Chapter 1 #2
We’d been together over a decade, but the way he always affected me felt brand new.
All those years ago, in the beginning, it was a tight bond of friendship, of being comfortable with someone and knowing he had my back.
Then our bond deepened into something more possessive, something intense I didn’t want to share.
Suddenly, his presence gave me butterflies and a hum of anticipation beneath my skin.
I still think about that first kiss and the way he slid his hand down my arm, acknowledging the way I trembled as he laced our fingers.
That kiss changed my entire life, turning our friendship into something stronger, something I knew I would never live without.
And then came death.
I learned I wouldn’t die without him either.
We became fate. Inevitable in every way, in every scenario. There will never be a tomorrow when we aren’t together because that day could never exist.
Cheesy as fuck, I know. But not even I could deny it when I saw him standing there waiting.
Travis parked the Fastback a few feet from the steps, cut the engine, and tugged the keys from the ignition. Forcing my eyes from my husband, I turned toward our son.
“You did good today.”
“How good?” he needled, handing me the keys.
I shook my head, amused. “I’ll talk to your dad, okay?”
His onyx eyes sparked with hope. “Really?”
“Have I ever lied to you?”
“Whoop!” he hollered, bounding out of the driver’s seat, slamming the heavy door. He jogged up the stairs two at a time and then stopped in front of his dad. He was a pretty tall kid, but Trent was bigger, and it did something to my heart to see Trav tip his head back and smile up at him.
Trent’s mouth moved, and then Travis nodded. They pounded it out, and Trav went inside, leaving the front door wide open.
Clearly, he didn’t pay the electric bill.
The second he disappeared, Trent rotated, our eyes met, and my stomach dipped.
We stayed like that for long moments, him at the top of the stairs and me leaning against the car while early autumn air mixed with the end of summer sun, creating a seasonal tug of war between us.
The invisible tether connecting us pulled eagerly, but I stayed rooted in place, wanting to anticipate him just a moment longer.
God, I love him. He was practically my definition of love.
His head tilted just a little, and I pushed off the car and strode forward, breaking into a jog and bounding up the stairs. He opened his arms, and I leaped into them, wrapping my legs around his narrow waist and my arms around his neck.
This is exactly where I belong.
A deliciously deep growl vibrated his throat, and he turned, pinning me against the side of the house. “Baby,” he rumbled before capturing my mouth in a possessive kiss.
I gripped his wide shoulders. The warmth of his bare skin seeped into my palms, raring to life the infinite hunger I had for him.
Gliding down, I delved beneath the edges of his damp tank, fingertips slipping across sweat-slicked skin.
I swear this man only got sexier with age.
Beneath the tank, I palmed his defined pecks, groping every inch and smearing the sweat gathered between them.
His body shifted, hand coming up to collar the back of my neck and squeeze.
The ownership in that action drew a needy sound right out of me.
He smirked, the arrogant bastard, but I didn’t call him on it because he gave me no time.
The smirk slipped away the second his mouth claimed mine.
The kiss was deep but slow and deliberate, making my thoughts go fuzzy and heat pulse through my veins.
My fingers sank into his rippling back muscles, and I arched closer, his hand moving to cradle the back of my head while he bulldozed what was left of my thoughts with his skilled tongue.
Growling, Trent ripped his mouth free to kiss across my stubbled jaw, making low noises of appreciation and latching on to my neck. I hissed at the pleasure-pain combo when he sucked deep, rocking my hips into his midsection for some friction on my rigid dick.
He released my neck and lifted his head, and I fell onto him, feral, with a growl of my own, pushing my face into his neck to breathe deep the musky scent of sweat. When that wasn’t enough, I dragged my tongue over his salty and sticky skin, humming with satisfaction.
Grunting, Trent yanked my hair, forcing my head up so he could kiss me again, this time more urgently than the last.
“It’s a good thing we don’t have neighbors because they’d have called the cops by now.” Braeden’s voice cut into the desire binding us.
Trent’s lips gentled, and I made a disgruntled, almost desperate sound because I wasn’t ready to let him go. His smile was wolfish when he came back, our lips meeting again. I pushed closer, forgetting all about Braeden.
“You ever thought about doing OnlyFans?”
He was like a gnat, always hovering. Annoying everyone.
Trent laughed, the movement breaking the kiss. Breathless, I glared over his shoulder at my dear brother standing in the open doorway.
He held up his hands defensively. “Just saying, you two love PDA. Might as well make some cash off it.”
“As if Drew would ever let anyone stare at Trent,” Romeo quipped, appearing from inside the house.
Oh, look, an infestation of gnats.
“If the price was right…” B said, letting his words trail away.
I gave them both the finger. “Fuck off.”
Ever since I nearly died all those years ago, we stopped giving a damn about PDA and worrying what people might think about our affection, but Braeden had to be putting whisky in his coffee if he thought I’d ever share Trent.
Mmm, coffee.
“Breakfast is in ten. Better go shower off,” Romeo said. “The girls will complain if you come to the table fresh from a workout.”
That explained Trent’s deliciously sweaty attire.
“And with a raging boner,” Braeden muttered.
I stiffened and looked down. I was still in Trent’s arms, legs around his waist. His body was definitely blocking my raging boner. There was no way anyone could see.
Braeden made a rude sound. “Don’t bother denying it. You’ve been humping him like a dog in heat since I came out here.”
Shocked, my eyes flew to Trent whose shoulders began vibrating with contained laughter. His glittering hazel eyes were oh so smug. Cheeks hot, I buried my face in the side of his neck with a groan.
“Don’t be embarrassed. We’re all dudes here.” Braeden just kept talking. “We’ll cover with the girls. And keep the kids occupied. Go get some of that man love.”
Braeden’s and Romeo’s laughter faded as they went back into the house, but I kept my face pressed into T. He must have been releasing some extra pheromones or something from that workout because he smelled hella good.
Chuckling, he stepped back, and I tightened my arms around him, making a sound of denial.
“I got you, Mask.” His voice was deep, low, and right beside my ear. Tingles fired across my scalp and pebbled the skin on my arms.
The front door slammed when he kicked it shut behind us, and instead of heading toward the dining room, he carried me up the stairs. His body shifted with every step, and his midsection rubbed teasingly against my still-hard cock.
I nibbled on his neck, practically vibrating with how bad I wanted him.
Another door closed, followed immediately by the sound of a lock.
Oh, fuck yes.
Moments later, I was being pulled away from his chest, my back meeting something solid. Startled, I glanced around, then back to T, surprised.
“Stand on the bar, baby.”
I didn’t know what it was about that word, but it hit different when he called me that. It turned me into some sort of simp.
So much so that I didn’t even question why he wanted me to step onto the inversion table, which was standing straight up.
I stepped onto the small foot bar and leaned against the padded table.
Trent bent immediately to engage the locks, closing the padded clamps around my ankles.
Once those were secure, he stepped close, slipping his fingertips beneath the hem of my shirt.
“Lift.”
My arms rose on command, and he stripped off my shirt, throwing it over his shoulder. My tongue darted out, wetting my lips, when he reached for the button on my jeans, flicking it open in a second flat and then slowly dragging the zipper down.
He leaned in, lips hovering over mine, and my breath hitched. I swayed forward, but then he was gone, yanking both the jeans and boxers down to just below my knees.
I jolted in surprise, hands wrapping around the handles of the table as cool air brushed over my heated skin, cock jerking in response.
“Look at you,” Trent murmured, dragging his fingers from my knees all the way to the top of my thighs. “Why so needy, baby?”
My eyes swept over him. The maroon tank exposed his massive shoulders and the sides of his torso. The black shorts he wore molded to his thick thighs, not loose enough to hide the bulge he was rocking.
His skin was dewy with sweat, and I knew his hands would be calloused from lifting weights.
“Touch me already,” I spat.
Chuckling, he stepped forward.
“Lose the shirt,” I demanded, already breathless.
He tore it over his head, abs rippling with the movement. He had a good pump going on since he’d just been lifting, and the veins running down his arms had my teeth sinking into my lip.
The world tilted, feet coming out from under me, making all the air in my lungs whoosh out. Gripping the handles, I glanced down, seeing that Trent had tilted the table so I was lying flat on my back.
“What are you doing, frat boy?” I asked, looking up his bare upper body as he towered over me.
“Strapping you down so I can have my way with you,” he replied, reaching down to wrap his hand around my shaft. “You got a problem with that?”
I shook my head profusely.
Laughing under his breath, he stroked me, his firm and confident hand making my eyes roll back in my head.