What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 8)

by Sabrina York

He dropped his head onto her shoulder and fought for breath, cringing as her orgasm continued around him, milking every drop.

  Fucking bliss.

  Fucking perfection.

  Fuck, yeah.

  Chapter Seven

  “Well,” Tina huffed. All she could manage. That had freaking rocked her world. She’d loved the sensation of skin to skin. Loved the feel of his hot cum inside her. But she wasn’t going to be the one to mention they’d forgotten a condom.

  He chuckled on a harsh breath. His cock, still hard, still deep inside her, bobbled. He slid out, then eased her legs down and helped her find her balance. His lips pressed against her forehead. His tongued dabbed at her there, as though he couldn’t get enough. His heat, his arms surrounded her. She loved that he didn’t immediately pull away.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, skimming her hair off her cheek.

  “Mmm hmm.” Better than okay, actually.

  He tipped up her chin. Looked deeply into her eyes. “So no more flirting with Ennis?”

  “Not if you keep doing that.”

  She could have bitten her tongue, because he stiffened, and then he did. He pulled away. “Shit,” he muttered, running his hand over the pate of his head. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.” Judging from his tone, he wasn’t complaining. Just reminding himself.

  Tina’s lips curled. “It was awesome,” she whispered.

  He stared at her, his eyes haunted. “What the hell are we going to do about this?”

  “Um, keep doing it?” she suggested helpfully. Like again and again and again?

  “Shit, Tina.” He threaded his fingers in her hair and pulled her close and kissed her. “We can’t.”

  “Why not?” She nestled closer.

  “Cody.”

  That was it. Simply, Cody.

  “I could disown him.” This, she said teasingly, but in some small part of her soul, she’d do it. She’d do it for Dane. If she could. She’d give up just about anything for him. Maybe even her breath.

  The thought should have frightened her.

  It did not.

  The thought of losing him, however, did. He was everything she’d ever wanted, everything she’d dreamed of. Everything.

  He laughed, but she could tell it was forced. He buried his face in her hair and sucked in a deep breath, as though drawing in her essence. “I just gotta keep my hands off you. That’s all.”

  Her heart clenched. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. Breathed in his scent as well. “Or we could…”

  He lifted his head and looked at her, hope flaring in his expression. “What?”

  “Gee, I dunno, tell him?”

  His eyes widened in horror. “Tell Cody?”

  Okay then… “Man up and tell him.”

  “Tell Cody I’m fucking his sister?” This he squealed like a preteen at a Bieber concert.

  “Tell Cody you’re…interested in his sister. He doesn’t need to know about the whips and chains—”

  “I never use whips and chains—”

  “At least not yet.”

  He gaped at her. Shook his head. Scrubbed his neck. “I can’t… I don’t… He would…”

  She patted his arm to calm him, but the move backfired, because it reminded her how delicious his arms were and she ended up stroking. “Tell him we met and something flared. Some magic…something. And we want to see each other and you are asking for his blessing.”

  “His blessing?” His tone implied he’d never heard the word before.

  She shrugged. “Yeah. His blessing.”

  “I don’t know—”

  “Dane.” She waited until she had is attention. His full attention. “I don’t know what all this is to you, but for me, well, it’s pretty amazing. Unlike anything I’ve ever known.”

  His face went slack. “Ever?”

  “Ever. Oh my God, the way you make me feel? Your touch, your scent.” She winked. “The feel of your palm on my ass…”

  He shuddered.

  She barreled on. “I don’t know what all this means to you, but I, for one, would like to explore it.”

  His fingers fluttered over her cheek. “I would like to explore it too.”

  “Without worrying about Cody.”

  He nodded.

  “So you need to tell him.”

  His Adam’s apple worked. “Tell him. Right. Tell him.”

  She stroked his shoulder, soothing him. “There you go. It’ll be all right. Just tell him.”

  How the fuck was he going to tell Cody he wanted his sister? Wanted to—what had she said?—explore his sister. Cody was going to pop a gasket. But he had to. This hunger, this insanity, was too strong.

  He’d walked away from his mother, for God’s sake. Just stood up and walked away in the middle of a conversation. He’d been raised better than that. Fortunately when he found her and apologized, she hugged him and said she understood. That she said the words with a glimmer in her eye was horrifying.

  It meant she understood more than he’d intended. It meant she’d seen him grab hold of Tina and haul her off like a caveman in the mating season.

  Which, with Tina, would be all year long.

  God, even now he wanted her. Ached for her.

  He was already thinking about tonight, fantasizing about her and him, locked in his room. He’d love to tie her to a chair. Tie her to a chair, with her legs wide, helpless to stop him as he brought her to orgasm with his mouth again and again—

  But there would be no tonight with her, if he didn’t talk to Cody first and if Cody didn’t give his…blessing.

  Yech. The word gave him the heebie jeebies.

  He stalled, with this hand raised over Cody’s door, drumming up his courage, madly thinking of how he could approach this without a fist in the gut before he got the first sentence out.

  Okay. Maybe he should just go to his room and practice for a while first—

  Before he could escape, the door swung open to reveal Cody, who greeted him with a grin. “Hey buddy,” he said. “Just the guy I wanted to see. Come on in.”

  Numbly, Dane shuffled into the suite.

  “I need you to listen while I practice.”

  “Cody…”

  “You know I’m nervous. But I figure, if I just practice, I’ll feel better. Okay? Now sit down.”

  “Cody…”

  His friend pushed him into a chair and pulled a rumpled piece of paper from his pocket.

  “Cody…”

  “Wait. Let me do this. Okay. Angie. My darling. My love. From the moment I saw you, standing there in the Chick-fil-A, I knew you were the one—”

  “You met her in a Chick-fil-A?”

  “She likes Chick-fil-A, now shut up. Where was I? Oh yeah. I knew you were the one. One glance, one smile, one snarky quip and I was hooked.”

  “She’s snarky?” She didn’t seem the type.

  Cody glared at him. “It hasn’t been easy, this road we’ve traveled, but we are here now and I couldn’t be happier. All I know is I don’t want to live another day without you by my side or spend another night without you in my bed.”

  Dane shifted uncomfortably. And not just because Cody was about to wander into bedroom-territory. His friend’s words hit him in an uncomfortable place.

  Was that what love was? That overwhelming feeling of need? That ache? The annoying desire that had been burning in his gut since he set eyes on a perky little hooker…who popped her gum?

  “When you look at me, I feel alive.”

  Yeah. Like a sudden jolt of electricity had just been applied to his soul.

  “When you smile, my heart dances with joy.”

  A crooked grin, tipped up on one side. Playful. Mischievous. Wicked. But in a good way.

  “And when you kiss me I know, I just know…”

  “I am complete. The world is complete.”

  Cody gaped at him. “Oh yeah. That’s good. That’s good.” He grabbed a pen and scratched some notes on his paper.
Then he cleared his throat and continued. “I’m sure we will have challenges ahead of us. No doubt we’ll disagree from time to time. No doubt, from time to time, I’ll actually be wrong.” He paused and chuckled at his own joke, but Dane was no longer listening.

  His brain swirled, his thoughts lost in a fog.

  He’d just met her. He couldn’t be in love. That was nuts.

  But he hadn’t just met her. He’d known her forever. He’d pulled her ponytail when she was eight, laughed at her braces when she was twelve and slugged Ricky Tate for saying nasty things about her when she was fifteen.

  Oh holy God. He’d forgotten about that. His fingers closed into fists. Where the hell was Ricky Tate now? He’d like to pummel the shit out of him—

  “Dane? Are you listening?”

  “Huh? Yeah. Of course. It’s awesome, Cody. Angie will love it.”

  Cody set his hands on his hips and blew out a breath. “I’ve been reciting Dr. Seuss for about a minute.”

  “I’m sure she loves Dr. Seuss.”

  “Did you even hear the part about the babies?”

  Dane blinked. “B-babies?”

  “Shit. You didn’t. Damn it, Dane. Pay attention. Now I have to start over.”

  “Is she…pregnant?”

  “No, she’s not pregnant.” Cody paled. “At least, I don’t think she’s pregnant. But that’s not the point.”

  “Was there a point?”

  “Point was: She wanted babies and I didn’t and we had a fight. And now I’m like, oh, babies. Babies would be wonderful.”

  “Yeah. That sounds pretty romantic.”

  Cody smacked him. “You should have listened. It’s romantic in my speech.”

  “Do you want babies?” Cody? The big bad warrior? The Ranger in camo face with an M-16 slung over one shoulder, charging into the fray?

  He plopped down at Dane’s side and threaded his fingers together before him. “Yeah,” he said softly. “Yeah. I do. A little girl with her nose? Or a little boy, a mini me haring around the house?” He laughed. And then the laugh died. “Yeah.”

  Dane stared at his friend, barely noting the glimmer in his eyes. His vision was filled with the scene Cody had described. A mini Dane creating havoc, shooting pretend pistols and collecting worms. Or a little princess with long brown hair, poring imaginary tea into delicate cups and making him drink it with her teddy bear. And Tina, entering the room with a beatific smile on her face, holding another, a baby. Fat, bald, perfect. The baby. Not Tina.

  Though she was perfect.

  Something warm and appealing curled in his gut and then rose into his chest with a powerful ache.

  But wait. Hold up.

  This was hardly a realistic fantasy.

  Tina? With a beatific smile on her face? More likely it would be a cocky smirk or a wicked wink. In all likelihood, she’d be popping her gum.

  “Why are you grinning like that?” Cody asked.

  “Um, like what?” Dane attempted to wipe the smile from his face.

  “Like an idiot?”

  Dane shrugged, and decided it was safer to change the topic than to fess up. At least, at the moment. “So what are you going to do? Are you going to stay in the service?”

  “Ah,” Cody threw himself back and leaned against the cushions. “Yeah, but most likely I’ll ask for something stateside. Maybe something in training. Angie doesn’t mind traveling, but she’s not crazy about me going on missions…” He glanced at Dane, assessing his reaction. “That changes a lot.”

  “That changes everything,” Dane said. Missions without Cody? The team without him? No. Nothing would be the same. And somehow, miraculously, he wasn’t devastated by it.

  “Yeah, but we had a good run.”

  “Knees don’t last forever.”

  Cody barked a laugh. “Have you been talking to my dad?”

  “No,” Dane snorted. “Mine.”

  “Yeah. Well, they’re probably right. Maybe it is time to settle down and have babies.”

  “Hah,” Dane crowed. “Have you been talking to my mom?”

  Cody chuckled. “No. Mine.” He sobered. “We’ll always be friends Dane.”

  “I know that.”

  “I’ll always love you.”

  “I know that too.

  “You’re like a brother to me…”

  A brother.

  “Yeah… About that…” Recalled to his purpose, anxiety snarled and popped in his gut. It swirled there, until once again, he brought that vision into focus. Tina. Babies. White picket fence. Maybe a dog.

  “What is it, Dane?”

  “I wanted to ask you something—”

  The door burst open and the whole crew flooded into the room, Ennis and Billy and Kaye, laughing and chattering, a raucous interruption. Dane flinched.

  Well, hell.

  “What is it?” Cody repeated.

  “Never mind. I’ll ask you later.” No way was he broaching the subject of Cody’s sister with them all here.

  “Okay.” Cody shrugged. He leaped to his feet. “Hey guys. Just in time. I need you to listen to me practice,” he said. And he picked up his speech and began again.

  This time, Dane didn’t listen at all.

  He didn’t even pretend to.

  Chapter Eight

  The wedding rehearsal was beautiful and heartbreaking. Tina stood at the front of the chapel next to the other bridesmaids, holding a bouquet of fake flowers as she watched Angie walk toward Cody at the altar.

  But her attention was fixed on Dane, who she could see out of the corner of her eye. He was so handsome in his jeans and suit jacket. She couldn’t wait to get him out of them. They had to make it through the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner first. And then, after, there would be dancing and dessert.

  It would probably drag on for hours.

  She gave a great sigh when the rehearsal ended and they were released by their captors for a brief recess before the torture of dinner would begin. It would be an intimate affair, just family and members of the wedding party, but it would be torture, because some genius had decided on assigned seating.

  She shot a glare at Angie as the ladies made a run for the restrooms. Angie missed it.

  Assigned seating was annoying because it meant she was paired with Ransom—who was nice enough—but Dane, who was the best man, would be paired with Holli, the maid of honor.

  Holli was over the moon about it. “I’m so excited,” she squeed, as they rushed into the bathroom. It was surreal, standing there in a neat line, waiting for an open stall, holding plastic bouquets.

  “I beg your pardon?” Tina responded, when Holli repeated herself and added a nudge.

  “I say, I’m so excited. I get to sit next to Dane Coulter at dinner. Ohmygod. He is so hot, isn’t he? They’re all superhot, but Dane is the hottest.” She shivered. “So tall and muscley. And that steamy expression he always has? God. I bet he’s great in bed. How funny would it be if Angie married Cody and I married Dane? They’re best friends you know. Sisters and best friends…” She gushed a sigh. Gushed.

  Tina tried not to snap her plastic bouquet in half. Or whack Holli in the head with it. She’d just met the woman. She seemed nice. Tina liked her. But at the moment she wanted to smack her.

  Yes, Dane was superhot. Yes, he had a steamy expression—usually when he looked at her. But Tina didn’t want Holli, or anyone, drooling over him. Thinking about him in bed. Or in a cloak closet. Or anywhere.

  She knew she didn’t own him. No one ever owned a man like Dane Coulter. And she had no business feeling all possessive. She had no business wanting to smack all the women who looked at him—and they all did—but she wanted to.

  It didn’t get better at dinner.

  Tina battled her way through rubber chicken, glaring at Holli and Dane across the table.

  It revolted her, the way Holli was leaning into him, batting her lashes and giggling at everything he said. The way he was looking back at her, talking to her…disgus
ting.

  Tina did the only logical thing a girl could do when the man she wanted was not giving her the attention she required. She fixed her focus on Ransom and winked. “So,” she said in her best Joe Peschi. “How you doin’?”

  He choked on his wine, then cleared his throat. “I’m, ah, doing well. How have you been, Tina Marie? Long time, huh?” As a skinny teen with a squeaky voice, Ransom had been painfully shy around girls. Now that he was all filled out and had grown into a man, it was funny to find him just as bashful.

  “Mmm hmm.” She sidled closer. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Dane’s head snap around. She was pretty sure she saw a glower too. “So what have you been up to, Ransom?” she cooed.

  He stared at her lips. Swallowed heavily. “Well, I’m in the Army.”

  “Oooh. Love a man in uniform.”

  He ran a finger around the neck of his shirt. Across the table, Dane’s muscles bunched.

  She patted Ransom’s hand. Let hers linger. “Where are you stationed?”

  A flush crawled up his cheeks. Really? So hard to believe they were brothers. “I’m at Ft. Lewis, ma’am.”

  “Get out.” She smacked his shoulder. “I live in Seattle. We’re practically neighbors.”

  It wasn’t fair, flirting with him like this, but damn it all, Dane deserved it. She flicked a look at him. He was staring at her—glaring at her—despite Holli’s attempts to regain his attention.

  She shot him a smirk as she picked up her glass, then fixed her attention on his brother again, taking the straw between her lips and taking a slow draw. “So tell me, Ransom. Tell me about all your manly adventures…”

  Yeah. Not fair at all. Poor Ransom choked on his indrawn breath, but it had the desired effect. Dane pushed back his chair and launched to his feet.

  Goddamn it. He’d had enough. Enough watching Tina talk to other men and flirt with his brother when he couldn’t even get close enough to say hello.

  Enough of this shit.

  The band was playing a fast dance, but Dane couldn’t wait. Couldn’t wait to hold her again. He sprang to his feet and rounded the table, thrusting out a hand. “Dance.” One word. It was all he could manage. And not an invitation. A command.