by A Parker
“I’m glad you’re okay,” she whispered.
With her holding on to me like this, so was I. It would have been a terrible shame to miss this.
“Me too.” She held me tighter. I rested my head on her cheek. “Do you think we have time to shower, or will Brody have my head?”
She looked at all the blood on us. “I think we can swing it. Maybe I can even talk him into changing the sheets on the bed for us.”
“You do that, and I’ll start the shower.”
She stretched to the tips of her toes to give me a kiss after I put out my cigarette. I closed the door to the pit behind us once inside, and I moved down the hall to the bathroom while she went to Brody, who was unpacking his first-aid kit on my coffee table. Their voices were muted by the shower once I turned it on, and I gingerly stripped out of my boxers, minding my aching rib.
When I passed in front of the mirror to get into the shower, my own reflection made me do a double take. I was covered in blood. The fake shit was convincing, I had to admit. It looked real. Clumps of it had begun to dry on my chest, right where Carrie had made the wound with her makeup products. I reached up and smeared my hand through it, not liking how real it looked. It reminded me of the night William died. The makeup wiped away and left a red smear across my skin.
I started to itch. I needed to get this shit off.
The shower was so hot it nearly scalded my skin, but it made me feel closer to being clean. I stood under the water with my eyes closed and let it hit my face. I hung my head and let it run off my nose as I filled my lungs with air.
How many minutes had I been gone for?
Why had I woken up on the floor, not in the bed?
How desperate had Brody felt as he worked to revive me?
Could he ever forgive me for asking him to go through with the plan, despite the defibrillator not working?
Carrie closed the bathroom door behind her and moved like a goddess through the steam already making the air thick. She stripped out of her clothes and came into the shower with me.
“Brody is making the bed,” she said softly. “He said you should avoid twisting motions and suggested I help you wash.”
“God bless Brody.”
She giggled and reached past me for the soap and sponge. Carrie was gentle as she washed me. Her hands on my body lulled me into a state of calm and I fought to keep my eyes open, especially when she massaged shampoo into my scalp while humming a sweet song I didn’t recognize under her breath. She rinsed me before washing herself, and I watched her work, running the sponge over her thighs, hips, stomach, and breasts.
In that moment, fear couldn’t reach her. She ran her hands over her breasts and through the suds before stepping backward into the water and tilting her head back. It kissed her cheeks and slicked her hair back before running slowly down the length of her body, chasing away the bubbles and suds and leaving nothing but perfection in its wake. Her skin seemed to glow and glimmer in the water, and I couldn’t help myself but reach out to her.
She pulled her head out from under the water and opened her eyes as I cupped her breasts in my hands and moved in close enough the water sprayed up into my face.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
Holding something I thought I never might again.
“We shouldn’t,” she said. “You’re hurt.”
“I’m alive.”
She smiled. “Yes, but you’re still hurt, and you should rest.”
“One of these days, you’re going to have to stop telling me what to do.”
She giggled softly but let me run my hands down her sides to her hips. “I wouldn’t count on it.”
I kissed her.
She moaned softly against my lips. “Tex.”
I pulled her fiercely against me. Her breasts crushed against my chest, and even though my ribs hurt, her softness made it a little better. I ran my hands all over her body—up her spine, over her shoulders, along her waist, down her stomach, until I’d explored all of her but what waited for me between her thighs. She spread her legs for me when my touch wandered lower, and I cupped her with one hand as water streamed down my forearm.
She cooed softly, backed up until she was leaning against the wall, and took me in one hand. “Two can play at this game.”
I pressed a finger inside her. She moaned my name. I gave her another. She pulsed around me and thrummed with life. I pushed in deeper as she panted for breath.
Suddenly Brody knocked on the bathroom door. We froze.
“The bed’s made,” he called. “Now, I’m more than willing to play housemaid, but if you’re getting your cock sucked in there while I flip your fucking mattress and put on a goddamn fitted sheet, you owe me.”
Carrie clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle laughter.
“You’re a good man,” I hollered.
Carrie, with a devilish look in her eye, slid down the shower wall and crouched in front of me.
Oh hell yes.
“Would you like me to make you some hot cocoa, too?” Brody asked, his voice thick with sarcasm.
Carrie took me in her mouth. I braced myself with a hand on the shower frame and gritted my teeth. Fuck.
“Welcome back to the land of the living, I guess,” Brody called with a chuckle.
Carrie smiled with my cock in her mouth and worked her way down, filling her throat. I hung my head back and thanked the universe for letting me come back to her sweet, wicked, torturous tongue.
Chapter 32
Carrie
Water rolled over Tex’s shoulders and dripped from the end of his nose. His eyes were hooded by his brow as he watched me suck him off, and I made sure to show him with my lips and tongue just how grateful I was that he was still breathing.
That he was still mine.
He shuddered and braced himself against the wall. His torso flexed and he flinched while taking a sharp inhale. I knew he was hurting. I also knew we shouldn’t do anything vigorous or potentially risky, like fucking in the shower, but I wasn’t going to ruin his fun too quickly. After everything he’d been through—half of which neither he nor Brody seemed willing to share with me just yet—he deserved a reward. And this was kind of a reward for me, too.
The shower floor hurt my knees as I spread my thighs and sat back on my heels. I used my hands on Tex’s hips to gently guide him down toward me. He used the wall to steady himself, and I touched myself while he watched me. This lasted until he pulsed and thrummed in my mouth, and I knew he was about to blow. He pulled back, wanting to make it last for me, but I held fast, fingers pressing into the backs of his thighs, and he broke.
A growl escaped him that would have sent a lustful chill down my spine if we hadn’t been in a steamy shower. His load was silk on my tongue and I swallowed greedily.
He pulled me to my feet and tried to turn me around, but I stopped him with a hand to his chest. “Slow down. Let’s dry off.”
Tex frowned.
I turned off the shower and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Don’t worry. I’m not finished with you. I just don’t think we should mess around on a wet shower floor when you have a cracked rib. At least one of us has to use their brain.”
We dried off. His eyes followed every move I made.
Wrapped up in our towels, we tried to sneak out of the bathroom and past Brody, who was lounging on the couch flicking through channels on the TV. A floorboard creaked under Tex’s foot, and Brody twisted around and sat up.
I crept backward to the bedroom.
Tex tried to follow me, but Brody swung up to his feet with a menacing scowl. “Get your ass over here so I can wrap those ribs. Carrie can wait five minutes. Can’t you, Carrie?” His gaze flicked to me.
I nodded rapidly. “Absolutely. Take your time. I’ll just be, uh, in here.”
Brody clicked his tongue. “Teenagers. The pair of you.”
Tex shot me a smirk over his shoulder that was very teenage-like indeed before I slipped into the bedroom
and closed the door behind me. I pressed my back to the door and found the bed nicely made. Brody had cleaned up fairly well. There was a big red stain on the headboard that apparently didn’t wash out, but he’d gotten everything off the floors. The new bedding was black, probably something he found crammed into a closet somewhere in the apartment, and it looked inviting.
Fatigue settled into my bones as I dropped my towel and plunged face first onto the bed. The blankets were soft, and they smelled like Tex. I breathed in the smell of him as I climbed on all fours up toward the pillows, which I fluffed up and collapsed into. While I lay there, my eyes fell closed. My skin was still hot from the shower, and the combination of the fresh sheets, cool air of the bedroom, and the relief I felt that Tex had survived left me feeling like I was floating on a cloud.
Tomorrow night would bring more danger, but for now, we still had each other.
For now, that was enough.
I breathed deeply and the world began to fall out from under me. I rolled onto my side, one leg drawn up, the other straight back, and snuggled deeper into my pillow while the muffled voices of the men faded into nothingness.
I straddled the line between asleep and awake until a hand running up my leg from ankle to hip woke me. I stirred, dazed, and Tex met my lips with a kiss.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to fall asleep on me,” he purred.
“I just needed to rest my eyes.”
His fingers traced a lazy figure eight on my hip while his cock grew hard against my ass. “You should sleep, then. We have all day tomorrow. Rest.”
Rest? With his cock pressed up against me like that? Oh hell no.
I arched my back and pressed my ass more firmly into his crotch. “Do you want to sleep?”
“I could sleep.”
“It doesn’t feel like you want to.”
He chuckled. “Maybe that’s because someone is teasing me.”
I rolled my hips, daring him to move his hand somewhere else. “I like teasing you.”
Tex ran his lips over my shoulder and up my neck. His kisses felt like flower petals on my skin, tickling and grazing all the way to my ear, where he whispered, “I need you.”
A man had never said that to me before, let alone a man who seemed like he hardly needed anyone to get by. The only thing Tex seemed to need was his cigarettes.
I reached behind and cupped the back of his neck to hold him down to me as I kissed him. I felt the bandages wrapped around his middle that Brody had put on and wondered if he was still in pain. He had to be. A cracked rib didn’t just go away because you had a hard-on. Surely it was still searing with pain, but he wanted me more than he wanted relief.
Needed me more, I thought with a small smile.
Tex pulled at my hip, holding me against him until he seemed to lose his patience. He ran a hand down the back of my thigh to the groove behind my knee and lifted my leg up. His hand wandered back up my leg and slid between my thighs from behind. Before he even touched me, I was out of breath. He chuckled against my lips as his fingers grazed my very inner thigh, enough of a tease that I involuntarily arched my back in response.
His rumbling chuckle shook my soul. He ran a finger across my vulva and groaned at the discovery of how wet I was.
I wiggled my ass. Please. He continued to tease me. I can’t wait any longer. His fingers swirled over my clit.
I gasped and clutched at my pillow. Little trembles whispered through my muscles and I fought to stay in control. Tex enjoyed my struggle and continued torturing me with little delights. His fingers swept over my soft places, my sensitive places, while his teeth pressed sharply into my shoulder. The mix of pain and pleasure left me delirious, and I lifted my leg higher in invitation.
Finally, he gave me what I wanted.
He filled me with one finger, then two, and stretched me as he sought out my G-spot, his fingers curling upward and pressing firmly. I whimpered. He shifted behind me and propped himself up on his other elbow. He slid that hand under my neck and held my head up so he could look me in the eyes as he fucked me with his fingers.
A smile curled his perfect lips. “Try to be quiet.”
Did he know how impossible that would be?
His fingers flicked and thrusted. My eyes rolled back in my head and a moan escaped me.
Tex kissed my eyelids and cheeks. “Hush. Brody is in the other room, and he’ll give me shit for this.”
“Fuck Brody.”
Tex grinned. “So be it.”
He smothered my cries with a kiss as he fucked me harder. The world slipped away, leaving nothing behind but me, Tex, and the glorious pleasure he gave me. I cooed his name and reached behind me, searching for his cock, for a chance to make him feel what I was feeling. His breath hitched when I gripped him and guided him between my thighs.
He stopped me with a hand on my wrist.
Gingerly, he rolled over. The bed creaked softly beneath him. I lay on my side and waited for him to fetch a condom from the drawer. He’d slipped it on by the time he rolled back to me, and I shimmied backward to him until we fit together. His cock slid between my thighs, full and thick, and I rolled my hips, loving the friction as he slid between my folds. He gripped my hips hard and pulled down, pressing inside me.
“Yes,” I breathed.
He gripped my neck.
I bit down on my bottom lip. He pushed deeply, taking everything I had, and I clawed at my pillow and the blankets, desperate for something to cling to as my body gave in. His thrusts left me breathless, and as soon as he pulled my head back and smothered me with more kisses, I lost it.
He fucked me harder as I came. Everything felt slippery and blissful. He growled, his own composure slipping as his cock slid in and out of me. Relentlessly, he kept going, and I knew for certain in that moment that our bodies had been made for each other.
Tex shuddered behind me and finally relaxed. He settled into the mattress and pulled me close. He was still inside me, and I never wanted us to part. He wrapped an arm around my waist, and I knit my fingers through his as he pressed it to my chest.
His breath was hot on the back of my neck.
I closed my eyes. Genuine exhaustion broke over me. Perhaps tonight would be the first full night of sleep I had in over a week.
Or perhaps not.
As my heartrate slowed and my breathing evened, the storm in my mind returned. There was still tomorrow night to contend with.
And after that? What would I do? Even if things went perfectly, there were so many questions I would have to answer when the night was through and the sun rose the next morning.
Who did I want to be?
Where did I want to be?
For such a long time, I felt so steady in the foundation I’d built in Austin. But now, after everything here in Reno—after Tex—I felt anything but steady. The foundation had been ripped out from under me and I wondered if I even wanted that comfort back, or if I was ready to step outside of it and into something new.
Did I want to return to Austin for sure?
No.
Did I want to return to my life enforcing the law?
Sort of.
Did I want my old life and my old job more than I wanted to stay here with Tex?
No.
Tex kissed my cheek and slipped out of the bed to clean up. He’d have to sneak past Brody, and the thought made me smile ever so slightly.
As I lay alone in his bed, my mind buzzing with questions, I realized that this room had begun to feel like home to me. The smells, the creaks of the mattress, the sunshine streaming in through the windows at seven in the morning on the dot, the man I always rolled over to find still sleeping soundly beside me.
After tomorrow, I didn’t think I could trade all of that for my old life. The lines between the right and wrong choice were blurred, and I knew I would have to rely on my heart to see me through. It hadn’t steered me wrong yet. I just needed to have faith in it a little longer.
Chapter 33
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br /> Jameson
“It’s good to fucking see you, brother.” Abel threw an arm around my shoulders and slapped me hard in the chest with his other hand.
I grunted and nearly doubled over. “Easy. Holy shit.”
Brody, who stood on my other side, swatted Abel away. “Mind my patient, Snake. He’s got a cracked rib and he was dead for five minutes last night. Be gentle, will you?”
Abel backed off and held both hands up innocently while flashing a charismatic smile. “My bad, my bad. Just glad to see you is all. What a trip last night must have been. How’d it all go?”
Jackson strode out of Grant’s house with his leather jacket thrown over one shoulder. “No time for stories. Save them for when we’re done tonight.”
Abel frowned. “We can spare five minutes.”
Brody rolled his shoulders. “I’d rather not.”
We shared an uneasy look.
Talking about what went down last night wasn’t going to be easy. Neither of us had said a word about it, and truth be told, I was sure we’d both prefer never to have to think about it again. When the defibrillator plan turned out to be a major bust and a short-sighted error, we’d had to take things into our own hands to make sure the plan went ahead.
Brody definitely drew the short end of the stick there.
Abel nudged Brody in the ribs. “When we get back from the landfill tonight I want to hear every grisly detail.”
Brody ran a hand over his head. “Yeah, yeah. Sure thing, Snake.”
It was just past nine o’clock on Friday night, and there was a fall chill in the air that I welcomed. Carrie and I had arrived at Grant’s place just shy of an hour ago after spending the entire day lounging around my apartment, talking about anything and everything other than Bates. Once we’d arrived and all the other MC members showed up, she and I had been pulled apart. Sam and Suzie wanted to talk to her about last night, and the men wanted to talk to Brody and me.