Devil's Despair Box Set: Books 1-3 (52 page)

“Take that. Take whatever she’s offering and build on it. She’s a good girl. I’ve only met her a couple of times, but you know as well as I do, I know people.”

“You do.” I agree because she’s right. She kept us out of trouble growing up, ensuring we didn’t stray into the wrong crowd.

“I’ve never judged you, Hayden.”

“I know,” I answer, unsure where she’s going with this.

“When you’d bring woman after woman around, you’d hardly introduce me to any of them.”

“Oh, that.”

“Sometimes two at a time,” she quips with a small smile meant to make me uncomfortable. It does.

“That was a long time ago.”

“If you have any questions or you get stuck in your own head, you let me know. I’m always here.”

“I will,” I confirm, taking the picture back from her and putting it on the table with the others.

“Your dad is getting better,” she states before I can find an excuse to get away from her prying heart and witty mind.

“I think so.”

“I know so, Hayden. I talked to Brian yesterday. He tells me he’s going to start pushing you to get a job.”

“Yeah.”

“He won’t let you down this time.” Her certainty is appreciated, but I’m always skeptical. “It’s time you live
your
life now.”

“I’m living it, Bean.”

“You’re
existing
in it, Hayden.” Her remark is definite and sure. I can hide under the rouse of satisfied to everyone, but her.

“Bean, anyone ever tell you that you see too much for your own good?”

She laughs, and the box on her lap tilts with her laughter. “Oh, yes. Sarah and Ace. They gave up trying to get by me a long time ago. I worry about what they’ll do when I’m gone.”

Standing up, I go to her chair and lean in to hug her small shoulders. Her hand grabs my forearm as I do. “You’re going to live another twenty years over them still.”

“I hope not. I had looked forward to haunting all of you. All those nights I spent up late worrying if you kids were doing what you should be doing. It’ll be a nice change.”

“I’ll look forward to that.”

“Now, if you could use the words on your phone to get the other boys back here, I have pictures for them, too. I think Travis would be interested in those with him in that cowboy costume he insisted he wear to bed every time he was over.”

Pulling out my phone, I use ‘my words’ to send an S.O.S. to the others. Now that
my
talk with Bean is over, I tell them to get their asses back here A.S.A.P.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Lacey

TRAVIS 08:46 P.M.
Done with Bean. Thanks for helping Rae get Sarah all that fuckin’ makeup today, Lace.

Rae, Sarah, and I had fun today at the mall. She wanted new makeup and so did we. I’m not going to apologize for it. I start to send a smart-ass text but get stopped by another notification.

Travis 08:47 p.m.
We’re going for a beer. Be home later.

The last I saw of my brother this afternoon, he still looked tired and ashen. I’m surprised he’s going out. He didn’t sleep much when we got home and he hadn’t eaten all day. Bean’s meeting with her boys must have been stressing.

08:48 p.m.
I’d steer clear of the tequila if I were you.

I laugh to myself at his expense and wait for the reply. It doesn’t happen right away, but it does happen.

Travis 08:50 p.m.
That was on you. Won’t happen again.

With the guys out for the night and no word from Hayden, I grab one of Trav’s DVDs and look forward to a mind-numbing chick flick, if he had any. My final selection choices consist of
Die Hard 1, 2,
or
3,
Mad Max,
or
Gone in Sixty Seconds.

Typical manly-man movies.

Deciding Nick Cage gets my vote, I pick it up and put it in. Now it’s just me and as many carbohydrates as I can find in Trav’s health-filled cabinets.

Just as I get changed, seated, and ready with remote in hand, a knock at the door startles me. Getting up and checking the peephole, I find my ‘exclusive’ on the other side of the door looking anxious.

Taking in his still appearance, I notice with appreciation how hot he is. He’s wearing a flannel shirt with a faded black shirt underneath. The pendant I’m now familiar with hangs around his neck.

He’s studying his feet and starts to knock again when I swing the door open with a smile. “Thought you guys were going for a drink after Bean’s?”

Rushing inside, he grabs me by the waist and closes the door with his foot, never looking back after hearing it slam. The pictures on the walls shake with the force he uses. His mouth on mine smothers my words as I’m trying to ask what’s happening. His hands go to my back, sliding down my boxers and grabbing my ass with enough strength to cause pain.

“No drink,” he utters while his mouth assaults my chest through my nightshirt.

Grabbing his head and forcing him to look at me, he stands tall, looking a little worn and tired. “What’s up, Hayden?”

He lets me go, steps back, and starts removing his clothes, beginning with his flannel shirt. Then I watch as he removes his tee shirt, revealing his tanned chest. The pendant flies through the air quickly then lands at its place on his chest. He removes his shoes one at a time and finally his jeans at a ridiculously hurried pace.

I haven’t said anything as I look into his calculating and hungry stare.

“Off,” he says as he comes at me in only his black boxers. He reaches for the hem of my nightshirt and lifts it over my head without delay, leaving me in a skin-tight black silk camisole.

“Hello, Hayden,” I say with sarcasm as he tosses my shirt to the side, dropping it next to his on the floor.

“Hello,” he answers back with single-minded determination. He has my boxers sliding down my legs then off before the next breath.

“Bed.” Lifting me off my feet, I wrap my arms and legs around him tightly before he starts toward my bedroom.

“We’re going to fuck?” I ask jokingly, finding he’s not in the mood to laugh.

I hear a growl come from the back of his throat then my back hits the wall beside my bedroom door. He slides into me as he uses one hand to tear my camisole down before sucking my nipple into his mouth.

The thrusting isn’t gentle. Since being with him, Hayden’s not been aggressive. Tonight, for whatever reason
I don’t care about,
Hayden is rough and careless with my body. The pain from my lower back hitting the wall is welcome.

“Tell me.” Momentarily, I’m confused until he continues. “Tell me who’s fucking you, Lace. Say my name.”

“Hayden,” I answer his demand, feeling his teeth sink into the flesh between my breasts. “Hayden,” I repeat, enjoying the sound coming from his throat.

“Fucking Christ, you feel so fucking good.”

“Hayden, I’m close,” I admit, his words causing my body to clench around him.

“Give it to me,” he pants. “Together, Lacey.”

My mouth draws open with impending release; I’m so close. He covers my lips with his own, drowning himself in me and I take it.

All of it.

Digging my nails into his shoulders, he hisses in pain before he stills inside me, releasing himself without barrier. I close my eyes and let myself enjoy the feel of it.

The only sound left in the room is the panting between us. He lifts his head from my neck and smiles so wide it reaches his eyes. “Okay, what did you say about hello?”

I laugh and he winces, feeling my body still surrounding his. “We’re past that. Put me down.”

“No, we are
not.
The asses are out for a drink. I got time.”

“Well, use it. Get me off the wall.”

“Right,” he replies with a shake of his head as he gently pulls me away from the wall and cradles my now sweaty body against his, moving us to the bedroom.

Once Hayden is finished and spent, we settle in my bed. “Don’t mention the wet spot,” I remind him, cringing at his prior attempt at flirting.

“Wasn’t going to, but I will since you mentioned it.”

“Sick.”

Pulling me closer, I rest my head on his chest and relax under his fingers as they run thoughtlessly through my hair. His heartbeat under my ear is the only sound I hear in the quiet of the room. It starts to slow from our workout and I close my eyes, embracing its quiet rhythm.

* * *

Hayden

“What did you do at Bean’s?” Lacey asks with curiosity. She must not have had a chance to ask Travis.

What did I do at Bean’s?

I’ve thought about that the entire time I was racing to get over here to her. When I left Bean sitting in her chair, readying herself to have a meaningful conversation with her next victim, Travis, I was confused.

Bean brought up a valid point which scared me. It was meant to make me stop and think, I know this much about her. If Bean’s pinning you down and talking to you, she expects you to walk away with a clear head. I didn’t. I’m confused.

All the way here, I thought about Lacey and what she was offering me. It’s not much but other than Jenna, this is the most exclusive relationship I’ve ever desired to have. I’ve admitted to myself and others that I like Lacey. What comes next though, I don’t have answers for. Over the past couple of weeks, since meeting her, I haven’t thought about another woman. I haven’t wanted to take a nameless face to bed. If I offered Lacey more, I believe she’d take it. Maybe she’d be skeptical, but I know she’s starting to care about me.

I smile through the answer to her question. “Bean wanted to talk. When she does, she brings us all around the table with her cooking. She knows we won’t refuse it.”

“I like her.”

“She’s a quick one. Gotta watch her.”

She prods for further information, as though unsure I’ll give it to her. “What did she want to talk about?”

“She gave me some pictures of us. She had some for the rest of the guys, too. And Sarah.”

“Pictures?”

“Yeah, of us as kids. She has one of Travis in his Halloween costume. He was a cowboy one year.”

I think back to all our holidays and how different it would’ve been for Lacey to be a part of them. She missed out on a lot of good times growing up.

“Travis as a cowboy. I wouldn’t have thought.”

“Don’t think too hard. It was a picture taken in June. He wore that bitch for a year.”

“Oh, God.”

“Yeah. The Halloween after that one, he was a ghost. He thought he was pretty badass, too. As if a white sheet with cut-out eyes and a drawn-on black open mouth was scary as fuck.”

“Bet he was funny, though.”

“He was.” I stop, looking down at her, and she looks up, resting her chin on my chest.

“He would kick my ass for telling you this, but that year he was moodier than usual. He was pissed because the rest of us were all dicking around and he wanted to hit as many houses as he could before we had to be home. He went ahead of us taking his frustration with him.” Stopping again, I look to the ceiling; she watches me intently as I try to control my laughter. “It was raining. He was rubbing it in our faces that his head was covered and he swore he wasn’t cold, but it was fucking freezing outside in the dark. Ace and I were going back and forth about how stupid Trav looked in a wet sheet. Anyway, he kept walking ahead. He had a paper bag, not plastic like the rest of us.”

“Paper?”

“Yeah, like an old grocery bag. He started getting tired and wouldn’t admit we were done for the night, so he started dragging the bag on the grass and sidewalks without thinking.”

“Oh, no,” she says, I can tell she’s picturing her brother’s sad expression before I finish telling her what happened. I love her for that.

“The hole at the bottom of the bag was small at first. Toby kept running behind him picking up all the candy he was dropping without him knowing and putting it in his own bag. By the time we got home, my dad, Trav’s dad, and Bean were waiting for us at Trav’s house. Once we got in and changed into warm clothes, they started searching the candy, like all parents did then. Trav’s dad poured his on the table finding the bag was nearly empty. He didn’t get it until he saw the bottom of it and the hole the water had caused.”

My laughter takes up the room, I imagine all she can think about is Trav without any candy on Halloween. It makes her sad; I hear it in her voice. “Stop laughing. That’s awful.”

“Nah, he only cried for about an hour. Toby being the same person he is now, giving and genuine, gave him his candy back plus some. It ended well and Travis survived. Lesson learned.”

Sitting up on her elbow, she looks at me and questions, “What lesson are you talking about, Hayden? Paper versus plastic?”

My face gets serious as I take a strand of her wild hair and push it behind her shoulder. “No, Lace. Lesson that as long as we stuck together, we’d always have each other’s back. Even then.”

“I didn’t have that growing up,” she confesses with sadness.

“You do now,” I remind her with confidence.

“What were you that year?”

I pause my hand in her hair, thinking and recollecting the moment. “I was a Power Ranger, I think. Ace was a WWF wrestler. Toby was a professional basketball player.”

“Where was Sarah?” she asks, obviously wondering where the last of our group was that night.

“Ace wouldn’t let her go with us because it was too dark.”

She sighs, Ace still not being her favorite, I can tell. “Imagine that. Poor girl.”

“Don’t feel sorry for the little terror. Ace gave her enough candy to make her insane with sugar for days after.”

Resting her head back on my shoulder, she closes her eyes and takes in the evening. Changing the subject, she inquires, “Why’d you come in like that tonight?”

“Like what?”

“Quickly, horny, crazy—”

I cut her off with a pull of the hair at the nape of her neck and whisper my own confession to the room. “I missed you today.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Lacey

AFTER FALLING ASLEEP with Hayden, I’m woken up by the sound of Travis and Ace arguing in the living room. I hear doors being opened and closed, then Raegan’s laughter before the front door slams shut. Then there’s only silence.

Trav’s home and it’s an internal debate I think over before deciding to get up to see what’s going on.