by Payne, Jenna
Her eyes darted to Henry, lying in his rumpled hipster skinny clothes, passed out and snoring on top of the cheap motel comforter beside her. His ginger-red hair was tousled across his pale angelic face, a complete contrast to his brother's slightly tanned chiseled features, dark blond hair, and built soldier's body.
Asshole. This was not her situation to explain. It was Henry's. He'd gotten her into this little cross country adventure, now Jake was back and on her ass like a demon reckoning?
"Fuck," Jake dropped his green duffle bag onto the floor.
"What are you doing here?" Her voice was hopelessly muffled against his calloused palm. Her eyes flicked the dark inked patterns and letters highlighted on his white forearm. She could barely see him, though the neon light outside kind of illuminated the room. Not that she needed a light to know it was Jake. She'd know his masculine scent, and the pissed off set to his once broken nose, and perfectly squared jaw anywhere.
She shifted beneath the scratchy covers, though his six foot four frame loomed large. Her soft body was no match for Jake's hard knee, which he used on top of the covers to trap her in place.
His eyes flicked to Henry then back at her, clearly furious. Understandable. Finally home from wherever his SEAL duty had taken him, most likely he'd expected her to be at the door back in Virginia, wagging her tail like a puppy's welcome home. It was, after all, what she usually did, mind you this time he'd been forewarned. She was done pacing the floor and wringing her hands in agonized worry while he ran off to get himself killed for the red, white and blue. She had a life to live. A good one now that she was about to graduate.
Henry groaned and turned beside her. Figured he'd just keep on snoozing right through this traumatic reunion he'd inadvertently created.
"Eyes. Here." Jake's fingers tightened in her hair.
Dammit. She didn't just spend ten hours on this weave only to have him pull them out!
"I'm the one asking the questions."
She narrowed her eyes and pressed her back teeth together. How was she supposed to answer anything with his mammoth-sized paw clamped down on her mouth? She grunted and struggled to sit up.
Jake tossed back the covers, grasped both her wrists in one hand and forced them over her head while his iron hard body pushed her to the middle of the bed. She uselessly battled against his muscled chest, her nipples tightening with the sparks of friction as his long jean-clad legs tangled with her bare ones.
She flinched, because just like that she was spread out facing him, her dark form flush against his white one, arms overhead, the rest of her body forcibly entangled with his. Excitement and heat thrummed through her system. He had just successfully dominated and titillated her at the same time.
Damn.
"Start. Talking." He lifted his hand slowly, the glint in his eyes harsher than she'd ever seen. And she'd seen Jake pissed. From petty jealousy to unbridled rage, she'd dealt with him through a full range of emotions. "And it better be good, because I'm about ten seconds away from committing murder one."
"Get off me," she silently railed against her exposed vulnerability. Their skirmish had raised the hem of her t-shirt to show her thin panties, an advantage he exploited by pressing the rough cloth of his jeans against her naked thigh. Could she help marveling at their erotic colour contrast? It had been months since they'd last been wrapped together.
She struggled again, and he grasped her round hip and ground his determined pelvis up against her barely veiled pussy. Her tummy fluttered against his now he had her more intimately pinned.
"Now," he jerked his head toward Henry, but his intense blue eyes stayed on her. "What—the fuck—are you doing in my brother's bed?"
"It's…" she squirmed against his hold, but he had lodged his long hard length completely into her softness. "…a long, sordid story."
"Shorten it."
She looked up at her clamped wrists, both still encased and pressed into the cheap pillow by his one hand. "First let me go."
"Not a chance," he murmured coldly. "You're not going anywhere." He settled himself further, the movement of his hard length, encased in his jeans sending sharp frissons of heat right through her feminine nub.
God. Where in Hell was her will power? It wasn't like she'd never rejected a man before. But this was impossible. He was impossible.
Yet damn it if she didn't roll that nub against her panty and his abrasive jeans. It was so easy to respond to him this base way. Elemental. It always had been, ever since she was thirteen, him fifteen and they had lain together in the tall grass during their summer in the Hamptons. It started out innocently enough, lying and giggling together, staring straight up at the clouds on a long summer day. Then they’d started wrestling, then kissing, then making love the way only two horny teenagers could. Wild. Naked. Outdoors. For hours.
"I'm not telling you anything until you get off me." What did he think this was anyway? Some kind of betrayal? She'd told him they were done before he left. Granted, she was here with his little brother, technically in bed, but it wasn't like she was banging the younger man anyway. It was Henry for God's sake. The family screw-up. When something went wrong in the Langdon family, all eyes fell on Henry. She was the victim here and, if anything, in the process of being fleeced by the youngest Langdon—right out of her graduate studies tuition fees for saving his ass.
"I'm not going anywhere until you either talk to me—" Jake leaned into her farther, his hard mouth descending onto hers. "Or fuck me… right here."
Her eyebrows slammed down. "You're crazy," she said against his lips.
"Really? You think this crazy?" He rocked his hard length into her, making her clitoris quiver in response. "I've just come half way around the world to find my girl in bed with my little brother." His fingers tightened on her hip.
She loved the way his white hand looked on her brown skin. It ignited every passion inside her system.
"Three thousand miles after weeks of seeing and doing gutter shit to find my girl gone—taken off and two States over in a shitty motel bed with my brother." He moved his hips in a rhythm against her panties. "Fuckin' crazy."
She frowned and gritted her teeth against the hot ache he was purposefully building in her.
"And all I want to do is fuck her back into being mine."
"Jake—" His words, what he said… the way he growled them… she arched against him feeling like a cat in raptured heat, all hot bursting sensations desperately needing somewhere to go. She was either going to run screaming, or scream at him to make her come. "How did you even find us?"
He leaned in closer and pressed his tongue between her lips. "I'll always find my girl. You should know that by now. But especially after she threatened to leave me. Break up with me before I leave for deployment. I made you a promise that day, remember?"
She accepted his tongue with an achy whimper. It was Heaven… pure genius the way that he kissed her, stroked her, stoked her into a fire with his synchronized rhythm of plunder of her mouth and movement of his hips, rubbing his hot length across her aching nub.
She desperately wanted him to make her come. "Jake…" she moaned his name in a needy whisper.
He ran a strong finger along her inner thigh then gripped the bottom of her t-shirt. "You're wearing his shirt." He pulled it up over her head, making her breasts wobble before him, the sudden cool breeze tightening her dark nipples into buds. "You're in bed with another man, wearing his shit." He ground out the words before tangling his fingers in the side of her panties. With a quick tear he yanked them over off her hip, and down her soft thighs, leaving her stripped and naked.
"Stay.” He held her eyes as he released her wrists.
"It's not what it looks like." She suddenly needed to reassure him.
"It fuckin' better not be." He slid his palm over her womanhood, thumbing her clit as he pressed his longest finger into her at the same time. "Because you're my woman."
"God— Jake!"
"You are so fucking wet
. Still so fucking tight. You better not have given him anything that's mine." He pressed down and circled her nub, massaged it and pumped his finger deeper inside of her until she closed her eyes and moaned.
"Eyes on me," he demanded rolling her clitoris between two of his fingers. "You remember my promise?" He leaned down and took one of her dark nipples between his eager teeth.
"God, Jake. This is… so wrong," she arched into his mouth and moved her hips against his hand, trying to relieve herself, make herself orgasm. Henry was right there in the bed with them. "Henry's right—"
"Fuck him." Jake squeezed his teeth around her nipple.
Oh God. She spread her thighs and bucked against his hand.
"My promise. Tell me," he demanded, mouth still on her breast.
"You said… that you'd fuck me… wherever you found me… when you came home."
"That's right." He slid his tongue in circles around her hard nipple. "And now I'm home. And I've found you. And I’m gonna make good on my promise." He reached between their bodies and unzipped his pants. Then, with few movements, he gripped her shoulder and her hip, and thrust inside of her, driving her body up the bed.
"Jake!"
He thrust and thrust, pounding against her g-spot. Building. Building. Rubbing into her pelvis, driving against that pleasure point. She thrust and rubbed back until she was panting his name and whining her need against the satisfied smile on mouth.
"That's right, baby. Tell me… tell me," he coaxed her, and ground his hips in circles, seating himself deep each time until… until…
"Oh God, Jake!" She sunk her nails into his shoulders and screamed his name.
Henry stopped snoring and jerked awake. "What the fuck—?"
Jake let go as she climaxed around him, plunging into her like a demon, growling into her ear. "Fuck, baby—so hot—so tight—fuckin’ missed you—my girl—" He rooted himself balls deep and burst hot jets of ejaculate inside her quivering body, hips jerking and twitching without any kind of control.
Henry rolled over. " Jake—? That you?"
Jake reared up, still jerking inside of her when he leaned over her and punched his brother square in the face, the force sending the half-asleep man off the bed to thud on the floor.
Marianne shrieked in horror. "Oh my God Jake! You killed him!"
*****
"He's fine." Jake reluctantly rolled off Marianne's warm body and stood over his brother's writhing form. "Don't ever let me catch you in bed again with my girl."
"Jesus, man," Henry rolled around with his hand over his face. "I wasn't in bed with her. I was on the bed—over the covers. She was in the bed." He curled into fetal position and rocked his skinny body. "Owww, my face. You fucking broke my fucking face."
“Oh good Christ.” Jake rolled his eyes. "I barely touched you." He reached down and dragged Henry to stand. "You're lucky I didn't kick your sorry ass." He stared at his little brother, doing a complete body check before he hugged him. It had been too long since he checked up on this kid.
"You did." Henry held his face with one hand and hugged his brother back with the other. "I need ice. Marianne, I don't suppose you'd get me any."
Marianne snorted as she pulled the bed sheet more tightly around her. She scowled at them both and walked into the bathroom and slammed the door.
Someone in the next room banged on the wall and hollered, "Shut the fuck up in there!"
Marianne banged back. "Mind your own business!"
Jake shook his head. That was his girl, all Black American princess complete with attitude and drama. She was exactly as he'd have her and remember her every night on deployment. Mari had been his girl since he was fifteen years old. Anyone looking to change that was in for one hell of a fight, including her.
He rounded on his brother. "How the fuck could you bring her to this shit-hole? Have you lost your mind? What the hell is going on?"
Henry put his hands up and walked to the mini-fridge. "She's been giving me hell for two days now, so don't worry." He took out a beer and placed it against his swelling eye. "Ah, ah, ah. Jesus," he whined. "It's already swollen." He leaned over to the fishing scene picture hung on the wall and tapped gingerly at his eyebrow in the dirty reflection. "Couldn't you have aimed for my stomach or something?"
Jake rolled his eyes. "If I had, you'd be in the bathroom puking right now, talking to the big white telephone for the next half hour."
How did he end up with such a little shit for a brother? Their father was six foot five and over two hundred and fifty pounds. He’d boxed throughout university, was a total business shark, and maintained his heavyweight character through a lifetime of boardroom bullying that made him and his partners millions. Though, after his first wife, Jake's mother, died of cancer, he'd lost most of that weight along with his will to live, replacing them both with a reckless destroyer lifestyle that left everyone in shock, none more so than his business partners.
Victoria Langdon would weep to see the state her death had left her once-robust husband in, not to mention the barren state in which he’d left their finances.
Jake looked out the window where the faintest bit of dawn teased the four-AM sky. He was goddamned tired after tracking these two. Wondering what the hell, thinking the worst, going crazy at what he might find. He pulled out the only chair in the room and plunked Henry down in it. "You have about five minutes to sort this shit out for me.” He nodded toward the bathroom where his girl had turned on the shower. "Because as soon as she's done, I'm taking her out of here and back home."
Henry winced when one of his red curls brushed across his swollen eye. Tears filled the other one as he stared back at his big brother.
Jake grit his teeth. His brother was definitely the byproduct of his mother, Darlene Breezhill, aka EZ Breezy On at 8.
Shortly after his wife's death, Henry Langdon sold the vintage Aston Martin he'd given her on their tenth anniversary and blew the money on a week-long drinking binge with a roadhouse stripper named, EZ Breezy. Three years later, Ms. EZ On at 8 dropped little Henry off on the Langdon estate doorstep with a DNA report in his knapsack. She pulled out a marker from her purse and wrote down her cell number on the stunned maid's hand before she took off for Vegas with an unnamed man who waited in the car.
"No!" Henry sprang from the chair. "You can't leave me here. Those guys will kill me."
Jake frowned. "What guys?"
"The ones that called—about a week ago, well mom called actually—they grabbed the phone from her and—"
"Your mother?" Jake ground down on his back teeth. Seriously? That bitch contacted his little brother? After the wad of money he threw at her not even a year ago to stay away? Goddammit.
"Yeah. She called last week. Said she needed help—needed dad to send her money, but he isn't here, he's still in Taiwan or Bangladesh or wherever and—"
"Dad's in Taiwan?" What the fuck? "I just talked to the senior three days ago and he didn't say anything about being away. How long has he been gone?"
"I dunno. A coupla weeks," Henry shrugged. "He emailed me that our trust would be deposited mid-month in case he wasn't back. I wasn't really paying attention at the time. I was kind of—you know…"
Jack frowned. "No I don't know. Spell it out."
Henry started pacing.
"Henry—"
His brother stopped and scowled at him. "Coming down off a bit of a high, okay?"
Dread washed over Jake. He and his brother had been here before and it was not a place where Jake wanted to be again. "Are you usin' again?"
Henry flinched. "No."
"You still in school?"
Henry looked pained. "Well…"
"Henry," Jake warned.
His brother ran a hand through his hair, then put both out in a halt stance. "Okay. Let me say that it wasn't my fault before you rip me a new one." He put a hand on his heart. "And I can explain it all, I swear. The stuff wasn't even mine—seriously—no, no. Jake!" He jumped back when Jake stepped
toward him. "This thing with Mom had me totally stressed out. I couldn’t think. I didn't know what to do. These guys are serious and she was all hysterical and our trust money doesn't come for another three weeks. I tried to explain that but these guys didn't want to hear it. Meanwhile she's crying and screaming in the background, and they kept hollerin'—"
Jake put his hands on his face while his brother raged in a circle. Did he really think coming home for two weeks’ leave would involve any kind of R and R? Clearly he'd forgotten what it was to deal with his family and bullshit. It had only been forty-eight hours and he already painfully missed the military. His unit. Orders and discipline. Dealing with the war on terror was fucking easier than dealing with this shit. He stared around the room as if somehow sanity and logic would pour out of the dirt-streaked wall.
Unfortunately, all he saw was his brother. Two years on his own now, and still the concept of maturity and responsibility was completely lost on him.
"Henry. Jesus. Stop. Just fucking stop talking." He got into his brother's face, grinding his teeth so hard it hurt. This was supposed to be his and Marianne's time, not this… bullshit.
Henry froze and stared at his brother, his big green eyes wide like an owl’s. "You're gonna help me, right? I didn't want to go to Marianne but I didn't know what else to do. I kind of—"
"Panicked?" Marianne came out of the bathroom in a coconut-scented mist. She tossed the towel around her head back into the sink before she dumped three bottles of conditioner and two pots of hair grease onto the bed. "Showed up at my door in the middle of the night. Three o'clock in the morning screamin' and cryin' just like he's doing now." She picked up a wide tooth comb and pulled it through her hair.
Henry scowled at her. "I wasn't… crying. I just left a smoke-filled room and I had a bunch of shit in my eyes."
"Right." Marianne rolled her eyes.
Jake couldn't take his eyes off her, now she was dressed in jeans and a long sleeved T that rode up to reveal her pierced belly button every time she lifted her arm to her hair. His dick kept twitching at the sight. She had put in the diamond he'd given her three years ago on the day he left for BUD/S training; and as a challenge accepted (I make it through Hell Week and you wear my diamond), she got herself pierced the day he made it through, and wore it after he graduated a full-fledged SEAL.
