Brant

by D. B. James

  Hands on his knees, Rhys looks like I feel—exhausted—and he only knows the half of it.

  “I know you have tons to fill me in on, but I’ll help in any way I can. Are you sure me protecting the girls is the correct place for me to be? Because I’ll make them close up their stores for a while, put them up somewhere safe, far away, and assist in San Diego. I’ll help you put him through hell.”

  His idea doesn’t sound stupid, but what if they’re still found? Hell, I’m not even sure if her presence here is safe enough. I’ve put Averill in danger now by bringing this epic mess to their doorstep, and she’s pregnant, for fuck’s sake.

  “One tiny fact you should know…Tessa’s ex-husband is one of his employees. We put the pieces together a couple days ago. I didn’t know this new thug Mick was her ex Mick, never gave it a second thought when I learned his name, even with my knowledge of her past and her ex’s name. He hurt her, terribly. He’s a piece of filth and needs to be disposed of. What he did to her…man, it’s horrific.”

  “Maybe she’s safest with you…have you thought of that? Since she’s in the crosshairs anyway, not to mention her life is there, wouldn’t you think you could protect her more?” he asks.

  “Better than a trained, muscled, huge, ex-military man? Hell no. I’m a paper-pusher at best. Yeah, I work out, but it’s nothing compared to how well equipped you are when it comes to protection. I want her safe, away from me. Justin says we have maybe two weeks left until we have everything we need to dismantle him. I have a month, tops, left of my contract. With her ex involved, I feel more secure with her here.”

  My reasoning makes sense to me.

  “By coming here, you put us all in danger. You know as much, right? I will keep the girls safe, but not here. I’m taking them somewhere. Tiger Lily can’t fly, but I’ll drive them south somewhere. We’ll buy burner phones and stay in contact using only those. We won’t let them take anything with them that may be traced. I’m not putting my pregnant wife in danger. You can trust me to keep Tess safe, but you have to fix this, and the sooner the better.”

  Fuuuck.

  Placing my beer on the coffee table, I get up and begin to pace my living room.

  “I’m calling Justin and putting him on speaker. It’s time I give him the mother lode.”

  Of course, I have one thing that’ll without a doubt put Martinelli away.

  Knowledge, my ace in the hole.

  Ace—Cherry’s nickname for me finally makes sense.

  “All right, dial away. I have your back,” Rhys says.

  Reaching into my pocket, I pull out my cell and tap on Justin’s name.

  TESSA

  “Do you find it weird that they left to talk privately?” I ask Av while pausing the DVR. “Because we gave them alone time last night. What makes them think we wouldn’t have done it again?”

  “Because they think with their dicks?” she offers.

  Chuckling, I turn to look at her. “They truly do, don’t they?”

  “Most of the time, yes. You never did tell me how Brant managed to sweep you off your feet.” She reaches her outstretched legs farther forward and kicks me. “That’s for not telling me last night about his last name being Martinelli.”

  “Ow,” I protest while massaging my thigh. “It wasn’t my story to tell. I told you it was his place to give you the details. I also knew Rhys would fill you in, and I had other things to share. For instance, the shit concerning my ex.”

  “Ugh, fiiiine. You’re forgiven.”

  Lifting my legs, I mimic her pose, sighing. “This is comfy…okay, let’s get to how he won me over.”

  “One second, I need more food.” Of course, I should’ve known. She’s snacking every twenty minutes, give or take a few, her hunger never fully satisfied.

  “I’m telling you, baby Alixandria is going to come out a little porker. You’re feeding her so much. I mean, it’s totes fine by me—I love chunky babies and their chubby cheeks.”

  As she stands, she grabs a throw pillow and tosses it at me, but it misses and whizzes by my head. “My baby will not come out a porker. She’ll come out perfect, the way God intended her to be.”

  While she’s grabbing food for her endless appetite, I spill my truth.

  “This is going to sound completely insane, but Ace won me over by being himself, the guy I always knew was hidden underneath his frat-boy exterior. He’s been knocking down my walls piece by piece, but mostly what helped was him letting me inside, giving me his secrets. It made me comfortable to tell him mine, and before you get mad, hear me out. You’re my best friend, and I’ve always known I could tell you anything. You’ve never asked for it, have always accepted me the way I am.” She comes back into the room with her arms full of snack foods, boxes of cereal, and two glasses of milk.

  “Don’t judge, it’s almond milk.” As if I’m judging her beverage selection. “Also, I wasn’t going to be upset because you told him your hellish nightmare first. I tell Rhys most things before I do you. That’s just how it is, no explanations needed. Cookie?” She extends her hand, passing me an Oreo.

  Taking the offered cookie, I nibble it as I mull things over in my head. “He kissed me out of the blue when he brought me lunch the week I returned from your baby shower. I was rude and he walked out. I followed him to apologize, begged him to come back inside, if I recall correctly. He asked for another chance at our friendship and then he kissed me.”

  “Heart, meet floor,” Av mumbles with her mouth full.

  “It only lasted until he woke me at the ass crack of dawn on my day off, for which I threatened to castrate him. You know how serious I am about my beauty sleep.”

  She erupts in laughter, and her mouth, which until two seconds ago was full of Oreo and milk, spews the concoction all down her chin and chest. She’s a mess. Grabbing a tissue from the end table, I offer it to her.

  “I’m going to go out on a limb here and say it’s probably a great thing you didn’t follow through on your threat. I’m guessing you’d miss his penis about now.”

  Shit, I miss his penis all the time.

  Since we’ve taken things to a more sexual level, my thoughts have been consumed by his magical member. Feeling my face start to heat up, I don’t comment. I’ve never had an issue with talking about my sexual escapades with Av, but this is different. Hearts are involved.

  “He came bearing gifts though—coffee and brownies. He’s brought them almost every time we’ve had plans since, which is another plus in his column. Then he had a busy work week, causing us not to have plans for a few days. He sent me gifts, and I’m not talking a small trinket here or there. It was multiple deliveries each day.

  “A giant stuffed panda, fresh lilacs even though they’re not in season, cherry lip balm, chocolate-covered cherries—you get the picture. The first night, after closing the store, I went to his hotel suite with the intention of telling him where to stick his excessive gifts, but amidst my rant—where I informed him I wasn’t a hooker he needed to buy affection from—he kissed me again, and I swear, Av, he kisses with his soul. He gives me air when I can’t breathe.”

  Maybe deep down I’ve always loved him and now I’m just finally seeing it for what it is. His betrayal of Rhys hurt more than it should have if he was only my friend. Last night, I realized I was in love with him now, but have I been for longer? Sighing, I snuggle deeper into the couch cushions.

  “You took him to see Goa Goa? Letting him meet the big guy was a huge step for you. It took you ages to take me! And when you did, you only took me because I caught you watching them on the live feeds,” she says with a hint of sadness in her tone.

  “I took him there on our first unofficial date. He fed Goa Goa leaf-eater biscuits. Seeing his reaction to my furry friends melted my heart. It made me forget all about the tiff we had on the drive to the zoo.” Remembering causes me to think about my illness. These last few days have been extremely stressful, and usually in high-stress situations, my ADHD will pop u
p. By some miracle, I’ve remained somewhat normal this time around. Remembering also brings to my attention that I’ve never shared this part of myself with Av either.

  Wow, maybe I’ve never truly shared who I am.

  “Av?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m going to tell you a random fact about myself, and I’d like you to give me one in return. It’s come to my attention how little we truly know about each other. I know, we know who the other is as far as people. Our moral compasses are the same, and we share a love of clothing, pizza, and all things sparkly, but I want to know the small things.”

  With tears glistening in her amber eyes, she nods.

  We spend the next three hours getting reacquainted, and it’s one of the best afternoons of my life.

  Chapter Twelve

  Brant

  Sunday arrives before I’m ready for it.

  I’ve spent the last two days with my chosen siblings and one sweet Cherry.

  Having to leave them all today is going to hurt horribly. If my heart tugged when dropping her off for her flight here, I can only imagine what it’ll feel like today.

  I’m leaving her for more than two days.

  I’m leaving her, and I’m not positive I’ll be back.

  Giving Justin the loaded pistol yesterday ended up being the final piece the FBI needed before moving forward. Now, the planning starts.

  Not wanting anyone to possibly know Tessa’s here, we’ve stayed at Casa de Gallhagar for pretty much the whole time, not counting the couple of hours spent with Rhys at my condo. If I’d known she’d have been safe at my place, I would’ve loved to have her stay there, have her scent all over my sheets, her clothes in my closet, her shoes strewn haplessly by the front door, but I just couldn’t risk it.

  Hopefully, it happens in our not so distant future.

  Climbing down the stairs, I find Rhys exactly where I thought he’d be: in his home gym.

  “Muncher of dicks, can I request a favor?”

  “Creative name, assrocket. It depends on what the favor is,” he replies.

  “Uh, it’s, uh…huge.” What I’m about to ask him may be drawing the line as far as our friendship goes.

  “Spit it out already, dude.”

  Turning around, I watch him through the mirrored wall. It’s better if I don’t make eye contact when making this request.

  “Would you be opposed to letting Cherry and me have an hour or two of alone time? Here, today, in your house, which, uh, would require you and T-Lil to leave.”

  The gym’s a small space, what with all the equipment and shit, which makes it hard for me to pace, but I’m doing my best. Turns out I can’t look at him in the mirror either.

  “Let me get this straight—you want us to leave our place because you want to have sex?” he inquires.

  “Yep. I don’t know when I’ll see her again. With the current situation, I’d feel better if she didn’t leave the house, otherwise I’d take her to my place. If I didn’t feel ominous about leaving, I wouldn’t ask, but I can’t shake this feeling of not seeing her for months, years, maybe forever. It’s like a lead ball has taken up residence in my stomach, and it’s making me sick. I don’t want to leave without showing her one last time how much I truly love her.”

  He knows about this feeling. He suffered through it when he was going through his own mess, fighting his own demons, slaying his dragon.

  “Yeah, we’ll leave. I’ll shower, grab Tiger Lily, and take her shopping or something.”

  “Thank you. It makes me feel like a douche to ask for your house to have sex in, but hey, desperate times and all.” Not to mention I know Tessa had a similar favor asked of her when she stayed here before their wedding.

  “Don’t worry about it. We’ve both been there.” He stands, reaches for a towel, and after wiping things down, tosses it in the laundry basket. “The feeling of dread?” he asks.

  “What about it?”

  “Rest assured, I’ll keep her safe. Don’t let the nerves eat you up inside before anything happens. It’s the worst thing you can do—trust me, I know. It made me focus on what happens next instead of living in the moment. Live with her, here in the present. Worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.”

  “I’ll try,” I say as I follow him up the stairs.

  Less than an hour later, I find myself blissfully alone with my girl. She’s sitting on the living room floor, painting her toenails, while her imaginary boyfriend plays on the television.

  “How long will your toes take to dry?”

  “Maybe ten minutes. I applied the top coat a moment ago. It’s fast drying and says two minutes, but we all know it’ll take longer. Why?”

  “Because I want to eat those chocolate-covered cherries.” Off your body.

  She has yet to notice the empty house, completely engrossed in her show and painting her sexy toenails red.

  “Did you pack any?” she asks.

  “Give me some credit, sweetness. Of course I packed some. When a man tells his woman he wants to eat chocolate-covered cherries off her naked body, he brings the damn cherries.”

  Her facial expression makes me laugh. She looks scared, intrigued, and shocked all at once. The scared part is easily solved. I’ll tell her what I’m doing every step of the way. The shock is maybe because she thinks we’re not alone, but the one I love the most? The look of intrigue. It means she wants this to happen.

  “From the look on your face, I’m guessing a few things. One, you’re shocked because I’m talking frankly and someone else may hear—wrong. They gave us the house for a couple hours. Two, you’re scared—don’t be. I’ve never done food play before…well, aside from whipped cream once…but you have nothing to be afraid of. It’s not like I’m going to put them inside you. I’m eating them off your delicious body. It’ll be sticky, but it’ll be worth it. Still intrigued?”

  “Honestly?” she questions.

  “Always, Cherry. Never be afraid to be honest with me. I’m not Mick—I won’t ever get angry and fly off the handle from hearing your honesty, and I sure as hell will never lay a hand on you for anything but pleasure or comfort. I’m not saying we’ll never fight—look at our track record—but what’ll be different with our fights is that we’ll always make up. We’ll never go to bed angry. From this moment on, I promise to kiss you each morning when I wake and every night before I sleep.”

  Looking up at me from her perch on the floor, I see her sapphire beauties glistening with unshed tears.

  “Don’t cry, Tessa. It breaks my heart to see you cry.” Standing, I walk over to her, hold my hands out for her to take, and proceed to pull her up off the floor. She wraps her hands around me and hugs me, hard, and it’s hands down the best hug I’ve ever had.

  “These are happy tears, Ace. I realized something the night you made up with Rhys while you were passed out. It feels like the answer has always been there, but I’m stubborn and never wanted to admit it because the day of my divorce, I vowed to never love again. It’s a vow I’ve been able to keep all this time—until you. The day we met? When I looked into your eyes, I saw it all. I saw our future, one filled with lots of love, babies, a nice house not too far from a city, rocking chairs on the front porch, dogs lying at our feet…and it scared the hell out of me.

  “When you asked me out, I turned you down because I was afraid.” She scrunches up her nose. “Not to mention the whole drunken frat boy thing you had going on.”

  Running my fingers through her midnight tresses, I let her continue to talk while I listen, encouraging her to get it all out.

  “You probably want to know what realization I came to, true?” she asks while placing a gentle palm on my cheek. I give her a slight nod, and she continues. “I love you, Brant Vincent Ashley-Martinelli. I’ve been running scared, but not anymore. I love you.”

  My knees buckle, and it’s a good thing we’re holding on to each other. To hear the woman you’ve been crazy about for years say she loves you tilts your world
a bit.

  “I love you, Theresa May Annabelle.”

  “I know,” she quips back, giving me a wink.

  She lets go of me and proceeds to walk out of the living room, past the kitchen, and directly into the guest bedroom we’ve been sharing. All the while, I stand unmoving.

  “Are you going to get in here and eat cherries any time soon, Ace? Time’s a wastin’.”

  Man, she’s perfect.

  TESSA

  The hours spent talking with Av yesterday helped me immensely when it came to telling Brant how I feel about him. She told me not to waste another minute without telling him.

  Here I sit, on the end of my bed in their guest bedroom, waiting for Ace to come make love to me. Make love—it scares me. I’ve never made love before. The times in the past with Mick weren’t lovemaking. He just took, took, took without any give.

  The first time with Brant?

  It was hot, hard, fast, and everything I wanted. It was the most intensely satisfying sexual experience I’d ever had…until the next time, and the time after that. Our tryst in the parking garage was the same as our first time together—hard, fast, animalistic, and hot as lava.

  Now, as I’m sitting here waiting, my nerves are attempting to get the better of me. What if we learn we don’t like making love versus fucking? My mind is going insane.

  When’s the last time I shaved? When did I last get waxed? Do I need to brush my teeth? Should I be getting undressed now? Music, everyone likes music—I should turn some on. Oh look, a candle, I should probably light it.

  As I’m sitting here hopping from one concern to the next, Brant walks into the bedroom. The sight of him puts my crazy brain at ease.

  “What took you so long?” I tease.

  “I couldn’t remember where I put the cherries. After I found them, I started to question things, but I told my thoughts to go jump off a cliff.” He begins to walk closer, closer, until his legs bump into my knees.