The Brody Bunch Collection: Bad Boy Romance

by Sienna Valentine

  There was nothing but silence to answer me.

  I wasn’t heartless. It’s not that I didn’t care about the women that I slept with. I just… didn’t get attached. I didn’t see any reason to. They were expecting certain behavior from me, and I was looking for a night of validation from them. It was a symbiotic relationship. I cared about them and their well-being. I cared whether or not they had a good time. When I saw them on the street days or weeks later, we’d smile at each other, maybe say “hello.” There were no hard feelings, until Hannah came along. No angry exes until tonight.

  Which reminded me that, although I’d tried to get in touch with Tanya to ensure she’d gotten home safe, I’d never extended the same courtesy to Hannah. No, my dumb ass had just been lying here mooning over her this whole time instead of doing something productive. Something the Ash Brody I was before I met her would’ve done. Fuck’s sakes, she had me all tangled up, and I barely knew a thing about her.

  Replying to Hannah’s last text, I asked her, You make it home okay, love? Part of me felt bad about calling her that still, after saying it reflexively to Tanya in front of her, proving that it wasn’t exactly meaningful. Not in the way most women wanted to hear it. But it was intimate, sort of. Better than “babe” or “darlin’,” anyway.

  And it still meant something different when I said it to Hannah than to anyone else. Even if she didn’t know it. Even if I couldn’t quite quantify what the difference was.

  My text was intentionally simple and to the point. That was the kind of thing Ash Brody would do. That was the considerate, yet not overly protective behavior women loved. It wasn’t a soliloquy. It wasn’t a demand for an update. It was a courtesy, one that let us both keep our distance.

  It took several minutes for Hannah to respond, and all the while I stared at the screen, occasionally closing my messages and then reopening them to make sure I didn’t just need to refresh. It was pathetic, but at least I was doing it in private. All my other fuck-ups so far had been very public, and I wanted to hold on to whatever scrap of dignity I had left.

  So much for keeping my distance.

  Just as I was about to give up—and by that, I mean turn up the volume on my system notifications and sleep with the phone in the damn bed, in case she changed her mind—Hannah texted back. She said, Yeah. Beth and Sarah said they had a good time. I only wished Hannah could say the same for herself.

  I was sure she’d at least enjoyed some of it—namely the part that came after we entered the funhouse and before Tanya showed up. She’d made all the right noises, whimpered all the right curses, for me to think she’d fallen in love with my cock and tongue. I licked my lips, eager to see if there was some remnant of her flavor on my mouth. No dice. Now that was a damn shame.

  The memory of her pussy on my face was all I had left of our encounter. It wasn’t like the panties I’d stolen that first night, the ones I’d taken home with me without Hannah’s knowledge. Those were a memento I intended to keep, a tangible reminder of how she’d looked in them just before I’d ripped them off. Now I felt bereft, denied a token of what had thus far been some of the most exciting sex of my life. I wasn’t sure exactly what I expected, or what I wanted from her to keep with me, but it was driving me nuts not having it.

  I texted her again. Sorry things didn’t end better with us. Awkward, right? I wanted to bash myself in the face with my own phone. Fuck, why was I being such an idiot? I’d reduced my misstep to what practically amounted to a meme.

  But what was I supposed to say? What would mend the damage I’d done? There was no erasing it. And I’d never found myself in this kind of situation with a woman before.

  She replied almost instantly. It’s cool. And then in a separate message, almost like it was an afterthought: We’re just keeping things light. Right?

  To my surprise, I wasn’t really sure how to answer.

  I didn’t want to marry the girl or anything, but damn, did I miss her. I couldn’t deny how she was stuck running through my brain at what seemed like all hours of the night and day. I couldn’t say that I didn’t feel something with her, some spark, that kept me coming back for more. She was a mystery wrapped in an enigma and garnished with a dash of intrigue. And yet she was effortless, too. She hardly asked me for anything beyond our initial agreement.

  And that… kinda made me feel bad, in a way.

  It was like she knew she couldn’t depend on me, like she’d written me off as some careless player from the start. In her eyes, I wasn’t worth the effort of getting to know. She made no demands of me, other than me and my brothers keeping an eye on her sisters. I saw now that there just might be a more serious reason for that then I initially suspected, but still, she wouldn’t fill me in. I was barely more than a tool to her. And tonight, I’d sure as hell acted like one.

  Fuck. This wasn’t keeping things light and simple. This wasn’t the way I did things at all. Rubbing my face with my free hand, I finally responded to Hannah. Sounds good.

  It was lame. Forced. Definitely not my most shining moment in the land of text messages. But she replied with a smiley face all the same, and then a question that took me by surprise. What are you wearing?

  I laughed. Nothing much.

  Good, came her reply. Me either. Wanna see?

  Dear God, did I ever.

  The second my phone buzzed again, I tapped the screen, anticipating a picture of Hannah’s tits, or maybe that tight pussy I could still feel clenched around my cock, if I thought about it hard enough. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a picture message. It was a call—and not from Hannah.

  Reid’s gruff voice greeted me instead, and I tried not to groan in frustration. “Damn, that was quick. Were you sittin’ by the phone, bro?”

  “Goddammit, Reid,” I hissed, “it’s almost one in the morning. What the hell do you want?”

  “What?” Reid said in a tone I was sure he’d designed solely to annoy me. “Can’t your little brother give you a call just to check in? Does everything have to be so transactional with you?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yes.” It wasn’t true, but I was aching to see what Hannah had certainly sent me by now. I was sure if I took too long to answer, she’d read something into it. The last thing I needed now was to re-offend her. “So, what do you want?”

  “Actually, I wanted to know if you had any plans for the cabin,” he said, drawing every word out. Christ, it was like he knew I was in a hurry to get off the phone. “I was thinking maybe I could take Sarah out there. You know… get her away from the hustle and bustle of the city for a while.”

  “That cabin’s only got one bedroom, Reid,” I said, but I was sure he knew. “You’re gonna scare the girl half to death that way. It’s not a good idea…”

  Wasn’t it, though? The thought occurred to me suddenly—Sarah had gone through something monumentally unpleasant tonight, and taking her somewhere out of the way might actually work to his benefit—she might be more interested in him if she wasn’t constantly bombarded with all things English… including drunk assholes with grabby hands. I leaned back against my pillow. Well, I’ll be damned. Reid might just have had a good idea.

  He didn’t need to know that, though.

  “If she doesn’t like the idea, she’ll tell me and we won’t go,” he was saying, an edge to his voice. “Look, do you have plans for it or not?”

  “Hmm. I dunno, man. Hang on. Let me check my schedule.” And I hit the mute button on my phone and checked my text messages, content to let Reid stew for a while.

  Nope. Nothing yet. Hannah was probably trying to get the lighting and angle right. Christ, it wasn’t like it was going up on Instagram. But it did make me smile to think she might care what I thought of her, even if the truth was that I thought she was stunning no matter the light.

  When I picked up again, I caught the tail end of what seemed like a pretty epic rant on Reid’s part. I couldn’t remember the last time he’d sounded so pissed. “…for fuck’s sakes, all I wanted was
a goddamn straight answer, but of course your dainty mouth can’t do anything straight…”

  “What was that?” I asked him. ““It’s hard to understand you, what with your busted jaw. I was just about to say looks like my plans for it are clear, but if you had something to add to that…”

  “Don’t be an asshole,” Reid replied, and I grinned.

  “Kind of hard not to be, when I know how much it pisses you off,” I told him.

  “Whatever, man. If it’s all clear with you, then I’m gonna ask her if she wants to go up. I’ll come by tomorrow or the next day to grab the keys from you.”

  “Sounds good. But hey, if you make a mess, you clean it up. Don’t just leave it for me to find the next time I bring a girl up there.” I wondered if Hannah liked luxury cabins in the woods. The one our grandfather had left me was a beauty, and the thought of taking her in front of the fireplace was starting to turn me on.

  Reid chuckled darkly. “Well, I hadn’t thought much about it, but yeah… I guess that would be a hell of a way to piss you off, wouldn’t it? Anyway, I’m getting off the phone now. My jaw really is fuckin’ killing me.”

  “I meant to ask…” I began. “Beth said it was some guy got a little too excited to see a pretty redhead. That how it went down?”

  “Yeah,” Reid said, though he didn’t sound entirely convinced. “I dunno, man. There were a lot of people acting like douchebags tonight. Alcohol just does that to some people.”

  “And yet you manage it sober,” I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. There was no real reason for me to believe anything other than what Reid and Beth said was true. Still, it nagged at me. Something just seemed… off.

  “Fuck you, Ash,” he said. A snappy comeback if there ever was one.

  I rolled my eyes. “Anyway, I gotta go. Have a good one.”

  “You too,” Reid replied. It kind of bothered me that he managed to seem sincere about it.

  I opened my text messages again, ready to let Hannah know about Reid’s plans for Sarah, when her picture message finally came through. I drew my fist to my mouth and bit into it. Fuck, the way she was grabbing her tits…

  Well, I’d wanted a memento, hadn’t I? And I’d finally gotten one.

  My dick desperately wanted me to text her something sexy in return, to cultivate the rapport we’d returned to so easily after our fight, but Reid’s words were ringing in my mind. I knew there was no way I could really enjoy this unless I got rid of them. Reluctantly, I composed a much longer message than I’d intended.

  You’re fucking sexy, love. But before we get into it… Reid called. He wants to take Sarah up to my cabin in the woods. Thought it might be a good idea. Get her somewhere she feels more comfortable. What do you think?

  Hannah typed back, Too soon. He should take her somewhere else first. But low-key. Dinner and a movie, maybe? He needs to take it slow. She has some trust issues.

  I told her, I’ll bring it up. Not tonight, though. The next message I sent her was going to get us back on track. Even as my concern for the girls’ well-being was mounting, so was the pressure in my balls.

  But then Hannah sent me a smiley face and said, Thanks, Ash. For telling me. I appreciate it.

  Fuck… now an utterly different sensation was gathering inside me. Something warm and fuzzy and not at all what I was used to feeling when a woman praised me. I felt… proud of myself. Delighted that she was happy in a non-sexual way. It was unfamiliar. Weird. And I didn’t like it. At least, that was what I tried to tell myself.

  I was trying to think up some kind of reply when Hannah texted me again. Now, I showed you mine. Are you gonna show me yours?

  I let out a breath of relief and turned on my bedside lamp, pulling the sheets aside to snap a quick dick pic. Finally, I was back in my comfort zone.

  9

  Hannah

  Hey, I texted Ash the next evening, wanna come over? I’ve got the house all to myself.

  I received a damn near instantaneous reply—On my way, love—and I grinned to myself, my head full of thoughts of Netflix and chill.

  Beth and Sarah had left not long ago for their respective dates. I had feigned shock when Sarah told me Reid wanted to take her out to dinner and a movie—as if I wasn’t the one who’d suggested it last night—and after a makeover that had left my sister looking both classy and fabulous, I’d recommended that Beth find out if Wyatt wanted to do the same. Maybe not dinner and a movie, though. Something more Beth’s speed. She wanted romance and adventure. Whatever Wyatt had suggested, she’d seemed pretty pleased.

  I was way more comfortable giving Beth a wide berth, even though she was the youngest of our trio. Despite her naïveté, the kid could take care of herself. She was a little ball of defiance, that one, assertive and stubborn to a fault. Still, I knew her feelings for Wyatt might change things, and I’d made sure to let her know, in no uncertain terms, that if she chose to get “closer” to him, it should be for her own reasons—not for his.

  Miller girls had to be reminded to be selfish every once in a while. We simply hadn’t been raised with the idea that we were actual people with needs that extended beyond homemaking and motherhood. Sure, Beth had an independent streak a mile wide, but she could still be taken advantage of. Infatuation makes people do crazy things.

  I should know, because I was starting to think that maybe I was just a little infatuated with Ash Brody.

  I found the thought not entirely displeasing. On the one hand, feelings were feelings, and they always made a mess. On the other hand, at least it wasn’t love. Crushes were fine. They were almost to be expected, especially when fucking came into play. But anything more than that was ill-advised, and I could at least take some solace in the fact that of all the emotions I could’ve felt for Ash, this one was definitely one of the safest.

  Although, even infatuation has its downsides. I shouldn’t have invited him over—not if I wanted to beat him at his own game. I should’ve made him take me out somewhere, made him jump through hoops for the transgression with the name of Tanya. But that would mean going somewhere public, and I was getting damn tired of quick fucks in the dark. I wanted Ash all to myself for a change. I wanted us to take our time together.

  Not slow, mind you. I wasn’t the “lovemaking” kind of girl, and anyway, I didn’t want him getting ideas (not that he would). I just wanted to be able to fully appreciate everything Ash was bringing to the table. I wanted privacy; sex without the threat of being discovered or walked in on.

  And for that, my apartment seemed the perfect place. My turf. My rules.

  I was just thinking of ordering a pizza when Ash knocked on my door. I answered in short-shorts and a black tank. Nothing fancy, but I liked the way it looked with my hot pink bra, the one with the straps that always seemed to fall down my shoulders. Why get dressed up when it was all gonna end up on the floor, anyway?

  To his credit, Ash didn’t seem to mind. He leered at me from behind his shades, looking me up and down. “Damn. Legs for days, love.”

  I laughed. Part of me hated how good it felt to see him. “Thanks,” I said, opening the door wider to let him through. My gaze fell to his hands. “Oh. You brought Chinese.”

  “I did,” he confirmed, setting the bags down on my kitchen counter while I locked up. “Figured I’d surprise you. I was thinking about that one time we had to stay extra late at Trick Shots ‘cause you had to file a police report—remember? That super bloody brawl?”

  I rolled my eyes and perched up on one of the counter stools. “St. Patrick’s Day. How could I forget? All I wanted to do was go home and get off my feet, but no—some college boys had to hit the green beer a little too hard.”

  Ash smiled at me as he pulled the takeout cartons out of the larger bags. “Hey, I did my best to keep the damage to a minimum, but once they started breaking bottles over each other’s faces… well, that called for desperate measures.”

  I remembered only too well. I’d never seen someone so adept at crac
king skulls as Ash was. He’d put those boys down in a matter of minutes, once push came to shove. Trick Shots still ended up with blood absolutely everywhere—facial lacerations gush like a son of a bitch—but we’d all expected much worse before he stepped in. That was where I’d gotten the idea to hire him as protection, actually. I’d let that thought stew for a while the closer it got to Rumspringa, but any time I tried to come up with alternatives, nothing seemed better than the Brody Bunch. The only price tag he was willing to give me, though, involved a date. I’d said no, that I wasn’t that kind of girl. I didn’t date players. But I would fuck him in the bathroom, if that suited him.

  And the rest is history.

  “That night was the worst,” I mumbled, not at all referring to our first tryst in the bathroom.

  Ash opened up a little box of rice. “Well, I was thinking about it earlier. And I remembered… we were all there so long, and we were so hungry ‘cause when the rush came in that night, no one even had time to heat up a burrito, and you pulled out this takeout menu and slapped it down on the bar top and said, ‘This is the best goddamn Chinese food in all of Bright Falls. You fuckers want any? ‘Cause I’m buying.’” He grinned. “You were so pissed off. So hangry. It was adorable.”

  I glanced at the bags. Shit… I hadn’t noticed before when he’d come in, but now that I saw the logo…

  “You remembered,” I said quietly, more than a little surprised. “I… um…” I shook my head and laughed a little. “Jeez, thank you.”

  “No problem,” he said, shoving an entrée covered in foil toward me. “Plates?”

  “Cabinet to the right of the fridge,” I instructed him, taking a peek beneath the foil. My cheeks burned. “Dude. You remembered what I ordered, too?”

  With practiced ease, Ash smirked and shrugged his shoulders. “What can I say, love? It was a memorable night.”