Every Promise You Made

by J. E. Parker

  I glanced over my shoulder and saw him and Anthony standing directly behind us. I also saw Evan, along with Brantley headed in our direction. But they weren’t the ones I was worried about. No, what worried me was the fact that a very peed off looking Maddie was barreling straight for us, her hands clenched into fists at her sides.

  “Shelby,” I said, smacking her arm. “We’ve got incoming.”

  Before Shelby had a chance to turn around and see who I was talking about, Maddie pushed past Hendrix and Anthony, followed by Shelby and I. Then with a fierce look on her face, she lifted her hand into the air and backhanded Sadie right across the face.

  Hard.

  Sadie’s hands flew to her busted bottom lip as she fell to the floor behind her. “That,” Maddie yelled, “is for all the shit you put me through in school.”

  Wait.

  Had Sadie bullied Maddie too?

  “And this,” she continued, “is for trying to sleep with my husband.”

  Maddie slapped her again.

  Stunned, my mouth fell open.

  Maddie wasn’t a violent person—no, that was Shelby’s forte—so seeing her slap somebody was a bit of a shock and from the stunned silence that surrounded us, everyone else though so too.

  As Sadie rolled to her side and began to cry, Maddie turned her focus to Ty. “And you”—she pointed at him—“should have better taste than to sleep with the likes of her.”

  Ty looked mortified. “I haven’t slept with her!”

  Maddie crossed her arms over her chest as she faced down her childhood bully. “Well, I would hope not. Doubt you’d enjoy it if you had. I mean”—she glanced back down at a weeping Sadie—“it’d be like throwing a pencil down a hallway. Ya know, pencil too small; hallway too big.”

  Shelby burst into a fit of laughter right as Evan grabbed my arm and moved me behind him. “What the fuck are you doing here?” He asked Ty. Ty then looked down at me which only peed Evan off further. “Don’t fucking look at her.”

  Anthony pushed to the front of the group. “Alright, everybody calm down.” He looked down at a still crying Sadie and then back to Maddie. “Do you realize you just committed assault? In front of a police officer no less?”

  Maddie opened her mouth to say something but snapped it shut when a familiar voice spoke up from behind her. “If you even think about arresting my grandbaby, Detective Moretti, I will empty an entire clip of bullets into your perfect butt.”

  Where the heck did Grandmama come from? I thought she was at the house helping Pop, Keith, and Mama babysit all the kids.

  “Shit,” Hendrix whispered, realizing what the consequences of Maddie’s actions might be.

  There was no way Anthony would arrest Maddie but if Sadie called the police…

  Just, crap!

  “Oh fuck this,” Brantley growled as he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. Flipping it open, he pulled out a stack of cash. “Name your price,” he said, looking at Sadie. “Now.”

  Sadie’s tears magically dried up. Removing her hands from her mouth, she said, “Five hundred.”

  The smile that crossed Brantley’s face could be described as nothing short of malevolent. “Always about the fucking money.” Pulling out five, one hundred-dollar bills he bent down and shoved them into Sadie’s hand. “Get the hell outta here.”

  Standing, Sadie didn’t waste any time in skittering away.

  Stupid witch. I wished I would’ve smacked her too.

  “Well,” Shelby said turning to face Maddie. “I’m quite proud if I do say so myself.”

  Grandmama smiled. “Me too.”

  Maddie, however, looked a tad mortified. “I can’t believe I slapped her.”

  “Twice, no less,” I added.

  “Alright,” Evan said, still holding me tight. “Time to cut this party short.”

  Shelby scoffed. “No way! We’re just getting started.” She smiled at me. “Come on, itty bitty. You owe me a dance.”

  I looked up at Evan. “You coming with us?”

  Jaw locked tight, he nodded once, surprising me.

  Well, would you look at that? The big guy is going to dance with me.

  My gaze swung to Brantley. “You coming?”

  Just like his brother, he nodded once. “Yeah, shortcake, I am.” He looked around the room. “Where’s Red? I’m going to see if I can talk to her into dancing with me.”

  I snorted. “You can try. Doubt you’ll succeed, though.”

  He smirked and shot me a look that said, challenge accepted.

  Just as everyone started to walk off, Ty spoke, stopping us all in our tracks. “Maddie, wait,” he said, causing Hendrix to spin around.

  “Motherfucker,” he barked, “how many more times do I need to beat your ass for you to get the point. You do not talk to my—”

  “Handsome, it’s fine,” Maddie said, patting Hendrix on the chest. “Let him talk.”

  Hendrix’s angry gaze swung back to Ty. “He better talk fast.”

  Ty licked his lower lip. He didn’t seem intimidated by Hendrix the least bit which confused me. “I wanted to say I’m sorry. If I could go back—”

  Ty snapped his mouth shut when Maddie pulled out of Hendrix’s hold and closed the space between her and Ty. After hesitating for a moment, she patted him on the shoulder. “It’s fine, Ty,” she whispered. “I forgave you a long time ago”—she paused—”You were just a stupid kid who did stupid things. I get it.” Ty’s mouth gaped in shock. “Trust me, I don’t hate you anymore, nor will I ever again. And when I say I wish you nothing but the best, I truly mean it.”

  Without saying another word, Maddie turned and headed for the dance floor, Hendrix hot on her heels.

  “Well,” Grandmama said, “Looks like it’s time for me to get a drink and hit the dance floor.”

  Evan quirked a brow at looked at her. “They don’t serve moonshine here, crazy old biddy.” I barely bit back a laugh. “And if you get out on that dance floor, you’re liable to break a hip.”

  Grandmama looked at him like he was nuts. “First off, I’m not gonna break a hip”—she paused, reached into her purse and pulled out a mason jar filled with clear liquid—“and second, I brought my own damn shine.”

  Tossing my head back, I laughed. Hard.

  “For fuck’s sake,” Evan growled, pushing me toward the dance floor. “Let’s get out of here before her crazy wears off on us.”

  Too late, I thought. We’re all already crazy.

  Behind us, Grandmama turned her attention to Brantley. “Well, hey there, handsome fellow.” My sides ached from the amount of laughter spilling from my lips. “How about a dance?”

  Brantley chuckled. “Let’s do it, Grandmama. Maybe you can give me the 411 on a certain redhead.”

  “I can do that,” Grandmama replied. “Tell me, how do you feel about becoming a stepfather?”

  It was the last thing I heard either of them say before Evan spun me around and slid his arms around my back. Looking down into my glassy eyes, he pulled my body flush against his.

  “Now,” he said, “you’re all mine.”

  Standing on my tiptoes, I slid my hands into his hair. “Always have been. Always will be.”

  Evan and I were dancing.

  He was standing behind me, his back pressed against my shoulders blades. With his arms wrapped around me tight, I could hardly move my upper body. My lower body, however, was a different story.

  Digging my nails into his forearms, I swayed my hips from side-to-side and ground my butt into the front of his erection lined jeans repeatedly. Every time I did it, he growled next to my ear causing chill bumps to erupt along my arms as his hot breath danced across the delicate line of my throat.

  “You keep it up and I’m going to drag your ass into a closet and have my way with you,” he said, his voice rough and gravely. “I’m not kidding, little bit. Press your perfect ass against me one more time and see what it gets you.”

  I sunk my teeth into my lower
lip as pressed my hips backward, silently daring him to do it. Holding me tighter, he ground back into me. The move made me feel drunker than I already was.

  Unable to stop myself, I leaned my head back against his shoulder, turned my face into his neck, and moaned quietly. “Evan, please,” I unabashedly begged.

  The arms circling my waist flexed. “You want me to fuck you, don’t you?” Before I could reply, he continued speaking. “You’d probably let me take you right here in the middle of the dance floor, wouldn’t you?”

  I so would.

  Desperate for his touch, I pushed back into him again, moving my hips from side-to-side. “I’ll let you do anything you want.” It was the truth. Blanketed in a haze of lust, if he’d asked me to bend over in front of every one in that bar, I would’ve. Drunk or not, at that moment, I would’ve done anything to have him relieve the pressure that was building in my lower belly. “Anything, Evan.”

  Without saying a word, Evan spun me around and tossed me over his shoulder. Clamping his arm down on the hem of my dress to keep it from sliding up and giving everyone a peek at what I wore beneath, I looked at Shelby, who’d stopped dancing.

  Smirking, she placed one hand on her hip and pointed toward the back hallway with the other. “Storage room is at the end of the hall. Last room on the right, directly across from the ladies restroom,” she said.

  I couldn’t see Evan’s reaction to her statement, but I heard him ask. “How do you know where the damn storage room is?”

  Shelby smiled. “Because I’ve seen the inside of it myself.”

  Winking, she turned back around and started dirty dancing with Anthony, similar to how I had with Evan. Across from her was Clara, who surprisingly enough, was hanging all over a drunk Brantley. Only an inch, maybe two, separated their faces from one another. If I didn’t know better, I could’ve sworn they were about to start making out.

  Huh.

  Pulling my gaze from Clara and Brantley, I looked across the room as I waited for Evan to start moving. My eyes instantly found Carissa who was sitting on Kyle’s lap. One of his arms was wrapped around her lower back and the other was wrapped around her lower belly.

  Red-faced, C looked a heartbeat away from passing out.

  Next to Kyle sat Ty—he’s still here—and the look on his face could be described as nothing less than intrigued. More than curious—well, more like nosy—I followed the trajectory of his gaze. When I saw who he was looking at, my mouth fell open.

  You have got to be kidding me!

  The jackass was staring at Heidi of all people… Sweet, innocent, Heidi.

  This will not end well, I thought. Not at all.

  Opening my mouth, I was half a second away from pointing it out to Shelby when Evan started to move. Even though my alcohol filled belly jostled with each step he took, I couldn’t help but squeal in excitement as realization set in.

  That realization? I was drunk and about to have dirty sex in the back of a bar.

  Well, here’s one thing I can check off my bucket list.

  Reaching the storage room, Evan carried me inside, flipped on the light, and slammed the door shut behind us. Standing me on the floor, he didn’t say a single word as he pushed me up against the wall and pulled my dress up over my hips in one quick jerk.

  Slipping three fingers into the crotch of my panties, he gave the material a soft tug before meeting my eyes. “You know I would never do anything to hurt you.” I did know that. “So before I fuck you, I need to know that you’re not too drunk to consent.”

  “Evan—”

  “Hope, I mean it,” he snapped, cutting me off. “I won’t take you unless I know you really want me too.”

  As heart-warming and pleasing as his words were, I didn’t want to stand there and discuss my sobriety. Yes, I was drunk, but I wasn’t intoxicated to be the point where I couldn’t make a decision. Having said that, the fact that Evan cared enough to stop long enough to make sure I was good with what was about to happen… well, that spoke volumes about the kind of man he is.

  Placing my hands on his shoulders, I held on tight. “I’m good, big guy. Pinky promise.” I smiled before winking at him. “Now, for the love of God, please take me.” I sounded like a whiney little brat. Didn’t really care though. “I ache so badly and—”

  Before I could utter another word, Evan jerked his hand down, ripping my panties free from my body. The sound of the material tearing as it gave way made my center clench. Cool air hit my slick flesh, driving me crazier than I already was.

  Wide-eyed, I watched as Evan lifted his shirt, giving me a glimpse of his granite abs and the deep valleys that defined each one before unbuckling his belt, and popping open the top button, followed by the remaining three.

  In one swift move, he pushed his pants down over his hips—commando again, I see—exposing his cock.

  Long, hard, thick…. The sight of it made my mouth water.

  Wrapping his hand around the base, he slid his hand up and down the throbbing shaft before looking up at me. “You sure you want this?”

  I answered him by anchoring my hands into the front of his Henley and pulling him close. Then, without saying a word, I wrapped my left leg around his hip. Our flesh touched, and I felt like screaming for him to hurry.

  Inching closer, Evan slid the head of his cock through my wetness. My back arched and my hips pushed forward in a silent plea for him to slide inside of me. Smiling, he wrapped a big hand around the back of my lifted thigh and pulled my leg higher on his hip. “This is going to be fast, baby.” My eyes slammed shut. “I know I should go easy with you but I can’t. Every time I get close, every time I see your body begging to be taken by mine, I lose my head. I can’t help—”

  Evan’s words were cut off when the door to the storage room swung open. Laughter followed but quickly died when the people who’d pushed it open realized what was going on.

  Those people? Clara, Carissa and Heidi.

  Because of course!

  Carissa squeaked as her face flamed red, something that always happened when she was either nervous or embarrassed. Slapping a hand over her mouth, she reached for her sister who was standing beside her. Heidi’s eyes briefly flared before dropping to the floor. She didn’t look quite as mortified as her older sister. In fact, I could’ve sworn I saw her trying to peek at Evan’s junk.

  This is probably the first time either of them has seen a man’s dick in person.

  Clara, however, didn’t even bother to hide her gawking. Dropping her stare to Evan’s hard cock, she blinked a few times. Then, “That’s impressive.” Still staring at his dick, which he hadn’t bothered to put away—I guess he’s in shock—she continued. “Your nickname just took on a whole new meaning, big guy.” Eyes sparkling with mischief, she looked up at him. “You and your brother are twins, right?” They were. Fraternal, not identical though. “Wonder if his package is as big as—”

  “Hey, Red,” none other than Grandmama hollered from the hall. “What’cha gawking at? Your eyes are the size of saucers and Carissa looks like she’s gonna combust at any second.”

  Finally getting a hold on himself, Evan screamed, “Shut the goddamn door!”

  Smirking one last time, Clara stepped back. “I’m sorry, big guy,” she chuckled to herself, “I thought this was the bathroom!”

  With that, she slammed the door shut.

  Too drunk to give a crap that we’d just been busted by three of my co-workers and friends, I yanked on Evan’s shirt again. “Either you take me now or I’ll take matters into my own hands.”

  Evan’s eyes narrowed.

  Wrapping a second arm around my other leg, he lifted me into the air. Pinning my chest with his, he let the wall take some of my weight. He licked his lower lip as he snaked his hand in between us and guided the head of his cock to my entrance. I hissed at the small contact.

  Eyes meeting mine again, he whispered, “If I ever catch you touching yourself, I’m going to spank your ass red, Hope.”
I didn’t reply to his ludicrous statement. “You want to come, you do it by using either my fingers, my tongue, or my cock.”

  Channeling my inner Shelby, I dug my fingers into his shoulders where my hands rested, and replied, “Does this mean I need to throw my vibrator away? Because let me tell you—”

  My words were quickly replaced with a scream as Evan slammed into me, burying his cock to the hilt. White flashed before my eyes, followed by the most intense pleasure I’d ever experienced.

  “Does your vibrator do that, baby?” Dipping his face forward, he nipped at the juncture of my throat and shoulder with his teeth. Pulling out of me slowly, he slammed back inside in one hard thrust forcing me to take every inch of him. My insides gripped him and white-hot pleasure zinged through every cell in my body. Panting for breath, I couldn’t think, couldn’t speak as I held onto him and took every ounce of the mind-numbing pleasure he gave me. “Does your vibrator make you feel this good?” When I didn’t answer him, he snapped, “Goddamn it, answer me, Hope, or I’ll stop.”

  “No!” I screamed. “Only you do!”

  I didn’t have to see his face to know he was smirking.

  Arrogant bullheaded man!

  Ghosting his lips over the fluttering pulse point at the base of my throat, he whispered, “And it’ll only be me. Until the moment I take my last breath, it’ll always be me, little bit.” He slammed into me again, making my eyes roll into the back of my head. “Say it.”

  Forcing my eyes open, I slid my hands into his curly hair and anchored my fingers in his short curls. “It’s always been you,” I whispered before leaning forward and pressing my lips to his. Pulling back, I touched the tip of his nose to mine. “And it’ll always be you. Until the moment I take my last breath, Evan Morgan, you’ll be the only man to ever possess my body…” My voice trailed off as I took a small breath. “… And my heart.”

  At my words, Evan became unhinged.

  Positioning me higher on his hips, he covered my body with his own and began to pound into me with every ounce of strength he possessed. Hands still anchored in his hair, I held on for dear life as he took us both to the place where nothing but he, I, and the soul-consuming pleasure that coursed between us, existed.