Worth the Wait (Picking up the Pieces #4) (19 page)

“I’m cursed,” I started, and then waited to see his reaction. He sat there quietly for several seconds before finally opening his mouth.

“Um…
oookay
?

“Well, not like, an
actual
curse or anything like that,” I stumbled over my words. “I just mean…well…I—”

“Breathe, beauty,” he soothed.

Trying to rein in my emotions, I closed my eyes and inhaled a deep, cleansing breath. Then deciding to just rip the Band Aid off once and for all, I dove in.

I told him
everything
.

I started by explaining what my parents’ marriage had been like before I entered the picture. I told him all about their abuse, my father’s affairs, how they blamed me for everything that was wrong. I told him how my father said I was the reason he was so unhappy, that if I’d never been born, he and my mom would still be happily married. I didn’t leave anything out, giving him all the gory details so he could see exactly how bad it was and why I was so desperate to escape by the time Lance came into my life.

I told him everything about my relationship with Lance. How he waited until I was eighteen to pursue me, how he would talk about taking me away from everything bad and giving me the life I deserved. I explained how I fell hard and fast for the man I
thought
Lance was. I didn’t hide anything. I didn’t hold a single detail back about how Lance went from a man I thought would save me into someone so much worse than my father could have ever been.

The entire time I spoke, Brett sat rigid in his chair, his knuckles white from how tightly he was gripping the arms of his seat. He didn’t say a single word until I finished, but I didn’t miss that ticking in his jaw, or the way his whole body tightened when I detailed some of the worst of the abuse. He was wound so tightly, he looked like he might shatter at any minute.

But I’d done it. I’d gotten through the entire ugly story. It took what felt like years to tell and three additional beers for courage, but I managed to spit all that nastiness out without shedding a single tear. I was proud of myself for that alone.

Neither of us spoke for several minutes after I finished, and my discomfort grew to the point where I couldn’t bring myself to look at him, scared to see the disgust in his eyes.

“What made you leave?” Brett asked, finally breaking through our thick silence.

I kept my eyes trained on the beer bottle in my hand, tearing at the label as I answered. “I’d been planning a way out for a while. I’d been stashing cash away, small amounts he wouldn’t notice, you know? I wanted to make sure I could support the kids when I finally left. I needed to make sure they would be safe and secure when we left him.”

“But something happened.” It wasn’t a question. Brett’s statement told me, loud and clear, that he knew there was something ugly there.

“But something happened,” I whispered back, still peeling at the label until the shredded ribbons lay in my lap.

“What was it, beauty?” I heard the legs of his chair scrape across the wooden deck before he took my chin between his fingers and forced my head up. What I saw in those deep brown eyes wasn’t disgust. Not even close. It was anger, not at me, but at my situation. It was sorrow and pain. From just one glance at his face, I could see how much he hated what I’d gone through. But there was something else there as well, something I couldn’t quite place.

“He came home from work one night and I’d burned dinner. It was an accident. I didn’t mean to. But he was so
angry
. I tried so hard to keep the kids away when he got like that. I made sure they were never around to see him hit me. I tried to protect them from all of that. But that night, Cameron came into the living room when Lance was hitting me. He ran up to him and started hitting him in his legs, yelling at him to let his mommy go—” My voice cut off on a sob at the memory of my little boy running in to try and rescue me. My self-hatred returned in full force at the thought of what I’d made them live with for four years. Remembering that, the tears ran down my cheeks, unchecked.

“That set Lance off. He spun around and raised his hand at Cameron, but I grabbed a hold of his arm. I’d tolerated Lance hitting me for almost ten years, but there wasn’t a chance in hell I was letting him put his hands on my kids. He’d never touched them. Hell, he hardly ever treated them with anything more than indifference, but after that, I couldn’t do it anymore. I was finished. When he left for work the next morning, I packed our shit and got the hell out of there.”

“And he hasn’t come after y’all?”

I lifted one shoulder slightly and gave Brett a wobbly smile. “He doesn’t know where we are. My dad grew up in Cloverleaf until he left for college in Ohio. He only came back once when his mother died. I was just a little girl. I never talked about this place with Lance. I knew he’d never find us here. Besides, it wouldn’t matter if he could find us anyway. He’s not looking.”

Brett’s dark brows dropped over his eyes in a deep frown. “What makes you think that?”

Sitting back, I took a sip of my now warm beer. “I have stuff on him. Before I left, I hacked his email accounts and found out some things that he’ll
never
want leaked. I used that against him. Told him if he came after us, I’d send it to the lead partner at his firm. It would destroy him.”

“Christ,” he sighed, flopping back in his chair. “I’m afraid to even ask.”

“Then don’t,” I answered simply. “This isn’t your fight, Brett.”

“Bullshit it’s not my fight,” he ground out between clenched teeth. “Didn’t you hear a damn word I said to you earlier?”

My eyes bulged out as I stuttered, “But…what about…I just…Brett, you can’t be serious. What about everything I just told you?”

“What about it?” he asked, infuriating me by how casually he was acting.

“I’m cursed, Brett! I’ve had
two
men in my life and both of them have turned into monsters. I’m the only common denominator here! I can’t let that happen to you, too. Don’t you see that?”

He instantly shot forward in his chair, grabbing my hands in his. “You aren’t cursed,” he demanded in earnest. “You were dealt a fucked-up hand in life. That’s not your fault. And I’m not like your dad or that piece-of-shit ex. I’d
never
lay my hands on a woman, and I’d rather lose my goddamn arm before I hurt those kids. So you have nothing to worry about there.”

“Brett—” I pleaded, but he cut me off.

“You know what I see when I look at you? I see a woman tougher than any person I’ve ever met. I see a mother who’d go to the ends of the earth for her children. I see a person who’d do anything for those she cares about.
That
right there proves you’re a good person. You aren’t cursed, Kenzie. Don’t ever let anyone make you feel less than you are.”

My head dropped as tears burned my eyes again. “I’m not a good mother, Brett. Look at what I put them through. For
years
! All because I was too weak.”

“News flash, beauty. You aren’t fucking perfect.”

At that, my head shot up and my eyes narrowed in a glare.

“None of us are. You made mistakes; I’ll give you that. But you came out on the other side of all that shit. And can you honestly tell me that you don’t spend every single day thinking of different ways to make those two kids even happier than they were the day before?”

I couldn’t argue that point.

“They love you something fierce, baby. I’ve never seen a better mom. When you’re with them, they’re faces are lit up like a goddamn Christmas tree the whole time. That’s all you, beauty. That’s what you give to them.”

“I…you…GAH! Stop being so sweet! I can’t argue with you when you’re being sweet!”

His rumbling chuckle did unimaginable things, deep in my belly. “Hey, I told you to prepare, baby. Not my fault you didn’t listen.”

“So, what, this is part of you pulling out all the stops?” I asked, using finger quotes as I rolled my eyes.

“Like I’m gonna give away all my secrets right out of the gate,” he teased with a sexy wink that pulled a laugh from my throat. “Now, come here and gimme a kiss.”

“
What
?”

He took a step toward me, his eyes narrowing like he was about to pounce on his prey.

“Come on, beauty. Give me those lips. You know you want to. You’ve been craving it just as much as I have. Tell me you haven’t been going crazy thinking about that night.”

I opened my mouth, only to immediately shut it again, unable to push a lie past my lips, but still refusing to admit the truth.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he smirked, clearly reading my mind. In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of me, taking hold of my chin gently between his thumb and forefinger.

“If you don’t want me to kiss you, you better say something now, because once I start, I’ll be damned if I stop.”

A huge, goofy smile spread across my lips. “I trust you,” I told him truthfully. I’d opened myself up to Brett completely. I’d exposed myself to him, made myself vulnerable.

Because I trusted him.

I trusted him in a way I’d never trusted anyone before, not even Lance. This wasn’t the young, naïve faith I’d put in Lance. It was pure, honest, heartfelt trust. I told him the worst of my past, and he was still standing there. He hadn’t run. He hadn’t looked at me with disgust. He still wanted me, just as much as he did before he knew the truth.

Yeah, I wasn’t
falling
for him. I’d already fallen, hard as hell.

“I’m not planning on stopping you this time.”

His smirk widened until his smile matched mine. Then he went in, his lips crashing against mine in a fierce kiss. It was as if he was marking me with that kiss, branding my lips with his own, taking ownership.

And I loved every second of that kiss.

His tongue pushed past my lips to tangle with my own. A deep moan tore from my throat at his taste.

“God,” he groaned, his voice thick and gravelly as he trailed his tongue down my neck, nipping as he went. “I’ve been going crazy for another taste of you, beauty.”

A flood of arousal shot through me. I clenched my thighs together tightly, desperate for some sort of relief. His words were enough to make my panties unbelievably wet, but I needed more. I needed his touch.

“
Brett
,” I whimpered wantonly against his mouth. “Please.”

“What do you want, baby?”

“Touch me. God,
please
touch me.”

Brett pulled his lips from mine and I cried out at the loss. “You mine, baby?”

“What?” I asked in confusion, my head a cloud of lust and need.

“Are you mine? You want me to touch you, baby, I need to know you’re mine.”

“I am,” I replied desperately. “I am, please just touch me.”

“You done making me chase you?” The small, stinging bite he gave my lower lip pulled a groan from deep inside my chest.

“For fuck’s sake! I’m yours, Brett! No more chasing, now touch me, damn it!”

I felt him smile against my lips as his hand squeezed my breast roughly, sending shots of pleasure straight to my core. “There’s my tough girl,” he muttered before hoisting me up.

Wrapping my legs around his waist for leverage, I let out a startled yelp. “Where are we going?”

“To bed. I want to spend the night devouring every goddamned inch of you. I’ll be damned if I’m gonna do that on the back deck.”

I ground my damp heat against the thickness of his hard-on and dropped my head back. “Oh, God, yes,” I hissed.

He walked through the house and down the hall with me wrapped around him like a second skin the entire time. The laugh I let out as he dropped me onto the bed turned into a sharp gasp as he reached down to rub at the bulge in his jeans. Watching him squeeze himself sent shockwaves through me. Christ, I wanted his cock. I was going crazy for it.

Brett stepped away from the bed and shut the bedroom door, clicking the lock into place before he reached behind his neck and pulled his shirt over his head.

“Just a warning, beauty. You try to bail on me this time, I’m gonna tie you to this bed and fuck you until you can’t walk for a week.”

Propping myself up on my elbows, I shot him a saucy smile before saying, “You realize that’s only incentive to bail again, right?”

His lips twitched in humor, “You’re right. Maybe I won’t let you come tonight. How’s that for incentive?”

My bottom lip poked out on a pout. “That’s just mean.”

He popped the button on his jeans and pulled the zipper down. My mouth watered as Brett pulled his rock-hard length from his jeans and began to stroke.

“You want my cock, beauty?”

My own hand trailed down my stomach and between my legs as I moaned, “Yes. Brett, please.”

“No bailing?”

“I swear,” I panted as I rubbed myself through the denim. “No bailing. I’m not going anywhere.”

He let out a feral growl before stalking to the bed. When the mattress dipped under his weight, I almost threw my hands in the air in victory.

His mouth came down on mine as his hands worked the button and zipper of my pants. Scraping my nails down his back lightly, I shoved at his waistband, trying to get his jeans completely off.

“I can’t go slowly right now. I want you too badly,” Brett panted as he slid his fingers inside my panties, finding me already wet and needy for him.