“I’m sorry.” I looked away. It wasn’t entirely my fault, but I was the one that let someone else’s views on humanity cloud my own better judgement. My phone rang and my blood ran cold when I saw the caller I.D. Dad had warned me that she might be on her way out here but getting that phone call made it real. Not even the newspaper clipping and the note had done that. It could have been from anywhere, but seeing that damn Tennessee number on my phone made me cringe.
“What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” I’d totally forgot he was there.
“Nothing, just a ghost from my past.” I tried to smile but it was forced. Pete didn’t buy it for a second.
“You wanna talk about it?” His shoulder bumped mine.
“Not really. It’s the past, I think it’s better if it stays there.” I wouldn’t meet his eyes.
“Hey.” His hand came up again to cup my cheek. He turned me to face him, and he must have seen the fear in my eyes. It wasn’t just the fear of my mother finding me, but the fear that this carefully controlled life I led would come crumbling to the ground if anyone else ever found out. They couldn’t, especially Pete. “You can talk to me, you know? I won’t judge you.”
The dam broke at his words and the tears that had filled my eyes suddenly fell. Pete looked startled before he wrapped his arms around me attempting to console me. It only made me feel worse and cry harder. He’d said he wouldn’t judge me, but wasn’t that what I’d been doing to him ever since I’d met him. The playboy manwhore with no substance. Pete was so much more than that and I cried harder because I’d realized too late that I was completely and totally wrong about him. “Don’t be so nice to me,” I cried.
“Why not?” He rubbed a hand up and down over my back in soothing circles.
“Because I’m a judgmental bitch,” I sniffled.
“Hey, I don’t ever want to hear you say that again,” he growled. My head snapped up to his and I met his angry glare with sad eyes.
“But it’s true,” I whispered. “I judged you from the moment we met and now here you are comforting me and being a much better person than I’ve ever been to you.”
“I didn’t give you much to go on. I mean our relationship started because I got stuck in a furry reindeer costume,” he chuckled. I smiled back. When I thought about it, it was kind of funny. “At least it’s a good story.”
“Yeah, it’s definitely that.” I didn’t know how he did it, but he somehow found a way to turn my mood around. Maybe it was the mention of that day at the hospital. I still had the picture of him stuck in the damn reindeer suit that I’d snapped which sent us into our very own downward spiral.
“C’mon, let’s get out of here.” He stood and held out his hand. I took it without hesitation. He led me from the bar and out to my car. He held out his hand and I dropped my keys into it without question. He raised an eyebrow, but I didn’t have to explain to him that I trusted him. He opened my door for me and I sat in the passenger seat. Pete closed the door for me before making his way around the car. Pulling out my phone, I shot off a quick text to Delia letting her know that we left. It was only a matter of minutes before my phone buzzed in my hand.
Dee: Have fun. Thanks for telling me. :)
Me: See ya later.
“What was that?” Pete asked and that’s when I realized I was smiling.
“Delia, I let her know that we were leaving,” I shrugged. Pete chuckled.
“What did the lovely Delia say?” he asked.
“Have fun.” I blushed bright red and turned to look out the window.
“We’re not having sex tonight, babe.” He eyed me looking for a reaction, and I was sure I gave him the exact reaction he was looking for. My eyebrows raised to my hairline as I looked at him with surprise. “What? You think I’m getting you back and then rushing things? Hell no.”
“Then what are we doing?”
“Playing twenty questions?” he said it as if he wasn’t sure which made me smile even bigger.
“But you only have eight left.”
“Well then, I guess we have to start over.” He never took his eyes off the road as he drove to his house. I had nothing to say as we drove down the streets of Vegas.
Chapter Fifteen
Pete
I had no idea what had caused her to break down at the bar, but it reminded me of another time she’d freaked out. I couldn’t help but think the two were related. I didn’t press her for it… yet. I’d wait until our next twenty questions session after that night. I wasn’t trying to make things worse for her. “Chinese and comedies?” I asked her and her eyes heated at the memory.
“That sounds fantastic,” she agreed. It made me smile. Walking over to the fridge, I grabbed out a couple beers shrugging apologetically at her.
“It’s all I have.”
Her eyebrow rose as a sly smile graced her innocent face. “Are you trying to get me drunk?”
“Would it work if I was?” I raised a skeptical brow.
“Maybe,” she flirted back.
“I’ll keep that in mind for next time.” She looked confused, but I brushed the hair from her face and slid my hand around the back of her neck pulling her close, so she could feel how much I wanted her. Her eyes seared through me. “Don’t think that I’m practicing restraint because I don’t want you. It’s not that. I want nothing more than to lay you out on that couch and taste you again.” God even just saying the words made my skin itch to do just that.
“Why don’t you?” she challenged.
“Because you’re not ready.” She sputtered at my words.
“How do you know I’m not?” I decided to test her. Taking the beer from her hands, I set it on the table and crowded her space. Brandy took an involuntary step back against the wall. A quiet gasp escaped her.
“Tell me you’re ready, babe. Maybe I will believe you.”
“You’re such an arrogant asshole sometimes.” She pushed against my chest, but I wasn’t ready to let her go yet. Leaning in, I softly brushed my lips over hers. She shuddered in my arms, but I took a step back. It took all of my strength to do it, but I needed to take my time with her even if it did give me a serious case of blue balls.
She looked dazed as I led her over to the couch and sat down next to her. “What do you want to watch?” She blinked a few times to bring herself out of her daze. “What?”
“What movie do you want to watch?” She huffed out a laugh.
“That’s it?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh yeah, let me call and order some food real fast.” The cute little noise of frustration that came from her had me grinning. She was fucking adorable when frustrated.
“No, I meant, that’s it?” She looked confused.
“I’m not gonna fuck you for your first time on my couch, Brandy. I’m not an animal. Despite popular opinion, I can control myself.” My eyes rolled heavenward asking for patience.
“I’m sorry.” All levity left her voice as she slumped back on the couch.
“Hey? It’s fine. I’m just telling you that when we do have sex for the first time… your first time, it’s gonna be more than just a quick fuck. You deserve better than that and I promise you I’ll make the waiting worth it.”
“That’s not what I meant.” She shook her head. She looked guilty. My brows furrowed in confusion not entirely sure why she would feel guilty. She had nothing to feel guilty about.
“What’s wrong?” I leaned over brushing the hair from her forehead, so I could see her troubled eyes.
“I was one of them.” Her voice was so small it nearly broke my heart.
“Was is the keyword there, babe. I know that the more we get to know each other the more you’ll see me for what I am and not the image I portray.” I smiled at her. She still looked sad. “Why don’t you pick something and I’ll call and order food?”
“Okay.” I handed her the remote and walked over to the kitchen to grab a menu. It only took a minute for me to order and t
hen I walked to the hall closet and grabbed a warm blanket for us to snuggle up with. “You pull out all the stops, don’t you?”
“Just want you to be comfortable. I keep my air conditioner really low because I’m always hot.”
“Thank you,” she said as I laid the blanket over her lap sitting right next to her and putting my arm around her shoulders.
“The Ugly Truth?” I asked incredulously. “You know what this movie’s about don’t you?”
“Yes,” she giggled. “It’s a great movie.”
I had a feeling this was a bad idea. This movie was all about sex and sitting next to Brandy watching it would be an exercise in restraint. Jesus Christ my innocent girl was testing me and I knew it, but damn if I was going to fail that test. I could and I would restrain myself.
The movie started and after about a half an hour and right before the big vibrator scene the doorbell rang. Brandy’s head moved from my shoulder and I felt the loss of her body against mine instantly, but it gave me some much-needed space to get my body under control. Having her so close and not being able to do what both our bodies craved was doing fucked up things to my brain.
The delivery boy stood at the door as I pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to him. His eyes widened as he sputtered. I took the bag from his outstretched hand and shut the door. I’d already been away from her too long. I was quickly becoming addicted to her presence and there was nothing I could do about it.
Chapter Sixteen
Brandy
I was testing him; he knew it and I knew it. It was a little fun to see how far I could push him before he snapped. I was being an evil bitch, but I just wanted to feel something other than fear and shame. I’d had more messages over the last few days. I didn’t think it was my mother. The notes showed news stories from all over the country. It wasn’t just Tennessee. Someone else wanted to torture and out me.
Pete came back from the front door with a plastic bag in his hand. “Dinner’s here.” He grinned. I wrapped the blanket around my shoulders and scooted to the edge of the couch.
“It smells amazing. I’m starving.” His eyes lit up at my words and I must have turned bright red again because he chuckled.
“You are something else, Brandy.” He handed me a foam box that smelled heavenly. This time I didn’t want to miss out on dinner. I opened the box and took the plastic silverware from the bag before taking a huge bite of chow mein.
“Mmmm, that’s good,” I moaned. A strangled sound came from Pete, but he kept his eyes down on his food. “What are you thinking?”
“That being around you when you make noises like that is gonna test my sanity,” he chuckled.
Shaking my head, I went back to eating and watching the movie in silence for a while. When I was completely stuffed, I set the container on the table and Pete pulled me into his arms. He kissed the side of my head. “Why don’t you ever wear the earrings?”
I didn’t know how to answer that. I knew that the answer was extremely important to him. “I don’t know. At first, I was going to leave them at your house the gift was too expensive, but when I left in a hurry I forgot to.” I had no idea where I was going with this.
“But you have them why not wear them?” he pushed a little harder.
“I guess they reminded me of you. It was too hard to look at them, to know that they were from you and everything got ruined so spectacularly.” He squeezed me a little tighter. “That’s seven,” I whispered looking up into Pete’s heated eyes.
His lips came down softly on mine it was searching like he was asking permission with his kiss. My arms came up around his head caging him in. I couldn’t get close enough to him. My leg came around him and I straddled his hips. Pete’s hands were everywhere, and I was sure it would be enough. I wanted him desperately.
“Stop, we have to stop,” he groaned into my mouth. His big hands came to my waist lifting me from on top of him and placing me back on the couch. Huffing out an aggravated breath, I flopped back on the couch. Pete chuckled under his breath.
“You’re fucking adorable when you pout.” He grinned.
“I’m not pouting.” I mock glared at him which made us both laugh.
“You are.” Grabbing one of the pillows from the couch next to me, I swung it around hitting him square in the face. Pete snatched the pillow from my hand. I squealed as he lunged for me and scurried off the couch. Grabbing a pillow off the chair, I danced around the living room just out of his reach. Pete was like a predator. His movements were calculated and precise unlike mine. I knew he was just waiting for his moment to pounce, so I did the only thing I could think of. I threw the pillow at him and ran for the bathroom. In my head, it worked out much better than it actually did.
Pete caught the pillow and moved stealthily across the room to block the door. It was literally a second before he had me thrown over his shoulder. “Where are you taking me?” I giggled wildly.
“I haven’t decided yet,” he laughed bringing one hand down to smack my ass. A loud crack filled the air and I yelped at the sting.
“Ow, what was that for?” I wiggled in his hold.
“You hit me with a pillow.” He said it like ‘duh isn’t it obvious?
“Put me down, Neanderthal.” I laughed.
“Are you going to be good?”
“Good?” I asked incredulously. Did he really just talk to me like an unruly child? I was about to reach up and smack him in the back of the head when I was suddenly air born.
A soft mattress hit my back and I groaned at the feeling. It was like a cloud. Pete ripped his shirt off over his head and climbed on the bed next to me wrapping me in his arms. “Sleep, babe,” he kissed the back of my neck and I hadn’t realized how exhausted I was until that moment. Snuggling into Pete’s warmth, I drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Seventeen
Pete
I didn’t remember the last time I’d slept in a bed with a woman and didn’t have sex with her. I’m pretty sure that hadn’t happened before. I thought it would be strange or that I would wake up throughout the night uncomfortable. Cuddling wasn’t usually my thing but I found myself sleeping completely soundly with Brandy in my arms. It was a new feeling for me and it wasn’t exactly unpleasant. That is until my dick decided to make itself known. It was getting painfully hard the longer I laid there with her in my arms. I didn’t want to wake her though, so I endured the pain until she moved. “Morning,” she yawned.
“Did you sleep well?” I asked as I moved away from her as discreetly as possible.
“I don’t remember the last time I slept that good.” She stretched which did nothing to stop the painful erection that I was sporting. Her breasts lifted with her arms and I couldn’t help but stare.
“Hey, eyes up here, Pete.” She grinned.
“You think you’re funny, don’t you?” I raised an eyebrow at her. “You can’t do stuff like that and expect me to be a complete gentleman. You’re killing me here.” The words slowly sunk in and I watched as her eyes traveled down my chest to the appendage in question. Her eyes widened and she licked her lips.
Cursing, I jumped from the bed and crossed the room quickly before every last bit of restraint I had flew out the fucking window. Brandy looked a little confused and hurt. That nearly ripped my fucking heart out. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her. She was fragile and innocent and I kept doing things wrong. I sighed thinking that having her sleep in my bed with me was probably the worst idea I’d ever had, but at the time I just wanted her close. I’d seen a bit of the old funny Brandy the night before. The one who was so light and carefree. Now in the light of day, I could see the shadows starting to lurk below the surface and I cursed myself for my harsh reaction.
“I think I still have your bag in my closet,” I said knowing that it was. I’d moved it from the guest bedroom after she’d fled the night of the Christmas party fiasco. I had no idea why. I guess it just made me feel closer to her. I’d thought about it a thousand times. I sho
uld have given it back to Delia to give it to her but every time I thought about it, I chickened out.
“You kept it? Why?” Her brow scrunched down in confusion. I’m sure she’d thought she lost it forever. The fact she’d never asked about it made me pause.
“Is that one of your questions?” I asked because I really didn’t know how to answer that. I hadn’t used my veto yet, but I was saving that for when the tough questions started.
She chewed her lip for a second thinking about how she wanted to answer. If she wasn’t willing to waste a question on it, then I didn’t technically have to answer. “Yes, I want to know.”
Shit. Well, then what do I say to that? I had hope that we could work things out? That even after she left all I wanted was to go grab her and make her see how real it was for me? Could I bare my soul to her like that? If I wanted to keep her, and the more time I spent with her the more I wanted to, I would need to show her how important she’d become to me.
“I guess I hoped that one day you’d come back. I know you thought the whole thing was just a fake relationship to stop the press from hounding me, but it was always real to me.” I whispered the last part so low I was surprised she heard me. Her eyes were glistening with tears.
I made my way back to where she was sitting up on the bed and wrapped my arms around her. “What’s wrong, babe? What did I say?”
“Nothing. I just feel so stupid for not trusting in this. I should have listened to my heart instead of my head. It’s a little fucked up. Sometimes the doubts are just too strong and I can’t see past the screaming in my own head.” I didn’t even know what to say to that, so I didn’t say anything. Instead, I pulled her close kissing her forehead.
“It’s fine. At least we’re here now.” I rubbed a hand over her back. “Get dressed, I want to take you somewhere.”
Addicted (Sin City Gym Book 2) Page 5