Chapter 6 #2
His chuckle was dark and lusty. “I am inside you, beautiful.” He twisted his fingers and pushed in again, licking her clit with a fever that make her gasp. She curled her fingers into his hair. Holding him there? Wanting him over her?
“So close,” she warned. “Oh God, Ryan. So good.”
“Let go. You taste so good. You’re right there, and I’m going to watch every second. And then after, I’m going to take you up again, my cock inside you, deep and hard—”
“Ryan.” She shouted it, the orgasm hitting her like a wall. Everything inside tightened down, and she couldn’t breathe. Could do nothing but moan—
He pulled his fingers free then rolled over her. His cock at her entrance, he pushed into her still convulsing body, and the orgasm rocked her right over another cliff.
His cry was guttural, need and pleasure wrapped in one. She wrapped her legs around him, dragging him deeper, clinging to his neck as he lowered his head to her shoulder and thrust. Over and over. Naked bodies sliding together, sweaty and hot and perfect.
What had started as a sweet connection flew apart at the seams and became a taking.
Not him from her, not her from him, but them together from the world around them.
Their tightly connected bodies, their partnership as lovers and friends—what they’d built together flared into a decadent ache growing white-hot until they both broke, moans and cries and gasps echoing off the walls.
When they held each other afterward, the music a rich heartbeat-like pulse in the background, Madison met Ryan’s eyes with a sated smile. “So.”
He laughed softly. “Yeah.”
The glow of five dozen candles that surrounded them was far dimmer than the love in his eyes.
“No, no, we can’t hang up yet. You still have to tell her the pool story.”
Charity leaned her chin on a hand and settled in for more talk time with her sister and sis-in-law.
A lazy Saturday morning. With a cup of coffee at hand and a lunch date with Dustin to look forward to, it had been a perfect day so far. “Who was doing adorable things at the rec center, Suz?”
On the other side of the monitor, Suz rolled her eyes then poked Chelsea in the side. “It’s not that funny.”
“Not to the mom, no, but to me, it was hysterical. Do the voices,” Chelsea commanded as she tugged on one of Suz’s dark dreads, a wide grin spreading.
Chelsea’s face shone, and the two of them looked so damn happy and in love.
Charity was once again awed by how well her and her sister’s lives had turned out in the end.
Maybe she and Cee had to put up with a living-under-a-microscope life when they were young, but now?
They were both with people who loved them unconditionally and didn’t care how much social media presence they commanded.
“Tell me,” Charity said. “And yes, use the voices if they’re appropriate.”
Suz settled back beside Chelsea. The two of them were curled up on their couch in Edmonton, about four hours to the north of Silver Stone.
Over the past couple of years she and Chelsea had been able to visit more often than before as Silver Stone had welcomed them with open arms. Plus, the new house Chelsea and Suz bought had a dedicated guest room for anytime Charity and Dustin could get away for a visit.
“Fine.” Suz sighed, but she was also snickering as she prepared to share.
Chelsea’s message alert went off, and she glanced down at her phone and frowned. “What the…”
When all the colour drained from her sister’s face, Charity shot upright. “Cee?”
Suz slipped an arm around Chelsea’s shoulders. “What’s wrong?”
Chelsea blinked, her expression frozen as her gaze darted over the phone screen. “It’s from our mother. She wants to talk. And more.”
“Oh, hell no. Not on your life.” Suz reached for the phone. “I will block that bitch for you. Wait, let me get her number first so I can sign her up for every spam list I can find.”
Nausea churned in Charity’s gut. She had her messages muted. Was there one for her as well? “I’m not hanging up, guys. Just checking to see if she tried me as well.”
A moment later, there it was. A message from the woman who’d turned them over to their grandmother to raise more than ten years earlier.
My sweet Charity.
I need to start by saying I’m sorry. What your father and I did to you girls wasn’t right, and I’m so grateful that Grandma Lily was there for you when things got rocky.
I’ve been working to become a better person for a long time now and as part of that, I’d like to see you and Chelsea to apologize in person. I’ll be in the area in a few weeks and plan to drop by.
Once we’ve reconnected, you can catch me up about what’s been happening in your life. Families need to stick together, and it’s my goal for us to be a family again. I might even move into the Heart Falls area. Wouldn’t that be lovely?
Your loving mother, April.
Fingers going numb, Charity flipped back to the video app where her sister sat with Suz all but holding her upright. “I have one too.”
They stared at each other for a moment before Suz spoke again, this time softer, but still as insistent. “Just because that woman contacted you doesn’t change a thing. You guys are under no obligation to speak with her. She doesn’t get any say in what happens going forward.”
“I know.” Chelsea and Charity said it at the same time.
Charity stared down at her hands and her engagement ring flashed brightly. A single spark of light that broke through the darkness in so many ways.
“I know…” Charity repeated, slower this time. “Because I have a rock-solid family that loves me unconditionally. You two. Dustin. The Stones. Fern and Cody.” She glanced up at the screen, the hurt from the flash from the past retreating enough for her to breathe again.
“But if she’s been working on…” Chelsea’s words died off. She swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and met Suz’s eyes. “If she’s been working to become a better person, that’s a good thing. But it’s not a thing that affects us.”
“Right, my love.” Suz pressed a kiss to Chelsea’s forehead. “We live in the here and now, with solid plans for the future. The past is done.”
So much rushed through her brain, Charity found herself clinging to the edges of the table.
People could change, and that was a good thing.
But even the reminder of what had happened in the past, between the lack of parental love and what was basically emotional abuse, sent Charity back into negative memories.
Not a place she wanted to go.
The end of the conversation was full of virtual hugs and affirmations of love, and that’s what made it possible for Charity to flip into solution mode.
When Dustin picked her up and they headed toward Diamond Valley for lunch, Charity was still mulling over her options.
They were parked outside the restaurant before the fact they’d both sat in complete silence for the past forty-five minutes registered.
She knew what was distracting her. But Dustin? He’d been quieter than usual lately, a clear sign that something was on his mind.
Time to get it all out in the open.
She laid a hand on his arm before he could open his door. “Wait a sec. I need to tell you something, and I don’t want to do it where we might be overheard.”
Dustin blinked as if coming out of a cloud. “Something wrong? You okay?”
“I’m fine,” she assured him. “Only I don’t want any eavesdroppers fueling the Dus-Tee social media tank again.”
He twisted in his seat. “Go on.”
“Our mother contacted both Chelsea and me today. Said she was working on herself, apologized. Threw dad under the bus a little, and then said she wants to meet in person. To be a family again.”
“Oh, hell no,” he said instantly.
A laugh managed to escape. “Suz said the same thing.”