Chapter 20
twenty
. . .
Ronan
Music and laughter rolled down the stairs as I climbed up to the apartment.
The noise was coming from our apartment.
I walked inside. "There's Ro," Tiffany said.
She'd been a longtime friend of Colin's.
She'd brought along her friend, Katie, who I'd gone out with a few times.
We didn't click, although that hadn't stopped us from falling into bed together more than once.
Colin was dropping slices of pizza onto plates. His friend Bucky, a guy he snowboarded with, was mixing drinks in the blender.
"Dude, you look like you need a shower," Colin said. "Hurry before the pizza gets cold."
I peeled off my coat. Normally, I didn't mind a party, but it had been a long day of moving cinder blocks, and my afternoon visit to the diner hadn't gone as expected.
Rachel was in a lot of financial trouble, and it killed me that I couldn't help her.
For a second, it seemed that she was going to break it off so she could focus on her problems. I was relieved she didn't break up with me, but it also made me realize I'd already gotten myself in deep with Rachel.
I wanted her to be a part of my life. The only problem was my life was nearly as upside down as hers, the only difference being I didn't have a kid to make things even more stressful.
"So, Ro, how's it going?" Katie rested her hands and then her chin on the back of the chair to look at me.
"You're looking hot as usual." Katie had shiny black hair and light blue eyes.
She was stunning but always managed to end up with the wrong man.
Her last boyfriend turned out to be married with two kids and a dog and the whole fucking thing.
She had no idea until he accidentally texted her that he'd pick up Brianna on the way home from work.
Brianna was his ten-year-old daughter, and the text had been meant for his wife.
"Right back at ya." It was the most I could come up with.
I wasn't in a flirting mood. That was mostly due to the fact that Rachel had wrapped herself so tightly around my heart already, I couldn't see myself with another woman.
Even one as hot as Katie. "I'll go shower.
" I was glad for the excuse to leave the party.
I stripped and left a pile of dirty work clothes in the laundry basket I'd bought for my closet.
My room was the only place Rachel and I had for privacy, so I decided to make it less of a pigsty.
I was even making my bed these days. I walked into the bathroom.
My phone rang from the nightstand. It was Rachel FaceTiming me.
I flicked open the screen, and her beautiful face appeared. "Hey," she said in a sultry whisper. "I'm just getting in the shower, and I'm standing naked in my tiny little bathroom, and all I can think about is standing naked in your arms."
My cock hardened instantly, and a deep guttural sound came up from my chest. "Show me." My voice was hoarse with wanting her.
Rachel slowly moved the phone down along her neck and down to her breasts. Her nipples were taut. She touched one, giving it a teasing pinch. My low growl matched her breathy moan.
"Lower, baby," I commanded.
Her flat, smooth stomach rolled past my screen, then her phone stopped at her pussy.
My cock pulsed with need. "Touch yourself, baby." I could barely get the words out.
She sucked in a breath as her hand pushed between her thighs. She stroked her pussy and moved against the pressure of her hand.
"That's it, baby. Make it so hot and wet that I can hear it. Hold the phone closer." Soft, erotic mewls came through the phone.
"I want to be inside you so badly, baby. I'm not going to be satisfied unless I'm buried inside of you, making you scream my name."
Her hand moved faster, and her breaths were coming in short spurts. "Your voice. I need to hear you," she said breathlessly.
"Baby, I'm there fucking you right now. Holding you tight over my cock. God, baby you're making me so damn hard. I want to hear you cum. I want to hear you."
A small cry escaped her lips, and her body shuddered. "Oh, Ronan," she whispered. "I wish you were here with me right now."
"So do I." The laughter and voices grew louder out in the living room. "I'm going to spend the rest of the night thinking about this damn phone call, Ray. Just imagine me there between your thighs because that's where I'll be in my head all fucking night."
Her soft giggle floated through the phone. "I can't believe I just did that over the phone."
"You've never done that before? Well, Ray, job well done. I just wish I was seeing you tonight."
"I know. Me too." She giggled again. "Obviously. All I did was take off my clothes to shower, and my body went right into craving mode. All I could think about was you. I've got to get ready for work."
"All right. Thanks for the good time."
She was still laughing as she hung up. I stood in the shower for long enough to take care of things and to wash the stink of the day off me.
The music had gotten louder. The small party was in full swing, and all I could think about was flopping face-first into bed.
Apparently, work and having someone who meant more to me than a quick fuck had killed my party instinct.
My twin, on the other hand, was in full party mode.
Colin and Tiffany were grinding against each other as they danced to the music.
Colin had one hand behind her back as he clutched a beer in the other.
Katie came out of the kitchen with a newly opened beer and a plate with pizza.
"Here you go. You look tired. Colin said you've been working a construction site. "
"Yeah, it's hard work." I sat down in one of the oversized easy chairs, and Katie squeezed in next to me sitting halfway on my lap.
It made pizza eating a little difficult.
I put my beer in the cup holder and picked up the slice.
I hadn't eaten since lunch, and I was starved.
Bucky sat down in one of the other chairs, and Colin and Tiffany took the third one.
Tiffany all but wrapped herself around Colin. He had to stretch his neck to see past her. "How's the job going? I've hardly seen you since I got back. Or is that because of the new girlfriend?"
Katie sat up straighter and stared down at me. "What? A girlfriend? No, don't say that. The single female world is not ready to hear that another Wilde brother has been taken off the market." She put on a pouty frown and snuggled down closer to me. "Please say it's not true."
I stared at her as I kept chewing my pizza. Rachel was the last thing I was going to talk about with this group. I'd stupidly mentioned to Colin that I'd met someone, and he'd been bugging me about it ever since.
"Any more pizza?" I asked.
Katie socked me playfully on the arm. "Well, if you're taken, then I guess I won't fulfill the fantasy I had on the way over here, and it all had to do with you, Ronan Wilde. It's been a few weeks for me, and I can tell you, I'm in the mood."
"Me too," Bucky said. He had a tendency to turn girls off just with the way he spoke to them, mostly in a loud, annoying tone. He was a great snowboarder, but his skills on the slopes weren't good enough to make up for his lack of skills in talking to women.
Katie looked over at Bucky. "You talk with your mouth full."
Bucky shrugged. "Yeah, I can do a lot of things with my mouth full." He'd meant it as a dirty comment, but it landed awkwardly.
"Yuck," Tiffany said. She nestled her mouth against Colin's neck, and he had his hand up her sweater.
It seemed Colin and Tiffany would leave the party soon, and I'd be stuck entertaining Bucky and Katie. I wasn't in the mood.
I slid out from under Katie, and she landed in the chair with a harrumph and crossed arms. I walked to the kitchen and picked up the last piece of pizza.
I stood at the counter and ate it. As expected, Colin stood from the chair and led Tiffany by her hand to his bedroom.
Katie was on her phone, and Bucky had moved over to the gaming console.
Katie hopped up from the chair. "Well, this party blows, so I'm out of here. Gonna meet Nick down at the Gold Rush." She looked pointedly at me and apparently expected some kind of jealous reaction.
"Have fun," I said and shoved in the pizza crust.
Katie marched out angrily. I grabbed a bag of potato chips and the rest of my beer.
Bucky pulled on headphones and settled back for a video game.
I was sure we'd find him snoring away in the big chair in the morning.
I carried my chips into the bedroom. Colin and Tiffany were already at it, and his bed thumped the wall.
Tiffany was a screamer. Fortunately, it didn't take long for the scream to happen.
I settled onto my bed and ate chips as I scrolled through my phone.
I went straight to photos and pulled up a few of the last ones Rachel had sent me.
All of them made my chest ache. I wanted to be with her.
Not just occasionally, when we found the time, I wanted to be with her always.
Tonight was my first real test. Katie was gorgeous and a lot of fun in bed, and there were no strings attached, but I couldn't work up even an ounce of interest in sleeping with her.
It was crazy to think about. I'd teased Jameson and Zander nonstop about how quickly they'd settled into permanent, serious relationships. Now it was happening to me.