Chapter 5

The week passes in a cloud of utter happiness and bliss. I've never been happier than I've been this past week. Lacey and I spend every day together when we're not at work, and the time we do spend apart, I spend thinking about her constantly.

She's everything to me, and nothing else matters but her. The rest of the world can fuck right off as far as I'm concerned. As long as I have my girl, I have all I need.

There's only half an hour left of my shift, then she's coming to meet me here so we can go to dinner together. I can't fucking wait. Five hours without setting eyes on her is far too much. I have withdrawals.

I'm so caught up in my thoughts of her that I barely register the door to the garage opening. I sigh as I stand, oil and grease from the car I'm working on coating my hands, and peer over the hood of the vehicle with a scowl at whoever the hell's interrupted me.

I blink, sure I'm seeing things.

Because my fucking brother is standing on the other side of the garage, grinning like there's nothing wrong with him being here. I wipe my hands on a rag, my fingers stained from the day's work, and step around the car, glaring at my sibling.

It hits me then, the memory of the text he sent me a week ago—the first night I was with Lacey. I managed to forget about it entirely, forget about him coming home entirely. Fuck!

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I growl at him, keeping space between us. I hope he can read how much I don't want him here on my face.

Edward raises a brow, stepping closer because clearly, he doesn't think I would actually hurt him. My fists clench at my sides, desperate to make contact with his smug smile. "What kind of greeting is that?" he snorts, shaking his head. "No hug for your brother?"

I sneer at him, anger running hot through my veins. I open my mouth to answer him, but he just keeps talking. I fall silent, listening as my rage grows hotter and hotter.

"...have you ever been to Spain? You need to go, it was incredible. Angela spent the whole time in a bikini. It was fucking brilliant," he says with a gross eyebrow wiggle that makes me want to commit murder. "You know, it's such a relief to finally be with a girl who's fun and free-spirited and not an uptight prude. I just can't be tied down and tamed, and it feels fucking great to be living the way I deserve instead of wasting my years on a girl who can't even put out for one night."

That's my final straw. I surge forward, ready to slam him back into the wall and beat him a new one, but just as I'm about to grab him, the door swings open. A soft, feminine gasp breaks through the pounding rage in my ears, and I freeze where I stand. I don't want her caught in the middle of a fight.

"What…" she breathes, taking in the scene with big eyes. Before I can explain what the hell's happening to her, my fucking brother starts talking again.

"What are you doing here, Lacey?" he groans, as though exasperated by her mere presence. "You know it's over, I don't want you anymore, and no matter what you're here to say, nothing's going to change that. Did you follow me here or something? I've moved on. You need to give up, okay?"

The tone he's taking with her is the same tone someone would use to speak to a young child with, completely patronizing and insulting as if the words alone aren't bad enough.

I close the last distance between us and shut him up with my fist. The thud of my knuckles meeting his mouth is intensely satisfying, almost as satisfying as the pathetic noise that leaves his mouth while he stumbles backward, shocked and disoriented.

Finally, he's silent. It's my turn to give him a piece of my damn mind. I grab the collar of his shirt, forcing him to listen to me.

"She's not fucking here for you," I growl at him, my anger seeping into my words. "Lacey wouldn't take you back if you begged on your fucking knees. You were lucky to even get a fucking glance from her, and you fucked it up. Now? That's mygirl. She's here for me."

Eddie's mouth opens and shuts like he's a fish out of water, which would be funny if I wasn't so damn angry at him. He had so much to say just seconds ago, and now he's acting speechless.

He's my brother, but at this moment, I look at him and see nothing but the man who hurt my girl. He disgusts me.

He regains the use of his tongue and starts talking again. "You're…together?" he asks, eyes comically wide as he processes this information. His gaze flicks to Lacey. "What the fuck? You lost me so you go try to get the next best thing?" he says to her, shock giving way to anger. "My brother? Really, Lacey? You bitch?—"

"Keep her fucking name out of your disgusting mouth or I'll break your teeth with my next punch," I snarl at him, well and truly done with this. "You have no right to be angry after what you've done. We've done nothing wrong, and I refuse to let you continue speaking to her like this."

"I don't want anyone to get hurt," Lacey interrupts, speaking up for the first time. I look away from my brother to meet her eyes, pride filling me at the way she's glaring at her ex and standing up for herself. That's my girl. "You should go," she tells Edward, a demand not a question. "Nobody wants you here, Edward."

He gapes, stumbling as I let him go with a shove. His head bobbles as he looks between us.

"You finally grew a voice, huh?" he says to Lacey, clearly surprised. "You'd have never spoken to me like that before. You've changed, Lacey."

"For the better," she says back proudly, head held high.

With a scoff, Edward shakes his head, turns, and storms out. The door slams behind him, leaving Lacey and me alone.

For a second, we both stand there, catching our breath and letting the air in the room return to normal, the tension leaving with my brother. Then we move at once, eating up the space between us as we collide. Lacey throws herself into my arms, and I catch her easily, holding her close.

"Are you okay, baby?" I ask her, hating that she might be upset by what just happened.

"I'm fine," she answers, and the determination in her eyes makes me believe her. "I just…maybe need a reminder that I'm really yours? That I'll never have to deal with him again."

"You're all mine, Lace." I lean down to capture her lips in a kiss that claims her as thoroughly as she's claimed my heart.

The tension we'd both been feeling gives way to lust. Our kiss deepens, and Lacey whines against me, her hands clutching at my shirt. I'm still wearing my work clothes, given that we haven't even left the garage, which are covered in oil and grease from the day, but she doesn't care. Hell, neither do I.

"I need you, baby," I tell her, grabbing her ass and lifting her to perch her on the side of my workbench. "I'm gonna remind you just who you belong to. You're mine, Lace. Every inch of you."

"I'm yours," she agrees, and then there's no need for more words when our bodies can speak for us.

I yank her clothes off, leaving her bare and exposed for me on my workbench. She parts her legs without me asking, shuffling closer so her thighs wrap around my hips. We kiss hungrily, both of us needing this, her hands slipping down my front to unbutton my pants and shoving them down. She takes me in her hand, guiding my hard cock to her entrance without hesitation.

This isn't the time for teasing or torturing each other with soft touches. No, this is a claiming, a demand, a reassurance. And I'll give it to her however she needs.

I grip her hips, leaving black streaks on her skin from the oil on my hands, and shove deep inside her in one hard thrust. She moans and gasps against my lips, and I swallow the sounds eagerly, groaning as her silky heat surrounds me.

"Hard," Lacey whispers into the kiss, scrabbling to pull me closer. "Fuck me as hard as you can, Levi. I need it."

Fuck. As if I could ever deny that request. Those words from her lips send my possessive instincts even higher, and whatever control I managed to cling to this whole time snaps completely. I tighten my grip on her and pull out, thrusting in deeper and harder than before. I set a rough, hard pace, driving into her until there can be no fucking doubt about who owns her.

The workbench creaks and squeaks as it rocks beneath us, the legs scraping against the concrete floor. A tool falls off the edge and clatters to the floor. I don't stop. The whole building could come down around us right now and I wouldn't stop.

"My girl," I growl.

She moans and whimpers and scratches me through my clothes. Her pussy begins to flutter around me, and her kisses become desperate and messy as she nears her edge. My orgasm barrels closer, but I hold back, needing her to come with me. "All mine, Lace. Forever. Be the perfect girl I know you are and come for me. Your body knows who it belongs to. Show me."

She does, her back bowing and my name leaving her lips on a breathless cry. I curse, groaning her name as my release takes me, filling her with my come as we both give in to the bliss of the moment.

"That enough reassurance for you?" I rasp as we catch our breath.

She giggles. "I don't know," she answers with a teasing tone, still a little breathless. "You better take me home and prove it again."

"Goddamnit, Lacey, you're so perfect," I breathe, helping her throw her clothes back on so I can take her home and do just that.