by Piper Frost
"Fuck you," I growl and my eyes land on Cash as he saunters over to me. I want to scream at the top of my lungs. I don't want this guy fucking with me, but I don't think anyone would come to my rescue.
"Jo, I need to talk to you."
"Leave me the fuck alone."
"I was high," he says and glances around. "The other day I saw you in town, I was high." He looks over at his cohort then thumbs behind him. "Beat it." The guy that was holding me hostage jogs back over to his motorcycle and Cash's hand lands on the wall next to my head. "I'd never hurt you." He brushes his knuckles down my cheek and I shiver in disgust. "I was high. You know all about that, don't ya? Doin' shit you don't mean 'cause you're high."
I don't know how he knows anything about me, but it wasn't a lucky guess.
"Just leave me alone."
"I can't." He shrugs and I see the resemblance to Brandt, but it's not strong. "A girl like you belongs with me, not my redneck brother. We're alike, Jo. Bad." He grins and leans in closer. When I flinch, he sighs. "I'm sorry. Does that make it better? You've gotten my first and only apology." When he smirks, the resemblance to Brandt is stronger and I turn my head. "Come out with me."
I snicker and glare at him. "You tried to fuckin' rape me."
"Goddammit." He punches the wall next to my head and I wince, ducking away. "Dammit. I'm sorry." Pulling at me, he forces me to stand up. "I was fuckin' high. I was out of my mind."
"You still are." I dip under his arm and dart toward a family heading into the store. "Hi," I blurt, joining them. "Hi," I say again, trying to shake the emotion Cash makes me feel. Straight fear, and I hate it. I've had people try to intimidate me, I've had people hurt me, but I could read them, I knew they weren't a bigger threat than I could handle. Cash scares the shit out of me.
I find Donna in the store and stick by her. She drapes her arm over my shoulders and walks me up to a woman that's glaring at me like I'm an abomination.
"This is my baby girl," Donna coos and the pride in her voice makes something inside me feel safe and actually wanted.
"Well, hi there." The disgusted woman is trying so hard I want to laugh in her face then steal her purse and make a run for it. "What's your name?"
My eyes shoot to Donna who's scowling at the woman talking to me like I'm slow.
"She's not a child, Carol, don't talk to her like that," Donna snaps and stands up straight, tugging me closer under her arm. "My girl's twenty years old and damn smart." She swipes her hand in my hair.
"My name's Jo," I answer the bitch who's got a fake smile plastered.
"Nice to meet you. And see you again, Donna," she quickly walks away.
"Bitch has a crowbar up her ass," Donna says and her twang was suddenly replaced with her old New York accent making me burst into laughter, letting her pull me closer while she hugs me.
On my way out the door, I grab a flyer that says 'Now hiring'.
"What's that for?" Donna asks.
"They're hiring bar-backs." I glance at her then around the parking lot to make sure Cash and the other fucks are gone.
"A bar, huh?" She manages to withhold her disapproval.
"Can you swing me by?" Don’t ask me how but working with alcohol doesn’t make me want to drink it. Besides that, alcohol wasn’t really my addiction. It's different when I'm in a situation I don't want to be and getting drunk or high will make it less awful for me.
The bar is on the outskirts of town, but I'm hired and I start tomorrow. The owner was on site and he hired me after five minutes. He didn't seem to give a fuck about anything but my appearance. It's a biker bar and he said I'd fit right in.
Lame. But I got a job.
As we pull toward the house, I can't stop my grin. I hope Brandt's home. I shouldn't, but I do. I've never been in love and I've never had a guy show me attention like he does so it was easy to fall in love with him, but it probably isn't real. Which is why I'm avoiding him. I really fucking hate I miss him.
After unloading my bag in my bedroom, I brush my hair, noticing the root grow-out already. Girls would kill to be a natural blonde. I despise it.
As I walk to the barn, hoping to find Brandt, I find it empty but his horse greets me with a noise. I slowly approach the huge thing, terrified it could squash me.
"Hi, Lucky," I quietly say, putting my palm out but too afraid to touch it until it turns its head away from me like it's giving me the go ahead. When I make contact with the horse for the first time, I chuckle like I've accomplished something colossal.
I don't belong in the country.
"Tryin' to steal my horse’s heart too?" Brandt appears out of nowhere, wiping his hands and shoves the rag into his jeans. "Be careful, Lucky. You'll get real nice with her, then she'll just disappear on ya." He glances over at me like my avoidance has hurt his feelings. "That dress looks...real...real fuckin' good on you."
I roll my eyes, fighting hard to just accept his compliment without a smartass remark. "I was looking for you," I blurt, feeling bad I've seemed to hurt his feelings by ignoring his texts the past few days. "I mean, 'cause I can't find my chick," I lie because I need to avoid these feelings.
"It's in the special coop I built it two days ago." He sets his hat on the bench then grabs a brush, tossing it to me. "He likes it when you brush down from the top," he says, nodding toward Lucky.
"Oh." I smile but turn my head, not wanting him to see I'm happy he made my chicken a home. "I saw Cash today. He asked me out." I raise my brows and look away.
"You saw my fuck—" He lets out an exasperated laugh and starts pacing the barn. "You saw my fuckin' brother today? The hell, Jo? What the fuck're you thinking? It's like you have a goddamned death wish." He runs his hands through his hair and growls. "You better have said no."
"I didn't go out of my way to see him, Brandt!" I snap. "I was with my mom—Donna. We went to town and it's like the guy's fucking stalking me! He seems to always show up when I'm alone. He apologized," I add, like that matters.
"It's because he is fucking stalking you, Jo! Fuck, fuck, fuck." He starts pacing again then stops and glares at me. "He don't fuckin' mean that apology. You know that, right? He's tryin' to rope you in and make you think he's not a bad guy. You gotta know that, Jo."
The guy was going to rape me. He is nothing but a bad guy. "This ain't my first rodeo, cowboy." I tap his hat. "Hey, I got a job." I try to sound enthusiastic, but I'm not. I watch him before I start brushing the horse.
He pauses, studying the brush in his hands like it’s a new object. Slowly he brings his eyes to mine and if I thought I saw hurt in them earlier, I was dead wrong compared to now. He nods his head and gives it a little shake.
"What'd I do to push you away?"
My mouth pops open, not really expecting that and I glance toward the barn doors, making sure we're alone while I move closer to him. "Nothing," I quietly sigh. "I just need to get my head clear and spending time with you really doesn't make me think clearly at all." I chuckle and move away again, wishing I would have taken the moment to touch him like I wanted to.
"I've always favored cloudy skies over sunny ones." He sighs, walking over to the bench and dropping his brush in a bucket. "Where's the job?" He's leaning back against the workbench, arms crossed in front of him, and it's so hard to read him with a stance like that.
"At a bar, just bar-backing for now. Sloane’s."
When his stance goes rigid, I stop brushing the horse because there's a war brewing in that beautiful head.
"I start tomorrow." Realization that he's not the slightest bit happy for me makes me frown.
"Don't do it," he blurts. "Quit. You don't know what you're walking into with that place."
I scowl and go back to brushing Lucky. "Stop being so sexist, Brandt. It's the only fuckin' place that will hire me. Unless I'm in daisy dukes and cowboy boots, I'm not getting a fuckin' job anywhere else in this or the surrounding counties."
"I fuckin' told you to work here!" his voice booms, startling t
he horse and he curses, kicking a bucket. "That's a biker bar. The bar my fucking brother practically lives at. So go ahead, Jo. Don't listen to me. Go to work, but I can bet you, you won't be coming home tomorrow night without another one of those. Or worse." He nods at my stomach where Cash cut me the other day. "Why the hell didn't you just take the job you've been offered a ton of times? You saw how much fun it was last week. I won't make you wear fucking cowboy boots. And we can spend every goddamned day together." He's standing so close to me now, just one step will have us touching. "I miss you, Jo," he whispers so quietly I almost can't hear him. "Please don't work there."
I march over to the barn doors and slide them closed before our parents catch us standing too close or our lingering looks.
"I didn't know Cash frequents there. But I can't work on the farm, Brandt. I don't have dedication like you do. God, don't take this wrong, but I don't give a shit about this place. This is your dad's, and even your bread and butter. I'm a city girl. I need something more than animals. I need to not have to wake up every morning when a fucking rooster crows. I don't want a job at all, but let's get practical. I need a job that if I want to walk away from it tomorrow, I won't feel guilty. I can't do that if I work here with you."
"You're planning on walking away from it all?" His brows push together. "Just like that? You're just gonna wake up one day and decide you're done? That how you run your life, Jo?"
"Actually, yeah." I shrug.
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! You've got it fucking set here. And all you care about is what tomorrow holds! What about today? What about right now?"
"What about right now?" I scream at him, pissed he made me fall in love. He's the reason I'm scared right now and planning on getting out of this hellhole at any minute.
"Hey now!" Garrison's voice carries and the barn doors open. "What're you two carrying on about? You're bickering like an old married couple." He walks to the corner and drops a huge bag off his shoulder. "Brandt, here's the chick feed for the week. And, Jo, why don't you go cool off somewhere. Maybe go help Donna cook supper."
My eyes go wide but before I go off on him, I clamp my lips and Brandt speaks up, "Dad, that's not the only thing women are good for," he blurts, shocked something like that came out of his father. "Plus, I'm not even sure Jo here can cook anything." He smirks like a smartass.
I look at Garrison, silently daring him to team up with his son and bash me, but he looks between us then shakes his head. "I didn't mean it like that, Jo. I meant you seemed worked up and like you needed to get away from this gunsel." He motions to Brandt and I furrow my brows while Brandt chuckles at whatever he just called him. "I'm sure she could cook circles around you, son." He closes the doors on his way out.
"You're a fuckin' dick," I quietly snarl so Garrison doesn't hear me.
Brandt watches the doors close and as soon as the sunlight stops shining through them, he's on me. His hands slide to the back of my head and his lips press to mine like a starved animal. A week away apparently didn’t give him time to get over me, and I don't fucking want him to.
"You frustrate the fuck out of me," I quietly groan in case Garrison isn't far but I want Brandt to bend me over this bench and fuck me hard enough the deer in the fields will hear it.
"Yeah, that makes two of us. I've been goin' crazy these last few days, Jo." His thumb swipes down my jaw. "Please promise me you won't pull that shit again. You coulda at least texted me back."
"Brandt." I look away, trying to move back but his grip tightens and he grabs my chin, looking me in the face. "What the hell is this supposed to be? Secret fuck partners? What?" I blurt, wanting to tell him to back the fuck off until I realize this isn't love. I can't be in love with him.
"We'll tell them. Eventually."
I growl and try pulling back again but he stops me.
"Hell, Jo. All I know is I want you. As a girlfriend. As a roommate. As a lover. I want everything you have to give, and I want everyone to know. Maybe not right off the bat... Maybe we test the waters and figure out the best way to tell my dad and Donna about us, but what we're doing isn't wrong." He grabs my hand and brings it to his chest. "What I'm feeling isn't wrong either."
"Other people think it is." I pull my hand down. "Fucking your step sister is usually frowned upon. Telling our parents will only get you kicked off the ranch and me kicked back on the streets. They just want a happy little family, Brandt, and all they care about is that we're happy siblings that love our parents. I'm not fucking happy. I'm not fucking happy about the way you make me feel," I divulge in frustration.
"Fuck other people, Jo. How are you the one that cares about what others think? Sure, had we grown up together and taken baths together as kids, this would be weird as hell. But we just met. When I met Donna, she didn't even know if you were alive. Honestly, I didn't even think you really existed. We're strangers that happen to have parents that got married late in life. That's it. That's all this is." He wraps his arms around me tight. "I’m not fuckin' lettin' you go back to the streets, Jo."
"That's not all this is, farm boy." I pull away and glance at the doors Garrison could walk through again at any second. "I don't know why, but I don't just want the convenient hook up with you. I want that stupid package people brag about on social media. And I don't mean I want to go public, but I don't want to be your convenient hook up...along with Goldilocks, and whatever other chick you feel like fucking any given day."
He looks me in the eyes and those nice lips turn upward. "I don't want anything with anyone else, Jo."
"It's the truth, city girl. I don't want casual hookups either. I've never had this with anyone, but I want it with you."
"You know this is a bad idea, right?" Her head shakes and I lose eye contact with her as she mutters, “Such a bad idea."
I step closer to her, still able to smell that damn strawberry shampoo and bring my fingertips to her chin, forcing her to look up at me.
"You're worried about two strangers fallin' for each other? 'Cause that's about all this is, city girl." I press my lips to hers gently. "We just gotta play it cool till we can figure out Donna and my dad. But I can fuckin' promise you that you're the only one I want." I kiss her again and wrap my arm around her, gripping her ass. "As in the package, exclusive and all that shit. No one else."
The look across her pretty face is skeptical. Stepping onto a bale of hay almost brings her eye level with me. "This is better." She chuckles. "Step brother boyfriend...sounds really fucked up." She starts to laugh but her arms slide around my neck.
"Or ya know, you could just call me your boyfriend." I press my lips to her nose. "And I can just call you my girlfriend. There's nothin' wrong with what we have, Jo. Actually, it's kind of fuckin' spectacular."
"I understand we didn't grow up together. I get that just over a month ago we didn’t know each other, Brandt. But for some reason, I'm scared shitless of what our parents will say." She leans in to kiss me, pressing her body against mine. She’s scared, but not scared enough to deny me.
"How about we don't talk about our parents right now?" With her pressed against me, I remind myself it's been too long since she's paid any attention to me and I hated every minute of it. Right now all I can think about is fucking her where we stand. I cup the back of her neck and kiss her deeply, groaning when she pinches my nipple through my shirt. "Fuck, crazy!" I laugh, moving back. "How do you feel about a little barn nookie?"
She laughs and her head throws back before she glances toward the doors and whispers, "What if Garrison comes in?"
"We'll make it quick. I've been without you for too long." I wait for her to give me a sign and the minute she grins and bites her lip I'm undoing my belt buckle, not even worrying about my shirt. I grip my cock in my hand, watching her shimmy out of her thong from under this dress she's wearin'. "You're gonna have to wear more of these things around me," I whisper, pulling her to me and sliding my hand between her legs to find her ready.
&nb
sp; "Oh god," she moans and her eyes close. "Brandt, I'm nervous."
I groan and bring my fingers to my lips, tasting her. "Turn around and grip onto that beam." I nod toward one of the beams right behind us. She slowly turns and the minute her hands hit the beam I hike up her dress and grip her ass. "Hell, Jo. This is almost picture worthy."
"Don't you dare take a picture right now," she quietly blurts then wiggles her ass and urges, "Brandt, fuck me!"
"You gotta quiet down, sweetheart." I glance over at the door and then back to Jo. The way she's ready for me has me throwing all care out the window. I push into her, gripping her hips and letting out a low growl, loving feeling this connected with her.
She gasps and quietly moans then suddenly goes tense, really tense. Tense enough she tightens around me but there's no way she's already coming.
"Brandt," she blurts my name and I stop moving. "Are you wearing a condom?"
Oh shit.
"No," I pant. "Fuck, no. Fuck!" I don't move. I can't pull out, she feels too fucking good! "Jo, I—"
"Fuck," she moans then thrusts back down over my dick. "Fuck, fuck." She's having this internal battle with what to do but all the while still sliding her pussy up and down my dick. "God, fuck, don't stop. Just pull out...pull out when you're gonna come." One of her hands grabs her tit through her dress and the other holds the beam tighter.
I pump into her, my hands grabbing her ass. Over and over, I slam into her, her pussy squeezing tight around me. The noises she's making can more than likely be heard outside this fucking barn but I can't stop now.
"I'm close," I groan, "Fuck, Jo."
"Fuck, wait," she pants, begging me. "Just don't stop, Brandt. I'm going to come. Fuck." Her head drops and starts to shake as her body starts to vibrate. "I'm going to fucking come," she whispers and her nails scratch down the beam. "Oh fuck, Brandt. Fuck, fuck, fuck!" That was definitely too loud but she's coming on my dick and I hate this, but I have to fucking pull out because my balls are tightening and I'm about to lose it inside her.
"Shit!" I yank out just as my orgasm sends jolts through my fucking body. "Holy shit," I pant, my dick shooting ribbons of my intense orgasm.
