Laces and Lace (Assassins #6) (48 page)

Looking through the patio doors for what seemed like the hundredth time, he checked on Lacey.

She looked perfect standing with the other women in the Adlers’ home with a glass of wine and a bright smile on her face. The smile didn’t match her eyes though. She may be enjoying herself, but something was troubling her and he was dying to know what it was so he could fix it. He had replayed their conversation at least seven times, and each time, he still didn’t know what he said wrong. All he did was ask when she wanted to consider having kids. He assumed she’d be happy, excited even, but she shut down on him. It didn’t make sense.

“Dude, she isn’t going anywhere,” Shea joked and Karson smiled as he looked toward where his captain stood with a beer. Tate, Lucas, Phillip, and Erik all mirrored him with grins on their faces as Karson shrugged his shoulders shyly.

“Just making sure,” he said and they all chuckled as his eyes fell on Fallon’s growing belly. Looking back at Lucas, he asked, “When’s the baby due, Lucas? A month?”

Lucas nodded, letting out a long breath. “Yeah, thank God. She is driving me insane.”

“Doesn’t she always?” Tate asked, his Swedish accent still present after living in Nashville for over six years.

“Yeah, but now we have Stella, who is her mother made over, and it’s insane. When Emery comes, let’s pray she is like me,” he practically begged, and they all laughed.

“That’s a lot of kids. Reese and I are good with our two,” Phillip said with a grin. “Maybe one more, if I can talk her into it. Sawyer has been great.”

“That’s now. He’s your kid. He’s bound to fuck something up,” Erik pointed out and Phillip scoffed.

“Both your kids are you in miniature, so really, who is in trouble here?” he said back and Erik glared.

“They are like Piper too… Shit, yeah, we are fucked,” he said, laughing, and soon everyone chuckled along. “Might want to wait though, you know?”

Phillip’s brow came up. “Why?”

“Because with Claire getting married, next comes a baby, and you don’t want to be a grandpa having a kid. That’s weird.”

Everyone went silent as Phillip’s face turned red. “That’s not funny. Don’t talk about her like that. She isn’t having no damn baby; she isn’t even having sex.”

Shea sputtered with laughter as Tate and Lucas took long swigs of their beers and Erik and Phillip glared at each other. Karson, meanwhile, leaned against the post and enjoyed the show. Claire was Phillip’s niece who was basically his daughter. He loved her like she was and did anything he could to help her succeed after having a real shitty childhood. She lived in Vegas, running a burlesque club, and had made something of herself. Still though, the thought of Claire having a kid was insane. The girl was only twenty, but then again, she did just get engaged to a hockey player from the Kings named Jude. He was a punk, but he seemed to really care for Claire. Phillip still hated him though.

Which obviously meant all of the Assassins hated him.

“If you think that girl isn’t having wild sex with Mohawk kid, you are delusional,” Erik laughed but no one else did. If there was one thing you didn’t joke about around Phillip, it was Claire. And Reese. And their little boy, Sawyer.

“Do you want me to kill you?” Phillip asked. “’Cause I will.”

“Leave him alone,” Shea said with a shake of his head.

“He gets so mad though; it’s cute,” Erik said with a grin.

“I’m gonna murder you,” Phillip promised while everyone snickered.

“Anyway,” Shea said loudly, putting a stop to their bickering. “Did y’all hear about Jakob?”

Karson’s ears perked up as he sat up against the pole. Jakob was Shea’s best friend and his linemate. He had been getting hurt a lot lately, and his career was a little iffy as a result. While Karson wished him well, he was also gunning for his spot. Playing with Shea would make him even more of an asset than he already was. It would be good for his career.

Without waiting for an answer, Shea said, “Things aren’t good with his elbow. He’s retiring.”

“What?” Tate asked. “That’s insane.”

“That fucking blows,” Lucas said. “I’m gonna miss playing with him.”

Everyone agreed since none of them wanted to see one of their friends stop doing what they loved.

“He’s really upset, but he’s taking it well. Gives him more time with Harper, Ally, and Journey,” Erik, who was Jakob’s younger brother, said.

As much as he wanted to be happy that this was a chance of a lifetime for Karson, Shea hated that his friend had to quit. Jakob was a good man and played some damn good hockey. After a messy hit though, his arm hadn’t been the same. Sucks, but it was the game.

“Yeah, I’m considering it,” Shea said, and Karson whipped his head over to his captain.

“What?” Lucas said.

“What do you mean?” Erik added.

“You want to retire?” Tate said.

“Shut up,” Phillip said, and shock was visible on all their faces.

“There is nothing wrong with you,” Karson added. “You are a beast.”

Shea laughed. “Yeah, I know, but it’s just the kids are getting older and I want to be there for them. We are leaving all the damn time, and it’s hard on Elli. With her running the Assassins and then running the household, I feel like a dick. Especially when I am the one who was knocking her up every year.”

“Does she know?” Lucas asked and Shea nodded.

“I mentioned it a few times, and she says it’s my choice. I don’t know. I’m getting old.”

“No, you are not,” Tate said. “You are still a great player.”

Shea smiled. “Yeah, I know. Maybe another couple years. When the boys start playing, for sure. I want to coach their teams.”

Phillip clapped his hands. “Okay, boys, we have maybe two years to talk him out of leaving us!”

Everyone laughed as Shea shook his head. “You guys will be fine without me. Don’t worry.”

“I do not think so, Cap,” Tate said, a little bit of awe in his eyes. He had always admired Shea. Almost in a creepy way, but he was young and really looked up to his captain.

“Don’t worry,” Shea said, cupping Tate’s shoulder. “If I stop, I won’t be gone. I’ll still be out there yelling at you assholes.”

“Our days have been made,” Karson joked and everyone chortled.

Setting Karson with a look, Shea said, “You just wait. When you have kids with that beautiful wife of yours, you’ll see how hard it is to leave.”

Karson smiled, his cheeks warming. “It’s hard to leave her now.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean, but just wait. It gets worse,” Shea promised, and Karson had no doubt his captain was completely right.

“You won’t have long until you find that out though, huh, King? You know you’re next. You have to knock her up to keep our average up,” Lucas joked, and Karson couldn’t help but have a new wave of worry wash over him for what he had said to Lacey. “Me and Shea are in competition to see who can have the most.”

Shea laughed. “If you knock her up two more times, you win. I’m done. Elli took my balls.”

Lucas scoffed. “She’s always had them.”

Shea glared as he punched Lucas lightly in the arm. “Fallon has yours in a glass box. Always has!”

“Whatever, she lets me have them every once in a while,” Lucas said in mock sadness, receiving a good round of laughs. Karson laughed along with them before glancing back inside to check on Lacey. She was sitting now, the same grin on her face as Elli told a story about something. Elli was very animated and demanded the attention of everyone in the room, but he knew that Lacey wasn’t there. She was somewhere else. Somewhere he needed to be too.

“You know who doesn’t have balls anymore?”

Karson looked over as all eyes met his.

And then with a chorus, they all said, “King.”

It was true, and Karson didn’t care one bit. Lacey could have them.

She had all of him.

A
fter a great dinner with his teammates and their wives, Karson took his own wife home. It felt great thinking that. His wife
home
. And they had done just that. In no time at all, they made the home they bought theirs. He found himself excited when he came home to her or when he lay in bed with her. It felt right, complete. It was their home. But as he stood in a pair of boxers, he looked across the bed at his quiet wife as she threw pillows onto the ground and he knew something was off. Usually they joked around and he bitched about the many pillows she had on the bed, but tonight, she wouldn’t even really look at him.

He couldn’t help but notice that she looked smoking hot in a little lace shorts and lace tube top thing. He could see every single one of her tattoos on her chest. The ones that marked her fight still made him breathless like they did the first time he’d seen them. The swell of her breasts, her cute little tummy and then that ass, ugh, he loved her ass. As she bent over to plug in her phone, he got a full view of the spectacular thing as it practically ate the shorts she was wearing, and everything inside him went tight. Deciding he needed a handful of her, or two, he jumped onto the bed and then over it before coming up behind her, sliding his hands down her thighs and kissing her shoulder and throat as his hands massaged the two globes.

It had been tense around them, and he had the best remedy for tension.

“Did you have fun tonight, my love?”

She leaned back into him, lengthening her neck for him as he trailed kisses up her throat. “I did,” she answered breathlessly.

“Good,” he said roughly against her skin. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she said as his hand came up to cup her breast, while his other one went to cup her hot pussy. “Better now,” she whispered, arching herself into his hand. He loved how responsive she was. How only a small touch could send her into ecstasy. Running his tongue down her neck and shoulder, he bit her shoulder softly, making her flinch back into him, her ass nestling against his swollen hard cock.

“Fuck, you are so hot,” he whispered against her burning skin. “Do you want me inside you, sweetheart?”

Before she could answer, he moved her shorts to the side and slid his finger inside her slick, wet center, swirling around her taut bud. She cried out, her knees buckling as her head leaned against his chest. Kissing up her neck, sucking her earlobe in his mouth, he moved his two fingers against her clit, wanting to erase every single bit of tension from her delectable body. As she moved against his hand, her moans filled their room, sending his body into overdrive. Biting into her shoulder, he was surprised when she came undone against him, jerking and writhing under his hand as he soothed her skin with his tongue. Stopping his fingers, he cupped her, squeezing her as he kissed across her back, licking and biting a trail of love along her. That was quick and he figured she’d needed that.

And he was always one to provide a good orgasm here and there.

Turning her in his arms, he took her mouth with his, moving his tongue with hers as he slowly backed her into the door that led to their bathroom. Yeah, it would be easier to take her to the bed, but there was something about this door that made him want to fuck her against it. Gripping the back of her thighs, he pressed his body into hers as he devoured her mouth. His cock strained against her hot pussy, her arousal getting all over his boxers. She relaxed against him for the first time in hours, and his heart swelled in his chest as he moved his mouth with hers. He didn’t know what was going on, but after he made her come a few more times, he planned to find out.

Chucking his boxers down and off, he continued to kiss her as she pulled her panties down and kicked them away. Taking her in his arms again, their mouths met in a fevered rush before he all but consumed her. Her heat teased his cock, and he begged to be inside her. He wanted to make her come again though. He wanted to hear his name fall from those swollen lips.

He wanted to taste her.

Dropping to his knees, he buried his face between her thighs as she cried out, bucking against the wall, her fingers tangled in his hair.

“Oh shit,” she cried out, arching into his mouth as her sucked her senseless.

As he swirled his tongue around her taut nub, her thighs squeezed his face while he fed from her unrestrained pussy. She was thrashing, her body shaking, and he knew she was almost there. She only needed a little more. Guiding his finger between her thighs, he slid two fingers inside her and slowly started to fuck her as his tongue teased her clit and his pinkie tickled her ass.