Brothers South of the Mason Dixon

by Abbi Glines

  “I didn’t come prepared to say anything,” Scarlet’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I jerked my head in her direction. She was the one standing with the microphone. Not Meg. Her red hair was draped over her left shoulder and she was smiling down at Dixie. Nervous but happy.

  “But Meg asked me if I’d like to do a toast to the bride and I couldn’t say no to that,” she glanced back at Meg. “Thank you.”

  Meg nodded her head and was grinning with pure relief.

  “I’ve been there to witness Dixie and Asher’s story from the moment she decided she was in love with him. I, of course, thought it was a silly crush and she’d move on from it. Heck, I’d had at least three boys I was sure I was in love with by the time Dixie told me she loved Asher.”

  The guests chuckled and Scarlet blushed as she continued on.

  “Dixie and I were close because we were completely different. She was the ray of sunshine while I was the tornado.”

  Again more laughter.

  “She is the best thing that ever happened to me. She’s the best person I know. Once I thought Asher Sutton didn’t deserve her. He’d hurt her, and I’d hated him for it. I didn’t know the reason why then. If I had, I’d have loved him too for protecting her while living with the pain. I realized in the end that Asher was her fit. He was the man she never stopped loving. I could trust him to cherish her the way she deserved to be,” Scarlet paused and looked at my brother. “You’ve got the best.”

  He nodded his head in agreement and kissed Dixie’s temple. Dixie was once again crying. The woman was an emotional basket case. I quickly shifted my eyes back to Scarlet.

  “And Dixie,” she said. “So do you. I have never seen love so real or perfect. Until the two of you. I look forward to spoiling your children one day. I love you,” she said as emotion clogged her throat.

  Dixie all but jumped out of her seat and wrapped her arms around Scarlet tightly. They both had tears streaming down their face and I saw Scarlet whisper, “Congratulations.”

  Once they were done with their emotional outburst, Asher hugged Scarlet and said something that made her laugh through her tears. Even with a red splotchy face she was beautiful. Stunning. And nothing like she portrayed herself.

  What she thought made her a troublemaker I saw as exciting. It was what had drawn me to her. She didn’t see it. All she ever saw was Dixie and compared herself to her. She considered Dixie’s straight and narrow ways as perfection. I found it boring as hell. Dixie was beautiful and sweet but there was no mischief. No adventure.

  Scarlet was the embodiment of all that. She’d never understood that. I had been so damn sucked in by it I’d wanted to be closer to her. I understood her need for walking too close to the edge and often right over the line.

  None of this mattered now. Not to me. She hadn’t been in love with me. I’d been an adventure. One she regretted. It was important I remember that. At least long enough to get her sexy ass back in her car and out of this town.

  Asher and Dixie were walking to the dance floor for the first dance. It was expected for Meg and Steel to dance next then Brent and Sadie and lastly Dallas was going to dance with the other girl I didn’t know. Asher had suggested I not be assigned to a bridesmaid. Guess they didn’t trust me. I smirked as I took a drink and watched as my brother held Dixie in his arms and danced with her as the band played some slow ass song.

  Sighing I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms over my chest.

  “I’ll dance with Scarlet. You dance with Shelly,” Dallas said beside me.

  “What?” I asked scowling at him.

  “You heard me,” he replied with an annoyed expression.

  Yes, I had heard him, but I had no idea what the fuck he meant. “Who is Shelly?”

  Dallas sighed as if I’d just asked a stupid question. “The other bridesmaid.”

  “Why are you dancing with Scarlet?” I asked him not liking the idea of my baby brother’s hands on Scarlet.

  “Because considering the circumstances I am the only option. You sure as hell don’t need to be her dance partner.”

  “Why do either of us have to dance with her? She wasn’t a bridesmaid.”

  Dallas stood up while glaring at me. “No. But she should have been. She gave the speech and sat in the maid of honor’s spot. She is a part of this wedding party. Stop being a jerk.”

  Slowly, I stood up, blocking his way. There were two different options here. One was the smart one. Dallas had a good point. His plan was solid. Made sense. I finally nodded and turned to see Steel taking Meg’s hand then Brent taking Sadie’s hand and heading out to the dance floor. I was next. I moved and while I walked the few steps over to the two waiting females I knew the plan.

  I just didn’t give a fuck. Dallas’s hands didn’t belong on Scarlet. I stopped at her chair and without a word held out my hand. She stared at my hand. She lifted her eyes to meet mine. She was frowning as we stood there staring at each other.

  I hadn’t stopped to consider that she wouldn’t dance with me. After our talk in the barn I should have thought about that. I should have figured this wasn’t something she would consider. But I didn’t drop my hand. I waited. If she was going to turn me down, then she was fucking going to do it right here in front of everyone. Make the wound bleed. I silently challenged her. I knew she read it clearly in my gaze. Then I saw it. The flicker of mischief. The naughty streak that ran thick in her veins. The girl who threw caution to the wind and did as she pleased.

  Her small soft hand slipped into mine. I let out the breath I’d been holding while she stood up beside me.

  “Don’t make me regret this,” she whispered.

  “Why stop making you regret stuff now, baby. Seems I’m on a roll,” I replied with a wink.

  Her eyes flashed. I slid my hand to her lower back, leading her away from Dallas who I knew was furious. He’d get over it though. The kid needed to mind his own damn business.

  Scarlet

  THIS WAS POTENTIALLY stupid. No . . . it was stupid. I knew it was a bad idea. But he’d caught me in a moment of weakness. I was emotional. Watching Asher and Dixie dance. Seeing their happiness.

  Bray’s hand on my back felt as if it was placed on the most sensitive spot on my body. It wasn’t of course but all my nerves tingled from that area throughout my body. Reminding me how those hands had felt other places. What they had done to me and the erotic memories that were forever etched in my brain. There were things a girl could never forget. Sex with Bray Sutton was one of those things.

  I was one of many. I was one of many. I repeated that mantra in my head as Bray walked me onto the dance floor and pulled me into his arms just as Perfect by Ed Sheeran began to play over the speakers, taking the place of the band. Dixie loved this song.

  I normally turned it off when it came on the radio. The lyrics were too sweet. Too romantic. All the things I wouldn’t get in life. But it fit Dixie and Asher’s love story well. Almost as if it had been written for them.

  Bray’s gaze was on me. But I hadn’t looked up at him yet. I was fighting it. Dancing this close to him in his arms was hard enough. Looking into his eyes was another thing. I watched the others around us dance. Brent seemed taken with Sadie. His smile was genuine. Real. Something that I was truly happy to see.

  Steel and Meg were laughing as they danced. I wondered if there was something there. The way Meg had talked about Bray I doubted it.

  “Where are you living?” Bray asked me. His voice low and husky. The songs melody making it impossible not to feel anything.

  “Why?” was my response as I shifted my eyes upward to meet his.

  “Just curious. I don’t intend to come find you. I got your message in the barn clear enough.” His voice sounded hurt. That caught me off guard.

  “Robertsdale, Alabama,” I told him. No reason to keep it a secret now. Brent and Bray had healed. Brent had moved on. Bray and I had talked. Ended things. I didn’t have to be concerned he’d come find
me.

  “Interesting choice.” He smirked. “I would have thought you’d chosen something more exciting.”

  “I’ve had all the excitement I can handle. I needed the opposite.” Proof this man didn’t know me at all.

  He raised his eyebrows and his crooked smile stayed in place. “You left the excitement here. And missed all the drama when you ran.”

  I had faced my own drama. It was called struggle to survive. The real world. Getting free of the monsters that haunted my mind. That tarnished my soul before I even had a chance to live.

  “I did what needed to be done,” I said.

  He pulled me closer to him. It was subtle, but each new part of my body that touched his came alive with the contact. “I’ll have to disagree with you.”

  I was sure he would. Bray was about self-indulgence. In his head, my leaving was all about him. He was the push I needed to finally run. Start a new life.

  “It’s over. No reason to discuss it now.”

  “Then come home. If it’s over, why stay away? Unless you love your new life and can’t bear to leave it behind.”

  I thought of my trailer, my job, the solitude. I didn’t love it. I clung to it. If I was ever going to have a chance at normal, healthy, I needed my new life. None of those things he needed to hear. Maybe I would have if he’d wanted more than sex, but that was all we ever were.

  Bray was an addiction. I loved him. I knew that. I wanted to not love him. I wanted to be able to walk away and never think of him again. I couldn’t. Saying I needed him for a crutch, a way to survive, was unfair. I knew after being here with him that, yes, it had been love. It had been more.

  Dixie was married now. There would be no more sleepovers, girl’s nights, gossip fests. She had a husband. She would want to be with him. Her home wouldn’t be a place I could go to find safety. Those days were a memory.

  “I don’t fit here anymore. There’s no place for me. I’ve found my place there.” My place there may seem dull and lonely to someone else. It wasn’t. Not to me.

  He scowled. Shifted his eyes from me, he stared angrily over my shoulder. Either someone was making him mad or he didn’t like my response. I kept silent. The song ended, and I stopped dancing. I started to step away from him when his arms held me firmly. His eyes swung back to me.

  “Go somewhere with me. Before you leave.”

  This was where a smart girl said no and walked away. The right thing to do was leave him, kiss Dixie goodbye, wish her the best, promise to call, and leave. I’d go back to my empty trailer. Sleep in my bed and get ready to face work in the morning. I didn’t need three days off. That was what I should do. What I needed to do.

  “Where?” I asked, ignoring all the good advice I had just given myself. That girl I’d left behind seemed to be lurking in the shadows trying to come out again now that I was in Bray’s arms.

  “Just get in the truck and go with me. Right now.”

  Bad idea. Bad idea. Bad idea. I stared up at him ready to tell him that was a bad idea. That we were at a wedding and should stay here.

  “What about Dixie and Asher?” I asked him.

  He raised his eyebrows and glanced back at them. They were laughing and dancing again. No one existed but the two of them. The world was theirs. “They seem fine to me,” he drawled. He fixed his blue eyes that I dreamed about back on me. His eyelids were heavy. The look there told me this wasn’t an invitation to talk or catch up.

  My stomach fluttered. Desire began to pull at me, making my body tingle. All I could do was nod. Saying the words made me feel ashamed of this. Of my weakness. But I wanted it too. Even if it was for a moment. I’d leave and he’d move on to someone else tomorrow.

  Where was my willpower?

  His hand grabbed mine tightly and we were moving. Swiftly. Directly out of the tent and toward the cars parked out front. I had to almost run to keep up with his pace. I wondered if anyone had noticed us leave but didn’t glance back to check. If they did it wouldn’t stop me. Now that I had given in. I was sunk. I couldn’t back out now. My body would rebel against me.

  He jerked open the passenger door of the blue farm truck and hauled me inside like I couldn’t do it myself. The door slammed, and he was in the driver’s seat too quickly. It was like he was in a race.

  “Why are we in such a hurry?” I asked him as he sped up the hill and toward the main road.

  He shot one look at me. The darkness was there drawing me in. I knew that look. It haunted my dreams. “Because if I don’t fuck you soon I’m going to explode.”

  My breath caught. I closed my eyes tightly. Anticipation for what I knew was to come made me feel alive for the first time in months. A good girl, a normal girl, wouldn’t do this when Bray Sutton told her he wanted to fuck her. She’d expect . . . no she would demand more respect. Or at least affection, love even.

  Not me. I was ready to strip for the man knowing this was nothing more than physical attraction. Getting what he was told he couldn’t have.

  “I swear to God if you are sitting over there changing your mind I’ll make you beg for it with my head between your legs.”

  And that was why Bray Sutton was impossible to resist. He was beautiful on the outside and the devil on the inside.

  Bray

  DISTANCE WASN’T AN option. Too much thought and she’d change her mind. If she did it would be easier on me. After she was gone again. Damned if I cared about that right now. Whiskey could help later. Right now, I wanted Scarlet.

  I turned and headed around the property and back toward the lake. Normally, that wouldn’t be a safe spot, but with everyone at the wedding it would be deserted. No chance of one of my brothers showing up.

  Scarlet fidgeted with her hands and it was like the clock was ticking. I was in a race to get her there and make sure she didn’t decide this was a bad idea. Because it was a terrible fucking idea. I’d had eight months to get over her. To forget this.

  It hadn’t eased much, and this was going to make my hunger for her stronger. Maybe she’d want it too and would stay. If I could make it good enough she might not want to leave here again.

  “The lake?” she asked with concern in her tone.

  “They’re all at the wedding. No one else will be back here. Not today.” I glanced over at her as I parked the truck. “Besides, we’ve fucked here before. When we weren’t sure if we’d get caught or not.”

  She turned her head and those eyes that kept showing up in my dreams looked at me. The gleam I used to crave wasn’t there. It hadn’t been all day. She was more reserved. The wild streak that she usually couldn’t control was gone. I missed it. This new Scarlet was intriguing.

  “We’re going to regret this,” she said quietly.

  “No, baby. I’m not gonna regret a thing. And I’ll make sure you don’t either.” I hated the damn word. Regret. She had thrown it around all day.

  Her gaze dropped to her hands and she sighed. Fuck, this was happening. I opened the truck door and got out, making my way to her door to jerk it open. Her eyes were wide with uncertainty. Something else new. She used to be ready for any adventure I tossed at her.

  “Come here, Scarlet,” I said firmly. I held out my hand for her to take.

  She glanced at my hand a moment. Slowly, too damn slowly, she lifted her hand and slid it into mine. I didn’t waste time. Clasping it tightly, I tugged her just enough so she came out too fast and fell against my chest.

  “Oh!” she gasped.

  I slammed the door behind her with one hand while holding onto her waist with the other.

  I was done with dancing around each other. I was done watching her mouth move and those pink always swollen lips tease me. My mouth captured hers and I inhaled the taste of her. It had been my downfall before. I’d almost forgotten her pull. This was a reminder.

  Her hands slid up my arms and grabbed my shoulders. Fingernails biting into my skin. A moan escaped her, and I pulled her closer. This had never been what I enjoyed with females.
I normally skipped the kissing. Went right to the fucking. But with Scarlet I liked it all. I needed it all. Her noises, scent, and softness pressed up against me made this almost too damn perfect. Dangerously so.

  Reaching for the bottom ruffle of her dress, I’d fought back a growl. That fucking ruffle had brushed her upper thigh when we’d danced, driving me mad. It was now in my hand. I pulled it up roughly and filled my hands with her bare ass. The thong she was wearing left both perfect round cheeks free. Squeezing hard she squealed and wiggled into my hold.

  I broke the kiss to bite the skin on her neck and shoulder. Something about the smell of her made me want to bite her. It always had. I couldn’t get enough of the sensation under my teeth. She always reacted as if she enjoyed it and that only fed my crazed obsession.

  With my left hand, I grabbed her thigh and jerked it up on my hip while I slid my other hand between her legs. Taking one finger I eased it along the thin piece of lace that did little to cover anything. I never understood thongs but I sure as hell loved the way she looked in them.

  “Bray!” she cried out my name as I inserted my finger inside her tight hole. She pressed down on the invasion and made a pleased sound deep in her throat. There had been times when I’d been between her legs while she was sucking my dick. That had been one hell of a view. But at this moment I was completely entranced with the way she looked while I simply fucked her with my finger. This shouldn’t be so damn erotic.

  Pulling at her panties, I got them down her thighs where she wiggled out of them until they were on the grass beneath our feet. My dick was pulsing with its own demands. Her hands had moved to my biceps as she squeezed and panted. I wanted more. To have her mouth on me. To see her head as it moved over my dick. To bite the skin between her thighs and make my way up as she squirmed and begged me.

  But none of that was going to happen. The control I needed to pace myself was nonexistence. I got my pants unbuttoned with one hand and had them down around my hips with my cock free and standing to attention within seconds. My pulse was pounding so hard I could hear it.