The Wandering Caravan (Forever and Always #8)

by E. L. Todd

  Sean always made me feel beautiful even when his mom stripped all my dignity away. He loved me unconditionally and it was the love I had always needed but never found. Seeing the love in his eyes made me crumble. I bit my lip so I wouldn’t scream. He always felt so good.

  Sean had his bliss at the same time. He moaned loudly then depleted himself. We shared our orgasm at the same time, clinging to each other until we were both finished. I collapsed on his chest and fell asleep immediately. He was still inside me and he stayed there until the following morning.

  10

  Cortland

  I thought Monnique would be over the fight we had a few nights ago, but she wasn’t. She normally didn’t hold a grudge about anything. She was a free spirit and didn’t waste her time being upset about things out of her control.

  But she was still pissed.

  When we went to bed that night, she turned on her side and faced the wall. She cuddled with a pillow instead of me and acted like I didn’t exist. I hadn’t brought up our argument because I didn’t think anything else needed to be said. I hoped the passage of time would rid the tension between us.

  But it didn’t.

  And now having her next to me was killing me. I missed the way she smiled at me, like I was her superhero. She would be clingy with me and never let me go. And I loved that. Now I felt like a stranger to her.

  I was always the perfect boyfriend to her, as much as I could be at least. I always picked her up from work even when it was at 3:00 a.m. I made her breakfast in bed every Sunday. I made love to her like I loved her. I told her she was beautiful every day, twice a day. I made her feel loved and cherished. I always helped with the housework and complimented her cooking. I really made an effort to make sure she never left me because I loved her so damn much. And I found it hard to believe that my one single flaw would push her away like this.

  “Baby,” I whispered. “Talk to me.”

  She held the pillow tighter and didn’t speak.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you upset.”

  I still got nothing from her.

  I decided to be more aggressive. I hooked my arm around her waist and pulled her to me, forcing her on her back. She tried to turn over again but I crawled on top of her, using my strength and size to make sure she couldn’t move. “Talk to me.”

  “Cortland, I’m tired.”

  “You’ve been tired for the past five days.”

  “Well, I am,” she said quietly. She turned her face and stared at the wall again.

  “Look at me,” I commanded.

  She sighed then met my gaze.

  “Why are you so upset?”

  “I told you I didn’t want to talk about it and you pressured me anyway. No means no, Cortland.”

  “Stop saying my name,” I snapped. She didn’t flinch when I raised my voice. “You call me babe. That’s it. Nothing else.”

  Monnique closed her lips.

  “I’m sorry about my curiosity. It’s such a big part of your life, and I don’t understand why you haven’t shared it with me. I tell you everything. You know exactly what happened with Elizabeth. I don’t even know when you broke up.”

  “Why does it matter?” she snapped.

  “It…it just bothers me.”

  “If I don’t want to tell you, I don’t have to. The fact you’re forcing me just makes me despise you.”

  “Despise?” My voice choked. That was harsh…

  “Then you call Scarlet right away. I know you asked her to pry it out of me. I’m not a locked safe you need a crowbar to open.”

  Scarlet told her?

  She glared at me. “No, she didn’t say anything to me. But I know you, Cortland. You run to her for everything.”

  “No, I run to you for everything. Scarlet knows a lot about me, but after you came into my life, I only confided my secrets to you.” Was she jealous of Scarlet? She never mentioned anything before.

  “That doesn’t make you entitled to all my secrets.”

  “Baby, take back what you said.”

  “Take back what?” she asked.

  “You said you despised me.”

  Her lips were sealed.

  I stared her down. “This is the first real fight we’ve ever had. I sincerely hope they aren’t all like this. Don’t say hurtful things to me if you don’t mean them. Because if you really meant that…maybe you shouldn’t have moved with me.” It hurt to say that, but it was the truth.

  She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m just upset.”

  I waited for her to take it back.

  “I didn’t mean it…”

  I moved further over her then brushed her lips with mine. “I’m sorry I invaded your privacy. I just want to know everything about you, at least the important things. But if it’s that important to you, I won’t bring it up again.”

  “About time…”

  “Baby.”

  She looked into my eyes.

  “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

  Monnique squirmed slightly under my stare, having nowhere to go. “Okay.”

  “So, we’re okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  I grabbed her underwear and pulled them off. “Good. Because we haven’t made love in five days and I’m about to explode.”

  She parted her legs then pulled me into her. We weren’t slow like we usually were. We were both desperate for each other. Monnique was a very sexual person, just as much as I was, and if she didn’t get her way, she was grouchy.

  I moved into her hard and fast right in the beginning. She and I clung to each other as we tried to stay quiet. I’m sure everyone else in the house was doing the same thing, but I still stayed courteous.

  Besides Monnique, Scarlet was the only other woman I didn’t wear a condom with. I felt guilty for having that experience with anyone besides Monnique, who I was actually in a relationship with. Even though I was in love with Scarlet at the time, I still felt bad. And I felt worse knowing I had a girlfriend. As soon as Scarlet entered my life, the world shifted. When she got back together with Sean, I forced myself not to think about her. Then I saw Monnique, and she blew my mind. I was drawn to her like the flowers to the sun. I could never get enough of her.

  Monnique was kinky so the sex was always unbelievable. But I enjoyed making love to her more than anything. Her thighs squeezed around my hips as she grabbed my shoulders and rocked into me from below. She didn’t care about being quiet, so I had to stifle her moans with my mouth and make sure the bed didn’t make too much noise.

  She was always loud when she came, so as soon as the orgasm started, I slipped my tongue into her mouth so nothing would come out. She tightened around me as the pleasure stretched, and when she was done, I let myself go.

  I loved coming inside her. It was the best feeling, knowing a part of me was being deposited inside her. She really was mine.

  After we were finished, we cuddled. It was the first time we had been close for the past five days. I was grateful to have her in my arms again. I never wanted her to leave. I was even more desperate to know her past, but she seemed firm in keeping it a secret. I realized I would have to let it go.

  We drove to the city the next morning to look at a few apartments. The Ferrari only had two seats, so it was just Monnique and I. Scarlet and Sean were unpacking their belongings and making their mansion into a home. Ryan and Janice were helping. That gave she and I some alone time.

  I loved driving Sean’s car. It was a speed machine. We left the top down so the wind flew through our hair. Monnique wore a dress and it billowed around her in the car. She smiled while she stared at the scenery.

  I turned to her while I was driving on the straight road. I marveled at her beauty for a moment, watching the sun kiss her dark skin. She was the single most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I only wish I could take a picture of her. But if I did, we’d probably crash.

  I turned down a side road then pulled over. I hadn’t seen a car for the entire
drive so I knew we were safe.

  “Babe, what are you doing?” Monnique asked.

  “Fucking you.”

  Her eyes widened. “It’s in the middle of the day.”

  I unbuckled my safety belt and pulled her into my lap. “I don’t give a shit. No one is around.”

  She resisted for a moment until I was inside her. Then she stopped protesting. I fucked her hard from below. She was tight and wet, and it didn’t take us long to find our mutual bliss. When she pulled me out, we both saw a cop on a motorcycle drive by. He pulled in front of the car.

  Shit.

  Monnique moved to her seat and fixed her hair. Then she gave me a look of hatred.

  I couldn’t help but smile. I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe my brake lights are out.”

  She rolled her eyes and looked away.

  The cop approached my door, his hand on his gun. “Public obscenity is a serious offense.”

  He didn’t say hi or anything. And he seemed pissed. “Hot cars and hot girls mix pretty well.”

  Monnique looked mortified.

  The cop wasn’t amused. “License and registration.”

  Damn. I handed them over.

  “Are you the owner of this car?” he asked.

  “I wish,” I said with a laugh. I knew what I was about to do was lame, but I did it anyway. “It belongs to the Prestons’, whom are very good friends.” I assumed he would know exactly who they are.

  He looked at the registration then back at me. “How do you know them?”

  “My best friend just married their son, Sean.” I patted the wheel. “And this is his car.”

  He handed back the license and registration. “Andrew is a good man. He gave my daughter a scholarship for college.”

  Of course he did.

  “But I will be telling him what you were doing in his son’s car.”

  As long as it was Andrew and not Diane, I didn’t care.

  “And I’ll make sure Diane knows too.”

  I cringed. I didn’t care if they knew I fucked my girlfriend in the seat. I just didn’t want to give Scarlet more grief.

  He smiled. “Have a good day.” He walked back to his motorcycle and drove away.

  Monnique crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. “I’m so embarrassed.”

  “What are the odds?” I said with a laugh. “We haven’t seen anyone all day.”

  “I think we caught some of Scarlet’s luck.”

  I laughed. “You could say that.” I started the car and got back on the road.

  “Now Sean is going to know what we did.”

  “Who cares? You think Ryan didn’t do the same with Janice?”

  “Ryan has a little more class than you give him credit for,” she said.

  I laughed again. “You obviously don’t know him very well.”

  We drove the rest of the way in silence. As soon as we arrived in the city, the streets were crowded with cars. We fought traffic most of the time.

  We took a look at all the apartments I was interested in. Monnique would have the final say in where we stayed. I wanted her to be happy in our new home. That was the most important thing to me.

  Every single place was extremely expensive. But Sean told me what my new income was, and I could easily afford it. Monnique didn’t need to work. Her income was negligent to mine. But I didn’t dare say that to her.

  “What do you think?” I asked when we got back in the car. People on the sidewalk kept looking at the car. A group of girls stopped and stared at it. Then they gave me a playful wave. I winked at them.

  Monnique hit my shoulder. “I saw that.”

  “Baby, you know I’m kidding. You make them look like a pack of raccoons.”

  That made her calm down.

  “So, which one did you like?”

  “I don’t know…”

  I immediately felt paranoid. Did she doubt our relationship? Was this too much? If she just told me the damn reason she and her ex-fiancé broke up, I wouldn’t be freaking out so much.

  “Seattle is a big place but this…New York is huge.”

  “I know it’s intimidating, but I’ll always be here. And we have Ryan and Janice. Plus, if you get into any trouble, the Prestons’ will take care of it.” I laughed at my own joke.

  She looked at the skyscrapers and the people walking by. “It’s just such a busy city. Working in the ER would be a zoo. I’m sure a lot of critical patients come through…”

  I could hear the anxiety in her voice. I wanted to tell her to quit, but I held it back. I promised her I wouldn’t do that. “Baby, you’ll be fine. You’re a great nurse.”

  She gave me a breathtaking smile. It made holding my tongue totally worth it. “But I’m still scared.”

  “Don’t be,” I said gently.

  “Well, why don’t we live in Connecticut like Scar and Sean?”

  “Would you want to?”

  She shrugged. “Maybe. It’s not nearly as hectic.”

  “Well, their apartments aren’t as nice as these. We’d have to get a house.”

  “Oh.” She fidgeted with her hands. “That might be better if we were married…”

  I took the hint. “How about I buy it, and when we get engaged, I’ll add your name to the papers?”

  She smiled. “That sounds good.”

  “Okay. Let’s go take a look.” I pulled into traffic and left the city.

  “I’m sorry I wasted our entire day. I didn’t know it would be like that.”

  I grabbed her hand and held it on my thigh. “Don’t apologize, baby. Any time I spend with you isn’t wasted time, no matter what we’re doing.”

  After we looked at the houses in my price range, we headed back home. My phone rang in my pocket so I answered it, one hand on the wheel.

  “Yo.”

  It was Sean. “Are you done with my car yet?”

  “You going somewhere?”

  “Not yet. But I want her back in the garage. It’s almost dark.”

  “We’ll be there in five minutes.”

  “K.” He hung up.

  “Sean is a little touchy with his car.”

  “He spent a quarter of a million dollars on it,” Monnique said. “He has the right to be a little touchy.”

  “I can’t wait until Scarlet finds out what he bought.”

  Monnique laughed. “I don’t think she’ll be too happy. She’ll say all the money could have gone to charity.”

  “That sounds like something she’d definitely say.”

  We parked the car in the garage then came into the house. Ryan and Janice were watching TV in the living room. He was drinking a beer and she was sipping her wine.

  “Find anything?” Ryan asked.

  “We think we’re going to get a house in Connecticut,” I said.

  “Oh,” Ryan said. “That’s cool. Janice and I are going to look tomorrow.”

  Monnique moved to the seat next to Janice. “We got pulled over by a cop.”

  “When you’re driving a Ferrari, you’re gonna speed,” Ryan said. “It’s the laws of physics.”

  “That’s not why we got pulled over.” Monnique gave me a pointed stare.

  Ryan studied my face. “You damn dog.”

  I shrugged. “When the magic happens, it happens.”

  “Did you get a ticket?” Ryan asked.

  “No. I told him it belonged to the Prestons’ so he left me go.”

  Ryan nodded. “Niiice.”

  “But he said he would tell Andrew and Diane what we were doing in it.”

  Ryan busted up laughing. “Andrew is going to love you.”

  Janice shook her head. “And Diane is going to hate Scarlet even more. Now you’re embarrassing their community.”

  “Whatever,” I said. “I think Scarlet doesn’t care what her mother-in-law thinks anymore. And she would probably think it’s funny.”

  “Think what’s funny?” Scarlet asked as she appeared in the room. She wore a tight black dr
ess that showed her perky breasts. A flashback played in my mind when she was underneath me. I shook the thought away and felt like a dick for having it. But when she put them on display like that, it was hard not to think about them.

  Monnique eyed her in approval. “You look hot.”

  “Thanks.” Scarlet looked down at herself. “Sean picked out the dress and demanded I wear it.”

  “Going somewhere?” Ryan asked.

  “Sean wants to take me out to dinner.”

  “That’s cute,” I said.

  “He’s very sweet,” she said. She held out her wrist and showed us the diamond bracelet. “And he got me this. I think he’s doing some collateral damage after the fiasco with his mom.”

  Ryan eyed it with wide eyes. “Sounds about right.”

  Scarlet looked at me. “Any luck finding a place?”

  “No,” I said. “But we decided to live in Connecticut. When my car gets here, I’ll just commute to work. Or I’ll catch a ride with Sean.”

  “If he lets you,” Ryan said with a laugh.

  Scarlet caught the insult. “What’d you do?”

  “Umm…I’ll wait until Sean gets here.”

  Scarlet narrowed her eyes at me. “I have a feeling this will be interesting…”

  Sean came down the stairs then did a double take at Scarlet. He whistled loudly. “You look sexy as hell.”

  Her cheeks reddened.

  He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind then kissed her neck. “Let’s go upstairs.”

  She ignored him. “I’m wearing it.” She held out her wrist.

  “It looks good on your skin.” He kissed her neck. “You ready to go?”

  “I’m starving.”

  “When aren’t you?” Ryan teased.

  Scarlet put her hand on her stomach. “Don’t make fun of my honeymoon weight. We ate out for every meal.”

  “I can tell,” Ryan said with a laugh.

  She rolled her eyes.

  Sean leaned close to her. “You look perfect. Don’t listen to him.” He stepped toward me and extended his hand. “Keys?”

  I dropped them in his palm. “Have fun.”

  “How’d it go?” he asked.

  I told him the same thing I told everyone else.