Sex with Landon had been awesome every single time. I wasn’t lying when I’d told him I finally understood the appeal. I’d never known that a tongue was capable of bringing me so much pleasure, but Landon’s talented tongue had nothing on the expert skill level of his cock. He rested his hand gently over my pulse as he fucked me wildly until the water ran cold.
By the time we finished, I knew something major had shifted between me and Landon. Yes, we’d only known each other for four days and he’d be leaving soon, but our lives would never be the same.
* * *
After Landon left for his mom’s, I started preparing my two dishes for Christmas dinner. I’d gotten everything ready and was reading a book as I waited to put the sweet potatoes in the oven when someone tapped on my door. Keys jiggled and the doorknob turned, and in walked Ben, my long lost brother.
“Ben!” Relief and joy pulled me from the sofa and wrapped my arms around him. I tried not to notice the faint smell of cigarette smoke clinging to his jacket, reminding me that I had no idea where he’d been and what he’d been up to. Holding him at an arm’s length, I looked him over. Ben had his mom’s light brown hair and green eyes, with Dad’s square jaw and athletic build. He’d lost a few pounds since I’d seen him last, but eyes still sparkled when he smiled at me.
“Hey, sis.”
“Merry Christmas. How’ve you been?”
“Good. Just busy. Working a lot.”
“Awesome.” I led him to the sofa. “Come in and sit down so you can tell me all about it. So, what is it you’re doing again?” I was trying to make it sound like he’d told me, but in reality, all he ever did was avoid the question.
“Oh, it’s boring. I’ve been doing deliveries for a friend’s company, but I don’t think I’m gonna do that much longer. I’ve been looking for something else. What about you? How are things at the school?”
He’d deflected my question and turned it back around on me. Ben used to tell me everything, and the way he bobbed and weaved whenever I asked him about his job worried me. I wanted to probe and find out what kind of deliveries he was making and to whom, but I’d learned long ago that wasn’t the right way to deal with Ben. If I hadn’t kept pumping him for information about a couple of shady friends he’d been hanging out with, my little brother would likely still be sleeping on my couch, where I could keep an eye on him.
Ben didn’t like being cornered or questioned, and I knew if I pushed too hard, he’d bail.
“Things at the school are going well. We have some new volunteers starting after the new year that I’m really excited about. They’re that motorcycle club that’s been in the papers. The ones that took Mayor Kinlan and his son down.”
“Oh yeah, I heard something about that. Cool. Hey, what happened to your head?”
My fingers once again sought out the tender flesh on the side of my head. It felt better, but the bump had grown, obviously visible despite my hair covering it. “Just an incident at school. Where are you staying now?”
Yep, now I was deflecting, but I didn’t want Ben to worry about me being at the school.
“What kind of incident?” Ben asked, pulling my hand away, so he could check out my injury.
“I had to call CPS on a parent, and her boyfriend got a little upset about it.” I shrugged. “We handled it. No big deal.”
“No big deal? Did he hit you or something?”
“Yep.” I chose to leave off the part about the gun.
“Mercy, I know you don’t want to hear this, but you need to get out of the neighborhood. You have your master’s degree for Christ’s sake. You could make a lot more money somewhere else, and not have to deal with parents roughing you up. You’re good at your job, and you don’t need to take this shit.”
Ben and I had had this conversation before, and I knew he’d never understand why I insisted on staying at the school, and I didn’t want to argue with him. “I’ll think about it,” I lied.
He stared at me for a moment before shaking his head. “I wish you really would, but I know you won’t.”
Time to change the subject. “I miss you, Ben. Where’ve you been staying?”
He looked away. “With a friend.”
“Who?” I asked.
His gaze shot back to me, and the irritation in his eyes made me regret the question. I was probing.
“Is she cute, at least?” I asked, trying to play it off.
“Not a girl, sis. Just a friend.” He tugged something out of his pocket. “Hey, before I forget, I got you something.”
I eyed the little wrapped box with its smooshed bow. “Ben, you shouldn’t have.” I had no idea how much his delivery job paid, but doubted it was all that lucrative. Especially since he was looking for something else.
