Is he trying to be my knight in shining armor right now? He has to know it’s impossible considering what I’m up against.
“Would you like a drink?” Bram motions to the bar area on the other side of his living room.
“Sure.” I shrug.
“Anything in particular?” He walks over and pours himself a whiskey.
“I’ll have what you’re having,” I reply, a second before I spot a bottle of wine behind the counter. “Actually, can I have some of that?” I point to it.
“Absolutely.” He pulls out the cork and pours me a glass.
I wonder if we’re going to have to kill another elephant in the room, or rather, how long it will be before he brings it up. The lap dance. The way my body reacted to him—the most embarrassing orgasm of my life. Maybe he won’t even mention it. That’s what I’m hoping, at least.
“So tell me more about this guy your brother owes money to.” Bram takes a seat on the couch and invites me to the do same. “You said his name is Mr. Diaz?”
“Yes,” I say as I sit next to him. “I don’t know much about him at all. He’s a rather new loan shark, based on what Hudson has told me. He has no problem extending credit, that’s for sure.”
“Not the smartest business move.” Bram takes a sip of his whiskey. “Unless you know your client is good for it…”
“Hudson never was, but my father took care of the payments every time he got in over his head.” I shake my head with a mixture of anger and frustration. “Until he couldn’t.”
“I wish I had stayed in contact with him.” Bram looks down at his drink. “Fuck, I wish he would have told me what was going on when he sold his half of the company.”
“You know how my father is.” I sigh. “He has too much pride to admit something is wrong or ask for help.”
“Foolish pride,” Bram scoffs and levels his gaze at me. “I’m guessing that’s where you got it from.”
“I didn’t get anything from him.” My head snaps back, partially because his insinuation offends me.
“What happened between the two of you?” He tilts his head slightly. “I sense a lot of animosity—I thought you were always close with him.”
“No,” I reply immediately. “You just saw what he wanted you to see. Things were never that good between us… I think that’s why I liked it when you stopped by. You were so different. You actually seemed to care…”
“I did.” Bram takes a sip of his whiskey. “Still do.”
If Bram had ever seen what went on behind closed doors, I don’t think he would have ever thought things were close in my household. It was one thing after another—one disappointment after another. Me. I took the brunt of it, no matter who was actually responsible, and rarely did I deserve what came my way.
“So what else has been going on in your life?” Bram shifts on the couch and narrows his eyes at me. “I thought for sure that you would be in college by now; didn’t you want to be a fashion designer?”
“Yeah, when I was thirteen.” Despite the somber mood, that gets a laugh out of me. “I had no idea what that entailed. I just watched too many soap operas with Mom that made it look easy.”
“Then what kind of plans did you have? Before this situation derailed everything?” Bram tilts his head inquisitively.
“I’m not even sure.” I take a sip of my wine and run my finger around the rim of the glass. “All of my friends were making plans for college, and I didn’t even want to bring it up with my parents. They were busy with other things and couldn’t have afforded it anyway. I thought about student loans, but I wasn’t really eager to incur a lot of debt…”
“I don’t think the government is going to hurt you if you can’t repay your student loans, not physically at least.” A hint of a smile forms on the edge of Bram’s lips.
“Yeah, I know.” I nod in agreement. “I just didn’t want to owe anything. I know that may sound foolish.”
“Like foolish pride?” Bram leans forward and nudges me.
“Yeah.” I smile. “Maybe I did inherit a little bit of that.”
I had forgotten how easy it was to talk to Bram. He could make me smile and laugh when the world around me was falling apart. There were a lot of times over the years when I needed that, but never more than right now.
The conversation shifts to other things, and I find myself getting lost in it. Nobody ever asks about me how I feel, what I want to do. My parents should have, but they had so much else on their plate. Bram makes me feel like the most important person in the world, like I’m the only one who matters. I might even believe that, if he was a constant in my life like he used to be.
We talk until the middle of the night. I feel myself opening up in ways I haven’t done in years. What happened at the club is never mentioned—like it didn’t even happen. I know it did. So does he. The elephant in the room doesn’t have to be killed; it can simply wander off. I wish I could do the same.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty tired…” Bram looks down at his empty glass.
“Yeah, me too.” I nod in agreement.
“I’ll show you where the guest room is.” He puts his glass down and stands up.
Bram leads me up a flight of stairs and down a hallway. We pass what appears to be his bedroom on the way to the guest room. He shows me where the bathroom is and even has an extra toothbrush I can use.
“Unfortunately, I don’t really have anything you can sleep in…” He sighs. “Unless you want one of my old t-shirts.”
“It’ll probably a dress on me.” I smile and nod. “That would be awesome.”
I wasn’t exactly planning to sleep anywhere other than my apartment when I left for work. I follow Bram to the room that is confirmed to be his bedroom, and he gives me an old t-shirt from his closet. We say goodnight, and I walk back to the guest room so I can get changed for bed.
As expected, the shirt that fits his powerful frame like a glove is awkwardly huge hanging from mine. I’m still happy to have it since the bra I’m wearing isn’t very comfortable, and my shirt is too tight to sleep in.
I climb into bed and stare at the clock on the nightstand as thirty minutes crawl by. I can usually go to sleep with a little tossing and turning, but the events of the day are just too vivid in my head. There were plenty of sleepless nights I spent worrying about my brother, but once I made the deal with Mr. Diaz, I had a strange feeling of peace; until I took the stage for the first time. I had just gotten to the point where I was finally able to go to sleep again without dwelling on it.
Most of all, it’s the feeling of loneliness that seems to be keeping me awake. I got used to that too, but talking with Bram reminded me how much I missed our interactions. There’s more. I know that. I feel an intense closeness with him, and it’s not just because of what happened behind the curtain.
I just don’t want to sleep alone, not when there is an alternative—not when Bram is right down the hall. My feet hit the floor, and I climb out of bed before carefully walking to the door of the guest room. If he’s already asleep, I’ll abandon my plan.
Deep down, I understand what could happen if I climb into a man’s bed in the middle of the night, even Bram’s. That understanding doesn’t stop me. I carefully walk down the hall and pause when I get to his door. He’s not settled. His bed creaks, and I hear him roll over.
My heart races, and my stomach flips. It’s not because I don’t want to be in his bed.
It’s because I do.
And nothing will happen there that I haven’t been thinking about for a very long time.
Chapter Ten
Bram
My bed has never felt colder.
My heart has never felt so fucking empty.
I made a lot of sacrifices over the years in order to run my company with the attention it needed, especially after Lawson cashed out. I wasn’t fortunate enough to have a wife when I went to war, much less one with a baby and another on the way. I thought the path Lawson took was
reckless—a family before he even had a way to support them. We were both kids back then. Maybe he had it right. Maybe I should’ve made a few reckless choices myself.
Now I’m in my mid-thirties with nothing but the careful, well-thought choices I did make to keep me company.
I’ve had girlfriends. More than I care to admit. It’s easy when they aren’t looking for anything permanent—harder when I have to come to terms with the fact I can’t offer it.
Why am I thinking about that now? Hell if I know. It’s been an emotional night for many reasons. I knew what failure looked like in my personal life, and experienced my fair share at the office as well, but I didn’t realize they extended all the way to the Brooks household—to Kiana. I looked at her as a girl with a crush that I often humored to be nice, but it was more than that. When she needed me most, I wasn’t there.
That’s why I can’t sleep.
Kiana is a beautiful young woman now, but the role I used to play in her life was never filled. It should’ve never existed in the first place. Lawson should have been the one she could depend on. Maybe I really didn’t know my best friend as well as I thought I did.
“Are you still awake?” A soft voice causes my eyes to open, and I see a silhouette in the doorway.
“Yeah.” I lift up and nod.
She looks like an angel. Soft skin illuminated by the moonlight. Those blue-green eyes filled with lingering hints of pain and burning with something else … something I saw in the dim lights of the club before she lost control.
“Is your bed okay?” I tilt my head inquisitively. “There are a few more options if it isn’t comfortable.”
“It’s fine.” She takes a step forward. “I just don’t want to sleep alone.”
Fuck. I know what I should do. I should tell her to go back to bed. But I don’t. My fingers wrap around the blanket, and I push it away—an invitation for her to take the last few steps toward my bed and join me. She does. It’s a mistake. We both probably know that, but that doesn’t stop us.
I’m not thinking about the girl she used to be, or the fact that she’s my best friend’s daughter when she moves close to me. There’s an inch separating us—an inch I want to cross but can’t bring myself to do it.
“Will you hold me?” Her soft voice echoes in the night. It sounds delicate—like music I want to hear, even if I shouldn’t.
“Okay.” I move my hand across the final inch and put an arm around her waist. She slides into my embrace and nestles there.
My t-shirt slid up her hips when she crawled into bed. My hand is half on the fabric, half on the soft skin underneath the edge of it. I had my hands all over her body earlier in the evening, but I didn’t have a choice then. It was a show for the camera, but I know that thought is a lie. I enjoyed it. I had lust swimming in my veins. It’s still there. She may have climaxed, but I didn’t, and the craving hasn’t gone away completely.
She reaches for my hand and squeezes it before pulling herself into a tighter embrace. She drags my arm up her midsection, and the t-shirt moves too. My fingers graze the spot where her panties should be, but they aren’t. She’s not wearing anything under my shirt. Fuck. I struggle to control my thoughts and keep my cock from getting hard, but I can tell it’s going to be a losing battle.
“They were dirty…” she says, as if she knows I’m wondering why she isn’t wearing panties.
“I could have given you a pair of my boxers, or shorts.” I exhale sharply and feel goose bumps on her skin when my breath makes contact.
“Does it bother you?” She moves her ass against me, and my cock can’t help but respond.
“Less than it should.” I let another sharp exhale. “Or maybe more…”
“Thank you for not bringing up what happened when we were talking earlier.” She squeezes my hand.
“I had no plans of mentioning it—ever again.” I squeeze her hand in response.
“I’m glad my first time was with you.” She sighs. “Is it wrong for me to say that I enjoyed it?”
I know you did. I felt you come.
“I think we crossed the line between wrong and right when you climbed into my bed,” I admit. “If there was even one left.”
“What if we go a little further across that line?” She moves her ass against my cock, and it throbs.
“We shouldn’t…” I can tell I’m fighting a losing battle, but I’m doing everything I can not to raise the white flag of surrender.
“But we could…” She turns over in my arms and faces me. “And it would be the second time tonight you’ve been my first.”
“You mean?” I blink a couple of times in surprise.
“Never.” A silly little grin forms on the edge of her lips. “I always wanted it to be you.”
“You were way too young to have thoughts like that.” I shake my head.
“Not anymore.” Her grin gets wider.
I may not have felt the same way back then, but it would be another lie to say that I’m not tempted now. Kiana is beautiful—gorgeous curves any man would love to run their hands along. I’m the only one who has, and the thought of someone else getting to spend money to do it fills me with an emotion I haven’t felt in years. I don’t have a right to feel that way, but I can’t help it.
To be her first? Priceless. Money can’t buy that, nor should it ever be for sale. I already know I’m in trouble, whether it be lust or something more. Six years since I’ve seen her. Six years that have changed everything. Maybe they’ve made me weak, or made her stronger, but they’ve brought us here.
In my bed.
Alone.
With hearts and bodies burning for something so fucking wrong.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” I wrap my fingers around the t-shirt she’s wearing.
It is. I see the need in her eyes—I’ve seen it all night.
“Yes.” She meets my hesitation with her lips.
We kiss. Her lips are soft, and the instant I feel them, it sets something off inside me. Desire. Yearning. I want more. I crush her beneath the firmness of my kiss and ravage her mouth with my tongue. I hear gentle whimpers and moans. They bring out the beast within me, and he hungers for so much more than her lips. I pull on my t-shirt, and our lips part briefly so I can dispose of it. She’s naked in my arms, and I explore her body with more liberty than I did earlier.
There’s no reason to fight it. I know how bad I want it—how bad she wants it. We both gave in before our lips met. My hands move to her breasts and I squeeze them. I play with her nipples until they turn into hard nubs against my fingers. More gentle whimpers into my mouth. More soft little moans. They’re so sweet I want to devour them, but I’ll settle for what I can taste.
And I want a fucking taste of her sweet cherry.
“You belong to me, tonight.” I lift up, and our lips part. “Every inch of your body—mine.”
“You can have anything you want.” Her hips move, and her legs slowly begin to open. “I’ll do anything you want—or you can make me.” Her tongue slides along her lips like she’s offering them to me.
Virgin or not, Kiana knows how to turn the dial to the hottest setting in an instant. There are a lot of things I’d like to make her do, but there is no way she understands what kind of door she’s trying to pull open—or what’s behind it. There’s too much innocence in those hungry eyes. If she wants me to claim her, I will, because I’m too far gone to pull back now. I just hope she understands that I’m breathing different air now, and I may not be so fucking eager to let her go after I’m done.
“What you did to yourself”—I run my fingers down her stomach—“will be nothing compared to what I’m about to do to you.”
I press my lips to her neck, kiss my way to her ear, and then slowly moving back down. My tongue makes circles until I get to her right nipple, then I make her moan before I move to the left. She’s gasping on pleasure before I venture further down her abdomen and make a circle around her belly button.
/> She knows what I intend to do. Her hips are moving. Her legs are shaking. Anticipation. So fucking good when you aren’t the one in control. My tongue moves past her belly button, and I hear a sweet little gasp in her throat as I push her legs further apart. I descend between her legs with my tongue teasing the tender skin along her inner thighs.
She’s wet. Her pretty little pussy is a cherry begging to be plucked off the vine. I run my tongue along the side of her pussy lips and get a taste of her wetness. It’s intoxicating. Almost as intoxicating as the melody of her moans.
“I’m going to show you what it’s really like to come.” I use my finger to trace the outside of her pussy lips before following with my tongue. “You’ll beg me to let you breathe before I’m done—if you even remember how.”
“Fuck…” I hear her breath getting caught her throat already.
I shift into position and begin to trace my way around the outside of her pussy lips. I tease her clit with a few quick flicks of my tongue that make her excitement build. She can already tell how good it will be. That’s what matters. More anticipation to the point she can’t crave anything except what I intend to do to her.
Kiana crawled into my bed without her panties, and she’s going to find out what happens to any girl brave enough to do that. She knew what could happen when she walked down the hallway, and I know she wanted it. I was her fantasy, and tonight it will come to life.
But she’s become my fantasy now.
“That feels good…” Kiana’s hands grab the sheets and ball into fists when I flick my tongue against her clit.
“It’s going to be a lot better.” I move the hood with my fingers and grind my tongue against the sensitive bundle of nerves.
“God, yes.” Her back arches, and a loud moan echoes in the air.
I move my tongue down to the entrance of her pussy and push the tip inside her. She’s so fucking tight. That will be paradise for my cock—eventually.
Daddy's Possessive Friend (Once Upon a Daddy Book 12) Page 6
