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Three things were abundantly clear. Some asshole had his hands on Frankie. A series of assholes were pounding on Bubba. And I was going to beat the living hell out of all of them.
Turning my head, I met Jackson Taylor’s gaze and bared my teeth. He wanted to fight me? Yes. Fucking. Please. I caught the next fist he threw at me and wrenched his arm down. After that, it was all flying fists as a second guy launched into me. I took a pair of jabs to the kidneys before I slammed my elbow back and caught his face. The crunch of buckling bone was like music to my ears.
A fist caught me in the solar plexus and knocked all the air out of me. I didn’t even try to figure out who or what or why. I just grabbed his hair and slammed his head down against my knee, then worked my way toward Bubba. Mitch was in that mess. I wanted my pound of flesh from that asshole. I wanted Frankie’s pound of flesh. Bubba broke his jaw, but I wanted to break his legs. And cut off his dick. Fuck reasonable. Then a feminine shriek cut through noise and jerked me out of the red haze. Where the fuck was Frankie?
Then Mitch walked his ass up with half the damn team at his back. The fucking dick. I’d put myself between him and Frankie. No way in hell would I let them get through me to get to her. I’d already broken his jaw once. If he wanted me to take the rest of him apart, sign me up.
But I caught sight of Mitch, and launched after him. I made it the three strides through the broken railing and onto the porch before I landed on him as he tried to stagger away. He managed to land another punch, but I ate the blow before gripping his arm and twisting it back and up. That shoulder I’d popped earlier had to be screaming now, because he was. I hauled him backward and threw his ass off the porch. Anger boiled inside of me as I glared at him. My right eye was already swelling shut, and I couldn’t breathe through one nostril. My ribs ached, my lungs burned, and my fists felt like
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Were they fucking kidding me? What was with all these assholes? The night had been going well. Now there were what, a dozen jocks here to deliver a beat down? Hope they weren’t planning on winning. I’d dropped the bottles of water I’d been carrying the minute Jake launched forward. He’d gone after the guy who’d had a hold of Frankie, and Coop cut toward Bubba, even as he told me to get her.
The last thing I expected was Frankie cracking Sharon right across the face with her cast or Sharon’s shriek of pain as she went down, blood spurting from her nose.
“Are you all right?” I demanded. “I’m fine,” she muttered, more anger in her voice than fear. She glared to where Sharon rocked on the ground, clutching at her face. “Bitch tried to sucker punch me.” Was it any wonder that I loved her? A grin pulled at my mouth, then I glanced to where the guys were almost done taking out the trash. Rachel stalked forward to stand next to us, just as red and blue flashing lights lit us all up. “Well,” she said. “This is a shit show.”
Mitch had been carted away by an ambulance. He wasn’t the only one. The only saving grace? A cop had also gone with him. Sharon had also been loaded into an ambulance, crying hysterically. I should have hit her harder.
“You’re freezing. Your arm hurts. You were assaulted again, and you’re being interrogated and asked the exact same set of questions over and over. Could you guys get together and share notes? I’m pretty sure you’re not getting graded, so no one will fault you for copying each other’s work.”
When Sharon lunged at me in the middle of all that chaos, I’d locked on her as something I could do something about. My arm ached from the impact. Worth it. I’d definitely broken her nose. She deserved a lot worse. I was so over her shit.
We’re going to sort this all out. Is there anything else I need to know?” “You mean like the fact that Mitch already assaulted her once, and you assholes haven’t actually charged him with anything?” Rachel demanded. “He drugged her, broke her wrist, tried to rape her…” “Rachel,” I said, and she frowned, fiercely, but went quiet. “That’s an ongoing investigation, Ms. Manning,” Talbot told her, but he gave me an apologetic look. “Did you feel threatened tonight?” “Yes.” “Did he touch you in any way?” “Tonight?” I shook my head. “Ian didn’t let him get anywhere near me.”
“Besides…you know the after party is always more fun than the party itself.” I snorted, then pulled away from Archie to give Rachel a hug. “You’re a badass.” “Yes, I am,” she agreed, squeezing me gently, but she didn’t miss my wince.
Archie diverted to grab fast food, including about four-dozen tacos and burritos—I forbid bean, because I was not having all four of them in my room after eating bean burritos. I adored them, but I’d known them too long. We were not having fart wars. Ever. Ugh.
“So, girlfriend means no more farting around you.” I snorted. “That would take a miracle. I’ll just be happy if you don’t bomb me out of my own bedroom.”
Jake kept an arm around me, and I studied him. “Are you okay?” “Just bruises,” he told me with a wry smile. “Looks a lot worse than it is. Sorry you got dragged down here again, Mom.” “I know,” she said. “I’m proud of you. All of you boys,” she added glancing past me to where Coop and Archie waited. “You did good. Just—let’s not make the police station a habit? We don’t need to host reunions here.”
“You are now subject to the same boyfriend rules as the rest of us.” “What are the rules?” Coop asked, the tired in his voice dragging at me. “Well at the moment, it starts and ends with boyfriends don’t get bean burritos and we don’t get to have fart wars.” There was a beat of silence. Then all four of them cracked up. Asses. Each and every one.
“Now go to sleep. The bruises under your eyes have bruises.” “Are you saying I need my beauty sleep?” The tease came a little more easily, so many of the hastily erected stones in the wall between us crumbling away.
“Nah, you’re gorgeous,” he said, his one open eye twinkling. “Jake, on the other hand…” He just sighed. “Not enough sleep in the world to make him beautiful,” Coop said in a half-asleep voice.
For the first time in what seemed like weeks, it felt right. Bumps and bruises aside. I’d slept without a single nightmare. Who knew that breaking Sharon’s nose could be therapeutic?
“Mitch was officially arrested and charged over the weekend after he woke up in the hospital. He also has a broken arm to go with his broken jaw.”
“Drumroll please… Jackson rolled on Mitch and Cheryl, among others, and they were behind condom car.” I stopped walking and stared at her. “For real?” “Yep,” she said with a grimace. “It was their way of letting you know they wanted to run a train. Disgusting pervs.”
“Not that I’m rushing anything. I’m just a big believer in how thorough you like to be in your research.” “Fuck me, that is the nerdiest flirting ever,” Jake said. “I don’t know whether to be disgusted or impressed.”
“No competing with each other.” That jerked me out of my homework musing, and I stared at him. “What? No competing?” I glanced from him to Jake, to Coop, and then down at the back of Ian’s head, before looking at Archie again. “Seriously? You four? No competing?” “We managed,” Coop actually sounded offended. “But the important one was you, so we all focused on our own strengths, not trying to one up each other.” “Screaming orgasm contest doesn’t count,” Jake said with a grin. “That’s friendly competition.”
“We have a lot of fantasies.” “All about you,” Jake agreed. “Not all necessarily needing a bed.” Yep. That did it. The blush I’d managed to fend off for the conversation won, and my face caught on fire. “I hate you all,” I muttered as they laughed at me.
You are allowed, entitled even, to feel how you feel. There’s no right or wrong. Your emotions are yours. Acknowledging them, it’s the first step toward understanding them.”
We might need a bigger boat for shark week just to carry all the crap they got.” I busted out laughing.
Dad sighed. “You didn’t have to be so rough on her, Carly. She’s acting out.” “I called you over here to back me up. If you can’t be bothered, then you don’t need to be here.” With Trina out of the way, Mom’s expression went to stone. She rose and avoided Dad’s hand when he went to touch her arm. “Thanks for nothing. Feel free to let yourself out.”
“Cooper, I’d like to talk to you.” “I’m good with the whole let’s pretend the other one doesn’t exist. It’s been working for me.” Mom wanted him out of here, and Dad’s jaw set. Fuck, he wasn’t going anywhere until he talked to me. Fine. I’d split the difference. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
I rose and pressed a kiss to Mom’s cheek. “It’s going to be okay. Trina’s going to come to her senses. She got over the terrible twos.” The corners of her mouth twitched. “You were an easy teenager.” “I was hell on wheels, Mom, I just kept it out of the house.”
“It’s not store bought. Nor is it just ‘repurposed.’ We built it.” I narrowed my eyes. “Before or after Archie bought one and took it completely apart to deconstruct it?” Not missing a beat, Jake shrugged. “We call that research and development.” A snort escaped me before I could stop it, swiftly followed by a laugh. Archie spread his hands and then grinned at me. “You’re welcome, babe.”
Ten minutes later, I was already regretting his mother’s orders about clothes. Five minutes after that, he nudged my panties aside, and I slid right down on his cock.
Right on cue, my stomach growled, and Coop held out a huge slab of garlic toast, then crossed it with another. “Hurry, we need to feed the beast.” I didn’t even think about it. I just flipped him off, and a split-second later, I sent Carly an apologetic look, but her shoulders were shaking with laughter. “Sometimes, he just deserves it,” she said as she poured herself a glass of wine.
You’re not to give Frankie a hard time, and you will behave.” Even I straightened up at the formal tone. Alicia glanced at me and winked where her daughters couldn’t see. “That’s my job.” I stared at her as she gave me a hug. “We’ll discuss your intentions about Jake later…”
“No, dear. A mother’s privilege is to interrogate the girls after her one and only son.” Jake glared at her, and I laughed. One, I didn’t want them to actually fight. And two, I didn’t think Alicia was planning to interrogate me—I hoped anyway—but she was winding Jake up. “I can handle it,” I told them both with a grin. “Hit me with your best shot.” “Oh, see, this is why I like you.” Alicia gave me another squeeze.
Alicia gave Jake a smug look. “Told you, I liked her.” He rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around me. “I like her more.” After his mom left us alone, he nuzzled a kiss just behind my ear. “You might even say I love you.” My heart bounced up to my throat, and I tilted my head back to look up at him. “Yeah?” Not my most erudite response. “Yeah,” he said, grinning slowly,
I didn’t think I could make it much more clear how much I wanted him unless I painted a sign on my abdomen with an arrow pointing down that said ‘put your dick here.’
For the next two hours, the guys got the tree out and set up, then fluffed it. I’d never seen so much debate over “fluffing” before.
Hey! They can become professional fluffers! Lmfao
“I’m not freaking out.” “I know you’re not,” he agreed, and at the same time, I didn’t want him to let go. “This is not a ‘freaking out’ hug, this is a ‘damn, you’re hot and I want to rub my dick against your ass’ hug.” Laughter bubbled right up through me, and I snort-giggled. He licked his index finger and made a sizzling sound as he marked an imaginary point.
“Well, your dick gives great ass hugs,” I said, waiting until we’d pulled apart and he went to take a drink. Water sprayed out of his nose, and I grinned, marking my own point in the air.
First up, predictably, was Die Hard. It definitely qualified as a Christmas movie.
One of the best Christmas movies ever!
“Frankie told me you take very good care of her, and that she is trying to do the same for you.” “She does,” I promised. “Mom, she…she just does.” “I’m glad.” Wine glass in hand, she turned to face me. “Understand that before you’re twenty-five, I’m not ready to be a grandmother.”
“I might be peckish later, but I had a sandwich when we got home.” “Damn,” I murmured. “I’m starving.” “What do you want?” Thank you, Baby Girl, for walking right into that. Coop just rolled his eyes as he grinned. But he also snagged her laptop as I scooped her up and stood. “You,” I told her. “Coop can watch or you can blow him. Or he can wait his turn.” I didn’t much care which, but first, I was eating her out until she came a few times. “You’re so gracious,” Coop said drily, but the little shit was right behind me and Frankie was laughing.
“And there’s nothing really to talk about. Skylar and I were having fun. Then we weren’t. It’s no biggie. I got orgasms out of it, and she was fun. Now she’s doing her thing and I’m doing mine.”
“Course if you really want to make me feel better, you can tell me which one fucks the best. It’s Coop, right? He seems like the type to make sure you come a lot before he gets off.” I swear, I could taste the damn bubbles in my lungs for how much soda just came out my nose. Absolutely unrepentant, the bitch laughed at me.
“Because guys get off every time, they just do. It’s mechanics. But to get a girl off is an art. So, tell me—are they mechanics or are they artists?”
I motioned to the guitar. “I was looking for stuff for the guys.” Her own expression softened, and she squatted down next to me. “Bubba?” I nodded. “And then regular ones for the other guys and some music based games. Maybe drums and something else to do the whole band effect.” “Aww, you could have your very own boy band,” she crooned, and I tipped my head back and stared at the ceiling.
“We’re taking you to Colorado, near Aspen, where Grandpa has a lodge available for us to use. There will be snow and fireplaces, Christmas trees and presents. Ski lessons and snowman building. And just the five of us—no parents, no school, no annoying bitches or assholes allowed.” “You think he realizes he might be cutting himself off there with that last one?” Jake asked in a not-so-quiet voice.
“You know I’ve never been on a plane, right?” A thousand different thoughts collided as I grabbed my jacket, and Archie took it from my hands and held it up so I could slide one arm in and then the next. “Yep, and you haven’t had real snow before either,” he teased before giving me a little nudge. “Or a vacation with your boyfriends. Or a Christmas like we’re about to have.” The indulgence in his smile just made me laugh again. “Trust me, babe, we’re going for a lot of firsts and real experiences here.”
“Hey,” I said, yanking my foot away, only to have him catch the ankle and haul me back to him. “I’m not five.” “No, but your feet are blocks of ice, Baby Girl. So we’re getting you warm and then into warmer clothes. Strip.”
