Stand Close 3 (Stand Close New Adult Romance Series) (7 page)

C
atching up to Rue
, she turns her head and surprise flickers across her face, replaced by a quick smile. “Well, hello.”

“Hey.” I match the pace of her walk. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

A hint of worry glints behind her soft brown eyes. “Oh?”

“Yeah, can you stop walking for a second?”

She stops, tucking a chunk of hair behind her ear. “Something wrong? Oh, God…”

“What?” I frown, not liking her expression.

“Are you going to ask me to leave now that you’ve gotten me alone. I knew this was going to happen.” Her eyes flit around for something to hold onto.

Quickly I wrap my hands around her shoulders to calm her. I’ve taken pleasure in freaking her out before, but that’s over now. The last thing I want is for her to think we want her to go home.

“No! No! It’s not that. God, no. I wanted to tell you something ever since the pool, that’s all.”

Her eyes cloud over in a different way. “Oh.”

“Let’s sit down.” I motion to the grass and she nods, lowering herself to join me. We’re both cross-legged and I scratch my temple, trying to get the words right in my head before I let them out. “The thing is, Rue, when I saw you in the water, I understood why you did it. Do you remember the car accident that gave me this?” I run the tip of my index finger along the scar in my eyebrow, where the hair will never grow again. “This is a permanent reminder of the day that I tried to do what you did. It wasn’t an accident that I ran into that tree. I had been aiming for the cliff, but then just as my car sped toward it...”

“You changed your mind,” she finishes with understanding.

“Yeah. And the tree was the only other option. Hurt like hell, though,” I smile.

She smiles too, sadly remembering. “I tried to come up for air, but it was too late.”

I take her hand. “Here’s the thing I wanted to say: It’s never too late to change your life and make it what you want it. When it gets that bad, hang on and try a different door.”

“Or a tree,” she jokes, softly.

“Or a tree,” I smile. “And I’m sorry. I’m sorry for bringing you to that point. I was a shitty human being and I’m ashamed of how I treated you. Please…forgive me?”

Her eyes widen in surprise. “I already forgave you, Jack. Do you forgive me?”

“For what?” She makes a face and I chuckle, “Oh right, I forgot with all the plane crash and nearly dying thing.” Losing the smile, I look her in the eyes. “You’re forgiven… sis.” I make a face like I’m going to vomit and she laughs, the cloud leaving her eyes. Mission accomplished.

“If your nose wasn’t so fucked up from that crash, I’d tweak it.”

Sitting back on my hands, I chuckle, “This wasn’t from the crash. This was from your boyfriend. Or do you not remember that, with all that’s happened?”

Her eyes light up with recognition. “Oh my God, I forgot about him punching you. It should have been me.”

Snorting, I rise up. “Oh really?”

She shakes off her dress, standing up, one eyebrow cocked mischievously “Really. Come here!”

“No!” I laugh, taking off. She chases me a few steps and gives up, heading for the food. Walking back to our camp, I see Alec’s got his sights fixated on me. “How you doin’ slugger?” He grins and shakes his head, but his eyes shift to Rue in the distance.

Sean sighs. “What are you waiting for, Asshole? Go get her.”

Alec looks at him with surprise and I catch an interested glance from Jenna as she lifts her sunglasses up to watch the juicy show unfold. But Alec is very serious, his eyes blinking more than usual. “You sure, Sean? Because I don’t want anything to come between us again.”

I sit in Rue’s chair, fairly certain she won’t be needing it anytime soon. Plus, I want to get close to the hot Mexican number who’s been eyeballing me with a fuck-me stare all day. And if that’s in my imagination, I’m about to make it a reality. I announce, “If you hurt her, I’ll kill you,” and all eyes shoot to me. I grin, “What?”

W
ith my hips
bouncing to the band’s lovely beat, I stand in line with the rest of the party-goers, feeling lighter than I have in a long time. I’ve got my sights set on BBQ ribs, and I’m wondering if New Orleans does them differently than I’m used to. Ooooo, and there’s lemonade. I can’t wait to…

“Can I buy you lunch?” His deep voice sends tingles down my right side and I don’t have to look over to know the most handsome guy at the party is smiling down at me. But I sneak a peek anyway.

“I don’t think they’re charging,” I say, smiling into his dancing eyes. “You look happy.”

He frowns playfully, peering into the truck. “Hey guys! You take tips, right?” Through the rectangular window three guys in their twenties nod. Alec looks at me and repeats in a more intimate voice, the resonance doing things to my insides, “Can I buy you lunch?”

I laugh, charmed. “I’d love that.” Without warning, he grabs me and throws me over his shoulder. “Whoa!”

“It’ll have to wait.”

With my hands on the sinewy muscles of Alec’s upper back, I crane my neck to see Jenna and my brothers, but none of them are looking at us. Trepidation curdles my blood as I worry about the ramifications of this little kidnapping. “Alec, I thought…”

“Shh…” he hushes me, heading for the pool house meant for people to change their clothes and shower. I have a feeling he’s got more on his mind to do than that. The authority in his voice dampened the sweet space between my thighs, but still I’m worrying about if this is a good idea. I know it’s not, not after Jack and I finally buried the hatchet.

“Alec, really, I don’t think…”

He spanks my ass once, but firmly, the charge of it shooting vibrating sensations from where his hand hit. “Quiet, woman!”

Jack and Sean who?

He opens the door and orders out two couples who are mauling each other’s faces. “Everybody out!”

They scramble to leave without argument and, with me still over his shoulder, Alec locks the door behind them, turning to toss me on the purple couch as though I weigh five pounds. “Oof!” I bounce and stare up at those eyes of his. They’re charged with need for me and I gasp as he lunges and pins me easily with his masculine strength. In some ways, men and women are not equal and thank God for that! Tearing the thin t-shirt off over his head, he locks eyes with me and smirks that sexy fucking smirk of his. I stare at his chest as it comes into view; at the tiny hard nipples, the knots of his abs, that V I can’t stop touching. “Do you think I’d do this if I thought it would hurt you, or them?” he asks, hoarsely.

My eyes light up and I grin. “Are you serious?”

He gives a curt nod, wanting to dispense with talk of anything else. “I’m going to fuck you so hard.”

He lifts up my legs and wraps them around his hips, grinding into me. I moan, “Say it again.”

“I’m. Going. To. Fuck. You. So. Fucking. Hard.” He flips me over and before I even know what’s happening, he’s pulled up my dress, pulled my bikini bottoms to the side, unzipped his pants and plunged his cock into me, all the way in. I give a long moan and press into him as he claws into my hips with thick fingers, pulling me onto him, thrusting and grunting like an animal. I grip onto the cushions and bend to his will, arching my back as he hammers me. “You’re so fucking wet, Rue. I’m holding off but not for long. I’m going to cum. I’m not holding back when I do.”

“Well, it’s about time,” I tease him, moaning loudly as he goes ballistic, lifting me off the couch and holding me in the air as he takes me from behind. He growls and grunts as his body writhes and bends into me. My walls begin to shake, the folds so slippery, taking all of him in. “Oh my God!!” I cry out. A primal yell bursts out of him and he pounds me harder, stretching out the delicious spasms in my walls until I’m shivering. All of a sudden he yells out and shoots into me, thrusting his powerful hips and holding there as he throbs. I clench my walls for him and he growls and hammers into me more, driving us further over the edge until I’m gasping for air. He collapses onto me, reaching under and grabbing my breast, kneading it in his fingers and tweaking my nipple as we catch our breath. “Wow.”

“We’re just getting started,” he chuckles into my shoulder blades, kissing and biting them. “But first, some food.”

I groan as he pulls out slowly, the thickness of his shaft barely softening. “But we could go again?”

He chuckles and zips up his shorts. Stepping to lift me up onto his lap, he kisses me long and slow. “There’s a party going on. And a reason to celebrate. But don’t you worry. You and I aren’t even close to being done.”

Smiling all over, I kiss him. “And now we don’t have to hide like my mom and dad.”

He soberly looks into my eyes, quieting me. “We don’t have to hide anymore. You are worth claiming in front of the entire world, Rue Calliwell. And I’m proud that I’m the man who’s going to do it.”

Stunned, I let him lift me and put me on my feet. He takes my hand and leads me to the door. We walk into the sunlight holding hands for all to see, and Jenna, off in the distance catches sight of me. She shades her eyes with her hand and grins. I throw her a wave and follow my man to the food trucks, feeling that without a doubt, I am the luckiest girl in the world.

“
H
ow do you like it
, Ms. Stone?” The makeup artist stands back to appraise her work in the mirror as she ruffles her pink-tipped pixie cut with one manicured hand.

“I love it. Thank you.” I don’t even bother to correct her that my name is Calliwell, because it’s no use.

We both turn to look as a boisterous knock sounds on the door. “Five minutes!” The P.A. vanishes and just as the door is about to shut, fingers I instantly recognize, appear, holding it open. Alec peeks in with his left-sided smirk.

“Can I come in or is this ladies-only?”

Jumping off the chair, I catch both the hair stylist
and
Ms. Pixie Cut looking at Alec with longing. I can’t blame them. Those jeans would make any woman weak. “No, the makeup trailer is co-ed. Jack and Sean just left.” I smile up at him as we meet each other in the middle of the room. “Hi.”

“Hey.” He leans back holding onto my hips as he gives me a once over, and shakes his head. “You’re too pretty, that’s what you are.” He turns to the stylists. “Can you add some shadows and bags under her eyes or something? Maybe a wart right…here.” He kisses the tip of my nose and the girls swoon.

Laughing, I chide him, “Okay show off. We get it. You’re perfect.”

He laughs and slips his arm around my waist, guiding me out. “Later, ladies.”

“Bye!” “Nice meeting you!”

Posters of famous moments that occurred on Laney Turner’s show pass by us as we make our way to the stage: Lady Gaga confessing all she really wants is to be a cowgirl. Steven King admitting all his books are based on true stories, some he’s witnessed personally. Drew Barrymore kissing the band-leader with him dipping her over a dropped tuba. We don’t even notice them as we walk, because Alec knows how nervous I am and he’s doing his best to distract me with the look in his eyes and the slow strokes of his thumb against my lower back.

“You’re going to be fine. She’s on your side, but if she says something I don’t like, I’ll be on the sidelines ready to punch her like I punched Jack,” he says in a soothing voice.

Despite my crazy nerves, I chuckle at the image. “Will Sean pull you off
her
, too?”

“He can try. The surprise advantage he had over me is gone now, so…”

“Ah, I see.”

As we pass a door on the right, Sean leaps out of it and yells, “Boo!” Alec and I both crack up. I don’t point it out to him, but Alec definitely jumped.

“Oh, I can still surprise you,” Sean smiles and asks me, “You ready?”

“No,” I sigh.

“
S
o
, Jack, when the plane was going down, what were you thinking?” Laney’s eyes are alight with the desire to please her studio audience as she leans in, her tiny microphone sticking out of the collar of her yellow blouse, her cream-colored slacks crossed at the knee. Every seat in the risers is full and when we came out, the uproar was insane. Extra security had been hired and men in all black with batons stood in between us and the audience to make sure nothing got out of hand. But it was unnecessary (or a publicity stunt; Laney’s that smart). The crowd of mostly teenagers and some early twenties like us, were just happy to see that the brothers had survived. If there was ever a lull in their popularity, the plane crash wiped that away.

Laney is in her own chair, and on the sofa next to it is Jack, me and Sean, in that order. Jack, having done these kinds of interviews before, looks as comfortable here as he did last night when we were lounging around after dinner watching The Blacklist. He and Sean are both wearing their trademark tailored suits–Sean’s in light blue and Jack’s in navy–-and they both look like stars. I don’t know if I can say the same about myself–ever–but Sean helped me pick out a dusty-blue pencil skirt and pretty white blouse with a couple gold dangling necklaces that go to my waist, and the effect is appealing next to them. We look like a family.

“What was I thinking? Honestly? I was thinking,
there goes a lot of good scotch
,” Jack smirks, making the audience giggle. Sean and I exchange a smile, rolling our eyes.

“He won’t tell you this himself,” Sean volunteers, his arm over the back of the sofa, “but…”

“Sean,” Jack warns, and I can see the seriousness hiding behind his green eyes. But Sean’s not listening.

“…he smashed the bar open so he could take some with us. The co-pilot was over there in agony, and here’s Jack, sucking down whiskey.” The crowd laughs again, louder this time, and Jack relaxes. He’s not comfortable in his new role as hero. He’d rather be the class clown or the devil incarnate.

Laney’s smile is almost real as she soaks in the audience’s reaction, loving that the boys are putting on a good show. “Well, the way I heard it, Jack saved everyone. Now, are you just being modest?” He bites on his cheek, holding back a smile as she leans toward him. Shifting her little, beady eyes to me, she asks, “And what about you, Rue?”

Here it comes. The focus is on the bastard child with everyone now getting their chance to poke at it live and in person. Anxiously, I glance to where Alec’s standing next to one of the cameramen, hidden from view. He nods encouragement and I shift my focus to Laney with too many of my teeth showing.

“Yes?”

“When you heard their plane went down, what did you do? You just became aware that you were a part of their family, how did it impact you to hear they were in danger?” Laney’s somber face is all an act. She’s trying to get a reaction, and it’s working. The whole studio is so silent I can hear my heartbeat in my ears. Sean and Jack are waiting for my answer, too. I don’t know if they’re hoping I’ll be funny like they were, but that’s just not possible with this subject for me.

Quietly, though my mic catches it, I swallow against the lump of emotion in my throat. “It was the longest night of my life. I would never have forgiven myself for not being on that plane with them, if they didn’t make it.” I look to my brothers. “I love the fuckers.”

The whole place goes berserk. Laney’s shifting and bouncing and shifting in her seat some more, looking up at the control room to see if that can be bleeped. But we’re Live, so I am soon to become one of those iconic posters in the hallway. Jack and Sean are cracking up. The audience of teenagers is whooping and hollering and screaming, “
Fuck
yeah!”

I stand up and yell out to the crowd, “Would you all like to see Alec Gabriel?”

They go nuts! He laughs and walks out, giving the ecstatic crowd a little wave as he joins us on the stage. He kisses me to cheers, sits down and pulls me onto his lap since there’s only room on the couch for three. He fist-bumps Jack, and Sean’s grinning at me for doing this. Laney isn’t sure whether or not to be happy for the press this show is going to get, or upset she didn’t orchestrate it.

And just when it starts to get quiet, Sean speaks, his stoic face and somber voice hushing everyone’s blood. “I just want to say thank you to Steve Lathem and Terence McAllister for their incredible skill. If they hadn’t landed the plane successfully on the water, we wouldn’t be here.” The crowd claps enthusiastically, and you can feel the weight of his words in the room. He leans back and adds, “And come and get me, guys. I’m gay.”

T
he End
.