My hand reached out for his cock, stroking it until he made a growling sound in his throat, reaching for me. “Get on your hands and knees,” he told me and I quickly lowered myself down to the floor. I saw him stoop down into his jeans for his wallet, heard the crinkle of the condom wrapper, then felt him move up behind me. His hands went to my hips for a moment and I felt his cock press against my ass. He reached forward, pulling my hair away from my neck so he could see my tattoo. He twisted my hair in his fist and pulled slightly so I arched up.
“Tell my how much you thought about me,” he said, one of his hands slipping between us and bringing his cock to slide between my slick folds.
“Every day. Every other moment,” I admitted. “No matter how hard I tried not to, I couldn't help it.”
“I thought about you too,” he said and I felt his cock slide backward and press against the opening. “And, fuck how I wanted you again. Like this.”
Jesus christ. I needed him inside of me five minutes ago. He was killing me. “I wanted you too.” More than anything I had ever wanted before.
“Like this?” he asked, plunging forward and burying deep inside me.
“Fuck,” I cried out, my hand slamming down on the floor. “Yes.”
His hand pulled my hair harder as he started thrusting into my wildly. No particular rhythm and my body didn't care. I just needed him. The fullness inside. The friction. My orgasm was building quickly, tightening around his cock with each thrust.
“You're so fucking tight,” he ground out, slapping my ass hard once.
“Don't stop,” I pleaded, pressing my thighs closer together, trying to push my body closer to the climax, trying to feel him as fully as I could.
He pushed harder, each thrust sending my body slightly forward across the floor. “Come for me, Fee,” he said, sounding close himself. “I want to feel that pussy grab my cock.”
Holy hell. I tried to suck in a breath but my orgasm slammed into me hard, making my breath come out in s strangled yelp.
“Fuck, baby, yeah,” he hissed, letting go of my hair and grabbing both my hips, slamming me back against him as he thrust forward. I heard his breath catch and his cock slam in fully, twitching slightly as he came deep inside me.
My legs were weak and wobbly from the unexpectedly intense orgasm, and I started to slide slowly down toward the floor. Hunter wrapped his arms around my middle, pulling me up and against his chest.
I looked down at his arms and felt my heart drop slightly. I had spent hours studying his tattoos. A family crest on his shoulder, a Dante quote on the inside of his right arm... dozens of them I was as familiar with as my own skin. But there was a new tattoo on the inside of his left wrist, running right up over the vein that goes up the arm. Just about four inches long and already healing.
A antique locket key with very familiar filigree and a heart in the top of the key where a rope of chain would fit through.
“Hunter...” I said, not sure what to say. What to ask.
He looked down over my shoulder, kissing my neck as he did. “Yeah?”
“What is this?” I asked, my fingers reaching to run over the key.
“It looks like a key tattoo,” he said.
“It looks like a key tattoo that matches a locket tattoo of mine,” I said.
“Mmmhmm,” he said, resting his face against mine. “I think we both know I am the only one who will ever have the key.”
“That is a bit... presumptuous,” I said, not quite ready to say it. Not sure I would ever be ready to.
Luckily, he saved me from having to do so first. “I love you, Fee,” he said simply. “I think I loved you the morning you stormed in and stole all my hammers. I think I have only loved you more each day since then.”
There was a strange sensation inside, starting in my stomach and moving up toward my chest. Something that felt like tightness and lightness at the same time. Something that felt foreign and yet familiar. Like it was something I had been waiting for all my life.
I hope one day, darling, that you will know the touch of a man who loves you. I pray you will know how wonderful it is. How rare and beautiful. How godly. Even if it isn't within the union of marriage. It isn't wrong. Nothing could be more right.
I put my arms over his on my stomach, squeezing as much as the awkward position would allow. “I love you too, Hunter,” I admitted, closing my eyes against the rush of feeling. “Even if you did steal my cactus.”
Twenty-Three
“You sure you want to do this?” he asked me for the fourth time since we hit the road. We were already several hours outside of the city and I was staring out the window watching all the new leaves start to break out of their buds on the trees.
“Yup,” I said simply. I had been planning on meeting his family since the day he told me about them. At first, because I wanted to validate his story. But as time went by, it was pure curiosity. I wanted to know them: these people who made Hunter who he was. Wonderful. Perfect. And, also... who didn't want to meet a real life friggen loan shark? That sounded like a blast.
We had waited for the winter to pass. Spending our days and nights curled up in bed, keeping each other warm. Enjoying the blissful cozy feeling that was new love. But spring was well underway and there were no more excuses he could throw at me that I would accept.
I had spent hours agonizing over my wardrobe all the while Hunter had insisted that the more “me” I looked, the more his family and especially his mother, would like me. So I had thrown a bunch of mini skirts, tanks, crop tops, and heels in a bag and called it a day. I had slipped into a peach mini skirt with a white and robin's egg blue vertical striped crop top with nude heels for the meeting.
Hunter had nodded at me, taking the bags out of my hand, lifted my skirt, shoved me against the wall, and fucked me from behind until my legs were shaking. Then we casually went down the stairs and got in his car.
“Alright,” Hunter said, pulling into a bar parking lot and cutting the engine. I eyed the bikes parked out front, chrome and black, suggesting a particular kind of clientele. I sat there for a second fighting the image of Hunter in head to toe leather and studs. “What's so funny?” he asked, looking over at me.
“So...” I said, biting my lip to keep from laughing. “do you own some leather pants I don't know about?”
“Oh, shut up,” he said, getting out of the car and walking around to meet me. “You're sure about this? We could just turn around and head back right now,” he said, reaching for my hand and pulling it up to kiss it.
“Take me to your mother,” I said instead, and he nodding and pulled me in through the doors. The inside wasn't what I had been expecting, sleek and sophisticated. Several stereotypical bikers sat at the bar and stood around the pool table to the right. Toward the back of the room was a group of tall, dark haired guys that were, unmistakably, Hunter's four other brothers.
“Hunt!” one of them called and the rest turned, four sets of blue eyes on me and I almost took a step back. Almost.
Hunter's hand went to my lower back, firm and steady. I turned my head to him and he smiled down at me. “Out of the frying pan,” he said, nodding past his brothers.
“Into the fire,” I whispered back, watching his parents break through the group and walk up toward us.
“Mom, Dad,” he said, leaning forward to kiss his mother's cheek. “This is Fiona. Fee, these are my parents: Charlie and Helen”
They stared at me for a long minute, his father a glimpse at what Hunter would look like in twenty years and his mother a gorgeous, albeit intimidating woman, in her six inch stilettos and tight black jeans.
The silence stretched on and I glanced from the parents to the brothers. “So,” I said, breaking the impossible silence. “if I walk out on my tab tonight...” I see the knowing smile on Hunter's face while I spoke. “which one of them is gonna break my kneecaps?”
Hunter's father was the first to laugh, reachin
g out and grabbing me into a hug. “I like this one,” he called over his shoulder at Hunter as he pulled me over toward the other Mallick boys. “Alright, this is Ryan, Shane, Eli, and Mark. Boys,” he said, tightening his arm around my shoulders. “this is Hunt's new girl. He's gonna be the first one of you worthless lot to get me a grand baby.”
“Dad,” Hunter warned.
“I got it, Hunter,” I called back, beaming up at his father.
Maybe I had never given motherhood any thought before. It always seemed like an impossible goal. Seeing as getting pregnant generally meant I needed to get naked around someone and before Hunter, that was not even an option. But I wont lie, I have been giving it a little thought lately. Perhaps you could blame my mother's letters. To finally feel that connection with her without the threat of my father finding out. I would like the chance to pay that forward. To break the cycle. To raise kids in security and comfort and warmth. And love. Oh, the love. Especially with someone as giving and good as Hunter.
“Give it a few years,” I said close to his father's ear and he chuckled, nodding down at me.
“Need the honeymoon phase. I get it. When I met that woman,” he said, looking over at his wife with a look of wonder and pride. Even after all their time together. “I didn't let her out of arm's reach for five years before I got her with Ryan.”
The brothers groaned, rolling their eyes, and I laughed. “So,” I said, turning to all the Hunter look-a-likes. “which one of you is Shane?” I asked and watched as they all tilted their heads to the biggest of them.
“'Sup Fiona?” he asked, inclining his head at me.
I looked back at Hunter's father then stepped out of his arms, closing the few feet between us, and slapping Shane as hard as my much smaller frame would allow across the face. The other brother's eyes went wide, then they laughed as did Charlie “Don't even act like you didn't have that coming,” I said.
He reached up, rubbing the skin on his cheek that had turned a satisfying shade of red. “Yeah, I guess I did.”
“Damn straight you did,” I agreed, not stepping back though I had to crane my head up to speak to him. “And if you ever feel like some stupid fucking sibling rivalry gives you the right to play God in his, in our, lives... then you'll be answering to me.”
“You better listen to her,” Helen said, coming up on the other side of me. “I hear she is pretty ruthless with a knife.”
My eyes went to Hunter who looked as every bit as guilty as he was. “Sorry Sixteen,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“So, Fiona,” Ryan broke in. “what do you do?”
I felt myself smiling and Hunter held his hands up as if letting me know he hadn't told anyone. Good. Saving the juicy bits for me to share. “I'm a small business owner,” I hedged.
“What business?” his father asked, looking curious, being a businessman himself.
“Phone sex,” I said matter-of-factually and one of the brothers, Eli, who had been drinking a beer, choked on it. “And let's say... supplies for certain fetishists.”
“What kind of fetishists?” Shane asked, smirking.
“Panty sniffers.”
Helen was the first to laugh. “Oh, Fiona,” she said, putting an arm through mine. “I think you and I are going to get along perfectly. Why don't we take a little walk? Get away from all these men for a while...”
“Sounds good,” I said, letting her lead me away, out the side door and into the back lot where there were a few old picnic tables. “So, Fiona,” she said, letting my arm go.
“Is this the part where you ask me my intentions toward your son?” I asked, climbing up on the top of the picnic table. “It would be only fitting. My brother attempted to do the same kind of thing.”
“Actually, no,” she said, sitting down next to me. “I am more curious about why you are here.”
“To... meet all of you?” I said, turning my head to look at her.
“Right,” she agreed, looking off toward the bar. “But why? I'm sure Hunt told you what he was running from... what happened when Shane brought him back.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Did Hunter tell you about my family?”
“Yeah, honey,” she said and I fought the urge to tell her not to feel sorry for me.
“Well... you guys might not be perfect, but I think you all really care about each other. I just... I don't know. I wanted him to keep in touch with you. And I wanted to meet you myself.”
“For any particular reason?” she asked and I had the feeling she knew what I was getting at. Even though that was impossible.
“Yeah,” I said, smiling at her. “I just needed to make sure first.”
“So we passed the test?”
“So far, so good,” I agreed.
“What is the plan from here?” she asked.
–
“This is your place?” I asked as we climbed the steep stairs up the side of my building. Anyone below could see right up my skirt. I tried not to focus too hard on that fact as my heels kept getting stuck in the grates.
“Yeah,” he said, opening the door and flicking the light on.
“It's very... you,” I said, looking around. If things worked out like I planned, we would be spending quite a bit of time here.
“You're... off,” Hunter said, dropping my luggage off next to the bookshelves. “Everything alright? We can leave if you need to.”
“No, actually,” I said, turning back to him. “I want to talk to you about something.”
“Alright,” he said, looking terrified. “What's up, Fee?”
I walked over toward his table and sat down, resting my arms on the top. “I have an idea.”
“Spit it out, baby. You're killing me here,” he said, resting his hands on the back of the chair across from me.
“Well, first. Let me ask you something. Why are you in the city?”
“That's a stupid question,” he said, rolling his eyes. “For you.”
“No other reason?”
“No.”
“Okay. So if... I didn't want to live in the city anymore...”
“We can go anywhere you want to go, baby.”
“Good,” I said, looking around his apartment. Soon to be our apartment. “I want to move here.”
“What?” he asked, looking down at me like I had just said the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard.
“I want to move here. I want to leave the city and come here. Be by your family. You can open a tattoo shop. I can open... something to keep me busy.”
“Are you crazy?” he asked, laughing humorlessly and sitting down.
“Maybe,” I smiled, shrugging. “Look, Hunter... I don't have much family left. You have this huge gaggle of people here who love you and want you to do well...”
“Fee, have you forgotten that they beat people up for a living?”
“I sell my dirty underwear for money I don't need,” I laughed. “None of us are saints, Hunter.”
A part of me had expected him to jump at the opportunity. Now that he didn't have to work with them, I figured he would want to be around them in his more independent capacity. And yet he was acting as if I had suggested we go live in my old childhood home.
“Have you really given this thought?” he asked after a few minutes.
“Yeah,” I said, getting up and wrapping my arms around him. “I talked to your mom about it too.”
“What?” he asked, his brows drawing together.
“Well I needed to work some things out logistically. You'll keep a thirty-percent share of the liquor store. And your tattoo shop will be completely your own thing. They wont have any part in that. We can live here for a while,” I said, gesturing out into the apartment. “Until we decide on something more... house-like.”
“A house, huh?” he asked, wrapping his arms around my ass. “You feeling an urge to nest, Sixteen?”
“I did sort of promise your father a grand ba
by.”
“Oh, did you now?” Hunter smiled, leaning down to plant a kiss on my lips.
“Mmmhmm,” I said, resting my face against his chest. “I told him to give us a couple years.”
“Good plan,” he said, squeezing my ass. “But you know...”
“Hmm?”
“We really should probably practice making one. Just so when we are ready, we do it right.”
I smiled, tilting my head up to him. “That's probably for the best.”
“I love you, Fee,” he said and my insides did a little flip-flop. I hoped I never got used to hearing that.
“I love you too, Hunter.”
Epilogue
I walked into Chaz's bar with an arm full of take-out food and a bursting baby bag. All of the Mallick men were congregating in a circle on the floor around a little black-haired, green-eyed two year old. Her hair was braided down the back even though I had left it wild when I had dropped her off. I wondered which one of the huge, hulking men had fumbled with her delicate baby hair to get it so perfect.
Becca sat in the center of their little circle in her bright pink sundress with her little plastic tea set all around her. She had all the Mallick men eating out of the palm of her pudgy hand and she knew it.
“Mama!” she yelled, pushing herself up off the floor and rushing over toward me, toppling forward and all five of the men yelped and lunged to try to break her fall.
“She's fine,” I said, shaking my head at them. “You cant protect her from every scrape and bruise.”
“Hell we cant!” Shane insisted, scooping her up off the floor and booping her nose.
“Help me out here, Helen,” I said, looking over at her as she walked up, shaking her head.
“Girl, give it up. This is the first Mallick girl in five generations. She's going to be spoiled rotten.”
For A Good Time, Call... Page 20