Breathless (Meadowlarks)

by Ashley Christine

  Someone order this guy a shrink, stat.

  I couldn’t handle the mind games and I forced a sarcastic smile. “You did me a favour then, and I want you to do another one for me now.”

  “What's that?” he asked, an eyebrow raised in interest.

  “Stop sending the money. In fact, take it all back. Isaac doesn't need it.” I turned and walked back toward the house, giving myself secret props for not turning around to see what his face must have looked like right at that very moment.

  Why after all these years did Dane want back in my life? We had been in the same state since my son was born and he didn't bother with us when we lived in Maine. Now that we were in Wyoming, almost two thousand miles away, he showed up and wanted to play house.

  Well, no way, buddy. Alex and my children were the most important people in my life, they were all that matters and if Dane thought he was going to show up and automatically get access—he was mental.

  I peered out the kitchen window to make sure that Dane's car had indeed driven away. A whisper of a smile crosses my lips as I envisioned his face when I walked away; I pictured him looking sullen or enraged. Either emotion would do, in hopes that I had got under his skin.

  How dare he do that to me!

  I was tempted to call Addison and spill my guts about Dane's audacity, but I knew she would most likely flip out. Instead, I slowly climbed the stairs to the bedroom I shared with Alex, and quietly got into bed beside him. My body curled around his, like two puzzle pieces connecting, I snuggled in as hard as I can, breathing in his delicious scent.

  “Alex,” I breathed. The need to make sure he was really mine was pulling at me with intense force. “Baby, wake up.”

  Alex stirred, groaning something incoherent, and he smiled sweetly in his sleep. When he turned on to his back, I climbed over and straddled his hips. Slowly pressing my tempestuous heat into his groin, he moaned and I licked my lips with anticipation.

  I rocked my body rhythmically against his, my knees pressing down hard into the mattress, and I fell down to his face; kissing him hard, willing him to wake up.

  His eyes flew open and his mouth moved into a slick and sweet current against my lips, our tongues lapping and twisting.

  “Oh, God, Riley...” Alex groaned. “What time is it?”

  “Who cares?” I breathed, kissing and licking his lips and jaw.

  He chuckled to himself, and curled his fingers in my hair, pulling it tightly. I was panting so badly, I was surprised I hadn't started to salivate. I needed him inside of me.

  Now.

  I gripped the headboard with one hand and used the other to direct Alex's thick and solid erection into me, with one quick movement I lowered my body and let out a high-pitched sigh of pleasure. My knuckles turned white from the death-grip I had on the bed, and clenched my jaw so hard I must haven look like a wild animal right now.

  Alex's eyes shone a blazing shade of blue, outlined with black. They were terrifyingly sexy. His mouth pursed tightly as he began to build beneath me, making me rock harder and harder, begging for my body to find its own release.

  “Oh, fuck,” he hissed, his eyes rolled back into his head and his fingers dug so deep in my thighs I almost cried out. Just when I thought he was done, Alex sat up and pulled me off of him.

  “Whoa!” I squealed.

  “Get on your knees, baby,” he commanded in a voice I almost didn’t recognize.

  Whoa...

  “That's my girl.”

  The side of my face pressed down into the bed as I twisted the sheets between my fingers, and Alex soothed the skin of my behind with his hands, preparing me for a captivating assault.

  “Get that ass up, baby. Come on,” he breathed between kisses and bit my behind and down the back of my legs. My body was almost convulsing from the sweet torture he was subjecting me to.

  “Alex! Please!” I begged, taking the sheet that I had wrapped so tightly in my hands, in between my teeth to stifle my impending moans.

  Just as I’m about to let go and splinter into a million pieces, he knelt and quickly thrust so deep inside of me that I lost my breath.

  Alex reached down and grabbed my hair, pulling my body up so we were both kneeling. I turned my face and he stuck his tongue in my mouth, flicking and sucking my lip.

  Chapter Six

  “Mom?” Isaac shook my shoulder, snapping me from my daydream. “You okay?”

  I tried to wipe the stupid grin off my face. It had been plastered there since last night when Alex totally ravaged me to my core.

  “Hey, love. Ready for school?” I asked, trying not to let him see me blush.

  “Yeah.” Isaac looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “You're acting weird.”

  “You're acting weird,” I said back, immaturely, between laughs. “Have a good day, I love you.”

  He bounded out the door, a banana in one hand and his backpack in the other; the screen door slammed behind him. I picked up Scarlett from her high-chair and walked to the door so we could both watch Isaac catch his school bus. When he reached the end of the driveway a twitch of something unknown stretches across my body.

  Shit.

  Dane.

  Smiling and waving while my son climbed the steps of the bus, I grabbed my phone and purse, and headed out the door with Scarlett.

  “You're joking,” Addison blurted out. “Riley, that's messed up! What are we going to do?

  “We? I have no idea, Addy! He's like...on the brink of causing a disaster!” I whimpered in my coffee cup. “You know what he does—did to me.”

  “Yes. I remember, very vividly, thanks for that.”

  “I love details. So shoot me.”

  “I think you should call your dad, maybe he'll know what to do,” Addison suggested with a shrug of her shoulders.

  I sighed. “Yeah, I guess. So, back to some details...”

  “Spill.” She smirked.

  ***

  Blaine walked into the house around noon, and smiled when he saw me. “Hey, Riley. How are ya?”

  “I'm good, Blaine. How are you?”

  “I'm better now!” He gushed and walked over to Seth, who was sitting on the floor with Scarlett playing with toys. “I get to have lunch with you two.”

  Seth giggled at his father, and Blaine kissed the top of his head.

  “Hey! What do you want for lunch, babe?” Addison asked him when she came out of the living room.

  Blaine stood and slyly rubbed his stomach with his hand. “I can think of a few things.”

  “Blaine!” Addison gushed, embarrassed at his suggestion.

  The screen door opened and my heart stopped when Alex walked in. Shirtless and positively soaked from sweat. My thighs clenched so hard.

  “Hey, Ry.” He smiled, and bent down to sit with Seth and Scarlett on the floor.

  Hey, Ry?

  What the hell!

  I would be lying if I said I wasn't expecting a completely different greeting from him, especially after he shook me senseless last night. I turned on my heel and moved over toward the fridge, completely and utterly jealous that Addison got some salacious lunch menu option and Alex couldn't even bother to touch me when he saw me.

  “Alex, shirt on at the table please,” Addison said to her brother.

  “It's wet,” he said back to her.

  Oh, God. Me too.

  I secretly cursed my body for getting so worked up when he walked through the door.

  “Well, wear one of Blaine's,” she hissed back.

  The kids sat on a blanket on the grass and ate, while the four of us sat at the picnic table, enjoying our lunch.

  Alex sat across from me, beside Blaine. A few times I tried to catch his gaze and smiled at him, but all he did was smile back quickly and resumed eating.

  I narrowed my eyes, frustrated with him and how he was blatantly ignoring me. While Addison and Blaine talked about something on the farm I took the moment into my hands to test the waters with Mr. Cold-Shoulder sitting
across from me.

  I kicked off my flip-flop and reached my foot across the empty space under the table to touch his leg, when my toe slipped up the hair on his leg, he smiled while shovelling salad into his mouth.

  A smile? That's it?

  I was compelled to push the limit a little further, so I lifted my leg higher, my toes skimming between his legs. I pushed the pad of my foot against the length beneath his jeans, slowly caressing the growing inches with my toes. He looked up at me through hooded eyes, and swallows the food in his mouth.

  Blaine must have said something funny because Addison started to laugh, and I smiled at them while they continued to talk amongst themselves.

  When I looked back to Alex he was still glaring at me, his eyes penetrating me. He reached down with his hand and grabbed my ankle, pulling my foot harder into him, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

  My stomach flipped and waves of heat threaded between my legs, into my thighs. My phone started ringing, which, was a good thing considering how intense the moment was getting.

  “Hello?” I asked, breathy and flushed.

  “Riley, baby. It's mom,” she said quietly into the phone.

  “Hey, mom!”

  “I need you to come home, baby,” she said. “Your father is sick.”

  I paled. “W-what do you mean, sick, mom?

  Addison and Blaine stopped talking and regarded at me with concern, and Alex stopped chewing his food, locked his eyes on me.

  “His doctor found something in his prostate, they're doing more tests. But, I think he needs his little girl with him right now. He won't admit it, but he's scared, baby.”

  I felt tears start to prickle in my eyes as I turned to look away from the three sets of eyes staring at me, waiting for me to tell them what's going on.

  “I am coming, mama,” I said quietly.

  I was lucky enough to find a flight out of Wyoming for this afternoon and quickly booked two seats. Addison insisted on watching Isaac and Scarlett while I flew back to Maine with Alex to see my father.

  When I stepped into the terminal in Maine this time, there wasn’t a silly sign with my name on it being held by my parents. Instead my father's older brother, Wesley Harrison, was standing near baggage claim waiting to pick us up.

  “Uncle Wes…” I smiled, holding my arms out to him.

  “Hi, darling,” Uncle Wes said warmly. “So good to see you, even under the circumstances.”

  I folded into his embrace. “I know, it's good to see you too.”

  “Mr. Harrison, I’m Alex.” Alex smiled and extended his hand.

  “Nice to finally meet you, son,” Uncle Wes said. “Shall we?”

  My seat belt couldn’t unfasten quickly enough, my fingers fumbled with the release and finally it let me go. I bolted out of the car and sprung up to the house, almost tripping on the stone path.

  “Mom! Dad!” I cried out when I opened the door. “I'm home!”

  My mom walked out of the great room and immediately started to cry when she saw me. I fell into her arms. They were soft and warm and exactly where I wanted to be right then.

  “Where's dad?”

  “In there,” she said, pointing into the room.

  I peered in and see my dad sitting at his piano, wearing his best robe. He turned to look at me as I stepped in to see him and sat down beside him.

  “Well, this is a surprise!” He said quietly. “How are you, baby?”

  “A surprise?” I frowned, and turned to my mom who smiled and shrugged. “You're sick, so here I am. What can I do?”

  My dad laughed. “Oh, Riley. I'll be just fine. Your mother is quite the dramatic.”

  “Clive! Don't start with that silliness,” Mom said with a smile. “You need your daughter here.”

  I rested my head on my dad's shoulder as he started to play a cheerful melody on his piano. I smiled, remembering him play the same song when I was a little girl.

  My mother planned a family dinner and even though I thought my dad would prefer something small and quiet, he didn’t object when she told him she had invited almost everyone we were related to within a fifty mile radius.

  “You'll get to meet your Uncle Wesley's new wife,” my mom said, smirking.

  “New wife? Since when?” I asked, smiling at the idea of Uncle Wes marrying for the fifth time. “What's this one like?”

  “Oh, you'll see.”

  I called Addison once upstairs in my old bedroom, she told me that Scarlett was just fine and that Isaac said he had a good day at school.

  “Oh, shit!” I scolded myself as I smacked my palm against my forehead. “Isaac's trip is tomorrow! I am sorry, Addy.”

  “Don't be sorry, he's all set. I spoke with his teacher when I picked him up from school, she told me everything he'll need. She also sends her prayers to you.”

  “Awe, that's nice.” I smiled. “Thanks, girl. For everything.”

  “Anytime,” Addison said.

  Alex snaked his arms around me when he came into my bedroom, I melted into him. His chest was hard against my skin, and the heat flowing off of him sent tingles down into my body.

  “You okay, babe?” he asked, pulling my hair over my shoulder and kissing my bare neck.

  “I am now.”

  “I don't have to wear a suit or anything tonight, do I?”

  I laughed. “Of course not. What do you want to wear?

  “Well,” he said, stepping away from me and walking over to his suitcase that was sitting on the end of my bed. “Jeans?”

  I smirked. “You've completely turned into a country boy, haven't you?”

  Alex laughed and flipped open the top of his luggage. “Are you complaining?”

  My eyes bulged and my mouth dropped open. “Mr. Cole,” I said huskily. “You have no idea what you do to me.”

  His eyes scorched a deep blue hue as he ran his fingers briskly through his dark tendrils of hair. If I was alone in a dark alley with him at this very moment, and I didn’t know him at all—I would be terrified. And turned on.

  “You drive me absolutely crazy, Riley. I don't think you know what you do to me.”

  I breathed, heavily. “Why were you so cold today then? Especially after last night?”

  “You want some more?”

  “Tonight,” I breathed, and slowly unbuttoned my pants. “Sound good?”

  “Fuck.”

  I smiled at myself and wiggled out of my pants, they fell to the floor and when I stepped out of them I bet over to pick them up very, very slowly. I turned away from him and walked over to my closet to find something to wear to dinner tonight.

  On the inside of my closet door hung a long mirror, in the reflection I saw Alex still standing by the bed, still glaring at me with those raging blue eyes. My fingers trailed along the top of the hangers in the closet and when I found what I was looking for I reached down and grabbed the hem of my camisole, peeling it up and over my head. My eyes locked with Alex's as I lifted my hand up to let the silk fabric fall seductively off my fingertips.

  I peered into the glass and saw Alex slowly grabbing and rubbing himself over top of his jeans with his hand.

  Oh, my sweet Lord.

  “Come here,” he commanded, holding out his hand to me.

  I stood on shaky legs and faced him, his beautiful eyes regarded me so lovingly and his gorgeous mouth curled into a grin. He trailed his thumb along my bottom lip and leaned in to kiss me, my insides screamed at me when his teeth sucked my lip into his mouth as he gently bit it.

  “Get dressed,” I said, softly.

  “Oh, no, baby,” he said, pulling my body against his.

  “Yes,” I hissed, seductively. “Tonight.”

  I smiled as I turn and walk away from him, I grabbed the dress from the hanger I had selected only a few moments ago and walked into my bathroom, closing and locking the door behind me. If I didn’t lock the door I was almost certain Alex was going to come in and bend me over the bathroom counter and I would never ma
ke it downstairs to dinner.

  A knock on the door startled me as I heard my mother's sweet voice from the other side of the door.

  “Riley, are you almost ready? Alex is already downstairs charming the pants off everyone!”

  He’s good at that.

  “Okay, mom. Ten minutes!”

  My hair was dried and curled into long flowing strands, I applied my eye makeup and a touch of clear gloss to my lips. I had chosen to wear an off-white tunic dress that landed above my knees, and I had fastened an aqua coloured belt around my waist.

  I walked downstairs, the sound of laughter flowed from the great room and I could hear Alex's voice loudly talking about something on Blaine's farm. He stopped talking when he saw me, his eyes flashed quickly into a menacing look I had definitely seen before, but quickly turned back into a soft tone when my dad asked him what happens next in his story.

  “So, Blaine starts running through the field like a madman, flinging a big stick around in the air. The bull almost gets him but Blaine jumps over the fence and falls right on his face!”

  Everyone laughed and Alex smiled. “It was hilarious.”

  There had to be at least thirty people in the house, all relatives of some sort, and they were eating up Alex's stories like they were made out of candy.

  My Great Aunt Shelley held her face in her hands, laughing so hard she was almost crying. I smiled, happy to see everyone in a good mood considering the reason why we were all there right then.

  My dad.

  “Riley, dear! How are you?” Marielle, my dad’s sister, asked me, hugging me tightly. “It's been too long, darling.”

  “I know, Aunty. I’m great, how are you?”

  “Oh, you know me. Here one minute, gone the next. I am leaving for Sicily in three days,” Marielle said, smiling.

  She's a higher-up in the life of fashion, close to the top of the world of the Il Tocco industry. Il Tocco meaning The Touch in Italian.

  I had always been spoiled by Aunt Marielle, she had sent me so many clothes over the years I had hardly shopped for myself.