by Alexa Land
He got a fire going while I unpacked our picnic. After we ate a leisurely meal on the couch, we curled up under a soft, velvety blanket and talked for hours. Most of our conversation centered on our new home. The architect had included a rooftop patio, and we planned out the little container vegetable garden we were going to put in. We also discussed the indoor playhouse shaped like a castle, which we’d be building together in the next couple weeks. We wanted it to be ready and waiting for Izzy the first time she saw her new room.
Kai’s head was on my chest, and as I stroked his hair I said softly, “I love this, talking about our home and planning it together. It feels so good.”
“It really does.”
“Thank you, Kai.”
He tilted his head back so he could look at me. “For what?”
I grinned a little. “I don’t know. Everything. I was just feeling so grateful for you, and I needed to say that.”
“I’m incredibly grateful for you, too.”
We kissed for a long time, and after a while Kai said, “We should move to the bedroom. I saw a huge bed in there when I passed by earlier. Let’s go use two feet of it.”
He was right, the bed was enormous and was made up with luxurious, deep blue linens. There was a second fireplace in the bedroom, and I got the fire going. The warmth and soft golden glow were an immediate comfort.
Kai and I got ready for bed, then climbed under the thick duvet. We snuggled together on the right side of the bed, and when he wrapped his arms around me, I felt so safe and warm. That night, for the first time in weeks, I slept deeply and didn’t have any nightmares.
*****
The next morning, Kai brought me coffee in bed before drawing back the heavy curtains to reveal a sunny, breathtaking ocean view. “Damn,” he said as he looked out over the Pacific. “I feel like I’m at a fancy resort. We owe Dante and Charlie a big thank you.”
I admired the view, too, but not the one outside. Instead, I was looking at my gorgeous, shirtless boyfriend as he stood at the window. His cotton pajama pants rode a bit low, revealing a pair of perfect dimples just above his waistband and the tantalizing curve of his ass. “Come back to bed,” I said as my cock took notice and I put my coffee cup on the nightstand.
Kai glanced at me over his shoulder, and a grin spread across his face. He turned to me and walked across the room slowly, the embodiment of strength and grace. He took my breath away, and when I told him that, his grin got wider.
He peeled back the covers and ran his gaze down my body. I’d gone to bed in nothing but a pair of turquoise briefs, and it was gratifying to watch his very physical reaction as he looked at me. I reached for the growing bulge in his pajama pants and massaged it as I asked, “Did you pack condoms?”
“No. I thought we’d agreed we didn’t need them anymore.”
“Oh. Right. It’s just so automatic.” We’d been going out for seven months, and at the six month mark we’d both gotten tested and received clean bills of health. We were monogamous and knew we were ready for that next step.
But we hadn’t had sex in quite a while, not since just before the fire. My injuries needed time to heal, and after that, I’d felt kind of fragile, so we hadn’t gone there. In the last couple weeks, as my libido returned, we’d added back oral sex and jerking each other off. But this would be the first time in over two months that we’d be doing more than that, and the first time for either of us without a condom.
“You sure you want to do this?” He asked that gently as he cupped my face in his palm. “I can just suck you if you don’t feel like you’re ready for anal. And if you changed your mind about the condoms, that’s fine, too. I know it’s a big step.”
“I’m more than ready. I don’t want you to treat me like some delicate little thing, either. I want you to fuck me hard, don’t hold back.”
He looked concerned. “That’s kind of like going from second gear to fifth with nothing in between. And are you sure you want me to top you? We can do the opposite too, you know.”
“I need this, Kai. I need you in me, and I need it to be rough and messy and wild, just the way it’s always been for us. If we do this slow and gentle, then I’m going to be reminded of why you’re being careful with me, and I don’t want to think about the fire. I just want to live in the moment with you.”
“I can do that.” Kai climbed on top of me and kissed me passionately. He pulled my briefs from my body and threw them across the room, then licked and kissed his way down my chest and stomach. When he reached my swelling cock, he sucked me to the root, and I let out a low moan as I threw my head back. After a couple minutes of that, I pushed him onto the mattress and stripped off his pajama pants. Then I flipped around, took his cock between my lips and moaned again as we sucked each other and I savored the taste of him.
We sixty-nined for a long time, and then Kai rolled out of bed, rifled through his backpack, and quickly returned with lube and a new, clean shop rag (which made me chuckle, because it was so perfectly us). We kissed each other deeply and I stroked his cock as he fingered me. When I was ready, he slicked his cock and wiped his hand on the shop rag. As he pushed against my opening, I wrapped my legs around him and pushed back, opening myself for him, letting him in.
Kai did just as I asked. He fucked me hard and fast, pleasure radiating through me as he clutched my body and drove his cock into me. But it was so much more than just sex. I locked eyes with him and was overwhelmed by the love, the connection, the incredible feeling of oneness as we melted into each other. Right then, in that moment, life was absolutely, utterly, beautifully perfect.
*****
We spent the entire day naked in bed, alternately napping, talking, and having sex. I was surprised I could feel so good, so at peace, in the wake of all that had happened. But then I realized something.
It all came down to trust: trusting Dante and Vincent to keep the family safe; trusting Cameron and the SFPD to do all they could to catch the people who’d tried to harm my family; trusting God and the universe to look out for Zachary and help him find his way. And most of all, trusting Kai to always be there.
As we traveled through life, the road was going to have potholes, some of them absolutely huge. But I knew it was all manageable, every mile of it. I could handle anything I came up against, as long as Malakai Kahale was right there at my side.
“Hey,” Kai whispered. I raised my head from his chest and looked up at him. “What are you doing next weekend?”
“There’s nothing planned. Why?”
“Let’s get married.”
A big smile spread across my face. “Really?”
“I mean, assuming you want to marry me.”
“Of course I do!”
He smiled at me and said, “Okay, good. That was kind of out of the blue, I know, but here’s the thing. I kept thinking both my proposal and our wedding needed fanfare, fireworks, you know, something grand. But then I thought about Nana and Ollie’s wedding and how perfect it was, and I realized we don’t need the fancy stuff. We just need each other.” Exactly.
I kissed him tenderly, and then I said, “Let’s get married in the yard at Gran’s house, on the deck we painted back when this was brand new. Izzy can be maid of honor, and she can wear her butterfly princess gown. We’ll call our family and friends and tell them to show up in jeans, and after the ceremony, we’ll all dance on the lawn to Bowie songs until the sun comes up. It’ll be perfect.”
“That really does sound perfect. I love you so much, Jessie.”
I smiled as I brushed his hair from his eyes. “I love you more than anything.” A thought occurred to me, and I sat up and asked, “What do you think about me taking your last name after we’re married?”
“That would mean the world to me.” He grinned and added, “Plus, it’s good because you don’t actually have a last name right now, just a middle name standing in for one.”
“You’re right. How does Jessie Kahale sound?”
Kai p
ulled me into his arms and said, “It sounds like every one of my dreams just came true.”
Mine, too.
The End
#####
Thank you for reading!
Zachary will take center stage in the next book in the Firsts and Forever Series, available in Summer, 2016. As always, old friends will make appearances, new characters will be introduced, and questions will be answered as we follow Zachary on his journey to happily ever after.
For more by Alexa Land, please visit her Amazon author page:
http://www.amazon.com/Alexa-Land/e/B00AR2EJ76
Find Alexa on Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008216261875
on Twitter @AlexaLandWrites
And on her blog:
http://alexalandwrites.blogspot.com/
The Firsts & Forever Family Tree
**Please note: this family tree contains a few spoilers if you haven’t read all the books and don’t know who ends up with who in the rest of the series**
The Dombruso Family:
Sicilian-American family with roots in organized crime
Stana Dombruso (Nana) is the head of the Dombruso clan.
Nana raised her four grandsons after their parents were killed. The brothers in order from oldest to youngest are Dante, Vincent, Gianni and Mikey.
Nana is married to Olivio Caravetti (Ollie)
Jessie was hired as Nana’s limo driver, and as far as she’s concerned, he’s part of the family.
Dante is married to Charlie (their story can be found in All In)
Vincent is married to Trevor (their story can be found in Salvation). Josh is their adopted son.
Gianni is currently sailing around the world with his boyfriend Zan (Belonging is their story)
Mikey is a widower with three sons, and is dating Marie (they met in Belonging)
Nico Dombruso is their cousin. His boyfriend is Luca (their story can be found in All I Believe)
Nico’s brother is Constantino (Connie). Connie’s boyfriend is Andreo (their story can be found in Hitman’s Holiday)
Andreo is Luca’s half-brother.
The Friends:
Skye is a friend of the family and is married to Dare (their story can be found in Skye Blue)
Skye’s half-brother River was living with Cole
Skye went to art school with his best friend Christian
Christian is married to Shea Nolan (their story can be found in Against the Wall)
Christian is Zan’s son
Skye and Christian also went to art school with Christopher Robin
Christopher Robin is married to Kieran Nolan (In Pieces is their story)
Christopher is friends with Hunter Jacobs, AKA Hunter Storm
Hunter is married to Brian Nolan (their story can be found in Gathering Storm)
Chance and Christian are friends
Chance’s husband is Finn Nolan (their story can be found in Coming Home)
Chance’s kid brother is named Colt
Colt’s boyfriend is Elijah
Zachary is friends with Chance and Jessie
Yoshi is Gianni’s friend
Charlie is Jamie Nolan’s friend and ex-boyfriend
The Nolans:
Irish-American family, many of whom are in law enforcement
Kieran and Brian Nolan are brothers
Shea and Finn Nolan are brothers (Kieran and Brian are their cousins)
Jamie Nolan is also their cousin
Jamie is married to Dmitri Teplov (their story can be found in Way Off Plan)
The Series in Order, and the Couples:
1. Way Off Plan: Jamie Nolan and Dmitri Teplov
2. All In: Charlie Connolly and Dante Dombruso
3. In Pieces: Christopher Robin Andrews and Kieran Nolan
4. Gathering Storm: Hunter Jacobs/Storm and Brian Nolan
5. Salvation: Trevor Dean and Vincent Dombruso
6. Skye Blue: Skye Fleischmann and Dare Evans
7. Against the Wall: Christian George and Shea Nolan
8. Belonging: Gianni Dombruso and Zan Tillane
9. Coming Home: Chance Matthews and Finn Nolan
10. All I Believe: Nico Dombruso and Luca Caruso
10.5 Hitman's Holiday: Andreo and Connie (Constantino) Dombruso
11. The Distance is Jessie and Kai’s story
12. Book 12 will be Zachary’s story
The series will continue on from there!