Reduced to Ashes

by Kay Gordon

  “We’ve got so many dances ahead of us, Tor,” I told her before pressing my lips to her temple. “Better get used to it.”

  She sighed happily and we continued moving across the dance floor.

  Nick Christos ended up driving us to my house a couple of hours later. I probably could have driven but none of us was willing to risk it. Besides, my truck was still at my place since we’d gotten ready for the party there.

  Pieces of our costumes were shed the second we were through the door and Victoria stopped as we were passing the kitchen.

  “In here.”

  I watched my gloriously naked girlfriend as she stepped into the kitchen and braced herself against the kitchen counter. I groaned and took two steps before pausing.

  “Don’t move. I need a condom.”

  “Yeah, you do,” she said as I went to the living room to get my wallet from my costume shorts. “I’m not ready for babies.”

  Once I had the condom in hand, I went back to where she was and stood behind her as I ripped it open. “Me either. One day, though? You’d be a great mother.”

  “One day,” she agreed on a moan as I nudged her legs apart and rubbed the head of my cock between her thighs. “Please, Ev.”

  I took her hard and fast right there in the kitchen, turned on by how fucking amazing she was and the thoughts of our future together. After she’d screamed her climax, making me thankful Ruby and Keith weren’t within hearing distance, I let myself go inside of the woman I loved.

  The doorbell ringing sometime later woke me up from a perfect sleep. Victoria was next to me, still completely naked, and she groaned when she saw the time.

  “If that’s Shelley again, I can’t be responsible for my actions. It’s not even eight o’clock yet.”

  She pulled the pillow over her head and I laughed softly while standing up when the doorbell rang again.

  “I’ll get rid of her, baby. Go back to sleep.”

  I stepped into a pair of shorts but didn’t bother with a shirt as I padded down my hallway. The doorbell rang again just as I was pulling the door open and I stared in surprise at the people on my porch.

  “Mom. Lewis.”

  My mother had once been a very beautiful woman. I remember when I was little thinking she was the prettiest lady I’d ever seen. Over the years, she tried to hold onto that beauty by bringing injections and plastic surgery into the mix. She went from being beautiful to looking fake.

  Her hair was so blonde that it was lighter than Victoria’s. Unlike my girlfriend, my mother only achieved that feat by having it bleached far too often. It was pulled back into a tight bun.

  There were no wrinkles around her hazel eyes or on her forehead but the Botox had given her a very pinched look. She was wearing a white floral dress that looked like it could have been wallpaper twenty years before. That pinched look on her face was amplified as she looked me up and down.

  Standing next to her, wearing a fucking sweater vest despite it being almost ninety degrees outside, was my stepfather. He and Tristan looked so much alike that it was kind of jarring. His black hair was shorter than his son’s and he had far more wrinkles but they had the same grey-colored eyes.

  “This is how you answer the door?” Mom shook her head with a scoff. “Invite us in, Evan.”

  “I don’t think so.” I stepped out onto the porch and closed the door behind me. “What are you guys doing here?”

  Lewis frowned, gesturing towards the house. “We need to talk and we’re not doing it outside.”

  “I have company so you’re not welcome inside. You can either plan to come back later or talk about it out here.”

  “You haven’t changed at all, have you?” My stepfather shook his head and folded his arms over his chest. “Why is Tristan being investigated for releasing that damn video again? He said that you’re behind this.”

  “Because he made sure it was passed around again!” My words came out sharp and loud and I instantly lowered my tone in hopes that Tori wouldn’t wake up. “Seven years later, he’s still the juvenile little shit he’s always been and he made sure someone sent it out to all of the offices in the lower half of Nevada.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” my mother said with a scoff. “For all we know, that girl did it herself in hopes she could bring up a civil suit against us.”

  “Get off your high horse.” I rolled my eyes. “Not everyone cares about money like you two do.”

  The door behind me cracked open and I bit back a curse when Victoria appeared. Her hair was a mess and her face still slightly bruised. She was wearing one of my t-shirts and a pair of her yoga pants, and she looked both sleepy and confused.

  She was so fucking beautiful.

  Tori seemed to recognize who I was talking to at the same time my parents recognized her.

  “Are you kidding me right now? You’re actually involved with that little slut?”

  My mother’s screech was ear piecing and Victoria visibly flinched, taking a step back. I moved forward and lowered my head until my nose was almost touching my mother’s.

  “Get off my property. Now.”

  “Evan?” A new voice spoke my name and I almost laughed at the hilarity of the porch gathering.

  When I looked up, I saw Keith and Ruby walking towards us. Their car was parked in front of their property and both of their expressions were hard. It was safe to say that neither of them cared for my parents.

  Now it was a party.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Tori

  I liked the occasional beer but it wasn’t very often that I had more than one or two in one night. So after having five or six at the party the night before, I was kind of a mess that morning.

  When Evan didn’t reappear after the doorbell rang, I forced myself out of the bed. The bathroom was my first stop and I was really happy to find a bottle of pain reliever on the counter.

  Luckily we’d gotten dressed for the party at his house the night before so I had a pair of yoga pants I could pull on. I bypassed my tank top in favor of one of Evan’s t-shirts, though. It was comfortable and if Shelley was at the door again, it’d make a statement.

  The possessive thoughts rolling through my mind made me roll my eyes at myself as I walked out of the bedroom. The feelings Evan provoked from me were foreign and made me feel younger than I actually was.

  Suddenly, I heard Evan’s loud, angry voice coming from outside. I couldn’t make out what he was saying but I moved faster. Just as I was opening the door, I heard Evan mention something about money.

  Two older people were on the porch with my shirtless boyfriend and none of them looked too happy. I looked from the woman and then to the man before freezing.

  I recognized Tristan’s dad almost instantly.

  “Are you kidding me right now? You’re actually involved with that little slut?”

  I flinched at the shrieking sound of Shannon Dunsworth’s voice and Evan moved quicker than I thought possible.

  His face was angry as he dipped down to look at his mother. “Get off my property. Now.”

  Before she could reply, someone called Evan’s name and I watched two other people make their way over from the property next door. I’d met them once before, at one of the soccer games, and I recognized them as Dominic’s parents.

  “This has nothing to do with you, Morris,” Lewis Dunsworth bit out with a glare and Keith gestured towards the road.

  “I believe he told you to leave.”

  Evan’s mother was still glaring at me. “You need to stay away from my sons.”

  “You don’t get to talk to her.” Evan moved so he was in front of me, although not blocking my view completely. “You don’t get to say a word to Victoria. I told you go. Now get out of here before I call the local patrol in to have them force you out.”

  Shannon and Lewis shared a look but did as Evan said. They both glared at the Morris family, who was standing at the base of
the stairs, and Shannon was halfway down the driveway when she looked back at me.

  “You know, if you’d keep your legs closed, none of this would be happening.”

  Evan’s chest rumbled but I put a hand on his shoulder, right over the scar he’d received from the fire, to soothe him. I pasted a saccharine smile on my face and shrugged.

  “Perhaps if you’d been better parents and raised your child with some morals, what I did in my private life wouldn’t matter. I’m thankful every day that Evan had these two,” I pointed towards Ruby and Keith, “to show him the difference between right and wrong and how to love.”

  “You little bitch,” Lewis spit out, his eyes full of fire. “If you think my son’s going to end up in prison because of you again, you better think again.”

  He grabbed his wife’s wrist and the two of them headed towards the Porsche that was sitting in the driveway. No one said anything and no one moved until they were peeling down the road, quicker than necessary in a residential neighborhood.

  It wasn’t until that moment that I saw the tension drain from Evan’s body. I leaned into him and pressed a kiss to the middle of his back while grabbing one of his hands in mine. His hold around my fingers was tight and he looked over his shoulder at me.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” I gave him a reassuring smile and then flicked my eyes to the other couple that was coming up the stairs. “Good morning, guys.”

  Evan shifted until we were next to each other. “That’s quite some timing you had there.”

  Ruby wrapped me in a tight hug before doing the same with Evan. “I can’t imagine going through life being as unhappy as those two.”

  “No kidding.” Keith pat Evan on the back and then squeezed my shoulder. “We just came by to take a look at the construction progress. I’m glad we did.”

  “Want to come in? I can whip you guys up some breakfast,” Evan offered but both Ruby and Keith shook their heads.

  “We already ate, but thank you, son.” Keith smiled at us both. “Come for dinner tonight and bring that beautiful woman.”

  They hugged us again and headed across the yard so they could take a look at their house. Evan and I turned to go into the house and I yawned.

  “I can’t believe they woke us up for that bullshit.”

  Evan laughed and pulled me down to his couch. “What do you say we lay here and see if we can’t get back to sleep?”

  He laid down on the couch and pat the spot in front of him. I stretched out so my back was against his front and turned on the TV. I flipped through channels until I found some American Ninja Warrior rerun and left it there.

  Concentrating on the people attempting to clear the obstacle course was impossible, though. Evan’s hand was on my hip, over my shorts, but his thumb was rubbing circles over my skin right where my shirt had ridden up.

  It was distracting.

  Finally, I stood from the couch and stared down at him. He offered me a small smile that was anything but innocent.

  “What’s wrong, Tori?”

  Without saying a word, I grabbed the waistband of the shorts he had on and pulled them down over the stiff erection that had been pressing into my back for the last fifteen minutes.

  Evan shifted slightly so he was on his back and his blue eyes stared at me with so much intensity as he waited for me to make my move.

  I whipped my shirt over my head and tossed it behind me before ridding myself of my yoga pants. I wasn’t wearing any underwear so that left me completely naked.

  Using my knees to straddle his thighs, I offered him a smirk before wrapping my hand around his thick erection. I leaned down and ran my tongue along his hot, smooth flesh and loved how he groaned almost immediately.

  I teased him for a moment before slowly sucking him into my mouth, taking inch by inch until I couldn’t fit anymore. I loved the way he tasted and the noises sounding from his chest made me feel so powerful.

  My thighs rubbed together, anxiously searching for friction. I was so turned on from pleasing him that I felt like I was going to explode.

  Evan’s hand was tangled in my hair, pulling just enough to give me a slight bite of pain that only turned me on further. Suddenly, that hand disappeared and his cock was no long in my mouth.

  He scooted out from under me, leaving me on my knees on the couch. Before I had a chance to register what was happening, he was moving so his feet were where his head had been and his face was directly under me.

  “Can’t let you have all of the fun,” he murmured before pulling my hips down and pressing his lips against my slick center.

  My head dropped back in pleasure and it took me a second to realize his intentions. I leaned down and brought his erection back between my lips, groaning at the pleasure of having him in my mouth and his mouth being on me.

  Evan devoured me, his fingers penetrated me, and I felt my orgasm cresting faster than I thought possible. I had my fist wrapped around the base of his cock and took as much of him my mouth as I could.

  When my orgasm hit, I moaned and temporarily forgot what I was doing. It wasn’t until the pleasure had subsided that I increased my suction and triumph flared through me when his hands gripped my hips almost painfully.

  He groaned his own pleasure and I swallowed his release until he relaxed on the couch. Slowly, I pulled him from my mouth and moved until I was draped over him.

  “Okay. Now I’m going back to sleep,” I murmured, kissing his lips once before burying my face into his chest.

  He chuckled and grabbed the throw from the back of the couch. Once it was situated over our bodies, he tightened his hold on me and we both fell asleep.

  –––

  We had lunch with Vincent and Ty, who looked amazingly happy. Although their PDA was kept to a very minimum, the looks they shared took my breath away. When Vincent caught me smiling at them, he raised his brows as if to say, You approve?

  I nodded my head. I really approve. It’s nice to see you happy.

  His eyes flicked to Evan before settling back on me. Ditto, Vic.

  “Jesus. You two are having a full-on conversation without saying anything, aren’t you?” Ty asked and I focused on him while wiggling my eyebrows.

  “Jealous? Don’t be. It’s cool now but it sucked growing up.”

  “Seriously,” Vincent chimed in. “She used to tattle to our parents about shit I didn’t even say and they always believed her because she was so damn cute. So annoying.”

  “He’s just mad because I was cute and he looked like a hobbit.” I offered my brother a sympathetic smile. “At least you grew in your head, Vin, but those feet…”

  All of us laughed and continued eating. Our plates had just been cleared when Evan excused himself to the bathroom and Vincent stood up to take a call from his boss, leaving Tyson and me alone.

  “I’ve been meaning to ask, how did you and my brother even broach the idea of being together?” I asked curiously, moving around the able until I was in Vincent’s chair next to Ty.

  He let out a quiet chuckle and dropped his arm across my shoulders. “You sure you want to hear this?”

  “I can handle it.”

  “Okay.” He used his free hand to drink his water and then settled back into his chair. “Do you remember when you invited him to Owens’ housewarming party last spring?” I nodded so he continued. “I noticed him immediately and not because he was hot but because he was always smiling.”

  I imitated a gag. “I’m going to pretend like you didn’t say that.”

  “Oh, he’s hot, Tor. The two of you are like beautiful freaks of nature.” He kissed the side of my head. “But I kept my distance for two reasons: he was your brother and he was a firefighter. You know how much distrust I have for those guys.”

  I did.

  “Didn’t stop me from looking at him, though, and it seemed like he was looking at me a lot, too. At the end of the night, after you left,
I was just getting ready to head out but he stopped me and struck up conversation. We talked for about an hour and I just sensed it. When he excused himself to go to the bathroom, I followed.”

  “Oh, maybe I don’t want to hear this,” I groaned but Tyson just laughed.

  “None of that happened, Tor. I promise.” He let out a long sigh. “I stood by the door waiting for him to come out, debating what I wanted to say, but when the door opened, I just acted on impulse. I pushed him back into the bathroom and kissed him. I waited for him to shove me away or to hit me, but he fucking kissed me back.”

  “I did.” Vincent fell into the seat Evan had been in across the table. “This asshole gave me the best kiss of my life before pulling away, staring at me for a full minute, and then turning and leaving.”

  I burst out laughing because that sounded like something Ty would definitely do. “So then what?”

  “I chickened out,” Ty admitted. “I didn’t know if he was really gay or just some guy willing to experiment or even someone out there who was just going to tell everyone my secret. I booked it out of there.”

  “When I couldn’t find him again, I found your company directory on your fridge the next day and got his address.” My brother smiled at his boyfriend. “I drove over there, slammed my fist against the door, and made him let me in.”

  “And then we did stuff you don’t want to hear,” Ty told me with, laughing when I pretended to gag again. Evan made it back to the table right at that time and I grinned at him.

  “Well, I’m glad. Seeing you guys this happy is the best thing. That means you stay in New Hope and Vincent moves up here. Total win-win for me.”

  Vincent updated us on how his transfer was going and we hung out at the restaurant for a little longer. When the four of us left, my hand was entwined with Evan’s and I watched as Vincent and Ty’s ended up finding each other, too.

  I wasn’t quite sure how happiness was suddenly coming so easily but I wasn’t questioning my good fortune.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight