Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
VIKING
Pushing off the doorjamb, I move toward her. I should let this shit lie. Let her hate me, allow her to run away. It would be the healthiest thing for both of us to do. But I’m not a very healthy guy. I’m not a particularly good man, either.
Lainey backs up as I approach. I am no doubt frightening her. I’m not trying to be soft. Not trying to be gentle in any way. I crowd her. When her back slams against the wall, I lift my hand to wrap my fingers around the front of her throat and the other I curl around her waist.
Pressing my chest against hers, I lower my head even more, brushing my lips across hers. Flexing my fingers around her throat, I growl against her mouth before I speak.
“I’m the asshole here, Lainey. I know I am, and I can’t change it.”
Her lips part slightly as she lets out an exhale. I lift my mouth from hers, resting my forehead against hers. Foolish fucking asshole and foolish fucking games. That’s what this is, and I’ve ruined her life over it.
Ruined my life, too, if I allow myself to be honest.
But I continue because I allowed myself to have that taste, and I can’t get enough of her. Even though we fucked just a few hours ago. I’m addicted to her. I need her like I need my next breath.
Fisting her shirt in my hand, I pull it over her head, with little to no care if I rip the fabric. She whimpers, her eyes wildly taking me in, and it’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen, well, aside from her wet and waiting for me.
She’s breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling with each inhale and exhale. Her tits fucking gorgeous and ready to be freed from her bra, practically bursting out of the lacy constraints. Who am I to keep them bound up?
Really, I’m doing them a favor when I reach behind her and unsnap her bra.
Sliding the straps down her arms, I make sure to graze her skin, more for my benefit than for hers. But I do see the goose bumps appear on her skin when I do, which causes my lips to twitch into a smirk at the sight.
Reaching for her jeans, I pop the top button, which causes her to whimper, but before I can get my hand down her pants to feel her wet cunt, there is a knock on the door. Turning my head, I look over my shoulder.
Growling, I decide that we need to ignore that. I don’t really give a fuck who is on the other side of the door. My cock is rock hard and waiting for her. My index finger slips under the waistband of her panties, and I slide it across, feeling the soft flesh of her stomach when I do.
There is another knock on the front door, a bit louder, a bit more insistent. Shifting forward, I touch my lips to the side of her throat, slipping my tongue out to taste her flesh. Fuck me, she tastes good.
“Lainey,” a deep voice shouts from the front door, and instantly, my cock goes soft.
Lifting my head, I narrow my eyes as I turn my head and look over my shoulder. I wait for the door to open. He’s so fucking loud. I’m surprised that he hasn’t already fucking busted through that bitch.
“That’s my brother,” Lainey whispers.
Turning back to her, I snort. “No shit?”
Taking a step backward, I turn around and head toward the front door. Fuck this shit. Fuck it to hell. He bangs on the door again as I approach, and I think about telling him to fuck off completely. I don’t, but I think about it.
I unlock the door, wrap my fingers around the knob, and tug it open, coming face to face with Piggy. He narrows his eyes on me, then brushes past me, making sure to clip my shoulder with his.
“Where the fuck is my sister?” he demands.
I almost laugh. But I don’t. Instead, I clear my throat and then start to tell him when I see Lainey make her way out of the bedroom. Her hair looks disheveled, but she’s got her bra back on and is put together.
I can’t deny that I’m a bit disappointed she doesn’t look like she’s hot and bothered. She slides her palms down the fronts of her thighs, clearing her throat before she opens her mouth to speak.
But nothing comes out.
That’s because Piggy is the one who is disheveled, and mostly because he’s pissed off. “What the fuck, Lainey? What the actual fuck?”
“You’re asking me what the fuck, but I don’t understand why,” she states.
I press my lips together, trying not to smile.
I fucking fail because this is king of goddamn hilarious.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I tilt my head to the side as I continue to take in the situation.
Keeping a pulse on it, at least for now.
I can’t imagine Piggy would step out of line with his sister, but just in case, I’m right here.
“You know exactly why I’m here,” he grinds out. He doesn’t give her a chance to respond before he continues. “You are going to fucking sell the store?”
I take a few steps backward, trying to give them their space, but at the same time, I want to hear everything. So I don’t go too far. Instead, I lean against the wall, watching and waiting for Piggy to step one toe out of line. Though I’m not sure what I would fucking do if he did.
“I am going to sell the store because why wouldn’t I?”
“Why would you?” he snaps.
Lainey rolls her eyes to the ceiling, then crosses her arms beneath her tits, pushing them up and making them that much more enticing before she brings her gaze back down to meet her brother’s. I want to taste those tits of hers, and the fact that Piggy is here is ruining my vibe.
“Why would I keep it?” she asks. “It’s not like I’ll be living close enough to run it. What did you think was going to happen?”
“I don’t know,” he growls. “This is your dream. I made this happen for you because I know that this is exactly what you dreamed of since you were a kid. No way in fuck am I okay with you giving it up.”
LAINEY
The sheer anger in my brother’s eyes penetrates deep into my soul. I can feel it like a living, breathing thing curling inside me, deep in my belly. I didn’t think about how this would affect him.
I’ve only been thinking of myself. I’m selfish. I know I am, but I didn’t realize that I was that selfish. But I know I am now.
I am so fucking selfish.
And I instantly hate myself for it. I’m not sure I can move on from this, from the pain that I’ve caused my brother. Because obviously he’s upset. Really fucking upset. And I hate that because I’m the cause of it.
“Axton,” I whisper as tears fill my eyes.
Seeing my brother’s anger, the way it radiates off him, I am second-guessing everything.
Every decision I’ve made over the past few weeks, it all seems wrong.
Even sleeping with Gunnar. I know I shouldn’t have done that, but I think maybe that’s one part of this I won’t ever be able to fully regret. Just partially.
Never once did I ask him how this, how my future, would affect him.
I mean, sure, I thought about my relationship with him.
I wanted to make sure that I could see and talk to him, because I do love him.
But the bakery, I never thought about that part.
He helped my dream come true, and it’s as much his as it is mine.
And I’m throwing it away like it meant nothing.
Like his love for me meant nothing.
“No,” he snaps. “First, you throw your own life away, and then you throw your bakery away.”
My breath hitches, and those tears in my eyes slowly begin to fall.
My brother isn’t just hurt—he feels betrayed, he is gutted.
Moving toward him, I reach out to take his hand, but he pulls it away slightly, then flicks his gaze to meet mine.
He watches those tears fall, but doesn’t comfort me the way he usually would if I cried.
He’s punishing me in his own way, and maybe I deserve it. No, not maybe, I absolutely deserve it.
“I am giving it to the girls,” I whisper. “It’s going to be here, running, business as usual.”
“No,” he grinds out. “It will not be business as usual.”
And then it hits me.
He’s not angry at me, not because I’ve pissed him off in any way. He’s upset with me because he’s going to miss me. He’s realizing that I’m not coming back.
It’s sinking in.
Instead of allowing him to push or punish me any further, I force myself into his space, lifting my arms and wrapping them around his shoulders. I bury my face in his neck and just hold my big brother.
His body is stiff initially, but eventually relaxes, and then he wraps his own arms around me as well. We stay that way until Gunnar clears his throat. Granted, it was becoming an awkward sibling hug anyway.
I take a step backward, and Axton does the same, his fingers curling around my biceps, and then he lets out a grunt before he swings his gaze from me to Gunnar. Slowly, I turn my head so I can look at Gunnar as well, but his focus is on my brother and only my brother.
“That’s enough, Piggy,” Gunnar growls. “Lainey is doing this for you, for Millie, for the club. She deserves your respect.”
“And she has it,” Axton grinds out, shifting my attention to my brother.
I watch as his expression changes as his mind spins. The realization appears on his face, and there is no hiding what he has come to understand. I brace myself, unsure if this is going to be ugly or not.
“But you’re not only concerned about that because you’re a good Reaper. You’ve also fallen for her,” Axton announces. Then he whips his head around, his face finds mine, and his gaze meets my own as he continues speaking to Gunnar. “And she’s fallen for you.”
I stare at my brother, but I don’t confirm or deny anything. He’s looking at me, watching me, but he’s not asking me a damn thing, and I’m not answering him, either. Luckily, I don’t have to answer shit because Gunnar is the one who speaks.
“What we do or don’t have doesn’t matter, Piggy,” he says, and my brother breaks eye contact with me to shift his attention back to him.
I take a step backward, not sure I want to be part of this conversation. I know it’s somewhat about me, but at the same time, it’s not. It feels intimate. So damn intimate—between brothers.
It’s not meant for me.
“It matters,” Axton growls.
Gunnar shakes his head a couple of times, then I watch as his gaze flicks from my brother to me, and then he gives me a wink before he shifts his attention back to Axton.
“It doesn’t, because your sister is just as loyal as you are. She’s made a choice, a decision, and she is going to see it through until the end.”
There is a long moment of silence, and I wait for whatever is about to come next. What comes next is my brother’s voice. Ragged and almost chilling. He clears his throat before he speaks, his eyes on me, a connection that cuts me deep.
“I want Gunnar, someone, anyone, to claim you so you don’t leave me, Lainey-Rose. I have a family now, but you’re my sister. Mine.”
Tears flow again, pouring down my cheeks, down my throat, and into my shirt. “I’ll always be your sister, Axton.”
“But you won’t always be here.”
He’s right, but neither will he. “I need a life,” I whisper. “I need a future.”
“Then you’ll have what you need.”
And that is that, in its own way, I guess. My brother leaves me and Gunnar alone in the house. Neither of us speaks. There’s nothing left for me to say today, I don’t think. He moves toward me, and I should probably tell him that I don’t want to do anything.
But then he shifts his face closer and touches his mouth to mine, and I realize I do want to do something.
I want him.
I want him to make me forget all my emotions and, at the same time, remind me that I’m still here. I’m not gone yet.