Turning the Tide (Eastern Shore Swingers, #5)

by Phoebe Alexander

  Barbara moved back in with her parents in their ritzy Washington DC suburb. Perhaps it wasn’t the glamorous life on the yacht she’d hoped to have with Jim, but at least she was in an affluent neighborhood. She’d lost all the money she’d stolen from their joint accounts, and Luke had a hard time feeling sorry for her. Because of her actions and charges, he was able to claim grounds for a divorce, which meant it would be finalized much sooner than if they’d gone the no-fault route. He was waiting for his lawyer to give him a date for the final proceedings. He was more than anxious to close that chapter of his life.

  Reconciling with his children had been a more difficult path than he’d imagined. His daughter, especially, was convinced her father must have had something to do with her mother’s demise. It was hard for her to deal with the fact that it had been her mother causing the disruption to their lives. And his son seemed bent on pretending nothing at all had even happened. Because of that, Luke was reticent to mention Connie to either of his children for a few more weeks. He just wanted one storm to blow over before he introduced a new one. He still hoped that someday they could be close, maybe have something like what he’d witnessed at the Mitchells’ home between parents and their adult son and daughter-in-law.

  Luke rolled over and pulled Connie’s warm, sleepy body into his embrace. He loved going to sleep with her in his arms and waking up with her limbs askew until he reeled her back in. Since that night the bust and arrests were made, they had not been apart. Connie had simply gone to her apartment that Sunday to pack up her essentials, and then she brought them to Luke’s place a few hours later. It was easy since a lot of it was still packed.

  Connie stirred as her body began to relent to the idea of waking up. It was a work day, and they both needed to rise and shine. They were still playing catch-up with all the appointments from when the practice was closed down. Luke had hired a new office manager, and she was starting today. Their new nurse would be starting the following week. They were in rebuilding mode: a new normal.

  “I don’t want to get up,” she groaned when he nuzzled her neck.

  “You don’t have to get up just yet,” he assured her, pressing his morning wood into the soft curve of her ass.

  “Mmmm...” She turned over to face him. “I like the idea of that. Where do you want me, Sir?”

  He loved how she slipped into sub mode so effortlessly. She could be her normal, stubborn self one second, and then an exchange of sexual energy would fire between them, and she would be all “Yes, Sir” this and “Please, Master” that.

  “On top of me,” he instructed, pulling her up and over his legs till she sat astride him.

  “Like this?” She pushed her pelvis down on his groin, and he felt her heat radiate into him. Satisfied with his open-mouthed moan, she reached down to fist his cock. “May I, Master?”

  “Yes. Go slowly though.” He watched her adjust her hips, lifting up so she could guide his stiff rod deep inside her. She slowly slid down his shaft until he was buried to the hilt in her pussy.

  Three months ago, he would have bet money he’d never have sex again. Three months ago, he not only felt he was unworthy of physical affection, but of love. He never thought he’d share any degree of intimacy with another person as long as he lived.

  My how things can change, he mused as she began to slowly grind herself up and down his cock. They’d had sex nearly every day since she’d come to stay with him, and he didn’t see that changing any time soon. Not only that, but she told him she loved him more times in the past two months than Barbara had told him in their entire quarter-century marriage.

  He had so much to look forward to: seeing their relationship grow, his medical practice flourish, his children embrace adulthood and go on to have beautiful lives of their own. There was only one thing hanging over him that he knew would enhance all of the above, and he planned to put that into action later that day.

  “May I come, Sir?” Her voice floated into the air, disrupting his thoughts with its breathiness. He loved it when she asked permission.

  “Yes, love. Come on my cock,” he encouraged her. He reached up to grab her hips, thrusting up into her pussy as she slammed down onto him. He wasn’t going to last too much longer at this rate either.

  She leaned down and put a hand in each side of his face before brushing her lips against his. Her breaths were coming fast and hard now, in rhythm with her movement up and down his shaft. He could always tell when she was close: she’d suspend all motion and her pussy would throb before exploding into strong spasms that would milk the cum right out of his cock.

  This morning was no different. She stilled, cried out, throbbed and then unleashed the onslaught of cock-squeezing upon him, and he could only reply with his own strangled moan and release.

  Everything was set.

  He couldn’t have asked for better weather if he’d had a special phone line to the Man Upstairs. It was the most glorious of summer days. The sun was a brilliant golden orb spreading its glory through puffy white clouds. The temperature was warm, but not unbearable, and down by the water, there was going to be a delicious breeze, he could just feel it.

  He thought about how strange it was that he and Connie had never had a proper date in all this time they’d been seeing each other. And he was pretty sure that meeting surreptitiously at a swinger club was not proper. Then there was the time they went out to lunch just hours after getting the shock of their lives and learning they worked together. That was certainly not proper either.

  This was going to be a proper date. The kind of date that put all other dates to shame.

  “Why can’t you tell me where we’re going?” She was wearing a gorgeous navy sundress her sister had picked out for her, along with a pair of red sunglasses that made her look like a movie star. She’d changed in the bathroom at work just like Luke instructed.

  “No questions,” he demanded. “If you ask another question, I’m going to bend you over my knees and spank you.”

  She giggled at his threat. Why was he surprised? Any moment, she’d defy his warning and ask a question just to get a nice hot handprint on her ass.

  He drove her down to the Sunset Marina where Cap had one of his boats ready for them. Luke had left a cooler and picnic basket at Cap’s shop, and he noticed immediately his friend had it stowed and ready to go. “Cap, you’re a good man.” He shook his buddy’s hand as they climbed aboard.

  The boat captain gave him a wink. “Hey, Doc, I’m just glad this story is gonna have a happy ending.”

  “Shhh...don’t give it away!” Luke moved his finger to his lips to shush his friend.

  If Connie noticed, she didn’t say a word. Instead, she was enamored with her surroundings, her head darting around to take everything in: the gulls swooping down to the water’s edge, the tall masts of the other docked ships, the sunlight dancing on the surface of the rippling waves.

  Luke took her hand and guided her to the bench seat where they could stare out the bow of the ship as it parted the waves and carried them to their destination. As they headed further south, the sun began to arc toward the horizon, warming the western sky to a salmon pink while the clouds drifted by with their golden-peach underbellies. It was absolutely breathtaking, and the best part of it was the way Connie leaned her head on his shoulder and squeezed his hand as the wind nearly blew her hat off her head. She finally gave up on it staying, so she handed it over to Luke, who preferred watching her blonde tresses blow against her sun-kissed cheeks, anyway.

  When Cap arrived at their destination, Luke hopped off and raised his arms to Connie, giving her an encouraging smile to leap down and let him catch her.

  “Are you serious? I’m not jumping down from here! I’ll knock you clean over,” she worried.

  “I’ll catch you. I promise!” He shot her a cocky smirk and figured if he had to do any more cajoling, he’d have to put on his Dominant hat and bark out an order.

  “Fine, but if we both end up wet, then it’s
all your fault.” She turned back to look at Cap before leaping off the ladder into Luke’s waiting arms. He spun her around, ignoring the impulse to say, “I told you so.”

  They waded through the warm, shallow bay waters to the island while Cap stayed on the boat. He gave Luke a thumbs-up, then put his headphones on and reclined in his captain’s chair with his feet propped up comfortably.

  Luke spread the blanket he’d packed out on the beach while a tiny crab protested their intrusion on its space as it ran toward the water with its pinchers flying in the air. “Go ahead and sit down. I’ll get everything else ready.”

  “This is so romantic!” she gushed as she sat with her legs spread to her side, the skirt of her sundress covering her thighs. Only her bare feet poked out from beneath the navy fabric.

  “It’s high time I did something romantic for you!” He gave her a smile as he fished the champagne flutes from the basket and the champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries from the cooler and set them all on the blanket. Then he popped the cork and poured the fizzy liquid into the two glasses.

  “Oh, will there be a toast?” she asked with a curious arch of her brow.

  “I hope so.” He watched her eyebrow return to its original position before she furrowed both brows in further puzzlement.

  He sat down beside her and began the speech he’d been rehearsing for weeks. “I’ve never been an impulsive guy. Going to medical school was probably the most impulsive thing I’ve ever done. The second-most impulsive thing was probably going to The Factory when Cap invited me. Every fiber of my being warned me against going, but there was this tiny part of me that thought, ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’”

  She giggled because, boy, did they ever get that question answered.

  “I’ve always been the type of man to carefully weigh all my options, to proceed with caution and try to gather data to support any decisions I needed to make. I’ve always acted deliberately, usually after making multiple pros and cons lists.” This time he laughed at himself. “I think I missed out on a lot in life by being so risk averse,” he admitted. “And by caring too much what other people thought of me. I was always more interested in making others happy than myself.”

  “I think you are still more interested in making others happy than yourself,” she observed, placing a gentle hand on his knee. “That’s one of the things I love most about you.”

  “I know,” he agreed, “but sometimes what made me happy was in direct opposition to what made others happy. So I was pretty quick to concede to the other person.” He cleared his throat. He was definitely not going to bring up his ex—alluding to her was bad enough. “I think I finally found a situation where I can make someone else happy, and in doing so, make myself happier than in my wildest dreams.”

  She tilted her head and gave him a smile, soaking in the beauty of his words along with the gorgeous coastal scenery. There couldn’t be a more a romantic setting than a private beach on the warm, clear bay waters with the early evening sun gilding the earth in layers and layers of gold.

  “And I’m not going to waste any more time,” he promised her. “And like I dove right into the whole BDSM thing, I’m going to go after this too. What’s the worst that could happen?” With a wink, he popped up onto one knee, causing Connie to instantly cover her mouth in shock. “I know my divorce won’t be final for another month or two, and many might see this as a wild and crazy—not to mention premature—impulse—”

  He reached into his pocket and brought out a tiny velvet box, which he opened to reveal a diamond ring that glittered with the brightness of a star. “But I hope you will understand it’s something I need to do, risky or not.”

  She gasped, her eyes fixed on the sparkling stone before she glanced up to meet his gaze.

  “I want to stake my claim to all of you, Connie Stewart: body, mind, heart and soul. Will you marry me?”

  “Oh, god, does this mean I’m going to become Connie Cannon?” She burst out laughing as she lowered her hand to where he waited to slide the ring on her finger.

  “It sounds like a porn star name, doesn’t it?” Luke joined in her laughter.

  She accepted the ring and held her hand up to catch its facets in the radiant light of the basking sun. “I don’t even care.” She turned to him and cupped his face with her hands. “I would love to be Connie Cannon if it means being yours.”

  The two kissed, sealing their promise to each other before Luke raised his glass and gave a toast to their future happiness. They fed each other chocolate-covered strawberries, and then, as the sun sank further into the outstretched arms of the earth, they climbed aboard the boat. Cap returned them to the marina where all their friends were waiting at the Sunset Grille to celebrate their engagement.

  Casey raised her glass to toast the betrothed couple. “Our Factory Family has so much to celebrate this year! Cap and Leah gave birth to healthy twins; Joshua and I were reunited; Paisley and Calvin are expecting their first child; Sirena and Jessie are getting married soon; and now my sister and the man of her dreams are engaged as well!”

  “Here’s to all our Factory Family!” Cap agreed, raising his glass. A boisterous cheer went up from around their table as everyone clinked glasses and took a sip of their drink.

  Casey reached down to squeeze her sister’s hand in her own before looking over to her new brother-in-law-to-be. “It’s going to be really hard to top this year, but knowing our family, we’ll figure out a way!”

  Connie bent down to give her man a kiss on the cheek. “I don’t care if we never top this year. I’ll be perfectly happy with status quo for a long while.”

  Luke gazed at his beautiful fiancée with love in his eyes. “Oh, I don’t know. With two Cannons in the family, we’re sure to blow this year out of the water!”

  THE END

  Be sure to catch the next installment of The Eastern Shore Swingers Series. Join Phoebe’s newsletter at www.phoebe-alexander.com

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  It’s hard for me to believe this series started five years ago when I was lying in bed with my friend with benefits (who is now my husband). I bolted up in bed and told him my idea of having a very religious woman fall in love with a swinger, thereby having her faith and entire belief system challenged. That’s when I started to envision the male character as another friend with benefits I saw off and on who was a boat captain. I loved the triple meaning of Fisher of Men, and knew immediately that had to be the title. After readers finished that book, they wanted to know more about Cap and Leah and all their friends at The Factory. I had no idea there were at least four more books in that universe just waiting to be written, but here we are with book number five! And I can guarantee there will be at least a few more. *wink*

  Thank you to all the usual suspects: Jared my PA, Tina my proofreader, Colleen at Itsy Bitsy, Helene and Kristine at I Am a Book Hoarder, Natasha at Read.Review.Repeat, and all my Angels who have been waiting patiently for this book (Bridget, Nancy x2, Kelli, Jennifer x2, Colleen, Shelly, Launa, Teri x2, Lisa, Rebecca x2, Steve, Christina, Melanie—you all come to mind! I also want to thank those whom I bounced around ideas about BDSM workshop activities.

  Next, a huge thank you to all my readers who buy, read, review, and share my work with your friends. You are the reason I can do what I love for a living, and I thank God for you every single day.

  Infidelity is a topic that comes up in lifestyle circles all the time. I’ve always wondered why our society believes it’s okay for one partner in a monogamous relationship to take sex off the table entirely, while vilifying the other partner for objecting to that arrangement. I’ve heard the “if you don’t like it, leave the relationship” argument so many times, but in real life, situations are far more complex. I’ve had friends in this situation, including a friend on whom Luke is patterned. To some he is a “cheater,” but I see him as someone who has taken care of his wife with medical issues for years instead of abandoning her, while taking care of hi
s own needs on the very rare occasion an opportunity presents itself. He’s not happy with the arrangement. It’s not ideal, but it’s one of those things where you get by the best you can. I feel it’s wrong to judge someone in that situation when you’ve never walked a mile in their shoes.

  I began to wonder what a character like Luke would be like mixed in with the “Factory” crowd. I had been thinking about his character for a long time, but wasn’t sure what kind of woman would be right for him. It was only after falling in love with Casey’s sister, Connie, during Sailors Knot that I realized she would be a good match for someone like Luke. And I had no idea what all poor Luke faced when I started the book, but I’m glad to say he found his happily ever after. I wish my real-life Luke would find his too.

  What’s next for the Eastern Shore Swingers? I’m planning a holiday tale for the fall. I’m sure you want to see if Calvin and Paisley have a boy or a girl, right? Plus we’ll be checking in on all our favorite couples. Stay tuned!

  Xoxo,

  Phoebe

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Phoebe Alexander writes #sexpositive #bodypositive erotic romance featuring compelling plots intertwined with passionate, fiery encounters. She believes that real, relatable characters can have even steamier sex than billionaires, rock stars, and the young and lithe-bodied. She also advocates for ethical non-monogamy through her writing.

  Phoebe lives on the East Coast with her husband, sons, and multiple felines. When she's not writing, she works as an editor and consultant for indie authors. She also volunteers her time running a 3000-member indie author support group. Free time is her single greatest fantasy, and if she happens to have a moment she spends it at the beach, traveling, shopping or...wait, who are we kidding? That's about all she ever gets a chance to do.

  Join Phoebe's newsletter at phoebe-alexander.com or follow her on Twitter @EroticPhoebe, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/phoebealexanderauthor, or on Instagram @authorphoebealexander