Page 54 of The Bad Brother

“You left bruises on my ass,” I tell him quietly, my cheeks going hot when I remember the way seeing them in the mirror this morning made me feel. “And between my thighs.”

The frown holds, even as his gaze heats before dropping to my mouth. “Should I apologize, Peach?”

“No.” Biting the corner of my lip, I stare up at him. “You should do it again.”

My answer lifts his gaze to meet mine, the sound he makes deep in his chest, downright feral. “From now on, you don’t leave without saying goodbye,” he tells me, thehand wrapped around my throat giving it a quick little pulse. “I don’t like it.”

“You looked busy,” I say, trying to ignore the fact that my nipples are suddenly so hard they hurt and my panties are soaked. What is this man doing to me? “I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“I don’t care if I’m talking to the Lord Almighty, Peach,” he tells me, that thumb of his rubbing lazy circles against the uneven pulse bumping at the base of my throat. “You leave this bar, I want a proper goodbye.”

“Okay…” Nodding up at him, I give him a sweet smile. “Goodbye, Jensen.”

He growls at me again before leaning in to press an almost chaste kiss against my cheek, sliding past it, he whispers in my ear, “I know you’re wet, Peach, and if there wasn’t a pair of gossiping church ladies and a twelve-man work crew inside, watching us right now, I’d have you bent over this hood with your pants around your ankles so I could eat that filthy little pussy of yours. Afterward, I’d fuck you from behind until my cock was soaked in your cum and you were screaming loud enough to raise the dead.” Pulling back, he gives me another kiss, this one to the tip of my nose. “Goodbye, Sloane.” Jensen smiles while dropping his hand away from my neck. “Have a good day at work.”

IWAS FEELING PRETTY GOOD.

Better than good, actually. I was feeling downrighthappyuntil Colt strolled in for lunch for the second day this week and fucked it all up.

“Her realtor called me this morning to set up an appointment for her to come look at it,” Colt says between bites of his BLT. “They scheduled a walk-through on Sunday.”

Heris Sloane anditis the vacant half of the duplex he offered her the last time he was here.

He’s not talking to me. He’s talking to his brother but that doesn’t matter. It’s taking every shred of self-control I have not to knock him off his fucking stool.

Seriously? Didn’t you decide, not more than a few hours ago, that it would be smart for her to move out, considering the fact that Ethan’s back on his bullshit?

Smart? Probably.

Safer? Absolutely.

But it’s not what I want. I want her sleeping in my bed and watching TV on my couch. I want her brushing her teeth over my bathroom sink and drinking coffee from my cups.

I want Sloane here.

With me.

I want to take care of her.

To be the one protecting her.

Jesus Christ, what the fuck is this woman doing to me? I picked her flowers on my run this morning.Flowers—I’ve never done that for a woman before, not even Hanna. Bought them? Sure, I’ve bought them plenty of times but never physicallypicked.I almost chucked them a half dozen times on my way upstairs but in the end, I stuck them in a glass of water and set them on her nightstand while she slept. I’m not even sure why I did it past the thought of her waking up to them made me happy.

There’s that word again.

Happy.

Being with Sloane—taking care of her—makes me happy. With Hanna, it was different. It felt expected. I was constantly anticipating her every want. Catering to her every whim. Lavish gifts and expensive vacations, all given in the hope that they kept her satisfied. Kept her faithful. Made me worthy, and none of it mattered. No matter what I did, no matter how much I gave, it was never enough.

And now, here you are, falling for a woman who has Dior hanging in her closet and thinks nothing of tossing a braceletworth twenty grand into an old change tray on your dresser and you think some weeds stuck in a drinking glass made her happy? You’re pretty fuckin’ stupid, you know that?

“Jen.”

Hearing my name, I look up from the spot on the bar I’ve been wiping down for the past five minutes to find both Cade and his brother looking at me like I have a third arm, sticking out of my ass. “What?” It comes out harsher than I intend so I take a mental step back and force myself to relax. “What?” This time it’s not much better but it’s the best I can do.

Cade flicks me a quickyou good?look before he tips his head toward his brother. “Colt heard about what happened last night.”

“Lotta shit happens around here, every night,” I say, shifting my gaze toward Colt, I shake my head. “You’ll have to be more specific.”

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