Page 52 of In You

Fixed

Caleb

"No, move it back about a foot to the left. It's still not centered with the picture," Tamryn says, clutching Tink in her arms.

Ignoring her slightly agitated voice, I glance over at Colin who's grinning wickedly at me. He and Olivia came up a couple days ago to put the finishing decorations on the nursery that Olivia designed, and the redhead spared no expense. Hitting my checking account hard and with absolutely no mercy.

Colin’s wife stands in the far corner of the nursery straightening a stuffed elephant's bow, humming to herself without a care in the world while Tamryn bosses us around.

I nod my agreement, and he and I shoot each other a secret look before picking up the heavy wooden crib and shuffle forward, putting it back where I swear she just had us move it from.

Colin and I look back over at her expectantly. She's standing in a beautiful violet dress with one hand cradling her round tummy, and twisting her lips.

That little frown line appears between her eyes, and I'm thankful when Colin laughs good naturedly, clapping his hands together.

"It looks perfect, amiga," he says in a lighthearted tone, walking up to Tamryn and tucking her under his arm.

He turns them so they're facing me, and I cautiously back away from the crib, catching onto his point. It took us almost an hour to put it together even with my skills, and it seems like even longer trying to pick the perfect spot for it.

We've been in this nursery for hours over the last few days. And though no one's happier than me, aside from Tamryn, of course, there's only so many minor changes that can be made before a person snaps.

Colin and Olivia have been very kind, handling Tamryn's switching alters with a sort of mellow patience I hadn't expected, but I've been on pins and needles to see if Nathan or her seven-year-old alter I've dubbed "Darling" will show, and so far they haven't.

"I agree," Olivia sings, walking to Colin's other side and beaming at us all.

She huffs a deep sigh and casts a whimsical look around the nursery that we all just spent the day putting our blood, sweat, and tears into.

"It was such a good idea to paint the ceiling the same color, Tamryn," she says, turning her head to look past Colin, who's begging me with his eyes to make it stop.

I grin at him and wink. "I mean it really transformed this room into somethin' special. Tris is going to love it."

"Thanks," Tamryn says sheepishly, turning her eyes to mine and stepping forward.

I smile, pulling her into my arms and putting a hand to her belly.

Tink licks my neck, and I chuckle, petting her.

"Do you like it?" Her shy voice makes my heart melt, and I work to pull her closer, mindful of her belly between us.

"I love it," I assure her, giving her a slightly deeper kiss.

Just then, the oven alarm goes off, and she pulls away with a click of her tongue. "Oh! That's the lasagna!" Tamryn says, snapping her fingers then turning around in a movement so fluid the skirt of her dress billows out, showing me a generous amount of thigh, making my cock stir.

"I'll come with you," Olivia says, following her out. "You don't need to be bending down and pulling heavy things out of the oven, girl!"

Their voices disappear down the hall, leaving just us two men.

"That's cute," Colin says, nodding his head at the little table and chairs against the wall under the window, filled with dolls and a tea service.

He walks over to it, picking one up and eyeing the doll's braids. I refuse to tell him I put those pigtails in while Darling giggled next to me.

"It's been there for a few months actually, it's where I take Tamryn when…

" I trail off, scrubbing a hand to my jaw.

"I can't bring myself to talk about that part of our situation too much.

It's still something I myself am trying to navigate.

But when Tamryn's seven-year-old alter, Darling, comes out, I have a tea party with her in here. "

"I'm sorry." His eyes turn sad and he leans forward, clasping his hand on my shoulder and squeezing. "You're taking on a lot, my friend."

I nod, averting my eyes as a wave of emotion hits me. "She's worth it. More than."

"You're a good man, Caleb. You've gone through so much, and deserve this more than anyone I know. I can tell when you two look at each other how much love you two share."

I grunt, bringing my eyes back to his. "Love. Who would have thought I'd fall in love?"

His eyes soften, and he half-laughs, grabbing the nape of his neck as he steps away. "You know, I once said the same thing about myself." He turns his head to look towards the doorway our wives disappeared through, and at how solemn he gets I clear my throat, and clap him on the back once.

"I'm sorry if doing this has brought up any issues," I say softly, gesturing around the nursery.

Colin nods, looking down at his feet now as his face clouds with something that looks a lot like pain, and disappointment. "Yeah, it's okay. We're happy to help." He gives me a smile, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. He and Olivia have been trying for months for a baby with no luck.

"It's not too late…" I say gruffly, trying to give him hope.

He blows out a big breath, his eyes turning wary. "Yeah…I just want to give her everything."

"You do give her everything…"

Colin’s eyes turn even more sad than before. "Not a baby." He huffs a sign and scrubs a hand down his face.

My heart tugs for my oldest friend who, in my opinion, deserves every happiness in the world. ""You'll get there," I say encouragingly. "It just might take some time."

This time his eyes slide to the window, looking beyond the pane to the setting sun.

The women have walked out there arm and arm, moving slow, and Tamryn points into the trees, making Olivia bounce and down on the balls of her feet excitedly.

Tink and Ringo roll around in the grass nearby, and in this moment, life feels so perfect that I can't imagine a time I never had Tamryn here, or how I kept Colin pushed away for so long.

I look back to him, feeling my eyes well up causing me to bring a hand up to scrub at them. "I'm sorry for being such a bad friend all these years, man," I choke out, suddenly emotional. Fuck. The closer we get to Tamryn's due date, the softer my heart gets.

He looks at me, frowning. "Caleb, what are you talking about?"

"All those years it was just you calling me, asking me if I was okay…checking to see if I was still alive. You and Jonathan were my only friends, and I treated you like shit, man." I clear my throat, folding my arms. "I'm so sorry, Colin. There's no excuse."

He frowns, stepping close enough to yank me into a one armed hug.

"You stop with those foolish thoughts, pinche pendejo.

You've been an amazing brother to me all these years.

" Pulling away, he encases my shoulders in his strong grip, and pins me with a hard stare.

"You kept me alive, hermano. So many times throughout the years I'd wanted to end my life, and the only thing that stopped me was picking up the phone to call you.

You're my brother, don't you forget it."

I nod hard, averting my eyes and scrubbing a hand down my face.

We work to pull ourselves back together and then meet the women in the kitchen where we sit at the dining room table and eat before seeing them off back to Connecticut.

Tamryn and I stand on the porch and wave as they drive away, and I turn to her, eyeing her face tightly.

The emotions of the day have me weak, and the vision of her in this beautiful dress, the sparkle in her eye, has me filling with red-hot desire.

We've been too busy to have sex today, but I'm about to fix that.

Her fingers caress my cheek gently, but I put harsh fingers on her chin and tilt her head up to me.

"Did you like bossing me around in the nursery, my love?" I ask in a hard voice, tilting my head down to take her mouth in a brusque kiss. She giggles against my lips, squirming against me.

"I just wanted to get it right, but…now that you mention it, maybe just a little." She lets out a squeal as I slap her ass, making her stumble further into me.

"Menace!" I tease, walking her backwards through the door and then close it with a bang.

I keep walking her back until we're in the hallway and headed to our bedroom.

She bunches the skirt of her dress up in her hands, and by the time I've whipped my shirt off and tossed it to the side, her dress is over her head.

Before she has it off her arms I reach up and grab her wrists with one hand and take the fabric of her dress and wrap it around her forearms, trapping her.

Her brown eyes widen as I walk her to the edge of the bed and then push her down softly.

The air around us is tense with desire, thick with tension and lust. The last few months we've found a rhythm in our love making time, and it's been a privilege and honor every time our bodies join.

The blessing of us being together not lost on either one of us.

"Keep your arms up," I order harshly, spreading her legs and tilting my head down.

"I loved having them here, but-" A high pitched gasp cuts her words off as I lick through the lips of her sex and latch on to her clit hard, pulling her in rhythmic sucks into my mouth. "But I missed this so much…I don't like going without you."

I say nothing, showing her with my mouth and hands how much I missed her. Her soft moans of ecstasy fill the quiet along with the sound of me eating her. And I show her no mercy. Nipping, sucking, and tasting her until she's quivering and her moans turn fervent, and desperate.

"Caleb!" she snaps, looking down at me, but I just smooth a hand up over her belly, feeling our child move, and go further up until I cup a breast in my hand and squeeze gently.

Her moans turn into a wail when I gently pinch her nipple, and I smile against her deliciously fragrant flesh when she orgasms with a yelp.

Standing up, I eye her panting and squirming on the bed as I take my pants and briefs off and then crawl on the bed next to her, bracing my back against the pillows on the headboard.

Her eyes meet mine, and she shifts to her knees without me having to say a word.

I wrap my swollen dick in a hard grip as she straddles my hips, and before she touches me anywhere, she leans forward, pressing her lips to mine in a soft kiss of ownership. I groan, tilting my head and licking deeper into her mouth.

Never able to get enough of her taste, I tangle my tongue with hers and breathe in her every breath until we physically can't connect any closer than we already are. I run my hands up the smooth skin of her arms until my hands tangle in her hair.

I love you," she whispers against my lips, and every muscle in my body tightens up when her hips shift, and her heat embraces the tip of my cock.

"I love you too." My eyes shut as a gasp tears through my throat when she lowers herself all the way on me with a long drawn out whimper, tossing her head back.

Our fingers entwine, and for a second the both of us are still.

Treasuring our connection. And once where I thought I was broken, I can't even feel the crack anymore that used to divide my heart. She's healed me.

"Please," she whimpers in a quavery voice, and I lower my brow, feeling my heart swell painfully.

"No," I say harshly. "No begging. I beg you. Ride me," I grit. "Show me how much you need this cock. How much you need me, baby." I cup her cheek in my hand, staring her deep into her eyes. "Make me feel good."

Her eyes widen, and when she rises up on her knees to drag her soaking wet cunt up my sensitive shaft, my eyes shut again. I can't believe we made it this far.

"Oh, baby," I say, opening my eyes and meeting hers when she clenches hard on the tip of my cock. "You're so perfect." I let one of her hands go to caress up her arm and to the nape of her neck and squeeze gently. "You're so damn perfect, my love. My beautiful wife."

Her pupils blow wide, and she moans as she raises up and down in a lazy, slow tempo, grinding our sexes together, and working us gently to the pinnacle of our pleasure. We come together, our bodies rocking and straining as we both try to prove to the other how much we need the other.

And for the first time in my life, I feel fixed.

I feel whole.