Page 10 of Sex, Lies, and Margarita Mixes

YOU CAN KEEP THE RING (BUT I’M KEEPING YOU)

ROXY

I find him in the kitchen again—because of course he’s in the kitchen. He’s cleaning up the remnants of his untouched dinner.

He’s always feeding people. Fixing things. Healing the world one skillet and smirk at a time.

But not tonight.

Tonight, I don’t want fixing.

I want the man who broke me to put me back together with love, his hands, and his mouth.

He turns when I step through the doorway.

The second his eyes meet mine, he knows. The shift in the room is instant.

I’m not wearing anything under this robe. And I’m not here to make a speech.

He doesn’t grin. There’s no teasing.

Just hunger . A full-body ache I can feel from across the room.

He sets down the glass in his hand like it’s suddenly too heavy.

“Roxy,” he says, voice rough.

I don’t give him time to say anything else.

I step into the kitchen… and drop the robe.

He doesn’t move. He doesn’t breathe. For the first time in a long time, I feel powerful again. Not because he wants me—he always wants me. That’s never been a question— I want him.

All of him. It’s my choice.

I’m not scared any longer.

He’s my choice, and I’m not pushing him away anymore.

I’m pulling him in… to me.

Slowly, I walk up to him. I’m naked. Bare. Exposed. Untouchable—but not. I want him to touch me.

His eyes trace over every inch of me like a prayer he doesn’t deserve to say out loud.

“Tell me to stop,” I whisper as I get closer.

He doesn’t. He can’t.

I slide my hand down his chest and feel the tremble in his stomach. “You said you’d wait and participate in my stupid rules that we already know were pointless.”

“I would’ve,” he breathes.

Leaning in, my mouth is at his ear. I lick the shell before swallowing and saying, “Don’t.”

His hands hit my hips so fast I gasp at the speed.

I’m up. Lifted, slammed against the counter. His mouth is on mine like he’s drowning, and my lips and tongue are his only air.

There’s no hesitation. No soft start. Just Chase West finally doing what he’s always done. Worshipping me.

His mouth moves down my neck, nibbling and suckling, before traveling to my chest. He sucks on and rolls my nipples until I’m squirming on the countertop and panting his name.

“Chase…, Oh, Chase!” He moves lower, peppering kisses over my stomach and hips before swirling his tongue around my bellybutton.

Dropping to his knees, he looks up at me, his dark head between my quivering thighs.

Leaning in, still watching me, he pushes my thighs apart and licks my slit from the bottom to my nub.

He flicks it with his tongue and my hips buck.

Leaning back slightly, he grins, “You like that, baby. Want more?”

In answer, I fist his hair and pull his face into my pussy.

His fingers, lips, teeth, and tongue have me wailing in minutes.

“Ohhhh, Chase… yes, baby. I swear… you could win a pussy eating contest… but I’d kill you…

Oh, God… Ohhhh… unless it was me you were…

eating… Ohhhhhhh… ” He chuckles and the vibrations hit my clit.

Pulling him in closer, I ride his face. His fingers are sliding in and out of my pussy as he toys with my swollen clit.

I feel the wave building and plant my foot on his shoulder, using it to really ride his face just right.

My back arches and I scream at the top of my lungs with my climax.

About to die from the overwhelming sensations that consume my entire body, I forget my name. Forget my dumb rules. And forget why I ever thought he should leave.

I scream his name, “Chase… Oh, baby…. My Chase,” as my back arches with my second orgasm. He groans like it hurts him to hear it.

He wraps his arms around my thighs, and keeps me right there, spread and shameless as I come.

When the shudders stop and I slump back against the cabinets, he growls, “I love this.” He lightly flicks my clit with his tongue and my entire body jerks. I mutter, “Too much… too sensitive. Just a sec.”

He chuckles and leans back to look at me. “I love the way you taste, Rox. The way you pull my hair. The way you fall apart while screaming my name . ” All I can do is stare at him. His mouth, cheeks, and chin are drenched from my juices and his eyes are full of love.

When I finally stop shaking, I mumble, “This is really uncomfortable.”

He laughs and helps me scoot off the counter. I slide to the floor with him. Naked. Still breathless. His arms wrap around me, pulling me close as we lie on the rug in the kitchen.

We don’t speak for the longest time. And then, as I shift, my knee bumps his groin. He groans as I feel how hard he still is. Smiling, I mutter, “Well, we have to fix this.” He lies back as I straddle him. My hips move as my hands plant on his chest. Soon enough, we’re both shattering again.

CHASE

We’re lying on the settee off of the kitchen, lightly covered with a blanket. She’s asleep with her head on my chest and her hand over my heart.

We’re both completely naked, sated. Her mouth is parted like she’s still trying to catch her breath.

I swear, I’ve never felt more content. There’s something about the silence. Not heavy. Not scared. Just… earned. Like we’ve fought every fight and finally remembered how to fall.

I run my fingers down her back, slow and careful. She shifts but doesn’t wake. Her leg is still thrown over mine like she owns me.

She does.

She always has.

In the early pre-dawn hours, I lift her and carry her to our room. I don’t want anyone walking in here and seeing us like this. She doesn’t wake, only settles into my chest. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I tuck her into our bed and head to the shower.

I want to make her breakfast. Not because I need to… because I want to.

When the person you love more than life itself falls asleep with their heartbeat in sync with yours, the only thing left to do is make them their favorite pancakes and slather them with peanut butter.

Roxy is going to need them after everything.

I know she’s going to be starving.

I am. None of us ate dinner last night.

The kitchen’s quiet. The floor’s cool. I’m barefoot, shirtless, still tasting her on my lips… and I’m humming. I can’t fucking help it.

I’m halfway through flipping her favorite almond flour pancakes when I feel her behind me.

“You’re humming again,” she says, her voice thick with sleep and satisfaction.

Grinning, I turn. “You’re awake.”

“I woke up to the smell of food and the sound of cocky.”

Leaning over, I kiss her. She falls into me, and I happily say, “Sounds like heaven.”

“Sounds like you want to get licked again.” She flippantly says.

My body responds and I freeze. “I do.”

She winks, “Maybe if you’re a good boy,” and walks past me—wearing my T-shirt and nothing else —and steals a strawberry off the plate.

“You’re a menace. And you know I’m very, very good.” I murmur.

Shrugging, she smirks. “You married this menace. And I definitely know .”

I manage not to burn her pancakes. Plating them as she distracts me, I top them with fruit, and hand her a fork.

She sits on the counter—the counter where she screamed my name last night like she owns the damn kitchen.

Every part of this space still remembers her.

So do I.

We eat in silence for a minute.

She keeps stealing off my plate—even though it’s the same as what’s on her plate—like she’s done for the last three and a half years.

I don’t mind.

I never did.

Softly, she says, “I love you.” It’s not loud. It’s not dramatic. It’s just… honest.

I have to force myself to breathe.

I smile. “I know.”

She chuckles. “It’s not just the sex, Chase. Though the sex has always been unbelievable.”

I smirk. “That’s a relief. Because if it was just the sex… I’d be too smug to handle.”

She rolls her eyes and mutters, “Shut the hell up. And don’t make a big deal out of it,” but she smiles.

I want to drop to one knee and propose again right there.

I don’t.

Instead, I reach for her hand.

She lets me take it and opens her fingers to weave with mine. They thread like they belong together .

“I don’t know what happens next,” she whispers.

I nod. “That’s okay.”

She looks up. “You’re not scared I’ll flip out again?”

I press my forehead to hers, smile slightly, and nod. “I’m terrified, Rox.”

She exhales. “So… what now ?”

I kiss her. Soft. Certain. And say, “Now we try again, baby. I’m not going anywhere.”

ROXY

I find it in the drawer. Tucked in a small box under a folded T-shirt.

It’s the twist tie he wore at our wedding, along with my Ring Pop wedding ring. Just the plastic part. He kept it. He has it here with him.

The ring I replaced it with the morning after our wedding is on his finger. He’s never taken it off. Even after all the times I tried to kick him out, push him away, and end this crazy love between us.

I hold the trash rings between my fingers like they might bite me.

They don’t.

They aren’t trash though. They’re what we wore when we said our vows.

He kept them.

He’s outside, talking to Weston, still barefoot, still unbothered. I slip them back in their place and slowly close the drawer.

Watching him from the bedroom window, something soft unravels in my chest.

He loves me.

He stays.

Even when I don’t make it easy.

Even when I make it impossible.

He stays.

I make a decision and open the drawer again.

When he comes back in, I’m sitting on the bed. Our original rings are in my palm. His eyes land on them. His breath catches. And for once, he doesn’t speak first. I hold my hand out slowly. “I found this.”

He nods, watching me, but stays silent.

I smile. “You kept them.”

“Of course I did.” He mutters. “They’re our wedding bands, Rox.”

My pulse trips as I lick my lips. “Here’s what’s gonna happen…”

He freezes. His jaw tightens and he looks at me. I can tell by his face that he has no idea what I’m going to say.

“You’re going to lie down. Right now.” I say, standing.

He does. Immediately. Like a good boy. Like a man who knows I’m about to turn his whole world inside out.