by Zoey Parker
“It’s just that she seems really keen on him, and I fear that breaking them up…” he sighed and reached for his fresh beer.
“Breaking them up means breaking her heart,” he concluded sadly.
“It’s a risk you’ve got to take,” Jameson replied fiercely. “Either you break her heart or the Skeleton Kings break every bone in her pretty little body. As her brother, which would you rather?”
“Neither.” Zack felt helpless. Either way, Brittany was going to get hurt. As her brother he’d failed to protect her, failed to shield her from the darkness of his world.
“The heart is a mighty resilient muscle,” Jameson tilted his new beer towards his friend and gave a knowing smile. “It can bounce back from all sorts of things. And the scars you wear down there,” he placed a hand against his chest, “no one can see them. But the other scars,” now his hand raised slowly to his cheek where the skin was mottled and tight. “You wear them forever,” he concluded sagely.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Brittany pulled Max into her apartment as soon as she opened the door, showering him with kisses. They’d only been apart for a few days, but she felt like she’d missed him so much she could burst. He wrapped his strong arms around her slim waist and kissed her passionately. She could feel the hunger in his kisses, the longing.
They didn’t utter a single word as they staggered together towards the bedroom. They could just sense what the other wanted. As she stepped towards the bed, Brittany hurriedly shed the dress she’d been wearing. Only an hour earlier she’d carefully picked it out as she liked the way it made her legs look long and slender. She imagined sitting across from Max at dinner and flirtatiously lowering the neckline a fraction while chewing her lip. But the moment she’d seen him, she’d lost her appetite for food and hungered for something more carnal.
Once they were both naked, they tumbled together onto the bed, a collection of knotted limbs. They were still kissing. Brittany loved how Max tasted. She wanted to kiss him until her lips were numb. As they kissed, his hands navigated the curves of her bare body. She trembled with desire as his fingertips grazed her inner thigh.
“God, I missed you,” she uttered breathlessly as he carefully eased his fingers inside her. She was already so wet she thought she might climax any second.
“I missed you too,” Max growled the words in her ear. Brittany shuddered deliciously. She loved the deep resonance of his voice, each word sounding like it had been delivered from the pit of his stomach.
He kept easing his fingers in and out of her as they writhed together on the bed. Brittany could feel the flush spreading over her face, felt the tingle down in her pussy. Curling her toes, she gasped in delight as she came. Max grinned as he turned her over so that she was on all fours.
“You’re so sexy,” he declared as he reached for her hips and guided her body into position.
The sex was hard and fast but extremely satisfying. Breathing heavily they finally parted, falling onto their backs and lying side by side on Brittany’s bed, gazing up at the ceiling.
“We might have missed our reservation,” Max noted with a sprinkle of good humor.
“Ha, yeah,” Brittany agreed. She gently reached across the bed for his hand and interlinked it with her own.
“We could order take out or something,” he suggested.
“Sounds good.” At the suggestion of food Brittany’s stomach growled in yearning. “Seems that I’m pretty hungry,” she laughed.
“Did you have fun staying with your brother?” Max asked, his gaze held on the ceiling above them which was covered with cracked paint.
“Yeah,” a smile pulled at Brittany’s lips as she remembered playing Candy Land with Zack. It had been fun, like a pleasant trip down memory lane. But then he’d been strange about Max. She sensed that he was trying to goad her into scaring him away, but why? Her smile fell, and she turned on her side to face Max.
The fresh ink of the tattoo she’d done on his chest stood out against his pale skin. The red soreness beneath it was gone, so it just looked clear and impressive. Brittany traced the line of some of his scars with her fingertip. He had so many. They ran like a dark map over his torso. Many looked as if they’d been made from deep, dangerous wounds.
“I told him about us,” Brittany stated softly. Her finger was floating over a particularly large scar which ran down from Max’ left shoulder towards his new tattoo. It was pinker in color than most of the others, suggesting that it wasn’t that old.
“You did?” Max turned to face her, denying her access to the scar as he rolled onto his side.
“Yeah,” Brittany shyly tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She instantly regretted having bought up talking to Zack about their relationship, since her brother had ultimately not seemed pleased about it.
“What’s wrong?” Max wondered softly, reading her troubled expression. “Was he not happy about us?”
“No. I mean, yes. No.” Brittany sighed heavily and sat up, drawing her knees up to her chest. “I thought he was happy about us, but then he got kind of…weird.”
“Weird how?” Max also sat up and looped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, relieved by his support.
“I don’t know,” shaking her head she wished she could decipher what exactly was going on with Zack. He was definitely behaving strangely. “I got the feeling he was hoping we’d break up soon.”
“He was probably just being protective,” Max reasoned. “You said that you two have always been close.”
“Yeah,” Brittany wanted to shake the veil of sadness that she now wore. She was reunited with Max, everything should be great. But she kept thinking about Zack. She’d wanted him to be happy for her, it was important to her that he get along with Max.
“I guess I just wanted him to react to the news like a brother,” she sighed. “Rather than a parent.”
“I don’t think any brother worth his salt, would ever be okay about his baby sister dating someone.”
“You think?” Brittany shot Max a hopeful glance. Growing up Zack had kept her so sheltered from other people that she’d lost some of her grip on normalcy.
“Yeah,” Max gave her shoulders a squeeze. “He just cares about you, Brittany. I’m sure he’ll come around.”
“Will you meet him?” She felt Max tense beside her. Her heart began to flip flop in her chest. She’d pushed too hard, she was scaring him away just as Zack had intended. She wanted to smack her own head for being so foolish.
“Of course,” but when Max spoke, his words didn’t match his actions. It was almost like his initial flinch had just been a knee-jerk reaction. Had he met many brothers? Many parents. Jealousy burned bright in Brittany’s eyes when she suddenly considered how little she actually knew about Max. Had he had many girlfriends? Many sexual partners? He was her first on both counts and that was special to her. She swallowed uneasily.
“I’d love to meet your brother,” Max reassured her brightly. But even though he was smiling, he still looked troubled.
“You would?” Brittany challenged dubiously.
“Of course,” Max leaned close and let his lips brush against hers. “If he’s important to you, then he’s important to me.”
“So are we like,” Brittany pulled away from him and sat across from him on the bed. She suddenly wished she was dressed. Being naked made her feel even more exposed than she already did.
“Are we serious?” she hated how pitiful she sounded when she asked the question. She half expected Max to shudder at the suggestion before making his excuses and leaving with haste. Perhaps Zack was going to get his wish granted after all.
“Yes,” but Max didn’t miss a beat in responding. He swiftly crossed the space between them and cupped her head in his hands. He was so warm to the touch.
“We are definitely serious,” he kissed her. This time, there wasn’t hunger in the kiss but tenderness. Brittany could feel herself melting against his heat, her fears and anx
ieties fading away.
“I love you,” she whispered the words unwillingly as they parted. She wasn’t even sure where they had come from. It was as if her heart suddenly had control of her lips and was making her say things without any involvement from her brain, which would have screened the words and told her that it was too soon. Brittany held her breath and feared that she’d taken things too far.
Max smiled, his eyes crinkling in an adorable way.
“I love you too.” He confirmed. Brittany threw herself against him, holding tight, threatening to never let go. He loved her. She loved him. That was all that mattered.
Max embraced her back, holding her against his bare chest.
“I’ve never said that to anyone before,” he admitted shakily. Brittany leaned back to look into his eyes. She saw something in them that she’d never seen before – vulnerability.
“I never thought I’d find love,” he continued, reaching for her cheek and gently stroking it. “My life has been brutal and lonely and…”
“And now you have me,” Brittany smiled sweetly at him.
“And now I have you,” he agreed with a smile. “And you know what? I’m never going to let you go.”
“That’s fine with me.” They kissed and the kiss quickly heated into something more. As the day outside darkened to night they made love several more times, each time whispering their love to one another. If Zack had hoped that they would part, then quite the opposite had happened. They were now stronger than ever.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Zack pulled up at the gas station just after dark; above him the sky sparkled with the glittering of stars. But he didn’t pause to look up. He drove directly to a pump and stopped his bike. He ran his hands through his hair and glanced around. It was empty at the station, apart from the clerk inside who gave him a stiff wave.
The clerk knew who Zack was, or rather who he rode with. Any gas he pumped there would be on the house. Stretching his legs, Zack stepped away from his bike and wandered around to the front. He felt tense and uneasy. He wished he could just let the thing with Brittany and her boyfriend go, but he knew it would be dangerous to do so.
From where he was standing, he could read the sign out on the highway informing him that Colridge was now just twenty miles away. With a reluctant groan, he reached into the pocket of his leathers and retrieved his cell phone. He made a call as he strode back towards his bike. There were signs around prohibiting the use of cell phones at the station. He ignored them all.
“Hello?” Nancy picked up and didn’t sound happy to have heard from him.
“Nancy, hey, it’s Zack.”
“I know.”
Clearing his throat, he wedged the phone against his shoulder and neck as he began filling up the tank on his bike. The petrol chugged out slowly, filling the air with an acidic scent.
“Are you free tonight?” he asked directly.
“Tonight?” he could hear how outraged Nancy was by question. “Whatever I’m doing tonight is none of your damn business,” she told him curtly.
“I think it is,” Zack countered. “I think that you’re going to meet me so we can talk.”
“We’ve nothing to talk about.”
“We need to talk about Brittany.”
If Nancy had been intending on hanging up, she hesitated.
“She’s in danger,” Zack admitted stiffly.
“If she is, then you’ve only got yourself to blame!” Nancy raged. “I know who you really are, Zack. What it is you do.”
“Trust me, if she’s in danger then it’s nothing to do with me,” his grip on the petrol pump tightened in anger. His comment was only half true. But still, being with Max was putting her in danger. Their relationship had to end. Soon.
“Look, I don’t want any trouble,” Nancy stated quietly, fear creeping into her usually confident voice.
“Me neither,” Zack insisted, “That’s why I’m currently on my way over to Colridge. And Brittany can’t know. Got it?”
“So, what? You’re going to sneak into town under the cover of night and then disappear before dawn?”
“That’s the plan.” With his tank full, Zack placed the pump back in its rack.
“You’re certainly good at creeping off,” Nancy noted bitterly. Zack grimaced and rubbed a hand down the back of his neck. He wished he hadn’t slept with her, maybe then her reaction to him wouldn’t be so emotional and unnecessarily difficult.
“Can you meet me or not?” he barked sternly, growing weary of their conversation.
“Sure,” Nancy sighed in reluctant acceptance. “But not for you, for Brittany. If she’s in danger, then I want to help.”
“Good,” Zack hauled himself back on to his bike and nodded towards the clerk in the station who was nervously peering out at him from behind bulletproof glass. “Meet me at your tattoo parlor in an hour.”
“Zack, w - ” Zack hung up. He wasn’t willing to hear any excuses.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Brittany curled up contentedly beside Max. She could hear the steady beat of his heart as his chest slowly rose and fell. She felt safe beside him, held in his sleepy embrace. The weight of tension that had been pressing down on Brittany’s chest had lifted. She felt better for having talked to Max about Zack. He’d always been so understanding and patient about the special relationship she had with her brother.
Rubbing her eyes, Brittany willed herself to fall asleep but her mind was still too preoccupied with thoughts and questions. Every line of thought kept drawing back to Zack, to his strange desire to have Brittany push Max away. Was her brother jealous? Threatened? She supposed that she should have anticipated such a reaction. Not only had she now left the family home but she’d found someone who was set to replace Zack as the guy who looked out for her, who protected her. Her brother had every right to feel uncomfortable about the situation.
But still…Brittany moved away from Max, rolling onto her back on the other side of the bed. She stared up at the ceiling as if searching the cracks that etched across it, for hidden meaning. Zack wanted her to break up with Max, it was obvious. And she loved Max, the last thing she’d do was break up with him. Would Zack just accept that? Or would he do something to force her hand? Would he not stop until he’d caused a wedge between the two lovers?
With a disgruntled sigh, Brittany sat up and cradled her head in her hands. Why couldn’t her brother just be happy for her? Why couldn’t he be supportive?
“Baby?” Max sleepily called out for her and he stretched and yawned and came to sit beside her on the end of the bed. “Is everything alright?”
“Yeah,” Brittany replied quietly before shaking her head. “No, I keep thinking about my brother. I’m worried he’s going to do something to try and come between us.”
She felt the warmth of Max’s strong arm wrap around her shoulders.
“Why would you think that?”
Brittany inhaled sharply. She didn’t know how to respond. There was so much about Zack that she didn’t know. Like where he rode off to every night. She accepted that he was lying to her. What kind of factory job resulted in employees regularly coming home with black and swollen eyes? His reluctance to tell her the truth made her think that whatever he was doing must be outside of the law. But how far was he willing to go to make money? Had he hurt people before? Had he killed people?
She shuddered woefully at the thought, and Max held her tighter.
“Hey, come on now,” he urged gently, stroking her bare upper arm. “Your brother is being protective, nothing more. Besides, if he did try and come between us, he never could. I love you, Brittany. Nothing can come between us.”
Brittany tried to take solace in Max’s words. He was saying exactly what she needed to hear yet she still couldn’t shake the feeling that their love might not be enough, that Zack might be willing to sink to depths she couldn’t even comprehend to part them.
“Sometimes I feel like my brother is keeping secrets from me,�
�� she admitted sadly. Max tensed beside her.
“I think everyone has a few secrets,” he replied darkly.
“I don’t,” Brittany instantly responded. “I don’t keep secrets from anyone. Secrets are dangerous.”
“Let’s just try and get some sleep,” Max led her back towards the pillows on the other end of the bed. He quickly fell back to sleep as soon as they laid down. Brittany lay awake listening to his steady breathing and wondering what secrets not just her brother, but also her boyfriend, were possibly hiding from her?
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Zack parked his bike directly outside the tattoo parlor. The street was dark and deserted around him. Slicking his hair back with the palms of his hand, he sauntered toward the door beneath which light was escaping out into the night. He was impressed that Nancy had been decent enough to meet with him.