Tied - Part Three (The Tied Series) (6 page)

He groaned. “Oh, sweetheart. I want you so bad right now.”

“Mmm.” His fingers traced the waist of my jeans, then flicked open the button. “Is that a good idea?” I asked.

“Don’t care,” he growled, sliding down my zipper. He slid a hand inside my pants and cupped me over my panties. My whole body lit up with the warmth of his touch. I pressed myself against his palm.

“Hey,” I said, “I told your family that I would take care of you.” I reached for his jeans, but he pressed my hands back to my sides.

“Be nice,” he said, “Take turns. Didn’t the kids teach you anything?” He slid my jeans down over my hips.

“You? Nice?” I joked, kicking my pants away. I started to giggle, but he touched me and stole my breath away. Wearing that familiar smirk that I’d come to miss, he moved the crotch of my panties aside and slid a finger through my silken folds. I leaned into him, certain that my knees would buckle at any moment.

“So hot and wet for me,” he said, “Did you think about me while I wasn’t here?” He flicked a finger over my clit as he spoke. “Did you touch yourself?”

I shook my head slowly, rhythmically as he stroked me. “I was so worried.”

“Mmm. Well I’ve got you now.” He slid one finger deep inside my channel, lifting me onto my toes. Expertly, he curved his digit and stroked me inside.

“Oh, God, Lockett,” I gasped. It felt so good I could barely stand it. I was overwhelmed with desire and with relief. I touched his face as if to make sure he was still there, still in one piece, still with me. I saw the same mix of emotions in his eyes - stormy and intense.

“You make me so hard,” he grated.

Way to change the subject
. “Good,” I breathed, “You’re up next.”

“Am I?”

“You learned how to take turns, too. Ah-” He thrust a second finger inside, hard and forceful. My toes curled.

“Climb over me.”

I did as he said, lying on the bed next to him. He grunted as he stretched out, lifting the heavy cast before turning onto his side to face me. He ran his hand up my leg before stroking me again. I hooked a leg over his waist.

“Come for me,” he chanted, stroking and thrusting as he kissed me. I rode his hand like a woman possessed. I couldn’t seem to hold back. He always did manage to short-circuit my brain in the bedroom, dominating all of my senses, taking command of my body and leaving me a puddle of my former self before he was through.

I only hoped I had a similar effect on him.

It ended fast - I came with a wild cry, thrashing in his sheets. He captured my song of pleasure with his own mouth, pressing me back against the mattress with the force of his kiss.

“That’s it, come for me,” he breathed, while all that ran through my mind was warmth and electricity and bliss… and love. I didn’t dare voice that word - not yet, though he would have swallowed it within his kiss if I had.

“So hot,” he said as I trembled back to life, “So sexy. God, it’s good to be home.”

“Yeah?” I asked. Reaching down to tug at the hem of his shirt. “Why are you still dressed?”

He sat up as he pulled the shirt over his head and flung it across the room. I traced the elastic band of his shorts, eager to get at the bulge that they covered. He glared down at them.

“Let me help you with these,” I whispered.

“I can do it,” he grumbled. But I swatted his hands away.

“Let me and I’ll make it worth your while,” I winked. I pulled my top and bra off together and let them drop over the edge of the bed.

“Yeah. I’m gonna argue with the naked girl.” He folded his arms behind his head. “Help away.”

Grinning, I pulled his shorts down. His erection bobbed free, flushed and rigid. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. And my mouth. Carefully, I pulled his shorts over the cast and threw them from the bed.

“See?” I said, “So much easier when you have an extra pair of hands.” I crawled my way back up the bed. His eyelids fluttered when I gripped his engorged organ at the base.

I didn’t have the heart to tease him too much. I gave him what he wanted - I slid his thickness between my lips, taking him inside, enveloping him in wet heat.

“Fuck, that’s good,” he muttered, thrusting subtly. I placed my hands on his hips to remind him to keep still. I didn’t want him to get too enthusiastic and accidentally hurt himself.

His grunts of pleasure spurred me on. I sucked and I bobbed, hoping to return all the pleasure that he’d given me, trying to show him how I felt using just my mouth and tongue. His fingers curled in my hair as we built up to a faster rhythm.

“Give it to me, Lockett,” I said, pulling away for just a moment. I wanted to taste him, to hear him and to feel him climax.

“God I wish I could fuck you right now,” he said, his voice strained.

“Soon.”

He finished just moments later, spilling his scalding hot essence inside my mouth, panting and groaning my name.

“I’m glad you’re home,” I said when I crawled back up the bed to lie next to him. He pulled me close, and I rested my head on his bare chest. I sighed contentedly as I listened to him breath.

“Same,” he said, his voice a deep rumble.

There was so much left unsaid. What now? What are we? What is he going to do? How can I help him recover? But he deserved a break. We both did. Simply being there together in his bed was all that we needed.
Tomorrow doesn’t exist
. He’d told me that once. I could live it for the moment. I could do it for him.

CHAPTER 6

Oh, no. What did I eat?
All of the uncertainty and the anxiety I’d suffered since the attack had my stomach in constant knots, but I hadn’t been sick.

I woke before the sun had even risen, warm and safe and comfortable in Lockett’s arms, and I had to peel myself away and run into the bathroom.

I’d barely finished emptying my stomach when I heard the front door open and close. I froze there on the floor, hoping I wasn’t overheard, but Alexa called to me and knocked on the bathroom door. “Hey, are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said. I tried to clear my throat. “Must have eaten something funky.”

“You better not be pregnant,” she chuckled. Ice ran through my veins “Hang tight, I’ll go get you some ginger ale.”

I held my breath until I heard her leave the apartment. I was very nearly sick all over again.
Pregnant. Could I be?
Alexa was only joking - who didn’t make that joke when they heard someone throwing up in the early morning?

But… it was possible. I was late but I’d attributed it to stress. Frantically I calculated the time between today and the last few times I’d had sex with Lockett. I’d been stressed back then, too - upset about my mother, about my job prospects, afraid that I was losing him, still fighting the guilt I felt about my accident every day.

They all seemed like much smaller problems, now.

I was on the pill but I wasn’t as religious about it as I should have been. Especially not since uprooting and moving to New York. My routine, my habits, my whole life was shaken up - I could have easily made a mistake somewhere.

Fuck
.

Tears filled my eyes. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. I forced myself to get up.
A test. I need a test, first. Oh, God, Lockett is going to hate me…

I sat on the couch in a daze.

Alexa found me there when she returned. I stared ahead at nothing, too overwhelmed with the idea of being pregnant that I couldn’t even focus.

“Hey,” she said, pressing a cold soda bottle into my hands. “Feeling better?”

I stared down at the ginger ale. “Yeah. Thanks.”

She rubbed my back. “Anything else I can do?”

I shook my head. “Thank you. You’re a good sister.”

“I try!” she said brightly, then yawned. “Wake me up if you need anything, okay?” she said. I promised I would.

I watched her go. A pang of jealousy hit me when I heard Mallet call to her before she shut the door. They were so happy, and everything seemed so simple for them. Why was I such a screw-up? What had Lockett and I done to deserve such bad luck?

Well, no time like the present.
I sure as hell wasn’t going to get back to sleep. I couldn’t believe I was slipping out to buy a pregnancy test at five in the morning. What the hell did that say about me? But it had to be done. Just as soon as I dug out a baseball cap and sunglasses.
Shit!

○●○●○●○●○

Positive. Positive. Positive. Oh, God oh God ohGod…
I very nearly threw up all over again as I stared down at the little blue lines on the little white stick.

My stomach churned and my head spun. Panic welled up in my throat and made me want to scream, or cry, or both.
Stupid! Why am I so stupid! How could I let this happen?!
The stick shook in my hand.
I have to hide it
. I rinsed it off and shoved it in my purse, along with the packaging.
No one can know
. I rushed back into my bedroom before anyone else woke up.

But I had to talk to someone or I’d lose my mind. There was only one person who would understand. “I’m freaking out,” I typed, and sent the message to Patrick. I followed it up with, “I’m pretty sure I’m pregnant.”

He replied right away, like he usually did. “Stay calm. Make a doctor’s appointment. Meet tonight?”

“Yes, please,” I replied back.

My panic finally quieted into a dull dread once we set a time and place. Patrick would know what to do - or he’d at least calm me down so I’d be able to think clearly about what to do next.
No rash decisions
, I told myself. I took a deep breath.

Voices emerged from the living room. The guys were up, though I didn’t know what Lockett was doing out of bed.
He’d better be using his crutches.

I emerged to find him seated on the couch. One crutch was in front of him.
Better than nothing
.

“I can’t believe it, man,” Mallet said, shaking his head. His face was drawn. “Who the fuck does something like that?”

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“I told him what the doctors said,” Lockett said quietly. “That I won’t ever walk right.” His jaw tensed and his fists tightened at what he left unspoken.
His fighting career is over
.

“We’ll find the two assholes who got away with this,” Mallet said, his mouth downturned with an unfamiliar darkness.

“Find them and do what?” I asked softly.

His eyes flashed. “Return the favor.”

“Attack them?” I asked, my jaw dropping. Lockett looked away from me, his expression as grim as Mal’s. “You guys… if you find them, you should tell the police. You can’t possibly think that getting revenge will be a good idea.”

Mal spread his hands before him. “This can’t stay unanswered. They took everything from him. He’s your boyfriend, for fuck’s sake, you should be on our side, here.”

“And? What would Alexa say?” His mouth tightened. “Please don’t do anything crazy.”

“It’s not like I can get around, anyway,” Lockett grumbled, “What am I gonna do, beat them with my crutches?”

“If you have to,” Mal said. “You won’t be in that cast forever. As soon as you’ve got the boot…”

“I can’t believe you’re serious,” I said, putting my head in my hands.

They were both silent. I wasn’t going to be able to convince them. Maybe they’d cool off with a little time, or maybe the cops would get to those men first. At that moment, I couldn’t let myself get caught up in it. I had problems of my own.

○●○●○●○●○

I made sure Lockett was comfortable that afternoon before I left. I made him snacks and sandwiches and left them on the coffee table within reach. He accused me of mothering him but I didn’t mind.

“Isn’t that what girlfriends are for?” I asked, flinching when I said “girlfriend.”

He smirked. “Yeah. I guess I can let you do your job.”

I should have been elated but I was awash with guilt. I was his girlfriend - but I was a terrible one.
Confirm with a doctor first. No need to worry him before then
.