by Cari Quinn
The part he caged up because he was so conscious of his size and strength. The endless worry that he could hurt someone—hurt her.
She knew he wouldn’t. That he couldn’t. Even if sometimes she craved it. Had been craving it since they’d arrived in Berkeley.
She stepped over his go-bag and ran toward him. Trust sizzled under her skin as she jumped into his arms. He caught her tight, his mouth clamping on hers as if he was starving. They’d been at each other all damn day. It wasn’t enough. Was it because she had so many uncertainties bouncing around in her brain?
Possibly.
Whoops and hollers came from the others in Deacon’s band. Simon let out an especially loud wolf whistle and lewd comment.
She didn’t care that her five-inch heels were hovering off the floor as she clutched her husband’s slick shoulders. Nor did she care that the front of her dress was currently plastered to her, and she so didn’t care that both Oblivion and Warning Sign was getting a bonus show tonight.
Some people might find Deacon’s watchfulness off-putting, but she knew better.
All his attention to detail and focus resulted in a love so big and strong—for his band, his friends, and for his family. She never had to wonder. It was one constant she’d never question.
Harper kicked up a foot as their kiss deepened. The kind of kiss that belonged in a room that only included them. She couldn’t stop the low moan as he lowered her to the floor. He stepped back, then kept her hand firmly in his as he crossed the room with her in tow.
Deacon grabbed his bag. He snapped a Megadeth T-shirt out and pulled it over his head. Harper gave Jazz a distracted wave. A frown marred Jazz’s brow for a moment before Gray drew her away. The niggle of unease teased under the flashpoint of lust. She needed to talk to Deacon, but she also knew they needed this too.
A night where they could be the fun, carefree couple they used to be before Lexi came along.
When he held the side door open for her, his hungry gaze burned out any other thought in her brain. She wanted this moment.
Tomorrow’s conversations would come soon enough.
They followed the loading docks to the string of SUVs waiting to bring them back to the hotel. The band tried to go back to the hotel in groups, but with their respective families and personalities, it was nearly impossible to make everyone happy at the end of the night.
Right then, Harper was happy to see the extra vehicles waiting.
Deacon caged her against the back door. He pressed the lower half of his body against her. No way in hell could she mistake his intent with his cock digging into her belly. She wasn’t entirely sure they’d get back to the hotel.
She felt, rather than heard, the door unlock. Possibly because the white noise in her head was louder than the line of cars trying to escape the venue.
She fumbled for the door, pushing Deacon back far enough to get the door open a crack. He took the hint and shuffled her inside the back of the cab.
“Hotel,” Deacon said in a sandpaper voice.
No niceties, no usual small talk with the driver.
Just her husband and the dark SUV. He turned toward her, the wide bulk of his shoulders leaving her in complete shadow. He leaned into her, bracing his arms on either side of her as the driver navigated the parking lot.
It was a slow process. The only sounds were the distant honks of horns and her heartbeat hammering in her head. Deacon’s eyes glittered from the flashes of white from headlights and streetlights as they inched their way into the line of cars filling the surrounding streets.
She wasn’t sure what to do.
Did she lift her face to his?
Did she search out his mouth in the inky darkness?
Did she drag his hand between her soaked thighs?
His chest heaved as if he’d run a marathon.
She lifted a hand to his face, and her chest ached as he leaned into her touch. His cheek filled her palm and his hair twined around her fingers as he hovered over her.
His right hand smoothed over her thigh, his fingers kneading into her muscles with each inch he traveled to the edge of her skirt. “Open your legs,” he said against her mouth.
Here?
With the driver?
He tucked his fingers under her hem. “Open. He can’t see you. Just me, only me.”
She stopped trying to crane her neck to look over his shoulder. Instead, she melted against the leather seats and eased her trembling knees open.
His long fingers skimmed over the top of her thigh, nails digging into the muscle until she eased them wider.
“There’s my girl.” His thumb followed the scalloped lace of her panties. Not under them. No, he stayed outside the lace. His warmth burned through the material. “So wet, Lawless.”
She let out a shaky breath. “All night. I can’t get enough of you.”
His thumb buzzed across her slit, concentrating at the top. Even with the lace barrier, she had to swallow back the groan brewing in her chest.
“Shh.” His voice was barely a whisper. “We have company. He doesn’t need to know what my wife sounds like when she comes. That’s only for me.”
She opened her mouth to remind him they’d started their relationship on a bus full of his friends, but that didn’t seem pertinent at the moment. No, the only thing she truly cared about was that he didn’t stop those endless strokes.
He lifted his other hand to her breast, finding her nipple unerringly. He tugged lightly, then a little more forcefully as his thumb worked faster.
“I can feel you through the lace. If I put my head between your legs right now, you’d soak my tongue in cream.”
“Jesus,” she said with a shudder.
“My favorite flavor. I miss your flavor, Harper.”
Her hips rose to meet the tiny circles, but he pushed her back down onto the seat with his hand on her thigh. He pinched her nipple harder.
“I say when you get off.”
She slammed her head against the headrest. Unable to moan out her frustration, she dug her nails into his forearm.
The SUV came to a stop under a streetlight. His eyes glittered out of the darkness and his chiseled cheekbones made him look otherworldly. “You could draw blood and I still wouldn’t go any faster.”
His thumb was relentlessly systematic, his other hand just the same. Tug, flick, tug, flick. Repeat.
She was going to go insane.
When her thigh began to tremble, he slowed to a stop, his thumb pressing lightly against her clit without the friction she sought. He glanced out the window, then suddenly his fingers were gone.
She tightened her thighs around his arm before he could completely withdraw. His laugh was low and edged into evil. He smoothed his hand over her thigh up to her hip and jerked at the thong strap of her panties. The rending tear shocked her nearly as much as his thrusting fingers.
He twisted his hand and widened his fingers to drag against her inner walls. She lifted a hand to the roof of the SUV and raised her hips to get him deeper.
More.
She needed more.
He shoved at her skirt, winding one of her legs around his hip before his mouth covered hers, swallowing every cry.
Everything went blank.
Black.
Motionless as her body clamped down on him. Her legs shuddered, her teeth chattered, and his name was trapped in her throat.
He pushed her further, demanded more.
He was a shrouded black form over her, and for a moment she felt too small, too exposed, too overwhelmed.
He owned her body.
She reveled in his power for a moment. She felt it in his guttural groan, the relentless stroke of his fingers inside her.
She buried her face into his neck, biting down on the muscles there. Anything to keep the scream from scratching its way out of her throat.
She jerked at his buckle. He blocked her hands, twining his long fingers around her wrists until they were clamped together at her
other hip.
Until he could wring her dry with his other hand.
Sparkles shot across her vision.
No, that was behind her eyelids.
She couldn’t pull up from the penetrating darkness. She tried to twist her hands free, but he held her there, her body as taut as the strings on his bass.
“Harper,” he said against her throat.
Her name was the key.
She let go.
She didn’t really have a choice. The sparklers had faded to black.
When she came back to herself, the SUV had stopped and the harsh lights of the hotel poured into the backseat. Deacon murmured something she couldn’t quite make out. Was he talking to her?
Fuck, her brain was melted cheese.
What the hell had he done to her?
A door opened, then Deacon sprawled out next to her, his chest heaving as if he’d run miles.
The driver was gone.
She didn’t even have it in her to be embarrassed. She’d gotten finger-banged in the back of the damn SUV like a teenager.
Holy shit.
Her head was clear for the first time since they’d checked into the stupid hotel. She turned to face Deacon. He seemed as shell-shocked as she felt.
She twisted her fingers around his hand and instantly, he laced their fingers together, then pulled them up to his mouth to brush his lips over her knuckles.
“I have a question.”
She grinned. “At least two, maybe three.”
He barked out a laugh. “Three for sure, maybe even four orgasms there, wife. You were trying to rip my skin off.”
“Don’t look so smug.”
His teeth flashed in the stark light of the hotel entrance. “I believe I deserve to be smug.”
She swung her knee into his thigh. God, she was a hot mess. Her panties were hanging off her other leg, peeking out the hem of her dress. She tried to shimmy them back up, but they were a hopeless cause.
With a sigh, she rolled them down her leg. Before she could tuck them into Deacon’s bag, he snagged them and stuffed them into his jeans pocket. “To the victor go the spoils.”
She twisted her skirt down to cover her very naked self, then reached for the handle of the door.
“That wasn’t my question.”
“Oh.” She turned her knees toward him, her shoulder tucked into the plush leather seats. “What’s your question?”
“Are you pregnant?”
Chapter 5
“What?” Her huge blue eyes were the size of saucers.
Deacon held onto her hand tighter when she tried to slip away. “It’s okay.”
He swallowed hard. Flashbacks of their time in Texas drowned out the crashing waves of panic in his head.
Her running from him.
Harper’s fear as she tried to come to terms with an unplanned baby.
He was determined not to walk into the shitstorm of their rocky honeymoon one more time.
She twisted her fingers out of his hold, but instead of backing away, she crowded into him. To his astonishment, she straddled his lap. He groaned as her warmth soaked into his jeans. Just a few short minutes ago, he’d made her come her fucking brains out.
The scent and silky heat of her was there to remind him just how insanely she’d reacted to his touch each and every time they’d come together recently.
So very similar to how she’d been on their honeymoon. When they’d learned she was carrying Alexa.
He and Harper had an active sexual relationship, but an energetic four-year-old, two businesses on her end, and his work had made for a very full life.
One that was sometimes so exhausting they’d both crashed at night with barely a kiss between them.
Not now.
These last few days she’d been so very focused on getting in his pants. Not that he minded. He’d missed the physical side of her the last few months, but he had to know.
She cupped his face. “I’m not pregnant.”
The acute pang of disappointment was a bit more than he’d been prepared for. She must have seen it because she leaned forward and brushed his lips with hers.
“This was not the way I wanted to do this.”
He frowned up at her. “Do what?”
She sighed and sat back on his thighs. Her skirt had inched up, distracting the hell out of him. “Can we go upstairs and talk? I need to see your face.”
He nodded. He wasn’t quite sure what to say. “Of course.”
“Good.” She leaned into him, but instead of a kiss, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “So good.”
He tamped down the disappointment as he opened the door and lifted her off him. Her heel clicked onto the pavement a moment before her skirt slid into place over her strong thighs and perfect ass.
She reached back for his hand, linking their fingers tightly. He frowned after her. What the hell was this about?
He snagged his bag and shut the door. She stalked through the front of the hotel and snaked around the corner to the stairwell.
They pounded up the stairs to the third floor and down the hall to the elevator. It was always better to jump around floors before actually taking an elevator to the correct floor where their suites were. Between the paparazzi and overzealous fans, you could never be too careful.
The ride was silent, but Harper wouldn’t let his hand go. In fact, she was cutting off his circulation.
“Harper,” he said softly.
She gentled her grip. “Sorry.”
“What’s going on? Is everything okay?” He hated to ask now that he knew babies were off the table for the moment.
“We’re almost to our room.”
He reeled her in, folding his arms around her shoulders until she settled her back against his chest. “You’re so stiff. Please tell me everything’s all right.”
She nodded and hooked her hands over his stacked forearms. How many times had they stood just like this outside of Lexi’s room?
He propped his chin on the top of her head. She shivered in his arms and he simply held her tighter. They’d figure out whatever it was that was bothering her.
When the elevator dinged, they stayed wrapped together for another minute before she drew away to step onto their floor. She dragged him along, tossing a smile over her shoulder. “I swear, you look like I’m about to tell you someone died.”
His dreams for another kid? Maybe she was. “Are you?”
She dug out the suite’s passkey and pulled him inside. She immediately went for Lexi’s room. His heart thumped hard as she peeked in before gently closing the door.
She came back into the main living space and took his hand once more. “Macy and Lexi are sleeping.”
They’d learned not to go in and give Lexi a kiss goodnight when she was actually sleeping. Their little girl was a damn light sleeper. One kiss on her head and she could be awake for hours.
She headed for their bedroom, again making sure their fingers were linked. When she closed the door, he wrapped an arm around her waist, dragging her into his arms. “You’re killing me here, woman.”
“I hope not. I have plans for you, Deacon McCoy.” She licked her lips. This time not to entice. No, this time there was a little hesitation under the bravado.
“Just spit it out, you’re freaking me out here.”
She sighed. “This is coming out all wrong.”
“Just. Say. It.”
She placed her hands on his chest. “I know we’ve got a crazy life, and a crazy schedule, and it doesn’t seem like it’s ever going to get any calmer.”
“We thrive on the chaos.”
She gave a soft laugh. “We do, don’t we?”
He nodded. “And you know how Lexi’s been asking for that puppy?”
His shoulders relaxed. He pressed his forehead to hers. “Is that what this is about?”
“Actually, no.” She reached up and cupped his face. “I was thinking we should skip right to another little sister or broth
er. Kinda hoping for a brother, actually.”
His chest tightened and his breath stalled.
“I’m not sure that stare is a good shocked or I don’t know how to—”
He kissed her silent. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up until she clutched his shoulders.
When she pulled back from the kiss, her eyelashes were starred with tears. “I take it you think that’s an okay idea?”
“I didn’t ever want to pressure you into having another child, but I wanted one.”
“Yeah? For the last few months, I’ve been feeling off. I couldn’t figure out what my problem was. Baby fever is a thing, evidently. I thought I was immune.”
He twisted until the backs of his thighs brushed the mattress. He sat, pulling her on top of him until she straddled his lap. “There’s been a helluva lot of babies around us lately.”
“I know our schedule is complete shit, but…” Her huge blue eyes were swimming.
Christ, he couldn’t remember the last time his wife had cried anything but frustrated tears.
“Our schedule will never be anything but insane.”
She dabbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. “I know. And that’s why I feel guilty wanting another baby.”
“Lawless.” He pressed his forehead to hers. Only his wife would worry about him and things being easy. “Don’t you know I’d do anything for you?”
She sniffled. “I know. Another reason I couldn’t ask.”
“Only this time, we’re actually planning this together.”
“I can’t get pregnant on command, Big Guy.”
He laughed. “Of course not, but if we’re actually practicing…” He tugged her closer, until her skirt bunched up and her heat settled over his jeans. “If it happens right away, or if it takes a while, at least we know we’re working towards it together.”
One fat tear tracked down her cheek. He dashed it away with his knuckle. “There’s nothing I want more than another baby with you.”
“Really? Because we don’t have to do it right away. We can wait until Lexi’s in kindergarten.”
“Whatever you want, Harper. Now, tomorrow, next month—I don’t care. I never had a family. Not a real one anyway. This little family we’ve created is more than anything I could have imagined.”