Tag Fight For Me

by Catherine Charles

  I am most certainly not ready to think of my four children in that capacity.

  “I’m sorry, Liv.”

  “It’s not me you need to be apologizing to.”

  “Look man, we all saw it tonight, but you’re gonna have to trust Liv and me to handle Jax the way we see fit.”

  “Lotta good you’re doing,” I mumble out while scrubbing a hand across my mouth.

  “No one knew what they were doing, Robert! They wanted it to be a surprise. You should be proud; your daughter is incredibly talented.”

  Once again I’m caught off guard by Liv and that’s when I realize I hadn’t even seen Cora dance. I was so focused on Jax, that I had missed watching my own daughter.

  Guilt sunk low in my stomach like a slimy, moss-covered stone that had been thrown into a swamp where the water had sat far too long undisturbed. A film of sludge and green muck covering the surface.

  I shuffle in place, look up at the night sky and run my hands through my now disheveled hair and down my face. “So is Jax.”

  “Thank you.” Liv beams like a proud peacock, as if I hadn’t just got done insulting her child. “Now go grovel to your wife and quit being a dipshit.”

  “Babe,” Trey quietly scolds, “that’s enough.”

  Liv snaps her neck at Trey and gives him a death stare. Any mortal man would be dead on the spot, but yet he seems to be immune to her powers. “Don’t pretend you wear the pants here. Your place is in the office and the bedroom, mine is taking care of our children.”

  I watch as his eyes roam over her body, with a chuckle and a shake of his head he offers a rebuttal, “Well, from where I’m standing I’m the one wearing the pants tonight.”

  Liv looks confused and then realizes Trey’s little cocky refute was all because she was in fact wearing a dress tonight. She rolls her eyes, her mouth opens as if she’s about to say something, but Trey quickly throws her over his shoulder, smacking her ass while hauling her inside. “You’re done, Liv.”

  Her giggles seem to bounce off the stars themselves, filling the night air.

  God, I fucked up with Pres.

  “Go apologize, Robert.”

  * * *

  We pull into the driveway, Uncle Robert and Aunt Presley immediately pull in behind us; Cora rode home with me, Mom, and Dad. She practically glows in the dark, her bright smile illuminates the dark windy road while her eyes twinkle like my own personal stars.

  “Jax, why don’t you walk Cora on over to her house and then come on back. It’s late and you need to get in bed.”

  “Yes, Mom.”

  Dad parks the car, and Cora slides out my door. I want to take her hand, but I cross my arms over my chest instead as we begin our walk through the field separating our two houses. Doors slam shut on Uncle Robert’s truck and the air is suddenly unstable. I know that whatever is coming, started back in the school’s auditorium.

  “Did you have fun tonight?” I ask, watching her from the corner of my eye, trying to keep her distracted from the impending storm.

  “The best!” She giggles out, while leaping and spinning around me. I love seeing my Buttercup like this. Happy. Carefree. She’s a child, and this is exactly how her life is supposed to be.

  “You were really good. I think I even saw the principal cry.”

  “Real—”

  Her happiness is instantly crushed by the yelling between our parents. I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but they never fight. Cora’s eyes are fixed on the scene behind us, eyes wide like those of a deer in the headlights, and a slight quiver to her bottom lip.

  “Come on, Buttercup.” I take her hand and lead her down to the tree house, her legs do well to keep up with my fast pace. Whatever is going on behind us can't touch us in our little sanctuary, in our house.

  She climbs the ladder first, her foot slipping off the rungs a few times before she makes her way to the top. Sniffles trail after her, and I can only imagine the tears sitting on the brim of her eyes.

  Why was this climb seeming to take forever?

  The minute I set my feet on the tree house floor; she flings her body onto me. Arms tightly wrapped around my center, squeezing me like a python.

  I wrap my arms around her, smoothing her hair, trying desperately to give her comfort. “Hey, what is it?” Her sobs increasing in both volume and intensity. “Cora, what’s wrong?”

  “I…think…Mom…Mommy…and Dad…Daddy…divorce.”

  “Shhh, sweet girl. That won't happen.”

  “Jax, they fight all the time. Daddy is so mad. Even tonight, he looked mad. Why was he mad, Jax?”

  I wish I could answer her question, but I noticed it too. “Cora, I don’t know what’s going on, but sometimes grown-ups act stupid. Your mommy and daddy love each other very much, and they love you too.”

  “I don’t think so.” She shakes her head across my chest, I’m not sure if she’s saying no, or wiping her nose on me.

  “You want to know something special about your mommy and daddy?”

  She pulls back a little from me and wipes her nose on her sleeve. Even in the dark I can see the red puffiness of her eyes, “What?”

  “My mommy said your mommy and daddy have been together since they were three years old. Sure, they might fight, but they always stay together.”

  “That’s Franklin’s age.”

  “Yep.”

  “And they’re really old now.”

  “See, they will always be together. They probably wouldn’t even know how to live without each other.” Kinda like you and me, my sweet baby.

  “I want that one day.”

  I want to whisper my deepest secret to her; I want to tell her that she already has it. I want to tell her that I know we’re young, but I love her.

  “I’m tired, Jax.” Once again, she rests her head on my chest, her arms wrapping tightly around me, and she goes soft. Her heart beat doesn’t vibrate against my stomach anymore, which means she isn’t as scared as she was when we first got here.

  One more tight squeeze and I step back from her to retrieve my sleeping bag from the corner and lay it out on the couch for her. “Here. You can use my sleeping bag tonight.”

  “Where are you gonna sleep?”

  “I’ll be right by you on the floor.”

  She shakes her head and pulls the sleeping bag to the floor before climbing in. “If you’re sleeping on the floor, then so am I.” I chuckle at my stubborn little thing. “Do you have a blanket?”

  “Nah. It’s okay. It’s not that cold.” Actually, without her pressed against me, it was a little cold outside, but I knew Uncle Robert would be pissed if I slept in the sleeping bag with her. I wasn’t even allowed to go into her room anymore.

  “Okay.” Her voice drops to a somber tone, seeming almost upset at the loss of direct contact with me. Instead, she climbs into the sleeping bag and wiggles her way next to me, her head touching my shoulder. “Jax, promise you won't leave me. I’ve never slept out here before.”

  “Never my Buttercup. I’ll always be right by your side.”

  Cora was given to me. She was mine from the beginning. I would never leave her.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The house is quiet by the time I get inside.

  Liv was right, as usual. I had been an ass. Actually, I had been bigger than an ass, I had been a Dickasaurus rex.

  The door to our bedroom was locked. I rested my forehead against the white pine door, releasing my issues in a single drawn out breath. I’d fucked up.

  “Presley,” I knocked lightly, but in an eerily quiet house, it sounded like a sonic boom. “Presley, please let me in.”

  “Go away, Robert.”

  “No.”

  “I don’t want to see you.”

  “Well, tough.”

  I know there has got to be one of those pin keys around here somewhere. I run my hand along the top of the door frame and find the little tool that will grant me access into our bedroom so I can apologize profusel
y to my wife.

  I fidget with the lock for only a second before I feel it click open, allowing me to push the door open wide. Presley is laying down on the bed, her back to the door, curled into a fetal position.

  “Pres?” I say quietly as I timidly make my way to where she is. She doesn’t answer, just lies there in stillness. “Presley, I know you’re not sleeping. You’re breathing too fast.” Her side quits moving and I want to laugh so hard at her ornery, hard-headedness. “Now you’re not breathing at all, princess.”

  “Go away.” The tremble in her usually steady voice guts me.

  “Presley, I’m sorry. I should have never said that baseball was the only thing that mattered in my life.” Making my way over to our bed, I ease onto it behind her and pull her tight against my frame, she is the perfect little spoon to my big spoon.

  She doesn’t fight my touch, but instead laces her fingers through mine, pulling my arm tighter around her. “I know you’re mad right now. I get it, Robert.”

  “Pres, I’m not mad. Frustrated, yes. Mad, no. I’m still young, and pretty much just had career ending surgery, P.”

  “Your career’s not over. Plenty of pitchers go on to play again.”

  “Come on P, you know as well as I do that those pitchers are never as good as they once were. It doesn’t matter how hard I work; I won't be the same.” I’m almost positive that she brushes a tear off with one of my knuckles. I didn’t come in here to justify my words or actions to her.

  “But that doesn’t matter right now. The only thing that matters is you.” I roll her onto her back, brushing away the stray tendrils that wisp across her face, and smooth them behind her ear. Cupping her face, feather light kisses caress her lips in a slow sipping fashion, and as my hand rest against her pulse point, I bask in the knowledge that I still make her heart race.

  “You are my reason for being, Presley. My reason for everything. Without you, I am nothing.”

  She blinks and sends twin tears racing towards the pillow. “Robert—”

  Her voice disappears as my lips leave a trail of kisses from her jaw down her neck. “I’m so sorry, Presley. Please forgive me.”

  My lips rest over that special place just above her collarbone, nip, nip, suck. Her body arches of the bed as she tries to push harder against me, exposing her neck as if she were submissive. “Make love to me.”

  I growl against her, biting down hard on the curvature of her neck until she squeaks out. “Your wish is my command.”

  I remove my clothes first. Presley’s eyes darken with desire as each piece is stripped away while she watches, pulling her bottom lip through her teeth.

  Once my clothes are piled on the floor, I make my way back over to her, stripping away the remaining barriers between us. Her body reacts to my touch, every brush of a finger against her velvet skin elicits a trail of goosebumps until her body shivers in anticipation. She needs this. She needs to feel this connection. She needs to know how much I cherish and worship the woman that she is.

  Hooking my fingers under the waistband of her panties, my thumbs graze against her opening as I slide them down her thighs. “Shiit, Pres.” She smiles at my reaction to her soaking center.

  “I need you.” There is absolutely no doubt about her need. She spreads her knees wider, beginning to pleasure herself. Needy little noises fill the space between us as I watch her, my cock bouncing, begging to enter her, to feel her as she shatters; but she was hungry and didn’t want to wait.

  My eyes locked on her hand as she dips her fingers in and out, hips rising with each thrust, wetness dripping from her opening begging to be tasted. “Come for me, princess. Let me watch you break.” My hands rest low between her thighs, holding them open, allowing her to go deeper. Her body tenses, chest goes red, and her body arches. I’m done waiting. With a flat tongue lick, I lap her wetness and plunge my tongue inside of her. My presence inside of her pulls a second orgasm before the first has subsided. I hold her firmly against my mouth as I ravish her. Suck. Lap. Suck. Plunge. Suck. Lap. Suck. Plunge. Her legs shake around my head, hands fisting my hair, body trembling.

  “Robert…”

  I pull every last aftershock from her, before teasing her entrance with my cock, looking down on my greedy little vixen as she reaches for me. “Please,” she whines as she raises her hips to me, pushing forward so I’ll give her more than the tip.

  “Please, Robert, I need you.”

  “Say it again, love.”

  “Please. Please I need you.” Her legs wrap around my thighs and force me into her as she cries out in pleasure, hips raise up to ride me hard as her fingers scratch at my back. I’m pinned to her. Each trust seems to penetrate deeper. Harder she grinds against me. Faster she rocks, pulling my load from me. Milking each drop she can, as she claims her third and fourth orgasms almost simultaneously.

  I collapse on top of her, too spent to move, the bed a tangled mess of sheets and limbs, and in that moment I realize my greedy little vixen has a secret to share. Her sex pulses around me as she starts to circle her hips again, leaving little time to rest. I chuckle into her neck and find what little strength I have left. She rides my semi-hard cock, legs wrapped tightly around mine and soon claims her fifth as my tongue pleasures her mouth to the pace she’s set, slipping between her lips, and providing her with a new form of intoxication.

  Once I’m sure she’s satisfied, I roll from her, holding her close, just waiting.

  “Robert?” she pants out.

  “Hmmm?”

  “I’m pregnant.” She rests her chin on my chest, practically glowing with the announcement while my fingers run the course of her back.

  “I know.” Her smile falters as she looks confused.

  “How? I just found out today.”

  “And I just realized it about five minutes ago. You turn into an insatiable monster when you’re pregnant, Pres.”

  Her smile returns, and she giggles while burying her head against my chest. “I love you Presley, and I’m sorry about earlier.” Her lips press a warm kiss into my skin just above my heart, and she rests her head once again on my shoulder while my thumb brushes against her arm. “Sooo, I guess Gram wasn’t lying when she said we would have a baseball team.”

  Presley giggles and pinches at my side, “You’re getting snipped. We are not having seven children.”

  Astounded, I gasp out, “What? You’re gonna take my guys!” Her giggles are my favorite sound in the world, “My soldiers? My little men?” She’s in hysterics as she tries to dig her fingers into my sides to tickle me back. I would do anything for her, and she knows it.

  “They’ve done their job; it’s time.”

  I kiss her forehead and ease my arm out from underneath her before heading to the bathroom to clean up and run a bath for her. “That they have. I’ll get it done this month, no sense in waiting.”

  “Thank you.”

  * * *

  Robert took the news of the pregnancy much better than expected, but then again he apparently knew my tell, cheeky bastard or observant husband, I’m not quite sure. He agreed to the vasectomy without any argument as well.

  To say I was blessed to call him my husband was an understatement. Sure he wasn’t perfect, but who really is, all that matters is that he’s perfect for me.

  By the time I step out of the bath, the water is room temperature and all I wanted to do is check on our children and then fall asleep in the safety of his arms.

  The bathroom light kisses the walls of our bedroom, gently illuminating the sleeping giant sprawled across our bed. Years have passed, but each time I see him like this I’m taken back to our first night together. Our one-bedroom apartment in sunny Arizona. We were kids then. Young. Naïve. And the image of a naked man in the bed we would share sent butterflies to my stomach.

  His body is older now, his muscles more toned, his shoulders broader. His musculature defined now more than ever, despite having surgery. The Adonis body of his youth had matured, his sculpted
arms had rocked all four of our children through the night and now his broad back was just the right size to give pony rides when the twins asked for them.

  I brush away a peaceful tear before running a finger along his hairline, kissing his forehead in adoration. His body shifts under my touch, a searching hand reaching out for me.

  “I love you, Robert.”

  “Mmmlovemoo.”

  I make my way upstairs and check on the twins first, followed by Frank, and then Cora. Her door is still wide open, unusual because she normally closes it so as not to be awakened by her brothers in the mornings.

  The moon light cast its shadow through the open blinds and onto a perfectly made bed. No! No! My baby! I scream her name in panic, held frozen against her bedroom door as I stare at where she should be. The loud thud of footsteps races up the stairs and I’m wrapped in Robert’s arms as he takes in the sight before us.

  “Robert, she’s gone!”

  “Pres, we’ll find her.” He holds my pieces together as I’m on the verge of insanity.

  “Robert, she’s our baby. Our baby is missing.”

  “She couldn’t have gone far. We’ll find her, Pres. We’re gonna find her and she’ll be fine. The last time we saw her she was with Jax, he won't let anything happen to her.” He kisses my head firmly before taking over the situation. “Go call Liv, see if she’s over there.” I nod and run downstairs to get my phone, pressing the speed dial button for her, pacing until she answers the phone.

  “Come on, Liv. Pick up. Pick up.”

  The line goes to voice mail while I slide into a pair of tennis shoes and take off through the front door, sprinting across the field to Liv and Trey’s house, banging on the door as if I were the police looking for an escaped convict.

  Trey opens the door in a pair of boxers and a look of confusion. “Pres?”

  “Is Cora here?”

  “What? No. Jax took her to your house.”

  “She never made it inside.”