“I was going to say that the flaw was love.” He took her hand in his and raised it to his lips, kissing the backs of her knuckles. “What do you do when you fall in love?”
“Run away,” Brenna said promptly. “Start over.”
He might have gripped her hand a little more tightly just then. Just a little. “What if I don’t want you to run away? What if I want you to stay?”
“Staying never works out,” she said sadly. But she didn’t pull her hand from his. Her gaze was on his mouth, where it hovered just above her knuckles. It was as if she wanted desperately to believe him, but didn’t trust herself. And that was close to breaking his heart all over again.
“How do you know?”
“Because I saw my mother get married and divorced six times. And every time, they swore it would be different. And every time, it wasn’t.” Her face grew soft. “The last time you were married, it devastated you when things went wrong. Why would I do that to you again if I cared for you?”
He tensed. “Did you just admit that you cared for me?”
She put her fists to her forehead and closed her eyes, as if frustrated with him. “Are you listening to me, Grant? It doesn’t matter if I do or not. It won’t go anywhere!”
“Why don’t you let me decide that?” He pulled her hands away from her face and kissed one fist. “As long as we love each other, nothing else matters.”
“Do you know where my mother is now?” she asked him desperately. “She’s institutionalized. The last time I saw her, she begged me to bring back her things. She’s completely lost it.”
“I’m sorry,” he told her, wrapping his arms around her so she couldn’t escape. “I’m sorry that it was so hard for you, but that doesn’t change how I feel about you. You’re not your mother.”
Worry and panic flitted across her face. “Do you know that she used to feed me from the garbage when we ran out of money? She thought people were throwing away perfectly fine things, and so when I was too little to know better, we ate from Dumpsters.”
“It must have been hard growing up like that,” Grant told her, and leaned in to kiss her soft, worried mouth. “But I still love you and want to be with you.”
She was stiff in his arms and anxiety was etched into her lovely face. “You’re not listening to me, Grant.”
“I am, actually. I’m listening to everything you say. It’s you who’s not listening to me.” He put a hand to the back of her neck and gently tugged at the knot of her hair until she tilted back to look up at him. “I love you, Brenna. I want to be with you. I don’t care about your past. It helps me to understand who you are, but it doesn’t change how I feel about you.” He leaned in and kissed her again, his lips brushing over hers to silence any protest. “Just like you don’t care about my past.”
Brenna rolled her eyes at him. “Like your past is as weird as mine. You just married someone who was awful to you. That doesn’t have anything to do with you, Grant. It didn’t shape you into a freak.”
“Didn’t it? Did you not notice how I panic when it comes to the thought of you doing something dangerous? Did you not notice how overprotective I can get? And that I can get really overbearing at the thought of you getting hurt?”
“Well, yeah,” she said slowly. One finger reached out and lightly traced his unshaven jaw. “But I thought that was kind of sweet.”
“You say sweet, I say overbearing and crazy.” He shook his head. “What I’m trying to tell you is that the past made us who we are today. I don’t hold your past against you, and you don’t hold my past against me. That’s what makes us good together, Brenna. We’re both freaks.”
A small giggle escaped her throat.
“That’s what makes us work, love. I don’t care that you’re not perfect. I like you wild and unpredictable and just the way you are. That’s the woman I fell in love with.” His mouth curled into a half smile. “I’ll just hide the garbage cans from you.”
She punched him in the arm. “Not funny.” But she was relaxed, her expression amused.
“I’m willing to compromise, though. If you find my cabin uncomfortable, I’ll change it. I want you to be happy there, because I want you there. With me. In my bed. Always.”
Brenna considered this for a moment. Then, in a small voice, she asked, “You’ll toss out all the junk I point out?”
“I’ll give you free reign to toss out anything and everything you don’t like. None of it means a thing to me.” He leaned into her tracing fingers. “But you? You’re everything to me.”
“I’m scared,” she admitted, moving closer to him. “Scared it won’t work out and I’ll have to run again.”
His arms tightened around her at the thought of her running. “I’m not.” At her curious look, he continued. “Thing is, I know that you’re amazing and brilliant and just a bit wild and untamed. I like that. You’re my opposite, and that’s just what I need. Just like I’m what you need. Please stay.” He wanted to add what he was truly thinking—I couldn’t bear it if you left me. But he knew that would be unfair to her if she truly wanted to go. The last thing Brenna needed was more guilt.
She was silent for so long that he began to worry. His grip tightened on her, pulling her closer. Please, please stay with me, he thought, the words repeating in his mind over and over again like a mantra.
She looked up and gave him a tiny smile. “Just so you know, if you bring home anything I don’t think is necessary, it’s going in the garbage.”
He grinned widely. “Just so you know, if we do this, every time it rains, I probably won’t let you leave the house for fear of you skidding off into a ditch or something equally frightening.”
She patted his shoulder. “We’ll talk about that.”
“Do I need to hide the ATV keys from you on cloudy days?”
“You might need to,” she said, and her voice was her familiar sassy self. She pinched his chin and gave his head a little shake. “You know I’m no good at listening to rules.”
And that was part of what terrified him—and made her so exhilarating to live with. “I guess I’ll just have to keep you busy on those days.”
“Is that so?” She snuggled closer, fitting her body against his.
At the feel of her against him, his cock began to stir. No one but Brenna could drive him that quickly to desire. This wild, untamed girl was his. And he loved that. “Very busy,” he told her in a husky voice. “Maybe I’ll bring home some extra stuff just so you can throw it out. It’ll keep you busy.”
She snorted at the thought. “You’re getting to be quite manipulative.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll reward you nicely.”
“Oh?” Her voice took on a husky note, and that made him have a full-on erection. “What did you have in mind?”
“Well,” he began, nipping lightly at her lower lip. “All that cleaning is a lot of tiring work. I think I’d have to give you a nice, full-body massage to relax you and make you comfortable.”
“Mmmhmm,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Go on.”
“Then I’d have to lay you down in my bed and make sure you’re totally relaxed. I’m thinking maybe a half hour of oral sex. Just to take the edge off.”
“Why stop at a half hour?” she asked playfully.
“No need. I can keep going as long as my tongue does.”
“You do have a good tongue,” she agreed breathlessly, her gaze moving to his mouth as if imagining things. “God, it makes me wet just thinking about it.”
And the thought of her wet? It made his cock as hard as a rock. “I love it when you talk dirty.”
“You love everything I do,” she purred.
“It’s pretty much true. But I really love the thought of getting my mouth on that wet pussy of yours and licking the hell out of that piercing.”
She sucked in a brea
th, her fingers digging into the sleeves of his shirt. “You sure do know how to sweet talk a girl, Grant Markham.”
Behind them, someone cleared her throat.
Grant kept Brenna pulled against him to hide his erection, and because he was never letting her go again. He turned to view their observer.
At the top of the stairs stood Elise, the expression on her face amusement mixed with horror. “I was going to ask if everything was okay out here. Now I’m a bit mortified that I did come out, because I think I heard way too much.”
“Your brother was just telling me how he’s going to lick me into next week,” Brenna said, gazing adoringly up at Grant while she toyed with his hair.
“Oh, I heard that.” Elise looked revolted. “I’m going to assume that things are fine between the two of you now?”
Grant looked at Brenna. She was soft in his arms, the look on her face aroused. But that weird tension and unhappiness was gone. And if she hadn’t told him she’d stay yet, that was okay. He knew she wasn’t the type for verbal commitments. He’d just have to coax the words out of her.
And coaxing the words out of her would be a most enjoyable task.
“We’re good,” Grant told Elise, not taking his gaze off Brenna. “You can go now.”
“I plan on it,” Elise said. “And I’d like to suggest that you two get a room, but I’m guessing you’re already planning that.”
“Absolutely,” Grant said.
“Bye now,” Brenna said dreamily, not looking at Elise. Her hand slid between them, and she cupped Grant’s erection. “So, are you giving me a ride home? My car’s toast, and your car’s better for blowjobs. Nice big front seat.”
Grant barely heard Elise’s strangled good-bye. Brenna’s hand on his cock was distracting him a bit too much. He didn’t care that they were on the steps of the bed and breakfast. He didn’t care that they were in downtown Bluebonnet for anyone to see. He did, however, care that her car was dead. “What happened to your car?”
She shrugged. “Don’t know, don’t care. Take me home?”
It was on the tip of his tongue to protest, that they should retrieve her car because that would be the sensible thing to do. He could get it towed for her, or take a look at it himself and determine what was wrong with it. He wanted to take care of it for her.
But then she squeezed his cock, and he pretty much forgot about everything but taking her home and fucking the hell out of her. “Let’s go home, then.”
Thank God his car was only steps away. Grant wouldn’t have been able to walk far otherwise, not with his raging hard-on. He reluctantly released Brenna long enough to open the passenger-side door for her, and when she slid in the car and he was positive she wasn’t fooling him and wasn’t going to run away, he breathed a sigh of relief, closed the door, and headed to the driver’s side.
As soon as he slid in the car and put his key in the ignition, she reached for his cock again.
Grant groaned, leaning his head back against the headrest. “Brenna, I won’t be able to drive if you keep grabbing me.”
“Sure you can,” she teased, stroking him through his pants.
He gave her a quelling look. “I love you, but I’m not running off the road because you can’t wait until we get home.”
She bit her lip and gave him an innocent look, moving back to her own seat. She slid her hands between her legs and trapped them between her knees, as if to prove that she’d be good for him. “Better?”
“Not really, but it’ll at least allow me to drive,” he told her. And because she was looking so delicious, he leaned over to kiss her. It was going to be the longest drive ever.
He’d no sooner turned the car around and headed back down the farm road when he heard her give a low, soft moan. His cock immediately jolted, and he looked over at her.
Brenna had her hands between her legs, and she was rubbing herself through her jeans. Her eyes were closed and she had her head resting on the seat, her expression one of utter pleasure.
“What are you doing?” Other than driving him crazy, of course.
“You won’t let me touch you,” she murmured, her tone blissed out. “So I figured I’ll just touch myself while you drive.”
Ah, fuck. That was incredibly hot. And incredibly, incredibly distracting. He forced himself to stare out the windshield at the road ahead of him. Luckily, Bluebonnet was a small town and the roads in and out weren’t busy. He had a feeling he would have driven anyone nearby off the road, because he swerved again when she made a soft gasp in her throat. “Stop that!”
“I can’t,” Brenna told him. “I need you so bad and you won’t let me touch you.” She gave another shuddering little gasp, and he heard her zipper go down. “Oh God, I am totally wet.”
He groaned, picturing her flesh silky and slick with need.
“Maybe you should touch me,” she offered. “You can keep one hand on the steering wheel, and one hand on me.”
Damn it. He shouldn’t. It wasn’t safe. Common sense warred with need, but when she made another one of those breathless sounds, he slid a hand toward her, his gaze still firmly glued to the road.
She grasped it and dragged his hand between her thighs.
Immediately, his fingers were enveloped by soft, sweet, achingly hot flesh. She was extremely wet, and his own cock gave a jerk in response, the head already beading with pre-cum and causing his boxers to stick to his skin. The sensation of her slick pussy around his fingers was driving him mad, and when she tugged at his hand insistently, demanding that he move his fingers, he rubbed, and she went wild.
Brenna cried out, and her nails dug into his forearm. “Oh God, Grant. Keep doing that! You’re so fucking dirty, fingering me while you drive.”
More dirty talk. It made his eyes practically cross with lust when she did that. He was weaving all over the damn road, distracted to hell as he continued to rub her pussy. It was impossible to drive and pleasure Brenna at the same time, he decided a moment later, and he jerked the car over to the side of the road, pulling off into the grass.
“What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly when he slammed the brakes on and threw the car into park. Her glazed eyes watched him, her breasts heaving with need.
“You want to be pleasured?” he growled. “I’ll fucking pleasure you.”
And he reached over between her legs and threw the seat release. She fell backward with a yelp, almost lying down in the passenger seat.
He bent over her, one arm on her stomach to hold her down, and leaned in to that damp pussy. “You want me to give you some attention before we get home?”
“Oh yes, yes I do,” she said, her voice shaky with excitement. Her fingers twined in his hair, and instead of pushing him away from her, she pushed his head toward her waiting flesh. She didn’t give a shit that they were on the side of the road, where anyone could find them. His Brenna just did what she wanted, when she wanted.
It was what made her so damn perfect for him.
Grant buried his face between her legs, delighting in her surprised squeal of pleasure. His tongue stroked at the soft lips of her sex, and he lapped at her, tasting her sweetness. She moaned when his tongue slid across the piercing, rubbing it against her clit. He pushed with his tongue, then began to circle slowly, dragging the tip across her sensitized flesh.
Her hands curled into fists and she clutched at him desperately. She was making wild, incoherent noises in the back of her throat, and those were making his cock so hard that he felt he’d burst. He wasn’t going to make it until they got home. No fucking way. He didn’t give a shit, either. He’d happily change his pants as soon as he got in the door. Didn’t matter. All that mattered was pleasing her.
Slipping a finger down between her legs, he pushed past the bunched fabric at her thighs and stroked at the wet lips of her sex with his forefinger before sinking deeper, seeking
her heat. He sank it deep and then moved his mouth back to her clit, sucking hard even as he began to drive his finger in and out of her.
She whimpered, her thighs quivering around him. “Oh, Grant. Oh, fuck yes.”
Brenna was close. He could tell by the way little quivers were beginning to drag at his finger deep inside her. His tongue picked up the pace, slicking and teasing at her clit faster than before. His finger slammed into her warmth. She clenched around him and gave a high-pitched scream, and he felt her clenching and dragging at his finger, the power of her orgasm making her entire body shake. He continued to lick her, dragging every ounce of pleasure from her that he could, until she was heaving for breath and pushing his face away.
“Oh wow,” she breathed after a long moment. “Oh wow. Just wow.”
He sat up slowly, his own need a fierce ache, and watched her with intense pleasure. She looked flushed and delicious. Her hair had fallen from her clip and was strewn about her shoulders, and her jeans were bunched down on her hips, her shirt tugged up, revealing her pale, smooth belly. Grant licked his lips, tasting the remnants of her pleasure. “Feel better?”
“God, yes.” She gave a sensual stretch, grinning at him. “That was just what I needed to take the edge off things.” Her gaze slid to his lap. “You must be positively aching, though. Want me to fix that for you?”
And she slid toward him, her hand going to his tented pants, a sultry smile on her lips.
Grant sucked in a breath, entranced by that wicked look on her face. “You don’t have to—”
“Duh.” She leaned over toward him and rubbed a hand up and down his length. “But this monster’s calling to me, I admit. And it’s only fair that I take care of you, don’t you think? Then we can get home and really have some fun.”
He wanted to. More than anything. His gaze went to the empty road. A few cars had whizzed past, but no one had stopped to assist. No one would see, just like no one had seen him going down on her moments ago. So why was he hesitating?
She made up his mind for him. With a wicked giggle, she reached for the release on his seat, and he went backward with a thump. Then her hands were on his belt and she quickly undid it and his zipper. Moments later, she was pulling his cock out of his boxers with a satisfied sigh, and she swiped her tongue across the head.