Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“That’s good to hear. I’m glad Handlin’s feeling better. Too bad he’ll need to be replaced, but as long as he’s healthy that’s what’s important,” Owen said over the phone. “How are the boys holding up?”
“Canton, Shaw, and Robins are doing good. Pretty much recovered,” Luke answered.
Owen scratched at his cheek in thought. “Mentally, though, how are they?” Physical wounds tended to heal a lot faster than the internal ones.
“I think they’re angrier someone got the drop on them than anything else.”
“I’m glad we managed to keep their names out of the media. The last thing they needed were microphones shoved down their throats.”
“Thank God for that.”
“Everything else good?” Owen asked, sensing there was another reason for Luke’s call during Owen’s mandatory time off.
“Yeah, actually. I managed to convince Eva to have a gender reveal party, and before she can change her mind, I’m organizing it for this weekend. Virginia Beach.”
Owen smiled. “But the baby is due next month.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, hiding a laugh.
“Yeah, but that still gives me a few weeks to plan,” Luke said. “You think you’re up for meeting a bunch of Hollywood bigshots?”
“Of course I’ll be there.” Owen looked over his shoulder at Sam exiting her bedroom. Then he stood and went to the window, catching sight of the Washington Monument in the distance.
“It’s only been two weeks since you got home.”
“I’m good. Besides, I have to be there when you hear you’re having a girl.”
Luke cursed under his breath. “Be sure to bring Samantha. Eva’s dying to meet her. She’s excited about having another woman amongst us all.” Luke was quiet for a moment. “You two are still good, right? You haven’t fucked it up?”
Owen laughed and faced the room. “Trying not to.”
“Good. See you Saturday.” Luke ended the call, and Owen tossed his cell onto the couch.
“Luke?” Sam tightened the knot of her silk robe and peered at him beneath long lashes.
“Yeah. Baby shower this weekend. You want to come?” He looped his thumbs in the front pockets of his jeans, unable to take his eyes off the beautiful woman before him who smelled like a damn breath of fresh air.
“I would love to.” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and dragged her gaze south of his face and down his body.
She took a tentative step toward him as if there was something she wanted to say, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
“What’s wrong?” He cocked his head to the side, trying to get a read on her.
“Just losing my mind, waiting for the doctor to clear you.” Her eyes landed on his pants, and his cock immediately stirred at the idea of being balls deep inside of her.
“I’ve rather enjoyed tasting every inch of you,” he said while closing the distance between them, “over the last two weeks.” He touched his stomach. “I feel fine.” The bruises were nearly gone, and the fractured rib healing. “I don’t think we need to wait three more days.”
His finger swept down the V of her robe, and he palmed her breast, the feel of her hard nipple beneath his touch making his dick even more painfully hard.
“I don’t want you getting hurt.” Her breath quickened when he reached beneath the robe and parted her thighs.
“You’re the one who has been hell-bent on making me wait. I don’t give a damn about my injuries. I never did.” He nipped at her bottom lip when her eyes fell closed at his touch. “I’ve wanted to be inside of you the moment I came home.”
“We should wait.” A throaty moan followed when he slipped a finger inside of her.
“So, I should stop touching you right now?”
Her hands landed on his shoulders, and she stared deep into his eyes, worried. “Are you sure you feel okay?”
She had wrapped her gorgeous mouth around his cock and gotten him off plenty of times in the last week, and he’d given her more orgasms than he could count . . . But damn, he needed to be inside of her.
He brought his lips to her ear as he stroked her clit. “I think the pain of waiting three more days will be a hell of a lot worse.” He breathed in her beachy scent, like rolling waves and a coconut breeze—a new perfume.
“I wouldn’t want to be responsible for hurting you.”
His hard-on strained against his jeans, and he stepped back to unzip them, never taking his eyes off her. Her cheeks blushed, lust warming her, and she unfastened her robe, allowing it to drop, so she stood naked before him.
He kicked off his jeans and boxers and tore off his shirt. His hand glided up and down his throbbing length as he observed her standing naked with the light coming through the window, splashing onto her body.
He lunged for her, ready to lift her into his arms, ignoring any last drops of pain, but she turned, squealed and took off toward her room.
He laughed and chased after her. “You’re going to give me a heart attack.”
She positioned herself on the bed, her arms resting above her head, and her knees bent, hiding her sweet spot. She was a decadent display of soft femininity, and right now, she was all his.
Two weeks had gone by, and they hadn’t discussed the future . . . or the past. But they’d spent their mandatory vacation time getting to know everything about each other, and he’d loved every damn second of it.
The heavy conversations could wait; they deserved a little bit of fun after what they’d been through.
“How much do you want me?” She sank her teeth into her lip, her gaze skirting down as he stood at the side of the bed, simply watching her, amazed to be here with her.
The only thing she had on was his necklace—his brother’s necklace. He hadn’t let her remove it; he wasn’t sure if he ever wanted it back.
He’d figure out what that meant later, though.
“I’m going to show you just how much.” He slowly crawled on top of the bed and braced himself above her. “I have a feeling I might not last as long as normal.” He was ready to explode just at the idea of filling her.
He bent forward and pressed his lips to hers and groaned against her full mouth when she captured his cock between her palms. “I don’t want to wait,” she said between quick kisses. “After two weeks of foreplay, I want you inside of me right now.” She guided his tip to her center.
“Then, by all means . . .” He filled her in one hard thrust, and his head fell forward at the connection, the emotion thickening in the back of his throat.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered, holding his eyes. “Don’t ever stop.”
“Why don’t you want to go to Charleston?” Sam rolled to her side and propped her head up with her hand to face him. “Are you afraid I can’t handle going to your bar?”
“Where is this coming from?” His gaze dropped to the white tank top she wore, her nipples pressing hard against the fabric. It was probably a bad time to have lust gathering inside of him, considering the conversation he knew they were about to have.
“We haven’t talked about Brad or Jason since the day you came home.”
His eyes fell closed, and his mind went back to Russia, back to the waterboarding—to his hands being tied above his head while a guy took a bat to his ribs.
“If you think I can’t handle going there because I’ll remember Brad and—”
“No.” He shook his head and forced his eyes open.
“I want you to remember Brad. Don’t ever think I’d want you to forget him.
” He tensed, not sure how to handle the conversation since he’d never been very good at dealing with emotions.
“I’m afraid being there will make you regret being with me,” he said at last, fighting to get the truth out between them.
She fell back onto her pillow, and her eyes went to the ceiling. It had his heart slamming in his chest, worry stripping his thoughts down to only one—am I right?
He sat upright, dropped his legs to the other side of the bed, and stood.
“Owen.” She quickly came to his side as he pulled on his boxers, and she reached for his forearm.
He stilled beneath her touch, wondering if he’d be going to Luke and Eva’s party solo tonight. “I’m worried you’ll decide it’s a mistake to be with me . . . just as much as I’m scared you’ll want to be with me.”
“I don’t understand.”
His eyes followed her fingertips on his forearm as they maneuvered up his bicep.
“When I was being held,” he slowly began, “my number one concern was making it back to you because I couldn’t handle the idea of you losing someone else.
” He let out a hard sigh. “We barely knew each other at the time, but I knew it’d still gut you if I didn’t make it back. ”
She reached for his cheek, and his eyes met hers.
“Even if we both get over the past, I’m terrified of hurting you, of someday not coming home, like Brad.
” He looked over her shoulder toward the light splintering through the partially closed blinds.
“That’s why I didn’t want to go to the tavern.
I didn’t want to have this conversation.
” He turned away, and she released her hold of him.
He dragged his palms down his face. “I wasn’t ready to have this chat. ”
“Owen, I—”
“We should get going,” he interrupted, unable to face the music. “That is if you still want to go to the party with me.” He slowly faced her again.
She nodded. “Of course I want to go.”
He was screwing this up, wasn’t he? Damn it. “We can, uh, talk about this later, okay?”
“I should get ready, then.” She fidgeted with the hem of her tank top and chewed on her bottom lip.
“Sam,” he nearly breathed out her name, and she lifted her eyes, her lashes now wet.
“Yeah?” she choked out.
“Fuck it.” He squeezed his hands at his sides, his body wrapped tight with tension.
“Fuck what?”
“Let’s not do this. Let’s not wait until later,” he said in a rush, surprising himself.
Her arms fell lifelessly to her sides.
“I want you. I don’t know how not to.” He lightly shook his head. “I don’t want to do the dumbass thing most men do.” He squinted, as if she were this bright light, making it hard to see—but she was so damn bright, and it was one reason he was inexplicably drawn to her.
“What thing?”
He swirled a finger in a circle in the air.
“The stupid thing where men run out of fear—only to come back later, with their tail between their legs, after realizing their stupidity.” He half-smiled.
“Could we skip that part? Could I just tell you now that I’ll probably make mistakes in the future, but I don’t want one of them to be pushing you away?
” He dropped his head, his heart pounding like a jackhammer.
“I could die tomorrow, or I could live until I’m a hundred and my abs could become flabby and my skin wrinkly and—”
She grabbed hold of his face and kissed him, cutting off his words. He pulled her tight against him, wrapping his arms around her body to lock her in place.
A touch of laughter left her lips a moment later, brushing against his mouth, and he damn near buckled at the sound.
Her hands pressed to his chest, and she pushed back a little to view his eyes. “This thing between us is messy and complicated,” she said with a nod, “but it’s ours.” She let out a breath and then kissed him again. “It’s ours.”