Chapter 22 Blayne
Twenty Two
Blayne
“Blayne, can you give me a hand with the grill?” Mel calls from the back patio, where he’s been wrestling with some brand-new contraption for twenty minutes.
“Sure,” I reply, setting down my drink. Behind me, I can hear Reggie laughing.
“Damn thing came with forty pages of instructions,” Mel mutters. “When the hell did grills get so complicated?”
“When they started putting computers in everything. Thing’s got more buttons than my truck.”
“Sarah said the old one was a fire hazard.”
I chuckle. “The old one was a fire hazard, Mel. Saw you using a coat hanger to hold the door shut.”
“That coat hanger worked just fine.” I laugh, shaking my head.
I mess with the controls and get it fired up. “There you go.”
“Thanks, son.”
“Blayne!” Annalise comes running over, grass stains all over her pretty dress. “Look!” She throws a perfect spiral across the yard.
“Wow, not bad at all, princess.”
Beaming, she runs off to show someone else.
Mel starts throwing burgers on the grill. “She’s crazy about you,” he says. All of them are. Haven’t seen them this happy in a while.” I just keep quiet. Too happy and emotional for words. “You know, always hoped Reggie would end up back here.” He gives me a look. “With you.”
“Mel…” I start.
“I’m not blind, son. Seen how you two look at each other.”
Before I can figure out what to say, Sarah shows up with enough food to feed the whole town.
“How are my guys?”
“Just talking,” Mel replies with a huge smile.
“Good. Blayne, honey, hope you’re hungry.”
I look at the table she’s setting up. “You went a little overboard, Ms. Sarah.”
“We’re celebrating.” I raise a questioning eyebrow. She laughs, shaking her head. “You and Reggie, of course. About time you two quit being idiots.”
“We weren’t being idiots.” I chuckle.
“Honey, you’ve been crazy about my daughter for years. Everyone knew it except you two.”
“The kids definitely knew,” Reggie says, showing up with a fresh drink for me. “They’ve been dropping hints for weeks.”
“Smart kids,” Sarah winks.
* * *
Two hours later, I’m full and watching Jaylen work on his spiral while everyone else sits around talking. It’s loud, chaotic and exactly the kind of family thing I never thought I’d have. But I love it. All of it.
Reggie appears beside me. “Want to get out of here?”
“Where to?” I ask, wrapping an arm around her waist.
“Your place. I need some quiet.”
I look around at her family, who are all pretending not to be listening.
“Let’s go.”
We tell everyone we’re going for a drive. Sarah gives us a knowing look that makes Reggie start to fidget. But no one says anything.
Twenty minutes later, we’re walking into my house.
“God, it’s quiet,” she says. “I forgot what quiet sounds like.”
I grab us drinks from the fridge, and we end up on the couch. She kicks off her shoes and curls up next to me, with her head on my shoulder.
“This is better,” she purrs. “Much better.” She snuggles even closer. “I love my family. But sometimes…”
“Sometimes you wanna be able to touch your girl without her dad watching.”
She laughs. “Exactly.”
I set my drink down and pull her closer. She smells amazing. Always smells good. Like her floral scent and something that’s just her.
“Much better,” I repeat, pressing my face into her hair.
“Mmm. This is nice.”
“Just nice?”
“Really nice.”
I tilt her face up and kiss her. She tastes like lemonade and Sarah’s apple pie, and when she makes that little sound in the back of her throat, I’m done for.
“How long before they expect us back?” I ask against her lips.
“A while. They’ve got the kids covered.”
“Good.” I kiss her again, deeper this time, and she melts against me. Her hands fist in my shirt, and I can feel her pulse racing under my mouth when I move to her neck.
“Blayne,” she breathes.
“Yeah, baby?”
“Bedroom. Now.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I scoop Reggie up in my arms, her laughter bubbling against my chest as I carry her down the hall to my bedroom. The second I set her down, she’s on me, her hands tugging at my shirt, pulling it over my head with an urgency that makes my blood heat. I kick the door shut behind us.
Her fingers are already working the button of my jeans, and I catch her wrists, slowing her down just enough to kiss her again.
Her lips are soft, eager, and when her tongue slides against mine, I groan into her mouth.
She tastes like summer, like lemonade and pie and something sweeter, something that’s just Reggie.
“Blayne,” she murmurs, her hands breaking free to roam my chest, nails scraping lightly over my skin.
The sensation sends a jolt straight to my groin, and I’m hard as hell, pressing against the denim still trapping me.
She notices, her eyes glinting with mischief as she palms me through my jeans, and I have to bite back a curse.
“You’re gonna kill me,” I mutter, grabbing her hips and pulling her against me.
Her sundress rides up, and I slide my hands under, finding the smooth, warm skin of her thighs.
She gasps when my fingers brush higher, over the edge of her panties, and I love how she reacts to every touch, every graze, like she’s just as desperate for this as I am.
“Bed,” she says, her voice breathy, and I don’t argue.
I back her toward the mattress, kissing her the whole way, my hands roaming her curves.
Her waist, her hips, the perfect swell of her ass.
She tugs at my jeans again, and this time I let her, stepping out of them as her dress hits the floor.
She’s standing there in just her black lacy bra and panties set, all soft skin and dangerous curves, and I take a second to just look at her, my heart pounding like I’m a teenager again.
“Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” I say, and there’s a confidence in her smile that makes my chest ache.
She reaches for me, pulling me down to the bed, and I settle over her, bracing myself on my forearms so I can keep kissing her, tasting her.
Her long, shapely legs part, letting me settle between them, and the heat of her glorious cunt against my dick is almost too much.
Her hands slide down my back, nails digging in just enough to make me hiss, and I kiss my way down her neck, nipping at her collarbone.
I unhook her bra with one hand, tossing it aside, and when I take her nipple into my mouth, she arches under me, a soft moan spilling from her lips.
I tease her with my tongue, swirling and sucking, while my hand slips lower, dipping under her panties.
She’s wet, so damn wet, and when my fingers find her clit, she bucks against me, her breath hitching.
“P… please,” she whispers, her voice raw, needy. I love hearing her like this, love knowing I’m the one making her feel this way. I slide her panties down her juicy thighs, and she kicks them off, her hands already reaching for my boxers, shoving them down with a determination that makes me grin.
“Sheesh,” I tease her, but I’m just as bad, worse.
I settle back between her thighs, kissing her deeply as I line myself up, teasing her entrance with just my tip.
She’s trembling under me, her hands gripping my shoulders, and when I push inside slowly, we both groan.
She’s tight, perfect, and I have to pause for a second, buried deep, just to keep from losing it.
“Move,” she breathes, her hips shifting, urging me on, and I do. I start slow, savoring every inch of her, every soft gasp and moan she makes. Her knees go to my shoulders, and I pick up my pace, thrusting hard.
“God, baby,” I groan, my lips brushing her ear. “You feel so fucking good.”
She whines my name, her hands fisting in the sheets as I angle my hips, hitting a spot that makes her gasp sharper, her body tightening around me.
Her breath turns ragged, her moans louder.
I can feel her getting close, her muscles clenching around me, and I’m right there with her, the pressure building low in my gut.
“Come for me, baby,” I murmur, kissing her hard, and that’s all it takes. She cries out, her body arching off the bed as her orgasm hits, her walls pulsing around me. It’s too much, too perfect, and I follow.
We collapse together, panting, her arms wrapped around me like she never wants to let go. I press a kiss to her temple, her cheek, her lips, both of us still catching our breath. She smiles up at me, lazy and satisfied, her fingers tracing my chest.
“Worth sneaking away for?” I ask, my voice hoarse.
She laughs, soft and warm. “Oh, yeah. Let’s do it again before they start blowing up my phone.”
I grin, already half-hard at the thought. “Gimme five, and you’re on.”
* * *
An hour later, we’re lying in my bed, breathing hard and completely wrecked. Reggie curled against my side, her fingers tracing patterns on my chest.
“We should probably head back,” she says, but she doesn’t move.
“Probably.”
“They’re gonna know what we were doing.” I smirk. She laughs against my skin. All warm and soft. “You’re terrible.” Then she says quietly, “I love you.”
“Good. Because you’re stuck with me.”
“Am I?”
“Definitely. No take-backs.”
“What if I snore?”
“I’ll deal.”
“What if I hog the covers?”
“I’ll get us more.”
“What if I’m cranky in the morning?”
“I’ll make you coffee.”
“What if…”
I roll over and pin her under me, cutting off whatever she was about to say with a kiss. “Stop,” I tell her. “Stop trying to give me reasons to run.”
“I’m not…”
“You are. And it’s not gonna work.”
“Why not?” She asks in a soft voice.
“Because I’m not going anywhere. Ever.”
Regina’s eyes widen. “Ever?”
I nod and kiss her long, deep, and thorough. Put in there everything I’m not equipped to share with words. “We should probably talk logistics,” I mumble against her lips.
“Logistics?” Reggie gives me the most adorable puzzled look.
“Yes, baby. Like where we’re gonna live.” She just blinks, so I add, “Here.”
“Here?”
“You and the kids move here.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
“You sure?”
I give her a look. “Babe. This place is too big for one person. And your cottage is too small for five.”
“Oh, my God…” Her parted lips form a smile, her eyes shining. “The kids would love it, Blayne. All this space, the big yard…”
“And you would too, right?”
“Yeah, baby. I would.” Her voice is soft, her gaze tender, her fingers gently brushing my hair. And that smile on her lips… fuck, I’d rip out my heart to keep seeing it every day for the rest of my life.
“So we’re doing this?”
“We’re doing this.”
* * *
That evening, we’re tangled on the couch when my phone rings. Unknown number, but I recognize the area code.
“Andy?”
“Brother! Heard through the grapevine you got yourself a woman.”
I glance at Reggie, who’s pretending not to listen while very obviously listening.
“News travels.”
“Miss Bee says you found someone.”
“Yeah.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“Come on, son. Talk to me.”
I shift, uncomfortable with feelings talk even with Andy. But he waited. Gave me space to sort my shit when I needed it. Least I can do is try.
“She’s… different.”
“Different how?”
“Stubborn. Mouthy. Too smart for her own good.”
Andy chuckles. “Sounds like trouble.”
“The worst kind.” I watch Regina roll her eyes at me, and chuckle. “Can’t imagine anywhere else I’d rather be.” I squeeze her thigh.
“That’s how you know.”
“Know what?”
“That it’s real. When the trouble’s worth it. When you can’t imagine life without their particular brand of chaos.”
“It’s recent, Andy.”
“So? took me one dance with Bee to know she was it for me. Fighting it just wastes time.”
“I’m not fighting it.”
“Good. You happy?”
The question catches me off guard. Am I happy? I look at my girl in my shirt, in my life.
“Yeah. I am.”
“Then that’s all that matters. You hold on to her.”
“Planning on it.”
“Good man. Give my best to everyone.”
“Will do.”
“And Blayne? Don’t wait too long to make it official. Woman like that, someone might try to steal her.”
“Over my dead body.”
His laugh booms through the phone. “That’s my boy. Take care.”
“You too, Andy.”
I hang up to find Regina watching me with soft eyes.