by Faye Byrd
I take a step toward her. “So what if I was?”
Her eyes go wide, and I take another step.
“What do you expect from me?”
It’s a plea.
I take another step.
“You don’t want me, but you want no one else to have me. Is that it, Easton? Is that how you want it? To keep me locked away from all other women yet still refuse me yourself?” I’m pushing shit here, but I’m tired of the fucking mixed signals.
She’s doing this to us, and it has to be one way or the other. Both are not an option. She can fucking have me, or she can set me free, but I won’t be a puppet on a string. I’ll always be what she needs when it comes to the boys, but our relationship is changing, and it’s changing today.
She gathers herself up, her face icing over. “No, that’s not what I want, Trystan. You’re free to do as you please. I’m sorry for how I reacted. It’s none of my business.”
I’m standing directly before her now, and she’s refusing to meet my eyes. “I want it to be your business,” I growl, angry that she’s refusing me again. “I want you to care. I want you to want me. Why can’t you want me, Easton?” My voice cracks, and so does my heart.
Her eyes meet mine, and the crack turns into a gaping hole. “I do.”
The anger resurfaces like the lava of a volcano, exploding forth with no warning. “Then take me goddammit! Fucking claim me! Make me yours. Show Tasha who the fuck I belong to!”
Her breath catches, and the indecision is clear.
I push her further, my eyes pleading with her to make us whole. “Stop torturing us like this. I want you. Only you. Please, Easton.” I lean my forehead against hers.
Her indecision clears, and determination takes over. She places her hands on my chest and pushes. My back slams into her door with a loud thunk. Her fingers curl into my hair, and she yanks my lips to hers.
It’s fire and passion.
Light and dark.
Everything fades into the background, and all I can feel is us.
Easton’s made her decision.
She pulls back and looks me dead in the eyes, lips swollen and breaths labored.
“You. Are. Mine. Trystan. Ashby.”
10 No Trespassing
Easy
I’m so overwhelmed by the surge of emotions swirling inside me that I don’t think, I only act. I rip Trystan’s T-shirt from his jeans and yank it over his head, tossing it over my shoulder. Then I attack. We crash and collide, breaking apart and fusing together again.
His arms wrap around me, and a shudder moves through him. His hands travel over the swell of my bottom and down my thighs, lifting my skirt. With an easy prod, I jump, and my legs wrap around his waist. With a sexy growl, he flips us and my back is against the door. My hands scramble for his waistband, popping the button and releasing the zipper.
“I want this, Trystan. I want you,” I pant between passionate kisses.
“I’m yours.” He leans in, nips my lips and then soothes them with a lick. “I’ve been yours for a long time.” Deep, mesmerizing eyes lock on mine, and they’re so earnest my heart squeezes.
This man and these feeling can’t be pushed aside. He’s made his point, and I’m a fool for thinking that keeping him at arm’s length is the key to our boys’ happiness.
I fist my hands in his hair, and he moans. “I can’t fight it anymore. I don’t want to.”
“Fuck,” he swears. “Say it again.”
“I want this, Trystan. I want you.”
Using the wall as leverage, he leans back and runs his fingers up my naked thigh, slipping my panties to the side. His tongue sweeps over his bottom lips as he makes a pass through my wetness. My eyes fall closed as a surge of want ripples through me.
As he pushes inside, my whole body sighs at the feel of being connected again. Our bodies react as if they’re made to intertwine. It’s instinctual, the way we respond to each other. Our mutual moans of pleasure echo through the room as he sets a punishing pace. Our bodies writhe together while our souls burn into each other.
He pushes his forehead against mine. “Fuck, Easy. You’re beautiful like this.”
“I’m yours, Trystan. Only yours,” I breathe. My breaths caress his lips, and my heart beats out of control. Beating for this man who’s giving me his all, and I’m finally able to give in return.
It’s frantic, possessive―perfect.
My back batters the door with each thrust, and I can’t even care. It’s the good kind of pain, the kind that makes you feel alive.
So very alive.
I arch my neck as his lips glide along my collarbone and up to my ear. “Fuck, Easy,” he whispers. “Give it to me. Let go.”
His words, mixed with the emotions flowing through my body, are enough to drive me wild. My legs clench him tighter as the tingling begins. I’m on the very edge, and with a couple more thrusts, I start falling. I’m falling from a cliff that’s been eluding me. A cliff of promise that I’m afraid I can’t live up to. A cliff of hope that I can. A cliff of the unknown.
“Oh, God, Trystan,” I pant as he thrusts and thrusts and thrusts.
“Goddammit, baby,” he grunts as he falls over the edge.
His movements slow and his head falls to my shoulder. My fingers scrub through his curly raven hair, and my nails scratch his scalp lightly. His soft sigh sends another tingle through my body.
After our breathing has calmed, he slowly lifts his gaze to mine. He looks sheepish, unsure. I can’t allow that.
Gripping his hair tighter, I pull him close. “I’m yours,” I whisper before placing a small kiss to his passion-reddened lips.
The beaming smile that forms when I pull away takes my breath. I’ve seen it before, this joy, but not quite this open. It sparkles in his eyes and radiates from his lips. It shines from his soul, and in turn, mine shines, too.
He slowly begins lowering my almost-numb legs to the floor and presses closer to keep me upright. His palms make their way to my cheeks. “I promise you won’t regret it, Easton.” He pecks my lips. “We’re going to be so good together. You’ll see.”
And I do see.
I finally see.
“I know. I’m sorry it took me so long,” I say, wishing I could go back to last week and admit it then.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” He shakes his head. “You’re worth it. We’re worth it. Our family just became better in the best way.”
The doubt creeps in. “Can you promise me that? Can you really promise that we’ll never let our problems affect the boys?”
He closes his eyes for a second before focusing back on me. “What problems, Easton? Sure, we might argue, all couples do, but that’s what we are now; a couple. I don’t intend on that changing.”
“But how can you be so sure? You might find that I’m not what you want. I can be controlling, and what if I have disgusting habits that drive you crazy?” I ask, desperately needing his calm reassurance.
His hand slides around to cup my neck. “Baby, did you forget that I’ve been living with you? I know all about your habits, and I find most of them cute. As for being controlling? Hello. Have you met me? I can be a dick without much prodding. We’re a perfect match.”
A tentative smile curves my lips. “We are, aren’t we?”
His shoulders sag in relief. “Now you get it. This is a done deal. You are fucking mine, Easton Wilder.” He punctuates it with a kiss that makes my toes curl and my heart rate spike. When he’s done plundering my mouth, he leans back and smirks. “And I’m yours. For as long as you’ll keep me. Will you keep me, Easton?”
I pretend to ponder it for a second before I respond. “Oh, I don’t know. I might let Tasha have a shot first.” I can’t resist the dig, even though in my heart I know it isn’t my right.
His brows rise to his hairline, and the look on his face would be comical if I thought anything about his interaction with her was funny. Just remembering it makes my teeth clench, no matt
er how irrational it is.
When he’s gained his composure, his face turns serious, his eyes deadly. “Trust me, Easton. If I’d wanted Tasha, I would’ve had her weeks ago. I didn’t intend to do that when I came here, but I was so frustrated, and she just happened to be there.”
My eyes fall to his bare chest. “I hated it. It made me furious.”
His finger traces my collarbone and up to my chin, lifting it to meet his gaze. “I would’ve never ever fucked her. Especially, now that I know she works for you. You seem to be good friends, so please, don’t hold it against her. She had no clue who I was.”
I swallow. “Okay … I won’t. I promise.”
“Good.” He smiles. “Now we should make ourselves presentable and um”―he rubs the back of his neck―“the boys should be here soon.”
I gasp. “Oh my God. How long have you been here?”
He looks around to the clock on the wall. “Um, a little over thirty minutes.” He walks over to grab his shirt while I attempt to straighten my clothes. “I hope they aren’t already out there.”
The color drains from my face. “What! No.” I’m almost panicking at the thought that our boys are in the waiting room. I mean, sure, I internally enjoyed the thought that Tasha might hear us, but I never even contemplated the idea that our boys might be sitting out there, too.
“Hey, hey, calm down,” Trystan says, walking over to me as he tucks in his shirt. “They’re with Weston. If he heard strange things going on in here, he’d remove them from the room.” He waggles his eyebrows, and I can’t help but laugh.
“You’re right. And knowing Weston, he was fist pumping as he went.” I roll my eyes, picturing his excitement over office sex between Trystan and me.
Oh my God, office sex between Trystan and me. Kinda has a nice ring to it. And bedroom sex and shower sex and guest room sex and counter sex and …
“Easton,” Trystan says, waving his hand in front of my face. “Where’d you go?”
I give my head a little shake to clear it and walk to my desk to grab a couple of tissues. “Oh, nowhere, just thinking.”
He smirks. “Uh, huh. I bet you were.”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” I give him my own smirk.
He moves in close. Too close. “I can make you tell me.”
“You probably could, but right now we need to check on our boys,” I say, combing my fingers through my hair.
He stops my frantic hands and smooths down my hair. “You look beautiful.” His thumb brushes my cheek. “I like you like this. A little disheveled with a freshly-fucked glow.”
I laugh and look him over. His hair’s a chaotic mess, but other than that and the cocky spark in his eyes, he looks perfectly perfect.
Like Trystan.
He smirks and links his fingers through mine. “Shall we?”
I nod and lead us to my office door. Once there, I stop and take a deep breath before pulling it open and dragging Trystan out behind me. It’s no surprise that Tasha is seated behind her desk, and as I scan the waiting area, Weston and the boys are nowhere in sight. But what does surprise me is the person making their way down the hall.
Maddox.
“Easy,” he says with a bright, happy smile. “I heard you were coming back today.” His eyes flit to our clasped hands and then to Trystan. “I didn’t realize you’d be here, too.”
“Your bad,” Trystan says with a smirk.
I squeeze his hand, hoping to remind him that there’s no need for a pissing contest. He’s already won. “Hi, Maddox. I didn’t expect to see you today.”
“Obviously,” he mumbles, but I hear him, and so does Trystan.
“What was that?” he snaps, putting his free hand to his ear. “Do you have a fucking problem?”
Maddox puffs out his chest. “I didn’t until I got here to see you can’t even let Easy go to work alone. What’s your deal, dude? Are you so insecure that you’re afraid to let her out of your sight?”
Trystan tenses, but it’s the snort that comes from Tasha which draws everyone’s attention. She twirls her chair sideways and crosses her arms. “Maddox, you poor thing. It’s been obvious for a while that you’ve been pining for Easy, but trust me, you’re seriously wasting your time … and risking your relationship with Easy-Ryder Designs.”
Maddox’s eyes widen. “W-what?”
“You heard her,” Trystan says, his shoulders relaxing. “Quit while you’re ahead, dude.”
Just as Maddox takes a step forward, I hold up my hand, placing it against his chest. “Stop it! This is getting ridiculous.” My eyes cut to a smirking Trystan. “Both of you.” He, at least, has the decency to look chagrined. I shake my head as I turn back to Maddox. “I had hoped things would mellow on their own, but this was the worst possible time for you to come here.”
“You ain’t kidding,” Tasha mumbles, and I send her a glare. She holds up her hands. “Sorry.”
When I look back to Maddox’s confused brown eyes, I sigh. “We have a nice working association and I hope it will continue, but I’m not interested in a personal relationship.” I squeeze the hand that’s never once let me go. “I’ve already found someone I want to be with.”
Maddox’s eyes go from our clasped hands to Trystan and then back to me. “Him?” he asks with a sneer, and my own hackles rise.
“Yes, him!” I snap before I catch myself. “Look, Maddox, I don’t want this to be awkward. I see no reason you and Trystan can’t just start over right now.” I smile widely at my idea and motion to Trystan. “Maddox Rochester, I’d like you to meet Trystan Ashby.”
Both men are looking at me like I’m crazy, and maybe I am, but Maddox never had a chance, and there’s no reason they can’t suck it up so as not to ruin our professional relationship. It’s not like he’s the best or cheapest construction company around, but he and Ryder went to high school together so I’d like to see it work.
Begrudgingly, after an insistent look, Trystan holds out his hand. “Hi, man, nice to meet you.”
Maddox stares at it for a few beats before reluctantly reaching and grasping it. “Nice to meet you, too,” he says, and though it isn’t very enthusiastic, it’ll do.
“Wonderful,” I exclaim in a bright, happy voice. “Now, is there something I can do for you, Maddox?”
He clears his throat, and his tender eyes come back to me. “Ah, no. I just wanted to make sure everything was going okay.” He glances at his watch. “But I have a meeting in thirty, so I need to hit the road.”
“Oh, okay. It was lovely of you to stop by,” I say, wishing he would just go already. It’s time to put some distance between us and this uncomfortable situation for the time being.
He hesitantly leans over and kisses my cheek. “I’m glad things are okay enough for you to return to work. Bye, Easy.” His voice is melancholy, and I understand, but I also don’t feel responsible. Even before Trystan, this moment was inevitable.
As he steps into the elevator, Trystan rounds to stand in front of me, his free hand cupping my cheek. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have acted like an ass.”
“No, you shouldn’t have,” I reply, leaning into his touch. “But this is his fault. I’ve never given him any indication that things were changing between us.”
“I can’t blame a guy for trying,” Trystan says with a shrug. “You’re a desir—”
“Okay, that’s enough,” Tasha interrupts, causing both our eyes to snap toward her. “You’ve made your point. Now you’re just making me sick.”
Trystan steps forward. “I’m sorry, Tasha. I used you, and that was wrong. It was a bad decision on my part, and I apologize for putting you in the middle of this.” He motions between the two of us.
“That’s very sweet of you, Trystan, but I’m a big girl,” she says as she turns back toward her desk. “Besides, playing a part in getting two stubborn parents together is totally a win.”
Speaking of the boys,” I say, remembering the reason we walked out to begin with.
“We’re expecting Weston to bring them up any minute. Could you please send them in as soon as they arrive?”
“Actually,” she starts, cutting her eyes to mine, “they’ve already been here.” My face pales. “But don’t worry, I caught them at the elevator and directed them to Ryder’s office.” A slow smirk creeps up her lips. “I didn’t think you’d want them out here and subjected to … that.” She waves her hand toward my door.
Relief sweeps through me, so I square my shoulders and hold her gaze. “Thank you, Tasha. I appreciate you doing that.” I clear my throat. “And I apologize you were subjected to that, also.”
She rocks back in her chair and crosses her arms with a chuckle. “No, I don’t think you are. But it’s okay, Easy. If I had that man”―her eyes flick to Trystan―“I’d want the whole world to know it, too. Or at the very least the simpering secretary.”
Guilt blooms in my chest, but I push it down. I do feel slightly bad I marked my territory so fully, yet I can’t make myself regret it in the least. I learned a powerful lesson today. I saw firsthand what the future I was pushing for might look like. And I didn’t like it, not one bit, so I changed it.
Trystan is mine.
My cheeks still heat. “You may be partially right, but it was still wrong of me.”
“Girl, if that was wrong, you shouldn’t ever want to be right,” she says, shaking her head and waving me away. “Go get them little cuties.”
Trystan chuckles and tugs me closer. “I like her.”
“She is pretty great,” I say, loud enough for her to hear. “Come on, let’s go find our boys.”
Before we even reach Ryder’s door, I can already hear the boys inside. I knock lightly as I push it open, only to be bombarded by my bother.
“Easy,” he says, rushing across the room and throwing an arm around each of us. After an overenthusiastic hug, he pulls back and eyes us carefully, rubbing his chin. “Something’s different here.” He wags a finger between us. “I mean, I know you were busy, but this looks like more than that.”
Trystan grips Weston’s shoulder firmly. “It is more than that. Way more.”