Always On My Mind: A Bad Boy Rancher Love Story (The Dawson Brothers Book 1)

by Ali Parker

  She deep-throated him, and he gripped the wheel, lifting his hips to help her out a little as he panted. Every part of him was on fire, his heart racing in his chest, his balls tight as he neared orgasm. It never took long when Lisa put her pretty face in his lap. She was far too experienced to expect the moment to last.

  "You're close." She turned her face up toward him, rubbing the meaty head of his cock over her cheek.

  He closed his eyes and pressed his teeth to his lip as the car beside him honked.

  "Fuck yes, I am." He opened his eyes and moved up a little as traffic moved an inch. "As much as I want this to last, make it quick, sexy. We're in the middle of traffic and there are people fucking everywhere."

  She lifted her head and smiled, stroking him with short, fast jerks of her hand. "An audience. How wild is this?"

  The car beside him honked again, and damn if Lisa didn't blow the guys a kiss.

  Marc laughed and ran his hand down her back to slide into her jeans where they opened just a little. He gripped the top curve of her ass and kneaded her flesh.

  "I usually love quickies, but you taste so good. I hate to finish you off." She moved back down, sucking on his cock like a lollipop.

  "You can have all you want, baby. Any time you want it." He squeezed her ass again and let out a shaky breath as she worked him over the edge, drinking him down and licking him clean. "Such a good girl."

  "Your girl." She nipped at his cock, and his heart almost stopped. "Not so sure I'm good though."

  He lifted his eyebrow as she moved back and helped him get back into his jeans. "Me either... we should test out the theory."

  "Tonight. After church?"

  "Hell yes."

  ***

  "Your cheeks are flushed, baby. Do you have a fever?" Marc's mom touched the side of his face as he stood in the living room, trying to round everyone up for the church service. There was no way to tell his mother the reason for his fever was due to having his girl suck him off.

  "Just too many layers on, I'm sure." Marc tugged at his collar and tried to hide the chuckle that bubbled up inside of him. He wasn't sure he would ever stop thinking like a fifteen-year-old boy. Good thing Lisa was cut from the same cloth.

  "Take your undershirt off." Lisa moved up beside him as the front door opened. Charles.

  "I'm good." Marc offered his mother an arm and Lisa the other one. "You girls ready for a night of fun?"

  Charles chuckled. "You're far more mature than I was at your age. A night of fun would have been beers at the bar, dancing until my legs hurt and making love to a beautiful woman."

  "Scoundrel." Marc winked at Charles and walked out into the cold with his two favorite women on his arms. Well, two of the three. He glanced down at his mom as nostalgia rolled over him. "I miss Kari."

  "Me too, baby." His mom smiled, but the gesture didn't reach her eyes.

  "Me three," Lisa added in and snuggled up beside him. "Do you think Jake will propose while they're in Texas?"

  "I don't know." Marc opened the door for Lisa while Charles opened the door for Marc's mom. "I'm pretty sure he's going to wait until he gets back. He told me New Year’s." Marc cleared his throat and locked eyes with his mom. "Speaking of. He wanted me to talk to you about coming up for the occasion. It's a surprise though."

  "Of course I'll be there. Do you think he would mind me bringing Charles?"

  Charles walked around to the driver’s seat as they all stood around the car in the snow. "Where are we going?"

  "Maine, to see my little girl get engaged." Marc's mom's voice broke. "Sorry. Seems like yesterday you guys were kids."

  "I still am a kid, Mom. Jeez." Marc got in the car as everyone laughed and got in as well. Warmth infiltrated every part of him. He was where he should be, beside Lisa and spending the evening with his mom and her traditions.

  Chapter 16

  Lisa

  The church service was new, but beautiful. Peace like Lisa had never felt before wrapped around her as she sat snuggled between Marc and his mother. The handsome older man sitting on the other side of Marc's mom, Charles, seemed like a great guy. Lisa made a mental note to call Kari and see what she thought of him. Her and Jake were supposed to have visited before heading out to Texas.

  Texas.

  It felt so far away. Would Kari really think about moving down south?

  Lisa let out a quick huff and smiled at Marc as he glanced down at her with a questioning look. There was no way to even whisper in the silence of the church service. She didn't want to break the spell anyway. Everyone looked serene, lost in the promise of the holiday. It was bliss. It was completely different than anything her family did.

  The preacher got up and said a few words before having people walk down the aisles with little white candles. Lisa took hers and passed the rest down the aisle, wondering what in the world they were about to do.

  "It's not a cult. I promise," Marc whispered against her hair.

  The warmth of his breath caused chill bumps to break out along her arms. She shivered and snuggled closer to him. The church stood, and she followed suit, trying not to look around as if a total tourist to church services, though she was.

  "We're going to light our candles as a symbol of hope as we sing Silent Night. Let your hearts be stilled, your worries rest. Tonight is a night of new beginnings. Of redemption." The Preacher smiled and emotion blasted through Lisa, tears burning her eyes.

  The lights dimmed, and she was thankful for the covering of the dark. The music started, the piano and violin combo almost haunting as the church members started to sing. Marc wrapped his arm back around her, resting his hand on her hip as he sang in a thick tenor voice.

  Surprise rolled through her. She had no clue Marc could sing so well. The sound drew her in, and the lights igniting all over the church tore at her resolve to remain untouched. Swallowing hard, she turned her attention to the preacher, who was standing beside a wheelchair, his wife thin and sickly, but smiling like it was her birthday.

  Every memory turned back to her mother, most of them ones that left Lisa wanting to bend over in pain, but a few of them were good, solid moments where her mom forgot to be a bitch. There was another side to her. Why had Lisa never seen it more than a few times?

  Her mother's voice echoed in her head, "I want you to be strong. You don't need us. You don't need anyone to become who you're going to become. Love cripples people, it rips the rug out from under them. It's an unfaithful companion. Don't trust it."

  "Lisa? You okay, baby?" Marc pulled her into his arms and blew out his candle before blowing out hers.

  She hadn't realized that she was softly crying. "I'm fine. Just got lost in the moment." She tucked her face against his coat and closed her eyes as a desire raced through her that she never in a million years expected to feel.

  She wanted to go home. To talk to her mom. To offer her forgiveness and try to understand. It wasn't her place to apologize, but holding in her anger, her despair, her hurt for so many years had warped her idea of the world, changed her view on love in general.

  Maybe in trying to find a common ground with her mother, she could let Marc into her heart fully. He deserved that. They both did.

  "Let's get out of here and have some cake and go see lights, yeah?" He touched the side of her face and brushed away her tears, his expression filled with a hint of pain. Was he suffering on her behalf? The thought alone embedded on her heart and forced her to want more for them.

  Forgiving her mom, whether she asked for it or not, would help start the healing process. It would be the hardest thing she ever did, and most likely wouldn't make a difference to her mom, but it wasn't about her mom anymore.

  It's about me.

  ***

  "I ate too much cake." Lisa laughed as they walked back up the stairs to Ms. Martin's house. "Thank you for letting me join you guys tonight for your Christmas Eve traditions. I love it."

  "Of course." Marc's mom pressed her hand to Lisa's back
as they walked into the warmth of the house. "Something tells me that you're going to be a part of the family before we know it."

  Lisa chuckled. "That thought had to scare the hell out of you about a year ago."

  "Hell yes it did." She smirked as Marc balked over his mom cursing.

  "Did you really just say that?" He moved into the kitchen behind his mom as Charles closed the door and walked up beside Lisa, smiling down at her.

  "It's a place." Marc's mom shrugged and disappeared into the kitchen. "What? I didn't say a curse word."

  "Semantics, Mom." Marc laughed.

  Lisa glanced up at Charles and smiled back. "I think you and I have it pretty good. No?"

  "I've been in love with Elizabeth for a couple of years now, but didn't have the courage to tell her. She was so cut off from everyone and everything." He slipped his hands into his coat pockets as his smile grew. "But then she approached me. Finally."

  "How cool is that?" Lisa laughed. "My mom approached my dad. They've been married for thirty years next year."

  "Wow. That's saying something in this world."

  "Yeah, my dad's a saint." She snorted and immediately wanted to retract the statement. "No, you know what... my dad loves my mom in a way that leaves every other relationship I've seen pale in comparison."

  "What a lucky girl you are. To see that type of devotion from a young age. It just doesn't happen very often anymore." He shrugged and turned his attention toward the kitchen as Marc's mom stuck her head out and smiled.

  "You guys up for a night cap?" Marc's mom asked, her voice hopeful.

  "I'm up for anything where you'll be there too." Charles walked toward the kitchen.

  Lisa stood locked deep in indecision. She pulled out her phone and took a shaky breath as emotion pumped through her. "I'll be there in just a minute. I... I need to do something."

  She turned and walked out of the house, trotting down the steps into the snow and dialing her mom's number before she lost the courage to call. It had been twenty years since her mother had seen any emotion on her face, or heard it in her voice. Sadly enough, the spell would be broken. Lisa's throat was tight as tears streamed down her face.

  "What the fuck am I supposed to even say?" She glanced up at the sky and let out a soft sob as her chest burned.

  "Lisa?" Her mother's voice was weak, but thick with emotion too.

  "Mom," Lisa whispered and pressed her hand to her mouth, trying to figure out where to go, how to speak past the pain of so many years of hating the woman.

  "Come home and see me. Please. I want you here."

  Lisa shook her head. "I want to be there."

  "Good. I love you."

  "Me too," Lisa squeaked out and dropped the call. It was a start. It was more than they'd said in twenty years.

  The door opened behind her, and Marc jogged down the stairs, his eyes wide, face pale. "Baby? Everything okay?"

  "Yeah. It's better." She ran her hands up his strong chest. "Can you take me back to my mom's? I need to see her. I need to make things right."

  He cupped her face, brushing his thumbs over her cheeks as his expression softened. "Of course. You want me to stay with you?"

  "Not tonight. I need to make this right so I can move forward with you." She took a deep breath. "And when we get back from the holidays, I need you to help me talk to the girls about leaving."

  "Leaving? Where are you going?" He looked a little ill again.

  "With you. I'm coming back here to New York. I want us to get a small apartment and spend time with your mom, and take care of mine. My dad will be traveling, so she needs me, and for the first time in a long time, I think I need her." She shrugged and glanced back up at the sky as the snow started to fall again. "It makes no sense to me, but I have to do this. I'll regret it if I don't."

  "Hell yes." He pulled her in tighter and laughed loudly. "Having you here with me for the next six months and not having to sleep one night without you? This is the best Christmas gift ever, baby. Are you sure about all of this?"

  "More than sure." She pulled him down for a long kiss. "Give me a ride to my mom's, and I'll make it worth your while."

  "You don't have to ask me twice." He kissed her a few more times, his lust morphing into love. "I'm going to be beside you every step of the way. No matter what that means. You know that, right?"

  "Yeah." She smiled. "I do."

  Chapter 17

  Marc

  Without Kari there to shake him awake on Christmas morning, he figured he would get to sleep in late, but the phone rang early. Dark outside early.

  Marc scrambled for it, worried that it was Lisa and she needed him. To see Jake's name on the caller id set off a whole new host of worries. He sat up and answered it as his heart contracted in his chest.

  "Jake. What's up, man? My sister okay?" He stood and stumbled to the door, flipping on the light and closing the door. Kari meant the world to him. She was his best friend - by far.

  "No, man." Jake cleared his throat. "Everything is great. I'm just... I don't know. I'm scared shitless about this asking her to marry me thing. I wanted to talk to one of my brothers, but they would just give me shit over being a pussy about it."

  "You are being a pussy." Marc chuckled.

  "Really?"

  "Dude, you didn't fucking tell me that I had to dress up like Santa for the teddy bear drive thing at the fire station. That might have been a detail you want to include me in next time." Marc ran his fingers through his hair as Jake laughed. The sound warmed him. Kari was marrying for love this time, not for convenience. If nothing else, Jake Isaac loved her like crazy. It was apparent to anyone around them. They were right for each other.

  "You're a total ham. Are you telling me that you didn't enjoy the attention, cause I won't believe that."

  "All right. It was fun, and Lisa enjoyed sitting on my knee a lot."

  "TMI, man."

  Marc chuckled. "Why are you so worked up about asking Kari to marry you? You guys are obviously in love. You've been together since March. She's an incredible woman, the most loving I know."

  "I know all that. What if she fucking says no."

  "You're kidding me right now, right? It's ass-dark-thirty and you called me because you're worried that my big sister, who thinks you hung the moon and decorated the sky with the stars at night isn't going to say yes to marriage? You're delusional, Jake. You need to find something else to worry about." He dropped back on the bed. "When are you asking her? I told my mom it would be New Year’s."

  "Yeah. I wanted to do it today, but I'm just being selfish. She's going to want all of you guys around us. I do too, honestly." He sighed. "I just needed some reassurance. I love her so damn much. I want to give her the world. Everything and anything she wants. I've never felt like this before. It's so much bigger than my stupid relationship with my ex. I didn't realize it until now."

  "Pussy." Marc smiled.

  "Fuck you too. Merry Christmas, man. I'm excited to join your family."

  "Me too, man. My sister needs a man like you, and deserves one too. Take care of her, and make sure she calls Momma later today. I know we got to chat last night, but my mom is a little sensitive to Kari being gone. It's the first year without her." Marc rolled onto his side and pulled his legs up, curling up in the bed. "It's weird not having her shake me awake this morning."

  Jake chuckled. "Pussy. It's not your mom that's sad about it. It's you."

  "Yeah. I am." Marc swallowed the hard emotions rising in his chest. "Just tell her it's Momma and make her call, all right?"

  "Absolutely. Thanks, Marc."

  "Anytime, brother." Marc dropped the call and rolled back on his back, clasping his hands over his chest as he let his mind move through all the Christmas' before that one. So many good memories. Such warmth and love, and it was only going to get better. Lisa would be moving back to New York, and they would find a place to call their own. He'd hold off on asking her to marry him as long as he could, but something tol
d him that it wouldn't be nearly long enough in her book.

  "Maybe not," he whispered to the empty room. "Things are changing."

  Thankfully they seemed for the better. Crazy how the girls moved to Maine to find themselves, and in doing so, realized that maybe Maine wasn't where they belonged at all.

  At least that would be Lisa's story. He was just thrilled to be a part of it. A big part.

  ***

  "Marc?" his mother called from the kitchen as he walked down the hallway.

  "Um yeah, you expecting someone else?" He laughed and walked into the kitchen to find her in a robe, cooking. She was working to wrestle a large turkey into a bag.

  "No, silly. Come help me with this." She tried to lift the turkey, but the thing probably weighed twenty-five pounds.

  "Get the bag, Mom. I'll lift the bird." He moved to the sink and washed his hands, glancing over his shoulder as she watched him with a smirk on her lips. "You cooking for the neighborhood?"

  "You never know who might stop by. Some of the nurses at work are alone this Christmas, so I invited them over like I always have." She picked up the bag. "You look so happy, so healthy."

  "Sex does that for a man." He laughed at the scowl on her face. "Kidding, Mom."

  "Yeah, right. Get over here and behave for a little while longer, please." She flapped the bag at him, slinging liquid toward him.

  "Ugh, Mom. Shit. I could get diseases from the raw turkey meat, and then what? Lisa wouldn't want me, and you would be stuck with me." He picked up the bird as his mother rolled her eyes.

  "I don't exactly think that's a bad thing. I kinda like you. Sometimes."

  "Today?" He gave her a cocky grin and worked with her to get the turkey in the bag.

  "Especially today." She patted the top of it as he set it down. "So tell me what you think of Charles, and be honest."

  "I like him." Marc shrugged and walked back to the sink to wash his hands again. He'd be washing them about ten more times if he knew his mother well. She usually had him in the kitchen most of the morning while Kari watched movies and sang Christmas carols. Lazy hooker. Hopefully Jake knows.