For a moment, she looked like she wanted to say something, but then Gavin and Mom were right there, and I appreciated her not making what I was sure would've been an embarrassing comment.
I sidled up close to my mother as I handed her a glass of wine. “Everything okay?”
“It will take some getting used to,” Mom said. “But I think we'll be fine.”
Relief rushed through me. If Mom and Gavin could get along, maybe she'd feel better about me living here. And then once Dax had his old job back, he could quit whatever it was that was making his mom nervous. He and I could figure out what was going on between us, and then I'd know if I needed to worry about introducing him to my mother.
“Bryne,” Carrie said my name, drawing me back to the moment. “I'm sure you don't want to sit around with us all afternoon. If you have some errands you'd like to run, we'll be more than happy to loan Allison a car whenever she wants to go back to her hotel.”
I looked over at my mom. “I can stay...”
She shook her head, just like I knew she would. “You go right ahead and do what you need to do.”
I tried not to sound too eager when I thanked her, and then Carrie and Gavin. I waited until I was outside to pull out my phone and send a text to Dax, telling him that I had something I needed to talk to him about. I could've just told him in a text or called him, but I wanted to tell him face-to-face.
And I wanted to apologize for how I'd blown him off yesterday. I hadn't meant anything by it, and he deserved to know. It was always easier for me to be genuine in person.
My phone buzzed with a response. At the shop. Everything okay?
I hadn't liked the shop either of the other times I'd been there, but I was determined that, this time, things would be much different.
Chapter Eight
Dax
After Cleo had finished with the new guy yesterday, Georgie had taken his turn fucking her and then asked me if I wanted a turn. He'd looked pissed when I'd refused, but it was nothing compared to the way Cleo had glared at me. The guys had thought it was hysterical when she'd cussed me out while straightening her clothes, but I hadn't cracked a smile. I didn't think it was funny at all. I would've felt sorry for her if she hadn't been such a bitch to Bryne.
I'd tried not to think about Bryne yesterday but going home hadn't helped that. Mom wasn’t able to stop talking about her, wanting to know if I planned to see her again. Then she did something she'd never done before – told me that I better not hurt her because she was a good girl.
I didn't have to ask Mom how she knew that even though she'd only met her once. Bryne was just that kind of person. Yeah, she was a wildcat when it came to sex, but she still had that whole wholesome, girl-next-door kinda thing going on. Except none of the girls I'd ever had living next door looked like her.
I was glad Mom liked her, but at the same time, it scared the shit out of me. I'd gone from never even considering having a girlfriend at any time in the near future, to thinking of a near-stranger as mine. And I was pretty sure that if I'd told my mother, she would've approved.
Except after yesterday with Bryne's mom, I didn't think Bryne felt the same way. And it bugged me more than I liked.
I was on edge when I showed up at the shop this morning, snapping at the new guy when he asked about Cleo. Not because I cared that he wanted to fuck her again, but because I didn't want to think about her at all.
Then she showed up just before lunch and then it was impossible not to think about her because she was there, parading around in knee-high leather boots, another skirt that barely covered her ass, and a skin-tight shirt that showed off more cleavage than she actually had. It was pathetic, really, watching her rub all up against the guys like some cat in heat, throwing me looks to see if I cared.
After lunch, she parked herself as close to me as she could get without being in my way, tried to talk to me. I grunted responses to things I wasn't really hearing, but it was enough to keep her from doing something crazy. One time, before she'd gone completely psycho, I'd been working on my bike, and she wanted to fuck. When I kept ignoring her, she started playing with herself right there when there were customers in the shop. I didn't want a repeat performance.
“What's she doing here?”
That question made my head snap up because I knew there was only one person Cleo would sound so pissed about. And there Bryne was. Plain jeans and a nice shirt. Nothing special. But she looked a hundred times better than Cleo did all made up with everything on display.
Bryne looked nervous, but I knew it wasn't for the right reasons. She didn't know that being here was a bad idea. I tried to look casual as I put my stuff down and walked toward her. I kept cleaning my hands off with a rag even after I knew nothing else would come off, but it was the only way I could think of not to grab her. I wasn't sure what I'd do if I touched her. Push her toward the door so no one here could tell Booker that she'd come, or pull her to me so I could kiss her.
“What do you want?” Cleo shoved her way in front of me.
I wanted to smile when Bryne ignored her, but I kept my expression blank.
“Can we talk somewhere?” Bryne gave Cleo a pointed look. “Private?”
I nodded and jerked my head toward the back of the shop. “This way.”
I didn't wait to see if she was following me. I could feel the guys' eyes on me, and I knew they were trying to figure out what Bryne was doing here. Cleo would probably fill them in with what she thought she knew, which I definitely didn't want, but making a big deal about Bryne would be worse.
No one was in the office, so I closed and locked the door behind us, then leaned against it, arms crossed to keep from reaching for her. I told myself I was just keeping up appearances, but I knew part of it was because I was still annoyed at what happened with her mom.
After a couple seconds of awkward silence, she blurted out, “Carrie said you can have your job at the club back.”
Okay, not what I expected. “Why would she do that?”
“Because I asked her.” Bryne took a step toward me, and I caught a whiff of her soap. “She said it's just on a probationary basis until she knows she can trust you, but you can go in today and talk scheduling.”
“And if I don't want to go back?”
Confusion crossed her face, and she took a step back. “Why wouldn't you want to?”
“Maybe I don't think I need to prove myself to her.” I scowled. “Maybe I don't trust her.”
I was pretty sure I wasn't talking about Carrie anymore.
Understanding flickered in her eyes, and she walked toward me until there was only an inch between us. I made my hands into fists, reminding myself that it would be a bad idea for me to touch her right now.
“I'm sorry if things were weird with my mom yesterday.” She tilted her head back to look up at me. “I wasn't trying to blow you off or anything like that. I didn't know she was coming, so there was the whole surprise factor. And I had no clue how to introduce you. Or if you'd even want me to.”
Her mouth curved in a sad smile, and I had to resist the urge to lean down and kiss her. Bite her bottom lip until she moaned. I didn't understand how she could make me want to protect her, and at the same time, make me want to spank her ass until it was red. I'd always gotten the domination part of being into S&M, but I knew there was a whole taking care of part of things that went beyond making sure the girl got off. I'd just never really felt it before.
“I mean, really, Dax, what was I supposed to tell her? By the way, Mom, this is the guy I've been fucking since I moved here, but he's not my boyfriend because we're not in a relationship. I just like it when he makes me come so hard that I can't see straight.”
My eyebrows went up as a burst of pride shot through me. I grinned at her. “Oh really? You can't see straight?”
Her cheeks pinked. “That's what you got out of what I said?” She shook her head. “Men.”
“I get it,” I said. And I did. I still didn't like it, b
ut I got it. If I wasn't going to make things official between us, I couldn't really get mad that she didn't know how to define it. “And thanks for asking Carrie to give me my job back.”
“I figured I owed you since I was the one who got you fired.” She pointed at me. “Unintentionally, don't forget.”
“So the job's your way of making it up to me?” I asked. My eyes flicked down to her mouth, and then back up to her eyes. I was tense for a whole different reason now. “Because the way I see it, the job cancels out getting me fired, but maybe you'd like to apologize more...enthusiastically for yesterday.”
It was her turn to cross her arms, but all that did was draw attention to those great tits of hers.
“I'm sure there's something you can do to make it up to me.” I let my gaze go from her tits to her mouth, and my dick went from half-interested to all the way there.
“Is that a fact?” She ran her tongue along her bottom lip, and I barely managed to hold back a groan.
I kept my eyes on her as I undid the button on my jeans, then pulled down the zipper. For a moment, nothing happened, and I wondered if I'd gone too far. Then she reached out and hooked her finger in my belt loop.
“I'm too short to do this on my knees while you're standing,” she explained as she tugged me over to one of the chairs. “And I'd rather not get a cramp from crouching.”
I didn't care about the logistics if it meant she was about to suck my cock. I let her give me a little shove and sat down as she went to her knees in front of me. She tugged my pants and underwear down my hips until my dick was free, bobbing up in front of her like it had a mind of its own.
“Take off your shirt,” I said. “I want to see your tits while you blow me.”
Again, there was a moment where I wondered if I'd taken things too far, but then she pulled her shirt over her head, revealing a plain purple bra that matched her shirt. She unhooked it and shrugged it off without the slightest bit of embarrassment. Not that she had anything to be embarrassed about. Her body was gorgeous.
“Make it quick.” I reached out and cupped her cheek, running my thumb over her lips, then slid my hand around behind her head. “We don't got all day.”
She nodded, letting me pull her down to where my aching cock waited. As stubborn and headstrong as she was, she definitely took orders well when it came to sex. She wrapped her lips around my shaft and got to work. Head bobbing up and down as she took me as deep as she could, one hand wrapped around the base to cover what she couldn't get, breasts swaying with the motion. It was sloppy and rough. And fucking amazing.
One day, I’d teach her how to drag things out, how to use her tongue in ways she never imagined. I'd get her to take me down to the root and hold me in her throat. Fuck her face until she could barely breathe.
But not right now.
Now, I just grabbed onto those curls and let her lick and suck all my problems away. I forgot about everything that wasn't the hot, wet suction of her mouth. It wasn't long before that familiar pressure was building up inside me, and I knew I was close. I wanted to go in her mouth, see her swallow every drop, but I wouldn’t force it.
“Where do you want me to come?” I asked. She looked up at me, eyes meeting mine and sucked harder. I ground out a curse, then exploded.
She didn't just swallow but kept licking and sucking until every last drop was gone and my entire body was twitching. I tugged on her hair, pulling her off before she got me hard again. It would hurt to get it up so fast, but I knew if she kept going, it'd happen. We just didn't have the time for it.
I took one look at her swollen lips, glistening with saliva and cum, her eyes dark, chest heaving, and pulled her to her feet as I stood. I kissed her while I worked her jeans open, not caring that I could taste myself in her mouth. I backed her against the door and shoved a hand down the front of her pants, under her panties. She moaned into my mouth as I roughly pushed my fingers into her pussy. She was soaked.
Fuck.
I meant what I said about not having a lot of time, but I was determined to get her off too. I rubbed her clit, twisting my fingers inside her. With my free hand, I grabbed her breast, pinching and rolling her nipple until she was squirming against me. Her hands were under my shirt, nails scratching my back hard enough to hurt, but I wasn't going to complain. I wanted her to mark me, wanted to feel the sting of her nails every time my shirt rubbed against my skin.
I bit her lip, and she came apart. I didn't stop though, taking her as high as possible, swallowing her screams even though I wanted everyone in the shop to hear her. It wasn't that I wanted them to know how good I was, but that I wanted them to know that she was mine. I was the only one who got to own those sounds.
When both of us could breathe normally again, and all our clothes were on right, we headed back out into the shop. I walked her out, told her that I'd call, then headed back inside, already hating what I knew I’d have to do.
“What the hell you doing?” Force asked. “Ain't that the girl who came in here and went all psycho on you?”
I shrugged and let myself give one of those smug grins I hated. “What can I say? The girl's got a mouth on her...in more ways than one.”
“Thought you said she wasn't worth it?” Georgie asked from where he was leaning against the counter.
“Come on, man. You think I'm gonna let you steal a prime piece of ass before I'm done with it?” I'd talked this way about dozens of other girls, but this was the only time I felt sick about it.
“So I can have her when you're done?” he asked.
It took all my self-control not to lay him out and say that no one would be going anywhere near Bryne. Ever. But I couldn't let any of them know that she was anything more than sex, so I shrugged.
“I'll let you know when that is,” I said. “If you still want her then, you're welcome to her.”
He smirked and started telling Focus what he’d do when it was his turn with Bryne. I muttered something about needing to finish a job and walked away before I could forget that beating the shit out of Georgie would be a bad idea.
Chapter Nine
Bryne
I wasn't sure if I should feel cautiously optimistic about how well the week had gone...or scared to death that I was waiting for the other shoe to drop without knowing it.
Rehearsals had been better than any I'd ever been a part of. Even with August occasionally playing a bit of a martyr, everyone was great to be around. Everyone was professional, but we had fun too. No one got angry when someone flubbed a line, but it never got out of hand. The director was focused, but not close-minded. Practice was comprehensive, never sloppy, and it wasn't easy, but it was the good sort of hard. The kind that felt good at the end. Like how I felt after an intense workout, or after spending the day cleaning. Not quite as good as I felt after sex with Dax, but it was pretty damn close.
I'd always loved the thrill of the stage, but the politics behind the scenes had never been any fun for me. Some people thrived on that kind of conflict, but I didn't. I could handle myself, and I knew how to keep the stress from getting to me, but I didn't like it. Here, though, there was pressure, but it was different. I knew things wouldn’t always be this good, but I fully intended to enjoy it while it was.
And it wasn't just work that was going well. Mom left halfway through the week, and while we weren't BFFs or anything like that, the tension that had been between us since I told her I was moving was gone. Things were good with her and Gavin too. They were still a little hesitant around each other, but I got that. It had to have been a shock for both of them. I know I'd be freaked out if I found out my father had some other kid out there.
Better than all of that was the fact that absolutely nothing weird had happened with Dax all week. We'd talked or texted every day. Not like big giant conversations where we mooned over each other like a pair of love-struck teenagers. Okay, I was technically still a teenager, but the love-struck part still didn't describe us. We were having fun.
As
I looked in the bathroom mirror and fussed with my hair, I couldn't help but think about the fun Dax and I had last night. With him having two jobs again, and how busy I'd been with rehearsal and my mom, we knew we wouldn't have the time to see each other during the week, but that hadn't stopped us from a different sort of indulgence.
“Are you tired?” he asked as I settled into bed.
“Not really.” I stretched out on top of my blanket, still warm and relaxed from my bath. “I figured I'd do a bit of reading to unwind.”
“I don't think so.”
A shiver went through me, and I went from warm to hot. I loved when his voice dropped like that.
“Oh really? Are you offering me a more interesting way to relax?”
“Take off your clothes.”
“Not even going to ask me what I'm wearing?” I teased.
He made a sound like a growl. “Clothes. Off. Now.”
I untied my robe and shrugged it off my shoulders. “Your turn.”
He chuckled. “You want me naked, baby?”
It was on the tip of my tongue to say that I always wanted him naked, but I didn't want him to take it the wrong way, think I was hinting at something more permanent.
“Naked and hard,” I said lightly. “Can you blame me?”
He laughed again, and the sound made my nipples harden. He didn't laugh often, and I wished he'd do it more.
“Bryne, I’m always hard around you.”
I flushed. “You sure know how to flatter a girl.”
“I want to do a lot more than flatter you,” he said. “Now, start playing with those gorgeous tits of yours. Make your nipples nice and stiff for me.”
I doubted I'd have to do much work to get my nipples hard. His words had been enough. I was pretty sure he could make me climax just by talking. Still, I put my phone on speaker, and then moved my hands to my breasts. I closed my eyes, imagining it was his fingers on me.