Torn: Kory & Aimee (Oak Springs Book 5)

by Lucy Rinaldi

  “It's just a little glucose, Aimz. I carry some in my bag in case of emergencies.”

  “Oh.” I knock it back and a gag on it. Oh, god. It's absolutely disgusting!

  “How far along are you?”

  I open my mouth to speak, but I'm stuck for words. I look to Kory. He just smiles and nods his head. “Sixteen weeks.” Or there about.

  Every suddenly yells, cheers, and as much as I want to join in, however happy it makes me that they're all happy for me, I feel like I'm going to vomit.

  “It's okay, Aimz, just breathe. We've all been where you are right now. Trust me, this is nothing new.” She rubs my arm sympathetically with a smile on her face.

  There's suddenly Della on my right side, Lora on my left, and Callie and Roya crouched down in front of me, my hands in hers, Della and Lora have their arms around me. I'm being squashed, but I'm laughing along with them.

  “Welcome to the club!” I laugh loudly at Callie.

  “I am so happy for you!” Roya hugs me tightly and kisses my cheek. Lora is my best friend in the world, but I would be a liar if I said Roya wasn't my best friend also. Hell, all the women in our group are my best friends, but Lora and Roya, they mean something else to me.

  Everyone now knows about the baby, and every person is happy for me and Kory, not one is angry that we didn't tell them about the baby sooner. And it's now I realize that everything in my life is finally okay. Nothing about the past matters, I'm no longer torn about things. Kory has kept his promise, to be honest with me, to put me first, to make this marriage work. And I love him now more than I could ever say.

  And as he holds me close to him, kissing my head and reveling in the supporting words of our friends, I know he's content here. Here is where we'll call home for the rest of our lives.

  Yes, people move on from this place, but there is nowhere I'd rather be than here in Oak Springs. The small-town life, the close-knit community, our friends and family all around us. This is where our baby will grow up. Grow up with all its cousins and little friends, and I know my baby will have the best life with the best possible parents a child could have.

  Yes, I have a lot of faith in my ability to be a good mother, and I know better than anyone just how much Kory is going to love this baby. He'll be the best father there is.

  “I love you,” I mumble into his mouth as I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. I feel so happy right now that I could burst!

  “Not as much as I love you. You will never know what you've done for me, Aimee. But I swear, I'll spend the rest of my life trying to show you.”

  “You already have, my darling. You've shown me everything.” I wrap my arms around him tightly and he lifts me off the floor. I sense his smile, and I know everything is finally perfect. Everything.

  Epilogue

  Kory

  Two years later

  “Kory, we can't, Echo will be awake soon. She's only napping.” She protests as my lips work her neck and my fingers work her pussy.

  She can protest all she likes, it won't make a difference to me right now. I want her, and I want her now. I've been in Seattle for three weeks, I've missed her so damn much.

  “We have time, beautiful.”

  Her protests die on her lips as I kiss the shit out of her and carry her to our bed. I strip her quickly, then myself. My cock is so hard I'm ready to pound nails!

  She cries out the second my mouth finds her erect nipple. God, I've missed her. My finger pump inside of her hard and fast. I can feel her contracting around them. She's about to come. It's always the same when I've been away.

  “Kory... I'm going to... Oh, god!” She gushes all over me and I can't get enough. My mouth slides down her body, right down to her soaked pussy, and I lap at her juices like a man dying of thirst in the desert.

  Her hands clutch my hair, holding me right where she wants me. Her hips buck off the bed, scrubbing her pussy against my mouth like crazy. She's about to come again. I slam two fingering inside of her, pushing up fast and hard as I suck her clit. She screams loudly and squirts into my mouth.

  God, I love the taste of her.

  I lick her softly until the last spasm ends. I then climb her shaking body and kiss her. She kisses me back hungrily, she likes the taste of herself, and that fucking turns me on like crazy.

  “Let me suck your cock, baby. I want to taste you. I've missed you so much.”

  I smirk, kiss her, then climb her body. Straddling her chest. “Open your mouth, beautiful.” Her tongue snakes out and touches the tip of my cock. I'm so hard and ready for her that I know this is a very bad idea.

  Regardless, I shove my cock deep in her throat, my head falls back with a sigh and a groan. She knows exactly how to suck my cock and get me off way too quickly. Her tongue circles the head of my cock and I'm sweating like crazy, I'm gonna lose it.

  “That's enough!” I roar, pull my cock out of her mouth and flip her the fuck over. With her hair in my hand, I pull her head back. “Enough teasing, baby, I need to be inside of you right now.”

  “Hurry, Kory. I need you inside me right now. Take me bare. Come inside of me!”

  Fuck!

  I slam into her in one push, and my god, it feels so fucking good! I hold her hips in my hands, slamming harder and harder. She buries her face in the pillow and screams her pleasure. Her pussy swallows my dick, sucking on it with each thrust.

  I'm gonna lose it before I'm ready to!

  I pull out of her, flip her over and lift her onto my lap, and straight onto my cock. “Oh, Kory...” She groans while clutching at my neck, both of is fucking each other like we'll die if we don't.

  Hell, for all I know we will die without each other. Not just the sex, as amazing as it is, but everything. I cannot lose this woman, it would literally kill me. For over two years now we've been inseparable. We agree on everything. I leave her only to go to my office in Seattle now and again. These past three weeks I've been away have been the longest since the day I kidnapped her.

  She usually comes with me, she couldn't this time because of her own work commitments. I've hated it, she hated it, our daughter hated it. It's never happening again, that much I guarantee.

  I'm not gonna last much longer, I'm too fucking close, so deep inside of her. “Come for me again, Aimee. Come, baby. Come with me.”

  “I'm coming!” Her nails dig into my shoulders, her head is thrown back, and my fingers are digging into her waist so hard she'll bruise. “Kory!”

  “Aimee, fuck!” She let's go and so do I, both of us coming so damn hard neither of us can breathe. We hold each other for a while as we come down from the high we just chased. “We should shower before, Echo wakes.” She nods against me, unable to speak. Always makes me smile.

  We shower together, get dressed, and make lunch just in time. Baby girl comes rushing into the kitchen after her nap. She spots me and screams, “Daddy!”

  “My princess.” I scoop her up and hold her against me. I breathe her in, my beautiful little girl with her blonde hair tied in little pigtails, her big blue eyes just like mine, and her big smile and calming nature just like her mommy.

  “I missed you, daddy.”

  “Daddy missed you more.”

  Echo was born five weeks early. Aimee had gone into early labor naturally. The doctor told us it was more common than we thought. They monitored Aimee closely and allowed her to give birth naturally as she was quite far gone.

  Echo was born at 4.19 pm on a Saturday in April, weighing 5lb and 2oz, and she was the most perfect thing I had ever seen in my whole life. The moment I held her, I was lost to everything else around me. Nothing matter but her.

  I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't terrified for the first year of her life. Scared that someone might come along and take her from Aimee and me. A repeat of what happened with my sister when she was a baby. I got so bad with it that I became possessive. Wouldn't let Aimee out alone, would never allow Echo to be left in a room on her own. There had to be someone watc
hing her always.

  In the end, Aimee forced me into therapy. Took a lot for me to go, but I can't deny that I needed it. Dr. Milligan tore open my soul to get to the bottom of what was bothering me. I let it all out, everything that I had held in since I was a child.

  Yes, I went to therapy when I was a kid, it helped back then, but I hadn't really let go of what happened to me when my sister was taken. I suppressed it all, thinking that when she came home it would just disappear. It didn't.

  I talked it all through, screamed, yelled, even cried over it all. I had held it in for so long that letting go of it hurt. Once it was out, I felt so much better. God, I had never felt so light. Dr. Milligan encouraged me to speak to Aimee about what we'd talked about. I wasn't sure, but she was right

  I sat with my wife and told her everything. She listened to everything, took it all in. We held each other as we cried. I should have been strong for her, but she was the one holding strong for me, telling me it would all be okay.

  I let go of what happened to my sister that day. I called her over just so that I could hold her and tell her everything. My therapist told me that it would be the final key to my happiness if I let those I love know the truth. I held Roya so close to me, telling her a thousand times that I love her and that I'll never let anything happen to her again.

  My parents and siblings came next. I told them everything. It was finally all out and I could let it go. I felt lighter for it, and I could finally let go a little where my daughter was concerned. Finally able to walk out of the room without panicking that she'd be gone when I got back.

  That's not to say I've ever let go where security is concerned. Whatever I can do to keep my daughter safe I'll do it.

  Aimee and I had our vow renewal. Our mothers went mental over it, it was a huge affair, and everyone finally got to see Aimee in her big white wedding dress, walking down the aisle to me. And fuck if it wasn't the best day of my life.

  Marcus was right, we needed to do it.

  Echo was there, tiny baby girl watching her mommy and daddy getting married. It was amazing and I was the proudest man in the world that day. Especially when I danced with my girls. Both of them safe in my arms where they belong.

  “I love seeing you two together.” I smile at my wife, wrapping an arm around her, pulling her to me and kissing her lips. “You're my world the two of you.”

  “And you're mine, beautiful.” I groan as my phone rings. Typical. I grab it from my pocket, my girls still clinging to me. “Hey, Dad, what's up?”

  “Kory, I need your help, it's your brother.”

  “What about him?” When I left him, he wasn't doing too good, he's having a hard time of things right now. But he assured me he was fine, he'd be alright.

  “Something is very wrong, Kory. He's working himself to death. All of this stuff with Maya is killing him.” His bitch cheating wife! “He won't see anyone, he won't even speak to any of us. I know you only just got home, and I am so sorry to do this, but I thought he'd be okay. He's not okay, Kory, he needs you. and your mother is in bits she's so worried about him.”

  “I'll sort it, Dad. Tell mom not to worry, I'll head back there today.” Aimee's eyes narrow right before she pulls away from me, taking Echo with her and leaving the room.

  I end the call with my father and go in search of my wife and daughter. She didn't give me time to explain. It's not like I want to leave her again so soon, but my brother is in agony over something that bitch he married did. He won't tell anyone the full story, but I know she cheated and took his son from him. He's my best friend, he needs me. I have to be there for him.

  “Aimee, baby, I'm so...” My words die on my lips the second I enter the bedroom. I stand watching her with a smile on my face. She's packing a bag for her and Echo. “Going somewhere?”

  “Yes,” She smiles, “to Seattle with my gorgeous husband and our daughter to fix your brother. He needs us, I heard what your dad said. He's right, Greg needs you. You're the only one who can get him through this. And you need Echo and me to help you get him through this. I'm not letting you go alone.”

  I take massive strides to her and grab her, pulling her into me. “I don't know what I'd do without you.”

  “You will never be without me, Kory.”

  “Nor me, Daddy!”

  I grab my little girl and hold her close to her mother and me. What more could a man want than this? Whatever it takes to get Greg back to the man he once was, I'll do it. No matter what. And I have Aimee and Echo by my side through it all.

  I'm the luckiest man alive.

  The End!

  Read on for a sneak peek at book 6 in the series. Crossed, Greg & Dani.

  Also, I'd just like to thank you for embracing my new series the way you have. I appreciate each and every one of you and the comments and messages you leave me regarding my stories. Without you, they wouldn't be the books they are. If you wouldn't mind leaving a review, I would be most grateful :) What you think counts, so let others know what you think. And again, I thank you for taking the time to read this.

  Yours, Lucy xoxo

  Sneak Peek

  Crossed: Greg & Dani. Book six in the series!

  Greg

  “Get up!” Hands grab me, pulling me toward the edge of the bed I've been lying in for the past week. I grip the sheets, yanking myself away from those big hands. “I'm not kidding, Greg, get the fuck up!”

  “Leave me alone, Kory.” There's no conviction in my words. There never is these days.

  “You can't keep doing this, Greg. You need to get up, take a shower, eat something, get the hell out of this house for a while.”

  I pull the sheet up to my chin and stare at the wall in front of me. There are no imperfections on that green wall, trust me, I've scanned it like crazy just to make sure. I can't see my big brother, he's standing behind me. I can't face him. I can't face anyone.

  It's been months since it happened, months, where I acted like nothing, had happened. Months of burying myself in work just so that I didn't have to think about it. Months where I tried to pretend like I didn't care, like it hadn't affected me the way I knew deep down it had. How the hell could it not, I lost everything!

  It wasn't until Kory came to Seattle and forced me into this stupid vacation time, brought me back to Oak Springs, my childhood hometown, that I finally let it all sink in. With nothing to occupy my mind, everything that had happened came crashing down on me. I couldn't cope. I can't cope.

  I don't know who the hell I am right now.

  “Greg, please. Just get up, shower, eat something. I don't know, go for a walk along the front. Anything but this. Everyone is so worried about you, man. You can't go on like this.”

  He's right, I can't. What's done is done, nothing that happens now will change that. I've been burned but I'm not dead. I've had my heart torn apart but it's still there. I've had every ounce of faith crushed but I'm still breathing.

  And I will go on breathing and living. I will fix my life and move on from the mess that was my life. I'll move on and make the future brighter.

  Jesus Christ, I sound like a damn storybook!

  I take a deep breath in through my nose. “I'll be up in ten.”

  I sense my brother's smile. “Good man. I'll meet you in the kitchen.” He leaves the room.

  I drag my sorry ass out of bed and into the shower. Once I'm done, I shave the damn beard that's grown over the past week. I scrub my teeth three times and spit.

  I look at myself in the mirror. I look awful, I've lost a little weight from the stress. I scrub my hands over my face and sigh. I need to eat something and get to the gym, or at least, jog along the waterfront.

  Yeah, that's what I'll do. I'll work my way up to the gym. I need to sort my damn self out. I will sort myself out. My life isn't over because of one woman. I won't allow what she did to ruin me. Yes, I loved her. Yes, I would have done anything for her. But we drifted apart long before I found out the truth.

  She was neve
r mine, to begin with, I was never hers. Why I married her, I don't know. Why she said yes is an even bigger mystery.

  But it's done now. I'll grieve the little boy I loved more than life itself. I'll grieve for the times we'll never have, for the times we did. I'll grieve for the fact I'll never see him smiling at me, laughing as he runs to me while calling me daddy.

  I'll grieve for the football games I'll never take him to, for the ice cream we'll never eat. For the teenager, I'll never know, or the advice about girls he would have asked me.

  She stole it all from me and all I can do now is move on with my life.

  I pull on a pair of light gray sweats, a wife beater – ironic name – and my sneakers. I'm ready to run this poison out of me. I strip my bed, the sheets need a wash after me sweating in them for a week. I know it's disgusting but I've been out of it. But I'm back now.

  I drop the sheets by the washing machine in the laundry room and then follow the sound of toddler laughter to the kitchen. My sister-in-law and brother are sitting at the table obviously waiting for me so they can start breakfast. My little niece, Echo, is showing her parents her ballet dancing. I don't even know if at two years of age she even knows what ballet dancing is.

  But there she is spinning around in her little pink Tutu, her blonde hair up in a tight bun, giggling her head off as her parents clap their hands in appreciation. That baby is everything to Kory and Aimee. Literally everything. They go out of their way to make her happy, no matter what she wants to do, they'll sit and watch and listen to her with smiles on their faces, pride in their hearts.

  All of my siblings love their children, all of them amazing parents in their own right, but it's my brother whom I admire right now. I never thought he'd have any kids, but Echo came along and Kory changed so much.

  Echo was born just weeks before Roya gave birth to her daughter, Ella. Beautiful little girl who looks just like Echo, same color hair, same color eyes. She's the image of Roya, who is the image of Kory. Both little girls often get mistaken for sisters. Little best friends and they are so loved.