by J Bree
Even if it’s killing me.
I make it down to the sitting room in time to see her and Harley off as they leave to go see Aodhan. If I weren’t completely certain she still loves Atticus I’d think she was dressing up for Harley’s cousin because she looks fucking devastating in her long Chanel coat. You can’t tell if she’s wearing a dress or not underneath and the long stretch of her legs will probably cause Harley all sorts of trouble for the night because men are going to come running. She’s wearing one of her new pairs of Louboutins, the ones Blaise had gotten her for Christmas, and the slash of red lipstick and perfectly styled curls completes the look and tells me for sure that this girl is on the warpath of some kind. Whether she’s dressing to impress or she’s just trying to get some of herself back, I don’t know but I love it.
“Harley’s going to take me to visit Aodhan and Jack, and I think Illi will meet us there too. He said he has business there tonight but I’m sure he’s just playing mother hen for you.” She murmurs as I very carefully hug her, I don’t want to ruin all of her hard work or pull at my newly healed skin.
“I’m a little jumpy about you heading back into the Bay. I’m actually surprised Ash didn’t insist on going as well.”
She leans back so I can see the eye roll. “He did. I told him to fuck off.”
I wince. It’s never a good thing when Avery drops the F-bomb and I feel like it’s all I hear out of her these days. “I’ll try to keep him busy so he doesn’t text you the whole time. Call me if you need anything.”
She smirks at me as Harley jogs down the steps looking fucking edible in a pair of jeans and a tight white tee. Yum.
“You should fuck him, might cheer the arrogant dick up a bit. You’ve probably healed up enough to do it if you take it easy.” Avery snarks, and I choke on my own damn tongue.
“Since when do you wanna weigh in on our sex lives? Especially Ash’s?” Harley says, eyebrows nearly in his damn hairline.
Avery tucks her arm in his and slides her phone into her pocket delicately. “Lips and I talk about it all the time, we just choose to do it away from you idiots. Besides, Lips loves me and wants me to be happy. Ash mellowing out a bit would make me very happy. Fuck him for me, Mounty.”
I turn on my heel and leave them to it. I’m not exactly embarrassed but yeah, I totally don’t need to be thinking about Ash’s dick and drooling in front of his twin freaking sister, especially after the few weeks I’ve gone without sex on doctors orders to heal up. Avery and Harley both laugh at me as they leave but, fuck it, that’s not unusual and I’m glad Avery sounds happy for once. This year has been fucking hell on that girl.
I wander around the ranch looking for Ash but the asshole must be hiding. I find Blaise swimming in the pool so I sit on the edge and dangle my legs in, my toes skimming the heated water.
“You should hop in.” Blaise drawls, looking like a fucking dream with the water sliding down his chest in tiny rivulets.
I shake my head. “I don’t want to tire myself out, I’m just barely getting around as it is. I’d rather just watch you.”
He smirks and swims over to me, his arms arching through the air and, lord help me, there’s something about the colors and patterns of his tattoos that pull me in.
“You look lost, Star.”
I shiver. “I can’t find Ash. Do you know where he’s hiding?”
He pulls himself out of the water using only the strength in his arms and my panties just fucking combust for him. He grins at me like he knows all about the inner workings of my brain and I pull a face back at him.
“He’s hiding on the balcony in our room, smoking a joint and being a morbid dick. What do you need him for?”
I wrinkle my nose. “I’m supposed to be finding and fucking him for Avery.”
Blaise tips his head back and roars with laughter. “That lucky dick, using his sister to get laid. If I start pouting and throwing tantrums will you fuck me too, Star?”
I groan at him and he pulls me up and into his arms, sitting on one of the poolside lounge chairs, ignoring the fact that he’s getting me wet and I don’t see a freaking towel anywhere. I’m pretty sure this chair is the same one we kissed on, right before he carried me to his room and fucked me for the first time.
I hum under my breath happily at the memory.
We lay there quietly and I let my eyes slip shut, content to just be there with him, relaxing and carefree as if we’re just normal eighteen year olds who haven’t just been through hell together.
“Well isn’t this just fucking cozy.”
I glance up to find Ash scowling and broody, a glass of bourbon dangling from one hand. He looks like the spoiled rich asshole I truly thought he was when I first laid eyes on him. Okay, he kinda is exactly that, but he’s also mine.
“Your sister is trying to get you laid. I’m calling that a party foul and against the rules.” Blaise snarks, and I groan at him. He laughs and folds me into his chest.
Ash stretches out on the chair next to ours and when he puts his glass back down on the ground after taking a sip, I thread our fingers together.
“Does that mean the dry spell is over and you feel up to it, Mounty?” He drawls, and I curse the stupid flush my cheeks get.
“I’m not sure you have gentle sex in you, Ash. You might have to wait another week or two.”
He chuckles at me, a possessive twinkle in his eye, and then he and Blaise start bickering over pointless shit and I zone them out. With a sigh, I press my head down onto Blaise’s chest and look up at the stars, Ash’s thumb running over my knuckles as he talks.
I know we’re not completely safe, I know there’s more than enough monsters hiding in the shadows for us, but right at this second I feel safe and loved and like the whole thing, all of the blood and death, pain and heartache, the whole lot was worth it.
My family was worth it all.
Also by J Bree
Hannaford Prep
Just Drop Out: Hannaford Prep Year One
Make Your Move: Hannaford Prep Year Two
Play the Game: Hannaford Prep Year Three
Coming 2020
The Mounts Bay Saga
The Butcher of the Bay Part I
The Butcher of the Bay Part II
Acknowledgments
To Laura, my ride or die. You’re perfect and our friendship the best thing this little series of mine has given me. Thank you for everything you have done for me and my family, and for this book and the little community of readers we’ve found. You’re my favourite weirdo.
To Katy, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your support, encouragement, love, understanding, and dick gifs. Thank you for always being there for me when things go south with my story, which is too often.
To Sloane, thank you for all of your support and encouragement, for being available at the drop of a hat to help with my melt-downs and flailing. Thank you for all of the sprints that helped me get this book finished when I thought it might never come together how I wanted it too.
To Tate, for slapping me around from the other side of the country to get this book done and pointing out Ferraris don’t have 5 seats. That’s it, you’re my car person now.
To everyone in my Facebook group, you all give me life and make this whole journey so much fun. Thank you from the bottom of my black stained heart.
And thank you to my amazing readers who gave Hannaford Prep a chance.
About the Author
J Bree is a dreamer, writer, mother, farmer, and cat-wrangler. The order of priorities changes daily.
She lives on a small farm in a tiny rural town in Australia that no one has ever heard of. She spends her days dreaming about all of her book boyfriends, listening to her partner moan about how the wine grapes are growing, and being a snack bitch to her two kids.
For updates about upcoming releases, please visit her website at http://www.jbreeauthor.com, and sign up for the newsletter or join her group on Facebook at Breezie’s Wolves