When We Fall (7 page)

I shook my head in disbelief. I couldn
’t believe he’d put himself in danger, orchestrating that entire thing without me knowing. I felt sick thinking about what could have gone wrong. It was probably better that he hadn’t told me about his alternative plan; my head would have been spinning with
what ifs
. Saving this money was not worth the risk.

“
Knox, you guys could have…”
Been killed
. I couldn’t even bring myself to speak the words. Hot tears leaked from the corners of my eyes. Why would he take such a risk? I couldn’t lose him.

He took my hands and held them.
“That is your money to do what you want with. Your parents worked hard to earn that, saved for years to make sure you would be okay. Even if I don’t love the idea of you giving it to Luke, I get it. It’s who you are. It’s one of the reasons I love you. That money is yours to do what you want with. There was no way I was just handing it over.”

“
But how did you know this would all work out? That you could trust this lawyer and the police to—”

“
Shhh. It’s over now.” He kissed me softly on the mouth.

My whirling thoughts and racing heart felt anything but comforted.
“Are you sure it’s not going to come back to you? They could find out you set this up. How do you know this lawyer, anyway?” Questions tumbled from my lips as my brain fought to catch up.

His
gaze slid away from mine. “It’s been a long night. We’ll talk about that later.” Opening his arms, he urged me closer. “Come here.”

I sensed there was something he wasn
’t telling me, and a flicker of curiosity bloomed inside me, but I let it go and curled against his side, savoring the feel of his firm body against mine. Knowing how close I could have come to losing him tonight quieted me and I clung to him, desperate for skin-to-skin contact.

Knox

I tugged McKenna closer, pushing my hand under the T-shirt she wore to bed, unable to resist running my hand along the soft curve of her ass. Tonight had been stressful—leading Jaxon into a situation like that and involving the police, which totally went against my gut and had put me on edge. But there was no way I was letting McKenna take the hit for Jaxon’s mistake. That money belonged to her. I wasn’t about to let it fall into the hands of a street gang. She deserved to be in control of her parent’s inheritance, and even if she wanted to use it to fund Luke’s education¸ it was hers to do with what she wanted.

“
What are you doing?” She giggled as my hand squeezed her ass cheek.

“
Just exploring,” I growled near her ear. I hoped she wasn’t too tired, because I needed to feel her around me. Tonight more than ever.

“
How can you be thinking about sex right now?” she teased, wiggling her ass farther away from me. “You could have been killed tonight.”

“
But I wasn’t.” I tugged her close again. No way was I letting her escape that easy. “And now I want to celebrate by getting my cock wet in your sweet honey.” It was crude, but I wasn’t in the mood to sugarcoat my mood with pretty words. I hitched her bare leg up over my hip so she could feel that I was already semi-hard for her.

“
You and your insatiable boners.” She rolled her eyes for dramatic effect. Her playful mood was exactly what I needed to relax. And studying me in the dim light, McKenna seemed to understand that. “The things I do for my sex-addicted boyfriend.” She sighed.

Boyfriend
. I liked that word coming from her lips. “I’m addicted to your tight, hot pussy. And I’m not going to apologize for that.”

“
So, what are you going to do about it?” she challenged, a lively spark in her eyes.

I pulled her over the top of me so she was straddling my lap. I loved the weight of her against me, the sight of her sitting on top of me. Tugging her panties to the side, I touched my fingertips to her pussy lips, finding them glistening with her moisture
, and my cock swelled even more. “I want to feel your heat squeezing my cock.”

McKenna let out a helpless whimper.

I continued rubbing her, spreading her apart so I could stroke her clit in a little circular pattern that made her hips rock slightly against mine, and nestled my cock nice and tight between her ass cheeks.

“
Careful, angel. I’m tempted to bury myself inside you, and if that happens I don’t know if I can hold back tonight.”

She breathed my name, her head dropping back as she pushed her hips closer, greedy for more friction against her pleasure spot. A firm grip and a twist of the fabric and I tore the panties from her body, tossing them aside.
“Oops,” I deadpanned.

She watched me with wide eyes, her pulse frantically thrumming at the base of her throat. She liked this side of me.
Good
girl.

Lifting her weight with one hand, I pushed my cotton boxers down my thighs with the other, freeing my cock to rest between us. Rocking her hips against me, her wet pussy slid along my shaft, coating me in her juices. A growl rose from my throat. I cursed under my breath, my hands clutching into fists at my sides. Restraint was not my strong point
, and she was making me crazy with desire. I was about three seconds away from pounding into her, brutally taking everything she was offering.

“
You better stop me now, angel, unless you want me to fuck you bare.” I knew her birth control hadn’t kicked in yet, but shit, in that moment, I was willing to risk it. I needed her. Just her, with no barrier between us. She made me want things I never thought I’d want. She made me crazy with the desire to not only fuck her, but to consume her from the inside out.

“
Give it to me,” she breathed. Her confidence and husky tone caused a drop of fluid to leak from my tip.

Positioning the head of my cock at her entrance, I pushed forward slowly but steadily, easing past the tightness of her inner muscles and not stopping until I was completely buried deep inside her body. McKenna let out a low murmur of discomfort. I knew I was testing her, pushing her limits, but I also knew she liked it. And I loved the feel of her stretching around me.

“Ride me, angel,” I encouraged, placing one hand against her side, my thumb lightly stroking her hip bone.

She rotated her
hips, drawing me even deeper and savoring the feel of me buried so completely, before lifting and lowering herself back down in tiny increments as she adjusted to my size.

Watching her hips move against mine, seeing her eyes slip closed as an expression of ecstasy overtook her features was too much.
Fuck
. She was my everything.

I gripped her hips, lifting her up and down while I planted my feet against the mattress and used the leverage to thrust into her. Unable to hold back, I pounded into her tight little pussy over and over again, loving the way her chest bounced as I plunged into her.

All too soon, McKenna was exploding around me, murmuring my name and gripping her breasts to rub her nipples as she started to come.

The sight of her, coupled with the intense way her body gripped at mine
, wrenched the last of my self-control away. Tingles at the base of my spine drew my balls tight against my body as my own release began. Hot jets of semen pumped into her. McKenna clung to me helplessly and I lifted up on my elbows to kiss her. Her walls continued pulsing around me for several seconds as our breathing slowed and our kiss turned deeper, slower.

One thing was certain
: I did not deserve an angel like McKenna. The only explanation for her presence in my life was that my mom had sent her from heaven to look after us all. It was the only thing that made sense. I’d known she was my angel right from the very beginning.

I wanted to make love to her over and over again, taking my time like it might be my last time touching her. The last time I had the privilege
of holding her naked body against mine. Because when she found out about my connection to the lawyer, I was all too aware that all of this could end.

McKenna

Amanda and her baby girl, AnnMarie
—named for both of her grandmas—were being released from the hospital today. And since I felt so guilty that I hadn’t even visited once, I’d offered to pick her up and give them a ride home. Just as I was stepping into my shoes and shrugging on my coat, Brian opened the door to our apartment.

“
I wasn’t expecting you until later,” I said with surprise. “Did you drive yourself?”

He lifted his arms out to his sides.
“Good as new. Not even a limp. I can operate a car and everything.”

Much
-needed laughter bubbled its way up my throat. The last few days had been too tense, and it was good to see his smiling face.

He gathered me in his arms for a hug.
“Damn, it’s good to be home,” he said.

“
It’s good to see you on your feet.”

“
Where are you off to?” he asked, taking in my appearance.

“
I was actually going to pick up a friend and her brand new baby from the hospital, then drive them home.”

“
You still have that rental car?” he asked.

I nodded sheepishly.
“I was supposed to return it days ago. But it turns out I like having my own wheels.”

Brian
chuckled. “How about this. I’ll follow you to the rental lot so you can return it, and then I’ll give you a lift to the hospital so we can get your friend.”

I nodded.
“If you don’t mind, that would be really helpful.”

“
Are you kidding? I’ve been in a bed for almost a month. The last thing I want to do is sit inside alone and watch more TV.”

He dropped his bags in his bedroom, used the restroom
, and then we were on the road within minutes. As promised, Brian followed me to the rental lot and waited while I returned the rental car and paid the bill, then we were en route to the hospital.

“
So…you and Knox…” he started.

When I was in Indiana for all those weeks,
Brian knew my relationship with Knox was on the rocks. Now he was fishing for information, but I couldn’t blame him. He had to be curious, and I’d been pretty closed off about my relationship.

“
We’re back together. I love him, Bri. I love being with him and his brothers. And I think my parents would have wanted me to be happy.”

He nodded silently, looking out at the road.
“Yeah, they would have,” he said after several minutes of silence. “They would be really proud of you, you know.”

It was the first time I
’d heard him acknowledge that, and irrational tears filled my eyes.

“
Guess it’s time I let you go,” he said softly. “Shit, I’ve had a crush on you since the first grade. You can’t say I didn’t try.”

I chuckled lightly.
“You put in a valiant effort.”

He reached over and took my hand.
“Knox is lucky to have you.”

“
Thanks, Bri.”

His injury and time recouping seemed to bring him a new sense of peace and clarity. It had given him a lot of time to think. And my leaving him while he was still recovering
to return to Knox must have sent a stronger message than I realized. I’d chosen Knox over him in every way possible.

When we arrived at the hospital, we checked in at the security desk and were directed to the third-floor maternity wing. I thought Brian might just wait for us in the waiting room, but he insisted on helping, saying there
would probably be bags to carry.

I decided I liked his new helpfulness and sense of peace about our friends-only status. We paused outside Amanda
’s room and I gave a knock on the door.

“
Come in!” she called, her voice sounding clear and happy.

I poked my head in and made sure she was dressed. She was wearing stretch pants and a cute top
, and had a big smile across her face.

“
I have my friend Brian with me…that okay?” I asked.

She nodded.
“Of course. Thanks for coming.” She waved us in.

We entered the room and I gave Amanda a big hug before peeking inside the bas
sinet holding the tiny baby.

“
Aw…” I gushed as a rush of emotions hit me at once. Amanda was a mom. And AnnMarie was so tiny and pink. She was absolutely precious. A miracle baby in more ways than one.

While I held the baby and cuddled her in the nearby rocking chair, I was vaguely aware of Amanda and Brian getting to know each other.
Oops
. Apparently I’d forgotten my manners along with making formal introductions as soon as I’d seen the baby. But Brian was standing with his hands in his pockets and a big grin on his face, and Amanda was laughing at something he’d said, so I focused on the sweet little thing in my arms again. She was so light, I could hold her forever. Her little pink face turned up to mine, and she lazily peeked open one eye and yawned. I couldn’t help but giggle.

“
So she’s all good, despite being born early?” I asked.

Amanda nodded, pulling her attention away from Brian.
“Yeah, she’s good to go. She had a hard time regulating her body temperature, which is why we had to stay a couple extra days, but she’s completely healthy. She’s almost five pounds already, and eats like a horse.”

The pride in
Amanda’s smile touched something inside me. It seemed we were all growing.

“
So I hear we’re here to spring you out of here,” Brian said, looking at Amanda again.

“
Yes, I’m more than ready to leave. It’s impossible to get a decent night’s sleep with nurses coming in every couple of hours and turning on the lights, poking this, prodding that.”

I handed her daughter back to her.
“I hate to tell you this, but I think your nights of sleeping are over.”

“
Yeah, I know.” She smiled down at the baby in her arms. “But she’s worth it.”

“
May I?” Brian asked, stopping in front of Amanda and looking down at the baby.

“
Oh, sure,” she said and passed him the infant.

Watching Brian hold the baby only made her look tinier. He cooed something unintelligible down at her while Amanda and I swooned. What was it about a man and a baby?

While Amanda bundled AnnMarie up in the car seat, Brian and I gathered up her bags. “Do you have everything you need at home?” I asked. I knew the birth had been a surprise, and aside from our thrift-store shopping a while back, I didn’t know if she was prepared to take the baby home.

“
I have a bassinet for her to sleep in, diapers, wipes, and some clothes. I’m breastfeeding because it’s, well, it’s free and I can’t afford baby formula. Besides, it’s not as bad as I thought it’d be. So yeah, I think we have everything we need.”

I nodded.
“Okay.” It sounded like she had the essentials covered. I realized babies really didn’t need much. Despite all the plastic gear and baby products on the market, Amanda was embracing the simple side of things.

Brian
’s brows scrunched together. “If you need anything else, you let us know. Any friend of McKenna’s is a friend of mine.”

Amanda smiled up at him.
“I will.”

His offer was sweet. I wondered if his demeanor would change if I told him how I knew Amanda
, and that she was an addict in recovery I’d met in group. Or maybe his harsh criticism was only reserved for Knox. Either way, I let it go. Today was a happy day, and it felt like everyone was heading in the right direction.