In Too Deep, page 5
part #32 of Forever and Ever Series
I knew his stamina wasn’t nearly what it used to be. Six weeks without sex would change his abilities in the bedroom. “It’s okay. You can build up your tolerance again.”
He moved one hand between my legs and rubbed me aggressively as he slowly rocked into me. His mouth found mine again, and he did all three things at the same time. He breathed hard into my mouth struggling to control himself from finishing too quickly.
Fortunately, I was already so worked up I didn’t need much stimulation. Knowing he was struggling so hard not to release was a turn on. I gripped his shoulders and moaned into his mouth as I felt the blinding hot orgasm spread through my entire body and light me on fire. It felt so good. I hadn’t been satisfied since before my son was born. My body practically wanted to scream because it was so happy. My legs squeezed his waist as I finished the high, slowly coming back to earth. “Mmm…that felt good.”
When Ward knew I was finished, he didn’t hold back. He held himself up on his arms and thrust into me at a quicker pace. Moans escaped his lips as he continued to move himself inside me. Then he pressed his mouth to mine when he reached his threshold. He released inside me, taking longer than usual. “Fuck, that was a long time coming.”
I moved my hands up his back and through his hair.
He pulled out of me then lay beside me. “Are you okay?”
“More then okay.” I trailed my fingers down his chest.
He stared at the ceiling like he was ashamed. “Sorry it was so short.”
“It’s okay. I came so I don’t care.”
A small grin stretched his face.
“So…do I feel different down there?”
He turned to me. “Different?”
“You know…am I looser?”
“No,” he said. “I didn’t notice any difference.”
That was a relief.
He pulled me to his chest and cuddled with me. “We only got two and a half hours left to make love as many times as possible. Let’s recharge and give it another go.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Chapter Six
Trinity
We moved the table out of the way and laid a soft blanket on the ground. Ward Jr. lay there with his toys scattered around him. They were all brightly colored and plastic. But Ward Jr. just stared at me instead of doing anything.
Slade sat on the ground with his back against the couch. He stared at Ward Jr. like he wasn’t sure if it was an alien or a bug. “What do we do with it?”
“It’s not an it,” I repeated, shooting him a glare.
“Well, he’s so…small. Abby talks and runs around. But this guy just lays there.”
“He’s only six weeks old, Slade. What do you expect him to do? Magic tricks?”
“Now, that would be impressive,” he said seriously.
I rolled my eyes and watched Ward Jr.
He stared at me with large, blue eyes. They never left my face. He seemed to be fascinated.
“So…we just sit here?” Slade asked. “And watch him?”
“Yes, it’s that simple,” I said sarcastically.
“Do we feed him?”
“Clementine said he already ate.”
“Do we wait for him to fall asleep?”
“Clemy said he can’t nap this late in the evening. If he does, then he won’t sleep all night and just cry the entire time.”
Slade cringed like that was a terrible fate. “Babies like music, right?”
“I guess…some of his toys make sounds when you squeeze them.”
“Maybe I can play him some Ozzy Osborne.”
I gave him a death threat with just my eyes. “Don’t you dare.”
“Sorry,” he said quickly. “Just a suggestion.”
I returned my eyes back to Ward Jr. “Do you want to play with a toy?” I held up a ring of plastic keys.
“Trinity, he doesn’t understand you.”
“I know he doesn’t understand me,” I hissed. “But it’s good to talk to babies. It helps them with language and vocabulary.” I held the keys out to him.
Ward Jr. took them with both hands but then dropped them.
“Then what do you want to do?” I asked Ward Jr.
Slade dramatically rolled his eyes.
“How about some cartoons?” I turned on the TV and found SpongeBob.
Ward Jr.’s eyes moved to the screen, but then they squinted and he started to cry, loudly and at the top of his lungs.
“Turn that off!” Slade barked.
I hit the button on the remote and the TV went black.
But Ward Jr. kept crying.
“How do you turn him off?” Slade yelled over his crying.
“You can’t turn him off,” I snapped. “He’s not an iPod.” I picked him up then rocked him back and forth.
Ward continued to wail.
Slade massaged his temple like he was getting a headache.
“Shh…” I whispered to Ward Jr. and tried to get him to calm down.
He bawled his head off.
“Maybe he’s hungry?” Slade suggested.
I grabbed a bottle from the bag then inserted the tip into his mouth.
He turned his head away and kept crying.
Slade closed his eyes. “Kill. Me. Now.”
***
An hour later, Ward Jr. hadn’t stopped crying. His wails filled the apartment and echoed nonstop.
Slade’s mood had dropped noticeably. His jaw was permanently tense and he had an irritated look in his eyes. “There’s no off switch?”
“I’m not going to bother answering that.”
“You’re sure you want to have a baby?” he asked seriously. “Because it sounds like they are nothing but a pain in the ass.” He shook his head. “I have a newfound respect for my parents…”
I lay Ward Jr. back down because rocking him back and forth wasn’t making a difference. Tears didn’t come from his eyes but he continued to cry and scream. “What do you want?”
“One of the mysteries of the universe…”
Even I was starting to get a headache.
Slade left the couch then stormed into the bedroom, clearly fed up with all the crying.
I sighed because I couldn’t blame him.
Then Slade returned with his acoustic guitar. He returned to his previous spot then started to play. He strummed the strings and hit the chords, making beautiful and gentle sounds. Then he started to sing quietly under his breath, filling the apartment with the soothing sound of his voice.
Ward Jr. stopped crying instantly. He tried to turn his head to look at Slade but he couldn’t because of the position he was in.
“You’re a genius,” I blurted.
Slade smiled then continued to play.
I moved Ward Jr. closer to Slade, and then I lay beside him. Together, we listened to Slade play on his guitar. He played music from The Beatles, John Mayer, and Coldplay.
Mesmerized, Ward Jr. and I just lay there, fascinated.
I loved listening to Slade play music. He was extremely talented at it. His music on the guitar was always clean, like he was a professional, and he had the perfect voice to accompany the songs. It was definitely sexy. My hand moved to his thigh as I watched him, and I wished we were alone so I could do something more.
Slade finished the song then set the guitar in his lap. “I think this little guy is going to be a musician.”
Ward Jr. stared at him without blinking. Then he started to scream his head off again.
I laughed. “I think he wants you to keep playing.”
Slade sighed. “They always do.”
Chapter Seven
Arsen
“What do you think?” I stood with my hands in my pockets. The house stood before us, two stories tall with a two-car garage. The backyard was a little small, but it was difficult to find anything reasonable in the city unless you were a billionaire.
Ryan stood with his arms across his chest. He stared at the house for a long time with intelligent eyes. He rubbed his chin before he lowered his hand. “It’s nice.”
“It’s got five bedrooms, a living room, and a full kitchen.”
“Square feet?” he asked.
“Twenty-eight hundred.”
He whistled. “This place is gonna be expensive.”
“Yeah, it’s not cheap…but I figured with Silke’s income we’ll have more than enough to pay it off.”
“Don’t rely on a second income,” he said. “Can you afford it on your own?”
“Yeah,” I answered. “My savings won’t be humongous but I can make it by.” I nudged him in the side. “And I can always borrow money from you.” I winked at him.
He rolled his eyes. “Like you haven’t borrowed enough already.”
“Your pockets are limitless for us.”
“Unfortunately…” He continued to stare at the house. “What does Silke think?”
“I haven’t showed it to her yet. I didn’t want to show her a house unless I was serious about buying it. You know, get her hopes up for nothing.”
“I’m sure she’ll like it, Arsen. I know she wants to stay in the city so you’re combining two things she wants.” He turned his body toward me. “What does Abby think of it?”
“I haven’t showed her either. But I don’t leave the decisions to the six-year-old.”
He chuckled. “Good thinking.”
“I’d let you look inside but the realtor has to let me in.”
“You got pictures?”
I pulled out my phone and showed him.
“Wow, it looks nice.”
“Yeah, we would probably replace the floors and had a new coat of paint, but it’s pretty perfect besides that.”
“What about your office?”
“I don’t need one,” I said. “I leave work at the office anyway. The bedrooms are for the other kids.”
“Janice and I are going to have a lot of grandkids to spoil…”
“I hope you’ve been saving.”
He clapped my shoulder. “Janice has been saving for a long time.” He handed the phone back to me.
Now came the moment I’d been waiting for. I felt awkward asking Ryan for anything when he’d already done so much for me. It was almost rude for me to even think about asking him for a dime. “There’s something I want to ask you…and if you say no I’ll totally understand.”
“What’s up, son?” He watched me with passive eyes.
“For the loan…I need someone to cosign.” There was no one else I could ask. Ryan was the closest thing I had to a father. Without him, I’d be forced to go to Trinity and Slade, and that was even weirder.
A slow smirk stretched his lips. “You don’t even need to ask, Arsen. Of course I will.”
“I’ll make sure I take care of the payments. Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m not worried at all.” He patted my back. “There’s nothing that makes me happier than helping my kids out.”
When he referred to me as his own it always made me feel special. I guess I would never get used to it. “Thanks…I really appreciate it.”
“Now show Silke. She deserves to see her future house.”
“I know she’ll be excited.”
“Maybe you should ask her to move in…” He shot me a look.
I cocked an eyebrow. “You would let us live together even though we aren’t married?”
“Let you?” he asked incredulously. “Silke is a grown woman and can do whatever she wants. I don’t boss her around. She’s been an adult for like…six years.”
“I know but…it’s not traditional.”
He rolled his eyes. “When have I ever made you think I was a traditional kind of guy? Janice moved in with me a week after we met. We’ve been together ever since. And you aren’t ready for marriage yet, but maybe you can move in together as a first step. Let Abby get used to it first.”
“That’s not a bad idea…”
“I know,” he said in a gloating way. “I’m full of great ideas.”
I rolled my eyes and turned away. “Don’t let it go to your head.”
“Too late.”
***
I glanced at my watch and checked the time. I was meeting Silke for lunch but she hadn’t walked into Mega Shake yet. She was usually late to everything so I guess it didn’t surprise me.
Now that I was a full-time dad, the only alone time I had with Silke was during lunchtime when Abby was at school, and at nighttime when Abby went to sleep. I loved having my daughter around all the time but I also treasured my time with Silke.
She walked inside wearing skinny jeans, heels, and a teal blouse. Her hair was in big curls and she looked sexy as hell. When she spotted me at the table, she came my way. “Sorry I’m late.”
“No, you aren’t.” I gripped her waist and pulled her in for a kiss.
“I guess I’m not,” she said into my mouth.
I rubbed my nose against hers before I pulled away. “I already ordered the food. Should be here any second.”
“Thank god,” she blurted. “I’m starving.”
“What’s new?” I teased.
She kicked me playfully under the table. The golden hoops hanging from her earlobes were distracting. Light eye shadow was over her eyes, and her lips were a deep pink. “How’s your day?”
“Good. Yours?”
“The museum has been busy. The tourists always come around this time of year.”
“They probably just come around to gawk at you.”
“I highly doubt it,” she said with a laugh. “I’m sure they’re there for Van Gogh.”
“That guy is overrated.”
Her eyes widened to the size of melons. “How. Dare. You.”
I tried not to laugh. It was always fun to subtly insult her. “And Monay is worse.”
Somehow her eyes got bigger. “You just lost yourself a week of sex.”
“Sure…” She needed it more than I did most of the time.
“I’m serious.”
“Okay.” I tried not to laugh.
She kicked me playfully under the table. “You never take my threats seriously.”
“Because you never execute them. If I tell Abby I’m going to ground her if she does something wrong and I don’t do it, she knows I won’t do it later so it promotes bad behavior. It’s the same thing.”
Her eyes narrowed on my face.
“I’m just telling you the truth. It’s parenting 101.”
The worker brought the food to the table, and Silke immediately pulled her tray closer to her and devoured everything in sight.
I assumed the subject had been dropped. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“What’s up?” she asked.
I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the table. “There’s a house I want to buy.”
She stopped eating. “You found something?”
“Yeah,” I answered. “And I’m going to put an offer down.”
“That’s great,” she said with excitement. “Having a house will be a great environment for Abby.”
“I think so too,” I said. “But the house is pretty big for just two people…”
She stared at me, and hope came into her eyes.
“It seems silly for you to have your own place when you’re always at my apartment. I want you around all the time, and I know Abby loves your company. It’s not a marriage proposal but…will you move in with me?”
Her eyes watered slightly and happiness spread across her face. Her playful attitude evaporated, and now she was emotional and moved. “Arsen, I would love to.”
I grabbed her hand across the table. “Good. I wasn’t going to accept a different answer.”
“Abby is okay with this?”
I shrugged. “I make the big decisions of the family. I was hoping if you moved in Abby could get used to the idea of you being around all the time. And then…we can go from there.”
She released a happy sigh. “I can’t wait to see the house.”
“You’ll love it.” I knew she would.
“I’m so happy right now.” Her eyes glowed like the stars on a clear night, and her smile was wider than I’d ever seen it.
“Me too.” I loved seeing the joy on her face. We’d hit a rough patch recently, and it was nice that things were starting to feel the way they used to. I feared we would never get back to what we were. But it seemed like we had.
Chapter Eight
Jared
“What do you think?” I stepped further inside the restaurant and looked around. It was fairly small, but small is what I wanted. One wall already had a bar, and another one would be placed on the opposite side. “We would put in a rise here for the piano and other instruments, and there’s a kitchen in the rear where we could cook the appetizers. We could have wine barrels along the wall for decoration.”
Beatrice wore a floor length skirt that was tight on her hips. It was striped black and white, and she wore a champagne pink cardigan on top. A golden bracelet was on her wrist, and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. It was sleek and shiny.
When her hair was pulled back, it exposed more of her neck. It was slender and had a natural elegance to it. It blended into the formation of her jaw and high cheekbones. She was thin but she had the right curves in the right places.
When she walked around and examined everything, she had a hard look in her eyes. The intelligence within was paramount. She examined everything like she knew exactly what she was looking for. Nothing escaped her notice. “It’s nice.’
“That’s it?” I asked. “Just nice?”
“It needs a lot of work.”
“Work? What do you mean?”
She tapped her shoe on the tile. “This will have to go.” Then she pointed to the walls. “We need new paint.” Then she approached the bar. “This will need to be completely redone.”
I tilted my head to the side. “Why? What’s wrong with it?”
She turned her sassy gaze on me. “Jared, are you opening a wine bar? Or just another bar?”
I shrugged.
“You want to give people an experience, and not just in food. I say we decorate it Tuscan style and make it into a partial patio. We’ll have artwork lighting, Italian cobblestone, and granite countertops.”
