“Stupid boobs!”
Whatever. I solve that problem by retying the towel around myself and throwing the shirt over, nodding in satisfied glee as I open the door and peek out, sighing at the dead quiet.
First things first: breakfast.
I’m humming and dancing with the bowl of eggs, the toast toasting and the coffee brewing, when Lex stumbles in with a groan.
“What is wrong with you, woman? Don’t you sleep?”
“I’m a doctor. I survived residency and a year of proving myself in a male-dominated world. I can sleep like the dead anywhere, any time, and wake with two hours under my belt fresh as a daisy,” I trill, pouring eggs into the pan before grabbing a cup and pouring him some kick-ass coffee that makes me grudgingly high-five Storm.
Lex just grunts and bends over his cup, as I butter toast that I made from frozen bread and smear on jam that smells and looks divine. By the time I’m done and ready to serve, a bleary-eyed Storm stomps in, takes one look at me, and seems to just deflate.
Play it cool, Lenny.
“Hey, loser. You want some coffee?”
Good. Good, good. Keep doing that, and for God’s sakes, do not look at his crotch.
I pour the coffee and place it delicately at his elbow instead of slamming it into his thick skull like I want to, before gathering our plates and sitting with a smile that reaches my mouth but in no way makes me any happier than I feel.
“Eat. I didn’t cook for you two idiots just to watch you sulk over your coffee. I get up early. It’s just a thing I do. You don’t like it, stay in bed and leave me to be chipper before I have to look at your ugly mugs.”
I get two grunts and a strange look from Storm before I tuck in and pretend they don’t exist, preferring to focus on the scenery outside and the cool little garden that will only survive if I never touch it.
“Lenny?”
“Huh?” I meet Storm’s eyes, even though it takes way too much energy to force myself to do it, and I even manage a nonchalance I don’t feel as his gaze searches mine.
“You okay, sugar?”
I officially despise that name. Really, utterly, despise it, as my heart tries to thud before I shut it down with a stern “eff you” and a warning that it’ll have a run in with a butter knife if it even tries to beat a millisecond before it should.
“Yep. I had a great sleep, and you know, I woke up feeling better. God, Dr. Phil is so totally right about all that emotional stress response crap.”
I hate that old bastard so much, and yet I totally want to tongue kiss him for the crap he spews sometimes. It comes in handy at times like these, when all my brain wants to offer is “duh” or “dope” and a weird squeal that is so not right for a dignified dame such as myself.
My response has him frowning, and I shrug it off and turn to Lex, needing something to break the awkward silence that descends.
“Please tell me one of those guys from yesterday is bringing Chaser here.”
Lex grunts at me again and glares around a mouthful of eggs. Dang it, I may as well be talking to a rabid dog for all the satisfaction I’m getting from him. That just leaves Storm and, though I’d rather chew my own tongue out right now, I need to know about Chaser, seeing as he’s the only person I’ve got left in this crappy world.
Melodrama is my go-to when I feel sad, okay? Leave me be, and mind your own damn business.
“Storm? Chaser?” I try, schooling my features the way Pete taught me to when those puke-head girls in ninth grade were bullying me and my mama threatened to muzzle me if I bit another one of them.
Storm’s eyes are still narrowed on me, his mouth tight as he stares at me and seems to come to some conclusion. Whatever, okay? I can so totally do casual indifference if I want to.
If that’s cowardly, color me yeller.
“We can’t risk it right now, not with the way they came at you in broad daylight, Coleman. Don’t worry about Chaser; Jericho will probably spoil the mutt to within an inch before he gives him back.”
“Dammit! I want him now. He’s my cuddle buddy,” I whine, not giving much of a crap when my tone has the caveman beside me grunting and turning my way.
“Oh, you shut up, ape man. You don’t even have brain function to chew this early; you got no place judging me.”
“Lenny, sugar, I get that you need him. And, trust me, if I could give you that right now, I would. I just can’t. You’re gonna have to do without him for a little longer and just take my word for it that he’ll be just fine. And before you ask, Mrs. T and the Idiot Twins are okay too. Blaze is on their place, and Jericho is going to keep an eye on your folks, who, by the way, went batshit bananas when he told them all about this mess.”
“What! Oh my God! Are you people crazy? Pete will never let me out of his sight after this. How am I going to live with this? And Mama! You have any idea how paranoid and overbearing that woman can be when she gets it into her head that her only baby is in need of protection and love?” I yell, slamming my fist down on the table.
Cave Boy swallows without chewing and cocks his head at me, looking at me as if I grew another head or something.
“Not telling your parents about this is just wrong.”
“Says the man who lies about screwing three women at the same time!” I screech, getting up to pace and pull at my hair in frustration.
Do I acknowledge that not telling Mama and Pete is a little wrong? Sure. I’m not a dummy, and I’m not a total asshole. What I won’t accept is that, from here on out, my mama will be riding my ass and showing up at the hospital and my home at all hours. Which will lead to her horror about my apartment. Again. Her begging me to move back home. Again. And then, when I’m ready to ice pick my own ears, Pete will come at me with his puppy dog eyes and the stepdaddy guilt trip that makes me feel like a heel for ignoring him!
Screw this hell to freaking…hell! I should peel these chumps like fruit and stake them out in the sun to dry like beef jerky for what they’ve done. And Jericho? That schmuck will be praying for death by the time I get done with him.
Of course, that will be after I’m back home with Mama, being tube fed and bed-bathed like an invalid.
“Calm down.”
“You calm down you, you big old doodoo head!” I screech, spinning away when Lex and Storm both seem on the verge of laughter.
Men. God, why did I ever fool myself into believing the idiots could form two decent thoughts?
“Sugar.”
“I will fucking sugar you in the nuts if you try to placate me again, you ass. This is what I get for just trusting you, huh? My whole life is in the shitter and I’m right back to where I was four years ago. Mama will never let me forget this, and you peckerheads just gave her exactly that ammo she was looking for this whole time. Oh God, she makes me wear dresses!”
Have I mentioned melodrama? Well, I’m ready to go Andrew Lloyd Webber here as Gumbo One and Two struggle not to laugh at my meltdown.
You have got to understand though. I am not kidding about Mama. The woman has one kid and, apparently, that means she’s free to be as smothering and overprotective as all get out, no matter how long I’ve had my period or been old enough to vote and buy my own booze. Hell, the woman called me not three weeks ago, asking me which feminine product brand I prefer and whether or not I use lube for my sex toy.
Overshare!
As for the dresses thing? I don’t mind dresses, do not mistake me there; it’s just that my definition of cute is not the poufy vomit Mama seems to think I should wear. I once went to a distant cousin’s wedding looking like a peach meringue after that woman got her claws into me. Never again.
I’m so wrapped up in my pacing and muttering, I don’t notice Storm and Lex both circling me before the fools each grab hold of my arms and legs and wrestle me over to the sofa.
Lex, getting the bottom half, is on the money and I yell my outrage when he glances down, freezes, and drops me like a sack of potatoes.
“Oh Jesus. I
didn’t mean to look, Storm. Dammit. Where is your underwear, woman?!” he yells, running out as if he just saw a penis where my vagina is supposed to be.
That sets me off laughing, and I’m choking on my own spit when Storm presses me onto the sofa and seems at a loss as I cackle in glee. What the heck do I care? I just shaved my area; things are looking good, if I do say so myself.
Chapter Ten
Lenny
“No underwear?”
I keep laughing and manage to shake my head when Lex comes back in and tosses a pair of men’s briefs at me, before ducking behind the dining room table and holding his hands out.
“I hardly saw a thing!”
“What a crock! I just cleaned shit up this morning,” I wheeze, wiping tears from my eyes. “He got more than a glimpse. I guarantee it.”
I’m a little hysterical, so sue me. I needed a good laugh, I really did, and both of their expressions are so freaking comical, I can’t decide which goon to look at.
“Lex.”
That growl is so ominous and threatening I manage to sober up some and wrestle my still-shaking limbs into the briefs. They’re almost all the way up when Storm snarls, rips them away, and stomps out, returning seconds later with a larger pair that will never fit me.
“These are too big.”
“Put them on, Coleman. Now.”
“I hardly saw—”
“Lex, do yourself a favor right now, bro, and move on out before I lose my shit. Tell Blaze I’m good without you.”
“Storm—”
“Now!”
That bark has me flinching, and I feel my face pale when Lex skirts the table and leaps out of the room, leaving me alone with a glowering Storm.
“He saw your pussy.”
“Ahem. I believe it’s called my flower of love,” I say straight-faced, biting my lip to keep from giggling. “And he should be so freaking lucky. She’s a beauty.”
“I know!” he roars. “Jesus Christ, Coleman, do not fucking laugh right now, unless you want me all over that pussy.”
Ahem. Say what now?
I’m literally stunned speechless, as Lex runs out with a hasty goodbye, leaving me alone with the very confusing male beast circling me like a caged animal.
I feel like a piece of meat, as he keeps staring at me, and I almost make it to the end of the sofa, just inches from the exit, when he suddenly pounces and flattens me to the sofa, his briefs balled in my fists.
The kiss is out of the blue and so intense I don’t quite know how to respond before my brain shuts off and other parts take over. Storm devours me, using tongue, teeth, and his very soft lips to utterly destroy my senses and shatter me.
This kiss is my first in four long years and the man does not disappoint as he tongues me into a blissed out goo and starts eating at my mouth like he’s starving for me.
It’s wet, hard, and so dang hot that I moan and kiss him back, sucking at his tongue before I can stop myself. His groan of appreciation only serves to fire me up more, and I writhe against him, pushing my chest into his with every moan I utter into his mouth.
“He saw your—”
I cut him off again when he starts talking and nip at his lips, moaning my delight when his hands rip away the towel and shirt, leaving me naked and so ready I ache in my—
“No one else sees this body. Ever,” he snarls before licking into me one last time and clamping my hands over my head.
I almost come undone when his mouth settles over my nipple, and I do scream when he starts sucking with enough pressure to send shards of heat straight to my clit.
This need, it’s like nothing I’ve felt before and scary in its intensity, as Storm sets out to bite, suck, and lick at every inch of my breasts, his mouth ravenous as he growls and goes at me harder.
By the time he licks his way down, I’m so hot and boneless I can’t move a muscle and I really do scream when he palms my thighs, spreads me apart and licks right into my sex.
“Oh Goooood.”
It’s a miracle I don’t die on the spot when that wicked tongue digs deep into me, retreats and swipes up to my clit, before going down again to burrow into my opening.
“Mine.”
I hardly hear his growls, as I open wider and push myself into him, riding his face for all I’m worth. All I know, all I feel, is this desperate need, this ache, the surety that I’ll die if he stops now.
Storm doesn’t stop though, and I’m begging and screaming my need for more, harder, deeper, as he pushes his tongue deep and starts thumbing my clit in rapid stokes that set me ablaze.
My orgasm doesn’t build or creep up on me. It detonates so hard and fast I go blind and deaf as pleasure radiates from my core to every nerve and cell in me.
It feels so good. I have a moment of true fear as I shatter, convulse, and fly free of my body. I come to what feels like forever later to Storm lapping at my opening, groaning in pleasure as my juices stop pouring and I settle into the cushions with a sigh.
I have no idea what to say or do right now, and part of me can’t find the will to care as he gives me one last open mouthed kiss and stretches over me, kissing my lips with a gentleness that makes me tear up.
“I’m buying you so much underwear when I can move again,” he grunts, making me giggle despite the awkward heat I feel in my cheeks.
“Storm?”
“Don’t. If you’re going to regret this, Coleman, then just don’t say anything, okay?”
“Erm. I was just going to ask if you could maybe, uh, return the favor?” I squeak, going red as my shyness rears its nasty head.
He chuckles and kisses me sweetly before pushing up and taking me with him.
“Woman, I came so much while you came all over my face, I’m going to have to cut myself out of these pants,” he grunts, slapping my ass where I’m dangling over his shoulder. “Now, hush up, and let me clean you up. We got a lot of shopping to do before I can bring you home and get shit done right. Oh, and by the way, if you don’t want babies anytime soon, you better hope you’re already on the pill.”
Er.
Huh.
I’ll talk later. When I can form a coherent thought.
***
Nick
Shopping with Lenny sucks ass. I’ll tell you why. I have more money than I can spend in a decade of extravagant living, and the woman seems intent on ogling every price tag like it’s a coiled snake, huffing out a disgusted sigh at every turn and stalking away to sale bins I have no intentions of letting her raid.
Yeah. Like I’d let my woman wear ugly underwear now that I’ve been face-planted in that wonderful snatch she’s rocking. Like fucking liquid heaven, I think, watching her try to haggle with the sales woman even as the little dynamo I’ve given orders to runs around getting me everything I’ve so much as looked at in Lenny’s size.
“Dammit, Storm. No!”
“Quit it, woman. You want me to talk about the bedroom in front of these fine ladies?” I ask, smiling darkly at her crossed arms and tapping foot.
She chooses to blush instead of taking my warning. Huh.
“Look, Storm. I’m a doctor. There ain’t a thing you could say that would shame me one bit, so just cut it out and put some of those panties back,” she demands, stamping her little foot in the rolled-up socks I wrestled onto her feet just an hour ago.
“Fine. You asked for it,” I sigh, smiling over at the cooing sales women. “Now, baby, you should have known that once I got my mouth on that slice of sugar that I wouldn’t let you dress that queen in pauper’s rags.”
Her screech of outrage is met by titters and my own chuckle when she turns beet red, spins in a circle, and stomps off in a fit.
“My, my, boy. She seems likes an ornery one.”
“Nah. She’s just out of sorts since I decided to come shopping when—”
“I will gut you like a flopping fish if you finish that sentence, Nicholas Storm,” she yells, stomping back to shove a hand over my grinning mouth
before turning a droll stare on the sales ladies.
“You have got to excuse my, er, husband, ladies. He hasn’t had his medication today and lordy, the nonsense he does spout when he’s a little unbalanced.”
Their eyes turn to me, and I want to laugh my ass off when they throw me a wink and humor Lenny.
“Now, now, child. Don’t you worry none. We understand. Why, my Harold was a dirty old cuss when we were young.”
Huh. I bet they wouldn’t think so if they knew some of the nasty shit I have planned for Lenny the minute I get her home and into my bed. God have mercy, just the memory of her coming all over me, her sex squeezing and pulsing around my tongue has my dick going iron hard.
Her eyes narrow a little, and I hear her huff before she snarls and storms away again, choosing her battles. I saunter out after her with a grin and three bags full of silky seduction, my mood ten times better for the effort. Her huff is short lived though because no sooner am I out of the store than she’s at my side and cuddling into me, her eyes darting around nervously.
“Calm down, sugar. You’re safe here. Ain’t no one gonna find you here.”
“I know; I’m just antsy, is all. Can we go to the store now? I want to cook lunch, and your fridge is bare.”
“Later. Clothes first.”
“Darn it, Storm! I don’t need clothes.”
“Well, now, I would totally agree, sugar, but seeing as my mama and aunt are on their way to meet you, I’d suggest at least one dress and some jeans and tees.”
Those green eyes go wide and I’m in the midst of another meltdown right before I lean in and kiss her breathless.
“Storm, this is just too…dang it! Your mama? I can’t meet your mama, Storm. That’s just…that’s weird and scary!”
I keep grinning and cooing as I lead her into a tiny boutique and give the next lady a wink. That gets her going, and I’m still listening to Lenny grouch as I fill up the grocery cart and try to get her involved in the process.
“Sugar. Calm down, now. Mama always comes by the first week that I’m back from a job. It’s her way of making sure I’m still in one piece and firing on all cylinders. She’ll love you though.”
THE WATCHERS: 6 Military Romance Bundle Page 9
