Man Find (Bergen Brothers Book 3) Read online

  “Glenna’s bedroom?” he asked again.

  “Yes.”

  “For redirection?”

  “Yes, follow the doilies, Bobble-Bergen.”

  Bobble-what?

  “What did you just call me?”

  She glanced away, but she was still smiling. “Bobble-Bergen. I named you that because when you got here, all you seemed to do was nod.”

  He nodded. He couldn’t argue with that.

  She chuckled. “Now go. If there were ever two people who needed a little redirection, it’s us.”

  Cadence picked up the beer bottles and went inside, leaving him on the porch without a backward glance.

  He ran his hands through his hair. What the hell was going on?

  Dazed, he crossed the yard and entered Glenna’s Doily-land domain.

  “Camden, are you there?”

  He looked around. “Glenna?”

  Jesus! Was it the dead doily lady haunting him?

  “No, it’s Cadence. I’m at the door that connects our bedrooms.”

  “You are?” he called.

  “Yes.”

  He entered the bedroom and saw the outline of her feet underneath the door.

  “I’m here,” he said and pressed his hand to the cool oak.

  “Things got pretty deep out there. Redirection is a way to…get back on track,” she said.

  He could hear the smile in her voice, but he was still confused. “Is this redirection? You want to talk through the door? Don’t get me wrong. I’m totally down for that,” he answered, mentally punching himself in the mouth.

  If she wanted to tie tin cans to a string and chat that way, he’d make a mad dash for the can opener.

  He waited, but she didn’t answer.

  “Cadence—”

  “Did you like kissing me?” she asked softly, cutting him off.

  Was the sky fucking blue?

  “Yes.”

  “Did you like touching me?”

  The thought of her riding his hand got him hard instantly.

  “If I were standing next to you, I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off of you,” he said, his tone infused with a primal rumble.

  “What would you do first?”

  He rested his forehead on the door. “I’d get a real look at those sexy as hell panties you’ve got on.”

  “You could see them now.”

  Holy hell!

  “Yeah?” he answered.

  “I’m right here.”

  He gripped the knob. “I don’t have a key to open the door.”

  She chuckled. “There’s no lock.”

  He took a step back and looked at the glass daisy doorknob. “I could come in there right now?”

  “We’d have to be quiet,” she whispered.

  “I could be quiet.”

  He could be anything she wanted.

  “This would have to stay between us, I wouldn’t want Bodhi to…”

  She didn’t have to say the words.

  “I understand.”

  The light shifted under the door. “I could use a little redirection—a shift away from all the obligations and worries. I need this summer, Camden. I need…”

  Someone to take her mind off all her responsibilities. Someone to hold. Someone to ease the loneliness.

  He couldn’t give her Mac, but he could give her this. In the blink of an eye, the need to have her in his arms consumed him. He turned the daisy knob and charged through the door.

  She reared back and gasped. “Oh! You really know how to make an entrance.”

  He’d busted into his grandparents’ backyard, charged through her front door last night, and he nearly knocked her over, overcome with the need to get to her now. He should have knocked or at least let her know he was coming, but that thought evaporated when his gaze landed on the temptress standing in front of him.

  “You’re still dressed,” she said with a sexy twist to her lips.

  In nothing but a lacy bra and that G-string he’d been dying to see, she rendered him speechless—all that blood heading south.

  His jaw dropped, but he willed himself to speak. “Is this redirection?”

  “Yes.”

  “You, standing here in your underwear looking like a goddess, is redirection?” he asked. He needed to be sure.

  “Yes, we needed to find a productive focus.”

  He held her gaze. “I like redirection.”

  She ran a finger slowly down her bra strap. “I thought you might.”

  “You’re stunning,” he said.

  “And, again…you’re still dressed.”

  She bit her lip, and his cock took over. He kicked off his shoes, got his shirt stuck on his head, and almost fell over trying to take off his pants. He stood in front of her in his boxer briefs.

  “Wow,” she breathed. “I mean, I knew. I mean, I figured. I mean…you are really big and pretty built and when I was on your lap…”

  At least he wasn’t the only one here totally botching the sexy talk.

  She glanced away. “If it’s not completely obvious, it’s been a while for me.”

  “Me too,” he confided.

  “I’m on the pill if you don’t have any condoms,” she said with a little cringe.

  “Oh, I have some!” he blurted out like it was the winning answer on Jeopardy.

  She cocked her head to the side. “You do?”

  “I do, but not because I thought…”

  I thought in some fantasy world I’d find you and start instantly fucking you into next week.

  “You know, safety,” he said, thankful his brain was capable of basic rational thought.

  She nodded. “That’s smart.”

  “Hold on!” He went into his bedroom and pulled a condom from his backpack.

  He hurried back and held it up. “Got it!” he whispered-shouted.

  Shit! He needed to pull it together. He set the foil packet on her nightstand.

  She went to touch the ring, but she’d taken it off, and her hands fell to her sides. “Thank you, Camden. I know you’re not here to stay, and I know the arrangement between us is a little unorthodox. But I’m really glad you’re here.”

  No longer ruled by nervous energy, he closed the distance between them and cupped her face in his hands. This was Daisy. His Daisy.

  It was time for some redirection.

  “Tell me what you need.”

  She smiled up at him. “I’d like you to kiss me again and…”

  “And, what?” he asked.

  She turned away. “And…I like knowing that you want me. I liked feeling you between my thighs. Just for a little while, I’d like to be more than a mom and a widow and a teacher. I’d like to be…desired.”

  Jesus, if she only knew.

  “Cadence, look at me,” he said gently.

  She released a shaky breath and met his gaze. A dim lamp in the corner of the room lit her features, and in the hazy glow, her bottom lip trembled.

  He brushed his thumb across it, trying to smooth out any apprehension. “I can do that. But I need you to know, I see all of you, and you’re perfect. I’m going to show you exactly what it feels like to be desired.”

  He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, and she melted into the kiss, her hands coming to rest on his chest. She sighed as he deepened the connection, his tongue finding hers, as his hands skimmed down, past her shoulders, and brought her body flush with his.

  Her hands didn’t rise to the nape of his neck as they had when they were on the swing. Instead, they glided down his back, feeling the muscles ripple and contract as he shifted his hold on her body and lifted her into his arms.

  She released a surprised gasp. “Are we going somewhere?”

  “Redirection,” he said with a naughty bend to the word. He glanced down at her queen-sized bed. “How come you don’t have a tiny Glenna bed?”

  “I guess, Gertrude liked having more space.”

  He gave her a wolfish grin. “Do you want to kn
ow what I’m going to do to you on that old lady’s bed?” he whispered into her ear.

  He liked finding his focus.

  The concern in her eyes vanished and was replaced with a sultry spark that had him ready to peel the lacy undergarments from her body.

  She licked her lips and closed her eyes. “I’m listening.”

  He’d never been a talkative person. Growing up as the youngest Bergen, his brothers were either telling him what to do or finishing his sentences. Reading and writing hadn’t come easy to him as a child. As he’d gotten older, he’d preferred hands-on, kinesthetic learning. He’d written words backward, forgotten vowels, and was often at a loss for the right word. It wasn’t until third grade or so when written and oral language clicked, but he’d remained quiet. As the oldest, Jasper called the shots. Bren was always hot-dogging it, showing off or being silly. He’d become the observer—quietly assessing and contemplating.

  But when he’d message back and forth with Daisy, he’d found himself talking aloud as if she were right there.

  He set her on the bed, resting her head on the pillow. Her hair fanned out across the pale pink bedding, bringing out the color of the kissable rosy plumpness of her lips. Like a present set out before him, he prowled the length of her body, dropping kisses as he moved from her ankles to knees to thighs before stopping at the lacy panties.

  “I’m going to slide your panties down your legs so slowly you’ll be begging me to tear them off.”

  A shiver passed over her body as her hips lifted a fraction.

  “See, you already want them off,” he said, a low primal edge to his voice.

  He hooked his index fingers into the slim band and slid the G-string down, one delicious inch at a time.

  He stood at the foot of her bed. She was a goddess. All golden hair and sweet curves. She propped herself up on an elbow and stared at the bulge in his boxer briefs. “Your turn.”

  He took off the garment, revealing his rock-hard cock. He took his hard length into his hand and gave it one slow pump. This wasn’t him. He wasn’t an exhibitionist, but he liked having her eyes on him.

  “Come here,” she whispered, beckoning him.

  He ran his fingertips up her legs as another shiver passed through her when he stopped at the apex of her thighs. He gripped her hips and licked a trail across the smooth skin of her inner thigh all the way to her sweet center.

  Her body trembled beneath his touch, and as much as he wanted to drive his thick shaft into her, fill her completely, and feel her tighten around him, he wasn’t about to let this end in a matter of a few hard, sweaty thrusts.

  He worked her sweet bundle of nerves with his tongue. Her fingers tangled in his hair as she twisted and writhed beneath him. And Christ! She tasted good. Sweet, warm, and slick with arousal, he drove her higher and higher, her breaths coming fast, her moans intensifying.

  He released her hips and raised his hand to her lips, muffling the cries as she took his middle finger into her mouth and sucked. The sensation rocketed to his already weeping cock, emboldening him, focusing him on one thing and one thing only…her sweet release.

  She gripped his hand and pressed it to her lips as a shudder passed through her, meeting her orgasm. Carnal conquest swept through him. He worked her, licking and sucking her sweet bud until her body relaxed beneath his touch.

  She sighed. “I want you inside of me.”

  “I want that, too,” he said in a heated rumble of breath with her sweet taste lingering on his lips.

  She picked up the condom and handed it to him.

  He tore open the packet and rolled it onto his cock.

  She watched him closely, then met his gaze. “Why does it feel like we’ve been waiting for ages to do this?”

  Because we have. Because I’ve dreamed of this, of you, so many nights, you felt more like a memory to me than just a dream.

  He covered her body with his and positioned his hard length at her entrance. “Because we both really need some redirection,” he said instead.

  She smiled up at him. “All the redirection.”

  “Hours of redirection,” he countered and thrust inside her.

  She gasped, and he stilled.

  “Am I hurting you?”

  “No, it feels so very…”

  He pushed in farther, filling her completely. “So very, what?”

  “So very right,” she whispered, rolling her hips and grinding against him.

  It was more than right. It was everything. He glided his cock back and forth, their bodies growing slick with sweat as friction between them built. He laced one hand with hers, her fingers entwined with his. Their bodies came together in a perfect harmony that had him dangling on the edge of release. He wasn’t sure he could hold back until Cadence tightened around him, meeting her second orgasm as he buried his face in the crook of her neck and met his.

  Holding back the roar of his release intensified the sexual sensations. Every thrust, every feverish buck of their hips, every breathy sigh, and the carnal scent of sex in the air all amplified. He pressed a kiss beneath her ear, and she tightened her grip on his hand.

  “Camden?”

  His name had never sounded sweeter.

  He closed his eyes and breathed her in. “Yes.”

  “Would you stay until I fell asleep?”

  He pushed up onto his elbow. “I can do that,” he said gently.

  He took care of the condom then joined her back in bed, wrapping her in his arms. She hummed her contentment and snuggled into him. Her breaths grew rhythmic, their legs tangled together as her body relaxed into his embrace.

  “Sweetest dreams, Camden,” she said in a dreamy sigh.

  He held her and stared at the ceiling and listened as she fell into a deep sleep. He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head, then slid out of bed, careful not to make a sound, and pulled on his jeans. He glanced around her room and found a picture of her and Bodhi. The necklace with her late husband’s ring hung off the corner, the dim light glinting off the gold surface.

  A protective impulse swept through him. And he couldn’t leave—not yet.

  He glanced at Cadence, sleeping soundly, then opened the door—not to his side of the house—but into Cadence and Bodhi’s side. He checked their front door, making sure it was locked then went to the rear of the house. The back porch light was on, and just as he was about to turn it off, he caught the shadow of something moving. He opened the door as two critters sprang from a nearby bush and scampered across the yard.

  He chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t kill the squirrels.”

  He turned to go inside when a cluster of flowers caught his attention. Even in the dim light, he could make out the slim, rounded petals and the button centers.

  Daisies.

  He picked one and grinned.

  Locking the door behind him, he made his way down the hall and stopped at Bodhi’s door. He turned the knob and quietly looked in as the hazy blue light serenely circled around the sleeping boy.

  The muscles in his chest tightened.

  “I can give you the summer,” he whispered, closing the door as the boy shifted in his sleep.

  Cam entered Cadence’s room and picked up the notepad and pen on her nightstand. He glanced from her to the daisy and scribbled out a note.

  He collected his clothing, then leaned over her peaceful form.

  “I can’t believe I found you. Sweetest dreams, Mountain Daisy,” he said, leaving the daisy and the note on the pillow next to her before closing the door and retreating to Glenna’s bed.

  9

  Cadence

  “Mommy, you have a big, big smile on your face.”

  Cadence closed and locked the door behind them and adjusted her backpack. “It must be because I’m so excited for Bergen Adventure Camp.”

  Or—that I spent a good part of last night having my body ravaged by the sexiest man on the planet.

  If she hadn’t woken up to the scent of him on her sheets, she m
ight have thought she’d had an erotic dream. But when she’d opened her eyes, the first thing that came into focus was a daisy on the pillow next to her along with a folded piece of paper.

  You look like an angel in your sleep.

  Eight words.

  One simple line of text that put a smile on her face as the sweet ache between her thighs left no doubt that she’d spent the night with Camden Bergen.

  What was even more shocking was that she’d suggested it.

  She’d asked him for the summer.

  She’d asked him to kiss her.

  She’d played the part of the naughty schoolteacher and had given him a lesson in the X-rated version of redirection.

  She’d never been bold in the naughty department. She’d been with Aaron. All their firsts happened together. There was never a chase or even seduction. Not that she didn’t enjoy being intimate with her late husband. She did. But it was never…unexpected. She’d never known the rush of anticipation.

  What had given her the push?

  Well, everyone around her was falling ass over elbow in love.

  She’d been surrounded by her friends finding their forever with a Bergen brother.

  And even though she couldn’t have the all-encompassing happily ever after they’d found—Camden was only here for the summer and Bodhi and her commitment to Aaron ensured that—maybe she could have a little piece of that happiness with the youngest Bergen brother.

  A taste of being truly desired.

  When she’d hit pause on the internal ticker tape inside her head before she’d asked him to kiss her, she’d felt lighter. At that moment, she didn’t see herself as merely a widow and a mother. She was just a woman with needs. A woman who craved the touch and attention of a man.

  A woman in need of a secret summer liaison.

  Nobody would have to know. It would be like summer break—all the more sweeter because you knew the hours would roll into days and the days into weeks. And then, it would be over, and like the seasons, life would move on.

  She might be left longing and possibly heartbroken, but those truths couldn’t outweigh her desire to squeeze every drop out of this summer fling.

  A delicious tingle danced down her spine and settled between her thighs at the thought of Camden’s hands, gripping her hips. His mouth working her most sensitive place and his hard length thrusting deep inside her.