“We weren’t expecting it, but we are so thrilled,” Harley says. “I’m still in shock, to be honest.” Then squeezing our hands, she adds. “I’m just so glad I have you guys. I couldn’t imagine becoming a mother without my best friends by my side.”
I feel a knot in the pit of my stomach. I hate the idea of letting Harley down.
She sees my face and quickly shakes her head. “No, not literally by my side. I mean, emotionally here for me. Kate, you've got to do you, whatever that looks like.”
“But also,” Addie adds. “Maybe just take one day at a time.”
I nod. “I can do that.”
“And Kate,” Piper adds, taking my hand. “I know losing Matt was so painful, but it doesn’t mean you can’t be happy now. I know you want to bake. But make sure that’s the reason for you wanting to leave. And not because you’re running from something or someone who could make you happy.”
I blink back tears, gratitude swelling inside me for having friends who are so generous and kind. It’s because of them I’m the woman I am today. And I wonder if Piper is right. Am I afraid of being happy again? Afraid that I’ll lose everything? That I won’t be able to go on.
Maybe.
Beside me, my phone buzzes. “It’s Weston.” I slide it open and read the text.
“What does it say?” Harley asks.
“He says he wants to see me. That he has a favor to ask.”
My friends smile.
“A favor, huh?” Piper snorts.
I bite back a smile of my own. They don’t know Weston and I have already slept together.
And truth is, I haven’t told them because I want more. That’s what scares me. Sure, it was quick, but I’d never come so hard in my entire life. Even now, the memory heats up my core, stirs a need, and I feel my cheeks warming, my skin prickling.
One more time. What could it hurt?
And even if I leave, at least it’ll be with some memories that will get me through the lonely nights I know will follow.
Chapter 9
Weston
I can’t get Finley what she really wants for her birthday - a new mother in the form of Kate - but I’ll do my best to make the day special for my little girl, nonetheless.
After we finish cleaning the cabin, the neighbor lady, Ms. Sandra calls and asks if Finley would like to help her with planting some bulbs in her front yard. Fin jumps at the chance, loving the idea of getting her hands in the dirt.
“Put on something you don’t mind getting dirty,” I tell her as she runs down the hall to her room to get ready. I realize it’s a dumb comment. Everything Fin owns has busted knees and stains.
She comes back in a pair of overalls covered in grass stains, and I run a hand over my beard. “You want a new outfit for the party?” I ask her.
Her eyes light up. “I want a brown sweatshirt and sweatpants.”
I furrow my brows as we leave the house. “I was thinking more of a party dress. Ruffles, ribbons, something like that? Why a brown tracksuit?”
She laughs. “Daddy, I want to look like you. Like a bear.”
I sigh. Stopping in the grass halfway to Ms. Sandra’s place, I rest my hands on her shoulders. “Sweetie, don’t try to be me. Be you.”
“But you’re my hero, Daddy,” she says. Her words are so sweet, so damn sincere, I feel tears prick my eyes.
Meeting Kate, making love to her - it has changed me. It makes me want to give both her and Finley the life they’ve always wanted. To be the best man I can be.
“If you want brown sweats, then you got it, sweetheart.”
She stands on her tiptoes and tugs down my face, kissing me on my cheeks. “I love you Daddy, so, so much.”
A little while later I’ve stopped at the deli for chicken noodle soup and a bouquet of flowers. I don’t know how to do this - the whole dating thing - but I sure as hell plan on giving it a try. It’s not just a woman we’re talking about here. It’s my mate.
“Hey, Weston,” a sultry voice calls to me.
I turn in the checkout line and see Kassi. I give her a bright, easy smile. Growing up together in Bear Valley, we’ve known one another for years. More than know. God, I remember one wild weekend we spent together on her boat seven fucking years ago. After Heidi, she pulled back, knowing I had other priorities, but I know Kassi has always held a flame for me.
“Hey Kas, how you been?”
She shrugs, setting her basket on the conveyor belt. “Oh, the usual, keeping busy with work. The fishing boats are out every day.” She lifts a finger, pointing it at me. “But I hear you are even more busy.”
“Come again?” I ask as the cashier begins to ring me up.
“Oh yeah,” she says with a grin. Then she leans in and speaks more discreetly. “I heard your brothers’ wives, Harley and Addie, talking about it at the diner this morning. They were getting cinnamon rolls and couldn’t stop talking about you and their friend Kate hooking up.”
I lift my eyebrows. Huh, okay, so now the entire town is gonna know I have a thing for Kate. Not sure what she’ll make of that, but at least I’ve claimed her as mine.
“Anyways,” she says, pointing a finger to my chest. “My feelings are a little hurt, Wes. You always told me when you were ready to date again it was me you’d call.”
“Things change, Kassi. It’s been a long time.”
She twists her lips. “Sure, but we had a lot of fun, didn’t we?”
I give her a smile. “We did have fun. But it’s ancient history. This thing with Kate - it’s the real deal.”
“Really?”
I nod. “Really.”
She smiles then. “Well good. No one deserves that more than you, Weston.”
Her words surprise me, I don’t know, maybe I thought she’d still have an agenda after all these years. “I don’t know how it will play out. Kate is too good for—”
“Don’t do that, Wes.” Kassi shakes her head.
“Do what?”
“Start acting like you don’t deserve love because of Heidi. What happened was tragic, but it wasn’t your fault.”
I know she’s right, but there’s still a part of me that wonders if her having a mate that wasn’t me didn’t have something to do with her dying.
Giving a small smile, I say goodbye and grab the flowers and soup, then make my way down Main toward the bookstore.
It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this way, the nerves that race, making my stomach twist as I open the front door of the shop and call inside. “Hello?”
Piper is there, a smile on her face when she sees me. “Thought you might be by.”
“Is Kate around?”
“She’s up in her room. You can go on up if you want.”
I can feel the pull of my mate, and even from down here I can smell her sweet scent.
Piper chuckles.
“What?”
“Weston Koleman, are you nervous?”
I grunt, and walk toward the stairs, hearing the woman’s laughter float behind me.
Sure, I’m nervous as fuck. The unassuming pretty redhead with eyes the same color as the sky has me all twisted up inside. My bear has already claimed her, and my heart wasn’t too far behind in falling. But that doesn’t mean she wants me.
I know her body does. That was clear when I’d kissed her, held her, filled her. She’d trembled, and quivered, and came so damn hard, I felt her pleasure in every cell of my body.
But I want more than just her body. I want her heart.
Her door is slightly ajar when I approach, and I see her sitting on the bed, a laptop in front of her, and her cell to her ear.
“Thank you, Markas, I’ll think about it.” She hangs up and tosses the phone beside her.
“Think about what?” I ask, pushing the door open and walking in, wondering who the hell Markas is.
“Weston.” Her eyes widen when she sees me, then a small smile stretches across her sweet lips when she glances down at the flowers and bag I’m h
olding. “You brought me flowers?”
“And lunch. Figured you wouldn’t be able to cook. And I’ve heard from Harley and Addie that Piper isn’t the best cook.”
She laughs, a sound that goes straight to my balls. “You’re right about that.”
I place the flowers and bag on the bedside table. “So, what do you have to think about?” I ask, returning to my earlier question.
There’s a slight hesitation before she answers, “That was my old boss, he wants me to come back.”
I frown. “To Seattle?”
“Yes.”
My bear stirs inside of me. “And you’re thinking about it?”
“I...I’m not sure yet.” She closes her laptop and pushes it away. “I’ve realized two things since coming here. One, I’m a lousy writer.”
“I doubt you could be bad at anything, Kate.”
She shrugs. “And two, I miss baking.”
“Then bake. But do it here.”
The smile she gives me is strained. “It’s not that simple. I was...” Her cheeks flame red.
“Tell me.”
“I don’t want to sound conceited.”
“Kate,” I say, sitting down on the bed beside her, needing to touch her, but knowing if I do that I won’t be able to stop. So I keep my hands to myself. “You’re the most humble person I’ve ever met. And I want to know everything about you. So, please, brag.”
“She won’t,” Piper says from the doorway. “But I will. She’s had articles written about her, TV shows—”
“TV shows?” I raise my brows, knowing I need to go home and do a full Google search on my mate.
Kate tosses a pillow at Piper, who catches it, then tosses it back.
“What?” Piper says. “It’s the truth. You’re the Queen of Cupcakes.”
“So I guess me asking you to make Finley’s birthday cake is a little under your league,” I say when Piper disappears again, even though I have no doubt she’s still eavesdropping from somewhere.
“I’d love to make her cake.” Kate’s face lights up. “And I bet I can guess the theme - bears.”
I smile, despite the tightness in my chest. “Yeah. I was just going to get a chocolate cake from the grocery store and place a plastic bear on top—”
“Um, no way.” Her smile brightens like she’s already coming up with an idea. “I’ve got this.”
“Thank you.”
An easy silence stretches between us, and I try my best not to read her thoughts, but I can’t help it.
Kiss me. It’s a small plea, one I hear in my mind, and see in her eyes.
Sweetheart, if I kiss you now, I may not leave this room without taking all of you again, I push back without thinking and see her eyes widen.
Shit. I stand, knowing I just failed Mating 101. You don’t press thoughts until your mate understands the full implications of the connection. It just makes things more complicated.
I need to tell her. But I don’t want to give her any other reason to run. And her finding out I’m a bear, may just be the final straw that sends her running to the airport and away from Bear Valley forever.
“Weston?” she asks, her face drawn tight with confusion. “I uh...Did you..?”
If she asks, I won’t lie.
“What?”
She gives a small laugh, then shakes her head. “Nothing. When’s the party?”
“Saturday afternoon at my house.”
“I’ll come over in the morning and Finley can help me with the cake.”
“She’d love that.” I rest my hand on the door frame, struggling with what to say, whether to be open.
“I want to get her a present. Any ideas? What did she ask for?”
I rub the back of my neck and wince.
“Tell me,” Kate says laughing. “It can’t be that bad. As long as it’s not a rifle or a—”
“She asked for you.”
“Me?” Kate blinks up at me.
“She asked if I could make you her mommy.”
“Oh.”
“Shit. Sorry. I shouldn’t have told you that. It’s a lot.”
“No...” She chews on her bottom lip, and I can see the war of emotions playing on her features. Hear her jumbled thoughts. “It’s okay.”
But it isn’t, because I know I just freaked her the fuck out. I need to get out of here before I say anything else to screw up my chances.
“I’ll see you Saturday,” I say before leaving.
The only thing that gives me hope as I walk out of that bookstore is the one thought that Kate unknowingly presses into my head.
I want that too.
Chapter 10
Kate
I’m not exactly sure what I’m getting into when I arrive at Weston and Finley’s the day of the party, but as I step inside their cabin, I’m pleasantly surprised.
First of all, it is much tidier than it was last time. No baskets of clothes and no dishes on the coffee table. Beyond that, the sliding glass door to the patio is freshly washed and I smell lemon floor cleaner on the hardwood as I set down my bags.
“I can help,” Weston says, grabbing two of my totes.
“Be careful, the ingredients are in there.”
“They’re heavier than they look,” he says, carrying them into the kitchen. “Are you sure you should be carrying that much weight on your foot?”
“It’s much better now,” I say rotating my ankle for him.
He looks up and down the length of my leg. Heat rises to my cheeks as he unabashedly checks me out. He gives a low whistle, shaking his head, and I know he likes what he sees.
“You look incredible in that dress,” he says.
“I didn’t know how dressed up to get for a seven-year-old’s birthday party.”
Weston laughs. “Do you know Finley? She’s wearing sweats today.”
I bite my lower lip. “Maybe I should have just worn jeans,” I say, feeling overdressed.
“No,” Weston says, shaking his head, and stepping toward me. He has me against the kitchen counter in no time at all and I pull in a sharp breath as his intoxicating scent overwhelms my senses.
I close my eyes, feeling his cock against my belly. “Wes,” I breathe. “Not if Fin is here.”
“She’s not,” he growls.
“Isn’t this her party?” I ask as Weston’s hands run under the hem of my skirt. My skin tingles under his touch. God, I want this man even though I know there is a ticking clock on this relationship. I gave Markus a tentative yes when we spoke yesterday.
“Finley won’t be home for an hour, she’s with her Grandma getting party decorations.”
“Oh.”
“So we have the house to ourselves,” he growls in my ear, lifting me up onto the counter in one fluid motion.
I speak the first thought that flies into my brain. “We can’t have sex in a kitchen. It’s not sanitary.”
He chuckles, looking down at me. He hooks his finger under my chin and our eyes meet. “That sounds like you plan on having a little fun before the party starts.”
I exhale, my breath shaky. “No strings, no promises,” I say, not wanting to give him false hope.
I’ll give you anything you want, Kate.
I blink. Did he just say or think that? I shake my head, thinking I must be going mad. Weston repeats himself, this time no doubt his lips are moving because his voice is gravelly and filled with intention. “Anything you want, Kate. Anything.”
“Right now?” I say, the need growing in my belly. “I want you.”
He lifts me from the counter and carries me down the hall. A surge of excitement washes over me as I realize we are entering his bedroom. One large king bed dominates the room, and a rustic looking wardrobe is the only other furniture in the room. The colors are all rich browns and burgundies, masculine and so him. It feels intimate to be in his manly space, but also, as he shuts the door behind us, locking it with a firm hand, I’m able to relax a bit. The last thing I need is to be seen naked and
straddling Weston Koleman.
And straddle him is exactly what I want.
We strip quickly, knowing we don’t have a lot of time, and in seconds my dress is on the floor along with my panties. Weston has pulled off his jeans and flannel shirt and our mouths collide as fast as our bodies meet. Flesh on flesh, pulsing cock grinding against my needy pussy.
“God, I need you,” he says, running his hands through my hair in a wild, untamed way that makes me feel beautiful and so wanted. So seen.
Makes me feel like I am his.
I swallow, not wanting to get my boundaries crossed, not when Finley is involved. So instead I focus on Weston’s mouth. His lips. His tongue. We inhale one another, falling on the bed, he pins me down. Our fingers laced and his big thick cock between my legs.
“I’m gonna fuck you, Kate. I’m going to mark you as my own.”
“Do it,” I say, the uninhibited words released as he lifts my legs over his head, he fills my slick entrance with his throbbing cock.
The force is so delicious, so hard and so deep, I scream his name. “Oh Wes, oh Wes, take me. Take me now.”
He does, he pounds his hard cock where it belongs, and the sex is rougher than I’ve ever had before. It is desperate and wanton and so erotic that when he comes inside me I gasp, the pressure undeniable.
He flips me over, holding my hips, tugging back my hair as his fingernails dig into my skin. I cling to the mattress, wanting to be taken in such a wild way. Feeling a surge from him that is bigger than life. Like a beast has taken control of Weston’s body - a wild animal who knows how to make me submit.
“Ohhh,” I whimper as his thickness fills me up from the backside. My ex-fiancé knew how to have sex - but he knew nothing about fucking.
Turns out, Weston knows plenty.
My pussy hums to life in a new, unbridled way and when I come, I claw at the bedsheets, my pussy aching for more. More. More of him.
He pulls out of me and I turn around, wrapping myself around him, both of us kneeling on his bed. I kiss him so hard, his lip breaks, and I don’t stop there. I am awake in a way I didn’t know I could be and it’s like my skin is so hot, like I’m a wildfire burning bright.
Untamed Daddy (Mountain Men of Bear Valley Book 3) Page 5
