Mountain Men of Liberty (Complete Box Set)

by K. C. Crowne

  “Caleb really looks up to you, you know? I think it would be really nice if you stopped by more, maybe spent some time with him. If you wouldn’t mind.”

  I sighed. Not that I minded, but it brought back the nightmares. The loss I’d felt. It wasn’t fair to avoid Caleb, who needed me, just because he reminded me of another little boy I couldn’t save.

  “I’ll try. You know I’m not good at these things.”

  “Good at what, exactly?” Piper looked up at me with one eyebrow cocked. “Because from what I’ve seen, you’re really good with him.”

  I shrugged. “If you say so.”

  “Well I do say so,” she said, sitting up so she could better look me in the eyes. “And I have to admit, it’s the cutest thing ever to see the two of you playing trucks together or him urging you to draw. You’re this big, gruff man and he’s just little Caleb. It’s too sweet for words.”

  “It’s all him,” I muttered, running a hand over my face. “No one has ever called me cute.”

  Piper scooted closer, her hand resting on my thigh. “Well they don’t know you the way I do,” she said, her voice coming out breathy. “You’re more than just cute, Grant, but you already know that.”

  My heart thundered in my chest. My brain told me to slip away, to go back to my chair, but I couldn’t budge. I didn’t want to move away.

  Piper’s hand moved up my thigh, close to my groin. My cock throbbed in my jeans. It was painful, and my body was begging for release. I took Piper’s face in my hands and pulled her toward me, smashing my lips into hers. Her mouth opened to mine automatically, and our tongues touched.

  There was no turning back now.

  I pushed her down onto the couch and climbed on top of her, kissing her lips, then her neck. I inhaled her sweet scent, burying my face against her flesh.

  She wrapped her legs around me, pulling me closer to her. My erection pressed against her body, making me ache for her even more. I grabbed the hem of her dress, pulling it up as I moved down her body. I needed to taste her; all of her. My head was spinning, and I was acting on pure, unbridled lust. All I could think about was making Piper feel good.

  I wanted her body like I’d never wanted anything in my life.

  I kissed her inner thighs, parting them gently. I stared up at her, and she was watching me, her eyes filled with heat. I slipped her panties off and tossed them to the floor before burying my face between her luscious thighs.

  Her musky smell hit my nostrils, and I had to taste her. If she tasted anywhere near as sweet as she smelled, I’d be in heaven. I parted her lips, tempted by her flesh. Piper’s thighs trembled as I licked her sweet pussy, lapping up her juices with my tongue and teasing her clit. She whimpered and shook, her hands moving down until she was stroking the back of my head, pressing me closer to her.

  I buried my tongue deep into the folds. I knew what she really wanted and moved back to her clit, paying special attention to it. I teased it, circling my tongue around it, as her breathing grew heavier.

  “Yes, yes,” she cried out, her pelvis arching upward. “I’m going to—”

  She didn’t even finish her sentence, as her words turned to screams of pleasure. She held my head with both hands, making it hard to breathe in anything but her sweet scent. Feeling her legs tighten around me, holding me there as she came all over my face, was everything I had ever dreamt of when fantasizing about this moment.

  As she relaxed, her orgasm subsiding, she sat up and yanked me up from between her legs, pleading with me, “Please, Grant. Don’t stop.”

  “Who said anything about stopping?”

  She smiled a seductive smile I’d never seen and went for my pants. Her hands were still shaking as she unzipped my jeans and pulled them down. My erection popped free from the boxer shorts, and her eyes widened. She gripped my cock, her hand unable to wrap around it fully. It felt good, but I wanted more.

  I needed to be inside of her.

  I nudged her down until she was lying on the couch, and I climbed on top of her. I kissed her deeply as I thrust into her. She cried out, pulling away from the kiss with wide eyes as I stretched her and filled her completely.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, automatically stilling above her.

  “Yes. Oh God, yes,” she said, giggling. “Please don’t stop.”

  She wrapped her body around mine, arching upward to take me in deeper than before.

  Chapter 10

  Piper

  I knew he was big, but until he thrust inside me, I had no real concept of just how big he was. It took me by surprise, but it felt amazing. He stretched me wide and reached spots inside me that had never been touched before.

  Grant moved above me, the muscles in his chest and arms tightening with each thrust. I’d already come once, but I knew he’d make me come again. I could feel it building already, deep inside.

  His face was chiseled perfection, clenched tight with perspiration glistening on his brow. He fucked me slow and steady at first, making sure each movement hit all the right spots. Every time he buried his thick cock inside me, it caused me to cry out in pleasure. I never wanted it to end.

  I could see from the look on his face that he was close, but he pulled out of me.

  “Don’t stop, please—” I begged, reaching for him.

  He didn’t answer me, nor did he stop. He lifted me off the couch and into his lap. I straddled him, my dress pushed up to my chest. I took his cock and guided him into my wet opening, groaning as I lowered myself on him.

  Grant cupped my hands in face, holding me still so he could kiss me. His tongue moved in and out of my mouth as his cock moved in and out of my pussy, almost at the same rhythm. My knees hardly touched the couch on each side of him, making it hard to truly move up and down, so he took my hips in his hands and guided my movements. My clit rubbed against his pelvic bone, and his dick hit every inch of my pussy.

  It felt surreal.

  All these years, I’d yearned for Grant, and finally, it was happening.

  He grabbed my ass, lifting it and slamming it down against him, over and over again.

  I bounced on his cock, riding him hard and fast, feeling the fire inside my belly. I was so close, ready to explode. The itch was inside me, and every time I lowered myself onto him, I came a bit closer to the climax.

  And I could tell Grant was barely hanging on too.

  I kissed his neck, nibbled on his ear lobe, and whispered, “Cum with me, please. I’m so close.”

  His hands tightened on my ass, as if my words pushed him even closer to the edge. An almost animalistic growl escaped his throat as he shuddered, and I knew, in that moment, he was cumming inside me.

  His cock pulsed and throbbed, and that’s all I needed. Grant pulled me down against his body one last time, my pussy milking him with spasms as we came together. Our bodies writhed and rocked; our moans blended together in perfect harmony.

  Finally, as the last wave of pleasure subsided, I collapsed against him, my head resting on his shoulder as we tried to regain our breathing.

  I’d never felt closer to anyone than I did him in that moment. I never wanted to let him go. He held onto me, hugging me to his body as I rested against him.

  As I came down from the high, my head cleared, and I thought about what we’d just done. I feared he might pull away again, and it would probably have been the smart thing to do.

  Slowly, I removed my body from his, a rush of warmth sliding down my inner thighs as we separated. I stared deep into his eyes, and my heart jumped into my throat. The look on his face surprised me. It was one of vulnerability, of a man who had opened himself up to me. I never thought Grant would allow me to get this close to him, yet here we were.

  I slipped my panties on and went into the kitchen to clean myself up.

  Now that I was clearer headed, my head less foggy, I was scolding myself.

  What have you done? He’s Grant. He’s your best friend’s brother. If this doesn’t go well, you could r
uin everything.

  I came back into the living room and sat down beside him, hoping he might be the first to speak. He wasn’t.

  “I, umm, well, I should get going,” I stammered. “I told Tabby I’d be back no later than nine.”

  It was just after 8:30. We still had some time, but I needed to think about what we’d just done and what it meant. Grant seemed to be feeling the same. He didn’t push for me to stay, but he didn’t appear eager for me to leave either.

  “Alright, sure. Will you text me when you get home? Just to let me know you made it back okay?”

  I couldn’t help but grin. He’d always looked after me, so I wasn’t sure why it felt any different than before.

  “Sure,” I said, grabbing my purse and rushing toward the door. “And thank you for dinner, and everything else.” Noticing the slight grin on his face, I quickly added, “I meant Caleb’s doctor stuff, not the sex stuff.” I cringed as I realized how it sounded. I wasn’t making things any better. “Oh God.”

  Grant laughed, rubbing a hand over his face as he pulled his pants back on.

  “I’ll make an appointment for Caleb tomorrow and let you know when we can take him.”

  He walked me to the door, and we stared at each other for a long moment, as if trying to decide the proper way to say goodbye. Grant leaned closer to me, as if for a kiss, but I kissed him on the cheek instead.

  I was scared. Especially after having sex with him, I was still scared of getting even more attached to the idea of us being together. Until Grant could prove to me that he was all in, I didn’t want to keep pushing for more than he could give me.

  I left his house and rushed to my car, my heart racing from everything that had just happened. My teenage self would be squealing so loud right now. But the grown-up me knew that while the sex was mind blowing, things had just gotten a whole lot more complicated between us.

  And I wasn’t so sure I liked that.

  Ooo000ooo

  After the evening with Grant, I went home, showered, and went to bed. I laid there for a long time, my emotions running wild. I couldn’t decide if I was ecstatic that we’d hooked up or overwhelmed by what it might mean for our little “family”.

  I checked my phone since it had been on silent for many hours and found I had a new voice message.

  “Hi, this is Ashley Sutter, I’m incredibly sorry for the loss of your cousin, Andy. I’m calling to discuss the next steps regarding Caleb, since both of his parents are now deceased. Please give me a call back at your earliest convenience.”

  My heart sunk. Next steps? I knew we’d have to make things official, but part of me hoped we wouldn’t really have to do anything just yet. She’d looked over my house, talked to both of us, checked my background. Wasn’t that enough?

  I was so lost in my thoughts, that it scared me when the bedroom door opened. I sat up in my bed and saw Caleb standing in the doorway. He rubbed his eyes like he’d been crying.

  “Ah, what’s wrong, buddy?” I asked, climbing out of bed. “Another bad dream?”

  His lower lip trembled as he nodded.

  “Come here,” I said, picking him up in my arms and carrying him to my bed. I sat him down next to me as I wiped the tears from his eyes. “You wanna talk about it?”

  Caleb hesitated, but then nodded again. “My daddy, he—” he hiccupped.

  As if my heart couldn’t ache enough already, those words were like a spear that went straight through me. My throat tightened. “Yes, sweetie? What about your daddy?”

  I feared he’d overheard something, or maybe one of the kids had heard something from their parents and repeated it. That’s not how he should find out about his father. He needed to hear it from me, in a way he could understand.

  “I miss my daddy,” Caleb said. “Can I see him, please?”

  God, no. I knew I had to break the news to him. But he was three years old. How could he possibly comprehend what had happened? Tears welled in my eyes, and I couldn’t find the words at first.

  Pull yourself together, Piper. You have to be strong for Caleb’s sake.

  Everything I’d learned in school about this subject went right out the window. I couldn’t remember any of it when I needed it the most.

  “I miss your daddy too, Caleb. I wish we could see him again, but we can’t.” My voice cracked.

  “Why?”

  “Well, sweetie…” I needed to tread carefully. The wrong word, a slipup, might cause anxiety or confusion in the little guy, and I didn’t want that. I thought about my next words for a moment. “Do you remember when Aidan’s grandpa went to Heaven?”

  Aidan was one of my preschoolers who had lost his grandfather a month before. It was the only instance of death Caleb might remember. We hadn’t made a big deal out of it, but we did explain why Aidan seemed to be sad.

  Caleb nodded his head.

  “Well, sweetie, your daddy went to Heaven. He’s not coming back, but I’m here for you,” I said in a rush. “And I’ll always be here for you.”

  I reassured him that he’d never be alone, hoping it would take the edge off the news. I knew it would be scary for him that his parents were gone.

  Caleb looked up at me with sad eyes and the tears began to fall immediately. “I want my daddy,” he sobbed.

  I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him close, crying with him. I wanted him to know that grieving was okay, that it was fine to cry. I didn’t want to force him to be strong, so I let him cry, while reassuring him that I would take care of him. And I prayed that I was telling him the truth.

  Ooo000ooo

  “I don’t know what to do, Tabby.” I kept my voice low so I didn’t wake Caleb. He was asleep in my bed. He’d cried until he couldn’t cry anymore and passed out in my arms.

  My sister was still awake, thankfully, and set up in the living room. I broke down and confided all of my fears to her.

  “Take it one step at a time, sis,” she advised me. “Deep breaths. You’re the strongest person I know. You’ve got this.”

  Her words sounded like empty platitudes, even though I knew she meant well. I leaned back in the chair and rubbed my temples. My head was aching from the crying and the stress.

  “I mean, should I take him to the funeral? He’s three. Would he even understand what was happening?”

  “I think you should, and you wanna know why?”

  “Of course.”

  My sister was a few years younger than me, and sometimes, I still thought of her as a child. I’d pretty much raised her after our mom died, since our dad was injured and struggling with his mental health too. But she had grown into a beautiful young woman, one I was proud of. She was also sometimes too smart for her own good.

  She offered me a sympathetic smile and continued, “I was a little older when mom died. I didn’t really understand what I was seeing. I thought Mom was sleeping and couldn’t understand why everyone was crying. Do you remember?”

  “I do,” I said, my chest aching with the desire to cry. “And that’s not convincing me to take him, you know.”

  “Do you remember what you told me when I asked why everyone was crying?”

  “No, not really.”

  “You said it’s because she was loved by so many people. And even though I didn’t understand what it meant for her to be dead, I knew that Mom had touched so many lives. I didn’t understand it fully at the time, but later, it gave me peace knowing how many people loved her. She might be gone, I would never see her again, but I wasn’t the only person who felt sad about her being gone. I wasn’t alone.”

  I was closer to nine when our mother passed away, and I remembered her funeral differently. I remember feeling my mother’s loss so acutely that it was a physical pain in my little chest. But she was right. Seeing our family and being surrounded by them had brought some measure of peace.

  “What if it he asks questions I can’t answer?”

  Tabby leaned over the coffee table and took my hands in hers. “You’re n
ot alone here, Piper. You have me. You have Leah. You have Grant. We can all help you with Caleb, and help you answer those hard questions if needed.”

  It surprised me that she’d mentioned Grant, but I didn’t say anything about it.

  “But what if it’s too much for him? What if he can’t handle all the sadness?”

  “Then we leave. We take him home the minute he shows signs of distress. If anyone can read a child’s emotions, it’s you, Piper. You’ll be able to handle the situation and determine what’s best for him as it happens.”

  “And if not, I have you to fall back on, huh?”

  “Exactly.”

  Tabby knew as much about kids as I did. She was almost finished with her Master’s in education. She was right about there being no one better to handle the situation. The two of us were a team and we’d both be with him.

  “Not to pile on at the worst possible time, but I have something to tell you.” Tabby cringed as she spoke, almost like the words hurt her to say.

  “What is it?” I sat upright in my chair, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  “A lawyer stopped by today,” she said, reaching for an envelope on the table I hadn’t noticed. “He dropped this off.”

  I realized I was holding my breath as she handed me the envelope. As soon as I opened it and scanned the first line, I let it out and relaxed a bit. “It’s just the reading of Andy’s will.”

  “Yeah, but do you see who else is invited?”

  I looked at the list of those to be included. Obviously, Tabitha and I were to be there; we were the closest family he had. But in addition to our names were names of people I hadn’t heard in years.

  I tried to play it cool. “Andy had a lot of assets, I’m sure they’re going to get a piece of the pie. I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about.”

  “I’m sure you’re right, it’s just— well, Andy had a lot of money, and his property is probably worth millions, just like Grant and Leah’s.”