“No, Hannah, that’s fine. Go ahead and send it out and finish booking those flights. I’ll keep you posted if I hear anything else.”
“Sorry,” I mouth. He shakes his head as he listens to the other end of the phone.
“Great, thanks,” he says before pulling the phone away from his ear and hitting the end button.
“Sorry, Randy pretty much demanded I come down here.” I shrug.
He chuckles. “I’m glad you’re here,” he whispers as he comes to wrap his arms around me. I feel him relax into me.
“How are things?” I ask still wrapped in his arms.
“Taken care of, at least as best as I can for right now. Maricopa County won’t release the body until after an autopsy is performed.”
“Was it his fault?” I ask for clarification.
“Not that we know, but according to the sheriff’s office, it’s standard procedure while they investigate. I don’t mind either because it will be nice to know if there was anything that prevented my guys from avoiding the accident.” He sighs as he releases me. “I need a smoke.”
I smile at him as he goes looking for his cigarettes.
“Jerry—the one in the hospital—is in surgery, but his family is on their way from Los Angeles. One of my guys is on their way from Anchorage to help handle arrangements for the family.”
“Why are you doing so much for the family?” I ask, unsure why he is going out of his way to help them. “DXT isn’t responsible for the accident.”
“No, we’re not, technically, but the families of these guys could still sue me.”
“Don’t you have any protection against that?” I narrow my eyes at him, wondering why he wouldn’t protect himself that way.
He scowls at me. “Of course, I do,” he scoffs, “but it doesn’t mean they won’t try.” He opens one of the doors on the side of his house, one leading to a patio before he lights up and steps outside. I follow after him. “If they find my guys are not a fault in the accident, then they really have no grounds to sue me.”
“They have no grounds regardless. It may be your trucks, but they’re responsible for how they drive them. And like you said, if they’re not to blame for the accident, I wouldn’t worry so much about it.”
Dirk shrugs. “Then I guess I’m taking care of the families because it’s the right thing to do. It’s within my means, and there’s no telling whether or not they can afford to get to Phoenix.” He sighs. “It’s the least I can do for them, but it won’t last forever.” He takes a drag. “Besides, even if the family drove from Los Angeles to Phoenix, if something happens to their loved one along the way, they won’t get a chance to say good-bye. After Kathy…” He doesn’t say anything else; he doesn’t need to. I know his thoughts are going to us losing Kathy, but we were at least able to say good-bye to her.
“I know,” I whisper as I join him on the porch overlooking Puget Sound.
“Manny, the guy who was killed, his family is staying in Dallas. I offered to fly them to Phoenix, but they refused. His widow had no problem accepting my willingness to make sure he got home to be buried. Though, I got the impression she’s either in shock or there’s more going on there than I’m aware of. She didn’t seem anywhere near as heartbroken as Jerry’s wife did.”
“That’s unfortunate,” I say as I pull a smoke from my pack and light it. I pull in a deep drag.
“Ryleigh make it?” he asks, changing the subject.
I nod. “Yup, she’s going to go with Randy to the funeral home.”
His eyes find mine, narrowing his eyes. “I thought you were going.”
“It seems Randy thinks it’s more important for me to be here with you.”
He glares at me. “Would you rather go with him?” he asks, terse.
“No,” I murmur, “I’d rather be here with you. I just meant he was insistent that he didn’t need me and you did.” I sigh softly, “I think Ryleigh gives him someone to lean on besides someone who reminds him of her. And my need to control everything for him probably isn’t helping.”
Dirk snorts a laugh then wraps his arm around my shoulder. “I think Jax gave him a distraction, and sometimes, no matter how down you think you are, the innocence of children can’t be ignored. Randy took comfort in that. Maybe Ryleigh is his comfort for right now.” He pushes into me, teasingly. “And maybe he just needs to feel in control of something.”
“He didn’t have to send me away for that,” I scoff. I bring my cigarette to my lips and take a slow drag and blow it out slowly. “What about you?”
“That’s why you’re here,” he whispers softly before kissing my temple.
We both stand there, his arm over my shoulders as we finish our smokes. “Where’s Jax?” he asks as we head back inside.
“Up at the house, Melody has him.”
“Good,” he smiles sweetly at me and reaches out for my hand. I offer it to him and his sweet smile turns into a wicked little smirk. “I think we can both use a distraction.” He grips my hand a little tighter and leads me to the stairs where he climbs them quickly. I follow after him straight to his bedroom.
He pulls me toward him, then spins me so I’m facing the platform bed. He slides his hands around, under my arms, and he cups my breasts, pulling down gently until he has my nipples in his grasp. He rolls them, and I moan. My head lulls back against his shoulder, and he steals his chance. He kisses and bites gently along the column of exposed flesh from my neck to my shoulder. His hands haven’t stopped their assault on my tits, and my pussy heats, clenches, and warms with his lips on my neck.
He releases my tits, and his hands slide down my stomach, finding the hem of my shirt and pulling it up. I lift my arms and he pulls away from my neck to pull it off. When it’s gone, he starts to kiss along one shoulder. His hands come to my bra straps, pulling them off and freeing my breasts, though, he hasn’t unclasped it yet. His hands go back to my tits, pulling them free, and his fingers roll my nipples. “Xavier,” I breathe.
“What do you want, sweetness?” he asks.
I shiver at his tone. It’s darker, a little more intense than what I’m used to, and it further ignites my need for him. “You,” I say huskily.
He gently pushes me to the bed and then pulls down my pants. The next thing I know, there’s a hand between my legs. His fingers brush my clit, his thumb teases my entrance, and I moan. I barely hear the gentle release of his zipper before he’s slamming inside me.
“Oh fuck!” I cry out. Pleasure, need, desperation, and desire all rip me in two as he fills me. Full and desperate.
He doesn’t pause.
Doesn’t let me adjust.
He grabs my hips, and he pumps hard and fast in and out of me.
My orgasm rattles around on the surface faster than I expect, and I bite my lip and bury my face in his bed, crying out and thrusting back into him as hard and fast as I can manage.
He stops, his cock buried inside me, hard as steel, and his left hand finds my thigh, lifting it up onto the bed and pushing me forward. He falls from inside me, and I whimper at the loss of having him buried to the hilt.
He pushes me up just a little more, then the bed dips and he straddles my straightened leg. “Oh god,” I breathe as he pushes inside me. The fullness is intense, the tightness of my pussy gripping around him sends waves of pleasure rocketing through me as he pushes further in, his hand on my hip, pushing downward. Xavier pulls out and thrust back into me. Over and over again.
I twist my upper body, and the shift is felt between my legs, making him groan. I reach out for him, looking for contact. His eye’s look down at me with lust, need, and pure pleasure evident in the slack of his jaw. He doesn’t stop his assault on me. His hands grip my hips tighter, fingers pressing into me. I lower my hand in favor of cupping my breast and rolling my nipple between my fingers. Tugging and pulling on it. My eyes roll up as pleasure explodes, and I can no longer hold back as I come apart all over his cock. He growls, grunts, and fucks me harder, faster
. His breathing grows ragged and exhausted, but he doesn’t stop.
As I’m coming down from my orgasm, Xavier shifts again, moving so he’s between my legs before he grabs my hips and lifts them slightly. He turns me so my chest is flush against the bed, my knees up slightly and my hips at the perfect angle for him to lean forward. His fists into the mattress at my sides and pounds into me again.
Hard.
Fast.
Intense.
Too much.
He grunts.
I moan.
Uneven strokes.
“Fuck!” he growls, and I know he’s close.
“Come on, come in me,” I moan. “Fuck me, Xavier, fuck me harder,” I cry out.
He does exactly that, tipping me over the edge before he explodes inside me.
Chapter 40
Xavier
Taking her that way, in my bedroom, was not how I intended to do so when I brought her up there. But the deeper into it I got, the harder and more careless I needed to be with her. We both took everything we needed from each other.
We both needed an escape, and we found it in each other.
An escape that we would indulge in frequently over the next couple of days while we waited for arrangements to be finalized. It seemed like we had a million and one things to do, but so much of it was like the military—hurry up and wait. Waiting for confirmation from the funeral home. Waiting for friends and Randy’s family to arrive. Kathy doesn’t have any living family since Erron’s passing.
Randy’s house became a revolving door of visitors and guests. Randy did what he could to play host, but I was impressed with Skylar and Ryleigh stepping up to make sure Randy and guests were fed at regular intervals and had anything and everything they needed. I guess it was Rebel’s way of keeping busy.
We spent our days with Randy.
That first night, Ryleigh and Skylar spent their night in Skye’s hotel room with a whole lot of alcohol and a shit ton of catching up. I was flattered when she asked me if it was all right for her not to spend the night with me. There was no way I could say no to her spending time with her friend, but I missed her terribly.
They needed the time together, and I got to spend some time with my son. I offered to give Melody the night off, and Jax spent the night on the boat with me. It was probably one of the best and worst nights of my life.
It was the greatest because I got to hang out with him for a few hours before it was bedtime. We played, talked, and even watched a movie together. He fell fast asleep. I slept like shit, paranoid something was going to happen to him or he’d wake up and I wouldn’t hear him. In the end, it was pointless because, like Rebel warned me, he’s a solid, sound sleeper. Jax didn’t wake until around 8:00 the next morning. Obviously, adjusted to the time.
I laughed the next morning when Rebel and Ryleigh showed up in sunglasses looking like death warmed over. Even Randy laughed at the two of them. I’ll admit it was nice to see Skylar looking a little lighter that morning. The night of drinking with her best friend was what she needed to let loose. Plus, I suspect there was a lot of talking going on. I’m sure I was the topic of conversation for a little while because Ryleigh seemed quite happy to see me.
At one point later that day, she cornered me on the porch.
“Just so you know, I’ve been rooting for you for the last two years.” She smiles sweetly at me.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“When she came home from Dutch Harbor, she was a mess. I really tried my hardest to get her to see that she’d made a mistake.”
“It wasn’t a mistake. She did what she thought was best.” I don’t know why I’m defending her. Except for the fact that I have her back now. For now, I amend mentally.
“Maybe, but once she found out she was pregnant…”
“I would have appreciated that phone call more than what I found out two days ago.”
I put my hands on the railing of the porch and look out toward the sound.
“I tried,” she says softly.
“I have no doubt about that,” I sigh, “but you know as well I do that Skylar does what Skylar wants. She’s stubborn that way.”
“I think you’re both equally as stubborn.” She joins me then, looking out over water and leaning against one of the porch posts, her hands crossed over her chest.
I look at her with a smirk on my lips. “You’re right about that.”
She chortled at that.
I’ll admit, it was nice to know that someone, even though she didn’t know me, was on my side. I’m not naïve enough to believe anyone could have changed her mind except for Skylar. If Ryleigh couldn’t convince her that contacting me was the right thing to do, no one would have been able to do that. Skylar is the type of woman who makes up her mind and sticks to it. I do believe that she warred with herself about reaching out to me in regard to Jax and I don’t think it was with malicious intent that she didn’t tell me about him. I truly believe, the longer I talked to Ryleigh, she was doing what she believed was right.
Over the last few days and the more time I spend with my son, the more I forgive Rebel’s decision. She did what she did for reasons she believed to be the right ones, though, slightly misguided. I understand she never intended to get pregnant, and it wasn’t like we were talking about a future together, let alone how either one of us felt about children.
I also know now I cannot honestly say how I’d have reacted if she called me two years ago. I don’t know that I would have been ready to have children, though I always wanted them, until I saw Jax for the first time. I realized then that I was more ready than I thought. The more time I spend with him, the deeper and deeper in love with him I get. I can’t change the past. I can only do my best to move forward with her and my son.
Our family.
It was later, after Ryleigh and I talked, that Randy’s brother and his wife arrived in Seattle. Regardless of the revolving door of people coming by the house, the arrival of Daniel and Anna was exactly what Randy needed. His brother provided a comfort to Randy that no one else could. Danny and Randy are very close, or at least as close as they can be living a couple thousand miles apart. Danny chose a life away from the crab fishery when he decided to go to college in Texas. That’s where he met his wife, Anna, and they’ve raised their three children. Danny is a computer programmer for a large company based in Dallas. He was always the book smart one where Randy was the physically smart type.
Randy followed in their father’s footsteps with the Alaskan crab fleet. Erron’s death brought him into a more management role in order to maintain the business for Rebel when she got older.
Though, Danny does play a little part in Bearded Bean, as well as DXT, as we both use software created by Danny for tracking of business finances, as well as our payroll systems. Danny is brilliant, and I’m very happy he and Anna were able to come to Seattle for Randy. It also brought Rebel and me some comfort to know that Randy wouldn’t be alone at night as Danny and Anna will be staying at the house with him. Though, he seemed to be doing okay each morning when we arrived.
Tomorrow, we will celebrate Kathy’s life.
Tomorrow, we will say our final good-byes to her.
I’m not ready.
I’ve tried to stay as strong as I could for Rebel, for Randy, but my resolve seems to be crumbling a bit the closer we get to tomorrow.
I was able to take comfort from Rebel.
I was able to distract myself with the dealings of DXT. Manny’s body was safely returned to his family in Dallas. We are still awaiting the results of the autopsy; however, the coroner released the body.
Jerry is still recovering in Phoenix, but his family is at his side. I’ve spoken with his doctors and his wife a few times over the last few days. The doctors are optimistic he will make a full recovery, but he will have a very long road ahead of him in order to get there. Fortunately for his family, they should be able to medically transport him back to Los Angeles in the coming week, provi
ded he stays on track with his recovery. That will make things much easier for his family. Fortunately, the children are done with school so they are all able to stay together. Hannah was able to find them a nice place to stay that isn’t a hotel room near the hospital. She also had some clothes and groceries delivered to them since they were forced to pack in such a hurry. Jerry’s wife, Carly, has been very grateful for our help and hospitality, but she also expressed how she doesn’t blame DXT or me for what happened to her husband. He’s been driving for many years, and this isn’t the first time he’s been in an accident, it’s just the most severe. Carly is a sweet woman, and while my generosity won’t last forever, providing her with a few creatures of comfort while they’re away from home is the least I can do. If she wasn’t so appreciative of it; I wouldn’t continue helping her.
It’s for these reasons that beyond getting Manny’s body home, I refuse to help his family any further. His wife hasn’t exactly been appreciative of what I have offered her. I guess you can’t please everybody.
I’ve also spoken with my lawyers, and they’ve assured me that myself and DXT are protected. Rebel and I even discussed it with Ryleigh, given her legal knowledge. Though, she’s unfamiliar with Alaskan and Washington State laws, she assures me that if the contracts are as iron clad as my lawyers assure me they are, there are no grounds for a lawsuit from Manny’s family.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Rebel asks as she joins me at the railing on the porch of Randy’s house.
I sigh. “Just thinking about Manny’s family.”
“What about them?” She lights a smoke and blows it out before I look to her.
“About how ungrateful his wife seems.”
She takes another drag, thinking, before her green eyes meet mine. “You can’t please everyone, and it’s not your job to please her. There’s obviously more to the story than you know.” She gives me a sad smile. “For all you know, their marriage has been over for a very long time, or it could already be over, she’s just the person he has listed as his next of kin with you.”
Always Love Me: A Standalone Second Chance Romance Page 30
