by Erin Rylie
“Please tell me you’re awake, baby. I’m hard enough to pound nails, and I want to fuck you.”
Kelsey reached behind her and wrapped her hand around his cock, pumping his shaft a few times in answer. He bit her shoulder and thrust into her hand for a moment before removing it from his dick.
“No, ma’am. You got your playtime yesterday morning. Now it’s my turn.”
He placed her hand on her breast and squeezed. “Play with your tits for me, I think I’ll explore a little lower.”
She tweaked her nipple between her fingertips, grinding back into Carlos again. She needed him filling her now. Instead of fucking her though, he decided to tease her. He pulled his hips back and she mewled at the loss of heat. Carlos palmed her ass, grabbing it roughly before soothing the sting by gently stroking her skin. Without warning, he slapped her ass hard and she let out another breathy moan. With the hand not on her butt, he slipped two fingers into her pussy.
“Christ, you’re so wet for me. Do you want my dick here? You want me to fuck you?”
“Yessss,” she hissed.
Instead of giving her what she wanted, he continued to pump two fingers into her, curling them to hit a spot that made her see stars. When he slid a third finger into her, Kelsey thought she was going to black out.
“Stop playing with your nipples and rub your clit for me.”
When she did as he asked, she was rewarded with another smack on the ass. The combination of pleasure and pain made her wetter than she’d ever been. As she circled her clit, seeking her orgasm, he continued to thrust into her with his fingers. Just when she was about to come, he removed his fingers from her pussy and pushed into her in one swift movement.
Still circling her clit, she screamed his name as her climax took her. He continued to pump into her roughly, whispering in Spanish in her ear. She’d taken Spanish in high school but could only make out a few of the words he was uttering. She was sure that most of them were filthy words she wouldn’t have learned in a tenth-grade class.
Before she could come down from her first orgasm, Carlos’s hand replaced hers on her clit and he circled it a few times, building her up again before pinching her clit at the same time he slapped her ass. She was overwhelmed with sensation, the slight pain from his hand on her backside combined with the utter bliss of his hand on her clit and his dick inside her.
He was relentless in his pursuit of her second orgasm, and she could feel it building and building, threatening to take her over. “I can’t come again, Carlos. I can’t.”
“You can and you fucking will, Kelsey. I’m not coming until I feel you milking my cock.”
His dirty words did the trick, and she felt herself contracting around him. Her orgasm hit her with an intensity that took her breath away.
“You’re so beautiful, sweetheart. So damn beautiful.”
Carlos bit down on her shoulder and she felt him finishing inside her, the sounds of slapping skin and his groans filling the room.
When they’d both come down, he removed his still twitching dick from her. She turned around and buried her face in his sweaty chest, running her hands up and down his hard, toned body.
“That was—”
“I think I blacked out for a while, sweetheart. Fuck Disneyland, your pussy is the most magical place on earth. Can I live there?”
“How flattering. Should I get that tattooed on my hip bone?”
Carlos chuckled and planted a kiss on the top of her head. “What time is Kyle bringing James home?”
She didn’t miss that he’d called her house home. Neither had acknowledged that technically he’d been well enough to go home alone for weeks. She liked having him here. Hell, she’d enjoyed having him here before they’d started sleeping together—the sex was just a really fucking hot added bonus.
“He’ll be here around six. He wanted to have dinner with James before dropping him off. He wants to finally meet you.”
Carlos hummed, seeming to measure his words before responding. “How do you feel about me meeting him?”
“I understand why he wants to—I would want to know who was hanging around James too. That’s why I have a dinner planned this week with him and his new girlfriend.”
“Oh yeah? Do you need me to watch James?”
“No, I already called Becky. She’s going to come over and watch James and then when I get back we’re going to have cult classic night with Sophie. We haven’t been able to have one since Ella was born.”
“Gotcha. Well, I’m gonna go shower.” He planted another light kiss, this time on her forehead, before untangling their limbs and leaving the room. Though his tone had been nonchalant, she got the distinct feeling something was bothering Carlos.
They spent the remainder of their Sunday having wicked sex all over the house. Kelsey knew she was going to be painfully sore the next day, but it was definitely worth it. Carlos in bed was voracious. He was playful and sexy and oh-so dirty. She was positive his hip would be throbbing later tonight, but they couldn’t seem to get enough of each other.
Her favorite part of the day though was the time spent talking in between sex. She learned more about his childhood, all of the awful shit his mother had put him through. He talked to her about his early days on the force, and how much his friendship with Rafe had shaped him as an officer. She had always looked at Carlos as a huge goofball, but it was clear as day how much he loved his job. Police work was his passion in life, and she couldn’t even begin to imagine how hard this injury had been on him. Sure, she’d seen his frustration a few times, but she sensed that there was so much more that he was holding in.
About an hour before James was supposed to come home, Kelsey and Carlos took a slow, languid shower. They washed one another and then she sat him down on the shower chair he rarely used, and rode him until they were both satisfied. Instead of the fast and furious pace they’d set over the last twenty-four hours, they moved slowly, kissing the entire time. There were no words exchanged, no dirty talk. The enclosed space was filled with the sounds of their movement and heavy exhalations. When they climaxed together, the look in Carlos’s eyes stole the breath from her lungs. His expression was so open, honest, and full of adoration, that she came harder than ever, gasping his name as she did.
Kelsey was making dinner as Carlos observed (and tried to steal food from the stove) when she heard the front door open, followed by the little pitter-patter of excited feet. She turned from the stove and crouched down, arms open, just as her son rushed into the kitchen, barreling into her for a hug.
“Mommy! I missed you. We tie-dyed shirts with Marissa this weekend. Then Daddy and Marissa had a sleepover. You know, tie-dye started in India? Isn’t that cool? Wanna see my tie-dye shirt?”
Kelsey was still trying to sort through the wealth of information she’d just received when Kyle walked into the kitchen. He had an affectionate smile as he looked at his son, and his hands were tucked into his pockets.
“In all fairness, he wasn’t supposed to know about the sleepover, but he had a nightmare and climbed into bed with us.”
“Kyle! Were you two—”
“Fully clothed, calm down. We were literally just sleeping.”
Kelsey heaved a heavy sigh, gripping James tighter before he wriggled out of her grasp. “Marissa is nice, Mommy. You’ll like her. She reads, just like you!”
Kelsey laughed and stood to face the stove again. She knew it was irrational, but she was fighting a surge of jealousy at the thought of her little guy with another mother figure. She heard James make his way over to Carlos, chattering excitedly about his weekend. She took a deep breath, pushed her ridiculous jealousy aside, and turned back around. She wasn’t jealous of Marissa and Kyle’s relationship, she was jealous of the relationship Marissa would have with James if things got more serious with her and Kyle. Kyle and Carlos were wearing near identical expressions of concern, and she almost laughed at the absurdity of her situation. She never imagined she would be dealing
with things like stepmothers. Realistically, she’d known that Kyle would move on and that he would eventually settle down with someone new.
She was happy for him, but found herself unwilling to share her son with someone new. He was her precious little boy—so curious, smart, and sweet. She tried to look at things from Kyle’s point of view, though. He was sharing James with Carlos and hadn’t complained once. Divorce was hard, but at least she and James had a good relationship. She couldn’t imagine going through this with someone she was on bad terms with. She was fortunate that she and James had Kyle.
“It’s true,” Kyle said. “She’s even read that one sci-fi book you’re always quoting. The one with space zombies and giant worms?”
“Illuminae,” she and Carlos both replied in unison. This. This was what she had always been missing with Kyle. He listened when she talked about things that were important, like books, but he never took a real interest in them. If Kyle listened to her words, Carlos devoured them, taking them into himself and committing them to memory.
Her ex-husband cleared his throat, breaking the trance she’d been in. She realized belatedly that she’d been staring at Carlos, most likely with a look of awe, or lust. Possibly both. Most likely both.
“Sorry! Kyle this is Carlos, Carlos, Kyle.” As the two men shook hands, she felt the familiar nervousness that was often accompanied by random fact blurting. “In Japan, you only greet someone with a handshake if they’re your equal. It would be really disrespectful, for example, to greet the emperor with a handshake.”
Carlos laughed and shook his head at her. “I’ll keep that in mind for the next time I decide to visit the emperor of Japan.”
“You should. Don’t want you to embarrass yourself,” she mumbled, turning back to the stove and focusing unnecessarily on the vegetables she was sautéing.
She felt more than heard Carlos move behind her. He was holding James on one hip and with his free hand, he cupped her cheek. “Babe, look at me.”
When she shook her head, he kissed her on the cheek. “Hey, I know this is scary. I know it’s a big step and you don’t want things to move too quickly, but this isn’t a proposal. I’m just meeting the father of a little guy I happen to adore.”
How he managed to put a voice to everything she was feeling was a mystery. She had been freaking out about this being a big step. This entire weekend had been full of big steps. First Carlos had met Dillon, then he’d declared they were together, and now he was meeting Kyle? She knew she had strong feelings for him, but the last thing she or James needed was for her to rush into something neither of them were ready for. She and Kyle had separated a little over a year ago. How long did you wait after a marriage to seriously date someone new? What if she messed everything up because she didn’t wait long enough?
“I can practically see your thoughts racing, Kels. Why don’t you and James go sit at the table and I’ll finish dinner.”
She grabbed her son from Carlos’s arms and sat down at the table. Carlos, meanwhile, took over the meal she’d been cooking while simultaneously carrying on a conversation with Kyle. They were talking about the Texans’ chances of a Super Bowl ring any time in the near future, and it seemed Carlos’s charm even extended to her ex-husband. The man could seriously make a best friend out of anyone. When Carlos invited Kyle to stay for dinner, Kelsey had to clench her jaw to keep herself from reminding him that this was not his house to invite people to.
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she felt like a bitch. Carlos knew this wasn’t his house, and he never really treated it like it was. He’d called it home a few times, but that was a natural slip considering he’d been living here for months now. She was freaking out about the commitment she’d just made and letting her panic color all of her interactions with Carlos. She needed to get her head on straight before she said something to him that she knew she would regret.
Thankfully Kyle had declined Carlos’s invitation for dinner, saying that he had plans with his girlfriend. He and Carlos spent a few more minutes talking sports while Kelsey listened to James tell her fun facts about giraffes. She couldn’t keep the smile off of her face when he spouted off facts like she did. Instead of doing it when he was nervous or embarrassed, however, her son shared facts when he was happy or excited.
“And they spend seventy percent of their lives standing up—they even sleep standing up, Mommy! Do you think I could sleep standing up?”
She laughed, “No, baby, humans sleep in beds.”
He sighed, as though the fact that he couldn’t sleep standing up was the most disappointing news he’d ever received.
“Being a giraffe sounds so much cooler than being a human.”
“Well, how about we put on your giraffe pajamas and you can pretend to be one tonight?”
“Can we pretend I have horns on my head? Carlos and I could fight using them!”
“Carlos doesn’t have giraffe pajamas, baby.”
“Actually,” Carlos butted in. “I may have gotten a package from Amazon yesterday. Did you know that they make adult giraffe onesies with hoods?”
James bounced excitedly in Kelsey’s lap. “You’re going to be a giraffe with me?”
“I sure am!”
Her son turned around and scooted off her lap like she’d showed him, face down and feet first. The minute his feet had carefully touched the floor, he leapt at Carlos who caught him quickly and lifted him up. Through his smile, she saw the tightness in his jaw, indicating he was in pain from the motion. He didn’t let James see it though, holding her son easily while he talked about all of the giraffe activities they could do together.
Kyle joined her at the table, both of them watching their son with this incredible man. A man who had bought an adult onesie so that he could play giraffes.
“He’s a good one, Kels. I never thought I would be telling you to hold on to a guy, but you should definitely keep this dude around. He is so damn incredible with James—he asked for Carlos a few times this weekend actually.”
She smiled. “I don’t know if I’m ready for a serious relationship.”
Kyle scoffed. “Bullshit. Being scared and not being ready are two very different things. Remember that.” He kissed the top of her head and then said goodbye to Carlos and James, stealing his son for a hug and kiss.
As it turned out, Carlos had a little surprise for Kelsey that night—he’d bought both of them giraffe pajamas. After dinner, she, James, and Carlos all got into their onesies and pretended to be giraffes. James wanted to be as accurate as possible, which meant a lot of standing and a lot of head-butting with Carlos—gentle head-butting, as she continually reminded her son. James’s most recent giraffe obsession? Vegetarianism.
“Mommy, we should really be vegetarians too if we want to be like giraffes.”
“But little boys need meat to grow, honey.”
“Not little giraffe boys.”
“To be fair, a little giraffe boy wouldn’t be able to talk either.”
Her son huffed. “Can we be vegetarians for a month?”
“One day.”
“One week?”
Carlos, who had been watching the two of them go back and forth, burst out laughing. “It’s like negotiating with a freaking lawyer.”
“I really wish we could be something that eats meat for a week instead,” she replied. “Like humans. Can we just keep being humans?”
“Nope! We get to be giraffes for a week, Mommy! Can we eat purple Jolly Ranchers all week to keep our tongues purple?”
“No sir, giraffes don’t eat Jolly Ranchers.”
James thought about it carefully for a few moments, likely deciding whether or not he could negotiate this point. “Okay, not Jolly Ranchers. But we have to wear the giraffe pajamas all week.”
Carlos jumped in on this one. “No can do, buddy. I have work this week and you have school. We can be giraffes for bed every night, but that’s it.”
She wanted to laugh at the stern expression on
her little guy’s face. “You’ll wear the pajamas every night?”
“I promise.”
“Okay. No meat all week and giraffe pajamas every night.” He stuck his hand out so that he and Carlos could shake on it.
So that they weren’t just wandering around the house pretending to be giraffes in silence, Kelsey had insisted on putting on her favorite Pandora channel in the background—90s Radio. Carlos stood suddenly when the song changed over, the slow chords of Tracy Chapman’s “Stand by Me” flowing through the room. He held his hand out in front of Kelsey and when she took it, he pulled her into his arms.
She wound her own arms around his neck, and he laid his hands on the small of her back. As they swayed gently to the music, he put his forehead against hers. “I know it’s been a big weekend for us, but I think this should be our song. I know you’re scared, I know that getting into another serious relationship is something you don’t think you’re ready for, but we can take it slow. All I need you to do is stand by me—communicate with me when you’re feeling unsure or unhappy. Promise me you’ll always give us a chance to work things out. Don’t run, okay? You spent a year running from me and pushing me away, no more.”
She felt tears pooling in her eyes, and she answered his request with a nod and a kiss. He kissed her back in sweet, gentle pecks, not once pushing the kiss further. She realized it was the first time they’d been so openly affectionate in front of James, and pulled away suddenly to see her son’s reaction. She’d meant to explain their situation to James slowly, to allow him to adjust to the new relationship.
All of the books she’d read said to have the conversation in an informal environment to ease any tension. They also said to keep the meetings with the new partner short, and to not rush anything. Given their unique situation, none of the above really applied, leaving her unsure how to handle things. When she looked at her son, however, he wasn’t even paying an ounce of attention. He was crawling around the living room on all fours, his little giraffe hood up over his head. She watched in amusement as he crawled over to the two of them and head-butted Carlos’s healthy leg before looking up.