Undeniably Theirs (Book Three)
Page 14
“It’ll be okay, baby.” Ian picked her up and carried her to a kitchen chair. He sat down and set her on his lap. Jackson crouched next to them and rubbed her thighs as she leaned her head against Ian’s chest and cried.
After only a few minutes, her crying stopped. There was a box of tissues on the counter, and Jackson grabbed the box and held it out to her. She took a few tissues and wiped her face before whispering, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Do you feel better?” Jackson asked.
Chloe sat up on his lap and Ian stroked her pony tail before he cupped the nape of her neck, massaging lightly as she nodded. “Yes. I’m very sorry. I know this is hard to believe, but I don’t normally cry this much. I’m not usually like this.”
“We know,” Jackson said. “Do you want to tell us why you’re upset?”
She hesitated, her gaze meeting Ian’s briefly before she stared at her lap. “No, I really don’t.”
“That’s okay, you don’t have to,” Jackson said.
Ian glared at him and Jackson shook his head before squeezing Chloe’s hand. “Do you want us to leave?”
“We’re not leaving,” Ian said before he could stop himself.
“Ian,” Jackson’s tone was full of exasperation, “knock if off, asshole. What are you going to do? Tie yourself to the damn chair?”
“I’m a cop, I’ll just use my handcuffs,” Ian said.
Chloe giggled, and relief swept through him at the sound. He held her a little closer as she said, “Now I have an image of you handcuffed to my kitchen chair.”
“Kinky,” Jackson said.
She giggled again, and Ian kissed her cheek. “Anytime you want to handcuff me to a piece of your furniture, just say the word. I’ll hand them over.”
This time she laughed and pressed a kiss against his mouth. “That’s so sweet.”
Jackson sat down in a chair across from them. “Hey, I’m willing to be handcuffed too, you know. Ian doesn’t get to have all the fun.”
“So tempting,” Chloe said.
Jackson grinned at her and they lapsed into silence for a few minutes. Ian glanced at the clock on the microwave. It was almost six, and when Chloe’s stomach growled, he kissed her forehead again. “Go sit on Jackson’s lap, baby.”
She stood and walked the couple of steps to Jackson. He pulled her down into his lap and kissed her on the mouth. “Hey, beautiful.”
“Hi.” She put her arms around his shoulders and snuggled into him as Ian stood and opened the fridge.
“You don’t have to make dinner,” she said.
Ian shrugged. “I like cooking and Jackson and I haven’t eaten either.”
“Do you want us to stay?” Jackson said.
Ian wanted to smack him, but instead opened up the freezer and checked out its contents.
“Yes,” Chloe said. “I do. But I really do need to try and work on the sketches for Amy.”
Ian turned around. Chloe was staring at the sketch book on the table and he said, “Why don’t you work on your sketches while I cook dinner.”
“That’s a great idea.” Jackson patted Chloe’s thigh. “If you don’t mind letting me use your laptop, I could actually do a little work myself on the storefront. We can work while Ian does what he does best… cooks us dinner.”
“Actually, what I’m best at is arresting people,” Ian said. “Cooking is a close second though.”
Chloe laughed, and Ian grinned at her. He wasn’t used to making women laugh, it was Jackson’s job to charm them, but he loved Chloe’s laugh. Loved that he was helping cheer her up.
“What do you say? Sound good?” Jackson said.
“It sounds perfect.” Chloe replied.
* * *
“That seriously was the best chicken parmesan I’ve ever had.” Chloe pushed away her empty plate and smiled at Ian.
“Thank you.” He finished off his water before stacking the plates.
“I’ll clean up,” Chloe said. “You cooked, Jackson and I will clean. Right?”
She poked Jackson when he didn’t reply. He had finished his dinner and was holding her sketch book, flipping through the pages. “These are really good, Chloe.”
“Oh, um, thanks.” She carried the plates and silverware to the dishwasher and loaded it as both Ian and Jackson studied the sketches she’d finished.
It had been weirdly comforting to have Ian and Jackson there while she worked. The only sounds were the tapping of her laptop as Jackson worked and the occasional low murmur from Ian. Secretly, she found it adorable that he talked to himself while he cooked. The drawings, which only half an hour earlier had been impossible to do, flowed easily and she’d created not only another two dresses, but a blouse and skirt combo that she’d been envisioning for a while. She needed to make a few more tweaks to the sketches, but they were designs she’d be proud to give to Amy tomorrow.
Ian moved up behind her and slipped an arm around her waist. He kissed the side of her neck. “You’re really talented, Red.”
She smiled at him. “I’m not sure about that. I didn’t get accepted to a single design school. But, Amy’s being really sweet and giving me a chance, and I appreciate it.”
“Because she knows good work when she sees it.” Jackson closed her sketchbook and set it on the table.
She flushed at their praise, or maybe it was the way Ian’s big hand was rubbing her lower belly. When he slipped his hand inside her yoga pants, she parted her legs. He cupped her pussy through her panties and rubbed lightly. “Are you sore, baby?”
“A little,” she admitted.
Ian turned her so she was facing Jackson. Jackson smiled at her, his gaze dropping to her crotch as Ian rubbed slow circles. “Maybe Ian should kiss it better.”
She moaned when Ian sucked on her earlobe. “Would you like that, Red?”
“Yes,” she whispered. Jackson stood and ambled over to them. He traced her hard nipple through her shirt and bra with one long finger.
She rubbed her ass against Ian’s growing erection before cupping Jackson’s dick through his jeans. He smiled at her and gave her nipple a little pinch. “I think it’s time we got you naked and in your bed between us. What do you think?”
“I think that’s a great idea.” Her voice was breathless.
“Her panties are soaked,” Ian said to Jackson.
“Well, that can’t be comfortable,” Jackson said with a small grin. “Let’s get you out of those wet panties, and -”
Her cell phone rang and she stiffened against Ian.
“Ignore it, baby.” He rubbed her pussy a little harder.
“I can’t.” She tugged on his arm. “Let go of me, please.”
He released her immediately, and she walked away from both of them and grabbed her phone off the counter. Her stomach dropped, and she glanced at them. “Excuse me.”
She hurried out of the kitchen and into the living room. Her apartment was on the smaller side and she kept her voice pitched low as she answered the phone.
“Hey, how are you feeling?”
“We’re out of beer. You bought food, but no beer,” Lori said petulantly.
“I told you before that I wouldn’t buy booze for you.”
“It’s not for me, it’s for Nana.”
Chloe would have laughed if she hadn’t felt so sick to her stomach. “Nana doesn’t drink. Besides, the only reason I bought food was because you destroyed it all last night when you were drunk.”
“I wasn’t drunk.”
“Lori,” Chloe rubbed at her forehead, “you were passed out when I got there. There were pools of vomit all through the house, you destroyed Nana’s stuff, including her figurines and her couch. You scared Nana badly. You have to stop drinking or you have to move out of Nana’s place. She can’t afford to -”
“I was sick!” Lori snarled into the phone. “I have the stomach flu, all right?”
“So, the stomach flu made you throw a fit and destroy all of Nana’s stuff?”
“I just bought her two weeks’ worth of food, Lori. Don’t talk to me about not helping. You could be helpful and quit drinking and get a goddamn job to help support her. But you won’t because you’re a selfish alcoholic who doesn’t care about anything but how she can get her next drink.”
“I have a job, you stupid bitch!” Lori shouted.
“Exchanging sex for booze is not a job.” Chloe’s voice was rising, and she tried to tamp it down as anger surged through her. “Prostituting yourself out is a new low, even for you, Lori. You need to get your shit together or move out of Nana’s before you hurt her.”
Lori burst into tears. “I would never hurt her. You’re so awful, Chloe! Why are you so awful to me?”
Chloe rubbed at her temples. The anger, the fake crying, it was all a part of Lori’s manipulation, and she wasn’t at all surprised when her grandmother came on the line.
“Chloe?”
“Nana, put Lori back on the phone.”
“I won’t. You’re so mean to her sometimes, Chloe. She’s your sister.”
“She’s a drunk who is making your life miserable. You need to kick her out, Nana. If you don’t -”
“Enough, Chloe,” her Nana said sharply. “We’re a family and in this family, we help each other.”
“I am helping,” Chloe said. “I came over and cleaned up the house. I bought you groceries. What more do you want from me, Nana?”
She hated the whine in her voice, hated how she craved her Nana’s approval even now.
“I want you to be kind to your sister. I want you to recognize that she’s doing the best she can.”
“She isn’t. She’s not even trying, and you know that. She’s dangerous to you, Nana. You have to kick her out before -”
“Stop it!” Now her grandmother burst into tears, but unlike her sister’s, these were despairingly genuine. “Stop being so horrible, Chloe! Why would you be so hurtful to your own grandmother?”
“Nana, I’m sorry,” Chloe said. “I’m not trying to hurt you, but you need to accept that it isn’t good to have Lori around. She isn’t going to change.”
“Maybe you’re ready to give up on your own sister, but I’m not,” her grandmother sobbed. “I’m so ashamed of you, Chloe.”
She ended the call before Chloe could reply. She stared at the screen of her phone before shoving it into her pocket and burying her face in her hands. Her cheeks were hot and the dinner she’d eaten was like a stone in her stomach.
She wanted to cry. She wanted to vomit. She wanted to forget that she even had a sister and just live her goddamn life.
“Red?”
She whipped around, staring in dismay at Ian and Jackson. They were standing in the doorway of the living room, and she backed up a step as shame and anger boiled together in her stomach.
“It’s rude to eavesdrop,” she said.
“We know you’re upset about your sister. Do you want to talk about it?” Jackson said.
“No.” She took a deep breath. “Let’s go to the bedroom.”
Jackson glanced at Ian, and she could almost see the silent communication between them.
“I don’t want to talk about it, so let’s finish what we started in the kitchen, okay?” She snapped.
Ian shook his head. “No, baby. Sex is the last thing you need right now. Come to the kitchen and we’ll make you tea and you can tell us what happened.”
“I don’t want tea, I want sex,” she said. “If you don’t want to give that to me, then you should leave.”
She waited for them to get angry and when they didn’t, it only made her feel worse.
“Honey,” Jackson said, “let us -”
Her fight with Lori, her grandmother’s disappointment, and her own self-doubt over what was the right thing to do, was too much to handle. Their refusal to fuck her and let her forget about her goddamn sister for one night made her normally placid temper snap.
“Enough!” She glared at the both of them. “We agreed that this was just sex between us, remember? This isn’t a relationship and I don’t appreciate you trying to change the rules. I’m not looking for a boyfriend or boyfriends, okay? Either we go back to my bedroom and fuck, or the both of you can leave.”
There was a moment of silence and then Ian said. “Good night, Chloe.”
She folded her arms across her chest and kept her body ramrod straight as Jackson sighed and ran a hand through his thick hair. “Chloe, could you -”
Ian put a hand on his arm. “It’s time to leave, Jackson.”
Jackson studied her. “Yeah, okay. Good night, Chloe. I’ll see you at the office tomorrow.”
“Good night.” She didn’t walk them to the door. She couldn’t. If she did, she might break down and beg them to stay. Might be tempted to tell them everything. They were so good at comforting her. She wanted their comfort, craved it, but if she told them what happened, she’d be letting Lori into their lives and nothing good ever came from that.
When she heard the front door shut, she sank to the floor and buried her head in her hands again. She wanted to cry, but the tears didn’t come. They had left and it was her fault. She was trying to protect them from Lori and her toxicity, trying to keep her sister from ruining one of the few bright spots in her life, and in doing so she had destroyed it anyway.
She climbed to her feet and walked slowly toward the bedroom. She had wrecked her friendship with both Ian and Jackson, as well as her chance to keep sleeping with them, and she could only hope that Jackson would still be willing to work with her.
Chapter Ten
“These look great, Chloe.” Amy set down her sketch book as Chloe gave her a nervous look.
“So, will you be sending them in the package to Julien and Pierre?”
“Actually,” Amy said, “Julien and Pierre will be here next week.”
“Really?”
“Apparently they have some other business in the city and decided they’d drop in and meet with us as well. I’ll show them some designs for the new casual line, yours included, and you and Jackson will join us for a meeting about the marketing plan and the storefront.”
Amy turned to her laptop. “That reminds me, I need to schedule a meeting with Jackson and Luke this afternoon so we can give Jackson the heads up. I know Luke mentioned at family dinner last night that he was really happy with Jackson’s plans for the website store, but he’ll want to go over the details and maybe even have a test site they can show Julien and Pierre. Do you think Jackson could have something like that ready by next week?”
“Probably,” Chloe said. “He’s pretty fast.”
“Good.” Amy sat back in her chair. “How are things with you guys?”
“Fine,” Chloe said quickly. “No problems.”
She wasn’t exactly lying. It was almost noon and she’d had no problems with Jackson. Of course, she hadn’t seen him yet today. She knew he was in the office, his stuff was on his desk, but either he was deliberately avoiding her, or he had a bunch of meetings this morning that she knew nothing about.
“Chloe? You okay?”
“Fine,” she said.
Amy hesitated. “Did you decide whether you were going to sleep with them yet?”
Chloe’s cheeks flushed. “Yeah. We got together on the weekend.”
Amy gave her a large grin. “And? How was it?”
“Amazing.”
“Nice. Well done, you,” Amy said.
“Thank you.”
“Although, I would think you’d be more… giddy today? I mean, you did have amazing sex with two smoking hot men over the weekend.”
Chloe forced herself to smile. “I had a really good time, but there was an issue with my sister and now I’m pretty sure that I won’t be having sex with them again.”
“Uh oh. Did she like show up in the middle of it or something?”
&nbs
p; “No, nothing like that. She… it doesn’t matter. It’s hard to explain and you don’t need to hear about my problems with my sister.”
“I don’t mind,” Amy said.
“The thing is – I don’t have a lot of friends and that’s partially because of Lori, you know? I like you and I like your friendship and don’t want to lose it so… I’d rather not bring my problems with my sister into the friendship. Okay?”
“Okay,” Amy said.
Relief swept through her and she gave Amy a grateful smile. “Thanks, I appreciate that.”
“You’re welcome. But if you do need to talk about her, we can. Obviously, I can’t relate exactly to what you’re going through, but I’m a good listener.”
“Thanks again.”
“Of course. Do you want to have lunch with me and Jane?”
“I think I’ll eat lunch in my office today,” Chloe replied.
“Okay. If you change your mind, email me,” Amy said.
“I will. Thanks, Amy.”
* * *
“Hey, Chloe?”
She looked up at the knock on her door. Mark was standing in the doorway, holding a bottle of water and a plastic container with a fork balanced on top of it.
“Hi, Mark.”
“Hi. Mind if I join you for lunch?”
“Uh, sure.” Chloe gave him a bewildered look.
“Thanks.” Mark set his stuff on her desk and rolled Jackson’s chair over.
When she’d returned from Amy’s office, Jackson still wasn’t at his desk and his jacket was gone. She’d worked until noon and then heated up her lunch and brought it back to her desk.
“That smells good.” Mark nodded to her container of food. “Is that chicken parmesan?”
“Yes.” She poked at it with her fork. “Amy sent you here, didn’t she?”
“She’s worried about you,” Mark said. “Do you want to talk about what your sister did?”
She poked again at her leftovers. Every Wednesday, she and Mark went to the same Al-Anon meeting. His troubles with his drug-addicted brother were similar to her problems with her sister and she supposed if she talked to anyone, Mark would understand best.