by Dawn Ryder
Jaelyn deserved a guy like him.
As for herself? Well, she looked out into the night and realized she had everything she thought she wanted and nothing that really meant anything to her.
Crying wouldn’t solve anything and it wasn’t until she made it into her room that she made herself stand in one place and wipe her eyes on her sleeve.
There.
One thing accomplished. Now to straighten out her thinking.
She needed to find a direction in her life because it dawned on her, she had everything she wanted and happiness wasn’t anywhere in sight. The reason was simple, she didn’t like herself.
Well, that was going to have to change.
* * *
Morning wasn’t kind.
Jaelyn rummaged through the cabinet, looking for the jumbo coffee mug someone had gifted her grandfather with at some point. She didn’t care if it would likely go cold before she consumed half of it.
The idea was what counted.
She needed to know she had reinforcements on her side against the flood of reality coming at her with the rising sun. Her stuffed email box represented a good place to take shelter, too.
“I’m going down to deal with your car.”
Jaelyn spun around, only this time, there was a glint of approval in Bram’s eyes for how jumpy she was.
“Stay on guard while I’m gone. Inside would be best. Don’t open the door.”
“Excuse me?” she asked as her brain played catch-up. She’d been stuck on where they’d ended up the night before, but now his words had recent events flooding back. “I doubt my car and the prowler are connected.”
Bram folded his arms across his chest. “Never trust a coincidence.”
“I agree,” Milton Sondors said, joining the conversation. “I made sure both my girls had new cars so they wouldn’t be left stranded. Something’s not adding up.”
Bram liked what her grandfather said, and Milton approved of Bram’s thought process. Jaelyn found herself fending off a little tingle of dread.
But she shoved it aside, refusing to let circumstances scare her. Lord knew, she had enough concrete facts to undermine her peace of mind.
“Jaelyn?”
Bram wasn’t willing to let her go without solid agreement on her part.
“I’m going to the office,” she muttered. Meeting his gaze was a major miscalculation on her part.
Her composure crumbled like sand beneath her feet as a wave rushed over them. In a second, she was floundering, looking into his blue eyes, and facing the man she had no resistance to.
At least his expression tightened, proving she wasn’t the only one feeling the … well … the pull between them.
“I’ll keep an eye on my girls,” Milton said.
Jaelyn turned and hurried toward her office as her cheeks stung with a blush. Her grandfather might be old but he wasn’t stupid.
At least it felt like he could see everything she’d given in to with Bram, like it was written on her face. It wasn’t that she regretted it. No, she just felt like she was floundering as she tried to stand up on her surfboard and ride the wave. She wanted to be confident enough to do it.
Life on the other hand seemed to have other ideas about how much it was going to jerk her around.
Well, she’d wanted to live in the moment. It would seem the moment was going to deliver a kick-ass ride.
All in all, she wasn’t complaining.
Just trying to catch her breath so she didn’t pass out.
* * *
Staying busy was the only way to keep sane.
Chicken …
Jaelyn accepted her self-criticism and kept right on moving toward the garage.
Sure, she was trying to escape the house and the fact that her grandfather was watching her.
Bram’s warning or his intuition?
She wasn’t sure, but by evening, she grabbed a set of clean sheets and went toward the loft as an excuse to find a moment of privacy that didn’t include hiding in the bathroom.
There was a warm breeze blowing, hinting at summer heat waves as it blew through the new green growth on the trees. It made the leaves rustle, releasing the scent of fresh new life.
The bed in the loft apartment made her stop. She caught the scent of Bram’s skin coming from it. Frustration nipped at her because she really needed to get a grip on herself. She’d found the toe-curling experience she’d craved but that was no reason to become obsessed.
“I guess you think this loft qualifies as part of the house.”
Jaelyn jumped, the sheets she’d carried up the stairs went spilling to the floor. The only morsel of dignity she managed to hold on to came from the fact that she didn’t shriek.
“Could you stop sneaking up on me?”
Bram offered her an expression that made it clear he had no mercy for her. “What if it hadn’t been me who followed you up here?”
He shut the heavy exterior door and it closed with a very solid sound. “No one would hear you scream, Jaelyn.”
He’d made her scream alright …
She picked up the sheets and carried them to the bedside table and then pulled the coverlet free as her damned cheeks started to heat.
“So … what’s the verdict on my car?”
“The computer was offline.”
Jaelyn looked back at him. “That’s weird.”
Bram moved up on the other side of the bed and had her fixed with a hard look while he helped pulled the fitted sheet over the edge of the mattress.
“It’s suspicious,” he said.
“I’m sure it happens … a lot.”
One of his dark eyebrows rose. “The chief mechanic at the dealership claimed he’d never seen it before. He’ll know more once he brings it back online, if he can recover the system that is.”
That tingle of dread went down her spine again and this time, it was a true shiver.
“Glad to see you taking it seriously now.”
Jaelyn stopped and faced off with him. “I’m not going to let a couple of weird happenings turn me into a chicken.”
His lips twitched. She watched the way a glint entered his eyes. “Yeah, you’ve told me before that you aren’t afraid.”
He’d stepped around the bed. She felt his approach as much as saw it. Her damned blood was starting to boil, or something. All she really knew was her thinking abilities were being smoked by the proximity of one Bram Magnus.
“Stop.”
He didn’t care for her order. The way his expression tightened and the fact that he kept coming just sent her over the edge into that place where her good sense had no voice and her emotions ran wild.
“You come one step closer, Bram, and I will forget all about having a conversation with you.”
She could tell he liked that.
Well, it was an admission.
One which should have mortified her, except for the very real fact that she was once more entering a zone where nothing mattered except getting her hands on him.
Moments had a terrible way of ending. It seemed so much better to grab what came close enough for her to reach so she didn’t end up knowing she’d missed her chance.
“I have trouble remaining objective when I’m close to you as well,” he said as he backed off, but his lips curved into a very male satisfied grin that was a little too smug for her comfort level. “You know I have a valid reason to warn you to be cautious.”
“This isn’t a war zone.”
“Which just makes it more important to take the matter seriously,” he said.
“Oh, I take you very seriously.”
And she still wasn’t truly sorry she’d taken advantage of the moment the night before. Truth was, she doubted she ever would be.
Nope.
“I noticed.”
His tone was raspy, as though she was hearing his emotions bleeding through. He presented such a picture of strength and pure confidence, she just couldn’t quite believe it though.
/> He shook his head softly. “You drew me back here, Jaelyn.”
Bram reached for her. For a moment, she just stood there, feeling like time had frozen as she soaked up the strength of his presence. Seriously, it was like some sort of power boast.
“I’m not planning on leaving until I discover just why.”
It was a promise.
A solemn one.
A moment later, Bram slipped his hand beneath her hair and clasped her nape.
She gasped, locking gazes with him as he pulled her against his frame with a solid arm across her waist. The look in his eyes was just as hard as the body she was bound to.
“Defeat isn’t something I accept without a whole hell of a lot more fight.”
He slid his hand down until he was cupping one side of her bottom. Another breathy sound escaped from her as it felt like she was melting against him. Every curve of her body suddenly seemed created for the sole purpose of being pressed against his hard body.
“Tell me you want me to let you go,” he said as his grip tightened on her butt, sending a zip of excitement through her system. “Tell me you’d rather sleep in righteous purity instead of letting me peel off your clothes so I can stroke every last inch of you…”
She bared her teeth at him. Curling her fingers into talons against his chest. “I’m the one who didn’t get into the front seat last night. Remember that?”
“All … day … long, baby.”
His gaze glowed with something she couldn’t quite define. The reason was simple, it wasn’t something that translated into spoken language. No, what it was, was pure and undiluted need. The kind no one faked. Instead, you did your best to make sure you didn’t get rolled by the wave as it crashed.
Even then, the ride was worth the bruises.
She gripped his shirt and pulled it, stretching the jersey fabric as his belt resisted. His lips curled with smug satisfaction a second before he was giving her enough space to yank his shirt free. It went sailing onto the floor with his help, leaving her soaking in the details of his bare chest.
The man was pure intoxication. She moved back toward him, still incapable of resisting the pull between them.
He scooped her off her feet, cradling her in arms that shouldn’t have been so strong. LeAnn was the lightweight, the girl who could fit into a size zero. Not her.
“You’re going to throw your back out.”
He was turning and lowering her to the bed. She ended up sitting on its edge as he pressed his hands into the mattress on either side of her thighs. His face was hovering just a bare inch from her lips.
“I’m going to give it my best try, baby.”
His meaning was clear and it sent a bolt of heat through her. The loft was sporting a lingering chill because there was no point in heating it when no one was in residence. The look in Bram’s eyes made Jaelyn long to strip off her clothing because she was rapidly becoming too damned hot.
“But first things … first…”
There was a wicked gleam in his eyes and a raspy note in his voice that made her catch her lower lip between her teeth.
“I’m going to taste you, baby…”
“Wait … ah … don’t…”
Bram had her jeans opened before he grunted and fixed her with a hard look. “Why not?”
He was holding back his urge. It was raw, captivating her with its intensity. It was like seeing two sides of him, one was the man who had answered her grandfather with a sincere “Yes, sir” and the other made her shiver because it was the part of him she yearned to connect with no matter how uncivilized it might be.
“Stop thinking, Jaelyn.”
He bent down and clasped her shoe with one big hand. A moment later the cool air touched her sock-clad heel as she heard the sound of the shoe hitting the floor.
“Stop worrying and just let this happen…”
Her other shoe was gone and a moment later he was leaning over her, their faces inches apart once more. “Because I can’t resist it any more than you can and there’s one thing I figured out while I was overseas.” He grasped her jeans and pulled them off her.
She ended up on her elbows, half prone across the bed as he stood over her, enjoying the sight.
“What?” she asked. “What did you figure out?”
“That I was a blasted fool for chasing your sister, and I’m going to make sure you know how much I want you.”
Her breath was lodged in her throat, part of her soaking up his words like parched desert sand during a thunderstorm.
But Bram was making ready to unleash the lightning.
He caught her underwear and drew them down her legs before sinking to his knees and pressing her thighs wide.
She gasped. “Bram…”
He was already leaning over her open slit. “Told you … I’m going to taste you tonight…”
He was petting her bare mons. Teasing the sensitive skin where the hair was missing. Her heart was beating so hard, it felt like it might end up bruised against her breastbone.
Not that she cared.
No, she was too busy writhing as Bram teased her folds, his attention sinking down to her open sex.
“You smell hot, baby … really hot…”
Heat teased her cheeks as his breath hit the wet skin. He’d taken her to heights before but a new level of sensory overload hit her. Just the feeling of his breath against her folds made her wither. Her eyes felt like they rolled back into her head as her lids slid shut because her brain just couldn’t handle anything else but the stimulus Bram was applying to her sex.
“But you can get hotter…”
He was trailing his fingers down the sides of her sex, stroking skin that was acutely sensitive. She was shivering, her clit throbbing with anticipation and Bram didn’t disappoint her.
“Oh … Christ!”
Her voice hit the low ceiling as Bram closed his mouth around her clit. The sensation jolted her.
Bram chuckled softly and looked up. “We’re going to move up here, baby, because I love to hear you squeal.”
“Bram.”
Her reprimand went unheeded as he returned to tormenting her clit. He sucked, tongued, and drove her nearly insane as each motion of his lips sent her closer and closer to the edge of climax.
She was straining up toward him, seeking out that last bit of pressure to ensure the bubble burst. Time became irrelevant. Once more she was a slave to her needs.
Bram seemed to know instinctively the exact combination to unlock inside her.
He teased the opening of her body, rimming her with the tip of his tongue before he was thrusting two thick fingers into her. Another sound crossed her lips that was somewhere between a growl and a moan.
So needy …
So damned … primitive …
She wanted him to claim her. Wanted to be his prize.
She wanted … to be his … and she wasn’t going to be denied.
“Enough!”
Bram snorted, raising his face so that their gazes locked. There was a smug grin on his lips and an arrogant glitter in his eyes.
But those did nothing more than fuel her desire to demand him. “I can tease, too,” she informed him as she struggled to sit up. Just enough so she could tug her shirt off and unhook her bra.
His expression tightened as she bared her breasts.
“I like your tits, Jae…” He rose up, granting her a glimpse of his chest before she heard him popping the button on his fly. His cock sprang into view the moment he had enough buttons worked lose. Red and swollen, her passage felt even more needy at the sight of it.
“I like your cock,” she declared boldly.
He was shucking his pants and boots, pausing to sheathe his length in another condom, but she heard him chuckle before the bed was rocking as he crawled up to cover her.
“Sugar and spice…” He watched her as he settled over her, brushing back her hair from her face with tender little motions of his hands while she spread her thighs so th
at his cock might tease the wet opening of her body.
“I’m not everything nice…”
He pushed up, bracing himself on his knees as he pressed her legs wide with a large hand on the inside of her thighs.
“Depends on the definition of nice…” His tone was full of husky male enjoyment. He grasped his cock and drew the head through her open slit. “I think this is a really … nice … view of you, Jaelyn…”
His gaze rose up to her breasts before he was focused once again on her open slit. His breath was raspy as he drew his cock head up and down, spreading the wetness from her body onto it until it slid easily between her folds.
It was a torment.
One she both craved and hated.
She wanted more and yet, he was driving her hunger up with his teasing. And there was something else, a deeper enjoyment of knowing he wanted the encounter to last.
She witnessed the straining muscles cording along his throat as he held off driving into her. His jaw was tight while he teased her with another swipe through her slit. Jaelyn found herself fixated on his expression, wanting to see the moment when he lost control. Needing to know that he couldn’t resist her any more than she could stop herself from reaching for him.
What did that make them?
She had no idea.
And none formed because he looked up, locking gazes with her. His eyes blazed with hunger. Hot, blunt, sexual need.
She didn’t want it to make sense.
He pressed forward into her, watching her as she took his length. A sound hit the ceiling and she honestly wasn’t sure if it was his or hers. All she knew was that she’d never understood the word “pleasure” until the night she’d connected with him. There was a whole different level of feeling when they were together.
And she’d have done anything at that moment to have him there with her.
“More…,” she said in a raspy voice. “Faster…”
He shook his head, grinding his teeth as he flattened his hands on her inner thighs to keep them wide. “I’m going to savor this time…” He pressed deep, a little wet sound teasing her ears with the penetration. “Going to watch you … come…”
She shook her head, but he slid his hand over and found her swollen clit. He rubbed it, pressing down with the pressure she’d needed before. Coupled with his cock lodged inside her, she jerked as climax ripped through her.
