Hot Stuff

by Weston Parker

  “Lauren Elizabeth Patrick, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife and make everything perfect in our lives?”

  I wiped my eyes, and a hush fell across the room. Suddenly, it was like I had everyone’s attention, and my cheeks reddened as my heart pounded.

  “Say yes, Mommy!”

  Everyone laughed, and I pulled Ollie close, trying to gather my composure. “Yes.” I could barely get the word out, and so I nodded my head as everyone cheered. Even strangers were clapping, and Gage took my hand and put the ring on it. Then he pulled me into his arms and spun me around as the cheering grew louder.

  He set me on my feet and held me close. His lips touched my ear, and as the cheering continued, he whispered, “I told you we’d talk about your decision here tonight in bed later. I can’t wait to get you home.”

  I turned my head and kissed him hard, showing that I, too, couldn’t wait. Forever with him would never be enough.

  Extended Epilogue Short Story

  Chapter 1

  Lauren

  There was nothing worse than being away from the one you love, and nothing better than when they came back to you. Gage had been gone for a week, and we were finally enjoying a little time alone after his reunion with the children.

  “I can’t believe we managed to get those two to sleep within minutes of each other. That never happens.” I watched him cross the room, his bare chest still rippling with muscles that not even a year together could soften, and his cock bulging in his pants in need of my attention, proving his lust for me had not yet been quenched, either.

  “I know, I’m glad. I need some time with my baby.” He stretched out next to me, and then we wrapped in an embrace, kissing each other like it was the first time, and yet, with enough fever and passion as if it could have been the last.

  “Don’t go away again, ever.” I nestled my face into the crook of his neck, and he let out a soft laugh.

  “Was it that bad, baby?”

  “Yes. And no. The kids were fine, things went smoothly, but I missed you too much.”

  “I can’t promise I won’t go back down there, but I do promise that it won’t be before the wedding.”

  “I should hope not.” With the wedding only a week away, I couldn’t imagine him leaving me to put the finishing touches on everything and take care of the kids, too. Not to mention, I’d recently gone back to work, joining my brother, Reed to form a partnership.

  “Show me how much you missed me, baby.” He pressed his hard length against my hip and kissed my breasts.

  I reached down and cupped his erection, stroking my flattened palm against his shorts, which he quickly reached down and pulled off. I had come to bed prepared and was lying completely nude next to him, which his hands quickly discovered as he rubbed my ass and brought his hand to my front where he slipped his fingers between my folds and pushed them deep inside of me.

  I pushed my hips forward, riding his fingers until my release had me panting and writhing, begging for his cock. “I need it. Fill me up, baby.”

  “Mm. You have missed me.” He rolled us over, my back planting firmly against the mattress as he lifted my hips and rested my ankles on his shoulders. He centered his cock and thrusted hard inside of me.

  He’d been taking me harder lately, and I loved it. When I was pregnant with our son and recovering from his birth, he’d been so slow and gentle, but now, he was working me over, and it was amazing. He thrusted into me, pounding me with so much force that my breasts were bouncing, and he reached down to pinch my nipples, sending a sharp lick of heat right up my core. When I came hard and moaned louder than usual, he gave a little laugh and then pulled out and turned my legs until I flipped on my tummy. Then he hiked me up onto all fours and cupped my breasts, which were still super sensitive from the pregnancy and my recent cycle.

  “You’re going to come for me again, and then I’m going to fill you up, baby. I’ve got a whole week saved just for you.” His voice was rough and gritty in my ear; it sent chills down the back of my neck, all the way down to my ass, which he spanked hard as he gripped my hips and shoved his cock in.

  I felt my body respond, milking him as another release quaked through me, causing me to soak his balls. Once he’d finished, he pulled out, and I rolled over onto my back. He curled up next to me, kissing my shoulder and then my mouth. “You’re always amazing. I’ve missed you, too.”

  “Missed you more.” We were so sappy like that, and neither cared. “Just think, in a week, we’ll be Mr. and Mrs. Riley. Like, only a week.” He was still pouting about my brother insisting I keep my practice under my maiden name of Patrick, so we could be Patrick & Patrick, attorneys at law.

  “Not this again.”

  “What?” He was in serious denial.

  “You’re still pouting about the name thing. We talked about this.”

  “It’s Reed’s stupid way of getting under my skin. Just like when we were little, and he did some stupid shit he knew I didn’t like, just because he was jealous of me and Noah.”

  “And twenty years later, you’re still crying about it. Tell me who wins.”

  “Change the subject if you want to go for round two.” He looked away and gave another soft laugh.

  “Oh, you’re giving me round two, Gage Riley. Don’t even try to deny me.” I reached down and stroked his cock. His eyes went wide, and he grinned wickedly as he rolled over and mounted me again, this time taking it nice and slow while he fucked me, his cock teasing and edging, until I was begging to come.

  “Tell me how you want it, baby.”

  “I want it harder, please. Don’t stop.” I urged him on with my heels, spurring at him like he was a workhorse, my own personal stallion.

  “I love it when you beg, baby. Turns me on so much.” He quickened his pace, and our bodies slapped together feverishly as he finally took me over the edge.

  I gripped him with my sex, milking him good for my reward, and sure enough, his cock swelled, pulsing deep inside me as he filled me up and soaked me down.

  I couldn’t move when we were done, not that I wanted to. I felt like I was floating on a cloud, and I was content with life so much at that moment that nothing could touch me.

  “How long is Chloe staying?” His voice brought me down to earth.

  I rolled over and snuggled up to him, pulling the covers up to my neck. “She’s going to be here a couple of days after the wedding to help me return all of the rentals and send thank you notes.” We weren’t having a honeymoon, not with the baby being so young still. We’d decided to postpone that a year for our first anniversary.

  He leaned over and shut off the lamp and then stretched out on his back. “Is she acting strange to you?”

  “She’s just excited about the wedding is all. She wants things to be perfect since she’s the maid of honor.”

  “I guess.”

  “I think I’d know if my best friend was in trouble.” I leaned up and gave him a kiss. “But thanks for worrying. You’re sweet.” I laid back down, wondering if he could be right. I hadn’t noticed that Chloe was acting strangely, but I had been pretty harried lately.

  “We should consider hiring a nanny. I know you had your hands full when I was away.”

  “It wasn’t so bad, and Ollie helped a lot, but I will admit I’m spoiled by you taking her to school. She fought me on going a few times, and I thought I was going to have to call you.”

  “Why wouldn’t she want to go to school?”

  “She said she could stay home to help me. It was sweet, really. I guess she’s not too young to want to play hooky. I’d never let her, of course, not unless there was a good reason.”

  “She’ll do enough of that when she gets older. Did Reed mind you taking the baby into the office?”

  “No, he and the secretary made a fuss over him, not about him. Reed says the baby looks like him.” I gave a little laugh, and Gage turned and gave me a sour look.

  “He does not look like Reed.”

>   “He favors the men of my family. He looks an awful lot like Noah as well.”

  “He looks like his father.” He rolled over and put the pillow over his head. “I don’t want to hear any more of this blasphemy.”

  Laughter bubbled from my throat. “Such a big baby.” I gave him a nudge.

  “You never even acknowledged what I said.”

  “About the nanny? I don’t know. We didn’t have much luck with that housekeeper you fired.” The old woman had chased poor Ollie around the house with a strap, threatening to hit her with it.

  “We could find a good fit. Someone who loves children and wouldn’t hurt a fly. There are nice people out there.”

  “He’s just so young, still. Maybe I should just work from home more, cut the number of clients I’m seeing.” I’d only started and gave myself a limit of three at a time.

  “If you do that, you may as well not work at all.” I turned away from him, and he stroked my back. “I think we should really consider it. With Ava’s mother sick, we can’t keep depending on her. She’s already doing me a favor by staying on five days a week.”

  “I’ll think about it.” I closed my eyes and tried to think of one person I knew who I’d trust alone with Wade. Chloe was the only person who I knew of, and with her working and living in Chicago, that wasn’t going to work. She’d already taken so much time to help me; I was sure she was using up her vacation. I wasn’t sure how to tell him I was going to have to pass on his idea. We’d make it work somehow.

  Chapter 2

  Gage

  By the time I got back from taking Ollie to school, Lauren was ready to rush out the door, passing Wade to me with a fresh diaper.

  “I need to get in early today. Reed says we’re going over some things for a new client.” She grabbed her purse, and then gave me a quick kiss. She nuzzled Wade and then kissed his little forehead.

  “Are you staying late?”

  “I’ll stay as long as I can stand it. That’s one of the perks of being one of the Patricks on the sign.”

  “I’m sure you’ll have just as many perks when you’re a Riley. It might even look better on that sign.”

  “I’ll let you convince Reed, but I’ve got to run.” She gave me another kiss and headed out, leaving me and Wade to fend for breakfast alone.

  I knew pouting about the Patrick & Patrick thing was getting old, but the only reason it bothered me so much was that Reed did it to piss me off. It was just like when Noah and I used to hang out, and he’d do some shit to prove he was the older brother, the “real” brother. He liked to have pissing matches, especially now that I was going to marry his sister.

  I understood that it had to be a kick in the balls for him. Hell, his own brother chose me over him, and I’d won his sister’s heart, giving her a stronger bond to me as well, and even his father loved me like a son. Regardless of all of that, I’d been nice to the guy, and I’d been chewing my tongue off to keep from telling him how I really felt about the name thing.

  I put Wade in his playpen that I kept in my office and turned on the TV with some silly cartoons that usually held his attention until he took his morning nap, or wanted to be held again. I’d take those short moments of relief where I could take them.

  “Is the baby in here?” Chloe stuck her head in the door, and I’d almost forgotten she was staying with us, since she liked to sleep in. She didn’t wait for me to answer the obvious and went to pick the little man up. He gave her a smile, and she held him close, giving him love. “I’m going to take him with me so you can do your thing.”

  “Thanks, I’m expecting a call, and it probably would have come the minute he was asleep.”

  “Is he napping soon?” She kissed him under his chin and made a few silly noises that my son liked.

  “Yeah, after his next bottle. He’ll let you know. It’s already made.”

  She turned and carried him off, and I couldn’t help but think how nice it was to have her around. She loved the kids, and she was pleasant and a good friend to Lauren. I still thought something was off with her, though. There was a sadness about her that I usually didn’t see in her eyes, as if something was weighing on her. Maybe Lauren was right, and the wedding was getting to her. She’d understood when Lauren moved away, but now that her bestie was going to be married, perhaps she thought it might change things.

  Life evolved, and Chloe might have felt that she was going to be left behind.

  My phone rang, and I wasn’t surprised to see James Bivens calling. I’d saved the man’s life in a plane crash once, and now, it seemed we were tethered by some need to repay me. We’d worked together at the time, and since then, he’d been offering me every opportunity I wanted, and some I didn’t. With James, I had to be careful. He’d take any job to turn a buck, even if it had him building warehouses for drug lords in third world countries.

  Most recently, we’d been working on some projects down south where the flooding and hurricanes had destroyed most of the Gulf Coast.

  “How is my hero this morning? Glad to be back home?”

  “Always glad to be home when I have such a beautiful wife and family.” I’d missed them all so much, it surprised me, but I hadn’t been away since Wade was born.

  “I heard you put out some good bids down there, and that you passed on a few of the contracts.” I could hear the disappointment in his voice.

  “Yeah, I’m all for being an opportunist, James, but these people are already hurting. They’ve had shifty contractors coming down left and right, trying to take advantage of their misfortunes. I’m giving good bids, at realistic prices, and I’m not compromising my work.”

  “Of course, I wouldn’t want you to compromise anything, but I wanted you to get in on this; there’s a lot of money to be made.”

  “And I’ll make it like I always have, James, by doing quality work at competing prices.” I had been all over the coast of Texas where people had water to the rooves of their houses and lost everything, cars included. Some had been rescued because the water had risen so fast, faster than they’d ever seen in their lives, and the stories were heart-wrenching. There were contractors making bids, taking the down payments, and never returning to do the work once they had their hands on people’s money. There were enough crooked businessmen. They didn’t need me at my worst, and I wasn’t about to be that person.

  “Well, there’s lots of money to be had, my friend, and I just got a call from a country club that wants a bid for a total renovation. This is a huge project and could be a nice little profit for the two of us if you’re interested. We’re talking millions again, my friend.”

  I had yet to convince him that the word millions didn’t quite do it for me anymore. Sure, I loved money and had more than my fair share of millions, but that was what made it so unappealing. Not only had I made enough money that it would generate a living for me for the rest of my life, and my children’s lives for that matter, but I’d also learned it wasn’t what was important in life.

  James, on the other hand, was addicted to the dollar, and he had a special gleam in his eye and a lust in his voice for making money. Sometimes, it scared me.

  “Send me the information, and I’ll look at it. If it’s something I want to do, I’ll throw a bid at it.”

  “That’s all I can ask, my friend. I’ll pass it over. Be looking for it, and tell me what you think.”

  We ended our call, and I sat back in my chair to look up at the ceiling. I’d recently renovated the house, adding on the large office, along with two extra bedrooms and another bathroom. It had turned the cabin where Lauren and I spent our childhoods into our permanent home, and I was so thankful to have the project finished. I really appreciated my experience with construction, and I couldn’t help but think of how fortunate I was compared to some I’d seen. I wanted to help.

  I had considered forming a foundation to help those people who were being abused by shady contractors and wondered if I should run the idea by Lauren. She could he
lp draw up the legal papers we’d need, and maybe I could adopt an entire neighborhood.

  As I went over that in my head, the phone rang. I recognized the number right away. “Hello, Edna. How’re the Bahamas?” Ollie’s mother had died when she was younger, and Ollie had spent some time living with Edna while I worked overseas with James on some big projects. After the plane crash, I came home, and she came to live with me full-time. Edna had been all for it because she had bigger plans for her retirement than raising another kid, and her first stop was the Bahamas.

  “I haven’t been back in months. I was hoping that Ollie could come down for a week or two to stay with me.”

  “A week or two?”

  “Well, I’d like her to come stay like she did before, if possible.” We’d done a two-week exchange while getting Ollie used to living with me, but that was only temporary.

  “That’s not possible, Edna. Ollie is settled in here with her family, and we’re not upsetting that. She had a new brother, and she’s in school now.”

  “Well, there is the summer. I could take her for the summer or a couple of months of it.” Her tone was a bit demanding, and I tried really hard to be respectful.

  “Edna, we have plans for the summer, and while I’m not opposed to her visiting, I think it needs to be at our convenience and at her desire. I’m not forcing her into anything.”