Inferno - Chelle Bliss by Chelle Bliss

A man who’s never had a relationship can’t easily become the poster child for monogamy. I’ve never seen it happen before, and I don’t want to get my hopes up now that he’ll become a changed man just because he met me.

It’s all fanciful thinking. Dreaming is grand, but I won’t allow myself to get lost in the idea of us becoming more. My heart’s been through enough, and I’m already in too deep with him to come out of whatever this is unscathed if he were to walk away.

“I always wished I had more kids,” Mia says. “But grandbabies are better. I get to skip all the bad parts and still have the baby cuddles.”

“Damn right. Me too.” Fran nods. “My feet swelled up like balloons, and I swear to God, my vag was never the same.”

Mia snorts. “Kinda hard for it to be after a tiny human rips you open.”

“Fuck,” Stone groans, dropping his hand from my arm as he shakes his head. “I’m so happy I don’t have my food right now.”

“It’s worth it, though,” Mia says, ignoring Stone’s complaining. “I have two beautiful children and grandchildren.”

“At least the clit isn’t harmed during childbirth. That would be catastrophic.”

Stone throws up his hands. “Are you trying to chase me away? I mean, come on.”

Fran cackles and Mia laughs.

I bite my lip, holding in my laughter. The big guy is uncomfortable, and the women are doing everything in their power to make sure he squirms.

“You’re all wrong,” he adds.

“It was supposed to be a girls’ dinner, but you showed up. Now you have to deal with the consequences,” Fran tells him. “Maybe you’ll think twice next time, kid.”

“There are other things to talk about.”

“Periods?” she asks him with a raised eyebrow.

“Sweet Jesus,” he mutters, holding his head in his hand. “They don’t let up.”

“You’re too easy,” Fran says, pointing at him with her fork. “Get a tougher skin. If you’re going to have four babies, this table talk will be nothing compared to the things you’ll see, hear, and experience.”

“I can take it,” he announces, puffing out his chest. “I’ll deal with it all as it comes.”

“Sure, big guy, sure,” Fran says. “I hope I’m still around to see the day your first daughter gets her period. The meltdown…”

“From her or him?” Mia asks with a smile.

“Both,” Fran answers.

And I know I want to be around for that day too, watching as the horror passes across his face and he squirms a little bit more.





21





STONE





The week has flown by, and Jeff hasn’t shown his ugly mug. At this point, I am fairly certain he was talking the talk in jail to look like a dangerous man in front of the other prisoners.

“Now what?” Opal asks as we climb out of the truck at my grandparents’ house. “I think we’re safe.”

“You can never be too sure.” Even with looking over my shoulder constantly and keeping my eye on Opal, I’ve never had a week I enjoyed myself more.

Have I turned into one of them?

I busted my cousins’ balls for years about being pussy-whipped and their need for monogamy, but here I am, experiencing the same thing and actually freaking liking it.

Am I old now? Does everyone hit this stage as they grow up?

I hate to think about myself getting older, but I am. The people my age are becoming fewer and fewer at the clubs I frequent in Tampa. That was the first sign, but I’d done my best to ignore it.

“I’m going to go home tonight,” Opal says as she walks up the pathway to the house.

I follow behind her, snarling my lip at the thought. “We should talk about this.” I can’t keep the displeasure out of my voice. The thought of her going makes my stomach twist in a way I’ve never experienced before.

She peers over her shoulder when she makes it to the door. “I’m sure you’d like your place back. It’s been fun, but don’t you think it’s time?”

I step in front of her, turning her face toward me with my fingertips. “Time for what?”

It isn’t time for me to be alone again. I like our little fairy tale we’ve created this last week with each other, and the last thing I want is to pretend it didn’t happen.

She stares up at me with round, doe-like eyes. “To go back to normal,” she whispers.

I search her face, looking for something that says she doesn’t really want what she’s asking me for. She can’t possibly mean what she’s saying. “Is that what you want?”

She shrugs, tipping her head to the side.

I slide my hand back, cupping her cheek in my palm. “I don’t want that,” I tell her, brushing my thumb across her bottom lip. “I want you with me. Every night in my bed, every morning drinking coffee. But…” I pause, hating myself for saying the next words. “If that’s what you want, I’ll do my best to be okay with it.”

“You’ll do your best?”

“I’ll be grumpy as hell for a little while.”

A smile spreads across Opal’s face. “You’d miss me.”