“Oh my God,” Coop exclaimed. “I just want to glue him to my face so I can nuzzle his fur all day.” Which she was doing as she spoke. Brutus didn't appear to mind, approving with a lick to her face.
“You didn't make that big a deal over my kid,” Carter complained.
“I have three of my own at home.”
“I should've gotten small dogs,” Em observed. “Mine ate the leg of my table last night. They ate the chair the night before.”
“You hated that set,” Shane dismissed. “You said it belonged in your ex’s house because it was cold like his heart.”
“That's not the point,” Em argued. “When I replace it with something warm and inviting, I don't want them thinking it's dessert.”
“That's what your underwear are for.” Shane’s lips curled into a wry smile.
“They ate your underwear?” I laughed. “F-F-For real?”
“They eat rocks,” Em said pointedly. “And their own shit when it suits them. Don’t put too much consideration into the palatability of my thongs.”
I stifled a laugh, but the silent jars of my chest stirred Iain. Carter leaned over my shoulder, pressed a kiss to my jaw. “Why don’t you let me put him upstairs in the crib so you can relax?”
My face flushed with color at everyone’s stare. I suppose it was the first form of public affection Carter had shown. Rising from the sofa, I shifted Iain into his arms. When I sat back down, the four other men were headed toward the kitchen. Coop, Em, and Paisley sat on the edges of their seats, waiting to pepper me with questions.
“Don’t leave anything out,” Em warned. “We want every detail.”
I ran them through with a brief outline of the events, from my botched dinner plans to Carter sneaking through my window and my ensuing defensive attack. My face was red with discomfiture. The hot seat definitely wasn’t my forte.
“That’s it?” Em complained. “Come on—you can do better than that. You didn’t even get to the juicy parts.”
“I can tell you anything you want to know,” Paisley boasted. “We could hear everything.”
“Could not,” I protested, my eyes bugging out. “We weren’t that loud.”
“The springs on the bed are.” She leaned forward, rested her elbows on her knees. “The first time was rough—make up sex. The best kind. The second time was slower—soul shattering. The third time was just because he could.”
It’s exactly what it was. I’d woke to feed Iain. When I slid back into bed, I’d thought Carter was asleep, but it wasn’t the case. He’d spooned, slid into me from behind. It was lazy, clumsy. We’d both been exhausted. He’d brought me to peak, and then foregone his own pleasure in lieu of well-needed rest. We laid there like that, his cock still within me until he’d gone soft, and we’d succumbed to sleep. I’d tried to make it up to him this morning, but…
“Richard called.” Jake stepped into the room. He had the phone in his hand. “The prosecutor presented Álvaro with the papers. Gave him a few hours to consider. He confessed everything. They’re on their way to arrest Amanda now.”
Coop stood as Tate crossed the room. They embraced, relieved that it was finally over. Soon enough, Amanda would be out of their lives…all our lives.
“What about the baby?” I inquired because Em was obviously afraid to ask. “Has he made a decision?”
“He has a few stipulations. He asked for a video conference. Richard’s setting everything up now.”
“He can suck my—” Shane started, but Em interceded.
“I’ll do it.” She stood, smoothing her clothes. “He gave them what they needed to arrest her—without making more demands. He’ll sign the papers. This is all matter of form.”
“He’s not in a position to make demands, Beautiful.”
“Sure he is,” Em argued. “If I genuinely want to raise his daughter, I’ll be willing to listen to his requests. If you can say anything about the guy, he was a devoted parent. Someone willing to go to those lengths for their child will have concerns.”
“If you’re sure about this,” Jake prompted, “I’ll need to text Richard back with your number, and which video app you use…”
“I’ll get my phone from my purse.” The three headed back toward the kitchen. Paisley trailed after them. Tate and Coop moved to the far corner of the room, having their own private conversation.
I headed up the stairs to see how Carter was making out with Iain. When I walked in the room, he was dropping the lid to the hamper. “Did you have to change him?”
“It wasn’t that bad. I was able to stomach it.” Turning, he ambled toward me. “Did I hear Richard called?”
“They’re on their way to arrest Amanda.”
“Jesus, it worked.”
“He hasn’t signed the adoption papers yet. He has some ‘stipulations’.” I air quoted the word.
“What kind?”
“Don’t know. Em’s waiting t-to f-find out.”
“It’s an amazing thing you’ve done, Angel.” Dropping his head, he captured my lips in a brief kiss. “You’re one in a million. Not many people have the compassion you do.”
“It makes me happy t-to see Em happy.”
“I think you’ve made her more than happy.”
“It’s silly, but it makes me f-feel like part of the gang.”
“You always were.”
“I observed from afar,” I disagreed. “It was different.”
“You were always part of my gang.”
“I was f-family.”
“It was different,” Carter said, using my own words. He silenced any further argument, capturing my lips in another kiss. This one held a little more demand. His tongue swept into my mouth, met mine with a hungry stroke. I moaned and leaned into his arms, causing him to chuckle. He guided me back a few clumsy steps until my back pressed against the wall.
Without breaking the kiss, he reached and pushed the door closed. Then he was at my shorts, slipping his hand under the waistband. I was already growing wet for him. As the pads of his fingers brushed against my clit, however, I grasped his hand and broke the kiss.
Meeting his eyes, I grinned devilishly, trailing my finger down his stomach and to his waist. I slipped my finger under the button of his jeans, popped the button. Slipping my hand into his shorts, I palmed the length of his cock. He was hard, so fucking wide.
Mirroring my reaction, he grasped my wrist. “I have one rule, Angel; ladies always first.” Still holding my wrist, he raised my arm and lowered his shoulder. Next thing I knew, I was in the air and bouncing on the bed. I clasped my hand over my mouth, muffling a yelp.
“Don’t hide your smile from me,” he demanded. Grasping my shorts, he pulled them down my legs and tossed them to the floor. “They’re so few and far between, every single one is like a fucking treasure.”
“You have words,” I teased, impressed.
“For you, I give them all.” Dropping between my thighs, he lowered his head and dove in. I clenched at even the slightest brush of his tongue. It felt like he was raking me with jagged shards of glass. Instinctively, I rolled. Looked down. His face was sandwiched between my thighs.
“I’m sorry.”
“No…somehow, this is really hot.”
Laughing, I scooted back, but didn’t let him up.
“What’s wrong, Angel?”
“I can’t do it again. Not yet.”
“That bad?”
“It was worth it.”
“You should've said something.”
“It f-felt good at the t-time.” Shimmying down farther, I pressed my lips to his. His hand rose to cup the back of my neck, but I was quick to block his advance. “Relax.”
“Angel.”
“Relax,” I repeated. “This t-time it's you f-first.”
“You don't have to do tha—” I kissed him again, cutting off his retort. He opened for me as I parted my lips. Lord, this man was going to be the death of me. My want and need were overwhelming. Teasing him, I sucked the tip of his tongue between my lips, mimicking my intent. He moaned low on his throat, thrusting his hips against me.
Abandoning his mouth, I inched down his chest. “Change your mind?”
“I didn’t really mean it. I was just being polite.”
“Screw polite. I always liked your trashy mouth.” Freeing him from his jeans, I took him into my mouth. Carter thrust his hips, pushing himself to the back of my throat.
“Holy Christ.” I looked up, met his gaze. Held it as he took his pleasure. He fascinated me, enraptured me with his desire. I did this to him. I made him lose himself. It gave power, a tremendous amount of power. I reveled in it, swirling my tongue over the head of his cock with every back thrust.
Carter groaned, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth, his blue eyes nearly hidden behind his thick lashes. He was watching still. I knew he was. The muscles of his neck stood taut, straining to see. I hollowed my cheeks, watching his tooth pierce farther into his lip.
His hand threaded into my hair. Much to my consternation, he withdrew. “Like dirty mouths, Angel?” he graveled. I smirked, standing my ground. Ran my tongue across my lip.
Grasping his cock in his left hand, he stroked himself. “Open,” he demanded. “Stick out that pretty pink tongue of yours! Fuck! Now!”
Abandoning his gaze, I opened my mouth, lapped at the head of his cock with the tip of my tongue. Carter froze, seized. A harsh breath hissed through his teeth. Warm lashes of his peak struck my tongue. The back of my throat. I took him back into my mouth, greedy for more.
He was salty, slick. His hips continued to buck, small, waning thrusts as he worked the last of his peak. It was a rush. A mad fucking rush. I wondered if it’d always be like this.
As he fell still, I rested atop him, his cock still hard in my hand. My heart beat like a drum in my chest. I was fairly sure he could feel it. His raced beneath my cheek.
“I’m so going to hell for this,” Carter proclaimed. I would’ve been indignant, but he followed it with, “I’ve corrupted The Virgin Mattie.”
“I’ll be right beside you.” Inching up his chest, I straddled his waist, rested my head on his shoulder. “I’ve committed my share of sins.”
“Oh yeah?” He raised one eyebrow in doubt.
“I’ve had lots of impure thoughts… and masturbation… impure thoughts… masturbation… impure thoughts… masturbation… Years’ worth. Maybe a decade.”
Lost in thought, he shook his head. “I can’t believe you made it through college without fucking around.”
“It wasn’t f-from their lack of t-trying.”
“I’m sure,” he said dryly. Sighing, he dragged a hand down his face, discomfited with the thought. “You didn’t have to save yourself for me, Angel.”
“I didn’t. Not implicitly. Unlike you, I can’t separate sex and love. I’ve been attracted,” I confessed. “But I would’ve f-fallen f-for them. I couldn’t—wouldn’t risk the slightest possible chance I might’ve had with you by f-falling f-for someone else. It would’ve been a mistake. I would’ve regretted it. Always wondered what might’ve been.”
“Haris?”
“Was as close of a contender you’ll ever have met.”
“I knew it.” Rolling, he pinned me beneath him. His dark hair hung in loose waves around his face. “Worst part is I can’t even hate the guy cause he saved your life.”
“You can hate him. He wasn’t t-too f-fond of you.”
“Makes it a little easier.” Dropping his head, he brushed his lips against mine. “I think I might need to put a ring on your finger, Angel, if simply to fend off the competition.”
“My wearing it would all depend,” I retorted.
“On what?” His eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
“Whether you’re done doing road gigs. You want t-to discuss pasts, we’ll discuss pasts.”
“I’m done with road gigs.”
“How am I supposed t-to know that?”
“I’ve never loved any of them.”
“Funny, I explicitly recall you declaring your love f-for at least six. If not more.”
“Bullshit.”
“The redhead from New England with the f-freckles. She had rosy pink nipples f-from what I recall.”
“I don’t even remember her name.”
“Ffffiona.” Her name clung to the edge of my teeth. Damn fricatives were going to be my downfall.
“Jesus.”
“Then there was the blonde f-from Indiana. She t-took you back t-to her daddy’s barn, and you had sex in the silo.”
“I don’t remember that.”
“When you got back on the bus, you were picking corn f-from your ass crack, and it wasn’t because it's indigestible.”
“How do you know that?”
“Let’s not f-forget the snow bunny.” I recalled Olivia from direct memory. Jake had rented a lodge for the week as a high school graduation gift. The whole gang had come to celebrate the event with a weekend of skiing and partying.
At the time, I had thought I was the bomb. An adult. Carter would finally notice I’d grown up. To my dismay, Olivia had been assigned as our ski instructor. The two bonded over missing appendages, and were all but inseparable the entire weekend.
“It was one weekend,” Carter dismissed. “I liked her because she didn’t single me out over my leg. She didn’t take it easy on me like most people would have.”
“She singled you out specifically because of your leg,” I disagreed. “But you’re right—she didn’t t-take it easy on you. F-From what I recall, you had a f-forty-eight-hour marathon going.”
“How do you know all of this stuff?” Carter repeated, indignant.
“I was in the next room.” I moved to rise, Carter pinned me with his weight, denying my retreat.
“You can’t hold that against me,” he argued. “It was four years ago. You were eighteen. I didn’t even know you existed.”
“Oh…I know,” I said acerbically. “I know f-full well I didn’t exist t-to you. Gram was right about one thing. I used t-to hang on your every word. I went into vagina mode every t-time you came over. I’d bake shit just t-to get a-a-a wink and a compliment. And every t-time you ruffled my hair and walked away—while stuffing your f-face with my baked goods—all I saw was my bloody f-fucking heart in your hand. It makes me wonder why I even like you. You’re so damn blind and dense.”
“You’re really angry.”
I snorted. You think?
“I honestly don’t know what to say to make you feel better,” he admitted. “Except that they’re not here with me. I’m not in love with them. And I’m not trying to decide whether I'm going to have two or three kids with them. I’m here with you.”
That wasn't half bad. He’d hit all the right marks, plus some. “Four.”
“Four?” He balked. “Do I get a say in that?”
“Sure—you get t-to help make them.” I smiled dubiously.
“Do I at least get a say in when?”
“I think it's a little late f-for that. We’ve already started.”
“But I get a say in the next.”
“Of course.”
“We do it together this time. I want to experience it all. I want to hold your hair back when you're puking your guts up. I want to hear the heartbeat for the first time. I want to watch you get fat. I want to feel him moving inside of you. I want to hold your hand when you're pushing him out. But first…” Staring down at me, he grinned crookedly.
“First?”
“I just want to fuck a whole lot. Days in bed. Naked. Just me and you.”
“Such a romantic.”
He shrugged blithely. “I want you to myself for a while before we divide our time further.” Brushing his lips against mine, he circled his hips. I recoiled, pressing my ass against the mattress in retreat. I was beginning to worry I’d never be the same. It would be just my luck that my dreams and my worst nightmare had come true simultaneously. I finally had Carter Strickland in my bed, and we were never going to be able to have sex again.
“As long as we can start tomorrow,” I qualified.
“Tonight.”
“This isn’t a debate.”
“Is now.”
“In the morning.”
“Tonight. When you put the kid to bed.”
“In the morning. I’m up at the crack of dawn.”
“I’m up all night long.” He wasn’t referring to his level of lucidity.
“Even athletes take time to rest. Twenty-four on, twenty-four off.”
“I’ll give you twelve.”
“Carter…I think you seriously murdered my vagina.”
“You’re really serious.”
“Yes!”
“I thought you were pulling my leg.”
“So I could blow you?”
“Well…”
“Blind and dense,” I reiterated. “I swear it.”
“Regardless, midnight rolls around, I’m just going to roll you over and poke you in your sleep.” My mouth popped open, indignant. Carter pressed a kiss to my nose before pushing off the bed. “Relax, Angel, it’s not permanent.”
“You could at least look contrite.”
“I might feel contrite, but you said it was worth it.” The jerk was smug. Damned if he didn’t have a right to be. He’d rode me well. I was going to feel him for days. With leisure, he tucked himself into his jeans and zipped himself up.
Something green was peeking from his pocket. Using his index and middle finger, he stuffed them deeper inside. The irony wasn’t lost on me. He was always stuffing those fingers into my bikinis. What confounded and thrilled me was that he took them in the first place.
“What’re you doing with those?”
“Holding myself over until midnight.” Smirking, he winked and walked out the door. The hitch in his step, had nothing to do with his prosthetic.
Rising from the bed, I retrieved my shorts from the floor and walked to the dresser for a fresh pair of bikinis. The drawer tended to stick, but gave with a firm tug. One neatly bundled, and one not-so-neatly bundled diaper slid toward me, the odor hitting me in the face like an open palm. Carter. I was so going to make him suffer.