by Heather Long
“I am.” It was my turn to promise, but I had to relax to take him, because my core muscles clenched too tight. He dug his fingers into my sore ass gently, tiny pricks of awareness flaming through my system as I eased up and then down again. Between us, we worked him into me until we were both grunting little explosive breaths.
Honestly, I devoured his expression, savoring every time his jaw tensed or his lips constricted. I flexed around him, the feel of him incredible as a counterpoint to his fingers alternating between digging into my ass and massaging it. The fire stoked from both sides, and as much as I wanted to take over the pace, I let go of that thought and followed his cues.
“Fuck, Angel,” he groaned. “You are so perfect. That’s it, my beautiful girl, ride me.”
He thrust upward to meet my next downward stroke, and my head tilted back. I wanted to keep looking at him, but he felt so good inside of me. Every little jolt teased my nipples against his chest, and then he ran his hands up my sides and cupped each breast. With a gentle push, he urged me higher, and I began to rock against him.
My body knew his, and with very little nudging from him, I rolled my hips and twisted a little with each thrust. He massaged my breasts and teased my nipples until all that was left of me was sensation. I was so close, but it was like that orgasm was just right there, just out of reach, and I needed just a bit more…
He flipped us over until he was on top and then powered into me, and I came screaming. Even as he kissed me, I cried out against his mouth, the thrust of his hips powerful and pushing me higher on the bed. Every stroke sent sparks through my system, and he didn’t relent, pushing me into a second orgasm before he let go with a groan of his own.
I swallowed his cries as he spent himself, the heat spreading inside of me a feeling I never wanted to miss anymore. I loved the intimacy of him emptying into me. The connection and the feel of being together.
With light kisses and soft brushes of his hands, he eased me down from panting shallow breaths to longer, sweeter sighs, and when he lifted his head and stared at me, I smiled.
“Better?” he asked.
No shadows in evidence. Every single one pummeled and destroyed in the warmth and light of his love and affection. Corny? Maybe. I didn’t care. “So much better,” I whispered. “I can’t wait for you to tie me up like you were learning today. Then play with me however you see fit.”
“Yeah?” he said with a slow grin. “Any way I see fit?”
“Hmm…yes.”
“What if I want to tie you up, get you wound up and soaking wet so I can come back and play with you whenever I feel like?”
I shivered. “I’d love it.”
“And if I let the guys come in one at a time, let them play with you however they liked?”
“Whatever you want, Sir.”
He chuckled and nipped my lower lip, then kissed me softly. “Angel…look at me.” Arms braced on either side of my head, he cupped my face, and this close, I couldn’t see anything that wasn’t him. Hell, he was still inside me, soft but there and connected. “Last summer without you sucked. But you never lost us. You never lost me. We might have been apart, but we were always with you. You were always with us.”
“Never again.” Ferocity tore through me.
“Not like that,” he agreed. “No matter what life throws at us, you will always remember that I love you. That you have my heart. You have had my heart longer than I even understood what that meant. You have always been the only one for me.”
Sometimes, I wished I could say that to them, but at the same time… “It’s only ever been you guys.”
“I know,” he said smiling. “You’re mine. Just like you’re theirs, but that doesn’t make you any less mine.”
No, it didn’t. It had been so hard for Ian, in some ways, because all he wanted was to protect me. Protect me from the world. From them. From myself. “We’re safe together,” I whispered, and this time when we kissed, it was all sweetness and gentle delight. He rolled onto his back and pulled me with him until I collapsed against his chest, cradled safely to him. He stroked my back and teased my hair back.
“How’s your butt?” he asked with just a hint of teasing.
“Sore,” I told him honestly. “But I like it. I can feel your hands on me still. It’s warm and kind of like how my vagina feels at the moment—hot and well-spanked.”
He chuckled. “I didn’t break your vagina this time?”
A groan ripped through me. “Oh my god, you guys are never going to forget that.”
“Nope,” he said without a hint of remorse. “It’s an achievement unlocked. Though I am tempted to find out if I can do it on my own without any back up.”
That was the only warning I got before he thrust into me again, and my eyes rolled back into my head.
Oh hell.
It was going to be a glorious night.
We never did get to the ice cream.
Subject: SUMMER PLANS
I’d kill to see you guys in concert again, but currently, I don’t know what our summer plans are. Archie is being very cagey. Yes, I know he’s the one making them, but considering our spring, I’m not going to say no to anything. That said, we’ll be in Manhattan before August. If you really are enrolling at the school in Connecticut, we won’t be that far away. Maybe we can lure you into the city to come listen to us practice.
Are all of you going? Or just you? I don’t even know much about the school. I did see it when we were up there. My grandparents live pretty close by. As for lyric sheets, see attached. Ian and I have studio time this weekend, but we’ve been swamped with some other stuff. We’re going to re-record and remix.
Weird question, are you going to miss touring? I swear, I think you girls have been on tour since I first started listening. (Also feel free to ignore the question.)
F.
Chapter Nine
Be Still
Frankie
I wandered out from my shower to find Archie and Coop in the kitchen with Jake. They were razzing him, and his eyes gleamed when he caught sight of me. “Good morning, Baby Girl. Glad to see you still walking.”
Pausing, I raised my brows. “I was not that loud.”
“Oh, yeah you were,” he said with a wide grin. “And I was here for it. But I found a happy volume on the headphones.”
Laughter escaped as Archie snorted, and then warm arms wrapped around me from behind. “Be nice,” Ian scolded a moment before he kissed the back of my neck. “And we were going to go out for breakfast if you guys want to join.”
I leaned back into Ian as he cradled me to him. The night had been wonderful. Honestly, I don’t think we’d really slept that much. Yet I was so relaxed, it didn’t matter. There was no school today. No school again until we were in college. We still had to go to orientation, but we signed up for one at the beginning of August. I’d wanted the earlier one, but the guys all campaigned to avoid me launching into back to school mode before summer even began.
Like I was that bad.
My phone buzzed in my back pocket. Ian tilted my head back for a quick kiss before he let me go so I could tug the phone out. The best part of not being in school was my denim short shorts that didn’t meet their stupid length requirement. Dress codes were a thing of the past…well, mostly. I’d survive.
Shaking that thought off, I blinked at Hank’s face staring up at me from the phone. He’d texted since he left, but this was the first time he’d called.
I swiped across the screen as I pulled it up to my ear. “Hello?”
“Good morning,” Hank greeted me. “Sorry to call, I tried to not make it too early, but then I wasn’t sure what your schedule would be when you weren’t in school, and while I’ve got the end of May-mester and office hours this afternoon, plus you probably have plans, so I took a risk. If you’re busy, I can just call you later or leave a message. Probably should have just done that.”
The rush of words had me grinning. “It’s fine, I just got up
a little while ago and I’m going to get coffee…”
“You haven’t had coffee yet? Shit—I mean, well wait, you’re eighteen, I can say shit.” He grunted. “Hang on a sec.” The phone muffled, and I found the guys looking at me in question as I poured my coffee. Bless them, they must have put on a fresh pot when I headed into the shower.
“It’s Hank,” I said. “I’m gonna talk to him before we go, and I’m good with pretty much anywhere for breakfast. Are you guys still good for the appointment today?”
“We’re fine, babe,” Archie told me with a sweet smile that made my toes curl. “Go talk to your dad.”
My dad.
That was never going to get old. I lifted my coffee mug toward them and then turned to wander back into the living room. Tiddles tracked me to the sofa, and as soon as I sat down, I had a lapful of cat.
“Sorry,” Hank said, huffing out a breath. “I had to settle a dispute between Alec and Chloe, but that’s actually why I called.”
“Because of a dispute between Alec and Chloe?” At this point, I’d seen more pictures of the kids, and his wife had sent me friend requests on social media. I hadn’t answered those yet. Sorry, that was still just a bit weird. Not bad weird.
Rachel totally stalked her and reported back that she seemed cool, though she had some bizarre obsession with running. Like miles and miles every day. It made me laugh, because I had to admit to Rachel that I’d been running more with the guys. Not every day, ’cause um no, I liked sleep. But a few days a week.
I didn’t think she’d ever looked so disappointed in me.
It had been hilarious.
She also sent me links for deprogramming sites.
Smart ass.
“No,” Hank said. “Well, not exactly. Chloe wants to set up a video call to meet you since you can’t make it up here yet and I’m not pressuring, but she has been campaigning all week and this morning, she presented me with a three-part argument to present the idea to you and let you decide whether you would like to speak to her or not.”
I had to bite back a laugh. “A three-part argument?” Okay, not going to lie. That tickled me. “What were the three parts?”
“You sure you want to listen?” The amusement vying with pride in his voice remained goals. But this was the same man who flew across the country to see me graduate after only knowing about me for like five minutes. The same man who shut Maddy down and stood protectively between us. I could probably listen to him all day, even if I didn’t know what to do with him.
“I promise, I want to listen. If she worked that hard on an argument, then it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t at least listen to it, right?”
“See!” came a triumphant, younger feminine voice in the background. “I told you she’d want to hear my ideas.”
Laughter burst out of me, and I nearly sprayed coffee as Tiddles gave me a disgruntled look. I couldn’t help it. Particularly when Hank sighed. It was such an aggrieved sigh that I had to giggle. Coop shot me an amused look as he strolled through the living room. With a wink, he vanished around the corner, and the bathroom door closed on him.
“Chloe,” Hank said in a very patient voice. “Go on back out and play. I’ll talk to Frankie and…”
“But they’re my arguments,” the young voice protested, and I swore I melted. “I should get to make them. And it’s not fair ’cause you’ve already gotten to meet her. She needs a reason to meet me.”
No I didn’t.
He sighed.
“I don’t mind if she wants to present her own arguments,” I said quietly. “I actually think I’d enjoy it.”
“Fair,” Hank said slowly. “All right, Chloe, close the door and come here. Frankie, you’re on speaker… Frankie, this is Chloe. Chloe, say hello to Frankie, and be polite.”
“Are you going to tell her to say hello to me?” The scandalized, yet imperious voice had my lips twitching. Trina had done that. So did Jake’s sisters. Not as much as they used to, but it was still adorable. Maybe it was a sibling thing.
My heart wrenched. I had a sibling.
Siblings.
“Of course, I’ll say hello,” I answered before Hank could. “I’m really looking forward to meeting you.”
“You are?” Uncertainty flickered in those two syllables.
“Yes,” I assured her. “I know this is probably a lot for you, and I’ve never had siblings before so I wasn’t sure how to do this.”
“I have siblings…well, I have brothers.” The sheer level of disgust there pulled another laugh from me. “It’s not that hard.”
“Chloe,” Hank warned, and I wanted to tell him it was okay, but that precocious little beauty did it for me.
“She gets it, Dad, let me talk. You get it, right, Frankie?”
“Well, not exactly. But since I have you, I think you can help me with brothers. I’ve never had those either.” The closest would be Coop, and even at our tightest, he’d never been a brother. He’d been my best friend. He was still my best friend, but we weren’t fraternal.
A little shudder went through me at the few days of coping with the notion that Archie might be my brother.
Nope.
“I can tell you all about brothers.” The world-weary and wise sigh there.
“I can’t wait.”
I really couldn’t.
“But tell me your argument now. I have to hear it. I love a good argument.”
“Awesome.” She damn near glowed through the phone, and I took a sip of my coffee as she launched into her reasoning why we needed to meet via video call first. The number one reason?
We were sisters.
I loved her already.
I ended up talking to Chloe and, by extension, Hank for nearly an hour. Jake brought me fresh coffee when I finished mine, and I ended up curled up in his lap as the guys migrated out to the living room. It didn’t take long for them to figure out Chloe’s campaign, and they seemed to enjoy listening to her as much as I did.
Once I was off the phone though, I found all of them studying me. “Come on, Angel,” Ian said before anyone else could say anything. “Let’s go feed you. Then we can talk plans. We have time before the appointment with Erin.”
Excitement and nervousness vied for my focus as I let him pull me to my feet and out of Jake’s lap. “You guys are awesome for going.”
“Yeah,” Archie said without a trace of humbleness. “I know I am, not sure what their excuse is.” Then he hooked an arm around my shoulder and slid me away from Ian. I was laughing as I stuffed my feet into a pair of flip-flops, and then we were out.
A part of me wanted to take the Tesla, but Jake angled for his SUV first and that was fair. Coop slid into the backseat with me and Archie, while leaving the front passenger for Ian.
“What is up with you guys?” I glanced from one to the other as Jake smirked at me over his shoulder.
“You screamed a lot last night, Baby Girl.”
“And?” I refused to be embarrassed. It was hardly the first time one or more of them had made me scream. Apparently, I was noisy. Fine. I could own it.
“Some of us had to get it thirdhand,” Archie griped as he slid his fingers through mine and tilted his head back. “’Cause some people are assholes.”
Ian groaned. “You didn’t.”
“Oh,” Coop said with a laugh as he rubbed my thigh. “He did.”
“Jacob Benton.” I growled his name, and he glanced at me so utterly unrepentant. I kind of wanted to punch him.
“Baby Girl, when you’re louder than the music, it requires the rest of us manning up. Bubba now leads in most orgasms in a row, and that record cannot stand.”
Oh. My. God.
Okay, now I wanted to cover my face with my hands, but the assholes in the backseat captured them and wouldn’t let them go.
“It’s fine,” Archie soothed. “Totally fine, babe. Trust me. Balls deep in that perfect pink pussy, and I’d be damn proud of all those screams too, but it just means we have
to up our game and let me just say…challenge fucking accepted.”
“I hate you all.”
“Nah,” Coop teased and kissed me behind my ear. “You love us. And you’re kind of stuck with us.”
Ian snorted, but there was no mistaking the flicker of pride on his face or the pleased little smile. And really, was I going to complain? No.
“I don’t know,” I mused as Jake pulled out of the parking lot.
“You don’t know what, babe?” Archie asked.
“I don’t know if I’m stuck with you. Rachel told me if I ever went vag, I’d never go back, and the four of you seem completely taken with mine.”
The silence in the car had me wiggling my fingers free of Archie’s long enough to lick the tip and then mark a sizzling point in the air.
“That’s just mean, Angel,” Ian said over his shoulder. “I approve. They can use the notes.”
Laughter exploded around me, and then they were talking over each other. It was pointless to remind them how safe they were. I really did prefer dick, but the compelling arguments they offered were worth listening to, right?
After breakfast, the guys took me shopping. More my speed than Archie’s, but he didn’t complain. They wanted me to look at bathing suits. Though I had a perfectly good one, I accepted the challenge and threw one back of my own.
I let them pick out my suits. The gleam in Archie’s eyes was worth the ridiculousness as Coop and Jake stared at me like I’d sprouted a second head. Only Ian had hidden a smile as he watched the three of them wander off into the swimsuit area, and I tilted my head. “Not going hunting for one too?”
“Nope,” he told me. “I love you in everything. What do you want to do?”
“That was really smooth,” I admired as he took my hand. “And I don’t know. Clothes shopping has never been my favorite, but I suppose we could look for something to wear for the audition photos.” That was something else Kaitlin had recommended. Sound wasn’t the only thing that sold. We had to have a look or a feel for our music.
