by Jenna Jacob
She lifted her gaze. “All men, including you,” she bit out. “Come, Ozzie. It’s time for breakfast.”
With her back to Sawyer, Brea waited as the dog ran inside the house. Just as she began to step through the portal, he called out, “I’m going to remove that pesky man ban, darlin’. You just wait and see.”
A tremor slid through her.
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she whispered, and closed the door.
Filling Ozzie’s bowl with fresh water, Brea peered out the window. Sawyer remained at the fence. His gaze fixed on Barbara’s house and sparked with a challenge: let the games begin. Dammit, she didn’t want a war. It was struggle enough to find the willpower to shy away from him. Why did he want to make that exponentially harder?
While Ozzie chomped his breakfast, Brea opened several windows on the first level. The morning temperature was delightfully cool, and she welcomed the breeze. Though by afternoon, she’d have to close up the house and let the air conditioner save her from the blistering Texas heat.
Sitting at the kitchen table, she scribbled out a grocery list. If Jade wasn’t too busy—or sore from riding Colton, and could still walk—Brea planned to beg a ride to the grocery store. Reciting the list to keep from turning green with envy because of her friend’s sex life, Brea heard voices being raised out front.
“Why are you such an asshole?”
“No. You’re the asshole. What the fuck were you thinking?”
She knew that voice, all too well. It was Sawyer. Dropping her pen, she rushed to the living room window and peered next door. She found her neighbor all bowed up, as if ready to throw down, standing toe-to-toe with a guy who looked to be a younger version of him.
“You have no right to decide what I do or who I do it with, you interfering prick.”
“I have every right!” Sawyer thundered. “You’re my brother, and you’re making a monumental mistake.”
His brother…no wonder they resembled one another.
“Did I ask your opinion?”
“No,” Sawyer barked. “But I’m giving it to you, anyway. It’s never going to work out, Nate. Gina is a tough woman, she runs a bar, but more than that, she’s way too old for you.”
“You’ve got some big balls, but they’re not crystal ones. You can’t tell the future. And if you insult her again, I’ll beat your ass into the ground.”
“You wish.” Sawyer rolled his eyes. “What about kids? You’ve always wanted to be a dad.”
“We can have all the kids we want! She’s not ninety.”
“No, but she’s old enough for it to be a risk to her health and the development of the child. Use your head, and I’m not talking about the one in your pants. Obviously that one thinks it’s a fucking genius already. I’m talking about the one on your shoulders.”
“That’s ripe. Coming from you. How many women in town have you fucked? Or have you lost count?”
Brea’s stomach took a nosedive. How many women had he been with? Were Sawyer and Colton buddies because they shared the same man-whore DNA?
“We’re not talking about me.”
“No. Your track record speaks for itself. Guess since you’ve already ruined your own life, you think you have the right to go and fuck up mine? Well, you can suck a bull’s cock, ’cause it’ll be a cold day in hell before I let you screw up my relationship with Gina!” Nate spat.
Sawyer’s expression crumpled as if he’d been sucker-punched. The raw, visible pain wrinkling his face broke Brea’s heart. What in the world had happened to him to cause such anguish?
“Shit,” Nate cursed as remorse lined his face. “I’m sorry, Sawyer. I didn’t mean to—”
“Your battery is in the bed of my truck. Take it and leave.” His voice was empty. Hollow. Brittle and as cold as ice.
“Come on, bro. I didn’t mean that. I was talking out my ass.” The younger man’s tone was dripping with contrition.
“No. Every word you said is true. Not only have I fucked up my life but I fucked Nash and Megan’s up as well. You already know that. And you’re right to not listen to me, Nate. I’ve batted a negative thousand when it comes to love. I’m definitely not the kind of role model you or any of the others need.” Sawyer shook his head in disgust.
Nate stood silently gaping at Sawyer’s self-deprecating rant.
“Go on. Get in the truck,” he instructed. “I’ll drive you back to the bar, help you re-connect the battery, and follow you out to the ranch.”
“Come on, Saw—”
“Don’t, Nate. Conversation is over. Drop it,” Sawyer warned. Fire blazed in his emerald eyes.
With his lips pressed in a thin, tight line, Nate nodded before climbing into the big black truck.
As his brother slammed the door, Sawyer raked a hand through his hair. With stiff, deliberate strides, he charged inside the cab, gunned the engine, and sped down the street.
Stunned, Brea stood at the window replaying the heated exchange in her mind. Your track record speaks for itself. Guess since you’ve already ruined your own life, you think you have the right to go and fuck up mine?
Nate’s words had reopened some type of mortal wound in Sawyer’s heart. It was little comfort she and Sawyer shared a ghastly track record. Brea shook her head and grimaced.
“I’m a hot mess and evidently he is, too. We’re a match made in heaven!”
After several awkwardly silent, tension-filled minutes, Nate’s battery was reconnected, and Sawyer was on his way to the ranch alone. Alone with his thoughts and alone with the sound of his brother’s words swirling inside his head. He’d alienated two brothers in the span of two days. Sawyer was on a roll…a roll downhill through a pasture of cows fresh from a colon cleanse. The shit coating him wasn’t pretty or fun.
Nate was right, he didn’t have a crystal ball, but dammit, his kid brother was delusional if he thought Gina would marry him. Of course, Sawyer was probably being just as delusional lusting after a woman on a goddamn man ban, and one entrenching her heart behind walls so thick a bulldozer and a case of C-4 might not free it.
This was setting up to be a truly fucktastic day!
At the ranch, his sour mood had Sawyer keeping his distance from his family. Thankfully, they’d given him his space while he found a bit of peace working with the kids. He was still riddled with anxiety and a restlessness that left him feeling raw and exposed. By the end of the day, Sawyer was ready to go home.
“We’re heading to the Hangover. Wanna join us?” Noble asked.
Sawyer darted a glance at Nate, who dropped a stare toward the ground. “No. You all have fun. I’m going home. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Without looking back, he climbed into his truck and left. He gnashed his teeth all the way home, and couldn’t keep from glancing next door when he pulled into his driveway. Colton’s truck sat in front of Barbara’s house. Like a horny teen, Sawyer wanted to knock on the door and say hi to his pal just to hopefully catch a glimpse of Brea. Instead, he cut the engine and cursed the one thing he wanted most but couldn’t have—her.
In his room, Sawyer stripped off his clothes and glanced at the bed. Bending, he tore off the linens with a growl. It irked him that the prickly princess next door was haunting his dreams so vehemently that he’d laid an oyster in his sheets last night. Something he hadn’t done since he was fourteen.
Last night, he’d had the nastiest dream of his life, and Brea held the starring role. He’d gotten so hard and hot he’d ejaculated all over himself. Obviously his unconscious mind hadn’t been sated, because he’d still woken with an erection so hard he could have split a walnut tree.
After changing the sheets, he took a hot shower and tugged on his clothes. He snagged a cold beer headed outside to relax on his porch. The minute he stepped from the house, the mouthwatering aroma of seared meat assaulted his senses in a smoking haze wafting from next door. His stomach growled loudly.
“You wish.” Colton barked out a laugh over his shoulde
r as Brea followed him onto the deck.
She wore a smile that dimmed the sun. “You are so full of shit. The only reason he was pouting was because I told him the playground between my legs was forever closed.”
The sound of her laughter warmed Sawyer like smooth brandy, and her shameless confession made him grin.
“So you dumped the poor kid and sent him home to play with his own monkey bar?” Colton taunted. “You were a mean teen, Brea.”
“I was not! Besides, Allen Wilson needed all the practice he could get. He had no idea what to do with his monkey bar…none of them did, I might add.”
None of them? Christ, how many were there?
Brea’s comments led Sawyer to believe she’d entertained a whole clown car of boys in high school. But unlike her past buffoons, Sawyer was fully competent with his equipment. The fact that she spoke as if she’d never had a capable lover made him want to teach her what real pleasure felt like. He’d like to educate her on how to provide it, too. Sawyer had no trouble picturing her full, pouty lips stretched tight around his monkey bar. Reaching down, he adjusted his reawakening cock.
Colton lifted the lid on the grill. A wave of billowing smoke rolled Sawyer’s way, blocking his view but not hindering the couple’s conversation.
“We were a pair, weren’t we? One thing’s for sure…neither one of us had to worry about being voted most likely never to get laid. What with you educating all the boys and me teaching the girls,” Colton aid with a snort.
“Some of the boys,” Brea corrected. “My number pales in comparison to yours. Hell, if we compared bedmate to bedmate, I’d come out practically a virgin against you.”
Colton howled with laughter. “You? A virgin? Maybe we should call you Sister Mary-Brea.”
Sawyer felt a little like a voyeur listening to the couple banter about their sexual prowess, but he enjoyed discovering yet another side of the fascinating woman. She was relaxed, revealing a carefree, happy openness with Colton that stabbed Sawyer with jealousy. He wanted Brea to be as candid with him. A part of him feared the chrysalis morphing before his eyes might unfurl her wings and fly away before he ever got the chance to earn her trust, let alone kiss her.
“No. I’m far too jaded to become a nun, though I did think about it…briefly.”
The smoke had cleared, and Sawyer saw a lopsided smile curl one side of Brea’s mouth.
Colton shook his head. “Looking back, I have no idea what I was trying to prove in high school. I’m just glad those days are over and I finally found Jade. And I’m damn glad you called me to spring you out of jail, sweetheart. Though I’m not happy about what that low-life prick put you through, I’m glad you’re here with us.”
Sawyer straightened. His brows slashed in confusion. Jail? Brea was in jail? What fuck-nugget sent her to jail and why? What crime had she committed?
Brea’s happy expression faltered. “I don’t want to talk about him or jail or the endless years I’ve fucked up my life. Let’s just stick to resurrecting demons from high school. I can forgive myself for being young and stupid a lot easier than I can for being adult, desperate, and stupid.”
Colton slung his arm around Brea’s shoulder. Drawing her into a hug, he placed a kiss on the top of her head. “You’re not stupid, sugar. You never have been. I promise not to mention that worthless sack of angus-puss again if you promise to stop beating yourself up. Isn’t it better to have loved and lost than never loved at all?”
Brea shrugged. “I don’t have a clue. It took me till going to jail to figure out I’ve never really been in love before. Not the kind of love you and Jade share. Someday I’ll know that kind of completeness flowing off the two of you.”
“It’s more than love, sweetheart. We’re soul mates.”
“I’ve known that since freshman year.” She poked Colton in the ribs. “But I’m afraid the only S-O-L-E mate I’ll find is on the bottom of a shit-covered shoe.”
“Yes, you will…one day.”
Colton closed the lid on the grill and spied Sawyer across the fence. Smiling, he raised his hand and waved. Shit. He’d been spotted.
“Hey, man. What are you doing sitting there all alone? Get your ass over here and join us. We’ve got four steaks and tons of food.”
Sawyer watched Brea blanch at their friend’s invitation. A refusal sat poised on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t find the willpower to turn down the chance to spend time with her.
“You want me to bring some beer?”
“No need. There’s plenty. Just haul ass over and join us, man.”
At Colton’s insistence, Sawyer hopped up and jogged next door. When he reached the deck, he clearly saw the look of horror on Brea’s face and started second-guessing his decision.
“Are you sure I’m not imposing?” He delved into her caramel-colored eyes.
“Imposing? Uh…no. Not at all,” she replied nervously. Forcing a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes—because they were packed with panic—Brea shook her head. “Like he said, there’s plenty of food.”
“I’ll pop in and ask Jade to set another place at the table,” Colton announced with a grin. “Steaks will be ready shortly.”
Once he was alone with Brea, an uncomfortable silence settled around them. She lowered her lashes, averting her gaze to the wooden floor at their feet.
“Hey,” he whispered. She snapped her head up, and Sawyer saw a million questions roll across her face. “I didn’t mean to crash your dinner party. I can leave if you’re uncomfortable.”
“No. I-I…I’m fine. I mean, you’re fine,” she stammered.
A pretty pink blush blossomed over her cheeks. He wanted to reach out and cup her burning face but feared one touch and he’d be flash-fried clear to his boots. As he gazed into her tumultuous eyes, his need to kiss her outweighed the risk of turning to ash.
“Darlin’, you’re a million ways better than fine,” he assured in a roguish whisper.
Inching in closer, Sawyer slid one hand around her lush waist and cupped his other to the back of her neck. Leaning in close to her mouth, he inhaled her startled gasp while her body tensed. Dammit. She was as guarded as a newborn colt.
“Easy, gorgeous. I only want a little taste.”
When she didn’t stop him, Sawyer brushed his mouth to hers. Brea’s lips were soft and supple, exactly like the heated flesh leaching from beneath her clothes and singeing his hand. He slid his tongue across the seam of her mouth, lingering patiently, waiting for her to open and let him in. Slowly, her timidness vanished, like wax under a flame, she melted against his body.
Thank fuck!
She wasn’t immune to the invisible attraction between them after all. As she parted her lips, he deepened the kiss. Her silky moan vibrated over his tongue, and Sawyer issued a primitive mental howl.
He’d had every intention of keeping the kiss light and gentle, but one taste…and demand went off the chain. Like a freight train with rusty brakes, there was no stopping the momentum. He slid his hand up her spine, then he slowly dragged it back down her side, branding every lush, feminine curve to memory.
Brea had cast all her reservations aside as their tongues swirled and danced a hungry tango. He reveled in the delicious thrill of exploring every slick, wet dip and crevice of her sultry mouth. Reaching up, Brea threaded her fingers behind his neck, holding fast as he devoured her, and Sawyer felt a shiver ripple through her, matching the magnitude of demand sizzling through him. Melding her heart and the sweet slickness of her mouth with his, Sawyer knew that after this one amazing kiss, he’d never be the same again.
As he skimmed his palms down her ribs, savoring the swell of her breasts…the slope of her hip, his cock stretched hard as stone. Dropping both hands to her luscious butt cheeks, he gripped her there and pulled Brea in tight against his ready erection.
She mewled softly, a sound that sent liquid fire rolling up his spine. The kiss turned raw, savage, and unrelenting. Her heart pounded furiously against
his chest and kept time with his own thundering beat.
Sawyer was lost…drowning in the sublime thrill Brea summoned inside him. Never before had a single kiss obliterated him to such degree. Neither had the need to drink in every drop of her soul. The blistering passion surging between them made the air crackle with the promise of a carnal storm.
A tendril of fear broke loose and snaked through his brain. Tumbling with the heated desire flowing through him, the two divergent emotions stumbled over one another as if vying for first place. Sawyer reluctantly lifted from her lips and pressed his forehead to hers. Their panted breaths mingled. But it was simply the sight of her that eased the anxiety swirling inside him. Her eyes were dark, smoky umber. Her lips were wet, red, and swollen. She screamed fuckable sex kitten. It took every ounce of resolve not to toss her over his shoulder, haul her across the yard, and race to his bedroom with her.
“Oh, my…” she said in a trembling whisper.
“Indeed.” He softly chuckled. “I knew tasting you would be heaven, but that was like kissing the moon and the stars.”
Brea swallowed tightly. Tensing, she inched back until she was free of his hold. “I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
“Don’t,” Sawyer warned. “Don’t say you shouldn’t have kissed me.”
“But I shouldn’t have,”
“Why? You going to try and tell me you didn’t enjoy it? I know better.”
“I did. That’s the problem.”
Before he could open his mouth to convince her that it really wasn’t a problem, Colton and Jade stepped from the house.
“Glad you could join us, Sawyer,” Jade welcomed with a smile. Turning toward Brea, her joy dimmed. “What’s wrong? Are you all right?”
Sawyer’s heart leapt to his throat when he saw the fat tears filling Brea’s eyes.
“We’ll be right back,” he announced.
Wrapping his arm around her waist, he whisked Brea to the side of the house. Placing two fingers beneath her chin, Sawyer lifted her face toward his. “I’ve never kissed a girl and made her cry before. You’re demolishing my ego.”
Her watery grin made Sawyer smile.
