dr. Pepper,” David says.
“Two martinis, hot dogs, a Dr. Pepper, and marshmallows coming right up.”
“I’ll help, you can show me around the kitchen,” Allison says with a wink.
I’d like to show her the kitchen all right—the island, the countertop, up against the refrigerator, on the floor… Shit, I have to stop before I have a full wood when I stand up.
She follows close behind me into the kitchen. I open the refrigerator, and she presses her body against my back and slides one hand down over my stiff cock and whispers, “I want to have sex on the beach.”
I hold onto the door handle with one hand and the edge of the refrigerator with the other while she strokes me through my shorts. “Please,” she whispers.
“How about the nice clean bed upstairs that has a door to close, so your brother won’t see what we’re doing?”
“Aw, the beach is risky, dangerous, and romantic. I’ve never had sex on the beach, come on.”
I turn and take her in my arms placing her wandering hands on my chest and holding her close so she can’t move them. “Angel, the beach
is scratchy, dirty, wet, and there are bugs and tiny creatures in the sand. None of that adds up to romantic. I know it all sounds great in books and on TV, but in the end, you’ll have sand up your crack, as well as other places, and you’ll always worry that your brother might have seen us.”
Her face contorts into an exaggerated adorable pout. “Mmm, that face will get you just about anything you want.” I kiss her pouting lips, and her face perks up.
“Like sex on the beach?”
I shake my head, “No, not that.”
“Fine, give me a hot dog and a giant martini then. No, make a pitcher of martinis instead. If I can’t fulfill my fantasy, I’m getting drunk.”
I chuckle and lift her up onto the island. “Just because we aren’t doing it in the dirty sand outside doesn’t mean we can’t do it everywhere else in the house. I have some activities arranged for David this week. While he’s gone, you’re getting bent over every surface of this kitchen.”
She smiles wide, “I like the sound of that.”
“I thought you might.” I turn back to the refrigerator where I take out a package of hot dogs and a Dr. Pepper. Allison locates a pitcher, and I make enough martinis for at least six people. After which we proceed to eat crap and get drunk.
I love Malibu.
18
Allison
Spiritual
The first time I saw the ocean and the sky from the king-size bed in the master suite was not as glorious as I’d imagined it would be. But it’s my fault. If I hadn’t had so many martinis last night, it would have been gorgeous.
Downstairs in the kitchen, I quietly search for a coffee pot or some source of caffeine and greasy food. The sun is exploding into the room. Everywhere you look, it’s bright and blinding and not a house for hangovers. I dig through my purse for my sunglasses and put them on.
The search is back on. If I were a coffee pot, where would I be? I lean my ass on the island and look all the way down the countertop from left to right at all the fancy appliances and still can’t find one that makes coffee.
“Looking for something?” Ridge says from the top of the stairs. I look up and find him standing there with his arms crossed over his painfully perfect pectorals wearing only a pair of black boxers. Good Lord, he is a sight for sore eyes. My eyes hurt so bad. He smiles when he sees me, and his lip twitches as if he’s holding back a laugh.
