by Amelia Shea
Amelia Shea Flawlessly Flawed
Garrison Brothers, Book 2
Amelia Shea
Published: 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62210-308-9
Published by Liquid Silver Books. Copyright © 2016, Amelia Shea.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
Manufactured in the USA
Email [email protected] with questions, or inquiries about Liquid Silver Books.
Blurb
Oh, how the mighty fall………
Bounty hunter T Garrison is a foul-mouthed, arrogant, stone-cold man. His loyalty and love is reserved only for his family. Women are strictly good for one thing, warming his bed. No love, no romance, and absolutely no forever. But even the mighty fall and as T finds out, sometimes they fall for the least likely girl.
Event planner Cassie Miller is an overworked, underpaid, twenty-four-year-old woman just trying to get by. Her life is simple and normal with a nonexistent love life, until she crosses paths with a hot, rude, scary-as-hell guy who changes everything.
When good and sweet meet bad and scary, all bets are off. Two people so different never looked or felt so good.
Dedication
For Dan…
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Liquid Silver Books for making this writer’s dream come true a second time and to the Art department for my awesome cover. A very special thanks to my editor, Ansley Blackstock, for being great at what you do and for your humor, guidance, and extreme patience during edits.
Thank you to all my family and friends. To Dan, for everything you do, so I can do this. To Scarlet and Maddison for being my biggest cheerleaders—but you still can’t read my books. To Tonya, my beta, for the round tables, pep talks, and for loving these brothers as much as I do. To Stephen, for all your amazing support and for reminding me Dad would be proud. To my farm girls, Kristen and Molly, thanks y’all.
Thank you so much to the readers, who gave my first book a chance. I’m forever grateful!
Chapter 1
The day from hell!
CASSIE Miller dragged her feet up the last flight of stairs to her apartment. The elevator had been broken since the day she moved in. That should have been her first sign that moving in was a bad idea. But of course, she ignored it. Overwhelmed by her own excitement of finally getting out on her own, she jumped at the opportunity. Now she was stuck there until she could afford something better.
Peering down to the floor below, she saw a large black rat scurry across the floor. Cassie shivered and scrunched her nose in disgust. Taking the last flight two stairs at a time, she whispered to herself, “It’s just a giant hamster.”
Her building was shit. Literally, on the second floor she walked past a pile of it. She wasn’t sure if it was dog or human but either way, she needed to find a new place to live. Fast. She stepped onto the landing and headed to her door.
Cassie fumbled for her keys. Where the heck did I put them? Could this day get any worse? Her boss was in a foul mood, taking it out on Cassie and Evie, her coworker. Cassie had known taking this position would have her doing all the grunt work but working her way up would only get her closer to her goal of one day owning her own event planning company. Still, playing bitch girl to her boss, Beverly, had been no easy task.
Today proved especially difficult. They couldn’t find the plans for the big event in two weeks and somehow that was Cassie and Evie’s fault. Nine hours of running around and being bitched out. All she wanted was to crawl in bed and sleep for days. TGIF!
Cassie found her keys at the bottom of her bag and unlocked the door. She opened the door to a dark apartment and sighed in relief. Tina wasn’t there. Tina, her roommate, was the devil reincarnated. The biggest mistake Cassie had made was agreeing to be roommates. But how was she to know that the sweet girl she met at the coffee shop would turn out to be an unreliable, filthy, super slut who was constantly late on her half of the rent? Cassie was looking into moving but her funds were low at this point. “Bitch girl” didn’t pay big. She’d have to suck it up.
She closed the door behind her and flicked on the lights.
“Oh, my God!” she heard screeched from behind her. Cassie jumped, whipped her head around and locked eyes with a dark glare belonging to a huge, scary as hell guy.
T.
Tina’s new boyfriend, T, was the kind of guy you didn’t make eye contact with. Cassie had met him a few weeks ago, briefly. He hadn’t uttered two words to her at the time. His shaved head, bearded face and dark eyes immediately attracted her when she first saw him in her apartment. He was coming out of Tina’s room, shirtless, covered in tattoos and muscles. She stopped dead in her tracks, gawking at him. He was beautiful in a scary, “don’t fuck with me, I could snap you in half” kind of way. Still, she took her chances and stared—a view like that was hard to turn away from—until his callous glare turned on her. She rushed back into her room, slightly freaked out but not entirely. True, she was scared, but mostly because she was incredibly turned on by just watching him. Stupid girl!
Her future encounters with him were the same. He hardly ever spoke to her but any time he was in the room, she could feel his stare. She would be in the kitchen or the living room and she’d sense him. A shiver would run through her body and her girly parts would get excited, she’d turn to find him just watching. Not smiling or talking, just watching her with his dark scowl. The rational side of her brain said “Be careful” but her other side, the one below the belt, screamed, “He’s looking at us!”
A loud voice brought her out of her daydream and back to present day. Cassie blinked and focused.
She had been so completely absorbed in looking at T that it took a few seconds to process what she walked into. Tina was completely naked, her hands covering her breasts standing in front of T, who sat shirtless on the couch. His face was a stone mask and his eyes were heated. His mouth twisted. Oh, God! What the hell did she just walk in on? Cassie’s face immediately flushed and she turned around to face the wall.
“What the fuck? Don’t you knock?” Tina seethed.
Cassie fired back at Tina’s stupidity. “In my own apartment? No, I don’t knock.”
Cassie hated Tina and the feeling was mutual. How they even survived the last four months of living together was a mystery to her. She rolled her eyes and prayed for some dark hole to swallow her up.
Tina huffed and released an angry sigh. “Well…get outta here.”
Cassie squinted her eyes at the wall. Was this girl serious? “Get dressed and I will.”
“We’re not done here.”
“Oh, my God, are you serious?” Cassie was perplexed.
“Fuck, get dressed.” A deep growl vibrated through the room.
“What? No! Lover, I’m not done giving you that dance I promised,” Tina pleaded.
“Get dressed, now,” he demanded.
Cassie was still standing facing the wall but she could hear rustling and Tina’s faint murmur calling her a bitch. Cassie rolled her eyes. Did Tina really expect her to just walk into her room so she could continue giving him a lap dance, which would probably lead to sex, on her couch? Oh gross! The real issue with Tina was she couldn’t see how messed up this scene was.
Cassie really needed to find a new place.
She took a deep breath as she heard footsteps stomp down the hallway. She waited a few more seconds trying to spare her eyes any more flashes of flesh.
She released a heavy sigh and turned around. She flinched in surprise. Standing a foot away from her was the huge and intimidating T. Dressed in only his jeans with his T-shirt in his hand, Cassie gazed down at his bare chest. Damn, he was hot! She looked up, his black stare bore into her. Any time she had caught a glimpse of him, she immediately blushed. The bedrooms shared a wall, so Cassie was privy to all the fucking that went on between them. He was a master at dirty talk. The first time she heard him demand, “Take it deep,” she was mortified. Who talked that way? But curiosity got the best of her and she put her ear against the bedroom wall. His voice was commanding and hot. Cassie found her own hand reaching into her panties and giving herself the best orgasm of her life. All from the sexy voice beyond her wall. Cassie’s face heated up again as she stared into his almond-shaped eyes. His face was stern and Cassie couldn’t tell if he was mad or if that was just his natural face. Can a guy have resting bitch face?
T towered over Cassie by about a foot, her head only coming up to his chest. At five feet one inch, she was used to being the shortest person in the room. But here, standing in front of him, she had never felt smaller. She took in a deep breath and pressed her lips together.
“Uh…sorry…to uh…interrupt,” she said nervously. Why was he standing so damn close? She could smell his scent of sweat, soap, and arousal. She inhaled and held her breath; this was something she was going to savor.
His eyes remained on Cassie and he continued to silently stare. Feeling the weight of his dark gaze, Cassie decided she needed to get away from him. Fast!
“Yeah, okay so, I’m just gonna go to bed and let you get back to Tina.” He didn’t move. Her gaze darted around the room. He wasn’t moving.
“Okay, bye.” Cassie tried to slide past T on the right but he stepped in front of her, blocking her. Cassie looked up at him again. This time he had a sneer on his face.
He leaned in closer and whispered, “You owe me.” God, that voice was sexy. Deep and calm, with a slight gravelly rumble to it. Shaking that thought from her head, she focused back on his words.
Cassie stared at him in confusion. “Owe you what?”
His smirk remained. “Lap dance. You interrupted mine, now you owe me one.”
Her heart raced and her breath hitched. “Uh…” Her hands started to tremble and she shook her head. Did she just hear him right? He wanted her to give him a lap dance?
He leaned in closer. “How ’bout this? You walk back to your room, get naked, and fuck yourself thinking of me and we’ll call it even.”
Cassie blushed. Oh, God, no.
T’s mouth formed an evil grin. “Thin walls, babe. You want to get off to me, I’m fucking cool with that. Just remember to call out my name.” He took a step closer and his body crowded hers. His lips came down to her ear and she could feel his breath over her skin. “That shit got me so fucking hard last time.”
Cassie gasped and her face heated with embarrassment.
“Lover, you coming?” Tina’s voice was sweet but Cassie heard the anger behind it. Cassie looked past his shoulder to see Tina standing by her door, braless in a see-through T-shirt and skimpy panties. She glared at Cassie.
T stepped back from Cassie and walked down the hall to Tina’s room. When he got to her room he grabbed Tina by the waist and she hopped up on him and wrapped her legs around him, kissing his neck. His hands gripped her ass as they walked in and the door slammed behind them.
Cassie, still mortified, slumped back against the wall. She really needed to find a new place. Her head bowed and she deepened her breath. “Real slick, Cass,” she uttered to herself.
She gathered herself a few seconds later. She rushed down the hall, trying to ignore the sounds she briefly heard from Tina’s room. She went into her room, flicked on her light, closed the door behind her and fell on her bed.
He had heard her masturbating and worse, she did call out his name as she came. She didn’t mean to, it just came out in the peak of her orgasm. She grabbed her pillow and smothered her face as she let out a muffled scream.
Cassie lay there for a few minutes mulling over her ridiculous embarrassment. She pulled the pillow away from her face and she stared up at the ceiling. What the hell was she thinking? Masturbating while those two fuck bunnies screwed all night? She was such a loser.
She sat up on the bed. She heard murmured voices from the next room. Great, looked like Tina was being treated to the real deal while Cassie was left with her fingers and mechanical devices.
She crawled over the bed and rose to her knees before pressing her head against the wall that separated her room and Tina’s.
“So, what were you saying to her? God, I hate that bitch!”
Cassie snorted. Feeling is mutual, crazy psycho whore!
“I think she’s a dyke.” She heard Tina snicker through the walls.
Fucking bitch! So what if Cassie didn’t have different men coming through the apartment all the time. That didn’t make her a lesbian, not that there was anything wrong with being one. It made her a decent girl with morals that didn’t sleep around, a respectable girl. So what if she wasn’t a slut like Tina, and the only dates Cassie had were with guys that looked and acted nothing like T. That was a good thing. He was a jerk and a Neanderthal. He was rude and vulgar. Who would want an asshole like that?
Cassie ignored the little voice below her belt screaming, “We do!”
“Fucking shut up already about her. I got something planned for that mouth, and it ain’t talking,” T growled.
She pulled her head away. She scooted down under her covers and closed her eyes. She didn’t have the energy to get up and turn off the light. She released a heavy sigh, thankful the day was finally over. She drifted off to thoughts of a rude, vulgar, Neanderthal jerk with beautiful dark eyes.
The day from hell!
Chapter 2
Day from hell part two!
SHE woke up at eight o’clock to her cell phone ringtone of the munchkins from the Wizard of Oz singing, “He-haw the witch is dead, the witch is dead.” That was the ringtone for her boss, Beverly. Morbid and crass, yes, but effective. When Cassie’s mom heard it she was appalled and made her promise she would change it. She hadn’t gotten around to it yet. After all, it had only been two months.
She ran around her room trying to get dressed and field all of Beverly’s questions.
“I know that the list was dropped off at the caterers and I spoke to Millie about the cake and all the specifications that had to be done.” She huffed while pulling up her jeans. Her head cocked to her shoulder trying to hold the phone as she ripped through her dresser for a shirt.
“They better be, goddammit! I had to call the florist myself. I don’t know why I pay you and Evie if I have to do all the work myself.”
She rolled her eyes. Beverly did a lot but not nearly as much as Evie and her. And she certainly didn’t do any of the grunt work. Yet, she always found something to bitch about. She needed a new job to go along with her new apartment.
“Be here in thirty minutes,” Beverly ordered.
“It’s my day off,” she blurted out. A much needed day off.
“This event is less than two weeks away. I need you in today,” she insisted. “Fine…come in at nine then.” Cassie heard her mumble, “Good help is so hard to find,” before she hung up. She grunted and stomped her foot.
“Shit!”
She threw her phone on the bed. She opened her door and was rushing out while putting on her shirt when she stopped midway down the hall. In Tina’s doorway T was leaning against the doorframe. He was bare-chested again and she could see all his tattoos. This guy should never wear a shirt. His arms and chest were covered with only one bare spot on his left pectoral over his heart, well, where his heart should be. Whether
or not he had one, the jury was still out. She noticed a snake wrapping around his left arm up to his neck. The snake seemed appropriate on him. On his chest she could make out what looked like a long chain and writing directly below it. She squinted but she couldn’t read it. What the hell did it say? She was slightly mesmerized by all the colors. The tattoos created a mural on his arms and chest. His muscles rippled beneath the art on his body. He was a beautiful piece of art. Jerkoff!
His arms shifted and folded over his chest. Her eyes met his scowl. Was this guy ever happy? Probably not, hot guys were always pissed about something. Cassie stared back at him? What was his problem?
“What?” she asked, irritation in her tone.
“You always get dressed in the hallway?” he replied, almost sounding bored.
“No, I was just talking to my…I have to go in…” Cassie stuttered through her words, unable to finish a complete thought. “I’m late.”
He shifted his gaze down her body and back up to meet her eyes. There was nothing in his eyes that told her he liked what he saw. He actually looked unimpressed. God, she did not need this right now. She walked down the hall past T while he watched her. She turned back to him. He was still watching her.
“Why are you staring at me?” she snapped, growing angrier by the second. His words from last night lingered in her mind. He knew she had gotten off to the thought of him. Smug bastard. He continued to stare in silence. His hooded eyes gave her nothing but he still watched. He was probably wondering if she was a lesbian.
Tina’s comment from the night before annoyed Cassie. Maybe she should show her and T that this girl was one hundred percent into men. Cassie would use him as her example. Cassie’s lips quirked up as she stared at him. His eyes changed as he watched her. He now had a guarded look on his face. Conjuring up her inner seductress, Cassie licked her lips and smiled at him.
She walked up to him slowly, and still he watched. She was about six inches away from his towering body. The top of her head only reached his shoulders and she knew he’d have to bend down to her if she wanted her little plan to work. He continued staring and she gave him what she hoped was a sexy smile.