Family Values Read online

  He wrapped strong arms around her, and they stayed like that, locked together, for several long moments. Then he kissed her forehead. “I’d like a bed beneath us. Something soft.”

  “That would mean I have to move,” she said, smiling against his shoulder.

  “You won’t have to lift a finger.” He rose, never losing his connection to her, and strode toward the bed. Then he crawled toward the center, cupping her butt to keep her close.

  When she was beneath him, covered head-to-toe by his heavy body, he winced. “I should have thought this through. I’m still wearin’ my boots.”

  Angelina laughed and tugged at his open shirt, pushing it down his arms until he pulled free of it and tossed it away.

  “Can’t do a thing about your boots,” she murmured, but she slid her hands over his buttocks and pushed his jeans farther down his thighs. “That good enough?”

  “I’ll make do.”

  When he began moving, it was like riding waves, gentle swells, at first, then deepening troughs.

  And when they both approached the peak, he wrapped his arms around her and held her as though she was something precious, something to be treasured.

  Eli and Nate didn’t return until the early morning hours, when they woke her with whispers and led her to the bath they’d prepared, filled with scented Epsom salts. Not that they left her. They joined her, washing her, letting her rest against them as they pampered her.

  “This will work,” Nate said as he gently rubbed her breasts with a soapy cloth.

  Behind her, Eli massaged her shoulders. “Face it, you’re gonna be spoiled rotten.”

  She kept her eyes closed and merely smiled. “Be warned,” she murmured. “You’ve created a monster.”

  With their laughter echoing against the tiles, she peeked across at the bathroom door. Brand stood there, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest, wearing just his jeans and crooked smile. “Don’t think any of you are getting out of work today.”

  And although she was tired, Angelina gave him a wide smile. No doubts lingered. There was enough love inside this room to make sure they made it.

  Epilogue

  Brand tugged at his tie again. The damn thing was so tight he felt as though he was choking.

  “Not getting cold feet, are you?” Nate whispered beside him.

  Brand grunted and gave him a swift glare.

  All three brothers were lined up, their gazes on the hallway leading from Angelina’s old bedroom.

  The living room was packed. Amid the clutter of a Christmas tree and holiday decorations, bright red blooms and rows of folding chairs draped in white damask—he knew, because he’d approved the order—were their neighbors and friends. The mood in the room was festive and without a single judging stare.

  The brothers had made up the guest list and then divided it, issuing the invitations in person to make sure that anyone who came did so because they wished them well, not because they were curious. Today, there’d be no clouds to darken their joy.

  Among the rows of well-wishers were Dani and Justin Cruz, Rowe Ayers beside them, bouncing a blond baby girl on his knee. Dani’s brother, Cutter Standifer sat beside them with his pretty wife Katie, his son cradled in his arms.

  In the next rows, the multitude of Two Mule’s other polyamory marriages—the Kinzies, the Logans, Cam and Joe from the ranch next door, and their girl, Stormy—were living proof that love and commitment could come in varying-sized packages. Maybe he’d stacked the deck, but today, Brand didn’t want Angelina to have even one doubt.

  Not that he expected her to hesitate. Since the weekend of her return, she’d thrown herself into life at the ranch with him and his brothers.

  Whispers started. And Brand turned again to the hallway, smiling as Mama Amelia walked arm-in-arm with her daughter.

  One glance at Angelina and his breath caught. Her dress had been the only arrangement they’d allowed her to manage on her own. So the sight that greeted him rocked him to his toes. She’d foregone a veil, and her long hair curled softly around her shoulders. Her dress was a simple, silky confection with white flowers embroidered around the bodice. The soft drape of the fabric showed her rounded belly to perfection. She’d never looked prettier. Or happier. Already, he could see tears welling in her eyes.

  Without a thought for his brothers, or the laughter of their guests, he stepped eagerly forward and took her hand, bending quickly to kiss her mother’s cheek.

  Amelia laid her palm against the side of his face. “I give her into your care, mijo.”

  Brand smiled and tucked Angelina’s hand in the crook of his arm and led her the rest of the way toward his brothers, who both wore gentle smiles for their beautiful bride.

  Angelina darted a glance at their guests, then eyed Brand, Eli and Nate. “We’re really going to do this?” she whispered. “Last chance to run.”

  Nate frowned. “Not funny, sweetheart.”

  Eli patted his pocket and muttered under his breath, “I spent a month coming up with my vows.”

  Brand reached out and manacled her wrist. “We’re never letting you go.”

  Angelina sighed. “It doesn’t seem fair.”

  Brand understood, and the last of his doubts that he could share Angelina for the rest of their lives melted away. Fair had nothing to do with love. Love just happened. Once upon a time, he’d dreamed of having her for his own, but this was…richer, better. He’d never worry that she’d be left alone. They’d share their joys as well as disappointments. They’d build a stronger future.

  Glancing down at her belly, he felt complete. Satisfied.

  “Well?” she said softly.

  Brand slipped his hand into his pocket to retrieve the three slender bands he and his brothers would slide onto her finger. “I’m ready.”

  About the Author

  Delilah Devlin is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of erotica and erotic romance with a rapidly expanding reputation for writing deliciously edgy stories with complex characters. She has published over a hundred forty erotic stories in multiple genres and lengths, and she is published by Atria/Strebor, Avon, Berkley, Black Lace, Cleis Press, Ellora’s Cave, Grand Central, Harlequin Spice, HarperCollins: Mischief, Kensington, Montlake Romance, Running Press and Samhain Publishing. In May 2014, she added Grand Central to her list of publishers when Her Only Desire released!

  You can find Delilah all over the web:

  www.delilahdevlin.com

  twitter.com/DelilahDevlin

  www.facebook.com/DelilahDevlinFanPage

  Or email her at: [email protected].

  Look for these titles by Delilah Devlin

  Now Available:

  Saddled

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  Unforgiven

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  A Four-Gone Conclusion

  Reined In

  Delta Heat

  Five Ways ’Til Sunday

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  In Too Deep

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  Hotter with a Pole

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  Coming Soon

  Beaux Rêve Coven

  Wolf Moon Rising

  Firehouse 69

  Rapid Entry

  Don’t Miss the other titles in Delilah Devlin’s Lone Star Lovers series!

  Who sa
ys a cowgirl can’t have it all?

  Lone Star Lovers, Book 7

  Stormy is a rancher’s daughter through and through, and although she went away to college, her soul is firmly rooted in home ground—and the cowboys she grew up tormenting. When she hears her father might be selling the ranch, she packs her bags and high tails it for home, terrified she might never get another chance to lasso the heart of one of her cowboys before the hands scatter to the four winds.

  For Cam and Joe, foreman and wrangler on the ranch, Stormy was a pain in the seat of their Wranglers. But when she roars back onto the ranch, the spoiled brat they remember emerges from the cloud of dust in skin-tight jeans and spike heels and all grown up.

  It only takes a hot second to figure out she’s hell-bent on seduction. But if she thinks they’re going to make it easy for her to pick which cowboy she wants most, she’s sadly mistaken. And who says she has to choose one?

  Warning: Contains cowboy-style spanking, flogging, and hog-tying. And a cowgirl who loves every minute of it.

  If you loved this book, then you’re sure to love these Samhain favorites as well!

  When your heart is stuck in the wrong gear, a quick fix isn’t going to cut it.

  Firehouse 69, Book 2

  When Noah buys a classic ’68 Camaro from a fellow firefighter’s widow, he hopes it will ease some of the grief crushing his heart. But the grinding noise under the car’s hood sends him straight to a mechanic. Something about the burly, imposing Hoyt sparks Noah’s interest, and it’s not just Hoyt’s ice-blue eyes and bad-boy biker looks. It’s the mutual interest they have—Club LaForge.

  After losing his partner to cancer a year ago, Hoyt never thought he’d feel the same kind of rush with another man. But his reaction to Noah throbs deep in his body like the rumble of his Harley.

  LaForge seems like the perfect place to meet and work off some sorrow, to feel alive again. But the flood of desire quickly gets hot enough to melt their emotional barriers into unexpected connections.

  Connections Hoyt isn’t sure he’s ready for…especially since history has a scary way of repeating itself.

  Warning: Get your motor running for a Harley-riding hunk of muscle who doesn’t give a damn about the rules of being a Dom, and a firefighter who can take the heat. Buy a case of your favorite coolant. You’re gonna need it.

  One demon lights her fire. It’ll take three to cool her down.

  Beaux Rêve Coven, Book 2

  Now that the battle dust has settled and the witches have won their freedom, Miren Lynch is going stir crazy. Sure, her three demon bodyguards are hot—especially Renner Neilsen—but having them constantly underfoot and ordering her around is about to drive her insane.

  One kiss proves the attraction between her and Renner is mutual, but when the sea draugr slips into her dreams, he ignites a fire only three demons can quench.

  To Renner, it makes perfect sense for Miren to choose him for her mate. They share the same element—water. They’re both wildly attracted. But once he sneaks into her dream to seduce her, she doesn’t trust his promise he won’t abuse the power a witch brings to a mate.

  His solution? Show her he will provide everything she needs for her wellbeing—from mind-bending pleasure to her treasured freedom—even if it means sharing her with a pair of handsome and lusty mermen twins.

  Warning: Contains explicit sexual escapades between three handsome specimens of juicy otherworld masculinity and a witch who knows that even the most hardass demon hides a gooey marshmallow inside. Happy tasting!

  eBooks are not transferable.

  They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

  11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

  Cincinnati OH 45249

  Family Values

  Copyright © 2015 by Delilah Devlin

  ISBN: 978-1-61922-729-3

  Edited by Heidi Moore

  Cover by Angela Waters

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: November 2015

  www.samhainpublishing.com