by Harley Stone
“Yes, of course. I couldn’t be happier, dear.”
I reached for her hand, squeezing it. “Family’s important. I get it.”
“Of course, you do.” She squeezed my hand back. “He’s lucky to have found you, Carly. We all are.”
My heart swelled. “Thank you, but I’m the lucky one.”
“Mom, Grandma, your burgers are ready!” Trent shouted through the screen, breaking up our moment.
Elaine snickered. “We better get out there before those boys try to bring our plates to us.”
Yep. That would be a mess.
The entire family ate in the backyard on four long wooden picnic tables with attached benches. We barely fit, and Stephen said something about ordering another one before Thanksgiving. Everyone chatted amicably, and the kids rushed through their meal, so they could hit the swimming pool.
“Doesn’t swimming after they eat cause cramps?” I asked.
“That’s not really a thing,” Noni, Garret’s wife, told me. She was eight months pregnant with their third child and looked miserable, fanning herself in the heat. “Swimming does wear them out, though, and we need that.”
“Amen,” Lacy, Tom’s wife, said, holding up her wine glass. “Ever since Stella started walking, I live for naptime. Noni, did I tell you she ate my fern?”
“Really?” Noni asked.
“Yep. It’s missing several branches. I called poison control.” To me, she added, “I have them on speed dial. Not even kidding. They said she should be fine, but to watch her. She had a stomach ache that night, but that was it. I swear, that kid puts everything in her mouth. You’d think I never fed her.”
“Dylan shoved a Lego up his nose when he was two,” Karin, Duane’s wife, said. “I have no idea what makes a kid look at a Lego and think it should be shoved up their nose. I thought we were going to have to take him to the emergency room, but Duane grabbed a pair of tweezers and got it out. The next week he shoved a gummy bear up there.”
Everyone roared with laughter as more horror stories were shared about the kids. Much to my dismay, Wasp piped in and told everyone about Penis Parker. Much like their parents, all his siblings loved that story and broke into equally embarrassing tales of Wasp’s younger days. I’d never fit in better with a group of people in my life.
Everything was perfect.
We swam with the kids, and then put Trent down for a nap. Getting rid of my swimsuit, I pulled on a cute little stars and stripes sundress, perfect for the occasion, and met Wasp outside. His eyes drank me in, the way they always did, making my stomach do a little flip.
“You look nice. I hate that I wasn’t in there to help you change,” he grumbled.
Since his parents were Catholic, and we weren’t married, they’d put us up in different rooms, something he’d been lamenting about ever since. In full vacation mode, he was still wearing his swim trunks and slides, his long hair wavy from the pool.
“You look tasty,” I said, licking my lips.
It had been two days without sex, and I was kind of going out of my mind. Judging by the heated, frustrated look Wasp gave me, he was, too. He grabbed my hand and tugged me away from the group.
“Where are we going?” I asked once we were alone.
“To Gramps’s house. I want to show you some things.”
His grandfather’s estate was one of the reasons we’d come back. We’d rented a truck because Wasp was planning on hitching a trailer to it and pulling back the motorcycle that was currently residing in his grandfather’s shop. But Wasp hadn’t been inside the house or the shop since his grandfather had died, and this was the first time since we’d arrived that he’d even mentioned it. Knowing this might be hard on him because of the close relationship he’d had with the man he lovingly called ‘Gramps,’ I followed him next door.
Wasp unlocked the door and let us in. It was a cute little cottage, decorated exactly as you would expect the home of an older couple to be decorated, floral couches, comfy-looking recliner in front of the television, god-awful wallpaper. The place smelled a little musty and unused, but not bad.
“I expected dust and cobwebs,” I said.
“Mom comes over sometimes and cleans,” Wasp explained. “She wants me to move home and live here.”
“Is that what you want?” I asked.
He shrugged. “It wouldn’t be so bad living close to family. Trent would have cousins to play with, and you’d have my sisters-in-law to talk about kids with.”
He hadn’t answered the question. “But what about you?”
“I could probably find an auto shop around here that’s hiring. I could tinker in Gramps’s shop. It wouldn’t be a bad life.”
“But it wouldn’t be a great one, either.”
He stared at me. “Don’t you like being around my family?”
“So much, yes!” I replied. “They are fantastic. They’re everything I ever wanted in a family. But they’re not your life, Drew. What you’re doing in Seattle… that’s important. You’re passionate about it, and it makes you feel fulfilled. People talk at the bar, and I hear the stories of how you guys have helped them. How they had nothing before they patched in. You’re doing something great, and although I’m amazed and honored that you would give that up for me and Trent, I would never want you to. I love you, because that guy who puts his friend into a treatment center and checks on him every day… that’s who you are. I wouldn’t take that away from you.”
His brow furrowed. “But all my family’s here. Don’t you want to be close to them?”
“Yes. On holidays. They’re great and everything, but honestly, they’re a little overwhelming. I mean, there’s like a hundred of them.”
He barked out a laugh. “I love you so much.” He pulled me against him and his lips landed on mine. He kissed me breathless before pulling away and taking my hand once again. “Come on, let’s go out back.”
He led me through the house to the backyard, where I was surprised to find birdbaths full of the same little gray and white birds Trent and Nolan had been chasing around.
“They’re mourning doves,” Wasp said, pulling me to a halt beside him. “They were my grandma’s favorite. She died when I was pretty young, so I don’t remember much about her, but Gramps used to call her his dove.” He paused for a second, letting that sink in. “I asked him why one time, and he said doves are resilient. He showed me one with gnarly feet, toes all missing from frostbite and shit. He said everyone associates them with death and loss, but they’re fighters. They represent hope and peace. My grandma fought cancer through most of her adult life, but she never complained, she laughed all the damn time, and when she died, she was at peace. He said she was his resilient little mourning dove. Just like you’re mine.”
Touched, I felt tears flood my eyes, but I was powerless to stop them. It was such a beautiful story. Every time I thought Wasp couldn’t make me feel more important, he somehow managed to prove me wrong. I loved him so much it hurt.
“That’s not supposed to make you cry,” he said, capturing my face in his hands so he could swipe at my tears with his thumbs. “It’s a sweet, wonderful, true story that’s supposed to help me get laid.”
It was such a Wasp thing to say, that laughter bubbled up out of my chest.
“What?” he asked, sounding offended. “That’s totally a fuck-worthy story. You should let me do butt stuff after that.”
“Ohmigod. It was sweet and wonderful, but you’re ruining it!”
“Oh really?” He gave me a giant grin. “I love the sound of your laughter. Almost as much as I love the sounds you make when you’re coming.”
Heat pooled between my legs at the scalding look he gave me. A knowing smile stretched across his face as he grabbed me around the waist and threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
“What are you doing?” I asked, laughing and trying to wiggle free.
He smacked me on the ass. “Hold still. I’m taking you somewhere I can cash in on my sw
“Where are we? What are you doing?” I asked, trying to smack his hands away.
“We are in Gramps’s shop, and I’m getting rid of this offensive piece of cloth, so I can ravage you properly.” He tugged my panties down and stuck them in his pocket. “Now… where were we? Oh, right. You were just about to let me squeeze into that sweet, tight pussy.”
“We can’t have sex in your grandpa’s shop,” I objected.
“Technically it’s my shop, so yes, we can.”
He pulled down his swim trunks, baring his deliciously large and hard cock. My body missed it. Just seeing it again was making me all hot and tingly.
“What if someone finds us.”
“You worry too much, dove.”
The pet name resonated within me, making his story even more powerful. I was his resilient little mourning dove. My breath hitched at the thought and he stilled. Our gazes locked, and I saw all his real emotion, all the stuff he buried behind humor, peeking out at me. He was so beautiful, so perfect. I wanted nothing more than to stare into his eyes forever.
“Marry me?” he asked.
Certain I must have misheard him, I asked, “What?”
“Marry me,” he repeated. “Please.” He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out my panties. “Shit. Wrong one.” He tried the other and removed a small box. “I know it’s soon, and we don’t have to get married right away, but I want my ring on your finger. You and Trent are already living with me, and it’s working. It’s amazing. I want to know that you’re as committed to this as I am and that we’re in it for the long haul. Marry me?”
He snapped open the box and held it between us. The ring was beautiful. Old fashioned, a pearl ringed in diamonds.
“It was my grandmother’s. Gramps left it to me. I can’t think of a better way to honor them than to slip it on your finger.”
Hot tears slid down my cheeks as I thought about how crazy he was to ask me. How crazy I was to consider telling him yes.
“Don’t leave me hangin’, sweetheart.”
“You’re really proposing with your dick out?” I asked.
“I’m hoping it sweetens the deal.”
I had to marry him because there was no way I could live without this man in my life. He was my passion, my laughter. Swallowing past all my fears and uncertainties and letting that truth resonate within me, I nodded. “Yes.”
“Fuckin’ thank God,” he said on a breath.
I laughed.
“Oh, you think that’s funny, do you?” He took the ring out of the box and slid it onto my finger.
“Yes, yes I do.”
Capturing my mouth with his, he bunched my skirt around my thighs, grabbed my ass, and pulled me to him, until I was teetering on the edge of the table. His hard, blunt head circled my entrance, drawing heat and moisture to my core as he deepened the kiss. My nipples pebbled against the silk of my bra. One of his hands snaked up to pinch and play with my breasts while his kiss stole away the last of my inhibitions.
Who cared if we were about to have sex in his shop? I loved him so much, I would spread my legs for him anywhere.
Pushing my thighs apart, he drove into me. I moaned at the sudden pressure against the walls of my pussy.
“God, Drew,” I breathed. How had we gone two days without this?
He pulled out before plunging in deeper, filling me up. I leaned back, supporting myself on my hands to give him better access. He drove in deeper still.
“Your pussy feels like home,” he said, settling in to a nice, solid pace. “I just can’t get enough of it. And seeing you with my family… I’m gonna fuckin’ marry you.”
“You better. No take backs.”
He chuckled, dropping his roaming hands to my ass so he could hold me where he wanted.
“And we’re not moving to Minnesota.”
“That was just a test. I wouldn’t have asked you to marry me if you would have been willing to move.”
“What?” I asked.
Chuckling, he nibbled on my neck and picked up the pace, making it impossible for either of us to speak. Guttural, primal sounds filled the shop as he pounded me harder and faster until we were both crying out with release.
Wasp held me against him, both of us panting as we came down. He kissed my forehead, my nose, my cheeks, and finally my lips. “Thank you,” he whispered.
“For what?” I asked, gazing up at him.
“For accepting me as I am. For not trying to change me. Not wanting to move to Minnesota and tie me down.”
“I love you,” I whispered against his neck. “And I never said I’d be opposed to tying you down. That sounds hot.”
He chuckled, giving me a little squeeze. “I love you too, dove, and I’m game anytime you are. Hell, I was a Boy Scout, remember? I’ll even teach you some knots.”
Determined to take him up on his offer, I made him let me down so I could go find some rope.
Coming in October!
Back cover blurb:
One last time.
That’s the promise Naomi Lincoln and Houston “Eagle” Archer break every time the whiskey flows and their clothes are ripped off in a carnal, passionate ravaging that neither can resist. Since Naomi’s protective older brother is the president of Eagle’s motorcycle club, the two have kept their no-strings-attached rendezvous secret while Naomi focuses on her hard-earned military career.
Until a positive pregnancy test changes everything.
Now Naomi and Eagle will have to face Link’s wrath and see if their unrelenting attraction holds a possibility for more than mind-blowing sex.
Thank you so much for reading Trapping Wasp. I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey. Please take a moment to write a review. They only require twenty words and help me tremendously. I appreciate your support!
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Also from Harley Stone:
Link’d Up: #1 in the Dead Presidents MC
Wreaking Havoc: #2 in the Dead Presidents MC
Landing Eagle: #4 in the Dead Presidents MC (coming soon)
Dom’s Ascension: Mariani Crime Family Book 1
Making Angel: Mariani Crime Family Book 2
Breaking Bones: Mariani Crime Family Book 3
Dial A for Addison: S.A.F.E. Detective Agency #1
Throw Dylan from the Train: S.A.F.E. Detective Agency #2
Harley Stone is a lover of animals, books, dark chocolate, and red wine. She's always up for a good adventure (real or fictional), and when she's not building imaginary worlds, she's dipping her toes into reality in southwest Washington with her husband and their boys.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book would have never become a reality without the help and support of so many people. Special thanks to my husband, Meltarrus, our boys, and all my friends and family for letting me off the hook when I daydreamed storyline and dialog during our conversations.
Thank you, Piper Davenport, my amazingly talented and beautiful bestie, who convinced me to leap outside my comfort zone and write this series. Thanks for always believing in me!
I’m greatly indebted to the talented Jackson Jackson for creating my cover.
Huge thanks to the incredible Gail Goldie, who once again saw my work first and saved the rest of the world from having to wade through my mistakes. Thank you, beta and ARC readers for your edits, support, and love.
And, thank you, reader, for embarking on this journey with me!
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