‘Listen, Brody, you need to realise that he is probably the best mate your sister could ever ask for. He’s not only my second in command, my enforcer, but also he’s my best friend. He’s one of the most decent guys I know, so you need to stop your pissing contest and fast. Open your eyes and see what is around you. See how he takes care of all her needs. Puts her first. You can’t miss it. Even though she doesn’t remember him, she knows he’s right. You have to accept that.’
He nods, still crying. ‘I need her to be happy.’ He looks at me with a determined look. He stands and walks to the window.
‘So does he.’
He turns to face me, nodding. ‘Would you mind asking him if he’ll come and speak to me?’
I move to him and pat him on the back. ‘Good choice,’ I tell him. ‘Tissues are in the drawer in the desk.’ I point, and he laughs, walking to it.
‘I’m a fucking pussy, I know.’ He laughs.
‘Don’t sweat it. You care, that’s all it is. I’ll go and get Howard.’
JARED COMES IN and asks me to go to the library. I know he went off with Brody, so I assume it’s to talk. Not sure it’s a good idea, honestly, but I guess I’ll see how it goes. Willow is in conversation with the girls, laughing about something Zoe said. I squeeze her hand and whisper that I won’t be long. She immediately turns and asks what I’m doing.
‘Nothing, don’t worry, just gotta go hash some shit out.’
‘Not really sure what that means, but okay,’ she answers a little wearily.
‘I’ll be back in ten minutes.’ That makes her smile. I lean down and kiss her lips, licking mine as I pull away. I make my way down the corridor, and find Brody standing at the glass doors in the library. His back to me as I walk in.
‘You wanted me?’ I ask.
‘Yeah, I think it’s about time we had a talk.’
‘Well, if it’s about me staying away from your sister, you can shove your talk up your arse,’ I tell him, folding my arms across my chest.
‘Well… look—’
‘Are you crying?’
‘No!’ he answers a little too quickly like a kid caught out.
‘Okay,’ I say sarcastically. He takes a deep breath and moves to sit in the wingback chair. I stay where I am for now. I don’t want to get within arms reach because I might fucking throttle him if he starts.
‘Ummm, I don’t really know where to start, so I’m just going to talk, okay?’ I nod, and he looks down at the floor. ‘When Willow was twelve, going on thirteen, I moved out. I was sick of my mother whoring herself out at night, and I was pretty much sick of having to be the adult in the house when I was only sixteen. I was in a band, and I wanted out. So I left, and we toured the country, doing gigs where we could. I had a blast. And all that time I was out having a great time, Willow was left to pick up the pieces at home. She saw and experienced way too much at her age. And it was my fault.
I got back unexpectedly one day and saw what her life had become, and I couldn’t go away again. I stayed for her. But I’d already failed her. I tried to get us a new start, thinking it was a great idea to move with a new pack, and again, I failed her badly.’
I don’t say anything at this point I just listen.
‘Then, when you came along and started to be protective, I guess I just…’ He shrugs his shoulders, still not making eye contact. ‘I just wanted to be that protector. I needed to make up for my failures. I wanted to be there for her, and in a way, I guess I was jealous that you were, and I hadn’t been. And I fucked up again because of it.’ He hiccups on the last couple of words and sniffs like he’s crying. But I don’t say anything. He’s fucking opening up, and I never expected him to say that shit. I thought it was all because he didn’t fucking like me. ‘I honestly believed in my mind that you wouldn’t be good for her, and I’m sorry for that.’ Wow. I was not expecting that. He looks at me now, and I’m a little lost for words. I move to the small sofa and sit.
‘I understand you wanting to protect her, completely, but going against me, just to spite me, put her in danger and could have got her killed.’
‘I know.’ He sniffs.
‘That shit can’t ever happen again, no matter how you feel about me. You need to know that she comes first for me, every single time. Before anything else.’
‘It won’t happen again. I promise you that.’
‘Good.’ I move to get up.
‘Wait…’
I sit back on the sofa and gesture for him to continue. ‘I know you’re going to treat her right. I know that now, and I’m sorry for ever doubting you.’
‘Brody, I will never, ever harm a fucking hair on her head, and if anyone else ever tries it they will die, and I’ll take pleasure in ending them, that is my promise to you.’
He laughs and swipes his hand over his cheek. ‘Sounds good to me. I’ll help.’
‘So, we good?’ I ask because honestly this shit is hard to watch, and I want to say stuff, but at this point, I think he has punished himself enough, so it’s not necessary.
‘You tell me?’ He looks expectantly.
I stand and grasp his shoulder. ‘As long as we agree that she comes first, and you get over the fact she’s my mate, we’re good.’ I don’t tell him that I was close to killing him to get rid of the problem if he’d carried on because I think we’ve turned a corner and that won’t help shit. So, I leave it at that. He has a way to go with me before I trust him with Willow’s safety again, but I’m sure that will come in time. He stands and offers me his hand to shake. I grasp it and pull him in for a hug. Slapping his back I say in his ear, ‘You can call me bro.’ I laugh, making him laugh and lightening the mood. ‘I’m going to head back to her now, you coming?’ I ask him.
‘Nah, I’ll go clean myself up first I think.’
‘Good call, she’ll get upset if you are.’ I walk to the door and am just about to close it when he calls my name. I turn and look at him again.
‘Thank you.’
‘What for?’ I ask,
‘Being cool about it all.’
‘Brody, I don’t like discord in the pack, and I don’t like that this shit upsets your sister. I wanted to get along from the off. I’m glad we’re going to work past it, and you’re not on your own, I’ve been an arsehole a time or two too, just ask Devon,’ I tell him, shrugging my shoulders. I wasn’t ever going to admit to that, but it seemed fitting.
I walk away, leaving him to do whatever it is he wants to do, and I go in search of my female. I find her in the kitchen where I left her. Still having a good talk with the other females. I smile as I walk in. She hasn’t noticed me, so I take a second just to watch how well she is adjusting. Devon shows her engagement ring off, and I assume they’ve all been talking wedding plans. Jared looks at me and rolls his eyes, giving me the impression that they’ve all been gushing over it. He doesn’t do well with all the girly stuff either. I make my way to him at the fridge. He takes out two beers.
‘So?’ he asks expectantly.
‘All good.’ I take the beer and twist off the lid before he clinks his bottleneck to mine.
‘Thank fuck for that, thought we were gonna have to kill the motherfucker.’ He laughs. At that, the girls turn around to look at us.
‘Who you killing?’ Devon asks.
‘No one, baby, don’t get your knickers in a twist, I was just kidding.’
She smiles and smarts back, ‘Maybe I could get my knickers in a twist if you gave me what I wanted.’
‘Baby!’
Everyone starts to laugh, and I look at Jared with surprise.
‘You’re holding out on your female?’ I ask smiling.
‘No… yes… kinda… and it’s not because I don’t fucking want to. I’ve got blue fucking balls,’ he whispers. ‘But I don’t wanna hurt the baby.’
‘Ahhh,’
‘Devon keeps telling me it’s okay, but if anything happened…’
‘Yeah, I get that,’ I tell him honestly because it
’s not something he would ever forgive himself for. ‘But they’re pregnant for nine months, right?’
‘Yes… what the fuck am I gonna do?’ He looks at me with wide eyes. I want to laugh, but I keep it in—my brother is in pain. Brad, on the other hand, who just walked up behind him, can’t contain himself. He sniggers like a motherfucker. Jared turns and slugs him in the arm.
‘You wait, you bastard. One day you’ll be in the same boat, and I’ll be over here, laughing my arse off.’
‘Fuck no. Not yet!’ He soon stops laughing. I catch Willow’s eye and motion that I want to leave. She’s obviously good with that because she wiggles her brows at me suggestively while she bites her lip. God, how did I get so fucking lucky? Even without any memory of us, she still wants me. That is something I have to be thankful for every damn day.
HOWARD IS SHOWERING, and I take a moment just to browse around his room. It is much bigger than mine, and he’s right about it being better. The bathroom is nicer, more modern. And although mine is really nice, this is beautifully done. The décor could be a little more feminine though. At the moment, it has dark red and black walls. It’s very tasteful and not as ghastly as it sounds, but it’s very masculine. His bed is huge, with a big black velvety headboard. And his furniture is all black too. I wander past the door to his bathroom and suddenly feel a surge of something run through me. I feel daring, so I lock the bedroom door and go back over to the bathroom, undressing before I walk in. I walk straight over to the shower cubicle and open the door. He turns immediately. And I’m welcomed with a grin, which I return.
‘Hi,’ I mutter before his lips meet mine. I open for him and his tongue slides in against mine. I melt against him. I can’t seem to get enough of his kisses. He makes me feel all kinds of things that I never realised were possible. In such a short time, I feel so happy, loved, and wanted. Needed. It feels amazing. His hands travel from my hair, down to my waist, and he pulls me against him. His erection is proud and pressed into my stomach. He lifts my leg, and I wrap it around him, then his hands grip my ass, and he lifts me. I wrap my legs around him instinctually. The shower is cascading over us both as our kiss breaks, and his eyes bore into mine. He has a look on his face as though he needs me to breath, which makes me feel so good. A fluttering inside my stomach takes hold, and suddenly I feel almost desperate for him to be inside me. He turns me so my back is against the tiles, and he holds me up with his knee between my legs as he pushes the hair back from my face with both hands. His expression tells me how much he feels for me. I want to take control, but I’m scared. I need him inside of me now.
‘Howard,’ I plead, ‘Make love to me.’ He doesn’t say a single word—he doesn’t need to. His lips crash over mine, and our teeth clash in desperation, the need is obvious in us both. He lines himself up with my opening, and I’m already so aroused that he slides in with no problem at all. When he is as deep as he can go, he stops. I savour the feel of him inside me. The full feeling it gives me is like nothing I’ve ever felt. It’s a feeling of being complete. I throw my head back and moan a little as he rolls his hips. I look into his eyes, and he doesn’t take them away from mine. He bites his lip as he thrusts for the first time, slowly, rolling his hips and grinding them against mine. This is so hot. I almost explode at the look in his eyes. Primal and hungry. For me. His thrusting takes on a faster pace, and I’m moaning and keening, and I can barely contain it. The pressure from our lower bodies, being connected as they are, against my clit is amazing. I come so damn hard, and he doesn’t slow. I scream out his name, and he still doesn’t slow. He covers my mouth with his, swallowing my euphoric moans. I can’t concentrate on kissing him back. The feeling is too much. I am quivering, and my legs are clamped around his waist, but it has no bearing on him as he maintains his pace. All of a sudden I get a hot surge run throughout my whole body and my climax intensifies again. It’s like I see stars in front of my eyes. He stiffens and groans as his pace slows, and he brings me down from euphoria slowly, until I’m like jelly in his arms. He holds me up as I’m collapsed against him—my head against his shoulder. I’m certain it’s going to take a lot for me to stay awake after that.
‘You okay?’ he asks turning the water off.
‘Mmhmm’ I mutter against his shoulder. I hear him chuckle as he wraps a towel around me and walks me out to the bed. He dries my hair a little with the towel and lays me down.
‘Go to sleep. You look tired.’
‘You fucked me too good,’ I mumble into the pillow, making him chuckle again. He lies behind me and spoons with me. I feel my eyelids get heavier, and I let sleep take me.
When I wake up, Howard is still cuddling me. It’s nice waking up like this, and I want it every day. In fact, I get the sudden urge to go and get my things. I sit up, and Howard does too.
‘What’s up?’ he asks sleepily.
‘Nothing, everything is good, great actually. I’m thinking about going to get some of my stuff.’
‘How about you just bring it all?’
I knew he would say that. ‘Well, if you insist.’ I laugh, and he tickles me, straddling my naked body. He kisses me and then licks the end of my nose.
‘Eeeew.’ I push him away. ‘Gross.’
‘Nothing about you is gross. I’ll lick every bit of you.’
‘Even my toes?’ I ask playfully,
‘Especially your toes,’ he smarts back.
‘What about my ass? Will you kiss my ass?’
‘Fuck yeah.’ I fall about laughing, and his lips find mine once again. Then he moves off me and smacks my ass. ‘Come on—we’re moving you in before you change your mind.’
We move all my stuff, which is barely anything. When we are done, Howard’s phone rings.
‘You two need to get your asses out of bed and stop fucking like bunnies. We have stuff to do.’ I hear Jared say.
‘What do you need?’
‘Come down, and we’ll discuss it, both of you,’ Jared replies, which is weird. I wouldn’t expect he would need me for pack business.
‘Umm okay, see you in a few.’ Howard doesn’t seem fazed though, so I don’t let it bother me. We put my toiletries in the bathroom and my stuff in his closet, and then we make our way down to the kitchen. It’s really quiet, and I start to panic something is wrong. Especially since it’s dark and there are no lights on. Howard flicks it on, and I jump almost six feet in the air as party poppers sound, along with shouts of, ‘Surprise.’
‘What the fuck is all this?’ Howard asks with a smile. I’m now over my shock, and someone starts music playing.
‘Thought it would be a nice welcome home and we haven’t celebrated New Year yet!’ Jared tells us.
WE FALL INTO bed at about three a.m. I’m beat, and I know Willow must be too. She danced her arse off all night—even got me up for a couple, and I don’t dance, but watching her shake her arse and beckon me over was more than I could resist. So, I didn’t hold back. The guys had organised the surprise party for a couple of reasons I think. Happy we were both home and alive and that we are together again. I get undressed and use the bathroom, by the time I’m done, Willow is fast asleep on what has become her side of the bed. I cover her up with the comforter she’s thrown back, and I cuddle up against her. This right here is what keeps me breathing every day. I fucking love her so much.
Brody was good tonight too. He was great with her and shook my hand as we walked in. Willow’s jaw almost hit the floor. I hadn’t told her too much about what we’d talked about because I wanted to see it play out first. I wanted to make sure he kept to his word. And he did. To say I’m a happy man would be an understatement right now. I close my eyes and let sleep take me. I can’t see anyone getting up early in the morning, so I know the house will be peaceful until about eleven at least. I hope.
Morning rolls around, and I wake up in a tangled mess of limbs and the comforter. Willow is still fast asleep, so I do my best not to wake her while trying to detangle myself. I feel quite good co
nsidering all the alcohol I consumed. It doesn’t affect us like it does humans, but we still get drunk and hungover if we have too much. Just wears off faster. As I get up, my head protests a little, and I start to wonder why I didn’t just stay where I was because I felt great before I moved my head. Fuck. I know what woke me though. I need to piss. I check my phone for the time, and it’s nine a.m. Fuck this, I’m going to go back to sleep. I have no messages, so I climb back into bed when I’m done.
‘Morning,’ a sleepy Willow says, yawning.
‘Good morning, sweetheart. Go back to sleep. It’s too early.’ She stretches a little and wiggles her arse up against me. Not on purpose, but it still makes me hard. Shit.
‘Okay,’ she mumbles and snuggles back against me. Now I’m fucking wide awake with a hard on. Maybe I can wake her up with a fondle? No, I’m being an arsehole if I do that. She’s tired. So I lay there until it wears off, and I go back to sleep. I wake again to my phone ringing.
It’s Jared. ‘You hung over? Because I fucking am and my woman won’t leave me the fuck alone about going into town today.’
‘Oh shit, yeah. I forgot they all decided to do that. Who’s taking them?’
‘I figure Brad and Jacob and either me or you?’
I groan. The last thing I want to be doing right now is shopping for wedding shit.
‘What’s the alternative?’ I ask him.
‘The two tweakers downstairs.’
‘Have fun shopping then!’
‘Fucker, I shouldn’t be going really at all. I’m not supposed to see stuff.’
‘Well, I’m sure you’ll be standing outside.’
‘Fucker.’ he hangs up. Ha. He’s obviously sulking. But give me the option of shopping with a bunch of girls or getting heavy on a couple of bastards who killed a kid. Answer is obvious.
Fated Love (Stone Pack book 3) Page 21