by Vanessa Vale
Jackson gave her that easy smile. “We’re not trying to push you, sweetheart. We’re just saying that the three of us might as well enjoy our time together while you’re in town, don’t you think?”
She shifted on the seat, clearly uneasy. Or maybe just turned on by the thought of what time together with the two of us would entail. Oh hell, my cock pressed against my jeans painfully at the thought of her getting wet for us. I remembered the slick heat of her on my fingers, the taste of it on my tongue. The feel of it coating my cock. Fuck, I wanted her between us again, and soon.
Her smile was coy and sexy as sin when she looked up at me from beneath her lashes. All of her earlier wariness was gone. “Spending time together sounds nice.”
Meaning: fucking the two of you while I’m here for my sister’s wedding sounds spectacular.
I let out a short laugh at the naughty way she drawled the word nice. Placing my hand on her other leg so we were both touching her, I let my fingers trace a path up her thigh. “There’s nothing nice about it, baby doll. And I think you like it that way.”
She laughed too and Jackson shot me a triumphant grin as she squirmed between us. We may not have won the war for her heart, but this particular battle was a success. She never said when she was leaving town, but it wasn’t going to be long after her sister’s wedding based on what we saw of her parents just a minute ago and the way she’d reacted. While we’d have more time to show her just how great the three of us could be, it wasn’t much.
She tilted her head toward her house.
“I’d invite you guys inside, but…I really don’t want to. I’m not being a bitch, but my parents...” She left the sentence hanging and shrugged. The sadness in her expression made my heart twist painfully in my chest.
“No worries,” Jackson said, his tone casual and carefree, putting her at ease. “We don’t have to meet them now, especially since your mom had a knife.”
She laughed at that, wiped a hand over her face as if trying to clear away the frustration she felt toward her family. We’d overheard the fighting going on—their voices had come through the front door loud and clear. The way they stood all defensive and angry had been hostile instead of friendly, especially with Mrs. Lane holding the knife. I’d smelled cooking and knew she was busy in the kitchen, but still. Who went to answer the door like that? That wasn’t a happy household. Jackson’s momma had been right.
“You should come with us,” he suggested. When she frowned, he added, “To my parents’ holiday party.”
Half the town went to the Wray party. At least it felt like it to me. While we wanted to take her back to our house downtown and get to know her again, while naked, this might be better, especially now that we had seen her parents in action. Getting her in front of Jackson’s momma and fathers could only work in our favor. If there was any Bridgewater family that could persuade her to give us a shot, to see what a real relationship could be like, it was Jackson’s.
Avery’s eyes widened in surprise. “A party? With your parents? Oh, I don’t know…”
“Why not?” I asked. I glanced out the window at her house with a meaningful look. Without any holiday decorations like the neighbors, the place looked depressing. “It’s either come with us or head back in there.”
She groaned, her head falling back against the seat. Her coat opened, giving me a luscious view of her long neck and ample cleavage. Cleavage I remembered licking and nibbling. Shit, she was even more beautiful than I remembered.
Turning her head to face me, I was struck dumb by the sight of those big green eyes looking up at me, those pink lips pouting naturally like they were made to be kissed. Shit, I couldn’t wait to get her back into our bed. Screw the party.
Her voice was rueful. “You heard them fighting, didn’t you?”
I shrugged, there was no point in trying to deny it.
She groaned again. “I’m sorry you heard that. I love my parents, but…they’re kind of the worst.”
Jackson laughed at the self-deprecating humor that softened her words. “I’m sure they’re not that bad.”
I kept my mouth shut. Jackson might be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I was ready to throttle the next person who hurt Avery, whether it was a family member or not. And I could tell just by looking at her that her parents hurt her. Not physically, but she was wounded, deep down. Scarred even.
Whether it was in response to Jackson’s comment or the look she saw in my eyes, she hurried on to explain. “They’re not that bad, not really. They love me and my sister, we’ve always known that. It just seems like sometimes they hate each other more.”
I saw Jackson grimace but she was staring down at her hands once again, clearly lost in thought. I knew it was just as hard for Jackson to imagine that sort of upbringing as it was for me. We’d both been blessed with amazing parents and it was time Avery experienced the same sort of unconditional love. If she couldn’t find that with her family, then she would find it with us and with the Wray clan. There wasn’t much of a family left on my side, but Jackson’s…well, they would welcome our girl with open arms. They’d been waiting for us to find The One for years now.
“Come to the party with us,” I said. “You’ll have fun, I promise.”
She looked down at herself. “I can’t possibly go to a party, not looking like this.”
“You look beautiful,” I said automatically. I hadn’t even noticed what she was wearing, in all honesty, just that she looked hot in her tight black pants and V-neck shirt I could see beneath her jacket.
She let out a cute little snort of amusement. “Right.”
“He’s not lying,” Jackson said. “You look amazing.”
“I’m wearing yoga pants.” Her look said she thought we were crazy. “I have no makeup on and my hair is sticking out every which way.”
“My parents won’t care what you’re wearing,” Jackson said. What he didn’t say was that we didn’t mind looking at her long legs and perfect ass in those snug pants. “It’s a casual get together, nothing fancy. And they would love to meet you.”
She sighed. We almost had her. Leaning over, I lowered my voice and spoke softly in her ear. “If you’re a good girl and go to the party with us, I promise you’ll get a reward later.”
I felt her shiver of anticipation as she laughed softly at the teasing words.
“Promises, promises,” she murmured. Then turning to Jackson, she gave in with a sigh. “Okay, Romeo, take me home to meet your family. And I definitely want that reward.”
I put the truck in gear as I groaned. A holiday party with a hard-on. It wasn’t going to be easy.
6
AVERY
* * *
I felt ridiculous. No, that wasn’t quite right. I felt fat and happy after eating my weight in brownies, but I definitely looked ridiculous.
Jackson hadn’t been lying when he’d said that the party wasn’t fancy—but it definitely wasn’t the small, casual get-together he’d said it would be, either. Standing off to the side and watching as a small group sang carols around the piano in the Wrays’ great room, I couldn’t believe I’d let Jackson and Dash talk me into this.
Jackson’s family had welcomed me with open arms. Literally. I’d never been hugged so much in my life. And no one seemed to notice that I was wearing yoga pants and a simple knit shirt. Or, if they did, they were too polite to comment on it. Not that Montana was fancy. Dressing up meant putting on a clean pair of jeans, but still. I did have some standards. Like tamed hair and perhaps some mascara.
Jackson’s mom led the tree decorating on the other side of the room and I watched from my comfortable spot by the dining room table, which was laden with food. Food I’d sampled way too much.
“We can’t hide over here all night, you know,” Jackson teased, coming up to my side. He’d been dragged off by his father to get more ice from the garage freezer.
“Why not?” Dash asked, taking a handful of party mix and shoving it i
n his mouth. He held a bottle of beer in his other hand. “Avery found the best spot in the house, right next to the food.”
Besides offering a helping hand to Jackson’s parents, these guys hadn’t left my side from the moment we’d walked in. They’d been attentive and polite, introducing me to everyone who passed our way and making sure I had a full glass of eggnog in hand at all times. Maybe I just didn’t date enough, or maybe I’d just never dated the right kind of guys, but this kind of treatment was a novel experience for me. They were treating me like I was royalty, or something. Like I was precious and irreplaceable.
Like I was the center of their world. At least at the party.
Their behavior was odd, but…nice. A girl could get used to this kind of treatment. Not me, of course. I’d promised myself long ago that I wouldn’t fall into the same kind of trap that my parents had—stuck and miserable, which described them perfectly. I’d made sure I escaped their fate when I headed off to college and never looked back. Yet, here I was.
Still, these guys would make some girl very happy one day. My mind flashed back to the way they’d worshipped my body the other night until I was more satisfied than I’d ever imagined possible. Dash sprawled on the bed, me straddling his hips and riding him, his cock so deep, Jackson kneeling beside me and murmuring how he was going to someday fuck my ass just as he was doing with his finger.
I clenched my pussy at the very naughty vision.
Oh yeah, they’d make some woman very happy.
A stirring of something unpleasant in my belly had me gripping my cup of eggnog even tighter. Was that…jealousy? Yup. Ugly and green. I wanted to claw the eyes out of any woman who wanted to get between these two. I felt very possessive of their big cocks. And the rest of them.
I stifled a groan as I took a sip of the sweet drink. How ridiculous to be so stupid and petty over an unknown woman for a life and relationship I didn’t even want. For two cocks I’d intentionally walked away from. It must have been a side effect of being in this cozy home with its warm people and festive atmosphere. That was the only explanation for my sudden longing for something I’d never even known. It wasn’t as if my parents decorated for the holidays. No, they hadn’t put a tree up since the time I was eight and my dad went and bought the wrong type from the lot. My mother had wanted a blue spruce and he’d brought home a pine, three feet taller than expected.
While my parents were thrilled to have Jackie’s wedding over the holidays—they didn’t have to pay for decorations at the church or reception hall since they were already decked out for the season—that was as far as their good cheer went.
I couldn’t miss one of Jackson’s dads sneak over to his mom and wrap his arms around her from behind. Mrs. Wray, with her silver hair, black pants and festive sweater, looked like a teenager as she giggled and blushed when he tugged her toward the entrance to the dining room where a mistletoe hung.
Dash and I laughed as Jackson groaned beside us. “So embarrassing,” he called out good-naturedly as his parents kissed and cuddled right in front of us and the rest of the party.
“You just wait until you find your true love,” a familiar voice called out from our left. “You’ll be embarrassing kids of your own one day, mark my words.”
I straightened at the sound of my aunt’s voice and leaned forward to look around Dash who blocked my view. Sure enough, my aunt with her bobbing brown curls speckled with gray streaks was heading my way, her familiar broad grin lighting up her face.
“Aunt Louise!”
Before I could say anything more she’d pulled me into an embrace that knocked the air out of my lungs. Dash grabbed the cup of eggnog from my hand before I could spill any.
“What a sight for sore eyes,” she sang, rocking me back and forth like I was still a little girl and not a grown woman who towered over her by several inches. “What are you doing here?”
Before I could answer, her shrewd gaze moved from me and to the guys.
“Um…Jackson and Dash invited me.” I had no desire to explain just how I’d reconnected with them at an airport hotel so I changed the topic instead. “I can’t believe you’re here. I was going to call you tomorrow to see if you wanted to meet for lunch.”
Aunt Louise’s eyes were filled with mischievous laughter but she didn’t try to embarrass me in front of Jackson and Dash, which I appreciated. “I never miss a Wray holiday party. Jackson’s mom, Beverly, is my best friend. Always has been and always will be.”
“I didn’t know that,” I said lamely. “But I’m glad to see you here.” I took in her green sweater with Rudolph on the front, the red nose a big pom pom by her right shoulder. “That’s quite the look.”
Her smile grew as she glanced down at herself. “Ugliest sweater wins a pedicure.”
I noticed a number of women Aunt Louise’s age in ugly Christmas sweaters. Now I knew there was a reason.
“Mine’s pretty ugly, but I think Sally’s got it in the bag,” she grumbled.
I didn’t know who Sally was, but if her sweater was worse than my aunt’s it had to be pretty bad.
“I’m glad to see you too, sweetie,” she added. “And I’d love to do lunch with you. We absolutely need to catch up before the vultures descend on you at Jackie’s wedding.”
I laughed at the image. My family did rather resemble vultures whenever I was around. They tended to circle the black sheep and pick at me about my life choices until I was raw and exhausted.
Her gaze once more flickered to Jackson and Dash as Mrs. Wray and two other older women joined our little group.
“Are you bringing a date to your sister’s wedding?” my aunt asked with a forced casualness that fooled no one.
All four of the older women not only shared the wearing of ugly holiday sweaters, but the same mischievous grin.
“Or dates?” Mrs. Wray asked, nudging Aunt Louise in the ribs in a not-so-subtle fashion.
Dash sighed loudly next to me as Jackson made the introductions. “Avery, you’ve met my mother, Beverly, and these are her friends, Sally and Violet.”
“Nice to meet you,” I murmured with a nod, but they didn’t seem to care about introductions. All four of them were staring at me with unabashed curiosity.
“Ladies, this is my niece,” Aunt Louise said. “My sister’s oldest daughter. I’ve told you about her.”
“Oh yes, the travel writer!” Violet, the woman with the chic gray bob, lit up at that. “I can’t wait to hear all about your adventures, dear. Your job sounds fascinating. And you’re so tan!”
Dash subtly squeezed my waist and I thought of the moment they’d discovered my tan lines.
I could feel a blush starting even though I never blushed. I took a sip of eggnog to hopefully hide it, but the women were shrewd.
“Yes, I was in Mexico.”
“How lovely,” Mrs. Wray said. “And impressive. I saw the article you wrote on the receding glaciers in Alaska. Fascinating. Makes me want to plan a trip to see them before they’re gone.”
This woman knew all about me and my job…that must have meant my aunt talked about me. Bragged about me, even.
“Aunt Louise showed you?” I glanced at my aunt.
She shook her head. “Sweetie, I tell the girls all about you, but it was someone else.”
“It was Jackson. He pulled it up and shared it with me earlier,” Mrs. Wray said.
I couldn’t help but glance at Jackson. He’d talked about me with his mother? Showed her one of my articles? I had no idea what to say to that, so I took another sip of my eggnog. The look he gave me in return held so much promise.
The other older woman, Sally, swatted her friend’s arm. Her sweater was covered in Christmas trees and had blinking lights on it. It was awful and I had to assume there was a battery pack on it somewhere. She was definitely getting the pedicure prize. “Quiet, Bev, let the girl answer the question.” Her gaze fixed on me with alarming intensity, but I frowned because I couldn’t remember what the question was. “A
re you bringing dates to your sister’s wedding?”
Before I could respond, Mrs. Wray chimed in as she swatted Sally right back. “I happen to know Jackson and Dash are free that night.”
The other women chuckled as Jackson interrupted with exaggerated patience. “You don’t even know what night the wedding is, Mom. But nice try.”
My cheeks were getting hot. Oh hell, now everyone would think we were in some sort of relationship. Word spread quickly in this town, and if my mother ever got wind of this, I’d never hear the end of it. This would give her even more ammunition to keep hounding me to move back.
“We’re just friends,” I said quickly. Too quickly. It probably sounded rude.
Aunt Louise’s gaze moved down to my waist where Dash’s hand rested very possessively, laughter clear in her voice. “Of course, dear.”
Then Violet asked the dreaded question. “Are you back for good then?”
God no! I swallowed down my instant response. I looked to Aunt Louise, half expecting her to chime in on my behalf. She knew better than anyone why I hadn’t come back to live, but she gave me the same inquisitive look, her brows raised. No help there.
“She’s just here for the wedding,” Jackson said. I had a funny feeling he and Dash knew exactly how much I hated that question and had taken pity on me.
“That’s too bad,” Aunt Louise replied. She shook her head as if truly sorry to hear I wouldn’t be moving back.
I gave a short, humorless laugh. “Careful, Aunt Louise, you’re starting to sound like my mom.”
She raised one brow at that, and though there was a hint of laughter in her tone, her eyes were filled with compassion. “Oh, don’t even say that.” Leaning in, she squeezed my arm. “I know it’s not easy for you at home, but you can always come stay with me.”
I opened my mouth to give a polite refusal, but found myself too choked up by the kind offer. Aunt Louise had always been my favorite relative, but offering me a home was going above and beyond.
