Easy Nights (Boudreaux #6)

by Kristen Proby

  “Baby.” He kisses me now, long and sweet, as if he’s relearning every inch of my mouth.

  I catch a whiff of the perfume that Lance insisted that I wear, and it makes me sick to my stomach.

  “Ben?”

  “Yes, baby.”

  “I have to take a shower. I’ve been wearing his perfume, and every time I smell it, it makes me sick. I need to purge this house.”

  “Let’s do it.” He takes my hand and leads me to the kitchen and fetches a plastic bag. “Lead the way.”

  I pull him behind me, up the stairs and to the bedroom. The first thing I do is throw the Chanel No. 5 in the bag, then walk into my closet and purge the last of the clothing he bought for me years ago. It’s expensive, and it seemed wasteful to throw it away before, but I don’t even blink an eye as I shove every blouse and dress into the bag.

  The last thing I reach for is my wedding band and engagement ring. They’re in their respective boxes, tucked in the back of a drawer. I don’t even open them, I just toss them in the bag.

  “You’re throwing those out?”

  “To be honest, I think it should be donated to a women’s shelter.”

  His lips twitch. “That’s a great idea. I’ll sell the jewelry too and donate that money as well.”

  “Ben, you don’t have to do that.”

  “Yeah, I do. Let me do this.” He ties the bag closed. “I’ll be right back.”

  I stay where I am and hear the front door open and then several minutes later he’s climbing the stairs again.

  “It’s all out of here.”

  “That feels good.”

  He nods and leads me into the bathroom. Rather than start the shower, he runs a bath. “I’d like to sit with you in the bath.”

  “No complaints here,” I reply.

  He strips us both naked, and we sink into the hot water, not wanting to let go of each other. He begins massaging my feet and I reach for the soap and a sponge, washing the last of the perfume off my neck and wrists.

  When I’m done, I sit back and sigh. “I was so afraid that I’d lost you for good.”

  “Same here,” he says quietly.

  “I said some pretty horrible things.” My eyes find his. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean them, and it was killing me, but I had to make it look real.”

  “It was real.”

  I nod slowly. “Yeah. And it was hell.”

  “I’m not a controlling man, Savannah, but I am a man. I love you with everything in me, and I will always want to protect you. I don’t know any other way to be.”

  “I don’t want you to be any other way. This will never happen again.”

  “No. It won’t.” He pulls me to him. I straddle him and lay against his chest. “You’re everything good in my life, and you’re mine. I protect what’s mine.”

  “So do I.” I lift my head and smile at him. “So do I, Ben. And that’s what I was doing.”

  “I know.” He kisses me softly and then takes the kiss deeper, stronger. I rise up on my knees and then sink down over his hard erection, and we both moan in relief.

  “Missed this,” I mutter against his lips. He can’t respond. He grips my hips and guides me up and down in the most delicious pace, until we’re both a panting, orgasmic mess.

  I collapse on top of him and kiss his chest, impressed that I can move any part of me.

  “Angel?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m going to wash your hair.”

  He can still smell it.

  “Okay. Do I have to move?”

  He chuckles. “Yes.” He guides me back to the opposite side of the tub and then steps out of the water. Without drying off, he urges me to lean forward and begins to wash my hair. I close my eyes and sit still, letting him scrub the soap into foam, and then rinse the soap out. His hands are big and strong, and it feels good to let him take care of me.

  When he’s done, he lifts me out of the water and wraps me in a towel, then leads me to the vanity in my bedroom.

  “Have a seat,” he says.

  The excitement from the last few days has caught up with me. I’m exhausted, both physically and mentally and he knows.

  He combs my hair out, then blows it dry. I sit and watch him through half-closed eyes and admire the way his muscles flex with each motion.

  “You’re just ridiculously handsome,” I murmur when he flips the dryer off.

  “I won’t be leaving,” he says.

  “No, I definitely want you to stay with me tonight.”

  “Ever,” he replies after we both get into the bed. It’s early, but it feels like I just ran a marathon.

  “Ever?”

  “Ever.” He kisses my lips and snuggles his naked body against mine.

  “Does this mean you want to live in my house?”

  “Do you prefer it here?” he asks, and I can see that if I say yes, he won’t hesitate.

  “Home is where you are,” I reply sleepily. “Here or there, it doesn’t really matter.”

  “I love you, Savannah,” he whispers in my ear as I feel sleep pulling me under.

  ***

  “Are you sure about this?” Lieutenant Jacobs asks me three days later. I’ve asked him to meet me, Ben, and the rest of my family at the prison today. It’s a gloriously beautiful day outside, matching my mood.

  “Oh, I’m sure.”

  He nods and leads me to a room. I go in alone, but there’s an observation room connected to this one with a big, mirrored window. They can see in, but I can’t see them.

  But I know they’re there.

  Another door opens and in walks Lance. He’s in handcuffs and ankle cuffs, and this time they don’t let him loose.

  I’m not that pompous.

  I’m surprised to find that looking at him doesn’t make my stomach tighten, or bile rise in the back of my throat. My heart doesn’t race.

  I feel disgust.

  “What do you want?” Lance asks.

  “A couple of things,” I reply and lace my fingers on the table top. I don’t move my eyes from his because I want to see him as I speak. “First, I want you to take one last long look at me, Lance, because this is the last time you’ll ever see me.”

  “That’s awfully optimistic of you,” he says with a smirk, but I can see in his eyes that the confidence from a few weeks ago is gone.

  “No, it’s true.” I sit for a moment and let him look at my face, my breasts, my hair. “Do you see me?”

  “You’re right in front of me.”

  “Oh, that doesn’t matter. I was right in front of you for years, but you didn’t see me. Do you see me now?”

  His lips pucker but he doesn’t reply.

  “Good. Because you’re looking at the woman who broke you, Lance.” He smirks again, but I keep talking. “You tried to break me, but you didn’t. I took you down, and I want you to sit in your tiny cell and think about that for the rest of your pathetic life.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “No. No, you won’t ever do that again either.” He moves to stand, but I cock an eyebrow. “Sit the fuck down.”

  He tilts his head to the side and drops back in his seat.

  “I didn’t say you could leave.”

  “What is this, Van? You show up here and act all tough? You’re not tough. You’re nothing. You’re a pathetic piece of shit, and you may have got my brother arrested, but he’s not the only contact I still have on the outside. I can have your family killed any time.”

  I don’t turn around to see, but Lance’s eyes rise above my head and I know the observation window has been turned off and that he can see all of my family sitting there, listening.

  “Oh, I brought them along.”

  He glares at me, but it doesn’t matter.

  He doesn’t matter.

  “You can’t hurt me, or them, ever again. It’s over right now. I’m ending it.”

  He snarls. “You don’t say when it’s over.” He’s yelling now, and I stand, turn my back,
and walk away. “Do you hear me? You don’t say! I say!”

  The door shuts behind me, finally closing that chapter of my life for good.

  Ben meets me in the hall and pulls me in for a hug. “So proud of you, Angel.”

  “Me too,” I reply and smile up at him, and the rest of my family standing behind him. “Let’s go home now.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Three months later.

  ~Ben~

  “It’s such a pretty day,” Van says as she tilts her head back and soaks in the sunshine. I have the top down on my new car as we drive to the Inn, the wind and sunshine on our faces.

  Every time I look at her it’s like a punch in the gut. Is it possible that she is more beautiful every day?

  “Why are we going to the inn?” she asks.

  “I thought we might have another picnic,” I reply, only lying by omission. I think this is one lie that she’ll easily forgive.

  “Fun,” she says happily. The past few months have been the best of my life. My mother has fully recovered from the medication fiasco, and is doing well with Sally’s company. My business is healthy again.

  And Van is by my side.

  Life doesn’t get much better than that.

  I pull up to the inn and take Van’s hand in mine. Rather than go up to the door to talk to Gabby, I immediately lead her around the house toward her tree.

  “You’re in a hurry,” she says with a laugh. “Are you hungry?”

  “Something like that.”

  “You’ve been acting weird all day. Are you feeling okay?”

  Aside from the ball of nerves in my stomach, I’m peachy.

  “I’m just hungry,” I reply and kiss her hand. The sun has begun to set, setting the sky into a riot of color. We walk around a bend in the trail and Van stops in her tracks.

  “Oh my,” she breathes. “Not just a picnic after all.”

  “Maybe a fancy picnic,” I reply. Gabby and Charly did an amazing job of setting up a table and chairs with a pretty cloth over it. There’s a bouquet of flowers, and twinkle lights hanging from the branches of the tree overhead.

  “It’s something out of a fairytale,” she says and begins to walk slowly toward it. “Did you come up with this?”

  “I might have had some help,” I admit. “But the place was my idea. I just thought you’d enjoy a pretty picnic in your favorite place.”

  “You thought right,” she replies and sits when I hold her chair out for her. “This is really lovely.”

  I pour us each a glass of wine and take a long sip to bolster my confidence. Not that I’m having any second thoughts.

  I just want it to be perfect. She deserves nothing less.

  She’s staring up into the tree, at the lights and the lightning bugs floating overhead. I’d originally planned to wait until after we’d eaten for the big moment, but I don’t think I can.

  I need this.

  So, I take Savannah’s hand, kiss her knuckles, and completely toss the speech I’d prepared out the window.

  I need to just speak from the heart.

  “You’re a special woman, Savannah Boudreaux. I’ve known that since we were young. I don’t feel like the time we didn’t have together was wasted because it made us both into who we are today, and without that, we might not be together now.”

  I swallow and keep going.

  “That being said, the thought of spending even one day without you from now until my dying day is a torture I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. I don’t want to know a day that doesn’t have you in it. You’re the best part of every day.”

  I move out of my seat and kneel next to her and watch as her eyes fill with tears.

  Please, God, let them be happy tears.

  “So, I’m going to ask you, in this special place, to be mine always. Marry me, Savannah. Spend your life with me.”

  “Oh, Ben,” she says and watches as I slide the ring on her finger. Then she’s in my arms, hugging me tightly. “Of course I’ll marry you.”

  “Right now.”

  “What?” She pulls back and stares at me in surprise, then glances about and her jaw drops. Our family and friends have gathered around us, smiling.

  “Why is she just sitting there?” Sam asks his mom, making me laugh.

  “Yeah, are you just going to sit here?” I ask her.

  “You want to get married right now?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “We don’t have a marriage license.”

  “A technicality.” I laugh when she scowls at me. “I want to have this moment with you, with the people closest to us, to make this promise to each other.”

  “Let’s do it,” she says and jumps up. “You’ve all been keeping this a secret?”

  “He might have threatened us with violence if we told,” Callie says with a grin. “Plus, this was a fun secret.”

  Charly, Gabby, and the rest of the girls come to stand at Van’s side, while all of the men stand by mine. Our mothers are holding babies and grinning from ear to ear as they look on.

  “I’ll start,” I say and clear my throat. “Savannah Boudreaux, I’m here to make you a promise. A solemn vow that I will be true to you, love you, protect and encourage you every day of my life. I will forsake all others—”

  “Yeah, you will,” she says.

  “and never betray you. You will have my respect, and my heart, forever.”

  She takes a deep breath and smiles as she begins to speak.

  “Benjamin Preston, I never thought this day would arrive. I dreamt of it, often, as a young woman and then as a grown woman. You are everything I’ve ever needed. I promise you, here in this special place, that I will love you, be true to you, protect and respect you all of the days of my life. I will probably not obey, but I will keep you on your toes.”

  Our family laughs, and she smiles up at me before she continues.

  “I will forsake all others, and lift you up in love and encouragement. You will have my heart, forever.”

  I lean in and kiss her, softly at first, and then dip her back, earning applause.

  I tip my forehead against hers. “Thank you,” she says.

  “This is entirely my pleasure, Angel.”

  Epilogue

  One Year Later.

  ~Beauregard Boudreax~

  My lovely bride is sitting in the swing on the back porch of our home, rocking a baby slowly, watching our family in the backyard.

  Children are playing. Couples are kissing and laughing.

  My family is whole and happy. Healthy.

  “Look at them,” she whispers. “I feel you here.”

  I’m sitting next to her. I can feel the heat coming off of her and she lays her hand in her lap, her palm up.

  So I take it in mine and wish with all my might that she could feel me.

  “You’re here,” she says again. Her voice is soft, and sounds the way it did when she was eighteen years old, and I met her on a group date with a bunch of our friends. Seeing her was a punch in the gut, and I never left her side after that day.

  Well, until the day.

  “I’m here,” I reply, even though she can’t hear me.

  “Look at our babies,” she says with a smile. “All married, most of them having babies of their own.”

  She glances down at the infant sleeping in her arms. “This is our newest. Little Penelope. Goodness, I hope they don’t call her Penny.” She chuckles. “Although, I guess Penny isn’t so bad. I am so happy for Ben and Savannah.”

  I brush my fingertips over the baby’s head, and smile when her brow furrows. It’s amazing how the little ones can sometimes see me.

  “That man hurt our girl,” she continues. “But sometimes family is more than blood. They’ve given this little one a wonderful home, and Van says they aren’t done. She wants a whole house full of babies.”

  “I’m so proud of you,” I tell her, the way I always do. “I know it’s not easy without me. Lord knows, I wouldn’t have held it
together if you’d left ahead of me, darlin’.”

  “I miss you,” she says, and then smiles softly. “I can feel you holding my hand.”

  I give it a squeeze. “I’m always here.”

  “You’re with me, and I know that,” she replies, making me smile. “You’re watching over our babies.”

  “And you.”

  “And me.”

  Oh, how I love her. All of them. And I’ll be here until she’s ready to join me.

  But there’s plenty of time for that.

  “Look!” Sam yells, catching her attention. “Ailish just threw the ball to Dad!”

  She nods and smiles, careful not to wake the baby.

  “They’re such good people. Good work ethic, kind, happy. They’re everything we ever wanted them to be, and more that I never dreamed of. You’d be so proud of them.”

  She pauses to watch and rock, holding my hand.

  “You’re here,” she says again. It’s a comfort to her, and I make sure to let her know I’m here as much as I can.

  “I’m here.” I smile and sit with the love of my life, watching over our home. Our children, and our children’s children. “And I’m a patient man, my love. You take your time.”

  The End

  About Kristen Proby

  New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Kristen Proby is the author of the popular With Me in Seattle series. She has a passion for a good love story and strong characters who love humor and have a strong sense of loyalty and family. Her men are the alpha type—fiercely protective and a bit bossy—and her ladies are fun, strong, and not afraid to stand up for themselves. Kristen spends her days with her muse in the Pacific Northwest. She enjoys coffee, chocolate, and sunshine. And naps. Visit her at KristenProby.com.

  Here is a sneak peek at

  The Beauty of Us

  A Fusion Novel

  Releasing August 22, 2017

  Chapter One

  ~Riley~

  “I’m done,” I announce as I stomp into the bar and see two of my four business partners behind it. Kat, the bar manager and maybe the coolest woman I know, has her flaming red hair up in ringlets, and Mia, the master chef, has pulled off her chef hat and let her long black hair down around her shoulders.