“Try me.”
“Slipknot,” I say, confident that she’ll ask me if that’s a song or a band.
Instead, she gives me a cocky half smile and starts strumming the opening chords to “The Devil in I.”
It’s different, but good. She puts her own spin on it and, even though it’s the same song I’ve listened to a thousand times, it sounds totally fresh.
And fuck me if I don’t want her even more.
I know I told myself fucking Destiny’s sister was crossing a line, but the longer I watch her the more I hope “whatever” turns into my tongue on every inch of her body before my cock sinks balls deep inside her. It’s been a long time since I was this turned on by a woman. I know for fucking sure that this is one face that isn’t going to blend into the river. I’m going to fuck her raw and remember every second of it.
Chapter 4
Lilah
It’s nearly eleven thirty and the way Bran’s been looking at me for the last three hours, as if choosing which part of me to devour first, makes me ache in places I’ve never ached before.
No one has ever looked at me like that. Not even Tyrell. When we fucked, it was because we were stoned and horny and bored. But I’d bet everything in my tip jar that what Bran has in mind for me has nothing to do with being bored. That look is pure animal lust mixed with a healthy shot of testosterone. His hormones are speaking and mine are most definitely answering.
Hell, the way my nipples tighten every time he looks at me, my hormones may as well be yodeling off a mountaintop.
The crowd tonight is younger on average than they were last night, so my playlist has been more current. I’ve thrown in my best metalhead selections for Bran’s benefit. I strum the last chord of KoЯn’s “Hater” before reaching for the rum and Coke I’ve been nursing all night.
I should probably tell him that I’m not legal…for anything…but I like that he thinks of me as mature instead of the little girl that Destiny treats me like. After everything we’ve been through, you’d think she’d see that I can hold my own…that I don’t need to be protected. After all, it was me who noticed the fire first. You’d think that would count for something. But all she can see is me following in Mom and Dad’s footsteps. She won’t give me any credit for learning from my mistakes. Just the fact that I’m perfectly fine stopping at one drink is all the proof I need that I’m not them.
I finish the drink and set the glass down. Bran is fucking me with his eyes as he refills it with ice and Coke and my nipples bead against my shirt again. I don’t think there’s much doubt my body wants to follow through on that eye-fuck. He thrills me and intimidates me all at the same time and something about that combination makes me hornier than I’ve ever been.
His biceps ripple as he pushes off the bar, but he doesn’t back away. He stands there devouring me with his eyes. I want so badly to take him up on his offer and stay after closing, but if I’m not home on time, Destiny will come looking for me. If she finds me with Bran, we’ll be in another U-Haul tomorrow, on our way to another nowhere town.
At least this town has Bran.
So, instead, I slip off the stool and put my guitar away, then empty my tip jar into my bag. “I need to head out.”
Bran leans his hands on the bar across from me, his pecs flexing with the motion. “Why?”
“Someone’s waiting for me.”
His full red lips press into a line and he nods slowly. “You’ll be back next weekend?”
“If you want me.”
His eyes flash an inferno into mine. “I definitely want you.”
I gush into my panties as my breathing goes shaky. I take a deep breath to settle my nerves. “Then I’ll be here.”
I feel his eyes follow me to the door and when I pass through, the cool night air feels good on my scorched skin. I take my time walking home and feel the fire inside me begin to cool. I hope by the time I walk through the apartment door three minutes before curfew that my face isn’t still flaming.
Destiny’s on the couch with a tub of chocolate ice cream, watching one of the Jurassic Park movies. “How did it go?”
I pull the money from my bag and lay it on the table. “Probably around a hundred.”
“They’re too polite around here not to tip good.”
“Looks that way,” I say, sliding into the chair. I start sorting and count. One hundred and forty six tonight.
“Grab a spoon,” she says when I stand, unfolding her long legs from under her and sitting up straighter.
I go to the drawer and grab one, then drop onto the couch next to Destiny.