Not that that particular gun I’d left in there was lethal.
If it’d shot actual bullets, it would’ve for sure been brought inside.
But, having been looking down the end of a shotgun barrel, I hadn’t realized that she’d grabbed my shotgun that shot beanbags. I’d just seen a gun, and I’d not thought past that.
“I’m not going to the hospital.”
I looked back at Avery to see her shaking her head at the medic.
“It hurts, but I can tell nothing’s broken,” she said. “My neck hurts more than anything.”
Terror rolled through me as I thought about her neck.
“We’re going,” I barked.
She shook her head. “Derek, trust me. Nothing hurts. My neck is sore, just like it’s been all day. If it hurts any worse tomorrow, then I’ll go. But I’m not that bad. I promise.”
I looked away, seeing Foster staring at me with amusement on his face.
Rachel moaned and rolled over, her eyes blinking open to see twelve police officers standing around her in a loose semi-circle.
“Oh shit,” she breathed, dropping her head to the ground in defeat. “What’s it going to take for you to fuckin’ die?”
Oh shit indeed.
Two hours later, I was once again in bed with my woman.
“She confessed to hitting my sister.” I paused. “It was only after she’d done it that she realized it wasn’t you. She’d gotten a text from one of her friends saying that you were at the prom.”
Avery groaned into my chest.
“It was my fault.”
I squeezed her just a bit tighter to me. “It wasn’t. It’s not your fault that Rachel’s got the crazy gene.”
Avery was snuggled up next to me, her hands moving up and down the length of my back.
My mind drifted off again, no longer thinking about my sister. No, my attention was one hundred percent focused on Avery.
“Derek,” she said. “What is it?”
I couldn’t stop playing the sight of her taking that shot to the chest, and then falling into the rose bushes, through my mind over and over again as if on repeat.
I felt like I’d failed.
“If I hadn’t been here,” I said. “If I’d been a few minutes earlier, you would’ve been here alone.”
She bit me on the pec, causing me to jerk back.
“Owww, what was that for?” I asked, smoothing my hand over the hurt.
“That was for blaming yourself,” she said. “Everything is fine. Rachel is in custody. She’s finished.”
“You don’t know it’s finished.”
“I’m fairly sure her saying ‘What’s it going to take for you to die’ is all we need,” she drawled. “And you said that she confessed to doing the hit and run. So that’s it, case solved.”
I agreed.
Somewhat.
Her hand moved down to rest on my hip and she dug her nails into my skin.
“Derek,” she repeated.
I looked down into her eyes and realized that she was right.
Overthinking wasn’t going to help matters.
What would help was to be reminded that she was indeed alive.
I moved until she was underneath me.
“You took your panties back off,” I said.
She grinned, widening her legs for me to situate myself between hers more fully.
“I was hopeful,” she interjected. “I was also being proactive.”
I helped her take the sweatshirt back off.
She’d cleaned herself up while I’d been finalizing shit outside with my father, Ashe, who was called in since she’d already had some dealings with Rachel, and Howell, Rachel’s father.
I wasn’t altogether sure why he’d been there, but he had, so I’d ignored the fact that he shouldn’t be since my father hadn’t said anything.
When I’d finally come back in, she’d been cleaned up and wearing only my sweatshirt.
Which led to now, finding out that she was bare underneath of it.
I growled and ran the length of my lips over the quickly bruising mark directly over her right breast.
“This is going to hurt pretty bad in the morning,” I said, pressing my lips to the spot right beside it. Trying not to let it hurt. “Did you take some medicine?”
She shifted restlessly underneath of me, letting me know without words that she was just as in need as I was.
I moved, shoving my underwear down past my ass, and fisted my cock.
“I was scared,” I said as I ran the tip of my cock over her wet slit. “I haven’t had you long, but Jesus Christ. It’s long enough to realize that I’d be a mess if you were gone.”
She reached down and guided my cock to her entrance, then held my eyes as I slowly sank inside.
I pushed forward until I couldn’t go any further, then backed up and repeated the process. Over and over again until she was filled with me and I was buried to the hilt.
“I never realized how good this would feel,” she admitted. “And it’s amazing.”
I grinned and leaned down, being careful to keep my weight on my arms, and peppered her mouth with kisses.
“It only gets better,” I told her, rotating my hips. “When you have the right one, that is. I’ve never felt anything like this before, either.”
She ran her hands up the length of my arms, pausing lightly to squeeze my biceps, then moved until her legs were hooked over my arms.
“Take me, Derek,” she whispered. “I don’t want you to be careful right now. I want to feel.”
So I made her feel.
I made myself feel, too.
In and out I moved, faster and faster, until we were both being pushed over the edge.
All the while, all I could think about was how fucking amazing that it felt.
How right.
How… perfect.
Once our hearts had settled down, and our breathing returned to normal, I moved us around until she was lying on top of me.
Her head rested on the pillow beside my head, and I was still connected inside of her.
She didn’t seem to care, though.
And I sure the fuck didn’t.
“There are times when I know that I’ll remember the moment forever,” she said. “And this day is one of them.”
I had no doubt in my mind.
“But not because of what Rachel did,” she said. “Because you told me you loved me.”
I squeezed her to me a little tight, causing her to squeak in surprise.
“I do love you,” I said simply.
She leaned back and stared into my eyes.
“Even with me being younger than you and in high school?” she asked.
I pushed some of her hair back behind her ear.
“Even then.”
Chapter 19
Bubbles aren’t the only things I blow.