Bohemian Girl (Southern Girl Series Book 1)

by Georgia Cates

  Now, this kind of chai tea I like. “So sweet.”

  I move my mouth over hers and our tongues fall into a rhythmic wave. It’s a seductive swirl of soft, wet velvet. My God. I don’t know how I had the strength to pull away from her last night. In this moment, I’m powerless to stop.

  The rhythm of our kiss is no longer slow and smooth. It’s erratic and she pulls away from me, panting. “Breath successfully stolen.”

  “I’m not done yet.”

  I drag my mouth along her jawline toward her ear, leaving kisses in its path, and she squirms when I kiss the sensitive spot below her earlobe. “Oh, that gives me chills all over.”

  Physical reactions beyond a woman’s control are such a turn-on because they can’t be faked.

  Moving my mouth down her neck, I kiss her shoulder. She’s such a squirmer that she’s nearly worked her way beneath me. Maybe she meant to do that.

  I want to go further but I don’t know where her head is. “Do you want me to stop?”

  “No.” She places her hands on each side of my face and drags her fingers through my facial scruff. “Keep going.”

  She doesn’t indicate the lines that I can’t cross, yet I suspect she has some. Every woman does. “I need you to tell me what we’re doing so there’s no confusion.”

  “You promised you wouldn’t stop this time. So don’t.”

  Ah, the beauty of being with a bohemian girl? They don’t have rules.

  I grasp the backs of her knees, and she gasps when I give her a quick yank to move her beneath me. Lacing her fingers through the back of my hair, she pulls my mouth down to hers and kisses me deeply.

  “Despite what most people believe about a person like me, I don’t make a habit of freely giving my body away. It’s been a while for me.”

  No man hates hearing that. “How long?”

  “Over a year.”

  Shit, that’s a long time to go without sex. And all the more reason to make this spectacular for her. “I’m going to make you come so hard.”

  “I don’t think it’ll take much.”

  I stroke the back of my fingers down her cheek. Soft. Smooth. Delicate. “You’re beautiful.”

  She strokes my face, running the tips of her fingers through my facial hair. “You’re beautiful.”

  Hovering over her, I press my lips to the side of her neck. I grasp the back of her thigh and bend it at the knee. That’s it, baby. Wrap it around me. Pull me close.

  I glide my hand up the back of her smooth leg until it’s inside her shorts. And panties. I dig my fingertips into the fleshy part of her ass.

  I wonder what she’d do if my fingers left the safety of her ass cheek and moved to that sensitive place between her legs. I think we should find out.

  I want Lawrence naked and in bed beneath me. These clothes and this couch aren’t working for me. I need to be unrestrained for everything I want to do to her.

  “Are you okay with moving this to the bedroom?”

  She nods. “Yes.”

  I get up from the couch and take her hands, helping her to her feet. We’re eye to eye, and I can’t stop myself from cradling her face and planting a slow, deep kiss against her mouth.

  I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. This girl is Oliver’s sister. Forbidden fruit. He told me so. I said I wouldn’t touch her but I did anyway. My promise has become a lie—another fucking lie. Deceit has never been in my nature but I can’t help myself. And now I don’t want to stop.

  Lawrence jolts and I do too when we hear sounds at the front door. “Someone’s here.”

  We break apart like guilty teenagers caught doing dirty things. At least five feet of distance separates us. Maybe six. Too much.

  It’s probably Porter coming by to issue an official cockblock. He was pretty pissed off about the time I spent with Lawrence yesterday. I wouldn’t put it past him. Bastard.

  I only have a few seconds to mentally prepare for whatever he is going to say. Porter, she’s going home. I told you I was picking her up and taking her to her car this morning. Remember?

  My mental preparation is all in vain when I see who opens the door. What the hell is he doing here?

  “Ollie,” Lawrence yells as she runs to him and throws herself into his arms, “I’m so happy you’re back.”

  He looks at me with wide eyes over his sister’s shoulder and mouths, “What the fuck?”

  I’ve had no communication with Oliver in a week. He had no idea his sister was here. He’s completely in the dark concerning what I’ve told her about his alibi. This could mean trouble for him. And me. I don’t think Lawrence is the kind of woman who tolerates lies.

  “Look at you. Back from Memphis so soon?”

  He looks like a deer in headlights. “Yes, but only briefly.”

  “I guess your friend must be doing better? No longer threatening to do anything stupid after the divorce?”

  Oliver clears his voice. “He’s better, but I’m going back. I just drove down so I could be at the festival for a little while today.”

  I guess he took a cab from the rehab. I hope she doesn’t decide to ask questions or snoop in regard to the company car, which doesn’t exist.

  “We’re glad to see you. Especially Lawrence. She was pretty disappointed when she showed up Friday to surprise you but found out you’d left town to see Raleigh.”

  She hugs Oliver again. “You are such a good friend to give up being at the festival for your friend’s welfare.”

  “Are those my pants?”

  I cup my hand over my softening hard-on, praying that Oliver doesn’t notice.

  Lawrence spins around. “Lucas spilled tea on his so I gave him those to wear while his jeans are in your dryer. I hope that’s okay.”

  “I guess.”

  Oliver has two duffel bags on his shoulder.

  “Dirty clothes?” Lawrence asks.

  “Yeah. A lot.”

  “Why so much?”

  He looks at me and then back to Lawrence. Sorry. Can’t help you with that one, dude. “I just threw a bunch of shit in there. Some clean, some dirty. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be gone.”

  “Ugh, Ollie. You’re such a guy. The dirty is going to make the clean stink. All of it will need washing now.” She holds out her hands. “Give it to me. I’ll get a load started for you.”

  Oliver kisses the side of Wren’s face. Right where I just kissed her but in a much different manner. “Thanks, sis.”

  I sit on the couch and try to remember all the things that I need to tell him about his alibi. And about mine.

  He stands over me, hands on hips. “What the hell has gone on here while I’ve been away?”

  I lower my voice. “She showed up at the festival yesterday to surprise you. I came up with a bullshit story about a suicidal friend in Memphis. Not my best work.”

  “That’s dumb as hell.”

  “Forgive the fuck out of me. I had maybe three seconds at best to come up with something to cover your ass.”

  “Sorry. I don’t mean to seem ungrateful. I’m just sort of freaking out because I wasn’t expecting her to be here.”

  Just like I wasn’t expecting him to walk in at the exact moment I’m on the way to his guest room to fuck his sister.

  “It’s okay.”

  “What the fuck are you doing with her in my apartment?”

  I bet his mind is spinning like a damn hamster in a wheel right now.

  “She was planning to go back to Savannah this morning. That’s why I’m here. To drive her to her car.” Half-truth. I came to drive her but not before I fucked her.

  “Where’s her car?”

  “Still parked at the festival. The service drove her home because she’d had some beer. We don’t need two DUIs in the family.”

  “Lawrence never has more than a few beers.”

  I might as well tell him the truth. “She helped me judge the home-brew comp. She got a little tipsy but don’t worry. I took care of her.”

&n
bsp; He narrows his eyes at me. “You took care of her in what way?”

  “I saw her home safely.”

  Oliver’s eyes grow large and his mouth forms a tight line. I know what he’s thinking. “I did not fuck your sister. I swear.”

  But I was damn sure about to when you came home just now.

  “Give me my phone.”

  He’s going to see last night’s texts. Fuck, that means I’m going to have some explaining to do.

  “What is this bullshit about her wanting you to kiss her?”

  “I guess she likes me.” And I like her too.

  “Yeah. She likes you all right. She says so right here in this message.”

  I didn’t take advantage of my position. I ignored that devil sitting on my shoulder, whispering in my ear. “I replied to her just as you would have—that I’m not good enough for her.”

  “It’s not about being good enough, Lucas. The fact is that you have fucked around with a lot of women. I don’t want my sister to become the most recent name on that list.”

  “And you don’t fuck around with a lot of women?”

  “This has nothing to do with what I do. We’re talking about my sister and what you’re not going to do with her.”

  “I would never mistreat Lawrence.” I wouldn’t. I mean that.

  “Maybe you wouldn’t as long as she met your needs. But what about when you no longer want her for a piece of ass?”

  “I don’t know why we’re having this conversation. She lives four hundred miles away. It’s not as though we’re going to start dating or something.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Why are you here? I thought you had two more weeks in rehab.”

  “I do but I got a day pass. I have to be back by six, which really sucks because I want longer with Lawry. I haven’t seen her in six months.”

  “I’m gonna take off so you can spend some time together.”

  “Sorry I was such a hard ass when I got here.”

  “Forget about it.” I gesture toward the laundry room. “I’m gonna grab my jeans out of the dryer and go.”

  Lawrence is shoving clothes into the washer when I sneak up behind her. Wrapping my arms around her, I kiss the side of her neck. “Hey. I’m gonna go so you can spend time with Oliver before he leaves.”

  She turns in my arms and kisses my chest. “Will I see you later?”

  “I certainly hope so.” I gesture to the jeans folded on top of the dryer. “Mine?”

  “Yeah.”

  I push the waistband of the linen pants down and step out of them. “Can these go in that load?”

  She bites her bottom lip to unsuccessfully suppress her mischievous grin. “Throw ’em in.”

  I pull on my boxer briefs and then my jeans, her eyes watching my every move. “Were you checking out my junk?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Do you want to get together later?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Will you text me after he leaves?”

  “I will.”

  I hold her face and kiss her until she’s breathless. Again. I stop when I hear Oliver rambling in the kitchen on the other side of the wall.

  “See you later, Boho girl.”

  10

  Lawrence Thorn

  I can’t believe Ollie walked in on Lucas and me as we were going to the guest bedroom. Damn, that was a close one.

  And it left me with such a throbbing clit-hanger.

  I don’t care what Ollie says. If I want to hook up with Lucas while I’m in Birmingham, I will. My brother doesn’t get a say about my sex life.

  But if we hook up and Oliver finds out, that could mean problems for Lucas at the company. And I don’t want to stir up trouble between business partners.

  I flop on the couch next to Ollie and he puts his arm around me, squeezing tightly. “To what do I owe this surprise visit?

  “You were right when you said that it had been too long since I’d been to see you. I thought it was time.”

  “This feels like more than just a surprise visit.”

  “Guilty. I wanted to check up on you. You’ve been weird lately, but the last two weeks have been the topping on the proverbial weird cake.”

  He chuckles. “You, Lawrence Thorn, have the audacity to call me weird? That’s a new one.”

  “I know but it doesn’t feel like my Ollie on the other end answering me. You sound like a complete stranger sometimes.”

  “I’m sorry about that. Things have been a little crazy lately. Let me get through the next couple of weeks, and I promise everything will be back to normal again.”

  “I want things to be back to normal again. I miss my little brother and I want to get together more often. Six months is too long to go without seeing each other.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  Who knows? Maybe Lucas Broussard can be an additional incentive for me to come back to Birmingham more frequently.

  “Tell me what’s going on at home.”

  I’m not sure now is the right time to bring this up, but I feel I don’t have a choice. “Christie called.”

  “What does she want now? More money?”

  I wish. It would be much easier to part with money rather than what she’s asking for.

  I don’t answer and Ollie slams his fist into the couch cushion. “Dammit. I knew we shouldn’t have given her anything. It only encourages her to keep coming back for more, which means we’ll never be rid of her now.”

  “It wasn’t about money this time. She’s in end-stage renal disease.”

  “Well boo-fucking-hoo. She did that shit to herself, so she’s getting what she deserves if you ask me.”

  Our birth mother was an addict and noncompliant diabetic. She wanted heroine more than insulin. Her kidneys simply couldn’t handle all those years of abuse and unstable blood sugars. It’s a miracle she’s still alive.

  “I assume she called because she wants us to help her out somehow. I’m guessing medical bills?”

  Oh, little brother. If only it was that simple.

  “She wants a kidney.”

  Ollie’s head jerks around and he looks at me. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. I’m not giving her my kidney.”

  He makes it sound as though he won’t have one left. “You are aware that you have two?”

  “I know and I’m keeping both of them. That woman’s not getting mine or yours. End of story.”

  I wish she hadn’t contacted me. I should have changed my number after that last round of begging for money. Hearing from her always brings back terrible memories from the past. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about our childhood since she called.”

  “Don’t think about that shit, Lawry. No good can come from it.”

  “Do you remember the time I wrapped a hamburger in a napkin and brought it home from school for you?” I had traded my piece of chocolate cake for it because I knew it would be more filling and nutritious for Ollie’s little malnourished body.

  “Yeah, and I also remember her putting me in the corner and making me watch her eat it while she was coming down from a high. I was so hungry my stomach was gnawing my backbone.”

  That was only one of the many cruelties she inflicted on us.

  “I think about that stuff a lot.”

  “Good. Keep thinking about it and you won’t forget what kind of person she is. That should help you make the right decision about giving her a kidney.”

  “I’ve done my duty by telling you about Christie. I don’t want to talk about her anymore.”

  “Fine by me.”

  I knew it would be. “I want to know what’s been going on in my little brother’s life.”

  Ollie’s beaming. “I’ve met someone.”

  A new relationship will help him move on from Eden. “Oh really? Tell me about her.”

  “Her name is Katelyn. She’s an addiction and substance-abuse counselor.”

  Surely, she’s stable with a career like that. “Have you aske
d her out?”

  “Not yet. The timing isn’t quite right but I’m going to soon. Maybe in a couple of weeks.”

  “Don’t worry. She’ll say yes.”

  I may be a bit biased but my brother is a real catch. All my friends think so and tell me often.

  “I like this woman a lot.” I think he must, judging by the goofy grin on his face.

  “Tell me what you like about her.”

  “She isn’t afraid to challenge me. And I find it really easy to open up to her when we talk.”

  “I bet she likes to talk a lot.”

  I would expect a counselor to want to discuss everything, but I can see how that might become exhausting after a while. Sometimes I just want to be quiet and enjoy the silence.

  “She loves to talk but I don’t mind. I like the things she has to say.”

  “I’d love to meet her.” I need to see for myself that this one isn’t like Eden. Because I knew that one was a bitch the first time I met her.

  “You will if things go well.”

  I know Ollie must be anxious to see how things are going at the festival. “Are we going to the festival?”

  “Yeah, but I need to change first.”

  “I think I will too. I put this on because I thought I was going to be driving home today.” But now it looks like I’ll be sticking around for a while longer.

  I decide on colorful printed pants and my peacock-colored cropped Iron City T. It’s going to be another hot one so I opt for a topknot instead of wearing my hair down.

  “You look like a damn hippie.”

  Mission accomplished.

  I slip my brown and gold sunglasses into my hair. “Thank you. I take that as a compliment.”

  “What kind of pants are those?”

  I do a spin to model them. “They’re called harem pants.”

  “You do know what a harem is, don’t you?”

  “Shut up about my pants and let’s go.”

  We arrive at the festival and the scene is very different from the one I walked into yesterday. “We beat the crowd.”

  “It won’t look like this in a few hours.”