And now, he’s about to accuse me of never loving his best friend?
I drew in a long, deep, sobering breath. “I want to get one thing very clear before I begin.”
Brooks nodded, but he didn’t say anything.
Good boy. “I loved—and will always love—Gage. That man was my world. From the first seat he took in front of me at that bar, he captivated me. His smile. His words. His booming laughter. All of it. I tripped and fell into the orbit that was Gage and I begged him not to set me free.”
And again, Brooks nodded but he didn’t speak. So, I walked around the table and hovered over him.
“When I took those vows that day at the altar with him, I meant every word. Every syllable. I promised to love him during the good times and the bad. I promised to help him, no matter what. I promised to take care of him, no matter what life threw our way. And I promised to do that until death parted us for good.”
I swallowed back tears as I held my head high. “But… you. Brooks, not once did I ever get the inclination that you were interested in me. Not once did you ever do anything to even remotely show me that you were nothing but the playful wingman to your best friend. I know the act. I’ve seen the schtick. And that’s the act you played.”
He sighed. “Raven, I—”
I pressed my finger against his lips. “You talked, and now I talk.”
He nodded and I let my finger slide down his chin before falling off his jawline. “Every time I was around you, you pointed me back to Gage. Even before he asked me out. Even before I came to the mechanic’s shop, you always pointed me back toward your best friend. It was like you couldn’t even see how hard I was trying to get into your orbit. Because while Gage had me trapped in his because of how effervescent and full of life he always was, there was something about you I couldn’t shake.”
I took a step back as Brooks stood to his feet. Still muted, but now cloaking me in his shadow.
“Despite the impression Gage left, it was your face I saw whenever I closed my eyes. Despite Gage’s beautiful words and perfect little gifts, it was you I kept side-eyeing. He trapped me, but you captivated me. But when Gage asked me out, I decided ‘what the hell?’ What harm could it do? I figured I’d go on a few dates with him, it might light a fire under your ass to ask me out, and then I could see how everything shook out.”
His brooding stare held mine. “And?”
I shrugged. “And you never asked me out. You never gave me a chance. That told me everything I thought I needed to know, so I focused all of my energy onto Gage. And don’t muddle my words; I fell head over fucking heels for the man. He’s a good man. Was a good man.”
I had to blink back tears before continuing. “But you never made a move. I was drawn to you from the get-go, yet all of your efforts went into shoving me in Gage’s direction. So, what I want to know is why.”
He blinked. “Why?”
I nodded. “Yes. Why—even before Gage admitted to you how he felt about me—didn’t you just fucking make a god damn move?”
The second I threw out my question, he rushed me. He cupped my cheeks and barreled me back until the wall stopped my movements. I gasped as his knee pressed between my legs. My broken breaths from the totality of my emotion fell against his skin as his face approached my own. His thumb ran along my lower lip. His eyes danced across my face.
And when he had me pinned, his forehead fell against my own.
“Well?” I whispered.
“How’s this for a move?” he murmured.
He captured my lips in a searing kiss and my hands raked through his hair. He ground against me, my pussy sliding against the jeans covering his thighs as his arms cloaked my back. He pulled me away from the wall, whipping me around before he scooped me into his arms. And as my head fell against his shoulder, he walked me down the hallway.
Down toward the guest bedroom he hadn’t yet occupied.
“Brooks,” I whispered.
He settled me gently against the bed and climbed on top of me. “Is this what you want?”
My eyes held his. “Why do I feel so guilty for saying yes?”
He stroked my cheek with his knuckles. “Probably for the same reason I do.”
“And what’s the reason?”
His lips hovered over mine. “Because I know things would’ve turned out differently if I would’ve grown a set of fucking balls.”
Then, his lips crashed against my own as he pinned my wrists above my head.
Twenty-One
Brooks
The feel of her whimper down the back of my throat sent my cock leaking for her. The sweet way it trickled down my throat as my tongue claimed her mouth made me growl with delight. I pinned her down beneath me, feeling her wiggle and buck as she sought out the friction she needed.
The friction we both needed.
“Oh God,” she moaned.
I raked my teeth against her lower lip. “‘Brooks will be just fine.”
She snickered as I kissed down her neck, but I latched on the second my tongue ran over her pulse point. She bucked and writhed as goosebumps fled across her skin, prickling against me as I explored her body. My hands held her down as I straddled her hips, wanting nothing more than to fill her up before she spat me back out.
I wanted to taste her first, though.
“Brooks, holy fuck,” she groaned.
My cock bounced. “You feel outstanding.”
She giggled. “We aren’t even naked yet.”
I froze. “What the fuck does that have to do with anything?”
I slowly rose up, our eyes meeting as she studied me. I released her hands and cupped her cheek as my free hand explored down her chest. I cupped her clothed breast, tweaking where I felt her puckered nipple and watched her eyes flutter closed. I slid off to the side, gathering her dress up beyond her hips and allowing the smell of her womanhood to hit me, full force.
“Fuck, you smell good, too,” I growled.
I wasted no time getting out of my clothes. I wasted no time getting between her legs. The swell of her hips tapered into a set of thighs that were softly chiseled with all of the walking and the running she probably still did on a regular basis. The strength that hummed through her muscles heated me to my core as I kissed her soft pussy lips. Her hands rushed into my hair, tugging me closer as I softly lapped up her slit.
Gathering her juices on the tip of my tongue before piercing her folds.
“Oh my God!” she exclaimed.
I pressed my tongue against her swollen clit. “That’s it. Ride that tongue, baby.”
She bucked ravenously, as if chasing a hunger that morphed deep within her. Her nails raked against my scalp and it only caused me to leak more against the sheets of her guest bed. I sucked her clit between my teeth. I teased her swollen entrance with my thumb. But I didn’t even have to breach her to feel her fall over the edge.
I enjoyed the way her juices dripped down my chin, though.
“Oh shit! Oh fuck. Brooks. Brooks. Brooks. I’m coming. Oh God. Oh fuck. Please. Yes. Oh shit. So good to me.”
I pressed my face as deeply into her pussy as I could get. It wet my tailored beard as she streaked my cheeks with her arousal. I swallowed all of her down. Every last drop she afforded me of that beautiful, luscious drink between her legs. And after her back collapsed to the bed, I slowly backed away.
Before sitting up on my knees.
“Wow,” she said breathlessly.
I shuffled between her legs. “Don’t think I’m done with you yet.”
Her eyes fluttered open. “I don’t know if I can—”
I tossed her legs over my shoulders. “That’s all right, beautiful. You just lay there.”
“Brooks, that’s not—oh!”
I growled. “There we go.”
I slid deep inside of her in one fell swoop, feeling her walls cave around me. I gripped her hips and pulled her closer, feeling the crook of her legs bend over my shoulders. I loved her long leg
s. They were one of the first few things I noticed about her that night. Her long, strong, lean legs crossed beneath the tabletop of that booth while she sat in a corner with her broken down car in the parking lot.
I’d been helpless to her since the first day we met.
“Harder. Brooks, please.”
The sounds of skin slapping skin filled the bedroom. “Whatever you wish, Raven. Holy fuck, I love you so much.”
The words simply slipped out, and I didn’t regret them one bit. It was how I’d felt for the past nine years, and that would never change. I growled as my cock thickened against her walls. She rolled against me, her body seeking the same end as me. I dropped down and folded her in half, my hands pressed against the mattress. And as I captured her lips, the sweetest whisper fell from her mouth.
“I love you, too, Brooks.”
My hands slid up her arms. Our fingers intertwined as I pinned her wrists above her head. I watched her face, taking in the way her eyes rolled back and the way her face contorted with pleasure. And as the pulsing of her pussy quickened, my balls pulled into my body.
“That’s it,” I grunted.
“Shit, shit, shit, shit. I’m gonna come again. I’m gonna—Brooks!”
I pounded harder. “Come with me, Raven. Do it. Drench me in you.”
“Brooks!”
With one last pound, I exploded within her, feeling her walls milking me as I collapsed on top of her. My arousal coated her walls, marking her as mine while my heart took flight. My face fell against the crook of her neck. Her arms languidly draped around me while her pussy sucked me dry. And as our bodies mingled together in a tangled weave of limbs, I felt her heart beating against my own.
Before a knock sounded at the door.
“What was that?” Raven whispered.
I picked up my head and heard the quick knock again at the door.
“Oh God. I didn’t imagine it,” she whispered.
I pulled out from between her legs. “Get in the bathroom.”
She sat up. “What?”
The knock at the door came harder and panic filled my gut. “I said get in the bathroom and don’t come out unless I say so.”
Raven’s eyes widened. “Do you really think they’re back?”
This time, the knock was insistent, and I was glad I had a gun with me. “Will you just do as I fucking ask?”
Without another word, she gathered up her clothes and darted into the bathroom. The knock ceased at the door and I figured whoever the fuck it was might have given up until I heard a soft tinks against some glass.
Shit, they’re coming around the side.
Raven sniffled in the bathroom as I quickly pulled my boxers and pants back on. I reached for my leather jacket and removed the small-as-hell knife I tossed in there at the last minute before coming over to find her. I inched down the hallway, both hands on my knife in front of me as the tinkering of the glass sounded to my right.
And when I peeked around the corner, Archer’s fucking face was pressed against it.
“Dude!” he said through the glass, “open the fucking door!”
I gnashed my teeth together. “You were supposed to call, idiot!”
He threw his hands in the air. “I did!”
A door squeaked open behind me. “Brooks?”
I peeked over my shoulder. “It’s okay, Raven. It’s just Archer. I’m gonna let him in.”
I slid my weapon through the belt loop of my jeans before going to unlock the door. I took one small look at myself in the mirror, making sure no evidence of my debauchery etched itself onto my body. Then, I let Archer in.
“How long can you stay?” I asked as I closed the door.
He paused. “Why the fuck don’t you have a shirt on?”
I turned to face him just as Raven bounded down the hallway. “Archer. Long time no see.”
Archer’s eyes fell down my body before he turned around. “It’s good to see you again. I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances.”
She held out her arms. “Give me a hug.”
I watched the two of them embrace before his nostrils flared. And when he glared back at me, I knew he smelled it. He smelled me on her, and that wasn’t good, because there were men in this club that took a marriage vow even more seriously than I did. There were many men in the club that believed that once a woman married in, no one fucked with her. Not even if her husband got killed in the line of duty.
I held Archer’s eyes for a while before he relinquished the hug.
“You got any errands to run or anything?” he asked.
Raven shook her head. “No, but you look hungry. I could whip up something for all of us to eat?”
I pointed. “Actually, I have to head out. I’ve got some stuff I need to take care of, but I’ll be back to relieve Archer just after dinner.”
Raven eyed me carefully. “You sure you don’t need any food?”
I nodded. “Positive.”
I walked back down the hallway to put on the rest of my clothes while Archer and Raven talked out in the living room. It killed me that I had to leave her, but there was a hell of a lot at stake and I needed to get a move on it. I bid the two of them farewell one last time before rushing out to my bike, and immediately I made my way back to the clubhouse.
Where I found Porter fixing himself a pitcher of margarita.
“What the fuck?” I asked.
Porter didn’t even bother looking at me. “What?”
I pulled the plug out from the wall. “Are you insane? It’s eleven in the morning. You can’t have a fucking pitcher of tequila first thing in the morning. You look like you just rolled out of bed.”
He scoffed. “Says the guy tossing everyone beers yesterday at 10 A.M.”
He tried to plug the damn thing back in, but I swatted his hand away. He glared at me and went for it one more time, but I pulled the entire blender away from him. He reached for it and I threw up my forearm, blocking him from getting his hands on it.
And before I could blink well enough, he had me on the ground.
“What the fuck?” I growled.
His hand pinned my neck to the floor. “You get the hell out of my way and quit judging me.”
I held my hands up in surrender. “I’m not doing anything now, Porter. You can get up.”
His hand kept squeezing. “You think I have a problem? Yeah?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I think you do when you’re choking out an innocent man on the ground for taking your pitcher of tequila.”
He hissed through his teeth. “There’s lime juice in it, too.”
I gasped for air. “Dude, get the hell off me.”
It was almost like reality flashed across his mind, and the cloudy haze over his gaze cleared. He ripped his hand away and jumped off, then offered me a hand to get up. I took it in kind, feeling him struggling just to pull me up.
He never used to struggle with basic tasks like that.
“Sorry, man,” Porter murmured.
I dusted myself off. “How long have you been off the wagon?”
He shook his head. “I’m fine.”
“Yeah well, the future marks around my neck will tell people differently. And I won’t lie to them like some have done for you in the past.”
He shot me a look. “Thanks, brother.”
I nodded. “Anytime.”
“But seriously, you don’t get to jump down my throat for 11 A.M. margaritas when we all sucked down at least two beers before lunchtime alone yesterday.”
I watched him walk back over to the blender and turn it on, and guilt pooled back in my gut. It seemed as if one guilt in my life would replace another, and I felt like shit for enabling a clear issue Porter kept struggling with. My soul broke for him. It took him so fucking long to get sober the last time.
I wanted to know what triggered his trip off the wagon this time.
“You sure you don’t wanna talk about it?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Nothing to talk
about.”
I put my hand on his shoulder. “When you figure out differently, you know where to find me.”
He turned off the blender and nodded. “Thanks.”
I squeezed his shoulder. “Anytime. I just don’t want you going back to your old ways of being drunk every night. We need you, dude.”
He took the blender off its base. “I won’t. I have it under control now. At least, more under control than in my past.”
Fuck, I hope so. “You better, because we got a lot of shit to deal with and I’m gonna need you.”
He furrowed his brow. “What?”
I nodded at his drink. “Pour me one and come to my bedroom.”
He grinned. “You say that to all the ladies?”
I leaned into his ear. “That depends. Do all of the ladies talk about overthrowing their president?”
His back stiffened. “Coming, sweetheart.”
I snickered. “And make sure to line my rim with sugar. Salt and tequila is a shit combination.”
Then, I made my way back to my bedroom, hoping and praying that Chops wasn’t currently in the clubhouse to eavesdrop.
Twenty-Two
Raven
Even though I technically didn’t have to work today, I didn’t want to sit around and stew in the lingering smell of Brooks while he was out and about. I didn’t want to watch the clock all damn day and painfully count down the seconds until he came back to me. So, I made my way upstairs after feeding Archer and decided to work a half-day at the daycare.
“He’s loved you for a while, you know,” Archer said.
I paused at the staircase and peered over my shoulder, watching him shovel eggs into his mouth.
“What was that?” I asked.
He swallowed hard. “Brooks has loved you from afar for a long time. Don’t hurt him.”
Brooks (Dirty Misfits MC #1) Page 12
