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 TAP IT
THE TAP BROTHERS
EVE LONDON
Copyright ©2020 by Eve London

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, or stored in any storage or retrieval system without written
permission of the author. Violating these rights is forbidden and punishable by the fullest extent of the law.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, person living or dead, locales, or other status is entirely coincidental.
All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, registered trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders.
The author is not associated with any product or vendor in this book.
 C O NT E NT S

1. Ash/Kelsey
2. Ash/Kelsey
3. Ash/Kelsey
4. Kelsey/Ash
5. Ash/Kelsey
6. Ash/Kelsey
7. Kelsey/Ash
8. Kelsey/Ash
Epilogue

Also by Eve London

About the Author
ASH/KELSEY
 ASH

W hen my foster brothers and I came up with the idea to start the Tap Brothers Brewery I
was nervous we’d fail. I never said that out loud because I’m the fun brother, the
joker, and the one who keeps everything light. Truthfully, I was terrified. I spent the
first decade of my life hungry and I didn’t want a repeat performance.
As the sales guy, it’s fallen on me to get our beer into other bars and retail outlets. I’ve done an
amazing job – I didn’t say I was humble – but I’m still terrified that with one false move we could
lose everything. Now, two of my brothers have fallen in love and I’m questioning their focus. The
business needs everyone’s attention, but I can’t be an asshole and say that. Maybe I was a little
jealous that my boys were finding their bliss and I wasn’t. Weird thing about growing up in the foster
system—we were all players at one time or another, but ultimately, we each want a family and a home
of our own.
Lydia, my foster mom and savior, is our receptionist. Today, she’s behind the desk with her long
gray curls held back by a scarf that has her looking like a gypsy fortune teller.
“Hey Ash, I’ve got a job for you honey,” she said with a smile. The woman always has a smile for
me.
“I already have a pretty full day, Lydia.” I never actually said no to Lydia but that doesn't mean
I’m a yes man either.
“I know that. However, Lick It is going to make a beer-flavored gelato and a beer-flavored
lollipop. At least, they’re going to try, and then we’ll get a mention. I need you to drop a keg off on
your way across town. It’s a five-minute detour.” She gave me a sweet smile and waited for my
response. She knew I’d say yes.
“I do like gelato,” I said by way of an answer. I personally wasn’t sure that a beer-flavored ice
confection was a good idea, but honestly, Lick It has a huge cult audience in town and across the
state,so if it works out it would be good publicity for us.
“Thanks, Ash.” She grinned. Not that I’d exactly said I’d do it.
Half an hour later I parked outside the flagship Lick It store, which also houses their candy factory
and ice-creamery on a lot in the back. The sweet sticky smell of sugar was a contrast to the strong
smell of hops at the brewery. I like both, but this was a nice change.
I hefted the keg over my shoulder and walked to the front glass door of Lick It. I pushed it open
and stopped just inside the door. Behind the counter stood the sexiest woman I’d ever seen. Her hair
was dark and when her eyes met mine, they were violet. She wore a white apron with two lollipops
on it, one multi-colored circle over each breast and the word Lick It in between. I would like to lick
her six ways until Sunday. I didn’t even need to know her name to offer.
I stumbled a little and lowered the keg to the ground. Dropping a full keg wasn’t going to impress
the beauty.
At the ice cream counter, two other women chatted as they worked.
“Ah hi, I have a keg for the beer ice cream.” I held out my hand. “Ashton.”
She gave me a sweet smile and took my hand which I held onto. “Oh, right, the factory manager
said someone would be bringing it by.”
I was still holding her hand. My cock was hard in my pants at just the touch of her fingers to mine.
“And you are?”
“Kelsey,” she said sweetly, looking down, pink staining those cheeks. Her blush was adorable,
and I could think of a hundred ways I’d like to make her blush again.
“Where do you want me, Kelsey?” I asked, not hiding the innuendo in my question. I dropped her
hand slowly.
“What?” Her eyes went wide, and she licked her lips. She wanted me all right, and the feeling
was one-hundred percent mutual.
“Where do you want me to put this keg, honey?” I winked at her.
“Oh, yeah right. Follow me.”
“Anywhere.” I meant it. I watched her ass sway as she led me in the back of the shop, and I would
have followed her anywhere.

KELSEY

This guy was smoking hot and he was delivering beer. Beer and hot guys were two of my favorite
things, so it was a pity I’d sworn off the latter. One too many hot but hopeless boyfriends only looking
for one thing, and I was off the market for a while. I needed to focus on my career. Managing the Lick
It flagship store was a big break for me. I was working my way up the retail chain and I didn’t need
any distractions. This guy, he had distraction written all over him.
He followed me in back so closely I could feel the warmth of his body, and I tried to reign in my
instant lust. He was tall with sandy hair and piercing blue eyes that seemed to travel all over my
body. Even from behind I could tell he was watching me.
I opened a fridge, and he leaned in to place the keg inside, brushing against me as he did. My
nipples went on high alert. It was cold here, right?
As he stepped back, he brushed against me again. It was definitely deliberate.
“You smell like sugar, Sugar”
“Hazard of the job,” I replied. As are these curves, I nearly said, but I held back.
“Or a bonus.” He winked again.
“Thank you for the beer, we’ll put it to good use.” I shut the door to the fridge and tried to shut
down the conversation as well.
“Do you like beer, Kelsey?” He was still in my space. Not touching me, but close enough that I
could almost see my reflection in his eyes.
I tried to play it cool, but he stared into my eyes, and his were a deep ocean blue with a depth a
girl could easily get lost in. “I don’t hate it.”
He leaned closer and brushed his nose up the side of my neck before kissing me just below the
ear. “Great! I’ll see you at seven at Tap Brothers. Beer’s on me.”
 Before I could stop him, he turned on his heel and walked straight out the front door. That wasn’t
an invitation, that was a command and I wasn’t about to come when he said so…okay well I probably
would come when he said so under different circumstances, but not like this.
I stormed out to the front and took my spot behind the counter. Who did this guy think he was? I
was fuming about it all afternoon. I mean, I definitely did want to let him buy me a beer, but I didn’t
want to just jump because he said so. My former roommate, Willow, knew the guys who ran Tap
Brothers, so after work I called her.
“Hey Willow, is Ashton from Tap Brothers always an ass?”
She laughed down the phone line at me. “Well, not always. He’s a good guy underneath all that
bravado. I gather you two met.”
When I told her the story of our brief encounter, my girl laughed her ass off. “There was a time
you and I would have run naked to that brewery for free beers. I guess we’ve both evolved.”
She was shacked up with her billionaire boyfriend, and I was barely making rent, so I was less
evolved than she was. Also, I hadn’t had sex in six months and Willow had probably had sex in the
last six hours.
“I don’t know. Honestly, part of me wants to go. Fully clothed though.” I heard the shame in my
own voice.
“Tell you what. How about you and I go together? We’re overdue for a girl’s night and you can
still get the free beer. It would serve him right.”
I liked that; it was a win-win. “Okay, see you outside at seven.”
“Seven thirty. Let’s make him sweat.” She hung up still laughing.
ASH/KELSEY
 ASH

I t was well past seven, and no Kelsey. I knew I’d come off a little brash, but I honestly
had expected her to show. I saw the way she looked at me and how her breath hitched,
and her chest heaved as she looked into my eyes. The woman wanted me, maybe almost
as much as I wanted her. I hated when people denied themselves what they wanted, especially if it
meant denying me as well. I was helping out behind the bar tonight because a couple of my brothers
had plans with their women. It wasn’t my usual gig, but I didn’t mind doing it occasionally. Usually, it
was an excellent way to guarantee I’d go home with a woman, but my heart, and my dick, were only
focused on Kelsey right now.
By seven thirty I assumed she wasn’t coming. Then I saw the raven-haired beauty walk in the door
arm in arm with a familiar face. Willow Brook was a friend of my brother Carter, and she was now
the girlfriend of his best friend, Jensen. Mountain Ridge seemed to get smaller every day.
Willow caught my eye and winked, and the pair approached the bar. I didn’t pay her too much
attention because Kelsey was wearing a tight-fitting red sweater that hugged her luscious curves, and
tight dark jeans with sky-high ankle boots. She looked hot as fuck.
“Good evening, ladies.” I let my eyes rake up and down Kelsey’s body watching her blush as I
did so. “I’m so glad you decided to stop by.”
“Kelsey tells me you offered her free beer so I’m jumping on the bandwagon.” The women slid
side-by-side onto bar stools.
“Did she now?” I smiled. It was smart of her to bring a friend with her. I leaned over the bar
letting my hand brush against Kelsey’s. “What can I get you ladies then?”
“IPA,” they said in unison and then laughed. I liked this relaxed side of Kelsey, and her friendship
with Willow had me wondering how the girls knew one another.
“You two old friends?” I asked as casually as I could as I pulled their beers from the tap.
“We met at a group home,” Kelsey said, looking down as if that were something to be
embarrassed about. I was also the child of people who couldn’t cope. I was just lucky enough to have
found Lydia and John and my brothers.
“Babe, we’re all kids of the system and no one here will judge you for that. In fact, I kind of
admire how kick-ass we all are.” I slid the drink to her, and she smiled.
“I guess you’re right. I mean we are all productive members of society. Being the store manager at
Lick It, does make me kind of awesome.”
“Damn straight.” I smiled and moved down the bar to serve a couple of other people. It was a
Tuesday night, so not super crowded, which meant I could work and talk to Kelsey. She was
beautiful, and I could see a couple of guys watching her and Willow, ready to pounce at the first
opportunity. Not on my watch.
“Would you two like a brewery tour?” I asked, approaching the girls.
Willow shook her head. “Actually, I’m heading out.”
“What?” Kelsey practically shrieked. I knew she wanted me—maybe that was the issue. She
didn’t trust herself to be alone with me. Well, that was mutual.
“You’ll be fine. I have a feeling Ashton will take excellent care of you.”
She had no idea.

KELSEY

Tomorrow I would kill Willow. Tonight, I guess I was taking a behind-the-scenes tour of
Mountain Ridge’s most popular brew house with Ashton. He took my hand as he led me toward the
shiny silver vats.
“This is where the magic happens,” he said, before launching into an explanation of what went on
here. I was too distracted to concentrate, because he’d nestled his front to my back and was leaning in
explaining fermentation in my ear in a voice so sexy it was almost like dirty talk.
“Are you the beer maker?” I asked.
“No. My brother Mario does that. Carter is operations and runs the front of house. Mack is
distribution and supply and I’m the sales guy. Want to see where my magic happens?”
“Ah, sure.” He led me to the corner of the bar and popped some digits on an electric lock panel
before leading me through an office. It was behind the vats so you could watch production but not be
seen from the floor.
He walked me down a hallway and up a set of stairs into a mezzanine office where he flicked on a
lamp on a desk. It was a nice office— fitted out with a large desk and another view of the brewery
floor.
“Nice space,” I managed to say.
“Yeah I like to watch.” He said with a wink, and I blushed. He went to a mini bar and pulled open
the door. “Beer, wine, something else?”
You sounded like the wrong and the right answer, so I went with, “Surprise me.”
“Oh, Kelsey, I intend to.” Heat pooled at my core and my nipples hardened. He had his back to me
as he spoke, pouring our drinks. “You know ever since I saw you standing behind the counter in that
sexy apron today, I haven’t been able to keep my mind off of you.”
He turned and walked my way, closing the space between us. He handed me my glass, which I
took with a shaking hand. “Oh.”
“Yes, that naughty apron asked me to lick it and I’ve been wanting to do so ever since. My only
question is where is it?” He ran a finger from my ear to my collarbone. “Is it here?” His hand moved
to the top of my sweater and he ran his finger along the neckline which meant really across my chest
because it was a low-cut V. He dipped a finger into my cleavage. “Maybe here. That’s where the sign
was.”
And then he did just that. He leaned in and licked between my breasts with his cold tongue and
damn if it didn’t feel amazing. This was crazy. I didn’t even know Ashton, and I was letting him lick
me. The worst part was, I didn’t want him to stop.
ASH/KELSEY
 ASH

I needed to be inside Kelsey, and I needed it now. But first, I knew exactly which bits of
her I needed to lick and suck and kiss. She was already trembling at my touch. I knew
she’d be responsive. I backed her toward my desk and took the glass from her hand. I
placed it on the desk out of harm’s way as I used my free hand to pull her sweater down under her
luscious breast. Kelsey wasn’t a waif. My guess she was a perfect D cup. She had full, plump breasts
I could lose myself in. Her nipples were straining against the lace of her matching red bra, just like
my cock was straining against the zip of my jeans.
Now that my hands were free and so were hers, I used mine to hold hers to the desk as I licked a
circle around a lace-covered nipple. She arched towards me. I repeated the same on the other side
before breaking my rhythm to stare at her lips. I hadn’t even kissed those beautiful lips yet. She tasted
like beer and mint as my tongue tangled with hers, and a small mewl escaped her throat. I was leaning
over her, so those breasts were pressed against my chest. It was heaven.
“Hands stay there,” I said, raking my own through her hair and claiming her mouth once more,
before sliding one down her back to unhook her bra. I stepped back and it fell forward. She was so
perfect I nearly came in my pants. Those tits--one day I was going to fuck them--but it wouldn’t be
today.
I licked and suckled, and she mewled as I lavished attention on her nipples. I slid a hand down
and unbuttoned her jeans, sliding my finger between her wet folds. She was so ready for me. So wet.
“Is that all for me, baby?’ I asked as I looked up from her chest.
“All for you.”
I knelt at her feet, unzipped and removed the sexy as fuck boots, followed by her jeans and her
panties.
I spread her wide on my desk. She was pink and wet and ready for me, and I couldn’t wait one
second longer.
Eyes on her pussy, I spoke. I couldn’t have dragged my eyes away if I’d wanted to and given she
was perfect and all mine there was no way I wanted that.
“I’m going to lick it and tap it and make you scream so loud they’ll hear you down in the bar.” Her
pupils dilated and she bit her lip. She liked that idea a lot. “Is that what you want Kelsey? You want
everyone to know you’re with me. That you’re mine and I’m the best you’ve ever had.”
She nodded.
I rewarded her by leaning in and licking her seam from her opening to her clit and then I sucked
that baby right into my mouth. My girl was so ready that when I reached up and pinched her nipples,
she almost came on my tongue. I took one hand and rubbed my thumb over her clit and then she really
was screaming.
“Ashton, don’t stop. Don’t stop.” As if that was even a possibility. When she was done, I kissed
her mouth. I wanted her to taste herself on my lips as I pulled a condom from my pocket.

KELSEY

That was amazing. Spectacular. The best orgasm I’d ever had, and he wasn’t even inside me yet.
He shucked his jeans down his thighs and his engorged cock sprung free. I could see the precum on
the top and I wanted to lick it away. Ashton, however, had other ideas.
He rolled the condom on fast. “I need to be inside you now.”
I nodded. I wanted that too, and the way he was looking at me had me aching for him again. He
flipped me over, so I was face down on the desk. I wasn’t a small girl, and I loved the way he
manhandled me like I weighed nothing.
“Hold on, baby,” he said before swatting my ass. Damn if that didn’t turn me on even more. And
then he entered me in one hard push, burying himself to the hilt. My breasts were smashed against the
cool wood of the desk and he fisted his hand in my hair as he drove into me again and again.
“Touch those magnificent tits, Kelsey.”
“I don’t—”
He cut me off with another swat and chuckled in my ear.. “Do it, woman. You know you want to.”
He was right so I did what he asked, and I was flying as he hammered into me again and again
until we were crumpled over the desk, his hot breath in my ear. “What am I going to do with you?”
KELSEY/ASH
 KE L S E Y

S aturdays were always busy at Lick It, and I tried really hard to focus on the steady flow of
families coming in to try our fabulous candy and ice-creams. Then there’d be a lull in
customers, and I’d hear someone say Lick It, and it would remind me of how Ashton had
spoken to me last night and I would feel myself blushing. It was crazy. I wasn’t usually into dirty talk,
or even sex all that much, which I now realized had more to do with the people I’d been sleeping with
than the act itself. It was different with Ashton. He’d peeled my clothes off and stared at me like I was
the best gift he’d ever unwrapped, and as a result, I felt amazing and sexy.
I could not believe I’d had sex with Ashton in his office. I’d literally met the man that day and
there I was banging him on his desk. I didn’t regret it, cause a girl should never regret anything that
made her feel that good, but I wondered if that meant he was done with me.
I looked up when the bell over the door rang and there was the man himself. As if he knew what I
needed, he was standing there with a big bunch of pink roses. He crossed the floor, eyes on me.
“Hey, beautiful. Saw these and they reminded me of you.” He leaned in and brushed a kiss on my
cheek as he handed me the flowers. “They’re the same color as your gorgeous lips.”
“Wow. Thank you. You …” I was at a loss for words. No man had ever shown up at my job with a
bunch of flowers for me, ever. My co-workers were across at the other counter fanning themselves.
The man was hot, no question.
“No problem. Listen, I wanted to see if you were free tonight.”
“For like a date?”
“Not like a date. An actual date.” He grinned at me.
I supposed I could put aside my plans to watch a movie and eat my weight in Lick It ice cream if
he really wanted me to. “Sure. Where shall I meet you?”
“I’ll come and get you.” He rolled his eyes as if that was obvious. Now, I wouldn’t say I was
ashamed of the apartment I lived in so much as I wasn’t exactly proud of it. I was a self-sufficient
woman in her early twenties, but my income didn’t allow for a lot of extras.
“I can meet you…”
He leaned across the counter and lifted a finger to my lips. “No argument. I don’t care if you live
in the dumpster out in back of this shop. I’m still picking you up. My mother would kill me if she
found out I didn’t treat a lady right.” He winked. “Okay?”
I nodded. I was hardly in a position to argue, was I? I mumbled my address and he added it to his
phone. “I’ll see you at seven, beautiful.”
And then he was gone and for the second day in a row I was standing in the Lick It store
wondering what the heck was going on.

ASH

I had no idea what it was about Kelsey that made her the one for me. I’d thought it the minute I’d
seen her when I knew nothing about her, except she was luscious and beautiful. Now that I’d had a
taste of her, there was no way I was letting her go. Last night had been all kinds of amazing but I
needed to show her it wasn’t just sex. It was so much more than that.
When I showed up with the roses, she’d looked shocked. Her confusion when I asked her out was
adorable, but a little disturbing. I had hoped she’d realized this wasn’t just sex for me. I mean, hands
up, yes please, I’d like to have all the sex with Kelsey from now until forever. In fact, I already had a
very long list of all the ways and places I’d like to do just that, but it wasn’t only that. After last night
we’d cleaned up and I’d taken her downstairs and she’d sat on that bar stool chatting with me for a
while. Then I served a few customers and when I turned, she was gone. The woman had done a
vanishing act, and that was not okay with me. This was not a one off between us, it was the start of
something amazing. I knew it, and now I needed Kelsey to know it, too.
I pulled my Jeep up in front of her building. It was clear she thought I might judge her on it, but
she was so wrong. I knew how lucky I was I’d found a forever home and how many kids in the system
aged out alone. The fact she was building an awesome life all by herself made me want to know even
more about her. She was all kinds of amazing, I just wished she could see what I saw.
When I knocked on the door of her apartment, I held my breath, and then there was a vision in a
figure-hugging white dress that looked like it had been sprayed on those gorgeous curves. Her dark
hair was piled high on her head and she wore silver hoops, silver heels and she held a silver clutch.
She looked like a sexy angel.
“Wow, you look breathtaking, beautiful.”
“Thanks…you didn’t say…if it’s—”
I cut her off by whispering against her lips. “Perfect, like you.”
She let out a gasp, and I took the opportunity to slide my tongue in her mouth for a slow kiss that
had me rock hard. I slid an arm around to hold her firm against me as she leaned in. I considered
pushing her inside and claiming her again, but that wasn’t really the purpose of the evening, and she
deserved a date to remember. I broke the kiss, and she gave me a lazy, hooded-eyed smile. I held her
in place.
“You good to go?”
“So good.” She smiled and I walked her outside with my arm firmly around her waist. I wondered
if it was possible to get through the whole evening without touching her, but I realized just getting her
into the car I was going to have to let go.
I’d decided to take her to the Grill and had made reservations for a romantic table. It was
definitely one of the nicer places in town, and I wanted to show her I was serious about her. When we
turned into the carpark, her breath hitched and she reached out and squeezed my forearm.
ASH/KELSEY
 ASH

“W ow, Ashton. I’ve always wanted to come here.” I heard what she didn’t say. It’s too
expensive. I can’t afford it.
“Awesome. Glad I chose it then.” I lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Sit tight.”
I helped her from the truck and slung my arm around her shoulder as we walked inside. She
gasped again when she saw the floor to ceiling glass windows, the dark wood paneling, and the grand
piano in the corner. “It’s beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful.” It wasn’t my best line ever, but it would do, because she turned and rewarded
me with a smile.
We were shown to a table in the corner by a window, and she stared out of it as if she was in awe
of the mountains. “This place…”
“Only the best for my girlfriend,” I said, giving her a wink.
“Your girlfriend?” Her eyes were wide with confusion and wonder as she peered at me across the
menu the hostess had handed her.
I reached out and brushed my hand against hers as she held the menu. “Yeah, since that first
moment I saw you, you were my girl. I don’t know why, but I knew I had to have you and now I know
I need to keep you.”
She laughed and shook her head. “You only met me yesterday.”
“Have you never heard of love at first sight?”
“Ashton.” She covered my hand with hers. “I’ve heard of it, I’m just not sure I believe in it. Life
hasn’t given me a lot of reasons to believe.”
“Give me a chance, and I’ll make you believe.” She was skittish, and I got it. She didn’t have a lot
of reason to have faith, and I needed to prove that just because this was crazy didn’t mean it wasn’t
real. I grinned and nodded toward the menu. “I also believe the filet mignon here is to die for.”

KELSEY

Dinner was the most amazing thing I’d ever eaten. Ashton’s company was amazing, too. He was
so easy to talk to and so fun. Hands down this was the best night I’d ever had with anyone.
I was licking the back of my spoon, making sure I got every last bit of the crème brulee, and
Ashton’s pupils were dilated. I guessed we were both imagining I was licking something else.
He leaned across the table and whispered, “If you keep that up, I’m going to come in my pants.”
“I would too if I was wearing any.”
 “You’re commando under there?” His dark eyes grew wide.
“Yeah. Hard to hide the pantyline in this dress,” I said as if it was normal. It wasn’t normal for
me, but nothing about this situation was. Ashton made me want things I didn’t normally allow myself
to want, and do things I didn’t normally do. Like screw men on their desks or head to dinner without
my panties.
Within five minutes we had the check, and we were back in his truck. It would have been funny if
it weren’t so hot. He turned on the ignition, and a large hand landed on my thigh, pushing my dress up
and exposing me to the cool night air.
“Spread.” I did as I was told. I was so wet for him which he discovered when he ran a finger
through my slick heat. “Damn, woman.”
It was my turn to return the favor, so I reached over and undid his fly and set his cock free. It was
hard and stood up proudly as I wrapped my hand around his shaft. He was driving one handed, his
other hand sliding up and down my folds.
I couldn’t reach him with my mouth from this angle, so I kept moving my hand up and down.
“Does that feel good, baby? You’re so big and so hard. I want you inside me so badly.”
Ashton turned down a dark side street and cut the engine. In a matter of seconds both our seat
belts were undone, and I was licking him like a lollipop. His hands left my sex to play with my hair
as I worked him over. I relaxed my throat. I’d never had anyone this big in my mouth before, and I
tried to stay calm as he hit the back of my throat.
“Kelsey, that’s amazing. I’m going to…”
Just like that he came, and I swallowed him all down. Licking my lips and grinning at him as I
released him with a pop.
“Woman, I don’t even want to know how you know how to do that. That was amazing.” Then he
hauled me onto his lap, so I was straddling him. His cock rubbed against my wet folds.
“Need you to touch me, Ashton. I’m so close.”
“Sucking me off turned you on huh?” He rubbed his thumbs over my pert nipples through the
fabric of the dress. “That’s hot.”
One hand found my bundle of nerves before he slid some of my wetness over the nub. “More.”
“You want more?” He slid two fingers into me, pumping as his mouth came down on my breast.
His thumb circled my clit.
“I want everything.”
“Everything?” He bit my nipple through the dress and pinched my clit and I was flying. “You’re
getting everything baby, and then some.”
ASH/KELSEY
 ASH

B ack at my apartment, I had her naked in my bed the minute we got inside the door. Spread
beneath me her hair fanned out, I’d claimed her. She’d come screaming my name and I
loved it. It was three in the morning and I’d just had her again on the kitchen bench, after
we got up for a late-night snack. I feasted on her because I couldn’t get enough of sweet Kelsey and
her magical pussy. It had to be magical because I’d never wanted a woman the way I wanted her.
She was in nothing but the dress shirt I’d worn for dinner and she was sitting on my counter eating
some Lick It ice cream.
“Do you ever get sick of ice cream?” I asked, spooning some rocky road into her pretty mouth.
“Do you ever get sick of beer?” she countered, and I laughed.
“I guess not. I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of you either.”
She shook her head. “Ashton, you don’t even know me.”
“We can fix that. We’ve got the rest of our lives to get to know each other, Kelsey.”
Her eyes dropped down. “You probably won’t like me once you know me better.”
I tipped her chin up with my finger. “Why would you even think that?”
She was beautiful, smart, funny and hardworking. What was there not to like?
“You wouldn’t understand, Ashton.” Her voice sounded sad and I hate that. I never wanted her
sad ever.
“Honey, try me. I want to understand. I know you think I’m a little nuts, and I know I’m going
super-fast, but I really like you and I really do want to get to know you.”
She looked around, as if she wanted to run. There would be no running. We were talking this out.
Kelsey had other plans. She slid off the bench and stood in front of me, slowly unbuttoning the
shirt and pushing it open and down her arms so that she stood naked before me. She was so beautiful.
Her lush breasts that overflowed from my hands when I held them, her curvy hips, perfect for
grabbing, and that ass that was forever imprinted in my memory.
“I’m sure there are other ways we can get to know each other,” she said, her voice husky. She
didn’t want to talk, and maybe she was right. We had time.
“Oh yeah, what did you have in mind?” I took a step closer and cupped her breast, running my
thumbs over her nipples. I ran my nose up the side of her neck before nipping at her earlobe. “What
do you want, Kelsey?”

KELSEY
 Before I could answer, he picked me up fireman style and threw me over his shoulder. He swatted
my ass for good measure, and I squealed. Not because I didn’t like it—I did—more from surprise.
He threw me down on the bed and crawled up over me, lifting my hands over my head as he did
so. His mouth plundered mine, and I was so distracted I barely noticed him tying my hands to the
bedpost. I’d never done anything like this before, but with Ashton I was willing to try.
“It’s not tight,” he whispered in my ear. “If you want out, just say ice-cream.”
“ice cream?” I laughed. “That’s the safe word?”
“Yeah, what’s safer than ice cream?” He had me there. Ice cream was my life. It was the perfect
safe word.
I didn’t need it because when he started kissing his way down my body, stopping to worship my
breasts until I was squirming beneath him, I was so blissed out nothing but his hands and mouth on my
body mattered. Then he parted my thighs and licked his lips, stopping to stare at me with a rare
reverence.
“This magical pussy is all mine, Kelsey.” And then he dove in and worshipped me with his tongue
until I was screaming his name. I thought about using the safe word when he sheathed his rigid cock
with a condom, staring down at my body that was still shuddering from its release, but only because I
wanted to touch him as he moved inside me.
When he entered me in one hard thrust, filling me to the hilt and leaning in to whisper dirty words
in my ear, I didn’t say ice-cream. I said yes and more and right there, Ashton as I felt my climax
building.
“You come when I tell you, Kelsey,” he said, his voice a gruff command, “We’re doing this
together, honey.”
“Really?” I didn’t know if I could do that. I mean, I never had before. Then again, I’d never had
this many orgasms in one day either, so who was I to argue?
“Yep hold on for three. Two. One.” And just like that my body obeyed him and we came together,
as if that’s exactly how we were meant to be. Together. It was just a shame that wasn’t going to
happen.
KELSEY/ASH
 KE L S E Y

R unning out on Ashton while he slept was probably not cool. I knew it when I did it, and
now, hours later as I was holed up in my apartment, no longer in my skintight dress but
instead in a very unsexy t-shirt and yoga pants, I was even more aware of it. The man was
sweet and sexy and took me on an amazing date.
I wasn’t that girl, however. I wasn’t champagne and steak houses. I was the girl with the dump of
an apartment, ratty sofa, and casual clothes. I was beer and burgers at best.
Then after dinner he’d rewarded me with multiple O’s. The man was not the least bit selfish, that
much was certain. I’d never met a man that generous in my life, in or out of bed, and that was the
problem. I didn’t know how to handle Ashton and his awesome self.
Parents who left me, shitty foster homes, and bad boyfriends made up my past. I was used to that
life. I didn’t like it, but I understood it and trusted it. Nothing was permanent, and the only one you
could rely on was yourself. I learned that early, and every time I forgot it, I ended up crying and
heartbroken. I liked Ashton, maybe a little too much, but that was why I couldn’t risk it. If I’d been
sad when my deadbeat exes dumped me, how would I cope when someone as awesome as him
pushed me away?
This was bad. Very bad. I wanted him and everything he represented like I wanted another of
those mighty o’s but there was too much at stake.
A pounding on my door told me that Ashton was awake and not happy to have found himself
alone. I could have ignored him, but then the neighbors would have called my landlords and told them
I’m trouble. I couldn’t stand a broken heart and an eviction notice, so I uncurled myself from my ratty
old sofa and opened the door.
Ashton had one hand on either side of the door frame and he almost fell in when I opened the
door. He didn’t look happy. Sexy as all get out, yes. Happy? No.
“I’m surprised to find you here, Kelsey. Not as surprised as I was to wake up and find you NOT
in my bed, but still surprised.” He stormed past me. “I thought we discussed you being my girlfriend
last night. A girlfriend wouldn’t sleep and run.”
“I never actually agreed to that,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. Maybe the low-cut t-
shirt wasn’t a good idea because his eyes fell to my cleavage and he licked his lips, which made me
wet. That was not what I needed right now. I mean, I needed it, but I couldn’t have it. No more
Ashton.
“I feel like you kind of did when you came back to my house last night.”
“That was just…sex,” I said, trying to sound like I meant it.
 He shook his head; his hands were shoved in his pockets as if to keep him from reaching out to
grab me. “Not to me, and honey, I don’t think to you either. You’re scared, but of what? I promise I
won’t hurt you.”
“You can’t promise that. No one can promise that.” I sighed, knowing I couldn’t stand any more
broken promises and lies.
“Talk to me, Kelsey.” His hands came from his pockets to rest on my shoulders. My eyes were
downcast so he bent his knees so he could see my face. “I can’t fix it if I don’t know what’s broken.”
“Me.” One small tear fell down my cheek. “I’m broken.”

ASH

I didn’t know what to do with a crying woman. A life with brothers had not prepared me for this.
I’d made women crazy and I’d made them angry before, but that one sad tear on Kelsey’s cheek just
about brought me to my knees. I wanted to spend the rest of my life making sure she never cried again,
but I’d take making them stop right now for starters.
“Honey, you are not broken. You’re perfect.”
She let out a sad laugh. “I’m so far from perfect, Ashton. I’m the girl nobody wanted, the girl
nobody chose.”
“You mean in the system?” I knew how being a foster kid could mess you up. So much false hope
and disappointment. So many people with so many angles. I’d been lucky to be adopted quite young.
Kelsey hadn’t been so lucky.
She nodded. “I never got chosen.”
“Oh baby, that doesn’t mean anything. Those adults were stupid. They didn’t know a good thing
when they saw it, obviously.”
I was rewarded with a sad, heartbreaking smile. “I can’t risk this with you, Ashton. I like you too
much to let you in and then have you decide I’m not it for you. Maybe it makes me a coward, but I’d
rather walk away after a perfect twenty-four hours than lose you in a few months, or a year. I might
not recover from that.”
“So, the problem here is I’m a bit too awesome?” I tried to make light of it.
She nodded. “Basically. I need you and your awesome self to leave now.”
I understood, though I didn’t agree with her. Already, the thought of losing her was pulling at my
heart in a way I’d never experienced before. However, I had one thing she didn’t have. I had love and
family and I knew that with them I was so much stronger than without. I just needed to convince her
we could have that.
“This isn’t over, Kelsey,” I said, brushing a soft kiss across her lips before stepping back.
“It has to be, Ashton.”
Not as far as I was concerned.

AN HOUR later I was back at the Tap Brothers Brewery, and I was not a happy camper. I wanted to
hide out in my office, except the room reminded me of Kelsey. Hot sex with Kelsey on the desk.
Making Kelsey come. Tasting Kelsey. I couldn’t go home either because home reminded me of her
too. If I didn’t fix this, I’d need a new job and a new apartment.
 I dragged my hand through my hair and looked around. I don’t know what I was looking for.
Maybe hope, maybe a way to win her back.
“You okay, honey?” My mother was standing in the doorway watching me. “You look a little out
of sorts.”
“Do you believe in love at first sight, Lydia?”
She blinked, and then a slow smile swept across her face. “One-hundred percent. You want to
know why?”
“You and Jack.” Our late father had been the love of her life.
She laughed at that. “Oh, no. Our story was much more complicated than that. No, I believe in it
because that’s what I felt when I saw you.”
Me? Wow, that was just…wow. “Really?”
“Yes, you. I remember going to see about getting a foster child. We already had Mario and Carter
and Mack, but I just knew we could find enough room and love for one more. You were sitting in the
corner of the foster home you lived in. You had a smaller child sitting between your knees, which
were completely scraped up by the way, and you were blowing raspberries at a baby in a bouncer. In
between you were laughing and so were they. I looked at you and thought ‘that kid is amazing. He’s so
cute but he’s so happy and he wants everyone else to be happy to’o. You melted my hard heart.”
I laughed at that. “Lydia, I don’t think you ever had a hard heart. Was it that way with the other
boys?”
She shook her head. “I fell in love with each of them differently for different reasons. You were
my insta love.”
Well, that was reassuring. I’d seen it in action, and I’d been the recipient of it.
“You met someone, huh?” She took a seat on the small sofa in the corner.
“Yeah, but she’s scared. She doesn’t think it’s real or maybe she does, and she’s scared it won’t
last. Maybe that’s more it.”
“That’s tough. Mario was like that. He was older when he moved in with us, and he didn’t trust us
or himself. He didn’t want to get hurt again. It was easier to stay alone, even in our home.”
“How did you prove to him you were in it for the long haul?”
She tilted her head on her side. “Well, first of all we continued to show up for him. He didn’t
need a grand gesture like a puppy. He needed to know we were genuine.”
“Okay, that I can do.” If I had to buy ice cream every day for a year just to see Kelsey, then so be
it.
“And we adopted him.” That was harder to do with a grown woman. “We proved to him that we
could give him his forever home by getting the paperwork moving fast. Knowing it was legal was
important to him. Technically then we couldn’t give him back.”
“Were you planning to?”
“Never. But he needed written proof.”
If a forever home was exactly what Kelsey needed, I was just the guy to give her that.
KELSEY/ASH
 KE L S E Y

E very day for a week, Ashton stopped by for ice-cream with a different member of his family.
First to visit had been his brother Carter and his girl Cherry. I knew Cherry through
Willow. Her billionaire boyfriend was Cherry’s brother, Jensen, so that wasn’t too weird.
The second day Ashton brought in his brother Mario. Mario looked like he never ate anything as
sweet as ice-cream, and he was as confused as I was as to why he was there. I heard them before I
saw them.
“Why am I here, bro?”
“You need to meet my girlfriend, Kelsey.”
“If she’s dating you, why not bring her by Lydia’s or the brewery?”
“She’s not sure she wants to date me.”
“You’re desperate if you’ve roped me in, man.” I could hear the humor in his voice.
“I prefer the word determined.” Ashton sounded a touch indignant, but I heard the smile he was
hiding.
He certainly was determined, because next he brought his mother in, and the woman gushed at me
like I was the most interesting person ever.
“I’m so happy to meet you, Kelsey. Ashton has been raving about you, so I had to see the beautiful
woman who caught his eye for myself.”
“I, well, that’s very sweet.”
“You can call me Lydia.” She’d patted my hand and smiled at Ashton. “Just like my Ash, the
sweetest boy ever. You seriously won’t find better than Ash.”
That part we agreed on.
On a day I thought maybe he wouldn’t show, it was nearly closing time when he arrived with his
brother Mack, Mack’s girlfriend, Hope, and their adorable daughter Mia. At least bringing a kid to a
candy store for ice cream made sense.
“Hey beautiful,” he said with a grin. “Mack, Hope, Mia. This is Kelsey.”
“It’s so nice to meet you.” Hope took the lead. “We should totally go for a girl’s night now that
you’re dating Ash.”
“Ah, well.” I blushed. “We’ll see.”
“Right sorry. I know you dumped him, but my name is Hope so…I gotta hope.” I liked her
immediately. She was sweet and open, not unlike Ashton who stood there with Mia on his hip
explaining all the ice-cream flavors to her.
“Any idea how that beer ice cream is coming along?” Mack asked.
 “I think it’s being tested this week.”
“Interesting,” Mack said, before leaning in. “As are you Kelsey. Any woman who can make
Ashton grovel is okay by me.”
I wouldn’t have called it groveling exactly. It certainly was a strange way to get me back. If the
man just touched me, I’d probably cave. I missed everything about him, and his little visits were
doing nothing to alleviate the ache in my heart. Or my lady parts.
After they’d bought their ice cream and left, Ashton lingered a moment.
“You’re very persistent,” I told him with a shake of my head.
“I know what I want, Kelsey, and that’s you.” I bit my lip. He was so hard to resist. I was
beginning to question why I was even bothering anymore. No one ever had pursued me like this.
“What about one drink at the brewery after work tomorrow?”
“You want me to return to the scene of the crime?” I blushed thinking about my last visit.
“I’ve been rock hard all week.” He gave me a small scowl. “I can’t take teasing right now.”
I let out a small laugh. “Poor Ashton.”
“Poor Ashton indeed. Now, have mercy on me and agree to come to the brewery.”
“Do you promise to behave?”
He shook his head. “No, but I promise to try.”
I shouldn’t have agreed, but I did. Somehow Ashton made me want to agree to a lot of things that
were bad for me.

ASH

Everyone was here and ready. A different group of relatives would have thought my plan was
nuts, but not mine. Each and every one of them understood the importance of family and how each and
every member was a little crazy but definitely worth the time it took to make them feel welcome. Like
one of us.
Lydia was in a booth with Mia and Cherry and Hope, the ladies watching the door. My brothers
were all behind the bar and Jensen and Willow were alone at a high top. I wanted Kelsey to have
someone here just for her, and that was Willow.
She was late again. The woman liked to make me suffer. I pulled at the collar of my shirt.
“Relax, man,” Carter said beside me. “She’ll be here.”
“What if she’s a no-show?”
“Then we reschedule. Not everyone believes in love at first sight man. You’re not exactly taking it
slow.”
“Just because you and Cherry wasted years.”
He shook his head. “We weren’t wasting years. That was all foreplay.”
I didn’t want to think about my brother and his woman and foreplay, thank you very much. I had to
sit down to Sunday lunch with them at my mother’s house.
The door opened and there she was. She was stunning in a black dress that came in under her
gorgeous tits and flared out around her hips. Little white polka dots covered the fabric. Her hair was
down in soft waves and she wore some seriously sexy high heels. She caught my eye and walked
towards the bar.
“Hey.” she said shyly, before sliding onto a bar stool. How could she pull off shy and sexy all at
once? I loved that about her.
 “You came. You look amazing.”
“Well, uh thanks. You look pretty handsome yourself. Aren’t you kind of overdressed for behind
the bar?” I wore a suit and my brothers were in Tap Brothers t-shirts beside me. Each one gave her a
nod of hello.
“Wanted to impress my girl.”
She smiled at that. “You didn’t need to dress up for me.”
“You did for me.” I leaned across the bar. “Maybe we can have fun undressing for each other
later.”
She laughed. A big bark of a laugh that had a couple of heads turning our way. Wondering who got
to make the beautiful woman laugh, no doubt. Me. That was me, and it was going to be me forever, I
hoped. “You are so naughty.”
“You love that, right?” I slid her a glass of wine. “It’s part of my charm.”
She considered it for a minute. “I guess I don’t hate it. Our naughty times have also been pretty
nice.”
“Nice.” I clutched my chest and pretended to be hurt. “You wound me, woman. Just nice?”
“Okay, maybe better than nice.” She gave me a wink. That was my cue.
I rounded the bar and came up beside her brushing her hair over her shoulder. The fact that she
shivered when I touched her did not go unnoticed, nor did the racing pulse on her neck. She wanted
me, and I wanted forever. I just needed to show her she could have it. She swiveled to face me, and I
planted a quick kiss on her lips. I couldn’t resist. She didn’t stop me, so I pushed on.
“Kelsey. I know you’re worried that I’m a risk because, well, you haven’t been lucky with people
sticking around for you. So, I tried to think of how I could prove to you I was the real deal.”
“I…”
I lifted a finger to her lips.
“Let me finish, please.” I removed my finger and she nodded. “I can see why one person alone
might seem like a flight risk, but a whole group of people claiming you as theirs, that might make you
feel more secure.”
“I don’t understand.” She blinked at me, confused. This had made more sense in my head.
I slipped a charm bracelet from my pocket and slid it around her wrist as she looked down.
Carter came first. His charm was a beer mug, and he attached it to the bracelet as he kissed her
cheek. Next came Mack with a lollipop, and Mario with a beer bottle, then Mia with an ice-cream,
and Hope with a wine glass, followed by Cherry with a cherry, of course. Finally, Lydia came, and
she had a tiny love heart charm.
“I really don’t understand.” Kelsey blinked down at the bracelet and then up at my family.
I attached mine—a little bride and groom. “The bracelet is from us to you. I want you in my life,
but more importantly…”
“We all want to be your forever family,” Lydia said, leaning in. “You’re finally home.”
Everyone nodded and smiled around us as tears ran down Kelsey’s cheeks. “Will you please be
my girlfriend, now and forever, and be part of our forever family, well forever? I love you, Kelsey.”
I brushed her tears away with my thumbs, waiting for her answer.
“Forever?” she breathed.
“Or longer, if possible.”
“Yes. Yes, please.”
My lips crashed down on hers as Carter yelled “group hug” and we became the meat in the
sandwich. This was our family, and judging by the smile Kelsey gave me, neither of us could be
happier.
EPILOGUE
 KE L S E Y

“I ’m in here,” I called out to Ashton from our bed when I heard the door close. It was crazy, but
I’d moved in with him straight after he and his family declared their love for me. I still
couldn’t quite get over how they’d embraced me and how happy I was here with Ashton.
Right now, I was naked in bed except for the charm bracelet, and when my man walked into the
bedroom his eyes raked up my body. I loved the way he looked at me like I was the most delicious
thing he’d ever seen.
“I told you I’d never get sick of this,” he said, pulling his t-shirt over his head and shucking his
shoes, so he was standing before me in just his jeans.
“Stay there. I have a surprise for you.”
“More than this?” he asked, waving his hand toward my naked form.
“Oh, yeah.” I leaned down beside the bed and held up the tub of beer-flavored ice-cream I’d
grabbed from work today. I waved it at him.
“Is that what I think it is? They made it? How does it taste?” he asked in rapid-fire succession.
“Yes. Yes. And you’re about to find out.” I dipped my fingers in the ice cream and smeared it
across my breasts and down my tummy.
“You mean I get to lick it?” he asked, unbuttoning his jeans and sliding them down and off his feet.
“We can’t have my work apron making a liar of me, now can we?”
“Absolutely not,” he said before pouncing. “Beer, ice-cream and a beautiful woman all in one.
I’m the luckiest man on earth.”
Maybe he was, but as his tongue worked its special kind of magic, I knew I was the luckiest
woman as well.
A L SO BY EVE L ON D ON

Available in Kindle Unlimited

The Summer Lovin’ Series

The Book Boyfriends Series
The Tap Brothers Series
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

When Eve London was a girl she wanted to be a trapeze artist. Instead, she grew up to be like most women - a juggler -trying to keep
bunches of balls in the air. Now she spends her days writing about the kind of men she likes - sexy, shameless, and just a little bit
sarcastic.
Find her at EveLondonAuthor.com and on social media.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 xlix Texte

De juno ja trop ne te chaille

Se le nouel mieulx que l’escaille
D’honneur/ desires a avoir
Car mieulx vault prouesse qu’avoir
 xlix Glose

Juno c’est la deesse d’avoir selon les fables des poetes et

pource que avoir et richesse convient acquerir a grant peine soing &
travail & que tel soing peult destourner honneur acquerre & comme
honneur et vaillance soit plus louable que richesse d’autant comme
le nouel vault mieulx que l’escaille/ si veult dire au bon chevalier que
il n’y doibt mettre si fort sa felicité que vaillance en soit delaissee a
poursuyvir. A ce propos dit hermes que mieulx vault avoir povreté en
faisant bonnes oeuvres que richesse acquise laidement comme
valeur soit perpetuelle & richesse deffaillance.

xlix Alegorie

Juno dont il est dit que trop ne luy doibt chaloir est prins pour
richesses & que le bon esperit les doibt despriser dit sainct bernard/
o filz d’adam lignee couvoiteuse a quoy aymez vous tant ces
mondaines richesses qui ne sont vrayes ne vostres & vueillez ou
non il les vous fault laisser a la mort/ & dit l’evangile que le chameau
passeroit plus ayseement par le pertuys d’une esguille que le riche
n’ataindroit au royaulme des cieulx/ car le chameau n’a que une
boce sur son dos/ mais le mauvais riche en a deux/ une de
mondaines possessions & l’autre de pechez/ il fault qu’il laisse sa
premiere boce a la mort/ mais l’autre vueille ou non il l’emporte avec
soy se il ne la laisse avant que il meure. A ce propos dit
nostreseigneur en l’evangile.

Facilius est camelum per foramen acus transire/ quam

divitem intrare in regum celorum. Matthei. xix. capitulo.
 l Texte.

Contre le conseil amphoras

Ne va destruire ou tu mourras
La cité de thebes ne d’arges
N’assemble ost n’escus ne targes
 l Glose

Amphoras fut moult sage clerc de la cité d’arges/ & trop sceut de
science. Et quant le roy adrastus voulut aler sur thebes pour la cité
destruire/ amphoras qui par science sçavoit que mal luy en vendroit
dist au roy que ja n’y alast et que se il y aloit tous y seroient mors et
destruis mais il n’en fut mie creu sy avint comme il l’eut dit. Pour ce
veult dire au bon chevalier que le conseil du sage est peu
prouffitable a celluy qui n’en veult user.

l Allegorie.

Par le conseil amphoras contre lequel ne doit aler en la bataille

pouons noter que le bon esperit doit suivir les sainctes predications
ce dit saint gregoire es omelies que ainsi comme la vie du corps ne
peult estre soustenue sans souvent prendre sa refection corporelle/
ainsi ne peult la vie de l’ame estre soustenue sans souvent ouyr la
parolle de dieu doncques les parolles de dieu que vous ouyez des
oreilles corpo[re]lles recevez les en vostre cueur. Car quant la
parolle ouye n’est retenue au ventre de la memoire. C’est ainsi
comme l’estomac malade qui gette hors la viande et tout ainsi
comme en desespere de la vie de celuy qui ne retient riens/ mais
gette tout hors. Ainsi est celuy en peril de mort perdurable qui oyt les
predicacions et ne les retient ne met a oeuvre/ pour ce dit
l’escripture.

Non in solo pane vivit homo sed in omni verbo quod procedit
de ore dei. Mathei quarto ca.
 li Texte.

Ta langue soit saturnine

Ne soit a nul malle voisine
Trop parler est laide coustume
Et qui l’ot folie y presume
 li Glose.

Saturnus comme j’ay dit devant est planette lente & tardive et
sage. Pour ce dit au bon chevalier que sa langue luy doit ressembler
car langue doit estre tardive en ce que elle ne parle trop/ et sage que
de nul ne mesdie ne ne dye chose dont on s’en puist presumer folie/
car dit ung sage. A la parolle congnoist on le sage & au regard le fol.

li Allegorie.

La langue qui doibt estre saturnine/ c’est a entendre lente de

parler dit a ce propos hugues de saint victor que la bouche qui n’a la
garde de discretion est ainsi comme la cité qui est sans mur comme
le vaissel qui n’a point de overture comme le cheval qui n’a point de
frain comme la nef qui est sans gouvernail la langue mal gardee
glice comme l’anguille/ perce comme sayette volle tost pert amis et
multiplie ennemis noyses esmeut/ & seme discorde/ a ung coup
frape & tue plusieurs personnes. Qui garde sa langue il garde son
ame/ car la mort ou la vie sont en la puissance de langue. A ce
propos dit david en son psaultier.

Quis est homo qui vult vitam dies diligit videre bonos prohibe
linguam tuam a malo et labia ne loquantur dolum.
 lii Texte.

Croy la corneille et son conseil

Jamés ne soyes en esveil
De malle nouvelle apporter
Le plus seur est s’en deporter
 lii Glose.

La corneille ce dit la fable encontra le corbeau quant il portoit la

nouvelle a phebus de s’amie corinis qui s’estoit meffaicte et tant luy
enquist que il lui dist l’occasion de son erre/ mais elle desloua par
luy donner exemple d’elle mesmes qui pour semblable cas avoit esté
chassee de l’ostel pallas ou jadis souloit estre bien avancee/ mais il
ne la voulut pas croire dont mal lui en ensuivit pour ce dit au bon
chevalier que la corneille doit croire. Et dit platon. Ne soyes pas
jengleur ne au roy grant raporteur de nouvelles.

lii Allegorie.

Que la corneille doive estre creue veult dire que le bon esperit
doibt user de conseil sicomme dit sainct gregoire es moralles que
force ne vault riens ou conseil n’est car force est tantost abatue se
elle n’est appuyee par le don de conseil et l’ame qui a perdu dedens
soy le siege de conseil par dehors se espart en divers desirs pource
dit le sage.

Si intraverit sapientia cor tuum consilium custodiet te &

prudentia servabit te. proverbiorum secundo. c.
 liii Texte.

S’a plus fort de toy tu t’efforce

A faire plusieurs jeux de force
Retray toy que mal ne t’en vienne
De ganimedes te souvienne
 liii Glose

Ganimedes fut ung jouvencel de la lignee aux troyens et dit une

fable que phebus et luy estoient ung jour ensemble a getter la barre
de fer/ et comme ganimedes ne peult contre la force de phebus fut
occis par le rebondissement de la barre/ que phebus eut si hault
balancee qu’il en eut la veue perdue. Et pour ce dit que a trop plus
fort & plus puissant de soy n’est mie bon l’estrif car n’en peult venir
si non inconvenient. Si dit ung sage soy jouer avec les hommes de
mal gracieux jeux est signe d’orgueil et fine communement par ire.

liii Allegorie.

Comme il est dit que contre plus fort de soy ne se doibt efforcer
est a entendre que le bon esperit ne doit entreprendre trop forte
penitence sans conseil/ de cecy dit saint gregoire es morales que
penitence ne proffite point se elle n’est discrete ne la vertu de
abstinence ne vault riens se elle n’est sy ordonnee que elle ne soit
pas plus aspre que le corps ne peult souffrir. Et pour ce conclud que
nulle simple personne ne doit entreprendre penitence sans conseil
de plus discret de luy/ pour ce dit le sage es proverbes.

Ubi multa consilia ibi erit salus. Proverbiorum. ii. ca.

Et le proverbe commun

Omnia fac cum consilio et postea non penitebis.

 liiii Texte

Ne ressemble mye Jason

Qui par medee/ la toison
D’or conquist/ dont puis luy tendit
Tres mauvais guerdon & rendit
 liiii Glose.

Jason fut ung chevalier de grece qui alla en estrange contree

c’estassavoir en l’isle de colcos par l’enditement peleus son oncle
qui par envie sa mort desiroit la avoit ung mouton qui la toison avoit
d’or & par enchantement estoit gardé mais comme si forte en fust la
conqueste que nul n’y venist qui n’y perdist la vie. Medee qui fille fut
au roy de celle contree tant print grand amour a Jason que par les
enchantemens que elle sçavoit dont souveraine maistresse estoit
donna charmes & aprint enchantemens a Jason par quoy il conquist
la toison d’or & dont il eut honneur sur tous les chevaliers vivans et
fut restoré de mort par Medee a qui il eut promis a tousjours estre
loyal amy/ mais apres foy lui mentit & aultre ayma & du tout la laissa
& relenquit nonobstant fust elle de souveraine beaulté. Pource dit au
bon chevalier que jason ne vueille ressembler qui trop fut
descongnoissant & desloyal a celle qui trop de bien luy avoit fait
comme ce soit villaine chose a chevalier & a tout noble de estre
ingrat & mal congnoissant d’aulcun bien s’il l’a receu soit de dame
damoiselle ou aultre ains luy en doibt souvenir & le guerdonner a
son pouoir. A ce propos dit Hermes. Ne vueilles point attendre a
remunerer a celuy qui t’a bien fait/ car souvenir t’en doibt a
tousjours.

liiii Alegorie.

Jason qui fut ingrat ne doibt le bon esperit ressembler qui des
benefices receuz de son createur ne doibt estre ingrat & dit sainct
bernard sur cantiques que ingratitude est ennemye de l’ame/
amendrissement de vertus/ dispersion de merites/ perdicion de
benefices. Ingratitude est ainsi comme ung vent sec qui seche la
fontaine de pitié/ la rousee de grace & le russel de misericorde. A ce
propos dit le sage.
 Ingrati enim spes tanquam hibernalis glacies tabescet &
dispariet tanquam aqua supervacua. Sapientie xvi. capitulo.
 lv Texte

De la serpent gorgon te gardes

Gard bien que tu ne la regardes
De perseus ayes memoire
Il t’en dira toute l’hystoire.
 lv Glose

Gorgon ce dit la fable fut une damoiselle de souveraine beaulté

mais pour ce que phebus jeut avec elle au temple dyane tant s’en
couroussa la deesse que elle le transmua en serpent de tres horrible
figure & avoit telle proprieté celle serpent que tout homme qui la
regardoit estoit soubdainement mué en pierre et pour le mal qui
d’elle ensuivoit. Perseus le vaillant chevalier alla pour combatre a la
fiere beste & en la resplendeur de son escu qui tout fut d’or se myroit
pour non regarder la male serpent & tant fist que le chief luy trencha.
Mainte exposition peult estre faicte sur la dicte fable et peult estre
entendue gorgon pour une cité ou ville qui ja souloit estre de grant
bonté/ mais par les vices des habitans devint serpent & venimeuse
c’est a entendre que maintz maulx faisoit aux marches voisines
comme de tout rober & piller & les marchans & aultres trespassans
estoient prins retenuz & mys en d’esctroicte prison & ainsi estoient
muez en pierre. Perseus se mira en sa chevalerie & alla combatre
contre celle cité & la print & luy osta le pouoir de plus mal faire/ et
ainsi peult estre une dame moult belle & de maulvais affaire qui par
sa couvoitise maint desnua de leur avoir/ & aultres plusieurs
entendemens y pevent estre mys. Pource veult dire au bon chevalier
que il se garde de non regarder chose mauvaise qui a mal se peult
attraire. Et dit aristote/ fuys gens plains d’iniquité/ & ensuy les sages
& estudie en leurs livres & te mire en leurs faictz.

lv Alegorie

Que gorgon ne doye regarder/ c’est que le bon esperit ne doit

regarder ne penser aux delicez quelconques/ mais soy mirer en
l’escu de estat de perfection et que delices soyent a fuyr dit
Crisostome que comme c’est impossible que le feu arde en l’eaue
ainsi est ce impossible que compunction de cueur soit entre les
delices du monde ce sont deux choses contraires et qui destruisent
l’un l’autre/ car compunction est mere de larmes et les delices
engendrent ris/ compunction restraint le cueur et les delices
l’alargissent. A ce propos dit l’escripture.

Qui seminant in lacrimis : in exultatione metent.

 lvi Texte

Se amour t’acourcist la nuyt

Garde que phebus ne te nuyt
Parquoy tu puisses estre prins
Es liens vulcan & surprins.
 lvi Glose

Dit une fable que mars & venus s’entraymoient par amours/ avint
une nuyt que les deux amans bras a bras furent endormis. Phebus
qui cler voyt les surprint & apperceut a vulcan le mari les accusa/
adonc lui qui en ce point les veit forgea une chaine & ung lien
comme celuy qui est febvre des dieux et au ciel forge les fouldres &
de ses chaines d’arain tous deux les lya ensemble si que mouvoir ne
se peurent/ & ainsi les surprint & monstra aux aultres dieux & tel s’en
rioyt qui bien eust voulu en semblable mesfait estre escheu. Ceste
fable peult estre notee a plusieurs entendemens & mesmes aulcuns
pointz touchans la science d’astronomye & aussi arquemie. Pource
dit au bon chevalier que il se garde en quelque cas que ce soit
d’estre surprins par oubly de temps. Et dit ung sage. A peine est il
chose si secrete que d’aulcun ne soit apperceue.

lvi Alegorie

La ou l’auctorité dit que se amour t’acourcist la nuyt nous dirons

que le bon esperit se doit garder des agaz de l’ennemy/ de cecy dit
sainct leon pape que l’ancien ennemy qui se transfigure en ange de
lumiere ne cesse de tendre partout les las de ses tentations & de
espier comment il puisse espier la foy des creans/ il regarde qui il
embrasera de feu de couvoitise/ qui il enflammera de l’ardeur de
luxure/ a qui il proposera les athemans de gloutonnie/ il examine de
toutes les coustumes/ discute les cueurs/ conjecture les affections/ &
la quiert il cause de nuyre ou il trouve la creature plus diligemment
encline et occupee/ pource dit sainct pierre.

Sobrii estote & vigilate quia adversarius vester diabolus

tanquam leo rugiens circuit querens quem devoret. secunde
petri ultimo capitulo.
 lvii Texte

Thamaris ne desprise pas

Pour tant se femme est du pas
Te souvienne ou cirus fut pris
Car chier compara le despris
 lvii Glose

Thamaris fut royne moult vaillante dame plaine de grant

prouesse et de grant hardement et moult sage en armes & en
gouvernement. Cirus le grant roy de perse qui avoit conquis mainte
region avec grand ost se esmeut pour aller contre la royne de
femenie dont il prisoit moult petit la force/ mais elle qui fut experte et
subtille au mestier d’armes le souffrit entrer en son royaulme sans
soy mouvoir jusques a ce que il se fut mys es destrois passages
entre montaignes ou il y avoit moult fort pays/ adonc par
embuschemens que thamaris eut fait faire fut assailly Cirus de
toutes pars de l’ost des femmes & atant fut mené que prins fut & ses
gens tous mortz & prins/ la royne devant elle le fist mener & trencher
luy fist le chief & getter en une cuve plaine de sang de ses barons
qu’elle eut fait decoler devant luy/ si dist. Cirus qui oncques ne fut
saoulé de sang humain. or en peulz boire ton saoul. & ainsi fina cirus
le puissant roy de perse qui oncques n’avoit peu estre vaincu en
nulle bataille. Pour ce dit au bon chevalier que ja ne soit sy
oultrecuidé qu’il n’ait doubte que mal cheoir luy peult par aulcune
fortune & par moindre de soy. A ce propos dit Platon. Ne desprise
nul pour sa petite faculté/ car ses vertus pevent estre grandes.

lvii Alegorie

Thamaris qui ne doibt estre desprisee pourtant se elle fut femme/

c’est que le bon esperit ne doibt despriser ne haÿr l’estat d’humilité
soit en religion ou aultre estat/ & que humilité soit a louer dit Jehan
cassian que nullement ne peult l’edifice de vertus en nostre ame soy
eslever ne dresser se premierement ne sont goustez en nostre
cueur les fondemens de vraye humilité lesquelz assis tresfermement
puissent soustenir la haultesse de perfection & de charité/ pource dit
le sage.

Quanto major es humilia teipsum in omnibus & coram deo

invenies gratiam. Ecclesiastici. iii. capitulo.