Come Work For Me

by Weston Parker

  I hadn’t thought of that at all. The last time I’d let myself go there, my heart and hopes had gotten splintered into a million pieces, and I promised myself I wouldn’t let it happen again.

  Joseph wanting to buy a house was more commitment than I’d ever gotten from Kurt. It was yet another sign that he wasn’t anything like the ex-hole. This was a man who wanted a future that had us in it, and who was actively pursuing what he wanted.

  Lying there in the early hours of the morning, I tried to imagine a future where Lincoln, Joseph and I had a house, a yard, maybe a dog. A future in which we worked and lived together, where the three of us were a family.

  I kind of liked the picture I was getting in my head, but it was too fast. Way too fast. We should slow this down, shouldn’t we?

  Squeezing my eyes shut, I shook my head to clear the images out of it. Curling into his warm body, I matched my breathing to his and tried to get back to sleep. The thing about the middle of the night was that the impending sunrise always felt like it held a certain promise, like today could be the day that the world changed.

  The more I imagined a possible future that could start as soon as Joseph woke up and I gave him an answer, the more I wanted it. Kind of mad at him for bringing it up like it wasn’t a huge thing, I figured that if I was awake, he should be too.

  Turning over to face him, I woke him up the best way I knew how. I snaked my arm down between us and worked my hand into his drawstring pajama pants.

  My fingers closed around him, stroking him gently as I watched his face. I desperately wanted to see the moment he woke up and realized what was happening.

  His lips parted when I applied a bit of pressure, his cock starting to lengthen under my fingers. I kept stroking, but upped the ante by leaning forward and placing kisses on his bare torso.

  Rolling onto his back, he let out a soft moan. A thin line appeared between his eyebrows as I sucked a nipple into my mouth. My hand trailed down his length to cup him, moving slowly back up. Shifting onto my elbow, I used my free hand to pull at the strings at the waistband of his pants.

  Once they were loose, I sat up and pushed the pants down as far as I could get them. His rigid cock jumped free, curving to where his tip rested just below his belly button.

  The way he was lying now with the sheet twisted somewhere around his mid-thighs, his upper body was on full display to me. After all the times I’d seen him naked, I’d have thought that the sight of him wouldn’t take my breath away anymore. I’d have been wrong.

  The man’s body was a work of art; thick ropes of muscle and hard edges covered by splashes of dark ink. My eyes traveled lower, to the abs I had half a mind to build a shrine to and the deep cut of the V between his hips.

  Sitting there looking at him was turning me on more than any porn ever could. My clit throbbed between my legs, my pussy wet and ready. Hungrily eyeing his gloriously hard cock, I briefly considered climbing on top of him and riding him as hard as the need inside me was driving me to do.

  But no. Chances were great that I’d come before he even woke up, as worked up as I was, and that just felt like it would be wrong.

  Smirking as I leaned over, I decided it was time for him to wake up. My tongue flicked over the smooth tip of his dick, rolling around it before I took him into my mouth. Bringing my hand up to grip the base of his shaft, I moved my mouth down until it touched my fingers.

  Working him with my hand and my mouth, I heard a gasp and knew that he had woken up. A carnal, masculine groan met my ears and his hands tangled into my loose hair. “Fuck. Lilac.”

  His voice was rough, hips bucking up. I loved the feeling of having him lose control beneath me, of being the only one who got to see him like this.

  A thrill ran down my spine and settled as an ache between my legs. I clenched my thighs together, moaning around his shaft. Joseph dropped one hand out of my hair and for me, his long fingers sliding into my wet folds.

  A garbled scream of relief tore from me when he finally touched my aching clit, circling it with his thumb. My hips pushed down, my body desperately chasing the release he was teasing me with.

  Sucking him deeper into my mouth, I tightened my grip and doubled my own efforts. Joseph’s sounds of frustration and pleasure mingled with mine in the air until we were both panting and grinding.

  “Stop,” Joseph suddenly commanded. “I can’t take it anymore. I need to come and need to do it inside you.”

  “Yes.” I moaned my agreement.

  Sitting up, he grabbed my shoulders and yanked me up to him. His mouth came crashing to mine in a kiss that made me feel like I was made of pure starlight. Every slide of his tongue was wondrous, every nip at my lips had my pussy clenching and my muscles trembling.

  Hooking my leg over his thigh, I straddled him with his broad head right at my entrance. He gripped the base of his beautiful dick and fed himself into me as I lowered myself down onto him.

  Our groans were loud as he buried himself deep inside me. Sparks of light swam in my vision. “God, it feels so good to have you inside me.”

  “Nothing compared to the feeling of being inside you,” he rasped out, hands reaching out to grasp my hips. His fingers dug into the flesh, but somehow that slight bite of pain made the moment feel even better.

  When I started moving, his eyes squeezed shut and his grip tightened. It was only a fraction of a second, then his eyes were on mine again and he started moving with me on a low moan.

  Hips lifting to set an incredible pace, his teeth sank into his lower lip and his gaze seemed fixed to mine. It was like he couldn’t look away even if he tried.

  The exquisite sensation of my orgasm hit me hard and fast. His pace didn’t falter once, nor did the thumb that had snuck back to my clit. My head fell back, my eyes closing as I got tugged under by wave after wave of pleasure so intense my toes curled.

  I fell apart three more times around him before he finally quivered and tensed below me. “Oh fuck. Fuck, Lilac. Fuuuuuuuuck.”

  His voice was a husky moan as he found his release, emptying himself deep inside me. With his features twisted into a mask of pleasured torment and his hips bucking wildly, he looked so damn sexy that I trembled my way through my aftershock without looking away from him once.

  I’d barely gotten control of my breathing back when a devilish smirk lifted his lips. He flipped us over so I was on my back before my brain had even realized that it could give commands to move again. “I hope you weren’t planning on going back to sleep. You woke me up, so now you’re going to have to put up with me.”

  “I broke it, so now I have to buy it?” I managed to remember how to grin, but my heart rate was already increasing again.

  He shot me a wink and started kissing a path down my body, his lips fluttering all over my sensitive skin. “Exactly.”

  Chapter 33

  Joseph

  “After such a great wake up, I just want to laze in bed all day. What do you say, good idea?” I turned on my side and watched Lilac shake her head, pausing in the bathroom door to look back at me.

  “Nope. Can’t do it. Lincoln’s going to expect French toast and then the park.”

  “Right.” I snapped my fingers and sat up in bed. “It’s Sunday. I almost forgot about the tradition. Mind if I tag along?”

  She smiled, rocking her head from side to side like she was considering her answer. Just before I got out of bed to go plead my case to her in the shower, she nodded. “Sure. We’d love it if you did.”

  “Think I can still come try to convince you it’s a great idea while we shower?”

  Laughing, she took a deliberate step back and put her hand on the door. “Don’t you dare. If I let you in that shower, we’ll run out of hot water for the next month.”

  “It doesn’t work like that here.” I frowned. “Actually, it doesn’t work like that anywhere.”

  She winked, already starting to close the door. “It’s the thought that counts. Think of the planet and all that.
Just don’t come in here.”

  One of my eyebrows arched, but she slammed the door shut before I could say anything. Chuckling to myself, I got up and headed for the kitchen. I checked on Lincoln on the way, but he was still sleeping soundly.

  I couldn’t blame him. It was still way too early for anyone to be up on a Sunday morning, but it had also been too late for us to go back to sleep. Not that I minded being awake if it meant I got woken up like that.

  I’d thought I was dreaming at first, but then I’d felt that hot mouth on me and, well, rose to the occasion. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t the best wake-up I’d ever gotten. Having a live-in girlfriend definitely came with some perks I hadn’t thought of before.

  Padding into the kitchen, I had to turn on a light. It was still that early. We had time for at least one pot of coffee before breakfast. Maybe I’d make the time to talk to Lilac again about making the live-in girlfriend thing permanent.

  She still hadn’t given me an answer. As much as I would never admit it out loud, I was sweating bullets over what she might say. I wanted this. Badly.

  I was used to getting what I wanted, but for the first time, I couldn’t make this happen if she wasn’t ready to. There was no negotiation here, no compromise and no way to use brute force. The simple, unavoidable fact was that Lilac had to be ready. She had to say yes.

  All I could do was wait for it. It was fucking maddening. It hadn’t even been a full day yet, and I was going out of my damn mind.

  Lilac came into the kitchen when I was about halfway done with my coffee. Even in jeans and a fitted black T-shirt with damp hair and no makeup, I thought she was fucking beautiful. God, I really want to able to think that every morning.

  If Lilac and Lincoln left to move back into their own apartment eventually, I didn’t know what I’d do. I really didn’t want to know either. I wanted them to be a permanent fixture in my home and in my life. Period.

  “Good morning again.” She grinned as she sauntered up to me, coming to stand between my legs. Reaching up, she ran her hands up my arms and looped them around my neck before leaning in to kiss me. Her lips were cool against mine, the sweet smell of her body lotion already so familiar. “I missed you in the shower.”

  Narrowing my eyes on hers, I tucked the corner of my lips in and shrugged. “Couldn’t have missed me that much. You didn’t take me up on my offer.”

  There was a mischievous glint in her eye as she dropped a kiss to my nose. “How do you know I didn’t change my mind?”

  “You never called my name. I’d have heard you.” I put my hands on her hips and let my fingertips graze her skin under the hem of her shirt.

  I saw her breath catch, but she wasn’t one to back down. “I called your name plenty earlier.”

  “Yeah. You did.” I smirked. I couldn’t help it. If there was anything better than hearing your woman scream your name, I didn’t know it. “Pity you couldn’t scream as loud as you wanted to. Maybe when we go house hunting, we should consider a soundproof room.”

  Lilac stilled, then tilted her head. “You’re serious about that?”

  “I am.” I tightened my hold on her hips. “Is that what woke you up last night, not knowing if I was serious?”

  She sighed; her head still slightly tilted. “You just dropped the idea on me. Now I can’t stop thinking about it and I want it.”

  “So have it.” Sliding one arm from her hip to her back, I tugged her closer to me and kissed her. Hard.

  It was no ordinary kiss; it was the kind of kiss that was reserved for getting your point across. The kind that was both hopeful and punishing in its intensity.

  Lilac was short of breath when I abruptly ended it, letting go of her and getting to my feet. Then again, I was breathless too.

  Gulping in a big lungful of air, I closed my eyes and thought about clubbing baby seals before going in search of a pan. I needed to keep busy. I needed something for my body to do to distract it from the tempting softness of hers, and I needed something to think about that wasn’t her or how much I wanted her.

  Once I got the French toast going, I turned to grin at her over my shoulder. She sat at the counter grating cheese, a contemplative expression on her face.

  As if she felt me looking at her, her eyes suddenly snapped to mine. “I want to have it. I really do, but don’t you think it’s all happening too fast?”

  “This?” I motioned the spatula at my chest, then at hers. “Us?”

  She nodded, piercing blue eyes on mine. “We started living together before we even started dating. It’s only been a couple of months since we met, weeks since we started dating. It just feels really fast.”

  Pursing my lips, I moved them to one side and chewed the inside of my cheek as I tried to pick the best words. Something told me that what I said next could make or break this for me, and I really wanted to not break it.

  Eventually, I settled on being direct. “Look, almost all the big decisions I’ve made have been made hastily, and they’ve all worked out for me. So no. Too fast isn’t a bad thing in my mind.”

  “Do you thin—” She stopped talking when Lincoln ran into the kitchen with a sleepy smile on his face.

  “French toast?” His eyes lit up as he walked up to me, watching as I plated up the last piece of toast.

  Childlike enthusiasm would never cease to amaze me. “It’s Sunday, so yeah. French toast. You’re not getting tired of it yet?”

  He frowned, shaking his head. “Nope.”

  Taking his plate as soon as I held it out to him, he pushed it to sit on top of the island and clambered onto a chair. “Are we going to the park?”

  “As soon as we’re done with breakfast.” Lilac passed him a glass of juice and one of water. “Joseph is going to come with us. Sound good to you?”

  “Yay!” He dropped his utensils with a clatter, throwing both his hands in the air as he spun around to face me. “You’re going to love the monkey bars. They’re high.”

  “I do love me some high monkey bars.” After dishing up my own breakfast, I sat down with them. “What else have they got at this park of yours?”

  Making mental notes while Lincoln explained to me what made their park perfect, I resolved to look for a house near a park exactly like it. Maybe if I bought it and showed Lincoln the park, Lilac would be persuaded to say yes. If she didn’t want me living in the house with them, at least I’d know they were safe until I hopefully moved in. I’ll keep that in mind. Just in case.

  When we were done with breakfast, I went to grab a quick shower while Lilac got Lincoln ready for the park. It actually really wasn’t a bad park. The neighborhood wasn’t great, and I knew their old apartment was close by.

  Something dark twisted in my stomach at the thought of them moving back there. They were mine now, both of them, and the need to protect them surged through me like wildfire.

  They were only a few yards away from me, Lilac standing next to a jungle gym while Lincoln explained something to her with his arms gesturing wildly. I was seated on a bench under a large oak tree, but it still felt like I should be closer to them.

  The feeling lingered, this unshakeable sense that they were in danger. My time in the military had taught me to trust my instincts, which prompted me to scan the area. My eyes narrowed to slits, as if they would be able to see better if they weren’t wide open.

  With a shake of my head at how ridiculous I was being, I froze when the tiny hairs at the back of my neck lifted. Loitering behind a tree just inside the fence, a man was standing half-hidden by the trunk of a gnarled tree.

  A familiar man. Kurt.

  Rage slammed into my chest, taking hold of my heart before it flooded my veins. What the fuck is he doing here?

  Lilac had gotten the restraining order against him. He was way closer to them than he had any legal right to be. I was on my feet before I knew it, marching toward him with deliberate strides and my dog tags clinking under my T-shirt.

  Kurt saw me coming and turned
to leave, but it was too late. I was already there. “You shouldn’t be here.”

  I didn’t stop walking until I was close enough to grab him, and I did. The thin material of his shirt bunched between my fingers as I yanked him toward me, watching as his face drained of blood.

  A sneer cut across my lips. Fucking pussy.

  I knew what kind of picture I made today. I was tall, muscled and since I was wearing short sleeves, a good deal of my ink was on display. His reaction to me was pretty amusing. I hadn’t even done anything yet and his watery eyes were already darting all the over the place as if he was searching for an escape route.

  He clawed at my hand still holding his shirt, finally sliding his gaze up to mine. Pure hatred burned in his eyes. “Fuck you, man. I should be here. That’s my fucking kid.”

  I shook my head, tutting as I tightened my grip on him and jerked him forward so my face was right in his. “You were a sperm donor, that’s it. You’ve never been a father to him, so leave. You just broke a restraining order by getting so close to them and I have no qualms about reporting you for it. But you should know that it’s not only the restraining order that will protect them from you. I will never let you get close to either Lilac or Lincoln. You hear me?”

  He held my eyes for a beat longer, then shoved at my chest. I let him go, even though I easily could have held him. “Yes, I fucking hear you.”

  With one last glare, he opened his mouth and looked like he was about to say something before he thought the better of it. Instead, he pivoted on his heels and stomped away from me.

  Once he was gone, I felt Lilac’s hand on my shoulder. “We should go home.”

  “Yeah,” I said, but I still staring at the spot in the parking lot I’d just watched him spin his car out of. I had a feeling we hadn’t seen the last of him, but there was nothing I could do about it—other than be ready when he came at us again. And I would be.