Inked Memories (Montgomery Ink Book 8)

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  “Damn it,” he growled into the phone, leaning forward to pinch the bridge of his nose.

  He talked to the police once Frances put them on, and he went over what had been happening over the past few weeks. Despite that, he got nothing out of it. The police thought it was probably just kids trying to dare each other or some shit, but Wes was beyond tired of it. After he’d hung up, he wanted nothing more than to just go to bed and ignore his day, but of course, the doorbell rang.

  Growling, he set down his phone and stomped to the front door, only to freeze on the spot when he opened it. Jillian stood on his porch wearing a trench coat and very, very sexy fuck-me pumps on one of the hottest days of the year.

  “Gonna let me in, Wesley, or should I put on a show out here?”

  He swallowed hard. “A show?” he asked, even as he moved to the side so she could strut her way inside. And damn did she strut.

  She turned on her heel and didn’t wobble a bit. He was pretty sure his cock had tented his shorts to the point it was embarrassing, but he didn’t give a damn. He’d never been so turned on, and he couldn’t wait to see what she had on under the conspicuous trench.

  “I hear it’s been a tough day. Hell, a tough week for you. How about you let me make it better?” She winked and undid the belt on her coat.

  He licked his lips and slid his hand down over his shorts, giving himself a stroke before squeezing the base of his cock so he wouldn’t come right there with just the promise of her.

  “I think you being here at all makes it better.”

  Her eyes went from sensual to surprised back to sensual in a blink. He liked that he’d surprised her and knew he was going to fucking love this particular surprise of hers.

  Slowly, she pulled the flaps away on her coat and spread her arms, her hands holding each side of the coat.

  He went to his knees without even thinking about it. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” He whispered the words, and Jillian laughed, her eyes dancing.

  “Well, I brought the great Wes Montgomery to his knees. I think my work here is done.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “You better not leave yet, woman. Show me everything you’ve got.”

  She tilted her head and cocked her hip. “Everything, big boy?”

  He swallowed hard. “Everything.”

  She wore a set of red and black garters with tiny bows on the front over matching panties that rode low on her hips and thigh-high, lace-top stockings. Her bra was one of those demi ones that lifted her breasts so it looked like they lay on red and black lacy clouds, overfilling the cups and begging for his mouth.

  The best part, though, was the fact that she wore a tool belt over it all, with a wrench on one side and a measuring tape on the other.

  She slowly pulled the measuring tape out of her belt and pulled the tape out, her tongue between her teeth.

  “Before I ask you what you’re going to measure with that, should I ask what the wrench is for?” he asked, his cock impossibly hard.

  Jillian rolled her eyes. “Because I’m a plumber, and I was going to make a pipe joke, but then I decided I’d measure things instead. The wrench is just for show.”

  He snorted. “Thank God. I wasn’t quite sure I was ready to see what you’d want to wrench.”

  She winced but pulled out more of the measuring tape. “And what about this? I wonder what I could possibly measure…”

  He moved forward then, needing her close. “Well, come on, Jilli. Let’s see what you’ve got.” He kissed her then, taking his time exploring her mouth and her taste. She leaned into him, their bodies aligning even better now that she was in her heels. “I’ve never seen you in heels,” he murmured against her neck.

  “I’m more comfortable in jeans and boots, but sometimes I like feeling sexy.”

  He pulled back slightly so he could wrap his hand around the back of her neck. “You’re sexy in your boots. Sexy in your flats that you wear when you let me take you out on a date. You’re just fucking sexy, Jillian.”

  She licked her lips, her hands digging into his hips. “You sound like you’re spouting Dr. Seuss for adults.”

  He snorted before biting down on her neck. “Oh, yeah? Maybe we could go into a new business.”

  “Dirty poems? I don’t know. I might have to see how dirty you can get first before I dare try that partnership.”

  He slid his hand under her open jacket and around to her butt. His fingers splayed under the tiny scrap of lace of her thong and played with the crack of her ass. She shivered in his hold.

  “I know you have an idea of what you want tonight. Want to fill me in?” He slid the coat off her shoulders before going back to molding her ass in his hands. She was so fit and worked hard on her legs because of her job. He loved her ass. There was just enough that it jiggled when he fucked her from behind and gave him something nice to hold onto when he slammed her down on top of him.

  “I want you,” she whispered. “I want to see how far you can go, Wesley. Think you can do that?”

  He rocked into her. “Go into the bedroom and get comfortable. I need to get a few things. And then, Jillian?” She met his gaze. “Then I think we’ll push each other. That’s something I know we can do. We’re good at it.”

  She leaned forward and bit his lip—something she was able to do since she was wearing heels—before licking away the sting.

  “Fuck me hard tonight. Make me come. Hell, make me pass out because I’m so sated. Then we’ll see if we’ve pushed each other hard enough.”

  And with that, she turned again and swayed to the bedroom, her ass looking so fucking bitable in that thong he had to take a few deep breaths so he didn’t accidentally rub one off right there in his living room. He almost thought about it, however. That way, he’d be able to take the edge off and last longer for her.

  She’d rocked his world in more ways than one, apparently.

  After he shook his head to clear the lust riding him past the brink of sanity, he quickly went to his kitchen to gather a few things. He’d never done this exact thing before, but he’d read about it in one of Jillian’s books and now wanted to try it.

  Jillian lay in the middle of his bed propped up on pillows when he walked inside. She’d taken off her heels but still wore her lace number.

  “I kind of miss the heels,” he said as he set down the metal bowl of ice, a warm, wet towel, and a dry one.

  She raised a brow at his goodies from the kitchen before looking at him. “I thought about it, but knowing me, I’d puncture skin or your mattress. Plus, I know you, and you’re not a shoes-in-the-bedroom kind of guy. Hell, I’m surprised you let me wear them past the entryway.”

  He laughed, shaking his head as he knelt on the bed. “Well, that much is actually true.” He kissed one knee, then the next. Her legs parted automatically, and he swallowed hard. “You know me well.”

  “I try. Though I never thought I would when we first met.”

  “Fighting’s foreplay for some,” he agreed, using his knuckle to trace a line down her inner thigh. Goosebumps pebbled on her flesh, and he licked a path down them.

  “I’ll yell at you later,” she breathed.

  He winked and moved back before brushing his thumb over her heat, her lace panties already drenched. He bent down and kissed her cunt right through the fabric, loving the way she moaned. When he lifted up slightly to unclip her garters and grip the edge of her thong, she let out a shuddering breath.

  “You’ll be the death of me, Wes Montgomery.” She moaned again when he removed and tossed her thong to the side and buried his face between her legs. She tasted so damn sweet, he knew if he weren’t careful, he’d spend the rest of the evening eating her out until they both passed out from pleasure.

  He licked her again and sat up, watching her as she looked up from under hooded eyes.

  “What’s the ice for?”

  “It’s a hot day, and you were in a trench coat. I figured some ice could help.” He reached for one of the ic
e cubes and licked it slowly.

  “Damn,” she said on a laugh. “That’s way too sexy for me.”

  “Oh, yeah?” He bent forward and blew on her clit. Her hips rocked off the bed, and he clucked his tongue. “Keep yourself steady. Ass on the bed and legs spread. If you don’t keep it like that, I’ll stop you from coming and just jerk off watching you—which could also be sexy as fuck.”

  “Dirty, dirty boy. I like it.” She wiggled down into the pillows, gripped the bedspread tightly and spread her legs even wider.

  He lowered himself even more and pressed the ice cube against her clit.

  “Wes! That’s fucking cold.”

  He chuckled roughly before moving the ice so he could blow warm air over her clit. Then he licked her, sucking on her tight nub before going back to her with the ice. He repeated the process over and over until the ice was fully melted and her legs were shaking around his head.

  “I need you, Wes,” she whispered. “For the love of God, if you don’t get inside me and fuck me hard into this mattress, I’m going to burn up right here.”

  “I need a condom,” he growled out, so hard he knew he wouldn’t last long. “One sec.”

  “No, you don’t. We’re both tested and showed each other the results, and I have an IUD. Get. Inside. Me.”

  Now he knew he’d burst. Just the thought of being bare inside her… Damn.

  He moved everything out of the way, knowing he’d have more to play with later with the towels and the rest of the ice that hadn’t melted if they wanted, and went to sit between her legs. Somehow, he’d tugged off his shorts, and she’d taken off her bra, but she still wore her garters and a wide smile.

  “You’re so fucking beautiful.”

  And he loved her.

  But he couldn’t say that. Not yet. They were still new, still figuring out who they were with each other and not just in their worlds. Yet he pushed that out of his mind and lowered himself over her, taking her mouth as she reached between them. When her hands gripped his cock, he growled.

  “I’m going to come if you keep touching me.”

  “Then fuck me, Wesley.”

  He bit her shoulder, and she groaned. “That I can do.” She guided him to her entrance, and he met her gaze as he entered her inch by slow inch. They clung to one another, rising in the heat and meeting thrust for thrust. Their hands explored their bodies as their mouths moved from kisses and licks, to bites and groans.

  And when she came around him, he followed, knowing he wouldn’t have been able to last beyond the tight vice of her pussy coming around him. His body shook, and his balls tightened almost to the point of pain, but when they were both able to finally breathe, he held her close, knowing he’d never be able to let her go.

  He hadn’t been expecting to fall for his brother’s ex. Hadn’t been expecting to fall for the woman who constantly pushed his buttons. And yet, here he was, in love with a woman he couldn’t quite read, so he didn’t know how she felt about him. Yet with her arms around him and her lips on his as they lazily kissed as the moon rose high in the sky, he couldn’t quite care. Being with her pushed all thoughts of what-ifs, the stress from the day, the fact that no one knew who had attacked him in that alley, and the little things that kept coming up at work and in his life out of his mind.

  With her in his arms, he could forget everything else.

  And for once, he was just fine with that.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Jillian wiped the sweat from her brow and packed up another box from her father’s place. Her heart hurt, and her body ached after only two hours of boxing up and sorting things. The estate and house were now in her name, and she’d already had the meeting with her father’s lawyer and the reading of the will.

  She shivered at the memory of that meeting. Though the elderly man had tried to be nice, she’d felt so alone, so cold reading that her father had left everything to her. There hadn’t been any surprises, but she still had to listen to it and nod along. She’d gone alone, though Wes, Storm, and their parents had offered to come and be by her side.

  Jillian was going to take her time with everything that came next, however. Her father had already been at her to go through boxes because he wanted her to have what was hers while he was still there to see her face. Now…well, now she would keep at it and hope that he was up there somewhere, watching her but in far less pain.

  She sniffed and then leaned into Wes’s hard chest when he wrapped his arms around her waist.

  “We can stop for the day, baby,” he whispered. It was the Sunday after their Friday-night ice and heat fest in his bedroom, and they’d spent every moment together since. She wasn’t sure when they’d gone from testing the waters out to full-blown couple on the verge of something she couldn’t quite name, but she knew it was important.

  “I know. I’m just trying to sort for charities and things that could be useful for Roger or any of Dad’s friends.”

  “And you have time.” He kissed the back of her neck, and she sighed.

  Time. That was one thing she’d thought she had so much of at one point. But when she lost her dad, she’d stopped believing that.

  “I guess I’m just tired,” she said after a moment.

  “We both had a long week, and have another long week ahead of us. What do you say we drive out to Golden and go for a hike? Just a short one without too many hills. Just a relaxing stroll where we can get out of buildings and boxes.”

  She turned in his arms and rested her head on his chest. “I think that sounds like a great plan.” She leaned on him more than she thought she would. Hell, she leaned on him more than she’d leaned on anyone in as long as she could remember.

  The thing of it was, he didn’t force her into it. He was there if she needed him, but he didn’t prop her up as if she couldn’t do it herself. He understood that sometimes she needed to stand on her own two feet and didn’t push. And when he was too tired and angry with work or family, he leaned on her, too.

  They were finding their balance, and it was thrilling…and scary.

  They needed to talk about their relationship soon, she knew, or she’d worry herself into a corner. Because it had started out as a way to relieve tension, to let the spark of attraction burn its course, but now, she wasn’t sure. She wouldn’t worry about it today, however. Today, she would push those thoughts from her mind and just be.

  She didn’t know if she could handle anything else.

  Wes helped her put away the box she’d been working on, and the two of them headed out to his truck and then off to Golden. It really wouldn’t be a mountain hike, more of a tiny foothill hike, but as it was around lunchtime, it was already too late in the day to start one of those. They picked up food on the way and ate in the car, their conversation quiet and about nothing too serious. With all the seriousness going on, sometimes it was nice to talk about anything but the important things. That time would come later.

  The Rockies seriously took her breath away every time she truly looked at them. While sometimes they became a backdrop to the city where she hardly noticed them; other times, she actually looked up and realized how blessed she was to live where she did. Not everyone saw mountains like these in their lives. And only a fraction of those got to live near them.

  There were simply no words to describe the beauty of it. The mountains reached high into the sky, and she honestly couldn’t believe how large they were. They just kept going and going, the masterpiece of Earth’s beauty unveiled right before her. Trees and bushes filled her vision, rocks and streams surrounding her, and yet she felt as if she weren’t alone even with the idea of no one around her. She couldn’t be alone with the world surrounding her such as it was.

  They walked hand-in-hand down the trail, her body finally feeling slightly lighter once she breathed in the fresh air and leaned into Wes’s strong hold. Once again, she was leaning, yet it was okay—for now.

  “It feels good to be out here,” Wes said once they got to a clearing
where they could sit on a couple of boulders. “I haven’t been up here in far too long. Hell, between work and family, I think the only nature I’ve seen is in my backyard.”

  She snorted. “Well, you do have a particularly amazing backyard for a man who lives in the suburbs.”

  He snorted and handed over one of the water bottles they’d picked up with their lunch. “The land was the reason I got the house. The lot’s about twice as big as any of the others around me, so it’s my own little paradise without having to go very far. The house itself sucked when I moved in over a decade ago, but between my family and me, we’ve fixed it up to where I want it. The barn’s the only thing left until I get the notion to redo it all or something.”

  “Why do you have such a big house for just you?” she asked, not looking at him but the trees and paths around them. As he was doing the same, it was quite nice and relaxing.

  He let out a breath and leaned back on the boulder. “Well, I didn’t think I’d still be by myself at this age.”

  She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “You say that like you’re an old man or something. You’re not anywhere close to being old, Wes.”

  “True, but I’m also not in my twenties or even early thirties anymore. I’m the last Montgomery without a wife or thinking about kids. Though I don’t know if Autumn and Griffin are planning to have them or not. They said in the past that they like being the fun aunt and uncle.” He shot her a look. “I’m not saying this because I’m trying to have a deep conversation about us, by the way. I’m just telling you why I bought that house.”

  She nodded, understanding. “I thought I’d be married and working on a family by now, too.” She shrugged, and he reached out to tangle his fingers with hers. The connection steadied her, which was weird because holding hands with anyone else hadn’t done that before. “I spent a lot of my twenties building my career and hiding behind my so-called relationship with Storm.”