Chapter 23 Alex
It takes everything for me to stay in my seat and watch Desmond leave with Kat over his shoulder, dangled before me like a taunt. My cock strains in my pants, pants that I really might have to toss out now, but it was worth it.
The sounds she makes, the faces—everything about her is perfection. Watching her with them is sexy as fuck, but seeing her like that for me…
Words can’t properly describe the feeling.
“So,” Nathan turns his attention to Oliver and Vince, whose attention is still turned toward the hall.
It’s silly that we have to do this, that either one of them needs a ‘family meeting’ in order to admit what they want.
I’d hoped that the contract would be enough for Oli. It had been a great idea, one she offered all on her own, and while I think it helped, I see the hesitation in his eyes.
He turns to look at Nathan, and for the first time since she moved into the house, that hesitation is gone.
Vince offers Nathan a nod, and I roll my eyes. How hard is it to speak? To simply say he’s in or not, wants to be a part of this family officially.
Vince and I have never been the best of friends, but I like him well enough; he’s good at his job, a good friend to my brother, and, despite his flawed personality, good with kids.
He loves Addy and was a big help with Oli and Des when they were younger, since Nathan and I were still forced to spend long days at the office.
He’s just an asshole, but given the choice of siblings, I’d still take him over…
“By all means, move at whatever speed you think will work for you with her,” Nathan says, pulling me from my thoughts, and I tune back in.
“I just needed to ensure she wasn’t going to have her feelings hurt if either of you were to walk away.
Kat has a big heart, and it’s obvious she already has feelings for both of you, even if only just starting.
I won’t allow her to be hurt, not even by my own flesh and blood. ”
He gives them both a pointed look before he reaches for my wine bottle, snagging it by the neck, and turns to leave, walking to the glass door and out into the backyard.
Vince and Oliver seem to take that as the dismissal it is and fuck off, leaving me at the table alone with an empty glass.
I stand, making my way after Nathan and, more importantly, my alcohol.
“Asshole.” I snag the bottle off the patio table as I fall into the chair opposite him, looking out across the vast yard and garden area that apparently was a great buy, given the way Kat’s eyes lit up when she saw it.
“For a man who’s decided he wants to share one woman with four other men for the rest of his life, you're terrible at sharing, you know.” I take a swig of the bitter liquid and set it back down for him.
He gives me a tight-lipped smile that I know is as good as a middle finger before he takes the swig for himself.
“I’m going to marry her.”
His words shock me, not because of their meaning but because he’s saying them. I know he has feelings for Kat; it’s obvious, but marrying a woman has never been something he showed an interest in.
Having a family, yes, kids and a full house. It’s one of the many reasons we have one house that we raised our boys in.
Having a woman was also something he was good with, which made sharing the name of the game.
But for him to want to marry…
“You want to make her a Lawson? You think that’s a good idea?” I ask just to make double sure I’m hearing him correctly.
He looks down at the bottle before taking another swig and holding it out to me with a smile that’s so wide I’ll be shocked it doesn’t hurt the mean old bastard's face. I swipe the bottle from him and chug it down before he drinks it all.
“I think it’s the only idea. Nothing short of her being ours forever will be enough, and even then I’m not above chaining her to me if I have to.”
I nearly choke, coughing on the bitter liquid. I manage to get it down, but just barely.
“Jesus fuck,” I gasp, slamming a hand to my chest as I fight for air. “You can’t just say things like that.” I glare over at him and find he isn’t even looking at me, instead looking out at the yard, that same dopey smile on his face that I’ve honestly never seen before.
“Why not? I’m pretty sure we know a guy who can help us.”
This time, I’m gasping for air around laughter, and Nathan laughs along with me. It’s not funny exactly, but it’s a part of our past that we can look at differently now because of Kat.
“You don’t think you’ll scare her off?” I ask after we’ve both got ourselves under control and take a moment to breathe.
“If I didn’t think so, I would have asked her about a dozen different times now.” This time, the way his lips tilt up and his voice sounds as if he’s deep in thought, stuck on a memory that’s only for him.
We sit quietly for a moment before he seems to remember himself. He unbuttons his jacket and pulls a little black box from a hidden interior pocket.
I don’t need to ask to know what that is, and I’m almost positive my jaw is on the floor.
He holds it out to me, and of course, I need to see it, the ring that he deemed worthy of our future wife.
The top band is white gold with a rose gold inner band; they twine together, giving it a vintage look.
With a central princess-cut diamond that isn’t nearly big enough in my opinion, but is probably as big as he could get without her refusing it.
Smaller diamonds line the sides, getting smaller as they go, twisting and turning down the band.
The swirls on the face are set with small stones as well, making it sparkle from every angle.
It’s stunning, perfect for her, and it doesn’t even take any real effort to picture it on her finger.
Ours.
“You know she’s going to lose her mind even if you lie about how much it cost, right?” I know my brother well enough to know he spent a lot, as he should, but we all know how Kat is with money.
“I’ll just have to ensure we distract her from that.
I bought as modestly as I could, but it’s one of a kind.
She won’t know its actual value unless one of us tells her.
” He gives me a pointed look, and I hold my hands up in surrender.
I’m not going to tell her; I’m not the one with the big mouth, and he knows it.
“She needs to get over this adversity to us spending money on her because that’s never going to stop.”
“If anything, it’s only going to get worse.” I shake my head and toss him the box back. “Have you told Des yet?”
He tucks it away again and cocks a brow at me.
“You know as well as I do that if I had, he would have already said something and ruined it.” He tries to sound annoyed, but I know he’s full of shit; he’s forever been so proud of both Des and Oli.
But he’s not wrong in this case.
Des falls hard and fast, and as much as our fireball came in and blew up my life, she took him down harder. He swore Natasha was his soulmate and his forever, but I call bullshit.
What we had with her doesn’t even compare. Kat is the sun, and we’re stuck in her gravity, relying on her for life. Without her, it wouldn’t just be dark; we would fail to exist, unable to go on as we once did.
She’s our hearts now, whereas Natasha was simply a stepping stone, a necessary heartache on the road to our forever.
“Besides, I needed to know where everyone stood first.” He nods his head back toward the door as if I need a reminder of our ‘meeting,’ and I huff in annoyance. I’d just finally been able to sit comfortably, and with just that simple reminder, I’m once again hard.
I grumble and take another swig of the dwindling wine as I adjust myself.
“I’m surprised your buddy didn’t hightail it. Vince used to run from commitment faster than he ran from the cops that one time.”
Nathan huffs a laugh but doesn’t take the bait. Technically speaking, we're not supposed to talk about that incident, but we’re in another country, so he lets it slide.
“I never thought I’d see the day either, but I can’t say I blame him, can you?”
“Fuck no. You’d have to be stupid or gay to resist her, and honestly, I’m not sure being gay would be enough.”
Something about her is just so alluring. If I believed in shit like magic, I might think she bewitched us, but I know Kat well enough to know it’s just her; she’s just that amazing.
“So now what? Now we’re all on the same page. Are you going to ask her now?” I’m curious but also a little jealous; I’d thought that if we ever got to this point, it would be me who married her ‘legally.’
“No, it doesn’t feel right. Besides, it’s like you said, she isn’t ready yet, and as ready as we might be, she’s what matters.”
“Des!”
The sound of Kat’s voice pulls our attention and has us both turning toward the dining room where we’d all sat to eat not long ago.
Des walks through the room, not the least bit ashamed that he’s as naked as the day he was born, a satisfied smile on his face that lets me know he enjoyed his ‘dessert’ very much.
“Desmond!” Kat shouts, her voice a few octaves higher than usual, and I’m guessing that’s because she’s also stark naked, once again slung over his shoulder like he’s a caveman.
“Put me down right now! What if someone sees us?” She pounds on his back, but he doesn’t seem the least bit concerned.
Instead, he reaches up and smacks a hand to her ass, making the soft skin jiggle as he walks right out the door to stand not ten feet from us.
“The only people who can see us back here are people we let on the property, which right now only consists of the six of us.”
With a smile, Des heads past us, and I don’t need to ask to know where he’s going.
On the other side of the garden and small hedge maze sits a large hot tub that we don’t often use, but it came with the property, and I have to say I’m happy it did now.
Kat’s face is already red, maybe from embarrassment, maybe from struggling against Des, but the second he passes us and she can see us, her whole body seems to be on a mission to match.
How any man could not fall in love with her astonishes me.
How Carter didn’t see the perfection he was given I’ll never understand, but I’ll forever be thankful for his blindness.
“Oh my god, Des,” Kat hisses, hiding behind her hands and making me chuckle.
“What? You said you wanted to clean up.”
“In the shower! I wanted to shower, Des, not take a stroll around the garden, naked and sticky for everyone to see.”
Clearly, Kat hadn’t seen the hot tub yet. I’m sure she’s going to love more of our ‘rich people shit,’ as she’s come to call it.
“If she wanted to get clean, you definitely brought her to the wrong place, Des,” I say, pushing to stand, my cock so painfully hard I couldn't resist her if I tried.
Good thing I’m pretty sure this is an open invitation.
She peeks at me through her fingers as I follow after them, and even with just that little bit of her eye visible, I can see the lust that swirls in it.
We found Kat by accident, but I won’t allow her to slip through our fingers again. I don’t care who marries her; she’s mine, and I’m never letting her go.
I’ve never craved happiness and life the way I do with her. I’d lived, I’d survived, but things changed after what happened all those years ago. I thought I was broken. I loved my son, my nephew and niece, but the passion and drive for life weren’t what they used to be.
I hated that I let that bastard win, that he had some invisible upper hand, even if he didn't know it. I thought that was all life would ever be, but I see it differently now. With her, I see clearly for the first time in over twenty years.
Des lifts her off his shoulder, and she lets out an adorable little squeal that melts into a moan as he lowers her into the water.
“A hot tub, I should have known you had a hot tub,” she mumbles as she sinks down low enough that her mouth is under the water, too. I chuckle at her as I strip off my clothes. Nathan does the same, and I curse Des and his already naked ass.
And as we spend the next few hours alternating between fucking her and relaxing in the hot tub, I’m damn happy it’s here. This might just be my new favorite place to fuck her, other than the pool house, of course.