Closing my eyes, I leaned against the bathroom door and inhaled a deep breath. I was sore in all the right places, and every time I moved I felt the echo of how he made my body hum and zing only hours earlier, all the while whispering sweet nothings in my ear.
A light tap on the door brought me back. “Blue?”
“Yes,” I answered softly.
“I’ll be in the kitchen making breakfast.”
“Okay, I’ll be out after a quick shower.”
I washed as fast as I could using my own bathroom stuff I brought over last night. Not that I minded smelling like Cy, but by the way he always tried to hide the fact that he smelled my hair, I figured he would appreciate me smelling . . . well, like me.
When I stepped into the kitchen, I reconsidered my earlier decision to forego sex this morning. His stance was powerful, his feet were bare, and he had on nothing but his black boxer briefs. His back was to me, and he was standing at the stainless steel stove scrambling some eggs in a pan. Cy didn’t even have to be flexing for his muscles to be on display, teasing me and making my mouth water while other places tingled.
Still holding a spatula in his hand, Cy looked at me over his shoulder. He took his time surveying the gray T-shirt of his I had thrown on. “Nice shirt.” The smile on his lips was playful, but the heat in his eyes made me want to take the shirt off.
“Thanks,” I murmured, placing my palms carefully on each of his shoulder blades and feathering kisses in the middle of his back. “Need any help?”
“Naw, it’s just about done. Go relax and I’ll bring you a plate.”
“A girl could get used to this.” I winked. “Thank you, babe.”
“Babe, huh?”
I bit the side of my lip, half embarrassed and half worried he wouldn’t like me calling him a cute name. I had never used a term of endearment on a guy before. “What? You don’t like it?” I nodded my head slightly.
He kissed me on the cheek and whispered in my ear, “I like it.”
There went the pitter-patter of my heart again.
Sitting side by side at the table together, we made small talk and stole kisses between bites.
“What are your plans for the day?” Cy asked, shuffling a piece of his egg around his plate.
“Nothing that doesn’t include you, at least.”
I was rewarded with another kiss. “I like the sound of that. What do you say to a lazy day, just you, me, the couch, and the television?”
As if realizing we were making plans without him, Boones ambled into the kitchen and plopped his big body down on the floor right at Cy’s feet. “Hey, buddy.” He reached down and rubbed his head.
“I almost forgot about him. Where has he been hiding?”
“He has his dog bed out on the back porch, and he’s pretty well trained so he knows his boundaries.”
“What do you think about my getting a dog?” I asked, watching Cy reach down and scratch Boones behind his ear again.
“I’m a dog person, so I think it’s a great idea. I could help you look if you like.”
“I’d like that. It was strange. I was home yesterday and felt like something was missing, besides you of course. Being alone never bothered me before, but after spending so much time with you, I’m not sure I like that much time to myself anymore.”
Cy gave me a strange look.
“What?” A naughty grin crept up, and I smacked his arm. “What?”
He licked his lips and his eyes traveled down to my mouth before meeting my gaze again. “You could always move in here. I mean, there’s plenty of room.” He nodded his head in the direction of the empty bedrooms.
“Cy . . .” I sighed, and the happy mischievous look fell from his face.
“It was a thought. You don’t have to sound so happy about it.” I hated the sharpness in his tone and the wounded pride I could see in his eyes before he looked away.
My head tipped to the side. It was never my intention to hurt his feelings, but even months after meeting him, it was something I still managed to do.
“I’m sorry. That’s not the suggestion I was expecting.” I pulled his chin gently toward me and patiently waited for an answer, which came in the form of a nod. “Just not yet. I’m enjoying our ‘honeymoon’ phase. I like that we can be spontaneous and your romantic side— ” A small smile pulled at the corner of his lips.
“Even though this”— I wiggled a finger between the two of us— “has moved at lightning speed, which I’m okay with I might add. I don’t want to get so comfortable that we forget all the passion and spontaneity—the romance.”
We were already moving at warp speed, and I didn’t think moving in together yet was a healthy step. I wanted to enjoy Cy and not make the same mistake I had made with Trent. Not that I would ever believe in a million years Cy would hurt a hair on my head, but I had moved in with Trent after only a month.
He nodded again, grabbed my hand and kissed the inside of my wrist and then the top of my hand.
“The honeymoon period is kind of nice.” The look he gave me from under his eyelashes as he kissed my knuckles again had me leaning toward him. Before I could attack him, he continued, “I’m sorry for putting you in an awkward position and rushing. If I honestly thought about it, moving in together would be a crazy step. Not that at some point I don’t want it all with you.”
I smiled and cupped his cheek. “One day.”
“Definitely, baby.”
Our foreheads rested against each other’s for a second before Cy stole another kiss and pulled me out of my seat. “Come on, it’s couch time. Let’s dump these dishes in the sink and go have our lazy Sunday.”
Six and a half hours, three movies, and a bowl of popcorn later, we were officially calling it an end to our lazy Sunday morning and getting up to go get ready for dinner at his parents’ house. I was a bit more nervous about meeting his sisters than his parents.
“IT’S CANDACE AND Claire, right?” I asked for what felt like the tenth time. Cy nodded, keeping his eyes on the road.
“Yes, baby. And stop worrying, it’ll be fine.” He reached over again without taking his eyes off the road, he grabbed my hand, and squeezed it in reassurance.
I scoffed. “Easy for you to say. You’ve already met Spencer, and he’s just my cousin. Siblings . . . that’s a different story.” I glanced in his direction. “More so sisters— ”
“It’ll be fine.”
I left the conversation at that, since I didn’t want him thinking I didn’t want to meet his family. For the last two months, he disappeared Sunday nights to have dinner at his parents’ house. It’s not that he hadn’t invited me before. No, he had tried a few times right in the beginning, but it was too soon to meet the family. I wanted to be just us for a while.
I was still worrying about his sisters as we pulled into a long driveway and parked behind a line of cars. Walking up the front steps to Cy’s parents’ house, I stopped abruptly and turned to face him. “We didn’t bring anything with us.”
“Don’t worry about it. My mother probably made enough to feed an army. She always does.”
I heard a woman’s voice calling, “Cy, is that you, honey?” as he opened the front door with one hand while the other continued to rest on the small of my back.
“Yeah, Ma, it’s me . . . and Natalie,” he called back to her. A few seconds later, a four-foot-tall, dark-haired little boy came barreling toward us, squealing. “Unco Cy!”
Following him was an even smaller little girl with cute dirty-blond pigtailed curls. Cy squatted down, taking each kid in an arm and giving them big bear hugs and kisses on their cheeks. If the sight of a man with not one, but two children in his arms didn’t melt a woman’s heart, I had no idea what would.
My smile quickly faded as a beautiful replica of Cy walked up and stopped a few feet in front of us. From the corner of my eye I saw Cy look up at the woman and smile.
“Hey, Candace.” Cy stepped back, sneaked his arm around my waist and pulled me to his side.
“Candace, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Natalie.” He looked at me and gave me a reassuring squeeze. “Natalie, this is my older sister, Candace.”
I offered my hand in greeting and didn’t miss her micro second of hesitation. She forced a smile, took my hand, and welcomed me in a flat voice. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too.”
“Claire here?” Cy asked her.
Candace pointed her thumb over her shoulder, “Yeah, she’s in the kitchen with Mom.”
Cy turned his attention back to me, “Come on, I want you to meet my parents.”
The kitchen was so beautiful I didn’t know where to look first. The cabinets were a natural white, and amazing hardwood countertops stretched along two walls. The appliances were all stainless steel and looked like they came off a showroom floor. A granite island sat in the middle. It was a cook’s wet dream.
Two equally beautiful, apron-clad women stood close to each other chit chatting and laughing, while one chopped and the other stirred whatever was cooking on the stove.
Cy walked up to who I assumed was his other sister, Claire, and kissed her cheek before making his way over to the older of the two women. Cy held his hand out, gesturing for me to come closer.
“Natalie, this is my other sister Claire, and my mom, Marlene.”
My attempt at a handshake was worthless. Claire smiled wide, wiped her hands on her apron, and pulled me in for a big hug.
After releasing me from her hold, her smile grew wider. “It’s so good to meet you! Cy can’t shut it with all the nice things he has to say about you.”
Before I could respond, his mom was pulling me into her arms. “Yes, Natalie, it’s so nice to meet you. I’m so happy you were able to join us. You can call me Mom or Marlene, take your pick.” She took a step back, smiling and giving me a not-so-threatening once over.
“Thank you. I appreciate the warm welcome.” I couldn’t help but laugh a little at the way she inspected me. It was funny and heart-warming at the same time.
When I was released from his mother’s embrace, Cy pulled me back to his side. “Hey, where’s Dad?”
“He’s still at the shop, he should be back soon.”
Candace walked in and moved to stand on the other side of Claire. She didn’t look at me, but she didn’t shoot me daggers either. She was perfectly aloof.
“Candace, is Peter coming tonight?” Cy asked his sister.
She shook her head, sneaking a carrot stick. “Nope, not tonight. He’s working so he could make sure that next Sunday he’s here for Grandma and Grandpa’s anniversary dinner.” She chomped on her carrot stick, making loud cracking sounds. “Hey, by the way, Peter mentioned that a deputy position— ” Candace abruptly stopped talking and stared at Cy. I turned to see him glaring with a not-right-now look, but he didn’t miss more than a beat before he switched the subject.
“That’s right, I almost forgot about that.” Cy turned to me. “Next Sunday Mom’s making an anniversary dinner for our grandparents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary.”
“Wow. Fifty years is a really long time.”
“It sure is.” Bringing his mouth close to my ear he added, “Maybe we’ll get that someday.”
I tried not to let his words affect me, but I couldn’t stop the small blush that bloomed on my cheeks or the spark of hope that put a little piece of my broken heart together.
I was still a little flush when two good-looking men strolled into the kitchen. The younger one had the little boy from earlier riding piggyback, almost choking him. The man looked like the grown up version of the little boy, so I assumed they were father and son.
The slightly older man had the little girl on his back, and she was giggling away, squealing, “Papa, Papa!”
The younger guy walked right up to me with his hand out, “Hey, I’m Neil. I belong to the crazy one.” He tilted his chin in Claire’s direction, and she looked at him and smiled.
I shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Neil. I’m Natalie, and I belong to the big brut here.”
Everyone in the kitchen broke out in laughter as I tilted my chin toward Cy. I looked at him to make sure he was okay that I was joking with his family about him. He was too busy laughing to notice though. I turned my attention back to Neil and the little boy on his back who was sticking his tiny hand out.
“Hi, I’m Noah, and I belong to this one,” he said, giggling as he patted the top of his dad’s head.
“Hi, Noah. It’s very nice to meet you.”
The older man of the two walked up to me. “Hi, Natalie. I’m Peter, Cy’s dad. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” His voice was a rich baritone and I was a little surprised when he gave me a side hug. Everyone was warm and welcoming except for Candace, and I wondered why.
Shrugging it off, I turned my attention to Claire and Marlene.
“Can I be of any help?”
Claire shook her head with a cordial smile while Marlene politely refused my help. “Nah, we’re almost done here, but thank you.”
“Cy, why don’t you help set the table?” Candace called over to him, and he gave her a strange look.
“I’ll help,” I offered. I had no idea what was going on with those two, but it was kind of obvious it had to do with me, at least in part.
“That’s okay, Natalie. You’re the guest. Why don’t you go and watch television or something?”
I swore it was as if she didn’t want me around.
“No honey, I’ll get it. Why don’t you show Natalie around?” Marlene suggested.
“Thanks, Mom.”
Thankfully, Cy took my hand in his and walked us out the back door. We strolled through the backyard, which was more of a Southern oasis. It was all lush green grass and flower gardens. There was even a large lake butting against the property with a long wooden boat dock, which was at least twenty feet long, and a modest boathouse positioned to the right of it.
“That’s what I came in for, that first day I saw you at work.” He tilted his head and pointed at the boathouse. “My dad and I did most of this ourselves.”
“It’s beautiful and peaceful out here. You guys did an awesome job.”
He nodded with a lopsided grin. “Thanks. Come, let me show you.”
Like a little kid showing off his most prized toy, he led me to the boathouse. As soon as we got inside, Cy gently pushed me against the closest wall and slid his hand around the back of my neck, tangling his fingers in my hair. Pulling me close to his lips, he hovered before delving in for a deep soul-searing kiss. His tongue assaulted mine, and he pressed his thick erection against my belly, groaning.
“Blue . . .” He pulled away from my lips and automatically they turned up into a pout. “How the hell do you reduce me to a horny teenager every time we’re together?” He halfheartedly chuckled, resting his forehead to mine. I smiled, not sure what to say. He did the same thing to me.
My fingers drifted to his belt, and I undid the clasp without breaking eye contact with him. The button was next, but when I slid the zipper down, Cy blinked slowly and let out a very slow, very controlled breath.
I lowered myself to my knees. In a lust-fueled trance, my hands stroked Cy’s thick cock over his boxer briefs before I pulled them down enough to release him. A warming sensation flowed through me as I ran my tongue up the length of his cock. Our gazes locked, and I watched him watching me as I swirled my tongue around the tip of his head. Closing my lips around him, I swallowed him deep.
“Blue—your lips feel good around my dick.”
My mouth was too full to respond, so I sucked him harder, sliding my lips up and down.
“Cy!” A voice that was too close for comfort sounded, and I rocked back on my heels, releasing him and looking up at him with wide eyes.
“Shit, that’s Claire,” he cursed, and helped me stand before righting himself. “Hold that thought.”
“We’re in the boathouse, be right there.” When he had everything back in place,
we walked outside trying to act normal—but probably missing our mark—and met a smiling Claire about five or six feet away. My face felt hot, and I was pretty sure my cheeks were a perfect match for my hair.
“There you guys are!” Nope, I didn’t miss that she looked us over with a knowing grin. “Dinner is ready.”
I saw Cy nod and he took a few steps with me following close behind. Right as he was passing Claire, she stopped him with her hand on his arm.
“Hey, why don’t you go on ahead of us, we’ll be right there.”
If this were Candace, I would have been concerned, but so far Claire had been warm and welcoming. I would give her a chance. I removed my hand from Cy’s and gave him my best smile. “Babe, go ahead. I’ll be right there.”
Took him a few seconds, probably making sure I would be okay, but he eventually nodded, kissed my cheek, and tucked his hands in his front pockets. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
Almost as soon as Cy was out of sight she took a deep breath, drawing my attention to her. Without looking away from where her brother disappeared, she said, “He loves you.” It was clear in her voice that it was a statement and not a question.
Not wanting to admit just yet that I felt the same way, I stayed silent but offered a smile.
She turned to me, offering a smile as well. “I’m sorry about Candace. She’s very protective of Cy.”
I nodded, hating that we had to have this conversation. “I understand. I kind of prepared myself for something like that.”
Her smile turned questioning, but I shrugged it off. “I like you. Candace, though. She’s icy with everyone when it comes to Cy.” She shrugged one shoulder, “Don’t get me wrong, I am protective to a point, but Cy is a grown man; I know he can take care of himself. I just ask that you not intentionally do anything to hurt him. Then, I might not like you.”
She had a warm smile on her lips, but her eyes held the truth. She would show her claws if I messed with her brother.
I nodded in understanding. “I will do my best to not cause him any kind of intentional hurt.” A pang of guilt hit me square in the gut as the words left my lips.
Waiting on Faith (She's Beautiful Series Book 2) Page 12