Page 12 of Red, White, and You (Merry Little Midlife #3)

The bed dips beneath me, pulling me out of a dream I can’t remember, and I hold perfectly still, keeping my eyes closed as Brie slides down beneath the sheet and positions herself between my legs. She cups her palm around my cock, then trails her tongue from base to tip.

“Good morning,” I mumble, then remember what day it is. “Happy Fourth.”

She murmurs a response, then pulls the head of my cock into her mouth.

I suck in a breath as she trails her tongue around the tip.

Blood rushes to meet her mouth, and I harden in her hand.

She makes a little mewl of approval, then closes her mouth over the head and tightens her fist around my shaft.

I stretch, opening my legs so she can position herself more comfortably between them, then look down, frowning at the sheet blocking the view of my beautiful wife as she sucks me off.

The early morning shows lavender through the blinds, and I need to see her framed in that light.

I grab the sheet and toss it back, and the sight of her makes my breath catch.

Her eyes are closed, that determined crease appearing between her eyebrows as she sinks down onto me, taking as much as she can. Her blonde hair is mussed from the shower and sleep, and it’s somehow far sexier than I’ve ever seen it.

My fingers flex and I slide them into her hair, gripping her head, not to guide her—she’s quite fine on her own—but to hold her, to move with the motion of her mouth.

“Fuck,” I groan, tossing my head back.

She hums hungrily, and the sound vibrates down my cock. She reaches down to cup my balls, then rolls them softly in her palm until they grow tight, heavier as she leads me closer and closer to release.

Saliva drips from her mouth, coating my cock and dripping down to my balls. The sucking, slurping sounds that fill the silence push me over the edge as she takes me hungrily.

“Baby,” I say through clenched teeth. “I’m going to come.”

Her cheeks hollow out as she sucks hard, increasing her speed as she bobs up and down.

She wraps both hands around my shaft, using her mouth to focus on the head as she pumps with firm, hard strokes.

She trails her tongue in a circle, dips into the center to lick the precum, then closes her mouth around me once more with a hungry moan.

And that dirty sound from her is all it takes.

My thighs spasm, twitch.

My cock swells to bursting, straining against her tongue.

“Fuck,” I growl, then tighten my hands in her hair and hold her head still as I come down her throat in fierce bursts of pleasure that tense every muscle in my body and make me see fucking stars.

When I’ve finished, I relax my hands in her hair and lift her head. She swallows as she looks up at me with still-sleepy, sexy eyes, and when she licks her lips, I shake my head. “You’re perfect. ”

“You’re welcome.” She runs her thumb across her lips and a pang of longing tightens my chest.

“Come here.”

She climbs slowly up my body and stretches out on top of me, then props herself up with one elbow on each of my shoulders. Smiling down at me, she says, “Well, now that you have me here, what are you going to do with me?”

Running my hands down her back, I breathe deeply. “Never let you go.”

Brie’s expression darkens. “Don’t do that.”

I sigh. “I know, I know. Don’t talk about what could be.”

“I’m here now, Brady.” Her eyebrows furrow and I reach up to rub my thumb between them.

“I know.”

She moves her hips and my cock twitches between us.

Brie’s eyes light up. “Now you’re getting it.”

Laughing, I slide my hands down to her hips and grip them as she rocks up and down along the length of my cock, slowly coaxing it back to life.

She brings her lips to mine in a gentle kiss that quickly turns into more.

Deeper, hungrier, she kisses me harder as her pace increases, sliding her wet warmth along my shaft until she’s panting, then pushes up to reach between us and wraps her hand around my cock.

As she lines us up, she meets my gaze. “I’m on birth control.”

Ignoring the way that statement makes me ponder who else she’s been with since we said goodbye, I nod because it doesn’t matter. She’s here now. “Me too.”

Her brows furrow and I laugh as I realize I just told her I’m also on birth control, then quickly clarify. “I always use protection. ”

Brie’s lips curve into a slow smile as lowers herself onto my cock.

“Oh, fuck,” she says, the words almost a sigh.

“I know, baby.”

I breathe deeply and fold my hands behind my head, closing my eyes as she settles onto me, stretching around me until I’m sheathed to the hilt. The way it feels to be inside her again, skin to skin like this, is indescribable.

Heaven is Brielle Donovan-West.

She sighs as she begins to rock, setting the pace for her own pleasure, and the fact that this woman has always set the pace is not lost on me. I’ve missed the way she takes control, the way she rocks my world by rocking her own.

Her fingers flex on my biceps and I open my eyes to look up at her.

With her blonde hair hanging down around her head in messy waves, her hazel eyes are bright with lust and wild with need, but there’s something else in her eyes, something darker.

And as I search them, a tear falls to my chest. I reach to cup her face and another teardrop falls, breaking my heart because I know what that means.

I know the grief she’s struggling with, the regret.

The worries about the future and what will happen at the end of this week, the way those concerns squeeze her chest and try to push away the joy we’ve found in this moment, this connection.

I know her pain because it mirrors my own.

But I know something else, and as whisper her name and pull her down to me, brushing my lips against hers to soothe the ache, I grab onto this knowledge and I cling to it like a lifeline.

She’s everything I remember and so much more.

And I’m never letting her go again.