Page 86 of The Last One You Loved
And she worked her way down my body, tugging aside the sweats and putting her sexy as hell mouth to work in a way I’d never be able to forget, blonde hair swirling around my hips, wheat-and-sage-colored eyes darkening with lust. And all I could think was if I lost her again, there’d only be a shell of me left, but I was damned sure going to do everything in my power to keep her this time. Even if it meant chasing her down.
? ? ?
When McK and I showed up at the ranch later than I’d planned the next day for Thanksgiving, the entire family sent knowing looks our way. McKenna blushed a pretty pink, reminding me of the flush that had coated her for hours the night before and made it almost impossible to stand in my parents’ kitchen.
Mila saved the day, running in to hug me and then McKenna as if we’d been gone a year. In some ways, it felt like we had. I’d changed overnight, unlocked secret pieces of myself I’d kept aside because they’d only ever belonged to McK.
“Uh-oh, Ryder,” Sadie said, bumping his shoulder with hers. “I think the monk might have finally lost his V card.”
Ryder grinned, but Mama swatted at her with a kitchen towel, shooting an eye in Mila’s direction. “Watch what you say, Sadie.”
“What should his new title be?” Ryder asked, rubbing his scruff and trying to hide his smile.”
“I have a title,” I groused. “It’s called sheriff.”
“Sheriff Quick Draw.”
McK’s comeback was so quick it caused my head to twirl, and when I looked at the grin on her face, there was not one ounce of me that was upset, even as Ryder and Sadie burst out laughing. Instead, I headed toward McK. She squealed and ran, and I gave chase. When I caught her, I threw her on the couch and pinned her down with my weight as I jerked off her ankle boots and reached for her feet.
She was laughing and gasping. “Don’t do it, Sheriff. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Take it back, McK. Tell them the truth. Tell them what you were really screaming last night.”
She shook her head, and I let my fingers slide down over her arch. I barely touched it, and she was already bucking and trying to escape with laughter still bubbling from her. My chuckle joined hers as I watched her squirm, remembering every single time we’d ended up this way as kids, including the time she’d knocked me so good I thought she’d broken my nose.
Mila ran in with a smile as wide as McK’s as she watched us tussle on the couch. Not wanting to be left out, she crawled onto us, reaching for McK’s stomach and getting her own tickles in.
“Stop…stop,” McKenna breathed out between laughs. Mila and I shared a look and just picked up the pace of our fingers. “I’m going to pee my pants if you keep it up.”
Mila immediately stopped, looking very serious. “It’s okay. It happens to everyone, even grown-ups. That’s what Daddy told me when I had an accident at the store and was afraid everyone saw, but they didn’t because Daddy wrapped me in his coat and took me home.”
“When you three have had enough of that horseplay, I could use your help in the kitchen with the turkey, Maddox,” Mama said. Her words were a scold, but her face crinkled up in a huge smile, joy radiating from her instead of the worry she so often sent my way.
“Why can’t Dad or Ryder do it? Aren’t the oldest members of the family supposed to carve?” I asked.
“You know you have the best knife skills,” she said. “They’ll just butcher it.”
I sighed, picking Mila up and setting her aside, then I looked down at McK, leaned in real close to her ear, and whispered, “You’re going to pay for that later.”
“Promises, promises, Mads,” she said, eyebrow lifting, smile still wide and glorious.
“You know I keep my promises.”
She caught her breath, her smile slowly fading as heat filled her eyes. I knew she was remembering the same thing I was—our night making love and how her legs had barely supported her as we’d showered this morning.
Her fingers landed on the corner of my lips and the smile I still wore, as if she was still amazed by it like she’d been the night before when she’d called it cocky.
Joy filled my heart. So much that it stayed with me the rest of the day, stayed until we had to leave so I could take over for Liam at the station, and he could enjoy the holiday with his family, too. It was how we did things around here, covering for each other, making sure no one had to sacrifice too much of their life for the job we already sacrificed a lot for.
Mila and McKenna were tucked together on the couch, watchingScoobywhen I came out of the bedroom in my uniform. McKenna eyed me up and down in a way that made me want to shed the uniform and haul her back into my bed.
“What would you be watching if Mila wasn’t forcingScoobyon you?” I asked.
“Buffy,” she said instantly, and I couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped me, remembering just how much McK had adored the show when we were teens.
Mila caught on. “Who’s Buffy? Can I watch it?”
I shook my head. “You’ll have to wait a few more years, Bug-a-Boo.Buffyis more of a teenager show.”
