A knot pulls in my chest. There"s never been a question that my family comes first. Always. And I hate knowing that by turning the WHC job down, Liv will still feel responsible for what she thinks is a missed opportunity. No matter how much she doesn"t want to change our lives.
I finish up some other work and shut down my computer. I check all the doors in the b.u.t.terfly House to make sure they"re locked and turn off the lights before going upstairs.
I stop in Nicholas"s room. He sleeps with his fists bunched up on either side of his head, exactly the way he did as an infant. His mouth is open, a faint whistling coming from his nose with every breath.
Makes no sense that we only have one heart to contain all these emotions. I brush my hand over my son"s head and pull the blanket up around him before going into the master bedroom. Liv is in bed, a book open on her lap and her head tilted to the side as she dozes.
I put her book on the nightstand and turn off the light. After changing into pajama bottoms, I climb into bed. Liv turns to me sleepily like she always does, a movement as dependable as the sunrise, tucking her head under my chin and shifting her body against mine. No matter how hard she sleeps, she always turns to me when I get into bed. I wrap my arms around her and pull her closer.
A perfect fit. My head fills with the scent of peaches. Any lingering tension in my chest disappears. I feel Liv start to wake, to realize I"m there.
"Oh, sorry," she whispers, rubbing her cheek against my shoulder. "I really was waiting for you."
"Yeah, I could tell by the way you were snoring. Very seductive."
She chuckles and pokes me in the stomach. "I do not snore."
"Uh, sure you don"t," I a.s.sure her.
She pokes me again and lifts her head, her thick hair tumbling over her face. I reach up to brush it back, sliding my hand over her cheek. She shifts upward to press her soft lips against mine. I breathe her in, letting the feel of her fill every part of me.
"Before I fell asleep, I was thinking about our honeymoon," Liv says.
"What were you thinking?"
"I was remembering one afternoon," Liv murmurs against my mouth, running her hand across my chest. "We"d just been to the Rodin Museum, and we stopped at a patisserie to get some brioche to have with coffee when we got back to the apartment. The second we stepped outside, the skies just opened up with a torrent of rain, like Zeus himself had ordered a thunderstorm. Lightning cracked through the black clouds, and everyone outside started hurrying for shelter.
"I tucked the bag of brioche under my sweater, you grabbed my hand, and we started running toward the apartment like we could somehow escape it. But it was pouring so much that we were soaked within seconds, and then I stumbled on the curb. You stopped to steady me, and we were both absolutely drenched, water streaming into our eyes and ruining our shoes. And do you remember what we did?"
"I remember."
"We looked at each other and started to laugh." Liv presses kisses over my cheeks, down to my jaw and neck. "I can still hear your laugh, echoing against the old buildings and cobblestones, more resonant than the thunder. We were laughing so hard we couldn"t move, so we just stood there, getting more drenched with every second. By the time we managed to regain our composure and get back to the apartment building, we were literally soaked to the skin. We left puddles of water all over the stairs until we finally reached the apartment."
She circles her hand over my chest, her warm mouth sliding over the side of my neck, her hair like silk against my skin. Her touch alone fires heat through my blood. When she rubs her full b.r.e.a.s.t.s over my chest, my c.o.c.k starts to harden.
"Do you remember what happened then?" she whispers.
How could I forget?
I fist the length of her hair into my hand and pull her head up. Her brown eyes are heavy with growing desire, her pale skin colored with a slight flush.
"I remember," I say before pulling her into another kiss.
The door slamming behind us. Turning to look at Liv, her hair plastered to her head, her eyes bright with laughter, rain trickling over her face. My mermaid wife.
My wife.
Grabbing her shoulders, crowding her up against the door, crushing her mouth with mine. Her gasp of surprise, then her open, eager response as she parted her lips to let me inside. Both of us laughing again as we struggled to peel the wet clothes off each other right there in the foyer. Water evaporating into steam.
"Best storm I"ve ever been in," Liv remarks, lifting her head with a smile, her breath hot against my lips.
"What happened to the brioche?" I ask.
"They landed on the floor, and we squished them when you rolled me over."
"Oh, yeah."
An image of her rolled over flashes in my head-her beautiful, round a.s.s perched right in front of me, her legs spread in invitation. Her desire-dark eyes as she turned to look at me over her shoulder, breathlessly begging me to f.u.c.k her.
l.u.s.t surges through me. I start to reach for the folds of her nightgown, but she pushes away from me.
"Don"t move." She lifts her gown over her head and drops it to the floor.
I groan. The sight of her naked jerks my c.o.c.k into full hardness. I reach into the waistband of my boxers and grab my d.i.c.k, squeezing it. Liv rises to her knees, all voluptuous curves, her full b.r.e.a.s.t.s topped with stiff, dark pink nipples. I reach out to caress them, palming their weight before sliding one hand between her thighs.
"Oh!" She gasps as I probe into her damp s.e.x, her c.l.i.t quivering against my forefinger. She grabs my wrist. "Dean, wait. Not yet."
Reluctantly, I pull my hand away, beckoning her closer.
"C"mere," I order. "I want my wife."
"You have your wife," she a.s.sures me, lowering her head to kiss the hollow of my throat. "Every minute of every day. And right now she"s going to have you."
She trails kisses in a line down my chest and over my abdomen, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s sliding over my thigh. When she cups the bulge of my c.o.c.k through my pants, heat jolts through me. Liv glances up at me with a smile, tracing the edge of my pants before hooking her fingers into them and tugging them down. My d.i.c.k springs free like it just escaped confinement.
Liv murmurs something low in her throat, wrapping one hand around the shaft and stroking. Ah, s.h.i.t. Her cool fingers against my hot skin almost makes me come. A grunt escapes me as I push up into her fist, both wanting her to get me off and wanting this to last for hours.
Her breath puffs against my aching shaft as she licks the tip. Pressure tightens my entire body. I inhale a rush of air when she starts taking my c.o.c.k into her mouth, enveloping me in wet heat. I grip her hair at the nape of her neck to keep it from falling into her face and concealing the view.
I love watching her lips slide over my shaft, her eyes half-closed with her thick lashes like feathers. She circles the base of my d.i.c.k with her hand, lowering her mouth halfway down before sliding back up.
It"s so f.u.c.king good that I could come any second, but I want to be deep inside her when I do. I pull her up toward me, grasping her hips to roll her onto her back. Her eyes are glazed with l.u.s.t, her breath coming in little gasps, her skin flushed. My perfect wife.
I slide my hands over her naked body, pinching her nipples as I get between her legs, spreading her thighs apart to expose her wet p.u.s.s.y. I circle my thumb around her c.l.i.t before lowering my head to lick her cleft.
"Dean!" Liv gasps, twining her fingers into my hair as she arches upward. "Oh, G.o.d."
Her body vibrates with need. I settle between her thighs, sliding my tongue over her folds and back down into her tight slit. Little moans stream from her throat as she writhes underneath me, her fingers clenching and unclenching in my hair, her legs winding over my shoulders.
Ah, Christ. My d.i.c.k throbs against the bed sheet. The taste and scent of my wife fills my head. I spread her open and push my tongue into her, feeling her start to tense with urgency.
"Oh, Dean, hurry." Liv grabs my shoulders, trying to pull me up to her. "I need you to f.u.c.k me. Please."
I get to my knees, position myself at her opening, and sink into her with a groan. f.u.c.king heaven. All thought disappears into blinding heat and the drive for release. Liv"s cries of pleasure fire into my blood. Her hot, sweaty body jostles beneath mine as she meets every thrust, her beautiful t.i.ts bouncing, her hair spilling over the pillow. I edge my hand between us to find her slippery c.l.i.t. She reaches up to grab the headboard.
"Oh, G.o.d," she gasps. "Dean, I"m so close."
"Do it." I rub her c.l.i.t harder, gritting my teeth with restraint. "Christ, you feel amazing."
"Wait... just there." She bites her lower lip, her eyes darkening. "I"m going to... please... oh!"
She lets out another cry and clenches her p.u.s.s.y around my shaft. The sensation of her shuddering is too much to withstand. I thrust hard, explosions firing through me as I shoot deep inside her. So d.a.m.ned good. So d.a.m.ned perfect.
Liv wraps her arms around me, her breathing heavy. I roll us both over so I can pull her on top of me. She stretches out, every curve of her body fitting to mine, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s pillowed against my chest. I stroke my hands over her back to her a.s.s.
"If thinking about our honeymoon gets you this turned on, I"m going to dig up all our old photos," I tell her.
"Don"t need photos, professor." Liv smiles and taps her temple. "It"s all up here."
For me too. I still wish we could live it all over again.
Liv kisses my throat and tucks her head underneath my neck. As she settles against my chest and drifts into sleep, everything fades except her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO.
OLIVIA.
I step into the Wonderland Cafe, comfort descending over me when I hear the familiar sounds of conversation and laughter, the clink of silverware, the bustle emanating from the kitchen. Allie is working at the front counter, her head bent as she organizes the morning"s receipts. She glances up as I approach.
"Welcome to Wonder... oh, hi, Liv."
"Hi, Allie." I hold out the potted lantana plant I"m carrying. "Peace offering."
"No peace offering necessary, since you and I were never at war." She comes around the counter to take the plant from me. We exchange a hug.
"I"m sorry," I say. "I know I went over the top."
"We all do sometimes." She shakes her head with a smile. "Just ask my dad about my college days."
She sets the plant beside the register and nods to an empty stool at the counter. "Have a seat. I"ll bring you tea and cookies."
Feeling as if I"m being welcomed back into the fold, I sit at the counter as Allie brings me a fresh pot of Darjeeling tea and a plate of Yellow Brick Road cookies. I tell her how the town council is handling the aftermath of the storm and that everyone is hoping we can recreate the festival next year-the Bicentennial Plus One Festival-and maybe turn it into an annual event.
"Are you still in charge?" Allie asks.
"Lord, no. My festival planning days are over. Before the storm, we did do quite well at the auction, raising enough money for the Historical Society to start the restoration. Archer wants to talk to your father about the depot architecture."
"My father would love to get involved," Allie says. "He just finished work designing a modern office building, but historical architecture is his thing."
"Thanks again for all your help with the festival," I tell her. "How"s everything been going here?"
"All right. We invited the kids from Becky Harrison"s birthday party back with their families-on different days-for free dinners and cake, and we gave all the kids a party gift bag. That smoothed things over quite a bit. I also added guest limits to all the party packages, so we won"t have that kind of situation again."
Relief fills me. "That"s wonderful, Allie. Thank you so much."
"Hey, Liv, the place looks great."
Allie and I look up to see Jessica Burke entering the cafe, her curly brown hair pulled back into a bun. I reintroduce her to Allie as she hitches herself onto the stool beside me. I push the plate of cookies toward her in invitation.
"I was heading over to Java Works when I pa.s.sed by," she tells me, pulling a laptop out of her satchel. "Figured I"d stop here instead. Okay if I just sit and work?"
"Stay as long as you like," Allie offers. "What are you working on?"
Jessica grimaces. "Medieval history job applications."
"Any leads?" I ask.
"Nothing close by, but I"m applying wherever I meet the qualifications," Jessica says. "There"s an opening at UC Riverside, but I"m not all that nuts about moving that far away from my mother."
"Does Dean have any ideas for you?"
"Yeah, he"s contacted a bunch of people on my behalf, but nothing"s come of it yet." Jessica shoots me a rueful smile. "Guess I should have listened to my dad when he said a PhD in medieval history wasn"t going to lead to an outpouring of job offers."
"Following your bliss is far more important than multiple job offers," Allie advises sagely. "I was an art major, for heaven"s sake. But if I hadn"t been, I"d probably never have partnered with Liv to open Wonderland."
My heart lifts at the implication she still considers it good fortune that she and I went into business together.
"And look at Dean," Allie continues. "He"s the rock star of the medievalist world. Get that man some leather pants, right?"
Jessica and I exchange amused looks at the idea of Professor West in leather pants.
"Dean is an exception," Jessica says. "I mean, don"t get me wrong. I know I"m a good historian, but I harbor no illusions I"d ever be offered the a.s.sistant director position at the World Heritage Center. And yet Dean tells me he"s going to turn it down."
"Really?" Allie swings her gaze to me. "So you"re not going back to Paris?"
"Well, no." I shift, vaguely uncomfortable. "Dean started the Medieval Studies program at King"s. He"d never want to leave."
"It"s a shame," Jessica says. "The job is made for him. And without him, I"m pretty sure the Youth Experts program is doomed."
Well, great. I can just add that to my cauldron of guilt, which is like a witch"s brew I keep stirring. Dean won"t take the job because of me, and now I"m not only jeopardizing hundreds of important, historical sites, I"m also dooming the hopes and dreams of eager, intelligent students.
"I should get going." I glance at the clock and climb off the stool. "Good to see both of you."
"You too," Jessica says.
"See you tomorrow," Allie says.
"What"s going on tomorrow?" I ask her. "I don"t think I have anything on my calendar."
"You"re on the schedule for the morning shift." Allie takes out her phone and starts pressing b.u.t.tons. "I"ll email the schedule to you. August is a busy month, so we have some planning to do."