“I have to tell you Maddie, I don’t know how in the hell you do this every night.”

Zeke dropped down on the sofa and kicked his socked feet up on the coffee table. He looked as exhausted as I felt after the never ending day we’d just had. By ten o’clock Vivi still hadn’t had the baby, so we herded Norah and Max back to my place.

Our place, I suppose.

I shrugged at his words, because I never really thought about it. “You just do what you have to do when there’s no one to lean on.” From the moment Max arrived in this world, I just moved forward with a determination to give him a really good life. “Keep going, and eventually you wind up here, wherever this is.”

Some strange place where I now lived with my incredibly hot accidental husband.

“Well, have a seat woman.” He patted the seat beside him wearing that impossible to resist grin that made me want to kiss him until we were both naked and sweating. “I swear if you pick up one more toy, and wipe down another table, I’m going to lose my mind.”

With a short laugh, I fell down beside him and rested my head on his shoulder. “It’s easier to keep moving because once I stop, I’m done until morning.” It was a lesson I’d learned about six months after Max began walking.

“But tomorrow, we can both clean in half the time. Right now though, I’m too tired to even watch you clean.”

“You don’t have to watch, Zeke. Go to bed.”

One brow arched suspiciously, but the quirk of his lips gave him away. “And miss the show of you bending over and shoving that sweet little ass right in my direction?”

Zeke might have it wrong about his ability to commit, and I was convinced he was, but the man knew how to make a woman feel good about herself.

“I can see why women are so reluctant to let you go.”

He turned to face me on the sofa. “This I gotta hear.”

I shrugged as if it was no big deal, because lord knows the last thing Zeke needed was more ego stroking. “Get your mind out of the gutter. I just meant that you have a way of making a woman feel good.” And for a woman who hadn’t been with a man for anything more than a couple dates, his words were like a balm to my battered self-confidence.

“Well it has the added benefit of being true. Whatever you think of me Maddie, I’m not a liar.” He slid closer, one hand on my thigh and slowly moving up. “And your ass is sweet. And a perfect handful.”

For some reason his words hit a little too close to home. I knew what I looked like. A mother who hadn’t quite lost those last fifteen pounds from pregnancy—several years ago—and who owned maybe five pairs of sexy panties. I had a little too much flesh all over and I was a little too short for all the curves on my body. But when Zeke uttered those words, I wanted to believe it. “Zeke.”

He applied pressure to my thigh, almost as if he knew how close I was to jumping off the sofa and running away from the intensity in his gaze. His actions.

“Maddie.” He lowered his head and I knew what was coming, one of those kisses that left his name branded all over my body. The hot, searing touch of his hands that I would probably be thinking about long after he was gone.

Then his lips were on mine and I didn’t care about the consequences. About the inevitable heartbreak that would be my life if I made the mistake of letting him in again. But, oh how his kisses made me stupid. Made me forget good sense and good decisions. Made me want everything he was offering and then some. His tongue swept across my bottom lip and then the top, in a teasing nip that had me leaning forward just to get closer to his heat. His masculinity. His utter maleness. He swallowed a moan and that brought me back to reality. To my living room that still bore traces of toys and science books for young children. That brought me up. Literally up and on my feet. “I should, ah, get the day bed ready for you.” His laughter sounded behind me and I chose to ignore him.

Zeke was no good for my peace of mind. The man had a way of making me crazy. Making me feel like a swoony teenage girl. “Why did you stop? Things were just getting good.”

I startled at the sound of his voice right behind me in my tiny office that only held a desk where my laptop sometimes hung out beside the outdated printer. On the other side, a day bed with a brass frame and a too soft mattress.

“Out of control, you mean,” I said in my haughtiest tone, turning to dare him to question me.

“That’s exactly what I mean. I love it when you get out of control Maddie. Look what it does to me.” Two steps and he was right in front of me, fingers wrapped around my wrist and placed my hand on the hard length behind his zipper. “That little moan of yours,” he groaned when I squeezed, “I can’t stop hearing it.”

His raw, naked honesty was as appealing as the rest of him and that groan, utterly masculine and dark, hit me right between the thighs. Then his fingers slipped beneath the t-shirt I put on after my shower, warm and slightly roughened skin slid across my lower back. “Zeke,” I moaned again and he smiled.

“I love the way you say my name.” His honesty was going to be my undoing, I just knew it. He pulled my t-shirt over my head and tossed it behind him, hands sliding up my sides to cup my breasts. “God, these tits are a thing of perfection.” He bent low, swirling his tongue around one nipple and then the other, pulling a low growl from me. “Fuck, so gorgeous. Your nipples always get so pink and hard for me. Like candy.” To punctuate his point, Zeke held them firmly, licking and sucking back and forth until all I could do is hold the back of his head to keep him right where I wanted him.

“Zeke.” I wanted more, and when he gnashed his teeth together, the sharp stinging pain sent a spear of heat straight to me pussy. The hard tip beaded even tighter when he did a suck-bite combination that made my knees go weak. “Oh, Zeke.”

A low laugh rumbled through him, vibrating my whole body as he laid me on the bed I wasn’t sure would hold our collective weight. Brown eyes dark and intense, held mine as he pulled my red sweatpants “Yeah, that’s a good start sweetheart.” Zeke spent an eternity on my boobs, licking and sucking and nibbling until I was on the brink of orgasm. Then his lips, his teeth, his tongue were headed south, over my ribcage and past my belly button until he was-,

“Zeke!” His hands pushed my thighs apart, even wider than his broad shoulders, his eyes connected with mine as he licked me in one hot swipe. After that, I couldn’t remember anything, not even my name when his tongue slid back and forth between my folds. I was wet and swollen, throbbing with need as his mouth worked me over. “Don’t stop, please.”

“Not a chance sweetheart.” He laughed and licked with more ferocity than I’d ever felt in my life. The noises he made was distracting, and hot. He moaned against me and that was it, my body shook violently as my orgasm shot through me, hot and fast like a tidal wave. No matter how much I thrashed about and moved as the electric currents shot through me, my body was weightless, anchored only by a pair of strong masculine hands. “That’s a good start. A real good start, babe.”

And then his body was on top of mine, hot to the touch and as naked as the day he was born, rough hairs rubbing against my skin, leaving it tender to the touch. “Start? Felt like a finish to me,” I told him playfully, pulling a low laugh from him.

“It feels like a finish at first,” he grunted in my ear before his tongue curled around the shell to make me shudder. “Then you realize,” One finger dipped inside where I dripped with desire until I arched into him, “it was only the beginning.”

His words sent a shiver through me the moment his body connected with mine, invaded mine. Zeke’s body was so big, that I submitted easily. Quickly. Too quickly. Several strokes in and another orgasm was already building, and I wasn’t sure if I had it in me to try to delay it. The only thing I could do was submit. Revel in the way he moved hard against me, inside me. In the way his eyes held a single-minded focus. Pleasure. My pleasure.

“Zeke, more. Please.”

He grunted in my ear again, pushing my legs out and up so every thrust sent him deeper and deeper until colorful fireworks went off behind my eyes. Every cry, every moan only seemed to push him further until the brass bed squeaked as he pounded into me, drove deeper and faster and harder until my whole body went tight. “Fuck, Maddie. You feel so good.”

His words were harsh as he tried to keep his own pleasure at bay, and I smiled, tightening my muscles around him. “So do you, Zeke.”

“Oh babe. Fuck!” He shivered and I did it again and again. Combined with his own powerful thrusts sent my orgasm from creeping to swamping. “Maddie, babe.”

“I’m right here with you,” I panted and wrapped my legs around him so every stroke sent shards of electricity through me starting at my clit. And then ultimate pleasure had arrived as our bodies continued moving together, slicked with sweat, wrenching out every ounce of pleasure we could find. “Zeke!” His name was the only word I could remember in the moment, repeating it over and over until all of the pleasure had been wrung out of me.

A few grunts and hard thrusts later, his own pleasure roared out of him and ended with his teeth sunk into my shoulder. “Fuck, Mads, you undo me woman.”

I laughed and it felt good to laugh in such a vulnerable, intimate moment. “Right back atcha, husband. Right back atcha.” We both froze at the sound of a bump above us and I groaned when I realized one of the kids was up.

“I’ll go.” His lips lingered on mine for a long time, soft but firm and so tantalizing that my legs tightened around him because I wanted him to stay right there. “You stay here. Like this.”

Like I could go anywhere else with his scent, his heat still lingering on my body. It was foolish, but even the simple act of having someone else to check on the kids was nice. And I couldn’t let myself feel anything nice for Zeke. Lust, yes. Heat, totally. But nice and affectionate and all those things fighting to get to the surface, I had to push them down.

Deep down.

Way down.

I was as composed as I could be after two earth shattering orgasms when Zeke returned, all smiles and bare chested.

“Norah was worried about Vivi, but I told her having a baby around was a tough business, and she had to rest so she’d have enough energy to help take care of the baby.” He grinned, but the way he shoved his hands into his low hanging jeans told of his nerves. “Because they cry and poop all the time.”

That teased a laugh out of me. “Good job, Zeke. You’re killing it at being a parent.”

“Wait until you see my skills as a husband.” He bent down to pick up my clothes and set them on the bed. “Now get dressed because there’s leftover pizza nuking in the microwave and we have kids roaming the house, so as much as I want to watch you eat pizza naked, it’ll have to wait for another time.”

“Another time?”

His smile flashed wide and sexy as he nodded, pushing those floppy curls off his face with one big hand. “Definitely. It’s going on the marriage bucket list. Watch Maddie eat pizza naked.”

Why did that sound so appealing? “Does that mean I get to watch you work out naked?”

His gaze darkened and he took a step backwards. “Anytime you want, Maddie.”

“Then why are you walking away from me?” It felt nice to have Zeke on the run for a change and I smiled.

“Because if I don’t, we’ll never get to that pizza, and I need my strength of I’m going to put you to sleep later.”

My back arched off the bed. “Why didn’t you say so?” On second thought, maybe I could get used to having Zeke around all the time.

“Can we do a fancy chair like we did for the baby party?” Norah looked up at me with big blue eyes, the exact replica of her father, waiting for me to give her the okay.

“Sure. Where do you keep your decorations?” Vivi and Nash had done plenty of reorganizing and redecorating since they downsized from two households to one and I didn’t have the lay of the land yet.

Norah took off from the kitchen, footsteps falling hard as she clomped her way through the big house. I stayed in the kitchen, manning the pots and pans on the stove as we prepared for Vivi’s arrival. There was enough food for a small army since Norah and I woke up with the sun and came over here to get everything ready. After a late night delivery and another day and a half of resting in the hospital, Vivi and Nash. Jr., were finally coming home.

“Found’em!” She ran back into the kitchen, arms filled with streamers and glitter and all kinds of things to make Vivi feel special. “What can we do?”

Since all the timers were being used, including the two on my phone, I used the microwave for the boiling potatoes that would become potato salad and sifted through the craft goodies with Norah. “How about we use this stuff to create a throne with lots of pillows and maybe you can make her a crown?”

“I have a crown! We can decorate it.” Norah continued on like that, running around like a chicken with its head cut off in an effort to make everything perfect for the only mother she’d ever known. It was adorable, and it touched my heart in a way I couldn’t describe. I always wanted a little girl to spoil, and to do all those girly mother-daughter things Vivi and Norah shared like spa days, tearjerker movie nights and their shared love of writing. Not that I didn’t love Max, because I did, with all my heart. But sometimes I got a little sad about the fact that I would never have that little girl.

Once Norah was set up outside to decorate the chair, I went back to the food. And the lemonade. And the sweet tea because Vivi had a weird psychotic love for the enamel peeling drink.

It had taken all morning, but by the time Vivi and Nash arrived home with their little boy, the food was set on tables outside and the large umbrella was set over the table for everyone’s comfort. I sat back and looked at everything, feeling pleased.

And maybe a little bit like a fraud. I’d always wanted these types of family gatherings, but until Vivi returned to Belle Musique it had always been me and Max for most holidays. Sometimes Aunt Mae joined us, but that woman had a better social life than I did, which was pathetic. And kind of amazing. This wasn’t my family, but Vivi had been my best friend since we were two little girls with dreams bigger than our small southern town and I wanted to do this for her.

As if my mind wasn’t already going to a million places it shouldn’t, in walked Zeke with Max at his side. They talked and laughed like old friends. It was another moment that made those nice, soft feelings rise to the surface again. Dammit. I pushed them down, compartmentalizing like a solider off to war, because thinking about that was dangerous. Mostly to my well-being, but that was enough for me to keep those feelings buried deep. “Hey guys, what are you plotting over there?”

Max looked up with a mischievous grin, his glasses crooked. “Nothing!”

I fisted my hands at my hips, lips twitching as he tried his best to look the role of an innocent. “Why don’t I believe you?”

“Because you are a very suspicious woman,” Zeke answered as he hooked an arm around my waist and pulled me in close. “Max and I were having a little guy talk, isn’t that right?”

Max gave an exaggerated nod, his toothy grin wide and happy. Really, truly happy and that meant the whole world to me. “That’s right, Mama. You don’t want to hear about monster trucks and video games.”

I glared at Zeke who did a much better impression of an innocent man, complete with an unassuming smile that was still somehow sexy. “Exactly.”

“Why don’t you go help Norah put the finishing touches on Vivi’s throne?”

“Like a king? All right!” He took off even before I could correct him and I just shrugged before turning to Zeke. “Causing trouble again?”

“Maybe.” His smile turned dark and hot as he closed the gap between us, hands on my hips as he pressed me between his hard body and the kitchen counter. Then his lips were on my neck, the delicate skin between my neck and shoulder, doing wicked things until my legs gave out. “Please tell me you’re wearing those little yellow panties under here?” His big hands grabbed my ass and squeezed.

I was, but I couldn’t tell him that. “Let’s just say I am wearing underwear.”

He groaned. “Now I can’t stop thinking about you, bare and wet under this dress. Gimme one little peek, Maddie. Please.”

This man could get me to do crazy, dirty things like that with nothing more than a honeyed request which was enough to make me rethink this whole marriage thing. I couldn’t afford to be crazy, to pull my dress up just enough to give him a peek of what he wanted so badly. I was a mom. A business owner. I had responsibilities. And needs, a voice echoed from somewhere deep in my mind. “Take your peek, Zeke.”

A laugh bubbled up out of him at my lame attempt at rhyming, but his eyes turned heated with desire and he grabbed my arm, pulling me down the hall and into the first empty room he found. The door shut with a quiet click and my back pressed against the cool wood the same moment his hot mouth crashed down on mine. His kiss was needy. Intense and greedy, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I fed off that intensity, and I kissed him with just as much desire. “You taste so good,” he pulled back, lowering himself to the floor in front of me.

“Zeke,” I grabbed the hem that he’d started to lift. “We don’t have time for this.”

“We’d have more if you quit interrupting me.” Then he pushed my hands away and slowly dragged the dress up my legs, growling when he caught sight of the sunflower yellow panties. They were silk, and the tiniest pair I owned, but his reaction had me thinking about stocking up on the entire rainbow collection.

His mouth was on me in a flash, licking and sucking through the scrap of fabric. The wet silk added a layer of friction that made it hard to think straight. Hell, it was hard to stand up straight when a dozen different sensations ricocheted through me. “Zeke,” I panted when I meant to scold him and push him away. But he knew, the smug bastard knew just how powerless I was against him under normal circumstances, but this was not normal. When his mouth was on me, I could no more resist him than I could a slice of German chocolate cake. “Zeke,” I panted again as I felt the first stirrings of my orgasm.

“Shhh,” he reminded me with a wicked smile as he slid my panties to the side and sucked my clit into his mouth.

“Oh!” I slapped a hand over my mouth as the rapid fire orgasm tore through me, shaking me until every last drop of pleasure had been wrung from me. “Jeez, you’re so bad.”

He stood, lips shiny from my juices, and smiled. “You love that about me.”

“Maybe,” I shrugged. “And maybe I just can’t wait for a little payback.” His blond brows rose in surprise and he let out a grin when I licked my lips. “Yeah, I think payback will be nice.”

Before he could say anything, I straightened my dress and exited the room just as Vivi and Nash walked in carrying baby Tyson. “Damn it smells amazing in here. Did you guys have a party?”

I nodded and wrapped Vivi in a hug, sneaking a peek at the blue bundle in Nash’s arms. “Now that the guest of honor is here, the party can officially begin.”

Just as expected, Vivi began to tear up. “You guys didn’t have to do this.”

“Of course we did. You only get to be a mama for the first time, once. How are you feeling?”

Vivi laughed and took my hand, letting me pull her out into the backyard. “Like I just pushed a watermelon out of my vajayjay, but he’s so cute I can’t find it in me to care.”

“That’s the twisted part of pregnancy they don’t tell you. How quickly you forget about the pain.”

“Mama! I made you a throne!” Norah stepped aside and did her best impression of a game show girl to show off her craft skills. “It’s for you to sit in. All day.”

Vivi was a ball of emotions. At least until the food came out and then she became a ravenous she-beast who forgot all of her good southern manners. “So good, Maddie. Thank you,” she offered around a mouthful of potato salad as she shoved a spoon heaping with baked beans right in also.

“No problem.” Nash and Zeke still manned the grill while they chatted, about who knew what. “What do you think they’re talking about?”

“You want the truth?” I nodded. “My guess is you. So you might as well tell me everything. Everything!”

“There’s nothing to tell that you don’t already know, Vivi. Your crazy aunt accidentally married us, and we’ve decided, mostly for the sake of Max, to see how things go. Whatever that means.” My voice sounded as shaky as I felt, uneasy talking about the feelings Zeke brought out in me.

“But you agreed to try…right?”

I nodded, wondering if some type of lunacy had come over me. “I did agree, but I’m not sure it’s such a good idea. I agreed for Max, but won’t it be worse if he gets even more attached to Zeke and then he leaves?”

Vivi sat back with a gasp, and an overly dramatic hand to her chest. “And what if he doesn’t?”

That was a nice thought, one I’d entertained more than once since we made this agreement, but I couldn’t afford to think like that.

Not again.