A Redo (The Sterling Shore Series #6) (8 page)

Chapter 12

WREN

“That was great,” I say to the two girls who are finishing up their cleaning routine. I’ve offered to help, but Angel insists I’m a guest.

Instead, I head to the sofa where I promised I’d sit and watch one of their favorite shows. Angel has yawned at least ten times, but Allie is letting her pretend as though she’s not sleepy. It’s already after seven now. I’ve been here for a few hours, and I’d hate to wear out my welcome.

“I’m going to get on my pajamas, and then I’ll be right back,” Angel announces before running to her room.

Allie laughs softly while coming to sit beside me on the sofa, turning her body so that she’s facing me.

“You’re better than me,” she says guiltily.

I think she keeps waiting on me to lash out after the way she did me. But I’m not going to. Not my style.

“I’m not better than you, Allie. I have less to be pissed about. You’re a good mom who made an understandable mistake. Things happen. Sit back. Relax. Let me pretend this girly show isn’t going to ruin my manhood.”

Her laughter warms me, and she eases in closer before pressing a small kiss on my cheek, startling the hell out of me, but I manage not to flinch. Her lips are so fucking soft.

“Thank you,” she whispers, pulling back so that our eyes meet. When she looks at my lips, everything in me forgets why this would be a bad idea. I want to feel how soft those lips of hers really are.

Instincts take over, and I reach up and stroke her cheek, slowly pushing my hand into her hair. Every strand feels like it’s made of silk, and she leans into my touch, making it easier for me to lean forward and… jerk the hell back like a scolded kid when Angel comes bouncing back into the room.

Allie scoots over, putting distance between us, and Angel quickly takes the seat in between us. “Both my parents. I like this,” she says softly, and I suck in a sharp breath that matches the same one Allie takes before our eyes nervously find each other’s.

Playing with fire… Never a good thing.

“I need a hand,” Bella says as she comes through the door with armloads of groceries.

I leap up, quickly going to her aid. After grabbing several of the bags, I head to the kitchen, putting everything on the closest countertop. Bella is laughing when I pull back a sticky hand, my nose wrinkling in disgust.

“Sorry. I think my strawberry jam broke in there. It’s all over me and the car.”

I chuckle softly while moving toward the sink, and both women yell, “No!” But it’s about two seconds after I turn the water on and get sprayed in the face by a vicious and unrelenting stream.

Laughter rips through the air as I blindly scramble to turn the water off. I groan when I feel my shirt is as soaked as my hair.

“Sink messed up?” I ask dryly, ignoring the sound of three feminine laughs as I keep my eyes shut, trying to keep the dripping mess out of them.

“Sorry,” Allie says, trying to smother her laughter with what I assume is her hand on her way over to me. “We called a plumber, but he’s running behind.”

“I’ll grab the towels,” Bella says through her snickers.

“Can I borrow one?” I ask just before one is gently pressed against my face, and I take it, accidentally brushing the soft fingers still attached. I swear a jolt of electricity rips through my body from that one single touch. Christ.

After my eyes are dried, I open them to see Allie smiling softly up at me.

“I’ll throw your shirt in the dryer, but you should probably keep your pants on.”

She bites back a grin, and I try to pretend she’s not flirting with me.

Fortunately, the water shot high, so it’s just the top half of my shirt that took the brunt, and my jeans are dry.

“Thanks,” I say, smiling while start tugging my shirt up.

I don’t miss the gasp Allie releases, and I take my time working the wet shirt over my head, knowing exactly what her eyes are doing.

A loud, appreciative whistle fills the air—Bella’s, not Allie’s—and I laugh while getting rid of the shirt finally. Allie takes it, her lips parted just barely as she stares at my chest, and Bella claps slowly with a cocked eyebrow.

“Angel, your daddy has a great workout routine,” Bella says, forcing Angel to laugh and Allie to blush crimson before glaring at her best friend.

Even though she tries not to, Allie lets her eyes rake over my body one last time before scurrying off to put my shirt in the dryer, and I begin helping Bella clean up the floor from where the sink went rogue.

“Any chance you can only come over here shirtless from now on?” Bella asks with shameless guile.

I burst out laughing while Allie groans from the back. At least the tension seems to be broken. Bella takes the towels when we’re done, and I head back toward the living room that is just across from the kitchen.

Settling in on the sofa shirtless makes me feel a little too cozy in their small home, but I don’t have much of a choice. Allie resumes her seat beside Angel, and she works hard not to look over at me, just like I work hard not to look at her.

Angel snuggles up to me without hesitation, and I wrap my arms around her and hold her to me while enduring their show.

After a while, Angel’s breaths become even, and she starts snoring adorably.

“Are those coming from her?” Bella whispers from the chair across from us.

Allie nods, grinning as she looks over at us. Her eyes lock with mine, showing me a new depth of something I wish I wasn’t too scared to explore. But I don’t want to lose this.

“She never sleeps hard enough to snore unless you’re around, apparently,” Bella says, her eyes landing on Angel as I slowly stand up with her cradled to me.

That means more to me than she realizes.

Very carefully, I tuck Angel into bed, and she grips my hand when I kiss her forehead. After gently withdrawing my hand, I back away from Sleeping Beauty.

Both women are standing in the doorway when I turn around, and I smirk while tucking my hands into my pockets, feeling a little on display.

They both clear their throats and flee the room, and I snicker to myself while following. Bella abandons us, heading back to her room, and Allie sits down on the sofa where I join her.

“Your shirt is taking a while to dry,” Allie says nervously. “Sorry. The dryer is a little outdated.”

I shrug, playing it cool. Honestly, I feel like a fucking teenager hanging out in the living room while the girl’s parents listen from their room.

“Since my shirt isn’t ready, let’s kill the time with you telling me about you. I don’t know a lot. You know a ton about me. I think it’s only fair.”

She grabs a bottle of wine that Bella deserted on the coffee table, and pours us two glasses before settling back on the sofa and propping her feet up.

“Long story short, my dad left when I was little, and my mom raised me until she couldn’t take it anymore. I was ten when the Johnsons took me in. It was a loveless, cold house, but I was luckier than most kids my age. I didn’t have to bounce around to several houses or endure physical abuse. There were others who came and went, but they would be too rowdy, and the Johnsons would have them extracted.

“I was always perfect because I was scared of what else was out there. The other kids always had horror stories. I never missed school. If I was sick, I suffered in silence, never letting myself be a burden. And if I was hungry, I kept my mouth shut until they were ready to serve food. It gave me the longest placement of any kid to ever travel through there.”

Holy shit. I wasn’t expecting that, and I can’t believe she just told me.

“Allie, I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

She shrugs, not looking up from her glass of wine, as though she needs it for strength to continue.

“Bella was my saving grace. We met sophomore year in high school, and I started spending the night with her all the time. Her family was nice, for the most part—well, compared to what I knew. It showed me that there’s more out there. That week in Cancun was the closest I ever got to being a normal teenager.”

And I stole it from her by making her an instant mother. Fuck.

“Sorry. I guess meeting me was—”

“Don’t,” she interrupts, smiling over at me. “Angel was honestly the best thing to ever happen to me. Why do you think I named her that? My life could have gone wrong in a lot of ways, because I was about to break free and go into the real world. I had spent a lifetime being perfect, and rebelling seemed so much easier.

“I quit drinking when I… um… well, when something was missing on the next month. And when it was confirmed that I was pregnant, I took better care of myself than anyone else ever had. Bella’s parents rented a house for us that was near them, and we stayed there together through college. I had government grants and various scholarships, so I managed to escape without student loans. Her parents didn’t feel comfortable helping with Angel, because they didn’t condone
my behavior
. They thought I was a bad influence on Bella.

“Unfortunately, that created a rift between her and them. I hate that. It’s one of my biggest regrets, but Bella says they’ll come around one day. We’re from a very religious community, so pregnancy before marriage is frowned upon no matter what the circumstances.”

Sighing deeply, I lean my head back. “So I didn’t just impact your life that night, but Bella’s as well. Christ, Allie, I don’t know what to say.”

She puts her hand on my arm, drawing my eyes open as my gaze moves to her. “I’m not blaming that on you. I wouldn’t lose Angel for anything. Bella was her own person by then, and they would have eventually disagreed with
her own
chosen lifestyle. Marrying a sweet boy and settling down isn’t high on her priority list. She enjoys her freedom. She’s said more than once that having Angel in her life keeps her from doing something too stupid. She gets to walk the line between wild and reserved. She loves her life.”

She can put a good spin on anything.

“Mom loves her. You know? And she’s never one to judge. In case you haven’t noticed—not that she has a right to judge you. That’s not what I’m saying. If anything, it’s me she’d judge, never you. But she’s a good person. She took in Tag when his father ended up being a piece of shit. She only dated him for a while because of Tag. Once she basically had him, she let his bastard father go. Tag was essentially living with us. She always fights for us. She’s never going to let you down. Just want you to know that.”

The way she looks at me always slays something within me. “I think she’s great. Can I ask why she still uses Prize? She said your dad left when you were little. Just like mine did.”

I grind my teeth discreetly. I never speak about that greedy bastard, but after all she’s shared, I can’t just drop it.

“She wanted to keep the same last name as her sons, and she’s never remarried. She also didn’t want to change our names, so she turned the Prize name into something admirable. My dad wasn’t a skilled conman like Ray is, but he was a con who used her and her millions. He took as much as he could before he broke her heart. But Mom’s so damn tough that she went on just fine. It made me stay tougher for her. That’s why… It sickens me to know I did someone the way I did you—the way my dad would have done someone.”

She leans into me as a new show starts, and I absorb her touch. “Then that makes you better than him, because he never apologized to you.”

Taking a calming breath, I slip my arm over her shoulders and get comfortable. “Thanks for that.”

She nods, trying to keep her attention on the TV, and I lean back, ignoring how heavy my eyelids feel as she continues to talk. We settle into comfortable, less heavy conversations. And I find myself riveted by every word out of her mouth.

Chapter 13

WREN

“I put a cover over them,” Angel says, though it barely registers that anyone is speaking.

“Come on. I’ll get you to the bus. Let your mom and dad sleep,” Bella says, making me almost positive I’m not dreaming.

The door shuts, prompting me to open my eyes and register the light pressure on top of me. Strawberry blonde hair is smoothed back, and soft lips are lifted in a pretty smile despite her sleeping. Allie is going to kick my ass for this.

“Allie,” I whisper, trying to wake her, but she moans and shifts on me, forcing me to turn my body when she moves on top of my early-morning arousal. She moans again, this time making it sound like she’s in the middle of something heavenly, and I tilt my head, intrigued.

She moans again, and her body slowly starts grinding against mine, forcing my eyes to roll back in my head. Ho…ly… shit.

Torn between waking her up and enjoying the ride, I refrain from moving. I decide she’ll hate me less for waking her up, even though other parts of my body will hate me for doing this.

“Allie,” I whisper again, trying to coax her awake, but it only seems to fuel whatever dream she’s having, and she’s suddenly grinding harder, using my leg as her tool of pleasure.

Fuck. Me.

Her hand slowly slides over my bare stomach, and I groan when she uses her nails to lightly scrape down my skin. Her rhythm quickens, and saying her name only seems to inspire her to grind harder.

Before I know it, her lips are dragging across my chest, nipping and biting as she assaults me in her sleep. My name comes out in a rasp moan from her lips as she rocks against me harder, and I bite back a groan when my cock tries to explode.

***

ALLIE

Wren’s body is greedy as he pushes into me over and over, and his mouth is hungry and demanding, owning everything I can give him. But he pulls out, teasing me as he backs away with his glorious body. I arch my hips in submission as he binds me and does whatever he wants while wearing his mask over his eyes.

He taunts me with dark promises, using my name to punctuate each dirty phrase, and pushes me up onto my knees. He pops the side of ass with a black leather riding crop. After he bends and runs his tongue over the stinging mark, he pounds into me once again, and my world explodes around him, shattering me into oblivion.

His name comes out in a prayer-like praise, and my whole body goes limp as pleasure racks through my every nerve.

I smile when my eyes flutter open, but then my eyes widen in horror when I see a blushing Wren under me, doing all he can not to laugh. I take in the fact I’m straddling his leg very firmly, and there’s no doubt that I just had a very real and very loud orgasm.

“OhmyGod,” I say in a rush, trying to dive off of him, but tumbling to the floor like an ungraceful idiot instead, landing on my hands and knees… just like my dream.

I. Could. Die.

He laughs while rising up, shifting when his very large bulge comes into view.

“You… I… Did I… on you?” I stammer, my voice a shrill and annoying pitch.

His laughter grows louder as he uses his hand to adjust himself in his jeans. Why did I have to see that?

“Yes you did—on my leg, actually. Must have been one hell of a dream,” he teases, arching one eyebrow to accentuate his amusement.

I lurch toward the bathroom, scrambling there on my hands and knees, and slam the door. It takes me a while to stand when I start shaking with humiliation. I just… Oh damn. I just used real Wren’s leg as a surrogate for dream Wren’s big, glorious, hard—

“Allie, open up,” real Wren says through his chuckles. “Please. Don’t let this be weird. I was trying to wake you up before you… well, before you came, but I think saying your name only made it worse.”

Oh no. No. No. No! This can’t really be happening right now.

He’s still laughing. That asshole. He’s enjoying the fact that I’m never leaving my house again, let alone facing him.

My name
. I groan when I realize real Wren was the voice of dream Wren. No wonder it was so frigging perfect. The best dream ever was just sullied by reality.

“You said my name, so I have to know what you were dreaming.”

My face pales in horror as he laughs harder, and I get a little dizzy. I’m going to have to quit work, move towns, buy a fake identity—

“Allie, come on. Let’s nip this in the ass.”

I grow even paler. Did I tell him what I was dreaming while I was dreaming? Or is that just a coincidental use of words?

Oh fuck me! Please let it be a coincidence.

“Allie, please. I swear we’ll never mention it again, but considering I was just a weapon of your pleasure, I’d at least like a few details.”

“Stop enjoying this,” I groan, only prompting him to laugh harder. “And stop being so loud. Our daughter… Oh shit. I’ve got to get Angel to school.”

Oh, no. She might have heard me. Or worse…
saw
me. I swallow down the painful knot in my throat as my mind scurries to try to come up with some feasible lie to tell her, but Wren puts me out of my misery before I craft a very in-depth story.

“Bella already took her. It’s just you, me and the bathroom door. Oh, and your dream, of course.”

I glance around, curious if I could squeeze my ass out the tiny half window of the bathroom. I’d probably get stuck like some cartoon character, then Wren would have to rescue me, and all this would be worse.

“You suck,” I grumble, glaring at the door once again.

“Is that what I was doing?” he asks, too damn amused.

Sucking, biting, licking… working me over with that riding crop…
Shit! I really need him to shut up. I’m never, ever, ever reading one of those damn books again.

“We’re not talking about this if I come out,” I tell him, sounding a little too hopeful.

He snickers softly while knocking again. “
Come
out. I’ll try not to mention it.”

He did not have to say
come
like that. Jerk.

“Trying isn’t good enough.”

“Fine,” he says through a small laugh, not sounding convincing at all. “Mum’s the word.”

Cautiously, I open the door to see the smiling asshole leaning against the jamb. His arms are crossed over his impressive chest, and small scratches mar his otherwise flawless, tan skin.

“Shit. Did I do that?” I ask, horrified when I see they are indeed claw marks.

“Yep. Right before you started calling out my name.”

“You dick! You said—”

“You brought it up,” he interrupts, his laughter returning. “I was just answering your question.”

He looks too good in the morning. It’s really not fair.

“You should go,” I grumble, covering my face with my hands, not brave enough to face him any longer.

“Not until this isn’t awkward. Come on. Your calendar says you’re off today. Let’s make some rounds for my mother’s party this weekend. She said you’re
coming
—no pun intended. I can drive you and Angel.”

No pun intended my ass.

His mother’s early December Christmas party. Shit. How did I forget about that?

And he checked my calendar? Why is he checking my calendar? I only have today off because they were overstaffed and asked for a volunteer to take off. I volunteered because I’m still recovering from the back-to-back surgeries that went on last week.

“I can drive us. You probably have a date,” I say. Okay, so that makes me pathetic for fishing for information, but… I don’t know what’s wrong with me right now.

“No date. So you’re stuck with me. Come on. I’m supposed to swing by Rye’s house first and pick up some of the Christmas shit he picked up for Mom. Then I have to head over to the Colton Estate and pick up some more things. You get the idea. It’ll be a distraction, and it’ll help squash the awkwardness.”

I laugh because I can’t help it.

“Why are you running these errands? And why is Rye picking stuff up for her?” I ask in deflection. “Don’t you rich people hire other people for that sort of thing?”

His eyebrow cocks up. “Us rich people?” He laughs lightly while rolling his eyes. “Mom has always made us get our hands dirty, for the record. Rye is part of the family, since he and Ethan grew up like brothers. Rye has ‘chores’ just like I do. But he forgot to take the stuff to Mom’s, so I’m swinging by on my way. Now stop stalling and get ready.”

“I need a shower first.”

He smirks, and my face heats when I see the promise of more mockery stirring in his mischievous blue eyes. “I bet. Sounded like it was an intense dream.”

I try to slap at him, but he dives away, laughing as he avoids my sad attempts to strike. Growling, I lunge at him, but he catches me effortlessly and effectively pins my arms to my sides while walking me back into the bathroom.

This is seriously not a good position to be in right now. All I’d have to do is lean my head back, and he’d have access to bend down and kiss me for as long as he wanted. Then we could…

No! Stop it, Allie. Not going to happen. It can’t happen.

“No taunting me about my dream,” I say, pretending that my entire body isn’t craving him to lose that damn control he always has over himself.

He snickers while pushing me toward the shower. “Fine. No more taunting. You shower; I’ll go home and shower; and I’ll come back to get you in a few.”

I don’t believe him one bit when he smiles again, but I’ll be damned if that grin doesn’t infect me and make me smile, too.

“Are these errands… what kind of errands? Besides picking up stuff from Rye.”

“Mundane stuff. Nothing special. But, like I said, it’ll kill the awkwardness.”

I can handle a day of mundane stuff. Just as long as I don’t have to touch Wren. Or see him shirtless. Or feel him pressed against me…
Stop!
I have to stop thinking.

“Mundane sounds perfect,” I say, cursing the fact I still have images of him licking and biting my ass. That’s seriously the last time I read one of those books. Lesson learned.

***

ALLIE

“Duck!” Rye yells just
as we step into his yard, but I don’t react on the blind faith Wren does. And… I’m punished for it.

I scream when something explodes against my face, and a cold, wet drizzle of liquid slides down my body, soaking me. What the hell?

Wren bursts out laughing from his crouched position, standing slowly as I rake water out of my eyes with my fingers. My hair is smattered against my face with a clingy feel, and my shirt is definitely drenched on one side.

“What was that?” I ask, gasping a little when the cool air strikes against the wetness all over me.

“Water balloon,” Rye says as though it’s obvious. “I told you to duck.”

“Why did you throw it at me?” I demand.

He shrugs, looking around me very warily. “You just happened to step in front of
her.
Now I don’t know where she went.”

I look around, taking in the childlike structures of the yard that I didn’t notice before. In this ritzy subdivision, Rye’s house has numerous things that have been pulled out to play as barricades, including a desk that is turned up on its side. A few car hoods have been stood up in the ground, along with things that look like stage props or something.

“Brin works in a museum,” Wren says when he sees me eyeing a Cleopatra cutout that is proudly standing up in the yard. “She brings home some of the advertisement pieces she works on when a show is over because, well, I don’t know why.”

“So she can find ways to use them against me,” Rye says absently.

Leaning away from me, Wren redirects his attention to a very distracted Rye.

“Do you have the Christmas supplies?” Wren asks, chuckling when I take a step behind him to prevent another water balloon mishap.

Rye’s eyes are on a mission to find any movement behind the structures, and I really don’t want to end up in the line of fire again.

“In the house. Good luck. She has the place rigged for failure. Why do you think I’m fighting for the right to go in?”

“Do they allow this in subdivisions this nice?” I ask curiously.

“They do when it’s me and Brin,” Rye says, shrugging. “The neighborhood enjoys the war.”

A water balloon zips by me and Wren when I pull him back, and it narrowly misses Rye, who immediately crouches low and starts scouring the yard again. This is crazy.

“Too many targets. Which direction did that come from?” he asks… one of us. Not sure who.

Wren laughs while tugging me closer to his protective body, soaking himself with the contact. He doesn’t seem to mind getting wet, and Rye starts belly crawling, entertaining us more.

“Is this a common thing?” I ask, a little worried about their sanity.