My eyes moved between his tattooed forearms, the rings on his fingers and then back up to where his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed. He was trying hard to gauge my reaction. The silver in his large wristwatch glinted in the light being sent out of the windows of The Manor and finally snapped me out of my drool fest.
Eventually, my eyes landed on his face. I blinked, trying to rid myself of the fact my eyes had suddenly gone dry, from staring so hard.
‘Are you coming any nearer?’ He smiled his question at me as he pushed his body away from the side of the car, shaking his legs to make his trousers fall exactly where they should be.
‘Holy hell,’ fell from my lips. Still, I stood frozen to the spot, just looking at him.
‘Amy, if I have to come over there to get you, I’m warning you just fucking once, I will pick you up and carry you back inside. I don’t give a fuck about who sees us. All I know is my room in there, is nearer than the place I planned on taking you to tonight.’ One eyebrow lifted at me in question.
‘I’m coming. I just need to tell you first, you look amazing,’ I managed to force out of my mouth.
I watched him smile as I slowly stepped closer to him.
‘Thank you, and so do you, Amy. You always look good enough to eat, but tonight…’ He stopped talking as I finally stood in front of him. He took one of my hands in his, lifted it up and turned it over. He pressed a slow kiss to the sensitive flesh he found at my wrist and it travelled straight to my core. Before he lifted his head again he breathed in my perfume. His head lifted and his eyes opened to find mine. ‘But tonight, Amy, you look spectacular. You, woman, intoxicate and consume me… We need to get into the car so we can get moving, I’m already having to sing in my head to keep my dick under control.’
I burst out laughing at his words and moved behind him as he turned and walked me the few steps to the passenger door, leading me with one hand. He pulled it open, threw his jacket onto the back seat and still holding one hand only, he helped me up into the car. The door closed and I watched him put his hands in his trouser pockets and walk with his usual confident swagger around the front of the vehicle to his side.
I pulled the seat belt down over my shoulder as he jumped into the car.
‘Here, allow me.’ He leant across me, flooding all my senses at once with his physicality. I felt my core begin to ache and wetness hit the top of my thighs. I noticeably gasped as his mouth brushed the skin at the V-neck of my dress.
He abruptly moved away, the engine started and he began to sing, ‘Ten green bottles hanging on the wall.’
As the car pulled away, I sang with him. Between singing and laughing we eventually made it to our destination.
I looked at the building we had pulled up outside. I was sure I recognised it, but not the driveway we had driven on to get there. Brody walked around to open my door and offered me his hand.
‘So, if I told you that tonight I was the big bad wolf, would you still want to come inside?’ He smirked at me.
I laughed back at him.
‘It’s okay, big bad wolf. I trust you. I know all there is to know about your badness.’ I took hold of his hand, got down from the car and felt the gravel crunch under my boots.
‘Oh, Amy, I can assure you that what you’ve experienced so far, is just the tip of the fucking iceberg.’ He winked at me, then let his gaze sweep up and down my body and he licked his lips just to drive his words home. ‘Come on.’
We walked down a short path covered over by trees. The path was well lit in the dark gloom of the winter’s evening. Everything looked old, Victorian, but at the same time brand new. I could feel the frown on my forehead as I looked around questioningly. Eventually, we came to the navy glossed door that I recognised. I released his hand, turned around on the spot and took in my surroundings.
‘We’re at Lake View.’ It wasn’t a question, but a statement.
‘Yep, we are. From the moment I came here with you, I knew it was the place for us.’
‘The place for us?’ I questioned, not quite able to believe what I was hearing.
‘Yeah, the place for us. Is that okay?’
‘You want us to live together?’
‘Once it’s finished, yeah. Whatdaya think?’
I grabbed hold of his hand once again and squeezed it tightly. ‘I think I’d like that. I’m just not sure how you’ve managed all of this in five weeks?’
‘Money, Amy. It speaks, loudly.’
‘It must do. I wouldn’t know, never really having had any.’ I shook my head, trying to comprehend everything he was saying.
‘Come on, let’s go in.’
I nodded and walked in the door after he pushed it open. It was just like I remembered from being here last time. I loved the place, nothing had changed, except the damp smell had gone. I removed my wrap and threw it over the back of the nearest settee. Then I focussed all my attention back to him. He closed the door behind me and turned to face me. As he started to speak, I really wanted to concentrate on every word he was saying, but all I could think of was what he had told me he wanted to do to me against this wall, last time we were here.
‘I’ve had plans drawn up to turn it into a family home and they’ve been working on it all the time we’ve both been away. There’s loads more to do, but the main room is still habitable…’ I watched as he stopped speaking and crossed his arms over his chest, showing me his well-defined muscles encased in the white shirt and shook his head from side to side.
‘You aren’t listening to a fucking word I’m saying, are you?’ He grinned at me and leant towards me, resting one bare forearm against the wall next to me, making my body move instinctively up tight against the cool wall.
‘I was trying to, but being here with you, made me think,’ I answered and offered him a smile.
His head dipped to kiss the side of my neck and I gasped at the contact. My body was already on fire for him.
‘What were you thinking about?’ he questioned as his breath caressed my needy skin.
I let out a sigh as his teeth nipped my ear lobe and then swallowed so I could speak.
‘When I was here before a breathtaking man told me a story about all the things he wanted to do to me.’
‘Oh yeah?’ I felt him smile against my neck. ‘Perhaps you’d better tell me that story. I mean, you’re already in a house in the woods, with the big bad wolf. So, tell me the rest of the story, Amy.’
I crossed my legs in anticipation, merely trying to quench the need that was building inside me as he continued his ministrations on my neck. His other forearm came down beside the other side of my face and he lifted his head to stare deep into my eyes. He shifted his legs and pushed his knee in between my thighs, effectively opening my legs once again. I watched as he took in a deep breath. He inhaled the smell of my arousal and I watched his pupils dilate as we stared at each other.
‘Tell me, and start at the fucking beginning,’ he almost growled out. ‘Once upon a time…’ He started speaking, as his knees bent and his hands ran quickly down the sides of my body, until they reached the bottom of my dress. He lifted my dress high up to my waist and his knees bent again, to take him further down. As he took in the fact I was naked from the waist down, ‘FUCK ME!’ fell from his lips.
I couldn’t help but smirk at the look of wonderment on his face. Eventually his eyes came back up to meet mine. Just by looking at me that way, he gave me the confidence I had never had with anyone else.
‘Sorry, Brody, you’ve got it all wrong. In the story he fucked me, not the other way around.’ I grinned at him as the look of devilment landed on his face and he raised one eyebrow at me in response.
‘Oh, Amy. You really don’t know what the fuck you’ve got yourself into, do you?’ He laughed and then grinned at me. ‘In five short fucking minutes from now, I’m gonna have you screaming my name so loudly, they’ll hear you back at The Manor.’
‘Is that a dare?’ I questioned, pushing my t
ongue into my cheek as I did so.
‘No… It’s a fucking promise,’ he retorted.
In one burst of movement his hands found my waist and he lifted me up, pushing my shoulders firmly against the wall behind me. My legs were unceremoniously placed over his shoulders and my body was pushed higher up the wall. I gasped as he blew over my sex. ‘You, beautiful, have far too much fucking sass. Eyes on me while I lick it and then fuck it out of you.’
I tried, really I tried. But as the first sweep of his tongue connected with my needy flesh, my eyes rolled into the back of my head and I was gone.
He was wrong, it only took three minutes and Lake View was filled with my voice screaming out, ‘Brody,’ over and over again.
I had slept for a while wrapped up in Brody’s arms, but the heat coming from him was immense. He was lying on his back with one arm bent underneath his head, his other arm was holding me tight to the side of his body. One of my arms was trapped underneath his and the other was draped over his broad chest. I was reluctant to move, enjoying how we felt together and not wanting to disturb him. So, I moved my leg a little and gently tried to flap the quilt off one of my feet. Finally managing and feeling the cooler air circulate around my exposed skin, I let out a sigh.
I settled back down and relaxed, trying hard to go back to sleep. It was no good, I was awake now and my brain had switched on, running over everything that had happened yesterday evening and into the early hours of this morning. Thank goodness I only had one more shift to do today, I knew I was going to be feeling the effects of only having had a couple of hour’s rest.
The evening had started with him living up to every expectation I had of him as we relived the story he had told me a few weeks before. Dinner had been brought out to Lake View from The Manor’s kitchens and we had sat laughing, joking and enjoying each other’s company as we ate.
Then he had taken me to bed once again. I had no complaints, the man was extremely talented. But, now I wanted to know all the things he felt he needed to tell me. Wriggling free from his hold I propped myself up on my left elbow and stared down at this man who had stolen my heart.
‘I can feel you staring.’ One sleepy looking eye opened slightly and peered up at me. In response, I smiled down at him.
‘Sorry, I can’t sleep.’ I pulled the arm that I had placed over his chest back a little so I could trace a colourful tattoo he had on his chest with my finger.
‘I know, I can feel you fidgeting.’ He opened his other eye and smirked at me and caught my moving hand in his.
‘I can’t sleep because I know we still need to talk, Brody.’ My heart started to accelerate.
‘Yeah,’ he answered me as he began to pull us both further up the bed and onto the vast number of pillows behind us. ‘I know what I need to tell you, but where do you want to start?’
I heard the hesitation in his voice and decided to start the easy way. ‘Well, I need to know, did you buy my nan’s shop and the flat above?’
‘No, sorry, Amy. I didn’t even know it had gone up for sale.’ I could see the concern in his eyes as he answered me.
I had thought all along he had and had been willing myself not to be too upset if his answer was no. Surprisingly, when his answer came, it didn’t affect me like I thought it would. I could hear my nan’s voice in the back of my head saying, “out with the old and in with the new.” Knowing I had living with Brody at Lake View to look forward to, made it even easier to accept.
At my silence, Brody spoke again. ‘Do you want me to make an additional offer to who has?’
‘What, offer more money to whoever bought my nan’s place?’
‘Yeah.’
I thought for a moment, looking around the room in Lake View that was going to be used as our bedroom. The walls were bare waiting to be decorated, the huge four poster bed that we were currently in, was sitting in the middle of the room and the only other furniture in the room was the still-blazing open fire.
‘No, it’s fine. I really don’t. I know your heart is in the right place offering to buy it for me, but I don’t need to look back. You’ve just given me you and this place. It’s our chance to move forward.’ I snuggled back down next to him to carry on and he kissed the top of my head offering me the strength to do so.
I felt his arm squeeze me tighter to him as he heard my answer. ‘I wish I’d met you sooner. The way you look at life is so fucking refreshing. I’m sure you’d have been able to stop me making some pretty huge fucking mistakes. You’re the second person in two days that’s reminded me that there’s more to life than fucking money.’
‘What do you think made you turn to alcohol?’ I realised that I was now holding my body taut as the words left my mouth. I wanted to know the answer because I needed to know what made him tick. But, I was unsure how he would feel providing an answer, if he even knew the answer.
‘Mmmmm…’ he took a deep breath as I continued to hold mine. ‘I started drinking young, because it’s what everyone else was doing and then because it helped to dampen down the pain inside me. I told you how my mom had left my dad when I was eight, didn’t I?’
‘Yes,’ I replied.
‘Our home wasn’t the same as other kids had. Sure, every now and again we had a happy day, but in the main it was fucking miserable. My dad loved her, but she didn’t love him anymore. Mom took prescription meds to dampen down the pain of being homesick and with someone she didn’t want to be with, which meant she generally couldn’t function. My sister and I were caught in the crossfire of two adults pulling in different fucking directions. Most days it was scary and hard, others it was terrifying and fucking painful.’ The exhale that left his body was long and loud, like he was expelling his torment with his words.
‘Oh, Brody. I’m so sorry for you both...’ I could picture in my head two small and scared children. ‘But, why is it that you feel guilty for not looking after your family.’ My arm that had been lying relaxed on his chest moved, until my hand made it across to the other side of his body. I wanted him to feel me holding him.
‘The worst of my guilt comes from letting down my sister. I was her big brother, Amy. Through all the crap that was going on with our parents we stuck together and got each other through. I swore to her that I would make everything better, that everything would be okay. The day my mom packed up to leave my dad she wanted to take us both with her back to America. Trying to stop her leaving, I told her I refused to go, thinking she would see sense and stay. Instead, she drove away with my sister crying in the back seat. If I close my eyes I can still see her balled up fists hitting the back windscreen as she cried for me and dad.’
I moved away from his hold, leant over him and placed a kiss over his heart as I tried to take away his pain.
‘I never saw my mom again, as she eventually took too many of those fucking tablets and checked out. For a while, I even blamed myself for that. You know, if I’d have gone too I could have stopped her, and all that shit. After she died, my sister went to live with our aunt and never came back. I stayed with my dad and watched as he gradually went downhill, eventually his heart broke and carried him away. Drink hid all of that for me, it dampened down my pain, smoothed down the rough edges of my guilt and carried me into oblivion. It wasn’t until Luke’s wife died and I was threatened with my own mortality that I had the guts to try to stop.’
I let his words wash over me and lying across his chest I held him even tighter to me.
‘What happened to your sister?’
‘She grew up and hated me even more for not keeping my promise to her, she felt I’d abandoned her and moved on with my life. All she could see was, I was rich and successful, so I had to be happy, right? We were as close as siblings could be one minute and then the next she hated me.’
‘Where is she?’
‘She stayed in America. I know where she is when she asks for more money to cover her debts or when I manage to convince her to go into rehab. I’ve just seen her for the first time
in over five fucking years, in Vegas.’
‘That’s good.’
‘I’m not so sure about that, she’s just newly married and I refused to give her my blessing.’ The hurt in his voice was evident.
I sat up quickly and looked down at him. ‘Why?’
‘Marriage, I’ve got no time for it.’ I felt myself tense at his words, he realised and his eyes left mine. ‘I saw what it did to my family.’
‘Brody, I was married once, we were both young and naive. It wasn’t meant to be but, looking back, I can see it was what I needed at the time.’
‘You’ve been married?’ he asked.
‘I was. We were fresh out of university, with all the hopes and aspirations of two people in their early twenties. What we forgot to ask each other, was what we both wanted out of life. It very quickly became evident that we wanted two entirely different things.’
‘Go on,’ he encouraged.
‘He only wanted a career and I wanted a family. We parted amicably when we realised we’d made a mistake.’
‘I’m sorry, that’s sad.’
‘It was initially, but six months down the line, I knew it was for the best. It helped me understand who I was. I understood that I couldn’t settle for anything less than what I wanted. You know, this marriage might be just what your sister needs. You can’t control everything in life, Brody and I’m sorry if I sound harsh, but you can’t throw money at things hoping that it’s going to solve all the problems.’
I lay myself back down over his chest and his hand regained its place in the middle of my back, staying firmly in place as he thought over what I had just said. I decided to try to make the atmosphere a little lighter in our room. ‘I wanted to say thanks for turning up and parking outside the shop, after I left you at the wedding.’
I felt him relax underneath me once again.
Brody (Default Distraction Book 1) Page 26
