“I appreciate the offer, but I’m perfectly happy where I am,” I carefully responded.
His eyebrows shot into his receding hairline. “You and I both know you can’t beat those numbers.”
“Maybe not, but I’m still not interested,” I repeated. Shock and something else registered on his face, before he broke into laughter. Eventually, his laughter died down, and all that remained was an evil smile.
“As I said before, I looked into you. You have a very interesting history, Mr. Blackwell.”
I stood to excuse myself. “That’s great. Are we done here? No offense, but it’s been a long week. I’d like to get my wife home, now. Thanks for dinner and drinks.”
“You had quite an interesting relationship with your previous employer…Dooley Shane,” he continued as if I hadn’t spoken. Just the sound of Dooley’s name made my gut clench. It also pissed me off. Who the fuck was this guy and how did he know Dooley Shane?
“We’re done,” I announced, and turned to leave.
“Does Max know exactly what it was you did for Mr. Shane? Better yet, does your wife?” he called out. “I’d hate for your past to taint your future. Wouldn’t you?”
In three strides I was back at his desk, and in his face. “You’d best be careful who you fuck with, Mr. Garrison. If you know what I did for Dooley, then you know I’m a man who always follows through with his threats. Now, after years of eating Dooley’s shit, I’m finally living the life I want to live. I suggest you leave me, my wife, and my business alone. Do I make myself clear?” Before he could answer, I walked out the door.
The next day I lost three more of my clients to Garrison. By the end of the month we were down two more. They were small clients, but nevertheless important. I wasn’t hurting, yet, but if I lost many more, I would be well and truly fucked. I’d held out as long as I could. It was time I told Max about Garrison’s threats.
Chapter Five
Joss and Kurt
‡
Joss
As I stared out the bay window, I felt arms slip around my waist. “Hey, pretty lady, where are you off to today?” My eyes dropped to the hands cupping my giant belly, and I smiled.
“Ellie’s picking me up and we’re heading over to Isabella’s to see the baby.” Warm lips grazed across my ear, and I laughed. “Keep it in your pants, boyfriend,” I warned. “She’s going to be here any moment.”
“You already bailed on me once this morning, Josselyn,” Kurt’s deep voice murmured against the side of my neck. This morning I was awakened by a sharp pain in my lower abdomen. The doctor said I might start to feel contractions in the last month of pregnancy. According to both Ellie and Isabella, contractions felt like a tight squeeze. This wasn’t a squeeze. This felt like a sharp knife to the gut. Of course, I didn’t tell Kurt how sharp the pain really was. He was already worried enough about me and the baby. Needless to say, it curtailed his plans for morning sex.
“How about I make it up to you tonight?” His hands dropped to my hips as he slowly turned me around. I hated lying to my husband, but truthfully, I didn’t think there was anything to worry about. The pain hadn’t come back. The baby was still moving, and I felt fine. His concerned expression made me hesitate. The first trimester was hard on both of us. Clearly neither of us had fully gotten past it. Only one month to go, and baby girl would finally be here…baby girl who needed a name.
Eyes which matched the blue grey color of his shirt stared down at me. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine.” A look of relief skittered across his face, before he lowered his lips to mine. His tongue swept in, and I was nearly bowled over by a wave of pure unadulterated lust. I might be as big as a mountain, but there was nothing wrong with my libido. As I buried my fingers in his hair and deepened the kiss, a car pulled in front of the house.
“Tonight,” Kurt whispered against my lips, before pulling back from the kiss.
As he turned for the door, I reached out and snagged his hand. He shot me a questioning look. Fuck later. I wanted him now. “Make an excuse,” I told him. His eyes sparked with humor. “I’m serious,” I harshly whispered.
He pulled open the door. “Hey, sweetheart, take good care of my girl today, and make sure you have her back by five,” he directed at Ellie. I wanted to cry. I wanted sex, and I wanted it that second.
“I’m not coming home tonight,” I announced.
“Five it is,” Ellie replied with a smirk on her face.
“Love you, baby,” he said. With a kiss to the side of my head, he swatted me on the ass, and walked out of the room.
“Come on, cranky pants, we have a baby to see,” Ellie said. With a sigh of defeat, I followed her to the car. Later my ass. Payback was going to be a bitch for my man.
We pulled up behind Piper’s car and parked. We were almost to the front door when Sarah pulled into the driveway.
“I’m worried about her,” Ellie quietly said as she nodded her head toward Sarah.
My eyes snapped to hers. “Did something happen with Cas?”
Cas and Sarah had been through the ringer. Cas had an ex-wife from hell. Only, no one initially knew about her as Cas moved to Charlotte after they were already separated. The ex got out of rehab shortly after Sarah moved back from Europe, and moved to Charlotte. She brought her junkie boyfriend with her, along with and a lot of crazy drama concerning a drowned boy who Cas thought was his son. In the end, Cas’s ex died at the hands of the boyfriend, but only after she confessed the kid wasn’t his. It was truly awful. After that, it was touch-and-go between Cas and Sarah. Cas finally came around, and now they were getting married.
“No, but Max has taken over and I’m worried the wedding is not what she wants,” Ellie quickly explained.
I was confused. “She doesn’t want to marry him?”
“Oh, she wants to marry him alright, but I don’t think she wants Max’s kind of wedding.” Ellie shot me a warning look right as Sarah caught up with us, so we tabled the conversation for later.
“We’re in the nursery!” Isabella yelled as we walked through the front door.
Isabella and Piper were sitting on the nursery floor looking at fabrics. At first I thought Leo was asleep in the crib, but then Dillon suddenly appeared out of nowhere with him bundled like a little Eskimo in his arms.
“Is it me, or is that not the hottest thing you’ve ever seen?” Sarah muttered under her breath. Ellie began fanning herself. Dillon was wearing a ratty pair of jeans and a Meltdown t-shirt. His silver eyes landed on us and I had to admit, the man was hot. I wasn’t sure he was that hot, though. When Ellie bolted from the room like a bat-out-of-hell, Dillon’s eyebrows shot up in question.
“Is she okay?” Isabella asked.
Piper nonchalantly waved her hand in the air. “She’s fine.”
Leo began fussing, and we all jumped to attention. Leo Whitaker was the cutest baby I’d ever seen. He had a head full of dark hair and deep blue eyes. Whereas Amelia looked just like her father, Leo definitely favored Isabella.
“I promised Milly a trip to the park. Do you need anything while I’m out?” Dillon asked as he handed Leo off to Isabella. She tilted her head up for a kiss. At the same time he dipped his head to meet her lips, he ran his hand lovingly over the top of his son’s head, and my heart melted. Four more weeks, I thought as I rubbed my hands over my belly.
“Can I hold him?” Sarah asked.
“Are you ready for one of those?” Piper teased.
“It’s your turn next, Pi,” Ellie responded from the doorway.
“I agree,” Sarah retorted as she took Leo from Isabella.
Piper scrunched up her nose. “Yeah…about that. I might have to pass on the whole baby thing, she confessed.” Everyone froze.
“What?” Ellie gasped. “Does Gage know you’re passing?”
She shrugged. “We haven’t really talked about it. Plus, right now all Gage cares about is work. It’s not like he’d be around to help take car
e of it.”
“So, you’re just not going to have any kids…ever?” Sarah asked. Clearly she was as shocked as the rest of us.
Not able to keep silent a second longer, I said, “Piper, that man loves you more than life itself. You might want to talk to him before you make such a life altering decision.”
She held up her hands, and I could tell by the look on her face she was officially done with the conversation. “You asked and I told you. I’m not saying things won’t change, but for now we’re not planning on procreating.” Her eyes shifted to Ellie, and she smiled. “Speaking of procreating, Ellie has something she’d like share with us.” All eyes shifted to Ellie.
Ellie glared at Piper, and mouthed, “I hate you.” Then she turned to us, and said, “I’m pregnant, but you can’t tell your husbands, and you definitely can’t tell Max.”
“Why?” Sarah asked.
“Because I want to confirm it’s legit with the doctor first.” Her answer seemed logical, but for some reason I wasn’t buying it, and, by the looks of it neither was Piper.
After everyone congratulated Ellie, Isabella took a minute to nurse Leo. Then she handed him to me so she could help with lunch. Finally, he was in my arms.
“So close,” I whispered.
Only four more weeks to go.
* * *
Kurt
Life was good. In fact, life was great. So why did I feel as if I was spinning my wheels? I had the perfect life. My beautiful wife was about to give me a baby girl and my bar was raking in more money than I knew what to do with. I knew guys who would kill to have what I had, so what was my problem? I’d been feeling out of sorts since the day I hung out with Cas and Tut at LASH last month. They were in the middle of the Meltdown case, and were stressed as fuck. The office felt like a live wire, and I felt…alive. I hadn’t felt pumped like that since before Dragonfly opened. The thrill of watching the bar come together was better than I ever could have imagined. Cas and his crew went to work every day and faced a new adventure, whereas, I went to work every night and put up with the same old shit. It wasn’t about the money. My wife was a trust fund baby, so we had plenty of money. It was so much more than that. It was the lack of doing something meaningful. Pouring drinks, listening to loud music, and getting hit on every night paled in comparison to what my friends were doing. About a year ago, Dillon and I discussed hiring someone to manage the bar for us full time. This would allow us to take a step back and reap the benefits. This would also allow us to expand the business like we’d originally discussed when I took him on as a partner. At the time, opening another bar seemed like a daunting task, but that was just it. I loved those stress filled days when I was remodeling. I lived for those first months of watching it all come together. Other than marrying Joss, those were some of my happiest memories.
I checked my watch to see what time it was before calling Dillon. Four o’clock. This gave me just enough time to run it by him. If he wasn’t on board, then there was no reason to discuss it with Josselyn. Plus, I had other things I wanted to do with my wife this afternoon, and I had a short window to accomplish them in before I had to leave for work.
Dillon answered on the first ring. “If you’re calling to ask me to work tonight, the answer is a definite no.”
“What if I’m calling to discuss the future of the bar?” I asked.
“What do you have in mind?” I could tell by his tone I’d definitely piqued his interest.
“What about hiring a full time manager, so we could be free to scout for a new location?”
“We’re talking Charlotte, correct?”
“I was thinking either Myers Park or Ballantyne, unless you have another location in mind.”
“We should also consider the Lake Norman area,” he suggested. I had to agree. The lake would be a huge hit.
“So you’re interested?”
“Fuck yes.”
“I’ll put feelers out about the position tomorrow.” Before I hung up, I asked, “How’s the boy?”
“Perfect. Real quick, before you hang up, I overheard a conversation earlier that I probably shouldn’t have.”
Now my interest was piqued. “And?”
“Ellie’s pregnant.” This was the last thing I expected him to say.
“Does Max know?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“She wants to confirm it with the doctor first.”
“He’s going to lose his shit when he finds out.”
While Ellie was pregnant with Mac, she, Piper, and Reyn were kidnapped by Dooley Shane. Dooley was obsessed with Piper. Things got out of hand, and both Reyn and Piper got shot. Being manhandled by Dooley’s goons, plus seeing her friends get shot, sent Ellie into labor. In the end, Max almost lost both Ellie and Mac. When I told him Joss was pregnant, his exact words were, “Better you than me, brother.”
“Yep.”
“Fuck.”
“Yep.”
I heard the front door open, and my mind instantly snapped from Max to sex. “I’ll let you know if anyone interesting applies for the job,” I told him, and disconnected the call.
“Honey, I’m hooooooome!” Joss called out. I could tell by her playful tone she’d had a good day with the girls. With a smile on my face, I sunk back into the sofa and waited for her to find me. She stepped into the living room looking flushed from being outside. When she spotted me sitting on the sofa, her eyes lit up. “Hey,” she softly called out. “You okay?”
“I will be once I’m buried deep inside you,” I replied.
She placed her hands on her hips and let out an exasperated sounding huff. “New rule. No more getting me all horny and leave me hanging.” She pointed to her protruding belly. “Not when I’m like this, okay?”
I patted my lap. “Come over here and tell me all about it.”
“I’m serious, Kurt. I’ve been achy all day,” she whined. Someone was sexually frustrated.
I waited for her to make her way over to me, before pulling her down onto my lap. The only thing big about my wife was her beach ball belly – and her tits. Pregnancy tits were like nine months of Christmas. She ground her tight little ass onto my hard cock, and let out a maniacal sounding giggle.
“So, Santa, what are you going to give me for Christmas this year?” Her saucy tone made me smile.
I carefully grasped her hips and scooted us both to the back of the sofa. While contemplating a witty answer, I stroked my hands back and forth over her belly. The thick waistband of her leggings poked through her shirt, and reminded me of when my grandpa used to wear his pants jacked all the way to his nipples.
“I have nine inches of something special in mind,” I teased.
Her head turned and her baby blues landed on me. “Really? Only nine?” Her disappointed expression made me laugh. My wife was a very funny woman.
“Wanna see?”
“Yes, please,” she breathily responded, and my cock jumped.
“Arms up,” I instructed. Both of her arms eagerly shot into the air. With a chuckle, I lifted her shirt up and over her head. Then I slid my fingers beneath the waistband of her leggings. Thankfully the baby wasn’t moving. I’d had to abort mission twice in the past few weeks because her stomach was jumping all over the place. Joss may not mind that our child had a front row seat to the cock-and-ball show, but I found it all kinds of fucked up. She arched up, so I could ease the leggings over her belly and down her legs. When they reached her ankles, she hastily kicked them off. There was nothing better than when my wife was desperate for my cock. It was a huge turn on. She leaned forward, and I quickly unsnapped her bra. Like she’d done with the leggings, she whipped it off and flung it across the room. Then she shimmied, or in her case waggled, out of her panties. An umph escaped from my lips when she ground her bare ass into my groin as she relaxed back against me, and we both laughed.
“I’m ready for nine inches, Santa.” Her sexy tone was hot-as-hell, and my cock strained to get out of
my jeans.
After the second trimester, we’d had to get creative with our love making. I caressed my hands over her belly, before making my way to her tits. Just this morning, she’d mentioned how sensitive they were. Whereas normally I would pinch and tug, tonight I gently circled my fingers around her nipples. A groan of desire escaped from her lips as she dropped her head back onto my shoulder. I elicited a gasp from her as I gently squeezed her nipple between my thumb and forefinger. My cock throbbed behind my zipper, but I wanted her panting for me before I took her. As I lightly rolled her nipple between my fingers, I slid my free hand down between her legs.
“Right there,” she huskily murmured.
“Here?” I whispered in her ear as I slowly ran my fingers back-and-forth over her clit. A few more strokes and my fingers were drenched with her juices.
“There,” she moaned. Yep, she was ready, and so was I.
“Hold that thought,” I told her, and as quickly as humanly possible, I stripped off my shirt. She lifted up far enough for me to slither out of my jeans and boxers. Once I had them off, I gave the command – “Reverse cowgirl.” Like a pro, she got into position. Before sliding in, I grabbed her chin and forced her head around so I could see her eyes. As she stared up at me with her lust filled blues, all of my worries melted away. I was the luckiest man in the world. “I love you,” I told her.
“I love you, too. Now, give me your nine inches,” she responded.
“Yes, Ma’am,” I said, and filled her up…nine inches and all. In this position, it was hard to go deep, so I shallowly pumped my hips.
“Yesssss,” she quietly hissed. Yes was right. I dropped my hand back to her nipple, and continued fingering her clit. Pretty soon, she was moving with me. When her breaths turned choppy, I could tell she was close.
“I’m close,” she panted. She wasn’t the only one. I gave her nipple one last squeeze. At the same time, I pinched her clit and powered in as far as I could go. When she screamed my name, I let go. Damn, I loved my wife.
A minute passed, before she could muster up enough energy to extract herself from my lap. I kicked back with a very happy smile on my face as I watched her waddle to the bathroom.
The Last Call (MMG Book 5) Page 4