With Us (Next Generation Book 2)

by J. M. Walker

  “What?” Shade asked her, resting his chin on her shoulder.

  “I like you.” She placed a soft peck on his mouth. “Both of you.”

  “We like you too, pet.” My phone rang, interrupting our little moment. I fished it out of my pocket, biting back a curse when I saw who was calling me. “Yeah,” I barked into the phone.

  “Well don’t you sound cheery?” Roxanne mumbled.

  “What do you want?” I demanded, locking eyes with Shade.

  His jaw clenched, knowing who it was I was talking to. A woman who made my life a living hell and more.

  “I want you back.” Roxanne sniffed for added effect.

  I rolled my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. I could feel Meadow staring at me, no doubt wondering who it was that made me even grumpier. “Not happening, Roxanne.”

  “Roxanne?” Meadow whispered.

  Shade mumbled something to her.

  Her head whipped around. “You were married?”

  Fucking hell. “Rox—”

  “Please, baby. We were good together,” she slurred.

  “Have you been drinking?”

  “No.” She hiccupped which was followed by a round of laughter.

  “Woman. Put yourself together.” I wasn’t opposed to people drinking, hell, I did it myself. But when her drinking became a problem, that’s when I didn’t agree with it.

  “You’ve gotten judgmental, Sunny.” Her laughter subsided.

  “Listen, I’m busy. Have a good night, Roxanne.” I hung up the phone, put it on silent, and shoved it back in my pocket. Ignoring the stares coming from both Shade and Meadow, I rose from the chair and headed into the kitchen. I needed a drink myself. I also needed to get Roxanne off my ass. Years ago, I would have caved. I would have given her all the money in the world to help her and her kids. But when I found out that she was keeping the money for herself and letting her kids go without, I stopped.

  “Sunny?” Meadow came up behind me, placing a gentle hand on my back. “Want to talk about it?”

  “Not really.” I pushed away from her and pulled three beers from the fridge. Popping off the caps, I handed her one. “I met her when I was twenty-two.”

  “I thought you and Shade have been together since then,” Meadow said, taking a swig from her bottle.

  Shade took that moment to join us. He leaned a hip against the counter, crossing his arms under his chest. He nodded once, giving me all the encouragement I needed to go on.

  “We were but we hit a rough patch. I knew even at that time that Shade had feelings for me.” I remembered back to the first time he told me that he was in love with me and the way I had responded. It could have been better, but he never commented on it.

  “Is that when you met your ex?” Meadow asked Shade, jumping up onto the countertop.

  “No, I met my ex in school. We went to college together. I was taking every course I could that had to do with auto repair.” Shade chuckled, his thoughts clearly going back to a time when things were…easier.

  “What’s so funny?” Meadow looked between us.

  “I was trying to impress him.” Shade nodded toward me. “But it didn’t work, and he had already met Roxanne.”

  “It was stupid,” I grumbled, leaning against the counter beside Meadow. “And you never had to impress me, Shade.”

  “So you were with Roxanne, and Shade, you were alone?” Meadow leaned her arm on my shoulder. “Or was that around the same time you were with your ex.”

  “Same time,” Shade mumbled.

  “Was he good to you?” Meadow asked softly.

  A dark shadow passed over Shade’s face, the humorous glint in his eyes, no longer there. “No, little lamb. He was not. He was the bastard I told you who forced me to do stuff when I wasn’t ready.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry, baby boy,” she whispered.

  “Don’t. It’s done. I’ve moved on.”

  He hadn’t.

  “And I learned from my mistakes.”

  That part was true.

  “Okay. I’m glad. I…” Meadow took a sip of her beer, picking at the paper label on the side of it.

  “What is it?” I asked, covering her hands.

  “Is this fast?” Although she asked the question, she never looked at me.

  I placed my bottle on the counter and moved in front of her. Taking the bottle from her, I placed it beside my own and cupped her hands. “Shade and I have shared several women before. I don’t want to say a lot of women because that sounds douchey.”

  She laughed lightly.

  “Eyes, pet,” I demanded, running my thumb back and forth over her pulse point.

  Her beautiful brown eyes met mine. My cock twitched. Fuck, I loved it when she listened to me.

  Shade stepped up beside us, placing a hand on top of mine. That touch gave me the strength I needed to continue.

  “Even though we’ve been doing this for years, we’ve never slept with the same woman more than once. We’ve never brought a woman home and cooked supper for her. And we’ve definitely never had a woman bake us dessert.” I paused, my gaze dropping to our hands. Three pairs of hands. Shade’s were tanned. Mine were stained from oil after working on cars for most of my adult life. And Meadow’s were pale in comparison.

  “Is this fast? Maybe for some,” I continued. “But I know for Shade and I, it isn’t fast at all. We’re old fuckers and we have this beautiful, feisty as hell, hot little thing that enjoys spending time with us.” I pulled a hand from her lap and pinched her chin. “You called us when you needed help. That says something, baby girl.”

  “It’s not that big of a deal.” She shrugged. “I could have called my father but that would have been brutal. Tanner would be dead or worse.”

  “What’s worse than being dead?” Shade asked, chuckling.

  “You don’t know my father. Tanner would be ripped apart and spread out across the country before his crew found out.” Meadow shook her head. “My dad and his friends are a little protective of me and my roommates.”

  “Good.” I thought a moment. “I think I’d like your dad.”

  Meadow’s gaze snapped to mine. “Uh…there is no way that is happening anytime soon.”

  Shade and I passed a glance.

  “And why not?” I pressed, knowing I should leave well enough alone, but I wasn’t always the brightest. Especially when it came to the woman in front of us.

  Meadow rolled her eyes, pushing us back and jumped off the counter. “Because it’s way too soon. Shade has issues from his ex. You’re dealing with a psycho ex as well and I…I just…”

  “What?” Shade cupped her shoulders, turning her toward him. “We’re not going to hurt you.”

  “This is fast.” Meadow pulled out of his hold and left the kitchen.

  “I don’t know what’s going on,” Shade mumbled.

  “I think we fucked up by being too honest,” I told him.

  “For once, I actually think you’re right.” He scowled, following Meadow out of the room.

  As much as I loved being right, this time was not one of those times.

  Meadow

  IT HAD BEEN ALMOST a week since that dreadful night with Sunny and Shade. It started out well, with homemade supper and desserts but then that talk happened. I closed up completely. Sunny became even grumpier. And Shade tried being the best referee he could be. But it did nothing. So I said bye to them both, left, and hadn’t seen them since.

  I did get text messages every morning and every night since. They wished me a good morning and told me to sleep well when I crawled into bed. I was beginning to crave their texts and looked forward to them. But a part of me wondered if they were getting too close.

  “Hey, babe.”

  My head popped up from the book I was trying to read when Ashton sat down beside me. He was so close, his thigh touched mine and I could smell the mint on his breath.

  The hairs on the back of my neck tingled. I looked around us, half expecting Sunny to j
ump out of the bushes, beat his chest, and yell in broken sentences that I belonged to them. That never happened, but I wished it had, and that left a sour taste on my tongue.

  I swallowed a sigh, glancing back down at my book. It was a classic fairy tale that Luna had picked up. She lent it to me that morning, knowing I needed some distracting. I wasn’t much of a reader but right now, I was desperate to get these men off my mind.

  “What’s wrong?” Ashton wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer.

  “Nothing.” The scent of his cologne wafted into my nose. It sent a flutter racing through me but not because he smelled good. No. Instead, it was…odd. I couldn’t put a finger on it, but it didn’t make me feel how it used to. It hadn’t been that long since I let him touch me, but I almost felt…guilty.

  “Hey.” Ashton brushed his nose along the shell of my ear. “You’re tense. I can help make you feel better.”

  A shiver raced down my spine. I pushed away from him and jumped from the bench. “We can’t do this. It’s over. You broke it off.”

  “We can still be friends.” Ashton’s brows narrowed in the center. “It’s that guy. Sunny.”

  “And Shade,” I mumbled.

  “So, you really did find two men.” Ashton ran two fingers along his mouth. “Interesting.”

  “Don’t look at me like that.” I pointed at him. “You’ve had sex with more than one woman at the same time, many times. Don’t judge me.”

  He shrugged. “That’s different. It’s who I am.” He leaned forward. “But it’s not you.”

  “Are you saying it’s not me because I’m a woman?”

  His frown deepened. “That is not what I fucking said.”

  “No, but it’s what you implied, Ashton. Listen.” I lifted my hand when he went to speak. “I like them. They treat me well. And besides, this is my first time…” I scowled. “Why the hell am I explaining this to you?” I went to storm into the house when a gentle but firm hand caught mine. “Just let me storm away.”

  “I’m sorry.” He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, snuggling his face into the crook of my neck. “I know I ended things, but I never actually expected it to be over. It’s lame. I know. But I liked what we had.”

  “I wasn’t the only one you were fucking, Ashton.” I looked up at him then. “And I don’t give a shit that I wasn’t, but you can’t expect me to wait for you. I like Sunny and Shade. I really do. They treat me well, even though I haven’t known them for that long.” Less than a month but Ashton didn’t need to know that.

  He cupped my shoulders, spinning me toward him. “If something happens where you’re finished with them or…” He smirked. “I’ll be here.”

  I sighed, stood on my tiptoes, and placed a soft peck on his mouth. “Go find a woman to satisfy you, Ashton. But that’s no longer me.”

  He groaned. “I wish it was. You give the best head I’ve ever received.”

  “Right.” I patted his chest. “I’m sure you tell that to all the women you’ve been with.”

  “Nah.” He kissed my cheek. “I don’t lie when it comes to blow jobs. The suction on those pretty lips of yours will be something I’ll never forget. So, thank you for that, Meadow.” He released me and headed into the house.

  I blew out a slow breath, not really sure what the hell just happened but thankful that Ashton finally got the hint. Hopefully anyway.

  As the night wore on, the backyard filled with people. Most of them I had seen in passing but I was always a few years younger than everyone, so I never really paid any attention.

  “Meadow.”

  I turned at the sound of a deep voice, finding Vincent Junior coming toward me. He was Luna’s younger brother. Barely nineteen and hot as hell if you asked me. With both Italian and Japanese lineage, he got the tanned skin from his father and the deep chocolate brown eyes from his mother. My sister was a lucky lady. Although, she didn’t even know it yet.

  “How’s it going?” I asked him, surprised that he was actually there. He couldn’t drink yet, legally, so he usually stayed home. I wondered if Gigi had anything to do with him being out for the night.

  “Not too bad.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, then removed one and ran it through his short black hair.

  “I have to say that I’m kind of surprised to see you here.”

  He smirked, a dimple popping in his left cheek at the movement. “I know. A couple of friends wanted to come. They heard about Gigi’s parties and…”

  “And she’ll be here, so it’ll give you an excuse to talk to her.” I waggled my eyebrows.

  “Right.” He chuckled. “Listen, I just wanted to say that something’s going on with my sister. She’s holed up in her room and I don’t know why. I think she got in a fight with Zach maybe.”

  “Oh.” I smiled. “Okay, thank you. I’ll be sure to check on her.”

  He nodded, spun on his heel, and headed back to his two friends standing on the other side of the yard.

  Such a good brother, looking out for his sister. I hadn’t heard that Luna and Zach were having problems. But I also hadn’t been around much. My body thrummed, remembering why.

  I wasn’t sure what was going on between Vince and my sister either. But I noticed the way they looked at each other. Even though he was five years younger than her, you would never know it. He was well over six feet tall and had filled out this past summer. It was like as soon as he turned nineteen, the rest of his body caught up with him. But I never saw him with anyone. Even the girls who hung off of him, begging for his attention, would never get very far. He would just smile at them, give them that dimple that even I thought was sexy, and would continue drinking his water.

  Sitting on the patio couch, I brought my knees up to my chest and was about to play on my phone when Piper and Gigi came out of the house.

  “Hey.” Gigi sat beside me. “We were wondering where you were.”

  “Have you talked to Luna?” Piper asked, sitting on the chair opposite me.

  “No.” Gigi pulled her hair back into a ponytail. “I think she has her hands full with Zach.”

  “How are things going with you and those bikers?” Piper asked me, waggling her eyebrows.

  I laughed. “Good. I like that they don’t make me feel like a little girl. Not that it would be an issue if they did. You know that whole Daddy Dom thing and all, but it’s not really my scene.” Although, Sunny spanking me because I scared him, was one of the hottest things I had ever experienced.

  “Daddy Dom?” Gigi repeated, frowning.

  I patted her hand. “You need to read more.”

  Gigi blushed. “I’m so naïve.”

  “Nah. You just know what you want and that’s not one of them.” Piper shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry about it.”

  “I don’t even know what I want.” Gigi looked around her. “I feel like a dirty old woman.”

  “You are a dirty old woman,” I teased.

  “Is there something wrong with me?” Gigi asked softly. “Guys my own age don’t do it for me. Hell, Vincent’s more mature than them.”

  “He’s only a few years younger than you,” Piper pointed out. “And Luna’s younger than Zach.”

  “That’s different,” Gigi muttered.

  “How? Sunny and Shade are twenty years older than me.” I patted my shoulder. “I’m so proud of myself right now.”

  The three of us erupted into laughter.

  Gigi and Piper both stood at the same time, bumping their hands and knocking wine onto Piper’s white dress.

  “I’m so sorry.” Gigi pouted. “What a waste.”

  “No problem.” Piper patted her hand. “I was going to change anyway.” She excused herself and headed into the house.

  “I’m going to grab more wine,” Gigi stated, staring into her empty cup. “Did you want anything?”

  “No, thank you.” I was still nursing my own glass of wine. Just wasn’t feeling it tonight, for whatever reason.

  About a half
an hour later, once the party was in full swing, I had every intention of going to check on Luna like Vince suggested. But when I saw Jaron rush into the house, I thought better of it. I was lost in my own head and didn’t even know he had shown up.

  Following him, I saw Gigi muttering quietly to him.

  “Have you seen Piper?” she asked him, looking around her. “We bumped into each other and spilled our wine. Some landed on her dress and she was going to change.”

  “That was half an hour ago,” I added, joining them.

  Jaron went back to the patio door and muttered a curse.

  “Jaron?” Gigi raised an eyebrow.

  He pulled his phone out of his pocket and stormed toward the hall leading to our bedrooms.

  “What’s going on?” Gigi followed him.

  “Which room is Piper’s?” he demanded, inching his way down the hall.

  “Last one on the left.” Her eyes were wide. “I can’t find Brody.”

  My heart jumped. There was no way…Brody Davies had been a bit odd, but that was it. He was the mayor’s son and showed up at Gigi’s parties just because his father hated it. It was innocent though, wasn’t it?

  “Stay out here,” Jaron told us as two large men came into the house.

  “Who are you?” Gigi asked, jumping.

  “They’re with me.” Jaron went down the hall, with the two men following him.

  I rushed to Gigi and grabbed her hands. “You don’t think something happened, do you?”

  “I don’t know. I mean…” She hesitated. “Brody’s always been a bit off, but it’s never been anything more than that. Or I never thought it was. Hell, we don’t even see the guy often.”

  Now that he was older, he was always in the spotlight with his dad. The press ate him up because of his charm and good looks. I never thought he could actually do anything bad, especially with what his father did and who he was. None of this made any sense at all.

  I moved to the end of the hall. Jaron and the other guys were nowhere to be found.

  “I just told everyone they should go,” Gigi said, coming up beside me. “It’s getting late anyway.”

  It wasn’t but she made a good choice, telling everyone to leave. Something told me that tonight would end up being more than just a random party.