26. Chapter 25 – Knox
Chapter 25 – Knox
L ex was wrapped around my body from head to toe, with her head on my chest and her legs tangled with mine.
Hannah was curled around her back, and Brody was around hers.
And the normalcy of it all astonished me.
Hours ago, she had given herself to us.
It was the first time I’d truly seen her let herself be free. Enchanting didn’t even begin to describe watching her unchain herself.
Something happened to that girl in her past, and it had shaped the woman she became, yet she let go of some of that.
For us.
We had gotten little sleep after that, yet I laid awake, weighing it all in my head like a precarious teeter-totter.
Make one wrong move, and the whole thing would tip, spilling everything into the sand.
A faint buzzing from the other side of the bed caught my attention. Brody rolled over, silencing his alarm and looking over at the two women between us.
He raised his brow at me in the dim light and shook his head. He had to be at the shop early for a customer picking up a custom-ordered hood with his trademark detailed paint job. But I didn’t need to be there until ten or eleven at the earliest.
I had no intention of moving from the warmth of our bed until I had to.
He kissed the back of Hannah’s head gently and rolled out of bed, walking around to me and leaning down to whisper .
“You’d better make it to work.”
“And if I don’t?” I asked as Lex shifted, snuggling into me further.
“I’m locking up-and-coming home after the first pickup.”
“I don’t see a problem with that.”
He rolled his eyes and gave me a quick kiss. “See ya.”
“Bye.”
He walked out of the bedroom and into the bathroom and gently shut the door behind him. Thankfully, our bathroom was on the other side of a giant walk-through closet, and there was another exit into the hallway.
We all had different schedules, so when we built the layout of the master suite, we aimed to ensure that the others could sleep in and remain undisturbed.
I listened to him shower, and then putz around the kitchen downstairs for a few minutes before leaving to go to the garage. When all was silent again, I tried to settle my brain and catch another hour of sleep while I still could.
I had just drifted off to sleep when someone’s shifting in bed beside me woke me up.
I cracked one eye open and caught sight of Hannah slowly kissing her way down Lex’s naked side as she looked at me over the delicious curves she was tasting.
“Mmh,” Lex moaned in her sleep, tightening her hold on me and hitching her leg higher, brushing against my hard morning wood.
Hannah smirked as Lex shifted, rubbing her naked pussy against my thigh, ensnarled between her legs, and my cock twitched. I thought about how good it would feel to sink deep into Lex’s pussy for the first time. I ached to know what kind of noise she’d make the first time she took me.
Or Brody.
Fuck, he was so thick she’d scream when she took that cock.
“Good morning, pretty girl.” Hannah sang softly to Lex as she humped my leg again. I watched Hannah’s hand slide down over the lush swell of Lex’s ass and then felt her fingers rub across the wet lips of her pussy. “Baby, wake up.”
Lex moaned and pushed back against Hannah’s fingers again before her eyes blinked open, fighting against the sleep that still held her under .
“Good morning.” I teased, and she sat up stiff as a board with wide eyes and panic on her face.
She looked around and found Hannah watching her amusedly and sagged in relief. “God.”
Hannah smiled and leaned in to kiss her. “Did you think it was all a dream?”
“Or a nightmare.” She peeked at me, but couldn’t quite hide her grin.
“Funny girl.” I poked her side. “You sure talk a lot of smack for someone who clung to me all night long like a pricker bush in the woods.”
“I remember falling asleep spooning Hannah.”
“You did.” Hannah stood up from the bed in her naked wonder and stretched. Even after all the years together, my mouth still watered every time I saw her bare skin. “But at some point, you rolled over, and I spooned you.”
“Hmm.” Lex quipped as I sat up against the headboard, watching the two naked women. It didn’t take Lex long to notice the enormous erection tenting the sheet in my lap and she nodded to it with her chin. “Does that really happen every morning?”
“Without fail.” I shrugged, “Want to help me with it?” I put my hand under the sheet and stroked myself. Her lips parted and her heart rate kicked up as she fought the urge to look away, but didn’t.
“I—” She swallowed and Hannah picked up a throw pillow and threw it at me.
“Don’t have time.” Hannah tilted her head and put her hands on her hips. “At least not if Lex plans on joining me in the shower before we go back to the city.”
“Cheater.” I cursed, as Hannah slowly backed up toward the bathroom. Lex didn’t need to say it out loud for me to know exactly who she was going to choose at that moment.
“Hmm.” Lex slid from the bed, “Tough decision.”
“Not fair.” I pouted and Hannah took off laughing into the bathroom, but Lex lurked at the door, looking back at me.
“Be a good boy and I’ll let you watch.” She licked her lips, and I sprung from the bed, but she stopped me with a raised hand as I leaped from the bed. “I get to eat my breakfast first.” She winked. “Wait five minutes.”
She turned and walked through the closet to the bathroom, and I watched her ass ripple with each step the entire way.
“Four. And I’m going to make you come when I’m done with her.”
She looked over her shoulder and smiled. “Promise?”
“Promise,” I called back, but she was already turning the corner and shutting the bathroom door behind her. “I fucking promise.”
If every day started like that, I didn’t think I could find anything to complain about for the rest of forever.
I cursed once again, fighting with the same custom suspension for the truck we were building. “Just get in the hole,” I muttered, pushing with all my might from under the truck to get it to line up.
“Well, get it out and I’ll put it in.” An angelic voice called from the other side, and I ducked to see Hannah walking in through the overhead door. She winked at me and I dropped the parts I was fucking with back onto the cart and walked out from under the truck.
She wore a white skirt that hit above her knees and a nude-colored tank top that hugged her chest like a pair of hands would. She made my cock stir from just walking into the garage.
Never mind the fact that I fucked her bent over in the shower just that morning while she ate Lex’s pussy like a good little girlfriend.
I had a renewed need for her with all the changes and excitement she brought to the table lately.
“Well, hello.” I wiped my hands on a rag but refrained from touching her as she leaned up on her toes and kissed me .
“Hi.” She smiled against my lips and then sank back down on her heels. “How are you?”
“Suddenly hard,” I admitted, adjusting myself in my jeans while she watched.
“Fiend.”
“Yep.” I nodded eagerly.
“Darling.” Brody’s deep voice echoed from the stairwell leading to the private office upstairs as he walked down. “What are you doing here?”
“Hi,” She smiled up at him and gave him a much spicier kiss considering he was fresh and grease-free. “I wanted to talk to you two. Are you free?”
“No.” I nodded to the truck. “But for you, I’ll pretend I am.”
“C’mon,” Brody nodded back to the office, hollering to Tito, the apprentice who worked with us three days a week. “We’ll be right back.”
“Sure thing, Boss.” He called before going back to polishing the rims on a Chevelle we just rebuilt.
“What’s up?” Brody asked, shutting the door to the office behind us as we all sat down.
“I want to talk about Lex,” Hannah said and I could feel the trepidation in her body language and I instantly went on edge.
“What about?” Brody sat back in his chair, on edge like I was.
Hannah rubbed her palms up and down her thighs, “I asked for her permission to share this with you because I didn’t think she was comfortable talking about it, but I think it needs to be said. At least the cliff note version.”
“Hannah.” I implored her to get to the point.
“She admitted to me yesterday that she’s sexually attracted to both of you. Which I think we all knew.” Hannah smiled softly, but I felt like there was bad news still to come. “Lex’s never been with a man before. She’d never even kissed one before you,” She tilted her head to the side and dropped my gaze. “When she was thirteen, a stranger assaulted her. She confessed that her initial attraction was always toward women, but the assault led her to turn completely away from men. It’s why she built the alpha personality and fought to control of every aspect of her life.”
“To protect herself,” Brody uttered .
“Because she couldn’t back then,” I added.
“Exactly.” Hannah sighed, “But when she dropped that wall and told me the truth yesterday, she said she didn’t want to be alone anymore. She’s ready to jump in, but she’s scared.”
“Jesus.” I sighed, “How do we tread carefully when we don’t know her boundaries?”
“We let her be in control.” Brody mused, looking over at me. “Last night, she called for you. She invited you in.”
“That’s how.” Hannah nodded. “We listen, we watch, and we ask.”
Leaning back in my chair, I blew out a deep breath. “I don’t know how to do this.” Anxiety burned my gut as I imagined causing Lex undue harm. “I don’t want to do something wrong. There’s so much pressure.”
“What are you saying?” Brody snapped. “That she’s too damaged to try?”
“No!” I bit back and scowled at him. “I just don’t know how to treat her with kid gloves. I don’t know how to walk around on eggshells, afraid of fucking it all up.”
“Learn!” Brody stood up and pointed his finger at me. His anger came out of nowhere and took me back about ten steps. “I know you had a shiny, perfect life growing up and don’t know what the fuck trauma is, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. The least you can do is think with your brain instead of your cock while you’re around her for a while.”
“Dude.” I stood up, so he didn’t tower over me. “I’m not allowed to vocalize my fears in my relationship now?”
He scoffed and turned away from me. “Whatever. Just don’t fuck this up for Hannah.” He leaned down and gave her a chaste kiss before grabbing his leather jacket off the back of his office chair. “I have a meeting.”
And with that, he left in a huff.
“What did I just do?” Hannah whispered, and her eyes were wide as saucers and her skin as white as a ghost.
“Nothing.” I scooped her up and put her on my lap, potential grease stains be damned, and held her in my chair as we both calmed down from the entire bizarre situation .
“I just wanted you guys to know, so you weren’t too aggressive or pushy with her. Not yet.”
“I know.” Sighing, she rested her head on my chest and hugged me. “I’ll check back in with him later and maybe get to the bottom of it.”
“You’ll be gentle with him, right?” She looked up at me with those big green trusting eyes.
I snorted and rolled my eyes at her, “No, I’m going to beat him with a sock full of batteries.” She giggled and relaxed in my arms. “I’ll be as gentle with him as he needs me to be. But no more.”
“That’s fair. You always know exactly how to handle both of us and what we need.”
“I’m a gifted man.” I joked, already replaying the entire thing in my head, trying to figure out what exactly went wrong and what triggered him so badly.
Hours later, Brody’s bike roared back into the parking lot of the garage. It was well after closing time, but I still stayed because I knew he wouldn’t go home looking for a fight. He would come to the garage and I would wait for him.
Like I told Hannah, I would only be as gentle as he needed me to be. Because sometimes Brody needed to be put into his place and he knew I would do it, damaging nothing between us.
We were solid.
So when the man door swung open and his dark scowl found me where I worked under the hood of the stingray I was tuning up, I was ready for him.
“Hey, fucker.” I bit out.
“Sup, nutwad?” He lobbed back.
“You cooled down yet?”
“Not even a little. ”
“Want to at least let me in on why you’re so triggered by someone else’s shortcomings?”
“You actually admit that not being able to be respectful to Lex’s needs and hesitations is a shortcoming?”
“I never pretended to be perfect, I was just voicing my concerns. It’s not like any of us have had to act with kid gloves inside of this relationship before.” I held my hand up, “Well, at least not when you act like an adult.”
“Fuck you.” He cursed and walked away.
“Do you know any other insults?” I followed him as he started up the stairs to the office. “Or are you stuck in high school today?”
“I’m not in the mood, Knox.”
“Which is exactly why I’m here well past dinnertime, squaring off with your pissy ass. Don’t make me beat the stupid out of you.”
“Fuck off.” He roared, turning at the top of the stairs and towering over me. But I didn’t let him have the upper hand like I usually would have.
I forged forward, pushing him back with my chest until I stood toe to toe with him on the landing. “Try again.”
“I can’t do this with you.” He turned and walked away, but he made a critical error in his attempt to evade me because there was only one exit to the upstairs office and, as I stood in the doorway, I blocked it.
“Try again,” I repeated, unmoved.
“No.” He snarled, pulling his chair out from his desk and shoving it out of the way as he paced. “I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because.”
“Isn’t an answer.” I snapped. “You owe me an answer.”
“I don’t owe you anything!” He screamed.
I didn’t recognize the man in front of me. He seemed unhinged and on edge, more so than I had ever seen Brody before.
“Ten years means nothing?” I tried to remain impassive and unbothered by his cruel words because I knew they weren’t my fault. They were stemming from something deeply rooted inside of himself .
“You don’t get it.” He shook his head and turned away, which pissed me off.
“Exactly!” It was my turn to yell. “Because you won’t man the fuck up and tell me.”
“Man up?” He bellowed and turned on me. “You have no fucking clue what kind of man-ing up I’ve had to do because of you!”
“Then tell me!” I pushed him with my hands flat on his chest. “You obviously hold something against me, so tell me what the fuck I did wrong to earn your fucking anger out of the blue!”
“You loved me!” He screamed with wide eyes as I stood ramrod stiff as the entire world around me rocked on its axis. “When I didn’t have a fucking clue what love even meant!” He grabbed the front of my shirt and shook me. “You loved me and I lost everything because of it.”
I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t form a coherent thought as his words circled inside of my brain on repeat.
You loved me and I lost everything because of it.
“What does that mean?” I whispered, too afraid to move, as it felt like everything around me was going to tumble down into the pits of misery any second.
“My dad knew.” He stepped back and his shoulders fell in defeat. “He could tell you weren’t just interested in Hannah. So he beat the ever-living shit out of me for it, demanding that I either let you both go or be cut off and cast out of his family! He would not allow his only son to be gay. It was leave you or be dead to him.”
My brain tried to think back to when Brody still talked to his dad, and I remembered the night he went to Hannah’s beat to piss. He wouldn’t tell her what happened, so she called me, but when I showed up, he wouldn’t even look at me.
It was right after we took our relationship to the next level, specifically between him and me, and the rejection had hurt.
But I never thought the beating he took was because of me, or that it had been by his own dad .
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I shook my head in utter disbelief. “We asked you that night, but you refused to tell us anything.”
He fell into his office chair and hung his head, once again refusing to look at me. “Because I was already too far gone to get back out. I was already in love with both you and Hannah by that point, and I didn’t see a way out.”
A way out.
My chest cracked, and I finally knew what physical heartbreak felt like.
Such a negative event served as the foundation for everything we had. No wonder he hated me.
He finally looked up at me, but there was nothing recognizable in his brown eyes. “You’re content with your sexuality, you always have been. But not everyone else is, Knox. Not everyone wants to just move at breakneck speed.”
“I’m sorry.” I forced through my dry throat. “If I had known back then—,”
“Don’t.” He dropped his head again and looked at the floor. “It wouldn’t have changed anything.”
“Because you were stuck.” I repeated, “In something you didn’t want.”
He lifted his head and scowled at me. “I didn’t say I didn’t want it. I just didn’t fucking understand what it would cost me at the time! That’s why I want Lex to make sure she wants this and isn’t pressured into anything by us.”
“I’m sorry,” I said again, picking my keys up off my desk and walking out.
“Where are you going?” he called after me, but the frustration in his voice raked my nerves even more.
“Away,” I replied, throwing my jacket on as I crossed the garage. “So you’re not stuck anymore.”
“Knox.” He called out, annoyed. “Stop.”
It wasn’t the call of a man who was watching someone he loved walk away upset.
It was the call of a man who felt obligated to stop what he already started.
But I was already gone.