I Do, or Dye Trying (Curl Up and Dye Mysteries,#4)

by Aimee Nicole Walker

  Gabe gripped my hair in a tight fist. “Fuck me, Josh. Fill me.”

  I slammed into him gracelessly, rutting inside him as my body demanded. I didn’t close my eyes; I wanted my gaze locked with his when I spilled inside him for the first time.

  “That’s it, baby. Fuck me hard. I want it all.” Gabe’s dirty mouth snapped what little control I had left and I came hard inside him. Gabe reached between us and slicked his cock for me while I sucked air into my lungs. “My turn,” he demanded hungrily.

  I saw how swollen and angry his cock looked and knew just what he needed to feel better. I eased my dick from Gabe’s ass and repositioned myself to straddle him. Penetration after an orgasm wasn’t usually the most comfortable experience, but I was still semi-hard and aroused when I eased down onto his erection.

  I placed my hands on Gabe’s pecs then raised and lowered myself slowly a few times until I was completely stretched and ready to fuck. Damn, his dick felt so good, and my nerve-laden hole sucked him in greedily as I rode him. Gabe’s body shook beneath mine, and his hands gripped my hips tight while I used my inner thigh muscles to work myself up and down.

  “Spread your legs wider; I want to see you,” Gabe growled. “Fuck!” he yelled when I lifted my arms above my head and lost myself in the moment. “So damn sexy,” Gabe said before he traced his finger over my puckered opening where it stretched around his dick.

  “I want to make it so good for you, baby,” I told him.

  Gabe’s response was to grab me by the waist and roll me over until my calves were propped up on his shoulders. “Any better and my heart would explode.” Then he began to pound me as Suave Gabe turned into Caveman Gabe. He fucked me until I was fully erect and coming a second time before he released inside me. I thought I knew all of Gabe’s sex sounds, but I’d never heard the raw, animalistic ones he made as my ass milked every hot drop of his seed.

  He lowered my legs and collapsed on top of me when the last quake left his body. His weight pinned me to the mattress and made it hard for me to breathe, but I didn’t care. The storm had descended on us at some point during lovemaking. The wind thrashed outside my bedroom window, rain danced on my metal roof, and the lightning split the darkness seconds before the world shook and rolled from the loud, roaring thunder, not unlike the way Gabe looked the moment that his climax tore through him.

  Gabe eased off me and said, “Let’s get cleaned up before…” The lights flickered a few times and went out just then as if mother nature wanted to prove to us that she was always in charge. “We’ll improvise,” he said good-naturedly before he gave me a quick kiss and rolled off the bed.

  “Wait,” I said before he tripped over a shoe on the way to the restroom. “I have just the thing.” I reached over and pulled out a flashlight from the bottom drawer in the bedside table. “Most people keep a Fleshlight in their drawers, but that’s not helpful during a power outage.”

  “Oh, I think it could have its uses,” Gabe said jokingly.

  I set the flashlight on the bathroom vanity so we could take a shower. There was plenty of hot water stored in the tank, so we didn’t need to rush. I liked the dimmed light in the bathroom while I ran soapy hands all over my man’s body. It wasn’t as sexy as a candlelit bath, but it was still pretty hot.

  After we finished, we lay together in the dark and listened to the sounds of rain on the roof. It was one of Gabe’s favorite things, and I wasn’t sure how many times he would get the opportunity to hear it before we moved. I noticed I didn’t think if, because buying Georgia’s mansion was a foregone conclusion in my mind. It was our dream, and it would happen.

  The rain continued long after the lightning stopped and the wind died down. I figured we’d just lie there quietly until we fell asleep, but Gabe had other plans. “Close friends and family only,” he said into the darkness. “Sweet and simple.”

  “Next week’s barbecue?” I asked in mock ignorance. “Damn, I was thinking about having a block party.” Gabe pinched my ass hard enough to leave a mark. “Ouch!”

  “I’ll kiss it later if you stop being a brat,” Gabe said. “You know damn well I’m talking about our wedding.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I told him. “I was just revving you up. What kind of wedding did you think I had in mind?”

  “It’s hard telling with you,” Gabe said.

  I raised up on my elbow and looked down at him, even though I couldn’t see anything. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I don’t know,” Gabe said. “I was just revving you up.”

  “Oh, in that case,” I said, lying back down beside him. I pinched his nipple hard enough to make him hiss and arch his back.

  “You little hellcat,” Gabe said. I could hear him rubbing his hand over his affliction.

  “I’ll kiss it later if you stop being a brat,” I mimicked.

  “It’ll have to wait until tomorrow because I probably can’t get it up again until then,” Gabe said.

  “That’s a glowing endorsement if I’ve ever heard one,” I said. “Not even married yet and I’ve rendered you limp.”

  Gabe rolled me to my back to switch our positions and leaned over me. “Yeah, you rendered me limp because your tight, greedy ass milked every ounce of spunk I had. It’s going to take some time for my splooge factory to make some more.”

  I laughed hard at his ridiculousness even though I felt a little pride that I wore him out; it was no easy feat. “You need to get some sleep anyway, since you’re returning to work tomorrow,” I said.

  “I seriously want to hear what you envision for our wedding,” Gabe said to me.

  “I hadn’t given it much thought yet,” I replied honestly. “It’s our wedding so we should discuss what we want for the big day.”

  “No fucking clowns,” Gabe groused. “That much I know.”

  “Gabriel Allen Wyatt,” I said in frustration. “We’re having a wedding, not a circus. Why in the hell would I have clowns at our wedding?”

  “Just throwing that out there,” Gabe said like it made perfect sense to him that it should be part of the conversation.

  “I would never do something like that to you,” I told him. It was true that I wanted to send that new clown emoji a time or two, but I didn’t. People should take phobias seriously. “I was thinking less circus tent and more elegant and timeless. I have thought about what we’re going to wear,” I confessed then told him what I had in mind.

  “Perfect,” Gabe said. “I’ll try not to get a raging hard-on while thinking about you wearing your aqua blue undies beneath. Are you going to put an aqua streak in your hair?”

  I thought about it for a few heartbeats then shook my head. “Nah, as fun as it is sometimes, I don’t think I want that in our wedding pictures. It’s not elegant or timeless.”

  “What about food?” Gabe asked, getting to the heart of his priorities. “Are we going to eat outside?”

  “Hmmmmm. I think I know,” I said, envisioning a large marquee with gauzy white fabric and buffet tables laden down with a variety of savory meats and delicious side dishes for our guests to choose from. I described what I saw in great detail and smiled at the happy sounds Gabe made. My man loved only one thing more than food, and that was me.

  “We know what we’re wearing and what we’ll be eating,” Gabe said. “Who do you want to officiate our wedding? Rocky?” I tried to tweak his nipple again, but he pinned my hands above my head before I could land my pinching fingers.

  “I was thinking about my dad’s best friend, Niles McDonnell,” I told Gabe. “He’s a retired county judge who fills in during vacations and illnesses. He’d still have the authority to marry us, and I always thought of him as my uncle and not just my dad’s best friend.”

  “He sounds perfect,” Gabe said. “Location, food, judge, and outfits,” Gabe said, making us sound like Ken dolls. “What else is there to decide?” he asked.

  “Guest list, DJ, flowers, and the song that we’ll dance to as husbands,” I tol
d him. “That’s all I can think of right now because I’m engaged to a liar.” I rubbed my leg against his erection.

  “I guess my spunk monkeys were working overtime,” he said.

  “It was the food talk,” I told him.

  “No,” he said softly. “It was the beautiful picture you painted for me. I could see us standing at the altar and you’re looking at me in the special way that you do.”

  “How do I look at you?” I asked him.

  “Like I’m the only man you can see, the only one who you’ll ever love and share a life with.” Gabe’s words moved me to tears. I was silent for several long moments, unsure of how to respond.

  “Well, duh,” I finally said, wiping away the hot tears on my face. Come on; I could only hold the snark at bay for so long. “You’re my everything, Gabe,” I said after he stopped chuckling. “Of course, I’m going to look at you like that. It’s exactly the way you look at me too, and it’s why I’m just not willing to be afraid anymore.” I wrapped my hand around his dick and stroked him up and down. “We better take care of this so you can get some sleep. You gotta go back to being Bad Cop tomorrow.”

  “Surely, things will slow down for us now,” Gabe grumbled, but I noticed he wasn’t distracted from reaching for the lube again.

  What’s that saying about famous last words? I still needed to tell him my thoughts on taking off our rings until our wedding day, but we were too tired after round two of sex in the raw to do anything but sleep. I’ll tell him tomorrow, I thought to myself as I started to drift to sleep.

  “LAST MONDAY OFF FOR a while,” I said to Josh the next morning. He would begin shooting his new series for Channel Eleven the following week. “Inventory and the usual stuff?” I asked him.

  “Actually, no,” he said, wearing a triumphant smile. “Chaz took that over for me when I began shooting the wedding series, and he did a wonderful job. In fact, he’s more intuitive about the trending product sales than I am. I’m thinking about asking him to take on more of a management role at the salon and hiring someone else to book appointments and stuff, especially since I plan on expanding the salon.”

  I blinked at him several times in surprise because Josh was beyond hands-on with his business. It was his baby, and he wouldn’t just trust it in anyone’s hands. I wasn’t sure Chaz wanted the extra responsibility, but I knew without a doubt that he’d be honored when Josh asked. “Sunshine, that’s a great idea.”

  “I know,” he said, brushing my hands away to take over the task of buttoning my shirt. I was used to him undressing me but not the reverse. He got to the second to the last button and paused. I saw his eyes soften as he studied the Saint Michael pendant he bought me for Christmas resting against my chest. The sentiment behind the necklace told me how much I meant to him long before he said the words. He ran his finger over the medallion reverently then leaned forward and kissed it. Regardless of his brave words the previous day, his actions told me that Emory’s premonition struck him harder than he wanted me to know. “I love you, Gabe,” he said tenderly.

  “I love you too, Sunshine. More than anything in the world.”

  Josh nodded as he swallowed down a lump of emotion. “That’s why I’m going to call the bank today to schedule an appointment with my loan officer so we can get the process started to buy Georgia’s mansion. I’m so excited to buy that house and marry you, Gabe. I just need to find out what they’ll want from my accountant to show my income. I’m going to guess the last two years of tax returns and a profit and loss statement for the current year. They’ll probably just need to verify your income and…” I held my hand up to stop him. “Is it too early in the morning for this kind of talk?” he asked me.

  “No, it’s just not necessary,” I told him. “I might’ve downplayed my net worth when we discussed buying the mansion.” I grimaced when he narrowed his eyes suspiciously and took a step back from me.

  “Downplayed how?” he asked. “Are you talking about the amount or how you obtained the money?” Josh loved to rile me up about my past run-ins with Internal Affairs. It had become one of his favorite snarky jokes when he was trying to throw shade my way.

  “Both,” I said dramatically then had to bite my lip to keep from laughing when he reached between us and grabbed my balls hard enough to get my attention but not enough to hurt me.

  “Quit playing around and tell me everything now,” he demanded. Josh squeezed my sac a little harder when I could no longer hold back my laughter. “You think it’s funny, do you?”

  “I’m laughing about how easily you get riled up over IA but not about the way you’re gripping my cum depots in your fist,” I answered. Josh loosened his hold but didn’t remove his hand altogether. “I hope you plan on kissing them to make it better.”

  “Can you please be serious?” Josh asked, which was a complete turn of events from our usual scenario. “What do you mean about the mortgage talk not being necessary, Gabe?”

  “I might’ve already talked to Georgia’s lawyer before I proposed marriage and mentioned buying the house to you. I wanted to have an idea of what he wanted to sell it for before we discussed it. I also didn’t want him to sell it to anyone else until I was sure of your response.”

  “None of that answers my question,” Josh responded impatiently. “You said you inherited some money from your grandparents that you wanted to use as a down payment on the house to minimize the mortgage payments. Now you sound like you don’t need a mortgage on the property at all.”

  “Okay, this is the part that I think you won’t like,” I told Josh. The tilt of his head and the way he crossed his arms over his chest told me he was bracing himself for the impact of my words. At least he didn’t have a grip on my nuts any longer. “I thought that maybe we can just buy the house outright since you already have a mortgage here and…”

  “No fucking way.” Josh shook his head emphatically. “We are going to be partners in all things. I’m not going to live in a house that you bought me. Besides, we’re going to need that money for the heathen children’s college funds.”

  The talk of heathen children took the sting out of his rejection, but it was still there. “I have the means to buy the house for us, and you’re going to refuse it?”

  “I am,” Josh said stubbornly. “I work for what I have, Gabe. I work very hard. I won’t be a kept man, and I don’t want any handouts!”

  “Sunshine, this isn’t a ‘handout,’ and you won’t be a ‘kept’ man,” I told him, trying hard not to laugh at his outrage. Just when I thought I had my guy figured out. “No one is going to start filming the Househusbands of Blissville. Not that you wouldn’t be awesome,” I assured him when it looked like my attempt to soothe him only made things worse.

  “Damn straight I would,” he said saucily. “Okay, let me take a step back here and try to explain this better.”

  I pulled Josh closer instead of letting him step back. “Tell me from here.” I wrapped him up in my arms and waited patiently for him to talk about what was bugging him. He would in his own way and at his pace. I just needed to give him the time, but I wasn’t willing to give him space. I liked him right where he was.

  “My business and my home were the only things I was prideful about before I met you, Gabe. My parents sold the house to me for a ridiculously low amount of money, but I built this business on my own. I don’t need to be better than anyone else or have more, but I demand equal. Can you understand where I’m coming from?”

  I nodded because I did. “Can you also see that this is something amazing I can afford to do for us? Why have two mortgages when we don’t need it?”

  It was Josh’s turn to nod and agree. “I know that we can reach a compromise that will make us both happy. Let me do some thinking about it today and put together a proposal.”

  “But you don’t know how much money I have to invest in our future,” I argued.

  “Nor do you know how much I have to invest in our future.” He had me there. I knew his salo
n was wildly successful, and even more so after his wedding special aired on the news.

  “Okay, tonight we show each other our assets and decide what to do with them,” I said agreeably.

  “Yes, and afterward we’ll talk about finances,” Josh said sassily before he gave me a quick peck on the lips. “You’re going to be late to work if you don’t get going.”

  I released him because he was right. I had a meeting with the Carter County prosecutor to discuss the pretrial hearings for Rylan Broadman. I sure as hell didn’t want to be late for that. “Hand me that tie,” I said pointing to the burgundy silk one that he loved so much. In fact, he always got a certain gleam in his eyes whenever he held it. I was pretty sure I recognized what that glimmer meant and vowed to test my theory that evening. He sure as hell had the upper hand on me several times.

  I faced the mirror to make sure I got my tie on perfectly straight. I saw Josh checking out my ass in the reflection and didn’t bother hiding my pleasure that he wanted me so much. I might’ve preened a bit and flexed my glutes for him. Once I finished with the tie, I checked my overall appearance and noted that my hair was looking a little messy.

  “Before things get too serious tonight, do you think you could give me a trim?” I asked Josh. His gaze shifted from where it had been locked on my ass to meet mine in the mirror.

  “You don’t trust me to cut your hair afterward?” he asked semi-playfully, tipping his head to the side to study me.

  “I trust you; shall I prove it?” I challenged.

  Josh shook his head slowly then closed the distance between us. He slid his arms around my waist and rested his forehead between my shoulder blades. “You never have to prove anything to me, Gabe.”