“Not exactly. I need to pay off some debt, and I help out my family, especially my brother Nicholas.”
“He doesn’t have a job?”
She shrugged. “He told me he does. Who knows?” She turned toward him and tucked her feet under her. “If you get your own place, I’m pretty sure Chenoa will be able to stay with you. I haven’t heard anything yet, but my supervisor seemed pretty hopeful. You really should lock that up. I can add an addendum to my report.”
“I was gonna look for a place this weekend. I want Chenoa with me.” She nodded. He patted the empty spot beside him. “Why the fuck are you so far from me? Come over here.”
“Are you going to behave?” The way she looked at him from under half-lidded eyes drove him wild.
“Of course.” He grinned. She moved closer to him and he put his arm around her. “That’s better.” Under his touch, he felt her relax and press into him. He twirled a couple strands of her soft hair around his finger, the delicate scent of apricot and powder curling around him.I want her so fucking bad.
She craned her neck and looked up at him; desire heated her gaze. He bent down and gently kissed the lips that had been tempting him all evening. She looped her arm around his neck, a soft moan escaping her. The sound of it flared his lust and he yanked her closer to him, then took her mouth in a deep, wet, claiming kiss.
He slid his hand over her shoulders and under her crop top, the feel of her soft skin playing havoc with his cock. As he stroked his hands over her tits, he pushed his hard dick against her thighs. She sank deeper into his hold and he kept kissing her, breathing in each of her tiny moans and whimpers. “You make my blood boil. I can’t fucking get enough of you,” he rasped between kisses.
“I feel the same. It’s crazy but in a good way,” she said softly, and just the sound of her voice, the vibration of her lips against his, brought out the brute in him. He pulled her onto his lap, positioning her cute ass on his raging hard-on, and tugged at the hem of her shirt. Her straining nipples had been enticing him long enough; he had to suck the hard beads. Now.
Then her landline rang and she stiffened under his hands before pulling away. “Sorry, but I have to get this.” She sprinted to the phone in the other room.
What the fuck is up with her goddamn phone? I swear I’m gonna smash it.
He waited for several minutes for her to come back, but she didn’t. He strained his ears, but he didn’t hear her talking. Then he heard it—muted sobs that pierced his heart. He jumped from the couch and followed the sounds to a bedroom in the back of the house. The door was slightly ajar, and he slowly pushed it open. The room was dark, but he could see her sitting on the edge of the bed, slumped over.
“Breanna?” he whispered as he went over to her. “What’s wrong? Did you get some bad news about your brother?” He sat next to her, the bed creaking under his weight. She shook her head. “Then what’s going on?” He placed his arm around her and drew her to him. She laid her head against his chest as he gently held her. Her small shoulders rose and fell, and occasionally she wiped her cheeks and sniffled. He cupped her chin and tilted her head back, staring into her glistening eyes as he tenderly brushed the hair back from her face. “Do you want to tell me why’re you so upset?” She shrugged and placed her head back on his chest. “Please?”
She cleared her throat and, in a nasally voice, said, “I’m terrified something’s happened to my brother. He’s never gone this long without calling me. I thought it was him on the phone because he’s the only one who really calls me on the landline. But it wasn’t. It wasn’t….” She circled her arm around his waist and held him tightly.
He rubbed her back in a circular motion. “Shh… it’s okay. If something bad happened to him, you would’ve heard by now. Alina’s a small town. I can see if I can find anything out. I’ll put some feelers out and see what they bring in.”
She looked up, her gaze wide with hope. “Will you? I’d be so grateful if you could do that. I’m just beside myself.”
He swept his lips against hers. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Steel?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you stay the night with me? I don’t mean like banging each other. I just want you to hold me. I don’t want to be alone. I know that isn’t what you want, and you may think I’m weird for asking, but can you stay with me?” She stretched out her arm and reached for the box of tissues on the nightstand. Steel picked up the box and handed it to her. She took a tissue and blew her nose.
He watched her as she dried her tears with several tissues.Stay the night and not fuck?He’d never done that before with a woman. All the women he’d been with always wanted to screw; if they didn’t, they weren’t in his bed. He’d found when he was angry, sad, or worried, fucking helped give him some relief. Could he spend the night with Breanna and not touch her except for his arms around her? Would his dick make it through the night?
Breanna rose to her feet. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you. We don’t have that kind of relationship. Actually, we don’t have a relationship. I just lost my head.”
He grabbed her hand and gently tugged her back down on the bed. “I’ll stay with you. It’s cool.”I fucking hope so. Why the hell did I commit to this?Maybe it was because he couldn’t stand to see a woman cry. He never could. He figured it had to do with his mother, who’d weep over her disappointing life when she thought her children couldn’t hear. Maybe it was because Breanna was wiggling her way into his heart—a thought that terrified and warmed him at the same time.
If the brothers find out about this, they’ll never believe it. They’ll also never let me live it down.
Later that night, he watched as she slipped into bed wearing a nightshirt. He’d taken everything but his jeans off; he didn’t trust himself.
She rolled over to him. “Thank you,” she whispered in the dark. Then she gave him a light kiss and curled up next to him. He wrapped his arm around her, tugging her close to him. She smacked her lips and put her arm around him, her breasts pillowed against his chest. Her breathing grew deeper and he knew she’d fallen asleep.
His dick hadn’t settled down since she’d come into bed.How the fuck am I gonna get through the whole night without touching her?She smelled so good, and her soft body nestled next to his was more than any man could take.
He took deep breaths and focused on the vast expanse of the San Juan Valley. He had to calm his body down.
It’s gonna be a long fucking night.
