The Return of Brody McBride

by Jennifer Ryan

  Jim pointed to the trees off to the left of the lake. “He headed that way, straight into the trees. I’ll keep a real close eye on the girls until you get back.”

  “Thanks, Jim. We’ll be back soon.”

  “No problem. Hey, in a couple of days, we’ll have some walls up. Then, you’ll really be able to see the layout of the place.”

  “Can’t wait,” she called, and headed toward the trees and Brody.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  * * *

  RAIN ENTERED THE tree line and tried to maintain a straight course. Unable to spot Brody’s tracks in the dead leaves and brush, she went forward on instinct, sidestepping trees and saplings, something inside her zeroing in on Brody’s location. The trees weren’t dense, but she was suddenly surprised to reach a small clearing. Shade dappled green grass and wildflowers carpeted the oval. Butterflies flitted from one flower to the next. A soft breeze ruffled the leaves overhead. Beautiful, this little piece of heaven was quiet and serene. And across the short distance sat Brody, his back to a tree, knees up, hands and arms covering his head. Desolate.

  She didn’t want to startle him, so she walked to him without trying to conceal her presence. When she was only a few feet away, he put his hand up to make her stop, but he never looked up at her. She didn’t stop, but hunched down in front of him and put both hands on his head, his hair sliding between her fingers.

  Her touch was all it took for Brody to come to life. Rolling forward, he wrapped one arm around her back and took her mouth in a fierce kiss. She landed, him on top of her, in the soft, sweet-smelling grass. The branches overhead softened the sunlight streaming down on them. Brody was hard and heavy covering her. In a frantic need, he peeled away clothes and tossed them aside. His mouth never left hers, except when he ripped her lavender shirt over her head. He pushed a frustrated growl through his teeth when he sat back on his heels and not so gently ripped her jeans, underwear and all, down her legs.

  Giving in to his speed and demand, she reared up, grabbed the back of his black T-shirt and hauled it over his head. She went for the button on his jeans. Too much in a hurry to have her, he took over and pushed his jeans down his thighs. His flat palm latched on to her breast as he shoved her back to the ground. His other hand clamped on to her thigh and pushed it wide. Two of his fingers plunged inside of her, deep. He pulled them out and slicked the wetness over the soft folds of her entrance. Not foreplay, but a concession to not hurting her in his desire to be inside her this second. Now.

  The thick head of his penis nudged her entrance, and he thrust hard and deep, his breath coming out harsh against her neck. Pulling back, his mouth clamped on to her hard nipple. He suckled and nipped and licked. Her back arched and her fingers dug into his shoulders as he left one breast for another in an all-out assault on her body. The more she responded, the hungrier and more demanding he became. She panted and moaned, her body heated to Brody’s touch. They’d never been like this together. Brody had never been this out of control, driving into her again and again. She loved the way they made love together, but this was altogether different. Primal. She let herself go. Gave herself over to Brody without reservation. Relished his possession of her body.

  Brody clamped his hands over her hips, pulled himself back on his heels, his knees widespread. Her shoulders were still on the ground, her breasts bouncing with every thrust of Brody’s hard cock into her as he pulled her hips to his, her legs lying over his thighs and wrapped around his back.

  His intense gaze skimmed over her face to her bouncing breasts. One big hand took possession, squeezing the round orb. He clamped her nipple between two fingers and squeezed, plucking at the swollen flesh. She arched into his touch and moaned. His hand slid down her belly, fingers splayed wide to touch as much of her as possible. His thumb found her sweet spot where they were joined and ruthlessly rubbed over the nub, his hips grinded against hers. Heat flared and her body tightened around him. The building explosion gathered energy. Ready to detonate, his harsh voice demanded, “Give it to me, Rain.”

  Fingers digging into his calves, she had no choice. Her body exploded in an intense orgasm. Brody stilled, his teeth clamped shut, the muscles in his jaw working. He released a feral sound deep in his throat, holding back his own release.

  Her body relaxed, but he didn’t let her settle. With another hard, deep thrust, he brought her body back to the brink. Eyes locked with hers, something powerful in their depths. His jaw hard, he demanded, “Again.”

  “Brody.” She reached up to his chest to soothe him, but he didn’t let her touch him. Instead he repeated the order. “Again.” His hands digging into her thighs, he pulled her hips to his and grinded against her. Heat, lust, pure passion raced through her again. She grabbed both his forearms and used them as leverage to maneuver her body against his. He groaned as she shifted her hips to take him deeper, create a delicious friction as her body slid against his.

  Breathing hard, panting out moans, she gave herself over to Brody’s dominance and jumped over the edge, her body locking around his in wave upon wave of contractions.

  “Brody.” She called him to join her, but he stilled, waited for her back to lie flat against the ground as he watched her. A self-satisfied look came over him, but he didn’t smile. His face still hard and impassive, he adjusted their position enough to lean down and lick the underside of her breast in one long sweep of his tongue. His teeth toyed with her tight nipple before his hot mouth clamped down and suckled hard. She moaned and rubbed her hands over his shoulders, up his neck and over his head, holding him to her as he feasted.

  His hands slid around from her bottom, over her skin, to the underside of her thighs as his body moved over hers. He spread her thighs wide, his hips seated between them, his cock pressed deep inside her, full and thick and heavy. He mapped a trail of wet kisses up her chest and neck until his teeth bit into her earlobe. His breath was hot against her ear.

  “Again.”

  With her legs spread wide, he pulled out and thrust hard. This time, she gripped his hips and pulled him to her again and again. Without mercy, they went at each other in a ferocious battle of lovemaking. He growled something fierce at her ear. His teeth bit into her flesh where her shoulder met her neck. He soothed the small hurt with his tongue, sliding over and over the spot, his lips nipping the sensitive skin. Her head turned away as he licked the column of her throat and kissed his way back down.

  A subtle change came over him. Unable to hold back now, he drilled into her. His hand clamped over her knee, drew her leg up, tilting her hips to him even more. She matched the angle with her other leg and met his every thrust, pressing up to him. Her body vibrated, heat pooled low in her belly again. The orgasm came over her in a blazing fire radiating out to her toes and head. Brody thrust again and again as her body contracted around his. With a guttural shout, he emptied himself, his cock pulsing, spilling his seed deep inside her.

  Brody’s harsh grunt scattered several birds from the trees. He collapsed on top of her. Both of them breathed hard and heavy. Time passed in silence, their breathing evened out, and Brody moved down to rest his head on her breast, his mouth and chin nestled against the other. Her hands lay on his strong shoulders. She savored the feel of his hard, lean body lying down the length of hers. For the first time, she realized Brody’s jeans were bunched at his ankles. Her feet were hooked over his calves, her toes brushing the material.

  The grass smelled sweet, crushed beneath them, soft beneath her back and bottom. She could lay here all day with Brody in her arms, the sun on her face, her body sated, and her heart full of love.

  Brody’s silence didn’t bother her. He needed time. Right now, they had all the time in the world.

  “Fuck.”

  Brody planted his hands on either side of her and levered himself up.

  “Again,” she teased, her lips turning up into a soft smile.

  He stared down at the raw, red marks on her breasts where his beard stubble had gra
zed her soft skin. A red mark at the base of her neck would turn into a bruise. He drew away from her. Her hands slid down his arms and landed limply on her ribs, her thumbs just under her pretty pink-tipped breasts. So lush and full, so sweet to taste. He held back a groan and made himself sit back, away from all that tempting skin. No use, he couldn’t stop looking at her. Eyes closed, face soft, her cheeks rosy, lips kiss-swollen. A long expanse of creamy skin, marred by stubble rash, red against the white of her skin. He skimmed over her flat belly to the wet, glistening thatch of curls at the top of her widespread thighs. His eyes feasted on her sex, the way her legs lay soft and supple spread around him. He wanted to have her again, but as enticing a picture as she made, he couldn’t get over the red marks on her hips and thighs from his fingers digging into her skin.

  He opened his mouth to apologize profusely, beg her forgiveness for treating her so poorly. Her words stopped him.

  “Promise me, Brody, we’ll do that again someday soon.”

  She stretched lazily in the grass and tiny flowers, her arms up over her head. She went lax in the sun again. God, she was beautiful. Relaxed, completely at ease with him staring down at her.

  He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it because he wasn’t sure what to say. He went with what he’d felt for the last hour when his mind turned on him and he’d left his daughters in the cabin, unable to trust himself around them.

  “I knew you’d come,” he began.

  Her bright smile took him off guard. “Several times,” she teased him again.

  She had to know he’d been out of his mind when he’d come out here. Why wasn’t she angry with him for treating her the way he had, pushing her to her back, stripping her bare in the middle of the woods, grabbing and bruising her . . . Oh God, driving himself into her again and again until she moaned his name over and over. The best sex ever. Hands down. She’d brought him out of hell again and shown him heaven. What had he done, betrayed her trust. He couldn’t control his baser needs when he was near her and feeling so foul and dark all he wanted to do was touch some of her goodness, take it into him and shine with a bit of the light inside of her.

  He bent forward and rested his forehead on her belly at her navel. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

  Her hands slid into his hair and she combed her fingers over his scalp. “Brody, honey, it’s okay. Everything is okay.”

  “No. It’s not.” He shook his head back and forth on her belly and sat back and looked her in the eyes. She deserved that much from him.

  “I came out here to escape the noise, but I couldn’t escape myself. I left the girls behind.”

  “You left them at the cabin with Jim and a dozen other men watching out for them.”

  “I shouldn’t have left them at all. Roxy could be anywhere.”

  “True, but there’s no way she’d get within a hundred feet of the house without being seen by one of the guys.”

  “I yelled at Autumn when she spilled juice on the table next to her computer.”

  “She should be more careful.”

  “Damnit, I can buy her another one if she dumps the whole glass on it and shorts it out. That isn’t the point.”

  “What is the point, Brody? You got upset because she spilled juice. Believe me, I’ve yelled at both of them for a lot less. Some days, I have endless patience for them, others, I’m on a short fuse.”

  “I used to be mellow.”

  “You were wild,” she countered, not deterring him one bit. “You’d pick a fight because you wanted one.”

  “Damn right. I was in control. I chose. Now . . .”

  “You’re under a great deal of stress. You’ve come home to find yourself the father of two children by two different women, you’re building a house the size of Texas, you’re working long distance and helping with the house, trying to be there for me and the girls. You’re recovering from a severe injury, you’re in constant pain, and your mind sometimes thinks there are snipers on the roofs. You have nightmares, which make it impossible for you to sleep. Being tired makes your anxiety worse and you become grumpy and short-tempered. A good bout of sex among the trees and forest creatures should have relaxed you and made you feel like me, completely satisfied and smug. Instead, you’re trying to make me mad at you for something that isn’t your fault.”

  “I didn’t use anything,” he said bluntly.

  He placed his hand over her stomach, imagined her belly swelling with his child. Shouldn’t he feel more penitent for taking her again without a thought to the consequences? She’d asked him for time. Settle things with Roxy, build the house, be together and get to know each other again. But no. He had to move into her house not even a week after seeing her again. He had to take her in the damn grass, in the wide open, demanding she give him everything. Again, and again, and again.

  “While your timing in these things is incredibly accurate, we’ll see what happens.”

  “We’ll see what happens.” His voice might have gone up an octave there at the end. He was too completely taken off guard by her casual words. She knew he hadn’t used anything. When? Before he slammed into her? After?

  “Spilled milk.” She rose up to lean on her elbows, her arms lying down her sides in the grass.

  “What?”

  “Spilled milk. Spilled juice. Either way, there’s no reason to get upset.”

  “This isn’t something we can wipe up with a paper towel and toss in the trash like it never happened.” He stood, pulled up his jeans to his hips and zipped before he tripped himself, and paced away from her and then back. “How can you be so calm about this? You told me you wanted to wait. Take things slow. Since the first time we made love when I came back, you counted on me to supply the condoms and use them.”

  She sat up and wrapped her arms around her up-drawn knees. “Who said it was your sole responsibility? I could have said, hey, Brody, don’t forget the condom.”

  “I didn’t exactly give you a chance to say anything.”

  “That’s it.” Rain bent her head and combed her fingers through both sides of her hair to the back of her head and gripped her fingers into a fist. It had to hurt to pull her hair like that, which told him he’d pissed her off good this time. She finally understood what this romp in the grass could mean. He’d pushed her too far this time.

  She rolled up to her feet, naked and gloriously furious. Nothing compared to Rain in a rage.

  “You can’t control the way the images in your head take over your mind, but you can sure as hell control the crap that comes out of your mouth.”

  She jabbed him in the gut with her fist to get his attention. He sucked in a breath, the muscles in his belly going taut just as her fist connected.

  “Since you got here, all you’ve done is tell me how you want things to be between us. You tell me you love me, make love to me like I’m everything you ever wanted or needed.”

  “You are,” he ground out, just as harshly as her words came at him. She had to believe he loved her, needed her.

  “Yet today, after you make love to me like you can’t live another second without being close to me, a part of me, you say you’re sorry over and over. For what? Loving me. Needing me. Wanting me beyond all thought. Why couldn’t you just lay in the grass, savor the moment with me, tell me how much you love me? Why couldn’t you say, ‘I got so caught up in my need for you, I forgot the condom. We didn’t plan this, but if you’re pregnant, I’ll be the happiest man in the world.’

  “Can’t you find it in you to see the good? We shared something wonderful. We might be gifted something amazing. Couldn’t you find the words to match what your body shows me every time we come together?

  “Instead, you want to apologize for something I’m not even mad about. You want me to be angry and punish you. For what? A past that’s over and done and can’t be changed. I’ve told you numerous times, I forgive you, Brody. I wish you could forgive yourself.”

  They stood for a moment s
taring at each other. He didn’t know what to say. Everything she said was true. He hadn’t forgiven himself. He always seemed to be waiting for her to turn on him, tell him to get the hell out of her life, and he could never see his kids again. If he kept this up, that’s exactly what she might do.

  He reached out and cupped the back of her head, drawing her to him slowly, his mouth descending to cover hers in a soft, slow kiss. One turned into two, turned into many as she melted against him. One hand buried in her hair, the other splayed over her lower back, pulling her close.

  He kissed her lips one last time, her cheek, her forehead, her nose. He cupped her face and turned it up to his. “I am the luckiest man alive, because you love me. I love you so much, and if we made a baby, I swear to you, I’ll be by your side through everything. Nothing in this world would make me happier than for us to have another baby.”

  “Better,” she said. The smile on her lips didn’t quite meet her eyes. He’d ruined the moment and making up for it at her demand wasn’t quite what she had in mind.

  “I can’t seem to talk to you the way I used to.”

  “Yes, you used to be such a charmer. Sweet-talking me was one of your favorite pastimes.”

  “I can’t get past what I did to you. I want to make things right so bad, but all I do is make a mess of it.”

  “Not true. You love me and want to have everything perfect. Right now. You seem to think that if I marry you and we live together that will somehow erase all the years between. It’s not like that, Brody. As far as I’m concerned, we’re starting from here. I love you. I want to be with you. I will marry you. Settle into that. Take it in and live with it for a while. Enjoy the newness of being together again, discovering the changes in both of us, and the luck and wonder that the love between us is deeper, stronger. That’s what I’m doing.”

  “You’re amazing. I guess I’ve been trying so hard to hold on to you, I’m crushing you.”