Forever True (The Story of Us) Read online

  “Fuck, Court.” He groaned. “You feel so good.” His lips found mine, and he moved his tongue against mine as he rocked his hips in and out. I could taste my own essence mixed with vanilla, and it really was delicious. My head was swimming, and I felt drunk. This was the most erotic thing we had ever done.

  Alex pulled my legs up to rest on his shoulder, and I cried out at how deep he was now able to go. He quickened his thrusts, and I welcomed the pain mixed with pleasure. I wanted it all.

  “Harder, Alex!”

  “You want it harder, baby?”

  “Yes. Harder. Please.” I panted.

  He pulled back as far as he could go without leaving me completely and pushed back in with more force. I nearly screamed from the contact but continued to move my hips up to meet his every time. My fingers twisted in the sheets, and I let him have complete control of my body. His groans became louder as he slammed into me over and over. My muscles tightened on him, pulling him into me. His movements slowed as he started to circle his hips.

  “Ah, you’re going to kill me, Court. Fuck, I’m going to come. Come with me, baby. Now.”

  A million tiny sparks exploded behind my eyes, and I was floating. Alex’s mouth closed around mine, and he groaned as he came. I felt him contract and spill inside of me, which caused another small ripple of pleasure to flow through me. I must have nodded off because a rush of cool air found my face as Alex removed the blindfold. I was right. His hair was falling over his forehead; his cheeks were flushed, and he looked so sexy hovering over me.

  “Hey.” He smiled.

  “Hey.” I answered back. “That was amazing.”

  “You’re amazing.” He pecked kisses along my jaw line as he draped one of my legs over his hip. I looked to the night stand where I saw a bottle of vanilla flavored massage oil and my blush brush organizer laying open. I wasn’t about to mention to him that he just ruined a seventy dollar brush set.

  It was totally worth it.

  Alex shifted so that he was on the bottom and lifted my hips so that I could lower myself down onto his already semi-hardened erection. Just Like Heaven by Katie Melua was playing in the background, and I knew that she was right.

  This did feel just like heaven.

  Chapter FiveWeek eight of the New Alex and Courtney.

  Alex

  “Yes, I’m leaving in about fifteen minutes.”

  “Will you grab a loaf of garlic bread from that bakery on the way home?” Court asked.

  “Sure, baby. I’ll see you in a bit. Love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  As soon as I ended the call, Mitch, Pure Valley Aqua’s Senior Vice President stepped into my office.

  “Alex, do you have a minute?”

  Mitch Gallo was the typical executive prick. He cared more about his outward appearance and the playboy persona he tried so hard to convey. He wore expensive tailored suits, drove a limited edition Porsche and since he had to be in his mid-fifties, had his hair regularly dyed. All of these factors successfully masked the fact that he had no fucking clue about what goes on around here.

  “Sure, Mitch. What can I do for you?”

  “How are things going with the…ah...new distribution site in… umm…” Mitch’s voice trailed off as he snapped his fingers, obviously having no idea which site he was talking about. His fail at a conversation opener lead me to believe that he was here for another reason.

  “Greensville?” I replied because it was the newest location.

  “Yes, yes. Greenvale.” I kept my face impassive while I internally shook my head at him. Idiot.

  Everyone knew that Mitch was only able to get by because he leans so heavily on his department heads to keep things running. It was the reason he didn’t look completely incompetent in front of the company Chief Executive.

  “Fine, Mitch. We were able to get a complete staff hired and trained on time. This month’s projections are--”

  “Yeah, that’s fantastic. Listen, Alex. I need a favor.” Mitch left the doorway and stepped completely into my office, closing the door behind him. “I know you are aware that the annual PVA conference and charity event is coming up next week in Houston.” I nodded at him but didn’t speak. “All senior executives and a member of their team are required to attend.”

  “Yes, I thought that Pamela would be set to go this year.” Pamela was the director of finance and viewed to be the most senior of the team under Mitch.

  “She was supposed to attend but due…,” Mitch cleared his throat uncomfortably, “to an unfortunate event, she will not be accompanying me.” The look on his face was saying a lot more than his words. The rumor around the office was that he and Pamela were sleeping together, and Mitch’s wife found out. Apparently, office gossip proved to be accurate for a change. He unconsciously pulled at the collar of his dress shirt, and I could feel the dread settle in the pit of my stomach. “In light of this change in plans, as you are Director of Operations, I will need for you to make yourself available."

  Fuck.

  My mind immediately went to the promise I made to Court about traveling and that I would do whatever it took to avoid it. I knew this conference was a weeklong thing which ended with a charity event in honor of the children’s hospital. It looked good for the company to have the department heads there plus the PVA chief executive required a specific number to be there. This meant that Pamela’s spot needed to be filled and quickly.

  "This is really last minute, Mitch, and I'm not sure I can--"

  "I know I said that you could sit this one out, Alex. You've been my star the past few years and I'm kind of in a bind. How can we make this work?”

  First, I wanted to punch Mitch in the face for the predicament he allowed himself to be in. Then, I saw it as an opportunity to negotiate the raise I had intended to bring up at the end of the fiscal year. After hammering out the details with Mitch, I was promised the raise I wanted and this Friday off.

  On the drive home, I tried to think about the best way to bring this up to Court. We’ve slowly been finding our way together over the last two months. I was determined to not fuck this up.

  ****

  Courtney

  After getting the girls off to bed, I decided to take a long bath. It had been a while since I had the time to do it. Dee had given me a fancy organic spa basket for Christmas, and I was looking forward to trying out the lavender bath salts. I started the whirlpool tub, sprinkled in the divine smelling mixture and lowered myself into the water. Leisure Suite by Feist began to play from the iPod in the docking station. I closed my eyes and felt my body instantly relax from a tense day. It was the first week of January and the past two months have been a flurry of activity. Alex, the kids and I flew to Virginia to spend Christmas with his family. Rita was her usual frenzied self and had prepared way too much food and gave the girls a ridiculous amount of presents. It was as if the past year had never happened. No one mentioned the divorce, and Alex and I didn’t either. Everyone was thrilled that we had remarried. It was nice to know that as we were moving on from the past, that everyone else was too. Things were starting to feel normal.

  The holidays were over, and business has picked up quite a bit at work. Cole has signed more clients and contractors meaning a lot more for me to do. When I get home in the evenings, I am mentally exhausted. Tonight, after dinner Alex helped Liv finish up her homework, and I went for a long brisk walk around the neighborhood.

  Now that the house was quiet, Alex went into the den to check his email, and I decided to take a bath. I must have dozed off to the humming of the bath jets and the soothing jazzy sounds in the background because the faint creaking of the door opening brought me awake.

  “Hey, you’ve been in here a while. Are you okay?”

  “Mmm hmm.” I answered and stretched my muscles under the still warm water. Alex left the doorway and walked to sit on the edge of the tub. He reached down and grabbed my right calf then began massaging it. He ran his hand down the slick skin
until he reached my foot and started kneading the soles of my feet with his thumbs. I couldn’t hold back a moan of appreciation. I only recently started my evening walks. My poor muscles were not used to all this activity since it had been years since I’d worked out.

  When Alex finished with my right foot, he gave the same treatment to my left. His touch was starting to work me into arousal. The relaxing scent of lavender, mellow music and my sexy husband didn’t make my reaction a surprise. One of his hands moved from my foot and skimmed its way over my knee and down my thigh. He easily slipped two digits inside my waiting wet center.

  “Alex.” His name left my mouth immediately as I opened my legs for him. He alternated between gently pumping his fingers and rubbing my clit with his thumb. I allowed my head to fall back as I let him control my body as he teased me, brought me to the edge of release and then quickly withdrew. I enjoyed the sweet torture. The jets in the tub were massaging the rest of my body, and I became nothing but sensation and want as I moved my hips into Alex’s hand.

  “Are you going to come for me?” He asked in a low voice that seemed to vibrate through me, and I clenched involuntarily around his fingers so close to the edge. I nodded my head uncontrollably.

  “Yes.” I gasped.

  “Then come, baby.” He commanded as he pressed his thumb directly on my clit and inserted a third finger inside of me as all three reached my g-spot. That was all it took for him to have me thrashing wildly and panting as an intense orgasm shot its way to my core.

  “Yes, Oh, God. Yes.” I cried out and came hard. I closed my thighs around his hand as I rode out the waves of ecstasy. When the fuzziness left my brain, I realized that Alex had turned the jets off and was holding out a towel for me.

  “Welcome back.” He grinned sexily. I stood up on spaghetti legs and took the towel from him. He pressed a kiss on my lips and left the bathroom. I finished up my nightly routine and went to my dresser where I threw on panties and a cami. Alex, wearing only his boxer briefs, was laying across the bed watching sports highlights. I felt so relaxed from the bath and foot massage followed by a happy ending that I knew I would fall asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. When I reached the bed, Alex pulled back the cover so we could both settle in. He gathered me against his side as I nestled myself into the crook of his arm. I was drifting to dreamland when Alex started to speak.

  “They want me to fly to Houston on Monday for the PVA annual conference.” He said in a rush. I lifted my head and furrowed my brow as I looked at him.

  “Monday? This Monday? How long have you known this and why are you just now saying something?”

  “Court, I didn’t know myself until today. As a matter of fact, Mitch told me about it right after I talked to you. Pamela Garcia was supposed to go this year. It turns out those rumors about her and Mitch are true.” Alex had told me about Mitch and Pamela at the office Christmas party; it was his way of giving me dirt on everyone else in the office in an attempt to comfort me. Everybody knew about our divorce and probably had made up versions of what they considered to be the truth. It somehow made me feel less awkward to be able to secretly judge people and their less than perfect lives also.

  “I knew it.” I shuttered at the idea of doing anything sexual with a douche bag like Mitch Gallo. Gross. Pamela seemed like a nice person, very pretty and super smart. How in the world did she get mixed up with him? My thoughts involuntarily drifted back to Justin and the circumstances that lead me into making a series of bad decisions. Refusing to let my thoughts continue down that road, I pressed a kiss to Alex’s bare chest. I was so grateful to be here with him now.

  “How long will you be gone?” I asked, trying to gain control of the anxiety creeping its way up my spine.

  “A week. I fly out Sunday night and will be back Saturday. There is a charity event Friday night, and I have to stay for it, but I’ll catch the first flight home the next morning.” I hated that he would be away for an entire week, but I knew this would be a test to see if we had learned from our past mistakes. I needed to believe that things would be different between us this time.

  “Ok, babe. I’m not going to lie, it sucks to hear that it will be an entire week but it will all be fine.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yes. How about you?” I asked, not able to hide my insecurity. Alex pushed himself down until we were eye to eye.

  “I am one hundred percent positive that we’ll be fine, Court.”

  “Good.” I smiled because I truly believed him. “Now kiss me.” I puckered my lips, and my sexy husband proceeded to kiss not just my mouth but every inch of my body until all I could focus on was him and the way he was making me feel. All worries about next week were forgotten, for now.

  Chapter SixCourtney

  “Oh my god! He Fifty’ed you! Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “What?” I laughed out loud. “What the hell does “Fifty’ed” mean, Dee?”

  “The blind fold, the brushes and all that kinky fuckery! Damn, girl. I’m so jealous!” She squealed.

  I called Dee on my way home from work and like always our conversations turned into random topics. Dee mentioned something about wanting to get Cole to take her to a naughty couple’s resort she read about in a magazine. The next thing I knew I was telling her all about the night of the concert.

  “It was not even close to that level of kink. It was just different and sensual.”

  “Well, hell. I am going to make Cole do that to me! Tonight.”

  “Okay. Good luck with that.” I laughed again because I also knew that their two-year-old son Luke was still sleeping in their bed.

  “So, Alex is going to be in Houston... all next week.”

  “Oh no.” Dee answered. I knew there was a reason I loved her. She just got me. She knew how much I hated it when he traveled to Houston. That is where she lived. Ashley Danielle. The person I had convinced myself that my husband was having an affair with. My fingers went to the A and C pendant that I wear around my neck every day. The same symbol that Alex has tattooed over his heart. It was a reminder to us that we were each other’s true. I finally became aware that Dee was still speaking, and I pulled out of my head to listen.

  “…not a big deal. I mean, it’s not like anything was happening between them, right?”

  “Right.”

  “Okay then. A week isn’t going to kill you.”

  “Right.”

  “I know I’m right.” A lot of commotion began in the background. “Tucker! What did you do? Okay, well, why is Jack crying then?” More muffled noises before Dee spoke into the receiver again. “Hey Court, I need to go. I'll call you later.” Having four boys was a lot to deal with and being a referee was a daily occurrence in the Easton household.

  “Okay, bye.” I answered before ending the call. The Bluetooth call setting in the car ended and the radio resumed playing Phantogram. By the time I was pulling into the driveway I'd made peace with the trip. I knew there was no need to worry. We are the new Alex and Courtney. All of those issues were behind us. No need to bring them into our future.

  The next day was Friday. Alex had the day off, so I took a vacation day, too. We drove the girls to school, lazed about in bed for most of the morning, then we went to see a movie matinee followed by a late lunch at our favorite hibachi restaurant. We really needed this time together. Even though we had technically been separated for nearly a year, we'd been disconnected from each other much longer than that. Alex held my hand the whole time, and I felt like I was twenty-three again.

  When we were done it was time to pick up the girls. We spent the rest of the weekend just being together. Sunday afternoon arrived way too soon. His flight left at two that afternoon. The entire process felt like deja vu. Driving to the airport, walking with him to the self-check-in kiosk and finally standing outside the security gate. All of the times before I felt like I was sending him off to be with another woman. There was always a nagging in the pit of my stomach. Dread, worry and fear wou
ld have their way with me while he acted as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Except this time, I was worried that he was the one with the doubts. It hurt a lot to know that I caused him to have these feelings.

  “Are you going to be okay?” Alex asked as he pulled me close.

  “Yes. I’ll be fine. Promise me that you will call me as soon as you land.”

  “Alright.”

  “I’m serious, Alex.”

  “I am too. I will call you, Court.”

  “Don’t forget.” I poked a finger into his chest to emphasize that I meant what I said. He rolled his eyes and smiled at me. I lifted up on my toes and pecked him on the lips.

  “I love you.” I said to him as I pulled away.

  “I love you, too.”

  I looked down to see that Liv was attempting to pull around Alex’s rolling carry-on suitcase while Jordyn sat on it as if it were a wagon.

  “Ok, darlins’. I gotta go.” The girls reluctantly handed over their source of entertainment and Alex scooped them both up in his arms. “Daddy will be back home next weekend. Be good for Mommy, and I’ll call to check up on you, okay?” Liv and Jordyn nodded and took turns giving him a kiss on the cheek. He pretended to bite each of them until they were squirming to get away.

  “Alright. I’d better get in that line.” He motioned to the TSA check point line that was starting to grow. “Bye, baby.” He gave me one last kiss before he grabbed his bag. The girls and I waved our goodbyes while Alex turned and got in line and was quickly out of site.

  I missed him already. No matter how much I wished them away, the familiar feelings of unease still managed to stick around just to mess with me. I knew that old habits die hard which meant it was going to be a long week.