Chapter Six
M aureen thought through her plan again and then decided it was the one she had, and she was going with it. It was the perfect time because they were helping with the kids’ sleepover tonight, and she’d already offered to sleep out front with the kids.
But that didn’t mean she couldn’t rev up Compass a little to give him something to think about when he went to sleep. She had discussed her plan with Hope. Hope had enlisted Faith’s help in forcing Compass and Maureen apart for the rest of the evening after Maureen made her moves.
Maureen respected Compass’s beliefs, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to let the man know how much she wanted him. She’d tell the big lug she loved him and wanted to marry him at a later point. She had a whole plan she was sticking to. Maureen had learned many things from her late husband, and the ability to prepare a well-thought-out scheme and then execute the plan was one of them.
This was the most important plan that Maureen had come up with since her husband passed. She wasn’t willing to go through the rest of her life without Compass, and if marriage was what he needed to be hers, then so be it.
She helped prep the homemade pizza crusts. The kids would be putting their own sauce and toppings on them, and then they’d cook them. Faith and Regina had put together the perfect end-of-school party. Some of the guys were in charge of the video game tournament portion. Faith also had three tables of crafts for any kids that didn’t want to participate in the tournament.
She caught the deep tones of Compass’ voice in the room with the kids. She brought out the crusts and got ready to initiate phase one of The Courtship of Compass .
“Hey guys, wash your hands, then you can prepare your pizzas,” she called to be heard over the noise of the kids and adults.
The stampede to the bathroom was humorous. Compass walked over close to her.
“Are we making our own pizzas too, or did Regina take pity on us and just throw some together?” he asked.
His tone had her smiling, but Roam behind him with a pleading look was too funny.
“She has six full sheet cake pans of pizza. Two of them are supreme. Two are meat lovers. One is cheese only, and one is half ham and pineapple and half black olive and beef.”
“My mom is the best,” Roam said, walking over to check hands as the kids came out of the bathroom.
“Dude, your hands are dry. No way did you wash them,” Roam told Grant.
“I didn’t want to miss all the good toppings,” Grant whined.
“Nana has plenty. Do you really want to eat pizza that might have dog or cat hair on it because you didn’t wash your hands?” Roam asked.
Phoebe and Blake ran into the room and came over to start their pizzas. Phoebe and Blake were both very precise, using the spoons and tongs that Maureen had in the bowls. Then she handwrote their names above their pizza on the parchment paper.
After all the kids had completed their pizzas, she enlisted Compass’ help to carry the trays into the kitchen. The other adults were helping with games while the pizzas cooked. Maureen planned on hopefully keeping Compass occupied while the pizza baked.
“Compass, could you set your timer for ten minutes? Regina said we’d need to turn the pans to make sure the oven cooked them evenly. Do you want to help me make the dessert bowls while we wait?” she asked.
He set his timer, then washed his hands and came over to where she’d laid out the bowls and supplies. He sat down at the table and looked at her inquiringly.
“We’re adding two sugar cookies, with a spoonful of icing along with this little plastic container of toppings to each bowl,” Maureen said, sitting down at the table and scooting closer to Compass.
They set up a system where she was adding the cookies and container, and then he’d add the frosting before placing the bowl on a tray. She kept track of the time because her plan hinged on leaving him thinking about everything with no time to do anything about it.
The timer went off, and she opened the ovens, turned the pizzas, and grabbed the next part of the desserts. Regina had also made a fruit salad for the kids, too. Maureen laid the next set of bowls out and asked Compass to set the timer for seven minutes, which was how long Regina had indicated for the pizzas to be perfect. With the crust pre-cooked along with all the toppings, the oven was just heating everything up and melting the cheese.
“We’re filling each bowl with two scoops of fruit,” Maureen said. She let Compass start filling the bowls, then moved one closer to her. She grabbed a fork, speared one of the slices of fresh peaches, and held it up to Compass’ lips.
“This looks so good. Try one,” she urged.
He stared at her with a perplexed look, which was exactly where she wanted him—a little off-center and wondering what the heck she was doing. He bit the peach slice because she’d deliberately chosen one way too big to comfortably eat. She’d cut it so it was almost half a peach. Yep, she was definitely using every devious thought in her head.
He chewed, but some of the juice had dripped and was sliding off his lip and into his beard. He grabbed a napkin, but before he could, she leaned closer and swiped the drop of juice with her mouth, then paused with her lips close to his.
“It tastes sweet,” she said.
Compass’ eyes flared with heat, and it was all Maureen could do to back away and go back to filling the bowls. She still had the other half of the peach in the bowl in front of her. She looked down because it wouldn’t do for Compass to catch on to what she was planning by seeing her eyes.
She waited until she saw his timer was down to two minutes. She took a bite of the peach and made sure juice ran over her lip and onto her chin. She looked at Compass and found his eyes on her.
He motioned to her mouth, not saying a word. She played dumb and just widened her eyes and tilted her head, working not to laugh out loud at the consternation on his face. He finally pointed to her face, and when she didn’t do anything, he leaned closer. She’d hoped he’d kiss it away, but he chose the easier way and used his index finger to wipe it off her. She refrained from chuckling because she’d planned for all eventualities. Staring at him, she grasped his hand as he was pulling it away.
Before he could even think of wiping his finger with a napkin, she lifted his finger to her mouth and slid her tongue out to lap up the liquid. When she finished thoroughly licking his finger, mimicking what she planned to do with his cock at a later date, she sucked it into her mouth, rubbing her tongue along the underside. Compass groaned right as the timer went off. She slowly pulled her mouth away and stood up.
She pulled the cooked pizzas out, laying them on the counter to cool for a second while she grabbed the heavy oven mitts to carry the pans into the room. She turned and handed Compass a set, too.
“Let’s get these in for the kids to eat. I’ll have one of the guys grab the other ones and the desserts. Each child will line up, and you’ll use the large spatula to put their pizza on their plate,” she said.
It was all she could do to keep her composure watching Compass adjust his hard cock in his pants when he stood up. Her quiet man didn’t say a word about what she’d done. She was positive he was confused, sexually frustrated, and wondering what he should do. Her plan had worked perfectly. Now to let him simmer for a while as they helped with the sleepover this weekend.
Maureen walked out of the kitchen and caught Regina’s eye as she carried the pizza. She winked because what fun was it if a plan worked if Maureen couldn’t share her success with her new friends? Regina nodded but turned away. Yes, things were going exactly how Maureen wanted.
Compass stood in the kitchen and wondered what the heck had just happened. Maureen’s lips against his had every bit of blood flooding his groin. Even at his age, he was positive his dick was hard enough to pound nails.
Her lips on his had been oh so good, but when she’d mimicked a blow job on his finger, he’d had to fight not to come in his jeans. At his age, he should not be hard as much as he was, but Maureen was so very sexy—her scent, her attitude, and the way she treated him.
Despite living with his brothers over the years, he couldn’t go back on his upbringing and just have sex with someone. It had to mean something. A commitment the two of them made, and Maureen didn’t want anything from him, especially a commitment. They’d only known each other for a couple of days when she’d basically said she’d never consider marriage again.
He’d fought with himself the last couple of months, but taking her outside of marriage without a commitment would go against everything he’d believed his whole life. He’d been a virgin on their wedding night, and Lucille had never been with someone willingly before him. It had been a fresh start for both of them, and he’d never been with another woman since he lost her.
He’d struggled with being with Maureen at all because of Lucille. But grief was different for everyone. He missed Lucille with her smiling face and her joking around, but she’d been in so much pain when she’d finally left him.
She’d left a hole in his heart, but he’d felt a smidge of relief that she wouldn’t be moaning in pain between her pain shots. The sound had chipped away at his heart. No matter how much it had shredded his heart, he still couldn’t help her die like she’d asked. He’d wanted to help her, but his heart could not deal with being the one to take away the time she had left. So instead, he’d held her for that last week, storing up the feel of her in his arms, knowing he would be saying goodbye soon.
Grief had so many layers and waves. He’d be rolling along the road, only thinking about the brotherhood, and he’d see a field of sunflowers. Lucille had adored visiting the sunflower fields and had even made a map one year. They’d visited five of them on one road trip. He’d always planned on planting sunflowers around her grave, but Lucille had vetoed a grave. She’d been cremated and said she wanted her ashes scattered in the ocean. He’d honored her wishes, though it hadn’t been what he wanted. But he’d promised her. He also knew she did it to make sure he wasn’t tethered to any one place. She suggested he transfer chapters to Texas. He'd considered it but then realized he didn’t want to deal with people. Nomad had been a better option for him.
And then, when he wasn’t even looking, Maureen had waltzed into his life. He was confused and hiding a hard-on from the kids at the party. Maybe he could find a little relief sometime away from Maureen. Lying beside her each night and holding her in his arms was a slice of Heaven mixed with Hell, knowing he couldn’t have her for forever.
He was a little unsure of what he should be doing. Maybe having them sleep beside each other was sending the wrong message. He wanted forever, but she wasn’t interested in marriage. Did he need to tell her they should have space, or had her actions meant something else?
Maybe he should ask Baron or Rascal. They seemed happily married.