Risking the Crown

by Violet Paige

  His hands brushed over my shoulder as if I were wearing my hair down. “Did I tell you how pretty you looked at the wedding?”

  I turned in the sand so that I was leaning into him, chest to chest. “No, I don’t think you did.”

  “Don’t tell Sasha I said this, but you were the prettiest girl in the church.” He kissed my neck. I felt little shivers cascade down my spine. His fingers laced through mine, drawing me even closer.

  I giggled. “You are not supposed to say that. Today was Sasha’s day.”

  “But I mean it,” he growled against my ear.

  We stayed like that for a while, pressed against each other, the bonfire roaring nearby while our friends danced up a storm on the beach. I loved dancing, but I loved being held by Cole more.

  “Cole?” I looked at his face, glowing with the last flames of flickering firelight.

  “Hmm?”

  “Take me to bed?”

  He smiled. “Do you think we’ll make it in the house?”

  I blushed, tipping my chin toward him, daring him to kiss me in front of everyone, although everyone was coupled off and I doubted anyone would notice.

  “Do you want to make it in the house?” I teased. My eyes locked on his. This shameless seduction had me burning up for him. I didn’t think he was serious, but I was completely turned on.

  I was addicted to pregnancy sex.

  “Why don’t we start walking back and you’ll find out.” He stood from the log we used as a seat, his hand extended.

  Every part of me started working in overdrive. My breath was rapid, my skin sensitive to his touch, my pulse surging rapidly. All I could think about was how tangled up we were going to get before we even walked through the door.

  I didn’t bother saying good-bye to Mary Ellen or Lance. We disappeared into the shadows and followed the dunes to our cottage before anyone realized we had left the party.

  I started to climb the stairs when I felt Cole’s hands sliding along my bare legs. He was a few steps below me, and I kept a slow pace as I climbed to the next step, not wanting to lose his touch. I stopped, clutching the railing as his hand reached between my legs, and over my backside, gripping the waist of my panties and guiding them down my legs. I closed my eyes, reminding myself I had to breathe and keep climbing the stairs. I stepped forward, allowing him to work them over my ankles.

  Thank God, we didn’t leave the lights on the ocean side of the house. I didn’t expect to arrive beachfront at the end of the night. I took another step. His hand was pushing the sides of my dress up as he eagerly fought to dip along my hot wet skin. I stopped until his chest was heaving against my back. I needed him to steady me, all the feelings were incredibly intense—the ones in my heart and the ones raging through my body.

  His mouth descended on my neck, and I reached behind me, grasping at the back of his head. The harder he kissed me, the more his fingers reached inside me. Twirling and spreading until I was craving every ounce of him.

  “Cole, we’re outside,” I moaned. It wasn’t the first time we had made out by the beach, but the way he was escalating things, I could tell he wasn’t about to stop.

  “Keep walking.” He bit my ear.

  I did as he commanded until I was at the top of the stairs. The sliding glass door was in front of me, and I could see our beautiful new couch, but Cole twisted me toward him, catching my mouth with his passionate lips. He walked backward until he was leaning against the railing. I grasped at his neck, pulling him deeper into the kiss, knowing I was abandoning any sense of reality. His tongue lashed against mine with lightning strikes that had my head spinning.

  I heard his pants drop to the deck, and his belt buckle clang against the wood. He hiked my dress up over my hips and brought my one leg to the crossbar on the railing. I realized exactly what he was doing. His fingers dug into the small of my back as I climbed onto the frame with my other foot, this time with certain purpose. I planted a kiss on his mouth then sank with all my force onto his wide cock.

  “Oh God,” I whimpered.

  I began to rock against him, taking us both to new heights on the deck, high above the ocean, in the dark, far from the bonfire on the beach, but knowing we were igniting something in each other we could never extinguish.

  “So fucking beautiful. Fuck me harder, baby,” he commanded.

  He braced himself against the railing as I brought us closer together, and then worked to the edge of us dying to be connected again. He groaned as I slid against him. The wind whipped over my face as my head reeled back. I had never felt such total abandon, yet complete connection with another person. I smiled when I saw him bite down on his lip. I was driving him beyond crazy.

  “Don’t hold back, baby.” He met my eyes with hunger. “My leg’s fine.” He clutched my bottom, driving me harder and deeper against him. “Don’t stop. Whatever you do, don’t stop,” he moaned in my ear.

  “Oh my God, Cole.” I thought we might burn the house down, starting with the top deck.

  “You feel it? Everything between us?” His teeth raked over my shoulder until he was bearing down on my neck.

  I nodded against his chest before I called his name, needing him to release me, to keep me like this forever, to hold me tighter, to let me fall.

  The strength in his hands rocked me higher and deeper than I anticipated. My hands reached for the railing on either side of him. But just when I thought I could keep the intensity going, keep giving him this part of me, keep making him feel all the love I had for him, my body began to break and shatter from the inside out. I folded in his arms, breathless and hungry for more.

  “Take me to bed, please,” I begged. “I need you. More. I need more.” It wasn’t enough. Reckless insane outdoor deck sex wasn’t enough.

  Cole didn’t say a word. He wrapped his arms around my back and carried me straight to our bedroom where I fell in love with him all over again.

  28

  Cole

  I poured milk into Grayson’s bowl. I sat next to him with my cup of coffee. He laughed as the Cheerios made an O on his spoon.

  “Look.” He pointed.

  “Yep. That’s an O.” I cut up a banana and tossed some blueberries in a bowl with them. He was a big fruit eater.

  Kaitlyn was sleeping. I knew she was exhausted after last night. After everything.

  She had gone above and beyond for Sasha.

  Grayson shoved a banana slice in his mouth. “Mmm.”

  God, I didn’t know if my heart had ever been this full. I loved that girl. And if she hadn’t been the one to convince me to take a chance. To break the rules. I don’t know where Grayson and I would be.

  She had done everything for him. There was a calendar on the fridge with his snack schedule and show and tell days for preschool. She made sure he was ready for picture day, and that he had play dates with other kids.

  She held him when he cried. She slept next to him when he had his earache.

  And then there was my fucking accident. She put up with more than anyone should have to. And what did she do? She loved me through every second of it.

  I was whole because of her.

  I knew before the wedding last night. I knew before she told me about the baby. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.

  “Hey, Grayson, want to help me surprise Kaitlyn?”

  His round eyes gleamed. “Surprise? Like birthday?”

  I laughed. “Sort of. A little different. Can you sit here a second?”

  He nodded, occupied with his cheerios.

  I kept a fireproof safe in the back of his closet. I grabbed the key from the kitchen drawer and walked to Grayson’s room. I stuck the key in the lock and twisted it until it was open.

  I held the ring box in my hand. It was the one thing I had from my mother that meant anything to me. I cracked the lid. The diamond glittered even after all these years. I snapped the lid shut and walked back to the kitchen.

  “Ok. Here’s what we’re going
to do,” I explained to Grayson. “I need you to draw a picture for Kaitlyn, ok?” He nodded. “I’ll get her breakfast ready and then we’re going to surprise her with this present.” I held up the ring box.

  “I wanna see.” He jumped to try to grab it from me.

  I put it in his hands. It was his future too.

  “Wow.” He looked at the ring. Yeah, it was wow.

  “Ok. You get to work on the picture. Here are the crayons. I’ll make pancakes.”

  Twenty minutes later we had a display put together on a tray. Kaitlyn had used this a hundred times to bring me snacks and meals when my leg was healing.

  I hoped with the cloth napkin and the flowers from the garden that it carried a different message.

  I was so fucking nervous. I swallowed hard.

  “Let’s go.” I nudged Grayson forward as he tottered down the hall. He pushed the bedroom door open.

  Kaitlyn stretched her arms wide and he climbed on the bed with her.

  “Good morning.” She smiled.

  “Good morning.” She looked gorgeous.

  “Surprise.” Grayson giggled.

  She started to sit up. “What’s this?” She looked at the tray.

  “This is breakfast in bed. I thought you might want some extra rest.”

  She nodded. “I’ve never been this tired in my life.”

  I sat on the edge of the mattress and presented the tray. “Surprise.” Grayson giggled again.

  “It’s a great surprise.” She still hadn’t seen the ring box. “Pancakes are my favorite.”

  “Baby.” I eyed her.

  “What is it?” She looked confused.

  I placed the tray next to her. I couldn’t take it any longer. I picked up the box.

  “Oh my God. Oh my God.”

  I nodded as the lid cracked. “I know exactly what you meant when you told me you kept trying to find the perfect time and place to tell me about the baby, but life kept getting in the way.” I watched her eyes mist. “I’ve thought of a hundred ways to do this.” I pulled the ring from the velvet cushion. “And after last night, I realized the only thing that matters is that I do that. That I tell you how much I love you. That you know I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” I held the diamond between us. “Kaitlyn Sinclaire, will you marry me?”

  “Marry me,” Grayson chirped next to us and we laughed.

  “Yes. Yes.” Her hand trembled as I slid the ring over her knuckle.

  She wrapped her hands around my neck and I kissed her. “I love you, baby.”

  She looked at Grayson. “Please tell me it’s not because of the baby,” she whispered.

  I shook my head. “I wanted to ask you the first night you moved. I swear.” I looked at her. “I couldn’t make it fall into place. And if I keep waiting it never will.”

  She kissed me again, climbing into my lap. Grayson had jumped off the bed and was making a fort with pillows.

  “I thought I was happy, but this is happy,” she whispered.

  I pressed my forehead to hers.

  “It is.”

  “Did you tell my dad? Ryan?” she asked.

  I groaned. “Not yet.”

  She bit her lip. “This could be a fun Christmas.”

  I laughed. “I don’t care how you want to do it. As long as when we get on the other side you’re my wife.”

  Her eyes lit with mischief. “That sounds kind of hot.”

  I skimmed the outline of her breast. “You are going to be my wife,” I growled.

  She nodded. “Your wife,” she echoed.

  Grayson jumped off the pillows and landed with a thud. She nodded toward him. “I guess we can celebrate together a little later.”

  “Or go for a family walk on the beach?” Maybe it would cool us down until I could fuck my soon-to-be-wife into as many orgasms as she waned.

  “Yes.” She smiled. “We are a family, aren’t we?”

  I looked at the ring on her finger. The one my mother had worn. “Yes. We’re family. My family.”

  “Can I eat the pancakes now? The baby is starving.”

  I laughed. “If he wants pancakes, eat pancakes.”

  She stuck her fork in the center. “Who said it’s a he?”

  My eyes widened. “You think it’s a girl?”

  She shrugged. I saw the gimmer in her eye. “Scared of pink?”

  Oh hell. A daughter?

  I shook my head. “No. Not at all.”

  She giggled. “Not according to your face.”

  “I can handle a girl.” I balked. I knew nothing about girls. I knew football. The Marine Corps. Tools and trucks. My brow started sweating.

  Kaitlyn winked. “Don’t worry. We’ve got this.” She squeezed my hand.

  And it was true. We did.

  29

  Kaitlyn

  Monday morning rolled around, and Cole and I both went to work like usual. Nothing felt normal though. I had a big diamond on my hand.

  He hadn’t heard from Aiden and I still had guests at the Dunes I needed to visit. It was also stock delivery day, and Sam, the driver, liked to unload early so he could hang out and chat about his grandkids for a while.

  I hadn’t asked Cole yet what to do with the pending reservations on the books or the ad I had paid for through the end of the year. I wasn’t completely ready to trust that Aiden would drop the suit. When Cole had a signed contract in his hand, I’d believe it. I realized the wedding magic might have gotten to everybody Saturday night. It had swept me off my feet.

  Mary Ellen had made it to Chapel Hill without plans from Aiden. I assured her again he just had too much on his mind to map out a long-distance relationship. I knew from experience trying to book plane tickets and visits weren’t easy when you lived in two different states. He was clearly a perpetual flirt. I just hoped for Mary Ellen’s sake that he wasn’t a heartbreaker too.

  “Hey, pretty girl.” Cole ducked his head in the door.

  “Hey. What’s going on?” I didn’t plan on seeing him this early.

  “I got a call from Aiden. He said he wanted to talk to both of us in a few minutes.” He strolled into the office.

  “Me?”

  He nodded. “Yep. Said it involved you too, but wouldn’t get into it on the phone.”

  “What do you think it is?” My stomach was already twisting in pretzel-sized knots. I would punch him if he backed out of the deal he and Cole had struck at the wedding.

  Cole huffed. “Trying not to jump to conclusions. Never a good idea.”

  I laughed. “You? That’s funny.”

  He shot me a look. “I’m just saying I don’t trust the guy.”

  “I get that. I don’t blame you.” We waited until Aiden arrived.

  “Good morning.” He closed the office door and took the only empty seat.

  “Hi, Aiden.” I smiled. He was my best friend’s boyfriend, or something like a boyfriend.

  Cole nodded in his direction.

  Aiden didn’t waste any time. He launched into the reason he was in the office. “I’ve done some thinking, and I’ve gotten some new information.”

  I leaned forward; the knots tightened. The little shit was going to back out of the deal.

  “Cole, I don’t think I can accept your deal.” Aiden sounded completely matter-of-fact.

  I closed my eyes. I should have known this would happen. It was all too good and perfect to be true. Things were coming together too smoothly. Cole had been right about Aiden all along.

  “What in the hell are you talking about? We shook on that deal.” Cole stood from his seat. Normally, I would jump up and try to calm him down. Try to protect Aiden’s handsome face from Cole’s fist, but not this time. He deserved whatever was headed his direction.

  “I know we did, but that deal’s not right.” Aiden showed no remorse.

  “Not right? You get more than fifty percent. How is that not right?” The vein on Cole’s neck was throbbing. Not a good sign.

  “Because I h
ave a better deal for you.”

  I sat up in my chair. “What do you mean? What could possibly be better than what Cole offered you?”

  He looked at both of us. “Like I said, I’ve done some thinking. I think there’s a better business move here that we could all benefit from. I made a few calls yesterday and this morning. I have a new offer for you.”

  Cole stood motionless. “Go on.”

  “What if we go into this as fifty-fifty partners? We could update the motel and turn the rooms into condos, add a second story like mini apartments and sell them to the snowbird demographic Kaitlyn has started drawing here. We could make some big money on the real estate end and still keep the land rights for the management side of things.”

  I knew I was capable of speaking, but right then, I didn’t know how to make my mouth work. Aiden had completely shocked me.

  “Why are you offering this?” Cole questioned him.

  “It’s a better deal. We can make more money in the long term, along with the upfront cash.” He raised his eyebrows. “So, what do you say? Want to go into business together?”

  “You’ve got to have an angle.” Cole’s eyes were boring holes in Aiden’s head. The way his knuckles were turning white, I wasn’t sure he wouldn’t still punch him.

  Aiden shook his head side to side. “My angle is business. This is the best deal for all of us. No lawsuit. No demolition. No one loses his or her job. You can run the amenity and HOA side of things if you want, and Kaitlyn can still be in charge of marketing. She can get into a whole new realm of condo real estate. I don’t do much with day-to-day operations. I’ll be more like a silent partner.” He stroked the side of his jawline. I noticed the five o’clock shadow was back. “Or, if you want to do something else and want to be silent partners like me, we can hire someone to do the managing part and sit back and watch the money roll in.”

  “This is for real?” Cole stepped back to his chair and sat. I realized I no longer had to worry about him decking him.

  “One hundred percent.” Aiden looked nervous.