I propped a hip on the door frame and crossed my arms over my chest as Brooke pinned him with a glare. “Didn’t I tell you that Tofu had to stay home on this trip?”
Oliver turned, his eyes wide and swallowed hard. “Mom! I couldn’t leave him behind. Kate wanted to see him.”
Brooke let out a huff, her face already softening and waved a hand. “Just get him out of here before I have a heart attack.”
Oliver glanced back and forth between us and then lifted a shoulder before sprinting from the room without another word.
When the bedroom door closed behind him, I chuckled and turned back to my wife. “That kid.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You told him he could bring the lizard, didn’t you?”
I stepped into the bathroom and brushed Brooke’s long blonde hair over her bare shoulder before pressing my lips to her warm skin. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Mmhm. For someone who insists on having so many rules, you sure let those two break them a lot,” she murmured as she tipped her head, exposing more of her naked flesh for me to taste.
I trailed my lips along the curve of her neck until I reached her ear. “I don’t hear you complaining when I let you break the rules.”
She giggled and wrapped her arms around my waist. “Don’t you know by now that the rules don’t apply to me? They never have.”
It had been more than sixteen years since we’d first met that night in Vegas and we’d been through a lot, but through it all, Brooke had been my rock. She was right. The rules didn’t apply to her. They never had and they never would.
I ran a hand along her bare thigh, my fingers skimming under the edge of the towel and rolled my erection against her core.
She let out a breathy moan, her fingers squeezing the flesh of my ass before shaking her head. “We don’t have time.”
I groaned. “The guys can wait.”
She pressed her lips to my cheek and then slid out of my grasp. “Mel’s already texted me twice. She’s going crazy on that beach with all the kids.”
I could see Brooke’s best friend now, her wild hair shaking as she yelled at her boys to quit rough-housing. Aiden would, no doubt be sipping a tumbler of whiskey and laughing at his kids’ antics, ignoring the daggers his wife was shooting him.
I nodded. “Yeah, we should go save her.”
Brooke dropped the towel that she’d been covered with and scooped up the bikini that had been discarded on the floor.
My cock had just given up hopes of seeing any action when it sprang back to life and I let out another groan. “Come on. Couldn’t you have waited to do that until I was out of the room?”
She tossed her long hair over her shoulder and wiggled her ass in my direction. “Rule number ten million and two: Always take any opportunity to torture your husband that you can.”
I grabbed her arm and pulled her naked body against my chest. “You. Are. Evil.”
“One of my many talents.” She grinned as she pressed to her toes and brushed her lips to mine. “After all this time, you still haven’t figured that out?”
There wasn’t much that I had figured out over the years, but the one thing that I knew for sure was that there was nothing sweeter in life than having my wife, my kids, and my best friends together.
“We’d better get down there before they send in a search party to find us.”
Aiden
“Boys!” Mel shouted over the roar of the ocean. “I swear if you three don’t stop jumping on each other, I’m not going to save you when one of you drowns.”
Landon, Owen, and Hunter all muttered apologies and then immediately resumed trying to tackle each other in the waves.
“What the hell is wrong with them?” she said as she took a sip of her wine.
I laughed. “They’re teenage boys. Self-preservation is a foreign concept.”
She narrowed her eyes. “It’s just my lot in life to save you Shaw men, isn’t it?”
I reached across the arm of the beach chairs we were lounging in and captured her fingers in mine. “Maybe if you weren’t so damn good at it, then things would be different. But,” I kissed her knuckles, “unfortunately for you, we Shaw men are pretty pathetic. Takes a strong woman to put up with us. You’re just the person for the job.”
The corners of her mouth tipped up. “How is it that you still know all the right things to say?”
I had no idea how I’d gotten so damn lucky to land Mel in the first place. God knows that I’d spent too many years letting her slip through my fingers, yet here she sat, her wild curls blowing in the wind, her whiskey eyes shining back at me filled with more love than I could comprehend.
“Can I tell you a secret?”
She tipped her chin and arched a brow. “You still have secrets that I don’t know yet?”
I leaned over the fake wood arm of the beach chairs and pressed my lips to hers. She tasted like salt and wine. She tasted like the woman of my dreams. “I’m not nearly as smooth as I pretend to be. I’m just honest. You’re the best thing to ever happen to me, to us. I’ll never stop telling you how amazing you are.”
“I’d never let you stop anyway,” she countered and winked.
“Woah, this is a public beach!” Griff’s voice cut through our moment and I leaned away from my wife and glanced over my shoulder.
Griff, Brooke, and Allie were making their way across the sand, Oliver racing ahead of them to the water.
“Uncle Aiden!” Allie shouted as she threw her arms around my shoulders. I hugged her and swallowed the lump that rose in my throat.
Allie was sixteen, no longer the silly little girl that had me wrapped around her finger, but a young woman who was just as beautiful as her mother. I’d spent years giving that child everything she’d ever asked for, at the risk of ruining my friendship with her father. But, it had been a while since I’d gotten one of her over the top hugs. She must want something.
“Thank you for that hug, but I’m not buying you a chinchilla,” I told her.
She poked her bottom lip out and dropped a hand to her hip. “I can’t believe you think that I’d try to bribe you with affection.”
When I cocked a brow, she blushed. “Fine! Maybe I would.”
Brooke giggled and then gave her daughter a light shove. “Move over so I can sit next to my best friend.”
Allie grabbed a towel and spread it out over the sand before popping her earbuds in and lying down in the warm sun.
Mel elbowed me and tipped her chin out at the water where our boys were. “Looks like Landon’s noticed that Allie’s not a little girl anymore.”
I gazed out to where Hunter and Owen were splashing Oliver. The three of them were oblivious to anything going on around them, laughing and shouting as they jumped over the waves. Landon, however, was stock still, watching as Allie got comfortable on the sand.
“Shit,” I muttered. “I’m not ready for this.”
Mel’s hand covered mine and she squeezed my fingers. “None of us are. But, just like with everything else, we’ll get through the heartbreak and everything that goes along with raising boys together.”
I looked at my wife and nodded.
I’d only been able to survive through a career ending injury, the death of my boys’ mother, and the last seven years because of the spit-fire woman that was sitting next to me. As long as Mel was on my team, there was nothing that I couldn’t face.
“Team Shaw,” I murmured. “Forever.”
Quinn
“Daddy! Make a sandcastle with us!” Kate pleaded from her spot at my feet.
“Yeah, Daddy, make a sandcastle with them,” Griff encouraged beside me as he took a sip of his beer.
“Just a minute, girls,” Georgia told them. “Let Daddy talk to Uncle Griff and Aiden a bit. Why don’t you two go play in the water for a while?”
Kate jumped to her feet, sand flying all around her. “Come on, Maddie!”
My chest swelled as I watched my
babies running toward the water. At six and four, they weren’t actually babies anymore, but little girls with beautiful red hair and their mama’s personality.
Georgia and I had gotten married a month after I proposed, a small ceremony in front of her piece of the botanical gardens. She’d done such a great job designing the small space that they’d offered her a job. Even after Kate was born, she’d been able to stay on, working from home and fulfilling her dream of being a mother and a world famous landscape architect.
Kate was two when Georgia had announced she was pregnant again. She’d wanted a little boy, but I’d known immediately that it would be a girl. I was a girl dad. I’d been surrounded by girls my entire life, I couldn’t imagine not having a house full of women.
“Quinn, when’s Jamie due?” Aiden shouted from the other end of the row of beach chairs.
“Three weeks!” I shouted back.
Jamie’d been clean and sober for seven years. We’d celebrated every single year, each one that passed making it a little easier to breathe again. Three years ago, she’d fallen in love and gotten married. Her husband was the kind of man that I’d always hoped she would find. He was supportive of her recovery and made it his mission in life to take care of her without enabling her to fall back into her addiction.
“Pat’s so ready for that baby to get here,” I told them. “Mainly because Jamie’s been torturing him with all of her ridiculous midnight cravings. And because he can’t tell her no, he’s spent the last few weeks running out at all hours of the night to fulfill them.”
“You spend one day pregnant and you’ll be singing a different tune!” Georgia said as she bumped my arm.
I pulled her into my side and kissed the top of her head. “I could never do it. As a matter of fact, I could never do half the things that you can.”
“Come on, dude!” Aiden groaned. “You’re making us all look bad!”
“No one looks as bad as Shane and Trav!” Griff laughed. “Those two assholes are just overgrown kids.”
I followed his gaze to where the brothers were, in true Shane and Trav fashion, chatting up a group of women. The two of them hadn’t settled down, both declaring that life was too short to spend it with one woman. I had a feeling though, that if the right one ever came along, they’d change their minds.
“Man, guys’ trips sure are different than they used to be,” Aiden said as he tipped his tumbler of whiskey.
I sat back in my chair and took it all in.
The kids that were spread out around us, Aiden’s boys and Griff’s son all horsing around in the water, Allie sunning herself at the end of the row. My girls squealing every time a wave chased them ashore.
Life had changed a lot since we were in college. Sometimes, it was hard to remember the guys we’d been back then, when we’d been nothing more than young and hopeful.
But, as I looked into the faces of the men who had been my family for more than half of my life, I knew that we were all exactly where we were always supposed to be.
“Yeah, they’re so much better.”
Acknowledgments
As always, first and foremost, the most important ‘Thank You’ of all goes to my husband. I’ve said it a million times, but it doesn’t hurt to say it again. You are amazing. I love you. Thank you for supporting me through all of this. I luba you.
My kids. I’m sorry I yell so much when I’m on a deadline. You two know I love you.
Aly Martinez… Seven Books later and I’m still leaning on you for support and guidance. And you’re still right there, giving me all you got. YOU’RE SIMPLY THE BEST. I love you.
Megan Cooke: There is literally no way that this series would have ever happened without your support. BETTER THAN ALL THE REST.
The DND ladies: Thank you for being so supportive, offering advice, listening to me complain, and supporting me always.
LK Farlow…AKA Birthday Baby: You are absolutely the best. I am so SO thankful that you are my friend. Writing with you, bathing with you, and crying with you is the best. <3
Amie Knight…Thanks for making my sexy scenes a little dirtier…. And for always being a shoulder to cry on…. As long as I’m not actually touching you. BETTER THAN ANYONE I’VE EVER KNOWN. I love you. You’re welcome for making this awkward.
Renee McCleary: Thank you for reading my rough, unedited dumpster fire of a book, piece by piece.
To all the authors that always make room for me in your reader groups, who share my cover reveals and new releases, and who offer advice and support….. A big, huge thank you.
My Betas: Thank you. This book would be nothing without you!
The readers and bloggers: Thank you. There would be no point in this if it weren’t for you. Your love of my words mean so much to me. More than you will ever know. I’m living a dream and it’s because of you. Thank you!
About the Author
A.S. Teague enjoys the blazing heat of South Carolina with her husband and two daughters. After years in the medical field, she now stays home writing books and wondering if she’ll survive raising two girls that are just like her. She loves wine, the beach, wine on the beach, and long soaks in the tub. When she doesn’t have a book in her hand, she can be found lying in bed debating whether it’s too early to pour a glass of wine.
Newsletter
Also by A. S. Teague
The Undisputed Series:
Undisputed
Undone: An Outside the Cage Novella
Unraveled
The Complete Undisputed Box Set
* * *
The Bars Between Us
When You Became Mine
* * *
The Hardest Series:
The Hardest Route
The Hardest Hit
Excerpt from When You Became Mine
Piper
Eight years old
“Hey! Stop running around the pool!” Lawson shouted from his perch on the porch.
He’d been reading one of his stupid books, refusing to play with us, like always. I didn’t know why he even bothered coming outside if he was just going to have his nose stuck in a book.
That was typical Lawson, though.
Cautious, worried, boring.
“Come play!” Georgia yelled to him over her shoulder, her red hair streaming behind her as she chased Hampton.
I rolled my eyes at her plea. She knew he wasn’t going to move from the porch unless it was to migrate inside to his computer.
But that was typical Georgia.
Optimistic, free-spirited, fun.
I watched them running, Hampton easily outpacing Georgia, yet still pretending she was the one who was the fastest. He was only a year older than her, but was easily twice her size. But he’d never been one to relish in winning, or to rub his superior size in someone’s face—unless it was Lawson’s. He’d always been happiest when he let Georgia think she was the best.
And wasn’t that typical Hampton?
Strong, sweet, dependable.
I stood rooted in place on the edge of the grass, unable to move, watching the people I loved most race around me.
We were playing freeze tag, taking advantage of the break from the hot summer sun that had held on for far longer than it was welcome. When we’d gotten up this morning, it had been almost cold enough for a sweatshirt. Almost.
“Hurry up, Ham!” I shouted, bouncing on the balls of my feet. “Come tag me already!”
It was my favorite time of year. The leaves had finally begun to change into the bright reds and oranges I loved so much. We were back in school, and even though I didn’t like waking up early, I did love learning about new things. It was getting closer to Christmas, which was my favorite holiday. Not just because of all the presents, but because we always went on vacation to the mountains.
Lawson, Hampton, and Georgia weren’t actually my brothers and sister, but it felt like they were. My mother was their nanny, and she’d been working for their family since my actual brother, Jack, an
d I were just babies. My mom liked to call us her own personal staircase. Lawson was the oldest at twelve, with Hampton just two years behind him. Georgia was a year older than Jack and me, and she never let us forget we were the youngest. We’d all grown up together, spending our summers at the beach and the winters skiing. We fought like we were all siblings, and sometimes I wondered how my mother could stand it, but we also loved like brothers and sisters do, and I knew they considered us family.
“Pip! I’m coming, be ready to run!” Jack shouted. I twisted my head, catching sight of him sprinting toward me, and nodded.
Georgia switched gears when she heard him call out and darted after Jack. She was hot on his heels, so I knew that as soon as he tagged me I had to be ready to go. If I didn’t, she would freeze me again.
I watched as Jack barreled toward me, excitement coursing through my veins. I’d been frozen since the start of the game and I was ready to run.
Movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention and I swung my head to the side just in time to see Hampton trip over a stick.
His large frame slammed into my tiny body, knocking the wind from my lungs. I’d been ready to make a break for it, not braced for an impact, and I went flying, like a scene out of an action movie.
“Piper!” a strangled cry escaped Georgia’s lips and as I sailed through the air, I caught sight of her panicked face.
Hampton’s fall may have been in slow motion, but my flight through the air seemed to happen in less than an instant. My head collided with the cement of the pool, the sound rivaling a crack of thunder, filling my ears for a split second before the world went dark.
When I came to, I tried to open my eyes, but my lids wouldn’t budge. I was cold, even though I could feel the sun on my face and my clothes were soaking wet. I tried once more to open my eyes and finally they cooperated. Hampton’s face loomed above mine, his eyes wide with fear and filled with tears.
The Hardest Play Page 23