Red (A Brett MacLean Duet)

by J. M. Walker

  Olivia’s smile grew. “Claire told me all about you and your wife. Storm here told me even more. I’m just happy you are able to help her.”

  My heart warmed. “Me too.”

  “Storm.” Olivia crouched, pulling her away from me. “If you need anything, anything at all, you don’t hesitate to give me a call. Okay?”

  “Okay.” She hugged the older woman. “Thank you for everything.”

  “You are welcome, dear.” She stood, shaking my hand again. “I’ll leave you be but I just wanted to thank you again.” She turned on her heel and walked back to her car, giving us a small wave.

  I grabbed Storm’s bag, leading her into the house. “Are you ready?”

  Storm stood taller. “Yes.”

  “Let’s do this then.” I placed her bag on the floor and reached for her hand. We walked to the kitchen, finding Evvie and the kids talking amongst themselves. Clearing my throat, I waited.

  Evvie smiled.

  The kids turned our way.

  “Kids, this is Storm.” I placed my hands on her shoulders, giving her a gentle nudge forward.

  Patrick waved.

  “That’s Patrick,” I told her. “Then there’s Eddie and our daughter, Miracle. She’s about your age.”

  “Hi,” Storm whispered, shifting from foot to foot.

  Miracle stood from her chair and came over to us, stepping in front of Storm. “Do you like to read?”

  Storm’s eyes widened. “Yes. Very much so.”

  Miracle clapped her hands together and linked arms with Storm. “What are your favorite books?” she asked her, leading her down the hall to her bedroom.

  “I just finished…” Storm’s voice trailed off when they reached the room, the door closing behind them.

  “I think they’re good,” I told Evvie.

  She sniffed, wiping under her eyes. “I think so too.”

  Brett

  Quite some time later…

  THE COLLAGE OF photos of our family hanging on the walls stared down at me.

  I couldn’t help but smile as I passed each picture. Our three children. Miracle, Eddie and Patrick, all grown up with kids of their own.

  Everything in our lives had been perfect. Hard, of course, but we battled through each obstacle and moved on. Together.

  We took on another child when she needed us most. Became civil with a woman who tried so hard to ruin us in the beginning.

  Claire had died several years ago. Her heart had given out and the doctors couldn’t revive her. It had been hard on all of us, knowing Storm was hurting. But together, we got through it.

  Making it to the end of the hall, I stopped. A breath escaped me, shaky and raspy.

  The photo of my smiling wife was my favorite.

  My eyes burned.

  It had been three days since she passed and it hadn’t gotten any easier.

  Even though it was due to natural causes, it didn’t make it right. We should have gone together. I tried. I begged her to wait for me. It wasn’t time yet.

  “It’s my time, my love.” She cupped my cheek, her breathing becoming labored.

  “I’m not ready,” I told her, fresh tears falling down my cheeks and dripping off my chin.

  “You are.” Evvie hooked her frail arm around my shoulders, pulling me down beside her. “You are ready, Brett. You’ve been ready for a while.”

  “I can’t go through life without you,” I whispered, kissing her cheek. Petting a hand over her head, her white hair still remained soft to the touch even though it had thinned out some.

  “Come find me. Whenever you are ready.” She turned onto her side, which was a task all on its own.

  She hadn’t been feeling well over the past week. We thought she was catching a cold or the flu but it turned out being something worse. The cancer was back and it was back with a vengeance. I thanked God that He gave me this long with Evvie, but it still wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.

  Brushing my hair off my forehead, she trailed her fingers down my face. Over my nose. Across my jaw. Under my bottom lip.

  “What are you doing?” I asked her, wishing I could have her beside me forever.

  “Memorizing you so I can take you with me.”

  A sob escaped me.

  “Don’t cry for me, my love.” Her breath wavered. “You would tell me the same thing. Sir,” she added with a smile and a wink.

  I tried smiling at our inside joke but I couldn’t make my lips turn up into the grin that she wanted. Sir. God, we hadn’t played in years. Not officially anyway. Everything with us had just come natural. We no longer needed whips and chains and everything in between.

  My body buzzed and I let out a soft sigh. No matter how old I became, I would always react to my wife. “I wish I could take your place,” I told Evvie, distracting myself.

  “No,” she said, with as much strength as she could. “Take care of our children. Our grandchildren. They need you right now.”

  “I need you,” I cried, sitting up in the bed.

  “Brett,” she said softly. “Help me up.”

  I moved to her side, lifting her to a sitting position and placed a pillow behind her back.

  “I love you. You know that right?”

  I nodded. “Of course.”

  “Then look at me,” she demanded. “Please.”

  Shaking my head, I couldn’t meet her stare. She was strong. She could survive without me but I couldn’t without her. She was the light in my darkness. The softness to my abrasive edge. She was pure and everything I was not.

  “Brett,” she said softly, her voice cracking. “Know that I’ll always be here with you. In your mind. In your heart. In our kids and their kids. I will always be here.”

  “It won’t be the same.” I dropped my head in my hands, my body racking with quiet heart- crushing sobs.

  “I know.” Evvie wrapped her arms around me. “I know it’s hard. I’m sorry.”

  Pulling her onto my lap, I hugged her tiny, frail body against me. “I’ll find you, Evvie. That will be the first thing I do.”

  I was never a spiritual man but I was desperate.

  “I know you will.” She kissed me softly on the mouth. “I love you hard.”

  “I love…” My voice cracked. Clearing my throat, I tried again. “I love you deep.”

  She smiled, her eyes brimming over. “My one,” she murmured, resting her head against my shoulder.

  I cradled her against me and rocked us back and forth. “My only.”

  She died in my arms as soon as those words left my mouth.

  It was hard watching her go like that. Even though she was ready. I was not. I was selfish. Had been my whole life. When it came to Evvie, I wanted her by my side for eternity.

  “My sweet, Evvie,” I said, brushing my finger over her smiling face. “I love you, sweet girl.”

  We had our good times and our bad. Went through some of the hardest shit imaginable but came out smelling like roses only because I had her at my side.

  “Daddy?”

  I turned, finding Miracle coming toward me slowly. My breath caught in my throat. It had always amazed me how much she looked like her mother, but now that Evvie was gone, the resemblance was uncanny.

  “What?” She frowned.

  “You look so much like your mother.” I turned back to the picture of Evvie. “So much.”

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  “Don’t be,” I told her. “Your mother was a good woman. As long as you walk this earth, she’ll always be with us.”

  Miracle linked her arm in mine. “How are you doing? Besides the obvious of course.”

  “I feel like I lost a piece of myself,” I whispered. I had come to learn over the years how to actually say what was on my mind, instead of keeping it bottled up. Evvie did that. She helped me open up as a man and as her partner.

  “I miss her too.” Miracle leaned her head against my shoulder. “But I knew it was time.”

  “H
ow did you know?” I swallowed past the lump lodged in my throat.

  “Because Mama was stubborn. She wouldn’t give up without a fight. When we saw her in your arms…” Miracle’s breath caught. “I just knew.”

  “It doesn’t make it any easier.”

  “I know.” She hugged me. “I’ll be downstairs with the kids. Jennifer wants her papa but I told her she’ll have to wait a little bit. She said that she wants to make you happy and tell you a bedtime story.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “A bedtime story?” I was old but it was only five o’clock.

  Miracle laughed. “Yeah. She thinks you’re tired I guess.”

  “Tell her I’ll be down in a bit.” I looked back at the picture of my wife. “I just need…”

  “Take all the time you need, Daddy.” Miracle kissed my cheek. “I’ll get her to tell me a story instead.” She walked back down the hall, leaving me alone to my own thoughts.

  I appreciated Jennifer wanting to tell me a story. My youngest granddaughter meant well.

  Reflecting over the past fifty or so years was not something I had planned on doing. My wife died. She left me. I wanted to be mad. How dare she leave me?

  But I couldn’t be angry. I understood.

  She had been ready, and I realized that now, so was I.

  “I’m coming for you, lover.” I placed a kiss on her picture.

  But first, I wanted to hear my granddaughter tell me a bedtime story.

  THE END

  Possessed

  You requested Possessed by You to be written in Brett’s POV! Well now we have it.

  Continue reading to find out how Brett and Evvie met.

  I WANTED TO fuck her. I didn’t even know her name and yet there I was, standing in the shadows like a creepy bastard, fantasizing about how I wanted to bend her over the nearest hard surface.

  The beautiful woman stood by the bar, laughing and chatting with my bouncer, Kane Stohl. The guy towered over her but cowered when she glared at him.

  I would have laughed. If I cared.

  First thing I needed to do was find out how I could get balls deep inside her by the end of the night.

  The woman threw her head back and laughed again. But this time I actually heard it. It was melodious as it slid over my skin, washing away all of the pain I had endured over the years. It was a full-on belly laugh and she didn’t care who was around. She let everyone hear it and the sound shot straight to my dick.

  Her blonde curls brushed her shoulders, swinging back and forth with the shake of her head. A twinge of jealousy poked me in the gut. Jealous of her hair? Fuck me .

  Taking that as my cue, I stepped out into the open but stopped when she wrapped her arms around Kane’s middle.

  My stomach twisted, a surge of anger rushed forth, knocking the breath out of me. This new feeling was unexpected. Not quite sure why I was reacting this way, I embraced the sudden rush of rage and interrupted their happy little conversation.

  “Who the hell are you?” My voice dripped with venom.

  Kane and the woman jumped apart but not before I caught the questioning look on my friend’s face.

  Yeah. I know. “I asked you a question,” I said to the woman.

  “I…I’m…”

  Her stutter made me wonder what she would sound like with her lips wrapped around my cock.

  Kane cleared his throat but I ignored him.

  “Speak up,” I snapped, needing to get more of a reaction from her.

  Her bright blue eyes traveled over my face and down my suit-clad body. Her nostrils flared, a flush of pink hitting her cheeks. She liked what she saw. That little hint was all the more reason to push her even further.

  “I’m Evvie Neal.” Her breath hitched. “The new bartender.”

  Her feminine voice hit me somewhere deep inside. Somewhere that no woman had ever reached before and that pissed me the fuck off, but turned me on just the same. So much so that I had to stop myself from rubbing one out right there.

  “Who the fuck hired you?”

  Her nostrils flared. ”I don’t know what your problem is asshole but—”

  “Welcome to The Red Love , baby.” I smirked and walked back to my office.

  The look she had on her face, with her eyes wide and her jaw dropped, was fucking priceless. It was right where I wanted her.

  But being the owner of the club, I had to get back to work. Now that the fun and games were over, I had a business to run.

  A heavy knock sounded on the door just as I sat my ass in the chair behind my large desk.

  “Yeah,” I grumbled, not in the mood for anyone’s shit.

  “What the hell is your problem?” Kane asked, his large body stepping into my office.

  I leaned back in the chair, tenting my fingers under my chin. “Problem?” I raised an eyebrow. “There’s no problem.”

  “I love you man, but you didn’t have to be a dick to Evvie.”

  “Evvie,” I repeated, tasting her name on my tongue. My body stirred, coming alive at the mere mention of her.

  “Yes, Evvie.” Kane frowned. “What’s up, boss? Is there an issue?”

  “Nope.” Not one that wouldn’t be taken care of by a beautiful, tight body wrapped around my—

  “Brett.”

  “What, Kane? I’m fine. Go show the new girl around. I have work to do.” I let him know that I was done with the conversation by typing away on my computer.

  When a grumbled curse followed by a door shutting sounded, I sat back.

  Evvie Neal.

  No woman had ever affected me this way.

  My phone chimed.

  Speaking of women. I answered the text with a quick response, letting the whore know that I was not interested.

  Somehow, fucking another woman with Evvie in the vicinity, bothered me. But I couldn’t quite figure out why.

  It was interesting to me how just one meeting caused my blood to stir and my thoughts to travel.

  Needing a drink, I headed to the minibar across the room and poured myself some of the whiskey I had imported. Bringing the glass tumbler up to my lips, I savored the liquid burning its way down to my gut. It heated my skin but it did nothing for the itch I had. My palms twitched. My body vibrated. I was antsy. I needed to fuck or work out. Preferably the former.

  My phone chimed again, vibrating on top of my desk.

  I already knew who it was without having to check. Another woman. Another whore. Another pussy. Same shit. Different pile. Day in and day out, the hours passed me by in a blur of curves, tits and cunts.

  “You need to settle down, big brother,” my sister, Keisha, had said to me a few months back. “You’re almost twenty-eight. I want nieces and nephews.”

  There were a lot of things I needed to do, but having kids, was not one of them. Not yet anyway. What I needed, was the woman standing behind the bar in my club, on her knees and sucking my cock.

  Ignoring the text, I grabbed my phone, threw back the rest of the whiskey, and left my office. Almost like a feral animal, my heart beat faster the closer I got to Evvie.

  She still stood behind the bar, serving drinks, smiling, and laughing. She was the complete opposite of me. Happy and outgoing where I was quiet, brooding, and moody as shit. I was an asshole and I fucking owned that title.

  But there was something about her that I was drawn to.

  I needed her beneath me. I just needed to figure out how I would make that happen without scaring her off.

  Evvie stretched her arms above her head, the tight black uniform top rising up and showing a hint of her stomach.

  A growl escaped me and, before I could stop myself, I stomped toward her.

  “Brett.”

  A deep familiar voice halted my steps. The use of my name prevented me from going up to Evvie, throwing her over my shoulder, and spanking her beautiful ass for showing so much skin to anyone but me.

  Turning to Kane, I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms under my chest. It was my usua
l stance but at this point, it was to stop my hands from hitting something.

  “I’ve never seen you act like this, boss,” Kane confessed, his big body standing beside mine.

  I grunted. The guy had seen me bring woman after woman into my office. “You seem surprised.”

  “Evvie is a good girl, Brett.” Kane nodded his head in her direction. “She also has three big brothers.”

  I smirked, rubbing my jaw. I enjoyed a challenge.

  “Just…whatever you do, don’t hurt her. She’s not experienced like you.”

  I glanced up at my friend. “Is she a virgin?”

  Kane laughed, shaking his head. “You’d like that wouldn’t you?”

  As much I would love being the first guy inside her, it didn’t bother me either way. Because I knew once she felt my cock, she would forget every man before me.

  “Listen. She’s not a virgin. I feel like shit for talking about her like this, especially with you, but don’t hurt her. That’s all I ask.” Kane pushed away from the wall and headed to the front of the club.

  Interesting. The guy cared for her. It made sense since I could only assume they were good friends. Maybe they dated before? I made a mental note to find out. Until then, I would see just how far I could push my new obsession before she wanted me just as much as I wanted her.

  IT HAD BEEN weeks since Evvie started working at my club. So many hours of her coming and going, owning the bar like it was a part of her. Every time she moved her hips to the beat of the music, it drove me fucking wild. This was it. This would be the night that I would proposition her. I couldn’t wait anymore. Jacking off and forcing myself to have a release to thoughts of her was no longer cutting it.

  Even the regular pussy I had been getting just wasn’t doing it. Every hot body I had been inside only reminded me of the beautiful woman working behind my bar. No matter what I did, I couldn’t get Evvie Neal out of my mind. Even fucking anything but a blonde didn’t help.

  My dick twitched, threatening to explode in my pants as I paced back and forth. “Fuck ,” I growled, rubbing the back of my neck. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t normal for me. I was losing control and I didn’t like it.