Under My Skin (Skin Deep) (9 page)

“We’re at the shop but…what’s going on? Why is my sister there, Allie?” His voice was dangerously soft, and I knew that he could tell I wasn’t telling him everything.

“Lemme talk to Brandon real quick, okay?” I asked, knowing that I was probably pissing him off.

I heard him swear under his breath and then
Brandon’s voice came on. “What’s going on, Allie? Why’d Jacks just basically throw the phone at me?”

“
Brandon, I don’t know what to do…how to tell him this. You just need to get him home. Chloe was sitting on the front porch of your house when Emma and I pulled up. She’s…hurt.”

He growled in my ear, “Allie, I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but you better explain yourself very quickly right now.”

His words rendered me speechless for a second, not only what he said, but the razor sharp tone of his voice. “I…Brandon, I’m sorry, but I don’t know. I’m standing outside, Emma is in the house with her. We pulled up from the grocery store and there was a woman sitting on the porch. We had no idea who she was…I didn’t even know her name when I called Jacks!”

“Okay, but why did you say…what you said?”
Brandon caught himself before he repeated what I’d told him.

“Something has obviously happened to her, so just get here. You might want to prepare him a bit…she looks pretty bad-” I cut off as Emma opened the front door, calling out to me to see what was taking so long. I held up my finger, giving her the universal ‘gimme a sec’ sign and she nodded before going back in a closing the door behind her. “I gotta go, I have to get the rest of the groceries out of the car and get back in there with Em. I’ll see you when you get here…hurry!” I hung up on him without saying goodbye and grabbed the last few bags from the car before going back inside with Emma and Chloe.

When I got inside, Emma was standing at the kitchen counter, making a sandwich and plating it with some chips. She grabbed a can of pop from the fridge and brought everything to the living room, sitting it down on the coffee table in front of the now empty couch.

“Where’d she go?” I asked Emma.

“She’s in the bathroom. Allie, she won’t talk to me…and I don’t want to pry but, son of a bitch, someone did a number on her!” Emma shook her head sadly.

I nodded in agreement. “I know. I called Jacks and he was getting upset with me, but I didn’t want to blurt it out over the phone. I told
Brandon, so I’m assuming they should be pulling up any time now. Especially if Jackson gets to the keys before they do.”

Chloe came out of the bathroom and cautiously made her way back to the couch, thanking Emma for the food she’d made her. Still keeping her left arm cradled against her stomach, she gingerly picked up the sandwich and took a very small bite, grimacing when the cut on her lip pulled.

She chewed and once she swallowed, she cleared her throat and said, softly, “So you’re Allie, huh?”

I blinked at her, taken aback by her question. “Yeah…I’m Allie. And you’re Chloe?”

She nodded briefly. “Jackson’s talked about you like crazy since you met. He’s completely head over heels in love with you, you know that right?”

My jaw dropped and I could feel my face getting red. “Wha-I…huh?” I stammered, unable to find any words.

The corner of her lips quirked up in a small smile and nodded again. “I take it he hasn’t said the words yet, huh? Trust me to be the one to put my foot in it,” she said wryly.

“No, you’re fine. It’s something we’ve all been able to see…Allie has just been a little slow on the uptake for some reason!” Emma said.

I shook my head and then jumped, as did the other girls, when the front door flew open and footsteps came pounding toward us like a runaway freight train.

Emma and I jumped out of the way as
Jackson skidded to a stop and dropped to his knees in front of his sister where she sat on the edge of the couch.

“Chloe! Sweetheart are you okay? Let me see…”
Jackson gently lifted her chin with his fingers and swore loudly when he took in the view. His voice dropped to a dangerously low growl as he said, “Where is the mother fucker that did this to you, Chloe? Was it Chris? Was it? I swear on fucking everything and everyone that I will bury that fucker so deep he’ll never be seen again.”

“
Jackson, stop.” Chloe broke into his tirade and pulled her chin back from his fingers. “It wasn’t Chris. I broke up with him eight months ago, if you’d ever pay attention.” She sighed before continuing, “I-it was this guy I met. His name is Greg and I thought he was everything I wanted. Turned out, I was more of a punching bag for him because I’m not the perfect Stepford Wife he wanted me to be.”

“You
married
that fucker?” Jackson yelled incredulously.

“NO! Jesus…hell no! It’s a figure of speech, Jacks. I did get pretty serious with him and then once I moved into his house with him, he started changing. He…he raped me one night when I didn’t want to…you know.” She looked up quickly when she heard me and Emma both gasp and her face paled even further. “Oh, God. I’m so sorry, I forgot you guys were even there…I-just-I gotta go.”

“No!” I cried out quickly. “No, you and Jackson just sit here and talk. You need to talk to him and we’re just gonna go sit out back, okay?”

I grabbed Emma and jerked my head toward the back door, indicating that I wanted Brandon and Luke to follow and leave Jackson and Chloe alone to talk. Luke followed without a word, stopping briefly to cup Chloe’s shoulder in his hand and to gently kiss the top of her head. He murmured something to her and then grabbed Emma’s hand, pulling her with him through the kitchen and out the back door.

I followed them, slowing when I saw Brandon drop to his knees beside Jackson and reach up to cup Chloe’s face in his hand. His face was ravaged with pain as he traced the line of dark bruising down her cheek. I turned away, strangely hurt by the tenderness he was showing with her.

I stepped outside and immediately came face to face with Emma, her expression worried and almost fearful. She quickly grabbed my hand and said, “They’ve just known each other a long time, Allie, you don’t have anything to worry about.”

I blinked at her in surprise, then realized I shouldn’t have been surprised in the least. She’s my best friend; of course she can read me. I shook my head slightly at her and moved to sit on the steps. Luke came and sat beside me, nudging me with his shoulder.

“Emma’s right, you know,” he said softly. “My brother had his sights set on you since you dragged that one into our shop. Which, by the way, have I ever thanked you for that? I don’t think I have, so thank you. Seriously.” He looked over his shoulder as he continued speaking. “She’s absolutely the best thing that ever happened to me and I love her with everything that I am.” He nudged my shoulder with his again as he said, “Love you, too…you know, just for the record. Now, since I have you here, let’s just go ahead right now and agree that there will be no male strippers at her bachelorette party. Right?”

I laughed out loud and shook my head. “Nope, no promises. I haven’t even started planning it yet, actually!” I turned around and grinned at Emma when I heard her gasp behind us.

“You are a bad maid of honor! For shame, Allie!” she screeched in mock anger.

Our laughter faded away when Brandon walked out of the door and strode past us without saying a word. I looked up at Luke again and he just shrugged, patted my arm, and got up to follow him. Emma came and took his place beside me.

“It really sucks seeing someone beat up like that,” she said softly. “Reminds me of looking at myself in the mirror for the first time after…” She trailed off, her voice catching on the last word.

I reached over and took her hand and we sat there in silence, leaning on each other and giving comfort without the necessity of words. After a while, the back door opened and Chloe stood there, giving us a watery smile.

“Thank you guys for being so nice to me. We’re done now, and I’m sorry for making you leave your own house, Emma-”

“It’s okay, Chloe,” Emma said, cutting off her apology. “You have nothing to apologize for. We completely understand. You needed to talk to your brother and you didn’t need us hovering over you while you did. Now,” she clapped her hands and stood up, brushing off her jeans as she did so. “Are you hungry? Because I make some killer tequila lime chicken and that’s what we’re having for dinner.”

Chloe looked uncertain but when Emma mentioned that she’d noticed she’d only managed one bite of the sandwich she’d made for her earlier, she finally nodded and smiled gratefully. I stood up and walked closer to her, adding in my two cents. “And you’re staying at my house. I have an extra room and
Jackson will be there. Brandon too,” I added as an afterthought. Though I wasn’t quite sure why.

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully. We helped Emma make dinner and then clean up after we all ate. The guys had come back into the house right before dinner (
Jackson had gone out the front door to take a few minutes to himself when Chloe had come to get us) and we’d all made small talk throughout.

Brandon
drove us to my house later that night and, following my directive, Chloe came with us. Jackson carried in her small bag  that she brought with her and we got her settled into the spare room for the night and we all headed off to my room to get ready for bed ourselves.

Chapter 9

I woke up the next morning wrapped up in Brandon. I say that because his arms were completely wrapped around me, and his legs were tangled with mine. He’d scooped me close to his chest and my head was nestled under his chin. I snuggled even closer to him for a second before I leaned away slightly, reaching out with my arm behind me, searching for the other warm body that was usually wrapped around me as well.

My hand encountered cold sheets and it took a second for my fuzzy brain to register that
Jackson had probably already gotten up with his sister. I nestled back against Brandon again, reveling in his warmth and the strength of his arms around me. I stayed that way for a while until he shifted in his sleep, removing his arm from over top of me and rolling onto his back. His other arm tightened and pulled me into his side and I smiled. Even in his sleep he held me so tight and I loved it.

I kissed his chest gently and traced the lines of ink written across the upper left side of his chest, over his heart. This tattoo was my favorite of his. It was scripted words that I knew he’d written himself that read:

Love is but a thousand blades

That cuts the heart to shreds

But I’ll bleed for love a thousand times

To feel before I’m dead.

The rest of his tattoos were, like his brother, mostly tribal with other elements thrown in. He had a line of kanji characters down the inside of his left forearm that he had told me stood for strength, courage, honor, loyalty, and love. On left side, he had additional script that said:

Drink me down, but I remain

An endless thirst, a spreading stain

I’ll eat you up and spit you free

But you’ll still crave the taste of me

The stinging bite of bitterness

It’s only pain, no more, no less.

I continued to trace the lines of his tattoos gently with the tips of my fingers, my eyes following every dip and curl of my hand. I gasped softly when
Brandon’s hand came up and closed over my fingers, trapping them against his chest and holding them still. I tilted my head back and smiled up into the gorgeous smoky blue-grey eyes staring down at me. His lips curled into a tender smile and he dipped his head to lightly kiss the tip of my upturned nose.

“Morning, baby,” he said, his voice rough with sleep.

I kissed his chest once more and answered him in kind, smiling widely when he shifted to wrap me in his arms again. I felt the hardness of his erection press into the soft flesh of my belly and, giving into the instant desire that crashed through me, pulled myself back out of his arms and rolled him onto his back again before I slid on top of him. I let my legs drape over his hips, bringing my hot, wet folds into direct contact with the hard length of him. He moaned deeply at the feel of my wetness coating him. I sat up and moved forward just enough to bring the head of him to my entrance.

He gasped again and stilled me with his hands on my hips, panting out, “Wait…condom, baby.”

I leaned over him again and reached into the drawer of my nightstand, fumbling until my fingers closed around a familiar square shaped foil packet. I brought it out and in an instant, Brandon had taken it from my fingers, had it opened and rolled on, and was impaling me on his length.

I let out a long, low moan as he filled me, his hands tightening on my hips and using them to rock me against him. He slipped one hand down and pressed his thumb against the hardened nub of my clit, rubbing it in lazy circles as I continued to rock myself over him, keeping my pelvis pressed tightly to his. I could feel my orgasm building, layer upon layer of ecstasy that was taking me higher and higher. I clenched my inner muscles around him and he let out a growl, moving his hand away from my clit to grab at both my hips again before he began thrusting his hips up roughly and pulling me down to him, slamming himself into me over and over again.

I could hear myself gasping out, “I’m…so…close…oh, God!” The sounds of our bodies slapping together added to the pleasure coursing through me, making the edge I was clinging to razor sharp until Brandon released his hands from my hips, reaching around to palm the soft globes of my ass, squeezing and spreading them roughly. I shattered, a high keening scream ripping from my throat as he sharply smacked the right cheek of my ass then rubbed it soothingly before smacking the other side with his other hand. The bite of his hands against my tender flesh just flat did it for me, shoving me over that edge into a freefall of bliss. I came and came, my body quivering and clenching around him as he thrust wildly into me, lost in his own seemingly never-ending orgasm, shouting as he pumped and jerked inside me.

I collapsed onto his chest, peppering it with tiny, soft kisses as I panted, trying to catch my breath. I felt him tangle his fingers in my hair, something I’d noticed is a favorite of his, and pulled my lips to his, tangling his tongue with mine as he kissed me deeply.

He released my lips on a sigh. “God, every time with you is just as intense. You fucking rock my world, Allie!”

I giggled. I couldn’t help it. And then, heaven help me, a little bit of the green eyed monster came out and there was nothing I could do about it. I scowled and asked, “You sure there’s no one else you’d rather rock your world instead?”

He grabbed my shoulders and eased me back to look me in the eyes. “Where the hell is that coming from, babe?”

I shrugged and shook my head, wishing like hell I hadn’t said anything.

“No, tell me. Are you worried about Chloe?” he asked, his voice soft.

I shrugged one shoulder and shook my head again, leaning down to kiss him. “No, it’s nothing. Don’t even worry about it,” I said. I kissed his lips gently again and lifted myself off of him, moving to his side so he could get up and dispose of the condom.

He came back into the bedroom and laid beside me again, pulling me close to him and holding me tight. He kissed the top of my head and then, after looking over at the clock on the nightstand, asked, “What time do you have to open the store?”

“Oh, shit!” I cried, jumping up and running into the bathroom to get ready. I took a shower in record time and, toweling off as I went, headed to the closet to grab clothes to put on. I heard a noise behind me and turned to see that
Brandon was still laying naked in my bed, nothing covering even an inch of that sexy ass body of his.

Quirking my eyebrow at him I asked, “Don’t you have to work today, too?”

He nodded and grinned at me before saying, “Yeah, but seeing as how it’s only 6:30, we’ve got plenty of time.”

I looked over at the clock and scowled at him, stalking toward the bed and letting my towel drop in the process. “You ASS!” I growled. “Why did you make me think I was running late?”

He kept on grinning as he replied, “All I did was look to see what time it was and ask what time you had to open the store. You’re the one who ran off like a mad woman. A naked mad woman…and it was pretty hot, too, by the way.”

I reached out and smacked his shoulder but he snagged my arm and pulled me down on top of him. He rolled quickly over, pinning me to the mattress, somehow managing to get both of my arms over my head and locking them together in one of his hands. He ran the other hand down my side before cupping my breast and then pinching the nipple, making me arch into him and moan softly.

“You know,” Brandon began, lowering himself until he was speaking directly in my ear. “I think I’m gonna tie you up, baby. Maybe on the kitchen table again. Tie you up all spread out and leave you there. What do you think about that?”

I gasped, my breath becoming ragged as desire curled heavily through me. He opened his mouth to say something else but his words cut off when the bedroom door opened and
Jackson came in. He looked exhausted and Brandon released me quickly, sitting up on the edge of the bed and grabbing the sheet to cover his hips.

I jumped up and went to
Jackson, wrapping my arms around him and holding him close. His arms came around me and he bent to kiss the top of my head before releasing me and sitting heavily on the other side of the bed.

“Is Chloe okay?” I asked.

He nodded. “Sorry I wasn’t in bed with you. I couldn’t sleep and when I got up, Chloe was whimpering in the other room so I went in and sat with her. I just…it’s fucking killing me to know that that bastard put his fucking hands on her! And I wasn’t there for her!” His voice broke even as it rose until he was almost shouting.

I moved to embrace him again, smiling sadly as
Brandon, wrapping the sheet around his waist, also moved over and draped an arm around Jackson’s shoulders.

“Dude, it’s not your fault. And it’s not Chloe’s fault either. You know that. She’s smart and strong and tough and she got away as soon as she could. She’s here now and safe, so just focus on that,”
Brandon stated firmly.

I sank to my knees in front of
Jackson and placed my hands on his thighs. He looked down at me and the corner of his mouth curved up with a hint of a smile.

“He’s right. She’s safe here now, and she can stay here for as long as she needs to.  And then you’ve got plenty of room in your house so she can stay with you-”

“NO!” Jackson said roughly. He shook his head as I stared at him in shock. “No, I mean, yes, she can stay with me there but I…I know I’ve said it before, but Allie, I built that house hoping that you’d live there with me. That you’d be happy there. You and Brandon.” He turned his head to look at Brandon who was looking back at him in surprise.

Jackson
nodded seriously at him before turning back to me. “Is that something you think could do? Would you want to live there?”

I opened my mouth to answer and then laughed when he cut me off again to say, “Or I guess I could take a page out of Luke’s book and TELL you that you’re moving in with me…”

I smacked him lightly on his leg and leaned up to kiss him before getting to my feet and heading back to the closet to actually get dressed this time.

It never occurred to me until about halfway through the day that I never did answer him…

The bell on the door of my store tinkled and chimed and I looked up to greet the customer coming through.

“Hi, Nanny!” I exclaimed, completely taken by surprise that my grandmother was walking through the door, followed by my harried looking mother. “Hi, Momma!”

She waved and my grandma huffed and scowled. “Damn fool children don’t even know how to pick up a Goddamned phone anymore to check on anyone these days,” Nanny grumbled.

I rolled my eyes as I came out from behind the counter to hug them both. “What are you guys doing here?” I asked.

“Well, Nanny had an appointment this morning and Poppy didn’t feel up to taking her, so she called me!” my mom said brightly, though her face was telling a different story.

I smiled at her and nodded, knowing that she meant that my grandmother was being extra “tank” today. Now, we love her so very dearly, but I swear sometimes she’d try the patience of a saint. Even then, she’s so much fun regardless of her cranky mood because you never know what she’s going to say or do.

“So what did the doctor say, Nanny?” I asked her.

She cocked her head and gave me a sweet smile as she said, “I’m alive.”

I snorted. Smart ass old woman. “Well, that’s a good thing, right?”

She rolled her eyes at me and wandered off to a display of old-fashioned quilts I had hung using an old coat hanger.

I turned to my mom and asked her, wanting the real answer, “What’d she go to the doctor for?”

Mom shook her head and said, “Just a check up. He says she’s healthy as a horse. I think she’s just too stubborn to get sick or anything. Again, Allie, I’m sorry in advance if I ever start acting that way.” She patted my arm and then, trying to be nonchalant, meandered over to the book display to see the new romance books I’d put out this morning.

“Allie!” my grandma yelled and I jumped, quickly making my way over to where she was standing.

I groaned under my breath when I noticed that she had stopped in front of the display of vintage lingerie I had toward the back of the store. I lost it, snorting with laughter when she turned and I saw that she had wrapped an old silk corset around her skinny little chest and was wiggling herself back and forth cackling with laughter.

“See, Allie-girl, you wear stuff like this and you just might land you a hottie!” she crowed.

I gasped and chuckled at her, glad she’d given me this opening. “Well actually, Nanny, I just so happened to have landed me a good one. Two of ‘em, in fact.”

She raised her eyebrow at me and lifted her hand for a high-five, but she froze in mid-air. “Two?”

I nodded and noticed that my mom had worked her way over to us and was standing there grinning like a loon, waggling her eyebrows at me. I rolled my eyes at her again (I seem to do this a lot with my family) and smiled at my Nanny.

“Two?” she repeated. At my nod again, she screeched, “Why you little slut! When do we get to meet them?” Before I could answer she kept going. “You know, back in my day I actually was quite the catch myself. I had a few of them ol’ dogs sniffing after my skirts. And then there was this one time that I actually let two of ‘em-”