by London Casey
“How about Sawyer realizes that we are alone in the apartment and have time to spend together?”
Kate inched toward me and moved to her toes. She clawed at me, pulling me down to kiss me.
When our lips touched, I realized something I hated to admit.
I had spent so much time protecting her… when in reality, she was the one protecting me. From myself.
I loved her for that.
I kissed her harder, slipping a hand behind her back.
I pulled her close and held her in my arms.
But only for a few seconds.
After all, Kate was right… we were alone…
2.
I left a trail of bad intention kisses up her inner thigh as I kissed her beautiful sex. She thrust her hips off the bed with a breathless sigh and I slid my hands around to her ass and held her in place. I could have stayed there all day - maybe the rest of my life - savoring her sweetness, never being able to fully quench the thirst she made me feel. And that was fine by me.
Her nails dug at my shoulders as I kissed her faster, letting my tongue run rampant, loving her taste, loving the way her hips danced, loving the noises she made as they echoed around the bedroom.
I moved my hands to her sides and followed the curvy lines of her body all the way to her breasts. I eased over her breasts and she quickly put her hands to mine, squeezing. I growled, not wanting to be told what to do. She began to grind her lower half at me and I forever kept control with the tip of my tongue, knowing where to touch and how to do it. With just a few precise flicks against her tender nub, her body froze other than her hips quivering, begging for more. I kissed against her sweetness and turned my head just a little to take her into my mouth. Now I moved as though I had only seconds to live. There was no mercy given because I wanted to feel all of her as she let go.
Her entire body quivered and convulsed as I took her to the edge and beyond.
I savored every inch of her, moving up and breaking away with a loud kiss. She quickly looked down at me, biting her bottom lip, ready for more.
I kissed up her body and took my hands away from her breasts. I offered her a couple sweet and flirty kisses to each breast as I moved to my knees, showing her what her body did to me. She reached for me, her hand scaling my hard thickness, tip to root, and right back up. I sucked in a breath and hissed, knowing she had the dangerous power of making me explode way too early.
I leaned forward, putting my hands to the bed, doing a mini-pushup so I could kiss her. Our lips and tongues attacked each other as her hand continued to tease me. She finally gripped tight at the root of my throbbing cock and pulled, wanting me inside her. I lowered down, feeling her swollen warmth accommodate me as I slowly began to offer her myself, inch by inch. Going so slow that I had to break the kiss and grit my teeth. Kate grabbed my face and pulled me down to kiss me again. There was a quick moment when I swore to myself I was going to let go. I hurried to pull back and growled deep in my throat. Kate lifted her hips, not letting me get away. I thrust at her, taking myself to the hilt. Now she was the one breaking our kiss, her head going back as she cried out my name.
I kissed her neck and began to love her.
My hands touched from her hips all the way up to her face. I slid my fingers down her arms and interlocked my fingers to her hands. I put her hands over her head and kept her there. My body tight against hers. Our eyes staring at each other. Her legs wrapped tight around my body. And I didn’t stop loving her.
And I never would stop loving her… ever.
3.
She rested her head on my chest. The covers were just above her hips. I stared across the room, still feeling drunk from her body. I could taste her on my lips and feel her on my skin. My left hand gently played with her hair, releasing the smell of her shampoo. It drove me wild, making me ready to go again.
“Darling, I need you to tell me what you want to do with everything,” I said.
“What do you mean?” Kate asked.
“Everything, Kate. I walked back into everyone’s lives. I can prove myself to the guys at the shop. I can deal with throwing a few punches with Tate when things get crazy. But when it comes to you…”
“Sawyer, just be here,” she said.
“I’m here,” I said.
“Good. Nothing else matters to me. I’ve loved you from the moment I met you. You took what was left of my innocence and left it in the middle of the street the first time we ran from the cops.”
I laughed. “I think a lot of your innocence was lost in the back alleys and rooftops and under the stars.”
“If the stars could talk…”
“Oh, I’m sure the stars were blushing as they watched the things you learned to do with me.”
Kate popped her head up. Her cheeks were red. “Stop.”
I grinned. “I want forever with you. The forever we never talked about but our eyes always teased. I want that for real.” I reached for her left hand and made damn sure she knew what that meant as I touched her ring finger. “The kind of forever that makes you scared because there is everything to lose.”
“I can’t be scared when I’m with you,” Kate said.
“What if I leave again?”
Kate curled her lip. “I’ll chase you down and I’ll cut your dick off.”
“Whoa. That’s crazy stalker shit right there, Kate.”
“That’s what you do to me,” she whispered and bit my chest.
I laughed and tickled her side, right at her ribs. She jumped and screamed, and I rolled her to her back and had her pinned to the bed.
“Don’t mess with me,” I whispered.
“Why? What are you going to do to me?”
“I love you,” I said.
“I love you too, Sawyer,” she said and touched my face.
“I want you again. Right now. I want to spend the rest of my life in this bed with you.”
“I know the feeling.”
“But what do we do now?” I asked.
“Face reality,” she said. “Together.”
“Naked?”
“No.”
“That’s lame.”
“It’ll give you something to look forward to later,” Kate said. She pushed at my chest and I rolled away from her. She threw the covers off her beautiful body, just to tease me.
“You’re evil,” I said.
“Yes I am. And you want every part of me and my wickedness.”
I climbed out of the bed and put my jeans on.
Kate still hadn’t moved.
She tortured me, waiting until I got dressed before she slowly dressed herself. The best part of her getting dressed was that I’d get to undress her again later.
And I’d get to have her for the rest of my life.
TWENTY-SEVEN
KATE
(1 MONTH LATER)
Tate was Jason’s father. Which meant Jed was completely out of all our lives for good. In fact, I didn’t even ask if anything happened with him coming to the shop and his parole and all that. As far as I was concerned, that part of my life was done and over with. I couldn’t bring my sister back. The decisions she made may have ultimately caused her life to be cut short, but at least we all had Jason.
“Okay, I think that’s it,” Sawyer said as he carried a box full of junk. “I don’t think there’s anything else that could possibly be hiding in this apartment.”
He put the box on the counter and wiped his forehead.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re a pack rat, darling.”
“No I’m not.”
“You have cable bills from five years ago.”
“For tax purposes.”
“What?”
I laughed. “Did you pack the old cable bills?”
Sawyer flicked the cardboard box. “Yeah, I did.”
“Thank you.”
Sawyer kept to his word and sent me and Jason to find a new apartment. I really didn’t want to move for the sake of havin
g Sawyer save me, but honestly, we needed to move. Jason deserved a better place to live. The apartment was good to us. It was the best I could provide for myself and him and I would never look back on the apartment and feel regret.
I found a little house right near the edge of Hundred Falls Valley to rent. Sawyer wanted to buy a house but I told him I didn’t want to do anything that big just yet. The house was a comfortable cape cod with a fenced in backyard and a swing set. The second Jason saw it he fell in love. I signed a one year lease… well, we signed a one year lease.
That was a first for us. Signing a legal document together. Talk about growing up a little, huh?
“I don’t think I ever want to move with you again,” Sawyer said.
“Oh, I’m sorry I’m not emotionally numb like you and don’t save anything.”
Sawyer grinned. “All I need to take with me is you.”
“Really? Are you trying to do the guilty romance thing to me?”
“Is it working?”
“Yeah, it is,” I admitted.
Sawyer walked toward me and took my hand. He backed up to the fridge and pulled me down to the floor. We sat there in silence for a few seconds, just holding hands.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “You?”
“Perfect.” I pointed and smiled. “That’s where Jason walked for the first time.”
“What?”
“One day. I was carrying him and a bag of groceries. I was having a bad day. I got inside and bent over just a little and a carton of eggs fell. Hit the floor and half of the dozen broke. I burst into tears and wasn’t even thinking as I put Jason down. He stood and just started walking.” I laughed. “I put the groceries down and left the eggs smashed on the floor for the rest of the night.”
“That’s why you’re a great mother,” Sawyer said. “No matter what happens, you need to tell yourself that. You’re a great mother, Kate.”
I put my head to his shoulder. “I’m glad everything is moving forward. I hate to say goodbye to this place and the diner, but it’s time.”
“You and Maggie are going to do great things together,” Sawyer said. “And the one thing you never have to worry about anymore is Jason. He’s going to be taken care of. By everyone around him. That kid really is lucky.”
“He is,” I said. “But he’s most lucky because he has you.”
“I’m just the fun uncle now.”
“So he’s going to call you Uncle Saint and call me Mommy? How does that work?”
Sawyer looked at me. “I don’t have any of this figured out yet, darling. I’m confused half the time. But to end my day with you in my arms, it’s worth it.”
“Kiss me, Sawyer.”
We kissed and as his hands started to get a little playful, the door opened.
Jason came bursting into the apartment, looking for me. He had a bag in his hand and wanted to show me his new toys from Tate.
Tate.
That’s what he called Tate. There was no Dad or Daddy yet.
I sat on the floor and watched Jason dump out a bag of new rubber animals while Sawyer stood up.
Tate stepped into the apartment and looked around. “Wow. I guess you’re all set.”
“I guess so,” Sawyer said. “How was your afternoon?”
“Great. I think we hit every park in town. Got something to eat. Hit the toy store.”
I kept a close watch on the two of them as they were still feeling the entire situation out. I knew it hurt Sawyer that he couldn’t be the ultimate father figure to Jason. And I knew it hurt Tate that he wasn’t there with Kira or fought harder for her. Or said something sooner. But when I looked at Jason I knew the past meant nothing. It was really about moving forward and the future was Jason. The future was our new little rental house. The future was finding the family balance.
“Heading to the shop?” Sawyer asked Tate.
“No. I closed it up for the day.”
“What? Why?”
Tate grinned. “Brother, you’ve got a lot of stuff to move. Everyone is meeting over at the new place to get you unpacked.”
“Kate’s a pack rat,” Sawyer said.
“Thanks for that,” I said.
“You really closed the shop?” Sawyer asked.
“Yeah,” Tate said. “We’re a family. We all stick together. Good times and bad.”
Tate looked from Sawyer to me. Then down to Jason. He swallowed.
Sawyer grabbed Tate by the shoulder.
I felt my heart skip a beat.
“You’re doing great, brother,” Sawyer said. “It’ll all work out. I promise you, Tate, if he ever asks anything, I’ll be honest.”
“I know,” Tate said. “Face it, Sawyer, you’re my best friend. And I’m yours. We can fight each other as much as we want, but this is it.”
“Don’t remind me,” Sawyer said. “Best friends… you going to buy us one of those necklaces that break in half so we each get a piece?”
“You already have that,” I said. “It’s called St. Skin.”
“That’s true,” Sawyer said. “Okay. How about we go to our new house now?”
“Yes!” Jason yelled. “I want to see my room and play with my toys!”
“You got it,” I said. “Why don’t you go with your…” I froze.
“Tate,” Tate said. “Why don’t you come with me, big guy?”
Tate winked at me.
We were slowly figuring out how to explain everything to Jason.
It was always about timing.
Time was a friend. Time was an enemy. Time was there. Time was gone.
Tate walked Jason out of the apartment.
Sawyer offered his hand and helped me to my feet. “Ready to say goodbye to the old place?”
“No,” I said. “I’m not going to say goodbye.”
“In case you decide to leave me and come back here?”
I laughed. “Sorry, Sawyer. If anything, I’ll kick you out and you can go have a playdate with your BFF.”
Sawyer pulled me close and put his nose to mine. “You’re my best friend, darling. You’re my everything.”
“Good. Now help me move all my pack rat stuff and don’t complain.”
“What do I get if I don’t complain?” Sawyer asked.
I put my lips to his ear and whispered something private and dirty. I kissed his ear and broke away from him.
For the first time ever, it looked like Sawyer was blushing.
And here he thought he was the one in control.
TWENTY-EIGHT
SAWYER
(2 MONTHS LATER)
“I told her she had to leave. That our time was up.”
“Right after sleeping with her,” Maddox said. “You’re a really good guy, Prick.”
“No, literally, time was up. The timer was beeping.”
“What?” Axel asked. “You set a timer?”
“Yeah,” Prick said. “Look, my rules are strict. You know exactly what you’re getting and for how long. So there’s no confusion. No cuddling that leads to falling asleep that leads to a weird morning with a forced breakfast or whatever.”
“You really are a prick,” I said. “I mean, it’s amazing.”
“Do you have like an egg timer or do you use your phone?” Zayne asked.
“My phone,” Prick said.
“The real question,” Cass said, “is this… what happens after the thirty seconds when you blow your load?”
“Why even set a timer?” Axel asked. “Two pump hump and you’re gone.”
“Fuck off,” Prick said. “I know what works for me.”
“Or is the timer set to know when to stop inflating her so she doesn’t pop?” Maddox asked.
We all laughed.
The front door to St. Skin opened and in came Tate and Jason.
Jason finally understood that Tate was his father. He didn’t quite understand how it worked with the fact that he called Kate Mommy and that I lived with them. Bu
t it was about taking baby steps. Which we all were.
“Hey, it’s the kid,” Prick said. “What’s happening, J-man?”
“Hey, P,” Jason said.
“How’s the old man doing?” Zayne asked.
“Huh?” Jason asked.
“Nothing, kid, nothing,” Zayne said.
“How about everyone goes back to work?” Tate asked.
“Meeting over,” I said.
“What was this meeting about?” Tate asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Pri… uh… P… was showing us how to use a timer on his phone,” Maddox said.
“He only knows how to program it for thirty seconds though,” Axel said.
“I’d say something,” Prick said, “but there’s a kid here.”
“Good call,” Tate said. “Talk to you all later.”
Everyone split up except for me.
I crouched and offered a fist bump to Jason. “Good day?”
“Yeah,” Jason said. “Daddy ran a red light.”
“He did what?” I asked.
“It was yellow,” Tate said. “Turned red as I went through.”
“He’s a bad driver, huh?” I asked Jason.
“Almost as bad as Mom,” Jason said.
I laughed.
Damn, the kid made me laugh all the time.
It wasn’t easy hearing him call Tate Daddy the first time. But the pride on Tate’s face made me happy. I felt like a big mush. The way I loved Kate. Reading bedtime stories to Jason. Being happy for Tate.
“Hey, Jason,” Tate said. “Go into my office and relax for a minute.”
“Okay. Bye, Sawyer.”
“Bye, kid,” I said.
“I got some stuff to show you about the new building,” Tate said. “And we need to go over our list of people to call to bring in.”
“Yeah, sure,” I said. “We can sit down and talk. I have a sketch I’m working on now. You should go enjoy time with Jason.”
“I am. Hey. Thank you.”
“Thank you? To me?”
“For being here. Back here. It’s not the same without you. And thank you for taking care of Kate. And Jason.”
“Look, I don’t want to do the best friends thing again.”