Inked Expressions

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  “Now that the boys are napping and we have a few minutes, why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” Storm asked as he walked into the kitchen. She’d just pulled down two glasses for water, and she turned, her back to the counter and Storm right in front of her.

  “What do you mean?”

  He sighed and took the glasses from her hand and set them down. “Come on, Ev. You’re acting weird. Was it what the waitress said? Or the fact that I’ve been with you all day when you normally have the boys to yourself? They don’t know what’s going on between us or they would have said something. That’s who they are. But if my being around is going to mess things up, I need to know. Are we moving too fast for you?” He cupped her cheek, his thumb softly caressing her skin.

  “I’m just feeling a little overwhelmed,” she said honestly. “And not just because you and I are finding our way together.”

  He blew out a breath. “You’re going through so much, and I hate that I can’t help.”

  “But you are,” she said quickly. “The fact that you’re here with me is helping.”

  “Even though my being here is causing you to freak out a bit?”

  She winced. “I’m not sure how to act around you. We’re friends. We were friends. Then we were a little off after Jackson died. And now we’re more than friends. Way more than friends. And you’re so amazing. But you also know so much about me and are connected to everything going on even as you’re going through your own list of problems. It’s all just a little much if I think about it all at once.”

  He lowered his head to hers and sighed. “Then think about it in steps. That’s how I’ve learned to live the past twenty years. Going through it all at once will just bear down on you until you can’t breathe.”

  She put her hands on his chest and leaned into him instead of pushing him away. All day, she’d slowly been doing that, pushing him away ever so slightly so she could find her control, but that hadn’t been the right way to go about it. She couldn’t keep putting her past with Jackson on Storm’s shoulders. Yes, she was afraid to trust and lean on someone fully, but Storm wasn’t Jackson, and she knew that.

  “You’re not Jackson,” she whispered, and Storm stiffened.

  “I know I’m not,” he said carefully as he leaned back to look her in the face. “Are you sure you know that?”

  She swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes, I do. My brain gets a little confused at times, but I know you aren’t him. He wasn’t ever really all the way there throughout most, if not all, of our relationship. I’d always thought it was because he loved his work and dove into it full steam ahead, but now I’m not so sure.”

  “He was an asshole,” Storm bit out.

  “Yeah, he was. He fucked me over, and damn it, he fucked Rachel over too, but I don’t know if that woman thinks of it that way. He screwed me up, Storm, and I didn’t even realize how much until recently.”

  “If I could hurt him, I would.”

  “But you can’t. He’s gone, and he left his mess for us to deal with. I’m just surprised it took this long to come out.”

  “If I hadn’t found that photo…hell, if I hadn’t introduced the two of them, nothing like this would have happened.”

  She shook her head, glaring. “Don’t blame yourself. He would have found another way. Another woman. That’s how men like that are, right?” She blew out a breath. “But anyway, yes, he messed me up, and I’ve spent the past three years learning how to be a single mom. I can’t change that overnight with you. And I know that sucks, and I’m being hard, but I have to think of my kids first.”

  “I won’t hurt them. They’ve always mattered to me.”

  Tears filled her eyes, and she angrily wiped them away. It seemed she was always crying these days and she hated it. “I know they do. And that’s one of the reasons I’m with you. You care. You put everyone else before yourself, even if it hurts. You’re my friend, Storm. My friend and my lover. And I don’t know how to put those together with the man I know. I just need time to figure it all out.”

  He cupped her face before taking her lips without another word. When he pulled back, they were both breathless. “You don’t have to figure it out right now, nor do you have to do it on your own. You can’t do anything about your store right now, and you will figure out what you’re going to do with Rachel soon. I know it. But as for me? I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. Yeah, I might be a little busy in the next few weeks with Montgomery Inc.’s workload, but I’m not staying away. I want you in my arms, Everly. I just want to be there. We’ll figure everything else out. Together if you want, or you can do it on our own if that’s what you think you need. I won’t force you to make decisions or make them for you. I’m not that guy, even though the growly part of me wants to be that guy.”

  She laughed since he winked as he said it, and she reached up and kissed his chin. “You’re amazing, Storm Montgomery.”

  “My mom thinks so. Speaking of my mom…”

  She frowned. “That was an odd nonsequitur.”

  He winced. “My mom wants you and the boys to come to the family barbeque at their house next weekend. And I should warn you, there will be many, many Montgomerys. All eight of us local kids, and I think she invited my cousins from Colorado Springs since it’s their turn. There are far too many of us do to a whole event with all four sets of cousins in one place. We’d overrun Denver with Montgomerys.”

  Her brain hurt. “Your mom wants us to come?”

  He nodded. “She’d want you to come even if you weren’t with me. You and the boys are in her web now, so that means you will be taken care of.”

  “She and your dad came to the hospital for James’s surgery,” she said absently.

  “Yeah, my parents are pretty great like that. I should warn you that she knows you and I are together and will probably say something and want to get to know you more, but you’re tough. You can handle her. Mostly.” He smiled as he said it, and she leaned into him, laughing.

  “Just what have I gotten into with you and the Montgomerys?”

  Storm grinned. “A whole lot of trouble. It’s one of our mottos.”

  “You have more than one?”

  “We even have a tattoo. Once you’re a Montgomery, you’re always a Montgomery.”

  She couldn’t quite comprehend having that kind of family. She’d never had it, and Jackson’s parents had never warmed to her. Hell, they weren’t even speaking to her right now. But the Montgomerys? They were a whole new kettle of fish.

  And she had no idea what she was doing.

  “What should I bring?” she asked, blowing out a breath.

  Storm smiled, his eyes dancing. “Just you and the boys. That’s all she’ll need.” His voice lowered. “That’s all I need.”

  She leaned into him, and he kissed her. “The boys are asleep, you know.”

  He kissed her again. “So I hear.” A kiss on her neck. Behind her ear. Then a bite on her jaw. She practically swooned into him. He slid his hands over her and she kissed his shoulder, needing more.

  He pulled her into her room and ground against her, sending shivers down her spin. “I want to taste you.” They’d been tested and finally got their all-clean results back.

  She shook her head. “I need to taste you first.” Before he could say anything, she went to her knees in front of him. Thankfully, he didn’t protest as she unded his belt and lowered his zipper before she pulled his cock out of his pants. He slid his hand through her hair, letting out a groan.

  When she gripped the base of his cock and squeezed, he let out a raspy chuckle. “I’m going to come too quick for you, babe. I want to come inside you.”

  “If you come in my mouth, it’ll still be inside me.” She winked before licking up his length. “And if I make you come now, that’ll give you more time to lick up every inch of me while you recover before you fuck me hard into the mattress.” She knew her face was bright red as she spoke but she didn’t care. She might be only slightly embarrasse
d, but it was sexy to dirty talk with Storm, and from the way his eyes practically rolled to the back of his head as she spoke, he liked it, too.

  “That sounds like a challenge.” He gave her a feral grin. “I like it.”

  Before he could somehow convince her otherwise, she sucked on the tip of his cock and flicked him with her tongue.

  “Jesus Christ.”

  In answer, she hummed against him while bobbing her head and working what she couldn’t get into her mouth with her hands. She cupped his balls, rolling them in her hand while sucking on the side of his dick with wet, loud kisses. She knew from the way he tightened in her hold that he liked it when she licked up the vein running along his shaft.

  When she wrapped her mouth around him again and slid her free hand along the strip of skin behind his balls, he groaned, tugging on her hair even more. She relaxed her tongue and swallowed every drop of him as he came, his legs shaking against her.

  As soon as he slid out of her mouth, he brought her up to kiss the breath from her. Their bodies shaking and their breaths coming in pants, they stripped out of the rest of their clothes.

  “On your knees in front of me,” Storm ordered, giving her ass a quick slap as he turned her. “I’m going to bury my face between your legs and eat you until you come. Twice.”

  “Sounds like a challenge,” she said, repeating his words back to him. But she didn’t protest as she got onto the edge of the bed so he could lick her from behind. She groaned as he slid two fingers inside her, licking her clit at the same time. The roughness of his beard along the inner silk of her thighs sent her over the edge far sooner than she’d planned on. And before she could even call his name, he had speared her with a third finger, twisting just right to press along that inner bundle of nerves that made her come quicker than she thought possible.

  “Storm,” she panted, so close to the edge she was ready to come again.

  In answer, he bit her clit, and she screamed, coming harder than she ever had before in her life. She was still coming as he slid his fingers out of her and turned her over onto her back.

  “Ready for my cock?”

  She blinked up at him, her body warm and fuzzy, her breasts heavy, and her nipples hard points. “You’re ready already?”

  He winked at her. “I seem to never have a problem being hard when it comes to you.” He slid a condom over his length and pulled her legs up so they pressed together and lay on one of his shoulders. “I’m going to fuck you like this, but I need you to pinch your nipples. Play with those sweet tits of yours, Ev. Show me how much of a bad girl you are.”

  “As long as you’re my bad boy.”

  He grinned, showing teeth. “Fuck yeah, Ev. Always.”

  She licked her lips and cupped her breasts. Her nipples were so sensitive that just the slight brush of her pinkies made her pussy clench. At that same moment, Storm pushed inside, and they both groaned.

  “Baby, in this position, you’re so fucking tight that I’m going to come way too fast.”

  “Then think of England and get to fucking,” Everly said on a laugh, blushing once again at her words. She’d only read such things in romance novels and had never thought to speak them aloud. But with Storm, she wanted to be dirty. The dirtier, the better.

  “That I can do, Your Grace.” Then, he moved.

  She cupped her breasts, playing with her nipples as he fucked her hard into the mattress, and when she came again, he groaned, pulling her legs apart even as he continued to move so he could lay above her, making love to her even as they fucked. Dirty words and all, this was the most romantic moment of her life—or at least one of them. Every time she was with Storm, she seemed to think it was the most passionate.

  “I want you,” he rasped. “You’re everything to me, Ev. Everything.”

  He was still moving as he kissed her, and she slid her hands down his sweat-slick back. She wrapped her legs around his waist, meeting him thrust for thrust, even though she was beyond exhausted.

  And when she came again, he came with her, filling the condom and heating her up from the inside. His beard had scraped her in the best way possible, and she knew she’d be sore in the morning. Yet it didn’t matter. It wouldn’t.

  After, she lay in his arms without a care in the world.

  That would come tomorrow, she knew, but for now, she’d live in the moment.

  It was the only thing she could do.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Everly needed a nap but knew that wouldn’t be happening any time soon. While a bed sounded nice, she’d promised her friends that she’d actually partake in their girls’ night. Her boys were with Marie and Harry since they’d volunteered to take care of all of the various children since the men were having a boys’ night, as well. How that couple could handle so many children at once, she didn’t know, but they’d raised eight kids on their own so she figured they had to have some form of super powers.

  She’d dropped the kids off at Austin and Sierra’s since the elder Montgomerys were watching the children there that night and now she sat in her car in the parking lot in the back of Montgomery Ink and Taboo. With parking so hard to come by in downtown Denver, the fact that the business owned a freaking parking lot—even a small one—was amazing. She only had one and a half parking spots behind her building and even then her SUV didn’t always fit on days with tons of snow or rain.

  Everly still couldn’t believe that her life had changed so much in such a short time. She’d gone from having only Tabby in her life with Storm running on the periphery, to having a group of friends and an entire family who wasn’t her own offering to watch her boys so she could have a few moments to breathe.

  The knock on her window forced a scream out of her, and she turned to see Maya standing by her car, her eyes wide.

  “You scared the crap out of me.” Maya must have yelled it since Everly could hear the other woman through the window.

  Everly blew out a breath and opened her door, forcing Maya to take a step back. “You’re the one who scared the crap out of me.” She laughed and shook her head. “I thought you were an ax murderer.” Or Rachel. Everly held back a frown. Why on earth would it have been Rachel? She didn’t know why, but having that other woman and whatever she was planning unresolved made her feel just a bit off. Thank God for the girls’ night tonight to keep her mind off the millions of things causing her to stress.

  Maya grinned. “Aw, I wouldn’t have tapped on the glass with my ax if I was going to murder you. I’d have already been in the back seat to cut your head off from behind, all unsuspecting like.”

  Everly froze. “You’re a very interesting person, Maya.”

  The other woman laughed. “I try. Now, come on, we’re all heading to the new bar down the street. We’ll have a drink or two depending on who is driving, eat bar food that will go straight to our hips, then go home to our men all hyped up on sugar and grease and let them go crazy with us.”

  Well, that was surely far more descriptive than what Everly thought Maya would get into, but now that she thought about it…maybe she could meet up with Storm after she hung out with the girls and have a little them time before she went and picked up the boys.

  “I can see from the sparkle in your eyes that you’re thinking about what I said; however, as you’re probably also thinking about my brother, I’m not going to ask for details.” Maya gave her a mock shudder, then pulled her arm to get them walking in the right direction. “Let’s go. I think we’re the last ones to arrive. It took me longer than usual to say goodbye.”

  “Because you have two men at home waiting on you?” Everly didn’t know how Maya handled all that testosterone. She could barely handle Storm, and it wasn’t as if they were as serious as marriage and a full-time commitment.

  Maya laughed. “Well, usually that would be the case, but this time, I meant my other little man, Noah. He’s a handful, but really, I only have myself to blame. I was and am a holy terror according to multiple sources, so it would
only be natural that my baby boy would be, as well. And since I’m a total sap when it comes to him, it took me a while to leave him with my parents.”

  “I don’t blame you. I love my boys so freaking much that sometimes I never want to let them out of my sight.”

  “It’s got to be even harder with Nathan’s asthma and James’s surgery.”

  “So true, but somehow, we make it work. Though girls’ nights are kind of a new thing for me.”

  “Well even if you weren’t dating Storm, you’re Tabby’s friend, and Tabby is one of us. We Montgomerys sort of assimilate people. It’s what we do.” Maya laughed as she said it, and Everly wondered just what she was getting into with the Montgomerys.

  They crossed the street and headed to the newly renovated bar that used to be a failed coffee shop. Denver had its share of coffee shops on every corner, but unless they were a big corporation or had something quirky to get people in, they didn’t tend to last long. There were just too many. Of course, that could also be said of the bars in Denver.

  The music blared as they walked inside, and Everly winced. Maya gave her a look and snorted. “Yeah, this place might be too young for us,” the other woman yelled over the din.

  “Everly! Maya! Over here!” Tabby yelled from a corner where their friends had already claimed a group of tables.

  They made their way over and hugged everyone, laughing as they shouted over the music, though it wasn’t as loud in this corner as it had been when they’d first walked in. Meghan and Miranda sat on the other side of the table, looking gorgeous in their green and blue dresses respectively. Maya wore a black jumpsuit thing that looked exquisite and couture and yet punk with all her ink and piercings. Tabby had on a sparkly top and black leather leggings that Everly knew were like wearing pajamas according to the other woman. Autumn wore a black and red dress that made her red curls pop, all seduction and heat with minimal effort. And Sierra had on a purple dress that flowed around her thighs and made her look like she was ready to dance.