I wasn’t upset.
Not at all.
Nash didn’t owe me anything and likewise, I didn’t owe him a thing.
I just needed to remember that.
And I needed to keep my legs closed.
Nash
“We really need to stop meeting like this.”
My voice was shallow and breathless, as sweat dripped from my forehead and onto Vivi’s shoulder. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get the chance to sink into her sweet heat again after she gave me the cold shoulder on the Fourth. But less than a week later, here we were. Upstairs in my bathroom.
Naked.
Sweaty.
Satisfied.
“That should be my line, shouldn’t it?” The way her chest heaved, every inhalation giving me a perfect view of her big, creamy tits.
“Hell, no.” I grabbed her face in my hands and pressed a hard kiss to her succulent mouth, focused on nothing but making her moan.
“Nash,” she moaned and her legs tightened around my waist, pulling me deeper into her hot, wet body. “You feel good.”
My hips flexed into her again and again, even though I was already spent. I couldn’t stop. I needed her. In this moment I needed her more than anything. “Vivi,” I groaned and nipped her ear as my hips pumped. “You’re close.”
She nodded and licked her lips, pupils dilated as big as dinner plates, begging me to come closer. Deeper. “So. Close.”
And I loved how responsive she was. How all in she was when we came together like this, how energetic she was and not at all shy about her pleasure. “Then come, Vivi.” Her mouth parted into a sensual ‘O’ and her head fell back hitting the mirror. Then I felt it, her pussy pulse and clench around me. “Now Vivi!”
She fell apart, and it was magnificent. I couldn’t look away as her body trembled and vibrated underneath me, a never ending orgasm that stole my breath. “Nash,” she finally sighed and went boneless on the sink. “Okay, we should definitely keep meeting like this.” She laughed and I swear the sound went straight to my nuts.
This couldn’t keep happening. I knew it, and Vivi knew it. But it was too new and too exciting to stop. It felt too good to stop. Too right. “Vivi,” I groaned as I slipped out of her, too needy to stop. Too greedy to do anything smart like step back and let her rest. Nope, I slid my hand between her legs and thrust inside of her, satisfied when she grabbed my wrist and ground against me.
“Nash,” she panted, eyes never leaving mine as I played with her slick pussy. “Nash.” Over and over she moaned my name, her body unable to stop trembling. Convulsing. She squeezed my fingers hard and I added my thumb to her clit, and her hips shot off the counter sending me deeper inside her. “Nash…I can’t.”
“It’s okay, just ride it out, Viv.” She was so fucking beautiful, and I felt better than I had in a long time, and only part of that was because of my own orgasm.
“Wow. That was…amazing!” Flushed cheeks and bright eyes were all I could see as she laughed nervously.
I grinned and pressed a kiss to her forehead before stepping back. “You’re pretty amazing,” I told her truthfully, but just as I suspected, she shook off the compliment with a roll of her eyes and slid from the counter on shaky legs.
“What’s amazing is that I have any feeling in my legs.” With one hand balled into a fist, Vivi pounded her legs until feeling returned.
Me, I just stared.
“You gonna watch me or clean up?”
“I prefer watching.” Especially Vivi, who was so unself-conscious about her curves, her nudity that I took every available second to ogle her. To commit the narrow dip of her waist to memory, the dusty pink color of her large nipples, and the freckles that guided the way to the paradise between her thighs.
“Well, you watch while I make progress, because my guess is that we have just a few min-”
“Daddy, where are you?” Norah’s voice echoed in the hall just outside my bedroom.
“Or less,” Vivi said as she fixed her clothes and stepped back into her panties. “I’ll go out first.”
“Wait.” She turned to face me, a question burning in her green eyes, but no words passed her lips. “Don’t you think we should probably talk about this?”
Acknowledgement flashed in her eyes. “I don’t.”
“You don’t?” In my experience, women always wanted to talk. About everything, especially when there were feelings involved. The fact that Vivi didn’t want to talk, told me a lot.
“No. We’re not involved, right? So no one’s getting hurt. See you out there.”
We’re not involved.
For some reason, hearing Vivi say those words really got under my skin, and I didn’t like it one bit. I knew there was something I was missing, but in this moment, my mind and my body were too satisfied to give a damn about anything.
Vivi
Aunt Mae had been blowing up my phone for days, but I was locked up tight in my office. Writing. And after three straight days of working until my eyes burned and my back ached, my first draft was complete. Nearly. Almost. I had a few more chapters to write, but they were already outlined, and after about a half a day of sleep, I would get back to it.
But first, I grabbed the tray of dishes from yesterday, mostly from yesterday, and tossed them in the dishwasher while I listened to my messages.
“Viviana, please call me back. It’s Aunt Mae.
Like I couldn’t recognize that voice in my sleep.
“Vivi, have I somehow upset you? It’s Aunt Mae. Call me back.”
I got that feeling in the base of my spine, the same one I had when I was ten years old and came home to an empty house. It wasn’t unusual for Mom to not be home, but that day I just knew that something was wrong. And then I found the note. That feeling was one that followed trouble.
“Viviana, I need to speak with you. Now!”
And that feeling intensified, so I stopped the message and pressed the call button as I raced up the stairs and headed for the bathroom. I needed to take a shower and Mae wasn’t answering her phone.
“Mae, call me back! I’m freaking out now thanks to your messages, so call me. Or better yet, I want you to come here. Come and tell me what’s wrong.”
I left the phone on the edge of the sink on the off chance she called back while I was in the shower. I rushed through, stepping out less than fifteen minutes later with my heart pounding. We didn’t have much family left, but my thoughts immediately went to my dad on his fishing trip. Had there been a tropical storm on his way to whatever European port he was headed for?
I stepped into a pair of panties and reached for the first dress in my closet, a plain white t-shirt dress. Perfect, since I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. Aunt Mae still hadn’t called back, so I grabbed my phone and went back to the kitchen, calling her on speaker while I brewed coffee. The phone began to ring while the coffee beans whirred in the grinder. The coffee began to drip and the phone still rang. But then I heard it.
Another phone ringing.
“Dammit, Aunt Mae! Where are you?”
“The dining room, dear. This room is so amazing, I don’t know why you haven’t used it more often.”
I stopped in one of two doorways that led into the formal dining room. It was indeed amazing, but completely impractical. Scanning the mostly bare room, my gaze landed on Mae first, in a bright orange maxi dress, and her face almost completely free of makeup. Then I saw the other guest, Nash, and my heart stopped.
“I haven’t used it because I haven’t had any big dinner parties yet.”
“Right. Well, come on in and have a seat sweetheart, I have something I need to tell you.” Her hangdog expression had my pulse pounding in my throat, the blood rushed through my veins so loudly I could barely hear anything around me.
“Just tell me what’s going on. Is someone hurt, or worse?”
She frowned like that was a ridiculous question. “Heavens no, baby girl. Your daddy is just fine. I spoke to him this morning.” Aunt Mae cut her
words off, something she rarely ever did, even if everyone else thought she should. “Everyone else is fine as far as I can tell.”
“Then what’s with the frantic messages? Do you know what all this cloak and dagger business is about?”
Nash shrugged, his expression confused and maybe a tad bewildered. “No, he doesn’t know anything yet either. Just have a seat first. Please?”
I dropped down at the head of the table. Or maybe it was the foot of the table, all I knew was that there was plenty of distance between me and everyone else in the room. I had a feeling I would need it.
“Okay. What’s up, Aunt Mae?”
She was nervous and fidgeting with the bracelets dangling from her wrists and the rings covering nine of her fingers. “Well the thing is this, see, the thing about spells is that they’re precise. They must be exact in order to achieve the required results, like baking. You remember how long it took me to get the sticky toffee buns right?” Mae shook her head, lost in her own thoughts at the moment. “Anyway, the spell for the ceremony was the prosperity spell, meant to bring good fortune and success into your lives as well as the town.”
“Okaaaay. What’s the problem then?”
A deep regretful sigh slowly rushed out of Aunt Mae. “Well, even though prosperity and abundance are the same dang thing, the spells are completely different. Apparently.”
“And?” I rolled my wrist to urge her to keep talking, but I sent a glare at Nash who, for some reason known only to him, decided to sit there like a bump on a log.
“Well, the abundance spell is meant to bring not financial or social prosperity, but rather…personal abundance. Things like love and children. A full, loving life.”
My shoulders sank in relief. “Oh, thank goodness! You had me really worried for a second, Mae. So your spell is going to turn Nash and me into babe magnets? I can handle that.” I shook my head. “What’s with all the melodrama though, not that I don’t love you for it.”
Nash still wore an impassive expression, and Mae still looked worried.
I was the only fool laughing and relieved. “What?”
“The abundance ceremony is meant for couples on their wedding day.”
“Why do you look so worried, Mae? Nash and I aren’t married, so the spell is broken, right?”
She sighed and stood, circling the large ovular table twice before stopping at the chair that separated me and Nash. Mae wrapped her right hand around Nash’s and her left around mine. “What I’m trying to tell you is that the abundance spell is the marriage ceremony. You and Nash are married.”
I sucked in a breath as the news sank in and Nash choked on the news. “What? How? That’s not even possible…is it? HOW is that even possible?!”
Mae’s apologetic smile telegraphed exactly how bad she felt about the news she’d just delivered. “That was my thought too. No harm, no foul. But Pastor Sullivan heard the ceremony, and figured it was just an oversight on my part, so being the good, god fearing man that he is, he filled out the license and pushed it through. For me.” Mae dropped her face in her hands and sighed. “He didn’t think I wanted my sweet girl to have the wrong wedding date.”
She was so distraught I didn’t have the heart to unleash any of the anger or confusion I felt, on her. It was an oversight, and a problem that was easy to correct. “Can’t we just have Pastor Sullivan recall the license as a clerical error? That seems like the best course of action since, though well-intentioned, it was a major overreach.”
“Viviana!” Mae’s voice was full of reproach.
“It’s true. He should have, at the very least, asked! Who in the hell just gets someone a marriage license?”
“Vivi,” she admonished, and put her hand over mine, taking the seat between Nash and me. “The good news is that I’ve already spoken to the pastor, discreetly, and he says an annulment is your best option. And since you two are just friends, that won’t be a problem.” So pleased with herself, Mae bounced right back out of her seat and strolled to the kitchen. Whistling.
“Aunt Mae, you get your tail back here! Right. Now.” I stood and glared at Nash. “Do you have anything to say?”
“I’m processing, Vivi.”
I snorted at his calm words. “Right. Well, thanks for your help.” Mae was in the kitchen and pulling leftovers from my fridge. “What on earth does my friendship with Nash have to do with getting this marriage annulled?” I’d never been married but I was pretty sure you couldn’t force two people to stay married when the ceremony was an accident.
“Seriously, Vivi? What did you learn in Chicago?” She shook her head and I snorted.
“How to start and run a business,” I answered, plainly.
“Besides, it matters that you two are friends because if you have had sexual relations since the, ah wedding, then an annulment is completely out of the question.” Aunt Mae looked up from her sandwich-making, gaze landing on me first and then on Nash, when he finally entered the kitchen. A wide, satisfied smile spread from one cheek to the other. “Well, that certainly is interesting news. But I’m afraid it means divorce is your only option.”
Shit. “I can’t be a divorcee! Not unless I have stretch marks, wine-tinged bitterness, and a big fat alimony settlement!” I twirled and glared at Nash when he snickered. “Problem?”
“Not at all.”
“Good.” I folded my arms over my chest and turned away from him.
“Wife.”
Fuck my life.
Nash
“Holy shit, man.” Zeke slapped his leg and doubled over with laughter, rolling off the sofa and kicking his legs. “That’s too damn good, man! Too fucking good.”
I didn’t find the situation nearly as amusing as he did. Or as Mae did, but it was gratifying to see Vivi’s action when I kissed her goodbye and referred to her as Aunt Mae. “It’s not that funny, Zeke.”
“Oh see, that’s where you’re wrong. It’s even funnier!”
“Slap that knee one more time and I’m going to rip off your arm and beat you with it.” That stopped him cold. For about five seconds and then, Zeke laughed harder and louder and for a hell of a lot longer. “Zeke, I called you because I needed to talk. Not to fucking amuse you.”
That sobered him up pretty quick, but it did take a while for the residual chuckles to die out. “Shit man, I’m sorry. It’s just, that story is crazy!”
“Tell me about it. I’m the one who’s married.”
“So this is totally real?” I nodded solemnly, still feeling like this was some alternate universe where these things happened and were fixed quickly; it was a dream, some might call it a delusion, but it was the only explanation keeping me sane at the moment. “Okay well, then you just have to get it annulled.”
I let out another frustrated groan. Mae had made the same recommendation and I’d gone online to look up all the other acceptable reasons to annul a marriage and none applied to us. “We can’t.” It took about five seconds before Zeke finally caught on.
Another laugh escaped him. “Friends, my ass. How long have you two been sleeping together?”
“Why?”
“Because I want to know, asshole. Tell me.”
“Fine, the Fourth of July. I went to set up her headboard and things got…out of control.”
“So just the once? If so, I think you and Vivi could get this thing done with a little white lie.”
I scoffed. “And risk jailtime? I don’t think so.” I didn’t relish the thought of being divorced any more than Vivi did, but I liked the idea of prison even less.
“And there’s no chance that you two might, say, want to stay married?”
“Why would we?” I never really imagined getting married other than my ill-advised proposal to Nanette, but I was pretty sure if I had it might have included love or some other such nonsense.
“You haven’t thought about you two together? Because that kiss the whole town saw had me sportin’ wood, never mind you spend all of your free time together. You�
��re practically married already.”
“We’re friends.”
“Don’t make me laugh, man. You’re not really this blind, are you?” With a smack of his palms to his thighs, Zeke stood and strode to my kitchen. “You still drink beer or does your vagina require chardonnay these days?”
“Asshole.” Zeke didn’t understand. He was a player and even though he didn’t mean any harm, he did often leave broken hearts in his wake. “You don’t get it because you don’t have female friends,” I told him and accepted the dark beer he held out to me.
“Yeah well, neither do you as it turns out. Unless we marry and sleep with our friends now?” Zeke held his hands up. “I’m not judging, but man you already sealed the deal. Why not make it work?”
That was a good question. I knew that we couldn’t make it work but I had no idea why, and I knew Zeke would badger me to hell and back until I admitted as much. “It’s not a good reason to stay married.”
“Why not? Vegas is built on that premise. Well, that and gambling. And prostitutes.”
“You think you’re funny but you’re not.”
“I’m funny as hell in fact, plenty of beautiful ladies will tell you as much. You just can’t see the humor in it right now. Soon, you will.”
I didn’t have much faith in that as an idea, but I knew something had to be done. “And in the meantime? What do I do?” Three days had passed since Aunt Mae had dropped the mother of all bombs on us and so far, things had been strained between us. Tense. Awkward.
“Do what you always do. Hang out and have fun doing whatever it is you two do when you’re together. And not naked.”
“And the sex?” Because there was no way in hell I could give up sleeping with Vivi. The only way was if she wasn’t into it.
“Enjoy it for as long as it lasts. Women are fickle creatures, Nash. This might freak her out and she might back away. But she might also double down in the hopes that you two will become something…more.”
Something more. I wasn’t even sure if I knew what that was anymore. I hadn’t given or tried to give anyone but Norah more, not since Nanette. And I wasn’t even sure I had more to give because being a single parent took every moment of my free time not dedicated to working. “This has the potential to get too weird. We’re neighbors.”
Accidentally On Purpose: An Accidental Marriage Boxset Page 9