by Ember Cole
I take him deeper, using my hands to caress the thick base as he thrusts in and out of my mouth.
Below me, Jackson’s pace increases, and then he’s coming, filling me up.
Tanner takes his chance and I’m under him, flat on my back before I can blink. He thrusts into me in smooth, hard strokes, his weight braced on his forearms. I wrap my legs around his hips.
“I love your mouth,” he says, bending to kiss me. “But I want to be inside you when I come this time.”
He feels so good, his long, thick cock hitting all the right places. When he’d taken me for the first time earlier, the joy in his eyes nearly melted me. I run my hands over his back, loving his soft skin, urging him deeper. “I want you, Tanner,” I whisper. “I’ve been waiting for you to fill me up.”
His eyes blaze with need. “Fuck yes,” he breathes, and then he comes hard, his groan low, almost silent, but rumbling through his chest and ending in a deep shiver as he unloads inside me.
Hands pull me up and back. Like last night, a pillow is slipped under my neck, my head hanging over the end. Reed takes up position between my legs, but it’s Vance lowering himself in front of my face that holds my attention.
He kisses me upside down, a small, almost sad smile on his lips. I touch his face, then slide my hands to the back of his head to bring him in for a deeper kiss.
Reed parts my legs, lifts my ass up onto his thighs like the first tiem, and slides all the way home in one smooth thrust. I gasp, breaking the kiss.
Vance strokes my hair away from my face, then kisses my eyelids and my forehead.
I blink up at him. “I want to taste you, Vance. You haven’t let me yet.”
“Whatever you want, it’s yours,” he says, and brings his cock to my lips. Just like when I took Jackson, the position allows Vance to slide all the way into my throat. I moan around his cock, wanting more, needing him deeper. I grab his ass and pull him hard against me, choking myself in the process, but his spicy-sweet flavor is everything. He groans and his mouth drops open, and he pulls free of my throat just long enough for me to suck in a breath. Then he’s there again, pressing deeper, taking and taking and taking until I’m blind with the pleasure of it.
Between my legs, Reed curses long and hard. He angles his hips, hitting me in a spot that makes me cry out around Vance’s cock. The two of them work my body like they own me, and it’s everything.
Someone starts to stroke my breasts, kneading them, shaping them to his warm hands. Reed’s pace increases. He thrusts harder, deeper, almost desperately. I can feel the emotions rolling off him, and tears well up in my eyes. I don’t want to leave this behind. I don’t want to leave these men behind.
“Amelie,” Reed says. His voice is husky, imbued with so much pain, so much pleasure. Vance pulls out of my mouth, and Reed curls over me. He’s pounding into me so hard, it’s moving us across the floor with each stroke. It’s exactly what I need. I claw at his back, feeling as desperate and needy as he does. At last he comes with a roar, brokenly calling out my name.
He hugs me close, then pushes away. I think I see him stalk out of the room and try to sit up, but then Vance settles between my legs. “Let him go,” he whispers, then slides into me, kissing me as he moves in and out. His face is tense and hard, but his eyes are soft. We both know this is probably the last time we’ll be together like this. He was my first, and now he’ll be the last of the brothers I share this with.
With a final kiss, he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me up with him, spinning me around and planting my ass on his lap. Memphis kisses my mouth, while Greyson and Tanner massage and lick my breasts. Jackson kisses my fingers and hand, pressing his lips to my palm. Jesse kisses the inside of my other arm.
Head to toe, I’m covered in Maddox boys. All but one of them, at least, and Reed’s absence breaks my heart. I cling to the feeling of nearly every inch of my body being kissed or licked or sucked or penetrated by one of them. All these hard, male bodies surrounding me, each man who means so much to me taking part in making me feel good, taking care of all my needs.
My pussy quivers. I feel Vance getting ready to come, too, thrusting faster as his brothers attend to all my other parts.
My head swims, my lungs straining to haul in enough air around Memphis’s kisses to keep me from blacking out. I have never felt so good. My body tingles with pleasure, every part of me full and wet.
I tense, feeling my climax come over me in a rush. I shudder at the pleasure of it all. The sight, the smell, the feeling of so many hands on my body and of Vance inside it.
Vance comes, too, emptying inside me, rocking against me until he’s completely drained.
My heart beats furiously in my chest. How am I ever going to be able to walk away from this? From these men who make me feel so satisfied? So safe. So…loved.
Exhaustion, physical and emotional, drags at me. I don’t want to face leaving these men. If only I could hang on to this feeling. I know I’ll never find anything like this again, even if I wander the world in search of it. These seven men are everything I need. Everything I’ll ever want.
Someone picks me up, gathering me into his strong arms. My eyes flutter open for a second.
Vance.
I smile happily and close my eyes, snuggling into his chest.
“I wish I could keep you,” I whisper as sleep washes over me. “All of you.”
19
VANCE
I could hold Amelie in my arms all night, but I can’t get her sleepy words out of my mind.
I wish I could keep all of you.
Jesse heard them, too. And so did Memphis.
As I stared into her peaceful, relaxed face, feeling her heart beat against my own, I had a thought. A crazy thought. But one that might just work if we all agree.
And there’s the problem. All seven of us rarely agree on anything.
“Meet me on the porch,” I tell Jesse and Memphis quietly, not wanting to wake Amelie. “Ten minutes. Get the others.”
I carry her up the stairs, and after a quick stop in the bathroom to clean her up a little, I tuck her into my bed. She stirs but doesn’t fully awaken, and within seconds she’s sleeping hard. We’ve worn the poor girl out.
My brothers are gathered outside, waiting, when I come back downstairs. They all look wrecked. This is hitting them as hard as it is me.
A small thrill of hope flutters in my chest. Maybe this will work. “I want to keep Amelie,” I say, diving right in. “I think we all do.”
“Absolutely,” Reed says. There’s a fierceness in his voice. A note of possession. That could be a problem.
“I want to keep her, too,” Jackson says.
I turn to him. “What about your job?”
He shrugs. “I could stay here. Maybe find something in Dallas. Be here weekends, at least.” His meaning is clear. He’ll stay if Amelie stays.
I nod and turn to Tanner.
“Yes,” he says. “We’re not going to find another woman like her.”
“You know we’re in,” Memphis says, gesturing between himself and Greyson. “We want to keep her, too.”
“How would that even work?’ Jackson asks. “Alternate days? That’s even if this is what she wants.”
Maybe it was just the afterglow that sparked her earlier words, but I don’t think so. I think she wants to stay here, with us. All of us. Permanently. At least I hope she does.
“We’d have to share,” I say, looking at Reed. “No jealously, no getting pissed off if she chooses to spend time with one of us over another, and no stalking out when you can’t handle the intensity,” I say, pointedly. “Can you handle that, Reed?”
Reed is silent for a moment, six pairs of eyes trained on him. This won’t work if he can’t agree.
“Yes,” he finally says. “Yes, I think so.”
“You have to be sure,” Jesse says. “Absolutely sure.”
“I want her,” Reed says. “And to be honest, if this were another woman w
e were talking about, I’m not sure I could handle it. I’ve never shared a woman before her.” He shoves a hand through his hair. “But this is Amelie. And she wants all of us. So that’s what I want her to have.”
I nod, satisfied that Reed is telling the truth. He’s changed in the past couple of days. He’s less angry, less likely to fly off the handle. If I’d come at him like this three days ago, punches would be flying right now.
Amelie has been a calming force, bringing some peace to Reed’s troubled mind. If Reed can share her, I can, too.
“We’d need some ground rules,” Jesse says. “First and foremost, everything is her choice—who she wants to spend time with and when.”
Five heads nod.
“Makes sense,” Jackson says.
“No kidnapping,” Tanner says, his eyes sliding toward the twins. “If you know one of us had standing plans with her, you can’t cheat.”
“I would never,” Memphis says, the picture of innocence. Some of us groan.
“I’ll keep him honest,” Greyson assures us.
There are more groans. We are not assured.
“What about children?” I ask, and everyone falls silent.
“Children,” Jesse repeats like he’s never heard the word.
“Yes, children. We haven’t been using protection.” Even if she is, she won’t be forever. If she stays, we’re going to start a family. All of us.
Instantly, the memory of Amelie and me making love on the porch comes to mind. The same little thrill I got when thinking of her gently rounded belly swollen with my child makes me smile. But of course, the child wouldn’t be mine, but all of ours. I’m okay with that, I realize.
“Kids would be awesome!” Memphis says. Of course, he’s practically a child himself.
“We could teach him or her to play ball,” Greyson says, also clearly excited about the idea. “And how to ride horses. And how to wrangle the calves in the spring!”
But some of my brothers grasp the deeper repercussions. Being the father of Amelie’s child or children, assuming she wants to have them at all, would put that man into a different status with her. It would form a bond with one of us the others couldn’t share. And that would upset the delicate balance this type of relationship would require.
Tanner rubs his chin. “Well, we look so much alike, I’m not sure we’d ever really know for sure who was the father unless there was a paternity test.”
“If he’s well hung, I’ll know he’s mine,” Memphis says.
“What if it’s a girl, dummy?” Greyson asks.
“Okay, no paternity tests. Ever,” Jesse says. “It’s the only way.”
“Whatever children happen belong to all of us,” I say. “If you can’t handle that, you need to walk away right now.”
We are all silent, turning things over in our minds.
No one leaves. We’re all in agreement.
“The big question is Amelie,” Jackson says. “Jesse told us what she said, but the things you say in the aftermath of sex and things you think under sane and logical conditions can be two different things.”
Reed scowls, looking like his old self. His pre-Amelie self. “What if she doesn’t want this kind of life?”
“We’re a lot to handle,” Jesse says. “Maybe she wants a more traditional life. A husband. A house that only contains a few people instead of the dozen or more that could end up living here.”
There would also be stigma we’d have to bear if others found out about our relationship. And not just us. What about the children?
Her father will be an issue. Of that, I’m sure. But I’ll handle him. I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again, though I’m not stupid enough to think this will be easy. Amelie is his only daughter. His prized possession. That he even looks at her that way makes me want to punch something—preferably his face—but I keep my expression neutral so my brothers don’t know the direction my thoughts have taken. I know I’ll do whatever it takes to keep us all together, just like I always have and always will.
Whatever it takes.
“It’s not the most mainstream arrangement,” Tanner is saying, “but I think we have to try. And we can figure out all the other stuff along the way.”
“She’s an only child,” Reed says. “We might be too much for her.”
But I know that won’t be a problem. “She fits with us,” I say. “I know you see it, too. I think she’s been lonely for a very long time. But we could set up one of the cabins for her private retreat, if she wants it. Or maybe make her bedroom suite off-limits to anyone but her.”
“Okay,” Jesse says, nodding. “So, we’re doing this. We’re going to ask her to stay and be ours. All of ours. First thing in the morning.”
“We’ll make her breakfast in bed,” Greyson volunteers. “You can’t go wrong with food.”
Memphis nods. “Feeding her is a solid plan. Butter her up a little. Or would that be syrup her up a little?” There’s a wicked gleam in his eye.
A couple of the guys moan as if Memphis has made a joke, and I get the feeling I’m missing something.
“No syrup,” Tanner says. “Just breakfast.”
“Fine,” Memphis says with a long-suffering sigh.
“Okay,” I say. “Everybody get some sleep and try not to act like assholes when we make our proposal in the morning.”
Jesse nods. “Best behavior, everyone.” He glares at Memphis and Greyson.
I head into the house, my mind reeling. This will work. It has to. I’m not sure I can bear to see Amelie walk away. She belongs with us. She’s filled the gaping emptiness that was left when our parents died, and made our family whole again.
We have to make this happen.
20
AMELIE
I wake up in an unfamiliar bed, but with one look around at the gray-and-black color scheme, the heavy antique furniture, and blank walls, I realize this is Vance’s bedroom. The only thing missing is the man himself.
I roll over, wincing. My body is sore, but sated. Last night was amazing. I have never felt so cared for, so loved.
Wait, loved?
I flop onto my back and stare at the early-morning light on the ceiling.
Yes, I do feel loved. I expected this to be a physical thing, but it’s turned into so much more. It’s in the way they take care of me, tend to my needs. It’s the tender looks, the way each of them listens when I talk. I don’t want to leave this behind.
But there’s no good choice. Staying here puts the brothers and their futures in danger. That’s something I can’t ask them to do.
I crawl out of bed, stretch, then slip on one of Vance’s T-shirts. I have to start making plans today. I need to find someone who can take me to Dallas so I can call my cousin. I need to figure out how to get to my money. Buy a plane ticket. Do…something with my car—I have no idea what. Dragging this out is only going to make it harder to leave.
I creep down the hall quietly. It’s still really early, and if the guys are still asleep, I don’t want to wake them. I’ll just grab a cup of coffee and sit on the porch, enjoying one last sunrise on the ranch before I leave it behind forever.
But as I near the bottom of the stairs, I hear voices from the kitchen. Whispered voices. I pause to listen.
“Dammit, Memphis. Get the bacon! It’s going to burn.”
“Well, what about those pancakes? They look like horse pucks.”
“Shut up.”
I smile. The twins will argue about anything.
“Hey. Knock it off,” I hear Reed say in a low voice. “Get this shit on the tray. It’s almost time.”
Then I hear Jesse, Tanner, and Jackson bickering about where to put everything on the tray.
Wait. The boys are planning breakfast in bed for me? My heart swells. How can I leave such sweet men? But I have to. For their sakes.
“What if she doesn’t want to stay with us?” Jackson asks, and all the activity stops.
“Shut up,” someone says. “She
has to stay.”
I hold my breath so I can hear every word.
“She’s ours, if she’ll have us,” Vance says. “Part of this family. If her father comes after her, we stand together, just like we always have. She’s one of us now.”
“If she says yes to our proposal,” Jesse points out.
“She will,” Reed says, but I can hear the fear in his voice.
“How much longer on the bacon?” Vance asks. “We need to get this done and talk to her before everything gets cold.”
I creep back up the stairs, my heart beating furiously.
They want me to stay. And they are willing to put themselves at risk for that to happen. In fact, they aren’t just willing, they’re determined.
Part of the family.
I don’t think there are four words that have made me happier in my life.
The home I grew up in was cold and lonely. It was too quiet, too neat. I definitely couldn’t imagine anyone smearing maple syrup all over the kitchen and laughing about it. The Maddox brothers are loud and messy. They fight hard, and work hard, and love hard. These men aren’t my blood family, but they’ve become the family of my heart.
I’m young, but I have some options and some money of my own. I could go to college. I could go live with my cousin until I figure things out. I could travel if I want to.
But what I really want, what I’ve always wanted, is right here.
Daddy will not be pleased. He might get over my not marrying the man of his choice, but I’m not sure he’ll ever accept me living with seven men. Just the thought of what he might do makes me a little afraid. But then I remember how much the brothers care for me. And how much I care for each and every one of them.
We’re a team. A family.
All eight of us.
I’m staying.
I wipe a tear away as I tiptoe back up the stairs to my room. Now that the decision is made, I feel calm. This is right. I’ll accept their offer.
But first, I want to celebrate by having a little fun.
I find a scrap of paper and smile as I write. I leave the note on my dresser, shrug out of Vance’s T-shirt, and sneak out the back door.
