Page 46 of Fractured Grief (Hope’s Ridge #2)

Seb

I don’t know what had come over me.

When I’d heard Lyric taunting Indy and joking about seeing him naked, I saw red. If it wasn’t for the pleading and somewhat panicked look in Indy’s eyes, I would have thumped Lyric, brother or not.

I had no idea I had such a possessive side. I’d basically growled like a caveman and claimed Indy as mine.

He was mine.

The possessive beast inside me calmed as soon as he was in my arms again.

Once I settled and we were safely ensconced in the bedroom, I breathed a sigh of relief.

“My hero,” Indy beamed, kissing my face and squirming on my lap.

My face heated at what I’d done, but if he continued to look at me like that, then I guess he was okay with it .

“I had no idea where that came from. I didn’t… Well, I don’t like the idea of anyone else seeing you naked. Your body is mine to worship,” I rasped, enjoying the shiver that shook Indy’s lithe body.

“I had no idea you were a possessive neanderthal. But I have to admit, it was kinda hot.” Indy kissed me again. “Although I am glad you didn’t punch your brother. None of that was his fault.”

“I know, but when I heard him teasing, I couldn’t help it. He doesn’t deserve to see your delectable body. It’s for my eyes only.”

“Grrr, easy tiger,” Indy teased. “Don’t worry, I’m all yours. Only yours .” His multi-colored eyes sparkled with sincerity before we crashed together in a heated kiss.

“Let me take a look at your leg,” Indy said, pulling back as he grabbed the olive oil and proceeded to apply it to my thigh.

“I like this version of massage much better than last time,” I whispered, gently stroking his smooth cheek. “The view is much better.”

My eyes roamed over his naked body. His abs were defined, and his skin was smooth and unmarked by scars, freckles, or tattoos. We were opposites in so many ways.

Indy smiled at me as he rubbed further up my thigh, almost reenacting our first massage.

His focus and concentration, the way his breath stuttered, and how his eyes fluttered closed as I dug my hand into his lush curls, heightened every stroke and glide of his oiled fingers.

He was teasing me just by being naked, and I loved it .

He continued spreading and smearing olive oil all over my leg. I’d have to change the sheets, but I didn’t care about any of it, only Indy’s hands on my skin. He slid closer to my cock, which had hardened at the sight of Indy on his knees before me.

“Sunshine, you’re teasing me,” I admonished. “I’m sure my leg is fine, but other parts of me could use some attention.”

I gripped my cock and gave myself a slow stroke. Having Indy so close was intoxicating. I needed him like I needed air. He was my heart, my soul, my everything.

“Please,” I begged on my next upstroke.

Indy took pity on me and moved his oily hands over my inner thighs and around to the base of my cock.

He knocked my hand out of the way as he took over.

He started sucking and licking before taking me down his throat.

I don’t think I would ever get used to the exquisite pressure and heat of him deepthroating me.

I fell back on the bed, trying my best to stifle my groans as I knew we weren’t alone anymore.

I would need to invest in some soundproofing.

I enjoyed Indy’s sounds as much as I got lost in my own, and we deserved the freedom to be loud.

I bit into my fist as Indy swallowed around my cockhead and played with my glands, flicking his tongue over and around the frenulum. I was in heaven.

“I’m close,” I warned. “Get yourself off, too. I want to see.” I sat up on my elbows to watch the show. Indy moaned around my cock, causing me to bite back a curse at the pleasure, as he used one of his oiled hands to start stroking himself.

He looked so debauched, on his knees, stuffed full of my cock while stroking himself. It was the hottest sight I’ve ever seen.

“Shit, Sunshine. I’m gonna…” I gripped his hair as I released into his willing and waiting mouth. He swallowed my release like it was nothing, cleaning up any leftover drops.

“Come here.” I pulled him to me, so he was straddling my lap. “Mark me,” I growled.

“Fuck, Seb,” Indy hissed, his head thrown back in ecstasy, and he stroked his cock one last time before he spurted all over my chest. He was a vision on top of me; his look of bliss burned into my brain.

How did I get so lucky as to have this man as mine?

Once we showered and cleaned up, Ma called to say she was coming around to drop off Hazel, and I knew our weekend together was coming to an end.

I’d cherished having Indy and Hazel stay with me, filling my house with their laughter and sunshine.

They made my large house a home. I loved them both and wished it wasn’t too soon for them to move in.

To wake up to Indy’s face every morning, to help get Hazel ready for school.

It sounded like heaven, but I didn’t want to scare Indy off if he wasn’t ready.

We’d said our goodbyes as the sun set, and I’d made him promise to tell me when he got home safely. I stayed on the porch and watched until his headlights faded, and he drove away with my heart into the sunset .

“You’ve got it bad,” Lyric teased, because of course he did.

“Shut up,” I muttered halfheartedly. Lyric was right. I was fully gone for that man, and there was no hiding it.

I missed Indy something fierce. It was like I only had half my heart in my chest since he’d left. We spoke every day, but it wasn’t the same as having him in my arms.

The weeks continued, and Indy was so busy with work in the lead-up to the holidays. I still couldn’t drive yet, so we hadn’t been able to see each other in person for over two weeks.

I filled my time with my appointments, my whittling, and I’d been approved for light exercise.

I’d decided to hire a knee walker, like Bodhi had used, and dragged Lyric on gentle hikes, with me up the ridgeline.

To be active, out in nature and the fresh air, soothed my soul.

It made me feel like my old self more than anything else I’d been doing had.

I was the strongest I’d been since the incident, and I finally recognized the person in the mirror looking back at me .

After Levi’s persuasion, I’d booked in with my tattoo artist, Davy, for when she came back to town in three months from Japan, to assess and fix my ruined tattoo.

She’d heard about my injuries and was happy to hear from me, even though she was as devastated as I was about my tattoo’s damage. She knew how much it meant to me.

I’d taken to chatting to Alfie every other day. He was still deep in his recovery, but similarly to Indy, he was always a beacon of positivity, and just talking to him made me smile.

While I still couldn’t feel my leg fully, my recovery had progressed in leaps and bounds in the last couple of weeks.

Working with Carol was a completely different experience from working with Indy, but she was good and pushed me to be better.

I’d improved enough that Levi was happy to drop our sessions down to bi-monthly and had given me recommendations for people who had openings and could help Lyric, with what we all suspected might be PTSD.

Lyric was my only other frustration. Now that I didn’t need his hands-on help anymore, he’d taken to avoiding me and had been at Ma’s or the restaurant more than at my house.

He was becoming harder to pin down. Other than our forced hikes, which required too much focus and energy that I couldn’t talk to him how I wanted. I’d hardly ever see him.

Kay seemed to be similarly affected by Lyric’s withdrawal and continued distance from all of us.

My hurt for these two best friends. The distance and pain they were each in was heartbreaking. I wished there was more I could do, some way to bring them back together, to get them talking to each other again. Kay was like a brother to me as much as Lyric was, and he seemed shattered without Lyric.

On the positive side of my family’s dramas, Theo had aced his exams and completed his one hundred hours, so he was now a fully qualified paramedic.

We were all so proud of him, and if he could face and get through all that had happened to Atty, Bodhi, and me in the last year, then he was going to be an amazing Paramedic in this community.

He was taking some time off, staying in town, before he started his new job. We were glad to have him home.

Asher, the travelling mechanic, Atty hired, started last week, and I’d been able to meet him a few times.

He was genuinely a nice guy and fit in well, taking some of the stress off Atty’s shoulders.

I longed to get back to work, but still couldn’t do everything I used to, but I was so close.

Atty had mentioned a new restoration project on the books in a month, and it was a dream project.

I vowed to be ready for it. It was the restoration of a 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500.

Vintage and historical mechanical restorations were my specialty, and people traveled miles to have me restore and service their vehicles. My heart hurt, and I rubbed my chest at the thought of my Pontiac, wasting away in my garage.

Pa had built our garage up on our vintage restorations’ specialties, but only I followed in his footsteps.

Atty had never had the same drive to fix old cars as I did.

He was still undecided between being a full-time mechanic and going into vet nursing when Pa announced he wanted to retire and hand over the garage to us.

I think that solidified Atticus’s decision to carry on Pa’s legacy and grow it into what it is today.

I missed Indy more and more as the days went on. He even had to skip our Thanksgiving Dinner and had a quiet meal with Hazel. It saddened me that he’d miss such a feast, but I understood, especially when he had to work the next day—downside to being connected to a hospital.