Page 47 of Take a Chance (Blue Creek Ranch #1)

So I did. I talked about where we could build it and how we would plan it together, until his deep, even breathing filled the room. I held him tightly until I followed him into slumber.

I woke at my usual time, Mal still holding on tightly, but just as dead to the world. I eased out of his hold, making sure he stayed sound asleep, then threw on yesterday’s clothes. I hit the head, then padded into the kitchen area to get a pot of coffee going.

I was just taking my first sip when the sound of tiny feet had me turning. Payton’s hair was wild from sleep and his pajama shirt was crooked, but he was clutching Mr. Raven in one hand and squinting at me.

“Daddy’s still sleeping.” He tried to whisper but he didn’t have the volume control. I hid my smile behind my mug and nodded.

“Yep. He had a big day yesterday so he needs his rest.”

Payton’s brow crunched together. “How come?”

“How come he had a big day or how come he needs his rest?” I asked, motioning him closer. He ran over and lifted his arms, so I scooped him up and set him on the counter in front of me. I still had to lean over to look him in the eye but it put us on more even ground.

“Yeah. Both.” He scratched his belly, then rubbed his eyes. He was still waking up.

“Lots of emotions,” I explained, seeing as that was the simplest explanation. “And sometimes, when your brain has a lot of emotions, it’s good to give your brain a nice, long rest.”

He nodded, his little face serious. “Sometimes I get sleepy when I cry real hard. Did Daddy cry?”

Oh, boy. How to answer? “I dunno, little man. But still, he felt a lot of stuff. So we should let him sleep, huh?”

Payton seemed content enough with that answer. “Yeah. Daddy says sleep is good for bodies.”

“That it is,” I agreed, hoping he kept this innocence for as long as possible. I’d help any way I could to ensure it. “So this is what I’m thinking. You get dressed, and then I’ll take you up to the house. It’s not a daycare day so you get to spend it with Mrs. Jenn.”

Payton looked down at Mr. Raven and fiddled with his wing. “Aria calls Mrs. Jenn Mimi.”

I studied him, trying to figure out where he was going with this.

I tried to think back to when Judson and Keegan were this age and how their brains worked then.

I’d been a teenager and they were my best reference for dealing with kids.

But Payton was far more introspective than the twins had been, at least outwardly.

With each other, who knew? They’d had their own language until they were seven, and I swore they still used some of the words to this day.

“That’s because Mom is Aria’s grandmother. Like your Nana. It’s her grandma nickname.”

Payton nodded, but he still wouldn’t look at me. He grabbed the sleeve of my T-shirt and rubbed the seam in his fingers. I waited for him to think about that, mentally trying to prepare for whatever question he had next.

“I wanna call her Mimi.” His whisper was so soft if I hadn’t been right there, in his space, I wouldn’t have heard it.

My gut clenched and my breath caught. Because how fucking sweet was that? My instinct was to tell him he had to run it by his dad, but then I realized I could handle this. It was my first parenting moment with the kid, and if I wanted to be his bonus dad, I had to step up.

But I also had to tread carefully. So I kissed his head, and asked, “Yeah?”

Payton nodded, leaning closer. His voice was stronger when he said, “She’s like my nana. Only here.”

I melted a little. “Yeah, I can see that. I think that if you want to call her Mimi, then you should. I know my mom pretty well, and I think she’d like that a lot.”

Payton’s head shot up so fast he nearly clocked me on the chin. But his smile was bright for a moment before it dimmed. “Even if she isn’t really my Mimi? And Nana won’t be mad?”

I hugged him to me because holy shit. This kid was so self-aware and intelligent for his age. How many adults wouldn’t have put that connection together? And yet this four-year-old could see it all.

“You wanna know what I think?” I asked, and Payton nodded against my shoulder, his forehead bumping into my neck. “I think family is two things. First you’ve got the people you’re related to, right? Like Daddy and Nana.”

“And Auntie Win. And Grampa before he went to heaven.”

“That’s right. But the other kind of family is the people you know and love and treat like family. The people you claim as yours and take care of.”

Payton’s head shot up again and he was wearing a big smile. “Like you!”

He was going to kill me and I had to choke back emotion. “Like me. And Mrs. Jenn.”

“And Mr. Mike and Auntie Demi and Uncle Luke and Hawk and—”

“All right,” I chuckled, cutting him off before he could list everyone on the ranch. “See, you get it because you’re super smart and have a super big heart. So yeah, I think you can call her Mimi if you want, and I think Nana will be glad you’ve got a Nana and a Mimi.”

I mentally crossed my fingers on the last thing. From everything Mal had told me about his mom, I thought so. But some people could get weird about titles.

“Okay!” Payton did a little happy dance on the counter and I whisked him off to hug him tightly before I set him down.

“Good. Now go get dressed so we can get up to the house. Do you need help?”

He shook his head fast. “I can do it.”

And he raced off.

When I dropped Payton off with Mom, he entered the house full of energy and called out, “Mimi! I’m here!” Mom had gasped, and her eyes filled with tears as she scooped him up into a hug so tight he squirmed. Then she set about getting him breakfast. I left them to it and went back to Mal in bed.

He was sitting up when I entered the bedroom, but the way he was squinting told me he hadn’t been awake for long. He grinned when he saw me, all sleepy and soft and I didn’t even try to stifle the moan that escaped. That fast, Mal’s attention perked up, and he licked his lips.

“Where’s my child?” he asked, shifting on the bed.

“Already with his Mimi,” I said, pulling my shirt off.

Mal blinked. “What?”

I laughed and gave him the quickest rundown possible of our conversation as I got out of the rest of my clothes, tossing them haphazardly on the floor. By the time I yanked off my boxers, I could tell Mal was having trouble focusing on the story.

“Are you listening?” I asked, putting a knee on the bed.

“Y-yes. I mean, kinda.” Mal squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Hang on. Okay. Yes. Good job with the parenting and how great is it that he sees your mom that way?”

“Pretty dang great,” I teased, though I did mean it. I loved that Payton was integrating himself with my family. “Pretty soon he’ll be calling Dad Papa, too.”

“I’m sure. I love what you said about families too. It’s so important—” Mal opened his eyes and his words died, because I was right there in front of him now. Very naked, hard, and within kissing distance. “Hello.”

“Hello, my love.” I kissed him hard and fast, controlling it so that I could get him flat on his back. Not that Mal wasn’t willing and eager. He went where I guided him. When I had him underneath me, I broke the kiss to bite his neck, then collarbone.

“You keep—ughn! You keep calling me that.” Mal’s voice came out as a whine.

“You are,” I murmured, then sucked on his skin. He writhed and clenched my shoulders in a tight grip. I nosed up his throat and then looked him dead in the eye. “You are my love. I love you, Malachi. I am so in love with you.”

Everything in him softened. I saw it first in his eyes, the emotion brimming there. But his muscles relaxed and any tension in him fled. He sniffled once and he pressed a hand against my heart.

“I love you too,” he said, the sincerity and awe apparent in his tone.

I attacked. There was no other word for it. He’d said the words I so desperately wanted to hear and that translated to demanding and eager touches on my part. I had to have him. Had to have all his skin pressing against mine. I wanted to fucking crawl inside him and live there.

Since that wasn’t possible, I did the next best thing.

I kissed him everywhere, touched every part of him I could reach.

I showed him with my lips and teeth and fingers exactly how I felt.

And Mal gasped and moaned and whimpered, filling the room with a symphony of sound that filled my heart and fueled my desire.

I’d never been this frantic before, not even our first time together.

“What do you want, baby?” I ground out, trying to keep myself in check.

One wrong move, or right one, and I’d go off before we got to the good stuff.

Not that this wasn’t good, because it was.

If all he wanted was to rub against each other until we came, then I’d be happy with that. I just needed him all over me.

“In me.” He panted, then whined. He sucked in a breath and reached between us, taking hold of my cock. “I want this in me with nothing between us.”

We’d talked about it. Had the conversation and shared negative results.

But we hadn’t had a chance to fulfill the desire, most of our encounters since had been quick as we stole time together.

But now we had all the time in the world to make it come true.

We’d eventually have to get to work, but the ranch would be fine without us for a few more hours.

“Fuck, yes please. Where’s your lube?”

Mal dug it out from under the pillow and I had a second to wonder when he’d put it there before realizing I didn’t care.

The important thing was to ease the way so I could be inside, bring him to the brink of pleasure and then push him over.

We needed to be as connected as physically possible as soon as possible.

I squeezed out a more than generous amount, then sucked on his neck while fingering his hole.

Mal flushed bright red, but he spread his legs and lifted his knees so I could have the best access.

I took my time, both because I knew I wouldn’t be able to be gentle once I pushed inside and because I had a feeling he’d really love prostate play.

My suspicions were immediately confirmed when Mal let out a keening wail and he hitched his legs up even higher.

I made it last as long as I could, driving him to the edge and gentling him back down several times.

He was a gibbering mess by the time I reached my own limit.

Sweaty and panting, desperate and moaning.

I loved seeing him like this and I couldn’t wait to do it again. To see how far I could push him.

I bet, with some practice, he could come hands-free.

“Crew!”

The way he said my name broke something inside me and I surged forward.

I hitched his legs over my shoulders, lined up, and pushed in.

His scream was mostly desire and only a little pain, so I waited until he adjusted before I got to work.

Mal clenched down on me and I swore viciously, then kissed his pleased smirk off his face.

Since there was only a couple of inches difference in our height, we lined up just fine for this position.

I bit and sucked on his neck, thrusting in fast and hard.

He scratched up my back, nails scrabbling for purchase as he tried to hang on for the ride.

I couldn’t keep this pace up for long, but I didn’t need to.

His sounds let me know he was close, as was the way he trembled.

“Come on, baby,” I growled into his skin. “Fucking come.”

It took a few more thrusts, but then his entire body locked up and cum shot between us.

I kept thrusting, drawing it out, until his legs started to shake and his sounds turned pained.

I held still, shoved all the way inside, breathing heavily, waiting for him to relax so I could pull out and finish on him.

“Stay inside,” He slurred, and with the strength he had left, he clutched me to him.

“You’re pretty sensitive,” I managed to get out through gritted teeth. I was hanging on by a thread, knowing it wouldn’t take but a few strokes to get off.

“I want it.” Mal pressed a heel against my back. “You said…last time, you said…”

He didn’t seem to be able to voice it, so I said it out loud instead. “I told you I was gonna fill you with my cum.”

“Gimme,” he demanded.

So I did. First I eased his legs down to a more comfortable position, but then I pulled out gently, till just the tip was inside, and thrust back in. Mal turned his head to hide his wince, and I almost stopped. I didn’t want to hurt him.

But then Mal grabbed my face, pushed it into his neck, and whispered, “Bite me and come.”

Three thrusts with my teeth buried in the flesh of his neck and I was groaning out my orgasm. I swear the world went dark for a few seconds, my entire being focused on my climax. It seemed to go on forever and I thrust a few more times, my cum leaking out around me.

Time ceased to exist as we came down from the high. But we got our breath back and our sweat cooled on our skin. When Mal shivered, I tucked him in close, and he let out a groan.

“I’m leaking,” he whispered, sounding a tad embarrassed.

I fucking wasn’t. Just the thought of it turned me on and I had to see.

But Mal was cuddled so tightly against me, I hated to move him.

I slid my hand down his back, to his ass, and then pushed my fingers inside his hole to feel it.

Mal squirmed but didn’t seem to mind. I certainly didn’t.

My dick tried to rise. Honestly, all I would need was a few minutes and I’d be ready to go again.

I figured he was too sensitive though. Maybe mutual blow jobs instead.

“Hey.” I said, tugging on Mal’s hair with my hand that wasn’t buried in his ass. He lifted his face, eyes still glazed, but a hint of embarrassment played at the edges of his expression. We’d work on that. “I love you.”

Mal’s embarrassment cleared away to be replaced by affection. And something softer. “And I love you.”

“Good.” I grinned and scratched his scalp. “We’ll figure out all the rest.”

Mal’s hum of agreement was music to my ears.