Just Her Luck (66 page)

His tongue snuck out to swipe at his bottom lip, his hands cupping his knees, almost gripping them desperately.

“You know, I don’t get you,” I waved the sponge I was using to soak up the excess water at him, making sure my bottom was properly covered. “You’re probably the sluttiest drunk I have ever met. Are you sure you haven’t slept with anyone
in years?
I mean…”

“I don’t drink, not usually, and I don’t sleep around. I don’t waste my time with easy women or whores, there’s no challenge in it. They bore me. I only ever had sex out of a relationship with you. Other than that, no, and I always used protection.
Until you
.”

Until you.

I let that roll around in my head.

“Isn’t that what you’d thought I was, a whore?”

“No,” he said honestly, yawning again, “I was being a fuck up, as usual with you. I saw you with Barry, straddling his motorcycle, smiling as you hopped off, hugging him, laughin’ and smilin’, and I…” He growled a little, out of nowhere, frustrated. “You make me all
mixed up
and I don’t know my head from my ass where you’re concerned. I was scared. I didn’t mean any of it, and it’s been eatin’ at me ever since. Even before you told me he was your cousin. All the other bullshit too.” He sighed wearily, heavily. “I wish I could just take it all back. Start over. I’d do things differently with you, gremlin, so different. I’d make it right.”

That got me to stop dead in my tracks.

“Oh, the great and powerful Reeve gets scared?” I kept my voice light, but you could clearly make out the condescension dripping from it, smirking at him, looking for something to pick at.

His confession left me a little scared myself, just not in the same way.

“The thought of losing all or any of my family and you, just you,
you
in general. Yes, those things scare me. Terrify me. No one’s ever made me feel the way you do. It’s almost frightening, how you make me feel.”

The floor and counters now sufficiently cleaned, I sat back on my heels, shirt tucked under me, and eyed him, wondering if he really meant any of this
fluff
.

Hmmmm.

Maybe it’s not such a good idea to be talking to him while he’s like this,
but…

“Why did you keep acting like an asshole with me if you knew it was all bullshit? Did you want to hurt me that bad?” I asked outright.

He blinked, nodding off a little and coming back to.

“I was scared, like I said, and everything I did to you was to scare you off, make you want to leave, not hurt you so bad you cried half the night. I’d wanted so badly to believe it was all an act, protect myself. Tellin’ myself you were just as bad as Maura. I even got myself to buy into it for a bit.”

He looked miserable, slumping down in his seat, defeated.

Ugh! Not one of those!

No sad drunks here! Not today!

I started up the coffee pot, hoping to hurry along sobering him up.

Don’t know how I’d handle it if his ass started crying or something.

I’d probably slap him a little, help him re-up his man card.

I couldn’t make that blasted machine brew the java fast enough.

Hurry! Hurry!

Luckily, it didn’t take as long as it felt, and he took the coffee and started drinking it.

Quick, quick, sober up!

“And now that I’ve gotten my head outta my ass, you won’t give me half a chance. Everything I do, I do wrong, and you ended up resenting me more anyways. You don’t even know it, gremlin, but you make me crazy, in a good way, not that bullshit you’re mama drilled into you. You’re my undoing.”

“You’re undoing?” my voice croaked.

He nodded, taking another sip from his mug.

His undoing
.

“I want everything with you.
Everything
. All of it. All those things I thought I’d never want, I want to have with you. I’d wanted you all to myself, but because of my stupidity, I have to share you now with four other idiots. I want you to say you’ll love me forever, I miss the way you used to smile at me the way you did before. I want to hear you cryin’ out
my name
, loud and long, your body gripping
me
tight, not one of my brothers’. Fuck… if I could, I’d want you to have my babies, that’s how strongly I feel about you. God, nothing at all ever goes right when it comes to me and you…”

Feeling uncomfortable, having sort of used him to pump him for info, getting
way
more than I ever thought I would, I walked over and helped him up, wrapping my arm around his waist, his arm over my shoulders.

“You’re drunk and rambling. You don’t know what you’re sayin’, bub. You’ll feel better in the morning.”

“I know exactly what I’m saying,” he insisted, taking a second to press a kiss to my temple.

My skin tingled from the contact.

“Come morning, you’ll be back to your regular old, grouchy, un-slutty self. You just wait and see,” I promised.

“I’m only slutty with you,” he admitted as we walked up the stairs.

“Oh?” I snorted.

“Yeah,” he mumbled, “you make me a slut.”

I peeked up at him.

His drunken buns were serious, and I laughed.

He frowned. “Don’t laugh. You make me slutty. It’s a good thing. I want to be slutty with you.”

Gripping him tighter so we didn’t fall, I burst out laughing.

“You think you’ll remember this tomorrow?” I chuckled, trying to put the grouchy Reeve together with the drunken Reeve, almost thinking of them as two different people.

“Yes.”

“For your sake, I hope not. I don’t think you’d ever had any intention of telling me some of the things you said. I don’t think you’d be happy to know you told me.”

Confessed was more like it, if he means what he says.

“I should have just told you from the get go. I knew I couldn’t resist you, but I tried anyways. You had me when you stood on my bed and chucked a rug beater at my naked ass. I was gone, even then.” He smiled wistfully, fondly, at the memory.

I gave him a raised-browed stare.

“I didn’t get the impression that you were too impressed with me then,” I muttered ruefully.

We’d made it to his room now and I helped him plop back on his bed.

He took me with him.

“Eeep! Reeve!”

“Sleep with me,” he murmured softly, tucking me up beside him, his arms wrapping around me.

“Wha… Reeve…”

“I’ll remember in the morning, hell cat, don’t you worry. Then I’ll make you mine.”

I grunted and grumbled under my breath, my protests ignored.

“You’re very cocky for someone who’s not getting any, now or later,” I retorted haughtily.

“I may not get some now, but I’ve got
you
and I’ll get mine later.” His erection snuggled up against my ass and he pressed it into my butt cheek, making his point.

“You’re even more annoying when you’re drunk,” I grumbled, wiggling uselessly in his grip. “I’m going to remind you of
all
of this, you know.”

His leg slung over mine, pinning me in place.

“I won’t forget. I may be goofy right now, but I’m lucid enough to remember.”

“I highly doubt it. Some of the things you said…”

“Were all true,” he grumbled.

I smiled at the familiar gruff, grump.

“If I remember all of this tomorrow, you have to sleep with me, deal?” he bargained, holding a hand out in front of me.

I laughed and shook my head.

“I’m not an idiot. I’m not making any bets with you.”

“Afraid?” he murmured sleepily, his hand cupping my mound, his fingers trailing my folds.

“Reeve,” I gasped, gripping his hand over mine.

“I told you, hell cat, I need something to hold me over. I really need
you
, though.”

I arched when his long tapered fingers slid deep inside of me and thrust hard, the hand that was once gripping his now gripped the sheet as I cried out.

“Mmm. Just like that. Grip me, beautiful. So responsive, Vieve. I love it,” he growled, pulling me up onto my hands and knees, his fingers playing me expertly as I gripped the bed tight. “Do it again, hell cat. I wanna hear my name on those pretty plump lips of yours. Tell me who’s fucking you.”

His other hand strummed at my clit, slippery from my own self lubricant.

“Reeve,” I moaned.

His fingers twisted, curling a little, and I almost came, his stroking, steady rhythm rubbing just the right spot.

I whimpered when he pulled back at the last second, leaving me bereft and empty, on the brink.

“I can’t wait anymore, beautiful.
I won’t
.”

His fingertips danced across my sex, but it was his cock he thrust in with, entering me with his throbbing member instead, both of us shouting out as he pounded into me forcefully, taking me hard, making me cry out, babbling who knows what unintelligibly as he swiftly brought me close to losing it once again.

He stopped and ground himself into me, groaning my name in ecstasy.

“Say you’re mine, Vieve. Just say you’re mine and I’ll make it all better. Oh, god… you feel so fuckin’ good. Mmmm. I’ve missed you, my little hell cat. Missed
this
.”

Thrusting once more before stopping again, he chuckled when I thrust back, whimpering when he pinned me in place so I couldn’t move.

He reached around to stroke my clit, panting softly at my neck.

“Did you miss me, beautiful? As much as I missed you?” he whispered, the husky timber wracking my body, doing things to me a voice shouldn’t be able to.

“We shouldn’t be doing this, it’s not right.” My protest was half-assed and I knew it.

He licked my neck, a long, slow sweep of his tongue, kissing along my jaw line until I turned my head and opened my mouth up to his, more than willing to receive him, receive his kiss.

He slowly slid my buttonless shirt off my shoulders, helping me out of it as we licked and nibbled at each other hungrily.

“Nothing between us is wrong, not when you feel so right.”

Reality reared its ugly head at his statement, making me take stock.

I tried to pull back, reeling at myself for the last few minutes, reminding myself once again exactly why this was bad.

Alcohol aside, the ugly memories of the last time I’d let my guard down with him came back with blinding clarity, stinging as they slapped me in the face.

“Stop.” I panicked, mentally and physically withdrawing, trying to pull away.

“No.” He stopped kissing me, sensing my distress, pulling back to flip me onto my back, settling himself on top of me, hugging me to him as he peppered my neck and chin with reassuring kisses, his cock nestled hot and hard, glistening with our juices, over my aching sex.

“Reeve,” I protested, pushing at his shoulders.

He paused and whispered in my ear.

“Please don’t. Don’t do this. Don’t pull away from me. Not now. Not like this. I need you, Vieve… I… I love you.”

As he said this, he methodically made his way to my lips, putting the meaning of those words, the passion of it, the feelings, into his kiss when his lips descended upon mine, telling me with his body, after his words, the truth of it.

And I wanted so badly to believe him, to think that tomorrow wouldn’t be like last time, that he wouldn’t shove all of those lovely, promising, heartfelt words back at me in the morning, snickering at me and scorning me as he took every word, every look, every caress back; making me feel torn and raw, expecting me to just dismiss it all, act like it had never happened.

I couldn’t bear the thought and yet I don’t want to stop.

I swallowed hard and stared into his eyes, earnest and open for once, full of things I never thought I’d see swimming in those stormy depths.

“Say you’re mine, Vieve. Say you’ll be mine.”

I nodded, smiling sadly, caressing his face, committing it to memory.

My Reeve.

At least when all is said and done, I’ll have this
,
I thought, moaning when he entered me, cherishing every moment, absorbing everything.

I want this, need this, need him.

I’ll make tonight count.

Pushing his pants and boxer briefs the rest of the way down his legs, I dug my nails into his ass, enjoying his groan of pleasure, his cock twitching in excitement as he thrust up again, harder this time.

I smiled, one part challenge, two part predator, all seductress.

“I’m yours tonight, Reeve. Tonight, I’m yours.”

He shook his head.

“No. You were always mine. I was just too stupid to accept it. You’ll always be mine, Vieve.”