by Ali Parker
"Good. Come." She bobbed her head over the top of his lap, her pulls greedy and blistering as he let himself go, giving himself over to her naughty teasing fully.
Chapter 10
Kari
His eyes were still glossy as they parked the truck and walked up to the house. Kari moved in front of him and pressed her hand against his strong chest, forcing him to stop before they reached the back door to his parents' house.
"Hey. Snap out of it." She laughed. "Your mom is going to think someone died, or a girl gave you head in the truck. Don't do that to me, please."
He blinked a few times, his dark lashes beautiful as they moved over his high cheekbones. He stole her breath far too often. It was almost frightful to think of how much harder she could fall in love with him if she let herself.
"I'm sorry. I'm just... just so taken with you." He touched her face reverently. "That was incredible. It's been so long since-"
"Let's not wait too long until the next time." She pulled him down for a soft kiss. "I'd be happy to do that all the time. I just wasn't sure if you-"
"I love it." He licked at her mouth. "I can't wait to return the favor."
She shivered in his arms as her body flooded with wetness. "You're going to ruin my panties."
"Good. Throw the fuckers away." He kissed her again as the door opened behind them.
"It’s usually your brother we have to pull off of some cute girl. Unbelievable." Jake's father chuckled and moved back as Kari turned and walked into the house.
"Sorry, Mr. Isaac." Kari pressed her hand to the base of her throat as warmth swept up and covered her upper chest and cheeks. How embarrassing.
"Don't be. I was just teasing you guys."
Jake moved up beside her and took her hand before pulling her to a stop. "Come here."
She moved into his arms and smiled up at him. "Have you gotten caught at the door kissing a girl before?"
"Not too many times, but Landon is a playboy. He's gotten caught doing much worse." Jake laughed and his father growled.
"Please don't remind me." His father walked around them. "Your mother just finished making a batch of hot chocolate. You kiddos want a cup? It had to be cold out there."
Jake kissed the tip of Kari's nose before letting her go and following after his father. "I want one. I love Mom's hot chocolate. Best in the world."
Kari walked behind them, pausing at the door to the kitchen and watching as Jake's father made a beeline to his mother. He wrapped her in a bear hug and kissed her neck a few times until she giggled and swatted him away.
He turned and smiled at Kari. "You cook, sweetheart?"
"Dad. Jeez." Jake pulled out a couple of mugs.
"What? I was just-"
Kari walked into the kitchen and nodded. "I love to cook. I don't get to do it too often because one of my roommates is a chef, but I enjoy it."
"Nice. Jake's mother and I cook together all the time. It's one of our favorite things to do together."
"You used to cook." Jake's mother gave his father a pointed look. "Now you just get in the way and test everything ten times before I can get it on a serving plate."
Jake and Kari shared a laugh as his father tried to defend himself. It didn't work too well.
"Come into the living room with your drinks. I want you to put your ornaments on the tree." Jake's mom walked out of the kitchen and motioned them to join her.
"You coming, Dad?" Jake paused and glanced back at his dad as Kari moved up behind him.
"Yeah. In a minute. Go do what your momma wants. You know she loves that old Christmas tree."
Kari glanced back to make sure he was all right.
He winked and gave her a warm smile.
Her own father was nowhere to be found, but maybe Jake's dad could take that place in her heart in the future. The idea blossomed in her mind, filling her with the type of warmth that showed up in the form of tears.
Jake set his cup down and glanced back, concern spreading over his handsome face. "Baby. What's the matter? What happened?"
She lifted her hand as a tear rolled down her face. "I just feel very welcomed here."
"Cause you are." Jake's mom moved around him and pulled Kari into a hug. "I didn't have daughters. You're going to have to help me make up for lost time."
Kari couldn't help but snuggle into her arms as she pressed her cheek to the top of Kari's head. "I like the sound of that."
"Where are these ornaments, Mom?" Jake moved over to the tree as his mother released Kari and walked over toward the piano.
"Right here, baby." She glanced back at Kari. "Did Jake tell you that he can play the piano like an angel?"
"Mom. Jeez." He ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head. "It's been a long time. I don't play like I used to."
"You play?" Kari walked toward him, turned on by the idea of him being musically inclined.
His eyebrow lifted as he reached out and slid his strong hands around her hips, gripping tightly. "What's that look for?"
"Do you play the piano?" she mumbled and moved in a little closer.
"Does it turn you on that I do?" He leaned down and hovered just above her lips, teasing her.
"I'm going to leave you two alone if you don't stop." His mother laughed. "Now, get over here and put your ornaments on the tree."
"Stop acting up, Jake. I'll get my belt after you," his father barked from the kitchen before laughing loudly.
Jake chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Come on. I'll play you a song after we do this."
"Please..." she tried not to pant. Why was it so attractive that a big buff guy like Jake played the piano? She couldn't put her finger on it, but it left her hot and bothered for sure.
"Here you go." His mother handed him a little coach ornament and handed Kari a photographer one. "Jake said you loved to take pictures."
"This is so sweet." Kari lifted it toward her face, studying it. "Where did you get it?"
"I didn't get it."
Kari glanced up. "I don't understand."
"She made it. She's been making them for years." Jake's father walked into the living room and pulled Jake's mom against him, wrapping his arms around the top of her shoulders. "She's quite the artist."
Jake put up his ornament on the tree and smiled over at her. "I told you she would have something special for you."
"I love it. It's beautiful." Kari offered them a warm smile and moved toward the tree, lifting up on her toes to put her ornament next to Jake’s. She turned to face him and smiled. "You get your talent from your mom."
"He sure does. Night kids."
"Night, Momma." Jake touched the side of Kari’s face and smiled. "I had a good time tonight. You made me feel like I was eighteen again."
"Oh yeah? Play me a song and I'm thinking we're going to see if you have the stamina of an eighteen year old." She ran her hands up his chest, pressing in softly as his eyes widened a little.
"That big of a deal, hm?" He licked at his lips.
"Yeah. I'm not sure why, but I love the thought of you having a softer side."
He chuckled. "Let's not go that far." Pulling back, he turned and walked to the piano to pull out the bench and sit down. He glanced over his shoulder. "Sit down. Take a load off, and tell me what you want to hear."
"What are my choices?" She sat down on the chair closest to her and moved to the edge of it. This was a side of Jake she didn't even realize existed.
"How about a Christmas carol?" He turned his back to her, his jacket hiding the thick swell of muscle she'd memorized with her fingers over the course of many nights beneath him.
"I'd love that." She leaned back and crossed her legs as he started to play, White Christmas.
She let out a slow breath as he finished and turned to face her. "Wow. I don't know what to say. That was beautiful. My heart is racing."
He laughed and got up, turning to face the tree. "Good. Mom forced me to learn to play, though I gave it up about three years ago when
all hell broke loose."
"We need a piano in our house." She got up and moved up behind him, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her face to his back. "I want you to play all the time."
"Yeah. And I'll teach our little man to play. It's a good talent for melting the ladies’ hearts." He turned in her arms and brushed her hair back. "Thank you for loving me."
"I'm falling hard. It's scary." She searched his face, finding nothing but strength and acceptance.
"Everything worth racing after usually is." He brushed his thumb over her lips and took a shaky breath. "It's not fear though, baby. It's exhilaration."
She nodded and moved up to meet him as he leaned down to consume her in his warmth, his hold, his deliciously hot kisses.
Chapter 11
Jake
Jake woke to the sound of his brothers arguing over something in the living room the next morning. He reached for Kari, but found her gone.
"Baby?" He sat up and realized the door to his bedroom was open. Landon and Clint were rarely up early, and seeing that their trucks weren’t out front last night when he and Kari got back, he had to assume they'd gotten in really late.
What the hell were they doing up, and even more so, why were they being so insanely loud?
Getting up, Jake reached for his jeans crumbled up on the floor by the bed. He shivered and pulled them over his legs before grabbing a long-sleeve t-shirt from his bag and pulling it over his head. He walked down the hall as a smile crept up his face. He couldn't wait to see his brothers. It had been too damn long.
"Dude, get your ass back. You know he's going to want at least three pieces." Landon turned and got down into position. "I will fuck you up, good."
"Landon Jackson Isaac. Watch your mouth." Jake's mom walked into the kitchen and put her hands on her hips as Jake stood over to the side, his finger to his lips to tell her not to give him away just yet. Kari was nowhere in sight.
"Sorry, Mom. You'd be proud of me. I was trying to protect-" Landon yelled as Clint rushed him, picking him up and carrying him toward the living room.
Jake's mother jogged after them. "You boys stop it. You're not kids anymore. You're going to break something and then I'll be forced to whoop your grown asses."
The scene before him was very much a representation of his raising. Someone was always getting their ass whooped in his house, but usually it was his dad handing out the whoopings.
He grabbed a plate and stole the last three pancakes and three pieces of bacon. He shoved one in his mouth and moved toward the living room, grabbing the syrup and a fork on the way.
"He doesn't need three pieces. He's getting old and fat," Clint grunted as he pressed Landon to the ground. "You're just scared of him."
"Old and fat? Oh, hell no." Jake put his plate down and moved across the room, pulling Clint off Landon and body slamming him to the couch before tickling the hell out of him.
For a big, buff, tough guy, he curled into a ball and started to scream. Clint hated, more than anything, to be tickled. It was his kryptonite, and Jake was happy to use it any time he needed to.
"You ass," Clint cried out between his laughter.
Jake kept after him until someone popped his butt pretty hard. He moved back and turned, ready to attack until he saw it was his mom.
She put her hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side. "Oh, yeah? You think you can handle me?"
"No, ma'am. Of course not, Momma. I thought you were Landon." Jake chuckled and walked back over to his plate as he tried to slow his racing heart.
"Damn, I've missed you. You sorry fucker." Landon wrapped him in a tight hug before he could get to his food and picked him up off the ground.
"Not as much as I have." Clint wrapped both of them in a hug and squeezed.
Jake groaned as his back popped. "Stop. Shit. I'm old and fat, remember?"
"Boys! Watch your mouths." Their mother grumbled something and turned to walk back into the kitchen. "I swear you would think the three of you were raised in a barn."
Clint and Landon moved back, and Jake smiled so hard his cheeks hurt. "Damn. You guys look great. Where are the punk ass kids I left back here a few years ago?"
"All grown up, man." Landon rubbed his chest as his eyes moved across Jake. "God, man. Why didn't you come visit? Feels like I'm seeing a ghost."
"Shut the fuck up." Jake reached out and patted his brother's face. He was going to get emotional if he wasn't careful.
"Pussies." Clint popped both of them in the chest as his mother called him out from the kitchen.
Jake reached out and grabbed his brother, pulling him in a hug as Landon moved in to tickle Clint while Jake had him trapped.
"Mom! Help! Mom... I'm the baby!" Clint screamed.
Jake laughed and released him before picking up his plate and walking back toward the kitchen. "Mom, where's Kari?"
"Speaking of Kari," Landon mumbled and glanced over at Jake as they walked back to the kitchen. "She's beautiful, man."
"Stay back," Jake growled softly.
Landon lifted his hands. "I'd never hit on a girl you had feelings for. Give me some credit. I'm a whore, but I'm not that bad."
"Well hasn't run dry yet." Clint chuckled and snagged a piece of bacon off Jake's plate.
Their mother reached over and grabbed Clint's ear. "Put that back right now, mister."
"Ouch. Okay, Mom. Let go. Jeez." Clint dropped the bacon back on Jake's plate.
Jake sat down at the breakfast nook and cut into his pancakes before looking up at Landon. "Where's Jessica?"
"She's with her family." He shrugged. "What do I care?"
Clint moved up to stand beside him and gave him a silly look. "Are you kidding me right now? You have it so bad for that girl."
"And?" Landon glanced over at Clint. "We're just friends, dude. We'll always just be friends."
"Aren't you guys living together?" Jake lifted his eyebrow. "Momma mentioned it."
"It ain't right." Jake's mom walked toward the back door. "Kari is out here having coffee with your daddy, baby. Come out when you're done."
Jake smiled. "I love that girl."
"You gonna propose?" Landon asked and moved to sit on the counter.
"Yes, but stop changing the subject." Jake extended one of the pieces of bacon to his brother.
Landon snatched it up as Clint growled. "Not fair."
"Here, you pig. I bet you guys went through a damn pound of bacon before I ever even got up." Jake handed Clint the last piece. So much for protein at breakfast. He probably owed it back to the two of them. He'd stolen a lot from their plates over the years.
"We did, but you know Mom's bacon is the best in the world." Landon ran his fingers through his hair. "Jessica and I just moved in together. I'm praying that it goes somewhere, but I can't push it. She thinks of me as Landon, her bff. We've been friends since we were kids. She's got the fucking bubble bath picture to prove it. She thinks that they're cute and I'm wondering if she wants to recreate the moment so I can poke her in the ass with my erection by accident."
"Oh Lord." Clint turned and walked toward the door. "Nice catch, bro. Kari is a cutie. She looks like a good girl. Is she?" He glanced over his shoulder and laughed as Jake got up. "Kidding. Jeez. Cut a guy some slack."
"You not hooked up with anyone either?" Jake got up and walked his plate to the sink. "What's the matter with you two? Life is too short to sleep alone."
"Oh, he's not sleeping alone, it's just never the same girl." Landon hopped down from the cabinet. "He's more of a whore than I am. It's getting scary."
"Boys." Jake reached out and wrapped his arm around Landon's neck, moving them toward Clint so that he could pull him in close too. "Sex isn't shit without love involved."
"I call bullshit. It's amazing." Landon smiled cheekily.
"You don't know anything. I'm telling you. You're missing out." Jake glanced over to his youngest brother. "Why are you whoring around? You're a great-looking guy with so much to
offer a lady."
"Too much effort." Clint pulled out of Jake's hold. "Why? Kari got a sister?" He laughed and ran toward the door, slipping out before Jake could reach him. The little shit needed to be tossed around the yard a little. Both of them did. It had been too long.
"Does she, though?" Landon moved up and pressed his hand against the window, looking out to the backyard. "I think Clint would do good to settle down."
"So would you." Jake reached over and squeezed his brother's shoulder. "Clint is still in college. It's going to be awhile for him. He's still dying his damn hair, which looks ridiculous."
"The girls go nuts over it. I walked into the bathroom last night and two girls were sucking him off." Landon laughed. "I was almost proud of the little shit."
Jake felt the blood drain from his face. "Holy shit. Here?"
"No, man. He knows better than that shit. It was up at Kinsley's bar. You remember David Dawson? He plays up there now."
"Really? David was a good friend of mine."
"Yeah. He's a cool cat." Landon turned his attention back to the window. "Jess is killing me, man. She's worthy of a great man and she's just dating creeps."
"That's your fault." Jake reached for the door. He'd had that same conversation a million times with Landon. Jessica deserved him, but he couldn't man up and tell her. They were friends, but friends with detriment.
"How so?"
"You're letting her look for her prince when he's standing right beside her."
"I'm not good enough for her, Jake. You don't know some of the shit I've done."
"Right." Jake pulled the door open. "And I could care less what you've done. She wouldn't either. You just don't see what we see, man. You will. One day."
Chapter 12
Kari
"You ready to go to town?" Jake's mom walked out on the porch with a cup of coffee in her hand.