“Right now, there’s one plan. It doesn’t involve tights.”
His mouth claims mine again, and I kiss him back as I finish working on his pants, shoving down them and his shorts, freeing his length trapped between us. I want him inside me so damn much.
The pull is exquisite. Not frantic but powerful, undeniable.
My nipples are hard, chafing against my bra and the dress, and a moment later, cool air hits between my thighs, where I’m already wet. I’m ready for him. I don’t have to say it. He knows it the second his fingers brush that spot, the second he presses two inside and I moan his name.
He pulls back enough to watch as I writhe, his expression devout as he sees my need. Then his fingers are gone, replaced with something I want even more.
The feel of Tyler sliding home is indescribable. Every time he fills me, I question whether I can take him. Not only physically, emotionally. I’m bursting with the feelings, with him, with the knowledge that another person is the other half of me in such a profound way.
My fingers dig into his ass when he slips into a rhythm that leaves me breathless and him panting.
Every stroke builds me up.
Coming together in this place, it’s a fucking ode to us.
To our tangled past.
To our messy present.
To our unwritten future.
Eventually I can’t hold it in, and I cry out, arching hard as my body squeezes around him. Tyler shudders, his gorgeous body clenching over me, the face I love tight with agony and pleasure.
When we come down, his head rests on my chest, our hearts hammering together.
“I want to build a world of our own like this,” I murmur into his hair. “Like Dad and Haley have, with all their friends and family. I don’t care where we live, but I want to let go of some of the hustle and enjoy each other. And I want our kids to have moments like this. I’ll wait for it if I have to.”
Tyler shifts back on his elbows to stare at me, his expression intent with love. “Does it have to wait?”
I scoff. “You saw how much work Sophie and Mason are. Hell, you wouldn’t have ended up getting towed if Sophie didn’t want that tree this afternoon. You’re ready for that level of chaos?”
Still, the possibility has my stomach flipping with excitement.
My fiancé, who values security and planning more than I thought it was possible for a human to value those things, floors me with his reply.
“With you, I’m ready for anything.”
We get through dinner, catching up on everyone’s lives: Jax’s label, Tyler’s album, Brick and Nina’s pregnancy, Sophie’s school and her baby brother, a new program Haley’s building for work, and my show hitting Broadway. I tell them about our plans to have the wedding this spring, and cheers go up.
“It’ll be small,” I warn.
Beck shouts, “Let’s be clear. Are we all invited or not?”
I pretend to hesitate, and Tyler smirks at me.
“You’re all invited,” I say at last, laughing.
What follows is a round of rapid-fire questions about things we have to decide: location, dresses, flowers, program…
It’s a lot, but I can’t wait to dive in.
“Anyone ready for dessert?” Haley asks after the conversation dies down a little.
A few groans go up.
“In a couple of hours, Hales,” Dad suggests. “I think Kyle ate too much stuffing.”
The drummer in question is slumped in his chair, looking as if he had too much of something.
We clear the table, taking our plates to the kitchen. I like that we’re a big family and no matter how much we have, in some ways, we’re still everyday people. We have the same problems, the same heartaches.
“I saw it!” Sophie’s shriek has us looking up to see her face plastered to the patio doors, her hands cupped around her eyes.
“Saw what?”
“Snow!”
She’s out almost before Haley can open the door. The rest of us follow.
“If you catch a snowflake, you get to make a wish,” I tell Sophie.
She runs around until she grabs one.
“But you can’t tell anyone what you wished for,” I warn.
Dad lights a fire in the fire pit. Mace brings out a guitar from the studio and plays while we all sing.
“You got your snow,” Tyler murmurs, his arm around me.
“Sure did.”
Even though it’s light and melts on the ground, the flakes are beautiful, and the patio lights shine off the tiny glistening dots.
I hold out my finger to catch one.
“You have to make a wish,” he murmurs.
“I can’t. I have everything I could ever want.”
Read Jax and Haley’s completed story in WICKED: https://books2read.com/u/4AYvX0
Read Tyler and Annie’s completed story in RIVALS: https://books2read.com/u/meBO9V
Books By Piper Lawson
RIVALS SERIES
(Annie + Tyler)
Love Notes
A Love Song for Liars
A Love Song for Rebels
A Love Song for Dreamers
A Love Song for Always
WICKED SERIES
(Jax + Haley)
Good Girl
Bad Girl
Wicked Girl
Forever Wicked
MODERN ROMANCE SERIES
PLAY SERIES
TRAVESTY SERIES
About the Author
Piper Lawson is a USA Today bestselling author of smart, steamy romance.
She writes about women who follow their dreams (even the scary ones), best friends who know your dirty secrets (and love you anyway), and hot, complex heroes you’ll fall hard for.
Piper lives in Canada with her tall, dark and brilliant husband. She believes peanut butter is a protein, rose gold is a neutral, and love is ALWAYS the answer.
I love hearing from you! Find me on:
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My Heart to Cherish
A Maxwell Family Holiday Story
S.B. Alexander
Chapter One
Maiken
I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel as I sat outside Quinn’s dorm, watching the snow flutter to the ground and starting to freak out. The flakes were piling up at a good clip, and we would be lucky if we made it out of Boston.
I snagged my phone from the console of my truck. I still couldn’t believe Mom had bought me my very own vehicle. It had been an early Christmas gift and one that had probably cost her. With eight kids to feed, tuitions to pay, and a farmhouse to take care of, I was surprised she’d found the money.
“I got my Christmas bonus from the law firm,” she’d said. “So don’t worry about finances. We’re doing better now.”
After Dad had died, I’d been worried we would have to live in a one-room apartment. Thankfully, his life insurance kept food on the table, and Mom even got together enough cash to purchase the farmhouse. She also had a little financial help from my rich uncle, Martin. He’d offered to pay a percentage of the tuition for the private school my siblings attended.