The moment I was close enough, I launched myself at him. He caught me easily, holding me tight and lifting me off my feet.
“Christ, it’s good to see you, sweet pea. I’ve missed you like crazy.”
“I’ve missed you too,” I croaked past the lump forming in my throat. He finally put me back on my feet, and I looked up to make sure he was really there. “I can’t believe you’re here. I thought you weren’t coming until tomorrow.”
“Found a flight out today. Figured we’d surprise you.”
At the word we, Bennett stepped up besides Jase. “You got one of those for me, my sweet Farah?”
“You came!” I shouted, flinging myself into Bennett’s big frame. Just like they had all my life, his hug felt like the safest, warmest blanket on earth. As I held on to the only man who’d been any kind of father to me, I battled the burn in my eyes.
“Of course I came, girl,” he said while taking my arms in his hands and pushing me back so he could get a good look at me. “You didn’t think I’d let this fool make the trip on his own, did you?”
“Of course you wouldn’t,” I replied on a giggle.
“You look great, sweet girl,” Bennett said, his already rough voice getting rougher with emotion. “Happy and healthy. I see this town agrees with you.”
“It does.” Just then I felt Cannon’s presence hit my back a moment before his hand landed there and slid around to become an arm hooked at my waist.
I turned to glance back over my shoulder and saw him giving a polite look to Bennett and my brother. “You must be Farah’s family,” he said, extending his hand. “I’m Cannon, Farah’s man. Nice to meet you.”
Jase just stood there and stared at Cannon with a look of astonishment across his face. The silence stretched on long enough for me to begin to fret. Then, because my brother was awesome, he shook Cannon’s hand while turning to me and speaking loudly, “Please tell me that fuckwit ex of yours shit his pants when he got a load of this guy. I’d have paid good money to see it, but since I can’t go back in time, I can settle for your word.”
Cannon’s head fell back with a loud, booming laugh. “Nah, man. Nothin’ like that, though it would’ve made things more entertainin’, that’s for damn sure. Farah took care of him all on her own. If I had to guess, he’s still wearin’ the handprint she laid across his face last night, though.”
Bennett’s and Jase’s eyes flashed with approval.
“You slapped him, girl?” Bennett asked, his tone liberally sprinkled with admiration.
“He deserved it,” I said with a shrug. “It wasn’t like I planned on doing it. I just kind of snapped.”
“Always knew that’d happen,” Bennett mumbled, his weathered face lighting up as he turned his grin from me to Cannon. “Knew since she was a little girl there was fire in her belly. Just glad to see it’s finally starting to come out.”
“It’s a damn treat to watch, I’ll tell you that.”
“I take it back.” Jase chuckled. “That’s what I’d have paid good money to see.” After a long laugh, Jase looked at me, the smile slipping from his mouth, but not his eyes, as he took me in. His voice was low and gentle as he spoke. “Look at you, sweet pea. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so happy.”
“I am happy, bub.”
“Good. You have no clue what a relief that is.”
I was at risk of bursting into ugly tears if my big brother didn’t stop being so damn sweet. Fortunately, Buck’s loud voice boomed across the bar and broke the spell. “Farah girl! You just gonna stand over at the door, or you gonna bring those folks in so we can meet ’em?”
I bounced on my toes in excitement as I grabbed Jase and Bennett’s hands and began pulling them farther into the bar. “Come on,” I said eagerly. “There’s a whole bunch of people I want you to meet. You’re gonna love them.”
I spent the next several minutes introducing them to the newest members of my family. They met Buck and Darla first, gladly accepting the pints Buck poured for them on the house. They met and were charmed instantly by Shane. Then they spent some time laughing and cutting up with Cannon and his guys as they recounted how I’d hustled Cannon at pool.
The first two members of my family fit seamlessly with the new ones. Even Jase, in his expensive jeans and crisply ironed button-down, fit in. But then, my brother had a gift for making friends no matter where he went.
I bounced between checking my tables and squeezing in as much time with them as I could.
I still had a few more hours left on my shift, so they eventually took off to check in at Redbud Inn and get some sleep, but not before we made plans to meet up the next morning.
It was tough to watch them walk away after only having them for such a short time, but knowing I’d see them again in a handful of hours made letting them go—after nearly hugging the life out of them, of course—so much easier.
After all, I still had Cannon to keep me company. And my man was nothing to sneeze at.
Chapter 22
Farah
A moan ripped itself from deep within my chest. My head fell back and my eyes clamped shut as I picked up the pace, rocking my hips, riding him harder and faster.
“Eyes on me, Hummingbird.”
Cannon’s gruff voice sounded like it was coming from inside a tunnel but I was too lost in the sensation of being connected with him to listen. His length was rubbing against that sensitive spot inside me, and the faster I moved, the closer I came to getting off.
“Goddamn it, Farah,” I heard him grunt just before he knifed up. One of his arms clamped around my waist while he grabbed my hair with the other hand and forced my face back to his. I let out a gasp as our eyes locked. In this new position, I was able to take him even deeper, and the feel of all that naked skin pressed against every inch of me made everything a million times better. “Eyes on me when I’m inside you,” he ordered.
My lips parted on a ragged moan as he took control. I might have been on top, but Cannon was officially done letting me run the show. His arm pinned me in place and his hips began to snap up, driving his cock harder and deeper into me.
“Honey, I’m close,” I panted as the pressure in my belly began to intensify.
“Fuck, baby. Nothin’ feels as good as you.” I let out a whimper as my impending orgasm threatened to tear me apart. “Most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on,” he continued, each word a shot to the heart.
As I stared down at him, connected in the most intimate way a man and woman could be, I finally saw the truth. There was no denying or ignoring it. I was falling for Cannon Banks. This incredible man had helped to heal pieces of me I thought would remain broken forever.
I’d come to this town looking for something I wasn’t sure I’d ever find. I’d fled a cold and cruel life in the hopes of finding something that would fill some of the holes left behind on my heart. Now it was so full it was sometimes hard to breathe.
“Cannon,” I whimpered as my limbs locked around him and my muscles tightened.
“Give it to me, Farah. I wanna feel it.”
And just like that, the pressure snapped and I went careening head first into the strongest release I’d ever had.
Seconds later, Cannon followed me over the edge. His head fell back. The strong column of his throat working on a gravelly groan.
The second it left him, he collapsed against the mattress, taking me with him. He rolled me to my back, maintaining our connection as he hovered over me.
I held on to him, not ready to lose the feel of his big, strong body against mine just yet, and he seemed content to give me that, keeping himself still as his lips sought out mine in a dizzying kiss.
Minutes later, he finally lifted his head, and I felt that soft, tender look in his eyes deep in my belly. The warmth it provided bloomed and spread until it overtook everything.
“You good?” he asked gently, his rough fingers skating across my face from my temple to my jaw.
I grinned up
at him, leaning into his touch. “Honey, if I get any better, I’m gonna melt right into the mattress.”
His silent chuckle shook my whole body. “Then my work here is done.”
My head pushed into the pillows as I let out a long, loud belly laugh.
“Be right back,” he said softly, pressing a kiss to my lips once my hilarity tapered off. I tucked the sheet around me, watching the muscles in his back and ass flex as he moved into the bathroom to deal with the condom.
Sensing that the coast was now clear, Crash jumped up on the bed, his loud purr making his body vibrate as he rubbed the top of his head beneath my chin.
I pushed up on an elbow and gave him a scratch. “Hey, sweetheart. Are you glad Mommy’s home?” At my question, the purring grew in intensity, so I took that as a yes. “Good news for you, buddy. You get to meet your uncle and grandpa tomorrow. They’re gonna love you, but just to be safe, we probably shouldn’t mention how we found each other, yeah?”
I figured he agreed when he rolled onto his back, demanding a belly rub.
Cannon’s chuckle filled the room. I looked up just as he hit the bed, pulling the covers back and moving into me so his chest was pressed against me. “Somethin’ tells me if Jase found out about that, he’d never let you live it down.”
I snuggled into him. With his body heat at my back, and Crash now snoozing at my front, I was trapped in place. Fortunately, there wasn’t anywhere else I’d want to be, so the fact I couldn’t move worked just fine for me.
“You’d be right. First I’d get a lecture, but once he finished with that, I’d never hear the end of it. Sometimes I think he was put on this earth for the sole purpose of giving me shit.”
I could hear the smile in his voice as he said, “It’s just what brothers do, Hummingbird.” His palm came up to rest on my shoulder before he slid his hand down the length of my arm. Up and down, over and over, like the softest, most soothing massage. “You lit up tonight. Having them here really means a lot to you, huh?”
“It means everything,” I whispered. “He and Bennett were all I ever had. Before I came here, it was just the three of us.” I watched my fingers skate through Crash’s fur as I confessed, “I was surrounded by people constantly, but the only time I wasn’t truly alone was when I was with them.”
“It was really that bad?”
It took effort not to get sucked into the memories of the past, and I had to steel myself before confessing, “For the most part, I barely existed to my parents. As the oldest and the only boy, Jase is set to take over the company when my father retires, so he was required to take more of an interest in my brother. Meanwhile, I was my dad’s broodmare. He didn’t care much about me past my capability of marrying into money. And to my mom, I was a disappointment. Before I let them beat me into submission, I’d had the audacity to want to live my life on my own terms. In her eyes, that was unforgivable.”
His arm slid around my waist and squeezed as he grunted, “Jesus, baby.” It was almost as though he was trying to absorb all my pain so I didn’t have to deal with it on my own any longer.
“It takes more that DNA to be a parent,” I continued, my tone growing fierce. “Bennett might not be related to me by blood, but as far as I’m concerned, he’s my real dad.”
“Then I’m fuckin’ thrilled I got the chance to meet them, sweetheart.”
The sadness melted away, and my face lifted into a grin as I reached down and threaded my fingers through his. “I am too, honey.”
I felt his lips press against the back of my head before he let me go and rolled to turn out the light. When he came back, he resumed his hold on me.
It took no time for me to fall asleep. With Cannon and Crash surrounding me in a protective bubble, and my family close, just a few rooms down from mine, I slept soundly.
And I didn’t have a single nightmare.
* * *
Cannon
Farah was in the shower when a knock sounded on the door.
Pulling the shirt I wore last night over my head so I didn’t open the door to my woman’s family in nothing but a pair of jeans, I threw the lock, used my foot to scoot Crash out of the way, and pulled the door open to the two men. “Mornin’.”
A flash of surprised registered across Jase’s face for just a second before he pushed it away and lifted the tray of coffees he was holding in one hand and a white paper bag in the other. “Brought you guys a little pick-me-up.”
“Appreciate it.” I stepped to the side, making room for he and Bennett to come in. “Farah’s in the shower, but she should be out soon. Make yourselves comfortable.”
Both men moved to the small dinette table tucked against the back wall beneath the window and took a seat. I took the coffee Jase offered and sat on the end of the bed across from them.
“Wasn’t sure how you took it, so I got black. There’s cream and sugar in the bag if you want it.”
“Black’s good. Thanks.”
Crash decided to make his presence known in that moment by jumping right onto Jase’s lap, almost causing him to spill his coffee.
“Jesus! What the fuck?”
“Sorry about that,” I said on a chuckle as I moved to relieve him of the fat feline’s considerable bulk. “Farah’s cat has some boundary issues.”
He looked from Crash to me. “Farah has a cat? Since when?”
“Since she found him on the side of the road,” I answered around my cup.
Bennett let loose a quiet chuckle. “My sweet Farah. Always had a thing for strays.”
Jase bent low to give the cat’s head a scratch. “He’s sweet,” he noted. “Fat as hell, but sweet. What’s his name?”
“Crash.”
Both men turned inquisitive eyes to me, and Jase asked, “Crash? Why in the hell did she name her cat Crash?”
I chose to shrug instead of lying. “Guess you’ll have to ask her.”
I’d just finished sucking back a gulp when Bennett spoke up. “Well, enough about the cat. It’s good you’re here. We had something we wanted to discuss with Farah, and from what we saw last night, it’s clear you two are tight. Best to fill you in as well.”
I noticed then that the energy in the room had gone tense. My muscles locked tight as I went on alert and asked, “This got somethin’ to do with Farah’s ex showin’ up outta nowhere?”
“It does,” Jase answered, the carefree mask he’d pasted on for his sister’s benefit the night before gone and replaced with one a hell of a lot more serious. “But first there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask. How much has Farah shared with you?”
I felt those creases form between my eyes as I frowned. “Shared with me?”
“About our family or Lance, anything like that.”
I wasn’t sure where he was going with this line of questioning, but I answered anyway. “She’s talked about your folks and, no offense, man, I hope you know that, but your parents are fuckin’ assholes.”
A humorless smirk pulled at his face as he said, “No offense taken. Believe me, you aren’t saying anything I don’t already know. A fucking chimpanzee is a better parent, and they’re known to eat their young, for Christ’s sake.”
I could see that. “She’s told me some stories, and I’m inclined to agree with you. Anyway. She’s mentioned them and that fucker ex of hers, but I get the feeling there’s a lot she isn’t tellin’ me.”
Bennett put his coffee cup on the table and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “What do you mean?”
“It’s just a feelin’,” I admitted. There was a part of me that worried I was crossing a line, talking to Farah’s family behind her back like this, but if there was anyone who could give me some insight into the secrets I suspected that woman was holding on to, it was these men right here. “She keeps her shit locked tight.”
I’d told her yesterday morning there was something different about her when she slept, but it had taken me a while to figure out what that difference was. Then I woke u
p a few hours ago and saw it again as she slept next to me, and I finally realized what it was.
She was vulnerable, completely unguarded, and if I hadn’t had the chance to see her sleeping, I never would have noticed that she walked around all day, every day, with a goddamn shield up around herself.
“It’s like she’s wearin’ armor,” I attempted to explain. “She’s happy, but I didn’t realize until very recently, that there’s somethin’ lurking underneath. She’s wearing a mask that everything is great, but when she stayed with me the other night, she woke up in the middle of the night, screamin’ bloody murder. Christ, it scared the fuck outta me. I’ve never heard anything like it before.”
Jase’s face took on an expression I couldn’t read. The only thing I could tell was that he was worried. “She say anything about it?”
I shook my head. “She said she didn’t remember what she was dreamin’ about.”
“But you don’t believe her.” It wasn’t a question. Farah’s brother was a smart man, and he knew how to read between the lines.
“She’s keeping somethin’ from me,” I told the two men sitting across from me. “And I’m hopin’ you guys can enlighten me on what it is I’m dealin’ with here.”
Bennett sat back and cut his eyes to Jase. The men shared a look that had my stomach twisting into knots.
When Jase returned his gaze to me, I could see I wasn’t going to get anywhere. “I get your frustration, but you have to understand that I can’t betray my sister’s confidence like that. I saw the way she looked at you. It doesn’t take a genius to see she cares about you. Give her time. She’ll open up.”
That twisting in my stomach grew tighter. The muscle in my jaw ticked as I stared at the man before me and declared, “And you gotta see how that might not work for me. For Christ’s sake. I got a woman whose nightmares are so goddamn bad, it sounds like she’s bein’ murdered. It took way too goddamn long for her to come fully out of it. I can’t help her if I don’t know what I’m dealin’ with.”
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