Chapter 13
Thirteen
Sean
A storm is brewing, and not outside this house, but inside of me. The cool night air drifts in through the open window, whipping my curtains around. I sit in the dark with my head resting back on the couch, watching their shadows dance across the ceiling.
“I don’t know what else to do, Doc. Every move I make seems to be the wrong one,” I rant, taking a sip of my whiskey. “That woman has me so fucked up. I’ve never been a sappy mother fucker, but now I’m doing things I wouldn’t normally do, saying shit I never thought I’d say.”
Carter laughs on the other end of the line. “Welcome to being in love, brother.”
“Fuck. It hurts like a bitch.” Ice clinks against the side of my glass as I lean forward and set my drink down on the coffee table. “We take one step forward and two steps back.”
“Hannah’s guarded. You messed with her head, man.”
“And now she’s fucking with mine.”
“What a tangled web you weaved.”
“Not helping. You know what else isn’t helping?
Aiden running to save her every goddamn time she needs something.
I’m trying here. I’m fucking trying, but dammit, she keeps calling him for everything.
Like tonight. He was at the dealership, pretending to be her husband and negotiating a deal on her behalf.
Tell me that’s not some fucked up shit, Carter?
The more I fucking think about the situation, the more pissed off I get.
” I drag a hand down my face. “She gives him emotional access to her that I’m not getting, and it fucking wears on me. ”
“She formed a codependency after her diagnosis. It doesn't matter—”
“You know about the gene mutation?”
“Yeah. She came over and told us yesterday. It’s a hard concept to grasp that she’s been hiding this from our entire family.”
“She thought she was protecting her dad,” I tell him.
“I know. Now, back to what I was saying. It doesn’t matter how much you want to be with her, the fact still remains that you two are not together yet, so you can’t hold her to a standard—”
“Carter!” River shouts on the other end of the call, cutting him off. “Either I peed all over myself—”
“Fuck, baby, that’s a lot of piss!”
“Or my water just broke!”
Oh, shit. I sit up straighter.
“Fuck, baby . . . I . . . fuck!”
“Don’t act all surprised when you’re the one who did this to me—”
“But you're not due for a couple more weeks, Kitten.”
“Does this look like a fucking easy bake oven to you? They come when they want to.”
Rustling sounds come across the line before three beeps indicate he’s hung up.
I toss my phone onto the couch beside me and pick up my drink again, welcoming the burn as the liquid travels down my throat.
What I don’t welcome, as my phone chimes with a notification letting me know someone has entered my gate, is whoever is pulling into my drive.
I don’t need to look at the security feed on my app to know it’s either Aiden or Hannah.
They’re the only ones with the code. If it’s Aiden, fuck him for getting into my business.
If it’s Hannah, well fuck her for inviting him to be in it.
Whoever it is can see themselves out. I’m not in the mood.
My doorbell rings, but I ignore it. They’ll catch my drift eventually. Standing, I cross the living room and turn on the lamp, then stride to my bar in the other room to refill my glass. Mid-pour, my front door opens and closes.
What the fuck?
“What are you doing inside my house? Was me not answering the door too subtle for you?” I call out, heading back into the living room.
“There’s nothing subtle about you, Sean,” Hannah says, standing there, her arms wrapped around herself, and a vulnerable expression resting on her face. “Your door was unlocked.”
When she looks at me with those sweet and innocent doe eyes, it almost makes me forget that I’m angry with her. I tilt my glass back, taking a sip, then set my drink down on a coaster.
“So, you thought it’d be a great idea to barge in?” I raise a single brow.
Her eyes flare with anger, and she prowls toward me until she’s crowding my space.
“You’ve done it enough times to recognize the gesture.
Thought you’d find it to be an acceptable form of an apology.
I mean that’s how this goes, right? You mess things up, then barge into my life, pounding your chest like a neanderthal, with the expectation that I’ll fall at your feet.
” She takes a step back, then fucking curtsies and with a British accent says, “Why yes, my lord. I forgive you—”
“Keep running that smart ass mouth, Rebel, and I’ll fill it up for you.”
“You did not just say that to me.” She takes another few steps back and panic surges through my veins—knowing I’m pushing her away—but I just can’t seem to keep my fucking mouth shut.
“Pretty sure I did. Did you run out of errands for Aiden to do for you? Is he done playing the husband for the day?”
She storms back to me, poking me in the center of my chest. “Oh, fuck off, you immature asshole. Jealousy doesn’t suit you.”
“No. What doesn’t suit me is you running to another man every time you need something.”
“He’s my friend!”
“Are you sure that’s all he is to you?”
Her hands slam against my chest as she tries to push me back. When I don’t budge, she growls in frustration. “Ugh! You know that is such bullshit! He is my friend, Sean. Just a damn friend. I don’t even know why we’re having this fight. You and I are not together!”
Her chest heaves as my body presses into hers, backing her against the wall.
Instead of pushing me away, she pulls me closer.
Our eyes lock; the buzz of electricity crackling between us is almost audible as we breathe each other in.
Gripping her chin, my lips brush against hers.
“I belong to you. And you’re mine, not fucking Aiden’s, so it’s high time you start creating some goddamn boundaries for the both of you and stop crossing over them. ”
“You’re an asshole.”
“I know.”
“You’re possessive, and bossy, and intrusive.”
“All the things you love about me.”
“I don't need to add to my list of things to survive . . .” A pained expression crosses her face, and my stomach roils with fucking guilt. “You’re just going to break my heart again, Sean, and I can’t put myself through that.”
I press my forehead to hers. “I swear to God, baby, I won’t hurt you again. I’m all in this time. Please—”
“Don’t beg me like that. You’re making it incredibly difficult to stay away from you.”
“Then don’t,” I dust my lips across hers. “Don’t stay away from me.”
I lean back, but she grips the back of my head, pulling me back down, and her mouth crashes to mine.
Clamping her teeth down on my bottom lip, she rips out my hair tie and pulls my hair.
It’s like pouring jet fuel on a forest fire.
I need to feel her wrapped around me. When her hands move to reach inside my sweatpants, all bets are off.
I spin her around, practically molding my chest to her back, and growl in her ear, “If you want me to stop, now’s the time to speak up.”
“Don’t you dare stop, but just so we’re clear, this doesn’t change anything.”
“Like hell it doesn’t.”
Gripping her hair, I press the side of her face against the wall and yank down her pants.
Her rapid breaths mix with the sound of my heartbeat roaring in my ears as I position her hips and drag the head of my dick down the seam of her pussy.
Yeah, just like I thought, she’s wet for me.
I tease her until she’s so worked up, she’s practically begging, then I push inside of her, feeling her tight cunt stretch around me. Goddamn it’s good to be fucking home.
Tugging off my shirt, I toss it on the floor, then grip her hips tighter, sinking my fingertips into her flesh. With each snap of my hips, I fuck her harder . . . faster. My thrusts are as punishing as the palm of my hand, cracking across her perfect ass.
“After I fuck your pussy; I might just take this ass . . . Ungh . . . God fucking damn, you drive me crazy . . . Mmm . . . So. Fucking. Good.”
“Sean,” she moans.
Pulling her hair, I jerk her head back and nip her plump bottom lip. “That’s the only fucking name I ever want to hear come out of your pretty mouth.”
Another moan rips from her when I reach around, and rub her clit in tight, firm circles.
“Fuck . . . you’re such a good fucking girl for me,” I rasp, feeling her pussy contract around my dick.
I piston my hips, giving her a few hard thrusts before pulling back, then bottoming out again. Wrapping a hand around her throat, I give it a little squeeze, and growl into her ear, “You and this pussy belong to me, Rebel, and I’m going to make sure you remember that.”
I trail my hand from her throat down her spine. “When you take a step . . . or sit down . . . every fucking little move you make, you will feel me.”
A loud smack reverberates around the room as I leave my hand print behind on her ass. “You . . . are . . . fucking . . . mine.”
“Ah . . . Fuck . . . I-I . . . Oh, God, Sean,” she pants, her pussy squeezing the fuck out of my dick.
“Yeah. That’s it, baby. Come for me.”
Tossing my head back, white heat rushes up my spine; dots dance behind my closed lids, my head swims and my entire body tenses. “Mmm . . . Hannah . . . fuck, baby,” I moan, spilling into her.
Hands braced on the wall, hair a mess, and jeans around her ankles, she stands there, panting while I press my head against hers, trying to catch my breath.
We both come down from the high, and I pull her jeans into place up over her hips.
She turns to face me and when her pretty brown eyes flit to mine, something stirs in me that I’ve never felt before.
A tightness radiates throughout my chest, and I realize I’d give her anything.
If she wanted the heart out of my chest, I would gladly place a fucking knife in the palm of her hand and help her carve it out. This feeling is so much more than I’ve ever felt for anyone else. It’s dangerous. It’s reckless. It’s fucking terrifying.
“You’re not the only one who’s scared; I’m scared too. You . . .” I hesitate, squeezing my eyes tight and resting my forehead against hers. A knot forms in my throat. She holds so much more power over me than she realizes.
“Podrías arruinar mi vida una y otra vez, y yo te lo permitiría.”
(You could ruin my life over and over, and I would let you.)
“I have no idea what you just said, but it sounded beautiful rolling off your tongue.”
“Stay the night with me,” I dust my lips against hers in a light kiss, then pull back to look her in the eyes. “Please.”
We stand there in silence, staring at each other for so long that I think I’ve won this round, but then her phone rings. We both look down at the floor where the phone lies after it fell out of her back pocket. When I see her dad’s name, I remember River.
“You need to take that,” I tell her, picking up the device and handing it to her.
“Hey, Daddy . . . Really? She’s in labor? Yeah, I can come right now.”
She’s not leaving on that damn bike and driving clear across the city this late at night, especially if she feels rushed. No fucking way.
“I’ll take you. I don’t want you driving,” I interrupt.
She casts a side glance my way before releasing a sigh and responding to her dad. “Uh . . . Yeah, that was him . . . No . . . Dad, please . . . Can we talk about this later? I didn’t exactly lie . . . No, we’re not . . . Ugh . . . Fine.”
“Big mouth,” she says, reaching out to hand her phone to me.
Taking the phone from her, I place it to my ear and greet him.
“Mackenzie!” Coach yells at me like always while Hannah watches my every move as I slide past her, pick my t-shirt up from the ground, and head towards my bedroom to change out of my sweatpants.
“Yes, sir?”
“What the fuck?”
“Look, Coach. I don’t want to get into this over the phone, but I don’t want things to be weird when we get there either. Yes, Hannah and I are together—”
“No, we’re not,” Hannah interrupts, following me down the hall.
Instead of arguing back with her, I continue my conversation with her father, “With all due respect, your daughter is a grown ass woman, and our relationship isn’t up for discussion or negotiation.
If you have a problem with that, I suggest you find peace within yourself, because your opinion on the matter isn’t changing a damn thing. ”
“Are you done?”
“As long as we’re clear,” I tell him, tossing on a clean t-shirt.
“You’ve got some balls on you, son.”
“Yeah, well,” I say, yanking a clean pair of jeans off the hanger and putting them on. “She’s important to me, and I’ll be damned if anyone’s getting in my way; that includes you.”
When I spin around and look through the open closet doorway, Hannah’s jaw is nearly on the floor.
I saunter towards her, closing the distance between us.
Pressing my fingertips against her chin, I kiss her lips, then head back into my closet to grab my shoes from the shelf, returning to my conversation with Coach. “What’s River dilated to right now?”
“I’m not sure. I thought they’d deliver by C-section, but that stubborn girl wants to do everything the old-fashioned way.”
“Sounds like River. Okay. We can be there in about an hour if traffic isn’t too bad. Oh, and Coach?”
“Yeah?”
I close the closet door and lower my voice.
“The last thing Hannah needs to worry about tonight is how you feel about our relationship. She may be happy for River, and she may smile on the outside, but when she holds those babies, on the inside she’ll be mourning the fact that she can’t carry one herself.
I’m warning you now, if you upset her further by giving her shit about us, boss or not, I will come unhinged, and you don’t want that. ”
The line is silent for a few beats before he releases a deep sigh. “You really care about her.”
“You have no idea. See you soon.” Disconnecting the call, I open the closet door and walk out.
“You ready?” I ask Hannah, handing the phone to her, then grabbing my keys, wallet, and a hair tie for each of us.
“Not really. My dad is pissed at me.”
“He’s not mad. We’re on the same page, Rebel,” I say, ushering her out to my truck and praying for her dad’s sake that he doesn’t make a liar out of me.