A Pinch of Salt

by Bethany Lopez

  My head fell forward as he worked me harder, and Jackson had to move his head back quickly before I hit his glasses.

  “Sorry,” I managed, a giggle bursting out of me as I thought of how horrible it would have been if I’d made contact. The giggle disappeared on a strangle as his thumb hit my clit and began rubbing circles as his fingers pumped in and out of me.

  That took talent, I thought, right before I lost the ability to think.

  I cried out as I came, Jackson milking every last bit out of me until I was ready to fall into a puddle at his feet. Before I could go completely boneless, Jackson urged my skirt down and lifted me, turning and laying me back on the bed.

  I watched through my haze-filled eyes as he took off his clothes, enjoying each new expanse of skin as he unveiled them to me. He was tall, toned, and gorgeous, with a smattering of dark chest hair that V’d off as it trailed over his abs and beneath the boxer briefs he was currently taking off.

  I knew I was smiling up at him like a drunken fool, even though I’d only had two drinks at the bar, my eyes tracking his every move as he rounded the bed, laid his glasses on my night table, and opened the condom he somehow had in his hand. I watched greedily as he smoothed it over his generous length, then climbed into bed.

  Now next to me, no, Jackson moved until he was planking over me, his skin just a whisper above mine. And the sight of him there, above me, ready to claim me, become one with me, had my body waking from its languid slumber, eager to lose itself once again.

  I opened my legs and brought my knees up as he settled there, his weight still on his forearms as I felt the hard, hot length of him against my core.

  Jackson shifted his weight to one arm so he could bring his hand to my face, where he brushed my hair back from my forehead, then ran his fingertips over it. Caressing my cheekbone, the length of my nose, and my chin, before tracing my lips, as if he were memorizing the structure.

  “Now a soft kiss—Aye, by that kiss, I vow an endless bliss,” he said softly, before taking my lips and kissing me as if savoring every sip.

  I sighed as I melted, his words affecting me just as much as his kiss, maybe more so.

  When he broke the kiss, I whispered, “Who said that?”

  “Keats,” he replied, then moved to press his lips beneath my ear. Along my jaw. To the underside of my chin. Then, Jackson held my eyes as he slowly slid inside of me, neither of us breathing until he was fully seated and my legs wrapped around his waist.

  “You feel amazing,” Jackson managed, his breath labored as if he’d just ran five miles.

  “So do you,” I admitted, then smiled so widely at him I almost cried.

  In that moment, I felt things I hadn’t imagined I could.

  I was falling for him so hard and so fast that the weight of it scared me, even as it thrilled me. His beautiful, kind face, with those dimples flashing, grinned back down at me, then he shifted and we both lost our smiles as we moaned at the delicious feeling of him inside of me.

  With my legs around his waist, one hand in his hair and the other on his shoulder, Jackson began to move. Slowly at first, then faster, harder, until we were both lost, chasing our release, not knowing where he ended and I began.

  It was the most beautiful experience of my life.

  Jackson

  I WOKE SLOWLY, FEELING MORE rested and sincerely happy than I’d felt in a really, really long time. Millie’s bed was extremely comfortable, so much so that I was thinking of asking her what kind of mattress it was, and where she’d gotten the down comforter I was currently snuggled under.

  Millie wasn’t beside me, but I could still feel the warmth of her body, and smell the perfume of her hair as I stretched out across the most comfortable bed ever made.

  Suddenly, I heard footsteps running toward me, before Millie landed right on top of me with a laugh and started pelting my face with kisses. I happily accepted the assault, then rolled smoothly until Mille was cradled half underneath me, and I was looking down at her gorgeous eyes, which were currently a deep green.

  “Good morning to you, too,” I murmured, then lowered my head to give her a deep, lingering kiss.

  When I finally came up for air, Millie brushed her hand through my hair and said, “I made breakfast.”

  I immediately dropped her, jumped off the bed, and headed toward the door, which made Millie burst into a fit of laughter that had me grinning back at her over my shoulder.

  “What are you waiting for?” I joked as I watched her climb out of bed and walk toward me as I pulled on my boxer briefs.

  She looked amazing. Long dark hair tussled after a night with my hands wrapped in it, her body encased beautifully in a knee-length floral nightgown that looked more like a dress than any pajamas I’d ever seen, but the real kicker was the look on her face. Or, more specifically, the way she was looking at me.

  I could get used to a look like that . . .

  “What’d you make?” I asked, my stomach grumbling at the thought of food.

  “Crepes with berries and cream, scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, bacon, and biscuits,” Millie replied.

  I stopped and stared at her as she walked past me and into the kitchen.

  “How long have you been awake?” I asked as I joined her.

  She just chuckled and handed me a plate loaded with everything.

  I took it, then grabbed one of the cups of coffee she had filled and took my winnings to the table. As soon as she sat down across from me and settled in, I picked up my fork and went to town.

  It started with a whimper, then a moan, and by bite three, I was full on groaning.

  “Just when I thought you were perfect and couldn’t get any better,” I began, absolutely meaning every word. “It’s like you were made for me in a lab.”

  Millie blushed, then looked at me from under her eyelashes and admitted, “I said the same thing about you to my sisters when we met.”

  “Really?” I asked, extremely pleased by this new information.

  When she nodded, her face flushed and sweet, I put down my fork and reached across the table for her hand. She gave it easily, and I leaned forward to bring it to my lips and kiss her lightly on the palm.

  “I had an amazing time last night . . . No, that only scratches the surface . . . It was perfect, beautiful, right. Like it was meant to be,” I said honestly. “I know it’s kind of fast, but, Millie, I could fall for you so hard and fast, it’s scary.”

  Millie’s smile was wide, and her eyes grew misty as she replied, “I know, I feel the same way. It scares me a bit, even as it makes me extremely excited to find out what happens next.”

  “I don’t want to ruin the mood, but I want you to know, I’ve filed the paperwork for my divorce and hired a PI to track down Julie. Once he does, she’ll be served the papers, and that’ll be that.”

  “That’s . . . great news?” She looked unsure of whether she should be happy or sad that I was ending my marriage, and I understood that it was a complicated situation, but I needed her to know that it was what I wanted one hundred percent.

  “It is great news,” I assured her, then released her hand so we could both get back to breakfast. “You’re not worried that I don’t want the divorce, are you, because I assure you, it is.”

  Millie shook her head, then shrugged.

  “I don’t know . . . you’ve said that you want a divorce, that you’d never take her back, and I believe you, I do. But, you were married for a long time, you were each other’s firsts for everything, and you have a child together. So, even though I believe you’re telling truth, in the back of my head there’s always a chance that you’ll change your mind.”

  “I promise you, I won’t. Even if I hadn’t met you, and shared what we did last night . . . which, by the way, is the single most incredible night of my life. It’s never been like that between Julie and I; in fact, I didn’t know that was a thing. I’m afraid now that I know, you’ve created a monster, and I’m never going to let you out
of my sight.”

  I could tell my words made her happy, but I could still see the twinge of doubt, and I knew the only thing that would erase that twinge would be to find Julie and finally put an end to this marriage.

  “Well,” I began, needing to get the subject off of my soon-to-be ex-wife for a while. “Now that we both know that we were made for each other, our chemistry is off the charts, and we both want to see where this is going, right?”

  “Absolutely,” Millie confirmed, allowing me to let go of that breath that had stuck in my throat when she brought up her doubts about me and Julie.

  “I think it’s time for you to meet Kayla.” At her look of confusion, I knew I had to let her know what she was getting into. “I know you’ve already met, but that was before we were dating. I want us to do something together now that she knows we are, but I have to warn you, she’s not all that enthused about our relationship.”

  Millie’s face fell.

  “She’s not?”

  “No,” I admitted, my tone conveying my regret. “It’s been just the two of us for a long time now, and like I said, I haven’t seen anyone since Julie, so she’s confused by the whole situation. She’s still hurt by her mother leaving, and is holding on to the hope that Julie will come back and things will be the way they were. I know it won’t be easy, but I think once she gets to spend some time with you, get to know you, and see how we are together, she’ll come around.”

  “Okay,” Millie agreed, although she looked doubtful.

  Something occurred to me, and I figured since we were talking heavy, we might as well get it all out at once.

  “Do you like kids? Want them? I just realized we never talked about it.”

  “Oh, yes,” Millie said, her face clearing, and she brought her hand to grasp mine this time. “I love kids, and I want to have kids.”

  “Yeah? How many?”

  “I’ve always thought three, because of how close my sisters and I are, although we weren’t always close growing up, but I’m open to suggestions.”

  “And, marriage? Do you want to be married one day?”

  “Yes, I want it all. A family, our business, the American dream,” Millie said, squeezing my hand, a small smile playing on her lips. “Now that we’ve agreed to hire full-time help and start having lives outside of Three Sisters, it’ll be easier for me to focus more on the personal part of my life. More on us.”

  “I can’t wait,” I admitted, and it was the truth.

  I couldn’t wait to see where this thing between Millie and me would lead.

  Millie

  “OKAY, THERE’S AN IMPORTANT TOPIC you’ve been avoiding, and we need to get serious. We’re running out of time,” Dru was saying from my chaise, where she was currently snuggled up with a glass of wine. “Our birthday party.”

  “Ugh,” I groaned, throwing my head back and grunting as I hit the cushion behind me. “We’re going to be twenty-nine, not nine, Dru. Aren’t we getting a little old for parties?” I asked. “It’s not even a milestone.”

  “Every birthday is a milestone,” Dru said dryly, then looked to where our sister was laying on the floor and added, “Tasha’s got my back on this one.”

  “I don’t know,” Tasha replied, tilting her head back so she was looking at us upside down. “Maybe Millie’s right and we’re getting too old to make such a fuss.”

  “Too old?” Dru asked with mock fury, sitting up so abruptly that she almost spilled red wine on my gray sofa. Luckily, she didn’t. “We’re still in our twenties, for crying out loud. We should be hitting the clubs, going nuts, instead we work our butts off and a night in with a bottle of wine is considered living it up. Come on, you guys, don’t take my birthday away from me.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at my twin’s dramatics, she’d always been more into parties and celebrations than me.

  “What if this year, we only celebrate your birthday with a party, the way you want to?” I suggested. “Mine can be more low key, the way I want it.”

  Dru looked at me as if I’d grown another head in the last few minutes.

  “We share the same birthday, Millie,” she said, telling me something I obviously already knew. “We’ve always celebrated together.”

  “That’s my point. Wouldn’t you rather have a party focused solely on you, instead of on both of us?”

  She narrowed her eyes on me and asked, “Do you already have something planned with Jackson, is that why you’re trying to separate things?”

  “No, I haven’t even told him our birthday is coming up yet.”

  “You totally need to tell him. If he recited Keats to you while making love, I bet he’d do up your birthday all kinds of romantic,” Tasha said on a sigh.

  I’d regretted telling them about Jackson’s words almost as soon as they were out of my mouth, but I’d been floating on a cloud and it had just spilled out.

  “Shut it,” I ordered as I threw a pillow at Tasha’s head, which she avoided with a giggle.

  “Are you serious about this?” Dru asked, still hung up on the birthday thing. Seriously, the girl loved parties, especially in her honor, and I’d never really cared one way or another. Maybe it was time for us to start doing things separately. Our lives had always been practically interchangeable, and although it was scary, I knew they couldn’t remain that way forever.

  “Yes,” I replied, smiling at my sister. “Do it up however you want. Whatever theme, whatever food, anything you want.”

  “But, what about you?” she asked softly.

  “We can go out to lunch or something . . . Oh, I know, we can do brunch. With champagne. And, I’ll come to your party.”

  “You don’t think that would be weird?”

  “What do you say we give it a try this year, and see how it goes, then, next year, we’ll have a big blowout for our thirtieth?” I suggested.

  “I’ll hold you to that,” Dru warned.

  “I know,” I said with a laugh.

  “Deal,” Dru said, then looked between me and Tasha and added, “So, we have one week to plan the best Speakeasy-themed party ever!”

  “I think I know a catering company that can pull it off,” Tasha joked.

  “I don’t know, it’s kind of short notice,” I argued.

  “Good thing I blocked the date on the calendar six months ago,” Dru countered.

  “Of course you did,” I laughed.

  Tasha pushed herself up and off of the floor, crossed to get the open bottle of wine, then proceeded to refill our glasses.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to stop by and see how you were doing last night,” I began, watching my younger sister closely for any signs of duress. “How are you doing now, with the whole Jericho thing?”

  Tasha tossed the empty bottle in the trash, then came back to sit cross-legged on the floor in front of us. She’d always been the kind of person who’d rather sit on the floor than on furniture; weird, I know, but that was our Tasha.

  “I was totally taken off-guard, you know? We were having a good time, watching Ty and Rebecca make a love connection, while laughing at Rob trying to hide beer from Jan, who obviously knew what he was doing, then . . . Bam! Jericho.” Her eyes widened and she took a big gulp of her wine. “It’s crazy that they’re all friends, isn’t it? Totally unexpected.”

  “Yeah, I’m so sorry, I had no idea that it was even a possibility that he’d be there,” I assured her. “I mean, Jackson said they were, like, sports-watching friends, but I didn’t know Jericho was actually a friend he hung out with a lot.”

  “It’s not your fault, and I’m so sorry that I left like that. Jackson must think I’m a drama queen.”

  Tasha laid back, resting her wine glass on her chest. I moved off the couch to sit next to her on the floor.

  “No, he doesn’t think that, he likes you both. I think he felt bad, they all did. No one wanted you to feel like you had to leave.”

  “I know,” Tasha said softly, her eyes coming to mine as sh
e admitted, “He looked really, really good. Even better than he used to.”

  “I’m sorry, babe, and I know you don’t want to hear this, but you should talk to him. Hash it all out and get closure once and for all.”

  “Yeah,” she replied, but neither the look on her face nor her tone made it seem like she would be eager to do that any time soon.

  Jackson

  THE WEEK HAD, THANKFULLY, GONE by quickly. It was a usual week filled with lesson plans, homework, and Kayla, so I’d had plenty to do, but now I had the added bonus of yearning for Millie.

  Yeah, I said it, and I’m man enough to admit it. I yearned for her.

  The night we’d spent together was always at the forefront of my mind, distracting me at the most inopportune moments. Flashes of her lips curled up, the feel of her soft skin, the little noises she’d made when I was inside of her, hit me when I was standing in the checkout line of the grocery store, making dinner for Kayla and me, or, most often, when I was reading aloud to my students.

  Once again, we’d mostly been communicating between texts and phone calls, which was great, but, man, I missed the feel of her in my arms. We needed to move forward with her spending time with Kayla, so that I could get more time with her.

  Which was why I was currently making tacos, rice, beans, and salsa, even though it wasn’t Tuesday. It was Kayla’s favorite meal, and Millie was taking a dinner break to join us for about an hour to get to know Kayla better.

  Humming to myself, I cut up the vegetables to top the tacos and kept glancing at the clock. The anticipation was killing me, but I couldn’t keep the smile off my face.

  “Do I smell tacos?” I heard Kayla asked from behind me and turned to see her sniffing at the air as she walked into the kitchen. “But, it’s Thursday.”

  “You do, and we’re starting a new craze, Taco Thursday,” I joked, my stomach clenching nervously as my little girl’s eyes narrowed on me.

  I shouldn’t be afraid of re-introducing my daughter to my girlfriend, at least, I hope she’s my girlfriend, but I was. After her initial reaction to Millie, I knew this wasn’t going to be an easy thing for her to accept, and although I wanted the evening to go smoothly, I had a feeling I was in for some bumps.