by Jess Bryant
The oldest was a tree growing crooked and gnarled and wrapped around a full-scale, lifelike heart. She’d never had to ask what that one meant. It was obvious. The tree was the Bomars, a family tree, and as dark and twisted as it was, it had punctured the heart but it had also grown around it, protecting it and keeping it safe.
The one that had always drawn her attention though was on his ribs. In big, scrawling letters, it said, for those I love I will sacrifice. And if that didn’t sum up Colt, nothing did or ever would.
As had become a habit, her hand automatically reached for that tattoo. To trace the words that were so much a part of the man she loved. But Colt caught her hand and shook his head.
“There’s a new one.”
Her eyebrows winged up and her gaze raked over him, “Where?”
When he smiled softly and then turned around, her breath caught in her chest and tears rushed her vison all over again. On his back. The back that he had never let so much as one needle touch. The back that bore the awful, painful scars of his childhood. There, on the back that she’d thought he would always leave bare and unmarked because he needed to keep those scars and see them, not cover them up, was a new tattoo.
“Oh, Colt…” She traced her name across the expanse of his broad back, “It’s beautiful.”
He’d had her name tattooed on his back. It was a huge tattoo. Big and bold, just like the man that wore it. There was no hiding it. No denying it or ignoring it. This tattoo was a statement and when he didn’t flinch as she ran her fingers over the fresh mark, she knew what it meant to him.
Not just that they wore each other’s names. Not just that they had joined themselves in a more permanent way than rings ever could. It didn’t just mean that they belonged to each other. It meant that they had a future together, that they were putting the past behind them and Colt was finally ready to move on, with her, and be the man he was always meant to be.
“I’m yours and you’re mine.” He turned back to face her and she nodded quickly.
“I love you.”
“Love you so much.” He pressed a kiss to the outside of her eye and she knew a tear had escaped. “Forever.”
“Always.”
He pressed kisses across her jaw as she wrapped her arms around him, “I’m gonna make love to you, Sky.”
“Yes.”
“I’m not gonna fuck you. Not this time. So you’ll just have to crawl back into this chair for another tattoo someday soon to fulfill that fantasy. Because right now, I love you too much to be rough with you, angel.”
“Make love to me, Colt.”
Always.”
Colt had never even imagined this kind of happiness. Not once in his life had he thought that he would ever be truly happy. Not like this. Because even in his imaginings, in his dreams of his someday, he’d never really thought about what it would mean.
He was free of his debt to the family. No more fighting. No more random jobs. No more calling on his years of terrible memories, anger and hatred to get him through the bouts in the cage. He was free of it all and the person he had to thank for it was the woman he loved.
They were together. She was his. They were planning a future and a life together. And he would owe her forever for what she’d done for him. She hadn’t just set him free. She’d showed him what it felt like to be loved for the first time in his life. She’d taught him what it meant to truly love someone and she’d been there for him, protected and trusted him, even when he still wasn’t sure he deserved it.
But he would. He would deserve her. He would deserve this incredible life that she had given him. He would work his ass off to be the man that she deserved because he loved her.
This woman… his woman… she was an angel.
He stared down at her and almost couldn’t believe she was real. Her blonde hair was spread out all around her. She was already stripped down to nothing but a tiny little tank top and sexy black lace panties. And her ink, God he loved that he had put every single line of it on her skin. From the first shoulder piece to that last line of the garter he’d only just finished, he’d made every mark and now he’d branded her with his name as well.
His heart swelled in his chest, “Skylar?”
“What is it?” She tilted her head slightly, reaching for him and drawing him close.
“I just…”
The words stuck in his throat and he shook his head. For once in his life, he couldn’t find he words. Him, the twin that always had something to say, could always come up with something to draw attention away from his brother, something to rile or something to calm, he couldn’t come up with any way to tell her just how much he appreciated her. He’d told her that he loved her, sure, but this was something else.
“I know.” She leaned up and pressed a kiss against his chest. “I know babe.”
“You’re mine and I’m gonna protect you.”
“I know.” She soothed again as she ran her hands over him.
There was still a threat out there. They both knew it. Couldn’t forget about it. Couldn’t ignore it. Things had been quiet but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be attacked at any time, in any place. They were all being careful, keeping their watch vigilant, but he had a feeling that whoever hated the Bomars wasn’t done seeking their version of justice yet. They were waiting for their guard to drop, for enough time to pass for them to think they were safe, and then they would strike again.
But they wouldn’t touch Skylar. Not a chance. He would protect her with his life.
“I love you.” She murmured quietly and he gave up trying to find the words.
He would show her instead.
Colt ran a hand through her hair and then knotted his fist earning a gasp of surprise. He caught the sound with his mouth as he kissed her. She responded instantly, just as she always had, opening for him and slipping her tongue against his. The kiss spiraled out of control just that fast and suddenly he wasn’t sure if he was the one guiding it or if she was.
He groaned and tilted her head back, stringing kisses down her neck. When he reached for her shirt, her hands were already there to help him lift it. The small piece of fabric hit the ground and he growled because she wasn’t wearing a bra. Her nipples were hard, jutting out, needing his touch, so he caressed her and then lowered her back against the chair as he put his mouth on her.
“Yes.” She gasped as be nibbled on her. “Oh yes.”
Skylar arched into his touch and he groaned. Damn, he loved the way she reacted to him. Every touch, every kiss, earned him a breathy sigh or a moan or a demand for more. By the time he released her breasts she was squirming and desperately trying to unbutton his jeans.
“Please, Colt. Please.”
As if he could deny her? He looped a finger in the side of her panties and pulled. The lace ripped and she only became more desperate. He’d told her he was going to love her, not be rough with her, but he wasn’t sure if he could keep that promise. Not with her all but clawing at him and pleading for more, faster.
He pulled at his own clothes. Skylar’s nails scored his abs as she pushed his shirt up. She scratched over the freshly inked tattoo across his shoulder blades and he winced. He’d let Bentley do the ink, a first for his cousin and a step towards the trust he knew they needed to regain. As it turned out, he’d been right and the guy was a natural. It had turned out great, but it was still sensitive and probably should have been covered. No doubt she would draw blood and he still couldn’t bring himself to care.
“Sorry.” She murmured against his lips.
“Don’t be. It’s yours. It’s all yours. You can do whatever you want to me. I can take it.” He nipped at her bottom lip, “Mark me, Sky.”
Her eyes, those beautiful, endless blue eyes that had the power to see through him, studied him intently for a long moment. Their bodies stilled as they looked at one another. Wrapped around one another, almost naked, their hearts beat as one… and then Skylar bit her lip and scratched the living hell out of
his back.
“Ow.” He grabbed her arms reflexively, pinning her beneath him, which only made her smile.
Naughty little angel that she was, she knew exactly how to drive him crazy. He finished stripping off his pants quickly and then positioned her so that she could wrap her legs around his waist. Careful of the fresh ink on her thigh, he held her loosely. She met his eyes and in one thrust he buried himself inside of her.
“God.” He groaned as her body welcomed him into her wet, clenching heat, “You feel so good.”
“So do you.” Skylar panted as her hips automatically rocked up against him, “More. I need more.”
“I’ll give you anything you need. Everything.”
He set a slow, deep rhythm that had them both moaning and begging for more. She tried to speed them up, used every teasing trick she could. Tightening her muscles, playing with her breasts, whispering dirty words to him, but he kept the pace slow and languid. He loved every inch of her, kissing her and telling her how beautiful she was until she was mindless with pleasure beneath him.
When he felt the first telling flutter of her body around his he paused, “Say it.”
“Love you.”
“Say it, Skylar.” He demanded.
“I love you.”
“Again.”
“I love you!”
He broke when she screamed and the climax stole through her body. She tilted her head back and bellowed the words to the ceiling. They echoed off the cement walls of the studio and he wondered briefly if they could hear her next door. He wouldn’t mind if they did though he suspected Remy would give him hell because it would undoubtedly embarrass the shit out of Rachel. Even still, he basked in knowing that it was just another form of claiming this beautiful, smart, strong woman as his.
He unleashed everything that had always been pent up inside of him. All of the love and hope and joy that he’d never known even existed, he gave it to her. It belonged to her and only her. It always had.
“Love you. Love you. Love you.” Every stroke had him uttering the words that had saved him.
The rest of his world fell away as the climax stole through him and he groaned as Skylar’s body took him deep. It was all them, just the two of them. That was all that mattered. Not his last name. Not the ongoing threats. Not her family and whether or not they would welcome him. Those were all small details that didn’t matter because they would get through it. So long as they had each other they could get through anything.
He collapsed against her as his strength left him. Skylar wrapped her arms and legs around him and gave a contented sigh that wrapped around his heart as well. He struggled to pick himself up but since she wouldn’t release her hold on him he simply lifted her as well and then changed their position, sitting in his chair with her in his lap.
Skylar kissed his collarbone, “Mmm, do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted this?”
He smiled against her hair, “You and me, this? Or you and me and this chair, this?”
She giggled, “I’ve been fantasizing about this chair since the first time I sat in it.”
“Well, technically this is a new chair. The old one got ripped up in the attack.”
“Smartass.” She nipped at his skin and then soothed the sting with her tongue, “You know what I meant. It feels like I’ve dreamed of this forever.”
“Keep telling me your dreams, angel. I’ll keep trying to make them come true.”
“You already have. So many of them, you already have.”
“You’re my dream.” He admitted as he played with her hair. “Whenever I thought about the future, it was always you I saw.”
“It was?”
“Always. My glorious someday was when I could allow myself to have you. The someday when I was free of Decker’s fists and Lincoln’s threats. You gave me that. You set me free.”
“No, I just believed in you. That’s all.”
“It’s more than anyone before you ever did.”
“I’ll keep on believing in you. Whatever you want, whatever you want to be, we’ll build it together.” Skylar sat up enough to look him in the eyes, “You just have to talk to me and not shut me out. I’m here and together, we can be whoever we want to be.”
Heaven. He was half worried he’d died and gone to heaven. Because Skylar really was his angel. She’d saved him and she’d given him a future, something to look forward to. She saw past all the bad to the good parts of him too.
He brushed her hair back softly, “What if I want to be a husband someday?”
She smiled, “I thought now was our someday?”
“It is.”
“Then yes. If you’re asking, the answer is yes.”
Colt brushed a kiss across her lips, “I think permanently carving my name into your skin is probably a little past the point of no return, Sky. But I will ask, for real. I’ll get you a ring and we’ll do it up right. I promise. I’m not proposing while we’re naked.”
She laughed, “Why not? Cash did.”
“Hmm, you girls have been telling tales again.” He tickled her and she squirmed, “The way I heard it, he proposed and then they got naked.”
“Details.” She settled back against his chest with a contented sigh.
He tipped her chin up until she met his gaze, “There’s something else I want to be someday, Sky. I didn’t think I ever would, not considering the bastard I had as an example. But I’ve seen how happy just the idea of it makes Cash and I want it too. I want it for us.”
“A father. You want to be a father someday?”
“Yeah, I think I do.”
“That’s good.” She cuddled in close, “Because I want to be a mother someday too.”
“Someday.” He smiled.
“Yes, someday, but not today or tomorrow or even next week.”
He chuckled, “We don’t have to rush it. I’m in no hurry.”
“Good.” Skylar shifted back over his lap, “Because I’d like us to actually live together before we start making babies.”
That earned her a full laugh, “Are we back to the discussion about moving in?”
“Yes.”
“Then yes, if you’re asking my answer is yes.” He shot her words back at her and watched her grin.
“Finally!”
He smiled back at her as she beamed. He’d made her happy. She made him happy. They were moving in together. They were going to get married someday and someday after that they were going to have a family of their own. And their someday, he realized it didn’t start today. Their someday had started that day on the street when he’d walked up to her and simply said hello to the beautiful blonde that he’d known even then was an angel in disguise.
About the Author
Jess Bryant has always been a writer. As a little girl she spent hours in her room putting pen to paper and creating stories. She’s been reading and writing romance novels since she first stole a book from her aunt’s Harlequin collection when she was thirteen years old. She earned a degree in Public Relations from the University of Oklahoma. When she’s not writing, Jess can usually be found curled up with a glass of wine and a good book or yelling at the television during sporting events with friends and family. For more information on Jess and upcoming releases, contact her at [email protected] or find her on Twitter @Jess_Bry.
Also Available From Jess Bryant
The West Brothers Series
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Something To Talk About
Too Good To Be True
Merry Little Christmas (A West Brothers Novella)
Bomar Boys Series
No Regrets
No Apologies
Stand-Alone
It Had To Be You
Coming Soon:
The Hardens
Hard To Love
Continue the Bomar Boys Series with Remy & Rachel in No Fear
No Fear –
Book 3 in the Bomar Boys Series
Every small
town has that one family that’s more savage than civilized. The ones that are more myth and legend than man. In Old Settlers, Oklahoma that’s the Bomar boys. Wild, reckless and vicious, they skirt the line of criminal and trip over it more often than not. They are their own punchline: white trash but proud beyond compare. Dirty and dangerously sexy, it’s best to steer clear of them or else risk your life… and your heart. These are their stories.
Rachel Grant lives every day in fear. Scared that she’ll always be the kind of girl that nobody notices. Scared that her brother will figure out quiet doesn’t mean deaf or stupid and put together that she knows far more than she should. And what she knows has her fearing for her life because in a small town like Old Settlers everybody knows that you don’t cross the Bomar boys.
She needs help. Somebody she can trust. Somebody strong. Somebody that can protect her… and she knows just the guy.
Remy Bomar ran away from what being a Bomar meant when he was eighteen. Ten years later, he’s finally come home and he’s sworn that he’ll do anything to take back his place within the family. He didn’t protect the people he loved when he was young and he won’t make the same mistake again.
When the cute, shy, girl next door looks up at him with fear in her eyes, what he feels is far from simply protective. He wants her safe but he also wants her to be his. Being a Bomar, those two things have a tendency to be mutually exclusive, particularly since his family has a traitor hell bent on hitting them where it hurts.
What happens when the truth comes out? When Remy finds out she knows far more about the threat to his family than she’s been letting on? When Rachel has to choose between her family, or his? Will they find the strength they need to overcome their fears once and for all?
Coming January 2017
No Regrets –
Book 1 in the Bomar Boys Series
