by Lex Cole
“You too, Chance,” I tell him. Once he's in his truck I look at Nash. “A little overkill, wouldn't you say? Running him out like that,” I say, lifting a brow in question.
“Hell no. Not when it comes to you. I can't be letting Reznor get too close to my woman. He might see how great you are and try to take you away from me.”
I cross my arms over my chest and scowl at him. “Really?”
“Fuck no,” he says, walking over to me. It's then I notice he changed clothes. He must have gone by his place to grab some things. He looks so good in dark wash jeans and a light gray thermal shirt molded perfectly to his chest and biceps. My heart rate picks up at the sight. I can't stop looking at him. How did I get so lucky?
Nash kisses me on the forehead before pulling me into his hard chest. I smile to myself, loving being in his arms. “Ain't no motherfucker taking you away. You're my lady, Aspen Jane Russell,” he says.
I pull back a little and look up at him, narrowing my eyes. “Hey, how do you know my middle name, you little sneak.”
“You said it. I’m a sneak,” he says, giving me a wink and a smirk. Before I can reply, he adds, “Let's get out of here. We can go to Hanover's Family Farm.”
My face lights up with excitement. “I love that place. I'm taking my class soon.”
“That's awesome. I bet they'll love it. You ready?”
“Yes,” I say. Then head into my room grabbing my dark gray vest and slipping on my boots.
“God, you're unbelievably gorgeous, Aspen. Do you know that?”
I smile at him, kiss his cheek and let him lead me out to his truck.
Nash
When I brought Aspen here, I didn’t know exactly how much I would enjoy myself just being in her company. We've done almost everything there is to do so we go into the shop to look around and grab a little something to eat.
I look out the window next to our table and spot a little girl that could be Marie. Sure enough, I glance around and see Lance, Trey, and my sister.
Shit.
Running into Claire is not part of my plans. She won't agree with this and will think I'm just being rash. Maybe we’ll miss her.
I turn to my left after we leave the petting zoo only for Claire to be directing her dirtiest glare at me. Fucking hell.
Making up what I'm sure is a shitty excuse, I leave Aspen in the area looking at the carved pumpkins, and run over to Claire.
“What in the fuck do you think you're doing, Nash?” She hisses at me.
“Look, don't do this. Don't make a scene.”
“Make a scene?” She lets out a humorless laugh before she narrows her eyes on me. “Nash, I don't wanna be a bitch, I really don't, but I'm not okay with you and Ms. Russell, I already told you that. Can't you go find any other willing female to get your rocks off with?”
“Stop it. You don't get a say. You're my sister, I don't wanna fight with you, but if you fuck this up for me I will be beyond pissed. I love her, Claire. Whether you want to believe me capable or worthy of such or not, it's true. I'm asking her to marry me today,” I tell her, the horror on her face morphing to shock when I pull out the ring I picked up this morning.
She gasps, looking from me to the ring then back to me. “Oh, my gosh. Nash, it's beautiful. She will love it. Wow. You're really doing this?” Claire is a hopeless romantic, and she knows me. She knows that there's no way in hell I would even think about doing this if it wasn't for real.
I grin at my sister, glad she’s coming around. “Yeah, I am. She’s incredible, sis. I can’t imagine my life without her by my side.”
“I'm sorry I'm so crazy. I can hardly wrap my head around this, but I really hope everything works out with you guys,” she tells me, then gives me a hug. “Now go find your girl. And I'll make Trey keep the kids away so I can photograph your special moment,” she tells me sounding excited.
I agree and turn to head back to where I left her with a goofy smile on my face, glad to have my sister on board. My smile slips as my stomach drops, because she's not there.
Aspen
I spend another couple of minutes admiring these neat looking carved pumpkins, before I begin to wonder what's keeping Nash. I walk around the haystacks and I see him talking to a stunning blonde. She's a smaller girl, a little taller than I am and very fit looking. From the looks of it, she's giving Nash an earful. I watch her face soften, a smile replacing her scowl, and she lifts to hug him. His arms go around her in a way that seems familiar.
My heart is in my throat as tears cling to my lashes. I wish my eyes were playing tricks on me, but even if they were far away, I think it would be highly noticeable that this isn’t a simple hug. It's one full of love.
I take a deep breath, turn from them, so confused, and walk as fast as I can manage toward the exit. I have my phone so I'll call someone to get me once I'm far enough from Nash that I can breathe again.
I can't believe this. I don't know if I'm in shock, hurt, or just angry at myself for getting so caught up in the man that I fell so damn hard. Maybe I'm all the above. I'm nuts, I have to be. Who falls in love with a guy after less than a week knowing him? I laugh at myself as I wipe away the tears.
The thought that maybe I’m overreacting crosses my mind, but I can’t think of a logical reason for why he would be hugging another woman with me so nearby.
I'm not really paying attention where I'm going, so it's no surprise when I bump into a guy — hard.
“Oh, fuck. Are you okay?”
“Aww, Daddy, you said the bad word again. You gotta put your dollars in the jars,” comes a singsong voice off to the side of us.
“Yeah, yeah,” he replies to her before turning back to me. “Seriously, are you all right?” The handsome man says, his hands on my shoulders, while he tries to look into my eyes.
“Yeah, I think I'll...” I start then get cut off by a little voice saying my name.
“Ms. Russell!”
I whip my head to the right to see my favorite, big blue-eyed little girl looking back at me.
“Marie, hi!” I say trying to sound more excited than I feel. I put on the best smile I can muster given the circumstances.
“What are you doing at... here?” She asks me, then says, “Ms. Russell, are you sad?”
Before I can answer, Nash is beside me.
“There you are! Shit, you scared me, baby,” he says, and I cringe at his proximity.
“Uncle Nash, why is your arm around Ms. Russell?” She asks pointedly before getting excited. “Oh,” she says, as if it all makes sense to her now. “Do you like her? Are you gonna be my new uncle, Ms. Russell?”
Everybody laughs at that, including me, until the blonde makes herself known beside me and I feel like a fool.
“Oh, Marie. It would be an aunt not uncle silly girl,” the woman says, smiling at her daughter.
I look at them, noting the intense similarities, wondering how in the world I could have missed it before.
“Hey, are you okay?” Nash asks me, noticing my red eyes.
“I-I thought... I'm an idiot. I thought there was something between you two,” I say nodding at him and what’s obviously his sister since they look so much alike. “God, I'm so sorry, for...” I shake my head at my stupidity, “jumping to such ridiculous conclusions and not trusting you. I was so jealous. I feel awful.”
Nash just smiles at me. “It's all right, sweetheart,” he says hugging me to him and whispering in my ear, “but next time, let me see your jealousy. I bet you look so fucking hot when you're mad.”
I playfully slap him and he chuckles.
Nash
After the incident at Hanover's I held off asking Aspen to marry me for a little while. I wanted to wait, give her a chance to see how serious I am about her, a chance to trust me. We talked that day, and I told her that there was nothing to be embarrassed about. She mentioned Claire, but I assured her that my sister would forget about it — eventually. She covered her face with her hands and laughed.
/>
It's been almost a month now and I'm fucking itching to put this ring on her finger. I had planned to wait until the weekend, but as she sits in the middle of my couch, wearing one of my shirts, an old pair of sweatpants, her hair pulled into a mess on her head, and stacks of papers all around her while she grades more still, I can't stop myself. The urge is too strong. Aspen is breathtaking, the center of my world, and I forgo my initial plans in favor of spontaneity.
I get on both knees in front of her. She does a double take when she sees me kneeling. Her eyebrows pull together slightly and a curious smile makes its way on her face. Now that I have her attention, I slowly produce the black velvet box, flipping open the lid and taking pleasure in the look on her face when she sees the ring.
“Nash,” she says, my name barely a whisper.
“It's no secret I fucking adore you, sweetheart. I've had this ring for damn near a month now not sure when the right time would be to lay myself bare to you. I planned for this weekend, going so far as renting a cabin in Gatlinburg so I could do it in a special place with a beautiful backdrop. A place that would bring a smile to your face each time you think back on the day years later. But I can't wait a second longer. You sitting here with a mound of papers in your lap so comfortable in my home made me weak in the knees with how much I cherish you.
“Aspen, you're the highlight of my life. I love waking up each morning next to you. I love when you give me shit for leaving my stuff lying around. I love falling asleep watching TV with you then waking up and making love at all hours of the night. But most of all, I love that I'm falling more in love with you every single day. This is something I never dreamed I would want out of life, but I do, because of you. Marry me, baby.”
The whole time I was talking, her smile grew. She's smiling so damn big now her face might crack. A tear tracks down her cheek but she swipes it away as if it doesn't belong. She sits aside the stack of papers that were resting in her lap and slides into the floor with me.
“I can't believe this, or you Nash. I love you so much. Yes, I'll marry you, for everything you said, but for so much more, too,” she says before wrapping her arms around me.
She leans forward, kissing my neck to my bare chest causing my breathing to pick up. She pushes me back, and I have to throw my arm out to catch myself before I fall. A chuckle bursts from me. God, I love this crazy woman. I lie on the rug while her lips brush lightly over my chest, stopping to swirl her tongue around my nipple. I suck in a breath at the sensation and she continues her trek down my abs to the waistband of my sweats. Without an ounce of hesitation, she tugs them down far enough to free my cock. I'm already rock hard for her.
Aspen takes only a second to appraise me before she grips my dick firmly in her small hand and lowers her mouth. She kisses the tip then opens her mouth taking me into her warm, wet mouth.
“Shit,” I groan, watching as she takes as much of my cock as she can before sliding back to the top to work my crown. She sucks and swirls her skilled tongue, teasing the sensitive underside while lazily stroking the length of my shaft with her hand. She moans around me and I pinch my eyes shut willing myself not to come, but I've yet to last five minutes in Aspen's godsend of a mouth.
Finally, I sit up, pulling her mouth from my aching cock. “Fuck, baby. You know you're too damn good,” I tell her before taking her mouth in a bruising kiss.
I strip her shirt over her head and remove her bra within seconds. Taking her big tits into my hands, I show them equal attention with my tongue and teeth. I withdraw from her to grab the throw off the loveseat. After placing it on the floor, I lay her down, ridding her of the last of her clothes before settling between her spread thighs.
Slipping my thumb through her slit I'm gifted with a very slick pussy. She whimpers when I graze her swollen clit and I smirk down at her as I place my thumb in my mouth sucking her sweet juices from my thumb. Her mouth parts and her eyes glaze over as she watches. She loves when I do shit like this.
Taking hold of my cock, I lean forward and line myself up at her entrance, sinking balls deep into the warmth of her tight channel. We moan in unison. I love how well we fit together.
I slide out a few inches and thrust forward into her, capturing the breathy sounds she makes in my mouth as I kiss her roughly. Her hands grip my ass as I pump in and out of her. The kiss doesn't last long, they never do, our love making gets too intense.
“God, you feel so good. I'll never tire of the way I fit so snugly inside you.”
“Yes,” she murmurs.
I lift onto my knees, pulling her legs up to my shoulders as I pump harder and faster, needing to get her there, dying to feel her squeezing my cock. Her hands go to my thighs, nails scoring my skin there, spurring me on. I love it.
I slide my thumb back between her puffy lips, stroking her clit until she finally lets go.
“That's it Aspen, come for me baby,” I growl.
“Ohhh, Nash,” she says, her words make me wanna puff out my chest.
I move her legs back down to the bed and she smiles at me as she rolls onto her knees, bending over. I take her in, poised in one of my favorite positions. “God, this ass, mmm,” I say, rubbing over her shapely backside, my dick getting harder at the sight of her like this. I plunge inside her without warning, thrusting only twice before coming deep inside her.
A little while later, as we lie wrapped in a blanket on the floor, I slide the ring on her finger.
Epilogue
Two years later...
Aspen
A chorus of, “Hi, Mrs. Phillips,” ring out around the classroom, and I smile at my sweet kinders, but my eyes land specifically on Bentley, waving his hand around anxiously as I walk into the room.
I smile at his sweet, excited face and wave at Mr. Brown, their sub. “Yes, Bentley?”
“Is it today, Aspen, I mean, Mrs. Phillips?” He asks, cheeks pink, eyes hopeful.
He's referring to the day the whole class gets to meet Autumn, mine and Nash's sweet baby girl. She's ten weeks old now and it's almost time for me to come back to school.
“It is!” I say, my voice matching his in excitement. “Mr. Phillips should be in here soon. I sure hope my little friends have been great for Mr. Brown while I've been away,” I say to them and watch as most of them nod their heads frantically, a few answering me outright and the rest glance to the teacher for confirmation.
“Oh, of course they have. You have a wonderful, well-behaved class here, Mrs. Phillips.”
I give him a warm smile and thank him just as a light knock sounds at the door. I open it, letting Nash in. He kisses my cheek before looking over my class.
“Hey, I hear someone wanted to meet Autumn. Now, who was it?” He asks glancing at their little excited faces. Every hand in the room goes up, including Mr. Brown.
We spent thirty minutes with my class oohing and aahing over sweet Autumn. A few of the kids had never seen a baby before and others tell us stories of their baby siblings or family members. Bentley said his mommy is gonna have a baby, and he hopes it's a cute little baby like Autumn. I smile and glance over to Nash to see if he knew Levi and Summer were expecting and he just shrugs. I narrow my eyes then let it go. I can tell Levi likely told him and he forgot to mention it to me. Typical.
Seeing my kiddos made my day. It helped me more than I could have hoped. Knowing I have to leave Autumn soon has been so hard. Nash is very supportive, even going as far as telling me I could take a leave of absence, which there is no way I could do. I love my class too much. Getting to spend time with them today makes me excited to get back to them in a couple of weeks.
We walk out of the school and Nash takes my hand while he holds Autumn's carrier with his other. He pulls my hand up to his mouth, kissing the back of it softly. I sigh with contentment.
“How in the hell am I ever gonna get another baby inside you now?” He says so seriously I can't help but laugh.
“What?” I say once I'm more composed.
�
�It's all I can think about. Little Autumn needs a brother as soon as possible.”
I roll my eyes. Nash wanted a boy so bad. He wasn't disappointed having a girl, but he secretly hoped they had gotten the sex of the baby wrong. “You're too much,” I tell him.
“We need to start now.”
“She'll have Bentley,” I tell him.
I watch his wheels turning. “Yeah, you're right,” he replies finally, as he opens the back door to my new Nissan Rogue, that Nash insisted I needed for safety reasons, clicking Autumn's car seat in place.
He never gives in this easy. “I am?”
“Yeah, it makes sense.”
I smile as we back out of the lot, knowing he's full of it, and not knowing that before the end of the month he'll have me pregnant with baby number two.
THE END
More
Other books in the Sweet Seasons series
A Taste of Summer - Book 1
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About the Author
Lex Cole loves words — reading them, writing them, and occasionally hanging them up in her house. She writes steamy, short romance stories that are most definitely not safe for work. Her stories might range from sweet and swoony to hot and dirty, but always with a happily ever after.
When she's not jotting down ideas and attempting to write stories, you can find her trying to tame her gaggle of children.
Contact Lex by email anytime at [email protected]