by Tess Oliver
“That’s right. I was going to get you some clothes. Yours are still on the porch with your boots, but you’re going to need something to wear. I’ll go home and grab a few things.”
“That’s really cool of you, Amy. I’ll get them back to you just as soon as I can.”
“Street—” this was a different deep voice. “I’ve got a problem.”
“We all know that, Hunter.” She rolled her eyes, but I could tell her expression had changed with the sound of Hunter’s deep voice.
“Street Corner, don’t toy with me. You know the problem I’m talking about.”
“You’ve got two hands, don’t ya? And you only need one cause it’s not big enough for two.” She pushed another piece of muffin through her lips.
I smiled. “Are you Hunter’s girlfriend?”
She laughed, but there was a sadness behind it. “Hell no, the last thing I need is a headache like Hunter Stone.” She’d said it with confidence, but it was obvious there was more to it. “Nope, these boys are nothing but trouble when it comes to your heart.” She pointed at me with the joint between her fingers and inclined her head toward the hallway. “Especially pretty boy in there. Remember that, in case you’re thinking about getting yourself wrapped up with him.”
This time it was my sad laugh that rolled across the wobbly plastic table. “Don’t worry. Like you said— the last thing I need at the moment.” I leaned back. “What I need is a job. You wouldn’t happen to know of something?”
She sat forward and smacked her hand on the table. “Do I ever? I work at Lazy Daze Bar, and the other girl who I worked with got married and left. The owner’s a cranky old man, but he’ll hire you on if you’re interested. The pay sucks and you have to work until two in the morning, but the tips make up for it. What do you think?”
“Great. I’m just not sure where to stay. Is there a park or something nearby?” My life on the streets was going to come in handy now.
“You can’t stay in the park. The local police will run you out of there. I know from experience. My mom’s too crazy, otherwise I’d take you in. But these guys will let you stay, I’m sure of it. It’s a mess and they’re all pigs, but it’s a roof.”
“Who are you calling pigs?” Loud footsteps pounded the hallway floor. I looked back. It was Hunter. He was even bigger than Colt. He was wearing only boxer briefs, and an extremely anxious looking erection.
“I’m calling you boys, pigs.” She laughed as he stepped into view. “Holy crap, maybe you do need two hands this morning.”
“Nope, I just need my Street Corner girl. Now hop on.” He turned his back to her, but not before I glimpsed the scars on his skin. Amy held onto the lit joint as she climbed up onto his back. She stuck the joint in between his lips, and he took a hit.
Amy looked tiny on his back. She rested her chin on his shoulder. I could see it right then as she held onto him that she had a big thing for him. “Hey, Jade is going to stay with you guys for awhile. Just until she earns some money. Then we’re going to get an apartment together.” She winked at me.
“Who’s Jade?” Hunter asked. He had the same jet black hair as Colt but his eyes were dark brown.
Amy rolled her eyes. “The girl sitting at your elegant kitchen table.”
“Oh yeah. That’s fine.” He headed out of the kitchen with Amy clinging to his back.
“I’ll bring you some clothes. We can go over to the bar later to meet the owner,” Amy said as she passed by.
“Sounds great.” I looked around at the messy little kitchen. I was safe for now, but I couldn’t leech of these guys for long. Somehow, I was going to have to figure out how to survive without ending up back on the streets.
Chapter 6
Colt
I pulled on some shorts and walked out to the empty kitchen. Slade had gone out fishing for the day. He was the only brother who liked to fish and he hired himself out to the other fishing boats when our business was slow. Hunter had shit to do on his motorcycle.
After Amy had come in and lured Jade from my bed with a blueberry muffin, I’d gone back to sleep, thoroughly disappointed and a little lonely. Something about having her in my bed all night, even if nothing more happened than me sharing my body heat with her, felt right. I’d missed her almost as soon as she’d left, a completely foreign feeling for me.
The kitchen sparkled. The dishes had been washed, dried and put away. The dish washing culprit had even taken the time to find a few straggly flowers from somewhere in our barren front yard. They sat in a glass of water looking slightly wilted and completely out of place in our kitchen. At some point during my late morning doze, Hunter had stuck his head in my bedroom door to let me know our stowaway was staying with us for awhile. Not sure why he had to let me know. I would have asked her to stay anyhow. It was obvious she had no place to go and no money to help her out. Since I’d never seen either of my brothers clean the kitchen, I was pretty sure our new housemate had cleaned up.
I heard the bathroom sink running. The door was ajar, and as I knocked, the door pushed open. Jade was still wearing my t-shirt as she leaned over the sink washing out her lacy pink bra and panties. She had her wet hair in one long braid down the center of her back. Something told me that she’d spent more than one day cleaning her clothes in a gas station bathroom.
She looked back at me and smiled.
“You look a lot better than last night,” I said. “Guess you’re feeling better.”
“I am, thanks to you guys.” She turned off the sink and faced me. “I hope you don’t mind. These are all I’ve got. Amy was going to bring me some shorts and a shirt, but I think asking her to share her underwear might be asking too much.”
“She’d do it if you asked. That’s just the way Street is. She doesn’t have much herself, but she’s always ready to help everyone.”
“I only just met her, and I already think she’s awesome.”
“Yeah, I liked her a little more before this morning. But she’s like a sister.”
“Really? Your brother wasn’t treating her like a sister this morning.”
“Hunter? Yeah, that’s a whole complicated thing. Not really sure what’s going on there. I know Street likes him and I’m pretty sure if my brother ever really thought about it, he’d discover that he liked her too. But for now, she’s just Street. Any of us would risk our lives for her, and there aren’t many people I can say that about.”
“She’s lucky to have you guys. And I am too. I promise I won’t be a burden for long.” She hung her bra up over the shower. I was still recuperating from the disappointing morning. I was getting hard just watching her hang her underwear up to dry. Didn’t help that the bottom of her perfect ass poked out from beneath my shirt as she lifted her arms to reach up to the shower curtain bar.
“You’re no burden. I’ll bet you’re not half as expensive to feed as Slade. And it’s kind of nice seeing a lacy bra hanging over the shower rod.” I stepped up behind her and brushed my fingers over the naked skin on her ass.
Her soft gasp bounced off the shower tile. She turned and my arms went around her, but I could tell there was some resistance, as if her body was saying yes and her head was saying no.
I lowered my arms.
She peered up at me with those blue eyes that I already couldn’t stop thinking about. “I’m sorry, Colt, it’s just that—” She looked down at the bruises on her arm.
I pushed up her chin with my fingers. “No apologies. You’ve gone through some shit, and now’s not the time. Not going to lie, I’m disappointed, but I get it. How about I run you to the store and you can pick up some things? It’s going to get old walking around in wet panties all the time.” I stopped and shook my head. “Wow, that didn’t sound right coming out of my mouth at all.”
She laughed and picked up my hand. My knuckles were still swollen from the fight at Bootlegger’s. “I really can’t thank you enough for letting me stay here.” Her voice wavered.
I reached up to h
er face just as the bathroom door popped open and smacked me on the shoulder.
Amy was standing in the hallway with a giant smile and some clothes.
“Fucking hell, Street, did you wake up this morning and immediately plan out how to annoy the shit out of me today?”
She pushed past me. “Yeah, that’ right, you egotistical butt face, I wake up every morning with your name on my lips.” She made a dramatic show of stretching and yawning. “Oh yay, it’s a new day. I wonder what that dream boat Colt is up to. He’s the center of the fucking universe, after all.” She turned to Jade. “Here, I think these will work for now.” Amy turned around and shooed me out.
Chapter 7
Jade
Amy’s shirt was exceptionally small across the chest and, without a bra, I ended up walking through the entire store with my arms crossed over my breasts. And without any underwear, her shorts were riding up uncomfortably too. Occasionally, I withdrew one hand from my boobs to pull at the hem of the shorts and wrench them from my crotch. Colt was entertained.
“I’m glad you find this amusing,” I said. “Thank goodness someone was smart enough to invent underwear.”
“Really? I say fuck ‘em. Just one more obstacle, as far as I’m concerned.”
Colt looked completely out of place in the small store, and it seemed not many people were used to seeing him in there. His black t-shirt made his tattoos look particularly menacing as they trailed out along his arms. The overhead lights flickered reflections off his pale eyes and the silver ear plugs. One particularly frightened woman grabbed her little girl’s hand and pulled her out of the shoe aisle when she saw us come around the corner. Colt didn’t seem to notice or care.
He looked down at my feet. I’d pulled on the boots even though they were still moist. “What size are you?”
“You don’t have to buy me shoes too. The underwear, shorts and shirts are enough.”
“You can’t walk around in those boots all the time. Although, I did have this really great dream last night, and those black boots were an important character.”
I blushed. “Holy shit, if you could earn money flirting you’d be a rich man.”
“See, and I consider myself a rich man just because I’m damn good at flirting. Among other things.”
“I’m not going to argue there.” I hid another blush, while also still trying to hide my very exposed breasts.
“Anything else?”
“I hate to ask for anything more . . . but a toothbrush and a few bathroom essentials?”
“That makes sense. You’ll have to excuse me, I’ve never brought home a stray girl before.”
I took hold of his arm. He stared down at my fingers on his arm and then gazed up at me with a look that made me wonder why the hell I’d turned him down earlier. He was something else. “I’ll pay you back for all this just as soon as I can. Amy is going to introduce me to her boss later this afternoon.”
“She’s trying to get you a gig at Lazy Daze? That place is a hell hole. Of course, we spend a lot of time there, but we sort of fit well in a hell hole. You don’t.”
“Trust me, I just left hell behind. Every place else is going to feel like heaven.”
He gazed down at me long enough to send my heart a few good paces ahead. He stirred every inch of me. “Glad you got free of him.”
“Yeah, me too.” I knew I wasn’t completely free of Ray, but for now, the feeling of relief at not having to see him or talk to him or have him touch me was nearly overwhelming. I hadn’t realized just how badly I needed to leave him until now. It was as if I could finally release the breath I’d been holding for the last year.
We grabbed the rest of the things that I’d need to not look completely homeless. As we walked back through the store, it seemed every head turned to watch. Most people looked a little stunned to see Colt, and some were genuinely giddy about his visit to the store, in particular the two teenage girls running the checkout stands. The one whose line we ended up in nearly passed out with nerves. Her friend looked green with envy.
The cashier blushed pink under a light spray of freckles. Her hands were shaky, and I felt a little sorry for her. The most amusing part of it all was that Colt hadn’t even seemed to notice the stir he’d caused.
He paid for my things, and the girl smiled up at him. She hadn’t said a word, but her expression spoke volumes. Both young cashiers giggled wildly as we walked out.
“Is it always like that when you walk through a place?” I asked.
“Like what?”
I chuckled. “Like a damn rock star just walked through with his hair on fire. Come on, you had to notice.”
“Just figured they were all staring at those beautiful tits of yours bouncing wildly in that tiny shirt.” He reached up and swept his fingers across the shirt . . . and my nipple. “Nice. This braless look is working for you.”
It took me a second to regain my composure. His one light touch, even through fabric, had sent a flurry of heat through my body. My profound reaction hadn’t escaped his notice.
“Everything all right, darlin’?” A glimmer of a smile crossed his face as he opened the truck door for me.
I took a deep breath and climbed inside. “Everything’s just fine.”
Chapter 8
Jade
After a quick trip to the local pharmacy to replace the birth control pills that had been lost with the backpack, something I needed so that my periods wouldn’t go haywire, among other reasons, Colt drove me along the coastal highway. There was something he’d wanted to show me. Whatever it was it had him grinning like a little boy, which, for a man like him was completely inconsistent and adorable.
Jagged black rocks dotted most of the coastline, leaving only a few stretches of sand that could be used by people for fishing or surfing or whatever suited their fancy. But for the most part, the beaches were inhabited by birds. Farther out, the rocks were safe havens and rest stops for sea lions. “You’ve lived here your whole life?” I asked.
“Yep. My dad was a fisherman.”
“So, you and your brothers are keeping up the family business?”
He nodded. “Something like that.” He reached forward and switched the music.
I remembered vaguely that as I’d climbed onboard their trawler the nets had looked almost pristine, as if they’d hardly been used. From the look on his face, it was obvious this wasn’t a topic he wanted to discuss.
“Exactly where are you taking me?”
He turned off the highway and the truck was jostled from side to side as we rolled along an unpaved road. He pulled up in front of a run-down but cool little beach cottage. Long thin weeds covered the front yard, and they swayed in perfect unison in the ocean breeze. There were tools and ladders piled on the splintery porch lining the entire front of the house. There were patches of bald spots on the shingled roof. Two of the crust covered multi-paned windows had been replaced by brand new ones, and some of the rotted wood siding had been replaced by unpainted new wood.
I looked over at him. “Is it yours?”
“Yeah. It’ll probably take me until I’m ninety to get it fixed up, but I figure it’ll be a nice place to die by then.”
We climbed out of the car. The sun was beaming down on the little cottage adding some sparkle to its heavily weathered facade. “It’s fantastic, Colt. It looks like you’re doing a great job fixing it up.”
We walked up the porch steps. “Step over those two planks,” Colt said. “They’re loose.”
We stepped inside. The walls were covered in faded floral wallpaper that was slowly peeling away. The wood floors creaked with age as we walked into the tiny front room. There was a small pile of vintage, quaint-looking furniture piled in a corner of the space. Someone, most likely Colt, had wrapped a few sheets around the pile to protect it.
“It belonged to this really cool old lady who always smelled like cinnamon and spoke with a Scottish accent. Everyone called her Noddy, but I’m not sure why. She w
as a widow, and she lived out here alone. Her family almost never came to see her. I guess they were far away in Scotland or something.” He walked over and picked up a plate from a box. It was one of those old fashioned hand painted porcelain plates you’d seen in an antique shop. Colt smiled weakly at the plate. “My brothers and I would come here sometimes.” His voice was low as if he was thinking back to that time. “Whenever we needed to be away from my dad, we’d get on our bikes and ride over here. Noddy always had oatmeal cookies on this plate. Homemade ones too. None of that store bought shit. It was weird. She always had them fresh baked like she knew we were coming.” He put the plate down. “She knew what it was like for us. Everyone knew, but Noddy was the only one who made a point of noticing. The rest of the town was scared to death of my dad, but she wasn’t. Even reported him once to child services, but we just ended up in different foster homes. As bad as we had it, it was still better when we were together.” He looked around. “Never felt homesick in my life until Noddy died and they boarded up this place. After a long legal fight between her family members, it finally went on the market. By then, it had weathered away to this pile of wood, but I didn’t care. I’d saved up enough to buy it.”
“I’ll bet Noddy would be happy to know it ended up in your care.”
“Like to think so.” He led me back outside, and we sat on the porch steps. “What about you? How’d you end up with that prick?”
I rarely talked about my past, but there was something about the way those pale green eyes looked at me that made me want to spill my heart out. “Never knew my mom. She left my dad when I was little. But he wasn’t really a dad.” I rubbed my boot over the sand on the bottom step. “He wasn’t abusive or anything like that. He was just this other person living in the same apartment. He rarely paid attention to what I was doing because he just didn’t care. When I was sixteen, I walked past him with a backpack full of my things. He never even looked up from the television. I walked out the door and never went back. Of course, the harsh reality of being homeless hit pretty fast. I met Ray at a burger stand. He was handsome and charming and, most importantly, he could give me shelter and food. And attention. All of a sudden I wasn’t just some invisible person walking around an apartment with a dad who refused to acknowledge my existence. Ray showered me with that attention I craved. For awhile, I was convinced I loved him. Booze and drugs took away the few good traits he had.”
