Page 59 of Domino
Domino
“I have no idea how I got cotton candy in my hair,” I say, touching my head and feeling how sticky it was.
“You’re a very messy eater.”
I laugh and shake my head. “Not that messy.”
I pull the truck to a stop in front of her house, and we both climb out. I dart around to the back and open the door, quietly unbuckling Cole’s chair and lifting him out of it as he sleeps soundly. Ashley stands off to the side watching with a gentle smile on her lips. And then, she points to his hands.
“I think Cole had some on his hands when you were carrying him on your shoulders. I mean, he’s still got it on him.”
I think back and nod. “Yeah, you’re right. Even still, he did less damage than you. I mean, you dumped an Icee all over me.”
Her laughter is as beautiful as it is infectious, and I can’t help but join her in it. Ashley’s cheeks are red and tears of mirth are spilling from the corners of her eyes as we walk up the path that leads to the gate that will let us into the backyard, where the guest house is located. She holds it open as I carry him in, and then leads the way to her door. The main house is dark, and so we remain quiet until we get into the guest house. She closes the door softly behind us and locks it, then turns to me, still smiling.
“In my defense, I had no idea there were peacocks wandering loose in the park. They really should put a leash on those things,” she giggles.
Watching her trip over her own feet, running to get away from a peacock had set both Cole and I laughing together. It was one of the highlights of a day that was surprisingly a lot more enjoyable than I’d anticipated, and it was, I think, where her son and I started to turn a corner together. I think he and I both relaxed a lot after that moment. Of course, it came at the expense of having an Icee dumped all down the front of me, but it in retrospect, it seems a small price to pay.
Coming into the day, I was completely on edge. Not only am I dealing with all of the club bullshit, but I know how much it meant to Ashley for me to meet her son. More than that, I know how much it means to her that Cole and I get along. That I start feeling more comfortable around him because, as she told me on our first date, her kid is her life, and if I can’t make him part of mine, I can’t be part of hers. Which is fair, and I don’t begrudge her for it.
But the moment I laid eyes on the kid, I felt myself getting clammy and cold. I felt a stutter in my heart and a knot in my gut. In my mind’s eye, I kept seeing the faces of those two Afghani kids and it made me want to vomit. Made me want to turn and run knowing that somehow, someway, I’d bring about Cole’s death. I’m a monster, and that’s what monsters do, right?
But Ashley had been there, and she helped me navigate through the difficult moments. She’d been there to help me acclimate to being around a kid. I’m not going to say I’m magically all better. I’m still haunted by their faces, and I suspect I’m going to be for the rest of my life, but the day had been good. I’d call it a resounding success. Cole and I seemed to bond a bit and by the end of the day, neither one of us seemed as frightened of the other.
Ashley takes him from my arms. “I’m going to clean him up a bit and put him to bed.”
I nod. “Do you mind if I take a shower?”
“I actually insist on it,” she says with a quiet laugh.
Grinning like an idiot, I run out to my truck and grab my bag out of the back seat. I usually carry a spare set of clothes and toiletries with me wherever I go. You just never know when you’ll need them. Quietly applauding myself for my foresight, I close and lock my truck when movement in the corner of my eye draws my attention and I tense and ready myself for a fight.
A few houses down, there’s a guy standing on the sidewalk. I can only see a silhouette of the man, so I’m not even sure he’s looking my way. I silently chastise myself for being so jumpy. Apparently, I’m still suffering from a paranoia hangover Not wanting to perturb any of the neighbors around here, I give the guy a wave. He doesn’t wave back, so I assume he’s not looking at me. He seems to be looking at the house he’s standing in front of, so I assume he’s letting his dog crap in somebody else’s yard.
Setting the alarm, I head back to the guest house, shutting and locking the door behind me. I head for the bathroom in Ashley’s room, when I hear her voice. I pause in the hallway and smile softly, listening to her singing a lullaby to Cole. The way she loves that kid is probably the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen. My parents were good to me, I’ll never say they weren’t, but they never loved me the way Ashley loves her son. It’s a beautiful thing.
I drop my bag on the vanity, then grab a towel from the cabinet in the bathroom and hang it on the bar next to the door of the shower. That done, I reach into the stall and flip it on before stripping down. I fold my clothes neatly, then pile them next to my bag as I take in the bathroom. It’s done in a nice black and white tile, and the rear walls of the shower stall are all frosted glass block. There’s a large clawfoot tub on the wall opposite the shower and the double vanity. I swear to God, this guest house is bigger than my first apartment.
When there’s steam billowing out of the stall, I step in and close the door behind me. I step under the nozzle and let the warm water seep into my skin and bones, relishing the feeling of it sluicing the tension of the day—along with the Icee—off my body. Grabbing the shampoo bottle in the caddy, I quickly soap my hair, freeing it of the sticky cotton candy residue. Out of nowhere, I laugh at the memory of Cole putting his hands in my hair and ruffling it like I’d done to him half a dozen times.
“Well it sounds like you’re having a good time in here on your own. If you don’t need me to entertain you…”
I turn and see a very naked Ashley standing in the shower doorway, wreathed in steam, adding to her angelic allure. Taking a moment, I admire the swell of her hips, the curve of her breasts, letting my eyes travel up and down her body, drinking in every single inch of her body.
“I will never get tired of seeing you naked. You know that, right?” I ask.
“The feeling’s very mutual,” she replies, her voice husky.
She closes the door behind her and steps closer to me. I lean down and kiss her, letting my fingertips trail down her back. She shudders as a low moan passes her lips. Ashley grabs hold of my cock, squeezing it tight, and I draw in a sharp breath as she starts to stroke me. I feel myself growing hard in her hand and feel an electric jolt shoot through my body as she falls to her knees in front of me.
Looking up at me with eyes that just radiate innocence, she runs the tip of her tongue around the head of my dick, flicking it teasingly on the sensitive underside. A groan, low and languid, spills from my mouth as she takes the head of my cock between her lips. She continues to stroke my cock as she takes more and more of my staff into her mouth.
And when she has as much of me as she can handle, she starts to move her head and hand in rhythm with each other. I brace myself against the wall, feeling my entire body tighten as she strokes and sucks me, working me over like she has something to prove. Still gripping my shaft tightly, Ashley rolls her tongue up on the side of it, then down the other, and swirls it around the head again. All the while, her eyes remain fixed on mine, the eye contact making it even more erotic and more intense.
“Jesus, Ash,’ I moan.
But she keeps going, jerking and sucking with a wild abandon that’s pushing me closer to the edge. Reaching down, I grip her hair, pulling it hard as I squeeze my eyes shut, my body ravaged by the most intense tingles of pleasure I’ve ever felt before. I know if I keep letting her go, she’ll push me over the edge, and I’ll finish in her mouth in no time flat. And I don’t want that right now. At the moment, I want to enjoy every inch of her body.
