Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
brOOKS
Iwant to call or text her constantly to check in, but in case she’s sleeping, I don’t want to disturb her.
I should not have come to work today. Jules assured me that she was feeling better and that she’s fine on her own, but I’m not fine.
I’m not okay at all.
My girl continues to have nightmares, waking up terrified and whimpering, and I hold her, reassuring her that nothing like that will ever happen again.
The entire experience is one I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.
I’ll never get the sight of her, suspended in that floor and freezing, bleeding, and in pain, out of my head.
It’ll haunt me until the day I die.
“Why are you here, boss?” Mitch says as he saunters over my way.
“I own this business,” I remind him as I close the hood of an old Camero. “And it’s a workday.”
“Come on,” he says with a sigh. “When things are bad at home, you always tell me that I should go take care of my wife. Same goes. I can see it written all over your face that you’d rather be with her. You’re worried about her, and I get it. So go take care of your wife.”
I swallow and nod just as a text comes in. Checking my phone, I see that it’s from my wildfire.
Wildfire: Hey, my love. If you’re not too busy at the garage today, would you mind coming home early to be with me? I might have overestimated my willingness to be without you so soon.
The rough edges I’ve been carrying around all day suddenly smooth right out, and I look up at my friend.
“I’m going home.”
“Good. Tell her I hope she’s feeling better.”
Without replying to her text, I simply get in my truck to head home. As I pull into the driveway, I see Dani and Skyla pulling away. They both wave at me, and I wave back before parking and striding into the house.
When I get to the living room, I can’t help but stop and just stare at her.
She’s reading a book, her candle is lit again, and her leg is propped up on the ottoman in front of her.
She’s been wearing shorts because having anything brush against the wound irritates it even though it’s still covered in gauze.
“Hey, baby.”
She startles, but then she smiles at me. She doesn’t look like she’s about to have a panic attack.
We’re making huge progress.
“Sorry, I was absorbed in this story already. You came home.”
I cross to her and brace myself on my hands against the back of the couch on either side of her head, then lean in to kiss her softly.
“You needed me, so of course I came home. I’m going to take a quick shower, and then I’m all yours.”
“If my leg wasn’t an asshole, I’d join you.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “Don’t talk about my wife like that. I’ll be right back.”
She grins, and I kiss her forehead before I stride down to our bedroom to strip out of my clothes and get into a hot shower to get the smell of motor oil off me. When I return to her, she’s still reading, and I sit on the couch next to her, pull her against me, and kiss her temple.
“Better?” she asks me.
“So much better. I didn’t want to go in this morning in the first place.”
She looks up at me and bites her lower lip. “I know. I felt bad, though, keeping you away from work.”
“Never feel bad.” I drag my knuckles down her cheek and neck. “You’re the number one priority, always. I’m happy to be here with you. Have you had a million visitors already? I saw Dani and Skyla leaving.”
“Yeah.” She sighs happily. “Some of the girls came by to feed me and bring me books. I texted Christy and Noah, and they’ve both got things handled at work. I even managed to take a nap for a while.”
“You’ve been busy.”
She smirks at that. “Right. Busy. I feel guilty for being so lazy. But at the same time, it kind of feels good.”
“You need the rest so you can heal,” I remind her. “How’s your pain?”
“Not bad. I took something earlier. That’s why I napped for so long. I don’t think I’ll take the meds after today. Ibuprofen should work fine.”
I frown and brush the pad of my thumb over her lower lip. “Use them if you need them. It’s only been a couple of days.”
She nods and then settles in next to me, nuzzling my chest, and her perfect little hand roams down to push under my shirt so she can touch my stomach.
What is it with women and abs?
“Brooks …”
I know that voice.
“No.”
“Babe, I’m fine.”
“I’m not fucking you, Juliet.”
She sighs and frowns up at me. She’s so fucking adorable, I can’t resist kissing the tip of her nose.
“Okay, don’t fuck me then. Make love to me. Come on, it’s been days, and I’m feeling better.”
“You’re injured. It hurts for you to bend your knee, baby. I refuse to make you hurt any more than you already are.”
“It hurts that I can’t be intimate with you more than my leg aches,” she admits. “You won’t hurt me.”
“No lying to me.” I shake my head. “If it gets worse, you have to tell me.”
Her eyes widen and sparkle with lust. “Is that a yes?”
“Why can’t I ever say no to you?”
“Because you love me?”
“I don’t think that’s it.”
She grins so big, it lights up the whole room.
“Come on.” I stand and take her by the hand, pulling her to her feet. “Let’s go to our bed, where we have more space.”
“I’ll follow you anywhere,” she murmurs as she climbs to her feet, and we take it slow, walking to the bedroom. “Wait. Go lock the doors, please. The girls have been just walking in, which is fine if we’re not making babies in here.”
I smirk and leave her where she is, then hurry over to lock both the front and the back doors. Then I return to my wife and lead her the rest of the way to the bedroom.
“Jules, I’m serious. If this hurts too much, just say so. It won’t hurt my feelings.”
“It might hurt my feelings,” she replies and pushes her hands under my shirt again. “Please take this off. I like seeing your chest and abs all muscly and hard.”
No pressure.
I can never stop going to the gym. I want my girl to always look at me like this.
I shed the shirt and then the lounge pants I pulled on after my shower. I’m already hard as fuck, but that’s just my permanent state whenever I’m around this woman.
It’s been this way since we were sixteen.
“Do you remember the first time we did this?” I whisper, pushing my fingers into her soft, golden curls and tucking them behind her ear.
“Of course, I do.” She leans in to press her lips over my heart. “We were both so nervous.”
“It feels like that right now.”
Her eyes jump to mine, wide and surprised. “Why?”
“Because I don’t want to hurt you, and I’m not sure how to navigate this.”
Juliet’s beautiful face softens, and her hands glide up to frame my face. “You won’t hurt me. You would never hurt me. I want you to hold me when I’m not coming out of a nightmare. I can spread my legs without it hurting, babe.”
I want that, too. I’ve been so fucking worried about her, I haven’t even thought about sex. I just wanted to make sure she was healing and whole.
But now, her nipples are puckered, and her cheeks are rosy. If my wife needs to come, I’ll fucking make her come.
Several times.
“Let’s get you naked so I can worship your gorgeous-as-fuck body,” I growl against her lips, my hands fisting in the hem of her T-shirt and dragging it up her torso.
She raises her arms, and I cast the shirt aside.
Then I unfasten her bra, and she lets it fall to the floor. “I love your tits. I always have.”
I cup them in my hands and roll the nipples between my fingers, making her sigh and tip her head back, exposing her neck. I can’t resist leaning in to nibble her there, and grin when goose bumps break out at the touch of my lips.
“God, that feels good,” she whimpers, leaning into me.
My hands glide down her sides to the elastic waist of her shorts, and I nudge them down her legs, careful that they don’t brush over her injury. When she’s finally naked, I cup her sex and growl against her neck.
“So fucking wet for me, Wildfire.”
“Always.” She swallows hard when one finger slips through her lips and circles her entrance.
I pull away, making her pout, but I want her on the bed.
“Such a greedy fucking girl,” I growl against her mouth before biting her lower lip. “I want you to lie down and get as comfortable as possible. Right in the middle of our bed.”
She sits and winces, but then wiggles to the middle and lies down, sighing happily.
“How do you feel?”
“Horny as hell,” she replies and crooks her finger at me. “Come here, husband.”
Well, that’ll make my cock hard, if it wasn’t already.
With a grin, I climb onto the bed at her uninjured side, careful not to touch her other leg, and pepper kisses from her lips to her ear.
“You’re such a fucking temptress, Wildfire.”
She gasps as my hand drifts down her belly to her sopping wet core.
“Do you want my fingers, baby? Or my mouth?”
“Your cock.”
“That wasn’t one of the options right now.” Nibbling the ball of her shoulder, I make my way down to her breasts and lick one nipple before moving over to the other one. “Fingers or mouth, Juliet?”
“Mouth.” She pushes her fingers into my hair. “Holy shit, this is the best medicine ever.”
I chuckle against her and kiss down to her belly button. She’s pushed her legs wide, and I look up to watch her face as I nudge my way between them.
“Where’s your pain, baby?”
“I’m okay. I really am. Please don’t stop.”
Her pussy is swollen and pink and so fucking wet as I lower my face and lap up her sweet juices, sliding my tongue through her lips and up to her clit.
Jules arches her back and moans, her hand still in my hair.
“You taste like a motherfucking dream,” I growl against her slit. “Like you’re mine.”
“I am yours,” she reminds me. “Always. Forever. Fuck, Brooks.”
Sliding two fingers inside her, I rub that rough patch that makes her legs shake, but then pull them out and frown up at her.
“Pain?”
“If you stop again—”
“What’s your pain level, Juliet?”
She bites her lip. “Maybe a three.”
With my eyes on hers, I lower my face once more and wrap my lips around her clit as my fingers slide back inside her, and her jaw drops, watching me as I eat her gorgeous cunt.
“Yes,” she whispers, her eyes half closing. “Fuck yes. Jesus, you’re good at that.”
I crook my fingers, and she moans, and then she’s exploding against my lips, falling apart so beautifully, it makes me feral to get inside her.
When her muscles start to relax, I kiss her inner thighs and then work my way back up to her chest and then her lips, and kiss her deeply, brushing my tongue against hers so she can taste herself.
“Mmm,” she breathes against my lips. “Need you inside me, babe.”
“I want that too, but baby, I’m so afraid of hurting your leg.”
She frames my face and smiles up at me. “You could never—”
“You make me lose myself, and all I want to do is pound into you, smack your ass, pull your hair, and remind you exactly who you belong to. I want to ruin you.”
She licks her lips. “Hell to the yes. You have full consent for that.”
“But I can’t do it until you’re healed. And I’m afraid I’ll lose control and hurt you.”
“Never.” She shakes her head, and her fingertips drift up and down my arms. “You’re the calm, remember? You take away the chaos.”
God, I couldn’t love her more than I do right now.
“Come on.” I push myself off the bed, then help her to her feet, pulling her to the bathroom and boosting her up onto the counter.
“Brace your foot here.” I show her where to plant her foot on the wall next to me, and she does, then nods. “Good?”
“Good.”
Notching the head of my cock against her, I push inside and reach over to brace myself on the mirror while I move gently in and out of her.
“Oh God, yes,” she moans as she clings to me. “Harder.”
“Wild—”
“Harder. Please.”
I can’t say no to her. I move faster, pushing deeper and harder, but am still careful not to jostle her leg, and she watches me with those big blue eyes.
“Is this what you need, Juliet?”
“Yes. God, yes.”
She reaches between us and pushes her fingers against her clit, and she clenches around me like a fucking vise.
“Fuck. You’re going to make me come, baby. Jesus Christ, look at how well you take this cock.”
She’s starting to quiver, her hand moves faster, and as she falls over the edge, I tumble with her, groaning as I come inside her, filling her so full that it spills out around my cock.
“Pain?” I can barely talk, I’m breathing so hard, but I have to check in with her.
“What pain?”
I smile and lean in to kiss her forehead.
“I love you. You’re so fucking badass.”
“I’m so much stronger with you,” she says, brushing her fingers down my cheek. “Now, clean us up so we can go back to snuggling.”
“Yes, ma’am.”