Off Limits Collection

by Jane Anthony

  Jillian Morello had no problem handing my ass back to me.

  Tension filled the air as we walked back to the hotel, but she was talking to me so that was a bonus. By the time we reached the lot, I was sure our stupid spat was forgotten.

  The old stairs creaked under our single file climb. She reached the door first. I waited idly behind her as she swiped the stupid key card but, instead of entering, she hesitated at the threshold. “Do you smell that?”

  I gave a little sniff but was only assault by a mix of fresh linens and crisp ocean air. “What am I supposed to be smelling?”

  “It smells like smoke.” Walking deeper into the room, she followed her wrinkled up nose like a bloodhound. Burgundy curtains billowed into the empty space from the open balcony door. She moved toward them, but stopped short. A sudden gasp floated out of her. She stood, gaping at the glass slider, a crimson flush darkening her cheeks. “What. The. Fuck are you doing?” she yelled. Instincts kicked in. I ran over to see what the deal was just in time to see AJ flick a cigarette butt over the railing.

  Her bottom lip quivered as she stood there dumbfounded. Sheer fury and pure terror waged war on her twisted expression. AJ closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before speaking. “Jillian, don’t freak out.” He stepped toward the screen door as if approaching a rattlesnake.

  “How could you?” she whispered, her eyes brimming with tears. AJ slid the screen door open and reached out for his sister. Her mouth screwed up into a tiny knot and her eyes narrowed. “How could you?” she screamed.

  AJ winced and pulled back. Tears drenched Jillian’s face as she backed into the room, trying to escape her brother like he was a bomb. I stayed off to the side, backed against the wall, as AJ came fully inside. “Jillian, relax. Breathe, it’s okay.”

  “It’s not fucking okay!” she gasped between sobs, picking up AJ’s shoe from the ground and hurling it in his direction. He swerved, and it hit the wall with a loud thud. “Don’t you remember ...” Another shoe flew, and AJ swerved again. “... how horrible it was …” One of the complimentary cups set out on the desk flung toward AJ next. This one hit him in the chest and bounced off. “... to watch her die?” She tripped over a backpack and collapsed hard onto her ass. Deflated and defeated, she crumpled into a ball sobbing on the floor.

  AJ cautiously walked over and knelt, wrapping his arms around her. He looked up at me to gauge my reaction, but I just stood there, stunned at the shitshow I had just witnessed.

  “I remember Jill, I remember,” he said to her over and over as he held her to his chest and stroked her hair. She mumbled something I couldn’t quite make out. AJ must have missed it too because he pulled her away and wiped her tears with his thumbs. “What was that?”

  With red rimmed eyes, Jillian looked up, calming down just enough to repeat herself. “Why do you want to leave me too?” She crumpled again as the words left her mouth, and AJ squeezed her tighter.

  “I’m never going to leave you, Jill. I promise I'm never leaving.” He rocked from side to side rubbing her back until her breathing started to regulate. She’d completely cried herself out.

  AJ was stuck on the floor, his sister curled in his lap. I lifted her up and placed her in one of the beds. Her sleeping body eked out a few stuttering breaths, but she relaxed again, and AJ and I went outside to talk.

  “I've never seen a girl lose her shit like that. You wanna explain to me what the hell that was about?”

  AJ wiped a hand down his face, his Zildjian T-shirt wet from Jillian’s tears. “Remember I told you our mom died from cancer?” I nodded. “It was lung cancer from smoking.”

  I leaned against the balcony and scratched my head thoughtfully, my arms crossed over my chest and lips sucked into a thin line as I processed what he just told me. “What is wrong with you, man?” I finally asked.

  He plopped into one of the balcony chairs and dropped his head into his hands. Ebony waves tumbled through his fingers. “I know how terrible it looks, believe me, but, Jameson, the stress is killing me. When my dad died, everything fell to me to take care of. I put everything aside to finish the life that he started, and I never wanted any of this.” He shoved his knuckle in his eye and continued. “But I can’t sit back and be a selfish prick and watch his legacy die. If the business goes, then there’s nothing left of the Morello family and everything my dad worked so hard for was for nothing.”

  “That’s not true, man. You and Jillian are the Morello family. Whether you’re fixing cars or playing music or dancing a jig, you’ll always be the Morello family. Your dad's legacy lives through you. Your occupation is irrelevant,” I said sitting in the chair next to my friend.

  “You just don’t get it, bro,” he said quietly. “The sign on the door says Morello and Son’s. I wasn’t given the opportunity to choose.” He stood up and walked into the room leaving me sitting outside alone.

  Chapter Seven

  JILLIAN

  The summer sky was black as ink, but a nearby streetlight cast a sliver of light through the balcony door, just enough that I could see my surroundings. AJ’s chest rose and fell in the bed next to mine. Jameson was asleep on the floor between us, shadows concealing half his body. I sat up and kicked my feet over the side of the bed, then knelt down on the floor beside him. “Jameson,” I whispered shaking him from his sleep. His eyes fluttered open and he looked up at me. “What are you doing on the floor?”

  “Well, I wasn’t about to crawl into bed and spoon AJ,” he whispered back.

  I smiled. “C’mon, come lie with me,” I said, giving his arm a gentle tug.

  “No, I’m fine on the floor. You go ahead back to bed.”

  “Don’t be an ass. Just get up here.” I climbed back into bed and tossed the corner of the blanket back, an invitation for him to join me. He rose from the floor and crawled in. The moment was more awkward than I anticipated. I’d never been in bed with a man before. We laid on our backs under the blanket, silently staring up at the ceiling. “Jameson?” I said quietly.

  “Mmmhmm.”

  “I’m sorry about earlier. You shouldn’t have had to see that.” AJ and I watched our mother turn from a vibrant young woman to a frail skeleton almost overnight, brought on by her own disgusting habit. I didn’t know when he started or how he managed to hide it from me, but watching him make the conscious decision to travel down the same path was something I never expected. I lost my shit, and I was embarrassed that Jameson was there to witness it.

  He turned his head to look at me, only the outline of his face visible in the dark. “You never have to apologize to me, Jillian.”

  I rolled to my side snuggling against him. He slid his arm slid under me, pulling me into his chest and wrapped it around my shoulder. Breath blew against my hair. His heartbeat thrummed rhythmically in my ear lulling me back to sleep.

  Someone in the room was clearing their throat. Snuggling deeper into the bed, I pulled the covers up around me. I heard it again, louder and more abrasive this time. The lashes parted on one heavy lidded eye. AJ was leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom, arms crossed over his chest watching me sleep. Creepy much? The warm body against my back shifted, and the arm wrapped around my middle tightened, sliding a hand between my ribs and the mattress.

  Jameson.

  “Comfortable?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. The scowl on his face said all that needed to be said. Jameson and I in bed together was crossing some imaginary line he drew in the sand, but based on my big discovery last night, I knew he wasn’t going to say a damn thing about it. Besides, we were both fully dressed. It was obvious nothing happened.

  I pushed myself up on my elbow, the vibrant arm still locked tightly around my waist. “What time is it?”

  “It’s nine-thirty. Check out is at eleven, so if you wanted to take a shower or something, I suggest you do it now.” He trudged to his bed and grabbed his wallet, shoving it into the back pocket of his shorts. Jameson looked so peaceful sleeping next to me. A long piece of
hair curled around his cheekbone creating a tawny frame around his closed eye. My fingers twitched, desperately wanting to run through it, but I held them at bay. Instead, I peeled his arm back and slipped out of bed making sure I didn’t disturb him. The ride back was long, and I wanted to let him sleep. “I’m going to run down and grab us some coffees. I’ll be back,” AJ added. The door clicked behind him, and he was gone.

  The water sputtered out of the showerhead before shooting out hot and sharp on my skin. Waking up in Jameson’s arms was surreal. His breath on my neck and his warm body pressed against mine, I wanted to stay in that bed with him forever to just be held.

  The feeling of his arm secured around me still tingled across my middle like a missing limb, as I finished my shower and stepped out. His skin was soft, which was a complete contrast to the roughness of his hands. Hands I couldn't stop imagining all over me, as I rubbed my body dry with the sandpaper motel towel. I reached for the pile of clothes I'd thrown onto the toilet seat. Of course, I’d forgotten my underwear. It crossed my mind to put the ones from yesterday back on, but I decided that was gross.

  Just slip out, get what you need, and sneak back in.

  With the towel wrapped tighter around myself, I opened the door. The bed we shared was a tangled mess of empty blankets. I felt a stern stare boring into me from the corner of the room, like a laser beam burning a hole clear through my body. My gaze traveled the length of the brilliant green beam into eyes of the same color.

  “Jill,” Jameson said. It was only one word, a fragment really, four little letters sliding off his tongue slithering around me like his inked up arm was not that long ago.

  No other words were spoken after that. We stood on opposite ends of the room staring each other down. My gaze traced the lean lines of his shirtless, beautiful body. Tattoos popped off the backdrop of his skin. Flawless, smooth, and tan all over, no doubt from working outside in the sun. His torso was a perfect letter V, from his broad shoulders to his slim waist. I imagined running my hands across the hard plane of his abs following the trail of muscles that disappeared beneath his jeans. I'd heard them called so many different things, but the pathway to heaven seemed like the ideal name to describe them now.

  Jameson's eyes narrowed on the towel as if he was looking through it with X-ray vision. My hand sprang to the knot at my chest. Whether I was holding it tighter or preparing to tear it away in a sacrificial offering, I wasn't sure. Blood rushed my ears. The silence between us was deafening. I opened my mouth to say something, anything to break the sweltering tension, when I heard the door accept AJ’s key card. Jameson's gaze flicked toward it and back at me. He wet his lips with his tongue and turned away. I backed into the bathroom and closed the door behind me. Maybe I don’t need underwear today.

  JAMESON

  The sound of running water gave off the illusion of rain outside. Reaching for Jill, I found nothing but vacant sheets. The room was empty.

  Getting into bed with her was dangerous ground but when she climbed in and looked at me, her eyes pleading with me to come with her, she still looked so friggin’ sad. It took every ounce of willpower I had not to roll her over and pin her to the mattress under me until she was crying out in pleasure instead of pain.

  Her tiny body curled up next to mine like we were puzzle pieces that were meant to fit together. I held her closer than I had the right to. The fruity scent of her hair drove me nuts. It got inside my brain and wreaked havoc on my dreams. She was just a girl, like dozens of others I've had in my bed except ... she wasn't. Jillian wasn't just any girl; she was the girl. The proverbial unicorn—ideal in every way yet unattainable.

  If AJ caught us in bed together, he’d be pissed. At some point, I'd have to sit him down and assure him that nothing happened between Jillian and me, to reassure him that nothing would happen. I thought about how to broach the subject as I was getting dressed. When the bathroom door opened, any residual thoughts I’d had about AJ disappeared.

  She stood there wearing nothing but a towel. The wet hair falling over her slender shoulders left tiny droplets of water on the crappy beige carpet at her feet. She looked surprised to see me at first, but then her surprise turned into something else.

  The look in her eyes was carnal. Her hands clutched the towel, holding it tighter around her and making it easier to see the outline of her body from under its bulk. It only made me want to run over there and tug it away, to lick off the droplets of water that had collected around her chest and shoulders and make her mine like I pretended she was last night.

  The thought was fleeting. As quickly as she appeared, she vanished and AJ came into the room holding a tray of Styrofoam cups. “Hey Jame, I got us some coffees for the ride home.”

  I quickly threw on the shirt I’d been mangling in my fist and took the coffee from AJ’s hand. “Thanks, man,” I said, taking a sip and turning my back to him. How could I look the guy in the face while imagining the many ways I wanted to defile his sister in that exact moment? Man, I really am such an asshole.

  The bathroom door opened, and I heard her feet padding out onto the carpet. “Oh, Jameson, you’re up,” she said. I was confused. For a minute, I thought I’d imagined the whole thing. That maybe I was still in bed holding her in my arms and this was just a weird vivid dream I was having.

  I glanced in her direction. She was standing behind AJ. The crimson flush on her cheeks assured me that I was wrong. She was ignoring it—pretending it didn’t happen—either for AJ’s sake or her own.

  “Yeah,” was all I said as I grabbed my toothbrush and locked myself in the bathroom. My fingers curled over the edge of the sink. “Get it together, man,” I said to my own reflection. I scratched at the stubble on my jaw and thought about shaving but decided against it. We needed to get out of the confines of this room as quickly as possible, but I didn’t want to take her home yet. Last night was a clusterfuck of epic proportions, and I couldn’t have that be the last thing she remembered about this weekend. I wanted to spend more time with her. I wanted to spend all my time with her. As I brushed my teeth, I tried to think of something to say to prolong our short weekend together.

  The room beyond the bathroom door was quiet. Jillian was sitting cross-legged on the bed we shared, her coffee resting between her legs as she scrolled through her phone. She watched me with the same carnal look in her eyes as I entered the room, only this time I refused to look. I didn't have to. It devoured me whole as I stood there pretending she didn't affect me in the slightest. “You guys ready to go?” AJ said, hiking his backpack up on his shoulder. I wasn’t, but I nodded my head and grabbed my stuff anyway.

  The ride home was tense. The energy in the car that was so vibrant yesterday had returned to the same bleak black and gray it was a few weeks ago when I’d started at Morello’s.

  As we pulled in front of the house, I felt my chest tighten. I didn’t want to see her go. I wanted her to wake up in my arms every morning and fall asleep next to me every night. My feelings for her had gotten so strong in just a few weeks, and I couldn’t figure out what it was about her that was drawing me in. Sure, she was hot, but it was more than that. The connection to her was like nothing I’d felt before with anyone else. She had an energy around her, a force field. The more I fought it, the harder I felt the pull. I intended to keep my promise to AJ, but when she was around, everything about my shit life seemed better. She was my rainbow in the dark.

  “That was a lot of fun, Jameson. Thanks,” she said. She opened the car door and jumped out, pushing the seat forward for AJ. My mind raced as I thought of ways to keep her from going back in the house.

  “Jill, hold up!” I got out of the car and stood in her drive. Both she and AJ turned to look at me.

  Think of something, dude.

  “Do you know how to cut hair?” The second it flew out of my mouth, I wanted to groan. What the hell was I even talking about? I sounded like an idiot.

  “Um,” she started, using her pinky to tuck her hair behi
nd her ear and twirling the end around her finger. “I cut AJ’s hair recently. I wouldn’t say that I really know what I’m doing, though.”

  “Oh. Well, that’s okay. I was just thinking, you know, since I’m here and all. My hair is getting kind of long.”

  Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

  “Okay, well, come on in, and I’ll see what I can do.” She turned and walked toward the house. I slammed my door and followed her in. Truth be told, my hair was shaggy as hell, but I kind of liked it that way.

  “Lemme go grab the clippers.” She ran up the stairs leaving me waiting in the hall.

  “Good luck, man,” said AJ with a grin as he walked past me to get to the stairs. “It’s no coincidence I always wear a hat.”

  A tackle box looking thing dangled from Jillian’s fist as she descended the stairs. In her other arm, a neatly folded towel sat in the crook. “Let’s go out back. That way there isn’t hair all over the house.” I followed her out and sat in the lawn chair she’d set out for me. She wrapped the towel over my shoulders like a cape and held it with a hair clip in the front. Shit rattled inside the box as she reached inside before pulling out a comb. When the little teeth raked over my scalp, my eyes almost rolled back into my head. “How do you want it?”

  The innocent question made my dick spring to life. My first thought was from behind, but I wiped that shit from my mind real quick. “Just a trim, I guess. Don’t buzz me or anything.”