by Lisa N. Paul
“So, it’s getting late, and it is a work night.” She peered at Decker over the rim of her water glass. His eyes shifted to the clock on the wall, and she knew the very second he understood where her thoughts had gone.
“You’re right, babe. It’s almost ten o’clock. We should definitely get you home.” His voice dropped to barely above a whisper, only loud enough for her to hear. “Don’t forget, I made you a promise earlier tonight, and I intend to collect.”
“What are we waiting for?”
They quickly went around and said their goodnights to the crowd. April got squeals and thumbs-up from her friends while Decker and Max exchanged contact information. Before too long, they were back in the car and headed toward April’s house.
The conversation flowed easily during the drive as they recapped the evening, marveling over the bar, discussing the relationships April had with both Janie and Rori, and the compliment Decker felt when Max approached him about building a house for him and Janie. Then the moment his Range Rover pulled into April’s driveway and Decker switched off the headlights, leaving nothing more than the glow of her porch lanterns and the moonlight to illuminate their bodies, it was like a spell had been cast, changing the mood from energetic to erotic in an instant.
Clicks… swoosh… Decker’s seatbelt released from its hold, breaking the silence in the cabin. “Do you have any idea how badly I want you?”
Was he kidding? Her body was vibrating with need for this man.
“Fuck, April,” he groaned as he turned his whole frame to face her. “I’m going crazy with it.” He slid his seat all the way back, placing space between him and the steering wheel. “Unfasten your seatbelt, baby, and come closer to me,” he ordered, patting his lap.
Her fingers fumbled with nervous excitement as she followed his command. All she could think of was getting his tongue back in her mouth and his hands on her skin.
“Did you give much thought to your outfit, April?” He didn’t wait for her answer as he ran his hands up her bare thighs, pushing the fabric of her short skirt up around her waist. “Did you put this on knowing that I’d spend the entire evening imagining you riding me in the front seat of my car?”
“Maybe.” She let out a shuttered breath as he grinded his pelvis into her wet, lace-covered core. Okay, no, she hadn’t known he would spend his night fantasizing, but a woman could hope…right? He wrapped her long hair around his fist, gently tugging her head to the left as he dropped kisses from her earlobe down to the sweet spot where her neck and shoulder met. “Ahh, Deck, that feels… ahhh.”
What he did to her body with small touches and spoken words completely astounded her, but there she was astride him, his denim-clad hardness pressed against her, and she was lost. With shameless abandon, she rocked against him, searching for release to the prison she’d been locked in for way too long. And while she saw an exit, there was no way she could reach it on her own. As if reading her mind, Decker released her hair and dragged his hand to her chest, sliding it into the V-neck of her sweater and palming her breast. His rough skin sent tingles rampant through her body as wetness seeped from her core.
“Mmm, I can smell your arousal, April.” Decker groaned as his fingers breached the barrier of her panties, inching them aside. “Fuck, babe, you’re drenched for me. Is this how you are during our phone calls?”
She could barely think, let alone formulate cohesive sentences, but when he stopped moving his fingers, she knew he awaited a reply. “No, Decker, no. I’ve never felt like this in my life. Please…”
“Please what, beautiful? Tell me what you want, and I’ll give it to you.”
* * *
HE WANTED HER in a way he’d never wanted any woman before, with a hunger that one night would never satisfy. While he knew that the encounter would only lead to her sexual release, he couldn’t wait to see the satisfied look in her eyes and know that he was the man to put it there. “Tell me, baby.”
“I need more than just your voice. I want your touch.” She grinded into his throbbing erection. “Your taste.” She licked his lips. “I want you. Please.”
The pressure of her sliding back and forth on his already stimulated cock nearly unmanned him before he could honor her request. Her brilliant green eyes focusing on him, begging him to bring her pleasure, brought him back from the edge just in time to help her over it.
Soft mewls and husky whimpers ripped from her throat as her body quaked beautifully over him, and she called out his name in release. It was magnificent. She was stunning, and he was a goner.
When her breathing leveled out, April lifted her head from his chest. “I know I should probably be embarrassed,” she said timidly. “I mean, I haven’t made out in a car since high school, and Deck—it was nothing like that.”
Car groping is for teenagers and trash, Decker. Not for the upper class like us. His ex-wife’s voice echoed in his head as his gut lurched. Christ, what the hell was he thinking mauling April in his car like an animal? “April, look, I’m—”
“I should be embarrassed, but I’m not.” She pulled back the best she could in the limited space and looked him in the eyes. “That was incredible.” She sighed. “I’ve never felt so… naughty and still so cherished at the same time.”
What? Decker swallowed, trying to reconcile April’s statement with what was going on in his mind. The smile that stretched over his face was unavoidable. The woman constantly blew him away. What she didn’t understand was it was being with her that made the experience more than a casual hookup. She felt cherished because she was indeed cherished. He wanted her in his life, and he needed to stop comparing her to Olivia.
Chapter Fourteen
Hyundai and Ford
DAYS LAPSED INTO weeks as Decker and April, along with their children, formed a bit of a routine. Not only did they have pancakes on Tuesday evenings, but they spent a few hours together either on Saturdays or Sundays, depending on birthday party schedules and other obligations.
Decker treasured their time together, loving how his daughter and April seemed to connect in a most natural way. He also found himself turning to mush every time Elijah wrapped his little arms around him in a tight embrace. He knew there were still pieces of April that were locked behind the battered wall, hiding from the hurt she feared would one day return. Decker knew in his heart that he would never betray her, but it was April who needed to believe it, not him. So Decker held back on declaring words of love, but he no longer abstained from showing the affections. It was clear that both Eli and Charlie knew their parents were dating, and they didn’t seem bothered by the fondness that was forming between them. In fact, often the children piled in for group hugs and sweet gestures.
“I love when the sun is out and we can spend time at the park.” April pushed her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose. “Let’s set up over there under the tree. That way the kids can have some shade when they get tired.” Sliding the shades back in place, she grabbed the picnic blanket and the Thermos, leaving the cooler to Decker’s capable hands.
“Come sit with me, beautiful. The kids are fine. We can see them from here,” Decker said, relaxing on the soft blanket. “Besides, I’d like to taste what kind of fruit you brought me today.” When April sauntered over, kneeled next to him, and placed her soft lips on his, his heart began to thunder in his chest. “Mmm, strawberries. I love strawberries,” he growled, leaning in for another kiss.
“Umm, you kids do know that this is a public park. Jeeze, there are impressionable young minds running around.” Ford chuckled his hello before reaching into the cooler for a soda.
* * *
“NICE TO FINALLY meet you, Ford.” April was grateful for her large sunglasses. Hopefully they hid most of the embarrassment that no doubt showed on her face. She’d spoken to Decker’s younger brother on the phone before, when he intercepted a call. The man seemed funny and sweet, and seeing him in the flesh, she knew that good looks ran in the family. While he didn’t exactly ligh
t the fire inside her the way Decker did, she could see how other women would get in line to gain his attention, just as Decker described.
“Rein it in, little brother,” Decker teased as he stood to give his sibling a side-hug-back-slap.
April could see the easy camaraderie between the two men and loved that Decker seemed to have a close family unit, just as she did with her siblings.
“So this is April Maddox,” Decker introduced.
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” Ford stretched his arm out to shake her hand and pulled her up to a standing position, wrapping her in a hug instead.
Charming characters, these Brand men are.
“I’ve heard a lot of great things about you, but the most memorable fact is that you and your siblings are all named after calendar months.”
April saw, out of the corner of her eyes, that Decker glared at his brother.
“What?” Ford questioned animatedly. “Come on, that’s awesome!”
Decker stepped beside her and wrapped his muscled arm around her torso. “Babe, it really is unusual.” He pressed a kiss into the top of her head. “I happen to love it.”
“Yeah, it’s great,” she grunted sarcastically. “Can you imagine if your parents were into theme-naming their kids?” She looked from Decker to Ford. “You could have been Decker and Painter or, better yet, Hyundai and Ford.” Both pairs of brown eyes widened at her statement. “Not so awesome now, is it?”
She felt Decker’s body pulse with controlled amusement, but there was not an ounce of control in Ford’s uninhibited cackling. Turned out his charm was in fact contagious, because the three of them were howling like lunatics and gasping for breath by the time Eli and Charlie joined them for lunch. Once the meal was over, the kids hopped on the swings while April, Decker, and Ford chatted and joked for a bit longer.
“I like her,” Ford declared as he crumbled up his lunch trash and wiped the grass from his jeans. His gaze met hers when he added, “Keep her around, big brother. We both know that gorgeous, smart, and funny is a rare find.”
“Trust me, I know”—Decker laced his fingers through April’s—“and I plan to keep her by my side.”
Decker’s words sent shivers down April’s spine and curled her toes. The man was a shot of whisky—potent and warming to the insides—that left her tingling in all the right places. She squeezed his hand, hoping he understood that by his side was exactly where she wanted to be.
Once Ford had left the park and the picnic was packed up, April and Decker quickly collected the children and strolled to their cars. It was Saturday night, and they were finally going out on a date, just the two of them.
“I’ll see you tonight, big guy.” Excitement oozed from each of her pores as she stood outside of her idling Acura with Eli strapped into the air-conditioned car, listening to music.
Flames licked Decker’s chocolate-brown eyes. “I can’t fucking wait to have you all to myself, April. I need to feel you come apart in my hands.”
Seeing his big body tremble made her insides turn to mush. “I’d like to finally get my hands on you.” Her brows bobbed suggestively. “Or better yet, my mouth.”
“Fuuuck.”
Quickly calculating the best plan for the evening, April suggested they once again meet at the restaurant. “We both have babysitters, Deck, so if for some reason an emergency occurs, I’d like to have my car, and you should have yours.”
He reluctantly agreed. They shared a quick kiss and went their separate ways.
Chapter Fifteen
(For real…this is all of Chapter Fifteen)
Super Heroes and Mime Sex
HER GREEN EYES shimmered, revealing mutual desire as she lifted the glass of merlot to her full lips, parting them to take another small sip. Christ, those lips, so soft and sweet… Decker could practically taste them as he tried to convince himself to look away from what shouldn’t have been such an ethereal sight. It seemed as though everything April Maddox did was sexy as hell and erotic as sin. He couldn’t fool himself into thinking otherwise therefore, why bother missing any part of her beautiful show? With his gaze focused squarely on the delectable vision next to him, he inhaled—there was no ignoring the erection pulsing behind the zipper in his slacks. Everything the woman said or did affected him, and he’d venture to guess she was not clueless to her role in his torture. No, he could see the hunger in her eyes, the mutual ache of sexual desire. She was wanton. As the glass touched her mouth and the deep burgundy liquid ran up the tapered bowl of the wineglass, caressing her glossy painted lips, Decker’s mind automatically fixated on apples. When he claimed her lips after dinner, would they still taste like the apple gloss he enjoyed earlier that evening; or would the sweet grapes of the wine touch his tongue and flavor their kiss? Not that it mattered, as long as he got to own her mouth for a few minutes. Got to taste the essence of the woman who was quickly changing the very foundation on which he’d built his life. She could taste like wood filler and he’d relish it. A man could easily become addicted to those lips, as well as those mind-bending kisses—lord knows he had, and it’d only been two real dates. Well, this being their third…
“Decker?” Just the sound of his name in her honey-smooth voice had his heart beating faster and his length hardening to an aching throb. “Deck, is everything okay?” April lowered her glass to the table, shifting her lithe body smoothly in the U-shaped booth.
As they turned toward each other his knee gently brushed her leg, and he watched her questioning gaze descend slowly from his eyes to where his hands gripped his upper thighs. His thumbs all but digging into the cotton of his perfectly pressed pants. April’s perusal paused briefly, the minute she noticed what was practically impossible for him to hide. The audible catch of her breath as it held for a beat, and the slight flush that kissed her cheeks a fraction of a second before she licked her lips and brought her steamy green gaze back to his face, nearly set him ablaze. Yeah, everything would be just fine once he finally got her alone and beneath him. His body vibrated with need for the incredible woman beside him. It had been far too long… too long since he’d felt this way. Had he ever truly felt like this before?
“You look… stiff, Deck.” Her shy smile now charged with a vixen-like confidence he’d never seen on her before.
That look that made him want to sweep the dishes from their table—and to hell with the mess or the prying eyes of the other diners. He wanted to spread her out before him like a main course, and finally see if her whole body tasted as sweet as her damn lips. When she placed her small hand over his and began tracing small circles with her index finger over his sensitized flesh, Decker was pulled from a lustful haze. April Maddox knew exactly what she was saying, knew just how her tiny touches were affecting him.
“I’ve heard massage can help with that sort of problem.” Her gaze flitted to his lap then back to his eyes before a smirk curled the ends of her upturned mouth. The innuendo played openly on her beautiful face.
Lifting both of their hands from his thigh, he twisted his wrist to bring her palm to his lips. Decker breathed in her warm, fruity smell then placed a kiss on the soft skin. “You’re a funny lady, you know that?”
He could barely contain the laughter in his voice, and truth was, he didn’t want to. He liked April as a person, her humor, intellect, and warmth set her apart from so many of the other women he’d dated. When his libido wasn’t sucking the blood from his brain and depositing it directly into his balls, he could tell the feeling was mutual.
“Yes, I’m freaking hilarious.” Her brow arched. “In fact, I may be one of the funniest people I know,” she confirmed, a smile stretching across her face as the deep dimples in both cheeks winked, practically begging him to touch them, taunting him to kiss them.
Extending his arm, he cupped her face, stroking the divot in her right cheek. Silk… her skin felt silken beneath his touch and as the backs of his fingers traveled down her neck, reveling in the supple skin, electricity j
olted through his body.
“April Maddox, you definitely are amusing, but you’re so much more. You’re smart, sweet, and... well…” His gaze traveled from her face to the scooped neckline where the swells of her breasts subtly formed the perfect amount of cleavage. “Let’s face it, you’re fucking gorgeous.”
Watching her chest rise and fall with her shallow breaths as his words resonated sparked a fire in his gut. As her cheeks flushed, his blood heated. Her scent flooded his nostrils as he breathed in slowly while recomposing himself in the leather booth. The moment her pink tongue slid over her plump bottom lip, Decker knew all attempts at being suave were lost. He was lost. Take her home, he told himself. Charlie will never find out, he promised his troubled conscience, then took the leap he’d wanted to take for months.
Slipping his thumb under her chin and tilting it back, Decker stared into her hooded eyes. “I can’t stop thinking about your mouth, the way it tastes, the things you say—I want you, April. I need you in ways that makes no sense.” Desire clawed its way up his chest demanding its release. “But right now, I don’t give a shit about making sense…”
“Decker.” April sighed, her voice low and husky as her chartreuse eyes practically glowed with anticipation. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.
Her moaned agreement had his heart pounding double time as he did his best to keep his cool exterior from melting onto the leather booth. She pulled her plush bottom lip between her teeth, and for a brief second, the world faded away. He heard nothing, saw nothing but those lips.