by Evelyn Sola
“Jake’s the only one who’s scared of your mother, Tash.” Luke’s voice has lost its confidence, and when he looks at me for confirmation, I say, “Speak for yourself.”
“Really? You should know she’s looking over here right now. All I have to do is change my expression, and she’ll be here demanding to know what’s going on and why her daughter looks upset.” She takes a step closer. “Try me.”
Jake laughs as he waits for me and Luke to speak.
“Fine. We won’t mess with your cousin anymore,” Luke finally says. I turn my head slightly, and sure enough, Mrs. Etienne is watching us. I lift my glass to her, but her sharp eyes remain on us, studying the scene.
“You better not or you’ll have to deal with me and Mama.” She places her hands on her hips and tries to make herself appear taller. Luke laughs but tries to cover it up as a cough. “You got something to say?”
She looks around at all of us, and we all put up our hands in surrender.
“What about you?” she asks Chris.
“Only that I’m really turned on right now.”
“Well then,” she says, grabbing his tie, “let’s dance, big boy.”
As she leads Chris away, we all laugh.
“Jesus. I didn’t do anything and even I was scared,” Troy says, causing us to laugh even harder.
“Boys,” Jake’s dad says as he approaches, “let’s go have a real drink, not this pink froufrou crap.”
CHAPTER 32
JASON
I know Alex wants to tell me we’re going in the wrong direction, but she doesn’t. She holds on to my hand as we walk down the embankment to the beach. As much as I loved the wedding and being a part of it, I’m happy my obligation has come to an end.
Eager to have some alone time with my woman, I quicken our pace, finally slowing down when we reach the beach. We stop, take off our shoes, intertwine our fingers and walk like lovers who have all the time in the world.
We walk in silence, the Clark house getter further away with each step. It’s a beautiful night, the full moon providing a soft glow.
Suddenly, I stop walking and turn to Alex and stare at her beauty. A soft summer breeze blows through her hair, pushing it to cover half her face. I touch her soft hair before brushing it out of the way. She looks more mature today. I don’t know if it’s because of the big loose curls or because of the dress she’s wearing, but she looks different.
The makeup she had worn for the wedding is long gone. The only thing left on her face is her happy smile. I lean down and inhale her skin. She smells of cake and alcohol.
“This is romantic,” she says, breathless.
“I guess I haven’t been romantic, huh? We’re always at my place, usually with my sister. And we get here and I’m cockblocked by groomzilla.”
“Groomzilla was like a needy chick.”
We throw our heads back and laugh, but I lean down and kiss her mid-laugh. With her mouth already open, it’s easy for me to slip right in. Her lips are salty but soft. She sighs into my mouth and presses her body against mine as her delicate hands caress the back of my head.
When my body starts to wake up, I pull away.
“I brought you here to tell you something, but you keep distracting me with your mouth and with these.” I lay both hands on her breasts.
“I can control my mouth,” she says, laying her hands atop of mine. “But I can’t control these.”
“Thank goodness for that.” I squeeze them again, and she moans.
“Hurry up and say it so we can go. I want you, Jason.” She tilts her head and tries to kiss me again, but I take a step back and remove our hands. I hold both hers in mine as I look into her eyes.
“I’ve thought about this all weekend. I wanted to tell you the first day we got here, but groomzilla called and interrupted the moment.” My speech is as hurried as the beating of my heart.
“Tell me what?”
“How I feel about you. I know we just burst into each other’s lives. I was totally unprepared for you, but you were what I didn’t know I needed.” I stop talking and look down at our joined hands. “God, did that sound corny? I don’t want to sound like one of those Hallmark Channel movies Mellie watches.”
She opens her mouth to speak, but I quickly cover her mouth with my hand. “What would you say if I told you I love you?”
Her eyes widen, but she doesn’t speak right away. She takes a deep breath, and I hold mine. The wind blows, and a piece of her hair blocks her face, forcing me to move it behind her ears. She inhales at my touch, and her eyes fill with tears.
“I don’t know what I’d say. I guess you’d have to tell me first.” A lone, stray tear falls, and she quickly wipes it away. Despite the darkness, I can see the pinkness of her cheeks and the glow of her eyes, more tears just about ready to fall. “You love me?” she finally manages to choke out.
“I know it was fast, and it’s only been a couple of months, but that’s how I feel. I think I fell in love with you that very moment we collided, and maybe I lost my ability to speak so I couldn’t tell and scare you off for good. You’d have run from me then. I fell in love with your beauty, but then I fell in love with the rest of you. You’re everything I didn’t know I wanted. You’re funny, beautiful, and kind. I know you didn’t want to be with me at first, but I hope that now—” I stop talking, unsure of what to say next. “I’m fumbling this, aren’t I?” I take a deep breath.
“Start at the beginning.”
“The beginning?”
“Yes, the question you asked before you went on that long soliloquy.”
“What would you say if I told you I love you?”
“I would say, I love you too. I would say that maybe you knew before I did that we would have this all-consuming love. Maybe you saw our connection, and I was late to the party. You talk about how I’m beautiful, but you Jason, you live beauty and love in everything. You’re the selfless one out of the two of us. Maybe I’m everything you didn’t know you needed, but you’re more than anything I’ve ever wanted. You’re everything to me. I was a fool when we first met, but I’m the luckiest fool on the planet because you didn’t give up on me.”
I pick her up and spin her around, our screams and laughter the only sounds on the deserted beach. With her still in my arms, I carry her back to our shoes before we run back to the car.
When we get off the elevator in the hotel, she takes off her heels, jumps in my arms and wraps her legs around me, uncaring about her dress bunching up at the waist. I pin her against the wall the minute we step into the room, kissing her neck and cleavage.
“Hold on, Jason.” She moans between kisses. “I want to get cleaned first.”
“But I want you dirty.” I capture her mouth again and walk us over to the couch, where I drop her with a loud plop. Her mouth opens, letting out a whoosh sound at the sudden movement. Without giving her a second to protest, I get on my knees in front of her and stick my hands between her legs to remove her tiny little thong, tossing it into a far corner of the room.
I waste no time in lifting her dress above her knees, exposing her bare pussy. The second my tongue hits her clit, she’s moaning and calling out my name. She lifts the dress and runs her hands over my head. She’s both sweet and salty as I play with her cunt. I slide one finger inside of her, and she wiggles on the couch.
“Oh, Jason.” She sighs, breathless. “Yes.” I continue, bringing her to the edge. When I know she’s close, I stop and pull my pants down to my ankles. I lift her and take her place on the couch, positioning her so she can straddle me.
Knowing exactly what I want, she places her hands on my chest as she lifts her body from my lap. I hold my cock, aligning myself at her entrance. She slides down, her pussy hot, wet, and stretching to accommodate me.
I grab her ass in both hands, squeezing her flesh so hard, I know my handprints will be on her skin for days to come. She continues to ride my cock as she sucks on my tongue, simultaneously grinding on me.
I don’t know where my body ends and hers begins, but she breathes into my body, giving me life. I absorb it all. I take it all. Her moans increase and I can feel her stiffen on top of me. She breaks the kiss and looks into my eyes, showing me the most beautiful sight.
“I love you,” she says as she spasms on top of me. As good as she feels, it’s those words that push me over the edge to my own release.
I come inside of her, filling her with my love.
It takes us several minutes to catch our breath. I stay inside of her until I soften enough to slide out. I can feel remnants of our lovemaking sliding out of her.
“Wow,” she says, laying her forehead on mine. “After that romantic stuff on the beach, I thought we’d come in here and make love while gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes. This was fast and nasty.” She takes a deep breath and gives me a mischievous smile. “Just the way I like it.”
CHAPTER 33
ALEX
The moonlight casts a warm glow in the bedroom. He watches me from across the room as I slide underneath the covers. He’s always watching, whether he’s nearby or across the room, I know his eyes will be on me. Those brown eyes have a way of making me feel beautiful with just one look. His smile, which is never far away, has a way of communicating with me without words. If I’m across the room, and he looks at me a certain way, I’ll know exactly what he wants. I don’t know how, I just do.
If he’s nearby, his hands are always touching me, whether we’re holding hands, or his hand simply rests on the small of my back. Sometimes, I’ll just lean into him, against his broad chest and let him carry my burdens for me. It only takes a look, a touch, or a smile, and I’m whole again.
“What’s taking you so long?” I turn on my side to watch him. After reeking of sex after hours of passion, we finally finished our shared shower. He’s doing the same thing he does at home. He has one towel wrapped around his waist and another laying across his shoulders.
He dries his shoulders and head with the latter before tossing it across the room. Next, he dries the rest of his body, his taut muscles bulging. I never cared about a man’s size before. I’m no Amazon, so the few men I’ve dated have always been taller than me, but there is something about being with someone his size.
He finally finishes drying his body and tosses that towel too. Like me, he doesn’t bother with clothes. I pull down the covers, and he slides in next to me, his body causing the bed to dip.
“Jesus, you’re insatiable. I’m right here.” He pulls me into his arms, and I feel so small and safe. I inhale him. He smells of the Dove soap we used in the shower.
“How do you have time to maintain this body, Dr. Dupree?” I run my hands over the wide expanse of his chest, grazing my fingertips over his smooth skin. I glide down his side, causing him to tense. I’ve discovered that Jason is extremely ticklish. He removes my hand from his rib cage and lays it back on his chest, but I’m not satisfied with just that. I slide my hand down his stomach, feeling the bumps of his abdominals. I go down farther and feel the head of his hard dick bump against my hand.
Once again, he takes my hand and puts it on his chest. This time, he keeps his much larger hand on top of mine, holding me in place.
“I thought you said you were sore.” After our last round in the shower, I told him I needed a break.
“I am. I just want to touch you.”
“Fine but stay in the northern hemisphere because your hands are dangerous.” He pulls me closer, and I lay my head on his chest, right above his heart.
“Oh!” I jump out of bed, remembering something. He leans up on his elbows and watches me as I run across the room and find the purse I wore to the wedding. “Look at what I have.” I pull out a package wrapped in napkins. I walk back to the bed and slowly peel away the paper, revealing two pieces of wedding cake.
Jason reaches out and grabs the one on top, the movement causing some of the icing to come off. Just as I’m about to grab the icing and shove it in my mouth, he beats me to it. “Mine,” he says, his voice muffled by the cake.
By the time I’m on my second bite, he’s finished his and eyes mine. I twist my body, shielding my cake from his view, but I didn’t account for his long arms. He reaches around me, breaks off about half of the cake I have left and eats it before I can take it from him. When he eyes the piece in my hand, I put the whole thing in my mouth and start to chew.
“Dammit, I wanted that, but seeing you put the whole thing in your mouth has given me ideas.” I ignore him and loudly lick my fingertips.
He moans suggestively and pulls me into his arms.
“You’re a great boyfriend except for when you steal my food.” He snorts and pulls me closer. He rubs the top of my breast with his fingertips.
“If I had known you had that in your purse, I would have eaten all of it by myself. I don’t play when it comes to cake.”
“Then how do you look like this?” I rub his muscled stomach. “It’s not fair.”
“You know I have a basement? I turned half of it into a gym.”
I look up at him, shocked. “I know no such thing. You’re keeping secrets.”
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to get rid of the gym equipment and rent it out as a garden apartment, but since I’m surrounded by women all the time, I’m keeping it as my man cave. No girls allowed.”
I make a point to lift my head, look in his eyes, and dramatically roll mine. “Nice try, but you’re outnumbered.” And because he looks so handsome with his dark brown eyes and full lips, I dip my head down and kiss him. Remembering the soreness between my legs, I pull away before either of us takes it too far.
“This has been the best weekend,” I say wistfully. I sigh deeply and snuggle closer as he plays with my hair. Goose bumps spread across my body at his playfulness. I’m not used to that. As great as my mother was, she was never one for playfulness. She would take me places, expose me to things, but she was always more on the serious side. His touch is like a lullaby and soon my eyes become heavy.
Right as I’m about to doze off, he says, “Can I ask you something?”
CHAPTER 34
JASON
She’s exhausted. I know it because I’m the one who tired her out with hours of sex, alternating between rough and gentle. My woman likes it rough, which was a pleasant surprise.
Everything about her is a surprise. She looks at everything in wonder, as if she’s experiencing things for the first time. Her reaction to seeing this room and the Clarks’ summer home. The way she quickly wiped her tears after hearing Jake’s vows to Sandy, probably afraid someone would see her vulnerability. The way she reacted to holding Travis, handing him to me like he was a bomb about to go off. But the most surprising is how she looked and studied Sandy and Tash over the past two days. She watched their every interaction with interest, and if I’m not mistaken, envy.
“I know you said you never met your father. Why is that?” I hold my breath, unsure of her reaction. She talks freely about her mother, but her father is not someone she’s ever mentioned. She remains still and unmoving. I think maybe she fell asleep until she starts talking.
“I don’t know why. My mother would never talk about it. I asked though. I was sixteen the last time I brought it up with her. I got so angry when she wouldn’t give me any straight answers and yelled at her. She burst into tears and started crying hysterically.” She drops her voice and stops speaking, almost as if she’s transporting herself back to that day. “I had never seen my mother cry before. I dropped the subject and never brought it up again.”
We’re quiet for several minutes. I ponder her words, thinking them through.
“Recently, I’ve been wondering if she was really upset or if that was her way of manipulating me. I’ll never know. For a while, I thought I might have been the product of a rape, so I never brought it up again.”
“You don’t believe that anymore?”
“No, I don’t. I did for a while, but I don’t bel
ieve that’s the case anymore. I haven’t believed that for a while now.”
“I’m sorry.” That’s all I say, thankful that I didn’t have to tell her about my suspicions of manipulation. “We can find him, Alex. If that’s something you want to do.”
“I like how you said we. When I’m ready to have a conversation with him, I’ll want you with me.”
I kiss her forehead and lay my cheek on her hair. “I’ll be there.”
“Why? Because you love me?”
“That’s kinda how it works.”
She yawns against my chest, her warm breath breathing new life into my body. “You’re killing this boyfriend thing. I love you, too.”
She falls asleep almost instantly. Her breathing evens out and she snores softly. She snuggles even closer to me and I consider whether I should dig around and find her father.
As crazy as my parents can be, they never shirked their parental duties, at least not with me. When it became clear I was academically gifted, they enrolled me in science camps, computer coding classes, and advanced math classes. They tried to do the same for Mellie. Unfortunately, she wasn’t a good student. My parents started comparing her to me instead of exploring her individual talents. That’s when her resentment toward me started. I was sixteen, and she was thirteen, and she didn’t test well enough to go to the same STEM school I attended. Their disappointment was obvious considering the money they spent on tutoring. That’s when I lost my sister completely. She’d always kept her distance, but after that, she became hostile. Combative.
Reliving my history, I decide to only get involved in finding Alex’s father if she asks.
Alex turns on her side and I follow, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her back into my chest.
“So, tell me about you and Mellie. The first week we met, she said you guys weren’t always close, but you asked her to move here with you. She went on and on about her brother. It was sweet.” She looks at me with her doe eyes, waiting for me to speak about my sibling.