by Eden O'Neill
“I know, but still.” His fingers lazily warmed mine again. “I’m just scared, dove. And not just about that.”
“About what then?”
His tongue dampened his lips before he faced me. “Say she does come back.”
“She will.”
He smiled. “Say she does and I’m not who she wants me to be. That I’m… I don’t know. A letdown or something.” He shook his head before looking at her. “I’d hate that. I’ve done so many stupid things.”
He had, but that was what made us human. I touched his jaw, and with it, I got his eyes. “You’re her son, and though I’m not a parent, something tells me there’s little you could do where she’d want nothing to do with you. Where you’d disappoint her? Knight, she loves you…”
“Knight?”
The voice had been faint when I heard it, soft, but the moment I did, chills lined my skin. They’d been good chills, ones that had me gripping Knight’s hand. I didn’t even have to ask if he’d heard his name as well.
Immediately, his eyes darted over to his mom, fastening on her gaze. She stared right at us, at him, and her fingers lifted from the sheets. “Knight…”
He rose, instantly taking her hand, and immediately, I got up, calling for Dr. Chopra. His mom didn’t do this, call for him or anyone. Her speech was usually pretty mumbled, like she was out of it most of the time, but she definitely wasn’t now. She called specifically for Knight, wanting his hand.
“Mom.” He warmed hers between his, focusing on nothing but her, and my eyes watered, his too as he smiled at her. “Yeah, Mom. It’s me. Knight. Your son.”
“Knight,” she whispered again, and he touched her cheek. Her lips lifted, a soft smile forming them. “So big.”
Laughter, emotion-lined as he nodded at her. “I am, but it’s me. I swear it is.”
He kissed her hand, closing his eyes, and I couldn’t breathe, watching the two of them together. It took me a while to realize Dr. Chopra and her team had arrived but, like me, stayed frozen in place. At the door, they watched on, studying the scene with smiles like I was. They refused to break this moment, and neither would I…
A mother who finally returned to her son.
Epilogue
Knight
“Knight? Would you stay off your fucking phone already! We’re supposed to be going to a party. Jesus.”
I grumbled at the peanut gallery in the front seat, my buddy’s fiancee never laying off. December had been bugging the shit out of me for pretty much the entire car ride to Woodcreek University for being on my phone.
Growling from the back seat, I put my phone away, then slung it over the shoulders of my little dove. Greer, my girlfriend, knew why I needed to be on my phone and wasn’t giving me a hard time. I jerked my chin at December. “Mind your own business. I need to know what’s going on with my mom.”
Hence all the text messaging. Dr. Chopra received them on her behalf since not only were smart phones not really a thing yet when my mom went into a coma, she still wasn’t in a place to be trying to text anyone. Phone calls were still hard for her even, but with her therapy over the last couple months she’d been getting better. I liked to not have to deal with any of that, though, and just be with her tonight.
December turned in her seat, my buddy Royal driving right next to her. December smiled. “We know. That’s why you’re getting away for the weekend with us.”
“She’s just trying to help, man.” Royal made eye contact through the rearview mirror, his fingers lacing with December’s. “We all are. We just want to give you a weekend. Something where you can just relax.”
I didn’t want to relax, but I knew they were right. Since my mom had woken up, she’d been my whole life. Well, her and Greer. I had so much catching up to do with my mom. We’d lost twelve goddamn years.
Hugging up under me, Greer had obviously agreed with the decision to get me out of the manor. She’d nudged me to get on the road with December and Royal to go visit our buddy LJ at his university, and though I’d listened to her, it’d been my mom to ultimately let me be okay with the decision to take a weekend away from her. She’d said I’d been stressing over her too much as well.
She had actually said that.
She’d come a long way in so little time, something that was such a relief for me. All that my grandpa had done… there might just be some light on the end of it. I wasn’t sure if that was possible when in the thick of it. And despite what my grandpa’s passing had allowed, my mom and me to come back together, I was far from happy with how it’d come to pass. I loved my grandpa. He had raised me.
I just didn’t love a lot of the things he’d done.
I was seeing someone about all that too, ways to deal with my anger. I really believed it was helping, and the fact that Mom was so positive after all that had happened, despite finding out what my grandpa had done to her, kept my spirits high too. If she could be okay, at peace with the years she’d lost and the time away from me, who was I not to do the same? I had a pretty kickass Mom, and I couldn’t wait to see what life would bring us. I hoped to even have a fraction of what Greer and her mom had. They were really close, and Greer’s mom and Ben had even come to see mine. They had all stayed with Mom and me over holiday break at the manor.
Greer played with my fingers, grinning. “You know you don’t have to worry about her, right? Your mom?” She shook me. “She’ll be fine. She’s freaking Superwoman.”
She was right, of course. Mom had been awake for nearly three months now, and not only was she talking and having full conversations, she was out of her bed. She was still mostly confined to her wheelchair, but with her continued physical therapy, her doctors seemed very hopeful about her walking and getting to be herself again.
Because I listened to my girlfriend, I kissed her, then rolled my eyes at Royal and his girl through the mirror.
Royal smirked in response and pulled his arm around December. Things were gratefully quiet the rest of the way up to Woodcreek-U. Our buddy LJ was having a weekend bash. Fuck, when wasn’t he having parties at the Ivy League he attended? He’d been bugging Royal and me to come up for months and even worse when he came back home for Christmas break. The guys, Royal, LJ, along with our other friend Jax, have all been bugging me to get out more lately, but it was only after Greer and my mom had insisted that I decided to give in and make the car trip happen. I didn’t listen to many people, but I did listen to the women in my life, my light in the dark.
Greer had been with me this whole fucking time, around through my mom’s therapy, her slow process of recovery, and even my grandpa’s funeral. She had showed up by my side through it all, pain or good times… didn’t matter. She was there, which was more than I had been for her in the past. She didn’t have to be around for me. She didn’t have to show up, but she did. I’d spend a lifetime trying to make that up to her.
I hoped, ultimately, that was what was in the cards for us.
Those thoughts for another day, I relaxed with my girl, Royal’s Audi slushing through January ice. Eventually, we all pulled up to LJ’s place, and I actually whistled at the sight of the modern-style home basically the size of my frat. The place was fucking lit, huge-ass windows that surrounded the whole place and with enough people and strobe lights inside to let us know the party was ongoing.
“Things must be going all right for him,” I told Royal when we got out, the guy eyeing me. LJ, unlike Royal, Jax, and me, didn’t really come from money. In fact, he’d been dirt poor when we knew him and came to college on a full-ride scholarship.
The guys and I had been let in on a little bit of what LJ had been doing since he went away for school. From what we knew, he’d started promoting parties, small stuff that led to… bigger stuff, but at the end of the day, that was his business. We were bros, family, and we’d support him in whatever he chose to do.
Royal tugged December over, and I did the same with Greer, warming her shoulders in the chill as we fought our way th
rough the crowds. This place was on the level, and barely inside the door, we found LJ. The tall motherfucker shot above the heads of everyone else in the room, his arm around our other buddy Jax, who was flailing his arms like a monkey in front of some girls. Jax was obviously trying to impress them, being an idiot like he was always.
“Nice to see not much has changed.” Royal edged over, then cupped his mouth to holler at the pair. His voice boomed above the crowd, getting the attention of our boys, and as they waved us over, I realized how much I’d truly missed my brothers. Our brotherhood went beyond our time in the Court and was way thicker than what college and a few hundred miles could put between us. We were family, and after greeting the boys and they said hello to December, I introduced the guys to my girl.
“This is my little dove.” I swiped a finger beneath her chin, that snow-white hair pushed up and showcasing that sexy-as-fuck neck of hers. I’d gotten a handful of her delicate throat while I pounded into her just this morning, my cock heavy and hard at just the thought of it. Unable to help myself, I bent, touching a kiss to that soft skin, and she shoved at my chest.
“Knight.” She rolled her eyes, but she was a terrible fucking liar. So much heat lined her gaze the moment I touched her neck, straight fire in her blue eyes.
I tugged her over. “Don’t bother fighting it, baby. We’re inevitable.”
A promise in my voice as I looked at her, those baby blues electrifying. December basically made a gagging nose, and the rest of the guys hit me on my arm.
LJ smirked. “Nice to meet you…”
“Greer,” she said, forcing distance between us again with a smile. Of course the guys knew her name. They knew all about her, but I assumed LJ was just being polite.
He raised a beer to her, Jax too after he said hello. LJ grinned. “Nice to see someone managed to tame this big oaf.”
“Like you should fucking talk.” I gazed around, my arm falling to settle on Greer’s hips. “I don’t see you with anyone in this big-ass house.”
LJ rolled his eyes before bringing his beer to his lips. After taking a long swig, he smiled at Greer. “Nice meeting you, Greer. My house is your house. Just don’t let the ass trash it.”
I growled, but Greer had been able to hold me back. Good thing for him too. Greer and I didn’t chat with the others long before deciding to section off and mingle around the house. I could tell right away Greer was impressed by LJ’s digs. Fuck, even I was. The frat house was pretty kickass, but this was fucking killer. My buddy definitely was living it up, and as Greer and I explored the house, I got a buzz from my phone. It followed a few, something I had to check, of course, but even as I juggled my life at home with what I was doing here, Greer didn’t complain. In fact, she waited for me during each time I took to text back, her drink in her hand and a smile on her face.
I shot off a quick text to Dr. Chopra, thanking her for letting me know my mom was asleep before pulling Greer over to the wall with me. I got a handful of her sweater, pulling her close. “Have I ever told you how I don’t fucking deserve you?”
Because I didn’t, not at all, and though I think both of us knew that, she was here anyway. She was patient with me anyway. I wasn’t easy to get along with, something I knew. Greer balanced all my rough edges, perfect for all my prickly thorns, and though I knew I didn’t deserve her, fuck if I was ever letting her go.
To my surprise, she took my hand, tugging me to go with her. We ended up in one of the bedrooms, and when she dropped to her knees, I nearly said fuck me.
Fuck me for ever being able to be with a girl like this, setting her drink down before going for my fly. She pulled my cock right out of my pants, knowing how to do this all too well as I’d let her have a lot of practice.
She’d been bold getting on her knees tonight, hot when she felt me up, then put those perfect fuckable lips around me.
Growling, I slammed my hand against the closed door, Greer’s head bobbing as she worked my balls and took me deep into her throat. She’d gotten so fucking good at this it was ridiculous.
“Fuck, Greer,” I gritted, gripping my fingers into her hair. Holding her to me, she gagged and I nearly came right down her throat. “Don’t fucking do that.”
My dick fell out of her mouth with a pop. “Do what?” she asked, her smile coy as she opened her mouth again. She teased my dick with her tongue, starting to pull me into her perfect mouth again, but I got hold of the back of her neck, returning her to her feet.
“LJ’s going to kill me,” I told her, working that sweater off her perfect tits. Her nipples beaded right through her bra, and I pinched one, grinning at the soft moan she made. I kissed her neck. “For fucking you in here.”
I was about ninety percent sure this was my buddy’s bedroom. For starters, it was frickin’ huge, a bed half the size of the room. It was the type of room I’d definitely choose as my own, but I guess I had the decency not to fuck her on his bed. Hell, who was I kidding…
We definitely weren’t going to be making it to the bed.
Tugging Greer’s hair free, I got a hand full of it, using it to tug her around and press her tits against the door. I undid her bra, throwing the thing across the room before undoing her jeans.
“Knight…”
The last thing she said before I jerked her head back and took her mouth from above, tasting myself on her lips while I drove my tongue between them. I needed both hands to tweak and tug her sensitive nipples, letting go of her hair to work them between her and the door. I ground my hips against her jean-covered ass, that perfect peach of hers ramming back into me.
“Just fuck me already,” she cried, so needy. What had I done to my little virgin? She tired me out most days.
“Do you want me?” I ran my tongue down her spine, pushing both her jeans and underwear down. Her beautiful ass needed a bite, and I sunk my teeth into her left cheek, making her call out.
“Don’t tease me.” She burned against me, pressing her peach against my mouth. Dipping my finger in her heat, I used it to slide back to her ass, probing it. I hadn’t had my dick inside her yet, but we had been using toys.
“You want me to take you back here?” I moved my finger in and out, my digit going deeper and deeper until she had me past the second knuckle. She moaned, giving me her answer, and I stood, grinning. “Only since you asked so nicely.”
I got my jeans further down my hips, clean so no need for the condom. I didn’t even bring condoms around with me anymore anyway since Greer got on birth control.
Getting a firm hold of her hips, I tugged her up, being gentle as I eased my cock inside her tiny hole. And I mean eased, her virgin ass so fucking tight.
“Knight, fuck.” She reached back, holding my hip and the cry in her voice froze me where I stood. All this might have been too much for her, but when she worked my hips, I knew she was wanting more.
“Let me know if it doesn’t feel good,” I coached. I would stop, God fucking help me. I didn’t want to hurt her, but shit, if her ass didn’t feel good around my dick. Like heaven gracing the earth. Growling, I tugged her earlobe into my mouth, sucking it.
“It feels good.” She moaned, grabbing the back of my head. “So good. Don’t stop.”
All I needed to keep going, working my hips until my thighs slapped against her. I roared as I took her hands and pinned them against the wall. Going as deep as I could, I took us both toward the brink.
“This isn’t going to last long,” I groaned, taking her off the wall and bending her over a chair. I got better access this way, and when she reached back and gripped her fingernails into my thighs, I was done.
I spilled like a fucking teenager inside her, shuddering while I leaned my weight on her. She stayed positioned there and had the nerve to smile at me after I pulled out and tugged her up.
“Already?” she asked, basically repeating words I’d said to her once upon a time. She needed to give me a break. I hadn’t had a girl’s ass since well before her. Most girls I’d
been with weren’t into it.
Apparently, she wasn’t most girls.
“I’m going to punish that mouth,” I said, teasing her before reaching my fingers between us. I planned to take her over the edge too, strumming her clit while I ground her up against the wall.
She shuddered around me and her hands fell to my shoulders when I got on my knees. I tugged one of her legs over my back, but then I was between her legs, eating her out and munching on her sweet pussy.
“Knight, oh my God.” She actually covered her face, like it was all too much before curling her fingers into my back. Grinding against my face, she bunched my shirt in her hands, basically ripping it at the seams she tugged so hard.
“I love you, Greer,” I said, every sweet taste of her essence drowning me in that love. I hadn’t said that to a girl before, not unless they were family and barely at all in the years my mom was in the coma. Love was hard for me, easily taken away by situation and circumstances. It wasn’t easy to open myself to that…
But fuck if it hadn’t always been that way with her.
She ran her fingers through my hair as I fucked her with my mouth, holding me close.
“I love you too,” she breathed, her body quivering above me. I had a feeling she loved me too. Hell, might have even been able to say it before me even though she hadn’t. But despite me knowing, it wasn’t the same as hearing it. That someone like her could actually love someone like me… someone so hard and jagged. But then here she was.
She came down just as hard as me, her sweet taste flowing into my mouth, and I was there for every drop. I didn’t want it to end. She was mine, mine, but eventually, I did stand, cradling her face.
“Say it again.” I wanted to hear her say it, her smile wide.
She touched my chest. “You first.”
Chuckling, I bit her lip, pulling both part. “I love you, dove.”
