Part of Me (The Seaside Chronicles Book 2), page 11
“I would never…”
He reached for my hand. “I know you wouldn’t. But what I need you to understand is that you don’t have to struggle. I want to help you and ease some of your burden.”
My brows pulled down in confusion. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I… Because I can, and I want to.”
Before I could argue, he stood and handed me the nearly finished beer. “I’m exhausted. I’m going to go ahead and shower, then hit the hay.”
I forced myself to smile at him even though I wanted to ask him more. Not about how much he had or owned, but why he would so easily share it with me. Instead, I gave him a soft smile. “Okay. Sleep well.”
He smiled down at me, then leaned over and kissed my forehead. “You, too, Sutton. Sweet dreams.”
Sutton
* * *
THE SEASIDE CHRONICLE
September 29, 2022
WAVES SPLASH!
Seasiders,
Breaking news coming right from the docks! There’s been a marriage. Can anyone guess who tied the knot?
This writer knows…
Fair winds and following seas!
* * *
“Welp, I can safely say they’ve moved on from me and Gannon now!” Addie exclaimed. She was a little too excited for my taste.
I stared at the paper on my kitchen table. “How did they find out?”
“Mindy?” Brody asked before he took a sip of his coffee.
Addie shook her head. “No way it was Mindy. I can’t see her gossiping. Or being author of the column.”
“Who else have you told since Monday?” Gannon asked.
I read the short article once more as Brody replied, “Only our parents, Palmer, and Brax.”
“Harlee knows too,” I said. “I told her yesterday at work. By the way, the back room is finished now. Well, almost finished. And the, um…products for the loft space come in today.”
Addie’s eyes lit up. “I’ll have to come and buy something for the honeymoon.”
Gannon frowned. “Wait, what are we talking about?”
Addie beamed at him. “Sutton’s carrying a new line of lingerie, as well as some new styles of clothes.”
“And vibrators. Don’t forget the vibrators,” Brody said with a wink in my direction.
Gannon nearly choked on his bagel. “What? You’re carrying vibrators in the store?”
“It was Harlee’s idea,” I quickly stated.
“Harlee? Our sweet little princess of the island suggested you carry vibrators?” Gannon asked.
I felt my cheeks heating up. “Yes.”
He turned to face Addie. “Is that what you’re buying for the honeymoon?”
She giggled. “I wasn’t going to, but I can if you want.”
Before Gannon could respond, I held up my hand. “Please. It’s way too early in the morning for this.”
Addie huffed while Gannon and Brody both grinned.
“Okay, Harlee aside, what made you decide to carry that particular line of products, Sutton?” Gannon asked.
I gave him a one-shoulder shrug. “I don’t know. She mentioned it, and I guess I realized I was free to carry whatever I wanted now.”
Reaching for my hand, Addie gave it a squeeze. “Will you do me a favor?”
Oh my God, was she about to ask me to save her a vibrator? Maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to carry personal pleasure products after all. “Please don’t ask me to set one aside for you, or to test them out or something.”
“I’ll volunteer for that,” Brody said. “I mean, to help you test them out. We are married, after all.”
I stuck my tongue out at him and then turned back to my sister.
“No, nothing like that,” she said, laughing. “But when you tell Mom and Dad you’re selling sex toys, please let me be there.”
Gannon attempted to hide his laughter while Brody simply smiled that devastating grin of his.
“Ha ha. I’m seriously having second thoughts about it now,” I said.
“No!” Addie exclaimed. “I’m totally kidding. You never know, Mom might be into that kind of thing.”
Brody laughed. “Your dad is a lucky son-of-a-bitch, if she is.”
“How do you know your mom isn’t into them, as well?” I asked Brody. I laughed when he gagged.
“God, Sutton, don’t give me that visual.” His whole body shuddered.
“Have you heard from Jack?” Gannon asked.
I shook my head. “No, but the money is back in my business account.”
He nodded. “Nothing about selling his half of the shop to you?”
I’d gotten an update from my lawyer yesterday, and supposedly we could expect the sale to go through in the next few days. I was praying the news wasn’t too good to be true.
“Hopefully any day now,” I replied. When I caught Brody’s eye, he winked again and smiled at me.
The last couple of days had been crazy. I hadn’t truly had time to process the fact that I was married once again. Or that Brody was now living in my house. He’d stayed here the last three nights, only going home on Tuesday to pack up some things to bring back. He’d been parking in the back of the house, so I wasn’t sure who had seen him coming and going.
“I hope it means Jack realizes there’s no hope for the two of you now,” Gannon stated.
I frowned. “I don’t see him simply giving up, unfortunately. If he hasn’t found out about the marriage yet, that is.”
Addie gave me a sympathetic look. “I wish I could chat more, but I’ve got to run over to Dr. James’s office. He’s starting to pack up some of his stuff, and I told Dr. Bryan I’d take an inventory of all the supplies.”
I stood and followed my sister and Gannon through my house to the front door. “Are you still excited about starting this new job in a few weeks?” I asked.
Addie wore a wide grin. “I really am. It’ll be different doing the administrative side of things, but I’m glad Dr. Bryan wants me to help assist with patients when he needs help.”
“He’s so young-looking. It’s hard to believe he’s a doctor and has a seven-year-old little boy.”
Addie nodded. “He is young-looking, but I think Mom said he’s thirty-five, or around there. His son Charlie is a hoot.”
Gannon laughed. “He is that and then some. He seems like a handful.”
Addie nodded in agreement. “A little prankster in the making.”
“My kind of kid,” Brody said.
Addie leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Okay, better run. Love you!”
“Love you, too,” I said. “Bye, Gannon.”
“See you guys around. Brody, I’ll call you later.”
“Sounds good,” Brody said, shaking his brother’s hand.
We stood there and watched Gannon and Addie walk down the steps and out to Addie’s car. Gannon opened the door for her before going to the driver’s side.
I shut the front door and exhaled as I leaned against it.
“Everything okay?” Brody asked.
“Yeah,” I said with a slight nod. “But something feels…off.”
He gave me a questioning look. “What do you mean?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I have a weird feeling. Like something big is about to happen.”
He raised his brows. “Something good or bad?”
My eyes met his. “Well, if my gut is right—something bad.”
Brody leaned down to kiss me on the forehead. It was something he’d been doing a lot over the last few days. “Stop stressing, Sutton. Everything’s going to be fine. I need to get to work myself. You need any help at the store today?”
“No, Harlee and Palmer will be there. I put up a sign that said we’ll be closed for half the day. That should give us plenty of time to get the new inventory out.”
“Are you excited?”
I couldn’t stop a silly grin from spreading across my face. Nor could I ignore the nerves that were bubbling up in my stomach. “I am, but I’m nervous too. It’s a huge jump to go from carrying pretty conservative clothing to a bit more flirty and fun styles. Plus, the toys now…I hope I’m not making a mistake.”
“Does it feel like a mistake?”
I thought about it for a moment. “No, it actually feels like the right thing to do. Harlee’s right, there isn’t anything like that here in Seaside, and women shouldn’t be embarrassed about wanting to feel sexier.”
A devilish smile appeared on Brody’s face. “Or feel good.”
I felt the heat hit my throat and move up my cheeks. “That too.”
We stood there for a moment with the air crackling between us. I wanted him to lean down and kiss me like he did on Monday at the bakery after our wedding. The need to have his hands on me was almost too much. Before either of us could do anything crazy, I pushed away from the door and started toward the kitchen. “We both better get a move on.”
I felt Brody’s eyes on my back as I walked away. A minute or so later, I heard the shower turn on in the guest bathroom, and I had to grip the kitchen counter to keep from running up the steps and joining him in there.
“What’s the matter with me?” I whispered.
After pulling in a few deep breaths, I grabbed my phone and headed upstairs to get ready for the day. I started to send a text to Harlee and Palmer saying that I was going to be a few minutes late and they should start without me, when I slammed into something hard.
I stumbled before hands steadied me at my waist.
I looked up to see Brody in front of me. His hands dug into my waist as my eyes widened at the sight of him. His dark brown hair was so wet it looked almost black. One lock hung down in front of eyes, and I had to fight the urge to push it away. Letting my gaze wander, I felt my legs go weak when I realized he was only wearing a towel. Lord help me, it was so low on his hips, I could see that famous V…and I let out a soft moan.
If I remembered anything from that night so long ago—besides how amazing he felt inside me—it was his body. His insanely built body. And thirty-two-year-old Brody’s body was even more amazing. Broad shoulders, a perfect chest, and abs that I could wash my clothes on.
Don’t look down. Don’t look down.
Shit.
I looked down.
That perfectly chiseled V led to something I wanted more than I was willing to admit—even to myself. I swallowed hard and looked back up at him.
“S-sorry. I was, um, I was texting, and I wasn’t looking where I was going and…”
My eyes traveled over his body once again, and I felt the pull in my lower stomach.
Brody’s eyes went right to my mouth, and I subconsciously licked my lips. He leaned down, and I held my breath as I slowly stretched up onto my toes.
Right before his mouth met mine, my phone rang.
I screamed and jumped back, nearly falling on my ass.
I fumbled with the phone to answer it. “Hello? Hello? I’m here. Yes. Um…”
“Are you okay? What’s wrong?” Palmer asked on the other end.
Brody silently asked if I was okay, and I gave him a thumbs up before quickly making my way around him and into my room.
I shut the door and dropped back against it. “Give me a second,” I told my sister while I closed my eyes and attempted to calm my beating heart.
“Sutton?”
“One. Second.”
“Oooookay.”
I took in a few deep breaths before I opened my eyes and headed straight into my bathroom. “Sorry, I just ran into Brody, and the only thing he was wearing was a towel. And his hair was wet. Why is that so sexy?”
Palmer laughed. “Did you pull the towel off and take what’s now yours?”
“No!” I stated. “He’s not mine.”
“Um, beg to differ with you, big sister. You’re married. He is well and truly yours to do anything you want with.”
I could hear Harlee giggling in the background.
“Am I on speakerphone?”
“Indeed, you are!” Harlee stated with a laugh. “I’ve got an idea. We have a package that got delivered first thing this morning. It contains some goodies in there that you and Brody could try out.”
I reached into the shower and turned the water on…to cold. Doesn’t that work for women too?
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear any of that,” I said. “I’m jumping into the shower, and then I’ll be on my way. Sorry I’m running late.”
Palmer sounded thoughtful as she said, “Did the column in this morning’s paper distract you? Who do you think knows? Harlee said it could be Mindy. Oh my gosh—what if it’s Mitch?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s not either one of them. Let me get going so I can get to the store. On my desk in my office is a layout of how I think the rounds should go. If you guys don’t mind starting without me, I shouldn’t be much longer.”
“No worries. We’ve already started pulling out some of the inventory. Sutton, this lingerie is amazing. You helped design it?”
“A few pieces. I helped more with the skirts and tops. Those should arrive today, and I thought we could put them in the very front of the store, maybe even do up a cute fall display.”
“I’ll be on the lookout in case UPS shows up early. Go get ready, we’ll keep plugging along here.”
“Thanks, guys. See you soon.”
I stripped out of my joggers and T-shirt and nearly yelped when the cold water hit me. Then I soon made a mental note to myself. Cold water doesn’t help put out the fire of desire after seeing one’s very hot, naked husband.
Brody
I was exhausted. It had been a long day of being under the water and welding parts of the new pier that was getting installed near the port authority building. Every part of my body was sore. Of course, that could also be from the intense workout I’d done at lunch in an attempt to stop thinking about how Sutton had looked at me when she’d run into me after my shower.
The only thing that seemed to keep my mind off of her was work. Now I was off and ready to head to Sutton’s, take a long hot shower, and climb into bed.
Yet, for some reason, I swung by Coastal Chic first. I saw that the lights were still on, so I pulled around back and entered through the back door. I could hear female voices—and stopped right inside the door when I heard my name. I knew it was wrong to spy on the girls, but I was too curious to walk away.
“Don’t be such a prude, Sutton. Take one home, and try it out.”
“Harlee, I’m not a prude. And like I said before, I’m not taking one home because Brody’s there, and he might hear it.”
“And like I said before, have Brody join in on the fun!”
A buzzing sound clicked on, and I heard Palmer laughing. “Oh my God. The tip on this one rotates! Why is it rotating?”
I closed my eyes. Jesus H. Christ. They were talking about vibrators.
“Better to find that G-spot with, my dear,” Harlee teased. “Now, back to you, Sutton. Close your eyes and picture what happened this morning, and I bet you’ll orgasm faster than you can spell it.”
“Stop saying that! I wish I’d never told you guys about earlier.”
That made me perk up even more. I was suddenly very, very awake.
“Come on, Sutton, it’s perfectly normal to be turned on by something like that. You saw Brody naked.”
“He wasn’t naked. He had on a towel.”
“Didn’t you say you wished it had slipped off?” Palmer added.
Harlee chimed in. “I think we can all agree that under those tight T-shirts and jeans Brody wears, he has an amazing body. Maybe Thomas should start working out with him.”
Palmer and Sutton both giggled.
“That’s mean, Harlee,” Palmer said with a snort. “He’s your boyfriend.”
“Meh. The sex could be better.”
“Maybe it’s you who needs to bring home a new toy.” Sutton giggled.
I closed my eyes. Sutton talking about vibrators was going to do me in right here. I needed to turn around and leave. I shouldn’t be listening. This was wrong. So wrong.
“Trust me, I intend to,” Harlee said. “I’m really eyeing this rechargeable thrusting rabbit one. I mean, listen to this. It has a bunch of different lifelike thrusting settings. It says it’ll rock your clit and vagina with ten different modes. Oh, and you can use it in the shower or tub too! I think you need this one, Sutton.”
Sutton groaned. “Why do I need that?”
Harlee grunted. “I’m pretty sure your vajayjay doesn’t even remember what it feels like to orgasm with something inside of it. I highly doubt Jackass ever brought you that kind of pleasure.”
Sighing, Sutton said, “I never had a single orgasm with Jack while we were having sex.”
The other two women gasped—and I smiled.
“Never?” Harlee asked.
“Not when he was inside of me. Jack was more of a ‘once he finished, he was done’ kind of guy. He didn’t care if I had an orgasm or not.”
I slowly shook my head. That stupid fucking dickhead. If Sutton was my wife, I’d be making her come every damn way I could think of.
I paused for a moment.
Sutton was my wife.
“That shaft is too small for me. It’s only five-and-a-half inches.”
“Jesus, Harlee, how big do you want it?” Palmer asked.
“Bigger than that. If I wanted that, I’d sleep with Thomas.”
All three girls giggled. Poor bastard. Thomas better get on the ball, or he was going to lose Harlee.
“What about this one?” Palmer said. “It’s seven inches in length. Doesn’t have all the fancy modes though.”
“Oh no, ladies, I have found the crème de la crème!” Harlee exclaimed. “This baby is nine inches long with a nicely sized girth. It has a bullet at the end of it, and you can control the speed.”
“Please tell me women are not going to be in here comparing these things,” Sutton said.
Harlee scoffed. “Of course they will be. This is an important investment.”
“How do you have this whole town fooled into thinking you’re a sweet, innocent do-gooder?” Palmer asked.
