by Kasey Krane
I wished I had more hours in the day for him. Time was slipping past us—Davey was growing up quickly. I knew it wouldn’t be long before he was all grown up and wouldn’t have time for me.
Was I going to regret not being able to spend as much time with him as I wanted? Would I regret juggling two jobs?
But how else was I supposed to keep us afloat?
Davey picked out a story for us to read and I settled in bed with him and we read the book together. He was pretty smart for a three-year old and I couldn’t have been more proud of him.
After we were done with the book, I stroked his hair gently while he told me about his day.
“I missed you, Mommy,” he said, just before he slipped into sleep.
I kissed his forehead and held back the tears.
“I missed you too, honey, and I promise we’ll do something fun on Sunday, okay?”
He nodded with a smile and closed his eyes. I waited a few more minutes until he was fast asleep and then I crept out of the room.
I cleaned up the apartment, then changed into an old pair of shorts and t-shirt. Even though I was about ready to go to sleep myself, I couldn’t because I had things to do.
All the bills I needed to look at and pay were collected in a plastic bag I kept under the sink in the kitchen. I hated looking at that bag and tried not to think about it the rest of the month. However, now the time had come when I had to sort it out for the month.
Bills needed to be paid and I wasn’t certain I had enough to pay them with.
I took the bag to the couch and sat down with a sigh. I took one bill out and then the next, spreading them all out on the coffee table. I could feel my stomach sinking as I stared at all the papers around me.
It felt like a disaster. My life felt like a disaster.
“How am I going to do this,” I murmured to myself. This happened every month. I was always brought close to tears by those damned bills.
The knock on the door saved me from ugly-crying.
Even though I wasn’t expecting anyone and didn’t know who it could have been, I was excited to go to the door just to get away from my responsibilities for a moment.
When I opened the door and saw Brendan standing there, I nearly slammed the door back on his face again. I couldn’t believe it was him. I thought I had officially gone crazy and was now imagining things.
How could he have found me? What did he want from me?
Wasn’t it enough that he had already been haunting me?
He saw the look of utter shock and disbelief on my face and pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
He stood there looking tall and handsome…almost menacing. While once again, I was dumbstruck by him and couldn’t find my words.
“Your manager at the bar... he gave me this address. It didn’t take much convincing on my part. He seemed happy to part with your details.”
Rocky. He truly was a pain in my ass.
I forced myself to do something to demonstrate control. So I crossed my arms over my chest.
“What are you doing here? Why did you go to my place of work and harass my manager?” I tried to keep my voice clipped and detached.
He wouldn’t have forced his way into my apartment. I was sure of that. From the little that I knew of Brendan Doherty, I knew I didn’t have to be afraid of him. Or maybe I was wrong.
Apparently, I had been wrong about him on all counts already.
“I need to know why you’re acting like this,” he growled.
“Acting like what?”
“Like you fuckin’ hate me.”
“I don’t hate you. I don’t know you,” I snapped.
That much was true. Even though I had once thought it was love at first sight, he was still a stranger to me.
“Then why do you keep running away from me? Why do I need to keep chasing you down?”
My nostrils flared while I shoved down all my emotions.
It still hurt that he didn’t recognize me. He had no idea what he had done to me. How that night had changed me forever. Ever since he deserted me at that party—naked and waiting upstairs in one of Mia’s rooms—I hadn’t been able to trust any other guy. I didn’t trust him either.
I was afraid I would spend the rest of my life mistrusting every man I met. And it was all his fault.
“I’m not running away from you. I just don’t want to be with you. Is that really so hard for you to believe? Are you really that big-headed that you can’t handle rejection?” I spoke with bitterness in my voice.
Brendan glared at me like my words were poison and they stung his skin. Then he took one threatening step towards me, wedging himself between the door and frame.
“Stop lying to yourself,” he snarled through clenched teeth.
I whipped away from him, walking back inside.
For some reason, before I had a chance to change my mind about it—I decided to leave the door open. It was an open invitation for Brendan to walk in. Which he did.
He shut the door behind him.
“There’s something you’re not telling me and I need to know what it is.” His voice was deep and threatening.
I had my back turned to him, teetering on the edge of confessing everything.
I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to tell him exactly who I was and what he had done to me. How he had managed to leave a mark in my life through approximately two hours of interaction between us.
I still couldn’t believe it was him. This almost felt like punishment. And then last night…his hands were all over me. He made me come so easily. His kisses were so soft and greedy at the same time.
“I have nothing to tell you,” I said in a quiet voice.
I could feel his presence in the room. He filled up my small cramped apartment with his strength. All hulking muscle and intense green eyes.
From the moment he stepped in, there was a shift in the air in there.
I was afraid of the mark he would leave on my life this time around.
“Rosalie, you’re lying to me and to yourself. If there’s something you need to tell me, now is the chance,” he continued.
“You have no right to come to my apartment and give me ultimatums. Do you think I’m afraid of you?” I spun around to face him.
His eyes were so green and intense, I sunk into them again. I had to force myself to draw back. I had to keep reminding myself to disregard his good looks and sex appeal. He was nothing but trouble.
He came up to me again. I froze in place, afraid of what he would do next.
I could smell him, feel his heat. I was tempted to just throw myself at him so I could feel the bulge of his biceps too.
Brendan peered into my eyes.
“No, I don’t think you’re afraid of me, and I don’t want you to be. I just want you to tell me why you keep pushing me away.”
My breasts heaved. His eyes roamed down from my face to my breasts and then lower. The longer and deeper he looked at me, the more I wanted him.
My resolve was cracking.
“Why won’t you just leave me alone? You can have any girl you want, right? I’m sure if you whistle a few of them will queue up.”
Brendan shook his head.
“Is that what the problem is? You think I’ve fucked too many chicks to be good enough for you?”
I gulped thirstily. I could have lied and told him he’d hit the nail on the head. But he had seen it in my eyes already—that wasn’t the real reason.
“It’s something else. What is it?” he growled and lunged at me.
Before I could move back, he grabbed me by my arms and I wasn’t going anywhere.
Ten
Brendan
It didn’t take long for me to figure out Rosalie was struggling in life.
It wasn’t the first impression I got of her the previous night at the bar when she was in my arms and we were together. But now that I was in her apartment and I could see how small the space was, along with all the bills scattered
around everywhere—it was obvious.
She was struggling to make ends meet.
And even though I didn’t know her and she probably hated me at this point, I wanted to help her.
I didn’t know where it came from. I couldn’t understand what had suddenly transformed me into a bleeding heart. I definitely hadn’t experienced the same sentiments about someone else before.
I gripped her arms tightly and she stared up at me with a look on her face that intended murder. She despised me with every fiber of her being and I wanted to know why.
“Look,” I said, calming myself. I let her go and she stumbled backwards. “Why don’t we sit down and have a conversation about this? You can tell me exactly why you don’t want my help,” I said.
Maybe I hadn’t thought those words through. I said the first thing that came to my mind.
Rosalie’s brows furrowed. Her eyes darted around the apartment.
“Help? Why would you want to help me? With what? What is that supposed to mean?” she hissed.
“Scratch that. I meant, why are you so opposed to my presence in your life?”
Her nostrils flared. I saw the redness of rage rising up her neck. If she was mad before—it was nothing compared to the anger I saw in her eyes now.
“You think you need to help me? Just because you came to my aid last night? Which any decent human being should have done.”
“And yet, I was the only one in a bar full of people,” I said.
Rosalie shook her head. “So what do you want me to do? Fall on my knees and worship you? Declare you a saint?”
Her lips trembled and I couldn’t tell if she was about to burst into tears or a scream.
“I think I know exactly why you’re here,” she hissed. I knew it wasn’t going to be good—whatever she was about to say. “You came looking for me because you think I owe you. Because you came to my rescue last night. Because you…made me…you made me feel good.” Her lips continued to tremble. “You want what is owed to you.”
I had enough. This wasn’t going anywhere. I closed the gap between us and grabbed her hip, pulling her to me again.
“You’re right about that. And you better make good on what you owe,” I growled.
She sprang at me before I knew what she was going to do. I wasn’t expecting that. I had my hands on her hips and she lunged at me. So hard that I nearly fell back, but her lips pressed into mine and she kissed me hungrily.
I kissed her back, pushing my tongue into her mouth.
It was like her personality had suddenly flipped a switch. She went from being raging mad at me to finding me irresistible. Her hands were all over me, pushing in under my shirt. Her fingers trembled as she discovered the shape of my muscles. Then her hands traveled down, way down inside my pants until she cupped my balls.
My cock throbbed. I hungered for her too.
When she pulled her mouth away from mine, I noticed how her lips were swollen and red. She looked more beautiful now with her bee-stung lips and tousled hair than she had ever looked before.
Her hands fumbled with my belt and zip, then she pushed my pants down.
“Is this what you want?” she asked, yanking herself away from me.
I clenched my jaws, trying to rein in my desire for her, while she knelt down in front of me.
She held my cock in her hand, hovering her face right in front of it. I was ready to plunge straight into her, feel the tightness and moistness of her mouth around me.
“Yeah, this is exactly what I want,” I growled as she opened her mouth.
I saw her pink tongue right before she licked the tip of my wet cock. I was so hard I thought my cock would explode. Then she took me in her mouth. Her eyes were still on me, boring a hole into me.
She started bobbing her head back and forth, taking my cock deep down her throat. She fondled my balls with her other hand, squeezing and caressing gently.
I had my hands on the back of her head, guiding her and pushing myself deeper inside her. This felt amazing. This was fuckin’ hot. I didn’t care anymore if she hated me. The only thing I cared about was coming inside her. I was about to explode.
She licked and sucked, taking my cock deep down her throat. Her eyes watered from the way my cock filled her mouth. Maybe I was too big for her, but she wasn’t complaining. She sat there on her knees like a good girl and took my big cock as far in as she could.
Then I came. I pulled out of her with a jerk, stroking myself hard while I splattered my cum right there on her face. It dribbled down her chin and neck and she stared up at me with her big blue eyes.
A faint smile spread on her face, but it didn’t last long.
Rosalie sprang up on her feet and rushed to the kitchen to grab a towel.
It was over too quickly.
Rosalie returned a few moments later. She’d wiped every last evidence of me from her face. Her cheeks were flushed pink and her eyes were bright. She looked like someone who was guilty of having committed a crime.
“I hope that satisfies you,” she said, crossing her arms over her perfect tits. I couldn’t look away from her.
Those tiny shorts she was wearing made a big show of her long slender legs. I needed them wrapped around my neck. I needed to taste her pussy.
“Yes, that was very satisfactory,” I replied. I was in the middle of zipping up my pants.
“So you can leave now and we won’t have to see each other again,” she said.
What was with this chick?
“I still want an explanation from you.”
“An explanation for what?” she snapped.
“For why you’re acting like I’ve brought the plague with me.”
“What more do you want from me? A letter of appreciation?”
It was a good question. I didn’t know what more I wanted from her. I wanted to blow my load and I wanted her to be the recipient. I got exactly that, but I still didn’t want to leave.
“From the moment we met, you have done nothing but made me suspicious of you. You act cagey around me, you push me away, run away. And at the same time, it’s pretty obvious to me that you want me to fuck you. So, what is the problem?”
Rosalie’s eyes grew wider and wider as I spoke. She knew she couldn’t hide anymore. I’d sussed her out exactly.
“My thoughts and feelings have nothing to do with you. What happened last night…was supposed to be a one-time quickie at the back of the bar. Now you’re here. You’ve violated my privacy by coming to my apartment. But I gave you what you wanted. Isn’t that good enough for you?”
Somehow, it wasn’t good enough.
I pushed my hands into my pockets.
“Sure, it’s good enough, but only temporarily. If you want to make this problem go away permanently, you need to tell me what’s going on with you.”
“And why should I do that? What makes you think you can just command me? We are not a part of each other’s lives.”
“Because I don’t appreciate being lied to. I know you’re lying to me. Something’s going on that you’re not telling me about.”
Rosalie pursed her lips together in anger. I knew she had a lot more to say, to criticize me, but maybe she couldn’t find the words.
The more she stared at me that way, the more convinced I was that I’d seen her somewhere before. I racked my brain but couldn’t place her.
“You want me to disappear? I will. Right after you tell me the truth,” I added.
She opened her mouth to speak, and I finally thought she was going to come clean with me. But then we both heard a door being slowly opened, and a little boy’s voice said, “Mommy?”
What the fuck was going on?
Rosalie had a kid?
This was a turn in events I wasn’t expecting.
“Davey!” Rosalie almost screamed in surprise as a little boy walked into the room. His hair was all disheveled and he was in a pair of dinosaur printed pajamas. He’d dragged a big teddy bear along the floor with him.
&
nbsp; “Mommy?” he said again while he tried to rub the sleep from his eyes.
Rosalie flashed me a worried look before she went running to her son. She scooped him in her arms and turned away from me. Like she needed to protect him from me with her own body.
“What’s the matter, honey? Did you have a bad dream?” she asked. Her voice had changed completely. She wasn’t snippy and angry with him the way she was with me.
She was warm and loving, wrapping him close to herself while she cradled him in her arms. I could see for myself the close bond they shared.
So she was a single parent? How old was this kid? How old was Rosalie?
I definitely hadn’t pegged her to be old enough to be a mom.
I was weirded out.
Instinctively, I took a step back.
Children made me uncomfortable. I didn’t know how to be around them. I didn’t know what a kid would expect of me and I sure as hell wouldn’t be able to provide it, whatever it was.
I wanted to get out of there.
“I think so,” the kid replied. “I woke up and I was scared.”
“It’s okay, honey, I’ve got you now. Mommy’s got you now. There’s nothing to be scared of.”
I watched as Rosalie rocked him in her arms. I clenched my hands into fists in my pockets, feeling at a loss for what to do next.
“Who is that?” Davey asked, pointing straight at me.
I was in the spotlight now and I could barely make myself look at him. Rosalie turned to me finally, still trying to shield her son from me for some reason.
“That is…he’s someone I work with. He is just about to leave,” she replied.
Davey stared at me sleepily as I backed away to the door.
Minutes before, I refused to leave without an explanation from Rosalie. Now, I was practically halfway out of the door already. Kids had that effect on me. Rosalie was lucky she had a kid, because that meant she would get the space from me she’d been asking for.
“What’s your name?” Davey asked as I opened the door. It was funny he wanted to know that just as I was leaving.