Page 14
Stretching my legs out in front of me, I pull the bottoms of my board shorts up my thighs to let the sun touch as much of my skin as possible. I’m starting to finally get the Carolina tan I had grown up with, and my hair is even lightening up a bit. Granted, not as much as it would if I would spend some time in the saltwater, but I just haven’t had much of a desire to go surfing. I know I probably will today, because Hunter has a few of his boards propped in the sand, but for now… I’ll relax, and I lean my head back and close my eyes, wondering what Alyssa and Wyatt are talking about.
***
Something hits my leg, and I open my eyes. Hunter is standing over me with a grin. “Wake up, Sleeping Beauty. Food’s ready. ”
Rubbing my eyes, I squint up at him. “How long was I out?”
“About forty-five minutes. You sure know how to party hard. ”
Giving Hunter a quick smile, I say, “Haven’t you been reading The Prison Times? This is about as hard as this Markham parties anymore. ”
Hunter’s smile slides off his face. “Hey… I didn’t mean to bring that up… or mean anything by it. ”
I hold a hand up to cut him off. “No worries, man. I know you didn’t, and I was teasing you back. But seriously, I just have no desire to party, so there’s nothing to be sorry about. ”
“Okay,” he says but looks unsure. “Want to head over and get some food?”
“You go on ahead. I need to use the bathroom first,” I say as I stand up from the beach chair and stretch my arms up high, arching my back and groaning as my muscles loosen up. Looking around, I see the other chairs in our group are empty so I assume they must be over at the grill.
Hunter heads to join the throng of people waiting to eat, and I jog across the sand and up the stairs into his house. The deck is practically empty as everyone is clamoring for some seafood down on the beach.
As I walk into Hunter’s house, I mentally plan that I’ll eat, socialize for about another five minutes after that, and then I’ll head out. I have to be at work at seven PM tonight but if I head out soon, I can get some of my laundry done this afternoon.
I turn the corner of the hallway that leads to the bathroom, my head down and my brain calculating the best excuse I can use to leave, when I run straight into someone, causing them to cry out in surprise.
My hands come out to steady the other person and when I grip onto warm, bare skin, I realize instantaneously that it’s Alyssa. As my head comes up, I look into her soft, brown eyes, and she stares back at me with a stunned look.
“Geez,” she says almost breathlessly. “You about gave me a heart attack. ”
“Sorry. Wasn’t watching where I was going,” I tell her, relishing the feel of her silky skin under my palms. She smells like coconut oil, and I notice that she has freckles on her shoulders that I’m sure were brought out by the sun today.
“Okay by me,” she says, and I notice her voice continues to be breathless. Her eyes stay serene as she stares up at me with a mellow smile on her face. “Heading down to get some food?”
“Yeah,” is all I say… all I can think to say.
“It’s really hot outside today, huh?”
“Yeah,” I say again… lamely, I might add.
“Brody?”
“Yeah. ”
“You’re still holding onto my shoulders,” she whispers, and then she steps in closer to me. “You could have let me go by now. ”
Fuck, she’s right and even as she calls me on the carpet, I still don’t drop my hands away from her. Alyssa’s gaze holds me for a moment, and then strays to my lips. It hits me like a gale-force wind that Alyssa is thinking about our kiss, which in turn makes me think of it.
And here I stand… inches away from a woman so beautiful she makes my eyes hurt sometimes, and so kind that she makes my heart hurt. I know that I had, without a doubt, the best kiss of my life with her the other night, and it will be even better if I kiss her again.
I should run. Push her away, bark at her… something to stop this train wreck from happening. Because if we kiss… I know there won’t be any stopping. No talking myself out of it. I’m not strong enough to resist the temptation once our lips touch… I just know it.
Alyssa is cruel though and she steps in just an inch closer, but it’s enough so her br**sts brush lightly across the top of my stomach muscles, causing them to jump in response.
I go dizzy with want.
My fingers grip onto her a bit harder and I stare in her eyes, hoping there will be something there that brings me to my senses.
Big mistake. All I see is desire pooled deep, and the last vestige of restraint slips away.
I’m doomed, is what I think, just as I bring my mouth down on hers and pull her in tight, crushing her body into mine.
Sensations assault me.
The softness of her lips with the hint of mint on her tongue.
The warmth of her skin beneath my fingers.
The hardness of her ni**les as they rub against my stomach.
All of it hits me hard, surging lust through me like a massive ocean tide. When Alyssa lets out a moan into my mouth, I feel my sanity start to slip. It’s been so f**king long since I’ve been with a woman, but Alyssa is like woman times ten. I’m overwhelmed with feelings raging through me, even as something in the back of my head keeps trying to warn me off.
“Tell me to stop,” I plead, never quite taking my lips off hers but rather just pushing the words into her mouth.
“No,” she whispers as her hands come to my h*ps to pull me in closer. There’s no doubt where my mind is right now as my erection pushes into her stomach.
I have to touch more of her but I still have a tiny bit of rational thinking left, and I know that the hallway is no place to do it. So I start pushing her backward… walking her right back into the bathroom she just vacated.
She doesn’t balk; she just grips onto my h*ps harder while swiping her tongue along mine in a kiss that is getting hotter and hotter.
When we are fully inside of Hunter’s bathroom, I fling my arm out and slap at the wall, managing to turn on the light switch with one smooth but lucky move, followed by a kick to the door, which has it slamming shut behind me.
Alone.
The thought reverberates through my head, and now there are no boundaries surrounding Alyssa unless she comes to her senses and tells me to stop. While a small part of me still hopes she does just that, most of my reasoning has withered away and my mind is filled with nothing but the thoughts of kissing and touching her.
Finally releasing her shoulders, I glide my fingers up her neck until my palms are cupping her jawline. All the better to hold her in place so I can kiss her deeper.
She must need the contact too, because her fingers slide up until her palms are laying flat against my stomach, and then she pushes them around my back. Her touch fuels me on, and I need to get closer to her still.
I move one hand to the back of her head to hold her in place as we continue to kiss. Deep, spine-tingling kissing. Grazing the fingertips of my other hand down her neck, I turn my hand and drag my knuckles over the swell of her breast until they graze a pebbled nipple. Alyssa jerks against me and moans hotly into my mouth, and f**k… it makes me want more.
I have to have more.
My hand moves right over her breast, knuckles dragging over her flat belly. When I reach the edge of her denim shorts, I don’t even hesitate, popping open her button with an easy flick. Alyssa breaks away from my kiss with a startled gasp, and I open my eyes to look at her. She’s staring at me a little surprised, but mostly lust clouds her vision.
“Don’t even tell me to stop,” I tell her darkly. “You had your chance. Now it’s gone. ”
“I don’t want you to stop,” she tells me breathlessly. “I want you to touch me. ”
Fuck, I didn’t think I could possibly grow harder but her words are like an aphrodisiac,
and my erection pushes painfully against the confines of my board shorts. I don’t kiss her again, but rather continue to look in her eyes as I grip her zipper and slowly ease it down. She holds my stare, the only noticeable disquiet is the fact she pulls her bottom lip in between her teeth and bites down. It’s a sexy-as-fuck look. When my fingers flirt with the edge of her bikini bottom, her eyes close and I get lost in how long her lashes are as they lay against the translucent skin just below her eyes, but right above the blush across her cheeks. She looks young and innocent, and far too pure to be sullied by me. She doesn’t deserve that.
With a burst of rational insight into just how stupid I’m being, I release her quickly and step back.
Alyssa’s eyes pop open, and she glares at me. “Don’t back away, Brody. ”
“This is wrong,” I tell her.
“It isn’t,” she insists, stepping toward me. I try to step back but I’m flat against the wall, and I watch, almost hypnotized, as she comes closer. When she’s inches away, she reaches her hands out and lays them on my chest. My pectoral muscles leap at the warm touch and my heart starts pounding, but I clench my fists by my side to keep from reaching out to her.
“Brody… there’s something between us. I know you can feel it,” she begins, talking softly to me, almost like I’m a wounded animal that may bolt. “But you have to let go of these preconceived notions of not being good enough. I see you clearly, and I think you’re plenty good. ”
I open my mouth to automatically tell her she’s wrong, because the word “good” and me aren’t supposed to be used together. It’s a foreign concept, and one I just can’t roll over and accept because she says so. Before I can voice those self-doubts, someone knocks on the door.
“Just a second,” I automatically say, loud enough the person on the other side can hear me.
Turning back to Alyssa, I reach out and zip her shorts back up, deftly buttoning them closed. “Let it go, Alyssa,” is all I say before pushing her back from me and turning toward the door.
I open it and step out, muttering an “excuse me” to the woman waiting there to get in. I don’t look back at Alyssa, and she doesn’t say a word to stop me.
I walk out of the bathroom, straight to the front door, and right out of Hunter’s house. Getting in my car, I drive home, locking myself away to my solitude and loneliness, because based on my past actions… this is about all I deserve out of life.
Chapter 12
Alyssa
Brody’s not here when I pull in to The Haven at a little past six AM. Not that I expect him at this hour, or even at all. I never set any special time with Brody to start… just told him to come when he could. He works most evenings at Last Call so he told me he’d be able to come most days, and that was good enough for me. I would take whatever help I could get. Since it was without pay, I was not picky when people came to work.
If I were a betting woman though, I’m thinking The Haven may have seen the last of Brody Markham. After our second kiss ended in ruin yesterday at Hunter’s party, I’m betting the guy is probably scared off for good. He wants me… I know he does. I could feel it in his kiss, and I most certainly felt it pressed up against my stomach. But the guy is so mired in the darkness of his past, he refuses to push through and see the potential standing in front of him. I’d love to say I’ll continue to work on him, but I’m thinking Brody’s refusal to give his life a real chance may be insurmountable. I don’t know that I have the fortitude to break through his walls.
After unlocking all the buildings, I get started right away on feeding the dogs because they’re the noisiest. Their loud barks and yips make it sound like they’re starving to death. I’m able to get both the dogs and cats fed in just under an hour. I make sure I open all the dog runs to the outside so they can go out and play if they want, and make my way over to the barn to feed Midget.