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  Lisha sat up on her elbows, her eyes widening as she took in the length and thickness of him with a hard swallow over a sudden lump in her throat. She felt apprehension at him filling her with his inches. At him being her first and the pain she might feel. And for how long? she wondered, her thighs inadvertently closing.

  Kael lay on the bed beside her and pulled her body against his as he stroked her back. “Don’t be afraid,” he assured her, having seen the trepidation on her face.

  Biting her bottom lip, she reached out to take his hard heat into her hand. “You’re so . . .”

  He chuckled lightly. “Would you rather I wasn’t?” he asked.

  Lisha tilted her head up on his chest to look at his handsome face. “In the future? No. Tonight? Tonight I’m not so sure,” she admitted.

  Kael smiled as he pulled her entire body atop his and hoisted her up a bit so that her face was directly above his. “Kiss me,” he ordered her, his words caressing her lips.

  Lisha brought her hands up to press against his cheeks as she tilted her head. Licking her lips she lowered her head to outline his mouth with her tongue. When he opened his mouth a bit for her she enjoyed the feel of her tongue tangling with his. Slowly. Hotly.

  They both moaned.

  Kael eased his hands over the smooth expanse of her brown back and then down to enjoy the softness of her buttocks and the slight firmness of the top of her thighs.

  Lisha spread her legs atop his and Kael immediately dipped his hands down to play in her slick wet folds from behind. Gasping hotly into his mouth, she tilted her head back and clutched at the covers on their bed with her fingers. “Hmmmmm,” she moaned with a lick of her lips.

  Kael pressed his head back into the plush pillow to peer up at Lisha’s face as he filled her slowly with two of his fingers. He felt a surge of power when she writhed against him and bit her lip as she pressed her eyes closed. Lisha was a virgin but he loved the way she gave in to her instincts on the pleasure he gave her. Her face held nothing back and he knew she was just as eager to learn how to please him. He planned to spend an entire lifetime teaching her.

  She sat up, pressing her hands into the mattress to steady her body as she dangled her full breasts above his face.

  Kael wasted not a second raising his head to capture one taut brown nipple into his mouth. With his fingers inside of her, he felt her walls tighten and then release. He circled her nipples with his tongue, released a cool stream of air onto it and then sucked it deeply.

  “Yes,” she sighed in pleasure, moving her hips against his hand.

  Kael’s gut clenched. She’s a natural.

  Freeing his hand and then wrapping one strong arm around her waist, he quickly turned her over onto her back, pressing her body down into the softness beneath him. Gently grasping her chin, he kissed her deeply and passionately as he settled himself between her open thighs. Her hands were splayed on his back and he felt her fingertips dig deeper into him as his throbbing thick tip pressed against her moist core.

  Lisha’s eyes opened. Her heart pounded. Her body tensed. Her nails dug into the muscled flesh of his strong back. Her fear was fighting her desire . . . and winning.

  Kael felt her resistance and pressed a dozen heated kisses against her mouth as he slid his hand under her buttocks. He was bursting with a need to be in her but he put her first and knew he had to take things slowly. Ease her worries.

  She moaned in the back of her throat in pleasure, her fingers easing up from the tiny dents they made in his back. “Kael,” she gasped into the heated air, her clit hot and aching from wanting him.

  His kisses moved down to her earlobe and then the base of her neck as he fought to maintain control of how badly he wanted to plant himself within her. He could feel the heat of her flesh and the wetness of her earlier climax against his dick. Kael trembled with restraint as he slightly arched his hip and flexed his square buttocks to give her just the tip.

  Lisha’s ankles locked around his calves but she was lost in a madness created by the feel of his lips and his tongue on the pulse in her throat. She shivered. She was lost to time and place. She felt high on the purest drug.

  Kael kissed a trail back up to her mouth, tracing her lips before drawing her tongue out to suckle gently in a sweet one-two motion that caused the walls now pressed around his tip to throb in a similar motion. Holding her tightly against him he opened his eyes to peer down at her as he kissed her deeply and then raised her buttocks higher off the bed as he arched his hips and entered her tightness with one swift thrust.

  Lisha’s eyes opened and for a second the pleasure that filled her brown depths was replaced with pain.

  Kael swallowed her gasp and continued to kiss her as his strong muscled body went deathly still as he fought not to fill her with a rushed, explosive nut. He moaned as his dick throbbed inside her. She was tight. Very tight. And hot. Very hot.

  Lisha’s eyes locked with his even as they kissed and she smoothed her hands over the wide breadth of his back. “What’s wrong?” she whispered between fevered kisses.

  He raised his head and there was just millimeters between them as his eyes searched hers. He saw passion. Desire. Need. Want. “Not a damn thing,” he said fiercely.

  Lisha sucked his bottom lip into her mouth.

  “I have dreamed of this right here, Lisha,” he whispered down to her even as he began to glide his hips back and forth as he slowly made love to her for the very first time.

  Lisha eased her hands down his back to fill them with his buttocks. She enjoyed the tensing and relaxing of his flesh as she got adjusted to the feel of his hardness inside her. Filling her. Spreading her. Pleasing her. “Yes,” she sighed, following an instinct as she began to move her own hips in countermotion to his.

  Back and forth. And back and forth again. And again. And again.

  She arched her back and released a guttural cry that only hinted at the wildness he unleashed.

  “Shit,” Kael swore at the feel of her hands, the motion of her hips, the shiver of her body, and the glide of her walls up and down his length.

  It was beyond physical. That was easy. That was common.

  What they evoked for one another was pure passion. Chemistry. Heat.

  They made love and nothing outside of their bedroom—their union—even mattered. Nothing at all. They were floating on intimacy fueled by love and a belief that they were meant for each other.

  Lisha cried out and held Kael close as she felt her climax brewing with more intensity than a Southern summer thunderstorm.

  “I’m coming with you, baby,” he told her thickly, looking down into her glazed eyes as he felt his dick harden with the first rush of his come.

  They held on to one another as both of their movements quickened as they rode each other to fiery white-hot spasms of release that left them both sweaty and spent. They seemed to topple off the edge together as their climaxes seemed to go on endlessly. They both enjoyed the fall with guttural cries and shivers until their bodies went slack and they both were damp with sweat.

  “I . . . love . . . you,” she said in between deep gasps that made her throat dry.

  Kael kissed her before dropping his head onto her shoulder as his heart pounded furiously. His chest heaved with the exertion of even breathing properly. His heart pounded wildly and quickly. “I . . . I—”

  Lisha rubbed the back of his calves with her feet. “Speechless?” she teased, as she wiped the sweat from her face with her hand.

  His body shook with his chuckle. “I thought I would never stop coming,” he said.

  “Me either,” she said with a soft smile.

  “Hey, I’m a little backed up,” he said in between kisses to her collar bone.

  “Worth the wait?” she asked, bringing her hands up to massage his shoulders.

  Kael raised his head and looked down at her as he nodded. “Worth the wait,” he answered without a doubt before climbing off her and rising to his feet to scoop her up into his
arms.

  “Where are we going?” she asked, already feeling the need for a sex nap.

  “Shower time,” Kael said, his limp dick now hanging.

  “And then?” she asked, pressing a kiss to his neck.

  “And then we do it all over again,” he promised. “And again. And again.”

  “Sounds good to me, Mr. Strong,” Lisha said, her heart filling with love for him.

  “Sounds even better to me, Mrs. Strong,” he said, kissing her forehead before he entered the bathroom and kicked the door closed with his foot.

  Epilogue

  Present Day

  “And that’s the story of how we fell in love,” Lisha said, reaching over to stroke Kael’s face as she looked over at him with as much passion, love, respect and dedication as she had for him over forty years ago.

  He turned his face into her hand and pressed a warm kiss to her palm.

  Sometimes actions spoke much louder and clearer than just words.

  “And everything we dreamed about—including having our five beautiful children—came to fruition,” Lisha said, shaking her head in wonder. “So thankful, so blessed, so loved.”

  “Amen,” Kael said, taking her hand in his to caress her wrist with his thumb.

  Brian McKnight’s version of the classic Christmas carol “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” was the perfect tune for that moment as each of their children looked to the loves of their own lives and smiled with hopes and wishes and dreams of their own that they prayed came true as well. Especially the wish to live with their mate for the rest of their lives. A lasting love.

  “So that’s why you never went with us with Dad to visit Aunt Kelli?” Kade, the oldest of their children asked, filling the silence.

  Lisha smiled sadly. “We just never got our relationship back on track but I never wanted to keep you all from your aunt. She’s your family,” she said, reaching over to squeeze her husband’s hand because she knew that even after these years he wanted so much unity in the family.

  But he kept his word and never pressed her to forgive Kelli or to welcome her into their home. As the years went by it had just become easier for them to never cross paths.

  “That turkey should be ready, so let’s all go to the dining room and have dinner,” Lisha said, rising to her feet.

  “I’ll get the kids,” Kaitlyn said, leaving the living room as everyone made their way into the dining room.

  There was a tree in the corner and the table was set with festive green and red décor with a miniature lit tree as the centerpiece. The men took their seats while the ladies followed Lisha into the kitchen to retrieve the food.

  “So Mama Lisha, may I ask you a question?” Zaria said as she accepted the massive bowl of potato salad her mother-in-law pulled from the under the counter Sub-Zero fridge.

  “Sure,” Lisha said, handing Jade the pan of macaroni and cheese and Bianca the pot of collard greens.

  “Was it worth the wait?” she asked, her voice conspiratorial.

  All of the ladies paused in their tracks in front of the swinging door leading into the dining room. It was clear everyone knew what “it” was.

  Lisha looked at them over her shoulder. “Yes, it was and yes, it still is,” she assured them before she grabbed the counter and dropped down and brought it back up with ease. “I don’t call him Daddy because he has five kids.”

  The ladies all roared in surprise.

  “A’ight now,” Zaria said. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

  They were still laughing as they all made a few trips from the kitchen to the dining room until the long length of the table was filled with food. “Where’s Kat?” Lisha asked, moving to the opposite end of the table to take her seat. “And Quint?”

  Kade chuckled. “She needed help bringing the rest of the babies down because Kadina and Lei were asleep,” he said. “Sneaking around the house all morning must have tuckered their behinds out.”

  “You caught ’em too?” Kaeden asked, rubbing the top of KJ’s head where he sat in between him and his father Kahron.

  Kade nodded.

  “So did I,” Bianca said.

  “We did too,” Kaleb said with a grin.

  “No wonder they’re tired,” Kael said, shaking his head.

  Kaitlyn entered carrying Kasi Dean in one arm and Quint followed with Karlos in his arms.

  “They’re still asleep?” Lisha asked.

  Before anyone could answer both teenagers entered the room and sheepishly took their seats at the table.

  “Let us pray,” Kael said, holding his hands out to his sons flanking him on either side.

  The family held hands and bowed their heads.

  “Here’s to the goodness of being surrounded by lots of family on this holiday. May those who are not as lucky one day be blessed.”

  “Amen,” they all said in unison.

  The next hour was spent with plenty of food and plenty of funny tales being passed around the table. Lisha and Kael shared many long looks across the table as they enjoyed their boisterous family.

  Ding-dong.

  “I’ll get it,” Kaleb said, rising to leave the dining room.

  “Thank God you fixed that bell back then,” Kade joked as he took a big bite of a slice of ham.

  Everyone laughed.

  “Thank God we fixed everything,” Kael said. “This house looks nothing like it did back then.”

  “I remember if nobody else,” Kade said.

  “Merry Christmas, Kael.”

  Everyone at the table slowly became silent as they all looked to their Aunt Kelli and her family standing in the entrance of the dining room. The adults’ eyes shifted from their mother and then to their father. The silence was awkward.

  Lisha stood and turned to face them. “Merry Christmas, Kelli. Welcome to our home,” she said, stepping forward to embrace the tall woman, her husband and their two sons Will, Jr. and Jared.

  Kael stood, the napkin in his lap falling to the floor as he came around the table to hug his sister close and press a kiss to her cheek. “Merry Christmas, Smelly Kelli,” he said.

  She smiled and playfully pinched him. “Merry Christmas.”

  Lisha stepped back and looked on as her children all stood up to greet their aunt, uncle and cousins. She looked at Kael and his happiness made it worthwhile for her to finally set aside her grudge. As they told the story of them falling in love, she discovered that the anger she had for her sister-in-law had faded. She knew it was time to put their hard feelings aside for Kael, so she snuck into the kitchen hours earlier to call Kelli and invite them down to spend Christmas.

  She quietly moved into the kitchen as everyone made room at the table and retrieved chairs from around the house for the rest of the family to take a seat. She was lining up the desserts on the island and making sure there were a stack of utensils, saucers and napkins for her family to use.

  “You and Kael are still doing dessert buffet style, I see.”

  Lisha glanced over her shoulder at Kelli as she pulled the bowl of fresh whipped cream from the fridge. “Yes we are,” she said lightly, hoping she hadn’t made a mistake.

  Kelli smoothed the edges of her soft silver hair with a wrinkled hand. “Thank you for inviting my family and . . . please forgive me for how foolish I was back then,” she said.

  Lisha set the bowl on the island and looked up at her. The look in her eyes seemed sincere. “It’s all in the past,” she said.

  “The house looks so different, especially with all the brick,” she said.

  “Trust me, Kael will take you on a tour,” Lisha assured her as they moved back into the dining room.

  Kael immediately came over to wrap his arms around her waist and pulled her body close to his. “After forty years you still show me every single day that I made the right choice to propose to you, Ms. Strong,” he whispered against her ear.

  “And just you remember I will always love you, Mr. Strong,” she answered, looking into those
same sexy eyes as she kissed him.

  “Merry Christmas,” they said together in unison.

  Dear Readers,

  I have been writing about the Strong Family romance since 2006 and now, seven years later, I feel I could still continue on with them, but this is the last book in the series . . . for now. As with each of the titles in the series, their love has been filled with fiery passion and I hope it has inspired many of you to believe in love because there is such a thing as happily ever after for us all.

  For those that are new to the series I highlighted the romance of each of the Strong Family siblings before ending with this book—the story of how their parents met and fell in love. I definitely recommend going back and enjoying the stories of Kahron and Bianca in Heated, Kade and Garcelle in Hot Like Fire, Kaeden and Jade in Give Me Fever, Kaleb and Zaria in The Hot Spot and Kaitlyn and Quint in Red Hot. And you may be introduced to some other family members who may get their own book . . . one day.

  I hope you have enjoyed this journey with the Strongs as much as I have, but I also hope you continue on this romance writing journey with me as I introduce all new characters in my upcoming new series. Stay tuned for more details via my Web site (www.niobiabryant.com), my Twitter (www.twitter.com/INFINITEink), my Facebook Fan Page (search for: Niobia Bryant) or my all-new Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/infiniteink).

  My very best wishes to all of you, and remember . . .

  “Love 2 Live & Live 2 Love.”

  N.

  Don’t miss any of the Strong Family novels

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