Midnight Target by Elle Kennedy
“Don’t worry,” Mary told Kevin’s wife, Hailey. “That was before he met you.”
Hailey’s lips twitched in barely suppressed laughter. “It’s all right. I know all about Angie Kearney and suspect you’re right about why Kev is so uptight about LGBT rights.”
“That’s not true at all!” Kevin said hotly.
“So you’re saying your mother and I raised you a bigot?” Callum asked with a frown.
Liam’s head swung toward his dad in surprise, while Kevin flushed bright red. “Course not,” he mumbled, his eyes fixed on his plate.
“I didn’t think so.” Callum scowled at his son. “All your mother and I want is for our kids to be happy.” He shrugged. “And if being bi or gay or whatever the hell you want to call it makes one of you happy, then that’s the way it is.”
The rest of the table fell silent under the glare of Callum Macgregor’s forceful eye.
“Mommy, I want more juice.”
Janey’s plaintive voice, followed by her mother’s hissed “Not now, sweetie,” shook Liam out of his shocked stupor.
“Um.” He cleared his throat. “Ma, Dad, you mind if Sully and I excuse ourselves? We’ve got a couple of things to talk about.”
Callum raised his fork. “Go on, then, but you best hurry back before lunch gets cold.”
“Yes, sir.” Liam jerked his head toward the kitchen. “Come on, Aussie.”
Sully carefully rose from his chair, his somber gaze shifting toward Liam’s mother. “I’m sorry about causing a scene here, ma’am. We’ll be right back.”
“You better. No fooling around in my kitchen,” Mary warned, but then smiled, because apparently no woman was capable of not smiling at Sully.
Including Kelsey, whose hungry eyes followed the Australian’s ass all the way out the door.
“I think my sister wants you for herself,” Liam remarked with a sigh.
“Which sister?”
“Kelsey.” He paused. “Hell, probably all of them. Becca was practically drooling.”
“Should I tell her I’m taken?” Sully asked lightly.
He swallowed, not sure how to respond to that.
They stepped into the spacious kitchen, which Sully spent a long time examining. He studied the cherry-wood cabinets that Liam’s dad had built himself. The gleaming appliances. The shiny tiled floor beneath their boots.
Banishing the filthy thought of bending Sully over the counter and fucking him from behind, Liam rested his forearms on the counter. “Why did you come here?” he asked gruffly.
Sully heaved out a deep breath, dragged a hand through his hair, and then closed the distance between the two of them. “The night Rivera’s son showed up at your brother’s office . . . I, ah, overheard your cop guy tell you he loved you.”
Liam rocked back in surprise. “You did?”
Fuck. That talk with Joe had been insanely personal. And uncomfortable. Christ, so fuckin’ uncomfortable.
“Yeah. I did. And while I was standing there, listening to him say all that shit to you, I thought to myself, damn, now here’s a guy who doesn’t even know if his feelings are returned but he’s willing to lay himself out emotionally and possibly lose his job just so he could be with you.” Sully’s voice grew hoarse. “And here I am, hiding on my boat with my dick in my hands.”
A reluctant grin spread across Liam’s face. “Literally or figuratively?”
“What do you think?” Sully smirked in return. Then his face grew serious. “I should’ve never walked away from you, man.”
He gulped. “Then why did you?”
“Because you were right—I am a coward. My life has been one shit show after the other. Everyone I’ve ever given a damn about has left me. Some of them did it intentionally, like my folks. Some of them didn’t have a choice, like Evie. But that doesn’t change the fact that they’re gone. They’ll all fucking gone.” Sully breathed deeply and rested a hand on the counter, as if he was trying to steady himself. “I’m scared, okay? I’m scared if I let myself love you, you’ll go away.”
An arrow of pain sliced into Liam’s heart. Jesus. “That would never happen,” he said thickly.
“It could.” Another heavy breath heated the air. “It really could, and I wasn’t willing to take that risk before. But I’m taking it now.” Sully’s eyes shone with emotion. “You don’t belong in Boston. You belong in a jungle or a war zone or the middle of the ocean. You belong with me.”
Liam arched a brow. “That so?”
“Of course it’s bloody so. You and me, Liam. That’s how it should be. Nah, that’s how it is.” Sully offered a look of challenge. “You telling me I’m wrong?”
Liam’s response was to haul the Australian flush against his body and kiss the hell out of him.
Without missing a beat, Sully kissed him right back, his hands clutching Liam’s shoulders to pull him in closer.
They were both breathless by the time they came up for air. They stood there for a moment, foreheads resting against each other and lips inches apart, a fog of arousal hanging over the kitchen.
“I think I might be in love with you,” Sully muttered.
Liam choked out a laugh. “I think I might be in love with you too.”
In a heartbeat, Sully’s tongue was back in his mouth and a massive erection was poking his thigh. Liam pushed his own hard-on against the other man’s groin, summoning low groans from each of their throats.
“Fuck,” Sully croaked before wrenching his mouth away. “We gotta stop.”
“Yeah,” Liam agreed huskily. He reached up to smooth his rumpled hair. “We should probably save it for your boat.”
“My boat, huh?” Sully cocked one eyebrow. “Try again.”
Liam had to clear the emotion from his throat before speaking. “Our boat.”
His best friend nodded in approval. “Our boat.”
Liam watched with undisguised interest as Sully stuck his hand down his pants to adjust his erection. When their eyes locked again, Sully flashed his trademark killer grin.
“C’mon, we better go back out there. I don’t want to get off on the wrong foot with my soon to be father-in-law.”
Liam’s jaw gaped open as he followed the other man to the door. “For real? This is how you’re going to ask me to marry you?”
Sully snickered. “Don’t tell me you’re that type of bloke, all old-fashioned and shit.”
“Hey, I’m not saying I need hearts and flowers, but make an effort, man.”
“Sure thing, Boston. I’m going to effort you so hard tonight that you’ll be crying for mercy.”
Liam smacked the man’s ass as they left the kitchen. “Bring it on, Aussie. Bring it on.”
Epilogue
Three years later
“There are a lot of unhappy-looking women in the crowd,” Ash remarked.
Cate swept her gaze over the hundred or so people that littered the spacious restaurant overlooking the marina. Ash was right—an unusual amount of glum faces could be spotted in the crowd tonight. And while there was an inordinate number of gorgeous but obviously taken men, Cate hazarded a guess that the real source of consternation was the two males currently laughing their heads off at something Denny Macgregor was saying.
The two men weren’t holding hands or snuggling, but sometimes, when they were in a group, Sullivan clamped his hand around the back of Liam’s neck. Cate couldn’t deny that the possessive grip was so freaking sexy.
Sully’s free hand held a bottle of water, which made her smile. A few years ago the Australian had given up drinking, smoking, and anything else that could be considered addictive. He’d told Cate with a wink that Liam was his drug of choice, and if the women here tonight could’ve seen the lascivious look Sully had cast toward Liam when he’d drawled that, there would’ve been two dozen spontaneous orgasms.
“Two gorgeous men just took themselves off the market,” Cate said with a sigh. “It’s a day of mourning.”
“For you too?” A smile played around Ash’s sensual mouth.
She couldn’t help herself—she leaned over and planted a wet kiss against it.
“Yeah, I’ve always had a thing for Hollywood.” Her kiss had left a smear of red on Ash’s lips and she was tempted to leave it there as a mark of her territory. That seemed more civilized than peeing on someone’s leg.
“You should probably wait until you pop out your pumpkin before you try to steal Liam away from his new husband.” Ash smoothed one hand over her stomach, lingering on the rise of the small swell.
“Maybe not. Some guys are into the pregnant thing.”
His grip tightened possessively. “I know I am. I’d do you right here if you let me.”
Cate’s heart thumped loudly in response to the heat in his eyes. “I never knew you were into showing off.”
“I’m into you.” He dragged her out of her chair and into his lap, where he proceeded to bury his nose in her neck. “And I’m fucking impatient as hell, so I don’t care who sees me.”
The evidence of his arousal was digging into her ass. “I’d be willing to do it with you in public but preferably not while my father is glaring at us.”
Ash heaved a massive breath and leaned back. Then he caught Jim’s eye and waved impishly.
Cate watched as her father tensed, fisted his hands, and then forced himself to relax.
“You’re going to give him a coronary,” she murmured as she blew Jim a kiss.
“Only because he thinks I knocked you up out of wedlock.” Ash stroked a broad hand down her back.
These past three years, he’d never missed an opportunity to touch her. He’d sheepishly admitted that he was making up for the four years he’d missed with her, but Cate suspected there was more to it than that. He was filling up that thirsty heart of his from the twenty-nine years he’d spent believing he was alone.
As for her, she lapped up all his obvious affection because she too had grown up without a lot of love in her life. She and Ash were perfectly matched, which she’d always known. She had instantly recognized her own sorrow and need in him, but because he was a stubborn jackass who was blinded by honor, it had taken him a while to come around.
But now?
There wasn’t a more devoted lover, husband, or soon-to-be father.
“Seriously, when are you going to tell Jim you made an honest man out of me after Christmas?” Ash asked her.
“I don’t know. Thanksgiving?”
He snickered. “You’re evil.”
“I know, but Jim deserves it for the way he gave you the silent treatment for so many months after the thing with Rivera.”
She nestled backward against Ash’s broad chest and his arms automatically came up to circle her. Beneath her, she felt his leg kick out and watched as he caught a nearby chair leg and dragged the seat over. Gratefully, Cate slipped off her shoes and propped her stocking-clad feet on the white linen cushion.
“Aw, go easy on him. He eventually came around.”
She rolled her eyes. Ash kept insisting that he didn’t want her holding a grudge, but her dad happened to be an even bigger stubborn jackass than her husband. Jim had been on her case again ever since he’d learned that Cate was knocked up and without a ring on her finger.
“It still surprises me how traditional Jim is,” she admitted.
“It shouldn’t. He wifed Noelle right away, didn’t he? Just because he’s a fighter doesn’t mean he doesn’t harbor deep-seated traditional beliefs.”
Cate hid a smile because she knew Ash wasn’t just talking about Jim. He’d wanted to marry her the minute they’d gotten back from Guatana but Cate had put him off—and kept putting him off, telling him that she didn’t need a ring to know he loved her.
After nearly three years of bickering about it, he’d finally shouted in frustration that it was him who needed the ring. And, well, how the hell could she deny him after that? The next day, they’d flown to Vegas and she’d said “I do” under the beaming smile of an Asian Elvis.
She’d planned on telling everyone the next day but Ash had been called away on a mission. When he got back, Cate landed a plum assignment in Indonesia covering the election and Ash had gone with her. These days, he was hardly ever far from her side. When she went on assignment, he tagged along, leaving her only to do his work for Jim. Then he’d pick back up wherever she was.
She couldn’t deny that she adored their life. It was full of adventure. New discoveries. Freedom. A few months ago she’d asked Ash if he missed home, worrying that he didn’t like the nomadic life as much as she did, but he’d told her, between deep, passionate kisses, that his home was with her.
She was pretty sure that was the night they’d created this little person growing inside her.
“Remember your nineteenth birthday party at that golf course in Providence?” he whispered in her ear.
The slight puffs of air across the top of her earlobe sent shivers down her spine. “Yeah?”
“I wanted to fuck you then. You were wearing this top that was so filmy I swear I could see your tits through the fabric. I wanted to flip your skirt over your head, bend you over the railing, and nail you from behind.”
Lust crept into her veins, heating her blood and making her nerves stand at attention. She shifted in his lap, hissing slightly when his erection stabbed insistently against her ass cheek.
“I would’ve let you. You know I wanted you then too.”
“Your dad was there. He was staring at me, just like he is right now.”
The ache between her legs throbbed so hard that she could barely see two inches in front of her, let alone all the way across the marina restaurant. “I don’t think I would’ve cared,” she confessed hoarsely.
When she moved again, Ash’s fingers bit into her hips. “I swear to God, sugar, you squirm one more time and I’m going to do you right here in the middle of Liam and Sully’s wedding reception—”
“Cate!” a happy voice shouted, and she cringed when J. J. Woodland materialized at their side. The six-year-old was sneakier than a ninja.
She hoped to hell he hadn’t heard what his uncle Ash had just said.
“They’re gonna play a slow song next and you promised me a dance,” the little boy pleaded.
“So I did.”
She swung her feet off the chair and slipped her shoes on, ignoring the whispered “cockblocked by a six-year-old” from her husband.
Tossing a coy look over her shoulder, she took the boy’s hand and said, “Ash has something to share with my dad anyway, so this is perfect.”
Ash rolled his eyes. As he got to his feet, he adjusted his tux jacket. “J.J., dude, we gotta work on your timing.”
“My daddy sent me over,” the boy said solemnly.
“Okay, we work on your old man’s timing, then.”
Cate glanced over to see Abby and Kane grinning broadly at them. Jerks. They’d probably guessed what Cate and Ash had been on the verge of doing.
“You having a good time, J.J.?” she asked.
“Not really.” He shrugged. “But I got to eat three pieces of cake so that was okay.”
“Well, I’m having a wonderful time,” she told him, ruffling his sandy-blond hair.
It looked like everyone else was enjoying themselves too, if you didn’t count all the unhappy single ladies who’d come in hopes of hooking up with one of Jim’s men. There were still a few Macgregor men available, though. None as handsome as Liam but they were still hot as fuck.
Not as hot as Ash, though.
She slid her husband a mischievous look. “How about you, baby? You having a good time?”
She figured he’d grunt a no now that his f
“Yeah. I am. I’m with you, aren’t I? You’re all I need to be happy.”
“That’s gross,” J.J. declared and then tugged on Cate’s hand. “Don’t let him kiss you. You’re gonna marry me.”
She bit the inside of her cheek hard so she didn’t laugh and hurt the little boy’s feelings. “If I could marry you, J.J., I would. You’re my favorite man next to Ash.”
“There’s nothing special about him,” J.J. argued. “He isn’t even as cool as my daddy.”
They’d gotten close enough for Kane to hear that and he swiftly swung the boy up in his arms. “Who’s not as cool as me?”
“Ash isn’t as great as you,” J.J. said with all the earnestness his little body could hold.
“Ash is great!” Gabriela Pratt cried from the other side of the table. D and Sofia’s five-year-old daughter had had a thing for Ash since the moment she was born.
“You’re dumb,” J.J. told her.
“No, you are!”
Cate turned her face into Ash’s jacket to muffle her laughter. Those kids were too damn adorable and now she was having one of her own with the man she loved. How could she not be happy? How could any of them not be happy?
Around her, she was surrounded by couples in love and precious babies. D’s lap was full of his twin baby girls; Sofia kept popping them out like she was a baby Pez dispenser. She was already on her third pregnancy. Isabel and Trevor had adopted a two-year-old a few years ago and then gotten pregnant a year later. Bailey and Sean had Irish twins: a girl born just eleven months after her brother.
Only Juliet and Ethan were the holdouts. Cate didn’t think it was something they wanted, but there were plenty of young ones around to play Aunt and Uncle with if they ever needed a kid fix.
“Think you’ll have kids?” she asked Liam and Sully, who’d separated themselves from a pair of well-wishers to join their group. No, their family.
“Doubt it,” Liam admitted. “But my sister offered to serve as a surrogate if we ever decide to do it.”