“Alex! I’m . . .” I cover her mouth with mine, and grip the headboard so tight I could probably break it and rip the fucker off.
I feel her clench around me, bringing me to my own orgasm just seconds later, releasing my load inside her as deep as I can.
We’re both a sweaty, panting mess; fighting for air as our bodies lay tangled against each other. Right here, naked and in Tripp’s bed, is where I want to spend the rest of my night, and I’m not letting go until I have to . . . at least not until the morning. After that . . .
I have no fucking clue what we’re going to do.
AFTER ALEX CLEANS US BOTH off he crawls back into bed behind me, like he always has, and pulls me into his strong arms. “Wait a sec.” I try to sit up, but Alex pulls me back down and kisses the top of my head, wrapping his arms around me tighter, tighter than ever before.
“You don’t need any clothes, Firecracker.” I can feel him smile against my hair. “I can’t promise that they won’t come back off in the middle of the night.”
Laughing, I playfully bite his arm.
“Ooooh yeah . . . I like that, babe. Harder.”
“Alex.” Struggling to turn around and face him, I push his chest, but stop laughing as soon as my eyes meet his. I don’t want to lose moments like this with him. It scares me. “Do you think we can stay like this?” I ask honestly.
Cupping my face, he leans in and presses his nose against mine. His sweet breath on my lips almost pulls me in, but I stop myself before I cave. “I’ll never let us change. Didn’t I tell you that I’d always take care of you?”
Feeling my heart swell from his words, I nod my head and tangle my fingers into the back of his hair. I’ve always loved touching his thick hair. “Yeah, and you have; except for when . . .”
“But I came back, Tripp,” he cuts in. “I only left because I had to. Fighting was the only way to earn the money I needed after my mother passed. I would never fucking leave you if I had a choice. I’ve been there since you were seven. Nothing could make me stop caring about you the way I do. If anything, I only care about you more now.” He presses a firm kiss to the side of my head and then flips me back over, holding me in our usual sleeping position. “Go to sleep. No more thinking for tonight . . .”
Sighing, I grip his arm and get comfortable, knowing that there’s no way in hell I will be able to stop thinking. “Goodnight, Alex.”
I lay in silence, lost in thought and snuggled in his strong embrace for the next two hours . . . until I finally fall asleep in hopes that tomorrow won’t be awkward for either of us.
Especially since Lucas will be gone for the next week and it will just be the two of us . . . I have a feeling that Alex doesn’t know that yet.
I WAKE UP TO LUCAS leaning over me. My mind instantly goes to Alex, but when I look beside me the bed is empty. He must’ve slipped out early this morning when he heard Lucas getting ready. It’s not unusual for Alex to wake up and take early morning runs.
The look on Lucas’ face as he watches me yawn is different than normal. He looks almost worried and defeated in some way. “Just wanted to say bye before my flight. Didn’t mean to wake you so early after your late night with Alex.”
Sitting up, I blink a few times and run my hands over my face in an attempt to wake up. “Lucas . . . I–”
“We don’t talk about that stuff, Tripp. There’s no need to start now. I’m not worried. There’s no future for you and Alex, because you guys have too much on the line if things don’t work out.”
My heart sinks to my stomach hearing those words out loud. I mean . . . I’ve known all along that this could never be more than what it is, but wow . . . hearing it out loud is like someone twisting a knife in my heart and ripping it the hell out.
“I mean . . .” Lucas sits down next to me and grabs my chin, placing a rough kiss to my mouth. “The sexual tension has been building for years between you two. This is your chance to get it all out. I don’t blame Alex for getting it in as much as he can. The poor guy has wanted to fuck you for years, and now he has the opportunity. A few rough nights of you two blowing off steam and then he’ll be on to the next girl while you’ll be ready to move on with me. We both know Alex doesn’t stick to one girl for long.”
“Yeah,” I manage to get out through the pain. “You’re right. I’m sure he’s just blowing off steam.”
“I’ll text you when I land.” He leans in to kiss me again, but this time slowly and with tongue.
He tries to make it passionate, but it’s stiff on my end. Kissing him feels so wrong after having my lips on Alex’s just hours ago. This feeling is so weird. Two of my close guy friends and I’m fucking them both.
Oh man. That sounds so bad.
“Have a safe flight,” I say when he breaks the kiss and stands up.
Looking me over, he nods his head and then turns to leave. Even though he’s playing it off, the look on his face says that he’s worried. I don’t know why. It’s not like he has anything to worry about anyway. He said it himself. Alex is just blowing off steam and taking advantage of the situation. He will be on to the next girl in no time.
I lay back and don’t move again until I hear Alex jogging up the stairs an hour later.
Sweaty, shirtless, and out of breath, he enters my room and smiles at my sleepy state. “Morning, Firecracker.”
I groan and roll back over, kicking the blankets off of me. “I don’t know how you do mornings so well. What time is it anyway?”
He looks down at his imaginary watch. “Time to get your sleepy butt out of bed and have breakfast with me.”
I can’t help but to smile at his playfulness. It doesn’t matter what time of morning or night it is, Alex always has a way of waking my ass up and making me want to do stuff with him. “Fine.” I groan. “Let me shower first.”
He winks. “Gotcha, babe. I’ll jump in the shower downstairs and meet you by my truck in twenty.”
As soon as he leaves my room, I roll over in bed and smile while running my hands over my face. I love it how we live in the same house, but he still has me meet him by his truck as if we don’t. I seriously don’t think Alex could be any more perfect. He’s so adorable that it fucking hurts to think of how this is going to be in a week . . .
WHEN WE’RE DONE EATING BREAKFAST we hang out at the local diner and relax, as if we have all day to just talk. We’ve been coming to Monty’s for years, although, we haven’t been here in months. I love how being here with him makes me feel. It reminds me of old times when all that mattered was being together and having fun.
“So what are we doing today?” Alex asks with a raised brow.
“We? Well I have to go to work in a few hours. Harley is teaching me a little bit about bartending during lunch.” I lean over the booth and toss my straw wrapper at him. “What about you? Don’t you have like a million appointments today or something?”
He flashes me those sexy as sin dimples and reaches out to tip my chin up. “I would like to get you back in my chair and finish what I started.”
“So you want to hurt me?” I tease. “Is that why you made me get out of bed?”
Alex’s face turns serious as his eyes search mine. “I would never hurt you, Tripp.” He sucks his bottom lip into his mouth and leans back in his booth with a grin. “But I would mark you forever, and that’s what I want to finish doing, so are you in?” He flashes me those damn dimples again and tilts his head.
I melt. I seriously fucking melt. “You asshole . . . that’s not fair. You know that always works on me.”
“Of course I do, babe. And it is absolutely fucking fair.” Standing up, he throws down some cash to pay the bill and walks over to my side of the table, helping me to my feet. “It’s not that bad. I’m almost done. I promise.”
Yeah . . . that’s what I’m afraid of.
SEEING TRIPP IN MY CHAIR, waiting for me to mark her, gives me a serious fucking hard-on. She’s been waiting there patiently for the last fifteen minu
tes, while I’ve been getting everything prepared and trying to get my dick in check. She seriously has no idea what those little dresses do to me.
“Ready, babe?” I look down at her and lift a brow. “Need any help getting that dress off? I can find many different ways to strip that thing off.”
Sitting up with a smile, she lifts her dress up and yanks it off over her head. “I’m sure you could. What can’t you do?”
I tap my finger against my cheek, thinking. “Nothing.” I tease. “I’m talented as fuck.” I point to the bra that she shouldn’t be wearing. “Now remove that sexy as hell bra, babe. You can use your dress to cover up.” I bite my bottom lip, teasing her. “Or not.”
“Alex,” she screeches. “You seriously have big fucking balls. Is there anything that you won’t say?”
I swallow hard and clear my throat, before turning away and grabbing my gun. Fuck yes there is. Something that I want to say but can’t, for one . . . a few things actually.
“Get comfortable,” is the only thing I say. I tilt my head as she lies back, holding her dress over her tits with one arm. “You good?”
She sucks in a deep breath and puts on her brave face; the one I’ve seen her use numerous times in the past when she was terrified. “I’m ready. . . . Wait.” She sucks in another breath and smiles. “Okay . . . now.”
“Are you sure? ‘Cause once I start, I’m not stopping. It’s not very big. Well it is . . .”
Her face turns red and I catch her eyes veering down to my dick, lingering once there. The look on her face says that she’s taking her time to remember it inch by inch.
I lift my brows at her and she quickly pries her eyes away from my best feature and laughs. “Just get it over with. We’ll be here all day if your mouth has anything to do with it.”
“Fucking right . . .” I say unashamed. “You’re lucky you have to work soon.” I run my hand up her side, causing her to close her eyes and moan. “Relax. I’ll make it quick.”
Fighting to get her nerves under control, she nods her head and grips the seat. The way her chest is rising and falling reminds me of how she looks in the bedroom, and I almost lose it right here, wanting to jump between those beautiful legs of hers. I can’t do that. Fuck. We both agreed to one last time. It’s going to kill me. I just know it.
Trying to keep her relaxed, I rub my thumb over her skin with my free hand, while working on the last three stars and then the moon. It may not be something great and creative, but it’s special to me. I placed the stars and moon in the exact position that my mom did with every letter that she wrote me while growing up. It all has to be perfect, especially on Tripp. I want this tattoo to matter.
When I’m done, I place the tattoo gun down and stare at the artwork placed on her body by me. I suddenly get jealous at the thought of anyone else ever marking her. “I want to be the only one to tattoo you. Got it, Tripp? I’ll always drop everything if I need to. You know that.”
“Yes,” she says with a hint of a smile. “Of course I know that, and you’re the only one I trust to poke me with a damn tattoo gun.”
Tripp doesn’t open her eyes until I’m done cleaning her off and covering the tattoo with a thin layer of ointment. “All done?” She peeks one eye up at me. I nod and she finally opens the second eye. “That wasn’t too bad. I was expecting it to hurt more.”
Smiling, she stands up. “Can I look now?”
Peeling off my gloves, I toss them into the trash and nod at her, watching to see her reaction.
Turning around to face the mirror, Tripp leans her head to the side to get a good look. She stares at the stars and moon for a few minutes with a look of awe on her face. She almost looks as if she’s going to burst into tears. “Alex . . . is this?”
Walking over to me, her eyes meet mine as she lifts my shirt over my head and throws it behind me. Pulling her eyes away, she lifts my arm up and looks down at the same exact tattoo that is on my right ribcage. She lightly runs her fingers across it. “Your mom’s drawing?”
“Of course it is.” Looking her in the eyes, I wrap both of my hands into the back of her hair and tug. “This is me showing you just how much you truly mean to me, Tripp. You’ve been there through everything and I love you for that. . . . My mom loved you.”
“Damn you,” she says while wiping the tears from her face. “You just had to make me cry before work, didn’t you?”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “You like it?”
She smiles. “Don’t be. This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. I loved your mom too, very much, and I don’t like the tattoo, I love it. A lot.”
Placing my forehead to hers, I’m just about to lean in and kiss her when my door flies open and Ace appears with a huge ass grin. “Your client is here early, but damn . . . they can wait. Maybe I should wait in here.”
Placing my arms around Tripp protectively, I turn her around and cover her body with mine. The thought of him seeing her almost naked infuriates me. If his dick gets hard, I’m going to rip it the fuck off. “Get the fuck out, Ace.” I run my thumb over Tripp’s face to wipe her tears as she leans her head into my chest to hide her face. “Give me five fucking minutes, and knock next time.”
“Not a problem, man. . . . Take your time.”
He’s lucky he leaves when he does, because this is a special fucking moment for me. Being close to Tripp while remembering my mother squeezes my heart. I know she misses her almost as much as I do and that only makes me love her more. I swear Ace has the worst damn timing.
“Thank you, Alex.” She throws her arms around my neck and pulls me to her as tightly as she can. She acts like her being half naked right now and Ace walking in has no effect on her at all. She’s completely lost in this moment with me: my sweet caring angel. “I know how much this drawing means to you and it means a lot to me that you would share that with me.”
“Yeah, sure.” I nod my head, trying to keep my emotions under control. I’m not afraid to cry, but I can’t let myself get so worked up that I won’t be able to focus on the appointments I have for the day. “You’re the only one I’d ever want to share it with, Tripp.”
Trying to change the mood, I kiss the top of her head, slap her perfect ass, and pull away from her. “I need to get this shit cleaned up.” I dig in the pocket of my favorite jeans . . . damn the memories . . . and pull out the keys to my truck. “Take my truck to work.”
Tripp takes the keys and tilts her head as she watches me clean up. “How will you get home if I take your truck? I can just ask Harley for a ride. No biggie.”
I toss my keys back at her when she tries giving them back. “Dax’s is less than ten minutes from here. I’ll walk or run. . . . Take it.”
She smiles down at the keys before slipping her dress back over her head and reaching for her bra. “I promise to keep this thing off now. I know what you were about to say it.”
“Good. Then you know me well.” I smile and look her up and down, my eyes landing back on those perfect tits in that tight little dress. It’s going to be hard to keep my hands off her this week.
I know that Lucas is gone for the week, but Tripp doesn’t know that I know yet. I figure she’ll tell me later after she gets off work. I’m in no rush to hear what I already know.
“Alright . . . I’m out before your client gets pissed and leaves.” She kisses my cheek and heads for the door, stopping to turn back at me. “See you in a few.”
“I’ll be there out of breath and sweaty.” I wink. “Take care of my truck.”
She raises her brows and holds the keys up in front of her. “I’ll try not to ride it too hard . . .” She gives me a knowing smirk and rushes out the door before I can respond.
Fuuuck me . . .
She knows exactly how she’s leaving me: hard, horny, and going crazy to be back between those legs. If she doesn’t know, then she’s fucking crazy.
I’VE BEEN HERE AT DAX’S for the last fifteen minutes, watching Tripp work behind the
bar. She’s so fucking sexy mixing those drinks and she is totally fucking clueless to the fact. It makes me want to walk behind the bar, pull her into my arms, and kiss every inch of her body just to see that look she gets on her face whenever I touch her. The one where she knows just how beautiful she truly is.
Every few minutes or so she glances my way and smiles as I tip back my beer and wait for her to have a free moment. After about ten minutes, she finally makes her way over to me, sweaty and out of breath.
“Holy shit . . .” She reaches for a glass and fills it with ice and water. “It’s never been so hot in here. The action never stops behind the bar. Now I know why Harley never wants to help me clean up at the end of the night. Wow.”
I watch her in complete wonder as she quickly tilts her glass of water back and spills little drops all down her chest as she chugs it. My eyes fall from her face, watching the water as it drips further down her chest and disappears beneath the thin fabric of her silver dress.
“You know I’ll take a naked swim with you later if you want. All you have to do is ask, babe.”
She slams her empty water glass down next to her and scrunches her nose at me. “My dirty little Alex.” She touches my nose and laughs. “I might actually consider that for once. I’m that hot.”
Well fuck me, Tripp . . .
I push my slightly hard dick down and lift a brow at her. She rarely teases me back. I like this Tripp.
Quickly turning away, she disappears to help some douche a few stools over from me. When she walks away to grab what he wants, I see the little dick lean over the bar, checking her ass out the entire walk to the cooler. My whole body heats and I unconsciously slam my beer back, finishing the whole bottle with a clenched fist. My urge to protect her is kicking in, becoming strong . . . really fucking strong.
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