“Went bad. When he went to prison, you mean?”
“No. We stopped being brothers a while before that. But when he…did what he did, it just brought home the fact that we had to be stronger and smarter than anyone else to survive. I’m smart, but not in the same way some of the other guys are, so I decided to be the muscle.”
She sighs, pressing my arm tighter to her chest. “Families are hard. I’m glad whatever bad stuff was happening back then, that you made it out of there safe. And that he loved you enough to protect you.”
“Me too.” And I am glad, but while the nine of us made it out safely, we only did because of Johnny. Somehow, the weight of his sacrifice is sitting heavier lately, making me restless. Somehow, that he did it out of love for me, had never occurred to me. But there’s a grain of truth there that I can’t shake off.
Tightening my arms, I pull her closer. Pushing away the unease that he’s in there, and I’m in this bed, healthy, rich, holding the woman I love.
“Do you think you’ll give your family another chance?”
She sighs, “I think I might. My brother’s talking about coming up next weekend, so I just might let him.” She nips the tip of my finger, making my cock jump. “Do you think you’ll go see your brother…you know, actually talk to him this time?”
“Maybe…I just don’t know if he even wants to talk to me.” It sounds like a copout, even to me.
Her nipping continues and the blood is rushing from my head. “You’ll make the right choice,” she says between bites. She sounds so sure, but I don’t know how. I have a history of not facing my shit when it comes to Johnny. We’ve been at odds for more than twenty years. That’s a big fucking gap to close.
The slide of her foot up my leg, the way she drapes her thigh back over mine, making room between her legs for me to play, narrows my focus back to this room. To her. To her warmth.
And when I slide inside her, when I savor her sighs and moans again, I push that kernel of…something away. But it will be back. I can feel it.
The time to deal with it, with him, is coming closer, but for right now, everything in my world is right. I’m going to make sure it stays that way.
36
EVIE
“Just text me if you need me. I’ll be in the gym with Dec, and I’ll come straight down.” Colton cups my cheeks, peppering kisses along my cheekbones, teasing me. I need his teasing, his lightness. In the days since we finally slept together, I find myself reaching for him, needing his simple touches even more.
“I’m acting like a baby, and I don’t even care. I’m freaked out.” I honestly would crawl inside his skin right now if I could, and just…check out. Just for a little while, so I can avoid the family drama I feel coming at me like a freight train.
He pulls me into a tight hug. “I can just stay. Declan won’t mind. He’s going to spend the whole time blaring his shitty music and scowling at the wall.”
“He’s still having a hard time with Cara?” It’s sad, but thinking about someone else’s drama right now is making me feel better. I’d much rather think of Cara than the fact that I’m about to see my brother for the first time in two years. And the last time? Well, that didn’t go so well.
“Yeah. She barely speaks to him. Doesn’t smile. She went from cornering him every chance she got to treating him like a co-worker. He’s a pathetic mess.”
“She’s been through a lot. Maybe she just needs time.”
“I don’t know. She’s been doing a little bit better since Janey started spending time with her, but her sass is gone. I hope it comes back. Giving Cara shit used to be the best thing about my workday.”
“She’ll be ok. She has you guys looking out for her. Maybe once the legal thing settles down, she’ll feel better. And who knows, maybe if Declan grovels enough, she’ll thaw towards him.”
Colton looks intrigued. “Declan groveling? That would be fun.”
Laughing, I send him up to the gym with a slap on his amazing bubble of an ass. It does what I hoped it would, and wipes the worried look off his face.
I can woman up and handle my family myself.
I rubmy hands along my pants, wiping the sweat away, and swing open the door. The smile dies on my face as I realize I’ve been tricked. Christopher is here, but so are my parents.
He winces when he gets a look at my face. “I didn’t plan on it. But when they found out I was coming to see you, they insisted on coming.”
“You couldn’t just say no? You told me you wanted to rebuild our relationship, Chris. This isn’t a good start.”
“Evelyne, it is rude to keep guests waiting in the hall.” My mother’s voice is as cold and imperious as ever. It immediately rubs me the wrong way. I can already tell this is going to be a disaster.
“It’s equally rude to show up to someone’s home uninvited, Mother.” I swing the door wide, waving them in with a lazy bow. Mother sniffs as she enters. Father’s face is cold and impassive. It’s always Mother and Father, never mom and dad. I called her mom once, but her reaction made sure I never did it again.
