by Marie Harte
He felt her kiss on his skin, and it soothed that part of him still reeling from his family’s unexpected visit. “I hate them. I feel bad, but I fucking hate them. I see them and I’m a scared little kid again, you know?”
“Oh, Brody.”
“Alan wasn’t physically abusive. Just used to tell me how worthless and useless I was. That my mother died rather than put up with me. I moved in with Bitsy and Pop when they found me just hanging around the play yard a few times too many. Alan didn’t care. He didn’t want to feed or support me anyway, and by that time Jeremy was a teenager. Old enough to take care of himself. So while they would be out getting drunk or high together, on one of their many cons, I got to live with a real family.”
“Beth and James.”
“Yeah. They were so good to me. Gave me a home, a place where I didn’t have to worry about stuff. Flynn’s always been my best friend. And that never changed.” He paused. “The guys don’t know a lot about this.”
“Brody, I won’t say anything. I’m just here to listen. That’s all.”
“Thanks.” He blinked, surprised to find his eyes watery.
“Beth and James never called social services?”
“They didn’t need to. Alan agreed to let me stay with them full time if they left it alone. Otherwise I’d have been shipped into foster care and had to deal with a lot of bullshit. Bitsy and Pop had him sign some guardianship papers and it was a done deal. Legally they could care for me. But every now and then, Alan and Jeremy would show up and I’d have to visit for a time.”
He grew quiet, remembering the nightmare that had been his life.
“You okay?”
“Uh-huh.” He blew out a breath. “Alan would have me steal. Jeremy… He was a sick little creep. Used to scare me all the time, torment me. If I took in a stray dog, he kicked it and let it loose. If I tried to make a friend, he’d spread lies about me. But mostly he liked to use me as a punching bag. He never hit me where it would show, but I hurt. And he’d terrorize me into keeping quiet, telling me he’d do something worse to Mike or Flynn or Cam if I ratted him out.”
“So you didn’t, because you loved your brothers.” She understood.
“Yeah. That went on for a long time, until one time Bitsy and Pop got a call from the hospital. I’d broken my arm and went into shock. Nearly died. Then I stopped having visits.” He remembered Jeremy holding the gun to his head, pulling the trigger over and over. Then forcing him to climb the tree to get some stupid baggie one of Jeremy’s buddies had hidden for him. Jeremy kept screwing with him as he’d climbed. Even at eleven, Brody had been an agile athlete. But when Jeremy had hit him in the head with a rock, he’d lost his balance and fallen a good fifteen feet.
“God, Brody. What happened?”
“Got bullied into climbing a tree. Fell and broke my arm. Went into shock. Jeremy’s fault,” he answered in a condensed version.
She rubbed both his arms, from his shoulders to his wrists, and he melted under her touch. “Man, I want to belt that guy.”
He chuckled. “You and me both.” He paused. “I hit him. Hard. Knocked him down when he put a hand on me last week.”
She bolted up and stared wide-eyed. “Did he hurt you? Did he try to hit you?” She studied his chest, pushing the blanket away, and he couldn’t believe how good her concern felt.
“No. He came here to apologize for being a grade-A dick. I was going back inside, and I think he just wanted my attention. But when he touched me, I snapped. Abby, I hadn’t seen either one of them in two years. And before that, it had been a year or more. Every so often they show up wanting money or a job or a place to live. And every time I ignore them. I just wish they’d go away.”
“I do too.” She bit her lower lip, and he hated the shine of tears in her eyes.
“Damn. Don’t cry.”
“I’m not. Just something in my eye. And stop looking at my breasts,” she chastened even as she sniffed. She lay down and put her head on his chest again, just where she belonged.
“Yes, dear.”
She pulled his chest hair.
“Ow.”
“Focus. So you hit Jeremy.”
“And Alan. But in my defense, he really did take a swing at me.”
“The bastard.”
“Yeah.” He warmed up to the idea of having Abby at his back and taking his side. For so long he’d wanted to tell Flynn, but he hadn’t wanted things to change between them. Flynn and the guys were his rock. They knew the Brody he wanted them to know. But Abby…she comforted just by being there. “I slammed back into the house and they left. Period. End of story.”
“Except it’s not the end, because you’ve been in a funk since they were here. Flynn’s worried.”
“I know.”
“And you didn’t hear this from me, but he had a feeling it was your biological family bothering you. Because they’re not your family. Your real family is Beth and James, Flynn, Mike, and Cam.”
“Not technically, but—”
“Yes, technically. They love you so much, Brody. I hear it whenever Beth brags about you or James grabs you in a bear hug. When Mike and Cam give you crap at parties, or Flynn laughs with you. You’re the blond McCauley—but a McCauley. You’re so lucky to have that.”
He rubbed his cheek against her hair. She was so soft on the outside, yet so strong emotionally. “Yeah, I am lucky.” Lucky to have you here with me. And I don’t want that luck to end. “So can I ask you something?”
“Well, okay. But only because you gave me orgasms.”
“Were you serious about going to Rick?”
She stilled, and he tensed with her. Shit. She hadn’t been kidding. He’d known she was too special not to have men fighting over her. And after today, he planned to be one of those idiots bent on keeping her attention.
“Brody?” she whispered and rolled him to his back, then braced on her arms to look down at him. He could get lost in her dark eyes, that full mouth. Even her petite nose turned him on. God, the woman was so perfect for him. He felt for her, something real and sure. Something like…love.
“Yeah?” He cleared his throat, prepared to pretend to give in easily while he worked behind the scenes to push Rick and every other asshole from her life but him.
She leaned closer and whispered, “I win.”
***
The look on his face was priceless. He just stared at her, the momentary anxiety clouding his gaze gone. She smiled wide. “Yeah, I’m so winning. You liiiikkkke me.”
She hadn’t wanted the tense conversation to drag him down again. Hearing what his jerk of a father and sadist brother had once done chilled her. To imagine carefree Brody being abused like that…she couldn’t understand it. She loved Beth and James so much for taking care of him.
But sensing his shame for the way they’d treated him hurt her inside. Brody was a man worthy of love. She wondered if he knew that. If maybe that’s why his relationships never lasted. Or maybe, like her, he just wasn’t that good at man-woman connections? Then again, she and he seemed to connect with ease.
“You little witch.” He yanked her to him and rolled until he loomed over her. So much larger, he conquered her with ease. But when he started tickling her, she lost her empathy and started to get mad.
“Ack. I hate getting tickled. Hate, hate, hate it!” She tried to shove him off her but he grabbed her wrists with one hand and easily pinned her down. And like that, she started to grow aroused again. The covers slipped off them, and he laughed at her as he tickled her with his free hand.
“Stop, stop. Please,” she begged, gasping for breath. She laughed when he grazed her ribs. “Uncle. Uncle.”
Brody grinned down at her, a sly expression of victory. “That’s right. Who’s your daddy?”
“Ew. Brody.”
He laughed and then to her su
rprise, kept his hands firmly around her wrists while he nudged her legs wider and positioned his cock between her legs. Then he pushed inside her, moving easily, but he felt bigger because she wasn’t as slick this time.
“That’s it. Yeah, you cried uncle. Now you have to pay the price.”
“Oh. Okay. Yes, whatever you want.”
Brody nodded, no longer laughing, and leaned down to kiss her. He thrust his tongue and his cock in time with each other, and his movements grew frenzied. He left her lips and pulled back to watch her as he took her. “This time come with me. All around me while I fill you up.”
She nodded, lost in the lust and love she felt as they watched each other taking fulfillment. When the end came, she cried out his name and clamped him tight within her. Never letting go.
***
“Okay, so why am I here?” Del asked Abby two days later. “It didn’t make sense when you tried to explain it to me over the phone. And, well, in person it ain’t making much sense either.”
Friday night at the bowling alley, and Abby needed all the help she could get. “Look. I owe you.”
“So you blackmailed me into bowling on a Friday night?” Del crossed her arms, now somewhat concealed in a long-sleeved black button-down shirt that actually gave her a sexy edge.
“Um, hello?” Del bent her head to peer at Abby. “Anyone home?”
“Oh, sorry. Yes, I wanted you to come meet my friends. You’ll like them. And then I was thinking maybe you’d like to join a book club with a few friends of mine.”
“A book club.”
“Yeah. We read all kinds of things, not just romance. And uh, I was kind of hoping you’d talk to me.”
“We’re doing that right now.” Del sounded amused, and her dry wit only made Abby like her more.
“I meant about research. I’m a writer, and I’d like to make my character a female mechanic. You’re the expert there.”
Del blinked. She’d let her hair down tonight, and the light strands curled around her shoulders. She was exotic, rough, sensual. Not fresh like Vanessa or gorgeous like Maddie. The eyebrow ring and nose piercing, a small stud just over her right nostril, added to her tough look. The visible parts of her tattoos between the edges of the sleeves at her forearms and her wrists painted her as a woman not to be bothered, but she had attracted more than her share of attention since showing up at the crowded bowling alley, though she seemed to ignore it.
“So tell me again why this is considered repayment for fixing your tire. Seems more like I’m doing you another favor.”
Abby sighed. Like a dog with a bone. “Work with me here, Del. I’m offering friendship.”
“So what’s that in dollars?”
Ignoring Del’s amusement, Abby huffed. “You can’t put a price on friends.” Or great research potential. “You seem to be a practical woman.”
“Now you’re trying to butter me up.”
“Isn’t any good business about networking? My roommates know people, and the opposite team we’re playing knows people. Vanessa is a CPA. Maddie’s an interior designer. Flynn and Brody are plumbers and seem to know everyone in Queen Anne. Cam is an investment guy, and Mike’s a contractor. He’s Colin’s dad.”
Del smiled, and in her pleasure Abby saw the real woman behind the gruff exterior. “Oh yeah, the kid. How’s he doing?”
“Good. He kicked butt at soccer. He’s got a sleepover tonight, so Mike is joining us. See? Four guys, only three girls. We needed you.”
“I feel so used.”
Abby laughed. “Come on, stay. The beer and wings are on me.”
“Well, if you’re buying.”
“And it’s not like you had anything better to do tonight. Or at least, that’s what some guy named J. T. said when I asked for you.”
“Yeah. My brother.” Del scowled. “Huge pain in my ass. He told me I had to come by tonight to satisfy an unhappy client. You’re not even a paying customer.”
“Nor am I unhappy. See? You’re two for two. Come bowl with us. Make merry. Eat chicken. Drink the pig swill that passes for beer.”
“Sounds appetizing.” Del cracked her knuckles. “Okay, I’m in.”
“We’re on lanes three and four. Come over after you get your shoes.”
She caught Del muttering about her being bossy as she left to join the others. Abby had warned Maddie and Vanessa what to expect, though she just knew Vanessa would stick her foot in her mouth at least once. She’d made Brody extract a promise from the guys to behave as well, but who knew how that would hold up?
Ever since she and Brody had become a kind-of couple, they’d spent the past two nights together since his admission about his family. She felt their closeness to her toes and wondered if he sensed her love at all.
She saw him standing with Flynn as they bragged to Maddie and Vanessa about how they planned to crush the competition.
She joined them. “Oh please. You and what army?”
Flynn snorted. “I hate to break it to you, but Maddie is afraid of chipping her nails. I doubt she’ll be throwing down strikes.”
“Oh?” Maddie glared at him. “Vanessa and I were all-state champs.”
To Abby, Vanessa murmured, “Do they actually have all-state bowling champs?”
“No idea.”
“And when you lose, you lose,” Maddie said to him.
Flynn’s brows rose. Apparently he and Maddie had made a prior bet. “It’s on, baby.”
“Baby? Oh, the love talk. I may swoon,” Vanessa said dryly.
Del walked over to the group wearing her bowling shoes and holding her black biker boots.
“Our shoes are under there.” Abby pointed to the spot under the table, then made introductions.
“Wow. Did that hurt?” Vanessa asked, looking at Del’s forearms. Del had rolled up her sleeves to her elbows. “They say getting tattoos where it’s not fleshy is painful. And you don’t look all that fleshy to me.”
“Thanks?” Del raised a pierced brow. “Yeah, it hurt. But not that much.”
Flynn and Brody drew closer to look at her arms. “Nice artwork,” Brody said. “Flynn thought about getting a Snoopy on his ass when we were back in high school, but as usual, he chickened out.”
Flynn turned on him. “Oh? Because I never saw ink on your body. Except for that time I wrote idiot on your forehead with that tanning gel.”
“Which didn’t come off for two weeks. Thanks for that.” Brody glared at him.
Del chuckled. “You two must be brothers.”
“Twins,” they said at the same time.
Abby said to Del, “I’ll just apologize for them ahead of time and save us all the trouble later on. Cam and Mike aren’t here yet, but— Oh, there they are.” She waved, and Cam waved back.
“Holy shit, is Cam actually wearing jeans?” Brody asked.
“Yeah, but they no doubt have a fancy label on them.” Flynn shook his head. “I swear the guy won’t buy anything under a hundred bucks—including underwear.”
Abby smiled at the guys as they reached them. “Cam, Mike. Hey. This is Del.” She thumbed in Del’s direction. “Mike, this is Colin’s friend with all the colors on her arms.”
Del nodded. “Hi. Cute kid you got.”
“Thanks.” Mike grinned. “He’ll be plenty impressed when he hears I met his favorite mechanic and beat the pants off her in bowling.” He lifted his bowling bag.
“Are you kidding?” Vanessa huffed. “If I’d known we could bring our own equipment, I’d have brought my ball.”
Abby looked at Maddie. Vanessa didn’t have a ball.
Maddie shrugged.
“So that’s a handicap for you then.” Vanessa lifted a notepad and wrote something down.
“Wait a minute.” Cam frowned and looked down at what she wrote. “No way. That’s cheating.
” He wrote something down, and they haggled like tradesmen at a bazaar.
“Ignore them. They’re both OCD when it comes to numbers,” Abby told Del.
Vanessa turned to scowl at her.
“I heard that,” Cam said without looking at Abby.
“Try you resemble that,” Mike muttered. Then he glanced at Del. “You’re not going to cry when you lose miserably, are you? I mean, we already tolerate a lot from Maddie. But one sobber is about all I can handle.”
“Hey.” Maddie frowned.
Del laughed. “Hell no. I was hoping you guys were a little tougher than you look. Abby said losers pay for the game.”
“I don’t remember that.”
“Deal.” Brody rubbed his hands together. “This will be the easiest win I’ve ever earned.”
***
Three games later, he stared at the back of Mike’s head and willed the big bastard to bowl like he had more than just thumbs. Mike was sucking big time tonight. The guy normally rolled a one-sixty or better. But man, either he had the worst case of bowler’s luck or the tattooed chick was scaring him.
Brody liked her. Del had a funny sense of humor, a lot like Cam’s, actually. Dry, witty, and she didn’t say much, but when she did, she hit her target right between the eyes. The woman had a heck of a body too, if one went for Amazons with piercing gray eyes and muscle. Fortunately for Abby’s team, they had Del and Maddie—who’d turned out to be a pretty decent bowler—and his team had been handicapped with Mike.
“Nailed it,” Mike said as he released the ball.
“You only knock so many pins down because you throw it so hard.” Del shook her head. “But bowling is all about finesse. See?” She pointed to his ugly split.
“Shit.”
“Nice mouth.” Vanessa shook her head. “So that’s where Colin gets it.”
Mike turned to her. “What?”
“You mean you haven’t heard the kid playing outside with his mutant turtle guys? This bastard, that asshole. Etcetera, etcetera.”