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I nod my head and give him a small smile.
Wyatt takes a step toward Brody to get his attention. “Look buddy, this guy may try something with you. You need to back the f**k away if he does. Do not engage him. ”
Brody’s hand drops from me, and his lips press into a flat line. “You don’t have to worry about that. I know exactly how much trouble I’d be in while on parole if that happened, and I’m not going back to prison for any reason. I’ll be cool. ”
“Just call the police if he does something threatening and let us handle it. Make sure you have witnesses and if you don’t, just leave. Okay?”
“Got it,” Brody says, turning to walk into the kennel. He doesn’t say another word to either of us, and I’m again struck with massive guilt that he’s been drawn into my shit storm. I start to walk after him, but Wyatt touches my shoulder to stop me.
“Leave him be. He’s worried about you and needs to process it. ”
“I don’t want him to be. God knows he has enough worry on his mind as it is. ”
Wyatt just looks at me in appraisal. “So… you and Brody, huh?”
Sighing, I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know. There’s something there, but he runs hot and cold. ”
“He’s been through a lot,” Wyatt points out. “But there’s no doubt that he cares for you. ”
“Maybe,” I concede. “Hopefully. ”
“Well, come on. Let’s go get this done and hopefully, we can get an arrest done by the end of the day. ”
I get in my truck and follow Wyatt down to the police station. With him by my side, the process doesn’t take any time at all and before you know it, I’ve sworn out a formal complaint under oath. Wyatt was able to print the email Chad had sent me, as well as screenshots of the texts, and attached them to my affidavit. The arrest warrant was issued, and I was told it would go to a uniformed officer to make the arrest, hopefully some time tonight.
By the time I leave the police station, I’m emotionally exhausted and supremely grateful that Brody handled everything at The Haven. I trust implicitly that he’s taken the best care of my animals, heading home for a hot shower and an early dinner.
I want to call Brody to tell him how it went, but I don’t even know if he owns a cell phone. I’ve never seen him use one. The only thing I can do is assume he’ll show up to work at The Haven tomorrow, and I can fill him in then. But who knows… maybe he’ll come to his senses and realize that perhaps he really should stay away from me.
Maybe it is in his best interest to stay far away from me.
Chapter 15
Brody
Sitting in my car outside of Alyssa’s house, I stare at her front door. I have no clue what I’m doing here. I went home after locking up The Haven and took a shower, but I couldn’t stop worrying about her safety. What if this Chad dude tries something before they can arrest him? What if they’ve already arrested him, he got out on bail, and he’s pissed enough at her to retaliate?
That thought had me flying out the door of my house and heading straight to hers. I called Hunter on the way, with my brand new cell phone Casey had bought for me a few days ago, and told him that I needed him to cover me at the bar. He didn’t ask any questions or chastise me. It was the first time I’ve missed work, and he just said “No problem”.
Now as I sit out here, I have to wonder if there’s another reason why I’m in her driveway. I’m worried about her, sure. But that emotion just started today, and that alone isn’t enough to drive me here. I’m wise enough to know that I sure as hell have been having other feelings where she’s concerned.
There’s no denying that she has stepped inside a circle of trust with me, which makes her far more than just a casual friend. After unburdening to her, I felt lighter than I’ve ever felt in my life. It was actually healing to know that there is one person in this world that knows I didn’t kill someone. That one person heard the undeniable truth and won’t have to look upon me with some level of disappointment, loathing, or sadness.
It means I have one person in my corner.
Then there’s one other thing that I feel toward Alyssa.
Lust.
She’s been under my skin for a long time now. As much as I keep pushing her away from me physically, I can’t seem to push her out of my mind. And I’m not sure I want to fight against it anymore.
Getting out of my car, I walk up the staircase of her stilt cottage. I have no clue what I’ll even say to her when she opens the door, but that doesn’t stop me from raising my fist and rapping against the wood sharply.
After a few moments, I hear her unlocking her deadbolt and she’s swinging the door open. My throat tightens with how beautiful she is. She’s wearing similar pajamas to what she had on the other night, loose pants, this time in a baby pink color, and a white tank top that molds provocatively over her br**sts.
“How did you know it was me?” I ask with censure. “You shouldn’t just open your door up to anyone. ”
Stepping up to the doorway, Alyssa points over my shoulder. As I turn to look, I see a security camera mounted to the ceiling of her front porch.
“I have a monitor on the security panel. I knew it was you,” she says with a smile.
She looks at me in open friendship, and I don’t get a hint of anything on her face to make me think she still might have feelings of a more intimate nature with me. It makes me second-guess myself.
“Come on in,” she says as she steps back to give me entry. Kicking my flip-flops off in her foyer, I follow her in.
Her living room is richly decorated. I hadn’t paid much attention to it last night but with a glance, I take in what must be thousands of dollars in Persian throw rugs and antique furniture. It reminds me of Stacy’s lavish home, yet it doesn’t make me think any worse of Alyssa. That’s because I have firmly come to believe that having money doesn’t make you entitled. Alyssa taught me that in so many ways.
“You’re house is beautiful,” I tell her.
“Surprised I spend money on something other than dog food?” she teases.
“It suits you,” I tell her honestly “Just as much as the dirt and dog hair you wear all the time. You’re multi-dimensional. ”
Alyssa laughs deeply, and it’s a sound I haven’t heard yet from her. It’s pure delight and amusement encased in a smile so wide that two of the most beautiful dimples appear at the corners of her mouth.
“So what brings you by?” she asks over her shoulder as she walks into her kitchen. I trail along behind her, taking the opportunity to study the sway of her h*ps that’s part confident woman walking and part sexy seductress.
It’s all Alyssa.
“I wanted to make everything went okay at the police station. ”
“Right as rain,” she assures me, opening her refrigerator to pull out a bottle of water. “Wyatt called and said he was arrested a few hours ago. He’s probably out on bail already. ”
She holds up a bottled water for me, but I shake my head ‘no’ and prop an elbow on her counter. “I’m worried that Chad might try something. I don’t like the idea of you being here alone. ”
“So you thought you’d come by and protect me?”
“Something like that,” I tell her, because while I wasn’t the one to suggest it, it’s definitely what I had been thinking. “Let me crash on your couch tonight. ”
“I can take care of myself,” she says softly. “But thank you. ”
“Then let me stay the night anyway… with you,” I tell her quietly, and then hold my breath while I wait for her reaction.
I’m emboldened when I see her eyes go round with surprise, and then flare hot with understanding of what I’m saying. She walks toward me, setting her water bottle on the counter.
Her hand comes up as she steps into me, her palm sliding along my bearded jawline and then curving around the back of my neck. She pulls me down in one fluid motion even
as she stands on her tiptoes to reach her mouth to mine.
My entire body sighs in relief that this is going to happen… that I am going to know Alyssa on the deepest of planes, and my skin hums with anticipation.
Her lips caress mine softly, but she has no hesitation when she opens her mouth to me and our tongues meet in a kiss of need and desire. The kiss is brief but it’s deeply sexual, leaving no doubt that we’re on the same page.
When she pulls back, she does nothing more than take my hand and turn to lead me out of the kitchen.
Right through the living room and down a short hallway to the back of the house.
To her bedroom, which is no less filled with rich furnishings and sumptuous bedding, but it is by no means ostentatious. In fact, it’s subtle with creams and tan colors, and soft lighting that makes the chocolate-covered walls glow in comfort.
It’s peaceful, just like Alyssa.
Dropping my hand, she turns to me, her arms hanging loosely at her sides. She is spectacular… all freshly innocent face and lush womanly curves, and I want her so bad that my bones ache. She represents everything that could possibly be good in my life now, and while it scares the shit out of me, I’m helplessly drawn to it.
It makes me hopeful.
We stare at each other a moment, delicious tension filling the space between us. My fingers itch to touch… my mouth waters with the need to taste.
“Take your clothes off for me, Alyssa. ”
Her lips curve upward at my request, but she never hesitates for a minute. Her fingers grasp the bottom of her tank top, and she lifts it slowly… past her flat stomach, to the underside swell of her br**sts, over her ni**les, which tighten when the cool air hits them. My body stiffens with longing and the minute the tank top clears her beautiful face, I’m stepping toward her.
Dropping to my knees, I sink my fingers into the waistband of her pants, clear past the elastic edge of her panties. I lean forward, placing a kiss on her stomach, which causes her to shudder. That response from her… it would have dropped me to my knees had I not already been there.
Alyssa’s hands come up, palms to my cheeks, and her thumbs graze over the skin just above my beard line. I look up at her and my breath catches over not just the desire I see in her eyes, but the tenderness she feels for me. Part of me wonders if there is any pity, but the promise of what’s to come makes me banish that thought.
I pull her pants and underwear down her legs, my thumbs grazing along her skin as I make the descent. She smells like wild honeysuckle, and her skin is so luxuriously soft. I wish that I were clean-shaven so I could rub my cheeks along it.
Alyssa balances herself by placing her hands on my shoulders while she lifts her feet, one by one, and I pull her clothes off. As she sets her foot down, I look back up at her, my hands grasping on tight to the backs of her thighs.
“You don’t know how bad I want you right now,” I tell her in a moment of harsh truthfulness. It’s a moment of vulnerability I rarely succumb to.
“Probably as bad as I want you,” she says softly, her hand coming up so her thumb can rub along my bottom lip.
I close my eyes for just a second to relish the feeling. When I open them back up, I pin my stare to the beauty of what lies between her legs and pull her toward me. She’s not ready for the movement so her hands come again to my shoulders for balance, and I push my face right into her soft curls, inhaling deeply.
Yes, wild honeysuckle and femininity, and the smell is so wonderful that it banishes the stench of prison clean from my memory.
I stand up in a decisive move, picking her up in my arms. Turning to the bed, I lay her in the center and just roam my eyes over that fantastically amazing body, which is spread before me, to do with whatever I want.
“Take your clothes off for me, Brody,” she murmurs, one hand coming over to rest delicately on her stomach, where she strokes her skin. I watch, hypnotized, as her hand glides upward to her breast, grazing softly over her nipple. It makes my dick ache with need, but I oblige her request.
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