by Eden Connor
"N-o-t plus however the fuck you spell Jacques," Dan explained helpfully. "As in, no chance in hell I'm calling a bird dog Jacques because Cynda seems to think he's a weird breed of poodle." He glared teasingly at Cynda, who stuck her little nose in the air and showed him the palm of her hand.
Lila sagged against the large bookcase beside the door onto the patio, giggling helplessly.
"What?" Dan demanded, when she was still laughing about a full minute later. "What's so fucking funny, Lila?"
"Not-Jacques," Lila managed to howl, clutching her tummy. "That's priceless." She wiped at her eyes, sobering momentarily before starting to laugh again. "Not-Jacques, that'll show Cynda who's boss, Daniel."
"Colton," Dan growled with a meaningful look and a wink.
"Lila, you can't laugh at the name of a man's bird dog," Colton informed her.
"Oops," Lila cried, her laughter unabated. "Any not-aliens in that video game, Jonah?"
Eric threw down his controller. "I'm not winning, if that helps you any," he said disgustedly, ruffling Jonah's hair. "I think I'll go soak in my hot tub and try and figure out how I got beat by a kid at a game I dominate." He stood.
Lila now had tears running down her cheeks. Colton slid off his barstool and crossed the large room. "Delilah, seriously, you can't laugh at the name of man's bird dog." He returned Dan's wink before lowering his shoulder. When he straightened, Lila hung over his back. She pounded his back with balled-up fists.
"Colton! Put me down. I'm pregnant!" she squealed.
"Oooh, you weren't worried about being pregnant when you coached Jonah's team in spite of me, were you?" Dan glanced at the shiny new trophy on Colton's mantle, won only a few nights before, laughing loudly when Colton imitated Lila's voice. "Your baby's the size of a spark plug and is as safe as can be." His hand came down on her butt. Dan nearly choked on his laughter at the way her eyes rounded.
"Put me down!" Lila demanded, beginning to kick.
"Lock the front door behind you on your way out," Colton said to his brothers.
Dan went around the bar into the kitchen, where Cynda leaned against the bar. Her laughter was every bit as raucous as Lila's. "That no laughing rule goes double for you." He kissed her tenderly on the nose before lowering his shoulder. Cynda shrieked, but didn't struggle.
"You better come down to my place, squirt," Eric stated, pulling Jonah to his feet. Colton turned and headed for the hall that led to his bedroom.
"That's Not-Squirt to you." Jonah huffed.
"Lila, I owe you for this," Cynda yelled. Dan strode across Colton's empty dining room toward the front door.
"Did Cynda just wink at me?" he heard Jonah ask.
"Don't you know a not-wink when you see one?" Eric was laughing as hard as the rest.
They all heard Lila's yell. "Colton, this is wildly inappropriate!"
"Hey, that's our theme," Cynda yelled back, her laughter vibrating through him as he opened the front door. "Damn white girls, thinkin' they can take everything."
"You could always get me arrested!" Lila called back.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Dan waited until his brothers were gathered in the office the following Friday afternoon, jockeying for a cup of coffee. They'd gotten their weekly paychecks that morning, as usual. He handed each of them another check. "Sarah's share goes to Jonah. I put it in an account for his education. I know Lila has her heart set on him going to college."
Eric stared at his check, then at Dan, puzzlement drawing his brows together. "I don't understand. Did you sell some of the land?"
Dan sat on the edge of his battered desk, shaking his head. "Dad had insurance on Cammie. That's your share."
Colton's eyes went wide and he exhaled loudly, looking relieved. Dan knew Lila's medical problems were mounting. The tests, her doctor's visits, and the couple of times she'd been hospitalized overnight had racked up some large bills, along with adding the nursery. "You gotta be kidding, Daniel. This is great."
Dan smiled and nodded. "She was the most important thing in his life. Of course he insured her. He could've had her declared dead and collected after seven years, but he wanted her back more than he wanted the cash, I guess." He gripped Eric's shoulder. "You're gonna get mad once you think on this awhile. I know you wanted to go to college and he made out like he couldn't afford that, when all the time he knew this was an option. In his defense, it would've been hard to collect without a body or some kind of evidence. But I'm sorry, E. I truly am." He swallowed hard, feeling the way Rafe must have at the thought of losing Eric's skill with an engine. "It's not too late, you know. You could still go get that engineering degree."
"I dunno, I think my dreams may have changed, Dan."
"I need y'all to help me move something tomorrow." Colton folded his check and placed it carefully in his wallet.
Eric was still staring at his check, but he snorted. "What's Lila bought now? Toilets? One of those big fiberglass bulls that used to sit on top of that grocery store chain? You don't need both of us to pick up a crib, do you?" He poked Colton playfully in the side. "Even if you do need me to assemble it."
Colton shook his head emphatically. "Nope, this is gonna be a surprise, something I've wanted to give her for a long time. I've been torn between trying to save to buy her the gift I want her to have, and this thing, but now it looks like I don't have to choose. She sold a dining room suite to one of her dealers to help buy that handicapped-equipped van for Pete. I go by the small junk shop owned by the old guy she sold it to sometimes. It's a good place to find little gifts for her. He told me he never had the heart to sell it. It's in his dining room, at his house. Now I can give it back to her, in time for Christmas."
Eric shook his head, uninterested in furniture, apparently. "I thought you were gonna say a minivan."
Dan laughed out loud. "I'm still checking to see if the National Guard has any surplus tanks for sale." He winked at Colton.
"Oh! Almost forgot, I need another favor."
Eric snorted. "Let me guess. You need me to keep Jonah."
"Nuuu, this one's right up your alley, E. Cynda thought of it. I want you guys to start calling me Lila's baby daddy every chance you get. To Lila, I mean."
Dan pictured Lila's reaction to that, laughing so hard he had to hold his ribs.
"Not a problem," Eric said confidently. "I fucking love it. But why? I mean, Lila's—don't hit me, little brother—but Lila's old-fashioned. That's gonna drive her right up a wall."
Colton held up a thumb. "Exactly. When she gets tired of hearing it, she'll propose to me. This way, I don't have to keep wondering when it'll be long enough after Pete died to ask her to marry me." He batted his lashes rapidly. "I just have to decide whether or not I'll say yes."
Dan wiped his eyes, spluttering, "Like you've ever told her no?"
"Oh, can I be your flower girl, Colton?" Eric asked in a high-pitched voice, patting his hair.
Colton gave Eric's cheek a vicious pinch. "Sure thing, honeybee."
"Honeybee?" Eric blinked, but threw an elbow.
Dan could hardly get the words out. "Lila calls you that behind your back, E. You know, making fun of your dating habits. So many flowers, so little time?"
"Not to mention that small stinger you're working with," Colton added.
Their subsequent punches had Dan grabbing for his keys. "Later, dumbasses. You two can close up."
It was dusk when he finished his errand and pulled into his driveway. Mellow light gleamed from the ground floor windows of the farmhouse. The peach trees were streaks of charcoal reaching toward a swirling sky. Snow was beginning to pile up against their trunks. Dan tucked the velvet-covered boxes into his coat pockets. When he opened his door, the crisp air was redolent with the sweetish smoke from burning peach wood. Cynda pushed aside the new curtains over the sink, her smile brighter than the icy snow swirling around him.
He glanced at the ball hitch on his bumper when he passed, a smile curving his lips. Brittle grass
crunched under his boots when he strode across the yard, anxious to reach her. The back door opened. Daisy barked. Not-Jacques jumped up, his paws bowing the screen.
"No, no!" Cynda scolded, pushing the door open. "Don't jump on Daddy." She leaped off the porch into his arms. Dan caught her easily then began spinning in circles. She looked up at the snow, but all he could see was Cynda. Her laughter filled him with warmth. Slowing, he ached for the moment her body fell against his and when it came, his world went spinning again at the first warm touch of her lips. She wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles behind his back.
"It's gonna snow all night," she said when they had to breathe. The dogs raced in circles around them, barking joyously, making it more treacherous to climb the stairs. "Let's stay up late and watch it pile up. I already built a fire in the bedroom. I wanna make snow cream and build a snowman and—"
He cut off her excited chatter with another kiss, groping blindly for the handle to open the door. A tantalizing smell wafted from the oven. She'd already set the table for dinner. He crossed the kitchen and pushed aside the dinner plates and silverware with a forearm. Sitting her on the table's edge, he took a step back. Her loose-knit sweater dress slid off one shoulder. Childlike excitement over the winter's first snowfall blazed in her eyes. Her boot-clad feet scissored back and forth.
He pulled the larger box out of his pocket, watching her eyes go wide. Her expression made him look forward to birthdays and Christmases yet to come, wiping away the thought he'd had about waiting to give her his gifts. He'd been patient while the goldsmith had made the present, but once he'd seen how well the local artist had executed his idea, Dan decided not to wait for Christmas. Silently he opened the hinged lid. She leaned forward, gasping. When she looked up, he saw confusion in her eyes. Removing the heavy circlet, he set the box on the table. "Lift up your hair."
She slid her hands behind her neck, raising the braids he adored to bare her neck. The concealed hinge in the back allowed Dan to place the circlet of leaves made from solid eighteen-karat gold around the graceful column. He closed it, pleased with the fit and the way the frosted finish on the peach blossoms contrasted with the rest. They looked almost real, rendered in the pinkest rose gold he'd ever seen, as he'd requested. The small gap in front centered just above the hollow at the base of her throat. Dropping her hair, she touched the golden collar. "It's gorgeous," she gasped. "The hinge is what makes it stay on?" Her fingers never stilled as she traced the layered pattern of peach leaves.
Shaking his head, he delved into his pocket again. In his mind, his father was smiling, a rare sight indeed. Dan hesitated before opening the second box.
"Some say the peach has its roots in ancient Iran, but most think it originated in China. The Chinese have many beliefs about the peach. Burning the wood is supposed to ward off evil, and it's said a powerful love spell can be cast using the blossoms." He pulled out the smaller box. "But it's the stone that cannot be separated from the flesh that holds this necklace together, Cynda." He lifted the lid and picked up the golden duplicate of a peach stone. "I had this cast from a stone at the heart of one of those peaches that fascinate you so much."
"It's a lock!" she cried, spying the keyhole and the hasp at the top.
He rubbed his thumb over the deep grooves in the gold. "My grandfather saw that peach as his monumental failure. But I think you see it as something else." Setting the box on the table at her side, he fished inside his shirt for the key, newly suspended on a chain around his neck. Fitting it into the lock, he turned it until the hasp sprang open. "I finally figured out what that stronger word might be. Cynda, you're my clingstone. Something evil brought you into my world, but you turned that around somehow and became the source of the most powerful love I've ever felt."
He slid the hasp through the perpendicular loops on each end of the circlet. The lock snapped together with a push of his thumb. "Whenever you touch this necklace or look at it in a mirror, remember that I won't say it enough, but I love you more than I know how to tell. Until you ask me to unlock it, let this be our symbol to the world that we cannot be separated."
"It's so heavy," she murmured, her eyes wide and brimming. "You can throw that key right out the window, Daniel."
"Stay there." He hurried to his office, spinning the dial to unlock the gun safe. The blue passbook rested on the top shelf. When he reentered the kitchen, she was holding up one of the plates. She set the dish down. "I wanna go look at it in the mirror," she begged.
"One more minute, then you can go." He held out the battered booklet from the town's oldest savings and loan. He'd had the amount updated. "Dad put a reward for information about Cammie into a savings account. I've had the account transferred into your name."
Her eyes rounded when she saw the amount. She closed the little book and tried to put it back in his hand. "But I didn't find her," she argued.
"Cynda, I've spent a lot of time thinking about what to do with this money. I thought about dividing it between my brothers. I thought about just letting it continue to collect interest until one of us needed cash. I considered buying some equipment for the shop with it. Those are all things Rafe might've done." He stepped closer to her, putting his hand on her cheek. "Then, I thought about Cammie and what she'd say if that money had somehow brought her back." He stroked away the tear rolling down her face with his thumb. "It hurts me she'll never see Colton's baby." He blinked back tears of his own. "Hurts me she never saw Jonah, and that she'll never see our children."
Her lips curved and she turned her head slightly to kiss his hand. "We're having children?"
"You're in charge of when to start and when to stop, but yes, I want them. I want your grandmother to see our children, Cynda. I want her to see us get married. So you take that money and pay for her cataract surgery, then spend the rest on the wedding you want. Just tell me when and where to show up. I'll be there early, I promise."
Her lips trembled, and more tears slid down her cheeks. "Yes, Daniel."
"Please try your best to beat Lila down the aisle. I'd rather not be a baby daddy, if that's okay with you." He kissed her, slow and deep, but he could feel her feminine impatience to admire his gift, so he stepped aside and let the dogs in while she ran to stand in front of the old oak hall tree.
He leaned against the archway for a minute, watching her turn this way and that. "It's gorgeous," she said over and over. She held her hair up, she let it down; all woman and so beautiful he had trouble breathing. Her eyes locked on his in the glass. "Come cling to me, my love," she begged. "Do something wildly inappropriate."
Chuckling, he moved to stand behind her, sliding his hands under her sweater to cup her breasts while pressing his stirring erection against her curvy bottom. He watched her eyes in the mirror, seeing them go soft. Her lips parted.
"Uncle Dan! Cynda! Did you see? It's snowing!"
"I'd have settled for a nail gun," she murmured, covering his hands with hers.
The End
About the Author
Eden Connor has utilized her B.A. in Psychology from Converse College in a variety of occupations. She has worked as a wedding photographer, a graphic artist, an insurance salesperson, and an antique dealer before turning to writing as her next adventure.
Born in Winston-Salem, N.C, Eden now resides in Greenville, S.C. She's widowed and her two children have left home, leaving her plenty of time to plot her next romance.
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Email
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Also by Eden Connor
Available from Silver Publishing
THOSE DEVILISH DE MARCO MEN
Soft Sounds of Pleasure
Wildly Inappropriate
'Jingle Bells' and the Last Oil Filter (coming soon)
Availab
le from Naughty Nights Press
"Dirty Secrets and Designer Heels" (excerpt) in Postcards of Passion
"Cum, They Told Me" in Doing the Naughty List, Twice
Available from Rebel Ink Press
"Cupid's Correction" in Tempting Cupid
When a Soldier Cries
Available from Andrews UK Ltd
"Resumes, Red Ruffles and Rain" in Wicked Watchers - The Pursuit of Pleasure
Reviews for SOFT SOUNDS OF PLEASURE:
Wow, I seriously could not put this book down. Utterly charming, steamy and full of heart, Soft Sounds of Pleasure was so addictive. I'm a sucker for a love story with an older woman and younger male lead and their story was written with such honesty it was truly a pleasure to read.
…Eden Connor makes all her characters come alive in this delightful story and you can't help but love them all. From the sexy De Marco brothers to the troubled yet sweet nephew, to the incredibly strong and independent Lila Walker; they are all realistic characters that I could see myself kicking back with. Their depth of emotions and actions felt truly authentic and I can't wait to spend more time with them all.
Lila and Colton's relationship heat up the pages from start to finish. But what I loved most about them was that it wasn't just about the physical. They have depth and sorrow and obstacles they need to both overcome in the game of love. I like reading about couples with an age difference because it really hones the fact that age is nothing but a number. A really sweet and warm romance with a lot of steamy scenes - plus Colton is sexy as sin and so in love with Lila it is beyond adorable.