Page 10 of The One Who Got Away (Murdock Brothers #4)

Gus

She was insatiable, and I was determined to find every way to make her come.

I was currently face down—my cheek stuck to her back.

After eating one of Jessie’s sandwiches, I’d had Eloise as dessert.

I’d come in to find her on her stomach, wearing only a towel, her feet swinging after a shower. I hadn’t been able to resist taking her from behind.

“I think I’m broken,” she mumbled.

I laughed and moved off her to lay on my stomach beside her. “Think that makes both of us.”

She turned to face me. “Thank you.”

“For what?” I pushed a curl out of her eyes.

“For taking me here. For giving me some time with just you.”

I rolled onto my side and stroked a hand down her back. “Not just for you.”

“Just take the thank you.”

I laughed. “Taking the win.”

Her phone bleated out of the pile of clothes on the floor.

The sweet, soft, absolutely sated Eloise tightened up. She closed her eyes and put her forehead down on her arm. “What time is it?”

I slid off the bed and grabbed my jeans along with her dress, handing it to her. Her phone went off again even before she could get it out of her pocket.

I checked mine, seeing it was well after the end of her shift.

She sighed as she scooted off the bed.

“Melody?” I asked as I stepped into my jeans.

“Yeah. She’s freaking out.” The phone buzzed in her hand again, this time a ringing sound.

I couldn’t even enjoy her naked backside as she hurried out into the hallway. “Mom, yes I’m sorry I didn’t text you.” She came back in, holding her hand over the microphone. “Shit. I didn’t bring my other bag.”

“I’ll get it.” I handed her the towel to cover her so she didn’t have to struggle back into the dress.

I grabbed her hand and kissed her palm. “It’s okay,” I whispered.

But she was already closing off.

I sighed. I knew it was weighing on her how needy her mom was. Melody was forever afraid Eloise was going to leave without telling her just like her husband did.

It was irrational, but the emotional scars weren’t always easy to breathe around.

I knew that all too well.

I hurried back inside with her backpack, setting it on the bed beside her.

Her head was down as she quietly soothed her mom. “I know, I should have told you, Mom. Gus surprised me with a picnic.”

I stroked a hand down her hair and let her talk to her mom. I went back into the kitchen and cleaned up, bagged up our trash to take with us.

“Mom, I can’t be at home all the time!”

Her voice lifted and I jogged down the hallway to the bedroom.

“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not leaving -- Mom. You’re overreacting.”

I winced as her face fell. That wasn’t the right thing to say, even if it was true. She threw her phone on the bed and put her face in her hands. Instead of tears it was a guttural scream.

I sat beside her and gathered her in.

“I can’t take this, Gus.”

“I know. Is there any way she’d see someone to talk about stuff?”

She sighed and straightened. “I don’t know. I know it’s just because of the way my dad left. I could strangle him for doing this to her.”

I rubbed her back. He’d left both of them, but Eloise was taking the brunt of the backlash. “Have you talked to him?”

“He tried to call me a few times, but I feel too guilty to actually answer.” She pushed off the bed and tugged on the hoodie in her bag without bothering with the bra.

My mouth dried and I pushed back the horny side who wanted to drag her back to bed.

That was well and truly over for the day.

She stepped into her leggings from work and stuffed her feet into her shoes before leaving the bedroom.

She came back a minute later. “God, I’m sorry.

We need to clean all this up. Should we wash the sheets or something?

” Her face reddened. “I’ve never had a hotel or whatever this is called -- tryst.”

I laughed. “Tryst?”

“I don’t know what else to call it.” She put her hands on her hips as she looked around the wrecked bedroom. “God, we went a little wild.”

I stood next to her. “I want to take the sheets home so I can sleep with your scent tonight.”

She turned to me. “That’s oddly romantic.”

I felt my face heat. “Okay, let’s do this.”

It took us ten minutes to de-sexifiy the room. We used half a bottle of Febreeze I found in a closet and called it good. The drive back to her car at Bite Me was a quiet one. She was furiously texting most of the time.

She was distracted when I parked and almost left without kissing me goodbye.

Suddenly she ran back to my side of the truck and opened my door, climbing onto the foot rail to kiss me stupid. “Sorry, it fell apart in the end. I had the most amazing day.”

“It didn’t fall apart.” I slipped my fingers under her hoodie, needing one more touch.

“We were supposed to be feeding each other brookies.”

“We’ll do that next time.”

She sighed and kissed me one more time. “Definitely next time.”

I watched after her to make sure she got in her car and drove off before I headed back to the house. I wasn’t sure I could handle my mom asking questions, so I turned off to Cam’s place at the last minute.

He lived a few streets over from our childhood home, and still somehow off the beaten path.

He’d bought a few acres of land, but hadn’t quite figured out what he wanted to do with it.

So, it was part workshop, part living space.

He’d bought a few shipping containers and made his own apartment, then built off of them to make an outdoor area for grilling and chilling.

He’d fused two large containers together to create a workshop where he spent the most time. I skipped going to the house. Sure enough, the huge garage-like door was open, and music poured out. My brother was partial to country music which wasn’t my taste, but Chris Stapleton was okay in my book.

He was flat on his back on one of his rolling boards underneath a large bureau of some sort. He liked to refinish old furniture he found in estate and garage sales. He flipped them and made a damn mint.

I made a pit stop at his mini fridge and grabbed a beer for each of us before kicking his boot. “Hey.”

Cam rolled out, sawdust in his hair and a smear of varnish on his cheek. “What are you doing all the way out here?”

I handed him a beer. He took it before getting to his feet. “Girl problems?”

“Not really. Eloise and I are doing ok.”

“About damn time.”

I dropped into his battered Lazy Boy. “Yeah.”

“You look good.” Cam nodded at me. “Damn near sickly when you came home.”

I sighed. “Yeah, I gotta fill everyone in at dinner Sunday.”

We used to do a weekly family dinner, but it was getting harder and harder to get everyone’s schedules to line up. Cam and Rip were the only single ones which meant monthly dinners were about all we could manage.

He paused with the beer at his lips. “Serious?”

“No, well not anymore.”

Cam set his beer against his buckle. “Explain. Now.”

I gave him an abbreviated version of the story and winced when Cam gulped down his entire beer then went over to a crooked cabinet and pulled down his bottle of Johnnie Walker.

At least it wasn’t the gold label. He set the black version of the bottle on his worktable then splashed some into two jelly glasses.

He handed me one.

“I knew something was up, but I didn’t realize you were an idiot.”

I sipped the whisky and let the warmth bloom in my chest. “Yeah, well it was a mistake.”

“The idiot part wasn’t the riptide—it was that you didn’t call us. I’d have been down there with you.”

“I know.” I sat forward, cupping the glass. “I didn’t want to worry anyone.”

“So you just sat there by yourself? Dipshit.”

“When Sully called us to come home, I was still in rough shape. And he needed you more than I did.” I pulled up my jeans to show off the angry welts where the jellyfish had done the most damage. “It’s mostly back to normal, but that’s the worst of it.”

He whistled. “Damn, son.”

“I know. I’d have been fine if the little fuckers hadn’t tried to take me out.”

“This is why I only look at the ocean. I don’t get in it.”

I laughed. “Yeah. I can’t say I’m a fan at the moment either.”

“You should bring Eloise Sunday.”

I coughed a little, taking a long sip of my beer to make the burn of the whisky fade.

“Make it official.”

I sat back. “Probably not a bad plan.”

“I’m full of great plans.” He set down his empty glass and picked up his sander. “Now get out of here. I have to finish sanding this bitch so I can get the legs glued back on.

“Fine, fine.”

“Did you come for anything else or just to boast you’ve got a hot redhead.”

I laughed. “No. I just didn’t want to go home yet. The confession was a bonus.”

“You’re still an idiot.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.”

“As long as you know.”

I felt better driving home. Not telling anyone about Costa Rica weighed on me more than I realized.

I just hoped Eloise didn’t have too much to deal with at home.