by Webster, K
“Ava! Boys!” Quinn bellows from downstairs. “Get down here.”
“Coming!” I holler back as I abandon the pregnancy book I was reading and bound down the stairs. Heavy footsteps clomp behind me and when we reach the bottom Aiden slings an arm over my shoulder.
“What’s up, Dad?”
Quinn grins at us. “Pack your bags.”
I scrunch my nose up in confusion. “Are we going to see your uncle in Texas?”
He’s mentioned it a few times but he also made sure I had my passport and you don’t need one of those to go to Texas. On several occasions since graduation a few weeks ago, I’ve caught him trying to plan this “secret” trip. I’ve offered to help him a few times but he always tells me it’s his job to take care of me. Last night, I tried to assist him again and he blew me off. So, I crawled up his thighs, unzipped his pants, and took care of him. With my mouth.
“Something like that,” he says cryptically. “Come on. We need to leave within the hour.”
My cat Lemon rubs against my leg and I scoop her up. We eventually went back to Mom’s trailer to collect the rest of my things, including my sweet cat. “Who’s going to watch Lemon?”
“Your mom. We’re going to drop her off on the way to the airport.” He leans forward and kisses my nose. “Let’s move, guys.”
I’m completely in the dark.
All while we pack our things.
The drive to Mom’s. I don’t miss the knowing smirk on her face.
The entire drive to the airport.
It isn’t until we’re passing through the doors and he hands over my ticket that everything snaps into place.
France. France. France.
Holy crap.
“Quinn,” I whisper.
He squeezes my hand. “Just go with it, mon petit oiseau.”
With tears in my eyes, I do as he says. I just go with it.
* * *
I stare out the window as the rain pelts the Paris sidewalks. I’m trying to memorize every detail. Our last day was supposed to be spent exploring all the parts of the city we hadn’t seen yet. But since it’s raining, and forecasted to rain all day, Quinn rented an XBOX and told the boys they could play games and order room service. They were stoked. Not only for that, but also for the privacy they have. Quinn ordered us adjacent suites. The boys feel grown up but are still close enough if they need anything.
I look over at Quinn, who’s napping in the bed. I’m still in shock he did this for me. The ten-day trip to Paris was a complete shock to me. I’d never dreamed we’d go together but it turned out to be such a pleasant surprise. He even coordinated it when Madame Clare and the others would be here. I was able to go with my classmates to a few of the museums and other outings. It was beyond thoughtful.
I find myself staring at his chiseled chest. The sheet covers his bare cock, thick but flaccid against his thigh. He’s so freaking gorgeous. And mine.
I’m smiling as my gaze travels back up his chest to his face. Quinn may be twenty-five years older than me but I never feel the age difference between us. We’re just Ava and Quinn. The need to touch him is overwhelming. I slide off the windowsill and drop my soft robe to the floor. I’m naked and when I look down, another smile plays at my lips to see my slightly swollen stomach.
I can’t believe I’m pregnant.
“Now there’s a memory I want burned into my brain forever,” Quinn says, his voice raspy from sleep. “God you’re beautiful.”
Lifting my gaze to his, I smile. “So are you.”
“Come here, baby.”
I crawl into bed beside him and mold my naked body against his. He rolls me onto my back so he can touch my stomach. He does this often. It makes my heart flutter against my chest. The love that shines in his eyes is almost too much to bear.
“Thought of names yet?” he murmurs, his mouth finding my tender nipple.
“I like Emily and Elise.”
He kisses my breast before looking up at me. “So sure of the sex, huh?”
A shy grin tugs at my lips. “I feel like they’re girls.” When the doctor told me there were two heartbeats, I nearly passed out.
Twins.
Quinn was right.
“What if they’re boys? Or one of each?” he challenges.
“I’ll be happy with whatever we get,” I say happily.
He begins trailing kisses from my breast, down along my swollen stomach, to my sex. I whimper when he nuzzles against the lips with his nose. He’s so animalistic sometimes. So caveman. Sometimes I want to get annoyed at the fact he insists on carrying me practically everywhere but then I remember how much he likes taking care of me. And truth be told, I love it too.
His mouth latches on to my clit and I cry out in surprise. Quinn has a way of distracting me from everything in this life except him. I’m happy in his arms and in his heart. Everything else is just icing on the cake.
I whimper as he suckles my throbbing bundle of nerves. His fingers are gentle as he slides two inside of me to locate my G-spot. Not a day goes by where Quinn doesn’t offer me several orgasms. I take them greedily.
It doesn’t take long before he works me into a frenzy. I’m still trembling with an orgasm when he removes his fingers and replaces them with his cock. Slowly, he pushes inside of me. Once he lowers his body against mine, he kisses me slowly.
“I love you,” he utters. “I want to give you the world.”
I run my fingers through his hair and smile. “Quinn, you already have.”
“No,” he frowns with his cock buried deep inside me. “Not yet. Soon.”
His fingers thread with mine on each hand and he pins them to the bed as he stares at me with a serious expression. “Marry me. Please, Ava. I want you. The babies. All of it. Tell me you feel the same.”
I blink away tears. “Really?”
His mouth presses to mine and he thrusts slowly into me. “Really. Please say yes.” I whimper when his mouth finds my neck and he sucks the flesh until he finds my earlobe. His hot breath on my sensitive skin drives me wild. “Say yes, mon petit oiseau.”
“Oui.”
Epilogue
Two years later...
Quinn
“Who wants pancakes?” Aiden chirps from the stove.
Jayden screeches and kicks in his highchair. “Pancay!”
His excitement sets Joseph off because he starts hollering too. “Pancay!”
I chuckle as I sip my coffee. These boys are my life. All four of them. Aiden and Anthony are such good big brothers. They make me so proud.
“Have you found a job yet?” I ask Anthony.
He looks up from his phone and groans. “Not yet. I have an interview with Mrs. Sung at noon. According to the ad, her husband passed away and she is having trouble maintaining the yard and pool.”
“Sounds promising,” I say and set my mug down. “The yard is something you can handle and it sounds like it could be flexible with school and sports.”
He nods. “Plus it’s better than working at a donut shop.”
Aiden snorts. “You’re just jealous. And, it’s a café. We sell more than just donuts. Ava never complains about my job. In fact, she comes in every shift to visit me.”
I laugh, which makes Jayden and Joseph laugh too even though they have no idea what they’re laughing at. Sure, I make a pretty good living but I’ve always wanted my boys to understand you have to work hard for things in life. I don’t want them to grow spoiled. If I want them to turn out to be good men, some things they simply have to do.
Like get part-time jobs.
“Speaking of Ava. Where is my wife?”
“You know Aves,” Aiden says as he sets down two plates of pancakes that he’s carefully cut up for the twins. “She was up at the crack of dawn and went to the grocery store.”
Earlier, she’d slipped out of bed after giving me the best birthday blowjob ever and headed to the store. I’d never been big into birthdays but my wife lives for them. Everyone gets a huge party now that she’s in charge. I smirk. She’s certainly in charge around here. Every single one of the boys in this house is wrapped around her tiny finger.
As if on cue, I hear the garage door open. Seconds later, the one to the house opens too. She waddles in carrying a huge cake. The babies scream through mouthfuls of pancake at seeing their mother. My eyes fall on my beautiful girl as she sets the cake on the counter. Today she’s wearing a sunshine yellow dress that fits snugly around her giant stomach. For only carrying one child this time, she’s bigger than she ever was with the twins.
This time we’re having a girl.
“Happy birthday, Daddy,” she chirps and flashes me a sweet smile.
“How are my girls?” I ask and scoot back in my chair so she can sit in my lap.
She kisses each small twin on the top of their dark heads and ruffles Anthony’s hair before sitting on my thigh. “Good. Tired. She’s restless.”
I palm her large stomach and kiss her neck. “If you need to take a semester off, mon petit oiseau...”
She shakes her head. “I’m fine. I don’t want to quit this close to the end. I’ll take the summer off. I promise.”
This satisfies me. My smart girl never gave up college. I’d offered to send her anywhere she wanted to go. She ended up taking the scholarships that were offered to her and goes to a local university. I was pleased when she told me she wanted to be a math teacher. She’s so good with the boys and their studies that I just know she’ll brighten many more kids’ lives one day.
“Here, Momma,” Aiden teases as he sets a plate of pancakes down in front of Ava. She squeals with excitement.
“This is why you’re my favorite,” she says playfully.
Anthony rolls his eyes. “That’s not what you said yesterday when I helped you fold all the laundry.”
“You’re my favorite too,” she whispers as if it’s a secret.
As my family chatters and laughs throughout breakfast, my heart continues to swell. Ava had asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I told her nothing.
But that was a lie.
I want this. The five people who mean most to me in the world and one little one on the way. A family. Love and laughter and warmth. Mine.
And I already have it.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from MADD INK by Dani René.
Madd Ink
by Dani René
Prologue
I’d given up a lot in my short life. When I wanted to study art, my parents disagreed with my choice. There wasn’t a living to be made from painting and drawing. That’s what my father told me. Mom didn’t argue, she never did. My parents were the epitome of what I didn’t want from a relationship.
When Dad finally walked out, leaving me and Mom alone, I had no choice but to grow up too soon. Sixteen, head of the household because my mother decided that without a man she was nothing. I cooked, cleaned, made sure that she ate. My dreams of art school diminished when that happened. I dropped out of high school, found a job in an office to pay the bills. Answering phones was easy. You didn’t need a degree to be friendly.
I was happy. Until I walked into a bar one night with a few colleagues. They told me to loosen up. I was an eighteen-year-old girl who never had a beer before. Then I had one too many. The so-called friends left me there to my own devices. My knight in shining armor saved me. Trent Halston.
Those green eyes, that rugged beard, and those tattoos. He put me in his truck, drove me home, and made sure I got in safely. Somewhere along the drive, he’d managed to get hold of my phone, swapping numbers while I giggled and told him about the snobby office women I worked with. The same ones who left me in a bar on my own.
The next day he called to check on me. Make sure I was surviving the hangover. He wasn’t romantic, just sweet. There’s a difference.
That was the end of my innocence. He’d stolen my number, and after that night he made sure to steal my heart. Nothing prepared me for him, for love, for heartbreak. And nothing prepared me for what lay ahead.
Chapter One
Ryn
Rolling over, I groan at the light streaming through the blinds against the bedroom window. The blaring alarm tells me it’s six-thirty in the morning and I know I have to get ready if I’m going to be on time for work.
The heat of the sun warms me, and I push the comforter off so I can bask in the feel of it on my body. I swing my legs over the edge of the bed, my feet hitting cold wooden slats, which makes me shiver. Heading into the bathroom, I turn on the shower, watching as the spray slowly steams up the small space. As soon as I’ve stripped down, I step under the deluge that cascades against my skin.
My sleek blonde hair is short, cut to my chin. I keep it that way so it’s easy to wash. I’ve always been more of a tomboy, so I like that fact that I don’t have to spend hours styling it.
Also, it’s easier to pin back when I’m at work. Since Ava and Jag are back together, he’s been giving me more responsibility when it comes to tattooing—
which was always my dream. I’ve taken on my own clients, sketching up ideas and making stencils. Today I’ve got a back piece that is going to take the whole day. I can’t wait, the portrait the client gave me to work with was utter perfection.
The water is hot and the pressure is incredible. I close my eyes, enjoying the massaging pinpricks on my shoulders. Suddenly ice sprays onto my skin, causing me to scream loudly out the bathroom door.
“I’m going to kill you!” A soft giggle comes from down the hallway. Shutting off the taps, I step out, grabbing a towel and wrapping myself in the fluffy pink material.
“Sorry, Mommy!” The voice that I love more than life itself comes from the princess bedroom down the hall. Padding over the wooden floors, I step into her bedroom and pin her with a narrowed glare.
“I’ll get you back for that, Roxie,” I warn, but can’t help smiling at her bright blue eyes. My short blonde hair and cobalt eyes match my daughter’s. Thankfully she looks nothing like her father. The asshole who walked out, leaving us both without so much as a goodbye. When I found out I was pregnant, he packed his bags and left us in the middle of the night. I woke up to a cold bed, and empty apartment.
“I’m ready for school, I just need to brush my teeth.” Her five-year-old self is too old for her age. Independent, sassy, and a pain in the ass. She takes after her mother. At twenty-four I never thought I’d be a single mom, raising my daughter on the paychecks of my full-time tattooing job.
When I told Jagger about Roxanne, he smiled, told me he’d pay me to work mornings and I could leave earlier to collect her at school. When I explained that I needed a full-time salary, he just shrugged.
The first time I received my pay slip, I almost fainted in the store. I felt bad that he’d paid me double what most artists get, never mind the fact that I started out as an apprentice.
I questioned him about it a few times. All he told me was that I should look after myself and Roxie. The man has a heart of gold. I’ve never come across someone who would go out of their way to help a woman on her own like that without wanting something in return.
“I’ll be ready soon. Breakfast first,” I warn, and my little blonde doll nods with a bright smile. I head back to my bedroom to quickly pull on a pair of blue skinny jeans, my signature black skull tank top with a purple bra beneath. My arms are inked from shoulder to wrist. The color, along with black-and-white tattoos that fill my arms, have become my uniform. My piercings are mostly hidden by my hair and clothes.
With one tongue piercing, a few bars through my earlobes and my nipples pierced, most people would shy away from me. Or wonder how a woman who lo
oks like I do raises a child. It’s one of those stereotypical judgments that caused me to get full sleeves done. I wanted to prove to those people that it didn’t matter what you looked like, you could still live a normal life. I’ve learned first-hand to never judge a book by its ink. Even the most beautifully polished covers can be a farce.
Pulling my blonde hair into a hair tie, I head down to have breakfast with my baby. The only thing in my life I’ve ever done right.
Copyright © 2018 by Dani René
Acknowledgments
A gigantic thanks to Carina Press and their awesome team for taking a chance on my books and me. It’s been such a joy and honor working with you all!
Thank you to my husband...you’re always an inspiration and I love you so much!
A huge thank you to my Krazy for K Webster’s Books reader group. You all are insanely supportive and I can’t thank you enough. I’m so proud that we went through this journey together. Stay Krazy with me!
Thank you to my betas—you ladies rock!
A big thank you to my author friends who have given me your friendship and your support.
You have no idea how much that means to me.
Thank you to all of my blogger friends both big and small that go above and beyond to always share my stuff. You all rock!
Last but certainly not least of all, thank you to all of the wonderful readers out there who are willing to read my story and enjoy my characters like I do. It means the world to me.
Also available from K Webster and Carina Press
Ex-Rated Attraction
And also available from K Webster
War & Peace
This is War, Baby (Book 1)
This is Love, Baby (Book 2)
This Isn’t Over, Baby (Book 3)
This Isn’t You, Baby (Book 4)
This is Me, Baby (Book 5)
This Isn’t Fair, Baby (Book 6)
This is the End, Baby (Book 7)
Taboo Treats
Bad Bad Bad
Easton