Charming: The Coast Book 9

by Hart, Eve R.

  Oh, my…

  The thought of him wanting to strip me naked and have his way with me flooded my mind. Oh, yes, I wanted that very much.

  Shaking my head, I tried to turn the train of thought back to figuring this whole thing out.

  So maybe they both didn’t see me as a little sister, but I couldn’t think of another way to put it. They protected me and looked after me the way that Dade had. Was it because of what happened? Did they feel some kind of need to step in and fill his shoes?

  Ugh, all of this was starting to make my head hurt.

  Luckily, Ingram didn’t say anything more. I got the feeling like she didn’t know what to say. She was right, she wasn’t good at reading people all that well. I had watched her and Mouse dance around each other for way too friggin’ long. Bridget was definitely better suited to give it to me straight. I knew she saw things that not everyone else did. And she wouldn’t sugar coat it. If I was creating some kind of fairytale in my head, she’d slap it out real quick.

  I understood that I was still young. I still saw the world with bright eyes. Even given the things I’d been through, I still hoped for the best most days. Sure, some days the sadness threatened to keep me in bed, but I figured that was to be expected. But I loved to laugh. I loved to smile. I loved to see the best in every situation and preferred to see the hope in people.

  Colby came in and asked if we needed any help. He came in most mornings, offering to do things. He wasn’t a prospect but sometimes he still had that overeager, need to please attitude. I wasn’t saying anything bad about it. I liked him. He was nice to me and talked to me like I was normal. I never felt like he was crowding my space or hitting on me. Or that he was talking to me because he felt like he had to for some reason.

  I quickly shut him up by shoving a plate of food in his face. He laughed, not taking any offense that I was pretty much running him off.

  I appreciated that sometimes people offered to help or tell me that I didn’t have to cook or clean up. I’d heard it more times than I could count. It made me wonder if I somehow gave off the impression that I didn’t want to do it. It was such a simple thing, at least to me, but I loved doing it. I loved being able to make sure they got a good start to their day. I loved being able to give them a good meal at the end. You know, put some good, hearty food in their system before they guzzled down all the alcohol.

  Charming came back in dressed like he was headed to work.

  “I just got called in. Someone has a stomach bug or something,” he said with a small roll of his eyes which told me he didn’t believe the excuse. “I wanted to talk to you but it’s going to have to wait.”

  “Oh,” I said sounding super shocked, and a little bit nervous. “Okay.”

  He studied me for a long moment.

  I tried my hardest to smile but it felt wobbly.

  “Have a good day,” he said as he crushed me to his chest and placed a quick kiss on my temple.

  It was sweet. Yep, I said that with a lukewarm tone. Sweet, like something you’d do to your best friend that had boobs. But you didn’t notice that she had boobs or the fact that she had a huge crush on you. And yes, I knew my chesticles were small, but they were still there.

  With a sigh, I stepped back. Again, a wobbly smile found its way to my face. I didn’t think he even noticed as he looked down at me for just a beat with that stupid smolder on his face.

  Oh, dangie, I was so confused.

  I watched him walk away, those dark slacks hugging his butt nicely. You bet your bottom I was checking him out. Not like I couldn’t, I mean, with his shirt tucked in, it was hard to miss.

  Ingram giggled beside me and I playfully pushed her away.

  The brothers started to filter into the kitchen, grabbing plates and piling them high with everything we’d made. It made me smile. My heart was warm as I stood just on the outside of all the chaos. The conversations were flowing all around. Most everyone seemed relaxed and comfortable around each other. It might have been a bit presumptuous, but I brought them together at this moment. Well, my food did. I had a small hand in all of this and that was enough for me most days.

  The love I felt here was more than I’d felt anywhere else. For some reason, I still didn’t feel whole but I couldn’t explain why. I kept waiting for that one big thing where something snapped in my life and I felt home. This was close, so close. But most days I still felt like I was barely a part of it. Or that I was trying way too hard to make myself fit in. I suspected that it had to do with me. That said, I hadn’t dug deep and tried to figure anything out.

  Yes, it was just further proof of how young I was, I saw that much. So, I didn’t have my stuff together. So, I didn’t want to think that there might be a time that I had to move on from here. And so, I didn’t want to figure out what my future might be. Life was too hard and heavy sometimes and I simply wanted to enjoy the good parts of it while I had them. And this, this was good.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Charming

  Abigail was blushing.

  I liked Abigail’s blush.

  I liked it even more when it was because of me.

  I didn’t want to leave and go to work. I wanted to stay and see how much more I could make her blush. It kind of sucked that I wasn’t the type of person that could turn away when I was needed. I knew they called me first because I always said yes, unless there was something I had to do for the club.

  The moment after I clocked in, I knew it was going to be one of those days. The kind that forced you to find your limits and push past them.

  Remembering how she had been around me this morning kept me going through the whole day. That blush, yeah, I caught myself absentmindedly smiling a few times. So did my partner. And he wasn’t afraid to poke fun at it.

  Yeah, today turned out to be another one of those ones where I’d wished I hadn’t picked up the phone. There was a four-car pileup, resulting in one crumbled car and seven people going to the hospital. Getting through that mess took longer than it should have and I was worried that at least one of them wouldn’t even make it to the hospital alive. I stayed on the scene, doing all that I could to get them stable enough to be transported to the hospital. Since I’d had the most experience, I was unofficially the one in charge. Which meant that if I made one wrong call I was responsible for the consequences. If I missed just one thing… well, I didn’t want to think about that now.

  I finished up my unexpected shift and rolled back into the clubhouse well after dinner had been cleaned up.

  I just wanted to shower and pass the hell out.

  I was bone tired and I knew it showed.

  I had told Abigail that I wanted to talk. That wasn’t a joke. I figured it was best to not let this thing linger on. And if she wasn’t sure between Blade and me, well, we could work on that too. As long as I knew where her head was at. That was what I needed to know. If she wasn’t feeling this thing like I did, I had to find out as soon as possible. I wouldn’t even try to deny that I was already in it. I had been, even when she didn’t know. Even when I might have been trying to push it away. Even when I’d fucked up and lost the opportunity to go for it.

  I hit the shower, feeling relief the instant I stepped into the hot spray. The day washed away from my body and I tried to let my thoughts do the same. It wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped.

  By the time I shut off the water, I had it in my head there was only one way to handle this situation— hit it head-on. And there was only one way I saw to do that.

  Was I thinking rationally? No, probably not. If I had taken a moment to really think about my plan, I would have seen that I was acting like a crazy jackass.

  I tossed on some clothes, not even aware of what I was wearing. I was sure I forgot to put on underwear. I reached down and, yep, I was freeballing it under my running shorts. If I got even a little bit excited there would be no hiding it. Still, like an angry bull, I charged on.

  My fist banged on Blade’s door and the moment he answ
ered, I grunted Abigail’s name. I walked off with no further explanation. He was right behind me as I made my way across the lot and up to her room.

  “The fuck is going on?” he asked and there was the slightest ring of concern or worry in his tone.

  “Figure this out,” I said talking like a dude with half the brain cells of a normal person.

  She pulled open the door. My tongue slid down my throat as I took in what she was wearing. Sleep shorts, that were loose but fairly short. A gray tank that was pretty damn thin.

  I knew she had tits under those loose shirts she always wore, but now I could see everything. Every-fucking-thing. Like how cool the air must have been in her room.

  It was all I could do to suppress a groan and keep my dick in check.

  “Is everything okay?” she squeaked out and crossed her arms over her chest. There was that adorable blush on her cheeks, bright red and nearly glowing.

  Blade’s thick hand slapped down on the back of my neck. Fuck, that guy was strong. By the way he was gripping me, he was ten seconds away from dragging my ass away by the back of my neck. My shoulders rolled in an attempt to shake him off but it only made his fingers dig in harder. Did I just hear something crack? Was he about to break my damn neck? It sure fucking felt like it.

  “Thought we heard a noise. We were wrong,” Blade said with no hint that my crazy idea was what brought us to her door. “Goodnight, Abigail.”

  “You heard that?!” I didn’t think it was possible for her to get redder, but she did, to the point that her face looked like it was a cherry.

  Blade and I must have figured it out at the same time. There was a low, rumbling growl that came from him while I found it hard to swallow.

  “Were you…” I started to ask but couldn’t actually get the words out.

  “Well,” she said, her brows going down in the way they did right before she was about to blow her lid. “So what! I’m a woman and I have needs. And yeah, I often take care of those needs. It’s not like either of you—”

  Her mouth snapped shut and I wanted to laugh because it was so adorable.

  “Abigail,” I said sounding a little raw and strained.

  “Not like you helped!” She went on like she couldn’t stop herself now that she’d started. “You,” she pointed at me, “with your breathing and almost touching me. And you,” her eyes went to Blade, “with that flick of your lips like kissing me almost made you smile. Seriously?! I haven’t been touched or kissed or anything in like… two years. Over two years…”

  Her eyes went hazy like she really had to think about it. I bet she was trying to do the math in her head. And I also bet she was thinking about whatever fuckhead was the last to get a taste of those lips. I couldn’t have that. Nope.

  “Jesus fuck,” I heard Blade mumble beside me.

  I wasn’t a hundred percent sure, but it felt like he pushed me forward and since the thought was already on my mind, I so happened to be leaning that way. I played it cool as I ducked down and captured her lips with my own. I was convinced it was only to get her to quit thinking of that guy and stop her rant. That was a lie though. I really wanted to kiss her again. Had wanted to all damn day.

  She let out a little moan of surprise before she melted into me.

  Blade grunted. I heard it even though I was a little lost at the moment.

  “Wait,” I said and it took all of my will to rip myself away from her.

  Blade’s body was already turned away and I knew he was trying his hardest to walk away. He paused and like he was reading my mind, his head shook as if telling me no.

  “I have an idea,” I got out before he could physically stop me. I knew that would be next. His hands balled at his sides and I had a good idea of how he was planning on doing it.

  “Huh?” Abigail said sounding a little dazed and lost.

  “No you don’t,” Blade said pretty much at the same time.

  “What’s going on?” Abigail asked looking between Blade and me a few times.

  “Kiss us both,” I blurted out.

  “Both… kiss…” Her mixed up words trailed off as her mouth fell open. “Like at the same time? How would that even work?” Her head cocked to the side like she was trying to figure it out.

  Blade made a snorting sound beside me and I ignored him as I took a step into her room. Like I thought, Blade followed me inside and closed the door behind us.

  Then I turned my smooth moves up to about a twelve. Was it wrong? Probably, considering I knew what I was doing. I wasn’t about to let this opportunity pass me by. If I had to share her with Blade then I didn’t mind, as long as I had part of her. As long as the kissing continued. As long as some part of her was mine.

  I didn’t think anyone should really judge. Was it a little crazy, yeah sure. I was comfortable enough with Blade that when I really thought about it, the idea didn’t bother me. That should have been my first clue, only I didn’t know to what. It could have been said that if I really cared about her as deeply as I swore I did inside, then I wouldn’t want to share any part of her. That I’d want it all to myself and jealousy would take root hardcore.

  “Abigail, don’t listen to h—”

  “Okay,” Abigail said cutting Blade off. She gave a little shrug but I could tell she didn’t hate the idea at all. “Now?”

  “If you want to,” I told her.

  “I mean, I like kissing both of you. Though, I don’t think I got much from Blade. I think you could do better.” She was looking at Blade with a teasing smirk on her face.

  He rocked his head from side to side. She shouldn’t have challenged him like that, though I was kind of happy she did. I knew he wouldn’t walk away now.

  With a narrow-eyed look shot in my direction, he was moving with a speed the big guy didn’t usually let on that he was capable of. One of his hands went to the back of her neck while the other landed on her hip. It felt a little odd that I was cheering him on in my head. He went for it, giving her everything he had in that one kiss. Even I was turned on a little watching it.

  He growled and in a blink, he had them turned around and her back pinned up against the door. A squeak came out of Abigail, followed by a long moan. Her hands went to his shoulders while her legs tried to climb him like a tree.

  His hands went to her ass as he hauled her up. She didn’t even hesitate to wrap her legs around his thick frame.

  This went on for a while and I watched every little thing like some kind of weirdo. I noticed a lot of things though. Blade was giving a pretty good performance and I knew it wasn’t for my sake. I wasn’t saying that he hated kissing her. He was enjoying it enough to the point I would have bet good money on the fact that he was turned on. His hands were on her ass, and to anyone else, it would look like he was in the throes of passion. However, I knew him. He was stiff, even for himself. His fingers weren’t digging into her flesh and he wasn’t rocking against her like I’d expect at this point. Was he holding back? Was he trying not to let this go too far? Abigail was enjoying it but there seemed to be something there too. Her body was… I couldn’t put my finger on it. The longer I watched, the more I got lost trying to figure it out. Maybe this was a bad idea. That had to be it, and Blade was merely proving that point somehow.

  Blade pulled away and held onto her until her toes were back on the floor and she was steady. Her head cocked to the side and she blinked up at him. I wished I could have seen his face.

  “Good?” he asked her.

  “Good,” she said with a smile. One that was closer to seventy-five percent of what I was used to seeing.

  “Now tell him, please. So he can quit being an idiot,” Blade said down to her, his voice was a little low and gravelly. There was a look in her eyes saying that she completely understood what he was talking about.

  She giggled, then went up on her toes to kiss his cheek. His head turned to the side as he looked at me over his shoulder. Abigail stepped out of the way and then he was gone out of the room, the door
closing with a noticeable clink behind him.

  Her eyes met mine and I saw the red hit her cheeks.

  “Well?” I asked with a raised brow. What did I expect, for her to give me a rundown of the whole thing?

  “It was good,” she said with a smile.

  “It looked good.”

  “Mmhmm.” She nodded a little. It was clear by the twinkle in her eyes that I was missing something big, and whatever that was, it ended with her saying that I was a huge idiot. “It was good but I don’t think it affected me quite as much as it did you.”

  Her eyes got really big as they looked down at my shorts.

  I cursed under my breath knowing there was no hiding how excited I’d been watching it.

  Oh, wait!

  It was like a light went off in my head.

  She was saying that it was just good. Like she enjoyed it well enough, but it didn’t get her crazy worked up.

  Yep, I was a huge idiot.

  “Did you know that before?” I asked and my body drifted closer to hers.

  “I had a pretty good idea.”

  “You don’t want to see…” What was I trying to ask?

  “If I want you or Blade more? Or what, both? I mean… I do think about that sometimes because I know what you guys do. Especially after seeing it. I mean, it was only for a second— okay, like a minute, but I definitely won’t forget it.”

  She was teasing. Shy, blushing Abigail, was teasing about sex stuff. I didn’t doubt that what she’d said was true. I had to clear my throat because the thought of her getting wet picturing it was making sparks shoot off in my brain.

  “Why don’t you just tell me where you’re head is at,” she said with a little shrug. I could see the shyness in her gaze. It was clear that she had figured this thing out more than I had.