Riveted by the charm of these historical buildings, I said, “Brody, look at the arched brickwork above those windows.”
Glancing over to him, I saw the gleam in his eye and a grin spread across his face. “You really like that old building’s brickwork, huh?”
“I do. I love the history that it has seen,” I said as I walked to the couch parallel to the brick wall. Sitting down, I ran a hand over the red and brown bricks, collecting bits of grit and dirt along the way. “Can you imagine if these bricks could show us images what we would see?”
He didn’t say anything—just stood there, dimples on full display, looking handsome. It was a shame I was leaving. The way he stood there, subdued and observant, he was mesmerizing.
He was really alluring when he was not bossing anyone around, but I couldn’t fault him too much. It was the business he was in. Assertive and ruthless was the only way to amass a billion-dollar empire in real estate.
My father was similar to Brody. Demanding and hard when he was in a suit, but he put his daughter in front of him and transformed into a marshmallow of a man. I hoped Brody didn’t get his heart broken the way my father had his.
“Are you cold?” Brody asked as he sat down next to me. We were close enough that our legs connected from hip to knee.
“Not really. It’s pretty nice compared to my usual December evening. Want to play a game?” I questioned as I crossed my leg to get a little distance. Touching him was almost painful. I could feel the electricity that jumped back and forth across our bodies. There was a magnetism there that I couldn’t quite understand and couldn’t explain it away.
He looked at me with hooded eyes, assessing my motives. “Depends.”
“Nope. Yes or no. I won’t tell you what the game is until you’ve answered,” I told him, standing my ground.
“Okay, I’ll bite. Let’s play it your way.”
My eyes lit up. “Goodie. Okay, here is how this is going to go. I say two words. You have to pick one or the other. Now since this is a game, you get to ask too. I’ll go first. Wine or beer?”
He smiled. “Beer if I had to choose. So, it’s my turn now, right?”
“Yes, sir,” I grinned.
“Ooh, I like that answer.” He smiled like a big bad wolf. “Martini or margarita?”
“Damn, that’s a tough one,” I said, tapping my finger against my bottom lip. “Margarita, uhh, wait… Yeah, margarita. Okay, sweet or sour?”
“Sour, definitely sour. I like this game. Roses or lilies?”
“Roses, hands down. I love the way they smell. Water or soda?”
“If I could only have one, water. I could still make coffee.” He laughed at his own response. “Okay, vanilla or chocolate?”
“Why do I feel like there’s a hidden meaning to this question?” I eyed him suspiciously but he deadpanned and gave away nothing. “Okay,” I paused for a minute, glared and then decided to play with fire. “Chocolate. Caramel sauce or chocolate?”
“Caramel.” His blue eyes darkened. “Indoors or out?”
“I guess it would depend on what the activity was. Can you provide me with examples?” I asked, sipping my strawberry mojito that was refreshing and tasty.
He leaned forward and whispered in my ear. “I’d rather show you, but I have a feeling you’re not into people watching.”
The floodgates opened and I almost choked on my drink. Coughing and sputtering, I looked at him as if he had just screamed “bomb” on a plane. He threw his head back and laughed like I had never seen him laugh. His whole perfect body shook as he reached over and rubbed my back.
When I had finally regained my composure, I decided to wait until he took a sip of his drink to answer. I thought it was only fair. “No, I’m not into being watched,” I leaned forward to quietly whisper in his ear, so close I could almost taste him. “I prefer to be the one watching.”
His sip sprayed across the slate and it was my turn to giggle. I leaned back and waggled my eyebrows.
“I’m sorry. I think I misunderstood you. What did you just say?”
I uncrossed my legs, slid to the edge of the sofa cushion and tucked my purse under my arm. “I. Prefer. To. Watch. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to use the ladies’ room.”
Emmery: one, McHottiePants: zero.
I stood and sauntered away, never looking back to see if he had picked his jaw up from the floor. There were so many customers here I never once had a worry about him following me into this bathroom. Lucky for me, because there wasn’t a chance in hell my self-control would survive one minute alone with him.
Returning to the patio, the couch we had previously occupied was vacant. It only took a minute for me to see him at the bar. He was talking with the bartender and one of the shot girls. I approached, and right on cue he turned, holding a margarita on the rocks, just the way I liked it.
“I thought after our last conversation you might prefer this,” he remarked as he handed me the pint glass with a salted rim. “I hope you like salt. I didn’t have a chance to ask.”
“Salt is fine, but I think I need to make this my last drink. We should go. Your daughter is at home and I don’t want to keep you from her. But I did have a good time. It was…enlightening.” I smiled behind my drink before taking a sip.
“Em, are you okay? I thought we were having fun. Did I say something to upset you?” He leaned in and spoke softly. “Did you get another call?”
“I’m fine. No more calls. And we are having fun but we could do this at your house and you could be with Lillian at the same time.”
“Is that all this is? Or do you think I’m trying to get you drunk?” he asked playfully with a smirk, lightening the mood.
“Well, you are feeding me tequila, now aren’t you?” Smiling back, I sat my drink on the cocktail table adjacent to the bar. “And don’t worry—I don’t scare too easily. But I would just like to reiterate my wishes to keep the drug lords that want to dope my horses between the two of us. Jane doesn’t need to be brought into this. If she knew then she’d tell my dad and I don’t want him near this. He’s like a bull in a china shop and these guys won’t respond nicely to that.”
“Your secret is safe with me,” Brody said, taking my hand and bringing it to his lips. He brushed them across my knuckles and that light touch shot straight between my legs. “Are you ready?”
“Whenever you are.”
“God, I love your answers.”
I rolled my eyes. He kept my hand and pulled me along behind him out the side exit to the alley between the buildings. Halfway through the narrow path he stopped, spun around, grabbed my face and said, “Fuck it.” He gripped a handful of my hair and pulled my head to the side. His mouth slammed on mine, his tongue insisting on entrance, which he got, then he tangled and twisted around mine, caressing then flicking, teasing then tasting.
He raked his teeth across my tongue with just enough pressure to surprise me but not enough to cause pain. Biting and pulling on my bottom lip, he released my hair. His hand slowly skated down the exposed flesh of my back to my bottom.
Giving into my desire, I wrapped my arms around his neck and my nails sunk into his shoulders. God, there wasn’t enough willpower in the world to stop the freight train I’d just jumped on. I wanted this man. I needed his touch as much as I needed my next breath.
I wanted to feel him on me. In me.
He released my mouth and his mischievous lips discovered my neck. Painfully slow, he kissed, licked and nipped his way from my jaw to my sternum.
“Wrap your legs around me,” he commanded and I obeyed. He wrapped one arm around my back and held me in position. His other hand slipped under the hem of my dress. He slid up my thigh, around my hip, across my right butt cheek and settled on the left. Kneading and palming my bare flesh, he asked me, “Are you wet for me? God, I bet that sweet pussy is juicy and ready for me to taste.”
Hoisting me higher against the brick wall I’d admired, he rubbed his face across my breast
s. My nipples were as hard as his dick straining into his zipper. My hips shimmied and rocked against him. His hand left my ass and pulled the dress’s spandex fabric down slightly, baring my right breast.
God help me, I knew I needed to stop this before it got any further, but I didn’t want to. Before I could make up my mind, I felt his tongue flick back and forth across the tip of my nipple. A soft moan escaped my lips before I could rein it in. Next, his mouth covered the entire thing, swirling and biting gently.
All of a sudden, he pulled away, fixed my dress and set me down. Once I was steady on my feet, he growled and stalked away toward the car.
I was left standing there alone in the dark alleyway between the brick buildings. Breathless and confused. It should have been me stopping him.
What the hell just happened?
Chapter Eleven
~Brody~
Jesus Christ. What the hell was that, you asshole?
I couldn’t keep kissing her.
I couldn’t keep letting myself want her.
I couldn’t have her.
She was off limits. She was Jane’s niece. I’d told Drew as much just this morning and here I was less than twenty-four hours later practically fucking her in the alley outside a bar like she was some sort of bar slut. I knew she didn’t want that. She told me she wanted to be friends and I’d agreed. One second alone in the dark and I was mauling her like a madman.
I desperately needed to get a grip.
Walking away and leaving her in that dark, chilly alley was the lesser of two evils at that point. If I would have stayed, I would’ve been balls deep in that wet, tight pussy.
Fuck.
I was so fucked. Even in my self-loathing rant, I was still thinking about fucking her.
Reaching the alley opening, I looked left to see the front of the bar and across the street was my Bentley. I stood there for a minute trying to reclaim my willpower and find my level head. A few seconds later, I heard the click of her heels on the damp bricks.
I needed to apologize. “Listen, Emmery, I’m really sorry about back there. You told me that you just wanted to be friends and I agreed. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry I keep giving you all these mixed signals. I promise to be a gentleman from here on out.”
I stood there waiting for the scorned woman routine, but that was not what I got.
“No, it wasn’t just you, Brody. It was my fault, too. I got caught up and let my pussy do all the thinking. P.S., you two would get along, she’s a bit of a control freak too,” she laughed. “But seriously, we are just friends and that’s all we can ever be. It’s just how it has to be. How about we get out of here before we get arrested for having sex in public?”
“You never cease to amaze me,” I told her, shaking my head. “Let’s go.”
***
We made it home just in time to give Lillian her bottle and put her to bed. Emmery quickly put space between us and I didn’t blame her. I was actually relieved. The drive home from the bar was uncomfortable. It took a good fifteen minutes before my dick figured out it wasn’t happening.
During the ride, Emmery and I discussed some options to handle her predicament. One thought I had was to keep her here with me until I could send Jax, Drew and Kai to assess the threat, but I didn’t think she’d go for that. I suggested sending Kai to look around and see if he could determine who was behind this. This didn’t seem to bother her, so I shot him an email with the information and asked him to leave tonight.
What seemed to be the million-dollar question was who was trying to help her by hurting her horse, blackmailing her and threatening her friends?
While I was rocking Lil my mind churned with these ideas and possible scenarios. I kept coming back to her mother’s email. “Even though I may not be there, I am still watching over you from afar.”
Could her mother be behind this whole situation? If so, why? Why would a mother threaten, blackmail and send gun-wielding goons after her own daughter? It was a theory that I would have to have Jax or Drew look into before I dared to bring it up.
Regardless of the current state of Em’s relationship with Alejandra, she was still Emmery’s mom. I knew better than to challenge that without definitive proof. God knew my mother and I did not have a perfect relationship, but I’d never stand by and allow anyone to say anything derogatory or slanderous about her.
My father was another story. One I would like to forget.
After Lillian was asleep, I slipped out and went to my office. As I passed in front of the slightly ajar door to Em’s room, I heard her on the phone. “I’ll probably be home in a few days. I really appreciate you looking out after Pu and Jetta. You know they’re my babies… Yeah, vacation has been great. I wish you could see Brody’s horse Noir. Ahh, he’s gorgeous and moves just like Pu but with the disposition and power of your horse, Misty. Yeah, he’s pretty amazing and his owner’s not too bad himself.” She was quiet for a minute. “I do really like him, Jeff, but I don’t live here. I don’t have time for a relationship, the same way you don’t… I appreciate the advice, but it’s not going to happen. I’ll be home in a few days and he’ll go back to his own life. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ll talk to you when I get home. Keep an eye on Veronica too, will ya? ’Kay. See ya.”
I heard a soft thud followed by a deep sigh before Emmery said, “Jesus, Mary and Joseph. What did I get myself into?” A door closed and the room was silent.
Next, I passed by Leila’s room, the shrine as Em called it. I walked in but didn’t flip the light switch on. I looked around the dark room that was lit by moonlight. It was just a room. Sure, I had pictures of Leila in here, but there were also pictures of Lillian, Jane and myself. It wasn’t a shrine.
Shaking my head, I reached for the silver handle and pulled the tall wooden door closed behind me. As I descended the stairs, my cell buzzed. It was Damon. I looked at my watch. It was nine-thirty.
Shit.
I’d completely forgotten about him.
“Hey, man, I’m sorry. I’m at home.”
“Nah, it’s all good. I was a little uhh…tied up. I just got here. I wasn’t able to get a hold of any friends. Besides, from what Drew said, sounds like you got your hands full, bro,” he laughed.
“She’s Jane’s niece, D. Hey, are you with Drew now?” I asked as I hit the hardwood in the foyer.
“Yeah.”
“Have him give me a call when he has a minute.”
“Sure thing, man, but it might be a while. Sierra bailed on him and I think he’s tryin’ to drink her memory away. I definitely will be drivin’ his drunk ass home tonight.”
“Shit, when?”
“This afternoon. She’s too young for him anyway. She’s great with Lillian but she’s not ready to be in the kind of relationship he wants. Which means I’ve got one of my wingmen back. God only knows when you’ll take your I’m-a-pussy pants off.” Damon laughed while he ridiculed me.
“Whatever, asshole, just keep an eye on him and don’t let him go home with any strange. He’ll regret it tomorrow. He’s not you.”
“Fuck you, I haven’t had any strange in months.”
“D, I don’t want to know where your dick has been.”
“Right,” he laughed. “Later.”
“Bye, D.”
Scrolling through my contacts, I stopped on Jaxon’s name. I was hesitant to call him. Never mind the fact that I had the baby and he and Lei were probably out or worse, home. I fucking hated the idea of asking him to help me with Emmery. I wasn’t sure what about it bothered me more. That I needed his help or that he’d be better at figuring this out than I would. Before I called him, I needed to see what I could find out about Alejandra Lennox.
My Internet sleuthing produced a great many surprises. Not only was Alejandra from a wealthy family, she was the niece of Juan Carlos Varela, the head of one of the most vicious and notorious Venezuelan drug cartels. On paper, it appeared that she had never been associated with her uncle, but as luck would
have it, they now lived in the same country. Hell, even the same city. That couldn’t be a coincidence. My gut started talking and I didn’t like what it was saying. Opening my email, I sent out a request for Kai to get a few pictures or license plates. Anything I could use to ID these buffoons.
I needed sleep, but despite my fatigue, sleep was hard fought. I tossed and turned for an hour, with thoughts of Emmery plaguing my mind and haunting my dreams.
The next morning, I woke to the high-pitched squeals of the world’s most precious gift. Lilly must have gotten up early. I rolled over and looked at the clock then shot out of the bed. It was nine thirty. I had overslept and missed her breakfast. Trotting to the door, I flung it open to see Lil’s door open and her playing on the floor with Emmery.
“Peak-a-boooooo.” Emmery pulled the soft, pink blanket from her face for a second before covering it again. Quietly, I watched the two of them playing from my doorway until Jane came up the staircase.
“Good morning,” she whispered. “She’s really great with her. Lil woke up early. She had already changed her and was on her way downstairs before I got up here.”
“I’m shocked. She’s usually pretty shy,” I said, my eyes never leaving my darling daughter. I watched her like a hawk no matter who she was with. It was funny how something so small could make you feel terror like nothing else in this world. I was terrified of something or someone hurting her. I imagined Emmery’s father would feel the same if he knew the danger she was in and I decided right then I would protect her, no matter what. Whether she wanted the help or not, I would see her through this.
I had observed enough. I crossed the hall and made my presence known.
“Da-da,” my beautiful, redheaded, toothy-grinning daughter called to me.
“Good morning, princess,” I greeted her then scooped her up. “Did you sleep good? I heard you woke up early and spent the morning with Em. Did you play?”
She wiggled and squirmed to get out of my grasp. When she wanted to play, there was no cuddling or hugging. I’d have to wait until she was ready for her nap before I could snuggle with her.
His Redemption Page 9
