Dare to Embrace
The Maxwell Series Book 7
S.B. Alexander
Raven Wing Publishing
Dare to Embrace
Book Seven: The Maxwell Series
Copyright © 2019 by S.B. Alexander
All rights reserved.
First Edition
Print ISBN: 978-1-7329767-9-5
Visit: www.sbalexander.com
Editor: Red Adept Editing, www.redadeptediting.com
Cover Design by Hang Le: http://www.byhangle.com
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons-living or dead-is entirely coincidental.
Adult Content Warning: The content contained is the book includes adult language and sexual content. This book is intended for adult audiences 17 years of age and older.
Contents
1. Kade
2. Lacey
3. Kade
4. Kade
5. Lacey
6. Kade
7. Lacey
8. Kade
9. Lacey
10. Kade
11. Kade
12. Lacey
13. Kade
14. Lacey
15. Kade
16. Lacey
17. Kade
18. Lacey
19. Kade
More Maxwells
S.B. Alexander
Also by S.B. Alexander
Chapter 1
Kade
The aroma of roast and potatoes filled our spacious kitchen as I turned the oven down to warm. Then I lowered the recessed lighting, set the table, opened a bottle of red wine, and flicked on the stereo.
Beethoven floated out of the built-in speakers overhead, setting the mood for the night I had planned with my beautiful wife.
Once I was done, I ambled into our master bathroom and lit the candles around the Jacuzzi-style tub, which could fit two grown adults easily. I debated whether to fill the tub but decided to wait. The water wouldn’t be hot, and Lacey loved to soak in the hot, soapy water.
All I needed now was Lacey. I checked my watch. She was fifteen minutes late.
Don’t panic, dude. It’s rush hour, and she’s coming in from Portland. So that means she has to drive through Boston.
Still, I tapped on her name. I had to know where she was. The last text I’d gotten from her was when she was leaving Portland a few hours ago.
The line went directly to her voice mail.
She was probably in a bad spot with no coverage.
After I left her a message, I made my way back into the kitchen, when the doorbell rang. My mind instantly went to the dark side—something had happened to Lacey.
My pulse was erratic as I wound my way through our large first floor, passing an open high-ceiling living room before answering the door.
When I laid eyes on Maiken, my heart rate slowed, and I swallowed a growl. With Lacey due home, the last thing I wanted were distractions. We only had four days together before she had to return to Portland. My agenda was to lock us in our house, shut out the world, and make love to her nonstop. I wanted to christen every room—something we hadn’t done yet because whenever she’d been home on a break during the last year, we’d had teenagers living with us, including the one standing before me.
Maiken beamed up at me like a lost puppy, his blue eyes filled with struggle and confusion. “Can I come in?”
I didn’t see a suitcase, so that was good. I wasn’t one to turn my back on family, but I wasn’t ready to deal with more drama. I’d had enough when Maiken and his siblings, Ethan, Emma, and Marcus were living with us. I’d stepped up to lend a hand when his mom needed help while she took care of her sister, who had recently passed from breast cancer.
Four teenagers living with Lacey and me had been maddening and frustrating. Not a moment’s peace. Not a moment to myself. Not a moment to make love to my wife in privacy.
I now understood what my old man had gone through when Kelton, Kross, Kody, and I had been in high school, although my brothers and I had been harder to tame than my cousins. Well, maybe not Marcus, who was quite the rebellious one out of his siblings.
I waved Maiken in, but fuck, my cousin had better have a good excuse for being at my house. I scanned the yard and driveway before I closed the door. “Where’s your car?” He lived about three miles from me.
“I jogged over.” He ran a hand through his sandy-blond hair. “Do you have a minute?”
I really didn’t, but Lacey hadn’t pulled in yet, and I could use a distraction so I didn’t give myself a heart attack over worrying about my wife.
I padded into the kitchen. “A minute. Lacey is due home.”
“Nice,” he said. “Something smells good.” He made himself comfortable on a stool at the island as though he were living here again.
“Is your mom okay?” I felt compelled to ask. His family had been plagued with bad luck since his father had passed almost two years ago.
“She’s fine.”
I turned off the oven. “Is it Quinn?”
He lowered his gaze to his hands.
Shit. Did they break up?
I sat down across from him. “What happened?” I remembered the day Lacey had broken up with me like it was yesterday.
“I’ve been a complete ass to you during this Pitt and Lorenzino mess.”
“Kade?”
“No, it’s my turn to talk.” If I don’t, you’ll be naked in the span of a minute.
She crossed her legs and gave me her full attention.
“You said some things that day in my theater room that I’ve been turning over and over in my head. I know the pain from the death of a loved one. I also know how far you’ve come in the six months we’ve been together. I’m not perfect either. We’ll both have nightmares and memories of our turmoil. But, Lace, I don’t have PTSD. I’m learning about the symptoms and how to support you. I want to protect you from everything, including your PTSD. I know I can’t. I know it’s up to you to heal. I also know I need to support you and not shut you out.” I exhaled. “Baby, please, never for one second believe that I think you’re pathetic. I’m sorry if I made you feel that way and for everything else.” My practiced speech came out easily.
She folded the corners of the pages of her chemistry book. Her eyes were downcast. A brittle silence dangled.
Say something. Anything. The quietness drove the nausea to churn inside my stomach.
“It’s…” Her voice broke. “This is hard for me.” She kept her eyes on her book.
My pulse went into overdrive. I’d so fucked up. My heart skipped several beats. I couldn’t lose this girl.
She lifted her soft green eyes, worrying her bottom lip. “I have so much going on that I don’t know how to process it all. I could be in danger. I have a new family, albeit a mob family. I have baseball. I want that baseball scholarship to ASU. I have an illness that stops me in my tracks and causes others to freak out along with me. I don’t want anyone’s pity or sympathy. The only way I can do that is to tackle a couple of things at a time.” She pushed out all the air in her lungs as her cheeks puffed.
“But…” She held my gaze. “I know you’re sorry. I know you love me. But until my other problems are behind me, I can’t work on a relationship. I just can’t.”
“So that’s it? You’re breaking up with me?”
Her shoulder came up to her ear. “I guess. I guess I am.”
Maiken snapped his fingers, shattering the memory of when I’d walked into Lacey’s bedroom seven years ago. “You checked out, man.”
I blinked. “Sorry. What were you saying?”
He picked at the skin on one of his fingers. “Sex.”
My eyes widened. “You two broke up because of sex?” I didn’t mean to sound surprised.
He lifted his head quickly. “Oh no. We didn’t break up.”
I relaxed my features. Quinn was a great girl, and she was good for Maiken. He seemed happy with her in his life.
So he wanted to talk sex. Since his father had passed, I’d become his mentor of sorts, which I enjoyed unless I was bailing him or any of his siblings out of the principal’s office at Kensington High.
“I’m listening.” I wasn’t sure I could give him much advice on the topic other than to make sure he practiced safe sex.
“I think Quinn and I are ready, but what if I don’t please her? What if it’s not what I thought sex would be? Or if afterwards, she doesn’t want anything to do with me?”
I rubbed my chin, dipping back to my first time having sex with a girl in the tenth grade. We’d both wanted to get our first time out of the way. We hadn’t been in love either. I couldn’t recall, though, if I’d been expecting much. Actually, I’d been too nervous to think that night. Afterward, the girl and I had laughed at how weird the experience had been.
“Did you feel apprehensive with Lacey?” Maiken asked. “I don’t want details, just…” His attention was fixated on me like I had all the answers.
I studied his desperate plea for advice. I never thought I would be giving anyone pointers on sex, at least not until Lacey and I had our own kids. Even then I wasn’t sure what I would tell my son or daughter. Although if we had girls, I would kill the fucker who dared to put his hands on my baby girl.
Maiken tapped on the island counter. “Man, it looks like you’ve seen a ghost. It’s okay. We don’t have to talk about sex.”
Blinking, I chuckled. “It’s cool. My first time with a chick was awkward. I’m not going to lie. But I wasn’t in love with her.”
“You mean Lacey wasn’t your first?” Horror etched his tone.
“No, and I wasn’t her first either. But we didn’t meet until our senior year. Look, Maiken, I suggest you and Quinn talk about your feelings before you have sex. Make sure you’re both ready. And above all else, practice safe sex. You and her have a future to think about with college.”
“Do you think she’s on the pill?” he asked, sounding like his question was directed at himself rather than me. “Don’t answer that. I’m so nervous. But it’s getting to the point that anytime I’m around her, I want to…”
“I get it,” I said. “Believe me, when you’re in love with someone, that feeling of wanting to lock yourself in a room with her is always there.” Like now. I checked the time again.
Where the fuck was Lacey?
Suddenly, pain gripped my temples, and I winced.
What the fuck? I hadn’t had a migraine since my tumor was removed three years ago.
Tumor? No fucking way. The surgeon had removed all of the benign mass, but he’d also said it was possible another mass could grow back. I’d had scans done every year since. No, you haven’t, dude. It’s been over a year since your last one.
“Kade, you’re seeing a ghost again,” Maiken drawled in a lazy Southern accent, which I hadn’t heard from him in a while. “Are you okay?”
My vision blurred for a split second as my gaze rounded on him. “Just the onset of a headache.”
I blew out a breath when I heard the front door open. Then Lacey’s voice peppered the air. I took in another breath, more to help the knot in my stomach unwind at the fact that she was home.
I plastered on a smile, albeit a fake one since the pain in my head was throbbing.
Lacey glided in, dressed in shorts, showing off her toned legs. A tight T-shirt accentuated her beautiful breasts, and her long, wavy brown hair was piled up on her head. But what had my dick throbbing were those green eyes of hers that had a way of sucking me in each and every time.
She swung her gaze from Maiken to me. “What’s wrong?”
Maiken rose. “I was asking Kade for some advice. But then his head started hurting.”
Lacey rushed over to me. “Headache? Like migraine?” Her voice faltered.
Fuck. I knew what she was thinking.
I pulled her to me and kissed her on the lips. “It’s nothing.”
“I’m out of here,” Maiken said. “I’ll let myself out.” His shoes squeaked on the floor as he left.
Once I heard the door click, I buried my hands in Lacey’s thick hair. “Hi.”
She cupped my face, her chest rising and falling as she studied me. “When was the last time you had a headache?”
I chuckled. “Seriously, it’s nothing to worry about it.”
“You said that last time, and it turned out to be a tumor,” she complained. “It’s been a while since you had a checkup.”
I hadn’t had a moment to myself with teenagers in my life. “I know. And I’ll make an appointment with the doc.”
She sighed as she threw her arms around me. “Sorry I’m late. Traffic was brutal.”
I shaped her hips before my hands landed on her ass. “Did you get my voice mail?”
“I did. I should’ve called, but I was set on getting home.” Her tongue darted out.
My dick jumped. “I made a roast.”
She flattened her hands on my chest. “Maybe later.” Then her hands were expertly and slowly dancing down my abs until she was unbuckling my belt. “I’m all yours for four days.”
Suddenly, that throbbing pain in my head settled in my groin. I scooped her up and into my arms then carried her into our bedroom. No amount of pain was going to ruin our evening.
Once in our bedroom, I set her down on our king bed. “I’ll start the bath water. Be right back.” I hurried into the en suite bathroom, turned on the hot water, poured in a copious amount of bubble bath soap, and added some eucalyptus crystals she loved.
On the way back into the bedroom, I began stripping, but when I laid eyes on her, I came to an abrupt halt.
She was propped up on a pillow, naked, legs open, massaging her breasts.
Fuuuuck!
I wasn’t a pubescent teenager, but suddenly I felt like I was about to lose my load. It had been too fucking long since I’d seen Lacey naked. It had been a lifetime since I’d seen her tweaking her nipples or licked that sweet-tasting pussy of hers.
“You gonna stare or do something about Mr. Steel?” She pointed at my dick straining to get out of my boxer briefs.
I shucked the rest of my clothes, and when my cock sprang free, her green eyes went wide, drowning me in love and lust.
She crooked her finger. “I want to taste Mr. Steel first.”
My dick was steel, all right.
I dug my bare feet into the plush carpet as I closed the distance between us. By the time I reached the bed, she’d scooted to the edge and tugged my underwear down, and before I could say anything, her mouth was around my dick.
I growled, loud and deep, as my eyes rolled back in my head. Then I burrowed my fingers into her hair as her hands wrapped around my shaft.
Holy fuck!
I wasn’t going to last a damn second.
She sucked hard as she played with my balls.
Reality started to fade when I remembered the water. “The bath.” My voice was weak at best.
She giggled.
I lifted her
in my arms. “Let’s continue this in the bathtub.”
Chapter 2
Lacey
I yawned as I stretched, blinking awake to the sunlight streaking in through the slats in the shutters that weren’t closed all the way.
I nestled into the soft cotton sheets, watching Kade. The man looked peaceful as he slept with one hand under the pillow and the other tucked close to his chest.
It had been too long since I woke up with him next to me. Too long since I could reach out and touch his rugged jaw or broad chest or toned biceps or even have my way with him.
He didn’t travel with me during baseball season. When I’d first signed my contract, I had wanted Kade to join me at every game, and in the beginning, he had on occasion. But when we broke ground on our new house and he’d become the guardian of four of his teenage cousins, his time wasn’t his own anymore. Plus, he had his job as a manager of one of my dad’s nightclubs.
Despite his responsibilities, I wasn’t complaining. Kade wasn’t a traveler. I’d known that going into my contract and our marriage. He wasn’t the type to sit around in the stadium night after night. He loved me with all his heart, and I loved him beyond what I could put into words. His happiness was precious to me. So I was cool with living in a rented apartment in Portland, Maine, during the baseball season.
I wasn’t that far from home, so if I had a day off, I could zip down to spend it with Kade and the family.
Still, lying next to him was rare during the season. Sadly, I hadn’t gotten picked for the All-Star team, but on the flip side, I had four days to spend with Kade.
Dare to Embrace: The Maxwell Series Book 7 Page 1