by M. Malone
We sat there in silence for almost a full minute before I burst out laughing. For a while, he just watched me with a small smile. The kind you use when talking to someone you aren’t sure is entirely sane. But eventually his lips stretched into a big grin, and then a chuckle slipped out.
“I’m glad you can see the humor in all of this,” he managed to get out between breaths.
“Reality is truly stranger than fiction. I couldn’t even make this stuff up!”
After our laughing jag passed, we ended up tangled together on the bed, limbs intertwined, my head settled on his chest. Below my ear his heart beat a rhythm that sounded like comfort. Like home.
“I’m glad it was you,” I whispered finally.
He raised his head so he could see me. “What was that?”
“This whole thing sucks, but I’m glad you‘re the one who told me. If I have to hear bad news, it helps to hear it from someone who loves me.”
“I do. I really do. Which is why I hate hurting you.”
“Are we crazy for trying to make this work?”
When he looked at me, I gestured between us. “You don’t have a great experience with family, and clearly, neither do I. Are we setting ourselves up for failure here?”
Oskar leaned back and I followed, curling up on the bed next to him. Right there, it seemed a lot easier to breathe, like all the problems surrounding us were outside and couldn’t reach us. It was an illusion, but just then I was happy to take all the help I could get.
“Hailey, things are different with us. We’re not the same as your parents or your fucked-up brother.”
My eyes were closed when I answered. The events of the night were catching up with me, and it hit me all at once just how tired I was. “Why?”
“Because we’re honest with each other even when it hurts. We aren’t doomed to repeat our families’ mistakes. We’re making our own choices. And we choose to stick together.”
“Promise?” I whispered.
I don’t remember hearing his response, but my heart knew.
17
Oskar
When I looked down, Hailey’s eyes were closed. Her long inky lashes rested on her cheeks, creating little shadows. She looked so peaceful that I hated to move her.
Fuck it. I wasn’t going to. We could sleep right here. I dozed off with Hailey plastered to my front and one hand moving up and down her back gently.
The next thing I knew, I was waking up to someone moving on top of me. I groaned. Hailey had moved so she was straddling me, and her hips were working against mine, rolling in little circles. I glanced around, noting the lights were still on since I hadn’t gotten up to cut them off before I’d conked out. It was disorienting as hell to wake up like that, but I wouldn’t have changed it for the world. If my wife wanted to grind on me in her sleep, who was I to complain?
“Hailey? Are you awake?” I whispered.
I wasn’t sure if she was even aware of what she was doing. She was a touchy little thing in her sleep. I don’t think she even knew how many ways she’d wrapped herself around me at night, but usually it wasn’t quite this blatant.
“Oh no, I’m totally asleep.” Hailey pushed up on her hands and winked at me. Her hair fell around her face in a dark cloud of kinky curls. Some of her eye makeup had run, so she had little black circles beneath each eye.
She still looked like a fucking goddess.
“You’re killing me, butterfly.” My hands flew up to grasp her hips, trying to slow her movements. There was only so much I could take, and if she kept gyrating against me the way she was, I was going to come in my pants like a kid.
“No, I definitely don’t want to do that.” Hailey leaned forward, trails of her hair falling over me like a curtain.
I shivered. The strands left a ticklish sensation behind that made me feel like I was hyper sensitive to touch. Maybe it was just the shock of waking up while halfway to an orgasm, or maybe it was just Hailey. But every single thing seemed to feel better, and every inch of me was finely tuned to each move she made.
“Make me forget, Oskar. Touch me and make me forget everything except us.”
Someone else would probably have a better way to handle that but I had no idea. I’d already decided that Hailey could have anything she wanted of me anytime. If what she wanted was my body, then that was check… and check.
My fingers took their time tracing the delicate line of her collarbone. At another time, maybe I would have gone straight for the good stuff but I wanted to treasure her, every part of her. Hailey sucked in a deep breath, her breasts rising and falling with the motion as my fingers took a walking tour past her neck and up to the curve of her ear. She giggled when I traced the line of her ear and then across her cheek and over her lips.
“You are truly a miracle, you know that?”
Her eyes popped open at my words, and I could see the vulnerability that she never showed anyone else.
“I wish I felt that way.”
“Well if you don’t feel it, then I’ll have to tell you. Every day.”
Her hands covered mine and trapped them against her stomach. “I’d rather you showed me.”
The raspy tone of her voice let me know playtime was over. Her dark eyes glowed with promise and purpose as she leaned down to kiss me.
Desire exploded between us as soon as our lips met, and all of the restraint I’d been holding on to by a thread unraveled. Hailey let out a soft hum of satisfaction when I flipped us over, using the weight of my body to keep her still. The way we fit together was magic, and I stopped trying to be so controlled for once and just let myself go. With her, I didn’t have to be any one thing. I could just be whatever I was feeling in the moment, and she was with me.
Totally with me, I thought as her hips undulated beneath mine. Fuck, she was perfect.
She must have been feeling the same urgency because her hands tugged and pulled at the sweatpants riding low on my hips like she was about to tear them off. I leaned back just enough to slide them down and could kick them off. Her eyes sparked once I was naked, which made me flex instinctively. It was such a turn on to watch how she responded to me, how crazy she could get when she wanted me. Even though it still wasn’t half as wild as I felt every time she even looked at me.
“This is what I needed.” Hailey purred as her hands coasted over every inch of my bare chest and then skimmed appreciatively over the abs I worked so hard on in the gym. She glanced up at me and then bit her lip before her hand circled my cock.
My head fell back at the intense pleasure of her warm hand working over me. “I need to be inside you, butterfly. You drive me so crazy.”
“Wait, but I wanted a chance to play a little.” Hailey squeezed me teasingly, her eyes lighting up at my groan.
“Play all you want.”
She pushed me back on the bed and stretched out next to me. In this position she had plenty of room to work and took total advantage of it. Her curious fingers danced over every part of my chest, even dipping into my belly button. Her lips followed, turning each touch from a tickle to a white-hot burn. By the time she got below the belt, I already felt like I was on fire.
“You always take such good care of me. I want to take care of you, too.” Hailey’s breath washed over the head of my dick, and I clenched, trying not to buck my hips.
She didn’t have a ton of experience, and the last thing I wanted was to scare her off. A monster dick to the eye was enough to traumatize women who were used to performing the act.
Then her lips closed around the tip and I lost it.
My hips jerked again forcing my length deeper. But she didn’t seem to mind, just grasped the base with her other hand and hummed approvingly. The vibration set me off, and I had to grab the headboard behind me because it felt like I was flying. The edges of my vision blurred, and stars danced above us as my wife proceeded to blow my mind and my cock off.
Hailey stayed with me, making the sexiest little moaning sounds as she swallo
wed, and I swear I didn’t know it was possible to be this turned on. The pleasure rolled over me in waves, going on and on until I felt wrung out.
“Jesus, Hailey.” It was all I could say when I finally regained the ability to speak.
Meanwhile my wife was licking me leisurely, like a little cat who’d been satisfied with a treat. She stretched sinuously before wrapping herself around me again.
“Mmm, hearing you got me all worked up.” She lifted one leg over my waist and I could feel how wet she was against my leg.
“You like teasing me, don’t you?” I shifted until she was resting on her belly and I was behind her. That gave me the perfect position to play with her a little and also punish her for taunting me with her sexy little body.
“It’s not my fault you’re so easy.” Hailey’s voice broke when my hands landed on her hips. I took my time squeezing and molding her lush bottom. Then I leaned over and gently nipped her with my teeth .
“Oh!” Her little yelp of surprise was so genuine that I had to laugh.
“Didn’t expect that, did you?”
The coy look she sent over her shoulder proved she was enjoying it just as much as I was. Then her eyes almost rolled into the back of her head when I thrust deep. Immediately she clamped down on me, and I paused, trying to keep control even while it felt like her internal muscles were strangling me. I came down over her back, until she was blanketed in me, my hands landing on the bed next to where hers were buried in the sheets.
We panted together as she rocked her hips back, catching my rhythm. Every time, we moved together like we were two halves of a whole, and too soon I was balancing on the edge of a monumental orgasm. Hailey’s hands came over mine, her fingers clutching at mine helplessly as we raced toward the finish line together.
“Oskar, please.”
The desperation in her voice made me feel just as needy. I wanted her to be right on that edge with me, ready to fall off together. Balancing on one hand, I used my other to stroke her clit, grinning in victory when she cried out and shuddered beneath me. Unable to hold back anymore, I stopped trying and let myself ride that wave right beside her.
Exhausted, we collapsed on top of the sheets, our legs and arms tangling together. For a long time we just rested there, the only sound between us our labored breathing and the rustle of the sheets between our legs as we moved. Hailey rolled over and put a slightly damp hand on my cheek. Her forehead glistened with sweat, and several dark curls were stuck there. Her breathing had finally slowed down, but her eyes were still closed. Masculine pride made my chest swell. Yeah, I’d tired her out.
I loved her so much. Fifty years from that moment, I hoped we’d still be just like this. Wrinkles and all.
“Marry me, butterfly. For real this time.”
Hailey
My eyes popped open. Oskar was smiling at me with this tender look in his eye, the one that always made me feel completely loved. As if he wanted to make sure I got his meaning, he grabbed my left hand and kissed my ring finger.
“You’re my wife and I want everyone to know.”
He suddenly jumped up and scrambled to his feet. Alarmed, I scooted back until my back hit the headboard. “What are you doing?”
“Hold on. Just wait. I need to do this properly.”
He started moving around the room, opening drawers and looking under random books. I had no idea what he was looking for, but I didn’t want to interrupt him. Watching him move around while he was still naked was truly a sight to behold. I bit my thumb watching his muscular backside as he walked, and I pressed my thighs together.
Good lord, it had to be criminal for a man to look that good. Shouldn’t I have been used to how insanely fine he was by then? But somehow the effect never seemed to wear off.
Oskar caught me watching him and paused. “Stop looking at me like that. You know what that does to me.”
I slid down in the bed but then peeked out from behind my hands. “Maybe you should come back over here and make me.”
He groaned. “You’re not going to distract me. I have to do this right and proper. Ah, here it is.”
When he came back to bed, he was holding something in his hand, but I couldn’t see what it was.
“The past three years, I’ve been so focused on building a new life that I don’t think I realized how empty it all was. I was alive, but I wasn’t living. Then you came back into my life. It was like seeing the sun again after being underground. You make me better. You make everything better. And selfishly, I don’t want to go back to living in my cave alone.”
Stunned, I watched as he dropped to one knee beside me. “Oh, Oskar.”
He swallowed several times before continuing, like he was nervous. The sight melted me almost as much as seeing him get down on one knee. This sweet, gentle giant was nervous about pouring out his heart to me? It proved the drunk Vegas Hailey actually had better taste than the serious, staid Hailey I tried to be the rest of the time. Because none of the other men I’d dated had treated me like this. Like being with me was so special that they were nervous about messing it up. Oskar treated me like my love was a gift.
It was a lot easier to trust your heart to a guy who treated it like it was a precious jewel.
“I left you to save you, but really, you’re the one who saved me. So, Hailey Livingston, I need to ask you to save me one more time. Will you marry me? Again?”
Emotion clogged my throat until I was almost unable to speak. Finally, I managed to squeak out, “This is doing it right and proper? With a candy ring?”
Oskar glanced down at the obnoxiously large red candy ring in his hand. “You’re just as sweet.”
“So are you,” I whispered. “And I would love to marry you. Again. Forever.”
18
Hailey
If you’d asked me just a few months ago to describe my dream wedding, I would have been able to paint you a picture. Big white dress, lots of flowers and everyone I know in attendance. I wouldn’t have mentioned walking toward a groom that I was already married to while wearing whatever off the rack dress was available.
I wouldn’t have mentioned being so happy that I felt like I was overflowing with it.
Maybe everything happened the way it did to prove how little all that stuff mattered. Because suddenly, when I thought of a dream wedding, the only thing that stood out in my mind was the man I’m walking toward. A couture dress would have been nice but not necessary. It would have been great to have all my friends and family there, but I knew I could get by without that if I had to.
As long as I was walking toward Oskar, then all of those other things were just details.
“Are you sure you don’t need me to stick around? I can ask Noah to reassign me?” Oskar had been so sweet all morning, not leaving my side except to get food and brush his teeth. Truthfully, I’d been basking in the attention, absorbing the incredible feeling of being the center of his awareness.
But I would never want his worry about me to stop him from doing his job. He was so supportive of my career, and I wanted to be that same kind of cheerleader for him. His work was important to him, and he kept other people safe, which was very noble. I would never get in the way of that.
“No, I’m okay. You go be all badass. I’ll see you tonight.”
He hesitated briefly before kissing me on the nose, and then he followed Jonas down the hallway that led to the conference rooms. He’d already warned me that they had some strategy meeting that was certain to take all morning but then he’d have the afternoon free.
Lucia and JJ entered the kitchen then chattering away about something. The only words I could make out were bowl of dicks. It was funny that when I’d first gotten here, their blunt style of speaking had made me a little uncomfortable, but I’d become totally used to it.
“Do I even want to know what a bowl of dicks is about?” I asked before taking the orange juice out of the refrigerator.
JJ tilted her head to the side, seriously consider
ing the question. Lucia rolled her eyes.
“You know better than to ask that kind of question by now. We don’t need to give her any encouragement. She’s already consistently pissed off at the world.”
“Not the world,” JJ promised. “Just Jonas. He has a knack for annoying me. Luckily after I tell him to eat a bowl of dicks, he more than makes up for it by giving me good dick. So there is that.”
“I think we all do just fine in that department.” Lucia glanced over at me and pursed her lips. “Speaking of… you guys retired early last night.”
I could feel the blood rushing to my face. “We were tired.”
JJ chuckled. “Leave her alone, Lu. Like you and Noah haven’t ducked out early plenty of times to get it on. Wait, what is that?”
I glanced up to see JJ gaping at me. “What?”
Moving way faster than I’d expected, she darted forward and grabbed my left hand. She held it up to see the candy ring on my third finger. Her mouth fell open.
Lucia pushed her out of the way. “I have a feeling this is about more than you having a craving for strawberry candy.”
I grinned. “It is. Oskar asked me to marry him last night. Again. For real this time with all of our people there.”
Lucia held her hand over her heart. “Awww. He’s such a softie! I’m not surprised because the way that man looks at you is just… whew!”
“He looks at her like she tastes like a candy. And he’s a sugar addict,” JJ interjected.
“Well, he’s addicted to Hailey,” Lucia said matter-of-factly. “This is so exciting! Tell me everything! What did he say? I can’t believe he didn’t say anything to us. I’m so good at romantic surprises, I could have helped!”
JJ picked up my hand gently and examined the candy ring. “This puts new meaning to put a ring on it. It’s so silly it’s actually genius. Who knew he could be romantic? I guess he isn’t all talk.”