Between Commitment and Betrayal (Hardy Billionaire Brothers, #1)(74)

“I do. But I like noise when it’s comforting. It’s as good as silence when it’s the sound of loved ones buzzing around your home.”

I silently vowed to take her to my family’s Christmas party. She’d absolutely love that chaotic shit. For the time being though, I announced we’d be watching Home Alone instead.

“Don’t you have to work or something? Do some investing or shareholder stuff today?”

“Nope. We’re relaxing before they throw some other story at us.”

She stared at me. Assessing, maybe questioning, I don’t know. Her eyes pried at my soul though, and when she found whatever she was looking for, her smile was brilliant. “I’m going to go get my string to make you a bracelet while we watch.”

She ran out of the house and returned minutes later with a little box. In it were strings of all sorts of colors, and little tiny seashells. She plopped down on the floor instead of the couch while I searched for Home Alone on a streaming service. “Where’d you get those shells?” I asked her.

“I pick them up sometimes on the beach,” she said. Of course she did that, looking at all the small things of beauty none of us saw anymore. It made me want to spend all day and all night with her just so I could soak in how good of a person she was.

So, that’s what I decided to do all afternoon and all night. We watched a whole damn marathon of those movies while she showed me how to make bracelets, demonstrating the knots over and over again. She made me an all-black one with one of those shells threaded in and tied it to my wrist with such pride, I knew I’d probably never take the stupid thing off.

At one point, I touched the necklace around her neck. “Who’s that one for?”

“Me and Tonya have these. She doesn’t wear hers anymore.” She glanced away. “The red one on my right wrist is for my mom. The others I sort of make for whatever mood I’m in. Ours now match.”

She touched her wrist to mine, two black ones that bound us to whatever we were at this point. Friends in a marriage. Or maybe it was one friend and another friend who wanted something more.

I crawled over to her and took my time kissing her, exploring her mouth in a gentler way than I ever had. The air shifted between us, the silence she loved so much becoming loud with my desire for her, my draw to her, my need for her. She let my hand inch up her delectable tan thighs, pushing the fabric of my jersey up until I saw her wet lace panties underneath, covering her sex. When my phone rang, though, she swatted my hand away and told me to get it. “It’s Piper. We need to know what’s going on.”

I needed to turn off the feature that fucking announced who was calling. I rearranged myself and swiped my cell off the table. When I answered, Piper purred into the phone that she’d taken care of everything. It was good news, she’d done her job, and I was thankful for it. I sat down on the couch and let her rattle off the list of magazines.

“Only one is giving us a hard time.” She sighed into the phone.

I glanced at Everly and shook my head at her when she started to get up. I wanted her on that fucking floor and this call was ruining it. “Which publication? Actually, it doesn’t matter. Just pay them.”

“It’s going to be six figures to get rid of it. It’s probably best we discuss it over dinner?” She was trying to get me to come out.

“Dinner?” I questioned back. I wasn’t processing what she was saying as Everly stood but at my question, my little raindrop spun around, her caramel brown highlights fanning around with her fast turn. “Tonight?”

“Yes. It will look good the press seeing you out and about, Declan. Should I invite Anastasia too?”

Everly had walked back over to me, a look I couldn’t quite decipher in her eyes. She kneeled down in front of me, and all of a sudden, her small hands were on my thighs as she held my gaze. I pulled the phone away and said low in warning, “Everly, what are you doing?”

Doe eyes. She did them right. Full of innocence and longing and naivete when she brushed her hand over my bulge. “Just finishing up what I started with my husband so he can go to dinner.”

“Declan, you there?” Piper said as Everly unbuttoned my pants and pulled them down, my jersey shifting mesmerizingly over her chest as she did. Then she wrapped her fingers around my cock, and I had to bite my damn fist to not moan into the phone.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to make dinner, Piper,” I choked out as she stroked me up and down, up and down with a soft but firm grip. When she lowered her head to drag her tongue over my pierced tip, I felt like I was going to explode before we even got started.

“Oh, why? Anastasia was really looking forward to it.”

“I don’t know why Anastasia would be looking forward to it. I didn’t say I was going,” I ground out through clenched teeth right as Everly wrapped her soft full lips around my cock and hollowed out her cheeks.

“She misses us having you all to ourselves, Declan. I mean, do you have plans with Everly?”

Her tongue swirled around as I tried to listen, as I tried to formulate any sort of thought other than that I wanted to fuck this woman for the rest of eternity. “I do have plans. With my wife. For the foreseeable future. So, don’t make another plan for me.”

I hung up on her and growled loud as I pulled Everly from my cock and shoved her down onto the ground where I could hover over her. “I should fuck your mouth more often. Seems you like taking me there with someone listening.”