His jaw clenched, and he slammed the glass down. Whisky spilt over his hand and the counter. “Fuck!” he roared, pushing himself off the stool.
His eyes found mine, and I sucked in a breath at the torment I saw there. His pain cut right through my heart, and I wondered how we would ever get through this night.
“I’m not my fucking mother, Roe!” He jabbed his finger at the whisky. “I don’t want that fucking shit, but my body craves it like nothing else.”
He pulled deep breaths in, struggling to get his breathing under control. Grasping the back of his neck, he walked away from me before turning and coming back my way. He paced like this for a good five minutes while I remained silent and waited while he did whatever he needed to do.
The silence was shattered when he stalked back to the bar, picked up the glass and threw it at the wall. He then wrapped his hand around the neck of the whisky bottle and hurled it at the wall, too.
Fire flared in his eyes. Anger and so much pain. “I’m struggling, red. Like I’ve never fucking struggled. I have no idea how to even come back from the shit that happened today. This fucking pain is pulling me under. And all I wanna do is drink myself into oblivion.”
There he was.
I went to him, my heart breaking for him all over again. I gripped his shirt. “You do it one day at a time. You lean on me. You lean on King and Nitro and all your other brothers. But no fucking way do you go near that bottle again. You get your ass to an AA meeting if that’s what you need, and you accept there’s no shame in asking for whatever help you need.” I moved a hand to his chest. “And you start sharing more from here. You don’t carry your burdens by yourself anymore. That’s what I’m here for.”
His eyes searched mine while he listened intently to what I said. Resting his forehead against mine and wrapping his arms around me, he exhaled a long breath. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to. His arms around me rather than that glass of whisky did all the speaking we needed.
We clung to each other for a long time, foreheads resting together. It was in that quiet space that I felt like we’d taken a huge step forward. There really was beauty to be found in pain.
When he lifted his head to look at me, he said, “Come home with me.”
I curved my hands around his neck and nodded. I pulled his face down and brushed my lips over his. I had fallen so deeply for this beautiful, broken man, and I would love him so big until he could find a way back to himself.
Chapter 35
Hyde
I ran my hand over Monroe’s ass before reaching for her leg and pulling it over my own. “Morning, sugar.”
I’d been awake for a good hour or more, but I hadn’t wanted to wake her too soon. She needed her sleep after last night. Not waking her had also given me time to get my head together.
I’d woken with a million thoughts. Most of them dark. Many of them about finding the closest bottle of whisky. I had a long road ahead of me to win this battle—the drink, the family shit, my relationship with Monroe—but she’d made me understand I didn’t have to do it on my own. And for the first time in my life, I was ready to share that fucking burden.
She angled her head so she could look up at me, hitting me with a smile. “Morning.”
“You hungry?”
She rolled so her stomach met mine, her pussy teasing the fuck out of my dick. Reaching her hand around my neck, she pulled my lips to hers and kissed me. “Sorry about the morning breath, but I needed those lips of yours.”
I gripped her ass. “Fuck morning breath. Give me back that mouth.” When she hesitated, I ordered, “Now, red.”
A sexy smile spread across her face, and she gave me what I wanted. Waking up with her was the best fucking way to wake up. When she ended the kiss, she said, “I’m impressed.”
“What, with my kissing abilities?”
“No, with your restraint. You’ve got your hands all over me, your mouth on mine, your dick almost inside me, and yet you’re offering me food.”
“Jesus, woman, don’t tempt me.”
She grew quiet. “I know you’re doing it because it’s the first morning we’ve woken up together in your home, and your daughter is close. And that impresses the hell out of me.”
“How do you know all of that?”
“It’s the only explanation that makes sense, because you’re not a man to walk away from a sure thing like this.”
I struggled against the desire to flip her on her back and fuck the hell out of her. That pussy of hers called to me. But she was right, Charlie being in the house changed things. I dropped my lips to hers and gave her one last kiss before smacking her ass. “Time to move this ass, sugar. You’re gonna make me bacon and eggs.”
She arched a brow, an amused look crossing her face. “Oh, am I? You’re fucking dreaming out loud this morning, tiger.”
I chuckled as she rolled off me and watched as she reached for her clothes. I’d never get enough time with my eyes on Monroe’s naked body. Her curves drove my dick wilder than it ever had been.
Once we were dressed, she came to me and took my hands in hers. Looking down at my bruised and cut knuckles, she asked softly, “How are you this morning?”
That she didn’t ask about my knuckles or my face, but simply accepted that shit had gone down, meant the fucking world to me. “I’m fucking lucky to have you, Roe.”
She looked up at me. “Well, yeah…” She paused with a smile before continuing, “But that doesn’t tell me how you are.”
I slid my arm around her waist and pulled her close. “I know that you know I’m in a dark place, and I’m fucking grateful that you’re in the corner with me, fighting for me to be a better man. I’m done with yesterday, and I’m moving forward.” I bent my face to hers, and my lips grazed her ear when I murmured, “Thank you.”
Her eyes misted with tears. “I’m always here for you.”
I wiped away the few tears that escaped. “Don’t cry, sugar. We’re gonna beat this shit. And we’re gonna get that paternity test and prove that Charlie is mine.”
She smiled and nodded. “Yes, we are.”
We.
I fucking loved it more than I ever thought possible.
Smacking her ass again, I said, “Right, kitchen, now.”
She bit her lip. “Umm, is Tenille gonna be out there?”
“Fuck no. I kicked her out yesterday.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
“Roe, there’s something you need to know about me. I’m loyal to a fucking fault, but I’m not a man to be crossed. Tenille will always be the woman I loved first, and it’ll take me time to move past that shit, but I had to remove her from my home for her safety more than anything else.”
She let out a long breath. It was like she’d been holding it for a long time. “Thank God. I didn’t like her. And honestly, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to hold my tongue if I saw her again. Maybe even not my hands.”
My lips twitched. “Going to battle for your man, huh?”
She fired up. “You fucking bet. No one messes with you and gets away with it.”
Fuck.
She really was something else.