A Dye Hard Holiday (Curl Up and Dye Mysteries, #5) Page 4

“What?” I asked

  “I hope you didn’t make a big wager because I’m pretty sure I saw Kyle’s real estate agent showing Trent a house in our neighborhood,” Mere said. “He looks to me like he’s digging in, not bugging out.”

  “Fuck,” I said under my breath so that my children didn’t hear me.

  “What will you lose if he stays?” Chaz asked.

  “My sanity.”

  “You bet your sanity that Trent would move on?” Chaz shook his head in disbelief. “I know you got more creative than that. Naughty sexual favors?”

  “Oh, stop! He’d lose that bet on purpose,” Mere told Chaz.

  “Okay, technically it wasn’t a bet. It was more like a cocky statement that I know Gabe won’t let me back down from.”

  After my friends left, I sprawled on the rug and let my babies crawl all over me while they giggled. Buddy joined me and lay patiently while the twins cuddled up next to him where they eventually fell asleep on his chest. They looked so peaceful that I didn’t want to disturb them, but I knew Buddy couldn’t be comfortable, so I risked ruining naptime by moving them to their beds.

  When we first brought Dylan and Destiny home, they got fussy when we put them in separate cribs. They were used to sharing a tight space and both appeared to feel lost without their sibling near. They quieted and became peaceful the second we put them in the same crib, and we decided that they’d let us know when they wanted their own individual space. Ten months later, Destiny still reached for her big brother as she drifted to sleep beside him. It was quiet moments like those, little snapshots in time, that were so beautiful that my chest hurt from the tight hold my angels had on my heart. I wished that I could slow down time because they were growing up so damn fast. Before I knew it, they’d be starting preschool. That was more than I could handle, so I went back downstairs and grabbed a sketch pad and began planning my surprise for Gabe.

  “Wait until you see what we bought,” my mom said when they returned a few hours later. She and Martina proudly held up their shopping bags and my suspicions from earlier returned. “Josh, knock that off,” she said after I groaned. “Ugly Christmas sweaters? Pilgrim costumes? What have you done, Mother?”

  “Don’t be silly,” she said, waving her free hand at me before she reached inside the bag and pulled out a pair of red and black flannel pajama pants and a red Henley style pajama top with a snowman embroidered on it. “Matching pajamas for Christmas Eve for the entire family. We’ll have our pictures taken by the big fireplace in the formal living room.”

  “A new family tradition,” Martina added, grinning broadly. I could see where Gabe got his love for the holidays. “I’m worried that Gabriel is going to hate this, so I’m counting on your help, Josh.”

  I was pretty certain that Gabe would happily go along with our mothers’ plan without complaint, but I never passed up an opportunity to earn brownie points with my mother in-law. “You can count on me, Mom.” The brilliant smile I earned made me dance happily on the inside.

  “You ladies have been gone all day. What else did you buy?”

  “Um,” my mom said hesitatingly. “We did some window shopping too.”

  I tipped my head to the side and studied her. While I was blessed with a poker face, my mother was not. The fact that she broke eye contact and began looking in her purse for something was a tell that she was hiding something from me. I really got suspicious when I saw Martina start to fidget too. I was about to press them, but the dads returned home and greeted their wives like they had just came home from war.

  “I’m making dinner tonight,” Martina announced to us.

  “Yes!” I said, punching the air. “Can I help? I want you to teach me how to make authentic Latin food for Gabe. I’m sure he’d appreciate taco Tuesday if they were more like the kind you make and not the watered-down store version.”

  “I’d be honored.”

  When Gabe came home from work, he found me in the kitchen with Martina making tortillas from scratch.

  “Oh my God,” he said as he inhaled the aroma of the spicy shredded chicken and beef that we had already prepared. He came up behind me, wrapped his strong arms around me, and kissed a path from my collarbone to my ear. “You smell more delicious than the food.”

  Al called excitedly from the enclosed porch, and Martina went to see what he wanted. Gabe took that opportunity to pull up my sleeves and inspect my wrists. The marks had faded already since that morning.

  “I got a little carried away,” Gabe huskily said. “I love being physical with you, but I never intended to hurt you.”

  “You didn’t hurt me, baby. I got a secret thrill every time I saw them today.” I wanted to run my fingers through his hair, but they were coated in flour and cornmeal. My body often wore the marks of Gabe’s passion; I loved each and every one of them. So, I told him so.

  “I just wish I hadn’t marked you somewhere that everyone could see it.” Ah, we arrived at the real reason for his displeasure. He wanted to keep the magic we shared private between us. “I’ll be more careful next time.”

  “When might that be?” I eagerly asked.

  “I—”

  “I’m back,” Martina said. “Your father wanted me to see the snow flurries.” Then she picked up right where she left off in her instructions. “I roll the tortillas out between layers of wax paper to make it easier and cleaner.” I watched as she plopped the mixture on a piece of wax paper, covered it with another piece, and began rolling it in a circular pattern to get a perfectly round tortilla. “You don’t want to work the dough too much because it will make it rubbery and chewy.”

  Gabe released me and stepped back so I could give it a go. It was as easy as it looked. “I’ll never buy premade tortillas again,” I announced. “What’s next?”

  “Now we fry them,” Martina explained. “Cooking time depends on if you want soft tortillas for burritos, tacos, enchiladas, or chimichangas, or hard, crisp shells for tacos. Tonight, we’ll make a variety so you get a feel for it.”

  “I can’t wait,” Gabe said, rubbing his hands together. “Are you planning on making the cinnamon crisps too?”

  Martina pointed to the sugar and cinnamon mixture sitting in a bowl near the stove. “I can’t believe you’d ask such a silly thing.”

  “Thanks, Mama.” Gabe kissed his mother’s cheek then went in search of our children.

  “Big Daddy! Big Daddy!” Sassy and Savage squawked.

  Martina and I worked effortlessly together as we prepared dinner. She was a patient teacher, and I was an eager student. By the time we finished, I was confident that I could whip up the feast on my own after she returned to Florida. I sat anxiously as I waited for Gabe to sample his favorite foods. My man loved food as much as I loved to feed him. It was almost a form of foreplay between us with his appreciative groans or grunts that would inevitably spill over into our bedroom later.

  Midway through our meal, my mother put her fork down and looked at Martina, who gave her a quick nod. I knew we were about to learn what the two of them got up to that afternoon.

  “Martina and I did some shopping today,” my mother proudly announced.

  “We think we found the perfect gift for the whole family,” Martina added.

  Al and my dad smiled at their wives, and I realized that they too were in on the surprise. I looked over at Gabe, and he shrugged indicating he was as clueless as I was.

  “We decided to sell our homes in Florida and move here so we can be near our grandbabies,” my mom announced.

  “And our sons,” my father added.

  “Yeah, them too,” Martina retorted.

  Wow! Gabe and I just stared at one another for a few heartbeats. Gabe recovered from the shock first. “You’re moving here full time? Do you mean you’re moving in here?” He waved his hand around in the air to gesture our house. “Here, here?”

  “We’re not moving into your house, son,” Al said. “We’d never impose on you like that. Your mother and Bertie si
mply mean that we’re moving to Blissville.”

  “When did you decide this?” I was shocked, but certainly not unhappy about the development.

  “During the two-day drive to get here,” my father said. “Sure, we could fly, but lugging three months of clothes and cosmetics,” he pinned my mom with a dark look, “is too much for a plane. Then there’s the need to have transportation during our two-month stay, so driving was the only solution. We’re getting too old for that crap.”

  “We talked about finding short-term rentals here, but that gets costly,” Martina said. “Besides, two or three months a year isn’t enough to see my grandbabies. You guys visit Florida when you can, which isn’t often with such busy careers.”

  “This just felt like the right move for us,” my father stated. “We want to be close by without being in the way.”

  “You’re never in the way, Bill,” Gabe assured him. “This sounds freaking awesome.”

  “I’m glad you approve because we toured some of the available homes at the new retirement community today and found two that we love a lot,” my mom said.

  “We can have the best of both worlds—time with our kids and grandbabies then return to our homes. That way no one’s style is getting cramped,” Al said.

  “You’re not cramping our style, Dad.” The blush that creeped up Gabe’s neck was adorable.

  “Who said I was talking about you, boy? I need space to love your mama proper.”

  “Ew,” Gabe said.

  As if on cue, Savage began crooning his favorite Barry White song.

  “That bird has uncanny timing,” Martina said.

  “And great taste in music,” Al added, before he joined in.

  If you can’t beat them, join them. I snapped my fingers and sang along too. It was true though, I couldn’t get enough of Gabe’s love.

  “YOU’RE AWFULLY QUIET THIS evening,” Josh said, joining me in the shower. “Rough day at work, or is it the announcement our parents made?”

  “Both, I guess.” I pulled him toward me until his wet skin pressed against mine. “I’m not upset; I’m just processing.” I slid my hands over the round swells of Josh’s ass and gave them a hard squeeze, earning a pleased groan from my husband. “I have to be honest though, Sunshine. I don’t want to talk about the parents while you’re pressed against me naked and wet.”

  “Deal,” he said.

  I captured his lips in a fierce kiss that made my intentions clear. In case Josh needed a bigger hint of what I wanted, I slid a finger down between those firm globes, circled his tight, puckered hole, and raised it back up to the top of his crack where I teased the v-shaped indention there. Two years after our first kiss, I was still finding new parts of him to adore, to commit to memory.

  Josh didn’t believe in delayed gratification unless he was the one doing the teasing. He pushed his ass against my hand when my finger descended again. “Gabe.” He half moaned, half whispered my name when I pushed slightly against his entrance on the second pass. Josh’s cock twitched and pulsed as it slid along mine. Damn, I never tired of the way he made me feel with the simplest of touches or smallest sounds.

  “Gabriel, you better fuck me like you mean it.” Then there were his gritty demands that made it impossible for me to deny him, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t prolong his torture just a little bit.

  “All in good time, Sunshine.”

  I lowered myself to my knees in front of him. Josh’s cock rose gloriously proud from his body, bobbing like it was greeting me. I darted my tongue out and teased the tip of it, capturing the excitement that leaked from his slit. He leaned against the glass like he didn’t trust his legs to support him. A chuckle rumbled out of my throat because I loved having him at my mercy because the tables were usually turned since I was the one usually doing the begging and pleading.

  Josh slid his hands in my hair and grabbed two handfuls when I licked a path from root to tip, circling the head of his dick, then trailed my tongue down to his sac. I sucked one of his nuts in my mouth then the other, because it’s not right to play favorites. He widened his stance, encouraging me to go down on him further. I lifted his tight balls and sucked the sensitive skin of his taint. I nestled my nose between his nuts as I left my mark on him.

  “Baby.”

  Gone was his confident demand, and in its place, was a hoarse plea. He scored my scalp with his nails as I reduced him to one-syllable words and physical signals. Pride and power surged through me, spurring me to release him so I could start all over again.

  “You’re going to p-p-pay.” His stuttered threat only made me hotter and hornier. Josh wanted my mouth fully on him, sucking him to the back of my throat. I thought about giving in, but where was the fun in that?

  I met him halfway by sucking the head of his cock in my mouth and working that spot beneath the crown with my tongue that always drove him wild. Josh pushed his hips forward, trying to get deeper in my mouth so I pulled off him with an exaggerated, wet pop.

  “Wicked bastard,” Josh snarled. I loved it when he called me pet names.

  I watched his abdominal muscles flex beneath his fair skin as the need to fuck, or be fucked, rolled through him. I had my husband right where I wanted him, but I wasn’t ready to give in yet. I slowly worked his cock into my mouth until my lips were wrapped snuggly around the base. I breathed through my nose to work through the gag reflex then swallowed around the head of his dick.

  My baby loved it when my throat massaged his cock, and I loved the pre-cum that dribbled down my throat in response. I continued working Josh to the edge then pulled off before he could fall over. I didn’t think about the discomfort from kneeling on hard tile for so long, my only thought was outdoing any blow job I’d given Josh in the past. I wanted to burn that moment into his brain for eternity. He was mine. I owned every part of him down to the last drop of cum he shot down my throat when I finally let him climax.

  Josh grabbed the bottle of lube then lowered himself to kneel in front of me. My cock pulsed and raged in his hand as he slickened it. Then he pushed my shoulders until I sat on my heels before he turned his body so that his back was to me. Straddling my thighs, he reached behind him to line my cock up to his entrance, and slammed down hard, spearing himself on my shaft. I grabbed his hips and held him still rather than let him ride me. Black spots dotted my vision as my cock throbbed and demanded release, but I didn’t want it to end so soon. Fuck! Josh’s chute tightened around my dick like an eager massage designed to give me the happiest of endings.

  I turned my husband’s head and kissed him hungrily as I fought to regain the control he took back from me with a few simple moves. My fingers twitched where they dug into his skin, trying to hold him to me, but they lost the battle when he began rocking his hips sensually. My grip went from holding him in place to bouncing him up and down my cock. The friction set flames licking along my spine and zapped my balls. My nuts retracted against my body seconds before I shoved Josh to his knees in front of me and pounded his ass, riding out my orgasm and busting my load inside him.

  Afterward, I sat on my ass and held him on my lap as my dick softened inside him. “I can never get enough of you; I can never get close enough to you, Sunshine.”

  “Good,” Josh smugly replied. “That means I’m doing something right.”

  “You do everything right, Josh.”

  “Not always,” he countered. “I should’ve told you about Trent joining our pediatrician’s practice. I risked giving you the wrong impression for the reason I remained silent.”

  I teased the back of his ear with my nose. “Talking about your ex-lover while my dick is still inside you is as bad as talking about our parents.” I placed my hand over his chest where his heart still pounded from the excitement I gave him. “I didn’t doubt your intentions, Sunshine. Besides, your heart is all mine so that putz can stay as long as he wants.”

  Josh eased himself off my dick and turned to face me. “I’m glad to hear you say that because
I’m pretty sure I have to utter three words that pain me.” The grimace that followed his confession made me nervous.

  “What three words?”

  “I was wrong.”

  I could quickly rattle off many times that I wanted Josh to say those words to me, but not in connection with his ex-boyfriend sticking around town.

  “I heard that he’s looking to buy a house.” He said it so fast that it came out sounding like one, long word.

  “For who? Him?” Jealousy and possessiveness clawed at my guts. “Are you toying with me right now?”

  Josh’s eyes widened in alarm then narrowed in irritation. “Have you ever known me to play games with you?” Josh’s cheeks flushed a rosy red when I raised my eyebrow in response to his question. “I wasn’t playing games with you then, Gabriel. I was terrified of you and all the delicious feelings you brought out in me. I have never lied or deliberately misled you,” he clarified. “Mere told me today and now I’m telling you.”

  I released a frustrated breath then ran my hands through his hair. I didn’t like that loser living in our town one bit, but it didn’t matter because I knew that Josh had entrusted his heart with me. I wouldn’t ruin that over something that was out of his control. “I trust you, Josh.”

  Josh set his pencil and sketchpad on the coffee table and reached for his hot chocolate.

  He curled up beside me on the sofa in the sitting area of our bedroom suite. It was my favorite room in our house because it was a retreat for just the two of us. A fire crackled in the fireplace as I watched ESPN on the flat screen television mounted above the mantel. I couldn’t tell you a thing I had watched, because I basically just looked at the television as my mind processed the revelations from that evening.

  “Don’t you want our parents to move here? You’re acting kind of weird about it. You smiled like you were happy, but then you got quiet. That’s usually not a good sign.”

  “Of course, I want them here. I want our children to really know them and not just see them a few times a year,” I replied. “I just don’t want them to regret it. My parents have only lived in Miami, Josh. It’s one thing to visit here and enjoy the pretty flurries, but it’s an entirely different animal to navigate through it day after day. People retire to Florida, not the other way around.”