[Dawn]Sophie is standing in front of me, trying to block the way back to the bedroom from the bathroom.“No,” I repeat. “I’m refusing, not because it isn't a nice gesture of yours.”“But you’re in danger,” Sophie implores. “Fucking Russian danger.”“I know,” I say, squeezing under her arm and putting my bag of toiletries on the bag I’ve packed to take to my mothers. “My mother is also in danger.”“She’s welcome as well!” Sophie throws up her hands.“You don’t understand though, Soph, it’s not the place. It’s not that you’re offering help; it’s that my mother is comfortable in her home. She doesn’t know that Andre died because of the Russians, she’s grieving because her son died in a car crash. If we come to your house, I have to explain everything else her son was up to since he left home.”I fought to keep the tears of frustration from breaking through. All I wanted to do was move in with Sophie and Luca too, to hide away and let the problem be sorted out. But Aldo had already bee
[Dawn]Sophie looks around the apartment and then does a double take on me. “Well, you’re definitely staying with us now—”“No,” I say, putting up my hands.“Yes!” Sophie tries pulling me off the bed to a standing position. “All this stress is horrible for a baby. “You’ll cause all these issues and you’ll—”“Need I remind you what you went through while pregnant?”“Please don’t,” Sophie says, pursing her lips. “You know that what I went through was horrible for my pregnancy. Which is why I don’t wish it upon anyone else.” She tries pulling me along again.“You can’t convince me otherwise, Soph.” I pull back, leaning back onto the bed.“Well, then I’ll have to—” Sophie is spluttering along, trying to understand my insanity. “You can’t! You just can’t do this.”“I have to Sophie,” I grab her hand now. “You of all people understand duty and honor and all that.” She grunts at me and frowns. “Low of you to use my father’s words against me.” She squints in fury at me.I snort and pet her ha
[Aldo]I come out of the bar and grill on the beachfront and head back north towards my car. Joe has been running that little grease joint for years, letting everyone from bikers, traffickers, fliers, drivers, heist guys, and bodyguards eat and drink there. It’s like a criminal who has open jobs and information. Of course Joe is confidential with all his customers and friends; he keeps a tight ship and an even tighter lid. He doesn’t trust many people.But he does trust me.Before I worked for Dante Rivera, I worked the grill and dishwasher at Joe’s. My dad put me up to it, something about knowing my roots or some other stuff like that….Mom and Aunt Elora were so proud when I decided to take dad up on his challenge to work at Joe's. Joe scared the shit out of me at fifteen. Five feet nine, arms like tree trunks, and wielding two twin spatulas. He also had a belly that probably weighed as much as me. If anyone thought Joe couldn’t move quickly, they'd be dead wrong. When I turned
[Aldo]Despite the boiling weather, the house is relatively cool. An old house like this should’ve been boiling. Dawn leads me down the hallway, her hand brushing mine just enough to make my skin prickle with anticipation. Each step feels charged, her movements unhurried but filled with intent. Her new room is quite cool. It’s also at the other end of the house, away from her mother.The door barely clicks shut behind us before she grabs my bulge, her touch so sudden and greedy it ignites a fire low in my belly. My hands travel up her tingling arms, her skin electric under my touch, the slight tremor beneath her flesh betraying her need. Gooseflesh rises against my fingers as I yank her shirt up, exposing her chest in one swift motion. Her breathing quickens, her breasts heaving as I pull one up and draw on her nipple, the warmth of her flesh intoxicating, sweet against my tongue. She gasps sharply, her back arching slightly toward me.Her hands are not idle. She wrenches my pan
[Aldo]I hover above her, muscles trembling as I keep fucking her. The rhythmic slap of skin on skin fills the room, a forbidden melody that grows louder despite our efforts. “I know you like this too,” I growl, my thrusts growing sharper, faster, the tension coiling tighter in my core. My breath catches as the pleasure builds, threatening to consume me.The sex since Dawn got pregnant has been insane. Each encounter more intense, more passionate, as if her body knows no limits now. These last few days have been a fever dream, every moment deeper than the last.We shift, and I’m on my side now, driving up into her, my hand working her clit with expert precision. The angle pushes her over the edge, her hips bucking wildly as her pussy grips me tighter. My cock throbs, the telltale signs of my own release sending waves of heat through me. She’s spasming, her body pressing against mine as we chase the peak together.It’s so damn hot. The sweat slicks our bodies as her hands grip her ti
[Dawn]It’s been a week since Aldo spotted the car outside the house. He ran out like a madman, pulling on his pants as he went. But ultimately, the car screeched off and we didn’t get to find anything about them other than that they'd been there.Aldo was furious. But also slightly relieved that he wasn’t completely wrong in his paranoia. We’d finally seen someone.So he slept every night here at my mother’s, using the excuse that there was a water leak at his place. My mother didn’t mind, she said it was nice having a man’s presence in the home again. It's been years since anyone other than Andre and occasional visits from Aldo's parents has lived with her.Aldo took it upon himself to do as much handwork as he could around the home too. Mending squeaky doors and hinges, plastering up holes and righting crooked shelves.Her heart was overwhelmed by the generosity, and even with the loss that had preceded it, she fell into the habit of spending more of her days in silence.After a we
[Dawn.]“I’ll give you my life savings. You can have it all. It’ll repay Andre’ debt, and you can just leave us. I’ve got it in my room.” I lie.The two exchange looks again, a smile even. Then the first one turns to me. “Sure.” I realize then that I'm being naive. They have no intention of leaving us.He comes and picks me up, helps me down the hallway before I shrug him off. We go to my room and I dig around under the bed. I shove the shoe box with my savings aside and instead reach for my knife. But before I can grasp it, he yanks me out by my feet, and I watch it drift out of reach as he drags me away. I scream and buck, smashing my head on the bed frame. He pulls me up by my hair. “Don’t be stupid!” He seethes.I try to break his hands from my hair, but he’s too strong.“Don’t make me give your mother another child to mourn.”I stop. Defeated.Seeing that I’m broken, he stands me up, pushes me out into the kitchen, and points for me to return to my mother’s room. Standing in th
[Aldo] I’m just pulling up to the house when I check my phone again to see if Dawn has replied. I missed her call before, and all mine returning it have gone to voicemail since.It’s stupid because I’m just about to see her, and I’ve been telling myself not to overreact, but I can’t help but be on edge.I may have been overzealous in my responses during the last hour with a few panicked messages. All things considered, I hope she’s just napping.Which brings me back to why I’ve returned home.I kill the engine and grip the wheel with tender hands. We’ve got our first scan today.It’s huge. I’m still blown away by being a dad. I can’t wait. I can’t—My gut clenches up, and suddenly the temperature drops all around me.The door is wide open. What I’ve been fearing kicks in.“Dawn?!” I scream, getting out of the car. I know I’m probably being stupid.It’s just an open door… but I run into the house, screaming again and again. No one’s here. They’re not here. They’re—I hear a groan as I
AIDANThe girls spent the afternoon sightseeing and shopping but came back by the evening as promised because I’d told them I would treat them to dinner to celebrate Lila’s new internship. I was proud of my daughter for her accomplishments. The law firm she would be interning for was a prestigious one, and it would definitely beef up her resume. As much as I wanted to celebrate this milestone with her, I was also hoping to calm the waters with Clio.After they left, I paced in my room, realizing that I had come on pretty strong. I didn’t want Clio to feel like she was trapped here with me. That was the last thing I wanted actually.Mentally, I scrolled back through the last couple of years. Lila and I spoke on the phone several times a week. I’d heard about her friend Clio countless times. Lila had described her as shy but funny and insanely talented (her words). She’d also told me before she drove down to Malibu that her friend would be coming with her because she’d had a really shit
CLIO“You know that internship that I applied for? That one right here in Malibu?” she asked. I remembered which one she was talking about. Lila had applied to a couple of internships at a couple of law offices, one back home and one in Malibu. She’d gotten the one back home but was denied the one in Malibu, and when that happened, she decided to just take the summer off and hang out at the beach house. “The office called and left me a message yesterday and said that the intern they’d selected changed his mind at the last second. They wanted to know if I would still be interested. Well, of course I called them right back, but I could never get a hold of anyone, so we’ve been playing phone tag, but that was them. I got it!”“That’s amazing, sweetheart!” Aidan said, sweeping his daughter into a bear hug.“That is awesome, Rea, congratulations!” I told her.She moved partially out of her dad’s embrace and beckoned me over. “Get over here, girl, this is a group hug moment.” Really? I th
CLIOWhen I’d returned to the beach house just a short time before, I’d been on cloud nine. I hadn’t been planning on giving Lila every nitty gritty detail of what happened on the beach that morning between me and a gorgeous, mysterious, older man. But I had been excited to share how I’d tried something new, and I’d been assertive about what I wanted and the universe had rewarded me with a kind, hot man and the first orgasm I hadn’t given to myself.Lila had returned with bags of food bursting at the seams with some of her own good news. Looking at one another, each of us could tell that what we had to share would take a while, so we decided to hold off so I could go clean up and change out of my wet clothes and she could get lunch set up.I’d taken a little longer in the shower than I’d planned. Once the warm water streamed down my body, I found all the sensitive places that Aidan had touched waking up again. It was almost like no one had ever touched me before him, and while it was
AIDAN “You’ve got to have one first in order for me to worry about it,” she huffed with a raised eyebrow, then her face fell. I could practically see the question written all over her face before she asked it. “Dad, you’re not still hung up on Mom, are you?”I barked out a laugh, unable to help my response at the ridiculous idea. “What? No,” I said firmly. The idea was truly laughable. For one thing, Renee and I had truly burned every bridge when we split. The only remaining tie we’d had was Lila, and that tie was severed the second Lila graduated high school. For another, it had been twelve years since our separation, and it felt like a lifetime ago.“I didn’t really think so,” Lila responded. “I just want to make sure. I know you made sure to keep that stuff away from me when I was growing up, but Dad, I’m a grown woman. I am more than capable of the idea of my dad being in a relationship.” At that moment, an image of Clio popped into my head. God, I had to be rusty. I’d spent an
AIDANI emerged from the water for the umpteenth time, glancing at the shoreline. Once Clio left, I’d gone back into the water, trying desperately to work off my frustration, but I couldn’t keep my mind off her.I’d decided to head down to Malibu a couple of days early. I didn’t think Lila would mind, and I couldn’t face another day in the office listening to entitled rich people whine about their issues.When I arrived, Lila’s things were spread out, but she was nowhere to be found. I figured she and her girlfriend were out, so I decided to take a walk and go for a swim. The morning and the water were too beautiful to pass up.The sand immediately began to relax me. Then I spotted her: a beautiful young woman with generous curves standing in the water. She wasn’t used to the ocean, but she seemed determined to gain her sea legs. I walked along the beach, watching her surreptitiously. It might’ve been a little creepy, but I couldn’t help myself. From where I was, she faced away from m
CLIOI’d never been told anything like that before and certainly not by a gorgeous man plucking at my nipple through my bikini top while I writhed beneath him. I grabbed his face in my hands and kissed him again, if only to distract myself into calming down, though it quickly became evident that calming down was not going to be a possibility. Remembering my goal of being more assertive, I gave in and let my hands roam over Aidan’s body. I ran my hands over his broad shoulders and down his chest and abdominal muscles that flexed beneath my fingers. I could feel his desire pressed against my thigh, but I didn’t let my fingers go there just yet, instead letting them dance at the waistband of his trunks.He stilled then and gently moved my hands away from his waistband and pinned them on either side of my head. “Not yet, Clio. Not before I make you come.” His voice was husky, and the words he’d uttered made me feel like I was on fire. “Tell me you want that,” he said, and I was delighted
CLIO“You mean other than saving a beautiful woman from the current?” He smiled, and I felt my blush all the way down to my toes. He chuckled softly at my reaction and continued, “I found myself suffering from work burnout and decided I needed to get away for a while, recalibrate. You?”“Same. I mean, not from work or anything. Maybe I’m just burned out on life? It’s just been a really hard few months, and I’m looking to work on myself—recalibrate like you said,” I told him.“And what is it that you’re trying to work on exactly?” he asked, looking a little skeptical but still good-natured.“I’m working on being more assertive, of taking charge of my life…not worrying about what other people think and doing more things that scare me,” I told him, surprised at how easily I opened up to this man.“Is that what the swimming was about? Doing something that scared you?” he asked, floating closer toward me.“Yeah. I don’t want to miss out on opportunities just because of fear,” I said.“Are
CLIOI sat in the sand, heaving in breaths, as the man squatting beside me rubbed soothing circles on the small of my back. I pushed my wet mop of hair out of my face and finally looked into possibly the most beautiful set of eyes I’d ever seen. I didn’t think I had ever seen eyes that color before. They were slate gray and kind as he stared down at me. “There you are,” he said softly. “You’re okay, just take it easy.” He was still rubbing circles on my skin when I managed to clear my airways enough to respond.“I-I-I don’t know what happened,” I stuttered out.“I saw you go into the water, and when you didn’t come back out, I figured something was wrong. First time in the ocean?” he asked in a silky voice. I couldn’t decide if it was the sound of his voice or shock making my flesh break out with goosebumps.“Yes,” I admitted, “and apparently my last.” I shot him a sheepish smile. I met his eyes but quickly tore them away, feeling my face burn with embarrassment.“Don’t say that,”
CLIOLila had not been exaggerating when she described the paradise that was her father’s beach house in Malibu. While I understood that where we lived in Northern California was beautiful in its own right, we spent most of our time there in classrooms and at work. Here, the white, sandy beaches stretched for miles, the vast, blue water sparkled before us, and best of all, we didn’t know a soul there. It was heaven.On the drive down to Malibu, I’d spilled my guts about the whole incident that led to me agreeing to come with Lila. She shook her head in disgust after my story was over. “I know you cared about him, but Michael really is a rat bastard. Honestly, I think you should start looking at this as a bullet dodged instead of a heartbreak.”“I know.” I sighed. “I just want to start over and get away from the old Clio.”“Hey, I happen to love the ‘old Clio’ as you call her. But I’ll support you in whatever way you wish to reinvent yourself. You want to start wearing dark eyeliner