Snowed Inn: A Black Falcon Christmas Short Story

by Valentine, Michelle A.

  Copyright © 2018 by Michelle A. Valentine

  All rights reserved.

  E-book Edition

  Cover Designer: Michelle A. Valentine

  Cover Photograph: Stock Photo

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  My beautiful ladies in Valentine’s Vixen’s Group, I wrote this spicy little number for you! Thank you for supporting me and all my books!

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  About the Author

  Also by Michelle A. Valentine

  Chapter 1

  Riff

  Whenever the Black Falcon family gets together, good times are guaranteed. Back when we were single and on tour, we were known for being one of the biggest party bands, but these days our bedtimes are a little earlier thanks to our crew of munchkins running around. We opted to each have our own bus now so our families have space to come along.

  Kitten snuggles in closer as we lay in bed while the bus hums down the road. "I can't wait to be home and sleep in our bed, where it's comfortable. This baby is exhausting me."

  My hand rests protectively over her round belly. "I know, babe, but damn if you aren't the sexiest thing I've ever seen."

  She's never comfortable in her third trimester. I've learned that after her first three pregnancies, so for baby number four I know what to expect.

  I slide my hand down and slip it under her nightgown.

  She giggles. "Riff, the kids haven't had time to fall asleep yet."

  I press my lips against the soft flesh below her earlobe. "What can I say? I can't get enough of you."

  Totally true. Even after six years together, Aubrey is the only woman I want for the rest of my life.

  Kitten releases a content little sigh as I shove her panties to one side. "Mmmm."

  "Let me play," I whisper in her ear as I slide my finger between her smooth flesh. "I love this pussy."

  She shivers at my words, and I love I can turn her on so easily. The tip of my finger flicks her swollen clit. "Zack..."

  She's the only woman who's ever called me by my name. To all the women in my past, I've always been Riff, the stage persona they want to fuck for bragging rights. Aubrey is the first and only woman who's ever been interested in the real me, which is why I made her my wife.

  I lick my lips and tug her panties down over her hips. "I need to taste you."

  I pull her gown up and swirl my tongue around her taut nipple and then make my way slowly over the other before kissing a trail down her body. I push her legs apart and settle between them.

  Her fingers thread into my hair as I run my tongue between her folds and whimpers with pleasure. A thrill shoots through me, knowing I'm pleasing her, so I wiggle my tongue faster against her clit.

  "Oh, God. Oh, yes," she cries as her thighs tremble.

  Her orgasm comes quick and her juices flow freely.

  When she comes down from her high, her entire body relaxes. Her pregnancy hormones are in full throttle and her body is extra responsive, coming at the slightest pressure on her clit.

  I climb up on the bed to face her. "I love you."

  She stares up at me with a sweet, satisfied smile. "I love you too. More than you'll ever realize."

  I smirk. "I think do. Although it doesn't compare to how I feel about you."

  "Are we always going to have this fight? Can't we agree we love each other equally and forever?"

  I touch her cheek and then stroke my thumb across her creamy skin. "I like the sound of forever."

  "Me too," she agrees before I press my lips to hers.

  The motion of the bus slows down, which is odd considering our convoy left a little over two hours ago. All the vehicles are fueled up, which means we aren't scheduled to stop for another two hours.

  When the bus comes to a stop, I shove myself up from the bed, throwing on a T-shirt. "Something's wrong. I'm going to go check it out."

  Aubrey adjusts her head on her pillow. "Hurry back. I can't sleep in this bed without you."

  I kiss her forehead before I head out of the back bedroom and toward the front of the bus.

  On the other side of our bedroom door are bunk beds filled with our three kids. I lean down and peek inside the cubicles. They're all sound asleep. Our oldest sleeps on her own, but my four-year-old daughter, Libby and three-year-old son, Jamie share a bed that Aubrey has set up with this weird railing thing to keep them from rolling out of bed. Those two have a special connection and always stick together and hate to be separated.

  Our oldest daughter, Hailey is five now, which is crazy. It seems like Aubrey just had her. Time flies these days, and selfishly I wish it would slow down. My kids are growing up too fast, and I can't remember the time in my life before them. I don't want to try to either, because I've never been happier than I am now.

  After I make sure all the blankets are tucked around the kids, I make my way up to the front of the bus. Our driver pulls into a truck stop, following behind Noel's bus, Big Bertha.

  "Are we scheduled to stop, Bob?" I ask as I step up behind our driver.

  He shakes his head. "No. Bertha's having some mechanical issues. We're stopping here to see what the problem is. We're about to enter into that long stretch of highway on 70 heading toward Ohio, and we don't want to risk being stuck on the side of the freeway."

  "That sucks. Hopefully, nothing major. I want to make it back to Kentucky by the morning. Aubrey will lose her shit if we're stuck on the bus on Christmas Eve and we don't have gifts here for the kids."

  "I wouldn't sweat it, Boss. Bertha's been a reliable bus for many years. I'm sure the team can patch her up good enough to make it home for the holiday."

  "Let's hope."

  And this is why booking gigs so close to the holidays is terrifying these days. Years ago, none of us in the band would've batted an eye about making it home. We would've just bought more beer, and happily stayed in this bus and drank the New Year in if needed. We were the definition party animals. Matter of fact, I think a picture of our band is listed under the term on Wikipedia. Which makes me cringe, knowing someday I'm going to have a lot of fucking explaining to do about my past once the kids are old enough to research me on the internet.

  After the bus parks, I head to the bedroom to let Aubrey know what's going on, but she's fast asleep. Being in the middle of the night and she's so damn peaceful, I leave her be while I head off the bus to find out how long we're going to be delayed.

  Chapter 2

  Noel

  "Baby?" Lane whispers to me in the dark and wakes me with a gentle shake. "Why did we stop?"

  I yawn as I roll over and check my phone. "A little past one? We're not scheduled to stop this early." I sit up and throw my legs over the side of the bed. "I'll find out what's going on."

  I push myself up and head toward the bedroom door.

  Lane giggles as I reach for the handle.

  "Are you laughing at me?"

  She nods, her long brown curls spread over her pillow. "Yo
u going to go out there like that?"

  I glance down at my completely nude body. "Oh, shit."

  Since I'm not the kind of guy who wears underwear, I've become fond of sleeping in the nude when I can, but most of the time I sleep in shorts. Our kids aren't with us this trip though, so I've been taking advantage of sleeping naked with my smokin'-hot wife without fear of flashing little eyes with what God's blessed me with. And believe me, when I say blessed, I mean it.

  I throw on a pair of jeans. "Guess I'm used to sleeping in Dad pajamas these days."

  "Maybe so," she replies with a dreamy expression. "But you certainly don't have a dad-bod."

  Her eyes appraise my abs and I grin. "If you keep hitting on me like that, I'm going to take these pants back off and go round number three with you."

  She pinches her lower lip between her teeth. "As much as I would like to take you up on that threat, I'll need a raincheck until you find out why we've stopped. I need to make sure we're going to make it home to pick up the kids at the airport."

  "Don't worry, we'll make it. No matter what."

  The mention of our kids makes me anxious too. It's been almost two weeks since I've seen them. The kids have been spending their time between my parent's place and Lanie's mom's house while we've been on this short holiday tour. Our parents still live in our childhood homes right next to each other on Cedar Creek Lake in Texas, which is convenient for times like this. Our kids have a blast spending time there.

  Typically we head to our folk's place for Christmas, but this year we decided to spend it at home and fly our parents up from Texas to spend it with us. Lanie and I thought it would be great for the kids to spend Christmas morning at their own house for a change where they can spread out and play with their new toys.

  I shiver as I step off the bus into the cold December air and turn to see Riff, Tyke, and Trip come out of their buses. We all stand in the parking lot at a truck stop somewhere between Philly and West Virginia.

  "What the hell's going on?" Tyke questions. "We aren't scheduled to stop."

  "Bus issues," Riff answers and then shoves his hands into the front pockets of his jeans to ward off the chill in the air. "Big Bertha is having some issues."

  I grimace. "Really?"

  Trip bursts out laughing and then nudges his twin brother, Tyke in the ribs with his elbow. "Yeah. I bet. Too busy to notice when you've got the bus all to yourself."

  Tyke chuckles and then adds. "When the bus is a-rockin'...don't come a knocking."

  Trip and Tyke howl with laughter, and I roll my eyes. Those guys will never grow up no matter how old and 'mature' we supposedly are.

  "How long before the engine is fixed?" I ask. "We've got to be at the airport by ten in the morning. Lanie will have my nuts if we don't make it home for Christmas."

  "The old ballbuster still owns your nuts, I see," Riff chimes in.

  I roll my eyes. "Whatever, dude. Aubrey carries yours around in her purse."

  Riff nods. "I guess she does, but hell, we're all pathetic bastards who are whipped these days."

  "Yeah, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Chasing pussy just sounds exhausting. One pussy is all I need," Trip says with a light-hearted tone in his voice.

  Tyke slaps his brother in the back of his head.

  "Jesus!" Trip complains. "What the fuck was that for?"

  "Don't be so crude. That's my kid's aunt your talking about," Tyke fires back. "Besides, if Holly catches you saying shit like that, she'll punch you in the dick."

  Trip simply shrugs, knowing the truth. Holly is a tough girl and the only person who can put Trip's cocky ass in his place.

  "Hey, guys. Sorry to interrupt," Roy, our long-time driver of Big Bertha comes up to our group. "Looks like Bertha has blown a head gasket, so we're stuck for a while."

  "How long you think it will be?" I ask.

  "Head gasket repair isn't an easy fix. I think our best bet will be to get the bus towed to a shop for repair."

  Riff glances to me. "What do you want to do?"

  "Towing will be best, but someone will need to fly back and pick up the bus from wherever she's towed to. Lanie and I can hop on one of your buses and ride back home."

  "That works," Riff agrees.

  "Trip!" The sound of Trip's wife, Holly screaming his name from the door of his bus catches our attention. "They're every five minutes."

  Holly releases a blood-curdling scream as she bends over and holding her belly.

  Trip sprints to her side and helps her down off the last step of the bus. "Oh, shit. Do we need to go to the hospital?"

  Before she can answer him, the sound of water hitting the pavement tells him the answer. We've all been around pregnant women before, we're well versed in the sign of when a woman's water breaks. Some may call us experts considering Riff's on baby number four, Lane and I have two, and Tyke has the twins. Trip is the last one of us to enter into fatherhood.

  "We need to get going because our hospital in Kentucky is at least six hours away."

  "She won't make it to Kentucky," Riff quaffs. "Trust me, when the water breaks, you need to go to the nearest hospital."

  "No," Holly growls. "I need my doctor. He knows me."

  "I'm sure the doctor we find will treat you just as well. I just need you and our baby to be safe, babe," Trip tries to reason with her.

  "Ahhhhhh!" Holly grips Trip's hand and squeezes.

  Trip's mouth drops open. "Ouch. She's breaking my hand. She's breaking my hand."

  Riff whips his gaze in my direction. "She's not going to make it very far. We've got to get her to the hospital."

  "Agreed. Help Trip gets her back on the bus and I'll have everyone set course to the nearest hospital."

  "What about getting your family at the airport in the morning?" Tyke asks.

  "I'm going to change their flight and get them here to us. Lanie won't want to leave Holly."

  "I'll work and finding us all a place to stay once we figure out where the nearest hospital is." Tyke pulls out his cell phone and begins typing.

  I turn and head toward Bertha to fill in Lanie on what's going on and tell her we're about to have another Black Falcon baby.

  Chapter 3

  Tyke

  I can't remember the only the last time we were all on a bus together, even though these are some crazy circumstances.

  "Ahhhhhhh!" Holly's shouts echo through the bus from the back bedroom and I cringe.

  Trip pops his head out of the door, a worried expression etched in his face. "Can't this thing move any faster? The contractions are five minutes apart."

  "We're getting to the hospital as fast as we can, brother. Just tell her to hold on." I do my best to reassure my twin to keep him from spazzing out.

  Trip is the most level-headed of us, spouting off logical advice when the rest of us were going out of our minds, but this situation has him close to losing his shit.

  I understand though.

  When Frannie was giving birth to our twins, I was scared. My wife and our babies are the most important people in my life and seeing them in any kind of pain is killer. My job is to keep them safe and make them happy, and when something is out of my control, I feel helpless and my anxiety shoots through the roof. Thank God my girl keeps me sane. She knew what to do and say to keep me from losing my head the day my children were born.

  "Maybe I should head back to check on them?" Frannie says after taking in Trip's expression.

  I nod. "If anyone can help keep them calm, you can."

  She helped me at the worst time of my life. Frannie saw the best in me even when I didn't believe in myself. I'm the man I am today because of her love and faith in me. Sure it was a little unorthodox to fall in love with your therapist, but it was impossible to fight the feelings we had for each other. Love truly does win in all situations.

  She pats my leg. "Keep trying to find us a place to stay close to the nearest hospital. We'll all want to be close."

  I lean over and press
my lips to hers. I love this woman so much.

  My eyes train on the swish of her hips as her long dark curls cascade down her back as she heads back to the bedroom where Holly and Trip are. I'm the luckiest son-of-a-bitch on this earth. She's smart, caring and wrapped in a hot-as-hell package. She's the perfect woman, not to mention the mother of my kids, and I couldn't imagine my life without her.

  My eyes flit over to my twin boys who fast asleep on the couch across from me before I glance back to my phone, doing my best to locate a place large enough to house the entire Black Falcon family for Christmas. I'll need some luck.

  Chapter 4

  Riff

  The snow picked up a lot since we dropped Trip and Holly off at the tiny hospital in Wheeling, West Virginia. Thank God we made in time. If Holly didn't get drugs soon for the pain, I'm pretty sure she would've ripped Trip's dick off.

  The closest place Tyke could find for us to stay for the next couple of days was about forty minutes outside of town. The trip had been slow on this over-sized bus winding down these dark country roads on these snow covered roads and we're all anxious to get off this cramped tin can. I'll never bitch again about the money we spend on getting tour buses for each one of us and our families. There's no way we'd all survive being on the road long-term like this.

  I check my GPS. We're coming up on the address of the house Tyke rented for us.

  "The house should be right around this corner, Roy," I tell the driver.

  High-beam headlights of the bus shine on a mailbox with the street numbers 1356 on stuck on the side.

  "I can't turn this bus into that driveway. It is impossible to tell where the drive ends and the grass begins with all this snow on the ground. I don't want to take the chance of getting stuck and causing us an even bigger mess," the driver tells me.