“I would shy away from the c-word,” I advised on a whisper, sliding my hands up to his neck and holding tight. “And, also, maybe the a-word too.”

He sucked in breath through his nose and looked over my shoulder as his fingers dug into my hips.

Then his eyes came back to mine. “I want you over tonight.”

I shook my head and squeezed his neck. “You should be with your boys and Martha came by earlier, I’m meeting her and some friends at Club.”

“You didn’t hear me, Tess, I want you over tonight.”

“Brock, they need their Dad and me being around is just confusing them and making them feel torn and maybe even guilt.”

“Babe, you are not gonna disappear every time I have them especially when I have full custody of them. Eventually, this two house bullshit we got goin’ is gonna be done, we’re gonna be livin’ together and they’re gonna be with us.”

My fingers spasmed on his neck at this news, news it appeared Brock took for granted, news that was news to me.

Happy news.

He kept talking, cutting into the tingles I was experiencing due to receiving this happy news.

“They gotta learn her games just like the rest of us and they also gotta learn that a woman who’ll work twelve hour days and still break her neck to give them a f**kin’ good Christmas, smilin’ bright even though she’s got fatigue in her eyes is not someone they need to be confused about and feel torn and guilty about likin’.”

Okay, he wasn’t wrong about that.

“Okay, honey, but I have to go out with Martha. She came over and had a drama about how she never sees me. I need to give her some time.”

He stared at me and I could tell this wasn’t going over very well.

I leaned closer. “You have your talk with your boys, dinner, guy time. I’ll have my girl time and come over later. And tomorrow, I’ll make something fabulous for breakfast.”

“Tess –”

“Payback, Brock,” I cut him off and his eyebrows shot together. “They asked me to go to the mall with them; I declined but traded free baked goods if they found a nightie that a bad boy hot guy would appreciate being given for Valentine’s Day. I’m sworn off the mall until March. For you to have a happy Valentine’s Day, you owe them.”

He stared at me again for a few seconds then his lips twitched and he shook his head.

“My sweet Tess,” he muttered before he leaned in and touched his mouth to mine.

When he leaned back, I whispered, “It’s all gonna be okay.”

“Yeah,” he whispered back.

I smiled at him then informed him, “You need a shower.”

“So do you,” he replied.

“I took one this morning,” I reminded him.

“Well you’re gonna take another one,” he told me.

The tingles came back.

“Okay,” I whispered and he grinned.

Then he stood up, taking me with him and putting me on my feet, saying, “We gotta be quick, babe, I gotta get the boys.”

We’d done quick before. I preferred not quick.

But quick would do in a pinch.

Chapter Sixteen

When Exes Attack

I had my head thrown back, Brock’s hand was lifting my breast to his mouth, his mouth pulling hard on my nipple, his other hand was curved around my other breast, thumb circling the nipple, my fingers were in his hair and I was grinding into him hard.

I’d accepted a lift from Daisy (who was my new best friend seeing as she had a limo and a driver and she was sweet and she was hilarious) to get to Brock’s from Club and I’d done this because I was more than slightly inebriated.

I’d also attacked my drowsy hot guy bad boy the minute I hit his bedroom and I’d done this because, as I said, I was more than slightly inebriated.

Obviously, he didn’t mind.

I started to make noises that Brock had heard many a time thus he did not misinterpret, his mouth left my nipple, his thumb stopped circling the other one only to be joined by a finger and start rolling and he growled his order of, “Mouth.”

I stopped grinding and started to ride him, whimpering deep, too caught up in what was happening between my legs to respond immediately.

“Tess, mouth, ” he growled again, my head tipped down, his hand slid up my spine, my neck, fingers in my hair, my whimpers became gasps as the sensations grew brilliantly desperate, he pressed my mouth down so my lips were against his, my noises filling his mouth, I was this close when we heard the knock on the door.

We both froze, me doing it after a downward glide so I was full of Brock.

Then both our heads turned to the door when we heard Joel call, “Dad? Mom’s on the phone. She says it’s urgent.”

Oh.

My.

God.

“Tell me this isn’t happening,” Brock whispered, his voice super low but vibrating with fury.

I wanted to tell him it wasn’t happening. I really, really wanted to tell him that. But I couldn’t tell him it wasn’t happening because it was.

My eyes went beyond Brock to the alarm clock on his nightstand to see it was two thirty-four in the morning.

A nanosecond later, Brock’s hands were at my waist, he pulled me swiftly but gently off him, twisted and then I had my back to the bed, head to the pillows.

He quickly bent and kissed my belly, rolled out of bed and tossed the covers over me as he called, “Just a sec, Joey.”

I pulled the covers all the way up to my neck and watched Brock tag his pajama bottoms from the floor, tug them on and stalk to the door. Then I watched him put his hand to the doorknob, take in a deep breath then open the door a wide crack while crouching at the same time.

Then I heard a Joey I couldn’t see say a trembling, “Sorry, Dad, but she sounds scared.”

I felt my mouth get tight as I watched by the hall light Joel had turned on as Brock’s did the same then I saw him reach out a hand.

Then I watched him put a cell phone to his ear and my brows drew together.

Since when did Joel have a cell phone? The kid was twelve, for goodness sakes.

“Olivia?” I heard Brock ask as I turned and shoved my hand under my pillow to grab my nightie. “Intruders?” Brock enquired as I struggled to get it on under the bedclothes then,

“Where’s Dade?” Pause then, “Have you called the cops?” Another pause then, “Yeah, I’m the cops, Olivia, but I’m not available for personalized twenty-four, seven callouts. Call the cops.” He paused while I got the nightgown down then rolled, put a hand to the floor and stretched an arm out to nab my panties. “You won’t, I will, Olivia, if someone’s there their ETA will be a f**kuva lot shorter than mine. Stay put and I’ll call dispatch.”