Holding Her Hand (Reed Brothers Book 15) (20 page)

She rolls her eyes. “
You
’
re a guy. All of you think blow jobs are amazing
.”

“
Well, that does cloud our brains. But you…you
’
d still be pretty special even if you didn
’
t just do that
.”

She scrunches up her face. “
Did I do it right
?”

I wipe her lip again, even though it’s clean. “
Well, if that happens, you did it right, you know
?”

I pull the covers down and she grabs hold of them
again, keeping them up by her chin. I kiss her until she turns to mush, and then I give the quilt a tug, and she lets it go. “
You
’
re so beautiful
,” I say, running my hands all over her stomach and hips, then I move to her boobs. “
So pretty. I might never let you out of bed
.”

I toss the covers over my head and move down. She doesn’t stop me. And in a few minutes, she’s kicking the covers down
herself, grabbing my hair and pressing my face into her pussy, and I’m loving every second of it. She clamps down tight on my fingers as I push her over the peak, and I don’t let up until she makes me.

I crawl back up her body, suddenly tired, and I want to hold her. But she scoots to the side of the bed and starts to put her clothes on. “
Where are you going
?”

“
I have to go home and get ready
for your mom
’
s party
.”

“
Get ready here
.” I really don’t want her to leave.

“
I can
’
t. All my clothes are at home. And the present I got your mom is there
.”

My heart clenches. “
You got my mom a present
?”

“
Of course. It
’
s a birthday party, right
?”

I nod. “
I might be falling in love with you
,” I blurt out.

She laughs and shakes her head. “
I bet you say that to all the girls who give you blow
jobs
.”

I freeze. Because she’s wrong. So wrong. I haven’t ever said it to anyone. “
No. I don
’
t
.”

“
Yeah, right
.” She tosses her hair, pulling it free of her collar, and then she pulls it into a messy ponytail.

She puts her shoes on, but I can’t stand the thought of her leaving with her feeling like this, like I only said what I did because she sucked my dick, so I grab her as she walks by me
and pull her back in bed, then roll her under me. “
I didn
’
t say that because of what you did
.”

She goes still beneath me. “
Okay
.” She avoids my eyes.

“
It makes you uncomfortable when I tell you how I feel
?”

“
No
…” But then she shakes her head. “
Maybe… I don
’
t know
.”

“
I
’
d still be falling in love with you even if you didn
’
t do that.”

“Okay…”

I kiss her quickly. “
I
’
ll show you
.”

“
Okay
.” She
nods. But she’s still being weird.

“
I
’
ve never felt like this before
,” I tell her, looking into her eyes.

“
Okay
.” She does that nod again, and it’s getting on my nerves, so I roll off of her and let her up. “
Want me to come and pick you up? We can use my driver
.”

“
Sure
.”

“
What
’
s wrong
?” She jabs her fists into her hips.

“
Nothing
.” Everything.

“
You don
’
t want to use my driver?”

“No
.” I shake
my head. “
That
’
s fine. Pick me up at noon
.”

She bends over and kisses me, but I make it short. She stares at me for a moment, her gaze confused. Then she shakes it off, stands up, and leaves.

I toss my pillow at the door, and throw myself back on the bed. I have no idea what to do about how she’s acting, but I know I have to do something. Shit. I finally meet a girl I have real feelings for,
and this happens. What the hell do I do now?

Lark

I open my apartment door and step inside, and freeze when I see all five of my sisters lounging around the living room. Finny raises her hands and starts to clap. It’s slow, loud, and obnoxious as hell. Heat creeps into my cheeks, but I square my shoulders and step into the room, tossing my keys onto a nearby end table.

“Congratulations,” Finny says. “You look like you knocked boots all
night long.” She leans toward me and whispers loudly. “Just how big
is
Ryan’s dick? Inquiring minds want to know.”

A grin teases the corners of my lips, despite the fact that I am mortified at being put on the spot. “None of your business,” I say as I flop onto the couch. “What are you all doing here?”

“I called them,” Wren says. She stares out the window from her seat on the couch. Suddenly,
she turns toward everyone and I see a tear roll down her cheek. “I needed some advice.”

“Did you tell them yet?” I ask softly. Wren is laboring over this, and I would do just about anything to help her.

She shakes her head, and dimples appear in her chin where she’s biting back tears. My sisters are no longer joking around. They’re serious and they all want to know what happened.

“I’m pregnant,”
Wren says. Then she buries her face in her hands.

“How much pregnant?” Finny asks.

Wren looks up. “Does it matter?”

Finny sighs. “Yes, it does, depending on what you’re planning to do about it.”

“You mean get an abortion.” She stares hard at Finny and she throws up her hands in frustration. Wren jabs a finger in her direction. “And you can’t tell Tag. You have to promise.”

Finny shakes her
head. “I can’t promise you any such thing. We’re a team.”

Finny married Tag, who is Wren and Star’s biological brother. He didn’t grow up with them, but he carries their DNA, and he’s crazy-protective about them.

“Give me time to figure out what I’m going to do about it, will you?”

“What does the baby daddy say?” Star asks. Star is pregnant too, and she lays a protective hand on her belly.

“He doesn’t want it.” Another tear rolls down Wren’s cheek. “Or me, for that matter.”

“Boy, he’s a w-winner,” Peck says.

“I got ten bucks that says he’ll want something to do with it when he realizes that being the baby daddy of a Zero’s baby could be a lucrative business,” Finny tosses out.

Wren’s jaw drops open. Then she throws a pillow at Finny. Finny catches it and tucks it behind her. “What?”
she cries. “He’s not a shining example of humanity, Wren. C’mon.”

“He’s an asshole,” Star says.

“A dickface,” Peck adds.

“Peckerhead,” Wren mutters.

“He’s a dumbass for passing up on something as fabulous as you and that baby could be,” I add.

“So,” Finny says, clapping her hands together, “what are we going to do? Are we going to have a baby, or are we going to decide not to?”

“It’s not
that simple,” Wren protests.

“No,” Finny cuts in, “it really is. A woman has the right to choose. Exercise your right not to have it. Or exercise your right to be a mother. Either way, we’re right here.”

“But he’s not,” Wren wails.

“What’s he got that we don’t?” Finny asks stoutly. “A dick? I can buy you one of those.”

Peck rolls her eyes. “Have you been to the d-doctor yet?”

Wren shakes
her head.

“I think that’s the first step. Make an appointment and I’ll g-go with you.”

“Okay.”

“Good, so we have a plan,” Finny says. “We’re awesome. We get shit done. We rock.” She gets up and does a little dance.

“You suck,” Wren gripes. But at least now she’s smiling. She turns to me and pushes my shoulder. “Speaking of sucking… How was Mr. Shepherd in bed? Did he suck?”

“He…did…suck…on
a few…things,” I say slowly as I cover my face with a pillow and sink down low in my chair. Laughter bubbles from my throat.

“Told you!” Finny cries. She points at Star. “You owe me ten bucks. They totally did the deed.”

“You made bets on whether or not I would have
sex?
” I ask.

“Yep,” Finny crows. “And I won.” She holds out her hand. “Pay up, sister.”

Star slaps her hand, and Finny pulls
it back, grinning all the while.

“Give us some details,” Finny says. “How big was Ryan’s dick? Are you sore? Can he last forever? Do those tattoos go all over?”

“Big enough. Yes, I’m sore. He lasted just fine. And yes, the tattoos are all over.”

“Is his dick pierced?” Peck asks. “Sam’s is. Just curious.”

“No, he’s not pierced.”

“Was he fun?” Star sits forward, suddenly getting into it.

“Fun how?” I ask.

“Was he all, like, serious? Or was he funny?”

“He kind of…cried a little.” I wince. “After I did, and not as much as I did. But still.”

Finny flops back. “He
cried?
Seriously, I would have punched him in the balls.”

“Well, he didn’t sob, but he did get all teary-eyed one time.”

“Was he good to you?” Star asks quietly.

“Very. I don’t think it could have been any better.”
I look down at my watch. “Oh, crap. I have to go and get ready. I’m meeting his mother.”

Finny frowns. “Why are you meeting his mother?”

I shrug. “It’s her birthday. There’s a party and he asked me to go with him.” I look at all their faces. “Why? What’s wrong with that?”

Finny’s brow furrows. “Didn’t you just start dating?”

“Yes.”

“And you just had sex last night?”

“Yes.”

“And you haven’t
made any promises to one another. No secret elopement or anything.”

“No.”

“Then why the fuck are you meeting his mother already?”

“Because he invited me. I think it’s nice.”

“It’s creepy.”

“It’s not creepy.”

“It is. I think you should cancel and just go back to his place and bang his brains out instead.”

“I am not going to cancel.” I get up. “I want to meet his family. I already met his
brother Mick.”

“What are you going to wear?” Star asks.

“It’s a cookout. Can you pick something out for me?” I put my hands together like I’m praying.

Star gets up and goes to my closet and I follow her.

“Shut the door, will you?” she asks.

I close the door. “What’s up?”

She sits down on the edge of my bed. “I’m really worried about Wren.”

“I know. I am too.”

“What do you think she’ll
do?”

“Honestly, I think she’s undecided.”

“Okay.” She gets up and starts to rummage through my closet. “She didn’t tell me ahead of time. She made me wait until she told everyone else.”

Star and Wren have always been the closest of the five of us, since they’re the only ones who are natural-born sisters. “She’s probably still in shock. I’m surprised she told anyone.”

“I’m pregnant,” she says,
as she holds a hand over her baby.

“I know.”

“I don’t like that she has to decide between abortion and having it.”

“I know. I think that’s probably why she told you all this way.”

“When I found out I was pregnant, it was the best day of my life.”

“That’s because you have a husband who supports you and will love that baby to pieces. She’s alone in this.”

“She’s not alone.”

“She is. Where
it matters.”

“Okay,” Star says softly. She pulls a pair of jeans and a paisley shirt out of my closet. “Wear this. With your rhinestone sandals.” She points to the bathroom. “Go shower. I’ll fix your hair.”

I sigh and go to Star. I lay a hand on her belly and feel the firm bump beneath my palm. “Wren’s going to be okay,” I tell her.