Until July Read online

  My breath pauses, my nipples pucker in anticipation, and the walls of my vagina contract.

  “Now try to sleep.”

  “Sure,” I agreed, even though I know I’m not going to be able to sleep, not now, not with the heat of his skin absorbing into me, his smell making it hard to think, and feeling his cock against my belly through his boxers. “Have you washed these sheets since the last time you had someone else in your bed?” I ask him as my mind registers that not only am I practically naked, but I’m practically naked with him in his room at the clubhouse.

  “You’re a pain in my ass, beautiful,” he grumbles.

  “I just don’t want cooties.” I smile, and his hand on my ass taps twice before grabbing a handful making my belly clench.

  “Remember how I said that until I was in there, you needed to wear clothes?” he questions, his voice sounding deeper than before.

  “Uh…”

  “Until I’m in there, baby, you’re gonna need to settle when I ask you, ’cause right now, I can’t give you what you need to help you sleep.”

  I start to pant, and my nipples scrape against his chest with each inhale. I’m not sure I would be able to handle him; his intensity and rawness are something new to me. The feeling he causes within me from a few words is intimidating.

  “Sleep.” He gives me another squeeze.

  “So annoying,” I mumble, and I try to fight it, but my eyes slowly slide closed and I relax into his embrace until I fall asleep.

  *

  “C’mere,” Wes says, pulling me down into his lap at my kitchen table and kissing me.

  “I thought you were going to get Capone?” I breathe when his mouth leaves mine. This morning when he woke me up at the clubhouse, he asked me to spend the day with him before we even got out of bed. I knew I needed to step back, but I just can’t. He’s like a drug I can’t get enough of. So while he went to the bathroom, I found his shirt and slipped it on, along with my jeans and sneakers, and planned what I would make for dinner since it was already after three in the afternoon.

  His hand on my thigh traveling up my side brings me back to the moment, and the breath I was about to release gets trapped in my lungs as his fingers come to rest under my breast. My eyes move from his hand to his eyes that are heated, the mint green looking wild and untamed.

  “You…in my shirt…no bra…your dark nipples visible…” His eyes lift to meet mine and his hands move to my hips, where he lifts me swiftly to the table in front of him. His face ducks and he pulls one of my nipples into his mouth through the material of his shirt.

  “Oh!” I cry as the roughness of the shirt scrapes against my nipple as he tugs. “Wes.” I grab onto his hair as my head drops back, and his mouth moves to my other breast, where he delivers the same treatment.

  When his mouth leaves my breast, my eyes flutter open to look at him. His hand wraps around the back of my neck and he pulls my mouth down to his. I tilt my head and my lips part as his tongue slides across my bottom lip. My fingers thread through his hair as I slide off the table and onto his lap, my legs hanging over each side of the chair, my core connecting with the large bulge in his pants.

  “Fuck,” he mutters as I rock against him. His head tilts further taking over the kiss before ripping his mouth from mine.

  “What?” I ask in a daze.

  His head is back, his eyes are closed, and his jaw is tight. “Off,” he commands, and I frown out of confusion. “Off, babe,” he growls.

  I scurry off of his lap and go to stand near my fridge with my arms crossed over my chest. The wetness from his mouth on the shirt makes it hard to focus as it rubs across my nipples.

  “I’ll be back,” he mutters and leaves without even looking at me. I stand there confused for a few moments, not understanding what the hell just happened then look down when Juice rubs against my legs and meows like he’s confused as well.

  I pick him up and carry him back to my room, dumping him on the bed before heading to the shower replaying everything that just happened while trying to figure out what I missed. Once I’m dressed, I head for the door when the bell rings. I expect it to be Wes, and my pulse speeds up when I see my mom standing on the other side of the door.

  “Shit,” I whisper swinging the door open.

  “Hey, Mom.” I smile.

  “What’s wrong?” she asks, frowning.

  “What? Nothing, I just got out of the shower.”

  “You have never been a good liar, honey.” She shakes her head and drops her purse onto the couch. “So what’s going on?” She crosses her arms over her chest and taps her foot.

  I’m just about to cave into her Jedi mind tricks and spill about Wes, when the door opens. I watch in slow motion as Capone barks and runs past me. Lifting my head my gaze collides with Wes’. His eyes drop to my mouth and his hand wraps around my waist as he dips me backward, kissing me hard and stealing my breath. “Hi,” He says against my lips before standing me upright.

  “That explains a lot,” I hear my mom say, and I pull my stare from Wes and look at her.

  “Um.” I look from my mom to Wes.

  “Wes Silver.” He sticks out his hand that isn’t wrapped around my waist and shakes my mom’s hand.

  “November Mayson, July’s mother.” She smiles, and Wes’ head dips so he can look at me.

  “I also have four sisters. June, May, December and April.” I tell him, then press my lips together when I see him smile.

  He shakes his head then looks at my mom again. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

  “Ma’am, huh?” Mom looks at me and raises an eyebrow.

  “Wes is—”

  “Her man,” he cuts me off, stepping fully into the house and shutting the door behind him.

  “Her man,” my mom whispers, looking between the two of us.

  Her mouth opens, but I cut in before she can say anything else. “Did you need anything else, Mom?”

  She blinks like she’s coming out of a daze then looks at me and smiles. “I was planning on having your dad’s birthday get-together this weekend.”

  Oh, crap! My dad. I love my dad. My dad loves me. But I know my dad, and there is no way he will approve of Wes. No way.

  “You should bring your man.” My mom smiles looking between the two of us.

  “Wes will be busy,” I explain then narrow my eyes when hers light up, I can tell she’s loving this.

  “Will I?” Wes asks, and I turn to look at him. He raises an eyebrow as he searches my face.

  I take a breath and look at my mom. “Can I call you later?” I ask pleading with my eyes and her face softens as she cups my cheek.

  “Sure, honey.”

  I really do have the best parents. “Thanks, Mom.”

  “Well, Wes Silver, it was nice meeting you,” my mom says, picking up her bag.

  “You too, Mrs. Mayson,” Wes replies.

  My mom glances at me, and I see a look pass through her eyes that I don’t quite understand, but then she turns to look at Wes and smiles again. “Call me November,” she tells him, and when he nods, her eyes come to me and they go soft. “Call me, honey,” she says softly, and I feel my throat contract with emotion and I close the distance between us as I give her a hug. “I’m always here,” she whispers into my ear, and those words offer me a comfort I didn’t even know I needed.

  I nod and step away then follow behind her as she leaves, waving at her as she pulls out of the driveway. As soon as she’s out of sight, I head inside, go to the kitchen, grab an onion out of the fridge, a knife and the cutting board, and begin chopping it up.

  “You wanna talk about what’s going on up here?” Wes asks, running a hand over my head while pressing into my back, wrapping his arms around my waist.

  “Nope,” I reply, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. I don’t know why this is causing me so much stress. I have never hid a relationship with anyone from my family or my father, and if I’m honest with myself, the reason I’m afraid of m
y father meeting Wes is I want my dad to approve of him. Well, maybe not approve. I don’t know that my dad will ever approve of any man I decide to be with.

  “Your mom seems nice,” he says, placing a kiss under my ear.

  “She is.”

  “Were you serious about the names?” he asks, and I can hear the smile in his voice.

  I turn and look over my shoulder at him, my stomach fluttering when I realize just how close he is. “My mom’s mom named her November because she didn’t want to even bother to look for a name for my mom, and it was November when she was born. My dad loves my mom and wanted to turn the memory of her name into something good, so he named all of us girls after the month we were born.”

  “Your dad sounds like a good man.”

  “He’s the best,” I agree then lower my eyes back to the cutting board.

  “What can I help with?”

  I look at him again, and Juice takes that moment to come wrap him self around my feet. “Can you feed Juice for me?”

  “Sure, where’s his food?”

  I point to the cabinet where I keep his cat food then turn again, only to have Wes’ hand slide along the underside of my jaw. He pulls gently until my eyes go to him. His lips wisp over mine softly, then he drops his hand and goes about feeding Juice while leaving me completely exposed.

  I have watched my father with my mom since I was a little girl, watched the way he spoke to her, watched the way he watched her, and watched the way he kissed her without reason, doing so just because he wanted too I’ve never had that. I didn’t even know I craved that for myself. Not until Wes.

  “Babe, the door.”

  “Hmm?” I turn to look at him, his statement barely registering over the loudness of my thoughts.

  “Someone’s at the door. Want me to get it?”

  My eyebrows pull together as I set down the knife. My mom wouldn’t have told my dad about Wes. She would wait until I was ready, and no one had called to tell me they were coming over, so I’m at a loss as to who would be here on a Sunday.

  When I make it to the door, I look through the peephole then swing it open.

  “What happened?” I say shakily, pulling Kayan into the house. Her eyes fill up with tears and I help her over to the couch, scarcely registering that Wes is talking on the phone behind me. “Talk to me,” I prompt and she lowers her head.

  “Wait ’til Z and a couple of the guys get here,” Wes says, getting down on his haunches next to me, handing Kayan some tissue.

  “Why do we need to wait for them?” I ask, looking at my friend, who now has a black smudge under her eye and a cut on her bottom lip.

  “I only want her to tell us once, and then you’re going to go clean her up,” he says, rubbing my lower back.

  I nod then move and sit down next to her so I can wrap my arm around her shoulders. It takes less than five minutes for the loud sound of pipes to vibrate my house. I don’t know how many guys are coming, but judging from the sound, it’s way more than a couple.

  “Be right back,” Wes mutters, heading out the door only to come back a few minutes later with Z.

  “Fuck no,” Z growls as soon as he sees Kayan. His jaw starts ticking and his hands at his sides lift to cross over his chest like he’s trying to control himself.

  “Are you going to be okay talking in front of them?” I ask her, and she nods, taking my hand in hers.

  “I went out with Eric to get some food,” she says, and a growl fills the room and my head flies up to look at Z with a glare.

  “Can you control yourself?” I snap, and he lifts his chin, making me roll my eyes.

  “So you went out with Eric, and then what happened?”

  “Um.” She shakes her head and pulls her eyes from Z to look at me. “He dropped me home and when I got inside my apartment, I was shoved into the door and someone grabbed me around the throat. They told me I needed to give you a warning.”

  “What?” I whisper, squeezing her hand tighter as fear creeps down my spine.

  “They said if we don’t stop sticking our noses where they don’t belong, we will find out what happens to nosey little girls.”

  I look at Wes and his gaze travels from Z’s to mine.

  “What did they look like?” Z questions.

  “All I saw was a tattoo of a spider on his forehead. Really, I was too scared to pay much attention,” she says, and more tears fill her eyes.

  “It’s going to be okay,” I assure her and look towards the front door as Z leaves, slamming the door behind him.

  “Baby,” Wes calls, and my eyes go to him. “Go get her cleaned up. I’m heading out with the boys. Harlen and Everret will be outside.”

  “Okay,” I agree, and he bends double, wraps his hand around the back of my neck, and pulls me up, kissing me quickly, and then is gone before I realize it.

  “So I’m guessing I don’t need a new calendar?” Kayan asks, and I look at her and can’t help but smile. “What a difference a few days makes.” She laughs.

  “You’re hilarious.” I roll my eyes. “Now, let’s get you cleaned up before Z comes back,” I say, knowing that statement will have her mouth slamming shut.

  “You know I can’t deal with scary hot,” she whispers, but her eyes cloud over.

  “So you’ve said.” I take her hand and lead her towards my room.

  Chapter 7

  “You’re home,” I whisper, blinking up at Wes. His face goes soft as he gets down on his haunches beside the couch and runs his hand over my head. I look around, seeing his friends are gone, but Kayan is still asleep next to me on the couch.

  “You got a TV,” he remarks, and I smile then look around him at my new TV before meeting his eyes again.

  “The first thing your friends said when they walked into my house was, ‘Where’s your TV?’” I say, making my voice deeper. “So I asked them to take me to Target to buy one, but they refused, saying something about women and shopping…blaw blaw blaw. So they took us to BestBuy.” I smile and sit up. “Which is funny, ’cause we were at BestBuy for two hours looking at TVs. Did you know they have ‘smart’ TVs?” I question, tilting my head to the side and studying him. When he shakes his head, I continue, “They do, but I refused to buy one when I already own a computer. Why would I need a TV that is a computer?” I take a deep breath and he chuckles, running his fingers down my cheek.

  “Were you able to find out anything?” I ask after a moment, and he shakes his head again.

  I bite the inside of my cheek and look at my friend. I hate that I had gotten her hurt. “What now?” I ask as he sits on the couch next to me.

  “I talked to Jax. Between his boys and mine, we’ll be able to figure this out.” He pulls me closer to him with a hand behind my neck which I notice that he does a lot. “I’m going to stay here with you and your friend until we can get some security in at her place and yours.”

  “Ugh, what—?” I whisper.

  “That’s not happening. Whoever did this isn’t going to scare me out of my own home. I love you, but I’m not staying here,” Kayan says, cutting in and sitting up from where she had fallen asleep.

  “It’s not safe for you to be there alone,” I tell her gently, and she stands up, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “They are not scaring me out of my house,” she repeats.

  “You’re not staying alone,” Z growls, coming into the house.

  “You’re not my dad,” she replies, and my mouth drops open in surprise.

  “You’re not staying alone, Kitten,” Z says, leaning forward and getting into her space.

  “Fine, I’ll call Eric.” She shrugs.

  “Think again,” Z tells her, and I have no idea what’s going on, but I would swear I’m missing something.

  “You can’t tell me what to do!” she shouts.

  “Bet your sweet ass I can!” he shouts back, causing Capone to start barking at them.

  “I’m going home,” she cries, throwing her hands up in the a
ir in frustration when he continues to glare at her.

  “Okay, then I’m staying with you,” Z says, sweeping his hand toward the door.

  “What?” She stops, her body freezing, and I swear you could have heard a pin drop.

  “I’m staying with you,” he repeats.

  “Uhh…” She looks at me like she just realized what she was doing and I smile.

  “Maybe I’ll just stay here,” she whispers.

  “Nope, walk your sweet ass to your car. I’ll follow you home.”

  “Um…” She glances at me and I press my lips together to keep from laughing. I have never seen her act like she did moments ago. Never.

  “Fine,” she glares at Z then looks at me, “I’m quitting tomorrow.”

  “You were already fired,” I remind her. I’m still upset about that damn cat suit.

  “I hate you.” She tells me as she stomps toward the door, past Z, who watches her ass as she leaves.

  “Please be nice to her,” I plea, and he gets this strange look on his face, lifts his chin, and then leaves, shutting the door behind him.

  “That was so weird,” I say, looking from the door to Wes, who’s smiling.

  “She’ll be fine.” He runs his thumb over the skin under my eye. “Are you tired?”

  “Very,” I affirm through a yawn. It’s been a very long weekend, and not a relaxing one. My life has never been this exciting.

  “Go on to bed and I’ll make sure everything’s locked up.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah,” he mutters, pulling me off the couch, kissing my forehead, and pushing me towards the hall. I stop in my guestroom and put an extra pillow and blanket out before heading to my room, stripping off my clothes, slipping on a tank top, and getting into bed I expect it to take awhile to find sleep but the moment my eyes close I’m out.

  “I put an extra pillow and blanket on the guest bed for you,” I mumble half asleep as Wes drags me across the bed and wraps his body around mine.