"You mean the truth?"
"Yeah, that shit," she agreed, giving me a smile that I swear lit up my entire sad, dark, dank fucking home.
I opened up the boxes in front of me as she opened the fruit we were to share. I'll be damned, they even had little containers of syrup nestled inside with the three fluffy pieces of apple-stuffed toast. It smelled what a foodgasm sounded like, in case you were wondering.
And the potatoes were extra brown and perfectly seasoned.
And I was pretty sure I gained ten pounds from the one meal alone.
It was worth every last one of them too.
I sat back, hand on my stomach, reaching for my coffee.
"Where the fuck are you putting it all?" I asked as she unfolded and flattened her container. I felt like I was going to burst, and she was smaller than me and seemed to have no such issue.
"I think you forget just how much walking Coop requires in a day. If I don't eat, I will be all skin and bones," she told me as she got up and walked over to my side of the table, planning to fold my container as well.
"Yeah, wouldn't want that," I agreed, reaching up to snag her waist, pulling her down on my lap, my hand sliding up her side to rest at the side of her breast, left without a bra, as I imagined she would be for at least another day or two. "Thanks for breakfast," I told her, my hand moving up to tuck her hair behind her ear so I could see her face better.
"You're welcome," she said, ducking her gaze almost a little shyly, which wasn't a look I was used to seeing there.
"What's..." I started, only to be interrupted as Coop came barreling into the room with one of my shoes in his mouth.
"Coop!" Autumn hissed, jumping up from my lap to chase him around the living room. Which, apparently, he still saw as much of a game now as he used to as a puppy.
"Leave it," I said, shaking my head as I got up, snagging her waist again, and pulling her down with me onto the couch that I had managed to snag at Target of all fucking places. It wasn't the most comfortable thing, but it was furniture, and I had been able to bring it home that day, not wait three weeks for delivery. "It's a work boot. There is literally steel in it. Even he can't fuck those up."
"I like your couch," she said, running her hand over the charcoal-colored material. "This is one of those that they pass off as a sofa bed too, right? Like it lays down flat."
"Think it said something about that."
She turned to me, brows drawn together. "You're fixing up and furnishing, but you don't seem to care about any of it."
"I don't know how long I'm staying. Don't want to drop a ton of money into some other man's property."
"I used to say that. For years. Then I finally caved and started making the place how I like it."
"You have a nice home, Autumn," I agreed, giving her hip a squeeze.
It was homey, but not frumpy. She had nice floors, great counters, carefully selected furniture. But there were personal touches too. She had a couple collages down the hallway of her and her sister at birthday parties, concerts, on holidays, vacations. Peyton's books were lying around wherever she left them. There were blankets piled on a spare chair for movie watching.
It was comfortable.
You could settle in there.
I didn't want to settle in here.
I guess that was the difference.
"It's coming along," she agreed, smile proud. "That darn bathroom is my next project."
"I can help."
"You can?" she asked, brows drawn together.
It was right then that I realized, while we knew a lot about personal preferences, the things we enjoyed and were passionate about, there was still quite a bit she didn't know about my past.
"Loansharking aside, we all had legit businesses. My brother Mark has a construction company. I pitched in when he needed extra men on a job."
"What were your businesses?"
"Have a car rental place, a gas station, and a tutoring center - one of those chain type places."
"That is an interesting array of things."
"Pops always advised us to get into things that have an almost guaranteed chance of success. Everyone needs fuel, especially at the far side of town where my place is. It's the only game over there. Car rental is big around here. The tutoring center was a bit of a gamble, but it seems to be paying off well enough." More than. People would scoff about the passive income I had coming in from those three businesses combined, and here I was, planning to give them all up.
"Have and is."
"Sorry?" I asked, brows drawing close.
"You said have and is. Present tense. You still own those businesses?"
"Technically, yes."
"Technically?"
"I plan to sign them over to my family, but I have to work out the kinks of that. Ryan has obviously been taking care of things since I've been away. I got paid every month when I was inside."
"Why would you give all that up?"
"Because it's the past."
"And you can't have any ties to that anymore," she concluded, understanding, but if I wasn't mistaken, not exactly approving the mentality.
"Something like that, yeah."
She was quiet for a minute, seeming to mull something over. "Okay, there's no delicate way to put this," she started.
"I'm fine with indelicate, sweetheart. I just spent six years in prison. Rude was the norm."
"Okay. So you have three successful businesses that have been going strong since you went away. You are driving a brand new off-the-lot truck. So why..."
"Am I living in this dump?" I finished for her, smile big.
"Ah, well, yeah."
"I have my old apartment sitting just as I left it."
"But your family knows where that is."
"Exactly."
"You're really not going to see any of them?"
"I saw Hunter yesterday," I admitted, not knowing why I would. It was going to open up a dialog about something that I didn't want to discuss.
"Oh," she said, eyes going keen. "That makes sense then."
"I don't want it to happen again," I told her, hand going to her jaw, running my fingers along it.
"Well, I do," she said, shrugging. "Well, I mean. I don't want you getting that upset because of family stuff again," she clarified. "But I like bossy-Eli. He's kinda hot," she added, smile devilish.
My cock stirred at that, making me need to take a deep breath. "Turn for me," I demanded softly, pressing her hip to show her what I meant. She did, settling her feet on the ground between my legs, her ass on the tops of my thighs.
My hands moved out, grabbing the material of her shirt, and slowly dragging it upward. She took it from me as it got high, pulling it fully off.
She was right.
She healed fast.
The marks that had been raised like welts, and so red they were almost bloody, had flattened out, and were a much more subdued shade of red, not raw and painful-looking.
Still marks.
Still pain I had etched into her skin.
But so much better than it was.
"See?" she asked, leaning back into my chest. "Almost all better. Tomorrow, it will look like nothing happened."
I should have been focusing on her words, finding some solace in them, reassuring myself that I hadn't lost complete control.
But her shoulders were against my chest, her breasts bared, her nipples already hardening.
Any man who could focus with that before him didn't fucking deserve her there in the first place. My hands moved around and up from her hips, sliding over the skin of her stomach, before cupping the full, incredibly soft swells of her breasts. My thumbs grazed her nipples, making a shiver move through her body.
"Hey Eli?"
"Yeah, baby?" I asked, doing another swipe.
"Bossy Eli is hot," she reiterated. "But sweet Eli is pretty hot too."
I leaned over, pressing a kiss into her temple as my fingers took her nipples and rolled them, making her h
ips buck back into me, settling her ass fully over my already straining cock. With her strange, lightweight linen pants, there might as well not have been any barrier at all. When she shifted slightly to let my cock press against her, I could feel the scorching heat of her pussy through both our thin pants.
On a growl, I rocked my hips upward as she simultaneously worked her hips in a circle.
I swear I could feel the moan she let out in my balls.
But I needed to keep control.
After the somewhat rough first time and the too-rough second, I wanted to take my time with her. I wanted to show her that I could do softer and sweeter too.
A woman like her deserved that.
And I was going to fucking give it to her.
My hands drifted down her belly, her skin goose bumping at the contact. "Lift up," I demanded softly as my hands snagged the waistband of her pants and panties. Her hips lifted with a small grumble at losing contact with my cock. I couldn't help but hold back a smile as I pushed the material down. Once it was at her knees, she kicked it off, settling back down on me with only my thin pants as a barrier.
My hand slid between her thighs, stroking up her already wet pussy to work her clit with my thumb.
"Oh, my God," she whimpered, rocking herself against my hand. My forefinger drifted down, sliding between her lips, then sliding inside her hot, wet pussy.
Her arm rose up, slipping behind my neck, holding on as my finger fucked her - slow, soft, unhurried, driving her up as slowly as her insistent grinding would allow.
"Eli, please," she begged as my free hand went to her breast, squeezing gently, then working circles around the bud. "Please," she tried again, reaching out toward the makeshift coffee table - a TV dinner stand - for her purse, fumbling for a condom, pressing it into my hand. She pulled her legs under her before leaning back against me, allowing her to lift up so I could slip the condom on.
"Here," I said, reaching for her hand before I protected us, taking it and pressing it between her thighs. "Touch your pussy for me," I demanded as I worked my cock out. She immediately complied as I stroked my cock before slipping on the condom. "Come on," I said, grabbing her waist, pulling her back and down, positioning her over my straining dick. "Take me in," I demanded softly.
She lowered down, taking me to the hilt on a soft moan.
She had barely taken me before she was rocking against me. Her hand stayed at her clit, so both of mine went to her breasts, squeezing, and teasing over her nipples as my head shifted so I could press my lips into her neck.
Her moans became desperate whimpers as my cock started thrusting upward into her, slow, almost lazy as she kept rocking, kept working her clit.
"Eli..."
"Come for me, Autumn," I demanded, feeling my own growing need for release.
"I..."
"Shh," I urged, reaching down to press my finger into hers, putting more pressure on her clit. "Just let go," I instructed her.
Then she did.
If I lived another fifty years, I was sure there would still never be a better feeling in the world than her pussy squeezing me as she came.
I came on the tail end of her orgasm, her name on my lips as I did.
She collapsed back against me, her hand reaching out for mine, squeezing, as she tried to get her breath back.
"That was it, right?" she asked a long moment later.
"That was what, sweetheart?"
"That was us moving past... everything. You can stop feeling weird about it or whatever. Right?"
I smiled as I pressed a kiss to her neck. If only it were truly that easy.
"Yeah, that was us moving past everything," I told her, even though I wasn't entirely convinced it was a promise I could make.
"Good," she said, giving my hand another squeeze. "Ugh, I don't want to go to work," she admitted, taking a deep breath. "I want to stay right here," she added, then almost immediately stiffened up at her words.
Like maybe she was worried they were wrong.
Like maybe she thought she shouldn't feel that way.
She probably shouldn't. Not about a man like me.
But she did.
And I was the luckiest sonofabitch in the world to have that.
So there was no way I was going to let her think that was in any way wrong.
"I wish you could stay right here too, sweetheart. But you have anal beads to sell."
She let out a surprised laugh/snort hybrid that vibrated from her and into my chest. "Oh, yes. Heaven forbid people go one day without their new anal beads," she said, lifting up, and sliding off me, going in search of her clothes.
"What are you doing after work?" I asked as I stood, pulling my pants into place.
"Ah... nothing really. I had no plans."
"How about you have your salad you planned on for lunch, but I take you out for something cheesy and fatty instead of you eating at home alone?"
You'd have thought I'd offered her a goddamn diamond ring, not just an invite to dinner. She lit the fuck up.
I so, so did not fucking deserve her.
Someday, she would see that herself.
But that day wasn't today.
Today was the day she agreed to going out with me, then gave me a kiss that made me see through time and goddamn space before she rushed off to work, leaving Coop with me for the day.
He sat down, watching the door with a whine.
"Yeah, buddy," I agreed, petting his head. "I think I am starting to feel how you feel about her leaving."
And that was going to blow the fuck up in my face eventually.
Even knowing that, though, wasn't going to stop me.
ELEVEN
Autumn
I was going on a date.
An actual, real-life date.
With Eli Mallick.
I felt like I was fifteen again, sneaking off on my first boy-girl date, butterflies in my belly all day in anticipation.
I totally drifted off a few times while a couple was explaining their sex swing needs to me since I didn't have the one they wanted in stock.
But how was I expected to focus on work when I could still feel his hands on me, his finger in me, his lips on my neck, his cock in me giving me sweet and gentle and loving?
Ugh.
Even the memory was getting me going again.
It was going to be a long, long day.
I had just gotten rid of the sex swing couple, promising to have a different model in within a week for them to see in person, intent on sitting behind the desk and getting some ordering done, when the door chimed again.
I closed my eyes. Taking a deep breath, I turned.
Oh, thank God.
Not another adventurous couple with a thousand questions.
A group of girlfriends.
I would take a group of girlfriends over just about any other customer. It was always more laid-back, casual, even funny.
"Oh!" I said as they shuffled in, looking around, one clearly more uncomfortable than the others, a pretty blonde with green eyes that I had never seen before. But her other blonde friend? Oh, yeah, I'd seen her several times. "Fee!" I said, giving her a warm smile.
Fee was always fun when she came in, whether she was alone or with friends. She actually told me she adopted my big bowl of condoms on the counter idea and used it in the bathrooms at her work.
Her work?
Yeah, that badass chick with the best fashion sense I had ever seen owned a phone sex business.
So, of course, I thought she was awesome.
All heads turned to me in unison.
And something about the look in their eyes had me stiffening, looking between them - each just as pretty as the previous one - wondering what the heck was going on.
"I can't believe it's you," Fee said oddly, making my brows draw low.
"What? I'm always here," I said, shaking my head.
Why the hell was she looking at me so intensely? Like she had never seen me before.
&
nbsp; "Hi," the other blonde said, giving me a sweet smile. "I'm Dusty," she supplied. "And this is Lea," she said, waving at a tall, leggy, dark-haired woman with an impossibly gorgeous face. "And that is Scotti," she added, waving at the other dark-haired woman who had incredible bone-structure and a confident air about her. "And you already know Fee."
"Hey ladies," I said, hearing the way my own voice was wavering at the oddness of this interaction that shouldn't have felt odd at all. "Are you looking for anything in partic--"
"All this time," Fee went on, brows knitted, eyes confused.
"Fee, are you feeling alright?" I asked, starting to actually get concerned.
She shook her head at that, trying to get rid of some niggling thought. "You don't know my full name, do you?"
"Ah, no," I realized, even though I had seen her on more than a few occasions.
"Fiona Mallick."
My heart froze in my chest.
Recognition hit with all the subtlety of an atomic bomb.
Oh, God.
Wow.
Fiona Mallick.
She was, in some way, related to Eli.
And since I only ever knew him to talk about brothers, and had just confirmed that all his brothers were taken (because Peyton was serious about the scary clown mask), then Fee must have been with one of his brothers.
"Sorry to burst in here like this," Dusty said into the silence that followed Fee's admission.
"Ah, no. It's, ah, okay."
"I bet you're wondering how we knew about you," Lea said, giving me a small smile.
"Sort of."
"The day Eli got released, everyone was out on the town looking for him, wanting to see that he was okay. Shane was on his way home to me and the kids when he stopped at a sign, and something in his peripheral caught his eye."
Oh, God.
I had a feeling I knew what caught his eye.
His brother practically fucking me against a building.
Jesus.
This was more than a little embarrassing, and totally not how I would have liked to meet his family.
"Coop," she clarified, but the way her eyes were dancing gave me the impression that she knew what I was thinking.
"We've been looking for him for six years," Scotti added. "Shelters and the vets. Nothing. Not a word." She paused there, shrugging. "Because you had him."
Eli (Mallick Brothers Book 4) Page 14