Skin Deep 3 Skin to Skin J M Stone

Skin to Skin

By J.M. Stone

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Cover Design by J.M. Stone

Cover Image Tattoos Courtesy of Leo Parsons

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Kindle Edition, License Notes

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment. Ebook copies may not be resold or given away to
other people. If you would like to share with a friend, please buy an extra copy, and thank you for
respecting the author’s work.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by
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for reviews. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded, or distributed via the internet without the
publisher’s permission and is a violation of the International Copyright Law, which subjects the
violator to severe fines and imprisonment.

This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, incidents, and places are products of the author’s
imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or actual
events are entirely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features
are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is
no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used.

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Dedication

To Nathan (Bubba) and Josh for “southern lips” and “ANAL”, even though I didn’t use them. Yet.
You two are a riot!

Prologue

Fireworks exploded behind my eyes as Greg slapped me across the face once more. I slumped to
the floor, my hand over my cheek. I pressed my fingers gingerly over the spot where it seemed my
skin was on fire, wincing when I touched broken skin and wetness that surely indicated blood.

“You just don’t know when to fucking quit, do you bitch?”

I opened my mouth automatically to deny…to ask what I’d done now, but I should have known
better.

Before a sound had even passed my lips, he was swinging, screaming, “I don’t know how many
times I have to tell you! Are you ever gonna learn, you stupid little cunt? God damn, I should have
strangled you last time and saved myself the fucking trouble of going through this again!”

I squeezed my eyes tightly shut; I didn’t want to see the blows that were coming. I could feel the
wetness of blood begin to trickle down my cheek, and my eyes were starting to swell. A scream
wrenched from my throat as the toe of his boot connected with my tender ribs, then my arm as I
instinctively wrapped it around my body for some kind of protection.

But the abuse just kept coming in rapid succession. I tried to crawl away to no avail; he only
followed, punching and kicking while I tried my damndest to protect my head and the other vital
parts of my body.

I sobbed in pain, writhing on the floor while he stood over me, spittle flying from his lips as he
yelled, screamed, and raged at me for whatever transgression I’d committed this time…and as the
blows continued to rain down on my abused body, I slipped inside myself, floating away where I
couldn’t feel it anymore, where he couldn’t touch me anymore.

The words of the lullaby my mom used to sing me tumbled through my mind and I sang them
tunelessly in my head, letting them carry me further into the darkness that soothed me, brought me
relief…

The moon is shining brightly
Over top your wee-bit head
So rest your eyes my little girl
As Momma tucks you into bed
Off to sleep now, off to dream
Snuggle in and hug me tight
I love you always and forever
Go to sleep, my girl, goodnight.

Chapter 1

“I kissed Brandon.”

The words exploded from my mouth, followed by a whispered apology, before I could even think
about stopping them. Horrified, I clapped my hand over my lips, squeezing my eyes shut as I imagined
Allie’s fist meeting my face. That was so not how I envisioned finally getting this off my chest.

When nothing but silence met my comment, I risked peeking over at her. She was standing beside me,
her hands frozen over the flaps of the box we were unpacking that had just come into her store. She
stood like that for just a second before she smoothed her hands down her swollen stomach and
nodded decisively.

“You know, I was going to ask you why there was some kind of tension between you two. Guess I
don’t have to do that now, huh?”

She chuckled wryly, the corner of her mouth tilting up in a half-smile.

My heart stopped, but my face crumpled and my mouth started running of its own volition.

“I…I don’t have any excuse, really, Allie. I’m sorry. I’m so, so completely sorry, and I really never
meant for it to happen. We were just on that road trip and I got drunk one night when I was feeling
sorry for myself and…I just kissed him.” I threw my hands up, shaking my head as I felt tears threaten.

Soft, small hands cupped my cheeks and brought my face around. My eyes clashed with the big, bright
blue ones of my future sister-in-law.

She sighed, her thumbs gently wiping away the tears that had just started to fall. “Chloe, don’t cry.
You didn’t do anything wrong. Brandon and I were done at that point. I’m marrying your brother, and
I’m having your nephew. I’m not mad…I won’t lie to you and say it doesn’t hurt a little…but I’m not
mad.”

The tears began flowing faster down my cheeks. How could I have done this to the amazing person
standing in front of me? How could I have hurt the person who has done so much for me ever since I
showed up unannounced and buried under a mountain of personal baggage?

A sob bubbled out from my chest and I choked it back, not wanting to break down completely. I didn’t
deserve to break down in front of Allie…she was the one who was hurt. I deserved nothing more than
an ass kicking.

Allie groaned and pulled me into her arms, hugging me tightly and the dam broke. She just held me
tighter, letting me cry on her shoulder, literally. And as shitty as it was for me to do, I let her do it,
and I cried. Hard.

When the storm of sobs had finally slowed, she pushed me back and looked me over as I stood there,
struggling to catch my breath and wipe my face.

“Okay. I think that this is a perfect time to just close up shop, head over to your house, and have some
special sundaes.” She paused, rubbing her belly again before shaking her head and smiling as she
said, “Well, you’re gonna have a special sundae and I’m just gonna eat the frozen yogurt.”

I gave her a watery smile and nodded. We shut down the store and headed to Allie’s, er, my house. It
was still so weird to say my house, and even weirder to hear Allie say it, too, especially because not
too long ago, it was Allie’s house. I guess I’m even more flabbergasted at the generosity of Allie…I

mean, I had nowhere to stay when I showed up on Luke and Emma’s doorstep, looking for my brother.
I knew he was building a house and I could always crash with him, that went without saying. Instead,
I ended up at Allie’s house in her spare room, and when she moved into Jackson’s house, she’d
handed me a piece of paper that turned out to be the deed to her house. I tried to refuse, but…I finally
gave in and took it for what it was worth; a chance to start over fresh on my own two feet, which is
exactly what I came here for. I just didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.

I left L.A. a broken and battered mess, running to the little town of Phillus, Ohio where my brother
had decided to relocate. Initially, he’d come to see his best friends, Luke and Brandon, but one look
at Allie and his mind was made up. He bought land, started building a house, and now he and Allie
are engaged and expecting my little nephew in a little over two months. Of course, their story was a
little more complicated than that, but…you get the idea.

Half an hour later we were sitting on my couch after a slight detour to the store to grab special sundae
items. The first time they’d handed me one, I was a little skeptical. Strawberry daiquiri wine cooler
over strawberry frozen yogurt? Yeah, not a combination I ever really thought would be good. But
lemme tell ya, it is yummy!

I took another bite of my sundae and laughed at the yearning, pathetic look Allie shot my bowl as she
spooned up her own bite of boozeless fro yo. She scowled as she shoveled it into her mouth on a huff.

We ate in silence for a minute before Allie broke it on a sigh. “Look. I know I said it hurt earlier
when you told me you kissed Brandon. It’s true…it does hurt. But I have no right to be mad at you,
and like I said, I’m not mad at you. Brandon made his choice to walk away from what we had, and I
made the choice to let him. I gave up, didn’t fight for him, and do you know why?”

I shook my head, my own eyes beginning to brim with tears as they started falling from hers.

“I didn’t fight for him because I realized that, deep down, I knew the love I had for Jackson was so
much deeper than the love I have for Brandon. But I’m selfish, I guess, because if he hadn’t walked
away, I would have kept him with me, and honestly, that would have probably ruined us...someone
would have ended up unhappy and, in the end, we wouldn’t even have the friendship that we do. I
couldn’t bear that. Besides Emma, he’s my best friend.”

She paused for breath and to wipe away the tears falling unchecked down her cheeks. “I was so
jealous of you, Chloe, when you showed up. Brandon was always running to help you, sleeping in
your bed. You knew it…I mean, hell, you apologized every five fucking seconds. And I think my
jealousy stemmed from the fact that you guys were close…you’ve known each other and been friends
for years. Not only that, but…you’re fucking gorgeous!”

She laughed and I just shook my head at her. She held her hand up when I would have voiced my
protest, and I shut up, allowing her to continue.

“In the long run, Brandon did what was best for him, and for me and Jackson, too. And yes, God, it
still hurts and I’m still so pissed off at him at times, so much that I just want to throat punch him! But,
again, he did do what was best. For all of us. Regardless, I love him, and I always will. He’ll
always hold a special place in my heart, and the woman who finally lands him is just gonna have to
deal with it, because I’m not letting go of his friendship. I can’t. Trust me, I’ve went back and forth
about this whole thing many times since he walked away. Emma was ready to castrate him because of
it; she kept saying that he had made such a big deal about making it work and everything…and then
just left it all behind when things got hard.”

“But, he didn’t!” I interjected loudly, shocking both myself and Allie.

She quirked her eyebrows at me and cocked her head. “Well, yeah, Chloe, he kinda did,” Allie said
softly.

I shook my head, still unsure as to why I was forcing the issue, but…I just couldn’t let her think
differently. Unable to stop, my mouth opened and the words poured out, memories overtaking me…

My sixth shot of tequila went down way smoother than the first five for some reason. Giggling, I
slammed the glass back on the bar and turned to Brandon, who was brooding beside me. “So…Mr.
Serious. What the fuck is your deal?”

“Excuse me?” he growled, turning his head towards me with a scowl.

“I said, What. The. Fuck. Is. Your. Deal?” I enunciated each word slowly, pausing for emphasis
between each of them. And then I had to ruin it with a stupid little giggle again.

He rolled his eyes at me and shook his head. “You’re drunk, and I have no idea what the hell
you’re talking about.”

I sighed and motioned the bartender for another shot. He nodded in acknowledgement and I turned
back to Brandon.

“I may be feeling pretty good right now, but damnit! I deserve it!”

He chuckled beside me. “And why is that, sunshine?”

I blinked at him, shocked at the fact that he’d used the nickname he’d given me back when we were
younger. He hadn’t used it in years…but then again, I really hadn’t seen him in years.

“You’re changing the subject, which I will allow at the moment. But we WILL revisit that issue.
Anyway, I deserve it because I’m starting over. I’m leavin’ behind the stupid, weak, broken me that
let that mother fucker beat on me like a punk ass bitch! That’s why!”

I crowed the last words, the drunk crowd around me throwing up their hands with their drinks in
them and cheering me on. I grinned at Brandon and raised my own glass, the seventh shot of
tequila that the bartender had finally placed in front of me with a shake of his head, and then
threw it back, swallowing down the smooth but fiery liquid like it was water.

Brandon just shook his head at me and smirked. “Hmm…tequila brings out the sailor in you, huh?
You’re gonna regret that in the morning, sunshine. You’re done now.”

I shook my head at him from side to side, making sure to punctuate my response to his order with a
nice, juvenile, “Nu-uh!”

He sighed and turned away briefly, only looking at me when I spoke again.

“I may be getting drunk…” I cut off as I shook my head, the alcohol definitely starting to fuzzy up
my brain. “Or AM drunk…but I want to know what’s up with you. You’re so damned moody and
this was your idea, might I remind you.”

I huffed and signaled the bartender for another, growling at Brandon when he waved at the
bartender and shook his head no. I nodded at the bartender, signaling again for another shot.
When he ignored me and listened to Brandon, who overrode me once more and shook his head no,
I couldn’t help but growl at him and then stumbled off my bar stool, intending to head back to the
hotel.

I heard him holler at me to wait and, in a reflexive move, threw my hand up at him without
stopping. Okay, so maybe I didn’t throw my hand up…maybe it was more of a one-finger salute…
and not a nice one, either.

I heard laughter all around me and grinned, high-fiving the woman to my left that hollered, ‘Right
on, sister!’ as I paused at the door, suddenly remembering that I didn’t pay my tab.

A delicious, lust-inducing scent washed over me and I felt the press of a hot, hard chest against my
back right before I heard Brandon growl, “I paid the tab; keep walking.”

I wanted to argue and ignore him. I really did, but the fuzziness in my head decided at that moment
to affect my balance and I stumbled, catching myself clumsily on the door as it swung open with
my weight.

“Jesus…” Brandon bit out behind me before he wrapped his arm around my waist and hauled me
against his side. “You shouldn’t have had that many shots, Chloe. Especially since we’re heading
back home tomorrow.”

I couldn’t help my childish words, blurting out, “Well you drank a bunch of beer!” My tone was
petulant, and I found myself stomping my foot and pulling away from him, stumbling once more.

I heard him curse under his breath before my world turned upside down as he scooped me up and
threw me over his shoulder to continue the walk back to the hotel. I wiggled and shouted at him to
put me down but he ignored me, slapping my ass smartly once and growling at me to be still. I
finally complied, bracing my elbow against his back and propping my chin up on my hand like I
didn’t have a care in the world. Hell, if he wanted to break his back carrying me the whole way,
far be it for me to dissuade him.

He walked in silence for a bit and then I heard him mutter, “Yeah, I had a few beers, got a little
buzz, but I know when to quit. Unlike SOME people I know.”

I sighed. I knew I shouldn’t have had so much but the memories of everything just overwhelmed
me. Silence reigned once more until we got back to the hotel, and even as I fumbled in my back
pocket awkwardly to fish out my room key. He took it from my hand and let us into the room,
dumping me gently on the bed. I sat up on the edge of it and looked up at him as he stepped back.

“Will you stay for a while? Please?” I asked, not ready at all to be alone. I could feel panic
creeping around the edges of my consciousness, memories threatening to overtake me now that
loneliness was imminent.

He regarded me solemnly before he nodded, sitting down beside me. I leaned my head on his
shoulder and mumbled, “Thank you. For everything.”

“You’re welcome. I’m glad I could help. That’s what friends are for, right?” He smiled down at
me and nudged me with his shoulder. “I should thank you, though. You know, for not really
pushing me for answers.” He laughed shortly and amended his words. “For not pushing me more
than you have tonight.”

I laughed and lifted my head to look at him, my laughter dying as I asked, “Why did you do it,
though? I mean, I know you just keep saying that it was the right thing to do because Allie and
Jackson love each other so much more and deeper and all that shit, but…she told me you guys
made such a big deal of it working out. It makes no sense that you walked.”

He blew out a breath and got up, pacing the room in front of me. “Look. I’m a selfish bastard. I

knew going in to the whole deal that one day it was going to end up like this. I already knew that I
would have to walk away…but I did it anyway, I got involved regardless, knowing how it was
going to turn out. Hell, I’ve not had the greatest track record when it comes to relationships and
women, but I see what Luke has with Emma and I want that! You know?”

I opened my mouth to interject, closing it without saying anything when he continued.

“Anyway, I think I would have ended up resenting the closeness that Allie and Jackson have. And I
shouldn’t have to resent anything, especially if we are all three supposed to be making it work. I
would have hated myself if I had stayed and things went south…and then I’d have nothing, not
even their friendship.”

He looked over at me. “Does that make sense, or am I just a complete and total asshole?”

I shook my head. “No, I think you did what was best for you.”

We stared at each other for a minute before he blew out a breath and said, “You know, I take back
my thanks, by the way. Nosy little witch…”

I gasped in exaggerated affront and reached up to smack him playfully. He dodged my limp-
wristed smack, jumping off the bed and laughing when my momentum toppled me over on the
mattress.

With a groan, I pushed myself up and glared at Brandon, who was still standing about four feet
away, chuckling softly. I couldn’t hold my glare and ended up smiling at him until he came and sat
beside me again.

“So you ready to talk about your deal, yet?” he asked me quietly.

I shook my head quickly. No one really knew the whole story except Jackson, and he really didn’t
even know the whole thing. I’d left out some choice details that I wasn’t even ready to discuss with
myself, let alone anyone else.

Brandon inclined his head and said, “Okay…that’s fine. But you know you can talk to me, right?”

I nodded.

He patted me on the shoulder and stood, stretching his arms over his head. “Get some sleep,
Chloe. And take some Tylenol before you do so you won’t have such a nasty hangover in the
morning.”

I stood and nodded again, yawning and then grinning up at Brandon when he laughed at me. I
swatted at him and, unsteady as I was, I lost my balance and fell into him with a muffled ‘oompf’
when my nose connected with the hardness of his chest.

I felt the vibration of his laughter against my face and pushed back to look up at him. As soon as I
did, our eyes locked and my breath caught, a strange headiness taking over my senses, awareness
prickling over every inch of my body. In slow motion, almost like I was watching myself outside my
body, I reached up and caught the back of Brandon’s neck, pulling his head down and crushing my
lips to his.

I felt him hesitate and, not sure just what the hell I was doing, I sucked his bottom lip between my
lips, nibbling at it before sweeping my tongue along the seam, moaning when he instinctively
opened, letting me inside.

I kissed him like I was starving, a small cry wrenching from my throat when his hands came up

and framed my face, and then I was lost as he took control of the kiss, drowning me in ecstasy.
Lost in the moment, I moved my hands down his sides and fumbled with his shirt, pulling it up and
sliding my hands along the hot, taut flesh of his stomach. His hands left my face and grasped my
hips, pulling me flush against his body, the hardness of his length prodding the softness of my
belly.

That’s when I froze, when reality came crashing into me with the force of a runaway train. I tore
my mouth from his and pushed away from him with a whimper.

“I…I’m so sorry…we can’t…oh, God!” I cried.

He looked at me and I could see the emotions warring over his face…lust, guilt, remorse, and…
something else that I couldn’t define.

I sighed. “I’m sorry, Brandon. I shouldn’t have done that. Just…I’ll see you in the morning.”

With that, I turned and made my way into the bathroom, completely sobered by the moment. After I
closed the door behind me, I heard the door close behind Brandon as he left my room, headed for
his.

In the morning, we headed for home, the tension so thick between us you could cut it with a knife.
And it hadn’t ever gone away.

Chapter 2

I stared up at the ceiling in the almost-darkness of my bedroom, the soft glow of the night-light that I
couldn’t bring myself to get rid of just yet casting shadows around the room. My mind was racing,
words tumbling over and over in my head.

I’d told Allie everything about that night. About the whole trip, actually, not leaving anything out. She
never punched me like I’d expected; instead, she’d completely floored me more than she already had
before I’d spilled all the details.

She’d finally pounded it into my head (she thought…I still felt like shit even though I knew she was
technically right) that I hadn’t done anything wrong and then she’d cried and laughed and even
admitted that she’d been jealous of me, but that she couldn’t ever really find a reason why.

I’d promptly told her that she obviously was wrong, fretting over it again, which earned me a growl
and quick slap upside my head. Who knew pregnant women were so abusive?! But the words she’d
uttered next are the ones that are still running through my mind. She’d hesitated a bit, choosing them
carefully, maybe. I don’t know. Honestly, I was still shocked by them.

“Chloe…have things…changed for you when it comes to Brandon?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, you guys have been friends for so long and then there was that kiss…I just wondered if
maybe the things that you might have felt for him before have evolved.”

I shook my head, unwilling to even think like that. “No.” My voice was firm…or so I thought. All
she did was give me a curious little smile.

The conversation had finally wound down after that and we’d been talking about other things and
watching Allie’s belly move when the baby had hiccups. Out of the blue, she had turned to me, her
eyes wide and sparkling.

“On a scale of one to ten, what was the kiss? I know he’s a good kisser, so that’s not what I’m
talking about. I’m talking about hotness factor…toe-curler?”

I gasped. “Allie! No! No way, no how am I talking about that with you! I’m still not over the fact
that you aren’t pissed to the tits at me for even kissing him to begin with, so…” I broke off, still
shaking my head vehemently, denying her question.

Allie sighed and patted my thigh. “Chloe, seriously. I’m your friend, and soon to be sister-in-law.
Take my advice and get over it. So there’s a little history between me and Brandon...who cares?
I’m telling you that everything is fine and that you need to get your cute little ass out there and
decide if that kiss was good enough to change things between the two of you. I think you’d be good
for him. And he’d be good for you. So spill it, woman! Toe-curler or just ehh?”

I threw back my head on a groan, knowing that, Allie being Allie, she wouldn’t stop until she got
her answer. “Ten-toe curler with a side of panty-melter and a half,” I sighed out in resignation.

When I looked at her again, she was smiling that same curious little smile and just staring at me.

“What?” I asked defensively.

“Time to shake things up, girlie,” she said mysteriously.

On a sigh, I shook my head to clear it and rolled out of bed, padding to the kitchen to get a drink.

Obviously there was just too much going on in my head for me to even try to sleep, especially
because I couldn’t get Allie’s advice to quit looping endlessly like one of those little gif thingys that
everyone is so fond of using these days.

I leaned against the counter, sipping at an ice cold bottle of water, still thinking about everything Allie
had said. The last words she said to me definitely had the wheels spinning in my head, wondering just
what she had in mind. I mean, on a good day she’s devious enough on her own, but now she’s
pregnant and has all those extra hormones surging through her…God only knows what the hell she had
up her sleeve.

My cell phone rang on the counter and I jumped, the sound startling me in the silence. I picked it up,
glancing at the clock on the wall to see that it was after midnight. Dread pooled in the pit of my
stomach. Calls this late at night are rarely good…

Without looking at the name, I answered. “Hello?” I said anxiously.

“Hey…uh…it’s Brandon.”

“Oh, umm…hi?”

He cleared his throat and said, “Look, I know it’s late, but I just got done at the shop. I had some late
night appointments, people that made arrangements with me because they didn’t have time earlier,
and…uh, your house is closer than mine and I’m exhausted. Can I just crash there in the spare
bedroom tonight?”

Huh. That came out of left field. I pressed my hand to my stomach, cursing the butterflies that had
taken wing the second his voice came through the phone, and stuttered, “Y…yeah, sure.”

“Sweet, thanks!” he replied and the phone went silent in my hand.

I laid my phone down on the counter and jumped again, letting out a little squeak when the doorbell
rang. Seriously? What the hell did he do, call me from driveway? I headed into the living room and
opened the door.

Brandon pushed past me and shut the door behind him, locking it and turning the deadbolt before
facing me and scolding, “You didn’t even check to make sure it was me before you opened it. It’s
after midnight, Chloe, and you’re here by yourself. You should know better!”

I opened my mouth to defend myself but closed it again immediately because he was right.

He paused for a minute and looked at me closer. I was standing there in a pair of short shorts and a
tank top with no bra, my standard pajamas, and I knew my hair was a mess from tossing and turning.
He cleared his throat. “You are alone, aren’t you?”

I rolled my eyes and walked away from him to curl up on the couch.

He followed, collapsing into the recliner, sighing before he sat forward to take his boots off, then
slouched back into the recliner again before he said, “Okay. So I lied. Nah, I didn’t really lie, but I
didn’t tell the whole truth. I’m fuckin’ beat and your place is closer, but honestly?”

He paused and looked over at me. I cocked my head and nodded, silently urging him to continue.

“I just wanted a break from the lovefest I live with. Jesus, Luke already knocked her up and I swear
they fuck like rabbits now, worse than they did before!”

Laughter burst from my lips, sounding loud in the silence, but I couldn’t help it.

He smiled wryly at me and shook his head. “Yeah, you laugh, but you don’t have to hear him try to
pound her through the floor.” He groaned, thumping his head back into the chair. “I just need to get my
own place, I guess.”

I made a non-committal noise in my throat and shrugged. A huge yawn caught me off guard and I
glanced at him sheepishly when he chuckled.

We looked at each other for a minute before I jumped up and asked in a rush, “Do you want anything
to drink? Or do you need anything to sleep in? I think I have a pair of basketball shorts that I stole
from Jackson a few years ago…” I broke off on another yawn. Wtf? I couldn’t sleep for shit before he
called and now I’m ready to pass out?!

He nodded. “Sure, that’d be great. Thanks.”

I turned and retreated to my bedroom, finding the shorts in the back of my dresser. They were a little
wrinkled, but hey, he was only sleeping in them. I made my way back into the living room, tossing the
shorts at him as I turned to go to the kitchen to get him something to drink, pausing only long enough to
ask what he wanted.

After grabbing a bottle of cold water from the fridge, I handed it to him and bent to grab his boots,
moving them to the tile by the doorway. He made a garbled sound behind me and I rolled my eyes
again where he couldn’t see me, sure that he was laughing at the fact I couldn’t leave his boots in the
middle of the floor. I’m slightly OCD, so what?

I glanced at him as I bent to put his boots down again, shocked to see that he was definitely not
laughing. In fact, his eyes seemed to be glued to my…Oh, shit! I straightened quickly, tugging down
my shorts that I’m pretty sure had given him quite the view when I bent over.

“I…uh…” I stuttered, trying to think of something to say but coming up blank.

I blinked in fascination as Brandon shifted, the tight front of his jeans looking decidedly tighter. I
heard him make another noise in his throat, this one seeming born out of desperation as he shot
forward in the recliner, shielding his lap by resting his arms on his knees.

“Well,” I tried again, still at a loss, the butterflies battering my insides back in full force, but stopped
when he jerked his head side to side, a cutting movement that had coldness quickly replacing the
warmth that had started to seep through me.

“Go to bed, Chloe. I’m sorry for waking you up, but thanks for letting me crash. You’re a great
friend…” he said distractedly, his words trailing off as he realized what he was saying. I could
almost hear him swallow hard, like he wanted to take back the words immediately after he said them.

And just like that, the awkwardness and tension was back. I sighed, nodding half-heartedly at him
before I made my way down the hall. I heard him mutter and then curse softly and my heart broke just
a little bit more at the fact that we can’t even talk to each other anymore, that things had changed so
drastically between us. All because I couldn’t keep my stupid, drunk lips to myself.

I shut my bedroom door quietly, the soft click echoing with finality, and curled up in my bed, praying
that sleep would come quickly…but I should have known better.

Morning came after what seemed like six days of tossing and turning in my bed that suddenly felt like
a stone-cold slab of concrete. I shuffled into the bathroom and groaned at the sight of the dark circles
under my eyes; hell, you could go on vacation with the bags under there, too.

I turned away from the mirror and grabbed my robe before making my way into the kitchen, intent on

getting some caffeine in my system by way of my best friend, Kuerig. Ten minutes later, I was tucked
into a chair on the back porch, sipping English toffee cappuccino and enjoying the sunny Saturday
morning.

The door to the spare bedroom was still closed when I’d walked by and I resisted the temptation to
peek in. And by resist, I mean like, seriously had to force myself to keep going and not touch the door.

Shit…what the hell was wrong with me that I can’t quit thinking of him all of a sudden? It was a kiss,
just ONE kiss and now…ugh.

“It can’t be that bad, can it, sunshine?”

I jumped and let out a squeak as Brandon’s gravelly, deep voice broke the silence surrounding me,
small drops of my cappuccino sloshing over the rim of my mug and spattering my hand. Cursing under
my breath, I shook the burning liquid off my skin and glared at him.

He chuckled. “Sorry. Forgot you were so jumpy…” His words trailed off on a huge, jaw-cracking
yawn. He stretched, his arms reaching up high as he arched his back, causing his shirt to ride up and
reveal a perfectly delicious expanse of taut, tattooed and tanned skin and the beginning of that hot-as-
sin “v” peeking out of the top of his low-slung basketball shorts. No sign of boxers or briefs…so did
that mean…?

“Chloe!” Brandon sounded exasperated and a little desperate, like he’d been calling my name for a
minute.

I jerked my gaze up to meet his face, feeling the scalding heat of embarrassment rise over my cheeks
because I’d been caught staring, and staring hard.

“Uh…yeah? What’s up?” I stuttered, trying to smooth over the moment and doing a really shitty job of
it.

He smirked and asked, “Wanna go get some breakfast? I just talked to Luke and he and Emma are
going to go down to Cracker Barrel because she’s craving pecan pancakes again.” His smile turned
genuine and his fondness for his sister-in-law was evident.

“Sure,” I answered, getting to my feet. “Just let me get ready.”

I moved to walk past him and he grabbed my arm, peering into my face intently. “Hey,” he said gently.
“Are you still having nightmares? You look like you haven’t slept in a week, sunshine.”

A shiver made its way down my spine at the intimate tone of his voice, and the fact that he called me
sunshine again. I know the old nickname shouldn’t make the butterflies go crazy in my stomach again,
but it’d been so long since he’d called me that, with the exception of when we were in California, I
couldn’t help it.

“I’m fine.” My voice was husky, soft, and- to my ears- entirely too telling. Shaking him off, I moved
past him and made a beeline for the safety of my bedroom, glancing back only once to see him staring
after me.

An hour later, I was laughing so hard I was crying, listening to Luke bemoan the fact that Emma was
turning out to be the stereotypical pregnant woman.

“You laugh like it’s funny,” Luke groaned, shaking his head. He shot a pained look to his wife, who
was sitting there with a shit-eating grin on her face, rubbing her protruding belly affectionately.

“Awww, Daddy is being mean, isn’t he, jelly-bean?” Emma cooed to her stomach before shooting

Luke a loving look, her eyes sparkling with happiness and adoration.

Luke smiled back at her and winked before he continued his list of her transgressions. “She woke me
up two nights ago at two a.m. saying that she needed some chocolate-peanut butter ice cream. I tried
to tell her that we didn’t have any, which only got me yelled at. She said she knew we didn’t have
any, that’s why I had to go to Meijer’s and get it. At two in the morning! And then last night it was
nachos from Taco Bell at eleven!”

Brandon slapped him on the back and said, “Well, at least it was only eleven instead of two again,
brother.”

Luke just rolled his eyes, grinned, and then started asking Brandon something about the inventory list
at the shop.

With the guys engrossed in their own conversation, Emma turned to me, a sly smile creeping across
her face.

“Sooooo…” she began, drawing the word out dramatically.

“Oh, Lord…what?” I asked her warily.

She leaned in closer and whispered, “I’m in.”

“In what?” I whispered back, thoroughly confused.

She rolled her eyes at me. “I’m in on the plan with Allie!” she whispered back, although her whisper
was more of a low voice.

I shot a panicked look across the table at the guys, breathing a sigh of relief when I noted that they
were still engrossed in their own conversation and not even looking our way, before I managed to
growl through clenched teeth, “What the hell are you talking about? You know what? Not here, not
now. We’ll talk later.”

Emma just shrugged and winked at me, grinning happily around the restaurant like she didn’t have a
care in the world. It truly warmed my heart to see her like this, positively glowing and radiating
happiness…and, if I’m being honest with myself, a little saddened by it, as well. I mean, that’s
exactly what I want for myself but do I ever think I’ll have it? Not likely. That fuckwad Greg pretty
much ruined that.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and tuned back into Emma, who had her phone to her ear.

“No, pregnancy brain, you twit. I totally forgot!” She groaned and then laughed at something whoever
she was talking to said. “Yeah, I don’t know how I spaced on that, but I’ll be rectifying that situation
post haste, gov’nah,” she ended in a horrible fake British accent.

“Alright…okay…alright…I said okay, geez, Allie!” She listened for a few more seconds before
ending the call with, “Kay, bye,” and then whirled on me, that sly smile back on her face.

I looked at her with a mix of dread and curiosity, knowing she was about to either ask me something
or tell me something that she and Allie had just discussed. And lemme tell ya, I wasn’t wrong.

“Brandon spent the night at your place last night, huh?” She went back to whispering, thank God, but I
still glanced at the guys before I answered her.

“How the hell did Allie know?” I whispered.

“Come on, Chloe, do you think Brandon thought of staying at your house last night by himself?” Emma

scoffed.

“So you and Allie both knew he was coming to my house after midnight last night?” I asked, my eyes
narrowing in suspicion.

Emma chortled with glee and then answered, “He waited until late? Dumbass…what if you’d been
asleep?”

“Okay, seriously, what the hell is going on?” I cringed when I realized that I had spoken out loud and
now had the undivided attention of all the occupants at the table, and even some at a couple tables
around us.

I could feel the heat rising in my face as I glared at Emma, who was unable to restrain her laughter.

“Is this a private joke, or can we get in on it?” Brandon asked, his tone very mild, though curious.

“Nothing! So, how was your breakfast? Was it good?” Yeah, I totally suck at diversion conversation,
can ya tell?

Chapter 3

“Well, you ready to go home?” Brandon asked a little while later, after we’d finished eating and
walked out to the parking lot with Emma and Luke.

“Yeah,” I answered, giving Emma a hug, and nodding when she whispered in my ear, “We’ll finish
that conversation later, okay?”

Luke stepped up and gave me a hug, too, and we all went our separate ways. We rode back to my
house in silence, the tension building between us again. I laid my head against the window, so sick of
feeling this way, being so awkward around him. It’d never been like that between us before and I
regretted the fact that I ever kissed him, even as my thighs clenched with heat at the memory of his
lips on mine.

“You okay?”

His words broke through my thoughts and I jerked my head up, nodding at him but not looking his
way.

All of a sudden, he pulled over to the side of the road and slammed his hands against the steering
wheel, making me jump.

“Chloe, I can’t take this shit anymore! I want my friend back, damnit!” he roared, his words and the
tone of his voice making me shrink back in my seat and eye him warily.

He took a deep breath and ran his hands roughly over his face before looking over at me again.
“Look, I didn’t mean to yell, but Jesus, there’s only so much I can take! You and I can’t be in the same
room together anymore without the tension being so thick you can cut it with a knife. Unless there’s
other people around, and then we manage to act normal…sort of. So we kissed…big fucking deal! It
shouldn’t ruin our friendship…I won’t let it ruin it. Can we go back to the way we used to be?
Please?”

I stared at him, his eyes pleading with me, and all I could do was nod. Just nod like a dumbass, even
though it felt like I’d just taken a sledgehammer to the gut. I don’t even know why it felt like that,
honestly, because there was nothing more between us, just a misplaced case of hero worship or flat
out lust on my part.

“Good.” He nodded sharply and pulled back out onto the street. We were both silent until we got to
my house and he dropped me off, waving and smiling jovially at me as he pulled away, but even I
could see that it was a bit forced.

Like a sad sap, I stood in the driveway and watched his truck get smaller and smaller in the distance,
until anger at myself took over. Christ…get a grip, sorry ass, I told myself. Shaking my head, I
sighed and went inside, determined to find something to do to occupy my Saturday, since Allie had
told me to take the day off.

With my conversation with Allie running on a loop through my head, I cleaned and organized every
inch of my house ruthlessly, attacking every task with fervor until the only thing left was to sweep the
kitchen tile and the tile in the foyer. Since it was such a nice day, I opened up the windows and
blasted my iPod, dancing around as I cleaned.

I grabbed the broom just as I’ve Got You Covered by Sugar and the Hi Lows began playing, the
smooth tones taking me over as I swept and danced along, singing the words at the top of my lungs.

Not thirty seconds into the song, I quit pretending to sweep and just danced around with the broom,
still singing, lost in the lyrics.

I dipped the broom, came up, and spun around, shrieking in surprise when I collided nose first into a
hard male chest. My eyes traveled up until they clashed with the stormy, blue-grey eyes of Brandon,
who was grinning down at me. Without a beat, he grabbed the broom out of my hand and tossed it
away, pulling me into his arms and dancing me around the kitchen.

Unable to resist, I followed his lead, my knees getting weak when he began to sing the words softly
by my ear, pulling me even closer. A shuddering breath left my lips as I melted into him, letting
myself just feel for once, even though I knew I could never have more. He shifted me in his arms and I
looked up, my pulse racing when I saw that he was looking down at me, all trace of playfulness gone.

I felt his breath hitch, felt the air charge suddenly with desire, and wondered if I was hallucinating.
But no…I wasn’t, to my utter surprise.

With a muttered curse, Brandon leaned forward and captured my lips in a searing kiss, stealing my
breath and lifting me up in his arms at the same time, which was a good thing as my knees buckled.

He ate at my mouth, biting, sucking, and licking…taking the kiss deeper and deeper until my head was
swimming and I couldn’t tell which way was up. After what seemed like an eternity, he pulled back,
placing a soft kiss on the tip of my nose. I kept my eyes closed, unwilling to open them and break this
wonderful moment.

Brandon broke the silence on a sigh. “I was afraid of that…” he murmured thickly.

Blinking, I stared up at him in confusion before I pushed against his chest and moved away, putting
some distance between us, trying to catch my breath and gather my wits.

“I…” I paused, trying to find my words. “Brandon, I’m so confused. You left me here an hour ago,
giving me this pretty little speech about how it was no big deal that we kissed and you want to be
friends.” I threw my hands up in the air. “Friends don’t show up unannounced at friends’ houses and
kiss the living shit out of them!”

He let out a groan and wiped his hands over his face. “I know!” he shouted. “I know that, but then I
felt like an ass for the way I left things, forcing you to agree to our friendship, but you don’t want to
be my friend, do you?” He shook his head, answering himself. “No, you don’t because I’m an asshole
and I took advantage of you when you were drunk. I shouldn’t have led you on that night in the
hotel…”

He broke off and moved over to where I stood, clinging to the kitchen counter as I tried to ground
myself just a little bit. “I just had to know if it was a fluke, Chloe. If it was a fluke that I felt the whole
world light on fire when your lips touched mine when we were in L.A.”

I swallowed thickly, emotion clogging my throat. “But…you didn’t take advantage of me, Brandon. In
fact, I took advantage of YOU!” I exclaimed, feeling the mortification take me over again. “And I DO
want to be your friend…we’ve been friends for years and I don’t want anything to change that,” I said
softly, regret and a tinge of fear coloring my words.

His face softened a bit before his brow furrowed again. “No.” He was shaking his head emphatically.
“No, no you didn’t take advantage of me, Chloe. I didn’t stop you right away, I took the kiss deeper. I
kissed you back! God, I fucking kissed you back. You tasted like sunshine and tequila, and I wanted
nothing more than to throw you on the bed and bury myself between those tight little thighs of yours.”

Whoa. Totally did not see that one coming.

“Well, holy shit, cowboy, why don’t you tell her how you really feel?”

I jumped and shrieked again, which seemed to be the theme of the day since everyone had decided to
show up unannounced and scare the living hell out of me.

Leah stood in the kitchen doorway, leaning against the doorframe with an avid expression. “Please,
don’t let me stop this conversation…I’m dying to hear what else you have to say.”

“Leah…” I said on a groan, closing my eyes and tipping my head back.

She threw her hands up and said, “Okay, okay! I’m just gonna go wait on the back porch and let you
finish your talk. But then, I’m kidnapping you for the day because you’re going to the fight with me
tonight.” She whirled around and disappeared, heading back to the porch, I guess.

Brandon and I both were silent for a moment, staring after her before we both began to speak, each
talking over the other. We both stopped and started again, and then laughed. I held up my hand and he
nodded, giving me the go ahead.

“I don’t know what to say. You’ve thrown me for a total loop right now…but I still don’t understand
why you came back here today and kissed me. Why, Brandon? Especially after that speech you gave
me in the truck…”

“I just had to know, like I said, if it was a fluke. Chloe, I don’t know what’s happening, but…I’m
scared as fuck right now that I’m about to screw shit up. I shouldn’t have made such a big deal out of
wanting to stay friends earlier, but for shit’s sake, I am so tired of the tension whenever we’re
together.”

He brought his hand up and cupped my cheek gently before he grabbed my arms and pulled me up
against him, chest to chest, our breath mingling as he dipped his head close to mine. “You still taste
like sunshine and I should just walk away, but damnit, woman...”

“But…Allie…” The words fell off my lips before I could hold them back.

He froze, every muscle in his body tensing. I could feel him fighting back the myriad emotions that
had to be weaving through every inch of him at the moment and I felt like even more of a bitch for
causing it.

After a moment, he dropped his hands, blew out a deep breath, and moved away to lean against the
counter by the sink. I started to apologize but stopped when he shook his head at me.

“Let’s get something straight, okay? Listen up because I’m really tired of people throwing her up in
my face. Allie and I, and Emma too, incidentally, talked about this just the other day. In fact, it was
after she’d been over here with you when you broke down and told her about the kiss.”

I gasped but didn’t say a word, letting him continue.

“It’s okay, Chloe. I’m not mad. It’s best that it’s out in the open anyway, especially because Allie and
I are so close. She came to me to let me know that she’d been set straight about a couple things, so I
guess I should thank you. Anyway, there was nothing between Allie and I when we kissed. You know
that, Chloe, even though I know you also feel like you betrayed a friend. And I’m pretty sure you felt
like you betrayed not only a friend, but our friendship and your brother. Right?”

I nodded.

Brandon moved toward me and motioned to the kitchen table. We each took a seat, settling in to

continue the conversation.

“Look. I walked away from the situation with Allie because I’m selfish, like I told you. I want that
special love that Emma and Luke have, that Allie and Jacks have…and Allie and I? We loved each
other, sure, maybe were even a little in love. But that love was nothing, and I mean NOTHING, close
to what she has with Jackson. How fair would it have been to them to stick it out and maybe end up
resenting them, or even them resenting me? It wouldn’t have been fair to them, at all, or to me. I don’t
deserve anything less, and yes, I said that I wanted it to work because I did! I didn’t walk away just
on a whim, you’ve got to know that!”

His face was earnest and, even if I didn’t know already that he was telling the truth, I would know
now, would believe him whole-heartedly.

“I was going to talk to them both and then Jacks got into that awful fucking accident and things just
were spiraling out of control. I was so scared that we were going to lose him, and she kept pushing
me away…and then I overheard Allie pouring her heart out to him, trying to get him to wake up, and
she blurted out that she was pregnant and…well, you know the rest. Jacks woke up and I realized that,
while she wasn’t really trying to push me away, the truth was staring us all in the face.”

“Yeah, Brandon, but it just…I mean, you both made it look like it was so easy to do. Like neither one
of you were willing to fight for it. Maybe it’s just me, but…” I shrugged, not entirely comfortable
talking about this with him, but figuring if he was laying it out, might as well go all in.

Brandon shook his head. “No, Chloe, it was one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life. I can
honestly say that, but I can’t regret it. I don’t regret it, because Allie is happier than ever, and she and
I are closer than ever. As friends. And she and I are okay, we’re completely and totally fine. And if
people don’t like it, if they can’t understand that, well, we do and that’s all that matters. Right?”

I nodded, not really sure what to say, where to go from here.

His face softened again. “We’re good, right?”

I nodded again; there’s nothing else I could say, was there?

He slapped his hands down on the table, saying, “Oh, yeah. Why the hell was your door unlocked?”

I straightened, immediately going on the defense. “It was not!” I exclaimed.

He grinned. “I know. I used my key that I never gave back. And Leah has a key, too, I’m assuming?”

I nodded. He nodded back at me and slammed his hands down on the table once more. “Now. We’ve
got that out of the way. Sooo…” He drew the word out, waggling his eyebrows exaggeratedly at me
before he said, “Wanna make out?”

The question caught me off guard so badly that I couldn’t help but crack up, laughing even harder
when he pretended to be affronted, slapping his hand across his chest and drawing his head back in
mock horror. And just like that, the tension broke and I knew, whatever happened, we were going to
be fine, too.

At least I was hoping so.

Chapter 4

I walked out onto the back porch where Leah was waiting, giving her a sheepish grin when she
crossed her arms and pouted, glaring at me from where she lay on the lounger she’d dragged over into
the sun.

She and I had gotten closer and closer during the time I’d been here, hanging out together just as much
as I did with Allie and Emma. She was younger than me, but that didn’t matter. She was so fun to be
around and she just…got me. She knew when to push me and when to let me be. Quite frankly, she’d
become my best friend.

“It’s about fucking time! Holy hell, I aged a year waiting on your ass! Do you realize it’s already two
o’clock now?” she asked, whining. The effect was broken when she swung around, jumped to her
feet, and attacked me, questions flying a mile a minute at me. “Oh, my God! Are you gonna fuck him?
He kissed you again? Are you dating now? What did he say? What happened after I came outside?
Are you gonna get ready now? Is he still here? Where’d he go?”

Oy. I grabbed her arms, holding her still and forcing her to look at me instead of jumping around like
a Chihuahua on crack. “Calm your hyper ass down, slick! One question at a time!” Yeesh!

She waved a hand at me impatiently, gritting out, “Just fucking spill! We don’t have time for questions
anymore. Tell me while you’re getting ready!” She slapped my hands away and yanked my arm
almost out of the socket as she pulled me into the house and to my bedroom.

“First off, sorry it took so long, but I guess it needed to happen sometime and he decided it was today.
I can’t believe that you actually waited out here for so long. Where are we going, anyway?” I asked.
“You said something about a fight?”

She shrugged. “I just laid in the sun. It was kinda nice and relaxing and I didn’t feel like going home
just to come back and steal you later.” Then she grinned wickedly. “Anyway, remember when
Calland called and asked if anyone wanted to go to the fight with him? Well, he lined up the tickets
really early, so it’s FINALLY time to go! Whoo hoo! Get to watch hot guys beat the shit out of each
other…what’s better than that?” Leah crowed, rubbing her hands together and licking her lips crazily.

“Uh, well, you blood thirsty violence whore, a lot is better than that to my mind. Why do I have to
come?” Yeah, I whined a little bit, but UFC stuff really isn’t my forte. I was not very excited to go,
but I wouldn’t make her go alone. “And why the hell are you here so early when I know the fight can’t
be until later tonight?”

“Because Calland invited that girl he was seeing, what’s her name…uh…Katie or something? She
lasted longer than most of them but on game night when she got handsy in front of everyone kinda
ruined it for my brother, so he’s got an extra ticket and I told him I wanted it for you. And because I
was bored and I figured that we’d get dolled up, get some food, get some drinks and then go. That’s
why, now GET READY!” she shouted, rooting through my closet and throwing clothes at me.

“Oh, yeah,” she said as an afterthought, “What happened with Brandon? Did he leave or is he lurking
around here somewhere?”

I sighed. “He left and I’m not getting into this with you right now.” I took the clothes she tossed me
and went into the bathroom to get dressed.

Ten minutes later, I was standing in front of the mirror, turning side to side, trying to decide if I could

bear to wear what she’d given me. It used to be one of my favorites before…just before. I hadn’t
worn it in a long time. It’s not that it looked bad on me; in fact, quite the opposite. The last time I’d
worn it, the short yet tasteful teal blue shorts were a little baggy, and the flowy, sheer, black key-hole
racerback tank was extra baggy. Now, since I’d gained a little ‘happy’ weight, as I called it, it fit
perfectly and looked pretty damned good, if I do say so myself.

The shorts covered enough of my long legs and I paired the tank with a plain black tank underneath to
preserve my modesty, among other things. Things I don’t talk about.

I felt good, looking at myself, which is something that hadn’t happened in a long time. Looks-wise, I
was the polar opposite of my brother, Jackson. He had the dark hair and deep brown eyes of my
father, while I took more after my mother. Size eight, 5’6”, hazel eyes, long blonde hair, and built
pretty generously in the boob department, but not overly so, you could say I was passably pretty.
Some would say I’m beautiful, but I’ve never been one to really put stock into my looks.

I turned sideways again, took a deep breath, and shook myself out of my stupor, deciding that it was
time to quit hiding. I tied my hair into a messy knot at the nape of my neck and did my makeup, a little
of my favorite perfume and I moved out of the safety of the bathroom.

Leah glanced up, muttering a faint ‘finally’, gave pause for only a moment, raising one eyebrow but
saying nothing. I appreciated that more than she could ever know, especially because I’ve never
really dressed up to go out since I moved here. Yeah, I dressed up for special occasions, but not like,
dressed up dressed up, you know, for going out. You know what I mean.

“Alright. So, let’s swing by my house so I can change, then we’ll head to Griff’s for dinner, a pre-
fight cocktail, then we’ll head to the arena to watch the buff-daddy’s get to it. Cool? Cool! Let’s go!”
Leah cheered the last part, her perkiness making me giggle.

Time flew by, and I was having fun. Seriously, though, it’s hard not to have fun when you’re with
Leah. She’s so bubbly, sweet, and genuine, and then she’s crazy, zany, and wild, too. Definitely never
a dull moment with her and I was so happy that she and I had become so close.

Pre-fight cocktails turned into pre-fight happy hour, so we were pretty thankful Calland decided to
pick us up from Leah’s house and take us to Griff’s. And pretty thankful he was our unwitting DD.
He’s a nice guy...unless you’re his sister or his sister’s best friend, apparently. So maybe I should
watch out?? Hmm…

Now we were halfway through the fight, our buzzes had pretty much worn off, and Leah was still
drooling over some guy she’d bumped into, literally, when we were headed to our seats. Not gonna
lie, I had totally drooled, too. Seriously hot. Tattoos…mmm. He’d winked at her, steadied her, and
walked away, leaving her completely dazed and confused in the middle of the aisle, halfway to our
seats. I say she’s still drooling over him because, turns out, his seat was about three rows down in
front of us and about two seats to the right.

The next round started with a roar from the crowd and I turned my attention back to the cage, cringing
as blood flew in an arc as a well-placed blow lanced open the brow of one of the fighters. Calland
was jumping up and down beside me, shouting and hollering, and even Leah had abandoned her hottie
watching to join in the cheering.

A large, obviously drunk guy in the row behind me started yelling obscenities, throwing himself
forward as he swung his arms around, the beer in one hand spilling over and soaking my back, while
his other connected solidly with my shoulder, shoving me forward. I gasped, the pain shocking and

instant as I flailed, grabbing for Calland’s arm to stop myself from falling over the seats in front of
me.

Calland caught me easily, and as soon as I had my balance, he rounded on the guy, his voice
menacing, even over all the yelling all around us. “HEY! Watch what the fuck you’re doing, asshole!”

Drunk Guy’s face turned a mottled red and he dropped his beer, not that there was much left. Most of
it was running down my spine. “Who the fuck are you, talkin’ to me like that?” he roared.

“You just spilled your beer all over her,” Calland shouted, pointing to me, “and then hit her and
knocked her over!”

“I didn’t fuckin’ do anything to her, pansy-ass mother fucker, so why don’t you take your little bitch
there and get the fuck outta here!” Spit was flying from Drunk Guy’s mouth as he yelled at Calland
and I ducked, trying to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

I froze as Calland tensed, a deceptive calm moving over his face. I knew that look, knew things were
about to head south at a fast pace. I moved close to his side, placing my hand against his chest and
murmuring, “It’s okay, don’t worry about it. It’s not worth it.”

He gently shrugged me off, patting me on the shoulder and then moving me quickly aside to grab Leah,
who’d chosen that moment to launch herself at Drunk Guy, screeching and spitting venomous words at
him like a she-cat from hell. His face was turning redder and redder and Calland looked like he was
having a difficult time controlling his sister without hurting her.

“HEY!”

The shout drew our attention enough to break the moment for just a second, which was enough time to
allow Hottie to reach over and snatch Leah from Calland’s arms, then turn on his heel and move
through the crowded aisles away from us.

Panic washed over Calland’s face as he grabbed my arm, hollering at me, “Let’s go!” as he
scrambled to follow the stranger who’d just taken his sister, forgetting all about Drunk Guy who was
still blustering over Leah’s attack, forgetting about the fight in the cage in the center of the arena,
forgetting about everything but getting to his sister.

We made it to the lobby, drawing up short when we saw Leah leaning against the wall beside the exit,
laughing and chatting animatedly with Hottie. Calland shook his head and stalked over, relief and
distrust warring on his face.

“Calland! Chloe! Meet Ian.” She gave us a grin as she waved her hand between us in introduction,
taking a second to mouth Oh my God!, fan herself, and wink at me while Calland and Ian shook hands.

“Man, I looked back just in time to see Leah jump at the big guy behind you and couldn’t help it. I saw
you struggling to hold her and didn’t even think about anything but getting her out of there so you could
get things calmed down…sorry, man. I know I freaked you out a little bit but I was just trying to
help,” Ian said, his smooth, dark honeyed voice sending shivers down even my spine.

I glanced at Leah out of the corner of my eye and had to fight a grin as she practically melted into a
soppy, drooly mess at Ian’s feet.

Calland shook his head and grinned as he slapped Ian on the back. “I definitely was freaking out for a
second, but hey, thanks, man! She’s kinda high-strung,” he said in a pseudo whisper, shaking his
thumb at Leah.

Leah glowered at Calland for a second and then turned her mega-watt smile on Ian. “Well, since we
obviously are done watching the fight, whatcha say we move this to the bar? My pre-fight cocktails
have worn off and I need a drink.”

I shrugged, looking at Calland since he was our DD. He shrugged and looked at Ian, asking, “You
wanna join us? We could head back to Griff’s if you want.”

Ian gave Leah an appraising look and nodded. “Yeah, Griff’s is fine. I’ll meet you there so I have my
car.” With that, he winked and headed out the door.

Leah stuck her lip out and pouted. “He didn’t even ask if I wanted a ride!”

“Oh, shut it, Leah. Like I would let you ride with him anyway. You just met the dude and the way you
were drooling over him, you’d be spread out in the backseat screaming ‘take me, I’m yours’ in a
heartbeat!”

I reached out and smacked Calland’s shoulder, glaring at him while he pretended to shrink away from
me. The effect was ruined by his uncontrollable laughter, though. And mine…seriously, the little
falsetto voice he just used killed me. Leah just ignored him and shook her head in exasperation. Guess
she’s pretty used to him after 25 years.

We left the arena and piled into the truck, me flopping into the backseat while Leah commandeered
the front seat and Calland’s radio, much to his dismay.

For the third time, Calland smacked Leah’s hand away when she changed the channel on his satellite
radio to the 90’s channel and Aqua’s Barbie Girl began blaring obnoxiously through the car. He
growled in disgust and hit a button on the steering wheel, nodding when Enter Sandman by Metallica
took over the speakers.

I couldn’t help but bob my head along with the song, mouthing the words and grinning when Calland
caught my eye in the review mirror, winking at me with approval. Leah tried to act aggravated with
the music, but I saw her hand tapping out the beat, as well. Towards the end of the song, Calland
turned it down almost all the way suddenly and yelled out, “GO!” to Leah.

She threw her head back and yelled back, “Enter Sandman, Metallica, Black Label!”

“Yes!” Calland hollered back, turning the radio back up while I looked at them like they were crazy.

Leah took pity on me, turned down the music again, and looked back at me while she explained,
“Calland had this thing where he thought it was absolutely imperative that Emma and I know how to
identify all the songs, and the albums, of Metallica, which is one of his most favorite bands of all
time. And of course, we had to know some Pantera, too, as well as a lot of others. Emma remembers
more than I do most of the time, but I don’t do so bad myself after all these years.” She grinned over
at her brother with fondness and it made my heart ache a little bit.

Jackson and I were that close once. And then I started hanging out more with my friends, being a
typical boy crazy teenager, and we drifted apart. I pulled away a lot more, too, when I started dating
Greg. No one knew about him at first…or really even now. God, do I regret so much.

The slamming of the truck door pulled me from my reverie and I looked up to see Calland and Leah
staring at me through the window, waving at me to come on. I got out and Leah glanced at me in
concern but I just smiled and shrugged her off.

We walked into Griff’s and, miracle of miracles, were able to nab the table dubbed ‘our table’ by our
group, which gave us primo positioning. Calland asked what we wanted and bellied up to the bar

through the crowd to get us drinks while we scanned the bar for Ian. I noticed him as he just walked
through the door and nudged Leah with my elbow, canting my head in his direction and laughing when
she squealed under her breath and clutched my thigh under the table.

I winced and pushed her hand away, laughing at her and then raising my hand to catch his attention.
He noticed me and smiled, but his face broke into a grin when he saw Leah sitting beside me. He
sauntered over and I knew then that I was pretty much losing my best friend for the evening when she
bolted from the booth and met him halfway, dragging him onto the dance floor as the band started
playing a cover of Angel Eyes by The Jeff Healy Band.

Oh, well, at least Calland would keep me comp- never mind. Looks like I wouldn’t be getting my
drink anytime soon either, since he was engrossed in conversation with a pretty redhead at the bar.

I sighed and planted my chin on my hand, swaying to the music as I sat there silently by myself. A
shiver went down my spine as a deep, velvet voice filled my ear, lips brushing the delicate skin as
they whispered, “Dance with me.”

I turned my head and met the stormy gaze of Brandon. He stood up from where he had leaned down to
whisper to me and held out his hand. I took it, letting him pull me onto the dance floor, not far from
where Leah was dancing with Ian, both of them grinning at each other as they talked while they
danced, their arms wrapped around each other like they’d been together for years.

She glanced my way and I saw her jaw drop and her eyes widen comically as she watched Brandon
swing me around and pull me close. I couldn’t do anything but smile wryly and shrug before I
wrapped my arms around his neck and moved with him.

We didn’t speak for a bit, just danced together. Finally I pulled slightly away and looked up at him.
And when I say looked up, I mean up. At 6’3”, he towered over my measly 5’6”, and…he’s fucking
H.O.T. Seriously, sex-on-a-stick, panty-wetting, hell, panty-dropping, fiiiiine. Smokey grey-blue
eyes, close cropped dark hair, a smile that drops me to my knees, and tattoos…mmmmm…all over his
gorgeous hard body.

“Wanna take a picture, sunshine? It’ll last longer.”

I blinked and ducked my head, flushing once again in embarrassment from being caught staring. Again.
Geez.

He chuckled and pulled me a little closer in, still swaying in circles as the music changed, being
replaced by another slow song. This time it was With or Without You by U2.

I glanced up at him and looked away, staring out over all the other couples dancing as I asked, “So,
what are you doing here?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Met a couple friends down here for a beer after we closed up the shop
today. What are you doing here? I saw you come in with Leah and Calland. Out having a good time
tonight?”

It was my turn to shrug. Our heads were angled close so we could speak over the music as we
danced. “I went with them to the UFC fight thingy like Leah asked me to this morning. So you worked
today?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I told Luke I would handle everything when I got there since we didn’t have too
many booked for the day and T.J. was there with us. So he went home to his crazy woman and the
furry fiends.”

I paused. “Who’s T.J.?” I asked.

“He’s a new guy we had come in. Got a helluva portfolio and I met him at the convention out in L.A.
We kept in touch and he called a couple weeks ago, said he was needing a change of pace and wanted
to come visit. Good guy. Think he’s got some baggage, though.”

He cocked his head. “Wait, I didn’t think the fight was even over yet. Why did you guys leave?”

I rolled my eyes and grinned impishly, lifting one shoulder in a half-shrug of answer.

He sighed and asked, “What happened?”

Before I got a chance to reply, a voice broke in, asking smoothly, “May I cut in?”

I looked over into the grinning face of Ian, who was holding his hand out while standing there half-
bent at the waist like an old-fashioned butler. There was something so disarming and genuine about
him, I couldn’t help but smile and nod, taking his hand easily and moving away from Brandon, who
had gone completely still the minute I let go of him. As soon as I reached up to put my hands on Ian’s
shoulders, I saw Leah grab Brandon and try to get him to dance, but it wasn’t happening.

He shrugged her off and took a step in my direction, but then Ian glanced up and recognition flared in
his eyes as he realized who I’d been dancing with, apparently.

He let go of me and smiled, greeting Brandon with a ‘Hey!’ as they clasped hands and did the whole
one-shoulder-man-hug thing. Brandon grinned back at him and Leah and I both looked at each other
with confusion as we realized we were now standing still like morons in the middle of the floor
while our dance partners ignored us.

Leah jerked her head toward the table and turned to go sit down. I followed, leaving the guys on the
floor. Calland was standing beside the table looking out toward the crowded dance floor. We stopped
beside him and realized that the red-head from the bar was standing with him.

“Hey, there you guys are. Your drinks are on the table and I swear I saw Brandon here somewhere.
Do you think you guys could get a ride home from him tonight?” He winked at us and I laughed as
Leah gave a pretend shudder of disgust in return.

“You whore,” she muttered under her breath and then grinned at him when he laughed unashamedly.

Brandon broke in behind us. “Yeah, I’ll get them home. Or we will…however it works out.”

We all turned and noticed Ian standing with him. Leah moved toward Ian, and honestly, I don’t think
she even realized she did it. It’s like they just gravitated toward each other and it was cute. Seriously
cute.

Calland glanced between Ian and Brandon in surprise. “You two know each other?”

Brandon shook his head in affirmation, then said, “Yeah, how do you think he got all that awesome-
ass ink?”

Calland inclined his head in acknowledgment. “Sweet. Alright then, I’m gonna take Tiffany and get
out of here, then.”

Brandon broke in before Calland could leave. “Wait, so how do you know Ian?” He addressed the
question to Calland, but he looked at all of us for the answer.

“This drunk guy at the fight was getting pretty rowdy, spilled his beer all over Chloe, and then when
we were standing, he basically clocked her pretty good and almost knocked her down. So then my

sister decided she was going to jump the big bastard and Ian stepped in.”

He turned to Ian, giving him a crooked grin and said, “By the way, thanks again, man, for helping out
and getting Rocky out of there before she could hurt herself. Or anyone else.” He grinned at his sister
who pouted and punched him in the arm.

Ian grinned back, thumped Calland on the back and said, “No problem.” He glanced at Leah from the
corner of his eye and continued. “I have a feeling that I’ll probably see you again.”

Awww. How sweet was that? Leah looked up at him with a shy smile, and I felt my lips stretching
into a wide smile as she blushed for the first time in like…well, ever. I swear that girl has no shame.
It was absolutely adorable to see her smitten. There was no other word for it, and I was getting the
feeling that it might be mutual.

I waved to Calland as he left and scooted inside the booth, moving further over when Brandon slid in
beside me, pushing his thigh against mine. I moved over even more to put some distance between us
and, thankfully or regretfully, I wasn’t quite sure how I should feel, he didn’t move towards me
anymore. Leah and Ian slid in across from us and, even though Brandon was a little quieter than
normal, the next couple of hours were full of good food, good drinks, and good company. And a
definite budding romance…

It was late when we finally left the bar, and neither one of us spoke as Brandon started his truck and
pulled away.

“Thanks for giving me a ride home.”

My words were quiet, barely breaking the silence filling the truck. It was just he and I because,
surprise, surprise, Leah had gotten a ride from Ian. He had asked her if he could drop her off and she
had accepted before the words were totally even out of his mouth. Brandon had vouched for him, so I
wasn’t too worried about her getting in the car with him and everything, even though they’d just met
tonight.

It made my heart ache, just a little, seeing that instant attraction, that bond being forged right in front of
me between them. It was bittersweet, but I was happy for Leah. She deserved to find someone that
made her feel special and loved. I could only hope that it was the beginning of a very good thing for
her.

Brandon jerked his chin, I guess in acknowledgment of my thanks, but he didn’t say a word, not even
when he pulled into my driveway and shut off his truck.

We sat in silence, but for the first time in a long while, it wasn’t awkward. At least not much. I was
sort of at a loss, to be honest. Not a word had been spoken about this morning - about the kiss or
anything else.

The kiss. Oh, God. My thighs clenched as the memory of his lips on mine once again flashed through
my mind, the sweet heat of his mouth, the nip of his perfect, white teeth, the slow thrust and curl of his
tongue tangling with mine…

A shuddering breath left my lips, seeming to echo in the silence surrounding us as we sat in the
darkness. All of a sudden, his closeness was too much and too little, all at the same time. I needed to
get out of there, and fast, before I climbed over the console and attacked him like a lust-crazed
psychopath. Or was it sociopath? Ugh.

I reached for the door handle but my mouth decided to become animated on its own and I blurted out,

“Do you want to stay?”

“Uh…yeah. Sure.” He paused. “Thanks.”

I scrambled to get out of the vehicle, tugging my keys from my purse and fumbling at the lock until he
took them from my hand and unlocked the door smoothly and quickly, smirking at me. The glow from
the moon bathed his face in shadows, sharpening the angles of it until they stood out in stark relief,
making him look even sexier and…dangerous.

My breath caught and my stomach dropped, but I still had no idea where we stood, and I was
beginning to think I never would.

We still didn’t speak as we went inside, parting ways at the door to the spare bedroom when he went
in and shut the door behind him. I continued on to my room, stripped down and fell onto the bed
without bothering to put any clothes on, suddenly worn out.

I laid in the darkness, my eyes feeling heavy. My last thought before the dark swept me under was
relief that maybe I’d actually get some sleep tonight…

With a shaking hand, I combed my long blonde locks, staring at myself in the mirror. My eyes were
dark, haunted and huge in the gaunt face of the stranger looking back at me. I closed my eyes,
disgusted with myself. How the hell did I get like this? How did this happen? My God I’m so
fucking pathetic.

I started as the door slammed downstairs, panic flooding through me as I realized I wasn’t in the
kitchen, standing at the counter where I was supposed to be. Disgust with myself turned to terror
as I ran, tripping down the stairs and twisting my ankle in my haste but not caring. The pain of
that would fade quickly beneath the onslaught of my ‘punishment.’

Limping into the kitchen, I gripped the edge of the counter and waited, head down, eyes shut. I
knew what was coming…I just didn’t want to see it.

It didn’t take long. The first blow came quietly and quickly in the form of a well-placed kick
directly to the ankle I’d just twisted. I bit my tongue to hold back my cries, agony flashing through
me in a red hot haze as I grappled to keep hold of the counter and not fall to the floor.

“Ah, gonna play the silent strong type today, huh, honey? Is that what this is? Can’t be where
you’re supposed to be, bitch, and now you want to play games with me? I’ll make you fucking cry,
you little cunt. Let me hear you!” Greg roared, kicking out at my ankle again as the open palm of
his hand met my cheek, causing my head to jerk violently to the side.

I managed to stay on my feet somehow, but I couldn’t control my scream as he punched me in the
face. It was enough to make my nose bleed, the warm wetness trailing over my lips and dripping
off my chin, but somehow I knew that he hadn’t broken it. Not yet, at least.

I tried to contain my sobs as I sank to my knees, unable to stand the pain rolling through my ankle
any longer, though the pain in my face was a close second. And then…Oh, God. No…

Immediately, I realized my mistake.

The sound of a belt being loosened and then whipped through belt loops made me whimper, the
sound lost in the hateful words spewing from Greg’s lips.

“Since you’re down there, whore, open wide. I’m gonna enjoy seeing you bleed while I fuck that
nasty little mouth of yours.”

I felt his fingers tangle viciously in my hair, jerking my head back. I screamed and he thrust
forward with his hips…

“CHLOE! Jesus, sunshine, please open your eyes, wake up!”

I could hear Brandon, his words loud and tinged with fear and desperation as I fought to free myself
from my dream. I could feel the bitterness of remembered pain echoing along my body, every inch of
me shaking and shuddering, my chests heaving as I gasped for breath.

I sat up, my eyes clashing with his stormy gaze, realizing that he had me by the shoulders, his grip
almost edging on bruising. As soon as our eyes met he jerked me forward into his arms, crushing me
to his chest and holding me tight, murmuring into my hair, “It’s okay, it’s just a nightmare, baby,
alright? You’re safe, sunshine, I’m here…”

I shivered again, shaking off the vestiges of the dream…the memories…and snuggled deeper into him,
letting him soothe me, soaking the heat of him into my chilled flesh.

We stayed like that for a while, Brandon rocking me gently as he murmured reassurances and
smoothed his hand down my back.

When my breathing had calmed and the tears I hadn’t realized were coursing down my face had dried,
he asked softly, “Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?”

I sighed and settled even closer before I answered. “I’m okay. It’s just…just a nightmare. Like
before.”

I felt him shake his head, his chin brushing the top of my head as he did so. “No, Chloe, that wasn’t a
nightmare like before. This one was worse than any I’ve ever heard you have before. You were
screaming like someone was…like you were being hurt. Badly.” His voice shook as he forced the
words out.

I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to have this conversation, but knowing he wasn’t going to let me
off so easily.

“I…just…remember when I came here?” I asked, quietly.

He nodded.

“Let’s just leave it at that. Okay?”

He nodded again, though I could tell he wasn’t satisfied with my answer when he tensed against me.

Without thinking, seeking only to soothe him like he did me, I pressed my lips to his chest, kissing the
words inked across his heart. The firm, heated feel of his skin against my lips sent a thrill through me,
settling in my stomach as the butterflies awoke once again.

He made a rough sound in his throat and I moved, pressing my lips to his bare skin again, this time
tasting him with the tip of my tongue, earning another throaty growl. Lust rushed through me and I
shifted, pressing myself against him as I worked small, nipping kisses up his throat and across his jaw
until I reached the corner of his mouth. A soft, breathy sigh left my lips as he turned and our mouths
met in a gentle, hesitant kiss.

His hand came up to cup my shoulder before sliding down my back until it gripped my hip, his fingers
sinking into the soft, bare flesh there.

Just like that, clarity hit. And it hit both of us like a white hot bolt of lightning.

“Fuck!” Brandon growled as he pushed away from me, jumping off the bed as I scrambled to grab my
blanket. “You’re naked!” he yelled, accusingly.

“I’m in my room, in my bed!” I yelled back. “I didn’t invite you in and you weren’t complaining just a
minute ago!”

“I know!” he yelled back.

“And it’s not like you’re wearing much either, Goddamnit!” I yelled even louder.

He glanced down at himself, shouting another heartfelt ‘FUCK’ as he realized he didn’t have anything
on but a pair of tight, dark grey boxer briefs that did nothing to hide the hard length of his erection.

“I can’t help what he does!” he roared at me, palming himself through his shorts to try and adjust
things so it wasn’t so noticeable. Not that it helped. At all.

We glared at each other silently for a minute before the absurdity of the situation struck me and I
started giggling. I giggled louder as he scowled even harder at me, and then outright belly laughed
when his lips twitched and his scowl started to slip.

He finally gave up trying to hold onto his glare and laughed with me until we were both breathless,
grinning at each other like lunatics. No doubt, anyone who saw us at that moment would seriously
question our sanity, especially with him standing in nothing but boxer briefs and a raging erection (no,
it hadn’t gone down at all) and me naked in the bed clutching a blanket to my chest.

As we continued to stare at each other, our grins started to fade. Brandon shifted and turned away
from me, trying for belated modesty, as he cleared his throat and asked gruffly, “You gonna be okay?”

“Yeah,” I answered softly.

He nodded once and gave me an appraising look before he turned and left the room, gently closing the
door behind him.

Sighing, I slid back down in my bed and willed myself to find sleep again…preferably without the
nightmares this time.

Chapter 5

The rest of my weekend was unimpressive. I called Leah to check on her but got no response other
than a text letting me know that she was alright and would call me soon. I called my brother, but he
and Allie sounded preoccupied, and I didn’t even bother calling Emma. I hadn’t heard from Brandon,
either, so all in all, it was a pretty boring Sunday. Monday and Tuesday were more of the same,
although I did stay pretty busy at work with Allie.

The beeping of my phone woke me up on Wednesday morning. I rolled over and grabbed for it,
yawning as I noted a text from Allie.

Hey, woman! I know you aren’t supposed to come into the store until noon today, but I forgot
about my doctor’s appointment at 10:00. Could you come in early? Please? You love me!

I chuckled at her perkiness; no way in hell could I be that perky in the morning. I needed coffee first. I
got up and shuffled into the kitchen to make a cup, texting her back as I went: Sure. No prob. Just let
me pink my coffee and I’ll be on my way.

My phone beeped again just as my coffee got done brewing. I took a sip as I looked at it, immediately
spraying the scalding hot fluid all over the counter as I read her reply and double checked what I had
texted her.

Pink your coffee? What is that, tea-bagging for women?

I groaned as I replied: Damn autocorrect! I meant DRINK my coffee. But good one!

Her reply was immediate. I know, right? Can you imagine what that would look like, though? I
mean, it’s bad enough when you think of a man tea-bagging, but…

Oh, Lord. Mental image I so did not need. I shook my head as I typed: Yeah, thanks. That’s an image
I didn’t want stuck in my head this early in the morning.

At least you weren’t actually tea-bagged. Have you ever been tea-bagged?

I groaned even louder this time, replying: O.M.G. Seriously…I’m done.

I laid my phone down after receiving that last reply from her, cleaned up my coffee mess, and went to
get ready, intending to ignore my phone and any other crude questions Allie may come up with.

I let my mind wander while I showered and it immediately went back to Saturday night when Brandon
had busted into my room to wake me up. My belly immediately dipped, desire flooding my veins as I
remembered the very impressive length of him outlined under his boxer briefs. And then the kiss…
and the feel of his fingers digging into my hips. Oh, God, to feel him doing that while he thrust into
me!

Ugh! On a growl, I slapped the water off and toweled off vigorously, cursing myself for getting all
worked up before stomping to my room to get dressed.

Three hours later, I was working on pricing some new stuff Allie had gotten in when the bells chimed
on the door. I glanced up and smiled as Allie’s Nanny came through the door, an old farmer’s hat
smashed down on her head and a pair of ratty overalls on over a t-shirt, with the pant legs rolled up.

“Where’s my lily-girl?” she asked in her gravelly voice, coming over and kissing me on the cheek.

“She had a doctor’s appointment today, Nanny. She’ll be in later. Did you need something?”

In the months I’d been working at the store, Nanny (on pain of being slapped silly, I’d been told to
call her Nanny, too) had taken to stopping by even more frequently now that Allie was pregnant. From
what I’ve been told, she’d also started stopping by Skin Deep to see Emma, too, and everyone there
was getting a big kick out of her. How could you not, though? You never know what you’re gonna
get…one minute she’s a happy little bird, and the next, Tank is on the loose!

Nanny shrugged and meandered over toward the lingerie section, trying to look nonchalant. I
pretended not to see, as usual, as I listened to her. “Nope. Just got bored piddle-fucking around in the
garden, so I thought I’d come see my girls.”

I couldn’t help it. As soon as she said ‘fuck,’ my mind immediately whispered the same thing Allie’s
whole family does every time they hear her. ‘Aaaawww…Nanny said fuck!’

She snorted and I moved a little so I could see her better. She’d picked up a vintage teddy of
champagne lace and was holding it up to her bony little chest. She shook her head and muttered, “Who
wears white anymore? Bunch of damn sluts running around. Need some black lace…now that’s
sexy!”

Yikes.

I cleared my throat and asked her, “Where’s Poppy?”

She moved away from the lingerie toward the romance book rack, a guilty pleasure she shared with
her daughter and granddaughter both, though neither she nor Allie’s mom would admit it. Allie, on the
other hand, didn’t care who knew that she read them.

“Oh,” she croaked out. “He got all hot and bothered by me in my gardening getup and then exhausted
himself with the wheelbarrow.”

I laughed. “So you working in the garden made him work, too, huh?”

She looked at me like I was crazy. “Lord, child, no! You know, the wheelbarrow, where I put my
hands down and he lifts me up and wraps my legs around his waist upside down and…” She started
motioning with her arms and hips.

“Nanny! Look at the time! I have to get the inventory done!” I yelled, trying to cut her off before I
ended up needing to scour my ears with bleach any more than I already did.

She peered down at her wristwatch and sighed. “Hmpfh. I guess I’ve left Daisy sitting out there long
enough.”

“You…Allie’s mom is in the car?” I asked, trying to keep the incredulity out of my voice.

The door chimed again and Allie’s mom walked in, Brandon following behind.

What the…what?

“Hooey!” Nanny crowed. “There’s my hot body! You decide you wanna try this ol’ filly, yet?” she
asked him, winking and waggling her eyebrows at him crazily.

He laughed, tactfully ignoring her offer, and grabbed her up into a hug, jumping when she pinched his
ass as he moved away. Allie’s mom, Daisy, shook her head and rolled her eyes at her mom’s
behavior.

“Mom, are you ready to go? I thought you just needed to come in and get something Allie was holding
for you?” She looked around. “Where is my daughter?”

Nanny interjected, explaining what I’d already told her. Daisy looked confused. “She doesn’t have a
doctor’s appointment today. She doesn’t go until next week on Tuesday.”

Aaaaand now I’m suspicious.

I just shrugged it off and hugged them both goodbye, laughing again as Brandon masterfully evaded
Nanny’s grabby claws and hugged her before they left.

Once the bell chimed their departure, Brandon turned to me and said, “Okay. Let’s do this. I have to
be back at the shop by two, but you have me until then.”

Huh? I stared at him, completely lost.

He sighed. “Allie called and said she needed me to come down and move some boxes for you. She
had to run into the city with Jacks for something…but you said she had a doctor’s appointment?”

I nodded very slowly as he cocked his head, confusion now becoming clear on his face.

“Uh, so do you have boxes that need moved?” he asked, cautiously. I could see that he was starting to
work things out a little bit.

I shook my head. He groaned.

“I think we’ve been set up,” he said on a sigh.

I looked at him helplessly, shrugging one shoulder. What could I say?

His phone rang in his pocket, breaking the silence stretching between us. He dug it out and answered.
“Hello? Yes, Allie.” A pause. “No, I…okay. Yeah, that’s fine.” Another pause. “I don’t know, I’ll
ask, I guess.” He paused once more, listening intently, and then must have decided to interject. “Hey,
Allie. While I’ve got you on the phone, why the hell did you say Chloe needed help--” He turned to
look at me, shock written across his face.

“She hung up on me. She literally made noises like her phone was cutting out, told me her phone was
breaking up, and hung up on me! That little…”

I moved away from him, grabbing a stack of books to add to the rack. “I guess you can go on back to
the shop, then. I’m sorry about…” I gestured vaguely before continuing, “all of this. I don’t know
what the hell she’s doing.”

“Yeah, I guess I will go back. Shit was weird today, right? Not just me?” he asked.

“Totally weird. Not just you, I promise,” I answered.

“Oh, Allie wanted me to ask if you would come to dinner at Emma’s house tonight with me. Emma
apparently is feeling like the group hasn’t spent much time together lately, and wants me to bring you.
Not sure why Emma didn’t call you, or even me, for that matter, but whatever.”

“Uhhh…I guess? I can just meet you there, though. You don’t have to pick me up, I’ll just come
directly after I close up the store this evening.”

He didn’t fight me on it, not that I thought he would, gave me a wink, a quick smile, and he was gone.
I thumped my head down on the counter in front of me, cursing Allie and Emma and their interfering
under my breath.

The rest of the day passed without incident, which was a relief. Allie came in looking sheepish at
about two, and we worked without talking much, each trying to avoid the giant elephant in the room.
We closed the store at six and she rushed off, calling over her shoulder to remind me about dinner.

Twenty minutes later, I pulled up at Emma and Luke’s house, having only stopped to put gas in the
car. It didn’t look like anyone else was there yet, except for Allie and Emma. I walked up on the
porch and jerked my hand back when I heard them talking inside. The window was open, so I could
hear every word.

“Well how the hell was I supposed to know? Do you think I planned on my mom and Nanny being
there? I was only supposed to get him over there and I did. What the hell did you do?” Allie sounded
surly.

“Um, I don’t know, maybe keep your lies straight? Cheese and rice, woman! They’re onto us!”
Emma’s voice was shrill with what could only be described as exhilarated fear, which made for an
interesting sounding combination. “And this was your turn, damnit, so what was I supposed to do?”

Emma sighed and started speaking again. “I talked to my sister and she said she walked in on a very,
very heated conversation between them at Chloe’s house on Saturday. Apparently that kiss between
them made a very big impression on him. I know Chloe likes him, and I know she’s struggling with
the whole friendship thing, just like he is, but I swear. Ever since they’ve gotten back, it’s been
fucking painful to have them in the same room together. I can’t believe we didn’t see it before…it
wasn’t angry tension, it was fucking sexual tension!” she crowed.

I had to strain to hear Allie’s next words and they made my heart ache, but in a good way.

“Are we doing the right thing, Em? I know she really does like him. I can see it in her eyes, and it was
never something she intended, either. Not to mention, I think he’s totally seeing her in a new light
since that road trip. I think they would be great together, but I just…I don’t want to hurt either one of
them. I love them both, you know?”

I heard Emma sigh, “I know Allie, I know. Too late now, though.”

Allie giggled as Emma continued. “We’re in too deep!”

I huffed and knocked on the door, chuckling at the chaos that erupted inside. Yips, barks, woofs, and
growls accompanied a flurry of scrabbling sounds as the dogs went wild trying to get to the door.

“Damn dogs!” I heard Emma yell before the door was wrenched open, releasing the flood of canines
upon me.

“Whoa!” I cried as I tried to sidestep them so I wouldn’t be sent flying.

“Chloe!” Allie cooed sweetly. I could see the panic in her eyes, though, wondering what I’d heard, if
anything.

Emma pushed her aside and waddled her way outside onto the porch, yelling, “Don’t you do it, Doug!
Don’t you dare! You’ll be a bad dad…DJ! Come back here!” She glared at Allie, growling, “Help
me! Call your dog back, too, damnit!”

I looked over my shoulder to see Doug running hell bent for leather into the woods, DJ and Grady hot
on his heels.

Allie and Emma both started hollering for them, but they were ignored. They both started cussing
under their breath at the same time, too, which was cracking me up.

“So, where’re they going?” I asked conversationally.

Emma sighed deeply, sounding very resigned when she said, “Doug found a stupid skunk nest. I sent
Luke out to try to get rid of them somehow without killing them…did you know that some people have

skunks for pets? You can get rid of their scent sacs or something like that, and they’re just like a cat!
They’re so cute…anyway, he couldn’t get anywhere near the nest, or where he thinks it is, because the
stench is so strong. He stumbled out of the woods holding his stomach and dry heaving. It was bad.
Funny…but bad.” She grinned.

“Ah,” I said. “So now Doug is obsessed and his little followers are just like little lambs being led to
slaughter.”

Allie and Emma both nodded, while Emma replied, “We’ve been lucky so far. Doug is the only one
who is consistently getting sprayed. I think he’s addicted to the scent, and the tomato juice baths
afterward. Since I’m pregnant, I get a pass, but Brandon and Luke have been flipping coins to see who
has to bathe him. Damn dog.”

She looked out over the yard and chuckled when she saw the two little pups running like mad back
toward the house. Doug was trotting behind them, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth.

“Guess we got lucky, today, huh?” Allie asked.

Emma grinned at her again. “Nope, we didn’t, but the guys sure did!”

The dogs came back into the house and Allie grabbed up Grady, coddling him like a baby, but I
couldn’t say much because I did the same to DJ. I gotta say, Doug and his little girlfriend sure made
some cute babies!

After playing with the puppies for a few minutes, I cornered the two women. “Alright. Spill.”

Twin expressions of exaggerated innocence stared back at me.

“Your wide-eyed, who me expressions aren’t going to cut it. You know what I’m talking about, and
Emma might has well have put up a billboard saying you guys were up to something. So, what’s going
on?” I narrowed my gaze at both of them, looking first at Emma and then cocking my head and staring
even more intently at Allie.

She looked defiant for a second before she deflated, the sourest look I’ve ever seen moving across
her face. Emma looked relieved once she saw that Allie was going to cave.

“Alright, fine! I set you up, sent Brandon over to the shop to help you, but I got sidetracked and forgot
to make sure I had the boxes there! There was supposed to be boxes and then you two would spend
time together and…and…oh, hell. I didn’t think it through! I was just on a high from managing to put
the bug in his ear about staying at your place since it’s technically closer and he did. So…”

Her face became immediately animated again, but it was more on the gleefully evil side; well, not
really evil, but more like mischievous.

“Did anything happen?”

She looked so hopeful, and so did Emma. I couldn’t help it, I blurted out, “We kissed again! Twice!”

Twin gasps sounded and they oohed and ahhed over it for a second but the distinctive slams of car
doors closing stopped the conversation cold. Male voices and laughter rang out, causing the dogs to
go crazy again, and Emma and Allie immediately began grinning, the anticipation on their faces so
adorable to see.

Luke and Brandon walked in, Jackson right behind them, followed by another guy that I didn’t know.
He was tattooed, and had black hair, shaved on the sides with a short, spiky mohawk that looked like
it was dipped in fire. The color was vivid, fading from black to blonde to orange, with the tips a

flaming red. He had on aviators, so I couldn’t see his eyes, but he was drop dead gorgeous in a very
sexy-yet-dangerous way.

His face was scruff covered, like he hadn’t shaved in a few days, and he was wearing a tight black t-
shirt with ripped and faded jeans over…I did a double take, sure I didn’t see correctly, but I did. He
had black leather flip flops on his very neat but manly feet, definitely not what I had expected.

“Hey, T.J.!” Allie and Emma both said, embracing the stranger readily with hugs before they claimed
their men with heartfelt kisses.

Luke and Jackson said hi to me and gave me hugs when they came up for air before Brandon
introduced T.J. to me. “This is Chloe, Jackson’s sister. Chloe, this is T.J., the guy I met at the
convention in L.A.”

I held out my hand and he took it in his, holding it as he murmured, “Nice to meet you.”

His eyes never left my face as I nodded and replied, “You, too.”

He winked in response and dropped my hand as Brandon suddenly moved, slinging an arm around my
shoulder and squeezing me tight as he quipped, “She’s our little Cali-girl.”

It sounded like a conversation opening, what with T.J. being from California, as well, but it clearly
wasn’t as Brandon maneuvered me around toward the kitchen. I sent an apologetic smile over my
shoulder at T.J., because I’m not a rude person and that, frankly, struck me as rude on Brandon’s
behalf. So wait. Was he jealous? No…that couldn’t be it.

T.J. just gave me an enigmatic half-smile and turned his attention back to Jackson, who’d asked him
something as he tucked Allie into his side once more.

Brandon let me go as we got to the kitchen table and looked at Emma who was waddling around
gathering paper plates and napkins. The doorbell rang, causing the dogs to go crazy again and Luke
hollered at them to stop while he went to answer the door.

Twenty minutes later found us all stuffing our faces with pizza and making grossed out faces at Allie
who had a pizza to herself because she wanted pickles on it. Even Jackson looked mildly repulsed as
she devoured piece after piece like a starving woman.

At one point she looked up, noticing that everyone was staring at her with varying expressions of
disgust on their faces and said, “What? Like I’m the only one in the world who eats pickles? I don’t
think so. Emma, you eat pickles all the time, and Chloe, you just ate pickles wrapped in a piece of
cheese the other day, so…” She cocked her head in a little ‘what now’ move and took another huge
bite of pizza.

Emma laughed and inclined her head, acknowledging Allie’s point, but then qualified it a little.
“True, and Chloe, that sounds a little disturbing in itself, but Allie, you’re eating pickles on pizza.
Pickles are not a normal pizza topping and you’ve never eaten them like that before.”

Allie just shrugged and said, “I’m pregnant, bitches. Get over it.”

We all laughed at her and dinner wore on, full of smiles and the easy camaraderie I’ve come to
expect from this group. It warmed my heart to be included in it and I felt so blessed that they took me
in with open arms, making me a part of it like I’d always been there. I think it said even more about
the depth of love they had for each other, as friends and family, that this group had been born out of
one little trip to a tattoo shop almost two years ago. It’s a beautiful thing, I promise.

I noticed T.J. out of the corner of my eye, sitting there sort of quietly. It’s not that he wasn’t
participating, or that he was excluded, because that’s not it. In fact, everyone had embraced him just
as readily. It was more of him just being…watchful. He’d taken off his glasses earlier and I’d finally
gotten a look at his eyes. They were honeyed brown, like warm whiskey with the sunlight shining
through. Breathtaking.

He caught me looking and I flushed, smiling and quickly looking away. I heard a huff beside me and
realized that Brandon had witnessed the interaction and, if I wasn’t mistaken, I’d almost swear he
was jealous. But, as I’d told myself earlier, that couldn’t possibly be true. Could it?

Perplexed, I grabbed my pizza off my plate and took a big bite, getting even more flustered when a
piece of pepperoni flew off and dropped into my lap. I dropped my pizza back on my plate and
grabbed my napkin to wipe my hands and face before I went to grab for the wayward slice. But…I
never got to grab it.

“WHOA!” I yelled as, suddenly, a hundred pounds plus of yellow fur and a wet pointy nose shoved
into my lap under the table, snuffling and snorting to reach the dropped pepperoni. I tried and tried to
push him back but couldn’t, scrambling at the same time to shove back my chair and stand, but I only
succeeded in somehow falling off the side of my chair onto the floor where I was bombarded with
exuberant doggy kisses.

I heard everyone laughing and Luke hollering at the dogs to leave me alone, which they finally did,
trotting off happily, Doug smacking his lips with satisfaction at having retrieved his unexpected treat.

Me? I just laid there on the floor. I really would have just stayed down there, but then Brandon’s face
appeared over mine, fighting a smile as he tried to look concerned.

“You alright down there?”

Chapter 6

Dinner wound down eventually with everyone still laughing at my unfortunate floor dive. Leah had
shown up late and they had quickly filled her in, allowing her to join in their glee at my expense.

Allie and Jackson were the first ones to leave the get together, grabbing Grady and heading out the
door with a brief wave, the looks on their faces making it clear exactly what their intentions were. I
didn’t know how they were going to survive the six weeks after she had the baby. Or Luke and Emma,
either, for that matter.

They were giving each other that look, too, which made Leah give her grossed out face and take off,
beeping her horn and setting Doug to howling, DJ yipping along with him. Brandon had stepped out
on the porch with T.J., after T.J. had said his goodbyes. He’d only been able to quickly shake my
hand again before Brandon had called him away to walk outside, leaving me the only one in the house
with the love birds.

I heard Luke murmur something to Emma, making her giggle and slap at him, telling him to behave and
that was definitely my cue to leave. I told them goodbye, accepting hugs and more good natured
ribbing from them before I gave goodbye rubs to Doug and DJ and headed out the door, making my
way toward my car where Brandon was standing, having just waved as T.J. pulled out of the drive.

He turned to me and asked, “You heading out?”

I nodded, trying not to laugh at his wistful expression. He glanced back at the house, roughed his
hands over his head and face and muttered something about going to the shop for a while.

I took pity on him. “You can come stay at my place tonight, if you want.”

“Yeah?” He asked, looking hopeful.

“Yup. I’m thinking you’re not gonna wanna be here,” I said ruefully.

“I’ll just grab some clothes and meet you there, okay?” he said as he turned to go inside. He paused,
hesitation clearly written across his features before he asked, “Uh, so…um, you cool if I just stay for
a while?”

Surprise flashed through me and I struggled to hide it as I stammered, “Y-uh-yeah, th-that’s fine.”

He smiled and jogged inside. I stood there staring after him for a moment in a daze before I shook it
off and made the drive home.

I paced through the house, waiting on him to show up, berating myself the whole time. ‘Why the
HELL would you agree to this? Geez, you’re a dumbass Chloe Jane Matthews. Can’t keep your
fucking head together around him, want to do nothing but jump his damn bones and you tell him he
can LIVE WITH YOU?’

“Well, what the hell was I supposed to do?” I yelled out loud at myself, immediately feeling stupid
for actually carrying on a conversation with myself like a crazyass.

I speared my fingers through my hair and gave a quick tug, hoping the slight sting would help bring me
back from the edge.

I whirled as a knock sounded at the door before the knob rattled and Brandon let himself in. He
looked at me in surprise, which gave way to puzzlement as he froze and just stared at me.

“What?” I asked irritably.

“Well,” he said cautiously. “Is everything okay?”

Huh?

“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” I asked, and then continued, “Nope. Nevermind,” as I realized that I still
had my fingers tangled in my hair. I gave a small, exasperated groan and released my hold as he just
grinned at me and came all the way in, closing the door behind him and locking it with the deadbolt.

I flopped down on the couch with a huff as he just shook his head and lugged the duffle he was
carrying into the spare bedroom. He came back and plopped down beside me, patting my leg and
smiling once more.

“You sure you’re okay with me staying here?” he asked, still smiling, albeit very cautiously.

I turned to him, feeling like an ass. “Yeah, it’s completely fine! Don’t worry about it at all, you can
stay as long as you want. It’s not like I’m going to run you out of the house having loud sex every
night. Hell, you’d be hard pressed to hear me moan while I’m-” My words choked off, my eyes
widening in horror at what I was about to reveal to him.

Brandon sat up, totally perked up by the turn in conversation. “What was that, Chloe?” he asked,
smiling widely.

I shook my head, refusing to answer the question. “Want to watch a movie with me?” I asked him,
hoping to change the subject, or at least distract him long enough for him to forget the word vomit that
just flew out of my mouth.

He agreed, winking at me, letting me know that he knew what I was doing. But I didn’t care, by God,
because we were so totally not going there. Not with him blowing so hot and cold on me all the time,
kissing me one minute until I’m ready to burst into flame, and then ramming the ‘F’ word down my
throat. You know…friend.

I jumped up and grabbed the first movie that I laid my hand on, which turned out to be Friends with
Benefits. Very funny, very sweet movie with a very hot Mila Kunis and a surprisingly decent Justin
Timberlake. I put it in and hit play, sinking back down onto the couch beside him without a second
thought.

We watched and laughed until we got to the sex parts…God, how could I forget how many of those
there were in this movie? And it’s not like they were all that hot; in fact, they were pretty humorous,
too, but still.

Hyperawareness prickled down every nerve in my body when Brandon shifted. I moved my legs
restlessly, my knee and thigh connecting with him every time I did. I didn’t realize we were sitting so
close. I blinked and took a deep breath, letting it out on a sigh as I looked around the room, taking my
eyes off the fuck-fest on the screen in front of me for a moment.

The living room was shrouded in darkness, the only light coming from the TV. I hadn’t even noticed
that it’d gotten dark outside.

Brandon shifted beside me again, his thigh connecting with mine once more, and this time he didn’t
move it away. A jagged breath puffed from my lips, the slight sound seeming so…needy, so desperate
in the darkness, even as the characters bantered wittily on the screen.

“Chloe.”

I swallowed and peeked up at him when my name left his lips on a whisper. He was staring at me, his

stormy eyes drinking me in, taking me under. The air turned electric, the hyperawareness I’d felt
thrumming through me like I’d been hooked up to a 12 volt and tossed in a tub of water.

“Yeah?” I answered, whispering back to him.

His eyes searched my face and then he gave a muttered curse before his lips crashed onto mine, his
tongue spearing into my mouth and stealing my breath, along with every coherent thought in my head. I
kissed him back like I was starving, the heady thrust and parry of tongues, the sweet, sharp stings of
teeth nipping at lips driving me crazy as a wave of lust crashed over me.

I shot up and over him, shoving him against the back of the couch as I straddled his lap, moaning into
his mouth when that achy part of me nestled against the incredibly hard length of him, feeling the
exquisite heat of him even through our clothes. I bucked my hips to grind myself against him, the
wildness taking me over and pushing me to the razor-sharp edge of a world shattering climax. I
arched into him more, the rigid line of him swelling even larger behind the seam of his jeans as I
raced toward the finish line, taking what I wanted…no needed, what I’d been craving for so long. All
at once the wave crested and broke, drowning me in pleasure as I threw my head back, an
uncontrollable scream tearing from my throat as I came.

I collapsed against his chest in a boneless heap, emotions warring inside me. I didn’t know which
should be the winner though; complete and utter satisfaction from that mind-blowing orgasm or
mortification that I’d just basically dry humped him like a rabid rabbit hopped up on ecstasy?

“God, Chloe!” Brandon gasped out as his fingers clenched hard onto my hips, his chest heaving as he
fought to catch his breath, cupping my shoulders with his hands to push me back a little at the same
time.

I whimpered in my throat and fought against him, not ready to face him. I was so scared at what I
would see there. I didn’t want him to regret it, and God help him if he threw that ‘F’ word out there
again.

“Sunshine…” he breathed, releasing one of his hands from my shoulder to run it soothingly down my
cheek, bringing my face up to his. I felt myself melt at the look in his eyes, the sincerity that I had only
hoped for rather than regret shining back at me from the stormy depths. He leaned his forehead against
mine, letting out a breath before he kissed me softly, a tender, slight brush of his lips against mine that
was over too quickly.

“That was…” he broke off to touch his lips to mine once more, and then continued. “Fucking hell, that
was so fucking hot, Chloe. Don’t hide from me. Baby, you’ve got me hanging by a thread here, so you
need to tell me right now if you don’t want to cross that line. I don’t want to fight it anymore, can’t
fight it anymore. Your kisses set me on fire and I want nothing more than to take you back to your
bedroom and worship every inch of you with my mouth before I bury myself balls deep inside your
tight little body.”

His words were ragged, his control clearly ready to snap and there was no way in hell I was gonna
tell him no. This is what I’d wanted ever since I’d kissed him…things had already changed; we’d
already crossed that line, in my own mind at least, and there was no going back. I couldn’t go back,
even if I wanted to.

I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his in answer. On a groan, he slid both of his hands back
down past my hips and clenched them tight on my thighs, just under my ass. I squeaked into his mouth
and clung to him as he rose off the couch in a fluid movement, no hesitation whatsoever at my added

weight, and strode down the hallway to my bedroom.

My body trembled in his arms, nervousness and desire curling together to land like a lead weight in
the pit of my stomach, and it didn’t get any better when he broke the kiss and dropped me gently on the
bed, standing at the edge and just staring at me. I swallowed hard and fought the urge to cover myself,
which was ridiculous considering I was still fully dressed.

Brandon held my gaze and began methodically stripping out of his clothes, the heat in his eyes
scalding me with their intensity. My breath caught and my eyes widened as he peeled off his boxer
briefs, his glorious hardness springing up from the material to bob gently before curving along his taut
stomach, pointing directly up to his belly button.

A whispered sound of yearning slipped out between my lips at the sight of the mouth-wateringly
impressive expanse of rigid flesh, turning into a moan as he curled his hand around his girth, stroking
it firmly from tip to root, teasing me. Without warning, he was on the bed over me. Our mouths met
again in a frenzied kiss, lips, teeth, and tongues tangling, breaking apart only long enough for Brandon
to reach for my shirt, his hands working frantically to get me as naked as he was. I froze instantly, the
word ‘NO’ dropping from my lips with the weight of a bomb.

Brandon stilled above me, and I regretted the outburst immediately, but…there were…he just…I
wasn’t ready for him to see me. “Lights, please. Turn them off,” I asked, my voice barely above a
whisper.

“Chloe,” he said softly, “You’re beautiful to me, sunshine. You don’t ever have to worry about that.”

I shook my head. “It’s not that, Brandon, just…please?” I pleaded.

He gave me a look filled with concern but complied, moving off the bed and hitting the lights so the
room fell into darkness. As soon as the lights went out, I hurriedly stripped off my clothes,
anticipating him returning to feel my bare skin, hoping he’d be pleasantly surprised enough to forget
about my hang-ups for now. I heard him shuffle around and waited for him to come back to bed, to
pick up where we left off, but he didn’t. Instead, the bathroom light clicked on.

“Brandon,” I started, my hands immediately moving to cover my body, but he cut me off.

“Chloe, don’t hide from me. Trust me, baby, there’s nothing that could make me want you less right
now. Okay?” He pulled the door shut, but didn’t close it all the way, so that a sliver of light left a soft
glow in the bedroom, casting shadows over everything, including my skin. I glanced down at myself,
eyeing the patterns of light worriedly. The way the shadows fell, he could see me, but couldn’t see…
anything I didn’t want him to see.

“Is this okay, baby?” he asked quietly, his voice so tender and careful that it brought tears to my eyes.
I blinked them back frantically and nodded, adding a whispered ‘yes’ when I realized he might not be
able to see my head move in the dimness.

He moved back to the bed, crawling over me and capturing my mouth in a sweet, questing kiss. I
gasped against his lips as he finally settled against me, every inch of his rock hard body pressed
against my smaller, softer one, his hips resting between my thighs, spreading them. I hooked my legs
around his and moaned as the heavy length of his erection slid against my tender, wet folds, branding
me with his heat. He thrust against me, the head of him breaching my drenched slit to slide through the
wetness gathered there until it nudged my clit, making me jerk against him as pleasure shot through me
like lightning.

I growled in my throat, a low, wild sound that made him chuckle and shift, breaking away from the
kiss as he sat back on his knees between my still wide-spread thighs. I arched my hips, wordlessly
begging him to continue to no avail.

Time slowed to a crawl, every inch of me crying out for his touch, aching to feel him against me with
nothing between us again, hip to hip, chest to chest, skin to skin.

“Brandon…” I whispered, pleading with him to move, to touch me…anything.

He stared down at me, taking in every detail of my body stretched out, opened completely for him, yet
swathed in shadows and light. His gaze burned in the darkness, raking me from head to toe with a
hunger that shook me to the core and left me even more breathless than I already had been.

As if in slow motion, his hand raised up and moved toward me until the pad of one finger gently
traced the tender, pink lips of my sex, up and down, over and over again with maddeningly slow,
deliberate motions, before he dipped slightly inside, his finger playing in the honeyed warmth
gathered at my entrance.

“So beautiful,” he murmured as he slicked my wetness up through my folds and then tapped the tip of
his finger tenderly against the swollen bud of my clit. “I want to taste you, Chloe,” he growled softly
when I cried out and arched into his hand.

A ragged cry was torn from my throat as he moved suddenly, gripping my hips with his hands and
lifting me up until my legs were draped over his shoulders and his lips were latched onto my clit,
sucking the tiny nub mercilessly. My head thrashed against the mattress, my hands twisting into the
covers as a red-hot haze of pleasure washed over me.

My head and shoulders were the only parts of my body still resting on the bed, but he held me
effortlessly against his mouth, using his hands on my hips to move me where he wanted as he released
my clit and his tongue darted out to dive deep inside me. He fucked me with his tongue, then, strong
sure strokes that had me hovering on the edge, but he stopped every time I was ready to fly, flicking
his tongue up and down my outer lips, nipping and sucking at each one until I was squirming against
his face restlessly, seeking the relief he was so torturously denying me.

When his tongue slid through my folds once more, rubbing against my clit and then spearing inside me
again, I cried out, a broken sound that turned into a wild scream that I couldn’t control as white hot
ecstasy rushed through every inch of my straining body, arching and writhing against his mouth as he
brought me screaming, again and again until I was limp and shuddering in his hands.

Brandon gently lowered my body back to the bed but kept his mouth firmly on my mound, sweetly
kissing my swollen folds and lapping up every drop of my release before he kissed his way up my
body, settling his weight over me as his lips met mine in a hot, wet kiss. I could taste myself on his
tongue and groaned as desire coiled in my belly again, shifting against him, loving the feel of my
breasts crushed against the hardness of his chest.

He thrust his hips against me, the blunt tip of his length parting my folds and slipping just inside me
before he stopped, squeezing his eyes shut as a shudder wracked his body. I whimpered at the feel of
him stretching me and then gasped as he pulled away again.

“Condom,” he barked out in a hoarse voice, scrambling off the bed to his jeans, digging a foil square
out of the back pocket. He tore it open, rolled it on, and was leaning over me again in record time,
twin moans sounding from both of us as he pushed inside until he was buried to the hilt.

“You okay, baby?” he asked, pressing his body against mine as he leaned in to capture my lips in a
sweet, teasing kiss before he trailed tiny kisses along my jawline and then nuzzled my neck.

“Yessss…” I hissed out, stretching languidly against him and wrapping my legs up and over his hips,
the movement opening my thighs wider and allowing him to sink a little deeper inside me.

We both groaned in unison as my inner muscles clenched around the hot hardness impaled so deep
inside.

“Chloe, Jesus you’re killing me here. Give me a second…stop squeezing me like that. You’re so
fucking tight…ah, God!” Brandon rasped, the low tone of his voice thick with lust, which caused my
walls to convulse around him again uncontrollably. “I, I can’t…” Brandon stuttered out before he
growled, “Aw, fuck…”

And then he went wild, pulling almost all the way out of me and slamming back in, pounding into me
over and over ruthlessly, a driving rhythm that pushed me over the edge almost immediately, the
pleasure so all-encompassing that my vision dimmed and I saw stars. I was screaming uncontrollably,
my nails raking down his back, but still he powered into me, thrusting so deep I couldn’t tell where he
ended and I began.

I felt like I was one big, raw nerve; every movement of his body inside mine caused me to crest wave
after wave, my slickened, swollen flesh grasping at the rock hard, heated length of him, sucking him
back in, clenching and massaging and milking him with my inner muscles as I came and came and
came.

“Oh God, oh God, oh God, yes…yes, yes, yesyesyesyessss…oohh FUCK! BRANDON!” The words
were raw, torn from my throat on a scream as my body seized, convulsing under the seemingly
endless onslaught of white hot ecstasy.

My body went limp, still shuddering underneath him as Brandon roared, his hardness jerking and
twitching inside me with every hot spurt of his release, his hips locked tight to mine, before he
collapsed over me.

His weight pressed me into the mattress, our passion-slicked skin sticking together, but I didn’t care.
We laid like that for what seemed like an eternity, both trying to catch our breath as aftershocks still
zinged through our exhausted bodies, until Brandon groaned and hefted himself up on his arms, staring
down into my eyes as he slowly, gently slid himself out of me. He leaned in and pressed his lips to
mine quickly before rolling off the bed and making his way into the bathroom on unsteady legs to
divest himself of the condom.

He reappeared after a brief moment to see that I had moved under the covers and, without a word,
flipped off the light in the bathroom and slid under the covers with me, pulling me against his chest as
he wrapped his arms around me.

He held me tight and I snuggled into him, my eyelids drooping and sleep taking me under almost
immediately.

Chapter 7

Heavy breathing woke me in the morning, along with a weight sitting on my chest. Still exhausted
from the night (Brandon woke me up twice more through the night; once with his tongue soothing my
tender flesh, and the second time by sliding deep inside me and making love to me with slow,
unhurried thrusts), I didn’t even bother to open my eyes as I swatted at him with a hand.

“No,” I mumbled. “I’m too sore and tired. You wore me out.”

In return, the weight shifted and my whole face was bathed by a slobbery, wet tongue. “UGH!” I
yelled, jack-knifing up in the bed, my eyes popping open as I shouted, “Seriously? That’s so gross-”
My words cut off sharply when I noticed the small black lab sitting on the mattress in front of me, his
head tilted to the side as he watched me curiously.

What the? “Grady?”

His wiry tail started a wagging frenzy, his whole little body wiggling along with the movement until
he lunged at me, his tongue like a heat seeking missile aiming straight for my face once more. I
grabbed for him, trying to hold him away from my face but he still got a few good licks in.

His paws were prancing a mile a minute, his excitement climbing higher and higher by the second and
then…I shouldn’t have laughed. I really shouldn’t have. But I couldn’t help it.

Grady shifted in my hands and, during his crazy leg dance, his back paw came down…and seeing
how Brandon was sleeping on his back beside me…it came down directly on Brandon’s poor,
unsuspecting, unguarded man bits.

He shot up in the bed on a high-pitched groan, doubling over and cupping his junk while I laughed
uncontrollably, trying to corral the little dog so he couldn’t do any more damage. I snorted as Brandon
glared at me for laughing and then glared at Grady before he gingerly got out of bed and stomped into
the bathroom, the sleek, taut muscles of his perfect, naked ass flexing as he went.

With a final giggle, I snapped my fingers and told Grady to sit, pleasantly surprised when he
immediately complied.

“So what the hell are you doing here, boy? Where’s your mommy and daddy, huh?” I cooed to him as
I rubbed his adorable, furry little cheeks. I ran my hand down his head and heard paper crinkle when I
touched his collar. Pulling him to me, I saw that a note had been tucked underneath it. I jerked it free
and read what Allie had scrawled.

‘Hi, Aunt Chloe! Mommy and Daddy called to see if you’d babysit me today but you didn’t answer.
Mommy says you don’t have to go in to the store, Grandma Daisy is working to get a break from
Nanny. She’s driving her batty. Mommy and Daddy are going to Cincinnati so don’t wait up. And
I’m sorry if I made any messes before you woke up…Mommy just shoved me in through the front
door with my bag and ran like hell. Love, Grady’

I winced as I read the last part and looked at Grady, trying to judge if he was looking guilty in any
way, shape, or form but I couldn’t tell. He’s just too cute. “Well, I guess we should go see if you
made any messes. Or chewed on anything. Seriously, dude, you better not have chewed on anything!”
I said sternly, staring down into sweet, innocent, melted chocolate brown puppy eyes. He blinked up
at me and I smiled at him, kissing his cute little nose before I moved him away and got up out of bed.

I reached for my robe, managing to get it on and tied before Brandon threw himself on the bed behind

me, making me squeal as he reached out and dragged me backwards onto the bed again. I landed in a
heap, tangled up with him, unable to move for laughing so hard.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he growled in my ear and then nipped at my neck, the scruff on
his face tickling as it gently abraded my skin.

I giggled and then moaned as he bit down slightly on the curve of my neck, sending delicious chills
down my spine to clash with the growing heat between my thighs. Breathless, I gasped, “I didn’t think
you’d be ‘up’ for anything after catching a paw to your nuts.”

He chuckled and nuzzled my neck again, his words rumbling in my ear as he asked, “Ah, worried
about my nuts, are you?”

“Mmmhmmm…” I murmured, getting lost in the small, biting kisses he was dotting down my jawline
and throat.

Suddenly, a distinct chewing noise broke through my lust-induced stupor. I froze, shoving Brandon
back and sitting up, frantically looking around for Grady. I groaned out, “Oh, no, Grady! Bad boy!”

The little black puppy was sitting at the end of the bed, my living room tv remote clutched between
his paws, teeth gnawing diligently on the corner. The power button kept lighting up red with every
movement of his jaw, like a little evil eye winking and taunting me.

I heard muffled laughter and jerked my head around to see Brandon practically smothering himself in
the pillow so I wouldn’t hear him laughing. I smacked his naked shoulder, grimacing when it stung my
hand, and then glared at him when he sat up and laughed outright.

“This is funny to you?” I huffed at him as I moved slowly to the end of the bed, intent on trying to
salvage my remote.

“Uh, yeah. It is,” he replied succinctly. “Payback for you laughing when he ball-tagged me earlier.”

I reached out slowly…creeping my fingers closer and closer to the dog, stopping, my hand hanging in
mid-air when Grady froze, watching me closely out of the corner of his eye. “Good boy,” I cooed
sweetly. “Give Auntie Chloe the remote, Grady. Him’s a good baby, yes him is…” I used baby talk,
why? I don’t know, maybe because he’s a cute little baby puppy and that’s what you do to babies, but
it seemed to be working.

Or not. His tail was wagging now, tiny little circles on the blanket, but then he moved. His furry rear
end shot up in the air, waggling back and forth while his front legs stayed flat, holding the remote
tightly with paws and teeth. I could see it in his eyes, see him gather himself to bolt, and I took a
chance, lunging forward to try to grab him before he got away. Instead, I grabbed empty air as I
launched myself off the end of the bed to flop less than gracefully face first on the floor with a deep
‘oompf’.

Fucking hell, this is the second time I’ve ended up on the floor because of a damned dog! I pushed up
off the floor, scowled at Brandon who was laughing his ass off on the bed, still, and took off after the
dog, yelling for him to come.

I chased the little black furball around the living room and through the kitchen before he headed back
down the hallway to the bedroom, remote still clenched in his jaws, and jumped onto the bed, finally
dropping it into Brandon’s outstretched hand.

I skidded to a halt in the doorway just in time to see this, scowling at Brandon’s face-splitting grin. I
walked to the bed and scooped up the pup, whispering ‘traitor’ in his ear as I sat down.

Brandon stretched and yawned behind me, still grinning as he reached out and pulled me back against
him. We cuddled like that for a moment, the three of us, until the puppy wiggled to be let down. I held
him a little tighter to me and sat back up.

“Well, I guess I’m up for the day,” I said as I got off the bed. “I’m gonna take him outside real quick.
Want some coffee?” I asked Brandon.

He hadn’t moved from the bed, just laid there on his back, arms outspread, towel dangerously loose
around his hips. He yawned and scratched at his belly lazily. “Sure, but since I can’t get you back in
bed with me, I’ll just get up with you.”

“Okay.” I turned away to hide the gigantic grin that lit up my face at his words, those crazy ass
butterflies turning into a tornado inside me as my heart flipped. No, he didn’t say anything special, or
cutesy, or even hot for that matter. But he admitted that he wanted me again and that was huge given
the fact that he’d used the ‘friend’ speech on me not too long ago.

I let Grady out into the backyard, grateful that it was completely fenced in, and let him run wild while
I made a couple cups of coffee. I took them out onto the back porch with me and sat, cradling my cup
in my hands as I watched the puppy chase a bird along the fence line.

Brandon came out and sat beside me, having pulled on a pair of jeans and nothing else. Bare chested
and bare foot…holy hell, I wanted nothing more than to kneel at the altar of Sinfully Sexy Ass Men
and thank the Chief of Staff for such a glorious bounty of hotness. We drank our coffee in the sunlight,
watching the gamboling pup with amusement as he chased anything that moved, or even looked like it
would move, including his tail.

After a while, Brandon stood and stretched, kissing me on the head as he took his empty cup inside. I
followed him, calling for Grady and bringing him inside with me. I dug out some of his toys and he
pounced on them delightedly, falling for the distraction just like I’d hoped.

Brandon had disappeared down the hallway again, I’m assuming to get dressed. “You have a lot of
appointments today?” I called to him.

He walked into the living room where I was standing, still pulling his shirt over his head so his
words were muffled at first. “Yeah, I have quite a few, and of course we take walk-ins if we can.
Why?”

I shrugged. “No real reason, I’ve just been actually contemplating getting another tattoo.”

His eyebrows rose and he gave me a quizzical look. “Really? That’d be…wait, another? You said
another tattoo?” he asked.

I nodded and then regretted mentioning it to him as he approached me playfully, hands going to the tie
of my robe and pulling. He was grinning and waggling his eyebrows at me, but I couldn’t help the
panic that bubbled up. I was naked under my robe and it was pure daylight! I forced a laugh and
slapped his hands away, hoping to put him off without offending him, or making him think I was
hiding something from him. Which I was, but…

He pulled his hands back and his face closed up, eyes going cloudy and dark. He shut me out as I
watched, all playfulness gone, the tender man of last night a memory.

I swallowed hard, my heart sinking to the floor. I felt like an asshole, but there was just too much that
no one knew and things about me that I wasn’t ready to share, not even with the man I was falling for.
And crap on a cracker, I was falling for him hard.

“Ummm…so maybe I could set something up with you? Would you tattoo me?” I asked, forcing a light
tone and trying to salvage any tiny little piece of the morning I could.

He nodded sharply and replied, “Yeah. Just let me know when you’re ready. I’ll see you later, I’ve
gotta get to the shop.” He turned on his heel and within moments, his boots were on, keys in hand, and
he was gone.

I sank onto the couch, a sick feeling in my stomach. And that feeling was fear that I’d just fucked
things up before they’d even had a chance to really get going.

My phone rang about twenty minutes later. I’d missed it by the time I got back to the bedroom where it
was still plugged into my charger, even though I’d run like mad, hoping it was Brandon. I picked it up
to see who it was and couldn’t help the sigh of disappointment that escaped as I noticed it was Emma
who’d called.

I walked back out to the living room and sat, watching Grady play with his toys on the carpet while I
called her back.

She answered without preamble, asking, “What the hell did you do to Brandon?”

“He-uh-whuh…Ex-Excuse me?” I stuttered, taken aback by her no-nonsense, but still friendly tone.

“He was at your house last night, he said he was just gonna stay there for a while since Luke and I
like to play slap and tickle a little too much, and now he comes stomping in this morning and about
bites my head off when I mention your name. So, again, what the hell did you do to him?” she asked
briskly.

I finally found my voice. “I didn’t do anything, Emma…” I said, hesitantly. Okay, so that was a little
fib, but it’s not like I could tell her, ‘oh, I just pissed him off because I wouldn’t let him see me
naked after he fucked the living daylights out of me all night long,’ you know?

She snorted. “Yeah, and I’m the friggin’ Pope.” After a lengthy sigh, she said, wryly, “Why don’t you
come down here and talk to him, then? Fix whatever might be wrong because, honey, he’s in a piss
poor mood and I’m pregnant. That’s a bad combination.”

“I can’t come down there. Allie dumped Grady at my house this morning in a drive-by-drop-off on
her way to Cincinnati with Jacks. He woke me up standing on my chest.”

Emma was quiet for a moment. “She did what?” she asked, laughing. “That sneaky little bitch. She
didn’t go to Cincinnati with Jacks. She’s at home!”

“What do you mean, she’s at home?” I asked her, incredulously.

Emma’s laughter rang out through the phone, the clear, gleeful sound making me smile.

“Grady got ahold of two of Jackson’s shoes and chewed them up. And not of the same pair, either! He
was threatening to do bad things to the poor little thing and Allie was so worried she must have snuck
him out to your house away from Jacks!” Emma was laughing harder now.

“Oh, my God…she- wait, what? Jackson was threatening to do bad things? Like what?” I was
genuinely taken aback by that because I knew my brother and he’d never hurt a hair on an animal’s
head, let alone his Grady. He loves that dog! “He wouldn’t hurt Grady!”

“Allie said he threatened to…” she dropped her voice and whispered in mock fear/affront, “make him
an outside dog!”

Holding back a giggle, I played along, “No! He didn’t! Jackson would never say those evil words…

tell me it isn’t so!”

Emma busted out laughing and I joined in, sobering shortly after when she asked if I was coming
down to the shop.

I sighed. “I really can’t Emma. I don’t want to leave Grady here alone in the house because Allie
didn’t drop his crate off.”

She quickly waved away my excuse when she said, “Just bring him with you. Call when you get here
and I’ll just run him home. I have to go let DJ out anyway, and pick up lunch for the guys so it all
works out. Just get here and fix him!”

“Fine,” I said begrudgingly.

We hung up and I gathered all of Grady’s things, piling both of us into the car and heading downtown
to Skin Deep, dread building in the pit of my stomach with every mile.

Chapter 8

Fifteen minutes later, Emma was gone, taking the wiggling little puppy from me with a jaunty wave
and a casual, ‘Good luck,’ thrown over her shoulder as she left without a backwards glance.

The dread was still hanging heavy in my belly, and I had to force myself to walk into the shop,
flinching when the first face I saw darkened in a scowl immediately.

“Hey.” It came out timid but not shaky, thank God. He jerked his head at me in acknowledgement but
didn’t speak.

On a sigh, I crossed the floor to the counter where he was sitting. “Can we talk for a minute,
Brandon? Please?”

He shrugged his shoulder at me and waved a hand as if to say, ‘go ahead.’

“Look. I’m sorry about this morning, but there’s just things…I just don’t…I have scars.”

It took me a second to get it out, but after a faltering start, the words tripped off my tongue and
dropped like a bomb into the silence stretched out between us. I squeezed my eyes tightly closed, not
wanting to see his face, not even breathing as I waited for his response.

When the silence continued unbroken, I cracked one eye open and peeked at him. He was sitting,
stunned, on the stool on the opposite side of the counter. In the distance, I heard the faint buzz of a
tattoo machine start up, but he still didn’t move.

“Brandon,” I started.

He stopped me. “I don’t care about any scars, Chloe.” His words were low, but sharp, like a velvet
wrapped razor. “I meant what I said. You’re beautiful to me, just the way you are. I can’t…he hurt
you…that bad? He hurt you worse than you were when you showed up here?”

I just stared at him, unable to form the words for a response. I finally settled on saying, “I really don’t
want to get into it here, okay? I’m not really ready to talk about it, Brandon. There’s so much that I’ve
kept to myself and I…you just have to give me time.” A small, incredulous laugh escaped my lips on a
breath. “I don’t even know what we’re doing! Are we having a thing? Are we an item, is it a fling, are
you going to change your mind again tomorrow?”

He blew out a frustrated, ragged breath and answered, “I told you last night that you needed to tell me
if you didn’t want to cross that line, Chloe. But we crossed that line and there’s no going back,
damnit!” He slapped his hand down on the counter and then shrugged sharply. “I don’t know what to
call this, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I slept with my brother’s best friend’s
little sister, who also happens to be one of my closest friends, too. But I can’t deny that something has
changed between us and I’m still not sure I want it to! You make me feel things that I’m not supposed
to feel, at least not with you, and it’s driving me insane!”

My breath came in sharply, the pain immediate and piercing as his words echoed in the suddenly
deafening silence of the studio. I stood, frozen and silent, eyes wide and blinking as I stared at
Brandon in shock.

A throat clearing behind Brandon drew my gaze and I flinched when I saw Luke, shifting uneasily
from foot to foot. “Uh…maybe this conversation should be done somewhere else?” He looked pained
as he said the words and he was clearly uncomfortable.

That spurred me to action. I nodded once at him, ignored Brandon, and spun on my heel, practically
running for my car. I got in, started it up, and peeled out of the parking lot, intent on nothing more than
putting as much distance between myself, Skin Deep, and the gorgeous men inside it as possible.

I drove on autopilot, having no destination in mind, no plan in mind, nothing. I just knew I didn’t want
to go home, didn’t want to go anywhere near anyone I knew. I found myself crossing the Ohio river
into Kentucky, but still kept going until I saw the water tower proudly stating, ‘Florence Y’all’, and
took the nearest exit, pulling into the first gas station I saw.

I sat there for a minute and then, taking a moment to be a little bit responsible, checked my gas gauge
to see if I should fill up while I was stopped. Noticing that I was at almost a quarter of a tank, I filled
up my tank, and then went inside and grabbed a couple bottles of water, a couple candy bars, and a
Slim Jim.

Getting back in my car, I headed back to the interstate, but I couldn’t bring myself to take the ramp for
75 North, which would take me back to Ohio. Instead, I stayed off the highway and turned into the
parking lot of a hotel.

Half an hour later found me safely ensconced in a room, curtains drawn, sitting against the headboard
in the dim bedside lamplight. I’d finally turned my phone off, unwilling to hear it ring or chime with
another text one more time. It’d been going off since I’d left the shop, but I didn’t want to talk to
anyone.

No, I was having a pity party for myself. One where I called myself a dumbass about a million times
over for even thinking that things could be different with Brandon. For falling in love so recklessly
after just one fucking kiss. If I was being honest with myself, I could admit that there’d always been
that little part of me in the very, way back, teeny, tiny corner of my mind that had appreciated him as
the fine ass male specimen he was…but I’d never had the urge to act on it. Until that drunken night
when I let my lips get me in trouble.

And where did it land me? Running away like a scared little bitch because someone said something
that hurt.

I thumped my head back against the headboard in disgust at myself. I was probably overreacting a
little, but damnit, it hurt! It hurt to hear him say that he wasn’t sure he even wanted things to change
and one thing I never thought Brandon would be was wishy-washy. He ran hot and cold and changed
his mind more than a whore dropped her panties and it was driving me nuts.

Yeah, I get the fact that he was probably just as confused as I was about this whole thing, but Jesus! I
wasn’t the only one in the bed last night, and he specifically said he didn’t want to fight it anymore.
So what the hell gives, man?

I closed my eyes against the tears of pain and frustration welling up, not bothering to wipe them away
as I cried myself to sleep, alone in a hotel room in Kentucky.

“Are you okay, honey?”

What? I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, confused by the sweet, caring tone of his voice. He sounded
like the old Greg…the one I fell in love with. My head felt like it was about to explode and
grogginess permeated every inch of it, making me aware that I must have passed out. Again.

Suddenly, blazing pain shot through my cheek as Greg’s hand connected with the already bruised
skin. “Open your eyes, bitch! You watch everything and I’ll untie you and let you make us some

dinner. You close them, just once, and you’ll fucking regret it. I promise. So open up!”

I complied, knowing that it would only make it worse if I refused his order. I blinked in the kitchen
light, fear trickling down my spine as I realized he’d tied me to a kitchen chair beside the table.
My heart sank as my eyes found him. This was going to be a bad night.

He was smiling at me, but it was an evil, ugly grin. His arm was slung around the neck of a woman
bursting out of her clothes, leaving little to the imagination. Her makeup was heavy and dark,
making her look older than I imagined she was, a little trashy, and a little sexy in a hardened,
edgy kind of way.

He turned to her and said, conversationally, “Amber, this is the poor little rat I told you about.
See how pathetic she is? Can’t even be where she’s supposed to be when she’s supposed to be
there. I swear, I spent so much time training her to be the perfect little woman to keep my home
and this is the thanks I get. But see how cute it is when she thinks I’m going to actually be nice to
her? Stupid little cunt. She can just sit there like the pussy little bitch she is and watch our fun,
then, huh, Tina?” Greg’s voice was gleeful, almost childlike with giddiness and I knew he was
high on something. He shook his head as his companion laughed, sneering at me as she ran her
hand up Greg’s chest.

She snarled and corrected him. “Amber!” before she continued. “So, what do you need me for
then, Greggy-baby, if you’ve got her here waiting on you?” she pouted in a creepy little girl voice,
walking her fingers up his chest and back down over the placket of his jeans.

He pulled her in and kissed her, opened mouth with lots of tongue, groaning, and heavy breathing
on both their parts. When he pulled away from her, her red lipstick was smeared across his face,
looking eerily like blood, like a sinister omen.

He stared at me boldly, daring me to try to move, to say something as he pulled a syringe, a
lighter, and a tourniquet, the rubber kind nurses use to take your blood, out of his pocket, along
with a small foil packet, and a small piece of cotton. He grinned as he strode to the drawer and
pulled out a spoon.

“Cause I’ve got the good stuff you want, doll, and then we’re gonna have a little fun with the
prude over there,” he answered.

Amber giggled and then moaned, pressing herself against Greg’s back as he sat at our kitchen
table and proceeded to unwrap the foil packet, placing a tan-ish looking lump in the bowl of the
spoon, crushing it up into powder with the flat end of the plunger on the syringe. He handed the
syringe over to Amber who prowled across the kitchen like she owned it to the sink, where she
drew a small amount of water into the syringe.

She moved back to him, sitting it on the table beside him without a word, but you could see the
wanton desperation, the anticipation clearly written on her face. Greg picked up the syringe and
squirted the water into the spoon over the powder before he flicked the lighter to life and held it
under the spoon suspended carefully in his fingers.

I watched the process silently, not looking away no matter how much I was screaming on the
inside, sickened by what was happening in front of me. This was new, the drug use. I didn’t know
what it was, but I suspected it was heroin. I didn’t want to watch, I wanted to run screaming from
the room, but that would just make things worse…not to mention the fact that I was tied to a chair
currently. Maybe he would just get high and pass out, leave me alone…but I’d still be tied.

Once the process was done and the drug pulled into the needle, I watched Greg pick it up and,
after a brief, pensive pause, he swung the needle towards my arm where it was lashed to my own
thigh. I could feel the panic rising, my heart beating like a runaway horse as he shook the syringe
mockingly in my face.

“Want some of this, little whore? I should do it…I should jab this needle in your fucking arm and
give you so much of this shit that you OD right here in front of me so I can fuck the shit out of Tina
while I watch you die.”

I flinched when I heard a slap, bewildered when I realized it wasn’t me getting slapped this time.
The oh-so-lovely Amber had taken offense to Greg calling her by the wrong name again that she
smacked him upside the back of his head, screeching, “My name is fucking Amber, you asshole!
Who the fuck is Tina?”

Greg shrugged her off, raising his hand threateningly at her, which only made her laugh.

He turned to me again, the needle still waving hypnotically in his hand, coming closer and closer
to my skin. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes again…I didn’t want that shit in my body…
God, why was I such a weak ass loser? Why hadn’t I left him the first time he hit me?

“I think she might want to try a little, what do you think, doll face?” He grinned evilly and seized
my arm between rough, pinching fingers. He jabbed the needle sharply into my skin cruelly. I bit
back my scream, but a whimper still escaped.

“Greg! Don’t waste that good shit on her! I ain’t gonna be no party to no murder, either, so quit
fuckin’ around and give it to me!” Amber yelled.

He jerked the needle out of my arm and I thanked God and anyone else who was listening that he
hadn’t depressed the plunger on the syringe to release the drug. Instead, he tied off Amber’s arm
with the tourniquet, inserted the needle into her arm and shot her up. Her head lolled for just a
second before she looked up with a smile.

“God, that’s such a fuckin’ rush…just enough to take the edge off, eh, lover? Just enough to make
you wanna fuck me right here on this table?” she said, her eyes glazing over.

Greg took the needle out of her arm, tied off his own, and shot himself up with the rest of the
syringe’s contents. He sat there for a few seconds, looking slightly dazed before his nostrils flared
and he stared at Amber like she was the last piece of pie left on earth and he had a craving.

I tried to block it out, to float off inside myself like I would normally do, but I couldn’t block out
the sounds…couldn’t block out the sight of Greg stripping down, tearing off Amber’s clothes, and
then positioning her on the table, right in front of where I was sitting. He spread her legs and she
laughed as he slid her towards me, her hairy, unkempt snatch now just inches from my face. I
fought a gag as the stench of an unwashed, sweaty body invaded my nostrils before he pulled her
back and mounted her, right there in front of me, one hand on her ass to hold her still, and the
other tangled in my hair, forcing me to keep watching while tears poured, unchecked, down my
bruised cheeks.

“NO!” I screamed as I woke, my body shivering, as I tried to shake off the effects of the memory
afforded to me by my dreams.

I blinked into the dimly lit room, taking a second to realize that I was in a hotel room, and everything
clicked into place. Brandon pushing me away even as he pulled me to him…my own hang ups that

fuck everything up…my life in general.

With a sigh, I grabbed my cell phone and powered it back on, groaning when it immediately began
chiming and pinging with incessant notifications of voice mails and text messages.

I opened my texts, knowing that I would find a lot of pissed off people, including my brother. What I
wasn’t prepared for was a text from my mom. It was simple, to the point…and devastating.

Greg is out.

Chapter 9

Three little words made me sick. Literally.

I clung to the hotel room toilet after having lurched in there to empty the contents of my stomach as the
words my mom texted ate at my soul. I don’t know how it’s even possible, given what transpired to
put him in prison, but it was true. It had to be because my mom is not a liar and she wouldn’t be that
cruel.

I sat there long after my dry heaves had stopped and my legs had gone numb. My phone, dropped
somewhere on the carpet in my haste to make it to the bathroom, chimed every few minutes, alerting
me that I had a new message.

Finally, I dragged myself up off the floor and sank onto the mattress after grabbing my cell phone. I
scrolled through the missed calls to my brother’s number and hit call, running a shaking hand through
my hair as I waited for him to answer.

“Fucking hell, Chloe! What is going on? Are you okay? Where the hell are you?” Jackson roared,
completely foregoing the standard hello-how-are-yous.

“I’m fine, Jacks. I just needed some time, okay?” I said quietly.

“No! No, it’s not okay, Chloe! You can’t just fucking disappear like that, especially after…have you
talked to mom?” he asked, his tone turning subdued.

If I hadn’t already gotten a text from my mom, I’d have known something was wrong right then. “She
texted me. I know that…I know.” I couldn’t bring myself to utter it out loud, afraid that it would make
all of this real instead of the dream I was hoping it was.

“Where are you? We’ve had people looking for you ever since mom called me, even though we’ve
been trying to get ahold of you long before that, at least just to make sure you were okay.”

I rubbed my eyes and yawned tiredly as I answered, “I just needed some time.”

Jackson sighed. “You already said that. Luke and T.J. are out driving around and so am I. Just tell me
where you are so I can come check on you.”

“I don’t need anyone looking for me, right now. I just need time. I’m safe. I’m in a hotel in Florence,
Kentucky,” I said, begrudgingly.

“Florence? What the fuck are you doing there?” he asked.

“I just drove and this is where I ended up. Look, I’m just gonna ride out the night here, okay? It’s
already late, isn’t it? I don’t even know what time it is…but I’ll be back in town tomorrow. Call off
your dogs. I’m fine.”

Jackson gave a short, barking laugh, filled with mocking. “It’s only seven in the evening and, yeah,
fine is one thing you’re not. This is gonna stop, Chloe. I want the whole story from you so I know
what the hell is going on. Stop shutting us all out!”

“Jackson-”

He cut me off. “Just tell me what hotel you’re in at least,” he said impatiently.

I told him and hung up, curling up into a ball on the bed and sobbing my eyes out. I cried, finally, for
everything that had happened with Greg, which is something I hadn’t really let myself do. I cried

about the whole Brandon situation, and I cried because I could only think about how much I let
everyone down…I felt like such a piece of shit for running off, making everyone worry.

I cried until I could cry no more, my sobs were just little hiccups, and my face was completely red
and swollen, my eyes gritty and burning. I switched off the light and hunkered back down under the
covers, ready to slip into a, hopefully, dreamless sleep, when there was a knock at the door.

I rolled my eyes and stomped to the door, knowing that my brother couldn’t leave well enough alone
and had to have driven down here. I peeked out the peephole and about swallowed my tongue when I
saw Brandon standing on the other side. His face was drawn, almost haggard, but he looked pissed
off.

I gulped and stepped back from the door, hoping if I ignored him he’d just go away. I should have
known better.

“Chloe…” he said softly, dangerously. “I know you’re in there. Quit peeking through the peephole
and open the door.”

With a shaking hand, I released the locks on the door and swung it open, stepping back as Brandon
pushed past me into the room. I closed it behind him and locked it once more, squeaking in surprise
when he swept me into his arms the minute I turned around.

He hugged me to his chest tightly, murmuring ‘I’m sorry’ into my hair. I tensed briefly and then
allowed myself to melt into his arms, taking his offered strength without question, even though I
wasn’t letting him get away with the hot and cold game anymore. He came after me…surely that
meant something, right?

“Brandon…what are you doing here?” I asked him softly after a few minutes, tilting my head up to
look into his stormy eyes.

He gazed down at me as he cupped my cheek with his hand, our eyes locked as he lowered his head
and brushed his lips gently back and forth across mine.

My breath left me on a sigh, my lips parting to grant him the access he so sweetly sought. He kissed
me carefully, tenderly…like he was afraid I would break. The sad thing was, it felt like I still might.

After our lips parted, he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against mine, still holding me close.
His breath, warm and minty, bathed my lips as he spoke.

“I never should have said what I did earlier in the shop. You know it’s not like me to be so…so
fucking indecisive! I know what I want and I go after it, but, with you, I just…God, Chloe you tie me
in fucking knots! I don’t know which way is up and it’s something that I never felt before.”

He blew out a breath and moved away to sit on the edge of the bed, pulling me down beside him. He
turned, angling his body so that we were face to face as he took my face in his hands, staring at me
earnestly as he continued speaking.

“I’ve felt lust before. I’ve been in love before, too, with Allie. She made me feel invincible and
happy but there was always that little part of me that was levelheaded. She drove me nuts wanting her
and-Jesus, I’m not saying this very well. What I’m trying to say, Chloe, is that, that one kiss with you,
it shook me. It opened my eyes and I found myself looking at you in a totally different light and I felt
guilty about it. I seriously felt like a fuckin’ girl, changing my mind over and over because I was so
afraid to let you in because I don’t want to ruin what’s always worked for us, for our friendship.”

He shook his head. “And then you pushed me away, hid from me after we…I just…fuck, Chloe! The

things I feel for you scare me!”

“And you think they don’t scare me, Brandon?” I interjected. “I’ve been petrified since I kissed you,
someone who’s always been a good friend to me, someone who was involved, seriously involved,
with a woman that I love like my own sister! But then Allie and I talked and I started hoping…and
then…and…I fucking fell in love with you!”

The last words came out on a shout, echoing in the stunned silence left behind. It stretched on, that
silence, for what seemed like eternity before Brandon said, quietly, “That settles it, then. You’re
mine, Chloe, because, God help us both, I’ve fallen in fucking love with you, too.”

I gasped, scared to believe I just heard him correctly…to think that maybe, just maybe, this could
really be happening.

I searched his face, finding nothing but honesty written across it and my heart swelled with hope. I
leaned in and captured his lips with mine, sweeping my tongue across the seam of his mouth, seeking
entrance. He parted his lips on a groan, his tongue meeting mine in a tangling frenzy, kissing me
deeply.

Breathing hard, we broke apart and just held each other, taking everything in. After a while, Brandon
pushed me back so he could see my face.

“It’s time to talk, Chloe. No more hiding, especially now that Jackson told us Greg is out. We all need
to know what that means, what exactly happened with you two.”

I nodded slowly, my stomach knotting up instantly again at the thought of having to reveal the
depravity I lived with for longer than I should have, for letting them see that I was stupid and weak
for not getting out and stopping it until it was almost too late.

I peered up at him and asked quietly, “Can we do it tomorrow with everyone? I don’t want to have to
go through it more than once.”

Brandon kissed my head once more and nodded his assent. He pulled me into his arms and moved us
so we were laying in the bed, wrapped up in each other. We fell asleep that way and, blessedly, it
was a deep, dreamless sleep.

When morning came, we got ready and checked out without speaking. I was on edge, knowing that I
was about to lay bare all the sordid details I’d kept hidden for a long time. It wasn’t going to be
easy…it was going to be hell.

Chapter 10

Three hours later found me surrounded by friends and family, each of them waiting patiently to find
out just what was going on.

Emma must have called Leah because she was on one side of me on the couch at Luke and Emma’s
house, which is where everyone just naturally congregated, and surprisingly, my mom was on the
other side.

She’d managed to get a flight before Jackson had even told her that I was going to tell them
everything, which is why she’d sent just that short text letting me know about Greg; she’d already
been on her way to the airport. Our mom is good like that, willing to fly across the country in a hot
second because one of her babies just might need her.

I just hated that she had done it to deal with my shit.

I cleared my throat and glanced over at Brandon, who was sitting on the arm of the love seat beside
Allie. Jackson was sharing the loveseat with her, and she was leaning back against his chest. Luke
and Emma were squeezed into the armchair that is usually Doug’s favorite seat, Emma on Luke’s lap,
cradled in his arms, his hands splayed protectively, yet lovingly, across the girth of her pregnant
belly.

Brandon gave me a small, encouraging nod so I started talking. I began with the beginning; how sweet
and loving Greg was—but it was all an act.

He hit me for the first time six months into our relationship. He convinced me it was an accident, that
I’d just happened to turn into his hand while he had it raised during an argument. It was believable at
the time. Now I know I was just stupid and naïve.

It all poured out from there. I ignored the tears streaking down my face silently, just stoically kept
talking, letting it all out. I wasn’t holding back any details and I could see it was taking its toll on
everyone else, too.

My mom was sobbing quietly beside me, trying to stay strong for me. Leah looked like she could kill
someone, all the while tears were tracking down her cheeks, as well. Allie and Emma were both
crying, trying to muffle their sobs on the shoulders of Jacks and Luke.

And all three of the guys? I’d swear I saw death in their eyes.

Brandon was almost vibrating in anger and shock; his face was dark with fury, jaw tight, fists
clenched on his thighs. Jackson and Luke looked about the same, but they were controlling it just a bit
better because their arms were full of crying women.

I got to the womanizing, all the times he fucked women right in front of me…the drug use…and the
beatings.

I was wrung out—a complete wreck by the time I got to the final fight that sent me running for my life,
knowing that if I didn’t get out this time, he’d kill me for sure. My voice a whisper, I sank into the
memory, ice-cold numbness washing over me as I spoke…

For what I swore was the last time, I opened my eyes and I promised myself, right there staring in
the mirror, that this was it. This was the time I was going to walk away, be the strong woman I
always prided myself on being. Until I met him. Greg.

I was working as a bartender in a popular club, and late one night, he showed up. He was perfect,
blonde haired, blue-eyed…the All-American boy that every girl wanted, dreamed about. He was
sweet, charming, and respectful and I thought I’d hit the good-guy lottery. Little did I know that
I’d only been duped…that I was dancing with the devil.

But I knew now…and I was done being his punching bag. I had to get out and I had to do it soon. I
leaned back over the sink and carefully dabbed some powder along the fading edge of the black
eye I still had from last week. Glancing at my watch, I swore under my breath and fled to the
kitchen to get dinner laid out on the table like he expected.

Everything was fine until after dinner when I was cleaning the kitchen. I had managed to keep him
calm and not set him off. But…

A wine glass. A single, simple, fucking wine glass. That’s what did it. I can’t help the fact that he
bumped into me while I was putting it away in the cabinet and dropped it, causing it to shatter all
over the counter and the floor.

I cleaned it up quickly after he smacked me across the face, vile words burning my ears as he
swore at me while I worked. I winced as a small shard of glass sliced into my finger when I went to
pick it up, pulling it out and then staring absently at the drop of blood welling to the surface.

“Stupid fucking cunt, can’t even clean anything up without fucking shit up more! Get up and get a
bandaid on it now before you get blood all over my kitchen!” Greg screamed at me.

Tossing the small sliver of glass onto the pile, I swept it all up and deposited in the trash can,
putting the broom and dustpan back away before I started to leave the kitchen for the bathroom to
get a bandaid.

“Where the fuck you think you’re going?” he yelled behind me from his seat at the table.

“To—to get a bandaid-” I stuttered.

He shook his head vehemently at me and pointed to my purse, sitting on the counter by the back
door. “I know you have a bandaid in there, you prissy little bitch. You don’t need to the leave the
room. I want you here where I can see you so you don’t destroy any more of my shit.”

I closed my eyes and walked to my purse, pulse pounding. He never got in my purse. Ever. I don’t
know why, but that’s something he’s never checked, never thought about until now. But today,
there was something in my purse that I was hiding, something that had to be kept a secret at all
costs. That secret was what prompted me to finally make the decision I made standing in the
bathroom earlier that day.

I unzipped my purse and fumbled carefully inside for the small first aid kit I’d always kept in
there, holding my breath as pure, unadulterated fear shot through every cell of my body. I pulled it
out and zipped my purse back up, letting out my breath slowly in relief as I turned away from it,
moving to the table to pull the bandaid out and wrap it securely around my finger.

I glanced at Greg surreptitiously from the corner of my eye and flinched reflexively when I saw
him watching me carefully, suspicion beginning to crawl across his features.

“You’re being very pleasant this evening, bitch. Other than that glass your clumsy ass broke,
you’ve been on your best behavior like you’re supposed to be. Should I be worried?”

I shook my head at him, knowing that he was gearing up to explode and wanting to avoid it at all
costs. I knew that it didn’t matter if I was the perfect little robot for him every second of every day,

he was never going to be happy anymore, he was always going to look for the excuse to punish me.

He nodded and breathed, “Ahhh…I know what it is. Greg hasn’t given you any good lovin’ lately,
has he?”

I gulped, knowing things had just taken a turn for the worst.

“Let’s play tonight, shall we?” he asked. He tapped his finger to his chin as I stood, mutely, at the
side of the table. “How about you be my little whore tonight, huh? Dress you up like a fuckin’
hooker and make you do every dirty thing I can think of…maybe I’ll call Amber up and make her
sit on your face while I fuck you?”

His eyes glazed over, breath beginning to come in pants, and his hand slid down to rub against the
bulge behind his zipper. “Yeah…but first, I wanna fuck your face and I want to see your whorish
mouth painted red while I do it. Give me your purse.”

“Wha—what?” I stuttered in shock. The blood in my veins froze when I realized my mistake.

His face turned a mottled red and purple with rage. “You fuckin’ questioning me? I told you to do
something, you bitch, and you have the nerve to question it?” he roared.

“N-n-no, Greg, I wasn’t quest-questioning you…I swear! I just-I don’t have any lipstick in my
purse!” The words were tripping off my tongue and the panic was swelling like a tsunami inside
me, threatening to crash down and drown me under the tide.

“I’ll check for myself, bitch. I know you’re lying to me…you always lie!” he screamed, jumping to
his feet so quickly that the chair he was in tipped back and crashed to the floor.

He jumped toward the end of the counter and grabbed my purse, unzipping it and unceremoniously
dumping the contents across the kitchen table. He started rifling through it, picking up my lip
gloss and shaking it in my direction.

“See? You did lie, you stupid bitch. And you’ll pay for--” his words cut off as his breath caught
sharply. He gingerly picked something up off the table and, whispering, said, “What is this?”

He turned to me, rage growing in his eyes, making them widen and darken. In his hand was the
pregnancy test that I’d taken two days ago…and it clearly indicated a positive result.

“You’re pregnant?” he roared.

I could only nod my head…

“Chloe?” my mom said, softly.

I started, realizing that I’d stopped speaking as the memories played like a movie through my mind. I
swallowed thickly, taking a moment to gather my courage to tell them my dirty secret. To tell them
how I failed my unborn child…

“What happened, Chloe?”

Brandon asked that question, his voice raw but gentle. I blinked at him owlishly for a second, then
blurted, “He made sure I wasn’t pregnant anymore.” I stood up slowly and raised my shirt, tucking it
just under the edge of my bra as I pushed my pants down just enough to show them the scars marring
my lower abdomen.

I heard my mom’s shocked cry ring out, along with gasps and varying swears from everyone else as
they put two and two together.

With a steadying breath, the rest of the story came out. “He went crazy, telling me that I ruined his
life, that I had cheated because there was no way he’d gotten me pregnant. Of course, he used other
words, but…you get the idea. He-” my voice cracked; I cleared my throat and tried again.

“He said he couldn’t stand a bastard child, so he grabbed the butcher knife from the block on the
counter and stabbed me twice in the stomach and once in the thigh. He cut me open and then he beat
me. He left to go get drunk because I pissed him off and I was able to call the squad, but just barely.
He managed to miss anything vital, with the exception of my uterus. Of course, I lost the baby…I
stayed in the hospital for four days and then checked myself out against doctor’s orders because I just
couldn’t stay there anymore, came to Ohio, and the rest was history.”

Allie spoke up, her voice thick with tears and pain. “So when you came here, you hid most of your
injuries from us, didn’t you.” It was a statement, not a question. She knew the answer. She gave a soft
sob and clutched at my brother, who was sitting there like stone, literally vibrating with fury.

I nodded. “I had fifty-two stitches in my stomach total, and thirteen more in my upper thigh where he
buried the knife to the hilt, before he left. He left me bleeding out on the floor, and he killed my baby.
I was about eight weeks along, as far as they could tell. They found him at the bar down the street,
actually passed out in the bathroom stall with a needle in his arm and arrested him.” I shrugged and
spread my hands out in front of me, indicating that that was it.

My story was done. It was finally out, all of it.

They were all staring at me, horrified. But it was actually cathartic to get it all out, finally, to quit
hiding the hell I lived for too long.

“My babygirl,” Mom whispered. She reached out and pulled me into her arms, cradling me like I was
a little girl once more. She kissed my head and sobbed into my hair until I heard shuffling.

She squeezed me again and then, suddenly, I was airborne, crushed against my brother’s chest. He
hugged me tightly, apologizing repeatedly to me, though he had nothing to apologize for. Tears were
still streaming down my cheeks but I felt lighter, freer.

A gruff voice said, “Jacks,” and I was passed into Luke’s arms. He did the same as Jackson, holding
me, kissing me on my forehead, and then…

There was Brandon. He held me to him, kissing the top of my head gently, and then sat me back on my
feet, steadying me briefly before he turned on his heel and barreled out the door. I heard him calling
for the dogs just as the girls converged on me.

After a while, Allie sent Jackson out to get a couple buckets of chicken, which was her new craving,
for all of us. The mood had finally lightened after everyone had bombarded me with questions,
initially. Brandon still hadn’t come back inside, but he was still here because his Expedition was in
the driveway.

Luke eventually went out to check on him; he paused beside me, his hand cupping my cheek as he
whispered, “We’ve got you. Always. Got it?”

I gave him a shaky smile and nodded before he walked outside.

Chapter 11

Brandon was silent on the way home when we finally left.

We’d eaten chicken and laughed our asses off when Doug absconded with a chicken strip box that
was, unfortunately, placed too close to the edge of the table.

There was only two strips left in the box, thankfully, but I think the thing that made it the most comical
was the fact that Doug took so long getting himself settled that the puppies had managed to duck their
heads in the box and each scarf down a strip. When poor Doug finally poked his head in for his stolen
treat, he got nothing but crumbs stuck to the end of his nose.

Before we left, Allie had pulled me aside, Emma and Leah hot on her heels, and asked me what had
happened with Brandon. I just told them that we were trying to figure things out. I just didn’t feel like
going into details right then, and plus, they were talking about having a girls’ night soon, so I figured
I’d be forced to spill then.

We pulled into the driveway and sat in the darkness, which seemed to be a thing with us. I leaned my
head back against the headrest and waited him out, knowing that he was working things through in his
mind.

Finally, the silence was broken by his words, low and throaty with emotion.

“I’m trying so hard to hold on to my sanity, right now. All I keep seeing is your face and the way you
were holding yourself the day you showed up at the house. We should have seen it, we should have
been there for you, Chloe.”

I reached over and clasped his hand in mine as I said, “You were there for me, Brandon. You all
were when I needed you. It’s my fault for letting it happen for so long, for not being the strong woman
my mom raised me to be. There’s no way you would have known because I didn’t let anyone know.”

“Oh, Bullshit, Chloe!” he howled, anger twisting his features. “None of this is your fault and you
better get that through your thick head! You didn’t ask him to beat your ass and almost kill you, did
you?”

At my indignant denial he continued, “That’s right, you didn’t. But you were scared and didn’t want to
make things worse than they were. What if you’d tried to leave before then and had gotten caught?
What if you’d never gotten away from him at all? What if he’d killed you?”

His voice was gravelly and raw, his face tortured in the dim moonlight filtering through the windows
of the vehicle.

Surprised to find that my voice was clear and steady, I replied, “I’ve had enough what-if’s in my life
to last me a long time, Brandon. I’d like to leave that in the past now that I’ve gotten everything out.
He didn’t kill me. I’m alive and I’m here…with you. And there’s no where else on earth that I’d
rather be. But, just to make sure we’re on the same page here and there’s no more flip-flopping from
you…”

He shot me a droll look and I smiled at him.

“Is this a thing? You and me?” I asked, carefully. I know we’d already confessed our feelings to each
other, but hell, a lot has happened since then. I guess I just wanted to give him an out. Just in case.

He jerked his head toward me. “Seriously, Chloe?”

I shrugged helplessly. “Well, I just need to make sure, Brandon. You’ve been so hot and cold and-”

He sighed. “Let’s go.”

Without another word, he got out of the truck. He waited on me to follow, but still didn’t speak as we
went inside. Once the door was shut and locked behind me, I found myself pushed back against the
door, Brandon’s body pressing against me from the front, leaving no space between us.

His lips hovered over mine, so close but not touching. “Baby, I told you that I was falling in love with
you. If you think I just throw those words around, then you don’t know me at all. I told you you were
mine, and that’s that. It’s you and me from here on out, sunshine. Got it?”

I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath until it rushed out on a gasp. I barely got the word ‘yes’ out
before Brandon captured my mouth with his, plundering with his tongue, nipping at my lips with his
teeth, and then soothing the slight sting.

I moaned when he lifted his lips from mine, desperate to keep him close to me. He chuckled and
wrapped his hands around my waist, lifting me up so that my legs clasped around his waist and my
arms wound around his neck. He brought his mouth back to mine, kissing me deeply as he walked us
down the hall to the bedroom.

He flipped on the light and laid me on the bed, the look on his face almost daring me to protest the
brightness of the room. My chin rose, the small act of defiance instinctual, but he only shook his head
once, letting me know that he wasn’t going to let me hide this time.

I didn’t want to hide from him anymore. It was pointless anyway; he knew my secret now, he’d seen
my scars. I sat up and stripped my shirt off over my head, my eyes never leaving his face. His gaze
immediately dropped to my stomach, as I figured they would. It still flustered me a little, but I busied
myself by stripping off my bra, and then making short work of my jeans and panties.

Brandon watched every move, his eyes sliding over every inch of my body, the heat of his gaze
moving over my skin like a caress. He knelt on the bed beside me, his hands reaching out to slide
over my stomach. His fingers gently traced the lines of my scars, his touch barely a whisper over my
skin, and then I gasped as his lips and then tongue followed.

He kissed my scars, seeking out every mark on my skin, pressing his lips to each one and telling me,
as he showed me, how beautiful I was to him. Tears sprung to my eyes, not sad ones, no, but tears of
relief, of happiness.

His lips found their way back to mine, but instead of plundering, they sipped, sweet, tender kisses that
stoked the flames of desire at a slow and steady pace. His hands slid up my sides to cup my breasts,
cradling the full, tender globes in his palms as he swiped his thumbs over the pearled tips.

I hissed at the sensation of pleasure/pain when he pinched the turgid tips of my breasts, rolling the
nipples between his fingers and plucking them, making me arch and moan. I cried out when his fingers
abandoned their play, but moaned once more as his lips closed over my stiff peak, his teeth lightly
scraping before he sucked hard and then laved it with the flat of his tongue.

His hand slipped back down my stomach and his fingers found my wet center, deftly parting the slick
folds and sliding deep inside. He hooked his fingers and rubbed them over the hidden sweet spot
there, relentlessly driving me to the brink of release in seconds. It shimmered before me, that beautiful
rush of pleasure, but he stopped just before I went over.

I grunted in frustration and thrust my hips up, trying to force his fingers to move once more, to take me

up and over that edge. He denied me, instead slipping his fingers out of my clenching heat, bringing
them to his mouth. He tasted me on his own skin, his eyes locked on mine.

A tidal wave of desire crashed over me, curling throughout my body, and I could see the answering
heat in his gaze. Suddenly, the control he was so tightly clinging to snapped and he was over me in a
flash, his hands pressing my thighs wide as the swollen, rock hard length of him pushed inside,
driving deep, not stopping until I was fully impaled.

“God, you feel so good, Chloe…” he froze, the words dying on his lips as his eyes widened.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, confused by the sudden change in him. I shifted beneath him, my hips
arching into his as I moved, and a guttural cry was torn from him, ending on a curse.

“Condom,” he said, tersely, beginning to raise his hips to slide out of me.

I could feel the hesitation in him when my inner muscles fluttered against his hardened flesh still
buried deep inside me and I said, hesitantly, “I’m on the pill…and I’m good. Clean, I mean…I
don’t…”

He sank forward the tiniest bit, gaining back what little ground he’d lost when he pulled back and we
both moaned.

“I just- I’ve always used protection. Even with Allie unless it was in the…nevermind. I’m safe, too,
but…are you sure?” he asked. He pressed into me again, the movement seeming almost uncontrollable
to him, even as he hesitated.

I caught his eyes, held them, as I answered, “Yes. I want to feel you. Brandon, I- oh, God, I love you.
God help me, but I do.”

His body moved over mine again and we were one, skin to skin, breath to breath, heart to heart. There
was no space left between us, no way to tell where he ended and I began as his lips met mine in a
seeking kiss, so soft and gentle as he began to rock into me, his hardened shaft plumbing my depths
with leisurely strokes, his chest abrading my puckered nipples.

Still kissing me deeply, he shifted once more, bring his hands up and sliding them underneath my back
and up over my shoulders, cupping them in his hands, giving him leverage to pull me into his thrusts,
every inch of him rubbing against me, creating delicious friction that sent white hot pleasure
streaming throughout my body.

It built and built, my nerve endings on fire, the pleasure so intense it bordered on pain as his thrusts
increased, his hips circling. Unable to contain it any longer, the dam broke, sending me flying into a
free-fall of ecstasy. My hands slid across his broad shoulders, scrabbling for purchase on his sweat-
slickened skin, clawing him as passion-filled screams poured from my lips, muffled by his kiss. He
swallowed them down, moaning against my lips and mingling our cries.

He slammed home once more and wrenched his lips from mine as he came, bringing me again as he
jerked inside me, the scalding heat of his release spurting deep. A guttural, ragged cry tore from his
throat, twining with the sounds of pleasure still being wrung from my lips, echoing throughout the
room.

He dropped his forehead onto my shoulder, our chests heaving as we fought to catch our breath. After
a moment, he lifted his head and, holding my gaze, he whispered, “I love you, too, Chloe. I fucking
love you, too.”

He kissed me again, then, a sweet kiss that he poured his heart into and my heart spilled over,

overflowing with emotion as I fell that much deeper for him.

We drifted off to sleep, still entwined, until I was woken later by the feel of him swelling inside me,
hardening and growing until he filled me completely. He grasped me tightly and rolled until I
straddled him, opening my thighs wider to settle deeper onto him.

I gasped at the sensation of him sliding deeper than before and my muscles contracted, squeezing
around him and making him moan. He watched me, his beautiful, smoky eyes heavy lidded with sleep,
letting me set the pace of our love-making.

I tucked my knees tight against his ribs and ground my hips down, circling and swirling, massaging his
shaft with rhythmic pulses of my inner walls as I massaged my clit against his pelvis. Of their own
volition, my hands came up and cupped my breasts, palming the weight of them as I plucked my
nipples, dragging a ragged ‘oh, fuck’ from Brandon as he watched my every move.

My breath hitched as I edged closer to the point of no return, the crescendo building steadily toward
climax like a perfectly tuned orchestra. Brandon’s hands encircled my waist, pulling my hips tighter
to his and arching into me in counter-point, increasing the friction. One of his thumbs slipped down
into my cleft, stroking once…twice…and again over the swollen bud of my clit and I screamed as I
came, my body spasming and twitching over his, my thighs growing wet with my release that showed
no signs of slowing.

He kept up the lazy circles of his thumb on my clit and began thrusting up into me, short, sharp
movements that made his balls slap heartily against my ass, adding to the myriad sensations already
flooding me with heart-stopping pleasure. It wasn’t long, though, before his thrusts became erratic and
his thumb abandoned its stroking, his hands clenching tightly on my hips, instead, pushing, pulling, and
sliding me against him as he worked himself inside me, the hot, drenched folds of my sex swollen and
clenching around him, milking him with my everlasting release until he thrust deep once more, roaring
out his release as he filled me, grinding against me until every last drop was wrung from him.

I slumped onto his chest, my body shaking and limp, and let exhaustion carry me back to dreamless
sleep.

My alarm woke me in the morning and, fumbling for it in the low morning light creeping around the
edges of the curtains, I shut it off as quick as I could. I stretched, grinning to myself at the soreness
radiating throughout my body.

My eyes drifted to my side, drinking in the sight of the tall, muscular form stretched out beside me,
one arm thrown up over his face while the other one looped loosely over my thigh. Contentment
spread through my body, commingling with the awe still swirling around at the fact that he was here,
in my bed; that he was mine.

I shifted, carefully moving out from under his arm, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead before I
slipped out of bed and padding naked to the bathroom. I took a quick shower (and shaved, of course),
brushed my teeth, and wrapped a towel around my wet hair, then made my way quietly back into the
bedroom to grab clothes.

I smiled at the rumpled, half-awake male lounging on his elbow in my bed, blinking those gorgeous
eyes at me, the corner of his mouth quirked up in a secretive, sexy smile.

“You showered already?” he asked, his voice deep and gravelly with sleep.

I laughed and couldn’t help it. “Nah, it’s raining in the bathroom,” I quipped, following it with,

“Captain Obvious.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Oh, really? Is that how it is?” Without warning he was up off the bed
and had me flung over his shoulder.

The towel tumbled from my head and I squealed as his hand landed solidly on my ass, smacking it
smartly.

“Ow! Hey!” I cried, ruining the effect by laughing again.

Brandon tossed me down on the bed and was over me before I’d even settled from the bounce, his
face buried in my neck, nipping and licking and kissing every inch, making me moan, shivers
skittering up and down my spine as lust curled heavy in my belly. He kissed up my jaw, taking my
mouth in a sweet, hot, tongue tangling kiss that had me panting by the time he lifted his lips from mine.

“What time is it?” he breathed, arching into me, pressing the evidence of his arousal firmly to the
apex of my thighs, leaving no doubt as to the real question he was asking.

I lifted my mouth back to his, arching into him even more as I muttered, “We have time.”

He threaded his fingers through my hair, tangling them in the damp locks and pulling my head back to
bite at the curve of my throat, drawing a low sound from my lips. He separated my thighs with his
knees, sliding them open wide and lowering his hips to drag the heavy weight of his erection through
the moisture gathered at my opening.

“Oh!” I sighed as he rubbed the engorged head of his shaft over my clit, the pearly drop of fluid
seeping from the tip slicking over the tiny, swollen nubbin of nerves to mingle with my own wetness.
He continued to slide the hot, hard length of himself between the folds of my sex, teasing my opening
and then caressing my clit, alternating strokes with light taps against that tender bud.

The teasing was unbearable, each movement of his body on mine scooting me that much closer to the
edge of coming, but keeping me perched on that razor line, not allowing me to go over. Finally,
unable to take it anymore, I slid my hand between our bodies and captured him tightly in my fist and
stroking him firmly from root to tip before I positioned him at my entrance and raised my hips sharply,
impaling myself on his thickness.

My name was wrenched from his lips on a guttural cry as he took over, burying himself in my damp
heat, slamming to the hilt. He held tightly to me for just an instant before he began to move, pounding
into me with hard, heavy thrusts.

“Chloe…” he moaned, then shifted, making me cry out as he quit my body.

It didn’t last long, though. With quick, efficient movements, he flipped me over and pulled me to the
end of the bed, positioning me on my knees, my face pressed to the mattress. “Give me your hands,”
he demanded gruffly.

I stretched my arms down my body, along my sides and he grabbed them, pinning them, wrist to wrist,
behind my back with one of his hands. “You okay? Is that uncomfortable?” he asked me, softly.

“It’s fine…” I barely got out before he moved behind me, slicking his fingers through my folds,
spreading me wide, and then he slammed home once more.

He fucked me, there’s no other word for it. It was dark, heady, and raw, and I loved every second of
it. I cried out with every thrust, the loudness of his flesh hitting mine acting as a catalyst, making my
insides quiver and clench around him. His balls slapped heavily against my clit, adding another layer

of almost painful pleasure to the drag, push, and pull of his thick, rock hard length plundering the tight,
slick, depths of my body.

I couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything more than arch my hips into him and ride the waves of scream-
inducing ecstasy as he held tightly to my hands, keeping them pinned with one hand while his other
gripped my hip tightly, his fingers digging almost painfully into my flesh as he jerked me back into his
thrusts.

With one, final, forceful plunge into me, the tide crested and broke. I screamed, a ragged, wild cry as
my orgasm exploded through me, rushing over every inch of my body, tingling and burning through me
like I’d been injected with fireworks. Aftershocks singed the already frayed nerves of my sex as I
came, and came, and came, still screaming with the never ending pleasure drinking me down.
Brandon’s hips locked tight to mine and he shouted hoarsely as he bathed my insides with his scalding
hot release, each spurt making him flex and twitch inside my sheath, sending even more paroxysms of
bliss over my shivering, well-used body.

Once our bodies had calmed a bit, he disengaged, making both of us moan. He slumped to the bed
beside me, pulling me to him and spooning me as he ran a soothing, gentle hand up and down my side.

“Well,” he said, smiling. “Good morning to you, too!”

Chapter 12

“You’re awfully chipper this morning,” Allie said to me, suspiciously, a couple hours later at the
store.

I’d managed to get up out of bed, shower once more, and actually get dressed this time before heading
to work. Brandon was moving a little slower, but he didn’t have to be at the shop until ten this
morning, so he was just getting in the shower when I left. Before I’d walked out the door, though, he’d
pulled me close and kissed me, making me promise to be careful. He’d said, ‘I know that somewhere
in the back of your mind, you’re still worried that that jerkwad will find you. But Chloe, he won’t
ever get near you. Not if I have anything to do with it.’

I jumped and spun to face Allie, who’d snuck up behind me while I was organizing the book rack and
putting some new stock out. I gave her a smile and shrugged. “It’s just a beautiful day,” I said,
winking.

She cocked her eyebrow at me and then glanced out the front windows, looking back at me with a
baleful expression when I noticed that the sky outside had darkened and it had started to rain. “Wanna
try again?” she said, drolly, the corner of her mouth quirking up. She rubbed her belly absently and
waited for my response.

“Things are just looking up for me. You know?”

She nodded. “I hope so. You sure you’re okay? I know your mom said that that monster was out of
jail…I hate to bring it up, but there’s no way he knows you’re here, right?”

I jerked my shoulder at her in a half-hearted shrug. “I’m fine. I feel like I’m allowed to heal now, and,
I’m not gonna lie, I puked my guts out when I heard that he was out, but there’s no way he knows
where I am. He never knew that we lived out here before, he didn’t know really anything about
Jackson, and we never spent any time with my mom,” I paused for a second, uncertainty wavering in
my mind. “At least I hope not…” I finished, softly.

She gave me a tender look, patted me on the shoulder, and sighed. “Well, damn. I didn’t mean to drag
the mood down, but I didn’t get to really talk much to you last night. And then you come in this
morning, smiling, all sunshine and rainbows, and…wait. Did you…?”

An odd look crossed her face and then she shook her head, but I could see the question forming on her
lips. “Did you and Brandon…?” She didn’t complete the question, just left it hanging.

I knew what she was asking and couldn’t stop the grin spreading across my face.

“You did!” she crowed. “Holy shit! You guys had sex! You…oh. Hmm.” She nodded, but her smile
slid away, melancholy taking its place.

My heart dropped. “Oh, God. Allie, I’m so sorry!” I cried.

She waved it away, smiling once more, a faint, sad smile. “No, Chloe. Don’t be silly. I’m happy for
you, happy that you two are going to make a go of it. I guess I just didn’t realize that it would-never
mind.” She turned away quickly and headed into the office.

I called after her, but she ignored me. I tossed the stack of books in my hand down into the box beside
me and took a step toward the office to follow her, but the bell above the door jingled, heralding the
arrival of a customer. I turned to greet the customer, smiling faintly when I saw it was Emma.

“Hey, Chloe!” Emma called.

“Hey,” I answered.

“How are you doing today? Better?” she asked, pulling me in and giving me a hug.

“I’m good,” I sighed.

She tsked. “You’re lying. What’s up? And where’s Allie?” she asked.

I felt tears threaten as I gestured toward the office. “She’s in there…she-I think she’s mad at me.”

“What? Why?” Emma said, worriedly.

“God, Emma. I don’t know why I even agreed to try to see where things would go with Brandon. I
mean, Allie kept saying that I should because of the kiss, and this conversation we had, and…and…
I’m just a fuck-up, is what I am!” I sobbed, burying my face in my hands.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Emma cooed, wrapping her arms around me. “No, you’re not, Chloe, and I’m sure
there’s an explanation for this. What happened?”

“Brandon and I…you know…and I was so happy this morning and she asked me why and then I
smiled and then she got mad and then…”

“Whoa! Slow down, chick. Take a breath.” Emma held me back from her by the shoulders, not letting
me go.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Tears slid silently down my cheeks as I
looked at her and began again. “I think she’s mad that I slept with Brandon.”

“You slept with Brandon?” she squealed, shaking me around a bit and grinning from ear to ear.
“Well, that’s the whole point, wasn’t it? To get you two together and then all that’s left of the group is
Leah and Calland to get paired off…of course, now there’s T.J. that we need to worry about, but I
don’t kno--”

“Emma! Focus!” I said sternly, my voice still clogged with tears.

“Oh, sorry,” she said contritely. Her brow furrowed then and she glanced worriedly at the closed
office door Allie had disappeared behind. “I’m not sure I understand, because wasn’t this whole thing
her idea?”

I nodded, a little churlishly, but I kinda felt like I had the right to be a little disgruntled about the
situation. She’s the one that insisted…but…no. I shouldn’t have listened. Guilt choked me up again,
and more tears followed the damp trails streaking my face.

Emma hugged me, gently rocking me from side to side. I could tell she was perplexed and was taking
a second to think about what was going on and how to fix it. She’s a fixer.

I closed my eyes and sighed. We stayed that way for a minute until she patted my back and said, “I’m
sure this is all a misunderstanding. I’ll talk to her, okay?”

I nodded, my chin bumping her shoulder.

A throat cleared behind us and Allie said, timidly, “It’s not a misunderstanding. It’s just me being a
bitchy asshat on top of a hormonal pregnant woman. I’ve turned into an emotional wreck.” She moved
to us and reached out to touch my arm.

“Chloe, it’s not you. I swear. It just…well, fuck it, it honestly hurt when I heard that you guys had
finally taken that step. I know I pushed you into this whole thing and told you there was nothing to feel

guilty about, and there’s not. Don’t you ever feel that way, and I should never have done or said
anything to wipe away that gorgeous smile of yours that was plastered across your face. I’m happy for
you. I really am,” she said earnestly.

She smiled, a small, hopeful smile. “Forgive me?”

I smiled back at her and nodded slightly. “Yeah. And I’m sorry for springing it on you like this, but-”

She cut me off. “You didn’t actually say a word, if you remember. You just stood there and grinned at
me like a goofy idiot,” she said wryly. “And I was happy at first and then it kicked in and it stung a
bit, but…forget about my stupid feelings. Seriously. Beyond the sting of it, I realize that this is a good
thing, and that I really am happy for you two. There’s no one else I’d rather see him with, or you for
that matter. You’re going to be great together.”

I pulled away from Emma and grabbed Allie, pulling her into me for a big hug. We held on to each
other for a minute before she pulled away and asked, mischievously, “So did he put it on you good?”

“Allie!” Emma cried, aghast. “You can’t ask her that after you just…you know what? Hell with it, I
wanna know, too,” she said, turning to me. “Spill it, woman!”

We all laughed and the tense moment was broken.

“It was good,” I said, grinning.

“Uh, just good?” Emma asked, sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes. “Okay, so it was great. Phenomenal…God, it was awesome!” I said giggling as I
gave in to the glee bubbling up inside me again.

We laughed and teased for a bit before I admitted, quietly, “I told him I was falling in love with him.
That I love him.”

Both of them watched me with wide eyes, waiting with bated breath to hear what he said back. They
prompted me silently and then smiled at me when I finished, “He said he was falling in fucking love
with me, too. His words.”

They both laughed and hugged me. Allie held me just a little bit longer and I could sense the sadness
still clinging to her, but I didn’t begrudge her that. I couldn’t. This was definitely a unique situation,
but I had faith that we would all be okay. Some people would probably never understand the
dynamics of our little group, but we would, and that’s all that mattered.

The conversation finally petered out and Emma left to go to the shop with the guys. Allie and I
finished the day working with the easy camaraderie that had built between us, all traces of the
emotional morning washed away.

With the store closed down for the day, I headed for my car to go home. My phone beeped and I
pulled it out to see a text from Brandon.

Hey, I have to stay a little late at the shop. Want to come here and wait for me? We can get dinner
after I’m done.

I hit reply and sent: Sure. On my way.

I pulled into the shop and walked inside to see him sitting at the counter, looking over some papers
with Luke.

“Hey!” I said in greeting to them both.

Luke looked up and gave me a warm smile, winking at me when Brandon got up from the stool he was
on and came around the counter to pull me into his arms. I wound my arms around his neck and rocked
onto my toes to meet his kiss, feeling his smile against my lips at my eagerness.

He kissed me briefly, although it definitely wasn’t chaste, and squeezed me tight against his chest
before he loosened his hold enough for me to drop off my toes.

“So, you mentioned me inking you sometime. I have about an hour before my next client comes in
because someone just chickened out.” Brandon waggled his eyebrows at me exaggeratedly, which
made him look like one of those cartoon villains.

I laughed. “I said I might have you ink me sometime, I never said when!” I exclaimed, although I
already knew I was going to agree.

Luke laughed and shook his head at us. “You’re gonna let that bozo ink you?” he asked, jokingly.
“Come on, we all know that I’m the better artist here,” he said, shooting a mocking look at Brandon.

Brandon scowled in mock anger and dropped one arm from me long enough to punch his brother in
the arm. Luke just laughed again and walked back to his office, saying, “I’ve got some paperwork and
inventory to do. You kids behave, you hear?”

“Dick,” Brandon muttered under his breath, leaning in and pecking my lips once more. “Whatcha
think?”

“Mmmm,” I murmured against his lips. “I think you could just kiss me for the next hour…” I sighed.

He chuckled and pushed me back. “I’d love to be able to do that, baby, but I think Luke would
probably get jealous.”

We waited for his next client, bantering back and forth with Luke and Emma, who’d come back to the
shop lugging a box of tacos from Taco Bell. Luke had muttered under his breath about her obsession
with the restaurant, giving Emma an innocent look when she glared at him and dared him to say
another word.

I sat with Emma when Luke and Brandon both had to go back with clients, talking and laughing until
they were done. When they closed the shop up, Luke and Emma headed home and Brandon and I
headed to dinner.

Chapter 13

The next couple of weeks settled into a routine. My days were spent working or hanging out with the
girls, and my nights were filled with Brandon. It still seemed so surreal to me to think that we were
together, that we had moved beyond friendship into something more.

He’d been so attentive, and the sex? Off the charts, HOT.

I’d been hanging out more and more with Emma and Allie because Leah had been seeing Ian non-stop
since the night she met him. He’s seems to be good to her and she’s so stupidly giddy every time she
talks about him, which is the only reason I don’t smack her silly for abandoning her best friend. Of
course, since Brandon and I got together, too, I was guilty of the same thing.

But who could blame me? Just this morning he woke me up with his mouth kissing every inch of my
body and didn’t stop until my eyes were crossed and I thought my toes would never uncurl.

A snuffle at my feet caught my attention and I looked down to see Grady sitting, pretty as you please,
in front of me. Allie and Jackson were going to Cincinnati for the night (for real, this time), so they’d
asked me to keep Grady. It was Saturday, Allie’s mom, Daisy, was watching the store today, and it’s
closed on Sunday, so they weren’t coming back until morning to get him. I didn’t mind, but I’d made
sure they brought his crate this time.

His furry little face was so angelic that I had to smile. Then, I shit you not, he opened his mouth and
grinned at me, just like his father does! I laughed at him, but it died pretty quickly when I realized he
had the remnants of something that looked suspiciously like a bar of soap stuck all through his teeth.

“Grady…” I sighed. Then, so I could pull him closer to see what it was, I cooed, “And just what did
you get into, boy? Huh? Did you find my shameful stash of hotel soaps?”

He wiggled in my hands and yipped in excitement, so I picked him up, muttering at the fact that he’d
grown and definitely gotten heavier. He was probably closing in on fifteen to twenty pounds now and
came to my knees. His paws were roughly the size of saucers (okay, maybe not quite that large) and I
figured he would probably be as big, if not bigger, than his furry father.

When his face got close to mine, he licked my cheek and, without even having to inspect the contents
of his teeth, I knew without a doubt it was soap. His breath smelled rather fresh…in a soapy-clean
way. He wiggled again so I put him down and trudged down the hallway toward the bathroom,
dreading the mess I would find. Sure enough, there was a trail of ripped wrappers and three little
soap cakes either crumbled up completely or bearing gnaw marks. My floor was also pock-marked
with a half-dozen or so little puddles of shampoo and conditioners because, apparently, the plastic
bottles were tasty, too.

“How the hell did you get into the cabinet, you little shit?!” I asked him, conversationally. He gave a
small whine in response and bounded out of the bathroom as I started cleaning up. I closed the door to
the cabinet under the sink, where he’d managed to Houdini it open somehow and drag out the basket
I’d had stashed under there.

When I closed it, I realized that a curling iron I’d shoved under the sink had shifted, blocking the door
from shutting all the way. It left a very small gap, but it was enough to let the little demon dog worm
his nose inside until he was able to get his head in.

I cleaned up the mess, shaking my head and muttering the whole time. I’d just finished when I heard a

shout and then pounding feet as Brandon raced down the hallway, hollering for me.

“Chloe! There’s something wrong with Grady!” He sounded frantic, which made me panic, because I
didn’t even think about the fact that he ate soap…God, what could that do to his little belly? I jumped
up and raced out the door, meeting him halfway down the hall.

Brandon was holding the pup under his furry armpits, dangling him in front of him. I stopped, my
alarm giving way to uncontrollable laughter, even though I knew it was not a good time for it. I
couldn’t help it, though.

Apparently, Grady had gotten a drink from his bowl in the kitchen and the water, mixed with the soap
bits stuck in his teeth and agitated by his lapping, created a lovely, frothy white beard of bubbles that
was dripping down his doggy chin like a deranged, soapy Santa. His tongue was lolling from his
mouth, and he was still wearing his goofy puppy-grin, like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“He’s foaming at the mouth…he has rabies or some shit! What the fuck is going on? Why are you
laughing?” Brandon shouted at me.

I laughed even louder, clutching my stomach, unable to form words as tears streamed from my eyes
because, as he was yelling at me, Grady belched, a lovely, bottom-of-the-gut burp that gurgled from
his mouth. With that burp, a perfect soap bubble sailed out into the air, floating over my head to pop
on the wall behind me.

Brandon glared at me. “Jesus, Chloe. Can you stop laughing long enough to tell me what the hell is
going on?”

I wiped my eyes and, still chuckling, took the dog from him. I carried him back into the bathroom and
grabbed a towel to wipe his face, explaining to Brandon what happened while I did.

“Oh.”

That’s all I got for a reply until he said, “Is it gonna make him sick? Did he eat it all?”

My concern returned and I glanced into the trash can where I’d deposited the crumbled soap pieces.
“I don’t know. I don’t think he ate much of it, just kinda crumbled it all up and chewed on it. I
probably should call his vet to see. Do you know who they use?”

“They probably take him to Doc, same as everyone else. That’s where we take Doug and that’s where
Emma and Luke take DJ now, too. I’ve got his number in my phone.” Brandon pulled his phone out
and called the vet’s office as he walked out of the bathroom.

Grady, still in my arms, suddenly looked at me with a pained expression (yes, even dogs can look
pained) and whined.

“What, boy? Does your tummy hurt?” I cooed to him softly, ruffling his fur. He whined again and I
shifted him in my arms before placing him down on the floor. We headed out into the living room to
find Brandon still talking on the phone.

“Yes…uh-huh…okay. Okay, thanks Shirley.” Brandon paused again, nodding as he listened to
whoever Shirley was. “Well that doesn’t sound very pleasant…okay. Got it. Thanks again!” Brandon
said as he hit end on his phone.

He looked at me and explained, “She double checked with Doc and he said that his stomach is
probably going to be a little upset, but it won’t hurt him as long as no big chunks get lodged in his
intestines, causing a blockage. She said that he probably will throw--”

His words cut off as Grady made a horrible hacking sound and then horked all over the carpet. We
both stared in horrified disgust for a second until Brandon gagged and ran from the room.

“Hey!” I yelled after him.

“Gotta get to the shop, have a client!” was shouted back at me, followed by another gag. I heard the
back door slam and shook my head in disbelief. He was off today, there was no client!

Grady was done spewing everything in his stomach all over my floor and sat watching me, wagging
his tail in happiness once more.

I cleaned up the mess, thanking my lucky stars that I’d bought more carpet cleaner last time I’d gone to
the store, and then checked my phone when it dinged. A bubbling, squelching, almost-empty-ketchup-
bottle sound came from behind me and my heart sank as I read the text I’d just gotten from Brandon
without turning around.

He’ll be fine, Doc said. He just will probably throw up, which you know already. He’ll also
probably have the runs. If he doesn’t eat or drink and keeps getting sick, take him in. When are
Allie and Jacks coming back?

I closed my eyes and groaned, knowing what I would find when I turned around…and it wouldn’t be
pretty.

It wasn’t. Nor was anything else that came out of that poor dog for the next couple of hours. He acted
completely normal between bouts, bounding around the yard until he had to hunch over for the soap to
come out whichever end it decided to that time. Thank God it was a nice day because I had no choice
but to stay outside. No way in hell was that happening on my carpet any more!

Four hours after the initial explosion, Grady had ceased his disgusting attack on my yard. I’d have to
say the only upside to this whole fiasco was that his vomit didn’t stink. Instead, it smelled rather
fresh, like…well, like soap.

I allowed him back inside finally and fixed myself some lunch, after I’d blocked him into the kitchen
with me, of course. I didn’t want to take a chance in the event he decided to have more digestive
pyrotechnics, but I figured if it happened, it’d be easier to clean off the tile than it would be to have to
drag out the carpet cleaner every time. Fingers crossed, though, that he was completely done—that the
soap had left the canine!

I was standing at the stove, stirring a pot of mac & cheese (the boxed kind, I was being lazy) when I
heard the door open and keys being dropped on the front hall table.

“Is it over?” Brandon hollered cautiously.

Mentally high-fiving myself for my evil ingenuity/payback, I made a hacking sound in my throat a
couple times, sounding like Grady had earlier, and then grinned when I heard Brandon gag.

“Aww, man…” he groaned and then gagged again.

I laughed out loud, giving away my game. I couldn’t help it; I’d finally found a weakness!

I saw him peek his head around the corner, his eyes darting around the room wildly to make sure he
wouldn’t see anything gross. I kept laughing and stirring the noodles, still chuckling as I spooned one
out to check for doneness.

“That was you?” he asked suspiciously.

I nodded gleefully and popped the noodle in mouth, happy to find it was done. I moved methodically

around the kitchen, straining the water out, adding milk, butter, and the day-glo orange cheese powder
as Brandon scowled at me.

“That wasn’t very nice,” he muttered.

I shrugged and grinned at him again. “Maybe not nice, but it was pretty funny,” I said smartly. “And
speaking of niceness, why should I be nice to you when you weren’t nice to me?”

“What are you talking about?” he asked. “I was very nice to you this morning!” he said, deepening his
voice and waggling his brows at me.

I rolled my eyes at him. “No, Cassanova, that’s not what I was talking about. Perv. I was talking about
the fact that you lied to me. Seriously? A client?”

He rubbed his hand over the back of his head and sighed before shooting me a sheepish smile. “I
panicked and it was the first thing I could think of.”

“Yeah, well, next time, you might keep in mind that we’d already had a whole conversation about you
being off today.” I winked at him, letting him know that I wasn’t mad.

He peered over my shoulder as I spooned a healthy helping of mac & cheese into a bowl and then
watched as I took a big bite. “Can I have some of that?” he asked.

“Nope,” I said succinctly.

“No?” he repeated, staring at me incredulously.

“That’s what I said,” I replied, taking another big bite.

“Why not?” he asked petulantly.

I walked by him and smacked him in the arm with my spoon, leaving an orange smear on his skin. He
stood there gaping at me as I strolled into the living room and curled into my favorite spot on my
couch.

He followed and leaned against the door frame between the kitchen and living room, crossing his
arms over his chest. He motioned with his hand, an impatient gesture to indicate he was waiting for
my answer.

“You were supposed to bring me breakfast this morning and, well…where’d it go?” I cocked my
head at him, partly being a playful smartass, but also genuinely curious.

He’d left after Allie and Jacks had shown up to drop Grady off to go to McDonald’s because I was
craving a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel. I’d let the pup into the house while I stood in the driveway
talking to them, which is apparently when Grady had gone on his soap hunting expedition.

Brandon hadn’t been holding anything but ‘Santa-dog’ in his hand when he’d come back, and there’d
been no bag on the counter, so what the hell?

He shot me a guilty look. “I went through the drive through and got everything. So I thought, anyway. I
didn’t realize until I pulled into the drive that they’d forgotten to give me your frou frou coffee thing. I
ran in to tell you before I went back up to get it because I didn’t take my phone with me and…well…”

“Well?” I asked, wanting the rest of it.

“Your bagel was good?” he said sweetly, the end of it rising like a question, giving him an innocent
boyish air.

I gave him an evil look and asked, “And what about my frou frou coffee drink, as you so politely

called it?”

“Uh…” he said, drawing it out. “I might have drank that, just a little bit.”

I gasped and then, glaring at him, spooned up another bite of macaroni, shoving it in and chewing as
angrily as I could. Which was kind of hard to do. It’s hard to angry eat. I managed to knock the spoon
against my front tooth when I shoveled another bite in and then scowled even harder when Brandon
laughed his ass off at me.

He moved in front of me and leaned in, lightly kissing the scrunched up tip of my nose. “You’re so
cute,” he said, smiling at me.

I smiled back at him, letting him know I wasn’t really mad (which he obviously was aware of…either
that or I’m not very scary when I’m ‘mad’), and tilted my face to receive his chaste kiss on my lips.
“Okay, you can have some macaroni,” I sighed.

He shook his head at me. “Nah, I’m still pretty full from eating my breakfast and yours.”

“You ass!” I yelled, laughing at him again.

Chapter 14

Emma had called a little later and asked if we wanted to have a cookout and a bonfire with them that
night. She said she’d been craving s’mores, too, so that’s what we were instructed to bring. We ran
by the store and bought double everything to make sure there was enough and then went back home
and loaded Grady up to head over.

We pulled up and Doug was sitting on the porch, looking decidedly pissed off for a dog. I got out of
the car and padded up the steps, stopping beside him to scratch his head and ask him what was wrong.

Brandon just shook his head at me and let Grady out of the backseat.

Doug stared up at me with doleful eyes, then threw his head back and let out a ululating half-howl,
half-growl/groan. I made sympathetic noises to him and he kept “talking” to me, letting me know
about whatever injustice had been done to him.

When he’d gotten it off his chest, he looked up at me expectantly. I told him, “Quite the story there,
huh?” He gave me a sneeze/snuffle that shook his head in what looked like a nod and then trotted off
to follow Grady, who was galloping through the grass at full speed.

“Damn dog,” Brandon said affectionately as he watched Doug go.

We walked into the house to see Luke standing on one side of the counter in the kitchen, a jar of
peanut butter in one hand and a jar of pickles in the other. Both hands were raised above his head and
he was shaking his head vehemently at Emma, who was on the opposite side of the counter. She was
mean-mugging the hell out of Luke and yelling at him.

“Give me back my peanut butter and pickles, Lucas Tyler Crimshaw! Right now or else I’ll…I’ll…
aaiiiyeeeee!” She shrieked in frustration and stomped her foot on the floor.

“No, Emma Marie Crimshaw! I won’t give you back the pickles and peanut butter! I draw the line at
pickle butter milkshakes. It’s just wrong, woman!” Luke yelled back at her. He caught sight of us
standing in the living room, watching the drama unfold.

“Brandon, tell her! Tell her that she can’t do that to my daughter!”

Emma whirled around and stomped over to Brandon. Well, stomped as much as she could. It was
more like a heavy-footed waddle. “If you know what’s good for you, dear brother-in-law, you’ll go in
there and get my pickles and my peanut butter and you’ll like it!”

Brandon tried to keep a straight face as he replied, “I’m not getting in the middle of this. It’s too
entertaining to interrupt, but could you wait until I make some popcorn to finish arguing?”

Emma’s face screwed up and a tear streaked down her cheek. Brandon’s mouth dropped and he
backpedaled, trying to assure her that he would get the stuff from Luke, begging her not to cry. In the
kitchen, Luke dropped his arms and set the jars down, shaking his head in what I figured was defeat.

I was wrong.

“Bro…no. She’s playing you. She’s completely hormonal and can cry at the drop of a hat, almost on
command. It’s a new talent she’s exploited far too often,” he emphasized, loudly, “and you’re playing
right into it,” Luke told Brandon.

Emma huffed and rolled her eyes at both of the men before she looked at me and said, “Come on,
Chloe. You can come see the nursery that Luke finally finished while they get the grill going. You

know, since the peanut butter and pickle Nazi over there is being an asshole to his pregnant wife.”

I laughed and followed her upstairs. We went into the nursery, which had previously been a guest
room. It was done up in pink and brown polka dots and was so absolutely adorable, as well as
definitely baby-chic. Not even born yet, and already completely spoiled!

I smiled fondly over at Emma but my smile faded when I saw her rummaging through the closet in the
baby’s room. “What are you doing?” I asked her.

She rifled around a bit more before she spun, yelling ‘Ah-ha!’ gleefully as she held a jar of peanut
butter aloft.

I quirked a brow at her and said, dryly, “You keep peanut butter in your daughter’s closet?”

“Just my emergency jar. I’ve moved on from tacos to the peanut butter and pickles. It was cheese
slices wrapped around pickles for a few days but then I had a peanut butter sandwich with a pickle on
the side and some of my peanut butter touched my pickle and that’s all she wrote!” Emma said,
leaning toward me like it was a big secret. Which it apparently was, considering the fact that she’s
hiding foodstuffs around the house.

“Really, Emma? Pickles and cheese slices…Weren’t you the one who told me that was disturbing not
too long ago when everyone was razzing on Allie for eating them on pizza? So, what about the
pickles, you have a jar of those stashed around here somewhere?” I asked, jokingly.

Her face fell. “No,” she sighed. “Pickles have to be refrigerated and I think Luke would be suspicious
if I smuggled a mini-fridge into the house.”

I shook my head at her and gave her a hug, smiling fondly. “It’s okay, Emma. I’ll go get you a pickle
and we’ll go hide outside so you can eat it.”

She smiled, her entire face beaming with joy and we beelined for the kitchen, Emma all but dragging
me along behind her. Moral of the story? Never get between a pregnant woman and her pickles and
peanut butter…yikes.

We got lucky; Calland had shown up with a new flavor of the month, and Allie and Jackson, lured
back by the temptation of a cookout and bonfire, apparently, were walking in the door so Luke was
occupied greeting everyone.

As Emma scurried behind them, dropping to the floor to crawl behind the cabinets (which was
hilarious…have you ever seen a very pregnant woman crawl on the floor?) I ran interference by
hugging and talking to everyone in the living room, making sure to engage Luke as much as possible
so he wouldn’t glance into the kitchen to see the refrigerator door mysteriously open and close on it’s
own.

Allie, on the other hand, noticed. She opened her mouth and I hugged her to me again, having to
almost bend in half to do it because of her belly, whispering in her ear, “She’s crave-obsessed and
Luke’s being a pickle Nazi.”

She guffawed in my ear and then cut off her laugh so hard she choked. Immediately, Jackson was
there, almost shoving me out of the way as he patted her on the back and frantically tried to get her to
tell him she was okay.

She waved him off, but the damage was done. Calland had piped up.

“Where’s my sister? I want her to meet Legsy.”

Luke started to look around but at my frantic look, Brandon, even though he glanced at me like I’d lost
my mind, started to say something to distract Luke again. But then what Calland said trumped it and he
lost his train of thought.

“I’m sorry—what was her name? I think I misheard you,” he asked Calland.

Calland answered again, an unmistakable twinkle in his eye. “Legsy. Her name is Legsy.”

Brandon fought hard against his grin and politely held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Legsy. That’s a
very…unusual name.” (Luke was definitely distracted now. Good thing too, because I could see
hands moving carefully along the counter until they connected with a plate, dragging it over the edge
to disappear.)

She simpered. “Oh! Thank you! My Daddy, bless his heart, he’s not a very good speller. When I was
born, see, he was writin’ the paperwork out for my poor, exhausted Momma, she said to name me
Lexi. You know, like with the ‘X’. But her words were a little slurred, well, from the drugs and all,
and it came out like Legsy. So that’s what he wrote and my Momma didn’t see it until a ‘lil bit later
but by then it was too late. So that’s my name, Legsy. You know, like I’m all legs, Legsy!”

Crickets. I swear I heard them. That’s how stunned we all were, with the exception of Calland, who
had more than likely already heard the story. We were all just staring at her, varying expressions
plastered on our faces, while she grinned and…well…you guessed it. Simpered.

Where the hell does he find these girls? Good Lord, the boy has found some doozies just since I’d
been in town, and I couldn’t even imagine the ones before that!

Brandon cleared his throat but still didn’t manage to think of anything else to say. Just then a muffled
crunching sound, followed by a low ‘mmmmmmm’ sounded from the kitchen. I gave a mental ‘eek’
and opened my mouth to say something but it was too late.

Luke’s eyes narrowed and he glared at me. I looked away, a flush creeping up my face at being caught
red-handed helping the pickle bandit. He reached out and snagged my arm, pulling me behind him
after motioning everyone to be quiet.

They followed us, every single one of them tip-toeing as best they could. We all peered over the
counter, Luke shaking his head with resign and a touch of exasperation at the sight before us. Emma
was sitting on the floor, leaning back against the counter with her legs splayed in front of her. The
open jar of pickles was sitting beside her, and she had the jar of peanut butter in one hand, dipping a
pickle spear into it with another.

A louder crunch sounded as she took a bite and then froze with it hanging out of her mouth as she
noticed her audience. She finished her bite, chewed slowly, and then, rather defensively, said, “What
the hell are you shaking your head for, Lucas? It’s not a pickle butter milkshake, so get the fuck over
it!”

Luke just sighed and went to help his wife up while we all laughed. There’s never a dull moment
around here…

A couple of hours later, bellies full of perfectly grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and all the other
requisite cookout fare, we were all relaxing by the fire, enjoying each other’s company and laughing
at the antics of the dogs. All three of them had been chasing each other around the yard until the pups
tired Doug out and he collapsed in a heap at Luke’s feet, panting and grinning his doggy-grin at
everyone.

Grady and DJ followed suit, although DJ chose to lay on top of Doug while Grady clamored up into
Jackson’s lap like he was still a tiny little thing.

While Emma broke out the s’more fixings, Luke caught my eye and motioned for me to follow him. I
did, and Brandon, shooting me a curious look, did the same.

We walked into the kitchen and Luke turned to look at me. “Chloe, I hate to do this tonight since
we’ve been having such a good time, but I don’t want to let it go without telling you. If I know my
brother,” he glanced wryly at Brandon, “it won’t be too much longer before he’s trying to sneak you
off.”

“Okay…” I said, waiting for the bomb to drop.

“This came to the house addressed to you. I didn’t open it, and I kind of hid it from your brother, too,
because I didn’t want him to go off half-cocked. But this worries me because if it’s what I think it is,
then you’ve got trouble. And if you have trouble, we have trouble,” he said, motioning to himself,
Brandon, and the whole of the house, indicating Jackson and the rest of them even though they were
still outside and clueless.

I reached out tentatively to take the envelope he was holding but Brandon snatched it away. I didn’t
argue. A rock had settled in my stomach and was growing because I had a feeling that things were
about to go bad.

But I had no idea just how bad.

Chapter 15

I stared at the envelope in my hand, turning it over and over and over but not opening it. I’d ignored it
last night as best I could, tucking it into my purse and going back outside with the others.

Luke had hugged me before we went back outside and asked that I call him when I finally read it.
He’d looked at me so seriously and said, “Not sure how he got it, but he’s got our address because
that’s where Jackson was. That’s what I figure anyway, but, babe…I got a baby about to pop out and I
need to know what’s going on so I can protect my family. ‘Cause there’s no fucking way in hell that
anyone is going to touch so much as a hair on the head of a member of my family.”

His eyes were the most intense I’d ever seen them, almost scary-intense. I’d gulped and nodded, the
sick feeling in my stomach growing that much bigger because of the threat I’d caused to people that
have been nothing but nice to me, to my friends that had become my family.

He’d leaned even closer to me then and made sure I’d understood what he was saying. “And by
family, Chloe, that means you, too.”

I flipped the letter over again and stared hard at the postmark and the return address scrawled in the
corner. The address and inmate number glared back at me, taunting me with the knowledge that this
was from him.

“Sunshine, let me do that for you. Please,” Brandon implored quietly.

We were sitting in bed on what should have been a happy, normal Sunday morning, when we should
have been getting ready to go to Emma’s parents’ house for Sunday breakfast. Instead, there we were.
Quiet. Serious. And the sick feeling in my stomach had yet to leave.

I sighed and closed my eyes, shaking my head at him. “No, I have to do this. I’ve been pretty damn
strong since I left California. I’m not letting him get the best of me.”

Without another word, I ripped the envelope open and pulled out the single, handwritten page. I
skimmed through it and then, knowing Brandon was getting impatient, I read it out loud, my voice
wavering and cracking with suppressed emotion.

Dearest, Ungrateful Slut,

By the time you get this letter, I’ll be out. Don’t think I don’t know where you are, because I do.
I’m coming for what’s mine, bitch.

Don’t bother thinking we won’t be together again. I’m giving you a second chance to please me,
regardless of the fact that I’m sure you’ve spread your fucking thighs for countless diseased
pricks since I’ve been gone. I’ve got a bottle of bleach with your name on it so I can disinfect your
nasty cunt before you welcome your daddy home.

See you soon, bitch.

Greg

P.S.-Don’t think your big, bad brother is going to save you just because you ran to him. In fact,
I’ll be paying your mom a visit before I come get you. I’m sure she’d like to come see you, might
make it a little bit easier for you to decide to be a good little whore and come home.

“MOTHER FUCKER!” Brandon roared, flinging himself out of the bed to pace angrily around the
room. He raged, mumbling incoherently, his voice deeper than usual, and it wasn’t in a sexy way. His

face was dark, murderous.

I dropped the letter and watched him silently. When his growling increased, I beseeched, “Brandon-”
but my words were cut off on a gasp when he drew his fist back and punched the wall.

The drywall crumbled beneath the onslaught, a hole immediately appearing. With an anguished cry, he
dropped to his knees and covered his head with his hands. In a flash, I was off the bed, falling to the
floor beside him and whispering to him brokenly. I could hear him breathing heavily, but couldn’t tell
if it was anger or pain.

I grabbed for his hand, beyond sick at the thought of the damage he might’ve done to himself…to that
beautiful hand of his that is his livelihood. How could he tattoo with a broken hand?

He didn’t let me have it, pulled it away from my grasp immediately. But it wasn’t because he didn’t
want me to touch him. No, it was because he reached for me, dragged me into his arms and buried his
face in my neck. He drew in a ragged breath and squeezed me tighter as he whispered, “On pain of
death, I swear to you, Chloe, he will never lay a hand on you again. I will never let you go, sunshine.”

I curled into him and held him just as tightly, letting the tears finally fall. He rocked me, giving me his
strength, and if I hadn’t been in love with him already, I’d have fallen right then and there.

When the tears subsided, Brandon shifted me in his arms and got to his feet, still holding me. He sat
me gingerly down on the end of the bed and knelt in front of me, looking up at my face earnestly while
he wiped away the tears lingering on my cheeks.

“I love you, Chloe. I don’t care how it happened, how fast it seems, none of it. All I care about is the
fact that we’re together and that’s not going to change. You’re mine now and I’m not letting you go.
And I for damn sure won’t stand by and let anyone threaten you. We’ve got this, sunshine. I promise.”
With that, he leaned in and kissed me sweetly.

“Brandon, your hand,” I whispered to him, trying to get a good look at it.

He moved his hand up and looked at it like he was just realizing that something was off about it. The
skin was puffy and bruised already, broken in a couple places and seeping blood. He sighed heavily
and swore under his breath before he shook it off. “Doesn’t matter, sunshine. I’ll get over it. Won’t be
able to work for a couple days, but I don’t think it’s broken.”

I looked at him helplessly but he shrugged the injury off, pushing up off the floor and reaching for his
phone. He dialed and when the other party answered, the conversation was short and to the point.

“It’s bad news. Get Jacks and get here when breakfast is done.” He listened for a second and then
cracked a grin very briefly. “Yeah, I know. Tell Jan and Ben I said hi.”

He hung up without saying goodbye and turned to me. “Let’s get dressed, baby. Group will be here
after a while to talk.”

It seemed like it didn’t take any time at all before my house was overflowing with friends and family,
including Leah and Ian. Jackson had walked in the door, letting me know that my mom was on a trip
with friends for two weeks and would be coming directly here when she got back, and then scooped
me up in his arms, hugging me and reiterating what had already been said to me in various ways.

“Bastard won’t get near mom, and he won’t touch a fucking hair on your head ever again, little
sister,” he grunted. He gave me one last squeeze and put me down.

The letter had already made its rounds, drawing a mixed-bag of reactions from every one, but

Jackson’s and Luke’s reactions were pretty much like Brandon’s, just without the wall-punching. Ian
patted my shoulder and offered to help with whatever he could. Calland had shown up a little later; I
don’t think I’ve ever seen him when he wasn’t smiling, but there was absolutely no trace of the levity
he usually showed as he put his arm around my shoulder and kissed the top of my head. He didn’t say
anything, but he didn’t have to. I knew.

My heart was full to bursting once again at the love I was being shown and I wondered briefly how
my life had gone from such shit to better than I’d ever imagined.

Hours later, there was a plan set, I was temporarily out of a job, and everyone had left, leaving me
alone with a tall, gorgeous man who was busy cleaning (yes, I said CLEANING!) up pizza boxes and
plates.

On his last return trip from the kitchen, I grabbed him, pressed my body against his and wrapped my
arms around his neck.

“Kiss me,” I demanded.

He chuckled softly before he complied, pressing his lips sweetly against mine for a brief second. I
whimpered when he pulled away and he smiled at me, but it faded as he stared into my eyes, looking
intently for something, but I wasn’t sure what.

“What’s wrong?” I asked him.

“Are you okay?” he asked me, quietly. “I know we kind of took over everything and didn’t even
really ask your opinion. But, sunshine, you have to agree, it’s what’s best until that dickface is behind
bars again.”

“I know,” I replied firmly. “I’m really okay with everything because it’s just nice to know that I have
people standing behind me. I mean, I know I had people behind me always, but I was too stupid to
accept it, to let anyone know the horror I was living. I won’t make that mistake again. I won’t let him
take another second of my life away from me.”

“That’s my girl,” he said, snuggling me against him again.

“How’s your hand?” I asked him dryly, tilting my head back to look up at him.

He grimaced a bit and gave me a sheepish look before he answered. “Pretty fuckin’ sore. Luke’s
having T.J. fill in for me, take on some extra hours for a couple of days. So, upside, I guess, is that
you get me all to yourself since you don’t have to work and neither do I.”

I sighed guiltily. “Yeah, I know. But how can I do that to Allie, even though everyone agreed it was
best, when she’s due like any time now?”

“Allie’s mom is taking over for a while and, not that it’s public knowledge yet, but Allie’s been
thinking of selling the store since Jackson’s firm is very successful and she wants to be home with the
baby.” He said it nonchalantly, but I could hear the caution behind it.

I blinked up at him, stunned, because if that happened, I’d really be out of a job and possibly even a
home.

Brandon pulled away from me and ran his hands over his face. He blew out a breath and said, “Well,
actually…Luke and I were going to talk to you about something. Emma is wanting to stay home with
their baby, too, which means she won’t be available to help out in the shop. So…would you be
willing to come to work for us?” He peered down at me, his face hopeful.

“Really?” I asked him, surprised that situations just seem to resolve themselves so quickly around
here.

“Really.”

“Huh,” was my only reply. Not that I would refuse the job; seriously, I wasn’t stupid.

Brandon hugged me to him once more and said those five little words that every woman wants to
hear. “Let’s go get some ice cream.”

I grinned up at him and nodded. Okay, so there could be other words that women want to hear, but
who doesn’t love ice cream?

We got our ice cream and walked around the park, holding hands as we ate our cones. He leaned me
up against a tree and kissed the daylights out of me when our ice cream was done, laughing as he
gamely explained he was only trying to get the chocolate off my lip. I wasn’t complaining though, and
he definitely didn’t need an excuse to kiss me senseless…

We headed home when the sun was setting and, by the look in Brandon’s eyes, our night was just
beginning.

We walked in the door at home and I’d barely gotten the door shut and locked behind us when I found
myself being spun around and pressed against the door by his body. He locked his lips on mine in a
heated kiss as his hands found my hips, slid down a bit and lifted me up into his arms. My legs
automatically wrapped around his waist, nestling the hardened ridge of him between my thighs, which
drew a ragged groan from his throat.

He wrenched his lips from mine and leaned his forehead against mine, his breath puffing against my
mouth as he whispered, “Is this okay? I know it’s been a rough day…”

“Fine, I’m fine. Don’t stop…” I moaned, seeking his kiss once more.

He complied, his mouth slanting over mine in a rough, deep caress, his tongue sliding inside to duel
with mine before slipping back out as his teeth closed over my bottom lip, sucking on it and then
biting sharply.

I arched into him, crushing my breasts to his chest, rubbing myself against the engorged column of
flesh trapped beneath the placket of his jeans. One of his hands left my thigh and slid up my body to
tangle in my hair, jerking my head back as he moved down my throat, sucking and licking the tender
flesh and sending shivers down my spine.

“Bed,” he panted against my throat and I nodded wildly, feverish to feel him against me, skin to skin,
with his length buried deep inside my body.

He carried me into the bedroom and laid me on the bed, but he didn’t follow me down. Instead, he
ordered me to strip as he moved to my closet. He watched me distractedly, torn between drinking in
the sight of my naked flesh that each removed article of clothing revealed, and whatever he was
reaching for in the darkness of the closet.

Finally he swore, snapped the light on, grabbed something, and then the light was off and he was on
the bed with me. I have no idea how he’d done it so quickly, but he was naked when he got there.

I gasped and arched into him as his body came down over mine, his hard to my soft, every inch of him
pressed to me. His teeth nipped at my shoulder and then he kissed his way down my stomach,
stopping to lick along each of my hip bones, moving down a little further as he hooked his arms under

my thighs and pulled them apart, spreading me open and covering me hungrily with his mouth.

His tongue made a long, leisurely stroke through my slick folds, the tip swirling around and around
my clit before sliding back down and inside me, tasting every inch of my dripping wet heat. He kept
up his assault on my tender flesh until I was hovering on the edge of release but, right before I tipped
over into blissful orgasm, he moved, kissing back up my body until his lips met mine.

I tasted myself on his tongue, moaning at the heady sensations coursing through my veins, lust
overriding every thought. He ate at my mouth with a ferocity that belied his sure movements. He
moved in haste, yes, but there was nothing hurried about the way he slowed and sipped at my lips and
plucked at the tips of my breasts, the tight buds swollen, tender, and aching with need. The smooth,
firm head of his turgid length slid effortlessly though my damp folds, the ridge of him dragging over
my clit with every thrusting stroke.

He broke the kiss on a groan and shifted, moving off of me just enough to reach between our bodies.
He positioned himself at my dripping entrance, the tip barely penetrating my opening before he thrust
deeply, seating himself fully inside me. At that same, earth-shattering moment, his hand moved, a
buzzing came to life, and my clit turned to fire as pleasure raced over me.

With a high-pitched cry, I flew over the edge, coming hard as he impaled me with his hardness
repeatedly while his fingers worked my micro bullet over my now over-sensitized clit. I was jerking
against him, trying to pull away even as I arched into him, seeking more of the blinding ecstasy filling
me, pushing me almost violently to that razor edge and beyond once more.

I screamed out my release until I was hoarse, my fingers clutching and scratching helplessly at his
back and shoulders as I was dragged under by waves and waves of almost unbearable sensation.
Brandon, with one last hard thrust, slammed deep inside my clenching heat, spilling himself inside of
me on a loud, primal shout before he collapsed across me, taking care, though, not to crush me
beneath his weight.

We laid there panting, our sweat slickened skin sticking together where we touched, his heavy weight
pressing me into the mattress while the forgotten toy buzzed happily alongside my hip where he’d
dropped it. As I worked to catch my breath, I mused that I didn’t have to wonder what he’d been
doing in my closet. The better question to ask would probably be how the hell he’d known where my
stash was?

After a few moments, he rolled to his side after carefully disengaging from my sated body. He
reached for the toy, smiling slyly at me as he thumbed it off and tossed it aside before gathering me in
his arms and cuddling me against his chest. He drew lazy circles on my shoulder and down my side
and hip while we laid there quietly, our breath mingling in the closeness of our lips.

He smiled tenderly and kissed me softly, sweetly. “Mmmm…” he murmured between kisses.

“Yup,” I sighed happily.

“You know,” he began, his tone getting softer, not quite worried, but definitely getting a little tense.
“We haven’t been using any protection.”

I nodded. “I know,” I said, my voice very quiet. “But, like I told you before, I’m on the pill.” I looked
away from his and whispered the real reason I’d never worried about protection with him. The
painful one. “I-I can’t have kids anyway.”

He leaned up on his elbow and gripped my chin gently in his fingers, turning my face back to his.

Concern creased his brow as he asked, “When…?” He didn’t finish the question, but he didn’t need
to. I knew what he was asking.

I nodded once more.

He blew out a breath and kissed me again, holding me tighter in his arms. After touching his lips
almost absent-mindedly to my forehead, he said, firmly, “It’s okay, sunshine. That bastard will never
hurt you again.” He dipped his head, his eyes searching my face. “There are always other options,
baby. Don’t ever think there aren’t. If and when we decide to explore that path…”

His words trailed off. All I could do was smile at him and lean in for another kiss as my eyes filled
with tears. But they weren’t sad tears. They were the happiest-I’d-ever-been, how’d-I-get-so-fucking-
lucky kind of tears. And those are the best kind to have.

Chapter 16

The plan put into motion by my friends and family shifted my life completely, turning it upside down
over the next week or so. I couldn’t complain about it, though. When Allie learned that everyone was
on board with her selling the store, including her mom because she’d been wanting to take an RV tour
of the U.S. with George, Allie’s dad, she moved quickly.

The realtor found a buyer immediately; it was unreal at how everything played out, especially finding
a buyer so quickly. Allie settled into her role as a housewife rather easily, content to ready the house
for the baby that was due any time now and spoil Grady even more than he already was. Jackson was
ten times happier, too, knowing that Allie wasn’t overexerting herself, and he wasn’t worrying so
much anymore about something happening with her being alone at the store or any of the hundred
thousand more scenarios that had been giving him nightmares since the night she told him she was
pregnant.

He’d kept it together pretty well, I must say, though. Did it stop me from teasing him about turning into
a worrywart? Nope. Although, I would have to admit that I may have used other words. You know,
like…hell with it, I called him a pansy. It earned me one of his death-glares and he threatened me
with a mega-wedgie, but it was worth it.

Emma gladly turned over her duties down at Skin Deep to me, especially with her due date looming
so close, so now, not only do I get to have Brandon in my bed every night, I get to spend my days with
him, too. I worried about him getting sick of seeing me so much, but he assured me he wouldn’t.
Honestly, I think he was just excited to get to figure out ways to get me naked in the supply closet. Or
in his office. And once on the floor behind the counter…but the shop had been closed at the time,
thank God.

Luke just shakes his head in disgust when he catches Brandon kissing me at random times throughout
the day, but then he just grins wryly when Brandon reminds him that it was he himself getting caught
lip-locked all the time before I started working.

My mom was back from her trip and had flown directly out to Ohio instead of going home. She’s
staying at Jackson and Allie’s house so she can be there when the baby comes. Emma and Luke
already had a security system in place, as did Allie and Jacks. Needless to say, my house was wired
up within an inch of it’s life now, too. They even upgraded the system down at Skin Deep, just to be
safe.

So, just like that, everyone did what they needed to to protect themselves and…well, mostly to
protect me. Every day, I woke up and thanked God and anyone else who would listen for all of them. I
may have saved myself by getting the hell away from Greg, but in all honesty, they were the ones who
really saved me.

I still had nightmares, but they’d been getting less frequent. I still jumped at shadows, which Brandon
laughed off, but I could still see the worry in his eyes. I rarely went out by myself, just until we got
confirmation that Greg was back behind bars for violating his probation and the no contact order.
Emma had waltzed up into her old boss’ office and Attorney Floyd Grimm had sent out a nice, biting
little letter to the Department of Corrections and the Courts out in California, along with a copy of the
letter I received from Greg. The police had been looking for him, putting out BOLO’s and everything,
but they’d had no luck so far.

Other than that, everything was good…no, it was perfect. Okay, so perfect with a few hiccups. But I
wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Not even when I got the phone call. The one that said they’d found a car registered to Greg in a little
town on the outskirts of Cincinnati, abandoned on the side of a township road in the middle of
nowhere. They’d done a search of the area, including the woods and the one and only motel in the
town, but they’d found nothing.

With things being so tense until we heard something from the police, the group had banded together
even more than usual. In fact, dinner was a nightly event, moving from house to house. Two nights ago
we were at Luke and Emma’s, last night was at Leah’s…and I can’t with good conscience tell you
that that would be happening again anytime soon. Unless we order pizza or takeout from
somewhere…

We were supposed to be having spaghetti and garlic bread, which should be simple to cook. Or at
least, I always thought so. But we didn’t have spaghetti. We had pizza. Why, you ask? Because Leah
can burn water. Not kidding. The cooking genes definitely skipped her.

Tonight had been my turn to cook; I had Brandon grill some steaks and then I topped them with
Maytag bleu cheese crumbles (best bleu cheese in the world…so yummy!) and crumbled bacon. I
paired them with my favorite Italian-ranch pasta salad for a simple but very filling and tasty meal. I
even made my own appetizer of fried pickles with spicy ranch to dip them in. For obvious reasons,
Allie and Emma both (but especially Emma) were over the moon about that.

I’d have to say dinner was a resounding success…but anything probably would have been after Leah
scorched a pot full of water, then managed to turn a pan of spaghetti noodles to glue. I won’t even
mentioned what happened to the sauce.

We were all lounging around the living room, laughing and joking with Leah, who was flying solo
tonight because Ian had a meeting or something, about her cooking skills (or lack thereof, actually),
and then about Allie and Emma’s due dates. Allie was technically due in three days, and the little
baby boy nestled inside seemed like he wasn’t budging. He’d turned head down and had dropped
majorly, but that’s it. She went to the doctor three days ago and they said they’d give her until next
week; if she didn’t go naturally by then, they were going to induce her.

Emma, on the other hand, is due next week but they don’t think she’s going to make it. She’s already
dilated to 2 and is effacing rather rapidly, as well. It’s kind of a toss up at the moment to see which
one is going to pop first. The guys have been taking bets, but that was curbed when my brother got
caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar. He was doing everything he could think of that he’d
read about to try to bring on labor. Allie caught on when she got on her laptop and saw the Google
search for ‘ways to get a woman to give birth’ and finally figured out that’s why he’d been trying to
get her to take long walks with him every night. Just for that, Allie made him double his bet, then bet
against him, and gave Luke every idea she could find to make Emma go first.

There was a break in the conversation as we all debated going out for ice cream and we all froze as
Allie moaned. She was sitting on the couch, Jackson beside her. When she noticed we were all
looking at her, her face flushed and she ducked her head.

We all wondered why…until Jackson jumped up and shot away from her like a rocket, yelling,
“Fucking hell, woman! That’s worse than both Grady AND Doug!”

My mom scolded him for talking like that, but then, suddenly, her nose twitched and her face fell. One

by one, the expressions around the room started changing, mostly looking horrified, disgusted, or a
combination of both.

Brandon, realizing what had happened, darted away to stand by Jackson in the doorway to the kitchen.
He got halfway there and his eyes widened, then his nose screwed up comically as he shouted, “Oh
my God, Allie! You seriously just farted like that? What is wrong with you?”

Allie looked so ashamed, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but laugh. Emma was sitting in the
armchair not too far away from her, just shaking her head. “She’s always been like that. It’s just
worse now that she’s pregnant. Trust me…I know.”

Luke shot her a droll look, muttering, “Yeah, you think you know. She doesn’t sleep with YOU every
night.”

It was Emma’s turn to blush and we all laughed.

Then Allie moaned again, but this time, she followed it with a loud, gasping, “Oh!” Her eyes blinked
rapidly in surprise and she sought Jackson’s gaze, her jaw dropping open before she looked at me.
“Chloe, I’m so sorry, but either my water just broke or I just peed on your couch.”

We all sat there, stunned, for a moment before all hell broke loose. Jackson beelined for the couch
and swooped Allie up into his arms, hollering at Luke to move his car and Brandon to grab his keys
out of his pocket. That in itself was pretty comical to watch as Jackson didn’t slow in his determined
stride to the door. Brandon ran along beside him, his hand scrabbling on Jackson’s hip until he could
jam it down in his pocket. He gave a war whoop as he jerked his hand free, the keys clasped in his
fingers like the ultimate prize.

Before he got out the door he paused, looking back at me. My mom, who was hot on his heels, didn’t
realize he’d stopped and ran smack dab into his back, falling back with an ‘oompf.’

“Sorry, Mom,” he said, before addressing me again. “You and Brandon head to the house, let Grady
out for us, and grab her bag, okay?”

“Yeah, we got it,’ I said. I moved to the bedroom to grab my shoes and my purse, grateful we’d
already cleaned everything up from dinner. Brandon was still outside but his wallet was sitting on the
dresser, so I grabbed that as well.

I heard Leah pipe up as she headed out the door behind Jacks, Allie, and my mom, calling out to Allie
and Jacks that she’d make the necessary phone calls to Allie’s parents, her grandparents, and
everyone in Emma’s family.

When I got back out into the living room, the house had been evacuated by everyone but Emma, who
was trying to lever herself out of the chair. She gave me a pitiful look and I smiled at her in sympathy
as I helped her up.

Forty-five minutes later, the waiting room was packed with bodies and filled with laughter and
happiness. We’d been updated briefly by my mom, letting us know that Allie was really in labor and
we were about to have a baby! Everyone had been speculating on names, because Allie and Jackson
already had one picked out but they wouldn’t tell anyone what it was.

Luke broke into the conversation on a sigh. “Well, there’s no stopping it. Jackson’s going to be
ridiculous about this…” He glanced up at us all. “You do realize that he won the bet, right?”

Laughter bubbled up from everyone and groans resounded as we tallied up his winnings. We laughed
even harder when Nanny walked right up to Luke, snatched the money out of his hands, and stuffed it

into her bra, claiming that she was just going to hold it for him.

Once Allie was pretty settled, we all got to take turns going back to see her. When it was my turn, she
grabbed my hand and pulled me close.

“Chloe, I feel really bad.”

“Why?” I asked her, smoothing her wildly spiking hair back from her forehead.

“Because I leaked all over your couch…” she cried, her eyes filling up with tears.

“Oh, Allie…don’t you even worry about it!” I told her, chuckling affectionately. Truth be told, I
completely forgot about it, but that was definitely something I should probably get cleaned pretty
soon. Like really soon.

I wiped her tears away and glanced at my brother, who was beaming with complete and total joy. But
then his expression dropped as Allie cried out. He was by her side in an instant, checking her over,
asking her, “Are you in pain, is something wrong, do you need something, what can I do to help?”

Allie looked at him in horror and then at her mom and my mom, who were both sitting across the
room on the little sofa there. “We have to get married!”

Jackson sat gingerly on the bed beside her and took her hand. “Allie, sweetheart, it’s a little late for
that. You’re in labor.” His words were cautious and soft, and he looked like he was approaching a
rabid bear as he spoke.

He wasn’t far off with that look.

She rounded on him, eyes wide and teeth gritted. “By God I will be married before this child comes
out of my vagina, Jackson Beckett Matthews!”

Holy shit!

Daisy, Allie’s mom, gasped. “Allison Anne McCormick, don’t you yell at him like that! I don’t care if
you are giving birth, you will be nice to the father of your child or you’ll answer to me. Now I may be
an old hippie, but girlfriend, I brought you into this world and I WILL take you out!”

Jackson, my mom, and I all gaped at Allie’s mom. Maybe I’m wrong, but isn’t there an unwritten rule
that you keep the woman in labor happy and let her be a raging bitch? Apparently not according to
Daisy…

But instead of getting pissed, Allie grinned at her mom, all traces of anger melting away like they’d
never even been there. “Ehhh, I guess giving birth to your child before you’re married is overrated
anyway, right Mom?” she asked.

Daisy just grinned back, her eyes sparkling with love and humor. Jackson just looked scared. I didn’t
blame him; Allie was switching emotions faster than a hooker drops her panties for a bill.

I spent a few more minutes in the room, watching my family with a sense of pride and satisfaction.
Sure, there was an ache deep in my heart that I would never get to be the one in that bed, giving birth
to my child. But I’d come to terms with that, for the most part. It was seriously bittersweet, though, to
imagine what my child would have been like…

A commotion at the door drew our attention.

“MA’AM! You can’t go in there! Especially not with that!” a strident voice said sternly.

Nanny’s crackly, gravelly voice cut her off, getting louder as she pushed through the door into the

room. “Oh, piss off. This is my granddaughter’s room and by God, I can go in if I want. And don’t you
pay no mind to my flask, you nosy rosy. It ain’t for my girl. It’s for that pasty-looking thing standing by
her bed. Seems like he might be one ‘a those that falls over when it gets down to the dirty stuff in
here.”

She cackled and Allie waved off the stout, gray-haired nurse trailing behind her grandma, shooting
scandalized looks at Allie. “She’s fine, I promise,” Allie said.

The nurse gave a curt nod and said, primly, “You really should be resting, Ms. McCormick. You’re
doctor won’t want all these people in here.”

“Thank you, nurse, but I can speak for myself, and Allie can have as many people in here as she
wants, as long as she’s comfortable.”

An imposing woman with striking features stood behind the nurse, her trim figure covered in a white
lab coat over bright, cheery scrubs. The nurse turned and stammered, “Dr. Merrick, I’m so sorry! I
didn’t know you were on the floor already. I was merely-”

The doctor nodded. “I know, Clarice. You’re free to go.”

The nurse scrambled out into the hall, cheeks flaming, but I’m guessing it was more in anger than
remorse or embarrassment.

“Well, Allie,” the doctor said, smiling widely at her patient. “Let’s see where we’re at, shall we?”

I excused myself, patting Allie on her shoulder and smiling at everyone else, before heading out into
the waiting room with everyone else. More time passed and people started leaving to go home. Jenna
went first, but only because she got a phone call from home, something about a Barbie, a Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtle, and the dishwasher. Then Ben, Emma’s dad left, followed by Calland and Leah.
Jan, Emma’s mom, left around midnight, taking Nanny and Poppy with her, but not before making us
promise to call them as soon as the baby was born, no matter what the time. Eventually, only my mom,
Allie’s parents, Daisy and George, Emma and Luke, and Brandon and I were left.

I curled up on a sofa in the waiting room beside Brandon, listening to Luke try to bribe Emma into
going home so she could get some rest. She wasn’t having it though. The last thing I heard was her
emphatic, ‘hell no!’ and his long-suffering sigh before my eyes closed and I was out.

“Hey, Auntie Chloe.”

My brother’s voice broke into my dream and I blinked up at him from where I’d been asleep with my
head on Brandon’s chest. My brow furrowed in confusion and then the light popped on.

Jackson grinned at me and I grinned back, jumping up and wrapping my arms around him. He hugged
me tightly and I could hear the sob break free from him, buried in my hair. We held each other for a
moment, crying together, but they were the happiest tears that could be cried.

He pulled back and cradled my face in his hands, wiping away my tears. He then looked around and
spread his arms at all of us. “He’s here!” he hollered, his face jubilant.

Brandon and Luke both crashed into him and they all shared a hearty-back thumping hug before Emma
made her way to him and he hugged her carefully, smiling down into her beaming face.

“He’s so beautiful and perfect,” Jackson said. “You guys can come meet him in just a few minutes
because they’re cleaning them up and everything, but Allie wanted me to come tell you. I’m going
back in, but I’ll send someone out to get you guys in a minute, okay?”

He started to walk away but Emma stopped him. “Jackson…you’re not gonna give us any details?”
she said incredulously.

He just smile and walked off.

I bit my cheeks, trying not to laugh at her expression. Poor Luke just shook his head and looked to the
sky, probably asking for divine intervention.

Fifteen minutes later, we were introduced to Liam Joel Matthews, born at 4:32 a.m., weighing seven
pounds and eleven ounces, twenty-one inches long….

And he was perfect!

Chapter 17

“Why the hell did I agree to this?” I moaned, shoving another snoring dog off my chest.

He grumbled and chuffed before the snoring commenced once more. Two other snores sounded from
other parts of my bed and I wanted to cry. I was tangled up in the blankets, unable to move because
they were weighted down by sleeping canines, each of which had slept on top of me at one point or
another throughout the night.

I had Doug, DJ, and Grady at my house, watching them for a couple of days. I’d offered this because
Emma had gone into labor last night, and…I don’t know why I had Grady, too. Glutton for
punishment, I guess.

I’d offered to keep the boys for Luke and Emma when they’d called to say she was in labor because
no way in hell could Allie do it, and Emma’s going to have crazy amounts of family up at the hospital
with her. Allie was upset that she couldn’t be there, but she’d just give birth to Liam barely five days
ago. So last night when I went over to get Doug and DJ, Grady had been sitting with them on the front
porch and looked so sad when I’d put them in my car that I just took him, too.

I’d stopped over at Allie and Jacks’ house to grab his crate (and see the baby, of course), and really
didn’t even ask. I just took their dog.

Now here it was, almost three in the morning, and I couldn’t sleep without getting smothered by labs.

Brandon was at the hospital and so, for the first time in a while now, I was alone. Or, alone as I could
be with said smothering dogs.

My cell phone rang from the bedside table and I grappled for it, struggling against the covers and
dogs surrounding me so I could answer it. “Hello?” I said breathlessly, hoping I caught it before it
stopped.

“Chloe?” Brandon said quietly, almost reverently.

“Yeah,” I answered, just as softly.

“I’m holding my niece. She’s so beautiful…”

“Awww…” I sighed, my heart melting at the complete and utter devotion in his tone. “How is she,
how’s Emma? Everything good?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Emma’s a champ.” He paused and then continued conversationally, “I saw her
vagina. Walked in right as she started to push coming back from the cafeteria and, let’s just say that’s
a side of my sister-in-law I never wanted to see. All red and angry…”

“Brandon! She was giving birth, cut her some slack!” I cried.

“Huh? No, her face! Her face was all red and angry. Jesus, I didn’t stare at her vagina…what kind of
perv do you think I am?” he asked indignantly.

I sighed. “So, did they finally settle on a name?”

I could hear the smile in his voice as he said, “Yep. Her name is Everly Jane Crimshaw.”

“Jane?” I asked, my heart melting even more.

“Yeah. They chose Jane because Jan is Emma’s mom’s name, and well, because they wanted to name
her after you, too. She talked to Allie about it and they both agreed that it was fitting because you’ve

been such a great friend to them both. So, yeah. Everly Jane.”

Emotion clogged my throat and tears stung my eyes as I was hit again by the fact that I was so damned
lucky to have friends and family like them, people that opened their arms to me without hesitation. It
felt great.

I cleared my throat, realizing Brandon was waiting silently, patiently on the phone for me. “How
much did she weigh?”

He chuckled. “She’s a heavy weight. Weighed in at eight pounds, two ounces, bigger than Liam!
They’re about the same length, though.”

A tiny little mew sounded then, and Brandon cooed to the baby nestled in his arms. “Shh…let’s go
see your momma, ‘kay?” Then to me, “Chloe, I’m gonna take her back over to Emma and I need to
hang up. I’ll call you back in a little bit, okay? Are you okay there by yourself?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Give Emma and your brother hugs from me and tell them congratulations. I can’t wait
to meet her!”

“Alright, sunshine. I’ll call you later. Love you.”

He hung up before I could say anything more.

I laid back in the bed and sighed, glancing at the dogs who were…well, they weren’t sleeping
anymore. They were all three sitting up, staring at me like they were waiting for me to tell them what
Brandon said. So I did.

“She’s here, Doug, DJ…your furless sister is finally here.”

I laughed when their tails wagged and then Grady jumped from the end of the bed smack onto my
chest, knocking me down and licking my face exuberantly. I pushed him off and, realizing I probably
wasn’t going to get any sleep, asked if they wanted to go outside.

Immediately, three wiggling, bouncing bodies lurched off the bed and danced around me as I got up
and headed to the back porch to let them out. I stepped out the back door with them, standing on the
cement at the edge of the grass and watching them run around the yard like mad, marking everything
they could.

The wind blew and, even though it was summer now, this early in the morning there was a chill in the
air. I rubbed my arms briskly with my hands to help ward off the cold. I jumped, whirling to look at
Doug when he let out a low, menacing growl, his hackles rising as he stared at the fence.

It was dark and it was a six-foot privacy fence, so I couldn’t really see anything; but that didn’t
matter. Fear skittered up my spine as DJ and Grady, even as young as they were, turned and crept
toward Doug, their hackles raised and twin growls emanating from their throats as they joined him
watching the fence. I took that as my cue, not waiting for anything else to happen. I could feel the
wrongness sweeping through the air, my instincts screaming that someone was out there and the dogs
had alerted me to their presence. Shivers raced down my body as I turned and fled into the house,
calling the dogs sharply to me as I ran.

They followed immediately, the pups just a bit quicker than Doug, who gave one last, warning growl
and a sharp bark before he came in. I locked the door to the screened-in porch, then double bolted the
door to the inside of the house before resetting the alarm that I’d disarmed to let the dogs out.

Back in the safety of the house, I made my way through every room, checking the doors and windows

to make sure each and every one was secured. Doug followed closely at my heels, but the pups sat
stoically on the couch, side by side, their heads tracking Doug and I as we came and went through the
room.

Finished with that, I headed back into the living room and carefully hooked my finger into the blinds,
moving one slat down just enough to peek outside. The street was empty, no movement anywhere. The
dew on the grass glistened in the street lights, but beside that, there was nothing to see. Then, my
breath caught as something moved in the darkness by the neighbor’s garage. I let it loose on a shaky
laugh as a cat trotted out of the shadows and meandered down the driveway and onto the sidewalk
before disappearing into the night.

The dogs had all settled completely by this point, so I padded back to my bedroom and climbed into
bed to try and get whatever little amount of sleep I could. This time I was grateful to have the three
dogs cuddling close to me, no matter that I barely had any room on the mattress and couldn’t move
once more. Finally, I drifted off to sleep curled on my side, Doug lying against my back with his head
on my pillow, Grady curled into my stomach with his head on my side, and DJ curled up behind my
knees.

Sunlight filtered around the curtains when I cracked my eyes open, yawning and stretching as I tried to
wake up. I sat up when I realized I could move freely in my bed, my eyes darting around the room,
searching for the dogs. When I didn’t see them, I rolled out of bed and strode from the room to figure
out where they were.

I skidded to a halt in the living room when I noticed Brandon asleep on the couch on his back. He
looked super uncomfortable, not only because he’s too long for the couch, but because Doug was
sprawled out on top of him. The other two dogs were sleeping on the other furniture; one on the
armchair, and one on the loveseat. Their tails wagged lazily as I shook my head at them.

I let Brandon sleep, but to do that, I had to leave Doug where he was. I was afraid if I tried to get him
down, his paws would hit some…vital areas, and for sure wake him up. I glanced at the clock on the
microwave in the kitchen as I made myself a cup of coffee, surprised to see that it was almost noon. I
was curious as to what time Brandon had gotten home, and why he hadn’t come to bed.

A muffled curse broke the silence of the house as I stood looking out the kitchen window while I
drank my coffee. I sat my cup down and moved into the living room, giggling when I saw Brandon
trying to struggle out from under Doug’s pretty significant weight. His struggles excited the pups, so
they were jumping back and forth along the couch on the floor, and every time they got within licking
range, their tongues darted out and swiped whatever part of Brandon they could get.

I finally called them off when Brandon gave me an evil look, laughing as the three of them pranced off
into the kitchen, I’m assuming to empty the bowls I’d just filled for them.

“So nice of you to help me,” Brandon said wryly as he sat up.

He stretched and I was distracted by the tanned expanse of gloriously hardened flesh showing where
his shirt had ridden up. I could see his muscles working under there, tensing and flexing as he moved
around.

His sleep-roughened voice reached my ears. “There you go staring again, baby. Need to get that
camera out soon.”

I flushed. “Smart ass,” I mumbled, looking away from his smirk.

He got up and moved away from the couch, stopping at my side to enfold me in his arms. He tipped
my head up and kissed my lips briefly before he headed off down the hall, nonchalantly scratching his
ass as he went.

I rolled my eyes. Typical male.

He came back into the living room, holding out his phone. He waved it at me when I didn’t take it
right away. “Thought you might want to see a picture of Everly.”

“Oooh! I do!” I snatched the phone from his hands and thumbed through the photos. “She’s so freakin’
adorable…” I sighed, smiling at a beautiful picture of Luke sitting beside Emma, his arm around her
as she held the baby. They made such a gorgeous, happy little family.

“I talked to Jackson and he said that we can bring Grady back home and see Liam for a bit before we
head to hospital to see Everly again. It blows my fucking mind that we have two babies in the family
now. How does that even happen?”

Brandon’s face was bewildered. I knew what he meant, but I couldn’t help but tease him. “Well, you
see, there’s a daddy and a mommy; the daddy puts his penis in the mommy and his spermies come out
and mix with the mommy’s egg, so the baby is then planted in the mommy. It just so happened that
TWO mommies and daddies got down in Sexy Town around the same time, and so the babies were
born very close together.”

“Is that how it happens?” he said sarcastically when I was finished.

I nodded, definitely being a smart ass.

He lunged at me, catching me around the waist and flinging me over his shoulder. I squealed with
laughter and shouted as he smacked my ass, as usual. “Since you want to be such a smart ass this
morning…” His words cut off as he jiggled me on his shoulder.

“Oh, yeah? And just what are you gonna do to me, ya big, bad meanie?” I goaded.

“You’re asking for it, sunshine,” he growled.

“You going to punish me?” I asked, my tone lowering mischievously.

He chuckled, palming my rounded ass cheek and squeezing it roughly before smacking it again. “Not
right now, I’m not. But I won’t forget you egging me on like this, woman. Just wait til tonight.”

He carried me into the bedroom, set me on my feet, and gave me a gentle push toward the bathroom.
“Shower, now!”

I saluted him smartly and dashed into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind me when his eyes
narrowed and he took a menacing step in my direction.

A little while later, Grady was safely back with Allie and Jackson, I’d had ample cuddle time with
the cutest little nephew in the world, and we were on our way to the hospital with a huge pink teddy
bear and a bouquet of flowers in tow.

I eyed the bear as we crammed into the elevator, shaking my head in exasperation at Brandon. “You
could have left that at their house, you know.”

He hugged it tighter to his side. “Nope. I wanted her to have it now.”

“Brandon, that thing is huge! It’s going to take up half of Emma’s room.”

He didn’t reply, just shifted it so that the leg of the thing nearly knocked me backwards. I glared at

him and he just shrugged, but I could see the sly smile playing about his lips.

I walked into Emma’s room to see her sitting up in the bed, nursing the baby. Luke was passed out on
the sofa along the window, snoring lightly.

“Hey!” she said brightly. “I’m so glad you came…I felt so bad last night that you weren’t here with
everyone, but I really appreciate you taking care of the dogs for us.”

I smiled and hugged her, careful not to jostle the baby sucking greedily at her breast. “Don’t worry
about it. It’s not a big deal and I’m here now, so…God, Emma, she’s so gorgeous!” I breathed,
running a finger lightly down her soft little cheek.

“She is, isn’t she?” Emma beamed with pride, and then her eyes blinked owlishly as she took in the
ginormous bear Brandon was holding. “Where the hell are you gonna put that?” she asked him.

“It’s for Everly, so hush,” he replied affectionately, walking over and kissing Emma’s forehead and
then the top of the baby’s head.

“Get your lips away from my woman, perv,” a groggy voice called from the other side of the room.

Brandon, checking to make sure he wouldn’t hit anything or anyone else in the process, chucked the
huge bear at his brother, who’d just sat up and was rubbing his eyes. Emma rolled her eyes and we
shook our heads.

“Boys,” she said, “They never grow up.”

I nodded and laughed when Luke glared at Brandon and then got up and punched him in the shoulder. I
guess some things never change, even when you’re grown.

Emma shifted in the bed, pulling the now sleeping baby away from her chest and pulling her gown
back up over her shoulder. She swaddled the infant tighter and held her out to me, asking silently if I
wanted to hold her.

I grinned, excited to hold the little bundle. I took her gently and cradled her in my arms as I walked to
the rocking chair in the corner. I rocked and cooed to her as she slept peacefully in my arms.

“So how happy are Jan and Ben, Emma?” I asked as I stared down at the baby, watching her with the
same awe I knew I did when I held Liam, too.

Emma groaned a little, but then laughed. “They are driving me nuts already, saying they get dibs on
first overnight stay and they’re planning it for six weeks from now. Daisy gave them the idea when
Allie had Liam; said that if they keep the baby that night, it’ll be okay for Allie and Jacks to get busy
and give them another grandchild. Mom and Daisy both are caught up in baby fever…” she cocked
her head and eyed Brandon with a smirk. “Don’t think you’re home free, either, buddy. Chloe’s mom
was right there with them and she’s got two of them to work on!”

She cackled with glee and I could see Brandon’s throat work as he swallowed hard before looking at
me, worry clouding his gaze. My heart sank but I shook my head slightly at him, telling him it wasn’t
the time, just to let it go. No one but he and I knew what the result of the damage was. Not even my
mom.

Brandon walked over to me and took the baby from my arms. My stomach clenched at the sight of him
holding the tiny little girl in his hands, but I pushed it away. I glanced sideways and noticed Luke
looking at me.

The shrewdness in his eyes was not lost on me; in that moment, I knew that he’d put two and two

together. The corner of my mouth tipped up in a wry smile, which he returned, nodding his head
slightly to let me know he understood. He’s a good guy like that.

“So, Brandon told me he saw your vagina.”

I clapped a hand over my mouth as my face flushed. I closed my eyes, mortified that that was what
had come out of my mouth to break the silence around me. Open mouth-insert foot. Geez Louise.

All three of them burst out laughing, Brandon’s guffaw so loud it startled the baby still sleeping in his
arms. She let out a wail that sounded like a little wildcat and Brandon looked at her, shame at scaring
her marring his features. Luke just laughed again and took his daughter from Brandon, cradling her
close to his chest and kissing her perfect little bow-shaped lips and her rosy little cheeks.

We stayed and visited with the happy little family a while longer before Brandon said he wanted to
go check in at the shop with T.J. to see how things were going. T.J. had been a lifesaver the past
week, taking over the shop and running it almost as if Luke and Brandon had been there the whole
time.

Both Brandon and Luke had commented on how impressed they were by their strong, silent new
friend. In a short amount of time, they’d come to trust him implicitly, and he’d become one of us, part
of the group. In the back of my mind, though, the thought still floats around that he’s got a story, that
one, and I’d love to figure it out.

We left the hospital and Brandon dropped me off at my brother’s house to spend some time with them
while he checked in on the shop. I let myself in with the key they’d given me a while back, hurrying to
the alarm pad to key in the code so the alarm wouldn’t go off. The house was strangely silent.

I walked into the living room and bit my lip to keep from laughing at the sight. Grady was lying on the
floor beside the bassinet where the baby was sleeping, his tail thumping softly on the rug, but he
didn’t get up to greet me. My mom was curled up in the chair beside the bassinet, reading a book on
her Kindle and shushing me quietly with a finger to her lips. Jackson and Allie were on opposite
ends of the couch, each sprawled out and sleeping like the dead, mouths open, snoring…it wasn’t
pretty.

My mom sat her kindle down and motioned me into the kitchen with her, so we could talk quietly. We
chatted for a while, mostly about the babies, until my phone chimed in my pocket. It was Brandon,
letting me know he was getting ready to leave the shop to come get me. I texted him back to let him
know that everyone was sleeping and agreed to meet him outside.

Half an hour later, I was standing in my kitchen, trying to make sense of the chaos…

Brandon was no help whatsoever. He was standing there laughing uncontrollably.

My eyes shot daggers as I glared in his direction, my palm itching to smack the grin off his face. I
don’t think I would have been so upset, but this was my coffee we were talking about, here…my
COFFEE!

Every single K-Cup I owned, that I pop into my Keurig every morning to make sure I have the
necessary caffeine in my veins, was strewn across the kitchen floor. And every single one of them had
puncture holes in the tops and sides. Little puncture holes that matched up perfectly to the pearly
white canine teeth currently staring at me from the mouth of the blonde puppy sitting across the room,
smirking at me. Of course, those pearly whites were suspiciously decorated with tiny black dots,
which were identical to the coffee grounds peppering my floor from where they’d been shaken free.

Doug was nowhere to be found, I’m assuming to make sure the blame was placed directly on the
coffee murderer in front of me. Nothing else was disturbed, not the soap, not my shoes, not anything
else.

Just my coffee.

Oy.

Chapter 18

I paused in my efforts to rid my flower beds of weeds, wiping my forehead with the hem of my tank as
I looked around. Brandon was mowing the grass, shirtless, so of course I took a moment longer to
stare at the smorgasboard of hotness before my eyes. God, he was so hot…and holy mother of toe-
curling orgasms, the man had the stamina of a horse. The things he could do with those hands and that
mouth…

He caught my eye and shook his head, smiling at me knowingly, as he turned to make another swipe
through the grass. He disappeared beside the garage and I shook my head at my thoughts, smiling as I
started pulling weeds again.

It’d been a month since the babies were born and since everything had settled back to normal. Or at
least to the new normal, anyway.

We’d gotten word from the police that they had a lead on Greg out in Texas. Not sure what he would
be doing there, but good riddance. Mom had finally flown home, but she’d decided that she didn’t
want to be there when her kids and new grandbaby are here, so she planned to sell the house in
California and find something here in Phillus.

She still gets a kick out of the welcome sign every time she sees that it’s been painted over again.
Now the kids are getting creative; instead of just changing it to Phallus, they’ve started using phrases,
the latest being, ‘Phillus Up.’

Brandon keeps swearing that he’s going to come up with something good to change it to and go do it
himself. I just tell him that if he gets arrested and has to spend the night in jail, I’m not bailing his ass
out.

I shifted, leaning forward on my knees to reach a weed that was closer to the bush under the living
room window. A glint caught my eye and I moved closer to see what it was. As soon as the object
came into focus, I jerked back on a gasp, stumbled to my feet, and looked around fearfully, my heart
pounding out of my chest.

Brandon came back around the side of the house on the mower and, when he caught sight of me, he
turned it off and was at my side in an instant. “Chloe, what’s wrong? You’re white as a ghost, baby,
talk to me.”

“He’s been here,” I whispered, my eyes still darting around, scanning the houses around us.

Brandon grabbed me by the shoulders, shaking me gently until my eyes met his. “What do you mean,
he’s been here?”

I pointed to the bush. “Don’t touch it! We have to call the cops…he’s been here. He’s been watching
and he left me something to let me know it. The ring he gave me when he proposed…it’s hanging on
the branch there.”

Brandon moved closer to see and swore when he saw the diamond winking in the sunlight. “C’mon,”
he said brusquely, pulling me with him into the house. He strode directly to the counter where he’d
left his phone and grabbed it, wasting no time in dealing with the police. No, he went straight to a
detective and called Noah, Emma’s brother-in-law.

“Noah…not good at the moment, man. Listen, I need you to come over here. That fucking bastard has
been lurking around the house.” He listened for a minute, grunting and nodding in assent, I’m

assuming, to whatever Noah was saying. “Yup. Later.”

He shoved his phone in his pockets and turned to me. “He’s on his way out here. I’m gonna go put the
mower away and clean up the weeds you tossed, but you sit tight.” He kissed my lips briefly and went
outside, leaving me standing alone in the kitchen.

I leaned against the counter and put a hand to my head, realizing belatedly that it was shaking. I took a
deep breath and let it out, giving myself a pep talk. ‘Nothing is going to happen, Chloe. Brandon and
everybody, they’re all here for you and YOU aren’t that girl anymore. So calm the fuck down.’

I heard the door slam again and Brandon was back in front of me, pulling me into his arms so that my
cheek was pressed to his bare, sweaty chest. I really wouldn’t have minded it, in fact, it felt pretty
welcome to me, but he had bits of grass stuck all over him and those didn’t feel very nice sticking to
my face.

I pushed away a little to look up at him and he chuckled, brushing the grass off my face. “Sorry. I
forgot.”

I smiled faintly and shrugged it off. I opened my mouth to say something but didn’t get a chance as
someone pounded on the door. Brandon went to the door, checking to make sure it was Noah before
he opened it.

He clapped Noah on the shoulder as he came inside. “Thanks for coming so quick, man. You must
have run every light from the precinct to here.”

Noah chuckled. “It wasn’t too bad. I don’t get to run full out much, so I got to blow my car out a little
on the way.” He flashed a smile at me as he said it. “You alright, Chloe?”

I nodded. “I’m good. Just a little shook up.”

“Show me what you found, alright?”

I took him outside, Brandon hovering at my back the whole time. He took pictures of the ring where it
hung, the surrounding area, and then used tweezers to pull the ring from the branch and put it in a bag.

“You and I both know that this is going to come back with his prints on it, especially since you can ID
the ring as something you wore once. I’ll do what I can, standard procedure and all, but there’s not
much we can do with this unless we knew where he was. We’ve already been looking for him and
you’ve got the CPO against him, which he’s already broken.” Noah looked apologetic.

“It’s okay, Noah. I know that and completely understand. I just wish that he’d be found so I don’t have
to keep looking over my shoulder. I don’t know why I started feeling secure…I guess it was when
they said they’d had reports of him in Texas.” I shrugged again, feeling helpless about the whole
situation.

“Is this the first time you’ve been out here in a while?” Noah asked me.

“Since last weekend when we mowed and weed-eated. I didn’t get out here to pull weeds, though, so
I couldn’t tell you when he put that there.” I paused, a thought crystalizing in my mind. “You know,
that night that Emma went to the hospital when she was in labor with Everly, something happened that
night. I mean, not really something, but definitely something. I took the dogs outside after Brandon
called to tell me the baby was here. It was maybe, I don’t know, two or three a.m.? I could look on
my phone and tell you exactly if I needed to. Anyway, Doug and the pups were here and Doug started
acting weird, put his head down and growled at the fence, all the hair on his back up on end. The pups
did it, too.”

That got Brandon’s attention. “And you’re just mentioning this now?” he asked me incredulously.

“I’m sorry, but it kind of slipped my mind with all the babies and everything.” I turned back to Noah.
“I didn’t see anything. It was dark and the fence is six feet high, but…I don’t know. I had shivers go
down my spine when the dogs growled because they acted like they knew something was wrong. It
felt like something was wrong. I went in and locked everything down, set the alarm again, and
checked the windows to see if I saw anything or anyone, but there was nothing.”

Noah jerked his chin towards the backyard. “Show me where the dogs were going crazy.”

I took him through the house and the screened in patio, showing him where I was standing and then
where the dogs had been when they’d gone off. He checked around a bit and then asked to go around
the back of the fence. Brandon took him back there, but he asked me to stay where the dogs were so he
could line it up from the other side of the fence.

I heard their muffled footsteps on the backside of the fence and then the silence was broken by
Brandon.

“Mother fucker!”

I heard Noah’s voice but I couldn’t make out his words. Then I heard Brandon again.

“Chloe, come out here, please.”

I swallowed hard as a frisson of fear sent chills over my skin, even in the summer heat. I unlocked the
gate at the side of the house and rounded the fence to the back. The house butted up to a creek about
fifty feet back, and then there were a bunch of trees. The neighbors’ yards on either side of the house
weren’t fenced in, so there was easy access to the back of my property behind the fence.

“Yeah?” I asked them, trying to keep calm. My voice only shook a little, which I prided myself on.

“He was out here, baby,” Brandon said. His words came out on a growl and I could see that he was
trying to keep his anger in check.

I looked at Noah for confirmation, not that I really needed it. “He was?”

“He was, or someone was, at least. The grass back here is all trampled. You didn’t notice when you
mowed the last couple of times?” he asked.

Brandon answered. “No, she wouldn’t have because I mowed and I didn’t even pay attention. I
generally mow first and then weed-eat, and that close to the fence I’m usually more worried about not
running into it rather than anything else. Damnit!”

“Hey, it’s okay, man. You didn’t know. But it looks like the grass is freshly crushed, like he’s been
here recently. And that’s not all.” He knelt and pulled up a small square of paper that was half buried
in the grass.

He glanced at me with a worried look, waiting for me to nod at him before he continued. “I’m getting
tired of waiting. Let the games begin. I spy with my little eye…something red.” He looked up at me,
eyebrows raised in question. “Does that make any sense to you?”

“No…I don’t know what he means, unless…I don’t know. Maybe I was wearing a red shirt that night
I was standing out here? Or since then, maybe?” I threw my hands up in frustration. “I just want this to
be over! Why the hell did they let him out on probation anyway?”

Brandon grabbed me and hugged me to his chest, murmuring soothingly to me. Noah reached out and
patted my shoulder.

“We’ll figure it out, Chloe. Somehow.” Noah sounded sure, but I could hear the worry behind it. “I’m
gonna take this with me and write it all up. I’m also gonna have patrols stepped up around this area,
especially around your house. If I can swing it, too, I’m gonna get tech out here to install some hidden
cameras behind the fence to see if we can catch him back here, or at least to see where he’s coming
from. Okay?”

Brandon and I both nodded.

We made our way around front and said our goodbyes, Noah promising to get back with us and let us
know something as soon as he could.

We weren’t sure what he could let us know about, other than whether or not they were going to do the
cameras. He pulled away and left us standing in the driveway. Brandon grabbed my arm and pulled
me into the house, locking the door and setting the alarm behind us.

I slouched into the armchair and pulled my legs up, hugging my knees to my chest as I watched
Brandon pace back and forth in front of me. He kept rubbing the back of his head with his hand over
and over again which, if I didn’t already know that was his tell, would have let me know he was
extremely agitated.

He stopped suddenly, his gaze zeroing in on me and I could see the wheels turning in his mind. He
confirmed it when he said, “What if we go away?”

“What?” I asked him, confused.

“You and I could just go away for a couple of weeks.”

He said it decisively, nodding his head like it was a done deal. I shook my head ‘no’ at him. He
quirked a brow at me and frowned.

“What do you mean no?”

“I mean no because I’m not running from him. I want him caught. He’s here, he’s going to come back
around, obviously, because he’s trying to rattle me. He wants to catch me off guard so he can get me
back, even though it’s never going to happen. But that means, if I’m here, he’s accessible. I’m not
here, he’s not here. No one knows where he’d be. Get me?” I asked it gently.

He nodded, though he didn’t look happy. “I get it. Fuck, Chloe, I just feel like I’m doing a shit job
protecting you. Christ, he was here at the house, all over the fucking yard and I had no fucking clue!”
He was pacing again, opening and closing his fists.

I beckoned him to me, moving my legs out of the chair to make room as he dropped to his knees in
front of me. I wrapped them around his waist lightly as he leaned his head into my stomach, one of my
hands moving to cradle the back of his neck, the other smoothing over the wide expanse of his
shoulders. I felt his arms shift and, suddenly, they were sliding around me, holding me tight.

I held him like that for a while, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Finally, he moved and leaned up
for a kiss, then gained his feet, holding a hand out to pull me up, too.

“It’s still early on a Saturday and, since you won’t run off with me,” he paused, giving me a playful
grin, “let’s go do something fun. No point in just sitting here wondering if he’s out there. Noah has our
numbers, so if they need us, they’ll get us. Whaddya say?”

I nodded, grinning back at him, wondering for the millionth time how I got so lucky.

Chapter 19

“Brandon…this is not what I meant when I agreed to go have fun with you,” I said nervously,
shuffling my feet and trying my hardest not to look over the edge of the platform I was standing on.

Calland, who I’m still not sure I’m speaking to at the moment, spoke up behind me. “Come on, Chloe.
Live a little! It’ll be fine, I promise!”

I glanced over at him and my heart seized as I saw just how close he was to the edge, peering over
almost carelessly.

“I didn’t realize you were afraid of heights, sunshine.” Brandon’s voice rasped in my ear, his lips
brushing the outer shell and making me shiver even through my fear.

I squeezed my eyes shut. “It’s not that I’m afraid of heights, per se…it’s more like I’m not fond of
jumping off a platform high in the air and dangling from a wire as I speed over treetops that would be
more than happy to break every bone in my body if I fell.”

I heard a snigger behind me and peeked through my lashes to see the guide shaking his head as he
tried to cover his laughter with his hand. I opened my eyes to glare at him, huffing when he finally
gave up all pretense and grinned at me unabashedly.

“Man, Luke, Jacks, and Allie are gonna be pissed that we did this without them,” Calland hooted,
rubbing his hands together gleefully while the guide motioned for him to step into the harness he was
holding.

“Not Emma?” I asked, curious about the answer, though really I was only asking to take my mind off
of what was about to happen.

It was kind of a blur, the whole trip here, because I was too busy trying to come up with a way to
change his mind. We hadn’t figured out what we were doing yet when we stopped at the gas station to
get gas in Brandon’s truck, and ‘lo and behold, there was Calland, walking out with a huge fountain
pop and three hot dogs stacked on top of each other in his hands.

“Hey!” He’d hollered, walking over to us. “What are you guys up to today?”

“Trying to figure something fun out. What about you? Other than stuffing your face with hot dogs…”

Calland sat his pop down on the bumper of Brandon’s truck, grabbed the top dog, and took a huge
bite. Thankfully, he chewed and swallowed before he answered. “My buddies were talking about this
zip lining thing down in Hocking Hills that they did. I was thinking about heading down that way,
meeting up with them. You guys wanna check that out?”

“Zip lining?” Brandon repeated. “Huh.” He looked at me speculatively.

I shook my head, already knowing what was coming.

“Don’t they have that SuperZip thing now? The one that you actually are in a sling thing and fly like
you’re Superman or something?” Brandon asked Calland.

“Hell yeah, they do! I wanted to try that but I also wanted to do their twilight tour or even the night
flight thing. You actually go zip lining in the dark.”

I was still shaking my head, but, apparently, my vote didn’t count. And that’s how I came to be
standing on a platform, being strapped into a helmet and a harness. I tried and tried to resist, to tell
them that I’d just wait at the truck until they got done, but…it didn’t get me anywhere.

Okay, so it did…just not where I wanted to be.

“Alright, man. You’re ready,” the guide said, motioning Calland to step up to the line. He clipped his
harness onto the safety line and showed him the hand brake again, giving him last minute instructions.

Calland grinned at each of us and then was off with a whoop, soaring down the line over the trees.

I looked over at Brandon who was grinning like a kid in a candy store as he watched Calland. Once
Calland had landed safely on the platform at the end of the line, the guide turned to me. “You’re up.”

“Me?” I croaked. “No, Brandon can go first.”

The guide shook his head, smiling. “Nope, we’re sending you first. Remember the class we had
before we even came up here?”

I nodded slowly, my stomach clenching as anxiety washed over me.

“Well, just keep that in mind. You’ve got this, and I promise, you’re going to have a blast.”

I gulped, watching and listening intently as he gave me the run down and then…it was time. I took a
deep breath and stepped off, not wanting to disappoint Brandon by backing out. I knew, even though
he pushed me to do this, got me up here, that he wouldn’t force me to do it if I absolutely didn’t want
to.

My stomach dropped as I took off and then--then exhilaration took over as the wind ruffled my hair
and I looked around at the scenery stretched out before me, the trees under me…it was amazing!

When the tour was finally done and we were all safely back on the ground, we headed home. We
dropped Calland off at his apartment, where we’d met him before we left, grabbed some dinner at a
late night fast food place, and cuddled up on the couch to watch a movie while we ate.

I yawned halfway through the movie and Brandon pulled my head down on his chest, running his
fingers through my hair, smoothing the silky strands down my back. He shifted us so that I was lying
on top of him while he stretched out on the couch. He kept playing with my hair and caressing my skin
with light, soothing touches.

I realized that he wasn’t watching the movie at all; instead, his eyes were on me, roving my face like
he was memorizing every inch of it. I propped my chin up on his chest and looked back at him.

“Take a picture…it lasts longer. Or so I’m told.”

A slow grin grew on his lips. “Turning my words around on me, huh?”

“Maybe.”

His smile faded as he reached up and pushed a tendril of hair back that had fallen across my forehead
before drawing his finger gently down my cheek. “You’re beautiful, you know that?”

“Hmm,” I said noncommittally.

“It’s been a crazy fucking ride, hasn’t it?” he asked, still brushing his fingers down my cheek. “Who
would’ve thought that the blonde hair brat that followed us around would one day be lying in my arms
like this.”

“It is kinda crazy, isn’t it.” It wasn’t a question. We both knew it was. “Do you regret anything?” I
asked him, hesitantly.

His brows drew together. “No, sunshine. I don’t. Do you?”

I shook my head. “No. I really don’t. I probably should…”

“We’ve been through this, Chloe. It’s okay for us to be happy. And we are happy. Right?”

I nodded this time, giving him a half-smile that he returned as he ran his thumb over my lips before he
leaned up and brushed his lips over mine.

“You ready for bed?” he asked me when he pulled back, winking.

I rolled off him and stood, tapping my foot pseudo-impatiently. He chuckled and got to his feet,
swatting my ass as he walked by me towards the bedroom, turning off lights as he went.

I ran after him, jumping up on his back and wrapping my arms and legs around him. He caught me
effortlessly, carrying me into the room before turning and tossing me backwards on the bed. I
scrambled up to lean against the headboard, wagging my finger at him when he put a knee on the bed.

He stopped, giving me a quizzical look.

“Strip.”

One dark eyebrow rose, but he didn’t say anything. He moved back and turned to my iPod where it
was sitting on the shelf. He grabbed it up and docked it, thumbing through my playlists until he found
something he liked and hit play. Immediately the strains of Bump & Grind by R. Kelly filled the air.

I grinned as he spun around to face me again, thrusting his hips forward suggestively and swaying
from side to side with the beat of the music. I expected him to balk, or to turn it into a joke, but holy
sex-on-a-stick, the man had moves and he wasn’t playing.

He moved his hands up and grabbed the bottom of his t-shirt, sliding it up his delicious abs, pulling it
up over his head and tossing it at me on the bed. He ran his hands down over his chest and stomach,
reaching for the snap of his jeans, the ridge of him clearly visible as it stretched the unforgiving
denim.

The button popped free and he lowered the zipper slowly while he arched and rolled his hips,
dipping and thrusting, making all of those lovely muscles of his dance under his golden skin, the
swirls and angles of his tattoos creating a mesmerizing tableau in front of me. With his zipper finally
opened, he reached in and carefully adjusted himself. Lust hit deep, curling in my belly at the sight of
the long, thick, rock hard shaft framed in the vee of denim.

“No underwear? You bad, bad boy…” I purred, not taking my eyes off of him.

He hooked his thumbs in his waistband and began to really move as he slid his jeans down sinfully
slow, baring inch after inch of his delectable skin. He kicked his jeans off, leaving his whole body
bare to my gaze. Heady tendrils of desire prickled over my skin at the hungry, predatory look in his
eyes.

I crooked my finger at him, urging him closer. He came toward me, still moving to the beat of the
music. He put a knee up on the bed and arched a brow at me again. I beckoned him once more, but he
only moved a tiny bit further onto the bed.

“Damnit, Brandon!” I cried. “Get your ass over here!”

He grinned and moved fully onto the bed, stretching out beside me without touching. I reached my
hand out to skim it over his chest but stopped when he shifted away.

“Ah-ah-ah,” he said, teasingly. “Your turn.”

I blinked at him. He blinked back. I shook my head no, telling him wordlessly that I wasn’t giving him
a strip tease. He nodded yes and a smile bloomed on his succulent lips. I smiled back and shook my

head no again, which only made him shrug and tuck his hands behind his head, crossing his legs at the
ankle.

I scowled at him. If my blood wasn’t already heated by his strip tease, I may have been able to
withstand the sight of his body laid out before me; might have let the impasse go on. But I couldn’t.
My fingers itched to explore every inch of his velvet-covered hardness, my lips yearned to kiss all the
hot spots I knew he possessed. More than that, my core was flooded with desire, aching with an
emptiness that was begging to be filled.

Still scowling, I slumped off the edge of the bed with a sigh, turning my back to Brandon. Just then,
the music changed and Gimme That Nutt by Easy E started blaring. I stopped and look back over my
shoulder at Brandon, giving him a wry grin. He was laughing, his shoulders shaking with mirth, and
then started singing along with the raunchy words.

I felt my cheeks flush, more from embarrassment that now he knew I had that song (and many other
older, not-fit-for-young-ears-songs) on my iPod than anything, and hurried over to change it. When
Ride by SoMo started, I turned back to see him still lying prone on the mattress, grin still locked
firmly in place. Figuring the time to play was over, I tossed my clothes off in a hurry and climbed
back onto the bed beside him.

“Hey, no fair!” he cried, starting to sit up. “You didn’t dance for me.”

I shoved him back down and leaned over him, aiming my lips for his. Just before they met in a searing
kiss, I muttered, “Get over it.”

He did. My questing kiss turned fevered and dark. Our teeth, lips, and tongues clashed, pressing,
biting, licking at each other’s mouths, both of us moaning at the sensations. Deepening the kiss even
more, I moved, covering his body with mine, drawing a ragged cry from my lips when my skin met
his.

I straddled his hips, my chest pressed to his, my wet heat sliding against the perfect length of him,
coating his hardness with the evidence of my desire. His hands came up, one wrapping itself in my
hair and giving a sharp tug, baring my throat to his teeth, the other sliding down to clutch at my hip,
holding me still as he thrust against me.

Unable to bear the ache in my loins any longer, I slid forward, arched up, and impaled myself on his
jutting length. A hiss sounded from his lips, then he groaned, his hand abandoning my hair to use both
to clench on my hips almost bruisingly, as I started riding him wildly, the fast, pounding rhythm
leaving us both breathless.

I sat up, taking him that much deeper inside, and arched my back, my hands finding purchase on his
thighs behind me. I rested my weight on my knees and braced myself on my hands, using my hips to
pump up and down on his shaft, swiveling my hips as I did.

“Jesus, that’s good,” Brandon panted, arching his hips up to meet my downward thrusts.

One of his hands left my hip, sliding over to splay on my lower stomach, his thumb finding my clit
unerringly. He pressed hard on the nub and, like he’d pushed a detonator button, I went off, coming
hard around him. I could feel my inner muscles contracting, pulsing around the swollen, heavy length
pressing against every silken inch of my core, milking him uncontrollably as I bucked and screamed
out my explosive release.

“Yeah baby, that’s it…come on me, sunshine,” he growled, rubbing my clit in shallow circles, faster

and faster. The sensations built, layer upon layer, so quickly I couldn’t catch my breath before I went
over the edge again. This time, though, his fingers left my sensitive nub and gripped my hip once
more. He rode out the spasms of my body, thrusting up into my body with barely controlled, almost
violent thrusts. Each heavy slap of his skin against mine, the soft sucking noises of his body slipping
in and out of mine, all worked together to create a sweet cacophony of pure, white hot pleasure that
blended perfectly with the rough grunts torn from Brandon’s throat as he pounded into me.

Finally, with one last, forceful thrust upward, he buried himself deep, pulling me roughly down onto
him so that I was fully and completely impaled as he groaned out his release. The hardness of him
swelled impossibly larger as he spurted deep inside me, each forceful jet of his seed flooding me
with warmth. I ground against him, wringing every last drop from him and riding out the last lingering
vestiges of my own orgasm, my body shuddering on top of his.

Body spent, I collapsed on top of him and his arms came up to enfold me. He smoothed his hands
down my back soothingly as we fought to catch our breath, and as we laid there, melded together, he
whispered softly in my ear, “I’m pretty sure you’re my everything, sunshine.”

Chapter 20

The bell chimed above the door at the shop and I hollered out, “Hey! Welcome to Skin Deep, I’ll be
right with you!” I laid the box of supplies I was unloading on the table in the supply room and hurried
out to help the customer who’d come in.

Brandon was in the back with a client, working on a back piece. This was the fourth and final session
but it was absolutely breath-taking and the client had been raving about how much he loved it, even
though it wasn’t finished. It took up his entire back and was very detailed, but very simplistic at the
same time.

Luke had gone home early to take Emma and Everly to the baby’s doctor appointment. She was due to
have shots today and, after Allie’s unintelligible phone call to Emma after Liam’s appointment last
week, Luke wasn’t letting Emma take her on her own. He said that Allie had been crying so hard
about the fact that Liam had screamed when he got his shots, and that Jackson had to practically carry
both the baby and Allie out of the office because she was crying so hard right along with him. I’m
assuming he gathered that much from Jackson on a separate call.

It’d been three weeks since the “incident” as we referred to it. We’d still not heard anything from
Noah, other than the fact that everything did point right to Greg, because there’d been nothing else to
report. But that didn’t mean that we weren’t still very careful…or that I felt like I didn’t have to look
over my shoulder every five seconds if I was alone for just one minute.

The nightmare I had last night still lingered in my mind if I stopped to think for just a moment, so I’d
been trying to stay busy all day. Brandon had helped, giving me tasks that he and Luke usually did just
to keep me occupied. Not to mention the way he’d taken my mind off of it last night…

I walked around the corner and stopped behind the counter, the smile dropping from my face
immediately as my nightmare came to life.

Standing before me, nonchalantly, like he had not a care in the world, was Greg. He leaned on the
counter and smiled at me. It wasn’t the menacing smile that haunted me; this was his All-American
Boy smile that reeled me in to begin with.

“Hey, sweetie! How’ve you been?” he said, brightly.

My vocal chords were frozen, and so was my body. I could only blink rapidly as I stared at him,
terror rippling over every inch of me.

The smile turned down and, not quite frowning but close, he asked, “Aren’t you glad to see me? I’ve
missed you so much, you know.”

The silence was deafening as I stared at him. It was only broken by the very faint buzzing of
Brandon’s machine back in his studio. I was hoping that Greg would hear it and realize that I wasn’t
alone. Maybe he would leave…

He shifted, leaning forward on the counter. “You ready to come home now?”

Pulse pounding, I finally found my voice. “You need to leave.”

He cocked his head and raised his eyebrows. “Well, that’s not very friendly of you, Chloe. I thought
after all this time you’d be happy to see me, to get back to the way things were. I forgive you, you
know. For throwing me in jail like I’d really done something wrong.”

A harsh laugh escaped my throat. “You practically cut my child from my body, Greg. You DID do
something wrong! I don’t know how you got out, but you need to leave now.” Calling up false
bravado, I straightened to my full (though not really threatening) height. “The cops are on their way.”

He chuckled. “Nice try, sunshine,” he said mockingly.

I gasped at the usage of my nickname from Brandon.

Greg’s face crumpled, the rage I was so much more familiar with working its way to the surface.

“You think I don’t know about your little fling with the pretty boy? Huh?” He snarled, his fingers
gripping the edge of the counter hard enough that the sturdy wood groaned. “You think I don’t know
that you’ve been letting him stick his Goddamned dick all up in your fuckin’ cunt? You’re a whore!”

He roared the last bit and I cheered internally, knowing there was no way that Brandon didn’t hear
that. But I didn’t think of the consequences.

I didn’t think of the fact that Brandon would see red and come charging around the corner, past the
counter full-tilt and tackle Greg to the ground. I didn’t think of the fact that Greg could have been
armed.

I didn’t think that Brandon could get hurt…until I saw the gun.

I heard the blast and saw Brandon flinch; I heard Greg yelling as he shoved Brandon off of him. I saw
the blood bloom on Brandon’s arm and I was fleetingly grateful to see it coming from the fleshy part
of his shoulder, seeming more like a graze than anything. But then dread settled in the pit of my
stomach as I saw Greg jump to his feet and level the gun at Brandon’s head where he was moving to
get up.

Brandon froze, his eyes trained on Greg, watching every move. I’d come around the counter, moving
instinctively toward them, to try to break them apart or something…I wasn’t sure. Now, from my
position, I could see the client Brandon had in his studio peering around the corner. He motioned
carefully, staying hidden as much as possible, to let me know that he’d called the cops.

Hope rose in my chest but I choked it down, refusing to let it show on my face. Brandon held his
hands up, flinching as the muscle in his arm pulled at his wound, which was steadily oozing blood,
the drops of bright red splattering on the floor in a gruesome masterpiece of horror.

Greg, without taking his eyes off of Brandon, barked, “Chloe. With me. Now.”

Tears welled up in my eyes and spilled down my cheeks. The helplessness of the situation was killing
me. There was no way I was risking Brandon’s life by refusing, but I could see him shaking his head
at me, pleading silently for me not to move.

I took a shaky step toward Greg, watching the anger and fear grow on Brandon’s face. I could feel his
desperation, knew that he was berating himself for attacking Greg without thinking, without assessing
the situation.

Suddenly, Brandon’s client stepped out, holding the phone out in front of him. “I called the cops.
They’re on the way but you have time to leave. Just leave her alone and get the hell out of here, man.”

I saw the color leech from Greg’s face as he realized that there was someone else there. His hand
holding the gun wavered briefly and I saw Brandon tense, readying himself to make a move. Greg
saw it too, though, and shook his head at him.

“Don’t fucking do it. You’ll regret it, I promise you. I’ll put a bullet in your brain faster than you can

blink, mother fucker.” He motioned with the gun. “Crawl over there by Mr. Hero who called the cops.
Don’t do anything funny or you’ll fucking regret it. Before I shoot you, I’ll put a bullet straight through
blondie’s eye socket just to prove that you’ll have her over her dead body.”

Brandon’s gaze flickered back and forth between me and Greg and I pleaded with him with my eyes
to please not do anything stupid. After what seemed like an eternity, Brandon finally moved, carefully
sliding himself along the floor awkwardly to avoid jarring his injured arm. Greg followed his every
move with the gun, his gaze never wavering. He’d apparently already assessed Brian, Brandon’s
client, and discounted him as a threat beyond the use of his cell phone.

When Brandon had moved far enough away to satisfy Greg, he stepped forward and dug the fingers of
his free hand into my upper arm, jerking me into his side. As soon as I was pressed against him, his
arm moved, wrapping around my throat and trapping me in the crook of his elbow, the sinew of his
forearm tightening against my windpipe threateningly. His other hand moved and then, horrifically, the
barrel of the gun was pressed firmly against the underside of my jaw, digging in painfully.

“NO!” Brandon shouted, unable to stay silent any longer. “Please, just let her go. I’ll go with you
instead, or you can just get out of here. Just leave and we’ll make sure you’re never found. Just leave
us alone, leave Chloe alone. Don’t do this…”

He was pleading and I hated it. I hated that I brought this to them, that this was my fault. I knew it as
certainly as I took my next breath, difficult though it was. But I also knew that I was going to do
everything in my power to make this disappear, even if it meant sacrificing myself, my happiness, to
do so.

Greg laughed, the sound grating on my ears. He jiggled me in his arms. “You hear that? He’s wanting
me to trade him for you. He’s such a dumbass, Chloe. What the fuck did you see in him?” His mouth
went slack and he said, mockingly in a high-pitched, whiny voice, “No, please Mr. Greg. Don’t hurt
my pansy ass, Mr. Greg. I wanna suck your dick, Mr. Greg!”

His face tightened with rage once more. “You’re a fucking disgrace you piece of shit! You don’t
deserve my Chloe and you damn sure will never touch her again, you fucking fuckwad!” he screamed.

I choked as his arm tightened even more on my windpipe, cutting off all air. I struggled in his arms,
seeing spots dance before my eyes. He jerked me around a bit, shaking me and yelling at me to knock
it off, though his arm did loosen just enough so I could breathe.

“Don’t do anything stupid, douchebag. We’re leaving before the cops get here, so say goodbye to your
precious sunshine,” he sneered.

He backed away from Brandon and Brian, pulling me along with him. We could hear sirens
screaming through the air at this point and I dragged my feet, hoping to buy some time, but it didn’t
help. He picked me up by my throat, uncaring that my fingers were clawing at his forearm locked
around my neck. He just jammed the gun deeper under my chin, effectively stilling me when it cocked,
the sound loud and echoing in my ear.

I stumbled along with him, my eyes never leaving Brandon, who was almost vibrating with rage and
helplessness as I was dragged further and further away from him. Greg hit the door with his back and
pushed it open. I could feel him tense, readying himself to turn and run in a bid to get away before
either of two things happened; 1. The cops showed up, or 2. Brandon managed to get up and make it
outside.

My feet dangled above the pavement as Greg lifted me by the throat again, running as fast as he could

to a nondescript, older model car pulled along the side of the building. He wrenched the door open
and released his arm, shoving me inside roughly. He turned the key, dropping the gun in his lap and
reaching for me as I fell across the console into the passenger seat, my hand automatically going to the
door handle.

He wrenched me up by my hair, jerking me back around as he threw the car into drive and punched
the gas, never relinquishing his hold on my hair. Tires squealed as he peeled out of the parking lot,
skidding sideways into the street. I was thrown into the door as the car fishtailed, my nails breaking
as I scrabbled for the door handle again, but never made contact as I was thrown back across the car
when the car shifted again.

I felt his hand release my hair and watched as he tossed a handful of golden strands into my lap. I
became aware of a dull, stinging sensation on my head, but pushed it away as I reached for the door
handle again. I grasped the cool medal in my hand and pulled desperately, a cry torn from my throat
when I realized it was doing nothing.

A low, evil laugh sounded beside me. “Like I was really gonna be stupid enough to give you a way
out. Stupid little cunt.”

I could hear the sirens of the police department, now following the erratic path of Greg’s driving.
Somehow, though, he managed to make it to the highway, merging onto I-70 like he was driving a
tank. I was jarred, thoroughly shook up, when he sideswiped a car in the right lane as he shot past it,
but he managed to keep control and floored it.

I cowered in the seat while I watched the speedometer climb, passing 65, flying by 75, shooting
straight to 90 in a flash. I eyed the gun, tucked just under his thigh on the seat. My fingers twitched and
I clenched them in my lap.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Greg said, his tone menacing. “Grab for this gun and I promise you,
I’ll break every single one of your fingers before I put you on your knees and shove my cock down
your throat. I remember how much you liked that.”

A police cruiser paced us, lights blazing, sirens wailing, but made no move to get up around us. Greg
huffed. “Goddamn asshole, fucking calling the cops. Now look what we have to deal with.” He
sighed and then, spying an exit, yelled, “Hold on!” as he wrenched the wheel to the right, laughing
maniacally as I screamed in terror.

Horns blared and tires squealed but we managed to barrel onto the exit ramp and down it without
hitting anyone or anyone hitting us. I closed my eyes and tried to block everything out, almost willing
the car to roll or something, anything to make it all stop. I didn’t care about my own safety anymore; I
just cared about stopping Greg once and for all.

We got to the bottom of the ramp and skidded sideways as Greg took a left; thankfully, there were no
cars around for the moment. He sped up and I opened my eyes to peek at where we were. I saw a park
coming up on the right and Greg must have, too.

“Oh, well. Guess this is where it’ll play out, won’t it, sweetheart?” he leered, glaring at me as he
wrenched the wheel of the car to the right and turned into the park at full speed.

The car fishtailed again and he lost control, spinning out, around and around and around, dirt and dust
and smoke billowing all around us until I couldn’t see. I braced myself as best I could, but it didn’t
help. I was thrown around the car, my head cracking against the side window hard enough that I saw
stars.

I moaned at the pain in my head, but there was nothing I could do about it at the moment. I was too
busy trying to keep myself from flying all around the car. With one last, shuddering crash, the car
came to rest, by the grace of God, on all four wheels, lodged up against the, thankfully, empty
playground. I heard more tires spinning and squealing, the sound of the sirens blaring all around us
making my head pound even worse. I could feel a sticky dampness trickling down my ear and neck,
and I knew then that I’d busted my head pretty good on the window.

I heard a low groan beside me and saw Greg shaking his head. He didn’t look like he was injured. I
glanced down, holding my breath when I saw that the gun was no longer tucked under his thigh.
Suddenly, a loudspeaker squawked and an officer called out, calling Greg by name and telling him to
exit the vehicle with his hands up.

“Mother fucker!” Greg shouted, punching the steering wheel. His eyes were wild, his breathing
erratic. “Goddamn it!” He jerked his head toward me and pinned me with a narrow stare. “You know,
you’re more fucking trouble than you’re worth. I should have just killed you the day I cut that bastard
outta you. Thought I did. And now look where it’s got me.”

“J-just let me go, Greg,” I stammered. “The car is surrounded by cops and you know they aren’t going
to just let you drive away.”

He snarled and his hand shot out, catching the side of my face with a vicious backhand. I bit my lips
hard enough to draw blood to keep from crying out. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. As I
slowly turned my head forward again, I saw him shift, reach behind his back and, to my chagrin,
pulled another gun from the waistband of his jeans, pointing it in my direction.

“Greg,” I pleaded. “Don’t do this.”

The cops were ramping up their demands, the bullhorn echoing in the stillness surrounding us. It was
like time had frozen; we were at a standoff and, at this point, I had no idea which way this would go.
Regardless, I knew that it probably wouldn’t end well.

He cocked the gun just as I caught the glint of metal out of the corner of my eye. The gun that had been
tucked under this leg was lying on the floor beside his foot, and he wasn’t paying any attention to it. In
that split second, I made a decision. It was reckless, but by the time I thought it all out, it was too late.

It was over.

I forced myself to go limp like I had passed out, flopping sideways toward Greg in the driver seat.
Caught off guard, the hand holding the gun jerked and I went deaf as the blast echoed around the
enclosed car when his finger tightened on the trigger. I heard glass shatter and chaos outside the
vehicle, but I tuned it out as I let my arm flop down, my finger brushing against and then closing over
the gun on the floorboard. Greg’s hand fisted in my hair, sending sharp pain over my scalp.

Before I could do anything, another shot rang out and Greg yelled in rage. I could hear the blood
rushing in my ears because all I could think is that I’d been shot. My whole body was numb with a
combination of shock and adrenaline. I could feel hot, wet tears coursing down my face as I sat up,
Greg’s fingers still tangled painfully in my hair. Without thinking, before the gun had even cleared the
seat completely, I pulled the trigger, blindly aiming for his lap, just wanting some kind of distraction
so I could get away.

Without waiting to see if I’d actually hit him, I wrenched my head out of his grasping fingers, my eyes
watering at the searing sting of hair being ripped free. I scrambled for the door, my fingers scrabbling
at the lock, finally pulling it up, but before I could open the door, it was pulled from my grasp. I

tumbled out of the car into the waiting arms of an officer, who rushed me away from the car and
straight into an ambulance.

It wasn’t until later that I realized it wasn’t tears running down my face. It was blood. And it wasn’t
mine.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. Just a fraction of my life that I will never, ever forget. Because I
shot Greg that day.

Because Greg died that day.

Chapter 21

“Chloe.”

I jerked my head around, snapped out of my reverie by the quiet by firm sound of my name being
called. From the tone, it was apparent that it wasn’t the first time, either.

“Yeah. Sorry,” I said, contrite. I slammed the flash book closed on the counter, where it’d been laid
out for the last client of the day.

“You ready?” Brandon asked.

I nodded and walked back into his studio, closing the door behind me. He gave me a second to change
into a strapless shirt, just for the sake of the shop more than modesty. I mean, seriously. We live
together, share a bed, and trust me…he’s seen me naked. Lots.

With a brisk knock, he peeked his head in and grinned, joking, “Damn! I missed the show!”

I heard grumbling behind him and laughed, knowing that Luke must have been passing by the door.

“Is it wrong that this has me a little excited?” Brandon quipped, coming fully into the studio. He left
the door open; it was after closing time on a Saturday night, so there was no one else coming in, we
were closed the next day, and Luke was getting ready to leave. T.J. had been really distant, almost
jumpy for a few days and then called that morning to say he had something to take care of and
wouldn’t be back for a couple weeks. Luke and Brandon were okay with him taking the time off, since
they’d cut him into the business like they’d talked about, but I don’t think he’d been asking.

It’d been forty-two days since that fateful day when Greg walked into the shop and tried to kidnap me.
Well, he did kidnap me, but…it wasn’t for long.

I’d ended up with six stitches in my head where it’d busted open against the window. Other than that,
I had some bruising and small scrapes and cuts, mostly from him hitting me or from me flying around
the car while he drove like a maniac.

They figured, from start to finish, the whole thing had taken about twenty minutes. I’d only been in the
car with him at the park, during the stand-off, for about five minutes. It seemed so much longer when I
was trapped in there. Turns out I hadn’t been shot; when I dropped down to reach for the gun, the wild
shot from Greg’s gun that shattered the windshield had also almost hit an officer standing outside his
car.

Since I was down and there was a clear shot, they’d fired back, hitting him in the chest, piercing his
heart. He was already dying when I shot him. They did say that my shot made sure he’d never have
kids if he’d survived; but I’d also nicked his femoral artery, so his survival wasn’t guaranteed, just by
my hand alone.

The investigation was over, I was free. I felt guilt over the fact that I shot him; but at the same time, I
was liberated by the fact that I would never have to watch over my shoulder again. Oddly enough, the
nightmares had stopped completely about two weeks after the incident. Things were back to normal…
well, as normal as could be with my group of family and friends.

I’d finally given in to Brandon and had been talking to a counselor about everything that happened. I’d
been able to let go of the guilt I had harbored all those years, all the blame…and all the hurt,
especially over what happened with my baby. Brandon had tattooed a small pink heart right above my
hip bone for me, just as a little reminder of that little heart that had grown inside me, however so

briefly.

But life was good.

And I was getting another tattoo.

“Well, you get excited about weird things, so no, I’d say it’s not wrong. At least not for you, anyway.”

He snorted and bent to kiss my lips sweetly. “Put your ass in my chair, woman!” he growled,
playfully smacking me on my ass.

I wiggled it at him and laughed as he shook his head in mock resignation.

“So fuckin’ sassy…” he grumbled, making me laugh even more as I got comfortable in his chair.
“Let’s do this,” he said, once I was settled. He pulled on rubber gloves with the whole ‘comedic
doctor’ routine, snapping them around his wrists and waggling his eyebrows.

I just rolled my eyes and watched as he got down to business. He applied the transfer that he’d drawn
up for me last week, checked to make sure it was placed correctly and evenly where I wanted it and
then had me double check. That done, he raised a brow at me questioningly, and at my nod, went to
work.

I bit my lip at the sharp sting of the needle as he plied it smoothly along my skin, beginning the
outline. I settled into the pain, breathing evenly and sitting completely still. He worked steadily, sure
in his movements; I loved watching him work.

About an hour later, he was done, the shop was cleaned up, we were on our way home, and I was the
proud owner of a new tattoo. It was beautiful; artful swirls of ink linking star-shaped flower blooms,
almost like the ones found on a cypress vine, that trailed down and over my shoulder.

“Want to stop at Griff’s for dinner?” he asked as we got closer to the bar and grill.

“Sure.”

We pulled in and went inside to grab a table. I don’t know how, maybe it’s providence or just good
luck but, like almost always, our usual table was open. I slid into the booth and Brandon followed me
in.

I looked over at him with a raised brow, surprised that he didn’t take the seat across from me. He
winked and nodded his head toward the door, where Leah and Ian were coming in. I grinned and
waved back at Leah, who was waving crazily at me from across the room. They made their way to the
booth and sat down.

“Hey! How’d you guys know we were here?” I asked Leah.

“Brandon called us earlier and asked if we wanted to meet for dinner. He said you were bitching that
you never got to see me anymore, so he figured he’d take matters into his own hands.”

I gasped, turning to scowl at Brandon who was shooting a ‘how could you?’ look in Leah’s direction.

He sighed, muttering, “Women,” under his breath.

Ian gave Brandon a sympathetic nod and smile, which earned him a sound thump under the table.
“Ow!” he shouted, glaring at Leah.

She gave him a sweet smile and then turned to me. “I’ve been thinking about throwing a 4th of July
party or an end of summer bash before I have to go back to school. What do you think?”

“I’m in!” I said, promptly. “It’s about time for a party around here. I say we do both!”

“That’s what I thought!” she said, laughing. “I know the guys will be in because they never turn down
an opportunity to blow shit up. Then she clapped her hands excitedly. “Ooohh, today was the day,
wasn’t it? Did you get your new tattoo?”

I nodded. “Yes, and I’m in love with it. He’s got it covered right now until we get home, otherwise
I’d show you. So what have you been up to?” I asked her.

“Nothing really, just enjoying what’s left of my summer. Can you believe it’s July already?”

“I know. It’s been a crazy year so far, hasn’t it?” I asked, shaking my head. “But damn, woman, the
fourth is in five days, you better get to planning your party!”

She laughed. “That’s what I was gonna talk to you about! We can have the party out at Emma’s
because that way we’re out of town and will be less likely to get busted for fireworks. I think Ian was
gonna see if Brandon, Luke, and Jacks wanted to go with him to get fireworks, and I figured you’d
help me with the food. And Emma and Allie will, too, of course.”

“Did you ask them about the party?”

She shook her head. “Not yet. What are you doing tomorrow? Want to go over there for a girls’ day?”

“Sure!” I replied, smiling at her.

It was nice to be able to visit with her while we ate, and we had our own little conversations as
Brandon and Ian talked shop beside us. She made sure to text her sister, who checked with Allie, as
well, and everything was put in place for girls’ day.

Suddenly, Ian swore and Leah jerked her head around to see why. My eyes followed by instinct to see
what was wrong and my brows lifted when I saw an exotic looking woman totter into the bar on
ridiculously high stilettos, wearing what amounted to nothing more than a couple of band-aids
strapped across her breasts and groin area.

You’d think I was exaggerating about her outfit, but you’d be wrong. She seriously was wearing a
micro-mini skirt that barely met the bottom of her vagina, and a crop top that was nothing more than a
fancy bra. I was afraid that she’d move wrong, or hell, even just sneeze, and everything would come
busting out everywhere. She was pretty in a way, but it was more like she was helpless, completely
vapid, yet very, very calculating.

It didn’t take long to determine the reason Ian had sworn, either. Her eyes locked onto him like a heat-
seeking missile. We didn’t have to wonder how she even knew he was here because she played her
cards for everyone to see, in a very loud way. She click-clacked over to us with mincing little
footsteps,

“IAN! O.M.G! Why didn’t you call me to go to the bar? You know I would have come with you,” she
pouted, shrilly. “I drove by your house but you weren’t there, and then I just happened to drive by
Griff’s and, uh, here you are! How could you forget to call your girlfriend, silly? At least just to let
me know where you were.”

I winced and glanced over at Leah, who straightened in her seat beside Ian. I could feel the tension
rolling off of her in waves as she stared at the woman standing at the end of the table. I felt Brandon’s
hand slide over my thigh, squeezing gently. I covered his hand with mine, my anxiety level rising by
the second.

“Victoria…” Ian growled, glaring at the woman.

Leah put her hand on his arm and said, sweetly, “Ian, introduce your girlfriend to your friends.”

I sucked in a breath as Brandon tensed beside me. Guess I wasn’t the only one who heard the barely
veiled threat in her tone.

Victoria’s attention moved to the hand Leah had laid on Ian’s shoulder. She giggled, a fake,
saccharine sweet, but nauseating sound, before she snapped, “You can quit touching my man, now.”
Her eyes were flashing with jealousy and possession and it wasn’t a good look on her. It made her
look decidedly unbalanced.

Ian closed his eyes and sighed. He then slid out of the booth, pushing Victoria back gently at the same
time. “Look, Victoria. I don’t want to do this here. Let me call your dad to come get you, or your
brother. Which one do you want?”

She pouted again, sticking her lip out like a child. “You take me home,” she whined.

Leah caught my eye and I nodded, immediately knowing what she was asking. I tapped Brandon’s
thigh and jerked my head to get him to move. He complied, sliding out of the booth and taking my
hand to help me out, even though I didn’t need it. He’s a gentleman like that.

Leah slid out as well, pushing past Ian without a word. I followed her as she intended. Brandon
hurriedly tossed some bills on the table and caught up to me, taking my hand in his once more. He
looked worried as he glanced back at Ian, who was standing there, stunned, in the same place Leah
had left him.

When we got to the door, Ian hollered, “WAIT! Leah!”

She paused, looking over her shoulder, quirking her brow at him. I noticed we’d gathered quite the
crowd of on-lookers, especially Griff, who was standing behind the bar. Ian moved past Victoria,
ignoring her gasp of outrage. He strode to the door, cupping his fingers gently around Leah’s arm and
pulling her to him.

“You can’t seriously believe that she’s my girlfriend. Not after everything we’ve shared these past
months. I haven’t seen anyone else besides you since I laid eyes on you, woman.” His face was
sincere, his tone soft and pleading.

“Then why is she showing up here, calling herself your girlfriend and all that shit?” Leah asked just
as softly.

Ian blew out a breath on a sigh. “It’s a long story. Can you give me a second to call someone to come
get her? Then I promise, we’ll go home and talk.”

I blinked in surprise at the whole ‘home’ comment, because I wasn’t aware that they’d started living
together. I knew that they spent a hell of a lot of time together because, let’s face it, I hardly ever saw
my best friend anymore. But I’m not complaining, you know, ‘cause obviously, I’ve been pretty
preoccupied myself. Wink wink…need I say more?

Leah nodded shortly and Ian spun on his heel, already digging his phone out of his pocket. I touched
her arm and she gave me a brief smile to let me know she was okay. In just a short time, Ian was back,
Victoria mincing along behind him with a huge scowl plastered across her face.

“Her brother was just down the street, so he’ll be here in a couple of minutes. We can go ahead and
go, though. Griff is gonna keep an eye on her,” Ian told Leah. He turned to me and Brandon. “I’m
sorry, guys. I hate that our night kind of went sour…” he trailed off when Brandon shook his head.

“It’s okay, man. I understand and I know things aren’t what they seemed. Leah will, too, I’m sure of it,
once you’ve explained. We’re good, man. See ya later, okay?” Brandon gave him a handshake/man
hug thing that they always do.

I hugged Leah, whispering in her ear to call if she needed me. She nodded briefly, reminded me about
girl’s day, and stalked off to the car, leaving Ian to follow with a sad smile and a tired wave.

“Well, that went to hell rather quickly, yeah?” Brandon quipped, dropping his arm around my
shoulders and pulling me into his side as we walked to his truck.

All I could do was nod.

Chapter 22

Brandon was still sleeping when I came out of the bathroom in the morning. He was such a
contradiction, lying on his back, tangled in my soft, white sheets, muted sunlight peeking through the
curtains. The tattooed, tanned expanse of his body and his dark hair contrasted beautifully against the
stark white background, but his face was softened with sleep, giving him an almost boyish look. But
trust and believe, there was nothing boyish about that man.

His left arm was thrown above his head and his right was resting along his stomach, his long, tapered
fingers pointing the way down to that sleeping piece of him that drove me nuts. Unable to resist, I
crept up to the bed, gently tugged the sheet up and carefully slid under it, situating my still naked self
in a straddle over his legs.

I let the sheet drape over my head and softly kissed his hip bone, breathing in the sultry, musky, all-
male scent of him. My cheek brushed against the velvety-soft skin of his length, still impressive even
when it wasn’t engorged. I felt it twitch slightly, felt the slight change in Brandon’s breathing, and,
knowing he was waking up, took that moment to slide his softened flesh between my lips, taking him
completely inside the hot, moistness of my mouth, sucking lightly.

I heard a gasp sound above my head, felt his hips arch up into me, and I pressed myself further down
over him, breathing through my nose and enjoying the feel of him hardening against my tongue.

My name exploded from his lips on a strangled moan that sent shivers down my spine and a rush of
moisture to the apex of my thighs. I pulled back, stroking the length of him with my tongue as I did so,
running the tip of it around the thick ridge of him at the top before dipping it into the tiny slit pearled
with a drop of pre-cum.

I moaned at his taste, smiling to myself as he groaned again in response, and then gave a half-shout as
I enclosed him in my lips again. I bobbed my head over him, loving the glide of his silk-covered
hardness over my tongue and against my lips. I brought my hand up to play, stroking him in
counterpart to my mouth, sucking and licking every inch of him in turn.

On a growl, Brandon buried his hands in my hair and held my head still as he began moving,
essentially fucking my mouth with sharp, short thrusts. His rhythm faltered and I knew he was close. I
felt him tug gently on my hair in desperation, giving me ample warning, but I knew what I wanted…
and what I wanted was to drive him absolutely wild.

I tightened my grip just a bit, twisting my hand on the upstroke while I slid my lips down to meet my
fingers, moving faster, letting him know without words that I wasn’t stopping. He was panting; I could
hear it, but since the sheet was still over my head, I couldn’t see him. Suddenly, one of his hands
untangled from my hair and the sheet was wrenched away.

I deliberately cut my eyes up at him, letting him see the naked need in my gaze, the heat shining bright
as he watched every move I made on him. His muscles tensed and I could feel his control shattering
even more as he thrust wildly against my lips before he came on a shout, spilling salty-sweetness
over my tongue, moaning as I drank him down.

I didn’t remove my mouth until he was shuddering at every movement of my mouth over his over-
sensitized flesh, and only then because he’d fisted his hands in my hair once more and tugged until I
released him with a soft pop.

I sat up and grinned at the panting, spent, gorgeous, and sleep-roughened male beneath me. “Good
morning,” I said to him, my voice husky.

“Mmmm…fuckin’ A that’s a good morning, baby. What’d I do to deserve that?”

I shrugged one shoulder and shifted so that I was lying on top of him, my chin propped up on my fists
on his chest. His hand came up and pushed my hair back from my face, a tender, sweet gesture that
made my heart thud just a little faster, even though it’s something he did on a regular basis now.

He ran his thumb over my bottom lip softly, his heavy-lidded eyes gleaming at me with emotion. I
kissed the tip of his thumb and whispered, “I love you.”

Without missing a beat, he cupped my face and whispered back, “I love you more.”

I shook my head, smiling at him as I did. He nodded back and pulled me up until he could kiss me.
When he released me, I asked, “What do you have planned today?”

“I figured since you guys were having a girls’ day, Luke and I would hang out at Jacks’s house. And
just what are you girls gonna do during your girls’ day?”

I winked. “Guess that’s for me to know and you to not find out.”

“Oh, really,” he growled, his hands reaching for my waist.

I shrieked and tried to jump up, knowing that he was going to tickle me, but I didn’t get very far. His
fingers dug in to my sides and I laughed uncontrollably, hating the fact that he knew my weak spots. I
smacked at his hands and squirmed trying to get away but he was like an octopus. He managed to lean
up and over me, pinning me to the bed as he straddled me legs and held me down, his fingers torturing
my tender ribs and sides.

He paused for just a second, his eyes dancing with unholy glee and I felt his hands start sliding down.

“No…No…NO!” I screamed as his fingers gently dug into the crease of my thigh, the absolute most
ticklish spot on my body, twisting and turning, breathless with laughter. “Okay, I give! I give!
Brandon…please…ohmigod, I’m gonna pee myself. Stop!”

His fingers stopped and I looked at him, waiting to see what he was going to do. He leaned down and
kissed me, his fingers moving down just a bit before sliding unerringly through my folds and then
thrust inside me with no preamble.

“Ohhh…” I groaned, the word bursting from my lips in surprised pleasure.

“Yeah? Is that right, sunshine?” he whispered against my mouth, his thumb sliding against my clit,
circling it as he hooked his fingers up to press against my g-spot, sending me straight to the edge in a
hot second.

I arched my hips up, riding his hand, reaching for the orgasm that was shimmering just out of reach
and then, sweet mother of heaven and everything good in this world, he twisted his fingers again, his
thumb swiped over the beaded nubbin of my clit, and I exploded, raining warm honey over his
fingers.

I shivered as he withdrew from my heat, my body spasming once more when he raised his hand to his
mouth, sucking and licking my juices from his skin. I was panting, lust curling in my belly even after
my release at the heat in his eyes as he stared down at me.

“Over. Hands and knees. Now,” Brandon said roughly.

His voice was dark, his gaze intent. My breath caught and I complied immediately, rolling over
underneath him, pulling my knees up beneath me so my ass was in the air and my arms and cheek were
pressed to the mattress. I felt him shift, moving his knees closer to my legs, pressing them together
more rather than widening them. Before I could question, he ran his fingers along the dripping wet
seam between my thighs, spearing his fingers in deep, once, twice, and then replaced them with his
hardened length, pushing fully inside me in an unhurried thrust.

I groaned at the friction of him sliding inside me, the fullness of him seeming even larger and harder
than ever with my thighs closed tight around him. He pulled back, almost completely out of me, and
then thrust home again, harder than before. His hips slapped against my ass, making us both moan.

On a muffled curse, his control snapped and he gripped my hips tight in his hands, fingers digging into
my flesh as he began pounding into me, each deep slide of him inside me building the anticipation, my
muscles tightening, quaking beneath him as he pushed me closer to the edge. His left hand let go of my
hip, slid around and pressed in, his fingers brushing against my swollen clit and that was it.

I came, crying out as I tumbled over the edge into pure bliss, shouting Brandon’s name as he slammed
home one last time, locking himself as deep inside me as he could, and then filling me with the
scalding heat of his seed. When the storm had passed, he pulled out and collapsed beside me,
breathing heavy as he brushed my forehead with his lips.

“I swear to fucking jeebus, babe, it gets better every time,” he panted, quirking the corner of his lips
up in a lopsided, half-goofy grin.

I laughed, cuddling into his side and kissing his chest. This was happiness.

I finally got out of bed again, showered and got ready to go. Brandon decided he’d drop me off since
we were pretty much going to the same place. We pulled up to Emma’s house and I got out, waving to
Brandon as he pulled away.

Before I got to the door, it opened and Hayden, Emma’s now 5 year old niece, came rushing out.

“Cwoey! Guess what? My mommy’s gonna haved another baby!” she crowed, her little pigtails flying
behind her as she skidded to a stop in front of me.

I crouched down to her level (she was such a petite, cute little thing) and grabbed her hands. “That’s
awesome, Hayden! Are you excited?”

She nodded vigorously and spun on her heel, pulling away from me to run inside again. I followed,
looking around to see where the dogs were, but they were conspicuously absent. Emma was in the
kitchen loading the dishwasher, Allie was sitting cross legged on the couch, nursing Liam, and Jenna
was sitting in the armchair, Everly in her lap. She was looking down into the baby’s tiny little face
and asking, “What am I gonna do? Huh? Uncle Noah is an asshole and knocked me up and my God,
this is nuts!”

“Hey, Chloe,” Emma called from the kitchen before adding, “Jenna, quit cussing at my child. You
want to cuss at a kid, do it to your own. God knows they probably have a worse vocabulary than all
of us combined,” she finished, drolly.

“Ha ha ha,” Jenna said, her tone heavy on the sarcasm. “I didn’t even get a chance to tell Noah
myself, or you. I mean, I didn’t even get to tell Chloe because Hayden has a big mouth!”

“Mommy…” Hayden scolded. “You hafta tawk nicewy now that you have a baby in your bewwy.
And my mouf isn’t big. Your mouf is big. I sawed it get big when you was in the cwoset with daddy

and you had his-”

“Jesus, Lord, ohmigod, Hayden go outside!” Jenna shrieked, startling the baby who started wailing.
And of course, once Everly started, Liam felt left out, so he let go of Allie’s breast to join in the fun.

Emma rolled her eyes, dried her hands on a dish towel and came into the room to take her baby from
her sister. Allie was trying desperately not to laugh as she patted Liam’s little bottom and bounced
him a bit to calm him before switching him to the other side.

I was biting my lip to keep my own laughter at bay, waiting for Hayden to stomp out of the house onto
the front porch before I looked at Jenna and said, “Well, hiding in closets for clandestine blow jobs,
are we?”

She dropped her head in her hands and moaned as we all laughed.

We laughed even harder when Leah came in the door, cheeks completely red, sputtering in shock. “Do
you know what your daughter just told me?” she asked Jenna, who’d looked up when the opened.

Jenna dropped her head again, this time leaning forward and banging it on the coffee table repeatedly.
Emma smacked her on the top of the head and told her to knock it off before she said, “Well, it’s one
of two things at the moment; either you now know that our eldest sister is knocked up again, or you
have been familiarized with Jenna’s penchant for sucking penis in a hall closet. Am I close?”

“Yes, oh my God! She seriously just told me she saw Jenna with…wait, what? You’re pregnant?” she
asked Jenna, incredulity coloring her words.

Jenna brought her head up off the table and gave Leah a pathetic look and a nod. She stuck her lip out
and pouted.

Leah just rolled her eyes at her. “Bitch, don’t play me. We all know you are so absolutely in love
with your husband and you are so in love with your kids and you’re just as happy about this one as
you were Jarrod and Hayden.”

Jenna lost her pout and smiled. It was a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. “I know. I am happy
about it and you’d think Noah was the one giving birth the way he’s been preening. He’s already told
everyone down at the precinct-”

Emma’s eyes narrowed. “Wait. You’re telling me that Noah’s cop buddies knew before your family
did?”

Jenna laughed nervously, shooting Emma and Leah a sheepish look. “He works with them every day
and…” she trailed off. “At least I told you in person and we just found out yesterday. I took ten tests
that all came out positive. I’m making an appointment on Monday to go in to the doctor. You wanna
come with me?” she asked Leah.

“Yes!” Leah answered, and Emma smiled, her ire at not being told first disappearing.

I looked over at Allie who was sitting quietly, still nursing Liam. She grinned at me and shook her
head, glancing over at Emma and her sisters with a fondness that only comes from years of friendship.

“So, where’re the dogs?” I asked in the comfortable silence that had descended.

Emma and Allie both grinned evilly, Allie going as far as to cackle-like seriously cackle. I swear I
wanted to look around for Nanny when she did, because she sounded just like her. But would I tell
Allie that? Yeah, probably. Heeheehee…

“I told Luke that he had to take them to Jacks’ with him since it’s girl’s day,” Emma answered. “So,

since the babies have been fed, what do you guys think about going for some lunch?”

Everyone answered in the affirmative. Jenna got up and called Hayden in to wash up because, in the
ten minutes since she’d sent her outside, she’d managed to find a mud puddle somewhere (or made
one, more likely) and had mud up to her elbows. Miraculously, she’d kept most of the mud off her
clothes, which is not the norm, so Jenna did a happy dance to celebrate. Must be the hormones…

We finally made our way into town to Manny’s, Emma’s favorite restaurant. Of course, it had quickly
become my favorite, too, once she’d brought me down here for some chicken alfredo and black tie
mousse cake. That shit was an orgasm for your taste buds. The first time she’d taken me to Manny’s,
she’d told me about the first date Luke had taken her on; how she’d eaten all of her pasta and then
made love to a piece of cake. Of course, I was laughing my ass off by the end of the story because of
how it ended with Leah’s drunk ass being dropped off by Calland right before they got to the good
stuff.

Manny himself came out and seated us, immediately swooping both babies up in his arms and taking
them back to the kitchen with him, calling for his wife as he went. Emma and Allie just grinned
indulgently, knowing that their babies were safe with Manny. The worst that would happen would be
that Manny would spoil them more than they already were, and at four months old, they were pretty
damn spoiled.

A waiter came over and took our orders, chuckling when we all ordered the same exact thing; salad
with house Italian, fettuccine alfredo with chicken, and, of course, black tie mousse cake. As he
walked away to put our orders in, Jenna was talking pregnancy with Allie and Emma, so I took the
chance to ask Leah what had happened after we all left last night.

“So are you and Ian good?” I asked, cautiously.

She sighed. “Yeah, I guess so. Apparently she’s an old family friend who he went out with once and
never took the hint after that he wasn’t interested. I get the feeling that she’s a little looney tunes.”

I snorted. “Ya think? There’s something not right with her, that’s for damn sure. You and Ian make up
okay, though?”

She smiled. “Of course. Hot, heavy make-up sex is the fucking best.”

I pretended to plug my ears and sang, “La la la la,” until she stopped, her words lost in laughter.

I heard Allie pipe up, “Oohh, Chloe is covering her ears, that means there’s juicy gossip going down
and I want in!”

Amid giggles, we filled them in on what happened last night, Emma and Jenna becoming properly
outraged on behalf of their little sister. She was quick to defend Ian, though, so I guess everything was
for sure good with them. I hoped so, anyway. I really liked the guy and he seemed really good to
Leah. Only time will tell.

Our salads arrived, along with the babies, Manny holding Liam, his wife cuddling Everly. They both
were sleeping peacefully, so they laid them in their carriers, patted each of them on the back, and
headed back into the kitchen with Manny winking and quipping, “Gotta make sure your alfredo is
perfect!”

An hour and a half later, stuffed to the gills with the best Italian food you could ever ask for, we all
headed back to Emma’s house, but Leah and I stopped at the store to get a few girls’ day staples that
included the makings of special sundaes (we bought extra frozen yogurt for the nursing moms and

newly pregnant to eat without the added booze), dried beef dip, and buffalo chicken dip. Yes, we all
just got done eating, but when we do a girls’ day, it’s an all day thing, and always involves food.
Don’t judge us.

We were standing in the frozen food aisle at the store when Leah looked at me, tears filling her eyes. I
dropped the carton of fro yo I was holding into the cart and pulled her into my arms. “Leah, honey,
what’s wrong? I thought you said everything was okay?” I held her back and looked at her with
concern.

She gave a short laugh and dashed the tears from her eyes quickly. “I am fine. It just…she keeps
calling his phone. Her and some other number that doesn’t have a name. I only know that one of them
is Victoria because I answered it once. She got all huffy and told me to have him call her, that she
wanted to thank him for the night before.” She groaned and moved back, grabbing another carton of
fro yo from the cooler, tossing it in the cart as she said, “I don’t know why I get so upset when she
says stuff like that. He was with me at my house, we were in bed, and he was fucking my brains out,
so I know he wasn’t with her. But…”

She dropped her eyes to her hands, twisting her fingers together agitatedly. “I’m all in on this one.
He’s it for me,” she said quietly.

“Oh, Leah…” I answered softly. “That’s a good thing, right? You love him?”

She nodded. “Short and simple. I do. God help me, but I do. Isn’t it too soon?”

“No, I don’t think so,” I told her. “I mean, look at your sister. Emma and Luke didn’t know each other
for that long and see how in love they are? You can’t be within ten feet of either of them without
getting hit by the waves of lust emanating from them both.”

She let out a wry chuckle. “You’re totally right there. Did I tell you I walked in on them?”

I blinked. “What? Luke and Emma?”

“Yeah. Luke’s so frickin’ hot and all, but he’s my brother-in-law. I didn’t need to see that.” She
shuddered. “He had her bent over the back of the couch going to pound town and-”

“Jesus, Leah!” I shouted, cutting her off. “I so don’t need to hear that!”

“Well? How do you think I felt having to see it? I swear if there was a way to bleach my eyeballs, I
would have!”

When we finally stopped laughing and moved on to the chip aisle, I asked her, “So why the tears,
then?”

She shrugged. I don’t know. I just get so upset because it’s only been months that we’ve been together.
I don’t know his past women, not really…he’s talked about them, but…then Victoria pops up out of
the blue and he’s never talked about her before. Then there’s this other number but when I asked him
about it, he just blew me off like it was a wrong number. I just don’t want to be made to look like a
fool.”

I patted her back in sympathy. “I know. But at the same time, if you love him, and he loves you?” I
made it a question and waited to see what she would say.

She nodded shyly. “He said it a couple weeks ago. Told me out of the blue that he loved me.”

“See?” I nudged her with my shoulder. “It’s gonna be okay.” I clapped my hands together. “Now.
Let’s get this shit and get outta here so we can get some special sundaes in our bellies!”

Chapter 23

“Holy fuck, this is the funniest thing I think I’ve ever seen!” Allie crowed, squishing closer to me as
we all stared out the window into Emma’s back yard.

We’d been back from the store for a few hours now, the babies were both napping, we’d all been
snacking, and Hayden was coloring at the kitchen table when we heard shouting outside. Emma had
jumped up and made a bee-line for the back door like her ass was on fire, locking the doggy-door shut
and slumping in relief.

We hadn’t had to say a word; she’d taken one look at us all staring at her with mild amusement and
explained, “I know that sound. That’s Luke’s you-fucking-dog-you-got-sprayed-by-a-skunk-again
yell.”

We’d heard a gasp and then Hayden had piped up, “Ahhh…Aun’ Emmy said a dirty word!”

Emma had cringed and mouthed an apology to Jenna who just waved it off. “She’s been in the garage
with Dad, Noah, and Calland when they’ve been ‘fixing’ something.”

We’d all nodded sagely. When those three got together to ‘fix’ something, it usually ended up being
worse than a drunken sailor/truck driver convention. Every other word out of their mouths was fuck,
shit, damn, or asshole. And that’s just when they first get there. I’d walked in with Leah one morning
for Sunday breakfast and they were taking apart a lawn mower…let’s just say the air was blue, my
ears were burning, and I learned new words that day.

Then we laughed when it hit us, after which we’d crowded around the window to see Luke dragging
the plastic pool into the yard from the garage. We hadn’t budged, either, when Brandon had come in
the back door near where we were all peeking out the window to get tomato juice from the massive
stash of cans in the laundry room.

Emma had started stocking up on it when Doug had decided to become best friends with the skunk in
the woods. It was kind of a one-sided relationship; Doug loved the skunk, the skunk hated Doug. And
let him know it by spraying him at least once a week. Still.

Luke had tried everything to get rid of the thing, but to no avail. I guess running from the woods
gagging about a half dozen times cured him of his ability to try; well, that and Emma laughing her ass
off at him each time it happened.

Brandon had shaken his head at us, smirked, loaded down a laundry basket with about a dozen and a
half of the large cans of tomato juice, grabbed the can opener, and walked back outside without
saying a word. We’d found out, by watching out of the window, of course, that it wasn’t just Doug
that got sprayed this time.

Nope. This time, DJ had gotten it, too. We weren’t too sure how Grady had managed to avoid it, but
no way were any of us going outside to ask. Hayden had tried but Jenna had told her no. In fact, I think
her words were, “if you want to go outside and smell like a stinky skunk butt, then go ahead. But
you’ll have take a tomato juice bath outside just like the dogs.” She’d quickly lost interest then and
had gone back to coloring.

“Oh, shit!” Emma shrieked, then laughed uncontrollably (and we did, too) as we all watched Luke
make a dive for DJ, who’d managed to get the front half of his body out of the pool, and miss,
therefore belly flopping in the middle of the juice-filled pool. Which then, since he was kneeling on

the other side of the pool dousing Doug with tomato juice, soaked Brandon with a tidal wave of juice,
causing him to let go of Doug.

What ensued after could only be described as gut-wrenchingly hilarious; Luke and Brandon tried to
wrangle the dogs back into the pool, rinse them off with the tomato juice, and then wash them with
shampoo, while Jackson stood off to the side shouting directions. It ended with Luke, Brandon, and
Jacks all dripping wet, their clothes stained red with tomato juice, and covered in suds. I say AND
Jacks because Luke and Brandon got tired of him laughing, chased him down, and wrestled him into
the juice pool.

And all the while, Grady was sitting in the shade a few feet away, watching everything with a grin on
his little doggy lips.

When everything was cleaned up, including the guys (thankfully Brandon still had a few clothes at
Emma and Luke’s), they talked us into merging girls’ day with guys’ day. Of course, we were pretty
sure it was just so they could chow down on our munchies and didn’t have to fend for themselves.

After they cleaned us out of pretty much everything we’d made, except for special sundae makings,
we all sat talking in the living room for a while, passing babies around and petting dogs that would
come up for random loving. That’s when the 4

of July party finally got mentioned.

My brother nodded immediately, as soon as Leah brought it up. “Hell yeah!” he said. “I’ve got dibs
on fireworks!”

Brandon and Luke both scowled at him. “No, fuck no, you don’t,” Luke hollered. “The last time you
picked out the fireworks, you came home with pansy ass smoke bombs and sparklers.”

“Hey!” Emma cried. “What’s wrong with sparklers? I love sparklers!”

Luke turned to her, his face softening. “I know, sugar, and there’s nothing wrong with sparklers.” He
turned his head and glanced at Jackson out of the corner of his eye. “If you’re a girl.”

Jackson’s eyes narrowed. “I was 17 at the time and bought them at the grocery store. It was all they
had,” he grated out through clenched teeth.

Obviously, this was an argument that had been ongoing for some time. One I hadn’t heard of, before,
either.

Brandon jumped in. “Screw you both, I’m getting the fireworks this time, and I’m taking Calland with
me. No way in hell will he pick out anything pansy-assed like you two would,” he smirked.

Geez. Boys and their explosives.

Allie clapped her hands to get their attention and said, sweetly, “How about all of you go together
over to Shelton’s and get them? But you better do it soon since we now have four days to get this thing
planned.”

She looked over at Leah. “Why the hell did you wait so long to plan this thing, anyway?” she
grumbled.

Leah just smiled and shrugged. “Last minute thing, but who cares? Let’s plan this party!”

We all got down to business then, the guys calling Calland to determine the best time to make the trip
to get the fireworks, while we discussed food, drinks, and time.

“I say we just plan it for like three o’clock. That way we can still do a cookout or whatever, we still
have time to swim if we want,” Emma paused, glancing at Allie for confirmation that swimming in

their pool was an option.

Allie nodded. “I was gonna say we could do most of it over at our house then, so we could swim and
things.” She sighed and stared off into space dreamily. “I love having my own pool now…”

“Yeah, moving on,” Emma said, laughing. Allie laughed with her and nudged her shoulder. “Since we
pretty much live on the same property, our yards combine to be a pretty huge party platform, right?”
she asked Allie.

Allie nodded again, clearly wondering where Emma was going with this.

“What if we did an old-fashioned picnic party with games and things?” she said, excitedly.

Leah looked perplexed. “What do you mean, old-fashioned?”

Emma rolled her eyes. “You know, long table-cloth covered tables, pot-luck, tug-of-war, three-
legged races…like they used to do back in the old days like you see on TV!”

“Uh…” Luke broke in, shifting Everly down against his chest from where he’d just had her lifted up
in front of his face, kissing her chubby little cheeks. “You aren’t planning on inviting the whole damn
town like the old days, are you?” he asked cautiously.

Emma opened her mouth to answer but Allie cut her off. “You’ve been watching too many reruns of
The Andy Griffith Show and you are now banned from watching To Wong Foo, too. Seriously,
woman.” Emma scowled but Allie continued, “We can play the games and everything, we can do the
potluck, obviously, because what cookout party isn’t a potluck? On a side note, I’ll be asking Emma’s
mom to bring her homemade mac & cheese because I’ve been craving that shit-”

Jackson jumped at this, swinging around, his eyes getting huge. “Craving? Did you say craving?” He
glanced worriedly down at the content baby in his arms, but we could clearly see that he would be
completely fine with knocking Allie up again. He loved being a dad. It was so cute!

Allie snorted. “Hell, Jacks, don’t panic, babe. I’m not pregnant again…yet,” she finished with a wink
and a slightly evil grin.

He winked back at her.

A little voice broke into the conversation. “Mommy can bring Daddy’s baby juice!”

Total silence with the exception of Hayden’s giggles. We all looked over at Jenna who had dropped
her head in her hands again, shaking it, muttering, “Why me?”

Jackson cleared his throat and asked Hayden if she wanted to take the dogs outside with him. She
jumped up and raced out the door, Jacks looking back at Jenna once and shaking his head, his
shoulders jumping with silent laughter.

As soon as they cleared the door, Emma rounded on her sister. “Daddy’s baby juice? What the hell
have you been teaching my niece, Jenna?” She was trying hard not to laugh.

Jenna threw her hands up in the air. “She overheard us playing around one night when she was
supposed to be in bed. It was after midnight, she’d been asleep but had apparently woken up. Noah
and I were…well, that’s not important. We just were playing around and I teased him about giving me
his…Jesus…baby juice. She knocked on the door but we didn’t think she heard anything until the next
morning when she asked for some baby juice.”

“Oh, my God,” Leah breathed. “What the hell did you tell her?”

She shrugged helplessly. “Nothing. We just ignored it. She hasn’t mentioned it since then but trust my
daughter to open her mouth to embarrass me,” she groaned.

Jackson and Hayden came back inside with the dogs at which time Jenna decreed it was time to go.
She packed up Hayden, gave everyone hugs and was out the door, asking Hayden exasperatedly,
“Child, what am I gonna do with you?”

Our little get together wound down then, but we did finalize our plans for the party. The guys were
gonna take off the next day after work to get the fireworks and everything else was set. I was a little
excited about it, but hey, I’m a sucker for parties.

Brandon and I left about half an hour later, right after Leah jetted out the door, which was point two
seconds after Ian called her to see where she was. We barely got in the door when my phone rang.

“Hey, Jacks,” I answered.

“Hey. Got a question for you. Do you remember a little lullaby that mom would sing to us when we
were young?”

Immediately my thoughts turned dark, knowing exactly which lullaby he was talking about, the
memories flooding my mind with all the times I sang that to myself to float away from what was really
happening.

I was silent for a long time, lost in my thoughts.

“Chloe?” Jackson asked softly.

I blinked, trying to push everything away. “Yea-uh, yes?”

“Are you okay?”

I glanced around the living room, shocked to see that I was barely inside the door. Brandon was
standing in front of me, a worried look creasing his brow. I gave him a small smile and shook my
head to let him know I was good as I answered Jackson.

“Yeah, I’m good. What made you ask about that?”

“Allie was singing some lullabies to Liam and I remembered that Mom used to sing one that she made
up. I know it was your favorite, but I can’t remember the song. Figured you would have, but…I’m
sorry. I wasn’t thinking that it might be something you would’ve sang…that…” he cleared his throat
again, stumbling over his words.

“Jackson, it’s not that. It’s just…it doesn’t bring back very good memories because I used to sing it to
myself in my head when Greg would…” I broke off, not willing to go there. “But I would love to
teach it to Allie so she can sing it to Liam. It would be my honor.”

I could hear the emotion clogging his throat when he answered. “Good. That’s great.” Then he added,
“Chloe, I may not tell you very often, but I love you very much. And I’m so sorry that I left you there
and wasn’t there to protect you. I know I’ve told you that before, but…I just…I’m so glad you’re here
with us.”

“Thanks, Jacks,” I whispered into the phone. “I love you, too.”

I hung up the phone and wiped the tears that had welled from my eyes. Brandon was immediately in
front of me, enfolding me in his arms. I hugged him tightly, completely content and loving the strength
he was giving me, even without asking for it.

“I love you, too, you know. Just for the record.”

I grinned up at him. “Yes, I do know that. And I love you, too.”

He kissed the tip of my nose, pushed me back, and took off running toward the bedroom, yelling,
“Last one in bed has to give the other a full body massage with hot oil!”

I gasped and shouted, “You cheating little ass!” as I took off after him.

He made it to the bed before me.

But I got the massage…and then some.

Chapter 24

The day of the party was picture perfect. The weather was absolutely beautiful, everyone was in a
great mood, and it all fell into place. The night before, we’d gone a couple of towns over to hang out
at the little festival they had and to watch the fireworks. Tonight, the guys had promised us a show to
rival the one from last night.

They hadn’t let any of us girls know what they had gotten from the fireworks store; in fact, Calland
had taken everything to his apartment so we couldn’t peek. So since we had no idea what they’d
gotten, I’d run to the store and picked up a few boxes of sparklers, some smoke bombs, and some
poppers for the kids. Well, and for us girls, because we loved sparklers, too.

And we didn’t care if that was pansy-assed or not.

I got up early and made a big batch of my Italian-ranch, bacon, cheddar pasta salad and a double
batch of mini cherry cheesecakes. I also made some double dipped strawberries, which I hadn’t made
in a very long time. I dipped them in white chocolate and then dipped them in dark chocolate, but
before I did that, I injected them with 100 proof vodka. Well, half of them, anyway. I left the other
half virgin for Allie, Emma, and Jenna.

Brandon walked into the kitchen as I was putting the finishing touches on the cheesecakes and looked
around at the counters.

“Holy shit, woman! We feeding the whole town?”

I cut my eyes up at him as I spooned a dab of cherry pie filling onto a cheesecake. “Well, feeding you
guys is like feeding a town, so we have to be prepared.” He narrowed his eyes at me playfully and I
kept going. “You should have seen Allie at the grocery store. She had to buy thirty packs of hot dogs
just to make sure we had enough,’ I said, tongue in cheek.

“Oh, now that’s just not right, exaggerating like that. You know we only need twenty-five,” Brandon
said with a grin.

I slapped at him with my free hand and replied, “Get out of my kitchen and go get ready!”

He went, stealing a cheesecake as he did, peeling it from the wrapper and popping it in his mouth
before dropping a kiss on my shoulder and strolling out of the kitchen. I laughed as he started singing
Yankee Doodle as he left the room.

An hour and a half later we were on our way to Allie’s house, a bag with our bathing suits and beach
towels on the back seat, surrounded by platters and bowls of goodies. We pulled up to see that
Allie’s grandparents were there already, holding court on the front porch. I could see Luke walking
across the yard from their house carrying a huge crockpot. Emma followed, Everly strapped to her
chest in a baby sling, her hands full of bags of chips and what looked like plates and all that good
stuff.

I got out and raced to help her, taking the bags from her hands so she could pull the baby out of the
sling and set her in Nanny’s lap, who was waiting on the porch in the rocking chair, arms
outstretched.

“I’ve already gotten to hold Liam and he needed his butt changed. That’s his momma’s duty. I put my
time in all them damn years ago, so now I just get to do the spoilin’. You go on in there. I’ll holler if
she needs something,” she cackled.

Poppy, sitting in the other rocker beside her, nodded his head, but I couldn’t tell if he was really
nodding or just couldn’t keep his head still while he rocked.

I took the bags inside, following Luke and the crockpot. I peeked inside it to see it was full of
Emma’s chili con queso, a delicious blend of cheese, green chilies, salsa, hamburger, sausage, and
other yummy things that you dip Doritos in. Sure, you could use regular tortilla chips, but I definitely
recommend the Doritos. The cheese kind, not that yucky ranch stuff.

“Chloe, don’t touch the con queso!” I heard Emma yell from the porch.

I jumped back, even though I was no where near…okay, so I was near it, but I had no intention of
popping open the bag of chips and digging in at that exact moment. Not really, anyway.

Okay, maybe a little one.

“Chloe!” she yelled again.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” I grumbled, making my way back outside to start getting stuff out of
Brandon’s truck.

He passed me coming in the door. “No, you’re not, sunshine. You’re barely breathing hard.”

I rolled my eyes and moved past him out the door, choosing not to engage in that particular
conversation.

We made short work of getting everything in the kitchen and put away where it needed to be until it
was time to eat. We’d all decided to eat around four, which gave us an hour beforehand to just hang
out, swim, and whatever.

I grabbed my bag with my swimsuit in it and went to go change. Brandon, seeing me grab the bag,
followed me into the bathroom.

“Brandon, no funny business,” I scolded him, laughing as I dodged his questing fingers.

He pouted playfully, kissed me, and then grabbed his trunks and left me alone in the bathroom. By the
time I got done changing, wrapped a towel around me, and headed out to the pool area, he was
already wet from being in the pool and was currently on the diving board, challenging Jarrod to a
cannon ball competition.

He surfaced after a mega splash that got him yelled at by Jan, Emma’s mom, because she happened to
be walking by the edge of the pool at that moment. He gave her a sheepish grin, but it didn’t matter
that he had done it about two seconds later because Calland nonchalantly walked by and shoved his
mom in.

Clothes and all.

“Damnit, Calland!” she hollered, wiping water from her eyes as she surfaced and waded towards the
steps.

“Son, if I were you, I’d be moving pretty quickly,” Ben, Emma’s dad said.

Calland shot a look to his mom, who was now out of the pool and sidling up to him on the sly, and
then shouted, “Oh, shit!” before he took off running to the other side of the pool.

Jenna came out then and hollered at the kids to come in and get dried off for some reason, even though
they’d only been in it for about half an hour at that point. They pouted but complied, then giggled as
they watched their uncle run from their grandma like his ass was on fire.

I laughed along with them, then dropped my towel, preparing to get in the water myself. I stepped up
to the side of the deep end and jumped in, splashing Brandon, who was still treading water. I smiled
at him when I came up, flipping my hair out of my eyes. He didn’t smile back.

My smile faded. “What’s wrong?” I asked him quietly.

“What are you wearing, sunshine?” he asked, his voice low, tone rough.

I clutched the edge of the pool and crossed my other arm across my chest self-consciously. I
swallowed hard, beating myself up for wearing a two piece bikini that showed my scars. Without a
word, I moved to swim toward the steps to get out, but stopped when a heavy arm wrapped around
my waist, pulling me back against a muscular, tattooed chest.

“Chloe,” he said, “where are you going?”

“I’m getting out to change,” I replied, very softly.

“You know that’s not what I meant.” He arched his hips into my ass below the water, deliberately
brushing the hardened length of his erection against me. “You look fucking amazing in the suit, baby.
How am I ever supposed to get out of the water?”

I inclined my head, indicating that maybe I had jumped to a conclusion in haste. Unable to help
myself, I pushed back into him, rubbing my ass against his hardness. He groaned low in my ear, his
fingers biting into my hips. His lips brushed against the outer shell of my ear as he leaned close and
whispered, “You do that again and I’m jerking your ass out of the pool, tossing you in the car, taking
you home, and fucking the shit out of you all night long.”

I snorted quietly, my eyes gleaming as I turned my head to meet his gaze. “You call that a threat?”

He growled and his fingers tightened once more, preparing to pick me up, I would presume, but
stopped when a throat cleared at the edge where we were standing.

Allie stood there, tapping her toes, waiting on us to look at her. As soon as we did, she said, brightly,
“Excuse me, you two hornballs, but would you mind not humping in my pool? K, thanks, bye,” before
she spun on her heel and headed back inside.

Jackson, who had just come outside, cracked up, laughing until tears formed in his eyes.

I got out of the pool, leaving Brandon to cool himself off until he could exit the water without giving
everyone an eyeful, muttering to my brother, “It wasn’t that funny, dick.”

“Oh, yes, yes it was,” he chuckled, then grabbed my shoulders and turned so that I could see Nanny
sitting in the shade of the umbrella on the other side, craning her neck to get a peek at Brandon’s you-
know-what in its upright position. Noticing that we were watching her, she waved and winked before
yelling at Brandon, “Hey, hotstuff! Come give granny a kiss! Is that a hot dog in your pocket or you
just happy to see me? She cackled uncontrollably while Brandon just shook his head and grinned.

“Oh, Lord. Nanny’s a perv,” I mumbled to Jacks, grabbing my towel and walking inside.

As I walked away, Jackson called out, “You hadn’t figured that out yet?”

I just laughed and kept walking.

After I changed, I headed into the kitchen to help set things up while Jackson and Luke got the grill
going. Calland, after apologizing to his mom, finally, motioned Brandon out of the pool and they took
off in Calland’s car, going to get the fireworks.

When Emma asked him why he didn’t just bring them when he came, Calland just sniffed, put his nose
in the air, and said, haughtily, “Cause you nosy bitches would have peeked.”

She glared at him and punched him in the arm, making him laugh and pretend he got stung by a bee.

They were back in half an hour. By then the tables were laden with food, the grill was in full force
firing up hot dogs, burgers, and brats, and they smelled delicious. There was probably way too much
food, but it was a party, so that’s kind of a prerequisite, right?

We had my goodies, Emma’s con queso, Allie had the grilling items, Jan had brought her homemade
mac & cheese, of course, and Jenna and Noah brought a veggie and dip tray, as well as cheeses,
crackers, and snack meats. Calland, God love him, brought four gigantic bags of different flavored
potato chips because he, and I quote, “don’t fucking cook. You want ramen? I’ll cook. Grilled
cheese? We’re good. Burgers or steak on the grill? Yup. But I’m not cooking a goddamned thing, so
here’s some chips.”

Lord help the woman who ever settles him down. She’s gonna need it.

Leah finally showed up with a fruit tray and cream cheese fruit dip, and Nanny had brought her
famous pineapple upside down cake, so the way I saw it, all of our bases were covered. We had
appetizers, main courses, snacks, and dessert; add in the fireworks (that they were still hiding from
us), and we got dinner and a show! (Oh, yeah…Allie’s mom Daisy showed up with some brownies,
but told us they were for her and her alone. Allie said we should just listen to her and leave them
alone. We figured out why later.)

We all piled our plates high and stuffed ourselves while we all sat around the pool, or at random
tables the guys had set out for everyone. I popped the last bite of cheesecake in my mouth and stood,
throwing my plate away and making my way to Allie, who was trying to hold a squirming Liam while
she finished eating.

I wiggled my fingers at her. “Here, let me see my nephew.”

She didn’t hesitate, just handed him over and dug in to the huge mound of mac & cheese she had on
her plate. I just shook my head at her, laughing in remembrance of the mini-scuffle she and Emma had
gotten in about who was going to get to the mac & cheese first. Allie won, practically shoving Emma
under the table to do so, but Emma retaliated by hiding the pan from everyone so no one else could
get any.

Thankfully, that only lasted until Jan gave her that “mom” look that said put-it-back-or-you’re-gonna-
get-it. Miraculously, it ended up back on the table within seconds. In her defense, though, Jan’s
homemade mac & cheese was the freakin’ bomb!

I held Liam up in front of my face, nuzzling his little nose with mine and kissing his cheeks before
cradling him in my arms and moving to a lounger in the shade. I settled him in my lap, propping my
feet on the lounger so he was reclining against my legs, his head against them, facing me, with his butt
on my stomach and feet on my chest.

I pretended to gnaw on his tiny toes, making him gurgle, smile, and chuckle, which made me grin and
laugh. We sat and played like that for a little bit when Brandon joined us, pulling the other lounger
close and sitting on it, facing me.

He didn’t speak, just watched me.

I didn’t look at him as I asked, “What’s up?”

“Nothing,” was his immediate response. “Just watching you with one of the cutest little babies, ever.”

I glanced at him and smiled. “He is pretty cute, isn’t he?”

“Yeah…but I kinda like looking at his aunt, better. She’s pretty fuckin’ beautiful.”

I sucked in a breath, feeling the effects of his words race along every nerve ending in my body, but I
didn’t say anything.

“Can’t wait to get you home tonight, sunshine. Make some fireworks of our own, what do you say?”
His voice was low, intimate, and sent even more shivers over me.

The baby cooed and babbled in my lap and I grinned at him. “Your Uncle Brandon is a perv, too,
Liam. Just like your nanny!” I sing-songed, making him giggle.

Brandon snorted and then sniffed, turning his nose up. “Phew. I think someone just left a load in his
diaper.”

I chuckled and lifted the baby’s leg to peek up the leg of his shorts and diaper to see if he really
needed changed, or was just gassy. It wasn’t just gas.

Brandon stood, plucked the baby from my arms, and handed him off to Jackson, who just happened to
be walking towards the house. “Here. Your kid needs changed and my woman is about to be busy.”

“I am?” I asked in confusion.

“Yup.” Brandon nodded to confirm his words before he grabbed my hands, pulled me off of the
lounger, and dragged me off the deck and around the house.

We didn’t even get all the way around front when he stopped, put a hand against my stomach, and
pushed me back against the house. He followed, his body pressing me firmly against the unyielding
wall, sliding his hand off to the side and down my hip, gripping it and pulling me tight against him.

“Brandon, what are you doing?” I whispered, our breath mingling as he dipped his head toward me.

“I wanted to kiss you and I wanted to do it properly without everyone watching. Got a problem with
that?”

“Nope…” I barely got the word out. His lips were coming closer and closer, brushing mine as he
said, “Didn’t think so.”

And then he kissed me. Deep. Hot. Wet.

He kissed me until we were both gasping for air, and without realizing it, my arms had wound around
his neck and his hands had lifted me into the air, cupping my ass as my legs had wrapped around his
waist.

“Wow…” I breathed, smiling at him a bit dazedly.

He snickered. “You can say that again, sunshine…you can say that again.”

Just then, Calland came around the corner shouting, “Dude, quit humping your woman against her
brother’s house and let’s go blow shit up!”

Almost immediately we heard, “Who’s humping who against my house?” and pounding footsteps as
Allie ran headlong around the corner. She stopped when she saw us, eyes narrowing. “You two…”

I waved. What else could I do? I was literally still backed against the house, wrapped around
Brandon, and from the way things were pressed against me…nice, long, hard things, I didn’t think
he’d be putting me down just yet.

She quit glaring at us and laughed, a wicked gleam flickering in her eyes. “Come on, Chloe. Come
help me clean things up so we can get ready for the sparklers and things.”

“Uhhh…” I hedged, looking at Brandon.

He winked and dropped my legs, kissing my lips one last time briefly before turning away and
adjusting himself as he walked around the side of the house in the direction Calland had gone.

I walked up to Allie and she slung her arm around my neck, squeezing me to her. “Having fun?” she
asked.

‘Of course!” I replied, wrapping my arm around her waist to squeeze her back.

“Good. Now let’s get this shit done so we can party!”

Chapter 25

Friday morning dawned brilliantly bright.

Like…the fire of a thousand suns bright. Of course, it could be the four shots of tequila and two
firecrackers I drank last night. The firecrackers were another contribution of Calland. I don’t know
where he got the idea, the recipe, whatever…they were good. But…they were baaaad.

Firecrackers are a mixed drink made with dark rum, sloe gin, orange juice, and 151. I don’t remember
the drive home. See? Bad.

I do, however, remember chasing Calland and Brandon around with sparklers (don’t ask why, I don’t
remember), I remember Allie (sober, of course…not sure if that makes it better or worse) lighting a
smoke bomb and pretending to disappear into the smoke, complete with magic words and everything.
I remember the fireworks display that the guys put on and I do have to admit, it was pretty epic. It was
equally epic that the cops didn’t show up, because I think they had more fireworks than the actual
township did for their legal display.

And most of all, I remember laughing my ass off at Nanny, who’d gotten into Daisy’s brownies and
eaten almost half of one before Daisy caught her. Did I mention they were POT brownies? Nanny got
pretty loopy and started flashing everyone, giggling like a school girl in the process. Though I must
say, the funniest part was when Allie had yelled, “Nanny! No one wants to see your little fried eggs!
Put ‘em away!”

I rolled over, my hand reaching for Brandon, but encountering empty sheets. I sat up, my hand going to
my head immediately. Oy. Damn that hurt.

The bedroom door pushed open and Brandon came in holding a tray. “Hey, sunshine!” he called,
brightly.

I squinted and groaned. “Headache, babe. Please…” I whined.

He chuckled and came to the side of the bed. “Scoot up so I can put the tray down.”

I complied, breathing in the scent of fresh coffee and buttered toast. I looked at the tray and
discovered a cup of coffee, toast, scrambled eggs with cheese, a glass of ice water, and two Tylenol.

“Mmmmm…” I sighed, sipping the rich, hot coffee and then inhaling it like the nectar of the Gods it
was. “Thank you.”

Brandon came around the bed and laid beside me, propping himself up on his elbow. “How are you
feeling this morning?” he asked. I could hear the mirth in his words.

I rolled my eyes at him and picked up a triangle of toast, loaded a spoonful of eggs on it, and bit in. I
chewed thoughtfully for a minute and then answered. “I don’t remember getting home. Everything
before that, I’m good. I think.”

“You don’t remember the drive home?” he scoffed. “Sure about that, sunshine?”

I swallowed the Tylenol and downed most of the water before I continued eating while I racked my
brain, trying to remember. I finally gave up and shrugged. “Nope. Don’t think so.”

Brandon reached over and stole a piece of my toast, biting into it as he said, “Hmmm.”

“What do you mean, hmm?” I asked. “What happened?”

He made another noncommittal noise in his throat and continued eating my toast. When he was done
he said, “Oh, I don’t know. I figured you would remember the festivities in the truck on the way
home.”

“Festivities? What the hell are you--” I paused, thinking hard. “Oh, shit! I totally gave you road
head!” I crowed, my jaw dropping in shock.

“Now she remembers,” Brandon said exasperatedly. “By the way, I’m pretty sure that the truck driver
we passed gave me a thumbs up.” He winked at me.

“Oh, God…” I groaned, closing my eyes in mortification.

The bed shook with Brandon’s silent laughter, which turned into loud laughter when I gave him a wry
look. I finished eating without saying another word. It’s not that I was embarrassed that I did that…
seriously, I do that for him all the time. But the fact that I did it shit faced and someone saw me do it?
Oy.

Brandon laid beside me, fingers lazily tracing random patterns on my hip while I finished my coffee.
That done, he jumped up, took the tray from me, kissed my forehead and ordered me to get dressed
while he cleaned up.

Feeling marginally better, I took a quick shower, threw on some clothes, and padded barefoot into the
living room to see what Brandon was doing. He met me in the hallway, wrapping his arms around me
and kissing me deeply.

“Now that’s a proper good morning,” he murmured against my lips.

I smiled and kissed him again, finally breaking the kiss to snuggle into his arms. I felt his chest rumble
when he spoke.

“Luke and I aren’t going to be that busy today. Why don’t you just stay home?”

I tipped my head back and looked at him. “Why? You trying to get rid of me?” I asked playfully.

“Maybe,” he said thoughtfully. “My other girlfriend is coming in today, so I figured I’d keep you two
apart.”

I growled at him and smacked his chest, smiling as he chuckled and hugged me tight to him again.
“Maybe I will stay home today,” I replied. “Might think of a surprise for you or something. You
know, something I’ll actually remember?”

His hands tightened reflexively. “Yeah?”

I shrugged one shoulder and pulled away from him, putting a little extra sway in my hips as I walked
into the kitchen, leaving him standing in the hall. “We’ll see.”

I grinned to myself and danced on the inside when I heard him swear under his breath as he stomped
down the hall to the bedroom to get ready. I started to pop another k-cup into my machine when the
doorbell rang.

I glanced at the clock, noticing that it was only quarter after eight as I went to open it. Brandon was
coming down the hallway, looking at his watch as he did. “Who the hell is coming over this early?”

“I don’t know.” I opened the door and gasped, hitting my knees as the room spun and started to go
dark.

“Mother fucker!”

I heard Brandon curse, but his voice was distant, seeming to get farther and farther away as he called
my name and then…nothing. The darkness swallowed me down.

A hand shaking me woke me up. I didn’t know how much time had passed, but as soon as
consciousness hit me, a scream worked its way up my throat, piercing the air around me before my
eyes even opened.

I struggled against the hands touching me, fighting against memories, against the panic, against the
pain. Brandon’s voice finally cut through the terror coursing through me and my gaze landed on him,
my hands latching onto his shoulders as he shook me gently, his hands gripping my upper arms, trying
to calm me down.

“NO! No, no, no, no, no…” I was mumbling, my whole body shivering on the floor.

“Baby, listen. Calm down. It’s okay, I promise. Shhh…shhh…” Brandon soothed, bending his face
down close to mine, pressing his lips to my forehead.

“I saw-”

He cut me off. “Chloe, listen to me. I know what you saw. But it’s okay. It’s not what you think. I need
you to sit up; there’s someone here to see you.”

I took a deep breath and let him help me up, my head swiveling to take in the stranger sitting on my
couch. Except, he was no stranger. Not really. He couldn’t be…because he looked just like Greg.

But Greg was dead. Right?

He lifted a hand and gave a small wave. “Hey, Chloe. I know this must come as quite a shock, but I’m
Gage. Greg’s twin brother, as I’m sure you’ve deduced by now.”

Brandon reached his hand down to me and I took it, allowing him to pull me to my feet. He helped me
over to the chair, my legs barely steady enough to support me, as I stared at Gage.

“I…I thought…” I hedged, uncertainly.

He nodded slightly. “I know. I’m sorry for that; I really am. I didn’t know how else to do this so I just
hopped on the plane, rented a car, and, well, here I am. Showing up at your door very early on a
Friday morning to scare the living daylights out of you.” He sighed and shook his head ruefully.

I clasped my hands together in my lap and took a deep breath. “So why are you here? No offense to
you, but I didn’t know he even had a twin. He mentioned a brother when I first met him, but said your
parents were dead and that he didn’t talk to you.”

“My parents are very much alive and extremely horrified by what transpired with Gregory. As for he
and I, we hadn’t spoken in quite a while because I didn’t much care for things he was getting involved
in.” He blew out a breath, looked like he was steadying himself. “I know there’s no way to atone for
what you went through. But please, accept my deepest and sincerest apologies, and that of my
parents.”

He stood and pulled something out of his pocket. He moved closer to me, stopping when I backed
away instinctively, but reached out his hand for me to take what he had. I opened the long rectangle of
paper, musing that it almost looked like a check, before I gasped and dropped the paper to the floor in
front of me.

“What is that?” I asked, my voice shaking. “You think you can buy me? You think I want your blood
money, is that what you came all this way for?” My voice was rising, anger evident in every syllable

I uttered.

Brandon moved to my side, his hand cupping my shoulder in a supportive, but calming, gesture.

Gage was shaking his head vigorously, beseeching me with his eyes to just give him a chance, to
listen to what he had to say. “No, I don’t wish to offend you, nor do I wish to insult you in any way.
Neither do my parents. That money is the total of Greg’s estate. He left it to me with very explicit
instructions that you were not to receive a penny.”

“Then I don’t understand-”

“I have no use for the money, Chloe. Neither do my parents. But what I do intend with this gesture is
to blatantly disregard my brother’s wishes as he so blatantly disregarded your life and that of your
child.”

I flinched at this.

“I apologize once again, but we were made aware of the total situation just recently. I hope he spins
in his grave for all eternity because of what I’m doing, and that he burns in hell for what he did to you.
We want you to have this to do with as you please. We are hoping that you will use it for yourself, to
make sure that you are provided for, for the rest of your life. If not, donate it, tear it up, burn it. I do
not care.” He moved to the door.

“It seems odd, me showing up here out of the blue and dropping a load of money in your lap, doesn’t
it?” he asked.

I nodded, completely confused by everything about this whole situation.

“I assure you, it’s odd for me, too. But there was no way in hell I was abiding by my brother’s wishes
and there was nothing more that pleased me than to deliver his money to you personally with my
deepest apologies, and those of my parents.” He laid a card on the table by the door. “If you ever
need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.” He inclined his head to me. “I know you won’t. It also
seems like you’re very well cared for and loved by this gentleman. That’s good to know.”

He nodded once, sharply, and then left, striding out the door without another word or a backward
glance.

I looked up at Brandon, so totally perplexed it wasn’t funny. “Did…uh, did that just happen?” I asked.

“Yeah. It sure did. At least I think so.” He stooped to pick up the check from the carpet. “Holy shit!
Did you see this?”

I shook my head. “No, I really didn’t look at it. I just saw that it was a check and dropped it. I don’t
want his money. It feels dirty to me, like they’re paying me blood money.”

“Chloe, look at this,” Brandon said, holding the check in front of my face.

I glanced at it, did a double take, and then felt my eyes bug out of my head. “Are you fucking
serious?” I said breathlessly. “That’s…that a five and one, two, three, four, five, six…six fucking
zeros! That’s…that’s…I need to sit down.”

Brandon chuckled. “Sunshine, you are sitting down.”

I sat there dazed for a moment. “I don’t want it,” I whispered.

“Okay,” Brandon whispered back. He met my eyes, his gaze steady. His fingers shifted on the thin
sheet of paper, poising to tear it up.

“Wait,” I stopped him. “Just put it up for now. I can’t just waste what could help so many other
people who might need it. And that’s something that he would have hated.”

Brandon kissed my head and moved down the hallway. I don’t know where he put the check, but it
was gone from his hand when he returned. “Come on, baby. I’ve got to get to the shop and you’re
coming with me. Okay?”

“No…no, I’m fine. I actually have something I wanted to do today, anyway.”

“Really? And when did that come about?” he teased me.

I let my smile shine. “When you decided to let me stay home today and I told you I might have a
surprise for you,” I replied with a sassy wink.

“Hmmm,” was all he said before he finished getting ready, kissed me goodbye, and left for work.

As soon as he was gone, I picked up the phone and called my mom, just needing to hear her voice.

“Hey, sweetie!” she said happily when she answered. “I was just thinking about you. How was your
fourth party?”

“Hi, Mom. It was good. Missed you, though. Wish you would have just flown in and spent a couple of
weeks with us.”

“Chloe Jane, what’s wrong?” she asked, her voice sharp with worry.

“Geez, Mom, can’t a daughter just call her mother without there being a reason?” I said it jokingly,
but I know she didn’t buy it. She confirmed it a second later.

“Not really, Chloe, because I can hear it in your voice. Something’s wrong. Now spill.”

So I did. I laid everything from the last forty-five minutes out for her, ending with, “I have no idea
what to do.”

She was silent for a while before she said, “Well, honey, you have to do whatever you think is best.
It’s a lot of money. We’ve always been pretty fortunate and I never raised you kids to be
materialistic, but that would make you comfortable for the rest of your life, if you did it right. On the
other hand, I completely feel you about the whole not wanting anything from him thing. I’d feel the
same way. So, it’s up to you, sweetheart.”

“I know Mom, I just…” I sighed. “I don’t want his money. But I can’t just let it sit there and go to
waste when it could help so many others.”

“What about donating it, then, to a charity or program that helps battered women and children?” my
mom said softly.

That idea struck me silent, surprised that I didn’t think of it myself. “You’re right, Mom. That’s what
I’m going to do. If I could help them have the resources they need to help just one woman, even, it
would be worth it.”

“It would. And I’m proud of you, honey. You’re a strong woman and I admire you greatly and I love
you very much.”

“I’m strong because you taught me to be that way, Mom. I wasn’t as strong as I should have been back
then, but…anyway. It doesn’t matter now. I love you, too, Mom.” I said, feeling emotion clog my
throat.

I heard a small sniff come across the line and laughed. “Knock it off, ya big cry baby!” I said, trying

to lighten the mood.

She laughed, too, just like I intended, and I felt much lighter than I did when I called her. “By the
way,” she began. “I was going to call you today, anyway. You and Jackson both, actually. Guess
what?”

“Uh, chicken butt?” I said seriously, calling up an old joke.

“Guess why?” she said, playing along.

“Chicken thigh,” I continued, giggling the same way I used to when I was younger.

“Alright, alright. Game’s over. I can’t wait anymore!” she cried before yelling, “I sold the house and
already put a down payment on a place out by Jan and Ben!”

I shrieked, literally jumping up and down around the living room. God knows if Brandon would have
been home, he’d have thought I was a lunatic for sure.

“That’s awesome!” I shouted, so excited to have my mom close again. I regretted the distance I put
between us when I was with Greg, physically and emotionally, but then I couldn’t really help it when
I moved out here. But now, my family would be together again….just a little bit bigger.

And that was everything I ever dreamed of.

Chapter 26

“Chloe?”

Silence.

“Chloe, sunshine, where are you?” Brandon called.

I stayed still and quiet, waiting for him to find me. I heard the thud-thud of boots being dropped to the
floor, so I knew that he’d taken his shoes off. I heard the clink of his keys hitting the bowl on the table
by the door. Then, finally, I heard soft footsteps coming down the hallway toward the bedroom,
where I was waiting.

“Hey, do you want to go get some dinner or do something? Or are we staying in tonight?”

His voice was right outside the door. I knew he was going to be surprised, even though I’d warned
him that I might have one for him when he got home. I also knew he wouldn’t really be expecting this
kind of surprise. And trust me, when he saw my surprise, even though it was only about four in the
afternoon, we would definitely NOT be going anywhere.

He pushed open the door and I heard him suck in a loud breath, then let out a long, low whistle. “Fuck
me…” he groaned.

I let the corners of my mouth curve up slightly in a teasing smile. “No. Fuck me.”

“Sunshine…Christ you have no idea how fuckin’ hot you look.”

After my conversation with my mom, I’d done a little shopping. Now I was kneeling at the foot of the
bed, wearing an outfit that consisted of nothing more than a few strategically placed leather strips and
lace panels. They revealed more than they concealed, but I knew it wasn’t the outfit alone that had
garnered that reaction from him.

No, it was probably the black satin blindfold I had tied around my eyes, my blond tresses pinned on
top of my head in a haphazard knot so it wouldn’t get tangled. It was probably, even more so, the
padded leather cuffs I’d snapped on my wrists, and the small array of items laid out on the bed behind
me.

I’d taken a drive down to Hustler and picked up a new bottle of warming lube; a slim, smooth, short,
tapered vibrator; and a light weight riding crop. I knew what I was getting into, what I wanted him to
do to me.

And I was shivering in anticipation of it.

I felt him move closer to me, his soft, quiet footsteps bringing him within touching range. But I didn’t
touch him. I could smell him, the warm, slightly musky, completely sexy and delicious scent of him,
and I inhaled, breathing him in deeply.

I felt my pulse quicken at the rasp of a zipper. With the blindfold effectively cutting off my sight, my
other senses were heightened, making this usually slight sound seem loud in the silence surrounding
us. Every movement he made, every rustle of clothing, every jagged breath that left his lips stirred the
stillness around me.

I could feel the anticipation like a living thing in the air, blanketing me until my skin tingled and my
body vibrated; it was almost like having scuffed my feet across the carpet and gotten close to a metal
surface afterward, that electrified sensation that comes before the shocking discharge.

I started as something soft touched my cheek, then lightly trailed across my lips. Unbidden, my lips
parted and my tongue darted out, a low moan dragged from my throat as I tasted silky flesh and the
unmistakable flavor that was Brandon before it was gone.

“I think I like this surprise,” he said, his voice gravelly and dark. “We playing by my rules,
sunshine?”

“Yes.” One word, whispered into the silence.

“Hands behind your back,” he commanded.

I complied immediately, clasping my cuffed hands behind my back. He reached down and secured
them together with the little metal clips hanging from them for that specific purpose. I felt him
straighten again and the air stirred around me as he disrobed. I felt the small thump of his jeans hitting
the carpet by my knees. I then heard the unmistakable sound of skin sliding on skin and gasped as I
imagined him fisting himself, stroking the turgid length in front of me. The rough sigh of pleasure that
sounded above my head confirmed it and my sex clenched in response.

I felt his hand cup my cheek, his thumb caressing my skin before he hooked it into the corner of my
mouth, gently forcing my lips open and sliding it inside over my tongue, tracing the slight saltiness of
his skin over my taste buds. I closed my lips around it, sucking with firm pulls, letting my cheeks
hollow with the movement.

He growled and curled his fingers around my chin, hooking his thumb inside my mouth and pressing
down on my tongue, forcing my jaw open. He didn’t hurt me; he was firm, a little rough, but in a good
way. In a way that let me know he was in the moment with me, he was gonna give me what I wanted,
let the darker side of him that I knew he had out to play.

“Open wide.”

I dropped my jaw more as he moved his hand away, opening my mouth for the intrusion of his
thickness. Moisture flooded my core and my mouth watered in anticipation. A moan worked past my
lips as he slid the silken head against my bottom lip, leaving a trace of wetness behind that my tongue
immediately sought.

“Yessss…” he hissed as he followed my tongue, pushing the heated length of his hardness into the
warmth of my mouth, stroking it against my tongue and lips in short, sharp thrusts. I worked to
swallow around him, scraping him a bit with my teeth and I winced, thinking I’d hurt him. I’d used my
teeth on him before, but not quite that hard.

“Christ, that’s good,” he groaned. “Suck me, Chloe.”

I blinked in surprise behind the blindfold, then berated myself for being shocked. It wasn’t like I’d
bitten him or anything, but it was definitely enough to hurt him, I thought. Guess not. That turned things
even warmer down below.

I closed my lips around him, leaning into him to take him deep. I felt the tip of him at the back of my
throat and fought my gag reflex, pressing my tongue against the bottom of him as I breathed through my
nose and swallowed. He jerked in my mouth, his hips thrusting helplessly as my throat muscles
convulsed around him, massaging in counterpart to my suction.

Brandon’s hands came up, one cradling my jaw, the other spearing into the knot of hair on top of my
head as he pulled me back, sliding himself out of my mouth. “I’m gonna fuck your mouth, baby,
okay?” he asked, gruffly.

I nodded, my lips already parting to receive him once more. I groaned as he slid inside, smiling
around his thickness as he swore under his breath again. He used his hands to guide me, once again
gently hooking a thumb into the corner of my mouth to keep my jaw open as he began thrusting
between my lips, sliding along my tongue with quick strokes.

I moaned at the feel of him, slick from my mouth, but also from the copious drops of moisture seeping
from the tip, the taste lingering on my tongue making desire pool heavily between my thighs. He
fucked my mouth roughly, all the while taking care not to hurt me. He grunted and groaned when his
sensitive flesh scraped against my teeth, the slight edge of pain serving only to heighten his pleasure.

Finally, when his hips were moving rapidly, his thrusts becoming uneven and jerky, he thrust me away
from him, depriving me of his release. I cried out and he shushed me. “It’s okay, baby, I just wasn’t
ready to come yet. You okay? I wasn’t too rough?”

I shook my head immediately, though I did shift a little bit against the ache beginning to build in my
knees and thighs from kneeling for so long on the floor. He must have noticed.

His hands reached down and gripped my waist, pulling me up off the floor and onto my feet in a fluid
movement that only served to remind me of his strength. I loved it. I felt him reach behind me and
unhook the cuffs, rubbing my hands to make sure I wasn’t losing feeling in them.

“I’m good, Brandon. I promise,” I told him, leaning into the broad, muscular expanse of his chest. I
kissed the naked skin of his chest because it was there, and because I could. His arms came around
me and hugged me tightly to him. I could feel the hard length of him pressed against my stomach and
my hand came up of its own volition, tracing my fingers over his hard stomach until I pushed between
our bodies and encircled the hot thickness with my hand.

He sucked in a breath and released it on a whoosh before he pulled away, gently berating me. “Uh,
uh, uh…all in good time. This is my surprise, right?”

I nodded.

“And we’re playing by my rules?”

I nodded again.

“Then no touching. I’m gonna cuff you again, okay?”

I nodded once more.

I felt his lips lightly kiss each of my eyes through the blindfold, then touch briefly on the tip of my
nose, before placing a gently kiss to my upturned lips. He grabbed me by the waist again and picked
me up, tossing me carefully onto the bed. I rolled automatically, presenting him with my arms behind
my back so he could hook the cuffs together again, but he only laughed under his breath and rolled me
back over. “Stay still.”

He left the bed for a moment and I heard him rummaging through the drawer of my dresser, then a
metallic clink. Then he was back on the bed with me and I heard the clicking noises of handcuffs
being attached to the slatted bedframe behind me on either side. Once he’d done that, he took each of
my arms and attached the little hooks to the chain of the handcuffs, I would assume, because the hooks
weren’t large enough to go round the slats.

That done, he traced his fingertips down each of my arms, leaving me gasping and squirming and
finally, protesting and laughing when he got to my ticklish spots.

“Brandon, no!” I shouted shrilly, my voice still shaking with laughter.

I heard him chuckle and then murmur against my skin, “Okay, okay…I won’t.” His lips touched mine
sweetly and things turned serious again when mine parted and allowed his tongue to sweep inside to
thrust and parry with mine, tasting and teasing each other, taking it deeper and deeper until we were
desperate for each other.

His hands were all over me, sliding up and down my body, plucking at my nipples through the lace
panels of the lingerie I wore. My back arched, my hands pulling at their bonds, my mouth wordlessly
asking him for more.

“Are you overly fond of this outfit?” he asked me, his lips brushing against mine with every word.

“I just…I just bought it today,” I gasped as his fingers worked delicately over my breasts, flicking the
already aching tips to almost painfully hard diamond points.

He was up off the bed then, leaving me whimpering in his absence. He was back in a heartbeat
though, his words brief and bitten out. “I’ll buy you a new one,” he growled, and then I felt something
cool and sharp slide against my skin underneath the material. Suddenly, I was bare; he’d cut the
lingerie from me, the tattered remains of it falling down the sides of my body to lie on the bed.

“God, you’re fucking gorgeous, sunshine. I love the way you look all spread out for me, your bare
skin so soft and touchable…kissable.”

I moaned at the ache twisting in my belly, the heavy curl of want, the sparking fire of need that raced
along my skin at his words. My hips thrust toward him, asking for his touch, and I cursed the blindfold
now, wanting to see him above me as he buried himself to the hilt inside my folds.

Like he knew my thoughts, the blindfold was wrenched away from my eyes and I blinked up into his
face, his stormy eyes searching mine, blazing with a heat that left me breathless. He sat up and
reached behind him, gathering up the items that were, miraculously, still lying on the bed despite my
thrashing. He brought each of them up and held them in front of my face, lustful speculation creeping
into his smile.

“I think we need to turn you over, baby,” he whispered, the words pebbling my skin instantly.

He unsnapped the leather cuffs and turned me, taking the time to move the handcuffs in closer together
before snapping the leather cuffs back around my wrists, leaving me face down on the mattress, my
hands circling the slats of the headboard, bound by the cuffs. He gripped my hips and pulled them up,
my weight resting on my knees, cheek and forearms flat on the bed.

He spread my legs wider, his thumbs caressing the soft, damp folds between my thighs as he did. I
jerked at his touch, wanting more, but he denied me.

Instead, he chuckled and moved away again. I turned my head a bit and watched him over my
shoulder. His nostrils were flared, eyes flashing, and that gloriously hard part of him was jutting out
from his hips, inducing another rush of wetness to my already swollen, glistening pink folds.

Without warning, his hand swung and the supple leather tongue of the riding crop bit into the rounded
globe of my ass, making me hiss at the sting. His hand was there, rubbing gently across the red mark,
soothing it, before it was gone and the crop was back, stinging the other cheek this time.

Each strike was immediately smoothed, the same as he always did when he’d spanked me with his
hand. I loved it when he did that and this…well, this was like a velvet-edged sword, piercing my skin
with sweet, sharp, stinging heat that dragged me deeper into subliminal bliss with every stroke. After

five swats, each delivered perfunctorily to a new location each time, my ass was striped with small,
quickly fading welts and I was wiggling uncontrollably, seeking relief from the aching pressure
building and building in me.

Brandon stared down at his artwork, his eyes darkening even more, his jutting length twitching at the
sight. “I don’t have the patience tonight to work you here,” he said, softly, reaching out with his hand
to press the pad of his thumb against the puckered hole peeking out from between my flushed rear
cheeks.

I cried out at the feel of his hand on me, didn’t matter where it was. My body was so tight, craving his
touch so desperately it felt like my skin would split open without relief, and soon. He soothed me
with gentle words and tender touches, stroking down the backs of my thighs with his fingers just
seconds before I was bathed with his hot breath and then his mouth was there.

His hands moved to spread me open wider as his plunged his tongue into my slit from behind, lapping
at my juices, sliding through the wet folds until he sucked the tiny pearl of my clit into his mouth,
suckling with strong pulls that sent me crashing over the edge, straight into screaming, white hot,
spine-tingling euphoria.

My hips bucked and twisted, riding out the waves of my release, but it never quite faded. It started
building again almost immediately because Brandon was relentless with his mouth on my sex. He
sucked at my clit, swirling his tongue around the sensitive nubbin until I was almost mindless before
he licked into my entrance again, fucking me with his tongue until I came once more, shuddering and
gasping as he lapped away every drop of warm honey that flooded my core.

There was no time for me to catch my breath, either, as he wrenched his mouth away, put one hand on
the small of my back, dug his fingers in, and then slammed home, filling me with one hard, fluid
movement. He was seated fully inside my wet, clenching heat, the swollen thickness of him stretching
me almost painfully.

“So tight…” he muttered, slipping out of me a little before sliding back inside. He did this several
times, small, smooth thrusts that lessened the discomfort but built the ache returning full force
between my thighs.

He pulled out almost all the way and I felt him shift a little before I felt liquid trickle over the
puckered flesh he’d pressed his thumb against earlier. “I lied a little,” he said breathlessly as he
placed the tip of the vibrator against that entrance, “I don’t have the patience for you to take me, but
you can take this.”

I arched into him, pushing the tip of the vibrating toy just a bit deeper into the tight ring of muscle.
“That’s it, baby,” he moaned as he watched it disappear into my body, leaving only the thicker,
knobby handle of it nestled between my cheeks. The pulsing of it sent waves of pleasure through me
that shot sky high when Brandon started thrusting inside me again, his pelvis rocking the vibrator with
every movement.

It was double nirvana until his hand slid over my hip and his fingers circled my clit, thereby taking it
to a triple threat, a trifecta of ecstasy that brought me, screaming, lost in the throes of an orgasm so
explosive that I lost my breath, my body spasming uncontrollably as wave after wave of unbridled
rapture washed over me.

Brandon’s thrusts became wild and his breathing erratic as he reached for release, finding it just
seconds after mine, locking his hips tightly to mine as he came, pulsating as he filled me.

It took a while for him to move, but it seemed like mere moments before everything (and everyone)
was cleaned up, I was free, and we were snuggled together on top of the comforter, both still
breathing like we’d run a marathon.

“That…” Brandon gasped, “Was one hell of a surprise.”

I could only nod and grin.

“Chloe?” he asked, kissing my shoulder.

“Mmmhmm?”

“You liked that riding crop.” It was a statement, not a question.

I nodded again.

“We’re going shopping tomorrow.”

My imagination went wild.

“Okay,” was all I said.

Chapter 27

Two Months Later

The moon is shining brightly
Over top your wee-bit head
So rest your eyes my little one
As Auntie tucks you into bed
Off to sleep now, off to dream
Snuggle in and hug me tight
I love you always and forever
Go to sleep, little one, goodnight.

I finished singing the lullaby twice over as I stared down at a now sleeping Liam. I felt a hand on my
shoulder and looked up to see my brother smiling down at me. He reached down and took his
sleeping son from my arms, kissing his forehead as he walked away to put him down for the night.

I stood and stretched, glancing out the French doors leading to the deck and the concrete apron of the
pool beyond, where the usual suspects were before making my way out to join them. Allie was sitting
on a lounger, laughing at something Emma had said. Luke was sitting on the lounger next to Allie’s,
but Emma was positioned between his legs, leaning back against his chest, his arms wrapped securely
around her.

Everyone had been here today to celebrate Jarrod’s birthday. He’d turned nine and, knowing that
Allie would never tell him no, had begged to have his birthday party at Allie and Jack’s house so his
friends could go swimming with him. Thankfully, that part had ended a couple of hours ago, leaving
red plastic cups, paper plates, and pizza boxes scattered across every surface.

Jenna was exhausted, you could clearly tell. This pregnancy was doing a number on her. She’d
lamented long and hard about how easy both of her other pregnancies were compared to this one. She
was sick pretty much all day, but had high hopes that her second trimester would be a little easier.
Allie had commiserated with her since her early pregnancy with Liam hadn’t been very pretty, either.

So we’d cleaned up and sent them on their merry way, though I think Noah wanted to stay longer. I
also think that’s because they were letting five of Jarrod’s friends sleep over and have a movie
marathon and he, since he’s the guy and not pregnant and hormonal, got to stay up and hang out with
them. I’m also pretty sure this was told to him in no uncertain terms.

Everly was asleep already in the pack-n-play in Liam’s room, which is why her parents were free to
snuggle and visit with friends. Allie had the baby monitor on the table beside her and was currently
smiling as she listened to her husband, my brother, whisper to their son as he put him to bed.

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that Allie and Jackson had finally gotten married? They took a
weekend trip to Gatlinburg about three weeks ago and decided, while they were there, that they’d get
married. Turns out that it wasn’t so much of a decide-while-you’re-there-thing, but more of a
planned-to-pretend-it-wasn’t-planned thing. Allie’s mom had cried because she didn’t get to plan a
perfect wedding for her daughter (which, by the way, was exactly the reason they decided to elope),
and while the rest of us were disappointed we couldn’t be there, we understood completely.

My mom, however sad she was that she missed it, actually applauded them for their decision. But
that’s because Daisy cornered her with some ideas for the wedding and they were…well, typical

Daisy.

Leah and Ian had left a couple of hours ago to meet with Ian’s parents for dinner. She’d alluded to the
fact that it was an invitation they couldn’t refuse. Needless to say, she wasn’t overly fond of Ian’s
parents, but she’d been pretty tight-lipped about why. They were supposed to come back, though, and
should be here any time.

Calland had just left, but he was headed down to Griff’s to meet a group of his friends that he hadn’t
seen in a while. We’d all been warned to keep our phones on just in case. When I asked why just in
case, he’d just shook his head and laughed.

Emma had rolled her eyes and commented, “It’s just in case he gets a wild hair, does something
stupid, and needs bail money. Or he just wants to drunk dial and needs to make sure his targets are
available.”

I’d gasped, looking at her in alarm. “He’d really do something to get arrested?”

Everyone in Emma’s family had laughed and Jan had said, “No, honey, he wouldn’t. It’s a long
running joke. We’ll explain one day.”

But now night was falling, the air was still warm, and I was surrounded by my closest friends, except
for Leah. I looked around, smiling when my eyes came to rest on him.

Brandon. It’d be safe to say that I’ve fallen completely, irrevocably, and undeniably in love with that
man. It’d be safe to say because I’ve said it before, but it’s safer to say now. And it’s even safer than
that to say that the man loves me back with a passion that rivals any love story I’ve ever read. I know
this because he tells me all the time.

And because…I glanced down at the diamond winking in the dim light on my finger…he proposed.
No, he didn’t do it on bended knee (not his bended knees, anyway), and there were no flowery words
and tears (I lied, I totally cried…but afterwards), because he’d done it while I was straddling him
where he sat on the couch, when he was buried deep inside me, making love to me. He’d pulled my
hand up, slid the ring on my finger, and nodded once, before he rocked my world. No words needed.

Not a story we can really tell anyone, but hey. It was perfect for me. (Wink wink) That had been the
night that I’d put in motion the plan I’d made for the money Gage had dropped on me. I donated half of
it to a couple different local charities that help battered women and children. The other half I kept,
because I’d been told by pretty much everyone that I would be nuts if I didn’t have fun with at least a
little of it. So I did. I sponsored a new football stadium for the high school, as well as some books
that they needed but didn’t have funding for. I also started college funds for Liam and Everly. See?
Fun!

He grinned back at me from the edge of the pool where he was leaning. “Come on in, sunshine, the
water’s fine,” he said, waggling his brows at me.

“Oh, no you don’t, lover boy,” Allie called from her chair. “I know what happened last time you two
were in my pool!”

“Yeah, I nearly got molested by your Nanny!” Brandon yelled back.

“You’d have liked it!” a gravelly voice yelled out from the upstairs window.

Every single one of us jumped and stared upwards to see Nanny’s face, surrounded by a halo of frizzy
hair, staring back down at us.

Jackson came outside laughing just then. Allie looked at him in confusion. “I thought Nanny said good
bye and left a couple hours ago?”

He nodded. “She did say goodbye, but the only place she went was to the spare bedroom to take a
nap. Poppy’s up there, too. She just called me to tell me they’re staying the night and we’re to take
them to Bob Evan’s for breakfast in the morning.”

“She called you from the house?” Allie asked.

Jackson nodded again. “Yup. From your cell phone, too.”

Allie just sat there for a second before she jumped up in a panic. “Ohmigod, Jackson, my phone. My
PHONE! She can’t have my phone!”

“Jesus, Allie, calm down, it’s not like there’s anything on there that…no. You’ve gotta be fucking
kidding me, right?” Jackson said, dread lacing his words.

“What?” Emma asked.

Luke’s shoulders were shaking behind her and I could hear Brandon laughing as well. I guess we
were a little slower on the uptake but it all crystallized pretty quickly.

“Holy shit the bed, Fred! Nice wanker, Jacks! Poppy, look here, Allie’s got herself a biggun’!” Nanny
hollered.

Allie groaned, Jackson snickered.

Brandon, being Brandon, yelled back, “Hey, Nanny!”

She popped her head back out the window. “What’s up, hotstuff?”

He winked at her. “Mine’s bigger.”

To his surprise, she winked back. “Nah, you’re pretty even. I was hiding in the shower when you
changed.”

I busted out laughing when Brandon started sputtering and Allie shrieked, “NANNY! OH MY GOD!”

Yep. Life was good.

*******

It is estimated that one in every three women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. You
are not alone and you can break the cycle. For more information or to get help, please contact the
National Domestic Violence Hotline at: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or 1-800-787-3224; or visit

www.thehotline.org

*******

Author’s Note:

Thank you for reading Skin to Skin! I hope you enjoyed the third installment of the Skin Deep Series
as much as you did the others. Be on the look out for Skin Tight, Skin Deep #4, due out in 2015!

Also, don’t forget to read on and check out the sneak peek of Seven Days by Josie Leigh!!

XOXO,

J.M. Stone

Acknowledgments:

First and foremost, the biggest THANK YOU goes out to my readers for all your support and
encouragement during this journey. We’re three books in now and I still haven’t lost the deep
appreciation and heartfelt gratitude that I have for you all for sticking with me. I couldn’t do this
without you! MUAH!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to Leo Parsons for always giving me what I want and doing it
so well! I couldn’t ask for a better tattoo artist. And thank you, Amy, for keeping your husband on
track when he wants to drive through the park instead!

To Sharon and Melissa, thank you, thank you, thank you for everything you’ve done for me and taught
me. I know you say I’m not, but I still feel like a spaz, so thank you, too, for putting up with me!

To my hoemancer, Josie Leigh, do we really need words anymore? You know I love you and our
random texts and conversations. Regardless, thank you for being there for me and for everything you
do! (And for the buckets of water…I’ve needed them!)

A huge shout out to my street team for all you do and for loving me, even when I’m MIA or leave
random, crazy posts for you. Trust me, the love is mutual!

Thank you to Amber Binion for not only leading my street team, but for becoming my kind of right-
hand-woman these past few weeks. I appreciate you more than you know!

I can’t forget to show some love to Amber Binion (again) (this was back when you were just stalking
me instead of becoming indispensable…I kid, I kid!) and Alice Jackson as the winners of the Name
Those Babies Contest to give our lovely little ones their names of Everly and Liam. Thank you!!!

Much love and thanks to my betas, Josie, Jenn, Sarah, Mia, Amber, and Naarah for telling me when
things suck and when they don’t; you guys keep me sane! And Ben? I miss my accidental editor! That
being said, any editing mistakes are mine alone and I sincerely apologize for them. I hope they’re not
too heinous.

Thank you to all the bloggers and reviewers who have shown their love and support to me during this
journey. You guys are awesome!

Last but not least, thank you to my family for encouraging me every day, for pushing me and telling me
I can when I think I can’t, and for loving me the way you do. I love you all…ALWAYS EVER! (Yes,
even you, Allen…)

Oh, and Mom? Thanks for getting everyone to read my books and pimping me out everywhere you (or
we) go, even though you refuse to read any of them for fear you might jinx me. But seriously, the
waiters at restaurants don’t want to see them. I love you, though! (And it’s okay, I know I’m the
favorite.)

About the Author:

USA Today and Amazon Best Selling Author J.M. Stone is a legal assistant by day, and a writer by
night. She started writing at a young age, mostly poetry and song lyrics, some of which were
published. She currently lives in Ohio where she's lived for most of her life, and enjoys spending time
with her other-half, their mouthy daughter, three spoiled and crazy dogs, and the rest of her abnormal
family. (Don't worry, abnormal is good!) In her spare time, she loves to read, write, sing, and make
people laugh, which usually happens at her own expense!

She loves to hear from her readers, so drop her line at jadelynna23@yahoo.com or connect with her
online!

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4560885.J_M_Stone

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/JM-Stone/622443461116902

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/authorJMStone

Website:

http://jadelynna23.wix.com/authorjmstone

Happy Reading!

******

Other works by J.M. Stone

Skin Deep Series

Skin Deep

Under My Skin

Skin to Skin

Skin Tight, due out in 2015

Read on for a sneak peek of Seven Days by Josie Leigh!

Seven Days, Josie Leigh

Prologue

Ever do something that you know almost immediately might just be the biggest mistake you’ve ever made? That’s what happened

the night I walked away from Ryan. It hadn’t been an easy decision, but just a couple of words changed everything for me. They made
me realize I needed to save my family, the only family that I constantly fought and sacrificed for. Panic seized me as I fought for control
over my emotions.

I could feel those sad amber eyes following me as I rounded the corner of the restaurant. Slumping against the unforgiving gray

brick wall when I was sure he wasn’t going to follow me, I let the tears I’d been holding back cascade down my swollen face.

After allowing myself a few minutes to wallow in my misery, I pushed off the wall and started walking again. I knew I had to

make it back home before they found out I was leaving. It was bad enough he knew where I’d been last week. I couldn’t leave my
sister in that kind of danger, but I needed to get my emotions under control before I got behind the wheel of my car. I would be no good
to her if I couldn’t even make it home through my tears.

“Carrie,” I heard from the side of the building. His voice just on the edge of desperation, tinged with receding tears and emotion.

“Look at you,” he sighed, as he reached my side and lifted a hesitant hand to my cheek. “You don’t want to do this. Don’t do this,” he
pleaded, coaxing my eyes to his. “Don’t do this,” he repeated, moving his hand to stroke my loose auburn locks. I wanted to melt into
him, let him fix everything, but I knew that was impossible. “Please, don’t run.”

“I wish it were my choice, Ryan,” I told him, letting him see just how much this decision was affecting me. “I’d do anything to fix it, but I
have to get her out of here-- get us out of here before something terrible happens,” I choked out before I broke his embrace and ran to
my dilapidated early 90’s model Ford Escort. Fumbling with the keys, I threw my bag inside and it bounced off the passenger’s seat,
spilling the contents onto the floorboard. With a sigh, I sat behind the steering wheel, trying to convince myself to not look back at the
man with desolation in his eyes, standing across the parking lot. When I was able to choke back the new round of sobs, I started the car
that would take me away from him. After the week we’d just spent together, I thought I could figure out a way to get it all.
Unfortunately, messy details only get tied with a pretty red bow on television. In the real world, I had to make a choice, continue to give
up my dignity to live happily for now with Ryan or leave my shattered past behind and search for a modified version of a happily ever
after. Or at least as close to one as I’d ever deserve, because I was sure I’d never find someone as incredible as him again. Lightening
didn’t strike twice.

I never believed in soul mates, or in one person for the rest of your life, but Ryan was someone I could see waking up to every

morning. Forever and beyond. I couldn’t stay here anymore though. I had made a promise to myself and my little sister, Britton, and I
planned to keep it, even if it meant leaving behind the only man I’d ever love.

I couldn’t believe it had only been nine days since I’d met him. I couldn’t believe it had only been seven days since our trip began.

Only one week. Seven days. 168 hours. 10,080 minutes. 604,800 seconds. The more I broke it down, the more it seemed like we’d
known each other the equivalent of a lifetime.

Chapter 1

Nine days earlier…

Just one more week to go. Nine days. 216 hours. 12,960 minutes. 777,600 seconds. The more I broke it down, the further away is

seemed.

I could barely remember a time when my life wasn’t so…

I could barely remember a time when I could look myself in the mirror and be proud of who I was.

Staring down at the wash-gray sheets that had to have been white at some point, I tried to disappear into my head. My hands were

clenched in fists as I waited. Throwing in a moan or a grunt every so often so he thought I was into it. I didn’t need to be, though, he
didn’t care. My entire childhood had been lost because of one mistake; one squeeze of a trigger propelled a bullet into her head, and
made favors like the one I was in the midst of necessary for survival.

My family had never been anything more than one paycheck away from having absolutely nothing, but we’d tried to make the best

of it for the first thirteen years of my life. Although, it had only been nine years ago, it felt like a lifetime. I could barely remember the
happiness we’d been capable of when I was younger through the cloud of pot and meth smoke that seeped into every corner of the
trailer we lived in. Now, I was the only one fighting to keep the dream alive, even if what I had to do to make it happen disgusted me.

“Damn, baby,” Dallas groaned as he rolled off me and grabbed his jeans from my bedroom floor. He didn’t even bother to get rid

of the condom on his shrinking erection before zipping them up and pulling a package from the back pocket. Throwing it to me, he added,
“You’ve earned this.”

“I don’t want that,” I cringed away from the baggie until he put it back in his pocket. Rolling onto my back, I pulled the sheet up to

cover my nakedness and sent up a silent prayer that he would just leave. He might’ve just finished fucking me, but I didn’t want to let
him look long enough to get any ideas about having a round two.

“Why not?” he sniffed. “It’s yours and if you want to bust it open right now, we could spend the night having a lot more fun,” he

suggested, leering at me in the dark, his baby blues flashing.

“You know it’s not for me,” I refuted, suppressing a shudder at his suggestion. “Leave it on the porch on your way out, Dallas.

You know how this works.”

“So your precious daddy thinks the meth fairy has come again?” he snorted then smiled. The sharpness of his cheek bones always

gave me pause. I remember the days before he took his first hit with my ex-boyfriend, Noah. His beautiful bone structure had me making
moon eyes over him, even though I thought I was in love with his best friend. It had been nearly eight years since then, so the continued
drug use had those same features much more prominent on his face and far less attractive. “What do you think he’d do if he knew what
you did to make sure he never comes back from that other world he escaped to after your mom died?” he asked, his words sounding like
a threat.

“He knows,” I confessed, turning my head from what I knew had to be a wicked grin on his face.

“Wow, Richard knows his daughter whores herself for his drugs and their rent, but still doesn’t try to clean his act up enough to

work again,” he said, his voice sounding disbelieving. “I’m not going to complain because the perks are amazing,” he paused. After a
moment, I felt his hand dive under the blanket and his fingers pinched my clit. “How about we head out and grab something to eat? I
don’t want you to get the idea that this is the only thing I come over for?” he offered, his eyes were sincere, but glassy. Did he actually
think that something more between us would work?

“We’re done tonight, Dallas,” I warned, shifting on the bed so his hand fell away from my body. With the sheet wrapped tightly

around my naked body, I got onto my knees, effectively closing my legs to him.“Besides, it’s been made perfectly clear that money is not
the form of currency I’m allowed to use to take care of those bills. You don’t have to add insult to injury by offering me food. I can pay
for that on my own.”

I didn’t want to get into all of this with him. I felt like a horrible daughter whenever I fed my dad’s addiction, but anytime he started

to go through withdrawals, Britton and I ended up with bruises and deeper scars. So we’d just decided it was easier to let the drug abuse
go and hope that one day, he’d take more than he should and we’d be free of this life. Then, we’d feel guilty about hoping our father
would overdose. The whole thing was a vicious cycle.

“That’s right, baby. Your money is no good here. I’ll see you in a couple of days,” he promised as he escaped through my open

window, reminding me that my window was probably the most used entrance to our house. Unfortunately, it was never utilized by the
actual occupants. It was these moments that I was glad that my window faced the giant block wall surrounding the trailer park where we
lived, so I knew no one could see who made frequent trips in and out of my bedroom in the middle of the night.

The trailer was all our family really had aside from a beat up car from a couple of years after I was born. My parents had inherited

it and its space in the trailer park from my dad’s parents. I didn’t know where we’d lived before they died, but I was able to deduce
through conversations that it had been a much worse area than the one where we currently lived. According to my parents, moving from
where we were when I was a baby to this trailer was like trading in bologna for steak.

Staying on my knees, I stared, unseeing, at the water-stained wall beside my bed, the mattress of my bed too warm beneath me to

risk laying down. The heat really was stifling in early August and we didn’t have an air conditioner, only a swamp cooler. I knew I should
try to sleep, but I couldn’t. I was still too awake to truly rest. I needed to keep going until every last drop of energy chased away the
nightmares. I was still, at least, thirty-six hours away from that.

“What the fuck, Carrie?” Britton whispered, harshly as she pushed open my squeaking bedroom door sometime later. Looking

over, I found my little sister still in her movie theatre uniform, her own auburn hair pulled back into a ponytail, a scowl marring her
porcelain features.

Britton and I had taken after our mother’s Irish heritage, except our eyes. Britton had our dad’s chocolate brown eyes, whereas

mine were my mother’s bright green. She’d gotten our mother’s curves, though, and I was stuck with the Patrick side’s stick figure of
jutting collarbones and knobby knees. She always complained because I was so skinny that I had to run around in the shower to get wet,
but she had to look over her breasts to see her shoes. The whole analogy didn’t make sense, but I let her have it. She was my little sister,
and she was the only reason I hadn’t left this God-forsaken trailer park the second I turned 18. And now, four years later, we were just

over a week until her 18

birthday and our freedom.

“What, Britton?” I looked back at her, shifting in my bed.

“Um, this?” she questioned, holding up her hand in frustration. Looking closer, I found the source of her irritation, the baggie that

Dallas had tried to leave with me was pinched between her fingers. “We are leaving in nine days. I thought we agreed you didn’t have to
do this anymore,” she lectured.

“Don’t start with me right now, Britton. I do that,” I explained, gesturing toward my bedroom window, “so you don’t have to.

We’ve been over this a thousand times.”

“That doesn’t mean I approve of it,” she mumbled, folding her arms under her ample chest.

“Whatever, just put the shit on the table. I’m going to bed,” I told her rolling over again and staring at the peeling wallpaper and

water stained walls beside me.

“Bullshit, Carrie, you aren’t ready to go to sleep yet,” she called me out. “Look, it was my turn to bring the popcorn home, so get

your naked ass dressed while I change out of this crap and we’ll watch a movie,” she offered, letting me hear the smile in her voice.
Suddenly eating stale, but salty and buttery movie theatre popcorn and watching Emma Stone kiss Ryan Gosling in the middle of a bar
sounded like just the thing I wanted to do.

“Fine,” I grumbled, more for show. “Not exactly a nutritious dinner though.”

“It’s three in the morning, Carrie, it’s more like the breakfast of champions at this point,” she disputed.

“Did you already kick dad off the couch?” I asked, getting out of bed to grab a nightshirt.

“He’s not here,” she told me over her shoulder as she walked out of my bedroom and down the hall to her room.

“What do you mean, he’s not here?” I asked, following after her, my footsteps echoing in the hallway. That was the thing about

living in a trailer, it was nearly impossible to move around quietly. Every step sounded like a herd of elephants if you didn’t step lightly.

“I mean, that if he was here, I just would’ve thrown the baggie at him before I came to yell at you.”

“Oh,” I frowned, grabbing the package of my dad’s meth and walking past my sister to the living room, finding it just as deserted

as Britton said it would be. Passing the beaten down plaid couch and recliner, I set the drugs that I continuously sold my dignity for on the
yellow Formica kitchen table that might’ve passed for retro chic, if not for the burn marks blemishing the surface. When I finally got to
the other side of the house, I saw that she was correct and my dad really wasn’t home.

I’d hoped that she’d been mistaken and he’d already gone to bed. That would be too easy on me though, and Richard Patrick was

the king of making my life suck even more. He didn’t drive, so that could only mean two things: he’d walked wherever he’d gone or
someone had picked him up. Both meant bad things for me and the coming nights.

“I didn’t hear him leave,” I grumbled to Britton when I made my way back to the darkened living room where she was setting up

the movie.

“He probably snuck out while you were occupied,” she shrugged, putting finger quotes around the last word. “I think deep down

inside, he doesn’t like what you are doing for him, but he knows that he doesn’t have the willpower to quit so you don’t have to do it
anymore.”

“Ha!” I laughed, bitterly, knowing his guilt wasn’t what drove him away. It was more about plausible deniability, and letting his

‘friends’ do whatever they wanted to his oldest daughter, because he was convinced that I liked it. “Him leaving like that only creates
more problems for me, more debt that I have to pay off and he knows it,” I complained, grabbing a handful of room temperature popcorn
from the giant bag on the floor between us.

“Let’s just forget about it for now. I mean, less than two weeks to go now, right?” she asked, giving me a small guarded smile.

“We’re finally in the home stretch, and tomorrow, er, I mean, today, I guess, is another day!” she finished, brightly, hitting the button on
the remote and settling against the armrest of the couch.

Dad still hadn’t returned when I had to leave for work a couple hours later. I tried not to worry about where he was. It was

Saturday morning, which meant he’d had a number of parties in the park to choose from the night before. I wondered if he’d ended up at
Dallas’ as I slipped behind the wheel of my car and headed for my breakfast shift at the diner. If he had, I could probably take the bag
he’d left last night back and we’d be square. Deep inside, though, I knew I owed Ben for whatever my father had gotten up to last night.
I fucking hated when I owed Ben.

Tapping my stereo, I attached the tape adapter from my car kit and hit play on my portable CD player. It was 2014, and I still had

a portable CD player because all of my money went to bills and my savings to get out of this hell hole. Britton and I shared a basic cell
phone. She usually had it because she could always call the diner, where I worked double shifts most days. As the opening strains of
Savior by Rise Against started to pound through my car, I tried not to focus on who might come through my window tonight demanding
payment.

Ben Archer was our landlord and over twenty years older than me, even older than my dad. At least with Dallas, I could pretend

that I was still attracted to him, but with Ben, there was no pretending. I couldn’t hide from his skinny chest and potbelly, the pock marks
on his face or his wiry comb-over. He liked to make me pay through acts of humiliation. It wasn’t enough to just fuck me and leave like
the others. No, he made me beg him and suck his dick before he took me on the floor from behind.

Although there were a few others that demanded payment for drugs given to my father, Dallas and Ben were my most frequent

guests. While Ben was the manager of the trailer park, Dallas was just another tenant like us. He was only about five years older than
me, but now, he could easily pass for a man in his mid-thirties thanks to the drugs.

I still remembered the day he and Noah moved in to the park. I was almost fourteen, and they were eighteen. They picked the

park because the rent was cheap and they wanted out of their respective parents’ houses. Both guys pursued me in the beginning, but
Noah won me over.

After our break-up and the subsequent fall out, including his loose lips that led to both Dallas and Ben taking advantage of my

situation, I didn’t see Noah much anymore. He still lived with Dallas, but he steered clear of me. According to him, he could’ve protected
me from the vultures, but since I shut him down, I was on my own. Dallas hinted at wanting more with me, but after the way he used the
same tactic Ben did to get me into bed, I couldn’t see him as anything more than what I was letting him do to me.

I screamed out the lyrics of the song as I sped toward downtown, trying to fight back the tears that threatened every morning that

I existed in this nightmare factory. Just under nine more days, I told myself over and over again until the shaking stopped and I was able
to pull myself back from the brink yet again. I could do this.

The parking lot was already half full when I pulled in five minutes later. Taking a deep breath, I pushed out of the car and put on

my best customer service face so I could tackle the barrage of old people and cops.

“Morning, Carrie,” Matilda, our hostess, greeted with a big smile. How she was able to muster such cheerfulness at 5:30 every

morning was beyond me. Although, I’m sure if I slept more than three nights a week, I might be in better spirits too.

“Morning, Tildy,” I said, heading toward the register to clock in. Tildy was a year older than my sister, Britton and one of her best

friends. It was strange to work with her, because I’d known her since she was in first grade. I was glad that my sister had someone in
her corner like Tildy, because I’d never met a more loyal friend.

“Marco’s got you in the back section today,” she told me, nodding toward the alcove area near the kitchen. I tried and failed to

contain my groan at my assignment. They were the worst tables in the diner, not to mention, Donald liked to sit back there. He wasn’t a
terrible guy, just lonely and very particular about how he wanted his breakfast cooked. It might have been easy to take care of him, since
he was here every morning, but the dementia he suffered from meant that he didn’t always remember you and his demands were ever
changing.

“You know that you are the only one with enough patience to deal with him,” she reminded gently, prompting an eye roll from me.

“Whatever.”

“Well, as an apology, I just sat some eye candy back there for you before you walked in,” she winked, her adorable little all-

American girl dimple popping out on her cheek before she threw her blonde ponytail over her shoulder. “Better get back there and take

his order already,” she finished, waggling her eyebrows at me.

I let out an unattractive snort and headed to my section. I couldn’t wait to see what Tildy had stuck me with this time. The last

time she’d told me she’d given me eye candy, I’d found Dallas in my section. That had been disconcerting on so many levels.

When I arrived, I found I only had two single tables occupied, one was my regular, Donald, and the other one contained the most

beautiful man I’d ever seen in real life. My journey came to an abrupt stop as I watched him pouring over the menu like it contained the
formula to turn lead into gold.

As if sensing my presence, the man turned, giving me the full effect of his beautiful amber eyes, haphazardly styled brown hair,

and strong jaw covered with a dark five o’clock shadow. I was paralyzed briefly by the intensity of his gaze as it swept over my body,
from my perfect little high ponytail that put my hair just below my shoulders, to my ‘adorable’ forest green waitress dress and half-apron
that fell an inch above my knees, and down to my super comfortable white tennis shoes. I refused to wear heels on the days I worked a
double.

I should have been offended by the blatant perusal. However, I found myself hoping I would meet his approval. The small turn of

his full lips at one corner was the only indication I had that he’d liked what he saw. With a small internal shake, I smiled at him and
cocked my head toward Donald to let the stranger know I’d be right with him.

I used the distraction of the older, silver haired man in the back corner booth to get my riotous feelings under control. After putting

in Donald’s order, I gave myself a small pep talk before leaving the kitchen again. When I knew I could handle myself, I walked toward
the stranger’s table.

“Hi, my name is Carrie, and I’ll be taking care of you this morning,” I started, keeping my eyes on the order pad I had in front of

me. “I see Tildy got you started,” I continued, indicating his carafe and full cup of black coffee. “What else can I get you?” I finished,
hoping that I didn’t sound as breathless as I felt.

“How about I start with the lumberjack special, with ham and eggs, over easy,” he said. His voice was like smooth, rich chocolate

flowing over my skin, and, God, did I want to invite him to lick every last drop from my body.

“What kind of toast would you like with that?” I asked, trying to suppress the shudders of arousal pinging through my body. Never

had I ever been more aware of another human being before. I wasn’t sure I liked it, but I knew I didn’t want him to leave either.

“Banana bread,” he answered with a chuckle, drawing my eyes to his with his absurd order. When they collided, I heard him take

a sharp inhale of breath, echoing my own involuntary response. I don’t think either of us could deny the pulse of electricity present as we
stared at each other. “I wondered if they would be just as beautiful up close,” he confessed. “I wasn’t prepared for that.”

“We don’t have banana bread, sir,” I said, dumbly, unable to acknowledge his words for the fear that I might just crawl into his lap

right there. “We have white, whole wheat, rye and sourdough,” I listed.

“Whole wheat,” he answered, holding my gaze. “And please, call me Ryan.”

“Anything else I can get you, Ryan?” I asked, trying to find a way to both prolong my time at his table and leave at the same time.

“That’s all…for now,” he said with a smile, revealing a row of perfect white teeth to me. On most guys, it would’ve looked

smarmy, maybe a bit calculating, but on him, it looked sincere, even sweet and shy. “Ask me again when you drop off the check,” he
finished with a wink, effectively sending me from the table and toward the kitchen.

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