Holding Her Hand (Reed Brothers Book 15)(46)

“You didn’t ruin it. Samantha did. Never did like that girl, not since she was little and she used to throw rocks at Mick because he could hear.”

“She didn’t!”

“She did. So I went to her mother and threatened to dispose of her body in a pretty vile way. The mother, not the kid, because the mother was in charge at that age—and we never had another problem out of her.”

I laugh. I like Mrs. Shepherd, and I can see where Ryan gets his sense of humor. “I did hope he’d marry a deaf woman, though, I have to admit.”

“He still might.” I wince.

She laughs. “No, he won’t. He has that look in his eye. I knew he would meet someone and fall in love one day, and I knew it wouldn’t be with Samantha, but I never thought it would be with someone like you.”

“I know I’m not what you wanted for him, but—”

She waves her hands in the air to stop me from talking. “He’s a grown man. He’s a talented artist. He has a good job and a home of his own. He will always be my little boy, but he will one day be someone’s husband…” She stops to wipe away tears that have formed in her eyes. “And that’s a decision he has to make all on his own. If he picks you, I’ll support both of you one hundred percent.”

“Even though I can hear?”

“Oh, you’ll have your own special challenges. You will always be the one who has to answer the phone when there are voice calls. You will end up translating for him more than you think you will. And you will avoid situations where you think he won’t fit in. And he’ll avoid similar situations for you. You’ll change your life for him, and he’ll change his for you. For him, he’ll hate that he has to rely on you for some things, and it’ll cause a rift between you at times. But when you love someone, there are always things that get in the way of it, and hearing is only a small percentage of them.”

I sit down in the chair next to her and settle in. “I’m pretty sure I’m in love with him.”

“I know. I can tell.” She smiles softly at me. “You have my blessing.”

“Thank you.”

“Now, go get my boys in here so I can make them feel bad.”

“Beg your pardon…?”

“Didn’t you see the two of them at the party? Always messing around. When you go out there, tell them I look terrible, like I’m not going to make it. Tell them they should be really nice to me. Tell them that I deserve to be spoiled.” Her eyes twinkle at me.

So I do just what she told me. They go back to see her together, and they come out twenty minutes later, both of them looking like kicked puppies. “She looks so bad,” Mick says.

“She looked fine when I saw her,” Mr. Shepherd starts to say, but I press my finger to my lips and he begins to grin. “She’s probably really tired. You all should go home. I’m going to spend the night.”

“You ready to go?” Ryan asks me.

I nod. “Ready when you are.”

Out of the blue, Mick asks Wren if she would like a ride home, and she very shyly accepts. Marta and Emilio take Peck and Star home, while Ryan and I take my car and driver.

“What’s up with that?” Ryan asks.

“What’s up with what?”

“My brother and your sister.”

“I have no idea.” I look up at Ryan. “He’ll be nice to her, right?”

“Of course.”

We get in the car and go to his house. “I’m too tired to build a blanket fort,” he says, scratching his belly as he pulls his shirt over his head.

I pick up pillows from the couch and throw them on the floor. “What happens if I fall in the lava?” I ask as I teeter on one foot.

He narrows his eyes at me. “Then I get to have my way with you.”

I pretend to fall into the imaginary lava. “Oops.”

He stalks toward me and tosses me over his shoulder. When we get to his room, he sets me down, pulls my shirt off quickly, and then he removes my pants and panties. He turns me around to unhook my bra in the back. Without stopping, he bends me over his bed. I hear the jingle of his belt coming undone, and then his pants fall to his ankles. He probes at my entrance with his cock.

“Do we need a condom?” he asks.

“Um, yeah,” I tell him. I’m not on birth control.

He pulls back, goes to the bedside table, and puts on a condom. Then he takes the same spot behind my rear, his dick teasing me.

I press back against him in invitation. He slides in slowly, filling me up, and he presses my shoulders toward the mattress. I lift my bottom so he can go deeper. “God, I love f*cking you,” he says close to my ear.

I’m facing away from him so we can’t talk much. I couldn’t talk if I wanted to after a declaration like that.

He slides his hand between me and the mattress and finds my clit, and within a few lunges, he has me clutching at the sheets, with his greedy cock taking every inch of me with short, shallow thrusts, then long, slow pushes.

I turn my head so I can kiss him, and when I come apart, he grunts against my lips and comes with me, pushing me into the mattress with a hand at the small of my back.

I climb naked up the bed and slide under his covers, and he comes with me. I face him so we can talk, even though I want nothing more than to curl into him.