Rent-A Husband

by Everly Ashton

  Irritation pricks at me as I hit the button, type in the code, and let the message play on speaker.

  “Hi, boys. This is Mrs. Sheffield calling. I think we might have some kind of animal trapped in our attic, and I was wondering if that was something one of you boys could handle for us? You guys always do such a good job for us, so I thought of you right away. Give me a call back and let me know. Thanks.”

  “She should be calling an animal control company,” Travis grumbles.

  “I don’t disagree, but she’s one of our biggest referrers,” I say.

  Mrs. Sheffield does a lot of work at the local seniors’ center, and she’s passed our cards on to more than a few people who now use our services. I’d like to remain on her good side.

  “Just call her back and tell her nicely that we can’t handle pest control,” Josh says.

  “Or one of us could go over there and take a look, confirm there is in fact something in her attic, and then tell her to call pest control. You know, to keep her happy since she throws a lot of business our way.”

  Josh holds up his hands. “I already said I can’t do it.”

  “Same,” Travis says. “I don’t drop this piece off, then I don’t get paid, which means I can’t throw in my portion for Gram and Gramps’s gift.”

  “Fuck.” I toss aside some paperwork on my desk in frustration. “Guess I’m up then.”

  “What’s the matter? Got a hot date you’re gonna miss or something?” Josh laughs.

  I look at him and narrow my eyes. “What if I do?”

  I haven’t told either of my brothers that Camila and I are the real deal now. Mostly because I don’t want their opinion on the matter, but more so because I don’t want to have to listen to them razz me about it. But it’s inevitable, and now is as good a time as any.

  Travis guffaws. “Yeah, right. You hardly ever go out with chicks. Unless…”

  “You’re boning that girl you did the bathroom for, aren’t you?” Josh says, eyes wide.

  “She’s my girlfriend, if that’s what you mean. Jesus, Josh. Is that all you think about?” I shake my head.

  “I’m sorry, is there something more I’m supposed to think about when I meet a beautiful woman?” Josh looks at Travis for backup, but he just rolls his eyes and turns his attention to me.

  “This doesn’t have anything to do with you pretending to be her husband, does it?” Travis arches an eyebrow.

  “Of course not. We get along. I like spending time with her.” Josh opens his mouth to say something, but I beat him to it. “Yes, naked too, Josh.”

  He grins and gives me a thumbs-up.

  “One thing kind of led to another, and now we’re seeing each other for real.”

  “When were you gonna tell us?” Josh asks.

  “I’m telling you now.”

  “He’s right,” Travis says. “You’re only telling us now because you don’t want to go on this call. Otherwise we probably still wouldn’t know.”

  “Well, Dad, I didn’t tell you guys because I didn’t want you making a big deal of it. Kind of like what’s happening right now.”

  Josh wraps an arm around my shoulders. “We’re not making a big deal about it. We’re just happy you’re finally getting laid, big bro. Maybe you’ll be easier to deal with now.”

  My hands clench, then I push Josh off of me. “Did you ever stop to think that maybe I’m difficult because I’m tired of feeling like the only one who’s trying to grow this business? That I’m tired of feeling like I have to pick up the slack for everyone? That I’m sick of doing all the damn paperwork and dealing with the bank and all the other small, irritating details that it takes to run this business that you probably know nothing about?”

  Hurt flashes across Josh’s features for a second and I feel bad—until he opens his mouth. “No one ever asked you to do that stuff.”

  “Well, someone has to, and it wasn’t gonna be either of you, was it?”

  “Hey,” Travis says, “if I’d known you were feeling this overwhelmed, I would’ve helped. You never asked.”

  “Yeah, well, sometimes it’s nice when someone just notices on their own and helps out anyway.” I stomp from the room.

  “Where are you going?” Josh calls.

  “To Mrs. Sheffield’s. That’s what I do, right? Take the shit end of the stick every time?” I slam the back door of the house and stalk over to my truck before peeling out of the parking lot.

  Working with family is overrated.

  “Why don’t you come with me?” Camila trails her hands down my bare chest but stops before she gets to the good part. “You’ve been wound tight since Thursday night. I promise a good run in the woods will do you some good.”

  It’s Saturday morning and we’re lying in her bed, having just woken up. I haven’t said more than a few words to either of my brothers since I stormed out on Thursday. When I was in the office yesterday morning and at the end of the day, I couldn’t help but notice that they weren’t speaking to each other either, which made me think that maybe they got into their own argument after I left.

  “Your race is in a couple of weeks. You don’t want me holding you back when you’re on your training run.” I capture her hand and bring it to my lips, placing a kiss on her knuckles.

  “Actually, today I’d planned to do a light session. Tomorrow is about pushing myself to the limit, so be prepared to dole out some massages.”

  “Hmm… let me think about this. You naked and covered in oil and it’s my job to run my hands all over your body… where do I sign up?”

  She giggles and swats my chest. “I’m serious. Come with me. It will help clear your head. Not just the exercise, but the whole being in nature thing also.”

  It doesn’t sound like a bad idea. As much as I’d love to remain naked in this bed with Camila all day, we have to do other things besides each other.

  “Okay, but I don’t have any running gear with me, so why don’t you get ready, then we can swing by my place and I’ll change?”

  She rises up on one arm beside me, her face lit up like Christmas lights. “You mean I finally get to see your place?”

  I chuckle. “I haven’t been hiding it from you.”

  “I know, but we’re always here and I’ve been curious to see your house. A girl needs to know whether her boyfriend has secret lairs in his basement or skeletons in his closet—literally speaking.”

  “You mean like a sex dungeon?” I arch an eyebrow.

  “Hmm… that could be interesting.”

  I cup the back of her head and pull her in. What starts as an innocent kiss deepens into something more until her hand presses on my chest and she’s pulling away.

  “If I don’t go get ready, we’re never getting out of this bed today.” Then she hops out of bed and goes over to her dresser.

  Now that I’m her boyfriend, I find myself appreciative of the sports bra and Lycra shorts she wears when she runs. Other men can look, but I’m the only one who can touch. And I’m gonna keep doing everything in my power to keep her happy so that doesn’t stop.

  Thirty

  Camila

  Lucas pulls into the driveway of a lovely two-story home with navy blue siding and bright white trim. The gardens in front are simple but well kept, and the windows have been updated to black trim ones.

  “This looks really nice,” I say as I hop out of his truck.

  “Thanks. I’ve been here a little more than five years. Pretty much done all the projects inside, so I’ve been thinking of selling it and moving on to the next one to do the same.”

  “Is that what you want to do? Keep buying properties that need work, rehabbing them, then moving on to the next one?”

  He shrugs as he leads me to the front porch and pulls out his keys. “Until I settle down with a wife and kids.”

  I don’t know what to say, but I’m saved from having to say anything when he opens the door and reveals the interior of his home.

  “Oh wow.” I ste
p inside.

  I figured it would be nice—he is a handyman after all. But no part of this feels like a bachelor pad. His home is filled with warm woods and natural textures mixed with a muted green paint on the walls in the living room and a stone fireplace. The kitchen houses gray cupboards and light quartz counters, and to my surprise, everything is neat and tidy.

  Lucas stands back and watches me explore the main floor of his house.

  “You’ve done an exceptional job. I’m impressed.” I look over to find him smiling, and if I’m not mistaken, there’s pride in his stance.

  “I’m glad you like it. Do you want to go upstairs and see the bedrooms?” He’s grinning and I can’t help but chuckle.

  “Maybe I should stay down here while you change, otherwise we might never get out of here.”

  He makes his way toward the wooden slat stairs, smacking me on the ass when he passes by. “You know me well.” He winks, and a light and airy feeling comes over me.

  While he’s upstairs changing, I take the opportunity to look more closely at his space. There aren’t any books lying around, but he does have a record player in the living room, so I head over to that to see what kind of music he enjoys. There’s rock ‘n roll, which I expected, but I didn’t expect the eclectic nature of his albums. He has everything from Dermot Kennedy and Leon Bridges to Jack Harlow and the Beastie Boys.

  I flip through the albums. Oh wait… is that… I laugh and pull out Taylor Swift’s Reputation album.

  A creak on the stairs behind me has me whirling around.

  “You like Taylor Swift?” I can’t disguise the humor in my tone.

  “Do you like Taylor Swift?” he asks.

  “Duh, she’s a queen. But I didn’t figure you for a Swiftie.”

  He walks over and takes the album from me, putting it back where I found it. “I’m not. Grams asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I told her a Travis Taylor album. She got confused.” He chuckles.

  “That makes more sense. Have you listened to it?”

  “Can’t say that I have.”

  “Oh, you have to. Do yourself a favor and listen to it when you get home.”

  He wraps his arm around my shoulder and leads me out of the house. “No promises.”

  “You don’t know what you’re missing,” I say over my shoulder as I walk toward the truck while he locks up.

  “I’ll have to take your word for it.” He unlocks the truck and we both climb in.

  As soon as he turns the engine over, the radio lets loose a song from Taylor Swift’s latest album and a laugh bubbles out of me.

  “It’s a sign,” I say.

  He shakes his head and reverses down the driveway.

  We make it to the trailhead in twenty minutes. The one we chose for today isn’t far out of town, and after we stretch and I strap on my running belt to hold my water, we start. Lucas tells me to set the pace since I’m the one training for a race in a couple of weeks, so I keep us at a light jog. I don’t want to overdo it today since tomorrow is all about doing the pace I’ll try to keep for the duration of the race.

  The fresh smell of the air and the greenery surrounding us immediately makes me feel relaxed. I hope it has the same effect on Lucas, though I have some other ideas of what might help him get rid of the tension he’s been carrying around since his argument with his brothers.

  We’re about twenty-five minutes in and we haven’t passed many people. Probably because it looks like the possibility of rain at some point. The sky is filled with dark gray clouds. I’m not sweating too bad since we’re not running all out, and I tell Lucas that I want to stop for a water break. That’s true, but I also have an idea.

  I take a few gulps of my water, then hold it out for Lucas. “Want some?”

  “Thanks.” He takes the bottle and gurgles some back, then wipes his mouth with the back of his hand to chase away the water that dribbled from his lips.

  It reminds me of what he does after he’s done going down on me and my core tingles in anticipation of my plan. He hands me back the water and I set it in the holder at my waist.

  “Want to do something fun?” I ask with a grin.

  He smiles at me. “Isn’t that what we’re doing?”

  Without warning, I leave the trail and run through the woods. “Catch me!”

  “Hey!”

  I hear him enter the forest behind me and I run as fast as I can without tripping over anything. The forest isn’t too thick—most of the trees are so tall that there are no branches near the ground—so I make good headway because of my lead. It takes a minute or so before I hear him right behind me and I slow—because really, the whole point of this was for him to catch me.

  “Gotcha!” He snags me by my waist.

  I turn and spin around, letting our fronts collide, and I waste no time pushing my hands through his hair that’s damp with sweat. Our lips meet and our kiss turns into a frenzy of plunging tongues and roaming hands.

  “Is this why you got me out here?” he asks against my jaw as he trails open-mouthed kisses there.

  “It’s exactly why.”

  He lets out a sound that reminds me of a growl. “You naughty little thing.”

  “That’s right. Maybe you should punish me.” It’s not news to me that Lucas brings out my sexual side like no man before him—presumably because I’m so comfortable with him.

  “Gladly. Turn around.” He grabs my hands that are in his hair and brings them down to my side, then spins me around. “Go over to that big tree and set your hands on it.”

  I bite my bottom lip with a grin, take the few steps to the tree, and bend a bit at the waist with my palms on the rough bark. Looking over my shoulder, I see that Lucas is walking toward me, his erection clearly visible in his running shorts.

  “You better stop looking at me like that or you’re gonna get it,” he says in a gravelly voice.

  “I’m hoping you’ll give it to me.”

  With a grin, he steps into me and rubs his hard cock against my Lycra-clad ass. I moan, but it’s not enough. I need all of him, not just a tease of him.

  “What the lady wants, the lady will get.” He unclasps the belt at my waist and tosses it aside. I hear the water hit the forest floor with a thud. His large hand rubs over the globes of my ass. “This ass is perfection, Cami.”

  God, I love the way he only ever says the shortened form of my name when we’re in bed.

  I moan as Lucas takes the waistband of my shorts and slides it down my legs, but not all the way. He forces my ass up higher and my legs open wider so that the stretchy fabric is stretched from just above one knee to the other. Then he smacks my one ass cheek with his open palm and I moan.

  “Like that, do you?”

  He smacks me again in the same spot, a little harder, and the sensation turns into a burn until he gently traces a pattern over my skin, soothing away the pain. He does this a few more times until I’m insane with need and begging him to fuck me.

  A dark chuckle sounds from behind me. “Don’t worry, Cami, I’m gonna give you exactly what you want.”

  His hands delve between my slick folds and he groans, finding me wet and ready for him.

  We had a conversation last night about not using condoms anymore. We’re both clean and sleeping only with each other and I’m on birth control. It takes a lot for me to put my trust in him after what happened with Elijah, but I’m convinced he’s worth it. But this will be the first time we’re together without a condom and I can’t wait to feel him bare inside me.

  He lines up the head of his cock with my entrance, and without preamble, he thrusts into me, almost to the hilt. The sounds of my pleasure echo throughout the quiet forest. He barely pauses before he pulls out then pushes into me again, this time all the way.

  “Damn, Cami, you feel so good.” Lucas holds me by the waist as he pummels in and out of me. “Love fucking you bare.”

  It’s like he knows that I want it quick and dirty and fast. No romance. Just givi
ng each of us what we so desperately want and need.

  My hands rub a bit on the bark every time he slams into me, but I couldn’t care less if I end up with some scrapes.

  The stirrings of an orgasm start just as Lucas brings his hand around over my mound and massages my clit. I go off and clench around him, crying out and forcing my knees to lock so that I don’t slide down onto the ground.

  Lucas pumps a few more times then pulls out, jerking himself to completion and crying out as I feel something warm coat my ass cheeks. He drops a chaste kiss to my spine then backs away, heaving large breaths.

  “You’ve got all the good ideas,” he says.

  “I do, except now I’m not sure how to clean up. I didn’t think that far ahead.” I look back over my shoulder at him.

  He pushes a hand through his disheveled hair and presses his lips together. “Here, let’s use my shirt.” Lucas pulls his shirt off the way I love, with one hand from the back of his neck, and cleans me off.

  “Oh, now I get to see you run shirtless the rest of our run.”

  He chuckles then strategically folds his T-shirt before hanging it out of the back of his shorts. “Sorry, I didn’t know if I should finish inside you or not. I thought it might be worse to have to run afterward if I did.”

  I think of how uncomfortable that would’ve been and smile at him. “Good call.” Then I pick up my belt and water off the forest floor and take a drink. I hand the almost-empty bottle to Lucas. “Want to finish our run now that I’m no longer sexually frustrated?”

  He screws the lid back on the water and hands it back. “Let’s do it.”

  “Last one back to the trail is a rotten egg!” I take off ahead of him again, laughing as he tracks me from behind.

  “The last one back has to go down on the other?”

  “Deal,” I say, running away.

  I always knew my runs could be peaceful, but I didn’t know they could be so fun.

  Thirty-One