Vow of Worth (Vow Series Book 6) Page 13

  “Get undressed, sweetness,” I said. There was an edge of command in my tone. She shivered and, piece by piece, took off her clothes. I did the same and sat on the couch with my legs spread and gripped my hard dick. Caroline sauntered toward me. I reached out and grabbed one of her hips, spun her around until her back was to me, and set her down on my lap. My cock was nestled against her wet pussy, and I lifted my hips. I tugged the hair tie from her ponytail, and her silky hair fell around her shoulders. As I brushed it to one side, she shivered in my arms and kept her gaze away from the mirror in front of us.

  I was determined for her to see what I saw. How fucking gorgeous she was. How she was worth it all. Worth everything. Deserved everything.

  My hand caressed her stomach and moved up the center of her chest before I tugged on a nipple. She fell back against my chest, and I kissed her bare neck and along her jaw. Caroline turned her face to meet mine, and I took her mouth in a passionate kiss.

  “You’re going to watch yourself while I fuck you, Caroline. I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as you when you come. A slight smile breaks over your face in the seconds before, and when you fall apart for me, you’re gorgeous.”

  “Kiernan,” she breathed.

  “No, sweetness. No matter what it takes, I’m going to show you how much you’re worth. I swear I’ll prove it to you.”

  She ground herself against my hard length. She was already soaked and ready for me. I lifted her a little bit and guided myself to her entrance. “Keep your eyes on the mirror, baby.” She made eye contact with herself in the mirror and I smirked, guiding her onto me until I was fully inside her.

  My fingers trailed over her chest, sliding over a nipple and then over to the other one, before I moved up to her neck. “See how pretty this pink blush is?” I asked. “I fucking love that it starts at your nipples. I love your tits. They’re perfect for my hands.” I squeezed one and gasped. I slowly circled my hips, but I was barely moving inside her. She was trying to squirm on my lap, but I kept her rooted to me with one of my hands. I flicked one of her nipples with my other hand. “Your nipples are so sensitive, and when they’re hard like this, I’d love nothing more than to torture them for hours. I’m dying to know if I could make you come like this.”

  My hand left her hip and joined the other at her chest. I pulled and twisted. Her breath was hitching and she was moaning. “Keep your eyes on the mirror. See that fire in your eyes, Caroline? You’re so goddamn sexy, sweetness. I love when your pouty lips are parted like that.”

  Caroline’s eyes trailed over her reflection in the mirror, and her blush became deeper. My hands skimmed back down her body to her hips, and I lifted her and slammed her back down. Her back arched, thrusting her breasts out. She never closed her eyes or let her gaze stray from her reflection. She watched every movement as my dick slid inside her and I spread her lips apart. I was already on the edge, gritting my teeth, as I strained to hold off my orgasm.

  Her pussy was fluttering around me as I continued to show her how gorgeous and fierce she is. Her lips started to spread into a smile. I rubbed her clit with one hand and brought the other hand up to one of her breasts. Her moans were growing louder with each thrust. “Watch yourself, baby. You’re so fucking gorgeous when you come.”

  She broke apart around me and came. I thrusted a few more times and followed her over the edge. She collapsed on my chest, and I held her against me, still half buried inside her. She was breathing hard.

  “Did you see how beautiful you are?” I asked her softly.

  She bit her lip and nodded. I lifted her off my lap and turned her around, hugging her to my chest. Her eyes welled with tears as she stared at me. I curled her hair behind an ear and brushed my thumb over her bottom lip. “Never let anyone make you feel unworthy again.”

  26

  Caroline

  If anyone had seen me right then, I don’t think my training classes would be as popular. I had taken aggressive dogs and shown them how to trust their human family and be mindful of other dogs and humans. I’d trained stubborn bathroom users out of their habits. I’d trained dogs in agility and basic commands. There were many areas in which I lacked confidence, but my skills with animals wasn’t one of them.

  Right now, I was questioning all of that though. I’d leashed Pepper Jack and decided to take him on a walk through the neighborhood. We’d made it all of three houses before he stopped walking abruptly, lay down, and flipped over on his back with his legs in the air.

  I chuckled. Well, at first.

  “Come on, Pepper Jack,” I said and tugged on his leash. He didn’t budge or even acknowledge me. I’d commanded him in a voice he usually followed. I bribed him with treats. Nothing. The dog wouldn’t move. Wouldn’t walk another step.

  I groaned, swiping the back of my wrist across my forehead. I tried to pull him, hoping the slight pressure on his harness would get him moving, but it didn’t. And I could barely drag him an inch. He was still a growing dog, and I couldn’t even drag him an inch.

  I put my hands on my knees, breathing deeply and resisting the urge to flip off the teenage boys that passed by on skateboards laughing at me. “Am I going to have to carry you?”

  One eye popped open and he stared at me before shutting it again, belly still in the air like he was tanning. “Fine, let’s go home,” I said. At the words go home, Pepper Jack popped up and sprinted to the house, dragging me behind him. I barely managed to stay on my feet. He pulled me up the porch steps and jumped on the front door. I was breathing even more heavily than I had been.

  “You have to be quiet,” I said. Kiernan had been on a work call and I hadn’t wanted to disturb him, so Pepper Jack and I had snuck out of the house. I opened the door quietly. Before I could unharness Pepper Jack, he took off into the living room, jumped on the couch, and plopped down. His first snore broke through the room before I’d even closed the front door. He was breathing deeply like he’d just run a marathon instead of walking three houses.

  “He did what?” Kiernan shouted. I froze and walked slowly down the hall to my office. I poked my head through the half-open doorway. He was sitting in my desk chair with his phone pressed to his ear. His elbows were propped up on my desk and his head hung low as his free hand scrubbed through his blonde locks.

  “You can’t keep doing this,” he said. “Don’t start that. I’ve asked you a million times to leave that bastard and come here. You won’t.”

  He let out a frustrated growl. “I’ll send it.” He jabbed at his phone screen and tossed it aside. One hand fisted in his hair, and his other hand punched the desk. “Fuck,” he muttered. He took a few deep breaths, and I walked into the room.

  “Kiernan,” I said quietly, approaching him slowly. I’d never seen him so mad and agitated. His head popped up, and he spun the chair to face me. The scowl on his face slid away.

  “Fuck,” he muttered again and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I didn’t mean for you to hear that. Did I disturb you? What have you been doing?”

  “I took Pepper Jack for a walk,” I said. “Well…I tried anyway.”

  He snorted and shook his head. His shoulders were tense, and his hands were fisted on the arms of the chair. I could feel the anger and frustration rolling off of him in waves. “How far did you get?”

  “Three houses.”

  He laughed, but there wasn’t much humor or life in it. Not like there usually was. The smile on his face wasn’t nearly as bright or all-consuming. “That’s more than I’ve ever gotten. He will only go two houses in my neighborhood. But he will walk in a park.”

  I snickered and shook my head. Pepper Jack had a huge personality. It was as funny as it was frustrating. I closed the space between Kiernan and me, placing one of my hands on his chest for balance as I lowered myself into his lap. He sighed deeply as he brought his arms around me, placing his forehead on my shoulder, and breathed quietly for a few moments. One of my hands was holding the back of his neck, brushing the skin, and
the other was resting over his left pec. His heart was beating beneath my palm. “Are you okay? Who was that? It didn’t sound like work.”

  “It wasn’t,” he said. His finger traced a meaningless pattern along the skin of my thigh under my shorts. “That was my mom.”

  My brow furrowed. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever heard him mention his parents besides the fact that they were still in Tennessee. When he spoke about “family,” it was always his group of friends. “Is everything alright?”

  I tried to lean away to see his face, but he kept his grip tight on me. “Stay right here,” he said. “Please.”

  I nodded and nestled into him even more, allowing my body to completely melt against his. He sighed. “I haven’t seen my parents since I left after high school graduation. I joined the army and never looked back. My dad is a drunk and a mean bastard. It wasn’t…” His voice trailed off and his head rested against the back of the chair. He was staring at the ceiling. His jaw clenched. “It wasn’t easy growing up in that house.”

  I frowned. He’d been my high school crush. I’d stared at him in the cafeteria and dreamed about what it would be like if he talked to me. He was loud, funny, and charming. “I never would’ve guessed. I’m sorry.”

  He shook his head. “Nothing for you to be sorry about, sweetness. I got out. I have a family now. Sure, none of them are blood, but they’re so much more than that. I’d do anything for them, and I know they have my back in the same way. I’ve been through hell with most of them. War with one. They are what matters to me. They are my family.”

  I smiled and my heart warmed for Kiernan, but there was also a twinge there. A little bit of pain. I had Daphne and she was the greatest friend I’d ever had, but I didn’t have anyone filling that family role. I had my family, but they mostly caused pain. “Do you hear from your mom often?”

  He snorted. “When she needs money. She works two jobs, refuses to leave my dad. He’s a lazy drunk, doesn’t work, and ruins most of her jobs until whatever place she’s at fires her. He’ll show up drunk and asking for money. He doesn’t allow her to talk to me, and she abides by that unless he spent all their money on booze or strip clubs or gambling.”

  “She needs money?” I asked. My fingers massaged the tense muscles in his neck. He groaned softly.

  “As usual,” he muttered. “He owes someone five grand. I have the money. I can give it to her, but fuck. They’ll eventually bleed me dry.”

  “I have some money. I could help.”

  Kiernan groaned again, shaking his head before leaning against my shoulder. “So damn sweet.” He placed a kiss on my shoulder. Kiernan had swooped in and been my hero several times in the past two months. He was my knight in a shining pickup truck. I wanted to be able to do the same for him. I wanted to take his pain away and shoulder the burden of it with him. I wanted to find out everything he’d missed out on because of his difficult home life and give it all to him.

  He was making me crave a life with someone. With him.

  “I don’t need your money, sweetness.”

  “You know, you told me not that long ago that if someone doesn’t see how great I am then they don’t deserve to be in my life. You said that about my parents and my sister. The same goes for you, Kiernan. You don’t have to be the guy everyone leans on without getting anything back. You’re a wonderful man. I hate imagining how awful your mother’s situation might be, but you’ve given her an outlet and I know you. There’s no expiration date on that offer.”

  He shook his head. “There’s not. She could choose not to call for ten years and then show up on my stoop. I’d let her in and take care of her. Same doesn’t go for that bastard.”

  I shook my head. “Didn’t expect it to. But you don’t have to give every time she calls. One day…” I paused, a little bit of fear chasing up my spine. I knew Kiernan wanted to explore our chemistry and relationship, but I wasn’t sure how far that extended. If I mentioned his having a future with someone, would he take off out the door? I was trying my best to quash the girl that thought the cute boy was too good for her and take the man at his word, but a little part of me still didn’t understand how a man like him could go for a woman like me. “One day you might have a family with someone, and they’ll be your priority. You may have to say no one day.”

  “I wish I could say no now,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m pretty sure she gives him the money I give her for whatever he wants.” Kiernan’s head fell back against the chair again, and he chuckled quietly. It sounded like he was in disbelief about something. “I’ve never told anyone that before.”

  My brows rose. “Really?”

  He shook his head. “No one in my life knows about them. I just don’t talk about it.”

  “Thank you for trusting me,” I whispered.

  “You trust me.”

  I nodded and Kiernan stared at me. Stared straight through to my soul. “No one has ever looked at me the way you do,” I said.

  “Like how?”

  “Like I matter.”

  “You do.”

  27

  Kiernan

  “They’re going to love it, I swear,” Tate said and stood on her tiptoes, pressing a kiss against her husband’s cheek. James was quiet, as usual, but he was scowling at Pepper Jack. My dog was by my side now, but a minute ago, we’d caught him eating the peach cobbler Harper had made. It had been in James’s office, on his leather couch. The sweet mixture was spread all over the leather.

  James’s scowl didn’t faze Pepper Jack. He stared right back without blinking and looked thoroughly unimpressed with the angry giant. I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. It hadn’t been my idea to bring Pepper Jack along; it had been Tate’s.

  Once a month James hosted a community dinner at his gym. Any family was welcome to come for the free meal, and they could sign up for gym memberships and classes. Tate had thought the kids would love to play with Pepper Jack, so I’d brought him along.

  Tate apparently hadn’t told her husband about her bright plan. James shifted his scowl from Pepper Jack to Tate. Her smile widened. He shook his head. “Fine, sunshine,” he muttered.

  Tate squeezed James around his waist. “Thank you. I promise the kids are going to love him.”

  He arched a brow and turned to me. “He’ll be able to handle kids, right?”

  “He’s good with kids,” I confirmed and rolled my eyes. “You’ve seen him with Avery and Caden. He’s great with kids. Other dogs, not so much. He can’t be trusted around food, but yeah, the kids will love him.”

  “Fine,” James said and squeezed the back of his neck before walking away. Tate winked at me and followed her husband.

  My eyes shifted to Pepper Jack. “Don’t make a liar out of me, dude. And stop eating all the damn food!”

  His mouth opened in a puppy-dog grin, complete with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. I strolled over to the recent expansion on James’s gym, Raise the Bar. He’d added a kids’ area with a trampoline and foam pit. It was closed most of the time, but it was open during community dinners. Hudson was bouncing on the trampoline with his stepdaughter Lilly. She was in gymnastics and would climb on anything, jump off anything, and scare Ava half to death. And it only made it worse when Hudson joined in.

  Ava was watching her husband and daughter launch themselves from the trampoline, over the six-foot gap, into the foam pit. I wrapped an arm around Ava’s shoulders. “Heart in your throat?” I asked.

  “Always is with these two,” she grumbled. She gave me a side hug but kept her eyes on Hudson and Lilly. Hudson was now tossing Lilly in the air and letting her fall to the trampoline. She was giggling and swiping her long blond hair out of her face.

  “Blueberry and I are perfectly safe. Don’t worry, bluebonnet. You aren’t getting rid of me that easily,” Hudson joked and winked at Ava.

  “Throw me again, Dad!” Lilly shouted.

  Ava groaned and covered her face. “Come on,” I said. “I need your help le
tting Harper know that Pepper Jack ate her peach cobbler.”

  “He didn’t,” Ava gasped and giggled, covering her mouth. “She’s going to be so upset.”

  Pepper Jack’s tail thumped against the ground. There were times when I swore he could understand exactly what I was saying. “Come on,” I said and gave a slight tug on Pepper Jack’s leash. Ava strolled next to me as we went searching for Harper. She was sitting on one of the chairs at a long table, already set for guests to arrive, and rubbing her belly. Avery and Caden were running around next to the table.

  “Uncle Ki Ki!” Avery shouted and sprinted toward me. She lunged on her last step, and I scooped her up in the air, placing her on my hip.

  “How’s my best girl doing?”

  “Cedric stole my dolly you gave me, and Caden hit him in his nose!” My gaze shifted to Caden. His little chest puffed out and I chuckled. “Who’s Cedric?” I asked Avery.

  “A boy at school.”

  “Gross,” I said and she nodded seriously. “Nice job, little man,” I said to Caden. I held my hand up for a high-five, and he slapped it as hard as he could. He crouched down on the ground and petted Pepper Jack.

  “Tell her,” Ava whispered.

  “Tell me what?” Harper asked.

  I grinned my most charming smile, and she tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. “What’d you do, Kiernan?”

  “I didn’t do anything, but Pepper Jack might’ve eaten your peach cobbler.”

  Harper groaned and shook her head. “You know, any other day I might care, but today I’m too tired. I’ve been pregnant for fifteen months, and I’m ready to have this baby!”

  “It’s only been eight, sweetie,” Ava said gently and patted her shoulder.