Because Naughty Holidays Can Be Oh So Nice 2015 (4 page)

Chapter Six

GAGE WAS THE last to arrive at Kaleb’s the following night. He’d been stuck back at the resort handling an employee issue with one of the nightly security guards. Gage had heard a rumor that the guy had needed some time off to be with his kids on Christmas, and Gage had wanted to ensure he got what he needed. He could still remember the guy’s wide, startled eyes when Gage told him how he’d already reworked the schedule so he could spend Christmas with his boys.

It was the little things that made the holidays so worthwhile.

“There’s the man of the hour!” Sawyer called out when Gage approached the group huddled around the front end of a rather impressive miniature locomotive. Ethan was on the ground, half under the train, while Beau was leaning in, talking to him from above the motor.

“You bring the beer?” Zane hollered.

“Didn’t know I was s’posed to,” he said, taking them all in.

Kaleb, Zane, Travis, Ethan, Braydon, Sawyer, and Brendon. And of course, Beau. Yep, they were all there.

“Wanna beer?” Travis asked when Gage came to stand beside him.

Nodding, he smiled over at his husband. Although they saw one another damn near all day at Alluring Indulgence, he found that times like this, when they weren’t burdened by the job, were what he looked forward to most. If Kylie and Kate were there with them, he would’ve been complete. However, he was grateful for this, too.

“Sure,” he answered.

Travis sauntered off but then returned a moment later. “Kylie took Kate over to Cheyenne’s with the others.”

“Oh, hell.” Gage smirked behind the lip of his beer bottle. “It’s always a gamble when the women get together.”

“You’re tellin’ me,” Brendon offered, moving closer to the two of them. “Last week, after Chey spent an evening with your wife, she was talkin’ about teachin’ me to cook.”

Travis laughed.

“Y’all are settin’ the bar way too high,” Braydon noted, stepping closer.

“Don’t get your feathers all ruffled,” Travis said with a rumbling chuckle. “It doesn’t happen as often as you think.”

“No?” Brendon asked, clearly curious.

“No. We’ve just gotten good at making takeout look like we made it.”

“Where’d you learn that trick?” Sawyer inquired.

Gage laughed, then glanced over at Travis.

“Dad,” Travis admitted.

“Holy shit,” Brendon barked. “How’d he manage to hide that?”

“Doubt he did,” Gage said. “Do you really think your mom would fall for that?”

“No,” Travis stated. “But I can see her goin’ along with it so she could get him to cook dinner every now and again.”

“True,” Brendon agreed.

“How’s the train comin’ along?” Gage asked, tipping his bottle toward Ethan and Beau.

“They’re almost done,” Kaleb told him, moving into the huddle. “And if they can get the engine to turn over, then we’ll be set.”

“Keep your fingers crossed,” Travis said.

“Are you doubtin’ my abilities?” Ethan yelled from beneath the train.

“Not at all,” Travis called back. “But you have had a coupla beers.”

“One!” Ethan shouted. “I’ve had
one
beer, Mom.”

Gage had to admit that the interactions between the brothers still made him laugh. They ranged in age from twenty-six to thirty-seven at this point, and they still acted as though they were all twelve. But he’d been around long enough to know that the dynamic within the Walker family was rare. They supported one another when it counted, and that was something Gage admired in them. Lorrie and Curtis had raised their boys with a firm hand, but they’d given them what they needed to succeed, and that was what mattered most.

Gage was honored to be a member of that family.

“Beau,” Travis called out. “We’re dependin’ on you here.”

Beau’s head lifted and he grinned in response. He had streaks of grease along his cheek, and Gage had to wonder if that was from tonight or if they’d come right from work. If he had to guess, it was the latter. These days, Walker Demolition was getting busy. They’d even hired Reese Tavoularis, the brother of a friend of Brendon and Braydon, recently.

“Where’s Zoey?” Gage asked Kaleb.

Nodding toward the guest house, Kaleb said, “She took the boys to hang with her dad for a bit.”

“How’s he doin’?” Gage knew that Carl Stranford was getting up there in age, but he was still getting around, for the most part. Last week, Gage had heard Kaleb tell someone that Carl had finally caved and agreed to wear the hearing aids they’d bought for him. Most of the time, anyway.

“Ornery as hell,” Kaleb answered with a snort.

“So, still goin’ strong?” Travis inquired.

“Yeah. So far so good.”

“What about V? Where’s she tonight?” Gage asked Zane.

“Oh, she’s with the girls. Probably plottin’ a way to get me to buy the house down the street from Cheyenne.”

“Y’all do need a bigger place,” Sawyer told him. “You don’t have any bedrooms.”

Brendon bumped shoulders with Zane. “On top of that, that place is a steal.”

Zane looked sheepish for a moment. “Don’t I know it.”

“So? What’s the holdup?” Travis asked.

“No hold up. But it’s supposed to be a surprise.”

“You did not!” Sawyer hollered, jerking around to face Zane fully, his beer sloshing out of the bottle. “You bought your ol’ lady a house for Christmas? What are you thinkin’?”

Gage couldn’t help it, he laughed. He knew exactly where Sawyer was headed with that one.

“What’s wrong with that?” Zane asked, the epitome of innocence.

“Bro, if you buy her a house, the others’ll want one.”

A roar of laughter erupted from the group, and Zane’s face turned bright red.

“Let’s see if this bad boy starts!” Beau yelled, hopping down to the ground with an audible thud.

They converged on the train, Travis giving Ethan a hand when he rolled out from beneath it. Beau leaned in, his brow furrowed. A twist of his hand and…

The engine roared to life.

Cheers erupted, splitting the otherwise silent night.

“Hot damn!” Kaleb shouted.

“You know he’s gonna win this one, right?” Gage asked Travis, nudging his arm lightly.

“It’s possible,” Travis replied. “But it’ll be worth it.”

True. Watching the kids’ faces light up when they got to ride on that train would definitely be worth it.

And if Kaleb did win, then Gage and Kylie would get the opportunity to console Travis.

Another win, as far as he was concerned.

KYLIE HAD WALKED in the door only a few minutes before Travis and Gage appeared. She was getting Kate ready for bed when both men came into the kitchen grinning like fools.

“Did you get it fixed?” Kylie asked, hopeful.

“Ethan and Beau did,” Gage answered.

“Da!” Kate squealed when Gage approached, lifting her arms for him to pick her up.

“Hey, precious,” he said, pulling her into his arms and kissing her forehead. “She ready for bed?”

“She’s been fightin’ it.” For the past hour, Kylie had been doing whatever it took to keep Kate awake so her daddies could spend a few minutes with her. It hadn’t been easy, and truth was, Kylie was exhausted.

“Mind if I read to her tonight?” Gage asked, leaning down and kissing her gently on the lips.

“Be my guest. Where’s Travis?”

Gage nodded his head toward the living room. “On the phone.”

Kylie followed Gage, and sure enough, Travis was standing in the living room, his cell phone pressed to his ear. When he caught sight of Kate, he grinned.

“Perfect, man. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” A slight pause, followed by, “Cool. Talk to you later.”

“Da!” Kate blurted, waving her arm, though Kylie could tell it was taking every ounce of her willpower to stay awake. She was stubborn, just like her fathers.

“Hey, sugar bug,” Travis said to Kate. “You goin’ to bed?”

“Gage is gonna read to her,” Kylie told him.

“Need me to help?” Travis asked Gage.

“Nope. We’ve got this, don’t we?” Gage grinned at Kate, bouncing her in his arms.

Travis kissed Kate again. “I’ll see you in the mornin’ then. I’m gonna go in late to the office, so I’ll be here when she gets up.”

Gage’s eyes narrowed, and Kylie knew what that look meant. Thinking back to the phone call, she put two and two together. If she had to guess, he’d gone and figured out something else to put their holiday decorations over the top, and it would be delivered tomorrow.

“I’ll be back down in a bit,” Gage said, leaning Kate toward Kylie so she could kiss her good night.

When the two of them were up the stairs, Kylie turned her attention on Travis. “What did you do?”

The sexy, lopsided grin he shot her way sent a ribbon of heat curling through her belly. The man was good at seduction.

And
changing the subject.

“Come here,” he said huskily. “I missed you today.”

“Did you now?” Yep, definitely good at changing the subject.

“Know what I wanna do?” he asked, his voice a low rumble against her ear.

“I can imagine,” she said.

“Think so?” Travis stood to his full height, then stared down at her.

She didn’t answer, because he took her hand and tugged her toward the couch. She let out a squeal when he tossed her down and settled himself on top of her, making her laugh.

“This what you were thinking?” he asked mischievously.

“Something like that,” she said, loving the smile on his face.

“Good. Now kiss me.”

Travis didn’t lean down to her; he made it so she had to lift her head to meet his lips. When she pressed hers to his, she felt his smile. The man was incorrigible, but that was something she loved about him.

“Mmm,” he grumbled against her lips. “Have I mentioned how good you taste?”

“Not lately, no.” Kylie wrapped her arms around his neck and twined her fingers in the silky-smooth hair at the nape of his neck. He needed a haircut.

When his hand snaked beneath her sweater, Kylie shifted to give him more room. His warm hand traveled over her stomach, then over her breast, cupping her firmly.

“You’ve got too many clothes on,” he muttered.

“With two-hundred pounds of alpha male on top of me, I won’t be able to do anything about that,” she said with a giggle.

“No? Well, let me help you out.”

In a flash, Travis was up on one knee, his hands gripping the bottom of her sweater and quickly helping her out of it. He then got to his feet and worked her leggings and panties down her hips, leaving her clad in only her bra.

“That’s gotta go, too,” he said, his eyes full of heat as they raked over her naked body.

Reaching one hand beneath her, Kylie unhooked her bra, then yanked it down her arms and tossed it to the floor with the rest of her clothes.

“Better,” Travis growled.

“But now you’ve got on too many clothes,” she told him.

“I can fix that,” he said, almost as though it were a dare.

“What’re you waitin’ for?” she teased.

Nothing, apparently, because within a minute, Travis had stripped down to bare skin and was hovering over her once again, his knee pressed between her legs, the heavy length of his cock resting on her belly.

“I love this part,” Travis whispered.

“Which part is that?” she asked, keeping her voice low as she wound her arms around him again, pulling him closer, enjoying the skin-to-skin contact.

“The part…” Travis shifted. “Where I get…” He shifted again, the thick head of his cock sliding through her slick folds. “To be inside you.”

“Travis!” The word escaped on a breathless moan as he aligned their bodies and thrust into her.

He growled again, his elbows sliding up next to her sides, bracketing her beneath him. His hips retreated, then slammed forward again, stealing the air from her lungs thanks to the surge of pleasure that assaulted her.