by Jill Haven
“Jesus Christ, August. You look like fucking shit. What’s happened? What’s wrong? Tell me. I can’t take care of you if I don’t know.” He crouched on the floor next to me and took my hands. “What’s going on?”
“I have to stay in Cedar Falls.” My mind wandered back to my crackers. They were definitely in a box somewhere. I bent over and began searching through my belongings, pausing when a familiar packet finally crinkled under my fingers.
“What…but Paris. Don’t say they rejected you? You have to be able to go.” His words sped up as panic threaded through them.
I shook my head. “It isn’t them. It’s me.” I shoved a cracker into my mouth, ignoring the clumping dryness.
Ewin sat back. “I don’t understand, then.”
I pushed his hands away and wobbled to standing, pressing my mouth closed against a wave of nausea. “Wait here.” I headed to my bedroom and grabbed the test results from the previous day, the paper still crumpled from where I’d scrunched it in my palm as I lay in bed. Then I returned to Ewin and shoved the paper at him. “Read this.”
He took it from me and unscrewed the paper before smoothing it out against his thigh with his palm. He concentrated for too many ticks of the clock before he brought his gaze back to meet mine.
“What is this?” I’d never heard his voice so hoarse, so raw.
“It’s medical confirmation of our baby.” I tried to sound bored as I closed my eyes. I couldn’t decide between eating more crackers and sleep. But mostly I couldn’t allow myself to hope Ewin might want our baby and me.
“For real?”
I nodded, biting into another cracker and flaking crumbs onto my front. “Why would I fake it? I’m giving up my career for this.”
Ewin’s mouth touched mine briefly, fleetingly, before he drew away, leaving my lips tingling. “You don’t have to do that.”
The pressure behind my eyes grew too much and they flickered open. “I have no family, Ewin. My friends have their own lives.” Tears slipped from the corners of my eyes and slid down the inside of nose. “I’m going to be a single dad.” I took a smaller nibble of my cracker, breathing easier as the nausea began to abate.
“No… no. No, August, no.” Ewin sat next to me and pulled me close to him, wrapping his arms around me, protecting me, caring for me.
It was all I wanted, his care, his love, so I relaxed against him, breathing in his scent of spice and honey, and I cried harder for everything I’d lost.
“August…” Ewin chuckled and raised his voice. “August, you won’t be a single dad because…because I’m right here. I want to fix everything I got wrong. I should have trusted you, I should have stayed with you. I got scared and it was so wrong. I was wrong. And I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. I won’t leave you again.” He took a deep, shaky breath. “I want to be with you, August. I want our baby. I love you.”
I cried harder, laughing through the tears and making great big, ugly snot bubbles. “I love you, too,” I whispered. “So much.”
“I’ll make you happy.” He cradled my face, taking my cheeks between his palms. “And I’ll love and care for our baby.” He smiled suddenly, joy lighting his features.
“I’ll hold you to it.” Then I closed the gap between us and covered his mouth with mine, moving my lips over his, flicking at them gently with my tongue until he relented and allowed access for me to taste him.
I groaned my satisfaction and pressed myself closer to his warmth, breathing him in as I reached for his cock, smoothing my hand over the bulge I found there.
He angled his hips toward me, granting me access. “Fuck, I’ve missed you.”
“I want you so badly.” The confession dropped from my lips as I worked my hand into his pants, seeking the warm, soft skin of his dick. “I want you to fill me and take me and make me yours.”
“Christ, yes.” He began to pump his hips, straining for my touch. “Should we go to your bedroom?”
I stood and began discarding my clothes before leaning over and grabbing our throw from the box where I’d dumped it. Ewin took my hand, pushing his pants off with the other, and we left pieces of clothing all down the hall until he drew me, naked, into my bed.
“You have such a beautiful body,” he murmured as he pressed me against the pillows and nuzzled my neck before kissing along my collarbone and flicking his thumb across my nipple, strumming it, making my body sing. “And you have a beautiful cock.” A wicked gleam shone in his eye as he took my dick into his hand, making a sharp movement upward and drawing a long moan of pleasure from me.
“Touch me again,” I begged.
He arched an eyebrow. “You greedy thing.” But he nestled his body between my parted legs and pressed my thighs apart, before swirling his tongue around the head of my erection.
I nearly jerked off the bed. “Slow down, Ewin. It’s…I’m…oh, God. It’s sensitive.”
But he didn’t stop. Instead, he hummed as he sank down, taking me all the way into his mouth until I nudged against the back of his throat.
“Fuck. Shit. Oh, God.” I pressed my hand to my mouth and stifled my words. Did our baby have ears yet? Ewin cupped my balls, rolling them slowly in his hands, and I whimpered. “I’m close… I’m so, so close. I’m going to come, Ewin. Slow down.” But he chuckled and sped up, and I watched his head bob up and down, sucking my cock in and out of his mouth, and it was the most erotic thing I’d ever seen.
He began to move against the bed, creating the friction he needed for himself, and his fingers pressed against my ass, seeking entry, as he drew me closer to the edge. Knowing I aroused him, that he wanted me, combined with what I could see, and the warmth of his scent and I tensed, shuddering beneath him as his fingers probed my ass and his mouth milked my cock of every last drop of cum.
“I think my chest might explode.” I gasped, drawing in fast breaths. “My God, your magic. That was amazing.”
He just grinned and nudged his fingers farther inside me, still rubbing himself against the bed. “You are very wet,” he whispered. “And I am very hard.” He dipped his head and ran his tongue around my asshole, and I grabbed a pillow and pressed it against my mouth to keep from crying out.
“Do you want me, August?” He kept his voice slow, lazy, sexy, and I nodded. “Because I want you—very much. I want to show you how much I love you.”
I nodded, and he shifted his position, resting his cock against my ass, ready to push slowly inside me.
“I’ve never felt like this.” He kissed me, his tongue tangling with mine as he slid into me, his cock filling me and making me whole, fixing us.
I moved against him, my hands pressed against his ass cheeks, panting as I nuzzled his neck.
“Keep making those sounds,” he whispered as his movements grew faster. “I like hearing you.”
I gasped, and he stiffened, arching his back, and groaning his satisfaction as hot cum splashed inside me.
“I love you, August. Never doubt that.” He kissed the tip of my nose. “I’m right here to always look after and protect you.” Then he rolled us to our sides so we could look into each other’s eyes, and his hand smoothed my hair and my cheeks. “I nearly lost you, but I won’t make that mistake again.”
“I might have forgotten to mention I’m homeless.”
He laughed and wrapped his arms around my waist. “You live with me.”
20
Ewin
December 20th
August pressed his hand to his small bump as if cradling the life he was creating in there—a life we’d created with our love, and my heart contracted almost painfully.
Mom sat in her usual chair, the knitting she rarely touched anymore at her side, and I glanced at the Christmas tree, twinkling with lights and festive cheer. The contradiction of sadness and joy was too much and it hurt.
August reached for my hand. “Tell her again,” he whispered.
“Mom?” I took her hand, and she gazed absently at me, her smile vague.
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“Yes, dear?” I could have been a member of staff, someone asking the time, or a small child trying to get her attention.
There was no recognition anymore, and it was probably the last Christmas we’d all spend in the same room. I avoided thinking of it as the last Christmas we’d spend together, because I already grieved for that one—the one where she’d laid her table the way she’d always done and where she’d written cards to people with names and faces she still remembered. I hadn’t paid enough attention then. I hadn’t known it was the last time.
One tear tracked down my cheek. “You’re going to be a grandma. August’s having our baby.”
“I love babies,” she replied, and I could have mouthed the words along with her. She said it every time. Then she returned her gaze to the tree, the lights seeming to hold her attention longer than I could.
August shifted, drawing my focus. “Are you okay?”
“Just uncomfortable. Are you okay if I get up for a bit, take a walk and stretch?”
“We should both go.” I stood, letting go of Mom’s hand and returning it to her lap.
As I reached over to kiss her tissue paper cheek, I glanced in her knitting basket. Peeking out from beneath the same old scarf she hadn’t touched in months now was a tiny pair of mint green booties, and I stifled a sob as I picked them up.
“They’re for the baby. I love babies,” she murmured, her attention still on the tree.
I walked through STK Storm, leaning over and straightening cutlery and breathing in the scent of the festive centerpieces. The whole place smelled like woodland and greenery, reminding me of August. Fairy lights twinkled in the windows, and in buildings across the street and all through town. All we really needed was snow to complete the festive picture. Christmastime lightened my heart a little—the time of giving and magic.
A server pushed out of the kitchen, bringing with her the tantalizing aromas of cooking meats and sweet, seasonal spices, and I smiled. My God, August had been stellar in the kitchen, even with his bouts of nausea and sickness. It was as though his pregnancy had kicked up his creativity a few notches, and even his experiments were flawless and an expert study in flavor and texture balance every time—even the critics agreed.
We’d worked on the menu for this Christmas-themed dinner together, with August spending his time in cooking-fueled frenzies late into the night, trying things out and bringing me samples of his newest ideas even on his rostered days off. He was killing it, and pride filled me, ballooning in my chest as I thought of the talented man I loved. Because of him, the restaurant I’d built to be close to my mom had become a runaway success, and I would never be able to thank him enough for that.
I completed my inspection of the white table linens and gleaming cutlery and glanced at my watch. Opening time. I nodded at the hostess and she unlocked the doors, allowing our first guests inside.
I greeted them as they came inside, acknowledging Harland and his date, but also noting the man with Harland wasn’t Coop. I sighed. After his advice to me, why didn’t he change his own life? I’d nearly lost August for good—I didn’t want to see Harland go through that with Coop.
The man with Harland threw his head back and laughed loudly at something Harland had said, a flirty hand on Harland’s arm, and a grimace flashed over Harland’s face before he replaced it with his usual, easy smile.
I caught his eye and gave my head a small shake. He widened his eyes slightly, but I didn’t understand the message he intended to send. What I did understand was my friend was a fool, and he knew it. If I had one Christmas wish, it would be that Harland would finally tell Cooper how he felt. And that Coop felt the same way.
Since finding August and building our life together, I wanted that same happiness for every one of my friends.
I craned my neck, watching as the last of the customers took their seats. Each was here by invitation only to celebrate the start of the Christmas season with us and try out the new menu August and I had planned. I nodded at Stacey, one of the servers, and she disappeared into the kitchen, returning a short while later with a bewildered-looking August. I bit back my smile as I moved smoothly between the tables toward him. He was so cute… I could just eat him up. My cock twitched, and I shoved the thought away. I hadn’t meant literally.
I reached August’s side. “Everyone!” I raised my hand to get their attention, and the dining room fell silent. “Thank you all so much for coming today. Christmas is always a special time in STK Storm Restaurants, and this one is more special because, not only is it our first, but August Lennox designed an exclusive menu for the festive season just for the Cedar Falls restaurant. So, you lucky folks will be eating food created especially for you by one of this town’s biggest talents and the most amazing person I know.” I indicated August and joined in the applause the crowd of diners gave him.
August gave an awkward wave and turned as if to return to the kitchen, but I grabbed his hand, returning him to my side.
“In fact,” I continued, dropping my voice a small amount, as if to share a secret. “As lucky as all of you are to have August, I’m even luckier. Many of you know we’re a couple. We work together and live together. Not just live together—we love together, and there is nothing more in this world that I’d like more than for August and our baby to carry my name.” Time stretched out as I fumbled in my inside jacket pocket for the ring box and dropped to one knee. “August Lennox… I had a whole speech planned out, but I can’t remember enough of it to make sense.” I smiled as tears flooded his eyes. “You are the love of my life. Will you do me the very great honor of marrying me?”
He laughed as he alternately wiped his cheeks free of the tears that had broken loose and fanned his face to combat the fierce red blush. “And they say it’s hot in a kitchen.” He laughed. “Sorry for the tears—I’m blaming moments like these on hormones.”
“What do you say, August?”
I glanced up to see his friend, Brody, on his feet.
“Don’t keep a guy waiting!” Brody high-fived Griff and sat back down as I returned my attention to August, an open ring box in my hand.
“Oh, God! Yes! Yes! Of course, I say yes!” He smiled just for me and whispered, “Have fun, take care, and put your heart into it.” Then he turned to the crowd. “Thank you so much, everyone. And I really hope you enjoy your food tonight.”
He turned back to me, and pulled me close, for a quick kiss, his bump resting his between us. I placed my palm on it and released a sigh of gratitude for everything that had been returned to me, even after I came so close to losing it all.
After August returned to the kitchen, I mingled a little more, exchanging pleasantries and words of welcome with friends from all over town. I nodded at Harland and his date, and Harland nodded back, the movement slight, his expression grim.
The restaurant door opened, blowing in cold air, and I headed over to greet the late arrival.
“Coop!” I stopped short and groaned quietly at the sight of his date. I could have sworn August mentioned Coop RSVPed no.
“Hi, Ewin!” He pulled me into a warm hug then stepped back and indicated the man to his left. “This is Trik.”
“Pleased to meet you.” I offered my hand and Coop’s date caught it in his sweaty one. The sooner Coop and Harland stopped dancing around each other, and one made a decision, the better.
I turned back to Coop. “This is kind of funny, actually, because you and Harland both thought it quiet enough to leave the veterinary practice to run itself and have a date night.”
His nostrils flared and he tightened his jaw as he searched the room.
I knew the exact moment his gaze landed on Harland because he squeezed his right hand into a tight, white-knuckled fist, and a look of determination came over his face.
A hostess slipped in behind Coop and Trik and took their coats, and I pretended to consult the seating plan. “Right this way, please, guys.” I smiled to myself as I led them to a table perhaps a lit
tle too close to Harland’s. It kind of amused me to push them together and see if they could sort things out.
Maybe it was a dick move on the one hand, but they weren’t getting over themselves or each other on their own. Trik cleared his throat, suddenly awkward as he noticed Harland’s watchful gaze, and hid his blush behind the wine list, and Coop narrowed his eyes as he looked at me.
I leaned over and clapped him on the back. As I pulled away, I whispered, “You know, you might just want to pull your head out of your ass, my friend, because Harland is a catch and we both know it. You’re about to miss your shot. Don’t do it the hard way like I did.”
Then I looked him right in the eye and he frowned, although sadness more than irritation shone in his eyes. “I’m working on it,” he murmured back.
I’d done as much as I could, but as I wandered back to the kitchen to check on things, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and a message from that damn gossip site August had me join flashed across the screen.
It seems the heat was in more than just the kitchen. Okay, Cedar Falls, who’s next?
Get Ready for Book 2 in the Career Men, Puppy Love!
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Puppy Love
Get Ready for Book 2 in the Career Men, Puppy Love!
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