“I love them, but you shouldn’t have. Dogs will be dogs, and Yolo is my problem and certainly on my last nerve.”
“Dogs get stressed just like humans. She sensed your anxiety.”
I put the new prizes up in the top of the closet. Putting them down below would’ve just been dessert for her. “Where is she now?”
“My backyard with Rip; doggie door locked.” He took my hand and pulled me to sit on the bed.
He touched the arch of my cheek. “I am really sorry, Chelsie. It’s just that—”
“I get it. You don’t want another baby. I’m getting on the pill just as soon as my next period starts. I’ve already got my prescription.”
His head angled toward mine, and with the slightest touch, his lips brushed against my mouth quickly. He whispered, “That’s just it. I can’t wait until we have a baby. I love you. I’ve loved you for a while, even from a distance. I know we said slow, but—”
“Mom, what’s for dinner?” Ty stood in my doorway, and even though I jumped to my feet, I felt certain we’d been caught.
He didn’t look happy at all. “What’s wrong? Are you sick again?”
I quickly approached him and dipped to his eye level. I reached to hug his tiny little body. “I’m fine. No more trips to the hospital. I’ll look better in about a week or so, just like last time. Are you and Oliver hungry?”
He leaned back to view my face and pushed my hair back away from my eyes as he often did. “No, we wanted to cook for you. Mr. Ian said the boys were cooking dinner.”
I glanced over my shoulder, and Ian was nodding his head with a big smile on his face.
“Then get to cookin’, my little man.”
After a gourmet grilled cheese with a side order of canned soup, the boys entertained us with skits and karate moves and just about anything that would require our undivided attention.
When it was time to put the boys down for the night, Ian announced they should head home. I dipped to my knees and hugged Oliver, but his little body was rigid. It wasn’t the first time I’d tried to hug him, but nonetheless, he still responded the same way. The smile on his face was the only tell that he was warming up to me in a more-than-friendly way.
Ian wrapped one arm around my waist. “Get well, kiddo,” he said and kissed my forehead.
I think his public display of affection caught me by surprise more than it did the boys. Ian had taken it too far, and I was immediately on alert for the fallout.
About two hours later, I was lying in bed with my tablet, trying to relax and get rid of a headache, when my phone chimed.
Ian: I miss you. I wish I still had Denise here so I could be with you
Me: Me too. Wednesday can’t get here soon enough
Ian: Nooner on Tuesday?
Me: Ooh, bad boy.
Ian: Be bad with me?
Me: always
I closed my eyes and thought about Ian’s private words to me before we’d got caught. He’d declared his love for me and said he wanted more babies. As much as I wanted a happily-ever-after, something deep inside my mind had convinced me it wasn’t in the cards.
Would I ever be enough to replace his beloved?
The next morning, I woke earlier than normal, sent Ian a text to meet me outside, and rushed to get dressed and grab the paper before waking Ty up. When I opened the door, I found Ian strutting up the sidewalk with my newspaper.
“You’re up early,” I whispered.
He came in and quietly shut the door. Without notice, I was quickly pulled into his arms. “I missed you. Come here.”
He stayed away from my mouth as not to hurt me, kissing my neck with hunger.
“Oliver still asleep?”
“Hmm,” he mumbled. “Ty?”
“Um hmm,” I responded.
“I’ll be quick.” His raised brow posed the question of risky business.
We darted to my bed, locked the door, and within a few seconds, he was sheathed and deep inside my core. I could’ve seriously gone for a long, slow make-out session, but time wasn’t on our side.
When he raised my ankles to his shoulders and used his fingers to stimulate me as his thrusts came hard, he wasn’t wasting any time. I stifled the cry of my orgasm with my hand, but someone in the next room could’ve heard his throaty moan.
“Shhh,” I teased.
When his breaths returned to normal, he leaned over my body and whispered, “I promised to be quick. I don’t remember a claim to be quiet.”
His cocky smile lit up his face. Mischief danced in his eyes.
“Bad boy,” I reiterated.
About that time, I heard Ty stir on the monitor. It came in handy, and I was grateful I’d pulled it from the attic because of the deep sleep on pain meds. For us, it served a different purpose, giving notice to Ian to make a quick escape.
“I’ll go to him. You need to slip out the back gate.”
Within seconds, I went one way, and he disappeared the other. Sneaking around was getting us nowhere. We simply needed to be honest, but what would it mean to the boys?
“Good morning, Iz. How’d you make out with the fire marshall?”
She squealed into the phone. “How’d you know we made out? You’ve got some serious intuition.”
Yeah, that intuition wasn’t quite as positive about my own love life. “I felt the chemistry between you two, and when you had to rush away from the hospital Saturday night, I was sure you had a date.”
“It wasn’t a date, but we met for drinks. One drink turned into four glasses of wine for me, and I don’t know how many beers for him. We went to his truck and made out like—uhm, well, we had fun and then both of us had to call cabs to get home.”
“I’m glad you got cabs.”
“Hurry up and close on the building, so I can walk home.” She giggled.
“Well, that’s gonna happen next week.”
She squealed so loud I was certain, not only had I been reduced to one eye, I’d just lost hearing in one ear.
“Glad to hear you so happy.” I laughed.
“I’m not the only one getting happy. I saw Ian holding your hand at the hospital.”
I took in a deep breath and tried desperately to be nonchalant. “Oh, you know, doctors.”
“How long you gonna keep your love a secret? Is it because of Ty?”
She always said I had a tell. There was no real need to keep our relationship from her. I knew everything about all of hers. Well, at least I thought I did. I knew when they weren’t working out; that was for sure.
“Yes, we’re officially a couple, but we haven’t told the boys.”
She started giggling; then she snorted. “You’re so gullible. I didn’t see you holding hands with Ian, but I guessed you two were getting it on because you’ve been sneaking around so much, and besides, he always seems to be everywhere you are. Not to mention you pulled the tags off one of the new Valentine lingerie outfits and made an attempt to throw it in the trash in your office, but I found the tags laying on the floor. The only reason I could imagine you doing that was you sneaking out of here for a nooner somewhere and you had it on under your coat when you left.”
I leaned my head back and laughed. “Well, you got me. Yes, he lights a fire I didn’t know I had.”
“You deserve to be happy with the right man. Besides, he’s a freakin’ hunk. And that hair…”
I picked up my notepad. “Well, I’ve got a list of things here for you to do that will perhaps keep your mind off my hot boyfriend and your eye on your own prize.”
I went down my list of to-do’s for her, which included a couple of questions for the Fire Marshall that the building inspector had given me about some old wiring, which meant she had a reason to call him.
“Maybe we can double date sometime?”
“That would be fun. The boys would love to go to the firehouse and slide down the poll.”
“I meant an adult double date, doll.” She snickered.
“Duh. I kno
w you did. I was just reminding you Ian and I both come with spares we have to farm out or get a sitter.”
“Oh, the joys of being single and uncomplicated.”
“Just wait. When you become a mom, it will change your world.”
“Sounds like it changes your sex life, too,” she smarted.
We chatted like sorority sisters, gossiping about our first dates. She urged me just to be honest with Ty and thought he would understand. She actually said the sooner the better because older kids are less accepting.
Somehow, I wasn’t sure.
Chapter 27
The next morning brought my monthly gift from good ol’ Mother Nature, finally, but it also brought something else.
A sliver of light entered my eye. The swelling had diminished considerably faster than when I’d had my accident, and when I removed the patch for my shower, I saw a silvery, grey fog. Although I couldn’t make out anything prominent, it was something.
“Guess what,” I squealed into the phone.
The gasp I heard from Ian tingled my skin. “We’re pregnant.”
“Oh, God, no. You have an absolute one-track mind. In fact, I just started my period, but that’s not what’s got me so excited.”
“You’re hot, bothered, and dying for me to be inside you,” he teased.
“Did you just hear me? Gah.” Silently, my brain rattled as I shook my head slowly, thinking of my virile beast of a boyfriend.
He laughed hard. “We’ll be right there.” Then he was gone.
He’d hung up on me. He did that often, and I definitely needed to talk to him about it.
He used the key I’d made for him, and I heard him hollering in the front entry in a jovial tone, “Chelsie?” and then Oliver chimed in behind him, “Come out, come out, wherever you are.” Such a sweet boy.
“Mom, Mr. Ian is here.”
Of course, the toothpaste hit the mirror because I tried to hurry, so I quickly wiped it into a glorious smudge and ran to greet them already standing in the den. “Hey, good morning, you two.”
Ian flashed his arms wide open. “So, what’s the excitement about?”
“I can see a little bit of light with my eye.”
Without any warning, Ian kissed my mouth hard and then swung me around as he cheered. When he lowered my feet to the floor, we both looked at each other in surprise and then to both boys who were standing with their arms to their sides and eyes bigger than walnuts.
“Ah, Momma, Mr. Ian just kissed you.”
“Yes, baby, he did.” The sofa was right behind me, and I slumped down on it, pulling him to sit beside me. “Mr. Ian is now my boyfriend. You’re gonna see him hold my hand, give me hugs and kiss me, like he did just now. Okay?” Gaining his permission wasn’t something I intended to do; that would’ve given him too much power. However, he needed to know I considered his feelings.
Ian took the chair opposite to us and pulled Oliver in his lap. They both remained quiet while I spoke with Ty.
“Is he going to be my dad?” A smile crept onto Ty’s face.
Even though he appeared pleased with the idea, the question stung, more than I ever expected it to. Carson was Ty’s father, and it would never be my intention to erase him, but he tried harder to be the vacation dad, rather than a moral guide and mentor.
“No, your dad is your dad, but as our friend, Ian’s going to be around a lot, and it’s nice to have two men who love you very much and are there for you.”
“Oh. Okay.” He shrugged his shoulders and gave me a hug and quick kiss. “I love you, Momma.”
“I love you, too.” Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Oliver’s face. His usually tanned skin was red, and his eyes were wide and glaring as he huddled into his father’s chest. Nothing had prepped me for this conversation. Yes, I knew the day would come, but I sorely lacked in preparation.
Ian pushed Oliver to stand in front of him. Quietly, he started talking about how each of them have friends and what they’d meant to them.
“No,” Oliver yelled and ran out the door. Ian was quickly on his tail.
The expectation of either of the boys having issues with our relationship had always been there, but I’d always sensed Oliver would have the bigger problem.
The boys were late for school, and Ian needed to get to the office, but as I peeked out the sidelights of the door, I viewed Oliver throwing one major fit with Jorge walking up the sidewalk. Rather than interrupt them, I sent Ian a text that I was taking Ty to school and for him to call me later.
Hours passed and no call or text or message to get lost. Nothing. Evening rolled over into a grim morning, and I still hadn’t heard from Ian.
In my world, predictions were my gut feelings as predictive values of the future. If that was true by definition, I felt my situation coming a mile away, even though I didn’t want to believe it because I based my predictions on the actions of one man in my past and Ian’s actions in times of crisis. Certain that Ian and Oliver needed their space, I gave it to them, albeit begrudgingly. But, I doubted Ian would come back to me.
Oliver was a really sweet boy, and for the most part, there were no issues. But what hit me hard was a father trying to make up for the loss his son had suffered by always caving in, and I would’ve put money on Ian pulling away from us in order to make Oliver happy.
Shawna came over the next day to check on me after hearing everything from Jorge.
“So, no call, no text, nothing?”
The hot tea soothed my dry throat. “Correct.”
She sat forward in the recliner, and I noticed her thumb moving back and forth across her lip. “We can have y’all over for dinner. That would break the ice, huh?”
Chewing the inside of my lower lip, I said, “Won’t help, we’d just be cordial to each other at best, which doesn’t solve our real problems.”
She picked up her bottle of water and came to sit beside me. “I’m sorry, sweetie. You need to be relaxing and healing, not dealing with this stuff.”
The air escaped my lungs in an unintended sigh. “This stuff is what I tried to tell you about every time you wanted to fix me up. Blending families is the most complicated relationship issue I know. There’s no perfect fit, no matter how much you love that person.”
“And you love him, don’t you.”
“Yep.” I rubbed my temples to relieve the tension headache. “On a happier note, my vision is returning. It’s blurry, but getting better every few hours.”
“Yay. Oh, thank God. What does the doctor say?”
“He’s thrilled. He wasn’t sure this would happen and certainly not this fast.”
She touched the side of my cheek with her fingers. “Your swelling is gone, and the bruises are fading faster than before. Everything’s gonna be okay, just wait and see.”
“Let’s talk babies. How’s my niece or nephew doing in there?”
Mid-morning on Friday, my phone rang.
“I miss you,” he whispered.
The emotion in his voice was electric, filtering through the airwaves to sensitize me all over. “I’ve been right here, waiting…for days,” I said in a voice soft.
“May I come over?”
“Yes, when?”
He hung up.
Good Lord, he needed to stop that shit.
Within seconds, the front door opened. “Babe, where are you?”
“Right here,” I answered him from a reclining position on the sofa.
His hair was a mess. I was certain from running his hands through it repeatedly. When he sat by my feet and started massaging them, I couldn’t help but moan, his fingers felt so good. That was when I noticed the bracelet was missing.
I sat up straight and pulled his had to mine, lacing our fingers. “Your bracelet is off?”
“I took it off last Friday during your surgery.”
Knowing what it signified and the fact he’d removed it meant he was opening up more of himself to me for a future and closing the door on his past.
He pushed my feet away and pulled me into his lap. “What took you so long?” he said between kisses.
A glance around the room and a hard swallow gave me time to find my voice. A time for my heart to be heard. “My love for you needed time to bury my darkness.”
Our hands were laced as we walked to the bedroom. There was no rush, no urge for a quickie, just two souls opening their doors for new beginnings.
Piece by piece he undressed me, starting with my socks after I sat on the edge of the bed. By the time he removed my panties, I no longer felt the need to hide my body from him. As he bit and tugged at my nipples, I locked my knees together in an attempt to stall the giddy feeling consuming my core. Needs and wants paved the way to desire and satisfaction.
If anything, he’d taught me that patience during pleasure was a beautiful thing.
Even though he was completely dressed and I was at a disadvantage, what a glorious experience it became, and he made it all about me.
The oils I’d purchased weeks earlier were put to fabulous use. He started rubbing the oils on my feet and worked his way up my back, alternating licks and bites with kisses to stimulate me into a divine climax. The warmth of his breath tickled the hair on the back of my neck, while his hand continued to rub circles on my hardened cleft.
“Let your mind belong to me. I promise to show you a life you didn’t know existed before you were mine.”
Yes, I was his in every way.
He pulled me up to all fours, and I realized he’d stripped off his clothing. The familiar sound of the package tearing signaled his intent to bury himself inside me.
“God, yes,” I cried out.
“Get on the rug,” he commanded as he moved from the bed.
Not wanting to delay any second of pleasure, I slid from the bed and started to lie flat on my back.
“I want you to watch us. Get on your hands and knees and face the mirror.”
Conflicted on 5th: A 5th Avenue Romance Novel, Book One (5th Avenue Romance Series 1) Page 17