Broken Vows (Domestic Discipline Romance) (13 page)

"I don't like it, but Mila can teach us," Jenny said. "She earned an expert marksman badge in the Army. Apparently, it is difficult to achieve that level."

"Good to know," Josh admitted. "Now about before…"

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," Jenny said.

"You can yell at me, Jen, we will have our disagreements. However, I won't allow you to bark orders. Are we understood?"

She nodded, "I'm still sorry."

"I accept your apology," Josh said nibbling on her ear before kissing her. "Are the kids down for the night?"

"Yes."

"Good." In one quick motion, he peeled her yoga pants down again.

Jenny turned on his lap, her hands going inside his shirt.

"Hold on," he groaned. He shifted her a bit, and then unbuttoned and unzipped, releasing his engorged cock. Jenny slid to the floor and took him into her mouth, teasing him with her tongue and stroking him with her hands.

"God," Josh moaned as he interrupted his pleasure for a second to pull Jenny's top over her head. Primal desire darkened his eyes as his fingers undid her bra and he stroked the swells of her breasts. He groaned again. "Too close, too soon," he mumbled tugging her off her knees and into his lap where he impaled her on his shaft.

Jenny bounced up and down as he guided her hips while pumping inside her. When his hips moved faster, so did hers. This was what she loved… his uninhibited, delicious pounding inside her. As their bodies heated with desire, they glistened with the wet friction.

Josh held on as long as he could, then arched his back and slammed into her repeatedly. He buried his face into her breasts as his climax took him, he whispered her name and then lay spent for a few seconds.

Breathing hard, Josh lifted her and cradled her in his arms. "You didn't come."

"It's okay," Jenny whispered.

"No, it is never okay," swore Josh. "I don't do 'wham, bang, thank you, ma'am'." He pulled on his pants, then helped Jenny to her feet and wrapped her in a sofa throw. He lifted her into his arms to carry her through their bedroom, straight into the bathroom, and into the shower. He turned on the water, yanked off his pants again, and stepped inside. Beneath the pulsating beat of the showerhead, he started at her lips, kissing, stroking, and working his way down her body. He positioned her in the corner placing her hands on the safety bar on each side and spread her legs apart. He dropped a towel to the tile, went to his knees, and buried his mouth into her soft folds taking his time teasing her.

Jenny's entire body broke out in goosebumps and she loved it. His fingers gripped the outside of her thighs and then moved around to her buttocks where he squeezed, and gave her a spank now and then. Her body trembled and she came. A powerful orgasmic earthquake shattered her in its release. She would have fallen if she had not had death grips on the safety bars.

Josh got to his feet, lifted her into position so her legs could wrap around his waist, and entered her again in one hard, deep thrust. As soon as their flesh connected, it was fast, hot, and desperate. Within minutes, they exploded over the edge together.

After the heavy breathing and aftershocks of multiple orgasms, sheer exhaustion took its toll. Josh lowered her carefully, turned off the lukewarm water, and staggered out of the shower. He offered a hand to steady Jenny as her trembling knees barely held her upright. They toweled off each other, still reluctant to part contact and crawled into bed. Spooned together, holding on to each other, they were both asleep in minutes.

Jenny awakened when she felt Josh's warm body move away from her and she was instantly chilled. "Why is it so cold in here?"

"It snowed last night," Josh said from the window.

"It couldn't have; it was seventy degrees yesterday!" Jenny protested, but she wrapped herself in a robe and joined him at the window.

"The first snow of the season," Josh said smiling. "It can't be much over three inches and it will probably melt off quickly. I'm going down to turn on the furnace."

Emmie came downstairs still wearing her pajamas but dragging her snowsuit and wanting help with her snow boots. Josh stuffed her into the snowsuit, pajamas and all, and then helped her into boots, mittens, and hat. He told her she could build a snowman on the deck only a few feet from the door.

"She will freeze," Jenny protested.

"It's kid time," Josh exclaimed. "Let her be, she will be back inside in a few minutes."

Emmie did come back inside, to say one word.

"Smoke!"

Josh jumped, looked out the door, grabbed the fire extinguisher from the closet, and ran. As he burst into Mila's quarters, she pushed him back outside.

"It's already out!" She propped the door open to let the smoke out.

"Get over to our place," Josh commanded. He went inside, looked around, and realized Mila had tried to start a fire in the fireplace. He opened several more windows and turned on a ceiling fan.

Emmie was back outside rolling little snowballs and her face was bright red from the cold. As Josh walked by, he scooped her up and tucked her under his arm like a football. He took her inside.

"Something must be blocking the chimney," he heard Mila saying.

"I will get someone out to check all the fireplaces," Josh said. "How much smoke did you inhale?"

"Not enough to do harm. It was only seconds from the moment I realized the chimney was blocked until I blasted the fire with the extinguisher. It's a good thing we planned to paint there anyway."

"Not
we
. Jen and I can paint, but you should not be in the fumes."

"Latex is safe," countered Mila.

Josh shook his head and smiled. "We are not taking any chances. Besides, your center of gravity is way off and it wouldn't take much to throw you off balance. I have a contractor coming this morning for an estimate, but after that, I am free. Jen has to take Emmie into town this afternoon for a…" he looked around for his daughter and mimicked a shot in the arm. "Why don't you go with her, check out the paint stores, and get whatever you want. I have a list of materials I need which you can also pick up at the hardware store."

"I'm paying for the paint," Mila said. "It is my choice of colors, after all."

"Nope. The boss says any improvement in that area is on his tab. He won't complain about the cost of a few cans of paint."

A little while later, they all trooped over to Mila's part of the house and saw there was little smoke damage, luckily. They would not even have to wash down the walls before painting.

Josh cornered Jenny and handed her cash for groceries, along with a credit card for the paint and hardware purchases. "No extras on this," he warned firmly. "I have to submit every receipt for reimbursement."

"I know," Jenny promised.

"If you can find a place selling what you need for your art pieces, put those expenses on the card, as well," Josh suggested.

"What if the owner doesn't like them?" Jenny asked.

"What is there not to like?" Josh asked. "Your pieces are beautiful. If he has a problem with them, you can sell them, or we will keep them for ourselves. I love your work."

Jenny felt tears rising, which she tried to blink away.

"What?" Josh demanded, confused by her reaction.

She shook her head, "It's nice to hear you say you like my art."

"I always believed in your artistry, Jenny. I was the one who pushed you to get back into it."

"I know," Jenny said. "Today is my once-a-week call to tell Mom we are alive and healthy, and for the millionth time, no we are not returning."

"Don't let her make you feel guilty," Josh warned.

She kissed him on the cheek. "It is getting easier. One of these days, I might have the gumption to blast her for all the crap she has pulled."

"You can't change her," he warned. "The best we can do is to keep our distance and continue to work on our relationship without her as part of it."

Josh's contractor called to say he had a family emergency, one of his children needed an emergency appendectomy. Josh assured the distraught contractor it was not a problem and they would reschedule. Meanwhile, Mila said she wasn't feeling well and handed over sample paint strips with her choices circled. She shushed her sister, told her there were no reasons to panic, and suggested Josh and Jenny take the kids, and run their errands. She would veg on their couch watching TV while her place aired out. She would return later to continue sorting through more junk.

After two solid hours in a supercenter fighting the exuberance and exasperation of small children, Josh wanted to award his wife a medal of honor for patience. They had to try on every single item, sometimes twice, as there had to be room for growth. Emmie was in a purple mood, everything had to be purple, or she would cry. She was cranky after her booster shot before they even began the shopping. Josh also noticed with amusement that, although Emmie only tried on purple clothing, Jenny put items of other colors in their cart. Then there was Adam at his active one-year-old best, tossing things in the cart and grabbing at anything in his path.

After they had finished their clothing expedition, Josh went through the check out and schlepped the numerous bags to the car while Jenny and the kids went to the food side of the store. Now he understood why she had asked him to put coolers in the back of the vehicle. Jenny took care of the grocery checkout while he took the kids for soft pretzels.

"Where too, now," Josh asked after strapping the kids into their car seats.

"The hardware store to get the items on your list and Mila's paint, and then if we have time, I would like to visit a crafts-and-fabric shop the cashier recommended," Jenny said. "Here's the deal: I'll stay in the car with the kids while you get the paint and hardware if you do the same for me when I am in the fabric store."

"No complaints about how long I take," Josh bargained.

"For me either," Jenny countered.

"Deal," Josh agreed.

* * *

Mila was not actually feeling ill. She was a little tired which she had to expect at this stage in her pregnancy. Her sister and brother-in-law were very inclusive, rarely going out without her. She had taken this opportunity to encourage them to go off by themselves as a family. Meanwhile, she enjoyed watching a movie on their big, flat-screen TV. She definitely needed to replace the clunky, old-fashioned CRT unit in her living room. It did not even have a remote! Her old ten-inch portable DVD player was also on its last legs. She had not brought much from the military base having donated whatever had not fit in her ancient
about-to-die
compact car. What little she had brought was in serious need of replacement.

She thought it odd the guesthouse was the only modernized part of this huge property and by the looks of it, a rather recent update. When she had spoken to Josh on the phone, he had specifically asked if she would be available for babysitting. He had explained the renovation project they had taken on and that he and Jenny would be busy working on the house as a team. They had not gotten to this phase of the renovation, though, since they were still completing major structural projects.

Mila returned to the Granny House curling her nose at the acrid smell of damp ashes and smoke. It was midday and, although the sun had melted the snow, a winter chill still lingered. She did not get far into the house before seeing a stream of water running across the floor.

Squatting to investigate, she realized she must have hit the pipes when she ripped the fire extinguisher out of its plastic holder under the sink. She turned off the water at the shutoff valve and surveyed the situation. Luckily, the water had not been running for too many hours. However, she could still hear a steady stream running somewhere else. Following the sound, she found a pipe in a corner poking up from under the floorboards where the water disappeared down the hole cut in the wood for the pipe. There was a little cap over the pipe and when she lifted it, the water increased its flow into the crawlspace beneath the house. She swept the water toward the area to get it off the kitchen floor and then went to the main house to find the tools she needed in Josh's toolbox.

Mila was tightening a pipe fitting when she felt something nudging her stomach. She jerked, banged her head, and then saw a large inquisitive black and white dog trying to insert his muzzle under the sink with her.

"Hey, get away!" Mila yelled, squirming out from under the sink.

"Buddy, get!"

She heard a man's voice and saw a large hand yank the dog's collar before she was able to shove her way out and sit on the floor.

"Well, hell," the man said, giving the dog a playful swat. "What the heck are you doing under there?"

"I was fixing a leak," Mila exclaimed. "What are
you
doing in my house?"

"Chasing after Buddy," the man answered, giving her a hand to her feet. "The door was open, so he came on in. Here, let me do this."

He took the wrench from her hand and immediately disappeared under the sink.

Mila rolled her eyes at the presumption of men.

There was the prerequisite mumbling, swearing, and growling. "That did it, I think. Turn on the faucet!"

There was more mumbling, a grunt, and the sound of the wrench tightening the pipe joints. Legs scooted the man out from under the sink where he sat on the wet floor. "I hate plumbing!"

"Then why did you do it?" Mila asked. "I can fix a simple leak."

A set of pale blue eyes looked her over from head to toe. "It might have something to do with the fact a lady in your condition shouldn't be crawling under a sink."

"I am pregnant, not handicapped," Mila said, mildly perturbed.

"I can see, and it won't be long," the man drawled, holding out his hand, "Kevin Carter, ma'am."

"Mila Grant." She took his hand and then bent down to pet the soft-coated dog. "Do you want to tell me what brought you here besides following your dog, and your expertise in plumbing?"

"I heard scuttlebutt in town about Mr. Grayson looking for a carpenter, but nobody seemed to have his number, so I came out to talk to him. No offense meant, but shouldn't you be getting out of those wet clothes? It's a bit chilly in here and doesn't feel as if the heat is on. You don't want to catch a cold."

Mila smiled. "You are as wet as I am, Mr. Carter."

"Yes, ma'am, but I am not pregnant. Catching a cold wouldn't be good for you now."

"Are you an expert on pregnant women, too?"

"No, that would not be me," Kevin replied with a grin. "That would be my sisters, six of them, all older than me and popping out babies each year. If you don't plan to get out of those wet clothes, you should at least turn on the heat."

"I intended to do both, but I wanted to clean out the fireplace first. I tried to start a fire in it this morning, but something is blocking the chimney. It's why the door and windows are open. I didn't want to change clothes and then get filthy again cleaning out the firebox."

"I'll do it for you. I have an old broom in the truck," Kevin volunteered. "You best get dry and warm. Your husband wouldn't want you getting sick."

Mila turned from him suddenly. "Thank you, I think I will." She went into her bedroom and closed the door, changing out of her wet clothing and donning a warm sweater. When she returned, she saw her guest had mopped the floor, cleaned the fireplace, closed the windows and doors, and turned on the furnace, which she heard humming in the background. However, both man and dog were gone. She looked out the window and saw Mr. Carter sitting in his truck with the door open, throwing a ball for his dog to retrieve.

She walked across to the guesthouse, went into Josh and Jenny's bedroom and rummaged through dresser drawers until she found a pair of men's sweats. She carried them downstairs and back outside.

"Mr. Carter, please come in here and change into these dry clothes. Your pants and shirt are wet too. I'll throw them into the washer and dryer, and you should be as good as new by the time my brother-in-law returns."

"Ma'am, I'm used to this weather…"

"Enough with the Canadian Mountie
Dudley Do-Right
crap! You helped me, now get your ass in here and get dry," Mila snapped.

Kevin Carter's head snapped around at the cheeky blonde. What the heck, he
was
freezing his butt off because his clothes were soaking wet. He closed the truck door and followed her into the guesthouse. He had worked for Mr. Bentley in the past, and now silently admired the recent renovations although they hadn't been done by his company. In fact, he recognized the workmanship of his top competitor.