The UN Series Complete Box Set (51 page)

“Oh.” Guess he got a lot figured out last night. “Okay.”

“Is that okay? We don’t have to if you don’t want Micah driving it,” Holly says.

“Oh no, that’s very nice of you guys. Thank you. I just hadn’t thought of that.” I give her a small smile. It is a very good idea.

The doorbell rings, breaking up our conversation. “I’ll go get that for you,” Holly offers, walking past us in the hallway.

I look up at Slade and he is frowning. I remember what Holly told me and I give him a little grin. I want him to know he doesn’t have to walk on eggshells around me. I hate what happened, but that does not change the fact that I love Slade and I want him to know how much.

“Sam,” I hear Holly yell from the front door.

I walk down the hallway with Slade following behind me. I come to the entryway and see a man standing outside the front door. A very nice looking man. He has on a tight black t-shirt, a black leather jacket, a dark pair of jeans, and black boots. He has a chain that’s connected to his belt loop, hanging against the side of his pants’ leg, and dipping into his back pocket. He has dark hair, about the same color as Slade, but not as long on top. His eyes are dark blue and his defined jaw is outlined with what looks to be a few days of stubble.

“Can I help you?” I ask as I come to stand in front of the door.

The man looks at Slade for a second, and then down to me. I see his eyes soften as his face breaks into a small smile. “Sam,” he says politely.

“Do I know you?” I question, tilting my head to the side. He doesn’t look like anyone from school. The only person I have stayed in contact with from Tulsa is Courtney.

His smile drops off his face and he clears his throat. “I, ah, need to speak to you,” he says not taking his eyes off of mine.

Slade comes to stand beside me. “She asked you a question!” His voice is hard.

“Yes.” He nods, still looking at me. “You know me. You just don’t remember me.” I feel a chill run up my spine. I know this man? Where do I know him from?

“Sam,” he begins, placing his hands behind his back. He must know that Slade has a tendency to punch first, ask questions later. “I won’t keep you long. Holly said you were busy packing. I just needed to come by and see that you were okay.”
How does he know Holly’s name? Did she introduce herself?
His eyes leave my face and flash to Slade’s before finding their way back to mine.

“I’m fine,” I say, unsure of what this man is doing on my mom’s porch when I have no idea who he is.

“Look.” His eyes shift to Slade again. “I don’t mean to keep you guys, I just came to see you, Sam.” His gaze drops back to mine. “I need to have a conversation with you. I need to tell you some things.”

My back stiffens over how close those words sound like something my mother would say. “What do you need to tell me?” I ask cautiously. How could this man, whom I don’t know, need to tell me something?

“Do you really not remember me?” He frowns as if disappointed.

I shake my head.

He takes a deep breath. “It’s me, Tate.”

I feel a small smile creep up on my face. “Tate?” I whisper. How the hell was I supposed to know what he looked like now? Last time I saw him I was ten, and that was over thirteen years ago. He had long shaggy hair and was built like a scrawny kid. Those are not the words I would use to describe him now.

“What are you doing here? I thought you lived in Alaska.” His mother was my mom’s best friend. His dad had abused his mother. One day she left him, took Tate, and headed off to Alaska to live with her sister. As far as I knew, my mom had never spoken to her again, but I have also been absent for the last five years.

I step closer and give him a hug. The smell of leather from his jacket fills my nose as he wraps his arms around me, gently returning my embrace before he pulls away.

“I wish Mom was here to see you,” I say with a sad smile. She took care of him a lot. She felt bad that his dad was a drunk and beat on his mother. I don’t know if he ever hit Tate or not, I never asked.

He looks over to Slade then back at me. “How did you find out that my mom had passed?”

“Well….” He pauses like he’s trying to find the right words. “That’s another reason why I’m here.” He inhales deeply.

I instantly know this reunion is not going to go well. I have had enough bad news to last a lifetime and I have a sickening feeling about this one. “What is it?” I ask cautiously.

He stays silent for a few seconds. “I was helping take care of your mother.”

“What? When?” Was she up in Alaska?

“Sam, you have to understand, it was what she wanted,” he starts, defending her.

“What are you talking about, Tate?” I snap.

“She wanted me to make sure you were safe.”

I just stand there, stiff as a board. What the hell is he talking about? “Just say what you came to say, Tate.”

He keeps his dark blue eyes on mine as he inhales another deep breath. “I was the one who kept her informed on how you were doing.” He takes a step toward the door, and I instantly step back, still not breathing. This has to be a nightmare. How has he been able to keep tabs on me? How did he ever find me? What all has he seen? Why would he report back to my mother and not inform me that she was dying?

“How could you?” I whisper as tears start to fill my eyes, making him a blurry vision.

His dark blue eyes bore into mine. “I’m sorry, Sam. I want to explain it all to you.” He shoots a nervous glance at Slade and then to Holly, who haven’t spoken. “But I think we should do it in private.”

I feel Slade take a step toward him, but I place my arm out to stop him.

“That’s not necessary. I’ve heard enough.” My voice cracks and it makes me want to cry harder.

He reaches in his jacket pocket and pulls out a card. I don’t know why, but I find myself reaching out with numb hands to take it. “Please call me. I want you to know.” Then he turns around and walks to the curb, slides a pair of dark sunglasses over his eyes, and climbs onto his motorcycle.

He drives off and I stand there, still holding my hand out with the card in it. What the hell just happened? Why does this shit keep happening? Anger flares and I take in a deep breath as a tear falls down my cheek. I have to hold myself together. Who cares if he was going behind my back? He knows what he did was wrong, or he wouldn’t have told me that he wanted to explain. Well, to hell with him, he can live with his guilt.

I reach out and slam the front door, making Holly jump. I spin around, passing her and Slade, and race down the hallway to the kitchen. I shred the card and throw it in the trash. I grab an empty box out of the living room and storm up the stairs. I have shit to pack. I want to get out of this God forsaken town and back to St. Louis as soon as possible. All I want is to be in Slade’s bed, while he holds me tight, leaving this town and these horrible memories behind.

CHAPTER FIVE

SLADE

I stand there looking at the front door.

“Did that just really happen?” Holly asks in disbelief.

I don’t know how to answer that question. I saw it with my own eyes but I can’t comprehend it. Some strange man just told my Angel that he has pretty much been stalking her.

I want to beat the fuck out of him.

How long has he been following her? Her mother told me that she was always there watching over her. I shake my head. Marie could barely walk. How in the fuck would she have been able to follow her around in another state?

“Fuck,” I growl. “The shit just keeps coming, right when I think I have it figured out, just when I think she is going to be okay, someone new throws something in the mix.” I run a hand through my hair.

“How does she know him?” Holly questions. “Neither one of them explained that part.”

“What did he say when you answered the door?” Right now, I don’t care how he knows her. I care why in the fuck he showed up here, pissing her off.

“He just asked to talk to Sam.” She gives an apologetic shrug. “I thought that maybe he was a neighbor coming to give his condolences.”

“Well there is obviously something there. They must have been friends once.”

“I don’t think they are friends anymore,” she whispers.

I turn around and head to Angel’s room. “Angel.” I walk in and she is all over her room. She’s throwing some stuff in a trash bag and other things are tossed into a box on the floor. She’s wrapping picture frames in shirts before putting them into yet another box.

“What Slade?” she asks without even turning in my direction.

“Are you okay? Do you want to talk about what just happened?”

“No,” she replies flatly.

I sigh and she spins around to face me, balling her fist at her sides. “I want out of this town. I want out of this house. I just want to get all this stuff packed up and head home as soon as possible.”

I can see the tears in her eyes. I feel so helpless. I want to protect her from everything, but I can’t as long as people keep showing up and hurting her. I walk up to her and pull her into a hug. Her body goes slack against mine and she wraps her arms around my stomach. “I know, Angel.” I lean down and kiss her head. “What do you need me to do?”

“I have labeled the boxes that I want to be donated. Do you think you could go and drop them off?” she says into my shirt.

“Of course.”

She pulls away from me and her green eyes look up into mine. “I just want to go home,” she whispers.

I can’t help but smile. She wants to get back to
our
home in St. Louis. That makes a thought pop in my head. We haven’t really had time to speak about what happened in front of everyone yesterday.

“Angel.” I reach up and cup her face in my hands. “I’m so sorry about yesterday.” She already has enough going on, I don’t want her to have to worry about or doubt the feelings that I have for her. “I was going to let you tell them, whenever you were ready.”

“It’s okay, baby. I understand.” She pulls her head out of my hands and gets back to work.

I find Micah back in the kitchen. “Is that like a never-ending cookie jar? Every time I see you, you have your hand in there,” I tease.

“There are several bags in the pantry, so I just keep filling it up.” He looks down and grins. “I like it.”

I guess he is talking about the cookie jar.

“You can have it,” Angel says entering the kitchen.

I turn around as Micah looks up. “Oh, no.” Micah’s face drops as he shakes his head.

“Really.” She flashes him a smile. “You can have the cookie jar.” She shifts her attention over to me before he can protest anymore. “Where are Courtney and Josh?”

“They stayed at Courtney’s last night,” Micah answers while shoving cookies in his mouth.

“Where are Mom and Dad?” I haven’t seen them yet this morning. They had stayed here last night in the spare room.

“They went to go grab lunch,” Holly states as she bounces into the kitchen. “You’re going to get sick from eating all of those cookies.” She laughs, smacking Micah on the arm.

“It will be worth it,” he agrees through a mouthful, knowing she is telling the truth.

“Micah, will you help me load these boxes? I’m going to haul them off while Angel continues to pack.”

“Yeah, I’ll go with you.”

“What are you going to do with all of the furniture?” Holly asks Angel.

“I don’t know. I guess I could leave it here.” She gestures around the room, and then shrugs. “I am keeping the house, so I guess I could keep it furnished.”

She reaches up and redoes her messy bun. A few stray hairs fall around her face. I take this chance to let my eyes roam over her sexy body. She has on a pair of black cotton shorts that are rolled down twice, and a white tank top that shows off her full chest and small arms. Her hair looks messy and she has no makeup on. I don’t think I have ever seen her look more beautiful. And I don’t think I have ever been more turned on.

She looks over to me with those bright green eyes. They still have the power to take my breath away.

“What do you think?”

I mentally shake myself. “It’s whatever you want to do.”

“I don’t know,” she says, frustrated. “I mean, will I ever come back here? Should I just get rid of it?” She looks down to the floor and rubs her forehead. She is starting to stress herself out.

I walk up to her. “How about Micah and I take the boxes you are donating, while you and Holly finish packing up what you want to take with you. We can figure out the rest later. We can come back here next weekend if you want. Hell, we can come back as often as you want.”

“That sounds like a good idea. I will worry about the rest of the stuff later.” She reaches up and gives me a soft kiss on my lips. “Come on, Holly. We have a lot to get done.”

The girls leave as Micah and I grab some boxes.

The day goes by quickly. Micah and I end up making four trips total, filling the Tahoe each time. Mom and Dad had shown up with lunch while we were making our first run. Dad ended up helping us while Mom helped Angel and Holly. We had just gotten back from our last trip when we hear the girls in the living room and I’m pretty sure they are laughing.

“What are the girls doing in there?”

“Oh no,” Micah says laughing as he walks into the living room before me.

I come up behind him to see what is going on. The girls are sitting on the couches, each holding a glass of wine.

“Are we invited to join the party?” I tease as I sit down next to Angel.

“Absolutely.” She hands me her glass, letting me take a sip.

“How did everything go?” I ask cautiously, handing it back to her.

“We finished. I packed everything that I want to keep. The rest will be here when I decide what I want to do with it.”

“You’re not afraid something will happen to it?” Micah asks as he pulls Holly onto his lap.

She shakes her head. “No, I’ll set the alarm. If someone breaks in or if there is a fire, the alarm company will be notified.” She takes a drink of wine.

“Has anyone heard from Josh or Courtney?” I ask, looking at my dad who is drinking out of my mom’s wine glass. I smirk, knowing he hates that stuff.

“Courtney called earlier,” Angel says with a dead tone to her voice, letting me know that conversation didn’t go very well.

“What happened?”

“What happened….” She pauses, and brings the wine glass to her lips. “Is she and Josh have been spending the day packing up her stuff.” She takes a deep breath and looks over at me. “She’s coming back to St. Louis with us.”

She was serious? “She’s coming back with us?” I ask, somewhat shocked.

“Yep. Guess she thinks I need a babysitter. Whatever! I told her she was not staying with us. I heard Josh practically beg her to move in with him.” She rolls her eyes and lays back onto the couch. “I told her if she wanted to, she could move into my rental house because my lease is not up yet. I told her she was
not
staying with us,” she repeats, showing me that the wine is affecting her.

I lean back, placing an arm around her shoulder, bringing her into my side. “That sounds like a good idea.” I can’t wait to have Angel living with me. Just the thought of having her there, 24/7, has me grinning like a fool.

“What are we doing for dinner?” Micah asks.

Angel lifts up her wine glass. “This is my dinner.”

“Mine too,” Holly says.

My dad looks over to my mother. She holds up her wine glass, and announces, “I’m with the girls.”

I wish Angel would eat something. She has barely eaten anything in the last three days. I can tell she has lost a few pounds and it worries me.

“Well then, I will just eat cookies.” Micah stands up and turns around to face us. “Is there leftover spaghetti, Sam?”

“Yes.”

“Great, that was delicious. I’ll have spaghetti and cookies.” He beams at us, before making his way into the kitchen.

“I’ll eat that as well,” my dad states as he stands up.

I lean over and kiss Angel on the forehead before getting up to follow them.

*****

SAMANTHA

My body is floating and my eyes are heavy. I feel as if I am mobile, but I can’t move anything.

“Slade?” I whisper. I know he is close. I can smell him and it is turning me on.

“I’m right here, Angel,” he answers quietly.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m carrying you to your room. You fell asleep on the couch.” I feel him bend down and then I hear a doorknob turn.

Now I remember. As soon as the guys had left with their last load, I had lost it again. All my mom’s things that I didn’t want were gone. I would never see them again. Then there was the fact that Tate had come by today, plus there was no escaping Courtney’s plan to follow us back to St. Louis. It was just all too much. Vivian had gone to the liquor store and bought us several bottles of wine.

I wanted to drown out the bad thoughts and memories. Holly suggested we toast to new beginnings: me moving in with Slade and her marriage into the Long family. We celebrated all right. Once the guys got back, we all sat in the living room while the guys ate dinner. Now I’m drunk and horny. I want him.

He lays me down on the bed and I hear him move away. I slowly open my heavy lids and see him going into my bathroom. I feel a burst of energy surge through me. I sit up quickly, even as the room tilts. I take in a deep breath, pull my shirt up over my head, and then unfasten my bra. I let my body fall back onto my mattress as the room continues to spin. I close my eyes and shove my shorts, along with my underwear, down my legs. I toss them with my foot, not knowing where in the hell they land. I lay there, breathing like I just ran two miles, completely exhausted. I feel like I’m going to be sick.

No
! I take a few deep breaths to calm down. I am not going to get sick. I’m going to get laid. I feel a smile creep over my lips. I maneuver my body to get under the covers and wait for Slade to come to bed. It doesn’t take him long to emerge from the bathroom. I close my eyes, peeking out from underneath them and the covers. I watch him stand next to the bed as he takes off his Nikes. He unfastens his jeans and pushes them down along with his boxers. My eyes land on his dick and I lick my lips as I think about it being in my mouth. He reaches behind him and pulls his shirt up over his head. I watch his arm muscles work as they strain against his tight skin. I want to run my hands all over him.

He plugs his phone in and crawls in bed next to me. I pretend to stay asleep. I want to wait until he’s on the brink of sleep before I pounce.

I watch him close his eyes as he exhales a deep sigh. He must be stressed out. Well, I’m going to fix that.

It doesn’t take more than a few minutes for his body to relax and his breathing to even out.

I crawl my way under the dark covers. I place my hand on his ripped abs, travelling over his defined V, until I grasp his cock. His body jerks a little as he starts to harden.

I lean up and run my tongue along his length. I feel like I haven’t tasted him in ages. Just as I wrap my lips around the tip, I feel his hand make its way into my hair, and I smile around him.
That’s right baby. Tell me what you want.
I love when he takes control, how he tells me what he wants without saying the words.

I pull away from him and lick my lips. I bend down and suck him into my mouth. His hips come up off the bed a bit as he pushes himself deeper down my throat. I moan and I feel the shiver that runs through his body.

His hand tightens in my hair, almost untangling my messy bun. I frown as he pulls me off of him.

Then the covers are pushed back to reveal his face looking down at me. I smile. He sits up a bit and puts his hands under my arms, pulling me up to lay on top of him.