Inferno Anthology (296 page)

Quietly, I moved toward the pool house, knocking on the door.

“Hey, you!” Brooklyn said as she opened it, smiling wide. Immediately, it was as if everything inside me relaxed and I didn’t have a care in the world. Just standing next to her made me feel…peace.

“Hey, yourself,” I replied with a grin, my eyes drifting over the simple scoop neck t-shirt and shorts she was wearing. I thought she looked like a million bucks.

“Get in here!” Grabbing my shirt, she pulled me inside, closing the door behind me and standing on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around my neck. “I’ve missed you.”

My hands slid naturally around her waist. “I’ve missed you, too.” Mouth descending, my lips captured hers and a soft groan escaped me at the contact—the same old sparks igniting between us. It was funny how she made me feel like no one else ever had. But then, again, I loved her like I’d never loved anyone.

“You owe me five bucks,” Brandon’s voice interrupted and Brooklyn and I broke apart. I hadn’t even noticed anyone else in the room. Glancing around, I saw Bailey and him watching us, the two of them sitting on the couch, cuddled together.

Bailey sighed. “You were right. They didn’t even make it a foot past the door before they started making out.” Uncurling, Bailey dug into the pocket of her shorts and pulled out some cash, handing it to Brandon.

Quirking an eyebrow, I stared at him. “Is this how you’re making your money these days? Betting on us?”

Laughing, he shook his head. “No, but I’d probably make a bundle if I did. You two are so predictable.”

“I could say the same about you,” I replied, grabbing Brooklyn’s hand and walking toward the only other doors I could see, which I assumed led to the bedrooms. “It’s late and I’m tired. We’re going to bed.”

“It’s that door,” Brooklyn said, pointing.

“You owe me another five bucks,” I heard Brandon say as we walked away.

“No way,” Bailey replied. “He didn’t say they were going to have sex. He said he was tired.”

“I didn’t say they would have sex. I bet you he wouldn’t make it a foot past the door before he started kissing her and that the next thing he’d do was drag her off to bed. You owe me five more dollars.”

“Damn,” Bailey whispered. “I thought he’d at least sit down and visit for a while.”

Brooklyn snickered and I smiled as we entered the bedroom, leaving them behind. Moonlight filtered through the thin sheer curtains that covered a sliding glass door that led outside to the pool. A large king size bed sat in the middle of the longest wall, flanked on either side by nightstands. A chair and ottoman was placed near the glass door and a long dresser covered the opposite wall.

“Damn. Their pool house is bigger, and much nicer, than my apartment.”

Brooklyn laughed. “Isn’t it crazy? And they hardly use it. I think Bailey is really the only one who does. We stay here all the time.”

“Well, in this case, I’m glad they let her.” Turning to face Brooklyn, I pulled her against me. “I’ve been dying to spend the night with you again, just so I could hold you in my arms.”

“Me, too,” she replied, wrapping her arms around my waist and leaning her head against my chest. “It’s the thing I wish for every night when I crawl into my bed, alone.”

“Someday soon it’ll be every night. I promise you.” Continuing to hold her, I rocked her gently in my arms. “You’re going to see me so much, you’ll start getting sick of me. I’m gonna walk in the door and you’ll glance up and say, ‘Oh, it’s you, again.’ And then I’ll be devastated.”

Squeezing me harder, she laughed. “That will never happen. Not ever. You mean too much to me. I love you.”

Warmth spread through my heart at her words. “And that’s something I’ll never get sick of hearing. It makes me feel like I won the lottery or something.”

Lifting her head, she popped up on her tiptoes, offering her lips to me. I was happy to take them, pressing mine to hers as my memories flitted back to the first time I’d seen her.

I’d gone to pick up Tommy at his mom’s house for a session at the gym because his car had a flat tire. He’d been standing outside, embracing a gorgeous girl. I was surprised because he hadn’t mentioned he was dating anyone. The girl stepped away, smiling widely. Tommy said something to her as I watched from the car and she threw her head back and laughed, holding her hand on her stomach. Her honey colored hair caught the light, shining brightly, as her face flushed with joy.

In that second, I was completely mesmerized, my eyes traveling swiftly over her from head to toe as I tried to commit her to memory. There was just something so…pure about her. Waving at Tommy, she turned and moved toward the driveway, slipping into a car parked there.

“Who’s that?” I asked Tommy as he slid into the seat beside me. The girl pulled out of the driveway, smiling and waving happily as she passed by us. I couldn’t help myself, I waved back at her.

“That’s my sister. Brooklyn,” Tommy replied casually, as he fastened his seat belt.

Brooklyn. I committed the name to memory. “Sister?” I asked, surprised, as I pulled away from the curb, making a U-turn and following after her. “I never knew you had a sister.”

“Well, now you do. She’s my half sister, actually—daughter of the monster and his other wife.” I knew he meant his dad. He often referred to him as “the monster”. “She lives with them, but she wishes she lived with me.” He sighed. “Brooklyn is the best thing my dad ever made. He doesn’t know it, though. He’s too self-absorbed to notice how amazing she is. She must get it from her mom. Helen is decent. I’m not sure she really likes me, either, but at least she pretends to.” He stared out the window.

“So, does your sister come visit you a lot?” I asked, still fishing for information.

“We try to stay in touch pretty often. She gets along really well with my mom and mom likes to visit with her.”

“She looked like she was having a good time with you when I arrived.”

He chuckled. “She was telling me about her end-of-the-year cheerleading tryouts. She made the team again, which I knew she would since she was on the championship team this year. She’s one of their fliers—you know, the ones who get thrown in the air and are on the top of the pyramids? I told her I was going to come to one of her games next year and run through them like a bowling ball and knock them all down, just to see her fall from the top.”

I chuckled as I imagined him doing just that. “So, is she cheering for Henderly Community College?”

Snorting, he shook his head. “No. She’s still in high school at Henderly High. She’s only sixteen.”

Sixteen. Damn. She didn’t look sixteen. So much for that idea. Quietly, I watched as her car turned at the intersection, heading in the opposite direction of where we were.

At that particular moment, I’d believed it would be the last time I’d see Brooklyn Hall, but I’d been wrong. It was as if becoming aware of her suddenly made me see her everywhere—coming out of a store, at a restaurant with friends, occasionally leaving Tommy’s house when I came by, but I never had the opportunity to meet her. Even after meeting Sarah, I’d still gone to football games—with or without Tommy—whenever I could. Sarah even came with me, sometimes. I tried not to obviously watch Brooklyn and focus on the game, but I couldn’t help allowing my gaze to drift over her, repeatedly. Something about her just spoke to me. As things progressed with Sarah, I did my best to stay away from places I knew Brooklyn might be. It wasn’t fair to her. I was falling for Sarah more and more…I just couldn’t seem to stop that niggling thought.
What if?

Now, here she was, wrapped in my arms, kissing me. It was so funny, too. My relationship with Sarah had been so much more involved, but I felt like I knew Brooklyn a thousand times better. I’d definitely fallen for her harder and faster, and much more intensely, than I had with Sarah. I couldn’t imagine a life without Brooklyn in it. I didn’t
want
a life without her in it.

Breaking the kiss, I stared at her. “You know I’m crazy about you, right? I mean crazy, like you occupy my every waking thought, crazy.”

“Every waking thought? Hmm. Sounds like you’re the one who’s going to get sick of me if you keep that up.”

Laughing, I bent down, scooping her up, and she wrapped her legs around my waist. “That’s not ever going to happen.” Carrying her to the bed, I set her carefully on the mattress. “I have something I need to ask you.”

The moonlight from the window lit the gorgeous angles of her face as she stared up at me. “Okay, what?”

“Does my working at Leathers bother you?” I held my breath in anticipation of her reply.

“No. Should it?”

“I just worried that it may be causing feelings of hurt or jealousy. I know some of the other guys have girlfriends and they don’t like it. It causes relationship problems.”

“When I think of you at Leathers, it’s always imagining myself on stage with you.” She laughed. “That was an amazing night. I still blush when I think about it.”

“I don’t do that dance anymore,” I replied. “Not since I did it with you. I still have a solo number, but it’s one that doesn’t require someone from the audience. I wanted to keep that memory with you fresh in my mind.”

“Really? That’s so sweet.”

“So my performing there doesn’t bother you?” I asked again, needing to clarify.

“Does it sound bad if I say I love that women swoon over you, but it’s me you come home to?”

I laughed, surprised by that. “No. It’s not bad.”

She shrugged. “I used to cheer in a short skimpy outfit in front of giant crowds of people. Performing is performing if you ask me. It’s not that different.”

“Well, it’s a little different. My job is definitely more sexual in nature.”

“I guess I could go get a job as a pole dancer after I graduate, then.”

Jealousy and desired flared through me at the thought. “Like hell!” I growled and she giggled. “There’s no way I’m letting all that Vegas scum get a look at you like that. I’ll buy you a pole for the bedroom, though. You can dance to your heart’s content.”

She snorted. “I wouldn’t even know the first thing about exotic dancing. I’d look like a bumbling idiot and then you’d start wearing eye masks to bed so you wouldn’t have to inflict your eyes to anymore damage.”

Grinning at the word picture she’d painted, I grabbed her hand and pulled her off the bed. “Guess I’ll have to teach you, then.” Turning her, so her back was against my chest, my hands went to her hips. “Damn. I wish you had some of your heels here. We’d fit together better.”

“Bailey was wearing a pair, earlier. Brandon likes them. She took them off by the couch before you got here. Let me go see if they’re there.”

I watched as she quietly opened the door, carefully peeking out to make sure she wasn’t interrupting anything before darting out. A few seconds later, she reappeared with a pair of high heels in hand; quickly shutting the door behind her.

“Oh my gosh!” she gasped. “At first I didn’t see them out there, but they were still on the couch together, in the dark. I think I saw Brandon’s bare butt! I’m dying.” She sat on the bed and began fastening on the shoes.

“Isn’t there another bedroom in this place?” I asked.

“Yes, but you don’t know Bailey. She’s all about sex in places that she might get caught. Trust me when I say she has no qualms about doing it anywhere and everywhere, or in front of anybody. I’m talking in front of everybody…like groups of people at parties.”

I chuckled. “I knew what you meant.”

That made her halt and she stared at me, eyes narrowing. “Have you been to parties like that?”

Damn.
“First, you probably shouldn’t ask questions about things you don’t really want to know the answer to. And second, yes. But they all happened before I ever laid eyes on you. Dumb stuff, when I was younger, before I realized that real relationships could be so much better.”

Glancing down, she finished latching her shoes and then she stood and walked over, a little better matched for my height. “I want to know everything about you. Even the things you think are dumb. I’m not some stupid jealous girl who is going to get upset over people you knew before me. Besides, it’s the people who touch our lives that make us into who we are. So, I should be thanking everyone in your past, because you seem pretty perfect to me.”

Turning her around, I pulled her back against me, my hands traveling down to her hips once more. “I’m not perfect, sweetheart,” I whispered next to her ear. “I’m far from it. But you make me want to be that way—just for you.” Lifting a hand, I brushed her hair away from her neck and placed a kiss just below her ear. “Do you have any idea how beautiful and smart you are? You’re wise beyond your years and I love your kind heart.”

“I love you,” she murmured in reply.

Taking her arm, I guided it to drape around my neck. “Have you ever seen the movie, Dirty Dancing?” I asked, running the back of my hand down the side of her body, much like in the movie. She didn’t laugh or jerk away, though; instead, she leaned her head back against my shoulder, naturally.

“I have.”

“We’re going to do like that. I want you to relax your body and stay fitted with mine. You move the way I move. Got it?”

“Got it,” she replied, the two of us still speaking in low tones, as if we were afraid our voices would break the magic between us.

Holding her hips, I began grinding against her. Her body moved in time with mine. “Perfect,” I said, loving the feel of her limber body moving like this against my already raging hard on. “The trick to exotic dancing is to remember that it’s meant to incite sexual desire in someone else. So, your movements should be like sex.” I thrust hard against her butt and she groaned.

“I think it’s working,” she said with a moan. “I’m feeling pretty sexual at the moment.”

Chuckling, I slipped my hands over the top of hers, moving them both to her neck. “A man wants to see a woman caressing herself like a lover would.” Lightly, I guided her hands over her neck, across her chest to her breasts, pausing slightly before trailing them down over her stomach and guiding them to the apex of her thighs. “See that? Your hands just sent a direct messaged to me, traveling over every place on your body that I want to kiss. Now shimmy down my body like you’re leaning back against the pole. When you get to a crouch, grab your knees and open them wide and close them again. That gives the guy you’re dancing for a peek at the place he wants to sink into. You want to tease him.”