Page 91 of Her Brother's Keeper

He was so patient, and I found myself apologizing for taking so long to reach one. He laughed and shoved himself all the way deep, holding himself there.

“Don’t you ever apologize for taking too long to come, Baby; you take as long as you take. It’s no hardship for me, believe me. Now touch that clit, breathe for me andrelax.”

I closed my eyes, concentrating on the feeling of him and did as he ordered, sliding my fingers through my wetness and around that sensitive bundle of nerves. He made short, deep, strokes, and I gasped, the tide of pleasure rising. I kept at it, finding what worked until I felt full to the very top.

“That’s it baby, tighter,” he murmured and I let the tide roll me and sweep me under, the whole time Nox held me tight, my anchor to reality and my rock to shelter against. He drove into me, through my spasms and with a subtle ‘oh god’ and a final thrust, he let my leg off to the side and collapsed over me, sealing his mouth to mine and burying his fingers in my hair, holding it back from our faces.

This was heaven. This is where my happiness lay, and this was where I was safe. With Nox, in his arms…

Chapter 33

Nox

My brother Archer was on the floor, melting the fuck down like I had never in my fucking life seen before. I swallowed hard and exchanged a look with Rush who’s face said just as loudly as my thundering heart –this was scary. No, terrifying.

How many times had Archer been there for us? How many times had he shouldered the burden so we didn’t have to? And now, here he was, the most vulnerable I had ever seen him, his newborn son being taken from his arms, openly weeping and all I wanted to do was hide from it.

Not going to happen.

I stood shoulder to shoulder with my oldest brother, even as Rush took his other side. We watched through the glass set in the operating room’s doors as Doc did his thing. All of us, our eyes glued to the monitor. The line went flat, and Archer wailed, turning, slamming his back against the wall by the doors sliding to the floor.

Rush and I braced him and let him weep. What else could we do?

I felt hollow. I’d held a fondness for Melody, ever since she’d been with Grind. She was sweet, and everything Grind, god love him, didn’t deserve. When she’d come here with Noah is when I discovered that I’d loved her like a sister, and now, too soon, she was gone? After everything Arch had done to protect us, to protect and become a better man forher, and it was over like this?

No. It couldn’t be.

“Please, God don’t you take her from me,” Archer said through his tears and I was struck low. I had never, once ever, heard my brother pray and it did something to me. Sent me into a state of numb fear… and I feltmyselfstart to spiral and lose strength and will.

It was the weirdest fucking thing as if Archer’s weakness over the situation threw my world off its axis, and out of its spin.

This wasn’t how things were supposed to be…

Numbness took over, and duty. I had a duty to my brother, and my sister-in-law both, to shore him up as best I could, to have faith that she was going to pull through, and above all, be there for their sons.

Rush and I helped Archer to the waiting room for two of the most agonizing hours of our lives.

Doc finally came and found us, all of us, the whole club, waiting for him. He pulled the mask off his face and said, “She lost a lot of blood, we had to perform an emergency partial hysterectomy, but she’s still with us. She’s sleepin’ now. Come on back, Papa.”

Archer lurched to his feet andhuggedDoc, while several of us were laid low with relief. Most of the ol’ ladies had tears in their eyes. Some of the rest of the men, myself included, were doing their best to hold theirs back.

I exchanged a look with Rush and he gave me a nod. He got it. Too many people. Too much all at once. I needed space. I needed to go… Archer looked back at me and Rush and said, “Thanks, I got it from here,” and it was all the absolution I fuckin’ needed.

I left, didn’t look back, went straight out to my bike and straight to the one person I knew could fix this with her kindness, understanding, and grace… this war of fucked up emotions, this scared, lost little boy inside me.

I went to Maren’s and stood on her front stoop knocking,poundingon the front door until she opened it.

“Nox! What’s wrong?” she asked, but I was already on my knees, arms around her, face buried in her stomach and sobbing like a child.

“Oh my, god…” she gasped and wrapped her arms around me, taking me in, kissing the top of my hair and giving me a place to shelter from this shit storm of emotions I had absolutely no fucking control over.

***

“What happened?” she asked me gently, some time later. I was huddled miserably on her couch, head in her lap staring at the fire I’d gotten going in the fireplace. Maren sat stoically, gently running her fingertips through my hair.

“Mel had her baby,” I said and shifted uncomfortably.

“Oh, oh no… did he die?”

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