by Violet Paige
He held one of my breast in his hand. It was heavy and sore, but he soothed the ache with the heat from his tongue. I whimpered as it lashed over my nipple, hardening it instantly.
“So fucking perfect, baby.” He sucked me into his mouth, gulping and licking. Pressing until his teeth nipped the edge of the sensitive points.
I inhaled sharply. My body responded differently now. Everything was heightened.
“Oh, Blake.”
He pushed me back on the soft bed he had made. I had already forgotten how cold I had been as he slipped the jeans from my waist.
I laid before him. The woman who loved him. The woman who had always loved him. The woman who was carrying his baby.
He pushed my legs apart, running a finger over the fabric of my cotton panties.
“I love how wet you get when I touch you,” he groaned.
I bucked a little, aching for his touch. Aching for the friction of his fingers against my clit. It was throbbing and pulsing for attention.
He slipped one finger under the edge, toying with my slit. I hissed with want.
He brought his finger to his lips and sucked the honey. “You’ve always tasted sweet to me. It makes me crave you.”
“Oh God, Blake.” I almost cried as he lowered his head between my legs, moving the panties with his teeth.
He pushed my knees wide, as his tongue dipped between the slickness of my folds and ran back and forth, tracing the edges of my clit before finally thrusting inside my entrance. I groaned, trying to hold him inside me. He began to twist and flick his tongue until I was a writhing sex nymph.
“Ohh,” I cried. “I’m coming so fast.”
I seized the quilts in my hand, balling up my fists, but the orgasm hit me at once. My body shook and shivered as it spilled through me. Blake lifted my hips, sucking my clit hard, pushing his tongue inside me, riding out the orgasm with me and lapping up every drop of it.
Slowly he lowered me, grinning one of those devilish sexy smiles I loved so much.
I heard the zipper on his jeans.
“I have to be inside you.”
I nodded. It was all I wanted. To feel his thick cock push inside me. To belong together like we did when our bodies slid against each other.
He pulled the shirt over his head, tossing it behind us.
I reached forward, stroking his glorious cock. He rubbed it between my slit, coating it in my juices. Time seemed to slow. The frenetic pace had been replaced with something deeper and tangible.
“You’re not worried are you?” he asked.
I smiled. “No. It feels so good. I know everything’s ok.”
“God, you’re a fucking goddess.”
He nudged his cock against my entrance and I moaned.
“I love your pussy. And I’ve missed it, babe. I missed you.”
He pushed inside me as we both bucked with sensation. He thrust deep and far until my hips lifted to greet him, sucking him inside me.
“Ohh,” I whimpered. Nothing had felt this intense. Pregnancy sex was something completely different.
His lips fell to mine and I bit and kissed him while he rode in and out, pumping with steady strokes.
He hit my inner walls, rocking me to my core. I clenched and groped, wanting the orgasm to shatter me. Needing it to bring us back together.
My eyes locked on his and we both knew it was coming. Blake’s fingers wound through mine as his breathing turned to ragged pants.
“You’re mine, always.”
I nodded. “Always.”
And with a final thrust he moaned as he pumped his release inside me. He smiled slowly, his body rigid with pleasure and satisfaction.
I pressed my lips to his.
He pushed again and the world collapsed in on me. I screamed out, the orgasm pinching and firing shockwaves through my nerves.
“Oh God, Blake. Oh shit.” My eyes closed as I tried to hold on, but he only picked up the pace, pushing deeper, spreading my legs farther apart.
“Feel how good it is between us,” he growled. “Feel what we do together.”
I bit my lip. My head thrashed to the side. Another orgasm built in my core and before I could handle the last one, the new one unleashed in my body.
“Fuck, baby,” Blake groaned, his eyes rolling back.
I was squeezing his cock with everything I had. We rocked and thrust. Our bodies dripped with sweat. Our lips found each other, until finally the rhythm slowed and Blake settled next to me.
He exhaled. “What in the hell was that?”
I giggled. “I think that was pregnancy sex.”
“Whatever it was, I liked it.” He kissed my shoulder.
We stared at the ceiling. The candles flickered from the mason jars.
“You know I’m not freezing anymore.”
“Didn’t think you’d stay cold long.”
He shifted to his side. His eyes drifted to my navel as he began to draw circles on my belly.
“This is incredible.”
“You’re happy?” I was hesitant to ask. Having a baby wasn’t an automatic pass for happiness. There was so much to discuss.
“Of course I’m happy. We made a baby.” He flattened his palm. “When do you think it was? On the boat? The swing?”
I laughed. “I think it was the first time. The couch.”
“The couch. Really?” He raised his eyebrows.
I nodded. “It was the first time I’d ever had sex like that. I just have this feeling.”
“Magic position.” He winked.
“It was magic, wasn’t it?”
“Damn straight.” He tickled the tops of my thighs and I wriggled under the pressure.
“Blake?”
“Hmm?”
“Before the baby, before today, my answer was yes.”
He sat forward. “Yes?”
I nodded. “I missed you. Nothing mattered anymore. What I have in Dallas doesn’t matter. I want you to know that. I figured it out before this morning. But the baby—it changes things.”
He brushed the hair from my face. The tendrils were damp. “It does.” He lowered his mouth to mine, inhaling with a fierce kiss.
“I was never going to get over you, Sierra.”
I smiled. “Now you don’t have to.”
“What do you want to do with the house?” Blake asked as we locked up the door. We had kept in warm in the linen closet as long as we could. We had to head for somewhere with heat.
I dropped the keys in my purse. “I’d like to keep it. What do you think?”
He nodded. “Yeah, let’s do it.”
“What do you mean?”
We walked down the wooden stairs. There were so many repairs the house needed. There were leaks under sinks. A few of the gutters had broken away from the house. And now I knew without power I was setting up the scenario for possible frozen pipes.
“I mean, let’s make this our island house. I’ll sell the business to Cole.”
I stopped in my tracks. “What?”
“Cole wants to build boats. There’s a pier here. We can build anything else we need. It’s where you grew up. You were happy here. I can see us here.”
I was amazed. Blown away. “You’re serious?”
He pulled me toward him. “Completely. Let’s do it. We’ll fix it up and it will be ready for us next summer.”
“You realize next summer there will be three of us.”
“Yeah, I do. You think I should buy some of those baby life jackets?”
“I don’t know how much boating we’re going to do.”
Blake held my hand, leading me down the stairs and toward the truck. I had one of the quilts wrapped around my shoulders. It was going to be a chilly ride over to his house.
“And before that?”
He opened the door for me.
“Are you asking about Orlando?” I looked at him.
“I am.”
“I’m there if you’re there. I’m here if you’re here.” I lea
ned into him. “I swear this girl is never leaving you again.”
He grinned. “I knew you’d leave this island with me.”
He was cocky, but I loved it because he was right.
Epilogue
I looked out over the water. The sun had almost set on another cold December day on the island. There were a few boats skimming the waves, making their way in for the night. I put the truck in reverse, cranked up the heat inside the cab, and made a U-turn out of Shell Point.
There were a few lights glowing on Shirley Lane. The clay pots spilled over with purple and gold pansies. I sighed as I passed the house. It was where everything had started. Again. I knew as long as I lived, I wouldn’t pass that house without thinking about Sierra and that summer. I shook my head and reached for the radio.
I slowed the truck before easing it onto a grassy lane. The grass was mostly brown now except for a few stubborn weeds, which refused to accept summer was long gone. I parked next to the marina office, but left the engine running. It was too cold to start the heating process all over again, and I knew Jojo would have the oysters ready for me.
“Well, look who’s here.” Jojo beamed from behind the counter.
“Hey, darlin’.” I strolled to the counter. “Did Willis get my order together?”
“Sugar, you know it.” Jojo walked out from behind the register and turned to the line of coolers near the door. “How many bushels you need?”
“I think one is plenty.” I withdrew cash from my wallet and placed it on the counter. I grabbed the canvas sack from her grasp. “Tell Willis I said thank you. I heard these were his best this year.”
“He’ll appreciate that, Blake.” She smiled. “Take care, honey.”
I heaved the fifty-pound sack into the bed of the truck and jumped into the cab, ready for the blast of heat. It didn’t matter to me what the temperature reading was on the dash; the cold had settled into all the nooks and crannies of the island. I continued south a few hundred yards. My thumb lightly drummed the top of the steering wheel. I couldn’t help but sing along with The Embers—somehow it made the summer not feel so far away.
I pulled the truck to the sound side of the house. From the windshield, I could see the low glow of a fire on the beach. Good. Cole’s at least got that going.
The oysters had slid to the tailgate. I reached over the side and retrieved the bushel Willis had sacked for me. By now, the sun had settled in the west, and the night sky was cast with a harvest moon that lit up the entire sound.
“Cuz, what kept you so long?” Cole stood on the beach, poking the orange embers with a long fire stick. He had assembled a long sheet of metal over four stacks of cinderblocks that acted as sawhorses. “This fire has been ready for thirty minutes.” The coals burned two feet under the platform.
I held up the canvas bag. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head. I’ve got the oysters.” I dropped the sack near Cole’s feet and scanned the empty beach. I took a deep breath of the chilled air.
“I have the champagne!” Emily giggled as she bounded over the grassy yard toward the beach. She held up a green bottle and pointed toward Sierra. “And sparkling cider.”
“I’m holding the good stuff. We are not smacking Moet into the sea.” Sierra smiled at me before my arms wrapped around her, and I buried my head in her shoulder.
“Darlin’, you need to keep me warm tonight.” The words made her purr in my ear.
My hand dropped to her belly where I could feel the small bump under her sweater. I rubbed over the fabric.
“Hey, you two. We have serious oyster roasting and boat christening to do tonight.” Emily wagged her finger at us.
Sierra tilted her head to the side. “We aren’t stopping you.”
“All right. So what’s the game plan? It’s damn cold out here.”
“This bottle is for drinking and celebrating.” Sierra held up the expensive French champagne. “And that one is for the boat.” She pointed to Emily’s bottle.
“Looks like you two covered all the bases.” I reached for the high-end bottle and unwrapped the foil sealing the cork. I looked at Cole. “And what about the oysters?”
“Ten minutes, tops,” Cole announced as he dumped half of the sack onto the metal sheet. A low hissing noise rose from the table when Cole covered the first round with a heavy canvas.
“Let’s make a toast.” Emily withdrew glasses from the bag she had brought to the beach, and held them up for me to pour.
“Thanks.” I tilted the bottle and filled each glass with the chilled beverage. I grabbed the cider for Sierra and handed her a special glass.
“I think you should do it, since you’re the songwriter.” Sierra poked me in the side.
“I’m a QB,” I groaned. “A football player,” I added.
“One who is not in the playoffs,” Cole called out.
Fuck. I didn’t need him needling me about what happened with the Thrashers.
“Songwriter doesn’t equal toast master, but I’ll give it a shot, baby.” I watched as the sharp flames from the fire caught the rise of the champagne’s dancing bubbles.
I cleared my throat. “Here it goes.”
I looked at Sierra and felt my heart swell a little. This was a moment I never saw coming, even if it was one I’d always wanted.
“Cole, man, when you asked me to go in with you on this venture, I could have sat down and listed the pros and cons, run the numbers, and consulted every boat builder Down East, but I didn’t. You asked, and I said yes.” I shuffled my feet in the sand. “I said yes, because you asked.”
Sierra and Emily smiled at each other across the circle.
I continued. “And I’m sure as hell glad I did because I wouldn’t be here tonight. None of us would be celebrating your tenth boat and your five-year exclusive contract with Charleston yacht club if it hadn’t been for you. So, tonight, I know we’re christening her”—I nodded at the vessel anchored along the beach—“but this night is about you bringing all of us together. Without these boats, this business, and you as my family, I wouldn’t have my favorite thing on this island.” I winked at Sierra. “So, here’s to boats, summer, and never giving up.”
“Here, here!” we all said in unison before drinking a few sips.
“Blake, that was beautiful.” Emily hugged me hard.
“I meant it.” I squeezed her again. “Let’s get this party going.” I pulled out my phone and hit play on my beach music playlist.
Cole walked over and slapped me on the back. “I couldn’t have done this without you. You know that?”
I cracked a smile. “I know. You would have been crazy to try it without me.”
It hadn’t been easy opening the doors to the boat barn again. Once I had though, I knew I couldn’t close the place up. Cole deserved to live out his dream, just like I was. So when he had asked if I wanted to re-invest in the family business, I couldn’t turn him down. He needed start-up cash and I promised I’d play the role of silent partner. In the summers I’d be here to work on the boats.
I hadn’t figured out how my dad fit into it. Once I found out he had kept Sierra’s pregnancy a secret from me and that he had been the reason she left, I hadn’t been able to think about him the same way. Part of me wanted to burn the barn down and all his work inside.
Handing it over to Cole helped. I let it go. I focused on what really mattered—Sierra and the baby. The renovations were underway at Lindy’s place. It was ours now. I don’t Sierra knew how happy it made me when she said she wanted to keep the house. I’d pay any expense she wanted to restore it to its original state.
And the nursery was going to be massive. The baby would wake up every day of the summer and see the water. Nothing made either of us happier. I might have a life in professional sports, but my children were going to grow up here in the offseason. They would learn how to respect the water. They’d learn how to respect nature. They’d learn how to respect family.
Sierra and Emily locked arms an
d huddled closer to the fire. “How long do you think the bromance stuff will go on?” Sierra asked. “I’m starving and freezing.”
Cole walked over to the fire. “All right, ladies, I think these bad boys are ready.” He grabbed a bucket and started shoveling the hot oysters into the empty barrel. “Who wants the first one?”
“I’ll take one.” Emily raced around the side of the roasting station to join Cole.
He slipped on a heavy work glove and began separating the shells. “Here you go. First one of the oyster roast. Hot off the fire.”
Emily smiled at him as he leaned closer, dangling the oyster out of her reach. “Cole, stop.”
I felt Sierra’s gaze as I watched her friend and my cousin. She joined me away from the fire.
“Nice toast.” She bumped my side with her hip.
“You’re the one who said I should try it.” I sipped on the drink. I was enjoying it more than any glass of wine I had ever tried. Too bad Sierra couldn’t have a taste.
“And it was perfect.” She smiled.
I laughed. “You know I almost didn’t think I was going to make it through it.”
Sierra turned toward me, sliding her free hand into mine. “I knew you could do it.” She bit down on her bottom lip. “So, what exactly is your favorite thing on this island?”
“You even have to ask?” I brushed my lips across her mouth. “I’ve never been so happy since you moved back here with me.” I felt the familiar sparks her kisses always stirred. “Part-time, or whatever you call our back and forth to Florida.”
“You weren’t too happy when you found out you had to lug my boxes down ten flights of stairs or when the moving truck got a flat tire in Alabama. Was it worth it?” She batted her eyes at me.
I ran a hand along her face, and held her chin between my thumb and finger. “Darlin’, nothing has ever been more worth it.” I closed the distance between us, and sometime during the kiss, we both lost our glasses.
“Eh-hem. Excuse us,” Emily called. “We have a boat to christen with champagne. Focus, you two.”
“You got it, girl.” I grabbed Sierra by the hand and tugged her toward the shoreline.
Emily held up the bottle of champagne she had chosen for this occasion. Cole snagged it and faced the boat.