Inked Memories (Montgomery Ink Book 8)

by Carrie Ann Ryan

Just him.

  Wes cupped her face, and she frowned when he stopped kissing her. “Be in the now, Jillian. Come back to me.”

  She licked her lips before leaning back and pulling off her shirt. She’d been working, so she was wearing a sports bra and not her cleanest or cutest outfit, but she didn’t care. She’d be naked soon anyway.

  “Jesus,” Wes growled. “You’re so fucking sexy.”

  “In a sports bra?” she asked with a laugh.

  He cupped her breast over her bra and pinched her nipple through the thin, stretchy cotton material. “It pushes your breasts together, and all I want to do is slide my dick between them and thrust until I come all over your chin. What do you say about that?”

  She raised a brow. “Kinky, are we?”

  His eyes darkened, and he used his other hand to squeeze her hip. “You don’t know the half of it.”

  If it were possible, she got even wetter. “You’d better show me then, just so I know the rest of it.”

  “Well, then, I guess I need to take off these work boots of yours and get to work.” He winked, and she grimaced. “Though maybe in the future, I’ll fuck you with your boots on. It could be kind of sexy.”

  Future? No, she wouldn’t think about that. Not now. Now was for not thinking. Later, she’d worry.

  “Just not when they’re wet like this? If I’m wearing mine, you have to wear yours, too.”

  “Deal.” He kissed her again before stripping off his shirt. She licked her lips, holding out her hand to run her fingers down his skin. His nipples hardened before her eyes, and she leaned forward to lick a tip. “Jesus,” he growled. “I need a taste of you.”

  He slowly skimmed his fingers down her arm, sending shivers along her body, and she sighed, wanting more. Always wanting more, but with Wes, she had a feeling she’d get what she needed—at least for the moments they had together.

  In answer to his words, she spread her legs, though she still wore her pants. Wes let out a growl and wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, pulling her close to crush his mouth to hers. She panted with need, craving him more than she thought possible, but before she could get her fill of him, he pulled back and started working on her pants. She helped him with the zipper then gripped the edge of the table and lifted her hips. He slid her pants and panties down in one swift movement, leaving her in only her bra on the long, wooden table.

  Wes knelt in front of her, putting his hands on her knees and slowly spreading her before him. “You’re already wet,” he growled roughly. “I can see you, all glistening and hungry for my cock. Or maybe it’s my mouth you want.” He traced her outer lips with his finger, and she shuddered, her grip on the table tightening.

  Apparently, Wes Montgomery was a dirty talker, and her pussy really liked it.

  Hell, she really liked it.

  “If you don’t start licking what you’re looking at, Wesley, I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands.” She licked her lips before sliding one hand down her stomach. She gasped when he gripped her wrist, stopping her.

  “Keep your hands on the table. You’re going to need it for balance.”

  Turned on beyond measure, she did as she was told, then let out a long moan as he buried his face between her legs and licked her. Her head lolled back, and she arched her hips, wanting more. His tongue slid in and out of her, teasing. And when she opened her eyes and looked down to see his dark head between her legs, she came on the spot, her body shaking. He sucked on her clit, biting down gently during her orgasm, making her come even harder, then stood up and wiped his short beard.

  “You taste fucking amazing.”

  Head heavy, she blinked and looked down the length of him, wanting to see all of him. “Do I get a taste?”

  “Next time,” he said, undoing his jeans and stripping down.

  Her mouth dropped open when she got a good look at him, the long, lean cords of muscle, the strength in his body. His cock was long and wet at the tip, and she couldn’t wait to have it inside her. Nothing she had in the special drawer in her bedroom could ever match up to the glory that was in front of her.

  “I like the look on your face,” he said with a laugh.

  She looked up at him, the break in their movements allowing thoughts of what she was trying to ignore to creep in. She swallowed hard, and he must have seen it on her face because, in the next instant, he was wrapping himself in a condom that he must have had in his wallet and had his hands on her face, kissing her lips, her cheeks, her jaw.

  Jillian wrapped herself around him, needing him inside her more than she could say. “Inside me. I need you inside.”

  “I’m here, Jilli, I’m here.” Then he was inside her, stretching her and making her moan. She scooted to the edge of the table, lifting her legs so he could go deeper. And when he moved, she moved with him, their bodies going slow, moving leisurely as he made her come once again, with him following soon after. This wasn’t the fast heat she’d thought she needed.

  This was something more.

  And it scared her.

  “Jillian…” Wes rested his head on her forehead. “Don’t cry, baby. Don’t cry.”

  She wasn’t even aware she’d been crying until he said it, but now that she knew, she cried harder. He was still buried deep inside her, yet he held her close as she sobbed, letting the emotions she’d held at bay for so long finally break.

  And Wes held her.

  And when she finally woke up from this pain, she’d have to remember that…even if she didn’t know what it meant.

  Chapter Thirteen

  It had been four days since he was buried inside Jillian and held her when she cried. If she’d been any other woman, he’d have felt weird about having someone cry like that after they made love and he was still inside her.

  But it had been Jillian, and even though he’d tried not to, he knew her more than he thought he did. She wasn’t crying over him, but over everything else weighing heavily on her. He’d just been able to help her let go.

  He ran a hand through his hair and sat down on his couch. They’d spoken at work every day since and even texted though it was still a little awkward. They didn’t know what they were, and he wasn’t sure what, if anything, would happen next, but things had changed.

  He snorted and rested his head in his hands. Changed? That was the understatement of the year. They’d been going down this path—whatever road this was—for much longer than the four days he’d been in his head about what had happened.

  And the truth was, though he’d been in his head because he was thinking about what would come next, he wasn’t feeling weird. Okay, maybe a little weird, but not that weird. And considering she used to be with his twin—even in an unconventional relationship he hadn’t understood until it was almost too late—it should have felt much weirder than it did.

  Now when he thought about Jillian, he thought of her. Just Jillian. The woman he’d fought with, kissed, fought with some more, then felt under him, over him, and around him as they’d both come until they could barely catch their breath.

  She wasn’t Storm’s ex anymore.

  She was Jillian.

  His Jillian? Well, he didn’t know about that, and he wasn’t sure they would ever find out. So far, they’d done well keeping everything only for that day and not talking about it, but he knew if they didn’t talk about whether they were going to pursue…whatever this was, it would become that weirdness he dreaded.

  Did he want a relationship with Jillian? He honestly didn’t know what he wanted. He’d been looking for someone to share his life with, that much he knew, but was Jillian that person? She made him feel. That much he knew. In fact, his emotions ran the gambit whenever she was around but was that what he wanted?

  “Jesus,” he grumbled to himself. In his mind, he was equating a relationship with Jillian to the idea that it would be the forever kind like the rest of his family had. While he didn’t want to be left behind when his family settled down, was it fair
to him or Jillian to put her in that position? Was that what he wanted?

  And maybe once again he was overthinking things.

  Okay, there was no maybe about it. Once Wes got stuck in his head, it took a crowbar or lots of alcohol to get him out.

  The doorbell rang before he could let those thoughts go down a trail even more twisted. He sighed before pulling himself up off his couch and heading to see who could be at his house during the afternoon. Considering that his family tended to drop by unannounced if they knew he was home, it was probably one of them.

  But when he opened the door, it wasn’t a family member, it was Jillian with a six-pack of beer in one hand and a brown paper sack in the other. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her, and that should have told him far more than all the winding thoughts he’d had before she showed up on his doorstep.

  “Hey,” she said after they’d stood there in silence for a long moment.

  “Hey,” he said softly.

  She cleared her throat. “So, uh, you’re probably wondering why I’m here.” Before he could answer, she continued. “I brought beer and sandwiches for lunch because I felt weird, and I don’t want to feel weird. So, can I come in to just hang out? We don’t need to uh…talk or anything, but I felt weird not being near you and almost actively avoiding you because of said weirdness.”

  He laughed and took a step to the side so she could come in. He loved that she was so blunt about it, and he admired her for it. He’d try to be as honest and straight forward with her. He took the beer from her hand and leaned forward, brushing his lips over hers. She sucked in a breath, and he thought he’d fucked up, but then she leaned forward and kissed him back, ever so slightly.

  “I’m glad you came by.”

  Her eyes brightened. “Yeah? Well, now I’m glad I came. I mean…came here. Not came as in what we did on my table.”

  He snorted and shook his head before taking her hand and leading her to the kitchen. “I’ll put the beer in the fridge for later, if that’s okay? I didn’t sleep much last night, and having a beer right now will just put me to bed.”

  She winced. “Yeah, I should have brought root beer instead of the hard stuff, but I wasn’t thinking. Plus, whenever I need to talk to…uh…other friends and just be, a six-pack and food is sort of my staple.”

  Wes winced like she had and leaned back against the kitchen counter. “You mean Storm. You bring beer and food when you need to talk with Storm.”

  Jillian set their lunch down on the counter beside him and leaned back to run her hands over her face. “Yes. He’s still my best friend, Wes. And it’s weird now. I hate weird.”

  “It shouldn’t be, though. I mean, yeah, it’s not exactly easy thinking about you and my brother, but that’s in the past.” He let out a long breath. “That’s in the past. So I think once we get over the awkwardness of bringing him up, we can move on. He’s your friend. He’s my brother. He’s going to be part of our conversations. He works with both of us and isn’t going away. Hell, he shouldn’t go away.”

  She licked her lips, a frown on her face for a moment, and all he could do was watch that tongue of hers peek out and imagine it on something other than her lips.

  “Move on? Are you saying you want to move on with me? With this? Or move on as in not talk about it again.”

  Wes let out a sigh and moved forward, cupping her face. “I’ve been thinking about the answer to that question for four days now, and until you walked through that door and made me laugh, I wasn’t sure what I was going to say.” He leaned forward, brushing his lips against hers again. “I know it’s complicated. I know we’re probably going to screw up more than once, but I don’t want this to end. I want to get to know you like we are now. I want you in my bed. I just want you.”

  She smiled against his lips and leaned back to meet his gaze. “And, oddly enough, I wasn’t sure what my answer would be to that question until I saw you either. I’m in agreement that things are going to get sticky. We also need to tell Storm before things get too serious. Of course, I find having sex to be pretty serious so we might have messed up there.”

  “Maybe. And while I agree with you that we need to tell Storm because while he might not be part of this, he is part of our lives, I don’t want to make it too big a deal.” He let out a breath. “Because if we make his reaction too important, I feel like we’re just setting ourselves up to screw things up.”

  “And now I’m confused and feeling like it’s all too much,” she said with a laugh. “We are so complicated, even though we keep saying we don’t want to make complications.”

  He ran his fingers down her arms. “Pretty much. So, why don’t you tell me what you want, and I’ll do the same?”

  “You want me to go first?” she asked, clearly not too keen on that idea.

  “Like pulling off a Band-Aid right?” he asked with a laugh.

  She rolled her eyes. “Yes, because discussing whether or not we’re in a relationship should be like an open wound.”

  They both laughed at that. “Okay, so I’ll pull first. I want you, like I said. I want to see where this goes. Yes, we fight, but honestly, I think that kind of turns me on.”

  “You’re a dork.” She paused. “But it turns me on, too.” A blush stained her cheeks, and he brushed his thumb along the heat of her skin. “And what do I want? Well, the same thing as you, I guess. I don’t want to ruin our work relationship. I don’t want to hurt our friends. But I want you. I want to see what happens. And I know I’m probably at the worst point in my life to even look at dating anyone, but the thing is, I told myself when I pushed Storm toward Everly that I’d find my own happiness. Or at least try. And after a few too many bad first dates, I want to see what happens with you.” She looked up at him, emotion in her eyes. “Does that sound like enough to you.”

  He trailed his finger over her jaw, his heart pounding. “I think that sounds exactly like what we need. So, let’s try it out. See what happens. I want to promise you that I won’t hurt you or hurt what you have with Storm, but I can’t really. I can promise I’ll try.”

  “So…” she said after a moment.

  “So…” He cleared his throat. “Why don’t we take that beer and lunch and go sit outside on my porch. Then, afterward, I can show you around the property. I’m slowly renovating the barn in the back to be my workshop, but I’m not that far into it yet.”

  Her eyes brightened. “Need plumbing out there? I know someone who could help.”

  “Oh, really? I was thinking of someone I know from work, but I hear she’s a pain to work with.”

  He ducked her fist and laughed, bringing her close for a kiss. “Let me show you after we eat.”

  “I thought you said a beer would make you sleepy,” she said, referring to his previous comment.

  “I don’t think I could be sleepy around you,” he whispered. “You rev me up too much.”

  She grinned. “Oh, Wesley, you say the sweetest things.”

  “Ever have sex in a barn?” Jillian asked once they’d finish their lunch and were on the end of his tour.

  He tripped over his feet and almost landed on his face. “Uh…can’t say I have.”

  She tilted her head. “Interesting.”

  He laughed and pulled her close. “Is that a proposition?”

  She bit his jaw. “Well, it’s not like we’re in a barn full of cows staring at us.”

  Wes groaned when she slid her hand between them and squeezed his cock over his jeans. “You’ll be the death of me, woman.”

  “So you say.”

  He kissed her hard, cupping her ass and pulling her closer to him so her hand was trapped between them. “You know, when I wanted to bring you out here, it was to show you my work, not get into your pants.”

  “You showed me your etchings, Wesley.” She winked before sobering. “I love the place. You’re so talented, and I know this workshop is going to kick ass when it’s done. But you’re not going to take advantage of me by
taking me roughly in the barn.”

  He couldn’t help but laugh at the exaggerated way she said the last part of her sentence. “I wanted to take you out on a date before we did this again,” he said, rocking into her hold.

  “We’re doing everything a bit backwards, but I think I’m okay with that. We can have our first date after we have sex again.”

  He snorted. “Well, maybe our first date was when we got stuck in the elevator. And now our second date was our lunch just now. What do you say?”

  “Pretty unconventional, Wesley. I figured you for the convention type.”

  “Oh, Jilli, if you only knew.”

  “Well, Wesley, I did just ask you to take me roughly in the barn. So why don’t you show me?” She wiggled her hips against him, and he groaned.

  “Be careful what you wish for,” he growled, biting her jaw.

  “Promises, promises.” She licked her lips, so he had to kiss her.

  Had. To.

  He skimmed his hands over her sides, gripping her hips so they rocked together as they stood in his soon-to-be workshop, bodies pressed close as they kissed and explored one another.

  “There’s one thing I need to do that you wouldn’t let me do last time,” she said quickly as she pulled away.

  “Oh yeah?” he asked.

  “Yep. Now, help me take off these pants because if I don’t have your dick in my mouth in the next sixty seconds, I’m going to get angry.”

  He couldn’t help but laugh with her as he undid his belt and jeans. She helped him get them off his hips and down to his knees.

  “Spread your legs a bit,” she ordered as she knelt in front of him, palming his cock through his black boxer briefs. He ran his hand through her hair as he did so and groaned when she sucked on him through the cotton.

  “It’s not fair that I can’t see those pretty tits of yours as you do this.”

  She grinned up at him and leaned back so she could strip off her shirt. She had her bra off in moments, and he couldn’t help but reach down to palm her breasts.

  “So fucking sexy,” he growled, his calloused finger rubbing along the tip of her nipple. It hardened under his touch, and he pinched, loving the way she groaned. His Jilli liked a little pain with their play, something he’d have to remember.