The Sterling Boys (The Sterling Shore Series #3)

by C. M. Owens

  I try to break the kiss, but I moan into his mouth instead and pull him closer.

  "And you thought the cold pizza was gross," Maverick grumbles.

  Dane and I can't help but laugh, and that gives me the chance I need to move away from the kiss, even though Dane has no intentions of letting me out of his grasp.

  "I can't, Dane."

  "Because you can't have kids?" he asks, his lips tense.

  "Yeah. You want a family that I can't give you."

  Why does he insist on making me lay it all out there? I'm already aching all over. I'm not selfish, as they said earlier; I'm selfless. I'm giving up the only person I've ever been in love with because I can't bear to see him lose the future he deserves.

  "Rain, I was adopted. What makes you think I don't want to give children the same chance I was given? I would have died if Mom hadn't fought for me, or I would have ended up on a path just as rough as my birthparents. Do you have any idea how much I want to be that savior for another child? That's the houseful of children I want. Kids that need a home. They don't have to be my blood, Rain.

  "I want to find kids like Britt who are on the streets because people who shouldn't have kids have them everyday. Maybe this is fate, because I never intended on having my own child. If you had fucking talked to me instead of running away, you would have known that. I love you, so quit fighting me."

  I don't know what dam breaks, but the tears gush out like I didn't know they could. I hiccup out a sob as Dane pulls me to him, and I dissolve in his embrace as I hug him too tight, clinging to him like he holds my next breath of air. I think he actually does hold it.

  "You're serious?" I whisper—the only volume I can manage. I'm praying he's not just telling me what I want to hear.

  "Baby, I swear I'm serious. I didn't mention it in the interview because my lawyer advises against that sort of thing. With my kind of money, he's afraid of what lunatics would call and beg me to take their children for a price, not to mention the threats that could ensue. It's just wiser to keep things vague during interviews. Something you probably know more about than I do," he says against my forehead.

  I sob harder while wrapping my arms around his neck, and he kisses my forehead as his hold on me tightens.

  "I love you," I murmur against his chest.

  "Your punishment can wait until we get back home," Maverick says from behind Dane, interrupting our moment.

  "Punishment?" I ask, peeking out from beside Dane's arm.

  "Tickle torture," Corbin says with a shrug.

  My eyes grow wide as I squirm. It may sound immature, but damn, it's terrible.

  "I said I'm sorry," I whimper.

  I hate it when they hold me down and tickle me. I laugh until I cry, and I'm sore for days. Last time I almost pissed myself. This time Dane will help them, and I may actually piss myself. I'd die of embarrassment.

  "Too late," Kode chirps, moving beside Maverick who's grinning mischievously.

  "What if I baked you a cake?" I ask hopefully.

  "Can't bribe us," Dale says with a dismissive wave. "Get packed. We're taking you home tomorrow. We've got a room here for tonight."

  "Wait. I have to stay for the production," I object, hoping to delay the punishment.

  Filming could take at least a year if—

  "Nope. Producer was fucking ecstatic when we talked to him about taking you home. Ran into him when we were heading up. Nice guy. Maverick recognized him from the internet. We've been stalking your book/movie deal. You'll also be punished for not telling us about that. Prepare to be tossed into Mom's pool," Kode says mildly, the same dark humor glinting in his eyes.

  “I can’t swim,” I quickly remind him, knowing he wouldn’t do anything to—

  “Shallow end,” he adds, killing my hope. “And I think you’re old enough to learn to swim.”

  Ah hell. Elizabeth keeps her pool too cold. I'm not even sure how she manages to do it, but I hate that damn pool. I’ve only ever put my toes in it, and even that was terrible. I’m sure as hell not learning to swim in there. I’m already terrified of the water. Frigid water is a double threat.

  "And you're really going to be punished if we find out you didn't make us look like total studs in your books," Corbin adds, a taunting smile on his face.

  Crap. The books.

  "I... uh—"

  "Get some rest," Dale says with his uncharacteristically wicked grin. "You'll need it."

  One by one, they all hug me, whispering their threats of tickle torture and cold-as-ice water dunking as they press a kiss to my cheek. Everyone chuckles as they filter out, and Dane's arms come back around me just as the door shuts behind them.

  "You can't keep hiding stuff from me. Promise me you'll never do it again. Secrets only tear people apart," he says before brushing his lips against mine.

  "I promise," I whisper, entranced by his simple, soft touch. "Promise you won't help them punish me?"

  I peek up, giving him my most innocent expression, and he chuckles. "I won't be helping them punish you. I have my own punishment in mind."

  Really wish that didn't sound so dirty. I've read too many books.

  "Oh?" I ask, running my finger down his chest and enjoying the way his breath hitches.

  He catches my hand, and kisses it, then he takes my left hand in his to pull it up to his lips, repeating the kiss on it. His lips then find mine, and I melt against him as he plays with my hand. It takes me a second to realize that he just put something on my finger. I pull back from the kiss to investigate when the foreign feeling finally registers.

  When a raindrop diamond stares at me, I'm pretty sure my heart gives up trying to find an actual rhythm and just beats whenever it thinks about it. It's the most perfect ring I've ever seen. It's like someone designed this ring just for me, and Dane found it.

  "I plan to punish you by making you spend the rest of your life with me. Your vows will promise that you won't ever run away from me again. You'll promise to let me make you happy in ways only I can. Everyday you'll have to let me touch you, hold you, and love you while I remind you how fucking much you mean to me. And you'll listen, believe it, and trust me.

  "You won't ever face anything alone, because I'll always be there. You'll be forced to smile daily while I make you scream my name, and you'll enjoy every second of being in my arms. We'll always promise to make time for each other no matter how busy we are, and you'll have to do things like take long baths with me, come on a few business trips so that I don't have to miss you, and you'll have to do terrible things like sleep in my arms all night. It'll be brutal."

  He grins as I struggle to do things like breathe and stand. It's rather frustrating to let him continue spelling out his delicious punishment for me when all I want to do is get started.

  "We'll argue, but we'll always get through it because we love each enough to make it through anything. You'll have to go out on dates with me even after your name is Sterling. And you'll also have to let me take you on vacations, even after we expand our family. My favorite part of growing up with the Sterlings was a family vacation. It's why I was always so close to my cousins."

  My tears come out harder as the promise of my dream future keeps getting better, and I look up to see him smiling down at me.

  "Yes. I'll marry you," I choke out, hiccupping again.

  His throaty chuckle is one of amusement, and he thumbs away a few of my tears. "Of course you will. It's your punishment. You can't get out of your punishment, after all," he jokes, bending down to kiss me softly, but I break the restraint he has when I jump up to wrap my legs around his waist.

  The kiss becomes hungry, and I forget about the exhausting day, or the fact that I'm standing here in a pair of hideous black shorts that touch my knees, a shirt that has three coffee stains, and the fact that my hair is in absolute shambles. I also ignore the fact that Dane looks sexy as hell while I look like a complete wreck. I'm back in his arms, and his ring is on my finger.

  "I love y
ou, Rain. Don't leave me again," he murmurs against my lips, and my tears fall harder while my smile gets bigger.

  "I'm not going anywhere," I promise.

  Before I can even process what's going on, we're out on the balcony that I'm thankful is private, and he's dropping me to the oversized chaise lounge. My ugly shorts slide off as Dane works over me, keeping me under him as he kisses me.

  My shirt peels off next, and my breath goes hoarse when he starts kissing his way down, paying attention to every bit of my body in his slow descent. My legs tremble when he reaches the apex of my thighs, and his breath teases me in all the most neglected places.

  He places a sweet, gentle kiss on the inside of my thigh, and the waves crashing below drown out my sharp intake of air. He moves to the other side, showing it the same attention, and I start the medley of whimpers and gasps, becoming a repetitive machine as he works his way up. Then it all turns into strangled moans and girly cries. Bless him and his tongue.

  When he finds the most sensitive spot on my body, his name comes out in a prayer-like whisper.

  I can feel his grin against me, and I rock my hips, urging him on. Every flick of his tongue is more amazing than the last, and within minutes, I'm screaming loud enough to let everyone outside know what's going on as a powerful, stomach-clenching sensation rips through me, carrying me to a place I've missed.

  I'm glad only the ocean can see me right now. The beach is fortunately not in view from this corner. And it's really dark, thankfully.

  As he starts to come up my body, I stop him, pushing him into a standing position as I sit up on the chaise. He starts to speak when I jerk his pants open, and unveil the hard piece of his body that I have truly missed. The second I take him into my mouth, his body trembles against me, giving me power.

  I twirl my tongue around his tip, tasting the small bud of wet excitement, and then I take him deeper, reveling in the way his hands go to my hair and his grip gets desperate. Each stroke makes his throaty growls more carnal, and each twist of my tongue has him pushing harder into my mouth.

  But before the finale can happen, he has me picked up and pushed back on the chaise as his body covers mine. He's inside me with one hard thrust, and my eyes roll back in my head as our bases collide.

  His breath of reverence resonates in my ear, letting me know how much he's missed me, and I swear I love him even more in this moment. He stays still inside me, making me squirm with need as his lips slowly claim mine, and I rock my hips against him, urging him to move.

  Finally, he does, and a harsh grunt slides through my lips when he pushes in hard enough to jolt my body. I cling to him as I relinquish all control and get lost in his incredible rhythm.

  The sweet mist of the ocean kisses us even though we're so far up here, giving our bodies a sheen of salty moisture as Dane reminds me just how good we are together. My nails slide against his back when he finds that spot deep within me that no other man has ever touched, and my toes curl almost painfully as my body prepares for the wave of ecstasy that is sure to follow soon.

  It feels so good that it's almost painful when my body erupts, close to causing me to black out from the overwhelming sensations surging through my body. He tugs my hair back, muffling my scream as he devours my lips, his tongue sweeping around with familiarity as he drives me out of my mind. My body shakes with aftershocks that would leave earthquakes envious as the tingles spread from my scalp to the tips of my toes.

  His thrusts quicken and his grip tightens just before he says my name in a whisper that's almost swallowed up by the sounds of the waves below. He stills inside me as I continue to tremble, still struggling to catch my breath and come down from a high like I've never had.

  "I love you," he says breathlessly, laughing when I try to mumble it back, but fail miserably because words are too hard to form right now.

  He kisses my cheek, my nose, and my forehead, making me giggle lightly, and he pulls me closer. And we just lie there for minutes or hours, I'm not sure. But it's peaceful, and I'm scared if I move too soon, the dream will end.

  "I take it my punishment has started," I finally murmur, though I sound a little drunk.

  "Yep. But I'm not done punishing you tonight. Want to try to make it to the bedroom this time?"

  "You'll have to carry me. There's no way I can walk."

  He laughs as he stands and scoops me up, making it seem effortlessly, and I smile as I stare at my ring. I'm marrying Dane Sterling.

  Epilogue

  One week later

  DANE

  "When are you planning the wedding?" Raya asks Rain, sounding excited as Kade comes to rest his arm across her shoulders.

  "Next month," Rain answers, her beautiful grin reminding me just how fucking lucky I am.

  "Wow, that's soon," Raya says in surprise.

  I come to sit down beside Rain, but she crawls into my lap and rests her head on my shoulder before pressing a kiss to my neck. Really can't handle all that. Everyone is still here, and all I want to do is drag her out of here.

  "What about you two? When's the big day?" I ask, taking a sip of my beer as Rain gets comfortable in my lap.

  "We're thinking in the spring. Raya wants to have the wedding at the vineyard."

  She grins as she leans in and kisses him. Now I understand why he went so insane. I also apologized for kicking him out of my club, considering I would have gone just as crazy to talk to Rain. Hell, I flew to Florida.

  "This is really pissing me off," Maverick says as he joins us, his eyes on the open book in his hands. "Mr. Harrison's cat was not my fault. Corbin's the one who had the chainsaw."

  Raya's eyes go wide as she swings her head toward the brooding man in our living room. "What?"

  Rain laughs while shaking her head, but she ignores Raya. "You were the one who had the chainsaw. Corbin had the pole saw. Neither of you idiots should ever work with tools. The chainsaw hit the cat's tail. Not the pole saw."

  "We dropped them at the same time. It can't be proven that it was the chainsaw that cut off that cat's tail."

  "A cat's tail?" Raya prompts, turning puce.

  "The cat lived," Rain says dismissively. "I paid to have it taken to the animal hospital while those fools gave up on cutting down the telephone pole."

  "You were cutting down a telephone pole?" Kade asks, his interest clearly piqued.

  "We were fifteen and Mr. Harrison threatened to call our parents to tell on us for having a party. He didn't have a cell phone, so we thought we'd cut down the telephone pole," Maverick says, shrugging as though it's not a big deal.

  In retrospect, I probably should have intervened during that fiasco.

  "Neither of them could work their tools," Kode jokes as he walks in, his pun fully intended.

  Maverick glares at him as we all laugh at his expense, and Kode just smirks.

  "The point is, you gave me all the blame for the cat. You need to fix that before the movie goes out."

  Rain grins teasingly, and Maverick scowls. "I mean it," he growls.

  "Uh huh. And if I don't?" she taunts.

  "Don't push me. The prank wars ended on a truce. I'd hate to rip up that piece of paper."

  "For the love of God, Rain, make it Corbin. Don't let Maverick start that shit again," Kode groans, causing all of us to laugh. "It took me a month to get rid of all the blue dye he put in my hair."

  It took Rain longer to get rid of the green dye.

  Apparently the same thought crosses her mind, because her adorable scowl forms as she glares at Maverick. "Don't threaten me, Maverick Sterling. I can sneak into your house just as easily as you once snuck into mine."

  The silent standoff between Maverick and Rain ends when Kode grows bored and steps in between them on his way to Rain. I tense, still not fully over what he did, but trying my damnedest to get there for the sake of the girl I love.

  He kisses her cheek, and pulls back quickly to offer me a tight smile. "I'm gone. See you guys tomorrow."

  "You
're not staying for steaks?" Rain asks.

  That makes my scowl form. Damn Dale stole my spot at the grill.

  "Nah. I've got to go to New York in two days, and I haven't read anything about the business that wants me to invest. I should probably at least know if they're legit before I fly out there."

  Rain frowns but nods as Kode makes his way out. Then she gives me all of her attention.

  "What about the country club? It's nice, accessible, and it'll be the perfect venue for a wedding. Not to mention, I'm sort of screwing the owner, so we can get it pretty cheap."

  I cough on my beer as everyone laughs, and I roll my eyes at the girl grinning at me. She loves embarrassing the shit out of me.

  "We can fly out to Vegas and get married tonight for all I care. We'll get married anywhere you want."

  "Vegas," she says to herself, her eyes wandering off to the vacant air above her. "I'll think about that."

  I smile as I bend to kiss her shoulder, and the door opens. Rain's neck is just inches away, so I start kissing that instead of seeing who just came in.

  "Damn! Oh my gosh! When did you do that?" Rain gasps, practically rocketing off my lap as she rushes to greet someone.

  I look up to see long, dark hair, but the face is covered by the blonde of my dreams.

  "I needed a change, so I changed... a lot of things. Even my house. This is just part of the new package," Tria says. Whoa, wait. Tria?

  I stand up to see around Rain, and sure enough, it's Tria. The girl I've never seen as anything but a platinum blonde is standing here with hair that midnight would envy. It's a jarring change, and I laugh as Rain runs her fingers over her sister's hair, inspecting it as though it's a wig.

  "You moved? Why didn't you tell me?" Rain asks absently.

  "I was going to. I was worried you'd... well, I just wanted to handle it."

  Maverick frowns as he walks over to me and whispers, "She was afraid Rain would ask us to help her move her stuff. That's what she was going to say, isn't it?"

  "Probably," I mutter dryly. It's not like they've put forth any real effort to make the girl less skittish around them.