Inked Expressions

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  “I’m fine,” Everly bit out.

  “No, you’re not.” He moved forward, his hand out. “Your cheek is all red.”

  Everly moved back, not wanting his touch right then. Hurt shadowed his features, and he lowered his hand.

  “I wasn’t going to hit you, Ev,” he said, his voice gruff.

  She shook her head. “I know that.”

  “Then why are you moving away from me?”

  She raised her chin. “I was handling it, Storm.”

  His eyes narrowed. “She hit you.”

  “And she wasn’t going to do it again. She surprised me with the first one, but I wouldn’t have let her hit me a second time.” She blew out a breath, not as angry anymore but beyond tired. “You can’t just take over, Storm. You can’t just come into my life and think that you can fix everything. You can’t. You aren’t my husband, and apparently, my husband wasn’t truly my husband either.” Her voice broke at that last part, and she hated herself for it. She was handling this all wrong, but at some point, it had become too much to deal with.

  “Everly,” he whispered. “I’m not trying to take over.”

  “You did. You are. Just…just don’t try to fill his shoes, Storm.” She closed her eyes, holding back the tears. “Just go. I need you to go. I need to be alone with my sons tonight.”

  “Ev—”

  “Just go.”

  She opened her eyes and watched him stand there for a few moments before turning and leaving without another word. When the door clicked shut behind him, she wanted to fall to her knees and curse Jackson and break down into sobs. Instead, she rolled back her shoulders and locked the door before going back to the playroom where her boys were peacefully watching a movie. She’d tuck them into their little beds and read them a story, and when they were asleep, she’d sink into her tub and cry.

  Because with each passing day, she was losing more and more of her past, losing more of the dream she’d thought she had with the man she loved, and she was so afraid if she didn’t stop moving, didn’t stop trying to be strong, she’d lose even more.

  She’d lost herself when she lost her husband, and she hadn’t even realized it.

  She couldn’t do it again.

  Not even for Storm.

  Her phone rang and she looked down at the screen.

  Unknown.

  Tears slid down her face as she answered. “Hello?”

  No answer.

  “Who is this?” she screamed. “Why won’t you leave me alone?” Her hands shook, and when the call disconnected, she threw her phone on the couch. She slid to the floor, bile filling her throat.

  She couldn’t do this. It was all too much.

  Everything was just too much.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Storm had made some mistakes in his life, but last night was a doozy. He’d been friends with Everly long enough to know that she did not like it when anyone spoke for her. Hell, that was the case with any woman he knew. And what did he do? He’d walked right in and spoken over her, demanding that Jackson’s parents leave her home. Then he growled around the living room, stalking the older couple out the door like a Neanderthal.

  No wonder Everly had kicked him out, as well.

  “You’re here late,” Jillian said as she walked by his desk.

  He shook himself out of his thoughts and looked up. “So are you.”

  She shrugged and tucked her hair behind her ear. She wasn’t wearing her normal ponytail, which surprised him. In fact, she wasn’t wearing her normal work outfit at all. Instead, she looked ready for a date in a slim black dress and heels.

  “Are you going out?” he asked and leaned in his chair to stretch his back. He’d been bent over his table most of the day since he’d wanted to get his side project on paper as quickly as it had appeared in his mind.

  Jillian gave him a small smile before rolling her eyes. “Yeah, it’s a Friday night, and I have a date. I just forgot my phone on my desk because I’m an idiot. Thankfully, I’m meeting the guy at the restaurant, so hopefully, I haven’t missed his call.”

  “Don’t let him pick you up at your house until you reach a few dates. You never know with people these days.”

  Jillian laughed and went back to her desk to pick up her phone. She looked through it, and he raised a brow at her.

  “Why are you laughing?”

  “Because you’re being all overprotective. It’s cute.”

  He frowned. “It’s not cute.”

  Jillian patted his cheek before moving back again. “Yeah, it is. I don’t have brothers, so it’s kind of nice to have you being all growly about who I date.”

  “Since we’ve slept together, I hope to hell you don’t think of me as your brother.”

  “Now who’s being gross? I just meant that it’s nice to have someone care, you know?”

  Storm leaned back in his seat. “I’ve always cared, Jilly.”

  “I know. I cared, too. I care. But not the right way. And this thing between you and Everly? That’s exactly what you should have, not whatever you and I kept trying to make work because we were lonely. So now I’m going out on dates and trying to find my Mr. Right.”

  That was a lot to process all at once now that his brain was working a little bit better, and something she’d said triggered a conversation they’d had. “You saw this coming,” he said after a moment. “You saw Everly and me together.”

  Jillian blushed, though she shrugged as if it weren’t a big deal. “I thought I saw something between you that could be amazing, and I didn’t want to stand in the way. I didn’t know what exactly, but I saw potential.”

  “And I didn’t for too long.”

  “She needed time to heal, and you guys weren’t ready yet. Now, you are. Plus, no one ever sees true potential when they’re so close.”

  He wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, but he pushed it to the side for now since he had other things on his mind. “I never felt lonely with you, Jillian. We were friends. We still are.”

  She gave him a sad smile. “We might not have been lonely together, but it still wasn’t what we both truly needed. I’m never going to regret what we had, but I’m glad we’re both finding ways to move on and yet still be in each other’s lives.” She paused. “That is if Everly doesn’t mind. Not all women would be happy with an ex, even if I’m not technically that with you, hanging around.”

  He didn’t disagree. “She and I have talked about you some, and I think she’s fine with it, but maybe once the dust settles, we’ll find a way to make it so the three of us are friends. I don’t want to lose you, Jilly, but Ev? She’s…”

  “She’s everything. Or at least she will be. Now, are you going to tell me why you’re working so late when you could be hanging out with your woman? I mean, I’m pretty sure you haven’t slept with her yet so why aren’t you doing that instead of hanging out in a dark office.”

  “How the hell do you know whether I’ve slept with Everly or not?”

  “I see all. I know all.”

  He flipped her off, and she laughed. “I’m headed to her place in a few, if you really care. I just had to finish up a few things, and I’m pretty sure she needed time away from me anyway.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “What did you do?”

  He held up his hands. “Something stupid that I’m going to fix. Or at least try. We’re both still testing out the waters, and I made a mistake. One that I regret and will atone for.”

  “I don’t want to have to hurt you.”

  “I thought you were my friend, not hers.”

  Jillian shrugged. “I like her, and her boys. And Tabby is a little busy right now, so Everly needs more girl power behind her.”

  Storm smiled despite himself. “I think she’d like that.” He blew out a breath. “You better head out for real, or you’re going to miss your date. I’m here if you need to talk, Jillian. Remember that.”

  She smiled at him, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “You’re a g
ood man, Storm Montgomery. Just make sure you don’t screw everything up because you’re so in your head.”

  He picked up his things and walked her out to her car. She could handle herself, and they had security cameras, but they’d had issues recently, and he wasn’t going to risk it after dark. They each went their separate ways, and he headed to Everly’s house, hoping she’d let him in and not slam the door in his face. He hadn’t called or texted that day because he knew she needed space and he didn’t want to smother her, but damn it, he missed her.

  She opened the door after the first knock, and he took in the image of her. She wore cotton pants and a tank top and had her hair piled on top of her head. She smelled of the soap she used during the boys’ bath time, and he had to hold himself back from bringing her into his arms and never letting go.

  “I saw your lights when you drove up. Thanks for not using the doorbell since I just got the boys down.”

  He held his tablet under his arm, or he’d have stuffed his hands into his pockets so he didn’t accidently reach out and touch her. “I figured. Do you think I can come in? I promise not to stay longer than you want me to.”

  She stepped back and gestured him inside. “I’m glad you’re here. I was going to call you tonight, actually. I’m so sorry, Storm. I didn’t mean to take everything out on you, but I guess it was all too much and I just blew up at everyone.”

  He frowned and set his tablet on the table by the door. “Don’t apologize. I’m the one who should say I’m sorry. I took over because I hated seeing you hurt, but it wasn’t my place. Hell, you can take care of yourself, and I should have just been there as support, not the one taking over. I’m sorry, Ev. You don’t need me acting like an asshole and making you feel like you can’t do things on your own.”

  She shook her head and wrapped her arms around his middle. When he slid his arms around her, holding her tight, she rested her head on his chest.

  “Things got a little out of hand. Just…just with everything.” She sighed into him, and he ran his hand down her back.

  “Yeah, they did. And I’m sorry for coming in and trying to take over. You just…you just mean so much to me, and when she hit you, I lost it.”

  She looked up, her eyes widening. “You mean a lot to me, too, Storm.”

  He cupped her face and leaned down to brush his lips over hers. “So, I did something that you might not like or think I’m crazy for even attempting, but…” He pulled away from her and reached for his tablet.

  Everly frowned. “You’re worrying me.”

  “I didn’t know what to do with myself, so I played around with what we could do with Beneath the Cover.”

  Her face paled, and her eyes widened, and he wanted to kick himself. “You did what?”

  “Shit. I knew this was probably a bad idea.” He brought up the blueprints he’d been working on and turned the screen so she could see. “We had the specs from when the company did work on it, remember? Some things would have to change, but I figured I could get a feel for it. You had mentioned before that you wanted a better flow in the back from the seating areas to the shelves, so I played around with built-ins rather than things that take up more space.”

  She looked down at the screen, her hand hovering over it before looking up at him. “You did all this?”

  He nodded, swiping through a few different ideas. “And you can hate them all, and that will be okay. When I get stressed, I work. And since designing is one of the things that calms me, I worked on this for you. I know you didn’t have any input, so these are really just from a launching-point perspective, and I can throw them away. It can also be too soon, and I get that. Hell, we don’t even know what the place looks like right now, but my brain couldn’t stop working, so I just did it.”

  She blinked rapidly, and he knew he’d messed up. The bookstore was her place, and he’d stepped in and taken over. Again.

  “Shit shit shit. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done anything. I just took over and did the exact thing that I did wrong before.”

  She reached up and put her hand over his mouth. “Stop talking, Storm.”

  He kissed her fingertips, unable to hold himself back. When she sighed, he kept his mouth shut, hoping she’d let him stay and give him another chance.

  “I can’t believe you did this,” she whispered.

  “I’m sorry.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t believe you did this because it’s amazing. You have such talent. I know you did a few sketches, but I love each of them for different reasons, and I didn’t even get a chance to study them in-depth. I know you didn’t do these thinking your way would be the only way, you did it because you wanted to try and do something to clear your mind and make me happy. I get that. I love that.” She blew out a breath. “And I’m not saying it right, but Storm? Thank you. Thank you for thinking of me, and thank you for listening to the little things I’ve said over the years and using that to make your designs. You’re right in that we don’t know what we’re in for with the store.” Her words got a little shaky, and she sucked in a breath. “But in the end, that doesn’t matter. I mean it does, but I know you’ll be able to help me when the time comes.”

  She cupped his face, and he finally let out the breath he’d been holding. “You like them?” he asked, his voice hoarse.

  “I do.”

  He smiled then. “When the time comes, and you’re ready to rebuild, you can do whatever you need to do, and I’ll do it with you. Not for you. I hope you get that.”

  “I do.” Her fingers traced his lips. “The boys are sleeping,” she whispered.

  He swallowed hard, his dick filling and pressing against his jeans. “Yeah?”

  “Come to bed with me.” She bit her lip, looking a little shy. “Please?”

  He set down the tablet again so he could cup her face. “Are you sure you’re ready?”

  “I’ve been ready for far longer than I want to admit,” she said with a blush.

  “Now that’s something a guy wants to hear.” He smiled as he said it, then kissed her. First, it was just a soft brush of lips; then, it deepened, his body pressing against hers as she wrapped her arms around his waist. They moaned into each other, exploring each other’s mouths, her taste a delicious dessert on his tongue.

  They kept kissing, their hands exploring as they walked back to the bedroom. He’d have liked to have swept her up into his arms and carried her back there, but they both knew he’d end up hurting himself if he did. She knew why he ached—and not just for her. That fact just made him want her more. He’d trusted her with the most secret part of himself, and now she was about to do the same.

  He tugged on her hair tie, and her tresses cascaded down her back, long enough for him to wrap around his hand and tug if he wanted. Only he didn’t know how she liked to be touched, how she liked to be loved. They might have gotten closer to this moment before and she’d come on his hand, but he still didn’t fully know what she liked.

  And he couldn’t wait to find out.

  Her hands slid up underneath his shirt, her fingernails raking down his back as he rocked into her, his length pressing against her belly. They both groaned, their bodies practically shaking.

  “Soft or hard?” he asked, a smile playing on his lips.

  “Both?” Everly asked, her eyes bright. “Maybe a little soft, then a whole lot of hard, then soft again?”

  He snorted before taking her lips again. “I’m not twenty anymore, so I might need some time in between all those to rest.”

  She laughed and bit his chin. “I can find ways.” Her hand trailed down in between them before cupping him through his jeans.

  “Oh, yeah?” He tilted his hips so he filled her hand even more. “Why don’t you show me?”

  “We’ll have to be quiet,” she said softly, running her hand slowly over him. “The boys are sleeping, but they could still wake up.”

  He kissed her slowly, craving her taste. “You’ll have to bite down on a pillow
or something to hold back your cries, then.”

  She raised her brow. “You think you can make me scream?”

  He lowered his hands to her butt and squeezed. When she moaned and grinned, he said, “I know it.”

  He ran his hands over her, loving the way she felt under his touch. He helped her out of her shirt, and then her bra, and while she blushed slightly, she didn’t hold back when he cupped her breasts with his hands. They didn’t overfill his hands, but they were perfect for his large palms. When he brushed his fingers over her nipples, her head fell back, and she arched into him. Needing more, he lowered his face and licked the tight buds before taking turns sucking each into his mouth.

  “Storm.”

  He lapped at her, wanting to bury himself between her breasts, but knowing that would be for later. Right now, he needed to get her naked and under him. He reached between them to pull down her leggings and let out a curse.

  “What is it?” she asked, her eyes clearing.

  “I don’t have any condoms with me.”

  She shook her head. “I have some. I bought a box.” She blushed before shrugging it off. “I knew we were headed this direction, so I bought some. I can’t be on birth control thanks to blood clot issues, so I wanted to be prepared.” She cupped his face and kissed him softly. “As much as I’d love to feel you without the condom, we both need to be checked out, and I don’t want to get pregnant.” She frowned. “I…I really need to get tested fully. I didn’t think about that.” Her eyes filled. “Because of Jackson. What if…?”

  He kissed her hard, trying to push away those thoughts from both of them. “We’ll both get tested as soon as possible. And because you’re worried and it’s a smart idea, we’ll use condoms and resist going down on each other until we’re sure.” He lowered his forehead to hers and sighed. “Though I’m going to continue having dreams of you riding my face until you come, sadly.”

  She sighed. “And I really wanted to go down on you since you’ve made me come twice and I haven’t had the pleasure.”