Kit and Ivy: A Red Team Wedding Novella (7 page)

Two soft arms slipped around Kit’s waist as Ivy’s sweet scent drifted up to him. He sighed. “Really? This?” he asked as he turned to face her.

She smiled. “You should have heard the commentary when the girls were attaching your parts. Thank God the audio was off.” She looked at him through a frown. “It was off, wasn’t it?”

“It was off.”

“I’m glad the guys came in. They’re really why the girls came over tonight.”

“Yeah, we’re not playthings, Ivy,” Owen complained as he leaned against the bar.

“Seriously, O?” Val asked as he set some glasses out on the bar. “I sent girls to you, and you chased them away. How much easier could I make it for you?”

“How about letting me pick my own?”

Val shrugged. “Whatevs. Seemed you were having trouble in that area.” He poured a whiskey and pushed it toward Owen.

Angel and Greer had collected the plastic rings and were tossing them over the blow-up penis, receiving a kiss from one of the girls with each successful toss, which was every toss for them.
 

“Guys, that’s just wrong,” Kit called over to them.

Angel shrugged. “When in Rome, my friend…”

One of the girls stepped behind the bar and came up to Val, rubbing her hand up and down his arm. He smiled at her as he lifted her to sit on the counter next to the sink. “There something I can get you?” he asked.

“Yes.” She hooked her arms around his neck. “You’ve been serving everyone except me.”

Val grinned and bent down as if to kiss her, but on the way, Selena snagged his gaze. He paused then straightened. His nostrils flared as his expression hardened. Owen shifted, intercepting his gaze. The two men stared at each other for a long moment before Val returned his attention to the bargirl from Winchester’s. He didn’t look at Selena again. Instead, he dipped his head and latched on to the woman’s mouth, swallowing her next giggle. Selena walked away from the bar and went over to the pool table to set up a game. Owen trailed after her as Val and the girl stepped out of the room.

Kit plopped down on one of the stools in front of the bar as he considered all of the night’s strangeness. When Ivy pushed between his legs and lifted her arms to his shoulders, his focus shifted to her. She’d ditched the gilded mask. He loved looking into her eyes, but he had plans for that mask.
 

“Kit, this is my wedding shower and our bachelor-bachelorette party. Can you believe it? This is really happening.”

He smiled. “Just hit you, huh?”

She nodded. “For years, I dreamed about this. When you were in my heart, I never felt alone.” She blinked, as if lost in those memories. “And then I gave up on us. I was never so empty as I was when I thought we’d never be together again. When you came back, I was so scared. I didn’t want the hurt of losing you again.”

“Iv, it’s done.” He touched her face. “That’s in the past. From here out, we move forward together.”

“Are you happy?”

“There are no words for the joy I’m feeling right now.” He looked at the improvised art taped to the wall. “And I’m sorta creeped out.”

She laughed. He loved that sound. “Where’s Rocco?” she asked.

Kit sent a look around the room. “He was watching a movie with the kids. Said he’d join us when they crashed.” He stood up. “Let’s go look for him. Grab your mask.”

“Why do I need my mask?”

Kit grinned. “You don’t. I do.”
 

Ivy fetched her mask, then Kit took her hand and led her out of the room and down the hallway. As they neared the kitchen, he could hear the soundtrack of a kid’s flick playing from the upstairs hallway. He stepped into the temperature-controlled wine cellar and flipped the light on. He made a quick adjustment on his phone to lock the doors and interrupt the security system. The slender room could be entered from either the main hallway or butler’s hallway between the dining room and kitchen—he didn’t want to run the risk of being interrupted.
 

“It’s cold in here,” she whispered.
 

“Not for long.” He lifted her to the butcher-block table. “Put your mask on.” He ran a hand up her leg, feeling the shift from elastic lace at the top of her stocking to the smooth, silky skin of her bare thigh. He pushed his hand up her skirt, moving up the length of her leg to her bottom. He started to suck in a harsh breath as his hand met only bare skin, but his fingertips hit the strap of her thong.

“You lied,” he growled.

She leaned back, supporting herself on her palms. “About what?”

“About being bare-assed.”

“A thong isn’t much cover.”

“It’s more than I want right now.” He hooked his fingers in the edge of her panties and pulled down. She lifted her hips so he could draw them all the way off. They got tangled at her shoes. She didn’t help him, other than to point her toes. When he looked up at her, he saw she’d put her mask back on. She ran her teeth over her lip. His cock jerked in reaction. His grip tightened on her ankle. “Iv, don’t fuck with me right now. I haven’t been able to think of anything except being in you since I first saw you in this getup.”

She put her foot on his waist, catching his belt under her heel. “Take yourself out. Let’s see how worked up you are.”

He undid his fly and reached inside, adjusting his clothes to let himself out. His cock was as hard as a marble dildo.

“All of you. Your balls too.”

“Iv—”

“Do it.”

Kit clenched his teeth as he cupped his balls, pulling himself forward. His dick pointed straight ahead, perfectly angled toward the shadows of her short skirt. She leaned forward and grasped him in her soft hands. Her touch made him throb. He breathed through the pain of wanting her. Still holding him in one hand, she cupped his cheek in her other hand and touched her soft lips to his.

He took hold of her face, owning the kiss, fucking her mouth with his tongue as she stroked his rigid length below. Easing a hand from her face, he set it on her leg and pushed it up beneath her skirt, finding the juncture of her legs and the narrow strip of curls hidden there. He pushed his fingers between her folds, up and back, spending time at the top of her sex, feeling it thicken.
 

Taking hold of her ass, he drew her forward to the edge of the table, then stroked her with the blunt head of his cock. Her hands tightened on his shoulders as she looked down to watch him enter her. Her skirts hid what she wanted to see. She lifted them away as he slipped inside her. She sucked in a ragged breath as he withdrew, then shoved in again. He reached into her bodice and cupped a breast, bending over her to taste the soft skin where her neck and shoulder met.

Shit. He hadn’t covered himself. Still deep inside of her, he held still. “Iv, I need a rubber.”

“No. You don’t.”
 

“Honey, you ready for that?”

She lifted his face and smiled into his eyes. “I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life. You are a wonderful dad. It’s time we grew our family.”

“I know nothing about being a father.”

“Then you have phenomenal instincts. Look at Casey. She adores you. You always keep a balance of fun and expectations.”

Kit hissed a long breath as he leaned his forehead against hers, holding himself still. His dick throbbed in complaint. “Mid-fuck is so not the time to decide something like this.”

“If you’re not ready to grow our family, put a rubber on. But I’m ready. More than ready. To have your child again. To have you near me the whole time. To have you be with me for every significant event.”

“That’s something I may not be able to do—be here for every event.”

“You know what I mean. We’re together. We’re a family. I don’t have to do any of this alone. You don’t have to miss any of it. And if you are absent, because work sends you away, I’ll fill you in. Our lives are one now.”

He ran his hand up her back, reaching up to hold her neck as he shoved into her. He kissed her mouth. His breathing was as ragged as hers. “I love you, Ivy. The life you’re laying out is all I’ve ever wanted. To belong somewhere, to someone. To be wanted. Needed.”

“I do need you, Kit.”

“Forever.”

“Forever.”

“Even when we’re old and have grandchildren?”

“Especially then.”

“Even when our kids and grandkids do something boneheaded like have a kid?” he asked.

“Whatever comes. We’ll face it as a family.”

“Even when I do something thoughtless like inviting your parents without telling you?”

“Even when you make me furious. I adore you.”

“Only me…”

“Only you.”

He kissed her, letting his tongue play with hers. His thrusts grew more rapid, but he didn’t want to rush this, and Christ, he was close. He reached down and lifted her legs, raising them to put her ankles on his shoulders. She leaned back to accommodate their new position. He took hold of her hips and banged into her.
 

He reached over to put a hand on her flat belly, imagining his child growing there. “Iv, take off your mask. I want to see your face when you come.”

He fingered her clit as she removed the glittery cover. Her lips parted. A little frown drew a line between her brows. Her nostrils flared. He could feel her inner muscles contract, grabbing his cock. God, he couldn’t hold on much longer. She cried out when she went over the edge, her hips shivering against his. He palmed her ass, slamming into her, thrusting against the clamp of her channel. When his release came, she peaked again.
 

When their bodies calmed, he eased her legs down his arms, then helped her sit up. She wrapped her arms around his chest, in no hurry to go anywhere. Nor was he. In her arms was right where he wanted to be. They stayed that way for a few minutes before he put himself back together.

“Hey. Do you want to ditch the wig and put some jeans on before we go back?” He bent down and retrieved her panties, but shoved them in his pocket instead of giving them back to her.

“Good call.” She slipped off the table and straightened her short, puffy skirt.
 

Kit reset the security in the small room, then walked Ivy down to their room. He went to the window and drew the curtains, then sat in one of the armchairs and observed as she removed her wig and costume. She pulled on a fresh pair of lace panties then brushed out her hair. He was getting a hard-on watching her. He had to adjust himself when she pulled a pair of jeans up her lean legs.
 

She looked over at him. He smiled. “You have a beautiful body.”

“Will you say that when I’m out to here with a baby?” she asked, stretching her hands in front of her.

“I’ll say that every day for the rest of our lives.”

She strolled over to sit on his lap and hug him. “I wish we hadn’t lost so much time.”

He took hold of her face and kissed her cheek, her eye, her temple. “Don’t look back, Iv. Just be here now. With me. Forever.”

She nodded. He felt the sweep of her eyelash. “I love you.”

“I love you.” His words spilled across her cheek. He was considering talking her into staying where they were, but before he’d settled on a tactic, she got off his lap. He squelched his request. It wasn’t right for him to keep her hidden here alone with him. He watched her take a couple of loose tees from her drawer. She pulled one, then the other, over her head. A quick stop in the bathroom, then she was ready.

“I need to check in on Case and Rocco before we go back. You mind?” he asked.

“Not at all.”

He took her hand and led her out of their room and into Casey’s. Their daughter was sound asleep in her bed. Kit remembered how much of an outsider he’d felt when she and Ivy first came to live here. He’d been standing on the outside looking in at everything he’d ever wanted in his life. Now they were his. He looked over at Ivy, wondering if she understood how much the two of them meant to him.
 

She wasn’t looking at Casey. She was watching him. “You look like you just came home,” she whispered.

He pulled her into his arms. “I never had a home before, until you and Case.”
 

“The same goes for us, Kit.” She nestled more deeply into his arms. He loved the feel of her against his body. After a minute, they moved quietly out of Casey’s room and went upstairs. A DVD was playing a looping run of initial screens on the TV in Rocco’s sitting room, but no one was watching it. Kit shut it off, then knocked on Rocco’s door.
 

No answer.
 

He looked back at Ivy, then had her wait in the sitting room while he went into Rocco’s room. It was empty. He went next door into Zavi’s room. Rocco’s son was sleeping peacefully, a tiny person in the extra-long twin bed. He went back to the sitting room and called Rocco’s phone.
 

No answer. He called Greer.
“You’re missing a helluva party, boss,”
Greer answered.

“My bad. We’ll be there shortly. Where’s Rocco?”

“Hold on.”
Greer went silent, then came back on the line.
“He’s parked on the patio outside the kitchen.”

“Okay.”

“Need something?”

“Nope. Thanks.” He hung up the phone. “Iv—”

She smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Don’t worry. I’ll head back to the party. Take your time. Let me know if you need me or Mandy.”

* * *

A wide portico ran the length of the back of the house. It could be accessed by all of the rooms from the den all the way down to the south bedroom wing. Mosquito torches were lit midway outside the room where Ivy’s bachelorette party was being held. Here, by the kitchen, there were only shadows.
 

And Rocco, who sat on the steps leading down to the lawn.

Kit went over and sat next to him. He listened in silence to the crickets. Now and then, hunting calls of a pair of owls rolled across the empty space. The torchlights attracted insects, and the insects attracted bats, but their hunter-prey dance was entirely silent.

“What’s doin’, Rocco?”

He wasn’t quick to answer. “It a crime to sit outside at night?”

“Crime? No. Curious? Yes. Especially when there’s a party going on that your girlfriend’s hosting.”