For You (The 'Burg Series) (57 page)

Morrie and Darryl got closer too.

Morrie spoke. “Colt, dude, this guy’s not worth it.”

Colt ignored Morrie and called to me, “Feb, you got anything to say?”

Damn, now he was dragging me into it.

“Like what?” I called back.

Colt didn’t answer.

I watched the showdown for a few seconds and then I decided I was done. It went without saying my life was shitty enough without Colt confronting every asshole that slid through it. Especially at my bar. I moved around Darryl and stood next to Morrie, close to Colt and Stew.

“Colt, Morrie’s right. He isn’t worth it.”

“Did he fuck you?” Colt asked.

“Seriously?” I answered. “Pete was a dick but at least he was hot. You think I’d do this guy?”

“You hear that? She said she didn’t do you,” Colt said to Stew, leaning in closer, pushing it, they were nearly nose to nose and Stew held his ground.

“Who’d you do?” Morrie asked, sounding curious and glancing at Aaron.

“We already established I didn’t do Aaron, you missed that,” I told Morrie.

“Did you do Willie Clapton?” Dee called. “He’s hot and he said he did you.”

“No, I didn’t do Willie either. He might be hot but we made out and he’s
not
a good kisser. I’m talkin’
bad.
I didn’t wanna go there.”

“Euw. Nothin’ worse than a bad kisser,” Dee noted.

“Willie’s a bad kisser?” Morrie asked.

“Don’t make me relive it,” I said to Morrie.

“That bad?” Morrie asked, I made a face and Morrie whistled low before saying, “Sheds new light on Willie.”

“Why’re we talkin’ about who Feb did?” Darryl asked.

“I think the point is Feb didn’t do anyone,” Colt said. “Am I right, Stew?”

Before Stew could answer, I offered helpfully, “I think the rumors got started because I necked a lot after I broke up you,” I told Colt. “Most of the time I was pretty drunk. Though I never made out with Stew, drunk or not.”

 
“You didn’t do anyone?” Morrie asked me, looking slightly shocked and I would have kicked him or at least punched his arm if the situation was a little less tense. However, the situation was very tense and I didn’t want to be the one to send it over the edge.

“I did Pete,” I answered.

“You were married to him,” Morrie returned.

“Don’t make me relive that either.”

Aaron moved in closer and tagged Stew’s shirt, giving it a tug before dropping his hand. “Come on, Stew, let’s just go.”

Morrie was focused, however. “You just made out with all these guys?”

“Not all of them, for example, not Stew,” I replied.

Stew’s eyes moved to me and then he made his move to Colt, but verbally. He wanted Colt to start it, likely because if Colt did, he’d get in worse trouble than Stew if it got ugly. There were a lot of eyes, a lot of witnesses. Stew started it, Colt could say he was defending himself. Colt started it, he would be fucked. Stew wasn’t like Pete; he wouldn’t back down and do the right thing with a little pressure from people. Pete did the right thing not because he was a good guy but because he was an outsider and he’d had a goodly taste of Colt’s fury backed up by a goodly amount of pressure to get the fuck out of Dodge. Stew would push it and make things difficult for Colt at work. It was frowned on, cops getting in bar brawls and beating the shit out of guys who wronged their girlfriends, no matter who the dickheads were that did it and how much they deserved it.

So Stew made his move by repeating to me, “Bullshit, Feb, I nailed you.”

Colt didn’t miss a beat before telling him, “I know you didn’t.”

Stew’s eyes went back to Colt. “And you know that how?”

“Because I
have
nailed her and trust me, you had her once, you’d go back for more.”

“Aw,” Dee said, “that’s kind of sweet.”

I rolled my eyes.

Colt suddenly sat down.

Then he said, “Finish your beer, Stew, then I wanna see you in here again never. I never wanna see you in here again.”

Stew stared at Colt, denied his altercation and with Colt unwilling to play finding himself in a position that he was unable to escalate it. Though, he tried.

“Backin’ down, Lieutenant Colton?” Stew taunted.

“Yep,” Colt replied casually, turning toward his beer, “I gotta bust your lip, I might split my knuckle and I want free use of my fingers tonight.”

That’s when I rolled my eyes again at Dee who was grinning at me.

“Jesus, Colt, her brother’s standin’ right here,” Morrie muttered, sounding only half-disgusted, the other half was amused and noting the standoff was over he started to walk behind the bar, finishing, “You’re off, Feb. Me and Dee are closin’.”

This shocking announcement took my mind off the tense situation.

“What?”

“Morrie’s gonna show me how to use the cash register,” Dee proclaimed, like Morrie was going to strap her into a spacecraft and take her on a tour of the stars. She was still grinning and following Morrie behind the bar.

“What?” I repeated to her back.

Dee turned and her face was awash in excitement. “And he’s gonna teach me how to mix drinks.”

“What?” I said again.

“You good, boss?” Darryl asked Colt.

“Yeah, Darryl,” Colt said, taking the final pull of his beer. Aaron had moved Stew a couple of feet away. The standoff was over. Colt backed off and sat down but everyone knew, even Stew, that Stew ended up the loser. We were all still the focal point of a lot of eyes but I wasn’t paying attention, something more important was happening.

I followed Dee and Morrie behind the bar.

“Who’s lookin’ after the kids?” I asked.

“Mom and Dad came over, just to wind down a bit. They decided to spend the night. I’m spellin’ you so you and Colt can get some shuteye,” Morrie told me.

I turned to Dee and said, “But –”

“Family bar, family’s workin’ it,” Morrie answered even though I spoke to Dee. It was then it hit me that Morrie looked happy, happier than he’d been in ages and Dee did too.

I felt my mouth drop open. Then I felt a happy tingle hit my chest. Then I thought I was going to start crying.

I had a feeling the trial was definitely gone from the trial reconciliation. And more than that, I had a feeling my brother worked a miracle. Because if Dee was coming in then Dee was going to be part of the bar, part of the family and life was going to go the way it should go. With Colt in his seat and in my life and the family running the bar,
all
of my family.

“Do we have…” I started, scared to say it out loud, like a pin would prick this fragile bubble of a dream if I spoke the words but I took in a breath and then finished, “somethin’ to celebrate?”

I felt Colt’s arm hook me around the waist and he pulled me from the back of the bar saying, “Yeah, honey, it’s ten o’clock and we can be home by ten fifteen if you get your ass in gear. That’s worth celebrating.”

I pulled against Colt’s hold but he kept tugging me toward the office.

“Morrie?” I called.

Morrie looked at me. Then he smiled. It was big, it was more than happy. He had his family back. Then I knew that a heavenly light, for that moment, was shining down on all of us.

“Go home Baby Sister,” he called back.

I smiled back at my big brother then Colt tugged me into the office then I moved my smile to him. He shared my smile as he lifted his hand to touch my jaw and my smile got even bigger, so big, it hurt my face but I couldn’t stop doing it and I didn’t want to.

Then I grabbed my purse, shrugged on my jacket and went home with Colt.

We were home by ten fifteen.

* * * * *

“Alec,” I gasped

“Say it again,” Colt groaned.

“Alec,” I repeated, “harder, baby.”

He gave me what I wanted and he gave it to me harder.

My shoulders were to the wall, my ass in his hands, my legs were wrapped around his hips, the fingers of one of my hands was gripped in his hair, the other hand was locked on his ass. Colt was on his knees and he was fucking me so hard I was certain the Harry’s print was going to come crashing off the wall. And I didn’t care.

“Give me your tit, Feb,” he demanded and I took my hand from his hair, cupped my breast and offered it to him.

Colt drove in deep but bowed his back, his lips latched around my nipple and he sucked in hard. I felt it from my nipple straight down between my legs, the path so sharp and true, I could have drawn the line down my own body.

“Yes,” I breathed.

His mouth released me and he started driving inside me again, his lips moving to mine and my arm wrapped around his shoulders.

“You’re gonna come, baby, I feel it, fuckin’ love it, your pussy’s ready.”

He was so right.

It hit me, I clutched harder at his shoulders and my legs tightened around him in a spasm.

“That’s it,” he growled as the moan ripped from me, my head shot back, slamming against the wall next to the print, making it vibrate.

I was coming down when he hefted me up an inch and rammed in harder and so fucking deep, pulled out and rammed in again, staying put, his face went into my neck and he groaned against my skin.

It was when I felt his tongue tracing my necklaces, something he seemed to do a lot, something which I liked a lot, that I whispered into his hair, “You still owe me.”

His tongue went away but I felt his lips smile against my skin as he started sliding slowly in and out of me. I loved it when he did that too, giving it to me soft after he fucked me hard, staying inside instead of pulling out and moving away. There was something about it, Colt keeping our connection and doing it like that. There was something that I couldn’t put my finger on but, whatever it was, it was beautiful.

“You forget, honey, that first time, I gave it to you with my mouth before I gave it to you with my cock,” his head came up and he looked at me, “we’re even.”

Damn, he was right.

“Whatever,” I muttered and he smiled at me.

“You’ll get my mouth back,” he told me, still sliding in and out.

“When?” I asked.

“Jesus, Feb, you just came.”

“What? I got a quota?”

He started laughing softly before he said, “Yeah, I gotta ration this so you don’t kill me.”

I put my lips to his but kept my eyes open when I whispered, “Beautiful death.”

I watched close up as his smile died and something else came into his eyes the second before he kissed me. Then he pulled out, moved back, taking me with him, and put me in bed. Colt rolled to his back, tucking me into his side. He did an ab curl, pulling the covers over us. Then he reached to the light and turned it out.

One of my arms was trapped under me but my other hand was moving on him, lazy, light, his skin hot, hard, tight. I loved the feel of him. His arm was wrapped around me and he drew patterns on my hip with his fingers. I loved the feel of that too.

I tried not to think about how much of this I missed all those years I locked myself away. How much Denny stole from me, from us. But it was impossible.

Then again, if it had just been Colt and me, we would have had to learn this shit from scratch. I didn’t know how many women he had and I didn’t want to know. I just knew Melanie and Susie and I’d heard about a couple others. Sometimes a woman would come in the bar and her eyes would find him direct and I’d know somewhere that used to be ugly, she’d had him. Sometimes when they came in, his eyes would go to them and that same knowledge would shine through. He’d smile at them, not big, but it was there, or he’d dip his chin, and I knew it didn’t end ugly but he ended it and the woman didn’t want it to end. He was being gentle and gentlemanly, telling her she gave him good memories but keeping her back all the same. I couldn’t say how I knew all this was communicated but, being tied to him the way I was, I knew. I also couldn’t say that happened often, but it happened enough and each time it was like a little dagger tip piercing my skin.