Brotherhood of District 23 Complete Series

by Amy Briggs

  I wrapped up my workout; feeling perplexed about the night ahead, and decided to put my reservations aside. At the very least, I could humor him, and then we could have some mind-blowing sex, which was all I wanted at that point anyway. I was so worked up thinking about fucking him later, I almost pulled open the toy drawer, but then decided to just wait. It would be far more pleasurable to see what he had in store for me in the bedroom later, which is where we always ended up anyway.

  I sent Isabel a text on my way to the gym, letting her know what to wear and reminding her it wasn’t a date. Jax was meeting me at the gym so we could work out together. I hadn’t seen him much in the last few days, which was weird, but we also didn’t necessarily keep tabs on each other either. When I got to the station gym, he was already there, and I was praying I could get a workout in without a fire call happening. The fires had been so huge and often lately that if a call was tapped out and I was at the station, even if it wasn’t my shift, I’d be expected to go, and I had plans I didn’t want to change.

  “Long time, no see,” I said as I walked into the gym.

  “Yea, we keep missing each other. How’s your mom? She ok? I would have come over last night, you know.”

  “Oh, yea, she’s alright. I probably should have had you come over this morning to help me eat the massive pile of food she made. You’d think she was cooking for an army,” I laughed.

  “Your mom’s cooking is amazing. I’ll definitely come over for one of these family dinners soon. I’ve just been so fucking wiped from the fires and shit. It’s ridiculous. I hope the cops catch this guy soon so we can go back to our usual routine.”

  “Tell me about it. I hate being off schedule so bad. We basically lost a whole fucking day sleeping, and that drives me crazy.”

  “Yea, me too. Ok, so what are we doing today? Crossfit workout? We haven’t really done a lot of lifting lately, but I’d like to get some plyometrics in and work on agility a little.” He and I both lifted, but we really preferred doing more full body type workouts that were really using your own body weight more than barbells and such.

  “Yea, let’s do the box jump/burpee workout we both love so much, but we’ll incorporate some balance shit with the bosu?” Basically, what I meant was, let’s do burpees, which no one likes to begin with, but use a half stability ball to balance our pushup portion on. It was a move that totally sucked, but legitimately worked your entire body.

  “Sounds like a suck. Let’s do it.” He walked over to the stereo and turned up the tunes loud enough so we couldn’t talk. That worked for me. I didn’t want to make up any lies about what I was doing later, so avoiding the conversation altogether was even better.

  After about an hour and a half, we wrapped up our workout. “What are you up to tonight?” I asked Jax, knowing we were going to discuss our plans at some point.

  “I’m actually going to take a ride with Scotty out to that outdoor supply store a couple of hours away. He asked for some help getting some shit for a camping trip he is going on with his family in a couple of weeks. You wanna come with us?”

  A wave of relief washing over me, I replied, “No, I’m gonna pass. I might go get a couple of beers at Moonshiners. I haven’t been in a while, and I’ve got a hankering for some country music.”

  He laughed out loud. “A hankering, eh? Well, you have fun with that. And pick up a little cowgirl for yourself since you’ll have the house all to yourself.”

  “I just might do that,” I joked, knowing full well I was planning on staying at Isabel’s house that night.

  “Alright. Well, I’ll see you at home. I’m gonna run a few errands, so if I miss you, have fun with the country honeys and I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” We got into our trucks and took off.

  Jax seemed kind of off lately, not his usual joking self. I thought maybe when things calmed down, I’d be able to talk to him about it a little and see what was up. I always kind of worried he might have PTSD or something, but I wasn’t going to harass him about his feelings. We were men; we didn’t really do that unless it was critical. Our jobs could be so stressful sometimes too, and dealing with the bullshit of working for the government, even at the county level, could wear on you sometimes as well.

  Brushing off the Jax thing for the moment, I turned my focus to Isabel. I intended to make her laugh and relax. That was my main goal for the night. She was wound up so tight most of the time, I wanted to show her how much fun she could have with me outside the bedroom. Not that I didn’t want to end up back in her bed. I just wanted her to see another side to what we could be if she was open to it. The more I thought about it, the more I longed to be with her in a more traditional way.

  I wanted to take her to my mom’s for dinner. I wanted to go run errands with her. I wanted to just hang out with her at home on our day off and do couple shit. Oh my God, I wanted to do couple shit. As the realization hit me I wanted Isabel to be a bigger part of my life, it also dawned on me I had no clue what I was doing. I hadn’t had a real relationship since high school. I was the fun guy. I was the guy you called to go out with but wouldn’t settle down with. I struggled with the notion I was both exexcited to win her over and freaked out by my own desire for more with her. No woman had ever brought that out in me before, and a sense of certainty she needed to be mine became the overarching theme of the evening for me.

  After I tossed clothing out of my closet all over my bedroom, I finally found a pair of short denim shorts and a flowy purple tank top I wanted to wear with these goddamn cowboy boots he’d asked me to put on. I wondered if maybe this was a fetish thing. As the thought of role-playing with Matt even more than we had dabbled in crossed my mind, I heard my doorbell ring. Throwing the shorts on quickly and grabbing the boots, I ran to the door, knowing it was him.

  “Hey, there,” I said as I flung it open, wondering if he could hear my heart racing. Every time he was in proximity, I felt like I had just run a race.

  “Well, don’t you look cute,” he said as he walked by me to enter. I looked him up and down, noticing his green t-shirt that hugged those arms I dreamt about, stopping at that delicious ass of his in jeans, noticing that he too, had on cowboy boots. I didn’t have a thing for cowboys until that exact moment. I wanted to climb him like a tree.

  “Thank you very much, cowboy. Now, what are we doing?” I continued to eye fuck him while he leaned up against the island in the kitchen, crossing his huge arms across his chest.

  “Well, little miss, that’s still a surprise. So get those boots on and let’s go before I have to take you to the bedroom first,” he nodded in the direction of the boots.

  “We could just do that you know,” I offered.

  “I’m in charge here, remember, Detective? You have an appointment with me for one-on-one time. Believe me, we’ll make it back to the bedroom. I have plans for you later,” he stated firmly.

  Feeling both pouty and turned on, I put my boots on and went to a drawer in the hallway to grab my gun that would fit inside my boot when he stopped me.

  “No guns tonight. No crime. No fires. Just me and you.” He had lowered his voice, mesmerizing me. At first I had wanted to argue I didn’t do that, but I was going to let him have his say tonight.

  “Ok, but we have to compromise and put one in the glove box. Deal?” I gave him the poutiest lower lip I could muster, which caused him to laugh out loud.

  “Yes, we can do that, you little badass. Now, chop chop. We gotta go.” He smacked my ass as I walked by.

  I hopped up into his truck, glancing over at him while he drove us to our unnamed destination, taking in his profile. His jaw was exactly what you’d think of when you referenced chiseled, and he always wore t-shirts that were snug at his biceps, accentuating them even further. He was sexy as hell in his uniform, and even sexier in jeans and a simple green t-shirt that matched those eyes I got hypnotized by.

  We pulled up into a busy parking lot about twenty minutes outside of town that was already pretty full.
I realized we were at a bar called Moonshiners, a country bar I’d heard of but had never been to. Country was not my thing at all.

  “We’re here,” he said as he backed into a parking spot.

  “What are we doing here, Cavanaugh? This is a country bar. I don’t really do country.” I turned toward him in the cab of the truck and raised an eyebrow at him. I didn’t want to listen to hillbillies all night long. I wanted to go home and get fucked.

  “Tonight, you do what I say. That’s how this works. So tonight, you do country. We’re here to dance.” He smirked at me. He was fucking with me, and I didn’t like it one bit.

  “We’re what? Dancing? I don’t know how to dance to that kind of music,” I huffed.

  He hopped out of the truck, coming over to my side, and opened the door. “Tonight, I’m going to teach you how. Come on, m’lady.” He held his hand out to help me hop out of the truck, and of course I took it. We walked to the front door, still hand in hand, when the bouncer recognized him.

  “Cavanaugh! How are you, brother? Good to see you!” Matt dropped my hand and gave the bouncer a handshake and a bro hug.

  “Cole! Good to see you too.” Letting go of the man, he took my hand again. “Cole, this is Isabel. I’ll be teaching her to two-step tonight. She’s never been here before.”

  “Well, Isabel, it’s a pleasure to meet you. You’re in good hands with Matt here. He’s a hell of a dancer. Have a great time tonight.” The large, bearded man gave me a huge smile.

  “Thank you so much,” was all I could say. I was literally stunned.

  Matt led me into the building and squared us directly up to the bar. “So, little lady, what will it be?”

  “I think I need a shot. I’m out of my element right now,” I said.

  “Well, then shots it is.” He waved over the bartender. We took shots of some kind of whiskey that burned immensely as it made its way down to my stomach, where it warmed my entire body. The music was pumping. It was country music but remixed into dance music, which was really entertaining, I had to admit.

  “Come over here, babe.” He pulled me into his chest and looked down at me, smiling. “Trust me. You’re going to have fun, I promise. You gotta loosen up every once in a while.” I got lost looking up into those green eyes when he took my face in his hand and pulled me closer with the other.

  Our bodies were completely touching, and all I wanted to do then was get lost in my desire. I felt my body relax, and when he leaned down to kiss me, I forgot I didn’t want to be there, I forgot the cowboy boots seemed silly, and I forgot where I was. This kiss was different. This kiss changed things, and as he swept his soft lips across mine, I realized he was what I wanted, and I didn’t care what that meant. He took my breath away in a new and different way. Of course, I wanted him in my bed, but in an instant, I felt more. He kissed me in a way that felt like desire for me, that was more than just sex, and I completely gave into it. He caressed my face, slipping his tongue in my mouth, and I drank in that whiskey taste, completely consumed. As our lips parted, he whispered to me, “That’s the kiss, Isabel. That’s the one that changes things.”

  He was completely right. And I was completely speechless. We separated our bodies and both turned back to the bar to flag the bartender down for another shot, breaking the tension and making us both laugh.

  “You’re beautiful when you laugh, Isabel,” he said matter-of-factly.

  His comment was so direct it made me blush. I didn’t know what to say, again, so I smiled and leaned into his side. He felt good. Everything about the moment felt good. Not wanting to be too intense or presumptuous, I decided to turn the topic back to the music and this dancing he’d mentioned. “So, dancing. What kind of dancing are we doing tonight?”

  “Ah, yes, dancing. I almost forgot why we’re here,” he teased. “Tonight, I’m going to teach you to two-step. It’s a basic country dance. You’ll have it down in no time at all. And you can do the two-step to over half the songs out there, more or less.”

  “Hmm, the two-step. Ok, so is it only two steps?” I asked.

  Laughing, he took my hand. “Come on, let’s do it.” He led me to the dance floor. I hesitated at the makeshift wooden fence around it. “Come on, Cruise. The fence is so people can watch and look for a partner. You’re with me, it’ll be fine.” He tugged at me, and I finally gave in.

  A fun song I was familiar with came on; my partner listened to country, so I had heard some. Matt positioned me how he wanted me. “Now, all you have to do is follow my lead. It’s quick-quick, slow-slow. That’s it. We can get fancy later.” He winked at me. “Ready?”

  “Ok, sure.” I looked down at my feet.

  He let go of my hand and lifted my chin up to meet his eyes. “Just look at me. Don’t watch your feet. Feel it.” And with that, we were dancing. He started right away, moving to the music, and I counted in my head, staring at his eyes. After a few loops around the dance floor, I was able to stop counting, and my body knew where it was supposed to go, led by him. I started to smile. Not a little smile; I was having fun. Real fun. I was enjoying the music, and we were dancing. I couldn’t even believe it. Matt must have noticed, because he started to grin too and then said, “Ok, you’re ready to get fancy now.”

  “No, no, I’m not!” I tried to stop him when he grabbed a hold of my waist and spun me around, bringing me right back into step within an instant, and we were back to our quick-slow routine.

  “See? Now you’re fancy.” He laughed so hard I couldn’t help but laugh too. It felt so good to be away from everything, just laughing and dancing and enjoying his company. It had always confounded me until that moment that this was what people must be talking about when they said they found someone they could be themselves with. I was completely relaxed and having an absolutely wonderful time, enjoying the moment.

  As the night continued, we stopped dancing a few times to grab a drink or take a short break, but we spent most of the evening on the dance floor. As I got more comfortable, he taught me how to switch up our movements or add extra steps for different songs. It was so different from what I’d expected, but I was ready to go home. I wanted to put my hands on him in a different way. Clearly picking up my vibe, he leaned into me and said, “Are you ready to go home now, Isabel? You look like you need to get in bed.”

  Unable to control my enthusiasm for that, a huge smile crossed my face, and I nodded my agreement. “Yes, please.”

  “Let’s go, babe.” He took my hand, and we headed out the door. When we reached the passenger side door, he stopped, pressing his body to mine against the truck, and kissed me passionately, igniting everything sexual in me. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling my hips to his and crushing his mouth to mine hungrily. “Let’s get the fuck out of here,” he growled into my neck.

  “Yes, let’s,” was all I said.

  He pulled away from me and opened the door for me to climb in. As I did, he smacked my ass playfully, causing me to let out a little yelp.

  “That’s not the only noise you’ll be making tonight,” he said as he shut the door. The anticipation of getting home was like an outbreak. My skin was buzzing all over. We couldn’t get to my house fast enough.

  My plan was fucking working. Date, appointment, whatever you wanted to call it, she was into me for more than sex, and I was the happiest man in that bar if not all of Florida in that moment. That fucking kiss, holy shit. That’s the kind of kiss that stops traffic. The one you tell your kids you fell in love with their mother over. Yea, those were the kinds of thoughts she put in my head. I wasn’t even the same person because of her. I couldn’t wait to get her home.

  I was fairly certain I broke at least three different traffic laws, hightailing it back to her place with a hard-on from being in her presence and touching her all night. And those shorts she had on that showed off the shape of that beautiful ass of hers paired with those boots had every guy in that bar staring at her, something she hadn’t even noticed. I couldn’t keep my h
ands off of her, and even as she was fiddling with her keys to let us into her place, I was biting her neck and running my hands up and down her body.

  As soon as we made it inside, she dropped the keys on the floor and spun around to meet me, hopping into my arms. The moment her hips grazed mine, I could barely see straight from the overwhelming desire to bury myself in her. I carried her up the stairs to the bedroom, kissing her the whole time. We hadn’t stopped kissing except for when I was driving, and I was certain I’d die a happy man if that were all I ever did.

  As I set her on the bed, I kneeled down to take her boots off, tossing them behind me. “Isabel, you’ve been a very good girl tonight,” I said.

  Giving me a confused look, she waited for me to continue.

  “Good girls don’t need to be punished, Isabel. Tonight, I want to worship you instead.” I wanted to be close to her tonight. I’d had her in other ways, but in that moment, I wanted to devour her, consume her, and pleasure her. The corners of her lips turned up into a smile, and she scooted herself toward me, taking my face in her hands.

  “Matt, right now, I’m yours, any way you want.” Pressing her lips to mine, she kissed me softly and passionately like she had at the bar, sending me spinning. I pulled her to me by the waist of her shorts, then worked to undo them, yanking them off and revealing the sexiest fucking black underwear I’d ever seen in my life. She grabbed the hem of her shirt, pulling it off over her head, showing me the matching bra. She was literally the hottest woman I’d ever been with, and she had no idea what she did to me. I had gotten caught up in the moment, becoming motionless when she leaned forward to grab my shirt, pulling it up over my head. As her hands came down, she let them linger slowly down my chest, giving me chills. Before I lost all sense, I grabbed a condom out of my pocket and tossed it on the side table as she made her way to my waistband. My cock was aching for her at that point. I wanted to be deep inside her so desperately it was all-consuming. I had to kiss her again, and while she went to work undoing my pants, I brought her lips to mine.