by Jess Bryant
“Skylar? Sky? Earth to Skylar?”
She giggled as she heard Jemma calling her name through the phone she’d completely forgotten she was holding, “Oops, sorry. Forgot you were there.”
“I said your name like twenty times. What are you doing?”
“Ogling my boyfriend.” She grinned.
Jemma barked out a laugh, “You know, I’m beginning to think Cash and I should stay gone an extra night or two. I’m not sure either of us is ready to deal with you and Colt in relationship mode.”
“Hey! I dealt with you being all blissed out over Cash when ya’ll got your shit together. It’s your turn.”
“I guess that’s true.”
“Damn right it is. Besides, think of all the fun we’re going to have doing compare and contrast with the twins.” She giggled and heard a very distinctive male groan on the other end of the line. “Oh, hey Cash, didn’t know you were on speaker.”
“Bullshit.” He snorted with laughter, “And don’t you dare start giving sex details until I’m well out of hearing range. I don’t want to have to bleach my brain.”
She giggled, “Like you don’t know exactly what Colt’s rockin’ under his clothes.”
“We are not having this conversation.” He groaned.
“Oh my God! Jem! Did you know Colt was serious about that piercing? It’s pierced. You know, for his and her pleasure.” She laughed even harder when she heard Cash start cursing on the other end of the phone, “Does your Bomar boy have one of those? If not, I’m gonna suggest a Christmas present. I know a guy that…”
“Stop! Stop! Stop!” Jemma squealed with laughter, “If you don’t stop talking Cash threatened to throw the phone out the window.”
“Oh fine!” She pretended to pout, “Fun killer.”
“Save the dirty deets until I get home and then we’ll pour some wine and have girl’s night.” Jemma snorted, “Yeah, okay, I’ll pour you some wine and me some milk according to my fiancé but still, girl’s night.”
“Definitely.”
“Like I was saying before you sidetracked me, we’ll be back home late tonight. I figure around midnight depending on how traffic goes. Since it’ll be late, we’ll probably just crash at Cash’s and I’ll come see you tomorrow morning and we can catch up.”
“Midnight isn’t that late old timer but since I plan to be busy with my very own Bomar boy, I’ll be sure we clear out of y’alls place for the night.” She teased as she watched Colt and Remy argue about something.
Colt snatched the cigarette away from his brother and Remy came up to his full height so fast it was a little bit scary. He reached for the cigarette his younger brother had taken from him but Colt put a hand to his chest to hold him off. When Colt dropped the cigarette to the ground and stomped on it, Remy cursed and then threw his hands up and walked off.
Skylar grinned. That was her guy. Always trying to take care of people even when they wanted to punch him in the face for it.
“Yeah, about that, I guess we’re all four going to have to figure out living arrangement huh?” Jemma was saying.
“Oh, yeah, we’ll talk about it when you get back.”
“Uh huh, I can tell you’re distracted. Since I doubt you’d actually do it if I told you to stop ogling Colt and talk to me, I’ll let you go.”
“Good call.”
“Okay, fine. I’m glad you two finally figured your shit out. Love you. Tell Colt we love him and we’ll see you both tomorrow.”
“Love you too. Bye Cash!”
“Be good to my brother Skylar.”
“Oh, I’m always good… except when he prefers me to be bad.” She teased and was pleased to hear another groan on the other end of the line before it went dead.
She hung up and tossed the phone on the console. Yeah, life was pretty good. For the past few days, she’d had all of her friends and family helping to get her salon back up and running. And for the past few nights, she’d had the man of her dreams in her bed doing sweet, dirty, sexy things to her until they were both too tired to move. She was in heaven.
The only way it could possibly get any better would be if Colt admitted he loved her in return. He hadn’t. Not yet. But she knew he did. She could see it in the way he looked at her sometimes. She could feel it in the way he touched her. And when he was buried inside of her, their bodies as tightly joined as two people could be and he begged her to love him and not give up on him, she knew that it was only a matter of time.
He was wary. She didn’t blame him. He was in a tough spot with his family right now. Add in all of the emotional damage his parents had done to him and nobody could hold it against him that he didn’t throw the L word around lightly. The two of them, together, had been a long time coming. Waiting a little longer for the words that would get them forever wasn’t such a hardship.
It had been a good week but it had still only been a week.
As she watched Colt talking to Lincoln her smile faded. She’d been keeping a close eye on the eldest Bomar boy the past few days and had ultimately decided he wasn’t a threat to them. He’d been nothing but helpful in getting Colt’s shop cleaned up. The more she’d watched him the more she’d noticed the way he always seemed to be right there when things started to slide out of place. Whether it was breaking up a brewing argument between the brothers or catching a falling screwdriver, he was there to help, not hurt. But that didn’t mean she trusted him.
Skylar slid out of the car and wasn’t surprised in the least when it was the always at attention eldest Bomar boy that saw her first. Lincoln nudged Colt in the shoulder and pointed at her as she strategically leaned against the hood of her car. Lincoln grinned and she would have sworn he winked at her before Colt turned around and garnered her full attention. His eyes skated over her and when they reached her face again the heat there was palpable. He stalked towards her and she whistled appreciatively.
“Whew, men at work.” She fanned herself dramatically, “Take it off baby.”
Colt’s grin widened as he came closer, “My thoughts exactly.”
Instead of waiting for him to reach her, she raced the few feet still separating them and leaped into his arms. He groaned but caught her easily. She slid her legs around his waist and his hands immediately went to her ass to steady her. She twined her arms around his neck and since his face was so close, she pressed her lips to his.
She had all of two seconds to revel in the feel of Colt’s mouth opening to hers before he took complete control of the kiss. His lips parted and he ravished her mouth. One of his hands came up to tangle in her hair, pulling hard enough she would have winced if a tingle of pleasure hadn’t raced through her. He held her head just where he wanted as his tongue darted forward without hesitation, demanding entry and she let him have it.
If there was any air left in her lungs, she would have moaned. As it was, she simply ceded control and let him dominate her. He owned her like this. He had from the first time he touched her. Her body reacted to him in ways it never had for anyone else and never would.
She forgot where they were the instant his warm, velvet tongue twined with hers and she rocked her body against him. Her breasts tightened and her panties grew wet as desire rolled through her. It was only the sound of catcalls and whistles that finally broke through her haze of need and Colt groaned as he wrenched his mouth away.
God, he was sexy.
The hand he’d tangled in her hair came forward and he stroked her cheek so softly she couldn’t help but lean into him as her heart fluttered at the sweet gesture. This was what had always gotten to her. The contrasts of Colt Bomar, the man that could go from smiling to scowling in a split second, that was equal parts rough and soft. She loved every part of him.
“That was the complete opposite of laying low, angel.” He grumbled as he pinched her chin.
“Sorry, I didn’t hear you complaining when you were sticking your tongue down my throat.” She grinned and nipped at his thumb, pleased when he chuckled a
nd the vibrations made every nerve ending in her body sing.
Happy Colt was truly a sight to behold.
“Not complainin’. Just sayin’, I think we went public in a big way.”
“Go big or go home. That’s what I always say.” She rolled her hips and giggled when he growled at her.
“Tease. You’re lucky my shop is full of people or I’d drag you in there and spank your cute little ass for giving me an erection in public.” He nipped her bottom lip and then began extracting himself to put her back on the ground, “Again.”
“Again?” She dropped to her feet and smiled when he didn’t push her any further away.
“Always.” He planted another soft kiss against her lips before pulling back, “What are you doing down here so early anyway? When I left you in bed you said something about alarm clock’s being the devil’s work and passed smooth ass out again. You were snoring before I got my shoes on.”
“I do not snore!”
“Do too. And I found it adorable. Further proof I’m crazy about you.”
She blushed at the admission, “Keep up that sweet talk Bomar and I’ll be the one dragging you into my shop to take care of that erection I caused.”
“As much as I enjoy seeing you on your knees, I’m not into having an audience.” Colt glanced around and then stepped back to a respectable distance, “Did you come to help?”
“God no. I’m not getting my hands dirty. That’s why I have all you big strapping men.” She winked and turned back to her car, “But I did bring you breakfast.”
“You did?” He grinned as he moved around her.
“Donuts. I picked them out myself and everything.”
“That’s sounds about right.” Colt chuckled and then his smile dimmed just a little, “Uh, Sky, not to be the bearer of bad news or anything but you’re not the only one that thought to bring us food this morning.”
“What?”
“She brought food too.” He nodded towards the sidewalk with his chin and she followed his gaze.
Her eyes widened in shock and horror. There, standing amongst the crowds of big, intimidating Bomars and the glass replacement specialists, was none other than Rachel Grant. The girl that was too scared to be alone in the salon with Colt most days was standing so close to Remy it was difficult to tell if he’d leaned down or if she’d leaned in. The two of them were talking, their gazes locked on each other, and both seemed completely oblivious to the world around them.
“Son of a…” Skylar cursed under her breath. “I thought you said you talked to him?”
“I did.” Colt scratched his head. “He said not to make a big deal out of it, that the girl looked like she could use a friend.”
“I don’t think she needs the kind of friend that looks at her like she’s little red riding hood and he’s the big bad wolf ready to huff and puff and blow her house down.”
Colt laughed, “Those are two different stories, angel.”
“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes, “Go. Do something with your brother. I’m getting Rach out of here.”
“You going to give her the birds and the bees speech?”
She smacked his arm when he teased, “Maybe.”
“Well try not to be too hard on her. I hear we Bomars are irresistible.” He winked and sidestepped when she started to smack him again. “See you tonight?”
Skylar nodded.
“Your place or mine?”
“Mine. Jemma and Cash will be home late and they’re claiming your place. We need to talk about that too.”
“Sure, we can have another naked conversation if you want. Anytime, angel. Anytime.”
She rolled her eyes as he blew her a kiss and then turned and strolled away. He called out that there were donuts for anyone that hadn’t been eye-fucking his girl and she covered a smile as half the men turned to glance at her. Lincoln smirked before following Colt inside. Remy stayed firmly planted where he was, talking to Rachel, and Skylar thought about walking over and smacking him upside the head.
Instead she took a deep breath and planted a smile on her face, “Hey! Rach! What do you say we girls get out of here and let the men work, huh?”
She had plans to meet Billie for brunch over at the bar and though she’d never seen Rachel take so much as a sip of alcohol, she thought now was as good a time as any to change that. If she was going to crush on a Bomar boy, the girl might as well get acquainted with the good stuff. She was going to need it.
Colt grinned when his phone buzzed across the counter again. It had been going off steadily all night. No, it had been going off steadily all day and night and each and every time he picked it up he was greeted with either a sexy private snapchat, a teasing text message or a voicemail intended to make his blood boil. So instead of picking it up to see what racy thing Skylar had sent him this time, he ignored the phone for the time being.
All he had to do was finish this last coat of paint and then he could climb off his ladder and see what his girl was up to. He had no doubt as soon as he did he would be in a rush to get home. And just thinking about that, about Skylar being his and home being wherever she was, made that painful ache in his chest both better and worse all at the same time.
He wasn’t the kind of man that found it easy to admit when he was wrong but he’d been wrong when he tried to push Skylar away. He’d been wrong to deny what he felt for her. He should have claimed her the first time he saw her staring at his mouth while he was talking to her but he hadn’t. Now he had a lot of time to make up for and in the past few days, they had definitely been doing that.
They’d rarely been without each other for more than a few hours. Since Skylar’s salon had been shut down for repairs, she’d been sleeping in late and staying up half the night with him. He’d spent his days working to repair his own shop and he knew that once they were both back open for business that their little vacation from reality would have to end so they’d been enjoying it as much as they could.
Next week they would both go back to work. Cash and Jemma would be home tomorrow. They’d have to take a serious look at the way their lives were all intertwined and make some decisions. Maybe that should have scared him, how fast all of it was happening, but it didn’t because now that he had Skylar the last thing he wanted was to do anything that would make him lose her.
His phone buzzed again and he laughed out loud since he was all alone. Damn, he was happy. Really and truly happy. He couldn’t remember the last time he could have said that. Oh, he put on a good face. He wasn’t the Bomar known for scowling and stomping around all the time. That honor went to Abel with Cash coming in a close second until Jemma walked back into his life. Colt had never been the kind to get down for long but this wasn’t just a good mood. It was so much more than that. For the first time in his life, he had hope. For something good. For something better. For himself.
He was going to make it to the other side. He was going to find his way out of the bullshit Bomar drama. He was going to get and stay clean this time. He was going to beat his demons and he had Skylar to thank for all of it. His angel was pulling him out of his darkness slowly but surely and when she did, they were going to have that someday together he’d been dreaming about.
The phone dinged with a message at the same time he picked it up and his smile fell. Not Skylar. It was a message from Lincoln. He scrolled quickly through his alerts but other than a text from Cash letting him know they were going to make it back to town a little earlier than expected, there was nothing but messages from his girl asking, begging and then demanding that he come home and do bad things to her.
He smirked and thought about typing out something dirty for her but then rethought it. He didn’t want any interruptions when he got Skylar on the phone so he needed to deal with his family first. Then and only then would he call his girl and give her exactly what she wanted.
Colt hit the button for his voicemail as he cleaned up the paint he’d been using. Looking at the wall, it was impossible to
tell that it’d had those taunting words spray-painted on it just a few days ago. He was still staring at the blank spot that would be covered in art once it dried when he heard Lincoln’s voice come through the phone.
“Hey. It’s me. Where you at?” There was some background noise, a few other voices and then Lincoln telling someone to shut up before he cleared his throat, “If you’re off with your girl and ignoring me, I’m gonna find ya and beat you upside the head. We’ve got shit going down tonight, cuz. That guy we saw the other day was runnin’ his mouth down at the bar and we have names. We’re hitting them up. If you want in. Call me back.”
The line went dead and Colt stared at the phone in his hand for a long second in shock. First, he couldn’t believe that Lincoln would leave that detailed of a message. Usually his cousin was smarter than that. Nothing traceable meant nothing incriminating. That was the rule. Second, he found it hard to believe the guy they’d tried to beat information out of the other night had any names to give up because of a little liquor. He scratched his head and tried to figure out what felt off about the whole thing but he came up empty.
He knew Skylar didn’t trust Lincoln. That had to be it. Her feelings on the matter were throwing him off. He didn’t trust Lincoln as far as he could throw him when it came to business but they were still family. He didn’t believe his cousin had set him up or attacked his shop. He’d been too damn helpful the last few days and when Colt had declined his money, he hadn’t put up a fight at all. He’d said it was Colt’s business and his call. They were good.
He shook off the strange feeling of unease and hit redial to call his cousin back. As much as he wanted to go home and slip into bed with Skylar he needed to finish this mess with his family first. He had an out. If he told Lincoln that he was already home with his girl, his cousin would give him a pass. He might get some teasing but it would be good natured.