Perfectly Toxic (The Sterling Shore Series Book 9) (37 page)

There are so many things just waiting to be put into place.

Ethan walks me over to the rocking chair, and gently places me in the seat. It looks antique, but feels brand new. It’s perfect.

My hands glide down the smooth, polished wood of the armrests, and Ethan kneels beside me, brushing a piece of hair out of my face.

“I started this project the night you admitted you were pregnant. I cleared out everything in this room. I want this baby, Bella. I want you. I want us together.”

“Because you love me?” I ask, smiling like an idiot.

He groans while rolling his eyes. “Because I love you so much that I can’t even function without you. You’re like a virus that won’t go away.”

He smirks, and I grin broader. “But you have an excellent immune system,” I quip.

“Lies. All lies,” he says quietly before his lips brush mine. “I love you.”

Those three words kill the humorous turn, and I grip the back of his neck, pulling him closer so I can kiss him like he deserves to be kissed. He’s lifting me from the chair and cradling me to him, but the action barely registers, because I’m too busy getting reacquainted with his mouth.

“I love you too,” I say against his lips when we’re forced to break apart and breathe.

His breath catches, but he recovers quickly as he runs his nose along mine, nuzzling me sweetly.

“I want you to move in with me. Your house is too small, and considering the fucked up plumbing in the ceiling, I don’t trust it.”

My smile only grows. He’s lucky I like his house. And my house isn’t small; he’s just a little spoiled to more luxuries and space.

“Okay,” I whisper, not feeling the least bit argumentative.

He leans back, and his eyes narrow. “On one condition,” he states suddenly.

My eyebrows go up in confusion, considering he’s the one who asked me to move in with him and now he’s laying out stipulations.

“Okay…”

“Communication,” he announces, and my heart squeezes. “Every healthy relationship has open communication. Always tell me everything, Bella. Never hold back.”

I nod, but he’s kissing me before I can verbalize my agreement as well. When I moan into his mouth, he curses, breaking the kiss again.

“What?” I ask, confused.

“I can’t fuck you until your leg heals. Allie let me know I could pop a stitch.”

I bet Allie was five shades of red when she doled out that information. Wish I had been there for that.

“We could do other things,” I point out with a smile. “There’s nothing wrong with my mouth.”

He groans like he’s torn, but then a devilish little smile curves his lips.

He starts carrying me through the house, and I note that everyone has left when we pass by the windows. The driveway only holds Ethan’s car now.

When we reach his bedroom, he gently puts me on the bed, and then he disappears into his closet. A few seconds later he emerges, and he’s holding a shiny new Magic Wand.

“I’ve already charged it.”

My eyebrows go up in surprise, but a twinge of excitement hits me.

“When did you get it?”

He shrugs. “Shortly after you told me Bananas chewed through your charging cord. Thought we’d get a chance to play. But kept forgetting about it in the heat of the moment.”

My smile spreads more by the second as he walks toward me. He cuts it on, and I gingerly push my shorts down.

“Eager much?” he muses, arching an eyebrow at me when I get my shorts off.

“Yes, please.”

He restrains a laugh while rolling his eyes, and he slides down on the bed beside me, pushing my shirt up. It dawns on me that I never put on a bra today, and all of our friends just saw me like that… Men included.

The thought vanishes though when Ethan gets my shirt off, because his mouth is suddenly latching onto my nipple, and some incredibly weird noise escapes me. Not that he seems to mind.

I’m suddenly squeaking in surprise when vibrations hit me right in the good spot, and my eyes cross when I realize Ethan is using the wand on me. His weight is pressed against my bad leg—far away from my injury—to keep me from using it and accidentally popping a stitch.

My good leg, however, is moving wildly, stretching out and bending up, trying to get away and get closer at the same time. When the climax hits me, my eyes screw shut, and I mumble a few incoherent things.

Ethan pulls the wand away, and I pant like a dog as I try to open my eyes. When I finally look up at him, his features are tense, and his boxers—when did he strip down to them?—are tented with the reason why.

Grinning, I snake my hand between us. “Your turn,” I tell him, grabbing him through the material.

He shudders against me, and his lips come down on mine for a brief second. “I want your mouth,” he says against my lips, causing me to grin.

“My Romeo,” I murmur teasingly.

Smirking, he climbs over me, getting on his knees as he straddles my face and grips the headboard. Right when he’s lined up with my lips, I lean forward and lick the tip.

Something creaks above me, but Ethan keeps his hips perfect still.

The irony isn’t lost on me. We spent most the first portion of our relationship skipping foreplay because we were both too greedy for the main event. Now it’s all we can do, since there’s no way we can be gentle enough with my leg.

But I can make sure he enjoys it while he patiently waits for these damn stitches to come out.

Reaching up, I grab him with both hands, and I suck him into my mouth as far as I can go. And I don’t stop until he’s calling my name and shooting down my throat.

I hate swallowing, but I’d continue to do anything to hear him sing those praises he’s pouring out right now. When I’ve drained him, he drops to my side and pulls me in close, running his lips along my forehead.

“Now I really love you,” he says, causing me to laugh as he grins against my head.

“Good. Because my hormones are going to be
sooo
fucked up. You’ll have to love me to endure it,” I tell him sweetly.

He feigns a groan, but he’s still smiling when he kisses his way down my cheek.

“I’ll just fuck you out of the crazy mood swings,” he deadpans.

“Sounds like a plan,” I say around a yawn.

He tugs me closer, spooning his body around mine as my eyes grow heavier and heavier. That picture perfect family image is back in my head, but this time, it feels real instead of a dream.

EPILOGUE

ETHAN

Two weeks later…

ME: Where the fuck are you?

BELLA: Is that for me? Or were you texting Tag again?

ME: Har. Seriously, where the fuck are you?

BELLA: Awww, you miss me.

ME: Bella…

BELLA: Ethan…

ME: …

BELLA: Don’t dot dot dot me. That’s my thing. And for the record, I’m sitting out in the driveway.

I’m out of my chair and ignoring everyone who is trying to speak to me as I make my way through the house and toward the front door, where I see Bella getting out of her car. Her stitches came out the other day, and I’ve been inside her every chance I’ve gotten. Hell, it was like inhumane torture to live with blowjobs and hand jobs for so long.

Yes, I realize how fucking spoiled I sound.

She grins at me knowingly when I grab her at the waist, and my lips are on hers before she can say a word. When she moans into my mouth, I’m forced to think about random shit to keep my dick from trying to go another round. Twice today doesn’t seem like enough.

Breaking the kiss, I lean back as she winks at me. Damn smug girl knows exactly what she does to me.

“What took so long?” I ask her as she reaches in and grabs her phone.

Just to be a dick, I slap her ass while she’s bent over. Hell, she’s so used to it that she doesn’t even react.

“My boss was begging me to stay, but I told her I wanted a private practice job.”

“But you’re not going back to work until after the baby is born, right? I thought we agreed on that. You could catch anything coming through the doctor’s office.”

She rolls her eyes. “No, I’m not going back to work until the baby is at least six months old.”

I breathe out in relief, because I’ve seriously been stressing out about that. Hell, I’ll be stressing even when it is time, because I don’t want Bella subjected to every fucking disease that swings by to get looked at.

I only thought I was obsessed and protective before. Then four days ago, I heard the baby’s heartbeat for the first time. It’s like it broke the last bit of sanity in me that was rationally holding me back from keeping Bella captive.

Now I’m losing my damn mind. But I have a while to convince her to never go back and risk exposure to who knows what kind of illness, so I’m biding my time.

“How is Daniel?” I ask her as she flicks a piece of lint off her.

“He’s great. He’s starting to get stronger on the braces. It’ll still be a few months before he can walk without them though,” she says, her smile growing. “And he wants you to come visit him again.”

Yes, she finally talked me into that. My worries about stealing the spotlight were in vain, because she’s still his hero.

I nod instead of answering.

“I take it everyone is already here?” she asks, looking around at all the cars.

“Yeah,” I say, not liking it one bit. It’s part of that irrational need to keep Bella to myself that has me hating this damn cookout idea. But… There’s a reason I agreed to it. I just hope Bella remembers that she loves me when I reveal that reason.

She threads her fingers with mine, and I lead her through the house to the backyard where everyone is already gathered.

The pool is still open right now, but I have contractors coming out to put a fence around it… A tight fence that a baby can’t possibly break into.

The longer her hand is in mine, the more I relax. Everyone is talking to her, and cracking jokes. I finally take a seat as Maverick walks over.

“Never thought you’d trade in your wild parties for tame cookouts,” he prods, smirking like the asshole he is.

I shrug, because the ribbing doesn’t bother me anymore. To be honest, I don’t even remember why I thought the parties were so much fun anymore.

“How’s Bananas treating you?” Bella asks Maverick, grinning wickedly.

He just arches an eyebrow while pocketing his hands. “I have no idea why you didn’t like that cat. She’s the sweetest thing there ever was.”

Dale smirks as he takes a seat beside me, as though he’s holding back a secret.

Bella rolls her eyes. “Whatever. That cat was just a host for a demon, and you can’t convince me otherwise.”

Allie calls her over, and she walks away. My eyes are on her ass as she leaves, but Maverick suddenly cuts off the view. I take in the fact he’s no longer smiling smugly, but he looks exhausted.

“You have to help me get rid of that crazy fucking cat. Soon!” he hisses, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Bella hasn’t overheard.

Dale bursts out laughing, while a slow grin crawls over my face.

“But she’s so sweet,” I drawl, mocking his words.

“She’s fucking evil!” He thrusts his hands at me, and I take in the numerous claw marks. “I was trying to jack off—”

“Too much information,” Dale groans.

“—and that bitch attacked my hands. She narrowly missed my dick,” Maverick goes on, dismissing the interruption from Dale.

I smother a laugh when he glares at me, but Dale has to walk away because he can’t stop laughing.

“And the farts… Oh the fucking farts that cat has are horrible.”

“Guess that joke backfired, huh?” I muse.

I doubt Maverick will be fucking with my girl for a while. Oddly, I don’t have any jealousy left where he’s concerned. Bella loves me, and there’s nothing that can convince her otherwise. Thankfully.

“What are we talking about?” Kode asks as he takes the seat Dale vacated.

“Pussy problems,” I deadpan.

“Define pussy problems,” Kode says.

“Maverick getting his ass kicked by a bare pussy,” I say, smirking as Maverick flips me off.

“Pussy has always been an issue for him,” Kode retorts.

“This pussy is the devil’s advocate,” Maverick grumbles.

“And the joke was pointless,” I say, shrugging as Bella nears. “I mean, after all, Bella quit waxing, and now it’s like an out of control jungle down there. I’m half worried a forest fire might happen if I cause too much friction,” I go on, watching with amusement as her eyes widen and her jaw falls open.

“You lying bastard! It’s still just as smooth as ever! And I—”

Her words die when I wink, and red paints her cheeks when she realizes her mistake and laughter erupts across the yard.

“What’s as smooth as ever, Aunt Bella?” Angel asks, confused, reminding Bella she was just yelling that out for the world to hear.

Bella glares at me, and I grin at her. I really fucking love her.

“Uncle Ethan’s real head. He wears fake hair,” Bella says pathetically, unable to come up with a good insult on the spot.

“Wa wa wa
,” Maverick chides mockingly, laughing when she shoots a glare at him.

Bella opens her mouth to say something, when her eyes suddenly land on something behind me, and her entire body goes stiff. I turn in time to see my surprise has arrived, and I take a deep breath, really hoping this goes well.

Bella is pale and frozen in place, and the mocking that was going on turns to deafening silence.

“Who are those people?” Angel asks, pointing a finger at our two new guests.

I almost worry that Bella is already too pissed to speak. The man and woman look ten years older than they did in the pictures Allie showed me, but I can tell it’s them.

Bella’s mother gives us an uncertain smile as tears gather in her eyes. Her father wipes his own eyes as he stares at us, opening and closing his mouth like he doesn’t know what to say.

Standing, I take Bella in my arms, protectively wrapping against her as they approach. Maverick and Kode walk away, offering us some privacy just as the couple reaches us.

Bella’s mother’s lip quivers, and her father clears his throat.

“We’re sorry,” is the only words her father seems to be able to speak.

“So sorry,” her mother adds, her voice breaking.

I’m not sure how it happens, but Bella is suddenly out of my arms, and she’s hugging her parents, who are both desperately clinging to her like she might vanish if they let go too soon. I decide to give them a moment, since this is definitely something she needs to do on her own.

Leaving them behind, I go to join Maverick by the tables. “We’re ready to cut the cake,” Rain tells us. “Should we wait on Bella?”

I shake my head.

“Nah. She’ll be a while. As long as things go well.”

Rain nudges me with her shoulder. “That was pretty damn good of you.”

“I have my moments,” I say absently as Bella turns and catches my eyes. She doesn’t have to say it. I see the appreciation and gratitude from here.

Allie slowly walks toward them, and I force my gaze away again, watching as Rain hands Brin the knife.

“Cut the cake. I’ll cut myself if I try to wield that monster of a knife,” she tells her.

“But we haven’t even had real food yet,” Brin states, confused as she takes the knife.

The cake is rounded on top, but there’s a lot of icing hiding the oval shape at the base, squaring it off enough to sell it.

“The kids have been begging for cake. Might as well eat dessert first.”

Brin shrugs, and Rye watches, unable to look away, as Brin struggles for a second. Just as she finally digs the knife in, the cake—or rather, the
balloon
disguised as a cake—explodes, and icing slings everywhere, mostly on Brin.

Her face is a mask of white as she calmly wipes the icing away from her eyes, leaving two slits in the mask of icing on her. She narrows her gaze on Rye while pointing the knife at him a little threateningly.

“You asshole!” she yells.

I notice Wren and Dane are already holding their daughters’ ears, as if they were anticipating a few words not meant for young ears.

“We said no more pranks, and you lasted all of two weeks? You think this is all a joke?” Brin yells, slamming the knife into the table so hard that it sticks into the wood.

Rye’s eyes widen, and he clears his throat. “Look at the—”

“I’ve tried, Rye. I’ve tried my damnedest to give you everything you want, and the one time I ask for something, you can’t do it.”

“Damn it, look at the—”

“I want us to be real. I want to know this is just as serious to you as it is to me,” Brin goes on angrily, verging on tears. “And you can’t do it, can you? You’re stuck here in this comfort zone, and you can’t just—”

“For fuck’s sake,” he barks, interrupting her this time as he storms over to the table and grabs the black box that has icing all over it. Yeah, it wasn’t easy to get that box inside that damn balloon. No one considered the fact that she might not see it after icing blew up in her face.

Unfortunately, Brin is already walking away, not noticing what he’s trying to hand her.

“Brin!” he growls.

She whirls around, ready to say something else, but he throws the box, and she barely catches it before it hits the ground in front of her feet.

“What is this? Another prank? A spider maybe?” she bites out, flipping open the lid.

Her eyes widen, and her entire stance changes as the cake and icing drip from her.

“I’m trying to fucking ask you to marry me!” Rye snaps. “It’s not like I could propose like a normal guy. Because we’re not normal! I don’t want to be normal! I love everything about us, and I never want to fucking lose you. Kids? You want kids? Then so do I. We’ll work it out together. You want a ranch in the backyard? I’ll buy a different fucking house. I want whatever you want, Brin, because at the end of the day, you’re
all
that fucking matters to me.”

Rye looks like he’s on the verge of breaking something, when Brin smiles through the icing. “You want to marry me?”

He groans. “Of course I want to fucking marry you. Did you not hear anything I just said?”

Brin sprints to him and launches herself in his arms. Rye’s so surprised that he almost doesn’t catch her.

We all start clapping when Brin starts covering him in icing, laughing as she kisses him wildly all over his face.

“Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes!” she yells.

Rye smiles as his lips land on hers, and that’s when we all turn away.

“Great,” Kode says dryly. “Another couple is getting married before me.”

“At this point, I think Tria is the
only
person who doesn’t know you want to marry her,” Maverick points out.

He turns his beer up, drinking it as he tunes Maverick out. It reminds me that I still need to have a conversation with my cousin about her father. Fucking eh. Bella has turned me into a damn meddler.

Speaking of Bella…

She’s walking toward me as her parents take a seat near Angel. Allie looks wary, but she’s sitting with them.