Scott’s grin was both sweet and sexy, especially when combined with the slow creep of color traveling up his neck. “I… erm….”
“Is your ass sore?”
Even though he squinted at me in annoyance, he nodded, and the pink turned to red as it crawled up his cheeks.
“Have I told you how hot you are when you blush like that?”
He rolled his eyes at me and nudged me away, but I grabbed on to his arms, laughing. His voice was a pitiful attempt at indignant when he said, “I was going to offer to suck you off, but if you’re going to—”
“Don’t finish that sentence. I can totally get on board with your mouth around my cock.” Said cock jumped for joy in my pants, and lust unfurled in my stomach.
“Here?” His gaze moved to my groin, his brows high.
My lips curved. “I was thinking bed and 69.”
Scott shot up so fast he spilled his undrunk coffee on the table. I saw him eye it and hesitate.
“Leave it and stick with the enthusiasm.” I stood with a teasing grin, and we raced to my bedroom, though I wasn’t quite sure who dragged who.
Mouths, saliva, and blow-my-load induced gagging… the combination of the three had us soon spiraling out of control and grunting aloud. While it had been a while since I’d had any, it had been a lot longer since I’d been involved with someone of significance. It made every touch, caress, and orgasm that much sweeter.
Relaxed and with my head on Scott’s chest, I reached out and grabbed my phone to look at the time. “I need to go get Libby.”
He nodded and pressed a kiss to my head. “I’ll come with you.”
I glanced up at him. “Will you then come back here?”
“Is that what you want?” When I bobbed my head, he smiled. “Okay. Let me stop by my place though to check on my sister and grab some fresh clothes.”
Before long we were pulling up outside Scott’s. I left him with a kiss and headed to Tanner’s to pick up my girl. I let myself inside, although if Carter’s parents hadn’t been there, there was no chance in hell I would have done so unannounced. I’d made that mistake before and couldn’t quite look at the staircase the same way.
“Hello, hello?” I called up. I heard Rex’s bark coming from out back, quickly followed by Libby’s squeals of delight. I followed the sound to the patio doors and stood and watched Libby sitting and throwing a ball. It barely went a couple of feet away from her, but Rex grabbing the ball and bringing it back to her was apparently enough to get her crazy excited. Carter sat beside her, grinning and encouraging both Libby and Rex.
“Hey.” Tanner appeared beside me.
I cast him a glance and indicated the scene outside. “He’ll make a great dad, you know.” I saw Tanner nod in my periphery. “Have you thought about it?”
“I need to make an honest man of him first.”
My head whipped to the side, my eyes wide, a grin already on my face. “Yeah?” He didn’t remove his eyes from outside. “Is that going to be soon?”
Tanner’s lips twitched. “Quite possibly.”
I pushed against his shoulder, happiness filling me up. Tanner deserved it all. He was the best man I knew. “Let me know if there’s anything you want help with.”
“Thanks.” He bobbed his head. “How was your night?” He angled toward me and immediately rolled his eyes at the shit-eating grin I wore. “I’ll take that as good.”
I scoffed. “Try fucking spectacular.”
“No details,” he said with a grin. “For the love of God, no damn details.”
Clamping my hand on his shoulder, I laughed. “No chance of me kissing and telling, Tanner, you know that.”
His gaze raked my face. “You seem happy.”
“I am.”
“Good. Doesn’t mean I won’t kick his ass if he screws up.”
It was my turn to roll my eyes. “I hardly need anyone kicking someone’s ass for me.” I sent him a challenging quirk of my eyebrow. “But I appreciate the thought.” With my gaze returning to my daughter, I asked, “Everything okay last night?”
“Peachy. Carter’s mom dotes on her and is actively encouraging the need for grandbabies. She keeps emailing adoption links.”
My smile was broad. “They’re great, right? Nut jobs, but it’s great they’re so supportive.”
“Yeah, they are. You heading straight off?”
“Yeah. Just going to grab my girl, go and collect Scott, who’s getting a change of clothes, and then heading back to my place.”
I expected a dig, maybe another threat, maybe this time on Scott’s manhood, but I didn’t get one. Instead, Tanner smirked. “Best get your ass into gear… you know, if you can manage it while walking straight… without wincing. It’s been a while.”
“Ha fucking ha.” I flipped him off as I stepped outside and quickly swept my beautiful Libby into my arms.
Five minutes later, I was at Scott’s door and ringing the bell. His voice called, “The door’s open.”
I opened up, Libby on my hip. I stumbled upon his nephews first as they sped on by, both wearing superhero costumes. Libby squealed and bounced in my arms, chanting “Dow, dow,” in her desperation to get down and join them. “You’ll get trampled on. You’re not big enough yet.” I tickled her tummy to try to distract her, but she batted my hand away, her eyes fixed on the empty doorway where the boys had disappeared. “As soon as you’re old enough, I’ll buy you a kick-ass superhero costume, okay?”
“Hey.”
I glanced up at Scott’s voice, my heart leaping as he strode toward me. He stopped and kissed me, no hesitation, no doubt, and my heart celebrated at the action. He’d come so far, changed so much from the man I’d first met and only known about by name.
“Cot.” Libby lunged out of my arms toward him, and Scott reeled her in immediately, surprise and delight battling for position on his face.
“Do you just…. Did she just say my name?” Wide-eyed, he stared first at me and then at my daughter in wonder.
Gone. Fucked. Truly. I’d meant my words to him earlier, but seeing him with Libby, watching how they interacted, I was sure to God that he was going to be it. I mulled over the thought, not even surprised I relaxed a little at him being in my life, hopefully forever. While I’d dicked around when I was younger, I’d never given away my heart before, other than to Libby, but hell, she’d snatched the damn thing clean out of my chest the moment I’d laid eyes on her. I hadn’t thought it was possible to share a piece of myself with anyone but her, but Scott remained the enigma I considered him to be and had snuck on inside my chest when I hadn’t been paying attention, cementing a piece of himself in there too.
Still speechless, my eyes softened and I stood back and admired them both. I only dragged my eyes away when Jenna entered the large entrance room. With a glance in her direction, I returned her tender smile. She saw what I saw, that much was obvious.
“Are you staying for dinner or are you heading straight out?”
Turning my focus on Scott, I said, “We can stay.”
His smile was full of appreciation. I knew he worried about his sister and all she’d been through and was going through. I was more than happy to spend time with her, not only because I liked her, but if it eased the frown lines from Scott’s brow, I’d make it happen.
“Great,” she said. “I’ve Libby-proofed the dining area, so you can come on back and let her play.”
“Thanks, Jenna.” I threw her a grateful smile and followed her to the split dining/kitchen area. “Something smells good.”
“Just lasagna. It’ll be a while yet, but I do tend to eat early because of the boys.” She busied herself with the stove while Scott settled Libby on the floor near a tub of toys. Sitting on a stool, I pressed my lips together when I realized they were all baby toys, much more suited to Libby than her sons. When I looked back at her, she was watching me and offered a shy smile. “We just thought it would be good for her to have something to play with when she was he
re.”
“It’s amazing of you. Thank you.” I was touched she’d thought of such a thing.
“It was Scott’s idea. I was just the shopper.”
My heart thumped wildly in my chest as I angled once more to look at Scott. He was on the floor with all three kids. They had blocks out, and the boys seemed to be building them as high as possible before Libby punched out with a giggle to smack them over. “He’s something else.”
“He is.”
Jenna’s voice made me jump. I hadn’t intended to speak aloud.
Looking at her brother, then at me, she smiled. “I’m so pleased he’s going back to the clinic and has this opportunity to purchase it. For a while there, he started to resent practicing.”
“Because of your dad?”
“Yeah. He’s a piece of work. I think we both love him because it seemed like we had to, but there was a lot of unhealthy fear instilled in us from the time we could walk.”
I hated that for the two of them. “But now you’re here, it’s better, right?”
She smiled, the movement lighting up her eyes. “Definitely. And thank you.”
“For?”
“Giving me the chance at work, making my brother so happy.”
“I’m pleased I could help, and truth be told, I’m relieved you’re there to take some of the pressure off. Plus, your brother can’t make a coffee for shit and was sure to make me bankrupt with the number of breakages.”
“I was not that bad.” Scott nudged me with his shoulder as he sat beside me.
“He’s right about the coffee though. Your ability to destroy coffee beans is incredible. Impressive even,” Jenna said.
I laughed as the banter continued and Jenna continued preparing the meal while the kids played happily in the background.
Chapter Eighteen
SCOTT
It was done. Finally. The i’s had been dotted, the t’s had been crossed, and I was the official owner not only of an incredible house but of a clinic I loved. The past couple of weeks had been tied up in contracts and reassuring the staff that their jobs were safe and I wasn’t an asshole—well, only occasionally. I was lucky that only a limited number of staff knew the real reason behind my initial resignation, and Carter had gone above and beyond to tell anyone who listened that while I could be a grumpy dick without coffee in the morning, I was a good guy.
I was a lucky son of a bitch and kept reminding myself of that every morning I rolled up to work, and every night I spent around Davis’s and got to give Libby a kiss goodnight before wrapping myself up in Davis’s arms.
I switched off my computer and stretched out, surprised when Lauren called my name from the door. By far she’d been the hardest to convince, but despite her uncertainty, I was grateful that she remained professional at work and around the staff.
“I just received a call from Tanner, as Carter’s wrapped up in something apparently. He told me to, and I quote, ‘get Dickwad’s ass to the bar within the next ten minutes,’ and if we’re late, he’s going to make me buy the first round.” She looked unimpressed and snorted at the latter.
I held back a snort as all thoughts of her professionalism flew out the window. I grinned at her, my brows dipping in confusion. “Why are we going to the bar? I have to collect Libby.”
She shrugged. “Something about Carter or Sandy or someone is doing that, and you now have one minute to get your ass into gear.”
My brows dipped even further as I pulled out my cell. The bar I could handle; letting Davis down by not picking up Libby, however, was not happening. I pressed his name, and he answered after a couple of rings. “Hey,” I greeted as I grabbed my laptop bag and keys.
“Hey, handsome.”
I grinned. “Lauren said something about Libby—”
“Yep. All sorted. Carter’s already picked her up for us”—my chest expanded every time he said something about us—“and Sandy’s now looking after her for a few hours.”
“Okay.” Confusion lit my words, and I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings, so jumped when Lauren clamped her hand on my forearm and tugged me out of my office, grumbling about me being slow and how I’d be buying drinks, and she’d be having an expensive-ass cocktail.
“Just let Lauren get you here.”
“You’re at the bar?”
“Just hurry your ass up.”
The line went dead and I was still none the wiser. It did look like we were heading to the bar though. I followed Lauren out. She led me to my car and waited at the passenger side door.
After eyeballing me while I unlocked the car, she got in. “You doing okay?”
I raised my brows at her while starting the engine.
“You look like you may pass out or something.” Her brows dipped into a concerned frown.
Releasing a sigh, I shook my head, pulling myself together. Of course I had nothing to worry about since Davis was involved, but that didn’t stop unease pulling at my gut. “It’s just weird this has been sprung on me, is all.” And it was. Nobody had done anything like this to me… for me before. My hands were clammy and my body heated.
She remained quiet for a moment, but I felt her eyes on me. “You’re an onion.” It didn’t sound like an insult necessarily, but it had me raising my brows high.
“I’m a what now?”
“Onion. Or maybe a chameleon, maybe a combination of both.”
“I’m a stinky lizard.” I cast a brief glance her way and caught the assessing amusement on her face.
She laughed. “Quite possibly. I was thinking more about you being this confident, arrogant asshole who’s hot and got everyone talking and swooning when you started. You won a lot of people over, but then there was all of the BS with Carter”—my stomach dipped, which it always did when I thought of my behavior. Both Carter and Davis had told me I had to forgive myself. I wanted to, but it took time—“which you know elevated your assholery status, but then I get it. I understand the whys of it all. And then there’s this… you. You’ve come back and played the confident boss card to perfection. You can still be an asshat before you get at least a couple of coffees down your neck in the morning, but I’ve also seen you laugh, and smile, and be really kind.”
My eyes danced between dipping and lifting high as she blurted out her assessment of me. I remained quiet throughout, equally mortified and impressed that she seemed to understand me well.
“And now here you are freaking out because the guy who loves your sexy ass is doing something sweet for you. Onions and chameleons.”
I didn’t fidget, I didn’t challenge, and I even ignored the awkward reference to me being sexy. What I couldn’t move on from was her saying Davis loved me.
“You can breathe, you know. There are no clowns.” She laughed, and the sound and her words broke me out of my spell and reminded me I needed air.
“Would I get fired if you found out I did beg Carter to organize a clown for tonight?” She snorted as she spoke, and I shook my head.
“You’d be so fired.” I rolled my eyes. In Carter’s wisdom, he’d organized a clown for Libby’s birthday party, which had come and gone in the blink of an eye. When Libby had burst into tears, petrified of the sadist clown, I’d been the first to spring into action, welcoming the ability to get the hell away from the creepy-ass clown. I may have yelled and tripped, something about killer clowns and voodoo. It hadn’t made sense to me either, but clowns were the devil. A reoccurring dream at the age of seven had told me as such.
Lauren was still chuckling as we found a parking space, and before I opened the bar door, I paused in anticipation. Love. Davis and I hadn’t skirted around the issue, per se. We both cared for each other a lot, we spent most nights together, and I’d happily taken on some caring duties for Libby. A few times I’d made a slip about our Libby or our girl, and rather than correcting me, Davis had pressed his sweet kisses to my neck.
“You have one minute, boss man.” She waited by my side though, rather than forcing
me through the doors.
I nodded before stepping into the bar.
A Congratulations banner greeted me, along with a roomful of bodies and cheers. Apart from the banner though, I only had eyes for one person, who stood front and center before he marched on over to me. I grinned, my heart beating furiously in my chest and forcing emotion into my throat. Overwhelmed by what Davis had organized, I couldn’t move, but still, my grin stayed, the happiness genuine.
Stopping before me, he immediately cupped my face with both of his palms. He swept his thumbs across my cheeks. “Congratulations, baby, on your big day.”
I swallowed thickly, and Davis’s eyes softened. I had no doubt he understood my difficulty to deal with the moment. This was the kindest thing anyone had ever done for me, which he was fully aware of. When I’d graduated high school, my father had grabbed me by the collar and told me to get to work on my reading list ready for college. That no son of his would be a failure. This was after I received a 4.8 GPA. And when I’d graduated from college at the top of my class, he’d told me he’d set me up with a job and in no uncertain terms was I to screw up else he’d cut me off and make sure I never worked in veterinary medicine again. So this, all Davis, and I was assuming my friends—which amounted to Carter and tentatively Tanner—had done was a big fucking deal.
Davis pressed his lips to my mouth, and after a few caresses of his lips against mine, he whispered, “I’m so proud of you.”
There went that damn emotion again clambering up my throat.
He pulled away, his gaze examining my reaction. Seemingly reassured by what he saw, he leaned in once more, but this time his mouth grazed my cheek as he said close to my ear, “Later I’ll show you exactly how proud of you I am when I let you take me up the ass.” I almost swallowed my tongue when I laughed. He pulled away so we were eye to eye. “I’ll even go down on you before I tell you how much I love you.”
My breath caught and my heart stilled before it let loose and threatened to gallop out of my chest. I struggled to speak, to react, to do anything but gaze at this beautiful man before me. While his shit-eating grin was back, the one I thought was all levels of sexy, his eyes were warm and filled with truth.
I've Got You Page 19