by Molly McLain
A quick twist and lift and he had her on her back again, panting hard beneath him as he pressed his rock hard cock into her drenched folds. Like the thirsty little vixen she was, her hips rose to meet the slip and slide of his body against hers. Greedier still, her nails scored down his back and into his ass cheeks, pushing his underwear out of the way.
So much for gentle.
He had the condom on in seconds. Faster yet, he aligned his shaft with her slit and pushed inside.
The display of sensation on her face was fucking beautiful. Wide eyes, parted lips, nostrils fluttering with every shallow breath she took. And then he bottomed out, her tight pussy snugged around him like a glove.
He’d been with lots of women in his thirty years, some he’d even cared about, but being inside Jenny...holy fucking hell. There weren’t words. Just...a million different sensations jolting through his body, promising him that this, right now with this woman, was unlike anything he’d experienced before.
His hands shook. His head spun. His friggin’ chest ached, because Jenny...fuck. She looked at him like he really was Superman. And she really did make him believe that, with time and a whole hell of a lot of self-forgiveness, he might—just maybe—be worthy of the smallest piece of her.
“Brody,” she whispered and he turned into the caress of her fingers along the side of his face. God, the hope she gave him. It was fucking surreal.
“Yeah, sugar?” he murmured back, his chest tight as he slowly moved inside her. With his elbows on either side of her pretty head, they were as physically close as any two people could be, but it wasn’t enough. The urge to connect with her—to consume her and to claim her—built fast and he took her mouth in a hungry kiss that quickly turned explosive.
His name was a breathless refrain on her lips as he pulled out and sank in deep, filling her body over and over again, giving her everything he had to give. If he could make her feel good... If he could show her that she wasn’t just another body to him... If he could make her see that he fucking needed her, then maybe—
“Baby, you’ve got nothing to prove,” she promised, holding his face so they were nose to nose, gasping for the same air. The emotion in her eyes reached in deep and gripped his heart. Just like her body clenched his cock as she came, back arched off the bed with a moan that made him want to beat his fucking chest. He slid an arm beneath her and held her close, pumping hard and letting her orgasm rock him over the edge, too.
He came with a grunt, buried to the hilt in her sweet heat and with only one conscious thought in his head...
He wanted this girl forever, and he’d go to any length to make that fantasy become a reality.
Chapter Fourteen
“You slept with him.”
Ugh. Thank you, Brody and your sexy morning whiskers.
“Why the heck would you think that?” Behind the lid of her Cedar Street Brew to-go cup, Jenny made an incredulous face she had no chance in hell of pulling off.
“Besides the spontaneous case of poison ivy in March, I also have it on good authority that you just rolled back into town.” On the other side of the coffee shop counter, Ally flicked a glance at her watch. “It’s after two, sunshine.”
Jenny blinked at her best friend for five solid seconds. “Tell your husband I just cancelled his haircut appointment. Indefinitely.”
Ally laughed. “Hey, he’s just doing his job. Not his fault he happened to be on the road the same time as you.”
“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure it’s not in any sheriff’s job description to report gossip back to his wife.”
Her redheaded friend arched an eyebrow. “The hell it isn’t. Section six, right below ‘Must never give wife’s best friend a ticket for blowing a stop sign’.”
Shit. “He saw that, too, huh?”
“Uh huh. He said you were totally spaced out. Had a stupid, lovesick grin on your face.” Ally tipped her head to the side and gave a smile of her own. “Kinda like the one you’re wearing right now. Damn, you really like this guy.”
Really was an understatement. “His name is Brody. You should probably get used to calling him that, since he’s coming to town in a couple weeks. Continually calling him ‘this guy’ might get a little awkward.”
Ally’s eyes widened. “You mean I actually get to meet Brody?” She drew out his name, making him sound like some scandalous secret. “How very un-Jenny-like.”
She rolled her eyes. “Please. It’s not like you don’t already know who he is. It’ll just be...official now.”
More wide eyes, this time with a gasp. “Official in what way? Like boyfriend official?”
Um... “Maybe?” She gave Ally the abbreviated version of her ‘let’s give this a try’ conversation with Brody, minus the hot ‘I’m going to own your pussy’ reinforcer. “We didn’t really discuss the details.”
“Well, no. You were too busy rubbing all over each other like wild meerkats.”
“As opposed to tame meerkats?”
“Shut up and go with it. I have preggo brain, for God’s sake.” Ally popped a chunk of pistachio muffin into her mouth, moaned like she wanted to leave her husband for it, then flipped Jenny off when she laughed.
“As much as I love the harassment, I’ve gotta run. I have to grab some paperwork from the salon before I meet Heather’s friend Elena for dinner. She seems super excited about the prospect of coming on board and, if we can work out a reasonable salary, I think I’m going to do it.” She’d be strapped for fluid cash, but she’d have more time for her mom, which trumped everything else.
“I actually met Elena last night. Heather brought her out and Luke kept tripping over his damn tongue. Elena didn’t seem to mind.” Ally made her goofy squicked-out sister face and Jenny perked up.
“Luke’s finally coming out of his shell?”
“Ugh, I don’t know. Maybe. Much as I’d love a sister-in-law someday, I don’t really want to watch it unfold, you know? It’s gross. And embarrassing.”
“At least you have a sibling to humiliate you.” Jenny waggled a finger at her friend and smiled ruefully. “I’d give anything to have someone here to help out with Mom.”
Ally wilted a little. “Ugh, you’re right. I’m sorry.”
Jenny winked when her phone chimed in her purse. “No worries,” she said, as she dug it out. “At least I’ve got you—oh, my God.”
Those panties we lost in the kitchen this morning? Sam just found them.
“What?” Ally demanded, leaning over the counter as far as her baby belly would allow. “Something happen with Helen?”
“No! It’s just...” Four hours away and he could still make her blush. “It’s just Brody.”
Ally grinned, her wedding ring sparkling from atop her baby bump. “Be careful, girlfriend, or you’ll end up like me.”
That’s what I’m hoping.
“Mmm-hmm, I see that look in your eye, Jenny Lynn, but the warning still stands—be careful. Take your time. If this guy—Brody—is the real deal, he won’t mind the wait.”
***
“You’re driving this week, by the way.” His back on the weight bench, Sam hefted a solid three-forty into the air with a grunt.
Brody frowned from the spotter’s position above his friend. “No way, dude. Pretty sure it’s your turn. I caught the trip to St. Louis.”
“Yeah, but you got laid this weekend. I didn’t.” Sam brought the bar back down, his arms shaking.
“Since when does that count for anything?” And when did his sex life become Sam’s business anyway?
His buddy laughed as he got to his feet and Brody took his place. Sam took off sixty pounds and Brody did six easy reps.
“So, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about. The timing’s kinda shitty now that you’ve got thongs and shit laying around, but...” Clamping another forty back on, Sam winked.
“I’m glad you’re entertained. Now get to the fucking point.” Up, one, down. Up, two, down.
; “I’m moving Dani into my place for a while. I can’t have her raising my nephew in that damn slum she’s in now. The guy in the apartment below her got busted for dealing heroin last week.”
Up-three-down. Up-four-down. “That’s brutal. But what’s it got to do with me?”
“My tolerance for anything under three feet tall is about as weak as you right now.”
Fucker. “Add the goddamn weight already.”
Sam chuckled and slid on another forty. “I’m just thinking I might need a place to escape every now and then. You’ve got a pretty decent couch.”
“You wanna crash here while Dani and the kid can have free reign at your place?” Imagine that. Sam thinking about someone other than himself.
“More or less. I’ll tough it out when the little mama comes to town though, so you two can fuck like bunnies on the kitchen counter or wherever else it is you like to bend her over.”
Boom. Brody dropped the bar and jack-knifed up. “You’re gonna ask for my help and disrespect my girl in the same sentence?”
Sam held up his hands, a cocky grin on his face despite the gesture. “Whoa, man. I’m just giving you shit. It’s been awhile, right?”
Not long enough apparently.
“She’s cool as hell,” Sam added. “I like her. You like her. Maybe she’s good for you, too, if you know what I mean.”
All too well. “You had to go there, huh?” Once again, bringing up his inability to control his shit.
“Avoiding it is exactly why you’re still dealing with it.” Sam pointed to the bench sternly and Brody glowered.
“I’m keeping my appointments.” Started doing that meditation shit Doc Sherman had recommended, too. Felt a little like a hippie while he did it, but it worked, so whatever.
“Only since Jenny, bro.”
Yeah, well... “Does it matter as long as I’m going?”
“You gotta work this out for you—not because you wanna keep her around.”
“It ain’t like that.” Brody reclaimed the seat and got in position once again.
“Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. I’m just saying it’s a narrow friggin’ line. Try and stay on the right side of it, yeah?”
He was. Every damn day, one night at a time. “Yeah, man, I got it. You ready?”
Sam nodded and Brody pounded off two shaky reps.
“Hit me again.”
“You sure?” The arrogant bastard smirked. “You haven’t pushed over three-sixty since the desert.”
“Only way to get back to that guy is to be that guy, right?”
Sam gave him a respectful nod, added twenty more, and grinned like a fool while Brody pumped it out, not once, not twice, but three times. “Holy fuck, buddy. Welcome back.”
***
“I can’t offer you full-time right now, but a solid twenty hours a week is doable.” Jenny smiled at the pretty blonde seated across from her near the front of The Lodge, River Bend’s requisite upper-crust restaurant. Truth be told, it wasn’t even that classy, but it’s warm, cabin-like decor and flickering fireplace, gave a cozy, semi-professional feel that the diner did not.
“Heather got me a few hours at McCauley’s, too, so I should be set for a while. Frankly, I’m just happy to get away from Hastings. I need a fresh start.” Eyes cast down, Elena stirred a straw through her lemonade. While she definitely looked the part of a cosmetologist, with her perfectly coiffed do and pristine make-up, she had an anxious edge about her that made Jenny nervous.
“Any chance you’re running from a man?” she asked gently, knowing that burned look all too well.
“More like sprinting.” Elena gave a genuine laugh, as the waiter quietly removed their empty plates from the table. “I hope that doesn’t freak you out. I mean, it wasn’t that bad a situation. He only hit me the once.”
Oh, God. “Elena...that’s....” Unforgivable.
“Yeah, I know. One time too many. It’s just...I was with him since high school. I’ve never known anything else. I’m not going to lie—making this move scares the hell out of me. I have Heather, though. If anyone understands what I’m going through, it’s her.”
Really? Did Heather have skeletons in her closet, too? She’d never let on. Then again, some things were just better left in the past. Another lesson Jenny had learned the hard way.
“I’m not heading back until tomorrow. Maybe I could swing by the salon in the morning for a tour?” Elena pepped up, her eyes bright again.
“Absolutely.” The waiter slid their bill onto the table and Jenny tugged it her way before Elena got any silly ideas. “We open at nine and I think my first client is a color job, so that should be perfect.”
“Great.” The skittish woman reached for her wallet, but Jenny waved her off.
“I got this. Business meeting and all that.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.” But her reassuring smile turned chilly when Reed approached their table from the bar. Great. She’d been so concerned about Elena that she hadn’t noticed the group of county workers assembled for one of their frequent ‘team building’ nightcaps. “Ugh, this is my past rearing its ugly head,” she muttered and Elena shot a not-so-discreet glance toward Reed.
“In that case, I’m going to scoot. I’ll see you tomorrow?” She stood and slung her purse over her shoulder. Her wispy blouse and snug leggings should’ve caught Reed’s perpetually wandering eye, but he never even acknowledged her. Just smiled at Jenny as Elena waved and snuck away.
Jenny gathered up the forms and scheduling info she’d shared with Elena and stuffed it into her bag. Maybe if she got up fast enough, Reed would leave her alone. Funny how having a man in your life that actually respected you opened your eyes to the ones who didn’t.
“Hey there, princess,” he greeted her in his too-smooth, typical Reed voice. “You’re not leaving already, are you?”
“That’s usually what happens when you’ve finished your meal.” She pasted on a fake smile and then felt bad about it. She didn’t want to hate Reed. She wasn’t even sure she did. She was just sick of the humiliation she felt every time he came around.
“I won’t keep you long, then. I just wanted to check in and see how things were going.” He gave a sincere smile and she sighed. See? He was trying. Maybe she should, too.
“Things are good. I just hired a part-time stylist.”
“That’s great. More time with your mom, right?” Casually, he slid into Elena’s vacated seat, his bulky, athletic body taking up too much room.
Brody was just as imposing. Not quite as tall, but built the same. Same pretty, bad boy glint in his eye, too, though a hell of a lot sexier with all that ink on his arms.
“Um, yeah. She’s doing better than expected at home, but she’ll want to get out more as the weather gets nicer.” She reached for her water to keep her hands busy.
“How’s your wounded Marine?” he asked, not as casually.
“Really?” she laughed, locking her gaze with his unapologetic one. “That’s what you really came over for, isn’t it? God, you really are a dog.”
He lifted a hand, his smile as unrepentant as his stare. “If worrying about how he treats you makes me a dog, then so be it. I’ve been called worse.”
She shook her head. “You’re unbelievable. You won’t even tell me who you’re seeing, but I’m supposed to share the details of my relationship with you? That’s ballsy, Reed. Even for you.”
His jaw ticked as he brought his beer to his mouth and took a pull. “So it’s a relationship now?”
“Oh my God, stop. Seriously.” She pushed a hand through her hair and sighed. “You don’t get to do this, okay? You don’t get to stick your nose in my personal life and act like it’s completely normal. We may be friends, but we’ve also seen each other naked.”
He quirked an eyebrow and rocked his head from side to side, considering her point.
“See, that’s weird. Why aren’t you weirded out by this?” Her face began to burn and she s
tarted to feel like Elena had looked. Twitchy and ready to jump out of her skin.
“Come on, Jenn, you know it’s easy for guys to separate sex and friendships.” He leaned back in the seat and tapped the bottom of his beer against his jeans, still looking her in the eye. “What isn’t easy for me is knowing you’re involved with a potential loose cannon like Brody Nelson.”
“He’s not like that.” He’d never been volatile with her. Even when he’d tossed and turned in bed that first night in Vegas, he hadn’t been aggressive. He thought he was a mess, but the truth was, he was dealing with what he’d been through a lot better than she ever could.
“You don’t know that, Jenn. You’re here and he’s there and all you see is what he wants you to see.”
Was he for real right now? She counted to five, then leaned in and spoke carefully. “I’m quite capable of judging his character on my own, thank you very much. I’m not, however, appreciative of your insinuation that he’s hiding something from me. He’s not, Reed. Not all guys are assholes.”
She wanted to tell him exactly how honest Brody had been. How they’d had this intimate connection from the start and how it already felt like she knew Brody better than some of the friends she’d had for years. But those were private things. They belonged to her and Brody.
“I’ve never seen you like this before.” Reed smiled and she scoffed, grabbing her bag from the seat beside her. Done. She was so done with this.
“You mean me having a spine when it comes to you? Yeah, it’s a new development.” She stood and grabbed the bill, stopping before she walked away. “Maybe I wasn’t clear at Josh’s, but you really do need to back off. Brody isn’t the monster you want him to be and, even if by some chance, he isn’t the man I think he is, I’d much rather find out on my own—not from you.”
“I’m won’t stop watching out for you,” he said calmly, despite her warning. “Maybe I am wrong—stranger things have happened—but I’d rather be wrong than let you get hurt again.”
Out of obligation or sincere concern? She couldn’t tell, and she wasn’t sure it mattered.
“Her name is Mia, by the way. And we’re not together. Yet.”
