by Maree, Kay
The words are no sooner spoken than I feel myself being lifted into the air and X’s mouth lands hard on mine. I’m already so addicted to his taste, I open to him and run my tongue along his, moaning at the taste of coffee and mint which I seem to be craving more and more lately.
I pull back, slightly breathless. “Damn, I forget how tall you are until you lift me and we’re chest to chest.” I laugh and X chuckles.
“You’re so tiny, I could put you in my pocket, Sweetness.”
He runs a hand over my ass and gives it a squeeze before lowering me back onto my feet. Locking his fingers with mine, we continue towards the beach. The air around us feels lighter and the background noise begins to seep back through. I feel hopeful that I’ve made the right decision then, it hits me like a truck - despite everything we have spoken about, we haven’t talked about his dinner with his parents.
“How were your mum and dad the other night?”
His hand tenses for a few seconds in mine, but he doesn't say anything. I'm guessing he doesn't want to talk about it, but after a few moments of silence he begins to talk and my heart hurts for him when I hear the sadness which coats his words.
“Mum seems to be getting worse every time I visit and I can tell what a toll its taking on my dad.” He pauses for a minute before going on. “Dad pulled me aside before I left to tell me her doctor thinks it's time for her to be placed in a care facility where she’ll have around the clock care. My dad argued that he’d hired a nurse and their house is familiar to her. He doesn't want to take that away from her too. So, everything is up in the air right now and I guess I'm still trying to process it all."
He sighs and I feel a sadness on hearing what he says. I don't know what to do to help him so, I pull my hand from his, wrap it around his waist and try to get as close to him as possible without tripping over. Leaning down, he presses a kiss to the crown of my head and wraps his arm tightly around my waist.
“It’s hard you know, the woman who raised and loved me seems to be vanishing right in front of my eyes. No matter what I do, I can't stop it. I can’t imagine how lost and confused she must feel. I can’t imagine the pain at feeling so lonely and trapped inside my body. Not knowing, or only remembering part of who I am, or the people around me. I don't know how my father does it.”
“He loves her,” I murmur into his chest.
“With every fiber of his body, but this disease is slowly killing him too. She’s a shell of the woman he loves and knew, I know it’s tearing him to pieces. I guess I just want to know how to help, but dad has always been so strong and he thinks he needs to do it all by himself.”
Xavier takes a sharp breath and I watch him rub at his eyes. My heart breaks a little more for him and it has me wishing I knew how to help. I stay quiet, listening to him breathing as we approach the beach. Once we’re at the wooden fencing which leads to the concrete steps, he stops and wraps both his arms around me.
“When I told you last night that you were the reason I can sleep at night, those weren't just empty words babe. I need you in my life. You have become so deeply ingrained in me that you have become a part of my routine.”
“X we only met a week ago, how does that even make sense?”
Pointing towards one of the old wooden benches, he takes my hand and continues. “I sat here every lunch break for over two months just so I’d get the slightest glimpse of you.” Dropping his hand, he wraps his arms around me and I place mine against his chest. I close my eyes when I feel his lips on my forehead. “You became a part of me the moment I first saw you and it took for you to walk into my studio to seal the deal. I’m playing for keeps, Sweetness so, you’d better jump on board and hold on tight. I can’t promise we won't fight and disagree on things, but I can promise you, I would never intentionally hurt you.”
Leaning down, he takes my lips in a deep kiss as if he’s sealing the deal by kissing me. I'm kind of glad because I have no words to reply. Pulling back when we hear voices calling out, I duck my head, burying into X’s chest as a shyness takes over.
“Get a room you pair," Beau laughs.
“Let the girl breath," Justin calls out.
“Leave them alone you candy asses," a girl shouts at them from where she sits on a towel on the beach.
The men laugh and when I lift my head, I recognise her from the tattoo shop. She’s the girl who threatened to stab Beau in the nuts with a pen.
“Come on babe, I want to introduce you to the guys."
Taking my hand, X leads me down the steps. I slip my thongs off and sigh when the cool sand hits my bare feet, making him laugh at me.
“Fuck you’re cute, babe." He leans down and brushes his lips over mine.
“Call me cute again and see what happens.” I growl, causing him to laugh harder along with the two men who have joined us.
“Fuck, I like this girl already." The woman laughs as she climbs to her feet, dusts off the sand and heads towards us.
“Erica, this is my girlfriend Ally. Ally, this is Erica, she works at the shop.”
I can hear the pride in his voice when he calls me his girlfriend, sending butterflies swimming in my belly. Smiling I turn to Erica and I hold my uninjured hand out to her.
“Hi," I manage to say before I'm engulfed in a hug.
“Hey, nice to meet you, I could do with a bit more estrogen around here, I was feeling outnumbered.” She laughs and I laugh with her.
“Can you give me tips on how to handle this big lug?" I laugh as I point to X and it earns me a slap on the ass.
“Behave, woman. Erica, if you like working for me, watch it," X growls but I can tell he is joking.
“You go and swim with the boys, leave us girls alone." Erica waves her hand in the air, shooing them away.
“At least put on some decent music,” Beau grumbles.
When I glance down at the towel where Erica had been sitting, I notice the set-up she has going. There’s a portable CD player, a small cooler which I guess has drinks in it, crackers, cheese and cabanossi which is cut up and ready to eat. There is also a bag of chicken flavoured potato chips.
“Shut it, Beau before I get the urge to drown you.”
Beau wiggles his eyebrows. “Promises, promises, Peaches.”
“Beau, I swear you’ll be lucky to live another day if you keep it up,” she snaps out. “I thought this song was kind of like our theme song,” she laughs.
“Come on baby keep talking dirty to me, you know how much it turns me on. I’ll take any theme song you want, Peaches.” He chuckles and winks before turning away and jogging to catch up to the other two men who are at the water’s edge. Looking back at Erica, I notice the smile on her face before a cheeky grin breaks out. She bends down and turns up the music so lyrics to ‘Back to You by Louis Tomlinson ft. Bebe Rexha’ ring out loud and clear. X and Justin laugh while Beau shakes his head and mutters something to the other two. Being so far away and with the music blaring I don’t hear it.
I study the men as they stand side by side and notice how similar they look. They are all covered in tattoos and are around the same build and height. Damn, they’re all sexy as hell but my man in the middle oozes sin and sex. I can’t wait to be alone with him tonight. Licking my lips at the thought, I sense Erica come up beside me.
“Inked perfection,” she says, barely above a whisper.
I don’t know how to respond to her words but notice she is staring straight at Beau. There is sadness in her eyes but I don’t ask her about it. I get the feeling she doesn’t want to discuss what has put the look there and since she hasn’t asked about why I’m so beaten up, I’ll respect her privacy.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Xavier
“Where you going brother?” Beau calls out but I ignore his ass as I make my way out of the waves and onto the sand. I make a beeline for my woman who is currently laughing at something Erica has said. I like the feeling that settles in my gut knowing her and Erica are getting on so well.
&nb
sp; Ally notices me heading towards her and I watch as her pink tongue darts out and swipes along her lush bottom lip. When her eyes rake over my body, my cock jerks in response.
Fuck, what I wouldn't give to be alone with her right now and the nasty things I want her to do with that tongue of hers.
I hear someone call Ally’s name and she turns her head towards the steps which lead down to the beach. It’s her friend, Cynthia and I assume the boy she has with her is her son. I don’t miss the wince of pain which crosses Ally’s face when she pushes to her feet and the muscles of my stomach tighten. I hate that she’s in pain with her hand.
She jogs to her friend and they hug before Cynthia draws back and rests her hands on Ally’s shoulders. I note the look of concern on her friend’s face and when she turns to me and scowls, I almost recoil with the pain of her thinking I was the one to hurt Ally.
Cynthia's focus turns back to Ally's when she speaks and I watch as her shoulders relax and she nods. Ally bends and gives the boys hair a ruffle before she hugs him, I love the smile on her face. Damn, what I wouldn't do to keep that smile on her face all the time.
I feel the other men come up behind me.
“Is this going to be an issue, Justin?” I snarl, not wanting another episode like last week.
“Nope, I'm gonna marry that girl one day so, it’s best she came to me before I tracked her ass down."
His words shock the shit out of me and I spin around to see if he’s serious. The expression on his face as he watches Cynthia tells me, he’s dead fucking serious. I nod at him. I understand because it’s the same look I’ve had every day since I first saw Ally. Regardless, I still need to warn him.
“Don’t fuck this shit up because I wouldn't want to beat your ass.” I don’t give him a chance to reply, I make my way over to the girls when they reach Erica.
“Erica, this Cynthia and her son, JT.”
Cynthia smiles and says, “hello.”
“Nice to meet you.” The kid holds out his hand to shake with Erica.
The boy has manners, I like that.
“Lovely to meet you too, JT." Erica shakes his hand and smiles.
I watch as Cynthia’s attention is drawn to something over my shoulder and her whole body tenses. It doesn’t last long before she relaxes again and starts pulling things out of her bag.
“Mummy, I want to hit the waves." JT jumps from one foot to the other as he practically begs. I chuckle at his impatience.
“In a minute, baby, let’s get some sunscreen on you first."
The little boy grumbles but listens to his mother.
I crouch down and hold out my hand for him to shake. “Hey, little man, my name is Xavier but you can call me X."
“That’s a cool name, my name is Just....”
“JT!" His mother cuts him off, her eyes dart around us and she blows out a relieved breath. Glancing over my shoulder, in the direction Cynthia had looked, I notice the other two dipshits slowly making their way up to us. They would have been too far away too have heard what was being said.
Cynthia goes back to putting sunscreen on JT and I look to Ally but she just shakes her head and I nod in response.
“Okay, little man, lets go for a swim." Cynthia pulls off her dress and my eyes catch the numerous tattoos covering her body.
“Shit girl, I didn’t realise you had all that ink under your clothes."
Erica laughs, taking it all in, but my eyes have zeroed in on one piece of ink which has alarms going off in my mind. I begin to put two and two together. On her left collar bone are the words - His Queen, it’s identical to ink Justin has but his says -Her King.
Well, I'll be fucked. If the kid's name is Justin as he started to say then, it's not too fucking far fetched to believe it’s his kid. Anger bubbles in my belly at the thought he left her with the kid and didn’t own up to that shit. I thought he was a better man than that. Just as the thought crosses my mind, the man himself walks up beside me, his eyes wide as he looks at Cynthia.
“What the fuck?" he spits out.
I squeeze my hands into fists when I hear the anger in his voice and I'm about done for the day.
“Cover yourself up, woman, no man should see what's mine," Justin growls.
Cynthia looks up and there is so much anger in her eyes, I'm amazed Justin isn't dead.
“Don't fucking look at me like that, cover your ass up."
I feel the tension and anger roll off him in waves and I'm about to say something but Cynthia beats me to it. I’m pleased to see Ally and Erica take JT down to the water and away from what is sure to be a confrontation.
“You lost the right to tell me what to do years ago, Justin so, pull your fucking head in. I’m only here because I haven't seen Ally for a couple of days so, if you will excuse me." She straightens her shoulders and starts to walk past us, but Justin reaches out and grabs her arm.
“We need to talk." His voice is more controlled now.
She stares down at the sand and takes a few deep breaths before her spine straightens once again. “No, we don’t."
She pulls away from his hold and heads to where the girls are.
“Justin," I caution.
“X-man, fuck this shit. I need to get my head on straight.”
“Yeah, you fucking do. You don't deserve her time if you left her years ago with your kid." Anger is clear in my words.
“What the fuck you talking about?" He gives me a pissed off look before staring at the girls and JT. I can almost see when it all makes sense to him.
“Son of bitch!” he spits out while running a hand through his hair. “I need to fix this." Frustration laces his voice and the anger in me settles a little when I realise, he probably didn’t know.
“Today probably isn't the right time, mate. It might be best to give her some time.”
“What the fuck would you do if Ally had your kid and didn't tell you?”
I open my mouth then close it again, not sure what to say. If Ally had my kid, I know without a doubt, I would be a part of his or her life. Nothing, fucking nothing, would stop me.
I squeeze Justin’s shoulder. “A word of advice - if he is your kid and you plan to marry that woman, take your time. Give her the space she needs and prove to her you’re willing to wait for her for as long as it takes."
With that said, I turn away, allowing my words to sink in as I head to the girls.
Beau runs out of the waves, grabs Erica around the waist and throws her over his shoulder. We all laugh while she screams, threatening death to him while hitting his back with her hands. I hear the smile in her voice until a wave comes up and he drops them both into it.
On the way back to Ally’s apartment, we grab fish and chips so we don’t have to cook. It’s just after six when we finally get home. After we eat, I reach forward and start to wrap up all the rubbish scattered over the coffee table. Ally giggles and stares at me like she is trying to work something out. I smile back at her.
“What's so funny, babe, what’s running through that head of yours?”
“It’s nothing.” She waves me off and tries to stop herself from laughing.
“Spit it out woman" I grunt taking a seat next to her again. After a few moments she speaks.
“I was just trying to work out what kind of music I would put on a CD for a playlist."
I must have given her a strange look, because she quickly explains what the hell she is on about.
“At the beach today, Erica told me how much Beau hates most of the music she listens to. So, she put together a CD, one she always plays whenever Beau is around. On the CD its written - How to annoy Beau.
I bark out a laugh. “That shit with those two wouldn't surprise me, babe." As I push to my feet, in I hear her whisper. Her tone is serious now. “She’s sad."
“What do you mean?"
“I can see it in her eyes, X and every time she looked at Beau today, it seemed more apparent."
“Babe, I'm sure things will work out.
Beau doesn't give up. When he wants something, he will work his ass off to make it his. Erica was doomed from the minute she started working for me and Beau met her for the first time."
“What do you mean?"
“She captivated him from the minute she stepped foot in the shop. I always knew Beau as a ladies’ man, he doesn't take a lot seriously, but with Erica he’s different.”
“Do you think he still sees other women?" Ally scrunches up her face in disgust at the thought.
“I don't think so. Well, I haven't seen him with anyone else."
“I hope they figure it out," she murmurs.
I notice how tired she looks and leaning forward, I run fingertips over her soft cheek. A faint smile graces her mouth as she hums. I chuckle, she is so damn cute.
“Why don't you go have a shower, Sweetness, while I clean all this up?"
“I can help,” she protests in a sleepy voice. When she begins to stand, I notice her wince.
“Babe, I’ve got this. Go and have a shower then, we can relax for the night."
“Are you staying?"
“I’ll stay for a bit, but I don't have any other clothes with me."
I hadn't planned on staying last night because I wasn't completely sure how things would go. I only had what I was wearing along with spare boardies and an extra singlet which I keep in the car. Most days when me and the boys finish for the day, we end up at the beach.
When she pouts, I growl and leaning over, I suck her bottom lip into my mouth. She moans as her eyes flutter shut.
“Go and have a shower.”
“Want to join me?” she murmurs above my lips while sweetly staring up at me through her long lashes. She grips the front of my shirt while I rest my hands on her hips and give them a squeeze. She relaxes into me.
“Next time, babe. Let me clean this mess up and I’ll race out and grab my clothes from yesterday out of my truck. I'll head home early in the morning and get changed before work."
Her eyes shine up at me when I say I’ll stay, she leans up and brushes her lips over mine before turning and heading towards her bathroom, but not before I smack her ass for good measure, making her laugh. Fuck, I’m so hard. I want nothing more than to push inside her as soap runs down her curvy body, but she looks so tired and I know she’s in pain. I don't want to hurt her and she needs a good rest.