You're My Rock (Brothers From Money #4)

by Shanade White

  A low growl in Nate’s throat made Allison smile when he discovered she was naked underneath the nightgown. His hand traced a path from the center of her thigh, up to the juncture of her thighs then with one finger his found her clit and began to stroke her. Allison’s body responded to his touch, her orgasm rocking through her so quickly she couldn’t breathe for long seconds. Nate wanted nothing more than to bury his swollen length inside her, but knew that she still wasn’t ready. Standing, he stripped off his clothes, then removed her night clothes, his eyes never leaving hers.

  Allison scooted up to the top of the bed, her legs still shaking from the force of her orgasm, but her body still wanting more. Nate laid down beside her and pulled her into his arms, his mouth finding hers in a searing kiss. The feel of his naked body pressing against hers, his erection throbbing against her leg, had Allison squirming against him.

  He rolled her onto her back and spread her legs again, his mouth leaving hers to suckle on her breasts, which were swollen and sensitive to every lick, bite, and touch. Allison bravely found his erection and stroked him, loving the sounds that came from deep in his throat. His finger found her core and he began to stroke her, driving her nearly to the edge again.

  He stopped just as she felt her orgasm cresting, then positioned himself between her legs and drove himself inside her, gasping with relief to finally be inside her. Nothing had ever felt so right in his entire life, he felt like he’d finally found the place where he belonged. With a feeling of possession he’d never felt before, he drove himself into her over and over, forever branding her as his.

  Allison was lost in a storm of sensation, sure that nothing had ever felt like this before. The feeling of Nate so deep inside her, joined to her in this most intimate of acts felt right to her. Deep in her soul she knew that this was supposed to happen, that she was meant to be with this man who had saved her from a life of despair and doubt.

  Their orgasms came rushing over them at the same time, Allison’s body clenching around Nate’s as the rest of the world ceased to exist. Nate collapsed on top of Allison unable to move for long minutes, finally he managed to roll onto his back, taking her with him. She laid her head on his chest, listening to the sound of his heart beat, thinking that if this was all her life had to offer, she’d be just fine.

  Nate was beyond happy at that moment but knew that life would intrude on them all too soon. He hated to bring the topic up, but he wanted to know what she’d remembered during the wedding earlier that night. “I hate to ruin the mood, but I was wondering what it was that you remembered earlier tonight.” He said, rubbing her back.

  “It was just a bunch of flashes of a wedding. I think it was my mother and she was marrying a much younger man, who I’m sure I didn’t like. Then there were a bunch of flashes of him in what looked like a barn, he was yelling and I felt scared.” She said, shivering at the memory.

  “That seems like progress to me.” He said, afraid to push her any further.

  “Do you think that he’s the man that hurt me? I feel like he was about my age, I also feel like he was bad to my mother in some way. The worst part is some part of me thinks that my mother is gone. That she died.” Allison said, close to tears.

  “It’s okay, I’m here.” Nate said, “Don’t try to force it. Give it some time, it’s coming back.”

  Allison took a deep breath, “It’s all there, I can feel it but I’m afraid to let it out. I know there’s something bad just waiting for me.”

  “I know but, I’ll be right here with you when it all comes back. Nothing that you remember is going to chase me away.” He said, leaning up on one elbow to kiss her, then added. “Remember that you’re safe here with me and the Terrell’s, we’ll protect you.”

  Nate’s words calmed her, no matter what the threat, she knew she had people who would see that she was safe. “I know and I’m grateful, but I still worry that something terrible is waiting for me when my memory returns.” She said, taking a deep breath.

  “Whatever it is, we’ll handle it together.” Nate said, “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m very protective of the people I care about and I already care a lot about you Allison.”

  Her heart just about melted hearing his words, there was a certain amount of relief to hear that he cared about her, after all they’d moved so fast in their relationship, a part of her worried that he was just out for some easy sex. But seeing the look in his eyes, her worries evaporated, no man could fake the intensity she found there.

  “Will you stay here with me tonight? I don’t want to be alone.” Allison said, suddenly feeling very vulnerable.

  “There is nothing in this world that could get me to leave your bed tonight. Except maybe to get that bottle of champagne I brought up.” He said, sliding out of bed and coming back with the bottle and two glasses.

  He poured them each a glass then handed her one, she took a sip, then laughed when the bubbles tickled her nose. “I don’t think I’ve ever had champagne before.” She said.

  “Well, there’s always a first time for everything.” He said, then took the glass from her hand and set it on the nightstand. He gathered her into his arms, “But I also think second times can be pretty great too.”

  His hands had begun to roam over her body, “Hmm, I’m not sure about that, maybe you should show me.” She said, feeling brave.

  “I can do that.” He said, his finger sliding inside her to find that she was already wet and ready for him.

  Chapter 5

  As the truck bounced along the rutted dirt road, Matt was dreaming of not only fame but the money winning the Triple Crown would bring him. He’d worked hard to get to this point, done anything it took to see his dream fulfilled. If he’d stepped on a few toes in the process so be it, after all only the strong survived, and he was one of the strong.

  He’d made a life of finding people who weren’t strong and taken advantage of them in any way possible. It had always worked in the past and his latest scheme was no different. He’d been working on this one for four long years not including the time it took to set the whole thing up. Barbra Stevens had been an easy target, a woman who was facing the end of her life, looking for someone to make her feel young again.

  It had been perfect, not only was she vulnerable, but she owned a prime horse breeding farm. Every con he’d ever run had been leading up to this one big score and Barbra had made it easy for him. The only snag had been her daughter, only a few years younger than him, she’d been suspicious from the moment he’d set foot on the property.

  Nothing he’d tried had altered that distrust especially after he married her mother, but he had to admit that Allison had been right about him. He had to give her some credit for that, it hadn’t changed his plans any, just meant that he’d had to be very careful. It hadn’t been easy to get the access to the horses he needed, since those horses were her life, but in the end he’d won. Not quite the way he’d imagined, but he’d won.

  He wished that she’d never caught him in the barn that night, she wasn’t even supposed to be on the property, but thanks to a canceled flight, she’d found him giving the horses the steroids that would guarantee him the wins he needed to really cement his reputation in the racing world. That those races came with monetary gain only heightened his pleasure.

  Except that the money he’d been winning wasn’t enough to pay off the debts he’d so recklessly accumulated over the time it took to get into Barbra’s life. He’d been so intent on getting what he wanted, that he’d failed to take into consideration that once he started with the very expensive steroids, there would be no end to the expense.

  The stress of constantly looking over his shoulder was mostly to blame for his reaction when Allison found him in the barn that night. It was really her fault, if she’d just minded her own business and let him run things as he saw fit, she’d still be alive. It hadn’t helped that she’d laughed at him when he’d tried to kiss her after her mother’s death. W
hy he’d ever thought he wanted the bitch he had no idea, but as with all other things in his life, when he was denied something he wanted it even more.

  Just thinking about Allison’s luscious body made his crotch stiffen, but then he remembered that she was gone, probably nothing but bones now. It had been more than a month since he’d told the boys to dump her body out here in the back part of the property, a month of lying to her friends about where she’d gone. He was actually very proud of how he’d handled the whole situation, a few carefully worded emails had satisfied all but her best friend.

  Now he’d simply collect what was left of Allison, put it in a bag and sink it into the lake. Then he’d send out one more email and consider the entire episode a mistake he’d learned from. Without a body no one could prove that anything had happened to Allison, she’d simply become one of the thousands of missing adults in America.

  He might eventually have to do something with her car, which was hidden in the deep forest not far from where the body had been dumped, but for now it could just sit and rust, no one ever came back here so it would be safe. When he pulled the truck over, he took a deep breath preparing himself for the task at hand. It might be very unpleasant if the scavengers hadn’t done their job, it was also possible that he’d have to scour a fairly large area if they had.

  When he climbed down into the ditch, he expected to see at least some sign of Allison’s body, but the ditch was suspiciously empty. Assuming that the animals had pulled the body away from the road, he began to search the area but still didn’t find anything, not a scrap of clothes, nothing. He was beginning to panic, there was no way the body could have completely disappeared in only a month.

  After another fruitless hour of searching, his panic level was rising by the second. He’d been sure that she was dead when he’d loaded her into the back of his pickup. The boys had agreed with him, even promised that they’d checked before they disposed of the body in the ditch. But now he was questioning that assumption, he should have put a bullet in her head just to make sure.

  He’d heard crazy stories about people who’d looked dead then woken up, but even if that had happened there was no way Allison could have gotten out of the woods. At the very least she would have been severely hurt, he’d smashed his gun into her head with such force that it had thrown her across the room. But if she’d survived and gotten out, then someone would have come looking for him of that he was sure.

  No way would she have let an attack like that go unpunished, plus there was the little issue of the steroids. Expanding his search area, he pulled out his phone and called the boys, maybe they hadn’t understood where he’d told them to dump the body. They were idiots after all, which was always the problem when you hired people like them.

  Curley picked up on the first ring, “Hi boss. What’s up?”

  Matt cringed at his flippant tone, “I’m out here trying to clean up that little mess from last month and I can’t seem to find it. You did put it where I told you to, by the old cabin at the back of the property.”

  “Sure boss, we did just like you said. Even managed to hide the car back in them woods too.” Curley said, clearly proud of himself.

  Matt got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, “Are you sure she was dead when you dumped her?”

  “Well, I ain’t no doctor but she sure wasn’t moving or nothing.” Curley said, getting defensive.

  “Where did you put the car?” Matt asked through clenched teeth.

  “Just a little ways from where we dumped the body, if you look careful you can see a little road going back to the cabin, made it easy.” Curley said, sounding surer of himself.

  “Did you know that you’re an idiot?” Matt said, then hung up the phone before Curley could reply.

  He scrambled back up to the road, scanning the area for the road Curley had been talking about. It was hard to see, but after a few minutes Matt found it. Jumping into the truck, he followed the road until it disappeared into the forest, then got out of the truck and began to search for Allison’s car. No way could a car disappear, if it was gone, he was in big trouble.

  After another hour of searching, he knew that Allison hadn’t been dead after all, somehow she’d survived and found the car, now she was out there somewhere with knowledge that would not only ruin him, but put him in jail for a long time. He started to panic, but then realized if she’d told anyone he’d be in jail by now. She must have run, probably hiding out somewhere afraid to show her face. That would work in his favor.

  He’d find her and take care of the problem, it shouldn’t be that hard, not in today’s world of computers and social media. Matt had contacts all over the state, plus Allison had been on her way to Las Vegas that day so he had a place to start. Surely he could find out if she boarded that plane, and if she did then it was only a matter of time before he’d find her. Las Vegas was his playground, he had lots of people there who owed him favors.

  Feeling better, he got back in the truck and started making plans to see that Allison Stevens never told anyone about the steroids or what had happened in the barn that night. If he was really lucky this might just work in his favor and he’d get to fulfill that fantasy he had of dominating her before he killed her. This job was for him alone, no way was he going to trust those idiots he’d hired this time.

  *****

  Allison woke up early the next morning with Nate’s strong chest pressed up against her back and his hand on her breast. She knew she should get out of bed and see Garrett and Sabrina off on their honeymoon. They’d left the wedding so early last night that she’d barely said two words to them and felt guilty. She was sure they would not only understand, but applaud her decision to move on with her life.

  She tried to slide out of bed, but Nate’s arm clamped down more tightly when she moved. “Where do you think you’re going?” He asked, his voice husky with sleep.

  “I need to talk to Garrett and Sabrina before they leave.” She said, turning to face him.

  “What time is it?” He asked, throwing his leg over hers, pinning her in the bed.

  “The sun’s just coming up so it must be close to seven.” She said, wiggling to try and get out of his grip.

  “Then we have plenty of time before the family descends on the house.” He said, nuzzling her neck.

  “Nate, stop that right now. I need to shower before breakfast and so do you, stop messing around.” She said, pushing against his chest, but feeling her desire beginning to build.

  “Hmm, I’m not messing around yet.” He said, rolling her onto her back. “But that’s a really good idea.”

  Somehow he’d managed to position himself between her legs, making her heart beat race. He was clearly aroused, his erection just inches from entering her. With a sigh, she said, “Well, we might have a few minutes.” Then took him in her hands and guided him inside her.

  More than an hour later, they finally emerged from her room. Nate dashed down the hall dressed only in a towel to get dressed, making her laugh. Everyone was gathered in the kitchen, most saying their goodbyes since Garrett and Sabrina were off on a three week honeymoon. The kids were going to stay with Daphne and Allison had agreed to keep an eye on the house and barns while they were gone.

  Sabrina spotted her first and pulled her into the sun room. “I’m glad to see you this morning. You left early last night and I was worried, but Garret said you left with Nate.”

  “I’m sorry about that, but the wedding brought on some difficult memories, I stayed as long as I could.” Allison said, feeling guilty.

  “Are you okay today?” Sabrina asked, the concern clear on her face.

  “Actually, I’m really fine. Nate’s been wonderful, helping me work through everything.” She said, finding it impossible to suppress the huge grin that spread across her face.

  Sabrina knew that look only too well, “I think you’re in good hands. Has he told you if he plans to stay?”

  “No, bu
t he hasn’t talked about leaving either. I hope that’s okay.” Allison said, thinking if Nate left she’d go with him, then realizing how selfish that was, changed her mind.

  “He’s welcome to stay as long as he wants, but I’m sure we’ll get to talk to him before we leave. Most of the guests left early this morning to make flights out of Denver.” Sabrina said, enjoying the look of pleasure that appeared on Allison’s face.

  “Good, he can help me with the horses.” Allison said, thinking of all the other things he might help her with.

  “He’s a good man, I’m happy for you.”

  Allison blushed to think that their relationship was so obvious, but then realized who she was talking to. “I hope I haven’t rushed into something that will hurt me in the end.”

  “Trust your instincts, I see how Nate looks at you and how you look at him. I’ve been there before, I was never much of a believer in fate, but something put Garrett in my life and I’ve been thankful ever since.”

  “Thanks Sabrina, I don’t know what I would have done if you all hadn’t taken me in.” Allison said, hugging her. “Go have fun on your honeymoon. I’ll take care of everything here.”

  “I know you will. Now let’s go get you some breakfast and find that man of yours.” Sabrina said, taking her hand.

  Allison liked the sound of that, Nate was her man, a man any woman would love to have. He was leaning up against the counter when she walked into the kitchen with Sabrina, deep in conversation with Garrett. When he saw her, he poured her a cup of coffee and crossed the room to hand it to her. If that wasn’t message enough, he then put his arm around her possessively.

  “Garrett had just invited me to stay and help you with the ranch while they’re gone.” Nate said, pulling her a little closer.

  “I don’t really want you here by yourself Allison. I hope that’s okay.” Garrett said.