by Mandy Harbin
Instantly, Blade and Bear were at his side. “You heard the man. There’s nothing to be concerned about here,” Bear said a little more diplomatically.
Fuck diplomacy. That prick was going to leave this second on his feet or on his back. Brody wasn’t going to tolerate a man coming between him and his woman. Yeah, it was a primal reaction. So fucking what?
Xan sighed, and he turned to the side, looking at her. “Can I have a word with you?”
Her request had the intruder nodding in understanding and stepping away. Once he was gone, Blade and Bear retreated as well.
She crossed her arms and glared at him, and damn if that didn’t make his dick hard all over again. She was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen dressed like his own personal wet dream. Her anger was icing on that cake. He preferred women with a little spunk because they were more of a challenge. But thinking back on his sexual history left him feeling a little cold. Xan was timid at first, and he’d tried fighting his attraction to her then, making her a challenge to him even when she wasn’t trying to be. What was it about this woman that called to him, making thoughts of other women lacking in the worst way?
“Because I let you fuck me doesn’t give you the right to go all caveman on me.”
He crossed his arms, hiding a smile because he kind of liked the caveman reference. “I disagree.”
“Okay, well, after you spent all damn day with another woman, you lost whatever right you thought you had.”
Oh shit, was that hurt that flashed in her eyes? It was so quick, he couldn’t be sure. But hell, he didn’t want to be the cause of her being upset, for any reason. He relaxed his arms, letting them fall to his sides and took a step toward her. “It’s not what you think,” he said softly.
She laughed bitterly. “Oh, it never is. You know, I lived with an abusive man who fucked every woman he wanted, treating me like utter shit in the process. I won’t go through that again.”
Brody could see the walls she was erecting, so he had to do something fast before she walled herself completely off from him. He stepped closer and hesitantly stroked her cheek. “Mimi is a sixty-year-old retired school teacher who lost her husband about five years ago. After I did some work on her car, she kept returning for me to fix minor things. Then she started calling me to fix other stuff besides her car. I understood what it felt like being alone, so I couldn’t tell her no. I guess I don’t really give it much thought anymore.” He hesitated when he saw her slouch. “I didn’t think about how you’d misinterpret that.”
She narrowed her eyes and shoved a finger in his chest. “I didn’t misinterpret a damn thing. Your buddy led me to believe you were fucking her.”
Brody’s eyes got big. Then his jaw ticked, unable to hide the irritation building inside him. “Who?”
“That guy Roc.”
Brody was going to kill him. “What did he say?”
“That you were over at Mimi’s.” She frowned and shook her head. “It wasn’t so much what he said, but how he said it.”
He knew Roc could be an ass, but Brody wasn’t sure what to make of this. He felt fury boiling inside him and tamped it down. He had damage control to contend with right now. Roc could be dealt with later.
He would be dealt with later.
“Is that why you came out in search of a new man?”
She shook her head, but the flush of her cheeks and her eyes betrayed her. “Roxie asked me the other day to come out with her, then brought it up again last night at the game. Since Scott’s staying at a friend’s tonight, I figured I’d hit the town.”
He stepped up against her, pulling her into his arms and lowering his head. “You look so fucking hot, it’s making me crazy.” That and the vanilla-flavored sex scent seeping out of her pores.
Xan lifted her head to say something, but then burst out laughing. “They’re playing a rap song in a country bar?”
Brody half-smiled at her, loving the glow in her eyes now. “Who said this was a country bar?”
“Um, society? If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…” She lifted one shoulder.
“Oh, well, let me educate you,” he murmured, pulling her head back to his chest. “This place plays all kinds of music. Every forty-five minutes there’s fifteen minutes of rock or rap or pop. Most people around here like all kinds of music.”
She made this sexy little acknowledging sound in the back of her throat, and his dick throbbed.
She seemed to notice that because she rubbed her belly against it. He groaned and held her tighter, unable to stop himself from grinding up against her. God, she felt so good. He couldn’t wait to have her again. If she wasn’t careful, they wouldn’t make it out of this place without him sampling her. They’d be finding a nice, dark corner.
They swayed seductively to the music. Thankfully, people were too wasted around them to notice they looked as if they were slow dancing to a rap song because he sure as hell wasn’t letting go of her right now. He traced his lips down her throat, nipping the sensitive skin where her neck met her shoulder.
“Brody,” she gasped.
“Fuck, yeah,” he groaned, grabbing her ass and forcing her to rub against his aching erection. He was so hard he was about to bust the zipper of his jeans. Levi’s, not Wranglers. But the feel of her softly rounded tummy grinding against him only made him crave her heat, so he lifted her a little more, seeking that needed contact. But he was unable to burrow into her thighs because of that tight leather skirt. Filled with frantic frustration, his mouth slammed down on hers, kissing her with uncontrolled lust. His tongue dueled with hers, and he was about two seconds away from lifting her skirt right up on this dance floor. “Come home with me tonight,” he said, ripping his mouth from hers. Now. All night. Right now. All fucking night long. He hadn’t missed it when she said her kid wouldn’t be home.
Xan leaned back and stared at him, the lust in her eyes waning, weariness taking over. His need was boiling in his veins, and his balls, but he didn’t miss her expression. Why was she suddenly blanching at the idea of going home with him? It wasn’t as if they hadn’t had sex already. More than once.
“Um, I-I don’t think so.”
He pulled her back in his embrace, burying his head into her hair, trying to calm his raging urge to throw her over his shoulder and take her home anyway. “You know you want to, baby.”
“Yeah.” But she didn’t sound convincing. Shit. If she put the brakes on, he’d have his work cut out for him.
“What’s wrong? I told you I haven’t been bed-hopping.” Then, trying to ease her sudden concern, he said, “Mimi would break a hip if she tried.”
A chuckle escaped before she clamped her hand over her mouth, shaking her head into his chest. He smiled into her hair, loving the sound of her laughter. Damn, did she bathe in vanilla? Even her hair smelled like the decadent extract. His cock throbbed. He never would’ve thought vanilla would be an aphrodisiac.
She sighed and he tried to clear his head of her essence.
“I can come over to your place, but I can’t stay.”
It was progress, but not enough. “Bullshit. You already said Scott was stayin’ the night somewhere. You’re free all night.” He nuzzled her head to soften his words. Then needing her to understand how much he wanted her, needed her, he eased back to gaze into her sky-blue eyes. “I need all night, Xan, because once I get started, baby, I’m not gonna want to stop.”
She licked her lips, heat flaring back to life in her eyes. Oh yeah, she wanted him. He just didn’t understand her hesitation. “How about you come back to my place, then?”
Whoa. Maybe he’d read her wrong and there wasn’t any real uneasiness on her part. He contained his shock and faked a little casual response. If his dick was vocal, it’d be laughing at his acting skills. If it wasn’t so hard it hurt. “Sounds good.” He caressed her arm, fighting the urge to pick her up and run out of the place like a raging, horny teenager now that he’d gotten the green light.
S
he nodded, pulling away. “I rode with Roxie. Did you drive?”
“Yeah. Brought my truck. Go tell the girls you’re leaving, and I’ll tell the guys.”
As he headed to his buddies, Brody watched her walk away, her luscious body begging to be free of its leather cage.
After he’d taken her like a cherished lover the other day, he’d freaked out and fucked her like a cold madman the last time, fearing his emotions were getting in the way.
Tonight, he wasn’t sure how much he’d be able to control either urge.
Chapter Twelve
Xan sat in Brody’s truck, listening to the indie rock music he loved so much, counting the minutes it’d take to get to her house. When he’d asked her to come over to his place, she’d worried.
Okay, she’d freaked.
She’d come a long way since the hell that was her life with Marco. He was one abusive bastard, and he’d been her only experience. Until now. Problem was she had a hard time trusting men in general, especially in groups. Until now. And she hadn’t had sex with another man. Until now. She was definitely making progress, and even dancing with Robby—Robby? Bobby? Whatever his name was—she’d felt empowered. No, she wasn’t attracted to that guy, but she hadn’t been scared of him either. She would have done a fist pump when she got finished with that dance if Brody hadn’t interrupted her. And yeah, she danced with the guy to make Brody jealous. But dang it, she’d thought he’d been screwing around with another woman. Now she felt bad thinking of old-lady Mimi as a skank-whore-bitch. She’d been hurt by the idea of him seeing another woman, and that pissed her off. She was getting too close too fast.
And she’d freaked when he brought up coming over. Not so much because of the speed of their relationship. Relationship? God, she felt so inept with this stuff. But in one form or another, that was what they had. No, she’d really freaked because she hadn’t spent the night at another man’s house. Ever. She could accept the idea of spending the night with him, but it had to be on her own turf. Silly, since Brody was still built like a brick fortress and could overpower her with his pinky, but there it was. She felt safer having him stay over with her.
But then that brought up the whole mothering issue. She’d never had a man in her life since Marco, so her son never had to deal with one hanging around. What was right here? Hell, she didn’t know. She knew she was winging it, but had done a dang good job under the horrible circumstances she’d been dealt. But she was also a woman. Single moms weren’t all celibate. The fact she was delving into this thing with Brody was proof she was changing.
Yeah, she’d made a lot of progress since meeting him, but she still had a ways to go allowing herself to fully trust a man again. Who could blame her? Marco was… She shivered, thinking of some of the things he’d done to her.
“You’re awfully quiet over there,” Brody murmured, pulling her out of her reverie, reaching over and squeezing her thigh. She’d sensed his mind had been busy trying to figure out why she’d almost denied his request for a night of love-making. Sex. A night of sex.
“Just coming down from my buzz.” She smiled, slicing her eyes in his direction.
“I could stop and get us some wine or beer or something.”
“Nah. I have some wine and beer and tequila at the house already. Unless there’s something you want that isn’t already there.”
He clutched her hand and lifted it to his mouth, kissing it gently. “The something I want is right here.”
She melted at his words, leaning back and staring at him as he pulled into her driveway.
He cut off the ignition and got out, grabbing a duffle bag from behind the seat, and she raised an eyebrow at him. “Extra set of clothes. Never know when I’m gonna get messy at work and have to run into town. I also have an extra set of gym clothes in here if I get the urge to work out again in the evenings.”
“Ah.” Work out again? Who liked to work out once a day? Heck, she moaned and groaned when she forced herself to stick to her three-times-a-week one-mile walk. The way he looked, she shouldn’t be surprised, though. The man must pump iron for hours. She nodded in response, and they met in front of his truck, him taking her hand and glancing at her car parked in her driveway.
“How’d she drive?” he asked, tilting his head at her car, which she lovingly, irritatingly called Bertha.
“Good. Bertha’s never been better.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Bertha? She looks like a Bertha.”
She chuckled with him, shaking her head. “She looks nice too. I don’t think she’s ever been this clean,” Xan said as they approached the front door.
He leaned against the jamb as she fished her keys from her purse. “Well, I still think you should buy a new car. Technology has greatly improved in the last thirty or forty years.”
He smirked and she rolled her eyes. Bertha was not forty. Yet.
“There’s only so much I can do to prolong Bertha’s life.”
“Well, I have my reasons for keeping her around. If I ran out and bought a new Honda, she’d be jealous.”
Xan opened the door and Brody followed her in, setting his bag down and grabbing her as soon as she closed and locked the door. Her body immediately came alive, loving the feel of his hands caressing her, his lips peppering kissing along her neck. “Honda, huh? What kind?”
What? If her brain wasn’t turning to mush from the lust overtaking her system, she might’ve ignored the question. “Yeah, Accord.”
“Mmmm…very dependable.” He kissed his way to her jaw, his lips grazing, kissing, nipping along the path. Conversation about the car forgotten. His hands slid down her back and groped her ass. “God, I love your body. If you want to keep me from ripping off this skirt, you better take it off.”
He was already pulling it up, which was a feat in and of itself since it was so form-fitting, but the skirt was headed in the wrong direction. It wasn’t as if she could pull the dang thing over her head, so she backed away from him. He reached for her, growling in protest as the heat of her body left his.
Her hand slapped his chest to stay his progression. “Let me take it off.”
His hands fisted at his sides in an obvious attempt to resist snatching her back into his arms, his eyes boring into her as if his will alone would make her naked. “Bedroom,” he grunted.
His control seemed to be hanging on by a mere thread, which Xan found incredibly sexy. She wanted to tease him, but got the feeling that’d be the equivalent of taunting a wild animal.
Stepping back, she decided she didn’t mind living a little dangerously. She’d been sheltered for far too long and wanted to see how far she could go.
She looked up at him through her long lashes and smiled coyly. “Wait.”
She eased the zipper down the back of her skirt and shimmied out of it, taking her time, drawing out his pleasure, his suffering. Now she stood before him in her nude lacy top, displaying her black bra, matching thong, and knee-high leather boots. Without giving him any time to adjust to the vision of her, she clutched the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head, mussing her hair in the process. There wasn’t a need to go slow since the shirt was practically see-through.
Without saying a word, she turned to walk toward her bedroom. She knew he’d follow, but as soon as she gave him her backside, he groaned a strangled, desperate sound she’d never heard a man make before. It was thrilling, empowering, and it made her ache with need. She couldn’t wait to get this man in her bed. As she walked, she felt him right behind her, his breath caressing her exposed shoulder. When she pushed her door open and stepped in, whatever control he was grasping snapped.
She heard his duffle bag hit the floor right before Brody grabbed her by the waist and yanked her up against him, his chest hair abrading her back. Damn, when did he have time to unbutton his shirt? She loved the feel of his hair against her skin.
She loved the feel of it even more when it was against her nipples, so she tried turning, seeking that con
tact.
He clutched her tighter, not letting her move, and she felt his hot breath against her ear right before his lips landed there. He sucked her lobe into his mouth, nibbling on it. She shivered and moaned, leaning into him, wanting more, as he whispered hot and dirty words she could barely make out in her lusty haze.
He worked her up quickly to the point she wanted to beg. No matter what, she wanted him inside her. Right now. Any thoughts of teasing him fled. From the way he was acting, Xan knew she wouldn’t be able to control this encounter. She’d have to save that for another time. He walked her over to the bed, folding her over the side so that her face was buried in the blanket and her boots were still on the floor. She couldn’t see what he was doing, but that only made her hotter, wetter. Her other senses were heightened, her skin alive with electricity arcing through her everywhere he touched. She gasped when she felt him kiss the inside of her thigh above her boot.
“Damn, baby. These boots are staying on.” She felt him grasp her leg, spreading her wider, his head lowering.
He groaned, but all she felt was the hair on his head rasping against her knee. What was he doing?
“Mmmm. They taste good too, but nowhere near as good as you do.”
Taste? He was tasting her boots? That should’ve grossed her out. But at the thought of him running his tongue along the leather she wore, spasms rocked her jealous core and she moaned, arching her back, needing his tongue on her flesh.
He answered her silent plea, trailing his wet tongue up her inner thigh while the palms of his hands traced up her back. He deftly unhooked her bra, freeing her swollen breasts. His tongue reached her lace-covered mound, and she almost yelped when she felt it right where she wanted it. But he continued his track up, and she did whimper a protest then. Brody’s chuckle was muffled against her thigh, but he caressed her back to ease his denial.
When his hands slid up to her cheeks, she froze in anticipation. Would he stretch this out and make her wait, or would he yank them off? Jeez, she hoped it was the second one. Thankfully, he didn’t hesitate to slip a finger under each side of her panties and tug them down just far enough to expose her. She moaned and ground her hips against the air, beckoning him to take what she offered.