Hold Me Fast (McCullough Mountain Book 7)

  “And you think that’s going to work?”

  “I also promised them ice cream.”

  She laughed again. “Fine job of manipulating.”

  He shrugged. “It’s parenting at it’s finest.” He stripped off his shirt and toed off his boots.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Having sex with my wife.”

  She frowned. “Finn—”

  Before she could make up another excuse, he came to stand behind her and carefully loosened the towel. Reflexively, she sucked in her stomach and sat a little straighter. Her hands slowly snaked over her belly, veiling her softer parts.

  “I need you, Philly.” The towel fell to the floor and he brushed her damp hair over her shoulder, leaning down to kiss the sensitive curve of her shoulder.

  The moment his mouth touched her, everything inside of her tightened. It never grew old, the effect he had on her. She sighed as he turned her face and his tongue stole across her lips and the kiss deepened, his hand sliding behind her ear and drawing her closer.

  She twisted on the vanity chair and wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and he moaned. The soft clink of his belt buckle sounded as it came undone, followed by the slow zip of his zipper.

  Fingers traced her breasts and pulled at her hardening nipples as he deepened the kiss. His hand found hers and guided it to his cock, where he held her fingers tight around his flesh, stroking slowly within his snug grip.

  Her thighs clenched as pressure built. Heat coiled low in her belly and suddenly her body was begging for his, deprived for far too long. Breaking the kiss, she grabbed his hip and turned him toward her body. Nudging his hand away, she captured his erection in her mouth and he hissed, his fingers gripping her damp hair and guiding her over his length.

  As much as she wanted to relish the experience, tease and torture him with her mouth, it was only a matter of time before someone called “Mom”. She worked quickly, which seemed to work just fine for him. His hips bucked as her mouth tightened and pulled over his flesh. His heavy breathing echoed through the room.

  She could tell when he was close by the way his motions became jerky. With a fast tug, he ripped his cock from her mouth and planted a deep kiss on her lips. She squeaked as he lifted her off the stool and tossed her on the bed. “On your back, Philly.”

  She grinned as he grabbed her ankles and dragged her to the edge of the bed, wrenching her thighs apart and dragging the heat of his arousal through her folds. He thrust and they both sighed, recalling the once familiar pleasure as he sunk deep.

  “We go too long without this, Mallory. I need you more than a few times a month.”

  She sighed, agreeing with him, but also trying not to think and ruin the moment. Her eyes closed as she focused on the satisfying weight of his body on hers, his thickness stretching her pulsing channel. “Harder, Finn.”

  His hips snapped forward as he quickly thrust in and out of her, the bed creaking noisily as she silenced her moans that desperately wanted to be screams. His sharp breath sawed through the air as he cupped her breasts, his mouth tightening around her nipple.

  Her breasts had become so sensitive after having children and sometimes they were enough to make her come, but not in times like this. With only a few moments to spare, there would be no time to coax or stimulate any earth shattering orgasms.

  Her husband had the talent to make her speak in tongues when he wanted, but anymore they were lucky to simply have sex. She was fine with the situation, or so she told herself.

  He released her breasts and reared up, his hips thrusting faster. Her eyes closed as she let herself get lost for a few seconds, tasting the faint hint of an elusive orgasm they didn’t have time to find. He stilled, his body pulsing inside of her as his release filled her.

  His shoulders jerked as a chill chased over his skin and he grinned. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  Bending down, he kissed her. “Did you come?”

  “No, but that’s okay.”

  He frowned. “No it’s not. We can do more.”

  He reached for her and she caught his arm. “No, Finn, it’s fine. The kids are going to—”

  There was a knock at the door. “Momma? I’na come in.” The doorknob jiggled as Gianna continued to knock.

  Finn sighed. “Tonight?”

  She smiled, but knew in her heart that wouldn’t happen, no matter how much he wanted it to or how much coffee she had. Life always managed to get in the way. “Okay.”

  He kissed her and quickly climbed off the bed, finding his pants. She was handed the towel as their daughter continued to pound on the door. “Whatchya doin’ in there? Do you have cookies?”

  “We’ll be out in a minute, princess,” Finn called, buckling his belt and shoving his arms through his shirt.

  She paused and stared at him, always taken aback by the surreal truth that he was hers. He caught her watching him and her cheeks heated. He was so cute with his tousled hair and five o’clock shadow. The fact that he was an amazing father only added to his appeal.

  He sent her another heart-stopping grin and swaggered over to her. His palm grabbed a handful of her ass through the towel and pulled her close as his lips sealed to hers. “I’ll see you tonight, Mrs. McCullough.”

  Despite the improbability, she let herself fall into the trap of believing they’d actually be back there in a few hours, libidos still raring to go. “It’s a date.”

  His mouth closed over hers in a promising kiss that left her frazzled and needy. He gave her butt one last squeeze, growled, and answered the door.

  Unfortunately, they never finished what they’d started. By the time they had everyone in bed and the kitchen cleaned up from dinner, it was ten o’clock. Mallory was good until about ten fifteen. She’d done as she promised and had coffee after dinner—a good thing she did—because as it turned out she was up way past her bedtime. However, that had nothing to do with her husband.

  As soon as they made it to their own bed, Declan knocked on their door to inform them that Lachlan was puking. The following hours were a delightful cycle of changing bed sheets, hosing off half sleeping, grumpy Lachlan as he continued to get sick, Gianna—the reporter—waking up to see what all the hullabaloo was about, and then Declan picking up whatever bug his twin brother had. Chances were they’d all be puking by tomorrow evening.

  Mallory didn’t mind that their sex life had changed. That was what parenting did to married couples. It was exhausting and rewarding and all a part of the beauty of having a family.

  By Friday, Finn was the only one that escaped the stomach bug. The kids were all recovered and Mallory had only suffered a short stint of the virus, but it was enough to miss a day of work and fall behind on her weekly chores. Playing catch up only exhausted her more, which was just the way things rolled.

  Finn would find time again for them sometime in the next week or so. Typically, she’d be calculating her cycle and timing conception with her summers off, but with the way things were going there wasn’t a chance. As it turned out, having three children was the best birth control she’d ever used, not because they made her dislike children, but because they exhausted her and scheduling sex had a way of fizzling her natural drive.

  The energy she used to apply to seducing her husband was now solely devoted to kiddie crafts, games of hide and go seek, and wrestling the kids into the tub at the end of the day.

  One day she’d find her sex drive again. There was only fifteen years until Gianna went to college…so there was a light somewhere at the end of the tunnel. At least she hoped.

  Chapter Twelve

  Grabbing the last bag of groceries, Maureen hefted the sack of potatoes onto her hip and shut the tailgate, following Colleen into the house. “So you see, I’ll be busy at the gym getting ready for my big day.”

  “Of course you will, dear.”

  “I will. I tried a bunch of fancy machines and I’m sorer than a wet nurse’s nipple in a room
full of newborns. That Mallory, she sure enjoys it there. And I can see why. The men, Colleen! They’re all glistening with sweat and bulgin’ in places I wasn’t sure a man could bulge. You’d blush if you saw them skippin’ about in their tight shorts, nipples all pressed against their sweat dampened tank tops.”

  “Jesus, Maureen, were you gawkin’ the whole time you were there? Those men have to be half your age.”

  “My body may be old, but my eyes are just fine, Colleen. Nothing wrong with lookin’. Mallory sure does.”

  Her sister arched her brow. “Really? What do you mean by that?”

  Unloading the groceries, Maureen pretended she wasn’t concerned when in truth the way that man spoke to her son’s bride had been bothering her for days. “Oh, nothing. Just something I thought I saw.”

  Her sister stood and changed the filter of the coffee kettle. “Bullshit. What did you see?”

  Maureen took a steak knife and cut open the netted bag of onions and dumped them into the onion bin in the corner of the kitchen. “Oh, all right.” She tossed the netting away and went about making lunch for her mother who sat quietly at the table.

  “Just as we were readying to leave, this man said she was lookin’ fine and there was a gleam in his eye, you know the one.”

  Colleen frowned. “Well, Mallory is looking really good—thinner than necessary if you ask me, but she’s lost all her pregnancy weight. The poor girl seems to constantly be struggling. I see her runnin’ all over the place like a fugitive.” She snickered. “Paulie calls her Forrest Gump.”

  “That’s terrible.”

  Colleen shrugged. “So what did Mallory say back to him?”

  “That’s the upsetting part. She turned and smiled and said he was lookin’ fine too.”

  “Well, you said yourself the men there are handsome.”

  “Aye, but Mallory…she doesn’t know what she has. I can’t quite explain it. We all have some demons to deal with, but that girl…she’ll never see her worth. Poor thing. I know she’s waitin’ on Finnegan to put another baby in her belly, but she sure acts like it’s the last thing she wants. She’s hurtin’ and that’s a dangerous time to go givin’ and acceptin’ compliments. She’s vulnerable and can’t go about smiling at this man and that. She’s married!”

  “Maureen, she’s madly in love with your son. You’re being ridiculous.”

  “Am I? You said yourself she’s looking wonderful and you aren’t the first to take notice.” She shook her head. “I told Finnegan.”

  “What? Why would you do that?” Her sister carried the plate over to their mother and quartered the sandwich. “Mum, it’s time to eat,” she shouted as she wrapped her fingers around a small bite.

  “He should know. Shame on him for not being there when other men are paying his wife compliments.”

  Colleen frowned. “Wasn’t he with the kids?”

  “Yes, but they need to get a sitter. They have Frank, you, Rosemarie, all the kids, and me, and even Skylar and Hannah are big enough to babysit now. The two of them don’t spend enough time together. I think it’s an Italian thing, like she needs to do everything herself. That’s just crap. What the bloody hell does she think family is for?”

  “Maybe she doesn’t think she needs help. Three kids aren’t the same as seven.”

  “Mallory will never have a fourth at this rate.”

  “Maybe she doesn’t want one.”

  “Pish. Finnegan wants more children. I know my boy. And she wants one too. Sammy told me. They just aren’t findin’ the time to make them.”

  Colleen chuckled. “You better keep that bit of wisdom to yourself. There’s plenty of time for more. Right now, let them figure out how to be a family of five. What the hell possessed them to get a dog?”

  “Finnegan said the kids wanted one.”

  Maureen carried an enormous bowl to the table and Colleen grabbed the sack of potatoes. They sat beside their mother and started to peel.

  “Where the hell is Rosemarie? She knows we’re doing this,” Colleen griped.

  “Stop your bitchin’. She’ll be here. She can do the choppin’. My carpal tunnel can’t take it anymore.”

  “I hear that. So what did Finnegan say?”

  “He laughed at me and blew it off, but I know I struck a nerve.”

  “And you’re proud of this?”

  Maureen tossed a peeled potato into the bowl and grabbed another from the sack. She shrugged. “I love Mallory.”

  “No one said you didn’t.”

  “But I really love her, Colleen. My heart breaks for her sometimes and as incredible as it is that my son loves her unconditionally, no matter if she’s big, small, pregnant, or broken out in hives, he has a habit of getting a bit too comfortable with things. He did it with Erin and I worry he’s doing it with Mallory.”

  “Erin was a twat.”

  “True, but Finn was her boyfriend and he wasted a great deal of their time overlooking her. He should know better than to overlook his own beautiful wife.”

  Her sister grabbed another potato and Maureen picked up the one she just finished, correcting the spots she’d missed. Colleen rolled her eyes. “Don’t fix my work. And as far as Finn and Mallory go, you’re starting trouble they don’t need. Leave them be and go bother someone else.”

  Maureen kept her mouth shut. Her sister might be right. Maybe she was meddling, but Finnegan was a fool. Would it kill him to dote on his wife now and then? She knew better than anyone what having a large family did to romance. Her son better start paying his wife more attention, before someone else did.

  “An Irishman could be as temperate as a saint, but mess with his wife and the devil will be on you,” Maureen mumbled.

  “I suppose that’s true. I wouldn’t know being married to an Italian.”

  The door opened and Rosemarie stepped in. “Well, it’s about bloody time,” Maureen greeted and scooted over so her sister could join them.

  “Shut your hole. I was taking the liquor list to Kelly for the party.”

  “Did you order enough whiskey?”

  “Do ya think my brains fell out? This ain’t my first rodeo. Colleen, you’re missin’ half the skins.”

  “My potatoes are just fuckin’ fine. Don’t come in here late and start barkin’ criticisms.”

  Rosemarie shook her head and grabbed a peeler from the table. “Kelly says he’ll look over the order and compare it to the guest list. He knows what everyone drinks.”

  Maureen smiled. “Was Nate with him?”

  “At the pub? For heaven’s sake, no. Kelly said he was at the market with Ashlynn. He was heading there soon.”

  “I’m supposed to be watching the little cherub tonight, is why I was wondering. If he was with Kelly I’d fix him lunch for when he dropped him off.”

  Rosemarie chuckled. “And you don’t feed Ashlynn?”

  “She eats rabbit food. I never know what to make her.”

  Colleen frowned. “I don’t know what you feed the rabbits this side of the mountain, but she stopped by to visit Italian Mary last night and the old woman was stuffing Ashlynn full of ziti and sausage.”

  “Really?” Maureen frowned. “Maybe it’s just my cooking.” She paused and the three of them cackled like witches. “That can’t be right!”

  The door opened. “Well, speak of the devil! Come here, my little cherub!” Maureen tossed the potato and peeler onto the cutting board and held out her arms as Nate barreled into them. She kissed his dark hair. “Are you going to help Mum-mum cook in the kitchen today?”

  “Can we make brownies?”

  “Hmm, I think we could probably do that.”

  Nate giggled and ran to Kelly and Ashlynn who were just making their way into the house. “We’re making brownies!”

  “Well, save some for us,” Kelly demanded and pinched his son’s dimpled grin.

  Ashlynn came right over to the table and started peeling after saying a quick hello to everyone. Kelly went to his grandmother and ki
ssed her cheek. “Hello, beautiful. How are you today?”

  As usual with Kelly, Maureen’s mother lit up. Maureen knew her mother didn’t recognize her grandson anymore, but she was still a woman and that sort of direct attention from a flirt like Kelly would make any woman smile.

  “Aren’t you handsome,” her mother said, gripping his cheek lightly. “We’re going to the fair.”

  “Are you?” Kelly sent her a sidelong glance and Maureen shook her head. “That sounds wonderful. Make sure you ride the Ferris wheel.”

  “We did. Oh, we had a lovely time.”

  He smiled and gently patted her shoulder as he stood to his full height. “Here’s Nate’s bag, Mum. If his allergies are bothering him there’s some medicine in the front pocket, but only give it to him before bed.”

  “Put it by the steps.”

  “Where’s Pop-pop?” Nate yelled as he returned to the kitchen with his favorite toy truck.

  “He’s watching the game at Uncle Luke’s. Do you want to go tell him you’re here?”

  “Yeah!”

  “Go ahead.” Nate ran out the door and Maureen watched through the window as he took the trail to Luke and Tristan’s. Her heart fluttered. There weren’t supposed to be favorites in families, but there was certainly something special about that little guy, perhaps because she spent so much one-on-one time with him.

  Turning, she faced the others. “Do you two want something to eat? I have corn beef and some nice leftover meatloaf I could make sandwiches from.”

  Ashlynn hummed. “I’d love a thick slice of your meatloaf, Maureen.”

  She stilled, surprised. “O-okay, dearie. I’ll heat you up a slice. Do you want it on some white bread with ketchup?”

  “Mmm, yes, please. Oh, do you have any horseradish to give it a little kick?” She turned and stared at Ashlynn much like her sisters were gawking too.

  Kelly’s ass stuck out of the fridge as he rummaged around for something and Ashlynn continued to peel potatoes, only slowing when she sensed everyone gaping at her. “What?”

  “Sweet Jesus, do you not realize?” Rosemarie asked.

  “Realize what?”