Chapter 14
Fourteen
Reggie
I’m lying in bed staring at the ceiling when I hear the soft scrape of something against my window. My heart immediately starts doing backflips, because I know exactly what that sound is.
Or rather, who it is.
I slip out of bed and walk over to the window, pulling back the curtain to see Blayne balanced on the thick branch of the tree outside my bedroom.
He’s still wearing his dress pants from the dance, but he’s lost the jacket and tie, and his white shirt is rolled up at the sleeves, exposing his corded forearms. And I can see the grin on his face in the moonlight.
I open the window as quietly as possible.
“You actually climbed the tree,” I whisper.
“You told me to climb the tree.”
“I was being hypothetical.”
“I don’t do hypothetical.”
He swings one long, muscular leg over the windowsill, then the other, landing in my bedroom with surprising grace for such a big man.
“This is insane,” I whisper, but I’m already reaching for him.
“Completely insane,” he agrees, pulling me against his chest.
The kiss is immediate and desperate, like we haven’t seen each other in weeks instead of hours. His hands tangle in my hair, and I can taste mint on his tongue like he brushed his teeth before coming over. Well, I did shave…
“How was the rest of the dance after I left?” I ask when we break apart.
When he brought Annalise home, she was asleep in his arms, and we quietly put her to bed before he left through the door. And now he’s back…
“Perfect. We had a great time.” His giant hands slide down to my ass, and his voice gets rougher. “But I spent the last hour thinking about this.” He gives me a squeeze.
“Just this?” I press into his hard body, loving the feel of his long, hard cock against my belly.
“Yeah, and getting you out of these.”
I’m wearing a tank top and shorts, nothing fancy, but the way he’s looking at me makes me feel like I’m dressed in silk and lace.
“The kids are right down the hall,” I remind him in a hushed tone.
“Then you’ll have to be very quiet, gorgeous,” he whispers next to my ear, his hands all over my body, already making me pant.
“Excuse me, you’re not exactly known for being quiet.”
“I can be quiet.”
He grins wickedly, then proves his point by kissing me again, soft and slow this time, like he’s got all the time in the world. His hands slide under my tank top, skimming over my undersides of my breasts, and I have to bite my lip to keep from making noise.
“Bed,” I whisper against his mouth.
“Yes, ma’am.”
We move to my bed, shedding our clothes as quietly as possible. His shirt hits the floor, then my tank top, then his pants. By the time we fall on the mattress together, we’re both breathing hard and trying not to make a sound.
“God, I missed you,” Blayne murmurs against my chest. Licking and sucking at my skin.
“It’s only been a few hours,” I moan.
“Way too long.”
His mouth finds that spot just below my ear that makes me arch against him, and I have to press my face into his shoulder to muffle the sound I make.
“I said, quiet, gorgeous,” he whispers, and there’s a dark edge in his voice.
“It’s your fault,” I whimper, clutching at his arms while he devours my breasts. Lapping and biting my skin, sucking my nipples deep into his mouth. His blue eyes never leaving mine.
“Be a good girl for me, and I’ll reward you.” The promise makes everything between my thighs clench.
Blayne takes his time, using his mouth and hands to drive me wild while keeping me just on the edge.
He kisses me deep, all tongue and teeth.
Finger-fucks me until I’m trembling, all the while tweaking and pulling on my nipples.
Then he licks my pussy so good I see stars, alternating between sucking on my clit and pushing his tongue deep inside me.
When I finally come apart under him, it’s with his fat cock balls deep inside me, his big, rough hand over my mouth and his name mumbled against his calloused palm. Heaven.
After, we lie tangled together in my bed, trying to catch our breath.
“I should go,” he says after a long while, but makes no move to leave.
I nod tiredly.
“Don’t want to,” he mumbles into my hair.
I let out a small, tired laugh. “I know, handsome. But if one of the kids wakes up…”
“I know.”
But instead of getting up, he pulls me closer, and I let myself relax against his chest. Just for a minute. Just until my heartbeat slows down.
“Thank you,” I say quietly. “For tonight, for Annalise. For being so perfect with her.”
“I should thank you. She’s perfect.”
My heart swell. “She adores you.”
“Feeling’s mutual, baby.” He kisses my temple.
“Blayne?”
“Yeah?”
“Are we still pretending this is casual?”
The question slips out before I can stop it, and I immediately want to take it back. We agreed on no strings, no expectations, no talk about the future.
But lying here in my bed, in the house where my children are sleeping, after watching him dance with my daughter like she was the most important person in the world… things don’t feel so casual anymore. This feels like something else entirely.
“Do you still want to pretend it’s casual?” he asks me right back.
“I asked you first.”
“Smart-ass.”
He nips at my chin, making me let out a small giggle. We are so gonna get caught. Then he’s quiet for a long moment, his fingers tracing patterns on my bare shoulder.
“No,” he replies finally. “I’ve never been good at pretending.”
“Right, hence the disappearing acts whenever I was around in the past.”
I poke at his chest playfully, and he chuckles low, catching my finger and turning my hand to lay a kiss on my open palm.
“So what do we do now?” He asks.
“I don’t know. Figure it out as we go?” I shrug, but I’m grinning with all my teeth.
“I can do that,” he replies with another sweet kiss.
“Good. Because I’m not ready to have the big conversation yet.”
“What big conversation?” His thick eyebrows climb up his forehead.
“You know. The one where we define what this is and talk about feelings and make plans,” I say honestly, looking down to avoid his gaze.
“You scared of feelings, sweetheart?” He lifts my chin with a finger.
“Terrified,” I whisper.
Blayne laughs softly. “Well, you let me know when you’re ready for the big, scary conversation.” He presses his full lips to mine.
“What if I’m never ready?” I ask quietly, almost shyly.
“Then we’ll figure that out too. Together.”
Oh my God, could he be any sweeter?!
“I really should go,” he says again.
“I know.”
This time he does start to move, sliding out of bed and reaching for his clothes. I watch him get dressed, admiring the play of muscles across his back, the easy way he moves through my space like he belongs here. So hot, so beautiful, so… mine… Oh Lord, I’m in trouble.
“Same time tomorrow night?” he asks, buttoning his shirt.
“Depends. You planning on making tree climbing a regular thing?”
“Only if you keep leaving your window unlocked.”
“I didn’t leave it unlocked.” I laugh quietly, playfully slapping his chest.
He cocks an eyebrow, smirking wickedly. “Didn’t lock it either.”
He leans down to kiss me goodbye on more time, and it’s sweet, soft and makes me want to pull him back into my bed.
“Go,” I whisper against his delicious lips. “Before I do something stupid like ask you to stay.”
“Why would that be stupid?”
“Remember, three kids downstairs?”
“Right. Kids.”
Blayne straightens up, running a hand through his mussed hair. Looking so goddamn handsome, my insides hurt.
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” he says in his deep, quiet voice.
“You better,” I tease him.
He heads toward the window, shaking his head, a smile on his lips, then pauses. “Reggie?”
“Yeah?”
“Tonight was amazing. All of it.”
“It was, handsome.”
And then he’s gone, swinging back out through my window and disappearing into the night like some kind of cowboy superhero.
I lie in bed for a long time after he leaves, staring at the ceiling and trying to process what just happened.
Not just the sex, which was incredible, but everything else.
The way he looked at Annalise during the dance.
The way it felt to have him here, in my space, in my bed.
The way he answered when I asked about pretending this was casual.
I’m falling for him. Hard. And the scary part is, I think he’s falling too.
* * *
I wake up at six-thirty to the sound of someone moving around in the kitchen. For a split second, my heart jumps because I think maybe Blayne stayed, but then reality kicks in. He left. I watched him climb back out my window.
I throw on a robe and pad down the hallway, expecting to find Jaylen raiding the fridge or Annalise making herself cereal. Instead, I find Nia sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a knowing smirk on her face.
“Morning, Mama.”
“Morning, baby. You’re up early.”
“Couldn’t sleep. Interesting night?”
Something in her tone makes me look at her more carefully. She’s got that expression she gets when she knows something she’s not supposed to.
“It was fine. Why?”
“No reason. Just wondering if you enjoyed your… evening stroll.”
“My what?”
“Your walk. Around two AM. I heard you in your room.”
Shit. Shit, shit, shit.
“I couldn’t sleep either,” I say, trying to keep my voice casual. “Went to check the locks.”
“Uh-huh.”
Double shit.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Mama.” She gives me a look that’s way too mature for fourteen. “I’m not stupid. And my room faces the front yard.”
I stare at my daughter, trying to figure out how to handle this. She clearly saw Blayne’s truck, which means she knows he was here. But how much does she actually know?
“Nia…”
“Relax. I’m not going to tell Jaylen and Annalise. They’re oblivious anyway.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means they think Blayne’s just being nice. Taking Annalise to the dance, helping around the house. They don’t see what’s happening.”
“Which is?”
“That he looks at you like you hung the moon. And that you look at him like you want to climb him like a tree.”
I nearly choke on my own spit. “Nia!”
“What? I’m fourteen, not four. I know how this stuff works.”
“This stuff?”
“Dating. Sex. Relationships. Whatever you want to call it.”
I sink into the chair across from her, wondering when my baby girl turned into a tiny adult.
“How long have you known?”
“Known what? That you two have been drooling over each other since we got to town?”
“Nia!”
“Sorry.” She smiles sheepishly. And I have to bite back my own smile.
“So are you going to tell me what’s going on, or do I have to keep pretending I don’t notice?”
I look at my daughter. Really look at her. She’s sharp, observant and surprisingly mature for her age. She’s right. She’s not stupid.
“It’s complicated,” I finally reply. “We’re… figuring it out.”
“Do you like him?”
“Yes.”
“Does he like you?”
“I think so.”
“Does he treat you well?”
“Very.” I can’t help but smile again.
“Does he treat us well?”
“You know he does.”
She nods, apparently satisfied with my answers. “Then I approve.”
“You approve?”
“Yeah. Dad became an asshole who made you sad all the time. Blayne makes you smile. I like the smiling version of my mom better.”
I lay a hand on hers. “Baby, don’t call your dad an asshole.”
She meets my gaze, shrugging. “Just… be careful, okay?” she continues. “Annalise is getting really attached to him. If this doesn’t work out…”
“I know.”
“Do you? Because she’s already planning your wedding.”
“She’s what?” I almost shriek.
“She told Emma that she’s going to be the flower girl when you and Blayne get married.” Nia’s words, combined with a smirk and raised eyebrow, make me huff out a surprised laugh. “With a detailed description of her dress.”
Oh God. This is exactly what I was afraid of.
“Baby…
“I’m just saying. Kids bounce back from disappointment, but Annalise has been through enough already.”
“I know that, sweetheart.”
“Good… you guys just be careful, okay?”
And with that piece of sage advice, she gets up and heads back to her room, leaving me sitting in my kitchen wondering when my life became so complicated.
And why, despite all the complications, I’ve never been happier.