“You'll make a wonderful mother someday.” Croix nuzzles against me, his arm draped over my waist as we lie together in the darkness.
“Do you really think so?” I turn my head to look at him, but my vision never reaches his face.
“Beverly adores you. I can tell.” He kisses my hair.
Once we got to the park, things flowed a lot more smoothly. I think it was mostly because she was occupied with other activities instead of having to focus entirely on me. We built a sand castle together and played frisbee and took a dip in the ocean. Then afterward I unpacked our lunches so that we could eat before we flew kites together. By the time we left the park, we were all beyond exhausted. Beverly slept the entire way home.
Warm tendrils of affection curled around my heart as I watched Croix carry Beverly to her bedroom and tuck her in. When he brushed her hair back away from her face and kissed her on the forehead, my ovaries melted. It was the first time ever that I've imagined having a family with someone. He's a good father. I can see it in all of his interactions with his daughter.
“I hope she does.” I smile, remembering the lilt in her voice as she parroted everything I said with childlike glee as I unpacked our lunches.
All in all, the day was a lot more pleasant than I thought it would be.
“Maybe someday the two of us will have shitlings together,” Croix teases.
“Shitlings?” I guffaw.
“Shh. That's what I call them when they're out of earshot.”
“That's horrible.” I turn around and slap his chest.
“She's not always that pleasant. Trust me. I mean, she's a great kid, but she has her bad moments.”
“I'm sure all kids do,” I reply thoughtfully. “I think she's great, though.”
“I'm glad.” I can hear the relief in his voice. “And I'm glad that you were willing to meet her and make her a part of your life. That means a lot to me.”
“Of course.” I twist back around, wiggling to press my body against his.
Almost instantly, I feel his length harden.
“Hi there,” he whispers over my shoulder.
“Hi,” my voice takes a sensual turn as I grind back against him.
“Oh, you're being bad.”
“Am I?” I readjust myself so that I can feel his dick wedged between my ass cheeks.
“Yes, you are. Getting me so turned on.”
“Is that so?” I slip my fingers into the waistband of my panties to pull them down. Once they're off, I toss them over the side of the bed.
“That's so.” Croix follows suit, removing his boxer briefs.
“I bet I can be worse,” I purr, rotating my hips and lining him up with my entryway. I'm already wet and ready for him.
“You're already being worse, but I like it,” he growls into my ear as he grabs my breast, kneading his fingers into it.
“Mm I love it when you touch me,” I moan, placing my hand on top of his and manipulating the pressure. All the while, I continue to writhe.
He moves a little, his glans popping between my pussy lips. The constricted position makes him feel extra big. It will be exquisite when he penetrates me, and I know that he will. I've gotten him too riled up for him to stop.
“Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.” I shake my ass slightly.
He pushes himself up onto his arm, and I hiss as I feel his hot mouth against my neck before his teeth clamp onto the skin there. The bite of pain sends me into overdrive, my cunt clenching. He forces his cock inside of me, battling my muscles. When they give way to him, I gasp in surrender.
***
“Move in with me.”
I'm almost asleep when I hear Croix say those words. After a relatively short but enjoyable romp between the sheets, my remaining energy is completely drained. My eyes had already fluttered closed to sleep, the beginnings of a dream forming inside of my brain. Part of me wonders if that was a part of it. His voice was too loud, though. Too real.
“What?” I mumble back to life.
“Move in with me,” he repeats, propping himself up to look over my shoulder.
“Aren't you tired yet?” I roll onto my back, half-whining.
“You won't come back to work for me, so move in with me. I need more of you, Raven. I need to see you more. Be around you more. You're like a drug to me. I can never get enough.” He gazes down at me in the darkness.
“This is an odd time to bring it up.” I yawn.
“I'm sorry. I know you're tired. I've been thinking about it for a while, though, and I couldn't hold it in any longer.”
Even though I'm not acting like it, I'm elated by his offer. It's everything I want too—to be closer to him. Still, I have Cindy to think about. I know she'll be lonely without me. Plus, she'd have to rent out my room again.
“I want to.” I rub the sleep away that has gathered at the corner of my right eye.
“So you will?” his tone rises with excitement.
“I'll think about it.”
“What's there to think about?”
“Cindy. I feel like she needs me there.”
“She doesn't need you. She's a grown ass woman. I'm sure she'll understand.” He doesn't hide the sarcasm in his tone.
“It's not like that,” I huff. “She's become like a mother to me. I don't have any more family Croix. You know that.”
“It's not like I'm asking you to cut her out of your life. You can still be friends.” He strokes my hair soothingly.
“I suppose you're right.” I surrender to his logic.
“Good. It's settled then. You'll move in next weekend.” He nods.
“Next weekend?” My eyes fly open, my body now completely alert from the shock of him wanting me to move in so soon.
“Next weekend,” he parrots. “We both have the weekend off, so it seems logical.”
“You're so impatient.” I laugh, shaking my head before relaxing again.
“I'm always impatient when it comes to getting to spend more time with you.”
***
“Miss Tarley, this is the law offices of Schuler and Melks. We're calling on behalf of your brother's estate,” a deep male voice says over the phone.
I almost didn't answer the phone call when the unknown number flashed across my caller ID during my lunch break. Perhaps it was my good mood that made me willing to deal with a probable telemarketer. Now, I'm regretting it. More than likely, Sheri is sicking them after me for holding onto the stuff that Roscoe left at the hotel. There's no doubt in my mind that she wants everything of his, even if it's of no value to her. That's just the kind of cunt she is.
“I'm listening,” my voice is clipped, expecting the worst.
“If you could make some time to come in and discuss your brother's estate with us, that would be great. We need to go over some things with you.”
“If this is about his bitch wife wanting the stuff he left at the hotel, you can tell her that there was nothing of value. If she wants it that damn badly, she'll have to sue me over it.” I fight the urge to hang up on the man, my blood already boiling from the brief conversation.
He seems startled for a moment before he speaks again. “That's not what this is about at all. Your brother made you the sole beneficiary in his will. We needed to contact you about collecting his estate.”
My heart sinks to the pit of my stomach, and I have to place a hand there to catch it. For several seconds, I'm frozen in disbelief. Did Roscoe really think that far ahead before deciding to commit suicide? And why me? Why not Sheri or his children?
“Miss Tarley, are you there?”
“Yes,” I stutter back to life, staring at the sandwich in front of me without even a shred of my appetite left. “Text me your address. I can be there at your earliest convenience.”
***
I walked into the attorney’s office not expecting much. I walked out with way more than I got cheated out of when my parents' died. While there wasn't much physical property that Sheri didn't already have legal rights to, there were a shit ton of stocks. Why Roscoe didn't just cash some of them out to pay me the money he owed me, I have no idea.
It's bitter irony. My brother wanted my love. I wanted the money he owed me. He refused to give me the money. I refused to forgive him. Now he's dead, and I have way more of his money than I know what to do with. To be honest, I'd trade it all to have him back. Life doesn't work that way, though. Neither does death.
I refuse to continue passing on the bitterness. Almost as soon as I've traded out all of his stocks, I take half of the money and put it in CDs for Roscoe's kids. They're not to be cashed until each child turn eighteen. That way, Sheri has no way of getting her hands on the money. I doubt that there would be any money left by the time they turned eighteen if I let her have it. This way, I know for sure that his kids can go to college if they want to. I know Roscoe would approve.
With nearly half a million dollars left, I give Cindy ten grand to help get her by after I move out. She receives the money with tears rolling down her face. If an embrace could kill a person, I might be dead right now. She hugs me so tightly that I can't breathe. It makes me happy to see her so happy, though. Totally worth the bruised ribs.
The rest of the money, I put in a savings account for hard times. Even though I have a great job and no rent payment now that I'm moving in with Croix, you never know what will happen in the future. It's better to be safe than sorry, and for that reason, I refuse to spend the money frivolously. While there are a lot of amazing people in my life, I still hold onto the mentality that I'm the only person that I truly have to rely on. It's a very guarded way to think, but after all that I've been through I need to be smart.
Maybe someday I'll let my walls down completely. I'm not quite there yet. Perhaps I never will be. Only time will tell.