“I accepted that that was how our relationship was going to be a long time ago, and I let you live your life. As long as you were happy, I was happy. But this is my life, Stone, and Jensen’s going to be a part of it whether you like it or not. You can either accept that, or—” I had to stop and regroup because the words I needed to say next were going to hurt something fierce. “Or you can go back to San Francisco. I don’t want you to. Having you here these past months has meant everything to me,” I confessed quietly, placing my hands over my heart. “I lost you once, and having you back has made me happier than you can imagine. I don’t want to lose you again.”
On that statement, I lost the battle against my tears and just let them fall. “But Jensen and Brantley are my family, and if you can’t accept that, it’s time for you to leave.”
I hated hurting my brother, it felt like shoving a hot poker into my chest, but when I told Jensen it was just me, him, and our son, that nothing else mattered, I meant it.
“Shaney,” Stone whispered, looking and sounding wrecked.
“I think you should go. I need time to cool off because right now, I’m so mad at you I can’t see straight. I need you to give me that, Stone. And I need you to take some time and really think about whether or not this is something you can get on board with. But just for the record, I hope like hell you can, because I’ve really loved having my big bro back.”
He looked like he was about to say something but thought better of it. Then, with a resolute nod, he turned on the heel of his motorcycle boot and walked out the door. I stared at it in silence for several seconds before pulling in a stuttered inhale. Jensen was there a moment later, turning me around and pulling me to him so I could faceplant in his chest and let everything I was feeling just then wash over me.
His arms wrapped around me instantly, the hold so strong and comforting, so familiar, it was like I’d never lost it. “You okay?”
“No,” I answered honestly. “But I will be. Just might take me a little while to get there.”
He gave me a squeeze, bending his neck and pressing his lips to the top of my head. “He’ll get there, honey. Just give him a little time. He loves you something fierce, so he’ll get there.”
I pulled my arms from between our bodies and wrapped them around his waist. “Thanks, baby.”
“What do you need from me?”
God. How did I think I could ever stop loving this man?
“Just this,” I answered honestly. “What you’re doing right now, just holding me, it’s all I need. But as much as it pains me to say this, I’m beat. That took too much out of me. I think we may need to take a raincheck on the late-night ride.”
Jensen pulled back just enough to place his fingers beneath my chin and tip my head back so he could see my eyes. He searched them for a second, and when he saw for himself that I was well and truly okay, he said, “Bike’s not going anywhere, sunshine. We got all the time in the world.”
At that, I smiled huge, because he was right. We had all the time in the world.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jensen
The phone on my desk buzzed right before Willow’s nervous voice came through the intercom. “Mr. Rose, you have a Mr. Hendrix here to see you.”
I paused with my hand halfway to the button. It had been three days since I got Shane back, since my family became whole, and while those three days had been incredible, I knew my woman was still stressing over the fight she’d had with her brother. She put on a brave face, acting like everything was perfect, but I could see the worry that lingered deep in her expressive honey-brown eyes.
“You can send him back, Willow. And for the millionth time, will you please call me Jensen?”
“Yes, Mr. Rose,” she replied, then the line went dead and I let out a beleaguered sigh.
Stone rapped his knuckles on my open door a few seconds later. “Am I interruptin’?”
“Depends,” I answered, leaning back in my chair and crossing my arms over my chest. “If you’re here looking for a fight or to tell me to stay away from Shane, I’m busy. You’re here for another reason, my schedule’s open.”
The corner of his mouth trembled as he fought back a smirk. “Not lookin’ for a fight,” he answered. “I’m here to make shit right.”
“Then, like I said, my schedule’s open. Have a seat.”
He moved into the office and took a seat across from my desk, kicking his long legs out and crossing his booted feet at the ankle. “So, your receptionist’s brutally shy, huh?”
I let out a short chuckle. “To the point it’s almost painful to witness.”
“Figured that much. Girl took one look at me and turned so white I thought she was gonna keel over outta fright.”
“We take her as she is ’cause she’s smart as hell and damn good at her job.” Done with the small talk, I shifted my position, leaning forward in my chair and bracing my forearms on the desk. “So, you said you wanted to make shit right. Why’re you here instead of talking to your sister?”
“I’m here ’cause the only way I know to show Shane I’m serious is by fixin’ shit with you. I came here because I wanted to apologize.”
I could have dragged this whole thing out longer, held his behavior over his head just for the hell of it, but that wouldn’t have helped our situation, and I wanted Shane happy. Truly and completely happy. “We’re good man. I get why you were being protective, but you gotta know, I’m not gonna fuck this up again. I love your sister. She and Brantley are the most important things in my world. They’re all that matters, and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure they know that. You have my word.”
He pulled in a deep breath and let it out while nodding his head. “Guess that’s all I can ask for. I’m gonna hold you to that.”
The corners of my mouth lifted up slightly. “Wouldn’t expect anything less. So, we’re good?”
“All good, man.” With that settled he looked around my office for the first time. “Sweet setup you got here.”
“Thanks. The crew actually found a box full of moonshine hidden in the floorboards when they were demoing. Probably tastes like battery acid and’ll burn away our stomach lining, but if you want, we can crack open one of the jars to commemorate the moment.”
“Never been one to turn down free booze and I’m not about to start now.”
I grabbed one of the jars and poured us each a shot. Sure enough, it tasted like what I imagined the fiery pits of hell would taste like, but Stone and I were good, so as soon as I stopped hallucinating that the walls were melting, I was going to consider that a win.
Shane
“Oh God,” I moaned, throwing my head back against Jensen’s shoulder and closing my eyes as he plowed into me, driving his thick cock deep with every thrust.
“Eyes open,” Jensen grunted, slamming into me harder and making me cry out. “Want you to watch as you take my cock. Christ, sunshine, look how wet you are.”
I peeled my eyes open as far as they would go and looked into the mirror in front of us. Sure enough, Jensen’s thick length was slick and shiny with my arousal, and the sight of him pumping in and out of me drove me insane.