3 Seconds (Time for Love Book 6) (6 page)

Brendan’s
eyebrows rose and he asked, “Do you really want me to answer that?
I don’t want to look like more of a pig than I already do.”

“I don’t think
that’s possible,” I responded, and when he scowled I realized how
the must have taken my words. “That’s not what I meant.” I laughed
and added, “I meant that you couldn’t say anything that would
change my mind about you…” I thought about it, then amended,
“Unless you tell me that you shamed someone, or hurt someone, and
got off on it. That would change everything.”

Brendan took a
deep breath and looked pained, which caused me to panic and wonder
if I should retract my statement. Maybe I didn’t want to know.

“I once told a
girl to blow me, or I was going to sleep.”

If I’d been
standing, I would have been bent over, that’s how hard I started
laughing. I don’t know if it was so much that I thought what he
said was funny, or if I was relieved that he wasn’t a closet
sadist, but when I was able to catch my breath long enough I asked,
“Wha-at?”

“It had been a
long night and I was tired. I’d picked her up after a show, but by
the time we got to her place I wasn’t feeling it anymore. She
wanted to talk about the show and was pouring more drinks, and all
I wanted to do was get some shuteye. I’d already had a few to
drink, nothing to eat, and was exhausted and cranky, so I gave her
an ultimatum. I’m not proud of it, and every time I think about it,
I feel bad.”

“Did she do
it?”

He searched my
face, as if gauging my reaction. He must have seen that I wasn’t
disgusted or angry with him, so he grinned and replied cockily, “Of
course.”

I pulled my
pillow from beneath my head and wacked him on the face.

“Pig.”

“I never claim
to be anything else, Freckles,” he drawled.

I put my pillow
down and sat up, my sheet falling to my waist and exposing my
breasts.

“I think
there’s a lot more to you than that,” I replied softly, arching my
back when his hands came up to cup my breasts, his thumbs teasing
my nipples. I moved my hand underneath the covers, and found him
already hard and ready for me.

I leaned down
to kiss him, moaning against his lips when he pinched my nipples
hard. He opened his mouth for me and I swept in, suddenly driven by
hunger and need. Lifting my leg and swinging it over, I straddled
him and began to slide my throbbing wet center over him, stopping
to tease the head of his cock as I moved. I repeated this motion,
unashamed at how quickly aroused I became with him. If his groans
were any indication, he was just as ready as I was, and that fact
turned me on even more.

“Turn around,”
he said gruffly, and although his request surprised me, I complied
with his orders.

Not quite
graceful, I turned so I was straddling him the other way, with my
face toward his feet, and my ass on display. I felt a moment of
panic at this new position, then his hands came to my hips and
lifted me, and I looked down to watch him slide into me.

“Ohhh,” I
murmured, my vision getting blurry around the edges as desire raged
inside of me. Then it clicked, “Condom,” I spat when I realized
we’d gotten carried away.

I heard Brendan
curse, then eased off of him so he could turn to get the packet off
the nightstand. He made quick work of the wrapper, rolled it on,
then his hands were back at my hips. This time he held me still as
he thrust up in me. My head still down, I watched in fascination
and filled with a fire I never new existed as I watched him thrust
in and out.

“Move,” Brendan
said through clenched teeth, and I realized that I’d been more of a
spectator than participant, so I leaned forward, clasped my hands
around his thighs, and began to rock.

“Deep, so very
deep,” I whispered as I moved with him, his cock seeming to fill
every inch of me. I felt my release starting to build, so I leaned
forward and closed my eyes as my breath caught and my body began to
burn. Realizing that I was about to come, and unsure of how close
Brendan was, I moved my hand up his thigh and then down to cup his
balls.

We’d only had a
few sexual encounters, but I’d already learned that this was a
trigger for him, and would make him come hard.

“Shit,” I heard
him say from behind me, and I knew he was close, so I began pumping
with all my might, focusing on my own release as I lightly rolled
his balls in the palm of my hand.

Pleasure
crashed through me, just as I heard him shout, so I braced myself
against his thighs and rocked back and forth, milking the orgasms
out of both of us.

Both panting
heavily and slick with sweat; I eased myself off of Brendan and
fell backwards onto the bed, not caring where I landed. I felt the
bed shift, and heard the water running a few moments later. Content
and satiated, I flipped over onto my belly, bent one knee to get
comfortable, and lifted my hair off of my neck, before closing my
eyes and humming contentedly in the back of my throat.

I felt
Brendan’s hand run along the length of my back as the bed
depressed, signaling his movements. His kissed the back of my neck
lightly, moved the rest of my hair off my face, and said softly in
my ear, “I really like you, Bronagh.”

“I really like
you too,” I replied, right before I drifted off.

Chapter Nine ~
Brendan

“Have you seen
Natalie recently?” Brady asked. We were having a much-needed
brother’s night out. Just the two of us. Brock was working late,
and we were planning to meet up with him at his house later. For
now, it was just Brady and me enjoying great steaks and refreshing
dark beer at our favorite local steakhouse.

“Um.” I thought
back, trying to remember the last time I’d seen her. “She wasn’t on
shift the last time we played, so probably the time before that.
Why, what’s up?”

My brother had
recently gotten his hair styled differently, and was wearing it
longer and messy/spiky on top. That paired with the day-old beard,
and tank top showing off the black-and-white tattoo adorning his
left arm from shoulder to forearm, had all the ladies shooting
glances his way.

With his dark
skin and dark hair, he already looked dangerous. When you added the
way he looked, with his often brooding, silent demeanor, he was a
force to be reckoned with.

I was lucky
he’d never been interested in the limelight; he would have given me
a run for my money.

What a waste of
great genes!

“I went by to
check out our schedule for next month, and Natalie was working the
bar. Day shift.”
“That sucks. She has seniority, why would Jake put her on days?”
Not really caring, but realizing I’d probably have to pry the
information out of Brady in order for him to get to the point.

He shrugged in
response, causing me to let out a frustrated sigh. I tried a
different approach.

“Was she
okay?”

Brady poured a
disgusting amount of A-1 Sauce on his already perfectly seasoned
steak, causing my lip to curl. Why he would ruin a steak that was
cooked to perfection was beyond me. Brady’s love of condiments was
something that always drove me nuts.

“She was more
skittish than usual. There weren’t any marks or anything, but I’d
bet my life she’s being abused by that deadbeat husband of hers.
She acts like a wounded animal.” Brady looked me in the eye, his
face more serious than usual. “I went to ask her where Jake was,
and she jumped ten feet at the sound of my voice. I swear, it made
me want to punch something. I asked her if she was okay, and she
said she was, just like always, but, Bren, I don’t know how much
more I can take. We’ve known her for years now, and it’s obvious
that she’s unable to leave that bastard on her own, for whatever
reason.”

“We can’t just
insert ourselves into a domestic dispute, brother. We’ve never seen
him lay a hand on her, and she’d never admitted that there’s
anything wrong.”

Brady was quiet
after that. I wasn’t sure if it was because he was pissed at my
answer, or if there was something else he was working out in that
crazy brain of his.

“I’ve been
thinking about becoming a cop,” he said, shocking the shit out of
me. I’d finished my steak and was enjoying the last of my porter. I
put the glass down with a clang.

I was the one
without words after that statement.

This was the
first time my overprotective, but gentle brother had ever even
hinted at wanting to join the police force.

When I finally
got my bearings I asked, “Why? I mean, no offense, man, but you’re
twenty-seven, and you’ve never showed the slightest interest in
being a cop.”

“I’ve been
thinking about it for a while now, but I didn’t want to say
anything. I don’t know how Brock’ll feel about it.”

I saw the
concern on his face.

“
Brady
,
Brock will support you no matter what. Shoot, he never gave me any
grief about going to culinary school, and he didn’t say a word when
I took off for Europe, putting school on hold. He just wants us to
be happy,
you know that
.”

A myriad of
emotions crossed his face as he processed what I’d said, but when
he replied softly, “I don’t want to disappoint him.” I realized he
was worried about more than having Brock’s support.

“Why do you
think you would?”

“I’m not like
you, Bren. I’ve been working with Brock since I could hold a job,
and he’s been giving me more responsibility. And, I’ve wanted it …
I don’t want to leave him high and dry at the business. He’s
expecting me to be there with him, to eventually be his partner.”
He took a long drink, probably needing the distraction. Talking
about his feelings wasn’t on Brady’s list of top ten things he
liked to discuss.

I understood
his concerns, but I also knew the man who’d been more of a father
than a brother to us, and even if he were initially upset, he’d
want what Brady wanted.

“You just have
to talk to him about it. If it’s what you
really
want to do,
you know he’ll come around.”

“What about the
band?” he asked, his eyes conveying that Brock wasn’t the only
person he was worried about disappointing.

“What about it?
It survived while I was gone, and it’ll survive while you’re at the
academy. I’m sure that after a few years of working the beat, you’d
have some free time to pound on your drums. It’s not like you’re
any good anyway,” I added with a grin.

“Fuck off,” he
replied with a laugh. Then he added, “Don’t mention anything to
Brock or Victoria tonight though, okay? I need a little more time
to work everything out in my head.”

“Of course,” I
said, then decided it was my turn to share something with him. “So,
I’m officially seeing someone.”

Brady slowly
lowered his glass to the table, his eyes never leaving my face, as
if he were trying to figure out if I was messing with him or
not.

“Like, a
woman?” he asked.

“Yeah, Brady,
of course like a woman.”

“One
woman?”

“Very funny.
Yes, I’m seeing one woman. Exclusively. Just the two of us.”

Brady blinked
slowly, and I started to get pissed off.

“Jesus, is it
that hard to believe? I didn’t say that I’d just joined an all-girl
cover band. I said I’m dating someone…”

Brady folded
his hands on the table and leaned closer.

“The all-girl
cover band thing would be more believable.”

“Fuck off,” I
said, echoing his earlier words.

“C’mon, Bren,
it’s not as if you’ve ever uttered those words before. You can’t be
surprised that I’m surprised.”

Nodding,
because I did get where he was coming from, I said, “Well, there’s
a first time for everything.”

“Who is
she?”

“That woman I
mentioned the other day. Her name is Bronagh, she owns Callaghan’s
and teaches a few classes at the culinary school.”

Brady whistled
low between his teeth.

“Your teacher,
huh?”

“It’s not like
that, I met her before I knew she was my teacher.”

He looked
thoughtful for a minute, then asked, “How old is she?”

“Thirty-five.”

Brady nodded,
then asked, “Thirty-five and single?”

I signaled to
the waiter to grab us our check and replied, “She was married. It
wasn’t good. Now, she’s single. Has been for a couple years.”

“So she’s been
married, owns her own business, and has entered into a relationship
with a twenty-six year old singer who’s never been in a
relationship and is at the beginning stages of his career.”

“You have a
problem with that?” I shot him a look, daring him to answer my
question the wrong way.

“Nope,” he
said, the
p
making a popping sound when he spoke. “Just be
careful, brother.”

Chapter Ten ~
Bronagh

“I want to take
you camping,” Brendan had stated a couple days ago, causing me to
look at him curiously.

“Camping? You
don’t really look the type.”

“What does a
camper look like?” he’d asked with a chuckle.

I shrugged,
unsure of the answer myself.

“I guess I just
never thought that would be something that you’d enjoy.”

“Well, it is,”
Brendan said with a smile, caressing my arm in a way that I could
really get used to. “My dad used to take us. Brock and Brady
remember that more than I do, but later, after, whenever Brock
managed to get a day off, the three of us would take off to our
favorite spot and spend as much time as we could outdoors.”

The look on his
face told me what that time with his brothers meant to him, and I
found that I really wanted to share the experience with him.

“I’ve never
been camping,” I admitted, causing him to look at me with a broad
grin.