The Dirty Dozen: Alpha Edition

by Kay Maree

  “You good, Ollie?” Jamie asks.

  He nods his head but doesn’t let go of me. He’s gripping me so tight, it’s bordering on painful but at the moment, I don’t care. I’m just happy to have him, and Griffin, in my arms again.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Griff offers. Ollie and I nod, as he stands up and lifts Ollie from my arms. Ollie wraps his little limbs tightly around Griff’s neck and torso. I stand up and wrap mine around his waist, while he pulls me into his side and presses a kiss to my temple. The three of us walk past the officers, who are now reading Avon his rights.

  We walk to the edge of the porch and Griff sits down with Ollie in his lap. I take a seat beside them and rub my hand up and down Ollie’s back. From behind us, I hear Avon causing a commotion. I close my eyes and then I hear the clicking sound of a Taser, followed by a loud thump.

  A few moments later, Jamie, Jason, and James join us. “Dumbfuck just got himself tasered,” James says, as he sits next to me and squeezes my knee.

  “He went down like a sack of shit,” Jason offers.

  Ollie lifts his head and he looks to Griff. “You rescued me, Doc.”

  “You helped me with that.” He looks at Griff confused. “You distracted him and allowed me to get inside.” He pauses. “Where did you learn all those bird facts?” Griff asks Ollie.

  Ollie is about to answer when Avon is escorted past us and loaded into the police cruiser. My eyes are locked on the car as it drives off. Ollie’s voice snaps me back to the present. “At school.”

  “You’re a smart kid,” Griff says, ruffling his hair. He stares at me over Ollie’s head and winks. I know with that one wink, we will be fine.

  “Thanks,” Ollie says. He snuggles into Griff and then he mumbles, “I meant thanks for saving me.”

  “Anytime, buddy, anytime.” Griffin looks to me. “Let’s go home.”

  I nod my head and stand up. I offer my hand to Griff and he takes it. The three of us walk along the path to Griff’s truck and then we drive home.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  GRIFFIN

  …Six weeks later

  It’s amazing how well kids rebound after a traumatic experience. It took Autumn and me longer to get over the events of six weeks ago than it did Ollie. But together, we got through it. Ollie seems fine, not shaken at all by what Avon did, but we did make him see a counselor. She was amazed at how well he’s coping, but it doesn’t surprise me. He is Autumn’s son and she is one tough cookie…except when it comes to spiders.

  Carla and Howard are taking Ollie to dinner tonight with my dad. He is just as smitten with Ollie as the rest of us, but then again, he’s been showing off my truck to the lil’ guy for years now. I’m nervous, because tonight I have a question for Autumn and I’m not sure what her answer will be.

  She knocks on my front door and my nerves kick in. Dimming the lights in the living room on my way past, I take a deep breath and swing open the door. My mouth drops open and my eyes land on Autumn. She’s wearing a short sundress that showcases her tits perfectly. The hem sits halfway down her thighs and on her feet are blingy sandals. My eyes drift back up to hers. “Fuck me, Autumn White, you are gorgeous.”

  “You’re looking mighty fine tonight too, Doc Steel.”

  She pulls the door closed behind her as she steps inside. She rests her hands on my chest and presses her lips to mine. Pressing my body to hers, she backs into the door as I continue to fuck her mouth with my tongue. Breaking the connection, I rest my forehead against hers. “I will never get tired of kissing you.”

  “Me neither,” she hungrily whispers, as she presses her lips to mine again.

  My arm snakes around her waist and I pull her closer to me, deepening our kiss, I hold her tightly to me. With our lips fused, I walk us backward into the living room. My legs hit the edge of the sofa, spinning us around, I press her down so she’s laying on the chaise. Her hair is fanned beneath her, creating a halo. “My angel,” I whisper, as I lower to my knees and press my lips to her calf. Kissing my way up her leg, she moans. Her chest rapidly rising as her desire builds.

  Sliding my hands up her thighs, I push her dress up to her waist, I groan when I see a wet spot on her panties. “Wet already,” I murmur, as I nuzzle the silky material with my nose. Inhaling, I groan again as the smell of her arousal hits my nose. Pressing a kiss to her mound, she moans and grinds herself on my face. Pushing the soaked material to the side, I plunge my tongue between her folds. Lapping at her juices like a starved man. “Fuck, I love your pussy,” I growl, as I continue to suck and devour her.

  She grips my hair, shoving my face farther into her. “I’m coming,” she pants, her legs gripping my head tightly as she tumbles over the edge. As the last orgasmic tremor subsides, she falls limp into the couch. Slipping her panties back into place, I pull her dress down and stare at her. “Let’s eat,” I say.

  “I think you just did,” she playfully replies, her chest still heaving from her climax.

  “Best appetizer I’ve ever tasted,” I say with a wink.

  Offering her my hand, she places her palm in mine and I pull her up into a sitting position. She pulls her hand from mine and grabs my pants. Shaking my head, I stop her. “Uh uh.” She pouts. “Later. Now, let’s eat…food.”

  “Fine,” she relents and stands up. Pushing on my chest, she steps past me and walks toward the dining room where I have a candlelit dinner for two set up. “Griff,” she whispers, “It’s beautiful.”

  “Not as beautiful as you,” I say, wrapping my arms around her from behind, she snuggles back into my embrace. Dropping her head back onto my shoulder, I kiss and lick at her neck. She spins in my arms and presses her lips to mine. Her greedy tongue seeks access to my mouth and I willingly accept. Closing my eyes, I give myself over to Autumn and this kiss.

  The timer on the oven goes off and we pull apart. “Take a seat and I’ll get dinner.”

  She sits at the table and I walk into the kitchen. Pulling out the pot roast, I carry it over and place it between us. She grabs her rolled up napkin and when she shakes it out, something falls into her lap. She picks it up and stares at me, before lifting her gorgeous blue eyes to mine. “A key?” she questions.

  Nodding my head, I grin at her, waiting to see if she catches on. “Why was there a key in my napkin?”

  “Because I’m asking you and Ollie to move in with me?” Her mouth drops open, “I know it’s soon but we, well I, wasted twenty years without you. I don’t want to waste another second.”

  She stares at me. She doesn’t say anything, the silence and nonanswer is killing me and then she grins at me. “Yes, Doc, yes, Ollie and I would love to move in with you. It’s funny, I haven’t been happy at the house since Avon took Ollie, this is the perfect solution to everything.” She pushes back from the table, grips my cheeks, and presses her lips to mine. Just like every other time we kiss, it’s perfect, absolutely perfect…as is the rest of the night.

  Two days later, Ollie and Autumn begin to move their things in. Ollie and I are unpacking his toys when I look to him. “Ollie, buddy, I want to ask you a question.”

  “What’s up, Doc?”

  “I want to ask your mom to marry me, but I want to make sure you are okay with it first.”

  He stares at me, and just like when I asked Autumn to move in, it’s dead quiet. He starts to vigorously nod his head. “Does that mean you’ll be my dad?”

  “If your mom says yes, then yes, I’ll be your dad.”

  “I really hope she says yes.”

  “Me too, buddy, me too.” Then it hits, I’m going to do it tonight. Why wait? We’ve already missed out on twenty years, I don’t want to miss another moment with her, or Ollie. “Can you keep a secret, Ollie?” He nods. “I’m going to do it tonight.”

  “Really?” he excitedly shouts, I nod my head. “Awesome.”

  “Let’s get this finished so I can do it.”

  That spurs Ollie on
and in no time at all, the unpacking is finished, well his room is unpacked. The rest of the house looks like Bed, Bath and Beyond threw up. There’s boxes and shit everywhere, but I wouldn’t change a thing.

  Now that we are done, I tell Ollie to go wash up for dinner and while he’s in the shower, I’ll go get Chinese for dinner. He races into the bathroom and as I watch him walk away, I realize I’m happy, deliriously happy. He pops his head back into his bedroom. “Hey, Doc?”

  “Yeah, buddy?”

  “I’m glad you’re going to be my dad.”

  Before I can reply, he runs off to the shower.

  Shaking my head, I walk outside and as I climb into my truck, I start to get nervous, regarding the next question I’m going to throw at Autumn.

  When I return with dinner, Autumn is in the shower and when I walk into the kitchen, I see Ollie has set the table. I smile, that kid is something else. Placing a few things on the table, I return to the kitchen to grab the rest of the food when Autumn walks in.

  “Something smells good,” she says. Looking up, I see she has the dress from the other night on. My cock twitches at her beauty. Down boy. “Wine?” she offers.

  Nodding my head, I smile. “Sure why not.”

  “Can I have wine too?” Ollie excitedly asks.

  In unison, Autumn and I say, “No.”

  We laugh. Ollie groans.

  We all take our seats, and just like the other night, Autumn shakes her napkin. This time, rather than a key falling out, a diamond ring falls into her lap. She picks it up and her eyes are locked on the ring between her fingers. Sliding off my chair, I get down on one knee and wait for her to notice me. Finally she looks to me and gasps, covering her mouth in shock. “Autumn White, you are my everything and I thought I’d lost you, but fate bought us back together and this time, I’m not letting you go. Will you marry me?”

  She stares at me blankly. Her eyes dart between the ring in her fingers and me down on bended knee. Once again, her non answer and silence is killing me.

  “Well, Mom?” Ollie says, her eyes snap to him now. His face is etched with excitement; I don’t feel his excitement and then ever so quietly, she whispers, “Yes.”

  “Come again?”

  This time she nods her head. “Yes, Griffin Steel, yes, I’ll marry you.” She drops to the floor in front of me, wraps her arms around me, and presses her lips to mine. Breaking the kiss, she rests her forehead on mine, “I love you, Griff, forever and eternity.”

  Pulling back, I slide the ring onto her finger and bring her hand to my lips. I kiss her ring finger and whisper, “Forever and eternity.”

  “Yes, I’m getting a dad,” Ollie proudly declares, pulling our attention to him. We both look to him and shake our heads. “Told you she’d say yes,” he proudly says.

  Her head snaps back to me. “You asked Ollie?”

  Now it my turn to nod. “Yep, I had to make sure the most important man in your life was happy to share you with me.”

  Ollie is nodding and smiling. “And Mom,” Ollie adds, “he’s my dad now.”

  Her face lights up and she presses her lips to mine again. I have never been happier than I am right now.

  Time heals all wounds but love, love is the medicine that heals your soul.

  EPILOGUE

  …Eleven years later

  The day Ollie handed papers for me to officially adopt him was the happiest moment of my life. Then that moment was trumped when I married Autumn and she became Autumn Steel. Now today, I have a new happy moment. Today, Ollie is joining the navy and he’s following in my footsteps. He’s going to become a navy medic, just like me.

  I’ve never been prouder of my son. Autumn and I never had kids of our own, but Ollie is my son in every sense of the word. Piece of paper or not, he’s mine and I love him unconditionally. And then there’s his mom, she was my first love. My only love. As corny as it is, she completes me. She’s my other half and I cherish every day I have with her.

  Sure, we had a rough road on the way to our happily ever after. But together, we got there and became stronger along the way. Autumn and Ollie are my everything, and as I promised on our wedding day: I will do anything to protect what’s mine.

  Autumn and Ollie are mine, forever and eternity.

  THE END!!!

  About the Author

  DL Gallie is from Queensland, Australia, but she’s lived in many different places all over the world, including the UK and Canada. She currently resides in Central Queensland with her husband and two munchkins. She and her husband have been together since she was sixteen, and although they drive each other crazy at times, she couldn’t imagine her life without him.

  Shortly after her son was born, DL began reading again. With encouragement from her husband, she picked up the pen and started writing, and now the voices in her head won’t shut up.

  DL enjoys listening to music, drinking white wine in the summer, red wine in the winter, and beer all year round. She’s also never been known to turn down a cocktail, especially a margarita.

  Author Links

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  dlgallieauthor@outlook.com

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  Also by DL Gallie

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  Love has arrived in the Grove

  Oasis

  Unequivocal Love

  Five Words – Coming 13th January 2020

  I’ve Loved You Since Forever - Coming April 2020

  THE LIQUOR CABINET SERIES

  Liquor has never been so disturbingly saucy

  Malt Me (Book 1)

  Tequila Healing (Book 2)

  Wine Not (Book 3)

  The Final Shot (Book 4)

  The Liquor Cabinet: Series boxset

  THE UNEXPECTED SERIES

  When it comes to love, expect the unexpected

  The Unexpected Gift

  The Unexpected Letter

  The Unexpected Package

  The Unexpected Connection

  STAND ALONES

  Out of Nowhere

  Antecedent

  Seven Nights

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  Going Down in Flames

  NATASHA THOMAS & KAY MAREE

  COPYRIGHT ©2019 by Natasha Thomas and Kay Maree

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the addresses below.

  Natasha Thomas

  natashathomasauthor@gmail.com www.natashathomasauthor.com

  Kay Maree

  kaymareesmutlover@gmail.com

  https://kaymareesmutlover.wixsite.com/contemporary-romance

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Going Down In Flames / Natasha Thomas & Kay Maree. 1st ed.

  PROLOGUE

  RYKER

  Breathe in, breathe out, I repeat mindlessly as I stare into a pair of deep brown eyes that are sparkling with mirth.

  What is supposed to be an involuntary action, necessary to keep me walking this Earth until I find out her name only becomes harder and harder as I allow m
y gaze to roam over the delectable curves and valleys of the woman I intend to make it my mission to get to know.

  Managing, barely to silence the Neanderthal roaring in my head to throw this beauty over my shoulder and drag her off to my cave, I squeeze her hand gently. “Ryker.”

  The stunning creature standing in front of me that seems to find my tongue-tied state amusing grins. “Seraphina. But my friends call me, Sera.”

  And that’s how it began.

  One chance meeting in a grocery store as our carts collided and sparks flew signaled the beginning of us. How we met may have been unremarkable, however, everything that came afterward was the complete opposite.

  I wasn’t to know then that Seraphina McKay would change my life, but I should have. A woman like her, so utterly beguiling, sweet, alluring, and so fucking gorgeous it physically hurt to look at her for longer than a heartbeat could capture and hold the attention of any man, and I was no different.

  She crashed into my life like a whirlwind but with none of the devastation.

  The promise of her was sweeter than anything I’d ever had the pleasure of tasting. I was instantly enamoured by Seraphina the moment I laid eyes on her, but that was nothing in comparison to how addicted I became to her in the weeks to follow.

  The funny thing about addictions, though, is that they are dangerous. They are all-consuming, life-altering, so powerful, in fact, that they often cause men to do and say things they shouldn’t in order to get their fix.