Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sam
She slept nearly two hours later than her usual the next morning.
And when she finally did wake, it was to a million delicious little twinges making themselves known all over her body.
Her ass ached, inside and out, but she couldn’t stop grinning as she admired the lingering welts in the bathroom mirror before making her way out to the kitchen.
Where she found her son, scrolling on his phone and sipping a cup of coffee. Ethan glanced up, and it wasn’t until his cheeks went red that she wondered exactly how much noise she and Dylan had made the night before.
Praying her own cheeks weren’t as pink as they felt, she padded over to the coffee pot and poured her own cup, doctoring it with plenty of sugar and milk before taking that first life-giving sip.
“Morning,” she managed to croak out after a couple such sips. “Sleep okay?”
It was a completely benign question, one she’d asked him hundreds of mornings just like this one. But the pained look he sent her way nearly had her snorting coffee through her nose as the laughter burst out of her.
“Sorry, not sorry, son. You’re the one who showed up unannounced.”
“Trust me, I have more than learned my lesson on that front.”
Setting her coffee aside, she crossed to the table and laid her hands on his shoulders, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of his head.
Her baby boy, the light of her life. There had been a time when absolutely nothing had mattered more to her than his happiness.
And while she was still willing to do absolutely anything to make sure he was taken care of, for the first time since he’d made his way into the world, she realized she was perfectly fine putting her own wants, her own needs ahead of his own.
Huh.
Still, she did feel a little guilty about how uncomfortable all of this was making him. “How about an omelet?”
The hope of a child coming home to their favorite childhood memories lit his eyes. “The fluffy kind? With lots of bacon?”
“Is there any other kind?”
Giving his shoulders another squeeze, she fell into the comfortable pattern of fixing her son breakfast.
And tried not to think too hard about where his best friend had disappeared to.
“He went to pick up donuts.”
Mission: Failed. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Ethan rolled his eyes. “You keep glancing at the door every five seconds and you’ve nearly dropped two eggs into the bowl. I would have told you if you’d just asked.”
Heat rose to her cheeks. “Sorry, I just didn’t want it to be weird.”
“Weird went out the window when I found you half naked on the couch with his head between your legs.”
“Jesus Christ, Ethan.”
“I’m just saying,” he said with a shrug.
Silence fell, more strained than it had been, dragging on for several long seconds until he spoke again. “You look happy.”
“I am happy.”
“No, I mean…” Blowing out a breath, Ethan rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “You kinda have this, like, glow. I’ve never seen you like this. It looks good on you.”
“It feels good on me.”
“Good. That’s… good.”
“Such a way with words,” she teased as she poured the beaten eggs into a sizzling pan.
“I’m trying here, Mama.”
Oh, her sweet baby boy. “I know you are. And I appreciate that this is incredibly hard for you.”
“It’s getting easier.” Rising from his chair, he placed his empty mug in the sink and turned to her, a ghost of a smile on his face. “But you know what isn’t hard?”
“What?”
“Seeing you happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you, Mama.”
Blinking back tears, she stared up at him. “God, when did you get so grown-up?”
“Around the same time your boyfriend did, I imagine,” he said dryly.
“Brat.” She grabbed a dish towel to smack him with as the laughter bubbled in her chest.
“Well, isn’t that a pretty sound.”
Carrying a familiar pink box, Dylan stepped into the kitchen and grinned. And Sam’s breath caught in her chest as he placed the box on the table and stepped straight to her, cupping her face in his hands and brushing a sweet, almost chaste kiss over her lips.
Almost.
“Morning, babygirl.”
“Morning. Want an omelet?”
“Absolutely.”
Releasing her, Dylan poured himself a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter next to Ethan. “You get that new World of Warcraft expansion pack yet?”
“No.”
Dylan’s grin flashed. “Wanna see it?”
“Hell yeah.”
She watched as they both made their way out of the kitchen, chatting excitedly about stuff she’d never understand.
And she knew, deep in her heart, things were going to be all right.
Dylan
Nearly two months had passed since Ethan’s “surprise” visit to see his mother. He’d come home one other time, for the Fourth of July, but he’d been very careful to let them both know ahead of time and to knock very loudly before letting himself in.
All in all, Dylan couldn’t be happier with how his relationship with Sam had flourished over those two months.
She still fought him when he pushed her limits, but that only gave him plenty of opportunities to redden her adorable ass.
And maybe he was just seeing what he wanted to see because he was so hopelessly in love with her, but he could swear she smiled more and brighter these days.
The only small fly in the ointment at the moment was his internship.
He’d expected them to make an offer by now, and the fact that they hadn’t was a bit of an itch under his skin.
Enough so that he’d started putting out feelers to other biomed companies in Atlanta to see what his options were.
None of them were as enticing as where he currently was, but his options were limited without uprooting Sam’s entire life and dragging her across the country with him.
Thinking of his babygirl made him grin as he remembered how she’d looked that morning, all flushed and pouty over being punished first thing in the morning.
She’d begged to stay up later the night before to watch a new episode of her favorite show and he’d allowed it with the understanding that if she didn’t get up on time in the morning she’d start her day with a spanking.
Predictably, she’d snoozed three alarms before he’d finally dragged her over his lap.
He still wasn’t sure if she was more upset about the spanking or the fact that he’d fucked her face in the shower without allowing her to come as part of her punishment.
Pulling his phone from his pocket, he tapped out a message.
Dylan:
How’s your bottom feeling, babygirl?
Sammie-girl:
It’s fine, you big meanie.
He couldn’t help but laugh as he imagined her glowering down at her phone. Teasing her had quickly become one of his favorite hobbies.
Dylan:
Is that any way to talk to your Daddy, little girl?
Sammie-girl:
It is when my Daddy is, indeed, a big, fat meanie-head.
Dylan:
Is that so?
Now he could see her, cheeks flushed with embarrassment and desire as she fought the urge to squirm in her office chair.
Sammie-girl:
Umm…
Dylan:
That really is too bad for you. Because a nice Daddy would let you come while you ride his cock tonight. But since I’m so very mean, I guess that means you’ll have to go to bed with a wet, needy little pussy instead.
Sammie-girl:
Daddy, no! I didn’t mean it! You’re the nicest Daddy EVER.
Dylan:
Hmm. Am I nice or am I mean? Guess you’ll have to find out tonight, babygirl.
He was still grinning down at his messages, waiting for her to respond when an email notification popped up. And his heart slammed right into his ribcage.
What the hell did Pacificum Biomedical want with him?
Fingers trembling ever so slightly, he opened the email.
Mr. Cross,
My name is Sylvia Hart, and I’m one of the Talent Acquisition Specialists at Pacificum Biomedical.
We are very interested in setting up a meeting with you to discuss an opportunity with our company.
Please let me know when you’re available for a video call and I will make myself available at your convenience.
Holy fuck. Holy fuck. Pacificum Biomed wasn’t just one of the best, they were the best. Landing a job with them right out of college was pretty much unheard of.
And they wanted him.
They were also on the other side of the country. Which meant they were completely out of his reach. He’d promised Samantha that he wouldn’t ask her to leave the only home she’d ever known just so he could chase his dreams and he meant to keep that promise.
But fuck it was going to be hard to turn them down.
Maybe he should meet with them, see what they were offering. If nothing else, he could use the offer to let ATLantis know he had other options, see if that lit a fire under them.
Hitting the “Reply” button, he typed out an email letting Sylvie know what his availability was, then immediately opened his texts with Ethan.
No. If he told Ethan, he would tell Sam, and then she’d… well, he wasn’t exactly sure how she’d react but his instinct told him it wouldn’t be pretty. And there was no point in upsetting her when he had no intention of actually taking the job.
Swiping away from his texts, Dylan shoved his phone back in his pocket, and went back to work.
And tried not to think too much about the opportunity of a lifetime he was preparing to walk away from.