Dirty at 30 (Love Without Batteries Book 1)

by Cassandra Lawson

  “To convince me to stay married to him.” Even as I said the words, I still had trouble believing all that had happened.

  “Maybe he’s gone insane,” she suggested.

  “You might be right,” I agreed. “First, he was trying to get me into bed, as if I’d just jump at that opportunity. Then, he told me it was okay that I was sleeping around. He even told me he forgives me.”

  “He forgave you?” she asked, her drawl more pronounced. “Ain’t that just magnanimous of the little fucker.”

  “Yes, he’s a gem,” I grumbled.

  “Is he still there?” she asked.

  “Probably,” I replied. “Ty and Luke showed up, and now I’m at Ty’s apartment.”

  “That asshole has a lot of nerve. I hope you kicked him in the balls.” Delaney sounded seriously pissed, much like a good friend should be. “I’m tempted to go over there and kick him in the balls a few dozen times.”

  “Luke punched him after Rob accused me of not only sleeping with Ty, but sleeping with Luke,” I told her, still angry about that part.

  “As long as someone punched him, it’s all good,” she remarked.

  “I completely agree with you,” I said before adding, “Actually, that’s a lie. I still wish I’d been the one to hit him. So does Ty.”

  “Do you need me to come over?” Delaney asked. “I’m here for you.”

  “Thanks, Del,” I replied. “Ty and Luke should be back soon with food, so I’ll be fine. I’ll keep you updated if anything new happens with Rob.”

  “Well, since you’re okay, I’m going to see if I can get some work done,” Delaney said.

  “Bye, and thanks for wanting to kick Rob in the balls,” I told her with a grin.

  “Anytime,” she assured me. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  Right after I ended that call, I got a message from Chelsea.

  CHELS: Who was the hot guy who took me home last night? I think his name was Jake.

  ME: That was Luke. You know, the guy who stole your panties.

  CHELS: Very funny. Seriously, I need to meet Jake when I’m sober to see if he’s still that hot or if it was the alcohol making me think that.

  ME: Luke drove you and Del home last night. You are lusting after Luke.

  CHELS: Then it was definitely the alcohol making me think he was hot.

  I almost laughed at Chelsea’s reaction, wondering if Luke felt the same about her. Based on what Ty and Chelsea had said about his behavior when they were younger, he’d had a crush on her years ago.

  CHELS: I’d better check my drawers to make sure he hasn’t stolen any of my panties.

  ME: How would you even know?

  It was a valid question, since Chelsea had so many panties she could skip doing laundry for two years without running out of clean underwear.

  CHELS: I would know. Trust me. I know how many panties I have. How are you this morning? I expected to have a hangover, but I’m fine, just a little tired.

  ME: No hangover, but I did wake up to find Rob in my house. In his boxers, if you can believe that.

  CHELS: WTF? Do you need me to come over?

  ME: I promise to fill you in on all the details later. You don’t need to worry about me. Luke punched him, and I’m at Ty’s.

  CHELS: I guess Luke is good for something, even if he is a pervert. I’m off to check my panty drawers. I’ll call you later.

  Looking up, I found Luke and Ty watching me. I’d heard them come in while I was texting Chelsea, but they’d both just waved and started setting out the food in Ty’s kitchen.

  “That was Chelsea,” I explained.

  “How’s she feeling?” Luke asked. “She was really messed up last night. I wouldn’t be surprised if she can’t remember how she got home.”

  “She thought some guy named Jake took her home,” I explained.

  “Jake?” Luke asked. “She remembers a guy taking her home but doesn’t remember I was the one who carried her drunk ass from the car?”

  “Apparently not,” I replied. “Now that she knows you took her home, she’s searching her panty drawers to make sure you didn’t steal any.”

  Luke looked down, but not before I caught the flush to his cheeks. “I’m twenty-four years old,” he complained. “I can resist stealing her panties.”

  “Please tell me you didn’t steal any of my sister’s panties,” Ty added with a groan.

  “I didn’t!” he insisted. “I’m a middle school teacher, not some kid with a crush on your sister, like I was back then.”

  That confirmed my suspicions about Luke once having a crush on Chelsea.

  “Then why do you look so guilty?” Ty asked.

  “There was a Victoria’s Secret bag on her coffee table,” he began, shifting from one foot to the other. “I may have looked in it.”

  Ty looked shocked, but I couldn’t hold back my laughter.

  “You looked through my sister’s panties? Again. It wasn’t enough that you went through my sister’s panties when we were kids, you had to do it as an adult?”

  “I didn’t take any,” he insisted.

  “You are so busted,” I told him.

  “I just looked a little,” Luke argued. “I didn’t even pull any out, so it’s not as creepy as you seem to think.”

  “You should go before Ty can ask you more questions about your perverted obsession with Chelsea’s panties,” I suggested.

  “I am not obsessed with her panties! Yes, I looked at them, but there’s a big difference between curiosity and obsession,” he argued, before looking sheepish. “You’re right. I should go before I incriminate myself even more. I’ll take my food home with me. Promise me you won’t tell Chelsea what a pervert I am?”

  “I won’t tell her,” Ty agreed. “But only because telling her would mean hours of my sister complaining as though the whole thing is my fault.”

  I kissed Luke on the cheek. “You already know I won’t tell her. As long as you didn’t move the panties around in the bag, you should be safe.”

  “I swear I didn’t touch them,” he assured me.

  After walking Luke to the door, I turned to find Ty still looking somewhere between confused and pissed. “He looked at my sister’s panties. My best friend is a pervert with an obsession with my sister’s panties.”

  “Poor Ty,” I crooned, giving in to the temptation to laugh. I shouldn’t be nearly this amused with my stepson looking at my best friend’s panties, but it ended up being what I needed to lighten the mood of this horrific day.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Ty

  I was still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that Luke had looked at Chelsea’s panties, and Brook was laughing about it. I might have been annoyed if hearing Brook laugh hadn’t sent a jolt of lust right to my cock.

  “Are you laughing about Luke going through my sister’s panties?” I asked. “Or are you laughing at me?”

  “Mostly you,” she admitted. “You look funny when you’re being the overprotective baby brother.”

  “Is that so?” I asked, stalking toward her.

  “Yes,” she replied around a giggle. “I can’t figure out if you’re feeling overprotective, or if you just don’t want to think about Chelsea’s panty addiction.”

  I let out a startled bark of laughter. “I wasn’t aware my sister had a panty addiction until this moment, and I’d have preferred to keep it that way.”

  “It’s actually kind of scary,” she added.

  “I still don’t want to hear about it,” I insisted.

  “Some of them are really kinky,” she continued.

  Catching her around the waist, I spun her until she was facing the arm of the sofa, and then I smacked her ass. “Behave,” I warned.

  “But we have so much more fun when I don’t behave,” she purred, pressing her ass against my rock hard dick.

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Brook

  This was what I needed. Seeing Rob had brought up some of m
y doubts about pulling Ty even further into my mess, but those doubts melted away when I was in his arms.

  Ty leaned forward until his facial hair tickled the back of my neck. “I need you,” he murmured. “I need to fuck away all the tension from this morning. I need to hear you scream my name as you come completely undone for me. Eat quickly, because as soon as you’re done, I’m going to spend at least an hour enjoying your body.”

  His words ripped a moan from the back of my throat, making it hard to speak. “Please, fuck me now, Ty.”

  Ty groaned. “What about breakfast? You need to eat.”

  Turning in his arms, I put my hands on his hard chest and pushed him back slightly. “You’re right. I am hungry.” My gaze dipped down to the front of his pants, and Ty groaned.

  “You’re killing me, Brook,” he rasped out, and that’s when I knew what I needed to get me past this horrible morning.

  “I need to be in control right now,” I told him urgently. “Can you let me have that?”

  “I’ll give you whatever you need, sweetheart,” he promised. “Just tell me what to do.”

  I suddenly understood what Ty got out of me surrendering in bed. This was about more than just power; it was about trust and his desire to please me.

  “Take your shirt off,” I told him without breaking eye contact.

  Ty stripped his shirt over his head and tossed it across the room. My fingers trailed along the contours of Ty’s impressive torso. His fists remained clenched at his sides as he fought his desire to take charge.

  “Let’s go into your bedroom,” I suggested, gesturing toward his room.

  Ty nodded and walked in front of me to his room. “What now?” he asked, standing beside his bed, waiting for my instructions.

  “Undress for me,” I told him, and he immediately obeyed, keeping his eyes on me the entire time.

  Breaking eye contact, I allowed my gaze to move along his body like a lover’s caress, taking in every beautiful detail until I reached his erection, which was practically begging for my touch. “Lie on the bed.”

  Climbing onto the bed, Ty settled on his side, watching me. “Are you going to return the favor?” he asked.

  “Which favor would that be?”

  “Are you going to strip naked for me, sweetheart?” he asked.

  “Soon,” I promised, climbing onto the bed and pushing him onto his back. “First, I want to enjoy you a little more.”

  “Enjoy me as much as you like,” he drawled.

  I explored his body with my hands and mouth, memorizing every toned inch of him. Moving up his body, I straddled him and leaned forward to kiss him. Ty groaned as my tongue tangled with his.

  Turning his head to the side, he was breathing hard. “I’m not sure how much I can take, sweetheart,” he warned. “You’re killing me.”

  “Poor Ty,” I cooed, moving down his body until my mouth was close to his dick. I blew hot air along his shaft and watched as he lifted his hips off the bed and groaned.

  “Are you trying to torture me?” he asked in a husky voice.

  “Yes,” I told him, running my tongue lightly around the head of his cock.

  “I’m going to enjoy repaying the favor later,” he warned, and I moaned at the dark promise in his voice.

  Leaning over Ty, I swirled my tongue around the head of his dick, which made him arch his back to get closer. I could tell he was desperate for more of my touch. My hand closed around the base as I took him into my mouth, loving his moan of pleasure.

  “Your mouth feels amazing,” he praised.

  I took him as deep as I could, sliding my mouth up and down his shaft until he was panting and gripping my hair.

  “Please, let me fuck you, Brook,” he rasped out.

  Ty’s desperation made me moan with my own desire, and I released his dick. “Put a condom on,” I commanded, quickly stripping out of my clothes. When I looked over at Ty, he was on his knees, sliding a condom down his rigid shaft.

  “Come here, Brook,” he commanded. Obviously, my time for controlling things was over. With Ty on his knees, I straddled him as he positioned himself at my entrance. My head dropped back and my eyes closed as I slid down his dick. With his hands gripping my ass tightly, Ty guided my movements, lifting me up and down.

  I was surprised by how close I was to climaxing, but there was definitely something arousing about having Ty let me take charge of our foreplay.

  “Look at me,” Ty ordered, and my eyes locked with his. “I’m close. Your mouth felt too good, and I’m not sure how much longer I can last.”

  I moaned at his admission.

  “Touch yourself for me,” he rasped out, using his hands on my ass to rock me against him slowly.

  I nodded and reached forward to stroke my clit while Ty continued to control the movements of our bodies.

  “Don’t look away from me,” he practically pleaded when my eyes began to close.

  “I need more. I need you to move faster,” I whimpered.

  In a move that shocked me, Ty managed to get me onto my back without pulling out of me. My hands gripped his biceps, and Ty ground his pelvis against mine, putting just the right pressure on my clit to make my body tighten with my impending orgasm.

  “Ty!” I screamed, as my orgasm stole my ability to think about anything other than the intense pleasure coursing through my body. The spasms rocking my body were so intense, my legs involuntarily tightened around Ty’s hips, my heels digging into his ass.

  “Fuck, Brook!” Ty shouted, his dick twitching inside of me as he found his own release.

  It took Ty a moment to recover enough to pull out of my body, and when he did, he collapsed onto his back, trying to catch his breath.

  “You are amazing,” he finally said.

  I laughed at his almost stunned expression. “You aren’t so bad yourself. Sorry about letting our breakfast get cold.”

  “I’ll suffer cold breakfast if it means enjoying your body any day,” he assured me.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Brook

  When my phone rang at four in the morning, I was instantly awake, worried something had happened to Luke. Ever since the night I’d gotten a call telling me Luke was at the emergency room, I panicked when I got calls at odd hours. His car had been sideswiped by a drunk driver on the way home from a party his senior year of high school, and the hospital had called to let me know they needed a release signed before he could be treated. Thankfully, it had been nothing more serious than a broken arm and some bruises, but it had been a terrifying experience.

  “Hello,” I answered without looking at the display screen to see who was calling.

  “Elizabeth?”

  I recognized my father’s calm voice at once, which was surprising considering I’d rarely heard him sound anything other than angry.

  “Why are you calling?” I asked, knowing it couldn’t be good.

  “I’m calling about your mother. She passed away yesterday,” he explained, seeming mostly unaffected by the news, likely because my parents had hated each other for as long as I could remember. For my father, this was probably more of a relief than anything else. As for me, I had no idea how I felt about my mom’s death.

  “What happened? I just talked to her, and she seemed fine. She didn’t mention anything being wrong.”

  Looking over, I found Ty watching me with concern.

  “It was sudden,” was the only answer my dad gave. “Her last wish was that you give your dear husband another chance. Maybe you don’t think we were the best parents, but your mother loved you, and she was worried you’d make a horrible mistake by going through with this divorce. I know deep down you’re a good girl, and you’d never refuse to honor your mother’s last request.”

  It came as no surprise that my father hadn’t claimed to love me. With no clue what I was supposed to say, I continued to hold the phone to my ear and stare helplessly at Ty. While I hadn’t been close to my mom, she’d still been my mother, and thing
s hadn’t always been horrible between us. Part of me had always believed she loved me in her own twisted way.

  “Elizabeth? Are you still there?” my father asked, prompting me to speak.

  “When will her services be?” I asked. The idea of returning to the church I’d grown up in had never occurred to me until that moment, but I needed to say my final goodbyes to my mother.

  “There’s no need for you to come down here,” my father insisted. “Hopefully, you’ll have enough respect for her to stop sleeping around and do the right thing. Don’t dishonor your mother’s memory by acting like a whore.”

  My father ended the call without saying goodbye.

  “My mother died,” I told Ty, still numb to the news.

  When Ty pulled me into his arms, the tears finally fell. He held me as I cried tears for the mother I’d never have a chance to reconcile with. It’s not like I’d really expected to have her accept me, but now, the possibility didn’t even exist. After my tears subsided, he stroked my hair and continued to hold me. “What do you need me to do?”

  “I need to go down there,” I stated. “My father won’t even tell me when her funeral is, and knowing the church they attended, no one in the congregation will tell me because I’m an outsider. As far as the church is concerned, I’m a sinner who is dead to them.”

  “Do you want me to go with you?” he asked.

  My answer was a turning point. If I took Ty with me, I was admitting what we had was real and I expected it to last. Based on the tension in Ty’s body, I suspected he also understood how important my answer was.

  I didn’t need to think about my response. While I’d been drunk last night, I still remembered telling Luke I loved Ty. Even if I hadn’t said the words to Ty yet, they were true. “Yes. I really want you to go with me.”

  “I’ll let my uncle know I’ll be out of the office for at least a couple of days. We can drive down there whenever you’re ready to leave,” he assured me, and there was no missing the relief in his voice.

  I opened my mouth, tempted to say more, tempted to tell him I loved him, but this wasn’t the right time. I didn’t want the first time I told Ty I loved him to be marred by my mother’s death.