Promise Me Forever: A Single Dad Romance (The Maxwell Brothers)

“Watch it, mister,” I whispered when we paused the kiss to breathe. “This is a dangerous kiss.”

He smiled against my lips. “Not shameless?”

“It’s always shameless, but this is next level. It’s a so-hot-we’re-gonna-rip-each-other’s-clothes-off kiss.”

“And what’s the problem with that?”

“We’re not done with the tour yet.” I wiggled out of his grasp, taking a step back just to be safe.

I loved, loved, loved finding out more about him. The way he spoke about his family warmed my heart.

“So, you were saying about your dad?” I prompted.

‘I watched Dad work all his life at a job he didn’t like,’ he replied as we resumed our walk. ‘It took a toll on him, and this was his escape. He spent most of his free time working the vineyard and with us. Now he and Mom are retired, so they have time for other hobbies too. I hope I’m making him proud.”

My heart gave a mighty sigh. How was this guy even real? The way he treated those around him was something I hadn’t seen in anyone else. Looking over his shoulder, he winked at me before kissing my hand. Heat spread through me from the point where his lips touched my skin.

The air was so different here than in Chicago. It was even hotter and more humid.

I checked my phone quickly as we started walking. I’d messaged back and forth with my parents today after they sent me a huge heart emoji—they’d gotten my wire transfer from my latest paycheck. It made me immensely happy that I could help them out.

“I’m sure you are. Did your gran also live with you?”

“Not officially, but she was here a lot when my parents were at work. I learned from them the importance of discipline and grit. They both gave their best to their jobs and to all of us all the time. We had a happy childhood.’

There was something in his tone I couldn’t quite pinpoint. It was melancholy and something else, perhaps sadness that he wasn’t giving Paisley the same. I really hoped he didn’t think that, because Paisley was such a happy child.

I had a few kids in my class who didn’t have happy home lives. It broke my heart whenever they shared that with me. Sometimes they didn’t outright say it, but I could tell they were missing affection by the way they always sought out hugs.

With a jolt, I remembered that school was starting in a month, both for me and Paisley. What would happen then?

“How come none of your brothers are involved in the wine business? Or were they involved in the book business before?”

“No, my parents also encouraged us all to pursue our passions. I think it was because they felt like they couldn’t pursue theirs. We all had different interests. Declan was already in law school when they sold the company. Tyler always knew he wanted to play pro hockey. I was the only one with the wine bug. How about your parents?”

“Dad was a carpenter and Mom a teacher, like me. I always wanted to be like her. I liked that she had time in the summer for me, although she did take some odd jobs. A lot of teachers do. Sometimes it’s just random work that has nothing to do with teaching or children. This job is a godsend. I’m so happy I found it. No clue how I would’ve helped my parents otherwise. Camp jobs don’t pay as well.”

He stopped walking, and I looked up at him questioningly. The look in his eyes was so intense that it startled me. He came closer, putting both my hands on his chest.

‘Lexi, anything you need, tell me.’

‘What? What do you mean?’ I asked.

‘If your parents need more care, I want to know. I want to help.’

My heart thundered in my chest. “Why?”

“Because I care about you, Lexi. You’re important to me. I want you to be happy. I’ll do anything to make that happen, understood?”

‘Thank you,’ I murmured, too emotional to add anything else. Obviously, I could never do that. Our relationship wasn’t at the level where I’d feel comfortable asking for financial help or anything. Honestly, I didn’t think I could ever do that, no matter what. It wasn’t the Langley way.

Tate was still trapping me with his gaze. Could he tell how much his offer meant to me? Regardless if I’d ever take him up on it, my heart was about to burst with happiness at the thought.

A suspicious sound caught my attention. My heart jumped to my throat. I glanced behind me, inspecting the grass.

“What’s wrong?” Tate asked.

“Umm… are there snakes here? I heard something that sounded like slithering.”

He laughed, kissing my cheek. ‘I’ll protect you from them.’

‘Oh my God. That’s a yes.’ I instinctively moved closer and slammed into him. He didn’t lose his balance, though. He was rock solid and put a hand on my waist, slipping it down until it was right on my hip.

I glanced down and back at him, chuckling. ‘That’s supposed to protect me?’

‘Hell yes. You see a snake, I’ll lift you into my arms.’

‘Hmm. I can’t decide if you touching me will distract you or make you react faster.’

He leaned into me, brushing his lips to my cheek, sending another wave of heat through me. ‘I guess we’ll find out.’

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Tate

She was so damn cute, looking around at every sound. I kept an arm firmly around her shoulders while talking about the particularities of the wine from this region, but she was only half listening. Rarely did we come across snakes in the vineyard, but we did have a few rodents that ran around.

“Why are you so afraid of snakes?” I asked, steering her back to the house.

She winced. “When I was a kid, I found one under my bed once. We lived in a house on the outskirts of Boston, and my bedroom was on the ground floor. We kept the doors open in summer, and I got the scare of my life. It didn’t bite me or anything, but I was afraid to go to sleep for years after that. I kept checking under my bed until I was a teenager. And yes, you can laugh. I know it’s silly.”

“Fear isn’t silly. It’s just fear.” I brought my mouth to her ear, tugging at her earlobe with my lips. “Don’t worry about anything when you’re with me.”

She giggled, elbowing me slightly as we went inside the house. “Oooh, want to be my protector, Mr. Maxwell?”

“Yes,” I informed her, taking off her coat. I wasn’t kidding. I didn’t want her to worry. I wanted to know her fears and fight them with her.

I had this burning desire to make her happy.

Wrapping my arms around her from behind, I walked with her into the living room, burying my face in her hair.

“You smell delicious,” I murmured.

“Tate…,” she whispered as I trailed my lips from her earlobe down her neck.

“I want you. All the time.”

She giggled, but I felt her body shake in my arms. I was turning her on. ‘I see. So, this is a sexcapade weekend, not just to relax.’

‘We can do both. I have confidence in us.’

She giggled again, smacking my thigh. ‘So do I.’

I was starved for her. I needed to make her mine, and I was satisfied that we finally had a whole weekend stretching ahead of us and didn’t have to rush. ‘I can take my time to explore you now,’ I whispered in her ear, kissing down her neck. ‘I can make you come as many times as I want.’

She gasped, and I felt the muscles of her belly clench.

I trailed my fingers down her abs. “With my fingers, my mouth, and my cock.”

She moaned, bracing her hands on my shoulders, pulling back. I looked her in the eyes before leaning in to kiss her. The kiss unleashed something inside me. Despite having the whole weekend ahead of us, I wanted her immediately. I needed to be inside her right now. I couldn’t wait any longer.

Taking her hand, I led her to the master bedroom on the ground floor and pressed her against the door, kissing her deep and wet and long until I felt her legs shake. She rolled her hips back and forth against my leg, needing the friction.

I led her farther inside the room, taking off her short blue dress. She was wearing black lace panties, and it was driving me crazy. I traced the contour of her bra straps with my thumbs and then curved my hands around the edges of the cups. She groaned as if the skin-on-skin contact was too much, even though I’d barely started. Leaning down, I trailed my mouth along where fabric met skin, keeping my hands on her thighs and buttocks.

She ran a hand through my hair, tugging at it. ‘Tate, please,’ she whispered. ‘I need you.’

Hearing her say my name in that tone made my control snap. I yanked her panties down. She gasped before stepping out of them. I trailed my hand between her thighs and up to her pussy. A shock of pleasure went through me when I realized she was wet. Kissing her mouth, I moved my fingers in a circle over her sensitive spot, feeling her come apart with every passing second. The need to bring her pleasure was stronger than anything else, even the instinct to chase my own satisfaction. She gasped, rocking against my hand while she fumbled behind her back. I realized she was unclasping her bra. She let it drop to the floor, and I brought my mouth to one of her nipples, sucking it in.

‘Tate… Tate, oh, Tate,’ she chanted while I worked her clit with my hand and her nipple with my lips. I was holding her firmly by her ass and smiled against her breasts when I felt all her muscles contract. She came apart so spectacularly that I barely fought the instinct to step back just to watch her succumb to the pleasure. But I moved my fingers over her clit until her shudders subsided. Her body was so soft now. Looking up, I saw her eyes were soft too.

‘That was amazing,’ she whispered.

I laid her on the bed, taking my clothes off at record speed before pushing her farther into the middle of the mattress and kissing her inner thigh.

‘That was the first one,’ I said against her skin. She shuddered. I skimmed my thumb over her clit, looking up at her. ‘The one I gave you with my fingers. Now I want to feel you explode on my tongue.’

Her legs clenched as if on instinct, but I pressed them back open, kissing up her inner thigh until I reached her pussy. I could thrust inside her now—she was so wet that she was definitely ready—but I wanted to feel her pleasure against my mouth.

The second I put my tongue on her sensitive flesh, she cried out my name, pulling the sheets with her fists. Her back arched. Fuck, she was beautiful. So sensitive, so ready for everything I wanted to give her.

I circled her clit with the tip of my tongue, only briefly touching it at first, watching her squirm and flinch as if the torture was too much. She straightened out one leg, parting her thighs even wider and allowing me better access. I took a condom from the side of my bed where I’d put them when we arrived and dropped it on the mattress next to us.

I moved my hands over her thighs and her upper body, wanting to touch as much of her as possible, to feel the pleasure coil through her body. I knew she was close; I felt a slight shudder in her legs. She was moving her hips back and forth, and I followed her rhythm, wanting to give her exactly what she needed.

This time, I had my eyes on her when she came apart, thrashing on the bed and moving her head from one side to the other. She was looking for a pillow, but they were farther up by the headboard. She couldn’t muffle her cries, and I heard them in all their glory.

I was hard before, but now my erection was almost painful. Moving up her body, I sheathed my cock with the condom. She was flushed and so damn beautiful. I hovered over her, nudging her clit with the tip of my cock before pulling back a bit and turning her around.

Her eyes were wide as she lay against the mattress. I spread her legs and pushed inside her, feeling her tightness adjust to accept me.

‘Fuuuuck,’ I exclaimed, dropping my head back. I was going to lose my mind. She was pulsing around me and felt so damn good that I could barely breathe. I was sure I could come like that, just feeling her inner muscles clench around me, but I’d promised her three orgasms, so I was going to give them to her.

I kissed her back while I rocked my hips, exploring a side of her I hadn’t before, moving my mouth downward near her spine and then back up on her shoulder blades. The sound of our bodies slapping against each other filled the room between her moans. She gave herself to me with an abandon I hadn’t seen in her before. She was putty in my hands, her body soft from the two orgasms but still filled with tension, demanding another release. She thrashed and cried out my name, spurring my need to hear her. I needed to make her come right now or I’d explode inside her before she reached another climax.

I brought a hand to her pussy, skimming three fingers over her clit. She squeezed her inner muscles so tight that she nearly pushed me out.

I smiled against her skin. ‘Let go, beautiful,’ I said.

‘I don’t think I can take it anymore,’ she whispered.

‘Yes, you can. I promise you fucking can. Give me that third orgasm, Lexi. I want to hear you. I want to feel you come around my cock.’

My words had the exact effect I wanted. I felt the moment her climax exploded through her. She was so damn beautiful I couldn’t look away. Her back arched, her fingers gripping the sheets, her toes curled, and she pushed her pelvis back into me, bringing a hand over mine on her clit, pressing down and intensifying the sensation.

The sight of her like this, wild with pleasure and full of me, spurred my own orgasm, and I came so hard that I couldn’t even breathe. For a few seconds, my vision blurred and I couldn’t even see. The air caught in my throat. My lungs were on fucking fire. All my muscles seemed to be spasming at once.

I toppled us both onto the bed. Lexi was lying on her belly, ass up on display, her feet up in the air. Sitting on one side, I trailed my fingers up and down her back and over that gorgeous curve of her ass.

‘You, sir, have excellent skills,’ she said in a teasing tone. ‘I can’t make up my mind which orgasm was best.’

Laughter burst out of me. ‘You’re rating the orgasms?’

‘I’m trying to, but I think I might need a few more to make up my mind.’

I leaned in closer. ‘My pleasure. We have all weekend ahead of us.’

Even as I was saying it, I was already dreading Sunday evening. I didn’t want our time together to end.