by L. A. Fiore
Mandy didn’t leave Tara’s side. They had always been very close; I couldn’t imagine how Mandy was feeling. Happy for her sister, absolutely, but her best friend no longer would be one room away. Heather being so much younger than her siblings, moved to the beat of her own drum. Like at the moment, she was hanging from a nearby tree.
Paige and Grant had gotten through the road trip that took two days, the family dinners that would signify the last time in a while, maybe ever, that they would all be under the same roof as a family. They endured the unloading of their baby’s things and the setting up of those things in her room. We had gone to lunch and then dinner and now it was time for them to let her go.
Grant hugged her, spoke softly in her ear. Tara had been putting on a brave face too but whatever he said she broke down. Grant held her closer, yanked Paige to them who dragged Mandy into it. Heather, seeing the group hug, jumped from the tree and pressed herself against her dad’s legs.
I turned my head into Greyson’s chest. I was happy for Tara and wanted only the best for her. Growing up, leaving home, it was all a part of life, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like hell. They were lucky though, coming from such a loving and close family. They’d always have that, no matter how much distance separated them; they’d always have each other.
Greyson kissed my head, his arm tightened around me. “Tara is walking over.”
I wiped at my eyes and tried to hold it in, but seeing her beautiful face, a face I had watch mature from an infant to the young lady she was, I lost it. She hugged me, like she always did, as tightly as possible.
“Be safe, be smart and have fun,” I whispered in her ear. “We are all only a phone call away.”
Her face was wet with tears. “Thank you for coming, Auntie Alexis.”
“I wouldn’t have missed this.”
She turned to Greyson. Her crush had mellowed over the years, as we all became family. The thought brought a smile, history repeating itself. Greyson wrapped her close and pressed a kiss on her head. He too whispered something in her ear. She nodded her head before he released her. Mandy walked with her to the door and my heart broke when they hugged, a hug only sisters could have. It was a hug Paige and I shared every time we left the other. Tara looked back at us and waved and then she was gone. Heather walked up to Mandy and took her hand, staring up at her big sister with a smile. Paige wrapped her arm around Mandy’s shoulders as the three of them joined Grant. Greyson and I gave them some time and headed back to the hotel.
“Are you okay?” he asked taking my hand in his.
My focus was out the window, my heart hurt, but not in a bad way. It was beautiful the scene we’d just left. “They are lucky they have that.”
“Yes they are.”
I glanced over at him; he looked back. “One day we’ll experience that.”
He smiled. “Several times I’m hoping.”
“Me too. I can’t believe she’s in college. Life goes so fast. You blink and it’s over.”
He brought my hand to his lips. “But it’s a beautiful ride.”
That night after the girls fell asleep, Paige, Grant, Greyson and I sat at the hotel bar. It had been an emotionally draining few days.
Paige’s eyes were puffy and I knew she wasn’t done crying. “I can’t believe we’re here already. I’ve been preparing for this day, but damn it came so fast.”
I reached across the table for her hand. She held mine tightly. Her focus shifted to Greyson. “What did you say to her?”
“Distance doesn’t make a difference when you’re family.”
Paige teared up.
“We’ll be doing this next year for Mandy,” Grant said then added, “At least we’ll get a break before it’s Heather’s turn.”
Trying to lighten the mood I said, “When Heather is ready, Tara and Mandy might be back home.”
Paige smiled. “I hope so.”
Alexis 2012
Greyson and I stood in the twin’s apartment, his expression matched my own because everything was automated. We were picking them up to go to lunch. Something we tried to do weekly, though with everyone’s schedules sometimes it was every other week. A few months ago we’d all gone home to help Mandy move into her dorm for her freshman year in college. Hard to believe Tara was already a sophomore. Bright side, the girls were both at UCLA.
“We were here not even a month ago and none of this was here,” I said in slight disbelief because it was like it sprung up overnight.
“Check this out,” Dominic said as he hit a button on the wall and Sophia appeared carrying a tray of drinks.
“We have a robot who folds our laundry. Do you remember when we were younger, we tried to figure that out?” Dylan asked.
I couldn’t hide my interest. I loathed doing laundry. “I want a robot to fold my laundry.”
Dylan flashed me a grin, “Done.”
“It’s not the robots you sell, it’s the programming behind the robots?” Greyson would ask about the logistics, me I was just floored seeing robots moving around Dylan and Dominic’s place. They reminded me of R2D2. I wondered if they could make me an R2D2.
“Exactly, we sell the technology behind the robotics.”
And sell they did. They were worth a small fortune. You wouldn’t know to look at them. They still had beanbags for furniture, still wore the same clothes they had in college. All their money went back into research and development they called it. They’d had girlfriends over the years, but none of them stuck. I understood; their first love was their work. They didn’t seem to care about girlfriends or marriage. They were happy and that was all that mattered.
“Hey, can my laundry robot look like R2D2?”
Dylan’s eyes went wide. “Yeah, we can do that or similar because of copyright.”
Greyson was looking at me, really he was laughing at me. He thought he was hiding it with his hand over his mouth. “What? I hate doing laundry.”
“Let’s go, I’m hungry,” Dominic announced.
Greyson reached for the door when he asked, “You don’t have a robot that cooks for you?”
They answered together, “Not yet.”
Laundry. I really did hate it. Not the sorting and washing, but folding and putting away sucked. At least we had a laundry room in our apartment. If I had to go to the basement to do laundry, I swear I’d be like that Emperor and his new clothes.
That burn moved down my spine and I turned to see Greyson in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb. “Your favorite,” he said in way of greeting.
“It really isn’t.”
“Maybe you just need to think about it in a different way,” he suggested. And I appreciated him trying to be helpful, but it was laundry. There was no other way to look at it.
“Any way you fold it, it sucks. See what I did there? I’m a poet.”
He moved into the room in that stride that never grew old watching. His fingers tightened on my hips as he pulled me back against him. Chills danced down my arms feeling him hard, pressing between my ass cheeks. He kissed my neck and ground his hips into me. I fisted the shirt I was folding even as I tilted my head for him. One hand moved up my body, under my shirt to my breast. He yanked the cotton down, cupping my breast, teasing my nipple with his fingers. His other hand went south, under my sweats and panties until he found the heart of me and sank two fingers in. I was clay and he was molding me, working my body into the shape he wanted and that shape was so freaking turned on. He wasn’t immune, his cock was rock hard as he rubbed himself against my ass. He turned me; hot eyes met mine. I was freed of my tee and bra, then my sweats and panties. I was standing naked in our laundry room. I gasped when my ass hit the cold metal of the washer. He pulled his cock free, grabbed my hips and pulled me onto him. My legs went around his waist. He reached behind me. I didn’t know what he was doing until I felt the washer shaking under me.
The spin cycle.
He looked wicked. He pulled out then slammed into me again. My ha
nds went behind me so I could get leverage to lift my hips into his thrusts. He took the opportunity to suck on my breasts, first one then the other. My heels dug into his ass when I came, his control slipped, lifting my ass and pounding into me until he came on a growl. He threaded one hand into my hair and kissed me, sweet and hungry. Against my lips he whispered, “You’ll never look at laundry the same way again.”
“When do you want to start a family?” Greyson asked me later that night. We’d left the laundry room, went to our bedroom and stayed there the rest of the night. He was wishing he had a robot to retrieve us food. Buggers was curled at the bottom of the bed, having joined us when the noises stopped.
We’d been married for five years. It didn’t feel that long and I loved having him all to myself, but I also loved the idea of a little Greyson walking around.
“I’m ready now.” I rolled to him, and rested my head on my hand. One of his arms was tucked under his head, his tattoo visible. I traced it. “What about you?”
“I’m thirty-four. I’d like to have kids while we’re still youngish.”
“Agreed. I want a boy who looks like you.”
“A girl who looks like you.”
“You need a son to continue the line.” Greyson was the last direct descendant unless we had a boy who could carry on the name. Of course it was the twenty-first century. A girl could do that now too.
“We’ll need portraits done.” I was thinking ahead to when we had children. I suppose one needed to be done of me too.
“We have time for that.” Greyson rolled and pinned me under him, his hips grinding into me. “We have to make the babies first.”
Paige and Grant were visiting. Every anniversary, they took off for a few days to celebrate. This year I convinced them to come to New York. I insisted they stay with us. Heather was with Mel and Dee. We were staying in tonight. Last night we did the town, but today we were all tired.
We were lounging in the living room on the awesome sectional that Buggers was having a good time kneading, it was looking a little ratty, but I loved it. Greyson and I could each take a couch if we wanted, but we never did.
I reached for my glass of wine and curled my legs under me. “How are you adjusting to not having Mandy and Tara home?”
Paige was circling the rim of her glass with her finger, thinking of her girls I was sure. “It was an adjustment and we miss them fiercely, but I have to say I’m liking that we have more time for us. We had our kids so young and I’m glad because I like being young parents. I wouldn’t change that, but now that Heather is fourteen, she’s off with her friends a lot so we have the house to ourselves. It’s like we’re newlyweds all over again.”
Twenty-one years of marriage and they still preferred each other’s company to anyone else’s.
“What about you? When are you going to start a family?” Paige asked.
“We’ve already started.”
A huge grin cracked over Grant’s face. It took Paige a minute longer then she moved so fast, she scared poor Buggers off the sofa. “Are you serious?”
“We’re ready and very dedicated to the cause.”
Grant laughed, Greyson chuckled. “It’s a good cause,” Paige said. Then she jumped up and grabbed me, pulling me into a hug. “We can clothes shop and setup the nursery. I get to be an aunt. I’m so excited.”
“You’re putting the cart before the horse, Paige,” Grant teased.
She dismissed his comment with a wave. “It’ll happen. When it’s right, it will happen.”
Alexis 2013
It hadn’t happened. Greyson and I had been trying for a baby for a year. We’d been to the doctors, had the tests to make sure all was well. We were healthy and able, but little boy or girl Ratcliffe was not ready.
I’d finished what I was hoping to get done for the weekly shows, so pulled out the novel I’d been writing for years. It was more an elaborate journal of my life with Greyson. I spent more time re-reading passages than I did writing new ones. Greyson had been putting in particularly long hours lately. I assumed it was a commission piece. I couldn’t wait to see it. The man continued to surprise me with his endless talent.
Buggers curled around my leg. It was time for dinner. He purred and waited for me to pick him up. That was our routine; he was the one to remind Greyson and me to eat. In the kitchen, I fed him first and freshened his water before I looked in the fridge for what to make. I still wasn’t much of a cook, but I was adding to my pitiful repertoire slowly but surely.
Heat tingled my spine. “Good timing. You can cook dinner.” I turned to see Greyson leaning against the counter. He had been looking at my ass and wasn’t shy about it. His hair was back in a bandana, as it always was when he worked.
“I want to show you something.”
I closed the fridge at his tone. Intense, like he had a secret. “Is everything okay?”
He didn’t answer, just held out his hand. He walked me to his studio and waited for me to precede him but my focus was on the painting in the middle of it, a painting of me. It was the one he’d started on our honeymoon. I was dressed in my wedding gown but it was the size of the portrait. My eyes watered and my breath caught. It wasn’t just his sculpture he’d been keeping from me.
“Is that for the portrait gallery?”
His focus was on the painting. “Yes.”
I loved how he saw me, how beautiful I was to him. Just like when we were kids, he made me look radiant and ethereal.
“It’s exquisite.”
His hand moved up my back and curled around my neck, applying gentle pressure to bring my mouth to his. Turning into him, I kissed him deeper. He fisted my tee and pulled it over my head. My bra followed. I yanked at his tee; he grabbed the back of it and pulled it forward over his head. He dragged my sweats and panties down my legs. I returned the favor. He backed me up against the wall, his fingers digging into my ass as he lifted me into his arms. My feet linked at his back, one of his hands slammed against the wall as he jerked his hips and surged into me. Grabbing his face, I kissed him, sweeping his mouth, tasting every part of him I could. It was fast, hard and so freaking beautiful. I came on a scream, he was right there with me. He touched his forehead to my shoulder, his breathing labored.
“That was incredible,” I whispered then added, “But that doesn’t get you out of making dinner.”
He didn’t move, but I felt his body shaking from his laughter.
“Greyson!”
“What!”
He was in his studio, but the door was open so he wasn’t working on anything I couldn’t see. I should just walk to him, but I was comfortable on the sofa.
“What are the chances of getting the blueprints to your home in Ireland?”
His head popped out of his studio. “Why?”
“First, I have to say whoever kept these records was amazing. Everything is detailed, down to the price of napkins for balls.”
He walked from his studio, wiping his hands on a rag.
“With the internet, have I mentioned I really LOVE the internet, it’s amazing how much easier it is to track this stuff.”
He settled next to me. “What stuff?”
“Inventory of assets. Apparently taxes back in the day were based on assets, so it wasn’t unheard of for prominent families to hide some of their assets to reduce their tax burden. After the fire, the inventory of assets for your household changed. Among the things missing was the diamond. I’ve been researching some of the pieces that no longer show up on your household inventory; items similar by manufacturer and date are priceless. If these were sold, they’d be documented somewhere if nothing more than by the auction house that handled the sale. But hard-core collectors would kill to get some of the pieces your family has, which means there would be bragging. I’m finding nothing.”
He took one of the pages listing out the assets. “Like the diamond.”
“Exactly.
“So you think these pieces and the diamond are still
in Taisce Manor.”
“I do. What if when they rebuilt the castle they added a room?”
“A concealed room. That’s not likely to show up on the blueprints if they want to keep it a secret.”
“True, but we could see if the footprint for the rebuild matches the blueprints.”
He brushed the hair from my shoulder, his thumb rubbing along my jaw. “You’re enjoying this.”
“I really am. It’s fascinating and it will make one hell of a book.”
He reached for his phone and called Callum.
“Hey, Grandfather. I’m good and you? She’s fine. She’s right here researching the diamond…yeah. She wants to get her hands on the blueprints for the rebuild…yeah after the fire. Thanks, have Nigel mail them to the house. Thanks. Yep, talk soon.”
He dropped his phone on the coffee table then swiped everything I had on the sofa to the floor. I was about to protest until I saw the heat in his gaze that was fixed on my mouth. I went boneless. He grabbed my legs and pulled me to my back; he wasted no time covering my body with his.
“We should eat.” He looked wicked when he said that. He moved slowly down my body. I closed my eyes. I loved this plan.
Greyson
Alexis and I were cleaning the apartment, she was singing to her favorite tunes. I loved her, but fucking hell she really did sound like Buggers would if he got his paw caught in a door. She looked cute though, shaking her ass to the beat.
With the amount of times we had sex, I was surprised and a little disappointed that we hadn’t conceived. It would come, I was hopeful, but I really wanted to see Alexis in our children. I was looking at plans for a cradle. I’d never worked with wood, but I wanted to make something for our baby. Baby, we needed to make her. That was one way to stop Alexis from singing; my cock twitched in agreement.