by Amiee Louise
I lie in Sam’s arms listening to him tell Brody’s story, and my heart clenches in my chest. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for a child to find his parent dead.
“Now Jax, he is my best friend—my wingman, my brother. We lived next door to each other when we were growing up. We were always causing trouble, but we always had each other’s back. I spent my early years up until the age of four or five on a tour bus with my mum and dad, moving from place to place, but when the touring dried up, we moved into a house. Jax and me clicked straight away, we hung around together, we sat next to each other in school, and we shared everything. But we drew the line at girls. I briefly dated his sister Shay for a few years, which to this day he still doesn’t know about. His family was an extension of my own. I trust him with my life, and I can tell him anything. We share hotel rooms when we’re on the road. I’d do anything for that boy, and he has saved me so many times, I owe Jax my life.”
My heart lurches.
“He saved you?” I will him to elaborate, and he clears his throat.
“That’s a story for another time, babe.”
He doesn’t say any more about it, and I vow not to push him, so I don’t say any more on the subject.
“Lucas came over from America when he was seven. He was an odd kid with an odd accent. He found it hard to fit in being the new kid; we saw him struggling, so we took him under our wing and welcomed him into our friendship fold. When we were fourteen or fifteen, we formed a band, like I told you before, and I’d never seen anyone play the drums like Lucas before—the way his face lights up when he has his sticks in his hands, the stick spinning trick he does before he goes on stage. He doesn’t talk about his past at all, not even to us; he is extremely private and guarded. He is the quietest member of the band but also a total ladies’ man and a massive party animal. The fans seem to like that he is the dark horse of the band. He brings an air of mystery to what he is about.”
Sam smiles as he tells of his bandmates and I can tell there is a strong bond between the four of them.
“I could tell you so many stories of drunken debauchery and tour bus shenanigans, but I really don’t want to scare you off!”
We both laugh, and Sam nuzzles his face in my hair. I feel the most relaxed I have felt all weekend and snuggle closer to him. He wraps his arms tighter around me.
“You could never scare me off, baby.” I feel him relax underneath me. “What about Cole, what’s the story with him? How did you meet?”
I let my curiosity get the better of me and take full advantage of the alcohol making him chatty.
“Cole is a good bloke. He’s ex-military and an ex-cop. In the early days, we didn’t need security, but when we started to get more and more well-known, it was harder for us to even leave the venues without protection. He was the doorman at a nightclub where we went to celebrate our first album going straight to number one in the rock charts. Brody was drunk and off his face on pills, and he spilled a drink on this guy’s girlfriend by accident. He copped a feel of her tits, and the guy started going crazy. He smashed a glass and was about to push it in Brody’s face until Cole stepped in. He totally disarmed the situation, cooled everyone down—I had never seen anyone handle a situation as calmly as he did that night. I told J.D that we could use a guy like him and hired him on the spot. He owns his own security firm: C.B Security Corps—we’re his biggest clients. He has around six or seven men working for him at the moment. They are all the best at what they do. We’ve become really close, and I consider him one of my best friends. He has a fiancée called Amy, who works for a magazine; she is Milo Lightman’s stepdaughter from my dad’s band. They have a four-year-old daughter called Addison—she is my goddaughter, and I love her to bits. He is tough and would give his life to protect us, but he is total mush around both of them.”
I am enjoying listening to Sam tell me about the people close to him and relish the sharing mood he is in. Although, listening to his voice is making me oddly horny. I wriggle my arse against him and feel his hardness press against me.
“Feeling horny, baby? Is it me and my voice again?”
I hear the smile in his voice and giggle.
“What can I say? You have that effect on me, and your voice does something to me,” I whisper, and he chuckles against my neck.
“Well, we can’t have your needs going unsatisfied, now can we, Miss Harper?” he rasps and cocks his pierced eyebrow. I get up from the hammock and brazenly strip off my clothes leaving them in a trail leading to the swimming pool. I shake my hair loose from my scarf and dive into the pool completely naked. Sam stands in the doorway with his hands lazily in his pockets.
“Are you coming in?”
He licks his lips. “God, you’re beautiful and completely insatiable!”
I laugh and ogle his tattooed body as he kicks his shoes off and strips off his clothes. His bum is pert and perfectly formed; it reminds me of a peach. Even with the lightning bolt tattooed on his left bum cheek, it has to be the best bum I have ever laid eyes on. I’ll never get tired of exploring and ogling every inch of this gorgeous man’s body.
He is standing gloriously naked in the conservatory. I go to the side of the pool and click a button that frosts the windows. Sam clicks the door so it is locked and dives into the pool. I look around for him, and he surprises me by popping up from underneath the water. He grabs me, and l wrap my legs around him. I can’t get close enough to this beautiful, kind, and handsome man.
“What is it with us and water sex?”
We both laugh, and he runs his hands up my spine, causing my whole body to tingle and goose bump under his touch. He presses his lips urgently to mine, and his tongue strokes mine gently. I can’t get enough of the way he makes me feel, he makes me feel wanted and beautiful like I could literally take on the world by looking into those sparkling green eyes.
“Make love to me, Sam,” I whisper in his ear. He smiles that familiar panty-dropping smile, and he lifts me in his arms. Unexpectedly, he impales me on his waiting hardness, and I moan softly with pleasure in his ear.
“Shhh, I’ve got you, babe,” he says against my skin, continuing to drive me up and down on his steel erection. He runs his fingers lazily down my spine, and I shiver against him. He chuckles against my neck, and I scrape my nails down his back, so hard that I think I have drawn blood and marred his beautiful body. He cups my face in his hands and looks me in the eyes. He is moving at a leisurely pace now, and his finger flicks over my nipple ring. I am gasping and panting as he pushes his cock further into me and I contract my pelvic muscles around him, squeezing him.
“Oh, fuck!” he moans. “You feel like heaven, Peyton.”
He quickens his pace, and I can feel my orgasm building.
“Oh, Sam,” I whisper in his ear and feel him smile against me. I nip his earlobe.
“Are you close, baby?”
I nod.
“Not yet,” he pants and nuzzles his face into my neck. Placing kisses from my neck to my collarbone, kneading my breast in his large hand.
“Together, angel.”
He moves his hand under the water and finds my sensitive clit. He strokes my nub in lazy circles, and I explode around him. I cry out in pure unadulterated pleasure, and he finds his release at the same time, spurting his seed into me. I squeeze my pelvic muscles around him, milking every last drop, and he growls into my ear. He stills, and I rest my head on his shoulder.
“That was fucking amazing.”
My heart is pounding in my chest while Sam strokes my back.
“You’re so beautiful, Peyton. You’re everything to me. I can’t imagine my life without you in it. I love you with every beat of my heart, and you complete me.” His voice is husky and sincere. I feel a lump forming in my throat.
“I love you so much, Sam, I felt so lost and lonely before you came into my life, now I feel so alive.”
He smiles. “See, we’re not that different, baby, just two people seeking the
ir other half.”
I get the familiar butterflies in my stomach as he says those words, reminding me of how deep and hard I have fallen for this beautiful, handsome man. We dry ourselves off, go upstairs, and crawl into bed. I snuggle into the crook of Sam’s neck, the place where I truly belong.
Over the course of the weekend, I have seen Sam in a completely different light—a relaxed, laid-back, regular guy who I feel like I have known my whole life. We have learned new things about each other, and I feel so much closer to him. After a tearful goodbye to my mum, dad and Dexter with promises to come home more often, Sam and I finally head back to our normal lives in London.
21
Peyton
Monday morning rolls around all too soon, and I wake to an empty bed after Sam reluctantly decided to go back to his place when we got back from Brighton. I grab my morning shower and go out into the living room. Ruby is sitting at the breakfast bar in her dressing gown. It is the first time since I got back that I have seen her.
“Good morning, babe.” She smiles.
“Morning, Rubes.”
“Good time at your parent’s house?” she asks, flicking through the newspaper.
I nod. “Yeah, it was over too soon, though, babe.”
“Judging by the rosy-cheeked glow, someone’s in lurrvve!” she says in her singsong voice and giggles girlishly. “We need a catch-up, babe! I was at Jax’s place last night; you would not believe how swanky it is!”
After agreeing that we need to catch up soon, I get dressed ready for the day ahead, nervous at meeting Callum for lunch.
“What are you doing for lunch today, babe?” Ruby asks when I come back out to the kitchen.
I avoid her eyes. “Meeting Cal.”
I clear my throat, and she gets up off her seat. She comes over to me and narrows her eyes at me.
“Please tell me you’re joking? You’re meeting that fucking dickhead again?”
I zip up my bag and grab my car keys.
“I’m giving him one final chance to explain then that’s it.”
She rolls her eyes. “You must be a glutton for punishment, babe. How many more fucking chances does that guy deserve?”
I kiss her on the cheek, knowing she can’t be mad at me for too long, and leave for work. I drive to work and breeze into the shop, feeling refreshed after my time away.
“Mornin’, honey.”
Seb scoops me enthusiastically up into a big bear hug, and I inhale his familiar musky male Seb smell. I have missed it so much.
“Morning, babe, missed me?”
He laughs and releases me. “’Course I have, sweetness, the shop is never the same without you.”
He smiles, and I kiss him on the cheek.
“Good to be back, babe.”
The morning session goes by quickly with just a large phoenix back tattoo for a pumped-up, muscular, gym freak. It takes me almost six hours to complete the line work, and I am glad of the break when lunchtime finally comes around.
I grab my bag and leave the shop, promising Seb that I will bring him lunch back with me. As if on cue, my phone starts ringing, and I shudder when I see Callum’s name flash up on the screen. I answer a little too brightly.
“Hey.”
He laughs. “Hey, Peyton, it's Cal. Are we still on for lunch today?”
I sigh and check the time. “Yeah, I’m just on my break now.”
I hear a voice in the background. It sounds oddly like my sister, but I push that thought to the back of my mind.
“I’ll see you in twenty minutes then, bye.”
He hangs up, and I stop off at Eli’s to grab myself lunch to go, a bottle of orange Lucozade, and a bag of my favourite prawn cocktail crisps. Stocked up on lunch, I make my journey to Finsbury Square. I round the corner and see Callum sitting on a bench with his hands stuffed into the pockets of his familiar grey hoodie and wearing a white beanie hat. I watch him for a few seconds, his shoulders look broader than I remember, and I realise I am procrastinating. I take a deep breath and gather up the courage to go over to him.
“Hey.”
His face lights up as he sees me and stands as I approach.
“Hey yourself.”
He gives me an awkward one-arm hug, and we both sit down. We both take out our lunch and tuck in at the same time. Callum chuckles as he watches me.
“Lucozade and prawn cocktail, some things never change, baby cakes.”
I pause. “Please stop calling me that, Cal.”
He nods and says, “Sorry, old habits die hard.”
I put my lunch down.
“Cut the fucking crap, Callum, just say what you need to say,” I say a little more harshly than I mean to. He winces and turns to face me.
“Wow, I thought we could at least be a little more civil.”
I take a long sip of my coffee and feel a little calmer.
“I’ve wanted to tell you this for ages; I just couldn’t find the right words. I know how much you hate me, and I don’t blame you at all for any of it. There was a reason why I flipped when I found out you were pregnant.”
I lean back and roll my eyes.
“I’m tired of your bullshit, Callum. In fact, I’m bored of all the lies and the manipulation. Our relationship was toxic for three fucking years. I don’t hate you anymore I pity you. You’re with Savannah, and I’m with Sam, we’ve both moved on. Go and live your life and forget I ever existed.”
I go to get up, and he grabs my hand.
“My mum died when she was giving birth to me. I found out that the woman who I thought was my mum was really my step-mum. I thought my whole life was a lie until my dad told me the whole story about my real mum. I didn’t take it well, and I’ve had a pregnancy phobia ever since. I freaked out, and I was fucking terrified that you were going to die on me and leave me to bring that poor defenceless baby up by myself,” his voice cracks and I am taken aback by Callum’s revelation. I suddenly feel bad for not listening to him sooner. “I know I should have told you sooner.”
I am speechless, and I’m sure look a little dumbstruck.
“Say something, Peyton,” he says and takes a deep breath.
“I’m … so sorry. I don’t know what to say.”
He laughs. “First time you’ve ever been speechless baby ca—” He stops himself finishing his sentence and looks to the floor. “I can barely look after myself let alone another life that was completely dependent on me to protect it and love it unconditionally. It was a totally alien concept to me, and then throw my mum into the mix; I was messed up for a long time. I know that’s no excuse. I should have talked to you about it, but you have to understand, it was so hard. I just couldn’t.”
His eyes are glazed, and I know that he is being totally genuine. I stroke his arm reassuringly.
“It’s OK, I understand now, Callum.” That is all my brain can think to say to reassure him.
“Thank you so much for listening, all I’ve wanted for the past few months is for you to know the whole truth.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t hear you out sooner.”
“It’s OK. I hope after this we can be friends?”
I nod. “Yeah, we can be friends.”
We shake hands and laugh awkwardly. Friends with my ex? That can work, right? I look at the time on my phone.
“Look, I need to get back to the shop, Cal.”
We both stand at the same time.
“OK, thanks for today, Peyton; I appreciate the opportunity to finally explain things.”
I nod, and he kisses me tenderly on the cheek.
“I guess I’ll see you around?”
I smile. “Yeah, you can bet on it!” I wink, and he smiles. Just like that, we turn and go in opposite directions.
The next few days go by without any major dramas, and before I know it, it is Wednesday. Sam and I haven’t seen each other since we returned from Brighton, but his daily texts have brightened my day and reassured me that I have not been far from his thoughts.
I smile at his text as I get to the shop.
Good morning beautiful J
I miss you so much
Love you
S xx
“Mornin’, honey.”
Seb greets me with a cup of Starbucks finest when I walk into the shop.
“Morning, sweetie.”
I hug Seb and go into the back of the shop to stow my stuff away. There is a large black box with a purple ribbon around it sitting on the table. Seb leans in the doorway with his arms folded.
