Brainy and the Beast (31 page)

I linked my hands behind my back and looked at the ceiling molding.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Shelton. I’m sorry that you’ve been brought into this.”

I jerked my gaze back to Shawn’s mother. “I… You don’t… Look.” I released a breath, trying to concentrate my thoughts. “Normally I’d say it’s none of my business. I just can’t do that now. Grant and I both know there’s something not right here. I thought maybe your husband was just smacking Shawn around. Now I see that he’s hurting you too.” I nodded meaningfully at her wrist.

She tugged down her sleeve.

“And I don’t pretend to understand it. I guess I’m not going to even try. I’ll just say that I’ll help you if you want. But your kid clearly wants out of this house, out of this situation. And she’s only fourteen. So I don’t know how you’re going to fix that.” I folded my arms across my chest. “But she’ll be safe tonight. Tomorrow’s up to you.”

Silence reigned after that. I didn’t know what had come over me, but whatever it was, I was kind of glad.

Two minutes later, Shawn came downstairs at a run. She’d grabbed a backpack and some kind of tote bag, both of which were stuffed full.

“Okay. Let’s go.” I zipped my coat, tugged my hat back down on my ears, and dug my keys out of my pocket.

It was painful to watch the last hug between the two of them. In the rearview mirror, I could see Mrs. Ginsburg, snowflakes drifting around her, hugging herself as she stared after us.

Sad.

* * * *

“Huh.” Despite my earlier crafty planning—or what I liked to think was crafty—I was still surprised to see Henry’s car sitting near my garage when Shawn and I got back to the house.

“What?” Shawn was nervous, I could tell, and my grunt had her looking at me quickly.

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” I didn’t need another teenager knowing I was an idiot when it came to Henry.

As I parked the car in the four-slot garage, it occurred to me that some might see owning more than one or two cars as excessive. So I guess I could hardly comment on the Ginsburgs when it came to that. With the Jeep, the Volvo, my dad’s Lincoln, and whatever we’d get for Grant when he got his license—God help us—we had more than our share of heavy metal.

I could hear the dogs barking. They always recognized the sound of my car. “Come on. Grab that little bag. I’ll take the backpack.”

I led Shawn inside, and we stomped the snow off our boots and got rid of our cold-weather gear in the mudroom. “Just hang up your coat and stuff here.” I pointed to the heavy coat hooks on the wall near the laundry.

My little guys came roaring around the corner, dancing and yipping in delight, and I did my best to keep them from overwhelming Shawn.

“Ohh, they’re adorable.” Shawn got down on her knees, which was all the invitation Rum and Coke needed. Licking kisses and squiggling body rubs were all hers. Squeeing, she shifted to sit on her heels and soak up the puppy love.

I watched for a minute or two, figuring the kid could use all the unconditional love she could get.

“Shawn? What are you doing here?” Grant stood in the doorway with Henry right behind him.

Bypassing my concerned nephew and his girlfriend altogether, I zeroed in on my man’s bruised face. I couldn’t help wanting to punch Jeff Hastings again, hard, right at that moment. I threw my coat on the hook instead, then tossed my hat and gloves on the bench. The heavy wool sweater I’d worn over my T-shirt followed.

“Hey.” My voice was husky.

He nodded at me with a considering look. “Nicholas.”

“You okay?” I gestured to his cheek.

He swiveled his jaw and nodded with a shrug.

I stepped closer to reach up to his eye. He shied away, but I murmured, “Let me see it.” When he acquiesced, tilting his battered face my way, I felt a warm rush go through me.
Poor guy.

His Jaguar-blue eyes were so beautiful, the message in them compelling—even though I of course couldn’t decipher it to save my life. I rubbed my fingers gently against his sandy-colored beard stubble, and the scratchy sound was loud in the sudden silence.

“Dudes.” Grant spoke behind us. “Um. Uncle Nick. Are you two gonna… Um, should I—”

Henry cleared his throat and stepped away from me.

Oh. “Um. Yeah.” I turned to the kids. “Well, I guess we have to figure out where to put Shawn. Her mother is letting her stay, just for tonight.” I ran my fingers over my mouth. The ramifications of that were once again bouncing around in my head. At Henry’s surprised expression, all I could do was shrug. “I know.”

I turned to the kids. “Well. How about if you let her sleep in your room?” When a slow grin started to spread on my nephew’s mug, I gave him the Look. “Don’t even. You’re not going to be there, understood? You can sleep on the couch in the den.”

His grin faded, and he hung his head. “Yeah.”

“So. You go upstairs and get some clean sheets on your bed. Shawn, why don’t you just sit for a minute on the couch in the living room?” I jerked my head in that direction, and they both started to shuffle off. I caught Grant before he could walk away. “How about you carry Shawn’s stuff upstairs for her?”

“Sure, Uncle Nick.”

The two of them walked off, hand in hand.

“Young love.” Henry’s voice was low. “Should I tell them what they’re in for?”

I frowned. “Doc. You sound a little, I don’t know—cynical?”

“Shouldn’t I be?”

My chest lifted in a big sigh. “Maybe. But, I guess, um, we should talk about that, right? I’m glad you came back here, by the way.”

“You didn’t give me much choice, did you?” Henry walked into the kitchen.

Watching him pick up a waiting glass of wine from the counter, I felt a peculiar satisfaction that he’d felt at home enough to help himself. “I stocked up on your favorite.”

“So I see.” He looked at me over the glass.

God, he looked good, despite the bruises. He’d taken off his standard tweed jacket, and his tie hung loose around his neck. The caramel-colored hair was smoother now, no doubt because he’d mercilessly run his fingers through it. I’d seen him do that on more than one occasion. He wasn’t exactly what I’d call a fashion guru, but he was always so serious about appearing neat and well-groomed. One more reason I’d had to wonder why he’d been spending time with me.

“You could have left after you dropped Grant off.” I moved to stand opposite him at the breakfast bar.

“I supposed I could have.”

“My dad go to bed?”

“Yes. Right after we got here.” Henry met my gaze. “He is looking better, I have to say. You are taking good care of him after all.”

He said that with such a grudging tone I almost smiled, until I remembered the seriousness of the discussion we needed to have. “Yeah. He’s been a handful, but we’re limping along.” I ran a hand along the counter, absently following the muted design in the laminate. “Um.”

He looked me over but said nothing further.

“You scared the shit out of me tonight, you know.”

Henry plopped his glass back on the counter with a crack. “Shouldn’t that be my line?”

“Huh? You were the one who jumped in with those freaks. God knows what they were going to do to you. You could have been killed.”

He scoffed. “I doubt that. I think they were just trying to scare me. I was more worried about that little girl. God, those boys— I can’t believe those are high school boys.” He closed his eyes for a brief second. “You should have heard the things they said to her, about her.”

“I can only imagine. I had a run-in with that little dickhead Jeff a few weeks ago. He didn’t have too much to say then, but what he did say was not too nice. I guess he was saving it up, planning something stupid like tonight.”

“You were the one who was at risk, Nicholas. That boy pulled a knife on you!”

That was the most emotion I’d seen Henry display since he’d left the dojang in a huff. He appeared to regret it, since he shut up again and focused on his wineglass.

Plastic thuds sounded from the freezer as the icemaker dropped cubes into the bin. It was loud in the sudden silence.

I cleared my throat. “Um. Well. He. That kid. I mean, come on.” When Henry looked up from his glass to drill me with his beautiful blue eyes, I had to stop. “Yeah. You’re right. It was stupid.
I
was stupid.” I breathed a shaky sigh. “Don’t look so surprised. I can admit when I’m wrong.” Not very often, but I could do it. “Maybe I should have waited for the cops but—well, when Jeff had you in that choke hold and Shawn was on the ground crying?” I blew out a breath. “I’m sorry, but it was instinct that kicked in.”

Henry turned enough to rest against the counter. “Why? I can understand you being upset and concerned about Shawn being in danger. But me? I’m a grown man. I was getting ready to make my move when you went after the Hastings boy.”

I chuffed a short laugh. “What? And how were you going to do that? By spouting some…some fancy math at him? What’s that stuff called again? Trig— something?”

“I’m hardly helpless. I’m perfectly capable of defending myself. I don’t need you or anyone else to
rescue
me.”

Oh, shit. I’d stuck my foot in it again. Goddamn it. Why couldn’t I keep my mouth shut when it counted? I’d hit Henry right where it hurt—in the ego.

“I… You…” I passed my hand over my eyes. “Christ.”

“I should go.” Henry moved around the end of the counter.

“No! No.” My hand on his upper arm stopped him. “Don’t…don’t you… Aren’t you…”
Damn it
. This was it. I was going to have to use the brain I was born with and speak up or watch him walk out. “I had to do it. I had to. Don’t you see?”

He was facing the mudroom doorway, but I saw him swallow hard. “What don’t I see?”

I let my hand slide down until my fingers joined with his. I tugged him, getting him to grudgingly face me. “You. Me. This.” With a cupped hand, I tugged his stubborn, resisting head down the two inches I needed to take his lips with mine. I needed to kiss him. I had to kiss him.

When I pushed my tongue forward, I had to wait a few seconds before he opened to me. But at least he did open his mouth. Maybe he wasn’t
quite
as pissed as he seemed. I moaned softly and pressed closer to him, then was gratified when he grunted in acceptance and slid his arms around me.

His hands felt good as they moved down my back. I edged closer, whimpering when his hardening dick nudged mine. He turned, pressing me into the counter.

I eased back long enough to say, “I love it when you get like this.”

“Shut up, Nicholas.” Henry dived back into our kiss, this time the aggressor. He took over my mouth, reaching for my tonsils. Surprising me with his strength, he lifted me up, and my ass plopped onto the laminate.

“Guh.” I spread my legs wide, enclosing him, then hooked my ankles together. I yanked him tighter, and we both groaned as our cocks bumped and rubbed. “Jesus. You make me hot. You’re hot.”

He proved me right when he latched on to my left earlobe, sucking and biting, and I almost screeched. Christ, wouldn’t that have brought the dogs running? “Uh. Oh. You-you’re going to make me—” There was no way I was going to embarrass myself by coming in my pants. No way.

He paused just a moment. “You’re still talking.” Thumbing open my jeans, he tugged the zipper down an inch. He captured my lips again and slipped his fingers inside my waistband. His fingers dug into my ass, then gripped my cheeks and rolled them. He was squeezing, spreading, stretching my opening.
Holy shit.

I groaned, sinking my fingers into his hair and gripping tightly. This was my Henry. Smarter than me, better looking, and really an all-around nice man. And the man who made my heart beat faster. Made me want to be better. For him.

I sucked his tongue, pulling on it, letting my teeth graze it. That made
him
whimper.

Suddenly I was on my back, my ass hanging over the edge of the counter and Henry spread over me, holding my hands next to my head. “Babe. Henry. Please.” I didn’t know just what I was pleading for; I just wanted more of it. More of him. Always him.

“You’re so sweet when you beg me,” he whispered. “So unlike your usual personality.” He nipped at my throat, causing me to arch up into his weight. “Yes. That’s good.” He did it again, this time pausing to suck the skin between his teeth.

That made my eyes cross. “God!” I was panting, my dick harder than stone. The unfamiliar feelings surging through me were combining with my desire for him. I needed to get out of my jeans before I died from lack of circulation. I yanked one hand free, diving desperately to grab at my barely open fly.

Laughing softly, Henry grabbed my wrist. “Uh-uh. Oh no, Nicholas. We’re going to do this my way. You’ve had it your way enough tonight.” Once again he used his surprising strength against me, and that just made me wilder. Henry was doing his dominance thing, and it was ringing all my bells.

Straining upward, I humped at him, trying to get him on the right spot. “Damn it. Will you just—” I sighed in ecstasy when he lowered more weight onto me. My dick was pressed into my belly, and his cock was rubbing my balls. “Oh, God. Yeah.”

He rubbed and thrust against me, then rubbed some more. “Mm-hmm. Yes.”

“Why do you do that?” I wailed. That hum of his got me every time. It revved me up even more, especially when he moved down enough to nip and suck at my tits. They were hard, sticking up through the soft jersey of my T-shirt, just calling for his attention. And boy, did he give it. He nibbled, sucked, stabbed his tongue against them. “Henry!”

Raising his head, his Jaguar-blue eyes met mine. The gleam in them was obvious; Henry was in complete control and loving it.

“Good boy.”

That simple phrase was all it took. I started coming, my dick spurting with abandon. “God!” I moaned into Henry’s mouth as he started kissing me again.
It was glorious
. “Fuck!” I closed my eyes, wanting to prolong the sensations.

“You’re so sweet when you come, so sexy.” Henry whispered it as he tongued my ear, and I shivered.

I didn’t even care about my wet jeans right then. I didn’t care that I was lying on my kitchen counter with my nephew roaming around somewhere upstairs and his little girlfriend in the living room—which was just past the dining room. Not all that far away. Although I
was
glad to hear the television blasting right then. “Thank God the TV is on.” My voice was husky, sounding unlike my normal self.