Skin Tight (Skin Deep #4) (9 page)

He chuckled and gave me another squeeze as he replied, “You’re welcome.”

I kissed his cheek before I moved off his lap and walked back toward my chair, but veered at the last second, plopping myself down in Chloe’s lap next, wrapping my arms around her neck and kissing her cheek over and over again until she was squealing, laughing, and trying to push me off.

“You’re welcome, you’re welcome! God, Ian, get your crazy-ass woman off me!” she yelled, still laughing.

I kissed her cheek one last time and grinned at her. “You guys rock, you know that?” I asked.

She pretended to breathe on her knuckles and polished them on her shoulder, pursing her lips and nodding her head in that yep-I’m-awesome-and-badass way. “I know,” she said, cockily.

Brandon groaned. “Oh, Christ. You’re gonna give her an even bigger head,” he grumbled, but the twinkle in his eyes told us he was kidding.

But Chloe took the cake with her comeback. “No, she’s not, but you will later…” she said, winking saucily at him.

When we were done eating and joking around, I motioned for Chloe to follow me, moving down the hall to my bedroom as Ian and Brandon tossed paper plates and pizza boxes into the trash, cleaning up after dinner. “Alright. So tell me, how bad was the damage? I know most of my bras and underwear are ruined.”

And that made me want to cry.

I opened the bedroom door, gritting my teeth in a flash of anger as the unmistakable scent of bleach teased my nostrils.

Chloe grimaced. “I opened the windows and aired out the room, but…she used two whole gallons of straight bleach. I found the containers in the bathtub. Why they were in the tub? No clue…but…”

“Two gallons?” I whispered, cringing at the thought. “Jesus, did it melt them?”

“Well,” Chloe hedged. “Let’s just say that you’re gonna need a new dresser and all new underclothes. And your shorts and tanks in the bottom drawers?”

She gave me a pained look, with jaw clenched, teeth showing, eyes squinting, and nose crinkled. She didn’t have to say another word.

I closed my eyes and breathed out, trying not to cry. As a teacher, I didn’t have a huge income. I had a decent savings account balance, but replacing my dresser
and
a good chunk of my wardrobe was going to hurt.

“I cleaned it all out and put it in a trash bag. Your underwear was pretty holey, like it had just eaten through most of them. Bras, too. None of it was worth saving. I’m so sorry…” she ended on a whisper.

I sighed, blinking rapidly to keep from crying. And it wasn’t that I was crying for my belongings; I mean, that sucked big, huge donkey balls, but things can be replaced. I was fighting tears of anger, because she came into my home, my
sanctuary
, and violated it. Plus, she was after my boyfriend, and that’s not okay.

“Don’t apologize, Chloe.” I sucked in a breath and blew it back out, realizing that I had spoken sharply. “I’m sorry,” I told her, stepping over and giving her a hug.

She smacked my shoulder lightly. “Don’t you dare apologize to me, either, Leah! It’s been a long, trying day. I put away Ian’s clothes for him…so he’s a boxer brief man, huh?” she asked, her eyes twinkling with mirth.

I winked at her, no longer in danger of bursting into tears. “When he remembers to wear them,” I said, slyly.

She lifted a shoulder and widened her eyes comically as she cooed, “Oooh…sexy commando,” before she busted out laughing once more. She sobered quickly, though, as she remembered something. “Oh, yeah. I meant to ask you about Ian’s luggage. I didn’t know where to put it, so…”

My eyes narrowed. “That’s not his luggage. He’s not a label whore. That’s Victoria’s.” Her name came out on a hiss.

Chloe dusted her hands together and nodded, obviously coming to a decision in her mind. And as soon as she looked at me, I knew exactly what she was thinking. “Then there’s only one thing to do with it, right?” she asked, lightly.

Our eyes met, both of our mouths curled up in very evil grins, and we said, together, “Bonfire!”

Chapter 14

“Mmmm…” I moaned against Ian’s neck, languidly tracing my tongue along his skin, nipping here and there, my breath coming in slow pants against his throat.

My fingers dug into the back of the couch, my knees braced on the cushions alongside Ian’s muscular thighs, and I kept up my slow pace, gently raising and lowering myself on his cock, reveling in the feel of the thick, heated length of him stretching and sliding against my slick, tender folds.

I was riding him slowly, deliberately, taking my time, rocking against him with every move, the tips of my breasts brushing against his chest, enhancing the pleasure curling through my body, streaming over every inch of my skin.

“Baby,” he groaned, his fingers digging into my hips, urging me to move faster, but I resisted. “Harder…” he breathed.

“No,” I gasped, my head dropping back, arching my back and swirling my hips before grinding down on him, still rotating my hips smoothly, but not increasing my pace.

“Jesus, Leah!” he gritted out between clenched teeth. “Faster!”

I shook my head, denying him once more. I knew he was ready to explode, could feel his thighs trembling underneath me with the effort to hold back his urge to pound furiously inside of me, knew I was pushing him.

But that’s what I wanted. I wanted the wildness that would come when he couldn’t fight it anymore, when he couldn’t take the pace I had set.

“Leah,” he growled again and I buried my face back into his neck to hide my smile.

I used my thighs to raise myself again, this time letting him slip completely out of me, then glided my wetness over him, sliding against him back and forth, the thick ridge of the head of his cock bumping over my clit again and again until I was moaning uncontrollably and my body was aching to have him fill me once more.

Ian’s muscles bunched underneath me and I felt his hand slide up my body until he cupped my jaw, his thumb brushing my lips and then shoving inside roughly. I sucked hard on it, loving the rough snarl that emitted from his lips. He jerked it free and grabbed my hips, gripping them tightly.

I felt myself being lifted as Ian flexed his hips, sliding himself against me one more time until the tip of him notched into my entrance and he slammed home, pulling me down to meet his almost violent upward thrust.

“Fuck!” he yelled as he powered up into me, his hand sliding up my back until his hands curved over my shoulders, giving him leverage to hold me in place as he fucked up into me with wild abandon, finally at the breaking point.

I gave myself over to it, the gentle but overwhelming release that had been building slowly bearing down on me like a runaway freight train, no longer coasting into pleasure, but instead, crashing into me and sending me screaming over the edge, Ian right there with me.

He roared his release, his whole body bucking and juddering beneath me, his cock swelling and jerking as he buried it deep inside me. My sex clenched around him, milking him as I ground my hips down, wringing every last drop of pleasure from him until I collapsed against his chest, both of us breathing like we’d just run a marathon.

Finally, after a long moment, I roused myself enough to unclench my fingers from the back of the couch, groaning as I straightened them.

“Ow…” I grumbled, then glared up at Ian as he chuckled, his chest rumbling beneath my cheek.

“It’s your fault,” he said, smirking down at me.

I didn’t reply, choosing instead to bask in the afterglow of my orgasm. I cuddled closer to him and he wrapped his arms around me tighter, his cheek resting on the top of my head.

“I love you,” he said, softly.

I closed my eyes. “I love you, more,” I whispered back before I sighed and shifted, lifting up off of him. I shivered as I felt him slip out of me and smiled at his soft groan, leaning down to kiss him once more before going to clean up.

It’d been a month and a half since the last incident with Icktoria (Chloe came up with the new name) and, hopefully, she’d gotten the message, because we hadn’t heard anything from her. Does that mean that I breathe easy thinking that it would never happen again? Hell, no!

We’d gotten the window replaced and put a lock on the gate, plus we’d had an updated alarm system installed. I’d replaced my clothes and underwear that she’d damaged, and yes, we had a bonfire with some hellaciously expensive luggage that would probably make some people weep and question our sanity.

In fact, most of the guys had been on fire and baby duty that night, being the gracious husbands/fiancés/boyfriends they are, and we women had gotten gloriously wasted on Ice Wine, champagne, and sangria. Even Nanny had attended and had sipped a finger’s worth of champagne (she’s not supposed to be drinking), claiming that as the reason she took off her bra (underneath her shirt, thank God) and whirled it around her head as she danced around the fire.

What’s worse? My mom and Allie’s mom joined in.

So we couldn’t be left out, right? And there may or may not be a video swimming around a phone somewhere that I just know is gonna end up on YouTube. My brother’s a dick sometimes. A funny one, but one nonetheless, and he lives to torture us. Add in the chance to torture our Mom? It’s inevitable. I just thank God that Calland was nice to me at my graduation party. He almost didn’t live to see the end of Emma’s…poor girl. But still, that video is going to come back to haunt us…

Ian walked into the bathroom while I was getting in the shower, breaking me free from my thoughts. I couldn’t help the thrill that shot through me at the sight of his naked body, impressive in all ways, even when things were…let’s just say sleeping.

“You okay? You were taking forever,” he said, conversationally, as he opened up the shower door and pushed me back, stepping into the enclosure with me.

I quirked my eyebrow at him and reached for the shampoo.

He took it from me, squirted some in his palm, and then spun me around before sinking his fingers into my hair, gently massaging my head as he worked up a lather. I moaned and let my head fall back, giving myself over to his ministrations.

“So, do we have plans today?” he continued speaking, rinsing my hair carefully under the spray and moving on to conditioner.

“Umm…” I mumbled, unable to think right then. “I don’t think so…”

He rinsed my hair once more, and when he was done, I leaned back into him, feeling that not-so-sleepy-anymore part of him prodding my back. “You’re poking me,” I grumbled, playfully, still keeping my eyes closed and my head tipped back.

He muttered something under his breath that I didn’t catch, but when I turned my head to look at him, he just gave me an innocent look and reached for my bodywash and loofah, sudsing it up to the max.

“What’d you say?” I asked him sweetly.

He shook his head and smiled to himself as he bent to his current task, which was cleaning my body thoroughly. And by thoroughly, I meant that ten seconds into it, he abandoned the loofah and just slid his soapy hands all over my skin, teasing, tickling, and cleaning at the same time. He paid special attention to my nipples, rolling and pinching them with his fingers and then palming my breasts and massaging them until I was moaning against him again.

I arched my hips back, rubbing myself against his cock, which made his hands clench on my breasts, squeezing them almost painfully.

“Oh!” I gasped, arching even more into his hands, then staggered when he spun me quickly until we were facing each other. He caught me against his chest and his hands slid down to grasp my hips, lifting and opening my legs so that I was held in his arms, my back against the shower wall, his hardened length nestled right where I wanted it most.

He pressed himself forward, the tip of him barely parting the moist folds at the apex of my thighs, then slid back and forth, bumping against my clit over and over again until I was panting and shuddering against him.

I squirmed, trying to slide him inside me when he glided back toward my entrance once more. “Ian!” I groaned. “Please, now…” I begged him.

With no further hesitation, Ian slammed himself high inside me, pressing me fully back against the wall. He dragged his cock out of me slowly and then thrust back in, quickly setting a pounding rhythm that had me screaming out with release in seconds, and he wasn’t far behind.

When we were finished, he let me slide slowly down his body, both of us winded but more than satiated since we’d essentially fucked the morning away.

But I wasn’t complaining!

***

“Trick or treat!” my sister yelled, waving like a madwoman as she walked up the sidewalk in front of my house, pushing Everly in front of her in the stroller.

“Oh my God!” I cried, clapping my hands together in delight. “She looks so cute!” I moved out onto the sidewalk and unclipped her from the straps holding her in and hefted her into my arms.

Emma had dressed the baby up as a little ladybug, complete with a red and black polka-dotted tutu. Emma herself was dressed in an all pink sweatsuit, and a tennis shoe was strapped to her head.

I kissed Everly’s cheek and asked her, “And just what the heck is your Mommy tonight, huh?” She giggled and smacked my cheek before pointing at her mom.

Emma raised her eyebrow and twirled. “Really? You can’t tell what I am?”

“Uh, no,” I answered, shaking my head. “I wouldn’t have asked if I knew.”

“I’m bubble gum on the bottom of a shoe!” she crowed, grinning widely.

“Aaaaahhh…” I said, nodding my head slowly. “I see now. Where’s the rest of the group?” I asked her, looking down the driveway.

“They’re coming. I just got a little ahead,” she mumbled guiltily.

It was Trick or Treat night in Phillus and Emma, Allie, and Jenna had banded together to make the rounds with the kids, not only to make sure the family got to see the kids in their adorable costumes, but to maximize the amount of candy they’d get to confiscate. Lucky for me, Jarrod and I have a deal worked out. He’s not a fan of Kit Kat bars and I love them, so every year at Halloween, I trade him a small bag of Reese cups for his Kit Kats. It’s a win-win situate that has served me well for the past couple of years, provided I get to his bag before Jenna does. She likes Kit Kats, too.

They’d all already made the rounds to my parents’ house, Allie’s parents’ house, Chloe’s Mom’s house, and had parked down the street to hit up the neighbors houses before they got to mine, since my house used to be Emma’s. The neighbors had practically threatened her if she didn’t bring Everly and the other babies by.

“Hey, Emma. And there’s my little girl!” Ian cooed, coming up behind me and taking Everly from me. He disappeared inside just as the others came up the driveway.

I looked over at my brother-in-law and busted out laughing. “What the hell did she do to you?” I asked him when I could talk.

He gave a long-suffering sigh and answered, “A tornado.”

I cocked my head and studied him. “Well, Emma. You outdid yourself this year, I think. Where the hell did you get so many miniature…things?” I asked, waving my hand vaguely at Luke.

His costume was black sweat pants and black hoodie, and Emma had pinned or glued random miniature trees, houses, cars, farm animals…pretty much anything she could get her hands on…in a spiral around his body, starting with his left ankle and ending with his shoulders.

Emma grinned and said, “The craft store. I can come up with something for you next year, if you want?”

“Uh, yeah…maybe…” I replied, then addressed my other sister, Jenna, in hopes that Emma would forget to include me in her new costume making venture. “You and Noah didn’t dress up?”

She shook her head. “No. I swear with these three, I’m lucky to put deodorant on in the mornings. Here. Take your nephew.”

I reached out and took Caleb from her. “Aww…don’t you just make the cutest little elephant?” I cuddled him close to my chest and called hello to Noah, Hayden (who was dressed as Elsa from Frozen), Jarrod (who was in ninja gear), and Jackson (surprisingly not in costume), before I greeted Allie.

“You let my sister get to you, didn’t you.”

She responded pretty much the same way Luke did, sighing heavily. “Ya think?”

“Okay, give. Why are you wrapped in tin foil?”

She spread her arms out. “I’m leftovers. Can’t you tell?”

“Sure!” I said brightly, pasting a fake smile on my face.

Her arm darted out and smacked me on my hip, careful not to jostle the baby in my arms, or the one on her hip.

“Hey!” I cried in mock affront, then laughed when Liam chortled. “That’s funny, huh? You like when Mommy hits me?” I asked him, using my free hand to tickle his furry little tummy. He was dressed in a little monkey costume, complete with stuffed banana. “How’d Jackson get out of it?”

Allie shrugged. “I’m still not so sure of that one myself.”

We moved into the house, everyone milling around and eating the plates of snacks and things I’d put out, knowing that they’d all hang around for a while. We took turns passing candy out to the kids that came to the door, but by the time everyone had gotten there, Trick or Treat was almost over.

It was going on nine o’clock when they all started leaving, and that was another whirlwind of goodbyes, hugs, and kisses. Jarrod had crowed when he’d dug in to the bag of Reese cups (I’d gotten him the bigger bag this year, much to my sister’s dismay) but then had glared at his mom when she forbade him from eating any more tonight.