Protecting His Home

by Ember Davis

  When she told me that she could forgive and move forward? There was nothing that was going to keep me from kissing her. If our friends, because yeah, they were her friends now too, hadn’t started cheering I don’t think I would have stopped myself from wrapping Amelia around me and carrying her back to my place. Nope, our place. It’s just a matter of time before she moves in. Tomorrow is probably too soon. Right? Damn it.

  Her blush when she buried her face in my chest was fucking adorable. It’s clear that she prefers to not be the center of attention. As long as she doesn’t mind being the center of my attention, I’m okay with it.

  Falling into being with her feels natural. It feels easy and right which isn’t something I can say about any other woman I’ve dated. Are we dating now? It feels like more than that. I don’t want to push her too far too fast though.

  It’s not a bad perk that she gets first dibs on the new stuff coming into her shop either. Even if that wasn’t the case it wouldn’t change how I or our friends feel about her. The guys all love her already. Even Zeke smiled which is a huge thing. Trust me on that one. Olivia was the only one who had been able to get him to smile and that took a while. Until Amelia.

  The fact that she remembered that Dex wasn’t inside to enjoy the flower she brought and then made a point to include him made my heart do a little flutter in my chest. Troy isn’t wrong, the rest of the crew could really use someone thinking about them and caring for them. Well, I could use that too, but the fact that she fits so well with all of us makes me feel warm all over.

  She is mine, but I wouldn’t deny her forming friendships with everyone else. How could I? She’s already done it. I can’t say for certain that Troy or Walsh would choose me over her, if they ever had to, and the fact that they’ve known me longer doesn’t even matter. They’re both her biggest fans. I know I can trust them not to betray me and I’m pretty sure I can trust her too. It’s hard for me to trust since Bri, but my gut says I can trust Amelia which is more than I could say about how my gut felt about Bri.

  I see Amelia making her way out of the kitchen, two freshly opened beers in her hands. I can’t tear my eyes away from her. The way her hips sway is hypnotizing. It’s not contrived either, it’s just the way she walks. If she actually put extra effort in and purposefully swayed her hips seductively, I think I’d have a heart attack.

  The sweater she’s wearing is a burnt orange, perfect for fall and it is striking against her skin. It molds to her full breasts which makes my mouth water. Her sweater is a little fuzzy, and that just makes me want to pet it. Her shoulder is mostly bare, just a bra strap and tank top strap are showing. Both are black which tells me that she isn’t into making her undergarments into fashion.

  That’s a huge relief. Bri always dressed like she was going to a club and showed all of herself off, not that there’s necessarily anything wrong with that. The problem was that it wasn’t just her clothing choices that made me feel like she was always advertising herself to other men, it was her whole vibe.

  I watch Amelia’s mostly bare shoulder rise slightly and that makes me meet her eyes. She smirks at me and I know a goofy grin spreads across my face.

  Amelia giggles and shakes her head as she sits back in her chair and hands me a fresh beer. I throw my arm over her thigh and entwine our fingers.

  I take a swig of my beer, “Thanks Baby.”

  She smiles at me and puts her beer on the coffee table so she can take the joint coming her way. She winks down at me, “Perfect timing.” She hands the joint over to me and then nods toward the back deck, “Dex says the food’s almost ready.”

  I nod, “Awesome. Dex is a grill master.” I pass the joint off and then make a sweeping gesture with my beer bottle, “We do this kind of thing at least once a month and rotate houses. This is our second this month since we won’t be able to be outside much longer.”

  Amelia gives my fingers a little squeeze, “That’s really nice.” She looks around the room and smiles wistfully, “I’ve never had this. People that just click with each other and look out for each other.” She glances down at me, “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had good friends in the past. It just wasn’t anything like what you guys have here. You all are lucky; you have a place to belong.”

  I squeeze her fingers and pitch my voice a little lower, “Baby, you click. With me. With all of us. You belong right here.”

  She lets out a long breath that feels like she’s been holding in for a long time and looks down at me with a look in her eyes that tells me she’s afraid to hope. That’s okay, I can believe and hope enough for both of us. I just need a little time to show her and prove it to her.

  I smirk at her, “Just so you know, in two weeks we’ll be hosting the next gathering.”

  Her eyebrows shoot up, “We will?”

  “Yup,” I pop the p and wink at her.

  Before she can say anything, Steve comes in the door and we all greet each other. After he gives me a fist bump, he heads straight over to Andrea and picks her up off the couch before taking her seat and sitting her back on his lap. They get lost in their own little world almost immediately.

  I want that. I thought about doing just that when I gave Amelia the last chair, but I didn’t want to come on too strong. I glance up at Amelia and she’s giving them a wistful look. I squeeze her fingers a little and she looks down at me and this time I see it, the naked hope for this to work between us. It will, I know it.

  I bring her hand to my mouth and kiss her knuckles. Her eyes light up and her smile lights up the whole room.

  Troy and Walsh catch my eye and when I look at them, they’ve both tucked their hands under their chins and are batting their eyelashes at us. I can’t help it; I bark out a laugh and when Amelia looks up at them, she chuckles and shakes her head.

  She rolls her eyes before addressing them, “Anyway, troublemakers, you like the strain?”

  Walsh grins, “Yeah it tastes great! When will the shop start selling it? I want to pick some up for sure.” Troy nods his agreement.

  “It should be on shelves starting tomorrow. Talk it up and maybe I’ll make you my next promotion.”

  Troy and Walsh look at each other and narrow their eyes. Troy wags his eyebrows at my girl, but now it doesn’t make me feel jealous. “Is that a challenge, Doll?”

  She gives a sly smile, “Is it?”

  Walsh eyes her, “Do we get bonus points if we promote your beanies too?”

  She shrugs, “It certainly couldn’t hurt, now could it? I made Beckett’s post a promotion the last few days since so many people were coming in to tell me hi and that Beckett sent them. I also ran an extra promotion for those who can show and prove they have a tattoo from Banks Ink..”

  Damn that puffs up my chest.

  Troy rubs his jaw, “You realize that means that we need beanies of our own, right?”

  Walsh lights up, “Oh, yeah, we totally need our own beanies.”

  Amelia takes a drink of her beer and assess the guys and hums. “I suppose that could be arranged. I’m pegging you for a blue kind of guy Troy, clearly.” Troy grins from ear to ear. “Walsh is more of a forest green.”

  Walsh winks at her, “You know me so well, Sweetcheeks.”

  Amelia shrugs, “You learn a lot about a person when they throw you over their shoulder and you’re forced to stare at their ass.”

  Walsh chokes a little on the drink of beer he was taking and glances at me. I throw my head back and laugh.

  For the first time in a long time at a party Zeke pipes up from the cut, “Wait? What?” Olivia whispers something to him and he asks, “Why doesn’t anyone invite me to the kidnappings?”

  Troy grins at him, “Because you’d never met Amelia before, we couldn’t bring you to the kidnapping.” Zeke scoffs and Troy adds, “Now, next time you can come, we’ll need a different getaway driver.”

  Walsh recovers and smirks at me before narrowing his eyes at Amelia slightly. “I shoulda smacked your ass when I had the cha
nce.” Amelia laughs and it’s such a beautiful sound, it makes my heart stutter. Walsh points the neck of his beer at her, “You should thank me for not using the handcuffs you know.”

  Andrea wrenches her attention away from Steve and singsongs, “Shoulda just used hers. I know where they are.”

  I think I almost give myself whiplash with how quickly I look at Amelia, but she doesn’t look at me. She’s blushing and fixing her friend with a murderous glare, but I can tell there’s no real heat behind it. Then she smiles wickedly and, yeah, if I wasn’t in love with this girl already, that smile would do me in. Wait? So, I’m in love with her? Fuck. Yeah, I am. I was the moment I heard her laugh outside my shop.

  That wicked smile is also like a jump start to my lust for her, not that it needed much help. I’ve been hard since the moment she walked into the kitchen tonight and that smile makes my cock twitch. Not to mention that I haven’t been able to keep her sexy as fuck body out of my mind for the last five days. I’ve dreamed of it. I’ve jerked off fantasizing about it. I’ve gotten lost in those fantasizes.

  “Oh, really best friend, or should I say potentially former best friend? Maybe an afore mentioned best friend who lives in a kinky glass house shouldn’t be talking about where other people keep their handcuffs. Hmmmmm?” She stage whispers, “Especially not in mixed company. How unladylike.” She wags her eyebrows and gives Andrea a warm smile.

  My cock twitches again when she says handcuffs. Yes, please, let’s get acquainted with those handcuffs.

  Troy and Walsh almost double over in laughter and I give her fingers a little squeeze. She squeezes right back and winks down at me.

  Andrea’s eyes widen slightly, but Steve laughs, “Oh you think you know about our sex life?”

  Amelia chuckles and shrugs one shoulder while finishing up her beer. “I never mentioned you Steve, now did I?”

  I bark out a laugh before Amelia takes the last bit of the joint, takes her hit and passes it to me. Last hit falls to me so I stick the filter into my now drained beer.

  Amelia squeezes my fingers again and pulls her hand away. “Come on, let’s help Dex. The food should be done now.”

  Troy, Walsh and Zeke give me a look and it speaks volumes. It tells me that she’s the one that not only I need, but that we all need. I grin because yeah, I know.

  She pulls her phone out of her purse before tucking her purse underneath the chair and back behind her feet. She stands, tucking her phone in her back pocket before grabbing her empty beer bottles. She looks down at me expectantly but with a sweet smile on her face. I grin up at her and amble up to my feet, taking a cue from her and grabbing my empties. I entwine our fingers again and pull her closer to my side and kiss her temple.

  She shrugs, “You eat, you help. That’s what families do.” Damn this woman, she just gets it. I’m a lucky man. She points at Troy, Walsh and Zeke in turn, “Don’t forget your empties either.”

  Troy scoffs, “Doll. You wound me.”

  She starts pulling me toward the kitchen, not that I need much persuading. She throws over her shoulder, “I think you can handle it, Superman.”

  When we get in the kitchen, we put the bottles in the recycling. I know I only have a moment before everyone files in, but I pull her back flush against my front and she gasps as she feels my hard cock digging into her ass. She pushes back against me and I groan.

  I run my nose along her exposed shoulder and up her neck. I whisper in her ear, “You know, you could give a man a complex giving other men nicknames.”

  She shivers in my arms, “I’m sure I can come up with something for you.”

  I grin against her skin and turn her in my arms. “Oh, I’m sure you can. We’ll definitely be talking about those handcuffs later too.”

  She wraps her arms around my neck and looks up at me with wide innocent eyes, “What’s there to talk about? You don’t have handcuffs in your toy chest?”

  I murmur, “Oh you’ll love what I have in my toy chest.” Then I slant my lips over hers and kiss her gently, but full of passion. I want her to feel what I feel for her. She sighs and melts against me.

  I pull back from her and search her face. I tuck a few of her curls behind her ear. “You are so beautiful.”

  Her whole being lights up with her smile. “Beckett,” she sighs, “thank you.” She kisses me chastely. She lets her eyes roam over my chest and face, and I feel my chest puff up from her perusal. “You know you’re the hottest thing since sliced bread, right?”

  I laugh and give her one last peck before I let her go and head toward the fridge, popping her ass as I walk by. She gives a little yelp and then a laugh.

  “Come on Baby, help me grab sides out of the fridge.”

  She smiles at me and follows just as Dex opens the patio door and everyone comes in from the living room. I grin as I notice everyone brought their empties as they drop them in the recycling bin. Walsh starts taking things out of Amelia’s hands and sets them up on island. Troy grabs the paper plates. Zeke grabs the mac and cheese out of the oven. Olivia grabs the buns and opens them on the island. Hell, even Steve gets in on helping and starts handing out fresh beers to people who need them.

  Amelia steps back and surveys the group with a self-satisfied smirk on her face. She crosses her arms across her chest. I have to suppress a growl because all she’s done is push up her delicious tits. Damn, I can’t wait to get my hands on them, I know they’ll fill my palms up just right.

  I walk up behind her and grab her hips and pull her flush against my body. She rests her head back against my chest like we’ve done it a thousand times. The way she fits against me, the way her soft curves molds to my body, is fucking magical.

  She grins and nods toward the buffet, “I figured I’d let the toddlers eat first.”

  I bark out a laugh and give her hip a squeeze.

  Steve brings us fresh beers and grins at us. He ribs Amelia, “So Banks huh?”

  She glances back up me and grins, “Yup.”

  He shakes his head and rubs his jaw, “Well, shit, I wish I would have realized it before. I would have introduced you two sooner.” He cocks his head and studies us and I grip Amelia’s hip a little harder. He starts to nod slowly and grins, “I can totally see it though. You look right together.”

  I chuckle and I watch goosebumps pop up along her shoulder. “Thanks, man.” I nod toward the crowd descending on the food, at least they’re orderly, mostly. “Now go make your girl a plate before she gets pummeled by the throng.”

  Steve grins and gives a little salute. He walks straight to Andrea and picks her up and rotates her out of the line, taking her plate from her and giving her a wink.

  I can almost see the heart eyes shooting out of Andrea’s head at Steve. Amelia runs her fingers up my arm and fuck, it feels like electricity running along my skin. “You definitely just guaranteed that Steve gets laid tonight.” She looks up at me and gives me a sly smile, “What a good friend you are.”

  I grip her hip tighter and press my still rigid cock against her ass. I kiss her shoulder and whisper in her ear, “I’m not worried about Steve getting laid tonight, but that is the way a man should treat his woman.”

  She takes a drink of her beer, but I can see the smile she’s trying to hide. She leans back into me more and cranes her neck to kiss the underside of my jaw. “I’m thinking Nacho bar.”

  I furrow my brow, “Nacho bar?”

  She grins and nods, “Yup. When we host in two weeks. I bet we could get Walsh and Troy to create a whole ridiculous competition out of it. Oddest flavor combination that tastes great or who can eat the most nachos with the hottest sauce.” She giggles, “Something like that.”

  “Oh, hell yes.” I let go of her hips and wrap my arms around her completely, snuggling her against me. I kiss her shoulder again because having her bare shoulder right there is sexy as hell and I can’t help myself. I don’t even want to try. I whisper against her skin, “You’re amazing.”

  She shru
gs, “I just like nachos.”

  “Naw, Baby, it’s a lot more than that.” She blushes and it’s fucking adorable.

  Most of the kitchen has cleared out and people have headed outside to a few picnic tables Dex has out on the grass and patio. I notice Troy and Walsh making a second pass at the buffet and I quirk my eyebrow at them. Troy gives me a big smile and makes a phone gesture with his hand before he goes back to discussing with Walsh what to put on the plate he’s holding in hushed tones.

  I pull my phone out of my pocket and open a message from Troy. He must have just taken the two pictures I pull up. The first one is of me kissing Amelia’s bare shoulder, her face is lit up with a beautiful smile. The second is of when Amelia kissed the underside of my jaw and I look so fucking happy. They take my breath away.

  I show them to her, and she gasps, entranced by the images. “Looks like Troy added you to the group message, so you got them too.” I nuzzle her neck, “I’m posting them later, Baby. I want everyone to know you’re my girl.”

  She nods and a slow smile spreads across her lips, “Okay, Love.”

  My body tightens, but not out of terror. No, it’s out of sheer shock. I stare down at her, but she just looks at me out of the corner of her eye and that wicked smile spreads across her face again.

  I run my nose along her shoulder and my body relaxes, “You’re playing with fire, Amelia.”

  She shrugs, “Am I?” She looks up at me and I can see the sincerity in her eyes, “I figure, considering what I have to gain, I might as well go all in.”

  I hum against her skin and growl, “You’re so fucking sexy, Baby. I can’t wait to get you home later.”

  I take a deep breath and not only are my senses invaded with her smell, but also a sense of peace. I wasn’t using lines earlier; she just clicks with us. She’s authentic, thoughtful and selfless and so fucking smart and funny. Holding her in my arms I know that Amelia fits with just me too. Fuck, I can’t wait to walk out of the back of my shop and see her curled up on one of the couches of the waiting room and she’s reading or making something amazing out of yarn.