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“Daddy... Can we go swimming yet?”Brynlee flies into the kitchen with my sister-in-law, Jillian, hot on her heels, a bottle of sunscreen in one hand and a red floppy hat, matching Brynn’s red-ruffled bathing suit, in the other.
I squat down and pick up my speed demon and swing her through the air. “How about you let Aunt Jilly put some sunscreen on you first, please?” I kiss her nose when she wrinkles it in disgust.
“But that stuff is slimy, Daddy.” She turns her head to my sister-in-law. “Sorry, Aunty Jilly. But it’s gross.”
Jillian holds her arms out for Brynlee. “Your beautiful skin will thank me for it one day, little miss.” She grabs Brynn from me, then kisses Rylie on the cheek before heading into the backyard.
Rylie watches them go with a wistful expression on her face.
“You changing your mind about wanting kids, Ry?” I finish covering the chicken in barbeque sauce and set it aside to marinate. “She looks good carrying a baby.” I nod toward Jillian and Brynn.
Rylie slowly shakes her head. “Nope. You can keep having all the babies until Imogen’s ready to join you. I’m drooling over my wife because we had earth-shattering sex this morning. And because we don’t have kids, it was loud, Cade.” She smiles and goes back to stirring the pasta salad. “Really loud.”
Imogen enters the kitchen with Hudson tagging along behind her, then high-fives Rylie. “Good sex always puts me in a great mood.” She turns back to Hud with a devious expression. “Wouldn’t you agree, Hud?”
A groan escapes Hudson’s mouth. “Listen, as long as we can keep the sex talk going about your sister and not your brother, I’m all for this conversation. I just don’t want to have to think about my sister and your brother together, okay?” He grimaces and fakes a gag.
I think he fakes it.
“Dumbass,” I greet my fighter, who just so happens to be one of my sister’s closest friends. He’s ditched his training gear for a pair of board shorts and a tank top.
“Whatever. Just wanted to get that out of the way. No sex talk about Scarlet.”
I shove a bowl of chips at him, and then another. “Here. Make yourself useful and take these outside. Jax and Dave are back there already with Jillian and Brynn.”
Imogen opens the door for Hud and follows him out.
“Do you think the two of them...?” Rylie points her spoon to where they just exited.
I think about it for a split second and mimic Hudson’s earlier gag. “I try not to think about it.” They’ve known each other for years, and he’s a man. No doubt he’s thought about it. But I don’t think he’s ever acted on it. “He’s crashed here a few times, but Imogen swears they’re just friends. I don’t question it.”
Rylie rolls her eyes. “Of course, you believe her.”
Whatever. I refuse to focus on that right now.
We manage to finish all the meal prep and throw the chicken, burgers, and hot dogs on the grill before Scarlet arrives. I texted her earlier that we were out back and to just come around the house. But when she gets here, I wish I’d met her inside, if only so I could act on my first instinct.
She’s wearing one of those long flowy dresses that comes all the way down to her heeled sandals. It’s white with an orangey-pink swirling pattern that dips down between her breasts. There’s no way she’s wearing a bra under that thing since skinny straps sit on top of her shoulders. Laces, that same orangey-pink color, crisscross under her chest above her waist and tie in a bow, accenting the tiniest beginning of a baby bump I got to see yesterday.
My mouth waters, thinking about untying her later.
But for now, I’m a perfect gentleman.
I meet her at the edge of the patio, wrap my hand around the back of her neck and kiss her. The world stands still for a moment, and the previously noisy backyard quiets until Brynn starts giggling.
“Daddy’s kissing Scarlet, like Flynn Rider kisses Rapunzel,” she squeals.
“Aww. Come on,” comes from a far more masculine voice, and Scarlet buries her head in my neck.
“Why is my brother here?”
I run my fingers over the curls of her soft hair cascading down her even softer skin. “Because my sister invited him. Sorry.” After taking her leather overnight bag from her, I hold her hand in mine and ask Rylie to keep an eye on Brynlee while I guide Scarlet into the house.
I pull her up the stairs and into my bedroom where I drop her bag on the bed. “You look amazing, duchess.” My fingers trail along the naked skin of her shoulders and down her arms, leaving goosebumps in their place. “Did you wear this dress for me?”
Her hands grip my t-shirt and pull me toward her. “Do you think I wore this dress for anyone besides myself, Saint?” She licks up my neck and trails her tongue along my earlobe. Then she whispers in my ear, “Now the panties... the panties I wore for you.” A quick tug of her teeth on my ear and she backs away, staring at the erection rising under my army-green board shorts. “Umm.” She bites down on her bottom lip. “You might want to do something about that before you go back outside, hotshot.”
Scarlet darts for the door, but she forgets who she’s dealing with. In two strides, I’ve caught up, snaked an arm around her waist, and lifted her off her feet. She starts laughing and yelling for me to put her down as we walk through the house to the backyard. “Put me down right now. I swear to God, Cade St. James, if you throw me in that pool, I will hurt you.”
