Brother to Brother: The Sacred Brotherhood Book I

by A. J. Downey

  “Melody Beswick?” a woman’s voice, authoritative, called out into the gloom of the apartment. I looked up sharply.

  “Turner, its Melody Turner… can I help you?”

  “I’m Carina Washington with the department of children’s services, may I come in to talk to you?” my heart sank and I felt myself nodding.

  “Yes, of course.” I opened up my hands and Noah threw himself into my arms like he always did. I picked him up and stood, “Oof! Good Lord, Noah, you’re getting too heavy for this,” I uttered.

  He laughed that beautiful high baby laugh and declared, “No!”

  To Ms. Washington, I said, “Please come in, I apologize for the mess and lack of furniture, we just closed on a house and we’re moving in today. What can I do for you?”

  She stepped across the threshold, this regal, curvy black woman in a grey business suit. Her long hair flowed down her back in elegant tiny braids and her deep brown eyes sparkled with intelligence. Her quick assessment of the apartment left me feeling hollowed out, self-conscious, and pretty much gutted, but we hadn’t had a choice when we’d arrived and now we did. Archer had found us a home with plenty of room and now we were moving.

  “We received a call from a Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Whitmore…”

  “That’d be her mother and stepfather, what sort of crazy are they spouting now?” Archer demanded from behind her, as he came through the open apartment door.

  She startled and looked really unhappy about that and demanded, “And you are?”

  “That would be Mr. Turner,” I said and Noah reached for Archer.

  “Da da!” he cried and Archer plucked my son from my arms settling him against his side before using his free arm, tucking me against his opposite side and holding me close.

  “Well, Mrs. Whitmore claims that you threatened her and that Melody here is both on drugs and an unfit mother, who kidnapped Noah out from under their care.”

  Archer laughed, a genuine, jovial laugh and I looked up at him, blinking. “Well if it makes you happy,” he said, “I’m sure Mel would be willing to submit to any drug tests you might want her to take, as for any accusations or threats? I did have a talk with Mel’s mother a few weeks back and I have three witnesses that were there with me, all of ‘em upstanding citizens, who will tell you I was downright civil given my history.”

  The woman shifted her stance and asked, “And what might that history be?”

  Archer glanced down at me and his gold green eyes radiated ‘trust me’ and I did, implicitly. How could I not? He had been nothing but good to my son and I knew in my heart of hearts he would be devastated if we lost Noah, I nodded and he turned back to Ms. Washington and he told her that he was a felon, that he hadn’t been in trouble since his twenties, that he loved me and my son and that he hadn’t when we’d gotten here, running from the mental and emotional abuse of my family.

  He told her everything and it was simply amazing, just how much he’d grown as a person, because Archer was intensely private. I had fully expected him to tell anyone that even remotely hinted at ‘government official’ to fuck right off, but here he was, trying a lot of diplomacy and I had the distinct feeling that Dragon had a hand in that.

  “So, all that being said, would you like to follow us over to the new place? See where Noah will be staying and that it’s a safe environment? I mean, Nox and Rush – excuse me, Landon and Logan my twin foster brothers all growing up and Noah’s uncles, should actually be putting the finishing touches on baby proofing the place. I had them installing socket covers and child locks on all the cabinets before I came over here to grab Mel and the baby.”

  The woman blinked, an ‘are you serious?’ look on her face as she furiously scribbled notes onto a yellow legal pad balanced on one of those metal clipboards meant to house paperwork.

  “I somehow get the feeling you were expecting me to call,” she said and I nodded.

  “Like Archer said, it was the reason I ran and tried to find Noah’s biological father. I didn’t know he’d died and when I got here and explained the situation, Archer didn’t want to turn us away. He made it work, and we’ve worked very hard to get us out of this one bedroom as soon as possible.”

  “And the getting married?” she asked still looking flummoxed.

  “It was the best thing for Noah. This way, I could put him on my insurance and Mel, too. Plus the tax breaks and the like weren’t going to hurt for getting us into a house sooner rather than later.”

  “There were more reasons to, than to not,” I murmured.

  She nodded, noting things down as we said them and it was Archer who said, “Never counted on falling in love with her for real, but I did. I’m glad I did, too. Noah needs a father and I want to be that guy,” he looked down at me and I raised myself up on tip toe to kiss him, a quick kiss that was heartfelt and not at all for show.

  “This the last box?” he asked gruffly and I nodded. “Okay, Little Man! I gotta give you back to your mom, you ready to go?”

  “Yah!” I took our son from Archer and he hefted the box.

  “Go on, ladies, I’ll be right behind you.”

  Ms. Washington followed me down to the car and spoke to me while I strapped Noah carefully into his car seat.

  “Truthfully, I’m a little blown away,” she was saying, “I’ve never in my twenty-three years of social work, come across a case like this. Usually, I get a call like this and I come out expecting the worse and find it.”

  “Well, there’s a first time for everything,” Archer said, shoving the last box into the back hatch area of my car and shutting it tight.

  “I guess so! There is one thing, can you tell me about this emergency room visit back in –”

  “Oh, you don’t have to look for the date, I remember that all too well,” I said darkly.

  “Scared the hell out of her,” Archer said laughing.

  “What happened?”

  “I came through the door on my way home from work, just in time for Little Man to run smack into the strike plate on the bedroom door.”

  “I was in the kitchen trying to get some dinner ready and Noah was just being a big ball of energy running around the apartment. I told him to stop, but he was being a willful little boy and sure enough, he tripped over his own feet and went head first into the door jamb.”

  “We took him right to the emergency room, and he got two stitches. If he’s anything like Grind, there will be a lot more than that ahead of him just growing up.”

  I groaned, “Please don’t even put that out there.”

  “Eh, Grind was always active and doing stupid shi- ‘cuse me, stuff when we were growing up. Almost got bit by a diamond back when we were nine, the damn fool.”

  “Right, well, I’ll follow you,” the social worker said and we both nodded. Archer rode, I drove, and Ms. Washington followed us in her much newer state vehicle over to our new home.

  It was a two story, three bedroom with a large family room and a garage. It was painted a lovely shade of blue, bordering on lavender with white trim and a grey shingled roof. The front porch was broad and a wrap-around style without actually wrapping around, and the front lawn was so green, a large oak taking up a good sized chunk of it where Rush and Nox were busy stringing up an old tire.

  “Oh my god, you guys, no!” I called out as I was getting out of the car and they both looked over grinning like they’d just been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

  “What!?” Rush called, “He ain’t gotta use it now, we just thought it’d add character to the place!”

  “No!” I called back and they were laughing at me, their laughter dying when Ms. Washington came walking up the sidewalk. The twins exchanged a look. They knew social worker when they saw one.

  Both of them came slinking over and Nox asked, “What’s the deal?”

  “My parents,” I muttered darkly, “they called to let child services know I’m a drug addict and a horrible mother.”

  The twins could
n’t help themselves, they started laughing, and I’m pretty sure Ms. Washington heard the whole thing.

  She went on a tour of the house with me and Archer, noting things down, and nodding. She seemed impressed with the child proofing and Noah’s room which had been unbelievably kitted out thanks to Rush’s amazing wood working skills. Our house had a long way to go, but Rush had nearly thrown a fit when we said we were going to buy furniture, saying he’d much rather build it. The only thing he would hear of us buying furniture wise, was a couch, mattresses and lamps.

  “You built this?” she asked of Noah’s bed, the crib having been tossed in the dumpster out back of the apartment.

  Rush grinned with pride, “Noah’s gonna be a car guy, just like his dad, huh?” Rush asked and Noah shouted “Yah!” Rush had built Noah his very own racecar bed, and it was nothing short of amazing and as safe as could be.

  “It’s all one piece, no screws or nails for him to get scratched on and no joining pieces to crush little fingers or toes.”

  I rolled my eyes, “I’d better have another boy at the rate you guys are going,” I said.

  “Nah, we can totally turn your girl into a racecar lovin’ – and I’m not going there.” Nox finished at my spectacular mommy death glare.

  “I already feel like I’m on my own here, but if she likes race cars then far be it from me to say otherwise, still, I will hold out for mermaids and princesses like when I was growing up.”

  The guys chuckled and laughed and Ms. Washington was even smiling. I took that as a good sign.

  “I think I’ve seen everything I’ve needed to. I’m going to make a note in your file that it appears your mother and stepfather are attempting to use the system to harass. I’d like to make one additional follow up visit in the next three months, if that’s alright.”

  “Of course,” Archer and I agreed at once.

  “Okay, y’all have a nice night then, and congratulations on your new home.”

  “Thank you,” we both said in unison again and laughed at each other.

  “Noah say buh-bye?” I asked and he grinned his cheeky grin and waved bye-bye to the woman. We saw her out and the moment she was gone, I very nearly sagged with relief.

  “Do you think we’re going to be okay?” I asked apprehensively.

  The three guys all looked at each other and Archer sighed, “I think so, but with these government types, it’s always hard to tell.”

  “All you can really do is jump through their hoops and do everything they tell you to do and hope for the best,” Nox said and tried his best to smile. I sagged and sighed deeply.

  “I’m terrified,” I admitted and Archer pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around me.

  “Don’t be, doesn’t matter what it is, we’ll get up and over it. I promise.”

  “I wish you would have just left them alone,” I said, breathing in the smell of clean laundry and Archer through his soft tee shirt.

  “Wasn’t happening, I drew a line in the sand and they’ve crossed it. Now it’s seriously war. I don’t want you to contact them, I don’t want them to ever see our children again. They had one shot, they fucking blew it. Now let’s see how they like dealing with the consequences of their actions.”

  “That’s just it, they don’t. They turn their consequences into my consequences. I’m the one that has to deal with the fall out.”

  “Not anymore, Baby. I promised I’d protect you and our family and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

  “The only thing you can do is try not to think about it,” Rush said and I nodded.

  “Let’s try to put as much of our house together before people start getting here, huh?”

  I nodded, there was supposed to be a barbecue celebrating our first house and there was supposed to be more things moving in from various other places. Most of it purchased brand new. Archer had actually saved quite a bit of money for the eventuality that he would one day buy a house, and when he’d made an offer on this one, it was almost too good to be true. He’d had well over three quarters of what was required to purchase, but had offered them half down, that way there was money to furnish the place.

  Well, that had mostly been the plan, but then Rush happened when it came to things like headboards, dining room tables and chairs, coffee and end tables, dressers, curio cabinets, and whatever else you could think of. Except it turned out that he actually had almost all of it made… it was just sitting in storage.

  “Okay, I gotta go meet up with the guys with the truck, we’ll see you soon.”

  Rush gave me a quick hug, squeezing me between himself and Archer and I nodded. Nox was supposed to keep Noah entertained while I fixed up the master bathroom off what was supposed to be mine and Archer’s bedroom.

  “See you on the other side of this mess,” Archer told me and kissed me quickly.

  The social worker had been a setback, taking up a good two hours that were meant to be devoted to actually moving, but it couldn’t be helped. Not if I wanted to keep our family together. I had the bathroom done with everything Shelly and Ghost had gifted us at the wedding in practically no time. I moved on to putting the majority of mine and Archer’s clothes away in the walk in closet.

  Rush had let us pick whatever furniture we’d liked out of his dragon’s hoard. He was paying a ridiculous amount for storage at a place and it was now Dragon’s mission to clean up the central bay out at the shop so that Rush could, in effect, expand. It was spring cleaning for The Sacred Hearts’ home chapter, just a few months too late for spring, but it was time for a new beginning.

  In more ways than one… I thought to myself.

  Chapter 30

  Archer

  “I thought he’d never go down,” she murmured and sighed, collapsing back against me lightly. I put my arms around her as we watched our son in his brand new bedroom, sound asleep in his very first big-boy bed.

  “A lot of excitement,” I said and knew contentment.

  “Mm,” she hummed, a noise of agreement.

  “Think you’ve got it in you to christen the bedroom?” I asked and she laughed lightly.

  “I think, maybe, I can manage.”

  I chuckled and lightly nipped the side of her neck which caused her to giggle. I turned her out into the hall and lifted her in my arms. She kissed me, and I made quick strides to our new bedroom.

  I stripped her quickly, and shucked out of my own clothes double time. I wanted skin on skin, I wanted inside of her something fierce, and I wanted to claim her body in every way possible as completely, one hundred percent mine.

  I captured her mouth with mine as she crawled back up onto the bed, kneeling on it as I stood beside it to reach my mouth, kissing me with a fierce passion that told me that what I had in mind was going to work.

  She wrapped her hand around my shaft and stroked with a firm grip, a slow steady rhythm that’d like to drive me nuts; my hips unconsciously rocking into her grip. She broke our kiss, a glint in her true blue eyes that I recognized by now and I voiced my pleasure at going right along with what she had in mind, “Oh god, yeah Baby; do it.”

  She lowered her mouth to my dick and sucked me and I tilted my head back, closing my eyes; just concentrating on the feel of her mouth on me. She felt un-fucking-believable, hot, wet; silk, wrapping me in softness, her tongue a gentle velvet caress along the underside of my cock, her fingers gentle where they massaged my balls. I lowered my head and swept her hair into a pony tail so I could watch her. The sight of those blue eyes, a deep, dark sapphire with her arousal as she looked up at me, my dick disappearing between those peaches and cream lips… I almost lost my load right then and there.

  It took everything I had in me to hold still and not face fuck her; I wanted to thrust so bad and eventually the need overrode my good sense to the point that I pulled gently back on her hair. She disengaged her mouth from my dick with a sexy little pop and I let go of her only so I could order her, “Turn around, on your knees, I want that pussy.”r />
  She gave me a sexy as sin, carnal look, and turned around, shaking that ass at me, bending low to the fucking mattress, face down, ass up and I loved what I saw. Her puss was glistening with her desire, wet and ready, and her little asshole was begging for some attention too. I glanced to the nightstand, to make sure it was in reach and satisfied we were close enough to it, I gave my woman my full attention.

  I shoved my cock into her, hard and deep, pulling back on her hips and groaned when she ground herself tightly against me.

  “Fuck me, Baby,” I said and stood still, letting her work herself back and forth, sliding along my dick, the sounds we made, full on porno quality.

  I’d been getting into ass play with her slowly over the last few weeks. Starting out easy by teasing the entrance to her forbidden door with my thumb. Then breaching her entrance with it, I’d successfully worked my way up to two thick fingers, then three but tonight I think I was going for the gold.

  I snatched the tube of anal lube off the nightstand and squeezed some onto my finger, teasing her ass with a gentle touch, distributing the half cream, half gel consistency generously. Melody moaned and I smiled. I didn’t give her as much lead time before I slipped a finger past the first, tight ring of muscle, but I waited patiently for her to get used to it before I started thrusting again, so she didn’t have to do so much work.

  I slid that one finger in and out of her ass carefully, gently, getting her ready to take the second and she was like a cat in fucking heat, loving it, arching her back, her pussy strangling the hell out of my cock as she got ready to come for the first time.

  When I introduced the second finger, I could tell she was really, really fucking close, and by the time I started to work the third in, she was coming all over my dick. Snatching a pillow from the head of the bed on her left, biting into it to muffle her cries so she wouldn’t wake our sleeping boy.