“Wait, what?” he scowled, taking a step back.
“You add and suck and nip and tuck women every day! All so they look like blow-up dolls.”
“I don’t do botched jobs!” he stated. I knew he didn’t. No. Owen was one of the best in California at what he did.
“Oh, I know! You do such a freaking amazing job that they all look like they hit the perfect body lottery.”
“Baby—”
“I have a belly. I have stretch marks. And my breasts… well, let’s just say they aren’t as perky as they were when I was twenty. Not unless I’m wearing a fantastic bra!” I brushed a strand of hair out of my face.
“I know, babe,” he calmly said. His tranquil tone stopped me in my tracks from the back-and-forth pacing I had started. Meeting his stare, I watched as he tilted his head toward me.
“What?” I asked. My stomach felt like it had dropped to my toes. Watching him move, slowly closing the space between us, I suddenly felt vulnerable and exposed.
“I know your body.” The steady tone of his voice made me sway closer to him. His hand cupped my cheek, and I blinked away the sting of unshed tears. “I know every curve and angle and mark and spot…” When our foreheads touched, I breathed in the familiar scent of him. His skin and cologne and just Owen. “I might not know them as well as I should because of recent…”
“Inactivity?” I helped out and watched one side of his lips tilt upward. My heart stuttered in my chest at how good he looked.
“Yeah,” he mumbled. “But I know it. I love your body. I don’t want you to look like the women I work on,” he told me cautiously. I blinked, letting the words he just said settle.
“You don’t?”
“No.” He shook his head, his eyes clear, and I felt like he was actually seeing me. “And the shit I say… I’m sorry, Nadia.”
“You’re…sorry?” I asked carefully.
“I didn’t realize what I was doing. I never meant to make you feel anything other than loved. The fact I failed you once again, on top of not being there and giving you and our family time, kills me, babe.”
“You didn’t fail me.”
“I did. I made you feel...” The volume of his voice changed to a low whisper. “You should have felt like the most beautiful creature every day since I came into your life, and I dropped the ball saying stupid, insensitive shit. I’m sorry,” he apologized, surprising me, which was painfully obvious as I tried to find the right words.
“Baby—”
“From today on, things are going to change.” His deep tone made me shiver. “Starting this fucking moment, that’s going to change,” he vowed, taking a step forward, in turn making me take one back.
“Owen—” I started to say, but he stopped moving, so we simply stood in front of one another. “Owen?” I broke the silence; every nerve throughout my body tingled.
“Take off your top,” he ordered. Heat washed through my entire body, making my sex spasm and wetness soak through my panties. “Now, Nadia,” he directed, and I pressed my lips together knowing that there was no way in hell I was going to argue. Hell, no.
I needed to feel close to him.
Intimacy.
Something I had not had with him in way too long.
Something we needed badly.
Owen
His body was yelling at him to take her and take her hard.
The vision of slamming his dick into her was clear as day in his mind and made his balls ache. But it wasn’t what she needed from him. Hell, it wasn’t even what they needed as a couple right now.
Dropping to his knees in front of her, he pinned his eyes to the soft flesh of her stomach. She had held their babies there.
Every mark printed there showed that.
His mark on her.
He’d planted his seed and it had taken root; and she had given him the most precious gift he had ever received. Why the hell would she think he would ever want her to erase that?
“You’re so damn beautiful,” he murmured, loving the way her hands felt at his shoulders, right before he kissed the swell of her stomach.
“Owen, you don’t have to—” she started to protest. She had done this in the past whenever he had tried to go down on her after she had the girls, but this time, he wasn’t going to let her push him away. Tonight, and every night after this, would be about her. About them.
Looking up at her dark eyes, he licked his lips before telling her, “I want to. I need to.”
“Babe—”
“Shh, please, Nadia, it’s been too long.” And fuck if that wasn’t an understatement.
He missed this part of them.
How hot they ran between the sheets. How wet and wild she would get for him when he took his time and made it about her. How long has it been? He had messed up so badly in the past, not giving her this, not giving her his time, but that was behind them. He would work himself ragged making it up to her. Showing her exactly what she meant to him.
His hands moved to the lace-trimmed waistband of her black-and-white dotted panties and slowly brought them down. His eyes followed the material pass her hips, down her thighs and calves until he bunched the soft fabric in his hands before letting them fall by her feet. His fingers grazed the outside of her feet and back up to her ankles. Owen didn’t miss the way her body trembled with anticipation beneath his touch. He breathed in deeply as his hands trekked up and straight to heaven. My own heaven on earth.
He took another deep breath, his nose nuzzling her mound. His mouth watered. Her feminine scent filled his lungs and he loved how turned on she was for him. His hands pulled apart her thighs; her skin prickled with goose bumps beneath his hands.
“Nadia?”
“Hmm?” she muttered. He smiled against her thigh before kissing it.
“I think you should get into bed.” The words felt like gravel coming out of his mouth; he needed her so fucking badly.
“Oh?” Her knees trembled. “Why?” she asked, sounding confused. When she shifted, he got a great view of her pretty little clit popping out, and he couldn’t help it. He took a swipe at it. Her taste filled his mouth and he grunted, clenching his hands tighter against her soft skin.
“You’re going to want to get comfortable,” he rumbled and licked her again before kissing her swollen pearl, his hands holding on to the back of her knees.
“Owen,” she moaned. He wanted to stay on his knees to worship her, but he knew he should get her on their bed. Owen kissed her hip before standing up and lifting her in his arms like he did on their wedding night. Like he did the night he gave in and took her for the first time almost a year into their relationship. Her hands wrapped around his neck and their eyes locked onto one another.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, baby,” he told her a hairsbreadth away from her lips. She took hold of his face, making him stop right by the edge of the bed. Her eyes shone with love and desire.
“I love you,” she whispered against his lips so softly he almost thought he imagined it, but it had been real. He couldn’t stop the growl that escaped from him as his heart started to beat hard against his chest at her words.
“I love you, too,” he told her slowly and with so much emotion he was afraid he’d lose it and cry. Instead, he clenched his jaw, lowered her onto the center of the bed, and kneeled in front of her.
Without hesitation, his mouth went to her sex. He watched Nadia throw her head back into the pillows. The sight of her doing that was like a fucking badge of honor. He licked and sucked and kissed, taking in each and every moan and sound she made. His dick was so hard it was painful, but he ignored it.
Taking his time, he slowed when he felt her body start to tense, edging her pleasure, loving the way her hands gripped the sheets, her knuckles white.
“Please,” she begged in a panted whisper. He slid his middle finger into her slick heat and went back to working her with his mouth. Her thighs closed around his head, muffling the sounds of her soft cries, but he focu
sed on her body. He ignored his own erection and kept licking and kissing her. Hot and wet, she started to tighten around his finger. He slid in another. Nadia’s voice was hoarse and her words almost incoherent; he couldn’t help but smile on the inside as he reminded them both of who she belonged to.
He worked her with his mouth and fingers all the way, not pulling away even as her walls closed in around his fingers. When she clenched, he quickened his ministrations, feeling her fingers tug on his hair. The sting of her pulling on it as she came didn’t bother him; if anything, it spurred him to keep going. This time gentler, milking her orgasm as long as he could. He could hear her hard breathing start to slow, so he softened his own actions. Kissing the insides of her thighs, he looked up at her. Her beautiful breasts heaved up and down, her nipples pointed upward and hard.
“You okay?” he asked against her thigh, while his hands soothed and stroked her legs up and down softly.
“Not even close,” she answered with a grin on her face. “Owen, that was…”
“Not too bad?”
“Freaking amazing.” She giggled. Owen watched her beautiful face turn serious.
“What’s the matter?” he asked and felt her eyes look down his body then back up at him. She licked her lips. He knew exactly what she was thinking.
“Are you hard?” she asked, and he swallowed before standing up.
“I am going to shower.” He stole a quick kiss before standing, but he wasn’t quick enough. She held his hand and sat up on her knees in bed. Naked and luscious in front of him. Their bedroom smelled like sex, and he was so hard he was about to go crossed eyed. He had to get out of there before he broke his promise to himself.
“Let me touch you.” Her eyes pleaded with him. He wanted her to. He wanted her to touch him, but he needed her to know this had been about her.
“Not tonight, Shorty.” he gently answered, not missing the cute way she frowned at him.
“Why not?”
“This was about you. About you knowing you can count on me to always give you what you need without taking from you,” he clarified. Her eyes softened.
“I know that…”
“But I needed to remind us both of it,” he shared, and her eyes flickered with understanding. She might not like it or agree with him, but she understood. He thought she would have backed away from him; instead, she scooted closer to him still on her knees on the mattress of their bed; her hands left his wrist and found his chest.
“You don’t need to punish yourself for us getting…”
“Lost?”
“We weren’t lost… we were a little… disconnected. And I already told you, it was both of us. This wasn’t only on your shoulders…”
“Not tonight. Tonight, I made you come hard, right?” he asked her, and even after so many years together, he liked how the apples of her cheeks pinkened as she gave him a nod. “You are going to relax in bed. I’m going to shower, come back here, and hold you tightly all fucking night long,” he stated, and she shivered. She knew exactly what he was leaving out. Her eyes flickered, and he knew what she would ask next.
“Can I watch?” He chuckled. Things might have changed, but at least he still knew his girl. Owen shook his head, giving her a soft kiss.
“Rest. I might need to remind us again later,” he whispered, holding on to any and all self-control he could.
“Okay,” she whispered, kissing him back, her chest pressed tightly against his. His hand squeezed her perfect ass.
“I’ll be fast.” He winked. She sat back on her knees, naked and sure of herself. He bit the inside of his lip reminding himself this had to be about her. She giggled as if reading his mind, and he chuckled shaking his head, soaking in the hell of a view she gave him before walking away from her and straight into an ice-cold shower.
Chapter Fourteen
Owen
“GIRLS, BE CAREFUL!” HE yelled. Nadia squeezed his hand, and he looked down at her. She was a beautiful sight to behold. Wind-blown hair, lips slightly dewy from some coconut lip balm she liked to use, all dressed up in old, faded jeans that made her ass look great and her legs long, while the simple bright red of her sleeveless tank top made it feel like he couldn’t stop looking at her.
“They’re fine, Owen.” She winked at him. His heart, along with his gut, clenched. Not only was she gorgeous, she was all brightness and goodness, and he was so damn thankful he had this moment.
He had been with them in Santa Barbara for a week. Every morning started in a flurry of activities. By Tuesday, the second full weekday, he had a greater appreciation for everything she did. She made getting the girls ready and balancing what activity they were off to that day look seamless. Hell, if it had been left to him, he would have probably mixed up the days and somehow forgotten where he had taken them.
Not Nadia, though.
Nadia had it all under control. All week, each new day, she impressed him. She knew exactly where the girls went, never hesitating or questioning if she was right, having their clothes, lunches, and supplies ready. Regardless of whether it was art camp or sailing classes, she had it all under control. If that wasn’t enough on her plate, the bathroom demolition and renovation had simply continued.
“They are walking far ahead of us,” he pointed out, pursing his lips. She simply shook her head, leaning the side of her face on his shoulder as they walked down the pier. He didn’t have to look at her to know that she was smiling. It was humbling. Everything she did. How he had taken it for granted and had shrugged off what she had done these last couple of years at home. She amazed him.
“Kitchen demo starts Monday,” she changed the subject, and he sighed, the girls about twenty feet ahead of them.
“The girls…”
“Aren’t toddlers anymore, baby,” she teased. His jaw clenched. He tried not to take it personally. He knew they weren’t toddlers anymore. He tried to remember them doing something like this, a simple walk together in the past, but he couldn’t remember. But he knew that she had done that countless times with them. “Hey…” She stopped them, and he looked at her. “What’s going on?”
“We’ve never done this.”
“What?”
“Taken a walk. Like a family. Like we are, just…anywhere.”
“That’s not true. We went to Disneyland,” she reminded him. His scowl deepened. He had left them early when he had been called back into the hospital. Anytime they’d planned things, he’d either cancelled, wishing them the best of times, or had needed to leave early.
“I left early,” he reminded her, hating how damn pathetic he had been. All the things he had missed out on. That his family hadn’t had because he simply had not been there.
“But you were there.”
“Right.” He was holding his body tightly, hating how much he had messed up.
“Hey.” She tried to soothe him, but he couldn’t get himself to look at her.
“Owen, look at me,” she gently asked him, and he did. The Pacific Ocean below the pier in one of the most beautiful places their state had, and she was still all he ever wanted to gaze at. “We are here now. We talked about all our issues and what we want to change and work on. We are doing it. Right here, right now, we are working on us. All we can do is keep moving forward. One step at a time,” she reminded him. He nodded before pulling her into his body and holding her tightly. He could hear his girls approaching, their giggles the second-best sound he’d ever heard aside from their mother’s voice.
“I’m gonna work hard so one day you don’t even remember the bad shit between us, Nadia,” he vowed seriously, and her dark eyes glistened with moisture, tears his strong girl would never let herself shed.
“Why would I want that?” she surprised him by asking. “Knowing we had those bad times will make the good ones even sweeter.” Without thinking, his lips crushed onto hers and he kissed her until he heard their daughters’ giggles and teasing clearly.
Pulling away, leaving her breathlessly
staring back him with heated eyes, he moved his hand up the side of her face. “I guess I’m going to have to give you a lifetime of sweet, then.”
Nadia
Back home, I found myself in our bathroom putting moisturizer on my face and looking at the mirror. I had tanned more than I usual did this last week. Being out in the sun almost daily did that to you under the southern California sun.
The last week had been perfect.
To an outsider looking in, it would have seemed busy and hectic. Just the way life usually was with us, but not. Owen had been at my side, our side, the entire time. Working on the guest bathroom, helping with the girls and dinners. Even so, I couldn’t seem to shake off the concern that had started to bubble up on the pier after Owen and I talked. I would have thought our conversation would have set both our minds at ease, but in trying to soothe him, it seemed I had worked myself into a tizzy.
“Hey! There you are.” He snapped me out my thoughts. My hands dropped from my neck to my sides and I tried to smile genuinely at him.
“Here I am.”
“What’s up?” Owen asked. I could see the worry in his eyes, but I simply shook my head.
“Nothing…” Guilt immediately ate at me. He had been working alongside me the entire week, working on us. Communicating with me, giving me him, and I was up to my same old crap of sweeping things under the rug.
“Nadia,” he pressed. I opened then closed my mouth and frowned. “What is it?” he asked, closing us into our bathroom. I heard the distinct sound of the door locking behind him.
“This week has been…” I started to say but shook my head. “It’s exactly what I needed. Us. You…”
“Okay,” he cautiously responded, and I frowned. I wasn’t making any sense.
“We have three weeks left and…” My throat felt like it was closing in on me and suddenly breathing wasn’t second nature. What if it isn’t enough time? What if we returned and all this effort was for nothing? What if what we had was unfixable? What if we simply went back to how things were?
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