Текст книги "Untamed"

Автор книги: S. C. Stephens

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Текущая страница: 8 (всего у книги 29 страниц)

When Kiera had Onnika, she firmly held her to her body. “Oh God, she’s so tiny. Remember when Ryder was this tiny?” From the way Kiera looked up at Kellan, I thought another baby was soon to be in their future. There was nothing like holding a newborn to ramp up a woman’s sex drive. I’d bet all the money I had that Kellan was getting laid tonight. Interesting. Not even a day old yet, and Onnika already had two superpowers. That’s my girl.

While Kellan smiled and nodded at Kiera, she turned her attention back to Anna and me. “How did you come up with the name?”

Puffing up my chest, I jabbed myself with my thumb. “It was my idea.”

Anna made a scoffing sound and I frowned at her. “No it wasn’t. You wanted to go with Myrtle again.”

Remembering that lost negotiation, I frowned. “It’s a family name. I don’t know why you have such a problem with it.” Anna’s face scrunched into the look of disgust she always got when we mentioned my grandma’s name. Not wanting to argue about it again, I added, “And I was right, Onnika was my idea. You just supplied the spelling.” I gave her a grin and a wink to ease the sting in my words, if there was one. Sometimes it was hard to know what would piss chicks off.

Anna didn’t look upset when she turned back to her sister. She had a high tolerance for my crap. “He wanted to spell it A-N-N-I-K-A, but I thought that was too close to my name, so we switched it to O-N-N.”

Kiera nodded, then went back to cooing and cuddling Onnika. I didn’t think she had any plans to give Kellan a turn. Not willingly at least. Eventually she had to share though, because after a while everyone else walked into the room. And just like that, our place was party central. There were so many people in it, I felt like we should start charging admission.

Aside from Kellan and Kiera, Mom, Dad, Liam, Matt, Rachel, Evan, and Jenny were there. There were also nurses loitering outside the door, and a few people visiting other patients too, from what I could tell. Guess news of a rock star’s wife having a baby had already circulated around the hospital. I’d probably have to beat them back to get out of here.

Everyone was all smiles as they passed Onnika around, and whatever tension had been between us suddenly melted away. Rachel and Jenny were fine with me, the guys were fine with me, and I was fine with them. I could barely even remember why I’d been irritated earlier. Another one of Onnika’s superpowers. This kid was truly amazing. Again, not a big surprise. She was genetically engineered to be cool.

While Kiera impatiently waited for another turn with Onnika, she told Anna, “I called Mom and Dad. They’re heading out tomorrow or Monday. Mom’s mad that you couldn’t hold out until your due date.”

Anna snorted. “She’ll get over it. She did the last time.”

I expected my wife’s happy buzz of newborn bliss to fade, but she looked relaxed and sleepy as she lay there, watching everyone lose their shit over her daughter. It seemed like nothing could faze her at the moment, a fact that was confirmed when she told the room, “I’m so glad you’re all here for this, and Mom, Dad, I want you to stay as long as you want! My home is your home! Invite everyone, the more the merrier!”

My eyes widened. Did she really just say that to my parents? I couldn’t help but wonder if whatever was dripping into her IV was making her loopy or if she was riding a natural high. Either way, she’d just opened the floodgates, and there was no taking it back. I could see it in my mother’s eyes. She’d been given permission to crash for as long as she saw fit, and nothing Anna said or did now would matter. Our negotiation was null and void, but at least I hadn’t torn up the contract. No, Anna had screwed this one up all on her own.

Chapter 7

Oh Holy Awesome

Thanks to Anna giving my family the green light to stay as long as they wanted, two months later, my home was still full of visitors. Every single room was being used up by various relatives who’d decided to “visit” and refused to leave.

Anna’s parents were staying with Kiera and Kellan. Kiera said that was because our house was too crowded, but Anna let it slip that the real reason they were staying over there was because they preferred Kellan over me.

She didn’t say it quite like that. She’d merely said they “had a few issues with my personality.” What? I had an awesome personality, so that couldn’t really be it. They were just wrapped up in the Kellan Kyle fantasy, like everybody else.

That really irritated me. I was the coolest person I knew, and certainly Martin and Caroline would come to know that if they spent a little more time with me. I didn’t see what problem they could possibly have with me anyway. I’d married their daughter, given her an awesome home to live in, and impregnated her with two of my very best seeds. What more could they ask of a husband? I should be on their Most Awesome Person in the World list.

Anna had deep bags under her eyes as she bounced Onnika in her arms. “Griffin, I’ve had about as much of this as I can take. When are they leaving?”

We were in our room, where Onnika slept in a bassinet by the bed. We were eventually going to move her upstairs in a room next to Gibson, but Anna wasn’t ready to be that far away from her yet. Me either, although I was looking forward to having sex in my bed again. When Anna had felt ready to resume the horizontal mambo, we’d moved over to the closet to complete the act. I just couldn’t have sex in the same room as my kid, no matter the age. I never would have thought I’d have a sexual Achilles’ heel, but I guess I did.

I knew what Anna meant by her statement. Even with our bedroom door closed, I could hear people talking, laughing, shouting, running, watching TV, stomping, eating, playing, and somewhere, someone was crying. I needed a bigger house.

Shrugging, I told her, “I don’t know when they’re leaving. You kind of told them they could stay as long as they wanted. I think some of them are planning on moving in.” A few of my cousins had jokingly said that when they’d noticed the pool and tennis court. At least, I was pretty sure they were joking. I might have to deal with squatters in the near future.

Anna gave me a look born from exhaustion, a look that said she was frying my manhood in her mind. “I do not remember saying that. Or anything even close to that. I think you told them it was fine to stay longer, which goes against our negotiations. So, according to the rules, I have one free win to use at my discretion.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t say shit to anybody.” Except my sister, Chelsey, but I didn’t mention that. “You were the one feeling all lovey-dovey in the hospital.”

“I was doped up on baby juice. That doesn’t count.”

She closed her eyes, and I saw the tears forming. She was so tired. I’d told her in the beginning that she’d be less tired with everyone around, but that just wasn’t the case. Anna felt the need to entertain them, and while they did help with Onnika and Gibson during the day, Anna was still the one getting up all night long with Onnika. I’d tried to talk her into napping whenever she could, but she said it was too loud, she couldn’t sleep. I wished there was something I could do to help her, but I was stuck. She’d opened the hospitality doors, and I couldn’t shut them. Not on family.

Pulling Onnika from her arms, I gently placed her in the bassinet. She was such a beautiful baby—thick dark hair that curled at the ends, eyes that were turning greener every day, and pink chubby cheeks that must have been kissed fourteen million times by now. It was difficult to put her aside, but my wife was having a panic attack. I needed to soothe her.

Onnika was a pretty mellow baby, so she didn’t object too much when I put her down. Anna slumped over, like she had nothing left. I pulled her into my arms, and she loosely wrapped herself around me. “I can’t do this, Griffin,” she muttered while I stroked her back.

“Sure you can,” I told her. “You’re one of the toughest chicks I know, Anna. You deal with my shit, you handled being pregnant all on your own when you found out the first time, you started moving into management at Hooters until I started raking in the dough and you didn’t need to work. You’re an amazing mom to Gibson and a pretty fucktastic wife. There’s nothing you can’t do, babe.”

When I pulled back to look at her, she was smiling. “Yeah?”

Nodding, I leaned down to kiss her. “Yeah.” Our lips moved together for a few moments. When we pulled apart, I ran my lips to her ear. “I want to take you in the closet, run my hands all over you, sink myself inside your wet pussy, and stroke you until you fall apart. Then I want you to take a nap, while I handle the girls.”

I peeked over to her eyes, and they were glossier than before. She gave me a hard nod, like she really, really wanted what I’d just offered. I wasn’t sure which part she wanted most—the sex or the nap—but I didn’t care. The curves of her body were pressed against mine, and all I could think of was her nipple in my mouth, her hand around my cock. Fuck, I wanted her so bad.

We both looked over at Onnika in her bassinet. She was watching a mobile dangling above it. Anna turned it on so it would twirl and play music, then we headed over to the closet. Mom and Chelsey were entertaining Gibson, so I wasn’t worried about her needing anything as I closed the closet door. For once, Anna and I might be able to have sex during daylight hours without an interruption. Just the thought made me throb. God, I couldn’t wait to touch her.

There was a chaise lounge in our closet now. Or sex couch, as Liam called it. He was totally right too. It was a sex couch, and whenever I passed by it, my dick twitched. Anna yawned as she ran her hand over the back of the couch. I wondered if I’d be a better husband by leaving her alone so she could take a nap in here, but I wasn’t that awesome. I wanted sex.

She shimmied out of her yoga pants, then pulled her long-sleeved shirt over her head. She was wearing a lacy red bra and matching underwear, and I instantly stopped worrying about just letting her sleep. No one who didn’t want to be nailed wore underclothes like that. “Fuck, baby, you look amazing.”

“Yeah?” A tired smile brightened her face as she ran her hands over her curves. She wasn’t back to her pre-baby body yet, but I didn’t fucking care. What she was showing me right now was hotter than the rest of the female population. If I didn’t get inside her soon, I might need surgery to correct the internal damage going on.

Unzipping my pants, I showed her my raging hard-on. “Yeah. Lie down…relax.”

With another small yawn, she removed the remaining pieces of clothes and then did as I asked. Only, she didn’t casually lie on the couch, like I thought she would. No, she straddled it, then lay back with her feet resting on the floor and her legs wide open. Holy fuck. The Promised Land was right in front of me, and I gave myself a few long strokes as I stared in awe at what was being offered. Un-fucking-believable.

Anna yawned again as she stretched out, and I knew that I might lose her to sleep if I didn’t get moving. Stopping my own self-exploration, I ripped off my clothes and tossed them aside. Her eyes were closed, but she smiled when I finally touched her. “Mmmmmm.” A satisfied groan left her as my hands traveled up her warm, supple body. I straddled one of her legs, mainly to stop myself from nestling between them and thrusting into her. I wanted this to be about her, about relaxing her, about bringing her body so much pleasure that she’d be too exhausted to open her eyes afterward.

My lips placed soft kisses along her skin, almost ghostly soft on her erogenous zones. Her satisfied noise turned to a lusty one, and she squirmed on the couch. Her fingers threaded into my hair when I reached her nipple. I didn’t go for it right away. No, I kissed around the area, then skipped over it, then kissed around it again. She hissed in frustration. Only when I swear I could hear her silent plea did my lips wrap around it, and when my tongue flicked it, she gasped. Oh, yeah, my girl was ready.

I played the same game with her pussy. Holding my fingers just out of reach from where she really wanted them. She was panting in no time, and her eyes were open, awake, and looking at me with such heat that my skin felt ten times hotter than usual.

When I finally ran my fingers between her legs, she shuddered, cried out, squirmed, and then she finally begged. Grabbing my backside with both hands, she murmured, “I want you. Now. Please…now.”

I was so ready for her my cock was nearly purple, and I prayed I lasted long enough to satisfy her. Adjusting my position, I shoved into her. She arched her back, and her claws dug into my skin. Fuck, yes. “More,” she breathed, moving her hips against me.

God, yes, I wanted to come. Our hips started moving together with unrestrained purpose. We both wanted this release so much; we needed it. This connection, this reminder of who we were together. Perfect.

Since everything, everywhere was so loud anyway, we didn’t hold back. We moaned, groaned, and fully enjoyed the impending explosion. Anna cried out so loud when she came, my ears rang. Then I felt her constrict around me and I couldn’t hold back anymore. “Fuck, God, yes, Anna. Fuck, fuck, fuck…”

The world evaporated as the best high in the world coursed through me. Jesus, I loved this…

Once we were both spent, Anna started breathing in a low, soft way that I knew meant she’d be snoring soon. Guess she really was tired. Without jostling her too much, I removed myself. Then I put down a little towel, just in case my awesome juice was too much for her. Finding a blanket, I laid it over her so she wouldn’t be cold. She smiled but didn’t stir. Good night, babe. I’ll wake you when it’s time to go.

I never thought it would take three hours to get a two-month-old ready, but it did. Of course, my mother and I were interrupted by every person who came across us. They all wanted to hold Onnika, play peekaboo with her, and ask her to repeat stuff. Shit like that. It was really annoying considering the fact that we were on a schedule. I felt like Matt whenever I asked someone to give her back so we could get her ready. I needed a nap by the time she was.

Mom told me to get used to it. “Little girls take time. Older girls take even more.” I already knew that though. Anna took forever to get ready for anything. It was always worth the wait though. She looked like a fucking supermodel when she was finished.

After we were done with Onnika, we had to deal with Gibson, who needed almost as much time as her sister, since I couldn’t let her leave the house without perfectly symmetrical ponytails. When both girls were finally ready, it was well past the time we needed to go. Like a commander ordering troops into battle, I hustled people to their vehicles.

The church Anna had picked out for the ceremony was in Tacoma. Why the hell she had to pick one so far away, when Seattle had a bunch of perfectly decent churches around, was something I would never understand. She claimed she liked the architecture. Whatever.

Anna was browsing the Internet on her phone as I drove us. I was just about to ask her what the score on the football game was when she started laughing to herself. “What?” I asked. “Find something about me?” The Hand Solo incident had died down, but it still popped up sometimes.

“Well, yeah, kind of.” She flipped the screen to me, but I couldn’t read it while I was driving. “Some fans have started a petition. They want us to change Onnika’s name.”

I was floored that of all the things to vote on in my life, that was what was circulating. “What? I love the name Onnika. What do they think would be better?”

Anna pursed her lips, and I could tell she didn’t want to tell me. “What?” I asked, feeling annoyance starting to build already.

“Uh…they want us to name her Kellan…but with a Y instead of an A. Funny, huh?”

Funny? No, it wasn’t fucking funny. It was fucking annoying.

I was so ticked, I almost slammed the brakes and stopped in the middle of the freeway. “They want us to do what? Why the fuck would I name my daughter after one of the band members? And Kellyn? Are they fucking kidding me? Goddamn fucking Kellan Kyle lovers!”

Gibson started giggling. Then she proudly stated, “Goddamn!”

Anna lifted an eyebrow at me. “If she says that during church, you get to explain where she heard it.”

I shook my head at her. “No one will even question where she heard it…” Anna laughed, but I was really starting to get irritated. “Can you believe there is a petition to get us to rename our child? After Kellan?” I asked, disbelieving and furious at the same time.

Anna didn’t seem as flustered as I was. No, she was still all calm and relaxed from the sex in the closet. I kind of wanted her riled up with me right now. I should be more careful with my superpowers. Sometimes I didn’t know my own strength. “It’s not a big deal, Griffin,” she said, with a Please calm down sigh. “There’s probably one for all the others too. Maybe Mattlyn or Evanlyn. Actually, Evanlyn is kind of pretty…”

With a groan of frustration, I stepped on the gas. Joke or not, there shouldn’t be a petition of any kind to rename my kid. Unless it’s Griffilyn. That, I could understand.

I was in a bad mood when we got to the church. Fans wanting to rename my daughter had set me off, but it went deeper than that. Like he was the fucking moon in the sky, the tides came and went with Kellan Kyle, and I was sick of it.

The spirals of the church were dark and ominous against the gray clouds hovering low in the sky. They matched my mood. I hoped it rained. Or hailed. Then my prickliness would be properly portrayed. The parking lot was roped off when we pulled up, and Sam was standing there, looking all scary and imposing in his suit and dark glasses. He used to be the bouncer at Pete’s Bar, but now he was Kellan and Kiera’s personal bodyguard. He took his job very seriously and was keeping an eagle eye on the lot, ceaselessly on guard to keep the riffraff out. I expected him to open the makeshift gate the second he saw my Hummer, but he only stood there, bulky arms crossed over his chest, his face expressionless.

Pulling up beside him, I rolled down my window. Before I could speak, he held up a hand. “I’m sorry, this is a private service today. You’ll have to come back next Sunday.”

My eyes narrowed. “I know that, douchebag. It’s my ceremony.”

Removing his unnecessary sunglasses, he looked over my face. “No, sorry. The service is for a two-month-old girl. You don’t match the description. You’ll have to leave.”

I was about to reach over and rip the grin off his face, but Anna beat me to it. “Hey, Sam. Today’s probably not the best day. He’s having a moment.”

Sam looked over at her, nodded, then sighed. “Fine. Take all my fun away.”

He turned to open the gate and I flipped him off. “Asshole!” I shouted.

Anna laid a comforting hand on my thigh. It soothed me. Some. A blow job would be better. “He’s just playing, Griffin. Relax, babe.” I tried to, but my mood was sour, and nothing short of another orgasm would fix it.

The parking lot was a large one, but nothing was open near the front door. Muttering a curse, I parked in the back. The rest of my entourage pulled up beside me, and Anna grabbed Onnika while I scooped up Gibson. I’d dressed her in a plaid skirt, white leggings, and a white sweater with a giant red heart on it. Fucking adorable. I could dress kids professionally, if that wasn’t really creepy sounding.

My family got out of their vehicles, and the swarm of us headed toward the dark stone church. Once my daughters were spotted, they were both stolen from me. I wasn’t even sure who grabbed them, they were just gone. Clumps of oohing and aahing people pinpointed where they were though, and I caught glimpses of Gibson’s skirt as she twirled in a circle. She finally had a group of people paying attention to just her; Gibby’s adjustment period to the new baby wasn’t going as smoothly as Anna or I had thought it would. We’d assumed Gibson would see Onnika as a doll to play with twenty-four/seven, but so far, all Gibson had seen was a rival. One she wanted to get rid of. She was in hog heaven now that the spotlight was back on her, for a little while at least.

Matt and Evan were standing together near the doors. As I headed their way I saw Matt shake his head and hand Evan a ten-dollar bill. With a sigh, Matt told Evan, “Wow, I really thought I had that.”

Wondering what Matt had thought he’d had, I asked him, “What was that for?”

Matt smiled. “I bet him that you’d be incinerated the instant you set foot on holy soil, but, here you are…not burning.”

“Funny,” I muttered, not in the mood.

Looking around, I spotted Kiera talking to Abby; Abby looked like she was only half listening to her client as she cooed at Onnika in her arms. Denny and Abby represented Kiera in her writing career, as well as the D-Bags. The two of us were their only clients though. For now. I was sure they’d expand one day, once they got tired of their day jobs at some swanky advertising agency.

Beyond them Anna was talking with her father, while her mother fussed over Gibson dancing at her feet. As I turned to head inside the church, I heard Matt say to Evan, “Hey, double or nothing he combusts when he steps inside the church?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Evan shrug. “Sure, why not?”

Twisting my head, I glared at each of them. “You guys are assholes.”

Evan frowned and looked over at Matt. “I think I’m gonna lose this one.”

I stepped inside the church and instantly heard Matt groan. Looking back, I saw him muttering something as he handed Evan more money. Just to further emphasize his loss, I stood in the church’s doorway and, using my feet to hold the heavy doors open, I flipped him off with both hands. Incinerate that, asshole.

That was when I noticed Anna’s dad watching me. Dropping my hands, I gave him a feeble chin nod. Trying to be the polite, dutiful son-in-law that Kellan was, I asked him, “How’s it hangin’, Mr. Allen?” See, I’m just as cool and friendly as Kyle. Instead of answering me, Martin rolled his eyes and gave his daughter a look that clearly said, Why did you do this to me?

Turning around, I ignored him and continued on into the church. I’d tried, but the odds of that man ever warming to me were slim to none. Oh well, his loss. The doors boomed shut behind me, and the people inside the quiet space twisted to look. While I gave the group of women closest to me finger guns, I spotted a few more friends and family. Denny and Kellan were talking near the front, Liam was a few rows away from where they were standing, clearly eavesdropping.

Liam’s face was alight when I walked up to him; I hadn’t seen him this excited in a while. Maybe he’d just found out that he’d gotten that new gig after all. If so, I didn’t have time to hear about it. He opened his mouth, and I could tell he was going to start spouting about his newfound opportunity. I held up my hands to stop him. “Later. We gotta get this ball moving.”

Sweeping past Liam, I spotted the pastor who was performing the ceremony today and made a beeline for him. Time to ring the bell, or bang the gong, or rev up the organ. Whatever they did to announce the beginning of service. The older man smiled when he noticed me approaching. Anna and I had met him a few times in preparation for today. He was cool. Preachy at times, but cool.

“Good afternoon, Griffin,” he said, smoothing a purple stole around his neck.

“Yo, Pops, or Father, or…whatever. We good to start?”

He looked about to correct me, or chide me, or start in on a four-hour speech about the errors of my ways, but instead, he closed his mouth, smiled, and nodded. “Yes, we’re all set to begin. I’ll go tell everyone to come inside.”

As I watched him saunter off toward the doors, my gaze came across Denny and Kellan. Kellan had a strange expression on his face—broody, like he was contemplating all the hardships in his life. I was sure whatever he was beating himself up about wasn’t really that big of an issue. Oh no! Women obsess over me, the media loves me, and everything I say and do is praised by all. Yeah, tough life you got there, Kell.

Ignoring them, I found a hard pew in front and sat down. God, I was tired. Today had been a superlong, exhausting day, and I didn’t even feel like I’d done anything. Anna may be right about the chaos of our house. Maybe it was too much. A little peace sounded fabulous. And so did a nap. Surely no one would mind if I dozed off during this.

I closed my eyes, just to rest them, and heard people entering the church and finding places to sit. I recognized Anna’s perfume as she sat beside me. Kiera must have been with her, because I heard her saying, “It still shocks me that you have your kids baptized.”

Anna let out a throaty laugh. “It shouldn’t. You’ve met their father, they need all the help they can get.”

Cracking my eye open, I shot Anna a glare, but then I shrugged. She had a point. Onnika was with her again, and she was staring at me with an intense expression, like she was trying to communicate how utterly awesome it was to be my spawn. Either that or she was trying to poop. Kellan sat down beside Kiera. Oddly enough, he had the same look on his face. If he was trying to drop a load, I would suggest he wait until after the ceremony. If the crowd was going to smell anyone’s excrement, it should be my daughter’s.

Kiera reached over to grab his hand, and he gave her a brief smile. While I watched them, Matt sat behind me. Leaning over the pew, he murmured, “Hey, we’re all getting together to work on the album after this. It’s almost halfway done, and if we keep plugging away at it, we could finish it next month. Then we can start on promotion.”

That made me groan. I didn’t want to work on it today. I had a house full of people, a tired wife, a daughter who was probably plotting the demise of her sister, and a newborn who needed me. I was beat, and I didn’t have it in me to jam on songs that I’d had zero input on. Irritated, I snapped at the last comment he’d made. “Why do we have to do promotional shit? Isn’t that what we pay Denny half our money for?”

Matt snorted and made some comment that we didn’t pay him quite that much, but Denny happened to walk in front of me to sit on the other side of Kellan, so I blocked out Matt’s explanation of just what Denny did for us.

Denny had an odd look on his face that matched Kellan’s. Giving Kellan a sympathetic squeeze on the shoulder, he told him, “You should think about it some more. I know it’s a hard move, but I think it could benefit everyone in the long run.”

That got my attention. I’d already packed up all my crap and moved once because of Kellan. I wasn’t thrilled about doing it again, not without a really, really, really good reason. Leaning forward, I peered past Anna, Kiera, and Kellan to ask Denny a question. “Kellan’s moving?” I shifted my gaze to him. “Where are you going?”

The church had started quieting as everyone found seats. I vaguely noticed the pastor take center stage and start his introduction speech, but I tuned him out. If Kellan was disrupting our unit, I needed to know. Rehearsals would be a bitch if I had to fly somewhere else to do them. And knowing Kellan, he was probably taking his family and moving somewhere even more remote. One of the Dakotas, or something.

Kellan shook his head and shushed me. I didn’t want to be shushed, so I asked him again, “Where you going? What’s going on?”

Kellan sighed, which ticked me off even more. It was a You wouldn’t understand so I’m not going to bother explaining sigh. I got those a lot. “Later,” he whispered.

Someone nudged me in the ribs, and I looked over to see Liam sitting on the other side of me. He was grinning so wide I thought his cheeks were going to crack. “I know where he’s going.”

“Where?” I said, doubting Liam knew anything.

I heard Denny and Kellan both say something like, “Wait, we can explain,” but before they got it out, Liam calmly told me, “Kellan just got offered a solo gig. You’re no longer needed, bro.” His smug smile set me off. Or maybe it was how exhausted I was or how tired I was of getting passed over by the guys, by the fans, by fucking everyone. And now they were just going to cut me out? I don’t think so.

Just as I heard the pastor ask everyone to bow their heads in prayer, I snapped my attention back to Kellan and Denny. “What the fuck, Kellan!”