A Carpino Series Collection, Books 1-3

by Brynne Asher

  “What’s this?” I ask.

  “McLintock!,” Jordy mutters with a mouthful of popcorn.

  “This is what we’re watching?” I ask.

  “Yes,” Cara groans. “I told you Daddy likes Junwane.”

  “It’s good. The old Indian guy is the best part,” Jordy says.

  “No, it’s not,” Cara whines.

  Okay, I need to rest my head and close my eyes. I’ll do my best to block out the John Wayne movie, but seriously, Cam’s preferences in music and movies need an overhaul. I can’t think about this right now. I move around to the love seat and settle in the corner.

  I hear Cam come in and he brushes the side of my face, tilting it back for me to look at him. “Take these.”

  He drops two pills into my palm and shoves a glass of water my way. That was weirdly sweet and not grumpy at all. I swallow the pills away and see him move to the sofa, hearing ice clinking in his glass. I see he’s poured himself a bourbon. I decide not to say anything about him not offering me something stronger. My head hurts too bad, I wouldn’t have wanted it anyway.

  The minute Cam settles, Cara puts her popcorn down and climbs up onto her dad’s lap. I look over as he pulls his tiny daughter tight to his big strong body. Before I have a chance to realize what’s happening, Jordy’s climbing into my love seat. He doesn’t look at me, just crawls up and grabs hold of me like he did earlier at Bekki’s apartment.

  I understood it earlier. What we all went through was frightening, especially for the kids—I was the only adult they knew. But for him to be worried about me leaving earlier and want to be close to me is sweet. So sweet, I’ve got a lump in my throat. I have to blink back tears as I pull him to me and we settle deeper into Cam’s cushy furniture. I see the movie click on and “McLintock!” flashes over the screen as I settle in for my first ever John Wayne movie.

  I hear another clink of ice and look over at Cam who’s staring at Jordy and me. His eyes are sharp and intense before they slowly close. He drops his head back to the sofa, squeezing them tight as I hear old western music play around me on the surround sound.

  I nestle in deeper with Jordy and can’t help but fall further. I think I’ve been falling bit by bit ever since Cam aimed his goateed grin at me last week. Has it only been a week? It feels like forever, but then again, maybe it’s just because I’ve been waiting for it forever. I never knew “it” would be packaged in muscle, would often be sweet but sometimes a little grumpy, and come with two kids. I lean down and kiss Jordy on top of his head, just because he deserves it, and look to the big screen.

  I never get to see the old Indian guy. I fall asleep thinking Maureen O’Hara had beautiful skin.

  Paige

  “Baby, let go. I need to put him to bed,” Cam whispers. I open my eyes and feel Jordy’s dead weight being pulled off me. He really is a big kid.

  Cam lays him down on his air mattress next to Cara who’s already tucked in. The movie is off and the room is dark. I stand and head upstairs, grabbing popcorn bowls and glasses on my way. Cam would probably leave these here for weeks.

  Going straight to the dishwasher, I start to load his dishes and hear from behind me, “I can’t believe you did what you did.”

  I turn and see him standing there, hips to the island with his ankles and arms crossed. Once again he’s frowning and I’m getting tired of him frowning at me. I know what he’s talking about so I cross my arms right back. “What’s so unbelievable about it?”

  He leans forward stressing his words. “You were hurt.”

  “I’m fine,” I insist. “It wasn’t bad and whatever you gave me kicked in. My headache is gone.”

  “Darlin’, you’re about a buck-o-five and you approached three men who could hurt you with their little fingers. They tossed you against a wall.” He raises his voice. “What were you thinking?”

  Okay, now he’s pissing me off. “Just for your information, I’m more than ‘a buck-o-five.’ I weigh at least one-ten, maybe more when I’m on my period, not that that’s any of your business. And I wasn’t tossed—I was shoved. Why are we arguing about this anyway? It’s over. Everyone’s fine.”

  “Baby,” he says with zero affection as he drops his arms and stands up straight. “If you tell me everyone is ‘fine’ one more time, I’m gonna fuckin’ snap.”

  “Really?” I tip my head. “If this isn’t you ‘snapping’, I’d like to know what is. What would you have recommended I do earlier this evening, hmm?”

  He narrows his eyes before bringing his hands up to roughly rub his face. Dropping his head, his hands slide roughly through his hair and he stares at the floor with one hand resting on the back of his neck.

  “The police were on their way. I had someone on the phone who I hoped could hear what was going on,” I argue.

  He doesn’t look up but he shakes his head as he stares at the floor.

  “They were banging on the door. The kids were scared.” I try and defend myself further.

  He still says nothing, but his eyes squeeze tight.

  Tired of him ignoring me, I raise my voice. “What was I supposed to do? They were trying to break in and they could’ve gotten to the kids.”

  All of a sudden, his head pops up and I learn what it’s like for Cam to snap. He was right when he said he was holding on by a thread, but it just frayed. He turns to the island and everything in front of him goes flying. Mail, one of the kid’s bags, and an extra plastic popcorn bowl go airborne—some flitting to the floor and others hitting the long farmhouse distressed pine table as he screams, “I know!”

  I step back out of instinct, hitting the sink and watch him turn around to continue yelling. “You think I don’t fucking know that?”

  “Cam,” I utter in a low voice.

  He keeps yelling. “You don’t think I know what could’ve happened to my kids tonight had you not waded into that shit? And all because of the fucking woman I chose to marry and have kids with went and left them by themselves. The same fucking woman I have to leave them with four days a month. And now I have to wonder what’s been goin’ on during those four days for who knows how long. You’ve known them for what, a little over a week? And you walked right into that shit for my kids when their own mom left them to it.”

  “Please, you’re going to wake them,” I say quietly.

  “And you’re you and you got hurt doin’ it,” he keeps bellowing, as if I never said a word. He throws out an arm toward me, continuing. “I don’t know what to do with you, Paige. I find myself wanting to turn you over my knee and tan your ass for putting yourself in danger, not to mention getting hurt, while at the same time I want to fuck you so hard you can’t see straight to show my appreciation. Fuck!”

  My eyes get big at his words and I see he’s breathing hard. As he stands across from me, he’s trying to calm himself. I guess it’s good to know what to expect when he says he’s holding on by a thread.

  He’s silent now and the air is stagnant in his big beautiful kitchen. I push off the sink where I’m standing and move to him, never taking my eyes off his. I lift my hands to his abs, loving the feel of him, and when I get close enough, I lift up on my toes to reach his mouth with mine. He grabs my face, pulling me the rest of the way to take over my kiss.

  Breaking our connection, he says nothing so I ask, “Are you okay?”

  He exhales. “My ex-wife left my kids alone. Then you stepped in and got hurt. It could have been so much worse. So, no. I’m not okay.”

  “I’m sorry.” I wind my arms around his waist.

  He puts a gentle hand to my head where I got bumped. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. My elbow hurts worse than my head.”

  He stares down at me intently. “It makes me fucking crazy you got hurt.”

  I tip my head and change the subject. “I don’t think I want you to tan my ass.”

  He closes his eyes and shakes his head once.

  “And I don’t think I want you to fuck me so hard I
can’t see straight,” I add.

  He opens his bright blue eyes and raises his eyebrows.

  “At least not tonight, anyway,” I whisper.

  One brow drops but the other stays up in question.

  “Cam,” I drawl his name out in two syllables and sink farther into him.

  His head leans closer to mine and he wraps me up in his arms. “Baby, what do you want?”

  I close my eyes and plant my face in his chest, mumbling there, “Don’t make me say it.”

  Putting his hands to my face again, forcing me to look up where his eyes are soft and searching. “You want me to take you?”

  I look up a beat and try to find my voice. “I want it more than anything.”

  I feel his fingers tense on me. “You sure this is what you want? Now?”

  I pull in a breath as I nod.

  His look turns intense and, before I know it, I’m up in his arms, being whisked away down the hall to his room.

  Well, I said it and I meant it.

  But holy hell.

  This.

  Is.

  It.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I Know Without a Doubt

  Paige

  “Cam, what are you doing?”

  “Shh,” he shushes me and I feel his goatee at the back of my neck before his lips make contact. I’m face down in his bed again, but naked this time and Cam didn’t waste any time getting us to where we are now.

  But this is not what I expected.

  After being swept to his room at the speed of light, Cam did the whole strip tease thing he’s done the past two nights. Except tonight it wasn’t a tease. When he got down to his underwear model couture, I learned he also has a liking for Ralph Lauren. I can’t believe I had the mind space to think about it, but it really surprises me he likes designer underwear since he usually wears athletic apparel.

  But all thoughts of his underwear flew out of my head when his thumbs went to his designer waistband and down they went, taking my breath with them.

  Whoosh.

  And just like that, Campbell Montgomery, in all his glory was standing in front of me as bare as a … well, I don’t know.

  I was speechless.

  I know I stared. But seriously, he was not lying last week when he said he had a dick. I have none to compare it to, but it’s bigger than I imagined and it’s standing at attention, loud and proud, staring me down. As it came closer, I quickly looked up and its owner was grinning. I felt his hand grab mine and then I was touching it.

  He wrapped my hand around his cock as I wheezed, “Cam.”

  “Darlin’.” He slid my hand up and down his rock hard mass covered in silk. He leaned his face close to mine and said in a low voice, “You were wound tight last night when I had you bared to me. I don’t want you tight—I want to do everything I can to make it good for you, but it can’t be good for you if you’re self-conscious. Now you don’t have to think about you. You can think about me.”

  With that, he whipped off my top and unhooked my bra, sliding it down my arms. I was naked before I knew it and he positioned me face down in his bed like he did last night. But tonight I’m not getting a deep tissue massage. No, tonight it’s all about touches, caresses and Cam tasting me wherever he feels like tasting me. And all of this has my insides buzzing and my girlie parts on fire.

  “How’s your shoulder?” he asks in my ear where his goatee tickles me.

  I exhale into his pillow. “It’s good.”

  I feel him press his erection into the side of my thigh and his fingers trail over my bottom. “Spread for me.”

  I slowly hitch my far knee since he’s plastered to my other side and instantly feel his fingers between my legs. I can’t help but let out a little moan from his touch.

  “You always ready for me?” he asks and I swear I hear him smile.

  “I guess,” I mutter. “I wouldn’t know.”

  He hikes his big heavy thigh over my leg, pulling his warm body partly over mine and murmurs, “My sweet Paige.”

  I feel my breathing go shallow and can’t help but tip my bottom to get more of his touch and he gives it to me. He slides two fingers inside while another rubs just hard enough to get me close.

  He surprises me by pulling away, making me complain, “Cam.”

  “You sure, baby?” he asks, giving me only a brush of his fingertips.

  I turn my head on his pillow. The light in his room is low coming from one lamp on the bedside table, casting a warm luminosity around us. His blue eyes are darker again in the dim glow. They’re intense, inquisitive, and on me.

  “I didn’t wait just to wait,” I say.

  His dark blue eyes frown at me.

  “You’ve got to want someone and I’ve never wanted anyone.”

  His frown disappears and he’s back to inquisitive.

  “Until now,” I finish.

  “Fuck.”

  He gives me back his touch and it hardly takes any time before I’m moaning and gasping into his pillow. I lift my hips farther to get more of him.

  “You saved this for me,” he murmurs against my hair, his big hand cupping me.

  I’m not sure how he expects me to respond, there’s no way I can form words. I answer by lifting higher, giving him more.

  He gets my answer, circles my clit harder. “So sweet and beautiful.”

  And that’s when I fall apart.

  I barely catch my breath when his hand goes to my far hip, flipping me to my back, his hips falling between my legs. His goatee and lips hit mine where he kisses me as I recover.

  Finally pulling away, he says, “I haven’t had a checkup in over a year. I’ve always protected myself, but I’m gonna use a condom even if you’re on birth control.”

  “I’m not on birth control.”

  For some reason this makes him smile before he kisses me again. “So sweet. We might need to fix that eventually.”

  I can’t help but bite my lip thinking about eventually. I lose his weight and he leans to his nightstand, reaching in a drawer. He pulls out a small square package and sits back on his calves where I get to watch him roll a condom on himself. It takes my breath away to see him sit over me so big and beautiful. He doesn’t move when he’s done, he stays back on his haunches looking down on me and I fight the urge to cover myself, fisting his sheets.

  He starts touching me between my legs. “You’ll tell me if I hurt you?”

  I nod once but say, “I don’t think you could hurt me.”

  He gazes down and moves his hand, replacing it with the tip of his cock, rubbing it up and down between my legs. I grasp his neck and feel the tip of him at my opening where he barely starts to slide into me.

  Now I’m no prude, I have a toy. But I can already tell there’ll never be a substitute for the real thing. He barely pushes into me slowly and even though it’s foreign, it’s perfect.

  “Baby,” he breathes, sounding pained.

  “You feel good,” I say.

  He pulls out before scarcely pushing back in.

  “I’ll hate myself if I hurt you,” he whispers against my lips.

  He moves slightly and as he stretches me, I know now without a doubt. Even though I know I haven’t waited just to wait, this is what I waited for.

  For him.

  “Please. I want more of you,” I breathe, trying to lift my hips.

  He looks into my eyes and exhales before his lips hit mine. When he kisses me, I feel his hips give one thrust and finally. He’s there, filling me up.

  “Paige,” he breathes against my mouth.

  “You’re perfect.”

  He takes my mouth and as his big body surrounds mine, he stretches me, filling me from the inside out. It’s so good that I know. Even after a week and a handful of days, somehow I know.

  I know.

  And I was right.

  It’s him for me. I waited for him all this time and I never knew it.

  I’d do anything for him. I’d give him
whatever he wanted. I want to give him everything.

  His eyes burn into mine and I feel him shift enough to bring a hand between us. He starts to work my sensitive clit with his thumb as he barely moves. This feels so good I lift my hips to try to get more, but I’m oversensitive from before and with Cam filling me up, it doesn’t take long before I come again. This one is quick but different than any I’ve ever had because he’s inside me and it reaches every inch of me.

  “Paige, baby, can I move?” he asks, almost like he’s apologizing for something.

  I peel my eyes open, still feeling the tingles and he’s looking down at me with something between a searching and pained expression. I pull my legs up, learning that feels even better. “Yes.”

  His eyes droop and he comes down on his elbows, close to my face and he starts to move. His pace quickens even though I feel he’s holding back trying to control himself. When he slides in all the way, I feel him hit my clit and that feels so good I lift my hips to get more.

  He groans. “You’re killing me, baby. You’re so tight, I afraid I’m going to hurt you.”

  “Don’t stop,” I insist, wrapping my calves around his ass for more leverage.

  He moves a little faster and I love it. A few minutes later, I feel every beautiful muscle in his body tense around mine. He moves a few more times and stills, planting himself deep inside me. He’s breathing hard and for some reason that makes me smile because his body is a machine. I like it that he’s spent, as if he just ran a marathon. But I like it more that he’s spent because of me.

  Still inside me, he slowly lifts his eyes. When he finally speaks, I sense he’s talking more to himself than to me when he declares, “I knew I wanted you. I shouldn’t have, but I took you anyway. Now, my sweet Paige, you’re mine. This is it. I’m not letting you go.”

  Wow, that was weirdly hot even if it was possessive. But lying here with Cam inside me, I don’t think anything could make it better than his declaration. If this is what it feels like to be claimed, I never want him to let me go.