I frowned, realizing I may have miscalculated. I had just been busting balls. Mason hadn’t joined in. Or Shane. But the rest of the guys had laughed their asses off.
Actually, come to think of it, maybe that had been mostly me…
Well, fuck.
“Come on, baby. It was all in good fun.”
“She was so embarrassed, Conn! How could you?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Tell that to them, not me,” she said, giving me a look that said I wasn’t getting any nookie tonight.
“You want me to apologize?”
“Yes, I do,” she said, crossing her arms over her gorgeous chest. “And until you do, you can sleep on the couch.”
“Babe!”
“Don’t you babe me!” She said, poking my chest with each word. “You acted like a horse’s ass! We went to all this trouble to bring them together, and you threw cold water all over them at a pivotal moment!”
Ouch, I though, rubbing my chest. I really was in the doghouse.
“Let me make it up to you.”
She gave me a challenging look. My woman didn’t back down when push came to shove. She was tough as nails, but twice as sweet as pie. I knew from the moment I had met her that I would never, ever, ever be bored.
She was pretty much perfect.
“Well, I will start with…” I leaned in and whispered in her ear how I would worship her body all night, wake up early to take care of the kids, make everybody breakfast and then call Jaken and Colleen to apologize. She gave me a suspicious look but I could tell she was softening to me. I leaned in and whispered some very specific things I wanted to do to her body, mostly with my mouth.
That did it.
I spent the rest of the night servicing my woman, not giving into my own pleasure until nearly dawn. It was hard holding back for that long with my gorgeous wife naked and writhing for me. But like anything worth doing, it was worth doing well.
And as always, she was well worth the wait.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Colleen
“Thank you for a lovely afternoon,” I said, feeling unaccountably shy as Jaken stood on my stoop, saying goodnight. He looked crestfallen when I kissed his cheek.
“Colleen… I am so sorry about what happened in the woods.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“My friends are jerks.”
“They are just high spirited,” I said, somewhat primly. I was embarrassed. But I knew it hadn’t been mean spirited. I did feel a bit tacky though.
“They were doing it to mess with me. Not you. They were hazing me.”
“I know,” I said on a sigh. I knew what he was saying was true. “I did have a nice time. Really.”
“When can I see you again?”
“It’s kind of a busy week…” I hedged. “I have two weddings this weekend, with double rehearsal dinners.”
“I want to be your boyfriend, Colleen. I want to be part of your life. Even if that just means hanging out and watching tv after a long day.”
I smiled. It was such a sweet thing to say. And I appreciated his directness. I didn’t like playing a guessing game.
“I’d like that,” I said, feeling shy again.
“Good. It’s settled then,” he said with a lopsided grin. “So I will come over a couple times this week.”
“Okay.”
“And you won’t go out with anyone else,” he said sternly.
“I… what?”
“If other blokes are asking for your number or a date, you’ll say no.”
“Of course. Was that even a question?”
He visibly relaxed right in front of my eyes. I realized he had been worried that I would go out with someone else. It was adorable.
“What about you?” I teased. “I heard you get a lot of attention at your job.”
He looked stunned. Then he turned pink. I bit back a laugh. Jaken was actually… blushing.
“Who told you that?” He demanded.
I shrugged, realizing I didn’t want to make waves.
“I heard it in passing,” I said lightly. But then I slid my arms around his neck. “And I’m not surprised. You are extremely handsome, after all.”
“I am?” He looked stunned at my forwardness. But not unhappy about it, either.
“Yes. Now kiss me goodnight.”
He blinked and then did exactly as I asked. The kiss was long, hot, and definitely not chaste. In fact, I could feel his hardness against me after the first few seconds. I guess I did that to him.
The realization was gratifying.
“Colleen,” he groaned. “I need to be alone with you.”
“Yes,” I said. “Me too.”
“When?” He asked urgently. “Tell me when.”
I leaned up to press a quick kiss on his lips and whisper into his ear.
“Soon.”
And then I slipped inside, leaving him staring at me on the doorstep.
“Pen? I’m home,” I said softly, not wanting to wake the littles, as I called them affectionately. Her door was open so I knocked quietly and peeked inside. The girls were sharing headphones and watching something on a laptop, already in their PJs and snuggled in Pennys twin bed.