Other Side of Love (A Different Kind of Love Book 5)

by Liz Durano

  “It’ll be temporary,” he says. “I’ll put in for a transfer back to Taos and before you know it, you’ll get sick of seeing me.”

  “I doubt it.”

  He chuckles. “That’s good to know.”

  “But you’re sad.”

  He swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing as I pull away to look at his face. I’ve been wanting to say those words since yesterday, after my family finally left his apartment and he drove me to mine where we’ve been ever since. It’s in his eyes. It’s in the way he sat on the couch yesterday staring at his phone. Just before I joined him, he turned it off but I saw the picture on the display before it went dark. His mother, sister, and two brothers. I don’t even know their names for he’s never told me.

  “Tell me about your family,” I asked him then and I could have sworn he tensed up before he forced a smile.

  “Maybe another day,” he replied. “I’d only bore you.”

  I smiled. “I doubt it.”

  He thought for a moment before shaking his head, his eyes sad. “Not right now, Sarah.”

  I knew then to let it go.

  With everything that happened, I need to focus only on Ryan and making sure he’s charged for his crimes. Maybe after all this, Benny will finally tell me. But until then, I’ll have to wait until he’s ready.

  “So what’s the plan today?” He asks a few minutes later. “Do you need help packing?”

  “I think my mom and Nana have that task down like the pros that they are,” I say, giggling. “I had to make sure my…um, personal toys were out of the way before they found it.”

  “What about the bars under the bed? Leather straps and everything?” Benny asks and I stare at him, my eyes, wide. “I mean, we have had three straight weeks of playing and testing them out before you went out of commission.”

  I laugh, burying my face in his chest. “Just wait until I’m back in commission again.”

  “We better get off the bed so I can take them out. I’ll install them in my place in Taos.”

  I look up at him. “Planning ahead?”

  He grins. “Of course. The doctor did say four weeks before you can do anything, um, strenuous.”

  I bite my lip, my hand drifting lower to press against his erection. “Well, the way I see it, I’m not the one who’s going to be doing anything strenuous.”

  “You’re right.”

  Benny closes his eyes as my hand slips under his boxers to stroke him. “Besides, after all the excitement the past few days, I’ve been… how shall you say it… feeling a bit neglected.”

  “How neglected?”

  I squeeze his shaft, running my palm over the head of his cock, pre-cum already coating the tip. “This neglected.”

  “Are you sure that’s not painkillers talking?”

  “No, I want the pain. Your kind of pain, the one only you can deliver,” I whisper, kissing his tattooed chest, my hand stroking him, squeezing him.

  “Be careful what you wish for,” he murmurs. “We’ll be doing acrobatics with that ankle of yours in a minute.”

  I look up at him, hunger darkening his gaze. “Is that a promise?”

  “Oh, definitely, princess. I’ll have that ankle of yours up to your ear very soon.”

  I bite my lip, giggling. “I’m waiting.”

  “You’re bad. What happened to my obedient sub.”

  “Guess you’ll have to check on her and find out. I hear she can be very naughty sometimes. She can be a brat, actually.” I giggle when Benny lowers his head, his beard tickling my neck.

  “Oh, I know that very well,” he murmurs, kissing my neck and the skin behind my ear, giving me goosebumps. “In fact, I just might need to do something about that right now.”

  As he rolls me onto my back, making sure he doesn’t bump my ankle, I find myself feeling much lighter than when I woke up this morning. Butterflies flutter inside my belly as Benny’s hand pushes my oversized t-shirt aside to cup my breast, rolling a nipple between his thumb and index finger, his mouth on mine, his tongue already tasting me.

  As he moves down my neck, his hand drifts lower down my belly to the heat between my legs. I barely remember the throbbing in my injured ankle, all sensations concentrated wherever his mouth descends. My mound, my folds, my sensitive clit.

  “Benny…”

  “You better text your mom and tell her not to come too early,” he murmurs before kissing the skin inside my thigh. “Or she’ll be in for a surprise.”

  I glance at the clock, realizing he’s right, and reach for my phone on the bedside table. I gasp when he sucks on my clit and slides a finger inside me.

  “You taste so fucking good.” He slides another finger inside me and I moan, the simple act of typing out a text message suddenly difficult.

  Can u come an hour later?

  Benny’s tongue feels exquisite and I rest my phone on my chest as he locks my hips down on the bed with his arms, the sound of my moans filling the room.

  Sure. Breakfast burritos okay? Green chile?

  Yes. Just don’t come yet.

  I chuckle as I let the phone drop on the side of the bed, not waiting for a reply. Surely Mom will understand.

  “They got the message?” Benny slips a third finger in and I arch my back, closing my eyes as his tongue laps at my folds.

  “Yes… and they’ll bring breakfast burritos… oh, God, Benny…” I turn my head to the side, burying my face in a pillow as my orgasm builds. “Oh, and green chile.”

  “Is that your safe word?”

  I glare at him, fighting back the giggle that almost ruins the moment. Benny grins and lowers his head and I gasp as he sucks on my clit again, his fingers moving in and out of me, driving me to the brink.

  He molds his mouth to my pussy, his fingers corkscrewing in and out of me. I can’t take anymore. I want him inside me.

  “Fuck me, Benny. I can’t take anymore.”

  His dark eyes gaze up at me. It’s so primal, so carnal, and I love it. I look down at him, my fingers gripping his hair. “You forgot something, Sarah.”

  “Please fuck me, Sir,” I gasp and like a magic code word, he moves up, kissing the heated skin of my belly, my breasts, and then my mouth, his tongue giving me a taste of myself as he presses the head of his cock at my entrance.

  “Say it again,” he murmurs and as I do, Benny thrusts deep and hard, filling me completely, his lips capturing my scream. His roughness in bed is what I crave. It ignites, it quenches, it consumes me. As he watches me, his eyes darken, the part of him that I awoke that one night come to life. My salvation. My everything.

  “Benny…” His name becomes a mantra I repeat again and again as he slides in and out of me, filling me, driving me to the edge and back. Nothing held back because there’s nothing left to be held back. I’ve given him everything.

  Benny captures my wrists and pins them to the bed over my head. His mouth descends on mine, swallowing his name as it escapes from my lips. I can feel my orgasm building, burning through me, a tight wet heat that propels me to the very brink.

  “Ben–” His hand covers my mouth as I come, his name muffled against his palm. This is how it’s going to be for us, the push and pull of my submission and his domination, a continuing exploration of a dynamic we want together.

  Two years after I first asked him, Benny gave me everything I wanted.

  “Sarah…” When his own release comes, the sound of my name from his lips is like a drug I can’t be without from this moment on. The way he looks at me, the way he holds me, the way he claims me like this is like the air I breathe. I want him. I crave him.

  I love him.

  Epilogue

  Dax emerges from the garage as I park my truck in their driveway. The kid’s arms are covered in sawdust from whatever he’s making but he’s got a huge grin on his face as he walks toward me.

  “Tell me if you can spot the nails.” He hands me a smooth wooden box. It’s light in my hand, its edges sanded smooth and eve
n.

  “There are no nails.”

  “Glue?” He persists. “Where did I glue it together? Can you spot it?”

  I want to tell him he didn’t use any glue because he fit the box together using Japanese joinery. But that would only bring the poor kid down. His excitement is palpable.

  “Here.” I point to a spot where the longer piece joined up with the shorter ends. “You glued them here.”

  “Nope!” Dax grins as I hand him back the box. “I used joints. Japanese joints. They’re called sashi...wait, sashi something.”

  “Sashimono,” I say as Dax nods.

  “I checked out that Japanese guy you told me and Dad about and his work is amazing. Long waiting list,” Dax says. “Dad ordered a piece for his office and it’ll take the guy over a year to make it. Isn’t that crazy? But Dad’s gonna wait.”

  “Wouldn’t you wait if you knew it’ll be one of the most beautiful things you’ll have in your office?”

  Dax shrugs. “I guess.”

  “Does he have apprenticeships available?”

  “He says I’m not ready,” Dax replies, exhaling. “A bummer, but Dad says he’s right. Takeshi-san. That’s his name. You add the ‘san’ at the end as a sign of respect, you see.”

  “One day soon you’ll be ready, though, right?” I say, doing my best to be hopeful even as my stomach is growling at the aromas drifting from the house. Green chile is definitely on the menu today.

  “Yeah. He says I can hang out at his workshop in the meantime, but he can’t take me on as an apprentice right away,” Dax says. “Dad says I have to earn it. Like making tea for the kung-fu masters, like in those Jackie Chan movies.”

  “So you ready to make tea for the next few years before Takeshi-san decides you can be his apprentice?”

  Dax thinks for a moment, studying the wooden box in his hands. “I think I am. It’ll keep me out of trouble, that’s for sure. And Dad will be happy I’m not just sitting around my room playing video games all day.”

  “Benny, I could have sworn I heard you arrive,” Pearl says from the garage door leading into the house. “Come in. And Dax, shower up before you join us at the table. You’ve been out here since morning.”

  “Ask him if he even brushed his teeth before going out to the garage this morning,” a sassy voice retorts from inside the house as Dax rolls his eyes.

  “She’s back to her usual annoying self, you know, my sister,” he mutters. “So good luck, man. You’re gonna need it.”

  I chuckle as Sarah emerges from behind her mother, screaming my name as she runs toward me. There’s a very slight limp in her gait but her ankle is finally healed.

  As she flings herself into my arms, I can’t believe it’s been a month since I last saw her, that last time we barely left my bedroom for two days. Maybe that’s why her parents decided to have me over for lunch first before I whisk their daughter away to my little fortress across town.

  I barely hear Dax saying he’ll see me inside. All I can hear and see and feel is my sassy and (according to her brother) annoying woman in my arms. She smells of chile, flour and sage, a weird combination but I like it.

  “So that’s why you wanted that wild sage bread recipe from me last week,” I murmur as I put her down and pick a piece of dried sage from her hair. The recipe had been my mother’s, one I’d written down for Noelle a long time ago although she never got around to making it.

  “I’m in charge of the bread since I can’t seem to cook anything else. I can’t handle any smells of meat right now,” she says, taking my hand and guiding me into the house through the garage. “But it’s because I’ve been cooped up inside the house since I left Shiprock. I can’t wait to go back to work but Dad’s not so sure yet. We still have crazies hanging outside the gate so we can’t let the security guys go. Not that they probably want to leave, they’re both starting to gain weight from Nana’s cooking.”

  I laugh, Sarah’s excitement so evident as she rattles on. Now I understand why Daniel keeps in shape. You have to with all the delicious dishes his mother-in-law and wife make whenever he’s home. Someone should have warned the security detail.

  As we step inside the house, no one needs to tell me what’s on the menu. My stomach growls at the aromas wafting from the kitchen, of chile stew with corn dumplings, green corn pudding and Sarah’s wild sage bread. Wanna bet, there’s probably also a plate full of sopapillas because they’re a staple in the Drexel household.

  Like fry bread.

  My chest tightens and I’m suddenly somewhere else.

  Shi’ma standing in front of the stove. My grandparents shucking corn. Marjorie setting the dishes on the table. Tahoma and Tsela arguing on the couch over whose turn it is to play next. Even Ray, in a rare sober moment, walking behind his wife to give her a pat on the rear.

  My jaw clenches. My mouth turns dry.

  Twice, I’d driven to the homestead only to have my twin brothers awkwardly standing outside, tasked with the job of telling me I’m no longer welcome. They wouldn’t even take the jugs of water I’d brought with me, the bags of groceries I’d bought for everyone.

  We’re not even allowed to talk to you, Tsela mumbled, avoiding my gaze. Dad will get really mad at us.

  And he’s watching us, so just leave, bro. Don’t make it hard for us, Tahoma said.

  And that’s what I did, not needing a third attempt to get their message.

  I’m not wanted. Not anymore.

  “Hey.” Sarah tugs arm. “You okay?”

  I clear my throat. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just… taking in everything.” I squeeze her hand and smile. “I can’t wait to taste the bread you made.”

  Sarah’s eyes narrow as she gazes at me, as if unconvinced, but only for a moment. She wraps her arms around my neck, burying her face in my chest. I kiss the top of her head, inhaling the scent of sage and flour, my arms tightening around her.

  “Thank you, Sarah.”

  She doesn’t say anything and it’s enough. She knows. She understands.

  “Hey, you two. Ready for lunch?” Daniel asks as I pull away and shake his hand. He’s casual Dad today, dressed in a plaid shirt over a white t-shirt and khaki pants.

  “Yup.” From the corner of my eye, I can see the two security guys in the kitchen, one of them tasting something from a spoon that Nana is holding up to his mouth. He gives her the thumbs up and I chuckle. Sarah was right. They’re starting to gain weight.

  “Sarah here told us what your favorite dishes were,” Pearl says from the kitchen. “We’d already had posole the other night so we had to come up with something else.”

  “Hope you like it,” Nana says in heavily accented English.

  “Oh, I will, Nana,” I say, laughing. “I made sure to come hungry.”

  The door from the garage opens and Gabe behind me.

  “Whoa!” Daniel exclaims as Gabe shakes my hand. “Where’d you come from?”

  “The garage door was open so I just walked in,” he says as Daniel presses the button to close it. “Hope Dax asked you first, Uncle Dan, but he called and asked me to come over. Said he didn’t want to be the only one under twenty-one in here. Said he’s surrounded by oldies.”

  We all laugh as Gabe shrugs, disappearing in the direction of the bedrooms.

  “The kid knows he’s always welcome in here just as you are, too, Benny,” Daniel says, ushering Sarah and me toward the table. “Grab a seat.”

  “I need to wash up first.”

  “Me, too. We’ll be right back.” Sarah grabs my hand and guides me toward the hallway leading to the guest bathroom.

  “You two don’t take too long in there,” Pearl says as Sarah walks past the bathroom and right into the study, pulling me right behind her. The moment we’re both inside, she closes the door and steps right back into my arms again. This time, our lips meet and the hollowness that had been in my chest just moments earlier fades away, the emptiness that had come with the memories of my family replaced with all the love
I could ever want in her arms.

  I draw away and stroke her face, as if needing to make sure she’s real. Her temples, her cheekbones, my thumb tracing her full lips that widen in a smile. Sarah looks radiant, her blue eyes sparkling as she gazes up at me.

  “I have something to tell you.”

  “Yes?”

  “The bathroom wasn’t the best place to do it but I can’t wait anymore.” She takes my hand and brings it lower, past her breasts and letting it rest over her belly. “I think it was the painkillers that did it. Made it fail.”

  I frown, her belly warm against my palm. “Made what fail?”

  “The pill,” she whispers, biting her lip. “I’m pregnant, Benny.”

  The words echo inside my head as I stare at her. “What?”

  “Two months,” she continues as the words finally make sense and I can’t breathe.

  “Are you serious?”

  She suddenly looks scared. “I’m sorry. I think me being on the painkillers made the pill fail and–”

  I pull her to me, no longer hearing anything else she’s saying as I hold her tightly, not wanting to let go. Tears prick my eyelids. “We’re pregnant,” I murmur against her neck. “We’re pregnant, Sarah.”

  Her body relaxes in my arms. “So you’re okay with it?”

  I look at her in wonderment. “Why wouldn’t I be okay with it? You’re pregnant. We’re going to have a baby.”

  “Yes, we are.” She wipes the tears that cling to my eyelashes, her voice breaking as she continues. “Oh, Benny, now you’re making me cry, too, and wanna bet, when we tell them later, my mom’s gonna cry buckets.”

  “I won’t tell anyone.”

  We laugh at our silliness, at our shock and seconds later, at the fresh tears rolling down our faces as we do our best to tell ourselves to get a grip.

  “We have to tell them, Benny,” she says, cocking her head toward the door. “Together.”

  I pull her to me and kiss her, tasting the salty taste of her tears on her lips. “Together.”