by Parker, Ali
I gasped. “Have you been talking to your friends about me, Owen McCully?”
“Maybe,” he mumbled bashfully.
I giggled and draped my arms over his shoulders. “I think that’s sweet.”
“Not too soft?”
I shrugged. “It’s a little soft. But let’s be honest. I’ve always known you were soft and squishy on the inside.”
He laughed and kissed the tip of my nose. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t go telling people. I don’t want it to ruin my reputation.”
“Never,” I promised.
Chapter 23
Owen
Pulling into Rhys’s driveway that night with Evangeline on the back of my bike was a surreal feeling. Her thighs squeezed my hips, and her helmet rested between my shoulder blades as I slowed down and parked behind Liam’s bike.
She got off first, hopping off and landing gracefully on the pavement to pull her helmet off. Her hair tumbled down her back, and she shook her head to loosen the tangles as she ran her fingers through the roots.
I swung my leg over the bike and took my helmet off too. I hung both our helmets on the handlebars and nodded up at the house. “You ready for this?”
She glanced up to Rhys’s front door. “Not really.”
I nudged her in the ribs with my elbow. “Just think. You walk into galas with a bunch of rich assholes who are for sure judging you. This is just a chill dinner with people who don’t give a damn where you come from. Trust me. You’ll win them over in minutes. They’re pretty easy to please.”
“Any tips? Topics to avoid?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe avoid asking about family?”
“What? Why?”
I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and steered her toward the house and began putting one foot in front of the other. “Because a lot of these folks have lost people in unpleasant ways, and I want to spare you from the awkwardness of those conversations.”
“Oh,” she breathed, reaching up to entwine her fingers with mine on the hand draped over her shoulder. “Thank you.”
“Aside from that, everything is fair game. Just prepare yourself for a lot of razzing and good old-fashioned horsing around.”
“I can handle that,” she said.
“Of course you can. You told off Mr. Fancy Matthew Aero like a champ. These guys would love to hear that story if you’re looking for an icebreaker.”
Evangeline flashed me a white smile. “Good idea.”
We stepped up onto the front porch, and I let my arm fall from her shoulders to rap my knuckles on the front door. Then I shouldered it open and bellowed down the hallway that I had arrived.
Liam was the first to greet us.
He popped his head out from around the corner in the kitchen, and his eyes flicked from me to Evangeline. He grinned like a little kid. “Hey, come on in. Leave your shoes on. Everyone is out back. Burgers and chicken are on the barbeque, and the fridge is full of beer and cider.”
I took Evangeline’s hand and led her down the hall into the kitchen.
Liam held out his hand to her, and she shook it.
“You must be Evangeline,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you. I didn’t think Owen would have the balls to bring you around these parts any time soon. I’m pleasantly surprised.” He chuckled and looked at me. “I don’t know what a girl like her is doing with your sorry ass, man.”
I chuckled. “I’m still trying to figure that out for myself.”
Evangeline adjusted her jacket and rolled her shoulders before smiling up at me. “He has his charms.”
Liam laughed. “Yeah. Sure, he does. Come on out back. We’ll introduce you to everyone.”
I saw her swallow and gave her hand a squeeze as we fell into step behind Liam, who cut through the kitchen and the dining room and then ducked out through the screen on the back patio doors.
We passed through them after him and emerged on Rhys’s back deck.
Evangeline was lucky. It wasn’t too big of a turnout.
Sitting around the patio table were Rhys and Quinn, who looked up and smiled when they spotted Evangeline by my side. At least there were some familiar faces around the table for her. She knew Rhys a bit from back in Chicago.
He got to his feet and greeted her with a big hug. “Nice to see you again, Evangeline. How’ve you been?”
When they parted, she gave him her best smile. “Good. Really good. It’s nice to see you too. You have a lovely home.”
“This shithole?” Rhys barked, gesturing at the house.
Quinn popped to her feet and scowled. “It’s not a shithole. Well, not since I moved in anyway.” She moved smoothly around the table and introduced herself to Evangeline. She hugged her just like Rhys had and then put her hands on Evangeline’s shoulders. “I hope this isn’t inappropriate, but I just have to say, you’re gorgeous.”
Evangeline turned bright pink.
I pulled her into my side. “Beat it, Quinn. She’s mine.”
Quinn giggled and went back to her seat. Rhys sat down beside her, and she pulled out the empty chair on her other side, motioning for Evangeline to take a seat. I sat down on her other side and kept my hand on her knee for reassurance as she was introduced to the others who had been patiently awaiting their turn around the table.
Next up were Aiden and his girl, Cheryl. They said their friendly hellos, and we moved on to introduce Evangeline to the last couple, Jax and Holly.
Jax was the pretty boy of the group, and he winked at Evangeline when he shook her hand. She sank back into her seat and smiled back at him, not intimidated at all.
Sitting beside her was a turn on all on its own.
“Where’s everyone else?” I asked.
Jax lifted his beer to his lips. “Axel and Ellie are at a preschool play.”
“How sweet,” Evangeline said beside me.
Jax chuckled. “Have you ever been to one of those? It’s nothing but a bunch of kids staring out at the audience, about to burst into tears.”
“Sounds like you experienced some personal trauma with that,” Rhys teased.
Jax shot him a look. “Bite me.”
The rest of us laughed at Jax’s expense.
“I think Ryder and Dani wanted to stop by at some point,” Quinn said. “They were considering seeing if Jamie could babysit for them. But I haven’t heard from them since yesterday afternoon.”
“Ryder? Leave his baby?” Aiden scoffed. “Unlikely.”
“And Sabian?” I asked.
Rhys shrugged. “Who knows with that guy? Whoever shows up, shows up. Are we not good enough for you now? Is your high-rolling life making us look less appealing?”
I laughed. “No. The opposite actually.”
All eyes darted to Evangeline, who seemed to notice they were all staring at her. She blinked under the attention like a doe caught in the headlights, then lifted her chin. “Oh. Don’t worry. You can talk shit about the high rollers. They’re a bunch of pompous assholes.”
The table was quiet for a minute.
Then they all started laughing.
“I like her,” Rhys said.
“She can stay,” Aiden agreed.
Liam, who was standing near the patio door and leaning against the side of the house, lifted his beer in a toast. “To new friends.”
“New friends,” they said unanimously. Everyone drank.
I leaned over to Evangeline. “See? Told you you’d be a hit.”
She smiled. “I knew my good looks would get me somewhere one day.”
I laughed and squeezed her shoulder as I got to my feet. “Want a beer? Cider? Water?”
“Beer please,” she said.
Quinn nudged her in the other shoulder. “Thatta girl. Scram, Owen. Let us pick her brain and get some dirt on you.”
“Knock yourself out,” I said. “Just don’t ask her about my cock. Ya’ll know how sensitive I am about how massive it is.”
They all booed me off the porch, and I ducked inside
chuckling to myself, trusting that Evangeline would be able to handle herself just fine in their obnoxious company.
I went to the fridge and grabbed two cans of beer. When I closed it, I looked up to find that Liam had followed me inside.
He waggled his eyebrows at me. “She’s a hit. A real crowd pleaser.”
“I figured she would be,” I said.
“So are things serious with you two then?”
I shrugged. “We haven’t put a label on anything. But we’re enjoying our time together, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want it to become something more than that.” I tossed one of the beers in my hand. “She’s special, man. Always has been. And I’ll be damned if I let her slip through my fingers again.”
Liam beamed and bumped my shoulder with his. “I don’t think you have to worry about that, brother. She lights up like a Christmas tree when she talks about you. I just saw it myself.”
His words made my stomach feel like there were hundreds of warm fluffy butterflies flying around.
My girl was making me soft.
We went back out onto the back deck as Rhys opened the lid on the barbeque. The smell that wafted out made my mouth water. He plated several patties, oozing with cheese, and called everyone to prepare their burgers. All the condiments and toppings were laid out on the dining-room table inside, and we made a neat line, one behind the other, so we could go through and create our masterpieces.
Evangeline loaded hers with bell peppers and barbeque sauce. That earned her some approving nods from several of the men.
Everyone took their seats outside at the table. Some of us had to pull up chairs and eat with our paper plates on our laps. Evangeline licked barbeque sauce off her thumb, and it reminded me of the other night when she had my thumb in her mouth while I fucked her up against her bedroom wall.
My cock twitched in my pants.
God damn it.
“You all right there, brother?” Liam asked, nodding at me from the other side of the table.
I nodded. “Mind your own business.”
Evangeline dabbed her lips with her napkin and turned toward Rhys. “I’m not trying to kiss your ass, I swear, but this is the best burger I’ve ever had.”
“Kiss ass,” Jax teased.
She was unflustered by his hazing.
“It’s an old family recipe,” Rhys said.
“That he refuses to share with the rest of us,” Aiden added bitterly.
“Family recipes are legacies,” Evangeline said.
“See? Someone understands.” Rhys nodded at Evangeline. “Help yourself to more. There’s plenty left.”
Evangeline glanced at me. “I think I will.”
This earned her a smattering of applause from the crew. She blushed under the attention but waved them off.
“What?” she asked. “Just because I’m a girl, I can’t have two?”
“We’re just surprised that a girl with your background is willing to eat shit like this,” Jax said, always the one to say what everyone was thinking but unwilling to say it.
Evangeline helped herself to another burger and bun off the barbeque. “That’s fair actually. Most of the women at the events I go to eat like birds. Or they don’t eat at all. I’m telling you, if they had burgers like this at those events, I’d be fatter than Owen.”
The laughter that filled the yard was well earned, and I winked at my girl before she ducked into the house to no doubt bury her burger in more bell peppers.
Rhys nodded at me. “It’s good to see you two back together again. It makes sense, you know?”
“She’s a boss.” Quinn grinned. “And she fits in with the rest of us misfits.”
“Yeah,” I said. “She does, doesn’t she?”
Chapter 24
Evangeline
It was well past midnight when Owen moved to stand behind my chair on the back porch of Rhys’s home. He rubbed my shoulders, leaned over, and nudged my cheek with his.
“You ready to head home, Angel?”
I stifled a yawn and nodded.
“Let’s go,” he said, straightening up and looking around at the only others remaining: Rhys, Quinn, and Liam. “We’re going to call it a night, guys. Thanks for having us over. And for the beers and the burgers.”
Everyone got to their feet and walked us to the front door.
Their manners would have knocked my father’s socks off.
At the door, Quinn pulled me in for a hug. “Don’t be a stranger, okay? Maybe one of these days, you and I could go grab a coffee and get to know each other better? You know, have some girl time?”
“That would be lovely,” I said. And I meant it.
Even though I still hardly knew these people, I felt like they had embraced all of me. My history, my reputation, my wealth.
All of it.
And they didn’t feel the need to put me in a box and slap a label on me. They were happy to just enjoy my company, and I was thrilled to enjoy theirs.
Yes, they were a rowdy bunch. And yes, it was a lot for me to process all at once.
But Owen had been right. I liked them all. I didn’t feel out of place, either. I felt like I belonged there, and I was already looking forward to coming back and spending more time with them.
“Goodnight, lovebirds,” Liam called after us as Owen and I jogged down the steps and struck out across the drive to go to his bike.
Owen waved over his shoulder and wrapped an arm around my waist. “So, what did you think?”
I leaned into him. “I had a really good night. Seriously. They’re all so wonderful.”
“I don’t think anyone has ever told Jax he was wonderful before,” Owen said, scratching his chin.
I laughed. “He’s all talk.”
“That is true,” he said as he handed me my helmet from the handlebars. I pulled it on, did up the strap, and tilted my head back to let him inspect it and make sure I’d done it properly. He was protective like that.
I didn’t mind. In fact, I kind of liked it. He was looking out for me.
He got on the bike first, as per usual, and I put my hands on his shoulders to get on behind him. Then I nestled against his back, wrapped my arms around him, and got myself situated on the foot pegs.
He pulled out of the driveway and out onto the street and opened up on the throttle.
The cool wind was refreshing, and it stirred me from my near-slumbering state. It had been a night jampacked with intense conversations and even more intense people, and the three or four beers I’d had were making me sleepy.
When Owen arrived at my building, I had him park in the underground again. I didn’t want him leaving the bike on the road overnight, and I had no intention of letting him leave my apartment tonight.
Tonight, he was all mine.
We rode the elevator up to my floor, and once we got into my penthouse, I was happy to get out of my boots.
But they were impossible to get off.
“Damn it,” I muttered, perching myself on the edge of my sofa as I tried to pry the boots off.
Owen was shrugging out of his leather jacket in the kitchen. He smirked. “Do you need a hand?”
I pouted at him. “Yes please.”
He came over and crouched down in front of me. I gave him my foot, and he rested one hand under my ankle before twisting the boot gently and working it loose until he could pull it off my leg.
My foot sang sweet hallelujahs as it tasted freedom, and then he did the same with the other foot.
“Thank you,” I said as I wiggled my toes. “Those things were way too damn tight.”
“Do you ever wear comfortable shoes?”
“They make comfortable shoes?” I teased.
He rolled his eyes at me. “You’re impossible.”
“You love it.”
“Of course I do,” he said.
I stared at him, and he stared back at me. Then he swallowed, and his gaze darkened, and the air around us was suddenly hotter. It buzzed as if
there were electricity flickering and snapping all around us, and the hair on my arms stood up as my breath grew shaky.
A familiar tight knot formed below my belly, and an ache for something, for him, began to burn within my veins. It started out slow and subtle, almost undetectable. But when he got to his feet and undid his jeans, the fire intensified tenfold, and I wet my lips as I looked up at him, ready for whatever it was he wanted from me.
I slid off the edge of the sofa and went to my knees on the marble floor.
Owen pulled his jeans down around his thighs. His cock was straining against his boxers, and I traced the outline with my hand, relishing in the thickness of it under my touch. He was rock hard.
I pulled his boxers down, and his cock sprang free.
I stared up at him and leaned in to run my tongue along his shaft. He watched, his gaze darkening by the second, and when I took him between my lips, he let out a soft moan that made it feel like someone had just yanked very hard on the two ends of the knot below my stomach.
I let out a moan of my own as I took him deep into my throat. So deep that I couldn’t breathe.
But air was not important.
I wanted to make him feel good.
There was no need to rush. We had all the time in the world, and there was nothing more important than this moment right here. I worked him over slowly, drawing him in and out of my mouth, pressing in a little deeper each time. It was like a game and a challenge to myself to see if I could ever succeed at taking the full length of his cock in my throat.
The chances of winning that game were very slim.
Owen gathered my hair up off my face and held it back for me as I quickened my pace. His grip tightened, and I liked the tension as he guided me in a rhythm he liked the best.
Then he pulled me up to my feet and pulled my shirt off over my head. I unclipped my bra and tossed it aside before undoing my jeans and shimmying them down my legs. Owen stepped out of his jeans too and nearly toppled over, and we both descended into a fit of giggles as he regained his balance.
Then he grabbed me by the hips and spun me around to bend me over the sofa.