by Jacki Renée
“Does Bryan like you, Mommy?” She takes my left hand, twisting the wedding ring around my finger.
“Yes, he does.”
“Is he going to give you a ring?”
“I don’t know, sweetie. Why do you ask?”
“Jacob Brooks said a man is supposed to give a woman a ring when he likes her. That’s why he gave Emmy the pony ring.”
Jacob will be a broke man if he follows that theory for the rest of his life.
She looks up at me with curious eyes. “Why do you still wear this one?”
“I do not know. I guess out of habit.”
“Do you think Bryan’s waiting for you to take it off?”
“That’s a good question.”
“I think you should so he knows you like him too.”
I hug my baby girl. In her own way, she’s telling me it’s time to let go of the past and open myself to a future with Bryan.
The thought no longer troubles me. It’s a weight I need to shed for the New Year.
I slide her off my lap and walk over to my jewelry box to search for an old gold chain. Once I find it, I take the ring off my finger and put it on the chain. I hand it to Kourtney when I sit her back on my lap.
“You have to promise to not lose it. You can wear it around your neck or put it in a special place.”
“I promise not to lose it.” She draws a cross over her heart and we link pinkies.
The bedroom door opens.
“How are my girls?” Bryan strolls in, picking up Kourtney, giving her a hug.
She holds up the chain. “Mommy gave me her ring.”
Bryan’s eyes squint as he looks at the ring twirling on the chain in front of him.
“The wise Mr. Jacob Brooks says when a man likes a woman he’s supposed to give her a ring.” I wink at Kourtney.”
Suddenly, the biggest smile spreads across Bryan’s face.
“Kourt, go wake up Emm and meet us downstairs. I need to talk to Mom for a second.”
“Okay.” She jumps out of his arms, skipping out of the room, closing the door.
The second the latch catches he lunges for me. I jump off the couch before he can grab me.
“What’s the matter, Bry? Little Jacob Brooks knows more about wooing a woman than you?” I laugh, dodging his hands, and make a dash for the bedroom door.
Bryan grabs me by the waist lifting me off my feet.
“You think that’s funny,” he laughs in my ear, walking back to the bed.
We fall onto the comforter and he pins me down with his body.
His fingers tickle me.
I laugh and squirm, trying to get away from him.
“Apologize.”
“No!”
He tickles me.
“Apologize.”
“Bryan. Please. You’ll make me wet my pants.” Did I say that out loud?
His fingers are relentless on my sides and under my arms.
“Apologize or I will make you pee on yourself right here.”
“Okay! Okay. Stop tickling me first.”
His fingers still.
“I’m sorry you’re using your daughter to get close to a woman.”
For a quick second he frowns, then tickles me until I yell uncle. He releases me and I sprint to the bathroom.
After I wash up and change clothes, we go downstairs holding hands. Bryan teases me for not being able to hold it long enough to get my pants down.
I see handcuffs and a bowl of warm water in his future.
Nancy and Ignacio already set up the buffet in the family room.
Marie and Willis join in on the festivities.
We eat and party the night away. Bryan senior shows off the dance skills he’s learned from the video game. Trevor is showing off some dance moves Kourtney taught him. He’s growing on me.
It doesn’t take much coaxing to get Bryan to dance with me. We keep our moves family friendly. His friends heckle him about losing his two left feet all of a sudden.
At ten minutes to midnight, the girls pass out party favors. I turn on the television, and Bryan hands everyone a glass of champagne. Kourtney and Emma get sparkling apple cider.
I smile at the people who welcomed my daughter and me into their lives.
Kourtney and I are ending the year part of a bigger family unit.
We count down.
Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
“Happy New Year!”
Horns sound off, confetti rains down on everyone.
Bryan dips me back; his kiss is a promise of every tomorrow of his life. He leaves me light-headed and hopeful.
It’s a free for all.
I throw my arms around Marie first, then Willis. Bryan senior and I give each other an extra squeeze. Nancy kisses both my cheeks before she hugs me. Jessica and I hug and laugh. She asks if I’m wearing any of that flimsy underwear for her brother to rip off later on. Vin and I smile at each other before I wrap my arms around his waist. I wait for Ignacio to put Emma back on her feet, then give him a hug. Dropping to my knees, I hug Emma, showering her with kisses all over her face. I lean away from Anthony’s fish lips, grab his chin, turn his head, and kiss his cheek. I glimpse Bryan holding Kourt to his chest. The impact of what he’s experiencing shows on his face and it makes my heart flutter. He pulls me into their hug. I take Kourtney in my arms to wish my baby a Happy New Year.
A whistling sound followed by a big boom goes off. We turn to the picture window in the family room. Another whistling sound followed by a boom and colorful lights dance in the darkness out by the pond.
Trevor whines and howls.
A whistle sound...
“Incoming!” Vin yells.
The lights go out. Ignacio tackles Kourtney and me to the floor. Bryan lunges for Emma, dropping to the floor, covering her with his body.
Marie and Nancy drop near the sofa holding on to each other. Bryan senior falls near the fireplace with Jessica.
Vin and Anthony duck down near the window.
Why are they overreacting to fireworks and where’s Willis?
A piercing whistle, unlike the others, fills the night air. The boom that follows shakes the house. Bryan shouts something, but I can’t make out what he’s saying. Trevor howls in my ear.
Anthony and Vin military crawl out of the room.
Bryan pushes Emma over to Ignacio who is hovering over Kourtney and me.
Bryan runs out of the family room.
A ground-shaking boom follows another whistle.
We yell out.
Trevor howls louder.
“Easy boy,” Ignacio tells him.
Bryan’s crouching down in the doorway of the family room. I can’t make out what’s in his hands.
“Stay down,” Ignacio orders and pushes Emma closer.
I wrap the frightened girls in my arms, protecting them with my body.
Ignacio military crawls over to the doorway.
Bryan hands him something. They stick to the walls, heading toward the stairs.
I hear another whistle and brace for the impact. The boom causes the Christmas tree to sway. Glass ornaments crash to the hardwood floors. Shattering.
Another whistle and rapid popping sounds. I don’t know if they’re gunshots or firecrackers. The boom sounds far away. More colorful lights shine in the window.
Consecutive popping sounds fill the night air. It sounds like their coming from upstairs. And still colorful lights dance in the window, but just as sudden as they started, the fireworks stop. An eerie silence follows.
The fire crackling in the fireplace provides light in the room. A mixture of wonder and fright mirrored on all our faces. No one moves or says a word.
Bryan and Ignacio come in empty-handed, and the lights come on.
“Everyone can get up now,” Bryan says. He�
��s in full-out alpha male mode.
The girls run to him.
“Daddy, what was that?” Emma cries.
He squats to hug both girls. “Someone was setting off fireworks near the pond.” His voice and flared nostrils tell a different story.
Ignacio’s demeanor mimics Bryan’s. They’re on alert.
“Where did Uncle Vinny and Uncle Tony go?” Kourtney looks toward the front door.
“They went to see who was lighting the fireworks,” alpha male answers.
“That’s enough excitement for tonight.” My knees shake as I get to my feet. “Let’s get you two into bed.”
“Dani, may I sleep in Kourty’s room?”
“Yes, you may.”
“Can Trevor sleep in the room with us?” she asks.
“Sure, the scaredy-cat can sleep in the room too.”
I take the girls' hands leading them out of the family room. As we’re walking up the stairs, I see a panel in the wall under the stairs slide open, Willis walks out talking into his hand.
What in the hell just happened?
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Walking out of the bathroom, I find Bryan naked and kneeling in the middle of the bed. A fire burning in the fireplace. Soft instrumental jazz music wafting through the surround sound speakers in the room.
“I rolled the dice,” he says. “I have to give you a sensual massage.” A clear bottle filled with a honey-colored oil in his hand. Mr. Tall-And-Sexy pats the comforter. “On your stomach.” The tone of his voice has me wet with anticipation already.
I drop my robe and crawl to the center of the bed. The ends of two red scarves are tethered around posts in the headboard, another is draped across the pillows.
I hesitate.
“Why the scarves?” I pick up the one on the pillow, letting the silky material glide across my palm.
“Do you trust me?” he asks.
Do I?
Of course I do.
I nod.
“On your stomach, arms in front of you.”
I lie on the warm cotton comforter, arms stretched in front, and my head rest on the vanilla-scented pillowcase.
Bryan wraps the free end of a silk scarf around one wrist and secures it with a knot. He kisses the back of my hand. “Is it too tight?”
I shake my head.
He binds the other wrist with the second silk scarf.
“Think of a number between one and one hundred,” he says, straddling my hips.
“I don’t remember reading that in the rules.”
“I’m giving it my own spin. Number between one and one hundred, please.”
“Eleven.”
“Why eleven?”
“Aside from Kourtney, I have eleven important people in my life now.”
“Okay, eleven,” he says and covers my eyes with the silk scarf, fastening it at the back of my head. “Tonight, you’ll have eleven orgasms.” His lips brush my ear with each word spoken. “You won’t be able to touch me or see me.”
Wait! “What!?” I tense.
He slides down the back of my legs, grasps my ankles, and pulls me until my arms are stretched even more.
My body stiffens from the tension. My breathing becomes heavy. I fight the panic threatening to ruin this massage. Images of the last time I was tied to the bed play through my mind.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
I shake my head and whimper.
I feel the heat from his body lying next to me. His lips upon mine.
“Dani, it’s not my intention to leave you tied to the bed or harm you. If it’s too uncomfortable, just say stop, and I will. You’re safe with me. Okay?”
“Okay,” I barely whisper.
“May I begin?”
I nod.
“I need you to say it,” he says, kissing me.
I want to deepen the kiss.
I want to touch him.
My body wants more.
“May I begin?”
“You may begin.”
I hear a cap top pop open, his hands rubbing together.
His slick hands press down on my shoulders, kneading in circular motions. Bryan doesn’t apply too much pressure. Tension slowly evaporates from my body.
His hands move to my back. They meet at my spine, slide up, span out and around. Bryan repeats the motion. The warm air of his breath falls on my neck and shoulders.
The oil heats my skin. My scalp tingles. I sigh.
Bryan moves to my lower back to continue the cycle. Hands meeting in the center, slide up, span out and around. Soft breeze from his mouth. Oil heats. Tingle. Aaah.
His hands disappear and are replaced with his mouth. He glides his tongue across my skin. The contrast between fingers and tongue is so arousing. My body melts into the comforter.
The spot behind my ear is tickled by his tongue and I feel the wetness flow for my first orgasm.
Pop. The bottle’s top opens. Three warm lines are drawn on my butt. The thickest being the one seeping into my crack.
Bryan massages the silky liquid in. His hands push my cheeks up. Out and open. Down and closed. The oil seeps in deeper.
The thrill runs through the back of my knees. Hedonistic lips rain kisses up my spine to the base of my neck. An erotic breeze warms a path down the center of my back.
His massaging hands continue the cycle. Up. Out and open. Tingle now between my thighs. Erotic breeze in the valley of my butt. The two heated sensations collide in the intersection as the small waves of a sensual orgasm roll through me.
“That was beautiful,” he whispers.
Bryan moves down while his fingers massage the inner skin of my partially parted thighs.
I groan.
Bryan blows tiny circles on my skin, followed by his tongue. One thigh then the next. The carnal suspense brushes the passageway to the place he calls Sunshine.
My body trembles through a third orgasm.
“I wish you’d picked a higher number.”
Pop.
My body’s still trembling. Oil flows down one leg to my toes and up the other leg. Bryan’s massive hands massage it into my skin.
Soft nibbles on the back of my knee, he blows and Sunshine flutters.
A warm tongue swipes the back of the other knee; he blows. The pleasure is so sultry the fluttering transforms into a fascinating orgasm.
“If I had more chances, I’d see how many ways I could make you come just by licking the back of your knees.”
Both hands press into my legs, pushing up. Fingertips slide down. The stimulation is repeated. Breeze up one leg and down the other.
Bryan lifts my right foot. Starting at the tips of my toes, he massages them using light circular motions working his way down to the heel. The sole of my foot warms from his breath.
I wiggle.
He switches feet to once again start at the tips of my toes. I’m so turned on. I feel the wetness between my inner thighs.
“You’re doing good, Dani. I’m turning you over.”
His oil-coated hands grip my hips and I’m rolled onto my back. The scarves must have crossed. They don’t have as much give as before.
With his mouth, he makes love to each toe and the skin in between.
The waver starts in my pelvis.
He reverses the massage for the other foot. Ending with a slow. Long. Sexually explicit lick of the sole. I growl through a feverish orgasm.
Pop.
Bryan grasps my knees, dragging his fingers down my legs, then kneads my calves. Inch by stimulating inch upward, the breeze from his mouth ignites the oil, his tongue spreading the flames.
The massage travels up to my thighs. They part for him. A blatant invitation.
Bryan chuckles.
The throbbing in my center increases. I know he’ll taste me. Touch me. I’m prepared for it. My inner muscles clench in anticipation.
He reaches the triangle.
Pop.
Warm oil slithers onto my clitoris, zigzagging up m
y stomach, across my breast, up to my neck and back down. Silky liquid circles each nipple.
The room’s atmosphere causes my sex to burn.
Bryan grips my inner thighs spreading them wider. He brushes the triangle with strokes from his tongue. The air from his mouth heats the outline.
His tongue dips into my navel.
Wait!
Hold!
Up!
I pull against the scarves. Burning.
That’s it!? That’s all he’s going to do?!
If my hands were free, I’d grab his head, forcing him back down there and holding him down until I reach orgasm number eleven.
My need for him is almost painful. His massive hands cup my breasts, squeezing them. His fingers roll my aching nipples. I cry out at the pain and pleasure. They’re extra sensitive lately.
The oil scorches my hypersensitive pebbles. His teeth clamp down.
“Aaah.” I pull against my restraints.
His tongue flicks the captured morsel. My back lifts off the bed shoving my breasts up as my body sizzles through an orgasm.
“Please, Bryan!” I beg.
The pleasure-pain consumes me.
His massage moves up to my shoulders and neck as he slides up my body.
Pop.
I’ve lost count; I’m not going to reach eleven. I’ll pass out from overstimulation.
The oil coats my arms and hands. The massage begins with my underarms. The sensation makes my toes curl and Sunshine clench. He blows to heat the oil.
One by one each finger gets drawn into his mouth. My palm licked. No skin on my hand left unexplored. Bryan spends an extended amount of time on my ring finger. He moans.
Slithering down my body, his lips find mine. He kisses me.
Slowly.
Sexually.
Intimately.
I taste the sweet cinnamon flavored oil. Bryan’s tongue thrusts, circles, and explores every inch of my mouth.
Images of him thrusting, circling, and exploring every inch of my sex trigger a scintillating orgasm.
“Mmm, I gave you the outline and your sexy mind colored it in,” he whispers in my ear.
He settles between my legs. His erection touches my overheated clitoris. I wiggle and rock, squirm and circle, trying to get him in a position that will give me the friction I need to come.
“Find my rhythm, Dani,” he says in my ear. “Stop squirming and concentrate on relaxing.”
He waits until I’m still.