There's Warmth: A Friends to Lovers Romance (Where There's Smoak Book 1)

by Nadine Hudson

  “She’s just had a lot to drink and I think she just needs to go home. And not with Mitch.”

  I grip my phone and steering wheel tightly to the point that I think I might crush them with my bare hand. A wave of rage washes over me and my face turns hot.

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes.” I drop my phone on the seat beside me and grab the wheel with two hands as I pick up speed toward Micky’s.

  ****

  Brooke

  We’ve only been here for about two hours, but my buzz has set into full blast. Mission accomplished. I feel nothing. Nothing, but buzzed. I drag Bobby out of his seat and to the dance floor. He laughs and sways along with me. We sing loudly and off-key together to the music. I don’t think we’re moving to the beat at all but I don’t really care either. As I spin myself around, the room looks like a blur of dark colors. I stop spinning, but the room doesn’t. I start to stumble and just when I feel like I’m about to fall over I feel two hands catch me under my arms. I look over my shoulder to see Mitch’s bright smile looking down at me.

  “Don’t worry, Brooke. I got you,” he says, taking me into his arms.

  For some reason, right now he looks so good. And I decide in an instant that I want him. He can be the cherry on top of my forget-about-Conner mission. And tonight, Conner isn’t here to stop me. I smile wickedly at the thought. I wrap my arms around Mitch’s neck and press my body against him. He doesn’t hesitate to push himself back into me. He wraps me tightly in his arms and moves with me to the music. I feel his hands grasp my ass.

  “You look so sexy,” he breathes into my ear and my body tingles at the heat of his breath against me. I want him. Badly. He leans into me, bending me backward and his lips find mine. He kisses me hard as his hands explore my body. For a brief second, I worry about all the people probably watching right now but quickly decide that I don’t care. I have a man here who wants me as much as I want him and I deserve to be happy too.

  Suddenly, I feel a hand on my shoulder pulling me away from him.

  “Hey, Brooke. I think maybe it’s time we head out, huh?” Bobby says looking at me then to Mitch, a look of concern in his expression.

  “Hey, Bobby, it’s all good. We’re just having some fun.” Mitch says with a smile, wrapping me in his arms again.

  “Cut the shit, Mitch. She’s obviously trashed.”

  “Aww, she’s not that drunk. Are you, baby?” he turns his head to me and kisses my neck.

  “I’m hardly drunk at all, Bobby! It’s okay! I’m fiiinnneee!” I try to reassure him, but I am struggling to focus on his face and I can’t tell if it worked.

  “Brooke. Seriously, I think it’s time we go. C’mon, I’ll take you home.” He reaches for my arm but I rip away from him and retreat under Mitch’s embrace.

  “No! Why don’t you want me to be happy? Nobody wants me to be happy! I just want to stay with Mitch! He makes me happy!” I yell at Bobby.

  “You heard the lady, Bobby. She says she’s not drunk and she wants to stay with me. Why don’t you just go home?” Mitch gives Bobby a cocky smirk then turns away from him and back to me, folding me into his arms.

  I feel a little guilty when I see the look of disappointment on Bobby’s face. He turns away from me and walks over to Marcy at the bar. Mitch’s hands on my body and mouth on my neck distract me from the guilt. This makes me happy. Feeling wanted by someone. Having someone caress me and touch me and not just in some pathetic dream.

  Mitch presses himself against me and I can feel his stiffness through his pants.

  “Look what you’re doing to me, baby.” He whispers in my ear and my body shudders with desire, the alcohol enhancing the feeling of pleasure. I moan against his mouth.

  “I want you, Mitch. Now.”

  His strong hands grip me harder and I know he wants me too. He’s as desperate as I am. I don’t know how much longer I can control myself. But I know I can’t have him here.

  I grab the back of his neck and pull his ear to my mouth. I drag my teeth along his earlobe. “Take me somewhere, Mitch.” I breathe into his ear. In an instant, he has my hand and is dragging me toward the door. This is happening. I want this. I need this. I start to feel giddy as we near the exit. Before we make it there, Marcy steps into our path.

  “Hey, Brooke! You heading out already?” her tone is cautious as if she’s choosing her words carefully.

  “It’s okay, Marcy. Mitch here is gonna take me home,” I tell her, smiling as I grasp tightly to his hand and wrap an arm around his waist.

  “Yeah, I’m sure he is,” she replies, looking him up and down. A look of disgust on her face.

  What is everyone’s problem?

  “Bobby bought you a drink though. You better come finish it up before you go. He seemed pretty upset after you yelled at him.”

  “Go ahead, baby. Just think of it as delayed gratification,” Mitch murmurs into my ear. We turn together and he follows me back to the bar, his hands on my waist. He keeps me wrapped up tightly as I stand at the bar and start gulping my beer. Bobby sits on the stool next to me but doesn’t say anything.

  “I’m sorry I yelled..hiccup..at you, Bobby,” I say, hiccups interrupting my words.

  “It’s okay, Brooke,” he says, glancing at me before glaring back at Mitch.

  “I still think you should let me drive you home.”

  I rest my hand on his shoulder. “I’ll be fine, Bobby. I know..hiccup...you’re worried about me, but I know what I’m doing...hiccup.”

  He pats my hand still resting on his shoulder but his expression doesn’t look like he believes me.

  I take a few more gulps of my beer before Mitch spins me around. Taking my face in his hands he kisses me again hard. I open my mouth letting his tongue inside. He tastes like beer but I don’t care. He’s real. He’s not a dream and he wants me. I turn back to the bar and throw back the last sip of beer left in my glass.

  “Okay, Mitch. Let’s go.” I start to turn from the bar.

  “Don’t worry, Bobby,” Mitch says, patting him hard on the shoulder, “I’ll take good care of her.”

  “Like fuck you will!”

  I peek over Mitch’s shoulder to see Conner standing just inside the door. Ah shit. Here comes the party pooper. His shoulders are rising and falling quickly like he’s out of breath. The tops of his shoulders are wet and his hair is soaked. He looks fierce. And for some reason I can’t help but think he looks sexy as hell! He moves toward us, his eyes not leaving Mitch’s.

  “Hey, Conner,” Mitch says in a friendly voice. “Let me buy you a beer buddy.” Taking his hands off of me immediately, he turns back to the bar and yells to Marcy, “Hey grab Smoak here a beer, huh? On me.” He turns back to Conner, a big smile on his face.

  “Go get in the truck, Brooke,” he growls at me, but not breaking his gaze from Mitch.

  “No. No. No.” My liquid courage chimes in and I wave a wobbly finger at him. “You see, Mitch is gonna take me home,” I reply, patting Mitch’s chest. I can see the rage building up in Conner’s face as he watches my hand touch Mitch, but I don’t care. I continue, “I don’t need you to take me home. And I especially don’t need you to save me, Conner!”

  Conner looks down at me. There’s an anger in his eyes that I’ve never seen before. “Get in the fucking truck, Brooke.”

  “Hey, c’mon bro. Take it easy. No reason to talk to her like that.” Mitch finally speaks up as he wraps a hand around my waist and pulls me closer to him. Yeah. No reason at all. “Look, she wants to leave with me. We’re both adults. There doesn’t have to be any issues here. I’ll text you once I drop her off. No harm will come to her.” He squeezes my waist with his hand.

  Glaring back at Mitch, Conner steps closer. “I’m gonna say this once Mitch. Take your fucking hands off of her before I break your fucking arm.” Conner stares down at him waiting for Mitch to make a move. There’s so much tension between them, that I’m a little afraid to say anything, but I manage to squeak out, “Plea
se, Conner. I’m not yours to take care of. Just let me go.”

  ****

  Conner

  There’s a fire burning inside me so hot that it feels like I’m about to explode. I can feel my body shaking with all the adrenaline pumping through me, but I wait. Hoping, praying Mitch makes the wrong move so I can put him through the fucking bar. Then I hear Brooke’s small voice.

  “Just let me go.”

  My eyes flash to hers and I see it again. That plea in her eyes that’s riddled with pain. That look she gave me after the fire and when I helped her out of Gabe's truck. That look that made my whole body feel weak and vulnerable. Am I the cause of that look? The one responsible for all this pain? Am I smothering her the way Rachel did to me? She’s right. She's not mine. Is that the line that I’ve crossed? The reason she’s been acting like this lately. She doesn’t want me to protect her anymore. The thought suddenly makes me sick to my stomach.

  “It’s alright baby. Maybe next time,” Mitch says to Brooke as he unwinds his arm from around her waist. He looks me up and down as he walks past me toward the door. I stand tall and still, watching him as he leaves and I try to appear strong, even though inside I feel like I’m about to fall apart. I look back to Brooke who’s standing in front of me staring down at her fingers.

  I take her chin with my thumb and finger and tilt her head up so she’s looking at me. The pain is still there in her big dark green eyes and I feel a stabbing sensation in my chest. Did I do this to you? I search her eyes for the answer to my unasked question, but they are too glossed ever to tell. She’s trashed.

  “Let me take you home,” I say calmly to her.

  Her expression turns angry but she doesn’t fight me about leaving. I don’t care if she’s mad at me. Mad I can deal with. She’ll be over her temper tantrum by morning when she sobers up. I don’t want to believe that I’ve hurt her somehow. I lead her out the door trying to help guide her as she stumbles every few steps to the truck. The rain that started pouring down when I got here isn’t helping her stability in the least. I open the door and turn to help her in but she turns away from me quickly and starts to puke on the ground beside us.

  And Mitch wanted to take her home and fuck her. Anger starts to build in my body again, but I coax it back down. She’s fine. You’ve got her, Conner. I pull a hair tie from her wrist and bundle up her now wet mess of curls in my hand. I tie back her hair from her face and gently rub her back.

  “Get it out, kid. I got you.”

  ****

  By the time I get her home, she’s already passed out. I pull up to her house, turn off the truck, and run to her front door. I open it up then rush back to the truck to get her. Sliding my hands under her legs and behind her back, I cradle her in my arms and carry her inside. She’s lighter than I was expecting her to be. I make my way through her dark living room and up her stairs to her bedroom.

  I carefully slide off her wet shorts and shirt and toss them onto the floor. I pull the blankets over her and tuck her into bed. I again get the urge to lay beside her and wrap her in my arms and this time I don’t resist. I almost couldn’t protect her tonight. I almost didn’t make it in time to save her from herself. But she didn’t want me to save her. I lay down on top of the blankets beside her and fold my arms around her, pulling her face into my chest. Her breathing is slow and quiet. I can smell her flowery shampoo in her hair as I rest my head on hers.

  “I’m so sorry, Brooke,” I say quietly to her, even though I know she’s not listening. “I don’t know what I did to hurt you, but whatever it is, I’m so sorry. I try to protect you and keep you safe but it just seems like the more I do the more pain it causes you and I don’t know why. I don’t know what I can do to fix this or if you even want me to.”

  She starts to rustle under the blankets so I lean away and loosen my hold on her. I lift my arm so it hovers above her, allowing her to move freely. She pulls her arm out from under the blanket and wraps it around my waist. I let my arm rest back down again on hers. I feel her squeeze me tightly.

  “Conner?” she mumbles without opening her eyes.

  “Yeah?”

  I watch a big smile spread across her face. “You’re really here,” she says, squeezing me again harder. She does want me here. I smile down at her and squeeze her tight.

  “I’ll always be here, Brooke.”

  ****

  Brooke

  I open my eyes slightly before squeezing them closed again. I’m immediately greeted by a throbbing pain in my head.

  “Ugghh, shit.” I groan quietly as I start to sit up. I hold my hands to my head as the pain intensifies. I probably deserve this. I’m surprised as I look over my shoulder and find Conner sleeping in my bed. He’s fully dressed and on top of my blankets one arm resting behind his head and the other across his stomach. His shirt is pulled up slightly giving me a peek at his happy trail. For just a moment I smile and admire the view. He is so sexy.

  I sit up in my bed and turn away from him moving carefully so I don’t wake him up. I wrap my blanket around my half-naked body. Putting my head in my hands I slouch over the edge of the bed and try to recall the events from last night. I’m mortified as it all comes back to me in foggy, humiliating pieces. You are a fucking mess, Brooke. What have you done?

  I feel broken. I’ve hit rock bottom. All because I love a man that I can’t have and I’m scared to death to lose. I don’t even make sense to myself anymore. The thought brings tears to my eyes immediately.

  “I don’t want to love him anymore. It’s not good for me. He’s not good for me,” I say quietly to myself as I shake my head back and forth and sob.

  “This is torture and I can’t do it anymore. I need something, anything to break this connection.” I glance over my shoulder to see him still asleep looking so perfect and peaceful. “Because you, Conner Smoak, are tearing me apart.”

  What Happens Next?

  Things are heating up for Brooke and Conner! Get the next book in the series to find out what happens!

  Amazon.com: Nadine Hudson: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle

  Where There’s Smoak Series

  There’s Warmth

  There’s Trouble

  There’s Heat

  There’s Danger

  There’s Fire

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  About the Author

  Nadine is a sloppy romantic at heart. She loves to curl up on her front porch swing in the mornings with her extra large cup of coffee and lose herself in a blissfully, butterfly-filled, pure romance story. However, her guilty pleasures are found within the pages of the steamy romances with sexy alpha’s that ignite
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  As much as she enjoys reading romances, she enjoys writing them even more. She thrives on the opportunity to give her readers the chance to escape into the chiseled arms of their latest book boyfriend and leave them fantasizing days later.

  She has been punching keys for years and now that she has built up a collection of heartthrobs, she is ready to finally share them with the world.

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