This Time Around

by Davies,Amy

  And there goes the hard-on.

  “Like what you see, Bambi?”

  “Always, Liam. Always.” She winks at me. Fuck what is this woman doing to me?

  Dex turns the chair around and I straddle it, leaning forward but keeping my face towards Bambi. I feel Dex placing the transfer on my lower back and then wait until he peels it off. He holds a mirror out for me to check the placing and it looks fucking epic.

  “Perfect, mate. Fucking, perfect. You like, baby?” I ask Bambi.

  “I love it, Liam.” Dex gets stuck in. The anchor only takes thirty minutes. It doesn’t take Addy long to arrive either. She comes bouncing up to the room and makes a grand entrance. With a big arse smile on her face, she ignores Dex and looks at me and Bambi.

  “So is my victim ready for me?” She claps her hands together and adds an evil cackle. Fuck she scares me at times.

  “Oh he is more than ready, right, babe?” Bambi tells her. She is happy to see me in pain. Witchface.

  “Fine, I guess I am ready.” I climb off the chair, and Dex finishes adding the tape that keeps the wrap in place. “Thanks, man. This is fucking epic, it looks amazing. So it's from one torture chair to another.” Dex is now staring at Addy, but she is looking everywhere except him.

  “Addy, can I talk to you for a quick second, please?” Dex asks her. She finally looks at him, but again her mask is in place. With Bambi and me as a barrier between them, she speaks up.

  “Maybe tomorrow. I have to get this stud, studded up, then home to get ready for my date tonight,” she says proudly. I cheer in my head, she has done me proud, if Dex’s face is anything to go by.

  “Date? Since when?”

  “Yes, date. I called a guy who had been asking me out for a while. I am not waiting around anymore. I am taking my life by the balls and leading it my way.” She shrugs her shoulders and walks out. I turn to look at Dex who is bright red in the face. He is angry, I get that, but he has had plenty of times to step up.

  “You had a chance. Hell a fucking thousand, dude. You threw every one of them away and now you might have lost all future chances.” I pat his shoulder and lead my girl out of his room.

  Let's hope, that he mans the fuck up and gets his girl back.

  Penny

  It is BBQ day. At the end of every summer we do a big family BBQ. All the family is here, plus a few extra friends this year. Addy and the Castle brothers are here also. I love it. We have way too much food, my mum and dad like to cook enough to feed an army. But what we have left over my parents take over to the homeless shelter. We have spent all day decorating the garden, with lights and tiki torches. Dad says it is to keep the bugs away. We have coloured paper lanterns all over the place along with other brightly coloured decorations. Mum really went all out this year. I think it is because we have new additions to the family.

  “Dad, can I have a drink, please?” I turn to see Knox standing by Liam. I smile at the two new guys in my life.

  “Me too Dad, please?” My head snaps to the table where Connie is sitting with Rachel and Darla. Tears spring to my eyes and I cover my mouth with my hand. I swing my gaze to Liam, who is standing stock still, looking at CJ, who seems completely unfazed by what she just said.

  “Umm, Con?” Liam asks, tentatively.

  “Yeah, Dad?” Again with the ‘dad’. I can’t stop the smile sliding across my tear stained face. Liam looks at me and I see he has tears in his eyes, also. He clears his throat trying to act all manly like. Trying and failing epically to hide the fact the he is about to burst into tears. He swallows a few times and coughs before he answers her.

  “Nothing, sweetheart. Everything is perfect.” He shakes his head a few times and clears his throat for the umteenth time.

  “I will get the kids their drinks, you two go and talk.” Matt says from beside me. I nod my thanks. Liam nods his head to the corner of the garden where my mum's bench sits. My dad had it made for her for their wedding anniversary. I follow Liam over and sit beside him. We sit shoulder to shoulder, thigh to thigh. He lifts my hand and laces our fingers together and lays them on his thigh. We sit there in silence watching the kids run around the garden, having fun; enjoying the last of the summer holidays. I smile as Connie helps Knox catch and take down Justin, tickling the poor boy. It fascinates me how kids can bond over the smallest of things. All the children in my family have made sure that Knox is one of them. Matt and Adrian join in the big pile of kiddie wrestlers. Arms and legs are flailing around. Giggles and manly laughter fills the garden. The women just stand around and point and laugh. Ahh my happy family. I laugh when I see Connie stand at the edge of the group, she claps her hands three times and yells ‘big splash’ and then jumps on Matt’s back, who doesn’t move an inch. Damn my brother-in-law's body is built like a rugby player.

  “You okay?” Liam asks and squeezes my hand in his.

  “I’m good. You okay?” I return his question and turn slightly to look at him.

  “Over the fucking moon, babe.” I smile at his words. I knew he loved Connie but I had always had a lingering doubt in my head that he wouldn’t want her to call him ‘Dad’, but his reaction just made the last bit of doubt evaporate.

  “Good. Good,” I say. My words are jumbled in my head. My heart is beating at my inner chest, fighting to break out. My daughter just called my boyfriend ‘Dad’. That in itself is a huge step. This is something I have always wanted, but now that it is here it is still a shock to the system.

  “Baby, it is more than good. It is fucking phenomenal. She just called me ‘Dad’ like she has been doing it since the day she was born. Bloody amazing. I feel on top of the world, right now,” he says, and kisses the side of my head.

  “We never talked about it. But I am happy that she did. She needs a ‘Dad’ in her life, and I am very happy that it is you. Yeah, she has always had my father, Matt and Adrian in her life, but they never fully took a father role for her. You have done brilliantly with Knox, I have no concerns about you being in Connie’s life, it will be good for her. I am happy, so happy that I have you and the kids.” And I am telling him the truth. I am happy that Connie has him to call her ‘Dad’. I look back at Knox and I have to wonder if he will call me ‘Mum’. I know that Shelly is back in the picture now, but I still feel in my heart that I am more his mother than she is.

  “Mum,” Connie yells across the yard. I look in her direction and see her and Knox running towards us. Liam puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me tight to his side. I smile up at him and he kisses the tip of my nose. My man is such a sweetie.

  “Mum, quick question.”

  “Okay, hit me,” I joke. But in true Connie fashion, she leans forward and gently punches my arm. I rub and fake pain. “Oh you are packing a bloody good punch there, young lady,” I joke.

  “Anyway, back to what we need to know.” I notice that Knox is looking down at his trainers, kicking the grass. “Soooo, now that I am going to be calling Liam ‘Dad’, does that mean that Knox is my little brother and he is allowed to call you ‘Mum’?” I blink away the tears that are threatening and swallow the emotion. My body vibrates with love for this little boy. This man. I reach out one of my hands for Knox and one for Connie and pull them closer.

  “Do you want a little brother?” I ask CJ.

  “Yes. It would be so cool,” CJ says excitedly. I move my eyes to Knox and smile at him. He looks so unsure of my answer. Liam sits quietly next to me, taking it all in.

  “Do you want to call me ‘Mum’, Knox?” He nods his head.

  “Yes. I never had a ‘Mum’. Shelly isn’t my ‘Mum’. You are. I love you,” he whispers the last part. I pull him to me and lift him up into my lap and hug him tight to me. He smells like baby powder.

  “Oh, Knox Bradley, I love you too. I would be honoured if you called me ‘Mum’.” I kiss the top of his head and then turn to face Liam. He has lifted Connie onto his lap and they are both smiling at us, I can see
that Liam is trying his very best not to cry in front of the kids.

  Bless his cotton socks.

  “Ooooo, yay! We are the Miller-Bradley family.” We all laugh

  “Do you two want something to eat?” I ask the kids.

  “Hot dog.”

  “Burger.” They both reply at the same time.

  “Okay, let’s go and fill your tummies up then. Liam, do you want anything?” He smiles his handsome signature Bradley smile. He looks at Connie, then me, and then Knox. He looks happy, content. The love shines from him. Whoa, I read way too many romance novels. Damn the amazing author writing all of these amazing sexy, romance books.

  “I have everything I need right in front of me.” He winks at me.

  “Sappy, Dad, sappy,” Connie says and flicks his nose, before jumping off and running away.

  “What she said,” Knox says, and follows her. I hold my hand out for Liam, which he takes. I pull him up so he is standing in front of me. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me that little bit closer. I slide my hands up his back under his shirt, loving the feel of his soft tight skin under my fingertips. I slide my fingers up his spine, knowing that his tattoo is there. It has such meaning to him; him finding his journey in life and Knox being a part of that journey.

  “I love you, you know,” he says, looking down at me.

  “I know. It just so happens that I love you too. Now let’s go and feed our kids before they cry neglect,”

  “I like that,” Liam says, as we walk towards the food table

  “Like what?”

  “That you said ‘our kids’. It sounds right.”

  “Because is it is right. It is perfect. Now, feed me Seymour,” I say, using the voice from the film.

  “Milady,” he says, and he bows making me giggle.

  “Why, thank you kind, Sir.” I kiss his cheek when he straightens. He takes a hold of my hand and we walk over to the table that houses all of the food. My mum always cooks way too much, I think that’s where I get it from. Rachel and Jay are standing by the table having a heated conversation.

  “Why?” Jay asks her.

  “I am just not ready. Why can’t you see that? God.” She looks pissed, but I can also see hesitation in her eyes. Rachel has never had a boyfriend, she likes to have fun. And from what I have heard, Jay is the same way. Maybe I heard wrong.

  “Well you were more than ready last night, and the night before that,” he hisses. I knew that they had slept together, hence the new rule of phoning her before I go over to her house. I do not want to see a naked Jay Castle again. Oh, now that was a lie, Jay is freaking hot. All tight muscles and a very, very tight arse.

  “Really? You really are a prick, Jay. I want you to leave,” Rachel says, stamping her foot. Oh my God, did she really just stamp her foot? She always makes fun of women who do that.

  “You never invited me, Kitten, so you can’t ask me to leave. Just suck it up, oh my bad you already did,” he winks at her. This time I can’t stop the laughter that escapes my throat. Rachel turns her head and glares at me. I stop laughing but a hiccup slips out.

  “Make him leave. Now”

  “No.”

  “But I am your best friend. Make him leave, he is being an arsehole to me,” she spits out.

  “Oh speaking of a..”

  “Shut it, dude,” Liam adds. Jay winks at me and I giggle again.

  “You are very close to losing your BFF card, missy.” Rachel folds her arms across her chest and shoots invisible daggers at me.

  “Grow up, Kitten.” Jay sounds fed up. And to be honest, I don’t blame him. Rachel has been off the past two weeks and I know that Jay is the one throwing her off balance.

  “Rach. Just ignore him for today. He is being a dick.” I turn to Jay. “No offence, but you are.”

  “None taken, I guess. I am going to grab a beer. Do you want one?” he asks Liam.

  “I will come with you. See you in a little bit, babe.” He kisses me and walks away with his friend. I turn back to Rachel who is watching the boys walk away. I smile at her; she has it so freaking bad.

  “What?” she asks, when she sees me staring at her.

  “You like him,” I state.

  “Hell no. Okay, I do. But he is a playboy. I saw him the other week at a club, and I saw him kissing two different girls throughout the night. I am fucking torn Pen. He is an arsehole, but God he shags like a jackrabbit. He is sooooo good in bed. The things that bloke does with his tongue.” She closes her eyes and licks her lips. I look around to make sure no-one is seeing her mini-orgasm. Damn he must be good.

  “Are you done?” She opens her eyes and looks behind me. I turn and follow her gaze and see Jay smiling at her. “Take a chance, Rach. He might surprise you.”

  “I doubt it.” I look over to the group and see Liam, along with Jay, Dex, Adrian and Addy. I smile at the group, but my smile fades when the laughter stops. Oh bollocks.

  “Are you freaking kidding me? I am standing right here. God. I really don’t why I bother with you anymore, Dexter Castle.”

  “Neither do I Addison Cole,” Dex replies, grinding out her full name, like she did his.

  “Do you know what?”

  “Don’t Addy,” Jay chimes in. She looks at Jay, tears in her eyes. Jay steps forward to comfort her, but she steps back. The garden is so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

  “I can’t Jay. I’m done. I will be out of the studio by the end of the week.” She looks at Dex, with a pleading look in her eyes. She is pleading with him to stop her, to beg her not to leave. But his words hurt even me.

  “Well that is your choice. Good luck, Addison,” Dex mutters. It all happens so fast no-one had a chance to react. Jay dives for Dex, and punches him right in the jaw. Dex falls to the floor and the ladies scream, including me. The kids scream but my mother and Darla rush them into the kitchen. The brothers roll around on the floor. Liam, Adrian and Matt pull them apart, both of them are breathing heavy. Jay has a cut above his eyebrow and Dex has a split lip.

  “Are you fucking crazy? My kids were in the garden,” Liam fumes. Both brothers drop their heads. Rachel rushes to Jay’s side, offering him a clean napkin, to my surprise he takes it from her and kisses her cheek. I walk over to Addy who is standing there shaking, taking in the scene in front of her. Tears stream down her face and my heart breaks for her. Dex steps towards us, but Addy shakes her head. And I see Dex’s face crumble right in front of everyone. He doesn’t look at anyone else, these two are locked in silent conversation.

  “I am sorry, Penny. Mr and Mrs. Miller, I’m sorry for ruining today.” He doesn’t wait for a reply he just walks out of the garden. I pull Addy to me, but she pulls away from me.

  “I am going to go, I have a lot to do.” She turns and runs from the garden.

  “Go after her, Jay,” Rachel says.

  “Thank you.” Jay kisses her forehead and runs after Addy.

  I turn and make my way over to my man. My sexy man. His smile widens when he sees me approach. He holds his arm out and I slide right under it and mould myself to his hard body. Connie and Knox come running out of the house and wrap themselves around our legs.

  Home.

  This is where I belong.

  This is where we all belong.

  Penny

  “Yes. Right there,” I pant out, as Liam slams into me again. He has been making me scream for the past six hours. He stops for food and drinks but then he gets back to it. “YES!!!”

  I scream as my climax hits again. My body turns to jelly under my man, but he is relentless. He chases his own orgasm. After a few more thrusts he comes inside of me. He falls onto my chest, but he holds his full weight off me. I wrap my arms around him, feeling the layer of sweat that covers his body. I trail my fingers up and down his spine and I feel his dick pulse inside of me.

  “Babe, I think my cock needs a break,” he says into my neck, his warm breath tickles m
y skin.

  “Oh, so now you want a break. But when I wanted one I was told no. Charming, Mr Bradley,” I say into his shoulder. I lick his sweaty skin and he jerks his head up and looks down at me.

  “I love you, Penny Miller.” He kisses me.

  “I love you too, Liam Bradley.” I lean up and give him a quick kiss. He looks at me like he wants to say something, but he holds back. I frown at him. “What?”

  “Nothing, baby.” Yeah that wasn’t very convincing.

  “Liam, something is wrong, tell me.” He drops his head to my shoulder and takes a deep breath. He climbs off the bed and out of the room without another word. I sit up and pull the sheet tight to my chest. Fuck, has he done something bad? Has he cheated on me? Liam walks back into the bedroom, still stark naked and no care in the world. Thank the Lord the kids are back in school. They went back last month.

  It is my day off and Liam is taking the day off to be with me, hence the sexathon we have going on. He climbs onto the bed and sits in front of me. He sits so that one knee is bent and touching mine. He takes my hands in his large ones.

  “Baby, you know you are my life. So are the kids. But I want more. I need more. I want Connie to have my last name, I want to adopt her. But she isn’t the only one I want to carry my name.” He looks nervous, he pulls a little black box out from behind his back. Where the frick did that come from? He walked in here naked. I didn’t see him holding the box. Damn he is good.

  “Marry me,” he states. Not exactly a question, but it will do.

  “Yes.” He opens the box and I gasp. Nestled inside the box is a stunning opal engagement ring. The opal sits in the middle of a circle of small diamonds. I have never seen an opal as an engagement ring before. It is beautiful.

  “Oh My God, it is so pretty,” I screech and jump on him. He falls onto his back laughing. I kiss sloppy kisses all over his face while he just laughs at me.

  “I take it you are happy then. I did good?"

  “Good? You did AMAZING.” I slide down his body a little feeling his erection prod my wet core. I slide his dick between my wet folds and he groans. I reach between us and guide him inside of me. I am wet already, hell I have been wet for the last God knows how long, when I am around this man, he just does things to my body. I rock gently back and forth, keeping my eyes locked on my fiancée. His hands grip my hips and he rocks me faster. I place my hands on his pecs and lift myself up, then down. Liam groans.