Chapter NOVA
NOVA
My lust felt wrong when the girls were present. Over the last few days, I had struggled with spending time with the three of them. Boone was so sexy, and my body craved his touch. Every time my lust took over, I felt guilty and sinful.
Swimming was normally a fun activity with the girls. Our new Baton Rouge house had a nice pool, and we spent plenty of time in the water whenever we visited. I never got flustered there. Of course, I didn’t have a wet Boone distracting me nearby.
“How come you don’t swim at the Sleepy Eye pool?” he asked and swam up behind me while the girls floated at the deep end.
“It’s a long walk,” Lyric told him again. “We can’t walk that far. We’ll fall down.”
“Why can’t you drive?” Boone asked and hugged me to his chest. “There’s a shower and bathroom for you to change after you swim.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” I mumbled.
“Or you were too shy to flash your fine ass for the entire neighborhood to see,” Boone whispered in my ear before letting me go and swimming closer to the girls. “My sister and I used to race when we were little. Goldie always beat me until I got bigger. Then, I crushed her.”
“I’m crushing you,” Lyric told Skylar and began kicking wildly.
Boone encouraged the girls to race back and forth.
Sometimes, he swam along with them, pretending to lose.
Other times, he swam to me and cheered them on.
I thought he wanted the girls to be competitive rather than having them lounge in the pool.
Once the girls began yawning, I understood his real plan.
After returning to the condo, the girls and I washed off in the second bathroom. They talked over each other, telling me everything they loved about Boone’s home.
“We live here now,” Lyric insisted as I dried them off. “It’s our second house.”
“Third house,” I reminded them. “We have Lula’s house and the Baton Rouge house.”
“Three houses,” Skylar said and rubbed her eyes. “Can we stay here forever?”
“Just until dinner time.”
“I want to sleep here and swim tomorrow,” Skylar mumbled, barely able to keep her eyes open.
“I don’t have clothes for us to stay overnight.”
“We can wear these clothes,” Lyric whined, as her fatigue dragged down her mood.
“Why don’t you show me that you can sleep in this bed before we decide about tonight?”
The girls instantly ran to the bed while I finished dressing in jeans and a Baton Rouge T-shirt. They were under the pink comforter when I brought their sleeping bear to them.
“We’re going to nap so good,” Lyric promised as she cuddled closer to Skylar.
“Are you sure you don’t want a snack before naptime?”
The girls looked at me like I was nuts. They were barely able to keep their eyes open by that point. Swimming had stolen their energy.
“Mama,” Skylar whispered as her eyelids grew heavy. “Can you marry Boone? I want him to be our daddy.”
Her words hit me in the chest. I felt such guilt over them losing Chris, even if he had been a bad man. To know they could love Boone as a father gave me hope.
“I love Boone,” I whispered back. “And he loves me. We’re going to be a family.”
Lyric smiled at her sister as they hugged the bear resting between them. Behind me, Boone entered the room.
“This room has a camera,” Boone said in a soft tone and pointed at the corner. “We can watch you while we’re in the next room. If you need us, call for your mama and me. We’ll come running, okay?”
The girls looked at Boone as if he were magic. Their affection for him stabbed me right in the heart. Their uncle had felt like enough until they got a taste of Boone in the dad role.
Leaving the room, I found myself fighting tears. Boone closed the door and took my hand. We tiptoed upstairs, where he propped up his phone. On the video feed, the girls were already dozing.
“Don’t be sad.”
“I’m not,” I said and reached for him. “These are horny tears.”
A chuckling Boone met my affections with his own. “You looked so hot in that swimsuit.”
“I felt frumpy.”
“I’m sorry you can’t see yourself the way I do,” Boone said and slid my shirt over my head. “If you could see yourself through my eyes, you’d have a boner right now, too.”
Laughing, I soaked up every bit of his affection. Boone’s lips and mine remained locked together as our clothes ended up at the end of the bed.
I would have loved to spend the entire afternoon with him inside my body. Sex at Lula’s house made me nervous. I was terrified of making too much noise. This afternoon wasn’t much different. Despite my nerves, I still climbed on top and rode Boone to two orgasms.
Once I collapsed next to him, my earlier worries came crashing back down. I felt a frown on my face, even though my body hummed with pleasure.
Boone rested on his side and kissed my throat. “What’s wrong? Is reality not living up to your fantasies?”
“Oh, Boone,” I said, panicked that he would think he wasn’t better than any dream.
“You’re so much more amazing than I imagined.
I couldn’t really picture how you’d be with the girls.
I feared you’d only tolerate them like they were a job you had to do to be close to me.
Instead, you’re so sweet to them. The way you dealt with the boogeyman and that bully was perfect. ”
Boone’s dark eyes searched my face before he asked, “Then, why do you seem upset today?”
“It’s all happened so fast,” I said and cuddled closer. “But I don’t want to slow down. But I’m also not great at adjusting to change without fretting over every little thing.”
“What have you been fretting over today?”
“That the girls would be scared here. That I’d need to share your home with them. That I’m a bad mom for not wanting to share your home with them. That this place is dangerous. That us being here is upsetting other people. I’ve worried about every little thing, but I’m also really happy.”
As Boone considered my words, he looked around the room as if searching for how to respond. Finally, he wrapped his arm around me.
“Should we put our clothes on just in case the girls wake up suddenly?”
“Maybe, but I don’t want to.”
After kissing me, Boone grinned. “I never expected you to be stubborn. I’m excited about what else I’ll learn about you,” he said and rolled out of bed. “But I’m not excited about the girls knowing what my dick looks like. So, I’ll put on my boxers, just in case.”
Reaching for my shirt, I changed my mind and dropped back on the bed. “I feel like an overly dramatic teenager. I want to be lazy and selfish.”
“You didn’t get to have fun as a teenager,” Boone said and gave my butt cheek a nibble. When I laughed and squirmed away, he crawled over me and trapped my body under his. “You want to go wild. That’s why you spew attitude at Exile. You need a dad figure to rebel against.”
“But why is he spewing attitude against me?”
“He thinks you’re a little girl in need of saving. Change causes people to act out. I think once shit settles down, you and your brother will get along better.”
“I keep thinking my wild side will click on, and I won’t be afraid anymore. But I always feel anxious about the bad things that could happen if I go too wild.”
“Wild can mean many things. Goldie is tough in plenty of ways, but she’s afraid of marriage and kids.
My sister genuinely believes she’ll lose her steel spine if she falls in love.
In that way, you’re tougher than she is.
As time goes on, I bet you’ll find ways to be wild that feel natural for you. ”
Boone’s words made me realize I didn’t see the foxes correctly. I viewed them as fearless. They rode motorcycles, got tattoos, and jumped into fights. But they were women like me, with their own hangups and weaknesses to go with their strengths.
“The girls want to spend the night here,” I told Boone as he sucked at my throat.
“What do you want?”
“To be with you. Here or at the house doesn’t matter. But a little space from Dan wouldn’t hurt.”
“He’s irritated with me staying over, so having us here might give him a break from his bad mood.”
Grinning, I asked, “So I’d be doing him a favor by staying here?”
“Sure,” Boone said and kissed my belly. “Speaking of family, my mom hasn’t responded, and she hasn’t shown up. I’ve gotten no messages from my dad or Goldie. That means Yarrow isn’t on her way here.”
“I want her to like me.”
“She will.”
“What if she thinks I’m using you?”
“If you mean using me for sex, I don’t think she’d mind that.”
Grinning, I rubbed his head as he nibbled at my belly.
“You did really well with the girls today.”
“I’m crazy about them,” Boone said and then gave me a curious gaze. “Would you ever be interested in making more?”
“Yes,” I said before adding quickly, “How many more?”
“One or two.”
“You want a son.”
“No, I’m cool with another girl. There isn’t much difference between boys and girls except a boy’s ability to piss standing up.”
“Can it really be that easy?” I asked as he crawled over me and kissed my throat. “Can we become a family after only a week?”
“Yes. Life is about choices. I made the decision to stay away from you. Now, I’ve decided to love you with everything I am. Nothing will change my mind.”
The look on Boone’s face silenced my fears more than his words. He was a man completely at peace with what he was saying.