Every Way Page 3

  “Do you trust me?” Bryan asked.

  “What does that have to do with anything?” I asked.

  “I asked you a simple question.”

  “Of course, I trust you,” I said.

  “Which do you trust more about me? My words or my actions?”

  I felt his hands run up my body and cup my breast as his lips kissed the side of my neck.

  “Your, um, actions. It’s always been what you do over what you say,” I said.

  “Then let me show you my rebuttal to your issues.”

  His lips nipped at my neck as his hands squeezed my nipples between his fingers. I sighed into the shower as the steam whipped around our bodies. His hand languidly made their way down my body, growing closer and closer to my folds. I reached back for his hair, sliding my fingers through it as he maneuvered me underneath the running water.

  “Bryan,” I said breathlessly. “What are you doing?”

  He spun me around in his arms, and our lips collided. Electricity zipped through my veins as a fire started in my toes. The water was running over our bodies just like his hands were running down my curves, grasping the cheeks of my ass and lifting me closer to him. He backed me into the shower wall, his lips traveling down to my breasts. He sucked and he nipped, leaving love marks behind as evidence of the love he was about to shower me with.

  I was loved by the most wonderful man in the universe, and that was his point.

  He dropped to his knees as my hands parted my thighs. I spread myself for him, bracing myself against the shower wall as his lips kissed my folds. His tongue breached my body, finding that beautiful spot he had all but memorized. My hand curled around the longer tendrils of his hair as my fingernails raked against his scalp.

  “You are beautiful,” he said as he kissed my body. “And you will always be beautiful to me.”

  His tongue brought me to heights I only experienced when I was in his arms. His hands wrapped around my thighs, spreading me farther for him as his tongue drank down my arousal. My hips rolled against his lips, my clit swelling underneath his ministrations. My entire body began locking up as my head spun with ecstasy. I loved this man. This man who knelt in front of me and brought me to swirling heights of lust. His named breathlessly dripped from my lips like a prayer as his tongue pressed deeper into my body.

  I could feel my toes curling as my eyes rolled into the back of my head. The fire that started in my feet was cascading up my thighs. I shook on top of his face. I pressed myself harder against the shower wall. His hands held me in place as his shoulders scooted behind my legs. He was ready to hold my body weight if I collapsed. He was ready to take the brunt of the fall if I lost myself in him.

  This man loved every part of me, and as my climax rushed over my body, I made sure he knew it.

  “Perfect. You’re perfect. Shit, Bryan. Yes. I love you. Yes. Oh, hell.”

  I collapsed into him, and he studied my body with his strong, chiseled arms. I was heaving for air, my lungs gasping for life as I slowly slid to the shower floor. Bryan gathered me in his arms and held me close to him, my body curled up in his lap as his lips continued to kiss my skin.

  “I love you, Hailey. There is nothing about you that is unattractive. I have been insatiable during your pregnancy, watching you blossom the way you have. There will never be a point in our lives where I don’t crave you.”

  “I love you so much,” I said.

  Tears rose to my eyes as I tilted my head back. I pushed myself up and captured Bryan's lips with mine, tasting myself on his skin. Tears of joy leaked down my face as our bodies continued to be battered by the warm water pouring from the shower. I could feel him grinning into my lips as my tongue slowly lapped at his, tasting as much of him as I could while my body settled down.

  “I’m such a blubbering mess,” I said.

  “I blame it on the baby,” he said.

  “Already starting that habit?”

  “I’m never too old to learn new tricks.”

  I smiled as my arm wrapped around Bryan's neck. I brought his face back down to mine for another loving kiss, only this time, I could feel his body growing against me. I lifted myself to my knees and straddled his lap, my warmth hovering over his growing thickness. I watched his eyes darken as a mischievous smirk crossed my cheeks. Then, I reached down and wrapped my hand around his pulsing girth.

  “We seemed to have hit uneven footing,” I said.

  “How do you figure?” Bryan asked.

  “That exchanged seemed a little one-sided, don’t you think?”

  I slid myself down his throbbing cock, making a groan leave his lips. I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his cheek while his entire body trembled against mine. My body was humming for him, begging me to move as I stayed seated in his lap. His hands came up and gripped my hips, his fingertips burying themselves into the growing excess of my body.

  “Make love to me, Bryan McBride,” I said.

  “With pleasure,” he said.

  Chapter 3

  Bryan

  I wanted to stop by Drew's tattoo shop to check on him and see how he was doing. He and Anna had drifted apart since the two of them had tried to get their new lives off the ground. Between Anna trying to get her legal aid services business up and running and Drew working on promoting his tattoo shop, they didn't have a lot of time to spend with one another. They had eventually broken things off, and I hated that I hadn’t been around to be there for him. It had all taken place while we were still in the middle of Hailey's European art tour, and I wanted to check on my friend and make sure he was doing okay.

  From the moment I pulled up, I could tell his business was booming. There were cars looking for parking spaces, and there was a line out the door. I smiled as I parked my car, resolving myself to walk three blocks to get to the tattoo parlor.

  I was already proud of my friend and former business partner before I even entered the establishment.

  I expected the back up of people to be because Drew was the only inker. The last time we had talked about his business, he’d had no intentions of hiring anyone else. He didn't want to deal with a staff or payroll or anything like that. He just wanted to be a small, individual business he could flourish and run on his own. But that was not what I found when I walked inside. I pushed through people to find the door that separated the waiting room from the individual tattoo rooms, and I shoved myself through it. People were complaining as I scooted past them, but I tried not to let it get to me. If I was waiting in this line and saw some random guy pushing through, I’d be pissed too.

  And I was surprised to see more than one inker. In fact, three other tattoo rooms were taken up by people who weren't Drew.

  “Drew! Where the hell are you?”

  “Bryan? That you?” he asked.

  I watched him pop his head out of a room before a smile crossed his face.

  “Oh, shit! Dude! You’re back! Get your ass back here. I’m almost done.”

  “What the hell’s all this?” I asked. “What happened to just you running the place?”

  “It’s been a happy mess since you’ve been gone,” Drew said, grinning. “Word spread like wildfire, and I had to hire people just to keep up with the demand. I still get the most requests, but get this. All these guys are artists.”

  “Isn’t the term tattoo artist?” I asked.

  “No, dude. Actual artists. Like Mikey over there. He’s got a degree in the shit. And Ace? Doesn’t say a fucking word but can do three-dimensional tattoos like you wouldn’t believe. And Gracie all the way in the back has that minimalistic shit going on.”

  “Sounds like you’ve got yourself a wonderful staff,” I said.

  “Yeah, and we’re raking in the money.”

  The smile on Drew's face and the satisfaction in his voice were unlike anything I had ever seen. In all the years I’d worked with him at the construction company we built from the ground up, I had never seen him like this. I had never heard that kind of h
appiness and satisfaction in his voice. It warmed my heart to see my best friend so happy, and as he cleaned up his client, I stood back and watched him work.

  “I can’t thank you enough for all you did to help me with this,” Drew said.

  “You helped me start a fucking company. It was the least I could do,” I said. “Plus, all the support you gave me when Hailey and I were struggling? All in repayment.”

  “You don’t have to repay me for any of that. You were there for me when Anna and I split.”

  “Not like I should’ve been,” I said.

  “You were supporting your woman on her art tour, dude! Get off it already. You ran up your phone bill taking my calls. I don’t even wanna know how much that cost, man.”

  “How are you doing?” I asked. “I mean, with everything.”

  “It is what it is. We both got busy with our lives and businesses and things just fizzled out.”

  “You ever thought about asking her out again?”

  “Why? Does she ask about me at work?”

  “At work? You talk with her enough to know she works with me now?” I asked.

  “No. It’s been a while.”

  “Then how do you know she works at the foundation now?” I asked.

  “Just answer the question, man.”

  “Well, I’ve only been back in town a couple of weeks. I’ve stopped off at the foundation to check in on things, but I don’t go back full-time until tomorrow. But from what Hailey’s told me, she does ask a bit about you. I’m serious. You should give her a call now. Things have settled down on her end a bit now that she’s set up at the foundation, and you look like you’re running steady hours now instead of that twenty-four seven bullshit that’s required to get a business going.”

  “I’m busier than ever. Open at noon and closed at eleven.”

  “You run eleven-hour days out of this place? Are your inkers part-time?” I asked.

  “Nope. All full-time staff. We’re just that busy.”

  “That’s awesome, Drew. It really is. But back to Anna.”

  “Dude, come on,” he said.

  “It’s embarrassing at this point. Everyone knows the two of you are still into each other. People drift apart, but that doesn’t mean emotions fall by the wayside. You two were an item before, and then life got in the way. It happens to everyone. But you guys are settled a bit more now.”

  “I don’t know if we can get back together, man,” he said.

  “Why not?” I asked.

  “I just don’t know, okay? Things are busy, and I hardly have time for myself right now. Just leave it for now. I’m fine, I promise. I know that’s why you came here, to check up on me and shit.”

  “Yeah, well. Sue me for caring,” I said.

  “So, you go back to work tomorrow?” he asked.

  “Yep. I’ll pop my head in for a meeting with Ellen this afternoon, but that’s about it.”

  “How’s Hailey doing with the baby? And how’s the art gallery?”

  “Hailey and the baby are wonderful. You should come over one morning and have breakfast with us. She’d love to see you.”

  “Even after failing to date her sister?” he asked.

  “You two didn’t fail. You just drifted apart. Get it straight. And yes, she’d still love to see you. Your tattoo stuff is still up in her art gallery, which is going well. She’s having to look into hiring a new person full-time for when the baby comes, but that’s about it.”

  “What’s wrong with the girl who’s there?” he asked.

  “Graduating and moving away.”

  “Sounds like a decent reason for leaving a place of work. I approve.”

  “Not that you had any say in it to begin with,” I said, grinning.

  “What time’s your meeting?” he asked.

  “In about an hour. I’m going to run down food before I head that way.”

  “Well, give Hailey my love. I’ll definitely scoot by for breakfast soon.”

  “If you want to see her, you’ll have to get there around seven,” I said.

  “I’ll definitely scoot by for dinner on my day off sometime soon,” he said, chuckling.

  I clapped Drew on the back before he took on his next client. My stomach was rumbling with hunger, and I had thirty minutes to track down food before I had to go sit down with Ellen. I wasn't quite sure what she wanted to discuss, so I tried to brace myself for everything. New projects that needed to be approved, old projects that needed more coordination, last-minute meetings that made it onto the schedule. I walked into the meeting with my mind set on working the rest of the day, but I was pleasantly surprised as to the topic of conversation that was being focused on.

  “The efficiency of this foundation has improved by eighty percent, and that’s with you being overseas,” she said.

  “Well, I’m glad things are going well. I tried to take on all I could while I was touring,” I said.

  “The fundraising efforts you initiated were beyond successful, and the new method of money dispersal is a hit with everyone. You’ve really proven yourself, Bryan.”

  “I’m glad I can help. I’m excited about getting in here tomorrow and having a regular presence.”

  “And we’re ready to have you. How did Hailey’s tour go?”

  “Better than we could’ve ever expected. We were able to pay off the loans she still had out on her gallery as well as invest in our baby’s college fund. I’ve been told it’s never too early to start one of those.”

  “Oh, how is she doing with the baby? She’s, what? Six months along?”

  “Seven,” I said. “And it’s going. She’s hit that stage where she’s done being pregnant, and she isn’t feeling herself anymore.”

  “Struggling with how her body is changing?” she asked.

  “In part, yeah.”

  “Well, a woman’s body changes a great deal when she’s pregnant, but it’s nothing to be concerned about. Plus, she’s a lucky woman to be carrying your child. I have to say, I’m a bit jealous.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “You heard me,” she said, grinning.

  Her comment had me on high alert. When I had taken this job at the foundation, I’d made it clear to her I had no sexual interest in her. I’d made it clear that I was in love with Hailey and had even made it a point to call her and announce both our pregnancy and our engagement when Hailey agreed to marry me. I had yet to be in the office full-time with her, even though I was working for the foundation around-the-clock, but I figured this misunderstanding between us had fallen by the wayside.

  But her comment was making me insecure about this job again, and I wasn't sure what to think of it.

  Had my comment about Hailey's struggles opened some sort of door for her? Was that something I shouldn’t have mentioned? I didn't think anything of it while we were talking. She was only asking how Hailey was doing. I figured she was taking an interest in my home life since the foundation seemed to operate as a massive family.

  But now I was beginning to question her motives for hiring me and asking how Hailey was doing in the first place.

  “Having a child is a wonderful blessing,” Ellen said. “The fact that the two of you are expecting is an absolute joy. I wanted children with my late husband. I wanted to fill his home full of them. I wanted a massive family and lots of grandchildren, and I’d dream about it every night as I fell asleep beside him.”

  “Why didn’t you two have children?” I asked.

  I was trying to put the focus back on her instead of me in order to stray away from the topic of Hailey. I was no longer comfortable discussing that with her, not until I could pinpoint her actual motives and put her in her place again if it was necessary.

  “Between our active careers, we just never found the time. We kept putting it off and pushing it away, and then his death took everyone by surprise. Now, I’m a bit too old to be doing that kind of thing,” she said.

  “Many women in their thirties are having chil
dren nowadays,” I said.

  “Thirties? Oh, Bryan. You flatter me.”

  Shit. This woman wasn’t in her thirties? I figured she was thirty-eight or thirty-nine, and now I had unwittingly paid her a compliment. I needed to get this meeting back on track and back into a business-like tone. I was digging a hole I didn’t need to be digging, and now I was digging it further without a damn flashlight to light the way.

  “I’m forty-three, hardly an age where a woman could have a child and give it the best it needs. The foundation is my child now. My legacy. And I want you to know I appreciate how much you are helping with that legacy with the professionalism and the intelligence and the skills and ideas you’re bringing to your job. I’m tempted to bump your salary with all of the work you’ve already accomplished,” Ellen said.

  “You’re very kind. It’s nice to know my efforts aren’t going unnoticed, especially since I haven’t been here. And I want to thank you again for partnering with the construction company.”

  “How is that going, by the way? I haven’t had anyone drop in on that project lately. That Foreman Duke of yours is a spitfire,” she said.

  “It’s going really well. We expanded into some other areas and hired a few more people to help. Things are stabilizing and the company’s bringing in the kind of money I figured it would. Duke’s keeping up on his payments to you, right?”

  “I actually toggled things a bit on that when you were gone,” she said. “Instead of making payments back for the money we funneled in to get you set up in another city, we’re helping to fund all the building of the homes, trailers, and tiny houses your company enjoys giving away. Funding those projects fully opened up the revenue to pay the other hires. Or so Duke told me.”

  “Well, if Duke says it’s so, then it’s probably so. I’m headed there after the meeting for him to brief me on things, but it sounds like things are going well,” I said.