“I know,” she says.
“And you know what happened tonight and why it happened.”
“Sort of,” she says.
I inch closer to her.
I grab for her blankets and lift them up so our bodies can nestle tightly together.
I hate the fucking word cuddle but… if that’s what we’re going do, then that’s what we’re going to do.
As I take a deep breath in, I smile as I smell her hair.
My left hand inches up to her neck and my fingertips flirt.
She shivers.
I listen as she inhales and exhales a shaking breath.
“There are rules in this life, sweetie,” I whisper. “Some of those rules I make. Some of them have already been made. What happened tonight… it broke a lot of rules.”
“When you say rules…”
“Not the rules you’re thinking of,” I say. “Little Miss Law School.”
“Shut up,” Jolie says.
I put my lips near her ear. “The thing is… everything you’re learning is everything I’m breaking… are you okay with that?”
Jolie doesn’t answer right away.
She slowly turns her head.
Her eyes are so beautiful. Harboring everything innocent and beautiful that I always seem to want to destroy.
My lips brush against hers.
She shuts her eyes and sighs.
I kiss her a little harder.
“Mac,” she says. “I…”
I kiss her cheek, wrap my left arm around her and pull her tighter against my body.
I grit my teeth.
She’s still not sleeping.
“What do you want to know, sweetie?” I ask.
“I don’t even know, Mac. The less I know, the better. I shouldn’t even be here right now. I have a good life. I like law school. I like thinking about my future plans. But yet I’m in the bed of a… of a what? A bad boy? A bad guy? A criminal?”
“Your heart is racing…”
I spread my hand wide across the top of her chest.
Her heart slams over and over.
“The question is… does that scare you? Or turn you on?”
Jolie turns her head toward the pillow and buries her face.
She’s got a bad way of giving me answers without talking.
I inch my hand down over the swell of her left breast.
My hand tightens and releases.
Jolie lets out another deep breath.
She moves her hand over mine.
If she moves my hand away, then I’ll keep my hand away.
She opens her hand and moves it away from mine.
I put my nose to her neck and shut my eyes for a second to take a breath.
“Fuck, sweetie,” I whisper. “You really want to jump over the line, don’t you?”
“Just shut up, Mac,” she whispers. “I’m going to hate myself either way.”
My hand moves down the front of her body, over her shirt. I flirt for a second with the bottom of her shirt, switching between touching her shirt and her skin. Each time I touch her stomach, she flutters.
I’m not in the mood to play games and I’ll take my time savoring her when the time comes. For now…
I ease my hand over her white short shorts and keep going until I’m touching her leg. I reverse course instantly and slide two fingers up the inside of her shorts, at her inner thigh.
Jolie puts her face into the pillow again and she sighs with a little more noise.
I kiss her neck and she groans.
She begins to melt before I’m able to even touch her.
I don’t stop.
My tongue flicks against her neck, kissing up to her ear.
I pause and take a deep breath as my fingers touch the tight line of her panties.
Her body tenses again and I smile.
Using the same two fingers, I pull her panties to the side.
Her skin is hot and slippery to the touch and she thrusts at me, losing herself to me.
I kiss her cheek with an almost gentle sweetness.
She turns her head toward me and I can see her cheeks are flush and red.
I press my fingers against her body and she bites her lip.
She shuts her eyes and puts her head back.
Her hips rock toward me, wanting more.
I give her more.
My fingers were sheathed by her warmth, I pulled my wrist back, taking her pleasure with me as she gasps for a breath. My fingertips flicked up and down against her slit, but only for a second before I plunged my fingers back into her.
Jolie lets out a whimpering cry.
She looks at me again and I kiss her.
Now she’s the one thrusting her tongue at me.
I smile as I kiss her back.
I finally found that spark of wild that’s deep inside of Jolie.
When I curl my fingers and say come here without my voice, her hips lift off the bed. I’ve also found where she likes it best.
I kiss her to remind her how fucking beautiful she is.
I touch her to remind her how perfect she is.
She breaks the kiss to groan, putting her head back again.
My lips touch her neck and then I keep going.
She makes me feel crazy.
I move over her shirt, brushing my nose against her breasts, really fucking hating that she’s wearing a shirt still.
Jolie moves fast, grabbing the bottom of her shirt, lifting it up for me.
As she does that, I bring my fingertips up and make circles against her body. She rocks left to right and stops lifting her shirt. Half of her bra is exposed. It’s a perfect white bra with a little design at the bottom of the cups.
Can she get anymore fucking perfect?
She’s clutching her balled up shirt tight, her knuckles starting to turn white.
I kiss her hand and then nuzzle my nose against her bra as my fingertips move faster by the second. Flicking up and down, side to side, knowing she’s seconds away from finishing.
Her body is moving to my touch.
Like we’re racing each other.
There’s only one winner here and it’s Jolie.
And we both agree that’s perfect.
She lets out another cry and I hurry to move my mouth up her body and I kiss her.
I steal her final scream as her body lets go.
She struggles to find a breath as our tongues dance and my fingers dance between her legs again.
Jolie breaks the kiss and throws her left shoulder up and tucks herself to her right side. She hurries to push her shirt down and I watch as she grabs the pillow and buries her face into it again.
I don’t just come and run…
I know how to take care of someone.
My touch begins to slow.
Her hips are still shivering.
I stroke between her legs, down and back up. I tease her entrance, feeling the pulse of her body as it matches her racing heartbeat.
Then I finally slide my fingers down her inner thigh and place my hand to her hip.
Of course I’m rock fucking hard.
Her ass is against me, almost grinding at me.
I squeeze her hip tight, keeping her against me.
I swallow hard and kiss her neck one more time.
I open my mouth to tell her what’s next when I hear a noise.
Someone else is in the room with us.
Instinct kicks in.
I push Jolie toward the wall and I roll to my left.
In a matter of two seconds, I’m blocking Jolie’s path and I rip open the nightstand drawer and grab my gun.
Molly lets out a scream.
Jolie jumps up next, pulling the covers against her as though she’s naked.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I ask Molly.
“Sorry,” she says, showing her hands. “I, uh, I was going to sleep somewhere else…” She’s got a blanket over her shoulder and she’s dropped the pillow she was carrying
to the floor. “You two were making… noise…”
I look back at Jolie.
She covers face and shakes her head.
I smile.
Molly stands there.
She’s alive. She looks like shit, but it’s better than dying next to a toilet, right?
“Well, what are you doing?” I ask her. “Either get the fuck out of here or join us.”
Jolie kicks me.
Molly grabs a pillow off the floor and hurries out of the bedroom.
I sit up in bed and let out a deep breath.
I turn my head, smiling.
Jolie isn’t smiling though.
She lowers her hands from her face.
“You put on a show for Molly, sweetie,” I say.
Jolie isn’t looking at me either.
That’s when I realize I’m still holding my gun.
To me, it’s nothing.
To Jolie, it’s terrifying.
I put the gun away and show my hands to her.
“We’re okay,” I whisper.
“You heard a noise and grabbed for a hidden gun,” she says.
“Yeah.”
“People want to hurt you, don’t they, Mac? Or even kill you…”
I reach for her face.
She hesitates for a second but lets me touch her.
“It’s how I protect those I care about,” I whisper.
I gently help Jolie back down to the bed.
I’m hovering over her and she touches my face.
Her thumbs stroke my cheeks.
She’s lost in it all.
But she secretly loves it.
I’m the adventure she’s always dreamed of.
And she’s the innocence I’ve always craved to taste.
14
I stand corrected.
I’ve found a way that Jolie can be more beautiful.
It’s in the morning.
When she’s still asleep.
On her back, her head to the side, her hair messy behind her.
Her right hand back, left hand stretched across my blanket.
Like she needed to fall asleep and stay asleep knowing I was next to her.
I just stared at her.
There’s a sense of disbelief in all of this going on.
Each second Jolie spends with me is a second she’s getting deeper into my life.
I’ll always protect her.
She can walk away anytime she wants to.
But I want her to stay.
My bedroom door opens and I see Les walking into the room.
“Hey, bro,” he says. “Don’t mind me. Just letting you know everyone is downstairs. Waiting for you.”
“I’ll be right down,” I say.
Les looks across my bed at Jolie and shakes his head.
“Hey, Les,” I say.
I lift my middle finger on my left hand.
He laughs and shuts the door.
That’s when Jolie starts to stir.
Her eyes open, flicker, shut, and then open again.
“Morning, sweetie,” I whisper.
Jolie lifts her head and looks around.
I smile.
She must have thought she was going to wake up in her own bed, huh?
I touch her face.
“You look like you need some coffee, sweetie,” I say.
Jolie nods. “Yeah.”
I throw the covers off of me and step into my boots.
I stand up and grab for my cell and my cigarettes.
I light up a cigarette and walk to the window and open it.
“Just a heads up, everyone is downstairs,” I say.
“Everyone?” Jolie asks.
“My crew,” I say. “We always try to have breakfast together. A little tradition thing.”
“That doesn’t seem like you,” Jolie says.
She slowly climbs from the bed.
I love watching her fix her shirt and shorts.
I look at her legs and groan in the back of my throat.
She reaches for her hair and starts to fix it.
My eyes can’t stop dancing up and down her body.
“We have things we do,” I say. “Comes from Mama Dae.”
“Who?” Jolie asks.
I smile. “Maybe someday you’ll meet her. It’s risk though. Because if you meet her and she likes you, you can never get away from this. That includes me.”
“And what if she doesn’t like me?” Jolie asks.
“Don’t even ask that,” I say. “She’ll love you.”
“And who is she?”
“She’s Mama Dae. That’s all I can say about her.”
Jolie helps herself to the bathroom as I enjoy my cigarette.
She goes into the bathroom beautiful and comes out looking even more beautiful. Just by messing with her hair and splashing water on her face.
Face it, I’m fucking hooked on her. And it’s probably not the best thing in the world. She’s the fucking drug. The ultimate drug. And when people get hooked on drugs, they let the rest of their lives slip away.
I can’t let that happen.
I tell myself I can handle it all.
But I’m not sure how true that is.
I flick my cigarette out of the open window and I grab for Jolie’s hand.
“Ready?” I ask.
Jolie looks at me. “No.”
“Not sure who knows who,” I say as I put a cup of coffee in front of Jolie. “But we’ve got Taz, Les, Raf, and Aric.” I look at the guys. “Guys… this is Jolie. The love of my life.”
“Oh, fuck,” Raf says.
Jolie blushes.
“Did he just get mouthy?” I ask Aric.
“I think he did,” Aric says. “He’s pissed because his wrist is sore.”
Everyone laughs.
Even Jolie.
Aric is still with Maura.
She’s goddamn hanging off his right arm like she’s a growth or something.
I look at Taz and Les. “How’d you two do last night?”
Les smirks.
Taz shrugs his shoulders. “Can’t complain…”
He turns his head and whistles.
We all look.
A second later, Molly appears in the kitchen.
Chewing on her top lip.
She’s wearing one of Taz’s shirts.
And I’m not sure that she’s wearing anything under it.
She has her hands balled around the ends of the long sleeves.
She waves to us.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Les asks.
“What?” Taz asks. “It’s not my fault. She got kicked out of Mac’s room.”
Les looks at me.
“I didn’t kick anyone out,” I say.
“You had Jolie screaming, bro,” Taz says.
Jolie gasps.
“Oh, shit,” Les says. “You were fucking Jolie in front of Molly?”
“Nice work, bro,” Aric says.
“Why did she leave the room?” Raf asks. “She could have gotten some pointers.”
“I don’t need pointers,” Molly says.
“Trust me, she doesn’t,” Taz says.
I look at Jolie.
She’s holding her coffee cup, eyes wide with embarrassment.
“Now let’s be real here,” I say. “Jolie and I spent the night together. But we didn’t fuck. It was a relaxing night.”
“I heard noise,” Molly says.
“I helped you,” Jolie says to Molly. “And this is how you thank me?”
“Thank you?” Molly asks. “Don’t be upset. You got yours last night. You sounded like you enjoyed it.”
I look at Jolie. “Well? Did you enjoy it?”
“She’s burning red over there,” Aric says.
“She enjoyed it,” Maura says.
“I can’t help what I’m good at,” I say.
“Wait a second,” Les says. “Forget about Mac finger tapping Jolie.” He points to Molly. “You fucked up big time
last night. What the hell are you doing here?”
“Les,” I say.
“No,” Les says. “She took outside shit and almost died.”
“I saved her life,” Taz says. “And she repaid that to me. She did some mouth-to-mouth to me… well… then it became mouth-to-”
“I don’t care,” Les says.
“Les,” I said in a deeper voice. “Let it go.”
Les looks around.
“Hold up,” Raf says. “Molly, how well did you know Teddy?”
“Uh…” Molly holds up her left hand.
“Is that a fucking engagement ring?” Aric asks.
“Sort of,” she says.
“Fuck,” Les says.
“You’re engaged?” Taz asks.
“You didn’t see the diamond?” I ask.
“You didn’t either,” Taz says to me.
Point taken.
“It’s not…” Molly sighs. “I don’t know. We’ve been together for a few years.”
“Years,” Les says.
“That means you know where he gets his shit from,” Raf says. He stands up and looks at me. “We need her around. She needs to tell us everything.”
“Whoa,” Molly says. “I didn’t…”
She looks at Taz.
“He’s right,” Taz says. “Playtime is over.”
Molly’s face turns white.
I reach across the counter and put my hand to Jolie’s hand.
She’s watching the scene intensely.
This is what happens when you fuck around and break the rules.
I pull at Jolie’s hand.
She looks at me.
“It’s okay,” I whisper. “Stay tough.”
“What do you want me to do here?” Molly asks.
“Tell you what,” Taz says to her. “I’ll let you think about this for a second.”
“Of course you will,” Les says.
“Fuck off, Les,” Taz says. He faces Molly. “Grab a coffee. Go take a shower. Think about everything. You really love Teddy? You want to wear his diamond ring and shit? Or do you want to get away from it. He knows the rules around here. You’re going to get out of the shower and tell us what we need to hear.”
“That’s fair,” Raf says.
“If you fucking call or text Teddy…” Les says.
He doesn’t finish the sentence.
On purpose.
Molly gets the point.
Taz pours her a coffee and she walks out of the kitchen.
I look at Taz and shake my head. “Really?”
“What?” he asks.
“How?”
“She said you pulled a gun on her,” Taz says. “She was wandering around with a pillow and blanket. Just this lost, pretty thing… you know…”
Mess You Up (Brooks Crest Book 1) Page 12
