JARED (Lane Brothers Book 4) (14 page)

Paulie is right with me, though, and I feel her tighten up a second before she sinks her teeth into my shoulder and detonates beneath me in shuddering waves of pleasure.

I want it to last, but the need has me too far gone and it takes only a few more deep-seated thrusts before I’m pushing into her as far as I can and off-loading my seed into her unprotected womb.

“Love you,” I wheeze, finding the strength to fall down beside her as I continue to pet her tenderly.

Paulie turns her head and smiles at me with so much love, I can’t help but feel the peace I’ve been searching for all day.

“Love you, too, Sugar. Now go to sleep and dream of me.”

And I do. I dream of her walking down the aisle to me and smiling tearfully when the judge pronounces us man and wife, and I dream of golden-eyed little terrors with smiles just like hers and a penchant for painting and collecting cat items. I dream of having a long life with her by my side.

Paulette

I’m so excited I can hardly breathe right now, and I swear if I pinch myself one more time I’ll be walking down the aisle resembling a big, purple bruise.

Jared, my one and only, finally took my advice sometime yesterday after nearly picking himself bald and told Mama to call the judge. He also informed Wyatt of Miah’s craziness and his big brother promised to take care of that while we made wedding plans and started our honeymoon early.

I’m also excited because I get to have Ronny here with us this time around, and it just feels so much better, so right.

“Oh, honey, Jared is going to die when he sees you,” Mama says tearfully and I have to laugh when the rest of the girls all tear up, too, Ronny included, though she’s been ragging me about getting tied down and giving up my freedom since she got here yesterday with Bronx hot on her heels.

The man seems obsessed and I’d love to know what the heck is going on there, but the little sneaks is tight lipped and hasn’t let anything slip, though I have seen the hot looks being passed between the two whenever Ronny thinks no one is watching.

As an added bonus, Trace seems to be actually trying to make nice with my other pal, but that could just have something to do with the fact that Ronny has dropped her bitch act and seems happy to just be herself.

Well mostly. Her and Miah still can’t resist sniping at each other at any opportunity.

“Thanks, Ma, but I am kind of hoping to have him present for the honeymoon,” I answer, throwing them all a saucy wink that gets them groaning and gagging.

“Oh, I almost forgot, honey! Mama wants you to have this back! It’s something blue and Jared can’t say no to that.”

I groan inwardly and close my eyes in defeat, opening only one in fear, because I know what’s coming and I don’t know how to refuse without hurting her feelings.

Jared was clear about this.

But then again, how can he really expect a greedy little lady like myself to pass up a perfectly beautiful blue diamond? That’s just unreasonable male posturing, if you ask me.

“Ohh, Jared is gonna be cheesed if you accept Mama’s ring, Paulie. It took Wyatt almost a month to get over his snit when I refused to take mine off, and I just know Jared will not take this kindly,” Ellie warns, ruining her words when she starts giggling and cooing to Alex about stubborn men and their insecurities when it comes to their women.

“Mama.”

“Now don’t you dare refuse me, Paulie, honey. I give all of my daughters a ring, and if you refuse it would just break Mama’s heart,” she pouts, causing Clari to snort water through her nose.

I’m vacillating about the whole thing when Ronny comes over and takes a look, whistling low under her breath.

“If she doesn’t want it, I am so there, Jude honey.”

“Not on your life!” I yell and the darn ring and chain are around my neck before I can take my next breath.

That sets them all cackling and I ignore them all to admire my bounty.

I love Jared’s ring, but this ring from Mama is symbolic of me belonging not only to Jared, but the whole family, and I need it.

With a last check, I turn to the girls just as there’s a knock at the door, and Tracy almost flies to open it, squealing like a teenager when Jace comes into view, smiling seductively at his woman.

“You ladies about ready to roll? I swear Jared’s going to wait about another five seconds before he comes up here himself and—”

He doesn’t get to finish, and I’m giggling hysterically when Jared shoves him out of the way, stalks to me, and hoists me into his arms.

“You’re taking too long, woman. Let’s go get married so we can have that honeymoon.”

The others are giggling and I hear a few choice words from Jace that he isn’t getting to walk me down the aisle as Jared takes the stairs at almost a run and bursts into the back yard to the chorus of male cheers and a few backslaps that have me rolling my eyes.

Ronny is right, they are all Neanderthals.

He carries me all the way to the altar and only releases me long enough to bend and fix my dress before pulling me against his chest and signalling for the judge to begin.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the sight of the good Lord Almighty to witness the joining of Jared and Paulette…”

I hear the words and see nothing but Jared and know that all he sees is me at this very moment. There’s a lot of laughter and cheering when the poor man finally pronounces us man and wife, and my husband kisses me so sinfully that I hear the judge clear his throat a few times before just giving up and joining Pop and the others.

“I’m yours now, Cupcake,” he whispers, kissing me again.

“And I’m yours,” I whisper back against his lips, loving the way he always knows what to say to make my heart melt.

“Come on, you pussy, let us get in there for a second to welcome our little sister into the family,” Jace grumbles and I giggle when he pulls me away from Jared and into a bear hug that has my husband snarling violently.

Wyatt’s grinning when he does the same, and I feel a twinge when he leans down and whispers into my ear.

“Good choice, honeydew.”

“I know,” I whisper back, loving that he’s as happy about this all as I am.

Jared soon has me back and all to himself when everyone starts trailing into the house for the feast of delicious food that Mama spent all morning preparing for us.

This may not be the big society wedding my own mother always envisioned, but I feel so blessed right now that I honestly cannot imagine anything else than the fairy-tale wedding I’m lucky enough to have got.

It’s so perfect that when Jared takes my hand and starts pulling me away from the house, I’m confused and a little put out to be missing the food.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” he says cryptically and I hold my tongue as we walk hand in hand to the very edge of that massive property, only to see a picturesque little cottage nestled beneath a copse of oak trees.

“Oh wow.”

“I know. I knew it was perfect for my little fairy-chaser the minute Pop brought me down here to show me the renovations,” he says and I almost have an orgasm when he swings the door open to reveal a space filled with flowers, food, and a large bed with white silk sheets and large fluffy pillows scattered all over the surface.

“Jared.”

He comes up behind me and wraps me up in his arms, pulling me back into his chest to settle his lips on that tender spot just beneath my ear.

“I’m so happy right now, Mrs. Lane. I could die right this minute and not regret a moment of the last two weeks. You are everything I never let myself hope for, and I swear to you I will spend the rest of my days showing you how much you mean to me.”

His words are so serious and loving that I shiver and find myself leaking like a damn faucet.

“You know, two weeks ago I was so scared I couldn’t do anything else but run and hope that Jerry and his cronies wouldn’t be too close behind me. I was so ready to just leave everything behind and not exist anymore.” His arms tighten and I feel him stiffen behind me in anger and it makes me smile.

He hates when I get upset, and while I don’t want a single thing to ruin the perfect day we’ve had so far, I want him to know everything I feel. It’s only fair, since I know with every breath he takes exactly how he feels about me.

“Baby.”

“No, let me finish. I ran, but I was so broken at the thought of never seeing you again or hearing your voice. It hurt like hell, Sugar, and I was almost relieved when they caught me and dragged me back. And then…well, I prayed for death and I even wanted to die in that alley because I thought you would never forgive me, and that meant my life was over.”

“Cupcake,” he says, turning me swiftly and pulling me to his chest with a groan.

“I’m so glad it was you who found me and you who saved me, Jared, because it has always been you and it always will be. I’ll love you every single day of my life, no matter what happens, and I’ll even love you after because not even death can stop what I feel for you.”

He groans again and takes my mouth in an urgent kiss that is more than just the show of desire. I feel him flood me with pure love as he kisses me harshly, and it’s everything I could have ever dreamed to have, and more than I ever thought I deserved.

***

I come awake with a hand over my mouth and so much weight pinning me down that I’m struggling and thrashing wildly before the scent of my husband’s cologne reaching my nose and I freeze.

Jared is over me and covering my body protectively as he scans the room and tilts his head as it listening for whatever sound must have woken him.

I hear a faint scrape and the merest rustle of leaves and think it’s ridiculous to even pay attention, but I feel him tense further and grit his teeth before his blue eyes meet mine in the darkness.

“Put my shirt on. Quietly.”

I nod and roll to the floor, grabbing his shirt and buttoning it up quickly before he grabs me and pulls me behind him, stopping every few feet to check the windows and around the furniture.

I know my husband, and if he’s going SEAL on me in the middle of the night, not even a full day into our honeymoon, something is very wrong.

I hear that almost silent scraping again and I feel him tense before stopping in front of a wall and pushing slowly. The panel comes away with an almost silent hiss and he pushes me inside and closes it behind us, sealing us into the pitch-black enclosure.

The kiss I get when he wrenches me into his chest is desperate and greedy and wild and I can tell that it’s his way of proving to himself that I’m okay and that whoever is lurking in the shadows hasn’t gotten to me.

I go to whisper, but he places a finger over my lips and pulls me along behind him. I have no clue where we are right now, but I have to say that I’m grateful for the quick escape.

We walk a little ways in silence before he pushes me through another door and pulls in something above our heads, illuminating what looks like a dirt tunnel that’s narrow and so low, I see that Jared is bent and almost touching the walls on each side with his broad shoulders.

“Baby, listen to me, and listen very well. I want you to run. Keep following this tunnel till you get to the end. Punch four, seven, nine, twelve into the panel you’ll find there. You’ll come out just beneath the kitchen, in the basement. Get to Miah and Jace and tell them there are people on the property.”

“No, please. Come with me,” I plead, feeling my body start to shake as real fear hits my bloodstream and my limbs start shaking in that terrible way I’ve come to dread.

My vision starts winking when Jared shakes his head and I realize he intends to stay here and go back out there by himself.

“Shh, take deep breaths and do what I say, Cupcake. Get Miah and Jace and tell the others to initiate emergency procedures, okay? I’ll be right back before you know it.”

I’m ready to start falling apart when he kisses me deeply and shoves me away in the opposite direction, hissing at me to run, to save the family before anyone gets to the house.

I have no choice when the light goes off and plunges the tunnel back into darkness and I start running, stumbling against the dirt walls and scraping my legs painfully as I try to negotiate the space as fast as my legs will carry me.

I’m practically sobbing by the time I run face-first into what feels like a solid steel door, but I find the strength deep inside to pull myself together and start searching for the keypad Jared told me about.

It feels like hours instead of seconds when I feel the little square box scrape my fingers and I wince when I rip it open and slice my finger along the sharp edges of the cover.

Light bursts out and my bloody finger slips and skitters over the digits before the lock releases with a click and the door opens with a sibilant hiss.

I don’t pause to check the house for intruders or even look left and right. I just run up the stairs at a sprint and fall into Miah’s room with a desperate cry.

He’s up and over me so fast that I rear back in fright before clutching at him as my breath wheezes out.

“Jared. Tunnel. Intruders,” I get out, choking as the attack tries to grab hold of me.

Miah curses and grabs Clari before snagging my arm and dragging me towards the other side of the house at a run. Clari and I are both flung none too gently into Jace’s room, and then the commotion really starts.

Jace and Wyatt are both up now, and I hear Mama and Pop and a sleepy Josh join the party as the men start throwing on clothes and leave without another word.

Pop springs into action and starts punching codes into a secret panel that he pulls from Jace’s closet, and before we know it there are steel shutters coming down over the windows and a large steel panel comes out of the wall to cover the door.

We’re sealed in together and all terrified when the first round of gunfire starts exploding through the air and I hear Ellie crooning softly to Al as Clari hugs Josh tightly to her and covers his ears just before my vision finally blinks out and I collapse with a shudder.