by F. G. Adams
A loud bark from a rather large canine and a child’s squeal were the only warning signs before the lounging area in front of the kitchen’s island that had been empty was filled.
Let the craziness begin.
Mind boggling how Sage and Lukas were even parents.
Shouting hello, she quickly shut the top oven and opened the bottom cavity to remove the second pan of brownies that was sure to be devoured by the family, especially the little ones. Chocolate is a universal pleasure for all ages.
An entirely pleasant sensation raced up Amy’s spine. She tightened her grip on the oblong pan. Looking up, she searched the crowded room. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was trying to locate. Her body sensed him before her eyes found him.
Tanner.
Her belly flipped, and her heart raced, dragging those quirky emotions forward at the vision of the man before her. Simply put, he was as delicious as her three-layered chocolate supreme cake. She had missed him so badly the last seven days. The time away from him along with Sage’s daily gal talk had solidified her feelings. She wanted more than one night with Tanner. She wanted him beside her.
He didn’t try to speak to her or get close. He just stood there looking his fill as chaos erupted around them. No words were exchanged, but so much was communicated in those few moments between them.
Later, she thought. We can work things out later.
Sage stopped in front of Amy with Matilda firmly propped on her hip.
“Do you plan to cut those brownies, or is it a free for all?” Sage asked with a quirky smile.
Amy totally ignored her friend as she placed the pan on the countertop and started cutting them into perfect hand-size squares. “Hello, precious Mattie. How’s Aunt Amy’s little beauty doing? Would you like a brownie?”
Mattie squealed and squirmed, wanting out of her mother’s arms and closer to the little treat Amy had for her. Before long, there was a line of little people with their hands extended begging for a taste.
“Okay, sweeties. Take your goody outside to eat, and we’ll save this other pan for later,” Amy instructed them, ensuring each one nodded their compliance.
“You are soooo bad, Amy. Bribery by brownies. What’s next?” Sage joked and plopped down on the closest chair.
“If memory serves me right, you are just as guilty, Sage. At least Amy’s brownies are homemade. Gummy worms from a bag aren’t. They are full of sticky, gooey sugar that cakes to fingers that in turn transfer that stickiness to surfaces requiring cleanup by a mother,” Fallyn chimed in with her two cents worth, took a brownie, and sat down.
“These,” Jocelyn hummed, licking the chocolate from her fingertips, “are divine pieces of heaven that will go straight to my badonkadonk, if I’m not careful. And I have enough junk in this trunk, thank you very much. I have to work out daily to maintain my weight as it is since Sebastian was born.”
“Girl, I feel you,” Ella quickly responded. “Talk to me after you’ve had three little Titan boys. I swear my body will never be the same again.”
“Yeah, and Grayson loves your curves just as much now as he did your pre-baby bod, Ella bug,” Savannah added, taking a seat next to Ella and helping herself to a treat.
Melodic harmony floated in the air. Somebody had turned the music on and opened the sliding glass doors to the outside patio. Amy noticed the men had congregated around the fire pit, keeping a close eye on the children playing. Her gaze drifted in Tanner’s direction only to find him watching her. He gifted her with a sly wink and a promise of more to follow. The tingling sensation returned full force. Five minutes alone with Tanner were all she needed. Then she would be good to go. Yeah, right. More like a few nights of uninterrupted bliss. Amy sighed. She could go for just one night. Her body was on fire, and Tanner hadn’t even opened his sexy mouth.
“Earth to Amy, come in, Amy,” Sage interrupted.
“Sorry—I… uh…”
“You can’t take your eyes off Tanner,” Jocelyn observed. “You’ve got it bad.”
Fallyn bumped her shoulder into Jocelyn and added, “She’s been watching his every move since she realized he was here.”
“Are y’all always this bad?” Amy taunted.
“Only when we love ya,” Sage replied.
“Lucky me,” Amy grumbled under her breath.
“Damn straight. It’s a sisterhood, chick,” Savannah exclaimed. “Be glad we’ve welcomed you into the fold.” She promptly swallowed her last bite of brownie. “I need another one, then let’s go for a run.”
Ella shook her head emphatically. “No.”
Jocelyn replied sweetly, “I agree with Ella. The only way you’ll get me off this couch to run is if it’s the zombie apocalypse or maybe a Channing Tatum sighting.”
Laughter erupted among them. Amy was beyond happy to be included with these women.
Without a doubt, she felt everything in her life was finally falling into place. All the ingredients to create her a winning dessert were arranged around her with only one scrumptious morsel missing.
The main ingredient.
Tanner Mason.
Chapter Eight
Tanner Mason
Tanner knew something was off when he opened the door to the small cottage and the smell of chocolate permeated the air. Amy is here. Between Lukas and Amy, Tanner was positive he should be knighted or sainted after the day he had suffered through with their crazy antics.
First, Lukas had intercepted him halfway to his truck when he had been on a beer run. He’d handed Tanner the key to the remote cottage on the property and had gone even further by instructing him on his personal ‘how to win a woman’ speech. He could have lived his entire life without hearing that spill. Brothers or not, Lukas was not right in the head at times.
Secondly, Amy hadn’t mumbled one word to him the entire day. Not a hello, goodbye, how are you, nothing. But she damn near kept him in a state of constant arousal with her sensual, almost bare body in a tiny swimsuit that had made his imagination take flight; and to top it off, the longing gazes she had sent him begging to be under him that had smoldered in her pale eyes. Damn near had done him in every time she held his gaze.
Maybe his reward for good behavior was waiting beyond the entryway.
“Are you gonna stay outside or venture in?” Amy’s raspy voice filtered through the space between them.
Tanner opened the door wide and froze. She was trying to kill him. It was a fact. Standing there with a sarong tied at her hips and holding a tray of drinks, Amy hadn’t changed out of her swimsuit. Tanner swallowed and focused on her lips that were lifting upwards.
“You are exquisite.”
She blushed a delectable pink and squared her shoulders. “I was headed outside to the hot tub.”
“Would you like…” he began.
“Why don’t you change and come join me?” The little siren was calling him out.
“Or I could go commando. Who needs swim trunks among friends?” Tanner bantered back, leaning against the doorframe.
“I’m game if you are, but the natives are out and about up at the main house.”
“I won’t tell if you won’t.”
Amy winked but otherwise completely tuned him out as she opened the sliding glass door in the back. Setting the platter down on the bar, she untied the sarong and let the wispy material fall to the ground around her. It struck him hard. She had changed, because there was nothing between the cheeks of her ass and him. Only a microscopically thin slip of fabric covered her. If she was attempting to seduce him, he was game.
She bent down, giving him the perfect view of her assets, to retrieve the material and placed it on the lounger. Slowly and purposefully, she stepped up and into the bubbly, steamy water and moaned her delight. The contrast in temperature caused her nipples to react, pebbling into peaks. Water droplets slowly trickled down the valley between her breasts, eliciting a silent curse from him. Tanner pushed his cock sideways to relieve his hard-as-a-rock ache, but
nothing shy of Amy would do.
Amy retrieved the two glasses from the tray and offered one to Tanner. “I thought we could have a drink and enjoy the sunset together.”
Without hesitation, Tanner pulled the back of his shirt over his head and tossed it blindly behind him. He didn’t give a fuck where it landed. Next, he kicked off his shoes and popped the button on his shorts. Amy’s sharp intake of breath had him slowing his movements. She was enthralled with his body, and he planned to keep her that way. Shucking his shorts off, he lumbered toward her, palming his long member. Excitement building at what was to come.
“Like what you see?”
Amy sipped her drink slowly and replied, “Yes.”
Tanner eased into the warm water, moving within a hairsbreadth from Amy, and sat down on the ledge. “I’m going to kiss you now, Amy.” She licked her bottom lip as he wrapped his arms around her. “Stop me now before we get to a place where we can’t turn back.”
“I don’t want you to stop. Kiss me, Tanner.”
Ever so gently, Tanner connected his lips to her soft, pliable mouth. Her hands threaded through his hair, searching for an anchor, but he didn’t waver in his quest of sipping and tasting her unique flavor. His lips claimed her while his hands caressed every soft, supple inch of her. He knew she was expecting an all-out assault, but he had spent months dreaming of this moment, and nothing would rush him now that he had her in his arms again.
On and on he kissed her until her lips were swollen from his ferocity. Their tongues intertwined. Amy straddled him with only her flimsy bottoms between him and her heat. Fuck, she tempted him. His mind was consumed with sinking into her warm, tight depths. But first, they needed to talk. He wouldn’t go through another year the same way, without her. Once was enough. He wanted her in his life, and he wouldn’t settle for anything less. She was his.
When he released her, she lowered her forehead to his chest, catching her breath. He inhaled her intoxicating scent. Looking out across the shoreline, he noticed the sun had begun its descent. He was content to hold her, but he knew they needed to clear the air between them before they could move forward.
“Do you recall the vivid colors from our first sunset together? The way we got along watching the sun go down.”
“Yes. It looked similar to the sky right now. So gorgeous.”
“Very true,” Tanner agreed, staring at her. “You are magnificent.”
“And so are you, Tanner. But I was talking about the sunset.”
He shrugged. “It wasn’t an accident we met. I believe it was fate bringing us together.”
“Tanner, I…”
“Listen. I’ve had too much time to think about us and what I would say to you. I had planned on demanding to know why you left me high and dry after the night we shared. Why you ran away without explaining a damn thing and then shut me down every time I made it clear I want more. But I realize none of that is important. The only thing that matters to me is that we are here, together. The rest will work itself out.”
“You were on the phone,” she blurted, confusing him.
“What?”
“The next morning when I woke up, I sort of overheard your conversation with someone on the phone.” Her expression portrayed guilt and sadness.
“Yeah, so? What did you hear?” He didn’t understand what the big deal was. Tanner distantly remembered talking to California about a case he’d been on, which had nothing to do with Amy.
“Does ‘random girl from a bar’ or ‘no biggie’ ring any bells?”
The chips fell into place at her explanation. “Now, hold up, Amy. You misunderstood what you heard.”
“That’s what Sage said, too.” Her whisper was hopeful.
“Well, she’s a smart one.” He gazed into her shining eyes and moved closer, needing the connection. “It was about an assignment I’d been working on. Nothing more, nothing less. Besides, after the night we shared, did you really think I’d toss you away like yesterday’s garbage?”
“I hoped not. I felt the connection. But when I heard you, I panicked.” Remorse shone from her eyes and was written all over her face.
He squeezed her. “I understand, baby. I might have assumed the worst, too, had I been in your shoes.”
“Really? I mean, if I’d spoken up or asked questions, things may be very different right now.”
They would be. But that didn’t matter now that he had her. “Amy. Does it really matter? I mean, we both longed for each other, pointlessly, I might add.” He smirked and briefly kissed her glistening lips. “Because in the end, here we are. Just you, me, and the sunset. Right back where we started.”
“Are you ready to start fresh?”
“No, Amy. Let’s just pick up where we left off.”
Tanner’s attention rested on her pale face. There was something else in her gaze, another emotion—longing.
He remembered that night. Their connection, the touching. He had been captured by her beauty and her honest reactions. Every hot moment of it.
She had tried to feign interest in him by pretending they hadn’t shared the kind of passion most never are fortunate enough to find. But he knew the truth.
No more fighting the truth.
All along he had wanted her more than any woman he had ever met. He had wanted to love her. Treasure her. And protect her.
Chapter Nine
Amy Young
The misunderstanding Amy had held on to from before was cleared up. Tanner hadn’t tried to get rid of her; he’d been discussing a mission he had just finished involving California, a Trident Security operative. They had been doing field work on a mission.
Amy reluctantly agreed with Tanner and Sage; she had jumped the gun. You know what people say, assuming only makes an ass out of me. Damn. Too much time wasted on a misunderstanding. Her grandmother was right; she was stubborn as a mule.
Her moan filled the room as Tanner sucked her earlobe. The man knew which button to press to send her into perpetual bliss.
Amy found herself propped on the countertop in the cottage’s kitchen with Tanner wedged between her legs. He held her motionless in a trance with his devouring gaze.
Never taking her eyes from his, she found her way to his beautiful cock jutting from the nest of masculine curls. When her hands wrapped around him, his body jerked and pulsed. A small drop glistened on the crown of his shaft. Slowly, she untangled herself to kneel on the tile floor before him.
Grabbing his large cock, she pumped him as her tongue lightly caressed along the throbbing vessel to his crown. Amy’s tongue swirled around and around before she added her teeth. The move drove him wild. Her leisurely fun time was cut short when he grabbed her head, positioning her as he plunged into the warmth of her moist mouth. Immediately, she hollowed her cheeks, savoring the unique flavor of Tanner. The vibration elicited another sound from him, and his hands threaded tighter through her wet hair.
“Oh, shit! Baby, you need to slow down.” But he didn’t stop, and neither did she.
Amy quickened her pace, waiting for Tanner to lose control.
Before she could blink, she was lifted off the floor.
Tanner had her flat on her back on the countertop with her knees and legs thrown over his shoulders, anchoring her to him.
“No more. My turn,” he growled and lowered his head between her legs. “You’re so wet. Fuck me.”
“That’s the idea. Ahhhh,” Amy groaned.
His velvety tongue skimmed the opening of her vagina and zeroed in on the engorged bud aching for his touch. Words ceased to exist.
She drifted aimlessly on a cloud of pure ecstasy while his tongue proceeded to caress her budding nub, drunk on the pleasure coursing through her system.
“Tanner… don’t stop. Feels so…” Amy fractured, unable to produce an intelligible phrase.
His tongue speared her center, causing a wave of unbearable pleasure. Hands fisted in his short hair, she attempted to pull him closer or push him away—h
er mind could not decide.
“Tanner, please. I…”
Relentless to her plea, he continued his onslaught, gnawing, teasing, tantalizing Amy with his erotic kisses. At the point of uncertainty, unsure if she could handle much more, two of his large fingers breached her pussy. A scream of unbridled sweetness released at the same time her body convulsed from the intense orgasm he induced.
Boneless and quivering from the ecstasy he’d aroused so quickly, she didn’t register his movements until the head of his massive cock nudged her entrance. Tanner had positioned Amy’s legs hooked across his solid forearms, dangling near his hips, when he steadily pushed his engorged cock through her channel.
He watched as her body stretched to accommodate his immense size.
A groan of pleasure escaped him as he pushed on until he was seated within her.
“You are so damn tight around my cock.”
Enthralled, Amy watched his muscle flex as he thrust deeply, pulling her body onto him at a hurried speed. He was in control. He played her pleasure, winding her tighter, a spring ready to burst.
She relinquished control to Tanner and cupped her breasts to tease the aching buds. His hand moved to her clit and rubbed. Her oversensitive body clenched at the added stimulation.
“I’m so close. Please don’t stop,” Amy begged.
“Come on, sweetness. I need you with me. Together.”
Tanner’s palms scooped her bottom off the counter to position Amy in a new angle. Only to pummel her with a forceful need, hitting a sweet spot that sent her flying over the edge into a sweet bliss.
Amy squeezed her eyes shut from the extreme climax.
He swiveled his hips and drove deeper one more time, then stopped. Her body convulsed around him, taking everything he had.
“I swear to the Almighty, it gets better every damn time,” Tanner growled as he placed feather-like kisses on her shoulder and neck.