by Cora Brent
“I think you’re still a little warm,” I said as I teasingly slid the straps of my tank top down. “So why don’t you give yourself some more relief?”
He pretended to consider my observation. “I’ll give you some relief if you let me watch you stick two fingers up your pussy first.”
I unzipped my shorts. “Show me how.”
Deck obliged by dropping his pants. “I’ll show you heaven, baby.”
Declan had a dozen different moods to fit his desires. Sometimes he would be relentless; rough and damn near domineering as he pushed the boundaries in his demand to get us both to the breaking point. Other times he would be playful, teasing. And then finally he would catch me by surprise with soft tenderness as he worshipped me utterly and whispered things a woman dreamed of hearing from her man.
Now he sank to his knees and gently kissed my belly. His hands explored as his lips traveled everywhere. There wasn’t an inch of me that didn’t cry out for him but it was his mouth I hungered for the most so I slid down to his level and found it. Kissing Declan Gentry was incomparable. Whenever our mouths locked together and our tongues lashed, I forgot that there was any other man on earth but him.
Deck kissed me passionately until he couldn’t handle the wait anymore. He hauled me bodily to the leather sofa, impatiently spreading me into a wide straddle and was deep inside before I could even gasp.
“Wait, you didn’t-“
“It’s on,” he growled and then gripped my hips to help me move the way that would shatter the both of us. I braced my knees and started wildly pumping.
“Goddamn, Jenny,” he groaned as he threw his head back and got impossibly harder. “I fucking love you.”
I came when he said that. I’d never felt so free as I did when I was madly pushing my body to the limit, extracting every ounce of pleasure with abandon. Deck waited for me to stop shuddering.
“Kiss me,” he ordered, and Deck Gentry knew how to make a kiss completely dirty when he wanted to. His strong hands were on my back and his tongue was a teasing device of torture in my mouth when I felt him explode.
“Not yet,” I whimpered when I felt him withdrawing. I’d already come as hard as I could come but I didn’t want to let him go.
“Jenny,” he murmured and held me close until my legs began to cramp. It wasn’t until I’d relented and moved back that he was able to remove the condom. When he was done disposing of it, he gingerly moved my red hair out of my face. “I meant it.”
I raised an eyebrow. “That you love me when we’re fucking?”
“And sometimes even when we’re not.”
“Charming.”
Deck let out a short growl and seized me. His rough, unshaven cheek scratched against my smooth skin. I let my fingers travel over the hard, heavily inked skin of his upper arm, and then up to his face. We were both still completely naked and it didn’t bother me a bit.
“I love you too you know,” I told him.
“I know,” he said with grinning confidence.
“So what now, Deck?” The question had meaning for me. Tonight we would likely order some pizzas or something, maybe watch television, and then make love furiously until we fell asleep together. We would laugh and we would kiss and we would cherish each other. And then tomorrow we would do the same thing.
He leaned his head back on the couch and stared at me, his dark brown eyes unusually solemn.
“Baby,” he said, and his expression was so gentle, so tender. He laced his fingers through mine and quickly kissed my hand. He never looked away from my face. “What’s now…is us.”
EPILOGUE
DECK
I was trying to press the elevator button while juggling about thirty pink balloons, a flower arrangement and a pair of giant teddy bears. Jenny laughed and pressed the button herself.
“I can carry some of that you know,” she said, and I offered her one of the overstuffed bears. A month had passed since I’d left Emblem for good, since I’d stomped on whatever doubts remained and thrown my whole heart and body into this incredible girl. She hugged the teddy bear and flashed me a grin as we waited for the elevator.
Saylor’s hospital room was an absolute circus. It was like walking into a heavily populated cotton candy machine. I forged a path through the thicket of pink balloons, flowers and other festive crap as Jenny kept close at my back. Along the way I saw Chase and Creed bent over in a corner, arguing as they puzzled over a car seat. Chase looked up and shouted a greeting while Creed grinned at us and waved.
Nearby, Stephanie and Truly were too busy exclaiming over some frilly baby outfits to notice us. It did seem a little out of character for Chase’s no-nonsense girlfriend to be squealing over a tiny pink dress but what the hell did I know.
John McCann was there, holding a tightly wrapped pink bundle in his arms while right beside him my cousin Cordero gazed lovingly down at the tiny face wedged within the blankets. Cord reached out to take the baby from his father-in-law and John reluctantly handed her over, giving Cord an affectionate pat on the arm once the baby was transferred. John saw me and offered a nod of acknowledgement.
“Deck,” said Saylor with delight when I reached her bedside. In her arms was a second tightly wrapped pink bundle and it looked pretty much identical to the first one. I set the balloons and flowers down on a nearby plastic cart that was accommodating the overflow of gifts.
“Crowded in here,” I commented.
“It was more crowded a few minutes ago. Bray and Millie just left.”
Jenny held up the giant teddy bears and Saylor laughed softly before peering once more into the face of her tiny daughter. The baby let out a soft noise that sounded kind of like a cat’s meow and Jenny let out a little ‘Oooh’ of enchantment. I didn’t know what the hell it was about babies that turned otherwise reasonable females inside out.
“This is Camille,” Saylor explained, softly rocking the baby in her arms.
I pointed to Cord’s little burden. “So that one is-“
“Cassidy,” he finished with a grin. He took a step in my direction. “They were nearly four weeks early so we were worried there might be problems but other than being a little small they’re both perfect.” In a move of loving gentleness he lightly kissed his daughter’s face. “Perfect,” he whispered.
I stared at him, scarcely able to believe that this man was my cousin, the wild creature who used to run all over the desert with his equally rowdy brothers. Damn, I remembered when Cordero was as small and helpless as the baby girl in his arms. I remembered it very well.
“You want to hold her?” he asked me.
“What? No.”
Saylor looked up and teasingly grinned. “Come on, Declan. Hold her.”
“Hold the baby, Deck,” Chase yelled and his voice was loud enough to wake little Camille, who started to cry.
“Look what you did, asshole,” Creed growled, shoving his brother as Saylor shifted the infant to her shoulder and patted her back.
Chase shoved Creed in return. “Don’t say asshole in front of my nieces, fuck face.”
“Fuck face?” Creed scoffed. “That’s the best you got, Einstein?”
“Okay douche nozzle then. That creative enough for you?”
Cord shot me an incredulous look. “Listen to those morons. In some ways it’s like time stands still.”
“Thank god it doesn’t,” I said as Truly stalked over to the boys and gave them a sharp southern tongue lashing. Jenny giggled and moved closer to Saylor while I nudged Cord. “So can I still hold the baby?”
My cousin smiled. “I insist that you do.” He very carefully shifted the tiny body into my arms. She couldn’t have weighed more than an average sack of flour but as I settled her into the crook of my elbow it seemed like she was a hell of a lot heavier. She opened her eyes and looked at me and I was instantly reminded of the first time I met her father.
“Hello,” I whispered softly, and it was the same thing I had said to him twenty three years e
arlier, although no one in that room would know this but me.
“Shit, I think Deck’s ovaries just contracted,” remarked Chase and this time Creed laughed.
Since I couldn’t flip them the bird without shifting the baby I just ignored them. When I looked up, my eyes met Jenny’s and she smiled. After a few minutes I was more than ready to hand the baby back to one of her parents. I settled her in Saylor’s other arm as John McCann hovered over his daughter and granddaughters, looking so proud I was afraid he’d start blubbering.
“Hey,” I said quietly to Jenny. “I’ve got to talk to Cord.”
She casually played with a strand of red hair. “I’ll be fine here.”
Cord gave me a questioning look when I slapped my hand on his shoulder and led him out of the room.
“What’s up?” he asked once we were in the austere hospital corridor.
“Just wanted you to know that I rented a space.”
He was confused. “Thought you rented an apartment last month.”
“I did. What I’m talking about is totally different. It’s a thousand square feet that used to be a hair salon.”
“Okay,” he shrugged. “I still don’t get it.”
“I’ve got the capital to open up a tattoo parlor. And since you’re the best goddamn ink artist I know, I want you to come work with me.”
He looked shocked for a moment. Then he smiled. “Deck Gentry, a business owner?”
“Why not?” I said smoothly. “Need to start thinking long term. I’ve still got enough of an income stream rolling in from other shit that I have no need to go near a damn bank and beg for a loan. Cord, I know they treat you good where you’re at, but I’ll offer you a fifty percent pay raise if you make the jump.”
He let out a low whistle. “Look man, you know I appreciate the offer but you don’t have to do that.”
“You’d be doing me a favor. Meant it when I said that you’re the best artist I know. It’ll probably take me about a month to get the place set up. You can give plenty of notice to your boss.”
Cord was now grinning from ear to ear. “You’re serious about all this.”
“Completely.”
He nodded, still smiling. “Well, I’ll have to talk it over with Say, but shit, I would love to come work for you Deck.”
“With me, not for me. I’m not blowing smoke up your ass when I say you’ve got incredible talent and as the main attraction I’d consider it a bargain to hand over thirty percent ownership to you.”
Cord opened his mouth and then closed it again. He ran a hand along the back of his neck and looked down the hall. I thought he was going to argue with me and I was ready to put up a fight. He decided not to though. He looked me in the eye and extended his hand. “Thank you, Deck. I accept.”
As we were returning to the room Chase and Stephanie were on their way out. Chase was grabbing at her and she was laughingly resisting.
“We need to practice,” he insisted.
“We can practice, but we’re not joining the baby game anytime soon.”
He stopped and took her hand. “But someday?”
“Yeah,” she said softly, slipping her arms around his shoulders and standing on tiptoe for a kiss. “Someday, Chase.”
The two of them were so into each other they missed seeing us altogether. When we walked into the room I saw Jenny was holding one of the babies and Truly had the other. John McCann was hugging Saylor goodbye. He kissed her on the cheek.
“Take care, sweetheart.”
“Bye, Daddy,” she said and I could tell that having her father here had meant the world to her.
John shook my hand and actually gave Cord an awkward hug before departing. Meanwhile, Truly was trying to get Creed to hold one of the babies but he balked.
“I’ll drop her,” he frowned.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You will not drop her. Sit in the chair. I’ll put her right in your lap. Creedence, please sit in the chair now.”
He gave up and sat in the chair. Once Truly handed one of his nieces to him I saw his face change. He gazed down at the tiny girl with shy wonder. He didn’t say anything but his devotion was written all over him.
“You see?” Truly said and gently ran her hand over the baby’s forehead while her sister yawned in Jenny’s arms.
Jenny looked like she would be utterly content to cradle that baby for the rest of the day. But soon the babies started fussing, wanting to be fed, and a nurse poked her head in and advised us that visiting hours were ending. Cord brought his daughters back to their mother and the image of the four of them together, a family, was just about the most goddamn touching thing I’d ever seen.
Truly was trying to quietly herd the rest of us through the door. “I’ll be back tomorrow, sugar,” she called to Saylor.
Saylor looked up. “We’re probably going to be discharged in the morning if you guys just want to come by the house.”
“I’ll drop in before work,” Truly promised.
Creed hung back a moment. The he abruptly walked over to Cord, hugged him fiercely, and whispered something I couldn’t hear.
“Me too,” said Cord and it looked like he was trying not to get emotional.
Creed planted a brotherly kiss atop Saylor’s head, gently ran a finger along each baby’s satin cheek, and then joined his girlfriend at the door. Truly took his arm gladly and rested her head against his shoulder.
Saylor called my name just as Jenny edged closer to me and quietly held my hand.
“So will we be seeing you guys tomorrow?”
“Actually,” I said, glancing down at Jenny, “we’ll be heading out of town for a few days.”
“It’s spring break,” Jenny explained. “We’re going to go visit my sister in Quartzsite. My brother and his family are also driving out from San Diego.” She glanced up at me with a smirk. “Everyone’s excited for the chance to get to meet Declan.”
Chase would have had a field day with that news but luckily he and Stephanie were long gone. Creed looked as if he hadn’t even heard. Cord just yawned and said, “Have fun.”
We parted with Creed and Truly when we got to the parking lot. Jenny climbed on my bike first and pretended she was going to fire it to life.
“How about I drive?” she suggested with a mischievous grin.
“How about we get home alive?” I countered, swinging my leg around in front of her.
Jenny wasn’t really serious anyway. She pulled her helmet on and got herself properly positioned. “So what time are we leaving tomorrow?”
Inwardly I groaned a little. Spending a few days being glared at by Jenny’s brother-in-law didn’t sound like much of a vacation. She swore up and down that Grayson would behave himself but I didn’t expect we’d be linking arms and skipping through the fucking desert together. However, this trip was important to Jenny and she’d shyly asked me to grin and bear it so I’d agreed.
“Early,” I told her. “Let’s get out of the valley before rush hour.”
“Sounds good. So are we going out to eat now or are we going to your place?”
Jenny hadn’t officially moved in, although it was just a technicality since she was there every night and hardly had any of her possessions left back in that dorm room. I’d hesitated because as much as I wanted her with me all the time, Jenny was young. Part of me feared that I’d be limiting her choices, that maybe there was still too much out there she hadn’t been able to experience.
“Deck?” she asked gently.
I got off the bike. I had to treat her like the woman she really was, not a girl who needed to be handled lightly. She deserved that.
“My home is your home,” I said, tipping her chin up and cupping her face in my hands. “Don’t you know that?”
She smiled. She took one of my hands from her face and kissed my palm. “Of course.”
“So how about when we get back from Quartzsite we get the rest of your stuff out of that crappy room on campus and put it where it belongs.”
>
She ran her hands up and down my chest. “Is that a question or a command?”
“It’s whichever one would make you happy.”
“You make me happy, Deck. That’s all.”
“Well then I guess we’re even.”
She pulled me back to the bike. “And I guess we’re going home.”
There was a loud honk at my back and I saw Creed and Truly roll by in Creed’s pickup truck. He hit the brakes a few feet away and gave us a friendly wave before driving on. It was nice having the boys back in my life, nice to be seeing them regularly. There are people out there who were lucky to be born into brotherhoods, and there were others who found kindred spirits along the way. Whether the triplets were my brothers or whether a pair of unknown teenage boys down in Emblem were, or whether I didn’t have brothers in the scientific sense at all, it didn’t matter. From the moment I met three baby boys I couldn’t have loved any true brothers more.
I understood now that I had been blessed with a lot of love during my life. Some of it was new and some of it had been with me for a long time, even if I didn’t always appreciate it. I’d taken pains to ignore the lingering echoes of those I’d lost. But I wouldn’t dishonor them anymore by neglecting my heart. My isolation was over.
“Declan?” said Jenny and I could feel her hands on me, could hear her concern as she sensed the shift in my mood. “Are we going home?”
“Yeah,” I answered, pausing to kiss her. “We’re going home.”
THE END
Thank you for reading!
I hope you enjoyed reading FALL. I dearly love to hear from readers so please feel free to contact me:
[email protected]
www.facebook.com/CoraBrentAuthor
https://www.goodreads.com/CoraBrent
BOOKS BY CORA BRENT
GENTRY BOYS
DRAW
RISK
GAME
FALL
DEFIANT MC
Know Me: A Novella
