Chapter Ten
Melanie climbed out of her car and stretched the aches out of her limbs, back, and butt. She was so glad to be home, and as she gazed up at the big A-frame log cabin surrounded by woods and nature, it hit her. This beautiful place really was her home now. Gabe hurried up to the house to let the dogs out. His regular dog-sitter had taken care of them while they’d been gone. Beau was instantly jumping for joy on the porch beside him. Lady limped out, her ears droopy and her big brown eyes sad.
“Last trip for a while,” he said to her, scratching her head. “I promise.”
Melanie grabbed an armload of her stuff from the trunk and was halfway to the porch when Nikki’s Bug pulled up behind Melanie’s car. Nikki stepped out of the little melon-orange car and stood with her hands on her hips, assessing Gabe’s gorgeous home.
“I thought rock stars lived in mansions,” she said.
“It’s my castle,” Gabe said, helping Lady off the porch while Beau went to investigate the newcomer.
“It’s a beautiful house,” Melanie said. “I absolutely love it.”
“Because you have great taste.” Gabe offered her a wink.
“Doggie!” Nikki said, practically launching herself on top of Beau, who backed off with his tail between his legs before leaping forward again to give Nikki a full-face tongue bath. They rolled around in the dust for several minutes like a pair of rambunctious puppies before Lady went to check out the potential new member of their pack.
“Oh, you poor thing!” Nikki reached a hand in Lady’s direction. Lady gave it a sniff and then a timid lick. Soon she was lying on her back, wagging her tail and getting a vigorous, apparently much appreciated, belly rub.
“Lady will never leave her alone now,” Gabe told Melanie, his face bright with mirth. “That dog is addicted to belly rubs.”
And that was how Melanie and Gabe ended up unloading both cars while Nikki became well acquainted with the dogs.
Later, Nikki sat perched on a stool at the breakfast bar while Melanie and Gabe worked to throw a meal together. Nikki’s new furry friends sat on either side of the stool with their faces pressed against her outer thighs.
Nikki sighed. “You two belong together,” she said. “Just look at you. Cooking without arguing. Road trip without arguing. Pick up crazy friend from the loony bin without arguing. Do you two ever argue?”
Melanie smiled at Gabe, recalling that the last time they’d had a disagreement had been because Nikki had kissed Melanie and made it clear that she wanted her. “Not often.”
“So can the dogs be in the wedding?” Nikki asked, reaching down to scratch each behind the ears. Puppy love was totally a thing, and both of Gabe’s dogs had it bad for Nikki.
“I don’t see why not,” Gabe said as he added more olive oil to the fresh salad dressing he was mixing.
“Wouldn’t that be a recipe for disaster?” Melanie was immediately imagining a doggie tug of war with her veil and dogs marking their territory on pews.
“My dogs are well behaved,” Gabe said, but Melanie was far from convinced.
“I’ll put together some ideas and we’ll vote,” Nikki suggested.
“As the bride, my vote counts double and breaks all ties.”
Gabe smirked at Nikki. “In other words, no dogs.”
Dogs should take puppy-dog-eyes lessons from Nikki. If a pooch sported the current look she was giving Melanie, he’d easily get any treat he desired. But Melanie didn’t fold. She added another layer to the lasagna to avoid Nikki’s pleading stare.
“How about a skydiving wedding?” Nikki asked.
Melanie sprinkled parmesan cheese on top of the final thin layer of sauce. “Absolutely not.” She lifted the ceramic dish and turned to the preheated oven in the wall, which Gabe opened for her.
“Beach wedding?”
“How about we have it here?” Gabe asked.
Melanie stole a kiss. “Fabulous idea.”
“In the trees?” Nikki asked. “Where will the guests sit? The dusty driveway?”
“No one ever said chairs have to be set out in perfect rows,” Melanie said. “Just scatter them about the forest.”
Gabe snorted. “I never knew you were such a rebel.”
He swatted her butt playfully, which somehow turned into a rear-end-massaging embrace fueled with a passionate kiss. He pressed his rapidly hardening cock into her hip, and her knees buckled. If he found scattered chairs sexy . . .
“The dogs would be more comfortable here,” Melanie said, wondering what she was getting into, but she decided the smile Gabe gave her was worth a slobbery ring-bearer pillow.
“You hear that?” Nikki said. “Your daddy’s getting married and you’re invited.”
Lady barked, and Beau echoed her—the low but loud sound making Melanie jump.
“How long does that lasagna need to bake?” Gabe murmured in Melanie’s ear.
“At least forty-five minutes,” she said.
“Hey, Nik,” Gabe said, “if I’m not done devouring your friend in forty-five minutes, could you take the lasagna out of the oven?”
Nikki grinned. “You got it.”
Melanie tripped over a squeaky toy as she trailed after Gabe, already anticipating all the delicious things he’d do to her body. She supposed Nikki being there did have a few advantages. Not burning the lasagna, for one. Entertaining Gabe’s fur babies, for another. She was sure she’d think of more advantages later.
At the door to the master bedroom, Gabe made an unexpected detour to a separate door just to the right. Melanie wondered why they were going into a closet—at least that was what she assumed the unexplored area behind the door led to—but was surprised to find it was a very small bedroom, perhaps designed as a nursery since the rest of the bedrooms were on the opposite side of the house. Her heart warmed at the thought, but then her entire body flushed when she realized that instead of a cradle or crib, the only object in the room was something that reminded her of a small mechanical bull with various straps and gizmos attached, and what she could only describe as a giant dildo in its center.
“What the hell?” she said under her breath as he tugged her into the room and shut the door.
“I was going to wait to show you this after dinner,” he said, “but knowing it’s here, finally ready to ride, I just couldn’t wait.”
“Is this what I think it is?” She edged closer, approaching slowly as if the contraption might spook, rear up, and kick her in the face.
“I’ve been working on it for years, but ultimately abandoned it until recently,” he said, his eyes full of excitement. “I wasn’t sure what it was missing until I woke up in the middle of the night a few nights ago and knew that the failed prototype I had planned to try out on you last weekend was the missing link.”
Melanie cringed. The thing looked—well—violent. It was black, covered in faux leather, with studded straps, buckles of various sizes, and a few ropes. Red satin sashes dangled from the rear like a kinky tail.
“The, uh . . . man part . . .” She licked her lips and swallowed. “It’s a bit large, don’t you think?”
“Fully adjustable,” he said with pride in his voice. “It starts out small and you use this . . .” He handed her a remote control with at least twenty buttons. “. . . to increase the length and girth to your liking.”
She pushed a button, and the shaft began to piston up and down. Despite her trepidation, Melanie felt a tingle of excitement between her legs. Gabe took the remote from her and shut off the thrusting cock.
“I think all single ladies need one of these,” she said, “but if you have a partner . . .”
Gabe smirked. “He gets the remote.”
In her experience, men did love to fiddle with remote controls. With her heart thudding, she wondered what “channel surfing” would feel like while strapped to this crazy, yet intriguing, invention of Gabe’s. His gadgets and devices had never failed to send her soaring, so this, his magnum opus, would undoubtedly be phenomenal.
“Show me more,” she said, running her hand along the side of the pommel. The material was cool and smooth.
“You need to be naked for that.”