The Troublemaker

by Cathryn Fox

  “Get in my belly,” Nina says with a grin.

  I smile back, happy that she likes my choice. “It’s good practice for when I finally get my own restaurant, too.”

  Katee’s eyes go big. “Ohmigod, that is so exciting. I do love your tacos though. Tell me you’ll still be making them.”

  “I will be, but I want to expand, use more locally sourced food, and find more ways to help those less fortunate in our community.”

  “I love the pay-it-forward program you have on your truck,” Katee says.

  “Okay, that’s it,” Nina says and presses her palms to the table. “I love my brother but you’re far too good for him. I’m sure Mom and Dad would agree.”

  I laugh a bit uneasily and say, “Thanks.”

  “You’re really not going to meet them?” she asks, and I don’t get the confusion on her face. We explained that we were doing this for my situation, and it was best not to involve his parents.

  I shake my head firmly. “No.” Wanting to change the subject I redirect by saying, “Thank you both for all your contribution to the pay-it-forward program. Cason has some really awesome people in his life.”

  “We’re in your life, too,” Nina says, like once we get our marriage annulled, I’ll still be in their circle, and coming to their bonfire events at the beach. My heart sits heavy at that, but I keep it to myself.

  Speaking of events…

  “So uh, I have a favor to ask.” The coffee pot beeps and I fill our cups. Both sets of eyes are trained on me as I hand them their cups. I sit at the table and say, “My parents want to throw a wedding party for Cason and me since they weren’t invited to the actual…” I pause to do air quotes around the word “wedding.” “It will be big and elaborate and I’ll hate every second of it.” Nina takes a sip of her coffee and her lips twist, but it’s not because the coffee is bitter. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” I say quickly when I read her body language. Oh, God, have I gone too far, asked too much?

  “Of course, I want to,” she says. “We’d do anything for you. You’re family. But do you think it’s a good idea to throw an elaborate party, when you two are going to get your marriage…annulled?”

  “No actually, I don’t.”

  “That settles it then,” she says quickly, the smile on her face and the lift of her chin suggesting she’s very proud of herself. “There will be no annulment.”

  I give her a look that suggests she might have just lost her mind. “I can’t stay married, just because I think a party for a ‘fake’ marriage is a bad idea.”

  “Stay married because it’s what you want then,” Katee says and tugs on one of her daughter’s braids to play with her. “And enjoy the party. You both deserve that.”

  “Wait, it’s not…” With all this coming at me fast, my thoughts begin to spin around in my already rattled brain. “I’m saying there shouldn’t be a party. I don’t even want one. But my parents are insisting. God knows they can’t have my sudden Vegas wedding look bad on them.” I frown and look down. “Cason was kind enough to agree.”

  “You need this marriage because of your parents?” Nina asks gently.

  “Fake marriage,” I correct. “Well, technically it’s real, and I’m not lying, but it feels like I am, you know.”

  “You’re not lying. You guys really did get married,” Katee says. She grins. “And from the happy look on both yours and Cason’s face, it’s really agreeing with you.”

  “We’ve been having fun, sure, but maybe what we’re doing is wrong—”

  “Marriage is never wrong when two people care for each other, Kinsley. You guys just jumped into it sooner rather than later,” Nina says, and Katee nods in agreement.

  “Wait, what.” My hair hits my face as I shake my head so hard, I nearly give myself a concussion. “No, you guys have it all wrong. This isn’t something we planned to do later. It was a mistake. Like a colossal mistake.”

  God, I wish it wasn’t.

  I lift my head when I hear a noise and spot Cason coming into the kitchen. He puts on a smile but there’s a sag in his shoulders that doesn’t go unnoticed by me. Did he just hear me say marriage isn’t something we planned to do later? That it was a colossal mistake? If so, why would that make him sad? He’s told me where he stands, agreed that it was a mistake, just like him falling into my bed that night was a mistake. He thought he was sleeping with Emily for God’s sake.

  “You’re back early. What’s the matter?” Nina asks. “Alyssa putting you guys all to shame?”

  “Funny, Neaner-Nearner.” He casts me a quick glance. “The flies are starting to get bad and we’re low on bug spray. I volunteered to come back and get it. Cole said you guys have some,” he says and looks at Nina.

  “Then what are you doing over here?” she asks with a smug grin. “Why aren’t you at my house getting it?” She winks at him. “Oh, wait, I know why. You came back here for a quickie.”

  He rolls his eyes at his sister, but it lightens the tension inside me. “First, you’re here, aren’t you? Maybe I checked your place and couldn’t find you. Second, I am not talking about my sex life with my little sister, or anyone else.”

  “Come on Katee, I think that’s our cue to exit.” They both stand up, and Cason gives little Khloe’s fingers a kiss as she reaches for him. It’s so goddamn adorable, air seizes in my lungs, and love fills my heart. “Come and get it when you’re done doing whatever it is you’re over here for.”

  “Go,” Cason says, his gaze trained on me.

  She blinks, and teasing like the younger sister she is, she says, “So I’ll see you in about five minutes then?”

  He shakes his head and Nina and Katee’s laughter follow them out the door. Once we’re alone, I say, “Did you check her place?”

  “No.”

  “So, the quickie—” I say, reminding myself that maybe I shouldn’t get my hopes up, that maybe this is all about tacos and sex. God, what am I saying? It has to be. If it meant more, he’d want to introduce me to his parents, right?

  “I wasn’t coming here for a quickie. I mean it’s not that I don’t want one, or want to be inside you every chance I get, but I just wanted to see you, make sure you got enough sleep after me keeping you up all night, and to make sure your morning was going well.”

  My heart leaps in my chest. My God, he really is the sweetest man on the planet.

  “Marriage is never wrong when two people care for each other, Kinsley.”

  Nina’s words bounce around inside my head as Cason brushes his knuckles over my cheeks. Could she be right? Could Cason really care about me? Yes, I know he cares about me. He wouldn’t be doing all this if he didn’t. The man cares about everyone. He’d walk on fire for his family and friends, but that does not mean what’s between us is…love. Right?

  Right.

  “I’m good,” I say around the lump in my throat. “I fell back to sleep no problem, and it was nice to wake up to company.”

  He angles his head like he’s not sure he believes me. “Those two weren’t giving you a hard time, were they?”

  I laugh. “No, I love them. They are awesome.” I go up on my toes and brush my lips over his. “You’re the only one who gives me a hard time,” I say and rub my pelvis against his thickening cock.

  He groans and it vibrates through me. “Keep that up and this really will turn into a quickie.”

  “I don’t mind,” I say. “But what about the spray for the guys? Aren’t they waiting on it?”

  “Yeah, but they have enough for the kids,” he says and follows it up with a devious snort. “As far as the guys, screw them. Let them get eaten alive.”

  “Oh?”

  His hands span my ribcage, his thumbs lightly brushing my nipples through my cover-up and bikini top. My lids turn heavy as desire pulls at me. As they fall shut, a little moan catches in my throat and I arc into his touch, let him know how much I welcome it, how much I don’t want him to stop.

  “They�
�ve been giving me a hard time,” he says. My lids open, surprised, and I take in the darkening of his blue eyes as anger and desire mingle.

  “Why?” I ask, in a breathless whisper.

  “Insinuating that I won’t make it past two weeks.” He pushes his cock against me, and I grow wet between my legs. It’s crazy how much I want him again. “They’re getting on my fucking nerves about it, too.”

  “It kind of is your record, Cason,” I say and put my hands under his T-shirt. His muscles quiver beneath my touch, and I love the way he reacts. I scrape my nails over him gently and lean in to take in his scent. It trickles through my blood, and arouses me even more.

  “Yeah, but this time I have a very good reason for lasting longer,” he murmurs, as he dips his head, his lips so close to mine, I can almost taste him.

  “Sex and tacos,” I say, hoping, praying he tells me it’s more than that.

  “Something like that,” is all he says and my heart tightens in my chest. God, I am so confused about us. I give myself a fast, hard lecture and remind myself that while I’m here, I’m not going to worry about the future; I’m simply going to bask in the now, and the way this man touches me. If he walks away with my heart in his palm after two weeks, or a month, I’ll deal with it then.

  “Okay, since we’re on the topic of hard times and getting eaten alive,” I say and back up, until I’m practically sitting on the kitchen table.

  “What are you getting at?” he growls.

  I peel my cover-up off, and I’m instantly rewarded with a heated moan. I point to his pants. “Take them down, just a bit. I want you fully dressed for this quickie.”

  “You’re full of surprises, Kinsley. I like it,” he says as he tears into his jeans. “I like it a lot.”

  “Let’s see if you like this,” I say and spin around, bending myself over the table and putting my ass in the air.

  “Jesus, fuck,” he says and comes up behind me. He grips my hips, rubs his cock over my ass. “You’re killing me, Kins.”

  He sinks to the floor, and grips my bikini bottoms, lowering them only to my knees. His hot breath feathers over my naked flesh, and he slides a hand between my thighs, which I can hardly spread, not with my bikini bottoms keeping me restrained.

  He slides a thick finger into me. “Jesus, you are so wet.” He parts my lips, and his tongue is on me, licking and entering me, eating at me like a man starved. I quake against the table, my nipples so hard, I’m sure I’m going to scar the wood.

  “Fuck me, Cason,” I say and he climbs to his feet. The sound of him working his hand over his cock thrills me and before I know it, he’s at my opening, thrusting into me, hard and deep, and filling me to the hilt. “God, yes.”

  He grunts and grips my hips, and I know I’ll have little finger bruises to commemorate this quickie. I love the idea of that. He groans and thrusts, then continues pounding on my cervix, taking me higher and higher. Our sex is hot and hard, neither of us exhibiting finesse. We’re both acting on baser instincts, chasing the same goal of giving and taking pleasure. It’s raw. It’s blunt. It’s so goddamn perfect tears form in my eyes.

  My entire body tightens as the physical and emotional tangle, and the second he slides a hand between my legs, I come all over his big, fat cock. As I explode around him, he presses kisses to my neck and back. His hands loosen on my hips, his touch a bit gentler as he pushes deep and stills high inside me. He lets go, fills me with his hot cum, and I close my eyes as my body and heart absorb this man.

  “Cason,” I murmur. “I…I…” I have no idea what it is I want to say, all I know is that the emotions are washing over me like a damn tsunami and hot tears are threatening to spill, but not because I’m sad. I’ve never been happier, never been touched so deeply in all my life—who would have thought a quickie would affect me like this.

  “I know, Kins. I know,” is all he says as he wraps his arms around me, and lifts me from the table until my back presses against his chest. His heart pounds against my body, as he links his hands at my stomach, holding me to him. His embrace is so tender and loving, my knees nearly give—in fact, they do—but he’s right there to hold me.

  His breathing is harsh against my neck, warm and wet, and wonderful. How can a man touch me like this if he didn’t have deeper feelings? Or is that just wishful thinking on my part?

  He slowly pulls out of me, and I instantly miss his warmth. He disappears for a split second, and before I can even turn to see where he’s gone, he’s back, putting a tissue between my legs to clean me. I quiver, and his soft chuckle makes me laugh.

  “Is this turning you on?” he asks, his mouth near my ear.

  “Like you said, all I think about is sex.”

  “Lucky me.” He inches back and groans. “Shit.”

  “What?” I ask.

  “Please tell me that was at least five minutes or I’m never going to hear the end of it from Nina.”

  “I’m pretty sure it wasn’t.”

  “Great. She is never going to let this go.”

  I blink innocently. “There is a solution, Cason.”

  “Yeah?”

  I put my hands over his and hug him to me, not wanting him to rush off. “We could always do it again. Add a minute or two.”

  He sinks his teeth into my flesh. “You’re going to pay for that.”

  15

  Cason

  I can’t stop smiling. Sure, I look like a damn idiot, but being here with Kinsley, the insane sex we had earlier this morning, her bent over the kitchen table offering herself up to me, was like icing on the cake and absolutely blew my fucking mind. How the hell did I get so lucky? Oh, I know. Because I made a mistake one night in Vegas. Best goddamn mistake of my life, that is.

  As I look at her now, dressed in denim shorts and a snug T-shirt coming from the cottage with a tray of flatbread pizzas for the kids, my heart thunders. She grins at me, and it’s enough to steal the oxygen from my lungs.

  One thing is for certain, even though we set the rules, over the last week, I became invested in her, in more ways than one. She’s everything and then some and I think the longer we’re together, the better and better I get at expressing myself. The opposite of every other girl I’ve been with and if that doesn’t tell me something, nothing will.

  “Pizza, pizza, pizza,” the kids all chant and they pound their hands on the large picnic table. Well, everyone except Casey who is too busy drinking a sugary soda, something Nina doesn’t normally let him have. But I’m guessing she’s getting him all hyped up for me tonight. I’m on to her scheme, but I don’t care. I’m looking forward to hanging with the boys, and Kinsley seems on board, too, which means I plan to let them stay up late and sleep in.

  I glance at Daisy, who gives Kinsley a huge smile as Kins slides a flatbread onto her plate. Kinsley compliments Daisy on her bright pink hair, and the child beams in response. I love how Daisy wants to emulate her. Kinsley is a good role model. She’s definitely going to be a great mother, once she moves beyond past hurts and opens herself up to love again.

  Love?

  Yeah, man. Love. That’s exactly what I feel for this woman and pray to fucking God, she starts to feel that way about me. I’ll do whatever it takes to gain her trust, show her that I’m not going to run away, because she’s making her own choices, even if they don’t mesh with my agenda. Compromise is what relationships are about, right? Alyssa and Alek did long-term in order to make it work.

  “What are you grinning about, asshole?” Cole says as he hands me a beer.

  “All your bug bites,” I tell him and tip the bottle to my mouth. He shoves me and I nearly choke as I swallow. But maybe I deserve to be shoved. I did take my time getting back to the lake.

  “Dude, you left us hanging. What kind of a team player are you?”

  I give a casual shrug and dangle the bottle between my legs. “I had some things that needed taken care of. I told you that.”

  “Glad it only took five minutes.” He smirks at
me and I make a mental note to kill my sister. “Otherwise we would have been eaten alive.”

  “Fuck,” I mumble and glance at Nina who is grinning at me. I point to her in warning and she just saunters off to help Kinsley put the food in front of all the hungry kids.

  “She fits right in,” Cole says as he drops into a fold out chair beside me.

  “Uh huh,” I say as the warm summer breeze blowing in off the water rustles Kinsley’s hair, and flutters around the T-shirt I plan to remove from her body later.

  Cole waves his hand in front of my face and I whack it away. “Think I should be worried about losing my car?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “What’s this about losing your car?” Liam asks, coming up to us. He scratches his balls. “Oh, right. I remember.” He points to Cole. “Your car,” he stops to point to me. “Or you don’t get laid for six months.”

  I glare at him. “Shut up, Liam. How the fuck does he know?” I ask Cole. Shit, if anyone else got wind of this, I can’t imagine Kinsley would like it much. Or at all.

  “He overheard on the phone the other night. He won’t say anything. Right, Liam?”

  Liam opens his mouth like he’s about to say more, but someone on the beach, who happens to be in a tiny bikini, catches his attention, and he says, “Be right back.”

  “You like her, huh?” Cole says when we’re alone.

  “Uh huh.”

  “Enough to stick around for a whole month.”

  I slowly turn to him and grin as I hold my hand out, palm up. “Get ready to hand the keys over my friend.”

  “What happens after the month is over, when you’ve helped her out and she no longer needs you?” he asks.

  My entire body stiffens, and the air in my lungs goes cold. Is that what’s going to happen? When she no longer needs me, she’s going to walk away? I can’t let that happen. “Working on it.”

  He leans into me, his face serious. “Don’t fuck this up.”