Holidays With the Walker Brothers (6 page)

On
the other hand, Brendon was more assertive, edgy, always moving. And he made
her feel like she was the sexiest woman on the planet when those heated eyes
raked over her skin.

“You
all right?” Brendon asked, his warm hand cupping the back of her neck as he
stood beside her.

“Sure,”
she lied after putting her beer back on the counter. “Fine. Why?”

“I
don’t know. You just seem…” Brendon didn’t finish his sentence and Jessie
didn’t try to fill in the blanks.

She
knew how she seemed.

Without
thinking, she glanced up, her eyes meeting Braydon’s and she suppressed a
shudder. He was studying her and the way his eyes roamed across her face,
seemingly reading every one of her thoughts made her uncomfortable.

“Hey,
y’all wanna watch a movie?” she asked, jerking her gaze away from Braydon’s.
She wasn’t all that interested in watching anything, but maybe if they tried,
some of the tension would disappear.

That,
or maybe she could pretend to be asleep. She had a feeling it was the only way
she’d be able to distance herself from these new emotions she’d somehow
developed. The ones that made this very unconventional threesome incredibly
awkward.

♀♂

Kaleb

Kaleb
stared at the blinking cursor on his computer screen, his attention pulled from
the email he’d been drafting to the sound of tires crunching on gravel outside
the office door. He had no idea who would be showing up at this time of day,
and being that it was Friday morning, he wasn’t going to try and guess.

When
Sawyer walked in the door, he had to admit he was a little disappointed. Not
because his brother was there but because the new arrival wasn’t his wife. He’d
talked to Zoey a little while ago, and she mentioned if she finished with her
morning errand that she’d stop by to see him.

Being
that he’d opted to hang out at the Walker Demotion office and not his new swank
digs at Alluring Indulgence, which still had several weeks of work before they
were ready to open the doors to the public, he was hoping no one would
interrupt.

Clearly
Sawyer must’ve had the same idea he did.

“Damn,
man, what the hell is that smell?” Kaleb asked, staring up at Sawyer as he
moved closer.

“Shut
the fuck up,” Sawyer bit out.

There
wasn’t even a hint of his laid back personality in the statement either. His
older brother was clearly pissed.

“What
the hell did you do? Take a shower with an animal?”

“As
a matter of fact, I fucking did,” Sawyer ground out as he dropped into his
chair at his own desk. “Yesterday, damn it. And the fucking smell still won’t
go away.”

Kaleb
had to hold on to his desk to keep from falling out of his chair as his
laughter shook him. He remembered something about Sawyer’s grand gesture to go
help out at the animal shelter and this must’ve been his reward.

“Did
you see Kennedy?” he asked, trying to provoke Sawyer even more.

“If
you know what’s good for you…” Sawyer let the threat drop as he booted up his
computer, seemingly interested in the blank screen.

Kaleb
obviously didn’t know what was good for him because he continued, “So, you took
a bath with dogs?”

“Fuck
you, man.”

Staring
at Sawyer, Kaleb tried to regain some of his composure. Failed. “Let me just
say, I don’t think that new cologne is gonna work well with the ladies.”

Sawyer
glared over at him briefly, but it wasn’t long before a smile broke out on his
face. Kaleb knew that Sawyer wouldn’t be able to hang onto his mad for long. He
was the light hearted one. The fun loving guy that everyone wanted to be
around.

“She
tricked me,” Sawyer explained, moving his mouse around on his desk. “Here I was
trying to do a good deed and the evil woman tricked me.”

“Who?
Adrianne?” Kaleb asked, referring to the woman who ran the shelter.

“Her
and Kennedy.” Sawyer grimaced, but then smiled again. “They tossed me in a room
and had me washing dogs. It wasn’t until I noticed the dogs seemed to be
getting bigger and hairier that I realized what was going on.”

“Did
you get back at them?”

Sawyer’s
grin widened, and his eyes sparkled.

“Adrianne
must’ve been delayed running an errand, so Kennedy was the only one there. I
had to get her to come help me when something happened to the sprayer,” he
admitted.

Kaleb
waited, his imagination already running wild.

“Turns
out there wasn’t anything wrong with the sprayer. And, unfortunately for
Kennedy, she had to get wet to find that out.”

Sawyer’s
laugh boomed through the room, and his words painted a picture in Kaleb’s mind.
Yes, he could totally see prim and proper Kennedy getting soaked when she tried
to fix whatever Sawyer had broken. Or not broken, as was the case.

“She’ll
never talk to you again,” Kaleb told his brother, turning his attention back to
the computer screen.

“No,
probably not, but damn that woman is even hotter when she’s wet,” Sawyer
murmured.

Speaking
of hot, wet women
,
Kaleb thought to himself when the door opened, and Zoey stepped inside.

“Hey,
baby,” he greeted her as he sat back in his chair, motioning for her to come
toward him.

Without
wasting a second, Zoey approached with a huge smile on her face. Easing herself
onto his lap, Kaleb circled his arms around her, resting his palms flat against
her protruding belly.

“How
are y’all today?” he asked his wife.

Zoey
planted her hand on top of his, both of them cradling their unborn child who
was steadily growing inside of Zoey.

“Good,
and you?” she asked, leaning sideways to kiss him. Her nose twitched and she
looked up, her eyes darting across the room at Sawyer.

“What
is that smell?” she asked, confused.

“Oh,
that’s Sawyer’s new cologne,” Kaleb said, keeping his tone serious.

Zoey
looked at Sawyer, studying him for a moment before she said, “Do you smell like
dog?”

Sawyer’s
head jerked, his gaze penetrating Zoey as he frowned. “Damn it all to hell.”

With
that, Sawyer pushed up from his chair and headed straight for the door.

“What
the hell happened to him?” she asked, watching the spot where Sawyer had just
disappeared.

“Apparently,
Kennedy got him good,” Kaleb explained.

“What
do you mean? What did she do?”

“Let’s
just say, Sawyer probably won’t be volunteering at the animal shelter anymore.
Now, go lock the door.”

Knowing
that the only other person who would possibly show up at the Walker Demo office
would be Travis, and his visits were few and far between, Kaleb decided to take
a chance. With the door locked, and Zoey’s truck outside along with his, he
knew none of his brothers would try to come inside.

“Why
would I want to do that?” she asked playfully.

“Hmmm,”
he moaned, nestling his nose into the crook of her neck. “Because I want you to
play with me.”

“Play?
Like play house?” she teased, standing from her perch on his lap.

“Something
like that,” he answered, watching as she moved easily across the room to the
door.

Lord,
the woman stole his breath. Always having been the most beautiful woman in the
world, at least from Kaleb’s point of view, his wife was even more stunning now
that she was seven months pregnant. Absolutely, heart-stopping gorgeous.

“Now
come here,” he beckoned, crooking his finger and signaling for her to come
closer once again.

“What’s
in it for me?”

“Oh,
I don’t know,” he said, pretending to ponder what might happen. “Maybe I can
lay you out right here on this desk and have my wicked way with you?”

“Or…”
Zoey added, coming to a stop directly in front of him.

Glancing
up at her, Kaleb leaned back in his chair and studied her pretty face. “Or
what?”

When
she lowered herself to her knees right there in front of him, Kaleb damn near
swallowed his tongue. “What are you doing?”

“Well,
if you don’t know by now, I think I’m going to have to give you another
lesson,” she offered with a huge smile.

Her
small hands went to tug at the buckle on his belt and Kaleb helped, unable to
sit still. Being careful not to bump her in his haste to get his jeans down his
hips, he kept a close eye on her.

“Where
do you want me?” he asked when he had managed to free his now granite-hard
cock.

“Right
where you are,” she told him. “Lean back and put your hands on the armrest.”
Zoey peered up at him, her expression serious. “And don’t move them, no matter
what happens.”

Nodding
his understanding, Kaleb gripped the leather covered armrests hard enough for
his fingernails to scar them.

Zoey’s
hands slid up the inside of his thighs, his cock bobbing between his legs,
ready and anxious for the touch of her skin, or the heat of her mouth. It
didn’t matter to his dick which part of her touched him, he knew within minutes
he was going to go off like a fucking rocket.

And
he couldn’t wait.

“Mmmm,”
Zoey moaned as her soft, cool fingers slid around his shaft, gently caressing
him as he watched. “Like velvet covered steel,” she said, her features focused
intently on what she was doing to him.

“I
wonder how you taste,” she said sweetly after she’d managed to work him into a
frenzy with just her hands.

“God,
I hope you’re gonna tell me,” he groaned.

She
was leaning in close, her little pink tongue darting out to lick her lower lip,
but she wasn’t close enough for his cock to slide into the warm recesses of her
mouth.

His
hands tightened on the chair, the metal creaking beneath his weight as he tried
to control himself. This was the most exquisite form of torture. Watching while
his wife teased him with barely a touch, her warm breath tickling the
sensitive, swollen head.

“Zoey,”
he pleaded, not sure how much more he would be able to take.

“Hands
on the armrest,” she insisted.

Kaleb
gripped the chair again, not even aware that he’d moved his hands. As his
fingers connected with the leather, Zoey’s mouth made contact with his cock,
and he nearly bolted right out of the chair. Holding still, his muscles
constricting and effectively making him immobile, the sensations ripped through
him, adrenaline flooding his bloodstream, lust rushing through his veins, all
of it together making him light headed as he watched his sexy wife suck his
cock right into her mouth.

“Fuck,
Zoey,” he moaned.

His
muscles were locked into place, his breaths soughing in and out of his lungs
like he’d just finished a marathon, and sweat had beaded on his forehead. She
was going to be the death of him, and Kaleb couldn’t think of a better way to
go.

Ok,
well,
that
might be a better way…

“Awww,
hell,” he moaned when Zoey gripped his shaft with one hand, her other hand
kneading his balls while she continued to bob up and down on his cock, working
her hands in tandem.

“Baby.”
Shit, he wasn’t… he couldn’t…
“Zoey, baby, I’m gonna come!” His release
exploded from him, filling her mouth as she continued to suck him, their eyes
meeting as she finished him off.

It
took him a minute to come back to Earth, and when he did, he found Zoey
standing in front of him, a satisfied smirk on her face. Quickly redressing
himself, Kaleb flopped back down in his chair, his legs unable to support him.
He pulled her down with him and wrapped his arms around her. “Whatever am I
going to do with you?” he whispered into her hair.

“Mmmm,
you’re gonna get me a really great Christmas present, Mr. Walker.”

Kaleb
stilled.

Oh,
damn. Damn, damn, damn.

“Is
there something particular that you want?” he asked, hoping she would give him
some sort of hint. This was an ongoing thing with her, and to date, she hadn’t
given him a single clue as to what she might want.

“Surprise
me,” she whispered. “As long as it comes from your heart, I’ll be the happiest
woman in the world.”

Crap.

How
did you buy a girl a present
with your heart
?

♂♂♂♂♂♂♂

Travis

December
16
^th

“And
how exactly do you intend to get all of that done in one week?”

Technically,
Travis still had ten days, but that was a moot point because he had no idea how
he was going to do it. But, in his defense, Gage said it was possible.

Travis
stared across his kitchen table at Sawyer, wondering whether this meeting
could’ve been put off just a little longer. Especially since forty-five minutes
and two cups of coffee had disappeared while they waited for their other
brothers to arrive.

Of
course they were going to be late. It always seemed to work that way. When
Travis had things to do, places to be, his younger brothers always managed to
make sure he spent unnecessary time with his thumb up his ass.

“Did
you at least set everything else up for delivery online?” Sawyer questioned,
leaning back in his chair as though he didn’t have a care in the world.

No.
“Yes,” he lied.

“You
are so full of shit,” Sawyer said with a grin. “Kylie’s gonna kick your sorry
ass if she doesn’t have a present under the tree.”

Technically,
Kylie’s gift wouldn’t fit under the tree, nor was he able to move it, but he
fully understood Sawyer’s point. And shit, Travis would kick his
own
ass
if Kylie didn’t have her present. And then he’d kick Gage’s for telling him
that he could make it happen.

With
so much going on lately, time had somehow slipped through his fingers, and he
had managed to do the unthinkable. How in the hell would he explain to his wife
that he only half ass got her something for Christmas? An IOU certainly
wouldn’t work.

Grabbing
his phone, Travis flipped through the screens until he found the ongoing text
conversation he had with Gage.

Did
you place that order we talked about?

There,
at least the ball was back in Gage’s court now. Not that it would matter, this
gift was something they’d been working on for a while, but since it was a
two-parter, it required a little creativity, so they hadn’t jumped right in to
get the last of it taken care of.

The
sound of boots on hardwood made Travis turn to look toward the swinging door
that led from the dining room to the kitchen. Waiting patiently to see who had
finally decided to grace them with their presence, he simply stared.

When
the door was pulled open, he knew immediately that it wasn’t one of the twins.
They pushed the door in, rather than pulled.

Huh,
such a strange thing to have noticed
, he thought to himself.

“Son
of a bitch,” Zane muttered after the door came in and slammed into his ass.

Been
there.

Travis
hid his grin.

“’Bout
time,” Sawyer said by way of greeting their youngest brother.

“Shut
it,” Zane retorted. “In case you haven’t noticed, the rest of us have jobs.”

Travis
roared with laughter as he leaned back in his chair, pushing it back on two
legs. “Nice try, kiddo.”

“Fuck
off. I didn’t see your ass there this morning.”

“Where?”
he asked. “The resort? Well, your ass might want to get up with the chickens if
you want to see me in the morning. I was there. I was also gone before your
lazy ass probably even rolled out of bed.”

“Yeah,
well…” Zane let the sentence hang as he moved to the refrigerator and grabbed a
bottle of water before returning to the table and grabbing one of the other
chairs. After turning it around backward, he flopped down on it and downed half
the water in one gulp. “Where’s the rest of ‘em?”

Million
dollar question that one was.

As
if on cue, Sawyer’s phone vibrated on the table. He snatched it up and grinned
as he read whatever the message was that he received. Travis wanted to throw
his coffee at him.

“Ethan’s
on his way,” Sawyer said.

Great.
That would make four. Three to go.

The
front door slammed shut and once again, Travis was admiring the kitchen door as
he waited for the next one to show up.

“What’s
up, Bubba?” Braydon announced loudly when he pushed into the room, a shit
eating grin on his face.

Good
to see him smiling these days. It seemed ever since those two started hooking
up with Kylie’s sister that things weren’t all roses and butterflies in the
land of the Doublemint twins.

“Where’s…?”
Zane’s question died off as Braydon’s other half made his way into the kitchen,
his cell phone plastered against his ear.

“Yep,
that’s the one. Uh-huh… No… Got it.” Brendon stabbed the end button on his
phone and turned to face Travis and the others, a giant grin plastered on his
face.

“Did
you get it?” Braydon asked his twin, obviously the two of them the only ones in
on the secret.

“All
done.”

For
half a second, Travis thought about questioning them, but then thought better
of it. The less he knew about those two, the better.

"So…,"
Zane said, filling the silence. “You get that present, yet?”

It
took Travis a second to realize his younger brother was talking to him, and
after a double-take, he glanced around the room to see that the rest of his
brothers were looking at him too. “What?”

“Well?”

That
seemed to be the theme from the peanut gallery, and Travis was hard pressed not
to answer, especially when Kaleb came through the door, quickly followed by
Ethan on his heels.

“No,
I haven’t. Fuck.”

“Haven’t
what?” Kaleb asked as he eased through the group now crowding the kitchen on
his way to the coffee pot.

“He
hasn’t finished getting Kylie’s present.”

“Shit,
man. You’re gonna be lucky to have everything set up by Christmas at this
point.”

No
shit, Sherlock.
Travis clamped his jaw shut and tried his best to ignore his brothers.

“Lay
off him,” Braydon said in a mock sympathetic tone. “He doesn’t need us to tell
him he’s gonna look like a jackass when he doesn’t have a present for his
wife.”

The
room erupted in laughter and Travis stared down at his phone, noticing he had a
text message, but the phone must’ve been turned to silent.

Nope.
You know how to use the internet, ya know.

So
not helping.

“What
about you?” Travis asked Kaleb directly. “You find that heartfelt gift for your
wife yet?”

The
scowl on Kaleb’s face told him that he wasn’t having any more luck with finding
the perfect present than anyone else in the room.

“So,
what’s the plan for Mom and Dad?” Ethan asked, always the one to get right to
the point.

Considering
that was the whole reason they’d all gathered around Travis’ kitchen table
first thing on a Monday morning when they all should be at work, they truly
needed to get this worked out.

From
the looks of it, Travis was going to run out of time completely, and sitting
around wasn’t helping.

♀♀♀♀

Kylie

“I
still don’t know where you put all that,” V said to Zoey as the foursome
finished their breakfast.

Kylie
grinned, loving the banter between the women. These shopping trips had become a
regular thing with the four of them, and the more they got together, the closer
they became. Granted, Monday mornings generally weren’t reserved for shopping
excursions, but there were a few last minute things they were all looking to
get, which meant they had to make time where they could.

“I’m
eating for two, don’t you know?” Zoey laughed, grabbing her orange juice and
finishing it off.

“Exactly.
Two. Not ten,” V said good-naturedly.

“Sometimes
I feel like there are ten of them in there,” Zoey added, grabbing the last
piece of bacon from her plate.

“How
are you feeling? Last time I talked to you, you said you were tired all the
time,” Jessie asked, pushing her plate away as she stared over at Zoey.

“Well,
nothing’s changed on that front.” Zoey’s grin was mischievous, and Kylie laughed.
If she had to guess, Zoey’s exhaustion wasn’t just related to pregnancy.

“We
do not want to hear about your sex life,” V said with a grin, reading Kylie’s
mind.

“Sure
we do,” Jessie teased. “I’m all for hearing about someone else’s sex life.”

“Right.
Like you don’t have enough action to write a romantic suspense novel.” V winked
at Jessie as she pushed her half empty bowl of oatmeal away.

“Not
the point.” Jessie laughed. “And besides, my sister here is the one with the
action. I’m still not sure how she manages to crawl out of bed each day. Not
with two cowboys like that flanking her through the night.”

Kylie
turned to face her younger sister, trying to come up with a witty comeback, but
nothing came. It was the truth, Travis and Gage ensured each and every night
that she was well sated. And sometimes, when she wasn’t in the mood, they would
turn to one another, which was just as erotic to watch as it was to join in.

The
waitress arrived, clearing the empty plates and setting the check down on the
edge of the table and letting them know there was no rush.

Sure
there was. They were now counting down to Christmas and if they didn’t get a
move on, Kylie feared she’d never find that perfect gift for Travis and Gage.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard she had tried, she still had not found them
anything. Well, nothing other than a few novelty items that she knew they’d
love.

“You
finished over there? Or are you ready to order lunch?” V teased Zoey and the
table erupted in laughter, including Zoey.

Zoey
was usually the first one to joke about how much she ate these days. By the
looks of her, Zoey had gained the weight of the baby, and that was about it.

“Keep
it up and I’ll do just that,” Zoey said, trying to sound serious but failing.

“I’ve
got this,” Kylie said, grabbing the check before V could snatch it up off of
the table.

“No
way. You bought last time,” V argued. “It’s my turn.”

“The
hell it is,” Zoey said firmly. “It’s my turn.”

“Nuh-uh.
This time it’s my turn,” Jessie added.

While
the three of them argued, Kylie slipped her credit card into the little leather
bound booklet and handed it off to the waitress when she walked by.

“Ha!”
Kylie told them all, finishing off what was left of her coffee.

“Where
to after this?” Jessie asked, pushing her own credit card back into her wallet.
Apparently, Kylie’s little sister was trying to be sneaky, but she didn’t win
this round.

“The
mall, where else?” V announced, grabbing her purse and placing it on the table
in front of her.

“What
are we going to find at the mall?” Kylie asked, mentally skimming the list of
stores and hoping one of them would have something she could get Travis and
Gage.

“Candy,”
Zoey said sweetly, her hands gently cradling her swollen belly.

“How
in the world can you think of candy? You just ate pancakes with syrup.”

“No,
the question is, how can you
not
think about candy? Ever.” Zoey laughed.

The
waitress brought the credit card and receipt back for Kylie to sign, which she
did quickly. Once that was taken care of, the four of them escaped from the
booth and disappeared out into the bright, morning sunlight.

“I
heard it might actually snow on Christmas this year,” Kylie said as they walked
toward her truck. Or rather Gage’s truck. Out of all of their vehicles, his was
the only one large enough to carry the four of them and any packages they might
pick up. Well, unless they considered Jessie’s little Honda, but that thing was
on its last leg and Kylie certainly hadn’t been in the mood to walk from the
mall if the thing gave out on them.

“That’s
what I heard. When’s the last time it snowed on Christmas?” V asked. “Or
anytime for that matter.”

Zoey’s
hearty chuckle followed them into the truck as they all four climbed in before
Kylie cranked the engine and then backed out of the parking spot.

“It’s
been a while,” Jessie added from the backseat with V.

“Wouldn’t
that be awesome? For it to snow on Christmas?” Zoey asked, staring out the
window as they accelerated onto the interstate and into Austin.

“I’m
all for the snow, but I could do without the cold,” Jessie explained.

“Not
sure you can have one without the other,” V added with a chuckle.

“Sure
you can,” Zoey told them, turning to peer over the seat at the two women in the
back.