Torn by Love (Scarred by Love #4) (15 page)

“He does not have a dimple,” Tanner argued.

“Yes, he does. Watch.” Carson touched Tucker’s cheek once more.

“Will you stop tickling my kid?” Tanner nudged him with his shoulder.

“Admit it, your son has a dimple,” Carson insisted. “He has Lily’s dimple.”

Another moment of silence followed as everyone stood around, watching for this mysterious dimple to appear. Just as they all began to argue about it once again, Baby T flashed it.

Lily beamed, and Logan was the one who fist-pumped the air this time. “Lil, he got Dad’s dimple too.”

I looked up, and Lily’s eyes met mine. They were glossy and shimmering in the light of the delivery room. I passed Tucker on to the next person in line and made my way closer to Lily, leaned over, and hugged her tight. “You know your dad is watching over you, and he sent you these two men for a reason. Tanner and Tucker, they’re a gift from him. He sent them to watch over his girl.”

She nodded her head against mine.

“You wanna secret?” I asked, and she squinted. “You can’t tell a soul. You promise?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“I’m pregnant.” I beamed when her eyes widened. “The best part is Carson has no idea that we’re having twins.” Her mouth fell open, and I laughed. “Shh, remember you can’t say anything yet.”

“I won’t,” Lily assured me.

I was about to burst at the seams, and it felt so good to confide in someone. I planned on telling Carson later tonight, but sharing the news with Lily now put a smile back on her saddened face. It felt like the right thing to do.

***

Max

“So what do you think, buddy? Another boy. Aunt Ry let us down, but Uncle T and Aunt Lily pulled through. We need more Parks men.” I looked down at my son as I rocked him from side to side. He grunted and pursed his lips as he stretched his arms above his head.

Bree and I were the first to give my parents a grandson. There for a while it appeared we were all destined to be surrounded by gorgeous women, but then Ryan came along. Our little man changed the dynamic of the entire family.

It was still hard to believe I had a son. A son that could melt me in an instant, a son that would forever be my best friend.

Bree wrapped her arms around me from behind. “You coming to bed?” she asked.

“Yeah, just telling my buddy good night.” I smiled over my shoulder and kissed her temple. “Give me just a few.”

“Make sure to stop by and tuck Paisley in. She’s waiting for you.”

Another little girl that could weaken me with one smile.

I put Ryan in his crib and tucked his blanket tightly around him, then leaned over and kissed his forehead. “Daddy loves you, bud.”

After making a quick stop to tell my little angel good night, I entered my bedroom. Bree was curled up on her side, lightly snoring. I stood in the doorway, taking a few moments to remember just how lucky I was.

***

Bree

“Are you coming to bed, or are you just gonna stand there and watch me sleep?”

The light from the bathroom lit Max’s face as he smirked at me.

“This big bed gets awfully lonely without you to share it with,” I said.

He pulled his shirt up over his head, and I rolled over onto my back, allowing myself to get a better view. He still made my heart race. Max was one sexy man, and he was all mine.

He knelt on the end of the bed and slowly crawled toward me. He licked his lips, and his eyes raked over my body. I had gone to bed in just a skimpy pair of panties and a tank top. I knew exactly what he was feeling from the look on his face.

As he lowered his body over mine, he placed kisses along my neck before nipping at my ear. “You are so fucking sexy, B,” he growled.

I wrapped my legs around his waist and ground against him.

Quickly the room filled with moans and the sound of our bodies moving together. I lost my mind every time Max touched me. Within seconds, I became a mess of desire, and there was nothing I wouldn’t do for him.

Minutes later as we lay next to one another panting and trying to catch our breaths, a small whimper filtered in from the baby monitor.

We both listened as Ryan continued to grunt and whine. After a short while he calmed himself and from the sounds of it, fell back to sleep.

“God, I love that kid,” Max said in the darkness. “I love the life you’ve given me, baby.” He curled his arm around my waist and pulled me toward him. “Thank you.”

Curling in closer, I fell asleep with my other half—the man who loved me so hard and made me feel like nothing in this world could ever hurt me as long as he was by my side.

***

Kelly

“Isabella and Mariah are down for the night.” I entered the bedroom without even looking toward my husband. “I’m exhausted, my feet hurt, and I’m dying for a hot shower.”

I dropped my clothes to the floor in the bathroom and leaned into the shower, flipping the water on.

Sometimes life got crazy. With Mason traveling sometimes for weeks at a time, I was left to handle everything on my own. He just got home a few hours ago from his most recent trip.

I stepped in the shower and tilted my head back as I let the hot water run over my face. Isabella has been fighting an ear infection for the last week, Mariah had started dance classes, and work had been a madhouse. The stress of it all was weighing heavy on me, and I planned to pass everything on to Mason and take tomorrow off. It was time I had some recovery time.

I was so wrapped up in the relaxing feeling of the water beating my sore muscles that I missed Mason stepping in behind me. I was startled when his hands trailed along my sides and wrapped around my waist

“I put in for the office job,” Mason whispered against my temple.

I turned in his arms and looked up at him. “Why? You loved traveling.”

“I love you and my girls more. I don’t like being away from you for days. I’m missing out on too much.” He leaned forward and kissed me. “You take on too much, and I need to be here more.”

“Mason, you can’t.”

He stopped me by placing his lips against mine once more. As his tongue traced them, I opened to accept his assault.

“I miss you, Kel. I miss us.” He kissed me again. “I don’t like being away from you. The traveling doesn’t appeal to me like it used to. I want my family, every day.”

In the beginning Mason and I were sort of thrown into family life after an unplanned pregnancy at a young age. Yes, we finished college, but it wasn’t easy. Without the help from Rayann, I’m not sure Mason and I would have made it.

We’d gone through a lot of hard times. But here we were, together and stronger than ever.

I wrapped my hands around the back of his neck and pulled him down to me. I was so tired, but having Mason here with me gave me a rush.

He turned our bodies and backed me up against the wall of the shower. “I miss this too,” I whimpered. “I need you, Mason.”

“I know,” he said.

I reached between us and gripped him in my hand, smiling as I felt the metal click against my rings. Mason was a dirty lover. Though you would never guess from just looking at him, he was all about adventure. The day he came home with his piercings down under…well, I was intrigued and more than ready to test them out, but I was by no means surprised.

Mason placed his hands on the backs of my thighs and lifted me as I wrapped my legs around his waist. He slowly guided his hardness inside me, and my head thumped back against the shower wall.

“Just relax. Let me take care of you. I got you, baby,” he cooed.

Mason began to pump his hips, hitting that spot inside me that in no time would throw me over the ledge.

“Let go, let me feel it, Kel,” he coached me. “Come for me, baby.”

I squeeze his shoulders tightly as I dug my heels into his ass cheeks. My mind was foggy, and my legs felt like they were made of jelly. Mason continued to pump his hips harder and faster. All at once his thighs tensed beneath me and he groaned out my name.

***

Mason

Kelly sagged against the shower wall, her eyes closed tightly and little pants falling from her lips. Holding on to her hips to secure her, I lowered her to the ground.

She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at me as a grin pulled at the corner of her mouth. She was so beautiful. Over the years not once have I questioned my decision to make a life with her. I adore her. Kelly and my daughters are my world.

Once I knew she had regained the use of her legs, I stepped back. “Let’s get cleaned up so you can get some rest.”

I took the time to wash her hair and let my soapy hands roam her body. I controlled my urges to take her once more. She needed to get some sleep. She took on so much when I was away. It was one of the biggest reasons I had decided to stop traveling.

We stepped out and dried off, then crawled into bed together. I pulled her back against my chest and wrapped my arms tightly around her. It took only moments for her to fall asleep, tucked safely in my arms.

When morning came, I made sure to keep the girls quiet. I wanted to give Kelly a little extra time to sleep in. She deserved it.

“Daddy, I want pancakes,” Mariah said as she pulled on the leg of my pajama pants. “With chips.”

“Chips?” I asked.

“Yup,” she said. “Lots and lots of chips.”

What the hell was she talking about? I knew Kelly wouldn’t be feeding her chips for breakfast.

“Riah, Daddy isn’t giving you chips for breakfast,” I told her as I put Bella in her bouncer. I looked back up to see my sweet little girl with her lip puckered out. Then the dam broke and she began to cry. I instantly panicked as I rushed to her.

“Oh baby girl, don’t cry. Please, whatever you want, Daddy will fix it, I promise. Just don’t cry.” She batted her eyes, and I wiped the tears away with my stomach in a knot. Shit, her tears could kill me.

“Nice job, Daddy, bribe her to stop the tears.” I looked up to see Kelly standing in the kitchen doorway. “If you’re gonna be around more, you need to build up a tolerance for her tears—and Bella’s.”

She walked past me and went straight for the cabinet above the sink, where she reached up and pulled out a small container. She flipped open the lid and shook it over a bowl. Small chocolate chips fell into it, and all I could do was grin.

“Chocolate chips.”

Kelly grinned too.

This was going to be harder than I thought. I could see it now. I would be giving in every time my girls puckered those sweet little lips of theirs. Both of my angels looked just like their momma. They had those big eyes that made you feel like you were falling into a sea of blue every time they looked at you. There was honestly no hope for me, not when it came to my girls. I was destined to be a sucker, and they would always rule my world.

***

Momma Rayann Parks

“We’ve done well,” I said as I sat down next to my husband. “When they were younger, I thought for sure we would be visiting one if not two of our boys in jail for all the crap they pulled. They were always out stirring up trouble and creating havoc. But all in all, I think we’ve done all right.”

I leaned over on his shoulder as he lifted his arm up and placed it behind me.

“I never once thought it would end up any other way than it has right now.” His chest vibrated with the laughter he was holding back.

“Yeah, right.” I elbowed him in the side. “We did have to pick Carson up from jail. Always thought for sure it would have been Max or Tanner.”

“Well, Carson had good reason. I’m damn proud of that boy. Parker deserved worse than what Carson gave him. He’s lucky all four boys didn’t tear into him.”

Thomas was right. Carson had made us all proud that day. At the time the whole night and situation was just too overwhelming. Now we could sit back and understand just why he did it. Hell, if I had the chance, I probably would have beaten the shit out of the bastard myself.

“I’m proud of each one of them,” Thomas declared. “Riley will always be my princess, but she found herself a good man. Every father wants his daughter to find a man to cherish her. A man that would do anything for his little girl. Zander is that man.”

He was silent for a moment before he took a deep breath. “Mason stepped up when things got rough and damn if he hasn’t created a great life with Kelly. The two of them remind me a lot of us.

“Carson hit a snag, and reality smacked him in the face real hard. I love Kate more than I thought possible. She was exactly what he needed. She keeps him grounded.”

I smiled, thinking of how close Kate and I had grown once Carley was born.

“Max found himself a gem, and Tanner too. Both of those boys had me worried. I thought for sure they would never find a woman to tame them. But those two girls, hell, they level them out. They both needed someone who gave back just as much as those boys dished out.” Thomas chuckled once more.