Page 31 of Before You Can Blink (Rust Canyon #4)

Jett

November

Heat licked up my spine as I hitched Daisy’s thigh over my hip.

I groaned, “Feels so good,” against her neck, pumping into her slowly, never wanting this to end.

Fuck, I needed this.

“Uh-huh.” Nails dug into my ass, urging me to up my pace. “More, Jett.” Breathless, she added on a whimper, “Please.”

Goddamn, she knew what it did to me to hear her beg.

Pulling my hips back, I surged forward, keeping my strokes even and measured, despite slamming into her with more force.

I gritted my teeth against the pure bliss of being buried deep inside her, wanting to stay there forever, but at the same time needing friction to chase the ultimate height of pleasure.

Using one hand, I gripped both of her wrists and held them above her head. The move pushed her breasts out, and her back arched on a gasp when I sucked one of her pebbled nipples into my mouth, teasing the little bud into a sharp point before biting down.

“I’m so close.” Her hips lifted to meet mine as our bodies crashed together on repeat, her pussy squeezing around my length so tight, it almost felt like it was trying to keep me from retreating after each punishing thrust.

My tongue dragged a path between her breasts to give the other the same attention as the first. Against her skin, I murmured, “Let me feel you come for me, Daze. Make it so I have no choice but to fill you up.”

Her moan turned into a broken cry when my hand wedged between us, my thumb rubbing tight circles over her clit.

“Yes, right there! Don’t stop!”

“Never,” I vowed, my balls drawing tight in warning as I doubled my efforts rubbing that tight bud, desperate to throw her over the cliff before I joined her.

Daisy writhed beneath me, right on the edge.

Blood roared in my ears, muting my hearing, but I heard her sharp gasp.

Expecting her pussy to lock down on me a split second later, signaling her orgasm, I was caught off guard when both of her hands shoved at my shoulders and she hissed, “Jett. Did you hear that?”

My throbbing dick screamed in protest when I stopped moving, putting my pleasure on pause. “Hear what?”

Head lifting, she peeked over my shoulder. “The door. You locked it, right?”

Breath stalling in my lungs, I fought against the haze of lust, trying to recall if I had, in fact, turned the lock.

“Yeah.” The word was said with more confidence than I felt. Honestly, it was a fifty-fifty shot, seeing as my brain had short-circuited when I entered the room to find my wife stripping her dress off, and I made my move before she could even think about putting on her pajamas.

Together, we strained our ears for any sign that one of the kids might be at the door. When we heard nothing but silence, I breathed a sigh of relief, dropping my forehead to Daisy’s, and got right back to business.

Maneuvering her legs to rest atop my shoulders, I pressed down with my body weight, folding her in half as I deepened the angle.

The throaty groan that sounded in reply told me this was exactly what she needed.

Shallow thrusts had my cock rubbing just right, both inside and out.

The tendons in her neck stood out as she gritted her teeth, grunting against the intense pleasure.

Each sharp snap of my hips had sparks of electricity coursing through my veins, and bright lights threatening to burst behind my sealed eyelids. Sweat dripped off me as I kept up the ruthless rhythm.

Then came the rattling of the doorknob.

Fuck.

Bottoming out, I rotated my hips, slowing things down again. Voice husky and low, I commanded, “Keep quiet. Maybe they’ll give up and go away.”

Daisy opened her mouth to protest, so I slammed a hand over it, and her pupils blew wide. The vibrations of her stifled moan tickled my palm, so I kept going, working her over and grinding against her needy little clit with each shallow thrust.

“Mama!”

Noooooooooo.

Four years we’d waited to hear that kid utter a single word, and now he chanted his favorite one on repeat, in time with the dull thuds reverberating through the wood.

“Mama! Mama! Mama! ”

“Ignore him,” I begged, but Daisy’s legs had already fallen away from my shoulders.

Groaning, I rolled off her, tossing an arm over my eyes. The mattress dipped before a blanket was thrown over my naked body. Then, the sound of rustling fabric had me peeking to find Daisy pulling on her robe and knotting the tie around her waist before she shuffled to the door, wrenching it open.

“Mama!” Tripp’s arms banded around Daisy’s knees.

She bent down to lift him up, her voice sweet as sugar. “What are you doing up, mister?”

Cockblocking. That’s what.

He sniffled. “Monster.”

I suppressed a snort; my own one-eyed monster was currently at full mast and saluting the ceiling.

“Oh, no,” Daisy cooed. “You wanna come lie down with me for a while?”

My head lifted. She wasn’t fucking serious right now, was she?

“Daze . . .” Her name came out as a warning.

She sighed, sympathy shining in her blue eyes. “I’ll make it up to you. Promise.”

A retort of “Oh yeah, when?” sat on the tip of my tongue, but didn’t make it past my lips because I had a feeling I wouldn’t like the answer.

Might be time to invest in a headstone for our sex life because it was dead and buried.

March

Walking through the front door, I was surprised to find three children coloring at the coffee table instead of the usual two .

Aspen lifted her head, exclaiming, “Guess what, Daddy? Bex is sleeping over tonight!”

At the mention of her name, Bex Crawford, who had grown close with Aspen at school, peeked up shyly. “Hi, Mr. Sullivan.”

I gave the girl a warm smile. “Hey there, Bex. Whatcha drawing?”

Bex held up the piece of paper proudly. “A horse! Mrs. Sullivan took us out to the barn earlier.”

I inspected the drawing and gave an appraising nod. Tripp hadn’t bothered to acknowledge me, so I ruffled his dark hair as I moved toward the kitchen. “Keep up the good work, guys. I’m gonna go check and see how dinner’s coming along.”

Stepping into the kitchen, I found Daisy seated at the table, hands clasped, head bowed.

“A sleepover on a school night?” I announced my presence with the question.

Shoulders sagging, my wife let out a heavy exhale. “Yeah.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Something wasn’t right.

“What’s goin’ on, Daze?” I dropped onto the seat beside her.

She lifted her head, giving me a view of red-rimmed eyes.

Without conscious thought, I gripped her hand. “Hey, what is it?”

Chest rattling with the force of her shaky inhale, she said, “Rose was a mess at pickup today. I guess Nathan’s been sick for a while and they finally figured out what’s wrong.”

“And?” I prompted.

A tear crested her lashes. “He’s got cancer.”

Shit. It wasn’t great, but there were all kinds of medical advances these days, and more and more people were surviving that kind of diagnosis.

Suddenly, their daughter’s presence in our home made more sense. “They need help watching Bex while he gets treatment? ”

Daisy shook her head. “No treatment.”

I reared back. “What? Why not?”

“Even if it hadn’t spread, the survival rates for pancreatic cancer are already low. Rose said he wants to spend the time he has left with his family instead of being stuck in a hospital, knowing he’ll lose the fight anyway.”

Gripping the back of my neck, I swallowed thickly. “He can’t be more than thirty.”

“He’s not. Only twenty-eight.”

I peeked over my shoulder toward the open threshold to the living room. “You’re telling me that little girl in there is gonna lose her daddy?”

A sob broke free from my wife’s chest. “It’s heartbreaking.”

Heartbreaking didn’t even begin to cover it. This situation was downright tragic.

Having lost my own father, I knew what kind of void that left in your life, and I’d gotten almost a decade more with mine than Bex was being given with hers.

Instantly, my mind was made up to step up and make sure she had a stable male presence in her life.

I’d look out for her the same way I hoped Wade would look out for Aspen and Tripp if something ever happened to me.

She might not have Sullivan blood coursing through her veins, but she would become an extension of this family, and the same went for her mama.

Voice gruff, I said, “Tell Rose we’re here for anything she needs.”

“Already did.”

“Good.” I nodded. “Then it’s settled.”

Daisy raised an eyebrow. “What is?”

“Buck Livingston told me when they were building our barn that, one day when I was able, it would fall to me to repay those who had helped us by paying it forward to someone else in need. This might not be exactly what he meant by that, but the sentiment holds true. The Crawfords will have our support for however long Nathan has left, and when he’s gone, we’ll look out for his wife and daughter, bring ’em into our fold so they’re not alone. ”

Fresh tears filled her eyes, and she held both sides of my face as she pressed her forehead to mine. “Just when I think I can’t love you any more, Jett Sullivan . . .”

“They’ve been dealt a rough hand. One I’m far too familiar with.” Pausing, I choked out, “At least they’ll get a chance to say goodbye.”

“Oh, honey.” Daisy crawled onto my lap, wrapping me up in one of her warm hugs that I swore held the power to ease both physical and emotional pain.

My arms tightened around her, and though today’s news had reopened old wounds, the ache was significantly dulled simply because this woman’s love—her compassion—never wavered.

And I prayed with all my might that there would never come a day when I was forced to live without it.