He swallowed hard but kept meeting her eyes. “I’m staring at it ever day.”
And with that, she knew he was far stronger than he thought he was. He might be doing things she didn’t understand, but he wasn’t going to lose control. In fact, everything he did was because he was keeping that control locked down hard.
The only thing he couldn’t control was her.
And she wasn’t sure what she thought about that.
So instead of thinking—or talking—she went down to her knees.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice low, gruff.
“Making you feel better,” she whispered as she took him out of his sweats. He was hard, long, and thick in her hand. The tips of her fingers didn’t even meet at the base, and she shivered, remembering the feel of him inside. “I didn’t get to do this before. And because I had to watch you fight, I get to do this now. I get to be the one in control.”
He licked his lips, wincing as he went over the cut, and slid his hand through her hair, the ice long forgotten on the table. “I’m clean. I had the doctors check me, but I’ve only been with one woman, Tabitha. And well…I’m clean. For this, I’m clean.”
She let out a breath; grateful he was so careful with her.
“I’m not going to be able to reciprocate tonight, not with my lip like this.”
She squeezed him, loving the way his eyes crossed.
“I don’t need you to. Not tonight.” She took a deep breath. “Next time, though. Okay?”
He tugged on her hair softly. “Next time,” he whispered.
She licked the tip of his dick in response, and he groaned. He was hurting, so she didn’t make it last long, didn’t tease him until they were both panting with need this time. They could do that later. For now, she just wanted to pleasure him because it pleased her at the same time. He was too big for her to swallow, so she used her hands to take the rest of him.
Slow and easy.
Then fast and hard.
And when he came in her mouth, he tried to pull away, but she didn’t let him.
She wanted all of him.
When she was finished, he stood up, tucked himself back in his sweats, and lifted her into his arms.
“Your ribs!”
“They aren’t broken, not even bruised. Just a little sore. I’m taking you to bed so we can sleep. And in the middle of the night, I’m going to make love to you because that’s what we both need, what we both want.”
“Okay,” she breathed.
She curled into him as he carried her, feeling cherished beyond measure but knowing everything could change in an instant. They hadn’t spoken about what they were doing and what could come next. But they would.
And she’d fight for him, just like she would fight for herself.
Because sometimes it took looking at another person in another stage of their life to understand exactly what you wanted. And this time, it was Tabby’s turn to figure that out.
STORM
Storm slammed the door closed behind him and tried to contain his anger. It wasn’t easy when he wanted to fucking punch something. How in the hell had his family become this? They used to be okay, used to be able to walk down a road without shit coming at them from all sides. Yet over the past few years, almost every single person in his family had gone through something.
Some had made it out the other side, bloody and bruised, but alive.
And yet with his baby brother, he didn’t know if there was an end in sight. Alex might be out of rehab, but Storm had seen the bruises on the other man’s face tonight. He’d seen the wary look in his eyes when Storm and Wes had confronted him. Alex might not be drinking, but fighting like he was couldn’t be healthy.
Not to mention Storm knew damn well there was something going on between Alex and Tabby. He saw the looks, saw the heat. Others might have missed it, but Storm had spent the past two years keeping his eye on Alex. Storm had fucked up before by not acting sooner when Alex had fallen, but he’d be damned if he failed as a brother again.
Austin might be the oldest of the Montgomerys, but Storm took his responsibility as next in line seriously. Wes might only be a few minutes older, but Storm didn’t count those. His younger siblings had gone through hell before settling down, and now it was Storm’s job to make sure Alex found his peace.
Because if he didn’t…
Storm didn’t want to think about the outcome.
The doorbell rang, and Storm frowned before going to answering it. Jillian stood on the other side, a six-pack in her hand and a glare on her face.
“Today was a shit-tastic day, and since I’m a plumber, I literally mean shit.” She pushed past him and he shook his head.
He and Jillian had been dating off and on for a while now, but it was nothing too serious. They were friends who, when they had time and inclination, slept together. They were fucking amazing together, it was true, but they’d both had the talk long ago that they were better off as friends who gave great orgasms than something serious.
Part of that was why he hadn’t offered her a job at Montgomery Inc. though they needed a plumber. In fact, even if he offered it, he knew she’d say no. Their goal was to be uncomplicated and sleep together whenever they felt like it, and working together would be fucking idiotic.
“Drink this,” Jillian said as she thrust a beer into his hand. “I just showered and I’m cranky. But I don’t know why you’re cranky.”
“Alex is fighting,” he said softly.
Jillian’s eyes rounded. “Well, fuck. Tell me everything.”
And that’s why he was friends with her. He could tell her everything. He knew it would be easier if they loved each other, if they both saw a future. But they didn’t, and frankly, they wouldn’t.
But when his head was a mess like this, worrying about a thousand other things, he would take Jillian as she was because he knew she would do the same.
It was all he had, and hell, that was way better than nothing.
Chapter Seven
It had been a couple of weeks since he’d first had Tabitha in his arms, in his bed, and yet Alex still couldn’t get her out of his mind. It didn’t help that they’d spent every night together, even if they didn’t sleep over each time. They were still feeling each other out, still figuring out what it all meant.
But he knew he could drown in her if he weren’t careful.
And even though he thought he could survive that, he didn’t want to bring Tabitha down with him—not if it meant hurting her in the process.
In the two weeks since the fight, his bruises had healed, and he’d kept the worst of them from his family, but the twins had seen them. He didn’t want to keep secrets from the Montgomerys anymore, but neither did he want to show up to a family dinner with a black eye. He wasn’t sure he could handle the questions.
Wes and Storm hadn’t been angry, but now they knew where he worked out and what he was training for. He figured they’d be at the next bout, and there was no stopping that. By now, the entire family probably knew, but they were giving him space. He wasn’t sure what he felt about that since they usually didn’t give anyone space. Either they were being careful with him, or they didn’t know what to do with him.
Honestly, he figured it was a bit of both.
Now he was sitting in his sister’s house with most of the men of his immediate family surrounding him for a guys’ night. The women had had their night the week before, so this time, it was all about the Montgomery men and those that had married into the family while the others watched the children of the large crew.
“What are you doing over there?” Wes asked, a frown on his face. “You’re being all introspective, and it’s guys’ night. No thinking at guys’ night.”
Jake, his brother-in-law, snorted. “Oh, that’s a good one. Just don’t tell my wife that.”
Border, Jake’s husband and third in their relationship with Alex’s sister Maya, laughed. “Our wife already figures that.”
Alex shook
his head, a grin on his face. “I’m sorry for thinking. I promise to only grunt and scratch myself from now on.”
Decker tilted his beer toward Alex. “Good man. But don’t forget to eat and talk sports. Manly stuff.”
Griffin rolled his eyes and sat down next to Decker. “Considering Austin, Luc, and you just had a twenty-minute conversation about baby wipes, I’m pretty sure we don’t fit the mold.”
Alex sipped his iced tea and held back a smile. Most of the men in the room were now fathers, and it surprised him how much things had changed over the past few years. Austin had a wife and two children, Decker had married Miranda and had had baby Micah a few months ago. Luc had married Meghan and helped raise her two kids from her previous marriage with her asshole ex-husband and also had the new baby, Emma. Jake and Border had not only married each other, but Maya, as well, before having Noah around the same time Emma and Micah were born.
Hell, even Griffin had eloped with Autumn, surprising them all.
Only the twins and he were left, though Alex had already been married before and wanted nothing to do with that in the future. Of course, as soon as he thought that, Tabitha’s face entered his mind, but he quickly pushed that out of the way.
He didn’t know exactly what he was doing with her, but he wasn’t sure marriage was a possibly. Not with his track record.
Storm sank down into the couch next to Alex and let out a sigh.
“Doing okay?” Alex asked, grateful his brother had pulled him out of his thoughts. They’d been heading into dangerous territory, and he wanted to focus on the present, not on what could happen next and what had happened to bring him here.
Storm shot him a look before glaring over at Wes, who flipped him off. “This fucker over here decided to start on the Richmond site a day early because of a shift later on down the line that would have caused problems. But because we weren’t exactly ready for it and are stretched a bit thin with a few guys being sick thanks to the cold, Tab couldn’t get most of the other guys on this site in time.”
Alex ignored the way just hearing Tabitha’s name was like a kick to the chest. He didn’t like it, nor did he know what to do about it.
“Meaning lazy ass over there actually had to work,” Wes drawled.
“Fuck you,” Storm bit out, holding his shoulder.
“For the record, I lift more than both of you daily so stop whining,” Decker put in. “And, Storm, if you hurt so much, why don’t you ask your girlfriend to rub you down?”
Alex snorted, a smile crawling over his face. “Yeah, why don’t you tell us about Jillian?” It felt good to be joking with his family again, though he wasn’t sure he was ready to have the attention focused on him and talk about Tabitha yet. It was complicated since she worked with his family, and hell, they hadn’t even talked about who they were together yet. They’d done really well avoiding talking about that at all.
Probably not a good sign.
“Shut it,” Storm said with an odd look in his eyes. “Jillian and I are just hanging out.”
“Sleeping together is more than hanging out,” Austin said.
Storm sighed. “We’re keeping it casual. We’re both busy as hell, and it makes it hard to see each other. We’re friends who happen to have sex when we both want to. And now that I’ve talked about my feelings, can we get the chili out of the crockpot, or are you going to ask how the sex is?”
“Well,” Jake crooned. “Since you brought it up.”
Border punched him in the side, and Jake blushed at whatever the other man whispered in his ear. Alex grinned and took another drink of his tea.
Damn, he’d missed this.
They ate chili and wings and other things that were horrible for them and talked about kids, games, and whatever was going on at work. None of them were in their early twenties anymore, so they didn’t eat like this often. But when they did, it was usually when they were together. As for Alex, he ate a full portion but didn’t go back for seconds. The food tasted too good, and he didn’t want to end up eating his way through the whole damn table.
Storm checked his phone right about the time Alex was going to head out and grinned.
“What?”
“Jillian is here to pick me up,” Storm explained, his voice low. But he hadn’t spoken softly enough, apparently.
“She’s only your friend, huh?” Wes said with a wide smile. “I want to meet her. How come none of us have met her?”
Storm pinched the bridge of his nose. “She’s busy. She’s working her ass off on her current job right now, and it sucks ass, so stop pestering. Okay? My truck is in the shop because I not only needed new winter tires, but there was something off when I started it this morning. She dropped me off at work, but you were the one to drive me here, Wes, if you recall.”
Wes shrugged. “I figured I’d drive you home, too. No big deal. But come on, have her come in.” Wes fluttered his eyelashes, and Alex barked off a laugh, surprised he’d laughed and smiled as much as he had this evening.
The others stared at him for a moment, and he swallowed. Apparently, the others had noticed he’d laughed more tonight than usual, as well.
“I’ll text her,” Storm grumped, his eyes narrowed. “But don’t fuck around with her, got me? She’s a good woman, and my friend.”
Wes put up his hands. “I’m not going to be a bastard to a woman you’re dating, Storm. But if she’s here, she might as well meet the horde.”
Storm flipped off the room as he texted with one hand. “This is going to be interesting,” he mumbled.
Alex slid his hands into his pockets and waited as Storm stalked toward the front door and opened it. The first thing he heard was bright laughter as a slender blonde woman walked into the house. She had on work boots and jeans, plus an old coat that seemed far too big for her. He only knew she was slender from her face and legs.
“I didn’t realize you were all as big as Storm,” she blurted, and the guys laughed. The tension that had filled the room at Storm’s text popped like a balloon.
“Well, some of us are bigger,” Jake said with a grin, and Jillian rolled her eyes.
“Sure, honey, whatever you say.”
Alex liked her already.
“So, yeah, these are the guys,” Storm put in. “Guys, this is Jillian.”
“Hi, Jillian,” the guys said as one before breaking out into laughter.
Jillian grinned. “Hi, guys. Do you have names, or do you walk around like some bearded boy band? You know, the one after the third album where they aren’t straight cookie cutter anymore and are trying for something a little edgier.”
“I still stay Backstreet Boys were better than N’SYNC,” Jake put in.
“New Kids on the Block,” Austin said with a wince. “And how the hell do I know that name?”
“Aren’t they touring now?” Alex asked, running a hand through his hair. “And how the hell do I know that?”
“Run, Jillian,” Griffin said deadpan. “Run before they show you their love for O-Town.”
Jillian held up her hands, laughter in her eyes. “I’m sorry I mentioned boy bands. I’m learning way more than I thought I would.”
Storm let out a breath and put his arm around Jillian’s shoulder. She hip-bumped him and laughed. “We’re out of here. And just so you know, I’m cutting you all out of my life for talking about boy bands just now.”
Alex nodded solemnly. “I understand. It’s because you’re a One Direction fan, right? You must be cut up that they broke up.”
Storm flipped him off, and the guys broke out into chuckles as he pulled Jillian out the door.
“Nice to meet you!” she called, but they didn’t get a chance to say anything back since Storm slammed the door shut.
There was an awkward silence after that as the guys looked at one another.
“How much will it cost for us not to tell the women about this conversation?” Austin asked.
Silence.
“That’s what I thought,
” his eldest brother grumbled. “Fuck.”
“It’s not our fault,” Griffin put in. “With the twenty-four-hour news cycle, we have to listen to hours of election coverage crap and celebrity gossip. Things are bound to stick.”
“Right,” Alex put in. “We’ll just go with that.”
The guys shook their heads and finished cleaning up before everyone headed out. Alex’s chest felt lighter than it had in years. He’d had a whole evening where no one had been worried outwardly about drinking in front of him, and he hadn’t actually wanted a drink once. He’d been too distracted by conversations with his family and thinking about Tabitha to want to sneak into the kitchen for a beer.
He counted that as progress.
He pulled up to Tabitha’s place before he’d even thought about his destination. He hadn’t called or texted to ask her if she was even home, but he saw the light on in the living room. She might be busy, and if that were the case, he’d leave, but he wanted to see her.
And he didn’t want to think about why he wanted to see her so much.
She opened the door after the first knock, her eyes warm. “Was boys’ night fun?”
He nodded, his hands stuffed in his pockets. “Is it okay I’m here?” he asked. “I didn’t call.”
She smiled and stepped back. “You’re always welcome. Always.”
He didn’t know what to do with the emotions swelling inside him at her words.
“Did you eat? I have some leftover chicken in the fridge if you didn’t,” she said as she closed the front door behind them.
Alex moved toward her and cupped her cheek. She smiled at him and leaned into his hold. What had he done to deserve a woman like her looking at him like she was? Nothing, he knew. He hadn’t done a damn thing. But he was sure as fuck going to be selfish and take what he could. And if he had anything left to give, she could have it.
“I ate a bunch of junk food and things horrible for me at Maya’s.”
She snorted and played her fingers along his abs. “Junk food is good for you every once in a while.”
He laughed. “Really? What nutritionist says that?”
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