My entire body aches.
Every. Single. Part.
I attempt to adjust my shoulder and instantly groan at the throbbing.
“You awake?”
Julia’s soft voice compels my eyelids to flutter open resulting in more grunting.
Fuck.
How do even my eyelashes hurt?
It takes a few moments before her bright face becomes less blurry. As soon as it does, a heavy sigh of gratitude is expelled.
Thank God, she’s alright. I don’t know what I would’ve done if something…anything more would’ve happened to her. I mean, I’d spend every last dime I had hunting the bastard down and then killing him with my bare hands, but I’d never be able to forgive myself for the pain she endured. Not when it was my job to protect her.
Not when I should’ve acted faster.
Been late to Pax’s stupid fucking bachelor party and went to check on her first.
Her concerns were real, and I should’ve done more.
She gently strokes the side of my cheek. “You scared the shit out of me.”
My short laughs transforms into a long groan. I hit my head against the hospital bed pillow and try to breathe through the pain.
“I take it the drugs haven’t kicked in yet?”
I angle my face her direction. “So they did give me something? They’re not just torturing me like some sort of experiment to see how much pain one human can endure before passing out?”
Julia rolls her eyes and leans back in her seat. “Drammatico.”
Relieved to see her taunting smile, I resume our never ending banter. “Hey, I took two ass beatings for you today. I think you should be a bit più gentile to me.”
Her eyebrows dart down. “What do you mean two?”
Rather than admit to the fight I had with her brother before fighting to help save her life, I turn the line of questioning the appropriate direction. “What happened after I was knocked out?”
She sits in the seat a little taller. “He came for me. Thankfully, I had self-defense training believe it or not that had a segment that covered how to get out of constraints such as duct tape. And luckily for me, your weird habit of leaving utensils lying around came in handy. There was one that had gotten lost underneath the couch. I jammed it into his neck, hitting an artery like we had been advised in class, and he bled out.” Julia waves a hand over dress. “As you can see.”
“That’s only his blood, right? None is yours?”
A soft smile returns to her face. “Not a drop.”
“Grazie a Dio.”
“I called 911, they rushed you to the hospital, and while the doctor checked you out, I answered a million questions. They warned me I would probably be brought in for more questioning, but for the time being I was free to check on you, which was made difficult by the mouthy hospital administrator. ‘Only family’. Um…Stai scherzando? I was in the ambulance with him! Had to say you were my fiancé for her to let me back here.”
I grow a crooked smile. “A fiancée with no ring? What kind of jerk are you trying to make me out to be?”
Julia giggles at the response. “That’s your only problem with what I did?”
“Yeah.”
The admission silences us both.
Truth is, I had been looking at rings in person. I knew if I did it online Holden would get wind, and it’d be a shit storm…prior to the shit storm I encountered. Besides, I wanted to physically see it on a hand. Play over the proposal. I even had the sales associates practice reactions. I need a ring that’s not just any ring.
I need the perfect jewel for my Jule.
An unexpected knock at the door redirects our stares.
Pax’s cut face cranes through the slight opening.
Julia doesn’t give him a chance to say anything. “What are you doing here?”
He can’t stop himself from glowering. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“You know why she’s here.”
Pax steps inside at the same time his sister turns her question to me. “He does?”
“Yeah.” My eyes don’t leave his. “And he doesn’t approve.”
He folds his arms across his chest.
“Of us or more accurately of me, in general, right bro?” I quickly surrender my hands into the air and viciously snap, “Forgive me. We’re not bros anymore. I almost forgot.”
“What?” Julia promptly asks. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Ignoring her interjection, I bite, “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Hospital called.” Pax’s expression remains unmoved. “I’m first on the emergency contact list.”
That was back when I assumed he’d never be the one to put me in the ER.
When I assumed he’d use every ounce of his legal knowledge to prevent me from losing a limb.
Now I know he’d be more likely to tell them to not resuscitate me, then proceed to donate my body to science.
“Oh, that’s gonna change,” Julia snips.
He narrows his eyes her direction. “Non a causa tua.”
“Yes, because of me,” she retorts before I can. “I’m his girlfriend. It should be me they call when shit like this happens.”
“It should never be you they call because you have no fucking business being with him!”
“You have no fucking business telling me who the fuck to be with!”
“I’m tuo fratello maggiore!”
“Then learn to fucking act like it!” Julia barks, shooting to her feet. “A big brother supports his sister. A big brother gives a fuck about her happiness not just what he thinks her happiness should or shouldn’t be!”
Pax growls and steps closer her direction. “A big brother protects his little sister from assholes!”
“Wyatt is not an asshole!”
“Really?” He scoffs. “You think you know him? You think the bullshit façade he uses to seduce women is the real him?”
I start to defend myself but am beaten to the punch. “You don’t think I know where he’s been? Who he’s been with? You don’t think I know the line of women he’s left wanting more basically wraps around the entire planet?”
That…doesn’t make me look good.
“You don’t think I know how many hotel rooms he’s snuck out of? How many women cheated on their husbands with him? You don’t think I know that Holden’s deceased wife tried to join that list?”
Her brother’s face twitches at the new information.
“That’s all you wanna see, Paxton. The countless trophies on his wall, but you know…you know there’s more to him than that.”
“Julez-”
“Who was it when you were at Clover Rose that made you soup and ran to the drug store to get meds for you whenever you were sick?”
His eyes flicker my direction.
“And who was it that gave you money for a deposit on a new car when you started law school?”
It wasn’t like I needed that cash.
“Who brings your ass back fancy fucking ties, cufflinks, and now toys for your daughter any time he travels?”
The reminder of the souvenirs in my trunk causes me to wince.
Candy’s probably melted.
“You want a reason for Wyatt to be a monster, so that you can protect me before you think it’s too late.” Julia shakes her head slowly. “But he’s not Carter, Paxton.”
“I’d never fucking hurt your sister like that,” I finally speak up. “And believe it or not, I’d never wanna tear her away from you like that, either.”
“Why do you think I’ve been making this giant effort to reconnect to you and i nostri genitori after so many years?”
Pax begins to grind his teeth.
“Wyatt encouraged it. Pushed me to see how much it hurt for you to be kept at an arm’s length. Begged me to give you and our parents the chance to get to know Julia instead of just leaving you all with the broken memories of Julez.”
His brown eyes toss me a somber glance.
“I love him, Paxton,” she proclaims, hand finding its way to mine. “And I’m gonna keep loving him no matter what you say or do. I know it isn’t what you want, but it’s what is happening. How would you feel if I asked you to stop loving Ryann?”
“I’d be livid.”
“Esattamente.”
“You’d fight to keep her regardless of what anyone said.” My words grab his attention once more. “You’d fight to show the world why you love her and at the end of the day do whatever it took to keep her.”
He swallows his pride.
“Because you love her. Because your whole fucking life wouldn’t be the same without her.”
His gaze averts downward.
“I have almost had my life taken from me twice, Paxton, and I’ll say this. I’d rather die happy and in love with Wyatt than live forever never having known how incredible life is with him.”
Paxton doesn’t give me a moment to fawn over the statement. “What the fuck do you mean twice? What the fuck happened?”
I squeeze her hand tightly, almost afraid to let go. “She was attacked today.”
“What!?”
“Carter’s younger brother, Owen, attacked me at my apartment…”
His body begins to shake in rage. “How is that even possible? How the fuck did he know how to find you?”
“He’d been stalking me for years,” she quietly confesses. “Basically started when his brother stopped.” Julia gives her bottom lip a nervous bite. “I always thought the feelings of being followed were just from the haunting memories. I never believed it could happen again…”
My thumb gently strokes her shaking knuckles. “I got there before he had time to do anything more than get her restrained. I managed to get her legs free but not much else. He ended up getting a couple good stabs in and knocked me unconscious.”
Kicks aren’t exactly made for knife fighting situations…
Paxton’s eyes swing back to Julia who explains the ending, “During their scuffle, I freed myself. I waited until I knew I could immobilize him, and then I did. He bled out in the apartment…”
His entire body sags. “Julez…”
“I’m okay,” she reassures with a sniffle. “Really, Paxton.”
“She can handle herself,” I firmly state. “She’s much stronger than you wanna give her credit for.”
“Wyatt’s also much more caring than you wanna give him credit for.”
Paxton lets out a heavy huff. “Cazzo! I get it. I’m sorry!”
His barked apology shuts both our mouths.
“You’re both right.” He bores his eyes into Julia’s. “I’m terrified, Julez. I’m terrified I’m gonna lose you again. Terrified you’re gonna be taken away from me. Terrified something terrible is going to happen to you like it apparently fucking did today and that this time I’m not going to able to save you. That you’re gonna…” The sight of his bottom lip trembling shocks us both. “But that’s not right. Or fair. Or healthy. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for letting my fear of losing you almost drive you away from me. Puoi perdonarmi?”
Julia’s head tilts sweetly to the side. “Sì. But you apologize to Wyatt, too. E se mai gli porresti un altro dito, resisterai in prima persona a ciò che ho imparato in classe di autodifesa.”
Hearing her threaten to show him firsthand what she learned at self-defense class if he lays a hand on me again causes me to chuckle. The movement hurts less than before making me thankful the meds are finally kicking in.
Pax’s eyes meet mine. “I didn’t mean what I said early.”
“Which part?”
“Any of it.” He takes a step towards the end of my hospital bed. “I was pissed. It was like you broke my trust, and didn’t even have the balls to tell me.”
“We wanted to do it together,” Julia interrupts.
“And I should’ve done it on my own,” I argue, still staring at Pax. “You’re my bro. Part of the only family I have. You had the right to know. You deserved to know. It was fucked up to keep it from you, but you weren’t the only one terrified. What if I wasn’t good enough for Julia? What if I did fuck everything up? What if I was the reason she gave up her career or something else? What if I couldn’t shelter her from the pain or protect her like you swore she needed?”
She gives my hand a loving squeeze.
“I didn’t mean to fuck things up between us by falling in love with your sister, bro, but I don’t regret the latter. Falling for Julia is by far the best thing I’ve ever done in my whole life.”
“Don’t fucking hurt her.”
“Never gonna happen.”
Pax bats away the urge to smile. “What’d the doctor say?”
I glance up at my girlfriend, a bit curious myself.
“He said the stab wounds were thankfully shallow. He has a minor shoulder fracture, hints the sling, and two bruised ribs that I’m not sure occurred during his fight with Owen so much as I’m guessing his fight with you.”
My best friend doesn’t confirm nor deny the statement. Instead, he gives me a crooked smile. “Think you can still walk down the aisle?”
I return the smirk. “Shouldn’t be too hard.”
There’s two taps at the door to indicate someone else is about to enter.
A petite balding man in a white coat walks in and introduces himself. “I’m Doctor Braugher.”
He receives a polite nod in return.
The next fifteen minutes are spent explaining to me my condition first in medical terms followed promptly by a less formal description. It takes another forty five minutes to provide me with the all clear to go home. During our wait, Pax prods a bit at how things between us started as well as how we managed to keep it a secret. We skirt around the graphic details and even somehow get him to smile warmly about the whole thing. A few more details about the night’s aftermath are given, and Pax makes Julia swear she’ll call their parents the second we’re settled. He gives us a ride back to my apartment and helps us both inside. Almost immediately, I insist Julia takes a shower to rinse away the blood. She argues about not wanting to leave me unattended, to which Pax quickly volunteers to wait with me. There’s an obvious reluctance, yet she agrees. The two of us hang out on my black leather couch, a couch I’ve barely spent time on in almost six months. I apologize profusely for fucking up his bachelor party while he shrugs it off, reassuring me it wasn’t a real party without all of his bros there. They didn’t even make it through the steak dinner before Pax bailed to go home. Once he found out Nate and Holden both knew, he felt the betrayal had spread and just needed some space. I apologize for what feels like the millionth time about keeping it from him, but he brushes it away and confesses how his sister isn’t the only one haunted by memories.
By the time she’s out of the shower and covered in my white robe, not only do I have my bro back, but I think in ways we’re closer than we were before.
Guess that’s what near death experiences do to people.
“Call Mamma and Papà, and let them know you’re alright,” Pax commands as Julia walks him to the door. “I don’t want them to hear it from me. I don’t wanna wedge myself back in the middle. I don’t wanna keep you from reconnecting to them like you finally are.”
“Lo faro.”
“Julez…”
“What did I just say?” She folds her arms across her chest. “You’re gonna have to trust me a little bit more than that.”
“Lo so. Lo so. I’m working on it.” They exchange a brief smile before he swoops her into a tight hug.
From a distance, I watch him place a kiss on her forehead, whisper something into her ear, and leave.
She saunters back into the room with a smile. “Can I borrow your phone? Mine’s at…well at…”
I don’t pressure her to finish the sentence.
We will never call that place home again.
After digging the phone out of my pocket, I offer it to her. She places the call while I struggle to get comfortable. Between the sling preventing me from reaching things I want and torso too torn up to make up for the limited mobility, I end up shouting a bunch of cuss words and abandoning any efforts to do more than just sit here.
This shit is not gonna work.
How the fuck am I supposed to cook if I can’t even lean over to grab the remote?
Julia strolls out of my bedroom only a few short minutes later. Her smile is teasing. “You look like someone replaced your Fruit Loops with Cheerios.”
The thought alone causes me to sneer.
She snickers and approaches me with care. “What happened?”
I grumble my displeasure. “I can’t fucking do anything with this shit on.”
“Sure can’t.”
“Can’t even take off my shoes.”
A wicked gleam grows in her expression. “I’ll happily undress you, Wy.”
My mind races to remind her what the doctor said about strenuous activity, yet I stop, wanting her to touch me.
Needing her to.
She lowers herself to her knees and slowly begins the process. The removal of my blood stained kicks is first. Next, she banishes my socks before gliding her hands up my thighs to the belt of my black dress pants. I assist in lifting my hips up despite the discomfort. Off goes my pants and out slips my dick through the hole in my boxers. Having her firm grip wrapped around it dips my head backwards. Like always, everything else in the world fades away.
Julia’s stroking remains steady.
Swift.
Sensual.
My head rolls back around to watch the vision that she is, brazenly pumping, determined to give me pleasure like it’s her duty.
Like it’s my reward for trying to save her life.
The thought irks me, and I object, “You don’t have to do this…”
She abruptly stops, green eyes attaching to mine. “What? Take care of you?”
“Not like this.”
Sadness unmistakably seeps into her expression. “Do you not want me because of…because he…”
“No,” I quickly reassure, “but I don’t want you to feel like you have to after everything that happened, Sweet Cheeks. I only wanna take what you’re willing to give.”
Julia rises to her feet, undoes the robe, and lets it pool at her feet.
Seeing her thick, voluptuous naked body has both my hands itching to touch it. She holds my eyes hostage as she carefully straddles my lap and lowers herself onto my cock. A heavy groan rattles my rib cage, but I grit my teeth through the twinge knowing the pleasure of her pussy is worth it.
Her fingers latch onto the hair just about the nape of my neck at the same time she rests her forehead against mine. “I’ll do the work,” she whispers against my lips. “All you have to do is let me.”
She needs this.
She needs to know she still has control over her own life.
Over her body.
Over her decisions.
Her muscles clench so tightly around my cock they suck the air right out of my lungs. I groan into her mouth, and she devours the sounds directly off my tongue. Salacious lick after lick is used to explore my lips.
My jawbone.
My neck.
When her lips find their way to the skin that covers my pulse, she presses a soft, sweet kiss on top. The delicate act I know is a promise that she values my life.
That she’ll continue to value my life.
That she treasures having it in hers.
Her face lingers in the crook of my neck, nose nuzzling the area, tears occasionally tickling my flesh. My free arm tucks itself around her lower half pressing her firmly against me. I litter light kisses in every area I can reach. She begins to shake in my clutches, and I hold her tighter, giving her all the strength I have.
I need her to know I’m here for her.
I need her to know she can have every part of me.
I need her to know I’m willing to give her every part of me.
Wetness coats my cock, cleansing it of the turmoil we faced today. Each time she rocks her hips forward another horrifying moment from the evening is replaced with a much more heavenly memory. As she washes clean the anxiety, I relentlessly thrust, determined to carve away the discontent the day has cultivated. Our entangled bodies tremble together in fear.
Relief.
We banish away the uneasiness with heavy, uneven moans.
We welcome the security found in one another with sharp scratches and bruising grips.
We climb the ladder of ecstasy side by side assuring every step of the way one another is satisfied.
Julia’s hot breath starts to shorten at the same time her pussy begins to swell. I brush my lips against her ear and proclaim, “You’re mine forever, Sweet Cheeks.”
The words shatter the both of us.
On a dark, primal moan, long, thick streams of cum sear their way deep inside her. She arches into me, tears now falling from the intensity of our passion. Her pussy envelops my dick in its beloved reward, and I savor every single shiver I absorb.
This woman is worth risking everything for.
My brotherhood.
My career.
My life.
And that’s something I’ll never let her forget.