Page 34 of Fractured Grief (Hope’s Ridge #2)

Seb

I woke to Indy sprawled over me, clinging to me like an octopus, his limbs holding me tight.

I couldn’t help the smile that pulled at my lips.

He was a secret snuggler and cover hog. I didn’t mind as I tended to run hot, so I just enjoyed the feel of his weight against me and his curls tickling my neck.

I couldn’t believe all we’d done last night. How Indy had swallowed me all the way down was insane. He’d looked so debauched on his knees, mouth stretched to its limit around my cock. The sensations skating over my skin were intoxicating—an electric current from my heart to all my extremities.

I wasn’t sure what had come over me with the need to mark and claim him, but damn, that had been hot as fuck. I’d never done anything like that before, but Indy brought something out desires I never knew I had. I was excited to explore them all with him .

I shifted slightly to check the time on my phone and saw it was just after six. Still early, but now that I was awake, there was no going back to sleep.

My hands trailed over Indy’s back and down to his perfect peach of an ass. Feeling the lace of his panties, I tried to suppress a groan at the thought of how hot he was in them. What did the others look like? Did he have more like this, or were they all different? My mind swam at the possibilities.

“Mornin’,” Indy’s sleepy voice broke my reverie.

“Good morning, Sunshine.” I smiled down at him as he shifted on my chest. “Sleep well?”

“Very much. You make a firm but decent pillow.” His cheeky grin made my heart skip a beat. This man was exceptional in every way. I had fallen hard, and I never wanted to let go.

“How do you feel? After last night?” I’d said we’d talk about it, but we’d kind of jumped right in, and while I didn’t regret it, I still wanted to hear those words from him.

“Incredible.” Color rose to his cheeks, and his multicolored eyes sparkled. “I loved it all and would really like to do it again. And more, too.”

His words heated my blood and made my already hard cock twitch where it was stuck between our bodies.

“I take it you’d like that,” he said as he shifted to stroke my cock through my pajama pants.

“Yes,” I breathed out as he moved to line up his hard cock over mine and began to thrust. The heat generated between us was more than enough to engulf us both .

“Indy,” I whispered, getting lost in his movements and the feel of his body on top of me. My hands returned to his ass as I gripped his cheeks to guide his movements.

“Fuck, Seb. I can’t get enough. This is the best wake-up.” He was panting as he moved and kissed my chest, too short to reach my lips. “I’m so close.”

“Me too.”

“Play with my ass, Seb. Please,” Indy moaned.

Grabbing his ass, I slid my hands underneath the lace. Pulling his cheeks apart, I tapped his hole with my forefinger as we continued our grind.

“Fuck, Seb,” Indy whisper screamed as he bit my pec and moaned. Warm wetness pooled between us as he came, and the pleasure-pain from his bite triggered my own orgasm. I bucked up into Indy, my whole body going taut as I clenched my jaw not to make any noise.

We were both breathing heavily as we came back down from our high.

“Fuck, that was hot.” Indy crawled up to kiss my lips. “But now I don’t have any underwear to wear today. I’ve never gone commando before.”

“Argh. What are you doing to me?” I groaned and pressed our foreheads together. “How is everything you say and do, so hot?” I kissed his cheek. “We better get cleaned up and check on Hazel.”

Once we were showered and dressed, we checked to see that Hazel was still sleeping soundly in her makeshift bed .

“Should we let her sleep? Do you think the coffee machine will wake her?” I whispered to Indy as he gazed at his daughter.

“A train couldn’t wake her when she’s out cold like this. You’ll be fine, and I need my coffee to function,” he smiled before kissing me sweetly and leading us into the kitchen. He sat at the breakfast bar while I got the Keurig going and checked the fridge for our breakfast options.

“How does a Canadian breakfast sound?” I asked.

“Sounds wonderful,” he sighed dreamily.

And with that, I got to work fixing breakfast for all of us.

Lyric came crashing in as we were plating up breakfast, because, of course, he would come by after all the work was done.

“Morning, everyone. How was your night?” he asked, raising a brow in my direction.

“Good,” Indy said as color rose to his cheeks.

“I bet it was,” Lyric added with a wink.

“Cut it out. We all slept well, and now it’s time for breakfast,” I eyed Lyric and pointedly looked at Hazel, who had just woken up. “You’re on clean up. ”

“What, why?’ Lyric seemed outraged.

“’Cause I cooked, so you can clean.”

“Fair,” he grumbled.

“This looks great. Thanks, Seb,” Indy said, reaching out to squeeze my hand.

“I love pancakes! Can I have syrup and strawberries, Daddy?” Hazel chimed in.

“I love pancakes too,” Lyric said. “I’m not sure we have any strawberries, but what about a few chocolate chips?” he asked, glancing at Indy. He probably should have asked Indy first, but he was basically a big kid, so who knew what went on in his brain half the time anyway.

“Just a few,” Indy added cautiously, and Lyric jumped up to grab them from the cupboard.

Everyone enjoyed their breakfast, and I sat back, taking it all in.

Having Indy and Hazel at my table, sharing a meal, brought light and warmth back into my home.

I hadn’t realized how isolated and avoidant my life had become until Indy’s sunshine broke my walls to pieces.

Seeing what life could be like when shared was something I’d honestly never really thought about, and now that I’d had a taste, I wanted it.

“I’m going to call Carol,” Indy said as he looked at his smartwatch. “I was supposed to check in after work yesterday.”

“We need to see Doc to have him give you the okay. I don’t want you putting yourself at unnecessary risk.

” Seeing him so sick had taken its toll on me, but seeing the worried look on Hazel’s sweet face was worse.

These two were clearly still recovering from their trauma.

“Make your call and then we’ll see Doc, okay?

” I shifted my head to get Indy to glance at Hazel so he, too, could see the tears welling in her eyes.

“We’ll give you two a moment. Lyric, help me in the kitchen. ”

Lyric and I cleared the table and headed into the kitchen, while Indy and Hazel went to the living room.

“Is she okay?” Lyric asked in a hushed whisper.

“I think so.” But really, I had no idea. “Indy mentioned she might be scared to see him in a hospital bed after what happened to her mom.”

“Poor thing, to go through all that and so young. Her and Indy seem real solid, though,” Lyric said as he started loading the dishwasher.

“They are very close. I’d say it’s to be expected, but I think it’s more to do with Indy and his personality than just their situation.”

“So… how was last night?” Lyric changed the subject with a waggle of his brows. “Enjoy your alone time?” he said playfully, knocking against my shoulder.

“We never talked about my love life before. We are certainly not doing it now,” I said, shoving him back.

“But there’s never been anything to tell before; now there is. Come on, tell me something,” Lyric whined.

“No.”

“You’re no fun.”

“What about you?” I’d seen how turning the tables on Lyric worked for Atticus, so I thought I’d try it. Anything to get him to stop asking me about last night. “Who have you been seeing lately?”

“What? No one.” Lyric seemed more surprised and defensive than usual.

“Jeez. What’s up with you? You’ve always got someone on the line, don’t you?” I added, playfully.

“I’m not a whore,” he snapped.

“Whoa, Lyric,” I put my hands on his shoulders to get him to face me. “We would never and have never said that about you. What’s wrong?”

“Please talk to me.” I glanced over my shoulder to see that Indy and Hazel were no longer in the living room. I thought Lyric needed some air and privacy to open up. “Let’s take a walk,” I said, gesturing to the back door.

“Fine.” He marched out the back door, letting it bang closed behind him.

I quickly hurried into the living room, looking for Indy. “Indy?”

“We’re in here,” he called from my bedroom.

“I’m going for a walk out back with Lyric. Call me if you need anything.” And with that, I grabbed my cane and hurried after Lyric.

I found Lyric pacing near my workshop, running his hands through his hair. He hadn’t seen me yet as he turned and punched the side of the garage. Seeing my lighthearted brother display such emotions had my steps faltering.

“Lyric, bro, talk to me,” I pleaded as I reached for his hand to ensure he hadn’t injured himself, but he flinched away .

“I can’t,” his voice cracked.

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to hurt you, too,” he said with his back to me.

“You’d never hurt me. You don’t have a mean bone in your body.” I was so confused. How could he hurt me? What had happened that he thought he would?

“I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I was just teasing and trying to change the subject. I would never and have never thought you were a whore. You know that, right?”

Turning to face me, my heart broke again as tears streamed silently down his cheeks. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” He looked so defeated.

“There’s nothing wrong with you,” I said and opened my arms, offering him a hug but leaving it up to him. Thankfully, he fell right into my embrace as his body shook with anguished sobs.

“I’ve been hurting people for years, and I never knew,” he mumbled into my shirt as he clung to me. “It’s bad, Seb. How did I not know? How did I keep hurting him? Why didn’t he tell me?”

Lyric wasn’t making any sense. “Hey, it’s okay.

You’re okay. Take a deep breath for me.” He was starting to panic.

We’d all been trained on how to help someone having a panic attack from Lyric’s best friend, Kaydence, who suffered from them for years.

“You need to calm your breathing. In… one… two… three. Out… one… two… three. Again.” We continued until his breathing returned to normal.

Lyric extricated himself from my hold and used his shirt to wipe his face. His eyes were still red, and he looked exhausted.

“Have you made an appointment?” I asked.

“For what?”

“To talk to someone. Like Levi?”

“Not yet.” I could get that it must be hard. Levi and the previous practitioners had been forced on me, and I’m not sure I would have reached out to one if it had been a choice.

“Can I make an appointment for you? Would it help if I came with you?” I just wanted to help him.

“That might help. Thanks, Seb.” He hugged me again. “I’m going to take an actual walk to clear my head. I’ll be back in about an hour. Tell them I’m sorry if they saw or heard any of that.” Lyric scratched at the back of his neck awkwardly before turning and heading up the side of my house.

All I could do was watch him go, feeling lost and more worried about him than I had been before.