Inked Ever After (10 page)

As if on request, she noticed a man and woman walking along
the surf, coming their way.

She panicked and tried to jerk away, but James held her in place.
“Relax. The only thing they’ll notice is a couple cuddling on the porch,
leaning on the rail. They can’t imagine that I’m between your legs, deep in
your pussy.”

Relax? Is he serious?

She was trembling, not clear if it was from fear or from
arousal—probably both. And she was burning up, sure her face was so red these
guys were going to think she’d sustained third-degree burns from the sun.
Unless they came closer, in which case they’d fast realize she was being nailed
from behind.

“Hiya. Lovely night, isn’t it?” the woman said, waving at
them.

Oh. God.

“Yes, lovely night,” James answered, shifting a little
farther forward, giving her more of his weight and his cock until he was
totally impaling her. “Easy,” he added only for her to hear, while he used his
strong arms to immobilize her.

Tate felt a sharp contraction and, closing her eyes, stifled
a moan. He was talking with the neighbors, and she was a split hair from coming
all over him, the tension in her core unbearable, her legs about to give out.

She waited for them to pass, her heart in her mouth, her
ears roaring, while James lazily and almost imperceptibly rocked against her.

Once they had their backs to James and Tate, she let out a
long breath that ended up in a ragged sob as James pulled back and then thrust
inside her hard and deep.

“Fuck, princess. You almost came in front of them. And
dragged me along. So fucking sexy. My cock is in excruciating pain here.”

“You’re out of your mind,” she reprimanded him, biting her
lip not to moan as he moved in and out of her.

“Maybe,” he conceded, fisting her hair and forcing her to
expose her throat to him. “But it turns you on. Your pussy is sucking me like a
greedy mouth every time I try pulling away. You want me.”

Yeah, this was nuts and risky as hell, but he was right; she
wanted him—badly. The nerve endings in her whole body were so oversensitized
they were tingling, and she could feel him on every inch of her skin, even
where they weren’t touching. James’s familiar and soothing smell was all around
her, in her, mingling with the salty air, and suddenly she was carefree and
wanton. She leaned forward a little, tilting her ass to give him better access.

“Like this, gorgeous. Take all of me,” he commanded, nipping
her neck and then soothing her skin with his tongue. He pushed all the way in
and stayed planted deep inside, his cock throbbing. “You know, I have this very
specific fantasy I want you to help me out with.”

“Only one?”

She felt his smile on her throat. “Want to hear about it?
This is by far the best of all.”

She nodded, her knuckles white from holding on to the rail.
“Sure, Catholic boy, lay it on me.” James and his raunchy fantasies. God only
knew what he was thinking now.

He whispered in her ear, “I have this fantasy where we spend
the summers here, you and I, sitting on this porch.”

“Screwing our brains out in public and getting arrested?”
Because she could see that. Fairly easily.

His chuckle reverberated through her. “No, baby. Watching
our kids playing around.”

She sucked in breath, her core convulsing at his words.
“James—”

“I want you off birth control. I want you pregnant with my
baby,” he continued, his thick cock grinding deep inside her.

She was totally overwhelmed. “Baby, this is hardly the place
or the moment to discuss—”

“This is the perfect place. The perfect moment,” he said,
pulling a bit out and then sliding in again. “You always let me totally in when
we have sex. No reservations. No fears. I get all of you. When I’m inside you,
all your walls crumble, even the ones you don’t know you have. I love you,
Tate. I want my child growing inside of you. Your body round with him. I want
to watch you nursing our baby on this deck,” he said, nuzzling her neck. “I
want my fantasy. And I want it now. Will you give it to me?”

She couldn’t think, couldn’t get a single word out around
the lump lodged in her throat, but she knew how she felt, so she nodded.

James tensed, his voice a gravelly growl. “I need the words,
princess.”

“Yes,” she said. “I want your baby.”

His cock jerked sharply, swelling even more. He fought to
control himself, his face hidden in her hair, his arms wrapped tight around
her. For the first time that night, he broke into shudders. “I swear to you,
I’ll be the best husband I know how to be, and the best father. I’ll bust my ass
all my life making your dreams come true.”

“I know, James,” she whispered. “I have no doubt about it,
because you already do.”

He began moving again, driving in with maddening precision.

After several strokes she couldn’t take it anymore. She squeezed
him with her inner muscles. “James, please. More.”

He sounded tortured. “Can’t, princess. I want to. You don’t
know how badly, but people are bound to notice if I bend you over the rail and
start pounding into you.”

Her thighs were trembling, her pussy clasping him tighter
and tighter. She wasn’t going to last much longer. “Right now…I don’t
care…about other people,” she said in short pants, pushing herself against him,
trying to force his hand. “Please fuck me harder.”

James wrapped one hand over her waist and immobilized her.
He delved under the dress with the other and cupped her core, rubbing her clit.
“And I will. As soon as we’re done here, I’ll drag you inside, wrap your legs
around my waist, and fuck you so hard you will feel me pounding in your womb.
I’ll go down on you and feast on that juicy pussy of yours until your throat is
raw from screaming my name. Take you from behind so deep you won’t be able to
walk straight for days,” he whispered in her ear as he pressed his hand against
her clit and thrust so far into her core she had to go on tiptoes to take him.
“But for now, I need you to stand still, take it as I give it to you, and come
in silence around my cock. I need you to work your magic, princess. Squeeze me
hard and tight and send me over the edge. Can you do that?”

She nodded. She was already more than halfway there, about
to come all over him at any second. The quiet part she wouldn’t bet on.

“Close your legs.”

She obeyed, feeling him, unbearably big, pulsing between her
thighs.

“James,” she sobbed, her insides already quaking.

Pressing at her lower abdomen with one hand, he grabbed her
clit with the other, tweaked, and she lost it completely. Letting out a
strangled sound, she threw her head back against his shoulder and bore down on
him, her pussy clutching him so hard, her whole body was locked in the
contraction. With the world exploding around her, she tried to remain silent,
while James buried his face in her hair and, with a low growl, gave himself to
her.

After their breathing somehow evened, he rumbled, “Fuck,
babe, I think you broke my dick.”

She giggled. Nope. It was alive and well; she could feel it
deep inside her.

She peeled her hands from the rail, her fingers still
hurting from gripping it so tightly. “Thank you, James.”

He shook with laughter. “For giving you an orgasm? You don’t
have to thank me. There’s plenty more where this one came from.”

“Not
that
. You
know what I mean.” She knew “thank you” wasn’t good enough a word, but it was
the only one she had.

“I know what you mean, sweetheart,” he answered quietly.
“You don’t have to thank me. I love you. Besides, I should be the one thanking
you. You just agreed to have my babies. And I’ll hold you to it.”

She squeezed his forearm, the one that was now draped over
her stomach while her core still erratically pulsed around him. “You won’t have
to hold me to it, because I want it too.” There was nothing she wanted more
than to have his baby. Give him a family. See James in her baby’s features.

“Notice I said ‘babies,’ not ‘baby,’ princess.”

“Ah, so here comes the fine print.” She turned his head to
him and kissed his jaw. “How many do you actually want?”

He pondered. “Well, I guess if you really insist, maybe I
could try keeping it down to the single digits.”

“What?” she all but shrieked.

He hugged her tighter, his muscular arms around her, and
laughed. “Kidding, baby. I’ll be happy with as many or as few as you will give
me.”

She melted at his words, like always. Whether he was talking
dirty, bossing her around, or being sweet, the result was one and the same; she
was putty in his hands.

There was no humor in his tone now. “You and I, this is it,
princess. We don’t flip out. We don’t run. We don’t hide. Whatever happens,
we’ll talk it out, and we will fix it. We don’t let it drive us apart. We don’t
let it destroy us.

“You keep your mask on if you want with other people, but
not with me. I won’t accept it.”

“What if you don’t like what’s behind it?” Tate asked
nervously.

“Babe, I’ve already seen behind the mask, and it’s all good.
There is nothing there I won’t love.”

“I never meant to hurt you, James. Ever. You have to believe
me.” She couldn’t live with herself if he didn’t.

“I know, but please don’t do it anymore. You can trust me to
cherish your heart and do right by you. You don’t need to put up walls to
protect me or you.”

Her voice was barely audible. “Okay.”

“Now,” he said with an amused tone, “the part where you got
me to shut up by offering me sex, I could live with. You know, if you feel
compelled to continue doing so. Can’t guarantee I’ll give up on the matter
after fucking you senseless, but hey, knock yourself out.”

She tipped her head back. “Was I that obvious?”

He snorted. “What do you think?”

“That you enjoyed yourself.”

“I enjoyed the sex,” he stated. “I hated you were hiding
from me.”

“I won’t hide from you anymore. I promise.”

She was the one who was going to bust her ass all her life
making him happy, because if anyone deserved total happiness, that was James.

He wanted her, all of her, and Tate was going to make damn
sure she never hurt him again with her hang-ups.

“Good,” he said, kissing her jaw. “After I discovered your
stalker’s e-mails, do you remember what I said I would do to your delectable
ass if you ever hid anything like that from me?”

Yes, she remembered very well. He threatened to turn her
over his knee.

“I’m not being stalked, so my ass is safe.”

A harsh sound tore from his throat. “I don’t think so. You
hid stuff. Important stuff. Your ass is so spanked, princess. As soon as I can
make my legs work again, I’ll get right to it.”

“Don’t you guys have an appointment at six to sample wedding
cakes?” Paige asked on her way to the kitchen. “Because you’re going to be late
if you don’t get going.”

Tate looked at him. “She’s right, princess. We need to go
now,” James said.

“Just a sec,” Tate said, riffling through invoices. “I just
want to leave this a bit organized for Elle.”

They were supposed to have gone straight to the bakery once
they’d returned to Boston, but they’d ended up at Rosita’s. James knew Tate was
still reluctant to burden Elle with too much work, afraid her sister would
bail. Not to mention today was Friday, they were fully booked, and he was
taking Tate back to the cabin for the night.

They’d spent the whole morning in Cape John on the beach,
swimming and lying lazily on the sand, where they got to meet several of their
neighbors. Little Carlos, or Charlie, as he went by now, had also stopped by.

“Is it true what I heard?” he’d asked.

“It depends,” Tate had said warily. “What did you hear?”

Charlie had smirked. “That old Mr. Beasley sold his cabin to
a tattooed gangsta from out of town.”

“Yep,” she’d answered, hugging James tight, a smile
splitting her face.

“Cool. The Mendiola clan at large is anxiously waiting to
see you and the gangsta. Don’t make them come get you. You know my grandma;
she’s lived here for fifty years and she still isn’t too crazy about the
ocean.”

“We’ll try to drop by soon,” Tate had promised.

“Tonight is wasabi explosion night at Kamikaze. I highly
recommend it.”

“Kamikaze? That’s the name of your place?” James had asked,
and Charlie had shrugged, a corner of his mouth quirking up.

“Only Japanese word my dad knew at the time of the epiphany,
man.”

James had shaken his head. Nuts. The whole frigging bunch of
them.

The last twenty-four hours had been intense to say the
least, especially yesterday. He’d known confronting her in Cape John was going
to be tough, but he’d had no idea how tough. Tate had crumbled on him,
literally. It had broken his heart. Then of course she’d started babbling about
putting up a front so that he wouldn’t regret marrying her, and he’d all but
lost it. It was unbelievable that she’d think she wasn’t good enough for him
when she was the best thing that had ever happened to him. There was nothing
more precious to him than her. Nothing.

While Tate finished with the invoices, James got a call from
Zack.

“What’s up?” she asked when he turned the phone off.

Work, work, and more work. “Remember that big client I’ve
been in contact with for the past month? Well, he wants someone to go to El
Paso to see his installations and give him an estimate already at the beginning
of next week.”

“Congratulations, babe,” she said.

They were getting ready to leave, when a petite woman
entered Rosita’s.

Tate stopped dead in her tracks.

The woman smiled shyly. “Hi, Tate.”

“Oh my God, Em! It’s you,” she said as she broke into a run
and hugged her. “What are you doing here? I thought you were in Seattle. It’s
so good to see you.”