by Mari Carr
“And he’s picked Gavin as part of that threesome?”
“Gavin’s been a part of that family since he was eleven years old. Maybe he wants the same thing.”
“Maybe, but…” Kelli wasn’t as convinced.
“But what?” Colm prompted.
“I’ve had a few conversations with just Gavin, and I don’t get the impression he wants that at all.”
She and Colm started walking again, both of them quiet. She suspected Colm was digesting that information, weighing it against his own opinions. He’d always been an introspective guy, even back in school. While she and Padraig were more verbal, typically expressing every thought the second they had it, Colm was quieter, and when he spoke, his thoughts were fully formed and measured.
The second she thought his name, she said it aloud—proving she hadn’t changed much from when she was younger.
“Paddy.”
Colm sighed. “Yeah.”
Those two words proved just how in synch Colm and Kelli were when it came to Padraig.
“We knew this was coming, Kell.”
She nodded. She had. Padraig had been very quiet at Friendsgiving, withdrawn. Too many times, she’d caught sight of that vacant, faraway look in his eyes. The one he always managed to shutter away and hide when he realized she was looking at him. Then he’d paste on a fake smile that didn’t fool her one bit and give her a wink she was certain he thought set her mind at ease.
It didn’t.
“I miss Mia,” she whispered, her voice breaking slightly. She hadn’t said those words—hadn’t even allowed herself to think them—in a long time, because the second she did, a heavy weight settled on her chest and she usually wound up crying herself to sleep.
“So do I. I miss my brother too,” Colm confessed.
Kelli turned her face away, trying to wipe away a tear without him seeing. He didn’t let her get away with it. Using the grip on her hand, he tugged her toward him, wrapping her up in a big, strong hug, giving her a second to get herself under control.
They didn’t say anything more. The past two years, they’d said it all…a thousand times. Talked until they were hoarse, trying to figure out how to heal Padraig’s shattered heart. It was the only time the two of them waved the white flag and called a truce, speaking about something that genuinely worried them both, though Kelli hadn’t realized that was what they were doing until just now. The moments when they talked about Padraig were the only times she’d felt some level of solidarity with Colm prior to Halloween.
And this was the first time Colm had ever hugged her after one of these talks, ever offered comfort through touch rather than words.
His silent strength soaked in deeper than anything he could ever say. She sucked in several deep breaths, squeezing him tighter for a second before releasing him. She looked up, giving him a weak attempt at a smile. “Thanks. I needed that.”
He cupped her cheek affectionately, giving her the same sad smile. “So did I.”
Then he bent lower and kissed her. It was a soft, sweet, gentle touch of his lips against hers, but it packed a punch. It didn’t last more than a few seconds, then he pressed his forehead to hers and gave her his signature cocky-ass grin. “We’re here.”
Kelli straightened and looked over her shoulder at her apartment building. “You know, you didn’t have to walk me home. I could have grabbed an Uber.”
“I needed to walk off that dinner. We haven’t even hit Thanksgiving and I’ve already packed on a couple extra pounds.”
Colm was built like most of the men in his family, tall with broad shoulders. Colm’s mom, Lane, referred to their dad, Tris, as Everest, and his sons had definitely acquired that same mountainous physique. Not that any of it was fat. Colm and Padraig both belonged to a boxing club and it ensured they were made of pure muscle.
Kelli released his hand. “Well, I guess I should—”
“Invite me up.” There wasn’t a hint of request in his words, so of course, it tweaked Kelli just enough that she’d deny herself what she wanted—him in her bed tonight—just to put the man in his place.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Though the two of them had gone out for dinner a couple of nights this week, they’d met at the restaurants and managed to not talk about Halloween…or that fucking hot-as-shit interlude in the bathroom last Sunday.
“Kell,” he said, his gaze heated…hungry. “Invite me up. Now.”
“You know,” she said, turning away from him, not surprised when he followed, “it would serve you right if I sent you packing, you cocky bastard.”
“But then you’d suffer too.”
She glanced over her shoulder to make sure he could see her rolling her eyes. “I’d hardly suffer. You’re not that—”
Colm cut her words off with a firm smack on the ass. “You go to hell for lying, Kell.” And then, to punctuate that, he smacked her again.
“Ouch,” she said through clenched teeth, trying not to recall how he’d done the same thing the night of Halloween—and how much she’d fucking loved it. She punched in the code to her apartment building and led him inside.
“That was just a warm-up,” he warned.
He’d certainly warmed up her ass, but she wasn’t about to admit that. Or how much she wanted him to make it burn.
Somehow the asshole knew because he gave her an amused chuckled, wrapping his arm around her waist to tug her closer as they walked up the first flight of stairs. She lived on the third floor of the apartment building, and the elevator only worked about a quarter of the time. As such, Kelli never used it, calling the two flights of stairs her workout routine. Well, that and seven daily hours of chasing a bunch of five-year-olds.
Yeah. Her exercise regime was solid, she thought sarcastically. Unlike Colm, who was rock-hard all over, she was a bit more plush…or as one of her students, Nykeya, liked to say, fluffy.
Unlocking her door, they hadn’t made it more than two steps over the threshold before Colm was kicking it shut with his foot. He quickly threw the dead bolt, then reached for her.
She met him halfway, the two of them kissing like he’d been off to war for years. All freaking day, she’d felt this damn pull, fighting like the devil not to push him into some empty bedroom and rip off his clothes.
His brother and cousins would have loved that. Though Sunnie, Yvonne, and Darcy wouldn’t have been too surprised.
Sunnie had pulled her aside at one point and threatened to turn the hose on her and Colm if they gave off any more sparks.
Kelli had brushed it off, but there was no denying the truth of her words. Kelli had been on a slow simmer all day, and now…
Now it was a full-blown boil.
A meow caught her attention, and she looked down to find Mojo rubbing against Colm’s legs.
“Hey, Mojo,” he said, acknowledging her cat in a way that was pretty adorable, before he pulled off his jacket, leaving it on the floor. Then did the same with hers.
Colm slowly started pushing her backwards, down the hallway to her bedroom, all the time kissing her like his life depended on it. She worked the buttons of his shirt free, moving so fast that at one point, she heard the slight tearing of fabric.
Colm’s hands had pulled her top from her jeans and slipped beneath, using his large grip to stroke the sensitive skin of her midsection, even as he steadied her on her backwards trek toward the bedroom.
Once his shirt hung open, she ran her fingers down his chest, stealing a quick touch before she started tackling his belt. She unthreaded it from the loops with a sharp swish, just as they reached her bedroom door.
Colm’s hands had found their way to her bra, beneath her shirt, and he was cupping her breasts firmly, squeezing them, pinching her nipples through the lace. Through it all, he’d never once broken the kiss.
“God,” she breathed when the back of her knees hit the edge of her mattress. Colm pulled her shirt over her head in one quick motion, drawing her bra straps
over her shoulders to place kisses there. He was just about to push her down when Kelli caught sight of her messy bed, and she remembered…
“Shit,” she whispered, pushing against Colm, trying to back him up. She’d have been more successful shoving a skyscraper.
“What’s wrong?” he murmured, his lips traveling over her cheek and down the side of her neck. Her eyes drifted closed for just a second before they flew open again.
“I need to make the bed,” she blurted out.
Colm lifted his head away from the shoulder he’d started to lick and gave her a funny look. “That is the definition of pointless.”
“Yeah, but…um…I’d still like to straighten up in here a little. I wasn’t expecting you to come back with me.”
He glanced around her far-too-tidy room. God, why was she such a neat freak?
Then his gaze drifted to her bed—and he grinned.
The sheets were twisted to hell. She’d spent every single night this week trying to work off some arousal.
“What’s in the bed?” he asked.
She scowled, hoping to wipe the know-it-all look off his face. Of course the son of a bitch would know exactly why she was suddenly panicking. “Nothing,” she lied, though her denial was the true definition of pointless.
“Tell me,” he urged her.
Kelli sighed…trying to guess herself. Typically, she washed and packed her toys away afterwards, but she’d been so hot and bothered last night, knowing she was going to see Colm today, that she’d really expanded her usual workout routine, then passed out in exhaustion afterwards. Sadly, none of it had held a candle to what she knew he could do to her.
She turned toward the bed.
“Come on, Kell. What’s hiding in those sheets?”
Oh, fuck it. He wasn’t going anywhere until she told him. “An oral sex simulator, one—possibly two—vibrators, and a dildo.”
Colm burst out laughing. “Jesus. I’m really getting to you, aren’t I?”
“Hate to burst your bubble, but Chris Hemsworth is my go-to.”
Colm wrapped his arms around her from behind, placing one of those right-on-the-erogenous-zone kisses to the nape of her neck, and she melted. “You can call me Thor later.”
“Go home.” There was no heat behind her words, and God help her if he called her bluff.
“Nope. You and I are going on a treasure hunt.”
She considered repeating her request that he leave with a little more gusto, then mentally kicked her own ass.
Was she seriously going to turn down a night with Colm, a bed, and an array of sex toys?
Fuck no.
Colm stepped around her and threw back the duvet, laughing. “Wow. You might be the woman of my dreams.”
“Might be?” she asked, pretending to be offended. She pointed to the bed. “That’s hot and you know it.”
He reached for her G-spot vibrator, waving it in front of her. “This looks like it has potential. And what is an oral sex stimulator?”
“The name doesn’t say it all? Meet Ora.” She reached for her Ora, handing it to him. Then she crossed her fingers to form a hashtag. “Hashtag who needs men?” she joked.
He studied it, then turned it on. His eyes widening. “Nice. But I’m going to make you eat those words. Grab the other vibrator and the dildo and follow me.”
Colm led her to the bathroom, shaking his head as he washed off her vibrators. “You should take better care of your toys.”
Kelli watched him, struggling not to laugh at the outright absurdity of the situation. Was she seriously standing in her bathroom in her bra as Colm washed her vibrators and…
He held up the dildo he’d taken from her and blew out a long breath. “Couldn’t find a bigger one?” The question was pure sarcasm.
“Sunnie gave it to me as a gag gift for my birthday a couple years ago. I whip it out every now and then because I like a challenge.”
He studied it for a second longer, then pitched it to the corner. “Yeah well, tonight the only big hammer coming to bed with us is the one in my pants.”
“Intimidated?”
He ignored her as he scooped up the vibrators and her Ora and they returned to her room.
“Take off your clothes.”
“So demanding,” she murmured, even as she unhooked her bra and slid it off. She stripped off her jeans and panties. Once she was naked, she gestured toward him. “Your turn.”
He dropped the toys on the bed, then tugged off the shirt she’d already unbuttoned, his jeans going next.
“Still going commando, huh?”
“Worked late a few days this week. Missed laundry day. Lay down on the bed. You’re going to give me a toy demonstration.”
Kelli climbed onto her bed, shaking her head. “If I wanted to play with my toys, you wouldn’t be here.”
He picked up the oral sex simulator, then crawled onto the bed, pressing her to her back and caging her beneath him.
Kelli wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him toward her for a kiss. She was becoming somewhat addicted to Colm’s kisses. He held his weight on his elbows as he kissed her senseless. The man really took his time with her lips, stroking them with his tongue, giving her playful nips. He didn’t rush them along to the next part, like most of the men in her past.
She’d never met a guy who considered kissing serious foreplay. Not like Colm did. She ran her hands through his hair, then stroked his beard. She hadn’t dated many men with facial hair, either, and she liked the extra sensation it provided.
She giggled softly when he slowly broke the kiss, his lips trailing over her cheek.
“Something funny?” he murmured, drifting to her ear, sucking on the lobe for a second before moving down to her neck.
“Your beard tickles,” she whispered.
“I’d shave it off, but I’ve been told I can’t pull off the beardless look as well as Paddy. Something to do with my mouth.”
She laughed breathlessly for a second before the sound turned to a gasp. Colm was currently putting that mouth to very good use, licking her nipple.
“God. So good.” She tried to hold his face to her breast, but Colm clearly had a different plan. He kept moving south, until he knelt between her outstretched thighs.
Her eyes had drifted closed, but they flew open when she heard a buzzing sound just a second before Colm held the Ora against her clit.
“Oh my God!” Her hips lifted of their own accord, trying to seek out more stimulation. Colm had quickly bypassed the slower speeds, going straight for the kill. She’d treated herself to the expensive toy last Christmas, deciding she wanted higher-tech, better orgasms. The cheap toys just weren’t cutting it anymore.
Colm was wielding the thing like a professional, driving her to the edge of a climax in less than a minute.
Just before she could catch it, though, he turned the toy off.
“No. Wait!” She tried to pull it back to herself, but Colm tossed it to the foot of the bed, out of her reach. “Dammit, Colm.”
He lowered his head, his breath hot on her sensitive, very wet pussy. He didn’t say a word as he ran his tongue along her slit.
“Fuck,” she breathed, her body trembling as he sucked her clit in his mouth roughly. Mercifully, Colm was smart enough to grip her hips before his attack, otherwise she might have hurt him with her wild gyrations.
He sucked harder, then wiggled his tongue against her clit.
“Who taught you that?” she cried.
Colm chuckled, the response only adding more vibration to her already overstimulated clit.
“Shit!” She came hard, her bones rattling with the impact. A meteor striking the planet wouldn’t have shaken her with this much intensity.
Colm was a fucking clit master.
She struggled to catch her breath, as Colm rose up until he was kneeling once again. As her wits returned, he gave her a wicked grin, repeating her hashtag gesture with his fingers. “Hashtag Colm one, Ora zero.”
/> She laughed, giving him the win. She could be generous. Considering she’d actually been the biggest winner.
“Get inside me, you lunatic.” Kelli tried to draw him to her, but Colm resisted.
“Hang on. Let me grab a condom.”
For a moment, Kelli was tempted to tell him to skip it, but she shoved that ridiculous thought away fast. She was jumbling up things that couldn’t be jumbled.
The sex with Colm was great, but that was all it was. Sex.
That was all it could be because her plan remained the same. Her desire for a baby hadn’t dimmed a single bit.
Colm retrieved the condom and slid it on.
She shoved away all thoughts of babies for now. Tonight wasn’t about that.
“Come here,” she whispered, crooking her finger at him.
Colm moved back over her body and placed his cock at her opening. They groaned in unison as he slid deep in one slow thrust.
“You feel so good,” he said, holding his weight on his elbows so he could kiss her again.
He tilted his hips in an easy, gentle rhythm as he made love to her mouth.
God. It finally dawned on her why sex with Colm felt so different, so special.
With other men, it had always been fucking.
But Colm didn’t do that. Instead, he made her feel cherished, precious. Important to him.
If this was his standard operating procedure, she couldn’t understand how he’d remained single so long.
“Colm,” she murmured, her hands stroking his back, her lips sliding over his bearded face.
“That’s right, Kell. Say my name. Remember it’s me.” He lifted up, his weight on his hands as he increased his pace, taking her harder. Deeper. She lifted her hips each time he slid back in, needing more, demanding more, and he answered the call with more force, more pleasure.
It was as if she’d triggered something inside him when she spoke his name. And now, holy shit, he was staking a claim, imprinting his name on her body, in her memory.
“Colm. God! I’m…”
“I’m there too. Say my name, Kelli.”
“Colm!” she cried, white light flashing behind her closed eyes.
