Ryder pulls over a barstool, offers it to Zoe. She declines, and he leaves it open, standing with us. “You have siblings, Gage? Or are you solo like me?”
“I had a sister.”
Wyatt and Nate glance over, game suspended at the use of past tense.
Had.
He had a sister.
They have one.
She’s so protected it’s annoying, because they love her that much.
With respect leathering his tone, Wyatt asks, “You lose her when you were kids?”
“No.” Gage clears his throat. “It was just over a year ago.”
Wyatt twirls the dart in his hand, gaze rising from it. “Sorry, man.”
Also quieted with respect, Nathan offers, “Sorry to hear that, Gage. I can’t imagine how that’s gotta hurt.”
Ryder lifts his mug. “What was her name?”
“Heather.”
“To Heather. May she be happy and free where she is now.”
I blink at the compassionate accuracy of Ryder’s toast. We raise our mugs, nearly unanimously combining it, “To Heather’s happiness,” save for sweet Zoe who whispers last, “To her peace.”
I slide gentle fingers down Gage’s back. “You guys are really dragging out this game. What the fuck!? We wanna play doubles with you starting right now!”
Sammy joins in, fake appalled to cry out, “No way! That means Zoe and I are out another game!”
Ryder adds even more levity by throwing up his arms and looking like a lost puppy. “What about me?!”
Samantha zips her toned arm through beer-scented air. “Whichever of you two wins, pairs up with me. We’ll play Lexi and Gage.” She jogs a thumb. “Then winners of that round will take on Zoe and Ryder.”
“I want to play on my brothers’ team. Whoever doesn’t win this.”
Sammy glances to the slighted Ryder. “Oh…okay…um, well I’ll play with Ry!”
Zoe sips her beer. “Sounds good.”
Her oblivious brothers resume their game. But Sammy and I exchange a look. Seems Zoe is getting impatient, and over it. Over him. Is that’s even possible?
A problem for another time.
I change the subject to one Gage and I discussed at length just two nights ago: “Guys, what do you think is the best color to paint a house?”
Opinions fly with conditions added. The debate carries on for a long time, becoming heated and fun. So entertaining that we’re still discussing it when finally Ryder says, “I’ve gotta call it a night.”
Everyone pulls out their phones to check the time, except for me since I can look at Gage’s with him. As we stare at his dimmed screen, with me leaning against his beautiful body, he mutters, “We’ve been here three-and-a-half hours.”
“Wow!” I gasp, and feel him kissing my hair. Our eyes meet and we let the room disappear for an exciting moment.
He gives me a quick kiss, “I’ll be right back.” and heads to the bathroom with me watching him go. I love his shoulders. The confidence in his walk. How damn tall he is. Yummy.
Turning around I catch everyone staring at me.
“What?”
Wyatt smiles, “I like him.”
“Me too.” Nathan jerks his chin in the direction Gage left. “Good guy.”
I toss back a sarcastic, “Great. And?”
Wyatt cocks an eyebrow, pulling out his wallet.
Ryder grabs his keys like it’s a statement.
Sam crosses her arms.
Zoe smiles, “They’re giving their approval.”
“So?!”
Wyatt balls up a beer-soaked napkin, throws it, and I duck out of the way as he barks, “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Zero!”
“We’re saying we like your boyfriend.”
“I don’t have a boyfriend. I’ve never had a boyfriend, and I don’t have one now!”
Wyatt shakes his head, forehead scrunching. “And I thought I didn’t wanna get attached.”
Zoe looks up at him. “You will, Wyatt. One day you’ll meet someone you love.”
Like he doesn’t believe in fairy tales, he laughs, “Yeah right,” and picks up the bill.
Gage returns and pitches in, covering my share, too.
I kiss him, “Thank you.”
He smiles, and hooks his arm around me as we mingle with the group’s exit.
Few stragglers remain at the bar.
Gage calls over, “Night Ralphie!”
“See ya, buddy!”
I wave, “You’re awesome, Ralphie!”
“Coming from you, Lex, that’s high praise!”
The gang all says goodbye to the bartender, too, as the seven of us stroll out The Local’s back entrance into night air cooled by at least ten degrees since we arrived.
Wyatt shouts, “Look at this truck!” throwing out muscular arms, thick palms up in praise. “Can’t miss this baby, can ya?”
Nathan asks his cop brother, “Do red cars really get more tickets, Wy?”
“Yep! Easier to spot.”
I smirk, “Or people who like red are more dangerous.”
Gage laces our fingers together. “Big fan of red.”
Wyatt looks over his shoulder. “Pretty obvious, man.”
“I almost painted it blue.”
“I was talking about Lexi.”
Gage shrugs, tightening his grip as he offers a casual, “Cherry’s alright.”
Nate, Wyatt, and Ryder exclaim in unison, “Cherry?!”
Sam grins like she knows things. “That’s what he calls her.”
As they turn for their three vehicles, waving farewell, the guys all look amused, too.
How irritating!
“Um…Gage?”
He locks eyes with me, “Yeah?”
“I think I’m gonna go home tonight. Get a good night’s sleep.”
Gage’s eyebrows twitch, facial muscles taking a moment to lose their surprise. Regaining his cool, he releases my hand, “Okay. I’ll give you a call…sometime.”
“Night.” We share a brief kiss before I head away to where Sammy and Zoe, having heard me, wait just a few steps away.
We head for Zoe’s car together, and I glance over my shoulder to see if he’s watching me. He isn’t. With a frown, I breathe deeply in. Then out. In again. Out.
In.
Out.
Sam starts to climb into the backseat, giving me shotgun — since I’m older and Wyatt was right about seniority — but she pauses and calls over, “Gage!”
My spine straightens as I hear him call back, “Yeah, Sam?”
She hastily scans the parking lot before whisper-shouting, “They liked you!”
My chest caves in.
Why is she saying that???!!
Is she nuts??!!!!
I look over to find him staring at her for a good three seconds — the longest of my life.
Grabbing the black bar he rises up, calls out to her, “So?!” and slides into his seat, engine firing up.
I exhale.
Grin.
And smack her arm.
“Get inside the damn car, Samantha!”
She sighs and disappears, muttering to Zoe, “They’re impossible!”
I climb in, jump back out, slam the door and run after his truck. “Gage! Wait up! Wait!”
At the top of the little hill, taillights become brake-lights.
I swing open the passenger door. “I’m coming with you!”
He gets this huge smile.
And off we go.
Chapter Twenty-Four
GAGE
AROUND FOUR MONTHS LATER. MAYBE A LITTLE MORE. THE DAYS ARE SO GOOD THEY BLEND.
C herry’s underneath me in my king size. Blankets gone. Sheets with them. We’re kissing as I press into her heat, cock throbbing. Impatient.
We got into a playful argument this morning about which way the toilet paper should be reloaded — ripped from bottom, her preference, or top, mine. She ended up throwing the roll at me.
I threw her onto the bed.
Two hours ago.
Fucking ever since.
I groan from how good it feels to slowly press into her again, our limbs wrapped around each other’s, bending to accommodate our pleasure.
She tangles her fingers in my hair. “Gage, you’re so big. I’m a little sore.”
“I’ll go slow then.”
Biting her smile she nods, “Perfect. Thank you.”
“Want me to stop?”
“Don’t you fucking dare.”
I bury my head in her neck, kiss the smooth, soft skin as my hips rock and her legs spread.
Lexi bends to reach and tickle the terrifyingly sensitive part under my sac. I groan as she cups me, next, then softy releases me.
I watch her lips part as we complete our connection. She moans and I tense, thighs freezing to hold steady, deep inside her.
Lexi captures my kiss.
Our tongues tease.
Slide around.
Penetrate.
Retract.
Penetrate again as I start to move, rocking back and forth to ease me in. When I feel her getting wetter I keep the slow rhythm, checking it to ask, “Still sore?”
She breathes, “No, I’m good!”
But I keep it slow, focusing on how incredible sex feels. Don’t need to hurry. The rush of being in her, with her and her with me, is all I need.
Lexi gives herself over.
No holding back.
Walls absent.
Unnecessary.
It’s just us here.
That’s why the hours fly.
I plant my palms on the bed, back arched like a cobra. Lexi hooks one leg around my ass, the other wrapped over my thigh, hands flying up to grab the headboard, tendons in her wrists taut. She moans, eyelashes fluttering shut before she throws back her head while I sway and rock inside, deep inside. Hypnotic, naked breasts rise higher with each hitching breath she takes, body shivering as her climax grows nearer. I hold her at the edge until Lexi’s clawing for release.
Focusing hard, employing all of my willpower, I manipulate each slick thrust to give her unavoidable pleasure, the pull inside my own core intensified each time her moans reach a higher pitch.
I feel a single contraction in her pussy that makes containing my primitive side a struggle. But I rock my hips, rise up to balance on one hand, the other sliding down her quivering abdomen and into slippery folds. Just what I thought. Her swollen clit is begging to be touched right.
Skimming its side is all she needs to cry out my name.
This is it.
She’s mine.
For right now.
Her walls clamp around my cock in bursts. I hiss, and as my own release breaks free, I subdue it so as not to hurt her. Suck it in. Focus hard.
Feels good to control it.
Thick pulses of fire.
Need.
Ownership.
Gotta stop thinking like that.
I collapse onto her with us breathing hard. My ear vibrates under her happy laugh, and softens as she kisses it, hot breath a massage made by nature.
When we can talk again she whispers, “Gage?”
“Hmm?”
“Aren’t you glad I’m on birth control now?”
Face buried between her neck and the smashed pillow, I return, “Aren’t you glad you agreed to take Saturdays off so we could do this for hours?”
She caresses my back with a whisper of fingertips. “Mmhmm. But that’s the last time today.”
“You’re sore, I know. That’s why I was careful.”
“You were very careful.” She gives the side of my head a soft kiss. “Thank you.”
“Anytime, Cherry, anytime.”
Her voice becomes thoughtful. “Seems like all my cousins are mothers or pregnant. I mean, I know not all of them, but it sure feels like it.”
Rising onto my elbow, I rub my eyes. “Still thinking about that birth control?”
“No! I mean, maybe I don’t even want kids.” Looking at me, she becomes quieter, fingertips still whispering along my skin. “Do you?”
“Sure, I want a family.”
“Really? Because not all people do.”
“And if they don’t, they shouldn’t have one,” I tell her, without the least bit of doubt in my tone. “Just because a lot of people want kids, doesn’t mean you’ve gotta follow the trend.”
Lexi grins, “Trend?”
“You know what I mean. But yeah, I want them.” My gaze drops to her exposed breast, the other underneath me. Bending to kiss its tip, I ask, “What about you, Cherry?” When she doesn’t answer, my gaze rises with me to search for one.
But I come up empty.
She’s closed her eyes, face relaxed. Like she might fall asleep soon. Or she’s meditating, but that’s not her thing.
No answer, though?
Why not?
She brought it up.
I’m not gonna ask again, that’s for sure. Why’d she ask me, anyway?
The need to know pulls hard, but I won’t give in. I never do. Every time I feel the need to claim her as mine I shut it down remembering this is temporary.
Casual.
This tightness in my chest.
It’s not good.
So I bury my face in her neck again. Breathe in the sweetness. Forget the sting.
“Gage?”
“Hmm?”
“What’re you doing today?”
Silenced by the question because I’m always the one who asks, I say nothing at first. We didn’t make official plans but we normally hang out on Saturdays now. All day.
Goes without saying.
So why is she asking?
I turn my face on the pillow, away from her. “Didn’t make any plans.”
It’s the truth.
So is this fist in my chest.
Growing tighter.
Curious.
Worried.
Excited.
Angry.
Resigned.
Fuck it.
“Why do you ask?”
She sighs, “Well, if you didn’t have any plans, I was wondering if you’d like to do something kinda different with me.”
Rising up on my elbow I look at her nervous expression. “Like what?”
“Well…” She bites her lip, gaze dropping to my arm as she caresses it. “My family is having a BBQ at my grandparents house, and I was wondering…” She swallows and locks eyes with me, hers bigger like a child’s. “if you’d like to come with me.”
I blink at her, frowning hard. “Your whole family?”
“Uh huh.”
My blood is pumping like crazy. That was the last thing I thought she’d say. If her grandparents are there. Then that means parents, too.
I shrug, “Is the food good?”
Lexi grins, dimple deep. “Nope. It’s terrible.” Throwing her head back, she cries out, “I forgot! No lying!” and locks eyes with me, hers bright.
“I’m in.”
“Good.”
“What time?”
Reaching for where she left her copper phone on my nightstand, she taps at the screen. “It started ten minutes ago.”
“Uh…”
“Shower?”
I frown and roll off of her. “That’d be a fucking yes right there.”
On all fours Lexi crawls across the huge bed with me watching and wondering if I’ll ever fully understand her. “Guess what?”
“What, Cherry?”
Standing, she swats my naked hip, and heads out, half-singing, “I brought a change of clothes and everything.”
I stare after her.
Jaw ticking.
And you just now invited me?
Chapter Twenty-Five
GAGE
T here’s not one parking spot left near her grandparents’ house so I parked my Bronco on another street, and we’re walking up now, past some of her cousin’s homes. “That’s Hannah’s place. And that one’s Emma’s.”
Lexi smiles with pride. “You think that’s big, hold on!” She points and leans as we walk. “Behind this hedge is….wait for it…there! That’s my cousin Ethan’s crazy fucking mansion. Look at that thing!”
My eyes narrow because it’s enormous and very cool. Also, knowing Lexi isn’t impressed by my job, it’s intimidating. And I’m not easily swayed. But that place is beyond my means.
I’d expect one that huge for her rockstar cousin, Gabriel, or the star quarterback, Eric Cocker.
“Ethan?” I ask.
She briefly touches my arm, “Don’t worry, it’s hard to remember them all until you meet them,” before pointing to his home, “He’s the computer genius. He bought this with his patent money. Ethan invented some amazing things and I’m sure that’s not the end of it. You should see his bedroom. There’s an aquarium in it that takes up one entire wall. He has a manta ray!”
Fucking hell.
For the rest of the walk I tune out her light-hearted chatter to get ahold of myself.
Come on, Gage.
You may not be a computer wizard, but you’re a good guy who does the right thing, cares for his people, and has a solid savings and reliable future.
Don’t forget your worth.
Don’t get intimidated.
Fuck that.
You’ve never had a problem with people of status before. Why now? Why defensive? Off balance?
Worried.
Lexi takes my hand, “This is it up here!” and I look at her, watching her explain that this is the place where her father and his brothers grew up.
She’s so beautiful it hurts to look at her. Never hurt before.
But now…
Why now?
Because she doesn’t take me seriously, that’s why.
I barely received this invitation.
Probably was going to get dressed in her car since she drove last night to my place.
Now that I think about it, she insisted on driving.
She’d planned her escape.
I got in under the wire.
Why am I even here?
She caved because of sex?
That’s not my game.
I’ve been enjoying her.
Great company.
Fire to spare.
Adventures often.
It feels good to be around Cherry. Days fly by. I laugh more than I ever have. Time apart feels like shit.
Was I lying?
Lexi Cocker (Cocker Brothers Book 25) Page 13