Her Journey (Her Series Book 2) (17 page)

“Well, there you are,” Dirty said as he entered my office, shutting the door behind him.

“Yeah. What do you want?” I asked, kicking my boots up on the corner of my desk, leaning back in my chair and crossing my arms over my chest.

“Nothing really.” Dirty smiled, scratching his cheek as he sat in one of the chairs on the other side of my desk.

“Nothing, but you have some douche banging on my door like the house is on fire? Bullshit.” I glared at him. He’d be pissed if I interrupted him and Ryan fucking.

“Actually, I thought you might be looking for something of yours that I found.” Dirty grinned and it made me frown.

“Stop fucking around and just tell me whatever the hell it is.” I ground my teeth together. I wasn’t in the mood to play the stupid games.

“It’s leather. You almost never go anywhere without it on.” I couldn’t help rolling my eyes at Dirty; I swear he acted like he was five years old sometimes.

“My cut. Fantastic. Where is it?” Dropping my feet to the floor, I sat forward in my chair.

“I think the real question is, where did I find it?”

“I swear I’m going to punch you if you don’t stop this shit. I don’t think my sister would be all that happy to see your pretty face all bruised.” I pushed up from my chair, standing over him.

“Well, you’re lucky I got in the door before Ryan or she would’ve been banging on your door long before I sent that kid up there.” Ellis laughed and shifted so he could reach into his pocket. He threw whatever he took out onto the top of my desk. I looked down at my desk to see the frilly lace panties Melia had been wearing. Snatching them up, I shoved them in my pocket.

“Where the fuck did you get those?” I growled at Dirty.

“Right next to your cut. On the floor, near the door out to the garage. Funny. If I didn’t know better, I would think something interesting happened before everyone else arrived back at the house. Pretty sure none of the house whores wear cute little panties like that. And if my memory serves me right, which I’m pretty sure it does, Melia came home on your bike. So one step to another…looks like you ended up getting into a feisty little broad’s panties.” Dirty gave me that smug smile again while pushing the tips of his fingers together.

I stomped around my desk and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him up out of the chair. “Listen to me. This doesn’t leave this room. You tell anyone else and I’ll beat the shit out of you. I am
not
kidding either.” I wasn’t entirely sure where the outburst had come from, but I knew that Melia would not want people talking about us. If there was an us or whatever had happened.

“Sure. Whatever, man. I didn’t even tell Ryan. I figured you’d want to keep that shit under wraps, just like Ryan and I did at first. I will say, you hurt her and I’m gonna have to hurt you though. Just so we’re clear. And don’t forget, you do anything to hurt those babies and you’ll have not just me, but Ryan to answer to.” Dirty looked unfazed by my actions. I let him go and returned to my chair. I wasn’t about to tell him Ryan had told me to bang Melia. Sometimes conversations were best kept private.

“I’m not going to hurt her. I don’t even know what the hell happened. One minute we were fighting, the next, shit got crazy.” I groaned and ran my hand through my hair. “Half the time I can’t stand her, the other half my dick is trying to claw its way out of my pants to get at her.”

“Well, you could just try to fuck her out of your system. Use a ball gag or something so she doesn’t talk.” Dirty barked out a laugh and slapped his thigh. “Just kidding. That’d be fucked up. She might be up to just fucking on the side. You know, crazy pregnancy hormones or whatever.”

“Yeah, I don’t know. I guess we’ll see what happens when she wakes up in my bed.” I stood up again. “Speaking of, I should go back upstairs now that you’re done bothering me. I thought it was something serious you needed.”

“Oh, it could’ve been very serious if Ryan had found them. I think she wouldn’t care about anyone else, but she knows your past and I don’t think she’d be cool with you banging the woman carrying her kids.” Dirty shrugged and pulled out my cut from behind his back. “But then, I guess that’s something you’ll have to deal with on your own.”

“I don’t give a fuck what she says. That is one part of my life my sister has no say in. She just thinks she rules this place.” I slipped on my cut and opened the door, waving an arm, telling Dirty to leave before me. When he was out of my office, I locked the door and returned to my room.

I twisted the knob to my door to find it was unlocked. My temper instantly flaired at who dared to enter my room, but as soon as I looked around it felt like I’d had a bucket of ice water tossed on me. Melia was gone. She’d made the bed and disappeared on me.

It probably looked like I had disappeared on her; I hadn’t thought to leave a note or anything. Fuck, it’s not like I’m used to trying to be nice to a woman. A failure yet again.

Frustrated, I punched the wall, leaving a hole in it. I walked over to my bed and threw myself backwards on it. The smell of our recent fucking surrounded me, the distinct scent that was Melia filled my lungs and for the first time in a long time, I was pissed that I didn’t know what to do about a woman. The last woman I had tried to impress ended up breaking my heart. Was I ready to go through that again? No. I didn’t think I ever would be.

~Melia~

Waking up in Wrench’s bed had surprised me. I hadn’t meant to fall asleep. After a quick look around the room, I found I was thankfully alone. Slipping from the bed, I pulled my dress over my head and ran across the hall to my room. I locked the door and hurried into my bathroom, locking that door as well before leaning against it. Letting my legs slide out from under me, I sat on the floor. My head fell backwards, banging against the door as I closed my eyes. Hormones. They had to be the cause. I would never fuck a man like Wrench. I wouldn’t. He was too rough and hard. Although if I stopped freaking out for a moment, I would remember just how careful he’d been with me. Even though he’d fucked hard and deep, he’d never even gotten close to hurting me or being rougher than I wanted at the time. Those thoughts only made my mind whirl faster and turn back to the ‘What did I
do
?’ variety.

When my butt became numb from the hard floor, I figured I’d probably hidden in the bathroom long enough. Wrench wouldn’t come crashing through both doors anyway. It was more for my sanity than my safety. I had to stay away from the man for the rest of my stay. It was almost over, surely I could do it. If he didn’t incite anger and snippy comments, he bred an inferno of lust in my body. Either way, not good. I didn’t want a man in my life. I didn’t want to be a fuck-buddy either, which was more likely what Wrench would expect. Chucking my dress in the corner of the bathroom, I hopped in the shower to wash away the heady scent that reminded me of the way Wrench had held me close while fucking me. There was something
almost
comforting in his strength, in the way his large, rough hands caressed my tender skin while he bit down on his swollen bottom lip that made me wish that he’d stayed with me in his bed. It didn’t matter though — he hadn’t. I don’t know what had made him leave and I didn’t want to know. It was a mistake. A mistake that felt incredible, but still a mistake.

I spent the following week in my bed. I let Ryan and Ellis in, but I didn’t leave for any reason. They were more than happy to bring me food and help me with anything else I needed. I was being a coward, I knew it. I was a grown woman, I could control myself, but I found it easier to avoid temptation all together.

When finally my next doctor appointment rolled around, I packed up all of my clothes and set my bag next to the door for Ellis to take downstairs for me. After a quick shower, I pulled my hair back into a messy bun and dressed in maternity shorts and a blouse Ryan had gotten me. As I was brushing my teeth, a knock sounded on my door. Padding across the room with my toothbrush in my mouth, I opened the door to find Wrench in a finely-tailored suit. I froze, one hand on the door, one hand on my toothbrush in my mouth.

“I’m here for your bag. Ellis and Ryan are running late, so they asked me to get your stuff in the car,” Wrench said, standing with his legs shoulder-width apart. I continued to stare. I had to give it to him, he looked spectacular in a suit, with the aura of danger that naturally rolled off him. My panties grew damp even though my mind was telling my mouth to move, to say something.

Instead, I stepped back and pointed my toothbrush to the bag before heading back to the bathroom to finish brushing. When I came out of the bathroom, my bag was gone, as was Wrench. Breathing a sigh of relief, I shoved my toothbrush in my purse along with the other last-minute items I’d kept out of my bag. One last look around the room and I was ready to go. I walked out, leaving the door open a crack behind me. Thankfully, Ryan and Ellis were exiting their room at the same time. No awkward conversations would happen with them around.

I spotted Wrench in the kitchen, drinking water, leaning against the counter when we made our way to the garage. He was watching me. He’d been waiting for me to come down. Again, I sighed thankful to have avoided him. I felt his hungry eyes rake over my body, setting every inch of my skin on fire with one look. Ryan called out to me and it was then I realized I was no longer following them, but caught in Wrench’s gaze. He took one step toward me and I quickly caught up to Ryan.

The doctor appointment went perfectly. Everything was looking good. The placenta had moved up and out of the way, meaning I was no longer on bed rest and I could resume a normal routine. It was both good news and bad at the same time. I had grown used to living at the compound with everyone around; there was alwasy someone to talk to or cook for. On the other hand, I was excited to get back to my life. My photography business was waiting, but I had used the last week to make many contacts and set up a few appointments with potential new clients.

Ryan and Ellis dropped me off at my apartment and helped me get settled in again before heading on their way, Ryan promising to stop by the next day.

Standing in the middle of my apartment, I slowly turned around taking it all in. It felt so empty. I reminded myself again that it was a good thing. Empty meant quiet which meant no disturbances.

After unpacking my bag, I sat at the computer to make sure I was ready for my upcoming appointments. It didn’t take long for me to sigh and look around the apartment again. In the few short weeks I’d been gone, I had grown used to all the noises of the house and the men. Guess I would have to adjust to being alone again.