Hound Cerberus 2.0 Book 2

by James, Marie

  She nods, trusting him and closes the door on the way out.

  “I can’t believe her mother let her come.”

  I don’t respond, but it doesn’t take long before I have to face the hot glare I feel on the side of my face.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” I mutter when I face him. “She’s eighteen now. She completed her last classes online. Passed every test. I urged her to go back home, but she refused.”

  “Gabby knows where she’s at?”

  I remain silent.

  “Gigi?” I remain silent. “You may still be healing, but I will pink your ass.”

  At just the suggestion, my skin warms as if he’s already taken his large hand to my ass. I bite my lip as I look up at him, and almost smile when his eyes heat.

  “We’ll get to that later,” he promises. “Does Gabby know where she’s at?”

  “She knows that she’s safe, but Izzy has been worried that they would come get her, so she turned off her cell phone and refused to give them the information.”

  He growls, but the warning doesn’t do what he hopes because I’m not chastised, merely turned on with the anticipation of his wrath.

  “She’s still going to college in the fall,” I say to appease him. “She just wants to spend the summer here.”

  “Damn right she’s going to college,” he mutters.

  His irritated voice startles Amelia causing her to begin to cry.

  “Oh, baby girl,” he coos. “Don’t cry.”

  “I imagine she’s hungry,” I explain when his soothing words don’t calm her.

  He watches with rapt attention as I lower the neck of my nightgown and raise her to my breast.

  “So beautiful,” he praises as his fingers toy with the curly hair at the nape of her neck.

  I smile up at him, his eyes switching between the two of us like he can’t go a second without seeing either of us.

  “Marry me,” he whispers.

  “You ask now?” I try for irritated, but the light reflecting in his bright eyes makes it impossible. “While your daughter is nursing and my legs haven’t seen a razor for the better part of a month?”

  He smiles. “Marry me, and I’ll shave you tomorrow so you can thank me.”

  “Thank you?” I squeak. “Thank you for what?”

  He’s given me everything, including the precious life that’s suckling at my breast, but petulant has always been my thing, and I don’t intend to change now.

  “Thank me for the life I’m going to provide for you. Thank me for the orgasms I may allow you to have.”

  I narrow my eyes. “May allow?”

  He smiles wide. “And I’ll thank you in return.” He kisses my lips, but it’s only a sweeping brush. “I’ll thank you for all the babies you’re going to give me. Thank you for making the house I’ll build a home. I’ll thank you every day for loving me, for making me the happiest man in the world. Marry me.”

  “On one condition,” I barter. I smile when his eyebrow rises. The look he’s giving me says he’s left no room for compromise. “You can’t deny my orgasms.”

  His head shakes back and forth. “Everything I just said, and that’s what you focus on?”

  Cupping his cheek with my free hand, I focus on his lips for a long minute before looking up in his eyes. “You’ll love me, provide for me, and give me more babies even if I don’t marry you. I’ll make our house a home, and I’ll love you until the day I die even if we don’t marry, but orgasm denial is brutal, and I won’t sign on the dotted line unless you promise.”

  “How about,” he says inching his mouth closer to mine. “How about, I promise not to let you go to bed at night without letting you come?”

  I tilt my head, already knowing he can tease me all day long, torture me, tie me up so I can’t finish myself off. Hell, he’s done it before. But the one time, he put me to bed with my body on fire and my orgasm just out of reach, was one of the most brutal things I ever suffered. Waking up to his mouth and soul-clenching orgasm made it worth it, but it’s not something I want to ever happen again.

  “Deal,” I breathe.

  He kisses me again, tongue searching and sweeping against mine until I’m breathless when he pulls away. “I’m still going to pink your ass for taking so long to answer.”

  “I can’t wait,” I whisper against his lips.

  We both look down at our beautiful daughter, and for the first time in my entire life, I feel complete.

  ***

  I scrunch my eyes against the noise.

  “Baby girl,” the hiss from the door way echoes around the room again. “Psssst.”

  I roll my head, face rubbing on Jameson’s chest hair. Snuggling deeper, I didn’t realize how much I missed his touch and the warmth of him in my arms. I missed all of him. I smile, running my hand down his abs to the thickness of his cock. Even in his sleep he’s virile and ready for me.

  “Georgia Leigh!”

  My head snaps to the door as I jerk my hand away and Jameson jolts under me. Amelia begins to whimper in her bassinet.

  My dad, brow furrowed stands in the open doorway, but there’s a soft smile playing at his lips.

  “I haven’t had the chance to hold her yet.” He tilts his head in Amelia’s direction. “It’s almost noon. I’ve been waiting for you to wake up.”

  I clear my throat, embarrassed that my dad caught me touching Jameson’s cock. “Give me ten minutes and I’ll bring her out to you.”

  Still asleep, Jameson flexes his hips, no doubt searching for the warmth of my palm.

  Dad’s smile fades away completely. “I’ll give you five.”

  The door closes softly behind him, and my body shakes from a chuckle coming from Jameson’s chest. “So I guess a blow job is out of the question.”

  I swat at his stomach. “Maybe later.”

  Pulling me closer with his lips against my temple, I allow a few more seconds in his embrace.

  “I bet just the feel of your lips wrapped around me would be enough,” he bargains.

  My hand wanders from the crisp hairs on his chest, past his navel to the thickness straining against the cool sheets. “Maybe the first time,” I coo. “But I’m going to take my time with you. Remind you why you love me.”

  He groans when my soft fingers trace the throbbing vein along his erection.

  “I don’t need a reminder for that.”

  Pouting when I get out of the bed, he watches with hooded eyes as I tug off my nightgown and get dressed. By the time I’m out of the bathroom, he’s already changed Amelia’s diaper and redressed her.

  “You’re a natural,” I tell him, running my hand down his cheek.

  “She’s perfect.” He holds her close, kissing her forehead and sniffing the top of her head.

  “Dad’s waiting,” I remind him. “Why don’t you jump in the shower? I may be able to get him to watch her for an hour or so while I take care of that tent in your pants.”

  Laughing, he hands her over, but doesn’t move away until I’m thoroughly kissed and breathless.

  “Can’t wait,” he whispers in my ear, slapping my ass as I walk away.

  I find Dad sitting at one of the kitchen tables drinking a cup of coffee. The second I cross the threshold his hands are out, fingers flexing in a demanding action for me to turn her over.

  I watch, unshed tears brimming my eyes as my father does exactly what Jameson did just moments ago. He kisses her and breathes in her scent right from that delicate spot on the top of her head.

  “I didn’t understand my childhood and why you and Mom were so protective of us until her,” I confess. “I want to wrap her in bubble wrap and hide her from the world.”

  “I still want to wrap you in bubble wrap,” he says without taking his eyes off of Amelia. “And I want to do the same for her.”

  “I was horrible growing up. I fought you at every turn. Did things just to upset you, when all you were trying to do was make sure I was safe.” I lean my head on his sho
ulder and look down at my amazing little girl. “I pray she’s less like me and more like Ivy.”

  He turns, kissing the crown of my head. “You turned out just fine.”

  I swallow thickly, the emotions that I’ve been bombarded with in the weeks since giving birth are right on the edge, the slightest things making me tear up. Today is no different.

  “I got lucky. Jameson and Amelia are the best things that could’ve happened for me.”

  He shifts, holding Amelia close to his chest and wrapping his arm around my shoulder. “I feel the same about you girls and your mom. Now I have this precious little one to protect, and I couldn’t be happier. It gives me purpose.”

  “I’ll take all the help I can get.” My life has made a complete one-eighty in the last year. The old Georgia Leigh Anderson would’ve told him to fuck off and let me raise my daughter how I see fit. Now, as a mother, I know that there isn’t a thing I wouldn’t do to keep my family safe. Motherhood doesn’t allow for stubbornness and digging your feet in just to spite others.

  “She looks tiny compared to you, grandpa.”

  I look up, smiling as Jameson makes his way into the kitchen.

  “Can’t believe your ugly ass made such a cute little girl, Hound,” Dad teases back. “Good thing Amelia looks like her mother.”

  I expect Jameson to argue, but instead he leans in kissing my lips and looks over at my dad. “I couldn’t agree more.”

  I breathe in the familiar smell of his skin straight from the shower. He didn’t towel off completely and there are still droplets of water clinging to the tips of his hair and the back of his neck.

  “Think you can keep an eye on her for an hour or so?” Jameson must be more eager than I am if he’s asking this of my father.

  My dad looks between us before narrowing his eyes at the man by my side.

  “No.” I pull my head back, shocked at his answer.

  Jameson chuckles beside me. “Cockblocker,” he mutters but there’s laughter in the word.

  Something in their relationship has changed over the weeks they were in Brazil together. The tension that existed before is no longer around.

  “Come on,” Jameson whispers in my ear before tugging on my hand to help me stand.

  “He said no,” I hiss at him as we get closer to the doorway.

  “He wouldn’t let go of her right now if I had a gun to his head,” he assures me.

  Looking over my shoulder at my dad, I find him smiling and looking down at Amelia as if nothing else in the world matters. His phone rings. It startles me to the point of jumping, but he, calm as ever, just shifts so he can pull the ringing device from his jeans.

  “Kincaid,” he snaps when the call connects.

  I watch as his brow furrows with whatever news he’s receiving on the other end. The set of his shoulders goes from relaxed to rigid.

  “He did what?” His jaw ticks, and before I can go to them, Jameson is already pulling Amelia from his arms. He releases her immediately before standing from the table.

  “I appreciate your discretion in the matter.” He nods, even though the guy on the other line can’t see him. “I’ll let Morrison know.”

  Shadow?

  My dad ends the call.

  “Oh God,” I whisper. “Has something happened to Griffin?”

  My heart is thudding, crashing against my ribs so fast my hands are already trembling.

  “Tell me he’s not dead,” I beg, unable to respond to Jameson’s arm around my shoulder.

  “He’s not dead,” Dad answers as he storms toward the back door leading to the houses. “But he may be after Shadow is done with his ass.”

  I hear him mutter something about selling drugs on base before the door snaps shut with a bang. Amelia begins to cry hysterically, and as much as I want to follow him to get the details, my duties and responsibilities rest solely on the little girl currently throwing a fit in my arms.

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  Coming Soon

  Keep an eye out for

  Griffin: Cerberus 2.0 Book 3

  (Early Summer 2018)

  UNEDITED SNIPPET

  Prologue

  Griffin

  “Marine!” my Staff Sergeant bellows from the safety of the north-facing wall, the pitch of his voice causing a shudder to race down my spine. It takes all I have not to pull the mic from my ear. “Do you understand your mission?”

  My mission?

  We’re supposed to be fighting for the good of the country. We’re here in this God awful sandpit to protect the people of this village. We’re here to make their lives better, not cause them more pain. Genocide wasn’t on my list of things to do today when I rolled out of my rack back on base.

  “There are civilians, Sarg,” I pant into my mic, my pulse increasing to become the only thing I can hear.

  He can’t see the two families, but I can.

  “They aren’t civilians,” he spits. The venom in his voice is so thick I can almost feel his words land on my overheated skin even though he’s twenty yards away. “They’re Haji, and it’s your job to arrange the meeting with them and Allah.”

  “Children, Sarg.” I straighten my spine, blaming the sand swirling around us for the burn in my eyes. “At least a half dozen of them.”

  “You have your orders.”

  Looking over my shoulder, I wonder where Bird, Killer, and Wooch went. They’d have my back, and four against one is way better than the shit I’m facing right now.

  “Just you and me, asshole.”

  “I can’t.” I beg him with my eyes even though I know he doesn’t give a shit.

  How the son of Morrison “Shadow” Griggs ended up with a Staff Sergeant without an ounce of integrity and a broken moral compass, I’ll never know.

  “Squirt told me no once.” I don’t miss the warning in his voice.

  He’s just confirmed what I’ve suspected for the last month and a half.

  I fight for bravery, hands trembling as I stall for time.

  “You have thirty fucking seconds, Griggs or Long Shot will solve both of my problems.”

  Risking another glance, I stare in the direction I know our sniper is planted. I can’t see him of course, and by the time anyone knows he’s there brains are splattered on the ground.

  I’m a fucking coward. A selfish piece of shit.

  Those are the thoughts that echo in my head as I compress the trigger and screams ring out around me.

  The tears now streaming down my face don’t hinder me at all. Long Shot isn’t the only one true in his aim.

  Crowd Pleaser

  Spring 2018

  You know those love stories you read about? The ones where the heroine remains untouched, virgin-like, until she meets the man of her dreams?

  The stories where she's always in the shadows, always on the outside, no one knowing her name until she meets her one and only? A shy glance across the room at her first ever college party captivates the man she'll soon fall in love with?

  This story isn't that.

  In my story, everyone who's anyone has seen the heaviness of my tits. They've all heard the soft moan I make when a man slides inside. They've all heard my whimpers, heard me begging for more.

  My name is Randi Simms.

  And I'm a Crowd Pleaser.

  Macon

  Tossing a middle finger to Macon, Georgia as I made my way to Nashville was always the dream. Sing country music, go on tour, top the charts—with my popularity growing every day, I was on my way.

  But then a gust of wind blew up your skirt, and those white cotton panties had me h
ooked. I didn’t know your name, and you turned down every attempt I tried to throw your way. But I knew you were different, even though you told me I was the same.

  “Friends” is what you offered, and I played by your rules, but, Adelaide Hatfield, you have to know, from that day, it was only you.

  I just hope I can make you see how much you mean to me before we both drown in the sorrow of what heartbreak can truly be.

  We Said Forever

  Rock bottom.

  They say the only way to go from there is up, but what is “up” when you’re born into someone else’s rock bottom?

  At ten, football became my first love. It’s what got me out of the house away from my self-destructive family. My love for football landed me at Las Vegas University with a full ride scholarship, and the orange on my jersey was my favorite color…until my eyes landed on the red dress Fallyn wore the night we met.

  At twenty-one, I jumped off the cliff into the unknown the second Fallyn McIntyre danced in my arms at a party. I had the greatest girl in the world and the opportunity to play college ball every Saturday. My rock bottom was looking up, thanks to my two first loves.

  Parties, sex, and football—life was perfect. But one drink too many, and my world came crashing down. When I chose pills over my second love, my head told me it was the best decision I ever made. The pills keep me warm and protect me from the distance Fallyn created. Percs don’t judge me. They make me feel alive.

  Threes.

  They say the best things come in threes, but one leads to a stable future, one is my salvation, and the other drags me to hell—a hell I’d willingly burn in for eternity…if it weren’t for my second love.

  More Than a Memory

  “You’re gorgeous. Even better looking than the day I fell in love with you.”

  The words are a constant reminder of what true love is. Olivia Dawson’s alarm goes off at the same time every day and she disappears into her room to hear Duncan’s voice, see his face, miss him even more for being untouchable. Olivia loves with her entire heart, and her love for Duncan is unmatched, but there’s something about her new roommate she just can’t seem to ignore—no matter how hard she tries.