avoid Atlas hearing. “Go fuck and put this dude out of his misery.” Then he notices there are other people in the house. I hadn’t realized there were others here either. Her brother, Presley, Mal, her kids, the house is full. Conversations are all around us, but I hear none of them. I can only focus on the one next to me with tinted pink cheeks and a soft smile in my direction.
Nervously, I step away from her and then nail Bear in the stomach with my fist. “Shut up and go away.”
He coughs, doubling over in pain, and then walks over to Presley. “Hey, girl.”
Journey’s laughter softly pushes past her lips. “I can’t say I missed him very much.”
My pulse begins to race, and I do everything I can to hide it. Calm down. Calm the fuck down. I turn to face her, searching her eyes. “Who did you miss?”
She closes her eyes slowly and smiles. “Come here for a minute.” Her hand slips into mine, and she leads me down the hall to my bedroom.
Bear makes a comment, my dad laughs, and someone whistles. It’s not like that though. At least not how I see it. In my head, she’s taking me back here because what she has to say to me, she doesn’t want my son to hear.
I don’t know, but that’s how my head unintentionally plays out the conversation.
Journey sucks in a long rush of air, closing the door behind us. I take a step toward her, her gaze lifting to mine. I don’t touch her, even though I want to slam her against the door and fuck her. I ignore the jolt to my dick the moment those thoughts surface. Instead, I focus on her expression, trying to decipher the meaning she’s holding captive in those dark eyes.
She doesn’t say anything at first, but then she shakes her head. Another steadying breath follows, her eyes highlighting a newfound devious glint to them. “I… fuck, this is pointless.” My heart sinks but then kicks to life when she sighs. “I missed you so much!” Then, in the next second, she’s in my arms, clinging to my body.
I hold her close, burying my face in the curve above her shoulder. “Jesus Christ,” I curse, twisting around toward the bed. We collapse against the mattress, both of us breathing heavily. “I missed you so goddamn much.”
Her hands curl into my jacket, sighing against my neck.
I keep a grip on her, longer than needed, and then pull back. I don’t wait. I cover her mouth with mine and kiss her. At first, the kiss starts out slow. Tender. And then I open my mouth and she gasps and shifts underneath me. My hands tighten around her, the urge to do more overpowering the gentler thoughts. I want to bite down on her lip and taste blood, suck on that sweetness I’ve missed so much and remind myself that this woman belongs to me, regardless of what has or hasn’t been said between us.
My cock has other plans and makes them known immediately. I’m hard and straining against my jeans, so desperate for any friction. Hey, I’d love to walk through the door and fuck her relentlessly, claim her as mine forever, all that shit, but that’s not how this needs to go down. For one, the door is not locked, and two, my son is just outside this room.
That’s when I realize how hard tonight is going to be. Having to pretend I don’t want anything but her company. It’s a lie. It doesn’t help that her cheeks are flushed and she’s wearing skin-tight jeans that cling to her curves.
I kiss her once more, and then roll to the side and sit up.
She smiles and does the same. Her tongue touches the tip of her teeth before her fingers raise to her lips. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be.” I turn my head toward her. “That was all on me.”
She crinkles up her nose in the cutest way. “Not entirely.” Shifting, she scoots to the edge of the bed, stands up, and then straddles me. “Don’t kiss me and don’t let me hump you.”
Laughter rolls through me. “It’s going to be hard, but I think I can handle that.”
She grinds her hips into mine. “Hard in deed.”
I grab hold of her, halting her movements. “Don’t distract me.”
“I’m not trying to.” With another sigh, she moves her palms to my chest and then to my face. Holding my head in her hands, she stares