Page 62 of Moonlight & Matrimony
She nods, resting her head against my shoulder. Ivy floral scent surrounds me as she curls up next to us, her hand rubbing soothing circles along Rylin’s back. We stay like that for a while until Rylin’s breathing slows, and the silence is filled with her quiet snores.
Chapter 15
Luca
? I Wanna Be Yours - Arctic Monkeys
The smell of sawdust and wood stain fills the air as I work on Cade’s new bar top for The Ridge. There isn’t a place in the world where I’m more at peace than right here in my workshop, but tonight feels different, almost empty, like there’s a shadow looming and I just can’t seem to shake it.
Things have been somewhat subdued since the hearing. Rylin’s next supervised visit is coming up in a few days, but otherwise the Taylor family has been radio silent. We’ve spent every evening together, having dinner, watching movies, playing with the animals — all while listening to Rylin chatter away about her friends at daycare. Even with her limited vocabulary, that girl knows how to captivate her audience.
Today was much the same, and after tucking Ry into bed, Ivy scurried off to shower, and I retreated to the safety of my workshop. Being in the same house with Ivy is agony, knowing she’s only steps away, naked and wet.
As I meticulously sand down the edges of the bar top, my mind replays images of her body beneath mine, quivering with desire as she comes undone with my name on her lips. Working with my hands has always been my escape, but there’s nowhere in this world I could run to that would quell this insatiable desire for my wife that only grows as the days go on.
“Luca?” Her quiet approach startles me, causing me to drop the sanding block to the floor. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” She looks effortlessly gorgeous in a crop top and shorts, freshly showered with her hair tied back in that signature braid I’ve been dreaming of wrapping around my fist. She’s braless and I can just make out the shape of her pebbled nipples beneath her shirt.Fuck me.
“Is everything okay?” I ask, bending to pick up the block and I don’t miss the hungry way her eyes track my movements. “Ivy?” I say her name with an added depth to my voice that wasn’t there earlier, snapping her out of her obvious appraisal.
“What? Oh. Yeah. I’m fine. I wanted to ask a favor. I’ve been meaning to bring it up for a while but I keep forgetting, and it just came back to me now while I was in the shower and… I’m rambling,” she smiles and I think it’s the first time in days it’s been directed at me. She fidgets with the end of her braid, biting her lip and fuck if I don’t want to bite it, too.
I just shake my head, giving her a subtle smirk as I resume my task. It’s all I can do to hide the tent in my jeans that doesn’t seem to go down whenever Ivy is around. “What can I do for you?”Say the word and I’ll bend you over this table.
“I was hoping you might want to come to the fall festival with me and Rylin next week?” her voice is hesitant — so unlike the spitfire who showed up at my door on a rampage that first day. “You can say no, but Rylin is super excited and I’m not sure if I’m comfortable going alone.”
“Why do you make spending time with my favorite girl sound like such a chore? I’d love to go.”
“Ok. Great.” She exhales a long breath, taking a few tentative steps in my direction. “What are you working on?”
Resisting the urge to pull you into my arms and kiss you breathless. But I can't say that.“Cade asked me to make a new bar top for The Ridge. With everything going on, I’m a little behind schedule.”
She winces, and I instantly regret bringing up that last part. There’s guilt etched on her features and I hate that I put it there. She has nothing to feel guilty for. “It’s beautiful, Luca.”
“Thank you. It’ll look even better once it’s installed.” I make a show of flexing my muscles as I slide the block over the surface, using a gentle hand around the live edge.
“That looks hard. Don’t your arms get sore?”Something is definitely hard, but it has nothing to do with this project.
“I cover most of it with the electric sander, but I like to go over some of the more delicate areas with my hands. Do you want to try?”
“Oh no, I couldn’t…” she shakes her head but I’m not going to take no for an answer. She walked in here looking like a wet dream, and I plan to use every excuse I can find to get her within arm’s reach. One taste and I’m already addicted.
“You’ll be fine. Come here.” My voice is commanding, almost challenging. Ivy is at my side in seconds and she smells incredible. I cage her between me and the bar top, placing the sanding block in her right hand as I begin to gently guide it back and forth over the surface.
“What if I fuck it up?”
“You won’t. You’re doing great.” Her pulse picks up at my praise as my chest sinks against her back, holding her a little closer than necessary. She tilts her head to look at me over hershoulder, our lips barely a breath apart, and every bit of control I had slips right through my fingers.
Bringing my calloused hand up to cup her jaw, I watch as her eyes close, her lips ghosting over mine.
“Luca… please,” she whispers, and that’s all I need to hear. I pull her to me, taking her mouth in an all-consuming kiss, swallowing a gasp. Ivy’s ass grinds into my rock hard erection, and she lets out a needy moan.
“Sweetheart, I’m hanging on by a thread here.”
She spins in my hold, bringing us face to face, our noses brushing ever so slightly.
“Let go,” she breathes, eyes heavily lidded and filled with lust.
“I’m trying really hard to be a gentleman.”
