Page 8 of Mine to Possess (Veteran K9 Team #3)

Chapter Eight

Betty

W aking up with a smile on my face, I slide my hand over the thick arm draped over my waist. Barron’s breath blows gently against my neck and shoulder. I wiggle my ass the slightest bit and he stirs, his hand sliding over my belly and in between my legs.

“Good morning, bunny.”

“Mmmm. It certainly feels like a good morning. What do you say to coffee and hot tub to start the day?”

He lazily circles my clit with his middle finger and doesn’t answer. It takes everything within me not to arch into his touch, instead wanting him focused on the task at hand. “Babe?”

“What?” he grumbles at me.

“Coffee and hot tub?”

“I was thinking you could ride my cock this morning instead.”

I roll onto my back to find him looking at me with one eye open, a lazy half smile on his face.

“How about a compromise?”

“I’m listening.”

“Meet me in the hot tub with two mugs of coffee and I’ll ride your cock in there.”

His hand magically withdraws from between my legs. “You have a deal.”

“I thought I might. I’m going to use the bathroom and then I’ll meet you downstairs, okay?”

He nods. “Understood. I’m going to take Sarge out, so take your time.”

By the time I get downstairs, Barron has coffee brewed and the jets are going in the hot tub. “Wow, it really is a good morning.”

The sun shining outside of the hot tub windows is bright, and I wonder where my mom is. “Have you heard from Linc this morning?”

“Yeah, I talked to him ten minutes ago. He has to dig the snowmobile out, or somebody else is going to have to retrieve them.”

“How long will that take?” I glance purposefully at the hot tub and waggle my brows.

He grins and slides me a cup of coffee. “Probably an hour, maybe two.”

“Oh goody. We have time.” I drop my robe, grab my coffee, and walk over to the hot tub.

Barron follows, taking a sip of coffee and offering me his hand to help me descend into the bubbles. Oh my God, the water is pure heaven.

“Speaking of time,” he takes another sip of his coffee and sits it down before lowering himself into the water with me. “I have lessons in a couple hours and then normally Linc and I head toward Spring City around four for work tomorrow.”

“We’re here for another two days,” I say.

He pulls me onto his lap and I throw my arms around his neck.

“How do you want to play this? Do you want me gone before your mother gets here, or am I staying until I leave to teach lessons? Or do you want to meet me at the lodge after the lessons and introduce me and Brandi there?” Barron chuckles.

“I have to admit—this is the first time I’m meeting somebody’s mother who is my age. ”

“Are you nervous?”

“Of course, I’m nervous. What if she hates me?”

“She’s not going to hate you.” I roll my eyes. “Although, I’m sure she’ll be shocked that I spent our time apart by bringing a big sexy stranger home to fuck his brains out. That’s not my normal go-to vacation activity.”

Sliding my hand under the water, I find my man hard for me again. He scoots forward and I wrap my legs around him, sinking down on his cock. My eyes flutter close as I smile, a soft sigh escaping my lips. “This is such a good way to get going in the morning.”

Barron sucks in his breath while his hands slide up my back to massage and cradle my neck. “So, bunny? What do you want to do?”

I have to admit, making love in a hot tub is not nearly as easy as one would think. There’s no surface to gain stability or traction with—the seats are smooth and curved for comfort, not sex—and the water provides a buffer to decent motion. Plus, I think it’s taking away some of my lubrication.

Still, sitting here with my arms wrapped around my man, impaled on his cock, enveloped in hot, bubbly water—it’s pure heaven.

“I think the least awkward option is to meet you at the lodge after your lessons, but before you head back to the Springs.”

“I think so too. Can we have dinner this week?”

“Of course.” I lean forward and kiss him, putting all of my feelings into the one simple act. How is it possible that I am completely crazy about this man in twenty-four hours?

Shit, less than twenty-four hours and yet I can’t imagine my life without him.

We continue to make love—slow and casual—neither one of us really intent on climaxing, but instead, enjoying the feel of each other.

Sarge makes a small woof sound at the same time we hear—“Oh my God!”—my mother’s voice pitching in shock from the living room.

Barron’s arms wrap around me tight, pulling me into his chest and shielding me from view.

I glance over his shoulder at my mom and a man—Linc. “Mom?”

“I’m so sorry.” She turns away, the other man’s back already to us.

Barron’s voice is deep and growly. “Linc?”

“Yeah.” He chuckles.

“Your back better be turned.”

More chuckling. “It is.”

I hiss in Barron’s ear. “I left my robe in the kitchen.”

“Take mine and then bring me yours, unless you want me greeting your mother with a fucking hard on,” he hisses back.

“Mom, can you give us a few minutes?”

“Yes, sweetheart. Of course. I’m so sorry.”

“Wait. Why is your knee wrapped up?” There is a giant wad of ace bandages covering her left knee.

“That’s a story for when you and your friend are dressed. I’m going to go upstairs and take a shower.” She moves toward the stairs.

Linc, with his back to me, stuffs his hands in his pockets and shrugs. “I guess I’ll head back to the lodge and check-in with dispatch. See you soon.”

“I’ll walk you out,” my mom says.

As soon as they’re outside, Barron tilts his head back and groans, “Fuck.”

“Well, that was… new.”

“Just kill me now,” he grumbles.

I playfully put my hands around his throat and jostle his body. “It’s fine. Although, now that my mom has a brace on her knee, I don’t know if we’re going to make it to the lodge this afternoon.”

He wraps his hands around my waist and lifts me off of him, kissing my lips. “Let me go get your robe.”

He’s out of the tub and has his robe wrapped around him before I can turn around. Seconds later, he’s handing me my robe and lifting me out of the tub. “I’m going to get dressed and take off. We’ll save the meet-and-greet with your mom for later today or later this week?”

“That’s probably a good idea.”

Barron leans down and pulls me against his body, kissing me deeply this time.

His touch is full of unspoken words, letting me know that despite our embarrassing predicament, this is not over.

Within minutes, he’s dressed and has packed up the truck, placing Sarge in the backseat.

He pulls his phone out of his pocket. “What’s your phone number? ”

I rattle off the ten digits starting with an Arizona area code and smile when my phone beeps from the kitchen counter.

“Don’t disappear on me, Betty.” He cups my cheek, his green eyes searching mine.

I step away and grab my phone, returning to him in a few long strides. “I’ll do you one better, babe.”

I respond to him with my address, and the approximate time we will be home on Tuesday.

He looks down at his phone and nods. “You’re not that far from me.”

“Good, that means it won’t take you long to get to me.”

“I miss you already. I’ll be heartbroken if you don’t call.”

“And I will be heartbroken if you don’t come find me.”

“I’ll be waiting on your doorstep Tuesday night. That’s not too creepy, is it?”

“In this situation? Not at all.”

Barron presses his lips together, a world of unspoken things growing between us.

I love you is on the tip of my tongue, but that’s crazy. That’s just good sex talking, right?

Not good, but phenomenal.

Nothing short of phenomenal would bring me to the verge of saying I love you to a man I met yesterday.

“Be careful out there and worse case, I’ll see you Tuesday tonight.” I press my palm to his chest, right over his heart. The few minutes without physical contact are already too much for me. How am I going to last two days?

“Seems like a lifetime.” He cups my face, his thumb swiping over my cheek.

“It’ll give you enough time to decide if you want to pursue this.”

“What is this, exactly?”

I shake my head. “I’m not sure. Certainly, I feel something, but I can’t describe it.”

He lays his hand over mine and presses harder against his heart. “I feel it too.”

That’s a non-verbal I love you if I’ve ever heard one.

“Me too.” I grin and push him toward the door. “Go.”

Barron kisses his fingertips and flashes them at me. “See you soon, bunny.”

As soon as he pulls out of the garage, I close the door and run up the stairs to my mom’s bedroom. I crack open the door to find her sitting on the edge of her bed wrapped in a towel.

“What happened?”

She rolls her eyes. “I got lost and hit a snowdrift. My ski got stuck in the snow, while my body twisted in a circle and I guess I sprained my knee. It’s just swollen and it’ll be fine over time, but right now it hurts like the dickens.”

“Do we need to go to the hospital? We can drive down today if we need to.” I can’t believe I’m willing to give up a million-dollar house for two nights, but since Barron is driving home in a few hours, I’m desperate to follow.

She brings her eyes up to mine. “Are you really going to pretend like I did not just walk in on you riding a man in the hot tub?”

I blush and bite my lip. “I figured we’d get to that, eventually.”

“Who is he?”

“His name is Barron Theroux, and he was my ski instructor yesterday. He stayed with me when you didn’t come home, and he’s also Linc’s Search & Rescue partner. They live in Spring City and train police dogs and other canines.”

My mom nods her head slowly, but she doesn’t say what I’m expecting her to say. I almost want her to, so I probe a little deeper into what I’m feeling right now.Plopping down next to her on the bed, I let out an exaggerated sigh. “Oh, Mom. I think I’m in love.”

She continues to nod her head. “You’ve never been a quixotic person, so if you think you’re in love, there’s a good chance you are.”

“What?” That is not at all what I expect her to say. I expect her to give me the, ‘Now Betty, let’s not get over our heads’ speech she normally gives me any time I say something even slightly outlandish like being in love with a man I met yesterday.

She shrugs. “Who am I to say what love looks like? I thought I was in love with your dad when he whisked me away to Arizona, but I think that was the dream of getting away from my overzealous family. They say when love hits you, it’s like a lightning bolt.

Many people say when they met their person, they knew it within seconds of meeting them. Did you?”

I do this half-nod, half-shake roll of my head. “As soon as our eyes met, I knew I wanted him. There was something special there and I couldn’t stop myself from teasing and flirting with him. He was completely on board, teasing me back.”

“Well, if he lives in Spring City, why not pursue something? Honestly, sweetheart, what do you have to lose at this point?”

I smile. She’s telling me everything I already planned on doing. “Tell me about your night.”

She lets out a weary sigh. “That’s another story for another time. I’m exhausted right now. I didn’t get very good sleep last night, so I think I’m going to take eight-hundred milligrams of ibuprofen, elevate my leg, wrap my knee in ice, and go to sleep.”

“Would you like some hot tea?”

“That would be lovely.”

“Okay. You get yourself situated and I’ll grab you an ice pack and a hot tea.”

“Thank you, my daughter.”

“You’re welcome, my mother.”

I walk down the stairs feeling even more conflicted than I was before I came up.

Not only does she not object to the tawdry scene she walked in on, but she’s pushing me to fall in love.

I knew if she met Barron she would like him, but I wasn’t sure she’d approve of a relationship with him.

Of course, I didn’t feel the need to tell him that because in the end it doesn’t matter.

I love my mother and I value her opinion, but I’m not going to miss out on the pleasure he wants to give my body.

But now this can be our entire world—with no impediments.

I think that’s what he wants too.

I hope a couple days apart doesn’t change his mind.