by Hadley Quinn
“Here, please, just—”
The man followed him to his truck but Van only smiled and shook his head no. He got behind the wheel, gave the guy a wave, and took off.
Van was already running behind when he left the store, but he just couldn’t leave the elderly man stranded with a flat tire. He pulled over and changed it for him, listening to him express his gratitude over and over. He also listened to him talk about his daughter that would be visiting with her two kids—grandkids that he’d never seen before. The man was absolutely thrilled. He was a little nervous about the kids he’d never met, but Van did his best to convince him he’d be just fine.
“A bit of nerves will be worth it,” Van had told him. “You can’t feel the joys and successes in life without going through a bit of worry first.”
As he drove home, he thought about his own words. How many times had he been anxious before a fight? Or how much did he worry over difficult decisions, or what his future would consist of? And when Dani went into labor a year ago… God, he was a pathetic mess. He’d never felt so scared in his life. He was pretty damn sure she suffered more pain than he had in all his matches combined. After eighteen hours, the baby finally had to be removed by c-section.
He damn near passed out in the delivery room.
He shook his head at the memory. Apparently childbirth was not like watching someone get his ass kicked in the octagon.
But it was worth it. He was a blessed man to have an incredible wife, a comfortable home, and now a one-year-old that absolutely adored him.
Life couldn’t get any better, could it?
He pulled into the driveway of his three-bedroom home, grabbed the bag of ice cream from the passenger’s seat, and hustled inside. At a birthday party you’d expect a bunch of kids running around, balloons, noise in general, adults yakking up a storm…
Not in the Kemp household. Van walked in to find Cody and Paul arm wrestling at the table, and six other grown men cheering them on.
Well, he couldn’t exclude his wife, who was right there in the middle of it too.
God, she was gorgeous.
No one even noticed him walk in, so he watched from a distance until Cody was the victor of the match and Paul begrudgingly slid a few bills his way.
Finally Van exclaimed, “Oh, you are not gambling at my kid’s birthday party!” He passed by the table and scooped up the cash with a smile. “This is going into the college fund, thank you very much.”
Dani wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed him. “Where have you been?”
“I called, but apparently there was too much excitement to notice,” he joked. “Just stopped to help someone.” He put the ice cream in the freezer, even though he was sure it was already half melted. “Where’s Bruiser?” he asked, looking around the busy house.
Dani smiled as she pointed to Mickey across the room, and Van quickly made his way to scoop up a giggly one-year-old from Mickey’s lap.
“Da!” came the slobbery greeting.
“It’s Bruiser today, huh?” Marnie laughed to Dani.
“It’s been Bruiser all week. Birthday Bruiser, to be exact.”
“Dude, I remember when he was telling me he was gonna name his kid Thrasher,” Cody chuckled.
“I was told Cage Master,” Paul said. “Cage for short.”
“Sweeper, Speed, and Clean Up Crew was what I heard,” Jaime added.
Dani rolled her eyes but laughed. “You haven’t even heard the last of them.”
“Well, thank God he was okay with the name Violet,” Marnie said as Van came over with his precious birthday girl.
“Of course he is,” Dani smiled at her husband. “He’s the one that named her.”
Marnie raised her eyebrows at him. “Seriously? You came up with a girly flower name?”
“Hey,” Van retorted. “My princess is gonna be girly through and through. The nicknames will just be for keeping the boys away.”
“With you as her dad, the boys are gonna be running for the hills.”
He grinned with pride but didn’t have a chance to respond when Dani announced it was time for cake and ice cream.
After Violet was finished plowing her way through her birthday dessert, her daddy cleaned her up and sat her on his lap for an attempt at opening presents. Violet was more impressed by her dad dramatically tearing them open for her and producing some exciting new toys for her, but she pretty much conked out in his arms towards the end.
Van put his little girl to bed after the guests left, and since it was only afternoon and the baby would hopefully be sleeping for a while, he led his wife into the bedroom to have a nap as well.
Dani smiled as she stretched out on the bed. She expected Van to come kiss her, but she wasn’t surprised when he flipped her over and began massaging her back.
“Oh, that feels sooooo good,” she groaned.
“This is our foreplay, so keep that in mind.”
She laughed, but she knew he was kidding. When Van gave a massage, he expected you to be left in a completely relaxed and euphoric state. Normally she’d allow it, but tonight she desired sexual release with her man. The day had been amazing and it was all because of that sexy heroic stranger that stepped into her life exactly two years ago.
After a few minutes, she turned onto her back, and when Van lifted an eyebrow to question her intentions, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him down. He met her mouth with his instantly; a smoldering kiss that got him hard on contact. His tongue pressed against hers as he kissed her deeply, and then he pulled back, nipping her lower lip and then kissing it gently.
Van slipped her shirt off and made a trail of kisses from her neck to her breasts as he removed her lacey bra. He looked her in the eye with his classic sexy smile and unbuttoned her jeans at the same time. Dani watched him and was enjoying the fact that his eyes didn’t leave hers the entire time he slid her pants off. His eyes remained fixed on hers even as he lifted her leg and kissed the inside of her thigh all the way to her panties. His slid them aside and licked his lips at the sight in front of him.
“Mmm, you are so wet.”
He slowly licked, took time to kiss and suckle her sensitive nub, and then drew circles with his tongue until she squirmed. With a smile he stripped off her panties and drove his tongue in deep, causing her to make a noise of approval as he pulled out and sucked her clit again.
“You like that, baby?” he murmured in a husky bedroom voice. “I got more for you if you can handle it.”
She smiled as she exhaled a moan. “I love what you do to me…”
He loved when she was right on the edge like that. He continued his routine, sliding two fingers inside of her as his mouth pleasured her some more.
He angled his head so he could watch her climax as she pressed against his face and gripped the bed. It was incredible to see her like that, totally succumbed to his efforts between her legs.
He pulled his fingers out; his dick was as hard as it could get because she was so wet.
“I’m gonna fill that sweet thing with something, uh, much bigger,” he told her with a crooked smile.
“Prove it,” she challenged with her own sexy smile.
“Damn, lady, you asked for it.”
She laughed when he quickly stripped his clothes off and attacked her with a growl, kissing her mouth as he slid inside of her. She gripped his ass and pulled him deep, and as their rhythm picked up speed, Dani threw her head back to enjoy a second explosion of pleasure.
And then came the slew of dirty phrases that always made him finish with glory, and as she was just getting to the part about how much she wanted him to come, Van exploded inside of her, filling her with every drip of passion that he had.
Dani gripped him tight, moving against him until he slowed, loving every single muscle that moved throughout his body. She ran her fingers over his skin as he kissed her once more, letting the euphoria gradually return them to reality.
He dropped onto the bed next to her wit
h an exhale of satisfaction. Dani remained on her back but turned her head to look at him. He did the same and they smiled at each other.
“What a perfect day,” Van said.
She nodded with agreement. “Yeah, I’d say so. Maybe we can—”
The baby squawked from the other room, and after a pause, they both laughed.
“Maybe we can take Violet for a walk in the stroller?” Van smiled.
“Exactly,” she chuckled.
They shifted into family mode and Van was the first one to Violet’s room after throwing some shorts on. Dani could hear him baby talking to her as she came down the hall a minute later. She stood in the doorway and watched the two of them interact. It was the most beautiful sight to see them together. Van was the best daddy Violet could have. He wasn’t there for just the happy, playful moments; he was there for dirty diapers, tantrums, and last minute trips to the store. He stepped up for feedings, bath time, and late night hall walking to get his baby back to sleep.
Van wanted to be a part of everything.
By the time they were ready to leave the house a knock sounded at the door, causing Dani to raise an eyebrow.
Van held his daughter as he opened it and was totally surprised by who stood on his porch.
“Cole. Hey, man.”
“Cole?” Dani exclaimed. She opened the door even further to see for herself. “Oh my gosh!” she smiled. “We haven’t seen you for almost a year! Where have you been?”
She gave him a friendly hug and he hugged her back. There weren’t any feelings on his part that he needed to hide anymore. Time and distance had done the trick, and then one particular assignment that he’d recently invested all of his efforts in.
“I’ve been working. Busy.” He tugged on Violet’s foot. “My God, she’s beautiful.” He looked between Dani and Van and added, “I don’t even know who she looks more like, but I’m gonna go the safe route and say she’s gorgeous like her mother.”
“Good choice,” Van nodded. “Well come on in.”
“Uh, actually…” He turned toward the street and said, “I brought someone with me.”
“You did?” Dani smiled. She was assuming it was a woman so she said, “Bring her in.”
“Well, she’s kind of the reason I’ve been so busy lately.”
“Well duh, that makes sense,” Dani teased.
“No, I mean… I’ve been busy working.”
Both Dani and Van glanced at each other but Cole motioned to a car across the street and the door opened. A woman stepped out and he said, “I finally found her, Van.”
Van could only stare at the young woman tentatively stepping onto the sidewalk.
No, it couldn’t be…
“Leah?” he asked, barely audible. He mechanically handed the baby to his wife.
Dani watched Van step onto the porch as his sister approached. Leah already had tears on her face when she very shakily said, “Hi, Van,” and without hesitation, Van scooped her up in a big hug and held her tight.
The author would like to…
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
To all of you that read this novel, I thank you profusely for taking the time. Even if you didn’t like it, hey…that’s okay. We are a diverse planet of people and it is expected! I am a reader first and a storyteller second, so I appreciate the love and passion for books and the opportunity to share the excitement for them. Thank you for the messages and encouraging comments, and frankly, I’m surprised sometimes. One day something really interesting happened while I was traveling, and I decided to just email my mom about it. I had the time, so I put a bit of effort into it. It was because of my pushy mother that I decided to turn it into a novel, so thanks Mommy. I love you!
I would like to thank my husband, who is busy enough as it is but always has time to listen to me babble about my characters or let me bounce ideas off of him. He is simply amazing, treats me like the most important person in the world, and I thank God every day that I met him when I did. We are so different but live one life together so well with our two beautiful kids. I love you, babe. You rock!
Definitely last but not unimportant in the least bit… A huge thank you to Jane, who overlooks my lack of interest in technology and answers all those fun little details for me; to Boom-Boom and Ry for always amusing me with hubby jokes when I can’t be there with him; to sweet Delia Delaney and her awesome baseball man; and finally to my stepdad Mick, for keeping Mom in line.
Many wonderful people make the world go round and I am blessed to be a part of it!
About the Author:
If it had been two months sooner, Hadley Quinn would have been born on the east coast. Instead, her mom made the cross-country move to be closer to family, and Hadley was born and raised in San Diego, California. She has become an avid surfer, loves dance and kickboxing, and has an endless assortment of shoes. She is definitely a fan of sunshine and even claims, “I’m solar-powered!”
Hadley also loves watching sports (she’s a huge baseball fan) and during the Super Bowl, always roots for the opposite team that her husband picks. “It makes for the best witty banter,” she says. But Hadley’s most devoted interest is music, and she especially loves traveling to a few shows when her husband is on tour with his band. She can fangirl him and visit new places all at the same time, and when it’s time to go home and return to a normal routine? “Life is never normal,” she smiles. “But because of our jobs and hobbies, our big dopey Mastiff named Titus, our two kids, and the fact that I’m not much of a sleeper, some strange ideas start writing these stories…”
www.goodreads.com/HadleyQuinn
If you enjoyed this novel, also try “Kiss This” by Hadley Quinn
Available May 2013