Rough Love (Tannen Boys 1)

“YEAH!” twelve kids roar, not even in unison. It’s more of a riot of excitement.

Everyone disperses, and I notice Michelle talking to Killian’s grandparents. “They gonna be okay?”

Allyson follows my line of vision and nods. “Yeah, Michelle is going to bring Liam, Cooper, and Killian out to the farm. The Bloomdales can’t camp anymore, of course, and Michelle offered to let Cooper hang out so that we can focus on getting everything set up. She’s going to take him from practice so we can head right out.”

She looks at me, her smirk giving away her flirty mood before she even speaks. “Though I won’t have time to take a shower between practice and camping. Is that going to be a problem?”

There’s a light in her eyes that I remember so well, and the faux-innocent seductive tone to her voice sends tingles through me. I step closer, tracing along the soft skin of her arm with the back of my hand, not wanting to be too obvious but needing to touch her.

“I already told you, Al. I’ll take you fresh and clean or sweaty and filthy. Any way I can get you.”

She shudders, and in her thin workout tank and sports bra, I can tell her nipples are diamond hard. “What’s the plan for this afternoon?”

“Oh, I’ve got big plans for you. Big, filthy, hot ones . . .” I say quietly.

“You play dirty,” she teases.

I act surprised. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I meant that we’ve got a lot of work to do to get everything ready on the farm. If you thought I was talking about something else, that’s on you, dirty girl.”

She blushes, but her smile tells me loud and clear that she likes it. “I wish we had time to detour on the way to the farm,” she says, looking up at me through her lashes. “Even a quick one?”

“Fuck, Al. You’re gonna kill me,” I growl, stepping in front of her to block the few remaining people’s view of our hushed conversation. “I would give just about anything to drive back to your house and fuck the shit out of you, slide inside your heaven and inside your heart.” Her chest is rising and falling faster with my every word. “But we’ve got things to do, promises to fulfill. After that, I’m gonna fuck that pussy, though. I promise you that.”

“You can’t say stuff like that . . . the kids . . .” she whispers, looking around. But there’s no one close enough to hear.

She licks her lips, inviting me to kiss her, her eyes telling me how much she wants me to. I take a big breath, willing my dick to settle down, and cup her cheeks. There’s so much hope, so much possibility in the small space between us.

It’s not what she expects, but it’s what we need. I kiss her forehead instead of her lips like I want. “We need to go. The kids are counting on us.”

“Remind me again how I ended up helping you with this shit?” Mark grunts, pushing at a log to get it lined up into the circle we’re creating.

Wow, a whole sentence. Either he’s doing better or I’m asking for so much he needs to rub my nose in it.

“It’s for the kids, asshole.” James answers before I do, kicking at the other end of the same log. “Get used to it, Uncle Mark.”

We’ve got a pretty good handle on the preparations now. The guys, Bennetts and Tannens both, have been working side-by-side to do the heavy lifting, and Mama Louise and the girls swept Allyson off as soon as we got here.

I already said it once, and it’s not really our style, but I tell the guys again, “Thanks a lot for letting us do the campout here and for helping set everything up.”

“Not like you asked before planning the whole shindig.” Mark’s brow raises with the accusation, but he’s not wrong.

“I know. It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time,” I explain for what’s got to be the tenth time. He’s like a dog with a bone and won’t let it go. The only reason I haven’t bowed up at him over the whole thing is that I can see a tiny flicker in his eyes as he gives me shit. Almost like . . . he’s teasing? But I don’t know if Mark has a funny bone in his entire body. If so, it’s gotta be just the very tip of his pinkie toe or . . . what’s that tiny bone in your ear? That thing could probably hold more humor than he has in his whole body.

Bobby snorts. “He means Allyson had him by the dick and he would’ve agreed to anything she asked.”

He sounds full of piss and vinegar and I’ve had more than enough. I drop the small log I’m moving with a thud, my hands going on my hips to keep from shoving him. “What’s your problem, Bobby?”