Ride or Dye (Curl Up and Dye Mysteries, #6)

by Aimee Nicole Walker

  We continued down the path, chatting happily or quietly enjoying the solitude until we came to a clearing leading down to a dock where the tied-off jet skis and small boats bounced with the waves as water came to shore. There was a decent-sized wooden structure I figured housed the canoes and life jackets for the water activities. As interesting as I found it to be, my eyes and heart were set on seeing a small lighthouse that was built where the land jutted out like a peninsula. The land appeared to drop off, and I figured there would be a beach below it.

  “Gabe, do you remember our fun little competitions on our honeymoon?”

  “Do you mean how we tried to outdo each other by planning the perfect excursions?”

  “Yep. Care to make a wager right now on who plans the best outing on this vacation?” I asked. I deliberately avoided looking at the lighthouse for too long so he wouldn’t guess what my mind was busy creating.

  “Challenge accepted,” Gabe said smugly. “Let’s head back so we can individually chat with Juliette. I’ll let you go first while I call Mom and check on the babies.”

  “No phoning a friend for assistance,” I told him.

  “I don’t need anyone’s help,” Gabe bragged. “I’ve got your number.”

  Yes, he did, but I was still going to blow him away with my surprise.

  “I NEED THIS TO be the most romantic excursion he’s ever been on,” I told Juliette. “We have young twins at home, and it might be quite some time before we’re able to go on vacation again.”

  “Interesting,” she replied, lips tilting up at the corners.

  “You probably don’t have many couples come in here soliciting your help to out-romance their significant other, do you?”

  “No,” she agreed with a slight tilt of her head. “I like it though. Josh has made arrangements for tomorrow, so I assume you want to challenge…I mean romance him on the following day.”

  “That’s my goal. Knowing his plans, what might you suggest?” I listened raptly while she went through some options. “I want him to weep, Juliette.” Her eyes widened. “Happy tears.” By the time I left her office with an itinerary in hand, I just knew there was no way Josh could top me this time around.

  “Wake up, sleepyhead,” Josh whispered in my ear the morning of his big adventure.

  “Why? We’re on vacation,” I grumbled.

  “We are, and there’s no time to waste.”

  I cracked open one eye to look around the dark room. “It’s not even dawn yet.”

  “That’s the point. We need to get up and get an early start. I started the shower for you, and I made you a cup of coffee. The selection of coffees for the Keurig in our room is pretty impressive.” Fuck me! It sounded like he’d had several cups already. I couldn’t say I had any real complaints about my husband. Sure, we all did things that annoyed our spouses, but his cheerfulness first thing in the morning was tipping the scale in favor of complaint instead of a mild annoyance.

  I burrowed deeper under the covers, pulling them up to my ears. “Whatever it is you had planned can wait until a decent hour.”

  “Gabe, I’ve been up for at least thirty minutes doing yoga on the balcony so I could be good and limber for what I had planned for you.”

  Yoga. Limber. Those two words jumpstarted my brain and dick to life. Watching Josh do yoga was better than watching porn. I threw back the covers and sat up. “Why didn’t you wake me up for that?”

  “Because it leads to sex, and I need to hold off on that for just a while.”

  You know the sound an engine makes as it winds down when you shut it off? Yeah, that was my cock. No sex?

  “I didn’t say we weren’t having sex,” Josh said, jerking back the covers. Had I said it out loud? “We’re having sex in a very special place as part of my special day. You can come back afterward and take a nap.” I don’t know at what age taking a nap went from something I loathed to something I loved, but it almost ranked as high as sex on some occasions.

  “Okay,” I grumbled as I rose from the bed and started zombie-shuffling toward the bedroom. “This better rock my world.”

  “Don’t I always?” Josh asked.

  “Yes, but it doesn’t mean I’m not questioning the date I planned for you. I now think I was too kind.” Josh’s happy laughter followed me into the bathroom and made me smile when I wasn’t in the mood.

  “Don’t jerk off either,” Josh said as I began lathering my body.

  “Worried I won’t be able to get it up again so soon?”

  Josh snorted. “I just don’t want to be late, so no lingering on your cock and balls.”

  The sky was still fairly dark by the time I joined Josh on the balcony. “Washed, dried, and dressed. Now what?”

  “Now we leave.”

  “Leave? Where are we going?”

  “Do you trust me?”

  “Of course, I trust you,” I replied.

  “Then just follow me.”

  I followed him down the main staircase through the common rooms to the French doors leading to the gorgeous deck on the back of the inn. Through the wall of eastward-facing windows, I could see the sky lightening up a bit as the sun was thinking about making its glorious appearance. Josh opened the doors and stepped onto the deck.

  “Good morning,” Juliette cheerfully said, startling me. She was the last person I expected to be awake at such an ungodly hour, although, I realized the inn staff would be up and at it early to get everything prepared for the day. Somehow, I doubted meeting guests on the deck before dawn was part of her normal duties. “This should be everything you requested, Josh.” Juliette handed him a picnic basket, a flannel blanket, and two flashlights. Flashlights? Where the hell were we going?

  “Thank you so much, Juliette.” Josh then looked over the trees to the horizon. “We better get a move on before we miss it.” Josh handed me a flashlight then clicked his on.

  “Miss what?” I asked, obediently following him. “Thank you, Juliette,” I tossed over my shoulder when I remembered my manners.

  “My pleasure, gentlemen.”

  “Sunshine, are you expecting me to walk through the haunted forest in the dark?”

  “It’s enchanted, not haunted. No one is going to hurt you. There will only be pleasure during this excursion. Toe-curling pleasure.” I admittedly picked up the pace a little. Josh inhaled dramatically and released his breath slowly when we entered the darkened woods. “Smell it?”

  I took a deep breath, picking up the scents of pine, grass, and dirt. I would never have taken Josh as a nature boy, but he seemed damned eager to trek through the woods that morning. “Earth?” I asked.

  “Renewal. Growth. Promise.”

  “Babe, I’m finding this new side of you very interesting, but I hope there’s something more exciting than twigs and berries in your picnic basket.”

  “Man can’t live on twigs and berries alone,” Josh replied.

  My senses were on high alert when we walked through the woods. Not only was it dark, the feeling of being observed added to the creepiness factor. I couldn’t say if it was human or ethereal, but the hair was standing up all over my body, telling me we weren’t alone. I stepped closer to Josh without trying to make it obvious I was ready to spring into action. I was probably being ridiculous, but the singing in the woods and the open balcony door after I specifically remember closing and locking it left me feeling uneasy.

  We came to the first clearing where the barns and additional living quarters were located, and I noticed there wasn’t a single light on in any of the structures. I never asked if those buildings were where the staff lived, I’d just assumed. They were either all at work or they were still sleeping like I wished I was. Not even the horses were stirring in the barns. I thought farmers were up before dawn feeding their pets. Tarlington House was still an active farm with hundreds of acres of farmland surrounding it. Where were the farmhands?

  “Stop grumbling,” Josh said, making a turn toward the second trail in the woods le
ading to the river.

  “I didn’t say anything,” I replied.

  “I saw you eyeing the living quarters and barn. I bet you were wondering why you were up before them.” Did he always need to be right? “I promise this will be the only morning I wake you before dawn.”

  “Okay,” I grumbled.

  The sky had lightened up some more by the time we made it to the second clearing leading to the inlet where Steamboat Creek met North Edisto River, but the sun was only flirting with the horizon.

  “Wow,” I said out loud. “This will be an incredible place to watch the sunrise.”

  “You haven’t seen anything yet.” Josh nodded his head toward the lighthouse where soft glowing lights flickered in the windows. “Come on,” he told me. “I want to make sure everything is set up perfectly for your surprise.”

  I could’ve told him that standing in the clearing was perfect enough, but I could tell how important this was to him. Not only because of the competition we had going on between us either. He was proud of his plan, and I wouldn’t spoil it. Plus, he did mention something about sex, and I had a pretty good idea of exactly what he planned.

  The lighthouse was locked, but Josh retrieved the key out of the picnic basket to let us inside. The flickering lights in the windows were electric LED candles and a lovely touch. I wondered if someone came in later to turn them off or if they had sensors triggered by the amount of light to turn them on and off. The interior of the lighthouse maintained the original woodwork just like Tarlington House. This wasn’t some ramshackle, crumbling building. It smelled of history and Murphy’s Oil Soap. Someone took great care in its upkeep.

  I saw the winding metal staircase in the center of the room and followed it up until it disappeared into an opening in the floor above us. I knew it was our destination and eagerly followed Josh up those hundreds of steps to reach the lookout point.

  “Oh my God!” I said, looking over the river. “Sunshine, this is…” My words trailed off.

  “We haven’t seen anything yet. Keep your eye on the horizon while I unpack the picnic basket.”

  I sat in one of the Adirondack chairs facing the horizon over the river while Josh bustled around behind me making a nest. “Why don’t you leave it alone for now and come watch the sunrise with me? I doubt you intended for me to witness it by my lonesome.”

  “Just let me pour us a cup of coffee.”

  “It can wait,” I told him. “I want you in my arms, preferably naked.”

  Josh came to stand in front of me and immediately began undressing. “Getting naked was part of the plan.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a packet of lube then tossed it to me so he could finish pushing his pants down his legs. Behind him, the horizon was beginning to turn orange, yellow, and pink. As beautiful as the sunrise promised to be, there would never be anything that made my heart pound and blood race with excitement more than looking at my husband. My husband.

  I expected Josh to climb on my lap, but he crooked his finger for me to follow him onto the wraparound gallery. “Lose your clothes too.”

  Strutting around nude wasn’t high on my list, but I saw the concrete wall surrounding the gallery was high enough to protect us from the prying eyes of anyone who happened to be up at the ridiculously early hour. When I stepped onto the gallery, the top of the sun was just emerging from her slumber, but it wasn’t what captured my attention. Josh leaned his upper body on top of the wall, popping his delicious ass out on display.

  He felt my stare and looked over his shoulder, pulling my eyes up to meet his. “You’re going to miss the sunrise staring at my ass.”

  “I’m not going to miss a thing,” I said, stepping behind him and cupping his ass with both hands. “I’m skilled enough to make love to you while watching the sun come up.”

  Josh moaned and pushed back into my touch when I began kneading his ass. “I was hoping you would say that.”

  “Just keep your eyes on the horizon, Sunshine.”

  I dropped to my knees and rimmed his puckered hole until I was able to work my tongue inside him then I reached for the packet of lube I dropped by his feet. “Y-y-ou’re going to miss it.”

  I squirted lube on my fingers then stood up to take my place behind him. “I’m exactly where I want to be.” He gasped and moaned when I slid my first slick digit inside to tease him. “You’re my personal sunrise and sunset, Josh. Nothing will ever compare to you, to this.” I slid a second finger inside him, working them in and out to stretch him as the sun inched a little higher.

  “Damn, how do you always know the right thing to say?” he asked breathily.

  I didn’t always say the right things, but it was easy for him to forget in the heat of passion. “I speak from the heart.”

  I removed my fingers and lined my dick up to his greedy hole. “And I love making love to you more than breathing.” I slowly eased inside him until my pelvis was flush against his pert ass. “But this you already know.” Josh turned his head, his mouth seeking mine. I couldn’t deny him anything he wanted, so I kept our kiss shorter than I preferred. “Eyes on the sunrise.” Then I began to move in deep, slow strokes. I silently vowed our lovemaking would last as long as it took for the sun to fully rise which meant I had to stop a few times to touch and tease him in other ways. Josh thought I was edging him, but I just wanted to give us both a sunrise we’d never forget. After all, we weren’t guaranteed another together. What if this was the only one we had left? If I couldn’t come, he couldn’t either.

  “I need to come,” Josh pleaded.

  “Almost,” I said when just the tiniest sliver of the sun hadn’t risen above the horizon. “A few more minutes.” When the sun was fully visible, I linked my fingers with Josh’s on the concrete wall and quickened my strokes just the way we both liked it. “Come with me, Sunshine.” And he did.

  Afterward, I wanted to lean against him, but I didn’t want my weight to crush him against the rough concrete. Instead, I slowly pulled out and tugged him back to lean against me.

  “This is going to be hard to beat,” Josh said proudly. “Romantic, sexy, and beautiful. Oh, and you haven’t seen what’s inside the basket yet.”

  I had forgotten all about the food. Josh turned in my arms, rose up on his tiptoes, and kissed me. “We’ll see if you feel so confident when you see what I have planned for you tomorrow.”

  “I’m sure it will be nice.”

  “Nice?”

  “Don’t get your tighty-whities in a twist,” Josh said, pulling out of my arms and heading back inside the lighthouse.

  “I’m not wearing any,” I reminded him.

  “It’s a figure of speech, Gabriel. You don’t even own a pair of tighty-whities which is something I think we need to correct. I also think you need to get them wet accidentally.”

  “How do you suppose I get them wet? Do you want me to run through our yard in the rain?” I wasn’t aware Josh found old-fashioned white briefs to be attractive. Wait. He didn’t say anything about them being the kind of underwear men in their eighties wore.

  “Babe, it kind of kills the fantasy a bit if I have to spell it out for you. It’s so much more fun for me to see what you come up with on your own.” Josh put his underwear back on then spread out the blanket on the wood floor before placing the basket in the center and plopping down beside it.

  I followed his lead even though I didn’t know why we couldn’t be naked just a little longer.

  “Do we want to return the blanket with dried cum on it?”

  As always, he made an excellent point. “What surprises do you have in there?” Josh opened the basket, and the obvious smells of apples, cinnamon, and sugar wafted out. “I smell apple pie.” Josh pulled out a package of wet wipes so we could clean off our hands before eating.

  “You smell apple pie muffins,” he corrected. “I hope you won’t be disappointed.” Josh split a muffin in two and spread butter on only one half, handing the butter-free half to me. My husband swore butte
r enhanced muffins, but we agreed to disagree.

  “They’re still warm,” I said before I took a bite. “Mmmm. Good.” Josh grinned when I talked with food in my mouth because it was the ultimate compliment to the chef or baker. When my pleasure for the bite of food overrode decades of good upbringing, you know I’m onto something truly special.

  “I have many other things planned for us later today, but you’ll be happiest about Juliette’s promise to share this recipe with me. You’ll be transported back to this moment every time I make these muffins for you at home.”

  Josh’s hair was sticking up everywhere, and his skin was still damp with sweat from our lovemaking. He’d never looked more beautiful to me, and I would happily relive this moment for the rest of my life.

  “WHY ARE YOU FACETIMING me when you’re on vacation with your husband?” Mere asked me.

  “I’m not FaceTiming you; I’m FaceTiming Tori,” I replied. “I swear she’s changed so much already.”

  “You’ve only been gone for a few days, Jazz.”

  “A lot can happen in a few days. She looks so beautiful in the little floral dress and baby pink cardigan we bought her. Kiss her for me.”

  “I will.”

  “Do it now.” I inhaled a deep breath like I could smell her lavender lotion and shampoo. “I want to watch.”

  “You need help,” Mere said.

  “This is news?” Gabe asked Mere when he joined me on the couch in our suite. He looked over at me and said, “I was concerned about what you were instructing someone to do so you could watch.”

  “Yeah, because you’ve caught me interacting with live webcam shows so many times.”

  “I thought maybe you got bored with me since my surprise outing was canceled due to the rain and went looking for some entertainment.”

  I saw in his eyes how disappointed he was that his plans were ruined, but I wasn’t. Discreetly making love with Gabe on our private balcony while the rain poured from the sky was the sexiest thing I’d ever done. The balcony had a roof on it, but the rain came in at the perfect angle to drench us good. “Best. Date. Ever.”