Haught & Bothered: Haught Brothers Book 3

by Leela Lou Dahlin

  “So what’s it to be Alec?” She could tell he wanted to finish what they’d started, but he was just stubborn enough to make them wait for a better opportunity.

  “I’ll come see you after the party.” Alec tucked his hard cock back into his pants. It looked uncomfortable and she had her mouth open to mention it when she remembered something. True didn’t beg anyone for anything, hell she barely asked. In this moment she could be a totally different person.

  Alec moved closer to her and placed a hand on her breast. “We can make it through a few hours. Then I’ll bring you desert.”

  Placing her hand back over his cock. “You mean this?”

  “I’ll be bringing that too, but did you forget the pistachio salad?”

  True screwed up her face and shook her head. “Yes, Alec. I totally did.”

  *****

  With the party in full swing True was having the time of her life. So many people had come to the gender reveal party that she hadn’t expected. She’d been greeting people and hugging people all night.

  “Are they having drink specials tonight?” Gemmi asked when she moved over to see if she needed anything.

  “Just the regular stuff, but I think this is a mix of you and Camden being amazing people and everyone wants to share your joy.” True could see Gemmi was nervous as she got around large groups at times. “Do you want to go outside for a minute to get some air?”

  Gemmi nodded and tried to stand up. True stood up to help her find her balance, then the two of them moved to the edge of the party and then out the side door.

  It was relatively quiet out there with the noise of the bar being muffled a great deal.

  “I think I over did it today. Trying to get some exercise is what I told myself I was doing, but actually I wanted to talk to Alec.”

  “About what?”

  “Camden and the way he stifles me. I was going to have to pack my bags and move in with my mother if he didn’t give me a bit of space.”

  “If I’m correct you fainted at the bar right in front of his face. You don’t think he has the right to be a bit upset? The man lost his mother in childbirth and he loves you like he loves no other person. I know he’s getting on your nerves but try to think of it from his perspective.”

  Gemmi nodded, “I knew that, but sometimes it’s hard to remember. Alec straightened it all out for me, I think. At least Camden seems a bit less prison guard and a little more affectionate husband.”

  “I can’t imagine what it must be like to have two little people kicking around in there.” True looked closely at her friend's shirt. “It looks like they’re moving now.”

  “Come here.” Gemmi waved her over before taking True’s hand and placing it on her stomach.

  “Have mercy.” True was in awe feeling the babies move under her hand. “That feels so odd.”

  “You should try feeling it in my position.”

  “I don’t think that will happen for me. I’m not meant for that life.” True withdrew her hand from the kicking babies.

  “True you’re the most maternal person I know.”

  It felt good to hear it, but having a mother who left you in a box at the police station didn’t make one feel they come from the most maternal stock. “Thank you for saying that, Gemmi. I’m sure you mean it, but I hope you’re not going to ask me to be the godmother. Your cousin seems like she’d really like that spot.”

  Gemmi opened her mouth like she was going to fight True and her beliefs.

  “Let’s not go into whatever you’re going to say if it has anything to do with motherhood or godmotherhood.”

  Her friend had the good graces to just nod and take a few deep breaths of clean air. True’s gaze was caught on someone across the street who was walking toward the door. She swore she felt a shiver slide down her spine a sign that shit was about to go sideways in her life. It hadn’t happened in a while, but it when it did… fuck.

  “Let’s go back inside. I’m sure someone is looking for you and it’s probably time for the announcements to start.” True helped Gemmi up and walked her back to the door.

  Gemmi stopped in her tracks. “What’s wrong, True. You’re acting weird.”

  True knew whatever was going on was only going to happen to her so she wasn’t afraid for Gemmi, but she didn’t want to sound like a flake either. There were only two people who she’d told about these feelings and she didn’t want to bother them now at the party. Maybe it was nothing.

  “I just want to get you back inside to enjoy the party. What’s a gender reveal without a pregnant woman?” True tried for humor. “Not much fun.”

  Gemmi wasn’t convinced but she went along with True back to the party. Beau was waiting at the door when they got back with an overly bright smile and panic in his eyes.

  “What?” True asked as soon as Gemmi found a few friends that she squealed as they hugged.

  “You know this gender reveal was practically broadcasted everywhere and it’s not like any and everyone couldn’t just show up. There were no tickets or anything.”

  “Beau I can’t stand when you ramble. That’s how I know it’s bad.” True noticed Beau had a tight grip on her arms which was odd because he knew how much she didn’t like that from her days in a bad foster home. “I know the place was closed for the reveal but still open to the public.”

  “Okay…deep breath.”

  True took one to humor Beau but he was so upset it was beginning to be a little funny.

  “Joni Wolf is here.”

  True thought about the person she’d seen walking by before that tingle of bad things coming. It couldn’t be that bad though, right? “Alec’s ex fiancé?”

  Beau nodded.

  Well, I guess it can be that bad.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for the reveal.” Rosy was standing in front of the table where Camden and Gemmi plus two large boxes sat. “Anybody want to guess before we get started?”

  The crowd answered in a mass, but it sounded like most of the people thought it would be boys. This would have been so much better if her stomach wasn’t doing flips because Joni and Alec were nowhere to be found.

  “Where did they go?” She leaned over and asked Beau.

  Karessa walked up to them and sat down beside True. “Joni came in when you were outside, found Alec and started talking. Unfortunately, I was too far away to hear what was said, but he was trying to listen and console her. They went through the kitchen right before you came back in. I went to find more spoons, but I didn’t see them.”

  True looked at Karessa. The international plus size lingerie maker who had millions of dollars at her disposal, and a file of A-list actresses on speed dial, but deep down she was just a kick ass bestie with amazing recon skills.

  “Let’s watch the reveal and then I’m going home.”

  “You know Alec isn’t—”

  True held up her hand and thankfully Beau stopped. She was way out of practice with this whole don’t let anyone see you’re hurting thing. Back in the day people didn’t even know how deeply she cared for him. His first real girlfriend Chloe was the one she befriended because she thought it wouldn’t make her as mad as the devil on Christmas. It hadn’t worked. As a matter of fact, she was living vicariously through this girl, acting as a friend and praying for them to break up behind her back. It wasn’t a good time for True. The one who prides herself on being honest and living up to her name.

  “Are we ready?” Rosy asked them and riled up the crowd at the same time. Camden and Gemmi hand their hands on the top of the lid and they nodded. There was a canned drum roll and when the lid came off blue balloons and confetti sprang out of the box.

  The applause was deafening and True couldn’t help but smile at the support this couple had from their bar community.

  “So we have one beautiful, bouncing baby boy and…” Rosy moved the couple over to the next box and stepped back so Camden and Gemmi could take the lid off the second one. The drum roll played over t
he intercom and the lid was lifted, but this time a pink balloon and confetti came out of the box. Pandemonium ensued in the form of hoops, hollers and general excitement. Karessa was crying and hugging Beau and then came for True and she found her eyes a bit misty. “Wow, you guys are an excitable group. Haha…one beautiful, bouncing baby girl. Congratulations Gemmi and Camden. I’m so happy for you two and I can’t wait to meet these two.”

  True looked around the room and still didn’t see any sign of Jodi or Alec as she walked over to the celebrating couple. It was time to go because she was just going to put a damper on the day and she refused to do that. This feeling of being second best, a place holder was as old as time in the relationship she and Alec had. She thought they had something, but later found it was easy for him to dismiss.

  “Oh True, can you believe it. One of each. It’s just what I wanted.” Gemmi was beaming from ear to ear and True was sure she looked exactly the same as her friend because she couldn’t contain the huge smile that spread across her face either. “If it weren’t for you this never would have happened.”

  “That’s me, the matchmaker.” True turned to hug Camden who was also smiling.

  “Maybe it’s time for the matchmaker to be matched.” Camden said in the middle of the hug.

  “No thanks, Cam. Let’s just leave that to the professionals. Not everyone has a match there are groups of people who should just remain individuals.” True wasn’t going to debate this but she honestly believed it. “Anyway, I’ve got to get out of here, but I’ll be at the baby shower.”

  “That’s a few days away, what are you going to be doing until then. I’m thinking of doing a gallery sale.” True didn’t want to tell her she wanted to sell off all the pictures based on a certain someone, because no one had ever realized that the man who would never pose for her was the focus of most of her best pieces. Looking at them daily as they hung in the gallery had been a comfort, but now it seemed like a crutch.

  “I want to come.” Gemmi said, bouncing as much as a woman heavy with pregnancy could. She looked over at Camden looking for a reaction and only saw the face of a man who’d do anything for his bride / mother of his babies. It almost made True sob. Family was just so freaking important and if she was going to get away from Alec would that mean she lost the only family she had?

  “I’ll let you know when it is.” True decided she needed to get away from all the happy festivities before she fell into a funk of her own making. This is what she did. She handled it alone, she cried alone and she phoenixed herself out of the ashes and all that shit.

  True returned home, took a shower, and went straight to her computer. The time for sorrow was over. There were decisions to be made like how was she going to get the word out for her sale and how was she going to move all of these pieces out of her gallery and out of her life. It didn’t take long for her to come up with a theme – the secret sale. She wanted it done quickly so she put out an email to the people on her email list and asked them all to share the information with their friends.

  Stretching, she looked at the clock on the wall and couldn’t believe how much time had passed. In the back of her mind, she’d been hoping that Alec would at least come over to explain…and bring that pistachio salad. If she were going to be honest with herself, she wanted him to bring that cock of his with him too. She was on her way out but there was no reason a few more memories couldn’t be added to the memory bank.

  She looked at her phone and remembered she’d turned if off when she left the party and was in ‘fuck that dude’ mode. After pressing the button to turn it on and see if she missed anything there was a knock on the door. There was no way she didn’t know who that was but she stood there for a few minutes trying to decide what she was going to do. Bring him in to sex up and then kick him out, just leave his ass out on the porch, or let him in and listen to whatever bullshit story he had. The last one actually sounded the best because she had never…ever in her life heard him explain anything. He just didn’t do it. The man gave not one single fuck in regards to what people thought of him or his actions. It wasn’t that he was inconsiderate, but he did what he wanted and made no bones about it. That was something they had in common and it was one of the things she liked about him…normally, but not now. A bit of groveling was in order and she wanted to see him do it.

  She opened the door to the man with no fucks carrying the bowl with the pistachio salad and a smile.

  “Are you ready for your dessert?” Alec said with a smile.

  Chapter 10

  “And here I thought you’d already had your treat for the night.” True looked more beautiful that she had in his kitchen on her knees and now he knew why. She was pissed full of passion. It was the way she looked when she was painting or taking pictures. There was a freshness to her face, a sparkle in her eye and it was so damn desirable to him. Not that he’d share that right now. There was no way she was in the mood to hear it.

  “Nope. I was saving it for you.”

  “Uh huh.” She stepped back to let him in and he turned and handed her the bowl. He thought it may be a good idea to let her have it and then he’d watch, because there was something he couldn’t talk to her about yet and he didn’t think it was going to go over well.

  He loved watching her do anything but tonight there was a definite sway to her hips and fuck you in her aura. Alec wanted to soothe her but wasn’t sure if that was the best thing to do. She set the bowl on the counter and flicked off the foil before finding a spoon.

  “Are you going to eat all of that alone?”

  “Did you want some, Alec? I would have thought you’d had enough already.” She dug her spoon into the mixture and put it in her mouth.

  Alec made this for her because she somehow loved the green dessert and it made her make almost the same noise as she did when he slid into her pussy for the first time. He moved closer to her and she watched him like he was a bad dog and she was waiting to smack his nose but still he moved even closer.

  She continued to eat her dessert but very slowly like she was waiting for something, but he wasn’t sure what it was.

  “I want a taste,” he whispered after she put the last spoonful in her mouth.

  True put more of the concoction on the spoon and lifted it to his mouth and waited for him to open up. He put his hand around the hand holding spoon and moved it away from him, before leaning in for her mouth. Nibbling the corner of her lips and nuzzling her mouth was his way of testing the waters. He knew she was hot and ready before the party but something happened during the reveal and he wanted to give her as much information about it as he could but he wasn’t sure that was going to be enough to satisfy her.

  “You don’t want this.” True asked about the spoon she had in her hand. He took it from her and held it to her mouth. She opened and accepted the spoonful from him and he put the utensil back in the bowl. “I guess that was a no.”

  “I want you, True. That’s why I’m here.” He liked that her eyes got big and he loved that she was willing to trust him. That whimper she gave sounded like encouragement and he struggled not to let out a sigh of relief. The acceptance and desire in her eyes turned him on but the trust is what made him feel like she was his home. That was one of the most important things in the world to him.

  She didn’t say anything and all that could be heard was the sound of her refrigerator and both of their breathing. Moving behind her he bent his head down to taste the flavor of her neck. It was something he knew she loved and when he accidentally found out about it years ago it was hard not to focus on that area.

  Now the sounds in the room included her breathy sighs and the sound of kisses and licks on skin. True grabbed on to the counter and held on. Alec brought one hand up to settle on her stomach and then slide up to her breasts.

  “I don’t want to be teased today, Alec.”

  He chuckled a little. “I think you say that to me all the time.”

  “Because it’s true. I want it hard, fast
and now and you want to give me slow.”

  Alec thought about it for a few seconds before deciding it would be best to give her what she wanted. He held the firm flesh of her breast in his hand and squeezed a bit harder than he normally would have before pinching her nipple between his thumb and finger.

  “Yessssssss,” hissed True as she pushed her ass out toward him.

  “You like that, beautiful?” He did the same thing to the other breast and enjoyed the response just as much or more than the first time. It wasn’t that he minded being rough with True but she was just so precious to him that he wanted to show her that. It didn’t really occur to him that she liked a rougher touch, but he definitely could comply.

  She turned in his arms so that she was facing him and she took his hand and brought it up to her neck.

  “Oh it’s like that, is it?”

  “It’s always been like that.” True had a smile on her face that was a bit wicked and all sexy.

  “And here I’ve been fucking you like my favorite flower and you’re here wanting more.” He rubbed his thumb against the vein in her neck just to hype up her excitement that was evident by her breathing becoming erratic.

  She reached up to kiss him but he evaded her mouth and looked sternly down at her. He’d never seen True look like this and he wondered if this was one of her role playing games she liked so much. It was never anything very elaborate but he knew she liked to add different spices to their sex. Whether that was role playing, dirty talk or just different locations but she never looked this into it.

  He added a bit more squeeze to her throat and she gasped.

  “You’re so hot for me. I don’t know if we’re going to make it out of this kitchen.” He was glad she had on shorts and a tee shirt. His girl was dressed for comfort today. Shoving his hands down her pants he found her wet and ready. “Seems like your body agrees.”

  True squirmed around in his arms a minute before he could tell what she was doing. She’d wiggled her shorts down enough so they fell to the floor before opening up her legs a little to give him more access.