Chapter 19
Tuesday
Saturday mornings are for sleeping in, coffee and books, and lazing the day away. Or is that Sunday?
I wish I knew what I liked to do on the weekends, but nothing Loch has suggested could coax me out of this bed right now.
I don’t seem to be able to summon the same energy he has in the morning.
He returned more than an hour ago, has showered, made breakfast, and then showed me an app of “Top Things to Do in New York City.”
I had drifted back to sleep at one point until he busted me and dove onto the bed, effectively waking me up again.
I’ve been scrolling the app ever since. Frustrated by the lack of any recollection of these places, I ask, “Wonder what the bottom things to do are? Oh wait. I know. Getting mugged and having amnesia.”
“I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.”
Keeping his funny bone in suspense makes me laugh. “Why would I joke about getting mugged and having amnesia?”
“That’s what I thought, but the way you laid the groundwork for a punchline was top-notch.”
“It’s a joke that would never land.”
His brows squish together in the middle. A few days ago, that appeared to be his resting face, but something has changed in that time, and the lines have eased along with his demeanor. “See? I have no idea if you’re being funny.”
I toss the phone to the bed and roll over to face him.
Still feeling too far, I decide I need to touch him all over or have him over me.
I need his comfort and heat. Getting to my knees, I straddle him and then lay my body with the length of his.
Loch’s arms come around me. He even kisses the top of my head while continuing to scroll.
“What do you like to do on the weekends?” I ask, closing my eyes while using his chest as a pillow.
“I have no idea anymore. My brother and I used to find a court and play basketball or head back to Beacon and spend the weekend with my family. Now, I work.”
“Mm. That’s why you never fail. It’s work, work, work all the time.”
“I’m thirty, Tuesday. What I do now is the biggest predictor of how my career will turn out. Working hard is not a bad thing.”
“Not bad. Perfect. Too perfect.” I thought I wanted to sleep right here, but that seems less likely by the second.
I lift my head and rest my chin on him. With his head resting on a pillow, he gives me his gaze, which makes me smile.
“You are so much more than you realize. You’re funny and .
. .” I want to blush from how fast he made me come. “Incredible in bed—”
“This is how rumors get started.”
“See? Funny. But you don’t show it to the world very often.”
“I don’t show them how incredible in bed, your words not mine, I am either.” His hand covers my left shoulder blade, wrapping half of me in a hug. “Law isn’t generally a lighthearted profession. Have I become a dud?”
“I don’t know what a dud is, but you’re not one of them. That’s my point.” I lay my head back down, listening to his heartbeat.
“I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. I work ridiculously long hours, I spend little time at home, I’ve been known to sleep at my office, and I end up canceling ninety percent of my dates due to my caseload.
So yeah, I don’t have much time to give people, and even fewer deserve it.
I’m selective, and some might think that callous.
That’s not how I see it. Driven to the point of exhaustion, I don’t have many opportunities to have a good time and crack jokes.
If you’re in my life, it’s because I want to spend time with you. ”
Not rushing in with a response, I lie there quietly enjoying our time together, but then I realize that his words are different from his actions. “But you’ve cleared your schedule and opened your life up to me.”
He places the phone on the nightstand and rolls us over until he settles on me.
I wrap my legs around the back of his legs and rub the back of his neck, going higher into his typically perfectly styled hair.
It’s not today. It’s sex-messed, and he’s never been hotter.
I love that he gets a little messier for me and lets me see his carefree side.
“You gave me a good reason. I knew what I would miss if I let you slip away.”
“Which is?”
“A chance to have a life.”
I kiss him, wanting to give him everything he needs, and it quickly deepens.
But when our lips part before we get a chance to tangle beneath the sheets, I stare into those eyes that have quickly gone from stranger to safety.
“What if I was brought into your life to help you remember who you really are, just like you were brought into mine?”
Loch is still, so still that I worry I said something wrong. He places a kiss on my neck and then higher until our gazes catch again. “Maybe we both needed saving.”
A hurricane of emotions storms through his irises before he reaches into the nightstand.
There’s something about how rough he is when his knee spreads my legs farther apart, his hand pins my hip to the bed, and his eyes roam my body that tells me I need to hold on—to him, to this bubble we’ve created, to this moment before it slips away.
When he pushes into me, my eyes close, and I allow myself a moment to feel not only our physical connection but also the emotional one that’s been blooming all along. The fullness inside me makes me realize that it’s not only my body that’s complete but my heart doesn’t ache anymore.
Loch is a part of all my existing memories.
He’s been with me since before I woke up.
Standing steady by my side, he’s a pillar I can cling to day or night, and now the only one who knows me inside and out.
I memorize this moment with him, wanting his fingerprints to mark me as a reminder of how much he’s become my life.
It’s too late to save myself. Despite how people warn about not rushing into relationships, I’m already so invested in him. Nothing else matters anymore.
Driving me wild, Loch pushes my body to the brink of ecstasy before pulling me back to reality and sending me soaring again.
I come before he does but give myself wholly to this man, eagerly riding him until he can no longer hold on.
The tips of his fingers dig into my hips.
I want to be marked, to be owned in this way by him.
If I need to leave tomorrow, I want to feel where Loch left his fingerprints.
Breathless and tired, I lie on top of him. His hands stroke my back, and he kisses on my head. Life in the present has suddenly become precious, now knowing that everything could change in an instant.
“Are you nervous?”
Loch looks down at me, our hands clasped tightly between us. “Not nervous, just . . . I’m not sure. It’s my brother and Dad, Lark. They’re great and good fun. We get together all the time.”
“Not with a woman on your arm.” I’m not naive enough to think he’s an altar boy.
As a matter of fact, I know he’s not by how talented his mouth is, and yes, he didn’t lie when he told me his mouth was magical.
My body still vibrates in the aftermath of what he did to me on his kitchen bar.
The stone counter may have been cold, but his mouth, ohhhh my .
. . I fan my face, not wanting to be beet red meeting his brother and sister-in-law.
Much less embarrassing myself in front of his father again.
Just outside the entrance to the restaurant, he pulls me around and holds my hand between us. “You’re not arm candy, Tuesday.”
I rock forward, trapping the heat we’re creating between us on this wintry night. Smiling up at him, I ask, “What am I, Loch?”
“Not one rational thought comes to mind.”
“Then tell me what does.”
“Girlfriend . . .” He looks away and takes a deep breath as if he’s tempering what he really wants to say.
I understand too well. I’ve been feeling much the same.
I press against him. “Nothing about us or this circumstance makes any sense to me either, but I can’t imagine anyone else I would rather be with.
” When I falter, not afraid of him in any way but of acknowledging my true feelings out loud, he brings his arm around me and holds me closer, giving me the confidence to share my heart.
“I’ve been going along for the ride to see where I end up.
But maybe it’s not about being a passenger on this journey, but instead the driver, directing it where we want to see it go. ”
“What does that mean to you?”
“That as much as I love hearing you speak so openly of dating and having an official title, this feels, we feel like so much more.”
“I agree.”
Most people need three words to make them feel complete. I only need two from him—I agree. I lift, and he leans down, our mouths meeting in the middle. The sweet aftertaste of our admission coats our kiss, but the fire always burns within for when we’re alone again.
A throat is cleared . . . technically, three. We jump apart as if caught breaking the rules. As soon as I see our three dinner companions staring at us, my face flames like a bad sunburn after a long day at the beach. One day I can only dream that I don’t wear every emotion on my face.
It’s easy to see the resemblance between the three men—all mythological gods in their own right. And then his sister-in-law, stunning with her brown hair that reflects the lights, kind smile, and green eyes that shine despite it being night. How can a family be so beautiful?
This is actually getting a little ridiculous. I probably stand out like a sore thumb with my light hair to their dark, exempting his dad’s salt-and-pepper mix. My sky-blue eyes are the opposite of the comfort of their earthier hues.
I’m not usually one to pick apart my looks.
I’m confident, even after waking up in a hospital bed with no recollection of who I am.
I’ve grown to love my body even more because of what it went through.
But I will say, being in the land of mythical creatures—Loch’s family—definitely makes you question who got the golden ticket in the gene pool lottery.
“Hi, I’m Lark.” She holds out her hand. I don’t know why, but I lean in and hug her. As if she was holding back before, she embraces me.
When we pull back, I say, “It’s so nice to meet you. I’m Tuesday.”
She takes hold of the sleeve of her husband’s coat, and says, “This is my husband, Harbor.”
“Hello.” His eyes are similar to Loch’s—warm and inviting.
We shake hands. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.” My gaze darts to Loch. “Not from him. I barely get him out of the office these days.” Nodding beside him, he adds, “But my dad said you two had quite the meeting.”
I laugh. “I know how to make a first impression.”
His dad leans forward, taking my hands in his. “Good to see you again.”
“You too, Mr. Westcott.”
“Call me Port.”
Huh. I tilt my head, unsure if I should mention it, but curiosity gets the best of me. “I’m noticing a trend with your names. Loch. Harbor. Port. They’re all associated with water.”
Loch starts to laugh. “My parents thought they’d throw all reason out the window and give us this insufferable connection for life.”
Maneuvering Lark in front of him, Harbor locks her in his arms, and says, “Or as our parents would tell the story, they already had a head start with theirs. My mom’s name is Delta.” Tipping his head in concession, he adds, “Loch, Harbor, Noah, and Marina. The teasing at school was brutal.”
Lark starts laughing and then gives him a little elbow to the stomach. Looking up at him over her shoulder, she says, “Why do I find it hard to believe you were ever teased?”
“I’m a work in progress. I wasn’t always the man you see now.”
“Yeah, okay, let’s not do this. I like Tuesday too much to risk revealing our weirdness just yet,” Loch says, chuckling with a shake of his head. He slides his arm around the small of my back and brings me to his side.
With my hand resting on the front of his coat, his words sink in. I freeze, not moving an inch, except for my eyes that jump from his brother’s widening eyes to Lark’s that look like she’s in on a secret to his dad beaming with a smile.
I think it takes those same expressions staring back at Loch for him to realize what he just said.
The moment it dawns in his eyes, his hold on me tightens, and he turns us around.
“Our table should be ready.” All signs of the fun he was having disappear as we start for the entrance.
He mutters, “Fuck,” under his breath before he opens the door to the restaurant.
The others follow, soft laughter trailing, but we all caught what he said. That’s when I realize he was telling me the truth the best he could. I’m not just arm candy or a woman simply joining the family for dinner. I’m heart candy to him.