Blood and Sympathy (19 page)

He snorted.
"Right. I'll have to check my schedule." He let go of my hand and put
his arm over my shoulder before kissing me on top of the head. "What time
do you want to leave?"

"I think they
open around noon, so how about you pick me up around eleven?" What I was
really thinking is how about I nudge you awake at ten, have some hot morning
sex, and then we'll shower and leave.

"It's a
date."

Like clockwork, the
sprinklers came on at eight. I grinned at him and asked, "So, will you
dance naked in the sprinklers with me tonight, Braden?"

He licked his lips
and slowly nodded.

I stood and peeled
off my thin dress. I raised my eyebrows at him as I hooked my fingers beneath
the elastic of my lacy underwear and flung them in his direction. He jumped off
the swing and dove for me. I squealed and dashed under the pulsing spray. I
held up my hand. "No fair. If you're going to play, you have to lose the
clothes. Those are the rules."

"That
right?" His hooded eyes darkened and a grin slid over his face. He grabbed
the back of his t-shirt, pulling it over his head with one hand.

I pointed to his
jeans. "Those too."

He threw back his
head and laughed. "You drive a hard bargain, Claire."

I was completely
mesmerized by his movements as his fingers dropped to the button of his fly and
then worked the zipper down. Like a male stripper, he shimmied out of his
jeans, but teased me by leaving on his boxer briefs, which left nothing to the
imagination. And speaking of hard ... there was no denying his condition at the
moment.

I swallowed the
lump in my throat. God he was beautiful. All male, pure muscle and sin, and I
didn't want any space between our bodies. I crooked my finger at him.
"Dance with me?"

"There's no
music."

"Use your
imagination."

"I've done
nothing but use my imagination ever since I got that first cherry-scented
letter from you."

My eyes rounded.
"Seriously?"

"You have no
idea how many sleepless nights you've already caused me."

We walked into each
other's arms, the only thing between us was the thin fabric of his underwear.
As the water touched our skin, I swore I heard the unmistakable sound of
sizzling, and there was definitely steam.

Braden
Sayer

The freezing droplets of water sliding down my
skin combined with the heat from our bodies was electric. The scent of cherries
lingered in the air, making me crave the taste of her skin. Was it weird that I
wanted to lick her from the curve of her neck all the way down to the backs of
her knees?

Everything disappeared except for Claire and the
way she felt pressed against me. My dick twitched, and I was about to give in
to the desire consuming me. She kissed me deeply, and it was hard to tell where
she left off and I began.

My hands dug into her hips, bringing her closer.
Her icy fingers dipped inside my underwear and wrapped around me. I thought I
might blow my load right there. I groaned, breathing against her lips. "I
won't last very long, if you keep doing that."

"Touch me." Her voice was low and
throaty. She loosened her hold on my throbbing cock and gently nudged my hand
between her thighs.

Her skin was wet, and the hot slickness between
her legs was silky smooth as my fingers tentatively explored with a mind of
their own. I was rewarded as a moan of pleasure escaped her lips and she rocked
against me. I wanted to make her feel good, but I felt hopelessly
inexperienced.

I wanted Claire to be my first, but I had no
fucking idea what I was doing. I closed my eyes and dipped my middle finger
into her pussy. With one arm around her waist, I explored her soft, warm inner
folds.

Her head dropped back and she wriggled against my
probing fingers. She gently guided my thumb up to a small bud. "Right
there, Braden."

It was a good thing she was such a willing teacher
and patient enough to show me what to do. I rubbed small circles, pressing my
thumb against her harder while probing deeper with my fingers. Her knees
buckled slightly and she gripped my shoulders to steady herself.

She kissed me hard, sucking my tongue into her
mouth. I imagined having those lips wrapped around my dick and began to grind
against her leg. She reached between us and began stroking my length; her thumb
brushed the skin beneath the head and it was my turn to go weak-kneed.

"Braden, please," she whimpered. "I
need you inside me."

"I don't have any protection."

She chewed on her lower lip and pushed my hands
away from between her legs. Giving me a wicked grin, she dropped to her knees
in front of me.

I swear to fucking God my eyes rolled back in my
head when she parted her lips and drew the length of me into her mouth.
"Fu-uck," I managed as I gasped for air. I wrapped her long braid
around my fist and held my breath as she brought me to the edge, stopped,
paused for a few seconds, and started again.

The sight of her sucking my dick was more than I
could take. "Claire, I'm going to come." I thought my warning would
cause her to stop, but it actually spurred her on. The vibration of her moans
made my balls draw up, and I knew I was there and there was nothing I couldn't
do anything to stop it. A warm tingling in my groin intensified before
spreading out from my crotch. Waves of pleasure pushed through me. A deep sense
of satisfaction washed over me as the sticky fluid shot out the tip of my penis
and into her eager mouth. After several seconds, the intensity of pleasure gave
way to a warm satisfied afterglow. The sense of emptiness in my balls was
heavenly.

She swallowed every drop, save for a small bit
that dribbled from the corner of her mouth that looked sexy as fuck. I helped
her to her feet and stared at her with the adoration of a lovesick puppy,
vowing to follow her wherever she went.

She winked and said, "You owe me one."

I was okay with that. I was pretty sure if she
told me to fucking lasso the moon, I'd do it. "Claire, I'll give you more
than one. I promise."

She giggled and pulled her dress down over her wet
hair. I hadn't even noticed that the sprinklers had stopped and the stars were twinkling
overhead. After we had both dressed, we sat on the front steps. She leaned
against me and said, "I wish you didn't have to go home tonight."

"I know. But Uncle Jeb has something he needs
me to do first thing in the morning." I stood and pulled her to her feet.
I kissed her yielding mouth, and my dick stirred in my pants. If I didn't leave
right then, I wouldn't have the willpower. "I'll see you in the
morning."

Brogan
Sayer

After thinking about kidnapping my brother's
girlfriend, I decided to wait a week or two. I didn't want to rush into doing
anything without some kind of iron-clad plan in place. Nabbing the other sister
had been a spur-of-the-moment thing and I had been anything but cautious. I
needed to make sure I covered my tracks this time. I couldn't count on some
homeless bum being around to take the fall for me again.

"I'm going grocery shopping, you need
anything?" Aja twirled her car keys around her finger. Her pert little titties
strained against the too-tight tank top she had on making me want to bite her
nipples. My dick instantly hardened, and I knew I was busted when she smirked
and said, "Hold that thought, baby."

I thought about bending her over the back of the
sofa and tearing off a piece, but she was out the door before I could. There
was a phone in the kitchen, and I had a call to make.

"Hello?" Alistair picked up on the
second ring.

"Listen, about our little deal."

"I've got your down payment. When you going
to do the deed?"

"That's why I'm calling. I'm not sure right
now's a good time."

"What the hell? You backing out on me?"
he barked into the phone. I pictured his face turning blue, his eyes bulging
out of his head as I wrapped my fingers around his neck.

"Chill, douche. I ain't saying never. I'm
just saying not right now. Give me some time to work out a plan. I'll be in
touch." I disconnected the call and grabbed a Mountain Dew from the
fridge.

By the time Aja came hom,e I was pacing from room
to room. I hated being dependent on anyone. She raised an eyebrow at me and sat
two grocery bags on the counter. "What's eating you?"

I ran my hands through my messy hair and blew out a
noisy breath. "Nothing. Just hate feeling like I can't do anything. Can't
go anywhere. I feel like a fucking animal in a cage here."

She wrapped her arms around my waist. "I've
been saving money. We can get out of this shithole by the end of summer. I promise."

I pushed her away from me. "When the fuck can
we go?"

"Soon. I promise."

I grabbed the keys off the counter and stalked out
of the house. "Hey, I'm gonna take a drive. Blow off some steam."
Before she could open her mouth, the kitchen door slammed closed behind me.

I couldn't concentrate with her hovering over me,
and I needed to think. I had no idea where the preacher's daughter spent her
free time. Aja's cell phone was in the cup holder so I grabbed it and called
Alistair.

"Hello?" he answered on the second ring.

"Yeah, it's me again."

"What's up?"

"Listen, go to the lake. There's a shelter at
the little park. I'll meet you there. We need to talk."

"I'm busy. I can't just drop everything and
come running whenever you get some wild hair. I can come later, but--"

"But nothing. Later won't work. Now, or the
deal's off. Got it?" I paused, waiting for him to answer.

"Yeah, what-the-fuck-ever, dude. Give me a
half hour."

He disconnected the call, and I smirked. Control.
Power. It was all about having the upper hand. Always.

Claire
Copeland

I got in the truck with Braden and leaned across
the seat to kiss him on the cheek. His simple, yet intoxicating scent filled my
senses to overflowing. I never tired of seeing him blush, and he blushed a lot.

"Good morning. So where we headed?" he
asked.

I gave him the directions to Sun and Moon Tattoo.
"You sure I can't talk you into getting one?"

"I want one, but it can wait until I'm legal."
He grinned. "What about you? What are you going to get?"

"Die with memories, not dreams. For
Olivia." I turned away from him so he wouldn't see the tears I blinked
away.

We got to the shop just as a dark haired woman was
unlocking the door. She flipped the sign from closed to open and we went
inside. She grinned broadly at Braden. "How's that tattoo healing for you?
Decided to come back for another one so soon?" Her eyes darted from him to
me.

"Ma'am? I don't have any tattoos. You must
have me confused with someone else."

She twisted her mouth and looked me up and down
before returning her gaze to Braden. "Hmm. My mistake. You sure as hell
have a twin out there somewhere."

My eyebrows knitted together. "He does have a
twin, but the chances he got a tattoo recently are somewhere between slim and
none."

"No skin off my teeth, either way. What can I
do for you kids today?" Her eyes studied Braden like he was a blank canvas
she couldn't wait to get her ink on.

Braden had a strange look on his face but shook it
off and walked away. I cleared my throat and told the woman that I was the one
there for a tattoo.

***

It was late Saturday afternoon by the time Braden
and I got back home. Dad's SUV was sitting in the driveway. He wasn't due to be
home for another day, and I wasn't supposed to be out getting a tattoo with
Braden Sayer.

"You want me to come inside with you?"

"No, it'll be okay." Shit was probably
going to hit the fan big-time, but there was no point in Braden having to
witness it, though Dad would never make a scene in front of someone else and
ruin his image. I kissed Braden on the cheek and climbed out of the cab.
"I probably won't see you until Monday at work."

I pulled in a calming breath and mentally prepared
myself for the inevitable showdown.

He was waiting for me at the kitchen table when I
walked in. "Hey, Dad, I didn't expect you home until tomorrow."

"Obviously."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I crossed
my arms in front of my chest.

His eyes bored into me. "Where have you
been?"

"Just spending some of my
free
time
with Braden." Anger flashed through my body, and I put emphasis on my
words.

He leaned forward, clasping his hands in front of
him. "I've tried to be patient. Knowing how fast you go through
boyfriends, I figured you'd get tired of this one sooner rather than
later."

"Yeah well, get used to it, okay? Braden's
going to be around a while, and if you have a problem with that, you really need
to get over it." I was shaking. I'd never stood up to my dad. Sure, we'd
had our arguments in the past, but I usually let him believe he'd won. I was
sick of his shit, and at that moment, I didn't care what my consequences were.

My dad preferred glares and intimidation over
yelling. He leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes at me. His voice was
eerily calm when he spoke again. "As long as you live in this house, you
will abide by my rules. Given the fact that you have no money, I highly doubt
that you'll be going anywhere anytime soon. At least not until this fall when
you begin college."