Page 24 of When You're Gone
“Jakey!” a high-pitched voice called from the opposite end of the sunroom before Jake had even made it two steps. “We’re out of ice!”
Rhett growled in frustration. “There is absolutely no reason my sister should need more ice.”
Jake smirked and shook his head. They both knew Maddie was going to do what she wanted, when and where she wanted. She was a special breed: a blend of Wheeler determination paired with fierce independence and mischievousness. Even though she went to school across the country in California, Rhett still felt compelled to try to enforce rules upon her when she was partying with his friends. She was the youngest person at the party by a long shot. He wanted tonight to be all about Tori, not about keeping an eye on his little sister.
“I’ll go check on her and try to water down whatever she’s drinking,” Jake offered, clapping Rhett on the shoulder as he passed.
“Thanks, bro.” He leaned forward in his chair and reached for the water bottle he’d been nursing all night.
The sunroom door swung open as he lowered the bottle from his lips. His eyes instantly landed on his wife. She was wearing her go-to black leggings and one of his dress shirts with an oversized sweater over it. A cheap purple birthday headband rested on top of her curled dark blond hair. She was laughing at something Lia had just said, looking so effortlessly beautiful he felt his breath hitch in his chest at the sight of her.
She moved farther into the sunroom, still laughing, Lia and Haas both right on her heels. She finally turned her head and spotted him, her smile growing even wider when they locked eyes. She practically skipped over to where he sat before plopping down in his lap.
“Hi, you,” she crooned as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Hey, beautiful.” He nuzzled into her hair, savoring the rosemary mint notes that smelled like home. He had watched her take two shots off the ice luge at the start of the party, and her cheeks were rosy as a result. “Are you having fun?”
“Mm-hmm,” she confirmed, pulling back to look him in the eyes before seeking out his lips. She slipped her tongue into his mouth the moment they connected. The taste of some sort of cherry alcohol instantly registered in his mind. He tried to push that thought aside, instead focusing on the feeling of having her in his arms, of being in her orbit. He wouldn’t dare pull back from her now, but his brain was working overtime to ignore the hint of his greatest temptation.
She shifted, then hitched one leg over him, straddling his lap as she deepened their kiss.
Problem solved. Feeling her sink into him like that was so much more appealing than the pull of alcohol.
Rhett’s hands instinctively found her ass and pulled her closer, palming each of her cheeks through the thin black fabric. He dug in with demanding fingers until she gave up a little moan, then lifted his hips in response, letting his erection grind into the apex of her thighs as he held her tight against his body. It wasn’t until someone wolf whistled behind them that they broke apart.
“I would tell you to get a room if I didn’t think you’d take me seriously and actually ditch your own birthday party,” Lia quipped.
Tori pulled back slowly, hovering just an inch from his face as she licked her lips and gave him a look that told him they would be resuming that game later tonight. That insinuation elicited a smirk from him as he eyed her up and down, returning the unspoken promise to pick up right where they left off as soon as they were alone.
“Love you,” she mouthed as she rested her forehead on his. Rhett closed his eyes, breathing her in and savoring the moment. One breath later, she was gone. His eyes shot open and landed on her retreating form being carried away. Somehow Haas had gotten his hands on her, and he was currently carrying her bridal style out of the sunroom.
“What’s that, birthday girl? You want to go for a swim?” Fielding teased as he opened the door and moved to step outside. Rhett heard her giggle. He scoffed as she playfully swatted at her captor’s chest. What the hell? She was barely putting up a fight.
“Haas!” Rhett bellowed, rising to his feet and striding out of the sunroom to follow them outside. “Put her down!”
“She’s fine,” he shot back dismissively as he carried her across the patio.
“I’m fine, Ev… really!” Tori giggled again.
She might be physically fine—he had done a full-body scan immediately to ensure Haas wasn’t holding her in a way that would press up against any of her scars—but neither of them would be laughing if they could feel his rage right now.
Rhett stalked after them, shouldering past the people hanging out on the patio. It wasn’t until he felt a hand grip his shoulder that the red haze cleared enough to make him pause.
“You good, bro?” Jake’s eyes were wide, his gaze steady and assessing.
Rhett blew out a frustrated breath. He knew Jake was just trying to keep him in check. But it pissed him off that he was expected to keep his cool while Haas got away with yanking his wife right off his lap, then hauling her around like a sack of potatoes.
“Remind me again why I let that fucker hang around her?” Rhett challenged.
Jake grimaced, then ran a hand through his hair. He crossed his arms over his chest before looking back to where Haas still had Tori in his arms.
“He makes her happy,” he finally replied. It was a truth they both knew, even if it wasn’t so easy to accept.
Rhett crossed his arms over his chest, matching Jake’s stance and mentally accepting defeat. If it had been Jake or Cory goofing around with his wife, he wouldn’t have blinked. But there was just something about seeing Haas’s hands gripping her thighs that made his brain short-circuit.
He didn’t take his eyes off them as Fielding spun her around and she laughed out loud. He turned to Jake and tried to push down the possessive rage threatening to spill out of him. “She needs more happy these days,” he conceded. “I’m just about done for tonight, though, so let’s wrap this up. Want to go set up the projector?”
“On it,” Jake replied, turning on his heel to get things ready for their final surprise.
