by Lexie Davis
“I didn’t choose her over you, Brianna.”
“Whatever.” She flipped off the kitchen light and headed down the hall to their bedroom.
Frustrated, Kaden went the opposite way to their daughter’s room, seeing her standing in her crib, sucking her thumb. “Da-dy.”
“Yeah, sweetheart. I’m here.” He walked to the crib and picked up the baby, cradling her to him. “I’ve missed you so much.”
She laid her head against him, seeming content to in her father’s arms. He sat down in the rocker and glided back and forth as he watched her fall back to sleep. Brianna had told him she picked up two new words, though she still didn’t say momma. She stuck with daddy, which he supposed drove Brianna insane.
He leaned back in the rocker, trying to figure out what to do next. She was right about the whole trust thing. He never gave her a reason to trust him, yet he automatically assumed she did. Whoever thought being married made life easier was a damn fool. He was a damn fool.
After rocking Shiloh back to sleep, he placed her in her crib again and covered her with a blanket.
“She’s missed you, you know.” Brianna leaned against the doorway in her lavender nightie. “She kept staring at the door waiting for you to come home.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve missed her too.” He rubbed her back, leaning over the crib to watch her sleep.
“Kaden, I don’t know what to do.” Leaning against the doorframe, she crossed her arms over her chest. “How do we fix this?”
He kissed Shiloh one more time and turned around to face her. Pushing her out of the room and down the hall away from Shiloh, he directed her toward their bedroom.
“You’ve got to trust me, Brianna.” Once inside their room, he closed the door, ushered her to the bed, and began stripping. “I’m going to be around people you don’t like, women you hate, and you can’t blow up at me about every single case. Yes, I should have told you she was staying at the apartment, and I should have called. But what’s done is done. I didn’t call, and I’m sorry I made you worry about me.” Clad in his boxers, he kneeled in front of her. “I swear to you nothing happened. I know how it looks, and I know how you feel because I felt it too. I’ve been the one cheated on, and I would never put you through that.”
“I’m tired. I just want to go to bed.”
“Brianna.” He pulled her hands to his lips.
“Just get some sleep. We’ll talk about it more in the morning.”
She crawled toward her pillows, sliding her legs underneath the covers. She tucked the edges around her waist and then stared at him. He figured that was his cue to go, so he turned.
“Kaden, get in the bed.” She folded down his side and patted the empty space next to her.
“I thought you wanted me in the spare?” He crawled over her to his side of the bed.
“I was angry. I want you here, where you belong.” She kissed his cheek. “Tell me about court in the morning, okay.”
Okay, he thought as she rolled to turn out the light. Somehow they ended up in the middle of the bed, with his arm over her hip and hers over his. She rested her head against his chest as he tucked her into his body. Somehow, he’d find a way to make it better.
Chapter Eleven
Brianna knew the moment Kaden walked in the kitchen those same old feelings would flood her good judgment and senses. He wore only his boxers, which wasn’t such a surprise. His hair was a mess and sleep filled his eyes. Sexy didn’t even begin to describe him.
She poured a glass of water and handed him two tablets. He gratefully accepted both, downed the pills, and drank the water before laying his head against the cool counter.
“Where’s Shiloh?” he mumbled.
“Still sleeping. How’s your hangover?”
“Not good.” Gripping his glass with both hands, he raised his head.
“I’ve been thinking. Are you well enough to hear my thoughts?”
She smiled at him, and he nodded. “If we want to keep this marriage, we’re both going to have to work our asses off to fix the already screwed-up parts. Starting with how we got married. I don’t want an arrangement. I want a wedding complete with all our family, guaranteed to be a day of fun and celebration.”
“Fine with me.” He stood, walked around the bar. He grabbed three ice cubes to add to his water, and put the glass to his forehead.
“That’s not all. I want you to give up the alcohol.” She waited for his reaction, for his protests, and got neither. He closed his eyes, and she figured him to be asleep, but he finally opened them, and she continued. “I also want to quit my job to be with Shiloh. They have this new program at the Y, a mommy-and-me program around ten, and it last four hours, three days a week. They offer you lunch and a fun-filled day with your kid. I miss being with her and doing simple stuff like that. I figure once she’s in school, I’ll go back to working somewhere, but I want to be at home with her for the first four years.”
He sat the glass down and pushed his palms into his eyes. “I told you that you could do that before we got married.”
Brianna leaned against the counter, chilled in her skimpy nightie. “Yes, I know but I want to do it now. It’s not that I didn’t want to then, it’s more that I couldn’t do it. I want us to make a commitment to each other in front of everybody that we’ll be faithful and devoted to each other. That we love each other more than anything in the world. I do love you, Kaden. I believe you love me too, but I’m scared that once that year is up, you’ll just take off like you did when I was pregnant and leave me high and dry.”
“Bree,” he reached for her hands.
“No, I know better now. I talked to some people and thought through it on my own. I want to make it work with you. I don’t want to fight, or to bicker, or to get jealous every time I see you with another woman.” She huffed a breath. “Bethany called. She told me virtually the same story you told me with an added twist. She’s moving to her parents’ cabin and told me that I should take care of you. She said you told her that you loved me. That, in the four years of your relationship with her, she never once saw the fire that lit up your eyes when you talked about her the way it did when you talked about me.”
He pulled her around the bar and situated her between his legs. He kissed her cheek before she wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him.
“I believe you and trust you, Kaden.” She pulled back to kiss him. “Just please do not house any women in your apartment without telling me first.”
He smiled. “Agreed. I have a request of my own though.”
“What?”
“One night a week is spent just for us.” He kissed her chest , tightening his hold on her. “Just for us to do stuff together, whatever it may be. No kids, no parents, no friends—just us alone doing whatever the hell we want.”
“That sounds great.” She kissed the top of his head giggling when nuzzled her cleavage.
“You smell good.” His tongue darted into the valley between her breasts. “And taste even better.”
“Behave.” He didn’t listen, but instead continued doing what he was doing.
“Your nipples are hard.” His hot breath fanned across her lace-covered breasts.
“Kaden, stop. I want to talk to you.”
“Talk fast.” His tongue dipped beneath the lace to lick the sensitive tip of her breast.
“Kaden.” She groaned, making him huff a breath and raise his eyes to hers.
“What happened in court?”
She knew virtually nothing about the case and only knew what he’d told her several nights ago when he first accepted it. With the new asshole for a judge, she didn’t expect the case to go over well, but knew her husband would work his ass off to try and win it.
He licked his lips, linking his fingers at the small of her back. “They shipped the grandmother back to Cuba even though her visa hadn’t expired. I put in a motion to bring the grandmother back, but it was denied. The case was dismissed.”
S
he ran her fingers through his wild hair. “It wasn’t your fault. Maybe the grandmother can get another visa or something and come back to try to get the little girl again.”
“Yeah.”
“Kaden, there was nothing you could do about it. The grandmother was illegal, the granddaughter was a citizen. Baby, I don’t know much about law but the government pretty much made their mind up about that.”
He rested his chin on her cleavage. “The little girl attacked Judge Parker.”
“Oh, no. He didn’t hold her in contempt, did he?”
Shaking his head, Kaden chuckled. “You were right about him. He told the social workers to get the whiny child out of his courtroom. Then she ran past everyone and started pounding her fists into his legs saying, ‘I hate you, you’re just like them.’”
Brianna knew he was having trouble dealing with the loss of the case. As far as she knew, Kaden had never lost a case before, and dammit if this had to be his first one. He was truly a great guy, both inside the courtroom and at home with his family. One of the many reasons she loved him.
Shiloh’s wails broke the silence as Brianna and Kaden’s eyes connected. She rolled her eyes and stepped the side. “She’ll want to see her ‘da-dy,’ not me.”
He grinned. “She loves her mommy too.”
He stood, pecking the top of her head before heading for the hall to get his daughter. Shortly after he left, he returned with their sweet little girl tucked into his side. She wrapped her arm around his neck, sucking on her thumb as she watched Brianna closely.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Brianna said rubbing her back. “Are you hungry?”
“Ball,” Shiloh replied gaining a chuckle from Kaden.
“You’re just like your daddy, you know? Play, play, play, play, play.” Brianna chuckled, kissed her daughter’s cheek, and went to get breakfast started.
“Da-dy. Ball.” Shiloh repeated before turning her body in his arms.
“You know, why don’t you and Mommy play with the ball, and let Daddy fix breakfast?” Kaden glanced over at Brianna who stopped and stared at him. “Mommy has one hell of an arm.”
“Hell,” Shiloh repeated making Brianna’s eyes widen.
“No. No. That’s a bad word.” Kaden grinned even as he tried correcting his daughter. “Mommy will spank both you and me if you say that one.”
He handed her over to Brianna, kissing his wife as he did. “You are such a sucker.”
“What?” he asked as he went to the fridge, pulling eggs, bacon, and sausage out, then went to the necessary cabinets to gain the kitchen utensils to cook them.
She situated Shiloh before her grabbing the ball and rolling it to her, while keeping in Kaden’s sight. “Our child has you wrapped around her small little fingers.
He grinned, as he turned on the stove and began to cook. “So does her mommy.”
* * * *
Later that day, Judge Parker called, announcing his acceptance of the motion for getting the grandmother back in the country. The trial was set for later in the summer after everything from their wedding died down.
“Hey,” Kaden said, coming up behind Brianna while she poured laundry detergent in the washing machine. Shiloh was down for her afternoon nap, and Kaden would have loved nothing more than to spend this free time with his wife.
“Hey.” She mixed the powder in the laundry and stirred it around until suds filled the washer, then grabbed the load of towels she was doing and stuffed them inside.
He watched the precision and determination she had as she stuffed them in there being careful not to over fill the capacity of the washer. The longer he stood there the hotter he got. Brianna was a sexy woman dressed in jeans that had seen better days, sporting holes in the knees and his shirt that was black and silver with the Chinese symbol on the front—he knew his libido would shoot through the roof.
“You’re hot, you know that?” he stayed in the doorway one hand propped up on the doorframe. “You’re making me hot just watching you.”
“You say I make you hot by just breathing.” She giggled a soft feminine sound that shot straight to his groin. “Get control of your libido, stud.”
“Why?” He watched as she pushed the top down and turned. She leaned back against the washer, then hoisted herself upon it.
“Because it’s all you think about.” She smiled swinging her legs off the side.
Kaden stepped closer to her, taking long strides until he stood between her legs. She spread them wider to accommodate him. He slid his hands up her thighs until they rested on each side of her butt.
“You’re all I think about.” He leaned forward, kissing her deeply, as if they’d never kissed before.
Her lips were soft and coated in her favorite gloss, a strawberry flavor that went straight to his brain worse than a glass of whiskey on an empty stomach. Opening her mouth wider, she moaned and sucked his tongue deeper. He couldn’t take it anymore. He wanted her, and he wanted her now.
He slid his hands to her rear and scooted her off the washer. She gasped, laughing as she locked her arms and legs around him, smiling around his kiss. He started walking to their bedroom, squeezing her rear. If he had his way, they’d never come out of this damn room for as long as they lived.
He kicked the door open, going straight to the bed and laying her against it, his body hovering over hers. This was how it was suppose to be until the end of time. Yeah, quick wild rampages were nice if the mood struck, but Brianna deserved more. She deserved to be shown how much he loved her. Sex between them wasn’t sex. It was love, and he’d prove it to her right now.
He pulled back, looking down into her lustful and content gaze. She was perfect in every way. He smiled just to see her smile back, and she did. Her smiles warmed his heart like the sunshine on a hot summer day. He loved seeing her happy, making her happy.
“You look scared,” she commented.
“Nah. Just contemplating my next move.” He kicked off his shoes, then pulled off hers.
“Since when have you had to contemplate what to do during sex?” She lay perfectly still watching his every move.
He reached for her socks, pulling them off her feet, then answered. “It’s not that kind of contemplation.”
After he’d taken care of that, he crawled over her, stopping when he was perfectly able to press his lips against her neck. She smiled, giving his access and sliding her hands across his back.
“What kind of contemplation is it?” She slid her hands to into his waistband and tried to cup his behind.
He trailed kisses along her neck until his face was right in hers, his lips an inch above hers. “What makes you happy?”
“I’m pretty sure anything you do will make me happy.” She slid her hands up his back grabbing his tee. With the swift move of a woman on a mission, she flipped their positions and was now poised above him. “Sit up.”
He pushed up, liking her new sudden chance at taking control. She’d never shown any interest before, and he just figured she didn’t want the hassle. Now she was straddling his thighs and giving him orders.
She tugged the shirt over his head, throwing it behind her, carelessly to the floor. His blood already boiled from wanting her, but taking their time was fun. The slow seduction, the soft caresses. Her hands all over him. He laid back, gripping her denim clad thighs. For now, she could do whatever she wanted.
“You want to know a secret?” Her thumbs stroked his nipples while she leaned over him, lightly biting at his lower lip.
He could barely think, yet he wanted to know more. He nodded his head thinking it’d be something light or unimportant. Something that could have waited until his brain was working completely again, and his skin cooled drastically.
“I want you to come in my mouth.” She covered his mouth with her own, thrusting her sweet little tongue inside and sucking his in a mimicking motion of her words.
“Whoa, babe.” Kaden pulled away, gasping for breath. At some point, his hands slid to her backs
ide, and he pushed her groin against his and let out a sound of pleasure. “That’s great and all, but I definitely want more than a blowjob.”
She grinned. “Who said that’ll be it?”
Her mouth mimicked his earlier motions, kissing his neck, sliding across his hot skin, nipping lightly with her teeth. She soothed the slight pain with the soft, silky caress of her wet tongue and a groan escaped from his lips.
She worked her way downward, knowing exactly how to touch and kiss and caress without him even telling her. Expertly her body slid down his, and he missed touching her. He missed feeling her near him. Her mouth played around his navel, trailing hot wet kisses across his skin.
“Bree, baby.” His breaths were coming in shallow pants.
“Shh.” She slid his belt through the buckle and from the loops, then unsnapped his jeans and pulled down the zipper. She took special ease lowering it over his bulging erection. “Lift up.”
He did, pushing his body up with weak arms. Every bit of his strength came went to self-control. He wasn’t a teenager on a sex high looking to get laid with the first skirt that walked by. He was a grown man, who had his fair share of blowjobs and sexual experiences in his life, and he didn’t really need to remind himself to keep in control.
But Brianna’s hand wrapped around him, and all that bullshit went out the window. “You know, I’ve touched you plenty of times, but I never realized how soft you were.”
She slid her hand up his shaft, then back down. Kaden bit his lip, trying to keep in control but Brianna knew the right amount of pressure, at just the right speed. He’d never be able to look at her in the same way again.
“You have to promise to let me touch you more often.” She grinned, bending over as she fisted the root and slid the tip of him between her lips.
His vision blurred. A sound came from him, though everything was muted to his ears. All he felt was her mouth around him, her fist sliding gently up his length, then back down. She teased him, the little wench, circling the tip with her tongue and then sucking as much as she could take inside her mouth.
