by Cara Dee
“Oh, for Pete’s sake. How much have you had to drink, sugar?”
“Two beers!” I let her go and took another bite from my sandwich. It was really good. Boone had picked it up for me while I’d waited in the Uber. Like a patty melt but on a baguette and with garlic butter and pickles. “By the way, some asshole threw up in the elevator.”
Mom shot me a look before she gave Boone a similar one, but with more annoyance. “What’s wrong with you? You know your brother can’t drink as much as you can. It’s your responsibility to look out for him.”
She was so right! I waved my sandwich at her. “Yeah, what she said.”
Boone turned incredulous. “What the hell? Last time I checked, he was a grown man.”
I shrugged and chewed on a mouthful of delicious food. “Admit it, you just wanted to drink me under the table so you could take advantage.” Ignoring Boone’s warning glare, I faced Mom again. “He put his tongue in my mouth, Mom.”
Mom raised her brows and eyed us both. Then she shook her head and disappeared into the suite, only to return a few seconds later with her purse. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re on, but you make sure to sober up, stat. You hear me, boys? We’ll talk tomorrow.”
She patted our cheeks before walking out, and I had to be real quick before I lost her.
“But, Mom.” I stuck my head out the door. “You didn’t tell me you love me back.”
She sighed and offered an indulgent smile. “I love you both to stupid measures. Now, please, for the love of God, do not wake up Paisley.”
I grinned. “We won’t. Did y’all have a nice time?”
“We always do, sugar. Go back inside and get some rest.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I brought my sandwich into the bathroom and sat down on the edge of the tub. I’d plant my merry ass on the shitter if it weren’t in its own little space, and I’d just get lonely in there. I wanted company. To be honest, I hadn’t felt sick in probably over five minutes, so maybe I was done throwing up. That would be great. It meant I’d be better company to Boone too, who came in with a change of clothes for me. Or a pair of boxer shorts and a tee anyway.
“I’m thirsty,” I informed him.
“You’re chatty as fuck too.” He placed my clothes between the two sinks. “I’ll be right back. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Like what?” I polished off the rest of my sandwich and threw the wrapper in the bathtub. I wasn’t supposed to throw shit on the floor.
Boone snorted on his way out. “I ain’t giving you ideas.”
I didn’t need ideas. I needed to strip. I couldn’t shower with clothes on. As I stood up and started removing my belt, I caught sight of our toiletries on the sink, and I had to smile. Ma had placed my toothbrush next to one sink and Boone’s next to the other, and Ace’s was in between the two. But if he moved in with us, we’d share a sink, and it definitely wouldn’t be made out of marble.
Boone returned by the time I was throwing my shirt over the chair by the vanity, and he had a Coke and a bottle of water for me.
He looked a little put off. I didn’t like that.
“Are you mad at me?” I asked.
He pulled out a bottle of painkillers from his pocket and shot me a wry smirk. “I wouldn’t say mad.”
“What would you say, then?” I pushed down my pants and underwear, then removed my socks too.
Boone averted his gaze and leaned against the sink. “Frustrated. All kinds of frustrated.”
“Oh.” I didn’t know what to say to that. Instead, I downed two painkillers with a couple mouthfuls of water. Room-temperature water. Fuck that. I opened the Coke next. It was ice-cold.
Goddamn, that felt good.
After draining half the bottle, I picked up my toothbrush and noticed Boone staring at me and trying to be discreet about it. More accurately, he was checking out my stomach. Yeah, I bet he hadn’t believed me when I’d told him my abs showed a little now. That’d show the fucker! I hadn’t been lying.
“When did you do this one?” He brushed his fingers over a tattoo along my rib cage. It was my latest piece, a heavily shadowed image of Boone’s first car. A blue, American classic that we used to drive out into the desert to get high in.
“Last year, I think.” I squeezed some toothpaste onto my toothbrush, then headed for the shower next to the bathtub. I wanted to get more ink, but I was running out of places to put it. Boone had more space on his torso. Mostly his back and his shoulders were tatted up—and one that snaked down from his shoulder to the side of his ribs. But his chest was free of ink, unlike mine. And I hoped it stayed that way, ’cause his chest was magnificent as it was. Plus, he had more chest hair than me, and that was just sexy as shit.
Talk about luxury, the water turned hot right away. I stepped under the spray and began brushing my teeth, and I contemplated asking why he was still here. Although I was far from sober, I didn’t feel sick anymore, and the earth wasn’t spinning as quickly either. In half an hour or so, I’d even be able to close my eyes without getting dizzy.
“Boone?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you enjoying the show?”
He sighed heavily and didn’t say anything.
I grinned to myself and spat out some toothpaste. Shame I couldn’t see his facial features properly through the glass.
I bet I was hot when I gargled.
He’d kissed me tonight. That was wild. It’d actually happened.
I twisted my body and cupped my hand under the body wash dispenser. “Are you pissed I told Ma you had your wicked way with me?”
Boone left the sink and sat down at the vanity instead, so I guess he wasn’t leaving anytime soon.
“Not really.” He yawned. “I know your mouth runs when you’re drunk.”
Hey. I was offended. The truth was, it depended on the topic. I’d never compromise any work shit or say anything Ace shouldn’t hear.
“My mouth can do a lot of things,” I chose to say instead.
He didn’t reply now either. Bastard.
I let it go and focused on soaping up. The hot water was quickly draining me of my last energy, and I was looking forward to falling asleep. Boone could take the bed with Ace. I’d been told I snored like a motherfucker after a night out. Besides, the sectional in the sitting area looked plenty comfy.
“I’ll sleep on the couch, by the way.” I tilted my head back and let the water wash me clean. No dizziness when I closed my eyes—score.
“All right. I’ll, uh…I’ll go prepare it for you.”
I cracked one eye open and watched him walk out. There wasn’t much to prepare. We’d been given spare sheets and whatever for Ace; I could grab that myself.
When I was done, I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my hips.
My reflection in the mirror made me wince, so I didn’t linger. I dried off hurriedly before I put on my boxer briefs, and then I took myself and my bloodshot eyes outta the bathroom.
I paused at the bed, seeing Ace’s hair splayed all over her pillow, and I couldn’t keep myself from walking over to her side. It was a magnetic pull that I had no control over. She was asleep and hugging a stuffed animal to her—a birthday present from Boone, if I wasn’t mistaken. I bent down and brushed a kiss to her forehead, and I fucking hated how quickly she was growing up. From the age of four, she’d been a tiny adult. It wasn’t often she slept with her stuffies anymore.
“Case.”
I straightened and glanced over at Boone. Maybe he was worried I was gonna wake her up. The couch was visible through the railing dividing the suite, and he’d prepared one side of the couch for me. The only thing that stood between me and crisp sheets now was Boone himself. There were two steps, and I could only descend one of them because he was blocking the way.
I lifted a brow in question, even though he wasn’t making eye contact. His tired gaze roamed my body instead, and his inner turmoil suddenly became painfully clear to me. He couldn’t make hea
ds or tails of what he was feeling.
“I don’t know what to do when close isn’t close enough.” His low, rough voice shook me with the openhearted plea in it.
“No, I think you know,” I murmured. He was just afraid, and I got it. A lot was at stake. “But whatever you’re going through, I’m here.” It was terrifying to me too, but there was no alternative. I’d wanted him for so fucking long that even if this turned out to be a temporary phase of confusion for him, it didn’t matter. He could use me. I had no pride or dignity in the matter.
I had very little hope, too, to be honest. Boone had always been straighter than an arrow, and I was willing to bet he was mixing up his grief—missing me, wanting to raise Ace with me, be a family—with the types of feelings he otherwise reserved for women. But now I was back in his life, and perhaps he didn’t know what to make of it.
“What do you wanna do right now?” I asked quietly.
He finally looked me in the eye, and there was no doubt about what he wanted. The fire ignited instantly. He closed the distance between us and kissed me, and I was fully prepared for once. I cupped his cheeks and pressed myself to him, feeling less cautious and a lot more demanding.
He was getting bolder too, and I fucking loved it. As I deepened the kiss, he slipped his hands underneath my boxer briefs and palmed my ass roughly, squeezing me to him. It shot a bolt of lust through me, and I moved my hands to the back of his head and my fingers into his hair.
He exhaled the sexiest groan when I tugged at his hair, so I made sure to do it again.
Despite that he only had a couple inches on me in height, it felt good to stand on the middle step and tower over him a little. It felt even better how he seemingly went all in and took everything I gave him. I wanted to go so much further, but I had to slow my roll.
I swept my tongue around his and tried to go for a more unhurried kiss. Not just for him, for me too. If I kept going much longer, I’d be hard as a rock.
I didn’t wanna stop kissing him, though. His lips felt too fucking good against my own. Warm, both soft and firm, with the sexy rasp of our beards.
“Go take a shower.” I had to clear the lust out of my voice. I wasn’t sure what turned me on the most, kissing him or feeling his cock getting hard against my thigh. “When you’re done, go to bed if you’re tired. Or—come to me, and I’ll take care of you.”
He shuddered and inched back a little. “Don’t put those thoughts in my head.”
I mustered a ghost of a smile and kissed him quickly. “I’m not asking for anything in return, and I won’t push you. But I won’t lie. I want that cock in my throat.”
“Jesus.” He took another step back and scrubbed his hands over his face. “The thoughts are in my head now, jackass.”
I chuckled and passed him on the way to the couch.
I was passed out seconds after my head hit the pillow, so it was totally up to him what happened next. Either he woke me up and got head, or we’d wake up at the same time when Ace deemed it was time to get breakfast.
Neither happened. As if my body had been expecting it, I went from fast asleep to wide awake when Boone crawled under the duvet with me sometime later. He couldn’t have come straight from his shower. For one, his hair was dry. For two, the night sky was giving way to a new day, slowly but surely.
We had maybe an hour or two before Ace would be up.
“What time is it?” I whispered.
“Five.” He pulled the duvet higher up and landed on the pillow. “I just wanna be close to you.”
I swallowed past the dryness in my throat and shifted an arm under his head. “Okay. I’m right here.” He looked like he hadn’t slept much. I was ready to get a few more Z’s, though. I didn’t wanna move around too much either, ’cause I could sense a headache threatening to overtake if I got cocky.
He sighed contentedly and buried his face against my neck, and I wrapped my arms around him and welcomed one of his legs between mine.
“So you robbed me of getting you off, huh?”
“Yeah. Sorry. Jacked it in the shower.”
“Hmpf.”
I felt his sleepy smile against my skin, and I kissed him on the forehead.
“Aren’t you gonna ask me what got me off?” he asked quietly.
Maybe I should since he’d brought it up.
“Tell me.”
He hummed and stretched out alongside me. “Your, uh, fingers in my ass.”
“Fuck me,” I mouthed into the darkness. Then I turned onto my side, wanting to get closer. “Yeah, whenever you wanna explore that, you lemme know.”
He chuckled with a pinch of nervousness in his voice, and that was so unlike Boone. He didn’t do nervous.
“My big bear.” I threw caution to the wind and reached down to grope his ass. Fuck, how he turned me on. He was big all over. And now it was difficult to sleep. I couldn’t even keep my head on the pillow. I had to look at him. For every minute that went by, the sky outside provided more light so I could see him clearer. “You’re so fucking hot.”
He let out a breath and ended up on his back. “Don’t turn me on again. I just wanna hold you.”
Always the sweetheart.
“Give me two minutes with your chest.” I didn’t wait for his response. I dipped down and nuzzled his pec, feeling his chest hair tickle my lips. Until I reached a nipple.
He shivered when I closed my mouth around it. His fingers disappeared into my hair next, and I was ready for him to pull me back at any moment. But before he did, I was gonna get my fill.
I touched him greedily, every inch that I’d only been allowed to stare at in secret. I kissed him too. Sucked on his flesh, nipped at him, and went a little crazy. Every time he tensed up, I felt his muscles underneath my fingers. A silent reminder that a steely beast rested under the soft teddy bear.
“Christ,” he breathed.
It was tempting to try to seduce him. It would be so easy… While I kissed my way down to his stomach, it was impossible to miss his cock starting to strain in his boxers. The sight of him made my mouth water.
I reluctantly shifted upward again, leaving a trail of openmouthed kisses until I got to his lips, and then he took over. He rolled half on top of me and kissed me hungrily, and he was quick to pull up the duvet once more. It was as if he were trying to keep us hidden in a cocoon.
“You weren’t supposed to turn me on,” he murmured in a gravelly tone.
I smiled against his lips. “My bad.”
He let out a humming sound and squeezed me to him. “Right now, everything is perfect.” He grabbed my jaw and gave me an intoxicating kiss that demanded every bit of my attention. He stole it with how he slid his tongue along mine, how he angled my head, how he moved his lips so fucking sensually, and how he controlled when I could come up for air.
When he lined up our bodies and tangled our legs, I had to bite back a moan. Feeling his cock against my own threatened to short-circuit my goddamn brain, and I couldn’t stop from pressing myself harder against him.
He took a shuddering breath, then slid a hand between us, and I groaned under my breath as he palmed my cock.
He ghosted his lips over mine and spoke in a husky voice. “You don’t know how liberating it is to touch you wherever I want.”
I…uh. I was pretty sure I knew.
“I don’t wanna laugh in your face, Boone.” I smiled to keep it light, but he had to get one thing straight. “This is what I’ve wanted for most of my adult life.” With that said, I took charge again. I shifted on top of him and pushed down his underwear, and mine followed. Other than an audible swallow of nervousness, he didn’t express anything.
I ran my fingertips over his cock.
He cursed and shivered violently.
His cock was just like the rest of him, big and perfect, soft to the touch, rock hard underneath.
“God, that feels good,” he exhaled.
“Let me swallow your cock, big brother,” I whispered.
&n
bsp; His breath stuttered. “Jesus. Okay.” He nodded jerkily and scrubbed his hands over his face. “I-I might get rough.”
Desire exploded within me. “Even better.”
I didn’t waste a second. I crawled down and got comfortable so I could stroke myself off at the same time as I finally got my mouth on him, and he pushed himself up a little on his elbows.
His heated gaze was glued to me as I gripped the base of his cock and wrapped my lips around the head.
When I took him in, slowly, coating him with my tongue, he clenched his jaw.
“I didn’t know this was what I wanted,” he gritted out under his breath. “I feel like a caged animal—I don’t wanna hurt you.”
He couldn’t. He seriously couldn’t. But sensing his frustration, I made it clear I had no intention of teasing him or revving him up unnecessarily. I just wanted to take care of him properly—and give him everything. I sucked him long and hard, reveling in every goddamn second, and never before had giving someone else head offered me this kind of pleasure. The relief ran through me and didn’t seem to stop.
“Fucking hell, Case.” He struggled to keep his voice down, not to mention to keep his breathing even. “Oh fuck—oh fuck.”
I closed my eyes and hollowed out my cheeks every time I sucked him in. Fisting my own cock, I went deeper until I had to fight against the urge to gag. Instead, I swallowed around his head and released the base of him. I wanted him to feel free to fuck my throat, so I pressed a hand underneath him instead, encouraging him to move.
He breathed harshly through his nose and shook his head. “I can’t. Sit up. I gotta stand.”
Fuck yes.
I eased back on my heels and wiped my mouth, then threw a quick glance toward the bed. Okay, good, we were safe. On the off chance that she woke up, she wouldn’t be able to see us right away.
Boone’s thoughts were similar to mine, and he moved closer to the corner of the couch where we’d be hidden further.
As I sat down on the edge, he reached down and wrapped his fingers around my cock, and he captured my mouth in a brutal kiss.
I swallowed a groan at the pleasure coursing through me.
“Closer isn’t close enough either,” he rasped.
