Chapter 14 Bash
BASH
I give them space.
Try to figure out how I feel about Remy and my brother.
Try even harder not to let the ache in my chest swell out of control when I think that she might choose him. Not me. Mom said that this was all about Remy, that it didn’t matter how we felt so long as she and the babies have everything they need.
Maybe Cash wasn’t paying attention.
Or maybe Remy Jones has a hold over him too. I won’t stand in their way. If she is in love with my brother, I’ll give them my blessing, walk away, start over someplace new. In time, perhaps I’ll even learn to be the cool uncle to their twins. Whatever makes life easier for everyone.
I’m fooling myself of course. Remy Jones is everything I ever wanted. I thought that I could play this how Mom suggested, ask her what she needs, and give her everything while maintaining a safe distance. But that isn’t how this works.
I fill a crystal tumbler with brandy and down it in one.
Repeat the process. I take the third glass and stand in front of the living room windows overlooking the city below.
Lights are still blinking across the city.
The subways are still open. Buildings are still aglow.
My casino is still open for business. It’s the city that never sleeps after all.
But there’s a certain stillness in the air that belongs to the dead of night.
A time for slowing down. A time to rest. A time for reflection.
Only I feel as though my energy reserves have been drained and I’m running on empty. Ironic given that I’m the CEO of a prestigious casino and hotel resort in the heart of Manhattan. If my staff could see me now…
A sound from the kitchen causes me to turn around.
My breath hitches somewhere inside my chest when I find Remy standing in front of the refrigerator with the door open and her back to me.
She’s wearing a thick white robe from the poolside cabana, her feet and legs are bare, and her hair is piled on top of her head and twisted into a knot.
I didn’t know she was still here. When I left them in the living room, I stood under the steaming shower in my ensuite until my thoughts stopped hammering my skull, pulled on some sweatpants and listened to an old Neil Diamond album on my sound system.
When I came back through, they were gone.
She takes a carton of fresh orange juice from the fridge and fills a tall tumbler from the cupboard. She leans back against the counter and sips the juice. Eyes down, she hasn’t noticed me yet.
I should announce my presence; I don’t want her to think that I get my kicks from stalking her. But this moment feels precious. Something I should hold onto, a small treasure to tuck safely away inside my heart, never to be repeated.
Remy is still in the first trimester, but pregnancy suits her.
Her cheeks are rosy, her skin is glowing, and I can see the swell of her breasts beneath the robe.
My eyes track to the dip between her collarbones visible above the collar.
What I wouldn’t give to kiss that spot right now.
I can already see her with her head tipped backwards, gripping the counter, while the robe falls apart.
I must groan out loud at the mental image because she glances up at me with wide eyes. “Bash?” She blinks to make sure that she isn’t imagining me. Or maybe she’s confusing me with my brother. It’s a sobering thought. “I didn’t know you were there. Did I… Did I wake you?”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
I join her in in the kitchen. I top up her glass and fill a second glass with orange juice. No point trying to sleep now.
“Bash, I… I want you to know that… I never meant for any of this to happen.”
She is apologizing when I was the one who accused her of working for her ex.
“You don’t have to explain. I was a fucking idiot, Remy.” I guzzle orange juice and track the chilled liquid as it goes down.
“When?”
I can’t help smiling. “When I let you walk out of my life. I should’ve followed you. I could’ve found you, but I talked myself out of it. Convinced myself that it was a one-off, that you’d take one look at me pouring my heart out and laugh about it with your friends later.”
“Egos can have that effect.” She shrugs.
“What would you have done if I’d come to college and told you how I felt?”
“Depends on what you were going to say.”
Here’s my shot. My chance to say it once and then shut it down if she tells me that she fell for Cash first.
“I’ve never met anyone like you. I didn’t think that women like you existed.” I tug the knot in her hair free, and damp stringy strands tumble over her shoulders.
“You mean women who don’t mind standing barefoot in your kitchen with no makeup on and a sudden craving for asparagus spears.”
“You want asparagus spears?” I can’t tell if she’s joking or not.
“Sure, why not.” There’s a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “Show me what you can do, Bastien Murray.”
She’s mocking me. She knows that all I have to do is make a phone call.
It’s hardly a superpower, and Remy Jones isn’t the kind of woman to be impressed by personal waiter service, but I slide my cell out of my pocket anyway.
Whatever she wants. You go out there, and you make her life as fucking comfortable as possible.
My mom’s voice plays inside my head like an advertisement jingle.
I hold her gaze when I speak to the restaurant manager. “Can I get asparagus spears sent up to my apartment?”
I end the call and pocket my phone. I can’t be certain, but it feels as if the distance between us has shrunk. I can smell chlorine in her hair, I can see the freckles at the corner of her eye, I watch her chest rising and falling with each breath.
“Will you share them with me?” she asks.
“Depends on how hungry you are. I wouldn’t want to deprive you of a midnight snack if it will stop you fainting on my kitchen floor.”
She laughs, and I get a jarring thought: I can’t remember the last time I laughed out loud. “No more fainting.”
She leans closer, and the robe parts underneath the loosely fastened cotton belt. She’s naked underneath. I’m close enough to open the robe and gaze upon her beautiful body, but I don’t. This is a new game, and I don’t yet know the rules.
Instead, I take both sides of the robe, tug them together, and secure the belt more tightly. “You’ll get cold.”
She watches me intently. “I don’t think there’s any risk of that.
” She has more to say; I sense it on the tip of her tongue waiting for the right moment to dive overboard.
“Bash, when I… when we… I didn’t know, but at the same time, I think I kinda did.
Not that I would’ve deliberately had sex with you both.
I’ve never… I’ve only ever been with…” she sighs heavily.
“I guess what I’m trying to say is that I wanted you anyway. ”
I have a hundred questions.
I don’t ask a single one. I pull her to me and crush her mouth against mine.
I tug the robe over her shoulders, feel her naked body pressed up against me.
She stands on tiptoes, fists my hair, kisses me back, and I know this situation is about to get a whole lot wilder and more complicated, but I’m powerless to stop it.
The one thing I do know is that I’m not apologizing for wanting her this time. I’m not sorry. I’ve never wanted anyone so desperately that I’m willing to risk everything. Including my brother.
I pick her up and sit her on the breakfast counter. Remy grips my shirt and pulls me with her as she lies back. She spreads her legs wide and puts her feet on my shoulders.
“Is this what you want, Remy?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“Even though—” I can’t say my brother’s name out loud.
“Even though,” she confirms. “Bash, I don’t understand what’s going on either. But I do know that I don’t want to lose either of you.”
The last time I saw Remy, I refused to believe that she was the innocent party in this situation. I don’t know what has changed. Her? Me? All of us perhaps. But I already passed the point of no return when she came to my apartment to look for her sister’s pendant.
I don’t need it in writing.
With her feet on my shoulders, I lower my head and kiss the mound between her legs. “I want to kiss every inch of you.” I twist my neck and kiss the soft skin of her inner thighs. “Inside and out.”
“Hard and fast?” The amusement in her tone is evident.
“If that’s what you want.”
She digs her heels into my back and pulls me closer. “I thought you were going to show me what you’re made of.”
“I thought I already did.” I drag my fingertips gently across her stomach.
“I want more, Bash.”
“Did anyone ever tell you how demanding you are?”
“No.” She slants her eyes. “It’s a new skill, apparently.”
“I wholeheartedly approve.”
Her clit is soft and swollen. I lick it gently, ignoring the hard and fast request, and feel it throbbing on my tongue. Sliding a finger inside her, I probe and lick and suck. Her orgasm begins to surface almost immediately.
“Bash…” her voice has softened too. “Will you catch me if I fall?”
“Always.”
Her legs tremble violently when her climax rips through her. I suck harder on the swollen nub, tracing its map with the tip of my tongue, committing to memory the sounds Remy makes.
When her body goes limp, I free my cock from my pants, slide my arms underneath her, and lift her down from the counter, spinning her around so that her back is facing me.
I spread her ass cheeks, and Remy leans forward, gripping the edge of the counter and shuffling her legs apart to give me the right angle.
I slide my cock deep inside her, until her pussy touches my pants.
“You’ve got all of me.” I lean over her and cup her breasts in my hands. “They’re bigger than I remember.”
She peers at me over her shoulder. “More than a handful?”
“So much fucking more.”
She rubs her ass against me, curving her spine to take me deeper. “Think you can handle it?”
“Challenge accepted, mo chailleach ailainn.”
She groans out loud. “Say it again, Bash.”
“Mo chailleach ailainn.”
Her juices ooze out of her. Her pleasure is my pleasure. Maybe we’re destined to hard and fast sex, but I’m not complaining. I know I’ll die a very happy man.
“Mo chailleach ailainn,” I repeat. “My beautiful witch. Are you ready for me?”
“Yes, Bash. Tá mé réidh. I’m ready.”
My shaft throbs inside her as I stumble over my rhythm. “You learned Gaelic?”
“A little. Just in case.”
I lean closer and whisper in her ear. “Just in case?”
“In case you ever came back.”
“Oh, baby. I was always going to come back.”
I grip her hips and fuck her till I explode, her words repeating inside my head. Tá mé réidh. Tá mé réidh. Tá mé réidh.
My legs have barely stopped twitching with the force of my climax when the elevator door swishes open and my personal kitchen assistant arrives with Remy’s asparagus spears.