Mayhem & Mistletoe, page 28
Whoa.
Did that just happen?
Whatever ice remained in Isaac’s system where his dad was concerned suddenly melted like snow, causing a mushy puddle to form in his chest.
“Thanks, Dad.”
“What else?” Audrey prompted, staring at him.
What? He was still on the hot seat? Wasn’t it someone else’s turn yet?
“Oh, uh… well, work is good. Sidney and I dropped off some presents for the foster care program this afternoon. They were having a gift drive for the children without families. I guess it’s something they do each year, but this year the Special Victims Unit detectives got involved, which is how we heard about it.”
Was he rambling? He felt like he was rambling.
“Anyway, after we left there we got to talking about it. And we ended up going back later and speaking to someone about the process. Long story short, we’re thinking about filling out the paperwork to become foster parents.”
Dead silence.
He looked up from his plate and glanced around the table. All eyes were on the two of them.
Surprised eyes.
Shocked, disbelieving eyes.
Only Sterling’s gaze held a note of knowing amusement.
Then everyone started talking at once.
“What?”
“Really?”
“Oh, my God! Are you serious?”
“Wow! That’s incredible!”
“Wait. Why are you doing this?”
Isaac looked at Sidney. From her wary expression he knew that she was thinking the same thing he was. That perhaps he should’ve kept his mouth shut.
“Well, to be completely honest with you, we don’t really know why we’re doing it. It just felt… right somehow. Like something we needed to do. But that’s not to say that we’re being impulsive. We haven’t signed anything yet. We’re simply talking about it and doing our research.”
“But what about having kids of your own someday?” Adam asked, looking puzzled. “I mean, you still want that, don’t you?”
Simon nodded as though Adam had just asked the question next in his mind too.
“Of course, we do,” Sidney answered for them.
“So this has nothing to do with the mis…”
Adam stopped talking abruptly, no doubt realizing that not everyone at the table knew about their loss.
Isaac and Sidney exchanged another look.
“No,” Sidney smiled at Adam. “This has nothing to do with the miscarriage. The doctor gave me a clean bill of health. I’m perfectly fertile. And as far as we know, so is Isaac.”
“Miscarriage?”
His mother was clearly shocked by that news. Her voice held a note of heartbreak.
“You had a miscarriage, Sidney?”
“It was months ago, Mom,” Isaac jumped in. “Back before the wedding even. We’d only just found out we were expecting. Then about a week and half later…”
He paused and shrugged a shoulder.
“We weren’t,” Sidney finished.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, honey. For both of you.”
“But it’s okay,” Sidney assured them all. “We’re both okay now.”
“Well, Audrey, you wanted to know what was going on in our children’s lives.” Brock looked at his wife and sighed. “I’d say you got plenty of info to mull over tonight.”
“I guess so.” Audrey flashed him a rueful smile. “That’ll teach me to ask that question, huh?”
A heavy silence floated down around them. Not one filled with tension. Just the silence that comes with knowledge and loving support.
“Well, would anyone like thirds, or are we ready for dessert?”
“What’s on the dessert menu, my dear?” Sterling asked.
Audrey perked up. “I’ve got a pile of assorted fried pies — blueberry, peach, and cherry. A vinegar pie, of course. And a Tennessee apple stack cake.”
Just the mention of the labor intensive, reserved-only-for-special-occasions treat had Isaac’s mouth watering.
“What is an apple stack cake?” Sidney asked.
“It’s an old-fashioned regional dessert that you might find in vintage cook books. Thin layers of yellow cake and sweet, spicy apple filling, piled high and pressed together for 24 hours. Sometimes you’ll see them with frosting. But my apple filling is so rich and decadent that all it needs is a nice dusting of powered sugar.”
“It sounds intriguing, and I can’t wait to try it,” Sidney said.
“It’s amazing, darlin’. You’re going to love it.”
After dessert was served and eaten, they all settled into the living room around the big tree and exchanged gifts. There was conversation and laughter, and much to Isaac’s surprise, there was zero Brock/Sterling drama. Although he did notice that the two men barely said a word to each other the entire night.
Whatever it took to keep the peace.
As the evening wound to a close, Isaac spotted Sidney standing near the window looking out at the snow. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and she leaned back into him.
“It’s snowing again.”
“I see that.”
“This was nice. This dinner with your family.”
“Our family.”
He watched her smile in the window’s reflection.
“Yes. Our family.”
She turned around in his embrace and looked into his eyes.
“Although, I have to say that I cannot believe you told them we’re thinking about fostering.”
“Hey, I looked to you for guidance, but you left me twisting in the wind. And you know how my mama is. She just took me by surprise back there.”
“Oh, I know. I’m not angry about it, baby. I just thought we were going to keep it to ourselves until we decided one way or the other.”
“I know. I’m sorry, Sid. And you should be angry about it because it’s nobody’s business when or how we decide to start our family. Nobody’s but ours. I apologize for just blurting it out like that. Especially since we haven’t decided yet. I should have just kept my mouth shut.”
“It’s out there now; don’t worry about it.”
Isaac sighed and pulled her closer, kissing her lips.
“What do you say we head home and make love ’til Santa comes?” he whispered.
“I’d say someone is feeling awfully sure of themselves if he thinks our making love is going to make Santa climax too.”
Isaac laughed out loud at her joke and then swatted her ass.
“Very funny Ms. Sassy Pants.”
“Merry Christmas, baby.”
“Merry Christmas to you, darlin’.”
EPILOGUE
Sidney ran her fingertips over the small diamond cross at her neck.
The beautiful necklace Ike had given her was her very favorite Christmas gift this year.
She glanced up at him now, admiring the way he filled out his black suit. His profile was regal, with that square jaw and the high cheekbones. That honey-blond hair swept stylishly back by a little hair gel. He was so freaking handsome and sexy, and she smiled to herself as she watched him.
“You’re staring at me.”
He said the words without ever glancing her way, and Sidney giggled.
He turned and smiled at her, his dimples deep enough to fall into. Then he moved, pulling her into his arms.
“Have I told you how absolutely beautiful you look tonight?”
His voice was like silken honey at her ear, and Sidney smiled and leaned gently into him.
“I think you might have mentioned it once or twice. Not nearly enough though.”
She was wearing one of the many silk kimonos Simon had sent her from Japan over the years when he was stationed there. This one was bright red and sported tiny flowers in gold, pink, white and blue. It was gorgeous.
She never expected to actually get the chance to wear any of the kimonos, but the surprise New Year’s Eve re-wedding of their friends, Hiroshi and Miku, seemed like the perfect occasion.
Isaac chuckled, and his lips — so close to the rim of her ear — seemed almost to vibrate against her skin. It was a sensation that connected with the small bundle of nerves at the apex of her thighs.
How was that possible?
“Well, if you’re not careful you might just upstage the bride in this sexy thing.”
Isaac’s hand ran slowly down over her hip and around to her backside.
Sidney pulled back and looked into her husband’s intense, piercing, grey eyes.
“Why, Isaac Taylor. I had no idea that weddings turned you on this way.”
“Oh, it’s not the wedding, darlin’. It’s all you. You and the way this frock is hugging your ass.”
She pushed against his chest in a mock display of mortification at his vulgarity.
He smiled and pulled her even closer. Close enough that she could feel his arousal against her thigh.
She gasped.
“You do know that we are surrounded by people and need to behave properly, right? We’re in public at the wedding of our very dear friends, and we wouldn’t want to ruin their day by giving their guests a free x-rated show before the ceremony begins.”
“Yeah, waiting until the ceremony ends would be much better.”
Isaac nodded like he was being serious, but Sidney could still see the mischief in his eyes.
“That way I can pull you into a storage closet or a bathroom stall, strip you out of this thing, and bury myself deep inside your tight warm body.”
His voice was low, the dirty words meant only for her, and Sidney’s breath hitched in her throat.
Was it hot in here?
Her formerly reserved and self-conscious husband had indeed become a naughty, dirty boy when it came to sex. Or rather, when it came to verbal sex. He was getting very good at expressing his filthy carnal desires, and she loved it.
“I don’t know about you, but that’s how I want to be ringing in the new year come midnight,” he continued.
“With me naked in a nasty bathroom stall?”
“Or in our bed at home. Whichever. As long as I’m inside you when the clock strikes twelve, I don’t care.”
“Well, we have to at least make an appearance at the reception, Ike. We can’t just cut out after the I do’s.”
“Fine. Thirty minutes at the reception. We give the happy couple our best wishes and then we are out of there and headed home to welcome the new year properly. Deal?”
“Deal.”
He kissed her lips just as the ceremony began. And Sidney began counting the minutes until she could get her sexy husband home and let him devour her.
Two hundred miles away, in the Patterson Park neighborhood of Dayton, Ohio, Simon Fairchild dragged himself out of his car and headed inside the modest brick house he called home.
He preferred renting a place of his own to living in the base housing that would’ve been the cheaper way to go. But this way, he got to leave the base at the end of each day, making it feel much more like a normal existence than being chained to a military base 24/7. He liked being stationed at Wright-Patt Air Force Base, but he didn’t want to live there.
All the way home, he debated with himself over whether or not he was going to accept Captain Hill’s invitation to join him and a few other hospital personnel at a nearby nightclub to ring in the New Year.
So far, he was leaning toward no.
It wasn’t that Simon didn’t enjoy a good party. He did. But after a full week of holiday cheer — and stress — at his sister’s place up in Cleveland, and the full week of work leading up to New Year’s Eve, he was simply kind of exhausted. He had a mind to just order some take out and watch the ball drop on TV. Or maybe even let the TV watch him while he snored.
When he walked into the house a stray thought of his sister’s cat ran through his mind.
Alfred Hitchcock.
What a name for a cat. Only Sidney would pull some downright crazy shit like naming a cat after an old movie director.
But the way that cat would run to greet Ike at the door was what sprang to Simon’s mind. His house was always so quiet and still. It made him wonder what it might be like to have a small furry creature greet him when he got home each evening.
A dog maybe.
He should get a dog. One of those couch potato types like an English Bulldog or something like that. Something mellow. Low key, low maintenance, low energy. Something he barely even had to care for. Like a cat.
Wait. What?
He shook his head and wandered back to the bedroom. His mind was obviously fried and he needed to chill.
He stripped out of his work clothes and went straight into the shower. He’d make up his mind about the evening’s activities in there.
Twenty minutes later, he’d just finished drying himself off and stepped into a pair of cotton briefs. He was trying desperately to talk himself into getting dressed and going out when his cellphone rang. He reached for it not expecting much, but when he saw the name on the screen, a jolt of electricity kickstarted his heart.
“Jamie?”
“Hi, Simon. Happy New Year.”
The smile spread slowly, starting in his chest and finally lighting up his face.
“Happy New Year to you too. This is unexpected.”
“Oh. You weren’t expecting me to call?”
“Honestly… no. I didn’t think I would hear from you.”
“Really? Why?”
“I don’t know. I just figured that I had come off like some kind of perverted creepy stalker dude at Christmas and I would never hear from you again.”
A small giggle came across the line, and Simon smiled.
“I didn’t find you perverted or creepy or stalker-like in any way.”
“No?”
“No.”
“Well, that’s good to know. I’m glad you called.”
“You are?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m not interrupting any big New Year’s Eve party plans, am I?”
“Not at all. No plans to go anywhere. What about you? You’re not partying tonight?”
“No way. Not this year.”
Simon nodded. “Yeah. It’s been a rough one for me too.”
A small comfortable silence passed between them.
“You mentioned that last week when we met. You said that you were in hiding from relationships.”
“Yeah, I did. And I am.”
“I sense a story there. Want to talk about it?”
“Are you offering me a friendly ear, Jamie?”
“That was the deal, wasn’t it? Pure, non-threatening, non-sexual friendship?”
“Yes, that was the deal.”
Simon leaned back on the bed, getting comfortable for this conversation, and a river of relief ran through him at the prospect of finally having someone he felt comfortable enough to talk to about the mess he’d made of things in Japan.
“Her name was Cassandra. Cassie. And I almost lost everything over her.”
* * *
***
Thank you for reading Mayhem & Mistletoe! If you’re enjoying reading about the ongoing romance between Isaac and Sidney, and all of their friends, keep turning the pages to read a fun and sexy snippet from book nine in the series, Heroes & Hellfire. Or CLICK HERE to download Heroes & Hellfire now!
HEROES & HELLFIRE
Book 9 Sneak Peek
The entire world vibrated around her. Or maybe it was only her body.
Sidney Taylor struggled to take a breath. To draw air into her lungs. To will her hurtling heart to slow down.
This is what he did to her.
Every. Single. Time.
It wasn’t just that her husband, Detective Isaac Taylor, was good in bed. He had a masterful command over her body. He made it do things Sidney had no clue it could do. As though he were some mysterious magician who could make her come with only the powers of his mind.
That thought brought on the giggles and she suddenly couldn’t stop.
“Really?” Isaac looked down at her with that devilish dimpled grin that always made her lose her panties. “I’m giving you some of my best moves and I get laughter? You do know what that does to a man’s ego, right?”
Sidney laughed harder before she fought to rein it in.
“I’m sorry, baby. It’s not what you think. I’m not laughing at your stellar moves.”
“No?”
“Absolutely not. That was freaking amazing and you know it.”
“Well. Thanks.” His smile was as smug as his tone. “But why the giggles?”
“I was thinking that you were some mysterious magician who could make me orgasm with only the powers of your mind. And then I pictured you wearing a wizard hat and nothing else.”
Isaac’s lips twisted into a mangled grin, and Sidney knew he was trying not to laugh.
“Was the hat hanging off my dick?”
That sent her into giggles again and he rolled over and stared at the ceiling.
Sidney audibly sighed and made herself stop laughing. “Good morning, my love.”
“Good morning, darlin’. That would be something, wouldn’t it?”
“What’s that?”
“If I could figure out how to get my telekinesis to diddle you in just the right way. Then I could command you to orgasm whenever I wanted. Now that would be a cool superpower to have. Imagine Superman flying around, making women come just by looking at ’em.”
“Some would say Henry Cavill already has that ability.”
The look Isaac gave her almost sent Sidney back into laughter convulsions, but she held it together and moved in to kiss his lips.
“I was thinking that we should do something special to celebrate our upcoming anniversary.”
Isaac laughed this time. “We’ve only been married eight months, Sid. You’re already planning for our first anniversary?”
“No, I don’t mean our first wedding anniversary.”
“Oh?”
“The anniversary of our first date is coming up. We met in person on the same day we had our first date, remember?”
