by Piper Frost
"I think she'd be more than willing," I retort.
He gives me a look as he sits down, nodding toward the chair right next to him. "Sit."
"Sup, Jo?" Chase looks back at me.
"Hey." I look around his spot, wondering if he's actually a good artist.
"Where's Bo?" he asks, but I don't bother answering. I get up to inspect a few pictures on the wall.
"Work," Brandt answers. "You remember what we talked about for this?"
"Yep, got you all ready to go."
I stare at Brandt's bicep flex and drop my head with a shake. I’ve never liked muscles before Brandt. Didn’t really give a shit about a man’s physique. Brandt’s ruined me on that now.
I watch him closely, expecting some discomfort during the tattoo, but he didn't even flinch. There was a grin on his face the entire time. Fiona won’t stop cooing over how brave he is and I snort a laugh, walking away.
“How long you been seeing Bo?” Chase asks as he follows me toward the counter.
“Uh.” I shrug. “A little bit.”
“Too bad.” He grins and his teeth scrape over his bottom lip. Chase is hot, but he’s not Brandt. I look at Brandt and he’s hot, sexy, and mine, all in one. Chase is just…hot.
“How much?” Brandt asks Chase, cutting Fiona off while she’s latched onto him like a fucking leech. I head for the door, not wanting to hear that nerve-grating flirty voice she does anymore.
When Brandt walks out, I want to grab onto him. "So, tough guy, did it hurt any?"
His smile immediately falls and his mouth closes while his jaw goes tense. When he doesn't answer I look across the street and see what the issue is. Cash and his crew are all lined up in front of a bar with their motorcycles.
What the fuck is he doing here?
"Let's go," I snap, the high from my new tattoo rapidly losing merit as I see my brother's crew standing there like they fucking own the town.
Jo doesn't say anything, she picks up the pace and heads for my truck. Sometimes I feel like this state isn't big enough for the two of us, and it's a big fuckin' state.
I open the door for her when I hear my brother's voice.
"Fuck you doin' 'round here, Brandt?" He's got that cocky snicker to his voice that means he’s already had a few and he's lookin' for trouble.
"I can damn well go anywhere I please, Cash." I’m trying to get Jo in the truck but she's standing there, watching us. "We really gotta get goin’. You know, dinner tonight and all."
Cash's grin slides over his face and his eyes travel to Jo. "Birthday boy gets his birthday dinner every year still?"
"Just like always," I say, hating that I'm standing here giving him the time of day.
"You enjoy that, spoiled little bitch," he says to me and grabs Jo's hand, tugging her toward him. "It ain't got nothing to do with her, so she can stay with me here. It's my birthday too, Jo. Come celebrate with a man." His arm goes around her shoulders and when she tries to duck away, he clamps his hand around her arm to keep her in place at his side.
My fists tighten at my side and I narrow my eyes at him. "Let her go," I say, not wanting to start shit with her here.
He laughs and looks over his shoulder at his boys who have stayed across the street, but they're watching us.
"You get another tattoo, pretty?" He asks Jo while his fingers slowly run down her arm and her eyes dart to me. "I'll show you a few of my tattoos. I got one right here I'd like to give you an up close look at." He grabs his pants at his belt and grins over at her.
I'd like to fucking murder the asshole when his fingers keep trailing their way up and down her arm. Rage like I've never felt takes over when his hand drops to her hip.
Without thinking, I step forward and shove him off her. "Get your fuckin' hands off her."
He stumbles back a step then starts to laugh, wiping the corners of his mouth. He always does this when he's ready for a fight.
"I'll fuck you up on these streets, little brother," he warns, his head dropped like a bull, but his eyes still on me.
"Let's fuckin' go." Jo shoves at my shoulder, but I don't move because I know when I turn my back, he'll do somethin' dirty.
Cash whistles and two of his boys cross the street.
"Get the bitch outta here. She's hangin' with us," he tells them.
"The fuck she is," I blurt, pushing Jo behind me and trying to get her into the truck so I can lock the doors. It's three against me and I'm certain he's got weapons. My brother's always got his knife on him, but I wouldn't put it past him to be carrying. I eye his two goons as they approach us. "Jo, get in the fucking truck."
"Cash, fuck off!" Jo screams at him and yanks at my arm again. "You two aren't going to fight right here on the fuckin' street. Go back to the bar. And, Brandt, get in the truck."
"Just as soon as you prance your sexy ass across that road I will," Cash says and his eyes intentionally linger down her body to piss me off.
"You can't just fuckin' take what you want because you want it, Cash. She's a fuckin' human and she ain’t interested." I want to beat his face in, but I know if I start something it isn't gonna end well for us. Jo's half my size, there's no way she can get away from these shitheads if they get their paws on her.
With a laugh, he shakes his head and walks over to her, pulling her behind him with a yank and she trips, falling to her hands and knees. Before I can move to help her, one of his friends shoves my shoulder back.
"I get and take what I fucking want," he sneers and when Jo tries to get to her feet, he pushes her back down with his boot.
My fist swings before I have a chance to register whether or not it’s a bad idea. The connection narrowly misses. "Fuck you, Cash!" The burn in my arm from my tattoo means nothing right now. I just need to get her the hell out of here safely.
Cash chuckles then cracks his neck and narrows his eyes at me. "Come on, boy." He pulls out his knife and flips it open, holding it at his side.
"Cash, put the fucking knife away." I flick my eyes to Jo who's slowly moving to stand behind him.
I gotta disarm him if I'm gonna get her out of here unharmed. So I charge, taking him off guard and almost plow him over.
Almost.
I'm a lot of things that my brother isn't, but if there's one thing he has on me it’s strength and agility. It's always been that way. I've had to fight to survive against my own fucking brother more times in my life than I'd like to count, and this one day, each year, it's always the worst. Years of pent up anger against me comes out full force, simply because I was born on his fuckin' birthday. Before our mom moved away and back when I still stayed with them every now and then, he'd let it be known how much he hated me for ruining his birthday, like I could fuckin' help it.
Our boots scrape the gravel and I use all my strength to try and pry the knife away, but it's useless, and in a matter of seconds he's got me pinned against the truck with the knife pressing against my throat. The rage in his eyes is burning hot.
"I never wanted it like this." His spit sprays my face. "You just can't ever let me have something of my own."
I grunt, trying to break free, but he's got me. Narrowing my eyes, I spit right in his face. "You don't deserve her. You don't fuckin' deserve anything," I choke out the last words as his grip on me tightens and the knife pushes harder.
"Nasty sister fucker."
I blink a few times, realizing he's actually going to stab me. Suddenly, he screams and his chest slams against mine before he stumbles back, caught off guard. Jo darts around him and yanks me toward the passenger seat of the truck. We both slide in and I start the truck, pulling away as gravel flies behind us.
I grip the steering wheel tight, trying to calm my nerves as we speed away. I can't talk right now. That was way too fucking close for comfort, I should've known going to the shop today was dangerous and I wasn't thinking when I brought her along.
Jo doesn't say much on the drive. Once we reach the end of town she scoots over into the middle
seat and gives my thigh a squeeze that relaxes me enough to wrap my arm around her. I can't go home this worked up so I head to the one place I go when I need to get away.
Pulling up to the creek, I park the truck and take a deep breath.
"Sorry." I’m embarrassed I'm the reason that shit show just happened.
"Shh, shut up." She pushes up on my chin and starts to inspect my neck. "Did he cut you?”
"Nah." I swipe at my neck. Even if he did, it's not bad enough to worry about. "What the hell happened back there?" I shake my head, trying to figure out how we got out of that unharmed.
She stares me in the eyes a few minutes and I don't know what she has to say, but it doesn't look good. "I stabbed him in the shoulder," she whispers and quickly scoots away from me when my face falls.
"Jo... Shit. Holy shit, Jo." I shake my head in disbelief. I want to thank her for getting us outta that situation, but she just put a fuckin' target on her back with neon fucking letters. "I... You shouldn't have done that."
With a groan she gets out of the truck and walks up to the creek, picking up a rock and throwing it as far as she can. She fucking knows she shouldn't have done it.
I watch her from the truck until my phone dings with a message from Bo.
Bo: The fuck happened today?!
I groan, hating how small-town word travels so fast. I gotta figure this shit out before it gets out of hand. It's almost to that point.
Brandt: Just the usual birthday brother shit. Keep an eye on Cash, will ya?
Bo: Sure thing
I huff and rub my face then hop out of the truck and head over to Jo, leaning on a tree close by.
"I want to say thank you," I whisper. "You got us outta that, but you have to know how much that's just lit a fire under his ass to hurt us, right?"
Her eyes raise and she glares at me. "I'll fix this." She stands up straight. "I'm sure you and your brother have long-term issues, but the problem right now seems to be me. So I'll fix it. I fuckin' stabbed him, not you. I'm outta here tonight."
"What?" I blurt. "Jo, that's stupid! You're not going anywhere. Stop saying that stupid shit!" I shake my head and step toward her. "My brother's never going to have a relationship with me. He hates me for living, simple as that. Whether you're in the picture or not ain’t gonna change things."
"You didn't have these issues before I came. I mean fighting over a fuckin' girl. It's obvious he likes to fuck with you. He wants you to escalate things so he can hurt you. You're fuckin' stupid if you think I'm just going to sit back and be a distressed damsel while he hurts or tries to kill you. I did what I had to do, and I'm going to do what I have to do now. One less problem for you and your brother's issues."
"You leaving is a much bigger problem for me than my brother will ever be." I grab her hand and pull her to me. She rolls her eyes but doesn't fight it when I wrap my arms around her. "You can't leave, Jo. We'll figure this out."
"I'm sorry." She pushes her face into my chest.
"You did what you had to do to get us outta there. My city girl saving the day." I press my lips to hers. "That woulda been a pretty shitty birthday. Dyin' in that parking lot and all."
She chuckles and looks away. "You think he'd really kill you?"
I sigh. "I'd like to say no, but he seems to be losing his mind more and more as the years go on. When we were kids he'd wake me up every birthday telling me he wished I was dead. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd finally try to get his wish now that we're older."
Her arms slide around me and she holds on tight.
I know my brother's fraying on all ends, and I've known for a while how bad he's getting. The trick is figuring this out without calling the cops on his ass and having him taken in for the multitude of drugs and other illegal shit he's done. He's evil, but he's still my brother. My father always taught me to look out for mine before involving other people that can hurt them. As much as I hate Cash, I don’t want to see him suffering, but I’ll make him suffer before he makes Jo.
I manage to get Jo back to the house without her running out on me and I think I've talked her into not running away tonight, but the fact that she even mentioned it again has me on edge. How could she just walk away from me like that?
As soon as we’re inside, I head for the fridge, needing a beer that’s left over from last night.
"We got a couple hours till dinner," I say, falling to the couch. "I've never not wanted to go to a family dinner so bad."
She doesn't answer, she walks into her room and when I glance over my shoulder, I see at least she didn't close the doors, but I shake my head 'cause I don't know what's goin' through that girl’s head. She's probably in there packing her shit.
It’s a few minutes before she sits on the couch next to me and holds out a figure of two horses carved out of wood.
"Happy birthday." She chuckles. "It's lame, but that looks just like Lucky. I don't know who the other horse is. Just a friend of Lucky's." She laughs harder and rolls her eyes.
I take it from her hands wondering where she got this. It’s hand carved and does look like Lucky. "This is the coolest gift I think I've ever gotten," I whisper, inspecting the horses. "You make this, Jo?”
“No.” She laughs. “I bought it when I went to that convention thing with Donna. I only got it because it looks like Lucky, but I really liked it…for some reason.” Her cheeks turn pink.
“It’s cool.” I study it a minute. “You think Lucky needs a friend?" I blurt, shifting to face her. "I mean, my dad's horse is in the barn but they're never together. Maybe Lucky needs a friend." I smile wider as a plan comes to mind.
"Is Lucky lonely?" She giggles and takes the figure back to inspect it. "If I got a horse, it'd look like this one. That horse looks free." She glances at me. "Wild. But still wants to chill with his friend sometimes." That grin on her face makes me want to flip her to her back and fuck her on the couch again.
"Yeah," I whisper, watching her lick her lips. "Wild and free...just like my city girl." I lean in and press my lips to hers, reaching over and setting the horses down on the coffee table then shifting us so she's under me. Slamming my lips to hers again, she wiggles her hips and I let out a groan. "I can't not touch you, Jo." My fingertips trail along the hem of her tank.
"Then don't stop." Her lips go for my neck and she moans as I slide my hand up her shirt to her tit.
"Hey, know where I've always wanted to fuck you?" I press my lips to her neck, just under her ear and she gasps wrapping her legs around me.
"Fuck," she pants. "Where?"
"My shower.” Sitting up, I pull her with me. "I haven't been lyin' when I've said how amazing it is." I stand, gripping her hand and pressing my lips to hers when she gets to her feet. I pull off her shirt and she grips mine then pushes her hands under it, her fingers trace the lines of my hips.
"Condom," she says before pushing up my t-shirt and trailing her tongue around my nipple.
"Shit, woman," I hiss when her teeth clamp down. Chuckling, I back away and try not to make a big deal about her willingly going up to my bedroom. "I have some upstairs. Stocked up the other day," I say, yanking her behind me as we head up.
When I turned eighteen Donna insisted on building this guesthouse to give me some space. Not that the fuckin' mansion isn't spacious enough, but it saved me from living off the ranch and still gives me an area to call my own. I got to help design most aspects of this place, but I'm most proud of this shower. Steel and black tiles line the shower walls with jets coming out of the walls that hit every muscle that's ever been sore after a long day's work. There's also a massive tub that I can saturate in, but I haven't used it in a while. After a long day workin' the ranch, this is the best thing to come home to.
Well, it used to be.
When I open the double doors to the bathroom, Jo steps in behind me and her jaw drops. With a grin, I turn on the water before pulling my shirt off. She reaches for my belt buckle and as she unhooks it she glances at the shower again. I ste
p out of my jeans and help her out of hers, pressing my lips to every part of her I can as I stand up. I've never met anyone like her before, and I never thought I'd be able to find ink on a girl this attractive, but once the clothes are off and I'm really able to see the art on her body, it's the biggest turn on.
She reaches between my legs, gripping my dick, and presses her lips to my chest. I groan and as much as I love the feel of her hand on me, I'd rather be enjoying other parts of her body right now.
"Condom," I whisper, begrudgingly stepping away from her for a brief moment to grab one from the drawer before returning with a smirk on my face.
She reaches to her tiptoes and cups my face in her hands. Her eyes search mine but she doesn’t say anything. I pull her body to mine, my dick hard against her soft skin, and walk us back into the shower.
"What're all these buttons?" she asks, turning so her back's to me under the warm waterfall spray of the shower. I reach around her to push a green button and a jet to the left of us turns on. "Oh shit!" She laughs, spinning in my arms. "Those are all jets?"
"Every single one of them, city girl. And they're all adjustable." I reach over and push a red one and she gasps when it hits her ass after I adjust it slightly. "Turn around."
She bites her lip and turns in my arms. I reach down and spread her legs then move the jet to hit her clit. Her body goes tense at first, then she lets her head fall back on my chest and lets out a moan.
As the water hits her pussy, I grab the soap and squirt some in my palm, lathering up her body, taking my time enjoying every inch of her.
"Goddamn, Jo," I whisper in her ear, letting my soapy fingers slide over her nipples with ease. I love touching her perfect skin.
"Fuck, Brandt," she huffs, arching into my hands. She pushes her hand behind her and strokes my dick as the water flows down our bodies. I moan and reach between her legs, the water from the jet hitting my hand as I cup her and slide a finger inside her.
"Bend over," I whisper, needing to be inside her.
She moans but does as I ask, pushing her palms against the tile. I grab the condom and rip open the wrapper, sliding it on as quick as I can. I fuckin' hate these things. Gripping her ass in my palms, I slide my dick into her, watching as I sink all the way inside.