by Amelia Shea
“Motherfucker, you better be talking about the house and not yours. Don’t underestimate me, Jonah, I will fuck you up and have no fucking regrets, asshole.”
“Not on your best day, Bogs. I’ll take her to the house. Let this be a lesson, man.” He hung up, and the humor in Jonah’s voice only fueled the rage Bogs was feeling.
That had been over forty minutes ago. Where the fuck were they? Any rational thought of how he’d talk to Kenzie was completely useless at this point. He was beyond enraged. The lights shadowed into the living room, and he heard the engine running.
Jonah would be smart to not come inside with how Bogs was feeling at this moment.
»»•««
She could see his shadow in the window when they pulled into the driveway. She had no doubt he was mad. So was she. Her plan was to walk through the door and march straight upstairs. She had no intention of talking to him, at least not tonight.
She walked past him when he opened the door. She was headed for the stairs when his hand wrapped around her elbow. She tried to pull away, but his grip was too strong.
“Let go of me,” she shouted, louder than intended.
“Not until you tell me why you thought it was a good idea to leave my house with another man.”
She shrugged and snapped. “I’m surprised you even noticed. Besides, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Now let me go, I’m tired, and I wanna go to bed. Alone.” She pulled her arm, but he refused to let go.
Damn those stupid sayings.
She waited and watched his lips press together and the corner of his eyes crinkle. “What’s good for the goose…”
Her anger grew as his subsided. Mocking or making light of what she just said was the wrong this to do. She tugged hard on her arm, and this time it was freed. “Shut up. You know what it means.”
Bogs burst out laughing clutching his stomach with his hand. The sound vibrated through the room, only intensifying her fury. He had the nerve to get upset with her for leaving with Jonah when he had a girl hanging on him all night and did nothing to stop her. There was no humor on her end.
“I’m going to bed, and you are not sleeping in the bed with me, so figure out another place. Maybe Kami’s bed has occupancies, but mine does not.” She turned and marched to the stairs. She noticed the silence before her foot hit the first step.
“You’re jealous?” It was a challenge.
She halted mid-step. How could she not be? She turned slowly to see him standing in the center of the room with his arms folded, no longer smiling. In fact, the scowl on his face was deeply embedded into his forehead almost making him look dangerous.
“Jealous? No.” She scoffed. “At least not anymore.” She inched forward throwing back the same glare as he was sending her. “But I’m woman enough to admit I was. Then the jealousy turned into something else.” She drew in a breath. “Hurt.”
Bogs dropped his head, looking down at the floor. His arms fell to his sides, and he looked up at her. “You read it all wrong.”
She widened her eyes. “I did? ’Cause from where I was standing it looked like she was flirting, and you were flirting back.”
He took a breath and sighed. His face softened. “She’s a friend of Rox’s whose boyfriend just cheated on her. Ya know what that does to someone? I wasn’t flirting to get with her. I was trying to be nice, initially. Rox said she was taking it hard, so yeah, maybe I did give her a little extra attention.” He stepped forward, his eyes darkening. “But I’m not the one who took off. I really don’t like the idea that my girl fucking left with another guy.”
“Well, then, Bogs, maybe it’s you who read it wrong. Can’t be mad at Jonah, or even me. See, he offered me a ride ’cause I was taking it kind of hard that the guy I’m falling in love with, who brought me to his family’s house, was off consoling another girl, while I was left to fend for myself. He didn’t like the idea that I was feeling betrayed and embarrassed while the guy I was there with was ignoring me, not giving a shit about how my feelings might be hurt that he was flirting with another woman.”
Bogs face changed into a heated glare. “I wasn’t flirting with her.”
She gritted her teeth in frustration. “For the record, I do know what it’s like to be cheated on, and I do know how deep that cuts. I also know that when it happened to me, I wasn’t off trying to get with someone else’s man, but that’s just me.”
Bogs clenched his jaw and stepped forward. “Did you leave with Jonah to get back at me, is that it?”
“I left with Jonah because I couldn’t bear to sit by myself on the porch waiting for you to come find me. I can only take so much humiliation. The icing on the cake was watching you with her in the kitchen.” She twisted her lips in anger. “I hope you’re happy together.”
“Fuck, Kenzie. I told her to back off, told her I needed to find you.”
“Yeah, well…you were too late.”
She stormed off to the stairs and stomped away.
“That’s it? You’re just gonna take off?” he shouted. The fury was evident in his voice.
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
»»•««
Bogs had barely slept. The couch was shit, and the cold draft through the windows was making it impossible to get comfortable. He thought about asking Kenzie to borrow a blanket, but when he went upstairs to find the door locked, he knew he’d needed to give her time. He spent half the night angry and the other half regretful. He’d done nothing to help the situation when she came in the house. What he should have done was kept his temper in check. Instead, he let his own jealousy escalate, and he snapped. Then she said it.
The guy I’m falling in love with.
Those words played over in his head. Did she even realize she let that slip? He’d fucked up, not purposely, but he had. He rolled over to his side and slowly sat up on the couch. The sound of a truck pulling into the driveway had his anger from last night rising to the surface again. Jonah.
Bogs leaned back on the couch, fixed on the door. It was only minutes before the key unlocked the door and the handle turned. Jonah walked in, glancing around the room and stopped on Bogs.
“Sleeping on the couch? That ain’t good.”
“Yeah, and I got you to thank, asshole.”
Jonah shook his head and smiled. “That’s your problem, Bogs. You haven’t figured out that where you slept last night was all on you, brother?”
Given the time to think last night, he did understand where she was coming from. Bogs leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His shoulders sagged in defeat.
“Look, man, nothing happened, I was just trying to help her out,” Jonah said. It was the truth. With Kenzie admitting to being in love with him and Jonah feeling indebted to him and his brothers, he knew deep down nothing happened once his jealous anger subsided. And of course, there was Rox.
Bogs shrugged. “I know nothing happened. You spent all of last night with your eyes glued to my sister, mainly her ass. I’m thinking Kenzie isn’t who I need to be worried about alone with you.” Bogs was baiting him, but he wasn’t taking it.
“Got no interest in your little sister,” Jonah said, passing by the couch.
Bogs got up from the couch and followed him. “There a reason you were staring at her all night?” That may have been an exaggeration, Bogs only caught it once but the way Jonah’s shoulders tensed from the comment, he knew Jonah’s denial of interest in Roxanne was complete bullshit.
Jonah walked to the closet, and Bogs was sure he was going to ignore him, which he did. Jonah rifled through the closet without answering.
“Gonna dodge my question?”
Jonah pulled away from the closet, grabbing a large tool that Bogs wasn’t familiar with and a toolbox, placing them on the counter near the sink.
“Not dodging shit.”
Bogs smirked. “Then why were you staring at her?”
Jonah turned around and leaned back on the count
er. “She’s beautiful. Can’t tell me I’m the first guy to look at her, Bogs.”
“No, she gets it all the time, though being her brother, I don’t really get the appeal.” Bogs watched Jonah seeing something in his eyes. He was hiding something. “Just curious, why didn’t you make a move? Didn’t see you talk to her all night.”
Jonah stared back at him as if bored with the conversation. He wasn’t fooling anyone. There was definitely interest. Why he was staying in denial mode, Bogs wasn’t sure. He had no issue with Jonah and Roxanne. In fact, he kind of liked the idea of his sister being with a man like Jonah. Stone had called it. Jonah was a good guy.
Jonah crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. “Maybe I did, but you were too busy with her friend to notice.”
Turning it back on him, nice try, dick. Bogs smiled. Jonah was putting a lot of effort into evading his questions about Roxanne. “No, I would have noticed. Hell, I noticed you hanging with my girl most of the night.”
“Yeah, well somebody had to. She still pissed at you?”
Bogs cocked an eyebrow. “You saw where I was sleeping, what do you think?”
Jonah snorted. “Yeah, well, she’ll forgive ya, but I suggest you spend less time down here with me and more time up there with her.”
Bogs nodded and stared up at the ceiling. He hadn’t heard her moving around. He turned and headed toward the doorway. “And Jonah, just so we’re clear.” He glanced over his shoulder, slowly smiling and shrugged. “Got no problem with you and Rox. Just sayin’.”
He left the room but heard a deep intake of breath.
Chapter Eighteen
Kenzie curled deeper under the covers, encasing her body with the blanket. This house would be amazing when it was done, but the draft coming through the window reminded her it was a work in progress. She’d been up for an hour but had yet to open her eyes. She was still stuck on last night and what it should have been, a great night meeting his family, and what it had become. A disaster.
She had heard the voices through the floor but couldn’t make out what was being said. She thought about getting up and opening the door but decided against it. Whoever Bogs was talking to was none of her business. In fact, everything Bogs was no longer her concern. The thought sent a deep, sharp raging pain to her chest.
“Rise and shine, buttercup.”
She froze and tightened her grip on the blanket under her fingers. She wasn’t ready to face him yet.
“Go away,” she mumbled.
“You mean that? You want me to leave?” His voice was getting closer.
No, I want you to say you’re sorry and that you see what a jerk you were and you’re here to beg for forgiveness.
“Yes,” she lied.
“Even if I’m here to apologize?”
She lowered the blanket from her face to see him standing near the dresser with his hands dug into his pockets, and a smile spread across his face. She stared at him without saying a word.
“So, I was thinking that maybe you were right. Not gonna apologize for flirting ’cause I really don’t think I was but I’m sorry you thought I was giving too much attention to Kami.”
She scowled. “This is your apology?”
“You’re right, that sucks. Let me try again.” He stepped forward, grasping the hem of his shirt and pulling it over his head revealing his glorious, perfect chest. She blinked frantically.
“What the hell are you doing?”
He gave an innocent tilt to his head, but she knew better. “What do you mean? I’m apologizing.” He unsnapped his jeans and lowered them to his ankles.
She gripped the blanket closer and snapped. “Why are you taking your clothes off?”
“I think a naked apology would be most sincere.”
“No,” she shouted. “You are not getting in this bed naked.”
“But don’t you wanna hear what I have to say?”
“Not naked.”
“Why not, I thought you liked how I looked?’ He said it as if he wasn’t lowering his boxers and showing her his morning wood. She gulped, mesmerized by his cock. Argh! Don’t fall for his seduction routine, you fool.
“This isn’t funny, Bogs.”
He snorted. “God, I hope not. Nothing worse than a woman laughing when you stand buck naked in front of her.” He cocked his eyebrow. “That’s an assumption, not talking from experience.”
Oh God, how could he even make jokes right now?
He inched to the bed slowly, lifting his knee and placing it next to her thigh. She shrunk in the bed with the words, “absolutely not” on the tip of her tongue, but they never came out. He straddled her waist with his other leg and leaned down closer. She was cocooned in her blanket with her heart pumping.
His finger slid over her temple brushing away a strand of hair.
“I spent last night thinking I may have fucked up my future.” His gaze fell over her face and landed on her eyes. “It sucks ’cause, here I was thinking I was being nice and having a good time, and all the while, my girl’s heart is breaking, and I didn’t even know it. Had I known? Things would have been different. Should have read you better and I didn’t, that’s on me, and for that, I really am sorry.” He leaned down swiping a kiss across her lips. Her mouth tingled with her heart racing. “I watched you around my friends, laughing with my sisters, you just being in my dad’s house, my home? It did something to me. Never let someone get in this deep with me.” He chuckled. “Never brought a girl home.”
She smiled. “Yeah, your sisters told me.”
His elbows braced on the bed. His hands cupped her cheeks. “And the first time, I fuck it up. It’s not an excuse, pretty girl, but I thought you knew. Thought you knew how much I care about you, thought you understood what I got for you is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. Should have been clearer that you are the only woman I want to be with, the only one I want to touch, and the only one who matters.”
He kissed her lips softly and slowly like he was dragging out everything he was saying so she’d understand. His breath was hot, but he never hurried it or rushed the kiss.
“You gotta forgive me.” He kissed her again. “You have to, pretty girl. I’m not gonna stop until you do. I don’t want you falling in love with me. I want you to be in love with me. I want you to feel everything I’m feeling for you.”
“I do,” she whispered, leaning up for another kiss. Two words was all it took. His mouth drew deeper into hers. She didn’t want to lose him. She just wanted him to recognize how she felt, how hurt she was and apologize.
»»•««
Her head rested in the curve of his neck, the scent of vanilla and cranberries wafting his nostrils. This was the good stuff. Sure, sex with Kenzie was incredible, but there was something just as good, just being with her, lying in silence, knowing he hadn’t lost her. When he had stripped off her shirt and panties, he saw the heat and desire in her eyes. He had to fight against the need to take her. Her fingers caressed his abs in a light touch as if she were weaving a feather across his muscles.
“Whatcha thinking?” She curled deeper against him, resting her head below his chin.
“I was making a mental note for the future. The naked apology works.”
Her body shook against his as she giggled. “I won’t fall for it again.” She wrapped her hand around his hip, sliding her thumb slowly over his hip. “You plan on screwing up in the future?”
He snorted. “It’s inevitable. Besides, I know the naked apology works now, so I’m golden.”
She slapped his stomach playfully and shifted forward to look down on him. The waves of her hair fell forward tickling his chin. She was so damn beautiful. He had been with all types of women in the past, a list longer than most men. But this girl? Not one woman from his past could even come close to the natural beauty in front of him. He angled for her mouth, but she backed away, squinting suspiciously.
“So, you plan on screwing up again?”
“Babe, seriously? Of course
.” He caught himself from laughing as her scowl deepened forming two lines between her brows. “You only have yourself to blame?”
“What are you talking about?”
He lifted his brows and smirked. “Well, now that I know the naked apology leads to naked cuddling. You can bet your ass I’m gonna fuck up and piss you off. I might even do shit on purpose.”
She rolled her eyes. Her lips pressed into a straight line, trying desperately to mask her smile. She failed and dropped her head against his chest.
“You’re a jerk.”
“Guilty.”
They lay quietly, and he thought she had fallen asleep. He closed his eyes, in dire need of rest. With all that happened last night, topped with the uncomfortable couch, he was beat. He drew in a breath and felt himself nod off.
“I like your family.”
He opened his eyes. “Yeah?”
She nodded against his chest. He said nothing else, reeling in the joy of her four simple words. He wanted her to like them, spend time with them, and become of part of them. His family was the most important aspect of his life, and he wanted Kenzie in on that.
“What was your mom like?” She leaned up on her elbow and searched his face before he could answer. “If you don’t want to talk about her it’s fine. I’m not trying to pry or anything.”
A slow smile crept over his face. “I like talking about her.” He shrugged. “It’s hard for some of the others like Roxanne. She and my mom were tight, and she was younger.” He reached out, shifting her hair behind her ear. “I think it’s different when a girl loses her mom, not harder, just different.”
She nodded.
Realizing he was sending her back to her own loss he grinned in hopes of distracting her. “The first time I met her was at social services. I was a fucking wreck, scared as hell. I’d lived most of my life with my grandparents and then a short time with Cheryl. Always had some semblance of a home, ya know. Even as shitty as it was at times.”
Living with his biological mother was shit.
“I was in a foster home for about eight months. Pretty much got the lowdown from the other kids that being adopted was nearly impossible seeing as how I was eight and most people wanted babies. I was so fucking young and scared all the time. Then one day, my mom and dad showed up.” He laughed at the memory.
