Her Journey (Her Series Book 2) (6 page)

“Fuck off, Wrench. If you would shut the fuck up for two fucking seconds and let me explain shit, you would get it.” Ryan shoved out of the chair. Her hands were balled into fists, her anger just as sharp as mine. Obviously she wasn’t back to herself completely since ending her treatments, but she wasn’t nearly as frail as she had been. It was good to see, but as she regained her strength and weight, apparently she was regaining her attitude as well. Raising her voice, she threw a glare at me. “Melia is pregnant with my fucking children. She needs to be on bedrest. She
will
be here, where I can stay with her and make sure she is taking care of herself. I
am
being a grown-up.” Slapping a hand to her chest, she said, “I’m taking care of my family while you…” She jammed a finger in the center of my chest. “
You
are being a pouty
bitch
about it. She is afraid of every single one of the fuckers here, so she will be staying in her room, unless Ellis or I is with her. No one would dare touch her then. She’ll only be here for a few weeks until the doctor releases her from bed rest. I’m sure even you can understand my reasoning and be able to put up with this ‘stranger’ in your house till then.”

I just stared at her. How the hell had she just turned that on me?
Fuck
. I groaned and ran a hand through my hair. “Fine.”

Ryan opened her mouth like she had more to say, then stopped, straightened and nodded once. “Good.”

Turning, I went back to my chair while Ryan left my office. I pulled a bottle of whiskey and the glass I stored with it out of my bottom drawer. I filled the glass nearly to the top before returning the bottle to the drawer. Fucking women. Fucking pregnant women. What was the world coming to? I hope she didn’t expect me to change how things went around the house. I didn’t care who the broad was, if she lived here, she’d have to get a damn backbone or she could live in her room. If she didn’t want to be treated like the whores around here, she’d have to learn to not act like a doormat like they were. The old ladies who came around the house were given respect, but they still had to earn that shit. I picked up my glass and made my way to the kitchen as I sipped it. One day Ryan would push me too far and this was toeing the line. Fucking pregnant woman in my house. I took a long pull off my glass with that thought. The burn from the whiskey felt good. Reminded me I was alive. I was in control of most things. Hell, everything but my sister and this pregnant broad.

In the kitchen, Brew and Monk were drinking beers with their arms around a woman each. I nodded at them. “How goes it?”

“Have you seen the little piece of ass your sister carted through here not too long ago?” Brew asked. I wanted to smirk at the comment, but held back. Instead, I leaned against the counter, kicking my feet out in front of me.

“Nope.” I took another drink. I wondered how had they seen her, but I didn’t care enough to ask.

“I’d tap that.” Brew thrust his hips in the air, making the woman next to him roll her eyes. She wouldn’t actually say something or she’d have to go find one of the other members to keep her company or risk being alone for the night.

“You do realize she’s fucking pregnant, right?” I couldn’t help the grin that slid onto my face as Brew’s face turned a slight shade of green. Pregnant women had to be the least attractive creatures on the earth. All fat and swollen, no thank you. Most of the men around the house agreed. Usually it was a sign that you’d fucked up and now had an extra responsibility you didn’t want. Shit, that line of thought made me nearly drain my glass.

“Yeah, with my children, so watch what you fucking say about her,” Ellis said, rounding the corner into the kitchen, obviously having heard the end of our conversation.

“What the fuck is going on around here? Pregnant women? Ellis’s kids. Fuck, man.” Brew shook his head in disgust before grabbing his latest woman and walking out of the room. I tossed back what was left in my glass and set it on the counter. Nodding towards Monk, I left the room. Ellis had his back to me, digging in the fridge, so I didn’t bother acknowledging him.

After climbing the stairs, I headed down the long hall. Ellis and Ryan’s room was the last on the left. The new chick was on the right. My room was right next to Ryan and Ellis’s which explained why I tried to stay the fuck out of my room whenever they were in theirs. I didn’t need to hear my sister and my VP going at it. Even the thought of it made my lip curl.

Once I reached the end of the hallway, I stopped in front of her door. After a moment of debating how to handle the situation, I took a deep breath and knocked like a civilized person. See, I could have manners. Not that it stopped my foot from impatiently tapping; I wasn’t used to waiting for someone to come to me. Only a moment or two passed before I raised my hand again, rapping on the door with my knuckle, a little harder this time. Still, no answer after a few seconds.

Fuck it.
I twisted the knob and the door opened. Swinging it wide, I stepped inside and looked around. There wasn’t anyone in the room. Guess that’s why no one answered, but then that brought up Ellis’s warning not to go to her room. My temper spiked at the bullshit flying through the air. Someone was fucking lying and I was going to find out who. Taking a deep breath, I counted to ten before stomping across the hall and banging loudly on Ryan’s door. I didn’t have to pretend to be civilized with her and she was about to get another ass-chewing. I barely contained a growl, but yelled, “Open the fucking door, Ryan.”

“What do you want He-Man?” Ryan flung open her door just as a loud, feminine shriek sounded. I swung around, just in time to see a fully nude, curvy brunette standing in the middle of the room across the hall. I had left the door open and apparently our new guest had been in the shower. I stared in shock at seeing Melia standing there completely nude.
Whew, that was a sight.
She quickly moved to cover herself as much as she could with her hands before running out of sight. Ryan slapped my chest, pushing me out of her way to go after Melia. I heard her utter “stupid man” just as she was shutting the door.

Oops.
I would most definitely remember the sight of her sexy, curvaceous figure for a few nights, at least. Too bad I’d only gotten a glimpse of it. Damn, my cock had enjoyed her body too. I shoved my hard cock with my palm, hoping to make it not so noticeable before knocking on Melia’s door again.

“Go away, dumb ass,” Ryan called out. I was tempted to kick the door open and make her listen to me. Plus, I could possibly catch another glimpse of the little nymph. Instead, I ground my teeth, pretending to care what they wanted.

“I’m sorry.” I hesitated. It wasn’t often that word slipped between my lips, but it seemed fitting for the situation. “I was just coming to meet our guest. I knocked and there was…” I trailed off when Ryan opened the door just enough to stick her head out.

“Go away. Let her get dressed, and then I’ll bring her down to your office. Okay?” I could tell Ryan wasn’t happy with me, but it wasn’t like I’d done anything wrong, so I went along with it.

“Fine. Whatever.” As I heard the lock snick, I knew I’d been locked out. Turning on my heel, I went back downstairs to my office, stopping by the kitchen to get my glass. Time for more whiskey if I was going to make it through this meeting. As soon as I settled in my office chair, I filled my glass back up.
What a fucking day.

~Melia~

Who the hell comes into someone’s room only to leave their door open while they’re in the bathroom? Seriously. I needed to remember how to use the lock, apparently. I figured it would be a common-sense thing. Courtesy, respect, whatever. Leaning back on the bathroom counter, I tried to catch my breath. I hadn’t meant to scream, but there was a big-ass dude in the hall, I was naked and my door was open. My mind might have gone a little bit crazy thinking he was going to do something to me. As soon as I’d seen Ryan out there too, I felt stupid and ran into the bathroom and covered myself with a towel.

A soft knock on the bathroom door made me jump and scoot farther from the locked door. Ryan’s voice carried through. “Hey, Melia. It’s just me. Please open the door.”

I pulled it open and gave her an embarrassed smile. “I guess I have some things to get used to. Like needing to use locks and keeping a towel on.”

“Nah. Well, yes, but these stupid men need to learn some manners, too, with a lovely woman like you around. They aren’t used to people who have manners,” Ryan comforted me. I still felt stupid. I’d lived alone for so long I’d never thought someone would walk in or that I should have kept my towel on after leaving the bathroom. “Why don’t you get dressed and then I’ll take you down to meet Wrench, and then you can lie down for a few hours. He’ll keep bothering you and me until he finally meets you. Trust me when I say sometimes it’s just easier to give into him. I can be just as hardheaded, but it’s exhausting fighting him all the time. You win some, you lose some. This is a losing battle.”

I nodded and she left the room, giving me privacy to dress. Pulling on a pair of cotton panties and one of the few loose summer dresses I had that still fit, I was ready. I pulled my hair into a low ponytail since I wasn’t going to take the time to dry it. I did stop to take a minute to put on some blush, eye liner and mascara. I never went out without some makeup on. Stepping into a pair of flip flops, I opened the door to find Ryan leaning against the opposite wall waiting for me.

“Well, let’s go get this over with. Just remember, he can be a dick, but he’s not as bad as he seems. It won’t get better if we make him wait, but at least I’ll be there with you.” Ryan spoke quietly to me as we walked down the hall. I felt nauseated for an entirely different reason than usual. He was just a person. Sure, from across the hall his back had been broad and his arms appeared thicker than my thighs, but I tried not to think about it. We stopped in front of a door on the first floor and Ryan appeared to be preparing herself before she raised her hand to knock on the door.

“Come in,” a gravelly voice called out. Ryan swung the door open, then stepped inside first. Following suit, I took a deep breath before stepping into the room. Unsure of what to expect, I slowly raised my eyes from the floor to lock with a pair of bright blue eyes that froze the breath in my lungs.

“No fucking way.” I hadn’t meant to speak out loud, but the words were out before I knew it. Ryan turned to look at me, confusion clear on her face. I kept my eyes on the large man in a leather vest and tight t-shirt. Anger spiked in me as I remembered my expensive
broken
camera lens. Pointing at him, I shouted, “YOU! You owe me a camera lens, dick head.”

“Wha…” Ryan’s gaze rapidly switched from me to the man who’d kicked me, then back again. He stood from his chair, probably trying to make himself appear bigger and scarier, but I was too pissed to really take notice of how much bigger he was than me upclose. It was just Ryan, me and this man, whom she’d claimed was her brother. Family be damned, this jerk had
asshole
stamped on his forehead, or he should. Even the look on his face as he crossed his large arms over his chest, lifting an eye brow at my outburst told me, clearly he didn’t think much of me either.

“
That
is the asshole who broke my camera the other day.” I pointed at the man again before turning to look at Ryan. I had been calm until I’d seen him sitting there, looking all smug, handsome and assholish. I couldn’t seem to stop myself from ranting, “Your
brother
is the one that owes me a new camera lens. He’s the dick who thinks it’s okay to kick a pregnant woman.” I threw my hands in the air and spun back to face him. “Oh, and then he gets to be upset.
Not
because he kicked a woman or a pregnant woman, but because
she
was in
his
way. How
dare
she!” All the while I talked the man stood there with that damn smug look on his face, like I wasn’t yelling at him. Proving my point even more.

“Wait…” Ryan turned towards the man, putting her hands on her hips. I’d never seen her angry before, but I was glad to not be on the other side of the glare she was directing at him. “Really, Wrench? You’re the motherfucker with no manners? You kick a lady, a pregnant lady at that, then act like
you
are the one put out? I knew you were a dick, but that’s a whole new level, even for you.”

“That’s not what happened.” Wrench sighed, uncrossing his arms. He didn’t even glance in my direction. All his attention was on Ryan, which irritated me even more. Apparently, he didn’t need to explain himself to me. I scoffed and crossed my arms under my breasts.