Breaking Free (Meet the McIntyres Book 4)

by Rebecca Barber

  Not trusting myself to reply, I nodded and headed out.

  It’d been three months since Ryan had shown up on my doorstep after the death of his father and so much had changed in that time. Shane’s old house was officially mine. With Ryan’s help, I’d finished the remodelling and moved out of my apartment. I loved it. I’d designed everything just the way I wanted it. From the waterfall shower head in the main bathroom, to the new floor to ceiling windows overlooking the backyard. The only thing I hadn’t had control over, the one thing that was bugging me now as I sat on the back veranda in the early morning breeze, was how big and lonely the place seemed. Having three unused bedrooms was depressing as hell. This was a family home, but it was missing the family. A family I wasn’t sure I’d ever have.

  Ryan and I had become close. After everything that went down, he asked me to go back with him for the funeral. It wasn’t the most fun weekend away, but despite the reason for the trip, I had a great time. I met the rest of Ryan’s crazy family. Somehow crazy didn’t seem like a strong enough word to describe it. They were loud and boisterous and bossy, and there were a lot of them, but they loved fiercely. You could see it in everything they did, and hear it in the teasing. Watching the way Ryan interacted with his brothers just reinforced that no matter what happened, he’d be okay. They wouldn’t let him be anything other than fine. Shane was exactly the same way with me.

  We weren’t together, but we were. It was weird, but it was working for us, so why ruin it by trying to label us? What had started out as a Saturday night friendship quickly morphed into hanging out a couple of nights a week. Then, once Ryan’s shoulder had healed, and even before, he was spending all weekend at my place helping me renovate. We didn’t call anyone else in, it was a project for just us. And even if it was only in my own mind, that made it even more special. After we’d knock off for the day, both sweaty and smelly, and completely exhausted, we’d barbeque or order pizza, and veg on the couch watching football. He was starting to come around and admit that it was the greatest game on earth. It took some convincing, though. And I wasn’t exactly thrilled when he picked a team that was the arch nemesis of my own. But hey, it made things more interesting—not that I’d ever tell him that.

  Right now, Ryan was asleep in our bed. Yep, our bed. We’d picked it out together a few weeks ago and it had only been delivered yesterday. He wasn’t living here, and that was fine. We weren’t ready for that step yet, at least I wasn’t, but having a bed that was ours made me believe we had a future.

  I was still trying to decide what to do with the backyard. Right now, it resembled a war zone. Stray bricks, bits of left over timber, and the old metal guttering laid abandoned amongst dying grass. Because this one was a labour of love, Ryan and I’d both been doing it in our downtime, which generally meant after work when we weren’t so tired we were likely to do something stupid like shoot ourselves with a nail gun, which very nearly happened one night, so it had taken longer than normal. But it was worth the wait. The results spoke for themselves. Even Shane had offered to take the place off my hands.

  “Figured it out yet?” Ryan asked as he shuffled through the sliding door, looking like sex on legs. His sleep pants were slung low on his hips, and thanks to the work he’d been putting in, his muscles were more defined than ever. And in the best ways possible. Some guys spent all their time in the gym, staring at their reflection trying to sculpt themselves. What they didn’t realise was some hard work, a few hours of manual labour, did more than any steroid could. There was something about muscles built from blood and sweat that made my cock twitch. And in the early morning, seeing Ryan standing there shirtless and his too long hair all mussed up, knowing it was my fingers that had done it, my blood was pumping.

  Forcing myself to drag my eyes away from the delicious V pointing to paradise, I swallowed down a mouthful of coffee, resenting the bitter taste. “Not really.”

  “Still trying to decide if a pool is a good idea or not?”

  “Yeah. I can see the benefits.” And could I fucking ever. Late night skinny dipping. Ryan lazing around shirtless by the pool. Somewhere to ease my aching muscles after a long day at work. Even just looking at a pool seemed to calm me. Yeah, there were fucking benefits, all right. “Just don’t know if I could be bothered cleaning it all the time.”

  “Makes sense.”

  “You ready to go?”

  “Nope.”

  “We should probably get our asses into gear and get on the road.”

  “Yeah. I don’t want to deal with Payton if we’re late.”

  “You still want me to come?” I’d already asked him a dozen times and I’d probably ask a couple more before we left.

  Payton and Beau’s daughter, Robin, was born last week, and we were on our way to meet her. The photos they’d sent already showed the most beautiful girl in the world. She was a couple of weeks early, so she was a bit on the small side, but Beau insisted it didn’t matter. He wanted Ryan there to meet his daughter. For some reason, Ryan wanted me to join him. How could I say no?

  Instead of answering my question, Ryan stalked over to me, took the almost empty mug from my hands, and sat it on the table beside me. When he reached down, his arms caged me in. I could feel the warmth from his breath on my cheeks. When he rocked forward, his lips touched mine, and instantly my cock rose to the occasion. When his tongue snaked out looking for entrance, I opened up and let him. With our teeth clashing I couldn’t not touch him. With one hand I grabbed his head and held him where I wanted him. When I tilted his head, adjusting the angle, I heard a moan. I don’t know if it came from me or him, but it didn’t matter. It was hot as fuck.

  Ryan pulled back slightly. His lips were swollen from my assault, and we were both panting. The thin sleep pants he was wearing were doing nothing to hide the bulge tenting his pants. My mouth watered at the idea.

  “You’re coming.” His voice was thick with lust and did things to me it really shouldn’t have.

  He was right, though. I was coming. Right fucking now if I had my way. Standing up, my chest bumped with Ryan’s. I could feel the heat coming off his skin. The smell of his cologne lingered. I was fucked. My cock was painfully hard and weeping. Something had to give and my restraint was already shredded.

  “We need to get moving then. Let’s shower.”

  The surprise on Ryan’s face was comical, but he didn’t flinch when I grabbed his hand and dragged him through the house and into the main bathroom. After turning on the taps, my attention turned back to Ryan. How could I not? Even after months of flirting, working side by side, and stolen kisses that made my knees weak, this guy still had my heart racing and palms sweating. Adjusting myself, I kicked off my pants, grateful I was commando underneath. When I was completely naked, I forced my eyes from Ryan’s abs to his face. When he licked his lips, my frayed restraint snapped. Roughly I grabbed his ass and pulled him towards me. Without the space between us I could feel the heat and hardness of him against my stomach and I couldn’t contain the growl. Thrusting my tongue into his mouth, I attacked him like I was a sailor who’d been at sea for months. He looked like a fucking wet dream, one I wasn’t in a hurry to wake up from any time soon.

  “Alex…”

  My name fell from his lips as I palmed him through his pants. When he tipped his head back and growled, I couldn’t remember ever feeling so powerful. With one swift tug, his plaid pants were on the floor and we were both naked and desperate. Regretfully I let go and opened the shower door, stepping inside. Ryan quirked his head to the side before following me in. The water was perfect. As it beat down on his head, I watched as it left wet trails down his chest through the smattering of hair. I loved that Ryan manscaped. He was still masculine as fuck, but it was neat and tidy. Unable to wait a minute longer, I dropped to my knees, the water hitting my head. When I wrapped my hand around his hard, throbbing shaft, we both groaned loudly. This was the advantage of living alone. We could be as loud as we wanted.

 
“Alex…”

  Before he had a chance to finish his sentence, I wrapped my lips around him and sucked him hard. When I looked up with a mouthful of delicious cock, Ryan had his arm braced against the tiles while his other hand tangled in my hair. I could tell he was trying to hold back. The urge to move was written on his face as he focused his restraint into his locked jaw. Needing to make him lose control, I reached out and squeezed his balls. That did it. His self-control snapped and he began fucking my mouth.

  I didn’t think it could get any hotter.

  With my own cock aching, I wrapped my free hand around it and gave it a long stroke, instantly feeling the relief. With renewed vigour I sucked him harder while toying with that spot just behind his balls. I knew he was right on the edge before he warned me. His knees were trembling and he was panting like he’d just run a marathon.

  “I’m gonna…”

  Without giving him a choice, I slipped my pinkie finger in his ass and he exploded, filling my mouth, triggering my own release. Swallowing every drop, I pulled my finger out and rocked backwards. Despite the desire to curl up and have a nap, I looked up at Ryan, seeing the afterglow on his face. The satisfaction there made my heart race. When Ryan reached down and lifted me to my feet, my knees buckled beneath me. He slammed me against the cold tiles, and my half limp dick twitched again. I couldn’t be ready to go again. Surely. It wasn’t possible. But with the cool tiles against my back and Ryan’s warmth pressed against my front, I wasn’t betting against round two. When he kissed me, tasting himself on my tongue, I moaned.

  Leaning back, his hips pinned me where I was, Ryan looked at me with hooded eyes. “I don’t know what brought that on, but it’s definitely one way to say good morning.”

  “We’re getting a pool.” Decision was made. Ryan looked too fucking good wet to resist.

  “Okay.” He looked adorably confused. Slapping his ass playfully had me thinking all sorts of indecent thoughts. And look how the last idea I had turned out.

  “We need to get out of this shower and put some clothes on. Or we’re going to be more than a little late.”

  “I could think of better things to do than spend half a day in the car.”

  “Me too. But I’m not the one who’d have to break the news to Payton.”

  “Fine. Let’s go. We can get breakfast on the way. I’m starving.”

  “I’m not. I already ate,” I told him with a devious wink, earning me another brutalising kiss.

  It took longer than it should have to get cleaned up. The urge to get dirty over and over and over again was too damn appealing. When we heard a phone ringing from somewhere, that yanked our heads out of our asses. I watched as Ryan pulled on tight black boxers that he’d gotten from the sports bag on the floor. They left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Then he put on a pair of worn, crumpled jeans. When he was fully dressed, looking sexy as sin, I couldn’t help but be impressed with everything he’d become.

  A couple of months ago Ryan could barely admit to himself, let alone anyone else, who he really was. Since then, he’d come out of his shell in every way. He spoke his mind. Acted on instinct, and believed in who he was. It had been a remarkable transformation and one I was extremely privileged to watch.

  After dressing quickly, I headed out of the bedroom and started to lock up. The sooner we got on the road, the sooner we could get some food. My stomach grumbled loudly as I stepped into the kitchen and got the shit scared out of me.

  “Morning, baby brother!” Shane smirked over the rim of his mug.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” I snapped harshly.

  “Came to see what you were up to today.” He stood up, rinsed his mug, and headed for the door.

  “Where are you going?” Some days Shane spun my head.

  “Find Selena.”

  “Okay.”

  “Glad you’re having fun, Alex. Say hi to Ryan for me.” He winked and strode out the door, his booming laughter echoing through the house.

  Fuck! He’d been here and heard us. Shit! I needed to change the locks. It’d never occurred to me to ask Shane for his key back, but now, now I was thinking it was very necessary.

  “You ready?”

  “Yep.”

  Grabbing my bag, we were out the door and on our way, hitting the drive-thru for more food than any normal human could consume. If I was listening to the sounds rumbling from our stomachs, we were definitely going to give it a go, though.

  We’d just turned onto the dirt road leading to the McIntyre property when Ryan dropped a bombshell on me. “So, while we’re here, they want to scatter Dad’s ashes.”

  “What?”

  I wasn’t prepared for that. I thought we were coming to meet the newest McIntyre, have a few beers and a barbeque, help Connor move some shit around, then head home. No one said anything about spreading ashes. There goes the feel-good weekend.

  “Yeah. I told Beau to just go ahead and do it without me, but he refused until I got home. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. I just thought…I don’t know. I shouldn’t have asked.” Ryan was cute when he was rambling.

  Grabbing his hand, I squeezed it tight. “It’s fine. If you want me there, there’s where I’ll be.”

  There was no way I was sending him to face that alone. I’d been right beside him at the funeral when he’d fallen apart. I’d driven him home the next day while he’d been so out of it, a zombie had more personality. For days he was a shell. One filled with bourbon and vodka, which was never a pretty combination. Then something changed. I don’t know what it was, nor did I ask, but he came out the other side a different person. One filled with purpose and confidence. All I could hope was that after this weekend, the new and improved Ryan was still standing. I liked him.

  “Thanks.” He smiled at me. I knew Ryan was stealing my heart, but he was completely fucking clueless. Or if he did, he was doing a fabulous job of pretending he was oblivious. “We’re here.”

  Before I had a chance to ask the question that had been on the tip of my tongue for weeks, we were turning down the driveway. The front yard was filled with cars.

  “That’s odd.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Beau told me everyone would be at the hospital. He asked me to swing by and pick up a bag he’d left here and then head over. But from the looks of this, they’re all home.”

  Ryan pulled to a stop next to a charcoal ute that made me feel tiny. Its wheels came halfway up my thigh. “Let’s go see, shall we?”

  Leaving everything where it was, we headed up the newly replaced stairs and through the front door towards the noise.

  No one was supposed to be here. I was supposed to be able to duck inside, grab Beau’s shit, and get out without having to deal with any drama. Instead, the house was full. Everyone was there. Stepping into the lounge room, I found Holly and Jack snuggled up together on the lounge watching some reality show. One I couldn’t imagine Jack ever voluntarily watching, but here he was doing it anyway. For Holly. Even if he was an asshole, the way he protected Holly and always put her first meant I had no choice but give him a chance. Thankfully, he was a decent guy. When Holly caught sight of me, she squirmed her way out of Jack’s grasp, his nuts taking a nasty elbow as she got up, which left him wincing and his eyes watering.

  “You’re here!” she squealed in a way only Holly knew how to.

  Launching herself at me, I laughed as I caught her before hugging her tight. Fuck, I missed this. I loved my life in Melbourne, but there was something about being home, close to family that had me second guessing my decisions.

  “Miss me, did ya, Hols?”

  Kissing me in the centre of my forehead, I set Holly back on her feet. “Nup.” Another cuddle before she backed away.

  “Hey Jack,” I greeted him as he moved behind Holly, wrapping one arm around her waist. I was an asshole for watching her reaction so closely. I waited for her to flinch. For the flicker of panic or fear to cross her face. It never c
ame. Happiness consumed me. After shaking Jack’s hand, I introduced Alex. Holly had already met him a handful of times, but for some reason, bringing him home this time felt like more.

  “Jack, meet my boyfriend, Alex.”

  Jack didn’t flinch. Alex gave me a strange look over Holly’s head. One I knew we’d be discussing later. Fucked if I knew what I’d done wrong this time, but I’m sure it was something. It usually was.

  “What’s going on? I thought no one was supposed to be here.”

  “What, hoping to get in a quickie before you had to see us?”

  I almost choked on my own breath. That was something I never expected to hear come out of my little sister’s mouth. In fact, it was something she shouldn’t even know about. From the blush on Jack’s face and the way he was struggling to hold back his laughter, I assumed she knew exactly what she was talking about.

  “What’s up?”

  “They released Payton and baby Robin this morning. They’re home.”

  “They’re here?”

  “Yep. And you should see her, Ryan. She’s so beautiful.” Holly had gone all mushy and clucky. As adorable as it was to see her like that, I was hoping she was well aware that for her, kids were still a long way off. She had a lot of life to live first.

  “Suppose I should go meet the newest McIntyre.”

  “Good luck prying her out of Carly’s hands. I don’t think she’s put her down.”

  Grabbing Alex’s hand, I led him through the house and into the kitchen where, lo and behold, Carly sat in a chair with a bundle of pink blankets in her arms, cooing softly. Everyone was home. Even Mum.

  My chest tightened and I had to force myself to breathe. Without telling him, Alex must have sensed I needed him, because he moved even closer, the warmth from his skin calming me. At first no one noticed us standing in the doorway observing the chaos. Beau, Gage, and Connor were leaning against the bench, unlit cigars hanging out of the corner of their mouths, Beau proudly wearing a pink shirt that read, “Who’s your Daddy?”. A gift undoubtedly from Carly. It was exactly the sort of smart ass shit she’d pull.