Brax (7 page)

“Nicole, I’m going to be straight with you. I don’t know. If
you’re asking me for odds? They’re not great. They’re non-existent if we can’t
get him off the street.”

“We?” My heart brightened. I turned and put my hands on his
knees. His eyes flicked downward and then settled back to mine. My heart soared
with new heat that traveled lower down. “Does that mean you’ll help me?”

He smiled and shook his head. “No. That does not mean I’m
making you any promises. I told you, it’s not as simple as you might think.
That shit at
The Shires
might end up causing more trouble than you know.
For me as well as your brother.”

I flinched and the blood rushed straight out of me. “God, I’m
sorry. I’m not trying to make things bad for you, I just thought . . .”

He put a hand up to silence me. “Don’t worry about me. I can
take care of my end.”

I slid off the chair and went to him. It was a little bit of
the wine making me bold, a little bit of the relief that he’d softened toward
me and what I needed from him. But it was a whole lot more of something else. I
wanted this man. Pure and simple. I wanted to feel like I did when we were
eighteen years old. I wanted him to do for me what he did then. For those brief
moments, the world sank away, leaving me alight with pleasure.

I slid my hands up the hard muscles of his chest and went up
on my tiptoes. I knew what it might make him think of me. I’d already offered
to trade sex for his help once. This wasn’t that, though if I was being honest,
if he’d made it that, I’m not sure I would have said no.

I curved my fingers around the anvil sharp lines of his jaw
and pressed my lips against his. He groaned into my mouth and I felt that same
electric heat run through my veins like every other time he’d touched me. My
knees went weak and my heart fluttered behind my breast.

Brax’s hands were everywhere. Threaded through my hair,
spanning my waist, sliding between my legs. Throbbing wetness grew there and I
knew he could feel it through the thin cotton of my panties.

Then Brax circled his fingers around my wrists and pulled my
hands away from his face. He held me away from him, his lust-filled eyes
searching my face.

“No,” he said.

My heart hammered inside of me. I felt my face flush with
desire and a driving pulse thundered through me, settling at the juncture of my
thighs.

“No?”

His smile devastated me and made me ache for him all over
again. “No. Don’t get me wrong. I want to fuck you. Badly. And often. I also
might be the dumbest fuck on the planet for saying this. Seriously, if any of
the guys at
The Den
could overhear this, I’m pretty sure they’d make me
hand in my patch or at least check to make sure I still had a nut sack.”

“Lovely.”

“But no. I
am
going to fuck you. But not like this. Not
tonight. Not until I know you’re doing it because you want to and not because
you think I expect it as payment for some favor.”

“Brax. I promise that’s not what I think. Er . . . well, maybe
a little . . . or at first.”

He shook his head. “You going to stand there and deny that you
were willing to go down on me that day in the bar?”

My cheeks flushed hot. But today had been a day for truths. It
was no time to get shy now. “No. I won’t deny that. But that wasn’t all of it.
The truth is, I’ve never stopped thinking about you. About that night under the
bleachers.”

“The night you went slumming?”

I don’t know if he meant it as a joke but it stung. Mostly
because there was some truth to it.

“Oh, you want me to tell you
all
my secrets tonight.”

He shrugged. “Well, we’ve each had a half a bottle of wine. I
can probably handle it better than you can, but I’m not driving for a while and
I’ve always been curious.”

The wine made me bold at first, now it made me a little
drowsy. A powerful yawn tilted my head back and ended in a shiver through my
whole body. Brax looked down at me and smiled.  “Then maybe I need to call a
cab or something. Really, I should probably get back to the parlor.”

He shook his head and tightened his arms around me. “Not
happening. Not tonight. I don’t think Hodges would be dumb enough to come
looking for you to finish your conversation, but I don’t want you out of my
sight until at least morning.”

Heat flared from the center of my body, making my head light
and a pulse throb between my legs. At the mere suggestion of spending the night
with him, I almost couldn’t breathe. God. I wanted it. So much it scared me a
little.

“Come on,” he said, pulling away from me. He took my hand and
led me up the curving staircase to a sort of loft above the great room. He
stopped at the first door at the top of the stairs and clicked on a light
switch.

“Guest bedroom,” he said. “I gotta girl who comes in once a
week. She keeps it stocked like a damn hotel. Let’s just say it’s not unusual
for me to have people crashing here on the regular.”

An emotion stung through me, making my breath come up short.
Jealousy. Of course, I knew I had no cause or claim on Brax. In fact, I’d
barged into his life without knowing anything about the way he lived it. God,
he could even be married for all I knew.

I turned abruptly and put a hand on his chest. “You know, I’m
sorry. I’ve just sort of injected myself into your life and maybe it’s not the
best time for you. I mean, if this is going to cause a problem between you and
someone else, I . . .”

Brax put a finger on my lips to silence me. His eyes clouded a
little and I knew part of that was the wine. Whatever he made it with, I think
the stuff was more than twice the proof of what I was used to. “Relax, if I
didn’t want you here, there are about a thousand other places I could set you
up. I’m not going to stand here and tell you this, uh, situation isn’t more
complicated than I’d like, but I’m glad you’re here. Honest.”

I don’t know what made me do it, but I went back up on my
tiptoes and planted a chaste kiss on his lips. “Thank you. And goodnight.”

“Right,” he said, clearing his throat. “If you need anything,
I’m just across the hall.”

I took a shaky step backward until my back pressed against the
wall. The taste of Brax’s lips still lingered on my own. He stood there, his
eyes flashing dark as he looked me up and down. I waited, thinking he’d make
the first move. But it seemed he’d meant what he said downstairs. He wanted me,
but not if I thought he expected it as some sort of payment. He was trying to
be honorable. Respectful. Twin thoughts flashed through my mind.

The first? He’s a different man than I thought he was. More
complicated. For all his rough edges, he was more of a gentleman than most of
the men I’d let close to me.

But the second thought I had warred with the other then won
out.

Fuck that.

I crossed the distance between us. Brax got his arms up around
my waist just in time as I launched myself at him and crushed my lips to his.

Chapter Nine

I wrapped my legs around Brax’s waist as he lifted me and
stumbled backward through the other bedroom door across the hall. My sex
throbbed, aching to rub against the rough fabric of his jeans. He was rod stiff
beneath them. Every cell in my body cried out for his touch. Fifteen years of
pent-up desire and fevered dreams seemed to come to a head in that single
moment.

He set me down on the edge of his bed and began working
through the layers of clothes that came between us. I let his jacket drop from
my shoulders and tore through the buttons of my green trench coat. Beneath that
I wore the short little pink dress. Brax smiled, letting out a wicked laugh
that sent spears of heat straight through me. I arched my back as he curled his
fingers around the lapels of the dress and pulled them apart. The dress peeled
in half, held together only by a row of metal snaps down the front. He laid it
open, exposing my white bra and matching panties. I kicked off my shoes and
threw the remnants of my clothes in a wad on the floor.

My chest heaved and my breath caught as I sat in front of
Brax. He took a step backward, wanting to look at me. He got the full view and
liked what he saw. Me stretched out on his bed, my skin flushed with desire in
nothing but my underwear.

“Your turn,” I gasped. Brax smiled, giving me a sultry smirk
as he dropped his hip and worked his belt loop. He slid it out of the loops of
his jeans in one zinging snap that made hot blood race through my veins. Then
he peeled off his t-shirt. His rippled muscles were branded with snaking lines
of ink over his shoulders, across his pecs, and cutting through his chiseled
abs. I marveled at the intricate detail and came to him, trailing my fingers
along the path they marked. He had a howling wolf outlined in black across one
shoulder. I stepped around him, tracing the swirling patterns across his broad
back then slid my hands beneath the waistband of his jeans.

I tugged downward as Brax stepped out of his pants. I’d never
seen him before. Not like this. That night so many years ago had been quick and
heated. We’d never taken our clothes off. Never explored each other like this.
Brax stood stock still save for the hard breaths he took that sent a shudder
through him. I slid my hands over the granite hard curve of his ass. I think I
liked that part of him best of all. Sculpted like marble with hard muscles that
bunched beneath my fingertips. I grew bold, skimming my fingers between his
legs until I felt the heavy weight of his balls. He let out a noise, part lustful
growl and hitched breath. Then he turned, gently taking my wrists in his hands
he pushed me back toward the bed until I sat in front of him.

“My turn,” he said. He leaned forward and hooked his fingers
under the waistband of my underwear and dragged them down. I reached back and
unhooked the clasp of my bra and let that fall away. Slowly I leaned back;
propping myself up on my elbows, I lay myself open for his inspection.

Brax went to his knees at the edge of the bed. He put a hand
on each of my knees and pressed them flat against the bed, spreading my legs
wide. I quivered before him as he wasted no time. He slid two fingers between
my legs, testing my arousal. I could hide nothing from him. He found me wet . .
. swollen. So ready.

I cried out as he spread my lips wide with those two fingers
and worked me over with his thumb. A wicked smirk lifted the corners of his
mouth and his eyes flashed at how quickly I responded to him. I felt made for
this. Made for him. With everyone else I had to hold on so tight. Be something
or someone they expected me to be. The good daughter. The boss. The one bright
spot in a family that had fallen so far down. But with Brax I was just me. And
it was just this. A moment. Forever.

“God,” he whispered. “Look at you. Do you realize how fucking
sexy you are?”

I felt a blush heat my cheeks. Brax kept his practiced fingers
between my thighs. Working me. Drawing me out, making me shudder and gasp and
thrust my hips unbidden.

He slid a finger inside of me and worked me from there too. I
moaned and threw my head back. But Brax hooked a finger under my chin and
brought me back to the present.

“Stay with me,” he whispered. “Right here.” He made a vee with
two fingers and pointed to his eyes.

He redoubled his efforts, hooking three fingers together and
sliding them deep inside of me. He held them still, making me do the work. With
my eyes locked with his, I thrust my hips and fucked. He leaned down and
brought his lips to my breast, flicking one nipple with his tongue, then the
other. Then he blew on me, pebbling my nipples. Still he kept his fingers
inside of me while I bucked and thrust, my movements becoming more erratic as
my desire rose.

“Please,” I gasped. His fingers felt so good, but I wanted
more. I wanted him to fill me. But he made me wait, drawing out the sensation
nearly to my breaking point. I knew what he was doing. He’d make me beg. And
God, I wanted to. I wanted to plead and crawl, become shameless and reckless
all over again. I was his. Only his. With each thrust of his fingers. With each
maddening slide of his thumb over my sensitive bud, he claimed me. With my eyes
open he wanted me to see what I was with him.

“Yes,” I cried out. “Anything. Please. Brax.”

Then he leaned down and crushed his lips against mine. His tongue
urgent, insistent as he finally withdrew his fingers and slid his rock hard
cock into me. He’d stretched me already with his fingers and primed me for him.
Even so, my eyes went wide at the size of him. How had I forgotten? How had I
ever settled for anyone else? There hadn’t been many. One before him when I was
a teenager. Two or three since. But no one like Brax. He fit inside me,
stretching my contours, molding me to him.

Again, I tried to close my eyes. Again, he wouldn’t have it.

“Nicole, look at me.”

I snapped my eyes open and Brax slid his hands beneath my
hips. He flipped me with agile strength that took my breath away. Now I
straddled him as he rooted himself as deep as he could go.

I threw my head back and thrust my hips. Brax kept one steadying
hand at my waist, and used the other to play with my nipples, tugging gently to
heighten my arousal. Then he reached up and tugged the rubber band holding the
remnants of my bun in place. My hair spilled around my shoulders and feathered
against his arm. I put my hands flat on his chest to brace myself as I felt the
first shuddering waves of pleasure.

“I can’t,” I said, struggling to form my words. “I can’t hold
back. Brax.”

“Let go, baby,” he said. “I want you to. I want to feel you
around me when you come.”

Then a torrent unleashed. A starburst of sensations spread
from my core to every nerve ending. I screamed like no one could hear. Held
nothing back. Wave after wave of pleasure washed over me as Brax hooked his
fingers in mine and held me up. I ground out my orgasm, shuddering and
clenching around him. If he hadn’t laced his fingers through mine, I would have
collapsed. But Brax was strong and gentle. As he felt me crest down, he brought
himself up; cradling me with a steady hand behind my back he flipped me.

I brought my legs up, finding the strength to wrap them around
his waist as Brax seated himself deep inside me again. I held on as he began
the slow, pounding rhythm he needed to bring himself to his own, explosive
orgasm. His face swam above me and his eyes held mine. He was strong and
fierce. His Viking hair fell around us like a curtain, mixing with mine, the
shades a perfect match. I’d never noticed that before.

It made me feel like I was made for him in more ways than one.
The way he fit perfectly inside of me, filling me to the brim. With each
pounding stroke I felt my walls clench around him again. Impossibly, a new
rising tide took over. Brax felt it too. He dug his toes into the headboard and
went rigid inside of me, letting me get the friction I needed to wring out
another smaller orgasm. I’d never done that before. Never more than once. But
Brax seemed so in tune with my body I wondered if he could bring me to climax
over and over. If only I had my whole life to do nothing but try.

Then Brax leaned down and caught my lips in a kiss. His rhythm
stuttered as he poured himself inside me. I curled my body around his to
receive it. My fingers threaded through his hair, my legs still drawn up,
spread wide and wrapped around his hips. As he crested down, he feathered my
neck with kisses as he whispered my name in the dark. He was still inside of me
later, as he gathered me into his arms and watched me fall asleep.