In a sense, it was understandable.
Two of the MC brothers were the reason I was broken, after all.
But two small cogs didn’t make up the whole machine.
“Yeah,” Lily confirmed grimly. “She’s still living with me. Tiff and Sin’s place is far too small for a houseguest. And trust me, even my place is too small for a houseguest like her.
“I didn’t mind at first because she just used to shop like mad on Amazon. Now, she’s—” She huffed. “Sorry, Rachel. This is very unprofessional of me. You didn’t call to gossip. You called about business. How can I help?”
A part of me was relieved for the change of subject.
Work was all I had, and personal information was something I tended to avoid at all costs.
But… this was Link’s woman.
I cared for him. He loved her.
I swallowed. “No, it’s okay. It’s clear that she’s been annoying you.”
“She has. She stuck to her room for the most part, but now she’s started eating dinner with us. She’s behaving better ever since Link told her he’d throw her out if she kept on with the insults, but she’s so damn snide it’s wearisome.”
“I can imagine.” I cleared my throat. “Why don’t you find her somewhere else to stay?”
“That would make Tiffany feel guilty.”
I didn’t know Tiffany well enough to give her an opinion.
God, I didn’t know any of the Old Ladies well apart from Stone and Indy, and I didn’t even really know who they were aside from the fact they’d been a part of the life longer than I had and had always been around.
From the very start, I’d kept things superficial with the MC. I’d been so certain that when Axel took us in, it wouldn’t be for long. The only way to diminish future hurt was to invest very little of myself from the beginning.
How had I only just realized I’d never changed how I interacted with people I genuinely considered kin?
Horror washed through me as I choked out, “Why would she feel guilty?”
“Are you okay?”
“Sorry, frog in my throat. Why would Tiffany feel guilty?”
Lily hesitated. “It doesn’t matter. I’m sorry for bringing this up.” Her tone changed, brightened. “I’d love to help, Rachel. Anything to get me out of this damned house right now.”
“Do you know where I live?”
She snorted. “Yes, Rachel. I do.”
It sounded obvious to her, but I didn’t know where she lived.
More guilt assailing me, I muttered, “The MC is currently working on several projects—”
“Yes. I know. Maverick mostly passed on the basic bookkeeping. But I was aware of which plans were in place.”
“Oh. With Rex not here, I could use some help.”
“I’ll be there in under an hour. Do you want me to bring coffee or snacks?”
“No. That’s okay. I have coffee here.”
“Great,” she chirped. “See you in a short while.”
Mouth rounding as she hung up, I stared down at the phone then slowly placed it on the desk.
That was… unexpected.
But not necessarily a bad thing.
I did need help. Rex was as much of a workaholic as I was. With him away, I hadn’t realized how much there’d be to do, even with Parker working more hours than usual and Susanne working flat out too, and my intention, my method of apology, was to make it easier on him upon his return.
Keeping his family ticking over in his absence… I didn’t think it would be enough, but I had to try.
TWENTY-SIX
LILY
I laughed when Link snagged me around the waist and dragged me back into him. As he dipped down and nipped my ass, I snorted.
“I have to go help Rachel!” I chided as I twisted back to rub my butt.
Sometimes, the memories returned to me, but most of them had been overtaken.
Pain caused a long shadow, but happiness and pleasure, from a man who loved you and cared about both, shined a lot of light into the darkness of the past.
“Why did she have to call now?”
His pouting had my grin widening and made those shadows fade even further. “Big baby. You just got off!”
“But I was warming you up again,” he said with a huff.
I rolled my eyes as he slipped his fingers between my legs. I’d have slapped his hand if he didn’t immediately find my clit.
I was drenched from both of our releases, so that meant when he rubbed the nub, it made fireworks explode before my eyes.
Hands flopping to his shoulders, I stared down at him blindly as I rocked my hips.
“Fuck, that feels good,” I whimpered, fingers digging into his traps, the tips of my nails leaving as much of an impression as his teeth did in my ass cheek.
As always, his strength stunned me. One second, I was standing there on shaking legs, the next, he’d lifted me up and had laid me on the bed.
He knew well enough not to let his fingers stop or I’d come back to the moment, but he let his thumb breach my slit while making space for his mouth.
“I haven’t showered yet,” I said thickly.
“You taste like us, sugar tits. Delicious,” he crooned.
I groaned as he went to town on my clit. Open-mouthed kisses and deep sucks had me arching my back, hips shimmying so that I rubbed my whole pussy against his face as I scraped my nails over his scalp how I knew he loved.
The noises he made were bestial, ravenous. They triggered something inside me that was equally as primal.
I’d never have imagined I could experience something with such abandon, but there was no denying that he took me to another place. Allowed me to explore parts of myself that I knew was possible only with someone as generous with himself as Link was.
His tongue fluttered against my clit, small licks that sent shivers up and down my spine. I widened my legs to let him get closer, and that was when he thrust two fingers inside me. I growled as he started to finger fuck me, and like we were animals, he growled back like he was telling me to shut up.
The vibrations against my slit made me close my eyes and dig my nails harder into his skull.
Just before I was seconds from release, he pulled back. Panting, I stared blindly up at him. Seeing his chin and mouth and nose slick from my juices, I licked my lips and arched up for a kiss.
Though his eyes darkened in response, he didn’t let me get too close. He flipped me on my belly and encouraged me onto my knees and for me to rock my ass up and back.
When his face returned to the scene of the crime—leaving me hanging like that was definitely a punishable offense—he rocked his head from side to side. I almost burst out laughing as he motorboated my pussy, but it felt too fucking good to do anything other than moan.
A final suck on my clit had him backing off, and this time, I snarled, “Get back there! Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”
“Thought you had an appointment?” he drawled, but he sounded breathless.
Seeing as he’d been suffocating in my pussy a couple seconds ago, I couldn’t blame him.
I twisted around to glower at him, but that was when I saw he’d snagged something from the nightstand.