by Chloe Walsh
She dug her fingernails into my scar and I hissed out in surprise. A spike of pained pleasure shot through my body, brought on by the adept hands of my wife.
Hearing my hiss only spurred Teagan on and she caught my bottom lip between her teeth and tugged gently – almost playfully.
Only she could make something so bad feel this good…
Unable to hold out another damn second, I shoved my sweats down and pulled my wife towards me. Gripping my dick in one hand, I pressed my free hand against her lower back, steadying her, and slowly treaded myself inside her, inch by inch until I was buried to the hilt inside my wife.
"You okay?" I asked, jaw strained with the pressure I was under not to move. I was desperate to move in her, but I had to be careful. She was carrying my baby now and I'd be damned if I did a thing to hurt either one of them.
"Noah," she growled, rubbing herself against me. "I'm pregnant, not broken. Fuck me."
"Christ," I grunted as I pulled out of her before slamming back inside. "You're something else, Thorn, you know that?" Dropping my hands to her hips, I dragged her roughly towards me, filling her up.
"I'll be whatever you want me to be," she cried out breathlessly. "Just keep fucking me..."
A loud noise exploded from somewhere above then, startling Teagan who threw her arms out and socked me in the nose. "What the hell was that?" she demanded in a strangled tone.
"What the fuck, Thorn?" I groaned before spitting out a mouthful of blood that had poured down the back of my throat. Backing away from her, I pinched the bridge of my nose with my fingers and tipped my head back. "You broke my goddamn nose, baby," I growled, not interested in what was happening outside of this room. "Fuck."
"I'm sorry," she shot back defensively, as she scrambled down from the countertop and readjusted my t-shirt she was wearing. Rushing over to where I was nursing my nose, Teagan adjusted the waistband of my sweats. "But didn’t you hear that?"
"Yeah," I answered in a nasal tone. "I heard it." I could still hear it. The loud banging and clanging coming from upstairs. "Wait here, Thorn," I instructed my ninja wife. "I'll go check it out."
Feeling pained and unsatisfied, I stalked up the steps of the basement staircase and dragged the door open. The sound of male voices roaring filled my ears the moment I stepped out of the basement and awareness dawned on me.
The noise was coming from my nephews…
"Those little shits."
Letting the door swing shut behind me, I stalked down the hallway.
One of these tools was responsible for my current state of blue-balls and I was feeling really fucking unforgiving.
"Psst, Noah!"
I turned around at the sound of my name being called and halted in my tracks when I spotted Teagan peeking out from behind the basement door. Her long blonde hair was tangled and cocking up in a million different directions. She looked fucking beautiful…
"Goddammit, Thorn," I groaned, still holding the bridge of my nose. She was a complete liability. Yeah, there was no danger, but there had been, she would have thrown herself into the middle of it. "What part of stay down there did you not get?"
Teagan looked up and down the hallway before springing out from behind the door and literally waddling down the hallway towards me. "I was worried about you." Breathless when she reached me, Teagan bent over and inhaled a deep breath. "If there was an actual baddie up here, I figured I could help."
I cocked a brow. "A baddie?" God, she was ridiculously cute. "How about intruder," I corrected. "And what are you anyway, five?"
"Oh, I'm sorry for my lack of prison slang, convict," she shot back red-faced. "Jeez."
"It's not prison slang, Thorn. It's basic English," I shot back. "And what did you think you could do in your condition" I added, nodding towards the huge swell of her stomach. "Belly bash the baddies?"
Her face reddened further. "Hey, I'm fat now," she argued hotly. "I could sit on a man and cause some serious bodily harm."
"You can sit on my face," I shot back with a smirk.
"I mean it, Cameron!" Logan's voice boomed through the house, surprising the hell out of me. "Don't fucking push me on this!"
Teagan and I both looked at each other before bolting down the hallway to the kitchen. It wasn’t often you heard Logan Carter raise his voice, but he was flat out roaring the goddamn house down.
Teagan reached the kitchen first by using her ass to butt me out of the way.
On one side of our kitchen island stood Logan. Normally the 'rational' one of the three, he looked irate as he glowered at Cameron – and the tiny redheaded woman he was standing protectively in front of.
Colton, who rarely looked anything but mildly bored, was livid. Pacing the floor like a demented animal, he cursed under his breath and kicked at anything in his path, tipping over a trash can.
"Get her out of here," Logan snarled, leaning over the island. "I mean it, Cam. Get that woman the fuck away from our family. Now!"
"Don't speak to her like that!" Cam shot back, tone livid, as he squared up to his brothers.
Hanging back by the door, I observed the situation, but of course, my dear wife didn’t.
Lucky, who had been hovering at the patio door with a cigarette in his mouth, quickly flicked the butt out the door when he noticed my presence, and made a beeline for me.
"What's going on in here?" Teagan demanded as she marched into the middle of the madness that was unfolding.
"Why don’t you ask him?" Logan snarled, not taking his eyes off Cam. "He's full of surprises these days."
"Maybe I should go," the redhead said in a soft voice as she took a step backwards.
Like magnets, Cameron took a step with her, guarding her like a lion. "No, Tillie," he growled. "You haven't done a damn thing wrong here."
"Have you lost your damn mind?" Colton roared, halting mid-pace. Swinging around, he glared at his brother. "Have you forgotten about Mom?"
"No," Cam hissed through clenched teeth. "I haven't forgotten a damn thing."
"Who's the red?" I asked Lucky when he reached my side, making the naive assumption that my question was a harmless one.
One look at Lucky's face assured me that assumption had made a fool of me. "Run, Dude," he muttered under his breath. "Get the hell out of dodge."
"Then why the fuck did you bring her here?" Logan demanded, standing side by side with Colton. "You know what her family did to ours."
"She's not responsible for Rachel's actions any more than Dad's responsible for David's," Cam bit out, tightening his hold on the girl. "I won't tell you again, brother. Back off."
"Okay, okay," Teagan began to say, putting herself between the brothers. "Guys, I think we all need to just calm down here and take a moment…"
"Calm down?" Colton snarled, more vicious than I'd ever seen him. "This piece of shit we used to call our brother is a turncoat bastard and you're telling me to calm down!"
Now it was my turn to intervene. "You," I snarled, stalking into the kitchen. "Watch your goddamn mouth when you're talking to my wife." Coming around to stand beside Teagan, I tucked her behind me and glared at the boys. "You've got a problem with your brother," I stated, nodding once. "Fair enough." I pointed to Teagan and then glared back at my nephew. "You raise your voice at my wife and you're gonna have a problem with me." I took a step towards him. "You got that?"
Nodding stiffly, Colton walked over to where Logan was still leaning against the island. "I can't fucking believe this," he muttered defectively.
"I didn’t plan this," Cameron said in a torn voice. "Neither of us planned any of this."
"Don’t talk to me right now," Colton shot back, tone laced with disgust. "In fact, don’t fucking talk to me ever again."
"Colt," Logan muttered, but Colton wasn’t giving in.
"No," he told his brother. "I'm done with him, Low. He does this to his own mother?" Colton shook his head in utter disgust. "I'm done, man."
Cameron clenched his jaw shut, but di
dn't respond. He also didn't step away from the red, and that move seemed to floor his brothers.
Teagan, unfazed, demanded, "Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?"
"Fucking a Grayson," Colton sneered, and just like that, all the life seemed to drain out of him. "A Grayson."
Just like a scene from a horror movie, the front door blew inwards then. "Where the hell is he?" I heard my niece call out. Seconds later, she appeared in the kitchen, face pale, eyes bloodshot. She looked at Colton and Logan first before turning her attention to Cameron. When Hope's eyes landed on the redhead, I heard the air drain from her lungs in a loud gasp.
"So it's true," she said in a shaken tone of voice, moving to stand beside Colt and Low. "I didn’t believe it…"
"Hope." Cameron flinched at the sight of his sister – and the distance she put between them.
They're picking sides, I realized, and Hope had taken her position with her brothers.
"Does Mom know?" Cam asked quietly, eyes locked on his sister.
"No," Hope shot back angrily. "If someone's going to tell Mom and Dad about this then it sure as hell won't be me."
Cam visibly sighed in relief. "Thank you."
"I didn’t do it for you," Hope snapped. "I did it for my mother. You're the one who's going to break her heart so you can be the one to tell her."
I felt Teagan's hand slip into mine and I squeezed. Whatever the hell was going on, I was pleased that it for once had nothing to do with us. We weren't the one's fighting. In a sick and twisted way, it was oddly refreshing to watch someone else's drama unfold.
"I shouldn’t have come here," the redheaded woman blurted out. "I knew this was a bad idea." Breaking free from Cam's hold, she hurried towards the kitchen doorway, keeping her head down, and purposefully ignoring the glares she was receiving from the rest of the Carter siblings. "I'm so sorry for what she did to your family," were the last words I heard her say before she disappeared from the room. Seconds later, the front door slammed shut.
"Are you happy now?" Cameron hissed, glaring at his three siblings. "Because I'm telling you now, if she goes then so do I."
"Don't let the door hit you on the way out," Colton shot back, unforgiving. "You ungrateful asshole."
Even though I wasn’t sure what was happening, I was well aware of the significance in Cameron's actions when he nodded stiffly before rushing out of my room.
When the front door slammed for the second time in a matter of minutes, I turned to the remaining Carter's and asked, "Care to explain what the hell just happened?"
****
Chapter Five
Teagan
Drama.
Drama everywhere.
That was all I could think of as I sat cross-legged on the rug in our living room, listening to Logan explain what Colton had failed to. Noah had lit the fire earlier and I was glad. October was closing in on us, and the weather was showing it. A fine layer of snow had already fallen outside, dusting the tops of the trees.
"So, we're all in agreement?" Logan asked, glancing around the room. "No one says a word to Mom and Dad about this."
Everyone nodded dejectedly. No one wanted to be the bearer of that news.
"What about the tour?" Lucky asked.
"I guess he's out," Logan shot back before taking a sip of his beer. They were all drinking tonight with the exception of me and Hope, who were both sipping on mugs of hot chocolate.
"I can't see him coming with us now," Logan added after a pause. "He knows she's not welcome and he won't leave her side."
"It's cool," Colton sniffed, clearly ruffled. "Noah has the two of us." Cocking his nose in the air, a vein throbbed in his neck as he said, "He's dead fucking weight to us anyway with that temper of his."
"I can't believe this," I heard myself saying, having listened to all the damning evidence. Having gotten all the facts, I had pledged my allegiance to team Anti-Tillie. "How could Cam even think of being with a woman who is related to Rachel Grayson, let alone her niece?"
Rubbing my bump with my hands, I smirked to myself as my daughter kicked me. I guessed she was wholeheartedly agreeing with me. "How did they meet anyways?" I added, curious as to know how long this had been going on.
One thing was obvious; the Carter's knew how to keep secrets…
"Who knows for sure with Cam," Hope shot back in disgust and I had to pinch myself to remind myself that this was real. Hope was home. She was back in my life, and her presence immediately erased my once overwhelming feeling of loneliness. "It's not like he ever tells anyone the truth anymore."
"Judas Bastard," Colton said in agreement.
"Guys, come on," Logan, ever the middleman, piped up. "He's a dick, but he's not a liar."
"He's not a liar?" Colton gaped at his brother. "What the hell do you call what he's been doing for the past six months? Truth evasion?" Colton shook his head in disgust. "Get a grip, Low. I know you like to see the good in that guy, but he's crossed the line this time."
"Hold on," Lucky, who was sitting on one of our armchairs, piped up.
Holding his hand up as if he was having a hard time comprehending what Logan had just said, he looked over to the couch to where Hope was sitting between her identical brothers.
"Let me just clear all of this up in my mind," he said slowly. "Tillie is the niece of Rachel Grayson –" He looked to Hope who nodded enthusiastically before continuing, "The chick your dad was in a relationship with when he met your mom?"
Logan tufted in disgust. "I would hardly call it a relationship."
"Yeah," Colton sneered in unison. "Crazy-assed woman."
"And she turned all psycho and shot your mom?" Lucky continued, brows creased in confusion. "And killed your aunt – Camryn Frey?"
Again, Lucky looked at my best friend, and again, she nodded in confirmation. "Except my mom didn’t know Cam was her sister until a couple of years later," she explained.
"Christ… Okay. And she was dating your uncle Derek?" Lucky said in a questionable tone of voice.
"Our uncle Mike," Logan interjected. "Derek is our unofficial uncle." Shrugging, Logan rubbed his neck and smiled sheepishly. "Our aunt Cam dated Derek, but was dating Mike when she died."
"Okay, best friend slash uncle slash super friendly aunt. Got it," Lucky muttered and it didn’t sound like he got it at all. "And Mike is…"
"Dad's brother," Logan offered.
"And Noah's," I tossed out. "He's Noah's brother too."
"He's the middle one," Hope explained. "Dad's the oldest."
"Yeah." I nodded in agreement. "And Noah's the youngest."
"And this David guy," Lucky said. "He's your grandfather?"
Hope glared at Lucky. "We don’t talk about him."
"I just…"
"Ever," she interrupted, stony-faced.
With that, Lucky threw his hands up in the air. "Okay," he said in defeat. "I have no fucking idea of your guys' family politics." Casting a glance at Hope, he added, "No wonder you're a writer – if this was your bedtime story."
Noah, who had been pulling himself up and down from a body press he had installed in one of the doorways, dropped to his feet then and added his two cents into the conversation, "What's not to get?"
I'd been watching him out of the corner of my eye for the past twenty minutes, and couldn’t help but notice that he was a lot more sluggish now. I mean, his body was on form. His muscles were cut to perfection, but his shoulder wasn’t holding out.
Forcing myself not to dwell on my husband and his health issues, I watched him as he sauntered over to where I was sitting and sank down behind me and pulled me between his legs.
Sweaty or not, I went willingly, loving the feel of being wrapped up in my husband. "Cameron has it bad for a Grayson." Noah sighed and pressed a kiss to my shoulder. "Poor guy. I remember what that was like."
"Don’t even go there, Noah," Hope was quick to object. "Your relationship with Teagan was completely different."
"Yeah," Logan added, coming to his sister's aid. "You two were a train wreck, but Cam and Tillie are a nuclear explosion waiting to happen."
"She seemed really sad," I noted, thinking outside the box for the first time. "Did you see her face?" I craned my neck to look up at Noah. "You saw her face, right? Didn’t she look… I don’t know…sort of broken?"
"I can't believe this," Hope hissed. "You're feeling sorry for her?"
"No," I shot back, exclaiming my innocence. "I'm just saying that she looked scared. That's all."
"Well, it's a trick," Hope shot back, furious. "You don’t know her family like we do. You cannot believe a word that comes out of a Grayson's mouth." She turned her glare on Noah. "And you are our uncle," she snapped. "You're supposed to be on our side here."
"You're absolutely right," Noah surprised me by saying. "And if Teagan was marked and scarred like your mother is, I'd be out for blood," Noah added, tone suddenly serious. "But answer me this, Hope." Leaning forward, Noah pulled me even closer into his arms. "How do you think your family would have welcomed me if you guys had known Kelsie Mayfield was my mother from the get-go?"
Hope balked. "That's not the same thing…"
"Isn't it?" Noah shot back calmly. "My mother caused a shit-ton of trouble for your family. She was singlehandedly responsible for bankrupting your dad and she helped David Henderson concoct a plan that resulted in your grandmother being raped and your mother set on fire." Pausing, Noah looked around at the siblings and said, "Tell me again that it's not the same thing." When no one responded, Noah sighed in defeat. "Look, all I'm saying is that girl you're all hating on? That girl is a person in her own right. That girl has a mind of her own. And that girl could have been me."
Well hell…
As I looked around at all the stony faced expressions in the room, I realized that my husband had managed to do the impossible.
He had silenced the Carter kids.
God damn I loved that man. Just looking at him caused a flurry of goosebumps to ripple over my skin. He was too perfect, almost too handsome to comprehend. Every morning I woke up next to him, with my mark on his ring finger, I had to pinch myself. He'd chosen me when he was seventeen years old and his loyalty was eternal. Back then I hadn't understood, but I did now...