Hale Series Boxed Set

by Marie James

  He smiles and shakes his head at her. “Insatiable,” he mutters to himself just before kissing me on the cheek and walking into the house.

  “How was your evening?” I ask Josie as she slips past, her hand in Kaleb’s.

  “Wonderful,” she answers as her eyes light up.

  By the time we make it to the kitchen Ian, Alexa, and Garrett have joined Sloane’s staff. She ignores them as the guys begin to pick and taste test the morning’s offerings.

  We circle around the granite topped island in the center of the kitchen and I’m sure it looks like we’re conspiring for something, as if we’re joining forces to determine how we will proceed with the day to include the interlopers into our world which normally includes just the six of us.

  “I want to thank everyone for the wonderful gifts, the help with the wedding and reception yesterday, and all of the support and understanding you guys have had where Kaleb and I are concerned.” Josie says as she makes eye contact with each of us.

  We all respond simultaneously with ‘of course’, ‘don’t mention it’, and such.

  Kaleb clears his throat gaining the attention of all of us. “I also wanted to say thank you.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a handful of blue wrapped Starburst candies. “We wanted to share our news with you,” he offers each one of us apiece of the candy.

  The men, and of course Alexa, stand there with the silly little blue candy in their hands with no clue as to what is going on.

  Me?

  I’m jumping up and down like an idiot and rushing to hug Josie.

  “A boy?!?” I whisper yell, because I feel like this is something they’re only sharing with us right now.

  I feel Josie nod her head yes as I squeeze her tight in my arms. Finally the others catch on and Alexa joins us in the hug. She’s a good sport at least. Kaleb must be ecstatic. Josie has mentioned more than once that a boy is what he was hopeful for.

  I hear Garrett say “Damn straight” just about the same time Ian says “Fuck yeah, man.” I pull away in time to see the man hugs and back slaps as the guys congratulate Kaleb. I release Josie so they can hug her and brush a kiss on her cheek.

  I watch and smile as our group quietly celebrates the wonderful news that the very first baby to be born will carry on Kaleb’s name. Unceremoniously I open my Starburst and pop it in my mouth. The second it hits my tongue I’m rudely spitting it back into my hand.

  “Nasty right?” Josie asks beside me.

  I hear a bold laugh from Kaleb. “Sorry. The starburst were the only blue candy we could find on such short notice.”

  I laugh when I see the guys throw theirs on the counter. I’m like a sweets and candy queen so the guys know if I don’t like it there’s not a chance in hell they will.

  We stand around and chat until the other family members begin to join us. Eventually everyone is up and we begin the line for the buffet.

  We sit in various locations in the formal and informal dining area to eat because Ian’s dining room only fits twelve. You can tell this is truly two families coming together because there is no segregation along familial lines. Everyone has split up to talk with the other guests.

  Most everything is just how I figured it would be and only two things cause me to take a second look. Diego’s girlfriend is sitting with her back to the wall in the furthest chair in the kitchen and her eyes are darting around the room constantly. I can’t tell if she just seems really nervous, scared, or if she’s high. I don’t think it’s the latter because she seems healthy, but what do I know about drug users? It’s not something that’s in my wheelhouse.

  The second thing that doesn’t go unnoticed is the way Alexa and Garrett are looking at each other and then the fact that ten minutes later when I look in their direction they are nowhere to be found. I pray they found an alternative place for their nooner because their room is right in the middle between my parents’ room and my Aunt Betty’s. The plan is everyone is going to get packed up and leave shortly after brunch is finished. They better hurry their asses up!

  The plan was for everyone to leave after brunch but my parents and extended family decided amongst them that they will stay another night and head out first thing in the morning. Seems the pool looks too inviting and they want to lounge a bit. Ian, of course, graciously told them that was a great idea and pretended to ignore me when I kicked him under the table.

  Ian and I excuse ourselves from the conversation Mom and Aunt Betty are having about the chances of bad weather in October for mine and Ian’s wedding as we see Diego and his girlfriend rise from the table. I knew he wouldn’t be able to stay long since he has such a long ride back to Farmington.

  “Thank you so much for coming,” I tell them as we, including Josie and Kaleb, walk him to the door.

  “We appreciate the hospitality,” he responds. He turns toward Kaleb and does the man hug thing. “Congrats, man. Best of luck.” His attention is then turned to Josie and I watch as he reaches up and strokes the side of her face. “You look much better than the last time I saw you, Sugar.”

  Josie beams at him and kisses him on the cheek. She whispers something in his ear that I can’t hear but it causes him to wrap her in a big but delicate hug. She has tears in her eyes when he finally pulls away.

  Kaleb opens the door and I’m startled at seeing two other leather clad bikes sitting casually in the driveway. They have similar patches on their jackets that Diego has and his lack of alarm at them being there causes me to believe that they are part of his club.

  “Trouble?” Kaleb asks nodding towards the other bikers.

  “Nothing we can’t handle,” I hear Diego say as he makes his way down the front steps.

  Kaleb follows him but Josie stays on the front stoop with me. Ian has already turned to go back inside, no doubt to see what Sloane will be able to do about breakfast tomorrow.

  “What was that all about?” I ask Josie.

  “What?” She says turning her attention to me but looking woeful at having to tear her eyes from her husband and his cousin.

  “That little interaction with Diego,” I offer.

  She has a reflective look on her face and it is several long moments before she answers. “He’s the one who found me in the closet.” She smiles but it’s a small sort of sad smile.

  I nod in understanding, knowing that something like that would cause two of the most unlikely people to share an unbreakable bond. I’m dying to ask her what she said to him to get such a gentle yet impactful reaction from the seemingly scary biker, but I know it’s not my business.

  We leave Kaleb with the trio of bikers and head back inside to the remaining family.

  “You guys planning to stay and hang out by the pool for a while?” I ask her as we make our way back to the dining room.

  She doesn’t answer so I turn to face to her and I know her answer without her saying a word. The look on her face tells me I’m lucky she got out of the bed to attend this brunch and she has every intention of getting back in it as soon as possible.

  “I don’t blame you,” I say and nudge her hip with mine.

  She starts making her way around the room telling everyone goodbye. I make my way down the hall to the powder room to check and make sure it’s fully stocked after last night seeing as we will have guests again tonight.

  I open the door and stop dead in my tracks at the sight of the back of Alexa’s head bobbing up and down on Garrett’s cock. The fact that this is what they’re doing is not the shocking part; they are just as horny for each other constantly just like Ian and I are.

  What shocks me the most is the fact that I stand there and watch for about ten seconds longer than I should at the sight of my best friend sucking off her boyfriend. When my gaze finally meets Garrett’s all he does is wink at me and look back down at Alexa, who hasn’t bothered to stop or turn her face to see who has intruded upon what should be a private moment.

  That one tiny action of his eye snaps me out of whatever trance
I was in and I gasp and leave the room, closing the door louder than I’d intended. My feelings, I realize as I make my way to bedroom are twofold. On one hand I’m a little grossed out at seeing Alexa doing that. I’m also grateful that her head blocked the sight of Garrett’s cock completely. I’m very close with Alexa and just about as close as friends can get with Garrett, we are so close that the sight is almost reprehensible.

  On the other hand I have to be honest and acknowledge that my body responded sexually to the sight of what was practically a live porno. I close my door, sit on the bed, and pray that the situation is never brought up again. I’ll have to have a conversation with Alexa about locking doors later.

  Chapter 17

  Kaleb

  We haven’t left the bed much since we got back from the post-wedding brunch yesterday. My wife, I can’t even keep myself from smiling when I think it in my head, and I have spent nearly every second of the past eighteen hours wrapped around each other talking, napping, and making love.

  She made me the happiest man yesterday when she said ‘I do’ and the icing on the cake? She told me she was giving me a son, a Perez to carry on my father’s name. Josie and I have had more than one conversation about the number of children we want. I’ve told her I want four, but she’s more sensible and says we have to see what the genders are going to be since we only have so much room in the house. We’ll see, I guess.

  Josie grumbles as I tickle the skin over the womb where my son is nestled. She is not a bright and early girl. Thank goodness I like getting up early or we’d never get anywhere on time.

  “Josie,” I whisper in her ear. She smiles but she doesn’t open her eyes. “Ian just texted that the car will be here in half an hour. We have to get up and get ready.”

  She rolls from her back into me, rubbing the creamy mess I left last night against my thigh. “Five more minutes,” she pleads.

  I’m regretting that I insisted we go somewhere for our honeymoon when she suggested that we just squirrel away in the house for a week.

  “We have to get up, Mariposa,” I smack her ass gently and wiggle my way out from under her. We will never get anywhere if there is a chance of skin to skin contact.

  Twenty-five minutes and an orgasm each later, hey we are newlyweds, we are clean and ready to head out to Montana, just in time because I just buzzed the car service driver into the community.

  “Got everything you need?” I ask as Josie sets her surprisingly small suitcase by my larger one.

  “Yep,” she says and she sounds almost giddy with excitement.

  “You didn’t pack much,” I prod.

  “I don’t need much.” Her voice is seductive as she slides up to me and wraps her slender arms around my waist. “I don’t imagine we’ll be wearing much.”

  I grin at her assumption and won’t say anything to her now. As much as I’d love to spend every second of our honeymoon inside of my wife, she has to start getting out and letting go of some of the fear that she’s been harboring since her abduction.

  This isn’t just coming from me. Josie mentioned that her therapist has said the same thing. I’m thinking there’s no better time to do that than on our honeymoon. We’ll be away from the town and people that the abduction occurred in so I’m hoping that helps her let loose a little.

  I see the front of the car shadow the etched glass of the front door so I peck Josie on the lips and reach down to grab our bags. I may have to buy her more clothes but I have no intention of telling her my plans; no reason for her to worry on the plane ride to Montana. I’ll just spring it on her tomorrow or something. Less time to think, less time to worry.

  I set the alarm on the house. I know Alexa and Lorali have plans to help set up the nursery while we are gone but they have the code to get in. I’m leery of the plan, but they assure me Josie will be ecstatic about it. I’ve always thought that the mother-to-be wants to be involved as much as possible, especially with the first baby. Well, if Josie is upset it will be on them and not me.

  I can’t help but laugh when I step outside. Apparently ‘car service’ to me and Ian means totally different things. To Ian ‘car service’ means the stretch limo that’s sitting in front of my house; to me ‘car service’ means maybe a town car or even a taxi. Josie is shaking her head as well at his excessiveness as she slides into the back seat. I follow her but feel out of place and can only nod at the driver who is holding the door open for us.

  “Fucking Ian,” I mutter as I settle beside Josie.

  She ignores me and cuddles into my side as the driver closes the door and makes his way back around to the front of the car. Within minutes we are smoothly gliding out of our gated-community heading to the airport.

  The ride is spent talking softly to each other about our plans for the week. There are a few shops she mentions seeing online that she’s hinted that she might like to go to and this gives me hope that she’ll be okay with my idea to be out in public more.

  I do my best not to give credit to the knowledge that literally our entire relationship has been spent with her being terrified of something and me protecting her. At first it was the death threats and the break-in at her apartment, then the abduction, and now dealing with the aftermath of that. I pray she still wants me once everything gets back to normal and she no longer feels threatened by the outside world.

  We’ve been paying so much attention to each other, it isn’t until the car slows and stops that I realize we are not at the commercial airfield where we’re supposed to be. Instead we are parked beside a sleek, private jet.

  Josie leans up to take in the sight of the irrefutably magnificent jet. “Well, it looks like we’ll be going to Montana in style.”

  She’s grinning from ear to ear and her excitement is contagious. The things I could do to her on a private jet are already taking up space in my head. Thank you, Ian Hale. I hope Josie is agreeable because I know the flight time will be even quicker now that we aren’t flying commercial.

  We make our way out of the car where another man stands with our bags already in his hands. The driver waves me off as I try to tip him. Seems Ian has taken care of everything. The man holding our bags inclines his free hand toward the plane so we make our way up the small flight of stairs into the cabin of the plane that is much more luxurious than I would’ve ever guessed.

  A man, who is obviously the captain, makes his way from the front of the plane as we settle into matching leather chairs. He holds out two dark covered square pamphlets and hands them to me.

  “You’ve already been cleared through customs,” he says.

  His words force me to look at what I realize now are passports in my hand and sure as shit it is mine and Josie’s that I’m holding.

  “How in the….wait. Customs?” I look over at Josie who is just as confused as I am. “We’re headed to Montana, why would we need to clear customs?”

  “Mr. Hale expected this type of reaction.” He reaches over to the table beside him and hands me an electronic tablet. “The video file on this may explain the situation better. We will wait for takeoff for your decision. I have no intentions on kidnapping a cop.” He heads back to the front as I power up the tablet.

  I tap the video file on the home screen as Josie and I lean in shoulder to shoulder so we can watch it.

  The video begins to play and Ian and Lorali appear on the screen. She’s sitting on his lap in what appears to be his office at their home, so they can both fit in the screen.

  “Don’t freak out,” Lorali says. “We just wanted to surprise both of you with a dream honeymoon we know you’d never give yourself.”

  Ian interrupts. “First off,” he grins at his fiancée. “I came up with the idea of the dream honeymoon.” Just as I think that he’s going to take credit for the entire idea he continues. “I want it known that I did not think that it should be a surprise.”

  So Ian understands my discomfort with not knowing what is going on. Well he may be aware that I would be a little put out
but I’m sure he could not understand the derision I’m feeling sitting here next to my pregnant wife not knowing what is going on.

  Lorali smacks Ian on the shoulder and tells him he’s being silly to even think we would mind. I think Lorali needs to be informed of just how much Josie has been affected by recent events.

  “Anyways,” Lorali says. “Kaleb, Josie mentioned you wanted to go to the beach and she told you no. Well I could tell with our last conversation that my ever sensible sister really wanted the beach but her practical side kept telling her no. Well, Ian is known for being impractical, hence, you rode to the jet in a limo and you’re sitting on the most luxurious one in his entire fleet. Enjoy the ride and you’ll discover after takeoff that there’s a cozy little bedroom in the back in case Josie gets tired on the flight to Playa de Amor in Cabo.”

  Josie hisses and starts to clap and bounce in her seat. It borderline pisses me off. If this is what she wanted I would have given it to her in a heartbeat. The next time I ask her a serious question and she plays the ‘it’s-too-expensive’ card I’ll tie her ass up and tickle her until she tells me the truth.

  My anger is more like a flash because she’s so excited and happy. Her happiness conjures the same in me.

  I realize that Lorali is still speaking. “There should be an envelope on the table there that has information on all the sites and activities. The vacation is one hundred percent inclusive so you guys won’t need to pay for anything unless you leave the resort to do some shopping.”

  I feel Josie tense beside me at the mention of going off the beaten path.

  “I know that scares you a little bit Josie and you’ll be happy to know that we have also made arrangements for security in case you feel up to it. There is of course no obligation. That should alleviate any apprehension and I can tell you that Ramon is extremely happy to be in Cabo waiting to take you guys where ever you need to.”

  I feel like an asshole for even thinking that Lorali hasn’t been receptive of the issues Josie has had. She’s just as aware as I have been. So much so they’ve arranged for the one person outside of our group that Josie feels comfortable with to help us on our honeymoon.