STORY EXCERPT

“You have an older sister?” Wyatt wondered just how much older this one was. Maybe a year or so if they were like his family. Fourteen kids with sometimes just a year from one child to the next was how his parents did it.

“Yes, sir. Lizabeth is actually our half sister. Her biological father was killed while in the Marines. Our dad was his best friend.”

Hell, what was he supposed to say to that? Wyatt nodded, hoping that he could get out of here as soon as possible.

Until the ladies in question walked onto the deck. The younger two looked to be in their late teens, maybe early twenties. One had black hair while the other hand silky blonde-looking hair. They were both pretty, but they weren’t what was catching his attention.

The slightly older reddish-brown-haired beauty was the one that caught his eye. As he stared at her, he noticed her sparking violet eyes framed by the longest reddish-brown lashes he’d ever seen. She had a body that Marilyn Monroe would have envied, lush and outlined in a black-and-purple maxi-dress that clung to her in all the right places.

It was one of the few times in the last six years that he’d been able to want another woman. He waited for the immediate feelings of guilt to take over, but they were absent this time.

His thoughts were interrupted as Antonio called his sisters over. “This is our new neighbor, Wyatt. Wyatt, these are my sisters Liz”—he pointed to the beauty that kept him in awe—“my younger sister, Adriana, and the baby of the family, Silke.”

“It’s a pleasure meeting you.” Wyatt made his rounds, shaking hands, but probably held Liz’s hand a little longer than necessary. Where he’d expected soft and manicured, he found them a little callused. Long fingers had been capped with short, manicured nails.

“It’s nice to meet you, too.” She flashed him a toothpaste smile. “Has my brother roped you into attending tonight’s festivities?”

“Sis, I have never in my life roped a man. Now, I have been known to rope a woman a time or two.”

“I don’t want to know about that, Tony!” Red rushed to cut her brother off.

“But, schwester, I’ve seen the kinds of books you read. You like bondage and handcuffs!” While the younger ladies giggled, Liz’s cheeks began to turn a fiery red.

“I don’t want to think of my baby brother, whose diapers I helped to change, having sex.” She glared at the younger man before turning her attention to Wyatt. “Please forgive my hermano. The fool has no manners at all.”

“Not a problem. So, why are you speaking Spanish and whatever else that was?” Wyatt asked out of curiosity.

“Our mother is German. She taught us to speak it. Papi is from Mexico—he taught all of us to speak Spanish as well.” The blonde-haired beauty, Adriana, replied softly. Her eyes were a dark chocolate brown like two of her siblings. “I hope their immature arguing hasn’t scared you off.”

For a second, maybe two, Wyatt contemplated the possibility that the younger woman was actually flirting with him, then tossed the idea out. “I have a big family myself. I’m used to it.” He smiled gently.

“Your wife, is she coming tonight, too?” the petite, raven-haired Silke asked him.

Wyatt stiffened involuntarily. Just when he thought that the memories were at rest, they returned with just a helpless little comment like that. “My wife died six years ago.”

“Dammit, Silke, when are you going to stop putting your foot in your mouth like that? Holy shit!” Tony burst out. “Man, we’re sorry!”

“Apologize to her, you ass! Just because you think you can dominate your women, it doesn’t mean you can treat your sisters in the same fashion!” Liz, all five foot nine of her, looked ready to do battle on Silke’s behalf.

“She didn’t know. It’s okay,” Wyatt interjected. “I’m sorry for creating a scene.”

“You didn’t. Tony, however, knows how his papi would be ready to beat his little ass for treating the niña in that fashion,” a tall, darkly handsome older gentleman stated from behind them. He, along with a silvery blonde, stood arm and arm as a united front. “We’re sorry that our children have disgraced us with their behavior, mister…?”

Wyatt held out his hand. “Wyatt Wentworth. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” As they shook hands, Wyatt wondered if he’d finally met a family that was just as chaotic and crazy as his own.

“I’m Antonio Rosales. This is my wife, Rosalyn. And please, do not let the behavior of my family cause you to think we’re crazy. We’re not. They, on the other hand, I’m not so sure of.”

“Antonio!” Rosalyn nudged her husband. “You’re gonna give this kind young man the wrong impression of us.”

Young man? Oh hell, no. Wyatt didn’t like the term, but let it go. There was no need into getting into a politeness contest. “Ma’am, I am the youngest of fourteen children. All boys except for the oldest. I’m sure y’all don’t have anything on us.” He flashed her a lopsided grin.

“Such a big family! I wanted more, but Antonio said four was enough.”

“I think Papi was afraid he’d have more girls,” Liz interjected quickly.

“Damn straight. These three hijas were driving me crazy. I couldn’t take any more!” Antonio laughed along with his wife.

“Congratulations, some little birdies told me that it was your anniversary today.”

“Gracias! Please, join us for our party? It is only a few friends and family. You could get to know us in a better context.”

“I wouldn’t want to intrude…” Wyatt lied. He was more than willing to stay, if he could get to know the auburn beauty before him. Then again, with his ugly mug, he wasn’t sure she was going to be interested in getting to know him anyway.

“Don’t be crazy,” Liz stated as she walked up beside him. Her warm fingers enclosed his forearm. “I’ll protect you.”

For the second time in his life, Wyatt thought he’d died and gone to heaven.

ADULT EXCERPT

“Uh, uh, keep those sexy thighs spread for me. I love your frilly little thong, by the way. Where did you get it?”

“Elise’s Boutique, I think. Why?”

“I needed to know”—she felt the thin strap on her right hip pop—“where to find you a replacement pair.” He tugged at the other side, rendering the lacy thong useless. “That’s so much better.” As his hand stroked down her face , he gently let it slide down her neck before caressing her breasts.

“If you’d have asked, I would have taken it off.” She tried to keep her voice lighthearted, but here she was naked, and he was standing there in his clothes. She didn’t have a low self-esteem by any means. So what was the issue?

“I guess I should let you in on a secret. I don’t like to ask for permission.”

She wet her lips nervously, suddenly feeling out of her element. He suddenly seemed so much more sophisticated than he’d led her to believe yesterday. She looked wildly up at him, not sure of where he was taking this, but sure that she didn’t want to make it stop—not yet, anyway. “Good to know, Wyatt.”

“I can’t wait much longer,” he mumbled as he brushed a stray red tendril behind her ear.

“Wait for what?”

“This.” She had expected a rush of passion, instead his lips barely brushed over hers before lifting up. They returned a second later to skim across hers. He repeated the process until she was sure that his only intention was to tease her.

She moved her hands from behind her back so that her fingers could tangle in his shaggy head of hair. The thick, black strands were cool to her overheated flesh. “Quit teasing me dammit,” she demanded as she tried to pull him closer.

It was as if he didn’t even hear her. He sucked her lower lip between his and released it only to do the same thing to her upper one. Frustration welled up inside of her. She’d never had a man take this long to kiss her.

Most of the men she had been with were so rushed that she didn’t even get a chance to enjoy the experience, if they did it at all. She’d even dated one guy that had claimed he didn’t kiss because he was Native American. And while genetics were a funny thing, she couldn’t get the image of the French-speaking, blond-haired, blue-eyed man to coincide with that of a Native American.

Maneuvering him around until she had his knees at the sofa, she gently but firmly pushed him down onto the cushion. “You’ve got to quit teasing me!” she demanded with a pout. “I can’t take it!”

His black eyes were sizzling as he spoke to her. “You’ll take everything I dish out and like it.” She watched him look down her body, seeing her pussy spread above his lap. She watched as a blush stained his cheeks.

“I want to feel you in me, Wyatt. I need your tongue inside me. I want to taste you again.”

His big hands moved around her, settling on her hips. “I’ll give you what you need, but in my time. Some things don’t need to be rushed, but should be worked into.”

“Before…”

“It wasn’t me before. You were tapping at cage that held my inner beast and stirred him up. Now, you have to face the consequences.”

“Ha! I’m sure any woman would get you going.”

“No, not all women are looking for a man that wants to take control, or claims that they do”—he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear—“but judging by the way that you shoved me down, I’m not really so sure that you do.”

“That is just the biggest line of shit I’ve ever heard!” Well, she might mentally concede that she was impatient, but hell, he was taking forever.

“Put your hands on your thighs. If you move them again, I’ll have to restrain you.”

Before she could stop herself, she got to giggling. As he glared at her, she tried to catch her breath long enough to explain. “You don’t have any!”

“Any what, baby?” He glared down at her.

“Any handcuffs! How are you going”—she straightened her face up to give him the same glare that he was giving her—“to restrain me without cuffs?” Her laughter filled the room. She was so caught up in her merriment that she didn’t feel his hands working between them, but her laughter quieted immediately as he used his belt to bind her hands together behind her back. “What?”

He laughed, but there didn’t seem to be a lot of amusement in it. “Didn’t you know that there are different kinds of restraints, Lizabeth? Not all have to do be done with handcuffs and Velcro.”

“What are you going to do to me?” she asked as she wiggled against him. She could feel the textured material of his slacks against her bare flesh, and hoped that she wasn’t getting his pants wet.

“Don’t you know, like this, I can do anything I want to.” His hands lightly traced over her flesh, cupping her breasts in his big hands. “And there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it.” He stroked her swollen flesh from her chest to the tips of her breasts. He used his fingers to pluck at them, stretching the sensitive points gently before releasing them and beginning again.

He had her rocking against him, her back arched so that he had easier access to her chest. “Wyatt, I need more. Please.”

“But they are so lovely like this. I think I could spend hours just playing with your breasts. I think, though, that I need to taste them.” Leaning down, he let his tongue trace over one tip, then flicked it back and forth over the very hard little point. He blew across it before sucking the swollen nub into his mouth.

She cried out, her body tensing as she did her best to get closer to his caress. She watched him as he suckled. His long, black lashes heavy against his cheeks. She could feel his teeth working her flesh and short-circuiting her clit. He kept her nipple between his pearly white teeth as he tugged on her flesh.

“Do you like that, baby?” he asked, but he didn’t wait to hear her respond. Wyatt slid his fingers down her body until they were resting against her pussy.