Dalton tossed the idea around in his head. “Look at you being all romantic like,” he teased Liam.
“Hey you gotta keep those fires burning while your kids are small, because when the kids are grown and gone – what do you have if you’ve got nothing else in common?”
And with those words, Dalton realized why Liam was still happily married after all these years.
*
“What do you think?” Christine asked as she turned the chair around, letting Mandy see herself for the first time.
Mandy didn’t recognize herself. Never before had her hair been so thick, so glossy, so gorgeously tousled and styled. Her bangs had a braid and the rest was curled in opposite directions, giving it major body.
“Oh my God, I look hot,” she grinned up at Christine, their eyes meeting in the mirror. She hadn’t felt hot, or felt like she looked hot in months. Being the mom to a really rambunctious kid didn’t leave her with much free time for getting her sexy on. And she didn’t have to get dressed up for work unless she was accompanying Charity to court.
“Not that you don’t normally look hot, but this does make you look a little like a classy porn star.”
Mandy laughed, feeling some of the tension melt away. At least she knew her hair would be awesome. Christine would make sure of it. “Thank you so much for putting my mind at ease,” she got up from the chair and threw her arms around her friend.
“That’s what I’m here for. Part counselor, part hair stylist, part kick in the ass.”
They were still going on about her hair when they heard the roar of a bike pull up outside the shop.
“That’s Dalton,” Mandy frowned. “He’s supposed to have Walker. Wonder what he’s doing?”
“Seeing as how there’s no kid in sight, maybe he wants to spend time with his fiancée,” Christine suggested. “If you need to leave your car parked in the back, it’ll be safe for the night,” she winked at the younger woman.
Mandy was confused, but nodded in agreement anyway as she walked out of the shop’s front door, folding her arms over her chest to ward off some of the cold.
“Is everything okay with Walker?” she worried as she hurried towards Dalton, fear rising up in her throat.
Dalton stopped, framing her cheeks with his hands, he smiled down at her. “You’re beautiful.”
Her heart melted at the way he spoke the words, but it didn’t erase the fear. “Thank you, but is Walker okay?”
“He’s fine,” Dalton calmed down the rising panic. “He’s with Grandma and Grandpa for the night. It’s time his parents had a night out.”
Her mind spun at what he’d said. They hadn’t had a night out together in a long, long time. The past few months had been occupied with wedding talk most of the time, and if they weren’t talking about it – they were doing something to prepare for it.
“Are we going out on a date?” she asked, her voice high at the realization they had a night to themselves.
“We are,” he nodded, leaning down to give her a kiss on the cheek.
“And we’re taking the bike?” her eyes were shining. It’d been such a long time since they’d taken the bike, now that they had to contend with a car seat most everywhere they went.
“We are,” he slung his arm across her shoulder, directing her towards where he had parked. “My lady, your steel horse awaits.” He handed her the heavy duty jacket he’d grabbed for her.
She gave him a smoldering gaze, feeling for the first time in a long time – not just like a mother – but the object of his desire. “I can’t wait to ride it,” she licked her lips. “Or it’s owner later on.”
Dalton closed his eyes, groaning as she ran her hand down his stomach, stopping at the bulge in his jeans. “We’ll definitely work something out.”
The promise was there in his voice and she knew without a doubt, they definitely would.
‡
Chapter Three
Mandy breathed in deeply, loving the smell of the crisp air. As it made its way through her nose and out her mouth, the cool burn of it made her feel alive. Alive in a way she hadn’t felt in a long while, longer than she’d realized. For the first time in months, she wasn’t thinking about the dinner she’d have to cook, the laundry she’d need to do, or trying to get Walker down for bed. Tonight, she just thought of how good it felt to have her arms wrapped around Dalton’s waist.
She tightened her arms, and rested her head against his shoulder. She wasn’t sure where they were going but she’d go anywhere with him, there was no question. They’d come a long way from where they’d started—these days they didn’t hide anything from each other.
As Dalton slowed the bike down for a stop light, she tilted her heard up towards his ear so she could speak to him.
“Where are we going?” she asked, tucking her hands under the leather of his jacket and his cut, there she could feel the thermal material of the shirt he wore and the warmth of his body.
“You’ll see,” he promised as he put his hand over hers, and squeezed her fingers. He wore no helmet, only a hat turned backwards on the top of his head.
Mandy liked to wear a modular helmet, so there was no way they could share a kiss or anything more intimate. The squeeze of his fingers though, she could feel in her heart. Over the past year, their love had grown in ways she hadn’t imagined it could. It was deeper, understated yet more passionate, and more real than anything they’d felt before getting back together.
There wasn’t any kind of doubt in her mind now that he loved her. She knew he’d take a bullet for her, knew he’d follow her and Walker to the ends of the earth, felt all his emotions in one look. He was done hiding and she was done letting him hide. They were as open with each other now than as they’d ever been. He was back to giving her that fluttery feeling in her stomach, and all it took was one smile from her lips to have him right there with her, his arms around her. Leaning her head against his shoulder blade, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the quiet time. No matter where they went, as long as they were together, she didn’t care.
*
Dalton wondered if Mandy had fallen asleep as he pulled the bike into a field not far from their house. She’d been quiet, seeming to be content to stay curled up behind him – he wouldn’t be surprised if she had – she hadn’t slept well in at least two weeks worrying about the wedding. Picking their path through the field, he headed to the big tree they loved. They’d come and had picnics here during the summer.
This was a place they’d discovered when Walker was an infant. Sometimes the only way to get him to sleep was to take a ride in the car. They’d found this field while out riding around during one of those long nights. It had become a special place to them. They’d started coming to the spot more often than just when Walker couldn’t sleep. He played here now, they came to relax here; this was their own private sanctuary off a less traveled backroad.
He parked the bike under the tree and shut off the engine. Mandy hadn’t moved. “You still with me?” he asked as he turned his head, wishing he could see her.
She nodded against his shoulder, tightening her grip around his waist. “Just comfortable and relaxed.”
Her voice was muffled through the front of the helmet and he wanted desperately to see her face. He maneuvered himself off the seat and turned around to face her, helping rid her of the helmet.
“There’s the face I wanna see,” he used his index finger to tip her chin up, smiling back as she gave him a grin.
He watched as she put her hands up to her hair, trying to fix the damage the helmet had caused. “It ruined my hair didn’t it?”
He wouldn’t tell her it looked like he’d just fucked her for five hours straight, instead he pushed a tendril out of her face. “Looks just as good as it did when we left Christine’s.”
She playfully rolled her eyes. “You’re lying, but I love you for it.”
They were quiet, both just enjoying each other’s company. It had been way too long since they�
�d relaxed together, without the expectation of wedding planning or the responsibility of a toddler.
“Thanks for coming to get me at the shop,” she was saying. “When we get home, we need to go over the seating chart one more time.”
She stopped talking as Dalton put a hand over her mouth, effectively cutting her off. His eyes bore into hers. “No wedding talk tonight, no Walker talk tonight,” he let go and cupped his palm around her cold cheek. Leaning in, he stopped when their lips were a breath away from each other. “Tonight we talk about us.”
“Is talk a euphemism for something?” she asked, a dirty grin on her face.
“Could be,” he put his arms around her waist, his hands cupping her ass as he pulled her towards his body. She was small next to him, and it made all his protective instincts come out. She was going to be his wife. In a few days, she would legally be his and he couldn’t wait. “Could be I just miss the hell outta spendin’ time with you.”
“I know,” she reached up, kissing his throat. “I miss you too.”
‡
Chapter Four
Mandy didn’t fight back the moan that escaped when his big hands pulled her closer so that their bodies touched. It had been a while since they’d not been on duty as parents, she realized. They hadn’t been just Mandy and Dalton, ‘the couple’ in months. The last time they’d tried to get all sexy with one another, they’d ended up in the ER with Walker because of an ear infection. When his fever had spiked to 103, she’d freaked out. Dalton had put his pants back on and driven them there without ever telling her she was overreacting or doubting her. If anyone deserved this time for just the two of them, it was the man in front of her.
She curled her arms around his neck and leaned into his chest, tilting her head up, so she could reach his throat easier. When her lips connected with the saltiness of his skin, she attacked. Nipping, sucking, licking, tasting, and doing everything she could to remind herself of the couple they’d been before. Dalton was a treat she hadn’t indulged in for too long.
“Fuck Mandy,” he tangled his fingers through her hair – completely destroying the intricate style Christine had spent so much time to create – and pulled her mouth closer to the pulse point in his throat.
Feeling the beat of his heart made her own heart speed up. Scooting closer to him, she used her teeth to nip the skin and then soothed the burn with her tongue before sucking the flesh deep.
“Mark me,” he moaned as he yanked on the strands of her hair. “Let everybody know I’m yours and you’re mine.”
Her head spun as she felt her body being lifted off the seat of the bike. She squealed, releasing him from her mouth as he stood. Dalton wrapped her legs around his waist and got them clear of the machine.
“Was afraid we’d kill ourselves,” he mumbled as he captured her lips with his again, owning her.
His kiss was an imprint she wanted to wear like his property patch. She felt him stumble as he walked them to the tree, their tongues dueling, their hands fighting for position on each other’s body. For a split second her legs gave out, and he had to grab by her ass again before pressing her up against the rough bark of the trunk.
They’d never done this out in the open before, but Mandy had to admit it was a huge turn on, the fact that neither of them wanted to wait until they could make it a few miles up the road to their house.
“I want you so bad,” he ground out as he released her lips and moved to her ear, grasping the lobe between his teeth, pulling harshly.
“I want you too,” she fought to rid herself of her jacket, throwing it down on the ground, weather be damned. She wore a thin sweater and her nipples pebbled in the cold air with nothing to protect them.
Pressed against the tree, she had some leverage. Using it, she helped Dalton push her sweater up and free one of her breasts from its lace prison.
His warm mouth engulfed the turgid tip and the contrast between his warmth and the cold air was enough to make her core clench. “Oh God,” she breathed as she knocked his hat off his head, burying her fingers in the strands of his hair, pulling him closer to her body.
“Dalton, I need you to get me off,” she whined. “I didn’t realize how long it’s been.”
*
He knew exactly how long it had been, and he could tell her, but that would mean he’d have to remove his lips for her body. Fuck that, because then reality might seep in just enough to make her want to put the brakes on this encounter. There was no way he was letting that happen. They needed this.
As he pressed her up against the tree, he brought his hands down to the belt buckle holding his pants up, wrenching it apart. The metal clanged against itself as he unbuttoned and unzipped as fast as he could.
“Hurry,” she panted above him.
Pushing his pants and his boxers down his hips, he pulled his cock free, inhaling deeply as the air hit him, cooling his skin.
“Fuck, gotta get you out of yours,” he groaned as he tried to work on her leggings.
Unhooking her legs, they tried to push them down, but when that didn’t work; he gripped them on her thighs and yanked down the middle seam, sighing with relief when he heard them rip.
“Oh my God, Dalton, those were brand new,” she threw him a glare.
“Don’t give a fuck,” he pushed his thigh between her legs to make room for his body, jerking the panel of her panties to the side, and thrust himself home. “Finally,” he breathed in her ear as he braced his arms and began the rhythm of thrust and withdraw that they both loved so much.
Dalton felt her grasp him around the shoulders and pull him closer, thrusting her body towards his. “Feel good?” he buried his face in her neck and ran his tongue along the column of her throat before moving his head down and grasping her neglected nipple in between his teeth.
“Right there,” she hissed out. “It won’t take long if you keep doing that.”
Those words were great news because his balls had already drawn up tightly against his body and he was ready to explode. He realized they’d taken spontaneity and the ability to be loud for granted. With Walker they had to kind of plan sex, and then be quiet when they did it. The roughness, the unexpectedness, and the sheer volume they could use to express their love was a huge turn on now. One he hadn’t been prepared for and he almost apologized as he felt himself spill into her.
Pushing his hand between their bodies he rubbed against her clit and sucked on her nipple in time with the aftershock thrusts into her body, and just as he felt his orgasm ebbing, hers overtook her body and she screamed loudly, throwing her head back against the wood of the tree.
There, in a deserted field, in the middle of the night, they panted and laughed as they regained a part of themselves they hadn’t known they’d lost.
‡
Chapter Five
Later on that night, they lay in bed, wrapped up in each other. After coming in from the cold, they’d both taken showers, called to check on Walker, and eaten a dinner of frozen pizza and ice cream while watching a stupid reality show on TV. Mandy relaxed against Dalton’s chest and he was content to play with the hair spread out against his pectoral muscles.
“Do you think we should go pick him up?” she worried, as she grabbed Dalton’s fingers one by one, tapping them with the tips of her fingers.
“Walker?” His voice was deep with the relaxation neither one had been able to have in so long, and maybe a little sleepiness as well.
She pushed herself up on her elbow, jostling his eyelids from where they had been almost closed. “Yeah, I mean I feel bad that we’ve just kind of pawned him off.”
He closed the gap between them, pulling her back down onto his chest. “We didn’t pawn him off. He’s with his grandparents, where I’m sure he’s having the time of his life,” he forced her chin up so that he could look into her eyes. “We need our time too, babe. It doesn’t make us bad parents. I promise.”
“It feels weird,” she admitted. “Knowing he’s so far away.�
�
He chuckled. “It’s thirty minutes. He’s going to be fine, and so are we.”
She settled back in against him and did her best to believe he was right. They would be leaving him with family for seven days at the beginning of the year so they could take a honeymoon, and she knew she was going to have to get used to it. Her eyes popped open; they were going to be getting married! The very thing she’d wanted to happen for most of her life.
Her brain fired up with all the things she knew she had to do before the date. Grasping the cover with her hand, she went to fling it back and off of her, when she felt Dalton’s strong fingers wrap around hers.
“The wedding stuff will be there tomorrow, Mandy,” he rolled them so he lay half on her, half on the mattress, pressing her down into the warm sheets. “Tonight, I want you to get a good night’s sleep. I want you to wake up refreshed in the morning for a change and we’ll both do what needs to be done.”
“But there’s so much we could be doing without Walker here,” she argued.
He opened his eyes; the dark orbs peered down at her. “And we can also focus on spending time together, the one thing that most good marriages have in common.”
She lay back against the pillow, letting out a deep breath. How could she argue with the words he spoke when she knew he was so right?
“Tomorrow,” she nodded.
“Tomorrow,” he affirmed as he wrapped her tightly in his arms, kissing her on the forehead. “Tomorrow we’ll kill your to-do list.”
“I’m holding you to that, Barnett.”
He grinned, his voice sleepy against her ear. “Hold me as long as you want, babe.”
A Heaven Hill Christmas Page 12
