“Peanut butter cups!” Maddie exclaims.
“Jellybeans!” Josie bellows. “And American Girl outfits for our dolls!”
“Holy shit,” I mutter and sigh. “Really?”
“Don’t judge me,” Natalie replies haughtily. “I like to shop.”
“Thank you so much,” Maddie clings to Luke’s legs as Josie hugs Natalie tight. Luke squats with Liv still in his arms and gives the girls each a hug, then pulls gently on their ponytails.
“You’re welcome. Go have fun tonight.”
“We will!” The girls immediately turn and run back for the van, Bix on their heels.
“Thank you,” Brynna murmurs before we join the girls and continue on our journey to the next house. Because our neighborhood isn’t great for trick or treating, with all of the gated homes with long driveways, and I can’t handle a packed mall full of thousands of screaming kids and their parents, I decided to drive the girls to each house in the family.
They’ll end up with just as much candy, if not more, than if we’d gone through a busy neighborhood.
“Jules and Nate’s apartment?” Brynna asks with a raised brow. “We’re going to pay for parking in downtown Seattle just so the girls can get some fun sized Snickers?”
“Jules would kill me if we didn’t bring the girls by,” I inform her. We ride the elevator to my sister’s floor and Josie rings the doorbell.
“Aaaaaarrrrrgghhhh!” Nate howls as he flings the door open and rushes at the girls, pulling them both into his arms and tickling them mercilessly. “You dare ring my bell?”
“Trick or treat, Uncle Nate!” Josie laughs and struggles to get away. “Daddy! Help!”
“You’re on your own, jellybean.”
“For the love of God, ace, you’ll make them pee on themselves,” Jules scolds him from within the apartment. She has black cat ears on her head and a wide grin on her pretty face. “You two are gorgeous!”
Jules hands them each black gift bags, but also feeds large handfuls of candy into their pumpkins.
“What’s with the gifts?” I ask. “That makes both you and Nat.”
“We did it for the twins and Sophie,” Jules replies. “Everyone else just gets candy.”
“More outfits for our dolls!” Maddie exclaims and jumps up and down. “Thank you!”
“You’re welcome, sweetie,” Jules replies.
More hugs are handed out before we journey back downstairs.
We drive to Luke’s parents, my parents and Bryn’s parents, where the girls have amassed more candy than I’ve seen in my entire life, and more accessories for their American Girl dolls.
Despite also living in an exclusive, gated community, Will’s neighborhood is a beacon to trick or treaters. The whole neighborhood gets into the spirit of the holiday, decorating their homes and handing out candy to hundreds of kids each year.
Will doesn’t typically participate, but because Halloween fell on a weekday this year, Meg talked him into it.
“I can’t wait to see what they did,” Brynna whispers to me. “She had so much fun planning.”
“Just wait,” I murmur. Matt and I came to help yesterday and it’s a good thing because it was an all day project.
I park near the end of the driveway and we all clamor out of the van, trekking up to the large house my brother lives in with his beautiful fiancé.
The girls and Bix all run ahead. I clasp Bryn’s hand in mine and pull her against me.
“How are you feeling?” I ask as we stop on the paved driveway in the shadows of the trees that line the drive and cup her face in my hands.
“We’re fine,” she replies, grinning up at me. “I’m glad we did it this way. I never would have survived walking through a whole neighborhood.”
“I can carry you,” I offer. Anything to get her in my arms.
“I’m not an invalid, Caleb.”
“Maybe I just want to carry you,” I reply with a grin and lean in to kiss her soft lips. She sighs and leans against me, wraps her arms around my neck, and I sink into her, absorbed in the taste of her, her scent.
Her moans.
Her body has become softer with her pregnancy, and I can’t keep my hands off her.
As if I could keep my hands off her before we got pregnant.
Suddenly, the girls both scream, Bix is barking madly, and I pull away from Brynna and sprint the rest of the driveway.
What’s wrong?
Who is hurting my babies?
But I stop when I get to the front porch and begin to laugh.
Will, Matt and Leo are dressed as zombies, their makeup impeccable, threatening to eat Maddie and Josie’s brains.
“No! You can’t eat my brains!”
The guys don’t respond, they just growl and chase the girls around the yard, making them laugh and scream at the same time. Bix is jumping and barking, enjoying the game.
Sam and Meg are dressed as humans who have been eaten by the zombies, their flesh torn from their bodies. The porch light has been replaced with a black bulb. There are orange lights strung up around the porch, along with fake spider webs and a fog machine is throwing whisps of fog along the porch and out into the yard.
Speaking of the yard, there are crooked headstones and glowing eyes scattered about the lawn.
It’s fucking awesome.
“Who did your makeup?” Brynna asks as she joins us, laughing as the guys continue to chase Maddie and Josie around the yard.
“Mommy! Daddy!” Maddie yells. “They want to eat our brains!”
“A friend of Leo’s who does makeup for a living,” Sam replies, grinning as she watches my brothers and Leo terrorize my kids.
“What are they, twelve?” I growl.
“They’re having fun,” Brynna responds and leans in to plant a sweet kiss on my shoulder. “And this will tire them out so they’ll go to bed when we get home and I can steal their chocolate.”
“Good plan,” Meg replies. “I just ate half the candy I bought before tonight even started. Will ate the rest. I had to make a mad dash for more candy at four this afternoon.”
“Leo bought me cupcakes from our favorite place,” Sam replies with a sigh.
“From Nic?” Brynna asks with a grin and then turns to watch Matt as he picks Josie up and makes chomping noises at her neck, making her squeal in delight.
“Yes, she is so damn talented.”
“And beautiful,” Meg adds.
All three girls look expectantly at me.
“What?”
“What’s the scoop?”
“How the fuck should I know?”
“Matt’s your brother,” Sam reminds me.
“And your best friend,” Meg adds.
“I don’t ask him about that shit. I don’t have a vagina.”
“Glad to hear it, brother,” Will says as he carries an upside down Maddie up onto the porch.
“Our brains are gone!” Maddie announces.
I reach out and take her from my brother, righting her in my arms, and kiss her soft, cold cheek.
“Did you have fun?” I ask her.
She nods happily and wraps her tiny arms around my neck. “I love you, daddy.”
Every time I hear it, every damn time, is a shot to the heart. I don’t know what I did to deserve these amazing girls in my life, but I’d do it a million times over, just to keep them with me.
“I love you too, buttercup.”
“I thought you two were still in Europe,” Brynna says to Sam and Leo, who are now snuggling in the porch swing.
“It’s freaking disturbing to see you snuggled up like that in that getup.”
Leo laughs and plants a kiss on Sam, making us all boo and hiss.
“Yuck,” Josie mutters.
“We got back a couple days ago,” Sam replies with a grin.
“Okay, you got your trick, now it’s time for treats!” Meg announces.
“More tricks!” Will cries and lunges for Maddie, who screams and ducks behi
nd my back for safety.
“Dude, are you nine?” I ask my brother with a grin.
“And a half,” he confirms. “Okay, since you’re dressed so pretty in those uniforms, you can have your treats.”
“Do you like our costumes?” Maddie asks as she carefully walks out from behind my legs. “We picked them out just for you!”
“You did?” Will asks with a grin.
“Yes, because you throw the ball!” Josie informs him. “And we like the pretty cheerleaders.”
“Don’t we all,” Matt mutters under his breath, earning a slap in the arm from Meg. “Ouch!”
“Your cheerleader costumes are awesome,” Will nods. “But what about your dolls? Do they have cheerleader costumes too?”
“No,” Maddie shakes her head sadly. “And that makes them sad.”
“It does?” Will laughs and pulls on Mad’s ponytail.
“Very sad,” Josie agrees.
“Well, we can’t have that.”
Meg hands each of the girls an orange gift bag, which contains enough candy to give all of China cavities and Seahawk cheerleader costumes for their dolls.
“Oh my God,” Brynna whispers with wide eyes.
“Oh wow! It’s what I always wanted!” Maddie exclaims.
“Thank you,” Josie smiles sweetly up at Will and twirls her hair in her finger.
“She is such a flirt,” Sam laughs.
I growl without realizing the sound is coming from me.
“Down, boy,” Brynna laughs and hugs me tight. “I think it’s time we go home.”
We say our goodbyes and drive home. The girls both fall asleep in the van, so I carry them upstairs and we tuck them into bed, still in their costumes. Brynna removes Bix’s pirate costume and he settles on his bed between the girls.
I lean in and press a kiss to each of their foreheads. They’re mine.
“Love you, babies,” I whisper as Brynna and I leave them to dream of candy and dolls and whatever else little girls dream of.
On the way to the couch, Bryn grabs one of the bags of candy and settles in. “I need coconut and chocolate,” she mutters, digging through the bag. “Yes! Almond Joy!”
I sit beside her and pull her feet into my lap, massaging her arches.
“It’s not a bad deal having you around, sailor.”
“No?” I ask.
“I get chocolate and footrubs and some really amazing sex.”
“So happy you approve, legs” I reply dryly and watch my hands as I rub her pretty feet.
“I do.”
“I think you should put the candy down and I’ll remind you how good the sex is.”
“Come between me and this candy and I’ll kill you in your sleep,” she replies with a sweet smile and bats her eyelashes.
“Yes, ma’am,” I reply with a laugh.
“The girls had fun,” she murmurs while munching on a treat.
“I did too.” I love the way her skin feels under my fingers. We sit quietly for a while, enjoying the silence.
“Love you so much,” she whispers.
I look over at her and my heart simply stills at the sight of her, drifting asleep at the end of the couch, her hands resting on her round belly. She sighs as my thumb glides up the arch of her foot.
So much for the sex reminder. I smile softly as I watch her for long minutes, thankful for every experience I have with my family.
And this is just the beginning.
TIED WITH ME
Book Six in the With Me In Seattle Series
By
Kristen Proby
TIED WITH ME
Book Six in the With Me In Seattle Series
Kristen Proby
Copyright © 2014 by Kristen Proby
All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. All characters and storylines are the property of the author and your support and respect is appreciated. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Kaleb (Alluring Indulgence #1) by Nicole Edwards Copyright © Nicole Edwards, 2012 Excerpts used with permission.
The following story contains mature themes, strong language, and sexual situations as well as light BDSM themes. It is intended for adult readers.
Cover Art:
Photography by: Dylan Duvall
Models: Dustin and Stephanie Culp
Cover Artist: Okay Creations
Dedication
For L. Thanks for encouraging me to write this story, this way.
A note from the author:
This book in the With Me In Seattle series is a bit different from the others. Each of the stories are sexy, sensual, and feature an alpha man with a strong woman, and this book is no exception. However, Matt Montgomery isn’t just a run-of-the-mill alpha male. Matt also dabbles in the world of BDSM. The scenes that explore this lifestyle are respectful, sane and always consensual, as should always be the case in this world. The heart of this story, like the others, is the romance. The discovery of love and deep affection for another person is paramount.
I hope you enjoy Matt and Nic’s journey.
Best Wishes,
Kristen
Prologue
“Why are we here?” I ask Bailey for the fortieth time since we arrived at the Seattle Arts Center.
“Because you need some excitement in your life,” she informs me with a sly grin. “And I didn’t have anyone else to come with me.”
“This is the kind of excitement you think I need?” I ask incredulously and take in the scene before me.
Bailey, my best friend, talked me into attending the Seattle spring erotic festival. How she managed, I have no idea. I’m the least-kinky person on the planet.
I’m so vanilla, I smell of it.
Or maybe that’s just because I bake with it all day.
“Don’t be such a prude,” she admonishes me with an eye roll. “It’s fun.”
“It’s not my thing,” I reply and step aside as a man wearing nothing but leather and chains brushes against me.
The main room has been transformed into a large dance club. There is a DJ on stage, loud music pumping out of the speakers, and lights flash as bodies move and grind on the dance floor.
There are many different levels of dress. And undress. Nudity isn’t allowed, but many have pushed the boundaries, covering only the most necessary parts of their bodies. In a smaller room off to the right is a smaller dance floor with softer music and a stage, where a burlesque group is about to perform. There is also a fully stocked bar in that room.
To the left of the main dance area is another large room that is broken into segments, where different kinks are demonstrated for the crowd.
“We’ll go in there later, after we get some drinks into you,” Bailey informs me and pulls me in the direction of the bar and burlesque show.
Bailey has dark blond hair that falls to her ass, stick straight. The highlights are natural, damn her. Her eyes are wide and deep brown, and when she smiles she has dimples that have long labeled her as cute, which she hates with a passion.
When we approach the bar, we both order 7&7s from a bartender dressed in booty shorts and orange suspenders then find a seat near the stage.
“What do you think so far?” Bailey asks with a grin and takes a sip of her drink.
“There are way more people than I expected.” And they’re of all ages and sizes, different sexual orientations. What surprises me the most is how open and comfortable everyone seems, smiling, happy to be nearly naked and unapologetically exploring their kinkier sexual side.
“This community is larger than you’d think,” she agrees and lets her eyes wander over the room. “You look great, by the way. It’s a nice change to see you out of t
hat white jacket and hat that always hide your body.”
“It’s called my work uniform,” I reply drily.
“That’s just it. You’re always at work, friend. You’re either in that hideous, body-hiding outfit or in pajamas.”
I shrug and look away. There’s nothing to say. She’s right. I glance down at the short denim miniskirt and thigh-high stockings, heels and red strapless top that Bailey insisted I wear. I can’t help but admit that it feels good to dress up a bit.
Reminds me that I’m a woman with needs that go beyond a hot kitchen and chocolate frosting.
Bailey helped me apply my makeup of dark liner, fake eyelashes and bright lipstick, and teased my long dark hair into ringlets that fall down my back and over my breasts, which have also been teased to be high and pushed together, showing off what little cleavage I have.
God bless, Bailey and her girlie secrets.
“You have a kickin’ body, Nic. You should show it off more.”
“To who?” I ask with a laugh. “My clients want cupcakes, not my boobs in their face.”
“Depends on the client,” she replies with a laugh just as the lights fall and loud, thirties swing music erupts into a seductive pounding rhythm and a young blond woman saunters out onto the stage in a sailor’s uniform, dancing about vigorously.
Within thirty seconds, she’s left wearing pasties and a G-string.
I’m not even sure what happened to her clothes, they came off so quickly.
I tilt my head and watch her move effortlessly across the stage, smiling, biting her lip, flirting with the guys—and girls—in the audience.
Four more girls perform, much to the crowd’s delight, before they take a break, rearranging props and giving the crowd a chance to refresh their drinks or go explore other parts of the event.
“Okay, let’s grab another drink and go check out the exhibits.” Bailey claps her hands and pulls me to my feet.
“Do we have to?”
“Yes!” She rolls her eyes again and drags me behind her. “You don’t have to participate. Just watch. It’s fun, Nic.”