I let myself into the apartment and Brad is hanging out in the kitchen. The radio is on and I can hear him singing along. I step into the kitchen with a wide smile and watch him sing along to “22” by Taylor Swift while swaying his hips and washing dishes.
He never notices me standing there and when the song wraps up, I give him a round of applause. He jumps, dropping the pot in his hands. “Fuck, man. You scared the shit out of me.”
I can’t hold back my laughter.
“How long you been there?”
“Oh, only since the first chorus. I had no idea you could sing like such a delicate lady. Does Taylor know about you?” I joke, needing to give him shit.
He laughs and shakes his head. “Man, you’re just jealous that you don’t have the voice of an angel like I do.”
I laugh harder as I grab a bottle of water out of the fridge.
“So, how was the training?”
I plop down at the kitchen table. “Shit. I did nothing but watch videos and take tests.”
He snorts. “Well, you didn’t think they’d just send you into a burning building, did you?”
“I kinda hoped so.” I laugh out. “How hard can it be? Save the people, put out the fire.”
He laughs. “I’m sure there’s more to it than that.”
“Apparently, there’s a whole lot more to it than that. I should know. I spent the last six hours learning all about it.”
“So, what’s the plan for tomorrow? More videos?”
I nod. “More videos, more tests. But at the end of the day, they’re going to send me into the simulator.”
“What’s that?” he asks, drawing his brows together.
“It’s this little house thing they have set up. You go in and they fill it with smoke. I have to search through the house for the lives I’m supposed to save. And in case you were wondering, they’re dolls. Then, I have to get out without getting lost in the smoke or leaving anyone behind.”
He nods as he sticks out his bottom lip. “Sounds cool though. When do they plan on starting you?”
I take a drink of water. “Just depends on how well I do on my tests and all the little tasks they’re going to have me do. I have to test on hooking up the hose, using the hose, climbing up the ladder with heavy equipment. It’s a long list.”
He shakes his head as he drains the water from the sink and dries his hands. “I don’t think I could do it. I’d get too panicky. All that smoke and heat and the worry that I’d miss someone. Not to mention rushing into a burning building that could be coming down on top of you. Nope, no thank you.”
I laugh. “It’s exciting. The adrenaline pumps through your veins, and it’s the best high you’ll ever experience. I learned that as I ran away from guys with high-powered machinery and bombs being thrown my way. Shit gets scary sometimes, but once you make it out alive, there’s a high for days.”
He chuckles. “You need therapy, man.”
“Been there, done that.” I laugh out.
“I’m going to go take a nap before I have to go in. If you have time, would you mind running down to the laundry room and finishing up for me? I’ve got things in machines 12 and 13. Take one out, put one in. That easy.”
“Sure, no problem,” I agree as he walks out, leaving me alone.
I finish off my bottle of water and toss it into the full trash can. I go ahead and grab the bag, taking it out as I go for the laundry. I find the machines he was talking about, and there’s an empty basket on top. I open the dryer and pull the clothes into it. Right on top is a red, lacy thong. I pick them up and hold them in front of my face. I wonder why I haven’t seen these yet? I know one thing for sure. I’m going to be ripping these motherfuckers off her tonight. My mouth waters just from thinking of it.
I shake my head at myself, then toss the lace onto the top of the pile before moving the clothes from the washer into the dryer. I grab the basket and take it back up to the apartment. I drop it into the corner of the room and throw myself back on the couch. I kick up my feet and lean my head back, watching TV from beneath my lashes as exhaustion takes over.
I guess Brad slips out while I’m sleeping. The next thing I know, I’m being woken up with her lips on my neck. My eyes pop open, and I turn my head to the side to see her lust-filled eyes.
“Why’d you stop?” I ask, giving her a sleepy smile.
“Ugh, because my brother hasn’t left yet.” She quickly leans back a second before Brad walks into the living room.
He motions toward me with a scoff. “She hasn’t been home five minutes and she’s already woken you up.” He rolls his eyes and shakes his head before turning his attention to her. “Some of us actually work for a living, Deven. Try letting us sleep, huh?” With a lift of his brow, he heads for the kitchen.
“What’s his problem?” I ask, stretching.
She rolls her eyes. “I was in the bathroom this morning, and he claims I was being so loud that I woke him up. Then he proceeded to bitch about how I was in there for too long because he had to pee. Then he didn’t have enough hot water. Blah, blah, blah.”
I chuckle under my breath. “The life of siblings,” I say, sitting up and resting my elbows on my knees.
Brad comes walking through the living room with his lunch box in hand. “Well, I’m off. Dev, let the man sleep. He’s a firefighter now and he has to rescue dolls from the smoke tomorrow.” He glances at me. “Don’t put up with her shit,” he says with a smile as he opens the door and steps out.
She looks at me confused. “You have to rescue what?”
I laugh. “It’s a test. I have to rescue dolls. It’s too risky to use real people.”
She nods. “Sounds like fun. I bet there are some at-home exercises we could run if you need practice.”
I frown, wondering what in the hell she’s talking about. “Like what?”
“Like…I could be the dirty little porn star whose penthouse apartment is on fire. And my only way of repaying you by riding you all night.” She smiles wide.
I laugh. “I think that’s called roleplay, but I’m cool with it.” I reach out to pull her in for a kiss, but before my hand touches her, the door opens and Brad comes marching in. My hand falls away as he walks straight past us, into the kitchen, and then back toward the door.
“Forgot my keys. See ya,” he says, walking back out.
When the door slams behind him, the both of us let out a long breath. I shake my head as annoyance pumps through my veins. I stand up and start pacing. “This is exactly what I was talking about. We’re going to get caught.”
She comes to stand in front of me. “No, we’re not. We just need to set some ground rules.”
I nod. “Okay, yeah, ground rules. What do you got?”
“Well…First of all, we can’t talk dirty, touch, or kiss if we’re not locked in your bedroom or out of the apartment. That way, we never have to worry about him walking in on us.”
“Okay.”
“Second, I think at least once a week, we each need to bitch to him about the other. You know, just to throw him off and make him think we hate each other.”
“That’s good,” I say, reaching out for her, needing to feel her against my chest, my lips.
She quickly pulls away. “What did I just say?” she asks around a smile. “Rule number one is…”
“I know, I know. Don’t touch unless we’re in my room. I wasn’t thinking. I’ll do better.”
She laughs. “Look at you. From never breaking a rule to breaking the number one rule five seconds after it’s made,” she jokes.
I laugh. “Yeah, yeah. Lock the door and let’s go to my room.”
She quickly rushes to the door, locks it, then jogs past me, smacking me on the ass as she goes.
“God, that fucking mouth of yours can work miracles,” I say as her head bobs up and down, taking more and more of me into her hot mouth.
For the last four hours, we’ve been locked away in my room, never leaving the bed and never
not touching one another. We have sex, rest, and then start the process all over again. We cuddle, kiss, tickle, talk, and tease, which is how we always end up repeating the vicious cycle.
I come harder than I’ve ever come before, and she swallows it down like the fucking godsend she is. When she pulls away, her lips are red and swollen, glistening from sucking me off. Her eyes are sparkling, and her cheeks are flushed. I place my hand on her jaw, my thumb moving back and forth across her pink cheek. “Come here,” I tell her, watching as she crawls up my body. I direct her lips to mine, and I can taste myself on her. I want my taste on her tongue, my cologne on her body, my hands in her hair. Nobody else’s.
I kiss her deeply, taking things slow. There’s no way I can go for another round, but for the first time in a really long time, I’m kissing her just because I enjoy it. I’m not pushing for more. I’m just taking what’s mine. She pulls away and lays herself down at my side. Her head rests on my shoulder while her hand runs up and down my stomach. I watch as her fingers rise and fall as they trail over my abs.
“You have no idea how long I’ve dreamed of licking these abs. I’m glad I finally get to check that off my list.”
I let out a chuckle. “How long you been thinking about it?” We haven’t been doing this thing we’re doing for too long.
“Since I was young enough I shouldn’t have been thinking about it,” she admits.
“How old were you when you lost your virginity?” I ask, and I feel her tense beside me.
“Why?”
I shrug. “I was just wondering. I want to know you. Everything about you. The good and the bad. I want to understand why Brad treats you the way he does.”
She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “I was thirteen.”
“Seriously?”
She nods but doesn’t look up at me. Something tells me she’s ashamed. “Yep. I was thirteen and my boyfriend was sixteen. We dated for a whole week. Then he said that if I didn’t start putting out, he’d break up with me for Jenna Garcia. He said that nobody liked a prude and it wasn’t that big of a deal; I just needed to let loose. So I did it. I gave him my virginity and then two days later, he broke up with me and started dating Jenna anyway.”
I roll over, causing her to lie on her back and look up at me as I loom over her. “He’s fucking stupid,” I tell her, pressing a kiss to her jaw. “Who was this Jenna girl, and why was she so special?”
“Jenna was the it girl back at my old school. She was sixteen at the time and had just blossomed into a woman the summer before I got there. So while most girls were still skinny and flat, she had curves for days. It didn’t hurt that she was extremely popular and rich. She was just better than everyone. In a teenager’s eyes, anyway.”
I shake my head as I watch the expressions on her face change.
“After that, he told everyone that we had hooked up, and it was like everyone was bidding for my attention. But after him, I was done with the popular jock type. So, I went after guys that I shouldn’t have. I figured, hey, why not? I dated a good guy and he treated me like shit. Surely the cute bad boys couldn’t do much worse, right?”
I don’t talk. I don’t think she needs me to.
“Anyway, that was my downfall. I got in with the bad kids. We’d skip school, drink, party, get into trouble. By the time I was sixteen, I had been kicked out of school and had to go to the loser school with the rest of the troublemakers. Going there was only worse for me. I no longer had the option of being good. Everyone there was into partying and drinking and sex. And then, it was only worse with the guys, because at sixteen, I had started to fill out. The girls hated me—I quickly grew bigger and better. And the guys, well, they loved me even more than they had before.”
“Does all this have something to do with getting kicked out?” My hand is on her stomach, trailing up and down from the bottom of her breast to her hipbones and back.
“Sort of. I had been giving my mom a lot of trouble for years. She didn’t deserve the way I treated her. I mean, I was young and just wanted to do what I wanted to do. She was trying to protect me, but I hated her for it. Then came her boyfriend, Marco. Marco was a loser. He had had a good job at one point in time, but he got hurt and got a huge settlement. The money went straight to his head. He bought a big mansion, fancy cars, and spent thousands of dollars at clubs to impress everyone. That’s where he met Mama. She was waitressing at a club.”
“Your mom?” I ask, unable to process this story. Her mom was always good-looking for an older, married lady, but I’d never think of her dressing skimpy or working at a club.
“Yep, Mama changed a lot after Daddy died, and she did what she had to do. Anyway, in walks Marco. He’s attractive, charming, and he has money. It didn’t take him long to win her over. Then came the day that we got kicked out of our shitty apartment for not paying rent. We moved in with him, but my attitude had only gotten worse. And with Mama occupied with her new boyfriend, I was free to cause even more trouble. Like I said, I had grown a lot over the years, not mentally, but physically. And those bad guys, they weren’t the only ones to notice. So did Marco. He’d say things to me when Mama wasn’t around. Innocent things to start with. He’d tell me how pretty I was, how I was much more mature than other girls my age, how any guy I chose to be with should consider themselves lucky. But that changed to dirty things, and then came the night when he came home drunk and thought that I’d have sex with him.”
I feel my body tense with anger.
“I was asleep in my bed and he came in. He woke up me and covered my body with his. I had just gotten home from a party, and I was drunk and high. I kissed him back because I thought I was still with my boyfriend at the time. But then he slid his hand up my nightgown and touched me, and that’s when I realized that I was at home, and it wasn’t my boyfriend who was touching me. I freaked out and pushed him off of me. He was pissed and called me a tease. I cried myself to sleep that night.”
I’m clenching my teeth so hard that pain surges through my jaw.
“In the morning, I was planning on telling Mama everything. I didn’t know if she’d believe me or not. I mean, I was her out-of-hand, slut of a teen, and he was her saving grace. But when I went downstairs to tell her, he’d already beaten me to it, and instead of telling her the truth, he flipped everything around. He said that I came in wasted and came onto him, tried seducing him. My mom flipped her shit. She yelled at me, called me names, smacked me, and kicked me out. I cried the way whole way here. If it weren’t for Brad, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
I squeeze her closer. “And you didn’t tell Brad any of this?”
She shakes her head. “I was scared. I was scared that he would drive over there and kill him. I was scared to lose him because he was all I had left. But a part of me, deep down, was scared that even he wouldn’t believe me, that he’d believe the same thing that my mom did, and I couldn’t bear to have him see me that way too.” A tear slips from her eye, and I use my thumbs to wipe it away.
“You did nothing wrong, Deven. You hear me?” I force her to look at me. “You couldn’t have stopped any of it. You didn’t bring it on.”
“But the way I acted,” she starts out between sobs, “I was stupid. I shouldn’t have been messing around the way I was. He thought I was a whore and figured he could treat me like one.”
“No, nobody asks to get assaulted, Deven. This wasn’t your fault. Your mom not believing you, that’s her problem. Especially if she can’t see the real dick that she’s with. And Brad, you know Brad will believe you. You could tell him you saw a purple unicorn riding a skateboard outside, and he’d rush to the window. Your brother loves you. He sees past the mistakes you’ve made in the past and knows that you’re starting over. He’s proud of the woman you’re becoming.”
Her tears stop falling. “You really think so?”
“I know so,” I tell her, rolling back on top of her as my lips find hers. I slide between her parted legs, and sh
e wiggles her center against my hardening cock. Fuck, I don’t know how many times I can get off in a day, but we’re testing it today. Today puts my teenage years to shame.
A part of me doesn’t even want to think about sex, especially now that I know her story and what she’s been through, but I can’t stop myself. When we kiss, when we touch, my body comes to life, needing her. There’s something deep inside of me that calls to her. I don’t know if it’s because we seem to click on a deeper level, if it’s just purely sexual tension, or if it’s love. Fuck, I can’t love her already. We haven’t been together long enough for that. Have we? How long does it take to fall in love with someone? Is this love that I’m feeling? I’ve never been in love before.
Love. That would explain the reason I haven’t been able to ignore her and keep her at arm’s length. It would be the reason I can’t resist her. Here I was thinking that everything between us was just physical. But this warmth in my chest has nothing to do with sex. It has everything to do with the way she makes me feel: protective, scared, demanding, giving, yearning. What else could this be?
Her arms wrap around my middle, her nails scratching up and down my back as she wiggles herself against me. With one roll of my hips, I’m filling her again, this time, with nothing between us. The moment we connect, she sucks in a breath that turns to a moan, making my dick twitch inside her.
“Have you ever had sex this way?” I ask her, slowly moving my hips.
“No,” she whispered. “I’ve always been careful. What about you?”
I shake my head. “There’s never been anyone that I needed this badly. I want nothing between us, Deven. I want to feel you and only you.” I rock my hips against her, and she lets out a moan before our lips find one another again. This time, it isn’t like the rest. This time, it’s soft and slow. It’s not hard and fast and rushed. This time, I want to feel every inch of her body with mine. I want to make it last as long as possible. Just thinking about getting off and having to pull out of her has me slowing my efforts even more. With her, getting off isn’t the objective. Being with her, showing her love, passion, and protection—that’s what I want. I may not be her brother, but I’ll protect her like she’s my own because that’s exactly what she is.
The Slade Brothers: A Complete Small Town Contemporary Romance Collection Page 86
