Cherished (Wanted) (32 page)

Lark smirked. “Contract work for the government among other things. My boss dabbles in a few different things—all legal.” He glanced at me and winked.

Gunner laughed. “Fair enough.”

Lark hadn’t uttered a word ever since we left Gunner’s place.

“What’s on your mind, Lark?” I asked.

He smiled. “I like your friends. They are a good group of guys. They seem really happy.”

I nodded. “Yeah, they are a good bunch, and yeah, they’re all pretty happy.”

He nodded as he looked out the window. I knew Lark wanted what we all had—someone to wake up to every morning and lie down with every night.

“You ever think of changing jobs?” I asked.

“Fuck no. I love my job. I live for my job,” Lark said quickly.

I sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “You don’t ever think about settling down, Lark? Ever?”

He shook his head and smiled as he looked at me. “Nope. It would have to take an act of God to get me to settle down with one person.”

I nodded my head. As we drove down the driveway, I saw Jessie and Azurdee both riding horses. They were walking along the road. I pulled to a stop and rolled down the window.

“Damn, girl. You sure look good sitting up there on my horse,” I said with a chuckle.

Jessie smiled and let out a small laugh. “Your mother wouldn’t leave. She went from paint to baby furniture to wedding plans. I think I liked it better when she didn’t like me and never talked to me,” she said as she made a funny face.

Azurdee laughed, and I heard Lark suck in a breath of air.

“How about we go out for dinner tonight?” I asked.

“Azurdee has plans for a home-cooked meal tonight,” Jessie said as she looked over at Azurdee.

“Yep, pasta,” Azurdee said as she ducked her head down and peeked into the truck at Lark.

“Pasta, it is. Y’all need help with the horses?” I asked.

“Nope. We’re enjoying our girl time. We won’t be long, I promise,” Jessie said.

I slowly drove away and glanced over toward Lark. He was looking out the window as I smiled to myself.

Azurdee Emerson could very well be the act of God Lark was talking about.

I walked into the kitchen, and Ari was bent over, wiping off the counter. I snuck up, grabbed her hips, and began pumping the shit out of her.

“Oh yeah, baby! Feels so good!” I said.

Ari laughed and tried to stand up. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Give me fucking whiplash, why don’t you?”

“You know you want me, baby,” I said as I let her go.

She turned to face me. “Actually, I’m so damn tired. I’ve been cleaning all day on top of studying. I will be so glad when these online classes are over.”

I looked around. The house was so quiet.

“Where are Luke and Grace?”

Ari smiled. “Sleeping.”

“At the same time?”

She nodded her head and smiled. I grabbed her hand and pulled her into our bedroom before she could argue. I shut the door and pushed her against it. I cupped her breast in my hand as I leaned in and licked her bottom lip.

“Jeff…we can’t. Luke is going to wake up any minute.”

“I’ll go fast. Baby, this is for you.” I dropped to my knees and started to pull down her sweatpants and panties.

She looked down at me and giggled as she lifted each foot before kicking off her clothing. “For me, huh? How is this for me?”

“You’re stressed. You need relief.” I lifted her leg and put her foot on my shoulder.

“Jeff, no! I’ve been cleaning for the last two hours. I’m all sweaty and—”

I buried my face between her legs and gently began sucking on her clit.

“Oh god, holy shit!” she shouted.

I slowly slipped two fingers in, and she began moving her hips as she grabbed on to my hair.

“Yes…oh god…mother of God, that feels so…oh god.” She began grinding her hips faster.

I moved my tongue as fast as I could against her clit, and she began to fall apart.

The sounds she was making were driving me mad. I reached down and unbuttoned my pants. I kept sucking gently on her clit as she called out my name. I pulled my fingers out of her and stood up. After I kicked off my pants, I picked her up and brought her over to the bed. I crawled on top of her and slowly put the tip of my dick barely inside her.

She thrashed her head back and forth. “More!” she called out.

I smiled and shook my head. “My greedy, greedy girl.”

She rolled over and got on her hands and knees. She backed her ass up against me. “More…” she whispered.

I pulled her to me and slammed my dick into her.

She let out a whimper. “Harder…touch me, Jeff.”

I moved my hands around to her front and began playing with her clit.

“No…not there…” she said.

I slowed down and looked at her ass.
Motherfucker.

I slid my hand along her body and watched as she shuddered. I moved my finger and barely touched her ass.

“Oh god…yes.”

My heart started pounding.
If I put my finger in her ass, I’m not gonna last.

“Ari…” I said.

She pushed herself against me as she grabbed on to the sheets. I slowly moved my finger into her ass just a bit, and she let out a moan.

“Oh…god…” she said.

I held on to her hip with my other hand and began going faster and harder.

“Jeff…please…”

I pushed my finger into her more, and she began calling out my name.

“Jeff…oh god…that feels amazing!”

I lost it. “Jesus, baby…I’m gonna come.”

“Yes! Jeff, yes!”

I was so out of breath that I rested on top of her as she fell to the bed.

“Holy hell! Why have we not tried that before?” she asked in between pants.

I was still trying to recover from one of the most intense orgasms of my life. I moved and fell to the side of her. She rolled over and looked at me. Her eyes were filled with love and passion.

“Ari, I think you just about killed me. Where in the hell did that come from?”

She laughed. “I don’t know. I’ve been wanting to try some back door action. I guess the moment just hit me.”

I just looked at her. “The moment just hit you? Do you realize that when you told me to touch you there, I almost came on the spot?”

She smiled bigger and shook her head. “You liked that?”

“Uh-huh…hell yeah, I did.”

“Want to play around more with it?” She bit down on her bottom lip and began abusing the hell out of it.

“I think you just made me the happiest man on Earth,” I said as I pulled her closer to me.

She moved to sit on top of me and began grinding against me.

“Baby, I’m not Superman. There’s no way.”

She threw her head back and started feeling her breasts.

She’s trying to kill me.

“Hmm…you feel so good up against my body,” she whispered.

Then, we heard Grace over the baby monitor. Ari snapped her head down and looked at me.

“Later tonight? Back door?” she asked with a wink.

I can’t breathe.
“Yes. Most certainly yes.”

She smiled as she crawled off of me, and then she began putting her panties and sweatpants back on. I looked her body up and down, and I had the most intense feeling run through my body.

“I love you, Ari.”

She stopped and smiled as she looked at me. “I love you, too.”

She turned and walked out of the bedroom. I lay there for a few minutes and thought about how blessed I was.

I heard Ari talking to Grace and Luke in the kitchen, so I got up and headed to the bathroom to wash up. I got dressed and made my way out to join them.

As I walked into the kitchen, I stopped and watched my beautiful wife with my precious kids. Luke was helping Ari put Grace into her high chair.

“I don’t know what I would do without my big man here to help me. Huh, Grace?” Ari said.

Grace let out a giggle as Luke ran over to the refrigerator and tried to open it.

Ari picked him up and opened the door. “What do you want, little man? Want some yogurt?”

“Yes, peeze,” Luke said.

I smiled and walked into the kitchen. Grace started kicking as soon as she saw me.

I leaned down and kissed her. “Hey, baby girl.”

“Daddy!” Luke yelled. He fought like hell to get out of Ari’s arms.

She set him down, and I squatted, so he could run into my arms for a hug.

“Alwex?” Luke asked.

“You want to see Alex, buddy?” I asked.

He began nodding his head. I looked up at Ari, who smiled.

“I’ve been promising him a playdate with Alex all day,” she said.

I looked back down at Luke. “You get to see Alex tomorrow. You’re spending the night with Gramps and Grams—both of y’all.”

Luke started jumping up and down when he saw Ari setting his yogurt on the table. He pointed to his seat, so I picked him up and set him in it as I glanced at Ari. She was smiling as she made cereal for Grace.

“Are you happy, baby?” I asked her.

The sexy smile that spread across her face was all I needed to see to know her answer.

“Yes. I’ve never been so happy in my life,” she said with a wink. “Are you?”

I walked over to her and took her in my arms. I gently brushed my lips back and forth across hers. “Everything I’ve dreamed of and wanted is in this very room right now. You’ve made me the happiest man on Earth, Ari. I love you so much that it hurts. If I didn’t have you, Luke, and Grace…I’d be so lost. I love y’all so much. Nothing can ever come between us, Ari. Nothing.”

She smiled as I pulled her closer to me and kissed her. I was beginning to get lost in the kiss when the doorbell rang. I pulled away, and she laughed.

“Damn it, Johnson. You sure know how to make a girl horny, you know that?”

I laughed as I turned and headed to the front door. I wasn’t sure who in the hell it could be since our front gate buzzer hadn’t gone off. I smiled and opened the door, expecting it to be Gunner or Gramps, and then I instantly felt sick to my stomach.

“What in the hell are you doing here?” I looked him up and down.

He smiled and shook his head. “Now, Jefferson, is that any way to greet your father?”

When I heard what the man at the door had said, I almost dropped the jar of baby food.

Jeff’s dad is here? What in the hell is he doing here? How did he get through the gate?

I stood there, frozen. I quickly looked at Grace and then Luke. Luke was eating his yogurt and lost in his food. I grabbed the bowl of cereal and set it in front of Grace.

Oh Jesus, I’m setting myself up for a mess.

I walked around the corner and saw Jeff still standing at the door. He hadn’t asked his dad to come in.

“How did you get through the gate?” Jeff asked.

His dad let out a small laugh. “Well, it was open, and I just drove down the driveway.”

Oh my god.
I put my hand up to my mouth as I thought about Sharon calling earlier and asking if she could stop by. I’d opened the gate, so she could just drive in. I’d totally forgotten.

Shit! Sharon’s coming over!
I looked over at the clock.
Jesus H. Christ, she’ll be here any minute
.

I peeked in on the kids. Grace was dipping her finger in the cereal and looking at it, and Luke was eating his yogurt, still in heaven.