Tame: Carter Kids #3 (9 page)

Sitting around a round breakfast table with the five men I spent twenty-four-seven with, I felt a huge amount of shame creep through me.

I had partially guessed that Tommy and Teagan's first official meeting would be an uncomfortable event, but I hadn't banked on Quincy and Beau being such pricks.

They weren't just ignoring Thorn.

They were flat out freezing her out.

Lewis, my heavy, wasn't talking to her either, but I knew from personal experience that it wasn't an attack on Teagan.

The guy barely spoke to
me
and I was paying him a fucking fortune to stand around and look ugly.

Thorn was putting on a brave face, pretending she didn't notice, and throwing herself into an animated conversation with Lucky.

"So,
Tygan,"
Beau suddenly piped up from across the table. "What do you plan to do all day when us guys are working? A tour bus full of men isn't exactly the right place for a woman."

I opened my mouth to tell Beau to watch his fucking tongue, but Teagan was already answering his question.

"Well,
Boo
," she replied, purposefully mispronouncing his name the way he did hers, and I mentally high five'd her.

My girl had some serious steel in her spine.

"Once Noah cuts me one of those pretty gold cards, I plan to spend most of my time shopping." Batting her eyelids dramatically, she flicked her long blonde braid off her shoulder and smiled sweetly. "And perhaps I'll redecorate the tour bus."

Beau, obviously not getting Teagan's sense of humor, looked horrified as he gaped across the table at her.

Lucky looked like he was about to piss his pants.

"You like hot pink, right, Noah?" Clapping her hands together, she squealed. "Oh, how I love to shop."

Tommy leaned back in his chair and sneered, "Do you think you're funny?"

"Careful, T," I warned him. Dropping my hand on Teagan's thigh, I glared across the table at my friend. "Be very fucking careful."

"I think she's funny," Lucky offered up, unperturbed by the tension as he smiled warmly at Teagan like a proud teacher would his star pupil.

"It's okay, Noah," Teagan whispered. Covering my hand with hers, she squeezed gently before clearing her throat. "I think I'm being prematurely judged is what I think."

Turning her full attention on Tommy, she picked up her fork and stabbed a piece of bacon.

Pointing it at him aimlessly, she added, "Thanks for the dress, but you don't know me, Tommy." Shoving the piece of bacon into her mouth, Teagan washed it back with some orange juice. "You didn't know me back in high school and you don't know me now." Shoving her chair back, Teagan stood up with her chin jutting out proudly. "I'm not the girl you remember." She turned her gaze on Beau and then Quincy. "And I'm not the girl you were told about."

With that, Teagan swung around and walked away from the table with her head held high and her dignity intact.

Giving Lewis the nod to go after Teagan, I turned my attention on my so-called staff.

If I wasn't so fucking angry with Beau and Tommy, I would have been beaming with pride for the way Teagan had conducted herself, but anger was the dominant emotion coursing through me at this present moment in time.

Dropping my fork and knife down with a clatter, I shoved my chair back and stood.

"This is your first, your last, and your only fucking warning," I snarled, red-faced as I glowered at each and every person at the table. "When you speak to her, you do it with the same amount of respect as you would if you were speaking to me. You got that?"

"Sit your ass down, boy," Quincy snapped impatiently. "We've got fight tactics to discuss for tomorrow night."

"Knock the other guy out. Make it bloody. Win the fight," I shot back, glaring at Quincy. "There. Fight tactics covered."

Inclining my head towards Lucky, the only one I could tolerate in this moment, I nodded stiffly before turning around and walking out of the dining room.

There were three things I learned about myself during dinner tonight that I hadn't known before.

The first thing I discovered was that I happened to be quite partial to oysters. I would never have guessed it, but those slimy little fuckers were actually pretty tasty.

The second was the fact that I was capable of controlling my mouth when in company. Shocking, I know, but I discovered that side to me when I managed to endure a painfully long, one-sided conversation with Noah's boss, Nick Leversteen, on the side effects of erectile dysfunction during middle age.

And the third thing I realized was that I was willing to do whatever it took to hold onto the man sitting beside me.

As crazy and pathetic as it sounded, there was a desperation inside my heart that was urging me to hold onto Noah Messina for dear life.

Before tonight, I'd never had to acknowledge that feeling.

But it was there; a longing so intense I could hardly breathe through it.

It didn't help that Noah looked almost godlike as he lounged beside me, chatting with several people around our table. His arm was slung over the back of my chair.

The jacket of his tuxedo had long since been discarded. And the top two buttons of his white dress shirt were open, revealing a slither of chest hair and ink.

His black bowtie was undone and hanging on either side of his neck.

He trailed his fingers over the bare skin of my shoulder as he spoke to the man beside him, pulling me closer to him and further away from my sanity. I was losing myself to this man. I knew it. I couldn't stop it and I didn't want to.

A slender waiter, dressed all in black with his hair combed back, approached me with a champagne bottle in his hand.

"More champagne, Miss?"

"Yes. Thank you."

This was crazy…

Last Friday night I'd been holed up in my flat in Cork City, drowning my sorrows, and this Friday I was bumping arms with some of the most influential athletes in sport today, not to mention several actors' I'd seen in blockbuster movies.

Shaking my head, I looked around, taking in the fancy decor of the ballroom.

Everything looked so…expensive.

To the outside world, I guessed I fit in with my full-length, white Grecian-style dress, but inside I felt like a fish out of water.

The band playing on the opposite side of the ballroom were amazing. They were sweet, and soft, and playing the crowd into their pocket with classic ballad covers.

The female lead singer had the most haunting, melancholic voice I'd ever heard, and I found myself hanging on every word she sang.

Noah was openly affectionate with me during dinner, and dutifully ignored the countless lustful stares and come hither looks he received from numerous women.

Having Noah claim me in a room full of his colleagues was like having all my Christmases come at once. Being his woman, after all this time, meant more to me than he would ever know.

If the rest of the tour went as well as tonight had, I could see a pretty great future in our horizon…

"So this is the pretty little lady who tamed The Machine." The little old man on Noah's left, the one he had been talking to, smiled warmly at me.

Extending my hand across Noah, I smiled and said, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Teagan. Teagan Connolly."

"The pleasure is all mine, dear," the old man replied, shaking my outstretched hand. "My name is Travallion Leversteen, although most people around here call me Trav."

For a frail little man, Trav's handshake was surprisingly firm, and I quickly found myself drawn into conversation with him. 

I quickly learned that Trav was the founder of the MFA, and Noah's boss Nick's father. Although he retired several years back, Mr. Leversteen Sr. liked to keep a firm eye on his legacy.

From our brief conversation, I discovered that the old man was an honest, no bullshit conversationalist.

I conversed happily with Trav Leversteen for most of the evening and Noah moved between chatting to the couple opposite us to other random people who were all vying for his attention.

We seemed to be in a place where we were comfortable enough to let the other spread their wings, and in sync enough with each other to join in when needed.

Trust, I realized, was the emotion I was feeling, and I smiled to myself.

We were finally starting to trust one another…

"Do you want to dance?" Noah asked, breaking me out of my daydream.

"Hmm?" Dragging my attention away from the band, I looked at my boyfriend.

Boyfriend…

Turning his chair towards mine, Noah clamped his hands on the sides of my chair and pulled me between his legs effortlessly. He leaned forward and his broad chest stretched the fabric of his white shirt. His narrow waist looked edible in the finely cut waistcoat sewn to him.

"I asked you if you wanted to dance with me," he repeated, lowering his face to mine, giving me his undivided attention.

His warm, alcohol scented breath fanned my face and I shivered.

I knew I was tipsy and teetering on the edge of full-fledged drunk. The way the room spun around me and my body felt weightless assured me of that.

Noah had drunk twice as much as I had, but he was more buzzed than drunk.

In my defense, I wasn't used to having so much free alcohol at my disposal like Noah obviously was.

Tucking one of my curls behind my ear, Noah grazed my chin with his thumb. "You've been watching the dance floor all night."

His lips were so close to mine that I wanted to say, 'no, I want to have mad, passionate sex right here, right now,' but I refrained – barely – managing to nod weakly instead.

Noah stared hard at me for a moment, his brown eyes searing me. "Yeah," he said gruffly before clearing his throat. "You need to stop looking at me like that, Thorn."

Raising my glass, I took a large gulp of my champagne, desperate to cool the burning inside of me. Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I tossed the remainder of my drink back and exhaled shakily.

My voice was throaty and needy – just like my body – when I said, "Like what?"

Noah's Adam's apple bobbed in his throat, his dark eyes turned an even darker shade of brown. "Like you want me to strip you bare and fuck you raw." 

He reached an arm around me and grabbed a bottle of beer from the table before placing it to his lips.

I wasn’t sure what to do or how to react. I wasn't going to deny what I desperately wanted to happen. So I remained silent, waiting on Noah to make the next move.

Standing abruptly, Noah reached for my hand, next move decided.

The band began to play a piano version of Elvis Presley's
Can't Help Falling in Love
as he took me by the arm and led me onto the dance floor.

"I never thought this was how our lives would turn out," I whispered, holding onto him as he guided me around the floor.

Noah chuckled. Taking my left hand, he cradled it to his chest. "It's different from the quarry, that's for sure."

His other hand was splayed against my lower back and I wanted to ask him where a street fighter learned to dance as good as he did, but I was afraid that I wouldn't like the answer, so I refrained.

This night was too perfect to screw up with past issues and old scores.

We were living in the now and I never wanted the night to end.

"I can do this for you now, Teagan," he announced with quiet affirmation and for the first time in what felt like a very long time, he sounded like the seventeen-year-old boy I fell in love with. "I couldn't give you shit before," he continued to say as he danced me around the floor. "But I can give you the world now."

"I don't want the world, Noah." Stretching up on my tiptoes, I pressed a kiss to his stubbly jaw.

If he never fought another fight for the rest of his life, or if he won a million more title belts, he was enough for me.

Releasing a deep breath, I lowered myself back down and rested my cheek against his chest. "I only want you." 

"You've always had me." Noah dropped his chin to rest on my head and it was such a gentle, tender act that my heart raced in my chest. "We'll turn this around, Thorn," he whispered.

His heart was slamming against my cheek.

I was affecting him as much as he was me.

It was a comforting thought.

"We'll make it work," he continued to say. "I'll work harder to make this work with you than anything else." He pressed a kiss to my brow. "You'll be my first priority." He spun me out of his arms before pulling me back to his chest. "I won't ever stop trying to make our relationship work." His hand dropped to my waist. "I rushed in with you when we were in school." Spinning me out again, he pulled me back effortlessly, gliding us around the floor like a pro. "I fell head first but I have zero regrets."

My body was shaking, I was literally trembling all over, and I couldn't seem to control it.

"You were worth it all," he told me. "The pain. The prison time. The wait." Tightening his hand on my waist, Noah buried his face in my neck as we swayed to the music. "I wouldn't change a minute of it because, in this chapter of our lives, I get to keep you."

I found myself drowning in Noah's words and whispers of promise.

Clenching my eyes shut, I gave myself up to all he was and all he would be – because it would be enough.

He held me so close, touching my heart with his words, burning my skin with his touch, imprinting on me a lifetime of unspoken promises and goals.

Maybe it was the alcohol we'd both consumed too much of, or maybe it was the atmosphere around us, but there was something special about tonight.

I felt it and I knew Noah did, too.

It was like we were home. 

After a lifetime of fighting tooth and nail for everything I had, it was comforting to be in the arms of the other half of me. The strong half. The man I could let my guard down around and trust he would keep me safe because I
knew
he would.

"I don't want tomorrow night to come around," I confessed. "Everything is going to change the moment we step out of this bubble and onto that tour."

"No, it won't."

"But it will."

"Teagan, I'm not changing."

"And I'm not either," I argued softly. "But it doesn't mean the world won't."

Noah's so-called team entered my mind and I blanched, clutching onto him for dear life.

"The universe hates us, Noah. It always has."

"I'm not going to let anyone separate us again, Thorn," Noah said in a husky tone. "Whatever it takes to keep us together, I will do it." Kissing my brow, he pulled me tighter. "You're mine. The only thing I got right in my lifetime of wrongs."

He trailed the back of his hand over the fabric of my white dress.

"One of these days I'm going to put a baby in your belly." He gently pressed my head back against his chest. "And I'll shave your legs when your belly's so big you can't reach your feet."

I held onto him a little tighter, drowning in his words and tender promises for the future.

"I'll do the night feeds," he continued to purr into my ear. "And I'll change the sheets."

Clamping his hand on my hip, Noah swung me away before pulling me back to him.

"I'm not a blow in, Thorn, and I'm not your father or your uncle." He pressed a quick kiss to my lips. "I won't put my career before you and I won't drown my feelings in a bottle."

He took my hand and sealed his hold over my heart.

I would never get over him. For the rest of my days on this earth, I would be devoted to Noah Messina.

"I'm going to buy you the biggest fucking house in Boulder and fill it up with babies."

Reaching up, I pressed my lips to his neck and released a deep breath.

"And I will never be your mother," I vowed, looking deep into his eye. "I will never use your love for me as a weapon. I will never put you into a position like the one you've spent your life fighting to get out of. "

He touched his forehead to mine and smiled. "I know."

"God…" Emotions crept through my heart, spilling out of my mouth. "I'm upset that I missed seven years of this." My happiness was being up-scuttled by the regrets of my past. "I should have stayed with you. I should have listened to you…"

"I was always going down, Thorn," Noah replied, comforting me. Tipping my chin upwards with his hand, he looked deep into my eye. "If you had stayed, it wouldn't have changed the fact that I had to go to jail."

"You mean everything to me." Shivering, I bit down hard on my lip. "I don't know if it's safe to feel this way or not, but I can't pretend anymore. I can't."

The heat between us was burning me.

The love in my heart was too much.

I felt like I would explode and every touch, kiss and smile from Noah drew me closer to that moment. To this pivotal point in time.