Inked Expressions

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  He kissed her again. “You had the pleasure,” he said low. “I thought that was the point.”

  “Ha ha.” Her eyes danced. And though they were smiling now, the weight of what lay between them and the past that kept coming back to haunt them was still there. But they’d make love tonight, and maybe the next day, as well. He’d have her in his arms, and continue to fall deeper and deeper. Just because they had to live with their pasts and other people’s mistakes didn’t mean they couldn’t live for the now.

  When they started kissing again, their hands sliding over one another, Storm let her strip him down. He toed out of his shoes and pants before going down to his knees to strip off her leggings and panties.

  “I really want to kiss you there, but I’ll refrain.”

  She pressed her thighs together as he slid his hands down the soft skin. “Stop being so tempting.”

  “I could say the same to you.” He kissed her knees, then her thighs, before standing back up so he wouldn’t do something stupid like lick her until she came. He’d made a promise, and he’d keep it—even if it killed him just a little to do so.

  Naked, they wrapped their arms around each other and took turns licking up each other’s necks before their mouths met. Their bodies rocked into one another, and soon he was on his back with her on top of him, a condom in her hand as they sucked and kissed and bit. They hadn’t discussed it, but he figured she’d made sure he was on the bottom for their first time to help his back. He didn’t mind because it gave him more access to her breasts, her mouth, and her hips, and yeah, he’d be less likely to hurt himself.

  “Slide it on me,” he ordered, his voice a growl.

  She opened the packet and slid the condom over his length. When she squeezed the base of him, his eyes crossed, and he steadied her hand. “You’ll make me come that way, and then I won’t get to have my fun.”

  She bit her lip as she rose above him. “We wouldn’t want that,” she breathed.

  He had his hands on her hips, steadying her as she slid over him. They both moaned as one, her tight sheath squeezing his dick, warm and ready for him.

  “Jesus, you’re big,” she said with a groan.

  “And I didn’t even have to ask you to say that.”

  She laughed before her eyes rolled back as he moved.

  “Cup your breasts, Ev. Play with your nipples as I fuck you.”

  She didn’t say anything as she did as she was told. He thrust in and out of her, planting his feet on the bed so he could get a better angle. When she began to rock her hips, meeting him thrust for thrust, he sped up, his body aching for her.

  His balls tightened, and he knew he was close, so he reached up and brushed his thumb over her already swollen clit. It had peeked out from under its hood and his mouth watered. Soon, he decided. Soon he’d taste her and have that swollen nub in his mouth. For now, he’d use his hands.

  And when she came, she fell forward, her hands on his shoulders as she called his name. He wasn’t far behind her, his body sweat-slick and shaking with his release.

  They wrapped their arms around each other, his cock still inside her as they fought to catch their breaths. He’d known finally making love to Everly would mean something, but he hadn’t known it would be this. This overwhelming need to hold her and never let her go; to protect her and, all the while, watch her continue to grow into the confident and amazing woman she was.

  He’d gone and done the one thing he’d once promised himself he would never do.

  He’d fallen for his best friend’s girl.

  And yet…that wasn’t who she was anymore. She was Everly.

  And, Storm thought, she was his.

  At least, he hoped.

  JILLIAN

  Her heart hurt, and yet there was nothing she could do. No matter how many times she told herself she was stronger than what people thought of her, she knew she was only lying to herself.

  “And that’s enough of a pity party for you.” She rolled her shoulders and got out of her truck. The door screeched closed, and she knew the damn thing was on its last leg. Just one more thing to add to her ever-growing list of things to do. Her list was longer than her truck at this point, but now that she was working for Montgomery Inc., she could actually start checking some things off.

  Working with her ex that wasn’t an ex had its perks. She had healthcare, a salary, and people who respected her, even if she were a woman in a so-called man’s job. Of course, with that came the one thing she didn’t want to do…working with him.

  Wes Montgomery.

  Storm’s twin and general pain in the ass. He’d hated her for as long as she’d known Storm and hadn’t minded letting the world know it. It didn’t matter, though, she loved her job, and Wes could just suck it.

  She blew out a breath and tried to ignore the tears stinging her eyes. She was not going to cry. She just needed sleep or coffee or both. She hadn’t gotten much of either with everything that had happened the night before.

  “Ignore it,” she muttered to herself. “Everything is fine. You will be fine. Get over it.”

  “Talking to yourself in the parking lot?”

  Of course, he’d see her trying to give herself a pep talk. Of course. Why wouldn’t it be Wes who came up behind her? It could have been Godzilla or something, but no, it had to be Wes Montgomery.

  “I couldn’t find anyone with a decent brain to talk to so, of course, I spoke to myself.” When she got flustered, she got mean, and she hated that about herself.

  “Uh-huh.” Wes gave her a once over before going to the door and opening it, gesturing for her to walk in. “After you.”

  She gave him a bright smile, though she knew it was false. “Thanks.”

  As soon as she walked into the office, Storm looked at her and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  She held up her hand. “Nothing.”

  “You’re lying.”

  Everly, who had been standing next to Storm, looking over some paperwork frowned, as well. “Storm, stop badgering her. But, Jillian? What’s wrong?”

  While most people might think that Everly and Jillian slowly becoming friends was a weird thing, those people didn’t know them. Jillian loved Storm, just not in the right way, and she had a feeling Everly was falling in love with Storm in the best way possible. If the two of them couldn’t get along, then there would be issues. Thankfully, they seemed to get one another, and there weren’t any cat fighting issues.

  No, that only went on between her and Wes.

  She’d told Storm that she wanted to find her own happiness and a man who deserved her, but really, she’d broken their connection because she’d seen the sparks between Storm and his best friend’s widow. There was no way she could have stood in the way of that.

  The two of them stared at her long enough that she knew it would be futile to hold back. “Dad fell yesterday cleaning the gutters and broke his leg. Plus, there was some bruising on his chest they were worried about.” She blew out a breath, and tears filled her eyes. She blinked them angrily away. “He’s still in the hospital but stable.”

  “Fuck,” Storm growled and went right up to her and hugged her hard. Storm always gave wonderful hugs. When he pulled back, Everly was there, hugging her, as well. And then Tabby was hugging her, and Jillian ended up a blubbering mess.

  She didn’t know what was going to happen with her father, but having people around her that wanted to comfort her helped. And even though Wes didn’t hug her, he still stood near, giving her a sympathetic look. That counted for something, even if he still annoyed her to no end.

  Her life wasn’t going exactly how she’d planned it, but she could find a way to make it work. She always had before, and she’d be damned if she let anything break her down now.

  Not again.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Everly tried not to get her hopes up, but she couldn’t help it. This had to work. They were at speech therapy that morning, and today they’d work with the implants to
see if James could fully hear. It was just the first step of many in this new phase of their lives, but she could feel the intensity of the day.

  Her baby was on a new path, and she was right there with him.

  Thank God Storm was in the waiting room with Nathan, so she didn’t also have that on her shoulders. She knew she’d have to keep an eye on that as she couldn’t always have Storm take care of one of the twins or even both of them when the need arose. He wasn’t their father, and they were still new in this part of their relationship. Boundaries had to be made and monitored. Boundaries were important.

  It was weird to have someone to rely on for situations where it would be easier if she had help. She’d never had that. Jackson hadn’t been around for a single day of his children’s lives, and she’d done everything on her own.

  No, she amended; Jackson hadn’t been around for the twin’s lives. Apparently, he’d been around for his two older children, and perhaps even for a few days of his third child with Rachel.

  Bile coated her tongue, and she pushed those thoughts away. She still hadn’t decided how she would handle that particular situation. It was almost as if she were ignoring it, but she had so many other things on her mind and schedule that it was easy to pretend it didn’t exist.

  For now.

  She let out a breath and ran a hand down James’s back. Her baby smiled up at her, and she fell in love with that sweet little face all over again.

  “Are you ready?” the doctor asked. James’s speech therapist, as well as two nurses stood around them.

  “Yes,” she said firmly as James put his tiny hand in hers. “We’re ready.”

  “Ready,” James said, his eyes on her lips as if he were reading them. She knew he could hear out of one ear, but there were a lot of times he missed things because he wasn’t looking at who spoke, or someone started talking to the wrong side of him or too quickly. Hopefully, after all the pain and nervousness that had gone into the decision-making for the surgery, this would all be worth it.

  It was times like these that she wanted someone to lean on and to talk to. Storm’s face came to mind, and she pushed that thought out. They were nowhere near that point in their relationship, and she wasn’t sure they ever would be. Nor was she sure she wanted a partner like that. She’d never had one, after all. What if it didn’t work out? What about her boys?”

  She let out another breath and focused on what was going on around her instead of the thoughts in her head. Today wouldn’t be like one of those videos on YouTube where a baby heard their mother’s voice for the first time, and everyone ended up sobbing. James already knew her voice as well as his own, but now he might be able to hear a little better out of his other ear. Even if it didn’t work completely, the doctors were hopeful it would help his balance and his self-awareness.

  They started the setup, attaching different things to James’s head and ear, as well as plugging things into the computer. She knew what each thing was and why it was used as she’d researched every part thoroughly on the internet and in her many books, but right then, it all went out the window. All she could see was her little boy and his bright eyes.

  Then the nurse patted Everly on the arm and nodded. This was her cue to speak. They’d wanted Everly to be the first one, and now tears stung the backs of her eyes. Apparently, this might end up one of those videos after all since the other nurse had Everly’s phone and was recording just in case.

  “James? Can you hear Mommy?”

  James’s eyes widened, and he reached up to where the implant was. Tears fully fell down Everly’s cheeks, and she slid her finger down James’s nose.

  “James?”

  “Mommy! You sound strange.” Tears filled her baby’s eyes, and she held back from hugging him too close since there were still a few wires in the way.

  “You sound perfect,” she said once she caught her breath. “Just perfect.”

  “You’re perfect, too, Mommy,” he said with a smile, rubbing under his ear. “I love you.”

  Now she was openly sobbing along with two of the nurses. Why she’d put on mascara that morning, she’d never know. “I love you, too.”

  Then they let her hold her son, and someone ushered Storm and Nathan into the room. She met Storm’s eyes, and he looked down at the boy in her arms before smiling so brightly she knew she’d fallen head over heels in love with him.

  And she prayed she wasn’t making a mistake.

  Later that afternoon, they sat at an outdoor café that let in dogs, and she couldn’t quite believe how she’d gotten to this point. Both her boys were in their boosters sitting across from one another and in between her and Storm. Randy had curled up in Storm’s lap about half an hour ago after a wild and crazy time in the park and his lunch. Right now, the puppy lay sprawled over Storm’s lap with his tummy big and full. The boys had wanted to feed Randy some of their food, as well, but Storm had been firm that Randy didn’t eat people food and was in training.

  Both James and Nathan had nodded sagely and promised not to hurt the “twain.” They were seriously adorable.

  And when the waitress had remarked at how well behaved the boys were and how they were such a gorgeous family, the boys hadn’t noticed, and Storm hadn’t seemed freaked out. In fact, he’d just gone with it and continued to help Nathan with his sandwich. Apparently, Everly would be the only one freaking out today. The man had even taken the day off from a busy schedule to help her and the kids. Wes had understood, even though it meant there were more things on his schedule. Storm had told them that things would get crazy soon with Tabby on vacation, but Everly knew he could handle it. It just meant that he might not be able to spend as many afternoons with her on weekends or nights like they had been doing.

  The waitress had thought them a family.

  Everly swallowed hard, trying to relieve the emotion clogging her throat. What emotion it was exactly, she didn’t know.

  Storm gave him a weird look. “You okay?” he mouthed.

  She swallowed hard and nodded before reaching over to help James wipe his face. Storm did the same to Nathan, and she held back the sting behind her eyes. She didn’t know why she was acting this way, but she needed to get a grip. Storm had always been amazing around her children, and that hadn’t changed. It was that he was always with her that had made everything go haywire. She didn’t know how to act around him when it wasn’t just the two of them anymore. That was her problem, though, and she had to get over it.

  If it weren’t for the fact that she had her place of business and the whole Rachel thing on her mind, as well, she might have been able to function. As it was, she felt like she was always a few steps behind.

  Once they were done eating, Storm paid—something she tried to prevent since she still had money even if her job had literally gone up in flames, but he’d given her a look—and they drove back to her place in her SUV. He’d left his truck at her place since she had the car seats and he didn’t.

  He’d driven since she had to take a phone call with the fire marshal and didn’t want to put it on Bluetooth through the car while the boys were there. Unfortunately, there hadn’t been any other news, and she still couldn’t walk through the place since it was still under investigation. The marshal had just wanted to update her with what little they had.

  Yes, it was arson.

  No, they weren’t sure if the note was connected, but they were still investigating.

  No, they didn’t think it was her.

  Yes, they were still looking for the culprit.

  She had no idea what she would do if she couldn’t start rebuilding soon—if that was what she wanted anyway. There might not be enough to salvage, but damn it, it had been her dream and income. Now, it was nothing.

  She swallowed hard, ignoring the pain in her belly at that thought.

  Storm tapped on the steering wheel, and she looked over at him. When he smiled at her quickly before turning his attention back to the road, her heart did that pitter patter thing t
hat worried her.

  “I’m thinking about getting car seats for the truck. It would be easier in case we ever want to take my vehicle, though I don’t mind taking yours.”

  She frowned. “You want to buy car seats for the boys?”

  He shot her a glance before turning back to the road. She knew why he was so vigilant now about focusing on driving rather than looking at her, and she didn’t blame him. It hurt her to think that he still carried all this guilt. And though others might have been a little uneasy about how that all connected to Jackson and Rachel, she wasn’t in the slightest. Storm had spent his life atoning for sins that weren’t truly his to carry, and him feeling as if he had any part of Jackson’s adultery shouldn’t be part of that weight.

  “Ev? You there?”

  She blinked, pulling herself out of that mental side trip. She couldn’t quite seem to focus on anything today.

  “Sorry, uh…why would you want to buy car seats?”

  He frowned at her before once again turning his head to the front. “Because I’m spending more time with you, and you never know when you might need me. If that’s going to be a problem, though, just let me know.”

  She heard the hurt in his voice and hated herself for it. Just because she was being cautious didn’t mean she had to be a jerk about it. He was trying to help, and she needed to figure out what to do about it.

  “I think that would be sweet of you,” she said after a moment, thinking through her words.

  “We can talk about it more,” Storm said after a moment. “No need to rush.”

  “The boys do like your truck,” Everly said, trying—and failing—not to sound like an idiot.

  Storm grinned at her, and she held back a sigh of relief when it reached his eyes. “That’s because my truck is amazing.”

  She laughed quietly, trying not to wake the two sleeping boys in the back. They’d conked out with Randy between them soon after they’d gotten into the SUV.

  By the time they got the boys into bed for an afternoon nap, and Randy secured in the laundry room with a chew toy, Everly’s nerves were shot. She kept saying the wrong thing and didn’t know what to think, but hell, she couldn’t really blame herself with everything that was going on. Of course, that wasn’t quite who she was, so she blamed herself a little…but still.