Max plopped back into his chair like a scolded child.
“You gonna pout?” Marc asked him, chuckling.
“Shut up.”
“I swear…” Mary Ann grumbled, pushing her plate away before throwing her hands up into the air. “Just once… It’s all I ask for.”
Ron glared at each of his sons one by one. “Apologize to your mother.”
A deep chorus of sorry’s rounded the table.
Amanda opened her mouth and Ron raised his palm to stop her. “Uh, uh, uh. Next one who says one word does all of the dishes. And I mean all of the dishes.”
For the rest of the meal not one peep could be heard.
Though dinner had been a bit crazy, Carly couldn’t help but enjoy sitting around afterward surrounded by the family. However, all three of the boys quickly disappeared after dinner, Marc and Matt claiming they had to help Max with some unspecified repair in Amanda’s dog biscuit bakery.
On their way out the door, Max had told his father to “watch the women.” She wasn’t sure what he meant by that since all of them were independent and none of them needed “watching.”
She’d have to ask Matt about that later when they were alone.
But Ron, who Carly now loved like a second father since she greatly missed her own, agreed to the job and boomed out, “No problem, they’ll be like my own little harem.”
The guys had then filed out, groaning and shaking their heads.
The last thing they heard was Marc claiming, “I want to be just like Pop when I grow up.”
Now, Carly sat in an old rocking chair in the living room with Hannah in her arms. She gently pushed the chair back and forth with her foot. The baby was awake, but blessedly quiet, staring up into Carly’s face. Hannah probably wondered who was the stranger cradling her.
“I was there at your first moment on this earth,” she cooed to the baby.
Hannah’s lips pursed and then curved into a smile. She smiled back, though it was most likely just gas. Carly couldn’t wait to hold a child of her own, even if she wasn’t the birth mother.
“I never get tired looking at that angel’s face,” Mary Ann said softly from the couch, where she crocheted what appeared to be a baby’s blanket.
Ron snored softly from his recliner after claiming earlier that watching his harem was hard work. Amanda napped on the couch next to Mary Ann, while Leah and Teddy huddled in the kitchen discussing her wedding plans. Greg sat on the floor, quietly petting Chaos as the dog lounged over his lap, his tail thumping in a slow rhythm against the floor.
Carly felt lucky to have found this family. Or them find her. Whatever way it happened, they made her feel a part of them.
She heard a ruckus from the direction of the kitchen and heard the brothers’ deep voices as they entered the house in the middle of busting on each other. Carly glanced at her watch. They had been gone over two hours.
That must have been one hell of a repair they had to make.
Matt burst through the entrance to the living room first and came to an abrupt halt when he spotted Carly. Marc slammed into him and cursed. “Watch out, asshole.” He shoved his younger brother out of the way and pushed past him into the room.
Carly met Matt’s eyes and smiled. He seemed more relaxed in the past couple days since coming home from his self-imposed in-patient treatment. He had actually slept the last two nights in her bed with arms wrapped around her tight. Not that she didn’t like a little cuddling, but he seemed to need to hold onto her in his sleep. Otherwise, he ended up flopping around restlessly. And then Carly couldn’t sleep at all.
She gave him a questioning glance when he remained frozen in the doorway of the room. Was he freaking out because of the baby?
Then he approached, a wary, but determined, look in his eyes. He stopped in front of her and regarded the baby in her arms. “You’re a natural,” he said softly.
“You want to hold her?”
He hesitated, then roughly cleared his throat. “Not today.”
Well, “not today” sounded better than “No. Never.” Carly took it as a good sign. A promising one that he was at least making an effort.
“Maybe tomorrow,” she suggested.
“Yeah. Maybe.”
“If not tomorrow, then possibly the next day,” she said gently.
“Yes. Possibly.”
“Are you ready to go home?” she asked.
“If you can tear yourself away from Hannah.”
Carly glanced down at his niece. “Sure.”
“I have a surprise for you.”
“Oh?”
She quickly handed the baby off to her grandmother, gathered her things, and after saying their goodbyes they headed out. It was hard to miss the sly looks his brothers gave Matt as they walked out the door.
Something was going on and her mind raced, wondering what it was.
He hardly said a word on their way home, but when he wasn’t shifting the SUV, he laid his hand on her thigh, occasionally squeezing it. She wasn’t certain if he attempted to reassure himself or her.
Now, not only her mind raced, her heart did as well.
“Give me a couple minutes, then come find me in the house.”
“Matt, what’s going on?”
He leaned over, gave her a quick kiss, then climbed out of the Toyota. “Just do what I ask, please,” he said before shutting the truck door.
She sat frozen in the passenger seat, watching him enter the house. Even though it was after dark, he didn’t turn on one light.
Her chest tightened as she counted the minutes. Was this a new sex game? Was he going to surprise her with some new sex toy? They had discussed adding new—
Fuck it.
She shoved the truck door open, and rushed into the house, slowing down only long enough to let her eyes adjust to the dim interior.
“Matt?” she called.
“Come find me,” he answered. She tilted her head, listening for any other sounds, trying to figure what direction his voice had come from.
“Marco?”
“Polo,” came his answering call.
She giggled at how ridiculous it all sounded as she ran up the stairs. Bursting into the master bedroom, she felt disappointed to find it empty. She tore across the hall, the bathroom was empty too.
He wasn’t in Greg’s old room either.
She jogged back down the steps and through the kitchen to find the sunroom just as empty as the rest of the house.
What the hell. He must be in his damn tent.
She rushed out of the back door, almost stumbling down the three short steps to the yard. When she caught her balance and looked up, she gasped.
The yard was empty. The tent gone. From what she could see in the moonlight, nothing remained but a large patch of brown grass.
“I’ll need your help,” came his gruff voice from behind her.
She swung around as he approached her, his face solemn. “Of course. We’re in this together,” she assured him.
He nodded and held out his hand. “I hoped you’d say that.”
She took it and he pulled her close. “What’s this about?”
“I’m moving into the house with you.”
It was her turn to nod. “Okay,” she said slowly. “Am I missing something?”
“Just my love and the desire to spend the rest of my life with you. You’re a part of me, Carly. And I can’t live without you.”
She pressed her lips together in a fruitless attempt to not cry. “I don’t know if I can live without you either, Matt, but…” She trailed off, her heart unable to decide whether to soar or to break.
He lifted her hands to his mouth and brushed her knuckles softly with his lips. “But you don’t know if you can spend the rest of your life with someone who doesn’t want children,” he finished for her.
She nodded, afraid to speak.
He regarded her for a moment, then two. “I know,” he said finally.
She looked up in surprise and searched his
face. Did he mean…
“I can’t promise you I’ll ever be ready and I don’t want to break a promise to you ever. However, I will do my best to be who you need. And when I’m with you, I seem to be getting better every day.”
“It’s not just me.”
“Yes, I realize there are other factors. Although, it’s because of you I’m working so hard at it. You are the reason I’m so determined to get my life back. I want to be with you and I do promise to never disappear again. I will never leave you no matter how hard it gets.”
“But Matt—”
He lifted a hand. “I love you, Carly. I’ve loved you since the minute I saw that fucking bump on your head at your crash. I just didn’t know it then, though I know it now. It was never just sex between us, no matter how hard we tried to convince ourselves of that.”
“You mean how hard you tried to convince yourself of that.”
He lifted a shoulder and let it drop. “I’m an asshole. I’ll admit it.”
“But you’re my asshole,” she told him with a grin. “And believe it or not, I think you’ll make a great father.”
“I have a great role model.”
“You do,” Carly answered, thinking of Ron. “I’m not in a rush, Matt. We’ll take all the time you need.”
Nodding, he pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her lightly on the forehead. “I don’t want to make you wait too long.”
His embrace made her feel so secure. “You won’t. I know you won’t.” Wrapping her arms around his waist, she squeezed. She couldn’t believe this was happening.
“I’m glad you have that confidence in me.”
“I do. I know you.” Laying her cheek against his chest, she listened to his heart thump strongly. “I love you.”
“I love you too. But I have another surprise.”
She lifted her head as he reached into his back pocket. He handed her some rectangular booklets, even though it was too dark to see what they were. “What is it?”
“Two tickets to Antigua. I can’t wait to see those long legs of yours in an itty-bitty turquoise bikini.”
“You already see me naked,” she said surprised.
“Not enough,” he said, his voice gruff.
“Well, we can remedy that right now.”
“Yes, we can.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the house, slamming the door behind them. He paused and turned back to dead-bolt the door.
She didn’t blame him; you never know when there could be stray Brysons wandering around.
If you enjoyed this book
Thank you for reading Brothers in Blue: Matt (Brothers in Blue, book 3). If you enjoyed Matt and Carly’s story, please consider leaving a review on Amazon here and/or Goodreads here to let other readers know. Reviews are always appreciated and just a few words can help an independent author like me tremendously!
Also by Jeanne St. James
Made Maleen: An Erotic Twist on a Fairy Tale
Damaged (Coming Soon)
Brothers in Blue Series:
(Can be read as stand-alones)
Brothers in Blue: Max
Brothers in Blue: Marc
Brothers in Blue: Matt
Teddy: A Brothers in Blue Novella (Coming Soon)
The Dare Ménage Series:
(Can be read as stand-alones)
Double Dare
Daring Proposal
Dare to Be Three
A Daring Desire (Coming Soon)
The Obsessed Novellas:
(All the novellas in this series are stand-alones)
Forever Him
Only Him
The Rip Cord Trilogy:
Rip Cord: The Reunion
Rip Cord: The Weekend
Rip Cord: The Ever After
You can find information on all of Jeanne’s books here:
http://www.jeannestjames.com/
About the Author
JEANNE ST. JAMES is an erotic romance author who loves an Alpha male (or two). She was only thirteen when she started writing since it gave her an escape from teenage angst! Her first paid published piece was an erotic story in Playgirl magazine. Her first erotic romance novel, Banged Up, was published in 2009. She is happily owned by farting French bulldogs. She writes M/F, M/M, and M/M/F ménages.
To keep up with her new releases, check out her website at www.jeannestjames.com or sign up for her newsletter: http://www.jeannestjames.com/newslettersignup
Author Links:
Blog: http://jeannestjames.blogspot.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeannestjames/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/jeannestjames
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/JeanneStJames
Review & Book Crew: https://www.facebook.com/groups/JeannesReviewCrew/
@JeanneStJames
JeanneStJamesAuthor
www.jeannestjames.com
[email protected]
Made Maleen Sneak Peek
Turn the page to read chapter one of my novella Made Maleen: An Erotic Twist on a Fairy Tale
About Made Maleen
“Just let me love you…”
When Maleen King’s father catches her naked in the hay loft with her high school sweetheart, he sends the eighteen-year-old away to receive a college education and rise above the humble beginnings of an Idaho dairy farm. Now fourteen years later, Mal comes home to run the farm after the death of her father. The stress of a disastrous marriage and being a NYC stock broker made her long to return to a simple life.
Braydon Daniels, devastated when Mal’s father sent her thousands of miles away, has thought about her every day since. Now, over a decade later, he finds himself alone, divorced, and beaten down by the trauma of his broken marriage. When Mal comes back to town for her father’s funeral, he realizes the feelings he once had for her are just as strong. There’s one little snag, though. His ex-wife is the woman Mal has hated her whole life. And they have a child together.
Despite the struggle to recover from their past relationships, the undeniable attraction between them still exists. Can they rekindle the passion they once had?
Made Maleen - Chapter One
Once Upon a Time… Fourteen Years Earlier
Something poked her ass, and it was not the good sort of poke. Maleen King squirmed in an attempt to find a more comfortable spot in the hay. Hay wasn’t very soft when buck naked. Okay, she wasn’t technically naked. She still wore her sash.
Dairy Maid. Blech.
She was sick of losing to Kaitlyn. For the last three years, the wicked witch of the mid-west had won Dairy Princess. And the bitch never hesitated to throw it in Mal’s face.
Whatever.
No matter what, this maid was getting what she wanted…
The handsome Dairy Prince.
Where the hell was her prince anyway? Late. Like normal.
She blew out a breath and glanced at her cow watch. The one she received as the second runner-up last year to the bovine bitch...err, Dairy Princess.
It’s not like she wanted to wear that stupid tiara anyway.
Nope, it was the principle.
A muffled curse came from down below as someone stumbled at the bottom of the ladder.
She smiled. Kaitlin could keep the rhinestone tiara, the real prize belonged to Mal…
Braydon’s head popped up from the hole in the hayloft’s floor, his shaggy hair mussed up. He gave her a pained smile. “I stubbed my fucking toe.”
“Where are your shoes?”
“With the rest of my clothes.”
“You better have your sash on,” she warned him.
He barked out a laugh, his dark brown hair falling across this forehead. As he finished climbing the wooden ladder into the loft, his body slowly revealed itself. Oh, he certainly had his sash on. And nothing else.
Braydon Daniels, no doubt a farm boy through and through, appeared toned, muscular, and tanned from working hard outside throwing hay bales, fixing
fences, chasing errant heifers, and whatever else physical work his parents needed.
The Daniels drove their sons hard. Said it gave them good work ethics and morals. Whatever. All she knew it sure gave Bray great muscles and calloused hands.
But rough fingers and palms weren’t going to deter her from getting what she wanted. And apparently, what the Dairy Prince wanted also, by look of his erection standing at attention.
With his hands on his narrow hips, Bray looked down at her, studying every inch he could see. Which was just about everything. Not that he hadn’t seen it all before. In fact, too many times to count. He ended up being her first, and she planned on making him her last. One day she would be Mrs. Braydon Daniels.
Yep. One day soon, if she had anything to say about it.
She patted the hay next to her. “Get down here, Cow-Boy.”
“Damn, girl! Why didn’t you throw a blanket down or something? It’s going to be obvious we were rolling around in the hay.”
“Who else is going to see you naked besides me?” she asked, her eyes narrowed in warning.
He’d better be very careful with the answer.
“No one.”
“Correct answer.”
“But you know that shit cuts you up and makes you itchy,” he complained.
Mal sighed. “Look, we gonna do this? Last thing I need is my pop finding us up here caterwauling like a herd of barn cats in heat.”
A smile lit up his hazel eyes—one of her favorite features on him. She patted the hay again, and he practically belly flopped on top of her. All her breath escaped in an, “Oomph.” But she giggled when he wiggled between her legs.
“Ah, right where I belong,” he whispered, gazing into her eyes.
“That’s right, Cow-Boy… I mean Sir Dairy Prince. Why don’t you dazzle me? I want you something fierce.” Boy, did she ever. His hard cock, thick and ready, pressed against her thigh.
Brothers in Blue: Matt Page 16