McCade's Wish (The McCade Family Series Book 2) (12 page)

Nate grunted, trying in vain to muscle his bigger brother out of the way. “Desperate times call for desperate measures and if you don’t move your ass, you’ll be singing Christmas carols soprano.”

“You better get more lead in your ass if you’re going to move me. I’m used to the ox in there.”

Cole winced as a smack snapped his head forward.

“The ox is right here. Quit pissing around and get that stuff inside,” Trey ordered, reaching over the side to grab another box. 

Stealing a sheepish glance at Nate confirmed his baby brother was rubbing the back of his head too. 

“Have you bothered to remind him that we’re grown men? He’s not our daddy, even if he sounds just like him.”

“Oh, I’ve reminded him. He doesn’t care.”

Nate grumbled as he took the packages Cole shoved into his arms.

“It’s a combination of being the eldest and might making right. It’s hard to argue with.”

“Maybe we should team up and try. Two on one, I like the odds.”

Cole laughed at the petulant tone. “Pick your battles, little man. He’s still a load.” 

“You don’t think we can take him?”

“We probably could if I was mad enough, but I’m not,” he said, trying to step around Brute. “Move it, dog,” he muttered, bumping the door open with his hip.

“Let me take the shopping bags,” Adrienne said, meeting them in the mudroom. “I’ll put them in by the tree and we can sort them out later so no surprises are ruined.”

Dutifully juggling his armload to allow his fiancée to take certain bags, Cole ignored the huff of frustration behind him.

“She couldn’t wait until you put things down?”

“Once again, pick your battles,” Cole muttered back.

“You keep saying that. When
do
you throw down and fight?”

Shrugging, he glanced over his shoulder. “As Trey puts it, I can
bring the heat
when it’s needed.”

“What’s worth getting fired up for?”

“I am,” Adrienne interjected.

“Amen. Don’t mess with my woman or my family and I’m a pretty laidback guy,” Cole said, turning back to offer Adri a kiss.

Nate responded with a shove and slipped by him to put his load down on the table.

“You’re whipped already.”

“At least when I met the woman I wanted I had the persistence and patience to win her and I plan on keeping her.”

“What exactly are trying to say?”

“I didn’t stutter, college boy. Hank would’ve been slapping you on the back and telling you how good it was to see you this afternoon instead of knocking your ass in the slush if you’d stayed focused on the woman you love and kept it in your pants.”

Nate stiffened, and his face flushed a furious hue. “I recall you prying her off me at the train station and telling me to go, that she would be here when I came back.”

“And she did her part. You were the one who blew it. I can’t believe she stood there today in tears and tried to take part of the blame.”

“Unbelievable,” Nate said, shaking his head. “You’re still in love with her.”

Adrienne’s head whipped around. Her eyes narrowed on him and Cole closed his eyes, shaking his head. His hands clenched at his sides.

“I was never in love with Josie.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it. You admitted that you comforted her and took her to the movies after I left. You’re just pissed off because she always preferred me. What happened? Did you get tired of hearing about my law degree?”

Cole’s laugh was humorless. “Not surprisingly, after she caught you with another woman, she was humiliated. She thought everybody knew, that they were laughing at her. That included me.”

“I’m sure you were hoping to spin my screw up into proof she’d picked the wrong brother. Sorry that didn’t work out for you.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you fight like a woman?” Cole asked tiredly. “That was never my intention. Josie and I were friends before you, and I was hoping we’d be friends after.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I’d rather go a few honest rounds with Trey’s fists than be shredded by your bitter tongue. You’re embarrassed by what happened with Josie, and instead of manning up and admitting that, you twist the facts around to try to make me feel like shit and jamb me up with Adrienne.”

When Nate just glared at him, Cole turned away.

“I’ll be back in a while. I’m taking the truck,” he said curtly, getting a nod from Trey. He turned to the door and stopped. “Would you like to come with me?”

Surprise quickly turned to pleasure and Adrienne said, “I would like that.”

Snatching her coat from the hook, he helped her shrug back into it and then held the door. Neither said anything as he boosted her into the truck. Sliding in beside her, he fired the engine and, spinning around in the farmyard, he headed back down the drive. A sickening combination of anger and hurt pressed on his chest and rolled in his gut. His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. He’d wanted to punch Nate. He still did. Reaching the road, he turned right and hoped the main homestead’s drive was still passable. They were going to find out. A moment later, he shifted into low gear and followed the grooves he’d cut the other day.

Snow was drifted on the steps, so Cole swept her up off the truck’s step-board. She looped her arms around his neck as he carried her to the door, rewarding him with a kiss before allowing him to put her on her feet in the farmhouse’s kitchen. He rested his forehead against hers for a moment and she hated the stress and anger that still marked his handsome face. Trailing behind him, she admired the heavy, striped wallpaper while he adjusted the furnace. She peeked into the dining room before joining him in the family room where he was starting a fire in the large hearth.

She chewed her lip, wondering how best to draw him from his dark mood. She smiled to herself, if all else failed maybe he’d be up for christening their new home. Curling up on the end of the couch, she pulled an afghan over her lap. She enjoyed just watching the way he moved. There was grace beneath the bulk of his muscles. When he was satisfied with the fire, he turned, his gaze seeking her out. She smiled and patted the couch cushion next to her.  His smile was thin, but he joined her.

“I’m sorry. I needed to get out of there,” he said, covering her feet with his hand and rubbing warmth into them.

“I’m glad you asked me to come with you.”

“Thank you for coming. I don’t know how good of company I’m going to be.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He hesitated and she gave his hand a squeeze.

“We don’t have to. We could cuddle, enjoy the fire, and a rare bit of privacy.”

“I’d like that.”

Adrienne shifted, turning to rest her back against him. He straightened the throw back over her legs and feet before wrapping his arm around her. He kissed the top of her head then rested his chin there. The flickering flames and the warmth of his body were hypnotic.

“I wanted to beat the hell out of my little brother. I had to get out of there,” he said, breaking the silence.

She nodded thoughtfully. “I got the impression from what you said that he was just antagonizing you and stirring the pot. I didn’t help by letting my jealousy show.”

“There is, and never was, anything between Josie and me other than friendship,” he said, kissing her temple. “You had me the moment I met you on the street. Believe me. No other woman compares.”

Adrienne turned slightly and stroked his cheek. “Your honesty makes you easy to believe.” She kissed him. “Enough sibling rivalry. It’s not too often we get time alone. Show me our new home.”

Kissing her back, he smiled and stood, pulling her up with him. Cole held her hand as he led her upstairs to show off the four bedrooms. The décor was simple, the colors following the rich blue and pale cream that was found in the striped wallpaper in the family and dining rooms. She smiled, running her hand down the stair banister. Solidly built and well loved, the house was a perfect representation of the McCade family. They finished back downstairs in the large kitchen.

“Mama called the kitchen the heart of the home. It made sense, maybe because it is where she always was.”

“I like that, and I love this countertop here in the middle. It gives you extra work space without taking up the kitchen table,” Adri said, running her fingers over the butcher block.

“We boys used to sit here on the other side and talk to her after school. Sometimes doing our homework, or just stealing a few cookies.”

“That’s a beautiful picture,” she said wistfully. She bit her lip as she looked around. “Coming to Virginia, seeing Trey and Gen together, listening to the McCade stories, us, it has all changed the way I think about marriage and family. It really made me see how cold and loveless my childhood was. Do you know I never saw my parents hug or kiss or-or just him pat her behind like Trey does Gen’s. Other than checking my forehead for a fever I don’t remember my mother ever kissing me. I never realized that wasn’t
normal
and I don’t want that for our children.”

Cole drew her into his arms. “Our babies will know that we love them, and that we love one another. I promise you that.”

Rubbing her cold nose against the front of his shirt, Adrienne nodded. In Cole’s arms right now she understood Gen’s thoughts about not having to worry. She not only believed him, she believed in him. The McCade men took good care of what was theirs. She smiled and blinked back unexpected tears. Tightening her arms around his middle, she tilted her head back to smile up at him.

“I love you, Cole McCade.”

“I love you too, beautiful, and I have no problem with showing everyone how much, especially our babies.”

She laughed when he rubbed his hips against her and waggled his eyebrows at the mention of babies. Walking him backwards, she moved them back to the family room. It was time for the christening. Slipping from his arms, she nudged him to drop down on the couch. She gave him a kiss and a wicked little smile. “I think you’re falling under my spell.”

“There’s no
think
about it. You bewitched me from that first moment.”

“And I wasn’t even trying then,” she whispered, moving to straddle his lap.

Both awed and unmistakably aroused by the gorgeous woman in his lap, Cole slid down on the couch a bit and let his hands skim under her skirts. He let them roam over her shapely behind and drew her down against him. She put a hand on either side of his face and kissed him until the world spun. He blinked at her, head resting over the top of the couch.

“You’re dangerous when you try.”

The smug smile on her lips was sexy as hell. Covering his lips again, they kissed until both were panting and straining against one another.

“Didn’t your brother tell us to make out on your couch?”

“Something like that,” he agreed, trailing his lips down her throat.

“What do you think the chances are of company?”

“Short of an emergency, none.”

A naughty grin lit her face as she started to unbutton her dress. He groaned catching sight of her pebbled nipples.

“Is it warm enough in here for you?” he asked, rubbing a hand over her back.

“I’m counting on you to keep me warm.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I want, just your best.”

The words sent his mind down several different paths. Damn she was hot. Pulling her down for another kiss, he reluctantly set her aside and hurried to stoke the fire. The one inside him was burning hot, but there was still a chill in the room. She had her dress off and was waiting for him when he turned from the fireplace. Shucking his shirt, he bent to yank off his boots. He reached for his pants and Adrienne wiggled a finger at him.

Slapping his hands aside, she unfastened his pants, letting her small hand slip inside to immediately free him from his underwear. Her fingers slid over his length, squeezing lightly. He stepped forward at a gentle tug and about hit his knees when she leaned forward to swirl her tongue over the tip. Another tug brought his shins against the front of the couch and she took him between her lips. Cole’s breath caught in a startled gulp and his fingers threaded through her raven hair. His eyes tried to drift closed at the amazing sensations rippling through his body, but he couldn’t tear his gaze from the sight of him sliding past her lips.

Her hands and mouth worked in unison over his shaft until his knees shook. He thought his eyes would bulge out of his head when he saw her hand slip inside her panties to stroke herself. He must have made a noise because Adri rolled her eyes up to look at him. They sparkled, both making promises and begging him for what she wanted. He took a reluctant step back and she released him from her lips with a soft pop.

His eyes dropped back to her moving fingers and she followed his gaze. Hooking the sides, she drew the scrap of material down and kicked it aside. He frowned when she turned on the couch, letting her knees rest on it to bend over the rolled arm. He hesitated.

“Inside knee on the couch, other foot on the floor,” she instructed softly. “Trust me, cowboy, you’re going to like this.”

Dropping his knee to the couch, Cole let his hands caress the beautiful swell of her ass. The position put it on display and opened her to his gaze when she spread her knees apart. His hands shook. Sliding fingers between her thighs, he stroked. Her body was eager for him. She looked over her shoulder, desire darkening her eyes. He swallowed hard. Who said marrying an inexperienced woman was the way to go? Her confidence was so sexy.

A moan broke her red lips when he slid into her. Hands on her hips, he thrust slowly at first, sliding almost all the way out before driving it home again. The foot on the floor added power to his movements and she cried out as he picked up the pace.

“Yesss!”

His grunts and the short screams pouring from her lips were loud in the quiet house but, for once, they didn’t have to worry. The thought and her cries spurred his passion. Her gasping words pleaded with him to take her harder and he obliged, pounding into her until the heavy couch scooted on the hardwood floor under the barrage. Her completion was a strangled scream, her whole body tensing and bowing under him.