A Coyote Ridge Christmas

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Travis Walker

T minus fifteen days.

That was how much time I had before Christmas was upon us, and as God was my witness, I had no idea what to get my ever-expanding family.

Not a fucking clue.

Which was the very reason I’d slipped out of work today, sneaking in a little private time to do some shopping. Here I was, three hours in, surrounded by hundreds of shoppers doing pretty much the same thing, and fuck-all, I was as empty-handed as I’d been when I started.

It should’ve been simple, really. Slip into a toy store, toss a few things in the cart for the kiddos, move on to the next store. Maybe a necklace for Kylie, a new wallet for Gage. Only, as I’d strolled through those stores, looked at those things, I hadn’t been inspired. For whatever reason, I didn’t think my wife, husband, and five precious kids would be impressed with all the material crap they could get for themselves.

Not that I had a clue what to do about that.

I paused to stare at the mall directory, hoping something would jump out at me.

“Well, I’ll be damned.”

I pivoted at the familiar voice, smiled when Sawyer came strolling toward me, decked out in his regular attire of Wranglers, boots, and the black felt Stetson he favored in winter. “What’re you doin’ here?”

My brother grinned. “Same thing you are, I suppose.”

I held out my empty hands, showing him the proof of my failure. “Hope you’ve fared better than I have.”

Sawyer mimicked my movement, hands empty. “Nope. And I’ve been at it since nine o’clock this mornin’.”

Unable to help myself, I laughed. “You got me there. I’ve only been at it since lunch. We’re a pair, aren’t we?”

“That we are,” Sawyer agreed. “Though a pair of what, I’m not sure.”

Turning to survey the shoppers moving through the mall, I motioned Sawyer toward the Starbucks. “While we wait for inspiration to hit, let me buy you some coffee.”

“I’d need somethin’ far stronger for inspiration. But coffee’ll do for now.” He fell into step with me. “Does Gage know you’re here?”

“No one knows,” I admitted as we pulled up the rear of the Starbucks line, a good ten people deep. “And it looks as though I’ve wasted a perfectly good day.”

“I know the feelin’. Spent yesterday and today shoppin’, and the only thing I’ve accomplished is a headache from hell. But don’t let Zane know that. Fucker’s been done with his shoppin’ since October.”

Oh, yes. I had heard. Numerous times.

We inched along in the line as one person after another rattled off their extra shot, no foam, extra foam, add some vanilla cappu-latte whatevers.

“Find anything for the secret Santa?” Sawyer inquired.

I nodded. “Found that a month ago.”

“Yeah, me, too.” My brother’s mischievous grin told me far more than I wanted to know. Sawyer was a legend when it came to his secret Santa gifts, and it was a damn near guarantee he’d make the recipient blush to the roots of their hair. That was saying something, considering I owned a fetish resort and most of my brothers were into the lifestyle.

We took a minute to place our orders with the barista before joining the horde waiting for their cup of fancy joe.

“You know who I’m havin’ the hardest time with?” Sawyer prompted. “Mom and Pop.”

“Yeah, me, too.” They were among the list of people I had to buy for, and I couldn’t think of a single thing my parents wanted. Or needed, for that matter.

“We should’ve just taken a vacation. Hold up. I’ll get it,” Sawyer said before squeezing through the other patrons to grab my black coffee when they called my name.

A vacation?

Why the hell hadn’t I thought of that?

Sawyer returned to my side, eyebrows lowered as he passed over the cup. “What’s on your mind?”

“A vacation,” I said, meeting his steel-blue eyes. “It’s a fucking brilliant idea.”

Sawyer’s grin was slow and wide. “Yeah? And how do you propose we pull that shit off? We’ve got what? Two weeks till Christmas. Ain’t a room to be had at any resort worth a shit.”

I pulled the lid off my coffee, blew on the steaming liquid as the idea took root in my head.

“Not to mention,” he continued, “we’ve got an army we’d have to cart off. Airfare or, hell, even gas’ll cost a fortune.”

I turned to face him. “I know a resort with plenty of rooms.”

Sawyer shook his head. “The B and B won’t have the space to house us all.”

“Not Rex’s place.” Definitely not enough space.

His dark eyebrow quirked. “You’re talkin’ outta state? Like I said, ain’t gonna—”

I smiled, perhaps for the first time in hours. “We won’t have to leave Coyote Ridge.”

Sawyer’s eyebrows lowered, as though he was working to figure out the riddle. A second later, he barked a laugh, a sound much like a gunshot, causing several heads to turn. “AI? You wanna take Mom and Pop to the country’s most profitable fetish resort?” He laughed again. “Man, I think that last clingy marble finally dropped right outta your head.”

I took a sip of coffee, let the idea form. Finally, I met Sawyer’s amused gaze. “I’m serious. We’ll shut it down for a week, make a few modifications, block off the fetish rooms. It could work.”

My brother’s expression sobered. “Actually … that’s not a bad idea.”

“I know.” I glanced at the counter, suddenly ready to get back to Alluring Indulgence so I could put things in motion. “What the fuck kind of frou-frou drink did you order?”

“If I’m gonna pay eight bucks for a cup of coffee, I’m gonna get my money’s worth.”

“I paid for coffee,” I told him.

Sawyer grinned. “Then I’ll get your money’s worth.”

Thank the good Lord, they finally called Sawyer’s name. When he sauntered over to get his dessert in the form of java, I moved to an empty table, set my cup down, and snatched my phone out of my pocket. I pulled up the group text I maintained with my brothers and Gage, then shot off an SOS, letting them know I required their presence at Moonshiners. Tonight. Seven o’clock.

Sawyer returned, staring at his phone. “You’re bringin’ them in on it, huh?”

Hell yeah, I was.

And this would be the best damn Christmas we’d ever had.

Later that evening, I sat at a table in our favorite watering hole, my brothers scattered around the two four-tops we’d brought together, Gage at my side. I’d just laid out my plan and, as I’d expected, was met with a variety of expressions.

Kaleb, the easygoing one, looked as though he was on board for anything. Ethan, the normally dark, brooding one, gave an encouraging why the hell not shrug. Brendon appeared to be calculating the details in his head, likely trying to figure out whether his country music superstar wife would be in town that week. Braydon was glancing at Brendon, probably waiting for his twin to come to a conclusion. Sawyer, who was clearly on board, was watching the lot of us, waiting for someone to speak up. And Zane … well, the youngest of us all was unhinging his jaw, gearing up for…

“You wanna do what?” Zane’s blue-gray eyes bounced from face to face, clearly shocked that no one else had spoken up.

“We’ll shut it down for a week. Well, five days to be exact,” I explained.

“And the clubs?” he inquired, referring to Covet and Crave, the two hot spots within the resort whose doors were open to the public.

“Won’t be gettin’ much action anyway,” I told him. “And we’ll have ’em back open in plenty of time for New Year’s.”

Zane’s gaze shot to Ethan. “What about Walker Demo?”

Ethan shrugged at the same time I said, “Reese can clear the schedule.”

“I think it’s a brilliant idea,” Kaleb said. “Keeps us all in one place and Travis is right. There’s plenty of room.”

“Who exactly are you invitin’ to this thing?” Braydon asked.

“Family. Whoever’s in Coyote Ridge, whoever wants to join us,” I answered, then turned to Gage. “We’ll wanna extend invitations to Jared and the Lambert crew.”

Gage nodded. “Agreed.”

“Also, the Caines,” I added.

“Yep. We’re gonna need a lot of help to get this underway,” Gage said, his voice calm and cool, as though he expected me to come up with these off-the-wall ideas. Then again, he probably did. I had been known to throw a few curveballs over the years.

I met each stare, waited for official responses.

“I’m in,” Kaleb said.

Zane peered around Braydon to look at Kaleb. “Of course you are.”

Ethan was next with, “Count us in.”

“Seriously?” Zane said, locking eyes with Ethan. “When’s the last time you set foot in AI?”

“The grand opening,” he supplied.

“Exactly,” Zane stated. “Almost five years ago.”

“So?” Ethan countered. “If you’re takin’ Mom and Pop, I figure I don’t have to worry about seein’ shit I have no business seein’.”

Braydon and Brendon nodded at the same time, then in unison said, “Let’s do this.”

“I’m definitely game,” Sawyer added.

Zane seemed to consider it. “Keep in mind, my lady just gave birth.”

Yep. V had popped out her and Zane’s fourth and final baby—another boy—just three days ago. Mom and baby were doing great.

“True,” Kaleb said, looking at Gage. “We’ll have to ensure she’s set up in a suite.”

“We can do that,” Gage noted, his phone in his hand.

“Are you takin’ notes?” Zane teased, bringing his beer bottle to his lips.

Gage smirked, then cut his eyes to me, a silent response of: what do you think?

Yep, I had to admit, I had the best husband in the history of husbands. The man knew me better than I knew myself. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Gage had already planned for this. Maybe not a Christmas gathering, but he’d probably figured I would hijack the resort at some point.

“All right then,” I told the group, setting down my beer and leaning forward. “We’ve got a shit ton to plan and not much time to do it.”

* * *

Gage Matthews-Walker

I had suspected my husband was up to something. The man had been off these past few days. Antsy. More so than normal, in any case. So I wasn’t all that surprised when Travis threw out the idea of gathering the Walker crew at Alluring Indulgence Resort for a Christmas getaway.

Truth be told, it was a rather decent idea. The Walkers were known for their family gatherings. Hell, they still descended on Curtis and Lorrie’s every Sunday for dinner, a tradition Lorrie had implemented many moons ago.

However, I also knew Travis wasn’t going to settle for having a Christmas tree brought in and set up in the main floor recreation area. Oh, no. My overachieving husband was going to go all out, spare no expense, in an effort to ensure his family had a grand ol’ time.

“And a snow machine,” Travis added, his fingers tapping on the steering wheel as he drove toward home.

“A snow machine?” I asked even as I added it in my notes app.

“Why not? The kids’ll go apeshit for it.”

True. Considering we didn’t see much snow in our patch of Texas, a snow machine would be quite the treat.

“We’ll set it up in the courtyard. Clear everything else out.”

I tapped out the details, knowing I’d be the one delegating to those who’d signed up to help out.

“Make sure Kaden and Keegan know,” Travis said, turning the wheel, directing the truck into the long driveway that led to our house. “Plus Rex and Rafe. Not sure they’ll make it, but we can extend the invitation in any case.”

The four names were added to the growing list.

“You gonna let Kylie in on this?” I asked, wanting to ensure we were on the same page before I did something stupid like let the cat out of the bag. Travis had already told his brothers to keep the details on the DL. No one was to know, but when it came to our wife, sometimes those rules didn’t apply.

“Nope. Let it be a surprise.”

Great. I knew how much Kylie loved surprises. About as much as a rabid case of chicken pox.

But this was Travis’s plan, so I would follow it to the letter. Plus, I liked the idea of surprising Kylie. She worked so damn hard, maintaining her business restoring old houses while managing our household and raising five babies. She deserved to sit this one out and reap the benefits.

Travis stopped his SUV behind my truck, threw it in Park before launching himself out.

I smiled. The man was on a mission and everyone knew to stay out of Travis’s way when he was in planning mode. For the next few days, there’d be no rest for the wicked. I’d long ago learned my husband’s throttle was opened wide whenever he wanted something, and this would be no exception.

By the time I reached the front porch, Travis was already inside, walking through and flipping off all the lights as he went. Considering the time, I figured Kylie was passed out, perhaps on the sofa, where she generally napped on the nights we ended up coming home later than usual.

I dropped my keys and wallet on the table near the door, then flipped the deadbolt and set the security system. Though we didn’t have much crime in our small backwoods town, Kylie insisted on the extra measure, but only because it would alert us if a door or window was opened. It wasn’t that she worried someone would come in, more so that a munchkin might get adventurous and attempt to slip outside to play in the backyard. After all, Kate had done it a couple of times when she was smaller.

I was staring down at my phone when I stepped into the living room, but that was as far as I made it before I was slammed up against the wall, the breath driven out of my lungs more from surprise than impact. My phone was plucked from my fingers and tossed onto a chair.

“What are you doin’?” I asked Travis, keeping my voice low.

His eyes were hot as coals as they scanned my face briefly.

“Takin’ what’s mine,” my husband whispered, then crushed his mouth to mine.

Christ Almighty, the man could kiss. I still remember the first time Travis kissed me. Very similar to this, in fact. Travis had surprised me then and many times in the past six years since we’d succumbed to our desires.

“Where’s Kylie?” I asked, tilting my head to the side as Travis’s teeth scraped sensually across my flesh.

“Sleepin’.”

Which was the very reason he was molesting me in the living room. Had she been awake, I would’ve likely found the two of them on our bed, making out and waiting for me to join them. And while I loved those moments when the three of us came together, I couldn’t deny I enjoyed the one-on-one time I got with each of them. I had the best of both worlds with Kylie and Travis. My wife was a sensual lover while my husband was the take-charge kind.

And right now, Travis was in take mode.

When Travis’s mouth returned to mine, I tugged at his T-shirt, desperate to get my hands on him. While I didn’t mind him taking charge, I damn sure wasn’t going to sit back and wait.

“Hold that thought,” he rasped as he pulled away.

Or maybe I was.

Travis nodded. “This way.”

I realized why he had jerked the reins: relocation.

We’d long ago learned that intimate moments required a bit of privacy. Which was the reason we’d closed off the formal living room, turning it into the adult playroom. Granted, it still looked like a living room with the couch and television, and sure, every now and again, the kiddos would chill in there and watch cartoons. But these days, the parents tended to sneak in there, close and lock the doors, and enjoy the pleasures we find in one another without the risk of a little one stumbling upon us.

When I stepped into the room, Travis closed the doors and flipped the lock before turning those intense blue-gray eyes on me once more. I backed up when he stalked me. My calves hit the edge of the sofa and I ass-planted in a hurry, bracing for the weight of my husband as Travis followed me down.

We shifted and moved until we were both laid out, chest to chest, mouth to mouth.

“I’ve been thinkin’ about this all day,” Travis whispered, pushing up to his knees and ripping off his T-shirt.

I struggled to do the same in my horizontal position. I’d barely managed to get my shirt over my head when Travis launched up off the couch, stripping off his boots and jeans in a mad rush. Before I could get my jeans unbuttoned, he was over me, one knee on the cushion beside my head, one foot on the floor as he guided his thick cock into my mouth.

“Ah, fuck yes,” Travis hissed.

As I sucked him deep, I watched my husband’s eyes roll back in his head, his pleasure evident, spurring me to work him over good.

I loved this side of him. The out-of-control side. It made its appearance less frequently these days, had been decreasing over the years, so I treasured the moments when Travis would let loose. There was no denying that marriage and babies had changed all three of us, settled us as our family expanded, but underneath it all, Travis was still the same hungry beast he’d always been, and when Travis Walker wanted something, Kylie and I had learned to give in. After all, we reaped the benefits as well.

Travis groaned, his hips shifting forward and back as his cock tunneled in and out of my mouth. I sucked and licked, slowly chipping away at his restraint. It was a beautiful thing.

Of course, Travis wasn’t a selfish lover, proving it when he pulled out of my mouth and roughly stripped off the remainder of my clothes. And when his blazing-hot lips wrapped around my cock, my hips shot upward, and my head fell back as undiluted ecstasy blazed through my bloodstream.

It took effort, but I managed to hang on, distracting myself at one point by reaching for the drawer on the coffee table. I retrieved the tube of lubricant, leaving the drawer haphazardly open as the pleasure threatened to overwhelm me.

Travis didn’t need directions, either. He released my cock from between his lips, then moved over me, relieving me of the lubricant before our mouths crushed together once again.

I ran my hands over the taut muscles of Travis’s back, pulling him on top of me, relishing the weight, the warmth of the man I loved. I was vaguely aware of him shifting, his hand sliding between us, knew he was prepping his cock for entry.

Travis finally broke the seal on our mouths, pushing up to his knees. I didn’t wait for instructions, pulling my knees toward my chest and making myself vulnerable to the man I loved. A minute later, he was pushing in deep, filling my ass so perfectly. Our eyes met and held as he leaned over me, one hand braced on the back of the sofa, the other beside my head.

“Fuck, you feel good,” Travis said on a rough whisper.

I palmed my cock, stroking in the rhythm of his long, deep thrusts. In our younger days, we could’ve done this for hours. Now we were both working toward the same goal: release before interruption. It was inevitable that someone would need something during our few stolen moments. Either work or kiddos, something generally needed our attention, so efficiency had become necessary.

And that was exactly what we did, now only without the frantic edge. Travis moved inside me, deep and slow, our eyes locked, a wealth of emotion silently spoken between us as our bodies sought the pleasure of the other.

“I love you,” Travis whispered.

I smiled. “Prove it.”

His eyes heated and then he gave me what I asked for, impaling me again and again, deeper, harder, faster. I was moaning softly, climbing that steep mountain until I was hanging on to the ragged edge by my fingernails.

“Come for me,” Travis urged, his voice a low growl.

I didn’t have to be told twice. I came, my cock jerking in my fist as Travis drove into me one final time and let himself go.