by Jenna Jacob
“Son of a… You’re a dead man, Jennings,” I snarled under my breath as I stormed to the bathroom.
After grabbing a hand towel, I lay back on the bed and draped it over my chest. Then I gripped my cock in a tight fist, let out a groan of anticipation for my pending relief, and closed my eyes.
Chapter 14
Caris
My legs were shaking so badly I couldn’t even walk, not that I really wanted to. I stood staring at the door, mentally kicking my ass for not offering to help him find relief. I could almost feel his thick, hot cock throbbing in my palm as I stroked him up and down. Almost taste the sweet nectar spilling off his wide purple tip, sliding over my tongue. My pussy clutched at its empty desolation. And my mind screamed in frustration while every cell in my body throbbed.
Inwardly cursing myself for standing there imagining Syd stroking himself, I was only adding fuel to a wildfire I couldn’t put out.
Pull it together, Caris, and walk away. Go join the others for breakfast now.
I drew in a deep breath and forced myself to take a step back, but just as I started to turn, Syd groaned from behind the door.
“Yes, angel. That’s it…suck it, suck it down deep.”
His raspy voice scraped my already raw nerve endings, sending demand, slick and hot, spilling from my folds. My clit swelled and throbbed in time with my racing heart.
“Your wicked mouth…your sinful tongue… Oh, fuck Caris, yes, yes, baby, yes.”
I hadn’t realized I’d even reached for the knob until the cool metal met my palm.
Tremors of excitement, hunger, and indecision quaked me while my heart beat wildly.
“Oh, hey, Caris. You heading down for breakfast or coming back up?”
Whipping around, I saw Sofia closing the door of the room next to ours. Her big copper curls bounced with every move she made.
“I-I…” My tongue was stuck to the roof of my dry mouth. Shoving my arousal down deep, I forced a wide smile. “On my way down.”
“Great.” She grinned. “I’ll walk with you. Unless you were going back in your room to get something.”
“No,” I blurted far too fast and far too loud.
Inwardly cringing, I hurried her way and we started down the stairs.
“Mia told me in all the excitement yesterday your luggage got left behind. If you need to borrow some clothes until you get some delivered, let me know. They might swim on you, but we can pin them or something.” She slapped her hips. “I can’t say no to French fries or chocolate. Of course, if you don’t want to mess with safety pins, Harmony’s and Mia’s will fit. They’ll be more than happy to share, too.”
My heart swelled. I’d barely met these people, yet they accepted me without question and were bending over backward to help. Sofia didn’t seem bothered by the fact that I was only a temporary family member. Of course, she didn’t know Syd and I could never stay together. None of them did. They didn’t know if we were sceen together outside the safety of the lodge, their entire worlds could be changed forever. I doubt they’d be as willing to welcome me into their fold if they did.
I feel like a big, fat fraud.
“I should be fine until I can get a few things ordered.”
“A few things?” Sofia scoffed. “Honey, when Syd hands you his credit card you better buy more than a few things, or he’ll order them for you. You’ve never seen what his signature ranch wear looks like, but it’s not pretty.”
“Ranch wear?”
“I’m sure he packed it. Just be prepared when his luggage arrives.” Sofia giggled as the smell of food punched my senses and made my stomach gurgle.
Seconds later we entered the huge dining room. Tony and Al, the bodyguards who’d stopped us at the driveway with guns drawn, were sitting at the table, quickly shoveling down breakfast. No longer dressed in dark suits, the men wore jeans, button-down shirts, and weapons prominently displayed on their hips.
Quinn and Ava sat at the other end of the table, next to Ross and Harmony. Beside them, Dustin sat perched on Darren’s lap, holding a fork in his tiny hand as he tore into a small plate of pancakes. Beside them, Tori kept a watchful eye on the little boy’s progress. On the other side of Tori sat the two fathers, Edward and Walter, separated by two empty chairs, most likely saved for Gail and Susan. Duke and Mick, Mia’s backup musicians, sat across from the older pair; the four were talking and chuckling.
Along the wall was a long, polished wooden buffet table loaded with platters of pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage links, ham, hash browns, biscuits, and sweet rolls. At the opposite end was a large coffee carafe and mugs, along with cream and sugar. Beside them were several pitchers of juices and a stack of glasses.
“Morning, everybody,” Sofia called with a wave. As the others acknowledged us, I smiled and followed her to the buffet table.
“Where’s Syd?” Burk asked with a mischievous smile.
“Probably in a sex-induced coma,” Ozzy quipped as he and Mia entered the room.
“No, he’s getting dressed,” I lied.
Or eventually, he will be once he’s done stroking his glorious fat cock. Stroking it fast and hard, like I could be doing now if I weren’t so scared to let my damn walls down.
“I’m surprised you aren’t up there helping him.” Susan flashed a knowing smirk as she replenished the platter of scrambled eggs on the buffet.
“I’m sure he has everything well in hand.” Ozzy barked out a laugh.
“Don’t take offense at the stuff we say, Caris.” Burk grinned. “It’s just, Syd has busted our—”
“Bass drums,” Mia blurted, sliding a pointed stare at Dustin.
“Yeah, our bass drums for years. Now that you’re here, we get to return the favor.”
“Endlessly and ruthlessly.” An evil grin stretched Ross’s mouth.
“Just keep Caris out of the crossfire.” Mia scowled at the guys before sending me a soft smile. “She’s been through enough.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m sure he’s earned it. Besides, I learned how to spar with him years ago.” I smiled and took a seat opposite Ross and Harmony.
“So, he’s always been a smart…aleck?” Darren stammered.
“For as long as I can remember.”
“How did you meet Syd?” Quinn asked. “Did you two go to school together?”
We would have in the fall after social services placed him in the Andersons’ foster care. But he’d found me that hot summer night, curled up on the loading dock. The next day, we’d decided to run off and live in the woods. I could feel every eye in the room boring into me as I tried to formulate an answer that wouldn’t expose too many secrets.
“Diamond City is a small town. Everybody knows each other and every detail of their lives.”
Except me. I still didn’t know what had landed Syd in foster care. No one talked about it when he’d moved to town, not even the busiest gossip mongers like Betty Warner. Syd definitely never talked about it. The one time I’d asked if his parents were still alive, he’d bit my head off and stormed away. He hadn’t come back again for hours.
“Believe me, I know what that’s like,” Harmony spoke up with an understanding smile. “I grew up on an ecovillage in the Appalachian Mountains.”
I had no clue what an ecovillage was but knew the pretty, wheat-colored blonde was a kindred spirit.
“The place is beautiful,” Ross added. “We’re planning to get married there when the tour… if the tour is ever finally over.”
“I’m sorry your tour’s on hold again.”
“We’re not.” Syd grinned as he stepped into the room, looking relaxed and happy.
Bastard.
My hormones started screaming the instant he rounded the corner. Hopefully, I could find some alone time to rub out my frustrations in the shower. I’d been too exhausted last night to do anything more than wash the remnants of Syd’s blood off my hands and hair.
Unable to peel my eyes off his broad shoulder
s and sexy jean-clad ass as he loaded a plate with food, I took a sip of orange juice to cool down my desire. But when he sat down beside me, the flames licked higher up my spine.
Thankfully, questions about our past evaporated, and I was able to eat my breakfast without my belly twisting into knots. Well, until Tony and Al each pressed a finger to the receivers stuck in each of their ears. In unison, they stood and pushed in their chairs.
The air spiked with palpable tension.
“What’s going on?” Quinn asked. His voice was laden with the same concern pinging through me.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to alarm you all,” Tony said, raising his palm. “The guy’s here to install the perimeter alarm.”
I wasn’t the only one who exhaled a heavy sigh as the two men rushed out the front door. Syd reached over, took my hand, and squeezed it. “He’s not going to find you. And if by chance he does, there’s eighteen of us and six armed bodyguards against one sick, twisted piece of sh—”
“Sugar…um, a-are you done with your plate?” I stammered, tilting my head toward Dustin, who was busy licking syrup off his fork.
“Sugar, huh?” Syd grinned, awakening the tingle between my legs. “I like that. Yes, angel. I’m full.”
Working to ignore the suggestive flicker in his dark eyes, I stood and gathered up our plates.
“I’ll help clean up,” Harmony offered as she stood, collecting hers and Ross’s as well.
“Me, too,” Sofia announced. “Who else is done?”
I started loading up the dirty dishes of those who were finished eating, and a sense of calm threaded through me. At last, I’d found something that felt familiar, something I could control.
Harmony and Sofia loaded the dishwasher, while I filled the sink with hot, soapy water to wash the pots and pans. Syd popped into the kitchen and started to hand me his credit card, then grinned at my suds-covered hands and slid the piece of plastic in my back pocket.
He leaned in and brushed a soft kiss to my cheek, then whispered, “You and Mia have fun online shopping. Don’t worry about the cost. Order everything you want or like.”
“Thank you, Syd.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Caris.” He leaned in even closer, his hot breath wafting over the shell of my ear, sending goose bumps erupting over my flesh. “The guys and I are heading to the recording studio. When you’re done, come on down and join us if you want. It’s the big building on the right of the driveway. You can’t miss it.”
He wants me to hear him sing?
My heart nearly exploded. I’d missed Syd…missed everything about him since that fateful night. But the thing I missed the most was hearing him sing to me. I hadn’t cared that we didn’t have a roof over our heads or enough food to eat. When he’d opened his mouth to sing, his deep, rich tenor surrounded me in a blanket of happiness, safety, and love.
“I’d like that a lot. Thanks.”
He nipped the lobe of my ear as a low growl slid down my neck. “Stop thanking me for everything, or I will make you pull your pants down and spank your sexy ass.”
I was still shivering when he strolled out of the kitchen.
“I’m not sure who’s more fun to watch.” Sofia smirked. as she dried the frying pan I’d just rinsed.
“I know. Right?” Harmony grinned.
“What are you two talking about?” I asked, rinsing the soap suds off a second frying pan.
“You and Syd, silly.” Harmony’s grin grew even wider. “The electricity between you two is sizzling.”
“No.” I shook my head. “You’re wrong. We’re just—”
“Friends?” Sofia asked, brows arching.
“Yes.”
“So, you two have never, you know. done it?”
“I didn’t say that.” I felt the heat rise on my cheeks.
“You two got busy last night even after he got shot?” Harmony prodded.
“No. We haven’t done it in fifteen years. At least not together.”
I could see Sofia calculating the years in her head. “You two were doing the nasty at sixteen?”
A laugh bubbled up from inside me. “It certainly didn’t feel nasty at the time.”
“I’m sure it’s going to feel even better now.”
“Why’s that?”
“Let’s just say Syd’s no monk on tour.” Sofia chuckled. “It’s not a bad thing, I mean, practice makes perfect, they say. I have no doubt Syd has perfected some skills that will melt you into a quivering, panting puddle.”
A spike of jealousy pierced my heart, only to be erased by the blast of heat that rolled up my body.
“From what I’ve heard, Burk wasn’t a monk before meeting you, either.” Harmony quickly slapped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Don’t be, silly. Burk was a slut-puppy from hell.” A sly smile slashed Sofia’s lips as she wiggled her eyebrows. “But he’s my slut-puppy from hell now.”
“That’s what I’m talking about.” Harmony and Sofia exchanged a high five.
I didn’t know if all girlfriends shared about their sex life so openly, but it was like a breath of fresh air—freeing and liberating.
“Do you know if Mia noticed a change in Ozzy’s skills when they got back together?” Harmony asked Sofia.
“I don’t know. All she’s ever said is that he still rocks her world.”
“Wait. Ozzy and Mia were together when they were young like me and Syd?”
“They were older, but yeah, they were an item before now. After Ozzy split, she unknowingly got mixed up with Zattman.” Sofia’s pale green eyes were filled with sorrow.
“Oh, god. How long ago was that?”
“Going on fourteen years.”
“And she just now got the photos back?”
“It was time,” Harmony stated quietly.
“I think it was past time.”
“It wouldn’t have worked to her benefit before now.” Harmony smiled. “Mia’s chakras finally aligned. She reconnected with Ozzy and repaired her heart and is soaring to the top of the rock charts, achieving her purpose in life. The cosmos nudged her to get back those photos and take control of her future.”
From the moment I met Harmony, I sensed a calm Zen about her. Still, I hadn’t expected such a profound bohemian explanation from someone so young. She definitely possessed the wisdom of an old soul, like Emma Halloran had.
When the dishes were done, I wiped the stove and dried my hands.
“Our luggage arrived. I’ve got my computer booted up and ready to start shopping.” Mia giggled from the archway of the dining room.
“Shopping, yay,” Sofia squealed.
“I need to warn you, Caris.” Harmony grinned. “Those two are style goddesses. Whatever clothes and accessories they tell you to buy, just do it. They know their stuff, so prepare to have your mind blown.”
“Okay. Let’s do this.” I pulled Syd’s credit card from my pocket, then sat down at the table between Mia and Sofia and peered at the home page of an upscale clothing store on the computer screen.
“Big-box stores sell clothes.”
Mia sent me a bitch please stare. “And Syd would be pissed at all of us. This is the site we’re ordering from. Deal with it.”
“I’ve heard of this store. It’s super expensive.”
“Just sit back and let it happen,” Sofia said with a laugh, then turned to Mia. “Looks like we’re breaking another cherry, sugar.”
“Excuse me?”
Harmony started to giggle. “They’re talking about me. They had to break my shopping cherry a few months back.”
“Yeah, but Caris didn’t put up near the fight over taking Syd’s credit card that you did Ross’s,” Mia reminded.
“He tricked me.”
“Yeah, but the way he did was epic,” Sofia stated.
“Epically creative,” Harmony drawled.
“What did he do?” I asked.
“Start looking at styles you like, and
we’ll tell you.” Mia placed my finger on the computer’s trackpad and started sharing the story.
Two and a half hours later, the online shopping cart was overflowing with a new coat, boots, shoes, slippers, blue jeans, leggings, yoga pants, shirts, sweaters, lacy bras and panties, sexy lingerie Mia added despite my objections, socks, makeup, perfume, and shower products.
“Hand me the card,” she insisted, whipping the computer around so I couldn’t see the total.
“I’ll do it.”
“No, I don’t think you will.” A little laugh slid off her lips.
The grand total must be astronomical.
“Is it that bad?”
“Bad? Not when Syd gets a look at all the naughty lingerie you’re getting for him.” Mia winked as she held out her hand.
Why am I doing this?
“Yeah, you should probably do this.” With trembling fingers, I set the card in her palm.
Mia tapped the keyboard, then hit the enter key. “Done.”
“When will her things arrive?” Sofia asked.
“I selected expedited delivery. They’ll be here tomorrow afternoon.”
“Thank you both, so much.”
“Pfft.” Mia waved her hand. “Shopping is in my DNA.”
“And mine.” Sofia grinned. “Now that we’ve christened Syd’s credit card, I say we head to the studio.”
“For sure. Duke and Mick are probably pacing the floors. They’re not patient men.”
“I’m ready.” I was past ready. I could barely contain my excitement to feel Syd’s silky songs caress my flesh.
“Me, too, but hang on a second.” Harmony pulled a small cloth bag from her pocket and placed it in my hand. “Here, Caris. These are for you.”
The heavy weight of the tiny bag surprised me. “Thank you, Harmony.”
I pulled the little drawstring open and poured the contents into my palm.
Rocks. Why is she giving me rocks?
“I know things are really scary right now, so I wanted to give you and Mia some healing crystals. I gave a bag to her last night.”
“Yep, they’re right here.” Mia patted the pocket of her jeans.
“There’s amethyst, blue lace agate, rose quartz, sodalite, lepidolite, and clear quartz. They reduce anxiety and fear,” Harmony explained.