Make You Mine (Nixon Brooks Book 1)

by Tess Keeler

  She gasped, “You like Pokemon?”

  I nodded. “I do, but I don’t know nearly as much as you do. Nix tells me you’re an expert.”

  “That’s true. I am!” She looked in Nixon’s direction, and I followed her gaze. “Does this mean we’re all going Pokemon hunting?”

  The corners of his lips twitched as he nodded, “Of course, kid. I always take you at least once.”

  “Eeeep!” she screeched.

  She had her fingers wrapped around mine, pulling me into their childhood home. I took in the ambiance, and while it felt like a home, it didn’t feel like Nixon’s home. Not really. I lost my boyfriend’s grasp in the process, and I tried not to panic as I was forced right into it. “Mom! Dad! Nixon’s girlfriend’s here!”

  Their parents seemed to be getting along when they approached me, both smiling. I was glad, for the family’s sake. “I’ve heard so much about you both,” I said, reaching out to shake both of their hands. “Nixon loves all of you so much.”

  “We know that,” his father said proudly, I think.

  I nodded a few times and smiled. “Thank you for letting me stay here.”

  “You’re welcome here anytime,” Nixon’s mother said to me, sadness reflecting in her eyes. I wondered if she always looked sad, because of the stress.

  “Alright. I’m going to show her to her room now. Bye!”

  Bella was pulling me around again, but this time, Nixon was ahead of her, taking the stairs two at a time. His legs were so long. I didn’t know if he could take them normally. They showed me the bathroom and Bella’s room before bringing me to my main interest: Nixon’s room. Everything on his walls was music related: he had several awards placed on a minimalistic shelf, a few posters of his favorite artists, one framed vinyl, and a few guitars. His room felt entirely like him, and I basked in it as I dropped Bella’s hand. I ran my fingers across the smooth surface of his instruments before moving on to examine which record he had framed: John Mayer.

  “You’re right. She is really pretty.”

  The sound of Bella’s voice made me turn, and I caught Nixon looking at her with wide eyes and a cut it out motion. When he noticed me watching them, he ran his fingers through his hair and released a strangled laugh, “Some secrets don’t have to come out, Bells.”

  “Don’t want me to know how pretty I am?” I teased, leaning back after sitting down on his bed.

  I loved how expressive his eyebrows were, constantly lifting when I challenged him. A smile slowly stretched across his face, revealing every straight tooth like a prize.

  “You don’t tell her how pretty she is?!” Bella shrieked, and I laughed at his attempt to formulate words. He kept opening his mouth just to close it again. Sometimes, it was best to leave children out of it.

  “Bells, do you have any homework you need to finish before dinner?”

  She groaned his name, and the look she gave him best resembled a puppy. “I want to hang out with you guys.”

  “Afterwards. I promise.” He shooed her out, kindly. Nixon didn’t do anything that wasn’t. “The sooner you finish, the sooner we can watch a movie or something.”

  “Okay!” she said, her attitude flipping entirely as she skipped out and down the hall.

  My cheeks were aching with overuse when he closed and locked the door. I looked up at him as he walked over to me, towering me like he did. I was still propped up on my hands.

  He leaned forward onto his hands, hovering above my body as his fists sunk into the mattress. “Trying to turn my little sister against me, are you?” he asked, sultry and smooth.

  I wet my lips and batted my eyelashes. “Why ever would you think that?”

  His right hand lifted to play with my chin, his index and middle finger pinching the area softly. “I don’t know. Seems like you two are teaming up against me.”

  Our faces were getting closer, and I willed his body to fall into mine. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I whispered, my eyes searching his. Reading them.

  My breaths were getting heavier as our chests gravitated together. I was desperate for the contact as his lips brushed mine, stealing what little air remained. My entire body was tingling when he finally kissed me, relieving the tension only some. That wouldn’t be enough.

  I ripped my arms from the bed and wrapped them around his neck, pulling his head down with me. He continued to hold himself up just above me, torturing me. I channeled the desire into the kiss, our lips parting feverishly, tongues swiping and dancing, breaths few and far between. My fingertips slid into his hair, running all the way up and tightening at the crown of his head.

  My lungs were depleted, but I continued to kiss him anyway. I needed it more than I needed to breathe.

  Nixon’s knee moved between my legs and my chest constricted even more, one of his arms sliding beneath my torso at the same time. He was lifting me, placing me closer to his pillows. I spread my legs apart, allowing him space to put his. He lowered his body on top of mine, finally. I was a goner.

  I broke apart our lips and panted toward the ceiling, but his soft lips found other sections of skin to kiss. Near my ear and down my neck. His hands were starting to roam, tracing up my sides from my hips to my chest. My breasts weren’t small, quite the opposite actually, leaving them exposed to his gentle movements. As he pushed into them, I whimpered. His large hands stopping at the sound, turning inward to massage them slowly. He released a shaky sigh loud enough for me to hear, resembling the relief I felt to have him touching me. He lingered there for only a few minutes before one of his hands pulled down the collar of my shirt, pressing his lips down on the newly exposed skin. He dragged them as my breath hitched before covering a small section and sucking gently. I slipped out of his hair and grabbed at his back, digging my fingertips into his flexing muscles. His back was so sexy—all of him was.

  “Oh,” I moaned, my entire body on fire beneath him. It was consuming me, and I was losing any composure I had in regard to him. His free hand was painting over my left leg, from my ankle to my thigh. He sucked harder, and I squirmed at the thought of him leaving a mark on me. I rolled my hips up against his, feeling his strength fighting the tight material of his jeans. “Nixon…”

  The groan he released caused me to throb just before he whispered my name. My body was trembling with an overload of emotions and need. His hand moved further, exploring my lower stomach just beneath my shirt.

  The doorknob rattled before the entire door shook with a few rapid knocks. “Guys, I’m ready to watch a movie!” Bella’s sweet voice made it through the door and I dropped my head into his pillows with another whimper. We both laid there a second, breathing through the hand we were given. It was physically painful how badly I wanted him, but his family was important to him. Bella was important to him.

  “We’ll be there in just a second, Bella!” I yelled back, trying to sound normal as I rubbed the skin my nails had dug into. We looked at each other, both struggling to pull ourselves together. “Can we continue this later?” I asked, trying my best to purr at him.

  The size of his dilated pupils made his eyes darker—black. Trying not to listen to the erotic sounds of his panting, I waited for the nod that followed after some thought. I leaned in to kiss his lips once more, sealing our deal.

  Later.

  1

  Make You Mine

  CHAPTER NINE

  Nixon

  Bella fell asleep between Harper and me during the movie, and neither of us had the heart to possibly wake her until we were absolutely ready for bed. I picked her up and moved her to her room while Harper chose something to watch.

  After tucking her in and turning on her starry night light, I closed her door behind myself and headed back to my room. The room was dark when I entered, only the glow of the television providing light. Harper was laying on her right side, her breathing steady. Was she asleep already? I took my shirt off, leaving my black pajama pants the only thing covering my body. Carefully, I cli
mbed in behind her and tried to get comfortable without disturbing her. With my arm tucked under my pillow, I wrapped my arm around her and got as close as I could to mold into the way she was laying.

  She hummed softly, and I kissed her shoulder before letting myself relax.

  “Goodnight, Harper.” I breathed, enjoying the warmth radiating from her body.

  I could hear the smile in her quiet voice as she responded to me, “Goodnight, Nixon.”

  Waking up to Harper was like heaven on earth. Kissing her awake was icing on the cake. My heart was doing crazy things as we got up and got ready. We were taking Bella to school after breakfast, then promised to pick her up afterward. I could only hope Harper wouldn’t be too upset with me for telling Bella we would. She didn’t seem to mind.

  For breakfast, we went to First Watch— a tradition for Bella and me when I came home. It was nice sitting with my two favorite people in the entire world— my girls. I felt like I had heart eyes the entire time, especially when they would start laughing and whispering. Even though it was rude to stare, I couldn’t help it. They were getting along so well, so different from my last relationship experience.

  We pulled into the line to drop Bella off, and I forgot how long you had to sit to drop them off. School traffic was awful. Once we got to the spot we needed to be to let her out, she climbed out with her Eevee Evolution book bag bouncing behind her.

  “Remember, be here at 3:55 pm!” She teased me, crossing her arms a moment as I turned to look at her. “Harper, please don’t let him forget.”

  “Bella, I’ve never forgotten you,” I stated simply, lifting my eyebrows at her.

  She shook her head, “No, but dad has.”

  I glanced at Harper after feeling her eyes on me. Looking back at Bella after releasing a deep breath, I said, “I’m not dad.”

  “I know,” She turned to Harper, “See you at 3:55 pm?”

  Harper smiled at her, and I admired the way her cheeks rose as she did. The smooth skin of her neck was exposed with the plunging neckline on her yellow and white floral dress. When she turned back to me, I admired the way the happiness she was feeling was confirmed by the appearance of the adorable dimples she had below each side of her bottom lip. God, she was breathtaking.

  “We’ll be here by 3:30 pm.” I had to make up for my family’s shortcoming. Bella was too wonderful to be affected by them.

  Harper and I waited until she was inside before I moved. I got a lot of pissed parents and teachers yelling at me to leave, but they didn’t understand the lack of time I had with my little sister. I was going to enjoy every second.

  We were heading downtown to meet up with Asher at the Center of the Universe, our fingers staying tangled the entire ride. It made me feel so centered, being connected to her. I had never been so preoccupied with someone like this— not even Rosie.

  Since it was a weekday, we got a decent parking spot in the lot closest to our destination. I saw Asher’s car a little further up— it was rare that he beat me places.

  As we parked, I squeezed Harper’s hand with mine. Both of her hands were resting with mine in her lap, and she looked down at the contact before lifting her eyes to me.

  “Are you ready to meet my best friend?”

  “Let’s do this.” The expression she was wearing was filled with curiosity and slight amusement. I blew a breath between my lips, pulling myself out and moving to her side to open the door. I still wasn’t sure if Harper was used to me yet, because she would reach for the handle but then hesitate.

  I helped her out, and she shivered at the breeze almost immediately. Without a thought, my light blue denim jacket was off, and being held out to her. I had my navy blue long sleeved button up on; I’d be fine.

  Our hands were like magnets, immediately connecting as our legs pushing us up the slight slope until the mess of blonde was visible.

  He saw us, and his arms went up in excitement. His oversized beige sweater hung off of his medium build, and his brown pants had a long chain on either side hanging from it. The black Vans he was wearing were the ones I bought him last Christmas.

  I looked to Harper again, leaning over to kiss her cheek before we got to him.

  “Hey!” He had been smoking. I could smell it radiating off of him. “Harper, hey, I’m Asher!”

  She offered him a small smile and extended her hand to him. “Hey, nice to meet you finally.”

  “Does this guy ever even mention me?” He took her hand, and I knew he was playing with what he said. I still rolled my eyes.

  Harper interjected, “Yes. A lot, actually.”

  “No shit, all good?” He seemed skeptical, and I shoved him a little.

  “All good,” Harper assured him, and that seemed to satisfy him enough for us to move on.

  We showed her what we had come to see, each of us taking a moment in the center to echo out something ridiculous. As much of a handful as Asher could be, Harper seemed to handle him with ease. My heart was overflowing as we talked about her, and Asher told her old stories about me. Like the first time we met and my black eye. Then he proceeded to tell her about the time I threw up from eating too much cake when I was fourteen. And how I dressed up as Harry Potter for three Halloweens in a row. They were laughing a lot as we reminisced, and it made me warm all over with how easy everything was.

  After dropping Asher’s car off at his place, we continued to hit up all the tourist type attractions in one car to save gas. It was just easier this way anyway.

  We saved Woodward Park until after Bella was off since it was a great place to hunt Pokemon. I felt like I drove through every piece of Tulsa that day, but it was worth it to show Harper all of the places special to me and my hometown.

  After grabbing coffee at Starbucks right after picking up Bella, we headed back towards Brookside. It was a nice afternoon to be out, and having all of them in one car was an incredible feeling.

  When we arrived, I parked by the Rose Garden, and Bella immediately told us what Pokemon were around. Asher already had his account pulled up, too, but he leaned forward between the seats to whisper something to me.

  “I’m going to entertain Bella as much and often as possible so that you and Harper can get spurts of alone time.”

  I didn’t respond with words but rather our special handshake. Harper looked amused after Asher’s presence moved back to climb out, and I waited until both doors had closed until I spoke.

  “Are you enjoying your day learning about my childhood and my city?”

  Her eyes were smiling at me, just as big of one as her lips were curled into. “I enjoy every day with you.”

  We had these moments where our eyes connected, and we were silent— but those moments said so much. I took in a deep breath as Bella knocked on my window, begging us to come out. I turned around, laughing and throwing my hands up.

  “Alright, alright.”

  Harper and Bella were really into catching Pokemon, and honestly? I was just there for their interactions at this point. My stomach was flipping when I watched them high-fiving and getting excited over getting “cute” Pokemon. Rosie never tried to get to know Bella, one of the many things Harper had over Rosie.

  Asher and Bella decided to head towards the actual park, and I excused Harper and I because I wanted to show her more of the garden.

  We put our phones in our back pockets and I helped her down the slight hill that would get us to where we were going. The small white greenhouse was next to Garden Center, and it was where one of my good friends, Matt, got married to his boyfriend almost a year ago.

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I said as I walked behind her, our arms connected by our fingers.

  No one else was in there and I was grateful. I wanted just a few moments of privacy with my girlfriend.

  “It’s gorgeous. I love it.”

  I let her guide me to the sections, waiting until we got into the right wing before we lingered at all.

  The sun was starting to go down, an
d I could hear the faint sounds of crickets chirping in the distance. She had let go of my hand to move to the far left side, looking at the thriving plants for a moment.

  Getting lost, I admired the way my jacket looked hanging from her shoulders and her smooth, soft legs extending out from the slightly short dress she was wearing. Her hair was hanging over her chest, and I knew that her vanilla scent would be all over my jacket after today.

  Her eyes were so curious, examining all the details around her and every move she made I could feel deep in my chest.

  “Harps?” I asked quietly, my nerves easing when our eyes met.

  “Yeah, Nix?” she replied, her voice just as soft as mine.

  I moved over to her, closing the few feet of distance between us. My hands slid over her hips as our bodies met fluidly.

  Taking a deep breath, I studied her eyes as I said the words I never thought I’d say to anyone, “I’m in love with you.”

  Those bright blue eyes stared up at me, her teeth taking out the surprise on her plump bottom lip. I touched her chin gently between my pointer finger and thumb, feeling nerves rattling every inch of my body. Even though I felt it, what if it was it too soon to say it? What would happen in my heart if she didn’t feel the same? I could feel my skin heating up as my thoughts ran wild.

  “I’m in love with you, too, Nixon.” Her arms had moved to wrap around my neck, her fingers tickling the shorter pieces at the nape of my neck. I was shaking with the emotional overload pulsing through my body.

  “Yeah?” I asked playfully, lifting my eyebrows as a smirk pulled at my wide lips.

  Nodding, her light blue eyes peeked out through her heavy eyelids. “Yes,” she breathed out. “I’m crazy about you.”

  Hearing her say that made my heart race, and I acted on all of the emotions trying to burst out. Moving my hands down, I lifted her by her thighs onto the small ledge by where we were standing. My body rested between her legs as I kissed her, sensuously parting my lips to taste her. My hands curled around her lower back, pulling her against me until there was no more space. I needed to be close to her.