Texas Hustle (22 page)

He hissed in a breath.

Warm water flowed down his chest, onto his groin and finally onto her as she worked his scrotum with her tongue, lapping at the supple flesh, using the tip of her tongue to roll his testicles between her lips.

Grasping his cock, she pulled it to her mouth and sucked the tip between her lips.

He fisted her hair, tugging it tight. “Fuck,” he groaned.

She drew his penis in as far as it would go into her mouth. Then, as she moved off, she scraped her teeth down the sides.

His breathing was erratic and loud in the enclosed space. His gaze never left the space where she tenderly made love to his shaft.

After a few minutes of licking and sucking and even a little nibbling around the rim of the head, he jerked her to a halt.

“I can’t take another second of that,” he said through clenched teeth. “I’m going to come.”

She allowed her eyes to lift until their gazes met, then, while holding his stare, she ran the flat of her tongue down the underside to the base and back up. When she sucked him back into her mouth, he groaned and held her head steady as his hips pistoned his cock in and out of her mouth rapidly.

It didn’t take but a few strokes before she felt the hot liquid on the back of her throat. As his cock twitched for the last time, she could have sworn she heard him mutter, “God, I love you.”

Chapter Seventeen

The week passed in a blur of contented happiness. Darren poured maple syrup on his pancakes while keeping his eye on Porchia refilling her coffee mug. Even the simple, everyday task of her pouring coffee gave him pleasure. He almost laughed at himself. How he’d made fun of Reno’s facial expressions when he looked at Magda. Darren suspected his face bore the same goofy expression Reno’s had when his brother had been falling in love with Magda.

Nonetheless, his situation with Porchia was different from any relationship he’d ever had. Since the night in the shower when he’d inadvertently blurted out his feelings, he’d watched for some change in Porchia’s behavior. He was sure she’d heard him on Tuesday, but now he wondered. She hadn’t reacted then and hadn’t said anything about his comment over the following days. She’d neither pushed him away nor drawn him closer. She’d stayed the caring, attentive woman she’d been since she’d kissed him last Saturday.

“I can’t believe today’s Friday,” Porchia said, dropping into the chair beside him. “Where did the time go?”

“You ready to head back on Sunday?”

She shrugged. “Yes and no. I miss the bakery. Getting my hands in the dough. The different aromas in the kitchen. Even miss my night baker, Mallory. But sleeping in every day to almost eight the last two mornings has been a luxury. I’d forgotten what it was like to wake up with the sun rather than before the sun.” She sipped her coffee.

“Mom and the rest of the women have enjoyed having you do those baking lessons this week.” He put his arm around her and pulled her over for a hug. “You didn’t have to, but I appreciate it.”

“Are you kidding? I loved it. Your mom is great. So’s the rest of your family. You’re very lucky to have them. You know that, right?”

He nodded. “Yup. I do.”

And they would love having you as a permanent part of the family,
he thought but knew he couldn’t say it aloud.

“What’s on the agenda today?” She stole a piece of bacon off his plate.

“Reno asked if I’d run to town with him on some errands. Do you mind?”

“Not at all. Magda and I are baking up something special since it’s the last weekend, so I’ll be tied up most of the day. But we should be done sometime after lunch.”

“Great. How about a ride this afternoon?” When she giggled and arched an eyebrow, he chuckled. “I was talking about a horseback ride, but hey, I’m flexible.”

“You can say that again.”

When she followed the comment with a saucy wink, he laughed, drawing the attention of others at the table.

“What’s so funny down there?” KC called from her end of the table.

“Private joke,” Darren said.

Porchia squeezed his knee. He laced his fingers through hers and brought their joined hands to his mouth for a kiss.

“Hey, bro,” Reno shouted. “If you can tear yourself away, we should get a move on.”

“Coming,” Darren said, not taking his gaze from Porchia’s face. “You and Magda don’t get into any trouble while we’re gone.”

Her answering smile made his heart swell until he could hardly breathe. “Flour, eggs and butter. How can we get into trouble with that?”

“What are you making?”

“I’m not exactly sure yet. I know all the Montgomery kids are coming in this afternoon. Magda said something about Adam loving chocolate chip cookies, so probably cookies for the kids.”

“You know I love those too, right? Maybe you could stash a few for our cabin.”

She leaned forward and kissed him. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Darren slammed the door of Reno’s truck after he climbed in. “Okay, bro. This had better be some fabulous road trip. You’re making me miss time with Porchia.”

Reno laughed as the engine roared to life. “How are things with you and Ms. Summers?”

“Okay, I guess. It’s like she’s got this shell around her that I can’t get through.”

“So things aren’t getting serious?” Reno stopped at the end of the road and waited for the security gate to open.

Darren hesitated. There was no one he was closer to than his brother, but if he actually admitted his feelings out loud, he wouldn’t be able to take them back at a later date. And if Porchia finished out the week with a kiss and a brush-off, Reno would never let him forget it.

“Wow,” Reno said. “No answer. It’s worse than I thought, isn’t it?”

“Depends on what you’re thinking.” Darren decided to not give his brother any ammunition.

Reno glanced over and shook his head. “You’ve got it bad. Have you told her yet that you’re in love with her?”

Hearing the word spoken aloud jarred Darren unexpectedly. He knew his secret but how—

“And now you’re wondering how I knew, right?” Reno asked. “It’s written all over your face. You look at her and your mouth goes all slack. Your eyes glaze over. And there’s this stupid grin that ends up on your face.” Reno shook his head. “You’re a goner, whether you’ll admit it or not.”

Darren started to ignore his brother, but at the last second said, “Yeah. Are you the only one who knows?”

Reno laughed. “Are you kidding? Mom has already starting planning a double wedding for me and you.”

Darren rubbed his hand down his face. “Shit.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve got that part fixed.”

“What part?”

“The double-wedding part.”

Darren frowned. “I don’t get it.”

Reno grinned. “Well, our big trip today is to pick up the marriage license Magda and I filed for this week.”

Darren whipped his head toward Reno so fast his neck popped. “Are you shitting me?”

“Nope. Last weekend’s surprise wedding was so awesome we decided to steal the idea. We filled out the paperwork for the license earlier this week. The license should be ready today.”

Darren slapped his brother’s shoulder. “Damn, boy. That is freaking great. I love Magda.”

“Me too,” Reno said with a laugh.

“What about all the other wedding crap? You know, rings, cake, whatever it is brides have to have to make it work.”

“Magda’s not like most brides. She doesn’t want all the flowers and candles in a church. We picked out rings the same day we filed for the license. Hers had to be sized. It should be ready today too.”

“Mom is going to shit a brick,” Darren said with a laugh.

“I know, but we really didn’t want to do all the parties and big wedding stuff. You know Magda’s not that kind of gal. She likes things simple.”

“What about her dad?”

“Zeb and Blanche will be in today. They are bringing the older Montgomery kids back to camp for the weekend and staying overnight.”

“So this wedding is…?”

“Tonight.”

Darren shook his head. “Nuts, man. This is totally wacked.”

“But fun, huh?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s gonna be fun.”

Darren waited in the truck while Reno ran into the courthouse and picked up the marriage license. Then they drove to McRae’s Jewelers. This time, Darren got out and went in with his brother.

As Reno made his way to the back of the store, Darren perused the cases of diamond rings. Even if he and Porchia were to that point, which they weren’t, he didn’t have a clue what her taste in diamonds would be. Round? Marquis? Oval? And then again, he wasn’t sure she’d want an engagement ring. And if she did, if she’d want a diamond or sapphire or whatever.

“Can I help you, sir?”

Darren’s gaze jerked from the sparkling gems to a trim woman standing behind the counter, a set of keys in her hand.

“Can I show you something?” She indicated the diamond rings in the case.

“Oh. No. Thank you. I was just waiting for my brother. He’s picking up a ring for his bride.”

“Are you sure? You never know when you might be in the market for a ring.”

“No. Not in the market. Thank you.”

“You looking at rings already, bro? Damn, man. I knew you were a goner, but this is worse than I thought.”

Darren glared at his brother, who’d just walked up carrying a small plastic sack.

“I don’t need an engagement ring,” he said to Reno through clenched teeth.

“But Mom could have the double wedding of her dreams,” Reno chided.

“Thank you,” Darren said to the sales clerk. “We’re leaving now.”

He elbowed Reno hard enough to make him sidestep, but even that didn’t ruin Reno’s mood.

“Not cool, bro,” Darren said when they were back in the truck.

Reno just shook his head. “You do realize that at one time you would have played along, picked out different rings for the three or four fake fiancées you’d make up on the spot to shock the saleslady? Lord, man, you were green just thinking about picking one out. And that’s how I know you’re in love.”

After fastening his seatbelt with a loud click, Darren shook his head. Damn if his brother wasn’t right, not that he was going to give Reno the satisfaction of telling him so.

Reno had a few other stops to make, so it was well after lunch when they finally turned back into the Whiskey Creek drive.

“Your future,” stated Darren, pointing to the two young boys playing tag in the yard with a black and white dog nipping at their heels.

He’d meant it as a joke, but one look at Reno’s contented smile told a different story.

“I know,” Reno said. “I can’t wait,” he added in a quieter voice.

The screen door of the lodge opened and the woman under discussion exited, followed by Porchia.

“You realize we have the two prettiest women here, excluding Mom,” Reno said.

“Very true. Listen, there’s something you need to know.”

Reno looked at him, an eyebrow arched in question. “Yeah? What’s that?”

“It’s about Magda and when she came to work for us.”

A smug smile inched its way onto Reno’s face. “You mean the fact that you and Mom cooked up the whole idea of hiring Magda as our housekeeper to get us back together?”

Darren laughed. “Yeah, that one. How did you know?”

“I didn’t. Not at first. But it seemed so odd that Mom, so proper about how things are done, would hire someone so close to our age to live in our house. And then when Magda and I came out as a couple, she and Dad were not the least bit surprised. Now that I think about it, she actually had a cocky, self-pleased expression that night. But I’ll admit that I appreciate your taking one for the team and breaking your leg.”

Darren snorted. “Yeah, well, that wasn’t part of the plan. But I’m glad it’s worked out for you.”

“I think your date has spotted us. She seems to be waving a bag of something.”

Darren looked toward Porchia and grinned. “Gotta go. Those are fresh cookies.”

He leapt from the truck and hurried over to the cabin. Yes, he knew he wore a shit-eating, in-love grin, but it was impossible for him to suppress it.

“Cookies?” he asked Porchia, knowing full well the answer.

“I’ll tell you the same thing I told Adam. Cookies are for good boys. Are you a good boy?” The twinkle in her eye made his heart pound.

Deliberately, he frowned and tried to look sad. “No, ma’am. I can be a very bad boy.”

“Oh,” she said. “I see. Well, I have something for bad boys too.”

He’d noticed the brown paper bag she carried and had assumed it contained more cookies until she pulled a can of whipped cream out.

“Really? In that case, I am a very bad, bad boy.”

She laughed and raced up the steps to the cabin with Darren close on her heels.

Later, as they lay in bed a tad sticky but very satisfied, Porchia licked a small glop of whipping cream off Darren’s chin.