Stand (Black Addiction Book 3) (21 page)

“So talking about dicks is a regular thing?” Another revelation, who knew?

Beth’s “no” drowned out by Jules’ “yes.”

“Okay.” I laughed, amused as hell. “So, maybe we can move on to non-anatomical related topics like,” I pointed to Jules, her appearance still unexplained. “What are you doing backstage?”

“I asked the band and they hadn’t seen you, so I figured I’d check here.” Her head bobbled excitedly, the words faster than they needed to be. “No one stopped me. If it was such a restricted area, there should at least be a sign.”

“And you just had to find us, urgently.” Beth didn’t bother trying to hide the sarcasm, the smile still on her face. “Couldn’t have waited until we got back.”

“You made such a big deal about wanting to kill me for standing you up at bowling.” Jules rolled her eyes, sporting a matching grin. “I was trying to expedite the process.”

“Considerate of you.” Beth nodded. “I’m still pissed about that.”

“Just so you ladies know, I’m still here.” I waved my hand, the reminder obviously needed. “And as much as her tactics were questionable, I think we both can agree it was a good end result.” I pulled Beth against me, my lips landing on her neck.

I also found it incredibly hot knowing this whole exchange was happening while her panties were in my pocket. Not going to lie, I wasn’t in a hurry to hand them back, the idea of her walking around without them making me hard.

“Fine, I’ll concede.” She threw her arms up in defeat. “End result was good.”

“Aw, I’m so glad. I had a terrible night, you guys.” She rubbed the back of her neck, easing it left and right. “Barely slept a wink waiting for you to come home.”

“Well, for future reference, don’t wait up.” I grinned hoping that whatever BS had been holding us back was now in the past. There wasn’t going to be a night I was without Beth. Not if I had anything to do with it.

“Hey, why are you guys back here? Something we should know?” Joey rounded the corner, his arm slung around Kenzie’s shoulders.

“Beth and Max were having sex.” Jules stepped in, not giving either of us a chance to reply.

“Really?” Joey smirked, the bastard looking to me for confirmation. “Interesting.”

“If you are looking to embarrass us, you’re wasting your time.” I shrugged, not regretting a thing. Could have done without the end of show reveal, but other than that, I was pretty pleased with the night’s turn of events. “I’m not making apologies for being with my girl.”

“No apologies necessary.” Jules beamed, fucking thrilled beyond measure.

“There more to this story?” Kenzie asked, clever enough to see they were missing something.

“Jules happened to walk in, before everything got squared away.” I went the diplomatic route, figuring my cock had gotten enough airtime tonight.

“Oh? Ohhhhhhhhh.” Kenzie’s eyes widened in recognition. No further explanation needed.

“I swear if I have to hear about this guy’s dick one more time.” Joey ignored my leave-it-alone eyeball, making it once again the topic of conversation. “Mine is so much more impressive, seriously. I just don’t understand.”

“Ahh, babe. Yours is perfect.” Kenzie laughed, her hand rubbing circles on Joey’s chest.

“Okay, can we move on now?” I shook my head wondering if I should be flattered or appalled. “We should probably go back into the club too; Rus and Angie are probably looking for their rhythm section.”

“Well, if the show’s over, I might head home.” Jules nodded, her entertainment for the night over. “I’m assuming you guys are leaving together?”

“You assumed correctly.” And if the words hadn’t been enough, my hands around Beth said everything that needed to be said.

“Okay then crazy kids, enjoy. I’m out of here.” Jules waved, ready to make her exit. “Beth, good luck with the anaconda.”

“Mine’s bigger,” Joey called out, the moron not able to resist a parting shot.

“Can we really stop talking about my dick?” And who thought those words would be coming out of my mouth a second time, let alone at all tonight. That fucking Facebook page had a lot to answer for.

“Fine, we’ll never mention it again.” Beth giggled, her head resting against my chest.

“We’ll meet you out there.” Joey tipped his chin goodbye as he moseyed back to the hall, all talk of my cock shelved.

“So is this weird?” Beth asked, her nose scrunching up as she gave me an adorable smile.

“What? Us?”

I mean it really could have been anything. The public fornication, my subsequent flashing, the bizarre backstage conversation—but there was only one thing that I cared about right now. And it wasn’t anything on that list.

“Yes, us. Together again.” Those big brown eyes looked at me and she could have asked for anything at that moment and I would have agreed. Need me to take a long walk off a short pier? I have no problem getting wet.

“It’s the way it always should have been.”

I kissed her, not because I wanted to reassure her or myself, but because I needed to. My mouth needed hers, my body needed hers and I was done pretending it didn’t. Whatever happened outside of the bubble didn’t matter; this was the only thing that made sense. And no matter what the future threw at us, there wasn’t a chance in hell I’d let it slip away. I’d been given a second chance and the only way I’d give her up is having her pried from my cold dead hands. Even then I’d find a way to hold on. Losing her again—not an option.

It was probably the
end of the world.

Or one of the planets was in retrograde, causing a massive cosmic disturbance in the force because there was no other reasonable explanation. Angie—our lead singer, who didn’t let anyone even breathe in her son’s direction—asked Beth and I to babysit. Excuse me while I recover from the shock.

Beth had offered in the past, but I’d chalked it up as sweet but never gonna happen. Not because Beth wouldn’t have totally rocked the babysitting gig, but because there was a better chance of me shopping at the Gap than Angie agreeing. Well break out the polo shirts and khaki pants because the impossible happened.

Jase had wanted to take Angie out for a special dinner to celebrate her rebooted baby mama status. Considering the last time she had cargo onboard, she spent more time in the bathroom rather than at a dining table, I wasn’t sure it was a great idea. But who was I to judge? Enter the request of hey-can-you-and-Beth-hang-with-Zack-for-a-few-hours? Yep, they needed to say it a couple of times just so I was sure I hadn’t hallucinated the whole thing.

Beth had been excited to do it. Happy to help out and spend some time with me and junior Jase. So, it was all systems go as we arrived at Casa Irwin and knocked on the door.

“Okay, we shouldn’t be more than a few hours. It’s just dinner.”

Angie gave us both a hug and welcomed us inside. The look on her face telling us she wasn’t as cool with it as she was pretending to be, but I wisely decided not to point that out. I preferred to keep both my balls exactly where they were, thank you very much.

“You don’t need to worry, we’ve got this.” Beth alternated between hugging Angie and then Jase. “He’s going to be fine and we’ll have a great time.”

“It’s fine, babe.” Jason rubbed his wife’s back. “He’s going to love it.” The idea looking like it had been more
his
doing.

“You have our numbers and the pediatrician’s number is on the fridge.” Angie continued to fuss, the possibility of her relaxing probably not going to happen.

“Angie, we’ve got it.” I nodded my head, reaching out to her arm and giving it a squeeze. “Don’t expose him to light or water and whatever we do we won’t feed him after midnight.”

“Ha ha, asshole.” Angie folded her arms in front of her chest, not amused. “And it’s not funny.” She gave Jase a poke in the chest who was trying unsuccessfully to hide his grin.

“Babe, everyone is going to be fine. Seriously.” He pulled her into his arms trying to get her to relax. “Now, let’s go say goodbye to Zack so we can make our reservation.”

Zack was chilling in the playroom, his fat little fingers pushing a train along a wooden track as he chatted to himself. In other words, he couldn’t give a fuck that his folks were heading out for the night, Angie’s stress being completely self-induced.

“Bye, little man.” Angie wrapped her arms around the kid, smothering his face with kisses. His little arms and legs wriggled trying to get loose. “We’ll be home soon, and Uncle Max and Beth are going to take care of you while we’re gone.”

“Okay, Mama.” Zack smiled, the announcement not rating as high as the train track in front of him.

“Be good, kiddo.” Jase hiked him up off the floor, Zack squealing as his dad flipped him upside down. “Listen to what you’re told and when it’s bedtime, no arguments.”

More shrieks as Jase blew raspberries under his chin and then lowered him to the ground. Zack giving both his parents a wave before returning to his train.

“We’re cool, Angie. Go, have a good time.” I nodded to the door, wondering if Jase was going to literally have to drag her out. “He’ll be fine.”

“Alright.” Angie hesitated, her knuckles whitening as they fisted by her side. “We should go.” I’m sure she said it more for her own benefit than anyone else’s.

Jase probably guessing it was better to get it over with, threw a hand around his woman’s waist and led her to the front door. The second goodbye happening just before they finally left.

“So, what do you want to play?” asked Beth, scooting down to his level.

“You’re pretty.” Zack reached up and touched her face, the little guy proving how smart he was by that statement alone.

“She sure is buddy.” I joined the two of them on the floor. “You trying to steal my girl?” I tucked him under my arm in a bear hold. “You’re cute, so I’ll overlook it this one time.” The kid erupted into giggles.

“Maybe we can make cookies for dessert? Would you like that?” Beth stood up, big grin on her face as she watched me wrestle with the kid.

“Only if they are chocolate chip,” I added, lifting the little dude with me as I straightened up. “Oatmeal cookies suck.”

“Suck!” Zack parroted, his little fist waving with conviction.

“Fine, chocolate chip it is.” Beth shook her head, not comprehending how offensive oatmeal was to a cookie. I mean seriously, why bother? “But you need to watch your mouth.” She jabbed a finger between my lips while trying to hide the smile.

Probably some sound advice. It would only take one random
fuck
and this little exercise would end badly. And there was no way I wanted for the kid’s first cuss word to be courtesy of yours truly.

“Noted.” I flipped Zack upside down as we made our way to the kitchen.

Angie had given Zack dinner before she left, so we figured a little dessert was cool. Then it was going to be a story and bedtime and Beth and I were going to get a pizza. Chill in front of the television. Possibly make out. Have to admit, the idea of getting to second or third base with the babysitter was sort of hot. And if I could take care of that little fantasy after the kid was safely in dreamland, what was the harm? Sounded like a win to me.

Beth took charge in the kitchen. Carefully explaining each of the ingredients to the little guy before letting him put them in the mixing bowl. She was so good with him, the process taking three times as long because of Zack’s assist, and yet she didn’t lose her cool once. Nope, just kept going slowly and allowing him to help every step of the way.

Man, I had it bad for this girl. Looking at her with that little boy and it wasn’t hard to imagine her with one of mine. Straight up, I’d always figured I’d eventually have kids. Like down the line, when I was older. But watching her be so sweet with him and I could easily move that schedule to within the next few years. Ring on her finger, a dog—the whole nine yards. Yeah, that was a good plan and one I fully intended on making happen as soon as the time was right.

Cookies went into the oven, and Zack and I offered to clean up. Seemed fair since Beth had done most of the work with the baking. And it also gave me the opportunity to keep an eye on the kid so he didn’t mack on my girl when I wasn’t looking.

Not sure why Angie had been so worried, but her kid was awesome. Remembered his manners when asking for a second cookie and didn’t give us any lip. He may have grumbled a few times when we told him it was bedtime, but after sweetening the deal with one more cookie and an additional story, he gave us no extra trouble. This parenting stuff was pretty easy if you asked me, absolutely no problems at all.

After making sure his teeth were brushed and his pajamas were on, we tucked up the little guy into his bed and said goodnight. The idea of some alone time with the babysitter probably excited me a little more than it should, my dick already starting to take an interest and we hadn’t even ordered the pizza yet.

The delivery guy earned his tip. Our pie was delivered hot and within the thirty minute window the tagline had promised. Then with a couple of sodas—no booze while on kid duty—we camped out in front of the television and enjoyed our dinner. Best. Pizza. Ever.

And as much as I enjoyed watching her devour her slices, I could think of a better use for her mouth. My lips agreed as they moved in without notice.

My arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer as my tongue got where it wanted to be, the kiss moving past the hi-how-are-you-stage to let’s-get-it-on. I didn’t stop, my hands taking a little wander down to the front of her shirt, my fingers curling around one of her perfect tits as I continued to fuck her with my mouth. The bulge in my pants already rock fucking solid.

“What if he wakes up?” Beth pulled away glancing to the doorway, no noise coming from anything but us and the television.

“We’ll hear him if he gets up. I’ll be very quiet.” My lips moved to her neck as my hand moved to the other tit. I didn’t want to play favorites, both of them equally spectacular.

“Max, we shouldn’t.” She half-heartily protested, her mouth telling me a completely different story as she kissed back.

“Just let me play a little.” I tried to negotiate, needing to touch her just a little more. “I’ll stop before it goes too far.”

Probably not the smartest thing to have come out of my mouth, but to be honest, I wasn’t thinking straight. I wasn’t thinking at all, with my dick clearly running the show, but as much as it had bad idea written all over it, I couldn’t make myself stop.

While she didn’t agree, she didn’t stop me either, my hand sliding underneath her bra as she moved into my lap. Our mouths fused as she used my hard-on to give her what she needed, the rocking back and forth enough to make me want to blow my load.

We should have stopped. Enjoyed the make out session for what it was and looked forward to some serious sex once I’d got her home to my bed. But all the confidence my dick had had earlier—
we’ll totally stop before it gets too far
—was completely MIA as I struggled to keep my voice down.

“Did you hear something?” Beth’s head snapped back, her lips puffy from my mouth, my hand still up her shirt.

“Nope, didn’t hear a thing.” I shook my head, my eyes watching her tits heave up and down with each breath.

“Max, it might be Zack. We need to stop.” She untangled her arms and pulled back on my lap, straightening her top.

I could have cried, my balls so tight I wasn’t sure they weren’t going to explode as my dick throbbed in my pants. “Okay, Okay.” I cursed under my breath, needing a minute to commiserate before I could stand.

“We should check on him.” Beth lifted herself out of my lap and climbed to her feet. “Just to be sure.”

“Yep, just give me a minute.” The bulge in my jeans not going anywhere despite us calling time out. “You stay here, I’ll go.”

The hall was still dark as I left the living room and climbed the stairs. Zack’s bedroom door was still closed, not a peep coming from it as my head poked inside the room.

“What the fuck?” I flung open the door, the glow of the nightlight revealing an empty bed, the child that was supposed to be in it not in the room.

“What’s wrong?” Beth raced up the stairs, her footsteps echoing off the walls as she met me at the door. “What the hell?” Her eyes got wide as they looked at the empty bed, the kid still missing.

“He has to be in here somewhere; it’s not like he can disappear into thin air.” I threw on the light and started searching. “Check the closet.” I got down on my hands and knees to see if the little guy was playing hide and seek under his bed.

“He’s not here.” Beth looked around panicked. “How can he be missing? He was right there.” She pointed to the mussed up sheets, no clues as to where he’d gotten to.

“Start going through the rooms. If he’d gone out the front door, we would have heard the deadlock and there’s no way he could have climbed out the window.”

I might have seemed calm, but deep down I was a hundred percent losing my shit. The idea that we let something happen to the kid played in my head like a bad dream.

“Zack,” Beth called out running through the upstairs rooms. “Zack, sweetie where are you?”

I took off down the stairs, figuring we needed to divide and conquer. Jase and Angie’s house wasn’t small, so it was going to take more than a few minutes to do a search. Kid wasn’t big either, so could have easily wedged himself behind the drapes or into a cupboard, the list of hiding places literally endless as I moved from room to room.

My pulse raced as I checked bathrooms and the laundry, freaking out that he’d gotten himself into trouble while we’d been—yeah, if something happened I was probably not going to forgive myself.

“He’s not here,” Beth called out, taking the stairs two at a time as she met me in the study, the room deserted as she turned on every light in the house.