Life Shocks Romances Contemporary Romance Box Set

by Jade Kerrion

  “You’re done,” Cody cut in. He nodded to Eric, and without discussion, both brothers seized Michael by his arms and dragged him to the front door. A gaggle of curious guests followed, Felicity among them. Mrs. Meredith scurried ahead of the brothers to hold the door open, and Michael was unceremoniously tossed out. “Get out.” Cody folded his arms across his chest. “If you come back, you’ll find yourself sharing a county jail cell with a real biker wearing a Big Bertha tattoo on his chest.”

  Next to Cody, Eric chuckled.

  Michael stared at Cody. His voice took on an odd, pleading note. “You’re mine, boy.”

  Cody shook his head. “You’re not the man who worried about me when I failed a class or missed my curfew. You’re not the man who anxiously checked me for cuts while absentmindedly scolding me for breaking the glass covers protecting his rare books. You’re not the man who paid the Rivers for my room and board until I was eighteen, and gave a hefty endowment to the University of Colorado so that they would grant a scholarship to the most academically unworthy teenager ever to apply to college. That man was my father. You’re not my father; you don’t even know my name.”

  Michael shoved to his feet and took several steps back, the fine white dust of the pavement staining his black leather pants. Pain twisted his once-handsome features—features in which Cody could see the stamp of his own. Michael shook his head—a sorrowful, regretful gesture—turned away, and walked to his Harley.

  The roar of the motorbike vibrated through the quiet of the evening before fading into silence. Cody shut the door on his past and turned to face his parents’ guests. Felicity’s face was the first he could make out in the crowd. Her eyes were glistening, but her lips curved into a small, proud smile. He held out his hand, and she immediately went to his side. She pressed the palm of her hand against his chest and leaned against him. She was small and slight compared to him, but she had always been strong.

  Oddly, for the first time, he felt strong and whole too—on the inside, where it really mattered.

  Eric’s grin was—for the first time—affectionate. His mother’s eyes, like Felicity’s, glittered with unshed tears, and her expression was one of stunned joy. Reed met Cody’s eyes and nodded. The older man swallowed hard, but said nothing. In that moment, nothing needed to be said. Cody had had the last word.

  Cody inhaled deeply, surrounded by the love of his family. He held up his free hand. “Show’s over, folks. Let’s get back to the party; drinks are on my dad.”

  Laughter washed over the guests, and the celebrations began anew.

  ~*~

  Late that night, after the guests had departed, Felicity, Cody, and Eric sat in front of Felicity’s cottage, each holding a final glass of champagne. The patio was still littered with tables and chairs. The rental company would come by in the morning to remove them, and Felicity had scheduled a cleaning crew to come through later in the day.

  By tomorrow evening, all evidence of Carolyn and Reed’s twenty-fifth wedding anniversary would have disappeared, but the aftermath would remain—lives forever changed. Felicity was content to lean on Cody and quietly listen in on the conversation between the brothers.

  “Hell of a party,” Eric said, his voice reflective. “Never thought I’d be happy to see a party-crasher, but I’m glad Michael Logan decided to show up.”

  “Logan?” Cody echoed.

  Eric laughed. “Yes, you’ve got the Irish in you.”

  “And you?”

  “Scandinavian. Mom’s college roommate was from Norway, and she got into a touch of trouble with her Finnish boyfriend.”

  Cody frowned. “So, you’re not even—”

  “Half a Hart? Nope. You’ve got that over me.”

  “But why would Dad adopt us? Surely he would have known.”

  “Of course he knew. Dad’s the shrewdest businessman alive, but he could hardly have missed the facts even if he’d been the village idiot. Mom had adopted me from her college roommate, and she was pregnant with you when she met Dad. They fell in love, they got married, and he adopted her children. Actually, he didn’t adopt you, technically. His name is on your birth certificate. End of story, as far as he was concerned. Didn’t you ever do the math? They’ve just celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. You were born three months before they got married. I was born two years before.”

  Cody glared at Eric. “How was I supposed to know how long they’d been married? I didn’t even know their anniversary date until Felicity told me.”

  Eric snorted.

  “When did you find out that you were adopted?” Cody asked.

  “They told me after you ran away. They probably figured it was their best bet, not that I was at any risk of being reclaimed by my birth parents.”

  A brief silence fell over the group. “So why didn’t they have any more…after me?” Cody asked.

  “Dad couldn’t,” Eric said simply. “Besides, you heard him. We were enough for him. You alone would have been enough for anybody.” Brotherly affection took the bite out of his words. He finished the last of his champagne and glanced at his watch. “I should get back to the house. Are you staying the night, Cody?”

  Felicity looked at Cody and studied the play of expressions across his face. She held her breath. Would he take the first real step toward returning home?

  A broad smile split his face. “Yeah, I am.”

  Eric departed after bidding them goodnight. Silence fell over Felicity and Cody once more. Cody breathed out a sigh. “Wow.”

  “Did you really leave to avoid wrecking your parents’ marriage?” she asked.

  “No one told me anything, and I didn’t want my parents to get divorced. I thought that if I stayed, the truth would come out. How was I supposed to know that Dad already knew?”

  “That’s what conversation is for.”

  Cody sniffed. “Too obvious. The Harts never do things the obvious way.”

  “Or the easy way,” Felicity noted with a smile. She stood and tugged on his hand. “Come on. Let’s go in.”

  He locked the front door of the cottage behind him. Felicity set down the empty champagne glasses, turned to face her lover, and opened her arms to him.

  In a heartbeat, he was in them. “Thank you,” he whispered, moments before he breathed a kiss on her lips. Feather soft, the sensation fluttered over her, setting her senses adrift. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laced her fingers through his hair as he continued his unhurried exploration of the contours of her face and the long line of her neck.

  How could she have known that Cody—wild, rebellious Cody—would be such a gentle and patient lover?

  He pressed a kiss to the tender juncture where her neck met her collarbone, then slid the straps of her gown off her shoulders. Silver silk shimmied down her body to pool at her feet. He unhooked the clasp of her bra and, dropping to his knees, slid her matching thong down the length of her legs. Cody inhaled sharply. The muscles in his back bunched as he swept her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom.

  The smooth sheets welcomed her, cool against her heated skin. She watched from beneath her long eyelashes as he stripped off his business suit. His chest, arms, and legs were muscular, his abdomen well defined, but when he lowered himself beside her, he did so with such care that she almost giggled.

  “I’m not made of glass,” she whispered.

  “But you’re precious.”

  Felicity smiled, closed her eyes, and surrendered herself to the moment and to her lover. The moonlight pouring in the glass windows washed the room with its pale light. With gentle fingers and quickening breaths, they explored each other’s body. She arched into his touch as he cupped her breasts and lowered his warm mouth to her taut nipples. Sensation sizzled through her, igniting a flame deep in her stomach. The heat spread through her, making her ache for the gentle friction of his calloused hands against her skin. “Lower…”

  With a chuckle, he trailed his fingers along her sides and over the
curve of her hips. She spread her legs, writhing against the moist heat of his mouth and the assault of sensations from his wicked tongue. Each teasing breath, each long, lazy lick, each light nibble, each penetrating touch piled on the intensity until it seemed that even her fingertips burned. She dug her fingers into the mattress, but not even that could anchor her. Cody drove her higher and higher until her mind blanked in a single glorious instant. An orgasm shuddered through her, wrenching a low cry from her lips.

  Felicity watched Cody through heavy-lidded eyes as he slid on a condom. His biceps corded as he supported his weight with his hands on either side of her head. He entered her slowly, stretching her, filling her. When he was fully in her, he stopped. “Are you okay?” he asked.

  She breathed out slowly as her body adjusted. “Big.”

  His brow furrowed with concern. “Big good, or big bad?”

  A teasing smile inched across Felicity’s face as she reached around him to squeeze his tight buttocks. “Bad ass.” She tightened her inner muscles and had the pleasure of seeing his eyes cross. “Come on. I’ll race you to the finish line. I bet I can make you come before you make me come.”

  His eyes narrowed, glinting dangerously. “This isn’t a race. And there’s no way in hell I’ll let you win.”

  “Wanna bet?” she purred, and danced her fingers across the sensitive skin in his lower back, just above the crack of his buttocks. His muscles tightened against her. With a wicked grin, she rolled her hips in a slow, seductive motion.

  “Yeah, I do wanna bet.” Cody pulled her hands away from his body and pinned them above her head. “What are you going to do now?” He grinned.

  Her voice dropped to a husky whisper. “You like me this way, don’t you? Unable to move, legs spread for you, helpless, vulnerable—” She saw his eyes glaze with raw need. The muscles of his lower abdomen tightened against her. Perfect. She had not misread her alpha male, nor misinterpreted his instinct to protect and dominate. She just needed to let him know it was all right; she was not fragile, she would not break. Felicity ran her tongue over her upper lip. His eyes followed the motion, as if hypnotized. She continued in a low voice infused with a woman’s timeless allure. “I love it when you hold me down, unable to do anything except take the pleasure you’re forcing on me. Don’t you want to make me beg and scream for you?”

  Cody’s dark eyes locked on hers. His gaze burned into her with an expression that looked almost like pain. He began to move against her, each deep and long stroke triggering little aftershocks in a body still sensitized from her last orgasm.

  The pleasure built and built. Dimly, in the midst of sensations pounding through her, Felicity was grateful she had not put any money on the bet. She would have lost. With a low cry, she let her second orgasm wash over her. Her body clenched and tightened around her lover. Moments later, Cody tensed and shuddered as he, too, found his release.

  Without pulling out of her, he rolled to the side, taking her with him so that she sprawled over him. Felicity rested against his chest, listening to the steady thump of his heartbeat, and enjoying the feeling of being thoroughly taken and sexually fulfilled by the man she loved. The shared moment lingered in intimate silence, as his strong hands, always gentle, stroked her back, the motion finally lulling her into deep and restful sleep.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The next morning ushered a golden sunrise through the open blinds of Felicity’s cottage windows and with it an incredible sense of well-being. Felicity blinked against the glare. A slow, happy smile curved her lips; oh, it was going to be a glorious day. She flung aside the covers to slide out of bed, but a muscular arm snaked around her waist and pulled her back before she could escape.

  “Stay.” Cody’s grunt was almost unintelligible. “Cuddle.”

  Felicity chuckled. She didn’t think Cody was used to rising before noon. Besides, how could she resist such a gallant invitation? She snuggled under the covers and curled against the warmth of Cody’s naked body.

  Cody cuddled—for all of twenty seconds. His hands began a teasing exploration of her body, caressing her breasts, stroking her flat stomach, and then gliding lower to that warm, moist need between her thighs. With a soft sigh of surrender, Felicity parted her legs for him.

  “Good girl,” he muttered. He still hadn’t opened his eyes. While his hands did all kinds of wicked things to her, luring her senses to the far edge of arousal, his face remained set in the serene and placid expression of a man still fast asleep. Wicked, Felicity thought as she bit into the bedsheets to keep from screaming. Downright evil.

  It was the last coherent thought she managed. She suddenly tensed, her toes coiling and her back arching in the throes of the burst of ecstasy that seized her. She was slowly drifting down from her high when Cody shifted out of the cuddle—some cuddle—to enter her willing body.

  For several moments, he appeared content to hold her in that intimate embrace. “I love you,” he whispered, his voice gruff with contained emotion.

  Her response was a soft kiss on his lips.

  They made love in the morning light. Affection spilled over into tenderness, their bodies moving in unison toward sexual climax. “Thank you,” she murmured as the aftershocks quivered through her body.

  “What for?”

  “My morning workout. Beats a walk around the neighborhood.” She propped herself up on one elbow. “Would you like breakfast?”

  “Yeah, but you stay in bed. I’ll get it ready.” Cody stepped out of the bed, magnificently and unselfconsciously naked. Felicity smiled into her pillow to conceal her satisfied smirk, but she did not even pretend not to ogle him.

  True to his word, Cody took a quick shower and then prepared breakfast for her. They sat at the kitchen bar, enjoying scrambled eggs and bacon on toast. Felicity glanced at Cody; his attention like hers was focused on the activity beyond the glass windows. Out on the patio, several people worked hard to clear the evidence of the previous night’s party. By noon, it would all be gone.

  “Will you stay for dinner?” she asked. “I’m sure your parents would love to have a quiet family dinner with you.”

  “I had to move my shifts around; I have to get back.” He cleared his throat and focused his gaze on a spot on the countertop that apparently only he could see. “Come with me.”

  “What?”

  “Come back to Evergreen.” He looked up and placed his hand over hers. “Move in with me.”

  “What?” Felicity recoiled and yanked her hand away from his. “I can’t.”

  His eyebrows drew together. “Why not? I love you. We love each other. Why won’t you move in with me?”

  Felicity scrambled for a logical reason to support what she knew, intuitively, was the right answer. “Well, because my home is here now.”

  “That’s ridiculous. Your home is wherever you make it. Why not Evergreen?”

  “Because I’m not moving out of your parents’ home.”

  “Is it because I can’t provide you with a cushy lifestyle out in Evergreen? No maid service? No personal chef?”

  Felicity matched his sneer with a scowl. “Now you’re being ridiculous. Your parents have been amazingly kind to me; they like having me here. I’m not going to skip out on them just because you and I are in a relationship. Besides, my job is here—in that house.” She pointed at the mansion. “Did you really expect me to commute an hour each way every day between Evergreen and Boulder?”

  He hesitated. To Felicity, it was yet more evidence that he had not thought through his impulsive declaration that she move in with him. He rallied quickly, however. “You can find work in Evergreen.”

  “I like my work here with the books and flowers. Why should I give it up for waiting tables in Evergreen?”

  “Because I love you, and I want you there.”

  “I love you too, and couples who love each other compromise.”

  He plucked the napkin off his lap and flung it down on his unfinished breakfast. His dark eyes blazed
at her. “How is this compromise? You haven’t budged.”

  “Compromise is my driving to Evergreen every weekend. I’ll stay Saturday nights, if that’s what you want.”

  “It’s not enough. I want more of you. Breakfast every morning. Dinner every night.”

  Felicity heard an edge of desperation in his voice but didn’t know what to make of it. “Why don’t you find a job here in Boulder, then?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” He huffed. “I’m not moving back here.”

  “But you reconciled with your parents.”

  “It doesn’t change the fact I’m too old to move back home. I’m too set in my ways. We’d argue and fight if I moved back—”

  “So what? That’s not relevant or fair. It’s not my job to make the compromises if you’re not willing to even try to change.”

  “Change? I thought you said your love didn’t come with conditions.”

  “My love doesn’t have conditions, but love isn’t synonymous with sex or even marriage.” Felicity stared at him. Why was Cody being so stubborn on this topic? Couldn’t he see that he was being irrationally demanding? “Love is most certainly not synonymous with ‘moving in together.’”

  “I can’t believe you’re choosing my parents and my brother over me.”

  “First, your brother spends most of his time in Denver. He’s here once or twice a week for dinner, at most. Second, your parents are my employers, and for heaven’s sake, I care about them. You spent twelve years breaking their hearts. I’m not going to move out now and break their hearts too, just when they think they might have found you again.”

  “But what about me?”

  Felicity ached at the hint of a plea in Cody’s voice. “I have responsibilities here, Cody, but they don’t change the fact that I love you.”

  “And you won’t change your decision either.” He shoved to his feet and strode to the door. He paused on his way out and cast her a scathing glare. “You know, I thought love would make everything easy. It doesn’t.”