Shameful by May Dawson
52
Legacy
The three ofus rent two motel rooms at the Happy Lodge, a motel in the middle of a gritty little city. It’s creepy enough to invite a vampire. I have to stay on my own, but since Tobias is tracking me, we have a chance he won’t notice Rhett andWest.
Of course, that means I have to count on them knowing when I face Tobias—and getting to me in time to help. Third time’s the charm—unless it isn’t.
Still, the helpful tracking map-and-marble that Fiona gave us tells us that he’s on the move, but he’s not here yet. We have hours to fill until he arrives.
Seeing that he’s headed my way filled me with the strangest restless sense. Not fear. I’m ready for a re-match. But I’m not happy about encountering Tobias again either.
I am a little curious to see if he’s grown another finger or not, though. West, Rhett and I placebets.
West bets that I’ll take this one offtoo.
I’d never known that decapitated fingers could be such a romantic subject. Because West’s faith in me fills me with a warmglow.
Rhett left to pick up phones for us and whatever other shady things he was up to. It was hard to tell. He was recreationally mischievous.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” he said on his way out thedoor.
“That rules out absolutely nothing,” Isaid.
He offered me a grin in response and waved before he closed the door onus.
I turned to West, who was kicked back in a chair with his feet up on the bed, one muscular arm canted behind his head. He looked relaxed, until he felt my gaze, and then his eyes widened slightly. He sat up, his feet coming off thebed.
I couldn’t resist a smile, although I tried to hideit.
“What?” he demanded.
The old Legacy would’ve pretended that I wasn’t thinking of anything at all, so I could make him feel comfortable, in-control, like men like tobe.
I wasn’t that Legacy anymore. I sat down on the foot of the bed, close enough that my knees brushed his, and looked into his face. “Do I make you nervous, West?”
“A little thing like you? No.”
“A little thing?” I eyed him skeptically.
“Compared tome.”
He was six-foot-four of brawn, I guessed he wasn’t wrong. I’d never felt small compared to most men, but I felt petite next tohim.
“But still. A little thing only matters if you think we’re going to end up in a fight, and I can’t imagine ever fighting with you, West. Not forreal.”
He folded his arms over his chest, kicked back in his chair again and put one foot back up on the foot of the bed. “Really? It seems like you and I don’t usually get along that well. I can’t say most women have ever found me pleasant.”
“No one finds you pleasant. But I find you…safe.”
“Safe?” He blurted the word out like it had hurt his feelings.
“You were by my side in a second when Lucas hitme.”
“And I’ll get my chance to make him pay for that,” he promised.
“I don’t need you to do that. I’ll make Lucas pay myself. For that and many other things.”
He frowned at me, as if he was most comfortable hurting people, and I was denying him a good time. “So then why do I make you feel…safe.”
“There’s a big difference from needing someone to protect you and wanting someone to try, West. You can want to be independent and want to be taken care of all at the same time… even if you don’t need to be.” I cocked my head to one side, staring at him. “Isn’t there a part of you that wants to be protectedtoo?”
“I think I can handle myself.”
“I don’t mean just someone to take a bullet for you. Being protected… it can be as simple as knowing you have someone on your side. It can be emotional. Being believed.” I’d been trying to figure out West’s walls, but my voice caught on the word believed.
That was what I’d been missing in my old pack. I couldn’t ever be with someone who didn’t believe me again. The way Lucas had doubted me had shook me to my very core. He had even made me doubt myself.
I wanted to believe that I was stronger now, that I would never let anyone doubt me again.
But I also knew now what kind of men I wanted in my life, in a way I hadn’t before having my heart broken.
So thanks for the tutorial I guess, assholes.
“Legacy,” West’s voice came out quiet. “I believed you about the vamp. I think Cyrus is up to something with the vampires. I think he always has been. And I think Killian knows more than he’s toldus.”
“Why would Killian keep a secret likethat?”
“Because he doesn’t trust us.” West shrugged his big shoulders. “To be fair, Rhett did almost kill him during our escape attempt. He might have some valid hurt feelings.”
“Oh my god, West.”
“I can’t control Rhett. I’ve been trying since second grade, trustme.”
“We’ve got to get Killian to come to his senses.”
“I think you’re the one who might be able to bring Killian to his senses. He’s always had this stupid dream that Cyrus was going to throw a parade, put up a fucking balloon arch, welcome us back home. But the way Cyrus and Lucas treated you… I think that dream died a hard death the otherday.”
“I practically heard the balloon arch popping.” I frowned. “Or maybe that was my ear when Lucas hitme…”
It was a joke, but West’s face immediately resolved into grumpy, dare I say murderous, lines, and I hastened to add, “I’mfine.”
“And you’re going to get revenge. How exactly?”
“Oh, by living well. It’s the best revenge,” I said airily, and when West regarded me skeptically, I added, “I’m kidding. I’m considering cutting the fucker’s balls off, but I don’t think he deserves to have me handle them even for a second.”
West grinned, a rare sight that filled me with sudden warmth.
“Oh, I love you, Legacy,” he said, his voice joking, then froze. His face looked as panicked as if he had just fallen into a train full of rattlesnakes. Carefully, he said, “Rhett says that all the time to me. Usually when he’s being sarcastic. And he’s the only person I spend any real time with, so…”
He raked his hand through his hair and expelled a big breath. “That motherfucker is contagious and I probably shouldn’t say this in response to him saying he loves me, but right now I want to punch him in thenuts.”
He finally dragged his gaze to mine, and when he registered my smile, he frowned. “What?”
His second what of the evening sounded even grouchier than the firstone.
“That’s the most sentences I’ve ever heard you say in my life!” I said. “It was a monologue! It was adorable!”
He put all four chair legs back on the ground and stood. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to find a vampire and beg him to tear out my throat. I can’t live in a world where I’m adorable.”
I grabbed his wrist to stop him, and found myself standing very close to him. West stopped and stared down at me looking frozen.
“It’s not a bad thing to be adorable to the right person,” I said. “Or to monologue if they want to hearit.”
West’s gaze met mine, and his face was uncertain—it was the one time I saw him look as if he didn’t know what he was doing—but then he glanced down at my hand on his wrist. I almost dropped his arm then, sure he wasmad.
He looked up at me again, then caught me around the waist and kissedme.
West kissed me like he hadn’t been able to catch his breath until his lips were on mine, like I could save his life. His arm around my waist drew me tightly to his muscled body, and one hand found my cheek, tilting my face to his. His lips caressed mine open, and I was breathless when my lips parted forhis.
He paused. “I’ve never been good at saying the right thing.”
“Right now you don’t need to say anything.” I gave him that same saucy wink I’d given him before I’d kissed Rhett in the cells—on purpose—and he caught my face with both hands, kissing me hard, like I brought out the devil inhim.
I stroked my hands over his hard biceps and up those broad shoulders, angling around until I could push him down on the bed. West let himself go, looked up at me with the faintest smile spreading across hislips.
I straddled his thighs and pulled my t-shirt over my head. I shook my long dark hair loose over my shoulders, watching as West’s gaze caught on my cleavage, and his eyes widened like he’d just seen Jesus’s second coming instead of one of Target’s finestbras.
“The way you look at me makes me feel powerful,” I confessed.
“You are powerful.” His hands found my hips, wrapped around them, his fingers over the denim. “And I likeit.”
I hadn’t felt powerful since Lucas. Actually, though I’d felt like a tough fighter, a fierce girl, I hadn’t felt powerful myself when I was next to Lucas. But West left me powerful.
I leaned forward, rested my hands on his shoulders and kissed him slowly, tenderly this time. He kissed me back, mirroring my movements. He gently stroked my hair back from my face and tucked it behind one ear so it wouldn’t be in the way as we traded kisses.
When I straightened, he half-curled off the bed, his lips following mine, then fell back to the bed. He cocked his arm behind his head, his eyes half-lidded as he watchedme.
His hard-on pressed against my thigh through his jeans, but he didn’t hurry me. I had a feeling I could stop right here and West would tell me it was fine and just wait with me with his dick aching until he had the chance to jack off in the bathroom. He’d never pressure me like Lucas.
I reached back to unbuckle my bra, let the straps slide down my arms. I tossed the bra over my shoulder. West’s gaze flickered to my face as if for permission, then he reached out and cupped my breast, his palm pressing my nipple. I hadn’t realized how turned-on I was by this game until that simple touch sent a jolt of desire through my body like electricity.
West’s gaze sharpened. He cupped my other breast, toyed with my nipples, as if he was looking for the exact thing that brought me the most pleasure. He sat up, causing me to shift slightly on his lap, then lowered his head, and his mouth found my nipple. His lips teasing against my nipple, his tongue circling it, sending electricity straight to mycore.
I let out a gasp, and West’s gaze went to mine, his mouth still on my nipple.
“Don’t stop.” I ran my fingers into his hair. He went back to work, his tongue circling my nipple then sucking, then going through it all over again. He moved to the other nipple, but his fingers found my first nipple and toyed withit.
“That feels so good,” I said, my fingers tightening in his hair, my back arching as if I could push even more of my breast into his mouth.
He smiled against my breast, as if he were pleased with pleasing me, and a warm glow suffusedme.
I gently pushed his shoulder, pushing him away. He licked my nipple once then pulled back, his gaze curious.
I hooked the hem of his shirt with my finger, pulled it away from his body. “This is too much clothing, West. Situp.”
He did, and I pulled his shirt over his head, enjoying the way his muscles rippled, the way the shirt hung up around his thick biceps.
“Goodboy.”
West gave me a skeptical look. “Don’t make me turn you over and smack your ass again.”
“You always seem very eager to spankme.”
He did not look at all sorry. “You’ve got the nicest ass I’ve everseen.”
“You’re trying to make that sound like a compliment, but the only asses you usually get to see are named Rhett and Killian.”
“Keep talking about them when it’s just you and me, and I’m definitely going to spank your ass.” He sounded so confident, but then he gave me an uncertain look. “Legacy, I… I haven’t done this before.”
“What?”
“Sex,” he said suddenly, bluntly. “I’m trying to do what you like but… I might mess it up. You can just tellme.”
“I will,” I said. It was somehow freeing to realize I was the one who was more experienced in this moment, for the first time in my life. “But so far, West, I’ve liked what you do with your lips and your tongue and your hands verymuch.”
It felt awkward to voice that out loud, but the way that West looked at me made it worth it. His eyes shone with pride and affection.
“Well then, if you’re ready, teach me how to use my cock to please youtoo.”
“I am definitely ready.” I slipped from the edge of the bed to unbutton my jeans and push them down my hips. Watching West watch me was satisfying.
He seemed to rouse himself from a dream to stand up and peel his own jeans down his powerful thighs. A happy trail started below his belly button, trickling down his chiseled lower abs, then branched into thick, dark curly hair. His long, thick cock stood at attention.
“You go commando,” I noted.
“All this cannot be contained,” he said, grabbing himself with onehand.
I laughed. Maybe you shouldn’t laugh when a guy shows you his dick, but I did. Dicks, even the best of them, look ridiculous, and men’s pride in them is kind ofcute.
His lips were still smiling when I pressed against him and kissed him. His hands swept slowly over my skin as the two of us traded kisses, his touch ticklish, a little too light, so I grabbed his hands and pressed his touch more firmly to my body. He adapted without missing abeat.
“You’ll have to teach me too,” I whispered into his ear. “I don’t have a lot of experience, and…” I couldn’t bring up Lucas into this moment between us. This time with West was to precious to taint with Lucas’s memory. But he was still in my head, damnit.
“Someone made you feel self-conscious before,” he finished for me. He didn’t want to name him either, but I knew from the sudden tension in his biceps that heknew.
“Yeah.”
“I bet he’ll be self-conscious once you cut his nutsoff.”
He surprised me into laughing. But then, seriously, he said, “I’m glad I get to figure things out withyou.”
His words came out gruff, but that was just his way; he always said anything remotely vulnerable as if he were trying to swallow the words.
“Me too.” I kissed him again tenderly.
I climbed on top of West, eager to show him what to do, to share what little knowledge I’d learned lately. He lay back and watched me, his lips parted in rare softness, his gaze fixed on my every movement.
I took his cock in one hand and stroked him until his breath came out in a gasp. Then I pressed him to my core, drew him in circles around my clit. His cock rubbing through my folds half-satisfied the ache between my legs and made it more intense all at once. As I rubbed the head of his cock against my slick heat, his fingers caught the sheets and fistedthem.
When I lowered myself onto his cock, he ripped the sheet off the bed. His head rose off the pillow, and he gasped as he grabbed my hip. “Fuck, Legacy.”
Rhett had made me feel worthy.
West made me feel powerful.
I lowered myself until my thighs met his long, hard sides, taking him all in, feeling him fill me completely. Then I started torise.
“Stop,” he rasped. “I won’t… I won’t lastlong.”
I leaned forward, the tips of my long dark hair brushing against his chest. “Then we’ll do it again,” I whispered.
I cupped his face with one hand, feeling his stubble against my palm, then pressed my lips to his. As hard as his jaw was, as prickly as he was—inside and out—his lips were soft. He kissed me hungrily, and when I pulled back, his lips followed mine, the two of us sharing one morekiss.
“Hang on,” I said, beginning to ride him steadily.
I slid my fingers between my thighs, touching myself as I rode up and down his cock. His gaze focused on my hand, on the sight of his cock entering me over and over again. He was so obviously turned on that I found myself tightening around his cock, sensation beginning to flood my core, and I bit my lowerlip.
His hands left the sheets and wrapped my hips, his touch tightening as his cock shuddered inside me, as his lips parted and eyes rolled back. I paused, grinding down on his lower abs as I felt him shatter inside me, but my own orgasm was so close. I rolled my hips, enjoying the feeling of his cock pressing against my clit, and then he began to move again, his hips driving up, his hands on my hips, thrusting until I felt the world shatter around the two of us. I threw back my head, my hair sweeping against my lower back, as the power of my orgasm rolled throughme.
Then I collapsed against his chest, nestling my head on his shoulder, his cock still buried deep inside me. He brushed my hair back from my face, tucking it behind my neck absently. He was still looking at me as if he couldn’t get enough of watchingme.
“You look so sexy when you bite this lip,” he said, running his thumb across my lower lip. “It makes me want to bite ittoo.”
“You can always bite me.” I said the words archly; only then did I realize they had a double meaning. Our pack marked each other with bites when we married. I wasn’t ready for a bite like that, as much as I thought I was falling in love with these men. I needed time to sort out Lucas before I was ready to move on, before I could give myself fully to anyone.
And by sort out Lucas I meant murder him, but I also wasn’t sure yet if the bond would let me kill him, or if I’d falter.
My lips parted, about to try to explain—which would no doubt turn awkward—but West saved me by kissing me. His tongue teased along the seam between my lips, and when my lips parted, he nipped my bottom lip oh-so-gently before sucking it between his own. The way he kissed me made new heat throb between my thighs.
“How was that for a first time?” West asked, and there was something vulnerable in his face that I was not used to seeing.
“It was amazing,” I assuredhim.
“You were amazing,” he said quietly.
There was so much I wanted to talk about with him and so much more that I wanted to do withhim.
But then there was the tromp of feet just outside, then someone banged on thedoor.