Back to the Beginning: A Duet (9 page)

She panted heavily. “I think so.”

No more words were spoken as the two of them strained against one another. Each going after what they wanted. Eventually, he released her wrists, and Denise took the opportunity to thread her fingers through his hair, pulling his lips down to her breast, offering them up to him. She wasn’t disappointed when he captured one between his lips, sucking harshly on the tightened skin.

“I love you,” she panted as he moved his other hand to her ass, cupping it so that he could plunge deeper. “Love you so much.” She arched into him, letting him grasp her nipple between sharp teeth to prevent her from pulling it from his possession. It was what she needed. Feeling her second orgasm wash over her, she loosened her hips, allowing him the room he needed.

Liam took the cue and spread her thighs further apart, pushing against the tightness that enveloped his hardness. His rhythm faltered, and he groaned loudly as he felt all the tension he’d carried release as he emptied himself inside her body. For what felt like a year, he came. This was even more intense than the previous night had been, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to take another session like this. His heart hammered in his chest as he nuzzled his nose in Denise’s neck. He couldn’t seem to gather the energy to make himself move—to at least roll to the side.

“Holy shit,” he breathed, placing light kisses against her neck. “Love you so damn much, but fuck, I think you’re gonna kill me.”

She giggled, and the sound sent his heart soaring. “It’s all you. You’re gonna kill us both. I don’t know where this stamina came from,” she teased.

“Do I have to prove it to you again?” He lifted his head so that they could look into each other’s eyes.

“Maybe in a day or so. I’m kind of sore,” she admitted as she moved, trying to get comfortable underneath him.

He’d been rough and he knew it, but damned if he’d make excuses. It’d been something they’d both needed. “I’ll go easy on you for the next two days.”

They were quiet as they lay in the afterglow, breathing deeply. “Do you really feel better?” she asked, turning over in his arms. “You seem like you’re less tense, and I don’t just mean because of all the sex.”

He sighed. “I am, and you’re right, it’s not just because of the sex. There have been moments over the past few months where I’ve worried over some of the guys, and I’m really worried about Roni,” he admitted. “She’s always around doing what we need, what we ask, but she doesn’t ever take time for herself. She lives for the club and anything we ask her to do. While I appreciate that, I feel like she should have her own life too.”

“But she mothers you.”

“Exactly.” He wrapped his arms tighter around Denise. “She’s taken care of me so much in her life and been such an integral part of the club that she has nothing else in her life. She really hasn’t had anything or anyone since she and Rooster were together when we were teenagers.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “I don’t want her to be lonely. I want her to have what we have.”

“I think Roni will be ready when she’s ready,” Denise mused. “She’s a strong woman who knows what she wants.”

“But what if she puts what she wants to the side because of us? Because she feels some sort of loyalty to us?”

“Then it’s your job to be her brother and to make sure if she has a chance to be happy you let her chase that chance, no matter who it’s with.”

He was quiet, letting her words sink in. “I’ll make sure if she ever has a chance to do this, to go someplace she’s never been with the man she loves, she’ll take it.”

“Speaking of.” She grasped him by the back of his neck, pulling him down to her. She gave him a small kiss before asking the question that’d been killing her. “What are we doing here?”

“Oh shit,” he mumbled. He’d forgotten about the message he’d sent to his friend. Looking around, he saw his cell phone, by some miracle, was still on the bed but dangling precariously on the edge. Grabbing it, he checked the message he’d sent earlier. When he saw that dinner at nine was good, he glanced at the clock. They had an hour, which should be plenty of time.

Denise waited, her eyebrow raised. “I have a friend who lives in the area. He’s done a couple of my tattoos. There’s a tattoo expo going on at the convention center, and he’s tattooing there. I asked him if I could get a new one while we’re here, and he agreed. We’re having dinner with him and his wife tonight.”

“I’m meeting people?” she asked, glancing down at herself. “Exactly how much time do I have to prepare myself to meet new people?”

“About an hour.”

“An hour? Liam, hell.” She pushed him off her and scrambled off the bed, grabbing things to take a shower as she went.

“We could save time by showering together,” he yelled at her back.

He could hear her laugh, and it absolutely made his heart sing.

Sticking her head out of the door jam, she leveled him with a look. “Remember what happened last time we showered together?”

He gave her a smug smile if there ever was one. Back then she hadn’t been on birth control like she was now, and their moment of spontaneity had resulted in Tatum. He wouldn’t give her up for the world, but he wasn’t sure they could handle another one either. “Tatum is a blessing,” he argued.

“She is, but she’s also got the worst traits of each of us. Stubborn as hell too. Whoever ends up with her is gonna have to be a patient man.”

Liam pressed the heel of his hand against his sternum. It positively gave him a panic attack thinking about his baby girl growing up. If he could, he’d lock her up and never let her age past toddler stage, but he knew he couldn’t, and he knew at some point in the future he was going to have to come to grips with that.

As Denise closed the door, he hoped like hell that Tatum would have the type of relationship her mom and dad did.

‡
Chapter Nine

“D
enise, meet Devin
and Nina,” Liam made the introductions later on that night.

Denise smiled at the couple sitting in front of them. She watched as the guy, Devin, got up from his seat and clapped hands with Liam, pulling him in for a brotherly hug.

“Nice to meet you.” He smiled over at Denise, and damn if she didn’t kind of feel her heart flutter a little. This guy was gorgeous, and the colorful ink going up and down his arms rivaled what Liam had. “But everybody calls me Sketch.”

“Nice to meet you too.” She smiled back and then waved at the woman still sitting at the table. She waved back, obviously used to being introduced by her husband.

“I can’t believe you finally found a woman to put up with your sorry ass,” Sketch said as they had a seat across from the other couple.

Liam titled his head to the side and gave his friend a bored look. “Not all of us can lock up women in high school. You’re lucky that damn divorce didn’t go through, let’s be honest.”

Denise’s mouth opened in shock, and she clapped her hand on Liam’s knee, squeezing hard. “That’s not nice.” She could feel the heat moving up her neck, coloring her cheeks. Turning so that she could look at the man and woman sitting across from them, she was prepared to apologize but instead saw they were grinning in good humor.

“It is what it is,” Nina said as she leaned into her husband, letting him drop a kiss on her forehead. They shared a look for a moment, feelings and unspoken words passing in the silence. “We did what we did, and everybody knows it. The only thing that matters is that we’re together now.”

“Amen to that,” her husband agreed, accepting a bottle of beer as a waitress came to their table. She dropped off an appetizer and a drink for Nina as well.

The waitress took Denise and Liam’s order, leaving them alone almost as quickly as she came.

“So what are you lookin’ to do?” Sketch asked as he glanced at her husband. It was obvious he loved his job, because his eyes brimmed with excitement.

Liam rested against the booth, slinging his arm behind Denise, sitting comfortably with her tucked beside him. “I wanna get something to honor our marriage. I already have something for the twins and Tatum,” he explained, gazing down at the woman at his side. Their eyes caught, and he could tell she was remembering the same day as he was.

“We should’ve just gone to the courthouse.” Denise sighed as she tried to sit still, letting Christine work on her hair.

“Would you stop moving around, woman? The two of you have waited over two years to make this thing legal. We’re not letting you do it at the motherfuckin’ courthouse.” Christine grabbed her hair, yanking it into the up-do she was working on.

“I can’t.” Denise’s voice was quiet in the hustle and bustle of everyone else getting ready. She continued fidgeting, ignoring Christine’s request.

Meredith heard something in the tone and turned from where she was helping Mandy put on her dress. Her gaze was all-assessing as she took a look at her friend. The person who tended to anchor the women of the club was pale, and she looked like she was about to bolt. “You okay?”

“Nervous.”

Getting up, Meredith ran around to her friend and shoved her head down, sticking it between her legs. “Breathe, Denise, breathe slow, breathe deep, and don’t you dare puke.”

Everybody listened to Meredith when she spoke, and Denise was no different. They could hear Denise gulping in huge amounts of air. Finally, when her breathing calmed down, Meredith helped lift her head up. “You good?”

“I don’t know what happened.” Denise pulled at the neckline of the cover she wore to keep her clothes from getting dirty. “The room closed in on me, and I got so nervous I couldn’t breathe. Why am I so nervous? This is the man of my dreams. He’s changed everything in my life and made it perfect.”

“Because it’s a big thing when you put a ring on your finger. It makes it legal.” Meredith ran her hand up and down her friend’s arm. “All it is, is a piece of paper, but with that piece of paper, it’s official. It makes you feel like it’s forever. Weird, huh?”

“Maybe that’s what scares me. I’ve never thought about forever before,” she admitted.

“Then it’s about damn time you did.”

“Did you?” Denise fired back. “You know, when you got your own piece of paper.”

There was a round of snickers in the room. It was a running joke about Tyler and Meredith. Everyone assumed they were married, but nobody knew for sure, because neither one of them would ever fully confirm or deny. Meredith smiled the secret smile she always did.

*

The back porch
had been cleared of furniture, and there was just enough room for everyone to stand and be witness to the most important day in his life. When he and Denise had talked about where they wanted to do this, the courthouse had come up more than once, but when Liam had suggested the place where so many things had happened for them, they had both agreed on it.

“Are you ready?” Drew asked his dad, standing up next to him. Tyler stood not too far away, as did Mandy and Meredith on the other side of the aisle.

“The question is, are you ready.” Liam clapped his hand on his son’s shoulder. “I’m going to be around for a long time.”