by Hart, Eve R.
“Ready?” he asked as he turned over the key effectively starting the car.
“I have no clue,” I said with a laugh. “You have told me absolutely nothing about this place.”
He only shrugged and backed out of the driveway.
Instead of turning off to leave the beach, he kept on going straight. I turned my head and looked at him with confusion.
A moment later, he was pulling up into a driveway. I didn’t have to get out to know that I’d hear the crunch of sand on concrete under my sandals when I stepped out. And it was that thought that had me already falling in love with the place.
The house was a cute little two-story, painted light yellow with white shutters. The front porch spanned half the length of the front and was painted white as well.
The agent greeted us at the door then started to show us around.
I was in love. Light hardwood floors. Open floor plan much like Chris’ house. Three bedrooms upstairs so we would be close to the kids at night.
And the best part, a view of the ocean from the master bedroom windows.
After she concluded the tour, Mouse asked her if she wouldn’t mind giving us a few minutes to look over the place again. With a genuine smile, she said she didn’t mind and stepped out onto the front porch to check her email. Or so she said.
I was feeling a little overwhelmed. I loved this house. I wanted to raise the kids in this house. But I knew there was no way I could afford it. And I wasn’t sure how much money Mouse was working with, but I kind of felt like this might be out of his price range too.
“Why are we even looking at this?” I asked and I was ready to cry because I wanted it so badly.
“Come on,” he said as he threaded his fingers through mine and led me back upstairs.
In the bedroom that would be ours, he walked me to the windows again. There was one in the corner that was set up like a nook and I could see myself sitting there daydreaming as I watched the waves crash on the shore.
With his arm around my waist, I leaned back into him and let my dream drift for a few more minutes.
“Imagine waking up to that every morning,” he whispered in my ear.
“Oh, I am. But it’s just not realistic, Malcolm.”
“Imagine us going to bed every night here and waking up every morning in each other’s arms.”
Why was he going on? It was beginning to tug at my heart.
“Imagine…”
“What?” I panted out as his hand dropped to the hem of my dress. “Imagine what?”
I swallowed hard as his fingers inched up the bottom of my dress.
Instead of answering me, his lips began to kiss up my neck.
He kept going, his lips moving up the same as his hands, his fingers so close to feeling how much I wanted him.
“Yes,” I whispered not caring that the agent was waiting downstairs for us to come back out.
“Imagine how many places I can take you in this room,” he said and his breath washed over my ear causing a shiver to shake my whole body. “All the surfaces I can make love to you on in this house. All the ways we can make it ours.”
“Yes.” It was all I could manage to get out as his hand slid into my panties and he began to toy with me.
I was losing my mind.
I never in a million years imagined that I would be like this.
But I kind of loved it.
I was going crazy with want and need and desire.
I couldn’t hold back the moan that rolled out of my throat as he slid his thick finger inside of me.
“I need you now, Malcolm. I have to feel you inside of me.”
That was all it took.
“Bend over,” he told me and I didn’t have to look to know he was already reaching for his wallet.
My feet spread apart as my forearms rested against the cool seat of the nook. A second later, I felt the air blow over my exposed backside as he flipped my dress up and yanked my panties down to my knees.
“This is going to be fast,” he warned as he pushed all of his hard thickness inside of me at once.
It felt so good and I bit my lip to contain the moan that wanted to escape.
The sounds of him slamming into me filled the room along with the scent of my desire. It only heated me more and I was so close to reaching the edge.
“Yes. Malcolm. More,” I panted out as softly as I could.
His thrusts sped up as he gripped my hips.
My skin felt like it was on fire. I was aware of everything. The lace of my bra as my breasts shook with every thrust, causing my hardened nipples to scrape over the fabric. The hard, almost cool wood pressing against my hands as I tried my hardest to stay upright. The little bite of his nails as he held on so tightly. And with every retreating pull, I felt myself tighten around him as if I didn’t want him to leave. The combination only brought me closer to the edge as my desire for him began to run down my thighs.
“Do you see it, Ingram? Do you see us in this house?”
“Yes,” I called out loudly.
I could see it.
And I wanted it no matter the cost.
My back arched and I opened my eyes to look out the window and see the beach just beyond the house across the street.
“Ingram,” he grunted in warning.
I felt him swell inside of me and I couldn’t help but clench even tighter around him. I felt every inch of him as he worked in and out of me. It felt so good. Too good.
“Malcolm,” I whispered as my body began to shake uncontrollably.
Then I was coming and gasping with every roll of ecstasy that washed through me. They just kept coming and I couldn’t believe how incredible it felt.
He grunted and slammed into me once more. He held himself deep inside of me for a long second before lightly rocking his hips causing my waining orgasm to spark again. His torturous pace continued until I couldn’t take it anymore and collapsed onto the surface below me.
He chuckled and pulled away from me. I couldn’t help but let out a content sigh. I didn’t want to move but I knew I had to.
A moment later, he pulled me up and helped me to straighten my clothing. I was sure there was no way to hide what we’d just done though. I felt the heat hit my cheeks as I remembered the agent lady downstairs.
“So, you want this house?” he asked, his arms around me and his happy eyes looking into mine.
“How would it even be possible?”
“Well,” he started and sucked in a deep breath through his nose which told me that I might not be all that happy with what was coming next. “Chris actually found this house. He came to me yesterday and said he wants to… help us get it.”
“You mean he wants to buy it for us,” I said and all the air deflated out of my lungs.
“Yes, but I told him that not only did I know you wouldn’t be crazy about that idea, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about it either. I don’t want to start our life on someone else’s dime, if you get me.”
“I do, I completely get you,” I told him with a nod.
“So he said that he would work it out and we could pay rent for a while. We can all sit down and talk about it tonight. He said it wouldn’t be the full amount in the end because they want to give us… like some sort of gift. Like you’re my woman, I’m your man, they support us, type of thing. But I told him that I wanted to pay him back the full amount. I see they mean well, but I can’t let them.”
I thought about it for a moment. While part of me wanted to dig my heels in and say no, the other part of me understood where Chris and Ky were coming from. And oh, how I wanted this house. I wanted the life I saw in this house.
It made the stress ease a little that Mouse had it in his head that he was going to pay them all back. I’d help with that, even if he didn’t know it yet. That was a fight for another day. Though, I had a feeling I had ways to make him give in easily.
“Maybe this is like some sort of branch or whatever,” I said seeing how Ky would
do it this way.
“Olive branch?” Mouse asked with a chuckle but I knew he wasn’t making fun of me.
“Yes, that! I heard that somewhere before. That’s right, right?”
“Yes, Ingram. That’s right,” he said and kissed me on the tip of my nose which caused my smile to grow even more. “So, are we doing this?”
“Okay. Yes,” I told him. “Was the sex part of your plan to get me all relaxed and gooey so I’d give in?”
He laughed. And I loved the sound.
“Well, I hadn’t planned that part but I think it worked out quite nicely.”
I rolled my eyes at him as I swatted him on the chest playfully.
“We should get down there before she comes looking for us,” I said and took his hand as I made my way out of the room. “Let’s go talk to our brothers.”
How weird did that sound? I mean it worked for me because Ky was my brother and I saw Chris the same. And it worked for Mouse because that was what all the members liked to call one another.
“Never say it that way again,” he said and I sent him an apologetic face.
I took one last look at the house as we pulled away.
Yes, this felt right and I wasn’t going to fight it.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Ingram
“Does it feel weird?” I asked Mouse as we packed up his room.
It had been a month and the house was officially ours. Well, technically it was in Chris’ name for now but I had come to see it as not that big of an issue.
Chris and Ky were watching the kids at our new house while they waited for some of our new furniture to arrive. I couldn’t wait to get it all set up. We were still picking out a theme for Sparrow’s room but we went ahead and ordered the white bedroom set that we found since we liked it so much. And unsurprisingly, Chry had gone with a car theme for his room. Uncle Ky was so happy about that one.
“A little. I mean I’m so used to living here I don’t know if I’ll know what to do with the quiet,” Mouse responded with a smile and a shrug. “But I’m happy.”
“Me too,” I told him as I reached for another stack of books on his small bookshelf.
I paused before putting them in the box. As I read the titles of the three I had in my hands my mind began to spin. Suddenly, I was looking up, searching for more of the same. And there were two more sitting right there.
“Mouse?” I asked and I couldn’t tell if I was scared or wanted to cry.
“Yeah?”
“Wh-what is with these books? Why do you have them?”
I swallowed thickly. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to hear his answer.
“Shit,” he mumbled and moved to take them out of my hands. He tossed them on the bed and did the same with the two other ones left on the shelf. “In your letters, you went on about how you didn’t understand why all of this happened to you. And how you didn’t understand why there were people out there like… you know. I felt so deeply that you needed answers that you weren't getting, and I guess I wanted to do anything to help you understand.”
“Oh,” I said softly.
“I tried. Maybe I wanted to know a little of what you went through, too. I wanted to understand so I could help you any way possible. But all I learned was that those people are crazy. Narcissistic and manipulative and just plain evil.”
“Yeah, I sort of figured out that there wasn’t really an answer that would set me at ease.”
He didn’t say anything else but I could sense his sadness.
I was stunned though I shouldn’t have been. This was my Malcolm, after all. The man that would bend over backward to make me happy. I knew it in my heart that he would do everything in his power to keep me safe and loved. So maybe, I shouldn’t have been surprised that he took that extra step to want to understand and help me.
“It’s alright,” I said shaking off the fog invading my brain. “I guess I wouldn’t be here if I had not gone through all that. I suppose I should see it that way. I wouldn’t give you or all of this up for the world.”
It was true and I meant it from the bottom of my heart. I wouldn’t have Chry. I wouldn’t be here with Mouse. And Ky might not have even realized he loved Chris. So despite how horrible things had been for me when I was younger, I knew that if I had to crawl through all of it to get here, I would.
Mouse reached down and pulled me to my feet then wrapped me up in his arms. His nose went to my neck as he held me and though he was trying to be sly, I knew he was inhaling my scent. Something he did often and I loved it.
“You’re so amazing and strong. I love you so fuckin’ much, Ingram.”
“I know that now. I know that I can take anything life wants to throw at me and with you by my side, it will be even easier. I’ve given you my heart, Malcolm, because I trust you enough to take care of it.”
He kissed me and I melted into his arms.
It got heated for a moment and right when I was ready to rip his clothes off and mine, he pulled back and cleared his throat.
“Pack now. Touching later,” he said thickly.
“You can take me on our new bed tonight,” I promised him and that was enough to get him moving quickly.
Since he was leaving all the big stuff here, there really wasn’t much to move. This would still be his room even if he wouldn’t use it all that much.
Mouse got a few of the prospects to load the boxes into the club SUV that Mouse had been using for a while now. He had plans to get a car of his own but there had been other things on the top of the list to take care of first. Besides, Iron had told us that there was no rush.
The prospects followed us over to the house and stuck around for a while, helping us move everything into place. Brand, Cami, Lake, Bridget, and B-ry showed up a little while later with a bunch of pizza and drinks. Since we hadn’t gotten a dining room table yet, we all sat around on the floor eating off of paper plates. It was perfect.
Laurel wanted to come but she was at home cursing B-ry for putting such a big baby in her. She would be popping any moment now. I could tell that B-ry had a nervous edge to him all night and the only reason that he was even over here was that Laurel had ‘gone all hormonal’ and told him to get out for a while. We all laughed at that. It was also hard to imagine because Laurel had been nothing but nice and sweet to me. But then again, I knew how those pregnancy hormones made you go crazy sometimes.
“I love this place,” Cami said as she looked around. “It’s so you.”
“It feels so… right,” I said with a glowing smile.
“I’m so glad things worked out for you two.”
“I didn’t think it would for a while there. I really thought that it was all too much for him,” I told her.
“I know, but I think it worked out the way it was supposed to.”
“I agree.”
My eyes looked across the room to find Mouse’s eyes already on me.
My Malcolm.
My heart.
My first and forever love.
“Shit,” B-ry said catching everyone’s attention. “I knew I shouldn’t have left her. Cami? Cami!”
He looked around even though we weren’t hiding.
“Cami, she’s in labor. What do I do?”
I covered my mouth because it was so funny and strange to see him freaking out like this.
“B, calm down. Deep breath,” Cami said and took in an over exaggerated deep breath to show him. “In and out. Abigail is with her, it’s all going to be okay.”
She pulled out her phone and I figured she was calling her sister. She walked out to the back porch as she talked.
“You got this, man,” Mouse said to B-ry with a slap on the back. “Just remember how excited you were when you found out.”
“Right.” There was a blinding smile that overtook B-ry’s face. It was weird, but beautiful to see.
“She says the contractions just started. Her water hasn’t broken and her doctor said to wait a little before heading to the hospi
tal. You have time to go get her.”
With that, B-ry, Cami, and Brand left to go make sure she was okay. Cami promised to call us when they were headed to the hospital.
We were on edge for the next hour.
Finally, Cami sent me a text message telling me they were headed out and everyone else rushed out to be there for them.
“Go, Malcolm,” I said seeing that he was torn on what to do. “They were all there for me when I had Chry, you need to be there for them.”
I wanted to go but I knew I needed to keep the kids here. I’d go as soon as they were settled in and things were more quiet. Though I had a feeling that half the club would be there at all times while they were in the hospital.
Because that was what family did. And I’d learned that family didn’t always mean that you shared blood. It wasn’t always people that were connected by a last name. It was people that cared about your soul and looked out for your heart. People that were there for you no matter what you were going through.
This was my family.
I got the kids ready for bed and tucked in.
Then cleaned up the mess that was left behind.
I couldn’t help but walk around our house even though it was still pretty empty. In my mind, I worked out where all the furniture was going to go. The couches and TV stand would come tomorrow. And there were many more things we still needed to get. But I was already on the verge of being overwhelmed and kept having to tell myself that although I wanted it all done now, we had plenty of time. After all, neither one of us was going anywhere.
This was forever.
I might have been young and a little unknowing about a lot of things, but I knew I wasn’t wrong about this.
A couple of hours later, I got a text message from Mouse.
Laurel was doing fine and the birth had pretty much been a breeze, from what she said.
I laughed even though I was maybe a little envious. Mine hadn’t gone so smoothly. But I was glad that she didn’t have to go through all of that. And I imagined it was best for B-ry as well. As I pictured him in the delivery room, I almost laughed out loud. I hoped Cami got him calmed down by the time they got to the hospital. Then again, B-ry was strong and I had a feeling he’d pull it together for Laurel.
