Replace Me (Kin #2)(65)
Author: Jennifer Foor

She shook her head and whispered, “no.”

“What happens now?”

Ash shrugged again and I intertwined our fingers. “Shayne, I can’t be with you. I know too much about you. You’re not the kind of guy to settle down and have some romance with someone expectin’ twins. I’m fat and you feel sorry for me.”

“What’s your excuse then? Why are you allowed to feel that way about me, but I can’t feel the same damn way?”

“Because you’re you.”

I was feeling offended. Maybe I deserved it, but I knew this wasn’t like anything else I felt before. “The thing is, a friend of mine told me that she knew love from lust because when she pictured herself without that person she didn’t want to go on. You see, I’ve questioned these feelin’s for a while now, so I sat back and thought about your theory. When you went into that hospital, I dropped everything to get to you. I didn’t want anything to happen to you or the twins. Imagining losing any of you was Hell. It was the worst feelin’ I’ve ever experienced. I know you worked things out with my brother and I’m not obligated to take responsibility for them, but what if I want to? What if I want to be their father?”

“You’re talkin’ crazy, Shayne. You can’t just sign up for a lifetime of raising someone else’s children. It doesn’t work that way.”

I grabbed both of her hands and looked directly into her beautiful blue eyes. “Ash, I can’t promise what will happen with us, but I want to be the father to these children. I want them to be mine. They’ve got my blood runnin’ through their veins. I’ll never abandon them, I promise you that.”

She started getting herself into an emotional fit. Tears ran down her eyes, while snot ran out of her nose. I got up and grabbed her the tissues, then came back and pulled her into my arms. “You don’t know what you’re sayin’.”

I held her close to me and kissed her head. “You’re the first woman that I never wanted to sleep with. Bein’ with you was never about gettin’ you into bed. That’s when I knew it was real. I wanted to be with you, without ever kissin’ you. It’s not about sex or playin’ head games. I want somethin’ with you that I’ve never shared with anyone else. I’ve seen you at your worst and still thought you were gorgeous. I get that we promised it would never happen between us, but it did anyway. I want a chance, Ash. Just give me a chance. Please?”

Ashley cried herself to sleep, never responding to my pleas. I knew she was scared, so was I. We were sailing through a storm and bound to sink, but wanted to take the chance anyway. I didn’t know if I’d changed, or even if I could, but I wanted to. I wanted to do whatever it took to keep her and those babies from walking out of my life.

I may not have seen it happening, because it was slow and unexpected, but I wouldn’t change it. I was in love with Ashley, even if she was carrying my brother’s children and still carried around feelings for my cousin. The family was going to hate me even more, but I didn’t care. For the first time, in a very long time, I felt happy. I had something to look forward to. She’d become my best friend and so much more.

I finally understood what I’d taken from Lacey with my lies. I finally realized what it felt like to fear losing the one you loved.

We may not have ended up together, but she taught me how to love and I’d never forget that. Losing Lacey finally made sense, as I woke up still holding Ashley in my arms.

She greeted me with a smile and one word that changed everything. “Okay.”

Our story was just starting out. We had a lot of explaining to do, but for now, we weren’t leaving this bed, or each other’s arms.

Lacey

I felt like I was dreaming.

It was hard, sitting in his apartment and waiting for everyone to leave, so we could be alone. I think they sensed what was going on between us. As happy as I was to have him back, I didn’t want his mother getting mad at me for hogging him to myself.

Joey saw the last of the company out and held his arm out to help me off of the couch. “As much as I like seein’ you in this, I think we need to get you out of this dress.”

He pulled me into his bedroom, kissing me the whole way. I hoped up into his arms and let him carry me to the bed. He leaned down, letting me fall on the mattress. Joey reached around, unzipping the dress. I got on my knees and held up my arms so he could pull it off of me. His shirt was the next thing to disappear. I tugged it over his head. We were so eager to be together that we began taking off our own clothes. I needed to be naked and feeling his skin touching mine.

“Slow down, Lace. We’ve got all night. His body was on top of mine and I was devouring him in kisses. I was smelling him, licking him and sucking on his skin, as if he were a craving that I had to have.

I dug my nails into his back and didn’t let up. My mouth wanted to savor every inch of him.

He flipped us over and I sat up, grinding my naked pu**y against him. Joey reached down and ran his finger in between my folds, pulling it back up to his mouth and sucking on it. “As sweet as I remembered.”

I moaned and threw my head back, trying to control the chills he was giving me already. He held my thighs and let me dry hump him as if we were f**king. I reached up and pinched my ni**les, before bringing one finger up and gathering some saliva off of my tongue. Then I rubbed it over my hardened nipple, getting it shiny and wet. Joey licked my lips as he watched me. He took one of my hands and placed it between my legs. I knew what he wanted and I happily obliged by rubbing my clit. My body rocked as he grabbed my nipple and sucked it into his mouth. I clung to his head with my free hand, holding his hair as my body bucked. I was so wet, so turned on already that I’d made myself cum.

He grabbed my hand and put it to my lips. I eagerly sucked up my own juices, watching him watching me. My pu**y was throbbing for more and I began to touch myself there again, but he grabbed my hand and batted it away.

He held onto my waist and lifted me up, where my pu**y was directly in his face. I sat on my knees and watched him dive in, lapping up my lips and sucking them hard. He teased my clit with his tongue. I threw my head back and squeezed my nipple again. He continued sucking in my clit then releasing. It was driving me wild with desire. When his thumb came into play, too, I knew what he wanted.

“Show me how much you missed me, Lace. Show me what I do to you.”

He rubbed it hard, applying a circular pattern to my swollen bud. It was already sensitive from moments ago when I’d had my first orgasm. This time would be stronger. I could already feel it happening. He moved his thumb swiftly, applying the necessary pressure for me to explode in passion.