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“I still can’t believe you-” Annie mimed intercourse, sticking her finger into her fist and thrusting it a few times out of the eyeline of their children. “With gangfriend.”
“Can we please not call him gangfriend around the children?” Beth said through a tight lipped smile as Emma came running towards her to show her a shiny rock she’d found on the playground. “Look at that. Go show Sadie.” She patted her daughter on the back and pointed her back in the direction of the swing set.
“Okay, I can’t believe you had S-E-X with Rio.” Annie corrected herself with a self-satisfied grin. “So, when’s he coming?”
Beth pulled her phone out of her purse, “He texted OMW about twenty ago.”
“Oh!” Annie squeezed Beth’s arm. “There he is.” She pointed down the sidewalk and Beth felt her heart do a stupid little flutter when her eyes fell on Rio walking hand-in-hand with Marcus. There was something about seeing his paternal side that flipped a switch that Dean playing daddy with the kids had never done.
“I always thought he had BDE. Now I can’t unthink of the fact that you know first hand that he does now.” Annie nudged her in the ribs.
“Hey.” Rio said coolly as he and Marcus reached the bench, stopping in front of Beth.
“Hey.” Beth smiles up at him, shielding her eyes from the sun as she did.
“Marcus, this is Ms. Beth.” Rio said, giving his son’s shoulder a squeeze. “That’s her kids over there.” He nodded towards the playground.
“And I’m Annie.” Annie interrupted with a wave. “That one’s mine.” She pointed at Sadie who was swinging with Kenny.
“It’s nice to meet Marcus.” Beth said, ignoring Annie.
“Hi!” Marcus said simply, looking up at Rio. “Can I go play now, Papi?”
“Yea kid, go have fun.” Rio ruffled Marcus’ hair and watched as he ran off to play with Emma. “So,” He started as he turned his attention back to Beth, with a fleeting look towards Annie.
“It’s good to see you again.” Beth offered as Rio sat down directly beside her.
Rio’s gaze fell to her lips, before he looked towards the playground. “She know?” He questioned.
“Yep.” Annie quipped. “I know all the sordid details.”
Beth blushed and Rio chuckled. “Not everything .” She assured him, “About 90%.”
“Wouldn’t expect any less.” Rio kept his eyes trained on the playground as he reached his hand out to rest over hers where it laid on the bench. “You tell her about the dick tat?”
“ WHAT ?” Annie covered her mouth in horror. “The what?”
Beth laughed heartily. “He’s joking.” She turned her hand over beneath his, letting their fingers slip in between each other’s.
Rio chuckled. “Shoulda got a pic of that reaction.” He squeezed her hand lightly. “How’s the carpet burn?” He questioned, quiet enough that Annie couldn’t hear over the playground sounds.
“Still a little sore.” She admitted, rolling her shoulders that the memory of the carpet scratching at her bare back.
He smirked. “Worth it. Right?”
Beth nodded. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” In the past day since they’d fucked in the back of her minivan, she’d been trying to ignore the carpet burn that made wearing a bra highly uncomfortable. Her shoulder blades had received the brunt of it. But it had been worth it. Entirely . Especially in light of the saucy texts she’d shared with Rio in that intervening time. It was all so new and exciting.
“The kids seem to be gettin’ along.” Rio observed, giving her a sideways look. “Emma’s what? Five years old?”
“She is. A very precocious age.” Beth made a face.
“Marcus is like that too. He’s always got an answer for everything. Wise beyond his years.” Rio smiled fondly at Marcus as he and Emma worked on trying to enlist other playground kids to join what appeared to be a club they’d made under the slide.
“Imagine that times four .” Beth retorted, turning her head to look at Rio.
“You’ve got your hands full, mama.” Rio sat up a little straighter, releasing his hold of her hand so he could scoot infinitesimally closer to her.
Annie cleared her throat, “This is so not how I imagined this conversation going down.”
Beth rolled her eyes. “ Annie .”
“Look, I’m just saying… I wasn’t expecting you’d sit around and talk about your kids… like parents .” She threw her hands up in mock-defeat.
“Whatchu think was gonna happen at a playground?” Rio questioned, looking past Beth at Annie.
“I don’t know.” Annie shrugged. “I’m gonna go check on the kids. Leave you two to talk about bedtimes and stuff.”
Beth gave Rio a look as Annie walked away. “I told you it might be awkward with her here.”
Rio sniffed, “It ain’t an issue.” He stretched his arm out on the bench behind her, his fingers brushing over her back gently.
“She took it well,” Beth admitted as she turned to look at him. He was closer to her now. If she really wanted to, she could lean in and kiss him. She wanted to, but the kids would see. “Like I anticipated, she guessed the second I walked in.”
His gaze fell to her lips briefly. “My boys grilled me on why I was in such a good mood.” Rio smirked.
Beth’s tongue darted out over her lips. “What did you tell them?”
“Hey Mom!”
Reluctantly Beth pulled away from Rio and turned her attention to Kenny as he came running towards her.
“What’s up?” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
“Is Sadie coming back home with us? I wanted to show her my new video game.” Kenny gave Rio a curious look, before he realized he knew him. “Hey! Did mom tell you she got me a tutor?”
“Oh, really?” Rio leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs. “You pull your grades up?”
“I got a B on my last test.” Kenny said proudly, before looking back at his mother. “So? Is Sadie coming over?”
“I don’t know what Annie has planned…”
“Annie told me to ask you.”
“Of course she did,” Beth shrugged. “Sure. She can come over. I don’t want you spending all day playing games. Okay?”
“Yes mom .” Kenny said with a roll of his eyes.
“Yo, don’t roll your eyes at your mama.” Rio said with a shake of his head.
Kenny made a face. “Sorry.”
“Go play, okay.” Beth shooed him off.
“Wanna bet he tells carman about mom’s friend at the park?”
She groaned inwardly. “I don’t want to think about it.”
Rio stretched his arm back out behind her shoulders, “It ain’t your fault I bring my boy here too.” He reminded her.
“I know.” Beth frowned. “I just don’t want the divorce to be messier than it has to be. Dean can be a vindictive ass.”
“You think he’s gonna play games?” Rio questioned, resting his hand on her shoulder.
Beth lightly rested her hand on his leg, ready to jerk it away the second she thought one of her kids were coming over. “I’m sure he’ll have the upper ground in custody if anyone finds out I’m flirting around with the gangbanger that shot him in the chest.”
“He’d be an idiot to try that.”
“Well, he is an idiot.” Beth retorted bitterly. “And of course he got a real jackass for a lawyer.”
Rio shook his head slowly. “Shame my aim wasn’t better.”
A burst of laughter escaped her. “He’s still their father, Rio.”
Rio shrugged. “You say the word and I improve my aim.”
Beth squeezed his leg. “I’ll handle my divorce myself, thanks.”
“Offer stands.” Rio said lowly. It really wasn’t fair that an offer to kill her soon-to-be-ex made the butterflies in her stomach flutter.
“Thank you.” Beth offered, turning to look at him. “I have the kids until Sunday night. Dean’ll pick them up around seven. They’re back with me Tuesday after school.”
Rio nodded and rubbed his thumb over his lips. “I’ve got Marcus all of Sunday night. He goes back Monday when he goes to school.”
“Right.” Beth chewed on her bottom lip as her gaze dropped to his lips briefly. “So Monday?”
“Yea.”
“I don’t know if I can wait till Monday to kiss you again.” Beth whispered, not trusting her voice in that moment. She felt like a spring that was tightly coiled, just ready to snap.
“What d’you propose then?” Rio questioned, leaning a little closer to her. “Sounds like you’ll have your hands full tonight, mama.”
Beth felt a shiver go down her spine and she quickly looked away to prevent herself from kissing him right then and there. “Yeah. Annie will probably spend the night.” She pulled her hand away from his leg, rubbing her hands together.
Rio crossed his arm across his chest, lifting his hand to to prop his chin up on his palm as he stared at her.
Beth could feel his eyes on her, making her skin burn hot with a blush. “I guess we’ll just have to wait until Monday.”
“ Monday .” Rio drawled out. “You gonna call me tonight, baby?”
Beth swallowed thickly. “Annie usually sleeps in my bed, so it might be tricky.”
“I know you gotta bathtub.” Rio clicked his tongue against his teeth.
“Are you telling me to call you in the bathtub?”
“I don’t know. You gonna do that?”
“I-...” Beth laughed nervously. “ Maybe . I’ve never really done anything like that.” She admitted. The vaguely raunchy texts they’d exchanged had been more than she’d ever exchanged with Dean.
“Daddy!” Marcus cried out as he and Emma came running over to Rio and Beth. “Daddy! Can we get ice cream?”
“Oh, I don’t know about that, buddy.” Rio said as he leaned over to address his son. “We don’t wanna wear out our welcome.”
Emma stuck out her bottom lip and fixed her mother with a look that most mother’s would struggle to say no to. “ Please mommy. Can I get ice cream with Marcus?”
“I don’t know,” Beth pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I bet they’ve got other stuff they want to do today.” She looked towards Rio. “What do you think?”
Emma put her hands on her mother’s knees, trying to look as cute as possible to get her way.
“You got ice cream at your house?” Rio questioned, something in his eyes making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
“A couple of tubs.” Beth admitted. “The kids love ice cream.” And now that they were splitting their time between her and Dean, she was trying to be the cool mom. “Do you want to come over?”
Rio smirked, “Sounds like a plan, mama.”
It was the first time Rio had ever been in her house for purely non -business reasons. Not to mention, it was the first time he hadn’t had to let himself in. He was a welcomed guest.
Beth draped the dish towel over the side of the sink as she looked out the window, watching as the kids ran around her backyard like the thickest of thieves.
“We’re finally alone.” Rio stated as he took a drink from his bottle of beer, moving to stand beside her.
“Their little ice cream ploy worked in our favour.” Beth quipped as she turned her gaze away from the backyard and met his dark eyes. She could feel the lust starting to pool low in her belly.
Rio sat his bottle aside, “That it did.” He reached out to brush his fingers over her temple and cheekbone. “We don’t gotta wait now.”
“I know.” Beth breathed out and closed the distance between them, planting a soft kiss on his lips.
Rio curled his hand around the back of her neck, deepening the kiss as he pressed her back against the kitchen counter.
Beth ran her hands from his shoulders, down over his bared arms where his t-shirt sleeves stopped, letting her nails scrape lightly.
She could feel the way his body had already reacted to the kiss, his cock straining against his jeans, pressing against her.
“ Rio .” Beth breathed out as she pulled back from the kiss, her eyes flickering open to meet his. “We’ve still got it.”
“You doubted?” Rio chuckled as he cupped her cheek and leaned in to kiss her again. “You got a bedroom, sweetheart?” He questioned.
“The kids might come back in.” Beth worried, looking over her shoulder and out the window. Annie had them all occupied. But she was still trying to be a dutiful mother.
Rio sighed, taking a step backwards to give them both space. “Damn kids, ruining our fun.” He ran his tongue over his bottom lip as he stared at her hotly.
Beth leaned back against the kitchen counter, squirming a little under his gaze. “I’m glad they’re all getting along.” She said, trying to compose herself. “But I’m not ready for any of them to find out we’re…”
“ Together.”
“Together.” Beth agreed, thankful that he was the one to say it. She knew that whatever this was, it wa supposed to be casual, but it didn’t feel casual at all. It felt intense. A longing and need that she wasn’t sure she’d ever felt before. And messy. So messy. How were they ever supposed to go back to business as usual?
“I get it.” Rio said with a sniff, looking out the window at the kids. “I don’t give a shit who Marcus’ mother’s with, but she’s always got me listing out who I’ve got around him. ‘Course, that’s probably due to my line of work.”
Beth’s brows drew together at the mention of Marcus’ mother. Obviously the kid had a mother, but she hadn’t actually given much of a thought to the woman that Rio had had a baby with. She couldn’t just grill him about who she was, not unless she wanted to look stupid. “You’re good with him.”
“Thanks.” He reached for his bottle of beer and downed the rest of it. “He’s a good kid. Reminds me of myself when I was that age.”
“You were a good kid?” Beth teased. “I don’t know if I believe that.”
Rio shrugged with a wicked grin. “Depends on who you ask.” He moved around the kitchen to throw the beer bottle in the trash can. “Y’know Turner might squeal about what he saw to Dean, right?”
Beth’s shoulders sagged. “The thought had crossed my mind. I’ll cross that bridge when it gets here.”
“If you need it handled, I’m a call away, Elizabeth.” Rio said seriously, his jaw tensing as he moved towards her slowly. “Just give me a reason to do it.”
Beth reached out and rested her hands on his shoulders. “I can manage it by myself.” She assured him, sliding one hand towards his throat to trace the lines of the tattoo on his skin. “But I do appreciate the offer.” She leaned forward to press her lips to his, gently slanting her lips over his.
Rio rested his hand at the small of her back, urging her closer to him as he enjoyed the kiss. They were both holding back on the urgency that was lurking just beneath the surface of their kiss. It fueled the fire that burnt between her legs, but made no attempts to extinguish it. Monday was so far away.
Beth stared at her bare-faced reflection in the mirror. What the hell was she doing? If you had to wait until your kids had been tucked into bed and your sister had fallen asleep on the sofa watching Netflix… maybe you shouldn’t be doing it. And yet, the thought of talking to Rio on the phone while she bathed… and did other things filled her with a tremendous sense of need.
Rio had recommended that she try to make an event out of it. So she lit a couple candles, turned the space heater on, and poured some scented Epsom salt into the tub as the water ran. She felt ridiculous .
She picked up her cellphone, clicking on the contact she’d labeled with a crown. It rang twice before he picked it up.
“ Hey .” His voice was warm and welcoming. “How are you this evening, baby?” Beth wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to how easily terms of endearment slipped past his lips.
Beth slipped out of her bathrobe, “Feeling a little bit ridiculous.” She admitted, dipping a toe into the bathtub. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”
“Bet you’re a natural.” Rio assured her.
“I’d prefer it if you were actually here.” Beth said as she shut off the faucet and sank into the bath water. She switched the phone onto speaker, turning the volume down so it wouldn’t be audible from outside the bathroom door. She hoped the space heater’s fan would drown it out.
“You and me both.” Rio chuckled. “I wish you were layin’ in bed with me too.”
“That would be nice.” She answered, sinking a little further beneath the water’s surface. “ So … how does this work?”
“Patience, sweetheart.” Rio urged with another chuckle. “You in the water yet?”
“Yep.” Beth stretched her legs out, “What are you doing?”
“I just laid down in my bed.” Rio told her. “I was waiting for you to call.”
Beth smiled at his words. “You were waiting for me?”
“ Yea .” Rio answered. “I’ve been thinkin’ about this since I left your place.”
“I felt like I was on autopilot since you left.” Beth chewed on her bottom lip. “You’re going to have to guide me through this, you know.”
She could almost hear his smirk on the other side of the phone. “It’s okay, baby. I gotchu.” He drawled out, before continuing. “You ever get yourself off in the bathtub before, beautiful?”
Beth swallowed thickly. “A couple times.”
“You gotta tell me what you do.” Rio urged. “You play with your breasts? Cause lemme tell you, they were looking good in that blouse today mama.” He finished his words off with a little groan that went straight to her cunt.
She laughed breathlessly. “I don’t usually, but… is that what you want me to do?”
“Mhm.” Rio murmured.
Beth cupped her breasts, closing her eyes as she tried to pretend that it was Rio’s hands fondling them. She tweaked her nipples, letting out a soft moan in response. “What are you doing Rio?”
“Whatchu think I’m doing?” Rio chuckled.
“I’d like to think you’ve got your hand around your cock.”
“How could you tell?” Rio clicked his tongue against his teeth. “I wish you were here.”
“Me too.” Beth whispered as she trailed one hand down her stomach, “I don’t know if I’m cut out for this Rio.” She wanted it to work. She really did.
“You don’t gotta if you don’t want to, sweetheart.” Rio said, his voice turned serious now. “Hey, hey. This is about both of us. If you ain’t into it, we can just talk.”
“Are you sure?” Beth questioned, letting out a sigh of relief. For a fleeting moment she wondered if she was disappointing him, but then he was talking and pushing away all of her fears.
“Marcus talked the whole way home about your kids.” Rio started. “I think we might just have a blossoming friendship on our hands.”
“I think Emma has a crush.” Beth quipped as she sank a little lower into the water, relaxing now. “It’s sweet. And I think Kenny enjoyed seeing you again. He was asking if you could help him with math again.”
“I’m glad you got him a tutor.” Rio said warmly, “Kid’s got potential. Just like his mom.”
“Better me than Dean, I guess. Crime notwithstanding.” Beth chuckled. “You’re a good father, Rio. Your domestic side is surprising.”
“Yea? I try to keep Marcus separate from all the shit I’m into.” He answered, “But you got kids and I got one. I dunno, seemed why to let those areas cross.”
Beth blinked slowly as she thought over his words. “How do you see us crossing over in those areas?”
“Beth, I ain’t gonna lie. Business ain’t ever gonna be just business anymore.” Rio responded easily. “I know you wanna keep this a secret from your girl Ruby, but I don’t see it going that smoothly. Ya know?”
“I know.” She swept her hand over her forehead. “Annie was easy. She was the one who pointed out that you and I had been making eyes, or whatever, with each other. Ruby… is gonna think I’ve got Stockholm Syndrome or something.”
“Do ya?”
“No!” Beth rolled her eyes. “She’s going to take one look at this and think I’m going through a midlife crisis.”
“Are you?”
“No.” She said sternly. “Just let me handle Ruby. Okay? She’s coming over tomorrow. Maybe I can have this all handled before Monday.”
“I don’t want you distracted then.” Rio drawled out.
Beth laughed. “I don’t want to be either.” Maybe the playdate had been too much, too fast, too soon. They were already balancing business and pleasure and now they’d thrown their family into the mix.
“It’s gonna be all good mama. You’re gonna keep being your boss bitch self, cleaning that money like a pro… and we’re gonna be good .”
“I’m sorry tonight didn’t work out like you thought it would.” Beth sucked on her bottom lip as she laid in the tub, watching a flame flickering on the counter. “This is new for me. It all is. Dean and I… we never had a spark like this. It just was.”
“Don’t you be doubting yourself, baby. I’ll teach you. But not tonight.”
“Well, I look forward to you teaching me.”
“So do I,” He said with that warm, rich voice that made her melt inside. “Now enjoy your bath. Text me when you go to bed?”
“Of course.” Beth smiled at the phone. “Sleep well, Rio.”
“See you Monday, Elizabeth.”