by L. E. Bross
My toes curl and I cling to him harder. There’s a small table in the corner and he sits me there, my ass on the edge, then guides my hands to the rail on each side of me.
“Hold on and don’t let go.”
I pant when he trails his fingers over my shoulder, down over my collarbone then cups one breast. He flicks my nipple with his thumb and I arch my back. Most of my attention is on what he’s doing, but a tiny piece of my mind is aware of the fact that we’re out in the open.
We’re high up enough that I’m pretty sure no one on the beach can see what we’re doing, but if the voices down there carry, mine will, too. A cry slips from my lips when he takes my nipple between his teeth and tugs harder than I was expecting.
His chuckle vibrates against the sensitive tip before he sucks gentler this time. He does the same thing to the other side, but this time I manage to keep the sound low enough that only he hears.
His lips kiss a path down my stomach. When he gets to the edge of my shorts, he kisses along one side, then starts over on the other. When he pops the button open, the muscles in my stomach jump. He eases my shorts down my legs and his pupils go full blown when he sees I’m not wearing anything underneath.
His hands press against the insides of my thighs, opening my legs wide for him as he sinks down between them.
“Fuck, you are so pretty.” He presses a kiss right on my clit, then flicks over it with that tiny ball of metal.
I grip the iron rail for dear life.
He teases with light touches, and skirts his thumbs along the outside of my opening, but never giving me what I want.
I’m half out of my mind.
“Baz,” I beg.
“What do you need, baby?”
I love the way his voice goes low when he calls me baby. I love how he looks at me when he’s between my legs, waiting for me to tell him what I want. I know what he wants me to say, he wants me to beg him to make me come, but I’ve already decided that I want more tonight.
“You. Inside me.”
His fingers dig into my thighs and I hear his breath catch.
It’s darker out now, but the light from inside the room glints off his eyes, showing me the barely contained hunger he’s trying to keep reined in.
But that’s not what I want.
I want him to let it go. I want to show him that he deserves every cry that he pushes from my throat. That no matter what, I’m here for him.
I lean back a little more, every inch of my skin on fire.
“Do you think I’m yours?” I ask.
“Fuck yeah, you are,” he growls, narrowing his eyes.
“Show me.”
I watch his control snap.
It’s fucking beautiful to see.
He surges to his feet, yanks his shorts down and steps between my legs. There is no teasing this time, no making me beg for what I want. He’s there at my opening and then he slides in, filling me so good I can't stop the cry that bursts free from my lips.
He doesn’t wait before pulling back then thrusting forward again. He stays there, buried inside me, then hooks me under my arms and lifts. Once again I cross my ankles and wind my arms around his neck. He spins, takes three steps then pins me against the building. The stucco is cold against my back but it feels good on my heated skin.
The only things moving are his hips as he surges into me over and over. His lips find mine and devour my mouth like a starving man. The angle moves him against that perfect spot inside me and I start to build, helpless to stop it.
His fingers dig into my ass and he lifts me up on each outstroke, then drops me down as he drives forward. Over and over he does it, never losing contact with my mouth.
We feed each other our groans, volleying them back and forth until they are so mixed up that they belong to both of us now. Baz moves faster. I’m right there, on the edge, and I know he feels it by the way I clamp down around him.
His groans get deeper.
My breath stutters and light explodes in my vision.
He swallows my cries of release and surges deep, holding me tight as he pulses inside me. We stay like that for minutes, just panting for air as the aftershocks settle.
His eyes practically glow as he stares at me.
“You believe me now?” I whisper against his lips.
“I’d believe the fucking Easter bunny is real if that’s how you prove it.”
He blows out a breath and eases my legs free. I’m wobbly on my feet and my back feels a little sore, but I don’t care.
Baz leans down and kisses me slowly.
“For the record, you’re the best damn thing that’s ever happened to me.”
He pulls his shorts up then takes my hand and leads me back through the room. I’ve never had anyone else wash my body in the shower, but Baz gets every inch clean, then drops to his knees and somehow manages to bring me to another orgasm in record time.
By the time he dries me off, I’m the one who’s convinced that the Easter bunny is, in fact, real.
Chapter Eleven
Baz is back at the computer and I’m sprawled on the couch watching more Walking Dead when X and Riot come back. They’re both covered in sweat and shirtless.
Riot comes over and presses a kiss to my forehead before disappearing into one of the rooms.
X flops down next to me and groans. Baz spins around in the chair.
“Remind me to send Baz next time Ry needs to work out his frustration. Think we ran fifty miles on the damned treadmills downstairs, then I had to spot him while to tried to bench press the weight of a fucking car.”
He tips his head and rests it on the back of the couch.
“Find anything yet?” He opens one eye and looks at Baz.
“The easter bunny,” Baz deadpans and looks at me.
I giggle. Because apparently amazing sex and a shower orgasm turns me into a flirty girl.
X’s other eye pops open and he lifts his head, looking between us. His eyes widen when he notices I’m wearing Baz’s Hackers Do It Better t-shirt.
“Damn. I’m the last man standing aren’t I?” He glares at the bathroom door. “I can't lift a finger much less my dick right now. Remind me to kill Ry in his sleep,” he grunts.
“We could cuddle later?” I tell him.
His eyes light up. “Naked cuddles?”
“Maybe if you shower. You kind of stink.” I wrinkle my nose, but he really doesn’t. I wouldn’t mind if he sat next to me all night.
Baz grabs his phone and looks down.
“Uh yeah, naked cuddling postponed. Bill and Luc are almost here.”
My stomach somersaults. Then I jump up and run to my room because I can't meet the man who bailed me out of jail in a t-shirt and panties. X comes in and leans against the door.
I have no idea what to wear and toss clothes out of my suitcase left and right. When I hold up a pale yellow sundress that Meri picked out for me, X steps into the room and takes my hand.
“You don’t need to try so hard, Uncle Bill is pretty chill. Just be yourself. He’ll be enamored by you in no time, just like the rest of us.”
He presses a kiss to my lips then leaves the room. I hear the second bedroom’s door open and close, and glance at the dress. I’m not really a dress kind of girl.
When I come out a few minutes later, I’m wearing a pair of distressed jeans and Baz’s shirt, though I tied it into a knot on the side to make it fit a little better.
The door across from mine opens and Riot steps out. He’s got on tan cargo shorts and a black t-shirt. His hair is wet and it sticks to his forehead. He’s already wearing a scowl and they haven’t even gotten to the room yet.
I reach out and take his hand, lace his fingers with mine.
“I think it’s way past time that you all talked. Don’t you want to know the truth?”
Behind the anger is fear. He’s afraid of what he might find out. I’m not sure if he’s more worried that Wendi did have and affair with Bill, or that she didn�
�t. Because that would mean all this anger was for nothing.
“I think you need to hear it, whatever it is. And I’d like the chance to thank him. He did it for you, you know. I’m not anyone to him, but you’re his family.”
“I’m not making any promises,” he says, bringing our linked fingers to his mouth so he can kiss the back of my hand. “But if you’re there, I’ll try.”
I lay my free hand on his chest, over his wildly beating heart that disproves his cavalier attitude, and press my lips to the back of his.
There’s a knock at the door and I hear Baz get up.
“Hey Uncle Bill. Luc. Come in.”
X peeks his head out of their room and pulls on a shirt.
“They here?”
Riot lets out a harsh exhale. “Yeah. Lets go see what the hell they want.”
We walk down the short hallway together and when we step into the living room, all eyes are on us. My gaze goes to the man standing next to Luc. He’s staring at me too.
Heat climbs up my neck.
“Ever.” Luc pulls my attention away from his dad and I feel immediate guilt for not letting him know I was gone. After everything he did for me, it was a really shitty way to repay him.
Luc is across the room, pulling me into a hug before I realize it, but Ry uses our entwined fingers to pull me away. Luc shoots him a glare and Riot steps closer to my side.
Tension builds in the room.
With a deep breath, I ease around Riot toward Luc’s dad. Riot either has to follow or let go of my hand and continue his stare off. He reluctantly lets me lead him away.
“Hello, Mr. Hook, I’m Ever Darlington. Thank you for helping the boys help me.”
I stick out my hand and he takes it, then closes his other one around it too.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Ms. Darlington.” He has more of an accent that Luc does, but the warmth in his identical green eyes is the same.
“Ever, please.” I give him a genuine smile and he returns it.
I like him immediately.
His gaze slides to Riot. “Then call me Bill. Hello Ry, it’s nice to see you.”
Riot grunts but says nothing.
Bill takes it in stride, turning to X.
“Xavier, staying out of trouble?”
“Always, Uncle Bill.” They do some kind of weird handshake with twists and fist bumps then pull apart.
Riots fingers tighten around mine as he pretends not to watch.
I feel eyes on me and turn to see Luc watching me.
“Are you okay?”
He’s looking at me like he expects me to give him a secret signal that I’m being held against my will. I step closer to Riot and lean against him.
“I’m good. Peter came to the guesthouse. The guys brought me here where it’s safer.”
Luc’s face turns red. “Peter was there? What the hell did he want?”
“I think we should all sit down,” Bill says. “I’d like someone to start at the beginning and explain to me what’s going on.”
X and Ry flank me on the couch and Baz takes the chair by the computer leaving the two side chairs for Luc and his dad. I’m sure the fact that Riot is between Luc and I isn’t an accident.
When no one starts, Bill’s gaze moves back to me.
“I guess it started with me. When Peter hired me to steal Wendi’s watch from your safe.”
“You stole her watch?” he asks softly. Pain flashes over his features before he composes himself.
“Peter said he’d help her find her little sister,” Luc adds. “If she got it for him.”
“You knew about it?”
“After it happened. It’s how Trey was blackmailing her. He had pictures he threatened to give to his father. Well, the sheriff. I guess Peter is his father.”
Bill sits there, a stunned expression on his face.
“What?”
“We found evidence that Trey was Peter's son on a chip in Wendi’s watch. It looks like he paid Trey, to keep quiet we assume,” Baz says.
Bill drops his head and scrubs his hands over the back of his neck. When he looks up, there’s a vulnerability about him that speaks of loss.
“A chip? In Wendi’s watch?”
When Baz nods, Bill explodes out of the chair and starts to pace. He spins around and pins Baz with a wild gaze.
“Was there anything else?” he asks hoarsely. “Like where she might have gone.”
I see the guys exchange confused glances while Luc looks at his father like he’s never seen him before. He gets to his feet, looking between Bill and Riot. His eyebrows keep dipping lower until he fists his hands at his side.
“Riot was right, wasn’t he? You and Wendi were having an affair,” Luc grits out. I’ve never seen him so angry. I defended you, said you’d never do something like that. I can’t fucking believe this.”
He storms out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
Bill stares after him helplessly.
“It’s not what he thinks.”
He’s looking at me when he says it.
“I’ll go talk to him.”
Riot makes a growly noise that I cut off with a wave of my hand.
“You have to trust me, Ry. I’m going to talk to him as his friend. In case you haven’t noticed, he doesn’t have many of those right now.”
I press my lips to his cheek.
“I’ll bring him back. Just give me a few minutes,” I tell Bill.
He scrubs his hand over his face. “Thank you, Ever.”
I pause at the door. It seems like everyone is dancing around the question, but no one dares to answer it. No one can move forward until it’s out in the open to deal with.
If no one here is brave enough to ask, then I have to be the one. I’m not letting all this pain fester any longer. Not when it’s hurting Riot so much.
“Bill, were you having an affair with Wendi?”
The guys are so silent it feels like someone hit pause on everything.
He lifts his tortured gaze to me and swallows loudly.
“No, but I’ve been in love with her all my life.”
∞∞∞
Luc is in the parking lot next to a big white truck that has a Hook Development decal on the side. I lean next to him and tuck my hands into my pockets.
“I can’t believe Riot was right.”
He laughs, but it's a choked sound. Pain is painted all over his face.
“He’s not. Luc, I think you should come back inside and listen to what your father has to say.”
“So he can lie to me?”
“No, so you can hear the truth.”
He slams his fist back against the metal. “Why the fuck should I listen to anything he has to say. Fuck, Ever, I can’t listen to him tell us he cheated on my mom. I just.. I can’t.”
His head tips forward and I see his hands trembling as he fists them at his side.
“He says he didn’t. I think you should believe him.” When he doesn’t move, I push off the truck. “He says he’s loved her all his life. I know for a fact that you can feel the same thing for more than one person. If he loved her, it doesn’t mean he didn’t love your mom just as much.”
“But it’s going to be there in every single memory now.”
I don’t know how to make him feel better so we stand in silence for a few minutes.
“He’s hurting. He needs to know that Wendi didn’t leave,” I say softly. “He should know everything in case Peter tries to come at you or the guys next. The more people who know, who are on your side, the better.”
“This is all so fucked up. You know that right?”
I step in front of him and widen my eyes. “Uh, I was arrested for blackmailing Peter. I’ve got front row seats for the fuckedupness. But Luc, we’re stronger together.”
I take his hand and give it a tug.
“Don’t let Peter win. Come inside and listen to what your dad has to say.”
He closes his eyes and exhales harsh
ly. When he opens them, I know he’s going to come with me and I let out a relieved breath. I wasn’t lying, we are stronger together.
Everyone in that room up there is tied together by their love of someone.
Woven together, it makes a damned strong rope to hang Peter with.
“Come on.”
I pull him away from the truck and he lets me. We cross the parking lot and go back inside. The elevator ride is quiet as we watch the glowing number count higher.
The back of his hand brushes mine and I hear his breath hitch.
“They’re fucking lucky to have you on their side, Ever.”
I hear the longing in his voice and it makes my throat tight.
“I’m on our side.” I squeeze his hand and lets go, but he grabs it and spins me to face him.
“Why not me too?” His voice breaks and my chest constricts at the vulnerability I see in his eyes. Bright green speckled with dark specks of heartache.
He’s already hurting so much, and I hate adding to it, but he needs to know once and for all that the guys up there in that room are it for me. That they are the only for me.
“The only love I’ve ever known is for my sister,” I start, hoping that he’ll understand. “Until I met them.”
The elevator dings and the doors slide open. He stands there a moment longer, clutching my hand like it’s a lifeline.
“Peep?” RY’s deep voice sinks down and settles in my heart.
I turn and see him leaning against the wall across from us. Waiting for me.
My pulse speeds up at the sight of him. His stare drops to where Luc still has my hand. Though I see his eyes narrows and his jaw tick, he says nothing.
My heart grows to bursting and Luc must see the truth of it all in my eyes, because resignation floods his face and he lets go of me. I walk to Ry and he opens his arms, pulling me against his chest, arm wrapping around me possessively.
He presses his lips to the top of my head.
I slip to his side, arms around him, and we look to where Luc is still standing, his hand keeping the doors from closing. He has a choice now, let go or step out.
After a beat, Riot sighs.
“Come on, man, let’s get this over with.”
Luc nods and steps off the elevator and the doors swish closed behind him.
