I shattered around him. Swept away in the intensity of it all, tears poured from my eyes as I cried out his name over and over again. I felt him cum in me and fall forward, catching his weight on his elbows so he wouldn’t crush me. We were both panting and shaking, I clung to him feeling immensely vulnerable. He shattered my mind, body, and soul. I was his in every way. I wondered how he would take it if I whispered the three words telling him the depth of my feelings for him, but I decided he wouldn’t take it well, knowing his past. So I just clung to him instead.
Chapter 16
Brice
After we cleaned ourselves up, we headed back downstairs to a chorus of cheers that caused a flush across her cheeks. I resumed my seat at the bar for the rest of the night and she went back to work. The bar had not suffered in her absence, she had hired enough staff and Titan would also have made sure everything flowed smoothly while she was away. I watched her as she worked, she would catch my eyes every now and then and flush all over again. “You got it bad, brother,” Titan said taking the seat beside me.
“I love her, man,” I said, finally admitting it not only to myself but to someone else.
“Glad to hear you have finally accepted it.” We watched as she just stood there with a happily dazed look on her face. She shook her head to pull her focus back together and glanced back at me. I could tell she was thinking about what we had done upstairs and the punishments she had received. “Damn man, what the hell did you do to her? Since I’ve known Phoenix, she has never been that distracted.”
I grinned and took a sip of the beer the bartender had sat in front of me when I sat back down. “Nothing you will ever know-,” I was cut off by the ringing of my phone. Legend’s name popped up and I looked to Titan, “Hopefully we will have answers soon. Keep an eye out.” I nodded toward Phoenix and headed toward the stairs answering on my way. “Just a second,” I spoke into the phone as I made my way through the loud bar and two girls singing to some song trying to compete with what Abby had done earlier and failing miserably, but most of the people in the room were drunk, so it didn’t matter to them.
“What did you find out, brother?” I asked when I was back upstairs.
“Holy shit, man, how close is this chick to the club because it’s nothing small.”
“She will be my old lady as well as my wife someday.” Ok, so yeah, it’s a bit early o be saying that but dammit I needed her protected.
“Fuck, man,” I could hear the edge in his voice which just put me more on edge. “Her name is Abigail Price. She is the daughter of Michelle and Daniel Price of Price Industries. Her grandmother, Ellen Jones, suddenly took custody of her during her junior year of high school and brought her to Texas. I’m not sure why there is no reason ever mentioned in the checks we have done.” He drew in a breath and let it out. “Her grandmother died about four months ago, but it was kept hidden and took some digging to even find out that information. Brother, I got a copy of the will. Her parents were basically cut out of millions and everything was left to your girl. The home in New York, alone, is worth twenty million, and it was all left to Abigail. From what I can tell, the grandmother had no contact with the parents since before whatever caused the split and neither did your girl.
“The only person that your girl kept in contact with from New York was a McKenzie McAdams. She is stepdaughter to Nathan Richards, a very wealthy senator from New York and his son is following in the old man’s footsteps. I told Hack to do some digging there too and it looks like McKenzie is also estranged from her family. After Abigail was sent to her grandmother, McKenzie was sent to an all-girl boarding school. I can’t tell that the Price family or the Richards family ever crossed paths other than through their daughters. Though they do have mutual friends, your boy Philip Worthington’s family being one of them. He just bought Price Industries to add it to his own company Worthington International. He’s not even in the millionaire bracket anymore, man. That man is worth billions.” Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK. Was Philip playing us all? My gut said no, but what the fuck? At least I could give answers to Titan on who his girl was though we still had no clue as to what the fuck happened their junior year.
“Anything else, man?”
“Not much. Abigail didn’t go back to a school. She was home schooled and then got her degree online. McKenzie dropped out of the boarding school and got her GED before she went to culinary school and stayed in New York. Her mom died before her twelfth birthday and she has no contact with her stepfather and brother after she started boarding school. His reelection is coming up soon, so I don’t know what that means for her, if anything, but I will be more than happy to take that hot little number off your ass and protect her myself.”
I laughed, “You’d have to fight Titan for her. McKenzie is his, she just doesn’t know it yet.”
“Damn, maybe my ass needs to move to Belle instead of taking over the founding chapter.”
I ran my hand through my hair. She was worth millions and people have killed for less. Whatever went down with her parents and McKenzie’s family changed the course of both of their lives. I had to get her to open up about what the hell happened. “Thanks, man, have Hack keep looking. Go all the way back to their junior year, check the parent’s financials around that time. Let me know if there is anything there. The better prepared I am for whatever the hell is happening, the better I can protect Abby.”
It was about one thirty and surprisingly there was still quite a crowd considering Belle was normally such a sleepy town. McKenzie had come in from the kitchen after closing down the restaurant and kitchen at ten. Once she had closed up, she made her way over here to lend a hand.
I noticed the bartender setting up a long row of shot glasses along the back counter setting up enough shots for everyone in the room. “Alright, the last song of the night, with the last drink of the night, is on me. Grab a shot from the bar because we are going to have a toast to the successful opening of Phoenix Bar.” I stood up and made my way to her. She and McKenzie were talking over by the DJ’s set up. I wrapped my arms around her. “You better not be doing anything like what you did earlier. I might have to spank you again.”
She turned in my arms, wrapping her arms around my neck and smiling sweetly. “Relax, it’s just going to be the song we toasted to before we opened today. I don’t think my ass or my vagina could take any more punishment today.” I nodded and placed a kiss on her head.
“Glad to hear it.” I squeezed her ass gently then walked toward Titan who was still sitting at the bar watching Abby and McKenzie.
“What did you find out?” He asked as soon as I sat down.
“Nothing good. It’s worse than we thought, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions as far as they are concerned.”
“So, you know who they really are then?”
I nodded my head and debated telling him then and there. I decided not to in case we were overheard by somebody outside the club. “Yes, but I will have to tell you later.”
He nodded his understanding and looked to our women as they sang happily toasting each other and the new life they were creating. Her eyes were glowing with joy and pride and I wanted to make sure that look stayed there for many years to come. It still scared me how much I wanted her. I had sworn to myself never to let another woman that close or let her have that much power, but damned if Abby hadn’t come in and brought my ass to my knees.
Titan and I waited around the bar after everyone left. We decided to use the pool table while the girls finished up closing up shop. “You going to tell me?”
“Not now.” I nodded to the girls. “I don’t want them to know I know yet. We’ll discuss it at the club tomorrow. Call a meeting with Gavel and leadership, because this has potential to get governmental,” I said vaguely, hinting at the fact that it could potentially go up that high.
“Fucking hell.” Titan rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “Fuck telling me tomorrow. Your ass better be at the club after you tuck her
in. I’ll send Roper to watch their house while we talk. I’m not waiting until tomorrow to know what you know.” He was already pulling open his phone.
After they locked up for the night, Titan and I put them on the back of our bikes and drove them home. We saw Roper already waiting on the steps as we drove up. “Hey, Roper,” Abby greeted him half asleep. She was exhausted, hell, we all were. I was not looking forward to going to the clubhouse to speak with Titan tonight, but he was president and it was his call.
“Hey, sweetie,” he said, giving her a smile. “That was some opening tonight, ladies, you both should be proud of yourselves. Ember, is there any way I can convince you to marry me?”
“Hell no,” she said saucily, “you’d have my ass chained to the oven the moment I said ‘I do’.” She kissed him on the cheek and said “it’s sweet of you to ask though. Maybe I’ll consider you for a backup one day.”
I was watching Titan throughout their exchange. When she said hell no, he smiled, but when she added the second part and the kiss, his face shut down and anger burned in his eyes. McKenzie would not be needing a backup and Roper needed to watch himself before Titan pounded him into the ground.
“Let’s go, Phoenix,” I said trying to avoid a throw down right now with Titan strung so tight, you could feel the tension rolling off of him, “I want to say goodnight to you before I leave.” I wrapped my arm around her and guided her toward the steps.
“We can talk when they are asleep. Goodbye, Roper.” Titan said through clenched teeth.
I walked behind Abby up to her room, going up the stairs her ass was right in my face and I grew hard remembering the bright red flush of my handprint upon the rounded cheeks of her ass. When we got to the top of the steps, I put my hands on her hips and pulled her back against my front, rubbing my hard dick into her ass, both easing and creating a deep ache inside me.
She groaned and let her head fall back on my shoulder leaving her neck exposed for my lips. “Jesus, can’t you at least wait until you get to your own room before you start dry humping?” McKenzie spoke behind us.
“No,” I said as I propelled Abby forward, still holding and kissing her. “She’s just too damn tempting,” I said before we walked into Abby’s room and shut the door. “Baby, one of these days, I’m going to make slow sweet love to you in a bed all night and all day, but that is not going to be tonight. You are exhausted and I have to go talk to Titan about a bit of club business. If you want me now, I’m yours, if you are too tired, say the word, but know if you say you want me, it’s going to be a hard quick fuck meant only to get us both off enough to relax you so you can get some sleep.”
She didn’t even hesitate. “I want you, Brice.”
It was a quick strip and groping make out session followed by a hard quick pounding. After she came, I let myself go. I spent a few minutes holding her and when her breathing started to even out and she started to fall asleep, I whispered to her, “Goodnight, sweetheart, I’ll be back after I talk to Titan.”
I found Titan downstairs already waiting with two cups of coffee. “Did you tuck Ember in?” I questioned, using her nickname in case she was still up.
“No,” he said shortly, “she fucking kisses Roper on the cheek and jokes with him about marriage and she acts like I don’t fucking exist, even though mine is the tongue that’s been down her throat before.”
“I don’t want all the details, but did you start the kiss or did she?”
He laughed humorously which was an answer in and of itself. “I did. She does her damnedest to keep me at arm’s length.” I thought about what he was telling me and I almost laughed out loud. He didn’t realize the reason she did that was because she felt threatened by him on a deeper level. I’d let him figure that shit out on his own. I was having to navigate uncharted territory for myself, so I will do as Gavel did, keep out of it. “What do you know?”
“Phoenix is Abigail Price. Ember is McKenzie McAdams.” I started by telling him their names and then I conveyed the information that I had gotten from Legend and the pieces that I had collected for myself over the months that the girls had been in our life.
“FUCK.” Titan rubbed the back of his neck. “There is something we are missing.”
“I know, I feel it too, and I think it has to do with whatever brought Abby to Texas and sent McKenzie to boarding school and left both of them estranged from their families.” I sighed. “I have my suspicions about what it could be, but even then there is still a pieces of the puzzle missing. Plus that wouldn’t be cause for estrangement from parents. A parent in that circumstance would pull their child closer if anything.”
“I know what you mean. I can’t get McKenzie to open up to me, so you either have to get Abby to open up or we have to break Gavel.”
“We could always go after Philip again,” I suggested. “Out of the four of them, he’s probably going to be the easiest to break. Gavel is Gavel and whatever they are hiding, they have been hiding for years. They won’t give it up easily. Philip is probably the most likely to give something up.”
“You are assuming he knows everything.” He shook his head. “I seriously doubt he knows everything. If I had to wager, I’d say Gavel found out from the grandmother when she was preparing the will with him and not from the girls themselves.”
“Yeah. Gavel said as much to me,” I admitted.
“When?”
“When I found out Abby’s name was Abby.”
He raised his brow at me, “How long have you known?”
“Since right after everything happened in Amarillo. He was reaming me about her and he let Abby slip. He said he was going to tell her about the slip and I suppose he did because when I called her Abby, she did nothing but stiffen in my arms and then relax again.” I shrugged. “If I had any more information other than Abby, I would have told you, but you can’t do anything with just a first name.”
“Yeah. God, this shit is frustrating and a mess.”
“Pretty much, but Gavel has said if it looks like whatever it is, is headed this way, he would talk to her about telling us everything.” I took a sip of coffee that had since turned cold, “What concerns me, is if he is only going to inform us if movement heads this way, we go on the defensive automatically. It could be too damn late.”
Chapter 17
Abby
I sank into the warmth behind me and felt the steel band of Brice’s arm tighten around my waist. “Good morning,” I whispered to him without turning around. No way would I want him to smell my morning breath. I just snuggled closer into his embrace. “What time is it?”
“Early.” He nuzzled my neck and rocked his hips more firmly against me, letting me feel his arousal more firmly against my ass. His lips traveled down my neck and to my shoulder.
“Hold that thought. I have to brush my teeth and so do you,” I said, wiggling out of his embrace. I was almost out when he started tickling me. I couldn’t stop laughing as his fingers tickled the flesh of my belly. He brought me back down on the bed as I laughed and tried to push his hands away. “Brice,” I said when I was able to finally draw in a breath. His touch changed, he was no longer tickling me, but caressing me.
“I love you,” the words escaped his mouth, but he didn’t look like he wanted to take them back. I saw it in the depths of his chocolate eyes.
“I love you, too.” His eyes closed as if he was relieved to hear me say it. I was struck again by how he seemed so unaware as to his value when it came to women. I would seriously like to slap the shit out of his mom and that bitch of an ex-wife of his.
“Morning breath shouldn’t matter when love is involved.” His grin took my breath away.
“No, I guess not.” He leaned down and captured my lips with his own. It was a sweet kiss, long and deep. Not hurried or frantic or even driven by lust. It was a kiss of contentment and reverence. It felt like our whole relationship was shifting, and since we spoke those three words, I guess it had.
He pulled his lips aw
ay and kissed me on the head before rolling onto his back. “I love you,” He said again and though I loved hearing it, the way he said it this time was like he was preparing me for something.
“Brice, I love you, too.” I rolled on my side to look at him. “What is it?” I asked, getting more apprehensive with the look on his face.
“Get up, sweetheart, everything will be fine, but we have to talk.” He kissed my lips quickly and rolled out of bed, pulling clothes out of a duffle bag I had not noticed.
“Brice, you’re scaring me.”
“No reason to be scared, honey. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
I got up and started getting dressed for the simple fact that whatever was going on, he obviously wasn’t going to get to it without me being dressed. “Let’s go. Titan is downstairs.” He held out his hand for me to take. My nerves were on edge as we walked through the house.
We walked into the kitchen and Titan was sitting at the table. He looked like he hadn’t got much sleep last night and he looked angry. Mac was sitting next to him with her arms crossed under her chest. I wonder if she knew she was making her boobs sit up higher and look fuller, which was obviously not the way to turn Titan off, because I had seen him stare at her chest when he thought nobody was looking.
“What’s going on?” I asked as I sat at the table across from Mac and between Titan and Brice.
“Abby.” It was the first time he had used my name in the company of others. I looked at Titan and he didn’t seem surprised, so I wondered how much they knew. I looked at Mac and her face was blank. Her expression showed nothing. “McKenzie.” The use of Mac’s name almost sent me into a panic. If he knew her name, then he knew who I was. Mac just sat without showing any concern. “Calm down, honey.” I didn’t realize I was panting for breath. “Fuck, Abby, look at me,” Brice demanded, “it’s ok. Calm down, sweetheart. It’s just you, me, McKenzie, and Titan. There’s nobody else here.”
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