Rest, My Love (Triple R Book 2)

by Jules Dixon

  “Sharing our love is gonna happen, Sage, and it’s gonna happen now.” His breaths quickened.

  I touched his face and he became still. “For a guy who can be a little gruff, you sure know what to say to me. You’ve already got me dripping to my knees.”

  He lifted me onto a plastic-wrapped pallet of beers. “Let’s find out.”

  Before I knew what was happening his warm mouth was on me, lapping at the velvet folds of my body. His lips kneaded and nibbled, exciting nerves that I didn’t even know existed down there. I clutched his head and raked my nails through his hair as his teeth teased over my hardened clit.

  I shivered, and the pulses radiated deep inside of me. “Do that again, please.”

  Every cell in my body stood at attention. With his tongue, he flicked the hardened point. Once. Twice. And with the third caress came the magic. My body quaked as he sucked on my nerve-filled skin to extend the pleasure vibrating through my body.

  As I was coming down he pressed at my entrance, his arms wrapped around my waist, and he slipped inch by inch inside my body until he filled me deeper than ever.

  “Are you still sore?”

  I tipped my head and adjusted my hips. “Little late to be asking that now, but no, I’m not. God, I love the way you feel inside me, Rahl. It’s like being filled with your—”

  “Love,” we said together.

  His strokes were long and slow, taking his time to build to the peak. He kissed me as he thrust, cupping my ass off the cold pallet of beer. Altering the angle, he hit a special spot I’d never experienced before and my body raced to another finish line.

  “I love you, Rahl. Only you.”

  He moaned from deep inside him. “Come with me, my love.”

  No one had ever called me his love. I fell over the edge into brown eyes that were warmer than a roaring fire, words that were more meaningful than a thousand love letters, and a heart that was more mine than I’d ever hoped for.

  My body shook from the inside out, and I shouted his name in time to the waves of release. He deepened his last thrust and his body released into mine.

  “Angel.” His lips rested like the softest silk on mine.

  After our breathing had settled, I realized the cooler’s temperature had my skin puckered in one giant goose bump. “How cold is your ass?”

  Rahl chuckled. “Not warm.”

  “Yeah, mine too. As wonderful as this is, I think frostbite is a real concern, so maybe…”

  Rahl slipped from my body and adjusted his pants to around his waist, lifted me off of the pallet, and helped me get my shorts back on.

  “We’re probably wanted out there.”

  He grumbled his agreement as he buttoned his pants.

  I started for the door with the cake.

  “Will you spend the night at my house?” he asked.

  I turned around. “I need to go home and get a few things, but I’ll come over after.”

  “Good. I really do love you, Sage.”

  “I believe you. Not many men would freeze their testicles off just for a piece of ass. So you must.”

  I left while he was laughing, carrying the penis cake to the pink boa parade.

  Never has a penis been so oohed and ahhed, but there were no wows except for the one happening in my head.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Rahl

  I rolled the windows down in the truck after leaving Two Fine. The drive home felt different, and it wasn’t the muggy air from a quick spring shower. Even though it was the same route home, it felt like I was headed in a new direction.

  When Sage kicked me out the night before, I wanted to refuse, but the terrified flare in her eyes and my trained gut instinct told me she was more scared of her medical future than our relationship future and a little space would be a good thing. Back at home, I spent hours on the Internet researching cancer, and the mutated genes, and the treatments, and the reoccurrences, and a hundred other topics. Sage was totally right. Cancer was unpredictable and merciless and—as I quickly discovered—confusing and overwhelming. But I wanted to be the one there for her. Whatever happened, I wanted to face it together.

  She was the woman I’d spend my life with. Telling her I loved her, something I’d never said to another girl or woman, was the best moment in my life. After the last few years of what seemed like a wandering existence and a little bit of hell for a few days, I craved only to make her happy and to keep her safe.

  Admittedly, I couldn’t take total credit for being so self-aware of my feelings. It was Laken’s comments yesterday that had set my brain in motion. My bubbly sister saw the love before I appreciated its existence. Then, when I woke drenched in sweat, the fear that ripped through my body at the thought of never having Sage in my arms again was worse than having my flesh ripped open by a bullet. The feeling was more intense, more tangible, and more terrifying. I understood what it meant. Love.

  I hadn’t planned to tell her that I loved her in the walk-in cooler but I didn’t want to wait. She needed to know. I wanted her to know. And she took the news well. Very, very well. That was both the coldest and hottest sex I’d ever experienced. I swear, with my testicles already hiding for warm cover in my body, my release came from some special place inside me, sharing something of me only with her. Just my heart. Thank God the music was blaring because Sage had shared her feelings by screaming my name.

  And when I returned to the bar, the pile of shit I got from Jude was heaping. It was pretty easy to tell what had happened by Sage’s evident glow and my permanent sex-grin. I told him I admitted my feelings to her and that she’d said the same back. Jude slapped my shoulder and told me ‘congratulations,’ that she deserved a great guy, and he believed I qualified in that capacity. I wondered if Jude and I could actually turn out to be friends someday. Not tomorrow, and probably not next week, but some day.

  I walked into a quiet duplex. Easton had a gig, and Kirby was probably at his girlfriend’s but since she was a night nurse, he sometimes came home late. I changed clothes, and thirty minutes later a black sedan pulled up in the driveway and a beautiful chocolate-brown-haired, pale, green-eyed beauty stepped out. I walked outside.

  “Nice wheels.”

  “Thanks. I like it.”

  I tugged her bag from her hand and followed her to the door.

  “I’m pretty tired, Rahl.”

  “I can see that, my angel. Let’s go to bed.”

  With the lights off, we crawled into bed and Sage’s small body burrowed into my burly one.

  “I love you, Sage.”

  “I love you, Rahl.”

  I smiled into the darkness.

  ****

  Trapped. I had one beast trapped under me. The small body was no match for my strength. Then another monster invaded my space. My body exploded through the air and tackled the fiend. I’d gotten the upper hand on whatever was attacking me, but to make sure it was defeated. It had to be defeated. I was not the warrior who would crack under pressure. I was not the weak soldier. I was strong. I was powerful. And I would defeat the assailant.

  I struck out and connected with the intruder several times. Our bodies slammed into something. The creature crumpled.

  I was victorious. I was…

  The sharp contact with my face spun my head. A familiar female voice snapped me from my … dream?

  “Rahl! Fuck! Just wake up! Rahl!” The hand slapped me a second time.

  When I opened my eyes I hunched over Kirby as he lay on the floor of my bedroom writhing in pain. Scampering back from him, I collapsed onto my ass, shoving my hands through my buzz cut, and breathing and sweating as if I’d just run a marathon. In a stupor, I cocked my head to look around the room. There were three people—Kirby, Laken, and Easton.

  “Laken, go check on—” Easton’s voice cut through my haze.

  “Sage! Where’s Sage?” I scrambled to stand but my body collapsed from the exertion.

  “Rahl, you need to wait here.” Laken pushed me
back down.

  I grabbed her hand. “What happened, Laken?” My body crumpled forward. “God, don’t tell me that I—”

  “I’m going to check on her.” Laken ran her hand down my face. “My brother, I know you didn’t mean to hurt her, but there … there is a monster inside of you. Please, I know you can fix this, but you need to get help.” Laken kissed the top of my head and I rocked back against the footboard.

  “Rahl, I need to take Kirby to the hospital. I think he has a broken collarbone and needs some stitches in his forehead.”

  I nodded as Easton helped Kirby to stand and he hobbled from the room.

  “Kirby…”

  He turned around. I surveyed the damage. Kirby’s swollen lip and right eye were bad but the blood dripping from his forehead and his left shoulder hanging four inches below the other one shocked me. I’d seen things much bloodier but this was a new kind of gory. One I caused.

  “I’m sorry.” I tried to stand, but my body refused.

  “Just get some fucking help. That girl didn’t deserve to be a part of your unresolved shit, Rahl, and neither did I.”

  It had been less than twelve hours since I’d told Sage that I loved her, and I either verbally or physically assaulted her. Or both.

  Kirby had woken me several times in the last four months, telling me I was screaming in my sleep. My body had been drenched in sweat in the morning on occasion, but it didn’t happen every night. I assumed it was stress related. But this wasn’t just stress. This wasn’t strong. This wasn’t the man I wanted to be for Sage. And not the man she needed to help her though her fears.

  Laken stepped back in the room. “Rahl, I’m going to drive Sage home. I’ll call you later.”

  I found some energy and stood to follow her. “I want to talk to her. I need to see her.”

  Laken stepped in front of me and pushed me back. “No. She’s too frightened right now.”

  “Laken…”

  My head agreed with her, but my heart needed to know. How far had I gone?

  “No!” She shook her head. Disappointment shadowed her blue eyes to grey. “She needs time.”

  I backed away.

  She continued, “I just wanted to tell you I’ll call you later and we’re leaving. Rahl, it’s time you listened to the people who care about you.” She stepped close. “I love you and I want you to be happy but that wasn’t happy, Rahl. Not even close.” Laken gave me one of her famous great hugs, but it didn’t hold the same sentiment. She grabbed Sage’s overnight bag.

  “Please tell her I’m sorry.”

  “She knows you are. Go clean up. If you need medical attention, please call Ty. I’ll call you later.”

  I glanced at the clock to see it was almost six a.m. In the bathroom, the mirror suggested I didn’t look much better than Kirby. Probably needed a few stitches in my eyebrow but I would butterfly it for now and call Ty at a reasonable hour. I stepped under the steaming water of my shower. The water streamed down my body. Dried blood colored the floor a light pink. I braced myself against the back wall, and then I did something I hadn’t done since Knox, Evan, and Ryan died. I cried. I cried for Sage and what might’ve happened. I cried because I wasn’t able to protect her from the one thing I really thought I had a handle on. And I cried because the release freed a part of the monster in me, but it wasn’t gone. It had a hold inside of me, I’d just ignored the truth. My truth.

  Instead of calling Ty, I got in my truck and drove over to their house. The five-minute drive would do me good in the cool morning air. It was after seven and I could guarantee Ty was up. Fiona was questionable. The girl could fall asleep at the drop of a hat and in such a deep state that it took a twenty-one-gun salute to wake her.

  “Rahl, hi…” The welcoming smile dropped as eyes scanned my face. “Oh, my God, Rahl!” Nope, Fi’s awake. She grabbed my arm and pulled me in. I stepped up and into the house slowly. Kirby had landed a few good blows to my ribs and a couple to my kidneys. Or maybe it was Easton trying to get me off of him. No matter what, I deserved it all.

  “Ty! Tyson!” Fi screamed down the hallway and in a few seconds he was rounding the corner out of the bedroom, dripping water and holding a towel around his waist.

  “What’s wrong?” His eyes narrowed in on me while Fi pointed with a shaking hand.

  He scanned me and his eyebrows furrowed.

  I huffed. “I’m fine. Ty, take your time. I’m not going to die.”

  Fiona inhaled a quick breath and pursed her lips.

  That wasn’t a great thing to say. Just fucking up all over the place.

  “I’ll be right back.” Ty understood whatever was wrong was going to take more than skin glue or stitches. Probably going to take a hell of a lot more, but I didn’t know what or how much. Or why. And that bothered me the most.

  “What happened? Did you and Easton get into it again? Where is he? Does he look like you, Rahl?” Fiona’s barrage of questions irritated me but I inhaled a long cleansing breath. She had good intentions but even when she was little she’d had “drama queen” written all over her.

  “Let’s wait for Ty so I don’t have to repeat myself. Can I get a cup of coffee?” I walked into the kitchen and sat at the table.

  “Let’s wait on the coffee, Rahl.” Ty returned dressed. “Let me check for internal bleeding first.”

  “Oh, God!” Fi sobbed into her hands. Ty took the time to calm her before tending to me. Her emotions seemed as out of control as Sage’s had been the last few days.

  Not having a spleen could cause complications but my only concern was for Sage. My body had seen worse. Plus, Tyson knew whatever was happening internally was more mental than physical. I let him do the exam to appease Fiona’s mind more than his or mine.

  “Not happy that you have some bruised ribs, Rahl. And it concerns me that you got hit a couple of times in the kidney area, but you’re in good shape overall. I think you’ll mend quickly.” He examined my face closer. “I’ll need to put a few stitches in that tear on your face. How is the other guy?”

  My heart tripped a beat thinking about it. I told both of them what little I could remember about what had happened. Fiona rubbed my back when it came to the part I really didn’t know about.

  What did I do to Sage?

  “Fi, I need you to call Laken and see how Sage is doing, please. And Ty, if she needs you, I can go to a—”

  Fi kissed my temple, like our mother would do if she were there. “If Laken didn’t call me frantically asking for Ty, I’m sure Sage isn’t physically hurt. Don’t be so hard on yourself.” She left the kitchen while dialing her cell phone.

  Ty handed me a cup of coffee. “Physically, you’re fine. I only did the exam to settle her down.”

  “Yeah, kind of figured.”

  “How long have you been having night terrors?”

  I took a long drink and allowed the hot coffee to scorch away the memory of the morning. “How long have I been back?”

  Tyson huffed. “I’d like you to see someone,” he said as a doctor.

  My silence wasn’t an answer to a doctor and definitely not an answer to a doctor who was also my family.

  “Rahl, I’m worried about you. This won’t work itself out on its own.” He added the sentiment so much like a brother that I had no choice.

  “What are you thinking?”

  “I have a friend from med school. I can call him and get you in tomorrow. He’s a talented psychiatrist, and he’s worked with veterans.”

  “I can see someone through the VA.”

  “And you’ll wait for months before that happens. Come on. I saw the pain in your face when you told us what happened.”

  “That still doesn’t make it easy to admit I need and want help. I told Sage I’d be strong enough for both of us and I let her down.”

  His hand grabbed my shoulder. “You’re a strong man, but sometimes we all need a little help. Let me help you.”

  I closed my eyes and remembered Sage last night a
nd how her eyes sparkled up at me when she said, “I’ve never wanted anything more in my life than to be with you. I love you, too, Rahl Vendetti.” It was a moment I’d hold close to my heart.

  “Make the call. I have an early morning meeting tomorrow but my afternoon is open.”

  Ty picked up his phone, scanned his contacts, and hit send. Fiona came back into the kitchen.

  “Sage is doing okay.”

  “What happened?” My body was restless and I fidgeted with the salt and pepper shakers.

  “I don’t know if she wants me to say anything, Rahl.”

  I stood up and started across the living room to the door.

  “Rahl, where are you going?” Fi followed on my heels.

  “To talk to Sage.” I grabbed the doorknob.

  Fiona rushed to the door. “Just give her time, please. She’ll be okay. She’s just shaken.”

  “Fi, I have to make sure she’s okay right now, not later, not next year … now. I love her.”

  My sister’s eyes sparkled and she smiled. “I promise, she’s going to be okay and she only wanted to know that you’re going to be okay. She needs to get some rest. Lake is still there. She’ll take care of her.”

  I still wanted to leave.

  She grabbed my arm and tugged. “Come on. Let me make you breakfast. We never got to go out to lunch for your birthday.”

  “Not my fault. You took Lake’s side immediately.”

  “There are no sides, Rahl. We’re all adults. There’s only accept it and be supportive or leave them to find their own path. Sage is meant to be your path. That girl is special and you deserve special.”

  “She’s an angel, Fi.”

  My sister nodded.

  I released the doorknob. “All right, breakfast. And maybe you can show me the pictures from your wedding?”

  Fi’s face lit up.

  Sage was right. But is she okay?

  Chapter Eighteen

  Sage

  “Rahl! Honey, it’s me. It’s Sage. Please wake up! You’re hurting me. Rahl, please…” I tried to loosen his grip on my wrists but my evasive movements only made him pin me deeper into the bed.