Chapter 18
Alyssa
I have Brody figured out… somewhat.
He gets up every morning at five AM—no alarm clock, no sun streaming in the window to wake him up.
For the past three nights, he’s stayed at my house with me and for the past three mornings, I’ve noted his five AM internal clock going off. He tries to slip out of bed quietly, but I’m too in tune with him now. He leaves the bed, and I know it.
I didn’t say anything the first two mornings, but rather waited to see if he would come back. He never did, quietly hanging out in my kitchen and sipping on coffee until I woke up an hour later. He’d have a cup waiting on me, and we’d sit on the back deck to watch the sunrise together.
We settled into a routine. He would go home for a shower while I got ready for the day, then he would meet me at The Haven. It’s pretty “business as usual” during the day, both of us working hard because there’s so much to do. But yesterday, he caught me by surprise when he snuck up behind me in the supply room while I was taking inventory.
What started out as a quick kiss, and maybe a bit of a fondle, was soon realized to not be enough for either one of us. Clothes went flying and then Brody picked me up, doing me against the wall with such animal aggression that I came twice before he poured into me. Through our heavy breathing and sweaty faces, we both grinned at each other and then went back to work.
It was a good day indeed.
At night, I would swing by Last Call and hang for a little bit, but then I’d go home. Brody didn’t like it, but I told him I wasn’t hanging out in a bar every night just so he could watch over me. I thought he’d roll his eyes at me or demand me to stay, but instead, he sort of looked sad and said, “I know. You deserve better than that.”
My heart bled a little because I know what he was saying. He was saying his life here… as a bartender, a felon, and a killer… it’s just not good enough for me.
I just gave him a stern look and said, “I deserve you, and I have you. Not letting go, so get used to it.”
He blinked at me a few times before I stepped in to give him a quick kiss, then I headed out with my promise to text him once I was locked securely in my house with the alarm set.
Brody usually made it to my place by about a quarter after two in the morning. I had given him my key and the alarm code, and he would slide into bed beside me, already naked and wanting. I was wanting too, so that made it nice for both of us.
The sex is beyond fantastic. I have never been so turned on, so in tune, so willing to do anything with another human being than I am with Brody. He’s absolutely ruined me to have sex with anyone else again.
Not that I’m looking to.
No, I’m looking at keeping Brody… forever. I know it down to the marrow in my bones that he is the one for me.
I have a plan to keep Brody in bed this morning. It’s Saturday so Bobby Jenkins is working, and Brody doesn’t have to be at Last Call until this evening.
I am going to defeat his five AM waking up. It has to be broken because the man cannot continue to operate on only a few hours of sleep each night. I’ve begged him to sleep in. I’ve tried to cajole him into leaving The Haven early to take a nap. Every time, he told me he was fine and that he was used to functioning on little to no sleep.
This is a product of his time in prison, I suspect, and it’s another chain he needs to throw off. Thus, my plan is devious, and it involves sex.
I started on this plan yesterday… at The Haven. Brody and I were eating a quick lunch—sandwiches I had made. I was sitting at my desk, and Brody was leaning up against the wall. We were discussing a new transfer that would be coming in later that day, a Great Dane puppy that had been found on the side of the road with no tag or microchip.
“Do we really need condoms to have sex?” I asked, my tone level and curious.
Brody actually choked on the sandwich in his mouth. When he was finally able to swallow, he said, “Jesus, Alyssa. Give a guy a heads up that you’re changing subjects.”
I giggled and tilted my head, enjoying his discomfort and awaiting his answer anxiously.
“Well,” he said slowly. “Other than the risk of getting you pregnant, you have nothing to worry about from me. I’ve always used protection. Had a full physical just a few months ago.”
“In prison… did you… I mean, did anyone…?” I couldn’t bring myself to ask it, because it was a horrid thought. One that has been plaguing me.
“No,” Brody said with horror, not because I asked that, but because I could tell he wouldn’t want me to worry. “No… nothing happened to me in prison. I hate to dispel the myth, but it wasn’t exactly like what you read about or see on TV. They keep the prisoners fairly safe. Plus… I’m a big dude. If any of that shit goes down, they go after the smaller ones.”
I shuddered at the thought but was so relieved that Brody had at least stayed physically safe.
“So, back to the condom thing,” I said, getting back on track. “I’m on the pill. And while I haven’t had a physical recently, I haven’t ever had unprotected sex. Ever. But I’ll go get one.”
Brody sat his sandwich down, brushing his hands against one another to knock off the crumbs. He walked over to me and squatted down, placing his hands on my thighs.
“Tell me why,” he said quietly. “Why is that important to you?”
“Because… it’s the last barrier we have between us,” I whispered back. “I don’t want anything in between us… ever.”
He smiled at me. It was wistful, a bit sad, but also happy at the same time.
“Sure, baby. No condoms,” was all he said and kissed me sweetly.
Now, back to my plan. A quick glance at my alarm clock, and I know it’s getting close to the time that Brody is going to wake up. I’m going to get the jump on him, so to speak.
Taking the hand that’s currently resting on his chest, I slide it down his stomach. I sneak it under the blanket resting over his hips and straight down between his legs. Taking him in my hands, I briefly relish the soft vulnerability of him right now. I say briefly, because the moment my fingers touch his sensitive skin, he starts to grow in my hand.
Stroking him, I keep my cheek resting on his chest, noting the way his breathing shifts from slow and deep to disjointed and choppy. He’s not awake but he’s getting there, and when he flexes his hips upward into my hand and groans, I know he’s climbing out of the darkness.
Sitting up carefully, I push the covers down his legs and lean over him. He’s fully hard now, long, thick, and beautiful. A shivering thrill runs through me at the power I’m getting ready to unleash.
I take him in my mouth, fully deep and to the back of my throat, pulling back while suctioning hard. Brody’s hands come to my head, gripping into my hair, and he rumbles sleepily, “F*ck, Alyssa… what are you doing?”
No need to answer. He knows what I’m doing but I add my hand to the game, adding a counterstroke to the sucking motions of my mouth. Brody grunts, curses, and bucks his hips, all the while showing amazing restraint by not holding my head in place and thrusting himself into my mouth. He lets me take care of him, and that warms me down to my toes.
I work him good. When he gets to the brink, I slow it down and lap at him leisurely. This is when his curses turn more vicious, and once he even begs me. By the time I let Brody come, he’s almost mindless. A quick glance at the clock shows me it’s twenty after five in the morning.
Step one complete.
It takes a few minutes for Brody’s breathing to slow, and I spend it softly kissing my way back up his body. I love on his hipbones a little, circle around his belly button with my tongue, and then I kiss along the hard ridges of his stomach. I play with his nipples, which starts his breathing going a bit faster, and by the time I work my way up to his neck, his hands are pulling me onto his body.
He kisses me deep and possessively, and I find it so freakin’ hot because he just came in my mouth and he could care less.
“Good morning,” he rasps against my lips.
“Happy Saturday,” I murmur, plunging my tongue in his mouth.
He kisses me for a minute more, and then pulls away. “It’s my turn to play, right?”
“Absolutely,” I tell him, and step two commences.
Brody is intent on paying me back for making him suffer so long before I let him climax. When he goes down on me, I see the evil glint in his eyes and I grip my fingers into the sheets, knowing that I’m going to be doing a hell of a lot of moaning and sure as shit some begging.
When he finally listens to my pleas to let me come, I’m shattering at almost ten ‘til six in the morning. Step two left me shuddering so hard, my teeth were clacking together.
Brody crawls his way up my body, straight to my mouth, and it’s my turn to taste the sex on his lips. It tastes divine, because he’s wearing my orgasm, and it’s a good thing I’m still horny, because step three is in play.
Reaching my hand down between our bodies, I find Brody hard again, as I knew he would be. Pulling away from his mouth, I urge him on. “I want you inside of me, Brody. Now.”
He wastes no time. Gives me what I want on demand.
Lining his hips up, he drives into me in one perfectly aimed push. His arms go under the backs of my knees, and he hikes me up and spreads me open wider.
Then it’s on. He f*cks me like there is no tomorrow. He utters filthy words to me, which makes me throb around him, and I beg him over and over to give it to me harder. We fuel each other, forcing our ascent, trying to one up every thrust, sigh, and touch between us.
For the first time since we’ve started having sex, Brody and I actually come together. It is incendiary, the magnitude of the explosions that occur between us, and I notice that as we release together, our hands are clasped tightly, knuckles flashing white.
Just before Brody leans in to kiss me, his cock still leaping inside of me with little spurts, I glance at the clock and see it’s almost six thirty.
And Brody is still in bed with me.
It’s time for the final phase.
I pull Brody down with my hands clasped behind his neck. “Just lay here with me a bit,” I whisper.
His head comes to my chest, and his arms wrap around my waist. He’s lying half on me, half on the bed, and his heart rate is still galloping. I know he’s already calculating what he’s going to do when he gets up, so I put forth my final attempt to keep him with me.
I start stroking his head with my fingers, massaging at his temples. Running my fingers through his long hair, I murmur sweet nothings to him. I graze my fingers along his eyebrows, putting just enough pressure to be relaxing, and then I start all over again.
Before long, Brody’s breathing slows and evens out. His grasp around my waist slackens, and a glance down at him shows his eyes are closed. I’m pretty sure he’s asleep, but I don’t let up on the soothing strokes I’m making on his head. I keep it up until he goes under deeply. Then I join him with a satisfied smile on my face.
Operation Sleep-In was a success.
***
I slowly come awake, stretching luxuriously before opening my eyes. When I do, I see Brody hovering over me. He’s lying on his side, his elbow on the bed, with his head resting in his hand. He’s staring at me with an amused smile on his face.
“About time you woke up,” he says quietly.
“Mmmmm,” I groan as I stretch again. Looking at the clock, I see it’s almost ten AM. “Did you just wake up?”
“About an hour ago.”
“How did you sleep?”
“You mean after you tried to kill me with sex this morning?” he asks, his eyebrow cocked at me.
I snicker, and then turn on my side to face him. “You loved it.”
“I did,” he agrees. “So, thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” I tell him with a chuckle. “I got a few orgasms out of it.”
“No,” he says firmly. “Thank you… for making me sleep in.”
I can’t help the warm gooeyness that bubbles up inside of me, and I feel well satisfied.
“I take care of you,” I tell him simply.
Brody just smiles at me, taking his finger, running it across the slope of my shoulder, and down my arm. “So what’s on the agenda today?”
“Well, we have several hours before you need to go to work. Want to go hang out on the beach?”
“You don’t want to go check on the animals?” he asks suspiciously.
“Nope. They’re in good hands. I want to play with you today.”
“Would any part of that playing be back in this bed?” he asks, bringing his hand over to palm my breast.
“As a matter of fact, it would,” I tell him, bringing my own hand over to cover his and push him to me tighter.
I expect Brody to take over… to touch and lick all over me the way I know he loves to do. Instead, he looks at me with worry, his hand falling away from my breast. “Do you think Chad’s gone for good?”
Shrugging my shoulders, I look down at the blanket and pick at it. “I don’t know. I hope so, but it’s hard for me to imagine he found his sanity just laying around.”
“I know,” Brody says on a heavy sigh. “I don’t see him giving up.”
We’re both silent for a moment, lost to our thoughts. This amazing man lying beside me has had so much strife in his young life. I hate it, and I want to do something to make it better. After everything he’s been through, he lies here now worrying about me, and that pisses me off. I hate Stacy for destroying him, and I hate Chad for worrying him.
Brody deserves peace. Nothing but peace.
“What’s going on in that brain of yours?” he asks me quietly. “You look like you could shank someone right now.”
“Just brooding about Chad and Stacy. What did we do to deserve those two?”
It’s with amazement that Brody chuckles as he pulls me into his arms. “That which does not kill us makes us stronger, right?”
“Sounds like bullshit to me,” I grumble, and he laughs hard.
“Glad I can amuse,” I tell him as he strokes my back, his chin resting on my head.
“You don’t amuse, Alyssa. You captivate.”
Yes, that was my heart that sighed, because Brody is beautiful. He’s been broken, luckily not beyond repair, but he’s still so beautiful inside.
“Brody?” I ask hesitantly, because I want to broach a subject that has been gnawing at me.
“Yeah,” he answers softly.
“Why don’t you fight to have your name cleared?”
“Because nothing can be done,” he says flatly. “My attorney said nothing can be done. There’s no evidence any more. My word against hers.”
“But what about the cop that arrested you? He knew Stacy was driving… he could tell by the position of the seats, the injuries to your knees, and the damage to the car.”
He laughs, and this time it’s bitter. “You think that cop will admit to any of that? His badge would be on the line.”
“We don’t need the cop,” I tell him urgently. “There’s a picture of Stacy’s car in the newspaper, the accident report shows the damage on just your side, and you were treated at the hospital, right? It can all be put together.”
“Alyssa,” Brody says gently, letting me down. “What if I told you that I pulled that seat up to get her purse out of the back seat, and that I cut my knees on the pavement when I was giving CPR to Mr. Castas?”
I reel backward out of his embrace, my eyes searching his. “Did you?”
“No,” he says sadly. “But don’t you see how easy that argument is to make?”
I deflate completely, but still have the strength to throw out to him. “What about a reporter? Expose Stacy… expose the senator and what they did.”
“Absolutely not,” he growls.
“Why?” I ask, sitting up and grabbing his hand. “That could work. It could get enough attention. I could tell what I overheard. It would at least vindicate you.”
“No,” he says angrily, and then rolls out of the bed. Reaching down to the floor, he pulls on his boxer shorts. “It’s done, so just let it go.”
“Brody,” I say apologetically, because the last thing I want to do is hurt him. “I’m sorry.”
He runs his fingers through the hair at his temple and lets out a harsh breath. “Look… I worked hard to put that shit behind me. Do me a favor and just leave it there, okay?”
“Okay,” I assure him and then hold my hand out. “Come here, let me show you how sorry I am.”
The angry look on his face melts, and he kneels down on the edge of the bed to take my hand. “I didn’t mean to jump down your throat. I just want to move forward… never back.”
I nod and then push to my knees so I can kiss him. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I vow to myself that I’ll do whatever I need to do to put ease in this man’s heart.