57. Christopher
fifty-seven
There are so many cars in the driveway at the farm, I park the truck on the grass. Skye hops out on her own and runs around the back of the white house to join the pack of kids running around.
I quickly round the front of the truck to get to Alexandra’s door.
It’s a perfect day. The air is brimming with Summer fun—the smell of Justin’s smoker, the laughter of children, the chirping of crickets, the sun up high in the bright blue sky.
And my girl.
Alexandra slides down into my arms, and I keep her there, nudged between the open door and the seat of the truck, soft and pliable against me, exactly how I want her, exactly where she belongs. Her body hums under my hands, and I can’t help but run my fingers under her flowing dress, against her soft thighs, up to the thin strap of fabric she wears as an excuse for panties.
I growl in her neck, and she half giggles, half sighs in response. I fist her hair, pulling her head back so I get her lips right where I want them.
“Christopher,” she says.
“What.”
“You’re messing me up.”
I claim her mouth, and her willing tongue says a different story. Messing her up is what she wants.
“Sure hope so,” I groan when I come up for air.
She exhales softly, her puffy lips and lidded eyes telling me she feels exactly the way I do.
“I can’t wait till tonight,” I say, stepping back and watching her smooth her dress and comb her hair with her fingers.
“Mhmm,” she purrs in response.
This is going to be a long day, but god am I going to enjoy it.
Skye is more than on board with Alexandra being my girlfriend, and with that out of the way, I know I’m not going to keep my hands off her today. I’ll have her right by my side, on my lap, or under my arm. I’ll have her every which way that shows she’s mine.
No more pretending we’re nothing to each other.
No more guys taking advantage and flirting with her.
I hand her the basket of buns I baked for the patties and hotdogs, and pull out the assortment of pies I made early this morning.
Alexandra freezes. “Why is she here?” she asks, her chin jutting toward Emma, who’s in the backyard.
I shrug. “Everybody’s here. She’s the CPA for King’s Farm. It’s Sunday. I guess she had nowhere else to go.”
Alexandra’s lips are a thin line, her brow is creased. I hate that I’m partially responsible for that. As much as I’ve joked I like the look on her when she’s jealous, I know the hurt and insecurity is real for her.
And I know how to fix it.
“Come here,” I say as Emma turns around and fixes her gaze on us.
Pushing the pies back inside the truck, I grab Alexandra by the waist and pull her to me with one arm. My other hand cups her nape and angles her just right. Dipping my mouth to hers, I nibble at her entrance. “Babe. It’s only you. It’s only ever been you. Kay? Now show her how you kiss your man.”
Her cheeks flush, and her eyes light up. God, she’s so fucking beautiful. She’s shy and hesitant but I will have none of it. She’s mine, and I’ll make sure she feels it. I fuck her mouth with my tongue, dipping her head back, my hand gliding from her waist down for a nice ass grab. She responds with the sexiest whimper, her body molding against mine, her tongue getting in the game. With her free hand, she grabs my hair and pulls it, all the while pushing my mouth harder against hers.
Yes.
That’s what I’m talking about.
Mine.
When we nudge apart, she gives me a small sigh. She stands taller. Her eyes are bright. Her confidence is back.
That was easy.
Emma is nowhere to be seen. I straighten Alexandra’s hair and dress, turn her around and give her a slap on the butt. “Let’s go,” I say, grabbing the pies, and pulling Alexandra back into the curve of my free arm as we make our way to the farmhouse.
After we say hello to Lynn and Craig, we drop the breads and pies on the kitchen counter laden with a bunch of other foods.
I point to two large, brown, open boxes lined with checkered wax paper. “Where’d that come from?”
“Fresh whoopie pies made this morning by Kiara.”
I growl. “Babe, you gotta taste that.” I tear a piece of the sandwich cookie and finger feed her, grabbing her against me.
Justin is fixing drinks and winks at us. “Sex on the beach for you guys?” It’s good to see him so happy about us. It warms my heart. Although, it’s a little over the top for him, but I’ll take it.
Alexandra gives him a dreamy smile. I take a bite and have to admit, Kiara is onto something with those. Never tasted anything like it.
Then Alexandra wraps her mouth around my fingers, licking the filling off, and my mind drifts in a totally opposite direction.
“Jesus, get a room,” Justin growls. “This is a PG gathering.” His gaze drifts to a pretty brunette I’ve never seen before. And what’s that about?
“Such a prude,” Alexandra teases him. “The kids are outside,” she adds before drifting away from me to stand on the wraparound porch. The truth is, we’re not demonstrative around Skye. We don’t want to make her uncomfortable. It’s sort of an unspoken agreement we have. But when she’s not immediately around us?
Forget it.
I grab us two Switchbacks and join her, my arm gliding loosely around her waist. From here, we have a breathtaking view of the King property, all rolling pastures and meadows lined by wooded areas in the background. Beyond the hill is a pond you can’t see from here, and creeks, and more farmland, and hundreds of acres more just waiting to be put to better use.
The King children are in their twenties and early thirties. Justin found his calling at the pub, and there’s no saying what Ethan, the eldest, will do with his life when, or if, he leaves the military. But the three youngest, Haley, Hunter, and Logan, are involved in expanding the farm business.
Their perfect family life used to be bittersweet to me. I loved it for them, but I felt like I’d never get to experience it for myself, even if they did everything they could to make me feel part of their family.
But now, with Alexandra by my side, I feel differently. We’re building something together too. We’ll work on making Red Barn Baking a model in the baking world, a business built to do good on the local scale. And we’ll be a family soon.
Justin crosses the porch to tend to his smoker down on the lawn, next to where Craig is firing up the barbecue. Kiara and some kids are preparing s’mores, and Colton is hauling logs next to the pit for tonight’s bonfire. Everyone here has their place, and so do I.
Having Alexandra in my life makes me whole. I don’t feel like a misfit anymore.
Justin walks back to us. “Meat is about ready, and Dad is going to start grilling. Wanna bring the buns down to the picnic table?”
“Sure.” I turn to Alexandra, but her attention is elsewhere—on a couple inside the large family room.
She frowns. “What’s Barbara doing here?”
When we left New York a couple of days ago, Barbara didn’t mention coming up to Emerald Creek. All she told me was, ‘You break her heart again, you’ll answer to me.’
“Is that… Jerry?” Alexandra adds on an exhale, her face suddenly pale, her cheeks blotchy.
“Who’s the woman with Uncle George?” Justin asks as Alexandra walks away from me to greet Barbara.
Is this family ever done with secrets? I close the distance keeping me from Alexandra.
Something is up, and I’m not letting my girl deal with this on her own. I tuck Alexandra right back where she belongs, under my arm, and I like how she fits perfectly there. How she relaxes into me. How she clearly belongs there.
Whatever shit is going on between Barbara, Uncle George, and Alexandra, I won’t let it affect her. We are our own little unit. No one gets to pop our bubble of happiness.