Sarah

“Just tell me!”

Bosco’s booming laughter bounces around the inside of the small car he’d brought when he picked us up at the hospital. “For the love of God, woman, chill out. Let us surprise you the proper way.”

Huffing, I fold my arms across my chest and scowl out the window. This only makes him laugh more, and this time, Millie joins him, her sweet laugh music to my ears. “Mommy’s grumpy.”

Bosco’s laughter continues.

I know whatever he has planned is going to be wonderful, and I know that I’m being silly, but I feel like a new mother bringing home a newborn all over again. No matter how many times the nurses and doctors had gone over Millie’s care plan with me, I’m still not sure I’m ready to face this disease on my own. When I’d told the doctor that my house wasn’t ready, Bosco had been quick to cut me off mid-sentence and inform her that it was. He’s rebuffed all of my questions about it since.

When we pull into the driveway, I scan the house, but everything on the outside looks the same. Slowly, I climb out of the car and grab my bag as Bosco collects Millie and heads toward the front door. He leans forward, whispering something in Millie’s ear. She giggles and looks at me over his shoulder. “Come on, Mommy! Let’s go see!”

Forcing my feet to carry me to the front door, I brace myself for what I’m about to see. What I’m about to add to the steadily climbing debt of things I owe to this man. As he pushes open the front door and steps inside, Millie’s excited squeal pierces my ears. I pause outside at the threshold and take a deep breath.

Before I can gather the courage to step inside on my own, Bosco’s hand shoots outside and yanks me through the door. Nothing could have prepared me for what I was walking into.

My house, though always clean—well mostly, anyway—had never shone the way it does right now. Every surface gleams. There isn’t a stitch of carpeting from what I can see, and the hardwood flooring gives the entire place an updated, country feel that I love.

“Well?” Bosco pulls me deeper into the house, where Millie is already reuniting herself with her toy shelf. “What do you think?”

I look all around me, eyes wide with shock. “How did you do all this? Charlie just gave you that list yesterday afternoon.”

“I wish I could take all the credit,” he says, his pride clear in his smile. “But everyone helped. The guys came over last night and we worked our asses off. We pulled up the carpets, laid the flooring, cleaned the vents and put air purifiers in Millie’s room, the kitchen, and the living room. Then this morning, the ladies came over and scrubbed this place from top to bottom. You like it?”

When the tears hit me this time, I don’t even try to stop them. For the first time, I allow myself to admit that through this entire ordeal, I have never been alone, not for one second. Bosco has been right there through it all, carrying half the load.

The familiar smell of his cologne envelopes me as he pulls me into his arms. I wrap my arms around his waist and press my face into his muscled chest. This man has no idea how much this means to me.

“Why’s Momma cryin’?” Millie’s hand touches my leg.

Releasing me for just a second, Bosco leans down and scoops her up, this time hugging us both to his chest. “She’s just happy you’re finally home, Tink. Are you happy?”

“Uh-huh,” she says, and then squirms in his arms. “Can I play now?”

As he releases me to put her down, I scrub at my face with my shirt sleeves, drying the tears from my eyes yet again. It feels like all I do lately is cry.

“Bosco...” I reach out and place my hand on his arm. “Thank you. Thank you for the house. Thank you for taking care of Millie. Just...” Tilting my head to the side, I give him a small smile. “Thank you.”

A kiss pressed to my forehead is his only response.

Bosco

“I’m on Tink duty tonight,” I declare, nudging Sarah, who sits beside me on the couch. “Go to your bed and sleep.”

Sarah opens her tired eyes. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll be fine.”

Drawing in a deep breath, I attempt to rein in my frustration before releasing it. “Can you please, just this once, let me help you without putting up a fucking fight?”

I watch, bracing myself for a fight as her mouth falls open and she turns to me with an incredulous stare. “I’m not putting up a fight. I said I’ll be fine, and I don’t like your tone.”

“Jesus,” I mutter, my decision made before she even finishes her complaint. Standing, I turn to her and lean down, ignoring her wide eyes as I shove my hands behind her back and knees. In one swift motion, I lift her, cradling her small frame in my arms and head for the stairs.

“Put me down!” Sarah’s hands push against my chest as she struggles to get out of my hold. “What do you think you’re doing?”

With a clenched jaw, I hold her tighter, careful not to drop her as we climb the narrow staircase. “I’m putting you to fucking bed and forcing you to let me keep an ear out for Millie.”

“This is ridiculous! Put me down!”

By the time I get her to her bedroom, her face is red with anger and exertion, and I’m fed up. I walk right up to her bed and plop her down onto it, watching her with narrowed eyes as she bounces twice and then stops. “Sleep.”

I’m halfway out the door when her fingers bite into my arm, yanking me back into the room. “Who the hell do you think you are?” Her nostrils flare and her eyes spark as she glares up at me. “You have no right to carry me up here like I’m some kind of naughty child.”

Gritting my teeth together so hard my jaw aches, I take a step toward her, my nose almost touching hers. “Then stop fucking acting like one. Let me help you.”

It happens so fast. I don’t even recognize the change in the air before it happens. The anger burning in her eyes disappears, and suddenly, instead of rage, she stares up at me with a need so raw, it burns me deep inside my soul. One minute we’re glaring at each other, and the next, her fingers are tangled into fists in my hair, our lips mashed together in a kiss that makes the world stop turning around us.

Like a tiny little spider monkey, she climbs me, her arms wrapping around my neck as her legs encircle my waist. Our lips slide together in a frenzy, our hands pawing at each other, touching anything and everything all at once.

I glide my palms down her back and over the curve of her ass, cupping her and holding her to me. Her head angles down toward mine, and I revel in the fact that it’s her controlling this kiss. Her tongue slips into my mouth and she groans.

Walking deeper into the room, I reach the edge of the bed, and without breaking our kiss, I lay her down, positioning myself between her legs. Sarah’s hands slide across my chest, tiny whimpers escaping her lips as I roll my hips against her center.

Her fingers grasp at my shirt, yanking it from the waistband of my pants. Her fingers against the bare skin of my stomach has my cock jumping inside the confines of my jeans. She pushes at the material, desperate to get it out of the way. I don’t make her wait. I reach back behind my head, and with one smooth move, I pull the shirt off and toss it to the floor.

Her gaze is hungry as she takes in my muscled torso, her hands sliding over the planes of my stomach. She lifts her lashes and her brown eyes meet mine, her teeth sinking into her lower lip as she tugs at the buckle on my belt. My breathing hitches as I look down between us.

Skin. I need to touch her skin, to feel her skin on mine.

Her shirt is gone in an instant and I fling it away, my lips already tracing her collarbone, my tongue slipping along the edge of her lacy pink bra. Her breasts heave, the tops of them spilling out of the cups, begging for my attention.

For the first time since our lips collided, I pause and stare into her eyes. Slowly, I reach behind her, my fingers zoning in on the clasps of her bra. I watch her for any sign she wants me to stop. Any sign at all.

Her hooded eyes stare brazenly back at me, and when she rolls her hips against me, her core rubbing against my already strained cock, I know she isn’t going to stop me. Her bra is undone in an instant, and as I pull it from her arms, I stare down at the glorious mounds below me.

Her upswept nipples are dusky and peaked, her breasts full. I lean down and press a light kiss to one, and then the other, my eyes watching her face, my ears reveling in the hitch in her breathing. I cup one in my hand, and with my tongue, I drag slow circles around her nipple. She whimpers beneath me, her eyes focused on my mouth.

“Your tits are fucking beautiful,” I tell her, blowing on the skin I’d just soaked with my tongue. It tightens in the cool air, and when it can’t get any tighter, I nip the tiny bud between my teeth, flicking the tip back and forth with my tongue. Fingernails claw at my back as he she arches her chest toward me.

Dropping my hand, I slide my fingertips down her belly and undo the button on her jeans. I suck her taut nipple deeper into my mouth as my hand slips inside her pants and under her panties, my finger searching out her silky heat.

“Bosco,” she cries, her hands gripping my shoulders. She’s so fucking wet already and I’ve barely touched her.

Dipping lower, I find her slick wetness and come back up, spreading it on her clit as I roll the hard nub under my fingertip. She moans, her back arched. “You like what I’m doing to you, baby?”

I barely recognize my own voice. It’s deep and raspy, and commanding. It’s amazing I can talk at all. Sarah spread out before me, her bare tits within reach of my mouth and her greedy pussy grinding into my hand. Fuck.

“Answer me,” I bite out, pinching her clit between my thumb and finger.

Sarah’s strangled cry is one of the sexiest, most feral sounds I’ve ever heard. “Yes! Yes, I like it. Don’t stop.”

I have no intentions of stopping; I’m just getting started. Pulling away from her, I tug her jeans down and over her hips, my eyes glued to the way her tits bounce and sway as she wiggles out of them. Once her feet are free, I settle on my knees, between her legs, and use the palms of my hands to spread her legs wide.

Her pussy is bare and wet, glistening in the light filtering from the hallway. Slowly, I run my palms down her soft, creamy inner thighs, and then sit back. Never taking my eyes from her face, I slide one finger deep inside her. Her expression twists with need, and the soft mew of pleasure she gives me is all I can take.

Another finger joins the first, and I thrust them in and out, searching for the place inside that I know will drive her wild. Bending forward, I bury my face between her lush folds. I lap at her pussy, devouring her, memorizing the smell, the taste, and the softness of it against my face. She’s so fucking responsive, I fear I’ll never get a chance to feel my cock inside of her.

It’s been a while since I’ve had sex. Part of my sobriety has been respecting myself and not having any desire to taint my life with the women at the clubhouse. Besides, I’ve been devoted to Sarah for a long time, even though she was never really aware of it. I’ve had eyes for no one but her.

Swirling my tongue around in circles, I fist my free hand around my cock and slowly stroke it, frantic to relieve the steadily building pressure. When her body starts to quiver beneath my lips, and I feel her walls pulsing around my fingers, I have to pinch the tip of my cock to keep from embarrassing myself.

Her hands come up, gripping the sides of my head, and her hips sway in tandem with the motion of my tongue. Her moans get louder and bolder, and I can feel the storm building inside of her about to break free.

Her release hits her in a tidal wave. Her walls clench around my fingers, immobilizing them inside of her. Her entire body shudders and shakes, and when her gasps and moans get too loud, I cover her mouth with my free hand, my tongue continuing it’s frenzied and carnal assault on her throbbing pussy.

When she settles beneath my touch, I sit back on my heels and grin, wiping her desire from my face. She doesn’t grin back. Her stare is filled with hunger as she reaches forward and tugs on my jeans, yanking me over her until my chest presses against hers.

“Fuck me,” she whispers, her lips grazing the shell of my ear.