Chapter 9
CALLUM – SHE’S TROUBLE
When I get in the hall, I close the door and press my back against the wall. My heart is pounding out of my chest. What am I doing? Barging into her shower?
My mind flashes through images of her crumpled into a pile on the floor. Wet hair, pink cheeks and her body. Her perfect body with curves in all the right places, and her breasts.
Knox would have lost control if he saw them. Her breasts are the perfect size to cup and then suck into our mouths. Her moans…
Exasperated, I look at the ceiling, running my fingers through my hair. I’d make her moan so much she’d lose her voice.
The bulge in my pants presses against the seam. The way she looked at my cock in the shower. I could have had her if I wanted to. The hunger was there in her eyes.
Get it together, Callum!
When I get downstairs, Jax and Knox are sitting at the island while Emmett is standing at the stove.
“Well?” Knox asks with a boyish excitement dancing in his eyes.
Before I can answer, Jax interrupts, “What is she doing here, Cal? We talked about this last night.”
“That asshole from last night attacked her, and she fought him off. I went to clean her up, and she passed out in my arms. What did you want me to do?”
“I don’t know, maybe get her loud mouth friend. It’s not like we didn’t know who she was or who she was with. No, instead, you found a reason to bring her back here. Not a good idea, bro.”
I toss my hand in the air. “Stop. I don’t know why you’re so worked up.”
“Because we don’t bring girls here.” Knox starts to speak, but Jax cuts him off. “You know what I mean. What if she says something?”
“She doesn’t know anything, so there is nothing to say.”
“I don’t have the fucking patience for this,” Jax grumbles.
“No, shit,” Knox mumbles, then throws his hands up. He pulls his lips, looking at me, and mouths, “I was just sayin’.”
Jax grumbles out something and stabs at the fruit on his plate without bringing it to his mouth.
“She’ll grab some breakfast, then be on her way,” I say, trying to calm him down.
Jax drops his fork on the plate. “You mean this large spread E whipped up?” He cuts his eyes at Emmett, who simply winks back at him.
“What? I love to cook.”
Jax rolls his eyes with a hint of a smirk playing on his lips. Emmett is the only one of us who can break through Jax’s tough exterior and diffuse the situation.
Perfect timing, because Everlee just walked down the stairs wearing the clothes I picked out for her. Her hair is wet and slicked back, and her cheeks carry a tinge of pink on them as her eyes dart around, looking at each of us.
“Your house is beautiful.” She nods at the dining room, which is offset to the right of the kitchen.
We just had this space remodeled less than a year ago and knocked down a wall that ran the length of this room, so we could open up the dining room and kitchen.
We connected all the rooms through whites, light grays, soft blues, and wooden accents.
Emmett got his gourmet kitchen, with a large oversized granite countertop and stainless-steel appliances, and got to design a dining room that is much too large for us.
It's only the four of us that live here and we rarely host parties, so the twenty-seater hand-scraped dining room table he picked out is really a bit much, but it’s what he wanted.
When we were redecorating this space, we carved out a small nook for an in-home office we could use.
It matches the rest of the aesthetic, with floor to ceiling glass panels, a wooden desk and modern furniture.
“There’s Ali!” Knox says, standing from a stool.
Her head snaps in surprise, as if she wasn’t expecting him, which I guess makes sense. Why would she think anyone other than me lived here?
The blush on her cheeks darkens and trickles down her neck as she waves at us, lips pinched in a flat line.
“Pull up a seat, Trouble,” Emmett says, scooping some food onto a plate.
Trying to put as much space between us as I can, I lean against the wall opposite her. But it doesn’t help. Looking at her cheeks causes my hands to tingle. Seeing the fabric of the shirt pulled taut between her breasts reminds me of what hides just underneath.
“Ignore him!” Knox bounds over, pulling out a stool for her.
“She seems capable of pulling up her own stool, Knox,” Jax grumbles.
“Shut up, Jax. I’m just being polite.”
She looks at Jax, drinking him up like she has the rest of us. He’s attractive. Dark hair, dark eyes and fuck off stamped across his forehead, which seems to be what all the women love. Though some say I have the same look, so I guess he gets it honestly.
Knox still has the seat pulled out, waiting for her. She cautiously walks over and climbs onto the stool, her eyes fixed on Emmett, who is sliding a plate over to her. She completely misses Knox closing his eyes behind her as he savors her scent.
Tentatively, she picks up the fork and takes a bite of the Eggs Benedict and lets out a moan, then freezes, looking at each of us. Before I can stop myself, my lips curl into a smile because I know she’s thinking about what just happened in the shower only ten minutes ago.
She recovers quickly, her hand flying to cover her mouth in surprise. “It tastes so good.”
“That’s what she said,” Knox chimes in.
“Real mature,” Jax mumbles.
“Why are you such a grump this morning? We had an amazing night last night!” Knox retorts.
“Knox.” The one word shuts his mouth.
The room grows awkwardly quiet, so Emmett chimes in, “You can moan anytime.” He closes his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief. “At my food. At my food is what I meant to say. You can moan anytime you’re eating my food. Fuck!”
“Well, as fun as this breakfast is, I’m going to head to the club.” Jax pushes away from the bar. “Everlee.” He bows his head before walking out of the room.
She quickly waves at him and watches him leave, with her fork dangling between her fingers. Her phone buzzes, snapping her back to the present, and as she reads her messages, she smiles before a blush tinges her cheeks.
“Everything okay?” I ask, stepping off the wall and taking the seat Jax vacated.
“Yes. Lizzy is on her way to get me. She said she’d be here in ten minutes.”
“I could have taken you home, but I figured she’d feel better knowing she could get to you anytime she wanted.”
“Thank you.” She pauses for a second. “Can you tell me what happened last night?”
I nod. “While I was tending to you, you unexpectedly passed out, and I would prefer if you refrained from doing so in the future.” She smiles and takes another bite of her eggs, so I continue, “Once I determined it was more adrenaline-related and not alcohol.” I give a pointed look at Emmett, who holds up his hands. “I brought you here.”
“Why not take me back to my friend?”
The same question I’ve asked myself a dozen times since last night. “You all had been drinking. If by some chance it wasn’t adrenaline-related, I wanted to watch over you to make sure you were okay. I didn’t want to put that responsibility on your friend.”
“So you watched over me last night?”
I nod and her eyes grow large. Not with fear, but… embarrassment? “You didn’t snore or anything like that.”
She shrugs, and relief washes over her as she takes the last bite of eggs.
“Well, thank you. You didn’t have to,” she says, brushing a fallen piece of hair behind her ear. It’s a simple gesture, but captivating.
The doorbell rings, pulling us from our trance.
“I’ll get it!” Knox jumps up from his seat like the playful golden retriever he is, darting out of the room. He’s back a minute later, waving his arm in the air. “This is the kitchen.”
Lizzy walks into view seconds later with her mouth on the floor. She makes quick eye contact with Everlee and mouths, ‘OMG’.
Everlee’s smile lights up the room as she slides off the stool and walks her plate around to the sink. “If you tell me where your dishwasher is, I can put this in really quick.”
Emmett chuckles. “No dishwasher here. Just these hands.”
“You wash Callum’s dishes?” she asks, confused.
“Well, all the dishes.”
“You live here?”
He laughs. “Did you think I came just to cook you breakfast?”
She smiles, looking down and away. “You know… I really didn’t know. This morning has been… a lot.”
That’s an understatement. Trying to push those thoughts out of my head, I walk over to Lizzy and hold my hand out to shake, enunciating my words slowly in case she’s partially deaf. “Nice to meet you, Lizzy.”
She repeats my same cadence with a look of confusion on her face and says, “Thanks for taking care of my girl.”
She doesn’t seem to have a hearing problem, so then why the ASL? “No problem at all,” I say at my usual speed, shaking my head.
“Are you ready to leave?” Everlee chimes, tossing an odd look at me over her shoulder.
“No. I mean, yeah, sure. You?”
“Thanks again. Emmett. Knox,” Everlee says, nodding in their direction.
“No, you don’t. I’m a hugger.” Knox smiles and holds out his arms. He whispers something to her, and a second later, her cheeks are red and she is pushing away from him with a smile on her lips.
Emmett calls out, “See you later, Trouble.”
“I’ll walk you out.” I hold out my arm, leading them out of the room.
“Thanks again for last night,”Everlee says when we get to the door.
Lizzy’s head snaps in her direction, but Everlee rolls her eyes, ignoring her.
She stands on her tiptoes and reaches up to give me a hug.
My hand brushes across her lower back, just under the lip of her shirt, and her skin feels like fire, causing me to suck in a breath.
She responds, pressing her chest against mine, and we freeze, each savoring this moment. Taking what we can get.
Before I do something that will piss the guys off, I mumble, “Take care.”
She turns, but not far enough away, so my hand stays on her back. When I look at her, I see it there. The want. The need. And fuck me, I want to give it to her.
Her gaze flickers from me to Lizzy, and I feel like this game we’ve been playing with the staring has escalated to physical touch. She wants me to move my hand, but I need her to make me.
She lets out a puff, steps towards Lizzy and doesn’t look back.