Scarred: A New Adult Romance (The Anderson Brothers Series Book 1)

by Long, Marie

  Denise laughs, and so does Lauren.

  Larry coughs, clearly uncomfortable with having all the attention on him. “Can I get you a drink?” he asks Lauren.

  Lauren’s smile broadens, and she nods. “Sure, thanks. Margarita on the rocks.”

  Larry nods and looks over to Denise. “How about you?”

  “Long Island iced tea, please.”

  “Wait, Larry, I can get Denise’s—” I fall silent when he gives me one of those looks, and I hold my hands up in surrender. “Never mind.”

  His face softens, and he leaves.

  I pull up a chair beside Denise and sit. “So what are you two all dressed up for tonight?”

  “It’s girls’ night out,” Lauren says. “We went out shopping at the mall all afternoon and got one of those free makeovers.”

  “Oh, I see. So you two aren’t looking all hot and sexy tonight to pick up guys.” I grin.

  Denise playfully punches me in the arm. “And what if we are? Are you jealous?”

  “Nope. ’Cause I’ll fuck up the idiot who dares to try and touch you.”

  Denise rolls her eyes. “Don’t worry. You’re the only guy for me, and that’s that.” She plants a kiss on my lips, and I melt.

  Lauren clears her throat, and we break the kiss. “So who’s your friend, Dominick?”

  “That’s Larry, a coworker. He’s cool.”

  “And damn fine,” Lauren mumbles, eyeing him from afar.

  I try not to smile. “Also single, as far as I know.” God, am I playing matchmaker again?

  Denise giggles. “And here I thought you swore you’d never get involved in another relationship, Lauren.”

  “Yeah, well. I think I might have to give that one a try. You did say he was single, Dominick?”

  I nod. “Yep.”

  “Hmph. A fine piece of ass like him’s probably got kids though. They all got kids.”

  Denise arches an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with that? You don’t like kids?”

  “It’s not that, D. I just want to deal with a man first before I start involving myself with his kids.”

  I rub my chin. “Well, actually, Larry doesn’t have any kids.”

  Lauren’s eyes widen. “You shittin’ me? A man his age? No kids? He’s a diamond in the rough!”

  Larry returns with the drinks and sits beside Lauren. His eyes scan her up and down, and he grins. “I suddenly realized I didn’t catch your name.”

  Lauren traces a finger along her smiling lips. “Lauren.”

  My gaze bounces between them, and then I lean over to Denise and whisper, “Wanna hang out back?”

  Denise nods, as if she had the same idea. She stands and takes her drink. “Hey, Lauren. Call me when you’re ready to go, okay?”

  “Yeah, okay,” Lauren says absently, not taking her eyes off Larry.

  “Larry?” I say, but he doesn’t acknowledge me. “Don’t leave without me, please.”

  “Uh-huh,” Larry says.

  The back door leads outside into a fenced-in area with more places to sit. It’s lit up by white lights and hanging lanterns strung through the trees and across the top of the wooden fence. The sky is clear, revealing the bright stars and quarter-moon. Among the few people that linger out here, there are plenty of places to sit. I zero in on a small table for two and pull out a chair for Denise.

  Not wanting to sit across from her, I slide my chair around next to hers. I wrap my arm around her and pull her close. She rests her head on my shoulder. I inhale her scent and my mind goes wild.

  “That was unexpected,” she says, breaking the silence.

  “What? Larry and Lauren?” I ask.

  “Yeah, I mean, Lauren went through a really bad divorce last year. She swore she was done. Whenever she puts her mind to something, she always follows through.”

  “She seems to like him.” I stare at her Long Island iced tea, and now I’m craving another drink, too. “If it’s not too personal, what happened?”

  She sips her drink. “Don’t say anything about it, okay?”

  “My lips are sealed.”

  “Her husband of seven years ended up cheating on her. She came home one night and caught him and another woman in their bed. The guy had no shame whatsoever. Apparently, he’d been secretly seeing that woman for over a year and Lauren didn’t know. After that, Lauren washed her hands of it and swore she was never going to get into another relationship again.”

  I frown. “I’m sorry to hear that. A shame that she wouldn’t give it another chance because of one bad one. It sounds like she just doesn’t trust guys.”

  “Can you blame her?”

  “I’ll tell you this: I’ve known Larry a long time, and I know he’d never try to hurt her. He hates guys who mistreat women.”

  Denise nods. “I know Lauren still hurts, even though she tries to hide it from me. It’s hard getting over a bad relationship.”

  “It really is.” I stroke the side of her cheek with my finger. “How are you doing?”

  Her smile slowly returns, as she seems to be enjoying my gentle caress. “I’m okay. I can’t believe it’s almost been a month.”

  “Yeah,” I say, almost in a whisper. “But each day, you heal.” I lift her head from my shoulder and turn her chin so she looks at me. I can never get enough of her ebony eyes. “Can you stay with me tonight?”

  She leans in and kisses me on the lips. “Okay, but I can’t afford to miss tomorrow morning’s final.”

  “Don’t worry, neither can I.”

  She finishes the rest of her drink. “Guess what I bought at the mall today?”

  “What?”

  “A new motorcycle jacket. Red.” She smirks.

  I widen my eyes. “No shit?”

  She nods, and the thought of her in her own motorcycle jacket gives me a hard-on. I can’t believe she’s really serious about this riding business. “Now I don’t have to borrow yours all the time. It’s in the car. I’ll show you later.”

  Fuck, I wanna see it now. “We should probably go check on those two.”

  She chuckles. “Yeah, I guess. Though I’d hate to break them up. I haven’t seen Lauren this happy in a long time.”

  “Yeah, same with Larry.” I get up.

  Back inside, we discover Lauren and Larry are gone.

  “Shit! Larry left me? I can’t believe this!” I say through clenched teeth.

  Denise looks worried. “I hope Lauren didn’t take off, either.” She takes my hand and leads me to the front door. “C’mon.”

  We hurry outside and look up and down the street for Larry’s truck or Denise’s car. I exhale when I spot the familiar mounted rooftop lights on a blue and white truck parked along the curb, three cars down. “There.” I point.

  As we draw nearer to the truck, I can’t tell if anyone is inside or not. Rounding the passenger side, I fling open the door.

  Lauren and Larry freeze in the middle of a make-out session. Like two damn high schoolers. Lauren quickly smoothes out her wrinkled top and looks daggers at me. “You’re shittin’ me now, right?”

  Larry’s eyes pierce through me, and I have to take a step back. Holy shit. This is insane. “Uh, sorry, Larry,” I say. “I thought you left without me. How long are you—”

  “Boy, close that fucking door!” Larry growls.

  Lauren gives Denise a brief smile. “I’ll call you later, dear. Have fun.” She grabs the door handle and pulls the door shut. I hear the locks activate.

  Denise and I exchange glances. Well fuck me.

  Denise covers her mouth and snickers. Her laughter is contagious, and I take her hand and lead her away from Larry’s truck before they hear us.

  “Oh. My. God.” She wipes tears from her eyes, her body still spasming with laughter. “It’s so adorable, it’s funny.”

  I shake my head, still smiling. “I’ll probably get an earful at work tomorrow.”

  As we’re walking to Denise’s car, a blue car creeps slowly along past us. It looks l
ike it’s had some custom work done on it, but the windows are tinted far too dark for me to see the driver. Squeezing Denise’s hand, I keep my eye on the car. It stops at a light on the corner, sits there several seconds after the light turns green, then speeds up and disappears further down the street.

  I get this strange feeling that I’ve seen that car somewhere before.

  * * *

  Taking Denise’s car, we drive by her place so she can pack some clothes for the night. It’s eleven o’clock by the time we get to my place. I don’t hesitate getting her inside and upstairs. I just want to relax with her in my arms. Lying in bed in just my boxers, I scroll through the emails on my phone while I wait for Denise to come out the bathroom. I don’t understand why girls have to take such long-ass showers.

  I hear the tromping of footsteps coming up the stairs, and Denise enters my room, wearing a cute purple-and-black-plaid tank top and matching short-shorts. She carries a bundle of discarded clothing in her arms and sets it in her duffel bag.

  Tossing my phone aside, I sit up in bed, gawking at her. Those short-shorts barely cover the bottom of her ass and show off every bit of her beautiful legs. My hard-on tents my boxers. “Fuck, you did that on purpose,” I say breathily.

  She wanders over to the bed and sits on the edge near me. “Did what?” she asks, a hint of a smirk on her lips.

  Oh, she knows. She fucking knows. That little tease.

  “Wear that.” I gesture to her choice of sleepwear.

  She chuckles. “It’s what I always wear to bed.”

  I moan. “You know, you still never showed me that new jacket you got.” I reach out to touch the sides of her bare arms, but she gets up.

  “Okay.” She returns to her duffel bag and pulls out a red and black jacket. She puts it on over that sexy sleepwear and zips it up. The words “Ride for Speed” are embroidered in large red script across the front.

  Ho-ly shit.

  “So what do you think?” she asks, turning around and modeling it.

  I think I’m going to have a serious orgasm right here, right now. My dick is so stiff. I’m practically numb. “Stay. Right. There,” I say with short, ragged breaths. I scramble off the bed and lumber to her despite my painful hard-on. I put my arms around her waist and pull her to me.

  She squeals. “I take it you like it.”

  “You have no idea,” I say in almost a whisper, my lips close to hers. “No idea.”

  She laughs and braces herself, trying not to fall backward.

  Oh, I want her so bad right now. So bad.

  Our lips lock. Hard. That intensity, that need—we both know we want it. At this point, I want her out of that jacket. Out of that sexy sleepwear. Moaning against her lips, I unzip her jacket and push it back from her shoulders until it slides off her arms and onto the floor at her feet. My lips not leaving hers, I walk backward toward the bed, pulling her with me.

  I brush my lips across the side of her neck, down to her collarbone. I run my hands under her tank top, massaging her tits with both hands, her hardened nipples vised between my fingers, which entices a small moan from her. Straddled over my lap, she shifts and squirms her ass atop my erection, and I moan as my dick throbs from her weight. My hands run down her abs and trace along the elastic waistband of her shorts. She exhales deeply, and I slip my hand down her shorts. She’s so hot down there, so wet. I know she wants me. My fingers wander down toward her center, and she gasps. I kiss her jawline as I rub her—tease her—with two fingers. Her whole body shakes, and she cries out.

  “Please … ”

  Enough of this damn foreplay. Whipping my hand out of her shorts, I gently push her off me and onto the bed. I strip off the boxers, and while she pulls off her shorts, I seize a condom from under the bed and sheathe my erection. I turn off the bedside lamp, lie back in bed and pull her on top.

  “Take that off, too,” I say, tugging the tank top once my eyes get adjusted to the darkness.

  I hear the sounds of clothing rubbing against skin and see her silhouette moving against the dim light from the window. Her warmth hovers over me, and I wrap my arms around her, pulling her close. Our lips touch. Her skin is so soft, so hot—just like the rest of her. My hands rub down to her ass while I draw my kisses from her lips down to her neck.

  I grind my hips against hers, and she does the same, shifting her lower half, inch by inch over my dick. I make contact with her tightness, and a low groan escapes me. Kissing down her chest, I thrust inside, grasping her ass cheeks and pushing her against me, forcing my dick to drive deeper. She cries out, almost screams a mix of pain and pleasure. Sucking on her tits, I feel my dick get clamped. Hard. Moaning, I thrust into her in a steady rhythm. My tongue flicking over rock-hard nipples, I’m in absolute bliss. Her body melts into mine. With each thrust, we meet somewhere in the middle, force for force. The bed squeaks and shakes the faster we move. Between each breathy moan and cry, we try to kiss, but damn, it’s hard. I want to give her everything I have. Everything she deserves. Her ass bounces up and down against my hands, and I’m practically done for.

  “God, I love you so much, Denise,” I manage to say before my body suddenly spasms and I’m seeing sparks.

  “Dom—I … ahh!” Screaming, she trembles, her warmth spreading over me.

  I kiss her lips tenderly, slowly rolling my hips against hers to ease the afterglow.

  As our bodies collapse, my eyes grow heavy with sleep. But before I give in to sleep, I wrap her in my arms and kiss the crown of her head.

  Chapter 26

  Denise’s phone rings in the middle of the night, and she shifts in my arms. I slowly let her free, though I’m still half asleep. Probably Lauren, I figure, rolling over on my side. I reach down and activate my phone, glimpsing the time that lights up on the screen. Four fucking thirty. Groaning, I roll back onto my back and drift off to sleep again.

  I awaken again, this time to my phone alarm music. I shut it off and sit up in bed. The sun hasn’t risen yet, and, as I yawn and stretch, I realize something’s not right. I pat the sheets next to me.

  No Denise.

  No way is she still talking on the phone after two hours. Springing out of bed, I flick on the light and see that Denise’s duffel bag is gone.

  Did she really leave?

  Concern stings my throat. Why did she leave so early? Did she go back home? Did she not want to stay with me any more? As the questions bombard my mind, I try to recall the last thing that happened. But I’m still fuzzy with sleep. She had a phone call, but that was it. I assume it was from Lauren, or maybe Trinity or one of her other friends. I mean, who else would be calling her that early in the morning? Running my hands over my hair, I head out of the room and downstairs.

  “Denise?” I call, but there’s no answer. “Denise!”

  Chris’s door is wide open, and when I flick on his room light, I discover it empty. He must still be at Adrienne’s.

  I peek out the living room window. Denise’s car is gone, and I frown.

  She really is gone. What the hell happened? I rush back to my room and check my phone. She’d left a text two hours ago.

  Needed to go home & see Lauren. Call u later. gl on finals. <3

  I exhale, a little relieved, but still curious about what happened. I text her back.

  is everything ok? i was worried. gl on finals, too. Love you.

  I wait for her to respond as I get ready for class, but she doesn’t, and the tightness in my throat never leaves.

  * * *

  Even though Denise’s text sounded like she was okay, I can’t help but worry about her, and it affects my concentration on my systems analysis final. I’m scheduled to retake my circuits final later this morning. It’s been a rough few days cramming, and I’ll be glad when the semester’s finally over.

  By afternoon, I’m on my way to work. I don’t feel like talking to anyone but Denise today. Not even Larry.

  Arriving at the shop, I find Larry under a car on a lift, fixing
a muffler. Paul is in bay two, working on brakes on another car. Nate’s sorting through a new shipment of parts. I scan the whiteboard, and I’m tasked with a head gasket replacement on a mid-sized car that’s parked outside. Looks like Frank’s handwriting again, damn it.

  Outside, I pop the hood and get to work. But I still can’t get this morning out of my head. Maybe Larry knows what’s up. I pull up from the hood and wipe my hands on a towel. I’m heading toward bay one when I hear a car behind me, crunching sand and loose gravel beneath its tires. I glance over my shoulder just in time to see that blue car from the other night creeping past along the street. Then it quickly speeds up and rounds a corner.

  I still have this feeling I’ve seen that car before, a long time ago, but I can’t remember where. But with it being the second time this week I’ve seen it, it’s obvious that whoever it is is watching me.

  And I don’t like being watched like that.

  I wait a few moments to see if the car returns, but it doesn’t, so I head to bay one. Larry’s still under the lift, small sparks showering down around him while he welds a muffler pipe.

  “Larry, did Lauren talk to you today?” I ask.

  Larry stops welding and lifts the iron mask up from his face. “No, why?”

  “Denise left at four thirty this morning to see Lauren. It’s not like her to just up and leave like that, so I thought maybe something happened to Lauren.”

  “I talked to Lauren just last night, kid. She was fine.”

  “But—”

  Larry’s nostrils flare. “Look, if it’ll make you happy, I’ll call her after I finish this. Now just calm the fuck down, will you?”

  I open my mouth to argue again, but close it instead and look to the floor. “Yeah, sure.”

  “Good. Now get back to work.”

  As I’m walking back to my car, Denise’s ringtone goes off, and I quickly pull the phone from my pocket. “Hey, Denise.”

  “Hi.” She huffs a little, and sounds like she’s outside, maybe walking.

  “Where are you?” I ask, my heart pounding nervously.