My Favorite Mistake

by Parker, Weston

  “How old was she?” Nicole asked gently.

  “Six,” I answered. “Six years old.”

  “Go on,” she encouraged.

  “I was building the castle, and the waves crept up, destroying the edge. I moved back from the water’s edge about ten feet to give myself plenty of time to get it built before the tide came in. I saw Cara running in and out of the water, jumping over waves and playing like she always did. She knew better than to go past her knees. My parents had always warned us to be careful and to pay attention. I got focused on the sandcastle and almost forgot I was supposed to be watching her. I heard her splashing and shouting like she had been. I looked up and saw she was in the water, much farther than her knees. I shouted at her to come back to shore. She was yelling at me to come and get her. I thought she was playing. I once again told her to get out of the water. Then, as I was looking at her, a wave snuck up behind her and knocked her forward. I froze. I couldn’t move. When she resurfaced, she was farther away from the beach and splashing around. I did nothing. I stood there watching my little sister drown.”

  “Oh Rand,” Nicole whispered, reaching out and taking my hand in hers.

  “I heard my parents and Demokritos shouting,” I said, the words monotone as I finally told her what I had been keeping to myself. Not even Adrian or Cade knew about Cara. “My dad ran into the water with Demokritos right behind him. My mother came to stand by me, screaming at me. She yelled at me for not watching Cara. My brother and father tried to get to her, but with every roll of the waves, she was pulled under. I don’t know how long they fought the water, but it felt like an eternity. My ears were ringing from my mother’s screaming. I don’t think I moved a single muscle the entire time it was all happening. When my father finally carried Cara’s lifeless body from the water and laid her on the sand near me, my entire world as I knew it ended. She was dead. I had let my little sister drown and had done nothing to help her.”

  “You were a little boy, Rand,” Nicole assured me. “You likely would have drowned as well had you tried to save her.”

  I shook my head. “That’s not what my parents or Demokritos felt. They were furious with me. I don’t think Demokritos has actually spoken to me kindly since that day. My parents, they tried to pretend like they loved me, but every time they looked at me, I could see the anger and disappointment on their faces. As time went on, they shut me out. There weren’t any hugs or the usual support a child got from his parents. When I was a young teen, I went to live with my grandfather.”

  “I’m so sorry you had to go through that, and shame on your family for holding a child responsible for their mistakes,” she snapped.

  I took a deep breath and mentally pushed the memory back into its box. Oddly, it didn’t feel as burdensome or heavy in my head. It was like telling her had freed me from some of the weight. “Anyway, Demokritos made it very clear I would be a horrible father. My parents insinuated the same throughout the years. They always talked about Demokritos having children and carrying on the family name, but they told me it was probably better if I didn’t. My mother told me some people weren’t meant to be parents. I took that to heart. I’ve believed that for over twenty years. When you brought up the idea of being a parent, that’s why I said what I did.”

  “Rand, that one moment that happened when you were a little boy does not define you as a parent. I don’t believe that for one second, and shame on your parents for letting you believe that tragic accident was your fault. I swear, if I ever meet them, I’m going to give them a piece of my mind. I wish I’d known how they’d treated you. I would have corrected them at the funeral.”

  I smiled, feeling all warm and fuzzy over the idea of her defending me. “It caused a huge rift in the family. My grandfather and father had a falling out shortly after the incident. He told them they were killing me as sure as Cara had died. My parents not only disowned me, but my grandfather as well.”

  “That explains why he left the estate to you,” she stated.

  I shrugged. “I suppose, but I still don’t feel like I deserve it.”

  “You do.”

  “Nicole, I told you that story because I owed you an explanation, and in a way, I feel like you deserved to know who the father of your child really is,” I said, looking into her blue eyes.

  She shook her head. “I know exactly who you are, and you are not that scared little boy who lost his sister. You’re a good man who will fly around the world to have a conversation. You’re not what they say you are.”

  “I will love you and our child, and I will walk through fire to prove I am worthy of being in your lives. I’m going to screw up a lot along the way, and I’m probably going to make some pretty stupid mistakes, but I promise I will keep trying. I don’t want to lose you, and I never want to lose my child. Please, I’m asking you to give me a chance to prove I can figure this parenting thing out.” I watched the expression on her face.

  She got to her feet. I stood as well, trying to read what she was thinking. I didn’t have to wonder long. She put one hand on my cheek and smiled. “I would love to go on this parenting journey with you.”

  I felt relief wash over me. I grabbed her face with my hands, holding her steady while I kissed her the way I had been longing to since I’d first seen her at her mother’s house. Her hand dropped from my face, her arms wrapping around my waist as she pulled me close and hugged me tightly. Our tongues explored one another’s mouth in a leisurely fashion as if we were relearning each other. It wasn’t long before the kiss turned into a need for more. I needed her more than I needed air in that moment.

  I had to commit myself to her, and the only way I knew how was to show her with my body. I had to seal our relationship with a marking of my territory, in a sense. She was mine, and I needed her to know it. I wanted her to feel me deep inside her and know that I was not going to ever let her go without one hell of a fight. I stopped the kiss and took a step back, staring into her eyes. My eyes dropped to her red lips and then went back to her eyes. “I need you in every way,” I told her.

  “I need you too,” she answered.

  It was exactly what I had hoped to hear.

  Chapter 38

  Nicole

  The man was perfectly gorgeous and sexy as hell, but that wasn’t what I liked the most about him. It was his sincerity. It was his tragic past, and it was the man he’d become.

  His strong hands lifted my shirt over my head, tossing it to the floor before unhooking my bra. Unlike he usually did, he didn’t put his mouth to my breasts or touch them at all. His hands moved to undo my jeans before leaving me to strip them off.

  He took several steps back, not touching my nude body at all. I suddenly felt very self-conscious under his stare. It was the middle of the day. I was nude, and he was fully clothed.

  “Rand?” I questioned him.

  He looked into my eyes and smiled. “You’re beautiful. I cannot wait to see the changes in your body as you grow with my child inside you.”

  The words were sweet and possessive and had me wanting him more than ever. “Can we talk about that when you’re naked?” I asked.

  He grinned. “If I’m naked and you’re naked, there will be very little talking.”

  I smiled, feeling a little flushed despite the cool AC in the room and my complete lack of clothes. “I want to see you.”

  The words were enough to spur him into action. He stripped off his clothes, revealing that perfect body that could have rivaled the Adonis Alec had told me about. Rand was my Adonis. He stepped toward me, reaching out and running a fingertip down my arm. I loved when he did that. It was so basic and yet so intimate. He showed his restraint and always had a way of sending fire flashing between my legs. My breasts felt heavy, aching to be touched by him. My entire body felt tingly.

  He slowly walked around my body, the single finger touching my skin as he traced a circle around me. By the time he stood before me again, I was damp with need. I cupped my own breast, offering
it to him. Passion flashed in his eyes as he watched me gently knead my breast. He nodded at my other hand, telling me to use it to cup my other breast. I quickly did what he asked, moaning with pleasure as I caressed my breasts, thinking about his hot mouth on my nipples. I rubbed my knees together, needing the friction to satisfy the craving between my legs.

  He watched me for several seconds before reaching out one hand and gently pulling my hand away before dropping his mouth to my nipple and sucking it between his lips. I cried out. The anticipation and the longing for his mouth on my flesh had me hot and wet and close to climax. My head dropped back, my hands reaching for his hips to hold myself up when my legs felt weak. I couldn’t help but grind my hips against him, feeling his hard length rub over me.

  Suddenly, I had to have him. I had to be filled by him. I moved harder and faster, rubbing my core up and down his hard length, sending myself into a flurry of ecstasy. Rand hooked one arm low around my waist, yanking my body against his. His hand squeezed my ass before his mouth opened against my neck. He sucked my flesh into his mouth, all the while pressing himself against me as I wiggled and squirmed until I found the spot. My cries of pleasure filled the room as I began to move against him, purposefully grinding hard against him.

  In a flash, I erupted into a sweet climax, rocking against him as his arm held me like a vise. When he released me, it was only to walk me to the bed. He gently pushed me backward, my body still spasming with the release when he pushed one finger inside me.

  “Damn,” he whispered with reverence.

  I moaned, the invasion of his finger triggering a second half to the orgasm. He stood next to the bed, one finger pushed high inside me and his other hand squeezing my breast as he drew out the orgasm. I reached for him, my hand squeezing his bicep as I pulled him over me. The finger had been great, but I wanted him. I wanted him deep inside me.

  He quickly obliged, sliding over my slick folds and planting his body inside mine. He looked into my eyes. “You’re mine,” he stated in a way that told me he was absolutely serious.

  I nodded my head. “I’m yours.”

  “I want you like this again and again,” he groaned, moving his hips against me.

  “Yes, me too, I want this,” I murmured. The feeling of him inside me made it difficult to talk.

  “Look at me, Nicole,” he ordered.

  My eyes opened as I stared into those rich brown eyes. “I want you.”

  “You have me,” he rasped the words out. “You have all of me.”

  I leaned up and kissed him, infusing the passion and desire I felt for him in the kiss. I rested my head back on the bed and reached up with one hand to stroke over his cheek, cupping the firm jawline before sliding it over his bare back. “Now, make love to me,” I ordered, my eyes falling closed as I let myself get lost in the moment.

  He did exactly as I asked, driving into my body and giving me two more orgasms before he finally took his own. I held him close to me, not caring about the weight on top of me. It was a good weight. It told me I was cared for.

  “I’m squishing you,” he murmured close to my ear.

  “But it feels so good,” I answered in a lazy voice.

  “Baby, I can make you feel good in other ways,” he teased, kissing my neck before rolling off me.

  I hated to lose my Rand blanket, but it wasn’t for long. He pulled me against him, both of his arms wrapped around me and holding me close to him. I sighed with contentment.

  “Rand, earlier, you said you would love me?” I asked. The words had been floating around in my head, but I couldn’t be sure he meant it the way I heard it.

  “I did,” he said. “I love you, Nicole.”

  “I love you.”

  “Good,” he said with certainty. “We’re going to make a good team. I can feel it.”

  I smiled against his chest. I was happy, but there was still a weight on my shoulders. He’d been completely honest with me, and I hadn’t been with him. I knew how much courage it had taken for him to tell me what had happened to him when he was a little boy. It was my turn.

  “Rand, I have to tell you something,” I said.

  “I’m listening. You can tell me anything, but don’t feel like you have to. Whatever it is, it isn’t going to change my mind about you or wanting to be in your life with our child.”

  “My dad,” I started, the words getting lodged in my throat. “He isn’t a good man.”

  “I gathered that. Do you want to tell me why?”

  “He’s an alcoholic and not a nice one.”

  “I see.”

  “He… he could get very violent when he was drinking. I guess it wasn’t only when he was drinking, but the alcohol brought it out more than usual.”

  I could feel his body stiffen. His breathing changed as well. “Did he hurt you?” he asked, the words tight and barely controlled.

  “Yes.”

  “Fuck,” he growled. “God dammit. The son of a bitch.”

  I closed my eyes, reliving some of the injuries. “He wasn’t just physically abusive. He loved to torment me, scare me with the threat of violence. He enjoyed keeping me in a state of terror. He made fun of me about everything. His buddies would sit around and talk about my body and all the things they hated about it. I lived in fear one of them would do something to me.”

  “Is he still alive?” he asked.

  “I imagine he is. I don’t honestly know. I haven’t talked to him in almost three years. Alena saved me. One night, my dad had come home drunk, and things got a little out of control. I told him I was moving out. I was nineteen and ready to go. As much as he hated me, he didn’t want me to go. I think he liked having me there to bully. It made him feel powerful. I had tried to leave countless times in the past and had thought about going to the police, but he had me convinced he would find me and kill me if I did. Alena refused to let me go home the next day. Long story short, a week after the incident, I was in Crete.”

  He was silent for several minutes. I could feel the tension in his body. “Your mom?” he asked.

  “He beat on her. He took me when I was a young kid while she was at work. He told her if she tried to come after me, he would kill me. She thought she was protecting me by doing what he demanded.”

  “Bullshit,” he growled. “She left you with that monster.”

  “Rand, I know it’s hard to understand, but the power he wielded over us, it’s hard to explain. I understand her reasoning. It was the same reason I never left. He made it very clear he would kill if pushed to do so.” I found it a little strange to be defending my mother, but I understood exactly what she’d gone through.

  He blew out a long breath. “I won’t let him near you ever. I will kill him if he tries, and that, you can absolutely believe.”

  I smiled, loving that he was protective. It felt good to have someone want to protect me. “Rand, there’s one more thing,” I said, not sure how it was going to go over.

  “You’re going to be an excellent mother,” he said.

  I chuckled. “Not that, but thank you. How do you feel about living in the United States for a bit?” I nervously bit my lower lip.

  “Is that what you want to do?” he questioned.

  “I think so. I’d like to get to know my mom.”

  He was quiet before he squeezed me close. “I will go wherever you need me to be. If that’s here with you in West Virginia, that’s where I’ll be. I want to be with you. I’m committed to being with you.”

  “You’d really move here?” I asked with astonishment.

  I had expected him to tell me he couldn’t because of work or that he didn’t want to leave his beautiful country. I had been preparing myself for a long-distance relationship or leaving my mother after just finding her.

  “I’d do anything for you, Nicole,” he said adamantly. “Anything you want or need, all you have to do is say the word, and I will do everything in my power to make it happen. I want you to be happy and safe. I will protect you with my
last, dying breath. Your father will never touch you again.”

  “Thank you,” I whispered, overcome with emotion.

  “Don’t thank me. It’s not a job. It’s what I want to do. You’re mine, Nicole, and I will take care of you.”

  I giggled. “I’m glad you said that because I do have something I need taken care of,” I said in a sultry voice, my hand sliding down his chest.

  He chuckled deep in his chest. “I would be very happy to take care of all your needs, my love.”

  Chapter 39

  Rand

  Greece (Two months later)

  With my hand on the base of Nicole’s back, I gently guided her through the crowded restaurant toward the table in back where Adrian and Bella were sitting. I could see the two of them in deep discussion. The love they had for each other was so evident on their faces. I wondered if Nicole and I looked like that when we stared at each other. I hoped so. I wanted everyone to know I was in love with the most beautiful woman in the world.

  “Hi, guys!” Bella greeted with a huge smile.

  We went through the motions of hugging and saying hello before we took our seats. “You two look like you were in deep discussion,” I commented.

  “We were just talking about what it’s going to be like with you out of the country,” Adrian replied.

  I raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And? What’s the verdict?”

  “It is going to be a lot quieter,” Adrian quipped.

  “Stop,” Bella admonished. “He’s going to miss you. I’m going to miss your face around the office.”

  “We’ll still see each other almost every day via telecommunications,” I reminded her.

  “I know, but it won’t be the same,” she pouted.

  “You guys have to come and visit,” Nicole told her.