“I acted like an arse last night, and I attacked your insecurities. And I knew them because even though you think I don’t, I do know you, peaches. I know you’re kind and considerate. That you’re fearless and badass. That you’re afraid that I’m going to stop wanting you, afraid of being irrelevant to those you care about. I know that you already knew how to cook but pretended that you didn’t to get along with my mother. You learned surfing lingo just so you could talk to my brothers. You have a smile that can light up a room, and you make every one of my days better when you’re in it. I see you, Alesha. I don’t need to know every detail of your past to know what’s in your heart. And as for me, I’m not that complicated. I don’t want much, just time and freedom.”
Time and freedom. They seemed like two of the most important things on the planet—especially to a man who’d been locked up before.
“OK,” I said.
“OK?”
I nodded. “You know, for people who never say they’re sorry, you sure do a good job of apologising.”
He grinned. “I like the way you apologise better. But you really didn’t have to do that. You’d said the idea made you uncomfortable, and I was cool with that.”
I blushed a little. “I was more uncomfortable that you were angry with me. I realised that I kind of started it all by attacking you first. I wanted to make amends.”
“There was nothing to make amends for, peaches. It was all on me.”
“There you go, apologising again,” I said, a grin pulling at my lips as I fanned my fingers across his chest.
“How about we go upstairs and I make it up to you with my mouth?”
“How many times are we talking?”
“Let’s see, how many times did I get off watching that clip you shot last night?”
My mouth opened on a gasp. “Did you?” My eyes dropped to the erection growing against my belly.
“Oh yeah.” He nodded with a half grin. “Several times. Why do you think I’m so level-headed right now?”
My mouth opened farther. “Several?”
“Keep looking at me like that and I’ll give you something to put in that open mouth.”
I closed it, then pressed my lips together. “Will you show me?”
He grinned. “You wanna see me jacking off?”
My breathing quickened and I nodded. “Uh-huh.”
With a smile on his lips, he held my face on each side, then kissed me while he breathed me in. I could barely stand when he was done. “You’re perfect just as you are, peaches. Don’t ever change. Don’t change yourself for anyone.”
Chapter Nineteen
Samuel Cartwright 101
“Did you put this here?” I pointed to an old-fashioned metal pail that was sitting in the centre of the dining table the next Friday afternoon. It looked like there was fruit in there.
Jasmine shook her head and walked straight past into the kitchen. We’d been working on accounts all day and she was desperate for a coffee break, perhaps a cigarette or two. “It wasn’t there earlier,” she said.
Strange. She and I had been the only ones home all day. Kris and Abbot had a landscaping job, while Toby and Sam had a meeting with one of their contacts. No one was expected back until dinner time.
As I drew closer, I noticed the fruit was big, fat, juicy-looking peaches. This could only be from one person. “Sam,” I said out loud, picking up the largest peach from the top with a smile on my face. I lifted it to my nose and inhaled the sweet scent. I was just about to take a bite when I noticed a small card hanging off the bucket’s handle.
Peaches for my Peaches.
A taste so sweet you cannot hate
Please accept this bucket of fruit
As an invitation for a date
Wear something sexy
I’ll pick you up at 8.
Sam x
P.S. I know my poetry sucks, but for you, I’m willing to make a fool of myself if it means you smile.
P.P.S You are smiling, aren’t you?
I was smiling all right. I was almost crying too. I hugged the card against my chest and took a bite of the fruit. Together, they were the most delicious moment I’d ever known.
“Peaches, huh?” Jasmine said, coming to stand beside me with her coffee in hand. She placed my mug in front of me. “You and Samuel have a fight?”
“He’s taking me on a date.” I beamed.
She lifted her brow, looking slightly impressed. “About time you two spent some time on your own. Why don’t you take the rest of the day off, go buy yourself something new to wear. Get your hair done, get a wax. Whatever you like.”
“Really? You don’t need me to help with the accounts?”
“They’ll keep. Go pamper yourself a little.”
I grinned. “I’ve never been on a proper date before,” I admitted, using the card to hide the dopey grin that wouldn’t quit my mouth.
Jasmine reached out and ran a hand lightly over my hair. “You really are the sweetest girl. I’m glad Sam has you.”
“Thank you,” I called over my shoulder, grinning more openly now as I rushed out the door, ready to get myself the sexiest damn outfit Sam had ever seen. I was going to knock his socks off.
I have a date!
“Holy fucking hell,” Sam breathed, his mouth falling open when I appeared at the top of the stairs. I’d primped and preened to within an inch of my life all afternoon. I was freshly waxed from head to toe, I’d had my hair trimmed and styled in soft curls that bounced around my shoulders, and I’d pulled out my favourite Urban Decay palette and applied the perfect smoky eye with just a dash of glitter. My lips were a nude gloss because I knew I’d be eating—and hopefully kissing). I’d found a perfume with hints of mango, and I’d bought a blue dress that hugged my figure so tight I could barely breathe, with black lace lingerie underneath. I felt a little like princess. A really smutty princess.
“I should say the same thing about you,” I said with a smile as I made it to the landing and moved towards him. He was dressed in a charcoal suit, sans tie, looking absolutely delicious while holding a bouquet of white peonies and pink orchids. He’d really pulled out all the stops. “Those are for me?” I asked when he just kept standing there smiling at me.
My voice seemed to make him jump to attention, and he practically shoved the flowers in my hands. “Yes. I hope you like them. I noticed you had orchids growing outside your place when we picked up your stuff, so….” His grin seemed to stretch across the whole width of his face as he dragged his eyes up and down my body.
“Should I spin?”
“Please do.”
I did a slow turn, pivoting on my heels as he gave a low whistle of appreciation. I also received a couple of wolf whistles from the peanut gallery, Kristian and Abbot watching in the wings. Kris was even filming it for posterity.
“You two are fucking adorable,” he said.
Abbot nodded. “I feel like I’m watching a real-life re-enactment of that scene from She’s All That, except Leesh didn’t fall down the stairs and she’s way hotter.”
“What the fuck movie are you talking about?” Kris asked, his phone still trained on me and Sam.
“You know, the one where these guys make a bet to turn the nerd girl hot?” Abbot replied.
“Are you calling our sister-in-law a nerd?” Toby asked, walking in from the next room.
“No. I said she’s hot,” Abbot quickly replied, his eyes wide.
“So now you’re checking Sam’s wife out?” Kris added.
Abbot grinned. “Nah, man, that would be Toby who’s into stealing other men’s wives.”
“Whoa!” all three brothers yelled in unison while Abbot cackled away at his own quip. Toby shook his head. It was probably way too soon to be joking about it because he was still sporting some terrible bruising, but he was smiling anyway.
“Touché, motherfucker,” Abbot said, flipping the bird to his oldest brother. Toby flipped two back.
“All right.
My God, you’re like squabbling children,” Jasmine said, walking into the foyer. “Can’t you let Samuel and Alesha have a special moment without stomping all over it?”
The twins looked at each other, then shook their heads. “Nah.”
Jasmine smiled, and we all joined her. Then she turned to us and held up her own phone. “Smile,” she said, and Sam and I stood together as she took a photo. It struck me that this was literally the first time we’d taken a picture together. It was something that needed to be rectified as soon as possible. We needed at least a thousand more.
“If you’ve had enough fun ogling my wife, we’re going to leave,” Sam said, placing his hand on the small of my back.
“We’re ogling you too, brother,” Kristian said, still filming. “You look like fucking James Bond.”
Jasmine took the flowers from me and promised to put them in water. “Have fun,” she said, opening the front door for us. Kris and Abbot chased us out, filming until we got into Sam’s car. It was chaotic and crazy, but my God, it was fun. I bloody loved those guys, my brothers, my mum. I might not have been born to them, but I knew without a doubt that I belonged.
“You look beautiful,” Sam said, reaching across the console to take my hand. “If there hadn’t been an audience, I don’t think we would’ve made it out the door.”
“Oh yeah?” I grinned. “Did this dress get you hard?” I was growing bolder with him as the months wore on. He loved it when I talked that way, and it gave me a sense of freedom to explore what worked for me sexually.
“You got me hard. The dress is just pretty wrapping.”
I smiled to myself, thinking, You just wait, knowing he was going to lose his mind when he saw what was going on underneath.
Placing my hands on either side of his, I turned in my seat so I was more directly facing him. “Thank you for doing this,” I said.
He glanced at me and grinned, his eyes shining happily. “I haven’t taken you anywhere yet.”
I shrugged. “It’s already been such fun.”
“We’re just getting started,” he said, picking up my hand and bringing it to his lips. “Did I tell you how amazing you smell yet?”
“No. But I knew you’d like it. Mangoes.”
He made a pleasurable noise, then lightly nibbled on my fingertips. It made my insides tingle delightedly, and I kind of wanted to skip the whole dinner thing and head straight for dessert, but I held off. I wanted to spend the whole night talking because sometimes, the pleasure is in the build-up.
We drove for a few minutes, and then Sam pulled the car to a stop in front of what looked like a primary school.
“Here we are,” he said, gesturing towards the grounds.
“What is this?” I asked, leaning forwards to look out the front windscreen. “Is this where we’re having dinner?” I thought that maybe there was some special event going on, but we were the only car there.
Sam grinned and got out of the car, opening my door for me before holding out his hand. “This is stop one.”
“Stop one?”
He slipped his arm around my waist and led me towards the front gate. “You said you wanted to know all about my life, so I’m showing you. This is Get to Know Sam 101. And this is my primary school.” He let me through the gate and led me up a path, pointing out buildings of importance along the way. He showed me the mural he’d helped paint when he was in the second grade, the playground equipment he used to climb to get away from the girls who were chasing him and threatening to kiss him on the mouth. “I was worried about cooties at the time,” he’d explained before we continued along with him chatting about his favourite memories and the friends he’d once known, some of whom he still did. I actually remembered meeting a couple of them during the summer at the beach.
“And the pièce de résistance.” He held his hand out, directing me towards a small picnic blanket that was set up with a single candle burning and picnic basket of food. “Your entrée, madam.” He opened the container and held it out to me. Inside were these delicious little meat skewers that were still warm.
I sat with my legs kicked out to the side, looking around the dimly lit school while imagining a tiny Sam running around the grounds, wreaking havoc on all the kids around him. “I'll bet you were a really cheeky little boy,” I said, holding out my wine glass as he filled it for me.
He placed the bottle in the basket. “What makes you so sure?”
“I just have a feeling. You’re so sure of yourself as an adult. I imagine you were born that way.” I sipped the cold crisp wine, noticing he was sticking to water. “You’re not having any?”
He shook his head. “We have a fair few stops to get through, so I’m designated driver.”
“I’ll go slow, then.” I smiled and took another sip. “Who was your favourite teacher?”
He screwed the cap back on his bottle and thought for a moment. “Mrs Corroway. I had her in grade three, and she managed to make every day a little fun. I think she’s retired now.”
“I had a teacher like that in year five. Mr Hodgkin. He played guitar and sang Beatles songs to us, and whenever he read a story, he did the most entertaining voices.”
He was looking at me, a smile touching his eyes. “What?” I asked, wondering what it was I did that was so amusing.
He shook his head. “I just like listening to you speak.”
I bowed my head and blushed. “We should do it more often.”
Grinning, he held out his hand to me. “Come on, there’s more I want to show you.”
Helping me to my feet, he led me out of the school and back to the car, taking me to his high school next, where he told me all about his dreams of being an AFL player for Geelong. He skirted around the topic of high school girlfriends, but when I pressed, he told me there were a few. He was a bit of a ladies’ man, but I already sensed that based on the way local women had responded to our coupling.
“How old were you when you lost your virginity?” I asked, popping a green bean in my mouth from the second picnic we’d found magically set up and still hot (I had an inkling that he was getting help from someone).
“Geez, do you really want to know the answer to that question?”
I nodded. “I want to know everything about you.”
“I was fourteen,” he answered with a sigh and a cautious look. I suspected it wasn’t something he was proud of.
“Wow,” I said. “That’s so young.”
He agreed. “Way too young. And it was awkward, and it didn’t last long.”
Reaching across the table, I placed my hand on top of his. “I’m glad I got the expert version of you.”
Lifting my hand, he pressed a kiss to my knuckles. “I’m glad for that too. You deserved to be treated like a queen for your first time.”
I couldn't argue with that. He’d gone out of his way to make it an earth-shattering experience.
I drank a little more wine, he stuck to his water, and we ate more and conversed.
“What was your best class?”
“English,” he said with a glint in his eye.
“That must be were you get all your poetry and writing analogies from,” I teased. “English was actually my best subject too.”
“Who’d you have a crush on?” he asked in return, causing me to blush again. My crushes seemed so silly next to his stories.
“Oh, I went to an all girls’ school.”
“There must’ve been someone,” he teased.
“Oh, there was. A boy from the local public school. He caught my bus and once, when it was full, he gave me his seat. His name was Tim, and he was tall and blond and played the guitar. I thought he was wonderful, but I barely said a word to him. I was far too shy.”
“Did you think he wouldn’t like you?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t really think anyone liked me. I always felt like I was in the way.”
He squeezed me hand. “You could never be in the way.”
Next we drove to the be
ach. There was no food there, only honesty as we looked out into the night, the moon glinting off the white-capped waves.
“My earliest memory is coming to this beach,” Sam said, his gaze faraway, caught in a memory. “Dad was teaching us all how to surf, said we couldn’t live so close to the sea without learning. Surfing is the only good memory I have of him. The man was a bastard most of the time, had an awful temper, treated Jazz like shit. They were always fighting, and I hated it. I was actually glad when he went away, relieved the arguing would stop. But she was so sad. For a long time, Jasmine could hardly get out of bed. I was too young to understand it, but she was mourning him, mourning the love she lost. What seemed like a horrible relationship to me was actually Jasmine’s everything. He’d gone in there and made her promise to move on and forget about him. She didn’t listen, of course, still went there every month and waited to see him, but he’d refused her every time. She was heartbroken. Probably still is, because I’ve never known her to date. Her focus has always been the family and the business.”
My heart hurt listening to his words, for the confused boy he was, and for Jasmine. Perhaps this was partially why they were all so against love. They’d witnessed heartbreak first-hand at an impressionable age.
“How old were you when he went inside?”
“About six. The twins were two. Nate was eight and Toby was ten. He understood everything a lot better than me. He was the rock of the family, even cooked and shopped when Jazz couldn’t make herself move. He’d make Nate go with him after school to help carry the bags home. He stepped up, this guy who was just a kid himself, and kept us all going until she could function again. I never understood that feeling, how you could be so heavily reliant on another human that you felt physically sick from being away from them.” He reached over and took my hand. “But I think I have a fair idea now. We might’ve come into this in a messed-up way, but I can’t imagine myself without you anymore. I need you,” he said, frowning as he pressed a kiss to the palm of my hand.
Fools Rush In Page 18