Chapter 4 Nora #2
I can pretend I’m not here in this club. I can pretend that his touch is familiar and wanted, and I can give in just for a moment.
Forget what really happened.
So that’s exactly what I do. I close my eyes and I move with the music as his warm palms guide us back and forth.
I breathe in his spicy scent and let it fill my lungs.
His hands tug my waist just the slightest and without thinking, I lean into his hold.
Our bodies press together as we move, and my shoulders loosen as I unravel slightly and relax…
And then I feel dizzy.
Without thinking, I grasp onto Rush like he’s my lifeline. I open my eyes as the panic hits and the room starts to spin.
“Are you—” Rush starts, but it’s not him who finishes.
“I think it’s time to go,” Freddie says, his dark and inviting voice settling on me.
Rush’s hands squeeze me, and a slight moan escapes me, tinged in misery and guilt.
To my surprise, Rush agrees with his brother. He must be as drunk as me right now, because I don’t think they ever agree on anything, at least from what I’ve seen and what Brett’s told me.
“Come,” Freddie says, his voice demanding in that soft, intriguing way. Not arrogant or cocky, but like a dad would sternly tell their child, “Now.”
I turn, pushing away from Rush as I meet Freddie’s gaze and nod. Rush turns with me, placing his hand on the small of my back once more.
“Okay,” I agree, not wanting to be rude since he is driving me home and also because I get the feeling that if I try to talk back or razz the Flash I will pay for it.
Which is a weird thought to have about your ex’s brother when you’re drinking and the room is spinning, that’s for sure.
Rush guides me as we follow Freddie through the space, through crowds and past their VIP section where some of their teammates and friends are. Freddie gives them a wave while Rush says goodbye, and before I know it, we’re out in the cool Virginia air, the chill a balm on my skin.
I hadn’t realized just how hot I was in there…
I follow Freddie to his Lexus, a strange unspoken tension between us.
Of course, I did tell them their brother is a cheating bastard. I’m sure that would piss anyone off. And they did get roped into taking me home…their brother’s ex.
Rush opens the door for me and helps me in, his palm on my back guiding and smooth. I don’t need the help—drunk or not, I can get into a car by myself—but for some reason I don’t want him to stop touching me.
So I get in the car, and he shuts the door while Freddie gets in the driver’s seat.
The brief moment Rush is not beside me leaves me feeling strangely empty, but it doesn’t last long. When he gets in beside me, I scoot closer to him, seeking his warmth. His touch.
Maybe I just feel alone because I’ve been broken up with—over text, mind you.
Maybe I really am that drunk that I just don’t want to second-guess things.
Either way, I don’t think he notices.
The radio comes on and I close my eyes, letting the peak of my night of drinking hit me. I lean my head back against the leather seat.
“You good?” Rush asks, his voice strangely soft.
“No,” I say honestly. “My boyfriend cheated on me and dumped me over the phone.” The pain hits me tenfold. “I thought we were going to get married…thought we were going to have a bunch of cute little kids, but now—”
My head rolls to the side as tears threaten to come and I don’t know if I can stop them.
“He told me he didn’t want to get me pregnant.” I feel the words leaving me like a curse. “Said we had to use condoms so I wouldn’t…not before…”
“Nora…you don’t have to—” Freddie’s voice is a mixture of calm and stern command that beckons me to stop, but I can’t. The words are too fluid and it feels good to say them out loud. To tell someone the truth.
To tell his brothers the truth.
I don’t know whose side they’re truly on—they seemed pissed enough to learn he’d cheated on me, but that doesn’t mean they won’t back up their brother in the end. Family always protects family, but something tells me I can trust them. More than I can trust myself right now.
I only hope I don’t remember this tomorrow.
Another sob racks my body as the words leave me. “But I watched him come inside her…” My voice cracks with the utmost despair. “I watched his cum drip out of her onto our bed, and he didn’t even chase me when I ran.”
I turn into Rush’s spicy scent, burying my face against his neck, seeking his warmth. I don’t miss the faint gasp or the sudden brush of his warm palm on my arm.
“Fucking bastard,” he bites out. “Freddie, we need to—”
“Why her and not me?” I whine. “Am I not desirable enough? Not skinny enough?”
The resounding unanimous “no,” in the car only makes me cry harder. I feel warm arms pull me close and Rush’s scent thickens in my throat.
“Fuck, no. Nora, you’re perfect,” Rush whispers. “You are so fucking perfect just the way you are…”
“She’s drunk, Rush.” Freddie’s tone is a warning. “She doesn’t know what she’s saying.”
It’s not his words that upset me, it’s the way he says them. Not harsh or angry, but pained. Like my words are knives and I’ve stabbed him right in the gut. But I guess that’s par for the course, considering I’m talking about his brother. His family.
A choked sob escapes me as I bury my face in Rush’s neck. God, he smells so fucking good. His touch is warm and soothing and I don’t want it to stop.
“I’m going to kill him,” Rush says.
“Please don’t,” I whine. “Please don’t hurt him, he—”
“You are not defending that asshole right now!” Rush cuts in, his touch on my skin hot like fire. “You are not—”
A rush of heat and nausea overtake me.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” I say as Freddie curses.
“Pull over,” Rush bites out, and Freddie says, “I’m trying!”
I barely get a few seconds before I feel the car stop and I all but leap to open the door.
Everything converges on me at once. The last year—all those nights Brett and I stayed in, watching movies that almost always ended with his cock in my mouth.
All the late nights he arrived home and showed up on my doorstep, hard and ready to go.
How always welcomed him inside—into our house, my body…
All the games I watched him dominate on the ice, and those victorious nights spent in his bed, praising his victory with my legs wrapped around his waist.
I suddenly realize that Brett and I never cuddled during those movies. All those nights, he never showed up on my doorstep to kiss me and tell me he missed me; after he got off, I was left to my own needs.
All those games we celebrated alone, and when I woke he was always gone…with his teammates—at least, I assumed that’s where he was, but now—
The memory of his hands on her skin, his pulsing cock inside her, hits me once more. The copious amount of drinks and the reality of the situation make for a brutal mix and I heave as the vomit hits.
“Shit,” Rush says, leaning forward. He wraps one arm around my waist, pulling my body closer to his as his other hand gathers my hair and pulls it back.
Another wave of upset hits and I throw up again, groaning as tears run down my face.
“It’s okay, baby,” Rush purrs. “Let it out.”
Baby. He called me baby.
Brett never called me that.
I groan in misery as another wave of nausea hits, but nothing comes.
“I’m sorry,” I mewl. “I—”
“Shhh…” Freddie’s voice is a soft whisper and when I look up, I see him. We’re on the side of a road somewhere, and the lights from the car illuminate the area, but all I can see is him. “You’re okay. We got you, sweetheart. You’re safe with us, I promise.”
I believe him.
Not because I’m drunk and throwing up on the side of a road, but because when I look at Freddie, when I look into his dark green eyes, I get the feeling Freddie would move heaven and earth for those he cares about.
Am I someone he cares about?
I hope so.
God, I really fucking hope so, otherwise I’m going to feel like an asshole.
He reaches a hand out and strokes my cheek, his cool fingers sliding down my skin to the corner of my mouth.
His thumb brushes the corner there and then he pulls away and I realize he just wiped my damn vomit off of me.
Shame, guilt, and embarrassment flood me, but he just gently tugs my chin, forcing me to look at him.
“You good, Nora?” Rush asks, and I realize he’s still holding me against him. His hand is still tangled in my hair, holding me back.
My stomach feels empty, but I think the worst has passed.
“Yeah,” I say weakly, bringing the back of my hand to my mouth and wiping what’s left there. “Yeah, I think I’m good, you can uh…take me to m-my brother’s. He’s out of t-town, and—”
“You’re coming home with us.” Freddie’s voice is stern. Commanding.
“What?” I ask, confused as I look up at him.
Freddie stands up as Rush pulls me back into the car, into his space. Against him. I can feel his warmth, his hard body against me. His chest pressed to my back. My dress riding up my thighs. His hand around my waist like a seat belt. He grunts as he shifts his weight.
“I’m not leaving you alone tonight. Not like this,” Freddie says, looking down at me.
My insides swirl once more. Not with nausea, but a strange, unsettling desire. Something about the tone of his voice, the sharpness in his gaze. My body heats like a flame and I have the strangest desire to obey him. To do whatever he says.
Especially if he keeps looking at me like this…
“I’ll be f-fine,” I say weakly, but the tears still fester behind my eyes, my stomach is upside down, and I’m suddenly acutely aware of how wet I feel. My thighs are slick.
What the hell?
“This is not negotiable, Eleanor,” Freddie says, and this time his voice is harder. Edgier. Like when a father tells you you’re grounded.
I look up at him, my mouth parting just the slightest, but I know the worst is over.
Freddie walks two feet and Rush pulls all of me back into the car. He doesn’t let go, and I make no move to push him off either. His arm around my waist feels good. Warm. Strong.
I like how it feels right now, so I don’t fight it.
His hand twists in my hair, wrapping it around his wrist as he carefully pulls it out, laying it in a soft ponytail over my bare shoulder. His fingers trace my skin there and I feel another flux of warmth between my thighs.
“Do you understand?” Freddie asks, sternly.
“Yes, sir,” I say without thinking, because his commanding air is scratching some part of me I’ve never felt before.
I want to do as he says. No, I need to do as he says…
“Good girl,” Freddie says as he shuts the door with a resounding thud.
I lean into Rush, his arm still wrapped tight around me.
I tilt my head back, resting it on his shoulder, and close my eyes.
I don’t miss the deep breath he lets out, the rumble of it vibrating his chest against my back.
A moment later, the car starts up. I keep my eyes closed the whole way home, and Rush holds me the entire time.
I like that more than I know I should.
When the car stops and the door opens, I realize we’re at Freddie’s place.
Well, Freddie, Rush, and Tommy’s place, considering they all live together.
I’ve been here once, for Tommy’s birthday, so I’m not all that familiar, but I do remember the place is pretty big. Even for three notorious bachelors.
Freddie opens my door and offers me his hand. “You can let her go now, Russ,” he says, his tone carrying a hint of warning.
To my surprise, Rush doesn’t say anything. He just…lets me go. And I hate how cold and empty it feels without his arms holding me, without his warmth enveloping me.
I take Freddie’s hand, noting how small mine looks in his.
Freddie is a big guy. Brett has always been built, as most of the time when he’s not at practice, he’s in the gym at home working out if he’s not away.
Home.
I look at Freddie’s expansive five-bedroom ranch and realize my home—the one I’ve called home for nearly six months—is no longer my home.
I moved in with Brett, and now…
I spent the last six months decorating and making the place feel like our home.
I moved all of my things in there, which wasn’t much.
I left the furniture I had in my apartment for the next tenant, since Brett was fine getting new things, and I gave up my lease on my apartment because I was so sure we were going to work.
That our beautiful life was ahead of us.
“Hey.” Freddie’s voice takes on a calm air as he closes his hand around mine. His touch is gentle. Warm. Like his smooth, silky voice.
“Look at me, Nora.” He speaks softly, and something about that makes me want to listen. Makes me want to obey, and so I do. I look at him.
“It’s all going to be okay, sweetheart.” He licks his lip, his gaze dipping from my tearful one to my mouth for the flash of a second.
“Freddie…” I say, the sound fractured and broken. Because I’m fractured and broken.
“It’s okay. I promise. Now let’s get you inside, get you cleaned up.” He looks to his side and I turn to see Rush, watching us intently. “Russ can lend you some clothes, and we’ll take you home in the morning.”
I sniffle. “I don’t have a home,” I say.
Freddie’s hand squeezes mine as the rush of spice and citrus hits me, and I realize Rush is beside me.
“We’ll figure it out in the morning, baby,” Rush says, his palm once again resting on the small of my back.
A strange look passes between them as Freddie says, “Russ is right. Right now, we just need to get you settled, okay?”
I nod as I follow them into the house, away from the brutal, dark night.