Raising Steel (Men of Steel Book 9)

by Mj Fields

  I move back and forth, my hand keeping rhythm with my mouth while my tongue flattens on the underside of his rock hard shaft. His hand reaches up to hold the back of my head, and his eyes open, exposing a man on fire.

  I stroke faster, suck harder, as I get lost in the possessive affect his eyes have on me. His hand now guides me, his hips thrusting forward and back. I am no longer in control, and I don’t give a damn.

  I kneel and place my hands flat on the muscles flexing in his legs and take him deeper.

  When he hits the back of my throat, he groans, “That’s it. Just like that.”

  I give him what he asks for, taking him deep, moving faster and faster.

  His hand then wraps around his cock, and his hand guides me back as he stands before me. I wrap my arms around him, my nails sinking into his rock hard ass as he thrusts in and out of my mouth swiftly, and I suck greedily on him.

  “Joe,” he snarls and steps back, but I hold tighter, wanting him to finish in my mouth. I want to taste him as he has me.

  “Fuck, Joe, stop.” He reaches around and pulls my hands free.

  I am immediately embarrassed. “I … um—”

  I hear a knock on the door, and he grabs his clothes and mine.

  “Go, shit, fuck! Go upstairs.”

  I grab my coat and take the stairs two at a time until I reach the top.

  “Hey, is everything okay?” I hear Carly ask.

  “Yeah, sorry, I didn’t hear you. Must have fallen asleep. Everything all right? Kiki, Bell, Jase—?”

  “We’re all fine. I just wanted to ask you a question, and you didn’t answer your phone, so I got worried and came over.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t hear the phone.”

  “It’s fine,” she says, and then I hear her sit on the couch. “I’m worried about Momma Joe. I think we upset her. I mean, it wasn’t the intention, and I just wanted to ask you if she said anything. She has been preoccupied, and that’s not like her at all. I just think—”

  “She’s not upset, Carly,” he says soothingly.

  “Are you sure? Did she mention the schedule thingy? It was more a realization to the four of us. I mean, we have taken advantage of what an amazing women she is, and—”

  “We’ve discussed it, and I am very sure she understands it wasn’t ill-willed.”

  “It’s just like when we talked. I want you to be happy, too, you know. Mom would want that also. From what Jase says, Jonathon adored her, and what’s not to adore?” I hear her feet on the floor and can picture her pacing. “She deserves a man, someone to look out for the woman who looks out for all of us.”

  The worry in her voice makes me miserable.

  “She’ll find someone.”

  “And you! You need to get out a little and live, too. Not sit in this recliner. I mean, come on, Thomas. Mom would kick your ass if she thought you were sitting here, missing her. Three days. That’s what her instructions were. It’s been well over three days. When’s the last time you went out on a date? I mean—”

  “Carly,” he says, and she immediately stops. “I am fine. I am very happy, actually. I’m sure Joe is, too.”

  “How can you be sure?” she asks.

  “How can you be so unsure?”

  There is silence, and then she laughs.

  “You’re right. Always right. See? That’s why I come to you.”

  “Well, I am sure your husband and kids are missing you after a long week at work.”

  “No, Jase is taking the girls over to see Joe now. I told him I would ask you for a ride back after we talked.”

  Oh, hell! I think.

  “Well, let’s get you back there, and you can see for yourself that she’s fine.”

  “I’m in no rush. I can keep you company for a bit.” She stops and gasps. “Oh, my gosh. Do you have someone here?”

  “Of course not,” he says.

  “Whose heels, Thomas?” she whispers then giggles.

  “Shh,” he says to quiet her.

  “Right.” She giggles again. “Okay. I will just call Jase and have him pick me up. He’s probably still trying to get Kiki out of the car.”

  After a few seconds, I hear the door shut. When I run down the stairs, Thomas is coming back inside.

  “Fuck,” I mumble. “I have to get home. Do you have a pair of size seven tennis shoes by any chance? There is no way in hell I am going to be able to run across lots in heels.”

  “Slippers,” he says as he runs to his closet.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Thomas

  “Josephina,” I say as she runs to the backdoor. She looks back and laughs. “Text me when they leave. I’m not finished with you, not by a long shot.”

  I watch as she runs through the backyards of the townhomes until she is out of sight.

  I wait rather impatiently for a good fifteen minutes before finally deciding to go knocking on her door, which has been my favorite thing to do all week, until my favorite thing became her knocking on mine.

  I throw on my shoes and open the door to find her standing there with a smile on her face, holding up my slippers. “I wanted to return these.”

  I grab her and pick her up; she squeals, making me laugh. It makes us both laugh.

  I kick the door shut and look into her eyes. “I loved what you were doing before, but I really want to be inside you right now.”

  “Is that so?” She wiggles out of my arms.

  “Yes, it is.” I laugh, catching her elbow as she walks past me.

  She laughs, turns around, and looks at me. “What are we doing, Thomas?”

  “I’m not really sure, but I don’t want it to stop.” I pull her against me. “This week has been amazing.”

  “I agree.” She cups my cheeks and giggles. “Can you believe we were almost caught?”

  “Would it be so bad?”

  “Carly walking in while I was on my knees? Some things you cannot un-see, Thomas. It may have been a very bad way for her to find out about whatever it is we have going on here.” My chest warms, and I smile as she runs her thumb across my lower lip. “Besides, it’s been nice to have something that is mine and mine alone.”

  “Yours alone,” I say before having a chance to think about my words. Her body becomes tense, and her smile fades. “Hold on. Don’t get—”

  “Get what?” comes out in the spirited tone she uses when she is not all that, making me chuckle. “This is reckless and not very adult like.”

  “How so?” I let go of her with hopes this leads to a discussion about how exactly she sees our situation.

  “Well, how many women are you currently having sex with?”

  I take her hand and lead her to the couch, motioning for her to sit. “Try to be rational about this.”

  “Be rational!”

  I run my hands through my hair, trying to take my own advice. “None, Josephina. One.” I shake my head. “You.”

  “Well, clearly you know the same of me.”

  “Of course I do.”

  “Then why make me feel uncomfortable when, in the heat of the moment, I expressed …” She stops and looks down.

  “Expressed what?”

  “This is uncomfortable. Maybe—”

  “Nothing should be uncomfortable between lovers, Josephina.” Her eyes meet mine. “You tell me what you want, and my answer will be yes,” I assure.

  “What if all I want is sex?”

  “You’d be lying. Heat of the moment or otherwise, you called me yours. To that, I say yes.”

  She looks at me, momentarily confused, and then shakes her head.

  I nod.

  “Of course, I wouldn’t expect a man I was intimate with to be intimate with another, but”—she shrugs—“calling you mine?”

  “To that, I also say yes, Josephina. You are making it much more difficult than it actually is.”

  “Your response to me is saying I make it difficult.” She is confused and it’s sexy to see the woman you adore who, you know da
mn well feels the same, trying to skirt around an issue about where your relationship is headed. This is what makes my brain hurt when it comes to woman. Sometimes black is black and white is white. It can be that simple.

  I smile, take her hand, and pull her closer. “This isn’t difficult. This is so very welcome and, for me, a long time coming. I adore you. I adore your strength, your spirited moments, the moments you hold your grandchildren, guide your fully grown children, and every moment in between. Like I said, I will be yours as long as you do me the honor of being mine.”

  “I don’t know how to respond, but of course, I wouldn’t consider being with anyone else. Hell, this was accidental.”

  To her, I suppose it was. To me, it was a waiting game.

  “Tell me what you want out of this.”

  “Wow,” she says, stiffening up again, and then she looks up at me with questions in her eyes.

  “I am a man, Josephina. Sometimes, it’s just a question. What do you want from me?”

  “There’s no simple way to answer that.”

  “Then in steps. Right now, what do you want from me?”

  “Not this. I don’t want the thinking into the future. I want the here and now.”

  “Then the answer is still yes. I will give you whatever you want.”

  Her eyes sadden. “What do you want?”

  “You. I want you, and I don’t want anything outside of us being intimate to change or become awkward. It’s simple; I want you.”

  “Thomas,” she says sadly.

  “I want Wine Wednesday, Thirsty Thursday, and I am especially fond of Frisky Friday,” I tease, hoping to ease her concerns. “I want Sexy Saturday, Sultry Sunday, and I want Make You Moan Monday.” I see her eyes shifting as if she is trying to figure it all out. “Joe, we will take this slow. Don’t try to schedule me in around your family or work obligations.”

  “Because you’re already there.” Her voice is low and full of realization.

  When I smile and nod, she does the same in response.

  We sit, looking into each other’s eyes. Then she smiles brighter.

  “We just have to be a bit more careful.”

  “Right.” I chuckle.

  I lean forward and kiss her softly, easing her into it. Then I kiss her hard, because as much as easing into something new is important, Josephina and I are not … new.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Three weeks later…

  I sit at my desk, holding a sleeping Patrick on my lap, a much more relaxed woman. I’m relaxed in a way I have never been.

  My Jonathon came in like a storm and changed my world. He brought it color and depth beyond what I could have ever imagined. He made it beautiful. It was never an easy life, but I wouldn’t change it if I could. Well, all except the storm that took him away.

  For three weeks, I have been caught in a new storm. Thomas—or as I think of him, Clark Kent—is polished, refined, analytical, but underneath it all, he is his own storm.

  We have spent every night until the wee hours being enthralled in each other, a storm of ecstasy and pleasure.

  There is no pressure to fit him in to my life. He’s been here. He is part of the family. He is family.

  I look up when the door opens and he walks in with Kiki. I place my finger over my lips and tell her, “Patrick’s sleeping.”

  She mimics me and holds her finger to her lips.

  Thomas walks over and kisses me on the top of my head as she tries to dive into my arms.

  “Easy there, tigress,” he whispers.

  I stand, and he holds his arm in position for me to give him Patrick, and then she dives into my arms.

  “I’ll take him to Taelyn,” he says before kissing my cheek.

  “Pop, Pop,” Kiki says, palming his face and pushes him away.

  “You and I need to have an understanding, Kiki.”

  “Imagine how the boys will be when they find out?” I giggle.

  He smiles a breathtaking smile. “I like where this is heading.”

  “Easy,” I say after I realize what I just said.

  “I can assume it’ll be anything but easy”—he winks—“but I can wait them out, just as I did you. Besides, if I didn’t back down from you, I sure as hell won’t back down from them.”

  He walks out, the quiet storm he is, with Patrick, who is now awake and smiling in his arms.

  It hits me then, hard. I have fallen for Thomas Higgins.

  *.*.*.*

  It’s Sunday now, and I’m in the kitchen, cooking chicken saltimbocca, a rare Sunday dish, but Thomas mentioned he liked it, and I like Thomas.

  “Gotta keep the meat out of Momma Carly’s,” Bella reminds me.

  “Vegetarian,” we both whisper the word together like it’s a curse then laugh.

  “Can I check the flourless chocolate cakes?” she asks for the twentieth time.

  “A few more minutes, sweet girl,” I say as I dump the dough on the counter.

  “Need help?” Tara asks from the doorway.

  “No,” we both yell.

  “I just don’t understand. We’re celebrating the wonderful job you did at the ballet recital today, Little Bell, and you’re doing all the cooking,” Tara smirks.

  “It’s a tough job, you know, but I’ll manage,” Bella mocks exasperation.

  “Then can you manage to get your little buns over here so I can help you make garlic knots,” I laugh.

  “Pop, Pop,” I hear Kiki say and look up as Thomas walks in with her on his hip.

  A look of desire crosses his eyes that makes my insides blush. I beg for it to stay contained, but knowing what I do now, that man carrying a baby—a man who doesn’t shy away from the grabby, little hands pulling on his glasses or the shoving of chubby, little fingers in his mouth—is just as sexy as a man in the center of a boxing ring or covered in ink.

  Today, he is wearing jeans and a polo shirt. I look down to see he has on his slippers, the ones in which I ran across backyards from his house to mine just over three weeks ago, and even that is sexy.

  ‘Hi,’ he mouths. I do the same.

  “Pop, Pop,” Bella says, turning to him.

  “Isabella?”

  “Thank you for the flowers.”

  “You earned them. You did an amazing job.”

  That earns him a beautiful Isabella Steel smile, and his response melts my heart. The way he looks at her adoringly and the effect it has on him are the same as she has on me. He loves her.

  “Now, do you two beautiful young ladies need Kiki and I to do anything?”

  Bella laughs. “No, we’ve got it.”

  “All right, then.” He winks at me then turns around, walking out of the kitchen.

  “He said you were beautiful, Momma Joe.” She giggles.

  “He’s said we are beautiful.” I nudge her with my hip and laugh as I work the dough. “Like we didn’t know that already.”

  Everyone is at the table when Bella and I walk out, carrying the water carafes. Jase pats the spot next to him, and I sit.

  “I’d like to thank you all for coming to celebrate Little Bell’s big night.” He winks at her. “She looked like a little angel up there. I couldn’t be more proud of her.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” She grins.

  “I’d also like to thank Momma Joe for dragging her, kicking and screaming, to dance class.”

  “I wasn’t screaming or kicking.” She laughs.

  “When you started dance, you didn’t wanna go. I would have tried to make you, and Carly would have caved and let you quit just to make you happy.”

  “Jase!” Carly gasps.

  “Baby, it’s true and you know it.” He rolls his eyes at her. “You’d have done anything to keep me glued to you, including giving in to—”

  “I beg your pardon.” She laughs loudly.

  “You would have begged to. You came all the way from California, chasing the Prince of Steel.”

  “You are such an ass.” She laughs again.

&
nbsp; “Tell me I’m lying.”

  “You’re not just lying; you’re full of—”

  “Uh-oh.” Bella belly laughs and covers her ears.

  “Kiki, Momma is gonna start breastfeeding again,” Carly says, smiling at their youngest.

  “Like hell you are.” Jase laughs out loud.

  “Sure am,” she says in a much softer tone and smiles at him.

  He starts to say something, and her eyebrows rise slowly.

  “Shit’s not funny, baby. Don’t even—”

  “In about seven months,” Carly continues to smile.

  “Uh-uh.” He shakes his head. “No way.”

  She nods at him and smirks then looks at me. “You ready for this again?”

  “Is she ready for this?” Jase gulps. “Hey, baby”—he snaps his fingers—“what about me? Am I ready for this?”

  “No, but you’ll do just fine.”

  “How the hell did that happen? You’re on the pill and shit.”

  “The only method of birth control that is one hundred percent is if she swall—”

  “All right!” I yell at Zandor, and he laughs. “Your niece.”

  “She’s got ear muffs on.” He chuckles. “Don’t ya, Bell?”

  “Yep,” Bella answers, and Zandor’s jaw drops.

  “Dude, you better not ever have kids.” Cyrus laughs. “If you really think she isn’t listening, you’ve got another thing coming.”

  “Congratulations, Carly and Jase,” Tara says sweetly.

  “Thank you. We’re up one now.” Carly winks at her.

  “Baby, this isn’t a competition,” Jase says as if he is still in shock.

  “Congratulations, Carly, Jase, and Bella.” Thomas looks down at Kiki. “Your baby days are numbered, Kiki. You’re gonna be a middle child now.”

  “Baby, this is a joke, right?”

  “Nope,” she answers.

  “And I’m hearing about it now and not when it’s just you and me, because …?”

  “I decided, if you reacted the way you did last time, I might kill you. This”—she points around the table—“is safest for you.”

  “You a badass, C?” Xavier laughs.

  “Forever Steel,” she says like the boys do, and we all laugh except Jase.