by ANDREA SMITH
“Oh, Jesus Christ, counselor, that’s the name of a drink,” Gina hissed.
“That may be, Gina, but their body language was speaking to much more. Then the bastards accused me of encroaching on their turf!”
“Trey,” Tristan spoke up calmly, “Let’s get back downstairs and let Tylar work, okay?” Trey didn’t take his eyes off me. He didn’t answer Tristan because he was too busy staring a hole in me with those piercing eyes. There was much that I wanted to say to him but here and now wasn't the time or place to air our dirty laundry.
“Trey, C’mon, let’s get back down to our table and leave Tylar to her work. I left Libby down there by herself when Gina came to get me.”
“I’m sure she’s been kept entertained in your absence, Tristan. She’s probably humping the bus boy or spanking the bouncer,” he spat.
Oh my God. He did not just say that!
I looked over at Gina. Her expression was frozen in disbelief. I raised my eyes to Tristan who had taken on a steely expression. I'd never seen Tristan anything other than congenial or laid back. I was seeing the angry side of Tristan now; it was a bit intimidating.
"You're out of line, Trey,” he said, his words edged with calm fury. “I'll consider the fact that you're drunk at the moment and for whatever reason, pissed that your wife did something on her own without your permission. We all know your need to control, but don’t ever speak about Libby in that manner again. You aren’t eight years old anymore; I guess we’ll finally see who can whip whose ass.”
Tristan turned to depart then stopped and turned to me. “I apologize for my brother’s behavior tonight. Good luck with your new endeavor. If you need anything, please let me know?”
“Thanks, Tristan,” I replied softly.
With that he turned and left. Trey was still standing there staring at me. He looked totally miserable and out of sorts. I wasn’t sure if it was because of me or a result of the way he'd just acted with his brother. He raked his hand through his hair then glared at Gina before turning and following Tristan. Now it was Gina and I left standing there in confusion.
“Wow,” Gina said taking a deep breath. “That was kind of hot.”
“Oh, Gina,” I wailed, “how can you say that? Trey hasn’t spoken to me in a couple of days then comes in here and gets all jealous and causes a scene. What’s hot about that?”
“First of all, I was referring to Tristan putting Trey in his place; secondly, why the hell haven’t you said anything to me about Trey not speaking to you?”
“Because it’s my problem; I need to deal with it.”
“Alright, alright. Obviously you didn’t feel the need to share this with your best friend. I'll keep my nose out of it. Are you okay to go back to the bar?”
“Yeah. I’m good. I’m sure those guys are gone by now.”
“Okay. Call if you need me?”
“I will,” I smiled as I turned to go back.
The band had started again so the bar filled back up from the patrons that had taken restroom leave while it was quiet. Eddie was handling the bar.
“Is everything okay, honey?” he asked me when I returned.
“Not really, Eddie. Where’d Ryan and Andy go?”
“Oh, honey, they paid their tab and skedaddled. They told me to tell you they were sorry they were disrespectful to you and they left you this.”
Eddie handed me a $100 bill. I looked up at him. “My tip?”
“Yes ma’am. They said you earned it by tolerating their drunken asses. You know, I think your husband might have given those two a well-deserved lesson in manners. That was really hot, you know?”
I smiled at Eddie. “I swear Eddie, you and Gina have a weird perception of what's hot and what's not.”
I hung around after closing to help Gina empty the registers and put the money in the floor safe. One of the bouncers had stuck around and walked us out to our cars to make sure we got safely to them.
“When do you have to be out of the condo?” I asked Gina on the way out to our cars.
“Ian takes possession of it December 1st.”
“Have you been looking around at apartments?”
“I’m not really sure what my budget is going to be just yet. Since you’re drawing a salary instead of Ian it won’t be coming into my pocket indirectly any longer,” she laughed.
“You can always stay with us until you find something.”
“Yeah, right, Ty. I think Trey hates me enough already. I can’t imagine he would want me under his roof.”
“It’s my roof too, Gina.”
“So it is girlfriend. It’s nice to have you back.”
“Where have I been?” I asked puzzled by her comment.
“Good-night, Ty,” she said pushing the remote to unlock her car.
CHAPTER 23
It was nearly 2:00 a.m. when I let myself in the apartment. The first thing I did was get out of my heels. Being on my feet for so long definitely gave me pause for thought about having to wear three inch heels to work. Perhaps Gina and I needed to re-visit the employee dress code for females.
I crept into Preston’s room and peered over the rail of her crib. She was sleeping soundly tucked under her blanket with her hand on the stuffed bear that Trey had bought for her the day she was born. I leaned over and kissed her forehead. I was exhausted. I had to do this again tonight I realized as I peeled my clothing off and went into the bathroom off of the nursery to brush my teeth. I so wanted a shower but I was simply too tired. I crawled beneath the sheets of the bed in the nursery and was asleep within minutes. Just as I dozed off I heard Trey out in the hall talking to someone on his cell phone.
“What the hell time did she leave?” he asked not bothering to mask his anger. He'd called Gina looking for me.
Holy shit!
I threw the covers off grabbing my white blouse off of the floor to throw on since all I had on were my panties. I went out into the living room where Trey continued to pummel Gina with questions.
“Trey,” I interrupted his angry tirade on the phone, “I’m home. I was sleeping in the nursery.” He turned to face me, the relief obvious on his face.
“Never mind, Gina; she was here the whole time, I guess.”
Gina’s response was apparent when I heard Trey snap, “Yeah? Well you can bite me, too!”
He turned to me; his sleep tousled hair gave him a rakish appearance similar to Ryan’s. What the hell made me think of Ryan? That’s how this latest shit got started. “So,” he said in his smooth and silky yet tired voice, “we aren’t sharing a bed any longer?”
“I just didn’t want to continue the argument you started at the club tonight. I’m tired. Your silent treatment and coldness over the past few days has worn me down."
He was at my side, pulling me into his strong arms, stroking my hair. “I’m sorry, baby. I’ve been a controlling ass just like Tristan said. Can you forgive me?”
I looked up into his eyes and saw the sincerity in them. It wasn't like Trey to capitulate this easily. He'd been giving this a lot of thought I decided. Perhaps I owed him an apology as well. “Trey, you were right about one thing. I shouldn’t have invested the money without discussing it with you,” I conceded.
“No, you shouldn’t have,” he replied, smiling, “But, I understand why you did. I haven’t been the most approachable person these days. When I thought back to the conversation we had that night; I was extremely dismissive with you. Actually, I was downright rude. I love you so much Tylar. Sometimes you're the kick-in-the-ass I need to remind me just how much.” I smiled up at him lacing my arms around his neck. He lowered his face to mine, our lips finding each other.
“I want to make love to you, baby,” he whispered against my lips.
“What if I want to fuck?” I teased.
“I’m fairly certain that we can accommodate both, Mrs. Sinclair.”
Trey carried me to our room and placed me on the bed as he quickly discarded his boxers. He climbed under the cove
rs, pulling my panties and blouse off simultaneously. He pulled me to him and our lips met in a hot, passionate kiss. Trey was hungry for me and I was hungry for him. He flipped me onto my back and covered me with gentle kisses. He took his time when he reached my breasts, swirling his tongue around my nipples making them taut and hard.
“This is mine,” he whispered as he suckled gently from a breast.
His tongue traced a path to the other one where he brought the rosy peak to attention as well. “And this one is mine, too,” he said softly as he continued to suck gently.
He continued his trail of love southward, kissing my stomach and grazing my navel ring with his lips. I was already wet for him. His lips and tongue found my womanhood. He moaned softly as he captured my clitoris with his tongue, gently massaging it in a circular motion.
“And this is mine,” he rasped, inserting his finger into me, feeling the wetness and quickening as he probed my sweet spot gently. I moaned softly then remembered I hadn’t put in my diaphragm.
“God I'm so ready for you, baby. We’re going to need a condom, though.” It was as if he'd not heard me or chose not to listen. He continued his expert ministrations with his lips and tongue, bringing me to the brink of orgasm with his mouth. Perhaps he'd planned on making me come this way. I'd no issue with that at all.
My hips gyrated against his mouth; I could hear my soft moans escaping as my body took control responding to Trey and what he was doing to me; what he always did to me which was bringing pure pleasure to every part of me. He rose back up suddenly, capturing my lips with his mouth. His hand spread my legs gently apart; I felt him lower himself into me.
“Trey . . .” I started to tell him to stop that we needed a condom, but he was pressing himself into me in his perfect rhythm. I loved the fullness I felt when he was inside of me; rocking back and forth with his thrusts.
“What baby?” he asked softly, kissing my lips over and over again. He was watching me with his sapphire eyes full of love and passion. His right hand was fisted in my hair. He continued the circular thrusting of himself in and out of me. He was bringing me to frenzy. “Do you want me to stop, Tylar?”
“No,” I breathed softly against his lips. “Don’t stop.”
“I love you, baby,” he moaned against me, increasing his tempo as he readied for his orgasm.
“I love you,” I said, matching him thrust for thrust as he continued to bury himself deep inside of me. Our orgasms exploded with a fury. Trey moaned loudly, pulling me up to him as he emptied himself inside of me.
I was right there with him, whimpering in pleasure as my orgasm unfolded around him; squeezing and contracting as I was filled with his love.
~~~~~~~~~~
Preston was up early the next morning. It seemed as if I'd just drifted off to sleep when I heard her from the nursery. I looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was a few minutes after seven. Damn - I had just drifted off to sleep.
Trey and I'd made love over and over again last night. I'd put my diaphragm in after our first session. That might serve to prove it was too little, too late. Time would tell.
“I’ve got it, baby,” he said, getting out of bed and pulling his boxers on. "You go back to sleep. I’ll take care of her this morning.”
“Thank you honey,” I said.
I burrowed back down into the soft pillows pulling the duvet up under my chin and fell back to sleep. When I awoke again it was nearly 11:00 a.m. I felt rested and energized; glad that my husband and I'd re-connected emotionally and physically. I showered and dressed for the day in jeans and a sweater. I pulled on my Ugg boots and headed down the hall to see what my family was doing.
Trey was in the kitchen cooking something. It smelled delicious. Preston was in her high chair with a bib on that was thoroughly splattered with pureed carrots. She was chewing on a graham cracker; the soggy remnants of it were on her cheeks, chin and fingers. She smiled upon seeing me.
Hey, baby,” Trey greeted me as he came over and kissed me warmly. “Are you ready to eat?”
“What are you making?”
“Homemade chicken stew,” he replied proudly. “Mom gave me the recipe when we talked this morning. I’ve got biscuits in the oven almost ready. Sit down; I’ll fix you a plate.”
I obliged, relaxing on one of the stools at the breakfast bar watching my husband dish up some of his chicken stew. He pulled a warm biscuit from the oven and put my plate in front of me. He grabbed some silverware and a napkin placing it next to the plate. He waited for me to taste it. I took a spoonful and it was delicious.
“Wow, this is great,” I said, taking another spoonful. “Aren’t you having some?”
“In a second, sweetie,” he said, filling up our glasses with ice water. “Did you know Preston has a tooth coming through?” he asked.
“Really? Which one?”
“One of the bottom teeth. I felt it when she bit my finger this morning.”
“She bit your finger?”
How in the hell did that happen?
He smiled sheepishly.
Do I even want to know the details?
“I didn’t have my back turned for more than thirty seconds, I swear. She crawled over to the coffee table and found a pack of my breath mints. When I picked her up to wipe the drool off of her chin I could see that she had something in her mouth.”
Oh, dear Lord.
“So, I tried to get my finger in her mouth, but she clamped her little mouth shut tight and twisted her head away from me. She gets that stubbornness from you, I think.”
“Of course she does, Trey. Then what happened?”
“Well, I carried her into the kitchen and put her in the high chair and got a graham cracker out for her. You know she loves those things, don’t you?”
Duh….YEAH!
I nodded and smiled waiting for him to finish the story.
“So, I held it out to her just outside of her reach. When she started whining she opened her mouth and I quickly got my fingers in there and snatched the breath mint.”
He paused for a moment, filling a bowl with the chicken stew for himself. “I was nearly free and clear until she clamped down onto my finger and I felt something sharp under her gum. I ran my index finger along her bottom gum line and felt the sharp edge of a tooth coming through.”
Trey was beaming with pride that he'd discovered this before me or anyone else. It was actually kind of adorable. “I want to see,” I said, jumping up and going to her. I tried to get her to open her mouth but she was busy sucking on the soggy cracker.
“I’m going to have to update her baby book,” I said, smiling at my baby girl. “Hey you never told me why you were even out last night.”
He'd taken his place at the table starting to eat. “I'd asked Jean to stay late the other day while she was here with Preston when you were at the club training with Gina,” he replied.
That must've been why she'd given me the strange look when I told her Trey would take over watching the baby once he got home from work.
“It was supposed to be a surprise,” he said. “When I told Tristan about your investment he got all pumped up about it and wanted to see the place. He was really excited. He wants to talk to you about carrying his wine selections exclusively there. He'll probably work out a sweet deal for both of you.”
“Hmm,” I replied, “Tristan's happy about my investment, huh? Perhaps I married the wrong Sinclair.” I looked over at him as he cocked an eyebrow at me taking a spoonful of stew and blowing on it to cool it off.
“So, you think Tristan could make you moan and squeal the way I do Mrs. Sinclair?”
I wasn’t going there as the thoughts of my fantasy from last week surfaced in my mind. I felt myself blush. Trey was watching me.
“You say the silliest things sometimes. I was talking about his not hating the idea of my investment not sex.”
“I didn’t mean to get you bent out of shape, baby,” he replied studying my reaction.
“Spea
king of Tristan,” I said anxious to change the topic of sex, “Are you two still on speaking terms after last night?”
“I think we’re good,” Trey replied. “I apologized to him. I was under the influence of alcohol and jealousy after all. My brother knows how I roll.”
"So, you really don’t care for Libby either, do you?”
“I guess that’s no secret anymore,” he replied sardonically. “You know I really wanted to like her, for Tristan’s sake. He hasn’t had a serious relationship for several years. Not since Tara. This just happened so fast and the way she cracks that whip, pardon the pun, is disturbing; at least to me.”
“I know,” I said, picking at another biscuit. “Do you think he'll see the light before they set a date?”
“I certainly hope so,” he replied in a serious tone.
“Getting back to the subject of the club, you'll be here with Preston tonight when I have to go in, right?”
“Yes, Tylar,” he said.
“But you and Gina need to work out your schedules so that I can know in advance as to whether we need to keep Jean on longer during the afternoons when you go in.”
“I know, honey,” I replied. “I'll get with Gina on Sunday we when go over the week’s receipts and set a schedule in place. This all just happened so quickly.”
“You’re telling me.”
Preston started squirming in her high chair; her little face was beet red.
Uh oh - I know that look.
Trey laughed as he heard her grunt a couple of times with her reddened face.
“Your turn, baby,” he teased, clearing our dishes. “It sounds like a triple gagger.”
Hmmph,” I said, lifting her out of the high chair. “Gagging is for wimps.”
I gave Trey a smile and a wink as I took the baby into the nursery to clean her up and start her bath.
The day flew by and I was once again getting ready for work. Trey came into the bathroom as I was finishing up my make-up. I'd pulled my hair up this evening into a ponytail. He slid up behind me, leaning down and placing warm and sensual kisses on my neck.
“Mmmm,” I sighed. “I hate leaving.”