Braydon (43 page)

“Oh, who cares,” she mumbled beneath her breath.

“Huh?” Braydon asked as he looked over at the door.

“Nothing. Let’s get out there, see what they’re waiting on, and then we’ll sneak off when no one’s looking.”

“Good idea.” Braydon took her hand and moved toward the door. Before he opened it, he looked back down at her and smiled. “I love you, Jess. And I hope you know that I’m going to make sure I tell you that every day for the rest of your life.”

An overwhelming burst of hope stirred her insides. For the rest of her life? God, could this really be happening? There were a dozen questions she wanted to ask him, but before she could get even a single word out, he grabbed her hand and tugged.

“Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

Jessie followed Braydon out of the bedroom. Luckily no one was standing on the other side of the door, including Travis. She took a little detour to the small bathroom downstairs and peeked into the mirror. She didn’t look all that bad, but she took a moment to fix her hair and wipe the mascara from beneath her eyes. She really was going to have to find a different waterproof mascara. The one she was using didn’t work for shit.

THEY HAD JUST
stepped outside when Jessie heard the sound of metal on glass. That was followed by a dog’s bark.

“You’ve got a guard dog on your hands there,” someone told Sawyer.

Several people laughed, but Jessie just tried to make her way through the group to where Kylie was standing. She had managed to get within a few feet of her when Beau and Ethan headed in their direction. Travis and Gage were standing beside Kylie and the three of them were talking quietly.

“Do you know what’s going on?”

Jessie turned to see Kaleb and Zoey standing beside her, Mason giggling and cooing in Kaleb’s arms. Kaleb had actually directed his question at her. She just shook her head no and opted to stand beside the two of them.

“Y’all, I know you’re probably wondering why we invited everyone over here. I’d like to say it’s because Ethan’s decided he wants to be part of the social scene,” Beau teased, glancing over at Ethan, who was glaring at him. “But sadly, that’s not the case. Although I’m pretty impressed. He hasn’t tried to hide in a closet or anything.”

A round of laughter, followed by “Is that a reference to something, Beau?”

“Oh, shut up,” Ethan barked, the hint of a smile on his boyishly handsome face.

Another chorus of laughter before a deep, grumbling voice sounded.

“Cool it. Let’s hear what they have to say.”

It was Curtis’s booming voice that had quieted the ruckus, and Jessie noticed that Lorrie was standing right behind her husband. Beside them were Brendon, Jared, Zane, V, Sawyer, and Sawyer’s friend Greyson. Jessie recognized Braydon’s cousins CJ and Jaxson hanging out in the back, drinking beer and watching what was going on.

It wasn’t until she was turning back to look at Beau that she realized . . . Holy crap. “My dad’s here.”

“Where?” Braydon asked.

She didn’t have to tell him because he was looking in the same direction she was. He must’ve seen them too because he took a step closer to her, and the fact that he was close was oddly comforting. Jessie gave a brief smile and waved her father and Melissa over.

As soon as they were within arm’s reach, Jessie threw her arms around her father. God, she was glad to see him. More so than she would admit. Before she had a chance to talk to them, someone cleared their throat and Jessie turned to face Beau and Ethan.

“We weren’t the ones who put this in motion, to be honest,” Ethan stated. “My brother is the one with the announcement, actually. Beau was the one who offered to host this little shindig, otherwise we’d all be elsewhere.”

Travis glared at Ethan, but he smiled while he did.

“Thanks,” Travis groaned.

“So what is it?” someone hollered from the back.

Jessie’s attention was drawn to her sister, who was suddenly turning a bright shade of red.

“Oh my God,” Jessie whispered, unable to hold back her excitement, her hands beginning to tremble uncontrollably. “Oh my God! Oh my God!” she screamed and took off toward Kylie.

Kylie just laughed, her own grin splitting her entire face.

“I knew it! I knew there was something going on with you!” Jessie exclaimed.

“What the hell is going on?” Zane questioned, his voice echoing through the large backyard.

“Boy, watch your mouth,” Curtis called.

“We’re pregnant,” Kylie said.

Everyone began to speak at once, a million questions coming forth, most of them asking if they had heard correctly.

“Yes, you heard correctly,” Gage confirmed. “We’re pregnant.”

Jessie wrapped her arms around her sister as the tears began to fall again. “Oh my God, sis! I’m so freaking happy for you.”

“Thank you,” Kylie said, her voice rough with her own tears.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Jessie asked, gripping Kylie’s shoulders and pushing away from her slightly. She hardly noticed when her father came to stand beside them.

“We wanted to make sure everything was going to be okay,” Kylie informed her.

“How far along are you?” Jessie asked, looking up at Travis and Gage, who were standing beside their wife, matching proud grins on their faces.

“Thirteen weeks. The baby’s due in December.”

Holy crap. She was going to be an aunt. Kylie was pregnant. This was the perfect ending to what was turning out to be a fantastic day. Finally.

Everyone around them descended and Jessie was caught up in the chaos. She didn’t let herself get pushed out this time. Or maybe Braydon made sure she didn’t. Whatever the reason, for the first time in a really long time, Jessie felt as though things were finally looking up.

Braydon loved her. He told her so.

Kylie and her husbands were starting a family.

And her dad was moving to Coyote Ridge.

She wasn’t sure she could ask for much more than that.

Braydon had wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her gently from behind, and Jessie was so caught up with emotion, she didn’t even realize she had started crying.

But thankfully, these were happy tears.

chapter
TWENTY-EIGHT

“J
essie,” Braydon warned as he pulled the truck into her driveway several hours later.

“Hmm?”

“Honey, you’re gonna make me wreck my truck.” Not really, but shit, if she kept nibbling on his ear like that, he might just throw the damn thing in Park and take her right there in front of her house.

While she continued to tease him relentlessly, Braydon managed to park his truck successfully and shut off the engine. But before he could get out of the truck, Jessie was straddling his lap, crushed between him and the steering wheel. He helped her out by hitting the knob that forced the wheel up higher, giving her a little more room.

“What’re you doin’?” he asked curiously, wrapping his arms around her.

“I wanted to see how far I could push you before you broke.”

“Oh, darlin’, I’m damn close. Are you sure you want to test me?”

Jessie surprised him when she sat back and reached for the hem of her shirt, pulling it up and over her head, tossing it to the other side of the bench seat. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

Without hesitation, Braydon reached for her breasts, sliding her bra down enough to allow them to spill free, her pretty pink nipples enticing him as they came into view.

Braydon knew they should’ve been going slow, but the inferno was consuming them both. The passion that ignited without effort was surrounding them, stirring up the lust that had been kept in check for far too long. He couldn’t keep his hands off her.

Placing his hands on her waist, he lifted, forcing her to raise off his straining cock as he leaned forward and tongued one nipple, then the other. He continued to bathe them with his tongue while Jessie looped her arms around his neck, holding his head to her breast.

“Don’t stop,” she urged.

“Don’t worry,” he responded, nipping her nipple gently as he reached around and unhooked her bra before allowing it to slide down her arms. When she was naked from the waist up, he used his hands along with his mouth to tease her breasts, sucking and nibbling until she was writhing and begging.

God, he loved how responsive she was. With his focus on her nipples, he reached down and unbuttoned her shorts, managing to slide one hand down into her panties. She shifted, allowing him more room to maneuver, and Braydon took the opportunity presented to him.

He was fingering her clit gently while he sucked her nipple into his mouth, high on her soft, sweet moans.

“Braydon,” Jessie whispered.

“I’m right here, baby,” he answered. Releasing her nipple from between his lips, he looked up at her. Then he shifted, forcing her off his lap and onto the seat beside him. “Lay down.”

Jessie’s eyes widened and her lips curled up into a beautiful smile as she lowered herself down to the seat. Once she was horizontal, he relieved her of her shorts and panties after she let her sandals slip off her feet.

And then she was perfectly, beautifully naked right there in the cab of his truck.

Knowing that they couldn’t fulfill all his wicked fantasies right then and there, Braydon opted to pleasure her as best he could. Due to his height, moving around in the truck wasn’t all that easy, so he had to rely on Jessie’s flexibility.

Oh yeah, he managed.

With his hands beneath her, he lifted her hips and leaned forward, pressing his tongue to her clit. When she groaned and attempted to thrust against his eager mouth, Braydon pulled her closer. Her body was bowed at an odd angle, so he didn’t waste time.

“Braydon! Oh, holy . . .” Jessie cried. “That feels so good. Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”

Braydon ate her pussy like a starving man, burying his tongue deep, withdrawing, and then teasing her clit. He continued, picking up a perfect rhythm but not lingering too long. He wasn’t ready for her to come just yet.

It would seem that along with the communication issues, they’d also been lacking in foreplay. And since they’d already begun to rectify the first problem, he had every intention of working on the second tonight.

If it weren’t for the fact that there was still a party going on at Ethan’s, Braydon would’ve helped Jessie out of the truck, tossed a blanket into the bed, and proceeded to make love to her under the stars. Unfortunately, the risk of someone stopping by on their way out was too great, and he had no intention of putting them in that predicament tonight.

Instead, he continued to tease her, lapping at her until she was begging him. He almost caved and finished her off, but he held back. It wasn’t time. Not yet anyway.

He planned to make her come a million different ways, but not just yet.

“We should go inside,” he whispered, pulling his mouth from her cunt and letting his breath fan over her.

“We definitely should,” she panted.

Braydon glanced out the window to see that Jessie’s porch light wasn’t on, which meant no one was likely going to see her naked form when he carried her inside, even if they did pass by at that exact moment. Because he didn’t want to risk that, he decided to hurry.

“Come here,” he instructed, helping her to sit up as he worked his way out of the truck.

Once his feet were on the ground, he reached for her, pulling her close to his body before sliding one arm beneath her legs, the other behind her back.

“I’m naked, you know,” she informed him.

Oh, he definitely knew. His dick did, too. “Yep, I know. And I plan to keep you that way.” Braydon lifted her out of the truck, hip checked the truck door closed, and then made a beeline for the front porch. Within a minute they were in the house, Jessie was on her feet, and Braydon was ready to explode.

The moment he set her on the floor, she went right for his zipper. And while she tried to divest him of his shorts, he kicked off his flip-flops and practically ripped his shirt off.

And then they were both naked, but he didn’t allow Jessie to get her mouth on him. He could see the wicked gleam in her eyes and his cock was fully on board with the idea of tunneling into the hot recesses of her mouth, but he wasn’t quite finished with her yet.

Taking her hand, he pulled her around to the couch. He lowered himself to a sitting position and then easily reclined, keeping his hands on her and pulling her toward him.

Jessie laughed as she toppled over, but she clearly understood what he wanted. With her knees straddling his head, Braydon picked up where he’d left off in the truck, sliding his tongue through her slick folds, lapping at her pussy until she was riding his mouth and crying out his name.

And this time, he let her come.

Twice.