Chapter 22
Makenna
“Now, you have fun and be a good girl, okay?” I asked.
“I promise, Mom. I’ll be really good,” Ana said.
“And if you get homesick, Mrs. Reinhart has my phone number. Just tell her to call me and I’ll come get you.”
“I’ll be fine, Mom. You worry too much.”
“Yes, the sass starts early,” Mrs. Reinhart said.
I watched Ana run into the house and take her friend’s hand before they ran out back.
“Thank you so much for inviting Ana over. It’s been hard for her, making friends in a new town,” I said.
“Well I hope we can be friends as well. Us single mothers need to stick together,” she said.
“I’d like that. Lord knows I don’t know many people around here.”
“Yeah, and as single mothers we never get time to get out and make friends,” she said with a giggle.
“The next sleepover is at my place, okay?”
“If you want to come over tomorrow for breakfast, the girls can play a little longer and we can enjoy some wine.”
“Wine in the morning? You’re a woman after my own heart,” I said with a grin.
“Then I’ll have a bottle chilled and waiting for your arrival,” she said. “Any plans for your free night?”
Oh, I had plans all right.
“Just hanging out with my neighbor for a bit. Maybe enjoying a beer or two. Dinner has to happen eventually,” I said. “Other than that, nope.”
“Well, get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning and I’ll have a glass waiting with your name on it.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” I said.
I walked back to my car and sat there before I finally drove off. Ana’s first sleepover. It would feel weird not having her in the house with me, but I figured being with Brewer would be a nice replacement. The idea of spending another night with him sent electricity shooting through my limbs. But the idea of not having to keep myself silent this time made my thighs quiver with want.
I had Brewer all to myself for an entire night.
I parked my car and headed next door. I knocked on his door and he opened it quickly, then wrapped me up in his arms. The greeting was very unlike him. He was usually distant until the sexual tension began to grow. But I encompassed him anyway as he pulled me into his home and shut the door.
“You get Ana dropped off okay?” he asked.
“I did,” I said as I kissed his neck. “And something smells good.”
“I cooked dinner.”
“I thought I was cooking dinner.”
“Surprise?”
I giggled and shook my head as he finally sat me down onto my feet. There was that look again. But this time, I knew it was guilt. Hesitation and worry mixed with a splash of guilt.
What in the world was going on with him.
I sat down at the table with him and his foot automatically wrapped around mine underneath the table. Don’t get me wrong, I was enjoying the affection. I figured maybe he was being this way because Ana wasn’t around to interrupt us or see anything she didn’t need to be seeing. But it still seemed out of character for a man like Brewer, which meant my mind was still swirling with questions.
“So how did work go?” I asked.
His eyes whipped up to mine before he cleared his throat.
“It came and it went,” he said.
“Should I take that to mean you saw your gang instead of working in the mechanic shop? Or is there not a mechanic shop?”
“There is. Skinned and Skulled. We have a web page.”
“Oh, so this is a fancy mechanic shop.”
“It’s hardly fancy,” he said.
“If you have a web page, it’s fancy,” I said.
“How was work for you today?”
“It came and it went.”
“Still battling that worker’s compensation incident that happened?”
“Yep. And I will be for another few weeks, at least.”
I took a bite of the chicken Brewer cooked and it was delicious. Juicy and tender, with just the right amount of spices and sweetness. I devoured it. I couldn’t contain myself. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and my stomach was growling as I filled it with the vegetables and the mashed potatoes in front of me.
And with each bite, I felt Brewer’s eyes on me.
He studied me all throughout dinner without once offering up a bit of conversation. It was like he was in his own little world. At times, it made me feel like he was trying to memorize me. It made me uncomfortable. Nervous. Worried that something might have happened to him at ‘work’. I tried to shake the feeling off, but every movement he made it seem like he wouldn’t be seeing me for a while.
Like his insistence on getting me another beer because he ‘wanted to do it while he could’.
Or him making me a second plate because he ‘wasn’t sure when he’d be able to cook for me again’.
Or him moving to sit next to me because he ‘wanted to be close to me as much as he could’.
It was a stark change from the man I’d come to know, and it worried me.
I got up to take the plates to the sink and he tried to stop me. But all I did was rip the plates from his hands. He glared down at me and I stuck my tongue out at him, trying to lighten the mood the best way I could. I didn’t like the storm hanging above us. I wanted us to have a good time. I wanted this to be a joyous moment because Ana wasn’t with us and I had the opportunity to feel like a whole and complete woman for once.
“You cooked, so I clean,” I said.
“That’s the rule in your house. Not mine,” he said.
“Tough. Now go get me the rest of those dishes.”
I ran some hot water into the sink and poured bubbles in it. I soaped up the dishes and dropped them into a sink full of nothing but cool water, splashing them around and getting water all over my shirt. The man didn’t have a dishwasher in his kitchen. Who the hell didn’t own a dishwasher?
But when Brewer dropped the last pan into the soap, it sprayed all over me.
“Oops,” he said.
“I know that was on purpose,” I said as I turned around.
His eyes fell right to my soaking wet shirt as he licked his lips.
“No. The dishes have to be cleaned fir-! Brewer!”
His hands fisted my ass and he set me right onto the edge of the counter. Just picked me up and placed me there like I weighed nothing. I fell into the cool water and felt my pants becoming soaked. I squealed and screamed as giggles fell from my mouth. Brewer reached over and turned the hot water on, then picked up the sprayer and soaked me as I struggled to get out of the sink.
“What are you doing!?” I exclaimed.
I put my hand into the water and splashed him as much as I could. Laughter unlike anything I’d ever heard fell from his lips as a smile crossed his cheeks. He sprayed me and I splashed him, picking up suds and tossing them his way. My hair was soaking wet, dripping down my face as my clothes clung to my body.
The water shut off just long enough for me to wiggle out of the sink, but Brewer’s arms caught me before I hit the floor.
I crashed into his lips as we dropped to the tiles of his kitchen floor. Clothes peeled off and hands ventured everywhere. My lips kissed down his neck as my hands explored his muscles, feeling every strong inch of him as his cock came to life. We moved around his kitchen, kissing against every surface available. He pinned me to the tiles and sucked on my tits. I pressed him into the fridge and took his cock between my lips. He hoisted me back onto the counter and dove his tongue between my thighs.
Sweat dripped down our bodies as the dishes sat uncleaned.
He bent me over his kitchen table and slid his rock-hard cock into my body. His hand fisted my wet hair, squeezing droplets of liquid that trickled down my skin. He pounded into me so hard the table moved until the chairs were up against the kitchen wall. His balls smacked my clit. His hips snapped against mine. I turned my head back as he bent over my body and I captured his lips in a sloppy wet kiss. My hand threaded into his hair. I stood on my tiptoes to grant him further access. I shivered. Shook. Moaned into his mouth until he released my lips.
“Brewer. Brewer. Yes. Fuck me. Harder. Don’t stop. Don’t stop. Brewer! Don’t stop! Please!”
My body exploded around him as he continued to fuck my body. His hands gripped my hips, pulling my limp body into his as his cock grew against my walls. I gripped around the edge of the table. My body collapsed against the cold surface. His hips stuttered and his legs became unsteady, and soon he dropped to my back. He slid his hands down my wet arms, lacing our fingers together while he rested against me. His cock throbbed and pulsed, coating my body with his arousal as my legs gave out from underneath me.
His lips kissed every divot of my spine, raising the hairs on the back of my neck.
“So sweet,” he said with a whisper. “So good to me.”
My eyes fluttered closed at the beauty of his words.
His hands roamed my body until I was finally done quivering. Then he pulled himself from my body and stumbled away from me. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. I was stunned by the passion that had painted his kitchen. I heard him slipping and sliding as he made his way across the room, his come dripping down the insides of my thighs.
Then something cool descended onto my skin and it made me jump.
“Here, I got that,” I said.
“Let me do this for you, Makenna. Stop fighting me.”
I furrowed my brow as he cleaned me up, then he helped me onto the top of his table. He climbed up there with me and held me close as his kitchen glistened with the soap and water that started the mess we finished. I rested against him. Felt his heart beating quickly against my cheek.
But I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. And I couldn’t go another second without asking him about it
“Brewer?”
“Hmm?” he asked as he stroked my wet hair.
“What’s wrong? And don’t give me this crap about nothing’s wrong. Because I know something’s wrong.”
His hand froze and his body tightened.
“Just work stuff,” he said.
“You mean stuff with the gang?”
“We prefer the term ‘club.”
“Then it’s stuff with the club?” I asked.
I rose up from the table and looked into his eyes as I drew in a deep breath.
“There’s something I have to do for them, and I’m not sure how long it’s going to take.”
“Well that’s not so bad? What’s going on?”
“I can’t talk about it,” he said.
“Why not?”
“Because I can’t.”
“Well how long will you be gone?”
“I’m not sure,” he said. “For a while, probably.”
“Define ‘a while’,” I said.
“A few weeks. Maybe months.”
“Months?” I asked.
I sat up and away from his body as he propped himself up onto his elbows.
“What are you doing, Brewer?”
“Can’t say,” he said.
“Tell me right now what it is you’ve gotten yourself into.”
“I want to keep you out of it. Remember what I told you? What I do is dangerous.”
“You can’t tell me you’re going to be gone for a few months after what just happened and expect me to not want details.”
“Well you’re not getting them,” he said.
“What am I supposed to tell Ana when she starts asking for you?”
“That I’m on a work trip and I’ll be back when I can get back,” he said.
“A work trip. Tell me, right now, what is it that’s going on.”
“No,” he said.
“Why not?”
“Because I want to keep you safe.”
“And you think not cluing me into a damn thing is going to keep me safe!?”
I felt my frustration bubbling over. This was supposed to be a romantic night. A good night. And instead, it was our last night. At least, that was how Brewer was treating it.
“You know that’s the only way I can. The less you know about what I’m doing, the better it is for you and Ana.”
“This was a mistake,” I said.
“What?” he asked.
I slid quickly from the table and stumbled on my wobbling legs.
“Makenna, you’re going to hurt yourself.”
But I ignored him as I tried my best to pull on my wet clothes. I jumped into my pants and slid across the soapy floor. I pulled my shirt over my head and stumbled into the kitchen counter. I felt a pair of strong hands grip my hips to keep me steady, but I pushed him away and fell into the fridge.
“Makenna!”
“Get off me,” I said.
I looked into his eyes and saw a mixture of so many emotions. Flashes of them, and so quickly I couldn’t name all of them. I saw anger and fear. Sorrow and fight. Happiness and destruction and strength and weakness. All of it, flashing in his beautiful amber eyes.
Eyes I couldn’t see for months.
“Where are you going?” he asked as I walked out of the kitchen.
“Home,” I said.
I felt his arm grip me before he ripped me around. His lips crashed onto mine as he cupped my cheeks, barreling my back into the door. His hands gripped my hips and he hoisted me up the door frame and I felt my body caving to him. I felt his cock grinding against me. But even as that telltale heat raked up the back of my neck, I couldn’t give in.
“We aren’t a mistake,” he said as his forehead pressed against mine.
“Put me down,” I said as I wiggled against him.
His hands gripped me tighter before he released me from his grasp. I ripped his door open and stormed out, running back to my house with my bra and panties in my hand. I slammed myself into my house as tears streamed down my cheeks, my heart shattering into pieces as I slid to the floor.
Brewer was going to be gone. For all I knew, he was in danger. And there was nothing I could do about it.
I tossed my wet underwear into the corner before pulling myself to my feet. I had to piece myself back together. I had to pick myself up by my bootstraps and keep on going. I couldn’t be with a man that couldn’t talk to me. That couldn’t tell me what was going on in his world. But as I ripped my wet clothes off and walked to the dryer to pull out a new outfit, my soul already ached.
I already missed him.
And he wasn’t even gone yet.