Chapter Twelve

I replenished the tray of appetizers and added another pitcher of sweet iced tea to the table before taking a seat beside Emily and Anna. It was Austin’s fifth birthday party, and most of our good friends had come over to celebrate.

Right now, all of the adult males were running around the yard with the kids, playing tag football. It was supposed to be just a friendly game, but some of them took it a little more seriously than others in the group.

Cowboy spiked the ball onto the ground for the second time in a row and did the chicken dance. “Top that, bitches.”

Anna scowled at him from across the table. “Watch your mouth. And you could’ve let one of the kids win.”

Cowboy shook his head adamantly. “What? Screw that. I had five bucks riding on that game. Besides, they had the advantage anyway.” He lifted his shirt and displayed an enormous bruise on his rib cage. “I’m still sore from where I got kicked while trying to help that horse birth a new foal last week,” he drawled, hunching his shoulders and wincing at his cracked ribs.

“That’s what you get for being so careless.”

Cowboy leaned on the table with both hands and grinned. “I’ll show you how careless I can be tonight when I get you alone,” he said, lowering his voice so the children couldn’t hear. “I’ll borrow Jake’s handcuffs and forget to ask for the keys, too.”

Anna’s cheeked pinked up. “You would. You’re rotten.”

“And you love every second of it,” he said, giving her a quick wink.

Her eyes crinkled a little, but I noticed that she didn’t bother denying it one bit.

Judd passed by the table and glanced in our direction. “Hey, where’s my woman?”

“Gina went on a beer run with Dale,” I told him. “They should be back soon.”

He grimaced. “Those two are always running off together now that they live here.”

“And you’re always running off with me,” Ox said, chuckling as he came over to sit down. “That’s what we get for being best friends who date best friends.”

Cowboy tilted his white Stetson back to gaze at Judd. “I don’t know what you’re worried about, anyway. Gina’s safer with Dale than any other guy out there. Not only is he taken by Ox, but Dale isn’t remotely interested in anything Gina has to offer. No offense, buddy.”

“None taken,” Judd agreed, smiling.

“What are y’all talking about?” Jake asked as he approached the table, followed closely by Seth, who was giving Austin a piggy-back ride.

“Gay men,” Cowboy said, grinning.

Seth slid Austin off his back. “Uh, maybe you should go play with the other kids.”

“Okay,” Austin said before running off.

Anna smiled. “It’s sweet how fond of you he is,” she told Seth.

Seth nodded. “I’m fond of him, too. He’s a great kid.”

“So you don’t have any kids of your own, Seth?” Emily asked him.

He shook his head. “Not yet.”

She leaned forward on her elbows as if she was going to get the scoop of a lifetime. “But you want children, right?”

“Emily,” Jake warned.

“What?” she asked innocently. “It’s just a question.”

Seth shook his head. “It’s okay. Sure, I want kids. Someday. But right now that’s not really in the cards for me. I move around way too much to even consider it.” Then he headed for the ice chest. “Anyone need another beer?”

I’d warned him before the party that Emily had a mouth on her and zero couth to go along with it. Bet he believed me now.

Jake started to join him, but I motioned for him to come over to me. “Hey, can I, um…talk to you for a second?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“Uh, I mean alone. Let’s go over there to talk,” I said, rising to my feet and moving to the corner edge of the house, well out of earshot from the others. He followed me, and I turned to him, wringing my hands together. “I, ah…sort of need a favor.”

He leaned one hand against the house. “All right. What favor?

I hesitated, biting into my bottom lip.

Jake had never been a very patient person, and he cocked his head. “Bobbie, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what it is you need from me.”

“Well, I have a problem that has to do with Seth.”

His gray eyes hardened into granite spheres. “Like the kind that requires me to hide a dead body?”

I shook my head. “No, nothing like that. I just…need you to check into Seth’s past for me. Like do a background check or something FBI-ish.”

“Why? What happened?”

“Oh, nothing. I just want to know more about who’s living in my house with us.”

“Then why didn’t you bother to do a background check before you let him move in with you?”

“Because I didn’t think it was necessary at the time. I mean, he is Junior’s nephew.” My eyes shifted to Seth to make sure he wasn’t paying any attention to us.

Jake’s gaze followed mine. “Are you scared of him or something?”

I shook my head adamantly. “Of course not. He’s not dangerous, Jake.”

“You don’t know that for certain. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be asking me to check up on him. There’s something wrong with him, isn’t there?”

“No. You’re reading into things. Junior wouldn’t have put me in harm’s way. Or my child. I’ve just noticed some strange behavior and wanted to confirm my suspicions.”

“Which are what?”

“Basically that Seth’s had some kind of formal military training. He’s mentioned little things, but I want to confirm what I’ve already gathered about him. I just want to know for sure.”

He gazed at me curiously. “Why don’t you just ask him?” When I didn’t answer, he guessed. “It’s because you either don’t think he’ll tell you or because you think he might tell you but won’t be honest about it. Am I right?”

I shrugged. “Possibly. He’s made it clear that he doesn’t want to talk about his past. But that only leaves my imagination to run wild. And that’s no good for either of us. I just think it will better if I know the truth.”

“All right. Text me everything you know about him. It’s probably going to take me a few days to find out whatever information he’s hiding, though. The military doesn’t always willingly give up information on their troops. In the meantime, I’ll talk to Junior about it, too. Though knowing him, he’s probably not going to say much about it, either, or he would’ve already mentioned it.”

“Thanks. I appreciate your help.”

“No problem. But if you have any issues with this guy, you call me. Immediately.”

“Of course. But I’m not expecting any problems from Seth at all. He’s a good guy, and I trust him.”

Jake shook his head. “No, Bobbie. If you trusted him as much as you say you do, then you wouldn’t be having me look into his past. Until I find out more about Seth, I want you to be careful. You don’t know who you’re dealing with at this point.”

I sighed. “It’s fine. I’m telling you, I just want to know what he’s hiding.”

Jake nodded, and then gazed over my left shoulder. “Shit. Incoming. Cocky bastard at six o’clock.”

I had no clue who he was talking about until I spun around and noticed Jeremy standing there. Just great. What the hell was he doing here?

“Go on back to the party,” I told Jake. “I’ll be there in a minute.” Right after I throw this asshat off my property.

Jake hesitated and then nodded. “All right. But if you need anything, holler.”

As Jake left, Jeremy moved closer and stopped directly in front of me. “I didn’t get an invitation to the party,” he said, smiling.

“That’s because you weren’t invited.”

He shrugged. “Good. I didn’t want to hang out with all of your loser friends, anyway.”

I crossed my arms. “Then why are you here?”

“I’m picking up the boy.”

“Hardly. This is my weekend with Austin.”

He grinned. “You apparently didn’t read the court order. We have to take turns with him on birthdays. Since you had him last year, then this birthday is mine. You can call the case worker if you want. I already verified this with the court.”

Now that I thought about it, I did see some kind of clause in there about rotating birthdays. But I hadn’t expected Jeremy to take him for this one in particular. “Well, we have company right now. You can take him next year.”

“Nope. I’m not having you use that against me in court. I’m taking him now.”

“No, you’re not. I told you already. We have people over for Austin’s birthday. It’s not convenient for you to take him now.”

“You think I give a damn about what’s convenient for you? You can go get him or I’ll call the police and report you for being in violation of a court order. You can serve jail time for that, ya know?”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Wanna bet? I’m sure the judge would love to hear all about how your new live-in handyman has a shady past.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He grinned. “Play stupid all you want. But I overheard what you said to Jake. The judge might be very interested in learning how your new boyfriend is under investigation by an FBI agent…at your request. That’s not going to make you look good, now is it?”

“Well, maybe I’ll tell the court how you’re trying to blackmail me into letting you have my son this weekend.”

“Go for it. It’s your word against mine. Besides that, the court will agree that it was my weekend, anyway. So why would I need to blackmail you into doing anything?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Damn it, Jeremy. Be reasonable. Or at least act like you’re a decent human being for once. It’s Austin’s birthday party.”

“So?”

I sighed heavily. “Why are you doing this?”

“Hey, you’re the one who forced me into taking a paternity test back when he was born just so you could get money from me. You wanted me to be the kid’s father. Now that I’m trying to do that, you don’t like it? Well, too fucking bad. Next time, be careful what you wish for.”

“You’re just doing this to hurt me, aren’t you?”

He rolled his eyes. “Not everything is about you, doll. Now are you going to get him and his stuff or do I have to call a police officer out here and make an official report about you violating my parental rights by denying me visitation?”

“You have to be a parent first before I can violate your rights, Jeremy.”

“All right. If you want to do this the hard way,” he said, pulling his cell phone out, “that’s fine by me.”

I had no choice but to let Austin go with him. And, since the last thing I wanted to do was cause a scene in front of my child or our guests, I shook my head. “Fine. I’ll go get him. Just…give me a second.”

I went inside and gathered Austin a change of clothing and a few toys and stuffed them into his backpack. When I came back outside, I yelled for Austin, who was playing chase with Lily. “Austin, you have to go. Jeremy is here to pick you up.”

He skidded to a halt and walked over to me slowly, his head hanging. “I don’t want to go. I’m having fun playing with Lily.”

“I know, baby. But you have to. It’s his weekend with you.” I motioned to Jeremy who had come around the side of the house and was now standing in the backyard glaring at all of my friends. “He’s waiting on you.” Then I remembered that I hadn’t put Austin’s little stuffed bull inside his backpack. “Oh, I forgot something. I’ll be right back,” I said, handing him his backpack.

I ran inside and looked around for the little spotted bull, finally finding it in Austin’s room on the floor. When I returned to give it to him, though, Austin was no longer standing there and a truck rumbled down the driveway, the sound growing fainter by the second.

“He’s gone,” Jake said, shaking his head with irritation. “I’m sorry, Bobbie. I couldn’t legally stop him from leaving. Not since it was his weekend.”

“Damn Jeremy,” I said, my voice cracking a little. “I didn’t even get to tell my son goodbye.” My head lowered as frustration and sadness mingled inside of me.

Anna put her hand on my shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Bobbie. That wasn’t right of Jeremy to do that to you.”

Emily shook her head. “I agree. But we all know Jeremy never does what’s right. He does things just to hurt you any way he can. He seems to get off on it.”

Seth held a grim expression. “That guy really needs his ass whipped.”

Cowboy nodded. “He’s had his ass kicked by several of us already. It doesn’t ever change anything. He’s still the same old asshole he’s always been.”

Jeremy’s unexpected arrival had dampened the mood for the entire group. Everyone stared at me with concern in their eyes, and I bit into my lip to keep it from quivering. This wasn’t how today was supposed to go. My little boy should be surrounded by the people who loved him on his birthday. Not spending the day with a guy who never treated him special a single day in his life.

“You okay?” Seth asked.

No. I wasn’t okay. I was nearing my breaking point, knowing that I’d been unable to protect Austin once again. But as tears pricked my eyes, I blinked them away. The last thing I wanted to do was have a public meltdown in front of everyone.

“Yeah, I…I just need a moment to myself.”

…

Overwhelmed with frustration, I escaped to my bathroom and stood there sniffling and wiping away tears that wouldn’t stop falling. How had this even happened? Was it my fault because I’d pushed Jeremy to take an active role in Austin’s life? Was that why he was doing this—to punish me?

I gazed at myself in the mirror and cringed at the guilt etched in my solemn features. Though I knew I’d done nothing wrong, that somehow didn’t matter. Regardless of how I felt, there was no way for me to stop Jeremy from exercising his parental rights when the court order demanded that I allow him unsupervised visits with his son.

And with that revelation came another bout of tears.

Distraught, I lowered my tear-stained face into my hands and wept uncontrollably. Pain and confusion lashed at me, competing for my undivided attention. I didn’t understand his motives, but to think that Jeremy would do all of this out of spite was almost too much to bear.

I hadn’t heard anyone come into the bathroom, but strong arms wrapped around me and pulled me tight into a firm chest. I didn’t need to hear the person’s voice or see his face to know who offered me the comfort of his arms. I’d recognize Seth’s heady scent—something spicy and overtly male—anywhere.

Without hesitation, I wiped my swollen eyes and nestled against him, resting my cheek on his chest. His heart thudded against his rib cage with steady, even beats and, like a newborn baby, the soothing sound calmed me almost instantly.

He continued to hold me, giving me plenty of time to get a grip on my emotions, and I took advantage of his generosity. He was so warm, while I felt like someone had dumped a giant bucket of ice water over my head. So I clung desperately to him…and the exquisite heat of his body.

I don’t know how long we stood like that, but eventually I shifted and gazed up at him. “Thank you,” I whispered, my voice shaky.

“It’s no problem,” he said, a great deal of frustration in his tone. “I know it’s hard to deal with that asshole but just keep in mind that it’s only temporary. Jeremy doesn’t want to be a father, and the court will see that. I have no doubt you’re going to win the case against him. Everything will work out, you’ll see.” He smiled lightly.

The tender expression on his sincere face and the positive words were just what I needed in that moment. He offered me hope in a situation where I had been feeling helpless, and the sweet gesture lifted my spirits and had my heart swelling. Without thinking, I lifted onto my tiptoes and brushed my lips across his.

It was just a chaste kiss that was sort of meant as another thank you, but he froze as if I’d startled him with the unexpected lip-lock. I immediately realized my mistake and moved out of his arms, backing toward the sink. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

Seth grasped my arm and pulled me back to him. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what? Apologize?”

“No,” he said, slanting his hard body firmly into mine. “Don’t stop.” Then he lowered his head, covering my mouth with his this time.

His lips feasted on mine, the pace growing faster as he thrust his tongue into my mouth, capturing mine. The taste of him on my tongue sent my heart into overdrive, and it pounded relentlessly against my rib cage. But I was hesitant to go there with Seth again. I was already starting to care about him way too much as it was. The last thing I wanted to do was get intimate with Seth only for him to take my heart with him when he left. Yet I couldn’t seem to stop kissing him back.

Maybe it was an act of desperation on my part, but I needed someone strong to hold on to right now. And whether I liked it or not, that someone was Seth.

Not that he seemed to mind.

Seth tangled his fingers into my hair and pulled my head to the side as he slid his tongue down my neck and sank his teeth gently into my sensitive skin. I gasped, and a familiar longing surged through my entire body. In that instance, the warmth he’d offered me changed to heat and, like mercury in a thermometer, the temperature between us rose to a whole new level.

My fingers weaved into his hair, pulling him closer as he tried to unbutton my blouse with little luck. The urgency rushing through my veins must’ve matched his, but our bodies were too close together for his fingers to be effective. So I guess he figured ripping it open was a better way to go.

As the buttons flew every which way, I pulled back in shock and looked down at my top that was hanging wide open. “Hey! I liked this shirt.”

“I’ll buy you a new one. I couldn’t wait any longer to do this,” he said, sliding his fingers under the satin cups of my bra and shoving them both up and out of the way. Then his warm hand palmed my breasts, fondling gently, before his head lowered to suck one hard nipple into his mouth while he pinched the other one.

I sighed, and my eyes nearly rolled up into the back of my head from the pleasure spiraling through me. Oh. Well, in that case… “Forget the shirt,” I said, not giving a damn if he tore every blouse I owned from now on. Just as long as he didn’t stop what he was doing.

Taking his sweet time, Seth paid an enormous amount of attention to my breasts. His mouth moved over each of them as he took turns cupping and weighing both with his hands.

Seth stepped back and pulled off his shirt, involuntarily flexing his pectoral muscles in the process. As my eyes trailed over him, taking in his sinewy arms and powerful physique, my stomach spasmed low and deep. He was beautiful. Like a Greek god that belonged on an altar for people to worship. But when he knelt in front of me, and his hands found their way under my skirt to the band of my underwear, I had a feeling it was my “altar” that he was more concerned with. With a gentle tug, he pulled the white satin panties down my legs and waited as I stepped out of them. He rose slowly and tucked them into the front pocket of his jeans with an intense look on his face. “These belong to me now.”

I wasn’t sure what to say to that since I’d never had a guy claim my panties before. “Well, I’m sure they’ll look cute on—”

Seth spun me around to face the opposite direction with dizzying speed and bent me over the sink’s counter. I sucked in a hard breath as he leaned over me. “Watch it,” he whispered, his breath tickling the back of my ear. “Or I’ll fuck you so hard you won’t be able to walk normally for a week straight.”

My first thought was, Dear God. My second thought was, Yes, please. But I didn’t say anything, since after a comment like that, nothing really seemed fitting. So I just tilted my hips, which lifted my ass higher into the air.

He lifted the back of my mid-length skirt, and one large calloused hand tracked deliberated over the crease of my buttocks, down my backside, and between my trembling thighs. My pulse quickened as his long fingers slid between my slick folds, teasing and taunting me mercilessly. “Mmm. Just the way I like you…wet.” He hummed appreciatively in my ear.

All the dirty talk had only aided in that, which I had no doubt was his intention all along. “So what are you going to do about it?” I challenged.

“Depends. What do you want? What’s your fantasy, Bobbie?”

I lifted up onto my elbows and gazed at him in the mirror over the sink. “Um, I’m pretty sure you’re already fulfilling it.” I opened the medicine cabinet, pulled out a condom, and handed it to him.

His lips curved as he positioned himself squarely behind me and unzipped his jeans. Within seconds, he had the condom on and the blunt head of his hard cock pressing against me. “You sure about this?”

“Yes,” I said with an exasperated breath. “Now quit talking and get on with it. You’re killing me here.”

He chuckled. “Yes, ma’am.”

Grabbing onto my hip with one hand, he started to guide himself inside of me at an unduly harsh angle. My breath hitched, and my eyes fluttered closed as my nerves fired warning shots to all of my limbs, letting them know that something wonderfully erotic was incoming and that they should brace themselves for impact.

Apparently, the exquisite agony wasn’t mine alone, since Seth threw his head back and a thick, very male groan tore from his throat. “Jesus. You’re impossibly tight.”

Despite his great bulk, the wetness emanating from me paved the way for him to reach his intended destination. Once he commandeered my body fully, the snug fit became much more bearable for both of us. Especially for me after his hand trailed down my front to touch me intimately. It was a great distraction from the overwhelming amount of pressure I was feeling.

Slowly, he began to move inside of me, each drag of his penis shooting off sparks behind my eyelids. When the continuous movement sped up, the slick glide of his cock pumping in and out of me with rapid succession sent electrical pulses fizzling through my body and heat pooling low in my gut.

“Faster,” I moaned, my body shivering with excitement and anticipation as I strained backward against him. I ached for a physical release before the pressure building inside of me caused any kind of permanent damage.

He stopped momentarily and grasped my hair in a firm yet gentle grip. “Do you want to do this yourself? If so, I’d be happy to change positions with you.”

Though I doubted he meant for me to fuck him from behind, I couldn’t help but giggle at the erotic image that passed through my head. And apparently that only aggravated him further.

“You might want to hold on to something,” he warned, though he didn’t really bother to wait. Seth slammed into me repeatedly with much more determination and effort than before, and my knees nearly buckled with the effort to hold myself upright. It was as if each powerful thrust was meant to punish me for my bad behavior.

Works for me.

Tingles ricocheted through my body, but I wrapped my fingers around the sink faucet and hung on for dear life. But just to be a smart-ass, in between thrusts, I said, “First one to have an orgasm loses—”

His fingers pressed errantly against my clit, triggering the live bundle of nerves to go off like a gunshot, and the incredible physical sensation hit hard in my gut. That one single touch provoked a cry of pleasure as insistent waves crashed over me and my hips undulated like crazy, creating an interesting rhythm between us. Seth stilled me with his hands and rode me hard through the ensuing explosions happening inside of me. I don’t know what the hell he had done to me, but light bent in ways that it shouldn’t, time seemed to stop, and I was almost certain that rivers were now running backward.

But he was still going. Unfortunately, he didn’t seem any closer to having an orgasm now than he had when he’d walked into the bathroom. Damn him and his superb control. I wanted to grant him as much enjoyment as he’d gifted to me, but that was a little hard to do when he seemed like he could keep going forever. In an attempt to spur him on, I leaned farther down and reached between my legs. My fingers grazed his balls, touching ever so gently and massaging them carefully in my hand.

After a lot of time passed, he still seemed no closer to climax than before. In fact, he’d even slowed back down, and I grew frustrated. What the hell did it take to get this guy off?

I gazed over my shoulder. “Would it be helpful if I, uh…you know.”

One eyebrow rose. “Sucked my dick?”

“Well, I wasn’t going to put it so crudely, but yeah. I mean, if you need me to get you there in a different way…”

He stilled and then chuckled. “Sweetheart, if you’re thinking I’m having a problem getting off, trust me, I’m not. I’m just basking in the glory of your body while I have the opportunity to do so. But if you’ve got better things to do, I can speed this up for you.”

I cringed. “Oh, I didn’t mean anything by it. I only want to make sure I don’t leave you…um, hanging.” God. I sound like an idiot.

He thrust in me to the hilt and his cock swelled even more inside of me. “I could stop now, and I’d still walk away from this a satisfied man. You underestimate the power your body holds. Pleasure is not solely wrapped up in the climax.” Then he grinned. “But I do realize that you have guests that you need to get back to so…”

Oh crap. Forgot all about them.

With perfect skill, Seth once again pressed his fingers to my clit as he pumped in and out of me furiously. I didn’t know what the hell kind of magic button he was pushing between my legs, but my breath instantly backed up into my lungs and the stirrings of another orgasm suddenly was in reach.

Jesus. How the fuck does he do that?

Desire swamped my system, and pleasure raced over me as he sent me soaring for the second time. I threw back my head and let loose a cry as our eyes met in the mirror. The fierce look of concentration on Seth’s face as his gaze burned into me only increased the scorching tension running between us.

My body shuddered. Seth’s delicious mouth curved, and his expression then changed to one of ecstasy. The wild, untamed look in his eye was that of a warrior who was completely in tune with his body, as well as mine.

He groaned loudly, savoring the sensations as he finally gave himself permission to have an orgasm. Then, as if he were summoning a spirit from beyond, he let his head fall back and mumbled something in a native tongue that I didn’t understand. Didn’t matter. It was totally sexy, whatever he said.

Boneless, I collapsed against the counter but kept my legs in a locked position to stop myself from dropping to the floor. “What the hell did you just say?” I panted out.

He leaned forward and kissed my shoulder. “I said thank God.” Then he smirked. “By the way, you lost. Twice.”

If two orgasms on demand was the consolation prize for being a loser, then I’d forfeit to him every damn time. Because, at this point, I knew only two things for sure. Having sex with Seth had just returned me to the world of sexually active woman. But unfortunately, he had just ruined me for all other men.