“Let us clean up the kitchen,” Allison says.
“No.”
“Yes. We need to have the cupcakes Ed brought with him.”
The two friends stare each other down, then Savannah smiles. “Okay.”
I don’t move, even though all her brothers stare at me, waiting.
“He’s staying.”
“I would rather he doesn’t,” Austin says.
“We don’t always get what we want.”
Austin’s features soften as he takes in her meaning. There is a part of me, the brother to four sisters, who understands Austin. I don’t agree with what he did, but I’m not sure I wouldn’t have done the same thing in his position. It was stupid, but he was trying to protect Savannah. And he loves her. It’s easy to see. They all do.
They take the seats our friends just vacated.
“What do you want?”
Other people would hear the frigid tone and think she was angry. I know she’s doing it to protect herself. I slip my hand to her leg and give her a little squeeze to remind her that I have her back. Austin follows the movement.
“I know that you said you weren’t interested in working in the kitchen,” Austin says.
“Yeah. Definitely.”
“We were wondering if you would work in a different capacity.”
She looks at each of them, before settling her gaze on Austin once more. “What capacity?”
“Well, menus for one thing. You were always good at that.”
She shakes her head. “That should be Mario for La Trinidad. Any head chef worth his/her salt would want to control the menu. I’ve had all the other head chefs doing that for years.”
Austin hesitates, so Lou takes over. “I agree, but we need someone to revamp the menus. We’re thinking that we need some signature dishes at each of them, then the head chefs can have their own items.”
“Hmm, that could work. I’ll think about it.”
“You could have called about that,” I say, earning a frown from every one of her brothers.
“As you said, I’m leaving the business, but I’m going to stick around,” Diego says.
“Okay.”
Jesus. This family.
“I think they want you to know that you are still their sister. Or, you know, like a sister. Whatever. Damn, your family is fucked up.”
She looks at me then snorts. “We really are.” Then she looks back at her brothers. “We can have a relationship. If anything, we’re still at least cousins.”
“We definitely like you more than we like our other cousins,” Dallas says. “Especially Berto.”
“Well, yeah, because he’s a dick,” Austin says.
“Maybe now that this is sort of settled, we can have a better relationship,” Lou suggests.
She nods. “I’m pretty sure we can figure out how to be friendly.”
The backdoor slams open and Ed comes out holding a tray of cupcakes. “So glad I made more than I thought we would need. But, make sure Savannah gets her red velvet.”
“Why does she get special treatment?” Austin asks.
Harry brings a couple more chairs so everyone has a place to sit. Allison brings a roll of paper towels with her, placing them in the middle of the table beside the tray of cupcakes.
“Because,” Ed says, giving Austin a frown. I have to hide my smile. If her “brothers” hadn’t shown up and told her they wanted to have a relationship, Savannah would have had two brothers here to back her up.
“So, tell us more about this thing with Grady Hawthorne,” EJ says. A smile plays about her lips, telling me she is doing this to let Savannah’s “brothers” know that she doesn’t need them.
“What thing?” Dallas asks.
“They’re starting a new channel. I think it’s tentative, but they are calling it The Adventure Channel. That isn’t in stone as they are still throwing around ideas. He wants me to do a show with them. Food and travel.”
“You would be good at that,” Austin says.
She smiles. “I know.”
He snorts. “You can take the head chef out of the kitchen…”
The talk turns to the honeymoon and EJ’s plans for her next Wine Wednesdays. It’s easy, just sharing our lives with each other, but for the first time, Savannah’s “brothers” are included in her circle. I don’t know if they realize it, but she’s giving them a peek into her life that all of them had missed before.
Austin keeps watching us throughout the night, his gaze watching the way we interact. I’m not sure he approves, but at the end of the night, he figures out a way to corner me. We’re in the foyer while everyone else is out back still.
“What’s going on with you two?”
“I think you should ask Savannah.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t make me beat you up.”
I snort. “Okay. Sure.”
“Seriously, is this just another of your flings?”
“First, I want it on the record that I’m saying this in protest. Your sister can answer these questions.” Austin opens his mouth, but I hold up my hand. “But as a brother I understand.”
“So?”
“I love her.”
He rolls his eyes. “That doesn’t answer anything.”
“I love her…as in babies, as in the whole thing. You don’t need to worry about her. I’ll protect her heart. And if I don’t, I have a feeling Savannah will kick my ass.”
There is a beat of silence as we stare at each other, then his mouth curves. “Yeah, she would. But we would pile on. All four of us. We meant what we said. She’s our sister.”
I nod. “And she sees you as her brothers. I know one of the things she worried about was how each of the four of you would react. She didn’t want to lose you.”
His smile fades. “She will never lose us.”
I nod, just as Savannah comes walking around the corner with EJ and Allison. Her eyes take in the scene and narrow on Austin.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” I say.
She settles her hands on her hips. “Fritz O’Bryan, don’t lie to me.”
“Oh, damn, you’re right. She would kick your ass,” Austin says with a chuckle. “See ya later.” He gives his sister a kiss on the cheek, then murmurs something in her ear. She nods and he leaves, the other three following him.
It takes another ten minutes to get everyone out the door. By the time I lock up, I’m ready to get my woman to bed. Who am I kidding? I’m probably always going to want to get her into bed.
I wrap my arms around her, pulling her close to me. God, she feels good. I want to get my hands on her flesh as soon as possible, but there is that other part of me, the part that needs to comfort her.
“What was going on with you and Austin?”
“He threatened to kick my ass if I hurt you. Well, in a roundabout way.”
She pulls back from me to look up. “I don’t need him. I can kick your ass myself.”
“That’s exactly what I told him. I also said that I was in love with you.”
She smiles but she says nothing, and I want to growl. She hasn’t told me she loves me, although I know it to be true. When we got home on Sunday, she showed me how she felt, but…sometimes a guy needs to hear the words.
And now I sound like a whiny baby.
“Savannah,” I say, because I can’t help myself.
She rises to her tiptoes and brushes her mouth over mine. “I love you, Fritz. I’ve never really been in love before, so I’m not sure what to do now.”
I pull her bottom lip into my mouth, sucking on it. “Well, it’s a first for me too, so why don’t we just muddle along together.”
She grins at me and like always, it takes my breath away. It lights up her whole face, her eyes brightening.
“I agree. So, how do you suggest we muddle through together tonight?” She trails her fingers down my torso, across my abs, down to cup my cock. I have to fight a shudder in order to not embarrass myself by b
egging.
“Really?” I let one eyebrow rise. “I get the idea that you’re using me for my body.”
She chuckles and leans closer, nuzzling my neck. The scent of warm cinnamon surrounds me. “Is that a problem?” She whispers the question against my flesh. When I feel the scrape of her teeth, then her tongue, I lose the battle.
I lean down, pressing my shoulder against her stomach, wrapping my arms around her legs, and lifting her up and over my shoulder. The sound of her giggle surrounds me as I hurry up the stairs. After I drop her on the bed, I tear at my clothes, tossing them on the floor behind me, not paying any attention to where they land. I help her undress, giving her clothes the same treatment. But before I can join her on the bed, she sits up and wraps her hand around my dick. Jesus. The woman has the most talented hands.
She leans forward to drag the flat of her tongue over the head of my cock, humming as she tastes the precum that had leaked out.
“Just the perfect second dessert,” she says, before taking me fully into her mouth. She might have just lost her virginity a few days ago, but the woman knows exactly how to drive me crazy. I thread my fingers through the silky strands of her hair as she takes the entire length of me into her mouth. I feel the head of my cock bump up against the back of her throat. I pull back from her and press her down on the mattress. She’s frowning at me, her gaze irritated, but it makes her look even sexier.
I go to my knees, pressing my hands on her thighs. I lick my way up one side, then the other before finally settling on the prize: her sweet pussy. She’s glistening, her need for me easy to see. I lean in and lick her from the bottom to the very tip top, teasing her clit with my tongue. Then I set to drive her crazy, but not letting her come. Not yet. I want to feel her muscles clamp down on my cock. I push her as far as I think I can without tipping her over. I rise to my feet, then urge her onto the bed. I grab a condom out of the side table drawer, ripping it open, then rolling it down my cock. Fuck, just the feel of my own hands and the latex has me almost coming. I slip onto the mattress and tug her up and over me, letting her straddle me.
She looks down at me, her eyes wide, her cheeks flushed.
“Take me in, babe. Ride me.”
She wraps her hand around my cock once more, slowly descending on it. God, her pussy clenches around me so tight…fuck. Liquid heat surrounds me, the velvet feel of her cunt leaving me almost breathless.
“Fuck, just like that,” I grind out. She’s still so fucking tight, my eyes roll back into my head, pleasure coursing over me, through me.
Once she slips that last inch of me into her, she settles against me. I open my eyes and look up at her. Her hair is a mess of curls dripping over her shoulders. Her nipples are hard…and her eyes…fuck her eyes. They are filled with heat and love. My heart squeezes tight.
Then, she starts to move. Again and again, she takes me in, giving a little swivel to her hips that has my balls drawing tight. I know I am on the edge, that any second, I am going to come, and I want her there with me. As I feel the tingling of my orgasm nearing, I press my finger against her clit. Her muscles convulse around my cock, drawing my own orgasm from me. We come together, and I marvel at the pleasure of the act, but also of the woman above me. She is completely uninhibited, her head thrown back as she moans my name.
A few moments later, she collapses on me. I wrap my arms around her. She snuggles in, and I smile. From the woman who didn’t want to let me hug her the night she cried in my arms, to the world’s best snugger. I hate to do it, but I ease myself out of bed so I can get rid of the condom. I return again, settling on the mattress and pulling her back into my arms.
“I love you, Savannah.”
“Yeah, I know,” she says with a chuckle. I squeeze her tighter. She laughs and pulls herself up off my chest. God, will I ever get used to this woman being mine? Probably not.
“I love you too, Fritz.”
She kisses me, a sweet one that isn’t carnal but involves our hearts. Once again, she settles against me.
“You’re gonna have to move all your crap up here, O’Bryan.”
“Okay.”
At that moment, I know that she could tell me to shave my eyebrows and I would more than likely do it. As I drift off to sleep, I realize that with her by my side, I know I can do anything. And that’s all a man can hope for.
Epilogue
Savannah
San Francisco
Two Years Later
Fritz and I fall into the hotel room, the door slamming shut behind us. He crowds me up against it, cupping my face with his two massive hands. He slams his mouth down on mine, our tongues tangling. I slip my hands down to cup his ass as I trail a leg up the back of his, pressing against his cock. Need surges as I feel my panties grow damp, but he tears away in the next instant, taking my hands in his and tugging me into the room. Behind him, the lights of the city twinkle, but I only have eyes for the man in front of me. He is my entire world, has been since our first time together.
I had an assignment for the Adventure Network about San Francisco. It was our last night in the city, and the end of our taping for the second season, so Fritz had set up a night filled with eating, drinking, and dancing. Since we shared that first tango over two years ago, we’ve perfected our performance and regularly go out dancing.
Tonight had been special, a trip back to my old haunts with the love of my life. I step back, my heart beating so hard I’m amazed that I don’t pass out from the rhythm. This man still makes my head spin and my knees weak.
“Get naked,” I order, dropping my hands from his.
Fritz’s nostrils flare, his eyes grow darker. I step away from him, kicking off my shoes, and start tearing at my clothes, tossing them behind me. He does the same, yanking off his shirt, then his shoes and pants follow. Soon, I’m completely naked, and he’s still wearing a pair of those knit boxers I love.
I step forward to cup him through the fabric, sliding my fingers down his dick, then gently tease his sac. He groans my name and I kiss his chin. God, this man. He is so damned sexy.
He pushes me away. “I’ll come in my damned boxers if you keep that up.”
I sit down on the bed, then slide up the mattress. “Is that such a bad thing?”
After ridding himself of his boxers, he climbs on the bed, a predatory gleam filling his blue eyes.
So. Fucking. Sexy.
He skims a hand up my right leg, then presses it against my pussy. Just that, a light touch, a sexy look, and I need him more than my next breath. He slips a couple of fingers in and bites his bottom lip.
“You’re so fucking wet, baby,” he says, his voice vibrating with the arousal that’s now coursing through my veins. Never. I will never have enough of this man.
He kneels between my legs, slipping one hand to my hips, and taking his cock in the other hand. He slips the tip through my damp folds before he enters me with one, hard, thrust. We both groan as he starts to move, pulling almost all the way out of me, and slamming home once again. God, so good, so wonderful. I’m inching toward my release when he pulls all the way out of me, urging me on my stomach. He pulls me up to my knees and enters me again, all the way to the hilt.
He sets a fast pace, delving deeper inside of me at this angle. He threads his fingers through my hair, tugging on it the way I like. We discovered my love of a little bit of rough sex over the last two years, and my need to sometimes be completely dominated. I slip my hand down to my clit, pressing it as he continues to thrust in and out of me. I am almost there, but just out of reach. He increases his rhythm, harder, deeper…I pinch my clit one last time and tumble over the edge, pleasure twisting through me as I squeeze his cock deep inside of me. He follows me a moment later, my name on his lips as he pours himself into me.
We collapse, our heavy breaths the only sound in the room. He pulls out of me, then falls onto the mattress beside me. I turn my head to look at him. He’s smiling at me; his face filled with the happiness and love I feel.
“I love you, Savannah.”
“Yeah, I know,” I say, laughing when he smacks my ass. He always has the same reaction when I say that to him.
After turning out the light and locking the deadbolt, he slips back onto the mattress with me, pulling the sheet up and over our bodies, then wrapping his arms around me.
“Happy end of season two,” he murmurs against my temple.
“Thank you for coming with me. It wouldn’t have been as much fun.”
He doesn’t always go with me on assignments, but he tries to make sure to come on at least three or four out of the sixteen trips I take each season. Since some of them are close to home, he can sometimes pop in for just a day or two, so we get to have fun at the location. I have one of the highest rated shows on the network, so I get to pick all of my destinations.
“Now, get some sleep. We have an early flight.”
I smile, my head resting against his chest, the warmth of his love lulling me to sleep.
I wake up in bed alone the next morning. I blink, trying to focus on my surroundings. I notice light peeking out from behind the curtains and panic. Our flight was scheduled for seven a.m. I hear the murmur of voices, then the door shuts. I sit up in bed as I see Fritz—wearing the hotel robe and I’m sure nothing else— bringing in a room service tray filled with food and coffee.
“Did we miss our flight?”
He shakes his head, a small smile playing about his mouth. “We’re going home in a couple of days.”
I frown. “What? Why?”
He sits beside me on the bed. “Well, our friends are coming in later today. I thought we might celebrate.”
I smile. “Yeah? All four of them?”
He nods. “We all took the weekend off.”
That was a feat and completely unexpected. The fact that he accomplished the plan without anyone spilling the secret is definitely amazing.
“Just to celebrate the end of my season two?”
“Well, partially.”
“What else are we celebrating?”
Scrumptious: A Friends to Lovers Romantic Comedy (Camos and Cupcakes Book 3) Page 28
