by Ava Stone
“He swung at me with his triton,” Brody began.
“I’d have paid money to see Neptune chase after you,” Mom laughed.
“I think that might have been his plan.” He laughed too until he spotted me in the door way and his eyes lit up. “Ah, bedtime duty’s over, huh?”
“When did you get here?” I asked, crossing the floor to drop onto the love seat catty-corner from him.
“Not too long ago.” He slid to the edge of his chair. “You wanna grab some frozen custard?”
I glanced at my mom who smiled even as she shook her head. “Go on. Have fun.”
“Thanks.” I hopped up and pressed a kiss to her cheek. And then Brody and I were out the door, hand in hand before she could change her mind.
Before we even made it to his Jeep, he’d spun me around and kissed me for all I was worth right in the middle of my yard. My heart pounded like wild and I grabbed a handful of his shirt, kissing him back with everything I had in me.
“Is frozen custard a euphemism for your bedroom?” I asked after he finally came up for air.
His sexy smile made my pulse race even faster. “It wasn’t, but it can be.”
I nodded quickly. It would be nice, after all, to take our time and not be rushed like we usually were.
He laughed as he opened his car door for me. “Not to dissuade you, because I don’t want to dissuade you. Just fair warning. Cade’ll be awake and he’s been in a shitty mood all week.”
I bet he was. He was certainly an expert at fucking up his life, and coming from me that was saying something.
Brody walked around the front of his Jeep and climbed inside.
“You wanna do something else?” I asked.
“Not now.” He grinned. “But if you don’t wanna…”
“No,” I said quickly. “I mean, I want to.”
“Me too.” He started the car and then raced out of the neighborhood.
“Oh,” I said before I forgot. “If you don’t have something planned for Saturday afternoon, I really need to do the whole study group thing.”
He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “With brilliant Kevin?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Among others.”
“Uh-huh.” He looked more fully at me. “And you’re promising me sex in return, right?”
My mouth fell open. “Promising you sex?”
He grinned. “I shouldn’t tell you this, but I’ll probably give you anything you want as long as you’re sleeping with me, Leah.”
“Oh, yeah?” I grinned back. “I should start asking for favors, is that it?”
“What do you want?”
“You,” I said. “All I really want is you.”
“Then I can’t get home fast enough.”
We zipped along the road, in and out of traffic until we arrived at his complex. We walked along the path and then stopped at his apartment. Brody rapped on the door and stood there for a minute before he put his key in the door.
“You’re knocking on your own door?” I asked, not bothering to hide the amusement in my voice.
Brody snorted. “Walking in on him twice like that. Some images I’ll never get out of my head. Better safe than sorry.” He opened the door and poked his head in. Then he looked back at me and said, “Coast is clear,” before opening it all the way.
I followed him inside to find Cade, lounged across the sofa with a textbook in his hands.
“Hey,” Brody said, closing the door behind us.
“Hey,” Cade replied, not even looking up from his book. “Daniel stopped by a while ago.”
“Oh, yeah?” Brody tugged me closer toward the drummer. “What did he want?”
“He wants to change up the website and he wanted to see if you were up for dinner before the gig Saturday night.” He finally glanced up from his book and spotted me. His brow furrowed just slightly. He still hated me. “Oh, hey, Leah.”
“Hi, Cade.”
“Ok.” Brody nodded. “I’ll call him in a while.” Then he slid his arm around my back and directed me to his room. “Hey,” he called over his shoulder as we were just about to cross his threshold, “why don’t you go study at Starbucks or something?”
A beleaguered sigh emanated from the sofa area. “Yeah, I can take a hint.”
“Good,” Brody whispered after he closed his door behind us. Then he turned around, folded his arms across his chest as his brow lifted expectantly. “All right, you got me here. Now what do you plan to do with me?”
Strip him down to nothing and run my hands over every inch of him. “Spades? Go Fish? Poker?”
“Yeah, I’ll poke her.” He drew me into his arms and nibbled at my neck, which tickled.
“You’re bad, Brody.”
“Mmm,” he agreed. “In the best possible way.”
Then he lifted the edge of my shirt until I raised my hands above my head and he slid it off the rest of the way. My nipples were peaked and straining against the lace of my bra.
Brody kissed me as he expertly unhooked the back of my bra, which I let fall to the floor at our feet. His blue gaze held mine and his fingers brushed against my breasts. Just the gentlest touch from him and my nipples tightened even more, needing his attention, needing more than he’d given me so far. He circled one areola with the pad of his thumb and a moan escaped me.
“God,” he whispered, as his touch became stronger, more possessive. “I want you like this forever, Leah.”
“Then take me, Brody.”
He ripped off his shirt and unbuttoned his jeans. He was so gorgeous. Washboard abs, a dusting of hair across his chest and an ass that might as well have been sculpted by Michelangelo. And he was all mine. He threw his clothes across the room and then turned back to me. “You’re still dressed, babe.”
“Half-way there.” Besides, I wasn’t done admiring him yet.
“Yeah, well, I’m all the way there.” He slid his boxers down his legs and swirled them around his finger like a hula hoop before tossing them to the corner with the rest of his clothes.
My gaze dropped to his dick, which was straining toward me, and I licked my lips. “You’re faster than me,” I whispered.
Brody drew me closer to him. His scent enveloped me and it was all I could do not to sigh.
He slid his hands down my sides and then he unbuttoned and unzipped my jeans. I grinned, I couldn’t help it. There was something so empowering in the searing heat that flashed in his eyes.
His hand slid inside my panties and he cupped me. I sucked in a breath when he very slowly pressed a finger inside me.
“God, you’re so wet,” he whispered across my lips, which only made my pussy pulse around his finger.
“You win,” I breathed out and started to slide my jeans and panties down my legs.
“I do win.” He looked me over, his blue gaze so hungry I had to catch my breath. Then he took a condom from his desk drawer and opened the wrapper.
And before I knew it, I was on his bed, Brody over top of me, kissing me, thrusting inside me, making me forget everything in the world except him in that moment.
God, that was the most amazing sex I’d ever experienced. Everything was better. Each thrust was more intense. Pleasure and completion washed over me and I came harder than I ever had in my life.
I collapsed beside Leah and then…
“Fuck,” I muttered, wide-fucking awake.
“What?” She looked over at me, her breathing labored, her cheeks slightly pink.
“Shit,” I said, and hurried to sit up, to make sure my eyes weren’t fucking with me. But they weren’t. Fucking condom was not in one piece. No wonder it had felt better than ever before.
I yanked the shredded latex from my cock. “It’s broken,” I grumbled as I marched the faulty piece of shit over to the garbage can. I’d never had one break on me before. Fucking hell.
“I’m on the pill.” Leah’s face was white as a ghost. “You know, ever since Aiden.”
Tha
nk God. I breathed a sigh of relief. And then a laugh escaped me. “I should have known when it felt more amazing than ever.” Wow. I mean, it could feel like that all the time. And if she was really on the pill… “I’ve never done it without one. I’m not a walking STD, no matter what your brother says.”
“I never thought you were.” She shook her head and reached her hand out to me. “Come on.”
So I crossed the floor back to my bed and dropped down beside her. “Sorry. Scared the shit out of me.” I’d had safe sex drummed into my head since before I was ten years old. You couldn’t ever trust a woman who was intent on trapping you. You could only ever depend on yourself. Honestly, it was a fucked up lesson to hear over and over before I was ten, but that’s where my dad’s focus had been nearly all my life.
I laid back down beside her, and Leah snuggled against my chest. God, she was so soft, so warm, so perfect. I could just hold her forever. If we’d fucked up though, if I’d gotten her pregnant… “How long have you been on the pill?”
“Three years,” she said. “Not that there’s been anyone until you.”
That made me feel a little better. Three years in her system. The pill should protect us. And maybe it would keep protecting us. If she felt that amazing and we were safe, why keep using a condom?
My cell buzzed on my desk. I ignored it. The only person I wanted to talk to was already in my arms.
Leah pushed up on her elbow to look down at me. “Your phone is ringing.”
So I sighed and reached for my phone. My dad’s name flashed on my screen. Dread washed over me and my stomach turned. Shit. Couldn’t he take a fucking hint?
Leah frowned. “You don’t want to answer it?”
Not if I could possibly help it, not with her still naked in my arms, not while I was contemplating making love to her again. “It’s my dad. He can leave a message.” Or not. Honestly, if I never talked to the old jackass again in my life, I’d be fine.
My phone stopped ringing and I breathed a slight sigh of relief. And then it rang again. Fuck.
“I’m pretty sure he’s gonna keep calling until you answer.” She shrugged and her long hair brushed against my chest. “That’s what my mom would do, anyway.”
Fuck. At least Dad hadn’t called five minutes earlier. I hit the answer button and lifted the phone to my ear. “What?”
“That’s how you answer the phone these days, huh? I’ve been calling you for days.”
“I’m in the middle of something, Dad.”
“Yeah, one of your little performances?” It had been one of my better ones, if I did say so myself. But that wasn’t what Dad meant. He thought I must be with the guys, playing bass somewhere. And the way he said the words so dismissively, it was like I was the kid on an elementary school stage who had to play the part of a tree. But then Dad was always dismissive, he always had been with each of us. No one was as smart as Preston Campbell. No one was as important as Preston Campbell. And no one’s opinion mattered except for Preston Campbell’s.
“Uh-huh,” I lied instead of letting him bait me. “So I’ll call you later.” A hundred years from now was later, right?
“Don’t you dare hang up on me.” Even over the phone, the steel in his voice caught me off guard and my gut tightened, like it used to when I was kid and had actually wanted his approval.
Leah lifted up on her elbows once more, her gray eyes blinking down at me, her brow furrowed. So I tugged her back down on top of me and kissed her forehead, putting both of us more at ease. God, I could roll her beneath me one more time—see if it felt that fucking amazing a second time…
“What do you want, Dad? I’m busy.”
His exasperated sigh hung in the air. Then he said, “I have reservations for three at The Bridge tomorrow night at seven o’clock.”
The Bridge. The nicest restaurant in Wheston. Four stars and very expensive. Recruiters used it to their advantage and alumni frequented whenever they were in town. “And this means what to me?” I trailed my free hand along Leah’s side and then squeezed her ass. She shook her head at me like she couldn’t believe I’d touch her like that while I was talking to my father. But she was the only one who’d held my attention. I was half-tempted to toss my phone to the other side of the room, spread her legs wide and fuck that sweet pussy of hers one more time.
“It means you and your smart mouth will be there, right along with your brother for dinner.”
I shook my head even though he couldn’t see me. “Sorry. I have other plans tomorrow.” And I did. Leah only got two nights a week off and I wasn’t about to spend one of them with my douchebag of a father.
“Another little performance?” That dismissive tone made my jaw clench even though I didn’t want his opinion to affect me. Old habits really did die hard, though.
“No. Leah and I already have plans, so…”
“So bring her with you.”
I snorted. “I am not bringing her to The Bridge.” I couldn’t even believe he’d suggested it. Not once had he given a shit about anything that meant anything to me. And Leah did. She might mean everything. The last thing I was going to do was let my father fuck that up.
Leah pushed out of my hold and moved a few inches away from me on the bed, her brow all scrunched up adorably, or it would be if she didn’t look slightly hurt all of a sudden. I’d deal with that as soon as I hung up with my father.
“Then don’t bring her. I don’t really care. I’m not in town long, Brody, and you’ll be there tomorrow to see me.”
The hell I would. I had less than one semester left and he’d already paid for the current term. There was nothing he could do to make me see him. Not one goddamn thing. “I’m sure Braden doesn’t need me around to watch him kiss your ass. Bye.” I ended the call and turned my phone off just in case Dad tried to call back. Then I dropped it over the side of the bed. “What’s wrong?” I asked her.
Leah shook her head and sucked in a breath of air. Shit. I was in trouble for something. I could see it on her face.
“Come on, babe, what is it?”
“You don’t want me to meet your father.”
“No.” I shook my head. “And you don’t want to meet him either. He’s a fucking asshole.”
She rolled her eyes and scooted to the edge of the bed.
Fuck. “Leah,” I pleaded. “Don’t leave.”
She glanced back over her shoulder at me. “You’ve met my family.”
“You’ve met Braden,” I countered.
“By happenstance in a parking lot, and we weren’t even dating then. It’s not the same thing at all.”
No, it wasn’t the same as a quaint brunch every Sunday with people who genuinely cared about each other. But that wasn’t my family. It never had been. “Leah.” I pinched the bridge of my nose, hoping to keep a headache that was creeping up on me at bay. “You don’t want to meet him. I wish to God I didn’t know him.”
“He’s your dad.” She heaved a sigh. “Like it or not, he’s your family. Nothing you can do about that, Brody.”
“I don’t have to see him.” Ever. For the rest of my life.
She shook her head. “It makes me feel like you’re embarrassed of me. And after the last few years, that’s a feeling I know really well.”
That wasn’t it at all. “Look, it’s not that I don’t want him to meet you. I just don’t want you to meet him. He’s the worst fucking person on the planet, ok?”
“Really? What, he’s a serial killer? A genocidal mastermind?”
Now she was just being difficult on purpose. “A soul-crushing fuck who makes everyone around him miserable.”
“Brody—” she folded her arms across her chest “—didn’t you tell me you’d give me anything I wanted…”
As long as she was sleeping with me. Fuck, I knew I shouldn’t have said that. “You don’t want to meet him, Leah.”
“I do. I want to know where you come from. I want to know what makes you tick.”
“Atlan
ta and music,” I replied stubbornly. “In that order.”
She shook her head and her long dark hair spilled over her shoulders. “You know what I mean.”
God, I must’ve really loved her, because I’d have never agreed otherwise. “Fine.” I blew out a breath. “You want to spend one of the few nights off we have together with him, your call. But I am not responsible for anything that transpires.”
I pulled into the crammed parking lot at The Bridge and blew out a breath. Actually, I’d been lucky to find a spot since it was Homecoming. Every alumni prick who’d come back to Wheston must be packed inside the restaurant.
God, I really ought to have my fucking head examined for agreeing to this. I looked over at Leah and frowned. She was so…great, just great in every fucking way. And I had a really bad feeling about tonight.
“It’s not too late to change your mind,” I said. Wishful thinking, but it was worth a shot, right?
Her dark hair dropped over her shoulder as she turned toward me. “I’ve never gotten to eat at The Bridge before.”
“It’s overrated, but if you really want to try it, I’ll bring you back next week.”
“But we’re here now,” she said, not giving an inch. “So we might as well go in.”
So she was great in every way except her stubborn streak. “Ok.” I hopped out of my Jeep and she met me on the little stone path that was all part of the ambience of the place.
Dusk was just setting and the little lights in the man-made river next to The Bridge twinkled beneath the clear water. The place looked like some country village in England with a stone façade, beveled windows and gas lamps. And the staff was just about as stuffy. But in that setting, Leah was gorgeous. Of course, she was always gorgeous. But in that clingy pink dress and those heels, with her hair curled so softly…She really did take my breath away.
I spun her to face me and I looked down at those pretty gray eyes of hers. “You’re gonna make this up to me tonight, right?”
