Always With You

by E. H. Lyon

  Leo wraps an arm around me and holds his other one out with a shot glass. Everyone holds out their glass.

  “To a good night here at Matchbox. We have all had good times here. Sometimes crazy times. Also, the reason why Jess and I have a sleeping baby at home.” Leo grins and someone in the group lets out a whistle through their teeth.

  “And to my beautiful wife who had my head spinning from day one, who kept me on my toes, drove me insane, and finally submitted to my charms and agreed to light our spark. The best hook-up of my life because the universe gave us a child to make sure we got the message that we were meant to be together. It was always going to be you,” Leo says looking at me, and I still feel like I’m floating. Quickly I kiss him before everyone takes a shot.

  “Always,” I whisper, then kiss him long and deep. Happy that this is the man who I will spend my life with.

  Epilogue

  Leo: A little while later

  Arriving home, I walk into the big open living room with high ceilings. There are a few toys lying on the living room floor, but the place is unusually quiet. I set my phone on the counter and throw my laptop bag over the high stool at the kitchen island that adjoins to the living room.

  When I turn to look into the kitchen, I nearly have a heart attack. “Geez, Jess, you’re trying to scare the hell out of me?”

  My wife is standing in the kitchen, leaning against the sink in a black silk robe that goes to mid-thigh. It’s easy to slip off her smooth skin. But something tells me that if I want that, then I will need to work for it. She is standing with arms crossed, fingers tapping, and a look that tells me she may be a little feisty today.

  “Leo, what the hell?” She is firm as her eyes don’t blink.

  I walk a few strides closer to her.

  “What have I done now?” I ask, amused, and also because I’m clueless. I try to lean in to kiss her neck, but she plants her palm against my chest.

  “You’re not going to charm your way out of this one. You took our son for a haircut!”

  Now I am officially lost.

  “Uhm yeah. I went on my lunch break for a haircut, brought him along and thought he could use a cut,” I explain innocently. Truthfully, Sam needed a haircut months ago, but Jess was insistent on waiting.

  “It was his first haircut, Leo!”

  Oh fuck. I may be in the doghouse.

  “I missed his first haircut!” Her face is sullen, and I can see she’s upset.

  My hand rubs my forehead to try and figure out how to clean this mess up.

  “I didn’t even think about that,” I admit.

  She is a few steps away from me when I manage to capture her hands in mine.

  “Did you at least take a photo? Or save some hair? I mean, I literally picked him up at daycare and he had a new haircut.”

  She is actually shedding a tear. Jess doesn’t do tears.

  “I did… not save his hair.”

  She gasps in shock.

  “But I did get a photo.” I throw on a very weak smile before I pull her against my chest for a hug.

  She pulls away slightly. “Communication, Leo. We have been over this.”

  I admit defeat. “You are totally right.” I pull her close again and inhale the scent of her hair—it’s honey. “I’m so sorry.” I rub her back as she buries her face into my chest.

  As I am trying to calm her down and save my ass, I notice something new in the living room.

  “Uhm Jess… what is that?” I ask curiously as I stare at the place where our giant television was before I left this morning. “We seem to be missing the television on the wall and there is now a large family photo with shelves of your record collections.”

  Jess stiffens in my hold. After a second, her finger comes to play with my shirt buttons.

  I already know her light and flirty voice is about to come on. “Oh, that. Well, I thought the television would be better in the mancave in the den, and well, the living room would be more for entertaining. You know, when we have people over and talk and drink.” She presses her body to me.

  Oh yeah. She is trying to charm her way out of this one.

  I’m for sure going to tease her about this because I don’t really care about the television location. “Communication, Jess. We have been over this. No decorating decisions without the other’s approval.” I look at her, amused.

  She gives me a pouting look. “You… may be right.” Her eyes peer up to me and they are trying to seduce me, I know her game. “I’m sorry.”

  My arms encircle around her waist and we look at each other. “How about you forget my blunder and I forget yours?”

  Her face lightens. “Deal.” She leans up on her toes so her lips can at last meet mine.

  “Mmm,” I moan as I pull away.

  I move to grab two wine glasses and head to the wine fridge. “Sam is sound asleep?”

  “Yep. Want some dinner? There are still leftovers in the fridge.” Normally she waits to eat dinner with me, but tonight I’m home late and it’s already past nine.

  Balancing the wine bottle and glasses in one hand, I offer my other hand to Jess. She smiles as I drag her with me, and she grabs the baby monitor on the way to the sliding door to our patio and pool area.

  I set the bottle and glasses on the deck next to the steps of the pool. It’s freezing out, but our pool is heated to perfection to be used all year. The steam coming off the pool and the illuminated lights just make it perfect for post-work relax swims.

  “You are joining me, right?” I look at Jess as I loosen my tie and get to work on the buttons of my shirt. Throwing pieces of clothes to the side chaise lounge.

  “I’m not in my swimsuit.”

  I laugh deep as I give her an inviting look. “That’s never stopped you before, and what exactly do you have on under that flimsy robe? I hope nothing, as proven by your very hard nipples that I plan on sucking.”

  Her eyes roll, but her mouth curves with amusement. “I was maybe contemplating waiting for you and working out our miscommunication at the kitchen wall.” Her hands slide the robe off her shoulders then it quickly falls to a puddle at her feet.

  “You’re killing me,” I say as I pull my briefs down and watch her dive into the pool.

  I quickly follow her and let myself submerge in the water. I see her legs at the other side of the pool, and I swim to her under the water. Emerging, I quickly pull her to me with the water lapping around us.

  “Hey, husband,” her voice is soft as she wraps her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck.

  “I am positive it is you who is going to get us in trouble tonight.” I grin at her before I kiss her then move my mouth down her neck.

  “Me? Well… maybe.” She’s coy, but she is already wiggling her hips and opening her legs so my tip finds her opening like a magnet. Her grinding me in the pool isn’t new.

  We’re in shallow enough water that I walk us until she’s between the wall of the pool and me, her arms wrapped around my neck.

  I let my teeth nip some of the skin on her shoulder. “What am I going to do with you? You are in a very naughty mood tonight.”

  She actually chortles at my sentence. But then she breathes and decides to play along as my mouth finds a perky nipple to suck.

  “Think you may have to show me who’s in charge,” she suggests.

  My eyes look up to see her head lean back and she moans as I let go of one nipple.

  “That I plan on doing. Deep and hard later when we are in bed. Now turn around and place your hands on the side,” I demand. Her eyes flare heat as she willingly turns around.

  My hands find her hips and glide along her skin to her front, my fingers finding her spot between her legs. She gasps from the sudden action.

  “Ooh, Leo.”

  “You like that, beautiful?” I breathe into her neck as one hand moves to find her ass where I sink my fingertips into her cheeks to squeeze.

  “Don’t stop,” she begs and moans. We hav
e been stepping up our sex game lately.

  This woman can make me go insane. I quicken the pace. The sound of water moving and her moans fill the air. It’s the best music at our house.

  “Good. Almost… there,” she is struggling to breathe normally.

  She looks over her shoulder so our mouths can meet for a devouring kiss.

  We reach our destination, and I hold her as she comes down for a minute or two.

  “I love you.” She turns in the water to wrap her arms around my neck and give me a peck on the lips before nibbling my neck.

  “I love you too.”

  Standing in the water, holding one another, we whisper sweet nothings and sporadically pepper kisses on each other for a few minutes.

  She swims away like a mermaid.

  We both float around the water for a few minutes then settle on the steps where I open the wine that was already half-empty from the other night. I pour one glass then go to pour the second.

  “No, thank you.”

  I look at her skeptical. “No wine for you? Has the world stopped turning?” I joke as I go to drink from my glass.

  “No. I just don’t feel like it.” She sinks back into the water, keeping her hands on the step as she drifts.

  I watch her as I drink another sip, then as my brain forms a brain map that I’m struggling to connect the dots, I tip the glass back and don’t stop drinking my now long sip of wine.

  “What’s going on, Jess?” I study her, curious, as she meets my gaze with a blank look.

  I set my glass to the side as I quickly swim the two strokes to her and pull her to me. She wraps her legs and arms around me again and we are in so much trouble if she doesn’t speak soon. Round two is a coming the moment we leave this pool.

  “Last time you were this way was when you were relieved because you had a false alarm.” It replays in my head, as does the conversation a few days later when I told her that if it ever happens again that I wanted to be there, even when she took a test. I’m not missing any of that stuff again.

  Her lips curve. “Well… maybe we have another false alarm, or your super sperm has done it to me again.”

  My eyes widen at her. “Are you…?” I’m getting kind of excited. Sam is two and we are settled in our house. We certainly have enough sex to make it a possibility.

  She gently nudges my chest with her hand. “I don’t know. I still need to take a test. Someone here is adamant they watch me, and it’s better to do those things in the morning.”

  I kiss her to stop my wide grin from embarrassing me, but when I pull away I see that she has a similar look.

  “I’m cancelling my meetings tomorrow morning and you are cancelling yours too,” I say in between kissing her cheek, her neck, her hair, every place I can land my lips.

  She laughs. “Leo, relax. It takes literally five minutes tops, and again, it could be a false alarm.”

  My hands move to cradle her face to ensure our eyes hold. “If it isn’t, then we celebrate all morning, and trust me, I’m not letting you leave the bed. And if it’s a false alarm then we are practicing all morning and I’m still not letting you leave the bed.” I give her my wicked look that I know she loves.

  She shakes her head as she swims away and gets out of the pool. “Come on, Leo. I need a shower and good sleep. I already know you will be waking me bright and early with that plastic stick in your hand.” She sounds amused with me.

  Jess

  “Are you nervous?”

  I look at him and lean against his shoulder as he holds the test facing down. “I’m not nervous. This is just new. I mean, with Sam, I was alone and scared. That one false alarm, I think I knew I wasn’t, just needed the proof. But now…” My stomach is swirling and there are butterflies flying around my body. Heart racing.

  We’re sitting on our bed. Still in our sleeping outfits—naked—so the sheet is pulled up around us.

  “It’s just… does birth control not work with us? I mean, this can’t be possible, right?” I ramble aloud.

  Leo grins at me. “I mean, do we really want to get into that? With Sam, we know why the birth control didn’t work.” He arches a brow to me.

  “The kitchen counter,” we both say in unison then smile at one another.

  Our foreheads meet. “It’s time, Jess.”

  I nod and bury my face into his shoulder as I feel his hand flip the stick.

  He doesn’t speak, instead he quickly moves to grab my arms and lay me on my back so he cages me in. My heart is racing so hard that I swear we can hear it thumping.

  “I can’t wait to see you with a swollen belly, and in nine months holding our little girl or boy,” he speaks softly before kissing me.

  I’m too in shock to kiss back or say anything. When he pulls away to look at me, my face must look like a ghost.

  “Uhm, Jess… are you okay?”

  I’m motionless. “I’m… oh crap, what have we done? A toddler and a baby. Leo, I’m freaking out.”

  He just laughs at me as he seems entertained by this scene.

  “Relax, Jess. You have me with you every step of the way,” he reminds me.

  A little relief finds me, and my hand finds his cheek to stroke. “True. I do.” It comes out soft and sentimental.

  “Now, how about you just lay here and let me relax you. We need to celebrate,” he warns before his head slithers down my body.

  “Mmm that’s not a terrible idea,” I breathe as I feel his mouth going lower and his stubble grazing my skin.

  But really. Another surprise pregnancy? Was this man put on this earth to impregnate me? Is he going to drive me crazy the whole pregnancy? He already brought me freshly squeezed juice this morning.

  But ohhh his tongue… sooo good… oh gosh, he is doing that suck and swirl motion…

  “Leo.”

  “Relax, Jess. We need to keep you relaxed. Every day for the next nine months.”

  “Not complaining with that plan,” I moan.

  Not complaining at all.

  ***The End***

  Next Up

  Want more Leo and Jess? Good news is that they are in Jake and Avery’s story coming up next in Again with You. Followed by Tempted with You where we get to witness Leo as big brother extraordinaire when his sister and Nate, well… oops.

  Both are available for pre-order now.

  If you haven’t yet read Different with You (Lucas & Abby) and Crazy with You (Max & Harper) then you are missing out on Leo and Jess pre-Always. The sparks were always there. Both stories are already available in ebook and paperback format.

  You can find all the Matchbox books here:

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  Join my newsletter to receive a free extended series prologue that features all of our favorite guys from the Matchbox series—including a great Leo & Jess chapter.

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  Acknowledgments

  Thanks so much for reading Leo and Jess’s story. They are one of my favorite couples. This story means a lot to me as it got me writing again. I lived off a soundtrack of O.A.R. (great band!) and was stuck in a house during a pandemic with no internet. At the time of editing this 9 months later, I am still stuck in a house during a pandemic except now with internet. I debated for a long time if I should turn this story into a series. But ideas kept flowing and it led to the Matchbox series!

  So far, this story also holds the record for the longest steamy scene I’ve written too (for now).

  Always with You went through many transformations and drafts. Kimberly from Revision Division deserves a thanks for reading my very rough first draft—it was a brave task.

  Lindsay from Contagious Edits, wow you did it again with your easy and smooth edits that kept me a
bit centered with this one. I am so thankful. Really, this is a team effort!

  To my pack of humans. Well, first off, to my version of Prince Charming who read a first draft even though romance books are not his forte, it means a lot. And to our offspring who slept accordingly so I could write. This one is for you both.

  Finally, anyone who reads this book—you are magic and can’t thank you enough!