“Promise.”
Chapter Fourteen
Shake It for Me Girl
Brendan and Paige stayed at the festival until about four and then they both headed home to get ready for the night. Paige wanted to change and shower before Brendan picked her up and they went back for the barbecue cook-off and the dance. He was on her parents’ front porch by six thirty. She opened the door a moment after he knocked, smiling wide as she stepped outside.
Brendan forgot how to talk.
She was wearing that same red shirt she’d worn on their first date. Her freckled shoulders were bare and perfect. A black bohemian skirt swayed around her knees and left a good amount of her legs visible above her red cowboy boots. Her hair was pulled to the side in a low knot just above her neck.
She was stunning.
Brendan reached forward and grabbed her, pulling her into his arms and kissing her like his life depended on it.
“Wow,” she said when he pulled back. “What was that for?”
“You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She smiled.
“There’s just one thing missing,” he said, reaching into his pocket.
“Oh?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.
Brendan pulled out that silver spoon ring that Paige had been eyeing the day before and slipped it onto her left thumb.
“Brendan,” she whispered, looking down at her hand and then back up to him. There were so many emotions flittering across her face, but shock and awe were winning for the most prominent. “I can’t believe you got this for me,” she said, reaching up to touch his jaw. She pulled his face to hers and pressed a kiss to his mouth. “You didn’t have to, you know.”
“I know,” he said, running his hands up and down her back. “But I wanted you to have it.”
“Thank you,” she said, pressing her mouth to his again. “I love it.”
“Yeah?” He grinned
“Yeah.”
Paige spent a few more minutes showing him her appreciation before she slipped back inside, grabbed her jacket and purse, and they headed over to the festival. When they got there, they found Grace, Mel, Harper, Jax, Shep, and, much to Brendan’s surprise, Bennett.
They all ate the barbecue and voted for their favorite. The guys went and got some burgers because the samples didn’t fill them up like they did the girls. They got another round of drinks and let their food settle. Some of the tables began to empty and people working the event started to put them away, clearing out a space in the middle of the barn to be used as the dance floor. Then the band filed out onto the stage and music filled the room. Brendan stood up and held out his hand for Paige.
“Come on now, let’s see what you’re made of.”
She raised one of her eyebrows and smiled wickedly. “Is that a challenge?”
“Absolutely.”
“Let’s go, cowboy,” she said, putting her hand in his and letting him pull her to her feet.
Brendan couldn’t help but grin. He turned around and pulled her out onto the dance floor. The band was playing a fast-moving country song as he spun her around and pulled her into his arms. They moved across the floor quickly, Paige in perfect step with him. She swiveled her hips in a way that made him want to fall to his knees.
They stayed out on the floor for a few more songs before Paige leaned into him and whispered breathlessly that she needed a break. The table was empty when they got back. He scanned the room and saw that Mel was dancing with Bennett, Shep with Grace, and Harper with Greg Myers, who worked at King’s. He looked around and saw Jax talking to a couple of guys in a corner, staring moodily at Shep and Grace while he drank his beer. Brendan shook his head and smiled. Some things never changed.
When the song ended, Shep and Grace came back to the table, both out of breath and a little pink in the face.
“You can dance, city girl,” Grace said as she sunk down into the chair next to Paige.
“She sure can.” Brendan grinned.
Jax came back to the table and sat down next to Brendan, scowl still firmly in place.
“What’s wrong with you?” Grace asked, throwing a balled-up paper napkin at Jax. “Why are you brooding?”
“Princess, I don’t brood,” he said, narrowing his eyes at her.
“Really? You could’ve fooled me,” Grace said, rolling her eyes.
“You want another drink?” Brendan asked Paige.
“Yeah.” She nodded.
“Be right back,” he said, getting up and kissing her on the head.
“I’m going to get another one too. You want anything Grace?” Shep asked.
“Cider.”
“Coming up,” Shep said, standing, and so did Jax.
The three men made their way across the room. The bar was made of a couple old barn doors laid out on stacked apple barrels. There was a thick crowd converging around it. Shep’s family might have been running it, but he had to wait in line just like everybody else.
“So,” Shep said as they joined the crowd, “you and Paige are working out.”
“Yeah,” Brendan said and nodded, taking a step forward as the crowd shifted.
“That’s all you’ve got? Yeah?”
“What do you want me to say? That I like her a lot? I do.”
“Like her a lot?” Jax asked, raising his eyebrows.
“Fine, it’s a little more than like.”
“How about it’s a lot more than like. She’s got you wrapped around her pretty little finger,” Jax said.
“Is there a problem with that?”
“No, but I’m thinking you’d like her to be wrapped around something of yours.” Shep smirked.
Brendan couldn’t argue with him there.
“We’re taking things slow,” Brendan said.
“It’s killing you, isn’t it?” Shep asked.
“You have no fucking clue,” Brendan admitted.
Both men laughed at him.
Brendan looked over to the table where Paige sat. She and Grace were laughing. A second later Bennett and Mel came back to the table and sat down.
“I’m glad Bennett came out tonight. He’s a good guy,” Brendan said, turning back.
“Yeah, he is.” Jax nodded. “That war really messed with his head. He’s got some demons to battle.”
“It would mess with anyone’s head. I couldn’t imagine going through what he did,” Brendan said, shaking his head.
“He seems to be having a good time tonight. He’s stayed pretty active out on that dance floor,” Shep said. “Unlike others, who just stand in the corner and glare. You know if you want to dance with Grace, you should just ask her, Jax.”
“I don’t dance,” Jax mumbled.
“Maybe you should make an exception in this case,” Brendan said.
Jax didn’t say anything. He just turned around and stepped up to the bar.
Brendan wasn’t oblivious to what was going on between one of his best friends and his baby sister. Grace and Jax had been circling each other for years. Problem was, Jax had his own demons to battle.
The guys made their way back to the table. Paige grabbed her drink from Brendan and took a long pull before she stood up. She grabbed Brendan’s hand and dragged him back out onto the floor. After a couple fast songs, they played a slow one. Brendan pulled Paige in as close as he could get her and she curled around him in that way she always did. He rested one hand on her lower back while the other gripped one of her hands and held it close to his chest. He pressed his face into her hair and breathed deeply.
Brendan’s life had changed so drastically since Paige had been in it. To say that it was better was an understatement. He loved having her in his arms, having her arms wrapped around him. She was becoming everything to him.
Brendan glanced up at the room for just a second and did a double take. Jax was dancing with Grace. And if Brendan didn’t know any better, Jax was smiling.
Maybe those demons of his would be fought a little sooner than later.
* * *
The dance ended just before midnight, and Brendan walked Paige back to his truck, his arm around her shoulders and his nose in her hair. She’d had an amazing time but when the music had ended, she hadn’t been disappointed. The plans that she had for the rest of the night would be possible only behind closed doors.
“What time is your curfew tonight?” Brendan joked as they stopped in front of the passenger door.
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? I don’t have one tonight,” she said, raising an eyebrow as she reached down and ran her finger along the top of his belt.
“Paige?” he asked, going still.
She stretched up, pressing into him, and put her mouth to his ear. “I want you,” she whispered.
He moved so quickly she didn’t even see it coming. The passenger door was opened and he’d bodily lifted her into the seat, reaching across her and buckling her seat belt. He slammed the door and ran around his truck. He climbed in and was backing out in about five seconds.
“You okay there, cowboy?” she asked, trying not to laugh.
“You aren’t allowed to talk,” he said as he navigated out of the parking lot.
“Why?” she asked, folding her arms across her chest.
“Because you have a tendency to say things that make me swerve off the road, and right now I need to have as much focus as possible. Otherwise I might kill us,” he said, staring intently through the windshield.
“I don’t have to say anything,” she said, reaching across the seat and running her fingers up his forearm.
“You also have to stay on your side of the truck,” he said as his hands clenched the steering wheel, his knuckles going white.
“That’s no fun,” she said, as her fingers trailed up his shoulder and to his neck.
“Please, Paige, I’m begging you,” he said and groaned.
“Hmm, I like the sound of that.”
“What has gotten into you tonight?” he asked, sounding desperate.
Messing with him was fun. She shouldn’t be enjoying it so much but she was. She wanted him more than she’d ever wanted any man, ever, and it was driving her crazy. So in turn she was driving him crazy. Really it was just fair play.
“Nothing yet, but I’m hoping you’ll change that.”
“Okay. No more talking from you, or touching. Not until this car is parked and turned off.”
“If you insist,” she said, holding up her hands in surrender and placing them in her lap.
When Brendan pulled into his driveway ten minutes later, he got out of the car faster than she could blink, helped her get out, and then pulled her up the stairs to his front door.
“Shit,” he said when they walked in. “I have to take Sydney out,” he said as the dog in question came skidding down the hall and started circling them, her tail wagging.
“I can wait five minutes, Brendan,” she said, reaching down and scratching Sydney’s nose.
“Yeah, but I don’t think I can,” he said as he walked to the back door and opened it. Sydney followed and bolted down the back stairs, disappearing into the darkness that reached past his backlights.
Paige pulled off her boots in the living room and padded out onto the porch. She came up behind Brendan, slipping her hands around his waist and gently biting him through the back of his shirt. He groaned deep in his chest as her hands dipped down to the front of his jeans.
“What are you doing?” he asked, sounding pained as she slid his belt out of the first loop of his jeans.
“You said you couldn’t wait,” she said in his ear. “I’m merely removing pesky barriers,” she said, nipping at his earlobe.
He grabbed her hands and moved her around to stand in front of him. He reached for the knot at the back of her head and pulled it out, unwinding her hair and fanning it around her shoulders.
“I’ve wanted to do that all night,” he said, roping his fingers through her hair and bringing her mouth to his.
Paige let her hands wander down and she started unbuttoning his shirt. Which was not an easy task, not at all. Because all the while, Brendan was kissing her like she was his air supply. When she finished with the buttons, she slid her hands under the two flaps of his shirt, pressing her hands into his over-heated skin.
She walked her fingers down, tracing his flat stomach, and reached for his belt again. She unbuckled it and then undid the top button on his jeans. As she reached for the zipper, his hands covered hers and he pulled back from her mouth, his breath labored.
“Not yet. No more touching until we go inside,” he said, swallowing hard. “If that zipper goes down, I’m done for.”
Paige smiled but let go. “Okay,” she said, taking a step back from him. She reached down and grabbed the hem of her shirt, pulling it up and over her head.
Brendan stared at her in her black strapless bra and skirt. He took a step forward and reached out, but Paige took another step back, shaking her head and smiling.
“Uh-uh, you said no more touching until we’re both inside,” she said, taking another step back into the house. “I’m inside, but you seem to still be out there.”
“You know what they say about payback,” Brendan said, letting a smile curve his lips.
“No,” she said, shaking her head innocently and dropping her shirt onto the floor. “What do they say?” she asked as she pushed her skirt down over her hips and let it fall into a puddle around her feet. He stared at her lace panties, his eyes going wide with wanting.
At that moment Sydney came walking into the house. Both of them were so focused on each other that they hadn’t even heard her come up the stairs.
“It’s a bitch,” he said, coming inside.
Paige turned and ran down the hall, laughing as she bolted for his bedroom. She barely made it past his doorway when he grabbed her around the waist. He took a few steps and they fell onto his bed, landing softly with him on top, firmly between her legs. He grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head with one of his.
“So what are you going to do to me? What’s my great payback?” She grinned up at him.
“Let’s see…where to start,” Brendan said, pressing his mouth to her neck while his free hand traced her knee and slowly worked up the inside of her thigh. He lightly ran his fingers over the edge of her panties before he moved up to her stomach, his fingers running around her belly button and out to her side, walking up her ribs one by one. After a moment, he let go of her hands and cradled her face in both of his.
“Paige, I want you so much it hurts,” he said, looking at her like no man had ever looked at her. Like he could look at her forever and never get tired of her. It made her chest tighten.
She reached up, running her hands up his neck and into his hair. “I know the feeling,” she said, pulling his face down to her and kissing him.
One of his hands trailed down her body until it was between her thighs. He pulled back her lacy panties and groaned as his fingers found a place that was warm and wet.
“Brendan,” she said and moaned, her body arching up. He stroked her with two fingers and pressed his thumb against a spot that made her hips start pumping up into his hand.
Paige reached down to the front of Brendan’s jeans and cupped him through the fabric. He groaned again and thrust his tongue harder into her mouth. A second later he pulled back from her, his hand disappearing from inside of her as he turned and sat on the edge of the bed. He leaned over and started unlacing his boots. Paige got up on her knees and came up behind him. She slid her hands up his back and leaned into him, kissing his neck.
When he got his boots and socks off, Paige pulled his shirt off his shoulders. The second his arms were free, he stood up and reached for the front of his pants but she grabbed his hands and pulled them away.
“Let me,” she said, reaching for his zipper and pulling it down. She brought her hands up to the waistband of his jeans and pulled them, along with his boxer briefs, down his thighs. He sprang free and she wrapped her ha
nd around him, stroking him.
He was huge and incredible, everywhere. And she wanted to put her mouth all over his body. Trace every single muscle with her tongue. But that would have to wait.
“If you continue with that, we aren’t going to get very far,” he said, looking like he was barely holding it together.
“We wouldn’t want that,” she said, letting go of him. She sat back on the bed, reaching behind her back and unsnapping her bra before she threw it to the ground. She lay back on the bed and settled her head against the pillow, looking at him. “Well? What are you waiting for?”
“I have no freaking clue,” he said, shaking his head as he pushed his pants the rest of the way down his legs and stepped out of them. He kneeled on the bed and reached for her waist, grabbing the top of her panties and pulling them down her long legs.
“God, Paige,” he said, staring at the apex of her thighs. She spread her legs and he groaned. A second later he was between her legs, his mouth on hers, and his hands on her breasts. She was writhing beneath him, absolutely unable to control her response to him.
“Brendan, please,” she begged desperately. “I need you inside of me.”
He reached out to his nightstand and opened a drawer, his hand returning a second later with a small packet. He ripped it open and pulled out the condom. He rolled it on and positioned himself over her. He grabbed one of her hands, stretching it up over their heads, his fingers intertwining with hers. He looked down into her eyes and entered her in one long, slow stroke.
They both stopped for a second, just staring at each other and memorizing that first moment that their bodies joined together. Brendan lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her slowly, his tongue stroking hers. Paige pulled her feet up. She planted them on the bed and lifted her hips, making Brendan slide farther into her.
Brendan’s free hand slid under Paige’s behind, pulling her body more firmly to his as he started to pump his hips. Brendan took his time, moving in and out of her slowly. Perfectly. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and somehow he was even deeper inside of her.
“Oh, Paige, baby,” Brendan said against her mouth.
Paige’s free hand gripped Brendan’s back. Her nails dug into his skin as he continued to move inside of her, creating a perfect friction against every single sweet spot on her body. It was exquisite.
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