by Mia Malone
“Yeah,” Paddy confirmed, and added, “Tell Lee thanks.”
“I don’t know what they’re talking about, except details Lee thinks should be public knowledge. Premature ejaculations being one of those details.”
Jesus. Would he ever live that down? He decided to ignore the comment because what happened had been pathetic, but he hadn't lied. It had also been amazing.
“I know, and it doesn't matter. They're talking, and Lee is a good woman, so whatever she says that helps Jen hold it together while we figure this out is worth my thanks,” he said instead.
Gibson’s brows went up a little in surprise, although it shifted into a smirk.
“Are you growing up, Paddy?”
“Fuck you,” he snorted, thinking that he probably was and that it was probably ridiculously overdue.
***
Jenny
Paddy was not in a good mood when he walked through the door and tossed a bag on the kitchen island. He smiled gently and kissed me softly before putting the ice cream away, but I saw the muscle in his cheek working and wondered what had happened.
When he didn’t tell me, and just started pulling out bottles of water from the fridge, I put a hand on his arm.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Paddy, you’re really mad. I’m pretty sure I didn’t do anything to piss you off, but someone did, so tell me.”
He turned slowly and stared at me.
“How do you know?”
“What do you mean, how do I know? It’s all over your face.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“Um, yeah. It is.”
His brows went up, and I blinked.
“I have a tell?” he asked slowly.
“Um, yeah,” I repeated. “You didn't know?”
“No,” he said, still staring incredulously at me.
“None of the others know?”
“No,” he repeated, and added, “Shit.”
I started laughing because of the dismayed look on his face but mostly because I felt happy. I had a tiny piece of him that no one else did.
“So, what were you mad about?” I asked.
“Might have started a small fight at the gas station,” he muttered.
“You… what?”
“The little fucker,” he kept muttering, but when he saw my face, he threw his arms out and snarled, “I was buying ice cream.”
“Okay.”
“And a few other things. And that fucking idiot –”
“Petey?” I interrupted, wondering what the sweet and very kind man who had been one year before me in high school could have said to set Paddy off like this.
“Asked me if I had a hot night ahead of me.”
I blinked. If had my way, he would actually have a hot night ahead of him.
“Okay.”
“Told him to mind his damned business.”
“Okay.”
“Might have said I’d shove his dick somewhere if he ever talked about what I did at night again.”
I took a step over to look in the bag still on the kitchen island and started laughing. I’d never seen such a big box of condoms before in my life. Talk about buying in bulk, and no wonder Petey had commented on it.
“Jenny,” he said warningly.
God, I loved him. He stood there in his kitchen all angry and flustered and worked up about a comment which hadn’t meant anything at all.
“You know he didn’t mean anything by it,” I murmured and walked up close to him. “You’ll have to apologize, you know,” I added as I slowly pulled his shirt out of his pants.
“Pissed me off the way he was grinning about shit that doesn’t concern him,” Paddy said.
“I know,” I said and started to unbutton his shirt. “Wasn’t the first time he did that, Paddy, and it won’t be the last.”
“Jenny –”
I nuzzled the hair on his chest and moved my fingertips over his warm skin.
“Let it go, Padraig,” I murmured.
“What are you doing?” he asked hoarsely when I pushed his shirt off his shoulders.
“You need to calm down,” I said and moved my mouth over his chest. He exhaled when I let my tongue circle his nipple, but then I sank down on my knees. “I’m just helping you with that.”
He watched me silently as I unbuttoned his jeans and moved them and his boxers down a little. When I pulled his cock out, he hissed something unintelligible, and I took it into my mouth immediately.
“Jen,” he murmured, and when I took him all the way, he breathed a drawn out, “God, yeah.”
I sucked him hard, watching his beautiful face go slack as I did. Then he put his hands on the sides on my neck, not forcing me to move, but still controlling the pace. I let him and enjoyed the feeling of him in my mouth, but then he suddenly pushed me back and up to my feet.
“Paddy,” I protested.
“Your mouth is fucking heaven, Jenny, but your pussy is paradise. I want in.”
His hands were pulling my jeans down, and then my panties, and then I was leaning on my belly on the island. He grabbed the box in front of us and ripped it open. Small packets flew everywhere. He snagged one, and I heard him open it, and two seconds later, he slid inside.
“Yes,” I hissed.
“I know it turns you on to blow me,” he murmured in my ear. “One day I’ll come down your throat, Jen, I promise. Not yet. Not when I still need that pussy so damned bad.”
I whimpered and pushed back at him, turned on and getting wetter with every word. His hand moved around us, and I felt his fingers flicking my clit, and I moaned again.
“Hey, anyone home?” a loud voice called out.
Day.
“Turn around and walk back out again,” Paddy growled.
“Leaving,” Day called out and added with laughter in his voice. “Take your time. I'll be on the porch.”
I’d stopped moving altogether, and tried to wiggle away, but Paddy pressed me back down again.
“He can fucking wait,” he grunted and started moving again, pounding into me and moving his hand in a way that shot right through me. “I’m gonna make you scream, Jenny, and he’s gonna hear it.”
“Padraig,” I groaned.
“That’s right. If this whole fucking town is gonna gossip, we might as well give them something to talk about.”
Oh, God.
“Let me hear when you come.”
I couldn't hold back, and I didn't scream, but the sounds I made were not quiet either, and when Paddy came, it was with a drawn out, loud growl.
He leaned over me, breathing heavily and moving his mouth gently over my shoulder.
“You okay?” he asked quietly after a while.
“God, yes,” I answered because I was. “You?”
“Yeah,” he breathed.
Then he pulled out, and when I turned, he was closing the lid to the trash bin. He was watching me with a crooked, slightly embarrassed grin.
“I'm sorry, Jenny. I don't know if Day was stupid enough to actually stay, but if he did, he not only walked in on us and might have seen what we were doing. He probably heard the, uh… grand finale too.”
I chuckled because this I had, of course, figured out myself. And if it had just been anybody, I would have been hiding under the couch, never leaving the house again. The only ones entering the house like that were our circle of friends, though, so it wouldn’t be just anybody walking in on us. We’d been friends forever, and it wasn’t the end of the world, because it had been one of the brothers. Then a thought hit me.
“Since the finale was exceptionally grand, Pad, I think I’ll survive. But we need to start locking the door because it could have been Joke and I don’t want my only brother to die from a stroke just yet.”
He started laughing and nodded toward the front door.
“Go check if the idiot is out there, babe. I’ll sort shit out here.”
Since there were condoms all over the kitch
en, I took my time reaching the door. Then I opened it and tried not to blush as a grinning Day raised his head.
“Looking good, Jen,” he said and winked at me.
“Feeling good,” I retorted. “You’re eating with us tonight?”
“If you wiped off the countertop,” he deadpanned.
“We’ll eat at the table,” I said, not sure if Paddy would even think about bringing out the Lysol.
He started laughing and then we had dinner.
***
Padraig
After dinner, he walked Day out to his car, and they stood in silence for a while.
“Did you want to talk to me about something, Day?” Paddy murmured,
“Nah,” Day grinned. “Just wanted to check in on your sudden and unexpected domestic bliss.”
“Okay,” Paddy said.
“And let you know I filled up my car earlier.”
Shit.
“Didn’t want them to start gossiping,” he murmured.
Day started laughing and slapped him on the shoulder.
“I’d have to say; mission not accomplished in a very big way.”
“Huh?”
“If you'd said nothing they would have been all, oh well, Paddy fucking again. Keep going with Jenny, and they would have been all, huh that is weird, the same woman more than once. And then they would have stopped.” He paused and raised his brows, nodding as he went on, “Now everyone is all, oh my God, Paddy Callaghan threatened to kill poor Petey when he made a comment about Jenny Tucker. Isn’t that romantic? Have you heard that they’re dating after all these years? What kind of ice cream did he get? Did you hear they went away for the weekend? I heard he actually killed a biker who just looked at her. I’m gonna go and have me some lunch at the diner…”
“Fuck,” Paddy muttered, knowing that this was not Day messing with him.
This was probably what was burning down the phone lines as they stood there.
“Just saying,” Day chuckled.
“It’ll blow over.”
“Always does. I might not be here to see it unfold, though.”
“Heading out again?”
“Might.”
“Where?”
“Washington for a few days, to see Sunshine. Then Italy I think.”
Day had three kids from three different women, and Sunshine was his youngest daughter.
“Okay,” Paddy said, knowing the plans could have shifted by lunch the next day. “If you go to Italy, pick some of that balsamic vinegar up for Jen, will you? She’s out.”
Day froze and stared at him.
“Paddy? Really?”
“Yeah. She makes a fucking fantastic salad with –”
“I’m sorry I walked in on you.”
Paddy reared back and stared at Day who suddenly wasn’t grinning at all.
“Man, our fault, we should have locked the door.”
Day made a face and turned away a little.
“Heard you when I opened it, could have turned then but wanted to mess with you a little. Thought you were just… I didn’t get it, Pad. Didn’t get that it’s for real.”
Paddy put a heavy hand on his shoulder and squeezed until their eyes met.
“It’s for real, Day.”
Something passed over Day’s face he couldn’t interpret, but then he grinned his usual shit-eater grin and promised to do what he could to curb the gossip. Paddy watched him drive off, wondering if the demons chasing his friend lap after lap around the globe would ever settle. Then he walked inside to let Jenny know there probably would be a crowd at the diner for lunch the next day.
“Good for business,” she said calmly, and then they had ice-cream.
Then he slid ice-cream into her cleavage.
Then they went to bed, and he licked ice-cream off every inch of her.
She returned the favor, and when she was on top of him, moving her hips slowly up and down, she was laughing.
It was the best goddamned sight in his life. Jenny, sticky with ice-cream, turned on and moaning but laughing at the same time. He pushed up until he was sitting, put his hands on her ass and guided her movements as they kissed, and kept doing it until they both came.
***
The phone rang, and Paddy snatched it up, knowing before he pressed the screen that something was wrong.
It was Annie, and it wasn’t late, but she worked evenings in an upscale restaurant in Manhattan, so she shouldn't be calling him at that hour. Which meant something was seriously fucking not right.
“What’s wrong, sweetie?” he murmured and felt Jenny stir next to him.
There was a long silence, and his gut turned to ice.
“He hurt me,” Annie whispered, and he could hear she was crying.
“Who hurt you?”
“Ex.”
Jesus. His girl. Annie.
“Where are you?”
Silence.
“Annie, talk to me. Are you at home? Let me know where you are, honey. I’ll be on the first flight out.”
It was a struggle to keep his voice calm. Jenny was up and had turned the light on, watching him while she sorted through his clothes and handed him what he needed.
“Last night. He punched me in the face and…” she trailed off, and he closed his eyes, holding on to Jenny’s hand so hard it would hurt her but unable to let go. “I did what –” she hiccupped and restarted, “Someone showed me. I punched him in the throat. Twisted his nuts. Then I ran.”
“Sweetie,” he said hoarsely. “Where the hell are you?”
“I was in Chicago,” she sobbed.
What the hell had she been doing in Chicago?”
“Where are you now?”
She sobbed out the name of a small town. Jesus, she must have been driving straight through because it was less than two hours away.
“You’re in the car?”
“Motel. Almost fell asleep. I wanted to get home.”
“Stay where you are, I’ll come for you.”
“Dad,” she whispered brokenly. “Bring Gibson.”
He clenched his jaws when she said that. She knew what they were doing to keep Wilhelmine safe and the role Gib had in their group. If she wanted him to bring the man generally known as his sergeant at arms, she must be seriously fucking afraid.
“I’ll bring him,” he murmured. “Put a chair under the door handle, Annie. Move furniture, whatever. Just block the door and sit tight. We’ll be there.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
“I’m gonna hang up now, need to call Gib. You block the door and just wait for us. I’ll call when we’re on our way.”
“Okay,” she said, but added in a rush, “Can you call Jenny?”
Oh, God. His face twisted into a mask of pain. Did she need a woman? Had she been –”
“Of course,” he murmured. “Do you want Jenny to call you?”
“No,” she murmured. “I’m good, Daddy.”
Daddy. She hadn’t said that in years.
“Leaving now.”
“Okay.”
He hung up, and his eyes met Jenny's.
“You heard?”
“Most of it. Call Gib, get going.”
“Jenny…”
He felt like weeping and hitting someone at the same time, and his hands were shaking a little.
“Hold it together, Padraig,” she said. “Go get her, and we'll deal. We'll take care of her.”
He leaned forward to touch his forehead to hers, drawing strength from her. Then he sighed deeply and picked up his phone again.
“I'll call Gib, will you call the others?” he asked and turned to her. “Will you be here when we get back?”
“It’s Annie,” she said simply.
Their eyes met for a second, and then they both moved.
Chapter Eight
Jenny
“We’ve got her.”
He spoke quietly, and my knees buckled.
“She okay?”
“Sleeping in t
he back seat. She won’t talk. Said she’s good and that she wants to get home. I –” he drew in a ragged breath and whispered hoarsely, “I couldn’t ask her.”
“Padraig,” I murmured. “Whatever happened to her… whatever she's been through, she's with us now. We'll deal with whatever happened, and she will be fine.”
I said the words and tried to sound as if I meant it because he needed to hear it. Tears were running down my cheeks, and Lee was holding me tight, but I made myself sound calm and secure.
“Just get her home, Paddy,” I said. “Just get her to me.”
“I will.”
“I know you will.”
“Gibson’s breaking all speed limits. We’re an hour out.”
“Tell him to drive carefully.”
He scoffed, and I closed my eyes.
“I’ll be here when you get home.”
Then I hung up the phone and let myself fall, knowing Lee would catch me and that I had an hour to pick myself up again. Before I needed to be strong.
When the tears had quieted down, I made coffee. And paced.
It took them fifty-two minutes, and then I heard the car park outside. I was already moving when Annie burst through the door and ran to me.
I tried to see if she was hurt but she threw herself in my arms and I held her to me as she cried.
“Annie,” I murmured.
“He hit me,” she mumbled into my hair.
I looked at Paddy over her shoulder, and his face was a hard mask of anger and pain. He looked like he'd break any minute and we needed to know what we were dealing with. For her sake, but also for his.
“Let’s take a look at you,” Lee said calmly. “Come on now. We’ll take a look, and we’ll get you sorted out.”
I tried to smile at Paddy and straightened my shoulders, turning Annie toward the back of the house.
“We got you now, baby. We’ll go to your room.”
His eyes softened a little, and he mouthed out a silent, “Thank you.” I nodded once and walked away with an arm around the shoulders of the girl whose scraped up knees I'd kissed more than once. The one I'd scolded and laughed with and loved her whole life. The one who wasn't my daughter, but who also was.
***
Padraig
He sank down on the couch and rested his elbows on his knees, trying to breathe and a little shaky with relief that they’d gotten his girl home.
