Page 2 of Filthy
“This one has special circumstances. She’s staying here in Charlie’s room.”
“Excuse me?”
“Yeah, him and Mick aren’t too happy about it either. Something about Mick’s snoring and Charlie’s inability to sleep through it.”
“She has lost her mind, hasn’t she?”
“Who Ma? Yeah, but that happened years ago after raising five boys.”
I shook my head in disbelief. She invited a random woman to sleep in our house the night before Christmas, knowing damn well what a disaster this place is going to be tomorrow. Since none of us were married or had kids, she always went a little overboard with the holiday. I would never admit it to anyone, but she still makes my dad dress up as Santa and deliver us all gifts. This year, things may be different. Dad’s arthritis was terrible, and I watched Rashid help him to bed last night. He refused to let me help, probably because he doesn’t want me to know how bad it’s gotten. I wish I could have been that son for him. The one who he came to when he needed things, but Rashidwas always that person. In his eyes, I was the fuck up that took off and refused to stay near family.
“Come on. I’m freezing to death out here. Let’s go in and watch mom state a million reasons why you need to be the first one to get married.”
Much to my dismay, my mother sent me marching off to wash up and change before our guest got here. By the time I stepped out of the shower, I could already hear the commotion downstairs. I cracked open the bathroom door to see if I could hear who the heck was causing such chaos, only to be stopped by the sound of a voice I hadn’t heard in over two years. A voice that used to plague my dreams and my nightmares equally. I pushed the door shut and leaned up against it, closing my eyes to the onslaught of memories that invaded my mind. Of all the fucking people my mother could have invited here, it had to be her.
I dried off and wrapped a towel around my waist as I tried to slow my breathing. My mother didn’t know what went down between the two of us in New York City, so it’s not like I had that to worry about. But why in the world would Hattie be here? We had an agreement when we both went our separate ways. Distance was the only thing that would keep us both sane because together we were a mess. I needed to put an end to this madness before it went any further. I opened the door to the bathroom and turned to my room to grab clothes, but instead of a clear hallway, I ran right into Hattie, who yelped as I grabbed her to keep her from falling down the stairs. Fuck, she smelled amazing. That sugary vanilla scented perfume she wore invaded my nostrils and hardened my cock in an instant.
I looked down at her and caught her shocked expression. Her small hands were on my damp chest and a look of panic was in her eyes. That’s when I realized in my rush to keep her from falling, I lost the tiny ass towel that was covering me. Now myhardened cock pressed into the front of her, hiding absolutely nothing.
“If you wanted me naked again, then all you had to do was ask. No need to fly all the way back to Western New York.” I said with a laugh, hoping to lighten the mood, but it only made things worse. She pushed herself back from me and bent to grab my towel.
“Have some decency Nix, your mother is downstairs.” she spit out in an angry whisper.
I took the towel from her and wrapped it around my waist. “If you were concerned about her, then you wouldn’t be here.”
I stepped around Hattie and took the few remaining steps to my room, slamming the door behind me. I tried to remove her from my thoughts, but her scent was still on my skin. It made me crazed with need and just when I didn’t think I could take much more, my door flew open and she came charging in.
“I don’t know what you think is happening here, but whatever it is, forget it.”
The way she tried to both yell at me and whisper made me laugh, “What I think is happening here? What about you? It’s not like you don’t know what she’s up to. Fuck, Hattie, don’t play stupid. We both know you are smarter than that.”
She took a deep breath and held it while shaking her hands out at her sides, an old relaxation technique she used to use when we would argue. The familiarity of it made my chest hurt.
“Listen, I tried to call you, but your old cell number was disconnected. I reached out to the shop, but they said you already left for the holiday. I had no other way of warning you I was coming. I’m only here because of my mother. Believe me, if I had anywhere else to stay, I would, but when your mom called and offered me the chance to have Christmas here in town so I could spend time with my mom at the nursing home, I couldn’t pass it up. I know what she thinks she’s doing, and I’ve been veryclear with her that nothing will happen between the two of us. What she chooses to believe is her own problem.”
“And mine.”
“But not mine. My problem is, what you think is going to happen while I’m here.”
“Nothing, absolutely fucking nothing.”
“Maybe you should tell that to your dick.” she said, tilting her head.
This was insanity. I closed the space between us and reached for her neck, pushing her up against the wall. “Listen to me, little girl. If I wanted you, then I would have you. We both know that. There was an agreement in place and you’ve broken it. Now you are here, in my family home, and you think you can call the shots? Fuck that.” I growled into her ear as she reached for my arms and whined.
I know what I was doing, and I didn’t fucking care. I’d strip her out of the oversized clothes she had on covering all those soft delightful curves and fuck the shit out of her right now if I needed to make a point. But I didn’t. She got the point years ago when she walked out on me.
“Just keep your space, Hattie. It will be easier for all of us that way.” I said, letting her go and watching as her body sagged against the wall. I stepped back, looking down at her and damn if I didn’t want to scoop her into my arms and fulfill the need I saw in her eyes. Suddenly, regret and worry crossed her features, and I felt like I had just kicked a puppy. I ran my hand through my hair and turned my back on her. We had done this before, the need, the pain, the heartache all spawned from lust.
A minute later, I heard the door close and something inside of me felt like it had died all over again.
Chapter Two
Hattie
Itold Sofia it was a bad idea coming back here. Nix and I were toxic at our worst and a mess at our best. I had refused to let my billionaire best friend foot the cost of moving my mom to New York City, and now I was facing the consequences. Ever since I moved her to the nursing home in town, I felt like I had abandoned her. She wasn’t even that old, but after the accident that killed my father and left her with more medical issues than I could handle, the only person I had to rely on was Mrs. Stratford. My mom and she were friends since they had been in elementary school and the accident had devastated her almost as much as it had me. When she called last week, I shared with her that I didn’t think I’d be able to make it in town for the holidays. The cost of a flight and hotel were just too much and before we hung up, she had purchased my plane ticket and offered me to stay with her family. I was so caught up in the moment, I didn’t even think about the repercussions of staying under the same roof as Nix.
“Did you find your room okay?” Mrs. Stratford said, as I made my way back into the kitchen.