“Fuck. All right!” He turned to Brass. “You're welcome to stay at our favorite vacation spot. Might be safer anyway if any of the fucks from your club come milling around. Just don't –“
“I know how to behave myself, brother-in-law. I'll be a good boy. You don't need to worry about the girls neither. These ladies are always on their best behavior. I wouldn't dream of doing anything that would fuck up the new thing we've got here.”
They shared an icy stare. Finally, Blaze shook his head, growling as he threw up his arms and headed for the bar.
“Shit!” Saffron gave Brass an apologetic look and ran after him. “Let's get some fucking food, and then I want them outta my damned sight. There'll be time to play catch up with your bro and his chick after the heavy shit's over.”
I could practically hear her rolling her eyes. “Jesus, Blaze. Look, I know it'll be a late night for you, so I'll stay over with them and make sure nothing crazy happens.”
Brass looked at me and let out a laugh. I joined him. I wasn't sure how much Jackie followed what was going on, but she must have absorbed something. By the time Saffron returned holding some boxed up dinner for us, my sister was laughing harder than she had in months.
The cabin was beautiful. We ate an early dinner with Saffron and made small talk. Jackie and I weren't the only ones who had our stomachs twisted in knots any time someone mentioned family.
It was obvious Brass and his sister had suffered too. I knew they'd lost their mother to some other Grizzlies killers he'd fallen in with – but the way their eyes fell at the only mention of their mom all evening was all too familiar.
That evening, Saffron turned in early, helping set up a comfy room for Jackie downstairs. Brass and I sat on the porch, feeling the crisp bite of early spring on our faces. He stared out at the darkening lake's waters and the high ridges leading toward Glacier National Park beyond them.
“Damn. Just seeing it makes me want to go hiking, you know?” Speaking above a whisper felt like screaming in the nighttime stillness.
Brass laid a hand over my shoulder, pulled me close, dangerously close to his lap. “Didn't take you for the kinda girl who enjoys getting down and dirty in the woods. That park's got some nasty fucking bears too. Shelly and I used to head up there all the time 'til Ma couldn't make the trips anymore.”
I laughed. “I've dealt with more Grizzles than I ever thought I would. What's a few more? Some of them are really fucking nice when you get past all the teeth and claws.”
My hand slipped into his. I clenched my fingers tight around his. He closed his eyes and puffed dragon smoke into the cool air.
“Fuck, babe. You really wanna play with bears?” His eyes sparkled, drawing me in like they always did. I nodded. “Wrong answer.”
In a flash, his hands were on me, lifting me high and plopping me down on his lap. I felt the raging hard-on beneath his jeans instantly. Everything below my waist tingled, and the wetness was instant with my legs spread over his waist, splayed wide for the cool breeze and so much more.
“Brass...” I whispered. “Your sister's not even asleep yet...she's still banging around in the kitchen.”
Just past the screen door, a pot clanged, putting a big fat exclamation mark on what I'd said.
“I don't give a shit. Not 'til you choose the words coming outta those sweet fucking lips more carefully, babe. You wanna play with bears?” He pushed his forehead against mine. It was warm, pleasant. “Fuck that shit. You better tell me there's only one bear you spread those killer legs for. I'm not the sharing kinda guy. Instinct tells me to rip another dude's dick off if he even looks at what's mine, you know that?”
I shuddered. My tongue flicked against my lips, mischievous as the thoughts and desires soaring through my flesh. I wanted him, ached to my core for him, yearned in a way I hadn't known.
“Yeah?” I whispered. “What else does instinct tell you to do?”
His hands spread wider on my ass and then clenched it. His fingers dug in, hard enough to make me wriggle against him, pushing my clit over his dick through our jeans.
Holy shit. He was so fucking hard. Rough and eager as diamond, except diamond didn't feel so warm and smooth, and it sure wouldn't feel as good as him inside me.
Despite all the chaos, I'd remembered my pill. My * tingled, swelled, and ached a little more when I thought about pulling him up inside me without a condom.
Deep. Bare. Ready to surrender everything that was quintessentially his.
Fuck it. I couldn't be a good girl anymore, not when he was so close.
How was I seriously supposed to resist this? His hips ground against mine, pulling me closer, and resistance wasn't even on the radar when his lips found mine.
His tongue twined with mine and formed slippery, hypnotic, wonderful circles. I moaned into his mouth. It only encouraged him.