Best Man with Benefits

by Wright, Aubrey

  “Because I knew something like this would happen. I wanted to keep you safe. Jacob’s a player. He doesn’t settle down. Look at the shit we went through in Paris because he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.”

  Fat raindrops splatted down, onto the balcony, onto my head, one on my cheek. Like the universe was crying for me. I was too angry to shed tears. “You know that’s not fair,” I said. “And you can’t believe that about him.”

  “You don’t know him like I do. He’s my best friend.”

  “Charlie,” Addy said and swept over to his side. She took him by the arm and pulled lightly. “I think we should leave Chloe alone now. She needs some space.”

  “No.” Charlie grunted. “No, she needs to explain herself. Explain what she thinks she’s doing.”

  “That’s it,” I said. “That is absolutely it. Charlie, you’re not to come near me or my baby until you’ve changed your behavior. Good night.” I strode past them and to the balcony doors. I wrenched them open, and music tumbled toward me. “Tougher than the Rest” by Bruce Springsteen. I paused, looked back at Charlie over my shoulder. “Oh, and congratulations, by the way. On getting married.”

  And then I was off, away from Charlie and his judgment, striding to the exit.

  Trisha appeared to my left. “Slut,” she said as I passed.

  I flipped her the bird but kept on walking. Tonight didn’t change the fact that I was pregnant, and that Jacob had walked off. He’d walked off and left me after he’d found out.

  I was on my own.

  * * *

  I clomped up the stairs to my apartment, slurping on the milkshake I’d bought to drown my sorrows. Strawberry. I’d never liked strawberry flavor before. Maybe it was a pregnancy craving thing?

  Whatever it was, it was good. Strawberry was officially amazing.

  “Where have you been?” Kathy stood in front of our door, her purse slung over her forearm, and her face screwed up. “I’ve been worried sick about you. I got a call from Addison, your brother’s wife? She said she wanted to check on you because you ran off.”

  “I bet that’s not all she said.”

  “No, it’s not, but oh my god, are you OK?” Kathy swept me into her arms and hugged me tight. “It went badly, huh?”

  “Ugh, you have no idea.”

  “Oh honey, I’m so sorry.” She patted my back. “Everything’s going to work out, and you know what? I have a feeling that your night is about to get a whole lot better.”

  “How?” I asked.

  She pulled back from the hug and shrugged. “Just a feeling. Now, I’ve got to go. You know, late-night rehearsal?”

  “Oh, right, the play,” I said, and my stomach sank. She couldn’t stay with me and binge movies, eat snacks, and cuss out Charlie and Jacob. Once again, I was on my own. Which was fine—it was how things were meant to be.

  “Yeah, the play. Listen, I’ll be back late. If you’re still awake, we can talk about this. Really hash it out, you know.”

  I managed a wan smile. “Sure. Thanks. Good luck for practice.”

  Kathy gave me one last kiss on the cheek, then swept off down the stairs, humming under her breath. I couldn’t quite place the tune, but it was definitely jaunty. Weird, since Kathy was usually pretty sensitive about feelings. She had to know that I was down.

  I drew my keys out of my purse and let myself into the apartment. I took two steps inside and gasped.

  Jacob stood in the center of the living room, holding a bouquet of red roses. His hair was damp, his suit soaked through, but his eyes were fire.

  “I wanted to surprise you,” he said.

  Thirty-Five

  Jacob

  “Jacob. How did you…? I thought—”

  “That I didn’t want anything to do with the baby?” It hurt to even say it. I’d been shocked when she’d told me, but that wasn’t me. I wasn’t a guy who ran out on responsibility. I’d proven that in business. Hell, I’d proven that by stepping up with the Pritchard thing.

  “You left.”

  “Charlie asked me to. It was his wedding night, and he was well within his rights. I waited outside for you, but you didn’t come,” I continued. “So, I did this instead. These are for you.” I held out the flowers.

  Chloe, her makeup slightly smudged, her dress splotched darker from the rain, came forward. She dropped her handbag on the side table then accepted the roses from me. She placed her nose against them and inhaled. “They’re beautiful.”

  “I would’ve gotten you something better, but there were slim pickings this late at night.”

  “Jacob, why?”

  “Because you deserve them,” I said. “And because I wanted you to know that this baby doesn’t change the way I feel about you. If anything, it only makes me want you more.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yes, I’m serious. Goddammit, Chloe, you’re the woman for me. The way Charlie acted tonight, shit, it drove it home.”

  “How?”

  “He knew from the beginning how I felt,” I said. “He must have sensed it when we saw us together for the first time, and he hated that because he still believes that I’m an asshole who’ll walk out when things get tough. I don’t blame him for being protective of you.”

  “Well, I do,” Chloe said and smelled the flowers again. “But I don’t want to talk about Charlie. The baby is the most important part. How do you feel about it?”

  “I don’t know.” And that was the honest truth. “I’ve got the means to support a child, but I’m pretty fucking scared of becoming the same father mine was. I hate the thought of ruining a kid’s life.”

  “You think you’re capable of that? After all you’ve been through?”

  It was exactly the question I needed to hear. I searched myself for the answer. “No. I’m not capable of that. I could never be like him. And I know you’re nothing like my shitty mother, too.”

  “Or mine,” she said and laughed, but the mirth dropped from her lips. “I want what’s best for the baby. I—it’s taken me a while to get used to the thought of this. I mean, when I found out, I was beside myself. I didn’t know how I’d work any of this out.”

  “You thought I’d leave?”

  “I didn’t know what you’d do. I didn’t think you wanted me. You said it wasn’t a good idea for us to go out to dinner. I assumed that meant babies were off the table.”

  This time, I laughed. There was hardly anything separating us now, only the roses tucked into her hands. “I was an idiot. I was trying to protect myself from you because I was scared of getting my shit messed up.”

  Chloe toyed with the petals. “I was afraid too.”

  “Now we can be afraid together. Shit, scared of having a baby and having to figure everything out. Listen,” I said and pressed my finger to the underside of her chin, tipping it upward. “I want you to know that I’m going to be here for you. From the cravings to the shitty diapers to the first words, the tantrums, whatever comes. No, I didn’t expect it, and yeah, it will probably be tough, but we’ll make it work.”

  “That’s all I needed to hear,” she said.

  I brushed my finger down her throat. “What about the other stuff you heard tonight? What about what I said? How I feel about you?”

  “Jacob, I—I assumed that would change because of the baby.”

  “It hasn’t.”

  “Meaning what?”

  She wanted to hear it again, from my lips. Maybe she didn’t believe me, and maybe I deserved that. “I want to be with you. I want to date you, I want to hold you close to me at night, I want to make love to you. I want to raise this baby with you.”

  Her bottom lip trembled.

  “I love you, Chloe. I always have. I was just too stupid to act on it.”

  “You love me,” she whispered.

  “Yes. I love you. I fucking love you.”

  She dropped the roses and threw her arms around my neck, and the kiss, our kiss, was like water washing over desert sa
nds.

  I stroked my thumbs over her cheeks, deepening the kiss. It was better than it had ever been, touching her. Finally, we could be together, for real. No hiding, no guilt.

  Chloe broke the kiss. “What about Charlie?”

  “I’d love it if you didn’t say your brother’s name while we were kissing.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “I don’t care about that right now. All I want is you, Chloe, and if he can’t accept that, then that’s his problem, not ours.” I kissed her again, and she melted into me. I caught my fingers in her hair, dragged them through, appreciated the sensation of having her again. Here with me. Nothing to bother us.

  “Bedroom,” she said.

  I wouldn’t say no to that. I lifted her off the floor, and she wrapped her legs around my waist. I carried her through to the bedroom and laid her down on the bed. She rolled onto her front, and I unzipped her dress, dragged it from her body, revealing the back of a lacy bra and matching panties.

  I tore them both off, then grasped handfuls of her ass cheeks, grinding my teeth at how good it felt to be with her. At how right it was.

  “Like this,” I said, lifted her ass up. I slipped a cushion underneath her abdomen, then spread her ass cheeks wide, admiring the view. She was swollen for me, glistening like the last time we were together.

  I blew on her pussy gently, and she gasped, reaching forward for the pillows at the head of the bed. “You’re going to tease me again,” she whispered. “Aren’t you?”

  “Yes, I’m going to tease you again. And then I’m going to bury my fat cock inside you.”

  “And then what?” she asked, and her pussy pulsed, clenching and releasing, though I hadn’t even touched her yet.

  “Then I’m going to come inside you, gorgeous. Nice and deep.”

  Chloe moaned and wriggled her ass at me. “Yes,” she said softly. “Please. I want that. You have no idea how much I want that.”

  I stripped slowly, enjoying the soft sounds she made, the gasps, the impatient groans. “Tell me what you want,” I said.

  “Your cock.”

  “Specifically. What do you want?”

  “I want you to eat my pussy,” she said softly.

  “Yeah?”

  “Yes. I want you to eat it, and then I want to ride your face.”

  My cock was out now, and it throbbed. I stroked my hand up and down the shaft, spreading my precum over it. “Fuck yeah, that sounds good to me.”

  She flipped her hair over one shoulder. “Yeah?”

  “Absolutely. What else? Talk to me while I play with you.” I stepped up behind her, grasped the base of my dick and rubbed it over her pussy, appreciating the fine strip of hair, the softness of her lips, the wetness. I didn’t enter her but grunted at the sensation. “Fuck yeah. Talk to me.”

  “I want to suck your cock too. I haven’t had the chance.”

  I inserted two fingers inside her pussy and mashed them back and forth, losing control of myself for a second, the thought of her mouth wrapped around my dick was too much.

  Chloe cried out. “Yes, please. Oh my god, that’s good. Don’t stop.”

  But there was so much more where that came from. I clambered onto the bed, forcing her forward an inch, and looped my arm under her thighs. I positioned her ass upward, lifting her effortlessly, then buried my face in her pussy.

  The taste was enough to drive me wild. I finger-fucked her, focused my tongue on her clit, listening to her gasps, her moans, enjoying the response from her body. Her juices ran from her dripping pussy hole to my lips, and I lapped them up, working them over her clit as I did.

  “Too good,” Chloe choked out. “Too good. Too good. Going to come!”

  “Come for me, Chloe,” I said between sucks and licks. “Come for me.”

  She tensed and closed around my fingers, riding out her orgasm in style. My cock throbbed, punishing me for not taking her immediately. I could. Right now. I could bury myself inside her and fill her full of my cream if I wanted to, but no, it wasn’t time yet.

  She deserved more than this. More than a few seconds of satisfaction.

  “Oh my god,” Chloe said, her legs going limp. “Oh my god.”

  “We’re not done yet. You wanted to ride my face.” I let her down gently then rolled her over onto her back.

  Chloe flopped her arms above her head and stared at me. “Are you serious? You’ll let me do that?”

  “You’re fucking kidding, right? That’s my wet dream, you coming all over my face. I want it.”

  Her eyes widened, sparkled, and something in them changed. She clambered onto all fours, energy renewed, and she was on me in seconds. She gripped the base of my dick and slipped her mouth over the head.

  The warmth drove me straight toward my edge. “Whoa, there,” I said, looping fingers through her hair. “Whoa there, gorgeous. You trying to make me blow my load early?”

  “Maybe,” she said and spat on the mushroom tip of my dick. She smoothed her hand over it then took as much of me into her mouth as she could. She choked on it, backed up, and did it again, her eyes seeking.

  I tugged on her hair, admired the smooth slope of her back, dipping toward full ass cheeks. “Jesus, Chloe. You’re going to make me come like this.”

  “I want it. I want you to come in my mouth.”

  “Which do you want more?” I asked, as she worked her lips back and forth, moved her tongue over my head. “Me to come in your mouth or your pussy? Which part of you do you want filled up?”

  Chloe moaned and sucked hard then released. “My pussy.”

  “That’s what I thought.” I lay down on the bed, then gestured for her to come closer.

  She was confused at first, frowning ever so slightly, until finally she understood, and straddled my face. Her pussy hovered just above my lips. She dripped those delicious juices onto my face.

  “Sit,” I said. “And ride.”

  And she did. She lowered herself, rubbed her clit over my tongue, and I opened my mouth to greet her, sucking in whatever I could, tasting and throbbing. The sexual energy between us was fucking amazing. I’d never had as much fun in my life.

  I loved eating her pussy.

  Chloe’s fingers tugged on my hair. Her other hand rested against the wall behind her bed. “I’m going to come,” she moaned, the words catching. “I’m going to come, I’m going to come. Oh my god, Jacob.” And she throbbed against my face, her pussy so wet now that I was beyond temptation. I had to have her. Immediately.

  Her climax abated, her thighs shaking at either side of my head.

  I grasped her by the hips then flipped her over and worked my way up her body until we were face to face. I kissed her on the nose.

  Chloe craned her neck and caught my lips. “Now,” she said. “Please?”

  “Yeah, now,” I replied and slipped my cock inside her.

  She wrapped her legs around me, crying out at the pressure inside her, and I worked it for her. I brought her to another climax, sucking on her earlobe, my cock tense beneath the quivering of her cunt. And finally, fucking, finally, I let myself go.

  I squirted inside her, each pump longer, more satisfying than the last.

  “Oh my god,” Chloe said and kissed my cheek. “Oh my god, that was perfect.”

  “You’re perfect,” I replied.

  We lay together, and I dragged her onto my chest, kissed the top of her head, and drifted off into the most complete and satisfying sleep I’d ever experienced.

  Thirty-Six

  Chloe

  My eyes snapped open in the dark. The side of my cheek was practically glued to Jacob’s chest, which rose and fell evenly beneath me. His arm was draped across my back, his warmth a reminder of what we’d done and just how good it had been.

  He loves me. We’re together now.

  It was surreal.

  A soft scratching came from the bedroom door. I frowned, then sat upright, scrubbing at my face. Jacob grunted in his sleep.

&n
bsp; The clock blinked numbers—01:00—and I yawned. Goddamn, I never woke up in the middle of the night. I was definitely a heavy sleeper. What had happened?

  The scratching came again, and I sighed, got off the bed, and grabbed my robe from the back of my bedroom door. I slipped it on, tied it in place, then staggered out into the living room. It was dark in here too, but Kathy had left the kitchen light on, and there scratching at the doorjamb was Tabitha.

  She spotted me and did a little hop-skip on the spot.

  “Yeah, what is it?” I asked. “You’re lucky I’m awake.”

  Tabby gave a massive meow and padded into the kitchen, tail jaunty. I followed her in. The kibble bowl was empty. Of course it was. I picked it up, shaking my head, and brought the kibble down from the cupboard. I made quick work of filling it up.

  The minute I put the bowl down Tabby rushed in and set to work crunching kibble between her teeth.

  “There,” I said and yawned so wide the word came out warped. “Now you can quit scratching and I can—.”

  The front door banged in its frame, and I jolted on the spot and shrieked. Something banged inside the apartment, the tumble of items to the floor? I moved through the kitchen and toward the front.

  A knock came again, thumping against the wood.

  “Who’s there?” I called out, my skin prickling.

  A flashback to what had happened before—Pritchard and Carolina and the horrible huge guy who’d disarmed me when I’d tried to free Addy. No, but all those people were gone now. They were behind bars.

  Another knock. “Chloe?”

  “Charlie?” It was my brother’s voice. I unlocked the door and opened it.

  And it was him, standing in the hallway, still wearing his suit from the wedding. “Chloe,” he said and walked into the living room, uninvited. “We need to talk.”

  “Uh, come in?” I shut the door. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “I’m about to leave for my honeymoon,” he said, “but I wanted to talk to you before I left. It’s important to me that we’re on the same page. You’re my sister. We’ve been through a lot together.”