“You do this here? Now?” he growled, diving into the side of my neck. When his teeth slid over my collarbone, my body arched into him. “Don’t tempt me, Mask. Don’t fucking tempt me to do something I shouldn’t.”
Mask.
Not Forrester. But Mask.
His.
He eased me against the wall, using his body to pin mine. The leg with the cast fell to the side, able to rest on top of a seat inside the stall.
Running my hands up his biceps and over his shoulders, I summoned him with my eyes, not giving a shit where we were or what condition my body was in, and dared him to let go of his self-control.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” was all he said.
“You won’t.”
“You have to be quiet.”
Excitement skittered along my spine. “Whatever you say.”
His hand slid between our bodies. The centers of his eyes expanded twice their size. The second his hand wrapped around my throbbing dick, I opened my mouth to groan, and he pinned me with a warning stare.
“If you make noise, I’ll stop.”
My teeth sank into my lip, forcing any groans of pleasure silent.
His hand started stroking, making my ab muscles tremble. The second his lips came back to mine, his fingers slid along my crack and rubbed over my ass.
Thickly, I swallowed and melted against the wall.
Lifting his face, Trent glanced down to make sure my cast leg was out of the way and then slid a glance to the healing wounds on my chest.
Grabbing his chin, I forced his face back up, back to my eyes where his locked and held.
His finger penetrated me while his stare devoured me alive. I wasn’t sure which infiltrated me more, his stare or his fingers.
“Look at me,” he whispered. “Only at me.”
I nodded, obedient even as my eyes started to drift closed.
“Mask.” He summoned, making my eyelids lift. “Right here,” he said, sinking deeper into my body.
Pleasure and pain melded together, creating a hot-and-cold sensation all over my body. The moment I felt a twinge of pain, pleasure was right behind to soothe it.
Trent stared at me, drilling a hole right through my soul, using it to siphon out any remaining part of me he didn’t yet own.
“You sure?” he asked, his voice barely audible over the spray of the water.
I nodded, wiggling a little against his fingers.
Easing out of me, he reached around, wetting his hand under the spray and then caressing my ass one more time. Shuddering, I wiggled impatiently, wanting to feel the hardest part of him claiming its rightful place.
“I don’t have any lube.” He reminded me again.
I pushed my still-rock-hard erection against his middle and rubbed, having to bite down on my lip to keep from making sound.
His hands grasped my hips. The strength and sureness in his grip turned me on all over again. Without another pause, he thrust up.
My body gave way. The first thrust was uncomfortable, but the tremble I suddenly felt in his body turned that little prick of pain into unsurmountable pleasure.
His hips thrust again, pushing a little deeper as my body stretched around him.
I know I was supposed to look at him, but I couldn’t hold myself up anymore. I folded over, collapsing against his body, my chin resting on his shoulder. Clinging to him in a way I never had before, my lips latched onto the top of his shoulder and started to suck.
Grasping my hips, he lifted my body, sliding me up and down along his dick, making me suck harder so I wouldn’t break his demand of silence.
Ripples of pleasure stole over everything else, making me feel like I was floating as I rose higher and higher on a narrow edge. Between us, my dick throbbed, making my hips rotate as though suddenly I wanted to drive.
Trent wrapped his hand around my cock and pumped, at the very same moment tilting his hips and pushing deep.
I fell back against the wall, his hand there to soften the hit.
“Baby,” he murmured, sex dripping from his vocal cords.
Peeling my eyes opened, I smiled.
“You’re supposed to be looking at me.”
He jacked my rod and picked up the pace in fucking me. Higher and higher I went. The pressure he delivered was unrelenting until finally, blissfully, I came undone. Desire pulsed out of me, coating both our stomachs.
My eyes tried to slip closed, but he made a sound, snapping them back up. He watched me while I came. He watched me fall apart while he felt me explode across his skin.
Vulnerability curled my toes and made my stomach ache, but I let him see. I let him see just how much he owned me.
Once I was milked dry, his still-blazing stare dropped to my lips.
I leaned forward and kissed him, sweeping my tongue over his, wiggling down on his rod. I felt his nostrils flare. Inside me, his dick pulsed.
Pulling back, I anchored both hands against his shoulders and leaned my weight into the wall.
Trent started moving, pulling out and plunging in with a satisfied, voracious glint in his stare. I felt him start to come before it even burned in his eyes. I felt the bolt of energy surge through his body and into mine.
He went stiff, both hands slamming against the wall on either side of my head. His breathing was heavy, and the aftershocks of his orgasm lasted for a while.
When he finally looked up, it was with an almost drunk air, a lazy smile tugging at the lower half of his face.
“You were hungry too,” I murmured.
“Starved, baby. I was fucking starving.”
Taking his face, I leaned forward and kissed him sweetly. “I’ll do a better job of keeping you fed from now on.”
He chuckled, then slowly slid out of me. “Did I hurt you?”
“Good thing I have crutches. Might not be able to walk after that.”
He blanched.
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. He told me to be quiet… I was obedient.
“I’m kidding, frat boy,” I finally said, putting him out of his misery. “I mean, I know this is shitty timing and a less-than-desirable locale, but that was fucking hot.”
He made a gruff sound. “It sure as hell was.”
Picking me up, Trent sat me on the edge of the seat my foot had been resting on. “The water is going to go cold,” he said, grabbing the faucet and the soap Ivy bought.
He washed me with a tenderness someone might not realize he had if they’d seen the way he’d gone at me just moments ago. Once I was clean and completely rinsed, he quickly showered himself off and shut off the water.
“You doing okay?” he asked, grabbing a towel. It wasn’t a crappy hospital towel either. He’d had Ivy buy a big soft one. “How are you feeling?”
The towel was so big he was able to wrap it around me and tuck the ends together around my neck.
“I’m okay.”
“I want the truth, Mask,” he demanded, hard. “I want to know even if your pinky hurts.”
“I like when you call me that.”
Trent smiled. “I like saying it.”
He dried me off in silence. The feel of his hands and the towel on my body was better than any pain pill could ever be. Once I was dry, with a pair of boxers and sweat shorts pulled on, he reached for my left hand.
Lifting it, he stared down, gently kissing the empty ring finger. “I want to see my ring on your finger.”
“What changed your mind?”
He looked up.
“What changed your mind about wanting to get married? The kids?”
A dark look crossed his features, and my back hit the wall. Invading my personal space once again, his hands caged me in. “Now see here,” he intoned forcefully but utterly quiet. I couldn’t help it. A little thrill shot up my spine. “I’m marrying you for you and you alone. Yes, it will make it easier for us to adopt our kids, and yes, it will legally bind you to me.”
“Who’s the possessive one now?�
�� I teased.
“I am.” He confirmed. “No more being polite about it. No more hiding inside a bubble I build around us.”
“T,” I said, my brow furrowing. Is that what he thought we’d been doing? Hiding?
“I’ll still shield you.” He went on. “I’ll shield you and my kids with everything I got… You said I was different. That’s the difference.”
I furrowed my brow, trying to understand.
“I’m not going to shield you quietly anymore. I won’t contain everything we have to keep the blowback to a minimum. The rest of the world can take a nice long look if they’re so inclined. They don’t have to like it. Or even respect it. But they’ll damn well keep their opinions away from us.”
“Trent.” I cupped the side of his face.
He pushed farther into my palm. “I spent a week… a week that felt like half my lifetime, wondering if I’d ever see those blue eyes again. I spent a week pacing the hall, being kept away from you because I’d always been too polite. Maybe a little too understanding. Fuck that. People can understand this: I don’t answer to them. I regretted so much while you were out, Drew. All the times I wanted to hold your hand when we were out but didn’t. All the times we ran back home to kiss and touch, for me to say out loud how much I love you. I’m not doing it anymore. I won’t. I’ll touch you. I’ll kiss you. Fuck, I’ll grab your ass and put my tongue in your mouth in the middle of Target if I feel like it.”
“You never go to Target, T.”
“Maybe I will now,” he said, gruff. “I got kids that need stuff.”
I suppressed a laugh. Oh my God. I lived this. Not loved (though, that too). I lived it. This was why I ran from death. This was why I rushed back into my mostly lifeless body and made my way back to him.
This is why the blood that was his and mine sang in my veins.
“I won’t back down. I’m taking what I want. All of it. And most of all, what I want is you.”
“I think death was good for us,” I said, feeling so much pride swell my chest. Pride for him. For us.
“Shut your dirty mouth,” he growled and kissed me until my eyes crossed. “Don’t ever think about doing this shit to me again, Drew. I mean it. I won’t survive.”
“Yes, you will,” I said gently. “We have two kids who look at you like you’re the sun and moon.”
His eyes turned emotional. “I can’t raise them without you.”
“Hey,” I crooned, pulling him close. “I know. I’m not going anywhere.” Kissing the side of his neck, I pulled back so I could look into his eyes.
“I won’t back down either, okay? I won’t let you bear it all anymore. I’m sorry it took all this for me to stand up to my parents. I’m sorry I didn’t surrender completely…” I thought a moment, realizing. “I think holding back even just a little was my way of trying to protect you.”
He nodded, understanding in his eyes. Of course Trent understood. He always did. “I know, baby. I know.”
“I want to get married,” I confessed.
“We will. Soon. I want to be bound to you in every way possible.”
After T was dressed, he kneeled in front of me to re-cover the wound on my side. Gently leaning forward, he kissed the large white bandage, eyes looking up my body. “Does it still hurt?”
“A little,” I admitted.
Standing up, he snagged my shirt off the counter.
I shook my head. “I want your shirt.”
When it was in place, I watched him pull on mine and nearly got a stiffy just seeing it cling to his chest.
“Don’t look at me like that.” He warned.
“It’s going to be a lot harder to get time alone now that we have kids,” I said, partially forlorn.
He came back, covering my body with his. “Don’t you worry about that, Mask. I’ll always have time for you.”
Out in the room, our very loud, very demanding daughter started to cry.
Both of us smiled. “How about you feed her this time, and I’ll try and convince Trav to take a shower and put on the new clothes Ivy got him?”
I nodded, and he turned to leave.
I reached out, grabbing the back of his shirt and stopping him from going. Suddenly, I wasn’t ready to let him go yet. I wanted just another minute. No, just another second alone with my everything.
He came back around, gaze searching mine.
“Thank you for naming our daughter after me.”
“You know what?” Trent said, shuffling close again.
I loved it when he crowded me. I loved it when his arms hooked around my waist and his palms settled on my ass.
“What?” I practically crooned.
“If you hadn’t gotten into that accident, if you hadn’t landed in this hospital, we might never have met our kids. As shitty as this all has been, we got those kids out of it.”
I nodded. “You’re right.”
“What’s meant to be will always find a way,” Trent murmured, brushing a kiss over my ear. “We weren’t meant to stay in that holding pattern, baby. We were meant for this. For marriage, for kids, for life.”
There was a small knock on the door. “‘Rent!” Travis called. “Andi won’t stop crying!”
“Dad’s coming!” I called out, giving T a little pat on the ass to go.
Trent slid his arm around me to help me walk and opened the door. “Mom too,” he told Travis, who was standing there waiting.
“Who you calling mom?” I guffawed, horrified.
“What do you think, Trav?” Trent reached down to tickle his middle. “You think Drew would make a good mom?”
Travis laughed, but I sure as hell didn’t. “That’s not even funny,” I muttered.
“It’s kinda funny,” Braeden cracked.
Andi’s cries turned a little more insistent, and all the joking stopped. Settling back on the bed, I pulled my shirt off so I could hold her against my chest, and Travis brought me a bottle he’d already gotten out for her.
Romeo appeared at my side, and I glanced up, doing a doubletake. He was the one cradling her in his arms. His shirt was missing too.
“Four nurses came in here to see Rome without a shirt.” Braeden snickered. “Five if you count Patrick.”
I raised an eyebrow, and Romeo rolled his eyes. But then amusement sparked in their blue depths. “Rim chased them all out.”
She made a rude sound. “This place is ridiculous.”
“The nurses here are horny as hell.” I agreed, feeling her irritation.
Gently, Romeo handed over Andi. Before pulling back, he adjusted the hat on her tiny head. “I like her,” he announced.
“The alpha has spoken,” Braeden declared.
I looked at Trent. The only alpha I saw in this room was him.
I mean, seriously, not to be giving TMI and all, but my ass still trembled from his assault.
As if he knew, Trent looked up from Travis and winked.
42
Trent
* * *
Two months later…
* * *
Steady rain pounded everything under the gray, cloud-heavy sky, turning what was previously a sunny summer day into the kind that made you want to hole up with a blanket and a beer and Netflix and chill.
“Ivy is probably freaking out,” I murmured as I upped the speed on the windshield wipers.
Drew moaned. “Seriously, this shit better stop.”
The sound of raindrops pelting the roof of the Infiniti QX80 I was driving abruptly halted when I drove under a thick canopy of trees leading across the property to the compound.
We’d been on the other side of the state for so long after Drew’s accident that I’d grown homesick for this place. For the privacy, the trees, and our space. We’d been home a few weeks now, but I was still so grateful to be back.
Drew sighed, reclining a little farther into the passenger seat.
Reaching across, I put a hand on his upper thigh, gently squeezing. “PT wear you out today?�
�
He grunted. “It’s getting easier.”
He started physical therapy right before he was discharged from the hospital and had been going three times a week since. For the first month, he’d done it down there and we’d stayed at the apartment. But as soon as Andi was cleared for travel and she and Drew both were strong enough, we practically hightailed it back home.
Now he did his PT here and still had a little ways to go.
“I want this damn cast off.”
“I know.” I pacified, patting his thigh.
Technically, his cast was off. But I wasn’t going to point that out. The boot he had to wear in place of the original cast was just as annoying. But at least this could come off when he showered.
And for other activities… Know what I mean? *wink*
“I’m not wearing it tomorrow.” He grumped some more, folding his arms over his chest like a petulant child.
“Guess you’ll just have to lean on me.”
I felt his blue eyes, and I glanced away from the road to meet his gaze for long seconds. The air around us instantly electrified. “Guess so.”
Having kids underfoot nearly twenty-four-seven didn’t put a damper on our sex life. If anything, seeing him with our kids made me want him even more.
Rain started pelting the roof again, and the main house on the property came into view. There were several cars and vans parked out front, and I wanted to turn the car back around and drive away from the chaos.
“Remind me why we didn’t just elope,” I muttered.
“Because Ivy would have killed us,” Drew replied.
“Right.”
Instead of driving on by toward our house, I maneuvered around the vans to park as close to the front door as I could.
“Think Trav is okay?” Drew asked, gazing at the front door.
Andi and Travis were settling into the family better than I expected. Well, not better. I knew from the minute I saw them they were part of this family. What I meant was faster. They were settling in faster than I’d hoped.
We were a big family that didn’t give each other a lot of space, and we worried at first it would be too much, especially for Travis, who was wary of all people.
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