She laughed. “I don’t know any little girls that could be a flower girl or boys for a ring bearer.”
“Well, maybe we could rent them or something.”
Mel didn’t think that she needed a big fancy wedding with all the bells and whistles, but I put my foot down on that. We didn’t need a big wedding, but it could still have all the fancy-schmancy bells and whistles. No way was I going to marry her and have her regret anything. I supposed that went both ways. I was a guy, and guys didn’t usually care about elaborate weddings, but I must have been slapped by the frilly fairy because I wanted it all.
Brodie and Jackson decided to throw a party at the bar for our last night in Turtle Lake. Calling it an engagement party for Mel and me. She looked radiant, standing there in a pink dress. It had long sleeves and a rather low-cut bodice, which showed off her slightly larger than normal breasts. I guessed that was a baby thing. I liked it. They weren’t actually bigger, but they were plumper. I’d been reassured by my brothers that they would get even larger as the months went by.
“How the fuck do you know?” I asked Brodie.
“I read about it.”
“It’s true,” Jackson chimed in. “Lena has mentioned a few times that she can’t wait to get pregnant so her boobs get bigger.” He shrugged. “Though, I’m fine with the way the are.”
Mel and I didn’t know most of the people at the gathering, but everyone was full of congratulations and well wishes for us. Everyone oohed and ahhed over Mel’s ring. I’d picked it up in Redding the day I went with Brodie and Jackson. The day I’d almost lost the love of my life. They’d offered their vote of approval at the jewelry store.
After a couple of rounds of shots, all except Mel, we went up on the small stage with the rest of the band and performed a couple of numbers. It would be my last time playing my brothers, and it was a bittersweet feeling of joy and sorrow. It was amazing to me how much alike Jackson, Brodie and I were. Even with different mothers, it was clear that our father’s genes definitely dominated over our mothers’. We all had his green eyes, his dark, curly hair, even though Jackson’s was a bit straighter and his nose was straighter, too. We all loved spicy foods—the spicier, the better—and we all wore the same size shoes.
Though Brodie and Jackson told me that it wasn’t necessary to do the paternity test, I did it anyway. I figured they’d brought it up; I might as well do it. I didn’t have the results back yet. They said it would take about four weeks. I wasn’t worried about it. I knew.
Mel and I were sitting at a table with Brodie and Gabby, talking about nothing important. Brodie had told me about a faster way home through some back roads if I wanted to take them. Mel sipped on some sparkling cider and chit-chatted with Gabby. Jackson and Lena were sitting at the end of the bar, seeming very intense, as if they were talking about something very serious. Jackson smiled and kissed her then picked her up and swung her around before placing her back down.
He clinked his glass to get everyone’s attention. “Yo, everyone. I have some news. I’m going to be a dad!”
“What about me?” Lena giggled.
“Oh, yeah, my wife, she’s going to be keeping the little guy warm for eight more months.”
“Congratulations!” many shouted.
“So, it’s a boy?” I heard one lady ask. I couldn’t remember her name, but she’d been helpful when we were rescuing the women from the lake. She stood by Doc and grabbed his hand. I guessed they were a couple.
“Hell if I know. Do we know that, Lena?”
She giggled. “No. We don’t know yet.”
Jackson and Lena walked over to us. “Congratulations,” I said.
“Looks like my little brother won’t be the first to pass on the family name after all.”
“You were worried about that, were you?” I asked, sort of joking.
“Not really, well, maybe a little.”
“Typical,” Brodie said. “Jackson’s always had to be the first to do everything.”
“Not by much,” Lena offered and winked at Mel. “My due date is June 10th. Mel’s is June 30th. If your baby comes early or mine comes late, we could possibly go into labor at the same time. That’s why I had the pregnancy tests available. I was taking one almost daily, but they kept coming out negative until yesterday. I went to the doctor this morning and they confirmed it.”
Lena and Mel embraced then Gabby wrapped her arms around both of them. “It’s your turn now, Gabby.” Lena laughed.
“Whoa, wait a minute.” Brodie put his hands up with his palms facing out, shaking his head no. “Are you?” He looked at Gabby.
“Don’t worry, Brodie. You’re safe.”
“I’m not worried, babe.” He draped his arm around Gabby’s shoulders. That would just be too weird if all three of you were pregnant at the same time.”
We left the party early, well, earlier than most. I feigned a headache. I needed some serious alone time with Mel before we headed back to San Francisco tomorrow.
When we entered the cottage, I saw that the bed was down. Mel must have put it down earlier and left it. We’d been pretty good about putting it up in the wall. The place was so small, and when it was down, there wasn’t much room to maneuver.
She seemed different. Relaxed. Beautiful. Very beautiful. Maybe it was being pregnant. They say pregnant women are radiant, maybe it was just the way she looked at me now, or maybe it was just the way I looked at her.
“C’mere,” I said and grabbed Mel around the waist, pulling her in tight so that her breasts pressed against my chest. I’d been extremely cautious about touching her or prompting any type of sexual activity the past couple of days. I wanted to make sure she was fully recovered from the boat ordeal. But enough was enough. She was fine. I was fine. I tilted her head up to mine and brushed my thumb over her bottom lip.
“Remember the shower?” she whispered.
I gave her a crooked half-grin. “I’ll never forget it.”
“Well, I’m feeling sort of dirty right now.”
“You are?” I feigned shock, but couldn’t contain the grin.
“Yeah. Real dirty.”
“Right now?”
“Mmmm hmmm. I am. I think I should take some time and get cleaned up.”
“That’s probably a smart idea.”
“It’s going to take a lot of work. I want to make sure to get every single nook and cranny.”
“I could help.”
“I’m counting on that.”
I pressed my lips over hers.
“You’re going to need to take these off,” she said, tucking her fingers inside the waistband of my pants and grinning against my mouth.
I liked this new Melody.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Melody
I undid Asher’s belt and let it hang there undone. I stepped back to take a look at him. He was like an exquisite portrait that needed to have its final touches painted on. I stepped back to him and stuck my fingertips under the hem of his t-shirt to lift it. Slowly. Carefully revealing each ripple of his six-pack one at a time, inching up to unveil the taut muscles of his pecs. His eyes were on mine, and mine on his. As if he couldn’t wait any longer, he tugged the shirt from my hands and lifted it up over his head, tossing it somewhere on the floor.
I let my fingertips skim down his chest, being sure to go over his hardened nipples, touching him oh so slightly until I got to the top of his pants. He stood, watching me. This was the opposite of the first time we were together, when I’d stood, watching him undress me. The night he’d helped me lose my virginity.
I unbuttoned his pants and pulled the zipper down. He bit his bottom lip, and I licked mine in anticipation. I shoved his pants down, and he stepped out of them. His erection bulged in his boxer shorts, and I pulled them down, freeing his hard, perfect cock into my hand. I stroked it a few times then got down on my knees and kissed the tip before sliding my tongue out, licking around his thick head and into the slit. I felt his hand on my head
, but he didn’t push me, just massaged as I took the tip into my mouth, I continued to swirl my tongue around then I opened wider and took more of him in. He moaned, and I made some mmmm sound of my own as I sucked. He seemed to like that as he gently placed his hand on my head urging me down a little. Not too hard, though, just enough to let me know he wanted more. I was new at this, and he knew that. I took him in as far as I could before pulling back out, then took him in again. I sucked and watched him as I did. His eyes were on me, and I wondered what I looked like. My hand went tightly around him, pumping as I sucked.
“Mel,” he huffed. “I’m going to come if you don’t stop.”
I didn’t respond. I just kept sucking, sliding my mouth and tongue up and down on him. I wanted him to come. I wanted him to come in my mouth, I wanted to taste him the way he’d tasted me. He reached down and tugged my top up to my neck, exposing my breasts. He took one of the nipples between his finger and thumb, twirling and pinching and massaging.
“Mel, I want you,” he growled in a deep voice.
He pulled himself out from my mouth and picked me up so that I was standing. My hand went to his cock, taking the place of my mouth. He kissed me. Our tongues darting around each other in a frenzied dance. Then he pulled my top over my head. He quickly unbuttoned my pants and shoved them down my thighs to my ankles, and I stepped out of them. My underwear went with my pants wherever Ash had tossed them. He shoved me back onto the bed. It was a gentle shove, but I pulled him against me as we fell onto the mattress. I grabbed his cock again, determined to finish what I’d started. “I want to taste you, Ash,” I said before taking him back into my mouth. I looked up at him as I licked and sucked the tip. Then he went in a little harder, hitting the back of my throat. I tried not to gag and kept on sucking him. My lips tightened around his thick shaft. I felt him twist his body around so that his head was opposite mine. When his tongue licked up the center of my slit, I moaned onto his cock and he gently bucked his hips. As his cock slid in and out of my mouth, he twirled his tongue around my clit. His fingers were inside of me, moving, flicking around. I was out of my mind with pleasure, and I felt myself contract and climax at the same time the warmth of his come gushed down my throat.
The room fell silent except for our breathing.
I fell onto my back, gasping, closing my eyes as I basked in the moment, reveling in the high I’d just experienced.
“Holy fuck, Mel. That was the best blowjob I’ve ever had.”
I grinned. “That was the first time I’ve ever done that.”
He repositioned himself so that we were face to face and he took my face in his hands and kissed me. Tender, at first, then as our tongues did their dance again, heat generated between my thighs. Asher lay flat on his back and pulled me up on top of him, my legs straddled his.
“Fuck me, Mel.”
God, I loved when he said that word.
I got up on my knees and rubbed his wet cock over my clit before easing down. As if my hips had a mind of their own, they gyrated around him, sliding up and down on him as he grew thicker and longer with each movement. When the tip of his erection hit that special spot inside, I bit my lip. His hand pressed firmly around each cheek of my rear and he helped move me on top of him. “Fuck me, Mel,” he said again, and hearing him made me move faster, concentrating on that one spot that his cock was hitting. That one spot that must be the G-spot I’d heard about. I screamed out his name.
“Asher, oh my God, Asher!”
My hands were behind me, my palms resting on his thighs for support as I moved. I watched his face. His eyes intense on me. He tugged me tightly forward, thrusting his hips up. I dug my fingernails into his thighs. He growled as his release filled me, mingling with my own.
We never made it into the shower. I curled into him and he tucked his leg over mine as I wedged my knee between his thighs.
“I like that.”
“What?
“Having your thigh rest against my balls.”
“That could be dangerous for you.”
“Not if you don't make any sudden moves.”
I giggled. “Promise, but just to be sure.”
I turned over. He tucked me into him tightly as his arms draped me with his love.
We woke up in the exact same position.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Asher
Goodbyes were never fun. Especially when you’ve waited your entire life to meet someone, hating them for years because you thought they had something you deserved; only to discover how much you have in common, and that they’d never really had things much easier. I’d come to learn that my father hadn’t been as big a part of their lives as I’d thought. I supposed that shouldn’t have been a big surprise. If I thought about it, he’d cheated on their mother, not mine. They had every right to hate me, but they didn’t. They not only accepted me but also embraced me into their lives.
“We’ll see you at the wedding,” Jackson said as he draped his arms around me in a big hug.
“You’ll get your invitation as soon as Mel and I figure it all out.”
I turned to say goodbye to Brodie. He stood there and stuck his hand out. So I reached for it. He grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me into a strong embrace. “I’m excellent at throwing bachelor parties by the way, little brother.”
“Sounds great to me.” I didn’t mind being called little brother. In fact, it felt good, and I had a feeling that Brodie sort of liked the idea of not being the youngest anymore.
“I’ve already got some ideas floating around in here,” he said, pointing to his head as Gabby came up beside him.
“If Brodie’s going to host the bachelor party, don’t count on escaping the night sober. I’ve witnessed the effects of his celebratory antics,” Lena said, wrapping her arms around me.
Gabby came in and squeezed me tight. “Take care, little brother.”
Three months later, Mel and I sat at her mom’s small, wooden-topped kitchen table. Mel was sipping some hot, spiced, chai tea and I was drinking water. Actually not really drinking the water, more like just holding the glass. It gave me something to do with my hands while Mel and I sat staring at each other, waiting for her mom to say something after the news we’d just dropped on her. It had taken us three months to get up the nerve to tell her. We knew she’d be disappointed with us, and it was still so close to Teddy’s death. We’d held off as long as we could, but Mel was starting to get a little tummy bulge, and if we were going to try to have that wedding with all the frills we’d been secretly planning, we needed to clue her in on everything.
Karen stood at the sink, looking out the window. She’d been standing there for about three or four minutes without saying a word. It was quite unnerving.
“You say you’re approximately four months?” she asked in a quiet, reserved voice.
“Yes,” Mel said.
“And you say you’ve been planning a wedding.”
“Yes,” Mel answered again.
Karen turned around and walked to the table. Then sat in the chair between the two of us. “Asher, look at me.” I did, right straight into her eyes. “Do you love Melody?”
I didn’t even hesitate and answered with all honesty. “With all my heart. I always have.” Then I looked at Mel, who gave me the sweetest smile.
“That’s good because my daughter has been in love with you since she was able to talk.”
“Mom, how…?”
“A mother knows these things. You’ll see. Have you been to the doctor?”
Mel nodded. “Yes, of course. I’ve been three times so far. I’m supposed to go again next week for an ultrasound.”
Karen sucked in her lips and ran her fingers through the top strands of her hair, pulling them up and back and then letting them fall. “I don’t like that you left me out of this for so long. I have experience…I could have been there for your questions.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I…we weren’t sure how to tell you, and it just seemed too
soon after Ted.”
“Too soon? How could the news of a new life come too soon after losing another?”
Mel glanced at me then back at her mom. I guess we had that figured wrong.
“I was…ashamed,” Mel said, lowering her eyes down to stare at her tea.
My eyes shot to Mel’s. “Mel? I…you never told me that.” God, I felt like a heel. “I’m sorry. You should have said something.”
“I wasn’t ashamed about it with you, Asher. I was ashamed to disappoint my mom,” she clarified.
Karen placed her hand over Melody’s. “Honey, I love you. Yes, what you and Asher did was irresponsible, but I’m not going to judge you. You’re twenty-one, almost twenty-two. I was twenty when I had Teddy. You made love with your knight. I can’t fault you for that. I can fault you for not being more careful about when you took your pills, but not for wanting to be with the man you love. You’ve been in love with him your whole life. I’m surprised this didn’t happen sooner. How have you been feeling? Any morning sickness?”
Mel picked up her tea and sipped. “Some. In the beginning. But it didn’t last too long. Oh, and Mom? Don’t worry, I still have a ton of questions for you.”
Karen smiled. “Okay, now, tell me what wedding plans you’ve made so far. I have money put away for this. And your father, he always said he would help when the time came. Have you told him yet?”
“No. I’ll call him tomorrow.”
I felt completely out of my element, standing in the exam room next to Mel as she lay on the narrow exam bed. The doctor spread some gel on Mel’s stomach then glanced at us. “You ready?”
We nodded.
She slid the wand over Mel’s tummy, and the room filled with the sound of a quick beating heart. My own heart melted as the image came on the screen. Though I couldn’t really tell what it was, I knew it was a baby, but the sound of the heart beating choked me up with instant love. At that moment, I knew I had been wrong.
Beautifully Undone (The Beaumont Brothers #3) Page 16