A young boy that looked to be about ten or eleven charged in the room, “Uncle E,” he screamed, and ran right into Ethan. Ethan fell backwards and moaned out in pain. If it weren’t for the death grip I had on him he would have fallen flat on his backside.
“Hey, John-boy,” Ethan said through gritted teeth. He tried to hide how bad he was actually hurting, but it was written all over his face. And I was not referring to the black-eye, swollen lip, or even busted up cheek bone.
“Are you going to play football with me later? Please.” John, his nephew, I presumed, begged.
Ethan disheveled his hair. “Not today, buddy.” He bent down to whisper in John’s ear. “I don’t want you showing me up in front of Dylan.”
John smiled. Ethan was really good with kids. Hell, Ethan was good at everything.
“What the hell happened to you?” A neat, classy-looking blonde about forty walked in. She didn’t fit in with the rest of that crowd. Miss Prudence in the flesh. She had on a black turtleneck, accented with a hot pink scarf, and a pair of black slacks. She was the epitome of elegance. She went to stand by Neal, who placed his arm around her, protectively.
“Hey to you too, sis. Lydia, this is Dylan. Dylan, my sister Lydia, the princess. John, the champ here.” Ethan gripped John’s shoulder. “Is the best thing she has ever done.”
“E, play nice,” Helen said, sternly and shook a finger at him.
“So are you going to answer me? Who beat the hell out of you?” Lydia crossed her arms and gave the same piercing stare Ethan did when he was furious.
“A guy tried to pick up Dylan.” Ethan shot her my favorite lopsided smile.
“She should’ve left with him. Ethan, you look like you got the . . .”
“Shit beat out of you.” Charlie said with a laugh, and gripped Ethan’s hand, slipping him a clear baggy.
I was livid until I saw him hand it back to Charlie. “I don’t want this shit.” Ethan said.
“Bro, you’re hurting.” He walked backwards and held up his hands pleading his innocent. “It’s for pain.”
“Take it, baby, it will make you feel better.” His mother butted in and said.
“Like hell, it will. You know what that shit does to me. I will not go back there.” He screamed, and laid his head over on mine, calming down. “I have too much to live for now.”
I tightened the grip I had on his hand. He turned and lugged me down the hall. He walked into a bedroom. Immediately, I knew it was his childhood room.
I started to look around when Ethan rammed his fist through my hair. His hands hooked around my neck, and he pulled my hair at the nap. It just did not hurt. His lips descended on mine with such force that it knocked the breath from my lungs. He didn’t let up as he scraped his tongue along the inside of my mouth. I started to taste blood causing me to jerk back. The cut along his lip had busted open and blood dripped down his chin. I wiped the trace of blood remaining on my mouth. “Are you okay, baby?” I asked. He looked like he could devour me.
“I’m sorry you had to see that. My damn family.” He slapped the back of the bedroom door. “I promise you I will never go back there again. The only good that ever came out of my drug use was having plenty to give you when you were hurting after that god-awful attack.”
I licked the back of my thumb and rubbed over the blood on his chin. “I don’t think they were trying to get you to go back there. You are hurting and nobody here wants to see you hurt.” I lightly kissed his lip. “Especially me.”
“I was a bastard on the stuff and fought all the damn time. That is how I got the hobby of beating the hell out of sweet and innocent women before I fucked them. You would have hated me then.”
I ran my thumb over the cut on his cheek. I doubt I could have ever hated you. But I am through with all the bullshit. I slapped him across the chest. “You are stupid, but I love you. Please E, make all of it stop. Make all the lies stop. I would walk through hell to be with you, but no more lies. Not even little innocent lies.”
He led me to the bed and sat down, never letting my hand go. “I had to break Devon out of jail.”
No, E, you didn’t. I flopped down beside him and twisted my fingers around the hem of my sweater. “What are you talking about?”
“Devon got caught with some, a lot of drugs while he was still on probation for your attack. He is not only my best friend, but my uncle’s step-son too. He was getting transported from the jail to the courthouse. To get them to finally agree to leave you alone, I had to stop the truck and break him out.” He fell back on the bed. I laid down beside him. “The cops fought harder than anybody dreamed. It doesn’t matter now. You’re safe and Devon is on some island somewhere drinking a mojito.”
“E, you can go to prison. Who cares if I’m safe if I can’t be with you?” Why does it matter if you lose everything because of me?
“I care, and beautiful, I’m okay. The only person who has ever brought my family down is you. If I hadn’t let you live that son of a bitch you lived with would have never ran his damn mouth. He told the cops all he knew, that is how they got my uncle too.” He crushed me to him. “The smartest thing I’ve ever done was let you live. I thank God every day that he gave me you and if that means my uncle had to pay for a few of his sins, oh well, karma is a bitch.” He planted a kiss on the side of my head. “Plus, I owe Devon. If he hadn’t called me that day Jamie would have killed you.”
What more was there to say? It was hard enough being in that home without digging into anymore lies. I started to look around his room. It was still furnished with a simple dresser, a full size bed, bedside table, and a desk. The wall opposite a large window were shelf after shelf crammed with books. My Ethan was a bookworm from an early age. Over the bed was an oversized poster of Porsche 959. I pointed to it.
“It’s my dream car. It was made the year I was born.” He shrugged his shoulder and blushed.
I poked him in the stomach. “Replace that sweet ride of yours, your baby?”
“My baby, maybe, but never my lady.” He hoisted me up on his back. “Hold on tight.”
I hooked my arms around his neck when a plump, jolly, older lady barged in with both hands covering her eyes. I recognized her immediately from the pictures Ethan had of her. It was his favorite sister, Kristina.
“Ethan, sweetie, hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
“I’m only in the middle of fucking my girlfriend.”
She started to back out of the room as I reached around and punched Ethan in the stomach.
“Ow,” he screamed and fell, throwing both of us on the bed. “Shit, Privy, that really did hurt.” He looked up and yelled for Kristina to come back.
She walked in and seemed a little too shy to be an Asher. “E, even if you have no respect for me, have some for Dylan.”
“Me, you’re the one that busted in here like you would catch us in the middle of something.” Ethan said and pulled me over onto his lap.
Kristina plopped down beside us. “It wouldn’t be the first time I caught my baby brother doing things no sister should ever see.”
I buried my face in the crook of his shoulder. I might have been the first girl he invited home to meet mommy, but I was by far not his first girl. He stroked my hair and kissed the top of my head. “You’re my only future, Privy,” he whispered, again knowing my thoughts.
“Knock, knock.” Charlie said as he walked through the door.
“Damn, it’s worse than when I was a kid.” Ethan clasped my hip. “What the hell do you want?”
“Dylan,” Charlie said with a smirk.
“Sorry man, she’s spoken for.” Ethan said, deliberately licking his lips. His tongue mesmerized me as it moved across his upper lip. Ethan didn’t have to speak, I was his.
“No more than five minutes and then she is all yours again.” Charlie tilted his head to the side and held up five fingers.
Ethan grudgingly shifted me off his lap, but he was amused, too. “Come on, Kristina.
Let’s let Charlie have his say.” Ethan grinned, took Kristina’s hand in his, and pulled her out of the room.
“What’s up?’ I asked, bringing my hand to my face and scratching my chin. I didn’t really care what he had to say. I was still not impressed with Ethan’s family, but out of all of them Charlie was different. He was honest and upfront with his thoughts.
Charlie sat down on a small desk chair opposite me. He propped his elbows on the arms of the chair and steepled his fingers in front of his mouth. Glee sparkled in his eyes. I swallowed.
“So my little brother found his Helen.”
“His mother?”
Charlie let out a small chuckle. “Nah, the kind of love that changes you forever. We call it Helen, because of what Helen did to Dad.”
“I think your dad has had plenty of women or at the very least baby mommas.” I even heard the sarcasm in my voice. I was pretty sure I hated Neal Asher, and didn’t want what Ethan and I had compared to anything he had. That statement got a full fledge laugh from Charlie. I still couldn’t figure out if I liked him or loved him.
“You got that right, but old Neal has only had one love, Helen. She was Lydia’s roommate in college and from the first time she came home with her, Neal Phillip Asher has been head over heels. Hell, three months after meeting each other we had a little Ethan on the way. My forty-eight year old dad gave me an eighteen-year old, hot-as-hell step-mom.”
I tried to smile and laugh through my confusion. It was easy to see that there was a major difference in age between Helen and Neal, but what man marries his daughter’s college roommate? Well duh, an ass that sends their son to get the crap beat out of him. I rubbed my temple, that family was as screwed up as mine.
“Don’t look so shocked. Asher men always get what they want. You sweet, little ladies can’t resist our charms.”
“What about Lydia? She had to be a little grossed out. I mean her dad dating her friend.”
“As long as daddy is happy, Lydia is thrilled. She was a daddy’s girl from the word go. Plus, Helen changed Dad. She mellowed him out and made him a better man. She is even great with the rest of this fucked up family.”
“Why would she want your dad?”
“Love, baby.” He held out his hand as if that was an obvious conclusion. “Helen gave up a lot to be with my dad. My little brother comes with a big commitment, too. Are you ready for that?” He raised an eyebrow. “Well, are you? It’s a simple question.”
“It’s not a simple answer.” I adjusted my dress to avoid his stare.
“If you love him, you will learn to love the business.” A hint of a smile played on his lips. “That fucked-up face he’s sporting won’t be the last one.”
I raised my left eyebrow. Who the hell does he think he is? I realize what kind of business the family runs. “I do love him and I understand the business as well as anybody. I spent four days in hell because of it.” I stood up and started to the door.
“Dylan, I’m sorry for what you lived through. To be honest, I was ready to kill Jamie after you got through testifying in court.” He gripped my arm and stroked the underside with his thumb. “I like what you’re doing to E. He has always been a spoiled brat. My daddy’s prince. You make him a better man.”
“What am I supposed to do?” I looked at the door hoping Ethan would run through it, soon.
“You will need to learn everything is not always black and white and accept things in shades of gray. Don’t let Ethan sugar coat the truth. My little piece of advice, Ethan gives you the truth or he gets no pussy. Don’t ever let him keep secrets.”
Ethan barged through the door. I fisted his shirt in my hands, jerking him to me. “Your five minutes are up.” Ethan informed Charlie.
Charlie stood up, but before leaving he reached over to ruffle my hair. “Ethan, take care of this one. She’s good for you.”
Ethan clutched my chin, pushing it up to give him full access to my neck. He glided his mouth down my skin softly but urgently, sucking and nipping to the base of my throat.
“Ethan, you live a life I’ll never understand” I twisted the scraps of material covering his stomach muscles in my hand.
“I’ve always been up front that I’m not a good guy, since you learned about my past you know my family is dangerous. Hell, look at my damn face you weren't even shocked just upset that I was hurt.”
“Do you agree with everything your father does?”
“No babe, I don’t.” He shrugged his shoulder. “It’s all I know.”
“I want to be a teacher to help kids avoid all the crap your family thrives on. I can’t understand how the life you live and the life I want to live will ever combine.”
He inhaled deeply and shook. “You need to trust me. I heard what my brother told you.”
“Awe, the no pussy thing.” I smiled.
He shook his forehead against my temple. “The no you thing. I won’t lose you again. No secrets ever, Privy. I can be what you need. Let me be.”
“E, am I really enough?”
“Do you have any fucking idea how many women I have screwed?”
I shook my head. I didn’t want to think about it either.
“I don’t either. Hundreds, hell, I don’t know a lot. The only one that ever meant crap to me was you. Shit, I enjoyed the beatings as much as the fucking, but with you all I want to do is please.”
I laid my cheek against his chest. “Why are you telling me this?”
“You ruined me. When I’m inside anyone the only face I’ve been able to see the last five years is yours. I don’t have a clue what happened between us out in that field, but I do know that you crawled under my skin and buried yourself in my fucking heart. I’ll be damned if I let you go without a fight.”
“I’m not leaving.”
“I know. I won’t let you.” Ethan brought his mouth to mine and soon I was lost in his kiss. He cradled my head with his hands, his tongue worshiping my mouth. I got a sense he was expressing his desperation and desire for us to be one.
The same day, three hours later
John was pretty persuasive about the game of football. It didn’t matter that it was freezing outside. We put on hoodies and gathered into the oversized backyard for a game of touch football. It was odd to see Lydia and even Neal lose a little of their seriousness and join in. Damn, Ethan’s family was competitive and it was no secret that my lack of skills and Ethan’s bummed leg made us the weaker link.
“E, I hope you don’t plan on having kids with this lady. Shit, they would stink at ball.” Charlie said and tossed the ball in my direction.
I did my own version of the Super Bowl Shuffle when I caught it. Ethan gripped me around the waist and playfully tackled me to the ground. He was hurting. Even behind the plastered smile, I could see the pain in his eyes. I stroked his face. Man, I loved him with everything in me. He leaned in to kiss me.
“Get a room, Uncle E.” John yelled over at us. Ethan growled in response then preceded to kiss me. I squirmed in his arms and in his unearthly speed, he had my arms pinned behind my back and started to kiss down my neck.
“I could get you a suite at the Dungeon.” Charlie chimed in. I didn’t understand what he was talking about, but it sent Ethan on edge. Flames darted from his eyes. I looked over at Charlie that was holding his arms out in the air. Glancing at us with a look of mocked innocence, he flashed an almost indiscernible smile. Ethan jerked the football up and chucked it at Charlie’s nose. It bounced off his face followed by a spew of blood.