Caught Up (Windy City, #3)

by Liz Tomforde

“I handled it.” “Handled it how, exactly?” “With a swift knee to the balls.” I take a casual sip of my beer. “Just how you taught me.” He shakes his head with a small laugh. “I never taught you that, you little psycho, but I wish I had. And now I’m even more adamant about you coming on the road with me. You know my guys aren’t like that.”

“And Ace,” he calls out. “Keep your dick in your pants. We all know how fucking fertile you are, and I’m too young and too goddamn attractive for someone to be calling me Grandpa.” “Jesus Christ,” I huff, leaving his room.

“She says, ‘Tell Kai if he doesn’t leave me alone, I’m going to feed his kid all the sugar I can find in this hotel, sit him in front of a screen so he can get brainwashed by whatever the hell a Cocomelon is, then leave his grouchy ass to deal with Max all night.’”

“Indy and I bet on when you were gonna fire him. Had a feeling it was gonna be this week. She bet on the first half of the week, I bet on the second.” “You’re making bets on Max’s childcare now? Love that for me.” Stevie follows Indy inside, holding Max’s hands above his head to help him walk. “What does the winner get?” “Blue owes me a blow job.” Ryan smiles into his coffee once again.

“Oh, you’re so gonna sleep with her.” Zanders laughs. “Hate sex or make-up sex. One of the two.”

“Oh my God,” Rio chastises my silence. “He didn’t even try to deny it! I am going to be the only single one left. I’m going to have to move into my best friend’s house and grow old with Ryan freaking Shay.”

“Seriously though, those seem like the biggest pain in the ass to take off.” “So, you’re thinking about taking them off of me?” “No—” “At least get me inside first, Baseball Daddy. We’re in public.”

“If you’re as terrible of a listener in the bedroom as you are in real life, Miller, I can promise you this, you wouldn’t be allowed to come.”

“Oh, holy fuck!” he screams, biting into the padded table to muffle the sound. He lets out a strangled whimper, his voice cracking. “Kenny! Kenny!” “That’s it, baby. Let it out like a real man.”

The mental picture of him in Wranglers, much in the way he wears his baseball pants, is doing all sorts of things to my imagination. “Miller.” “Hmm?” “You’re sexualizing me in your mind right now, aren’t you?” “Absolutely.”

“It’s never too late to go deep in me, Baseball Daddy.”

“If you’re going to start coming to my games, I better see Rhodes on your back and I’m not talking about my brother.”

“I like to see pretty girls in my jersey. Like to take it off them too.” Miller’s lips part, a shocked and satisfied grin lifting on the corners. “Well, with that kind of promise, I’ll be sure to wear it next time.”

“What’s hurting?” he asks, stepping up. My brother’s eyes widen. “Nothing.” Kennedy falls into laughter behind him. “C’mon, Isaiah. Tell him what you wanted me to rub out.” Sanderson holds his hands up. “I swear to God if you say your dick, I’m quitting on the spot.” “Jesus Christ,”

“I got you next time, Rhodes.” “Thank God because next time what I need rubbed out is my di⁠—” “You always make me regret it.”

“Let’s stop cussing in front of my kid.” “Yeah, stop fucking cussing, Monty,” Isaiah calls out. Monty shoots him a dangerous look. “I mean…you should say whatever you’d like, sir.”

Not that I could blame them, she’s fucking stunning and that red around her lips has me daydreaming of seeing it smeared around my cock.

“Is that what you need to hear, Miller? That I think you’re hot? Do you really need to hear me say I can’t keep my fucking eyes off you when you’re in the room, or have you finally picked up on that?”

“No. I like watching you beat yourself up over wanting to look at me. It’s much more satisfying to know I piss you off than it would be to know I turn you on.” A small laugh rumbles in my chest. “Well, much to my frustration you, Miller, are excellent at both.”

“Fuck,” Kai mutters, looking over my shoulder at the bar. “I can’t be doing shots.” “No. I’m sure at thirty-two there’s no way your geriatric liver could handle it.” “Are you calling me old, or are you trying to goad me?” “Both.” I begin walking backward to the bar. “The other night you told me you had a wild streak. I want to see it. C’mon, Baseball Daddy, it’s time to find the other half of that balance I promised you—the fun.”

With a single finger hooked into the waistband of my jeans, he not only stops me from getting farther away from him, but he pulls me back until my chest slams into his. Oh, there’s no doubt in my mind, tonight is going to be fun. He wets his bottom lip with a slick slide of his tongue. “What kind of fun are we talking about here?”

There’s only one instance in which I can see myself gagging in Kai Rhodes’ presence, and it sure as hell isn’t from liquor.

“You okay? You were so confident only a minute ago. You’re not going to gag, are you?” I pop my shoulders. “Hopefully later.”

Kai looks lethal, already with a beer in his hand, and the smile I was wearing falls when I catch his stare. He tracks me, his eyes dropping to where my hand is in his brother’s, before he pulls his beer to his lips.

“First of all, your brother is hotter than you.”

“You punched him for that?” “Of course not.” He takes a leisurely sip of his bottle. “I hit him with a pitch the next time he was up at bat. I waited for him to charge me at the pitcher’s mound, then I punched him.”

“If I were to tell the truth, I’d say it bothers me enough that I’ve been spending my entire evening watching you and plotting a way to get Monty to trade him.”

“Well, we all have our limits now, don’t we?” “And I’m yours?” His eyes trail my face, once again landing on my lips. “I think you might be.”

“Get your fucking hands off her.”

Okay, I lied. There’s a chance I’m going to jail tonight.

“Kai, I am not your problem.” My attention dips to her lips. “Be my problem.” Swallowing, she tilts her head, testing me. “Then do something to make me your problem.” Fuck me. I’m so frustratingly into this woman, so I do just that. I make her my problem. There’s nothing soft or sweet about the way my mouth crashes onto hers because there’s nothing soft or sweet about Miller. She aggravates me, pushes me, challenges me.

“I’m only wearing a thin pair of shorts right now, so please don’t ask if I want to sleep with you while we’re standing in the same room as your dad.”

“Come.” “Miller.” I chuckle. “Yes?” “Please shut up.”

“I think I could find a lot of gratitude and peace while in bed with you, Kai Rhodes.”

“I really liked kissing you too.” “But we can’t do it again.” Annnd never mind. “Because if I kiss you again,” he continues, “I have a feeling I’m going to want to do it every time I see you.” I arch into him. “I don’t see the problem with that.” “The problem with me kissing you is it’s only going to lead me to wanting to fuck you more than I already do, and I don’t do the unattached fucking thing like I used to.”

“The van has been known to rock. You should come in and give it a try sometime.”

“I’m not sure where your big-ass body is going to go, but okay.”

“You promised to help me find my balance in life. I thought I’d try to help you find your joy.”

“Max first though,” I say, blowing on a tiny bite to get it ready for him. He opens his mouth wide for my fork and hums when it hits his tongue. “Okay with those rave reviews, I think I need some,” Kai cuts in. I get him another forkful. “You’re not going to blow on it for me?” He wears a devilish smile, but mine is a whole lot naughtier. “Oh, I’ll blow something for you. All you have to do is ask.” “Jesus,” he laughs. “Give me the freaking banana bread.”

Her gaze starts at the arm my son is perched on, then it travels lower to where the towel meets the bare skin around my hips. I watch her trace my tattoos with her attention before her eyes bounce over my abdomen as if she’s counting each muscle on her way up to my chest. “My eyes are up here, Montgomery.” “Yeah, I know.” I chuckle. “You almost done sexualizing me?” With her eyes, she retraces the same path. “You keep walking around here in nothing but a towel and the answer to that will continue to be a resounding no.”

“Are you okay? What’s going on?” “I think he’s about to walk.”

She sucks in a deep breath which tells me she ran here from the parking lot. “We were playing outside, and he was using the water table to balance when all of a sudden he let go and looked like he was going to take a step in my direction, but I scooped him up before he could. I don’t think I was supposed to do that. All those online mommy groups would probably berate me for it, and I’m pretty sure every one of your parenting books would call me unfit, but I couldn’t let you miss it.”

“You drove all the way into the city?” She nods against my palm as it rests on her cheek. “You can’t miss his first steps.”

“Kai,” she whispers. “Hmm?” “Are you going to kiss me?” “Thinking about it.” “What happened to your no-more-kissing rule?” “Wanting to break it.”

“And just how many of your people will be there?” If she goes, all of them. “Five or six. Give or take depending on if Isaiah shows. And they all assume we’re fucking so heads-up on that.” “If it were up to me, they’d be right.”

“Speaking of marriage and husbands,” Rio begins, starting on his second slice of pie. “Miller, are you looking for one?” “No, she’s not,” Kai quickly declares at my side. “Dang, Daddy, I just meant because the pie is so good, I’d marry her for it.”

“What did I tell you about these fucking legs?” “That you get hard just looking at them?”

“You’re the one who didn’t leave me any pants to wear,” I remind him. A wicked grin tilts on his mouth. “I’m a smart man.”

“Goddamn,” he exhales, pulling away for only a second. “Who knew you’d sound so pretty when you whine?”

“Yes,” I cry. “Yes, Ace. Right there.” The nickname slips off my tongue without thought, but I’m a panting mess right now, and can’t be held accountable for my actions. “Jesus.” His hand slams against the cabinet next to my head, looking for leverage. “Call me that again.” “Ace? You like when I call you by your nickname?” His face falls into the crook of my neck with a nod. “It sounds pretty coming from you. Especially when your pussy is soaked and rubbing on me.”