Relentless Habit: O-Town Series

by Karen Renee

  I shook my head. “Not your brother exactly.”

  “No?”

  “No. When I was first in rehab, it was a facility where I stayed day and night for months. There was so much group activity and group therapy that I craved alone time. Then when I got my alone time, it was hard to decide how to spend it. They had a library, but my normal go-to reading material was mystery and action books.”

  “Okay,” he drawled, and nodded.

  “Well, so many of those revolve around crime, so they didn’t do it for me as much. I found this romance series–”

  “You’re kidding,” he bit out.

  I put a hand on his bicep. “Stop. Just listen.”

  He nodded.

  “It centered around some rich men who were buddies. They were also each quite the playboys.”

  “Mm-hmm,” he drawled.

  I nodded. “Yes, and there were few, if any, consequences from their random hook-ups. Seems fiction has fallen short of the mark, if your brother’s effect on these ladies is anything to go by.”

  “You’re comparing fiction to real life, Sunflower.”

  My eyes widened at him. “Yes. And if you don’t think some —or all— of those women aren’t doing the same, you’re crazy.”

  He opened his mouth to say something, but a shadow passed over us and I felt a weight hit the chair, and I turned to see a young woman sitting next to me on the edge of the lounger.

  She was average weight. Not thin, but not overweight either. The grin she shot at Brock was benign. “It’s getting pretty bad when all the cast-offs hit the pool just because you’re here.”

  Brock sighed. “Cassandra. I’m surprised you care.”

  She snorted. “I don’t, but I did want to meet the woman you brought down here.”

  I smiled nervously at Cassandra.

  Her hair was a sandy-brown and would benefit from blonde highlights. I envied her emerald eyes and knew coworkers who would do anything for lips as a full as hers.

  Brock put his hands on my shoulders and squeezed gently. “Cecilia, this is Cassandra, who may well be Gabe’s only true friend of the female persuasion. Cassandra, this is Cecilia.”

  She smiled at me and it made her eyes even prettier. “I wouldn’t go that far, Brock. I’m irritated with him these days.”

  Brock groaned. “Whatever he did, give him another chance.”

  She laughed and it sounded derisive. “Not sure I can promise that.”

  He sighed. “I shouldn’t say this, but... well, you’re a damn good influence on him. I’d hate to see him lose that.”

  She nodded and I thought she was going to stand up, but she looked at Brock as though something just hit her. “Tell me this. Was he really sick with a sinus infection?”

  “Oh yeah,” I blurted, and ducked my face in embarrassment. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  Brock nudged me with his shoulder. “Not at all, honey.” He looked to Cassandra. “She’s right. He was sick as a dog. Only reason she knows is because he left early to go to Pop’s, but not before he drew me and her out of my room.”

  Cassandra nodded and stood. “I hope he feels better, but I wish his sinus infection had been an ear infection, because God knows he needs to have his ears cleaned out so he can listen to what I tell him.”

  Her comment caught me so off-guard, I couldn’t bite back my laughter. I shook my head at them both. “Again, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t laugh, so ignore me, but that’s funny.”

  Brock gave me a sideways glance. “What are you trying to say, Cecilia?”

  I looked at him with mock innocence. “Moi? Trying to say something? Um, no. I’m saying your brother does need help with his listening skills, so her wishing an ear infection on him is funny.”

  Brock

  I GUIDED CECILIA DOWN the hall to my door thinking about Gabe.

  He never listened to me, and I understood why that was, I really did. My brothers and I were so much alike it was sick. So the fact I could see his mistakes and tried to warn him about them only made him resist my advice and not listen to me at all.

  I let us into the apartment, and I followed her in, locking the door behind us. As much as I fought it, I couldn’t help but shake my head as I faced her.

  “What are you shaking your head about, B-Rock?”

  I smiled. “My brother. He doesn’t listen to me or Vamp worth a shit, so I haven’t told him this, but I know Cassandra is the best damn woman in his life. Which tells me she might be the best damn woman for him.”

  She shrugged a little, but it was interrupted by a shiver and she pulled the towel tighter to her body. “As the younger sibling, I highly recommend you keep your opinion to yourself. The dynamic might be different with three siblings versus only two, but I doubt it matters whether the opinion is yours or Vamp’s, I think Gabe will resent it regardless.”

  My gut told me she was not only speaking from experience but from an experience that I should ask more about, except it wasn’t the time. Setting my keys on the counter, I moved to her and wrapped my arms around her.

  “Thanks for the heads-up. I knew not to say anything to him, but hearing that definitely puts it in context, and I appreciate it, Sunflower.”

  She raised her chin at me in acknowledgment.

  “Noticed you shivered. You ready to shower?”

  Her head tilted. “I guess.”

  I widened my eyes. “You guess?” A sinister chuckle escaped me. “Well, I’ll be more than happy to get you ready to shower.”

  The look she gave me said I was predictable, but who could blame me? My showers hadn’t taken so long since I turned twelve. Me plus soap, plus Cecilia, was the perfect equation for sexual gratification. Hell if I wasn’t going to take advantage of that every which way I could.

  Stepping into her space, I forced her to the bathroom bodily, though truth be told, it didn’t take much force since she was willing.

  After we had both shampooed our hair and soaped each other thoroughly, Cecilia made to sink to her knees, but I caught her under her armpits.

  “No, Sunflower. You already did that today.”

  She dipped her chin and looked at me through her lashes. “Not like it’s a vitamin, Brock. You can have more than one a day.”

  “Well, I don’t like the idea of you doin’ that on your knees on the hard tile floor.”

  I kissed her before she could say anything further. Her head tilted, and as the kiss deepened she became more aggressive. My hand slid down her smooth torso to her core, and traced her slick heat.

  Sliding my lips to her ear, I whispered, “Besides, both of us should get off this time, honey.”

  As I expected, she wasted no time wrapping a hand around my cock, and fondled me purposefully. She was really good at it, and I had to wonder if that was part of why I didn’t want her sucking me off. Whenever she did, I couldn’t help but remind myself that she was a former prostitute. Any other woman, that would not occur to me because part of me would be thanking God for blessing me with such a skilled woman while the rest of me was busy enjoying the experience.

  Yet, I couldn’t imagine any other woman with me because I knew I loved her. Which was why it was so important for me to get over her past.

  When I slipped another finger inside her, she hissed and pulled back from me, smiling.

  “You are so damn good at that, Brock.”

  Trailing my lips down her neck, I said, “I aim to please. Plus, you’re a fuckin’ master with my cock.”

  Her hand tightened and I jerked my hips with her movements. I pushed her up against the shower wall, lowered my head, and ravaged her mouth. My thumb circled her clit faster, applying more pressure and I swallowed her mewl. I cut the kiss short just as her pussy started convulsing around my fingers. Watching her come had quickly become one of my favorite sights.

  Her eyes caught mine and her other hand cupped my balls. Those fingers were working their magic when she tightened her grip, which had loosened when she came,
and my hips jerked as my orgasm built. I moved my arm from around her waist and covered her hand on my cock, encouraging her to pick up the pace.

  “Come on me, honey,” she said, in a voice so low I almost missed it over the sound of the shower.

  I was too far gone to acknowledge what she said and I came hard, closing my eyes. That meant I had no idea if I did as she asked, but when I opened my eyes, she was looking up at me with a sly grin on her face.

  “You are so damn hot when you come, Brock.”

  “You too, honey,” I said, resting my forehead on hers.

  She grinned. “I’m thinking we got rid of all the chlorine.”

  I smiled. “Thinkin’ you’re right, baby.”

  Shuffling her toward the stall door, I turned off the water and followed her out.

  She wrapped the towel around her torso and started to pad into the bedroom. “Do you want another towel to wrap up your hair?”

  She shook her head, and left the bathroom. I toweled most of the moisture out of my hair, then wrapped the towel around my hips and went to the bedroom.

  The sight of Cecilia’s round ass in a pair of baby blue panties caught my attention in a big way. She was bent over so she could wrap up her hair with the towel she had just used. Luckily my body wasn’t ready to go again, so I sidled up behind her.

  “Now, tell me why you wouldn’t let me get you another towel if you were just gonna do what you’re doin’ right now?” I asked.

  She straightened and turned to me. Since she wasn’t wearing a top yet, it was all I could do not to look at her breasts, but I managed to keep my eyes on her face.

  “Because, it’s a waste of a towel and I do it this way at home, too,” she said.

  I arched a brow. “Really? You dry your body, strut naked to your room so you can put on some panties and then wrap up your hair?”

  Her head tilted. “Usually I have my dry clothes in the bathroom with me, so no on the walking around naked bit, but otherwise yes. I dry myself, put on some clothes, then dry my hair.”

  I grinned. “Well, around here, just to say, you’ve got the option for another towel, honey.”

  A strange look stole over her face, but it was there and gone in an instant.

  “What?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “Nothing. That’s very sweet of you.”

  “It’s a towel, honey. No big deal.”

  Her brow jumped. “Anything that creates more laundry is a big deal.”

  I shook my head. “Doing more laundry because of you is not a big deal, honey.”

  Both of her brows arched. “Those are strong words, mister.”

  My arms slid around her waist. “They really aren’t.”

  Her hands went around me to stroke my back. “You must force Gabe to do your laundry,” she muttered.

  My head tilted back and I barked out a laugh. “Not even close. I prefer clean clothes to semi-clean or slightly mildew-ey clothes.”

  Her nose scrunched up. “Ew.”

  “Yeah. Gabe and laundry is a fuckin’ crapshoot. Actually, no. A crapshoot has far better odds.”

  She shook her head. “You’re funny.”

  “So are you,” I volleyed as I gave her a squeeze.

  A hint of that strange look came back and it disappeared just as quickly again. I walked her toward the bed, put my knee on it, and lifted her so she would be by my side.

  Her eyes widened. “I just watched you come, and not that I can compare this to other times between us, but it was a lot. There’s no way you’re ready to go again.”

  I did a slow blink and shook my head just as slow. My eyes caught on the towel on her head, so I gently guided the towel behind the shell of her ear. When I caught her eyes again, the look wasn’t all over her face, but it was definitely warm in her eyes.

  “Don’t freak out, but I love you.”

  She reached up and weakly slapped at my chest. The warmth in her eyes had become sheer fear. “You just think you do,” she whispered.

  I rolled on top of her. “I know I do.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “How could you possibly?”

  My head reared back. “How could I not? Don’t answer that. It freaked me out, and I tried to bury it, but I can’t any more.”

  She sighed. “How do you know?”

  I stared into her eyes. “What I know is that it’s more than I’ve felt for any woman. So, believe me. Offering you an extra towel is not a hardship, Sunflower,” I said, trying to inject some levity into our conversation.

  “If you say so,” she muttered.

  What she didn’t say was that she loved me too, but that was alright. I wasn’t after that at this point.

  Chapter Eighteen

  You Aren't a Dime a Dozen

  Cecilia

  Yesterday, leaving Brock’s place was a struggle for both of us. I felt obligated to return his ‘I love you,’ but I didn’t have the courage to do it yet. The strange thing about it was that just before he said it, I had thought about being able to spend many more afternoons with him. We were good together, but it didn’t stop me from thinking he could do better than me.

  Back at my apartment, while I put my shoes on, my cell chimed with a FaceTime call. Since I was running a bit ahead of schedule, I sat back in the couch for a chat with my sister.

  “Hey, Neil,” I said, when I could see her face taking up most of my phone screen.

  She smiled. “Hey. Is this a bad time? I couldn’t remember if you were still on nights or switched back to days.”

  “I’m on nights for another five days. Um, are you at work?” I asked because what little background I could see didn’t look like her home.

  She shook her head. “No. Is everything okay? You sound like something is wrong.”

  A more optimistic person would say everything was right, but I wasn’t built that way.

  “Well, um. I don’t know, I should probably keep this to myself, but...”

  “Just spit it out, CeeCee.”

  I sighed. “Yesterday, Brock told me he loves me.”

  She couldn’t hide her eyes widening or her sharp inhale. “Really?”

  “Yeah,” I whispered.

  There was a pause and then Tennille demanded, “Well, what did you say?”

  I clenched my teeth and regretted telling her anything, but I pushed that feeling down. If I was going to get my relationship back with my sister, I would have to share with her... and hopefully she would be cool while I did.

  “Listen, are you going to be cool about this?”

  Her mouth opened and closed a couple times before I heard her make a short tsking sound. “Of course, I will, but this is kind of a big deal, Ceil.”

  “Yeah, I know. Anyway. I didn’t return it.”

  Her eyes widened again. “So you didn’t say anything?”

  I shook my head. “There wasn’t a loaded silence or anything, I just diverted things back to a different topic. Actually, that isn’t entirely true. Brock laid that on me, then he shot for humor by circling us back to a different topic.”

  A small, lopsided smile twisted her lips. “You gotta admit, that’s pretty sweet of him.”

  I pressed my lips together and again regretted saying anything to Neil. She was biased as all hell, but the problem was, Kendall and Madison would have been just as biased, if not more so. I’d have settled for telling my therapist, but my gut was telling me I needed to find a different therapist because this one didn’t quite feel like a good fit.

  “I’m thinking you might be biased. Actually, there’s no ‘might’ about it.”

  Tennille shook her head forcefully if the jostling of the screen was anything to go by. “No way, Cecilia. You’re my sister, I’ll always be on your side first and foremost.”

  I nodded.

  “But, seriously, I think he knew you weren’t there yet. So, him giving you that out was sweet.”

  “Yeah,” I whispered.

  “So, um, do you?”

  My eyes wide
ned. “Do I what? Love him?”

  “Yeah,” she said in a tone that said I was obtuse.

  I sighed. “I don’t know. Not long before he said it, I was thinking it was easy to spend time with him, and I really liked that. Not the spending time with him, wait, no. That came out wrong–”

  She grinned, but interrupted. “Being with him is easy, you mean?”

  “Yes, and I really like that, but that doesn’t mean I love him.”

  My sister’s head shifted from side to side. “No, but I think that’s part of a strong foundation for it.”

  I arched a brow in question.

  She blinked meaningfully in response. “You know it’s not all hot sex and great dates all the time. You gotta be able to just enjoy being with one another if things are going to work long term.”

  My lips pulled to the side with skepticism. “Because you enjoy just hanging with Razor?”

  The screen suddenly panned out, and I saw Razor’s heavily stubbled face over Tennille’s shoulder. “She damn sure does,” he said, before he kissed her cheek with a loud smacking sound.

  My eyes bulged. “What? He’s been listening to us this entire time?” I cried out.

  My sister laughed. “No. He just came in from the garage.”

  “Jesus,” I groused. “I knew I shouldn’t have shared with you.”

  Her face fell.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t really mean that.”

  She nodded. “He’s taking a shower, and you look like you’ve got to be at work.”

  “Yeah. But really, I’m sorry. It’s great having someone I can talk to about this. Um, how long do you think I have?”

  Her head tilted. “For what?”

  “Before I have to say I love him too?”

  A variety of facial expressions crossed her face. “You know it doesn’t work that way.”

  I nodded. “You’re right. I just... he deserves so much better than me.”

  “Shut the fuck up,” she snapped.

  I looked to the wall and back to my phone. “Do not tell me to ‘shut the fuck up,’ Tennille.”

  “Ladies,” Razor said from the background.

  I shook my head. “Ugh. If he’s done in the shower that fast, I’ll let you go, sis.”