by Katie Reus
“And?” His mother’s eyebrows rose.
“And what?” She wasn’t sure what they wanted to know. Surely they couldn’t want details about their relationship. Emerson had grown up with a father who’d treated her more like a son than a daughter. She’d constantly been surrounded by her father’s friends. Which was more than fine with her—she loved the way she’d been raised. But she didn’t have many girlfriends, and the ones she did have, well, they didn’t really talk about sex and relationships. Most of her friends she talked computers and gaming with.
“When are you two tying the knot?”
Emerson choked on air at his mother’s blunt question. “I, ah… I need clothes.” She jumped up and hurried from the room, the laughter of the three women trailing after her.
She took her time in Carlito’s room, washing her face, brushing her teeth and changing into the clothes she’d worn over here last night. Jeans and a sweater. Better than being half naked. Feeling more prepared to deal with his family, she headed back out there to find the three of them all had mugs of coffee and were sitting in roughly the same place she’d left them.
“We decided to make coffee,” Ariana said. “Grab a cup and join us.”
Nodding, she did just that and once again found herself under the microscope of three nosy, beautiful women. They might be intimidating but she loved the idea that soon she’d be part of this wonderful family.
“We need babies in our life again,” Camilla said abruptly.
Emerson just nodded, hoping the woman wasn’t talking about her and Carlito. Thankfully, she heard the front door open and internally sighed. Carlito was back to save her!
Her sister nodded, as if what Camilla had said was normal. “All our kids are pre-teens or teens. So it’s up to you and Carlito to give us all babies.”
She stared at the three of them in slight horror as Carlito stepped into the room. He gave his mom and sisters each a quick kiss before sliding onto the couch next to her. To her surprise, he pulled her into his lap, wrapped his arm securely around her waist.
“You’re ambushing my Emerson about babies already?”
Camilla nodded. “You better believe it. We need cuteness and kids who don’t talk back or think they know more than us. Or roll their eyes at us every time they look at us.”
“As soon as she lets me, I’ll be putting babies in her,” Carlito murmured.
Emerson jerked in his hold, turned to stare at his wicked, wicked expression. The man was loving this. And she was going to kill him later.
The three women dissolved into laughter, either from his words or her horrified expression, and started talking amongst themselves about some Christmas party.
“You’re insane,” she whispered.
“True. But so’s my family. Now you see what you’re getting into. And it’s too late to run now,” he murmured, his grip tightening. “I told you. By New Year’s.”
He’d surprised her last night with that. Sort of. She’d known he was serious, but all the talk of putting a ring on her finger had definitely surprised her—and pleased her. After what they’d survived, she wasn’t wasting a second of her life. And the thought of being engaged and eventually married to the sexiest, sweetest man she knew? Why would she run from that? She wanted the world to know he was hers too.
They’d talk about the whole baby thing later when they didn’t have an audience. She wanted a few years of just them first, but then… Yeah, the idea of having a mini Carlito made her heart melt.
“I expect a real proposal.” Her words were just for his ears.
The heated look he gave her told her he’d do it right. She couldn’t wait to see what he came up with. Because she didn’t care about the ring or having a flashy proposal. She just wanted something real, that came from the heart. And she knew without a doubt Carlito would do that.
Chapter 21
Three weeks later
Graysen was about to lose his mind. Isa had been taking care of him for the last few weeks and he hated that she seemed to see him as some sort of invalid. He was just fine now. Okay, his ribs ached, but who gave a crap about that? All the important parts were working, especially his cock.
It had been over a year since he’d been inside her. He was done waiting.
Stretched out on her bed, he called her cell phone, knowing he was probably driving her a little crazy by this point. He knew where she was, but was anxious for her to get back home. She’d refused to let him go with her, insisting that he needed rest. Screw rest. He needed to be buried inside her as deep as he could get. Mark her. Brand her as his, forever.
“Hey, babe,” she answered on the third ring, breathless.
“Where are you?”
“I…don’t want to tell you.”
Shoving straight up in bed, he frowned. “What’s wrong?”
She sighed. “Nothing. I’m just in the driveway unloading all the groceries. I knew if I told you, you’d want to come help. And I think you need to take it easy.”
He gritted his teeth. Take it easy, my ass.
He took a deep breath and ordered himself not to get out there and help her bring everything inside. It would just drive her even crazier and put her on edge. And right now, he wanted her in a good mood. Because he had a plan. “I’m actually feeling a little winded.” He didn’t even feel bad for lying.
“Were you doing something while I was gone?” Her voice was slightly admonishing. He’d never realized how much she could worry.
He liked how much she cared about him, that he finally had her back in his life. But he wasn’t a child or an invalid. Very soon he planned to remind her that he was a man. Her man.
The last three weeks he’d been mostly laid up at her place. They’d both been forced to take paid vacation from Red Stone—courtesy of Harrison, who’d been insistent that as long as Graysen was home, then Isa was too. God bless that man. Graysen might be going crazy on virtual bed rest but at least he got to spend time with the woman he loved.
Now he was past ready for sex. He was dying for it.
Dying to taste her again. They’d made out a lot, but she always put on the brakes, worried she’d hurt him. She was so worried about his ribs that neither of them had had an orgasm in the past few weeks. He was frustrated, and even though she wasn’t acting like it, he imagined she was sexually frustrated too.
“I took Peaches for a walk and lifted weights,” he lied. He’d walked the dog but there had been no weight lifting. He was saving all his energy for Isa.
There was a tense silence and he guessed she was tempering her response. She cleared her throat. “Where is Peaches, anyway?”
He could hear her moving around the kitchen now, had to resist going in to help her. “I dropped her off for a doggy play date next door after her walk.” Because he wanted alone time with Isa with absolutely no interruptions. That included their dog, who didn’t understand they needed personal time that didn’t include her. And he didn’t want Peaches staring at them or clawing at the door trying to get to them.
“Okay. I’ve got a few more bags to bring in. I’ll come see you when I’ve got everything put up.”
“Okay.” When she walked in, she’d find him completely naked. He’d planned for her to find him in bed. Now, however… He swung his legs off the bed, twisted back and forth, stretching out. His ribs twinged, but man, he’d definitely been hurt worse. He’d had his femur snapped during a mission that involved jumping out of a plane. This was nothing compared to that.
And nothing was stopping him from being inside Isa in the next half hour. Maybe sooner than that. They didn’t have to do acrobatics or anything, but they were both getting off.
At this point he’d settle for just her getting off. Yeah, he wanted to so bad he could taste it. He needed to bring her to climax, to see that sated expression on her face and know he’d put it there. She’d done so much for him, had let him back into her life.
The need was making him too damn edgy.
; He made his way to the shower, turned it on and waited until steam billowed out before entering the stone and glass enclosure. Stepping under the hot jets, he savored the way they felt hitting his back. He was getting too damn stiff staying in that bed—and Isa was worse than any drill sergeant he’d ever had. She was so sweet and caring about her desire to make sure he stayed in bed—but there was absolutely no arguing with her. The woman was tough.
“Graysen?” Her sweet voice filled the room as he finished washing his hair.
“In here.” He was already hard and aching for her.
“Why didn’t you wait for me? I would have helped you.” She stepped up to the enclosure, hands on hips.
He drank in the sight of her—wearing far too many clothes. “You got your cell phone on you?”
She blinked. “No.”
Moving lightning fast, he opened the door and reached for her, dragged her into the shower with him.
She let out a yelp of protest right before he crushed his mouth over hers. He pushed her back against the slick wall, grinding up against her.
Moaning, she wrapped her arms around his neck, meeting his tongue stroke for stroke. He noticed she was careful to avoid touching the scarred, tender area on his shoulder. The hunger and need from her was palpable, letting him know she wanted him as badly as he wanted her.
Thank fuck.
“Clothes, off,” he growled against her mouth, only pulling back long enough to start stripping her.
“Graysen, are you sure—”
He tugged her soaked sweater over her head, then started on her jeans. Soon she was completely naked, her wet clothes tossed out of the shower. Staring at her, he slid his hands down over her waist, then hips, and back up again. Her light brown nipples were rock hard, her chest falling and rising erratically as she drank in the sight of him.
Even when they’d slept together she’d stayed fully clothed. It was like she was trying to spare him the torture of seeing her but not being able to have her.
No more.
“If you start to feel—”
“I’ll let you know.” He cupped her cheek with one hand. “My stitches are out and I’m good. I need you, Isa.”
Whatever she saw in his eyes must have convinced her because she nodded and for the first time in weeks he saw true, raw hunger. Maybe she’d been keeping it locked down for his sake, but it was all out in the open now. Just like when they’d been together before. She’d always been so sensual with him, so open and free.
“I need you too.”
“I haven’t been with anyone since you. For the record. And I don’t want to know if you have or haven’t. I just needed you to know—”
“I haven’t either. Couldn’t stand the thought of anyone else touching me.” She grasped his cock, stroked once, twice before dropping to her knees in a fluid movement.
Elation pumped through him.
Hell, yeah. He hadn’t been lying—he hadn’t wanted to know either way. But to know she hadn’t been with anyone either… Okay, who was he kidding? He was ecstatic.
This was supposed to be about her, but— He groaned as her lips wrapped around his hard length. He shuddered, buried a hand in her wet hair and held on.
Water cascaded down around them, her dark hair slick against her head as she took him fully in her mouth. She gripped the base of his cock hard, held firm as she teased the ultra-sensitive crown.
She knew exactly how to work him, exactly how to tease him until he was begging for more.
Leaning back against the wall he closed his eyes, lost himself in the sensation of her mouth. Deep down in a place he didn’t want to acknowledge existed he’d been terrified that they’d never work things out, that he’d never get to experience the sweetness of Isa again.
To be here, at her mercy, with her perfect mouth on him—this was heaven and even better than he remembered. More intense. He rolled his hips as she went deeper. And when she sucked hard again, he knew he was close.
He tangled his hand in her hair, squeezed once before he could get any words out. “Isa, hold off.”
She paused, gazed up at him, looking every inch the goddess she was. Her grin was wickedly sensual as she ignored his demand and started to lean back down.
But he tightened his grip. His ribs twinged as his breathing increased, but he didn’t care about the discomfort. He was hanging on by a thread, and considering how long it had been since he’d been with anyone—since Isa, over a year ago—he wasn’t coming in her mouth. Not this first time.
With a mock pout, she rose to her feet. “I’ve missed doing that,” she murmured, going up on tiptoe and brushing her lips over his. “And I want to finish.” Her voice was sexy, sultry.
He had her back against the wall in seconds. Chest to chest, hip to hip—he’d needed this on every level.
Her full, bare breasts pressed against him. The feel of her nipples gliding against him made his brain short-circuit. He cupped one soft mound, shuddered even as she did the same under his touch. He hadn’t forgotten how sensitive she was. Had been fantasizing about this for so damn long.
She hitched a leg around his waist, rolling her hips against him. His cock throbbed, the ache flowing through him intense.
His chest was tight, and yeah, he was already feeling a little exhausted, but the adrenaline pumping through him kept him going. Hell, Isa kept him going.
Somehow he tore his mouth from hers. “Gotta taste you once.” She was his addiction and he’d be damned if he didn’t get at least one taste of her before he buried himself inside her.
“Graysen…” She sucked in a breath as he cupped her between her legs, slid a finger against her slick folds.
“Missed your pussy,” he murmured, loving the way she blushed crimson. She’d never been a dirty talker and he loved working her up with words.
She dug her fingers into his waist, rolled her hips again, the action jerky. “What else did you miss?” she rasped out.
“Bringing you to climax with my mouth. Bending you over the edge of any surface we could find and fucking you until we were both boneless.”
Her eyes closed as she let out a long, breathy moan. “I’ve missed that dirty mouth.”
Smiling, he dipped his head to her throat and feathered kisses along the column of her neck. Her body was slick from the water rushing over them. She slid her hands up his chest and over his shoulders. When she dug her fingers into him, he began a slow path of kisses down her body, stopping at each breast to lavish them with attention.
As he flicked his tongue around her nipple, he continued stroking between her legs. But not enough that she’d climax. Not yet.
Still, he wanted her worked up and ready to combust by the time he got inside her. As he began to kneel down, she started to protest.
He ignored her. He knew his body’s limits and nothing was stopping him from putting his mouth on her.
She didn’t protest too hard. Once he was kneeling directly in front of her, she lifted a leg, propped her foot on the built-in tile bench—spreading herself wide for him.
When he met her gaze up the length of her body, all he saw was heat and hunger. His cock throbbed, aching to be inside her. But not until she was ready for him.
She slid her fingers through his hair the second before he buried his face between her legs. He’d already felt how slick she was and he wanted her on edge just like he was. So close she could barely take it.
As he teased his tongue along her slick folds, her fingers tightened ever so slightly. She was sweet, just like he remembered. Everything about her was seared into his memory. Including the sounds she made when they were naked and he was anywhere near her pussy.
The memories had haunted him pretty much every night over the last year.
He felt almost drunk on her taste. Focusing on her clit, he applied enough pressure to bring her right to the cusp of climax, but not reach it.
“You’re such a tease.” Her words were unsteady as she rolled her hips against hi
s face. When she lowered her leg from the bench and tried to squeeze her thighs together he grasped one, held her legs open and continued teasing her. He loved her this way. Desperate. Needy.
She struggled against his hold, trying to find relief, but he kept going, on and on until he knew she was close. And he was going to feel her climax around his cock.
She was his prize for not dying weeks ago.
Eyes slightly dazed, she stared down at him. “You’re stopping?”
“We’re coming together.” His words were a growled promise.
He pushed to his feet and for a second, swayed. No. He wasn’t going to fail at this. He couldn’t. Before he could move, she took over, pushing him onto the bench. Because he needed to sit, he let her move him.
Crawling on top of him, she grasped his cock and pushed up on her knees. He held her hips tight, steadying her as she positioned herself over his hard length. Closing his eyes, he rubbed his cheek between her breasts as she simply hovered over him—teasing him as he’d teased her. It wouldn’t take much effort to thrust upward, to completely fill her. But he liked the anticipation. He could spend all damn night touching her everywhere, relearning every inch of her body.
“I’m so close, baby,” she murmured. “Not gonna last once you’re in me.” She eased down on him. Slowly.
He sucked in a breath. Damn, she was as tight as he remembered. His balls pulled up hard and his brain short-circuited with every inch she moved lower until he filled her completely.
“I can’t live without you, Isa,” he whispered, looking into her eyes, his entire body on fire. Water pounded down around them and for this moment it felt like they were the only two people in the world.
“Good thing you won’t have to. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Marry me.” All his muscles tightened as he held back from coming.
She blinked and he rolled his hips, thrusting upward. She jolted at the sensation, gripped his shoulders tight. “You can’t…propose while you’re inside me.”