Page 45 of Chasing Storm

“If talking dirty increases your desire and puts you in a chokehold, I’ll do it whenever possible.”

Joey’s fast, flipping me on my back, and pressing me into the mattress. One of his hands clasps my wrists together, stretching my arms above my head. His cock is hard again, sliding over my lips through my underwear.

“I gotta stop you there, Lover Boy. Unfortunately, I’m riding the crimson wave.”

His face scrunches up. “What is that? Your period?”

“Yep.”

Joey dips his head into the curvature of my neck, inhales, and plants a kiss there. The tip of his tongue drags along my neck, reaches my lips, and he nips at the bottom one.

In a low, breathy tone, he says, “Don’t you know, my little Teacup…?” My eyes are on him, waiting for more. “When it comes to you and sex, nothing can stop me.”

And he shuffles down, his face looking up at me between my thighs. Joey’s thumbs hook into my underwear, slipping them off, and repositions himself with his face a hair’s breadth away from my pussy. His tongue flicks my swollen clit, running between my wet folds, and attacking it again. Keeping the same pace and pattern, it takes nothing to get me to come. My period only adds to it. While I’m calming my breaths, Joey’s teeth bite down on my tampon string, and he pulls it out, spitting it to the side. It’s seductive and bestial. He buries his nose between my lips, inhales, licking from entrance to clit. My hips automatically spring from the mattress but he forces them down as he crawls up my body.

Without warning, he buries himself inside me, the sound of my slickness squishing in the room. He’s gripping my head on both sides, pelvis snapping forward and driving back. Our breaths warm our faces. My legs stretch out to the side, but Joey has other plans. He kneels, sitting on his haunches. Sliding my hips onto his thighs, he wraps his arms around mine, and thrusts faster into me. It’s deep, hitting my cervix, and I swallow the pain. Soon, I’ll feel a bludgeoning numbness and then pleasure will mask it. I’m fisting the sheets and grinding my clit. His intense, heavy eyes burrow into my heart. A vulnerability spills over as his head falls back, mouth slack, and he lets out an animalistic moan. This tosses me over the edge. Once Joey and I come down from the ride, we curl into each other and fall asleep.

The next morning, we’re up early to get my stitches out and head back to the lake house. I’m excited about it and hope the scar won’t be too visible. Saying goodbye to Isabella, Leo, and Maya is hard because I don’t know when I’ll see them again. My brother and I chose different paths in life, but I’m so glad to have him. In a sense, we never had true parents, and given everything and in spite of the underworld, Leo is a good man. He’ll do whatever it takes to keep the people he loves safe, and that includes me.

Erin calls with a promise for us to keep in touch.

At the hospital, the doctor tells me there will be scarring, which at first appalls me, but when I think about it, I’m alive. A scar shouldn’t get me down when I wake each day with Joey at my side. The removal of my stitches goes well, and we’re on the road. My brother took care of the car, filling it with gas, and earlier in the week, Sean informed us the lake house has sold. It’s bittersweet news. On one hand, I love the place, and on the other, I want us to find a home together.

Chapter 18

The lake house was my first investment from the monies I took from James, and a sacred place to me. No one but Sean knew it existed. I hired an architect to create the house, describing exactly what I wanted it to look like. He didn’t disappoint. The house became my sanctuary, and now, it will be the place I’ll remember that brought my mom and Teagan together. My family. So, seeing a sold sign on the front lawn when we arrive causes a constriction in my chest.

While we were gone, and I was tending to Tea, Sean reported back about the lights Teagan saw in the early hours before getting Officer Podesta’s call. There hasn’t been another incident since then.

When we arrive, Sean and my mom come running out to hug Teagan. Tears spill, endearing words whispered, and we head inside for a meal. It’s time we discuss the future.

Sitting around the table, I spread an old map of the U.S. across it. A purchase from an outing I made to the Randolph Street Market. The edges have yellowed, ripped, and curled, but the states are legible. We all take turns talking about where we’d like to move. This is the first time we’re tackling a home base for our future. Plenty has happened within the last three months, so I lost track of where we’re headed.

Sean flattens the map on his side of the table and asks me, “Where are you and Teagan moving to?”

I glance over at her, and she shrugs. “With all that’s gone on, we haven’t had time to think about it. Plus, my mom is coming with us. What about you?”

My mom cuts Sean off. “Let me make this clear. I’m living in the same area as you and Teagan, but I’m not living with you.”

“Why?”

She squeezes my hand. “Because you and Teagan need your own space as well as I do. I’d like to work and have a little place of my own to come home to and unwind.”

“But you’re not living far from us.”

My mom gets up, takes my face in her hands, and kisses my forehead. “Of course not. I’ve lost too many years without my son. I want to be near you and enjoy my grandbabies.”

She turns to Teagan and winks, causing her face to flush.

Sean joins the conversation. “So, I guess we’ll be invading a new town.”

I nudge him. “Seriously? You’ll build a life near us, too?”

“Well, yeah, Joe. I’ve told you before. We’ve been friends our whole life. I wanted out of our environment as much as you.” This has me gulping down my feelings. “I assumed we’d live near each other. Where you go, I go.”

Without getting mushy, we send each other a nod of understanding and appreciation. We all huddle closer, glancing at the map, searching the internet for information. After hours of deliberation, we decide on a town in Connecticut, ten miles from the coast. A perfect place for Sean’s fitness center, and a flower shop for my mom, even though she doesn’t know it yet. Within a twenty-mile radius of the town, there are two colleges Teagan can attend. It’s also a short flight away from New York where Elijah lives.

Two weeks and the house is ready for the new owners. I’m shipping some of the furniture and all of our personal items to a storage facility. For an extra fee, they are more than willing to accept and protect our belongings until we get there. My mom is driving with Sean, so he’s not alone. We’re taking the same route to our new destination, which helps us keep in touch in case something goes wrong. The ride will take somewhere around fourteen to fifteen hours.