by Jayne Rylon
Brielle reached up and pulled him to her for a kiss. She imparted as much reassurance and gratefulness as she could. “You might not have been in that van with me. But you never left my heart or mind. It was because of you I was able to think. Able to believe. Able to fight.”
“Fuck it.” His lips covered hers, seducing her mouth. “I know this is crazy, but I love you.”
“I love you too, Luke.” A tear tracked down her face, but this time it was born of pure joy. She kissed him again, slow and gentle, certain they had a lifetime to perfect this insanity between them.
Someone, one of the younger cops, whistled at their display.
“Razor! Behave.” Officer Radisson shouted at the guy.
Luke grinned and laughed. He spun her around in his arms. “How much fucking paperwork do you think we have to fill out right now? Maybe they’ll let us sneak off into those woods for a bit?”
“I’m a pretty good runner.” She wiggled her brows.
“Barefoot even. You keep losing your shoes.” He frowned.
“But you keep bringing them back. At least I haven’t turned into a pumpkin yet.” She brushed her fingers over his smooth cheek. “You make a great Prince Charming.”
“Maybe I should call you Princess?” A smile spread across his lips.
The young, rowdy cop said, “Works for me. My wife likes it.”
“Nah, let’s stick with Cookie.” Brielle rested her head on his shoulder. “Or maybe Cake. I could really use a piece of that right now.”
“Don’t worry, I put it in the fridge. Elsa deserves it and a million more for tonight.” Luke filled her in on the girl’s heroics.
“You’re right, that one’s all hers.” They couldn’t stop making out between discussions. “I’ll bake something else. Something just for us. Something sweet and new and satisfying.”
“That sounds delicious to me.” Luke brushed his lips over her knuckles then carried her to the waiting police officers. “The sooner we start this, the sooner it will be over. Just remember that I’ll be taking you home and helping you forget tonight ever happened.”
“I’ll talk fast.”
They both laughed despite the nightmare they’d lived through.
Chapter Twenty-One
Seven months later
Brielle rode the elevator up to Luke’s office, hardly thinking of anything except his birthday surprise. It was simple, but she knew he’d appreciate the significance. How far they’d come in less than a year. Brad had been sentenced last month, closing that era of her life.
It felt right that he’d be spending most of his time in a tiny cage like the one he’d tried to keep her in. And so would his accomplice. Yet far from each other.
She enjoyed the sweet smell emanating from the box of treats she bore. It perfumed the confined space of the elevator car.
The control panel tweeted cheerily as she passed each floor. And when the doors opened, she bounced out. Only because she couldn’t wait to see her guy. It’d been a long time since they’d had each other for breakfast this morning.
As though he could sense her, his head turned the moment she approached.
She didn’t even get to say hello to Heidi before he snagged his spring coat and met her in the waiting room. His eyes were electric as he spied her gift. “Brown sugar cookies, Cookie?”
Her eyes rolled at his silly nickname, although secretly she loved it nearly as much as she loved him. Okay, nothing could compare to that inferno. Still, it always brought a smile to her face. Even on the bad days she had so much less frequently now.
“I’ll even let you keep them this time.” Brielle went into his open arms, uncaring about the presence of his assistant when she accepted his mostly tame kiss.
He sighed as he wiggled the lid off the foil-wrapped cardboard. “I love you. You know that, right?”
“Never get tired of being reminded.” She grinned when he popped a full cookie in his mouth. It should have taken a normal human five or six bites to demolish it.
“Want one?” His slurred offer had both her and Heidi cracking up.
The admin took two. “I’ve learned my lesson. Eat them while they’re here.”
Brielle put her face in her hands. “That was not one of my finer moments.”
“I could say the same of my boss.” Heidi shook her head.
“Hey now.” Luke put on mock affront. “No ganging up on me on my birthday.”
“Speaking of, we’d better get going. I have something for you.” Brielle tugged him toward the door. She didn’t have to try very hard to get him moving.
“I thought the cookies were my present.” He downed a couple more while they waited for the elevator.
The doors glided open. They stepped in. Brielle wrung her hands and steeled herself for what she was about to do. She was ready. After they’d sunk a floor or two, she spun toward the control panel and slapped the STOP button.
“What are you doing, Cookie?” Luke’s eyes grew wide when she unbuttoned her shirt, exposing her lacy bra.
“I’ll give you a hint. It has nothing to do with being hot.”
“Here? Now?” He gawked. “Aren’t you scared?”
“Never with you.” She hiked up her skirt, making it clear she’d opted to leave her panties at home. “So are you going to undo those pants or am I just going to keep standing here half-naked and awkward?”
He blinked.
Again.
Then laughed as he dropped the box of cookies and tore open his slacks. “This is a premeditated seduction, isn’t it?”
“Been working myself up to it for weeks,” she confirmed. “So let’s make it good. How long do you figure we have until they send the fire department? Better hurry so we don’t get caught.”
He devoured her smile as he lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his waist even as he guided himself to her opening. “Damn, I see you like the idea.”
“Horny and pantyless is a dangerous combo.” Brielle enmeshed her fingers in his thick hair, rubbing his scalp as she kissed her way along his neck. Just as he liked best.
“Cookie, you know there’s a camera in here, right?” He hesitated on the brink of entering her.
“I thought exhibitionism was your thing.” Brielle relaxed her thighs, sinking onto him the barest bit. She let go of him long enough to yank the pliable cups of her bra beneath her breasts and offer herself to him.
“I’m sure as hell not a prude, and I’m not ashamed of us together. Just hoping Mrs. Allerton doesn’t rat us out. Wouldn’t want to get my practice evicted.” He glanced down at her rosy nipples and cursed. “Fuck it. I don’t give a shit. It’ll be worth it.”
He hunched his back, pressing into her, even as he sucked on her breast.
The thrill of doing something so naughty ramped up her arousal. The satisfaction of destroying her phobia once and for all…that was huge. Now every time she rode in an elevator she’d have this to think of and smile. Or moan.
Luke’s big hands cupped her ass, tugging the cheeks apart as he hiked her up then let her ride down his entire length. They both groaned.
“I’m afraid I’m going to drop you.” He walked them forward until her shoulders were sandwiched between the wall and his fine chest. “Is this okay? Me pinning you like this?”
“It’s perfect.” She kissed him lightly, then wild and wicked. “Stop worrying. Enjoy your birthday gift.”
“You have no idea.” He rested his forehead on hers, staring deep into her eyes even as he linked them completely. His cock withdrew to the very edge of her body then burrowed deep again and again. “I’ll make up for this later, Cookie.”
Brielle’s muscles tightened around him. His impending explosion ignited hints of an orgasm in her. All of her ecstasy was woven tight with his. When he was happy, so was she. They treated each other to a never-ending cycle of bliss.
“I’m with you. Just fuck me harder. Faster,” she panted.
When he adjusted the angle of his penetr
ation, she gasped, her eyes flying open.
“Like that?” he growled.
“Uh huh.” She nodded, biting her lip to keep from screaming.
He rode her furiously, with some part of him she hadn’t yet seen coming to the forefront. Untamed, rugged and a bit rough. He trusted her to take what he gave and return it tenfold.
Her hands slammed backward, splaying on the polished brass of the elevator. All around them, the sights and sounds of their lovemaking were reflected. Golden, lascivious and inspiring.
Brielle looked into Luke’s eyes as she hovered on the edge of exploding. “I love you. Happy birthday.”
He drove inside her once more, holding deep while grinding his pelvis against hers in a circle. Being so close to him, inseparable, did the trick.
She lifted her face and bit the base of his neck.
Orgasm crashed over her a split second later, squeezing him as tight as she could within the heat of her pussy.
Luke’s attempt at silence broke when he roared her name. He jerked in her arms, shooting inside her as deep as possible. Warmth rushed into her, overflowing her with each pump from his balls. And still he came.
When finally they’d both been drained, he allowed her thighs to slide from around his waist. His cock slipped from her with a wet sound they both chuckled at. He began to rearrange their clothes and cleaned between her legs with his handkerchief, which he refolded and tucked in his pocket.
“We’d better go. Before someone really does pop in here.” He looked at her with a mixture of amazement and pride and adoration. He pressed the lobby button and restarted their descent. “I can’t believe you did that. Seriously. This is going to be the best birthday ever.”
He’d barely finished his promise when they were delivered to the lobby.
They stepped out together and crossed the pretty marble floor. “You mean it’s not already the best birthday you’ve ever had?”
His silence piqued her curiosity. What did he have up those devious sleeves?
Luke picked up his pace a bit as he passed Mrs. Allerton’s desk, as though she’d call them out for getting it on, which they clearly had, if the state of their hair and rumpled clothes had anything to say about it.
“Have a good night.” Brielle waved. Luke choked.
“So I can untape this piece of paper from my monitor now, right?” Mrs. Allerton giggled at Luke’s bewildered expression.
Brielle clapped her hands as he looked back and forth between them.
“Well played, Ms. Norris. Well played.” He scooped her into his arms, laughing. “You got me good.”
“As long as I have you, it will always be great.” She returned his lush kiss.
“In that case.” He reached into his pocket. “I don’t want to wait another second. I planned to give myself the best birthday present of all time tonight.”
Mrs. Allerton gasped, her hands flying to her chest when Luke went down on one knee, right there where also much of their life had begun.
“Brielle Kelly Norris, my Cookie, you are absolutely the sweetest thing in my life. I will always love you and cherish you and protect you. You’ve already kicked Kurt out of his best-friend throne and you rule my world. Will you please, pretty please, with brown sugar on top, be my wife?” He cracked open a velvet box, revealing a gorgeous ring, complete with a honking heart-shaped diamond and pretty pink stones haloing it.
A crowd began to gather as people caught on to Luke’s proposal. Brielle recognized many of them from her time in the building. They all smiled at her and Luke. Again, it struck her how he’d transformed her life. And how they might continue to build on what they’d started.
“Yes. A thousand times, yes.” She nearly barreled him over before he had a chance to place his ring on her finger. They tumbled to the ground together, light flashing from where their hands were linked.
He stole another kiss before whispering in her ear, “Better be careful. I know what’s not under that skirt.”
Brielle laughed so hard she cried. And when he kissed away her tears and set her on her feet once more, she knew this is what all that darkness had been leading up to. All the times she could have quit, this is what she’d hoped was waiting, but what she was afraid was just a myth.
Sometimes the good dreams did come true.
The crowd erupted into applause that trailed them from the building. They hadn’t made it ten feet past the revolving door, which could never scare her now, before he paused, drawing her up short.
“This is better.” He nibbled her earlobe. “Now we can skip straight to your engagement present.”
“I already have everything I want.” She beamed.
“Oh really? Then I’ll just make a quick call to tell Kurt and Becca that you’ve decided you don’t really care for that threesome after all. No being tied down while Kurt and I ravish you and Becca watches on. No testing out the invention my best friend made to celebrate the occasion. I mean, I know…it’s intense even for him.” Luke hauled his smartphone from his pocket.
“Back away from the dialer!” She stared at him. Could he really be willing to fulfill her greatest fantasies and then some? “Do it and your baked-goods days are over.”
“I love you too, Cookie. Let’s go home.”
Orange rays of sunset refracted off the glass buildings around them, casting rainbows in their path. Blinding light erupted from the rock on her finger. Brielle looked down at the spot where Luke’s hand intersected hers and knew.
He had the healing touch.
About the Author
Jayne Rylon is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She received the 2011 Romantic Times Reviewer Choice Award for Best Indie Erotic Romance. Her stories usually begin as a daydream in an endless business meeting. Writing acts as a creative counterpoint to her straightlaced corporate existence. She lives in Ohio with two cats and her husband, who both inspires her fantasies and supports her careers. When she can escape her office, she loves to travel the world, avoid speeding tickets in her beloved Sky and, of course, read.
Look for these titles by Jayne Rylon
Now Available:
Nice and Naughty
Where There’s Smoke
Play Doctor
Dream Machine
Men In Blue
Night Is Darkest
Razor’s Edge
Mistress’s Master
Powertools
Kate’s Crew
Morgan’s Surprise
Kayla’s Gifts
Devon’s Pair
Nailed to the Wall
Hammer It Home
Compass Brothers
(Written with Mari Carr)
Northern Exposure
Southern Comfort
Eastern Ambitions
Western Ties
Print Anthologies
Three’s Company
Love’s Compass
Powertools
Coming Soon:
Compass Girls
(Written with Mari Carr)
Winter’s Thaw
Hope Springs
Hot Rods
King Cobra
Mustang Sally
Super Nova
Men in Blue
Spread Your Wings
Print Collections
Love Under Construction
Two to Tango
When times get tough, the tough stage one scorching-hot intervention.
Hammer It Home
© 2012 Jayne Rylon
Powertools, Book 6
Morgan is happy that her best friend Kate is expecting the crew’s littlest member, but helping renovate a room for a nursery is more than she can bear. Baby furniture and pastel paint are a painful reminder that she and Joe can’t—and will never—conceive. There’s no hiding it from the rest of the close-knit crew, either.
True to their unique brand of love, the gang rallies to find a non-traditional solution to alleviate their friends’ suffering. Not with a cold, clinical vi
sit to a sperm donation clinic, but delivering it the old-fashioned way. With a healthy dose of searing passion.
But soon after Morgan’s scorching hot night with her husband’s four best friends, an accident threatens the life of one of those men. The challenges that lie ahead will test the crew’s powerful bond to the limit—and their long-standing promise to take care of each other through good, bad, and sexy times. Whatever it takes…
Warning: Not everything in life turns out as planned, but with love all odds are surmountable. Especially when those odds include five hot construction workers on your side. Contains m/m/f group ménage scenes.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Hammer It Home:
She expected Joe to take the fork to the right, which led to the private cabin where their friends lived and most of the crew’s interludes took place. Instead, he veered left. Toward the cute bungalows the crew had recently expanded on in response to the initial success of Kay’s venture.
Several of them hadn’t even opened to guests yet.
Morgan didn’t ask where they were going. She trusted Joe to take her where she needed to be. As long as he was by her side, it didn’t much matter where they ended up. Good thing her faith in him thrived. The truck slowed in the middle of nowhere until they rolled to a stop in the center of the rustic road.
When he removed a strip of black silk from his back pocket, she knew what he expected. Her lashes rested against her cheeks as she closed her eyes, leaning toward her husband.
“Sweet girl.” He fastened the fabric around her head tight enough that she couldn’t peek even if she’d tried to open her eyes, yet loose enough to be comfortable.
“For now.” The hint of naughty she added to her response had the desired effect.
Joe’s voice turned husky. “I like you spicy too.”
The anticipated kiss she craved never arrived. The truck started off down the road. She threw her hand out, searching for the handle on the door or the edge of the seat. Joe’s fingers landed high on her thigh. “I’ve got you.”
