“Where’s my wife and son?” Marc screamed into her ear.
Stephanie didn’t mince words. “What do you want?” Stephanie gritted her teeth, she never hated someone, but Marc had become the first.
“First of all, she won’t be your wife much longer. She already filed for a divorce, Marc, or are you so high you don’t remember that.” Stephanie gritted her teeth. She never thought she could hate someone, but Marc made that a reality.
“Listen here you self-righteous bitch, it’s none of your fucking business,” Marc growled. “I want to know where they are. Right now.”
“I wouldn’t tell you where they were if you were on your death bed, asshole,” She yelled.
“You better tell me or you’ll be in for a world of hurt, little girl.” His voice was sinister, but Stephanie wasn’t afraid of him. At least she didn’t feel afraid.
“Fuck off and drop dead. I’m not telling you anything.” She yelled. “She’s where you can’t hurt her or Danny anymore, so don’t ever call me again.” Stephanie ended the call and tossed her phone on the couch. She pressed her fists into her eyes and roared. It took a lot to make her angry, but at this point her heart was thundering and her body trembled. Marc put her sister through hell, and if he thought he was going to get any information out of her, then he was sadly mistaken.
She needed to calm down. This type of anger was not good for anyone. Closing her eyes and taking several deep breaths helped her body start to relax, but a knock made her jolt upright. Jumpin’ Jesus.
“Come in!” She called out. The door opened and her heart skipped.
“Is everything okay, Stephanie?” John had concern written all over his handsome face. She cringed.
“It’s nothing. I just got a call from my soon to be ex brother in law.” She sighed as John sat next to her. “He wanted me to tell him where Marina and Danny are.” Why couldn’t Marina find a guy like John? “It’s a long story, but I’m not telling him anything.” With all the conversations they’d had over the past few months, Stephanie never really told him much about her sister’s situation.
“Is he dangerous?” That was definitely the policeman in him coming out.
“Not to me, but he put my sister through a lot, and she’s finally getting back on her feet.” She swallowed against the lump in her throat. “She’s away from him and that’s all that matters.”
“If he starts bothering you, make sure you let me know.” He was serious. She smiled. It was nice he wanted to protect her.
“I’ll be fine,” She said. “Was there something else?” Like you want to kiss me again.
“Yeah.” He smiled. “I just wanted to let you know, it’s gonna be a bit loud here for a few hours. My brothers are here to rehearse.”
“Really! Can I watch?” The words were out of her mouth before she knew it.
“Sure, but most of the music we do isn’t recent stuff.” John seemed a little embarrassed. “Mostly the oldies, like the sixties, seventies, eighties stuff. We do country too, and depending on the venue we do some Newfie music”
“I grew up with that stuff. My parents listened to all kinds of music.” She smiled.
“Mine too. I guess that’s why we got used to playing it.” He stood up and headed toward the door. “We’re getting the equipment set up. Should be ready in about an hour.” He stopped. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. Really. He doesn’t worry me.”
John winked and closed the door behind him. The man was sex on a stick, there was no question about it. Stephanie flopped back on the couch with a sigh.
Her thoughts went back to Marina. Should she call her sister and tell her Marc was looking for her? It would upset her to know Marc contacted Stephanie. Marina was happy now or at least she seemed to be. She was over two thousand kilometers away. Marc wouldn’t be able to find her. No, Marina didn’t need to know Marc was looking for her.
Stephanie closed her eyes. She took a couple of deep breaths and the tension in her body eased. The faint sound of music made her open her eyes. She listened, but she didn’t recognize the song. She listened again. It sounded like everyone was playing a different song. They were probably just tuning instruments. She grabbed her phone off the couch and headed to the door. She pulled open the door and almost ran into Kristy.
“Oh, I was just coming to get you.” Kristy laughed. “They’re ready to start, and the guys have a surprise song for John.”
“Oh!” Stephanie closed the door behind her and followed Kristy into the living room.
“Something about motivational music but the guys hope he’ll think it’s a good addition to their list.” The room no longer looked like John’s living room. All the furniture was pushed back against the walls. Drums, guitars, and a keyboard stood in the center with two microphones in front. Kristy grabbed her hand and dragged her over to the couch.
“You know, that part of the family got all the talent.” Kristy giggled.
“Why don’t Ian, Keith, and James play with them?” James was leaning against the doorframe and Ian sat on the arm of the chair. Keith was plugging in some equipment.
“It’s not that they can’t play or sing because those guys got pipes. They just never liked being in the spotlight. Especially, Keith.” Kristy explained. “So they stay on the sidelines like me, and just help set everything up, but honestly James is an amazing singer. Ian can sing too, and Keith can play pretty much any instrument you put in front of him.”
“Do Isabelle and Jess help out?” Stephanie liked the three sisters. They were funny.
“Isabelle doesn’t really have time. She’s got restaurant and that’s pretty much her life and Jess, well, let’s just say Jess doesn’t like to be around the members of the band that are not related to us. Well at least one of them anyway.”
Stephanie noticed two men she didn’t know. Kristy explained the drummer was Cory Fleming. He was in the police academy with Aaron and they’d been friends for years. The guitar player was Jason Brenton. He was Nick’s friend and a lawyer.
“So which one is the reason Jess isn’t here?”
“That would be Jason. Jess used to date him, but something happened and now they can’t even be in the same room together. Jess hasn’t told anyone what happened and apparently, neither has Jason.”
“That’s not good.” Stephanie said and Kristy nodded in agreement.
John walked into the living room. Even with the abundance of gorgeous looking men, he was the only one to make her breath catch. His jeans hung low on his slim hips. The grey T-shirt clung to his chiseled chest and abdominals. He should be arrested for looking that good.
John seemed to search her out when he moved into the room. His eyes met hers and her cheeks warmed. He smiled at her. How did he constantly make her heart flutter with that smile? It seemed like when he entered the room nobody else existed. It was just her and him.
Then the spell was broken when Kristy nudged her shoulder. “I think my cousin has a little crush on you.”
If Stephanie was being completely honest. She was a little smitten herself. Oh, who was she kidding? She was completely bewitched by him.
“Before we start, we’ve got a song we want to play for John.” The sound of Aaron’s voice echoed through the room. He motioned for John to sit on the stool next to James. Aaron grinned as the music started. Stephanie recognized it right away. Eye of the Tiger. She glanced at John. He was laughing and shaking his head.
“This is for you, bro.” Aaron started to sing and it sounded great. He really did have an amazing voice. John’s elbows rested on his knees, and he grinned at his brother. When the song ended John slid off the stool and approached Aaron.
“I know that was just an attempt to poke fun, but it did sound great.” John chuckled.
“I really think we should do it, though. As that beauty over there said, it can be motivational.” Aaron’s normally mischievous grin was gone. He was sincere. “A lot of those sick kids need that motivatio
n, and maybe it can motivate people to donate more.” A small lump formed in her throat and her eyes filled with tears. Aaron really had a heart of gold. John ruffled his hair.
“You’re right, A.J. Motivation really helps and we should do it.” John turned and winked at Stephanie. She couldn’t help it, but her cheeks burned and she had to hold herself back from running across the room and jumping his bones.
For the next few hours, they played dozens of songs. Some of them she recognized as favorites of her parents and others she didn’t know. Ian held a clipboard and wrote down each song they agreed to add to the playlist. For a bunch of guys who were only doing this as a hobby, they were impressive. Hell, they were better than a lot of bands she heard on the radio.
“Hey, John what about, ‘You are the Woman’ by Firefall?” James asked. “You know it’s one of Mom’s favorites and she expects you to sing it every time.” James glanced over at Stephanie and grinned. “I think you’ve got the inspiration for it in front of you.” She didn’t recognize the band name. Probably, before her time.
“Come on John, let’s see if you still got it.” Nick teased. Ian pulled the stool over next to the microphone, and John sat down. He glanced up at her and gave her a shy smile. When the music started Stephanie still didn’t recognize it, but as he started to sing his eyes didn’t leave hers.
“You are the woman that I’ve always dreamed of, I knew it from the start.” John’s voice was low and husky but perfect tone. At least it sounded perfect to her. If someone told her to look away or she’d die, Stephanie would’ve died then and there. Everything about him singing entranced her. Her heart pounded as he sang each verse. It was as if nobody else was in the room. All she could see and hear was John.
The end of the song came way too soon. Stephanie could’ve listened to him all night. The room erupted into a chorus of hoots and hollers. John lowered his head. When he lifted it again, his eyes went straight to her. They were sparkling and that damn dimple. That was it. She knew at that very second. She was in love.
“I guess having a beautiful lady in the room makes John sing with all his heart.” Kristy teased as she pushed Stephanie with her shoulder. She didn’t need a mirror to know her face glowed red when all eyes turned to her.
“Inspiration is everything, Cuz.” John winked at Stephanie.
Rehearsal finished and John chatted with his brothers and cousins. He’d be tired once they left. Stephanie slipped around the people standing in the hallway. She reached for the door of her apartment when John grabbed her hand.
“Did you have fun?” He took both of her hands in his while the last of his family exited through the front door.
“Yeah, I did.” She smiled. “You guys are incredible.”
“Thanks.” He glanced down to where he held her hands.
“I’ve never heard that song before.” The song made her almost melt into the floor.
“It’s an oldie but a goodie.” He chuckled. “My dad sang it to my mom when he proposed. So it’s always been her favorite.”
“That is so sweet.” Stephanie gazed into his eyes. “I guess you get your talent from him.”
“Yeah.” John’s gaze moved to her lips.
“You’ve got an amazing voice.” He didn’t say anything. His eyes moved back to hers and she swallowed hard. “The band is really good.” Why did her voice sound so breathy? She couldn’t think with the way he was looking at her.
“Thanks.” His voice was low and it seemed like the last thing he wanted to talk about was the band. John reached up and ran his knuckle down her cheek.
“John.” Stephanie was surprised he even heard her.
“I don’t want to say good-night right now.” His thumb grazed her bottom lip.
“What about going slow?” Rushing into things never worked.
“I just want to spend some time with you.”
“We can watch a movie.” That could be a great distraction. At the moment, the only thing she could think about was stripping him naked and licking him from head to toe.
“Sounds great!” Oh, thank God. “We’ll have to watch in your apartment because all the equipment is in the way. You pick a movie and I’ll make some popcorn.”
Stephanie plopped down on the couch and scanned through Netflix. She finally settled on a horror movie she wanted to see. It would be safer than the romance movies she usually watched. John came back into her apartment holding a huge bowl of popcorn in one hand and a couple of sodas in the other.
“So what are we watching?” He put the bowl and sodas on the table. He glanced at the screen with a grin. “You like horror movies?”
“Love them.” She didn’t really, but it would keep things in the PG zone.
“Me too, but I never met a girl who liked them.” John sat back and placed the bowl in his lap. He popped a few pieces of popcorn in his mouth, and his tongue darted out to lick the butter off his lips. Stephanie pressed her legs together to at least try and calm the sensation between them. Thoughts of his tongue sliding over her skin made her stomach flutter. The heat of his leg pressed up against hers was making it very hard to concentrate. Why exactly did she want to keep things slow? At this point, she really couldn’t remember. She was never so sexually aware of anyone in her life.
Half way through the movie Stephanie was wound so tight she thought she would spontaneously combust. John leaned forward to put the bowl back on the table and the muscles in his arms flexed. Damn it. Was he doing this on purpose? Did the man know she was ready to explode? He leaned back and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Her eyes closed as he played with a strand of her hair. It seemed purely innocent, but it was driving her crazy. His other hand was resting on his thigh. Hell, even his hands were sexy. Thoughts of his strong hands caressing her entire body while he pressed against her made her mouth go dry. Stop it.
“Are you cold, sweetheart?” Damn. He felt her shiver.
“Not really.” Her body was on fire. John placed his finger under her chin and tilted her head up. There was no choice but to look into his eyes.
“What’s wrong? You seem like you’re about to jump out of your skin. Is the movie scaring you?” John chuckled.
“What movie?” Her eyes went straight to his lips and his grin disappeared. “John, kiss me, please.” That sounded really desperate but hell, she was desperate.
“Baby, you don’t know how much I want to kiss you, but I don’t know if I could stop with just kissing you.” She wasn’t the only one feeling the electricity between them. John’s eyes were dilated. It looked like his eyes were an even darker blue.
“Kiss me. Now.” Stephanie pressed against him. Her lips almost touching his. Her hand against his chest feeling his heart pounding as hard as hers. He gazed into her eyes, and for a moment she thought he was going to pull away.
“Stephanie.” John tangled his hand in her hair and pressed his lips against hers. His kiss was desperate.
She grabbed the front of his shirt into her fists, pulling him closer.
His tongue penetrated her mouth and she couldn’t hold back the moan deep in her throat. He moved his hands down to her waist and lifted her into his lap. Stephanie straddled his legs and his erection pressed against her core. A sound somewhere between a groan and a growl vibrated in his chest when he pressed his lips against the nape of her neck. His hands cupped her ass and pulled her hard against him
“John.” Stephanie whispered into his ear and nibbled a trail down the side of his neck.
John shivered. “Stephanie, I want you so bad.” John scooped her up into his arms and stood.
She wrapped her legs around his waist not wanting to break the connection between their bodies.
“Baby, I’m almost at the point of no return.” John moaned into her neck as he nipped his way up to her ear. “You’ve got to tell me to stop now, because once I get you in my bed I’m not going to be able to stop.” His hot breath against her skin set her on fire.
“Take me to your room.
” Stephanie was breathless, and the next thing she knew she was flat on her back in his bed. John kissed her hard as he hovered above her. Dear God.
Chapter 19
Every sound she made was vibrating through his body making him harder than he’d ever been in his life. He had to slow down, but it was damn hard to do. He’d wanted her for so long. Longed to feel her soft skin against his. To feel her writhe beneath him. Feel her come around him. Fuck.
John pulled his lips from hers and gazed into her eyes. Her desire was mirrored in her eyes. Her cheeks were flushed with arousal and he was sure her body was vibrating.
There was still way too much clothing between them. John needed to feel her skin against his. He yanked his T-shirt over his head and threw it to the floor. Stephanie’s top followed it. Her nipples were pebbled behind the thin fabric of her bra. The sight almost did him in. His mouth covered her nipple and gently rolled it between his teeth. Her back arched and her nails lightly grazed his naked chest.
“I need you naked,” John growled against her breast. John didn’t know where her clothes went but to his relief Stephanie was laying under him beautifully naked. Well almost. The only exception was a pair of sheer pink thongs that barely covered her sex. John hovered above a hand on either side of her. He took his time and devoured her body with his eyes. “God, you have to be the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Can you stop talking and get the rest of your clothes off.” She giggled.
John didn’t want to move away from her, but he needed to get the rest of his clothes off. Fast. He stood next to the bed and pulled his jeans and boxers off in one swift movement. His erection stood straight up against his stomach.
Stephanie knelt on the bed. Her long blonde hair fell over her shoulders and lay against the top of her round firm breasts. “So much better than I imagined.” She purred as her finger lightly circled the tip. Spreading the moisture around the head.
Dangerous Therapy: O'Connor Brothers (Volume 1) Page 15