by London Hale
Think of the devil, and he shall appear…
“Brandon.” Genesis caught me as I stepped off the elevator, those killer eyes meeting mine. They were so bloodshot, so pained, so worried. I couldn’t help myself. I grabbed the girl and pulled her into a hug, shielding her as much as I could with my body.
“Are you okay?” I asked, nearly shaking with my need to press myself against her. To feel more of those curves. To hold her tight and never let her go so I didn’t have to think about what would have happened if she’d been in the same car as her mom when it went over the bridge. Fuck, she wasn’t mine in any way, but that would have killed me.
Gen clutched my shoulders, her delicate fingers pressing deep, and nodded against my chest. “I’m fine. My mom’s bad, though. There’s swelling around her brain, plus her leg’s pretty mangled. I don’t… I’m not sure what we’re going to do.”
The fear in her voice gutted me. “It’s okay. It’ll be okay.”
A silent moment, the feel of her body melting into mine, and then she cried. Hard. Fuck, that wasn’t like Gen. The girl was loud, brash, and audacious. Sexy in a way that stopped men in their tracks. I’d done a good job of ignoring those facts as she grew into them, but then last week, after Evie’s graduation party… I couldn’t ignore them anymore. And I hated myself for thinking about that while she sobbed in my arms. Asshole of the Year award, well deserved.
A polite cough had me turning, though I didn’t let go of Gen. I kept her wrapped up and safe. Close to me.
“Hey, Brandon.” My cousin stood before me looking tired and slightly curious. Of course, he did—I had a sexy-as-fuck eighteen-year-old in my arms. Shit.
“Josh. Good to see you.” I reached out a hand, moving Gen into my side so our embrace looked a little more appropriate. Which was fine so long as no one noticed the massive fucking hard-on I was now sporting. “How’s Lara doing?”
“She’s hanging in. Her lower left leg is broken in three places, and her MCL is completely torn. We have the best orthopedic surgery team on their way in to take care of that, but it’s not our priority.” He glanced at Gen, who was still tucked against me with her hand on my chest. “Your mom took a pretty solid hit to the head, and that’s the issue we need to address immediately. There’s a lot of swelling, and that can cause brain damage, but this isn’t a touch-and-go situation. We’ll relieve the pressure by opening up a flap in her skull and keep her unconscious for a few days to give her brain time to heal.”
Gen felt rigid in my arms, so I jumped in with the first question I needed answered. “So, you’re operating today. When will they operate on her leg?”
“The team should be here tomorrow.”
The single parent in me couldn’t help but ask, “And what’s her recovery timeline?”
Josh held my gaze, his concern obvious. “Minimum two weeks in the hospital, then another two to six in rehab. It depends on the amount of damage—if any—to her brain.”
Four weeks minimum. Gen could end up alone, without someone to look over her, for a month. In the back of my mind, I knew she didn’t need another person around, but that didn’t appease the instinctual part of me that didn’t want her unprotected.
“Okay.” Gen pulled away from me before I could decide what to do about the four-week thing, squaring her shoulders, a little of that fire back in her eyes. “When can I see her?”
Josh frowned, shooting a look my way before refocusing on the woman before him. “You can see her now, but only for a few minutes. I want her in an operating room within the hour.”
“Fine. Let’s go.” Gen snatched her bag off a chair, then reached as if to grab my hand. Looking somewhat lost. Somewhat vulnerable. Looking as if she needed me. “Come with me?”
Fuck, the dirty places my brain went when she said that, when she looked at me like that. How could I possibly tell her no?
“Of course.”
We followed Josh to a room off the main hallway. The place was dim, almost dark, but not enough that we couldn’t see the woman huddled under the sheet. Couldn’t see the bruises and cuts, the pillow-like device holding her leg in place. Gen stiffened when she walked in, completely froze for a moment as she took in the sight of her mother so damaged. I squeezed her hand and hoped my presence offered at least a modicum of comfort.
“Five minutes,” Josh whispered as he caught my eye. “I’ll talk to you later?”
I nodded, knowing that talk would be about why I was touching a young girl who wasn’t my daughter. Shit, a woman. I needed to remember that. Gen was eighteen.
Just like my daughter.
Who was fucking my best friend.
When had my life become a soap opera?
“Mom,” Gen whispered, leaning over the bed. I stayed back, kept out of the way. Gave the two ladies their space. Lara’s eyes fluttered a few times before finally opening, focusing in on her daughter immediately.
“Gen.” Her voice was rough, pained. Too quiet. “You okay?”
Gen huffed a laugh. “You were the one in a car accident, but you’re asking if I’m okay?”
“It’s the mom in me. I can’t help myself.”
“I’m fine. How are you?”
“I feel like I got hit by a semitruck and fell off a bridge. Oh wait, I did.”
“Mom, be serious.”
“Fine. I feel like ass. Everything hurts, even focusing my eyes.”
“The doctor’s going to fix you.”
“I know.” She licked her lips, glancing my way. “Brandon, can you take her?”
My eyes darted to Gen before returning to the patient. “Lara?”
“I don’t want her home alone for days on end. Can you take her? Let her come stay with you and Evie?”
Temptation had a way of making you do things you shouldn’t. Wrong things. I should have told Lara that Evie no longer lived with me. That maybe Gen staying with me—the man who had jacked off to thoughts of her every day for the past week—wouldn’t be a good idea. The right thing would have been not to lust after a teenager.
I did not do the right thing.
“Of course. Gen can stay with me as long as she’d like.”
Gen stiffened, her shoulders going tight as she glanced back at me, then addressed her mother. “Mom, no. I can stay at home by myself. I’m almost nineteen. I don’t need a handler.”
“I know you don’t, but I’d feel better if I knew you were taken care of.” She flicked her eyes in my direction, and my guilt multiplied. “Otherwise, I’m just going to be in here, worrying about you.”
The fight in Gen went out as soon as her mom spoke the words. “Fine. But promise the only thing you’ll think about while you’re in here is getting better.”
“I promise. I know Brandon will take good care of you.”
Yeah, I would. Hopefully without letting her know how much her curvy little body turned me on. How hard it was for me not to reach out and touch every inch of her pale skin. How fucking hard she made me every single day.
There was no denying it. I was going to hell. One I created for myself.
Also by London Hale
The first three books in the Temperance Falls series feature taboo relationships and May-December romances. After all, it’s summer on the island, and these couples are out to get a little sweaty.
Daddy’s Best Friend
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon CA
Amazon AU
For Other Links
The DILF
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon CA
Amazon AU
For Other Links
Nanny With Benefits
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon CA
Amazon AU
For Other Links
For more books by London Hale, check out her website at www.LondonHale.com or sign up to receive the Temperance Falls Gazette for all new release, giveaway, and extra content notices.
About the Author
London Hale is the combined pen name of writing besties Ellis Leigh and Brighton Walsh. Between them, they’ve published more than thirty books in the contemporary romance, paranormal romance, and romantic suspense genres. Ellis is a USA Today bestselling author who loves coffee, thinks green Skittles are the best, and prefers to stay in every weekend. Brighton is multi-published with Berkley, St. Martin’s Press, and Carina Press. She hates coffee, thinks green Skittles are the work of the devil, and has never heard of a party she didn’t want to attend. Don’t ask how they became such good friends or work so well together—they still haven’t figured it out themselves.
Keep in touch with London…
@haleyeslondon
london.hale.549
www.londonhale.com
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