by Sybil Bartel
She was driving me insane.
And she wasn’t even doing anything.
It was just her.
She was reserved and patient and kind. Her love for Mav was in every breath she took. I didn’t know mothers could be like her. She lived and breathed for that boy, but she’d also laid down clear boundaries. Not that I had any basis for comparison, but I thought Mav was well behaved as hell. And he was happy.
Goddamn, he was so happy.
This kid, my kid, he loved life. He was everything I wasn’t as a kid. He smiled and laughed and was inquisitive about everything. And when he put his arms around my neck to hug me, nothing compared.
“Mama, Mama, Mama! Watch me!”
“I’m watching.” Brooke smiled as she treaded water.
Mav took a flying leap into the deep end of the pool and swam facedown toward Brooke. Halfway to her, he rolled to his back and floated to take a breath like she’d taught him. Then the determined little tyke rolled back and swam the rest of the way to his mama.
Brooke lifted him up when he got to her. “Good boy!”
Water running down his face, grinning, he kicked his legs. “Again, again!”
Brooke gave him a gentle push toward the shallow end of the pool, and he swam to the steps to get out.
“You know….” Brooke glanced mischievously at me. “He might make a better SEAL than a Marine.”
I bit back a smile. “You watch your tongue, woman.”
She grinned, but then her expression softened. “Come join us. The water’s perfect.”
Sitting on the patio, I stared at her. Every day she was more beautiful to me. She didn’t fuck with her hair or bother with a lot of makeup. She didn’t stress about shit like Mav spilling juice, or missed nap times, or if I gave him ice cream before dinner. But more than that, she’d done something no one had ever done for me.
She’d made room for me in her and Mav’s life.
I didn’t know if it was a conscious decision on her part, or if she was simply that giving, but she included me in everything they did. She let me put him down for naps and at night. A couple times when he’d cried, she’d let me comfort him. She’d laughed the first time he’d crawled on my lap to say goodnight and whispered in my ear not to worry, that he’d already taken a leak and wouldn’t piss the bed. My eyes had gone wide and she’d giggled, explaining the routine. Bathroom, book, sleep. She had this parent thing down, and even more impressive? She made it look easy as hell.
“So, are you coming in?” she prompted when I didn’t answer. “I think your shoulder can handle it.” She gave me the mischievous look again.
She didn’t fucking understand. If I got in a pool with her and her bikini, all bets were off. I’d been good for weeks. I’d been a fucking saint up until last night. And after taking her all night long, my willpower to hold back wasn’t fucking crumbling, it was decimated.
I shook my head.
Mav needed to take a nap soon, or he was gonna get an eyeful.
“Oh, come on, Mr. Marine.” She splashed some water toward my chair as Mav got out of the shallow end of the pool. “Get your suit on and show me those muscles.” She winked.
She fucking winked at me.
My dick got hard, and I sat up in my chair. Dragging my gaze over her sweet rack, I shamelessly stared for a beat too long before looking back at her gorgeous eyes. “Muscles, huh?”
Mav held up his arm. “Muscles!”
Heat hit her cheeks, and she bit her bottom lip. “Mm-hmm.”
Oh fuck yeah. I cocked my head and smiled. “You asking for something?” I held my fist out and Mav fist bumped me as he walked past, going toward the deep end of the pool.
Picking up what I was putting down, Brooke didn’t hesitate. She glanced at my dick. “Maybe.”
Fuuuuck.
Blatant as hell, I rubbed my hand over my now hard-as-shit cock, then I adjusted myself. “Maybe I got what you want.”
“Maybe you do,” she said singsong, and noncommittally as fuck.
Done dancing around her, I laid it out, and I didn’t fucking mince words. “I’m not looking for a hit it and quit it.” I never was. Not with her. And after last night? I couldn’t quit her if I tried.
She opened her sweet mouth to say something, and Mav interrupted us.
“Daddy, Daddy, watch!” he yelled.
Both Brooke and I snapped our attention toward Mav.
It was the first time he’d called me that.
My heart in my fucking throat, my pride soaring, I forced words out. “I’m watching, little man. Show me whatcha got.”
Fearless, my son jumped in the pool.
Ignoring the tightness in my shoulder, I yanked my T-shirt off, tossed my cell on the patio table and used the steps to walk into the pool.
Mav’s little body surfaced and he kicked a few feet then he rolled to his back for a breath before turning back to swim toward the shallow end.
Brooke moved out of Mav’s path, and I met him halfway.
Picking him up with my good arm, I brought him to my chest. “Hey.”
He grinned from ear to ear. “Did you see? I jumped!”
“I saw.” Fuck, I saw.
Mav giggled. “You in your clothes.”
I smiled. “I am.”
“Why?” he asked like only a toddler could ask.
“Because it’s not every day my son calls me Daddy.”
His head went to my good shoulder and his little voice got quiet. “Daddy.”
I held him tight and swallowed past the emotions choking my throat. “Yeah, little man. I’m your daddy.” I looked at Brooke. “I’ll always be your daddy.”
Silent tears slid down her cheeks.
You’re mine, I mouthed.
Biting her bottom lip, she nodded.
My heart fucking soared.
“Collins!”
I spun with Mav in my arms as Luna walked through the side gate, followed by Christensen and a man I didn’t know.
Brooke swam over to me and dropped her voice. “That’s the ATF agent.”
Gut reaction, I wanted to kill Luna for bringing the ATF fuck here with no warning and no time to get Christensen’s lawyer friend back over.
“It’s okay. I’ll handle it.” I handed Mav to Brooke. “Take him inside.” I climbed out of the pool and looked at the agent. “Brooke’s taking Maverick inside. We can talk out here.”
Looking haggard as fuck, the agent glanced at Brooke as she wrapped a towel around Mav then picked him up. “Actually, I need to speak with Ms. Barrone.”
I glanced from Christensen to Luna. Christensen didn’t say shit, but Luna nodded once at me. “I’ll take Mav inside.” He walked toward Brooke and Mav and held his arms out to Mav. “Someone told me you like ice cream.”
“Ice cream!” Mav immediately leaned toward Luna.
Luna chuckled as he took Mav. “Come on, little man, I gotcha covered.” He took Mav inside.
Brooke wrapped a towel around herself then walked over to us.
I put my arm around her shoulders and addressed the ATF agent. “What’s up?”
The fuck didn’t even glance at me. “Ms. Barrone,” he said dryly. “We’re closing our investigation, and you’re free to move back into your house. Thank you for your patience.”
Brooke blinked. “That’s it? It’s over?”
The ATF dick nodded. “As far as you’re concerned, yes.”
I felt her shoulders drop, and her voice quieted. “Thanks.”
The fuck smirked and handed her a card. “If you ever decide to come clean, let me know.”
“Olsen,” Christensen said, low and threatening.
“Yeah, all right, fine.” The ATF agent shook his head at Christensen. “I fucking get it. She’s so clean, she’s squeaky. We done?”
“Ja,” Christensen answered yes in Danish.
“Great.” The ATF prick looked at me. “And lucky you, you get a hall pass, even though I’d bet my pension Talerco did
n’t shoot Lewis in self-defense. And shocker, the hospital lost the slugs they pulled from you. It’s like you weren’t even there that night,” he said sarcastically as fuck before looking back at Christensen. “Never a pleasure.” He turned and walked out the side gate.
“What a dick,” I muttered.
“It’s over?” Brooke asked in disbelief.
I squeezed her shoulder. “It’s over, sweetheart.”
Christensen looked at Brooke. “I will buy the estate from you for seventeen point five million. The lawyer can draw up the paperwork.”
Brooke stiffened. “That’s not my estate, nor my money.”
“It is now,” Christensen answered practically. “Property taxes will be due at the end of the year. They are substantial. I can do some minor renovations and flip the property. We will both benefit from this deal.”
Brooke hesitated. “It’s only worth fifteen million.”
“It was purchased for fifteen,” Christensen corrected. “It is worth more now.”
Brooke looked at me and raised her eyebrows.
We hadn’t discussed it again after last night’s argument, but I had sent Christensen a text after she’d fallen asleep, asking for a favor. Christensen had the means to flip a property of that size and price, and I was hoping it’d take the pressure off Brooke. I wasn’t going to tell her what to do, but hopefully Christensen’s offer made the decision easier for her.
“It’s your decision,” I reassured, and I meant it. I’d heard what she said last night, but money was money, and that would be a lot to walk away from. It’d go a long way in securing Mav’s future.
Brooke bit her bottom lip and looked back at Christensen. “If I sell it to you, would the transaction cost me anything?”
“No,” Christensen answered. “I will handle all of the paperwork for the transaction. You would sign the documents and then the money would be transferred into your account.”
Brooke’s gaze drifted toward the house, and she was quiet for a moment. “Okay, it’s a deal, but I would like you to subtract three weeks’ worth of rental income for letting us stay in your house.”
Christensen barely gave a tip up of his chin. “Done. The lawyer will be in the touch with the documents.”
Luna came out of the back slider door to the house with Mav on his heels. Mav had an ice-cream cone, and despite his best efforts to eat it as fast as humanly possible, shit was dripping down his hand.
Luna glanced toward the side gate. “Olsen gone?”
“Ja.” Christensen squatted to Mav’s level and said something to him in Danish.
Mav nodded. “Ice cream good!”
Luna chuckled, then glanced at me. “We all set?”
“We’re good.” Fuck, we were good. “Thanks, man.” I held my hand out.
Luna took it and pulled me in for a bro hug. “Anytime, brother, anytime.”
Christensen stood to his full height and looked at me. “He is a good boy.”
“Thanks. Sincerely.” I’d never shaken hands with Christensen, because that wasn’t who he was. Cold as fuck, standoffish, and the most aloof motherfucker I’d ever met next to Dane Marek, but if you were in his circle, you were in. “I appreciate everything you did for us.”
Christensen said something in Danish, then he switched to English. “Everything is as it should be.”
Luna smiled. “Another proverb?”
Christensen wasn’t only a beast on the battleground, the fucker was highly intelligent and well read. I’d heard him on more than one occasion spouting proverbs or quoting shit.
Christensen didn’t even blink. “Simple truth.”
Luna laughed. “We’re out. Take a few more weeks, heal that shoulder, then come back to work.”
I wasn’t one hundred percent yet, the wounds weren’t completely healed, and I’d have to get my strength back in my shoulder, but I could’ve gone back to work tomorrow. Except I didn’t mention it, because I wanted the time with Brooke and Mav.
I nodded at Luna. “Will do.”
Luna and Christensen said their goodbyes to Brooke and Mav and left through the side gate. Once they were gone, Brooke turned to face me. Her hair still wet from the pool, her shoulders sun-kissed, she was so fucking gorgeous.
I cupped her face. “You ready to go home?”
“Home,” she repeated as heat hit her cheeks.
“Yeah. My condo.” I smiled. “Except this time, you don’t sneak out in the middle of the night.”
The hint of a smile touched the side of her mouth. “I don’t?”
I stroked her cheek with my thumb and dropped my voice so only she could hear. “No, you don’t. You stay naked in my bed, all night, every night.” I wasn’t letting her slip through my hands ever again.
Her fingers gently wrapped around my wrist. “That sounds permanent.”
“So fucking permanent.” I leaned in until our lips were almost touching. My eyes on hers, I let her know exactly what I wanted. “The kind of permanent where you and Mav get a new last name.”
A tremor ran up her body. “What name?” she barely breathed.
I didn’t hesitate. “Collins.”
“Yes,” she whispered, jumping the gun.
“I wasn’t finished.” I smiled. Then I asked the most important question of my life. “Brooke Barrone, will you marry me?”
“Yes, yes, yes!” She laughed, throwing her arms around me.
I covered her mouth with mine and I fucking kissed her.
Sticky little hands wrapped around my leg. “Me too, me too!”
We both laughed, and I reached down to pick Mav up. “Yeah, you too, little man. You’re part of this family.” Holding our son, I looked at Brooke and it hit me. My woman wasn’t trouble or a bleeder. She was my fucking dream and she had been since I’d first met her. “The moment I first saw you, I fell in love with you.”
Her eyes welled. “And I with you.”
My heart fucking soared. “I love you.”
“I love you, Garrett Collins.”
I kissed my woman.
I WALKED UP BEHIND HER in the bathroom as she put her hair up. I still couldn’t believe this was my life. Me, her, my son, all under one roof—it was fucking perfect.
I dragged my gaze over her luscious ass and my cock pulsed. “You wear that small-ass bikini one more time, I’m going to fuck you in the pool.” I brought my lips to the back of her neck. Dropping my voice, I coasted a finger down the crack of her ass. “And I’ll fuck you hard.”
Her back arched as her ass pushed into my touch. She smiled at me in the mirror. “Is that a promise?”
My dick went from hard to nuclear. “You wanna get fucked in public, sweetheart?” Damn, she was surprising me at every turn. Creative and voracious in the bedroom, sweet as hell out, and a fantastic mother to Mav. I was so fucking lucky.
Her small laugh was heaven to my ears, but her response was pure, unadulterated fantasy. “Maybe.”
Shit. I reached around and cupped her breasts under the nothing scraps of her bikini top. “Don’t fucking tease me, woman.” I’d make it happen. The pool, no, but the fucking Jacuzzi around the side of the building? Hell yes. Pinching her nipples, I dropped a hand to her bikini bottom. Her sweet cunt already wet, I shoved a finger inside her.
She moaned and her hips ground onto my palm. “Stop, we can’t. We don’t have time.”
I had all the time in the world. “Mav’s in the living room watching TV.” He was glued to the idiot box every time it was on. “The beach can wait. We got time.” I slid a second finger inside her and shoved her bikini bottom over her hips. Fisting myself, I dragged the head of my cock down her ass and through her slickness. “Fuck, beautiful. You are so damn sexy.” Her ass, round and full, was fucking perfect. “Grab the counter.” My fingers buried deep, I palmed her clit and nipped the sensitive flesh under her ear. “This isn’t gonna be slow or soft.” I was gonna pound into her until we both came. Later, after Mav was down, I’d take her slow.
“Oh God, Garrett.” She gripped the counter.
“That’s it, sweetheart.” I dragged my tongue along the edge of her ear, then bit the soft flesh. “Say my name. Tell me who owns this sweet pussy.”
“You d—”
I shoved into her.
She cried out as I sunk to the hilt in her tight heat.
Fuuuck.
“That’s right,” I growled, thrusting deep. “This is mine.” I grasped her neck and brought her head back to my shoulder. My lips against hers, I went cave man. “You’re mine.”
Long and low, her pleasure my fucking kryptonite, she moaned against my hand.
Jesus, she was beautiful. Next to Mav’s laugh, the sound of her pleasure was my favorite fucking thing in the world. “Do you know how much I love you?”
“No,” she panted, her arm snaking around the back of my neck. “Tell me.”
“I’ll show you.” I kissed her.
My mouth over hers, my body inside her sweet cunt, I kissed her. My attention one hundred percent on her, I didn’t hear the front door open until it was slammed shut.
“Hello!” Ariel called out.
“Auntie, auntie,” Mav yelled, a second before his little feet slapped across the tile.
“Jesus fucking Christ.” I looked down at Brooke. “Does everyone have a goddamn key to our condo?”
“I heard that,” Ariel yelled. “And for the record, only me. Actually, and Viking. And probably André, because boundaries mean nothing to him in the name of security. And maybe Talon. Did you give him a key?” Her voice got closer as she walked toward the master bedroom.
My dick still buried in Brooke, I kicked the bathroom door shut.
Heat hit her cheeks, and Brooke smiled sheepishly. “I told you we didn’t have enough time.” She reached back and pushed on my hips. “Come on, we can finish later.”
Cursing, I gave her a look. “For fuck’s sake. Blue balls? Are you fucking serious?”
Her smile turned one hundred percent vixen. “I’ll make it up to you.”
“Christ,” I muttered, thrusting once more, and easing out of her as Ariel knocked on the bathroom door.