Quick & Reckless, page 15
Warren ruffled the skirt of her dress up, made sure he was clear of his zipper and pushed inside. They both let out a resounding sigh as he sank down deep into her. Their lips finally parted, and he let his mouth travel down her luscious neck. She bowed her back, giving him better access as she met his hips thrust for thrust.
She’d denied him her breasts before, which made sense now. But today was different. He knew everything now. She had no more secrets to keep, and he wanted her in his mouth. Wanted to taste her. He didn’t care about breast milk. He cared about Silver, and he wanted every part of her. Moving his hand up her body again, he pulled the strap of her dress down over her shoulder before lifting a breast out of her bra. Her nipple was hard, a crimson bud beckoning for his mouth. He drew it between his lips and sucked. She mewled in need, and he could have sworn her heard her murmur, “again.” His tongue lashed across her tender peak, and his hand gently kneaded the creamy mound. God, they were big. And firm and fucking wonderful. Would they stay like this forever? He hoped so.
She squeezed her tight cunt around him just as she shoved her hands into his hair and pulled on the ends. He loved the pain that shot down the back of his neck. It made him feel alive. He always felt alive when he was balls-deep inside Silver. When he was with her. He sucked harder on her tight point, enjoying her soft moans and whimpers as she finally allowed him to play with her, to worship her properly.
Warren continued to pump into her, harder and harder, and she met him each time, her hips joining his and taking his force. Taking his hammering. The old bed squeaked a tad, but she didn’t seem to care. Her long legs wrapped around his hips and pushed up. Tossing her head back into the pillows and stuffed animals behind her, she clenched her muscles around him again, dug her heels into his butt cheeks and let go.
“Oh God, Warren,” she whispered, pinching her eyes shut and tugging on his hair even harder than before. “Fucking God. Yes.”
He wasn’t able to hold on any longer, and pulling his mouth away from her chest, he buried his face in the crook of her neck, bit down on her tender shoulder and gave in to the hold that this woman had on him. Gave in to the demand of her body sheathing his, loving his.
Her body rippled around him, milking his cock as he poured himself inside her. He released her shoulder and laved at the bite mark, loving that he’d marked her.
They lay there for a moment, their breathing ragged and labored, bodies slick with sweat, and hearts pounding hard and fast against one another. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath.
Silver chuckled beneath him, causing him to lift his head and look at her. “What’s so funny?”
Her smile warmed his heart. “Just that I definitely didn’t see that coming.”
He blinked down at her. “Neither did I.”
She continued to laugh. “Not that I’m complaining, though.”
“It’s pretty much all I want to do when I’m around you,” he said with a chuckle. “Even last night I wanted you. Had to bunch my fists to keep from grabbing you and teaching you a lesson for your lies.”
Her giggle was soft as her body jostled beneath him. “I definitely would have deserved it.”
Warren groaned. “Don’t tempt me, woman. I’m sure if given the proper motivation, I could find a makeshift switch or paddle in this room.”
She let out a weighted sigh and seemed to melt beneath him. “I think I have Ping-Pong paddles in my closet.”
Growling, which only made her laugh all the more, he dipped his head to her neck and clamped his teeth down hard, mumbling, “Oh, you wicked woman,” as he playfully twitched his cock inside her.
Suddenly, their moment of bliss was disrupted by the sound of voices coming up the stairs. There appeared to be more than one, and by the sound of things, they were his mother’s friends.
Shit.
Hastily, Warren slipped out of Silver, tucked himself into his shorts and ran to quietly shut the door. Thankfully, unlike the old bed, there wasn’t a squeak or creak to the hinges. He pressed his ear to the door, and sure enough, it sounded like Fiona and Roberta, members of his mother’s drunk knitters club. From the way they were giggling, they had been doing a fair bit more drinking than knitting today.
Warren glanced back at the bed where Silver was adjusting herself and pulling on her knickers. Her eyes were wide with what appeared to be mild panic. “We didn’t use a condom,” she said, reaching over onto the bedside table and grabbing a couple of tissues.
Fuck!
Groaning at his stupidity, Warren ran his hands through his hair and tugged even harder than Silver had. “Fuck, I’m sorry. I … I wasn’t even thinking.”
The woman made him lose all rational thought. He was constantly forgetting a condom with her. When she was near, he could think of nothing more than being inside her, prophylactics be damned. Responsibility be damned.
She shook her head after she’d cleaned herself up. “It’s okay, I’m sure. I’m nursing a lot, only three months post-partum and don’t have my period back. The chances of getting pregnant again are slim.”
Warren let out the breath he’d been holding. “I’m clean, just so you know.”
She nodded, her mind elsewhere. “Me too.”
Sensing her fear, he ate up the distance between them, grabbing her hands and bending his knees again so they were at eye level. “I’m still really confused by all of this. I just need a bit more time to process everything. We’ll know by tomorrow if Ava’s mine or not, and then we’ll take it from there, okay? One day at a time.”
She nodded but didn’t look up at him. He tucked a knuckle beneath her chin and gently tipped it up. Worry and confusion swirled inside those gorgeous gray eyes. “I promise.”
Her smile was small.
“And I never break a promise.”
Chapter thirteen
Warren
It wasn’t much later that Warren said his goodbyes at the party and caught a cab back to the hotel. As much as he loved his mother and wanted to be around Ava, he was tired of people and needed to sit and think in peace. He opened the balcony door off the second bedroom in his suite and brought out a beer and his laptop. As long as he didn’t hang out by the railing, the height didn’t bother him. He liked the cool breeze and fresh air; it helped with his headache. It helped him think. His brothers wanted to Skype, so he was just waiting for them to sign on.
It was about ten o’clock and the sky was just starting to turn dark. Long shadows cast by the skyscrapers turned the streets to night, forcing the lights to come on and guide the pedestrians on their way. And unlike down below, where the air was full of car exhaust and various smells from food trucks and back-alley dumpsters that had baked in the sun all day, up on the penthouse balcony, it was nothing but fresh summer air.
He tipped his beer back and let out a long sigh. The results of the DNA test would come tomorrow, and then he’d know for certain whether Ava was his or not. Even though he already knew it in his heart. She was his. She had to be. His laptop began to ding and warble, and before he knew it, there were his brothers.
“Hey, loser,” Gavin said with a laugh. He had a baby on his lap and was feeding it a bottle.
Warren rolled his eyes. “If it wasn’t for the impressionable ears, I’d return the insult.”
Gavin scoffed but smiled.
Allie, Gavin’s daughter, was only five months old. Not much older than Ava. A pang of something akin to longing shot through him. Were the girls cousins? Would they grow up together? Warren hadn’t even had any cousins, let alone siblings growing up. His mother was an only child as well. So when it came to family, it had really only been just the two of them.
“We’ve received twelve visa applications back, and eleven have been approved. We’re appealing the twelfth,” Gavin said, getting serious and down to business. “Shouldn’t be too much of a hassle. Once those employees get here, we’ll start training them.”
Fuck. Could he leave in a week if Ava turned to be his? His gut churned at the thought of abandoning her.
“So,” Tate started, flashing a big smile. “How goes it? How’s the hotel?”
Warren ran his fingers through his hair and took another sip of his beer. “Hotel’s fine. Seems to be running just as smoothly as when I was here last year. I’ve scheduled a meeting for next Monday with your contact in Whistler about discussing the expansion up there.”
Tate nodded. “Good, good. The Windward name is starting to carry, and we’re seeing some crossover guests between Vancouver, Seattle, here and Australia. One more on the West Coast certainly can’t hurt.”
Warren’s head bobbed. He’d kept it on the DL that he and his brothers were substantial investors in the hotel he was currently staying in. It was one of the newest acquisitions and hotels in the Windward chain. They were currently working on setting up a few more smaller Windward hotels and resorts throughout Tahiti and were in negotiations to put one in Hawaii and possibly Whistler as well.
“How’s your mum?” Gavin asked.
“She’s good.”
“And that chick you were boning last time? You seen her again yet?”
With a pained exhale, Warren nodded.
“Uh-oh,” Tate said with a snort. “What happened?”
“Well, I might be a father.”
Both men’s mouths dropped wide open.
“You’ve only been there three days. How the hell’d you manage that?” Gavin asked.
“Silver has a baby. She’s three months old, and there are only two potential fathers. Me or her ex that left her at the altar.”
“Fuck,” both brothers said at the same time.
“Fuck indeed,” Warren agreed.
“You doing a DNA test?” Tate asked.
Warren nodded. “Yeah. Should get the results tomorrow.”
“Then what you going to do?” Gavin asked. He used a cloth tossed over his shoulder to wipe up milk dribbles streaming down Allie’s chin. “You gonna marry her? Bring her and the babe back here?”
Warren drained his beer and immediately wished he had another one.
“Go get another drink,” Tate said. “Something tells me you need it.”
With a snort of a laugh, Warren nodded. He was back in a flash, this time with an ice bucket and a spare brew nestled inside. He popped the cap and sat back down in front of the computer
“So, boy? Girl?” Tate asked.
Warren set his beer down and wiped the back of his wrist over his mouth. “Girl. Ava.”
“She cute?” Gavin asked, not bothering to look up but instead making silly faces at Allie.
Warren nodded.
“Probably not yours then,” Gavin said, finally looking up. “Your kid’d be ugly as fuck.”
“You sure you’re Allie’s dad?” Warren snapped back. “She’s way too cute to have come from you.”
The two brothers continued to send friendly but nasty jabs back and forth until big brother Tate intervened. Had they all been in the same room, Tate would have probably clocked them both on the ear. He was such a dad.
“Anyway,” Tate said, shooting Gavin a dirty look. Gavin shrugged, feigning innocence. “What are you going to do about Silver and Ava?”
Warren shook his head. “I dunno. I mean, she lied to me. Kept Ava from me for months. And she knew who I was after she met me mum, even before Ava was born. She could have called me then, if not before. How can I trust her again?” He went on to explain Silver’s reasoning as to why she’d kept Ava a secret for so long. And although Warren understood parts of it, he was still mad at how she’d just assumed he was going to be a deadbeat dad. He took a long, refreshing sip from his beer after his explanation, watching as his brothers processed all that he said.
Tate frowned and was the first to speak. “You mean you want her?”
Letting out an exhausted sigh, probably his millionth for the day, Warren nodded. “I’ve wanted her since the moment she walked into the bar. Haven’t fucking stopped wanting her. And now she’s had my kid.”
“Possibly,” Gavin added. Tate elbowed him.
“Ava deserves a family. But if I can’t trust Silver, how will it ever work? And then there’s the distance thing. She’s here. I’m there.”
Tate rolled his eyes and shook his head in dismissal. “Don’t worry about the distance thing. You can work from there for as long as you need to. I can hire a general manager to oversee things, or I can step up for a bit until you sort your shit out. Family first. Always.”
Warren swallowed. “Thanks.”
Tate continued, “You think Silver would be open to moving here? At least for part of the year? I mean then Ava would get to know her cousins, could grow up with them.”
“Yeah, I mean she and Allie are practically the same age. That’d be kind of cool,” Gavin added. “I didn’t have any cousins or brothers and sisters growing up. It’d be nice for Ava to have that.” He seemed to have sobered up and finally got serious.
Emotion clung to the back of Warren’s throat. “Me either.”
“Do you love her?” Tate asked, cutting to the chase.
Warren nodded. “I think so. As mad as I am … as I was at her, I can’t hate her. I don’t hate her.”
“Then I suggest you forgive her. Embrace Ava as your own, even if she’s not. Though I bet you any money she is. And then go from there. Life’s too fucking short to walk away from someone who makes you feel the way Silver does,” Tate said.
He went to open his mouth when Gavin cut him off. “I saw her picture on your phone, bro. You were mopey and sullen for the first few weeks when you got back. I knew it was over her. And then your mood picked up when the countdown for this trip was on. I mean Canada’s cool and all, but nobody gets that stoked to travel there. It had to be a chick.”
“How’d you know Parker was the one?” Warren asked Tate.
Tate shrugged. “She made me want things I never even thought I wanted until I met her. A wife, kids, a family. Something worth getting up for every day besides work. She made me want to leave a legacy of love and people behind me, instead of just money and my business. She made me finally understand the true meaning of love. The true meaning of happiness.”
Gavin wiped beneath his eye and then laughed. “You on your period, dude? Jeez.”
Tate glared at him.
Gavin’s grin was wide and warm. “And for me, there was no other woman, ever, but Hettie. Since we were sixteen, I knew she was the one for me. She glued permanent blinders to the side of my head the moment she smiled at me, and I never had eyes for another woman after that. I just had to win her back after my all my fuckups.”
“You’re more sentimental than you let on,” Tate admonished him, shoulder bumping Gavin.
Gavin shot him a glare back. “Watch it. Allie’s sleeping here. And if she wakes up, Hettie will chop off my nads.”
Tate chuckled before turning to face Warren again. “You figure out your family shit. Let us know the results of the test and what you decide, and we’ll take care of it on our end.” His green eyes held the reassurance Warren needed.
“And if she’s yours,” Gavin added, “see about getting your hands on some Cuban cigars so we can celebrate your fatherhood properly when you get back.”
Warren laughed, and this time, for the first time since Silver dropped the baby-size bomb on him a few days ago, his chest didn’t feel nearly as tight, and he no longer had a headache.
“Anyway, bro, just wanted to check in. Don’t sweat the work shit; we’ll handle it,” Tate said once again. His attention seemed to divert to something off screen, and suddenly there was a cacophony of children’s voices and three little tanned-face children, two girls and a boy, came running to their father’s side. The smallest, Garon, asked to be picked up, and Tate plunked him on his lap, while Heidi, the youngest girl, climbed up on her own.
Ellie, the oldest, just rested her head on Tate’s shoulder. “Hi, Uncle Warren,” she beamed. “When are you coming home?”
“Soon.” All Warren could do was smile. It was that moment right there, seeing his brothers happy and surrounded by their children and knowing he might have a child of his own, that solidified everything for him. He wanted Ava to be his more than he wanted life itself. He wanted Silver in his life, by his side as they watched Ava play with her cousins and hopefully, one day, more siblings. He wanted the big, noisy, annoying, wonderful family his brothers were working so hard at building and even harder at protecting. He wanted it all. And he wanted it all now. Not in ten years, not in five years, not in one year. Now. Today.
“Can we go to the beach, Daddy?” Ellie asked, turning to Tate.
Tate chuckled. “Yes, sweetie. Even though we live on the beach, you kids can’t seem to get enough.”
Warren clenched his jaw tight. When he glanced down at his beer bottle, he realized he’d mindlessly peeled the label off and shredded it to bits. “I’ll let you guys go,” he finally said. “Have fun at the beach.”
“Text us the results,” Tate said, repositioning Garon on his lap before the little guy toppled over.
Warren nodded. “Will do.”
“Okay, everyone say bye-bye to Uncle Warren.”
Three kids, two adults and, with the help of her father, one sleeping baby waved back at him just before the screen went black.
Warren closed his laptop, grabbed his spare beer, popped the cap and looked up into the night sky, wishing on a star for the first time in decades that tomorrow he’d find out Ava was his and he’d have a family as big, wild and wonderful as his brothers’.
Chapter fourteen
Warren
Warren was up at the crack of dawn, back down at the gym for another run, up to the suite again for a shower, then out the door with his suit, the ring and his phone in hand. He called the florist on his way down in the elevator. They had his and Johnathan’s boutonnieres ready for pickup, as well as the bouquets for Silver and his mother.
