Conception (The Wellingtons, #4) Read online

  “You take off last night with barely a goodbye, that hot piece of tail practically hanging off you. You’re gonna come here, not say a word, and expect me not to ask?”

  “Come on, Sunny. It’s all casual,” I tell her, my eyes widening with a small nod back to Knox, hoping she gets the message that we’ll talk later.

  Knox clears his throat. “For the record, while I appreciate the compliment, Sunny, I prefer radical dude over being likened to a rabbit.”

  Sam lifts a fist in solidarity. “Righteous, brother.”

  Sunny gapes at the both of them then turns to me. “He’s not serious. Tell me he’s not serious. Radical is never going to catch on. Never.”

  Clay pipes in. “I don’t know. I hear it all the time in the city. Maybe it’s just slow to become a thing out here in the sticks. All you fuddy duddies.”

  Sunny glares at him. “We’re, like, two hours from multiple major cities, you turkey.”

  “Take a chill pill, sister.”

  That has her laughing, and she gives him a mocking salute. “Ten four, good buddy!”

  Joe groans. “No. No more trucker talk. That’s just whacked.”

  “Or is it wicked?”

  I’m still laughing at their back-and-forth over the ’70s vernacular Grams often laments over when Sunny scoots closer to me.

  “I’ll give you back this stupid book if you answer three questions for me,” she says.

  “Can we do this later?” I ask through gritted teeth. I might be willing to do pretty much anything in the bedroom when it comes to this man, but I’m not spelling it all out for the boys to hear while they’re still watching us.

  Sunny doesn’t say a word. She just turns towards her boyfriend, giving him a look that speaks more than words could.

  Joe snaps his fingers and moves to his feet, bending down to reach inside of the cooler. “All right, fellas. That’s the not-so-subtle signal for ‘get the hell outta here so the girls can gossip.’”

  Sunny turns back to me with a triumphant smile. We watch as the men each grab a beer and head on down to the shore and into the water. With the sun already beating down on my back, I’m a bit jealous at their cooling off, so I gratefully take the Michelob Light Sunny tossed in my direction.

  “Before I left the house this morning, Gran warned me that the combination of beer and sun would send me to the hospital,” she muses before taking a sip from her can.

  “She’s probably right.” I point to the cooler Knox carried down for us. “Which is why that’s loaded with water and food. Help yourself.”

  She offers me a smile then repositions herself so she’s facing the water. I follow suit, and we both watch the boys in silence while they take turns bouncing a beach ball back and forth. It’s surprisingly efficient the way they’re all doing it one-handed, and I comment so to Sunny.

  Without skipping a beat, she replies, “You’d be surprised at what all Joe can do well with just one hand.”

  I groan and flick the condensation from my beer in her direction. “You’re such a horn ball.”

  I’m preparing myself for her to switch the topic to last night, and she doesn’t disappoint.

  “And how about you?” she asks. “Did you get your itch scratched last night, or did he barely scratch the surface?”

  Sunny, ever so eloquent.

  If it weren’t for the heat, I’d swear I’m blushing at the memory of everything we did last night. And this morning. Tingles alight my body, all the way down to my toes, and if Sunny weren’t watching me so intently, they might’ve curled in remembrance.

  “Would it be wrong to say you’re correct on both accounts?”

  Sunny’s widening grin answers for her. “So you finally did the deed?”

  “Once or twice,” I reply with a coy smile. “Of course, I had to practically beg.”

  She sighs, and I want to echo it. “Begging is usually a good sign, Meems.”

  “I think he knew what he was doing. Days with just light touches, devouring kisses, and nothing else made me desperate for him. By the time we got back to my place last night, I thought I was going to lose my mind if he didn’t do something more.”

  “By the contentment on your face this morning, I’d say he did…and more.”

  “You’d be right.”

  I’m surprised by Sunny’s answering silence. More than that, I welcome it. She’s my best friend, and while she might be willing to spare no detail when it comes to her and Joe, there are some things I want to keep close to the chest. My night with Knox? It’s definitely one of them. Still, as time passes and the butterflies in my belly increase, I need some girl talk.

  “Do you think it’s odd to be so addicted to someone after such a short time?”

  Sunny tears her eyes from Joe and lowers her glasses so I can see her eyes. “I think after four years of you blocking out anything good, the fact that he was able to get in there at all is pretty fan-fucking-tastic, Meems.”

  “Don’t go getting all excited, Sunny. Just because it feels intense right now, it doesn’t mean anything. We’re just connecting for the summer. Then it’ll fizzle in the fall.”

  “Doesn’t matter. If Knox is nothing but a gateway drug to the next good thing, then, babe, smoke, snort, huff—do whatever it is you gotta do to get that man into your system.”

  She’s right. I know she’s right.

  “That’s good and all,” I say, “but you know what they say about gateway drugs. Get in your system, can’t get ’em out. You become an addict. And that’s a road that leads nowhere good.”

  I don’t even realize I’m speaking out loud until Sunny sits up, raises her glasses onto the top of her head, and peers down at me.

  “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  I close my eyes for a brief moment, because even after four years apart, Sunny knows me all too well. When I open them, I hate the sympathy reflecting back at me. “It’s not a big deal.”

  “Oh, honey, if it wasn’t, you wouldn’t look like you just swallowed a bee. You’re not…falling for him, are you?”

  “No!” I shout in protest, a little too loudly. It catches Knox’s attention, so I smile and wave, hopefully signaling that everything’s all good. Then I lower my voice and try to rationalize it to her. And probably myself in the process. “No. Definitely not. Sure, we’ve been attached at the hips for the better part of a week. Truth is, though, while I feel like I’ve known him for ages, there are still so many things about him I don’t know.” Not to mention the things he doesn’t know about me. “Hell. I don’t even know his last name. Nor does he know mine.”

  Sunny wrinkles her nose. “Really? You’ve never talked about last names?”

  I shrug. “I don’t know. I guess it’s just never come up. Weird, I guess. It seems like we’ve talked about anything and everything.”

  “So you’ve opened up to him about your parents?” she asks, her voice soft.

  I swallow hard. “Okay, so maybe not everything. And if he’s just a summer fling, there’s no reason for that to come up. I don’t want his pity or his sympathy. I just want him.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with pity or sympathy, Amelia. You went through something horrifying, suffered not only one but two devastating losses. But when I look at you, it’s not with pity. That doesn’t define who you are any more than Joe’s mom dying from an overdose defines him.”

  The reminder of Joe’s mom’s passing when we were just twelve forms a lump in my throat. “I know that, Sunny.”

  She holds a hand up, stopping me. “I didn’t say that to make you feel bad. Look, I just missed my best friend and I’m so glad you’re back. I just don’t want you to get your heart broken by a man that makes me lose you all over again.”

  I could point out that this whole thing was her idea, which would be unfair because I was ready to jump in headfirst with barely a nudge from her.

  “I missed you, too. If it makes you feel any better, I came back here for you. I never imagined I’d mee
t someone.”

  “Girl, I don’t care what brought you back or keeps you here, as long as you promise never to stay away for so long again.”

  “Promise.”

  I chug the rest of my beer and get up to grab us both a couple more, along with waters. Heaviness fills the air around us, but I know just the thing to bring us back down.

  “And the truth is, the only thing you have to worry about is my falling in lust, maybe. Definitely not love. Because, girl, let me tell you. That man is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.”

  Okay, so he may be only the second man I’ve ever been with, but everything we’ve done has been beyond anything I could’ve even imagined.

  Sunny glances back out towards the water, to where Knox now has his brother in some kind of a headlock while Joe and Sam egg him on. “That sounds promising. Even after being around him so much this past week, I can’t get a good read on him other than he’s totally into you. I can’t tell if he’s attentive as hell in the bedroom—you know, the kind that makes sure you get off before he does. Or if he’s some sort of a brute, ramming his cock into you until you’re screaming to high heaven.”

  This time, the heat on my face isn’t from the sun. I bite the inside of my cheek, wondering how open I want to be. Some things you want to keep close, only for you. But other things, like how deliciously incredible Knox is? You should shout it from the rooftops. And since I’ve all but seen Sunny and Joe shag, I may as well repay the favor. Except something tells me Sunny will be much more appreciative of my deets than I was of hers. “He’s all of that.”

  Sunny gives me an expression that screams well, I’m waiting and gestures with her hand for me to continue.

  I prop myself up on my elbows. “Just like you, I’d wondered what he’d be like, too. He was everything I imagined, yet so much more than I ever expected. I didn’t know sex could be that…incredible. If that makes any sense.”

  “That different from Robert?”

  I snort. “Worlds—no, galaxies apart.”

  “Look, I don’t want to get all up in your chili or anything, Meems, and I know it was my idea, but do you think you’ll be able to do this? Go all summer and then just walk away?”

  “Of course,” I tell her, waving her off. “The whole point of my being here this summer is for me to realize it’s okay to move on. Be happy. Have fun. To keep living, even though they aren’t.”

  It’s like, as I’m saying the words, I can hear Grams in my head. It isn’t until now that I realize how right she was in sending me here. How right she was that it was time I stopped burying my head in the sand.

  The last thing I want is more pity about my parents. I want to be able to talk about them without tearing up or breaking down. I’m so damn close, yet I feel the emotion burning in the back of my throat.

  I continue before she can respond. “I’m lucky to have friends like you, Joe, and Sam here, and I wish I’d remembered that these past few summers. I’m also lucky I found someone who wants to be with me, no questions asked, and just have a bit of fun for the time being. It’s like you said, minus all the drugs part. Being with Knox is like getting back on that horse.” I lean towards her, holding my hands apart to detail what I mean. “And let me tell you, girl. That is one horse I definitely like to ride.”

  Sunny dissolves into a fit of giggles. “Oh my lord. You would find the hottest guy visiting for the summer who also has an enormous penis. No wonder you were walking funny this morning.”

  My eyes gleam. “No, Sunny, that was from the way he used his tongue this morning.”

  Her lips form a hilarious round shape and she scoots closer to me. In her best Frenchy voice, she sings, “Tell me more, tell me more—was it love at first lick?”

  “Let’s just say, he definitely got me damp and not in the way Sandy meant,” I tell her with a wink.

  She sings more of “Summer Lovin’” from Grease, shimmying her shoulders. We belt out the rest of the song, and when Sam chimes in with the last line, sounding more like a drowning cat than John Travolta, we fall back onto our towels howling in laughter and clutching our stomachs.

  When I finally catch my breath, I glance over to Sunny. “Apparently you loved that movie as much as I did?” I ask, not surprised in the least.

  “I may have gone to the drive-in ten or so times to see it.”

  “And how many times did you actually watch?”

  “All ten.”

  I laugh. “Poor Joe!”

  “Are you kidding? I was always ramped up and ready to go afterwards!”

  “I’m a little jealous. I never got to experience it in the drive-in. But I may have gone to the theater in Knoxville every day for a week—and twice in one day with Grams. I’ve practically worn the soundtrack out.”

  Just as we get into a rousing debate about John Travolta’s prowess and his performances in both Grease and Saturday Night Fever, Joe runs up, flicking his hair on us like a wet dog, raining water droplets over the both of us. It’s welcome on such a hot day. Sunny squeals as Joe hauls her up into his arms and takes her into the lake, kicking and screaming. Then he unceremoniously dumps her into the water to the guffawing laughter from Clay and Sam.

  Knox saunters up the sand towards me, a predatory gleam in his eyes. Shaking my head, I scoot back on my towel, but it’s no use. He pounces just as he reaches me, scooping me up into his arms.

  “You’re looking a bit flushed, Amelia. And though it’s becoming my favorite look of yours, what kinda man would I be if I allowed you to get overheated?”

  Wrapping my arms around his neck, I prepare for the inevitable dunking in the lake. “Hmm. You tell me, considering that, until last night, you let me overheat for nearly a week straight.”

  His chest rumbles with his laughter. “Trust me, babe. Won’t be makin’ that mistake again.”

  Instead of launching me into the water like Joe did to Sunny, Knox wades out until he’s about chest deep. I’m clinging to his shoulders, and he grins down at me. Or, rather, at my breasts.

  “Have I told you lately that I really like it when you wear Sunny’s swimsuits?”

  “Don’t get used to it. This is the last one,” I inform him.

  “Guess that means we’ll have to go shopping.”

  “You’d go shopping for bathing suits with a girl?” I ask, incredulous.

  “Nah. I wouldn’t go shipping with a girl. But I’d go shopping with you. Especially if it means I get to watch you try everything on.”

  What’d ya know? Shopping plans just became a crucial part of our immediate future.

  “Who wants to play chicken?!” Sunny’s voice interrupts our moment.

  I groan. “We might as well. She won’t leave us alone until we do.”

  Clay and Sam agree to referee, which is a good thing because Sunny lives to cheat. Her possessive streak comes alive any time there’s a competition. If I survive this game with only a couple of burns from back flops onto the water, it’ll be considered a win for me.

  Once we agree to terms—meaning Sunny is not allowed to use her nails on my boobs (much to Sam’s chagrin)—Knox sinks so I can get into position on the backs of his shoulders. Considering he’s a few inches taller than Joe, I’m starting to feel good about our chances. If it weren’t for the diabolical woman sitting on Joe’s shoulders though.

  Knox’s fingers tickle my feet then slowly begin a journey from my ankles up to my thighs, where his big hands splay out on my wet skin. I catch Sunny’s eyes across the water and she gives me wink then a thumbs-up. I have a feeling she’s getting quite a bit of enjoyment out of this.

  Knox strains his neck to meet my eyes. “This would be much more enjoyable if you were facing the other way.”

  I wonder if he can feel the way my body warms at those words. “You know, we can always arrange for that later. I seem to recall you promising to take me skinny-dipping one of these days.”

  Knox’s eyes darken. “Oh, do you? Because the way I remember it, I off
ered and you told me the mood had to strike you first.”

  Wishing I could lean down to kiss him, I settle for scraping my nails along the curve of his neck. “Let’s just say…the mood has been struck.”

  “Noted. Next full moon, your naked body is mine in the lake.”

  I’m about to argue that we don’t need a full moon when Sam whistles to signify the beginning of the match. Of course Sunny would have him start when we’re not paying attention.

  It doesn’t matter though.

  With all the power in Knox’s thighs and the tight grip of his hands, I shouldn’t be surprised when he digs his heels into the sand and holds me close to his body, as much as he can considering I’m dangling off of him. Sunny tries—and fails—with much exasperation to knock me off my Knox perch. So she does what Sunny does: She goes for my top. Now, my boobs are practically as exposed as they were the first day Knox and I kissed on the beach, and I don’t mind one bit. It’s not quite Woodstock 1969, but what happens at the lake stays at the lake, right?

  Wrong, especially when it comes to Knox. Knowing she was about to lose, Sunny found what button to push with him. Just as my hands fly up to stop my top from falling into the water, Knox immediately sinks, whips my legs off his shoulders, and wraps them around his waist. I’m now on his back, piggyback style, with him ending the game.

  Sunny whoops then grins at Knox’s growl. “Sorry, buddy. I had to fight dirty if I wanted to win.”

  “How’d you know he’d do that?” Sam asks, to which Knox mutters a curse.

  Joe splashes Sam. “You got a girl for the summer, you want your brother seein’ her goods?”

  That turns on a lightbulb in Sam’s mind. He shakes his head with such vigor that water goes flying from his long hair.

  “Don’t want any of you fuckers seein’ her goods.”

  “Not like it’d be the first time,” Sam offers, causing Joe to groan and Knox to stiffen.

  “My fault,” Sunny pipes up. “I dared her to show the goods at the county fair when we were sixteen. At the time, I didn’t think Amelia would actually do it. I learned that day she doesn’t like to turn down a dare.”