The situation was a rude awakening. I had left my old life behind right then and there. The rebelliousness, the irrational need for attention, the constant drunken nights I’d spent at random places… All of that had stopped. And since then, I’d been her walking miracle, the one she showed off to all her church friends.
I looked up at them chatting together with comfortable smiles on their faces. They looked so suited for each other, like two peas in a pod. They’d been together for over thirty years, since Marie was twenty-one. I idly wondered if she’d been a beautiful young woman, and I figured she must have been because she was quite soft on the eyes now: her black-white hair arranged in a bun with a soft face barely riddled with wrinkles on a slim body dressed modestly.
Uncle Paul, on the other hand, must not have been easy on the eyes. Everything about him reminded me of a roughness that was unkind in every way. His thick hair was completely white and always had been since meeting him four years ago for the first time. That stern, thin lipped, wide-eyed, dark browed complexion had me shrinking my shoulders in loathing.
He was a big man too, well over six and a half feet and solidly built. Though he must have been well into his sixties, he certainly didn’t look it. This was odd coming from a man who went away to work on the maintenance of ships six months a year in the open sea. You’d have thought he’d have a weathered exterior about him, but no, he didn’t. The way he presented himself to those around him, the way the air was filled with his authority, you just knew he was a man that got his way.
Except when it came to me. He could never convince Marie of letting me go, and I was the unwanted object in his life. The one he wanted to break and throw away.
His hatred for me stemmed on a level I could not understand.
Three weeks, and four days til he’s back on the boats, I thought.
After dinner, I hurried back into my safe haven of a room and spent the night in bed, thinking of this morning’s events.
Despite what a cocky bastard Brenner was, he looked damn good unclothed.
I had a dream of his tattoos, and something about those designs resonated deep inside me. I didn’t even see them, yet I conjured up an image of them anyway.
It was odd.
Very odd.
Chapter Three
Krisa
The next day I met with my best friend, Courtney, for lunch at our usual diner. She had her heavy backpack propped beside her chair and was intensely focused on an opened mathematics textbook when I sat down in front of her.
“Took you fucking ages, bud,” she said in irritation. “I’ve gotta go in, like, twenty-five minutes.”
“What class do you have?”
“Biology.” She rolled her eyes and closed the text, plopping it back into her bag before giving me her full attention.
“You dyed your hair,” I noted with a smile. Her hair was bronzer than it was three days ago, making her blue eyes leap straight out of her tanned skin.
“I dye my hair as often as I change my underwear, Krisa,” she replied. “What’s bloody new by now? Plus, it’s totally fucked. Didn’t do it right at all.”
“Should have told me to do it.”
“You fucked it up last time. I looked like a gargoyle on crack.”
I laughed and got up, giving her a big tight hug before I returned to my chair. God, I missed this woman! Seeing her once a week was not enough. I would have gladly breathed her in every damn day if it wasn’t for Uncle Paul’s disapproval of her. He and Marie kept a wary eye on who I surrounded myself with, fearing I’d retreat back into the toxic crowd I’d grown up in, but they didn’t seem to care that Courtney was not at all involved with them or anywhere near the likes of them. She was normal, and free – both things I got jealous of often.
Oh, and she swore like a pirate.
A waitress came by and we ordered some food. As we ate, Court whined about her classes at Uni, about her lecturers and teaching assistants, about her family at home, about the horrible employment prospects in Bridgetown, and about how she was looking for an apartment.
“When I find a place to move into, I’ll be in need of a roommate.” She looked at me intently with a hint of a smile on her thin, pretty lips. “Come on, Krisa. I know you want to.”
“How about you find the apartment first and then ask me?”
“How about giving me your word you’ll be my roommate and then I’ll get a place?”
I shrugged. “Can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I can’t just up and leave Marie.”
“You’re such a bitch.” She threw her fork down and it landed across the leaves of her salad. “How can you choose her over me?”
Courtney had a bit of an anger problem, and she freely expressed her attitude with no regard to the feelings of those around her. It was one of the reasons why she had very little friends and no long-term boyfriend. But I was well used to it having grown up with her since we were four.
“I’m not choosing her over you,” I replied, darting her evil eyes. “You know it too. I just can’t up and leave her. Not after everything she did for me.”
“She took you in. Whoop-de-fucking-do! That’s what family do, Krisa. They don’t let your ass out on the streets –”
“She did more than that,” I interrupted sharply. “She didn’t have to take me in. She could have left me to foster care. She could have let me rot in those projects you saw me living in, Court. She could have listened to Paul instead of fighting tooth and nail to have me there. Come on now. I owe her.”
Courtney clearly disagreed. She folded her arms against her chest and kicked me hard under the table. “You’re turning into one of them, aren’t you? Those crazy religious people who condemn anyone that’s not in love with their God –”
“If that was the case, would I be sitting here with you?”
“No, I’m just pissed off right now, Krisa. I hate that you have to deal with that crap. You go on like Marie is the best thing that ever happened to you. News flash, dumbass, you’re the best thing that ever happened to her. She parades you around like you’re her fucking gold medal. Bragging to everyone that you’ve been saved because of her kindness – it’s sickening!”
“It’s not like that,” I argued, lowering my voice. “She has no one, Court. She doesn’t have kids, and that kills her.”
Courtney laughed bitterly. “Oh, so she’s using her infertility to guilt you into joining the convent of fucking psychopaths?” When she saw my dark look, she softened immediately. “Look, there are good religious people, ones who don’t judge and are accepting of different faiths, and then there are wack-jobs. We all know who you’re bunched up with.”
“Let’s just talk about something else then, alright?” It always led to this when it was Court: her telling me I was with crazies, that they were using me, that Marie had ulterior motives in store for me – pretty much all things I didn’t want to hear, or maybe wasn’t ready to.
“How is work?” she asked me lightly. Ah, the nice Courtney. “Did you get around to that Brenner place?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
Noticing my wide eyes, she smiled. “What? What happened?”
Frankly, I was dying to tell her. And I did. About everything. She laughed so hard, I thought her ribs would crack.
“No fucking way! That must have been so awkward.”
“It was the most awkward thing ever,” I agreed, burying my face in my hands. “They were totally screwing next door, Court, and stupid me had to make that friggin’ noise. Can’t believe Sheryl didn’t tell me beforehand that he was there.”
“She probably didn’t know. Kale Brenner’s a nasty bit of gear. Goes in and out of town like a hockey puck.”
“Like a hockey puck?” I rolled my eyes at her made-up simile.
Her face lit up. “So, isn’t he hot?”
“Oh yeah,” I agreed heartily. “He is insanely hot, but very…intimidating.” Was intimidating the best word to use?
That was the only thing that seemed to fit the word I was looking for, but it still didn’t fit entirely right. “He was like… demanding, asshole-ish kind of scary, you know?”
“Yeah, so I hear. Did you get a good look at the leg?”
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. “His leg? What about it?”
She sighed in disappointment. “You’re so slow, Krisa. Kale Brenner lost his leg. Didn’t you know that?”
“I knew one of the Brenner brothers lost their legs, but I didn’t know it was him,” I explained, trying to hide my surprise.
“Yeah, he lost it like two years ago, or some shit.”
I recalled him standing in front of the door way, all broad shoulders and muscle. Then I remembered his briefs and his jeans and blushed suddenly at the memory that I had confronted someone in that kind of state. It’d been a damn long time since I was around an undressed guy.
“No, he definitely had two legs,” I replied slowly. “Oh, man, do you think it wasn’t Kale? It might have been another brother then. Because she said he’d be back in a couple weeks, and now that I think about it, he never did tell me his name… Well, actually, he did say it was his house…”
Courtney watched me ponder out loud for a few moments. Amusement was scribbled all over her thin, long pretty face.
“Let me give you a little bit of a history lesson,” she finally said, leaning closer over the table. “Kale Brenner was a hard ass a few years ago. Of the four hot brothers, he was probably the worst. He had a saying that spread like wildfire around town: ‘Party hard, fuck harder.’ He’s most likely been in the pants of half the city’s women, and they’ll gladly tell you all about it.
“Two years ago, he was racing some dude over a hot piece of ass named Clara or Sara or Blara – whatever the hell her name was – and he ended up crashing into a tree. Wreck was so bad, he lost his leg right there at the scene. Since then, he’s a no show around town. But he leaves every now and then, and by the sounds of it, still fucks hard.” She laughed suddenly and shook her head, tidying up a few strands of hair behind her ears. “Still does some dodgy shit too. He’s slippery… As slippery as a silky snake.”
“A silky snake?” Jeez, Court had to calm down with these horrendously made-up similes. She’d been doing them for years now and they were only getting worse.
“Yeah, you know, a snake, only silky.” She explained this to me as if I was dense in the head.
“Yeah, Court, I know, and you don’t have to warn me about him either.”
“Then why are you looking all confused?”
I sighed on a frown. “I don’t know. It’s just… I thought I’d seen him before.”
“Probably from the news. Those guys are everywhere.”
“Yeah,” I weakly replied, but I knew that wasn’t the case. You know that feeling you get when the name of something is at the tip of your tongue but you can’t get it? That was exactly how I was feeling about the guy, only I was trying to figure out where in my life I’d seen him.
“Anyways,” I mumbled, moving on.
Before another word could be uttered, my cell phone rang. I dug into my pocket to retrieve it.
“Must be Marie wanting you to come home immediately before I use my witchy powers on you.” Courtney giggled.
I scowled, told her to shut up, and answered the private number. “Hello?”
“Is this Krisa?” said a deep voice on the other end.
My heart sped up, and my breathing went light. I didn’t have to pretend I didn’t know who it was. I couldn’t forget a voice like that. “It is.”
“This is Brenner. Hope I didn’t get off on the wrong foot with you.”
“No,” I lied.
“Great, well, I need you back at my place tomorrow around nine. I’ve got… a lot of cleaning that needs to get done. Does that suit you?”
“Uh…” Did it? My mind went blank. What in God’s name did I have planned for tomorrow? And why the hell would I even waste a second’s thought on this asshole?
“Yes or no?”
“Yes.”
“Good. See you then.” He hung up immediately. Clearly I wasn’t good enough for at least a good bye.
What the hell had I just agreed to?
“What’s wrong? You’re as white as snow,” said Court.
“Speak of the devil and he shall appear,” I replied, putting the phone down. “That was Kale Brenner.”
“What? No way.”
“Yeah way.”
“What does he want?”
“The majesty wants me to clean his abode tomorrow.”
“Oh, man, Krisa. Be careful. Silky snake, remember?”
“Yeah, I’ll remember.”
I don’t know why the idea of going back there made my heart squeeze and my nerves shoot up in anticipation. I wasn’t meant to be feeling anything but hatred. However, a night spent thinking of him had made me feel less unforgiving.
He was all wrong, and yet… that stirred something within me that had long died.
Chapter Four
Kale
After she humped the shit out of me on the dance floor, I took her to one of the tables and got us some more drinks. We’d gotten a lot more comfortable around each other, but I guess that’s what happens when you’ve touched almost every inch of the person you’re dancing with. Mesmerized by those eyes, I brushed a few strands of her hair out of her face as she sipped on her martini.
“You from around here, Krista?” I asked her.
“Krisa,” she suddenly corrected, a fleeting look of irritation crossing her features. “No ta at the end. Everyone messes that up!”
Fucking hell, she was feisty.
I smiled. “Sorry, kitten. My bad.”
“And yeah, I’m from around here. Moved into my aunt’s house a while ago but she’s crazy.”
“Crazy how?”
“She’s pretty godly.”
“Religious?”
“Very.”
“Fuck, that’s no good.”
“I know,” she said, cringing. “I’ve been trying to dodge her, actually. Nothing more fun than someone sticking their god down your throat, right?”
“Right.” I eyed her sexy body once again, stopping at her legs. “Does she know you’re out here?”
She scoffed, looking at me like I was crazy. “Hell no!”
I laughed. “Probably a good thing. You look fucking sinful, kitten.”
Krisa smiled seductively at me. “Nothing wrong with that, is there?”
“Hell no. I’m too busy admiring you to care about virtues.”
“Who needs those?”
“Boring people.”
She laughed, her cheeks glowing as she replied, “I’m glad you’re as reckless as me then.”
I licked my lip slowly, eyeing hers, hungry for a taste of them. “I’m the epitome of reckless, baby. It’s not my most endearing trait.”
“Yeah, well, I like reckless.”
Fuck.
She was all kinds of wrong for me, wasn’t she? My dad had given me an earful about good women. Said shit like I needed one to calm me down, to stop me from racing and drinking, and all that other dumb bullshit he spewed.
But who wanted that? Racing and drinking was who I was, and fucking sinful girls like this girl here was what I lived for.
He didn’t know shit.
Krisa drank some more of her drink before leaning into me. “How about you?” she asked me, her dark eyes boring into mine. “What’s your name? I never asked you.”
It was pretty refreshing being at a club on the opposite side of town. People here had no idea who I was. The second they smelled money, they either tried to drain your pockets, or looked down at you like you were a show-off.
She’d know about my family if I told her my real name, and she might know about me, too. I knew how fast news travelled around town, and the last thing she needed to know was I was some player jackass with an alcohol problem.
Player, I obviously
acknowledged. But alcoholic? Fuck no.
So, I replied, “Cole.” It wasn’t my name, but it sounded close to it, which was good enough.
“Nice.”
“What would be nice is somewhere quiet.”
She glimpsed down my body again, her eyes brighter than before. “We’re in a club, handsome. No quiet places here.”
I shrugged. “Let’s find one. A car. A closet. Hell, I’ll dive in a dumpster just to be alone with you.”
She wet her lips with her red little tongue, glancing around the club in thought before settling her eyes back to mine. “You’re abrupt, aren’t you?”
“Only when I want something bad enough,” I heatedly replied.
She moved a little closer to me, those fucking eyes searing a hole in my brain. You couldn’t forget eyes like those.
“What do you want exactly?” she breathed out, the glitter on her face sparkling under the lights.
“I want to touch you,” I told her without thought, my fingers itching to do just that.
The heat between us simmered. She stared at me for a long moment, winding me up again with need, and then she downed her drink entirely. She slammed her glass down on the table and turned back to me. I stared at her slender neck, the soft curve of her breasts beneath her bitty top, the way she came closer to me with eyes that smouldered and spoke of experience.
Krisa wasn’t a shy bird. She wasn’t fragile or soft. She was hard. My kind of woman.
Her arms suddenly wrapped around my neck, her front pressed against mine. She breathed lightly against my face, inching her lips toward mine as we stared heatedly at one another.
“Okay,” she whispered, her mouth barely brushing against mine. “Lead the way, handsome.”
Chapter Five
Krisa
When I made it to the house the next morning, the security gates were closed this time. I had to press a button on an intercom and wait a few moments. The security gates opened, and I drove down the road to the house in my beat up car, parking it next to a Lamborghini that I’m sure I would never own if I saved until I was ninety.