Breathless

Four games of charades later, the twins' competitive natures were kicking in. Adam was leaning forward, seated between the two boys on the couch, laughing and yelling out ridiculous guesses. Noah was standing in front of the living room window with the sun setting behind him as he did his best to pantomime steering a boat.

While Mimi was enjoying the chaos from the love seat, her father sat down next to her and placed a hot cup of tea in front of her. Chamomile, her favorite. The men in the family made the best tea. The aroma of an herb garden in spring tickled her nose as she lifted her blue mug. With a wide grin, Adam flashed her a wink, and offered another implausible answer, "Thomas the Train!"

With a stomp of his foot, Noah put his hands on his hips and said, "You guys aren't even trying."

Leaning close, her father whispered, "He smiles at you with tenderness." The rest of the family was caught up in the game, yelling silly answers at Noah, who was enjoying holding court.

Considering what to say, Mimi blew across the top of her tea, causing the surface to ripple. "What do you think that means?"

"There is fondness there. Attraction. When you aren't looking, his eyes follow you. Your grandpa used to growl at me for doing the same thing with your mother before we were married."

"I thought grandpa liked you?"

"He did... after your sister was born."

"Do you like him?"

"I don't know, Adam, yet. It's too soon. Seeing you happy makes me hopeful. I'd feel better if his family was here with him."

"I should have brought his sister."

"Next time."

"And her gap tooth boyfriend. You can scowl at him if you like."

"I'd be happy to oblige." When he clinked his mug against hers, she accepted the gesture as being as close to an open expression of acceptance as she was going to get.

***

Under the starlight, Mimi and Adam walked down the familiar path to her trailer, hand in hand. Bumping his arm with her shoulder, Mimi said, "We survived it."

"I liked them. Your family is very loving." He squeezed her fingers. "I'm a little jealous, honestly. When my family gets together, lawyers are present, and the evening doesn't end in games and dessert."

"Not even at Christmas?"

"Maybe at my aunt's house, if she is in the country."

Sparkling stars blanketed the sky above them. With every step, she grew more aware of his wide, solid body walking next to her. There was an intimacy in being alone with him. When his thumb caressed the back of her hand, memories of his calloused fingers between her thighs caused her to shiver.

"Are you getting cold, cupcake?" He let go of her hand and shrugged out of his jacket. When he settled its warmth around her, his scent wrapped her in longing.

Grasping the jacket edges together, she didn't draw away when he looped an arm around her and settled a possessive hand at her waist. He guided them toward the porch. Mimi said, "Won't you be cold?"

"Not next to you, princess."

Mimi looked over her shoulder down the road, watching for shadowing brothers.

With a low grumble, he said, "I imagine your father will be waiting for my truck to pass his house."

Nodding, she stepped up the stairs to her porch. "He will."

Tingling spread across her back, as she felt him close behind her as she drew her keys from her pocket. He leaned down and whispered just behind her ear, "I guess I shouldn't hesitate if I want to touch you."

Turning to face him, she rested her shoulders against her front door, slipping her key back into her pocket. With his arms braced on either side of her, she stood sheltered by the bulk of his body as he asked, "Do you want to be touched?"

Thighs squeezing together, she couldn't see beyond him, only his broad chest was visible, his handsome face. "I can't let you in. They might check."

He dampened his lips, eyes darkening. With a voice as warm as caramel, he said, "Take your panties off."

"On the porch?" she squeaked.

"Would you rather I lay you down in the pine straw?" He pressed a kiss to her temple.

"No."

Forehead resting against hers, his body big and looming, he said, "No, sir."

There was no hiding the shudder that moved through her as her nipples tightened into peaks. "No, Sir," she whispered.

"Draw up your dress and bare yourself to me. Should I make it easier? I can strip you naked myself on your front porch. Moonlight would suit you."

Breathless, her fingers fumbled as she drew up the fabric of her dress and hooked her thumbs in her panties. "Someone might see, Adam."

"I will shelter you from sight."

Throat hot, and heart pounding, she pushed her panties down her thighs, the cotton rolling onto itself as she bared herself to the cool air.

Fingers lifting to his mouth, he said, "Part your legs, and hold your dress up. I love the soft curve of your belly and your lush thighs."

She closed her eyes and turned her face to the side as he lowered his glistening fingers. Vibrating, pressed back against the door, she held her breath, waiting for his touch.

"Do you want this? I want to hear you say it."

Releasing her held breath, she gasped, "Yes, Daddy."

Adam groaned as his hand slid between her legs. "You are so wet. God's woman. I want to make you come."

Unable to stop herself, she rocked into his touch. Wanting. Reaching. As he cupped her with his hand, she ground herself against the heel of his palm. He growled against her ear, "If only we had more time. The things I would do to you." He pressed her back into the door, letting her feel his weight and strength as his fingertips slid along the shapes of her. She cried out, and the back of her head hit the door when he stroked across her clit, in sweeping circles that caused goose bumps to rise in a riot all across her body.

Gripping his arms, she clung to him. His mouth tasted her neck, her jaw. Silencing her cries with a kiss, his mouth was bruising and full of need. Mimi melted into him. Body molten, she gave into the kiss and the hot sweep of his tongue. Her body thrummed with want as pleasure coiling within her.

Arching and twisting in his arms, she lifted up onto her toes, straining for the glittering promise her body offered her. He broke the kiss and bit her throat, her shoulder, pinning her hard to the door, but his fingers, oh his fingers, kept swirling. His free hand clamped over her mouth, cutting short the cry that erupted as her orgasm hit her.

Wild, she writhed, pinned between him and the wood of the door, with the sound of her need and pleasure muffled. Jerking hard in his arms, waves took her body, shaking her like a rag doll. When the force of it receded, he was the only thing that held her standing. Her knees were boneless. She was an unstrung marionette. When he slid two fingers into her, she went rigid with surprise and bit down on his palm.

"One more, baby girl," he growled. Her body sang as he stroked her with his fingers. She wanted that. She wanted him inside her. His thumb slid against the side of her clit, driving her body toward another orgasm. Shivering, giving over to the most animal part of herself, she fucked herself into his hand, hips shifting with need. She bit down hard on his palm when pleasure overtook her and shook her like a rag doll. Adam grunted with pain. Panting, pinned, she focused on the power of his body and the unsteadiness of his breathing. He wanted her, badly.

The sound he made when he drew his hand away and eased back from her was animal and filled with longing. "If we were anywhere else, I would turn you around, rip that pretty dress from your body, and fuck you bent over the deck rail until you begged me to stop." When she slid her thighs against each other, her panties slid to her ankles. When he looked down at them, a crooked grin settled on his lips. "I'm so looking forward to the next lesson." The way he was looking at her opened her senses and turned her body into honey. Wetness dripped down her thighs. "Step out of your panties and turn around."

Trembling, she turned to face the door.

"Put your key in the lock and turn it."

Her key skipped against the lock and slid in. In the quiet of the night, the turn of the bolt was loud in her ears. Adam reached past her, turned the knob, and opened the door. Stumbling forward a step, Mimi looked back at him. Grinning, he bent down and claimed her panties from the wooden deck. As he shoved them into his pocket, he took a step backward. "Goodnight, Mimi."

Swaying and unsteady, she watched him step backward down the stairs, her heartbeat in her ears. When she took a half step toward him, the smile he gave her was predatory. Watching her face, he slid his fingers into his mouth and smiled with pleasure at her taste, before turning from her and heading to his truck.

***

After work, Mimi stopped by her folk's place on her way home. The house was empty, but she could hear Noah in the backyard yelling instructions to the billy goat. Their mother was probably in the chicken coop gathering eggs. Mimi headed down the back stairs and followed the path to the sheltered chicken yard and the freshly painted coop. When she saw her mother, with her hand under a fluffy red hen, Mimi asked, "Did you switch jobs with Noah? Is he handling the family finances now?"

Her mother shooed her to the side, opened the next nesting box, and reached in for a speckled egg. "He forgot. Noah has been out staring at the lambs all afternoon. He is certain that he can predict the next one to deliver."

"Did Muffet lamb last night?"

"Yup, right after you left, her labor kicked into gear. Noah snuck out and slept in the barn so he wouldn't miss a thing. I found him curled up in the hay this morning."

"That must have been adorable."

As her mother placed two brown eggs into the basket, she said, "It was. Almost made me want another one."

"Aren't we enough?"

Her mother compressed her smile and arched one brow. "Yesterday it seemed plenty. Are you serious about his young man?"

"I am. That is why I'm here. I have a favor to ask."

"We aren't loaning you any money."

"When do I ever ask you for money?"

"When you were twelve and wanted to buy a planet."

"It was a star, and I wanted it to be named after me." Mimi stepped down the line of nesting boxes and opened the latch on one and exposed a single egg. "I still have the certificate for the star I'm named for. That was a wonderful birthday."

"And what do you need right now, Mimi May?"

"How would you feel about letting us get married in your backyard next Sunday after church?"

Her mother fumbled an egg, dropping it to the ground where it burst. With a mumbled curse, she kicked dirt over the mess so the hens wouldn't eat the contents and get a taste for their own eggs. Balancing the laden basket on her hip, she reached out and placed her hand on Mimi's stomach. "You sure you don't have something else to tell me? We won't be mad. You are grown."

Mimi shifted back from her mother's touch. "I'm not pregnant. I can't get pregnant, remember?"

With a snort, her mother looked her over as if she was deciding if she was telling her the truth or not. "Not every bull can get every heifer pregnant. I have heard nothing about your ex remarrying or having kids."

Ignoring her mother's comments, Mimi said, "Adam wants to go to the justice of the peace tomorrow. Then Sunday, we can say promises in front of the family and a few of his work guys."

"Is that what you want? And I suppose you expect me to feed these people."

Mimi hadn't thought about that. "No, Mam. We are going to order a cake from Mega Mart." She bit her lip. "Would you make some punch?"

Her mother huffed in disapproval. "Can I get you to change your mind, or slow down this train? You hardly know this man."

"No, mam. I knew Wade for half my life and look how that turned out."

"I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. It's harder for a woman to be chaste after she has been married. Waiting becomes a difficult experience."

"We haven't..." Heat bloomed in Mimi's cheeks. "He has kissed me."

"I hope you felt more sparks this time."

"I did. This time, I liked it."

Her mother shooed away a curious hen. "Well, that is a good thing. Is your chastity the reason he is rushing into this?"

"Would it make you mad if I said yes?"

"No." When Mimi grinned at her mother's answer, the woman asked, "Does he make you laugh?"

"He does."

"That is as important as his kisses, making your heart flutter." She shook her head, brow furrowing. "Have you met his people?"

"So far, I've only met his little sister. He is taking care of her while his mom is away."

"That's promising. Not all brothers would do that. Let me talk to your father. It would be a shame not to celebrate." Heavy with eggs, she cradled the basket with both hands. "Will his folks be there Sunday?"

"His mom is getting some medical treatment that will keep her away. Adam and his dad have a complicated situation. His sister will be there, though."

"When are you going before the judge?"

"Adam wants to go tomorrow during our lunch hour."

"You're not taking the day off?"

"No mam, I have a volunteer group coming late tomorrow afternoon."

"On your wedding day?" With a shake of her head, she asked, "About what time are you going to need witnesses?"

"Do you want to be there?"

"I don't see why not. The twins can watch Noah." Pressing the basket into Mimi's arms, she said, "Come on in for dinner. We can plan for Sunday."

"I'd like that. Are the twins cooking dinner?"

"Yup. I hope you are feeling brave. They have had a taco obsession lately."

"I like tacos." Side by side, they walked up the slope to the house.

"Mimi, how did this man talk you into getting married in a courthouse?"

"He supports my dreams. We have permission from the Millers to work on the farmhouse while we get the sale paperwork in order. Tonight, he is coming over to help me pull down cabinets."