by Dinah Harper
“Of course.”
She stalked away from them and headed to the check-in kiosk. She tapped the screen before she realized she didn’t have the itinerary details. As she stood there, a big hand reached past her and began to type. She grit her teeth and stepped aside as Jesse claimed their tickets and surrendered her duffel and his backpack. When he headed toward TSA, she trailed behind, hoping he would get impatient and go on without her. He didn’t. He waited patiently and stayed by her side. As soon as she got through security, she made a beeline for the nearest coffee shop. Just as she finished her order, Jesse added his own drink and two breakfast sandwiches as well. She glared at him until he handed over his credit card. She didn’t thank him as she went to the end of the counter to wait for the coffee that would make her feel better.
As she stared intently at the barista’s, Jesse shuffled her to the side so some guy could grab his coffee.
“He was behind us,” she grouched.
“He ordered black coffee,” Jesse explained.
She glanced up to find him smiling at her. She scowled. “What’s so funny?”
“You are.” He brushed her hair back. “You’re still not a morning person.”
She shoved away from him and stumbled into a table. As she apologized to the startled couple, Jesse swept her under his arm and drew her against him.
“You need someone to keep you out of trouble.”
She elbowed his hard abs. “You are trouble. I’ve been fine on my own!”
“Debatable, baby.”
“Don’t call me—”
“Iced caramel coffee for Violet!” the barista called.
She broke off to fetch her drink. She stabbed her straw in and took a sip. Everything else faded away. She was about to skip out of the shop when Jesse grabbed her arm.
“We stay together,” he said.
“I’m not a kid,” she mumbled around her straw.
“Sometimes you act like one.”
“Speak for yourself,” she retorted, but it wasn’t said with enough heat since she was too deep in her drink. She closed her eyes as coffee raced through her veins and awakened her senses. She was deaf and dumb until she got her morning joe.
Once Jesse collected his drink and food, he led the way to their gate. They sat with less than thirty minutes till boarding time. She chose a seat five down from him and gave him a disgruntled look when he got up and took the seat beside her. Seriously. He was beyond annoying. She did what she did best and ignored him as she savored her coffee and people watched. There were quite a few interesting characters to examine. A woman in head to toe designer labels strutted past. Despite the fact that it was summertime, she wore a coat, scarves, and a hat. She must be heading to Antarctica. A few people wearing pajamas and looking as tired as she felt ambled by. A group of hippies wearing androgynous clothing floated past with contented smiles.
Austin hosted an eclectic mix of people who were committed to the city slogan: Keep Austin Weird. Austin was the Music Capital of the World and home to many creatives and techies. Austin was a beautiful city situated on a river basin surrounded by rocky hill country. The vibe in Austin was laidback and open with an undercurrent of Southern hospitality, tradition, and old school values.
A group of girls passed, laughing loudly enough to capture her attention. Their eyes were on Jesse. She glanced at him and inwardly snorted. He was too busy eating to notice these high schoolers eyeing him as if he was on a menu. His strong, classic features made women stupid. Yeah, he was good-looking, but his heart was fucking black. If people only knew… Her mind conjured up an image of Marissa doing everything in her power to get his attention yesterday. Jesse dated his fair share of girls during school, but he didn’t date anyone during his senior year.
She didn’t want to talk to him, but curiosity got the better of her. “Does Marissa come around every time you come home?”
When he turned to her, she realized he was too damn close. She scooted as far as her seat would allow, which wasn’t more than an inch. Stupid, small, uncomfortable airport seats.
“Marissa and I are friends. You know that,” he said.
“She doesn’t see you that way.”
He gave her an odd look. “Are you jealous?”
She blinked. “Jealous?”
“Why are you asking about her?”
“I think you two would make a great couple.” She paused and then added, “And if you got some, you’d leave me the hell alone.”
When he leaned toward her, she tensed.
“No one holds any appeal in comparison to you.”
“You’re sick.”
He moved even closer. Her hand itched to slap him.
“You’re sick with me,” he said as his eyes tracked over her face. “You can’t deny it, not when I make you come so hard, you can’t even scream.”
Her pussy spasmed even as her heart withered in shame. Arousal and anger warred inside her. His mouth curved as if he knew the response he elicited from her body. She considered splashing his cocky face with coffee, but she wasn’t sure it was worth the sacrifice. In the end, she looked away from him.
“I hate you.”
“You don’t,” he said as he took the lid off his steaming cup of coffee. “You want to, but you can’t.”
“Don’t tell me I don’t when I do,” she hissed.
“Want me to prove you wrong?”
“Touch me and I’ll kill you.” The aroma of his black coffee made her grimace. “How can you drink hot coffee when it’s so warm?” It could be snowing and she’d still order iced coffee.
“I’m going to drink hot coffee for the rest of my life. I can still feel the cold.”
“What?”
“When you’re in Alaska, you learn to treasure heat in any form.”
“Too bad you weren’t eaten by a polar bear,” she mumbled.
“If I was eaten by a polar bear, who would eat you?”
She squeezed her plastic cup, which caused her lid to pop off. “Shut up!”
His eyes laughed at her over the rim of his cup. “So touchy,” he taunted.
She leaned in close and was pleased when he tensed. She wanted to wipe that fucking smirk off his face. She made her eyes heavy-lidded as she purred, “I’ve met a lot of men who know what they’re doing in the bedroom. Don’t give yourself so much credit.”
She put her hand on the arm of the chair in preparation to stand, but the hand that clamped on her thigh stopped her.
“You’re brave in public, baby,” he said in a flat tone that warned her he was at the end of his rope.
She didn’t give a damn how close he was to losing it. There were hundreds of people around. He couldn’t do shit to her. “Get your hand off me.”
His fingers flexed. “That reminds me. I heard what Dad said about Brody.”
“What?”
His eyes bored into hers. “Don’t.”
The silky warning made her tense. “Don’t what?”
“You know,” he said mildly as he set his cup on the ground, scanned the crowd, and then looked back at her. “Don’t test me.”
“You’re a fucking psycho!”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
“There’s no maybe about it. You can’t tell me what to do. I’ll date Brody if I want to!”
She wasn’t prepared for the hand on her thigh to go to her hair and grip. As she opened her mouth, his lips collided with hers. His other hand spread across her cheek, concealing from passersby that she was fighting the kiss. He went deep, shoving foreign flavors in her mouth, effectively canceling the taste of caramel that lingered on her tongue.
“I can give you what you need,” he said against her mouth and bit her lower lip. “No one comes between us.”
Her hand hit his chest, nails digging in when he refused to let her go. “There is no us.”
“There’s always been an us, you’re just too fucking stubborn to see.”
“Let me go.”
“For
now,” he whispered and gave her cheek a gentle kiss before he released her.
Immediately, she leapt to her feet. As she strode away she heard, “Coward.”
That stopped her in her tracks, but she didn’t turn around. She stalked to the bathroom with her hands clenched into fists. She slammed herself into a stall, sat, and buried her face in her hands. How the fuck was he always getting the better of her? She was supposed to be cutting him down to size, making him squirm, and feel remorse for everything he’d done. Instead, he was still pulling the strings and needling the fuck out of her. How was that possible? She was rattled, there was no denying it. She had shut down tons of assholes. What made him different from the others? To start, no one dared what he did. Jesse was unpredictable and had a huge, unfair advantage. He had known her since she was thirteen and used everything he had learned over the years against her. Motherfucker. She had to be better than him, but how? Everything was happening too fast for her to plan an attack. He was doing what he did best—keeping her off balance and on the defensive. Bastard.
She wasn’t sure how long she stayed in the bathroom, but by the time she emerged, most of the seats in their section had been emptied as everyone boarded the plane. She didn’t look at Jesse as she grabbed her bag. She texted Abel, Reese’s fiancé, who would pick them up at the airport and got an immediate reply as she waited in line. She was very aware of Jesse standing beside her, cool as a cucumber. She wanted to rake her nails down his face.
The wait to get on the plane seemed to take forever. When she reached her row, she was miffed to see it wasn’t a three-seater. She’d been hoping to negotiate with the stranger to sit between them. No luck. She needed a damn break from Jesse, but once again, there was no escape. She collapsed in the window seat while he took the chair beside her. She was on a plane for the second time in three days with her step-brother beside her. Never in her wildest dreams had she pictured this scenario.
Change entered her life with the force of a freight train. She was in the boxing ring trying to duck the worst of the blows, but she was bruised and bloody and struggling to stay on her feet. How much time did Lynne have? What would happen to her father after Lynne passed? He retired a few years ago and had spent most of his time fixing up the house, biding his time until Lynne retired from teaching second grade. They had pins on the map in their room of their future road trips and now… Now, everything had changed in such a way that she still had trouble wrapping her mind around it.
Lynne was the only mother she’d ever known. She had only a vague recollection of her biological mom who left in the middle of the night when she was two. No note, no warning. Just, here today, gone tomorrow. Dad never said a word about her leaving. She took her cue from him and acted as if she had never existed. Since her father was a firefighter, he relied heavily on the church community to look after her when he was working. She hopped from home to home until Lynne came into their lives.
Before Lynne, she had no idea how to be a girl. Dad raised her the best he could, but he was clueless where females were concerned, so he had no advice for her. She was a tomboy and definitely not popular by any means. Lynne taught her how to dress and showered her with love and affection, which she couldn’t get enough of. Jesse mirrored his mother. It was natural for him to put his arm around her or cuddle with her on the couch while watching a movie. He used to play with her hair so much that Lynne taught him how to braid it, which he used to do before school.
She glanced at Jesse who was watching a man trying to stuff the already full overhead bin with one more bag. His features were so heartbreakingly familiar. He was her best friend before he became her enemy. It hurt to look at him.
The first four years with Jesse and Lynne were magical. The four of them fit together as if they had always been. They went on trips and since she and Jesse were only a year apart, she had someone to look out for her in school. Everything seemed idyllic. Lynne was a beacon of light and the best step-mom she could ask for and Jesse was the best big brother… until he wasn’t.
He turned his head and speared her with those sky blue eyes that made her feel as if she was being dissected. She sat back and closed her eyes as the flight attendants launched into their safety demonstration and the plane began to move.
Her eyes burned with tears as the past played behind her closed eyelids. They used to spend every waking hour together. His charisma guaranteed that he was popular in school. He brought her under his wing and made her feel like she belonged for the first time in her life. They did everything together—drives to school, camping, church, family trips, and everything in between. His friends were her friends and vice versa. He was her everything and before he flipped the script on her, she thought he loved her just as much as she did him. How wrong she’d been.
He was her boogie man, the monster under the bed, and yet here he was in broad daylight. He had been so cruel and heartless, ignoring her wants for his own gratification. He turned her idealistic future into ash and cast dark shadows over everything she did. She had no drive or ambition, couldn’t hold down a job, and had a hard time connecting with people. She didn’t do commitment and found it hard to trust anyone. How could she after what she experienced with Jesse? She hadn’t been able to shrug off the past and move on as he had.
Her knee bounced as she tried to control her emotions. When a large hand landed on her thigh, she froze. Her eyes popped open. She swiped at her brimming eyes as she smacked his offending hand.
“Don’t touch me.”
“What’s wrong?”
“What’s right?” she sassed back.
“You’re worried about your move?”
She clenched her teeth as the plane left the ground, making her tummy flip. “That’s the least of my problems.” She brushed away an errant tear. “How long have you known Mom has cancer?”
“Six months.”
She jolted. “Six months? Why didn’t you tell me?”
He held her furious gaze. “You wouldn’t have answered my call.”
“That’s not the point.”
“What is the point?”
Her hands balled into fists. “I should have been told.”
“Why?’
“So, I had time to wrap my mind around all this. So, I would know everything’s going to change and spend more time with her…” Her voice broke off as emotion got the better of her. She swallowed hard and looked out the window so he wouldn’t see her face. “I should have been told.”
She jerked when he took her hand and intertwined their fingers together. She tried to jerk away, but his hold was solid. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Relax.”
“I am relaxed!” she snapped.
He gave her a steady look that made her feel as if she was being childish. He was acting like the supportive older brother she needed, but couldn’t trust. He was switching personalities again, jockeying for the position that would aid his cause, which was what? She wanted him to be consistently vile or nice. She couldn’t handle him playing both sides.
“I don’t want you touching me.”
He sat back and closed his eyes. She dug her nails into the back of his hand, but he didn’t move.
“Jesse.”
He appeared to be asleep. She gave her hand another experimental tug, but only got their hands moved from his lap to hers. She stared at their interlocked fingers and felt something inside of her tear. Jesse had been the best older brother. What the hell happened to him?
She closed her eyes against the burn of tears. Past and present clashed, leaving her emotionally shattered. Life wasn’t giving her time to adjust. She didn’t have time to fortify her walls or regain her composure. She was stripped and stranded in the middle of a storm. All she could do was buckle down and hope she didn’t break before it was over.
By the time they arrived in Salt Lake City, she felt worse than ever. She hadn’t been able to get a wink of sleep, not when her mind was racing a million miles a minute. Thankfully,
Jesse slept the whole way and woke as they touched down.
She led the way to the baggage claim and claimed another coffee as soon as she could. She didn’t argue when Jesse shouldered his pack and her duffel. She pulled out her phone to text Abel as they exited through the double doors into the sunshine.
It was warm, but Utah didn’t have the blanket of humidity that Texas did. She stood at the curb and searched the lineup of cars for Abel’s as she sipped her iced coffee.
“Why Salt Lake City?”
She ignored his question until he tugged on her hair. “What’s your problem?”
“Why Salt Lake?” he asked again.
“Why not Salt Lake?”
“What’s here that isn’t in Texas?”
She held his gaze as she said, “It’s about what isn’t here.”
His eyes narrowed. “Meaning?”
“You know exactly what it means. I wanted away from you, away from anyone who knows you.” She tipped her face up to the sun. “The fact that I fell in love with the city was a bonus.”
“Did running away work?”
Temper canceled out exhaustion. She stepped toward him, so close she could smell him. He didn’t wear cologne, but she never forgot the smell of his musk. Before, his scent had been familiar and comforting before she associated him with nightmares.
“I did what I had to,” she said through clenched teeth. “You don’t get to judge me for that.”
“Violet?”
She had been too focused on Jesse to notice Abel had pulled up to the curb. He had his windows down and was watching them intently.
“Abel,” she said with false brightness and swallowed her rage. She got into the passenger seat and leaned over to kiss his cheek. “Thanks for picking me up.”
“You didn’t mention you were bringing anyone,” Abel said as Jesse tossed their bags in the trunk.
“My step-brother came to help.”
Abel, ever courteous, turned in his seat to shake Jesse’s hand. “I’m Abel.”
“Jesse.”
“I’m glad you’re driving back to Texas with Vi. We were a little worried.”
