“Come on, man.” Collin laughed, the sound eerily distant yet again.
Gavin stabbed a finger in Max’s chest, the testosterone between the three of them going up about a thousand notches. Surprisingly, Max moved to stand next to Gavin.
“Don’t shit where you eat, man. I’ve told you that. Meant it more so with her.” Gavin.
Collin took a step back, away from the wooden planks used for whatever they were putting together. One thing was for certain: I didn’t want to be a part of this. If Collin was having regrets over what happened, there was no way I could continue with whatever charade he was playing with me. I was already in too deep. If I sank any lower, I knew I’d drown. Not just because of Collin, but because of Chloe and his friends—his sister too. These people had become my family, and if I lost them all, I…
No. I couldn’t think like that. Wouldn’t was more like it.
And screw the tears burning my eyes and the fact that my hips and body were deliciously sore from last night too. No way would I let Collin decide what happened between us without my input. I was done standing down to appease the people I cared about. Bending to their will just to make peace I’d never be happy with. I did it growing up with my parents, at least until college came along. Meek me was over. And if Collin didn’t want me, then I wouldn’t want him either.
Or I’d pretend not to want him, at least.
“You know…” Shoulders back, head high, I cleared my throat and stepped into the room. Three sets of eyes flashed my way, every one of them perusing my nearly naked body at the same time. Let them be made powerless by my womanly wiles. God gave me boobs, an ass, and long legs for a reason. It was time I used them for evil.
“When I was a kid, my dad used to struggle for hours trying to put stuff like this together.” I whipped the instructions out of Collin’s hands, clicking my tongue. “And every time, I asked if he wanted my help.” Avoiding Collin’s gaze, I moved to sit on the floor. “But every time, he’d tell me that women were only good for cooking and cleaning and breeding children.”
Somebody hissed at my words, another sighed. It didn’t matter what they thought. My father was in my past, and his sexism would stay there too.
“There was this one time when I was around sixteen, I think. I got so angry at him for telling me no that I stayed up all night to put something like this together anyway.” I reached across the one and only drawer they’d managed to piece together and grabbed the set of screws to go with the flat head I’d jerked away from Gavin’s hand. “And do you know what he said to my mother when they found me asleep on the floor the next morning?”
“What?” Collin.
Shrugging, as though the memory didn’t sting, I grabbed the two panels of wood labeled A and lined them up, screwing them together.
“He told her I was a disgrace. That any girl who used tools the way a normal girl would use makeup and curling irons was no daughter of his.”
Pride radiated through me as I grabbed the next panels and did the same thing. For the first time in almost ten years, the memory didn’t make me cry. Instead, it made me angry and bitter. It also proved I wasn’t going to let anybody get me down, especially not Collin. Because whether he knew it or not, I wasn’t a woman he could string along at his discretion.
I was Addison Booker: a bitch when she wanted to be, and a lover when she needed to be.
Chapter 30
Collin
I had no idea how long she’d been standing there. The two things I did know? She looked sexy as hell in my T-shirt and was also on some sort of feminist rampage, which made her look even sexier. Her hair was down, stuck to the side of her face and neck, and her legs—good God, they were ball-breakingly gorgeous.
No way did I like the fact that Gavin and Max could see so much skin, but they knew better than to ogle her too long. I might have denied them her at first, but doing so was also guy code for “I ain’t ready to tell you shit yet, so leave it be.”
“—so if you even so much as think about telling me to leave, then back off, because I’m not going anywhere until I finish this thing. You hear me?” Screwdriver high, she jabbed it in the air at each one of us—me the longest.
My throat went dry, but I nodded, not wanting to tear my eyes away from her. Had no intentions of making her leave. She’d know that soon enough.
“Shit. Give me your father’s address. I’m gonna go kick his ass myself.” Gavin rubbed his hand over his forehead.
“Nah.” Addie scrunched up her nose. “The man’s not worth the wasted energy. Just wanted to let you guys know I’m not necessarily just some Suzy Homemaker. I may adore Chloe, do your dishes, and occasionally fold your underwear when I see it lying around—”
“You fold my underwear, Short Stuff?” Max asked. Addie’s cheeks turned pink, her unspoken answer in that look alone. Max groaned and pressed his palm against his chest. “Then you stack it and put it on my dresser, don’t you?” Max moved over the cardboard spread across the floor on his knees until he was crouched in front of her.
“Well, someone has to. Seriously. You guys are like barn animals when it comes to laundry. You’d think after going through boot camp and then being marines, you’d know better.” She frowned. “Poor Chloe. When she learns to walk, she’s going to be buried alive under all the piles you have stacked up.”
“Marry me.” Max pressed his hands to her cheeks. “Have my baby boys, and do my laundry, and I will make you the happiest woman alive. I swear to God.”
Her eyes widened. Mine narrowed. And deep in my throat, I growled like a rabid wolf.
Gavin hooted really loud and grumbled, “You got a death wish, Maxwell?” Then he laughed harder when he met my glare, slapping his thigh as he went to the kitchen.
When I turned back to tell Max to shove his pussy words up his ass, I saw it—a nightmare come to life. Max had his hands around Addie’s waist and was kissing her.
“The hell?” Lunging forward, I grabbed the neck of his shirt and yanked him back. He landed on his ass, face red, licking his lips—and that smile? I was gonna slap it right off his face.
“Aww, man.” Max shut his eyes and blew out a slow breath. “Those lips. Just as tasty as they look.” His eyes reopened, meeting mine in a wink as he stood and moved toward Addie again.
Addie, on the other hand, turned pale and glanced my way. Max had made her speechless.
“It’s all good, Short Stuff.” Max rubbed her shoulders with his hands and kissed the top of her head, like I hadn’t just tossed him onto the floor. “You know where to find me when my best friend fucks up.” He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her to him for a hug. Addie’s pale face regained some color as she looked at me from over his shoulder. I was surprised she hadn’t kneed him in the nuts herself.
A movement from the left caught my eye—lucky for Max. When I looked, I found Gavin standing next to the high chair, Chloe held out in front of him, giggling. Awkward as hell couldn’t even begin to describe the man as he transferred her to his hip.
“Max,” he grumbled. “Get your ass back in Chloe’s room and teach me about diapers.” A small, sideways smile played out on Gavin’s lips.
I knew what he was doing. He was giving me the time I needed to talk to Addie, to see what she’d heard and figure out what kind of damage control I had to do. My buddies had their own ways of making things happen for me, and damn did I love them for it—even though their tactics weren’t always conventional.
Max stood and walked toward Gav and Chloe, stopping to squeeze my shoulder and whisper in my ear, “You fuck her over, I’ll fuck you up, capeesh?”
And then he was off, dancing like a monkey—literally with his hands under his armpits—toward my daughter.
“A monkey, moron? Really?” Gavin handed Chloe to Max, who took her without a second thought.
“Don’t knock it, Gav
y-Gav. Getting the sillies out every once in a while does wonders for the libido.”
I slapped my hand against my forehead. Jesus Christ. What the hell kind of friends did I have anyway?
Once they were out of the room, I didn’t waste another second and went straight for Addie. She had her back to me, shoulders tense as I approached. I wrapped my arms around her waist, nuzzling my face against the side of her neck.
“Turn around and face me.” She stiffened and slowly did as I asked. Her lips were pursed in what was probably annoyance, but I didn’t care. I had to kiss the memory of Max away, and I had to do it right then and there.
No man would ever touch these lips again as long as I was around.
At first she was stiff, mouth unmoving and hands at her side. But I worked my lips over hers, licking the seam and begging for entrance with my tongue. Seconds later, she melted against me, tucking her arms around my neck, opening wide. I shuddered, wanting nothing more than to wrap her pretty legs around my waist and take her against the sliding glass doors at her back.
Thinking like the smart man I didn’t know I had in me, I pulled away, only to kiss her chin, her neck… “Wanna be inside you again.” Had to at least tell her.
But then she shoved me. Not some gentle love pat or passionate, let-me-get-you-in-position push either. This was fire and ice, anger and hate. And out of all the looks she’d ever give me, this one scared me to death.
“So…what part of Chloe’s fucking nanny did you mean just now, huh?” She crossed her arms under her tits, pushing them up even more.
“What?” Couldn’t keep my eyes off her nipples. Seeing them poke against the material made me rock hard.
“Do you really think I’m stupid?” She took a step back.
Shit. She hadn’t just heard a little of my conversation with the guys; she’d heard all of it.
“Did you think I needed a pity lay? Because there are lots of men out there who’d have pity sex with me.”
I jerked my head back, stopping in place. “Pity?” And with another guy? The fuck was she talking about?
She glared at me, her dark eyes furious. But I held her gaze with my own, refusing to be pushed away. “The only thing I consider a pity is that I couldn’t have you sprawled out naked beneath me all night like I wanted to.”
Now I was just plain pissed. After everything we’d done, the shit I said to her, she was suddenly thinking I was some sort of douche bag who felt sorry for her?
Hell no.
“Well, I’m not deaf. Can hear perfectly out of both ears.” She rolled her eyes—always rolling her pretty eyes at me. “And I heard exactly what you said to Gavin and Max.”
“What’d you think you heard?”
She scoffed, tossing her hands up between us. “That you didn’t…you know. With me.”
Another step, then another, and I had her against the glass doors. Her chest moved up and down, like she was struggling to breathe, but I didn’t touch her. Couldn’t yet, especially when I knew it’d be all over if I did.
“What’s that? You’re stuttering.”
She motioned her hand lower, and I licked my lips. A nervous Addie was my weakness. Any more of this, and I’d do exactly what she thought I’d said I didn’t do last night.
“I’ve got aches in places I haven’t used in years, so unless I have a ghost lover who visits me in my dreams, then I know we most definitely…ya know…did it last night.” Her cheeks turned bright red, the cutest color I’d seen on her face yet.
I pressed my hands against the glass on either side of her face and held her in place with my chest and arms. “Say it, sweetheart. Want to hear the word come out of your mouth.” I licked my lips again.
“I don’t want to say—”
“Please?” She loved manners, and I’d give them to her if she said the words I wanted to hear.
She huffed. “Fine. We f-fucked, and you said we didn’t.” Innocence captured her eyes, making her look far younger than she was. It also made me want to corrupt her, dirty her up again. Obviously she wasn’t afraid of sex. If anything, I knew she had a wild side. So what made her so afraid to say fuck?
“No. Fucking is fast. Hard. Quick.” I looked down at her throat, watching it move as she swallowed. I reached up, tracing her pulse, mesmerized. “What we did last night…” I lowered my forehead to hers, pressing my hands against the sides of her neck. “It was so much better than that.”
She shivered, reaching up to hold my wrists like she was seconds away from falling.
“I just heard—”
I kissed the spot between her eyes. “I’m sorry. What you heard…” My chest burned as I struggled to get the words out. What was she doing to me? What was this feeling spinning in my gut and chest? This sudden obsession to be with her, hold her, comfort her…
“But—”
“Gavin and Max are idiots if they haven’t figured things out by now.”
“Figured out what exactly?”
I pulled back, needing to see her face, her smile. Hearing it in her voice wasn’t enough for me. “I’m crazy about you, Addison. Have been since the day I first saw you.”
A soft looked passed over her features. Not just a smile or a bat of her lashes, but her entire demeanor changed. Something lit a fire in her eyes, something built in her smile too. Something pushed the air out of her chest so hard that her shoulders were back, higher, more confident. She was…content. Still, she didn’t say anything. Instead, she stood on her tiptoes to press her soft lips to mine. And that’s all I needed—to know she felt the same way.
This kiss wasn’t fast or hard. Instead, it was slow, sweet, and everything Addie was to me, and I was to her.
And for the first time in a long-ass time, I finally knew real happiness again.
Chapter 31
Addison
Ten straight hours of rugby had frosted my brain like the leaves on the early December trees surrounding me. It’s not as though I didn’t like the sport. It was action packed and held my attention the entire time. But I didn’t have a clue what was happening. The one thing I did know? It looked painful, and every single match, someone would walk away with an injury. This last one just happened to be a cleat to Max’s temple.
Which is why we were waiting outside a hospital room at Chicago Mercy Medical Center.
What was supposed to be an overnight adventure with me and Collin and his friends was—after a day of rugby tournaments—fast turning into a dull headache.
I sat on Collin’s lap, Gavin on the floor to our left with a set of brothers from the hosting Chicago rugby team. They were originally from Australia but now lived nearby, traveling with an American team across the state. One was quieter than the other. I think his name was William, but I didn’t know for sure. What I did know was he had green eyes and brown hair, and looked like a hero out of an erotic novel come to life. The other guy? He had a green Mohawk, all shaved on the sides but long and hanging in his eyes in the front. His name was Oliver. Unlike his brother, he was loud and funny and reminded me of someone Lia would’ve loved. A punk-rocker sort. His smile bared dimples—nowhere near as cute as Collin’s—and I could tell he was the type that easily charmed the panties off any girl within a fifty-mile radius.
“So that’s it, then. You say these lines to a woman, and it actually works?”
“Yeah. Have the ladies on their knees in no time.” Oliver winked at a nearby nurse, who in turn ran into a wall.
I laughed. The poor single women on this floor. They were doomed, surrounded by these wild men. Maybe even some of the taken ones too. Someone was destined to screw up an emergency or two because of all this hotness.
Collin nuzzled his nose against the back of my neck, seeming oblivious to everything but me. I smiled and shut my eyes, clinging tightly to his hand. It was good to see him so relaxed, even though we were t
echnically in a hospital waiting while Max got stitches.
Things between us had changed for the better since Thanksgiving, two weeks ago. We’d grown closer, more official in a way. Granted we hadn’t had the technical conversation about what the two of us were yet. But I was as much to blame for that as he was.
“…and can I give you an Aussie kiss? It’s like a French kiss, but Down Under.”
“Jesus,” Collin mumbled, body shaking as he laughed.
“Just watch, yeah? I’ll show you how it’s done.” Oliver stood up, his long legs bringing him in front of an orderly pushing a cart of laundry down the hall. She had to be around thirty. Pretty yet tired-looking.
“The hell is he doing?” Gavin asked William.
“The coit’s gonna wind up gettin’ his nuts clobbered if he’s not careful.”
Leaning back, Collin shoved his legs out in front of us, pulling my back flush against his chest as he touched his lips to my ears. “What’s a coit?” he asked.
William looked from Collin back to his brother, frowning. “Means asshole.”
“Think I’m gonna need a lesson in Australian urban slang.” Gavin leaned back, smiling, with his arms over his chest.
The conversation went on around us, but all I could feel was Collin’s breath on my neck when he laughed and his hand on my thigh as he rubbed it.
“You all right?” He laughed low in my ear a few minutes later, damn well knowing what he was doing to me, from the sounds of it. His free hand tightened along my waist and he squeezed, slipping his fingers under the hem of my flannel shirt.
I laid my head on his shoulder. “Perfect.” And I really was. Being here with him, in this town, in his life, made me feel like I’d found my first real peace in years.
“Taking you out tonight.” He kissed my temple.
“You are, huh?” I grinned, watching Oliver but completely focused on Collin’s warm fingers sneaking up higher along my ribs. Back and forth they trailed over my skin in a mesmerizing pattern that made goose bumps dance along my tummy.
Reckless Hearts Series, Book 1 Page 21
