Bad For You: (An Older Brother's Best Friend Romance)

by Ferrell, Charity

  My back stiffens. Neither my brother, nor Bracken are big Macy fans. “Please. You know how he is. He’ll put me on lockdown. Shit, he’ll probably make me drop out. You know he doesn’t like Macy. If you tell him what’s going on, it’ll be the screw that nails down the coffin.”

  “Perfect. I’d be honored to provide the hammer.”

  Jasper comes back with our drinks and hands me one before I get the chance to keep arguing with him. Everyone at the table counts to three before tipping their glasses up. I almost gag at the taste of the hard alcohol, but gulp it down so I don’t look too much like a rookie – like I don’t belong. I don’t want Bracken thinking I can’t handle my alcohol and make me leave.

  Jasper slams his empty shot glass down and looks over at me. “And Nautica, I like you and all, but you can’t have my bed tonight. My girl gets back in town in the morning. She’ll slit my throat and gut me if I have another chick in my bed.”

  “Dude, you need to leave Tori’s crazy ass. She scares the shit out of me,” another guy says. Lyle. I recognize him. He’s a regular at their apartment. He went to high school with Jasper.

  “The crazier they are, the better in bed,” Jasper explains, a sly grin taking over his face.

  Bracken grunts. “I’d rather have mediocre sex with a sane woman than have a girl that takes her anger out on my car with a baseball bat. I’ll pass on that shit any day. I like my pussy without the crazy.”

  “That’s what you say now because you’ve never had crazy pussy. You just wait until you get one,” Jasper fires back.

  I look over at Bracken. “I guess that means I get your bed and you can couch it,” I say, interrupting their conversation. I don’t want to hear Jasper talking about what type of pussy Bracken should have any longer or jealousy might eat me alive.

  “Sorry babe, but there’s a problem with your little plan,” Jasper says. “My cousin, George, is crashing with us tonight. He’s visiting from back home.” He looks at the guy sitting across from us. “Although, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind sharing.”

  I study George. He looks like he’s almost thirty. His brown hair is wrapped up in a ponytail that’s almost as long as mine, and scruff is scattered along his jaw line. He only shrugs his shoulders and takes a long draw of his beer. He definitely isn’t interested in me. And I’m definitely not interested back.

  “Shut the fuck up, Jasper,” Bracken grumbles, narrowing his eyes at him. “Nautica, you can sleep on my floor.”

  I frown. “I think you meant to say you’re sleeping on the floor and giving me your bed.”

  He shakes his head in response.

  “Holy shit dude,” Jasper says, choking back a laugh. “You’re going to do her that dirty?” He throws his head back to howl in laughter. “Hell yeah, that’s my fucking boy. I wish I could be as chill as you. You act like a complete dickhead and chicks still line up to give you their pussy.”

  My eyes shoot over to Bracken. He tightens his fingers around his beer bottle and looks away.

  It’s not a secret that he hooks up with different girls regularly. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve witnessed him leading them into our guest bedroom. I’d watch him, jealousy eating at my insides like acid, as he’d pin them against the wall and kiss them roughly. I finally stopped coming out of my bedroom during my brother’s parties because I couldn’t handle not being that lucky one-night stand.

  I had been an envious fifteen-year old girl who hadn’t hit puberty yet. I wasn’t anything like those women. They were gorgeous with full boobs and hair styled into big, bouncing curls. I despised every single one of them. I still do.

  “I swear to God I need to find a new roommate,” Bracken says, giving Jasper a dirty look.

  “I’m available,” I call out, holding up my hand and giving him a grin. “You said I needed to leave Macy. That’s perfect.”

  “You ain’t getting my room, sweetheart,” Jasper says.

  “You moving in with me wasn’t what I was referring to,” Bracken fires back. “Not happening.”

  Jasper gets up and returns with another round of shots. This one is easier to get down. And so is the next one.

  I eventually lose track of how many drinks I’ve consumed. My stomach rumbles with all of the crazy mixtures floating around.

  I’m going to regret this in the morning, but tonight all I can think about is the fact that I’m going back to Bracken’s place and sleeping in his room.

  chapter two

  bracken

  I grip my beer as I lean back in my barstool and watch Nautica. My eyes have been glued to her since she sat her sexy ass down on that stool and decided to make herself comfortable.

  I nearly lost it when I spotted her standing at the bar wearing that short-as-fuck dress. My mind ran with thoughts of how easy it would be for some random guy to slip his fingers up that tiny scrap of fabric, or if she got drunk enough to stupidly go home with some loser and fuck him.

  She has no damn reason to be here. She needs to get her ass back to her dorm room and read a book or some shit.

  The uneasiness I had of her staying is slowly fading away. We’re actually having a good ass time. It’s like we’re two friends hanging out and having drinks, with the exception that my dick is getting hard just looking at her, and after this we’re headed back to my place – which scares the shit out of me, yet excites me at the same time.

  It’s going to be one long ass night.

  I ignore Jasper’s elbows hits and comments about the different chicks walking by. I can’t blame him. Their tits hang out of their tops as they throw smiles my way, but I don’t give a shit about them tonight, which is out of the ordinary. I can barely stand to look at them before my eyes move back to the girl next to me.

  The one who’s off limits.

  There’s no better view than her. She rivals every woman here, winning every single damn round.

  She looks sexy as fuck tonight, especially in that royal blue dress. I have a love-hate relationship with the tiny scrap of fabric. It hugs every perfect curve she’s working with. It’s short – too damn short – but I appreciate the view it’s giving me of her slender, tan legs. I know I’ll be thinking about her ass in it for days.

  Her dark, almost pitch-black hair is thrown into a loose ponytail at the top of her head, exposing her swan-like neck and angelic face. Those thick strands would fit perfectly in my fist to pull on as I glide my hard cock into her.

  I look away and chug the rest of my beer, hoping it will drown away the thoughts of bending her over that stool and taking her right here.

  She’s off limits. Hands off. Remember that.

  That rule is easier said than done – especially when she looks this damn good, Simon isn’t here to keep an eye on me, and I’ve been drinking. The temptation, the need, is growing stronger with every sip. I’m excited and fearful of what the night will bring.

  Unable to stop myself, I look back at her. She’s laughing at some ridiculous story Jasper is telling her and doesn’t realize I’m staring. She’s beautiful. She’s perfection. She thinks I want nothing to do with her, but she’s so damn wrong.

  I’m not the only one with my attention on her, either. I can’t help but notice all of the appreciative glances she’s getting from the different assholes passing by our table and across the room. I narrow my eyes and shoot them silent warnings to stay the fuck away. She’s not going home with any one of those fuckers. She’s going home with me.

  I eventually cut her off from accepting any more drinks from Jasper. The guy drinks alcohol like a fish does water. There’s no way Nautica can keep up unless she wants to spend the night hugging the porcelain throne, and I’m not in the mood to play caretaker tonight.

  My mind wanders to the night she crashed my graduation party, and how wasted she was when she confessed being in love with me for years. She sat in my passenger seat, muttering all of the dirty things she wanted to do with me, nearly causing me to have a car accident as I drove her h
ome.

  I told her I didn’t see her in that way, that she meant nothing to me, and my lie was rewarded with her puking all over my new truck.

  That night still haunts me. It’s the night it killed me to say no to her.

  “You ready to go?” I ask her. I run my hand along her bare arm to get her attention and grin when goosebumps pop up. I love that my touch affects her.

  “Are you ready?” she replies, looking away from Jasper to me.

  I nod. “I’m fucking beat.”

  We all finish off our drinks and call cabs. Jasper and his cousin hop in one car. Nautica joins me in the other.

  “Did you have fun tonight?” I ask.

  “I did,” she answers. Her cheeks flush underneath the dim light as she grins from ear-to-ear. I can feel the heat of her body when she moves in closer to nudge me with her elbow. “I told you it wouldn’t be so bad letting me stay. I’m fun.”

  She clips a strand of hair falling from her ponytail behind her ear. I blink, telling myself to quit staring at her tits, and to stop thinking about pulling up that dress and fucking her in this backseat. Shit, I’ll tip the driver extra.

  For years, fucking years, I’ve been trying to convince myself she’s not attractive, that’s she not my type, but I’ve only been lying to myself. I’m more attracted to her than I have been with anyone. She’s flawless in my eyes. She has the perfect body, a laid-back personality, and a heart of gold.

  If Simon weren’t my best friend, I would’ve already been inside of her. Shit, the minute she hit high school I probably would’ve taken her. That’s why I have to keep her at arm’s length. If we get too close, I know there’s nothing stopping us. We can’t cross that line and risk everything.

  I pull out my phone for a distraction, noticing a few missed calls from Rachel, my latest hook-up. She’s been spending the majority of her weekends in my bed. We partnered up for a Business Ethics project and hit it off from there. She’s not looking for a commitment, only fun. The perfect kind of woman in my eyes.

  It’s a short ride back to my place. Jasper’s cab is already parked in front of our apartment when we pull up. Giant snowflakes are falling, and it’s freezing out. I know ice is on its way. We get it like a motherfucker around here, which is why I like having my truck.

  “The chances that I’m going to bust my ass on the way inside are pretty high,” she mutters, looking out the window. “Heels, alcohol, and ice aren’t a very safe combination.”

  “Do you want me to carry you?” I offer, without thinking. I ignore the driver’s irritation at us still being in the car. She bites into her lower lip and nods. A sharp draft hits my back when I open up the door and get out. I lean down and gesture for her to move. “Come on then.”

  She slides to the edge of the seat and stops in front of me. I carefully bend down to pull her into my arms and lift her up. Her chilly arms clasp around my neck as she settles her face into my chest while I head towards the apartment.

  “Still think this dress was a good idea?” I ask, when she shivers in my arms. My mouth waters when the poor excuse of clothing rises up to show me a better view of her thighs. I can feel my dick pressing along the inside of my jeans.

  Fuck, she’s definitely trying to tease the shit out of me.

  Think about something other than getting her naked.

  Bunny rabbits. Football.

  Shit.

  Not working.

  Her grip on me tightens. “It’s my favorite,” she says, pulling back and looking up at me with a smile.

  Jasper opens up the door to let us in. “I’m hitting the sheets,” he calls out as I drop Nautica to her feet. He opens up the hallway closet and pulls out a blanket. “George, the couch is all yours. Goodnight assholes, and Nautica.”

  She’s the only one to tell him goodnight back.

  She stands in the hallway, shuffling her feet while nervously looking around. My pulse springs. Now comes the time to figure out our sleeping arrangements. There’s no way in hell Simon is hearing about anything that happened tonight.

  “Do you have something I can sleep in?” she asks, breaking the silence while George starts to make up the couch.

  “Come on,” I say, gesturing towards my bedroom.

  I follow her and turn around to look at the door when we make it inside, uncertain whether or not to close it. She spins around at the sound of it clicking shut. Nautica or no Nautica, I never sleep with my door open. I like my privacy.

  She heads straight to my dresser and starts to ransack through the drawers.

  “Do you mind?” I ask.

  She shrugs, but doesn’t stop. “I told you I needed something to sleep in.” She whips around with a pack of condoms hanging from her fingers. “Wouldn’t these be of better use in your nightstand? You know, considering that’s where you do your business?”

  I arch a brow and chuckle. “My bed isn’t the only place I fuck, babe. You really need to broaden your horizons.”

  She doesn’t need to be fucking guys, period. But I’m not an idiot. I know she went wild as soon as Simon left for the military. I tried to tell him that being so strict on her in high school would only cause her to act out more when she finally got some freedom, but he wouldn’t listen to me.

  “Horizons?” She snorts. “I didn’t get to do shit considering you and my brother scared away all of the guys who could’ve helped me broaden those horizons.”

  “We did you a favor, but it’s not like you’re not trying to make up for it now.” I clench my teeth thinking about another guy putting his hands on her. I move forward to drag her away from the dresser. “Sit your ass down. I’ll get you something,” I say, pointing to my bed. I snag a pair of sweat pants and an old high-school t-shirt and hand them to her.

  “And thanks for letting me have your bed tonight,” she says, with a smirk, smacking her palm across the mattress.

  “No. I told you that you could have the floor, princess.”

  “Come on. We both know you’re not really going to make me sleep on the floor. You’re not that big of an asshole.”

  She’s right. “Fine, the bed is all yours.” I wink. “You know I just enjoy fucking with you.”

  “That’s the truth,” she grumbles. She bends down to take off her shoes, but struggles with the clasp, almost falling off the bed in the process.

  I can’t hold back my laugh. “You need some help with that?”

  “Yes,” she says, with a sigh. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make fun of me while doing it, though.” She pulls at her shoe again, and I hurry over before she face plants on the carpet.

  “The things you make me do, woman.” I kneel down on my knees in front of her. Her breathing hitches when I grab her foot, wrap my hand around her ankle, and unclasp the strap. The air goes thin as I pull the shoe off and toss it onto the floor. I grab her other foot and do the same thing.

  “Thanks,” she mutters, when I get back to my feet.

  I snag a pillow from the bed and throw it down onto the floor. The mood in the room is shifting. I can feel it. I need to separate myself before we do something stupid.

  “Now, sleep your buzz off,” I say.

  She ignores me and leans down to pick up my pillow. My mouth falls open when she tosses it back on the bed. “You’re not sleeping on the damn floor, Bracken,” she says. “We’ll share the bed.”

  “The hell we can. Not happening.” I attempt to move around her to grab my pillow back, but she blocks me.

  “Shut up. We’re two adults. Why are you so freaked out about it? It’s not like we’re going to fuck or anything.”

  The way she says fuck excites my cock.

  I raise a brow. “You sure about that?”

  The words slip from my lips before I have the chance to stop them. Alcohol is spiraling through my blood, and my attraction to her is growing uncontrollable. The girl who’s been off-limits to me for years is inviting me into her bed … or my bed … and in-between her legs. She’s offering her
pussy to me. All I have to do now is make the first move.

  She opens up her mouth, hesitates, and slams it back shut. “I mean …” She glances from side to side, waiting for me to tell her I’m only fucking around.

  I take a step closer, stopping dead in front of her. “Is that what you want to happen tonight?” Her breathing shudders, growing unsteady. Her eyes grow wild with lust. “Do you want me to slip that tight, little dress off your sexy as fuck body, lay you down on my bed, and give it to you?” She whimpers as I snake my hand down and rub it along her thigh. “You’ve been teasing me for years. Do you think it’s time I finally cave and give you this cock?”

  Say yes. Say yes. Please fucking say yes.

  If she says no, I’ll take a step back, grab my pillow, and crash on the floor.

  “You know that’s exactly what I want,” she answers.

  Those words are my undoing. The cord of restraint, discipline, restriction, everything I’ve been fighting with over the years has ruptured.

  Her eyes widen when I jerk her up from the bed. I pull her into me, and can feel her hot breath against mine. I run my thumb in-between the opening of her mouth, back and forth. The moment my lips hit hers I know I’m thoroughly going to enjoy this forbidden fuck.

  She tastes delectable, like the sugary sweet shots Jasper had been feeding her all night. My dick strains against my jeans, begging to be released, when she lets out a soft moan.

  Our kiss is carnal and urgent. Her lips move against mine eagerly as her tongue slides into my mouth. My tongue strokes hers teasingly. I wrap my arms around her waist and slowly guide her back to the bed. Her ass bounces on the mattress as she falls back.

  My heart thumps like a piston as I drink her up lying in my bed and waiting for me. This is really about to happen. We’re crossing this line.

  One time. Just one night.

  Then we’ll act like it never happened.

  “You positive you want this?” I ask, giving her an out - or possibly giving myself one.