Inner Core: (Stark, #2) (32 page)

“Soon,” I say while nibbling on his lip. His hand moves to the nape of my neck and he pulls me into an emotionally saturated, searing kiss. As we let go ever so slightly, we trade charged stares.

“Anything special you wanted?” I ask, securing my embrace around his waist and leaning my head on his chest, a soft smile stretching my lips.

“This,” he answers and rests his chin on my head.

“How do you cope with all the parents out there?” I ask.

“I don’t. I was surfing til about half an hour ago.” I smile to his chest.

“Needed to relax?” I ask, and his answers comes as a gentle bob of his chin on the center of my head.

“Who was watchin'…?”

“Everyone.” We fall into a contemplative silence.

“Umm,” we both say together and snicker.

“You go first.” He inclines his chest so I look up at him. I shake my head.

“What did
you
want to say?”

“Ready to be my wife?” My stomach ties to a tightly twisted knot at his question, and I smile and nod. My eyes turn emotional. He slides me up against him and kisses me profoundly.

“I guess I need to start getting ready.” It’s his turn to nod.

“Make sure to avoid Iris, she tried to tie this red crap on my wrist, something about luck and Kabbalah shit.” I giggle and he shrugs with a smile.

“Go now.” I start pushing his hard chest away.

“Are you kicking me out Mrs. soon to be Stark?”

“Uh-uh.” He scratches his lip with the side of his thumb, looking at me from under his lashes, and then shakes his head.

“I knew you’d be nothing but trouble the moment you tried to solicit me with that refined ‘fuck me’…” he says and smiles at me from the door, his hands holding the frame.

“And yet you are here.” I send him a flirty smile.

He mirrors me.

“Bye, bye.” I bend my fingers to wave at him and giggle, and am gifted with an adorable smile. I sigh in contentment and put on my simple, layered, just short of knee length white linen dress. The tiny straps at my shoulders seem almost too delicate to stay intact. The dress is snug around my breasts and loose everywhere else. As I apply honey-toned shadow at the corner of my left eye, leaning closer to the mirror I hear my friends’ voices approach.

“I really need to meet this person. Who in the name of god declared
you
a fit parent?” Ian snorts a short laugh and hugs Tasha’s shoulders as they enter the room.

“I totally fooled them, gorgeous, didn’t I? I Let Josh do all the talking while I set there blinking and nodding like the supportive wifey I am.” Tasha giggles and plants a noisy smacker on his cheek.

“It's so awesome you guys were approved to start the adoption process,” Tasha says and her eyes fill with pure glee.

“Yes,” I say. “Amazing.” I grin at them via the mirror, utterly happy for my Ian and his Josh.

“You look like an angel, Hales.” Tasha smiles at me and I send her an air kiss.

“Should we start with the hair?” she asks and I nod, applying the last touch of bronze-tan blush.

As Tasha starts threading a few small white flowers through the two braids that start at my temples and secure loosely at the back of head, Ian bends down almost touching the floor and retrieves a wooden box from under our bed. In response to my raised eyebrows he explains.

“Your wedding starter kit.”

Wedding starter kit?

“Don’t move so much.” Tasha pulls my hair gently. Ian settles on the floor next to us and slides his hand into the half-opened box, keeping it angled away so I can't peek inside.

“Your something blue,” he says, pulling a round object out of the box. “Which is also kind of something old…” My eyes widen at the item in his palm.

“Where did you find it?” I look at him, then at Tasha, somewhat stunned. They smirk back.

“It’s not yours, this one’s actually mine, which basically means it can also serve as your something borrowed.” Ian bends to secure an azure evil eye anklet on my ankle.

“Seems like it was a lifetime ago,” Tasha says with a sentimental smile, referring to the piece of jewelry we each got on a trip to Greece millions of years ago.

“Did you really think we'd combine all three in one item?” Ian rolls his eyes and retrieves a delicate, baby pink garter from the box. He waves it in front of me, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“Something new.” Tasha sings cheerfully.

“I want a video of Daniel pulling this one off you with his teeth. Consider it your wedding present to me.” He snickers.

“Ian!” we both say at the same time.

“Something borrowed,” Tasha beams as she hands me her white framed sunglasses. We all smile goofily at each other. The perfect thing to borrow for a low tide beach ceremony, I think idly.

“So, blushing bride, are you nervous before your matrimonial night? Do you have any questions?”

I lift my hand to my mouth and around it ask, innocently, “Will he actually, hmmm, errr, try to… you know…his… into me?” I blink at them and we all collapse into outbursts of giggles.

“He might also try to get you to taste it. He
is
a mean, mean man.” Tasha imitates my innocent voice, making us laugh harder.

“Okay, 'nuff.” Ian says to the knock at the door. My father’s voice calls for me.

“It’s time.” Tasha and Ian look at me with tearful, gleaming eyes.

“Hey…” I frown.

“Come here, last embrace with Miss Grace before she turns into Mrs. Psycho-Stark.” We hug tightly and as we break they each hold one of my hands. Tasha sniffs and Ian winks at me right before turning the doorknob.

“I love you guys,” I say and swallow hard over the momentary lump in my throat.

Here we go. Ready to be mine, D? Forever and for always?

Daniel

So many times I’ve kissed her, but even now, after more than two years, when my lips touch hers, every other thought flies out of my mind. It’s insane how much I still want her. It just grows with time. We share this inexplicable connection; I have a vital urge to touch her. It’s a fucking perpetual need. I thoroughly examine every curve of her familiar body with my hands and mouth, driving us, to panting and shivering.

I think I can literally feel my blood traveling in one direction, and it's not toward my head, at least not to the one that holds my brain.

I focus on nothing but the touch of her warm, silky skin and the incredible smell of cinnamon and clean that is my Hayley. The purr leaving her lips as I taste her turns to a choked moan; she arches her back and digs her nails into my shoulders, driving me to crazy levels of want. I need to fight the primal urge that is taking me over and not rush things. I want to take it slow. I
need
to feel her shiver for me, drive her crazy for me til she completely loses herself in my arms.

She is so goddamn sexy.

She pulls at me forcefully, breathing erratically. Her thighs rise desperately and I sink deeper into her, throbbing.
Christ
. The sounds I’m drawing from her slightly parted and shivering lips send wild currents through me and I need to combat my every instinct to keep from devouring her. The burn for her is nearly inhuman.

Fuckkkk, are you kidding me?

“Oh for fuck’s sake, really, now?” I murmur hoarsely, a mildly ironic-irate sigh gushes out of my engaged mouth. Hayley sucks in a sharp breath when I leave her unceremoniously.

“No!” she cries in humor-laced frustration, her sweet voice almost a plea. I chuckle. She blows out a loud pant as I reluctantly leave her and get out from under the covers. I shake my head with a thin smile in response to her dazed, adorably irritated stare; I shrug on my boxers, still flustered, just as she is. I inhale deeply and rub my face with both hands, trying to shake my pulsing heat away, together with all thoughts of sex, and try to focus.

Fuck, as if that’s even possible.

Hayley slumps her head deeper into the pillow, her hair forming a wild golden halo around her face as she lets out another deep exhale, and murmurs something unclear.

Cursing, Mrs. Stark?
Oh how I need to subdue the urge to mess with her, but I do have a mission on hand and it should be handled A.S.A.P., otherwise we might face lingering disturbance. And that’s the
last
thing I want.
I bend down to kiss her sweet mouth, running my thumb over her pulsating lip, and with a suggestive side smile, command, “You. Don’t go anywhere!”

“Now
that’s
something you don’t have to worry about. Make it quick, lover boy.” She giggles when we exchange humored glances. I shake my head again; a thin grin tugs on my lips with everything Hales still lodged in my head.

Shit, I can hardly walk straight.
The bulge in my boxers controls my thoughts until the high-pitched noises in the background get louder. Contradicting my state of mind and the situation at hand, I utter calmly, “Emma, baby, daddy is coming.”

“Goddamnmotherfuck,” I hiss through my teeth as my feet bump into the doorjamb.

Hales, still in bed, cracks up. “Careful not to injure any vital parts D, I still need you, remember?”

I send her a short, wicked smile over my shoulder. I almost stumble again with images of Hales’ naked body still playing through my mind. “You are so going to neuter daddy with these tricks, baby girl.” I let out a chuckle of defeat.

If there’s one person in this entire fucking universe who can take me away from Hales, especially when I’m buried goddamn deep in her, it’s Emma
.

Though a promise is a promise, Hayley once again can’t keep hers and I can see her out of the corner of my eye peeking at me when I take our baby in my arms and rock her back to sleep. I smirk, knowing how she can never resist watching me with Emma. She tries to hide it, but I always sense her near.

I adore this woman crazily.

I see her shining eyes dance in the dark as she looks at us. I kiss Emma’s soft hair and gently tuck her back in. “I know you're here,” I whisper and turn back, amused, to catch Hayley’s eyes. She bites her lips in that sexy way of hers, and gives me a guilty smile.

Christ, the volatile reactions she causes! Stop it, man, baby’s in the room.

“Now let’s take care of mommy,” I whisper and, stepping out into the hall, I lift her so she straddles me, cradling her sweet ass and nibbling the skin right above her smooth collarbone.

She drops her head back and lets out a hoarse groan. “I love you so much,” she breathes and tightens her legs around me.

I can feel the heat travel through my entire body, making me hard as a rock. “And I you, baby,” I say to her sexy mouth trying to focus my vision ahead and avoid colliding us with the goddamn walls. She tightens her legs and grinds against me.

“Stop it, Hales, I’ll drop us both,” I say, amused, but through gritted teeth. I can hardly see with my need to throw her onto the bed and plunge into her. She giggles it off and continues teasing. I mount her against the wall, take her hands in mine, spread them above her head, and slowly start thrusting against her.

“We’ll wake her,” she pants, sucking on my bottom lip.

“So control yourself, woman.” We both snicker into each other’s mouths and I continue our original route.

When we reach the bedroom I drop us onto the bed with me between her long, soft legs. When she bites my lips and breathes my name I lose the control I’ve been holding til now and ravish every bit of her, crazed.

As Hales' rhythmic breaths calm and her face takes on that serene expression, I kiss her gently. I pull the blanket up to cover her naked body, not before giving it another long, smug glance.
Damn, so fucking hot
...

I trace my finger softly over her beautiful mouth and watch her for a few minutes then shrug on my boxers. I pass by the kitchen to pour myself some scotch on ice then turn to my office and sink in the wide leather chair. I scan, somewhat irate, through the pile of emails waiting for me and rub my hand over my mouth and chin, then move the cursor over the folder titled “wedding photos.”

A sudden, unbidden thought crosses my mind, one that from time to time keeps invading my thoughts at the worst time. Before my eyes I involuntarily summon the awful time I spent trapped in Thailand, the darkened room with the thick, unbreathable air. I can almost smell the stench and uncertainty that littered that room. It wasn’t unnerving; it was hopeless. There was nothing any of us could fucking do. It was numbing and frustrating and goddamn desperate: feelings I was never familiar with, nor knew how to cope with, at least not as an adult. To a degree it made me think of a fucked-up period in my childhood I’d rather forget. I wasn’t concerned for my own sake, but the mere thought of not seeing Hayley again broke my spirit and menaced me brutally. I rub my hands over my stubble again and cover my face with both hands, taking a deep breath, working on shaking those images of cruelty and death away. I take a second breath and start a slideshow. Resting back in my chair, I savor the strong, burning taste of the liquor in my mouth.

Now here's something that can eradicate those damn memories.

Thoughts of the past year fly through my head as I watch the images appear slowly, one by one, on the screen. I let out a short chuckle, as my eyes run over the image of Hales dressed in a white, nearly see-through dress beside me as I lift Emma in my arms. Hales laughed so freely and happily when I said to Emma, “Thanks to you, baby girl, we finally made it here.” Emma tittered as I explained that day on the beach in Baja to her and everyone around us. “Your mother finally agreed to get married when you were born, so Em, I owe you big time.” Emma looked at me with her big brown shiny eyes and let out a string of sweet noises. I run my eyes over my baby girl on the screen; she's a mini version of perfection, of Hayley.

The next image to form on the monitor is of Ian and Josh holding hands. I can’t help but cringe. I move quickly to the next image.

Yeah, took me a while to smoothly digest these two, but like everything Ian, it kind of grew on me, eventually, sort of.