“Yeah, Mom. Dominoes are life,” Cooper mimics, and I shake my head, not buying it for a second.

  But I’m glad Brody and Bobby have been so accepting of Cooper and me. Bruce might’ve willingly taken us as a package deal, but his family didn’t make that choice. They have accepted us with open arms, though, even going so far as to redo Shayanne’s old room so that it’s a bit more boyish for Cooper. We’ve done a little updating to Bruce’s bachelor pad room too so it was more ‘us’, and Bruce doesn’t even complain about the ten smooshy pillows that now reside on his bed.

  But Bruce’s brothers have helped our move out here be easier, and while being surrounded by this much testosterone is a bit jarring at times, I’m used to them now too. We might be an unusual family, but we are one.

  “I’m gonna fold, fellas. You mind finishing the game without me? I’ve got something to show Allyson,” Bruce says, standing up from the table. His tone belies nothing, but I can read the set of his jaw. He’s nervous, which makes me nervous.

  Bobby teases his brother, “I bet you’ve got something to show her.” His brows waggle with not-subtle meaning. Luckily, Cooper is young enough that he doesn’t pick up on Bobby’s meaning yet.

  “Shh, Bobby! Don’t ruin the surprise!” Cooper blurts out, then his eyes go wide as he looks at me in horror. “Oops,” he says sadly.

  I grin. “Surprise? For me? It wouldn’t be a Christmas present, would it?” I snuggle up to Bruce’s chest, blinking up at him with innocent eyes.

  He smiles, but it’s full of dark promise. “Guess the cat’s outta the bag.” He dips his chin at his brothers and Cooper. “You guys good for dinner?”

  I love that he’s stepped right in with Cooper, treating him like one of the guys. Treating him like his son.

  They all nod in answer, and Bruce takes my hand, pulling me toward the back door. “We’re out then.”

  In surprise, my feet stutter underneath me and Bruce steadies me. “Out? Where are we going?” It’s the night before Christmas Eve and my plans included exciting things like Hallmark movies, mass quantities of wrapping paper, and adding Bailey’s to my decaf coffee.

  Bruce leans in and whispers hotly in my ear, “It’s a surprise, Al. Come on.”

  Well, all right then. That’s enough for me, and I let him lead me out the door and to his truck. He helps me in and then hops in himself, turning the heater up high to ward off the chill of the night.

  I don’t ask where we’re going, trusting him implicitly. Even so, my hand reaches up to grip the handle over the door as he bumps along over the land, eschewing the driveway and the road we usually use to go anywhere. But he doesn’t go far, just a few acres away from the Tannen homestead.

  He stops in the middle of a clearing, but I’m not sure where we are or why we’re here. “What am I looking at?” I ask, pointing at the orange spray paint lines in the snow and looking at Bruce.

  The truck’s headlights reflect on the snow and in the dim light, I swear I see him blush. But that can’t be. I mean . . . he’s him.

  “The paint’s just symbolic, but I talked to Mama Louise and Mark. This is the site where we can build. It’s where our home will be—you, Cooper and me. Merry Christmas, Allyson.” There’s the slightest tremble in his voice as it goes deep.

  “Our home?” I repeat, his meaning hitting me. “Oh, my gosh, I love it!” I lean over the console, needing to kiss him.

  He kisses me back hard and messy, tasting like cinnamon and instantly lighting a fire inside me. “Come here, baby,” he growls.

  Awkwardly, I climb over the console as he pushes his seat back. I straddle him, my professional work skirt riding up my thighs to make room for him between my legs.

  “Fuck, I love you, Allyson. I can’t wait . . . for any of it. For the wedding, for our house, for our family, for our life.”

  The simple but meaningful words surround us.

  He shakes his head like he can’t believe it, like he’s getting everything he ever wanted. So am I.

  “I love you too. I feel like we should celebrate.” I’m flirting with him, hungry for him the way I’m hungry for the picture he’s painting.

  His hands knead at my thighs, working higher as his eyes bore into me, reading my every reaction. I grind against him, feeling his cock thicken beneath me. “Kinda like old times, isn’t it? In your truck. Seems like we’ve been here a time or two before.”

  That’s an understatement. But as much as I loved him then, it’s nothing compared to now.

  “You like these tights?” he asks with wicked promise.

  I bite my lip, shaking my head, but my eyes are locked on his. “Not particularly.” I know why he’s asking, but I still gasp when his fingers dig in, tearing a hole in the tights I wore to work today. I’ll happily get another pair.

  My fingers drop between us, working at his zipper to free his cock. I have to lift up a little bit to give him room to move his jeans and underwear out of the way, but then I feel him against my slick core.

  He’s satin over steel, rock hard for me. “Give me that pussy, baby. Ride me.” It’s barely a whisper, but I feel the words on my skin like tattoos.

  I move my hips, my lips kissing at his crown. He grips my ass hard, his fingers digging into the flesh there to still me. “Slow or fast, Al?”

  Oh, God, so many memories assail me. Us, just like this, in his truck and the barn. He used to always ask me that right before entering me. He never does anymore, knowing the answer. But it’s a hot reminder of just how far we’ve come. “Fast, Bruce . . . fast.”

  He pulls me down, slamming me onto his thick cock and trusting that I’ll stretch around him.

  I cry out, filled and fulfilled in ways I never imagined. No, that’s not true—in ways I used to dream of and then gave up on. But I will never give up on Bruce again. Or myself.

  He holds me still, hammering up into me. I press against the roof of the truck for leverage, wanting to keep him . . .

  In my body, in my heart . . . forever.

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too,” he grits out through clenched teeth.

  It might’ve been a rough road to get here, but we’re finally exactly where we’re supposed to be. Together.

  ROUGH LOVE EXTENDED EPILOGUE

  1

  BRUCE - ABOUT A YEAR LATER

  After so many years of feeling like life’s punching bag, it’s amazing how fast things can turn around for me. I finally got the girl, the family, the house, and the land, even if it’s just the couple acres I bought back from Mama Louise. I’m the luckiest fucker that ever lived.

  Well, other than Brody. He’s pretty damn lucky his shit worked out too, but I ain’t thinking about him right now. Nope, after all these years of worrying about my family, I’m letting them live their own lives, loved but not clung to. I’m focusing on my lottery-winning dream of a life.

  I may not have a bank account with a bonus comma in it, but I am so damn rich… in love. And from love, in life. And family. A new family, the one I’ve dreamed about and is now by some miracle mine.

  I stretch out in bed, not the least bit ashamed that instead of sandpaper thread count discount store sheets that I can see my leg hairs through, I’m wallowing like a pig in slop on luxurious Egyptian cotton now. Only the best for Al, and I get the benefits by default. The sun is already high in the sky and I can’t remember the last time I slept past sunrise, but today is a special day.

  It’s our anniversary.

  Not of our wedding, though that day was perfect with Katelyn helping Allyson get everything just right. I look around our bedroom, remembering that day.

  We’d waited until the spring when the ground thawed and the construction crew could start building this house. And when they’d had only the foundation down, not even a stick of lumber for walls, we’d told them to give us a couple of weeks. Right there on the foundation of our home, we began the foundation of our marriage by exchanging vows.

  I chuckle at how people react when Allyson tells them that. Faces tend to get all scrunched like they smell a nasty fart, or confusion at why we’d do something so weird when we could’ve easily had the wedding at the resort where Katelyn is the Event Planner.

  But it was beautiful and what Allyson wanted, and what my girl wants, she gets. Katelyn was fully on board, Mama Louise said she knew a few tricks she could use to help out, and that was that. Of course I agreed, it felt special to her because it did to me too.

  Katelyn had coordinated the Bennett boys and my brothers to lay out rugs over the plywood subfloor, build an antique door with curtains and flowers as our ceremony backdrop, and set up a mish-mash of chairs for our small gathering of witnesses. And as the sun set over the land around our new home, we’d had our perfect start, a new beginning to a life that I love.

  But though the happy thoughts feel good washing through me, today’s not our wedding anniversary. It’s something much more important.

  No, today is the anniversary of the first date we went on in high school. A lifetime ago, but an important piece of our twisted and rough journey to today.

  Usually, I’d be all over planning something for Al, maybe even something for the three of us to do. Cooper loves to be my wingman and help me figure out fun things that’ll make his mom smile, though I think he might be the one that prefers the muddin’ trips he suggests, not Allyson.

  But this time, she’d told me to leave it all to her.

  So that’s how I’ve started the day sleeping in past sunrise - she got all my chores covered by the other guys. I grin, knowing that while I’ve been snoozing, they’re hours in to the day’s work. One more stretch and a scratch to my balls, and I make a move to sit upright.

  Where is Al anyways? If I was the one planning today’s activities, they damn sure would’ve started with her coming on my cock, but her side of the bed is empty and cool. With a couple of blinks, I wake fully and realize I need to piss. After a quick trip to our bathroom, attached to our bedroom like we’re fancy shit, I pull on loose boxers to track down my wife.

  As soon as I open our bedroom door, I can hear music playing softly and Allyson humming to the tune. I sneak down the hall, no easy feat for a big fucker like me, and peek around the doorway.

  She’s swaying in her cotton nightgown, not exactly dancing but just letting the music move through her as she… packs a backpack?

  What is she up to?

  I almost ask the question out loud, but I grit my teeth to keep my mouth shut and enjoy the show. I don’t know the song, but it’s something bluesy and it apparently makes Allyson feel like hip-bumping her way towards the pantry, then body-rolling her way back to the backpack. I’m so hypnotized by her ass that I miss whatever treat she packed for us.

  But I don’t miss my chance to push her up against the counter, my rock-hard cock pressed to the cradle of her ass. “Good morning, Mrs. Tannen.”

  She grinds back against me. “Good morning, Mr. Tannen. Sleep well?”

  I nip at her ear then soothe the bite with a sucking kiss. Sleep well? Always. But now I want more, so I whisper hotly in her ear. “I did. Right up until I woke up alone and hard, without my wife’s wet pussy to slip into for a proper wake up.”

  She looks over her shoulder, bottom lip caught in her teeth and flames licking in her eyes. I’m not a pretty man, especially not first thing in the morning with a muss of bedhead, prickly beard hair going every which way, and bad breath. Allyson never gives a fuck, always looking at me like she wants to climb me like a ten-foot pole and wrap her legs around my head till I suffocate, which sounds like a fine fucking plan to me anytime. Of course, I feel the same way about her. She’s sexy in whatever she wants to wear, whether she’s gussied up for a night out, prim and professional for work, filthy from chores around the farm, or my favorite, this look right here. Hair half-up and half-down, sleepy eyes, bare faced, and begging for me to fuck her without saying a damn word.

  “Well, wakey-wakey.” Intention drips from the words.

  “Where’s Cooper?” I growl darkly. As much as I’d like to, I’m not gonna fuck her right here in the kitchen if there’s a chance Cooper’s in the next room watching television or might wake up and decide to grab some cereal for breakfast. I love the kid, and don’t want to scar him by railing his mom somewhere we might get caught.

  “With Shay, milking goats.”

  She doesn’t even have the words out before I’m shoving my boxers down with one hand and lifting her nightgown up with the other. “Goddamn, Al. You’re not wearing panties. Bend over so I can get inside you.”

  She lifts to her toes, laying her chest to the counter we picked out together. I can see the smile on her face even as her brow twists with need. My little minx planned this part of our day too, I think.

  “Please, Bruce… fuck me.”

  But two can play this game. I don’t slip inside her, as much as I want to. Instead, I drop to my knees, placing a hand on her lower back to keep her still. My other hand runs from her ankle to her ass, kneading and rubbing as I press kisses along the backs of her thighs. I let my breath whisper against her core. “You want me to fuck this pussy, baby? You want my cock right here? Or maybe…?” I let the question taper off as I lick a long line through her slit.

  Her cry of pleasure is my favorite song, the one I want to hear every single day for the rest of my life. Her legs spread further apart, giving me access as she bucks her hips back for more.

  I grab her cheeks in both hands, my face buried in her as I fuck her with my tongue. She tastes so sweet and earthy, all at the same time, and I want to drown in her honey. But I replace my tongue with one of my thick fingers, finding that grooved spot I know drives her wild, and lick the nub of her clit. Faster and harder I work her body, knowing just what she needs. Not that she’s shy about telling me.

  She’s keening loudly, mewling and moaning. “Oh my god, Bruce. Yes, right there… fuuuuck…” In a long cry, she detonates, shaking and quivering as she comes gloriously.

  She’s still panting when I stand up behind her. “Hang on, Al.”

  Her noodle arms move, her hands going to the edge of the counter and with my hands on her hips, I shove into her in one harsh thrust, bottoming out deep inside her. She hisses, walking that line of pleasure and pain, and I watch her carefully as I fuck her raw and rough. “That’s it, take all of me. Take my cock, baby.”

  I can feel her velvety walls gripping me tight, milking me like her pussy’s hungry for my cum. I slam into her, pulling and pushing her hips with my every stroke, both fucking her and making her fuck me back. My tough girl can take it though, she likes us wild and reckless as much as she likes it soft and sweet.

  “Come again.” The demand is an order, and though she thrashes her head back and forth, trying to tell me no, her body is primed and on the edge. I strum her clit once and she explodes again, her hips going wild as she fucks me and cries out in pleasure. I hang on, trying to stay deep inside her to feel the spasms of her walls against my cock and with that tight squeeze, I shatter too, pumping out rope after rope of sticky cum. “Fuck, Al. Yessss…”

  She collapses against the counter, me holding her up with my hips, still impaled inside her. Laying soft kisses across her shoulder blade and down her spine, my words murmur against her skin. “Good morning, baby.”

  Her cheek is pressed to the counter, making her look a little like a sexy chipmunk and she mumbles something that vaguely sounds like ‘good morning’ back. I can’t help but chuckle, but I also playfully smack her ass in warning and to keep her from drifting off. “No napping. Whatcha got planned for us today?”

  I know I sound like a kid in a candy store, asking for one of everything, but I’m genuinely curious what she’s got up her sleeve.

  She sighs dreamily and rallies, her palms pressing to the counter to help her lift up. She twists, looking over her shoulder at me. “We’re going for a ride over to the pond and having a picnic.”

  It’s simple and straightforward.

  I love it. A whole day with Allyson all to myself.

  That’s not what I say though. “Little cold for swimming, ain’t it?” That’s an understatement. The water is probably barely fifty degrees, and that’s when the spring sun’s been beating down on it all day. “We could just stay here where it’s warm enough we don’t even need clothes.”

  Allyson spins in my arms, my soft cock leaving the haven of her pussy and I groan in disappointment. Even spent, I’d rather be inside her than not.

  “Go get cleaned up and dressed,” she says, all queen of the house again and making me love it. “We’re leaving in ten minutes or Lollipop is likely to start eating the side of the house.”

  Lollipop is a new horse Sophie talked Luke into rescuing, a supposed runt that his original owners didn’t want for some damnfool reason. He’s a good one, or at least he will be once Luke gets done training him. Lollipop started out a bit mannerless because his last owners didn’t teach him good habits, but Luke has made great headway with him, and Allyson has taken a liking to the pretty boy.

  And Lollipop is a pretty horse, with flanks creamy as butter and dark legs. And he goes all soft and heart-eyed when Allyson scratches along the black stripe on his back. But he is still a nibbler and very well may take a chomp out of the house if we leave him waiting too long.

  “I’ll be ready in five, don’t let that monster eat the living room from the outside in.”

  Allyson

  I hope he gets it. I hope he thinks it’s cute. I hope he doesn’t think it’s stupid.

  My mind plays on repeat as we ride across the fields towards the pond behind the Bennett homestead.

  It’s not too close to Mama Louise’s, a few acres away and over a rolling hill that places the pond at the bottom of a small valley, making it seem like a private country paradise.

  Usually, it’s James and Sophie’s secret spot, but they helped me arrange everything today so I know they’ll leave us alone.