Nightclub Sins: A Billionaire Romance Series by Michelle Love (2)

Her face contorted as she found her release. She tried so hard to get me to release her hands, but I held them down as I watched that perfectly sweet face go from shyness to one of desire and scorching hot sexiness.

I lifted my body up more so I could see her breasts as she gasped for air.

Gorgeous.

Absolutely amazing.

“Yeah, baby. Feel that. Take it all in. That’s what it’s all about. Getting to that place where nothing else matters but you and me.” I kissed her once more before I released her hands.

Falling to one side of her, I tried to catch my breath as I listened to her trying to do the same thing. In a harsh, breathless whisper, I heard her sweet words. “Gannon, I fucking love you.”

“Yeah, you do. And I love you, honey.” The words, which I’d never said to any other woman until today, came totally easily. I clasped her hand tightly, intertwining our fingers. Bringing them up, I kissed hers. “We can sleep for a little while. Then I’ll wake you up and make some more of your dreams come true.”

She turned her head, and I saw a look I wasn’t quite happy with on her face. “Gannon, I have to go back to my bedroom to sleep. Braiden’s monitor is in there and … well ... I don’t want anyone to catch us like this.”

“But …”

She kissed me softly then pulled away, climbing out of my bed and grabbing her clothes, pulling them on as I laid there and watched her in utter confusion.

“But nothing, babe. I can’t stay in your room with you. I don’t want the staff to figure out what we’re doing. You do remember what we talked about earlier, right? Keeping this a secret?” She picked up her bra and hid it underneath her shirt. “I had a great time. And I’m really glad we did this. There’s no one else who could’ve ever been better. Night, babe.”

“Brooke, I want you to stay. I don’t want to hide this from anyone.” I found my voice sounding too pleading. So I cleared my throat. “Brooke, baby, I love you. I want you with me. Here in my bed. A bed I hope you’ll call our bed.”

With a light giggle, she shook her head, making the golden waves bounce around her. “No, silly. Night. I’ll see you at the breakfast table in the morning.” She blew me a kiss and then she was gone.

My door closed and there I was alone and wondering when in the hell I had lost the upper hand.

Chapter 20

Gannon

The next morning, my heart had never felt so light and full at the same time. I had had no idea love felt this way. My initial instinct was to head straight into Brooke’s room and wake her with a long, sweet kiss, but I knew she had to be exhausted and so I managed to somehow resist.

As I straightened my tie, I noticed my cell lying on the nightstand. There was a message that I’d somehow missed.

It was from a number I didn’t have in my contacts.

My eyes scanned it, and I froze suddenly.

-Drop the nightclub, or we’ll kill your son. This is not a threat; this is a promise.-

Dropping, the phone, I ran to check on Braiden. Throwing the door open on the still dark room as the sun had yet to come up, I found him safe and still sleeping. Almost shaking with relief, I tucked one of his legs back underneath the blanket and kissed the top of his head before I left him again. As I strode down the hall, I called my bodyguard and told him I wanted him inside.

Samson had been with me since I was a teenager. He was in his early twenties and had been less than ten years older than me when my father hired him to be my bodyguard. He was adept at staying out of sight most of the time. He lived in a small house on the side of mine. To most, it looked like a toolshed. He liked it that way. Said he had the perfect perspective of both the front and the back entrances from where it was placed. Plus, no one would ever suspect he was right there, close enough to get to anyone who tried to get to me.

My mother referred to him as my guardian angel. Seldom seen, but always there.

He and I passed in the foyer as he came inside. “Stay with them today, Samson.” I showed him the text.

“Got it, boss.” He looked at me with those dark eyes that I knew had seen many horrors. An ex-Marine, I knew he had some stories that could curl my hair. But he never told me any. He and I weren’t friends. He was my protector, and he took that job seriously. “And how about you?”

“They’re more important right now.” I shoved my hand through my hair. It was a nervous tic that I’d never learned to conquer. “See if you can find someone for me when you get time. I want you watching over them both. I know the threat is with my son, but his babysitter would definitely jump in front of a bullet for him. You’ll have to keep her safe too. But don’t let them know you’re doing it just yet. Watch over them, but keep it covert. I’ll talk to Brooke about it when I get back home.”

“Yes, sir. I’m on it. They’ll never know I’m watching them.” He headed out of the room and stopped to look back at me. “You be careful, Gannon. I don’t like leaving you unprotected. Maybe it would be better if you called the police and had them come out here.”

“I don’t want to upset Brooke with this. It might be someone the cops can easily find, since I have a phone number.” I turned to leave. “I’ll be fine. And I’ll be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary.”

I could tell Samson wasn’t taking this well, but he walked away to go watch over the people I loved the most in the entire world.

***

On the way to the police station, I made the calls to the other men involved in the nightclub. Neither had been contacted, it was just me, but they met me at the police station anyway.

With the vandalism, and now a threat like this one, it was more than obvious that someone wanted to end our nightclub. But for what reason, none of us had even the slightest clue.

We met in front of the police station just as the sun broke the horizon. The place wasn’t bustling yet as we went inside. August looked tired, and I knew it was a bit early for him to be up.

“You know, I can probably handle this on my own, guys.”

Both shook their heads as Nixon said, “No. We’re all in this together. A threat on your kid isn’t a thing we can sit back and allow you to deal with all alone. The only reason we weren’t threatened is because neither of us has anyone in our lives who they could use to get to us.”

August nodded in agreement. “That’s right, Gannon. We’re all in this together.”

After waiting what all three of us deemed too damn long, we were finally able to talk to a detective. We had no idea he’d been assigned to the investigation of the incident that happened at the club. Detective Peterson had been on that case, and nothing had been found out. So none of us were happy with his work or the fact that they were sticking him on this thing too. The one thing he did manage to find out for us was that the number the text had come from was a dummy number, not real.

Leaving the police station, we all decided it was time to hire our own guys to get to the bottom of this.

August muttered, “Can you believe that guy?”

Nixon shook his head. “He’s a joke.”

We walked back to our cars that were parked in the parking lot, which had now become quite full as three hours had gone by and the day had officially started.

Pressing the key fob to unlock my car, I growled, “Who the hell in Vegas would care enough about what we’re building here to go this far?”

The detective had had one idea in his ancient bald head. He had told us he was looking into the other owners of the upscale nightclubs in Las Vegas. He thought it had to be one or more of them who didn’t want the competition our club would bring.

The old guy’s exact words had been, ‘There just aren’t that many super-rich people on the entire planet who can afford to go to expensive clubs like that.’

If that’s the way the detective that had been assigned our case thought, then we’d end up with nothing if we relied on only him to figure this shit out before something else terrible happened. Something worse, potentially.

“You head home, Gannon.” Nixon jerked his head toward the car his bodyguard was in. “My guy will follow you to make sure you get there okay. We’re going to have to make some changes here. Let our drivers take us where we need to go. Keep our bodyguards closer than we normally do. We can’t underestimate who’s doing this.”

With a nod, I had to agree, “Yeah, you’re right. I mean, we had the entire crew take lie detector tests, and none of them had anything to do with the explosive device that was set at the club. There’s someone with some serious connections who has to be doing this.”

“Either that,” August added, “Or some completely inept person who has no idea what they’re getting themselves into.”

I had no idea which one it was, but I knew I’d find the motherfucker and make him pay for threatening my son.

Chapter 21

Brooke

Waking up the next morning with a dreamy smile on my face, I half wondered if I’d imagined everything. Then I tried sitting up on the side of the bed and groaned “Ow …”

It definitely was not a dream. Everything hurt. Literally every part of my body, inside and out hurt. I had had no idea that sex used that many muscles in the human body. After last night, I must’ve burned every calorie I had in my body because I was also starving to death.

Slowly, I got up and hobbled to the bathroom that was attached to my bedroom. A hot shower limbered me up quickly.

After getting Braiden up and getting him cleaned up and dressed, he and I headed down to breakfast. I was feeling a little shy about seeing Gannon at the table that morning and pretending in front of the staff that he hadn’t completely rocked my world the night before.

When I rounded the corner to the breakfast nook, I found myself smiling away, not able to help it as I thought about seeing Gannon for the first time after our first time.

But I didn’t see him at the table. I looked toward the kitchen, finding Consuela and the rest of her staff cooking away. “Has Gannon come down yet?”

All I got were a lot of shaking heads before Consuela asked, “What will you and Braiden be having this morning, ma’am?”

Looks like a steaming bowl of disappointment.

The hunger I had had vanished in an instant. “Um, scrambled eggs for us both. And don’t forget his fresh fruit.” I put Braiden into his high chair and tried not to show how sad I was that Gannon wasn’t there.

Had he still been in his bedroom?

I should’ve knocked on his door and checked. But he always beat us getting up. But maybe last night’s activities had him sleeping in. Maybe he was just worn out.

Whatever his reasons were for not being at the table that morning, I was sure he hadn’t intentionally meant to hurt me.

Or had he?

Was this his way of telling me that he regretted what we had done? Or worse. Was this what all the other girls who’d ever fallen for his charms had experienced?

Now that he had had me, could it be that he didn’t want me anymore?

God!

I sat down and tried not to look as if I was about to burst into tears, which I was on the cusp of. But I swallowed hard and thought about the fact that I didn’t want anyone to see me breaking down for what they would see as no good reason at all.

But the man I loved, the man I’d given myself to, wasn’t at the damn breakfast table the one morning when I was positive he would be sitting there, waiting for me.

God, I was so stupid.

Brad had warned me. He’d tried to keep me from doing anything stupid with Gannon. But I’d fallen for the man’s deceitful charms anyway.

What a fool!

Sarah came with a carafe of fresh coffee and one cup. One stupid cup!

I was about to tell her I didn’t want any damn coffee. I only drank it because it made me feel like Gannon and I had a little connection. A thing I only did with him: drink coffee.

He wasn’t there, and so I didn’t want any. But I kept my mouth shut and even went so far as to add sugar and cream to the cup of steaming hot coffee like I always did.

I had to keep up the act of everything being perfectly fine. No one could ever know what had transpired between us. And if I acted the least bit off, I knew the people who watched us every morning would know something was going on between our employer and his babysitter.

Moments later, Sarah brought the food for Braiden and me. “Here you are, ma’am.”

None of the staff referred to me as anything else other than ma’am. Ashe was the only one who called me Brooke. Everyone else regarded me differently.

Was that because they saw through me?

Was that because they secretly thought that Gannon and I were messing around and always had been?

Was I being foolish to think the people who were around us the most couldn’t see how we looked at one another?

Perhaps the staff was aware of how we’d fallen in love with each other. Perhaps they wouldn’t tell a soul. Perhaps we could be open with our relationship within these walls.

If we still had one.

Why isn’t he here?

Spooning Braiden’s scrambled eggs into his bird-like waiting mouth, I tried not to think all the bad thoughts I was thinking. Gannon had to have his reasons why he had stood me up at breakfast.

He had to.

The familiar clicking of his shoes on the tile floor had me springing to my feet in relief, turning to see him with my arms almost flying open to embrace him, even though I’d ask to keep things a secret. Then when I saw him, I found him flanked by two massive men and took an uncertain step back. I hadn’t heard their shoes clicking, only Gannon’s.

When I saw his handsome face screwed into a terrible expression, I had no idea what to think. Was he bringing in his goons to have me removed from the premises? That was impossible. He might be a womanizer, but he surely couldn’t be so cruel. Could he?

“Brooke, come with me,” Gannon barked. “Consuela, see to Braiden. Don’t let him out of your sight.”

She hauled ass to the table while I stood frozen in place. Gannon’s hand caught my upper arm, and I stumbled along with him. One goon stayed with Braiden, who was looking at all the new faces in confusion, close to crying, and one followed us.

My heart was pounding, and my mind had drifted into a hazed panic. What the hell is happening?

Gannon opened a door I’d never opened before, and we were inside an office. He closed the door, leaving the giant man on the other side of it. Only then did he take me into his arms. Arms I found were shaking, as was his entire body. But at least he was holding me. He wasn’t pushing me away emotionally or physically.

Thank God.

“Gannon, what’s wrong?”

“Brooke …” His breathing had gone ragged as his arms tightened around me. “I … I’m sorry.”

I had no idea what he was sorry about, but I was feeling much better now that we were in each other’s arms again. “Gannon, talk to me.”

He eased his tight grip on me, running his hands down my arms and taking my hands. A sofa ran along the far wall, and he took me to it, sitting me down on his lap.

Brushing my hair back, he leaned in and kissed my collarbone. “Brooke, someone has threatened Braiden’s life.”

The gasp that came out of me was completely unexpected, and the way my heart stopped was actually frightening. “Who?”

He shook his head. “We don’t know.”

I felt like I might faint. “How?”

He pulled out his cell to show me something. He’d received a text. Someone had sent him a message. Someone wanted him to end things with the club, so much so that they’d threatened his only child’s life to make sure that happened.

“Believe me, if I thought shutting the club down would actually stop this then I’d do it in a heartbeat. But I don’t think that will end anything.” He put the cell back into his breast pocket and pulled me in for a hug. “We have to find this person and put a stop to things.”

“How?” I realized I could only come up with one word at a time. My thoughts were all over the place, making it hard to think hard enough to say a whole sentence.

“My partners and I have hired an investigative team to find whoever is doing this. We’re sure it’s the same person or people who were behind the explosive device at the club.” His lips grazed my neck. “The bodyguards will have to be with us at all times until we find who’s behind this. That’ll mean no more sleeping together, no more making love if you won’t let us go public with our relationship.”

Chapter 22

Gannon

“No,” came her one-word reply.

“Brooke, you can’t be serious. Baby, I need you more than ever now. You have no idea.” Cupping the back of her neck, I pulled her close and kissed her sweet lips. Lips I found were quivering. She kissed me back, and I felt something wet move over my cheek.

She was crying.

Pulling back, I found her with tears rolling down her pink cheeks. “Gannon, we can’t let my family know about us. We can’t. It’s for your own good.”

“I’m not some kid, Brooke. I can handle your brother.” I rested my forehead against hers. “Do you have any idea how I felt when I saw that fucking text this morning?” She shook her head and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “All I could think about was the fact that I had finally found love. Love for a son and love for a woman. I had a family. I’ve been alone for too long, with Mom and Dad gone. And I’m not alone anymore. Don’t make me wait any longer, Brooke. Please.”

I was pouring my heart out to someone for the first time in my life.

“You don’t understand, Gannon.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. So I pulled her to me and kissed her again. I wanted her to feel what we had. It was new, but it was strong. And it was real. Why couldn’t she put her worries behind her and just let me take the brunt of her brother? I could handle him. I knew I could.

The kiss had her melting into me, stroking my hair with one hand and running her other hand along my shoulder.

Letting the kiss end, I rested my forehead against hers. “I have a meeting with Brad later today. Let me test the waters with him, Brooke. You’ll see, I can show him that you’ve changed me. I’m not the man I was before you came to live with us here. And I’m completely and hopelessly devoted to you, just the same way I’m devoted to Braiden.” Our lips met once more then I heard her sigh.

“Promise me you won’t blurt anything out.” She pulled back to look at me, taking my face between her palms. “You’ll have to go in easy to make sure he’s taking things well. If not, he’ll beat the living hell out of you and come get me. I know my brother. He’s irrationally protective when it comes to me. My whole family is, Gannon.”

She proceeded to tell me some of the over-the top-things each and every member of her family had done for her and I had to admit there were some crazy things. But I was certain they’d all see the love I genuinely had for their little precious baby girl. She was that to me too, in a way.

She was my girl. My angel. I’d protect her the same way they did.

So, with her blessing, I left her and my son under the watchful eye of Samson and went with my driver and the bodyguard Samson had called in to stay with me. Josh was also a veteran who Samson had a ton of respect for. Heading to the office for the meeting I was an hour late for, I was finding myself nervous over having to leave the two people I loved most behind.

The meeting lasted about an hour, and I asked Brad to go to my office with me. He hadn’t noticed my bodyguard until we got to my office and Josh was suddenly there, standing by the door.

Brad jerked his head in a gesture at him as he asked me, “You’re keeping him very close, Gannon. What gives?”

“Step inside, and I’ll enlighten you.” I opened the door and in we went. I wanted to enlighten him about a couple of things, actually, and had high hopes he’d take them both well.

Brooke’s stories were kind of scary, but all those people had been nobodies to her family. I was Brad’s best bud. He couldn’t be that angry with me.

Brad went straight for the sofa, taking a seat. I decided that would be a great place to talk about things. So I took the chair that sat across from him. “Hey, you want a drink?”

He shook his head as he leaned up to rest his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands. “I wanna know why you’ve got your bodyguard all up on you. That’s what I wanna know. And I wanna know if my sister is safe.”

“She’s very safe. I have my personal bodyguard watching over her and my son. Not to worry.” I sat back, taking a more leisurely position. I didn’t want him to get riled up in the least.

“So what’s up?” he asked, still looking a little on the tense side.

I decided showing him the text would be a good place to start, so I pulled out my cell. “There was an incident at the nightclub we’re building. That, and this little text, are why I’ve amped up security around my son and me. And Brooke, obviously.”

He took the phone I held out for him and read the text. His eyes were almost red, shooting flames out of them at me when he looked back up. “What the fuck, Gannon? I want her out of there right now!”

“Brad, she’s fine. Samson is the best. They’re in the best place they could be. I’d never let anyone hurt either of them. Brooke’s important to me. Just as much as Braiden is. Of course, I have them under the best watchful eyes I have.”

He tossed my cell back to me as he got up, towering over me. “Brooke’s important to you?” His voice was a roar.

“Chill, dude,” I said as I got up too. He wasn’t about to tower over me.

“Chill?” his voice cracked as he shouted at me.

Josh opened the door and looked at me, silently asking if I needed his help. I waved him away without saying a word, and he closed the door. “Brad, you’re overreacting.”

“Overreacting? You have no idea. Something’s not right there. You know your place isn’t safe and you know you should be sending Brooke home, yet you’re keeping her in harm’s way. That tells me one thing and one thing only. You’ve got a hard-on for my baby sister.”

My jaw dropped. Not because he was hitting the nail on the head, but because he was talking like I was some kind of a pervert. “Brad, would you listen to yourself? I’m keeping her where she is because she’s much safer there. Plus, I still need help with my kid. Whoever is threatening me like this knows she’s with me. If I send her off somewhere, then she’ll be in danger and so will anyone she’s around. Can’t you see that?”

All he heard was one part of what I said though. “She’s with you? She. Is. With. You?”

Fuck, had I really said those exact words?

“You know,” I tried to fix my mistake, “she works for me. For my son. You know what I mean.” I felt the fire from his eyes wash over me. He had that much power, I swear. Brook hadn’t been wrong at all. Her brother could turn into a raging maniac over her.

“You might be right about her being safer under your guard. But I smell a rat, Gannon Forester. I smell a horny, oversexed, billion-dollar rat who wants to bone my little sister. And I’ve already warned you about doing so much as touching her.” He slammed his fist into the palm of his hand.

I had to admit; he was intimidating. But I tried to play it cool as I lied, “Dude, I wouldn’t harm a hair on your sister’s head.” That part was true, so it came out pretty easily. “I care about Brooke. I genuinely care about her.”

He eyed me with a critical glare. “Do you? Do you care about her as an employee, or do you care about her as something else?”

Now I had to lie. “An employee. But also as a friend. I really like her. She’s so pure. So real. You know?”

“And she’s innocent, Gannon. She’s not like the women you fuck around with. She’s nothing like them, and she never will be. Not that I would give you the chance to make her into one of your flavors of the week anyway.” He took three long strides to the minifridge and pulled out a beer. I watched in stunned indignation as he opened the brown bottle and turned it up, drinking it all down.

Well, he did need to calm the fuck down.

“I can’t believe you think I’d hurt someone who means so much to you, Brad. It’s kind of shitty of you to think so little of me.” Okay, so what if I actually was screwing his sister? I loved her, damn it!

He tossed the empty bottle into the wastebasket and walked right past me. “I’m going to go see her. Ask her some questions about you. You coming?”

Oh, shit!

“Yeah, I’m coming, Brad. You’ll see, she won’t have anything but nice things to say about me. All this is for nothing. You’ll see.” I hoped he would see anyway. I hoped Brooke could pull off lying to her big brother.

Chapter 23

Brooke

The familiar clicking of Gannon’s shoes was heard by Braiden, and he took off, running full speed to find his daddy. I was right behind him, running too. Then I slowed down as I heard another set of expensive shoes. Someone was with him.

I stayed behind Braiden, a few feet back. “Here he comes,” I heard Gannon say. “There’s my little man. Hi, son.” I imagined him holding Braiden close, reassuring him after all the chaos of the day. The poor kid had been through so much already. I only hoped today wouldn’t set him back after he’d made so much progress. We were even starting to move away from diapers to big boy undies.

When I made it to the foyer, I saw my brother was with Gannon. And he had that look in his eye that told me he was looking for information. Brad came toward me, and Gannon shook his head as he mouthed that he hadn’t told him anything about us.

Fear ripped through me. I’d never lied to my brother before. It seemed there was indeed a first time for everything. “Hi, Brad. It’s nice to see you.”

“You too, baby sis.” He came up to me, pulling me in for a hug. “We need to talk,” he whispered.

“K.” I was on pins and needles as Gannon looked at me.

“I told Brad about what’s going on here with the threat on Braiden. He was worried about you,” Gannon said with a smile. “I told him I have the best man watching over you two and that you’re every bit as important to me …”

Brad butted in. “I need to talk to her alone, Gannon.” He pulled me away with him. “Take me to your bedroom, little sister. I want to see where you sleep.”

He was onto us. I knew he was. He wouldn’t ask me to do such a thing if he wasn’t. And the fact Gannon hadn’t told him about us told me that when he’d tried to test those waters he had talked about testing, he’d gotten some pretty bad feedback.

Oh Lord, help me lie to my overprotective brother, please!

Leading him to my bedroom, I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle things. I decided just to wait and see where he was going to go with this. “I hope you’re not worried about me being here with this thing going on. I feel very protected with Samson around. It’s so funny, I never even realized Gannon had a bodyguard before today. He stays out of the way so effectively that I never even knew he was around at all.”

“Yeah, well, with a client like Gannon, a guard has to learn how to be invisible. Gannon couldn’t bag all the chicks he has if they knew someone was right there, watching.” Brad stopped just outside my door, looking at Gannon’s bedroom door.

My stomach knotted as I thought about Gannon bagging chicks, as my brother had put it. “Um, this is it here.” I opened my door, and he walked in backward, looking at Gannon’s door the whole time.

“I thought his son would be in this one. I thought you might be in the next one.” He turned and saw the door on the side of the room. “That one leads to the kid’s room?”

“Yes,” I said as I walked over and took a seat on my bed. I pointed at the chair in the corner. “You can sit over there if you’d like.”

Instead of taking a seat, he meandered around my room, looking everything over. “So, how’s he treating you?”

“Very well. He’s very nice to me.” I winced when he picked up a scarf I had hung on my mirror.

Gannon and I had taken Braiden out for a walk in the back of his property. I’d gotten hot with the scarf around my neck and pulled it off. Gannon had been feeling playful, and he had taken it from me and wrapped it around his neck. It smelled like him, and I kept it there so I could catch a whiff of him every now and then.

I found myself cringing when Brad pulled it to him, taking a big ole sniff. “Smells like cologne. Why’s that?” He eyed me as he came up to me. Standing over me. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

“Of course, I do.” I smiled at him and batted my lashes. “You’re my big brother.”

“You’d tell me if Gannon did anything to you, wouldn’t you? I mean anything. Has he touched you at all?” The way he looked at me told me he’d bolt out of the room and go whip Gannon’s ass if I said one word to provoke him.

“No way! He’s not like that. He’s not the way you said he was with girls. With me, he’s not, anyway. He’s always respectable. You don’t have anything to worry about. I swear that to you. Gannon is so nice to me, but he’s not into me.” I tried to look earnest even as my insides grew hot with my lies.

“Oh, he is.” Brad placed his hands on my shoulders. “If you gave him a shot, he’d take it. So you can’t give him that shot. You have to stay on guard. Never let it down. If you do, he’ll swoop in and do to you what he’s done to countless numbers of other unsuspecting girls.”

There it was again, him referencing Gannon’s conquests, and my gut twisted once more. I shrugged as if I couldn’t care less. But I did care; I cared a lot. “Why would I do such a thing? He’s old.” I laughed and shook my head. “Yuck, Brad.”

He laughed too. Then grabbed my hand. “That’s what I needed to hear. Come on, let’s go eat dinner.”

I thought I had him fooled. I kind of hated that I had done such a great job of lying. But I was happy he believed me, and Gannon was safe. For now, anyway.

At least Gannon saw what I was talking about. I knew he had had no idea of how my brother could be over me. Brad must’ve shown him a bit of the bear he could become.

Finding Gannon and Braiden in the playroom, I smiled brightly at Gannon as I went to pick up Braiden. “Brad’s staying for dinner.”

“Great,” Gannon said as he got up and we all went to the dining room. They hung back behind Braiden and me and I overheard Gannon as he said, “See, I told you. I wouldn’t ever do a thing to hurt your sister. I care far too much for you and her.”

“Yeah, well, you just keep that care legit, and we’ll have no problem,” Brad replied.

With an uneasy feeling about never being able to be truthful with my family, we sat down at the table to eat. With Braiden in his high chair next to me, Brad watched as I interacted with the boy.

“Are you hungry, Braiden?” I asked him. I talked to Braiden all the time as if he was older than he was. No baby talking at all. And when he nodded at me, I was overjoyed with his response and had to hug him and kiss his cheek. “Yes! You nodded.”

Brad laughed as he looked at the smile on Braiden’s face. The boy was so proud of himself, probably just as proud as I was of him. “That kid loves you, sis.”

“And I love him.” I tickled the small boy’s chin. “Don’t I, pumpkin? Brooke loves her little man.”

He giggled like crazy, and I caught Gannon gazing at me adoringly— a thing Brad could not witness. So I stopped what I was doing and sat back.

“She’s amazing with him, Brad. It’s like she and he were cut from the same cloth.” Gannon reached over and ran his hand over Braiden’s head. “He’s lucky to have her. I can’t thank you enough for letting us borrow her. But I don’t think my little boy will ever let you have her back.”

Brad nodded. “He looks at her like she’s his angel, doesn’t he?”

I blushed as I felt like the center of attention, a thing I wasn’t comfortable being. “Come on, Brad.”

“No, I won’t come on, Brooke. He does. And you look at him like he’s the center of your world.” He sighed then reached across the table to pat my hand. “One day you’re going to make a great mother.”

“You think so?” I found myself asking him.

“I do.” He moved his hand off mine then winked at me. “But it’ll be in the faraway future. With a guy you meet later in life. After you’re done with college and well into your career, then you’ll meet a guy near your own age.” He purposely looked at Gannon, then back at me, a thing Gannon noticed too.

“You’re making her blush, Brad. Stop.” Gannon reached out and patted the top of my hand in the same fashion as Brad had, trying to seem as if he treated me in a brotherly fashion.

It was hard not to look at Gannon, but I knew I couldn’t trust myself to look at the man who had just made me his the night before. All I wanted to do was crawl up in his lap and continue where we had left off before he’d left for his meeting.

And I wanted to be truthful with what we had with my family too. But I wasn’t getting much of anything I wanted. And more than anything else, I wanted to know for a fact that Braiden was safe. The threat he was under made my stomach ache.

What kind of a monster would threaten to kill an innocent child over a damn nightclub?

* * *

Chapter 24

Gannon

I had to admit; I didn’t know my best buddy the way I thought I did. Brad wasn’t Brad when it came to Brooke. He turned into the Hulk over that girl. And I knew we had our work cut out for us where her family was concerned. So I was into keeping things hush-hush for the time being. Just until I figured out what it would take to get her family onboard with us.

The two of us sat on either side of Braiden as I read him a book and watched him drift off to sleep. Closing the book, I looked at Brooke, who was gazing at my son. “The way you look at him makes me love you even more, baby.”

Her lashes fluttered as pink stained her cheeks. “I love kids, but I truly love this little boy right here. He has my heart in the palm of his little hand. It hurts me so much that he’s being threatened.”

Getting up, I went to put the book back in the bookcase with the rest of the children’s books that Brooke seemed to get more of with each passing day. She came to my side, and I watched her breasts heave with a deep sigh. I knew there were so many things weighing on her mind. And all I wanted to do was give her a little time where nothing mattered at all, save she and I.

Taking her hand, I led her through the door between Braiden’s bedroom and hers. “We’ve got two very capable bodyguards watching over us.”

She stopped and looked at me as I closed the door to my son’s room behind us. “Do you think you should be coming in here with Josh right there in the hall?”

I chuckled at her naivete. Pulling her into my arms, arms that had ached for too long without her in them, I smiled at her. “Do you think he cares, baby?”

“No, but …” I kissed her to shut her up. She was young, still had an innocence about her, and had no idea what older people cared about.

Her mouth grew supple against mine. She parted her sweet lips to let me come in and in I came. Picking her up, I carried her to the bed, where I finally allowed our mouths to part. I fingered the delicate lace of the collar on her blouse. “You look beautiful today. I know I didn’t get the chance to tell you that, but you do. This little blouse and that pale blue skirt look adorable on you.”

Her lips quirked to one side. “But you’d like to ruin them as you rip them from my body, right?”

“Are you reading my mind, baby?” I placed two hands on either side of the chiffon blouse, yanking it apart. Small pearl buttons popped everywhere, showering her as she giggled.

I pushed one side of her pink bra up and took one of those delicious Ds into my hand then leaned over and pulled that pert nipple into my mouth, sucking it with a gentle pull. She moaned, and I sucked harder.

Her hands tangled up in my hair as she arched up, wanting me to take more. I ran my hand over the other tit, still covered in the pink silk of her bra. It was soft and smooth, and I massaged it through the fabric and sucked until she was bucking and begging, “God, Gannon, please!”

I stopped what I was doing to attend to her elsewhere, leaving her in that state, one tit bulging out from under the bra, one tit covered. Her face was pink with a desire for more.

Pushing her skirt up, I got on the bed. She watched me, her eyes glued to mine until I disappeared underneath her skirt. One hard yank had her panties breaking at the seams, leaving her pussy bare for me. She gasped with the action, a sound that was quickly followed by a low moan as I kissed her sweet pearl then licked the hooded organ.

Her knees tried to come together, so I had to hold them apart as I licked her over and over, kissing her in between the long licks every so often. When she began to shiver, I knew she was near the edge and inserted a finger so I could feel her close around me.

Heat flooded her and cum seeped out of her as she came, arching up and slurring a stream of curse words as her fists pounded the mattress. I was happy to hear her moans and groans. But I also wanted to hear some soft whimpers too.

Moving off her sweet mound, I got up and pulled the rest of her clothes off her, leaving her naked on the bed. Her body was all pink, flushed with the orgasm, and completely gorgeous. Her plump lips parted. “Gannon, can you teach me how to please you that way too?”

My cock—that was already hard—thumped in my pants, trying to get out. It seemed it was jumping at the chance to feel her soft lips on it. “You sure you’re ready for all that, baby?”

She licked her lips and nodded, then sat up. Sitting on the side of the bed, she slowly unbuttoned, then unzipped, my pants. My tight black underwear covered the bulge, and she bit her lip as she pulled them down.

My cock sprang forth with excitement, eager for her mouth. She ran her hands over it then looked up at me. “Okay. Tell me what to do, please.”

My stomach went tight with the thought. I’d never taught anyone how to suck cock. This was a first for me. And the idea that I would be teaching the woman I was truly thinking might be the last woman I’d ever have sex with had me feeling insanely happy.

I ran my hand over her head. “First, remember to sheath your teeth with your lips. You can allow them to graze it only very, very gently. But I’d rather you learn how to handle my dick better before you attempt that. This organ is extremely sensitive, as you might imagine.”

She nodded then looked at my straining cock again. “Okay. Treat it that way. Treat it like it’s fragile.”

“Well, not fragile.” I kind of hated to think of anything on me as fragile. “Just very sensitive. Give it a kiss, baby. Don’t be shy. Get to know it.”

She smiled at me then placed her pursed lips on the tip, kissing it with a soft kiss. I knew her lips would feel like satin. She peppered soft kisses all over the head, then up and down the shaft, letting her fingers move over my swollen balls.

Then I felt her opening her mouth, the heat of it flowing over my cock. The wetness of her mouth, the touch of her tongue as it slid underneath my dick, sent chills through me.

“Oh, shit!” I placed my hands on her shoulders to steady myself. “Damn, baby!”

It had never felt better. Not ever. What she did to me was far beyond what anyone ever had.

My fingers were curling into her shoulders, and I tried like hell to stop doing that as I was sure they’d leave bruises. So I moved my hands to the back of her head, threading her silky blonde strands between my fingers as she moved her mouth over me, making me feel like I was floating on air.

“Fuck, baby … You’re so good …” a moan ended my words as she tickled my balls.

I was on a high I’d never been on before, and I didn’t want it to end. But I felt the tell-tell signs that the end was indeed near. My cock jerked once and she kind of gagged with the sudden movement.

“Let me go, baby.” I wanted to pull out of her, so I didn’t jizz down her throat, even though she had mentioned wanting that in the beginning.

But she held me tight and hummed a little, sucking slow and strong until I shuddered and exploded, barely able to contain a shout that would’ve been heard all the way to the other end of the house.

Her tongue swirled around my pulsing cock, then she pulled her head back, licking what was left of my cum off her lips. “So, I did good then?”

“Good?” I shook my head as I pulled my shirt off and got rid of my shoes and socks before climbing on top of her. The shocked expression she wore had me laughing. “Great is the word I would use to describe what you did. Good just doesn’t cut it.” I settled my body between her spread legs, resting my quickly-recovering dick against her hot cunt. “Now tell me the truth. No lying now. Did you do a bit of studying about giving a blowjob?”

She blushed and smiled as she batted her long lashes at me. “I might’ve. You could tell, huh?”

“Baby, do all the studying you want to.” My mouth fell on hers, and my heart pounded in my chest like a base drum.

I had myself the best woman any man could ever dream of having. And I had no intention of ever letting her go. Now how to get her brother and the rest of her family to actually allow that to happen?

Chapter 25

Brooke

As he laid on top of me, his cock at half-mast after he had come in my mouth, he looked into my eyes as he brushed my hair back. His lips came to mine, and he kissed me. Our unique tastes mingled together to create something altogether different. Uniquely us.

Love wasn’t a thing I’d ever experienced. It was far better than I had ever dreamt it would be. Gannon was a miracle in my eyes.

As our kiss went deep and grew into something passionate, my body yearned for more. His cock thumped and pulsed back to a fully erect state and I pulled my knees up, urging him to press into me. I was sore from last night. But once he was all the way in, deeply seated inside of me, the discomfort went away, and all I felt was pure delight with him locked into me that way.

All day long I’d wanted to feel his body on top of mine again. That weight that made me feel a way I had never known was possible.

He moved inside of me with gentle thrusts that only made me crave feeling him move harder and faster. I ran my heel up the back of his leg and stretched my arm up over my head.

He threaded his fingers through my hand that was stretched above my head and pinned it to the pillow. His mouth kissed me with a hungry kiss then he pulled his head back and looked at me. “God, Brooke. I can’t believe how much I feel for you.”

My heart filled almost to the point that I thought it might burst as the beautiful man stared into my eyes. Never had I imagined seeing someone look at me with that much love in his dark blue eyes.

“I didn’t know this was possible.” My confession only made his expression seem even more loving.

“Me neither.”

Could he be telling me the truth? How could a man who’d been with so many women say that and it be true?

“Gannon. My brother pointed out a couple of times today how you’ve had sex with a lot of women. If that’s so, and I know it is—” I had to add that part. He had been with numerous women after all—“How can sex with me be something other than it was with any of the other women you had sex with?”

A slow smile burned a path across his chiseled lips. “I suppose because I am absolutely, one hundred and ten percent, in love with you.”

And there it went. Even though he’d told me before, my heart now burst completely open.

Before I could utter one word, his mouth took mine again, and he moved inside of me a bit slower.

Arching up to him, I wanted him to give me more. Not be so easy with me. I ran my nails down his back, and he groaned, the sound vibrating my lips. He pulled back and moved his cock into me with harder thrusts.

I looked straight into his eyes and asked him for what I craved. “Will you fuck me, Gannon? Will you show me what that feels like?”

His eyes flashed, dark and hot. “You want me to fuck you?”

“Please.” I knew I sounded slutty. But he’d just shown me that he loved me. I could see it and feel it. I knew it. “Take me the way you would anyone else.”

He laughed then. “I can’t take you the way I’ve taken anyone else. I love you. I’ve never loved any of the women I had sex with before you. You are truly my first love, Brooke.” He kissed me. “But I can show you more. If you feel you’re ready for more.”

Oh, how ready I was!

“Please.” I bit my lower lip. “Should we have a safeword?”

He rolled his eyes. “We’re not going to get that crazy, baby. Not yet, anyway.”

When he pulled out of me, I felt empty immediately.

He took me by the waist then flipped me onto my stomach. It happened so fast, I gasped. Then those same hands that had stroked my body with so much careful tenderness took my waist again, jerking me back until I felt his cock back in my pussy where I felt it hit me even deeper inside, stretching new parts of me. The burn that ripped through that virgin tissue made me scream. “Into the pillow, baby,” he growled in my ear, biting my neck. “Scream all you want. But do it into the pillow. We don’t want to wake up Braiden now, do we?”

His cock slammed into me as he gripped my hips, holding me still as he battered my ass. I could feel his balls as they banged up against my clit. Each thrust felt better than the one before it.

I had my face buried in the pillow, making noises I had had no idea I could make. A high-pitched wail, a tiny whimper, and some guttural sounds I felt were primal in origin.

In mere moments, I was riding an orgasm, and he wasn’t stopping. I moaned as he kept plowing into me. That orgasm barely waned when another took me over by surprise. I cried into the pillow. Real tears. I had no idea why I was crying. It wasn’t because it hurt.

Nothing hurt.

But every last part of me was on full throttle. I could feel him in every last part of me. My fingertips, the tip of my nose, my elbows, for the love of God!

He was encompassing me as he made me come over and over until I was nothing but a shaking mess. Every nerve ending I had was pulsing with sheer ecstasy. I had had no idea, truly, no fucking idea, it could be this good. This amazing. This emotional.

I could feel his cock inside of me, and I knew when he was near his own end. Somehow—I don’t know how—he got harder. Moved faster. Then. Bam!

He made the most awful slash best sound I’d ever heard. It was like complete satisfaction coupled with exhaustion, surrounded by pure agony. It was the best sound I’d ever heard.

And I’d made him make that delightfully agonizing sound.

I was satiated and proud at the same time.

I shivered at the thought. He dropped to the bed beside me, huffing and puffing, and I laid my body on his, panting with satisfaction.

“Oh, how much I love you, Gannon Forester.” I kissed his chest.

One heavy hand fell on my head then moved through my hair, pulling it as it went. “And I love you, Brooke.”

So that was it. We were head over heels in love. And not a soul could know about it.

Chapter 26

Gannon

Although I was beyond wiped out with the most intense orgasm I’d ever had, I managed to kiss Brooke one more time before settling in so I could fall asleep.

One thought was drifting through my mind as I waited for sleep to pull me under and listened to the sounds of Brooke as she laid on my chest. How could I make her family see that I loved her with everything I had in me?

Smash!

Zip!

My eyes flew open as Brooke asked in sharp words, “What the hell was that?”

Another smash, another zip, and I knew what I was hearing.

“Fuck!” I moved us both off the bed, the blanket and sheet coming with us as I let my back hit the floor.

Holding her tight, I moved her onto her stomach as she hissed, “Were those bullets?”

“I believe so.” I could only think about one thing. Get. To. My. Son. “Stay low and let’s get to Braiden.”

We moved quickly despite the bulky material that tried to hinder our progress. I had to reach up to open the door, and then I knew for certain that whoever was outside could see us as another bullet ripped through the window. “Shit, Gannon!”

Once I had the door open, Brooke sprinted forward, grabbing Braiden off his bed where he was standing, crying, and pinning him underneath her naked body. I was right behind her and tossed the blanket from his bed to cover her as I shouted, “Josh!”

The bedroom door opened and Brooke yelled, “On the floor. He can see you!”

Without missing a beat, Josh fell to the floor just as another bullet came through my son’s window. “Fuck!” He pressed a button on his walkie-talkie. “Samson, where the fuck are you?”

There was no answer, and I felt sick inside. “Shit.”

Brooke glanced at me sideways. “I’m sure …” Another bullet cut her off, and the light in the hallway went out.

We both jerked our heads and saw Josh was still on the floor, so who the hell had turned the lights off?

“Get the fuck out of there, Gannon.” It was Samson, and I was damn glad to hear his voice.

Braiden was crying in shock and terror, which only served to infuriate me further. I would kill the person who had frightened my son so badly. I vowed it.

I ducked and cursed as we both hurried to get across the hallway, with Brooke whispering reassuring words to our boy that it was all going to be okay.

The rooms across the hall were all interior rooms, which meant there were no windows anyone could shoot through.

When we made it out into the hallway, we found Samson all dressed in black, with a black ski mask covering his face. Gun drawn, he was moving into Brooke’s bedroom.

I wasn’t about to wait to see what he was going to do, so I opened the door to my room, and Brooke, Braiden, and I were finally in a safe place as we crawled into my room.

Wrapping the blanket around my waist to cover myself up, I took a hysterical Braiden from Brooke, He looked so tiny and fragile, crying in my arms. “Daddy’s got you, baby. You’re okay. Shh.” I rocked with him and shushed him, whispering words similar to Brooke’s earlier, until he finally seemed to calm down a little and burrowed his little face in my neck, clutching my shirt fiercely with his tiny fists, as if to make sure that I never let go of him again. My heart lurched at how much I loved this child. How had I ever existed without him in my life?

When I finally looked up, I found tears streaming down Brooke’s face. “Why? Why, Gannon?” she sobbed. “Who would do this?”

“Believe me, baby, if I had the slightest clue, the fucker would be dead already.” I held my son and continued rocking. Not really for him, as he’d fallen asleep, but to calm myself.

I didn’t see Brooke move around behind me. Her arms closed around me as she hugged her body against my back, swaying with me. “It’s going to be okay. I love you both so much. We’re going to be fine.”

How did I get so damn lucky?

A knock came to my door, then Samson’s voice called out, “Can I come in?”

Sniffling, Brooke pulled away from me, made sure the blanket was still covering her up, and she got up to walk around me as I sat on the floor, holding my son. She gave me a nod, and I told him to come in.

Samson’s eyes never let either of us know he knew what we were doing. He just looked the same way he always did. “I got a shot in that nicked whoever the hell that was. His right bicep was hit. I’ve already called the police to inform them of that, so if the assailant goes to any doctor or hospital, he’ll be detained and taken in for questioning.”

I could only nod. I had no idea what to ask or say. But Brooke had a question. “And how did he get all the way around this huge house and into the backyard to pull this little feat off? Where were you?” She leveled her eyes on him, and I did not envy the man.

He looked down and pinched the bridge of his nose. “The can.”

“I see.” She looked away. “I’m sorry I spoke that way to you, Samson. I am. It’s just that the boy means more to me than you could ever imagine. And we could’ve …” She tried so hard not to fall apart, but she couldn’t hold it back. “We nearly lost him, Samson.” She sobbed and ran into the bathroom.

I looked up at my bodyguard as I nodded. “You did all you could. Thank you. At least you hit him. Now we have something to look for. And you will step up security around here. I want a lot more people around.”

“I’m already on it, boss. You guys get some sleep.” He left me then, and I looked down at my son as tears filled my eyes.

Brooke was right. We could’ve lost him.

When she came back out, she had on one of my t-shirts. I kept some in one of the drawers in the bathroom along with some loose-fitting boxers, and I found some black plaid peeking out from under the white t-shirt that told me she had pulled a pair of them on too.

“Can I sleep with you tonight?”

“You both are. I’m not about to let either of you out of my sight, baby.”

She came to me, taking Braiden out of my arms, carrying him to the bed, where she laid him right in the middle. “I’ll sleep on one side; you sleep on the other.”

I went into the bathroom to clean myself up a bit before putting on a t-shirt and boxers myself. Splashing my face with cold water, I looked at my reflection.

A few wrinkles were etched across my forehead, a thing I hadn’t had before becoming a father.

I was finding out that with love for anyone came something else. It made a person subject to threats that were different than when they only had themselves to worry about.

I’d barely gotten my son, and already someone had figured out a way to get to me. A coward who didn’t want to face me.

I knew it was someone who didn’t want the nightclub ever to open. But why?

None of it made any sense.

A lone gunman came to my home. One person had hidden amongst the work crew at the bar to place the explosive under that bar. It didn’t sound like the work of anyone who owned any of the upscale nightclubs in Vegas.

Then who?

“Gannon?” Brooke softly called to me.

I went into the bedroom to find her lying on her side, facing Braiden. “His pants need to be changed. He’d been doing so well, but with all the fear … Do you think you could go to his room and grab some clean pants and the wipes for me?” She cut her eyes away. “I’m afraid to do it myself. And I don’t want to leave him alone for one second either.”

I gave her a smile as I headed to the door. “Daddy’s on it.” I stopped and turned back to look at her as she nestled in close to my son.

I kept saying my son. But the truth was right there, staring me in the face. That boy was every bit as much hers as he was mine. They might not have shared blood as he and I did. But they both were so deep inside the other’s heart that it made them mother and son.

I had a lot of shit to do. Find this son of a bitch who had gone way too fucking far. And make that woman—the only woman I had ever loved—mine. And once she was mine in all the right ways, then I’d be giving Braiden her as his mother too.

Both of them deserved that. And so did I.

Chapter 27

Brooke

After not sleeping well at all, I finally gave up on the dozing and pulled my eyes open. When I did, I found Gannon was also awake. Wide awake and sitting up in bed, looking at something on his cell.

“Morning,” I croaked out in a whisper.

He looked at me and smiled, then handed me a bottle of water. “Morning, beautiful.”

After taking the bottle from him, I sat up and took a long drink while running my hand through my tangled hair.

God, I must look awful.

My first time waking up with the man, and it had to be after a night like last night.

Looking at Braiden, I was glad to see he was still fast asleep, making little snoring sounds.

I laid back down and tried not to feel so depressed about the situation, but it wasn’t going to be an easy task to just act like nothing terrible had happened. Gunshots into my bedroom and Braiden’s couldn’t be ignored.

Thanksgiving and my birthday were mere days away. With some madman on the loose, there was no way we could go to my family’s home and put them all in danger.

“I suppose we should tell Consuela to make plans to make Thanksgiving dinner here, Gannon.” I rolled off the bed to get up and go pee.

As I passed by him, he caught my hand. Our eyes met, and his were chock full of guilt. “Baby, I’m so sorry I got you in the middle of this. I swear I’ll make it up to you. I never intended to make you miss the holidays with your family or your birthday. I really am …”

I couldn’t let him go on, and leaned in to kiss him. When our lips parted, I said, “I know, babe. Don’t worry about that at all. There are so many more important things to worry about. Let that crap go.”

He let my hand go, and I went into the bathroom. My hair was a wreck. It was absolutely everywhere, and I groaned at my reflection. And I marveled at Gannon’s ability not to laugh or grimace at me. Hell, he’d even accepted a kiss from my dry lips and disastrous appearance.

He must really love me!

I needed to go across the hall to my room to shower and get dressed, but I was afraid to go in there. Shaking my head, I looked at myself in the mirror and gave myself a pep-talk. “You cannot be a chicken, Brooke. Go into that room and do what you have to do. Then go into Braiden’s room and get him some clothes.”

With a bit of courage settling in, I did my business and then went back out to Gannon’s bedroom. I found Braiden had woken up and he’d crawled into his father’s lap and was watching a cartoon on the cell. “Morning, pumpkin.” I headed over and gave him a little kiss on top of his head. “I need a shower. Do you have him for a little bit?”

“I do.” Gannon reached out and took my hand again. “Go grab both of you something to wear, then come in here to take a shower. I’ll feel much better with you guys close to me.”

So he was feeling the same way I was. Like we’d somehow gotten ourselves right in the middle of a warzone. With a nod, I left the room.

As soon as I got into the hallway, I noticed both Braiden’s door and mine had been left open. I went into my room and found bits of glass sparkling on the beige carpet when I turned the light on.

It was dark in there even though I knew the sun had to be up already. Looking toward the windows, I found boards had been placed over them. The sounds of the bullets that had ripped through the room came back to me.

I looked from the window to the other side of my room and found holes in the wall where the bullets had lodged. Thankfully, none had lodged in any of us. I went to my dresser and pulled out some underclothes then got a dress out of my closet and a pair of heels.

Being careful not to step on any shards of glass, I went to Braiden’s room and gathered him some clothes too. His windows were boarded up too, and I found a lump form in my throat.

We could’ve lost him.

I shook my head to get rid of the thought.

We hadn’t lost him or anyone else. I had to be thankful for that and be aware of the fact that we were also very lucky that no one had gotten hurt.

Well, except the gunman. Or gunwoman.

Who was to say that it wasn’t a woman? Maybe some woman from Gannon’s past who wanted revenge for being just another notch on his bedpost.

I headed out of the bedroom with my arms filled with our things and went back into Gannon’s room, finding him playing with Braiden, wrestling around on his big bed.

“I’ll take a quick shower then bathe him.” I placed Braiden’s clothes on top of the dresser. “Oh, does he need his diaper to be changed before I do that?”

Gannon was all smiles as he nodded toward the balled up white diaper next to him on the nightstand. “I did it already.”

I was a little stunned. He’d never changed a diaper before. “Oh. Wow.”

“Yeah, I know. It was a little bit of an ordeal, but I figured it out. But honestly, he needs a bath, so changing him was slightly pointless.” He chuckled as Braiden crawled over the bed to get to me. Gannon grabbed him by the ankle, pulling him back to him as the boy giggled with delight. “Hey you, stinky man. She has to get into the shower. You’re staying here with me.”

“I’ll hurry.” I turned to go into the bathroom.

“No, you take your time. He’s fine with me.”

Heading into the bathroom, his bathroom, I noticed all the things that were uniquely Gannon inside it. The shampoo was crisp and clean smelling. The soap was spicy-scented. And I ended up smelling just like the man once I was done.

I pulled his brush through my hair, put his toothpaste on my toothbrush, then used his mouthwash too. Nothing was the same as the stuff I used.

At first I felt out of sorts with the tastes and smells being so different from my normal morning rituals. But then I felt just the opposite. I felt like I’d immersed myself in the man.

And I felt sexy as hell too.

Before leaving the bathroom to get Braiden, I started a bath for him. When I went out to get him, I found him cuddled up on Gannon’s broad chest, listening to his daddy tell him a story he’d made up.

I couldn’t stop the smile that spread all over my face. Gannon was fast becoming the best daddy in the history of daddies. “How cute.”

Neither Braiden nor Gannon had even noticed me until I spoke. But when both of their heads turned to look at me, and nearly identical smiles curved their lips, my heart raced.

I had two of the best-looking males on the planet giving me heartbreakingly gorgeous smiles. What had I done to deserve all of this?

Braiden was intent on getting to me this time and made a mad dash off his father’s chest to do it. I had to run to catch him before he careened off the side of the bed. Between Gannon and I, we managed to catch the little bugger.

I scooped him up in my arms and shook my head at him. “Braiden! You silly boy. You could’ve fallen off the bed and broken your neck. You have to be careful with yourself.”

Despite my scolding, the boy hugged me, kissed my cheek, and squealed in delight. Gannon chuckled as he watched his son go gaga over me. “Damn, girl. Looks like you have all the Forester men head over heels for you.”

I felt the heat in my cheeks as I blushed. “Oh, you sweet talker.” I turned away, heading to the bathroom to bathe his son.

The sound of the blankets whooshing let me know Gannon was getting out of bed. Then his hands were on either side of my waist, and his bare chest was against my back. His lips were on my neck, and I heard him taking a big sniff. “Um, you smell like me. I kind of like that.”

“Do you now?” I had to giggle as his whiskered cheek brushed mine as he kissed my cheek.

Braiden chided his father for kissing my cheek and placed his hand on his daddy’s face, pushing him away. Then he kissed the same place his father had, marking me as his own.

I laughed and put him down to undress him as Gannon went to brush his teeth.

As I pulled off the little boy’s clothes and picked him up, putting him into the bathtub that I’d filled with warm water and his favorite bath bubbles, I thought about how domestic this was.

Daddy brushing his teeth, Momma bathing the child. So damn domestic.

But I wasn’t Braiden’s mother. No, his mother was a horrible creature.

The child wasn’t any trouble at all. He was loving, funny, a joy to be around. How could she just have thrown him away?

Or had she actually been throwing him away at all …

It occurred to me that the first shots hadn’t gone into Braiden’s room. They had gone into mine. Now, why would someone threaten the boy but take a shot at me?

“Gannon, has anyone talked to Braiden’s mother about this?” I looked back to find him staring back at me through the mirror.

“Hmm. No. I mean, I didn’t give the police any information on her. Why? Do you think she might have something to do with this? And why would she? She only wanted to get rid of what she called a burden. Why make this threat?” He shook his head. “I can’t see her being involved.”

“I have this little nagging thing in the back of my mind that says to tell your investigators to check the woman out, Gannon.” I turned back to Braiden, and my heart hurt even more for the kid.

It was bad enough what she’d already done to both Braiden and Gannon. Could she have a plan that was even worse than what she’d already done?

Chapter 28

Gannon

We came down for breakfast only to find Samson had cleared out my staff and there was no breakfast. Only he and Josh stood in my kitchen, talking quietly.

I cleared my throat, making them stop talking and turn their attention us. “And my chef and her staff are where exactly?”

Samson picked up a brown paper bag off the countertop and headed our way. “We’ve turned everyone around at the gate. I think it’s best not to have too many people around here until we catch this guy.” He placed the bag on the table as I put Braiden in his highchair. “I stopped while I was out and got you guys some bagels and lox. You like that. I’ve seen you eat it a ton of times.”

“Yeah, that’s great. Thanks, Samson.” Brooke pulled the things out of the bag and looked at me as she put the packaged food on the table. “I can make us something. Don’t worry.”

She hurried to the kitchen and looked at the coffee machine. I knew it was way out of her league. “Don’t worry about that.”

With a shake of her head, she looked around until she found something in the drawer underneath it. “The instructions are right there. I’ll figure this all out. Don’t worry. Just help Braiden eat a bit of that until I get his oatmeal and fresh fruit please.” She busied herself with preparing Braiden’s nutritious meal as she made sure he always ate things that were good for him. Bagels and lox were not going to cut it for his morning meal. Not by Brooke’s standards.

I waved my bodyguards over while she moved about in the big gourmet kitchen with state of the art appliances. I’d written down Cassandra Harrington’s address and phone number on a piece of paper. Taking it out of the pocket of my blue jeans, I pushed it across the table to Samson. “That’s someone I want you to check out.”

I looked around Samson to make sure Brooke wasn’t listening to me and found she was so wrapped up in what she was doing that she wasn’t paying any attention to us at all. “That’s the boy’s mother. I doubt she has anything to do with this, but I think she should be checked out all the same.”

Samson nodded. “Yeah, that would be best. Leave no stone unturned.” He hitched a thumb back at Brooke. “You know it’s best for her not to leave, right?”

“Of course.” I nodded, and felt tremendous guilt about that fact. All the rest of the staff had been allowed to stay away from the danger, but not her. And all because she and I had fallen in love. It wasn’t fair to her, and I knew that.

My cell rang, and I looked at it, finding Brad’s name there. “Shit!”

Then Josh’s walkie-talkie went off. One of the outside guards said, “We have a Brad Moore here. He’s demanding he be let inside.”

I swiped the phone to answer Brad’s call. “I’ll talk to him.”

“Hey, what the hell is up?” Brad asked me with a terse tone.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I got ready to hear a stream of curse words after I said what I had to say. “We’re fine. Your sister is fine. She’s safe. That’s what’s really important here.”

“What the fuck happened, Gannon?” I’d never heard him sound like that. It was as if he was deflated.

“Someone shot at the house last night.” I held my breath, waiting for the explosion.

But all I got was a low groan. “God, Gannon. My God. Are you guys all right?”

“We are.” I took a deep breath, knowing I had to tell him more. “The first bullets came through your sister’s window. The next ones came through Braiden’s.”

“Fuck!” His one sharply said word echoed in my ear. “Why her, Gannon? The threat was against the kid. So why her window?”

“I wish I knew. I do know this; my bodyguard got in a shot that caught the gunman in the arm. That’s at least something for the investigators to look for. I’m not relying solely on the police. I have a team of private investigators on this as well. And your sister, my son, and I are staying put in this house until the suspect is found and put into custody. I won’t be leaving them alone at all.”

“Gannon?” Brad stopped, and I knew he was hesitating to say what he had to say. “Fuck. Goddamn. I can’t believe I’m fucking saying this to you. I want you to keep my sister right with you at all times. Don’t let her be away from you at any time. Even when you guys go to sleep. And don’t you dare fucking touch her. You hear me?”

“Loud and clear.” How badly I wanted to let him know that I loved his sister and I’d die before I let her get hurt. I did the second-best thing. “She means more to me than you know. I’d never let anything happen to her. I swear that to you, Brad. I’d take a bullet for the girl. The same way I would for my son.”

“You better.” He sighed heavily. “Fuck this shit, man. All right. I’m leaving. But you keep me posted about what’s happening. And you take care of my baby sister, Gannon Forester.”

I gulped as I could hear the cracks in his voice. This was killing him. “I will, and I’m so damn sorry, Brad. You can’t imagine how sorry I am.”

“I know, buddy. I do. I can hear it in your voice. Just take care of her. Please.” The desperation that etched his voice was evident.

“You got it.”

After ending the call, I saw Brooke coming to the table with coffee in one hand and the bowl of oatmeal in the other, a bottle of apple juice tucked under her arm. “So how’s my brother taking this?” She put everything down then took a seat.

I noticed she hadn’t brought one thing for herself. And I also noticed Josh had taken off and Samson was on his cell, talking to someone. I hoped like hell they’d find something out today. I was damn tired of the situation and just wanted it over with.

She went straight to giving Braiden a drink of juice then spooned oatmeal into his waiting mouth. “Is my big boy hungry?”

She was so wrapped up in feeding Braiden that she didn’t notice me. I didn’t know how to cook, not even a little bit. But I knew Consuela kept frozen meals she prepared in advance. She wanted me to have access to food even when she wasn’t available to cook for me. Like at night, after she’d left for the day.

I had no live-in staff. My parents had had some of their staff live with them, but I preferred to be alone inside my house at night. Samson was on guard in his house, so I wasn’t completely alone.

After heating up a meal of a cheese omelet and some bacon, I plated it and took that, along with a cup of coffee and some apple juice, to her. She’d just about finished feeding Braiden and turned to look at me as I placed everything in front of her. “Here you are, my queen.”

Her smile lit me up inside. “Gannon, you didn’t have to do that.” Then she looked at the meal a bit more closely. “Wait, how did you make this?”

With a chuckle, I shook my head. “I’m not telling you.” I leaned in and kissed her cheek. “I’m magic. Now eat. I’ll finish up with Braiden.”

She looked at me with a wide smile on her beautiful face. “What did I do to deserve you?”

I walked around the table to take the seat on the other side of my son. “You’re an angel. I’m the one who has to wonder what I did to deserve you, baby.”

She took a bite, then a drink of the coffee. Pointing her fork that had another chunk of cheesy egg on it at me, she said, “You know what, Gannon? I just keep thinking that woman has to have something to do with this. So tell me what kind of a custody agreement you two have.”

“I have it; she doesn’t.” I cut a blueberry in half then gave Braiden a bite of it.

“Okay. In the case of your demise, who gets custody then?” She ate the bite off the end of her fork as she looked at me.

My head swam a bit as I thought about that. I’d read the legal agreement and recalled that it said that in the event of my death, custody would revert to her.

“Brooke, she’d get him. I can’t let that happen.” I looked at my son and knew I couldn’t ever let her get her hands back on him. Then I looked at Brooke. “I have to get that changed. But there’s only one person I’d want to leave him with. And that’s you.”

She looked grim as she said, “That’s not what I’m thinking about, Gannon. I’m thinking she orchestrated everything. The fact that she was going to dump him. The fact that she didn’t want anything from you. She never wanted just child support. She wants it all. Every last bit of it. With you out of the way, she gets her son back and all of your wealth, as he’s your only heir.”

My blood ran cold in my veins as I knew she was right.

Chapter 29

Brooke

As the day dragged on from morning until noon, I wasn’t exactly happy with the results Gannon’s investigators had come back with.

They’d talked to Cassandra Harrington early that morning. They thought she acted kind of suspicious, but she had a solid alibi for the night before. A man who was at her place with her had verbally vouched for her.

But that wasn’t cutting it for me, even though they said they’d keep her on their radar, whatever the hell that meant.

We were in the playroom after giving Braiden lunch. He went down for a nap, and Gannon was working on his laptop, taking care of his business from home. I got on my cell and started texting my sister.

Brianna was an avid mystery reader and an amateur sleuth. I thought some covert work would be right up her alley. And I was spot on when she responded to my first text that asked her if she’d heard about what was going on with me and Gannon and Braiden. She was quick to reply that I needed to call her. We had to talk.

So I excused myself to go to the bathroom and went to the one down the hallway, leaving Gannon and Braiden in the playroom.

As soon as I knew I was out of earshot from everyone as I closed the bathroom door, I made the call to my sister. “What the hell is happening, baby sis? Brad’s called everyone, telling them about you and the ordeal you’re going through. Is it true that bullets came into your bedroom last night?” she asked.

“Right through my window.” I chewed on my pinky fingernail nervously. “It was the scariest thing I’ve ever been through.”

“You’ve got to tell me all about it. Every last detail.”

I told her all about it, leaving out the little detail that Gannon had been right there with me every step of the way. But I did tell her that Braiden and I had slept in Gannon’s bed with him for the rest of the night as he wasn’t going to let either of us out of his sight. That was true, after all.

When she responded that she was glad he was taking such good care of me, I felt like a tiny step had been made. At the very least, my family was seeing that Gannon could protect me.

I went on to tell her about Cassandra Harrington, and Brianna looked her up on the Internet and found out there was a park near her house. She could go there and keep an eye out for Cassandra to come out of her house. Then she could follow her and accidentally meet her. She’d get moving and let me know as soon as she knew anything.

Heading back to hang with Gannon while Braiden slept, I found him coming down the hallway as I stepped out of the bathroom. “There you are.” His brow was furrowed, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “I know I’m being overly protective, but if anything happens to you …” He stopped himself as I got to him and ran my arms around him. His lips touched the top of my head, and he wrapped his arms around me, swaying with me. “I see why your family is so protective of you now. You’re just so darn loveable.” He gave me a squeeze as he picked me up, my feet dangling in the air.

He carried me back into the playroom and took a seat on one of the sofas, keeping me on his lap. Braiden was still fast asleep on his pallet. We were mostly alone, and I saw the gleam in Gannon’s blue eyes.

His lips touched my ear. “Wanna fool around very quietly?”

“Gannon!” I smacked his chest as I blushed with the thought of doing anything sexual with the boy right in the same room with us. I didn’t care if he was sleeping or not, it felt wrong. My eyes shot to where he was and then back to Gannon. “No way.”

He looked at Braiden and smiled. “He’s dead to the world, baby. Come on.” He pulled me close and nibbled my earlobe. “Even daddies need naughty time.”

I had to laugh at his silly ways. And his love bites were working magic on me. “What did you have in mind?” I found myself asking, then quickly added, “Not that I’m saying okay or anything like that. I just wondered what you had in mind.”

His teeth grazed my neck, then soft lips pressed the spot just behind my ear. My thighs shuddered as heat swept through me. “That dress will make things pretty easy to get to and pretty easy to hide stuff we might or might not be doing.” He turned me around, facing away from him, and spread my dress out where I felt my panty-covered ass sitting on his bulging male member. “See what I mean?”

“I do, but I don’t …” The touch of his mouth on my neck as he reached around, cupping my boobs, had me going silent.

I went so wet, it was insane. “Gannon, no,” the words were said, but there was absolutely no conviction in them. “We can’t.”

“I need you, honey. Please.” He could’ve been manipulating me to get his way, but the fact was, I wanted it to. And I could see in his eyes that after everything we’d been through, this was a reassurance he badly needed to know I was still whole and safe. And I needed to know the same about him.

His hands moved down, and I felt him doing something underneath my ass. Then I felt the warmth of his bare flesh against my cheeks as he pushed my panties to one side. “Sure we can, baby.” He moved his erect cock around my ass, and I moaned softly. “Now, I want you to move up a bit and come down slowly on what I have for you.” He pulled my hair to lie over the other side and kissed the spot where my neck and shoulder met. “If he starts to stir, you’ll see him, and we can stop.”

So, with my eyes glued to the sleeping child across the room, I did as he said to and had to hold in the moan that wanted to come out as I slid myself over his cock. We both went silent as he moved me, holding me by the waist as he kissed my neck.

What I felt was crazy. Sort of reckless and very, very bad. I could see what girls saw in bad boys then. They were hot as hell!

I was on the verge of an orgasm from the get-go. With the threat of Braiden waking up and ending it all, I was ready to explode if he made the slightest movement.

Gannon’s mouth was working wonders on me as he went from scraping his teeth over my skin to sucking it in places that had my toes curling inside my shoes.

The way he picked me up with ease made me feel weightless in his strong hands. Before I knew it, I was coming all over him, moaning quietly and then holding down a scream as he came inside of me with a hot burst and a hard bite to my neck.

His tongue trailed up my neck then flicked into my ear. “I love you, Brooke.”

I laid my body back, resting it on his. “I love you too. Damn, baby. Damn. I’ve got to go get cleaned up a bit.”

His hands trailed down my arms as he leaned his head on my shoulder. “You do that. I’ll be right here. I can clean up in the bathroom right here.”

One of his hands moved up, and he pushed my face to the side. Then our lips met, and I felt his cock pulse inside of me. Oh, the man was good.

But we both heard Braiden as he turned over. I hopped off Gannon. “Damn. I’ll be right back,” I whispered, then ran out of the room to go to my room.

As I ran down the hallway, I thought I heard something, and when I ran into my bedroom, I stopped as I saw someone was inside. A man was fixing my window. “Oh, hi,” he said. “Almost done with this one.”

Fuck me!

“Oh, great.” I tried to act all cool. “I gotta grab something real quick.” I opened my top drawer and balled up a pair of panties in my hand until you couldn’t see them at all. “Bye.” I went into Gannon’s bedroom and went to his restroom to clean up and change

Just as I finished up, my cell rang, and I saw it was my sister already calling me back.

“Hey,” I answered the call.

“Oh, baby sister. This woman has to have something up her sleeve,” she began. “I talked to Brad and got the backstory on Gannon’s baby momma.”

Oh, I did not like her calling that woman that. Not one bit. “K. First, don’t call her that. Call her bitch, or whatever, but not that.”

“Hmm.” She paused. “Okay. Well, this bitch and I met in the park where I joined her for a run. And it was more than easy to get her talking. Her first and only subject was how much she missed her little boy. His mean old rich daddy stole him from her after she introduced the two. She said she’s been a single mother since she found out she was pregnant and that she only recently let the daddy know about the boy. She was feeling guilty about not letting him know.”

“No way.” I chewed my pinky nail again as I listened.

“Yep. And there’s more,” Brianna went on. “She said she’s been sneaking out there and peeking in the windows. She wanted to make sure her little boy was safe. She found his window and the one right next to his that must be his nanny’s. And guess what she said?”

I was shocked that Cassandra knew so much. She had to be involved in this whole thing. “What else did she say?”

“She said that through the sheer curtain, she could see everything. Her son. The nanny. And her baby’s father humping the nanny.” Her words made my heart stop beating. “So, baby sister, have you and Bad Boy Moneybags been screwing?”

Fuck my life!

Chapter 30

Gannon

It wasn’t long before Brooke came rushing back into the playroom. Her face was on the pale side as she gave one sideways glance at Braiden, who was still sleeping on the pallet she’d made for him.

I had my laptop on my lap and closed it as she came and sat next to me, her eyes as big as saucers. “Gannon, Cassandra has been spying on us!” Her words were only a hiss yet they stopped my heart.

No way!

I shook my head. “Baby, there’s no way she’s been spying on us. Now where would you get a crazy idea like that?”

“My sister.” She nodded. “I called her. I told her to try to talk to Cassandra. And she did. She ran into her at the park near her home.”

I held up a hand to stop her as she was talking way too fast and making not a lick of sense. “Slow down. Now what the hell are you talking about?”

“How they met doesn’t matter. The meat of the story is that Cassandra told my sister, virtually out of the blue, that she’d introduced her son to his father after feeling guilty about keeping them apart. And the mean old rich man stole him from her.”

“Oh, God …” I gritted my teeth as I could hardly believe what I was hearing. “That bitch!”

“Yes, she is one. A very big one. And I do believe she is behind this whole thing, Gannon. And I think I was right. She wants you dead. That’s why the first shots were made to my bedroom.” She sat back and smiled as she crossed her arms in front of her as if she was so pleased with herself for solving the mystery. But she hadn’t solved it or finished her story.

“More details, babe. I’m a little lost here,” I urged her.

Her brows shot up. “Oh! I forgot the best part. She was spying on us. She knows about me and you. And that is why my …”

I stopped her. “Yes, yes. I get it now. That’s why your room was shot into first.” I rubbed my forehead as it all sank in. “She was trying to kill me. Not Braiden.” That was a relief, but not entirely.

Sure, Braiden was safe, but not fully. If she got her hands back on him, then he wasn’t safe at all. She was a monster, through and through. “I’m calling the lead investigator to let him know about this.”

“Yeah, you need to do that right away.” She got up and started picking up some toys that were scattered around. “When my sister asked me if you and I had really been screwing—I won’t tell you what she called you, by the way—I just about fainted.”

I paused my fingers over the cell screen and looked at her. “Wait. What? She asked you about us screwing?” My heart pounded.

Were we finally free to be open about our relationship?

“Yes, she did.” Her eyes rolled. “It was terrifying, Gannon. I was all like a deer in the headlights when she asked me that.”

“And you said?” I crossed my fingers. Please say you told her we are indeed screwing!

“I told her no way.” My heart plummeted with her answer. “I told Brianna that the crazy bitch must be seeing things. You and I do not do that. We’re very close and are friends above having an employer/employee relationship, but it’s nothing more than that.”

Well, fuck!

“You know that would’ve been a great opportunity to come clean, right?” I watched her as she put away the toys she’d collected.

Her narrow shoulders moved with a shrug. “I didn’t see it that way.”

Of course, she didn’t.

It was quite obvious that it would have to be me who outed us. I didn’t know when or how, but I knew it was all up to me.

After making the call, I had the investigative team heading our way to get all the fingerprints they could from the windows outside Brooke’s and Braiden’s bedrooms. I hoped against hope that Cassandra hadn’t had the smarts to wear gloves when she was being a peeping Tom.

While I was on the phone, I saw Braiden waking up and Brooke going to lie on the floor beside him, stroking his back and talking to him quietly.

After I’d hung up, I sat there, watching them. I knew it then. I had known it for a while, but then at that moment as I watched the two of them as he smiled at her and touched her face so gently and she ran her hand through his dark hair with such tenderness, that I had to make things right.

“So,” I said as I got up, “I’ve got the team coming over, and if they find her prints anywhere at all, she’ll be picked up and taken first to be hooked up to a lie detector and then to the police.”

I went to sit on the floor with Brooke and Braiden. They’d sat up, and he’d crawled onto her lap. When he saw me on the floor, he kissed her cheek then came to sit in my lap. “Did Daddy’s little man have a nice nap?”

While he and I conversed with nods and nose nudges, Brooke glanced at her cell and got up. “I should get to finding something to make for dinner. Care to join me in the kitchen, you two?”

So off we went to the kitchen, just like a normal family, a thing I’d never been a part of but had seen on television. Meals cooked by a mother weren’t a thing I knew about. My mother had never cooked a day in her life.

I placed Braiden in his highchair then carried him in it to the kitchen. “I want to help.”

Brooke opened the fridge. “Hmm. Okay. What do you know how to do?”

“Not much. But you can teach me.” I washed my hands to get ready to learn from her.

She laughed as she pulled out some frozen chicken. “Funny, huh?” She put the bag into the microwave and started it.

“What’s funny?” I had to ask her as she didn’t go on.

She ambled up to me, throwing her arms around my neck and gazing up at me. “You teach me in the bedroom. I teach you in the kitchen.”

I kissed her and picked her up as I did, holding her tightly. “I can teach you some things in here too. Maybe one night—after this shit is over—you and I will head to the kitchen for a midnight snack, featuring you.”

“Always the naughty boy,” she said with a giggle. “Now put me down. Braiden is looking at us through his fingers. We’re embarrassing the kid.”

I put her down and went to whisper in Braiden’s ear a little secret that only he and I would be privy to. The smile I wore hid so much behind it. But Brooke smiled back at me without a clue as to what I’d told my son.

“You like cabbage?” She pulled out some light green stuff out of the fridge.

“Not sure.” I went to smell it. “It doesn’t have a smell, does it?”

“When you cook it, it does.” She wrinkled her nose. “On second thought, not a good idea. My brother gets very gassy after eating cabbage, and I have to sleep with you tonight.”

I laughed and smacked her ass. “Are you insinuating that I would stink you out of the bedroom?”

She laughed and nodded as she put the stuff back up. “I bet you would. My mom made cabbage rolls one night when we were kids. Later that same night, Brad stunk us out of the den a few hours after dinner. We were all watching a movie on T.V. when that cabbage went to work on him.” She pulled out a yellow thing and tossed it to me. “There, you chop that up, and we can mix that in with the chicken breasts that you will also chop up, and we’ll have us some good old-fashioned stir-fry for dinner.”

The smile just refused to leave my face that night as we made dinner and acted like a real family. She was what made us a family. Without her, there would just be my little boy and me.

Chapter 31

Brooke

Another night of the three of us sleeping in Gannon’s bed had me waking up with Braiden’s feet wedged into my back. As I moved, a groan came out of me as I found my body felt a bit beaten and bruised.

Seems the kid slept on the restless side and I had gotten his feet in the deal while Gannon must’ve gotten the softer side, his head. I rolled off the two inches of mattress that I’d been forced onto and stood up, stretching and yawning and feeling the most exhausted I’d ever felt upon waking up.

When I turned around, rubbing my eyes, I found the bathroom light was on, and the door was wide open. Then I saw an empty place on the other side of the big bed.

Gannon was gone.

Padding to the bathroom, I thought I might find him in there. But I didn’t. What I did find was a wet towel that told me he’d showered and some empty hangers that told me he’d dressed. But where the hell was he?

I went back into the bedroom to grab my cell to see if he’d left me a message, but I found he hadn’t. I also found it to be ten in the morning. I had no idea how Braiden and I both had slept so late.

I suppose the night of kickboxing had worn little Braiden out. And my night as his punching bag had done me in too. Gannon must’ve escaped the battle we had and had gotten up on time and was most likely somewhere in the house, talking to Samson or Josh.

When I opened the door to go across the hall and gather us some clothes to put on, I found Josh in the hallway, sitting on a chair and reading a book. “Morning, ma’am.”

Shoving my hand through the mess of my hair, I looked down, embarrassed, as I had on one of Gannon’s t-shirts and a pair of his boxers. “Morning, Josh.” I headed to my bedroom and grabbed my clothes.

The windows had been fixed, the mess of glass cleaned up. Everything was back to normal. But I still felt anxious being in the room where bullets had zipped through only one night ago. I looked at the wall where the bullets had lodged and saw that the holes were still there. A project for that day, no doubt.

After I gathered all of our things, remembering to grab my soap, shampoo, and conditioner, I headed back to Gannon’s room. Braiden was sleeping even harder as he had the entire bed to himself, and somehow the little thing was managing to take up most of it.

Splayed out, he was sleeping extremely comfortably, and I felt I had a few minutes to shower before he woke up. After a speedy shower and pulling on jeans, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes, I put my wet hair in a ponytail and put only a bit of moisturizer on my face. I knew we wouldn’t be going anywhere that day either; might as well be comfortable.

As I opened the bathroom door, I found Braiden was just now sitting up, rubbing his eyes and moaning a bit. Probably all the activity of trying to kick me off the bed had him sore too.

“Morning, my big boy.” I headed to him, picking him up and carrying him into the bathroom. “Did you sleep well, Braiden?”

He nodded and this time it came along with an “Um-hm.”

“Braiden! Oh, good boy!” It wasn’t much, just a mumble, but it was something more than a mere nod of the head. It hadn’t been long, and he was making progress.

I knew that being away from his mother had to be traumatizing to the young boy. And being in a new place was too. Taking in so many new things, a father, another woman caring for him, all the staff, it had to be hard.

With all of that against him, the little boy was moving forward, taking things in stride and developing, despite all that had happened to him. My heart swelled with an ache as I brushed his teeth for him.

How could his mother do what she’s done?

People who hurt other people intentionally didn’t make sense to me. So many things happened that were bad, completely out of anyone’s control. I could never wrap my head around people who purposely decided to hurt another person. And their own child? Well, that was inconceivable to me.

The boy who sat on the vanity top, letting me clean his tiny teeth, was not only utterly adorable but sweet too. So loveable and kind-hearted.

How could she do this to him?

After bathing him and putting his clothes on, I took him with me to find his father. I found Josh still in the hallway, and he got up when he saw that we were dressed and on the move. Silently, he followed behind us as we went to the kitchen.

When I found no evidence of Gannon having had coffee or breakfast and also saw that Samson wasn’t around, I had to ask, “Did Gannon and Samson leave?”

Josh looked at me for a moment as if he had been told not to tell me anything. But then he looked off to the right. “He and Samson went into town.”

I was a bit shocked. He’d left us alone, a thing he’d said he wasn’t going to do until the shooter was caught.

Had the shooter been caught?

“Did they catch her?” I asked as I set to work making Braiden’s breakfast after putting him in the highchair. We’d moved it to the kitchen so we could keep an eye on him while we cooked.

“No.” Josh took a seat at the island bar, opening up his book and reading again. “There were no prints found around the windows. No reason to take her in.”

He offered no more information so I chatted with Braiden as I cooked his oatmeal. It did little to help me not to think about Gannon and what he was doing.

Why’d he leave without saying a word to me?

He had to be up to something he knew I’d beg him not to do. Probably putting himself into a dangerous situation. I knew that had to be it.

Why else would he leave us alone here?

Well, we had Josh, and I knew there were still guards all around the property and at the gate. But he’d said he would stay with us until it was all over. But it wasn’t over, according to Josh.

After getting the oatmeal ready and cutting up some organic strawberries, I fed Braiden, all the while chatting to him. I shut up when it occurred to me that I might be aggravating Josh with all of my mindless chatter.

With my silence, he put the book down and looked at me. “You okay, ma’am?”

The man was at least ten years older than me, so calling me ma’am was ridiculous. I put my hand on my hip and looked right back at him. “Josh, don’t you think that calling me ma’am is a bit over the top?”

He shrugged. “What else do you call your boss’s girl?”

It hit me hard. He knew about us.

Well, of course, he does, you idiot!

I really was an idiot. The man had seen us practically naked on the floor in Braiden’s bedroom the night the shots were fired. What else would he think?

I let it go, nodded, and went to work, cleaning everything up after giving Braiden a wooden spoon to play with, or rather bang, on the tray of his highchair with. It kept him content, so I dealt with the noise.

When I was all done, I got myself a bottle of water from the fridge, picked up the child, and headed to the playroom. I was going to put all of my focus on him and working with him that day.

It would help me get my mind off Gannon and what he was up to.

Josh followed us to the playroom and took a seat in the far corner and got back to reading his book. I pulled out the blocks with the letters and numbers on them and sat on the floor with Braiden.

Holding up a block, I pointed to the letter. “This is the letter B. Do you know what word begins with the letter B?”

Braiden laughed as if I’d told a funny joke and he took the block away from me and threw it down. But then he did something amazing. He looked at me and looked around the room. Then one eyebrow rose as he asked, “Da?”

My heart skipped a beat as I teared up. I grabbed him and hugged him. “Da! You said a word, Braiden!”

He laughed and wiggled, so I had to let him go. Then he asked again, “Da?”

I was laughing as tears rolled down my cheeks. “I don’t know where your daddy is. Let me call him, and you can ask him that yourself.”

I took out my cell from the back pocket of my jeans and called Gannon. Wherever he was, he was going to love hearing his son talk for the first time.

Gannon answered the call. “Hey, baby.”

I put the phone on speaker so Braiden could hear his daddy. “Hi, babe. Someone was asking about you.”

“And who would that be?” Gannon asked with a chuckle.

Braiden’s eyes lit up, and he came to sit on my lap and look at the screen, expecting to see his daddy there, but not finding him. “Da? Da?”

“Oh my God!” Gannon was overjoyed. “Braiden? Is that Daddy’s big boy? Son, I’m so proud of you!”

Braiden was so happy, he jumped out of my lap and started jumping up and down, shouting, “Da,” over and over again.

The tears were streaming down my face. “Can you believe that?”

“No. God, I wish I was there to see him.” He slipped off into silence.

“So, where are you, Gannon?” I had to ask. It was driving me crazy not to know.

But all I heard was silence on the other end of the line.

Oh, this can’t be good.

Chapter 32

Gannon

All I could hear was Brooke breathing as I sat there, not knowing what the hell to tell her.

If she knew I’d put myself in the middle of what might turn into a very bad situation, she’d be worried. And she’d stay worried until I made it back to her safely.

As I sat there, dumbfounded, Samson reached over and poked me in the arm. “He’s moving.”

“Was that Samson?” she asked. “Gannon, what are you doing?”

“It’s going to be okay. We’re going to put an end to this today, baby. I’ve got to go.”

“No!” she barked at me. “Gannon, where are you?”

“Baby, I have to go. I’ll tell you all about it …”

“He’s going in the side door,” Samson interrupted me. “You have to call your crew and let them know they have to get out of there.”

“Baby, I’ve got to go. I love you. Tell Braiden I love him too.” I swiped the call to end it before she could stop me.

I felt like an ass, hanging up on her that way. But I didn’t know what else to do. I knew she’d push me for more and more information. But she didn’t need to know about any of this.

If she did, she’d tell me to stay out of it and to let the cops and my investigators handle it. Only I couldn’t do that. I had to see it with my own eyes. I had to have the chance to face the woman who wanted me dead and who would use our son to get everything I had.

Calling the crew leader who was inside the building, I found him answering my call. “Yes, boss?”

“Don’t panic,” I started.

“Oh, boss, that’s a terrible way to start a conversation.” He didn’t laugh; he knew something bad was coming.

“Get everyone out of there. But don’t make it obvious. Call out that you’re giving them an early lunch. Make sure everyone goes out through the front exit. Someone went in through the side door. I don’t want anyone interacting with him. Don’t lock the front doors after you leave, got it?”

“Got it, boss.” He ended the call, and I sat back to watch.

Samson and I stayed put in his Ford Focus with darkly tinted windows. It was a perfect car for blending into the surroundings. No one ever noticed a bland car that there were so many of on the road. The only difference between the one Samson drove and the ones other people did was that his had one bad ass engine. He could outrun just about anyone with the motor he had custom-made.

He and I watched as everyone walked out of the building. Each one of them looked happy to be taking an early lunch. And when I saw the crew leader come out, I knew he was the last one inside the building. “That’s the last one, Samson. Tell them to go inside.”

Samson got on his walkie-talkie to send in the policemen he’d personally lined up to work with us on this. I watched as a couple of unmarked police cars started to move, pulling out from where they’d been parked and waiting.

Samson had people watching Cassandra’s every move. When she had been spotted early this morning with a man who had a bandage wrapped around his right bicep, they’d really honed in her. And that’s when they saw them coming out of her house. The man was wearing a trench coat, and she was carrying a brown paper bag. It was the way she was carrying the thing that alerted them that something was going down. She was overly cautious with the package as she got into the passenger side of the car that was parked near the side entrance of the nightclub.

When Samson had texted me early this morning about it all, I’d hopped out of bed and told him I wanted to witness it all. I had to see the look on the bitch’s face when she went down.

And the time was getting closer and closer as more and more unmarked police cars moved in. One parked in a way that blocked Cassandra’s view from the front of the building.

We knew she was the guy’s lookout. And now she was blind to see if anyone went inside. Of course, there were policemen heading in through the unlocked front doors.

Wearing business suits, four policemen got out of the cars they had parked on either side of hers. They got out and got together on the sidewalk, right in front of her car. Another unmarked car pulled up behind her, and another police officer dressed in a business suit got out and was calling out to the others, acting as if they were all together and he had no idea where he should park.

Her car was quite effectively blocked in, and there would be no getting away.

Cassandra became aware of that fact and opened her door, stepping out and looking at all of the men. I eased my window down a bit so I could hear her. “Excuse me, gentlemen. I’ll be leaving soon.” She looked at the man who had her blocked in. “Can you please move? Once my friend comes out, we have to hurry to get to our next meeting.”

“Sure, lady,” the officer said with a smile. “Can you see any parking spaces from where you’re at? I can’t seem to find one anywhere.”

“No, I can’t see one from here.” She rubbed her forehead in aggravation. With her head down like that, she failed to notice the other men who were on the sidewalk, moving in on her.

Their plan had worked extremely well. They had her out of the car, where she’d be much easier to get to when the time came to make an arrest. One had slipped around the other side of the car and was coming up in front of her.

Acting as if he was trying to help his friend, that officer said, “I think there might be one over there.” He pointed off to one side, and they acted as if they were looking at something.

The other three, who were closing in on Cassandra from behind, were able to get her to step a bit further from the car so they could pass by. One of them pushed the car door closed and stepped in between Cassandra and the car. The other two were right behind her, and she looked a little panicked as she realized she was trapped outside of the car and the other car was still blocking her in.

Then the side door of my club opened up and out spilled her man in the company of two uniformed police officers. “She made me do it all!” he shouted.

Four sets of hands grabbed her as she tried to spin around. One of them forced her, face first, up against the car. Another officer began reading her rights to her.

And now she was lost for words as she looked around, dazed and confused as hell. “How?”

Her man-friend wasn’t through throwing her all the way under the bus yet as he shouted, “She made me do it. Cassandra Harrington made me take the shots at her kid’s father that night. She made me set those bombs in the club to lead the police to think it was someone other than herself that was threatening Gannon Forester and their son, Braiden Forester.”

“Shut up, you idiot!” she screamed.

“I will not,” he yelled back at her. “I took a bullet for you, and you couldn’t even be bothered to tell me you were sorry about that. And just so you all know, I could’ve actually shot that man; I just didn’t want to. I began to grow a conscience. And that bomb I made isn’t going to go off. I just told her it would. That ticking sound is an old clock I found to put inside of that plastic pipe.”

I looked at Samson. “Can we get out now?”

With a nod, he and I got out of the car and made our way over to the officer who had Cassandra. The guy she’d had do all this saw me and shouted, “Hey, Gannon! She had this planned for a year, dude. She wanted everything you had. She knew the kid was her only ticket to getting it.”

She turned to look at me then. Her eyes were wide. Her red lipstick was smeared. “He’s a liar. He’s the mastermind behind all of this. He made me do it all. Don’t believe him!”

I shook my head and looked her straight in her dark eyes. “You will never see my son again. I will get your parental rights completely revoked. My son has a real mother now. A woman who loves him and puts him first every single time. And you will rot in prison. I will make damn sure of that.”

“Gannon, no! Please!” Her begging only served to piss me off even further.

“My lawyers will meet you officers at the police station, where they will make sure she’s charged with every crime they can come up with.” I turned to leave, and Samson followed.

It was over. Finally.

Chapter 33

Brooke

Not happy with how Gannon had cut me off, I played with Braiden to try to get my mind on anything other than Gannon and what he was up to.

When Josh’s cell buzzed, I jerked my head up and saw him taking the call. His voice was very low. “Josh here, boss.”

There was a series of uh-huhs and some hmms, but Josh wasn’t talking much. I went back to playing with Braiden, knowing I wasn’t going to find anything out.

I looked up again when Josh stood up and started walking to the door. “Bye, ma’am. It was nice working for you guys.”

My heart stopped. It had to be over.

I got up, picking up Braiden, and went toward him. “Was it her? Did they get her?”

He nodded and went out the door. “Yep.”

I had no idea how to act. I wanted to jump up and down and shout about them getting that horrible bitch. But she was Braiden’s mother. It just felt like the wrong thing to be doing.

The poor kid. His mother would spend a considerable amount of his life in prison for what she’d done. And I didn’t want him remembering that I jumped for joy and celebrated that horrible fact.

Monster or not, she was his mother and always would be.

Josh left, and little by little the staff came trickling in. It was crazy how they just all got back to work. Everyone was nice and asked how we were doing with the whole thing.

I didn’t know how I was doing with it. I wanted Gannon to come and tell me every last detail. I could’ve called, but I didn’t want to bother him. I knew he must be very busy, making sure Cassandra was put away for a very long time.

So when an hour went by and then one more, I just took Braiden to his bedroom after lunch for a nap. When I got to his bedroom, I saw men working on the bullet holes in the walls in his room and mine. So I opted for the next bedroom. It was an empty guest room, and I went in to put him down for a nap.

He was tired, rubbing his little blue eyes and leaning heavily on me. Taking off his shoes, I laid him back on the bed and pulled the blanket over him as I sang him a lullaby.

Since he was half asleep anyway, it took no time for him to go to sleep. I went into his bedroom and got the baby monitor. Then I went to mine to retrieve the one I had.

Going back to the guestroom, I plugged in the monitor and headed out into the hallway, not sure where I should go. The door to Gannon’s room was open, and I’d seen housekeeping working on it. So I turned and headed to another guest room across the hallway from where I’d put Braiden.

“Where are you going, baby?” I heard his deep voice ask.

I turned and saw Gannon coming my way. Suddenly I was overwhelmed with emotion and ran to him, throwing my arms around him as tears got away from me. “Gannon! You’re okay.”

I had known he was okay. Josh would’ve told me if he was otherwise. But it had just been there, that little doubt. But he was okay, and he was home. And it was all over.

His large hand moved through my hair as his lips met my cheek. “I’m fine. It’s over, baby. She’s going to be in prison for a very, very long time. And my lawyers have already begun the process of stripping her of her maternal rights where Braiden is concerned. If I have my way, he will never know that woman is his mother. He will never know that woman, period.”

I didn’t know what to say. I was full of mixed opinions about that whole thing. But right then, I couldn’t worry about it. He was Braiden’s father. It was his decision to make.

“I’m just so happy to have you home, Gannon.” I kissed him and felt his lips pull into a smile.

“My room’s getting cleaned. Why don’t you, I, and the baby monitor step into this room over here?” His hand slid down my arm, taking my hand then leading me to the same room I had been going into before he’d stopped me.

When he opened the door, I found the room to be very much like the one he’d had me in. But there were no windows, as it was an interior room. It was dark once he closed the door, and he had to turn on the overhead light.

I went to plug in the monitor and was bent over to do that when I felt his arms come around me. He picked me up after I had the plug in the socket and then he took me to the bed. “He’s down for a nap, huh?”

I nodded as he pulled my shoes off. “He should sleep for about an hour, I think.”

“Well, I guess we’ll have to make this short and sweet then.” He undid my jeans and pulled them off too.

“Oh, will we?” I sat up so he could rid me of my t-shirt and smiled. “Afterward, can I call my mother and tell her to expect us tomorrow for Thanksgiving and my birthday? Everyone shows up the day before Thanksgiving.”

It was all over. No more danger. No reason not to go now.

He pulled off my shirt and then my bra, cupping both my breasts. “You better call her and tell her that. I can’t wait to meet them all.”

I sighed in relief. He was going to come with me. I didn’t know why I kept letting doubt into my head, but I did.

He took one of my pebbled nipples between his lips and rolled it, making me moan already. My panties were still on, and they were already getting damp. But he was quick to rid me of them, his fingers moving through my folds.

Slowly, he moved his mouth off my tit and kissed his way down my body. I watched him as he headed to where I knew his mouth would take me away from any thoughts.

His lips touched my clit; his warm wet tongue circled it lazily. His hands caressed my thighs as he kissed and licked me.

My head was whirling with his attention. I had no idea how I’d made my way into this man’s heart. I had no idea why he had chosen me over so many. But I was so damn happy he had.

Even if it didn’t last forever. At least he was showing me what love felt like.

But as that thought of this not lasting forever filtered into my head, I found my eyes stinging with tears.

I lost all train of thought then as he gripped my thighs then forced them apart. He moved lower, kissing me and licking me in the opposite direction. Then his tongue went into me upside down, and I moaned and fisted his dark hair.

As he moved his long tongue inside of me, my mind went back to the thoughts I’d been having. When would what we have be over?

Maybe when Braiden started first grade. Maybe then it would have to end.

Gannon moved a bit, his tongue inside me still, but now his whiskered chin rubbed my little nub, and I couldn’t think anymore again. I could only feel, and what I felt was out of this world.

“Oh, baby, yes …” I moaned.

He kept going and going, then I came and tried my best to be quiet so no one would hear me. But it was damn hard. I was left panting when he finally came up for air.

Standing up, he undressed in front of me, and I marveled at his ripped body. That was all mine. At least for now, he was all mine.

I held out my arms to him, and he came into them, moving his body over mine, pressing his knee between my legs to part them for him.

He pressed his thick cock against me, then thrust it into me. “Oh, baby, you were made for me.” Soft lips found mine, and he took me higher.

Every time he and I were together this way, it felt as if I was floating. I couldn’t feel the bed underneath me or the pillow under my head. All I could feel was him and how he was connected to me. A part of me.

My hands ran over his muscular back, and I arched up to him, wanting this to just go on and on.

It was like there was no one else in the entire world. Just us. And we were like one being, complete.

I’d heard people say things like “I don’t know where he ends and I begin,” and that was how I felt. Sensations moved through me that defied imagination.

His mouth moved to my neck, biting me, then sucking the same spot. It sent shots of pure heat to my cunt, and I moaned with each bite he gave me.

Higher and higher I went until there was no higher I could go. It all came crashing down on me at once. My body could take no more. I was shivering, groaning, and growling as it all concluded.

His body came with mine in a glorious display of wet heat and the sound of our juices mixing as they gushed from us both.

Relaxed after such an intense rush, he whispered, “You are mine, Brooke. I love you.”

I was his. A part of me always would be. He was right about that. But a part of him would always be mine too. At least we both could take that with us when this had to come to an end.

Chapter 34

Gannon

If I said I wasn’t nervous, then I’d have been lying. I was nervous. But I was something else, even more so than that. I was determined.

We pulled up in front of her family’s modest home in Napa Valley. Besides my Jag, Brad’s red Lamborghini stood out amongst the other normal cars that were parked in a haphazard way around her family’s two-story home.

“Wow, how many people are here, Brooke?” I was trying not to call her baby at all. It was hard, but I had managed to rein that in so far that day.

It was actually Brooke who kept throwing out ‘babes’ left and right when she was talking to me. “Um, looks like,” her eyes scanned the scene as we got out of the car and I opened the door behind mine to get Braiden out of his car seat, “maybe twenty, give or take. Don’t let the size of my family get to you, babe.”

“K.” I picked up Braiden as she reached into the seat behind hers to retrieve his diaper bag. It was a thing she had told me was on its way out, as she would soon have him using the bathroom like a big boy.

We didn’t even get to the door before her mother popped her head out the front door. “You made it!” She hurried out to meet us, grabbing Brooke and hugging her. Then she looked at Braiden. “Oh my goodness!” She pinched his cheeks, making him giggle. “You are so adorable!” She smiled at me and gave me a wink. “It’s clear to see where he gets that from. Hi, Gannon. It’s nice to finally meet you. Brad’s spoken about you so often through the years; it’s like we all already know you. My name’s Barbara, but everyone calls me Babs.” She opened her arms up. “Wanna come with Grams, Braiden?” Then she pulled out a cookie from her apron pocket to lure him in. “I have cookies.”

I’d lost him to her then. He nearly jumped out of my arms to get into hers. She led the way, and I fell into step with Brooke. It was hard not to wrap my arm around her, I found out, as I reached out to do just that. “Here, give me his bag, Brooke.”

She caught what I had almost done and smiled at me. “Here you go, sir.”

I winked at her. “Thanks, sitter.”

I couldn’t help but love how her mother was already telling Braiden to call her Grams. It was a great start.

Inside the home, I found it was bustling with people. Just inside the doorway, her mother stopped, and it was on to the introductions. “All right everybody, hush up and listen,” her mother began. “This little guy here is Braiden. His big, good-looking daddy, this mighty hunk of man who’s standing behind me, is Gannon Forester. You might’ve heard Brad bragging about knowing him a time or two.”

Some young guy in the corner chimed in, “Or every damn time anyone talks to him!” Raucous laughter followed, making the living room shake.

Babs went on, “That wisecracker is Brad and Brooke’s cousin, Bobby. He comes from my husband’s side of the family. They have no filter, so watch out for Uncle Bob, Aunt Lou, their sons Bobby and Kenny, and you also have to watch out for their little dog, Toto. They’re all ones to rattle off about things no one cares to hear.” Another round of laughter told me they all were pretty thick-skinned and everyone had a sense of humor.

Out of a side room, I saw Brad coming in, followed by what had to be his father as he looked like an older version of my old friend. “Hey, buddy.” Brad waved. “You’re taking the dare Brooke gave you, huh?”

With a shrug, I said, “I wouldn’t call it a dare. I’d call it a very nice invitation to spend this holiday with her large and funny family. And I’m extremely happy she did invite me. This seems like it’ll be a fun couple of days.”

Brad laughed as he and his father made their way, curving through the mass that filled the living room, to get to us. “Should be fun,” Brad agreed.

His father stuck out his hand, and I took it with a firm handshake. “Benjamin Moore, like the paint company. Call me Ben, Gannon. It’s a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.” He gave me a wink then turned his attention to my son. “And who is this handsome young man we have here?”

Babs put her hand in her apron and slipped Ben a cookie. “This is Braiden, and he likes cookies, Papa.”

Ben held up the cookie he’d been given and smiled at Braiden. “Oh, my! Look what Papa has for you, little Braiden.” Without a hitch, Braiden went for that cookie, as he’d just finished the one Babs had given him, and into Ben’s arms he went.

Bab’s jabbed me in the ribs, talking out of the side of her mouth, “He’s going to be fought over more than the turkey’s drumsticks this Thanksgiving.”

“I think he’ll be in heaven here.” I looked at Brooke, who was beaming. “Thanks for letting us tag along, Brooke.”

With our backs to the door and her mother in front of us, we had a bit of cover, and I felt her hand move over my ass. Then it settled on my back. “You’re not tagging along, Gannon. You’re family. Can’t you see that?”

We were off to a great start. I was introduced to Bab’s sister, Leah, and her husband, and Steve. They had two grown kids, Laura and Andrew. Andrew was married with one kid, and then there was another dog who was part of his family.

It was like a circus in their home. Loud, crazy smells everywhere, and wonderful.

We’d managed to get to the middle of the living room. Brooke had said we needed to take Braiden upstairs to her room so she could change his diaper. So we were heading slowly in that direction as Babs introduced me to everyone.

I heard footsteps on the wooden staircase that came down to meet the end of the large living area. “So, you made it?”

I looked up to find an older version of Brooke coming down the stairs. “You must be Brianna,” I called up to her. “I’m Gannon. Nice to meet you.”

She stopped right where she was, waiting for us to come up. Her eyes never left mine. “I’ll help you guys up here.” She looked at her father, who still held my son. “Hey, you.”

Braiden looked at Brianna, then back at Brooke. He was confused, as they looked so much alike. When Brianna held out her arms, he went right into them. She turned and went up the stairs with him as Brooke and I followed.

“I had no idea she and you looked so much alike, Brooke.” I immediately regretted my words as her eyes cut to me and I saw the insecurity in them.

“She’s five years older than me. Much closer to your age,” she whispered as we climbed the stairs behind her sister. My son looked at Brooke over Brianna’s shoulder with a confused expression.

We filed into Brooke’s bedroom, Brianna laying Braiden down on the pink comforter that covered Brooke’s twin bed. “Aren’t you a handsome devil, Braiden? I could just eat you up.” Brianna smiled at him as he held her face, undoubtedly wondering what was happening.

I put the diaper bag on the bed, and Brooke quickly opened it to get out a fresh diaper. “Let’s get you freshened up, pumpkin.”

Brianna stepped back to let Brooke tend to him and looked me all the way up and all the way down. “Hmm. So you’re the man who helped our big brother strike it rich.” Her eyes cut to Brooke. “And now you’ve made sure our baby sister is getting her college all paid for and even getting hands-on experience to boot. Some might call you the Moores’ angel, Gannon Forester.”

“Don’t be rough on him, Brianna.” Brooke gave her a pleading look as she pulled Braiden up to straighten up his clothes. “Please. I am begging you.”

“Rough?” Brianna cackled.

It made me laugh too. “She’s harmless, Brooke. No need to worry about her,” I joked. “And that laugh tells me a bucket of water is all it would take to melt her anger.”

Brianna held her arm out in gesture to the door. “Shall we join the zoo that is our family, guys?”

Brooke nodded. “Yes, I have Braiden all fixed up. Ready to deal with the masses.”

With one step forward, my arm was taken, looped around Brianna’s, and off we were going. Brooke followed behind us, carrying my son.

I caught the sadness that flowed over Brooke’s face and quickly fixed the situation. “Oh, let me carry, Braiden.” I untangled my arm then turned to take Braiden out of Brooke’s arms. Kissing his cheek, I went on, “I might not get to hold my boy much these next couple days with so many who are wanting his attention. Let me have it while I can.”

Brooke beamed with my actions as Brianna headed on out and down the stairs. Brooke’s smile was all I needed. I stopped at the top of the stairs before heading down to join her family.

Brooke stopped just behind me. “You okay, Gannon?”

I turned around to look at her. “Your eyes are darker blue, making them much prettier. Your nose has light freckles that dust the top of it that I love to brush my lips over. Her body doesn’t hold a candle to yours. Nobody’s could. And most of all, she isn’t you, Brooke.” I spoke just a bit above a whisper, as her family was really loud. “And I love you, baby. Just you.”

She blushed. “I love you too.”

Chapter 35

Brooke

Thanksgiving morning was crazy as Mom, her sister, and her sister-in-law fought over every dang recipe for the afternoon meal. With all the chaos, Gannon was quick to make an offer no one refused. “How about I head out to grab a bunch of sausage and egg biscuits and some other stuff for breakfast?” He had to shout over the barking dogs, the television Uncle Bob had to listen to way too loud, and the bickering women in the kitchen.

We were in the living room, but somehow their bickering made it all the way out to us.

Hell, yas answered Gannon’s question, and before I knew it, he and Brad were headed out the door. And there I was, left with Braiden and kind of feeling a little left out.

I wanted to go with Gannon.

Brianna seemingly floated out of nowhere to my side. “Hey, baby sister. While they’re gathering sustenance, you and I can start putting together the tables on the back deck. Give Dad the baby.”

The last thing I wanted to do was hand off Braiden. “No. I’ll take him with me. Grab a highchair out of the basement. I think mine is still down there.”

“Are you nuts?” She shook her head and held out her arms for Braiden. He went right into them. Then she went to Dad, who was sitting in a comfy recliner. “Can you entertain the cutest kid in the world for a moment while Brooke and I put together the tables in the back so we can eat when the food gets here?”

“I sure can,” Dad said as he held out his hands. “You wanna watch the Thanksgiving parade with Papa, big boy?” By the way Braiden did a nose dive into his arms, I assumed he did want to do that.

Brianna smiled at me as she looped her arm through mine and out we went to fix up the tables on the deck. The morning was still cool, so she lit the outdoor heaters on the deck and things began to become more comfortable right away.

“It’s so pretty out here.” I looked out over the sprawling vines of the winery that laid out behind our home. Living in Napa Valley, with its dizzying array of gorgeous landscapes, was like living in paradise. When you added in the temperate climate, you really had a little slice of Eden right there in your own backyard.

“Hey!” Brianna’s shout took me out of my little break before actually working. “Wanna wake up and help?”

We got to work setting up tables that we kept in a closet off the side of the deck made especially for these big occasions. Once we had the last table done and the last folding chair in place, we took seats. “Man, that’s a heck of a lot of work.” I stretched my legs out and looked up to stretch my neck too. And then a tall, handsome man walked into my view, looking down at me.

“Whatcha doing?” Gannon asked as he placed two handfuls of brown paper bags on the table next to me.

I regained my composure. “Taking a break after putting all this together. Dad has Braiden.”

“Cool.” He jerked his head at the car that my brother had pulled all the way to the back. “Brad parked back here. I think he wants his Lambo to be this Thanksgiving’s centerpiece.”

Brianna got up to go get more bags out of the car. “Can you say show off?”

We both laughed, and I caught him looking off, watching my sister walk away. I looked down. Maybe he was just playing me. Maybe he was still the man he’d always been. Maybe he hadn’t changed at all.

His hand caught my chin, and he pulled my face up. His lips barely caught mine with a quick kiss. Then our eyes met. “Sleeping without you—even with Braiden between us—was excruciating. Promise never to make me do that again, baby.” He hurried to leave me to go inside to tell everyone that breakfast was here.

I was left breathless.

Maybe he has changed. Maybe he does love me.

The day went on, and as usual, we ate Thanksgiving food at lunchtime and my birthday was celebrated at dinner time.

Brad and Brianna had a special dinner surprise for me, and I had to stay out of the kitchen as they prepared it. That was cool, nice, great, and all of that. But my siblings had pulled Gannon in on it, and the three of them were in the kitchen, cooking things up for all of us on my birthday. I couldn’t help but have a little worry that Brianna was winning over the man I loved.

Night replaced day and the outside lights sparkled as we all sat out on the deck. The heaters kept it nice and toasty, and the ambiance was very relaxing. Not that I was very relaxed.

My sister—who looked just like me—was in the kitchen with Gannon!

Mom and Dad were whispering far more than I ever remembered them doing before. It was weird, and I found myself feeling left out as we all sat around and waited for the meal to be brought out to us.

Everyone was starving as the meal wouldn’t be served until eight in the evening. Brianna said she wanted to make sure that we were all hungry after the huge Thanksgiving feast we had had at lunch.

I was starving, and I wanted to see Gannon out there with me!

With Braiden on my lap, I played patty-cake with him, and I caught my parents looking at us. Both wore wide smiles and Dad even nodded at me when I caught them. “You two are in love, kiddo.”

I hugged Braiden and kissed his cheek, then he kissed mine. “That, we are. I love you, pumpkin.” I rubbed his nose with mine.

He nodded then opened his mouth as he looked at me. “Ma.” His tiny hands took my face, and he kissed the tip of my nose. “Ma!”

I cut my eyes and caught a tear falling down my mother’s face. I was about to correct him, but she was quick to say something first. “Oh my goodness. He needs a mother so desperately. How wonderful he has you, Brooke. What a godsend you’ve been to him and Gannon.”

There were absolutely no words that came to me. Then the back door opened and out came Brad, Brianna, and Gannon. A cake was in my sister’s hands, and all three were singing happy birthday to me. My family joined in, and I found Mom taking Braiden out of my arms.

I hated being the center of attention. But I took it on my birthday and stood up, blowing out the candles. At the end, I heard Gannon ask, “What did you wish for?”

I shook my head as Brianna and Brad moved off to the sides to put the cake down on the table. But Gannon stayed right in front of me as I answered him. “You can’t say your wish.” But I had wished one thing as I blew out those candles. I wanted Gannon, Braiden, and I to be together forever, even though I knew that was next to impossible.

“Well, it’s not my birthday, so I can tell you what I wished for.” He took my hands in his and moved me back to sit in the chair that was right behind me.

I looked at what he was doing, touching me. In front of my family. I gulped. Had he forgotten about having to keep our secret?

Then I noticed that he was moving down. Getting on his knees.

Wait! No, not both knees. Only one knee. And he was pulling something out of his pocket.

My left hand was still in his, and I threw my right hand up to cover my mouth.

What is he doing?

“Guess what your brother told me,” Gannon said with a soft tone.

I shook my head as an answer. I couldn’t speak. I was half afraid for my life and his and half unsure what was going on exactly.

“He told me that your middle name is Madilyn. Did you know that was my mother’s middle name too?” He smiled and winked at me.

I shook my head. I still couldn’t talk.

“So I see you are rendered speechless. Well, this is a first. I may as well dive on in then.” He opened his right hand. A little blue box was on his palm. He flipped that lid with his thumb, and the largest diamond I’d ever seen sparkled in the twinkling lights that hung all over the deck. “Brooke Madilyn Moore, would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”

My mouth dropped. I looked at him, then around at my overprotective family and saw only smiles on their faces. And when Braiden threw his little arms out as he looked at me and shouted, “Ma!” as he nodded, well, I lost it all.

I sobbed out my answer. “Yes!”

My hand shook as Gannon pushed that heavy ring onto my finger and I continued to cry as he got up, picked me up in his strong arms, and kissed me right in front of my entire family.

All I heard were claps, whoops, and hollers.

Then I felt a hand on my shoulder just as our lips parted. I turned my head to find my big brother right there. “Now you be good to this man right here, baby sister. He’s one in a billion. But you two were made for one another.”

All I could do was nod and cry as Gannon hugged me again.

“Let’s eat cake!” my brother shouted, and all the noise of my family faded away as Gannon kissed me one more time.

His lips moved off mine, up my neck, and to my ear. Warm breath stirred my hair with his words. “You are mine, and I love you. And I always will.”

The End.

* * *

Gannon

Five years later:

“Grab him, Braiden!”

“I’ve got ‘em, Dad.” I watched as Braiden scooped up our one-and-a-half-year-old son before he made it all the way to the cold water of the Pacific Ocean. “You can’t go into the water, bubba. Come on, let’s play in the sand over here. Away from the water so you don’t get wet. You might catch a cold if you get wet, Grady.”

“That’s Momma’s little helper,” Brooke called out as she turned over to get some sun on the front of her. “He’s such a great big brother.”

I moved off my beach chair to lie on the blanket next to her. Leaning my head on my hand so I could look down at her, I gazed at her. “You know your parents will be coming into L.A. this evening. We could pawn the boys off on them and have a little alone time.”

Her perfect eyebrows arched over her shades. “Alone time? What’s that?” She snickered and shook her head. “It’s been so long since we’ve had any of that. It’s been one thing after another, hasn’t it?”

Her bikini-clad body did things to me that had my mind going to other places. Placing my hand on her flat stomach, I ran my thumb over the scar where she had the C-section that brought little Grady to us. He was a week late and didn’t want to make his debut until forced to. She had a long recovery after that ordeal.

Brooke scared the shit out of me with the birth of Grady. The unplanned C-section merely the start of bad things to come. They were inducing labor when something went wrong. The baby’s heart rate just plunged for some reason.

The doctor and nurses whisked her away to the O.R., and I was left standing there with her family and Braiden. I had to stay out of the way as the doctor told me Brooke was hemorrhaging. We nearly lost her and Grady that night.

I’d never felt more terrified than I did when a nurse came to tell me that Brooke wasn’t waking up. They needed me to come into the recovery room. I left Braiden and Brooke’s family in the waiting room.

When I saw my wife hooked up to a ventilator and all kinds of other things, I nearly fell to my knees. I offered up a prayer before I took her hand.

With my touch, her hand jerked a bit. With my voice, her eyes fluttered open. She couldn’t speak with the tube going down her throat, so all we could do was look into each other’s eyes. But somehow that was enough. I could see a spark light up inside of her as she looked at me. And that spark ignited the one that always burned inside of me for her, but with the pure terror I was feeling, that spark had grown dim.

I had no idea what I’d do without Brooke if the Lord decided to take her away from me. To say I’d be lost without her just didn’t cut it. I’d be devastated and so would Braiden.

The nurse hurried to get the breathing tube out of Brooke since she was awake. And I hated to see Brooke gagging and coughing the way she did as it came back up her throat, making her pretty blue eyes water.

She was weak, paler than I thought was humanly possible, and so fragile. I knew I had my work cut out for me, taking care of her. But I swore to her I would, and I stood by that promise.

A few days later, I took my wife and new baby home, and Braiden and I got a crash course in taking care of a newborn. Braiden was only five, but he could bring me all kinds of things. And he could hold his baby brother while he was sitting down, giving his mother and me a break now and then.

Brooke had legally adopted Braiden after his biological mother’s rights were stripped. Cassandra Harrington had been sentenced to ninety-nine years in prison. Not long enough if you ask me, but my lawyers assured me she’d die behind those thick walls.

I tried not to think about the horrible woman much. I had much better things to think about. Like my precious little family.

Brooke’s hand moved over mine as she pulled her shades down a bit. “You get that look every time you touch my scar.”

“Our scar,” I corrected her. “And it’s just because that was a very emotional night. And you’re never allowed to put me through that again.” I leaned over and placed a kiss on the tip of her nose.

She giggled as she ran her hands around my neck and pulled me to kiss her sweet lips. When our mouths parted, she whispered, “But I will want another child, my love. A girl would fit in perfectly. In a year or so. No rush.”

With a chuckle, I added, “Oh, no, baby. You just think you were overprotected by your family. That poor girl would have it even worse with two brothers watching over her. And me and you too. Oh, she’d hate us all. We should just stop right where we are.” I kissed her softly once more. “And that way I know you’ll never scare me the way you did with Grady.”

Her soft palm ran over my shoulder. She knew I still had nightmares about that night. Sometimes I’d wake up screaming her name. Not that it ever happened in real life. But man, I thought I was going to lose my shit more than once that night.

Thank God her family was there with me. Keeping my head screwed on tight. If it hadn’t been for them, I knew I’d have been a raving lunatic.

Grady came up between us, laughing like crazy. I was happy that he favored me so much, just like Braiden did. The two looked like brothers completely. And as I looked at my sons, noticing how much they looked like me, I understood Brooke’s desire to have a daughter. Someone who looked like her.

Then and there I knew I was being selfish. Yes, the birth of Grady had been an ordeal that no one would ever want their wife to go through again. But in the end — if she wanted to try for a girl — it would be wrong to deny her that.

“How’d you guys like to spend the night with Papa and Grams tonight?” I asked the boys.

They whooped and hollered, and I knew their answer.

Brooke wore a wide smile. “Well, it seems we may have a night out, Daddy.”

“I’ll make the arrangements. You get these little monsters into the car, and I’ll pick up our things. Our day at the beach is officially over.” As I grabbed our things, I tapped out a text to Janine to set up a night at The Peninsula in Beverly Hills for the two of us. I was about to show my wife a night she’d never forget. And I’d give her the good news that I was completely on board with her having another baby whenever she wanted to.

It was time to put my fears to one side. If Brooke wanted a chance to have a daughter, then I’d give her that chance. I found it impossible not to give Brooke anything she desired.

Not that she asked for much because she didn’t ask for hardly anything. And when she did, it usually was something for the children instead of herself.

Truly selfless is the best way to describe the woman who did me the great honor of becoming my wife. Not once had I ever regretted asking her to marry me. Not even a little.

I asked Brad one time after we’d been married a year what had him and his family changing their minds about Brooke and me. He told me they all could see the love in all of our eyes.

His exact words were, “You look at Brooke with the same love in your eyes as you look at your son. And she does the same to you. And that little boy has the exact same look when he looks at you both. You three are a family; anyone can see that.”

I’d been ready to do battle with my best friend and his entire family over Brooke. Thank God it didn’t have to come to that.

Braiden’s shouting brought me out of my reverie. “Hey, Dad look for Grady’s shovel, please. He’s screaming his head off and saying what me and Mom thinks is shovel. He really wants that thing.”

Looking down, I found the little red shovel halfway buried in the loose white sand. “Got it.” Jogging over to the car with all of our things, I handed Braiden the shovel.

He hurriedly handed it to his baby brother. “Here you go, Grady.” The baby quickly went quiet as he had his toy back in his little hand. “He sure can get loud when he wants to.”

Brooke nodded as she turned back around in the passenger seat. “He sure can.”

I slipped into the driver’s side and winked at my wife. “So, I’ve got something special in the works for tonight, Mrs. Forester.”

Laying her head back on the headrest, she smiled. “Good. I need a special night for just the two of us.”

And she’d get what she wanted, just like I always made sure she did.

Brooke

With my kids under the watchful, albeit spoiling, eyes of my parents, I gave myself over to my husband for the matter of one night. That’s all I could really stand to be away from the kids.

Even though we only had one night, I knew Gannon would make it a night to remember.

He and I never did the dating thing. The going out to lavish hotels and eating in the fanciest of restaurants. Not with having Braiden right from the start. We frequented family restaurants and rarely went anywhere where we needed to stay in hotels. So this was a real treat for me.

Gannon had gotten us a villa at The Peninsula, a place I’d often talked about wanting to visit in Beverly Hills. The small structure was tucked away in one of the gardens of the hotel. It resembled a tiny mansion with upscale furnishings. On the patio a jacuzzi sizzled, reminding us we’d have to indulge ourselves in a little while.

The moon would be full that night, so I commented as we walked by the bubbling tub, “Wanna meet me here at midnight and see if we can’t conjure up something sinister?”

“You’re on,” Gannon told me as he pulled me in tightly to his side. “First, some dinner. I’m taking you out to a place we could never bring our kids. Then onto a little…”

I placed my finger on his lips. “Gannon. Do you know what I really want?”

He chuckled. “Me. Naked. Now.”

“That would be nice. But no. Not yet. I want the fancy dinner. But after that, I want to come right back here, and I want to be alone with you. Just you and me and no one else. Do you think we can do that?” I batted my eyelashes at him. Not that I had to. The man gave me everything I had ever asked for. But I liked to butter him up anyway. It was always fun.

“I’ll think about it.” He pulled me around in front of him so our bodies were flush against the other’s. His mouth took mine over, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

The fancy dinner was fast becoming a thing I could see forgoing in exchange for making some hot passionate love with my man. But my stomach betrayed me, growling like a hungry lion.

His mouth left mine, and he rested his forehead on mine. “Let’s get changed so we can go eat. The reservations are for an hour from now.”

With a sigh, I headed to the bedroom to get myself ready, and he followed behind me. It was torture, watching him undress, shower, then put a nice suit back on, covering his scrumptious body up once more.

I just kept sighing as I longed to feel his arms around me, our naked bodies covered in sweat as we worked to arouse one another. But my tummy would growl, letting me know it wanted to be filled up first.

We made our reservation. I ate some delicious lobster and enjoyed some expensive wine. And then, after sharing a piece of cheesecake, we went back to the little villa.

Each step I took had me feeling a little bit giddier as we neared the villa. When we got to the door, I was surprised by Gannon as he scooped me up and took me inside.

Kicking the door closed behind us, he made an animal-like growl before putting me down. “Clothes off now.”

Shivering with delight, I hurried to do as he said. He never got this way with me anymore. Not since I had Grady. No, after Grady and all I went through with that delivery, Gannon had treated me like I was made out of glass. Like I could so easily be broken.

I was more than ready for him to be with me the way he had prior to all that.

His nightmares that would occur on occasion told me he had a deep fear. One that had me at the center of it. One that had him afraid I might be taken away from him.

I was as close to death as it gets the night they had to cut me open to get Grady out . I recalled it all too. The way it felt as I poured out my life’s blood in the operating room.

They’d given me an epidural. I was awake but feeling nothing from the waist down. But my head began to swim with the blood that quickly exited my body. It was as if I was going into a tunnel. One I could never come out of.

For the longest time, there was only blackness. I felt nothing, heard nothing, and didn’t have the will to even open my eyes to see anything.

Until I felt Gannon’s touch and heard his deep, smooth voice. Then everything came rushing back to me. It felt as if he was a tether, pulling me back from a spacewalk. When I looked into his blue eyes, I saw home. He’d brought me back home.

Gannon and I had a connection before I ever had Grady. But when I almost died and he brought me back, that connection grew so deep that I knew nothing could break it.

I gained so much from that experience, and so did Gannon. But with that nearly tragic moment, I lost something too. I lost Gannon’s support about having another child, ever.

That one thing was the only thing he and I didn’t agree on. Most things we worked at until we came to a decision where both of us were comfortable. He’d bend a bit, I’d bend a bit, and we’d find a place that would work for us. But not with another pregnancy. Not with another chance he’d have to face losing me.

I understood. I did. It’s not as if I hadn’t witnessed how upset he’d been. And he did have to do so much more with the baby and me than either of us had guessed would happen. But still, there was a longing that I couldn’t put away.

The boys looked so much like Gannon it was eerie. And as silly as it might sound, I wanted an eerie lookalike too. But I didn’t think it was in the cards for me.

Not with Gannon refusing to bend on the subject.

Other than that one thing, we had built a wonderful life. A fairytale really.

I had it all. My career as the director of a private kindergarten. Braiden and Grady came to work with me as there was a daycare facility for the staff. I was able to have them in my office most of the time, and when they weren’t in there, they were playing in the daycare facility just down the hallway. At the end of each day, Gannon would meet us in front of the building, and our driver would take us all home.

Structure ruled us all, and we all flourished from it. My parents commended me often, telling me my husband and I ran our life like a well-oiled machine. A machine that moved easily, fluidly, and without very many hiccups.

But I was facing a challenge. One I wasn’t sure how to take on. I wanted another chance to have a girl. I wanted only one more chance. If I had another boy, then I’d stop. But I wanted one more chance.

Gannon and I might face our biggest disagreement yet. But I was willing to go into battle with my husband for a chance to bring a daughter — I felt was waiting to come to us — into the world.

And I thought after a nice long night of making love I might be able to win the battle that would surely come when I asked him for what I wanted. So the plan was to butter Gannon up. Do to him all the things I knew he loved and leave him breathless. Then I’d go in for the kill.

I know it’s a bit dramatic, but this was war. A war he didn’t know was coming. A sneak attack on a moonlit night.

As I looked at my handsome husband, I almost pitied the man. But then I thought about all the pleasure I was about to bring him and he me and I got over it.

Gannon

I sat on the sofa, watching my wife peel away her clothing. My cock was pulsing to life with every stitch she removed. A pink dress gave way to creamy, tanned flesh and my heart began to pound.

When she was standing in front of me without a thing on, I wiggled my finger at her. She came to me and cocked her head to one side as if wondering what I wanted her to do, but not asking. Before I could say a thing, her lips parted. “I’d love to taste you.” She eyed the bulge in my pants. “It’s been a while since I’ve tasted you, Gannon.”

Reaching out, I grabbed her ass cheeks and pulled her to me. My lips grazed her clit, and I flicked my tongue, making her moan and fist my hair. I’d allow her to taste me only after I tasted her. It had been a while since I’d done that too.

Two kids can sure muck up nightly fun between a mother and a father.

But tonight we were free of our cherished children and free to reconnect, sexually. And I could surprise her at the end of a glorious night.

Her plump ass felt good in my hands. I massaged and kneaded her flesh as I ate her out. Her cunt always had been sweet and had only gotten even sweeter with time.

Licking her up and then kissing my way down her pulsing pussy, I kept it up until I felt her knees going weak. So I stopped what I was doing and stood up, picking her up and carrying her to brace her back against the wall.

She kissed me as I walked with her, tasting herself on my tongue. Sucking at my tongue, she couldn’t stop moaning. But she had to stop as I got to the wall and pulled my mouth away from hers.

Picking her up high, I looked up at her. “Put your legs over my shoulders, baby.”

“Oh, Gannon!” she did as I said to then I went back to work.

Her pussy right in my face, I fed on her in a way I never had before. Immersed in her cunt, I licked and sucked then even nibbled on her soft, warm flesh.

Her cries got louder, and I knew she was about to blow. I put my tongue inside of her, fucking her with it until she came all over it. I lapped at her juices as her canal squeezed me. Then I put her down.

Brooke went straight to her knees in front of me. Her hands working quickly to rid me of my pants. They pooled around my ankles then she pushed my underwear down too and was on my cock without warning.

I gasped and had to grab her shoulders. “Fuck, baby!”

She wasted not a second, sucking me off with a furious hunger. She growled as she let her teeth graze my tender flesh just a bit. It was so good I found my body shaking as I watched her head bob as she took me all the way in.

Naked and on her knees, she gripped my cock with both hands, using them to keep my entire cock stimulated until I was groaning as I shot my load down her throat.

She let me go, wiping my cum off her red lips. I stumbled to the sofa and tried to catch my breath. “Oh, fuck, Brooke!”

On her hands and knees, she crawled across the floor, making her way to me and making it damn hard to catch my breath. “I want more, baby.”

The fire in her eyes told me she was going to fuck me dry. And my heart banged in my chest as I knew I was in for a real workout.

My shirt was still on, but I’d stepped out of the heap of my pants and underwear and had managed to get my shoes off too. She pulled my black socks off, then proceeded to kiss her way up my left leg, taking a moment to blow on the tip of my cock. Then she kept on coming up, unbuttoning my shirt before pulling it off of me, leaving me naked and hard once more.

She stepped back and eyed my erect cock, then she climbed onto my lap, sliding her hot cunt down my length. Her blonde curls bounced right along with her size double D’s —the baby had made them grow a cup size — and boy what a gift he gave his daddy with that feat!

Pink nipples peeked out at me through the thick curls now and then as she moved up and down my cock. I held her by her narrow waist. I had to admit, Brooke’s body had been awesome before the baby. But after the baby, she was just plain smoking hot.

Her hips became more rounded, her tits bigger, plumper, juicier, and her ass had grown in all the right ways too. And her canal still held me every bit as tightly as it had before. She’d grown even more beautiful; a thing I never thought she could improve on. Yet she had.

And she was all woman now. No more innocence left in her; she knew how to please me and did as often as she and I could find the time. And she was pleasing the shit out of me now.

Riding me hard, she panted and squealed just before she came all over my cock. Thankfully, the orgasm I’d had earlier kept me from letting loose again, and I was able to keep going.

I got up with her and laid her back on the floor. Taking her legs, I pulled them back until her knees were by her ears and I went into her balls deep. Her body was shaking with the increased intensity of the orgasm that was doing anything but going away.

She gripped my biceps as I rocked back and forth, pounding her with my cock. Her tight pussy was clenched on my cock so hard it defied imagination. And when her nails gouged into my flesh, I howled with the orgasm that ripped straight through me.

Filling her with my cum, I kept moving as our combined juices slicked us up, making it easy to move. The smell of sex that hung in the air had my head light, and lust crept through me.

Looking down at my wife’s flushed face, I found my mouth crashing down on hers. The heated kiss grew and became more passionate. But I knew I needed to give her a little break, so I pulled my mouth off hers. “Shower then we’ll get into the hot tub.”

I got up, helping her up too, and we went to clean up some before getting dirty in the hot water. But as she washed me off and I did the same to her, we both got worked up again and ended up fucking in the shower with her back against the wall and her legs wrapped around me as I pounded her pussy once more.

We ended up only making it as far as the bed before we fell on top of the blanket in a sated state. “I love you, baby,” I managed to mumble before I heard her already snoring lightly and I was quick to fall asleep myself.

Somehow, the next morning, I woke up with her wrapped around me and the blanket pulled around us. But we were still lying sideways on the enormous California King-size bed.

Her hair was absolutely everywhere as she raised her sleepy little head. “Morning?”

I groaned as I rolled over and looked at the clock on the nightstand. “Um, okay, yeah, technically it still is morning. Only eleven.”

“Oh, my God, Gannon,” she moaned as she rolled out of bed. She stopped as soon as she stood up. “Whoa.” She stood perfectly still then took a few steps. “Ow. Ow. Ow.” She turned back to look at me with a sexy smile curving her lips. “It’s been a while since you’ve made me feel like this, Gannon Forester. You bad, bad boy.”

I had to laugh as she wobbled to the bathroom. “I’m not through with you, Mrs. Forester.”

Once she’d closed the door, I got up, finding I was also a little stiff, and went to get my cell to make a call. With one call, I had one more night with my wife as Gram and Papa told me they’d love to keep the boys one more night for us.

Climbing back into bed, I fluffed the pillows and made everything presentable. And when Brooke came back out, all cleaned up, her hair and teeth brushed, she looked radiant.

And as happy and fulfilled as she looked at that moment, I knew she was about to get even more radiant. I patted the bed. “Come here.”

She came and climbed into the bed with me, laying down next to me, propping her head up on the pillows. “Not to worry, I’m nowhere close to being ready to get going. Thank God for the late check out of two this afternoon. I’m going to need every minute of that time to pull myself together.”

“I’ve got a surprise for you, Brooke.” I reached out to pull her into my arms. She rested her head on my shoulder and I went on, “I’ve called your parents and they’re going to watch the boys one more night. And I can rent the villa for another night too. We have more time.”

She sighed. “Does it make me a bad mom that I’m happy to hear that, Gannon?”

“Not at all.” I kissed the top of her head. “And I’d like to give you another surprise.”

She sat up and looked at me with twinkling blue eyes. “Before you tell me your next surprise, I’d like to talk to you about something.”

I shook my head, not being able to stand to have one more second pass by without her knowing what I had to say. “That can wait. You need to hear this.”

She sighed and looked at me as she crossed her arms. “Okay, go ahead. But then we’re talking.”

I wasn’t real sure what she was looking so serious about, but I wasn’t looking forward to talking about whatever she had on her mind. It looked deep and more than a bit troubling.

But I had high hopes that what I had to say might override whatever was on her mind. “Baby, I know I’ve told you I don’t want you ever to be put in the dire circumstances you were with Grady’s birth.” I paused for only a second as a frown made her light brow furrow. “That said, I think I’ve been selfish. You want the chance to have a daughter for us, and I’m giving you my support.”

She sat perfectly still, staring at me. Then her jaw dropped. “I can have another baby? You want one too?”

I nodded, and she beamed at me. “Yes, I want a baby too. I’d love nothing more than to see a little doll like you running around our house. And if we have another boy, I’ll adore him too. I don’t care what gender we have.”

The kisses she gave me made me laugh as she was all over me. “Thank you! Thank you, Gannon!” She sat back and shook her head. “And to think I was all ready to go to battle with you over this very subject.”

“Was that what you were going to talk about?” I asked her as I pulled her back to me, hugging her tightly.

“It was. But we don’t have to have that talk now, do we?” She kissed my cheek.

I kissed her lips. “No, we don’t have to waste time with that. We can get to practicing the baby-making. We had a lot of fun when we made Grady. Just think about the fun we’ll have when we get serious about having another little monster who’ll keep us up all night, and spit up on us, leaving us smelling like spoiled milk.”

“You sweet talker, you,” Brooke said as she laughed.

That was one of the best weekends we ever had. And only three years later, Brooke and I welcomed a daughter to our family. And this time everything went perfectly.

In the end, I learned that one can’t let fear of what might happen stop them from having everything they can in life. We would’ve missed out on our little girl, and that would’ve been a tragedy equally as bad to the one I worried about so much.

With a happy wife, I learned how to have a happy life.

The End.