Page 33 of Coach (Shady Valley Henchmen #8)

We barely got out of bed for three full days.

That sounded a lot sexier than it was. And, hey, that was a part of it. But mostly, we were just being close, talking, and opening up. In between that, Este was doing a lot of resting. Like she had ten years to catch up on. I guess she did.

On that fourth day, though, when I got up, Este and Trix were already gone.

I rushed out of bed, not even bothering to put on a shirt, only to find the two of them sitting outside in the pre-dawn hours.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked, noting the moonless sky. It had to be pitch black out once the floodlight went off.

“Learning to stop being afraid of the shadows,” she said, reaching for my hands, pulling me toward the side of the picnic table.

Her legs parted so I could step between.

“How’s it going?”

“Pretty good. I mean, I have scary dog privilege here. And, you know, a bunch of big, scary bikers within screaming distance.”

“Are you just up early, or were you having trouble sleeping?” I asked, tucking her hair behind her ears.

“I slept a lot the past few days. I think my battery is fully charged now.”

“Glad to hear it. How does your face and chest feel?”

“Mostly better. I only had a twinge when Trix lunged at what she thought was a squirrel.”

“What was it?”

“A snack bag of chips rolling around.”

“Also very terrifying,” I agreed, looking over at the dog who huffed and rested her head on her paws.

Este’s hands slid up and down my sides, her fingers slipping under the material to press against my bare skin.

My forehead pressed to hers for a second, but it wasn’t long before our lips met before her legs hooked around my back and her hips were rocked against me as I grew hard.

“I need to get you inside,” I said, breath coming in desperate pants, my body almost trembling with the need to be inside her.

“No,” she moaned against my lips as her hands slipped into my pants and wrapped around my cock.

“No?”

“No, I want you now,” she said, stroking me, her movements fast, needy.

“I don’t have a condom,” I told her, groaning as her thumb teased over the head of my cock.

“I’m okay if you are. Dr. Price gave me a full work-up when I first came to town.”

“I’m good, but…”

“Shots,” she told me, scooting down onto her feet, then turning, her ass pressing against my hard-on in the process.

There was no time for teasing. She had me too far gone already.

I yanked down her pants and panties.

She lowered down onto her forearms, sticking her ass out at me.

I couldn’t help but give her a little slap before I stepped closer, before I rocked myself against her, then slammed deep inside.

I don’t know whose groan was louder at the feel of our bodies connecting without any kind of barrier.

What I did know was that we were both animalistic in our need.

Este slammed back into me.

I grabbed her hips to fuck her hard without sending her flying across the table.

“Fuck,” I groaned, slipping one of my hands down to press between her thighs, working her clit. Because with her tight, wet walls around me, there was no way this was going to last.

“Saul… I…”

Then she was, her pussy pulsing around my cock as she came, taking me with her.

I swear I saw white for a long moment as I buried deep inside her, my body jerking as I filled her.

Reaching around, I pulled her up and against my chest, holding her tight as our bodies came back down.

“How about we go get cleaned up then go get some breakfast?”

“Then hit the home improvement store?” she asked.

“A woman after my own heart.”

Este - 3 weeks

It was the first time I’d been in my house alone since the attack. In fact, it was only the second time in nearly a month. The other time had simply been to grab a bunch of clothes and toiletries before heading back to the clubhouse.

But Raff had come back with Syn only to scoop up Saul and hit the road again.

I was told it was a short ‘run,’ and that I could stay in the club with the guys the whole time.

Without Saul’s distraction, though, the house seemed to loom large each time Trix and I took a long walk into town.

It felt like time.

Even knowing that I never had to worry about my old coach again, I felt anxiety flooding my veins as I walked up the front porch.

Trix, on the other hand, had absolutely no reservations. She nearly pulled my arm out of the socket in her eagerness to get back into our house.

It had a strange, closed-up scent to it when I moved inside, flicking the lights on even though it was the middle of the day.

I drifted through the rooms, avoiding the kitchen until the very end.

I caught sight of a splash of blood on the floor, the bloody screwdriver under the cabinet.

Panicked, I threw it in the sink, running hot water and bleach over it until it looked almost new again.

Then I bleached the cabinets, the floors, the walls. I bleached things there was no way Coach Dover could have possibly touched.

When I was done, I finally felt like I could breathe in there again.

Trix begged to go outside to sniff all the new smells in the yard.

And I did something crazy.

I moved out the front door.

Then walked next door.

Sucking in a steadying breath, I pushed open the door.

I didn’t really know what I was expecting. I’d been so out of it when Saul carried me out last time that I hadn’t noticed anything around me.

I guess I figured the upstairs would look similar to the basement. But it was just a house. With the same original woodwork as mine, the same floors, the same gorgeous accents.

The kitchen was butted up against where my kitchen was, and I was suddenly imagining the wall down to make one giant room with a big island, a walk-in pantry, and a little breakfast nook.

The dining room could be twice as big. There could be a family room, not just a living room.

I could see the big, open space, could hear the laughter of children filtering through the space, could imagine a big family gathered around the dining table or in the living room around a Christmas tree.

I made my way upstairs, finding a space that hadn’t been used in a while, judging by the fine layer of dust coating the walls, windowsills, and floors.

Three extra bedrooms.

Three little beds.

A family I never thought I could have.

As I walked back outside, imagining the whole yard fenced in for Trix and kids, I knew what I wanted to do with the money the Novikoffs had given me.

I was going to take down the walls and make it one big, happy family again. After I convinced the current owner to sell it.

As for the basement, well, maybe I wouldn’t go down there until I had a crew come and redo the whole thing: windows, real walls and floors. Maybe it could be a workshop for Saul and me to tinker with our projects.

By the time I was done fantasizing about it, I absolutely had to make it a reality.

Something told me that the current owner would be willing to sell, given how little he was making from rent.

It would eat up most of my money from the Novikoffs. But Saul and I could do a huge chunk of the work ourselves on the house to cut down on costs.

Was I getting ahead of myself?

Yes.

But I had a feeling that this thing with Saul, it was a forever sort of situation.

Saul - 6 months

Where the hell were my brownies?

I’d moved into the other side of the duplex a day and a half ago, and I’d yet to get my ‘welcome home’ baked goods from Este.

Este had only mentioned a new neighbor once, her lower lip trembling a bit. Because she’d been trying to get the owner to sell to her for a few months.

The problem was, of course, that he’d already agreed to sell to me. I’d slipped him a little extra money not to tell Este that he had already sold the house.

I wanted it to be a surprise.

I’d been listening to her talk about how perfect the house would be if she could undo the duplex and return it to its former glory.

I figured it was the best gift I could give her.

I wanted it to be a big, fun reveal.

But I was getting really bored of hanging out in the other side of the duplex, waiting for her. I couldn’t even get to work on renovations because I didn’t want to give her awful flashbacks.

“Hey! Trix! No!” Este yelled, making me turn from where I was looking out the back window.

I’d left the front door cracked, wanting to let in some fresh air (but not the bugs) because the place still had that closed-up scent about it.

It seemed Trix got a whiff of me through the gap, though.

Well, that worked too.

“Trix!” Este whisper-yelled from the front door, clearly not wanting to walk into someone else’s home.

Trix bounded at me, tail wagging, body slamming into me.

“Trix!” Clearly, Este’s fear of Trix destroying something or scaring someone overtook her reservations about trespassing, because her voice was drawing closer. “Tri—”

Her voice faltered and fell as she moved into the doorway and spotted me standing there.

“Saul? What are you doing in here?” she asked, brows scrunching up.

I reached into my pocket, found the keys, and jiggled them in the air.

“You rented out this side?” she asked, looking even more confused.

“I bought the whole house,” I explained. “For us.”

Her eyes went round, then flooded.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“I thought he wasn’t interested in selling.”

“To you. Because he’d already sold to me. You’re right, by the way. If this wall was taken down, the kitchen would be hu—”

I trailed off on a grunt as Este flew herself into my arms, knocking me back a step.

“You’re amazing,” she told me, raining kisses up my neck, jaw, cheek, then finally my lips. She kissed me long and deep, and I could feel pieces of our future falling into place. “But I hope you know you just signed up for at least a year of nonstop renovation projects.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Este - 2 years

“You alright?” Saul asked, glancing over at me in the front seat of his pick-up truck on the long drive back to Shady Valley.

“Yeah, why?” I asked, glancing over.

“You haven’t said a word or moved in two hours.”