From Ashes To Flames (A West Brothers Novel Book 1)

by A. M. Hargrove

  For some reason, I couldn’t stop kissing the corner of her mouth. “Stuffy, huh. I thought you said I was starchy.”

  “Yeah. I had all sorts of nicknames for you.”

  “Like what?”

  She ran her finger across my lips. “Dr. Grouch, Dr. Ghost, Dr. Delirious.”

  “Why Dr. Ghost?”

  “You were never home and would disappear for hours into your office.”

  “And Dr. Delirious?”

  “Because you thought you were nice to me when in actuality, you weren’t.”

  “I see. How about I show you how nice I can really be?”

  “Oh? And how are you going to do that?”

  “Like this.” Her tits were perfect and I couldn’t wait to suck on her nipples. I kissed my way down to her breasts, taking my time drawing each of her nipples into my mouth until they were stiff little peaks. She murmured her pleasure, but this was only the beginning. Working my way down her body, I got to the juncture of her smooth, creamy thighs, and spread them wide enough for my head and shoulders to fit.

  “Bend your knees.” She complied and I pushed her legs up a bit. My tongue swiped the seam of her pussy repeatedly until she huffed. When she became slick, I spread her lips using my thumbs and tunneled my tongue inside of her.

  She raised herself to her elbows and watched. “Ahh,” she moaned.

  My tongue trailed to her clit, circling it, and using a finger, I slid it inside her. She was drenched and I spread her wetness around, adding another finger inside. Locating her G-spot, I massaged it, while my tongue worked a rhythm on her nub.

  “Don’t stop. Yes, right there.” Her nails scored my shoulders, then my head, as I kept up my ministrations. She tasted divine, and I didn’t want this to end. When had I ever thought that before?

  “Oh, Grey, that’s perfect. Yeah, that.” I flicked my tongue harder and faster. “Yes, I’m coming.” Her muscles clenched down on my fingers as the contractions of her orgasm took hold. I didn’t stop my motions until her spasms ceased. She was breathless and covered in a fine sheen of perspiration.

  “You taste even better than the scent you left behind.” Wondering how she tasted had been driving me crazy. “Not to mention, you have the prettiest pink pussy.”

  A flush swept from her neck to the top of her forehead.

  “Did that embarrass you?” It surprised me my dirty talked shocked her so much.

  “A little.”

  “I’m only being honest. So, for the other part. I haven’t been with anyone but my former wife for the past twelve years. After she died, and I found out about the affair, I got tested, so I’m safe.”

  “I’m safe too. After I caught my boyfriend screwing my best friend, I also got tested. I haven’t been with anyone since then.”

  “Are you on any kind of contraception? I’m sorry this is such a sterile topic, but I thought it best we have this discussion before we go any further.”

  “I’m glad you brought it up because if you hadn’t, I would have. I’m on the pill and have been for years, so we’re good.”

  “Thank God because I can’t remember the last time I used a condom.”

  She laughed. “Oooh, you poor thing. That would’ve been terrible, huh?”

  “Not at all. I would do anything to have you.”

  I crawled up her body to kiss her smiling mouth. Next, I raised her leg near the crook of her knee and my stiff cock found her entrance. I worked my way in slowly, to make sure she was comfortable. But, also so I wouldn’t come all over the place. It had been so long, I was afraid I wouldn’t last.

  “Is this okay?”

  “It’s perfect.”

  My hips rocked against her as I watched her face. The expressions that flitted across it told me I was doing this right. Her panting increased and her fingers dug into the muscles of my ass.

  “I have to get you to come fast because I’m not going to last. It’s been way too long for me. Sit on my cock, facing away from me.”

  She straddled my hips. Her ass was gorgeous. My head swirled with so many thoughts of what I could do to that, but instead, I sat up, pulling her against my chest as I leaned on the headboard. Massaging her clit, I rocked my pelvis into her. She tried to spread her legs wider, but I said, “No. Keep them the way they are. It causes more friction.”

  Between my finger and the added pressure, within minutes, she said, “I’m coming.”

  My pace increased, and moments later, I joined her, groaning out my own climax. When my cock finally stopped pulsating, I panted, “You were worth waiting for.”

  She leaned her head back to look at me and said, “It was more than worth it.” When she tried to move, I clasped my arms around her.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “To the bathroom. To clean up.”

  “Not yet.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m not done with you. Just because I’m an old man doesn’t make me a deadbeat between the sheets.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Marin

  * * *

  Grey wasn’t joking. Not in the least. How did I ever think of him as a starchy old geezer? He made Damien look like a clumsy teenager when it came to sex. I probably came more in one night with Grey than I did in the two plus years I’d been with that loser.

  “Tell me if I’m hurting you.”

  “I will,” I panted out the words. This was what? Round three. Or was it four? How did he rebound so quickly? I was standing, bent over the bed, and he was banging me. I wasn’t even joking. Each time he plunged into me, the contact made a bam-bam-bam sound. Maybe I should call him Dr. Bang from now on.

  “Can you rub yourself?” His husky voice came from over my shoulder and it sent my blood racing through my veins. Jesus, how could that be? I wanted him to devour me, to inhale me. His hand gripped my hip, fingers almost bruising, yet I wanted more.

  My nails clawed the sheets. “I can’t. I … I’m …”

  I should’ve known he’d handle it. His finger ended up between my legs, where it pressed and rubbed in a gentle motion. Not beat it to a pulp like dumbass Damien used to do. Shit. I needed to quit comparing the two because quite frankly, there simply was no comparison. My hips were repeatedly shoved into the mattress as he grunted and normally that wouldn’t have been my thing. But this man’s sexy sounds were beyond description. They had me grinding my ass back into him.

  “Shit, Marin. Keep that up and it’ll be over before it ever started.”

  He hiked one of my legs up and oh, my effing God, his cock slammed in deep and I gasped as it nearly collapsed me.

  “How’s that?” he asked.

  “G-good.”

  “Only good?”

  “P-perfect. D-don’t s-stop.”

  He swiveled his hips and then thrust, swiveled, then thrust. Swivel thrust, swivel thrust. I was done.

  “Ahhhh,” I cried as I came. This night would be the ruination of me. If he and I didn’t work out as a couple, I would have to join a nunnery.

  Suddenly, he groaned and I felt him pulsing inside of me.

  “God, I love that,” I said.

  His cock throbbed and I clenched my inner muscles against it.

  “Fuck, Marin. You’ll get me going again. And what is it you love?”

  “The feel of you coming inside of me.”

  “That’s good because we can make that happen a lot.” He pulled out and I whimpered.

  “No,” I whined. “I like you in there.”

  “You don’t exactly look comfortable.” I wasn’t, but it was a small price to pay for what he’d just given me. “Come on. Let’s clean up,” he said.

  “Now you’re ready?” I joked.

  “It is after midnight, you know.”

  Crap. That meant only six hours of sleep unless Aaron slept later than usual.

  “Maybe Aaron will sleep in,” he said, reading my mind.

  “I was just thinking that. But you have to g
o to work.”

  “I’m going to skip my workout. I think tonight sufficed.”

  We walked into the shower and rinsed off. “This is a magnificent shower.” It was huge with dual shower heads and sprays running up and down the sides.

  “Feel free to use it any time you want. It also converts to steam.”

  “That might look a bit weird to Kinsley.”

  He shrugged and said, “Soon we’ll spend a lot more time in here getting dirty instead of clean.” His mouth found mine and we ended up making out.

  “We could get real dirty in here,” I said.

  I was careful not to get my hair wet and we finished up quickly and went back to bed. My body ached deliciously in all the right spots.

  “Are you sore?”

  “A little, but how can I not be?” I laughed.

  “I’m sorry I got carried away. I overused you.”

  “I don’t think so. I liked it … a lot. Walking may be a little difficult tomorrow, but it was worth it.”

  He pulled me against the expanse of his chest and said, “I can’t wait to see if you limp in the morning.” Then he pressed a kiss to my temple. “Goodnight sweet Marin.”

  “G’night.” I was already drifting.

  It wasn’t Aaron who woke us in the morning, it was Kinsley. We were both in a deep sleep when I heard, “Daddy, did Marnie have a nightmare?”

  Oh shit. Oh fuck. Oh noooooooo.

  “Uh, what did you say, polka dot?” Grey’s voice was heavy with sleep and oh, God, was it hot as sin.

  I was alert and wide awake, only I pretended not to be. Grey’s usually clear mind was foggy, or at least that’s how he sounded. Maybe even slightly disoriented, as though he was struggling to piece together where he was.

  “Did Marnie have a bad dream?”

  “Um, I don’t know. Why do you ask?”

  “Cuz she’s sleeping with you like I used to do if I had a bad dream.”

  Then he abruptly sat up like someone stuck him with a cattle prod.

  Double fuck.

  When he did that, he took half the covers with him, exposing my nakedness.

  “Daddy, why isn’t Marnie wearing her jammies?”

  He slammed back down onto the bed.

  “Um, why don’t you go back to bed, polka dot, and I’ll be in your room in a minute?”

  “Okay.”

  As soon as the coast was clear, I scrambled out of bed and got dressed, saying the whole time, “Holy shit. Holy shit. What are we going to do?”

  “Nothing. We’re going to do nothing.”

  I stopped and stared at him. Then I launched into a verbal stream of exasperation. “You don’t have any idea what you’re saying. I’ll be here with her all day long and she’s going to ask me a million questions. She’s not just going to drop this and move on. I know how that smart little brain of hers operates. Trust me on this, Grey. We have to come up with something plausible.”

  “You’re serious?”

  “Damn right I’m serious.”

  He thrust his hands into his already messy hair. And didn’t that just make me want to kiss him again?

  “Don’t do that,” I said, flustered.

  “Do what?”

  “That hair thing.”

  His mouth gaped and he only stared.

  “You look way too sexy like that and I don’t need sexy Grey right now. I need analytical Grey.”

  The idiot burst out laughing.

  I clutched my hands together. “What is so damn funny?”

  “You are,” he said, pulling me into his arms. “Why can’t we tell her the truth?”

  “Are you serious? And say what? That I slept with you naked and we screwed our brains out last night?”

  He cupped my face and said, “Not that, but a less pornographic version of it.”

  “Such as?”

  “We came in here and started talking. Before we knew it, we fell asleep.”

  His hands ran through my hair and were very distracting. “How do we explain my nakedness?”

  “Your shirt was dirty and you didn’t want to sleep in a dirty shirt.”

  I patted his cheek. “I’m going to let you give her that explanation. Let’s go to her room now.” I grabbed his hand and tugged him down the hall. She was sitting on her bed playing with a herd of stuffed animals when we entered.

  “Good morning little lady,” I said.

  “Marnie!” She jumped up and held out her arms.

  I kissed her cheek and hugged her.

  “I saw you sleeping in Daddy’s bed.”

  “He told me. I was tired last night.”

  “Me too.” By this time, I’d already dropped her back down next to her pile of critters.

  “Polka dot, you asked why Marin slept in my bed.”

  “Uh huh. She didn’t have a bad dream about a monster?”

  “No, baby, she didn’t. But we were talking and both got really sleepy. She just fell asleep.”

  “How come she was naked? Marnie, do you like to sleep naked? Maybe I should sleep naked too.”

  Oh brother.

  “Sweetie, she spilled something on her shirt, so after she fell asleep, I didn’t want to go get her pajamas, so I just took her shirt off. You know how I do that for you sometimes?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Well, I didn’t have any pajamas to put on Marin, so I just let her sleep like that.”

  “Oh.”

  “Marnie, did you like Daddy’s bed better than yours?”

  I was not expecting that question at all. I stuttered out my answer. “I, uh, that’s to say, his bed was, er, very big.”

  “Did you sleep a lot?”

  “Umm hmm.”

  “Good. Maybe you can sleep there more cuz it’s a big bed, isn’t it, Daddy?”

  “It sure is, polka dot. Now, are you ready for some breakfast? I have to shower and Marin has to check on Aaron first, though.”

  “Okay, I’ll play in here for a while.”

  “Good girl.”

  We left her to her animals and parted ways in the hall where I mouthed to him, that was close. He only smiled back.

  Aaron was awake in his crib, smiling and making funny noises. When he saw me, his legs kicked around the way they used to. Not quite as exuberantly, but he was on the way to being himself again.

  “Hey there, little guy. You’re feeling better, aren’t you?” I picked him up and rained dozens of kisses on his cheeks until he giggled. But his giggles turned into a cough, so I waited until he stopped. Then I nuzzled his neck and really got him chattering. “There’s my little fella. I missed you.” He grabbed my hair and yanked. “Ouch.” His fist was strong again. Thank God.

  “Come on, let’s get that diaper changed.” I placed him on his changing table and cleaned him up. Then I changed his clothes and we grabbed Kinsley from her room to go get breakfast.

  “Aaron! You’re ready to kick again.” She patted his legs as he kicked in my arms.

  “Marnie, I think he wants to run around.”

  “I think you’re right, but let’s wait until we get downstairs.” Once we got in the kitchen, I put Aaron down and he teetered around with Kinsley giving him a hand. Then I fixed our meal. Aaron gobbled his up which was a relief. When Grey came down, our plates were all cleaned up.

  “Can I fix you something?” I asked him.

  “Thanks, but I need to get a move on. I’ll grab a protein bar.” Then he shocked the hell out of me when he leaned over and kissed me.

  “Daddy kissed Marnie. Daddy kissed Marnie.”

  “That’s right, polka dot, he sure did,” Grey said, right before he kissed her, then Aaron, and walked out of the house.

  “Is Daddy your boyfriend?” Kinsley asked.

  How the hell was I supposed to answer that?

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Greydon

  * * *

  What the hell had I been thinking to have kissed her on the cheek like that? It was an impulsive decis
ion. She’d been sitting there and it just happened. I could imagine the questions Kinsley hit her with. Now that I was away from her and didn’t have sex on the brain, the ramifications of our actions sunk in. It had never been my intention to get involved with another woman, or at least until the kids were grown. But Marin broke every rule in my book. She wasn’t someone I would ever have given a second look to under any other circumstance. How should I handle this?

  I wondered how she would answer Kinsley’s questions because there would be many I was sure. My phone pinged several times, but I ignored it. I would check it when I got to my office. I was pretty sure I knew who they were from. A hearty laugh ripped out of me. When was the last time that had occurred? I couldn’t even remember. And I owed it all to Marin.

  I walked into the office and things were sparking to life. Nicole was already there, a pile of charts on my desk waiting.

  “Dr. West, here’s your schedule for today. You have three procedures at the hospital beginning at eleven.”

  “Thanks.” I reviewed everything and started work.

  My patient load was heavy since I was still catching up. My first patient was already in the exam room, and thankfully his EKG and all other studies were in there. Nicole had started doing her job as she should’ve been all along.

  By ten thirty, I was on the way to the hospital. My procedures went well, but the day was flying by. By afternoon, I hadn’t had a chance to do any charting. It looked like I would have to wait until the end of the day. I grabbed a bite to eat on my way back to the office and gobbled it down before I saw the afternoon patient load. By five thirty, I was stuck with charting a day's worth of work.

  Texting Marin, I let her know I’d be late. Don’t hold up dinner for me. It’s been a rough day.

  She answered back. It’s fine. I’ll have something waiting for you.

  I was finally able to leave at seven even though there were a few things I’d left undone. Rubbing my eyes, I was glad to be heading home.

  On the way home, I mentally ticked off the emails I’d gone through right before I left. There was one that I needed to discuss with Marin, I was fairly excited about it as long as she was in.

  The kitchen was bright and full of sunshine when I walked into the house.