by Heather Long
Oh, I was aware of that. “I know, Mom. She’s my priority. We’re all making sure she isn’t alone.”
“You’re a good boy. So are they—even when you’re little hellions.” She finished her tea as I gave it a beat. “Your turn, spit it out.”
“Sis likes a sophomore brother of one of her friends. He asked her out.”
I swore my mother aged in front of me as she dropped her chin. “I am not ready for her to date.”
“Ditto. But he asked her to a movie. She asked if I’d take them since he doesn’t drive and obviously neither does she.”
Nose wrinkled, she glanced at me. “And you said?”
“I told her I would if she talked to you and got you to okay it. She figured I could take Frankie and we could double date.”
We both grimaced.
“Fine, I’ll warn your father. His head will explode.”
I snorted. But Mom wasn’t wrong. Trina was a daddy’s girl, and Dad had always put her on a pedestal. “Just let me know,” I said. “And I’ll have a chat with said sophomore at school tomorrow.”
Mug halfway to her lips, Mom paused. “Cooper.”
“I said talk, Mom. Not planning to threaten him yet.” I spread my hands. “I’m the reasonable one.” Jake could handle all the threatening for me. He would probably even enjoy it.
“Uh huh. Have a good night, baby, and check in with me tomorrow.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
It was still raining as I let myself out, so I stuck to the walkways and jogged from cover to cover. Frankie’s place was literally right down and around the corner on the other end of the building from my apartment. We’d been close for years.
But now that I’d been staying there so much?
I didn’t even want that much distance.
I unlocked the front door, and the sound of Frankie’s laughter had me grinning at the sound.
“You are such an ass,” Frankie declared, and I raised my brows as I closed and locked the door behind me.
“If you say so,” Jake answered easily before he shot me a grin. He was kicked back on the sofa, a remote in his hand, and the television paused on a very interesting movie. “Hey, Coop, everything all good?”
Frankie glanced up at me, and her grin lifted the rest of the load off my shoulders. Her flushed face and over bright eyes intrigued me, and I glanced back at the screen.
“Yeah, all good. What are you two watching?”
Dissolving into laughter again, Frankie put a hand over her face.
“Or do I not want to know?”
“Porn,” Jake said, without missing a beat. “I’m critiquing it.”
“Heh,” I laughed. “I’m in.” I dropped my bag before I slid over to sit on the sofa on Frankie’s other side and nudged her lightly. She shot a look at me, still laughing. A little mortified, but maybe a little turned on. Oh, this could be fun.
“See,” Jake said with an evil grin. “Coop’s in.”
“Oh shut up,” Frankie said, groaning. “When you said you wanted to watch experimental videos, this was not what I thought you had in mind.”
“No?” With a laugh, he hit play, and I flicked a look to the screen.
There was a woman on the bed with two very huge dudes spit roasting her.
“That doesn’t even look comfortable.”
“It’s not supposed to look comfortable,” Jake said.
“He’s right,” I admitted. “They want it to be photogenic, which means those positions are done more for camera angles than pleasure…” Course, the woman let out a scream as the one guy came all over her face.
“And that right there…” Frankie pointed. “Hell no.”
It was my turn to laugh, and I slid a look at Jake behind her back. Like what the hell? He shrugged, then nodded to her. She was laughing. And distracted.
Eh, worked for me.
“No facials,” Jake said. “Duly noted. But the rest of this is okay?”
Yeah, I didn’t miss the way she bit her lip. Hey, like I said, a guy has to have some fantasies.
“Ass,” she muttered, and I grinned. That was not a ‘no.’
“So,” Jake continued, still grinning. “Next we have…”
For the next fifteen minutes, he teased her with different porn videos, and it was hilarious. Particularly when we hit the superhero re-enactments. Some of her embarrassment went away, and she just started laughing her ass off.
When she finally ordered us to pick something new and headed to the kitchen to make popcorn, I glanced over at Jake. “Feel like helping me with the sophomore interested in Sis tomorrow?”
He slanted a look in my direction. “Intimidate or beat the crap out of him?”
“We’ll start with the warning.”
“Got it.” Jake lifted his soda and toasted me with it. “Just tell me when.”
“Thanks.”
“Anytime.”
We were still looking for a movie when Jake’s phone buzzed. “It’s my mom,” he said, rising and hitting answer. He carried it with him as he headed for the bedroom and some privacy.
I kicked back and watched Frankie as she moved around the kitchen with care. She got the popcorn made without us interfering, though I wanted to. She had it down pretty slick, too. When she carried the big bowl out, I rose. “You want me to grab drinks?”
“Yes, please. Do you need real food? Jake and I saved dinner for you.”
“I’m good,” I told her, then touched her chin gently, and when she lifted her face to me, I dropped a kiss on her lips. “Thanks for saving me food.”
“I’m getting awfully used to you guys being here.”
“Good,” I said with a wink. “I like being here.”
Studying her expression, I gave her a minute.
“You want to talk about it?” Despite her earlier laughter, there was something more going on.
“Not yet,” she admitted. “Maybe tomorrow?”
“Anytime,” I promised her.
She hesitated, then glanced to where Jake had gone, then back to me. “Ian wrote me a song.”
Schooling my expression, I nodded. “Cool?”
“It’s very cool, but…”
I waited her out.
“But I haven’t listened to it yet.”
“Do you want to listen to it?” I already knew the answer. She wouldn’t have brought it up otherwise.
“I do, and I don’t.” She made a face. “I thought we settled this, and now…”
“There’s no rush,” I reminded her. “But Bubba cares about you. So when you’re ready, you listen to his song.” Then I stroked my finger down her nose.
“Rachel wants to hang out tomorrow.”
“Okay. What do you want to do?”
Frankie groaned. “I want to just…be normal. Go to work, get homework done. Hang out with you guys.”
“Well, you’re doing all of that—except the go to work part. And Marsha said for you to take all the time you need. Your job isn’t going anywhere.”
I could almost see the “but money” argument flashing in her eyes.
“It’s going to be okay,” I reminded her. “If you want to go hang with Rachel or have Rachel come over. We’ll make it happen.”
And one of us would keep an eye on them.
When Frankie leaned into me, I wrapped her up in a hug and held her close. “It really is going to be okay,” I said. Jake re-emerged and caught my eye. Then he surprised me. Or maybe not.
He slid right up behind her, and we sandwiched her into the hug between us. It lasted for all of about thirty seconds before she said in a muffled voice, “I can’t breathe.”
Chuckling, we loosened our grip on her, but that thirty seconds had been pretty perfect.
When we finally grabbed drinks and settled in with the popcorn, she curled right between us. And that was pretty perfect, too.
Chapter Twelve
Stolen Kisses
Jake
Frankie shifting against me wo
ke me up. The night had actually been nightmare-free so far, but that didn’t stop me from waking at her every little twitch. I curved around her with her back firm against my chest, and one of my legs had tucked right between hers. With care, I lifted my head to make sure she still had her wrist on a pillow—and she did.
Only the pillow was propped up by Coop. They were both breathing steadily, soft, slow sighs that said they were still asleep. Satisfied, I dropped my head back to the pillow and feathered my hand over her hip. I liked sleeping with Frankie. The two nights previously crashing back at my place sucked.
This was much better.
She shifted again, and this time, her ass ground against my morning wood and my chances of going back to sleep winked out like a light being turned off. Fuck that felt good and like torture all at once. Every other time, I’d been tempted to tease her awake.
Today, I hesitated.
She was still recovering. The bruises were better. The visible ones on her back were still green and yellow, fading fast. The one on her cheek had taken longer, but it was also just a shadow now. Not the swollen lump of bruise it had been before. The one that made me want to find Mitch and beat the shit out of him all over again.
I shoved thoughts of him right out of my head. He didn’t get to be in this bed with her. He didn’t get to be anywhere near her ever again. Brushing her hair out of the way, I bared her neck and pressed a kiss there, then another to her ear. She shifted again, and I stroked my hand along her hip.
I loved everything about Frankie—from her sharp mind, to her competitive spirit, to her far too generous heart. The fact that she had legs to die for and sweet curves that fit me like a glove were just a perk. I mouthed another kiss right over her pulse point, even though I knew I should just go back to sleep. The hardest part of this last week hadn’t been keeping my hands to myself.
That I could handle.
Between us all, we had years of practice in not getting too handsy with her, even when I ached to roll her over and bury myself in her so deep. Or better, just wake her up with my face buried between her thighs. I’d always liked the idea of going down on a girl, but I loved going down on Frankie. Her reactions were so utterly without artifice.
She wasn’t shy about experimenting or telling me when she didn’t like something. The porn had been mostly a joke to get her out of her head the night before. She’d started worrying about whether her mother had gotten served and what her reaction would be. Then there was the mountain of homework, even though she’d been ahead and wouldn’t need long to get caught up on the rest, and her frustration with her wrist and having to rely on us was getting to her.
More, she needed to talk about what happened, but she didn’t want to. She’d talked to Coop, that much I knew. He didn’t say a word to us about what she’d said, only that she’d tried to open up, and she was trying to figure out what she wanted to do about her needs.
As much as I wanted to fix everything for her, I couldn’t. That part I loathed with every fiber of my being. One thing I’d done in all the years I’d known her was protect her, and the one time she really needed me, I hadn’t been there.
Movement had me glancing down as she turned her face toward me. She regarded me with sleepy green eyes, and the trust in them knocked my fury to the side.
“Morning, Baby Girl,” I whispered, and the corners of her mouth lifted.
She twisted to curl her left hand up to my hair, and I dropped my head obediently. When her lips parted beneath mine, I sighed and deepened what I intended to only be a soft kiss. Her tongue stroked mine, and a groan vibrated in my throat.
Then the little minx ground her ass back against me. Fuck. Heat and want pounded through my veins. Curling my fingers against her sleep shorts, I fought to keep my libido in check, but she let out a little moan as she tried roll toward me.
Good intentions shredding, I pulled back only enough to help her roll and settled her splinted arm more securely before diving back in to kiss her. Nudging my thigh back between her legs, I groaned when she fisted my hair and arched her hips arched.
Tracing a path along her jaw, I mouthed little kisses to her skin before easing her back against the pillows. Her breath came out in little ragged pants. With a flick of a look toward Coop, who continued to snore softly, I slid my hands up under her shirt to cover her breasts. I loved how they filled my palms and how her nipples would go all tense and stiff. A little stroke of my thumb, and she’d arch her back.
When she uttered a low sound, I kissed her again, stilling my hands until she quieted. Then nose-to-nose, I flicked another look toward Coop, and she glanced to the side. Her cheeks turned a rosy shade, and I grinned when she met my gaze, her own eyes wide.
She’d forgotten we weren’t alone. I gave her breasts a gentle squeeze and raised my brows. Was she up to a little fun?
The skate of her tongue over her lower lip drew me like a moth to the flame, but then she shifted with care and widened her legs until I could settle between them.
Was it any wonder I loved her? Amusement sparked in her eyes along with daring as she scraped her teeth over her lower lip. I caught one nipple and gave it a gentle twist. Her body arched, and I made a shhing sound.
Gaze fixed on hers as I felt more than heard her groan, I dropped my head down to circle one nipple with my tongue. She shifted, almost restless beneath me, and then went still again as I latched onto the nipple. If she didn’t want to wake Coop, she had to be quiet and still.
I didn’t give a damn if we woke Coop. Little shit had been hinting at it for days beforehand, and I’d read it in his eyes last night. He was as intrigued at the idea of sharing her as I was.
But right now, I was only interested in making her feel good. She’d had enough pain and discomfort the last few weeks. With only the half-light of dawn to illuminate the room and Coop’s quiet breaths beside us, we were alone in this little bubble.
She’d slept without a nightmare.
Sucking the pointed tip of her nipple against my teeth, I sighed as she fisted my hair. I slid a hand down to tease under the edge of her shorts. Dampness greeted me, and it was my turn to swallow a moan as my dick almost pulsed at the idea of sinking into her.
Condoms.
That idea floated through my brain. I had them somewhere. Needed to find them, but for now, I satisfied myself with kissing my way down her stomach. I could play with her breasts for days, I hadn’t been kidding about how pretty her titties were. I’d been half in love with them since the day I came back and discovered she’d developed them during my absence.
I pushed the blankets back off me so I could tug her shorts down, and she helped by pulling her legs up, which spread them wider, and then I was face to face with her pussy and I sighed. I loved everything about her. Biting down on the juncture between her thigh and her body, I stared up at her. She’d clapped her left hand against her mouth to muffle her own sounds.
I paused to grin, and she half-glared at me and half-dared me with the heat blazing in her eyes. I didn’t look away once as I licked her from entrance to clit. Her hips bucked up, and I grinned as I began to nuzzle against her in earnest.
Sweet, musky, and damp, I loved how she tasted. More, I loved how she responded. Her clit seemed to swell under my attention, and I lavished it with more, even as I braced her hip with one hand to keep her still.
My second favorite thing to do while I teased all these responses out of her was to slide in a finger. She clamped down around my index finger as I curved it and eased it in and out. When I added a second finger, I kept swirling circles around her clit.
Her sudden gasp cutting off drew my gaze, and I found Coop kissing her for all he was worth. Satisfaction unfolded in me, and I locked down, increasing the pressure until her cries broke through the stolen kisses and she came in a rush.
I lifted my face to study her flushed chest as it rose and fell rapidly. Her nipples were both peaked, and Coop slid a hand over one, cupping it and teasing the nipple with
his thumb as I wiped my cheeks against the blanket.
When Coop finally lifted his head, Frankie looked to me, her eyes glazed over and her lips swollen. For a brief second, worry flashed in her eyes, and I grinned.
“None of that, Baby Girl,” I told her as I stroked the inside of her thigh. I needed a minute to get myself under a leash, because I wanted to finish what we’d started. “That was fucking hot.”
“Yeah it was,” Coop agreed in a similarly ragged tone.
She shuddered from head to toe, and I pressed a kiss to her belly before I stretched over her to the side table. The drawer opened to a roll of condoms I’d stored there. I pulled one out, and Coop moved slightly to lay on his side while still toying with her breast.
“Is this all right?” he asked. While his attention seemed focused on her, Coop continued to twist and tweak her nipples. She arched her back and another full body shudder passed through her. The goosebumps rippling over her skin promised me he was doing a wonderful job of keeping her on edge. I shed my shorts and rolled the condom on.
“I don’t mind,” I answered when Frankie gave another pleased gasp. “Do you, Baby Girl?”
Licking her lips, she dragged her gaze from Coop to me, and there it was—that daring glint in her eyes. “No,” she whispered. “I want both of you.”
The words sank into me, riding an edge of triumph, and I ran my hands up and down her thighs, petting her as much as soothing myself. “You’re going to get that,” I promised. “Maybe not at once, not yet.”
She wasn’t ready for that yet. Not with her wrist and her still healing bruises. But we could work our way up there.
“Soon,” Coop agreed, then slanted a look at me. I nodded at the desire in his eyes. Yeah, I wanted that, too. But right now, I just wanted Frankie, and I was fine with Coop sharing this moment. Fuck, I looked forward to after. “Jake first,” he said as he leaned down to kiss Frankie again. The way he went after those kisses, practically devouring her as he pinched her nipple until it flushed deep red, sent an answering pulse to my cock.
