“Oh, pfft.” She waved her hand at me. “Don’t get me started on their houses. Beautiful? Yes. Completely unnecessary? Absolutely. They don’t need those gigantic things. This house though, it’s perfect.”
I’d rented out a small, one-story red brick home with three bedrooms that were definitely excessive; at least they were when I’d put down the deposit. Now they’ll be useful. The only reason I chose this one was because it had a big backyard for the dog I hoped to have one day, and it was literally five minutes away from everyone else.
I pulled into the driveway and shifted into park, then glanced back at Kate and Braden in my tiny backseat. Now that I looking at carting around kids, it was probably stupid of me to buy this car.
“Man, I think I’ll need to trade this car back in.”
“Why? It’s nice,” Raegan said, running her hand across the leather seats.
“It seems ridiculous now that they’re sitting in the back.”
“It’s a hot car and they fit.” She shrugged her shoulders as if it were as simple as that.
I actually used to drive an old black SUV in California that would have been perfect, but then I moved to Texas and got a new job. I felt like I needed to splurge a little on my new two-door Challenger and hell, I’d be the first to admit it helped me pick up women… fast. But now there were two booster seats latched in the backseat and it just seemed absurd.
“We’ll figure it out later. Besides, we have to get you a car too. Everyone drives here,” I told her.
“No, no. I can’t drive. No car-buying for me,” she announced nervously.
“Babe, you can’t drive?”
“I lived in New York, why would I need to know how to drive?” she asked.
I smirked at her and replied, “This’ll be fun. I’ll teach you. Not in this car though. You can learn on an automatic first.”
She rolled her eyes and stepped out, but not before I could check out her tight ass. Even better, she turned around to pull the seat forward so she could help Braden from the back, and I got a full-on show of her tits in that V-neck shirt. My jaw may have dropped, but I would never get enough of those.
“Daddy! I want out too!” Kate bellowed from behind me.
“Yeah daddy, get her out of the car,” Raegan said cheekily, all while she looked over at me with an intense burning heat in her eyes. She’d caught me, but she didn’t mind. Fuck, I was in deep with this girl.
As I pushed open the front door, I wondered if Audrey had thought to buy more pillows and blankets for us. I had one bed in my house with two sets of sheets and a comforter… that was it. That was all I’d needed. I could tell right away that Audrey had come in like a crazy lady and dusted all the surfaces of my living room. There was no way in hell it had sat for weeks and looked like this.
Apparently, she’d done more than that. My beige couch now had a huge, light blue blanket draped over the back and little brightly-colored pillows at each end. There was a fucking painting hanging over my fireplace that I had never seen before and a huge tree in the corner. I wasn’t going to be able to keep that shit alive, so I hoped Audrey planned on coming back regularly to take care of that thing.
“This is so nice, Lane,” Rae said quietly as she walked in behind me. “It’s very homey.” As long as Rae approved, the damn tree could stay. I was probably going to toss the little, annoying pillows on the couch though.
“Let’s go drop our bags in the room.”
“This is your house, daddy?” Kate called from behind.
“This is your house now too, Kit Kat. Do you like it?” I asked, suddenly feeling nervous.
“Will mommy and Braden live here too?” Her voice had gone quiet and I could tell she wasn’t feeling sure about her surroundings. I dropped my bags and scooped her up tightly against my chest.
“Of course they’ll live here too.” The moment the words left my mouth, she instantly brightened and the Kate I had been falling in love with again wiggled out of my arms.
“Yay! Okay, lets go!” she called out to the house. “Can Braden and I get our own bed? You and mommy take all the covers.”
I laughed uproariously and grabbed my bag from the ground. “Absolutely. You guys should get your own beds. There’s no need to share anymore.”
“Really?” Braden asked with surprise in his voice.
“Yeah, buddy. There is plenty of room for you to have your own,” I said, patting his shoulder.
“That. Is. Awesome!” he exclaimed. I smiled at his enthusiasm because I hadn’t expected him to be so thrilled about something so simple.
“Whoa!” Kate yelled from down the hall. Rae, Braden, and I turned to see her looking into one of the guest bedrooms, and we quickly followed to see what she was so animated about. I didn’t remember there being anything in that room, except maybe a few stray boxes that had never been unpacked.
Raegan gasped as she turned the corner, and when I finally peered inside, I called out, “Holy —” Thankfully, Rae slapped her hand over my mouth before anything else could come out.
Two twin beds with drawers underneath sat against two opposing walls. At the head of each bed sat a bookshelf teeming with books and various personalized items for each child. A giant metal “K” hung on the wall above the pink bed and a coordinating letter “B” hung above the blue bed.
A tall wire basket rested at the end of Braden’s bed with basketballs, footballs, baseballs, and more. At the end of Kate’s was a smaller shelf that she could sit on if she wanted, but the space below was occupied by dolls and stuffed animals. We had packed up a few items in New York to ship out here, but it looked as if they wouldn’t really need anything.
Braden immediately zoned in on a small terrarium on the shelf at the head of his bed. He climbed up and began observing the tiny plants inside with a look of wonder on his face. Thank God I had shared that bit of information with Audrey about him loving the greenhouse at the museum in Brooklyn.
On the shelf at the head of Kate’s bed was a small, antique birdcage that appeared to have a pretend bird perched on a stick inside. I was relieved to see it wasn't a real bird—I don’t do birds.
“How?” Rae whispered.
“Audrey,” I replied quietly.
She stepped out of the room and I followed behind. The kids would be occupied with their new things for at least a little bit. Raegan instinctively moved toward the master bedroom and I reached in front of her to turn the knob. She stepped in first and turned toward me.
“Audrey’s just a friend, right?” I saw her wince and then add, “I shouldn't be jealous. I don't have a right, but you guys seem so… close.” This girl could never let anything go for too long. I fucking loved it.
“We are close.”
“Close like two people who are very familiar with one another…” she trailed off.
“We are very familiar with one another.” She let out a sigh and I knew I was torturing her, but I wanted this to stick. “I love Audrey like a sister. It’s never been anything more or anything less. If we were going to get together, it would have already happened.”
“That’s all I needed. You won’t hear any more from me about it.” She’d conceded a little too easily for me.
“That easy?” I asked.
“Would you lie to me?”
“Never.” The word slipped out of my mouth before I had time to evaluate it, but it was the absolute truth.
“Then it’s that easy, because I believe you.”
I moved to set our bags down by the closet, and we both turned to inspect the bedroom. My bed had the same navy blue comforter and the same white pillows, but I noticed a few new little additions.
“More of those damned throw pillows,” I grumbled, while fumbling with the small, colorful pillows. “What the hell would we do with all these?”
“They’re supposed to be for decoration,” she muttered from behind me. I started tossing them off the bed, but then Rae added, “But I’m sure we could get into some pretty go
od sex positions with them.”
I quickly scooped those things back up and tossed them right back on. Well, okay then. The tiny pillows could stay.
Yet another potted plant sat in the corner by the vast window, which looked out to the backyard patio. Two wingback chairs were placed on an opposite wall with a small table in between them.
“I’m pretty damn sure I told her not to go overboard.”
“It’s nice.” She shrugged casually, though it was obvious she was still stressing. Over what I didn’t know, but I was about to find out.
I softly nudged the door shut and walked up behind her. My lips found the area below her ear that always gave her goose bumps up her arms. My hands grazed across her hips underneath her t-shirt. Slowly, her body eased back into mine and I pulled her in tighter.
“What’s going on, love?” I whispered in between kisses along her jaw.
She shivered and I liked to assume it was from my new term of endearment. “It’s a lot to take in.”
“Tell me about it, my house is definitely not how I left it. I have fucking throw pillows on my bed. Trust me, I would have never have made that purchase, and I can’t keep a plant alive to save my life.”
“No, I mean just being here. And you told Kate that Braden and I would be living here. Now that they have a real bedroom with their own beds and belongings, it’ll be even harder to pry Braden away from that.”
My body locked up, and I spun her around and tossed her onto the bed. Her eyes were saucers as she glared at me for my actions. I ignored it.
“What are you talking about? Pry him away? Why?” I growled while hovering over her prone body.
“We don't live here.”
“Of course you do, Rae.”
“You and Kate live here.”
“Along with you and Braden,” I quickly added.
“We can’t live together.”
“I don’t see why not. You like me, and I sure as hell like you. We get along great. Kate needs you. Braden and Kate need each other. Hell, Braden could use a guy like me. Why rock the boat?”
“It’s moving a little fast, don’t you think? I mean, a little over two weeks ago, you hated me,” she said, looking up at my face.
I flinched from her words and explained, “You know that I never hated you. We’ve been through this.”
“You know what I meant. Regardless, it’s only been a few weeks.”
“I never hated you,” I whispered back. I needed her to understand that right now.
“Okay.” She stared into my eyes, but I just didn't understand that word.
“I needed someone to blame. I was a dick. I’ve told you this, babe. Please, I need you to understand how sorry I am for accusing you like that. ”
“I’m not trying to rehash that, I promise. I’m just telling you that while Braden and I do need a place to stay right now and we need to be gentle with the two of them, I will eventually find my own place.”
“No,” I responded quickly.
“No?” She arched an eyebrow above those beautiful, green eyes.
“There wouldn’t be a point. If you got your own place, Kate and I would be over there every day. Where you sleep, I sleep. Why would we bother paying rent at two separate places?”
She sighed as she thought over my words. I smiled when she didn't have anything to say to that.
“You and me, we work, babe. Simple as that.”
“A man of few words,” she replied, but her grin told me I was breaking her down.
“I’m taking lessons from Braden,” I responded. That pulled a bigger smirk from her, and I moved closer to her body below mine. My hands grazed up her ribs until I had her shirt up over her head. Her bra was held together with one of those made-for-this-moment front clasps, so only a flick was needed to release her perfect breasts.
I crawled away from her body and off the bed before reaching for her ankles and yanking her closer to me. She squeaked as her ass met the edge of the mattress and I stood between her open legs. With two fingers, I flicked the metal button open on her jeans and kissed the skin just above her waistline. Her fingers threaded into my hair while her eyelids fluttered. I slid her jeans down the curve of her hips with ease.
“Lane…” she said on a husky breath.
“Right here, babe.” My lips nipped up the inside of her right leg, while my fingers ran up the inside of her left.
“Lane… you can’t seduce me into…” A moan slipped from between her lips. “Moving in with you.”
“Give me a chance to at least try.”
My eyes locked onto the small swath of fabric that barely covered her folds and absolutely none of her tight ass. I growled at the beautiful sight. I had never been more turned on to see a simple little thong.
“I didn't know you had one of these,” I groaned against the skin of her thigh. It was true. I thought I had seen all of Raegan’s belongings because there hadn’t been much. This was the kind of surprise I sure as hell thrived on.
My knees hit the carpet and my face was in prime real estate. Her head hit the bed when I grabbed the triangle of fabric and pulled it up toward her hip. The string down the crease of her ass pulled tight.
My breaths skated across the area between her thighs and I could feel her body vibrating with need. My inner caveman was banging the shit out of his chest at the sight of her desire for me. I wanted to breathe her in and memorize her sweet scent. She moaned as she squeezed my hair tighter between her fingers.
I ran my nose up each side of her bare skin, and her hands fell to the sheets as she clenched them in a death grip.
“Lane…” she breathed.
“Move in with me,” I said into her folds.
My tongue danced lightly across her as her back arched dramatically off the bed. I craved making her body curve like that because it forced her tits high, and I just couldn’t resist them. It’s as if they were shouting ‘Me, too! Pay attention to me, too!’ I could never tell them no.
I hooked her legs over my shoulders and dove in mouth first, while my hands lightly twisted her nipples until they were at their fullest peaks. Her heavy breasts filled my large hands, and I was a king devouring my feast.
My tongue flicked faster over the area where I seemed to get the most moans out of her. Side to side, up and down. Her body was now thrashing beneath my mouth and hands. My fingers dug into her thighs and I wasn’t gentle. Once I had tried to be gentle with the scars on the back of her leg, but she handed me my ass for treating her like porcelain. I finally relented once she assured that me they honestly didn’t cause her any discomfort.
And who was I to treat her that way? Nothing was more of a turn-on than a woman who was unapologetically comfortable in her skin while tumbling across the sheets with me. A woman like her was rare and beautiful.
“Lane, oh God, Lane, Lane…” she chanted. I pulled back and held her hips to the bed. Her eyes flew open and she regarded me as if she were a wild animal that couldn’t decide whether to fight or take flight. Her breaths came in ragged and harsh, just as her eyes told me everything she was feeling. Lust. Desire. Anger.
We stared hard at one another. She was wondering why I had stopped, and I was wondering why she hadn’t answered me.
“Move in with me,” I repeated, gripping her thighs again. She held her lips tightly together, as if she didn't trust what would fly out of her mouth. That just meant I was on the right path.
I always tried hard not to gloat, but if there was one thing I had mastered, it was kissing. I could bring Rae to her knees with my lips alone. I used those talents to my advantage when I shifted my mouth back between her legs. I moved my lips and tongue against her as if it were her mouth and she started to let out a scream, but she slapped her hand over herself to cover the noise. Right as her toes dug into my shoulders, I pulled back again.
“NO!” she shouted. We both froze, waiting to see if we could hear the sound of little feet coming down the hall. After a few silent beats, I smiled up
at her.
“Ready to move in with me yet?”
“This isn’t fair,” she moaned, while trying to move her hips up toward my face.
“I just need a yes,” I said into her wet skin. I pushed two fingers inside and hooked them at just the right angle. Her eyes rolled to the top of her head and she fell back against the sheets again. The movements of my fingers were slow and sluggish. She would definitely need more to reach the point she was begging for.
“Raegan, you are beautiful, both inside and out. My only regret is that I didn't find you guys sooner. I need you in my life. Kate and I need you. And if you go, Braden goes too and I can’t handle that. I need all three of you. I don’t know how and I don't know why it’s all come so fast, but you three are under my skin. Please, don’t take that away from me.” All of my vulnerability slipped through in that sentence and I wouldn't be surprised if she laughed in my face.
She scrambled up, causing my fingers to slip from inside her. Before I could comprehend her movements, her mouth was on mine and her hands were in my hair.
“This is crazy. This isn’t normal,” she frantically whispered against my lips. I had my pants off and a condom on in the next few beats. She tugged my shirt up over my head and ran her hands down my chest with adoration in her eyes.
Her back hit the bed and my body followed, desperate with want. Everything inside of me was on fire, and I wanted to touch all of her at the same exact time. I needed her skin against my own.
“Hate to break it to you, but nothing about this situation has been normal. Let’s roll with the punches because I’ve damn sure never been this happy,” I said into the crook of her neck.
When she lifted her hips up to mine, I couldn't stand it any longer. I pushed off the bed a second time and pulled her body across the sheets. She didn't fight the movement or even appear surprised at my actions, and when I flipped her over onto her stomach, I watched a hint of excitement ignite in her eyes. I tugged her thong down over her legs until it hit the floor beneath my feet.
With her stomach on the bed she was too low, so I tapped her knees, indicating for her to get up on them and she instantly complied. I grabbed my erection and slid into her with as much ease as I could, especially since I felt as if I would explode on contact. Her body sagged in relief and she kept her face on the bed with her hands above her head.